Your eyes drifted open peacefully, feeling as if you'd just leisurely awoken. Before you stood the familiar figure of your maid, a bucket mysteriously held in her arms.

"...Asche."
"Irue."

She exchanged greetings placidly, sea-green eyes meeting your own. "Why?" You skip to the point, glancing down to the smooth surface of water held within it.

"To wake you."

"...I'm already awake." You deadpan, tracking the bucket of water with a renewed sense of wariness as your maid nodded in return and set it down. "Was a bucket of water really necessary?"

Asche opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off as the door to your room clicked open to admit the impatient steps of your flame haired Testament. "Asche it's getting late, if you don't do it, I-" Her gaze shifted from the maid in question to your own perturbed expression. "Good, you're up."

"How long was I out?" You tilt your neck to one side, stifling a groan as the muscles stretched. Your legs had long since fallen asleep, thanks in no small part to Ari, who had similarly fallen asleep on them at some point.

"Most of the day. I tried to get you up half an hour ago, but your maid insisted you would be back soon." She crossed her arms, crimson eyes cutting towards the slight bucket-bearer in a vaguely accusing manner. "We compromised." The bucket sat innocently upon the floor, indicative of exactly what that ominous compromise may have entailed. "Nevermind that, did you make any progress on what you were doing?"

You let the drenching implication slide for now, since you were still warm and dry... Though the tell-tale chill of the Diary of Reflections emanating from Rinnier had rendered you somewhat less for the former. "I found plenty of bodies, but... How many people were supposed to still be missing?"

"I'd have to find the tally to check." Rinnier mused, "Why? Was there something wrong?"

You shrugged, feeling Ari stir back awake as you did so. "I expected... More." You finally give voice to the vague feeling of unbalance the experience had left you with. "Might be nothing. Can you find that tally for me later?"

"I'll ask Fen about it." She nodded easily, "Though if you're planning on going to the Shrine anytime soon, you could ask them directly. They'd have a more current result."

You grimaced at the suggestion, reflexively trying to weigh out the possibility of dodging Mim to do so. Not that you could afford to keep putting that off, considering you'd need to talk to her to see if obtaining a Gnome Adept to aid you was even an option.

"Maybe later. I need to go meet with Kara and her pack." You stretch the kinks out of your muscles and move to stand, clicking your tongue at the pins and needles that ran along the soles of your feet in the process.

Rinnier hummed an acknowledgement, pausing momentarily as she turned to leave. "If that's all, I want to talk to you later about this spider thing... And whatever else you might be able to do that you haven't mentioned."

You tucked a stray lock of hair behind your ear and sighed noncomittally. You were still exhausted after your last talk with her.

>Talk to someone (about what?)
>To the Shrine!
>To Kara!
>Other? (write-in)

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoires - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm

Misc notes:If anyone was expecting 4X gameplay mechanics to happen, they have since been discarded after a close inspection revealed I was being stupid.


Memo:
1. Rinnier wants you to decide soon on how you'll make a public appearance to capture the hearts of the people. (11/4/2017)
2. Invite Marchovic on adventures next time there's a chance.
3. Mim said "When are you going to tell her?" Tell what to whom?

>To Kara!

If we need to be speedy about it we can get a faster ride back on doggo back.

>Other? (write-in)
Secure that bucket against being used upon you.

>>2340245
>To Kara!

I have forgotten whether my voting windows were 30m or an hour.

Gonna start writing anyway since we seem at a consensus!

File: 1379805764074.jpg (148 KB, 1680x1050)

148 KB JPG

Missed the vote but checking in anyway!

With your flame haired Testament retreating to her own business, that just left you to get moving for your own appointment. It was getting a little late, but you don't think it'd been too long since night had fallen. Since you'd never specified when, exactly, you were showing up... It'd be fine, right?

Before that, though...

Fen had lived his entire life as a simple clothier before the Crown's repossession left him, and many others, bereft of a home. It was a stroke of fortune that he and his girlfriend - Now fiancée - had fallen in with Dullem, and found themselves coming together with a purpose again. That purpose had been pretty vague in retrospect, and he still found himself a little amazed that things had turned out as well as they had in the end.

Having seen the sky split apart when that Alouette woman cut down an actual tornado, Fen was rather appreciative of his own mortality. He'd seen that same woman overlooking the ramparts from time to time during their ill-fated siege of Caylen Valen's estate, and it was a humbling experience to realize what could have been. That he had gone on to not only avoid the bizarre fate of the camp, but also survive that nightmarish tree monster's assault...

Needless to say, Fen was happy with his lot in life. He'd some talent at arithmetic and decent handwriting, but lacked the confidence to speak up. It was only at his to-be wife's urgings that he volunteered himself as a secretary for Miss Lamandra, and with a few strange exceptions, he'd found the job much more fulfilling than anything else he'd done. Handling papers, meeting with important people, and working together with some of the biggest movers and shakers in La'Fiel was nothing short of mindblowing.

Although, there were times where he was reminded what sort of divide there really was between a simple serf like him, and the nobility.

Miss Lamandra had asked him to fill a bucket with water and bring it inside an hour ago. It was a strange request, but she asked for nothing which wasn't necessary in some manner, so he did so. Not even five minutes after he had sat back down, did he watch that diminuitive maid walk back outside with the very same bucket.

She wouldn't explain why. She rarely spoke to anyone besides Ser Valen and Miss Lamandra, so even asking in the first place was a futile effort. Still, she apparently outranked nearly everyone, so she must have had a reason.

Some time later, the bucket was brought back in by Miss Lamandra, taken back out by the maid, and then brought back in again, this time with a one-sided argument breaking out between them over where it would stay. By the end, the bucket had apparently been granted occupancy in the house once and for all...

But now, Fen watched from his desk as the curiously attractive noble he'd sworn fealty to waddled out the front door with a familiar bucket of water in their arms, flanked by both the Maid and that wooden monster's master.

He still didn't understand the purpose of the bucket, and at this point he was a little afraid to ask. It was hard to imagine what sort of importance something like that could have to cause so many important people to be fixated on it, and frankly, it was probably above his paygrade.

Now where was that tally Miss Lamandra asked for...

Having properly secured the bucket from being used against you, you set out to finally meet with your demihuman Testament and her pack. Refreshingly cool night air touched against your skin as you moved further from the recovered town's edges, and further from the heat of torchlight and bustling bodies.

The town was starting to wind down for the night, in preparation for another early morning of plinking away at seemingly endless piles of debris. They needed to finish reclaiming the town itself before they could even start to reclaim their disrupted lives... A process you could shorten substantially if your plan to get some raw resources on your own pulled through.

"Yo! Welcome back." A smaller figure distinguished itself from the dark, arms held loosely in its pockets. The voice itself was a dead giveaway of its identity, but Raid's distinctive features quickly revealed themselves as he approached. "Sis said you'd be coming out tonight. Something about renegotiations?"

"You're my guide, then?" You glanced around habitually, finding little else resembling a person in the area. "More of a reassignment than renegotiation. I need to ask her if something is feasable or not."

"Good to know we're not getting trashed already." Kara's little brother snarked, his nose raised to the air as he sniffed curiously. "...What's that smell?"

"I managed to scrounge up some apples for your sister." You motioned vaguely towards Asche, and a small satchel on her back. "Or Asche did, rather. And your sister is my Testament. As long as she's the Alpha, I'll find uses for your pack."

"Good to know, boss." Raid shrugged, turning on his heel as he waved you after him. "Come on, we've set up further out."

>Follow Raid
>Send Raid to bring Kara here
>Talk to Raid (about?)
>Other

>>2340459
>>Follow Raid
He's sleazy, but not outright untrustworthy, it should be fine.

>He still didn't understand the purpose of the bucket, and at this point he was a little afraid to ask.
It's good to have you back.

>>2340459
>Follow Raid
Nothing bad will happen if we show our face to an allied party.
...Right?

File: 1509257543159.png (203 KB, 572x648)

203 KB PNG

>>2340475
I'm happy to be running again. Also bracing for the next bullshit reason to crop up that makes the next thread take two months to show up.

>>2340475
Also
>potentially large amounts of missing dead bodies
That's not suspicious at all.. With Dryad properly asleep again, it shouldn't be as likely, but I recall oakenbears come from unburied corpses.

But I haven't finished the archive yet

>>2340459
>>Send Raid to bring Kara here

>>2340514
It's probably not important anon, nothing in the past ever gets brought up again.

>>2340522
yeah but

Irue just keeps making a new problem when trying to fix another and I wanna know what happened

>>2340459
>Follow raid
> throw him an apple
>try to get his opinion on how things are going

>>2340459
>Follow Raid

>>2340240
You came back!

>>2340456
Wow, someone actually find us attractive.

>>2340459
>Follow Raid
>Talk to Raid about the demihuman olfactory sense
Could they find bodies under the ruins?

Reminder that the Web can't get into a closed building. Maybe some of the ruins were too dense?

>>2340565
Flat chest is justice. May as well flaunt it.

>>2340570
You can't flaunt a chest if you don't have a chest.

>>2340475
>>2340476
>>2340539
>>2340561
>>2340565
Following Raid! He's a good boy, nothing will go wrong!

>>2340516
Being suspicious of our friend!

>>2340539
>>2340565
Apples, current events, and sense of smell!

Writing!

"So how do you think things are going?" You hold your hand aside while following the young demihuman, The slight weight of a retrieved apple filling your palm moments later.

"What kind of things?" Raid shot back with a fanged grin, childishly twirling around to walk backwards so he could face you. "Reconstruction's gonna take a while, but you're following me into a trap without a hitch, so I guess I can't complain."

"Demihuman integration." You chucked an apple at his face. Raid's grin momentarily spread after your reaction, but shifted thoughtfully as he regarded the fruit.

"You know how that's going already. That's why we're being reassigned, isn't it?" He sniffed the apple, biting off a chunk of it before continuing his response mid-chew. "What kind of idiot thinks people are going to just accept a pack of demihumans out of nowhere?"

"The kind with the option of making them." You deadpan.

"Worked out well for them, didn't it?" He shot back irreverently. "We're staying out of trouble, at least. That's all you wanted to know, right?"

"There's a mountain of complaints that claim otherwise." You think bgack to the pile tied off next to Rinnier's desk. "So someone is lying."

"Is it the pack of demihumans? Or the town that hates the demihumans they've been forced to work with?"

Raid's eyes sparkled roguishly, but you just sighed and shook your head. For all his taunts, you couldn't feel any real malice behind the barbs. More over, he made the very point you were considering yourself. "I haven't ruled out 'both'. I'd hoped to shed some light on that tonight, but I've got some ideas regardless."

"Well you can always ask my Sis. She'll tell you we're playing nice."

"She would." You agree neutrally, "But she also can't be everywhere. I imagine she elected someone she trusted to help with that."

"Ehehe..." He chuckled at the obvious accusation. "You think I'm playing dirty behind your backs?"

"Are you?" You arch a brow, but the pointed question doesn't so much as flinch his careless smile.

"If I said 'no' would you believe me?"

>Yes
>No

>>2340683
>Yes
>But I'd ask for a little more than just your word

>>2340683
>>Yes

>>2340683
>>No

>>2340683
>It depends.

>>2340601
No

>>2340705
>>2340683

>>2340683
>deflect
Don't give him shit

>>2340683
>Yes

>>2340688
>>2340690
>>2340716
We trust you!

>>2340695
>>2340705
Who would trust a demihuman?

>>2340698
>>2340713
Changing the subject.

This is a suspiciously large amount of votes. I'll get writing.

>>2340731
Almost like you have more than four players, innit?

"If I didn't, would there be any point in asking?" You counter, eliciting a shrug from your demihuman guide. "So what's your answer?"

"Maro may not like you, but I'm not keen on biting the hand that feeds." The apple in his hand crack as his fangs tore off more of its flesh. "He might be causing problems, but not on our watch. The others... Well, it's a task to keep 'em on task, but they're not stupid. They ain't got nowhere to run if things go bad."

"Not even a little pity for your former Alpha?" You tilted your head.

"I know you guys call us dogs, but we don't do 'loyalty'." Raid snorted derisively, "The Alpha is whoever's capable of managing our best interests most effectively. Maro lost the rights to that title when he pissed you off, blondie. I'll tell you everything he does from now on, if you're interested."

He may not have been loyal, but the readiness with which he aimed to throw his former Alpha under the cart certainly spoke towards something else... Though you couldn't quite put your finger on what. Did he blame Maro for what happened to the pack? Did something like that even matter? Or was it more personal...?

"I don't know that it will matter after tonight." You change the subject without addressing the offer, unwilling to play ball while your mind was on other things. "How good is your nose?"

"Good enough to find you." He joked cheekily, "Whatcha need it for?"

"Do you think you could find buried bodies?"

"How buried we talking?" Raid's eyes sharpened, even as his tone remained light. Seems he smelled business to be had. "There's a bit of a sweet spot to finding them."

"Ones still lost in the wreckage. I can lead you to some of them, but there's not as many there should be."

"So you want us to bury more!" He snapped his fingers in faux understanding, snickering at your flat reaction. "Jokes aside, might be tough. That sweet spot I mentioned? It's when they start rotting. They smell awful, and it ain't fun to sniff them out, but it's real easy when it starts happening... After a while though, that smell just gets into everything. I reckon anything still down there positively reeks by now."

"So you'd have difficulty pinpointing any extra bodies..." You muttered in understanding.

"Right-O. Not saying it's impossible, but it'll take some digging."

That might be something worthwhile to put them on while you were confirming expedition arrangements. You needed that space cleared for reconstruction anyway, so the extra digging was a convenient headstart on that. "I'll keep that in mind."

Raid made a face at that, wrinkling his nose disgustedly. "My best interests are suddenly telling me I don't want to smell dead ass for a week."

You didn't bother to respond.

"Yo, 'Rue!" You arrived at a clearing containing Kara and the rest of her emotionally-crippled pack in short order, catching a fanged grin from Raid as he bound ahead to greet his sister. You couldn't help but note the way his knees buckled under the 'gentle' hair ruffling he received - An action that brought back neck rending memories of your own experience with Kara's affection. "Y'made it!"

"I got tied up in something. Is this everyone?"

"Yup!" Kara's chest puffed out proudly as her tail elicited a familiar 'paft'ing. "We're ready an' listenin'!"

Unfortunately, the rest of said pack didn't seem to share that enthusiasm. Her pack hadn't been extensive in the first place, but after their clash with the Revenant, and the ensuing month of depression, only a handful of them really remained... And their mental health was debatable, to put it generously. She'd proudly told you that they hadn't tried to kill themselves recently, which you guess could be construed as recovery... To some degree. Lack of suicidal impulse, however, did nothing to engender any affection for you in their hearts. Or, indeed, any overall happiness about their circumstances at all.

Once again you were forced to wonder about Raid's status as an outlier. He'd suffered the same effects they had, but had snapped back with remarkably more resilience.

"So, whatcha got for us, 'Rue?" Her wagging tail slowed, but refused to fully cease. Enthusiasm or not, it did seem you at least had their attention.

>Whatcha got them, 'Rue?

>>2340827
I don't think the pack should help with digging bodies. I don't think people will appreciate their loved ones dead bodies being "defiled" by demi humans.

So I think all we wanted was to assign them to patrol duty outside the town. The results of that will be interesting.

The other thing was that I wanted to ask what they wanted to do and what they wanted in general. You know to see if there's still some motivation left in them. But I would'nt be suprised if only Kara and Raid give us any input.

File: .jpg (19 KB, 322x232)

19 KB JPG

>>2340240
>Valen
It's my favorite time of the season! There will be a summer, autumn and winter thread too this year, right?

>>2340514
>>2340526
Welcome, and ready your aspirin. No matter where you are in the story, it's going to get worse but do try to enjoy it!

>>2340522
That's not funny

>>2340827
Kara, I've found all the dead bodies left in town and we need to dig them up, but there are not enough. Bodies are missing and I want to know why and to where.
After that I want to ask you to patrol outside of the village and later, to the mountains if my plans there pan out.

>>2340827
>You're gonna be punching griffons soon.
>Also we need to find some dead bodies that aren't where they should be.

>>2340840
We can compromise; demihumans dig the ruins, knights retrieve the bodies.

File: Its getting worse!.png (11 KB, 575x109)

11 KB PNG

>>2340853
>It's my favorite time of the season!
I am being bullied.

>>2340840
Kara needs to dig, her super strength is like a wrecking ball and construction crane, all in one body. She'll work with the knights and the rest of the pack is on sniffing duty. I'ts not out of the question that the bodies have been taken down into the mine or atelier tunnels or even out into the forest somehow.

Or just eaten by Grues, who knows?

>>2340858
I think we can stand to involve the Shrine too, they do the whole burial business don't they? Having their adepts should soften the blow of Kara's presence in the effort.

>>2340860
Absolutely

>>2340860
No doubt.

>>2340840
>>2340858
>>2340853
Patrol duty, mountain expedition, griffon punching, Kara digging up dead bodies! ...And their dreams!

Writing!

"A change of plans for one. I'm taking you off of the reconstruction effort." You paused for a response, but silence reigned. It wasn't even a tense one, they seemed to just be waiting. "I'd like you to act like a patrol on the borders, keeping us updated on anyone suspicious coming or going."

You'd already discussed this with Kara previously, and she seemed confident in it. "That's part of the plan, at least. I'll also need a few of you to help with an excavation effort elsewhere for the time being. Kara, I'll be relying on you specifically for that."

"Can do, 'Rue!" She tapped her fist against her chest confidently. "S'not gonna be many of us for patrols if we're splittin' up, though..."

True to form, her pack was... Diminuitive. Asking them to patrol the entirety of Carona's borders on their own would leave some serious gaps, much less if you split them up. You didn't even technically have the authority to decide how her Pack would organize itself, so it was a moot point in the end. "As long as you can get it done, I'll leave the details up to you."

Though she nodded, her gaze subtly flickered towards Raid.

"If all goes well though, you'll be leaving Carona entirely." You forged along for now, broaching the topic of your bodyguard plan. "There are potentially raw resources just waiting to be unearthed, but getting them will be dangerous. Have any of you ever seen a griffon?" You looked around the clearing, receiving exactly zero response. Kara herself wore an oblivious expression. You felt this reaction should have disappointed you a little, but at the same time... You'd never seen a griffon either. "Think of them like big birds. They'll be one of the many things you'd be on guard for."

"How big we talkin'?" Kara rocked back and forth on her heels, a note of curiosity lilting through her voice. "Birds aren't so bad."

"Alouette tells me they have a history of carrying off bears."

The first reaction you got out of Kara's pack was the pleasure of seeing their faces jerk in synch towards Kara, with a sense of growing horror matched only by the sheer joy in your demihuman Testament's eyes.

"Y'can count on us, 'Rue!"
"What, no!"

Raid loudly interjected his doubt on the matter. "Sis, we can't fight things like that! It'll kill us all!"

"Aww, no it won't!" Kara whined pitifully, "I can totally take that."

"What about the rest of us?!"

"....Oh." Her wagging tail came to a disappointed stop as her brow furrowed in deep contemplation. For some time the clearing remained silent, her pack's breath held as they waited for Kara to pass down her final decision.

"'Rue," She spoke up somberly, "I think they'll die."

"...That would be a problem." You agree with a straight face, very nearly losing it when Kara nodded seriously. "I hadn't planned on sending you up there alone, though. You would be serving as a guard for the rest of the knights. If a Griffon really does attack, they'll be there to back you up."

"We're supposed to rely on a bunch of humans to keep us from being birdfood?" Maro's dissatisfied grunt joined the conversation. "They're more likely to feed us to the beasts." Unwelcome as his opposition was, it seemed as if he'd spoken what the rest were thinking... The distrust between demihuman and human certainly wasn't a one way street, to be sure.

"If y'just need extra muscle, I could go m'self." Kara suggested after a moment, "Sounds fun, at least."

"Not an option." Your arms crossed steadfastly. "They aren't just humans, they'll be my knights. They will support you."

"Fat lot of good that'll do us." Maro groused. "If they were worth a damn, why send us in the first place?"

"Oi." Kara growled a warning towards the former-Alpha, "If I say we go, we go."

"If you say we go, we die." Maro snarled back, "All because you wanted to be some human's pet bitch."

Kara's lip curled back dangerously, leaving you fighting the instinct to take a step back from the violence you felt creeping closer. There wasn't a doubt in your mind that your Testament would wipe the grassy floor with him in a fight, but the look of her packmates shared his same sentiments. Even though she'd win... It would be useless. This wasn't a dispute she could simply beat into the ground.

"Is there a reason we all have to go?" Raid spoke up suddenly, "Sis is right, if you wanted protection, she's the only one who needs to go." He didn't stray far from his sister's side, but his interference had defused the inevitable conflict... If only for the moment.

>How to answer this?

>>2341024
>I'm not sending you to fight griffons. I'm sending you to scout for griffons so everyone can stay as far away from them as possible.
>Kara can fight one if she wants though.
Those griffons sound a bit bigger than I thought. To protect caravans efficiently, we'll probably need a campaign of preventative griffon extermination (by Kara and/or Adepts).
I think Raid is gunning for the pack leadership. We need to be wary of him and never separate Kara from the pack for long.

>>2341031
Guess everyone else died. Writing!

"If Kara wants to fight a griffon, that's entirely up to her." You take the opportunity to measure your words, "But even with all of you, and my knights, fighting something that big is a death sentence. People would die every time, no matter who won. I'm not interested in wasting lives just for an expedition."

"What can the rest of us do that she alone can't?" Raid pressed, "If it's just guard duty, we both know she's worth more than all of us combined."

"If she were fighting I'd agree, but I'm more interested in your nose. Any one of you would smell something coming well before a human. That forewarning is worth more to me than an extra set of hands, even ones as strong as hers."

"And if we do encounter a griffon? Or anything else?" Kara's younger brother tested the waters tentatively. Or so it would seem. You got the impression he was on board with the effort the moment you explained their role as scouts... So this wasn't for him at all.

"Like I said, if Kara wants to fight it, that's up to her. I don't expect the rest of you to do anything my knights aren't willing to do themselves." You glanced around the clearing, peering through the darkness to get a glimpse of the surviving packmates as you spoke. "As long as everyone stays safe, and you don't take unnecessary risks, handle threats as the situation dictates."

"And that's why you need all of us." Raid concluded satisfactorily, "You're sending all your little knights, so you need us to cover every direction."

"Among other things." You agreed vaguely. "Consider it a training exercise, if you want."

"Training?" Maro scoffed, drawing another snarl from your Testament as her tail bristled. You'd not had time to get to know the former-Alpha before the Revenant had taken its toll, but you knew from his position alone that he couldn't have been stupid. He obviously knew that provoking Kara would end badly for him, but still he toed that line.

...Why?

"Training for what?" Raid picked up the slack again, curiosity evidently getting the better of him. "If it's scout work, most of us have experience already."

Since you had his attention... You may as well secure your grasp on the others.

"What do you want?" You locked eyes with the bandana'd youth, favouring him with a calculated smirk. "What do any of you want?" From one broken demihuman to the next. From Maro's resentful glower, to Raid's lost confusion. To your Testament-

"Can I have those apples?"

"..."

You motion to Asche to turn over her satchel of salvaged fruits, subtly rolling your eyes in the process. "As I was saying, what is it that you all want? You can't have been working with Carona's previous mayor because you agreed with him, and I can't imagine anyone liking the man. He had something. Something you wanted. Something you needed to get what you wanted."

Crimson eyes flashed predatorily from face to despondent face. "You were all bandits and thugs. You lived your entire lives as criminals and outcasts, taking dirty jobs and putting up with the scorn of people - Humans - That you obviously hated as much as they hated you... Why?"

...You didn't get an answer. You hadn't expected one, anyway. What mattered wasn't the response, but the act of saying it in the first place.

You still feel as if the effect would have been more profound if the silence wasn't being dispelled by the sound of apples being bitten apart, and some continuous 'paft' onomatopoeia.

"If you do this well, you'll be better prepared for what comes next."

Maro spit disdainfully, kicking off his tree with little preamble as he wandered from the group. In his wake, where you expected inspiration, or curiosity at minimum, you found only minor changes within the majority of the pack... And cryptic, evaluating expression from Raid.

He smiled suddenly, the shift in gears occuring so rapidly that you had to wonder if there was any legitimacy behind the act at all. "Well, it's up to you Sis."

"Mhmm." She mumbled some manner of acknowledgement through cheekfuls of apple.

>Talk to Kara (about?)
>To the Shrine
>Do something else (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

The skyfire has risen at some point during writing that, so I am withdrawing. Voting stays open till I can get back.

>>2341338
>Talk to Kara
What does she know about the history of demihumans? Do they have any folklore or something?
Also why does she think Raid recovered so much faster.
And about Maro's recent behavior. How does she interpret it?

>>2341338
>>To the Shrine

>>2341338
>>To the Shrine

>>2341338

>>2341447
Seconding this , though include Raid in these questions. Also tell Kara we think Maro is up to something, ask if they're planning to do anything about him and recommend caution.

>>2341447
>>2341829
This is Kara we're talking about. She who is unsubtle and not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. We can ask her about this stuff, but be careful in the asking, and don't expect much in the way of an answer.

>>2341338
I have no idea what is happening.

>>2341991
Something bad, no doubt.

>>2341991
Well better figure it out before it bites us in the ass.

>>2341338
What kind of living quarters does the pack have? I don't think it would hurt their opinion of us if we set them up in something with standards. They need to be rewarded for their work before shit happens.

>Let me know if it looks like Maro is up to no good
And for god's sake, have a human spy on him too and don't take reports at face value without confirmation.

>Prepare for the meeting with the shrine
It's good to be prepared right? We're going to talk to gnome adepts about a geological survey, wisp? About assisting in recovering corpses. Should we reveal that we have magic and mention that there are not enough bodies still in the city? Shade adepts may be suited to exploring the mine beneath the town to look for clues.

Mim... Just look her in the eye and tell her that we must break the promise. What we found was a buried secret and we cannot tell her because knowing will put her life in danger. Her adept powers will show her that we tell the truth. Also make sure that she promise to forget about it.

File: Spoiler Image (499 KB, 1407x300)

499 KB PNG

>>2341447
>>2341829
>>2342362
Talking to Kara! And Raid?

>>2341462
>>2341648
Shrineward bound.

>>2342362
I don't know how Irue would prepare, anon. What you're going to do and talk about there is something you guys would have to discuss amongst yourselves.

Writing!

File: 1458581963137.png (1.17 MB, 1488x1137)

1.17 MB PNG

Going to get this update out and probably take a nap and some tylenol. I feel all fucked up.

>>2342923
I hoped they someone would talk to me. I just want to prevent us from marching up the steps without a clue on what to actually do when we arrive

Well, that was... something. You watched as the motley assembly of demihumans started to split up after it became apparent the meeting was over. "So?" Kara turned away from Maro's previous direction, tail swishing somewhat irritably as she faced you.

"So what?"

"What's your decision?" Your foot tapped patiently along the dew laden grass. "I have Dullem already talking to the knights about whether they're willing to work with you or not."

"Y'think they'll agree?" Kara scratched at her cheek, rubbing away a trace of splattered apple juice. "I don't think they're all sold here, either..."

"Should be fine, shouldn't it?" Raid piped up, "As long as we don't actually have to fight a griffon, it's no worse than anything else we've done."

"...Kinda wanted to fight a griffon." Your Testament grumbled unhappily, "S'pose you got a point though, I think we can handle it, 'Rue."

"If this pans out, don't hesitate to talk things over with Dullem. I'll be relying on the two of you to coordinate things." You thought back to your erstwhile knight captain, and wondered how his own efforts were going. The mistrust was a shared sentiment, and Dullem wasn't exactly a firm hand at arguing something. "We'll talk more about it once I know for sure it's a possibility. I've still got some people I need to talk to before the night's over."

"We're on patrol startin' tomorrow, aren't we?" Kara perked up, "What kinda stuff are we lookin' for?"

"Brigands. Merchants. Anyone suspicious coming or going, really." You weren't sure what there would be to find, but having eyes on the area was better than being blind, and more useful than agitating the townsfolk besides. "Try and keep out of sight, or inconspicuous. Last thing we need are merchants getting spooked." You pinch the bridge of your nose vexxedly at the thought of having to fight even harder to get supplies into the town. "Kara, I'll need you elsewhere for a bit."

You go over your plan to have Kara help dig out the dead. She seemed about as enthusiastic about it as Raid did, but seems confident she can get it done.

"It'll be nice t'have a break, I guess." She stretches tiredly, taking special care not to crush what remained of the apple in her hand. "Nice, easy work. Nothin' to think 'bout. I didn't think bein' Alpha was gonna be this hard."

"Being responsible for people is exhausting." You agree wholeheartedly, "You did what you had to, though. They're still alive, and they've got you to thank for that."

"Ehehehe..." She grinned toothily.

"Speaking of leading, seems like Maro's giving you trouble."

"Ech." She grimaced as if someone'd stuck a lemon in her mouth. "He's been gettin' better lately."

"That was 'better'?" You pose archly.

"Well he's feelin' better, at least." She amended, "An' ain't quit bein' a pain my tail since. He don't approve of me bein' Alpha."

That much was obvious. He'd been against her taking the role from day one, even piss drunk as he was. You wouldn't be surprised if he was forcibly dragging himself out of his own depression out of sheer indignation over Kara's usurpation. "Anything in particular he's got a problem with?"

"Yeah," Kara snorted, "You."

"He could always take it up with me." You offered flatly, recalling your limited interaction with the man. He'd treated you as a nuissance as a first impression, and had his entire life abruptly and thoroughly destroyed because of it. If he held a grudge against you, he had plenty of ground to stand on to do so... Not that it elicited any pity from you over it.

It wasn't a matter of justifying what you'd done to him, or the rest of his - Now Kara's - pack. You crushed them beneath your heel, and would have finished the job had Kara not begged you to stop. You'd do it again in a heartbeat if it weren't for your Testament.

Kara shrugged helplessly, mercifully ignorant of the direction your thoughts had taken. "S'not that simple, 'Rue."

"It's never simple." You sigh, "Your pack's politics aren't really my business, but if there's anything I can do to help..."

"You helping might make it worse." Raid suggested crossly, waiting until he had your attention before continuing. "You're the problem in the first place, you know?"

"What did I do?"

"You don't get it, do you?" His grin stretched out slowly, "Even after that speech earlier? No one throws their weight around like that accidentally."

"..." Your lips pursed, waiting for him to get to the point.

"As long as we work for you, we don't have to scrounge out dirty jobs, or wonder where our next check is coming from. We can walk around in broad daylight, in town, and people just have to deal with it."

"And that's... Bad." You quirk a golden brow at the boy skeptically.

"Coming from the monster that swept in and crushed everything we worked for... Yeah." Raid's eyes glinted impishly, "It's terrifying. You're dangerous, and Maro doesn't gamble."

"He wants out." Kara chimed in bluntly, "Most of 'em ain't too sure 'bout what we're doin', but it seems t'be workin' out? An' if they left now, we're all back at th' start."

Raid wove his fingers together behind his head. It looked like he had more to say, but decided to keep his peace. In the meantime, that left the question of what you could actually do to help Kara... If anything. They appreciated the authority, and power behind your employment but... They were afraid of you? Or they couldn't understand you.

"Keep an eye on Maro. If he's going to do anything drastic..." You let the implication hang in the air. The two before you hummed in acknowledgement, rendering completion moot. "Speaking of feeling better though, you snapped back quicker than anyone, Raid."

"Survival of the fittest!" He sniffed proudly, "I'm-erk!"

Kara physically ripped the smaller demihuman off his feet and tugged him into a headlock. "I am th' best big sister." You watched on in some small amount of concern as he struggled futilely, "I nursed him back t'health an' made sure he'd be fine 'fore I left him alone!"

The struggle continued apace without any ray of hope for the sandy haired demihuman in your Testament's grip, and by the time she'd started nuzzling him, you weren't sure if the red on his face was due to blushing, or the lack of air.

"Didn't you force feed him Faedka that whole time?"

"Yep."

You didn't have the energy to argue over the pros and cons of treating suicidal depression with alcohol distilled from the blood of a psychotic Mana that embodied life. Or the expertise, for that matter.

Still, she had fed the faedka to all of her surviving pack, and while it'd certainly served as a bandage, you couldn't be sure if their eventual recovery was a natural result, or if the drink had legitimately helped heal them somehow. If it were the latter, then Raid's recovery was still an outlier... but even if it was the former, was he naturally just more resilient due to his youth?

"Let... Go of... me!"

You feel like there was some key component you were missing.

"So, I've been curious. Do demihumans have any history?" Your conversation resumed shortly after Raid succeeded in prying his way to freedom. "Like stories, or folklore?"

"I dunno." Kara shrugged expectedly. "no one ever told me about 'em if we do. Raid?"

"Don't look at me." He held his hand out to forestall any questions, retying his bandana in place. "I didn't hear any growing up in the pack. Ask Sasha."

"Sasha?" Your ears perk up at a name you hadn't heard before.

"Aye, you saw him earlier." Kara nodded thoughtfully, "Ah yeah, Sasha wasn't born with us. Guess if his old pack had stories, he might know."

"So you really didn't have any stories about your parents, or famous demihumans in the past?" You tried to imagine what it was like to grow up like that. You'd practically lived in your library, even if it wasn't strictly about history. Your lineage itself was a matter of inherent pride, for that matter. "Nobility must seem strange to demihumans."

"Stupid more like." Raid snarked, "Demihumans decide our packs based on who's the best suited for leading, not because someone raped some important big shot."

"That's... Not how human mating works." You're not sure you want to go into explaining traditional courtship to Raid. "And it's not how nobility works, either. We are the best suited to lead the people, which is why we they put their faith in us to do so."

"Why are you so good at it?" The demihuman queried doubtfully.

"We're trained from birth to do it, by our parents who pass down their experience."

"So what makes you any better at leading than some human out in the country?"

"I have skills and experience they wouldn't, obviously." You frown at the circular line of questioning. "Farmers wouldn't know how to lead a country any more than I'd know how to farm."

"So what's blood got to do with it?" Raid asked flippantly, "Why not just go learn to farm, or lead a bunch of people, or whatever?"

"It isn't nearly that simple." You shake your head dismissively. "Putting aside how long an outsider would have to study to even compare to a family that passes down their skills, there's grooming for temperament, and the importance of social networking to build alliances. Not to mention the process of passing on the responsibilities smoothly between generations - Can you imagine how little would get done if we just arbitrarily changed our leaders every four years?"

Raid just shrugged. "It still seems dumb to me. Demihumans don't care who their parents are."

"Yes, and look which one of us erected major nations across the continent." You deadpan. "The Shrine elects its Representatives similar to the way you're suggesting, and there's a literal child currently in charge of Carona's Luna Dominion because of it."

"Isn't the Shrine a really big deal to you humans? They churn out those Adept freaks, and they're pretty dangerous. Seems like they're doing pretty good for themselves, to me."

"That's because they're overseen by the Mana." You sigh tiredly, "It's very literally run by divine mandate."

"Still seems smarter than rolling a lewd lottery for your spot in life."

"Just... Ask this Sasha about stories for me." You rubbed your temple, rapidly losing the motivation to debate societal structure semantics with Kara's younger brother in the middle of the night. You still had too much to do to be tired this early. "Where are you sleeping, anyway? I thought we were going to meet where you were camped."

Kara shrugged. "We sleep outside, mostly. S'warm enough."

"..."

"Asche, remind me to..." You walked off, sighing as your train of thought came up wanting. "Tell Fen to fix that later."

"Yes."

>How are you going to approach Mim?

File: 1380698715131.gif (1.18 MB, 300x188)

1.18 MB GIF

>>2343582
>How are you going to approach Mim?
First off, this is a conversation that needs to happen in private. Secondly, we have a distinct lack of martial prowess; if this goes pear shaped, we need an exit strategy. We're literally telling the lead Adept that we're working against their Mana; we need a backup plan. I wasn't in favor of telling her about this mess in the first place, so I'm not real sure how to proceed beyond that.


>>2343578
>You feel like there was some key component you were missing.
>pic related

>>2343600
First of all, I think we need to warn Mim that we learned something Luna doesn't want to be known, and ask her whether she wants to actually know it. Then, we can work from that.
Don't tell her about Ari being infected in any case.

By the way, could we order a landing tower for our teleport to be built right now? I want them to start building as soon as possible, and I don't know when we'll get an opportunity to issue the order.

>>2343600
We are not telling her /any/ details, for both our safety

>>2343673
I don't want to give a child a choice in the matter. Hell if we tell her the is a good chance she will become a vector and infect Luna.

It is too big of a risk, promises be damned. If we are correct and the whole world is in danger and we should act accordingly and at least try to be a responsible adult.

>>2343714
I don't think someone could become infected just by knowing it exists.

>>2343582
Don't share anything, just honestly state up front that we can't keep our promise because it turned out to be something we can't just go talking about, apologize. Maybe mention that it's a Valen family duty to keep our mouth shut but definitely don't go into any more detail than that.

>>2343719
>>2343582
>"I'm sorry, I wish things were different."

>>2343582
>>2343673
I agree with this fag.

>>2343757
Thank you, fellow fag.

https://youtu.be/r_7iRVtxui8

Imprisoned child theme?

If my ID has changed, I am >>2343674

>>2343715
But that's exactly how it works, mate. And remember that the delegation murdered everyone, genocided the Dryad's followers just to be on the safe side. What possible reason do we have to believe that they won't do the same to everyone around us if they get the notion that we are afflicted?

Telling someone affiliated with Luna is the dumbest fucking thing we can possibly do, and especially so if we care about them, or anyone else around us for that matter.

>>2343719
This is good. Her Luna powers ought to show that this is the honest truth.

>>2343673
I second the landing tower. If people need a better reason than that we can make it tall enough to be a lookout tower and like, put a mail pigeon roost at the top.

>>2343673
>could we order a landing tower for our teleport to be built right now?
I don't think so; people are still lacking housing. Ordering a tower built won't go over well.

>>2344018
We can place the order and have the schematics drawn and zone the area so that it can actually be built later. We don't need it built before the restoration effort is complete but we need to prepare.

>>2344018
Simple answer.

Multipurpose construction.

>>2343582
>>How are you going to approach Mim?
Sexually.

File: October-18-2011-20-12-49-(...).jpg (55 KB, 750x600)

55 KB JPG

>>2344140

>>2344155
What year is it?

>>2343582
>How are you going to approach Mim?
Gently

>>2343600
>>2343674
>>2343719
A private conversation, with an escape strategy! You don't even want to talk to Mim about this.

>>2343673
>>2343757
Tell mim a little, and then let her decide if we should tell her more! But not about Ari.

>>2344140
>>2344372
Please don't take advantage of the child, anons.

>>2343673
>>2344002
>>2344088
We want a tower!

>>2344018
Towers take up precious resources!
---

Looks like we're breaking our promise and making plans for a tower!

Writing!

>>2343856
I thought this was a joke, but laughed harder the longer I listened to it. Good job, anon; Even if it wasn't before, I'm going to remember this song as its theme now.

You'd put it off this long, but in the end you'd still found yourself standing at the foot of the Shrine's stairway. Countless scenarios for how this would go had played out in the back of your mind ever since leaving the Atelier, but not once had they left you with any sense of peace. Not after what you had learned... And what it could mean.

To tell her what happened in the Imprisoned Child's Atelier could put Rinnier and her people in danger. Even the suggestion that they had been contaminated would likely be enough to warrant a heartless sweep by Luna's Dominion, just as they had with Dryad's Dominion so long ago... And by that logic, Ari's very existence as a potential Dryad Adept would almost certainly end in violence. You'd toyed with the idea of telling Mim the risks and letting her decide herself - Of the possibility that she'd keep your secrets, and you could still be honest with her.

You'd never been able to discard it. Not because it was likely, but because it was the only way you could imagine being able to keep your promise to her, and make up with the child that had born the brunt of your wrath and asked only for friendship in return. It was hope that kept you coming back to it; Hope that it was still possible. Stubborn, bruised hope that staunchly refused to throw away the seeds of a relationship you barely understood, but found yourself wanting regardless.

Hope, which had ultimately been buried under the same churning gears and cold logic that had driven you this far. Nothing Mim offered, or represented, could compare to the responsibility you held for your Testament. You couldn't afford to gamble their lives over something as worthless as some vague hope that Mim wouldn't betray you. Even if she didn't betray you, the information alone was too dangerous to be handled lightly; Telling the little Luna Adept may put her in just as much danger as your Testament.

You'd left Ari with instructions to relay to Fen, sending Asche along with her to ensure they'd make it back to headquarters. It was just you now, and the resolve to make the decision you'd slowly come to realize had been the only possible choice in the first place.

"Irue!"

Barely a foot inside the threshold, she'd spotted you. A precocious child sitting under the looming tree which made up the center of the Shrine's interior, otherwise known as the Representative of the entire Dominion of Luna for this Shrine. Was it a coincidence that she had been there watching the door? Or patience?

"Welcome back, what took you so long?"

"Things took longer than expected. How have things been in Carona?"

"Funny." Mim returned your vague answer with one of her own, a mischevious smile alight on her face. "We can talk about it somewhere else, if you want." You blink at the sudden offer, but she just shrugs. "You've been looking around ever since you came in. Let's go somewhere else, kay?"

She took you by the hand, pulling you back towards her office. It was a place you knew would be private, but it was also an ill-fit for you if things were to go badly. There was only one way in and out, and you'd have to dash through the entirety of the Shrine's central clearing to escape.

...But being outside was just as dangerous in its own way. In the end, if you had any reason to have to physically flee the Shrine, you doubted an escape route would avail you much.

Mim scurried through the familiar mess that was her office right after pulling you inside, quickly picking up the pile of books she'd left stacked in one of the chairs and hauling them over to a corner. You looked around the discombobulated room with some exasperation, noting the disorganized pages and scrawled doodles left to the chaos.

It had been messy when you were last here, but nothing to this extent. Where the scent of ink and paper had filled it before, giving the small office the feeling of a library, now you kept catching whiffs of some sort of sweet confectionary. "I'll be done in a bit- Hey, wanna cookie?"

"How many cookies have you had in here?" You sniff tentatively, trying to parse out the flavours. Kara would have had a field day.

"Uh..." Her voice trailed off guiltily, interrupted by the plop of a books hitting the ground. "A lot?"

"Where did you even get that much sugar..." You took a seat in the now cleared chair, looking over some of the doodles left in disarray upon her desk. Scrawls and lines which you couldn't decipher at a glance, but doubtlessly held some meaning. Those blessed by Luna's favour recorded their thoughts in shapes and images as well as words, after all. It was a form of encryption unique to their... Peculiar world view; A cipher born from their own thoughts, translated through Luna's esoteric logic.

"Since Priat's gone, I can eat all the sweets I want." She plopped into her own chair proudly, fishing out a little cloth full of crumbled cookies. "Friends share things, right?"

>Seriously, where did you get all these cookies?
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
>Talk about missing bodies
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
>Other? (write-in)

>>2346385
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
>Seriously, where did you get all these cookies?
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
>Talk about missing bodies

>>2346385
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'

Is it a good sort of funny?

File: 1515385745944.png (303 KB, 600x418)

303 KB PNG

>>2346388

>>2346393
We only hurt you because we love you(r writing).

>>2346388
Everything!

>>2346391
Everything-3.

Writing.

>>2346385
>Chastise her for eating so many sweets
You'll get fat!
>...Take a cookie
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
Though lets delay this one until after we explain that we're not keeping our promise.
Less rude that way, probably.
>Talk about missing bodies
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
Does it have anything to do with us giving Marchovic a "do whatever the fuck I want" licence?
>Ask about Marchovic, does she get on with him?

"Have you really done nothing but eat cookies since Priat left?" You accepted one of the offered confections, nibbling off a piece of it experimentally. It wasn't... Breath taking by any means, but you also didn't know how old it was supposed to be.

"Not only cookies." She denied indignantly, taking a bite of her own crumbled sweets "Just mostly cookies."

"You're going to get fat, Mim." Priat had been gone since shortly after you entered the Atelier... That was a strict diet of baked sweets for at least two weeks... Maybe more. The sweetness on your tongue was starting to make you sick just thinking about it. "Where did you get all of them?"

"I made them!" She beamed at you proudly, "Go on, praise me! I am amazing!"

"That just raises more questions." An exasperated smile forms despite yourself. "Carona's barely feeding itself, where did you find the ingredients for all of this?"

"Shrine storage." She brushed her hands together dismissively, "Used up most of the sugar we had left in there, too."

"...Why?"

"Because you were coming back." She put the little cloth of crumbled cookies on the desk between you. "I tasted every batch to make sure they tasted right, so I'd have something to welcome you back with."

"You didn't even know when I was coming back." You pointed out flatly, unpleasantly noticing the taste in your mouth was starting to turn bitter for reasons unrelated to the cinnamony crumbles. "Where did you find an oven, anyway?"

"Well, with Priat gone..."

Mim quite animatedly began to tell you the story of her adventures after parting ways with you. They were hardly tales of heartpounding bravery and bravado, or dark secrets lost to time... But you found yourself more than willing to listen to her ramble on. Things had changed while you were gone, both in Carona and the Shrine itself.

"...So eventually they figured out I was using the Salamander Dominion's altars to make cookies."

"Mim!"

"Where else was I going to find an oven?" She defended herself, "And they were fine with it after I explained they were for everyone! But then I had to start making more cookies, because now they were for everyone. The Salamander Dominion still smells like cookies."

You'd quickly come to realize the four words she'd started this story with would come to categorize a much greater implication. Priat had mentioned before that Mim was prone to pranks, and you knew from prior experience that he'd been a disciplining influence on her, but as he'd abdicated his position... That left Mim more or less unsupervised, and the Salamander Dominion itself in a state of disarray.

"It's fine though, I made some of the attendants help me." She waved off the minor details of her subversion of a Mana's sacred domain for the sole purpose of learning to bake. "It's not like they were doing anything better with their time."

"Mim, Carona is still recovering. You can't just domineer one of the vital spiritual pillars of the people to bake cookies."

"That's where your wrong!" She shook an aforementioned cookie at you, "Because giving sad people cookies was a great idea, and I am a genius for coming up with it."

She ignored your groan.

"Even as the Representative of Luna, I can't believe you've gotten away with this."

"Who's going to stop me?" She frowned briefly, biting down on the cookie she'd shaken at you with more force than strictly necessary. "Kylo's busy with that new Atelier, Hraes and Penelope are arguing all the time, Liam's swamped with people."

You ran the list of vaguely familiar names through your head as she crossed them off. That really only left... "Marchovic?"

"He helped bake the cookies for a couple days, I guess." She shrugged. "That was only after I caught him stealing them off the trays, though."

"...For what purpose?" Your image of the somber Shrine and its respectable leaders was crumbling faster than the cookies were. On some level you'd known they were still just people, and your meeting with Elly had driven that home, but still...

"Eating?" Mim suggested flippantly, "He called my cookies nasty, so I made him help. And guess what? His were worse! He mixed up sugar for salt on an entire batch!" You very deliberately kept your own ventures into kitchenmancy to yourself, leaving a cookie half-stuffed between your lips as Mim took the ensuing silence as a sign to continue talking. "He's rarely around these days, anyway. Ever since he got permission to get involved with Carona's affairs, he's taken to just doing whatever he pleases. There's only a couple attendants left to tend to Shade's Dominion, all the rest of them are off..."

She flicked her hand towards the door illustratively, "Not that it matters."

"Enough about me though, what happened?" She brushed aside her trailing diatribe with an eager smile. "Did you stop those wood things? Is your Testament safe? Did you figure out anything else about... You know?"

Right... You hadn't come here just to listen to Mim's escapades.

"Well, I've decided to look into giving the people of Carona some closure." You started started with something she hadn't asked, finding it difficult to answer her expectations with your rejection so quickly. "There are still a lot of people left unaccounted for in the wreckage, and I've made a little progress on finding them. Hopefully I can return the bodies to their families... But there's something I'm curious about."

"Is it something I can help with? I've got a report around here of missing people if you want it." She sat up attentively, picking out one such page from the piles of scribbles on her desk as if it'd been laying in plain view.

"That's what I was hoping you'd have."

She handed it over to you, an expectant gleam in her eyes as she waited for you to look it over. There were several pages of names here, only one of which you had any personal recollection of. Thankfully, it didn't take intimate knowledge of the names to realize that the amount you'd found didn't even remotely measure up to the bulk this list constituted. A scowl tugged at your lips as your crimson eyes ran across the pages time and time again, taking in the neat handwriting of the Luna Dominion attendants.

You'd found a page and a half... At most. There was no way your web had missed that many people. You were almost offended to even consider the possibility.

"That list is useless as it is, you know?" Mim teased.

"...What?" You let the papers slip into your lap distractedly, your darkening mood shaken by her sing-song tone.

"There are names on there of people who were found already, and confirmed to be healthy and recovering." She explained with a smirk, "They were taken off the earlier iterations of the list once they were found. That's the most recent one though, I'd planned to send it over in the next day or two."

"...I don't understand." You slid the papers back onto the desk with a frown. "They were put back on the list?"

"They went missing again after being found." Mim's smile widened. "And there are other names on that list that don't belong to anyone who lived in Carona in the first place."

"Mercenaries from the previous mayor?" You hazarded a guess, trying to make sense of the discrepancy. "But what happened to the ones that went missing again?"

"Maybe mercenaries." She allowed thoughtfully, "Maybe they didn't exist in the first place."

"Then why would anyone..." You brushed back an errant hair, glaring at the offending papers as if they'd explain themselves.

"Funny, isn't it?" Mim chirped, tossing the last half of a cookie into her mouth.

>?

>>2346553
Oh my god.
Between this post and playing TLoH: ToCS, I'm having an overdose of comfyness right now.

>>2346554
Someone is faking the tallies? But why? It's not like there's any funds going to anyone that would depend on the number of missing people? Or is there?
Putting existing people on the missing list could be a way for them to go underground to, say, prepare for a rebellion, but non-existent people?
For what purpose could someone try to make the disaster seem even worse than it was?
Wait, if Mim knows all of this, is she the one faking the lists?
If not her, who is responsible for inserting people back, and why does Mim abide by this?
How are the lists even being composed? Where are the names coming from?
>Pose the above questions to Mim.

Oh for fucks sake

>>2346579
Just this, apparently!

>>2346580
Are you okay, anon.

>>2346554
I forgot how... energetic Mim was. Breaking her heart is going to suck.

>>2346626
I'm sure Riz is doubling down on Mim's adorableness to make it us hurt more.

File: 1515362356370.png (652 KB, 1200x1024)

652 KB PNG

>>2346600
Did you call the vote there? I just made it home.

Anyway, >>2346579 has the right idea.

If she knows this list is full of bullshit why the fuck do they just let it be?
We need a list of everyone involved in this. We need to know who compiles the list, who the investigators are etc. and start looking into their relations and involvement in crimes.

And I guess add one more item to the list of things we're going to have to take care of ourselves, put together a loyal and reliable team to make an actual tally of missing people.

Why can't it ever be easy?

>>2346739
>put together a loyal and reliable team
We're a little short on normal personnel, never mind good quality people.

We can add this to the pile, but it doesn't currently outweigh all the other stuff that needs doing.

"So someone's faking the reports?"

You catch onto her on-the-nose implication quickly, but it didn't make any sense. To listen to Rinnier, you barely had the funds to ration out food - That was why reclamation was preceding reconstruction, and the whole driving force behind your idea of obtaining iron from the land. There was no way someone could have benefitted from pretending they were still missing... Unless they did so explicitly to try and drop out of public eye.

But even then, that didn't explain the false entries. They were never going to be found, so why... "If you knew the list was like this, why send it to us?"

"Didn't you want updates?" Mim asked rhetorically, "People are more comfortable coming to the Shrine about their loss than a noble they've never met, but it's not like the information is of any practical use to us."

"So you've been knowingly sending us useless lists?"

"We don't curate the list before sending it, if that's what you're asking. Luna's attendants are just responsible for adjusting names based on what Carona's people tell us. If someone comes in and tells us someone's been missing, we add it."

"But... You know they're lying." You struggle to understand how Mim let something like this happen, or more to the point, why. "Were you ever going to tell us?"

"I'm telling you now!" She pointed out defensively, "I'd actually hoped to figure out more before I brought it up. I've only been able to confirm a couple of the names on the list as not being in Carona so far. The rest... You'll just have to trust me on?"

Luna Adepts didn't make baseless guesses, even if it may sound like such. Rather, their entire world view was different; Their favour with the Celestial Mana granting them an almost unfair access to information. You knew this both from your own interactions with them, and the studies you'd poured over for the past decade. As the Representative of Luna, Mim was hands down the most beloved by Luna in the Shrine.

"No," You held your hand up to forestall her explanation, "If you say they're fake, I believe you." The statement alone caused her to visibly relax, a bright smile blooming appreciatively across her face. "It still doesn't explain why it's happening, though. This just makes the disaster seem even worse than it was."

"Mm!" She nodded happily, "So if we assume that's what they're trying to do, the obvious question is 'why', right? but..." She shifted the papers on her desk, trying to line up something you didn't quite grasp among the lines of doodles. "Most things are circles to some degree, so we can go the other way too. Instead of why they're doing 'it', I was more curious about what 'it' was doing."

>>2346751
Yes, I'm well aware. It was a sad little joke.

Unless Mim is just fucking with us because of a wicked sense of humor it means we have political enemies who are already working full throttle to stop us gaining support

"See!"

She very proudly presented a rearrangement of lines.

They meant nothing to you, other than the vague understanding that the doodles you had seen earlier were apparently related to this weird list phenomena. Thankfully, your precocious little companion caught onto the blank look in your eyes before you had to say as much. "What happens when the list looks bigger than it is?"

"The disaster seems worse."

"How?" She pressed.

"The casualties are higher. More loss of life, more broken lives."

"Right!" She clapped her hands, "So it's obvious, isn't it?"

"..." You scratch your head, feeling like you'd just bashed it into a wall. "It's increasing unease and discontent in Carona, obviously. That doesn't really..."

"No, no, no!" Mim stabbed the lines again emphatically, "You said it yourself, didn't you? You wanted to dig those bodies up to give Carona's people closure. Since you replaced the previous Mayor, Carona isn't independent anymore; The Valens both oversee it, and run it. It's a paradigm shift in governance on the heels of tragedy! You wanted to make them like you, didn't you?"

"...Actually it was a favour for someone I know." You explain somewhat irritatedly. Rinnier had jumped to assuming it was a political thing, too. "But the end result would have been that anyway, yes."

"And it bothered you when you couldn't find all the bodies, riiiight?" Mim's verbal poking continued. "So what do you think they'll feel like when the best their new leader can do is find a small fraction of people on that list?"

That you're incompetent. That you did a half-assed job. That you didn't really care.

Any option was as good as the next, because they all led to the same place: A very specific flavour of discontent being sewn amongst a community that already viewed you as an outsider.

"This still doesn't explain the 'who'." You mutter, feeling familiar resentment for this town start to bubble up. "Unless..."

"Bing~O!" Mim cheered, "Those names that appeared and disappeared again later definitely have something to do with it. They were actually what bothered me in the first place." The little Luna Adept flipped over one of the doodled on pages, revealing it to be a much older version of the list. "This was back during the early days after the Mistral's Child, you can see this name... And this one, too-" Another page flipped, "-They were removed here, in the updated report three days later."

"If you don't curate them, how did they get removed?" You frowned, uncomfortably beginning to suspect all of the doodled on papers were old reports.

"You curated them, actually!" She explained, dashing your suspicions as another paper was flipped. "This is a transcript of patient names from the healer's tents back then. When we got this, we removed the corresponding names here, here, and..." She trailed off, gesturing lazily with her hands. "Anyway, later that month, one of them shows back up. Then another later, and another, and then the fake entries."

"People who still support the old Mayor's grass roots rebellion..." You mutter to yourself, narrowing your eyes at the papers. "They'd rather Carona stay a hole in the ground than have me here?"

You wouldn't put it past Carona, considering the kind of people you'd had to deal with from here in the past... But at the same time, it didn't mesh with the people you'd seen in the streets, either.

You lace your fingers together pensively. "I need more information on these people. Their jobs, their friends, their family..."

"I... Can do that." Mim hesitated, sitting back in her chair and awkwardly kneading at the hem of her tunic. "I mean, I can. Personally. The Shrine doesn't keep any kind of records on that kind of stuff, and we're not really supposed to do that kind of thing."

>Do you want to ask Mim for this favour?
She'll do it, just for you.

>>2346759
>Yes
The future hinges upon how much support we have in Carona, we can't afford malcontents undermining us. We're used to failing but that's on us, fuck me if I'm going to let it be because some little shit is lying

>>2346759
>>Do you want to ask Mim for this favour?
No. We can't ask her for a favor right before telling her we're breaking our promise. At best, it's a terrible thing to do to her. At worst, she'll make a bad job of it in revenge.

>>2346762
Then we talk about that first

>>2346767
I mean, I guess we could ask her if she was still willing to help us after we tell her, but that'd require a pair of rather sharp topics changes. I can't imagine that going over well, and it still leaves 'bad job in revenge' open.

>>2346777
I think you're being a bit too dramatic. She is pretty open with how she feels and I don't think it's in her character to do something like that.

It's not a drastic topic change, it's a necessary one. I think that's a weak argument.
"Before we decide on that..."

>>2346759
I'd like us to talk about the broken promise first. We really can't ask favours from Mim.

Also, I wonder who came up with this idea. That's not something people would start doing by themselves, this is a coordinated effort by someone knowledgeable in politics. Someone has inherited the late mayor's position.

Is it time to establish our own secret police death squads?

>>2346759
>No, just give me what you have and I'll try my best

It's pretty clear that she'd rather not do this for us, this is supposed to be a second chance and it seems like this would spoil it. We're about to ask for a favor after this anyway.

Maybe if we have the names we can assemble a small task force to investigate. Raid would certainly be good at investigative work, Ari might function as muscle once she's armed... maybe some of our knights would have an applicable skillset?

>Ask if Priat was upset that we abandoned him on the threshold of the fae forest
>Ask about the possibility of sending him physical mail, he might have an easier time of it if he had a letter lending him authority in our name. We could also point him west as a hotspot for his refugee countrymen if we wanted.

File: LargeStick.jpg (75 KB, 800x499)

75 KB JPG

>>2346794
>Secret police death squads
You're already asking for information on their friends and family, anon! They can't threaten your regime if you hold their family hostage!

Also I have something I need to do for the next 30-45m, so I'll close the window then.

>>2346759
>>2346761
I'll change this to
>Change subject

I still think it's best to ask the favor but he's right we have to do it in the correct order

>>2346841
Have you played Trails of Cold Steel already?

File: WhyIsMyPresent.jpg (27 KB, 680x234)

27 KB JPG

>>2346762
>>2346794
>>2346800
We can't possibly ask Mim for a favour and then turn around and break our promise to her!

>>2346855
We should break our promise with Mim, and then ask her for favours.

Is this really your choice, anons? It'd be a shame if you immediately went back on this.

Writing!
---
>>2346864
I've actually not played any of the LotH games. I just know what it is because I like Estelle's dialogue. I should try them sometime, because they seem enjoyable.

>>2346909
It wouldn't be going back on anything though, the problem is that we would getting her to agree to something before letting her down, it seems a little manipulative. Also she's apprehensive this idea specifically, asking for her help with finding minerals isn't likely to get the same apprehensive reaction as
involving her in our political black ops.

>>2346909
The LotH series is absolutely great.
When I found out Trails of Cold Steel were ported to PC I squeed like a schoolgirl.
I upgraded my system to 64 bit just for this, clean install and all.

Now waiting for us to fuck up the talk with Mim again.

The clouds I was using for cover have forsaken me. I'm probably going to withdraw after this update.

>>2346909
The series is fantastic but I really don't like the battle system. Slow animations, a lot of waiting and time wasted.

The story and cast is great but at some points the only way to stomach the antagonists is by having watched so much anime as to be immune to how dumb it is. From what I see, most people who hate the games are those who can't process or accept anime logic.

You sure want to spin this in the most negative light possible.

>>2347057
That's because you're using your inferior senses. A Spider's Web would let you see things as they truly are.

You blinked, catching yourself as you started to make impositions. Talking to the little Luna Adept, it had just been so easy to get caught up in the flow and just... Treat her like a partner. Maybe you'd spent too much time indulging in her stories earlier, and forgotten that she didn't have an obligation to help you. Mim was the Representative of Luna, and an important official of the Shrine, not one of your Testament. Definitely not one of your knights.

"No, that's fine. I can handle it myself later, just... Can you mark the names of the ones who showed back up on the list when you send the next update?" You shouldn't get used to relying on the Shrine for your political problems in the first place. They are, as a strict policy, meant to stay neutral in such affairs. "Treat it like a curiosity, I can work with it from there."

"That's fine." Mim beamed confidently, "A little curiosity is a given in Luna's Dominion, after all. Speaking of which..." She trailed off, suggestive of a topic you'd dodged earlier. "What happened after I left?"

"Priat and I followed the golems into the forest. In the end, I had to send him back while I handled the rest myself... He wasn't upset about that, was he?"

"He didn't seem mad about it." Mim replied carefully, "But he's been anxious about the people around him for as long as I can remember." Leaving him like you did would have been ample cause for anxiety, even if it didn't leave him responsible for reporting what had happened to Rinnier. "Do you want me to send him a message?"

"I was hoping you could."

At the very least you could tell him you were alive and well. The possibility of sending him some sort of token tying him to House Valen had admittedly crossed your mind as well, but you couldn't be sure how that would play out with civil war so close to the horizon. As powerful of a key it might have been, you ran the risk of painting a target on his back in the coming days. Was it worth the risk?

"I can get your letters to him, no problem." She boasted with an air of self-importance, "But Priat's not important right now, tell me stories!"

...Seems like there really wasn't a way around this.

You ran your fingers down the worn spine of a book you'd been carrying with you since shortly after you'd left the Imprisoned Child's Atelier. It's title didn't matter, but it'd been one of the pile left behind in your library from Mim's ill-fated attempt to coerce something of value from you.

At the time it had been the final straw, and the only gift you'd given her was a glimpse at how utterly stressed out you were. Or screwed up, if you were being more honest with yourself... Because the things that had driven that particular outburst were rooted far deeper than simple stress. It was only after you'd torn into the child that you'd realized what she was after.

You promised to make it up to her. That you'd tell her everything once you got back.

"...?"

You set it on the table between you with a grimace. Her smile had flinched when she saw it, if only for a moment.

"I didn't really want your books, Irue. Remember? We talked..." She tried to press the book back towards you with a grin - One which grew fragile and confused when you held it in place. "...We talked... About..."

"I'm sorry, Mim."
"No..."

You reached over the book to grasp her hand, barely feeling the little Luna Adept's fingertips graze your own as she recoiled.

"You promised..."

"I know!" You pushed to your feet quickly, hand still outstretched in a one-sided attempt to bridge the emptiness between you. "I know, but things changed. I'm still here, I still want to make up for what happened before, but..." Your fingers clenched on thin air, falling weakly back to your side as Mim's eyes moistened. "...I can't. Not like this."

What stung the most wasn't the betrayal you had braced yourself to justify. It wasn't the screaming and denial you'd steeled yourself to endure, or the hysteria you'd jumped to try and soothe. It was the twitch of her lips that spoke of familiarity in fighting her budding tears. The way her lashes matted together as she tried to blink away the building heat, but lost you in the blur. The way her voice threatened to crack when she asked 'why'.

The pain wasn't sharp, but it made you sick.

It hit you all at once and left your limbs leaden and dull... She wasn't mad at you. She'd known this was coming, and clung to the hope that she was wrong. There was something else buried here, waiting to scream it was right.

>Why can't you tell her?
Think carefully.

>>2347457
>Because She's our friend
I can't

File: 212.jpg (33 KB, 426x341)

33 KB JPG

>>2347457
>Because anyone knowing it is in danger, of a mystical sort. We can't unlearn it, but we can try and prevent Mim from learning it.
>We didn't know this when we made our promise.
>We'd rather break the promise than break Mim's life.
>And because we know this will only whip up Mim's curiosity, ask her to promise never, never try to find out.
I personally don't think Mim would use this info against us. But Luna has a direct channel to her after all. And if Luna decides Mim is compromised, who knows what'll happen.

>>2347457
You're a Luna adept, Mim. You know how dangerous knowledge can be. And this is dangerous. Not just to the knowledge keeper, either. I'm not trying to protect just you here, which is why you shouldn't dig into this.

You would have to forsake Luna to know this, and would be hunted by Luna for the rest of your life. Are you willing to make that trade?

We can't tell her about it, and we can't tell her why we can't tell her. Even hinting at it could be toehold for her to start looking.

>>2347457
>because it could get me killed, or get you killed
>friends are supposed to protect each other, right?
>it's my fault for making a promise about something I knew nothing about
>I wish things were different, and I'm sorry

>>2347543
lets not talk about this in a way that concerns or includes anyone outside this room

>>2347719
We need to communicate somehow that
1. We didn't want to break the promise
2. We can't tell her about it
2a. We can't tell her why we can't tell her about it
3. If she tries to look into it, she is risking us, her, and others

3. is important because it discourages her from indulging her considerable curiosity as a Luna adept by looking into this mess. Luna is all about information; if we don't give her a reason to not pry, she almost certainly will.

>>2347813
So tell her it could kill her or us, any extra restraint on her part that this may or may not bring is not worth potentially drawing attention to Rinnier or Ari.

>>2347850
I was wanting to mention 'others' to show that we weren't worried about only ourselves here, but I'm willing to concede it if we can drive home that her learning puts her in danger, and puts us in greater danger than we would be otherwise.

I'm just afraid of her 'accepting the risks' and looking into it if we don't indicate it doesn't just put her in danger.

If telling the truth isn't good enough there is not much we can do. Lying to make her feel better is plain stupid

Things change and no amount of disappointment will change the nature of what we found

>>2348420
Lying was never in the cards; this is how we make her understand why we're breaking our promise, ideally without hurting her further.

>>2348430
I didn't say that that is what we are doing.

>>2347475
>>2347719
We can't tell you because we're friends!

>>2347491
>>2347543
We can't tell you because Luna!

Writing!

"It's dangerous." You needn't tell an Adept of Luna how knowledge posed a threat of its own. They knew it intrinsically, probably even better than you. "I wish things were different, but this doesn't mean I don't want to be friends."

"I'll keep it a secret!" The problem with that understanding, you realized as she fervently pleaded with you, was that familiarity bred comfort. "Whatever it is, I won't tell anyone! If it's dangerous things, I know plenty already!"

But the insistence with which she wanted you to tell her left you confused and off balance. If she wasn't mad at you, and she didn't so much as question whether you still wanted to be friends, what drove this? Why was she so distraught? Was simple curiosity enough to bring a Luna Adept to the brink of tears?

"This is different, Mim. It has nothing to do with how well you can keep a secret..." Even if it was, you couldn't budge on this. "I know you would be careful, but just learning what I did puts your life in danger, and mine even more so. Please, just let me make this up to you some other way."

"You're trying to keep secrets from a Luna Adept..." What may have meant to be a mutter came out more as a plaintive whimper. "If you're in danger, why won't you let me help?"

"Because I'm trying to keep my friend from being in the same danger!" You respond with a stressed hiss. "I'd rather break my promise with you and protect you than drag you into this with me because I did something stupid, and made a promise I can't keep."

"What's the point of being friends if we're still alone!?" The tremble in her voice finally cracked, and the sinking sensation that you were having two different conversations returned in full nauseating force. "If it's so important, you're not going to let it go; Every time you follow it, you'll leave me behind!"

You opened your mouth to retort, but found the tip of your tongue empty and dry. You weren't going to let go of what you learned, and the very nature of pursuing it meant you'd have to keep Mim well separated from your efforts. If you were truly dedicated to keeping her in the dark, then giving a Luna Adept such as herself involvement under any pretense was worse than tempting fate - It was an inevitability.

"...I'm sorry, Mim."

Even still, if her knowing put your Testament in danger...

"Does anyone else know?"

You blinked, the train of thought you'd followed this far screeching to a halt. Something had shifted in Mim's demeanour when you hesitated, some light of bitter realization as if she'd stumbled across the puzzle piece she'd been missing... Or trying not to find. "Because you trusted them...?" Gears sparked back to life in your mind as her low mutters continued. "No, because it was safer? Already involved?"

"Mim-"

"So I'm not involved?" Your voice fell on deaf ears, or perhaps she'd ignored you entirely as her eyes were drawn pensively to the floor. "Or I am? Why am I different?"

"Mim, stop!" Your chair toppled over as you realized exactly what was happening. Desperation and panic propelled you around the desk.

>1d100!

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>2348683
>Asked to roll
We seem to have really fucked up on this one.

>>2348695
Aaaaaaaaaand rolled really low to boot.
Farewell Mim. You were too pure for this world.

>>2348695
You may also suggest something drastic to do to try and shock her out of what she's doing. It will take effect if your rolls fail, as an act of desperation.

In this case, it makes little sense that Irue would just see the shaking not working, and then give up.

>>2348698
I assume she's trying to use her Luna powers to find out things man ought not to know. In this case, all I can think about is punch her out, then pump her full of Faedka and talk to her while her system is flushed of Luna.

>>2348698
I mean, yes, this is my vote.
>Go berserk and punch Mim out cold before it's to late.

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>2348684
Christ, just the one?

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>2348684

>>2348698
I dunno how to shock her. Maybe beat her senseless? We're strong enough to murder oakenbears! Smash her with the book or something!

>Mim is different /because/ you're an adept! It's magical fucking mumbo jumbo

>>2348700
>pump her full of Faedka

>Fill one of Luna's beloved with the physical essence of the sibling it eradicated

I play this quest but even I can tell that this is a bad idea

>>2348730
>>2348731
Where were you before with your rolls anons ;_;

>>2348736
You might be right, but I panicked.

>>2348731
Do you really want to keep giving her hints until she can figure it out without meditation?

>>2348698
I don't know, would the tearing or destruction of her books or notes knock her out of meditation?

>>2348739
I forgot that all we do in these threads is suffer from mistakes and suffer when we think we do the right thing.

I actually believed that voting to rationally explain the situation was the best way to deal with this and defuse the confrontation. Of course what we got was something right out of a Spanish soap opera and we end up having to roll a dice and deal with a magical fucking wonderchild throwing a tantrum.

>>2348695
>>2348730
>>2348731
You did fine, anons. It's the usual "1d100 three times, best of" thing, I just don't call for it often enough to remember how it's done in shorthand.

But christ, everyone voted to beat her.

Out of curiosity, has anyone realized why the broken promise bothers her so much?

Writing!

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>2348684

>>2348739
I'd say we're a little short on options here. Our hints have to be as minimal as possible, but are you willing to risk the alternative?

>>2348763
How the hell else are we going to shock her? Strip naked? Spit cookie crumbles at her? Flip the table?

Honestly though I'm far from surprised. We have been talking about how to break this to Mim since The Year of Our Lord, 2017 but when it's finally time, all we manage to do is croak out lines to create a scene that'd make Falcon Crest blush.

>>2348770
>Croak out lines that'd make Falcon Crest blush
Should I quote you less?

>>2348763
>has anyone realized why the broken promise bothers her so much?
My guess is no one treats her seriously in the Shrine, so she wanted to be trusted at least by us.
Or, alternatively, she knows that we know and her masters at Artemis ordered her to kill us if we don't confess that we know.

File: kms.jpg (27 KB, 640x279)

27 KB JPG

>>2348775
That, and the piss poor way the shitty apology was said it could have been quoted right out of a handbook for condescending adults, which I'm sure she has had more than enough of.

File: relax nigga.gif (1009 KB, 500x712)

1009 KB GIF

>>2348780

>>2348784
in his defense this is the least relaxing quest i've ever seen

So, I must ask this thread: How is punching a little girl adept of Luna going to stop Luna, the Metaphysical Embodiment Of All Knowledge In This World, from learning about anything you're doing? The Mana do NOT need their human worshippers to do their own thing, and have all sorts of creatures, sprites, and elementals to do it for them.
So...?

>>2348830
I didn't come up with the idea, I'm not sure of the reasoning behind it, and to be fair I didn't come up with anything better.

However...

Punching elementals worked. A bit.

>>2348830
I think the idea is to knock some sense into her/knock her out to prevent her from doing anything drastic. I didn't have anything to do with stopping Luna from learning anything, just Mim.

I certainly didn't vote for it though, so who knows.

I just want it on record that, Luna, as the Mana of Knowledge, embodies all knowledge. All of it. As it occurs, is obscured, or erased from human history. Luna knows these things. And Luna adepts, literally any of them, just have to worship and ask to find those things out. The only way anyone is going to stop Mim personally from learning something she sets her mind to, is to kill her.

Or ask nicely, like a concerned friend, but perhaps that's passed.

>>2348830
The idea is to stop Mim from trying to unearth hidden knowledge and potentially being infected and/or offed by Luna.

>>2348837
I voted for asking nicely, but we weren't given a chance.

>>2348837
>I just want it on record that, Luna, as the Mana of Knowledge, embodies all knowledge. All of it. As it occurs, is obscured, or erased from human history. Luna knows these things.

I don't think that's quite right. I think Luna has a vested interest in learning as much as possible, and goes to great lengths to collect knowledge, but it doesn't intrinsically know everything. Remember, Udine is a keeper of secrets. That wouldn't be possible if Luna knew everything.

>And Luna adepts, literally any of them, just have to worship and ask to find those things out.
This doesn't seem right either, though I have no evidence to support it.

You wasted no time shaking the ever living shit out of her, nearly ripping the little Luna Adept from her chair as you grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled. The time for gentle prodding had passed, and you didn't cease your agitated jostling until her own arms had wrapped back around yours in an attempt to steady herself.

"Not telling you wasn't an invitation for you to find out yourself!" You seethe, shaking her once more for good measure. "Are you an idiot?!"

"Well what was I supposed to do? You're not telling me!" She retorted dizzily, wobbling a little in an attempt to reorient herself.

"I'm not telling you because it's dangerous!"
"IF you can decide it's too dangerous for me, why can't I decide I don't care?!"

You shake her some more, this time purely out of frustration. It was a cathartic experience...

"Whyyyyy...!"

...For one of you.

"Mim," Her chair rocked as you thrust her back against it, kneeling down to look the little Luna Adept in the eyes. "Listen to me: This isn't about you. If it were anything else, I would tell you... But I stand to lose too much if I screw this up." You locked eyes with her, feelings of guilt still buried under the adrenaline rush from stopping that potential disaster. "One day, I'm probably going to need you. Eventually, you will figure it out, whether I want you to or not, I know that. You're a Luna Adept."

Your fingers dug into her shoulders for emphasis. "But the longer it takes for that to happen, the better off we'll both be." Did she already have enough information to divine what happened on her own? You weren't willing to take the risk. Especially now that you'd realized first hand that it could happen the moment you walked out of the room. "Promise me you're not going to just force your way into this before then."

"..." She cut her eyes to the side, a stubborn frown setting unhappily on her face. It made you want to resume shaking her until she stopped being so... So childish.

"Mim, please. Don't make me regret this."

"...Fine." Her chin sunk resignedly.

You hung your head with a sigh. "Thank you. I'm trusting you with this, Mim."

"You won't trust me with the secret, but you'll trust me not to figure it out." She muttered bitterly.

"Mim."

"I know, I got it already!" Mim turned away from you with crossed arms. "You sound like Priat."

You stood up tiredly, shaking your head as you waited for something else to exacerbate the conversation. For better or worse it seems like you'd cleared that hurdle, but the memory of it was still fresh in your mind. Whatever comfortable atmosphere that'd been left over from before was well and truly gone by now - Replaced with an aimless tension. Even if her voice wasn't cracking anymore, the sound of her occasional sniffle still punctuated the time you took to fix your clothes.

Fortunately the reasons you'd come to visit were nearly exhausted... Even if that meant leaving on a sour note.

"Is the Gnome Dominion still willing to lend us some help in reconstruction?" You change the topic bluntly, not wanting to linger overlong in that stagnant stalemate.

"Probably." She replied disinterestedly. "Penelope's all gung-ho about recovering after Roderick died."

The name brought a grimace to your face. You'd never gotten on well with Gnome's Dominion, which made the prospect of approaching the Gnome Representative for help a leery one. Even more so if it was being motivated by the memory of the Adept you'd picked a fight with in the first place.

>Do it yourself
>Ask Mim to arrange it
>Other? (write-in)

>>2348886
>Do it yourself
Mim's being childish right now. If she was more mature about this, I'd ask her to help to show that we still trust her enough to ask her for help, but I don't think that'll make a difference here.

>>2348886
>Do it yourself
>Thank for the delicious cookies
>Ask if Mim has ever been to the mountains
God I feel awful. I cherish hope we can at least distract her.

>>2348886
>other
>task dullam with it

I'm not sure why but I feel like Dullam has the best chances of this among our allies, at the very least he's definitely not going to grate against the gnome adepts the way we are.

>>2348922
This is actually a good idea, I think.

>>2348922
Dullam isn't much of a conversationalist, and already has plenty on his plate. Let's not saddle him with more stuff he doesn't want to do.

>>2348886
>>Ask Mim to arrange it but go with her.

>>2348929
He's taking his duty to repair the town very seriously while also feeling like he's incapable of meaningfully contributing to things, a matter not helped by our lack of proper guidance.

This task is both vital in importance and easier for him to perform than it is for us, given his temperament and recent experience with having meetings specifically concerning the reconstruction of Carona.

It's a perfect fit! It shouldn't take that long anyway.

>>2348893
Do it yourself! You're an adult now!

>>2348922
>>2348925
Make Dullem do it, he's almost as manly as Penelope.

>>2348932
Walk Mim out to talk about expeditions!

>>2348903
...Also ask Mim about mountains!

Writing.

>>2348884
>We didn't strip her
Smh senpai

You made a mental note to have Dullem ask on your behalf. After the last couple of times you'd crossed paths with Gnome's Dominion, you weren't interested in starting another fight. Besides that, he'd been looking for more ways to full useful, and the kind of temperament that'd get on well with them.

"What do you want with them?" Mim's curiosity begrudgingly got the better of her once it became apparent you weren't going to explain any further. "Is it about the walls?"

"No, I'm still thinking about how I want to handle reconstruction." You shake your head, idly remembering that you could actually change how the entire town was built if you wanted. That Shade blessed thought of building a giant tower of yourself flipping off Carona promptly emerged from the back of your mind, which - As tempting as it was - was something you had to shake back into the private recesses of fantasy.

Some sort of tower, on the other hand...

"I'm trying to organize an expedition of sorts to get raw resources from the mountains. Good stone, hopefully iron as well. I was hoping to convince the Gnome Dominion to lend me an Adept for divining purposes." You glanced back to find Mim's mood fractionally set aside while you indulged her inquiries. "Have you ever been to the mountains before?"

"Does your house count?"

"No." You blink at the non-sequitor. "That's still pretty firmly in the woods. The mountains are even further north, past th-"

"Forest. I've seen maps before." She cut off your recollections irritably, "The trip to your house was the first time I left Carona."

"Really?" You lean against your abandoned chair, "You've spent your whole life in this town?"

"Where else would I have spent it? I was born here."

You'd never given much thought to where Mim came from, other than the brief conversation you had with Priat en route to the forest. "For someone born here, you don't seem too distraught over the Banshee's wake." You observed clinically, "I was under the impression everyone in Carona were pretty attached to this place."

"Maybe." She offered a noncommital answer, glancing off to the side. "I was never really a part of it, so I couldn't tell you. The Shrine took me in when I was a kid, and we're supposed to be neutral... So even though I was born in Carona, it's not important to me."

You resist the urge to point that she's still a kid. She'd been the Representative of Luna even back when Priat arrived though, which meant she'd held the position... At least since she was in the single digits. In all that time, she'd never once left Carona. It didn't even seem like she left the Shrine itself that often.

Just how beloved by Luna was this child, to have been thrust into such a position that young...?

"Can Representatives not leave for very long?"

"As long as our Dominion's taken care of, we can technically come and go whenever we want... But most Representatives don't stray for very long." She made a face and affected the sternest voice the otherwise unimposing girl could manage before mockingly droning on. "We're meant to be the voice of guidance for those on the path, or in need... According to Priat, anyway."

"You never wanted to go anywhere?"

"Where would I go?" She looked at you quizzically, "All my books are here, anyway."

...

"Anyway, get out." She dismissed you roughly, waving her hand towards the door as she started doodling on the paper in front of her once more. "I have work to do."

It was a much colder goodbye than welcome, but you saw yourself out without commenting on the troubled frown she'd tried to conceal.

Stepping out into the Shrine proper was like reentering the world proper. The sounds of people milling through the adjacent Dominions filtered into your ears almost the moment the door had opened, impressing on you just how thoroughly soundproofed Mim's office really was. Along with it came the flowing scent of fresh air, crisp water, and a nearly unnoticeable trace of incense.

There were still a fair number of people occupying the Shrine even at this hour, though their distribution varied wildly. Jinn's Dominion remained all but abandoned by those besides its attendants after Mistral's Child, which contrasted curiously with the almost tranquil feeling that Undine's empty Dominion gave off, and the robust density of Gnome's. The earthen Mana's attendants seemed to have been a grounding point for Carona's community, a fact made obvious as snippets of some communion sermon drifted out into the commons even as you gave the place a healthy berth.

Salamander's Dominion on the other hand seemed to have become a hotspot for children, and straying too close to its flame-silhouetted halls revealed the cinnamon-scented reason as to why. You weren't sure just how many of those children had parents attending communion, and how many were simply there for the cookies and fire... But if it was any consolation, the Salamander attendants seemed to be taking their sudden popularity in stride.

It was a far cry from the disorganized heap you'd expected of a Dominion still trying to replace its Representative.

Which left Shade's Dominion - As empty as Mim had said - and Wisp's... Which had seen a steady stream of visitors, in search of recovery for both the mind and body. You paused as you looked it over, wondering if its lack of people was a quirk of chance, or simply a sign of how late it had become while meeting with Mim.

However, the halls of Wisp's Dominion seemed anything but quiet. A familiar shark-toothed man could be seen animatedly jabbing his fingers into the Wisp Representative's chest - A fish aggressively out of water, for whom you'd signed a license to do as they pleased.

Whatever they were arguing about had come to a head shortly before you left Mim's office, as Marchovic broke away from the altercation with a terrible grimace written across his face. Your crimson eyes traced the contours of his lithe form as he stalked away; A body of thin muscle, sleekly wound across sharp features, and sharper eyes... More akin to one of East Heaven's darkstalking panthers than a warrior.

Before you realized it, he'd caught your inspection from a sidewards glance, sending a shiver down your spine as the Shade Representative's grimace all but melted away into the carnivorous smile you remembered seeing on him during your first meeting.

A lethargically raised hand was your only acknowledgement as his gait took him out the front doors of the Shrine, leaving you standing alone in the midst of the Shrine commons once again.

Liam, the Wisp Representative, watched on as his peer's steps faded. Milky white eyes betrayed the man's lack of sight as he turned to face you. Whatever they'd been arguing over didn't seem to have left an impression on him though, as he dismissed your presence after a breath or two and returned to his work.

...It was getting late.

>Talk to Liam
>Pursue Marchovic
>Back to HQ (and do what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
>Ask if he would like to punch some griffons for the common good.

>>2349216
>>Back to HQ (and do what?)
Sleep, I guess. We've done what we set out to do for today. We could pester someone, but we wouldn't actually have anything to talk about.

>"Anyway, get out."
Well, that's that then.It's a shame, but better to lose her as a friend than wind up dead.

>>2349242
Well, it was her who wanted to be friends in the first place, so I have hope she'll come around.

>>2349245
I hope so too, but that was before the broken promise. If she does come around, it won't be anytime soon.

File: Mim2Robes.png (39 KB, 213x251)

39 KB PNG

Probably going to withdraw for now. It's been cloudy all day, so I managed to keep at it, but my sleep schedule is all twisted now.

I've got a lot of work to get through tomorrow, so idk how much I'll get done... But, good news is that apparently I have spring break next week! So depending on how long this thread sticks, we may be running for a long time.

>>2349260
It's easy to say she was being childish, and there's some truth to that, but Mim has a very specific reason the broken promise was so distressing to her.

Of course, you have plenty of information to realize what it is.

>>2349282
>Of course, you have plenty of information to realize what it is.
The curse of Valen Quest strikes again!

Congrats on your spring break.

>>2349260
Knowing us, we'll proceed to ignore her until we need to talk business.

Ask Asche to bake something and we'll go see her again tomorrow.

>>2349242
If Fen is around ask him to send Dullem to the shrine tomorrow, or leave a note on his desk.

Tell Rinnier that this wasn't a complete disaster.

>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
I want to know if he's been making good use of his completely inappropriate level of authority

We can sleep when we're dead

>>2349282
>my sleep schedule is all twisted now.
You have the screwest sleep schedule I've ever seen. I have no idea how you manage.

>we may be running for a long time.
congratulations on making even a positive statement sounds ominous.

>very specific reason
Besides a general 'orphan with trust issues' I got nothing. I dunno where we would have even learned the relevant information; we hardly know anything about her to begin with.

>>2349308
>Mim Stuff
I'm torn between offering to explain it, and... Not.

On one hand it's a been a while, and it's clear people had forgotten their grasp on her character in the LITERAL YEAR since you've seen her.

On the other, I tried to be extra obvious with her stuff because of that, and explaining what was missed feels like cheating. It's not crucial you understand her as a character, so any misunderstanding or erred conclusions (and the decisions you make due to them) are entirely valid, and an important part of the quest.

If anything, if I did explain it, I probably wouldn't let you capitalize on that knowledge when interacting with her later.

So, I think Mim just failed a Forgetting just now.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/514183/
starting around
>>520102

She has many of the pieces she needs already, which means she might put this together sooner than we thought.

--
>why it hurts her so
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/470612/
>>472170
>But after I leave, I doubt there will be many interested in paying attention to her."
>"She needs more than a home and education." Priat nodded, "She would be the first to disagree, but I don't doubt that she will find herself in more and more mischief if left to her own devices."
>Are you sure someone closer wouldn't be a better choice?"
>"Perhaps." He allowed, "But she hasn't taken a liking to anyone closer."
Is all I got.

File: valen quest.png (442 KB, 810x1920)

442 KB PNG

>>2342923
After what just happened, I feel like this isn't accurate enough, so I made this.

>>2350287
Ah, there's the soul-crushing despair of failure, wouldn't be Valen Quest without it.

>>2350287
Goddamnit stop

>>2349282
We have to send someone to get the books for Mim that she didn't take. Let her know we do think of her.

>>2349282
So what I found in the archives was:
>Mim suspects the Fae are Mana-related (and it was in fact her who gave us that idea)
>Mim agreed not to go with us into the Fae forest after learning she makes Oakenrues go berserk specifically as a Luna Adept
She might be distressed because we clearly learned something that Luna won't like.
>She put forward two conditions though: books and stories.
>She also stated: "Luna Adepts are obligated to share their knowledge with the Shrine, to help enrich our bonds and prevent horded knowledge. I've learned a lot out here, but Mim's a good girl. As long as she's got a book or sixteen to read, she's a very quiet child." Basically, she offered us to buy her silence
>Also: "as long as there aren't any more dire problems, it's something the Shrine insists on... Of course, it's not my fault if I've got so much new stuff floating around in my head that I happen to forget a couple details".
>As well as: "With a memory like mine, it's hard to forget anything at all. You remember all sorts of dangerous stuff, and then people get mad at you."
We're turning out like all the other people around Mim.

Another hypothesis is that Mim believed us about the danger and now is worried about us.

This is all I could do. Please help me out, anons!

>>2349332
I'm not sorry about not telling her. But >>2350287
and >>2348884

Goddamn dudes. She just doesn't want to be treated like a child.

Honestly why did we make it about how much we lose? We should have just told her that it turned out to not be our secret to share. That just by sharing it, people could be hurt by it even if Mim didn't tell anyone else. That it was a secret that could ruin her relationship with Luna just by Mim knowing.

We should have just told her to suck it up. That being an adult means not always being able to live up to your promises. That being a leader means doing things you don't want to personally, because other people are relying on you.

Heck. We could have just outright told her that we're honestly really shitty as a friend because of those things.

It sucks, but ultimately us not telling Mim about what happened isn't about her.

>>2349282
Wait no, I think I know what's happening.
It's not about the promise of stories. It's about the next thread. When we promised to try to be friends with her after we returned.
Did we try to be friends with her? I think not.
She even baked cookies every day to greet us with.
Now I think I'll go and feel awful for a day or so.

>>2350605
We could summoned Mim a Luna apparition. What could go wrong.

>>2350605
We should tell her about the time we made a sandwich.

>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
Ask him he was arguing about, what he's been up to with our letter and if he's having fun with his impunity.
>Tell him we're trying to put an expedition together and need some muscle to fend off the wildlife, try to recruit him.

I think after we talk with Marchovic we need to return to Mim and talk things out. Ask for forgiveness, reconfirm our desire to be her friend etc.
Even if she passively-aggressively sends us away, she'll know we care.

>>2351791
She /just/ dismissed us. We have no reason to go back to her right now except to restate our apologies. Let's give her time to cool off and dredge ourselves up an actual reason to talk to her before we go back to her.

>>2351816
That's the thing, anon: we specifically want to talk to her without an actual reason, because that's what friends do.
And yes, she dismissed us, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to see us now.

>>2351829
Dude we can't call in for a friendly chat 15 minutes after coming very close to beating her into a sobbing heap. Why can't this wait until tomorrow?

>>2351829
I don't mind talking to her later, but a pretense will get our foot in the door if she's still mad. We go back to her right now, she opens door>sees us>closes door.
And /she/ sent /us/ away, technically the ball is in her court if she wants to make up.

Also, we're not apologizing for our actions, we're apologizing for the necessity of our actions here, which is pretty weak as far as apologies go.

>>2351104
>>2349216
Oh, and
>what's with the teeth?
>do you think I'd look good with shark teeth?

>>2351791
Why not do what we do with our other friends and ask her to follow us into life threatening danger.

We could teleport with her, for instance. Maybe put some padding down first.

>>2351848
>>2351847
You never been in a fight with your friends? 15 minutes is fine, within an hour is proper and sometime during the same day is expected

You know if you actually want to make up otherwise you can let them feel bad for a few days or weeks

>>2351848
As I already said, if she closes the door on us, she'll still know that we care. That's all we need.

And since she was a legitimately offended party in this case, the ball is still in our court.

>>2351847
She doesn't know we voted to beat her up.
Unless she really can read greentext...

File: The support of friends.jpg (51 KB, 554x960)

51 KB JPG

>>2350056
>>2350597
You're on the right track, but still overlooking something crucial. From this thread, specifically. You could probably paint the full picture if you had it.

If you actually figured out the root of why Mim was so distressed, something nice could happen. Not that it's impossible to work things out with her without knowing.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry." is pretty weak, isn't it? Right there in the same league as apologizing for the wrong thing entirely... But sometimes it's all you know to do.

In other news, we should be resuming sometime tonight if everything goes well. I don't expect any more serious interruptions after today, so we should be fine for the rest of the thread's lifespan from there.

It looks like we're in general favour of pursuing Marchovic? I won't close the voting window until I'm ready to start writing though, so if anyone has anything else they want to add, you've got a little more time. Though after a day's worth of voting window, I think everyone's said their piece.

>>2352881
I LIKED MY ID COLOR.....

GOD.

>>2352881
>"If you say they're fake, I believe you." The statement alone caused her to visibly relax

Is it this? Does she want us to trust her? Is she hurt specifically by our lack of trust?

>>2352896
We're leaving her behind.

Let's just take her with us around while we're doing stuff. She's lonely.

>>2353161
I'm not opposed to it.

>>2349222
>>2349297
>>2351104
Marchovic!

>>2349242
...Napping?

>>2349222
>>2351104
>>2352025
Assorted conversation topics!

Writing!

Rip

>>2355000
Bad things happened, I'm working on it.

>>2355002
A common occurrence

You lingered in the Shrine commons, the argument you'd just witnessed a stark reminder of the one you'd ended with Mim. She was the one who'd thrown you out, so it wasn't as if you had any need to apologize... And in truth, if you did, it would be for the necessity of having broken the promise rather than the act of doing so in the first place. Even still, part of you hesitated to just leave things as they were. A part which was, ultimately, pushed to the back of your mind as you resigned to return to headquarters for the night.

How would you apologize in the first place? She'd taken it far worse than you expected her to, but it didn't seem like she was particularly mad at you. Not knowing what caused that distress, the best you could do was just try to make it up to her, or beg forgiveness blindly. You'd done a lot of desperate things, but the latter still left your stomach unsettled; Pride alone made you balk at the possibility.

Carona's flickering lamplights stretched out before you from atop the Shrine's stairway, a sight of dimming flames which marked the streets of a recovering town. Softly luminous embers that winked out in the night as time went on, only serving to startle you out of your vacant trance once you'd noticed how many had been extinguished in the meantime.

You'd still yet to descend the stairs, mind still stubbornly retracing your conversation with Mim. Searching for that elusive sign you'd missed; Some other choice you could have made, or thing you should have said, to have made it end better. It left you more frustrated than anything else.

Getting sleep like this was a fool's errand, but it was too late at night to get anything else done... Besides bother Rinnier, assuming her insomnia still persisted. Not that you had anything in particular to talk to her about either.

You sighed, letting your shoulders sag forward in momentary defeat. Things were simpler before you finished the Rite.

"Trouble for the highborn?" Your back snapped straight, a new source of frustration boiling up as you realized you'd gotten careless. The Representative of Shade smiled predatorily when you turned to face him, finally taking note of the way he blended into the shadows cast by the Shrine's hulking doors. A eat aided no doubt by the darker tones of his clothes, but one you shouldn't have overlooked that easily.

"How long have you been there?" Your chin inclined in an effort to save face.

"Long enough." He kicked off the wall languidly, stepping through your bluster with pocketed arms. He wasn't as tall as Kara, nor as overwhelmingly robust as Dullem, but it still burned when you had to tilt your head up to keep eye contact. "This is the first time we've properly met, isn't it? Irue Valen."

"I hear you've been making good use of my authority despite that." You retort guardedly, resisting the urge to take a step back. Even if looking up at him was irritating, retreating wasn't any better an option; Especially not after he'd already gotten the drop on you.

"Give me an inch." He laughed, mercifully stepping to your side to look out over the town. "Did you want to thank me for taking care of your Oakenbear problem?"

"Do you want to thank me for not revoking that license after you did?" You steadfastly refused to turn around, choosing instead to trace your gaze up the front of the Shrine as you stood with your back to him.

"Yes." You blinked at the unexpectedly blunt admission. A number of sassy retorts died on your tongue, bereft of provocation to rally off, leaving you momentarily speechless as he continued. "I have better things to do than sit in the Shrine. That piece of paper was a convenient excuse."

"I don't suppose you would be interested in another excuse?"

Shade Adepts didn't have any specific advantage in combat like their peers. No roaring command over the elements, physical strengthening, or inherent tactical foresight. In truth of fact, they were the Dominion least suited for direct conflict... But if he could handle an Oakenbear, you wouldn't be remiss recruiting him to potentially fight a griffon.

"Is that a date?"

"...What?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." He carried on over your bewilderment, a shrug in his voice audibly lamenting how it couldn't be helped. "Some blind bastard won't clean up his mess, so it's up to me."

"Is that why you were arguing earlier?" Your eyes cut to the side, curiosity urging you to just turn around.

"Mhmm." Marchovic just barely entered the edge of your peripherial as you subtly glanced over your shoulder, cutting a lanky silhouette against the fading pinpricks of Carona's light. "There's bandits around, but Liam's too busy pretending he's a holy man to handle it."

"Bandits sound like my problem." You frown, not feeling particularly compelled to debate whether or not the Wisp Representative qualified as a holy man or not. "But this is the first I'm hearing of it."

And that was explicitly a problem. You had the demihumans and your knights here, stretching their influence as much as you could in order to stay updated on things exactly like this. Rinnier had even been wary of something like this happening.

"Some of them are your problem. One of them is mine. In fact... You've met him, haven't you? You might even have a grudge." Marchovic glanced over his shoulder, baring his teeth smugly. "I know he does."

If it was a problem of the Shrine, it was either an apparition or an Adept. Apparitions didn't have genders, which if it was supposed to have been the responsibility of Wisp's Dominion, then...

A vacuum of air sucking in the world around it, as your vision was obscurred in white.

Your mouth went dry, a myriad of feelings gurgling out of the dark recesses of your mind. Echoes of a near death experience your Doppleganger had clung through, and some vague recollection of your own of a searing light. You turned fully towards Marchovic, forgoing petty social victories as your teeth ground together.

"That's some nice fire you got there." The Shade Representative quipped, swiftly cupping your chin to tilt your face up. "Those eyes aren't just red for show, eh?"

"No more than your teeth." You jerk back reflexively, finally reaching your limit.

He ran a gloved hand along his jawline, nodding appreciatively to himself as he ignored the new gap between you. "They are quite handsome, aren't they? Although..." He looked you over appraisingly, leaving his gaze to trace you from toe to tip in a leisure fashion. "You're coming along nicely as well."

"E-Excuse you?" A frown sets itself uncertainly as your arms cross.

"You deserve more compliments than you get." Marchovic observed clinically, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "I've seen Shade cripple people for life with smaller scars, but you're sorting through it all on your own."

>?

>>2355197
ShadowRue was the one that got the raw end of the deal, not us. Newly formed and immediately given immense responsibilities that someone experienced had trouble with. Still, she struggled, had
more triumphs than failures, then was killed after being driven to despair by our our maid. Never forget. Rue herself was merely an observer for most of it.

>>2355197
Damn. Unfortunate that he has other things to do.
Well, the next thing on our to do list is checking on the town council. But I guess we should take a break. Time to retrun to base and inform rinnier of the interesting things we've learned from mim.

>>2355229
Oh, and wish Marco luck. If he ever needs help, he knows where to find us. We don't really owe him, but his a really cool guy. And I don't mind helping cool guys.

>>2355197
>Get at least his theoretical position on punching griffons

Also we've failed a Forgetting of something in this very thread. Is this a new low?

>>2355197
Kek, tsundere to the bone.

>A quiet minute for Doppelrue
>Ask about doppelgangers
Irue is way overdue to deal with the loss. It keeps coming back to the surface

>>2355197
Wasn't that adept aligned with the previous mayor? I wonder if we've just found the spanner in the works that Mim told us about? He mentioned that some of them were our problem after all, it might be worth going with him to see sort this out.

>tell me more about these bandits
>why is the wisp adept your problem?
>how long is this trip going to take and when is he leaving?

It's been a while so I think the oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already. We could pick that up and maybe Kara as well, depending on long this'll take and sort this saboteur nonsense out while simultaneously freeing up Marchovic for our outing.

>>2355257
I think I found it.
>"Since Priat's gone, I can eat all the sweets I want." She plopped into her own chair proudly, fishing out a little cloth full of crumbled cookies. "Friends share things, right?"
>"Friends share things, right?"

>>2355197
>>2355287
I think this is a crucial nuance:
>She wasn't mad at you. She'd known this was coming, and clung to the hope that she was wrong.
>If she wasn't mad at you, and she didn't so much as question whether you still wanted to be friends, what drove this? Why was she so distraught?

She isn't mad at us. She is distraught because of something else.
Is this it? Does she KNOW about Dryad?

Otherwise, I'm thinking about these quotes:

>"So I'm not involved?" "Or I am? Why am I different?"
>"What's the point of being friends if we're still alone!?"
>"If you're in danger, why won't you let me help?"
She might be distraught because we're in danger and she can't help.

>>2355299
Or she might be distraught because even getting a friend didn't change her situation in some regard I'm not sure of.

>>2355226
>>2355259
Dopplerue was too pure for this world!

>>2355257
Also, theoretically if you could punch a griffon...

>>2355273
Tell me more about these bandits.

I blinked and an hour passed. Incredible amounts of time seems to be getting lose to the ether. Writing!
---

>>2355273
>oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already.
Correct!

>>2355299
>>2355309
You're close anon. Exactly one step away. A single question is all you need for the entire picture.

I was actually considering saving Mim's issue for a write-up if no one caught on, but you're all making me proud!

>>2355347
I'm feeling like I'm chasing a phantom thief who leaves me notes.

>>2355347
So, what is Mim's situation? She has belonged to the Shrine since a very young age. She never has been outside Carona, yet has no attachment to Carona either. She is mischief-prone, which may indicate boredom and/or need for attention. She never got a liking to anyone except us.

Maybe she is just bored to tears of her current life and wants to experience something else. Wants us to take her places and do things together.

This seems a bit too obvious though, and I think some anons have already put forward this hypothesis. I have nothing else at the moment though.

>>2355347
>>oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already.
Hey this is entirely unrelated to the current goings on, but are there any cooldowns related to 'Home is where the heart is' or 'Jinn calls me'? Because we've never used 'Home is where the heart is' for fear of where we'd wind up, but if we could use one then the other in short order we wouldn't have anything to worry about, right?

Also, I think the abilities pastebin is out of date; the powers from Dryad's Atelier are missing.

>>2355616
There are no cooldowns whatsoever. Use them to your heart's content!
They came in a pair for a reason.

And everything is out of date. Abilities, lists of forgettings, write-ups, my soul...

>>2355347
Who asks whom?

>>2355625
"One question away" means I could ask you one question, and the answer would give you the last piece you need to make it seem exceedingly obvious. The answer to the question is also pretty obvious.

>>2355635
I'm guessing the question might be "How could we change Mim's situation?"

And the answer to that is, I think, give her a big, exciting piece of new info, and possibly some perspectives for further investigation to boot. Given she had never been to anywhere, an opportunity to learn something new and exciting should be very valuable to her. She did trade us stories when we first met her.

As for why she can't just meditate and learn whatever she wishes, it's probably because she doesn't know beforehand what could be interesting to learn. Or learning things through meditation just takes the fun out of it?

By the way, we could use her help in finding the Tier girls. They are our retainer family, we have obligations to them.