>>6031360
>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade.

Guess I don't have to call you a faggot in /qtg

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>>6031371
It's my victory today, homo

>>6031360
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.

>>6031360
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.

>>6031360
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.
Yeah, let's be Val. We can be Gigas next time Gaoth plays a major role in proceedings.

Welcome back, QM!

>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.

>>6031360
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.
Sure, I’ll back the (relative) bookworm. Now’s the thread to get R&D up and running in earnest.

>>6031372
Stahp, you'll make me blush.

>>6031360
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder.

Time for some hostile diplomacy, but I still want to chase up a translator for Ramza's journal.

>>6031371
>>6031429
>>6031435
>>6031473
>>6031579
>>6031659
>>6031988
Your name is Val Lasombra, and you're currently glaring off towards the marketplace while you lean up against the Gleamrunner's railing. You had enjoyed your reprieve from the unsettling presence of Gremory, the Demon of Water, but it feels all too short now that you're back in Threespice. Just the thought that you'll soon be sharing a ship with one again makes your gut clench, a burning bile building up in your chest that you force down as soon as you notice it. Letting your emotions get the best of you wouldn't do - you trust your Captain's decision, naïve as it may be.

"Alright lads, listen up. Now that we're back on dry land, we've got a busy day ahead of us." Ramza's voice cuts through your internal monologue, and you tug on the tip of your hat slightly to let him know that you're listening even if you haven't turned towards him. "First thing we're doing is filling out our roster. We've got three ships we need crew for, so we've got a lot of work to do on that front."

"Does that mean we'll get to eat at Gardan's again?" Gigas asks excitedly, balled fists bobbing up and down and an eager grin on his face. Ramza, of course, pales at the idea.

"Y...Yeah, of course. But not right away! He said we need an empty stomach for it, so we should definitely save that for after everything else. We'll be starving by then." Ramza replies, clearly trying to hide his apprehension at tackling Chef Bastard's true challenge.

"You have Lobo's list, correct?" You cut in, turning around and instead leaning your back up against the railing.

"Duh." Ramza rolls his eyes, taking a folded-up slip of paper out of his pocket and holding it out to you.

"Need to plan this out for efficiency." You explain as you take the slip and open it up and refresh your memory on the potential options.

Right away, you notice that Ramza seems to have penned in a personal addition at the bottom, listing Lieutenant Hara as a potential recruit. You sigh deeply and look back up towards the top of the list, where the lost eldingarian engineers have been crossed off. Aito and his grandchildren, who seem competent enough but have yet to truly prove their supposed expertise. A small part of your mind reasons that a backup engineer unrelated to them wouldn't be the worst idea.

Doric of Gaoth is next on the list, the only choice for a carpenter. Supposedly he's serving time at the local jail at the behest of a local bar, as he racked up a staggering tab with them and refused to pay up when it came time to. Easy enough to recruit if you settle the debt somehow, then.

Sari Firebrand, the Shipwitch, is below Doric. With an apparent lack of need for her profession these days, she's been mostly seen on outdated fishing vessels in the area. Given the time of day, she's probably out on one right now. You cast your gaze over the sea briefly and see a good half dozen drifting atop the clear waters surrounding the city, and nod to yourself - she should be easy to find and recruit.

Harrison is by far the easiest man to find on the list, since you literally can see him sitting on a chair upon the docks no more than a hundred feet away. Convincing him might be easier said than done though, as you know next to nothing about him other than the fact that he runs a few cons on new blood coming to the city and that he has some measure of respect towards people who see through it.

Sifting through the rest of the list is unremarkable, with a wide variety of gunners, riggers, brutes, swabbies, and a handful of musikers dotting it. About fifty good men and women all in all, each of them looking for work with a proven record of relative loyalty provided that their captain proves competent. Not the best, but no crew is ever filled with nothing but the best. The hardest part about recruiting this lot would be the sheer amount of time you need to meet with and vet all of them - an unfortunate necessity with no workaround you can currently think of.

"Well, Mr. Lasombra? What are you thinking about?" Ramza prompts.

"The most efficient way to tackle this." You answer honestly, handing the paper back. "If we want to make sure we get the best results possible, then-"

Grouping Choice
>"-We should stick together."
>"-We should split up and tackle a different thing each."

First Target Choice Choose one for each character if splitting up
>Doric.
>Sari.
>Harrison.
>The Mooks.
>...Lieutenant Hara.

>>6032277
>Splitting Up
Ramza should go for the Mooks. With his silver tongue, he'll get em in no time. Can get Behind Lieutenant, but I think her and Harrison are best tackled in group
Gigas goes for Doric. Get the agreement between Gaothian. Get the bounty amount. WE give him the money afterward to make sure he's not ripped off.
We will go for Sari.

>>6032323
+1
If Sari is unavailable until later see if we can't get some info on our soon-to-be pal Harrison

>>6032323
Sounds reasonable

>>6032277
>"-We should split up and tackle a different thing each."

I’m thinking it should go something like
>Everyone to Harrison
I mean, we see him right now. May as well hear him out now and see if we can get his help. He meets a lot of people coming in and out, so he wouldn’t be a bad choice to assist with the recruiting process in general.

Not sure what role he’d take. Bosun/bosun’s mate? If he’s got a knack for people then keeping them on-task could be a good fit.

If we can recruit him now, great. If he needs time or a favor, we can split off as needed. I’m in general agreement with >>6032323 outside of moving Harrison to top of the list, Ramza can do the bulk of the recruiting (possibly with Harrison giving feedback in advance so we have fewer to interview), Val to the Shipwitch since he can talk some of our magical ideas to entice her with more fulfilling work, and Gigas to the Carpenter since at least they’re both Gaoth and we don’t have anything better to go on.

I’m okay with going to Lieutenant Hara, but only if it’s at least both Ramsa and Val. Ramza to make his case, Val to make sure Ramza doesn’t get her to join solely through charm. She should have other reasons in case “being with Ramza” sours for her later.

>>6032599
I can get behind that.
Three of us on Harrison, then splitting as my first post, then regroup for Lieutenant Hara

>>6032599
>>6032277
>Support

All to the closest dude. Then split up.

>>6032599
+1

>>6032277

>>6032323
>>6032338
>>6032598
>>6032599
>>6032603
>>6032819
>>6033110
Ganging up to socialmaxx Harrison before splitting up, with Ramza handling the mooks, Gigas going for the Gaoth, and Val going for the shipwitch.
Roll me 5d10 for Ramza, 2d10 for Gigas, and 2d10 for Val!

Rolled 7, 7, 5, 8, 2 = 29 (5d10)

>>6033601
Guess I’m Ramza this time.

Rolled 9, 7 = 16 (2d10)

>>6033601
Go Gigas Go

Rolled 1, 3 = 4 (2d10)

>>6033601
Rolling for ever-scoiable Val! Kek.

Sheeit, I've been trying to write but it's impossible with the foggy brain that comes with this infernal migraine. I'm gonna have to put off the update until tomorrow.
I should hire a priest to shoot the demons responsible for my routine headaches. Or maybe just engage in recreational trepanning.

>>6033991
Just don't combine the two. Bullet trepanning never goes well. Kek.

Feel better soon, QM.

>>6033998
But anon, it's so much quicker and cheaper than regular trepanning!
Why, if you have the right tool, you can perform the operation on a dozen people at once!

>>6032323
>>6032338
>>6032598
>>6032599
>>6032603
>>6032819
>>6033110
>>6033647
>>6033650
"-We should head down to see about recruiting Harrison first, then split up. Being the captain, Ramza, you'll be needed to oversee the bulk majority of our recruitments and fill out all the minor roles around the ship. Gigas, being a Gaoth, would be best suited to seeing about helping Doric. I'll handle the Shipwitch." You explain.

"What? No way, dude. I should handle the shipwitch." Ramza objects, getting a sleazy grin on his face as he clearly thinks about how hot she may or may not be.

"Mm, no, I must agree with Mr. Lasombra on this one my friend. You would definitely be better suited to handling the mooks." Gigas vouches for your plan, shaking his head with a chuckle. "If you head out to deal with the Shipwitch, you'll just end up hitting on her. Better to save that for AFTER she's already agreed to serve on the ship!"

"I can't believe my right hand men are so seditious. I'll have you know that I'm a gentleman of the highest caliber, you son of a bitch, even though you're absolutely right about what I was going to do." Ramza says with a groan, adjusting the bandana covering his hair. "Alright, fine. I'll do it. But I am NOT going to be happy about it!"

"Your understanding is appreciated, boss." You say with subtle sarcasm lacing your tone. "Now, we don't actually know much about Harrison, so we'll have to sell it to him. Let's go."

The three of you proceed down the ramp and onto the docks, Ramza and Gigas raising their hands up in greeting to Harrison upon your approach. You don't really bother, instead tipping your hat slightly in his direction as a more refined show of respect. Harrison gives a half-hearted wave of his own, seemingly too tired to put much effort into the gesture.

"Welcome back to Threespice. The day trip wasn't too bad, I hope?" Harrison speaks up.

"Surprisingly quite good. Didn't even see any monsters out there." Ramza replies. "Got what we went out for and came right back. Oh, and we saw a Dragon up close."

"No shitting?" Harrison's eyes go a bit wide, and Ramza nods to confirm the claim. "I mean, shit, I heard rumors from a few sailors that there might be one lurking around the area. But you actually made contact with one? What'd it look like? Was it friendly? Pure or impure?"

"It was hiding out in one of the icefields. Pretty sure it hunted all the monsters that usually hide in those things, which is probably why we didn't encounter any the whole time. It was a bit catlike in demeanor, got interested in us only when we showed it flashy things, then left as soon as it got bored with us. I'm pretty sure it was Pure, since it didn't try to eat us or anything. It uh, had golden hair and pearly scales, and its head was about as big as our ship." Ramza recalls the details of the encounter.

"Did it demonstrate any kind of elemental magic?" Harrison asks, surprisingly excited about the information.

"I'm not really sure. It did move through the ice like it was liquid, though." Ramza rubs his chin as he considers it. "Could shape raw mana, too. Maybe it had an affinity for Water?"

"Definitely a Water Dragon! I can't imagine why one would be all the way out in Lume, though. Maybe it hitched a ride on some ships during the Stormwar and just never left?" Harrison chews on one of his thumb's nail as he considers the idea. "Man, you guys are lucky. I wish I'd been there to have seen it."

"You probably won't ever get to see one at a job like this." You point out, a bit more brusquely than you intended.

"Yeah..." He sighs, before shrugging. "But it's secure, and it pays the bills. And then some, depending on who I deal with." He grins and rubs his fingers together as though there were coins in them.

"I don't know, they might bring one in through cargo for the fighting arena, right?" Gigas says, unhelpfully and counterproductively giving him a reason to stay. "Probably not a very big one though. I have no idea how you'd get one as big as the one we saw through customs."

"Simply impossible." Harrison agrees. "But a smaller one does sound doable."

"Look, put all that shit aside. You want to see a Dragon, Harrison? A real one? Not a juvenile, I'm talking about a fully grown adult Dragon - maybe even an Elder Dragon. You aren't gonna see one by spending your entire life here on these docks. There's a whole world of things out there that you've only heard about, tales that you could be living instead of listening to. I think you'd be living your best life if you joined up with my crew." Ramza speaks up with surprising conviction, holding his hand out to Harrison.

Harrison seems to consider it intensely for a few moments, chewing just a bit harder on the tip of his thumb as he thinks it over. "I need to know more about who I'm joining up with before I say yes. Sell me on you guys, specifically. No reason why I can't go to any other ship and join up, after all..."

Ramza grins at that, keeping his hand held out. "That's what I like about you, Harrison. You think things through." He compliments. "We're the Trinity Pirates. We're Blues, so you won't ever be asked to do anything despicable. We try to act with honor and dignity, and we make sure that those who don't always get what's coming to them. You're free to run any kind of rackets you want, as long as they don't hurt innocent people."

"Pretty standard fare for Blues. How do you vouch for your competence?" Harrison raises an eyebrow skeptically.

"Good question. I'll answer it with another question: Hear any rumors about Jerome Stillwater lately?" Ramza replies, his smile turning more cheeky and devious.

"Yeah, just that he went dark. Disappeared in the middle of- no way. You guys?" Harrison asks, getting another silent nod from Ramza. "How? When? What'd you do with him?"

"Pretty easily, actually. We snuck into the warehouse he was working in at the time, made sure everyone was distracted thinking that one of their slaves was on the run, then knocked him out and brought him back to the ship in a barrel. Now he's sitting pretty in a cell, where he belongs." Ramza says while examining his nails as though the topic was of little importance.

Harrison's eyes glaze over for a moment as he recalls a few nights prior, then snaps his fingers and points to the Captain. "I remember that night! The big guy came in with the barrel...then the small guy left with it a few hours later." He says, shifting to point at Gigas and then you.

"I'm not small." You growl in irritation.

"...Comparative to the big guy, I meant." He sheepishly corrects himself. "Anyways, there was also that Demon that's been visiting your ships lately, around that time. What's the deal with that?"

"Oh, Gremory? She's actually a member of the crew too. She's a paradox - pacifist demon. Drinks ethers to keep herself calm, so I don't think she's actually a danger to anyone. Real smart when it comes to magic, though, and nobody wants to fuck with a crew that's got a Demon on board." Ramza explains.

"That's..." Harrison hesitates for a moment, before letting the next sentence fall from his mouth in one quiet breath. "...So cool."

"Told you." Ramza gives you a pointed look, and you have to force yourself not to roll your eyes or glare at him in response. He directs his gaze back to Harrison and gives his outstretched hand a jiggle. "So how about it, Harry? Want to join up with the only Pirates that have an Demon working for them?"

Harrison takes the Captain's hand and gives it a surprisingly enthusiastic shake, given his otherwise tired demeanor. "How could I say no? I get the feeling I'll be seeing things a hell of a lot greater than the stories I hear every day. To hell with sailor's tales - this'll be shit straight out of a fairytale. I can feel it."

"Glad to hear it! Now, as for the first order of business, I'm going to need your help with filling out the rest of the crew. I've got a list, and I need to find these people..." Ramza says, pulling an arm around Harrison's shoulders and starting to walk off with him. You were going to ask him about what ship the Shipwitch departed on, but with Ramza filling the man's ear and rapidly leaving the scene, you don't think that'll be happening.

"Well, Val, it looks like it's just us now. What do you say we-" Gigas turns to talk to you, but by then you've already turned to walk back onto the Gleamrunner. You can't exactly reach the fishing ships without it, after all. "Oh. Uh, next time then. Right, we've got things to do! Good luck on your mission, brother!"

"Mm. Good luck." You say back, words a bit muffled by your covered face. You're sure he was going to suggest messing around instead of actually sticking to the plan. Part of you wonders if letting him wander off in his own is really a smart idea, but there's no point to second-guessing yourself now. You've got a Shipwitch to find.

Speaking of which...

>Roll 7d10 for Val!
>If you have any particularly good ideas for helping your efforts to find her, I'll award you an extra dice per idea, up to a maximum of three!

Rolled 3, 5, 9, 4, 8, 7, 7 = 43 (7d10)

>>6034272
>ask the dock master or fishermen which boat she went out on and what direction.

>>6034272
We already rolled, but may as well add some other ideas to track her.
>Ask where some of the dangerous or lucrative fishing areas are. No sense hiring a Shipwitch to fish the same areas as everyone else.
>If looking at loose packs of vessels, look for larger and older ships. A larger ship implies the capacity to haul enough to pay a Shipwitch and the possible need for one to remain nimble, and a Shipwitch with a chip on her shoulder would advocate for areas where Eldingarian vessels normally fish. A show of pride that she’s an equal to them.

As one final thing,
>Ask for additional details on the Shipwitch.
I could see some people lying so we fail since they want to keep her local, but anyone who waxes on about how Eldingarian tech has taken the soul out of fishing or such can be trusted. I’m sure there’s more than one of those. Hearing a bit about how a Shipwitch helps vessels would also be nice.

>>6034272
>>6034657
On the final thing, we should ask
>Does Sari have a specialty?
since that could also help us find her ship. If it’s something that’s noticeable then we can look for ships showing that effect.

>>6034287
>>6034657
>>6034663
I dig it. Roll me three more dice, baby!

Rolled 3, 10, 4 = 17 (3d10)

>>6034708

>>6034713
Three pair would be a hell of a hand to lay down in poker, but all it gets us here is a funny look and a shrug.

Wait, it’d get you the same thing in poker.

Wait again, it might get you stabbed in the wrong place.

… what was I talking about again?

So anyways, the per-thread curse hit me and I ended up vomiting all over the place and then passing out for most of the day. I'll try my best to update, but if I don't, then you know why!
The next thing you'll say is "Take it easy, QM!" or "Get well soon, QM!"

>>6035546
Try not to die, QM!

>>6035556
I should have known you'd find a way around it...I'll get you next time, Spiderman.

>>6035546
As someone with a nasty Faggotry-For-QM case I hope your sickness is not contagious

>>6035546
Try to vomit into a sink or toilet instead of all over the place. Much easier to clean up later!

>>6032323
>>6032338
>>6032598
>>6032599
>>6032603
>>6032819
>>6033110
>>6033647
>>6033650
I lived!

Untying the ship from the docks and pulling the ramp back up by yourself is tedious work, but within a few minutes you're ready to set sail towards some of the nearby fishing vessels. You have a plan in your head about how this should go - you'll find one of the larger and older vessels first, inquire with them if Sari is aboard, and if you get a no for an answer then you'll proceed with pertinent questioning to narrow down your field of search. If you were lucky, she could even be on the first ship, since you reason that outdated but large-haul ships would be the most likely ones to need the services of a Shipwitch.

You pass by smaller ships that seem to be lingering closer to Threespice, as your own target seems to be a fair bit more confident than the others. A herring buss bobs with the waves as it lingers around some of the ruins about a two or three miles out from Threespice, its crew currently working together to haul up a net filled with fish. You notice that the ruins they're docked at seem to have a variety of nets and other fishtraps set up between them already, and you surmise that the fishermen must visit this area frequently to empty out whatever got too comfortable and took the bait.

Pulling the Gleamrunner up next to their ship, you briefly lift your hat off your head and give a wave with it before setting the pointy-tipped article back where it belongs. "Good haul today, gentlemen?" You force yourself to start with pleasantries, as pointless as you may find them to be.

"Not too bad, not too bad. Hoping to collect some to supplement your travel rations, friend?" The probable-captain speaks up, a white-bearded man that seems to have lost a leg at some point, given how he only has a wooden peg in place of one. You idly wonder why he'd use such a subpar prosthetic instead of getting a graft, but decide that questioning it isn't your place.

"No, just looking to find someone. Are you familiar with the Shipwitch called Sari?" You cut to the point.

"Aye, I am. She's not in trouble, is she?" The fisher asks, bushy brows raising up with a mixture of surprise and a touch of caution.

"No, not at all. We were hoping to acquire her services as a Shipwitch, actually. It's a pretty rare profession these days, or so I've heard."

"Indeed it is. They're a dying breed thanks to that Eldingarian nonsense." He clears his throat with a disgusting sound before he spits a small ball of black gunk on the deck, his expression showing his distaste for the Eldingarians afterwards. "They're out there creating solutions for problems that were already solved, and making more problems in the process. Killin' off culture in the process, if'ye ask me."

"Oh?" You gesture for him to elaborate, intrigued.

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"You never been there, have ye? Well I have. Been everywhere the Core's light shines, mhmm. More'n once, too. Eldingar's a sad sight, where everythin' new is strangling the old. Visited one of their temples to sample the culture when I was about twenny, and when I came back five years later there weren't no trace of the damn thing - just a cold n' lifeless concrete buildin' with steel bones they were building there. You see it all over their country, anything that used to be important to them is getting swept under the rug. You can bet they'll do the same to us too, soon enough!"

"The Vodans tried to beat them to it." You say, gesturing out to the ruins. "But cultural erosion aside, can you help me? To find Sari, I mean."

"Oh, yeh. She's below deck, savin' her energy. We only put her to work when we're heading out of the safe zones, she's real good at makin' sure monsters don't come a' lookin for us." He cups a hand over his mouth and begins to shout at a volume that makes you cringe in pain. "Hey, Sari! You gots someone with a job offer lookin for you!"

"Quite the set of lungs..." You mutter under your breath as you wait for her to come topside.

You weren't sure what you were expecting a Shipwitch to look like, but what you see does seem to be fairly fitting. A red-haired women with a similar cloak around her shoulders climbs above deck, throwing her hair over her shoulder after it tries to go out of place from the winds picking up. Her attire is admirably rugged, and she seems to have had the foresight to be armed despite her role not being that of a combatant. The most curious thing about her would be the carved wand dangling from her belt, outfitted with what you can immediately tell is a high-grade Fire Catalyst. You're not sure why, but she seems to have a second fire catalyst dangling from a charm around her wrist.

"Hey, Séamus! Is this the guy that wanted to see me?" Sari asks, quirking her head as she looks you over head to toe.

"Aye." He says with a nod, and you tip your hat slightly towards Sari.

"Good day, miss. My name is Val Lasombra. My Captain has sent me to try to find you in hopes that we could recruit you." You cut straight to the point.

"Is that right? For what kind of work?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

"Your specialty. We need a shipwitch, as we use catalysts in our ships quite regularly." You pause for a moment, before deciding that honesty is the best policy. "I won't lie, you'll be working with pirates if you accept. Blue pirates, though - we call ourselves Trinity. It'll be potentially dangerous work, but you'll get a fair share for the work you do."

"Trinity...?" She screws her face up for a few moments, before snapping her fingers. "I heard of you guys! You beat the Black Rose pirates down at the arena, didn't you?"

"Word travels quickly." You comment, surprised, though she shakes her head at this.

"Oh, no, I'm just friends with one of the organizers there. You probably saw her, she's the only Vodan there." She says, holding her hands up towards the top of her head to mimic some kind of animal ears. Oh, the mouse-girl.

"Ah, her. Didn't really talk to her, but I did see her." You nod. "But that aside, will you accept the offer?"

"This is the part where I negotiate the best possible deal for myself, right?" She says, grinning mischievously. Then, she seems to deflate as she instead sighs, crossing her arms with a look of annoyance. "But I know that beggars can't be choosers, and you're pretty much the only person to actively seek out a Shipwitch in these parts in the past two years. I had to plead with Séamus for a spot here!"

"Welcome aboard, then. I'll introduce you to Captain Valentine later. Just...watch out. He flirts with every cute girl he meets." You warn her seriously, gesturing for her to step aboard the Gleamrunner.

As she does so, she raises her eyebrows with a bit of surprise. "You think I'm cute?" She asks, completely misinterpreting what you meant.

You know with absolute certainty that you would sputter and be a completely inelegant mess right now if you were to try to reply to that. So...you don't. You keep your mouth shut, turn away from her silently, and march over to grab the helm. It's gonna be a bit of an awkward ride back to the docks...

Perspective Shift?
>Be Gigas, attempting to recruit the carpenter.
>Be Ramza, sifting through a horrendous amount of mooks for recruitment.
>Remain Val, have the QM make decisions for Gigas and Ramza in the background. Skip to everyone meeting again.

>>6037981
>Be Gigas, attempting to recruit the carpenter.
I will do unholy things for a witch + bunny 3-way

>>6037981
>>Be Gigas, attempting to recruit the carpenter.

>>6037981
The correct answer was to say yes, Val, and to follow up saying that she’ll be hopeless against the Captain.

You could also point out that you simply respect/admire any woman who stays armed even if they aren’t expecting combat. We’re in a dangerous line of work after all. Bury yourself deeper.

At least you can find footing again by running down some ideas for the ships to see if she’s got an inclination for research. If not then you can get her opinion on how to kit the ships out to properly use her skillset. Keep it work-focused.

>Be Gigas, attempting to recruit the carpenter.
I kinda want to leave this to QM just to see how bad it goes, but I know an intrusive thought when I think one.

>>6037981
>Be Gigas, attempting to recruit the carpenter.

>>6038167
But spill spaghetti first.

>>6038208
The second part should do that. I can read it as Val trying to show how he’s focused on professionalism (like making sure a new crew member is prepared for unexpected assaults i.e. our Captain) but her reading it as “so you like my outfit”. Which isn’t wrong, he does approve of it.

Up to QM how deep we dig ourselves while we’re piloting our friend GIGAS-XLR.

It’d be even funnier if she noticed he meant more from complimenting her outfit than calling her cute. He spent a lot more time reviewing her outfit than her face or body. Danger dresses appropriately, after all.

I'd also need to voice my need for a dual-spaghetti spilling relationship among Edge McDarkness and Autistic Shipwitch.

Spaghettis flowing from a pocket to the other. Eternal motion.

>>6038687
If only we could harness the energy to power the ship. Alas, such tech would disrupt the spaghetti and cause it all to drop to the floor, spilled for the final time. Eternally flowing pasta is too beautiful to ruin like that.

But Sari could be a perfectly normal person. Don’t know enough about her yet.

Not dead, just been busy between going comamode for 17 hours and dealing with a bunch of real-life stuff. In my ideal world, there would be nothing but me, writing my quest, and you reading them. With no escape, only an endless abyss awaiting those who try.

But anyways, expect the update tomorrow. I should finally be able to pump it out then!

>>6040855
Talk about ominous positivity. We'll see you soon, QM!

>>6040855
I can’t cast stones, I’ve been dodging a lot of things on the board. I don’t even have real-life as an excuse for much of it.

But still, I’ll be here! This is the last quest I’m following at the moment, gotta get my reading fix somehow and you’re my current dealer. Gotta get that straight-cut of high adventure and entertaining characters from a source that won’t cut it too badly with poorly-thought plot threads and anons doing drive-by character assassination in the background while I get my hits in.

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>>6037992
>>6038015
>>6038167
>>6038208
>>6040859
You grip the helm's wheel a little too tightly, lips pulled into a tight yet thankfully unseen line as you consider how to salvage the interaction. You already dedicated a good minute to the act of silence at this point, hopefully one that would give you an air of mystique, but you're unsure of how well it's working. Did you make the right call? Maybe you should have leaned into it to show confidence. Or maybe you should have changed the subject subtly, controlling the flow of the conversation.

You slowly start to frown under your mask, brow furrowing. Sometimes, you wish you were as socially capable as Ramza was. Or at least as carefree as Gigas, if nothing else.

Meanwhile, outside of the Eye.

You are Gigas, and there's nothing in the world that could upset you right now. It's going to be a good day, because you say it's going to be one. Who is the day to go against the mighty Gigas' wishes? Nobody, that's who.

Right now, you've been tasked with recruiting one of your fellow Gaoth that seems to be imprisoned by the local guards. You're not really sure how you're going to do that, but like always, you'll just play things by ear. For now, you think that visiting the guy and seeing if he's even open to the idea of recruitment first is probably the smartest move.

The prison itself is not, as you thought, in the Eye itself. No, it's actually entered through an unassuming set of stone stairs outside of the Guard's docks, as one of the Guards politely points out to you when you ask. Some kind of underground dungeon, then? An odd choice, but who are you to judge - you're sure they have some kind of structural or security reason for it.

"Halt!" The duo of guards at the top of the entryway say simultaneously. "State your business, sir."

"...Visitation?" You say with a shrug. "I'm here to speak to a specific prisoner, Doric."

The guards look at one another, before nodding. "You have five minutes then. And it'll just be you - we restrict visitors to one at a time, to prevent any funny business."

"Makes sense. What about the timer?" You ask curiously.

"People used to abuse the lack of one and kept everyone else waiting for their turn." One guard shakes his head with a sigh. "You can just go back down if nobody's come for visitation once you're time's done. Just consider it a checkup if that happens."

"Great!" You beam.

"Right, follow me then." The guard waves towards himself as he turns around and starts marching down the stairs. You fall in after him, noting that the stairs have a bit of a curve to them - you're going some kind of a spiral staircase, you think. A big one though, wide enough to fit three of yourself shoulder to shoulder.

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The daylight from the Core quickly disappears and is replaced by dim, hazy torchlight from blazing sconces lining the walls. Smoke trails from them and disappears up into slits cut into the wall, pulled away by some mechanism unknown to you. You go down at least fifty feet underground before the stairs finally end, leading to a hallway that stretches off into the distance.

With a grunt, the guard urges you to keep walking with him instead of staring, and the two of you walk for about half a minute down the lengthy corridor. You only pass by about two others guards, one of which was loudly snoring as he slept on a chair instead of actually keeping watch, before the one leading you stops you at a grated door. He raps his knuckles on it twice, before leaning in to peer through the grates.

"Visit for you, Doric."

"He got anything to drink?"

The guard looks back at you, and you shake your head.

"No."

"Then tell him to piss off."

"Tell him yourself, you lousy drunkard. You'd think you would have learned your lesson..." The guard scoffs, stepping aside and gesturing for you to move forward. He moves to the back wall and leans against it, crossing his arms as he boredly waits for you to do your business.

You step up to the door and peer through the bars, seeing a gruff looking disheleved old man. His skin and hair are both dark like yours, and you can tell he probably had a similar build at one point in time but must have thinned with age. A strong scent of alcohol then wafts through the barrier, making your eyes sting with its pungency.

"Tshh- you sure you need a drink? Smells like the damn brewery in there." You comment, wrinkling your nose.

"Not my fault. The son of a bitch that called the guards on me also spilled my drinks all over me." Doric holds his hands up defensively.

"He refused to let go of them when he was being thrown out of the establishment. Actually, I heard he tried to grab even more." The guard comments from behind you.

"I wasn't done yet!" Doric shouts back at the guard, before sighing and looking you in the eyes with a weary expression. "Look, why are you here? I don't know much about Lume's laws, but I do know that Marko agreed to drop the bill if I could beat his son, and I fuckin' did. It's not my problem if the honorless son of a bitch pretended our deal never happened."

"Well, I wanted to see what I could do about helping you out. Maybe see what it'd cost to bail you. See, our crew is in need of a Carpenter, and we heard you're the best of the best around here." You explain.

He raises an eyebrow with a somewhat confused expression. "Aye? Who said that?"

"Just someone that knows everybody. You know who." You say cheekily, obscuring Lobo's name due to the legal presence nearby.

Doric's face lights up in recognition, and he nods. "Ahh, him! I guess if anyone would know, it'd be him, yeah. That's good, any friend of him is a friend of mine. Well, if you get me out of here, I'll be your man. Ain't too picky as long as you stock plenty of drink for me on board. Doesn't even have to be the good shit, I'm not like the Fancypants McGees in this town that sip on overpriced wines and pretend they're better than everyone else for it."

"Sounds good to me. Let me see what I can do, alright?" You say, before turning around to face the guard and pointing a thumb back at Doric's cell. "What's bail set for?"

"The bill, plus the usual incarceration fee. Comes out to a total of two thousand and fifty gold coins." He says.

"Two thousand coins just for getting jailed?!" You would have done a spittake if you were drinking anything. "That's absurd!"

"No, two thousand coins is his bill. It's fifty for the incarceration." The guard corrects you.

"He...he had an unpaid tab of two thousand?" You ask, incredulous.

"His own fault for collecting tabs by the month and not setting a limit. I took it as a challenge." Doric chimes in from behind you, sounding mirthful.

"Well...I will have to see what I can do, then." You say, jerking your head down the hall you came from to indicate to the guard that you're ready to go. "I'll be back later. Promise."

"I'll hold you to it, lad." Doric says, and you depart.

The way back up is entirely uneventful, and you part from the guards as soon as you're topside. You decide to head back towards the ship, seeing as you definitely don't have that much money on you right now and will need to petition Ramza for some, but as you're cutting through an alleyway you feel a slight tug on your clothes from behind.

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"Hm?" You turn around curiously, to see a tanned, raven-haired woman in a revealing rogueish outfit standing there with a hand on her hip. It accentuates the curves of her body quite well, showing off an athletic body that's just right...

"You went to visit someone at the prison just now, didn't you?" She asks you out of the blue.

"That's right. Why do you ask, miss...?" You pause, letting her fill in the blank for you.

"Nym. Just call me Nym." She says, before looking you up and down for a moment. "I'm asking because I saw you in the Arena the other day, so I know you're not a law-abiding type...and I'm looking for a little help. See, there's someone in the prison that I need out of it. I'm guessing whoever you went to visit is someone you'd also want out, so I wanted to offer that we help each other out. It'll be easier with more hands, less risky. We do it right, they won't even know what happened until nightfall."

"Interesting..." You say, rubbing your chin as you consider the proposal. Your immediate instinct, of course, was to accept. But some part of you tells you that maybe, just maybe, it's better to think things through. You don't know this woman, you don't recall ever seeing her before, and she randomly approached you to stage a jailbreak. But on the other hand, she could be a worthwhile recruit herself potentially, and you admittedly find both her body and her daring choice of clothing quite attractive. The thought of having her around or ingratiated to you is a tempting one for that last point alone.

Path 1: Accept the offer, break Doric and Nym's friend out of prison.
>Take a bold approach. You'll be a good distraction for Nym to slip in and out unnoticed.
>Take a sneaky approach. You'll both try to get in and out undetected, even if it'll be individually harder without a distraction.
>Take a smart approach. Go hit up Lobo together, see if he knows any ways to get someone out of the prison easily.
>Got a specific plan? Write it in!

Path 2: Reject the offer.
>Go find Ramza, convince him to cough up the coins for Doric.
>Go and find a way to make the coin yourself. Surely it wouldn't take too long for the Great and Mighty Gigas!
>Something else? (Write-in!)

>>6041869
>Take a bold approach. You'll be a good distraction for Nym to slip in and out unnoticed.
>Got a specific plan? Write it in!
Our distraction can be trying to 'haggle' the guards in our usual, boisterous fashion.

>>6041869
>Go and find a way to make the coin yourself. Surely it wouldn't take too long for the Great and Mighty Gigas!

Don't trust her, don't know if she is trying to spring a mass murderer or kiddie diddler, whatever, and if we stage a jailbreak and get caught it is a very large inconvenience for the future.

>>6041869
>Go find Ramza, convince him to cough up the coins for Doric.
I like tanned abs very much, but she is just too suspicious.

>>6041869
>Take a smart approach. Go hit up Lobo together, see if he knows any ways to get someone out of the prison easily.
The Great and Mighty Gigas never shies away from a challenge! However, this city is full of shady types who wish they had the power of Gigas, so it pays to know who you're dealing with.

>>6041869
>Take a smart approach. Go hit up Lobo together, see if he knows any ways to get someone out of the prison easily.

I view it as gigas thinking " what would Val do" cause ramza "would just get her pregnant" though the latter isn't a bad idea....

>>6042022
>>6042167
I'll back this as well, in a pinch.

>>6041869

>>6041869
>Well, you DO have some favor with the Guard for turning over Stillwater. Perhaps you could deal with the guard captain to release her partner (and Doric) without upsetting them and getting your Captain in trouble?
I don’t imagine Gigas would feel comfortable using the favor itself, so I’d frame it as asking if there’s something he needs done that we can do now instead. If it involves stealing or causing a distraction we might be able to get Gremory’s help in some way too.

What is her partner in for, anyway?

>>6041869
>>6042311
Oh, and if SHE needs convincing of it then just point out she does well we can talk the Captain into letting them join our crew. Leaving Threespice with a bunch of Blues is a good way to leave any other problems she has here behind. Much safer too, as only Ramza’s crew has Gigas protecting it!

>>6041869
Well, if no one else will bite on the guard I have a different plan idea.
>Ask if Gremory would be willing to interview Doric for your crew as a distraction.
Seriously, having a demon visiting the prison would be an awesome distraction, and the guards may chip in some coin if it manages to get her out their hair quicker.

Gigas can work on get-rich quick schemes in the meantime.

>>6041869
>Take a bold approach. You'll be a good distraction for Nym to slip in and out unnoticed.
We ain't no bitch

>Take a bold approach. You'll be a good distraction for Nym to slip in and out unnoticed.

I'm a Gigas man doing Gigas things.

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>>6041877
>>6041944
>>6042003
>>6042022
>>6042167
>>6042249
>>6042311
>>6042976
>>6043720
With 3 votes to everyone else's 2 (although one was willing to go smart if it came down to it), Gigas decides to take a bold approach with it. With that in mind, I'll need some rolls from you lads!
The first is a simple 2d10, which is his Brains + Notice pool.
The second? Another 2d10, for his Face + Connive pool, to distract them verbally.
And if that fails, then Gigas shall do what Gigas does best, with 7d10 for his Hands + Athletics pool to distract the guards in a more physical way by giving in to the temptation we all have. Just as a prank, bro!

Rolled 4, 10 = 14 (2d10)

>>6043726

Rolled 4, 10 = 14 (2d10)

>>6043726
Ah well, we try our best to guide our foolish comrades, but they are what they are.

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>>6043734
>>6043752
Invoking Balatro lore, this is 2 success.

Rolled 9, 9, 9, 1, 2, 9, 7 = 46 (7d10)

>>6043726
We tried.

>>6043771
This shit made me laugh harder than it should have. Why is gigas so good at snatching a guard's weapon and playing keepaway?
>>6043734
>>6043752
Although fun, unfortunately they're separate dicepools/rolls so they don't qualify as pairs!

>>6043771
Fucking hell, quad 9. I’m guessing Gigas disassembled the first guard so fast and effectively that they ask him to teach them his ways?

>>6043773
In light of the roll, would anyone else be willing to turn this into a training session for the Guard due to the massive skill gap? It should alarm Gigas that they’re so ineffective at catching him. What if an actual criminal tried this with them? Black pirates? Someone without his muscles could actually use the gun!

The Great and Magnanimous Gigas (Ramza taught him that word while drunk one time!) should play his part in making people as great as he is. They’ll never get there, but that’s no excuse to stay this weak!

"Alright, I'm in!" You say with a grin, smashing your fists together a couple of times with eagerness. "Gigas will provide the perfect distraction for you, for Gigas excels at all things."

She raises an eyebrow at this, as though you just said something weird, but it seems she chooses not to comment on it. "Right. You'll be the distraction, and I'll slip inside to let our guys out, then. Who are you looking to bust?" She asks.

"Oh, Doric of Gaoth. You know him?" You ask.

"I do. Used to be the best carpenter in Threespice before he retired." She confirms with a nod. Retired? You didn't know that...

"Great! Who are you busting?" You decide to pry.

"An old friend I made a promise to. I always keep my promises." She says with a coy wink, clearly not comfortable revealing their identity to a relative stranger. "Anyways, I should be in and out pretty quickly. Three minutes, tops. Maybe less if your distraction is good enough to draw out the ones inside."

"Understood, Miss. It'll be a breeze for you, then. Should we establish a meeting point for later, or...?" You pause, thinking it over. Man, plotting a jailbreak takes more planning than you'd thought. You'd much prefer it if it was something you could just go out and DO.

"I guess I could personally drop Doric off with you, sure. Got any spots in mind?"

"You know Gardan's?"

"You know it." She grins. "Best place to eat in town. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to rope me into a lunch date."

You shrug casually, grinning back at her. "We'll see what happens." You say, before breaking off and heading back towards the entrance of the prison. "Good luck on your part!" You call out before you exit the alleyway.

You find yourself stepping back up to the duo of guards at the entrance, plantings your hands on your hips and adopting a wider stance than usual to make yourself seem that much more obvious. "Gentlemen." You say.

"..." The duo doesn't respond, just looking to each other in brief confusion before looking back at you.

"..." You struggle to think of something to say for a moment, pausing in the awkward air your approach left. "See anything unusual lately?"

"Yeah. Some guy trying to make small talk with us. If you don't have business at the prison, then move along, civilian." The guard that didn't guide you before says with irritation.

"I, uh...well..." You can't think of anything witty to say in response to that, nothing to shift their demeanor or the topic. Your gaze shifts to the weapons sheathed at their hips, and you snap your fingers. "Right! I wanted to ask you about this." You say, reaching forward with both hands and drawing their swords out before they can realize it's happening.

"Wh-" "HEY!" They both object once it hits them. You back up from them quite swiftly, a cheeky smile decorating your face.

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"You see, I don't think these are the best weapons for guardsmen. Sure, they're great if you need to kill something, but what if you just need to incapacitate?" You ask, glad to finally have a topic to distract them with. Ramza would be proud of your conversational skills if he saw you now!

The two guards try to lunge at you to retrieve their weapons, but they're far too slow - you dance around them with each attempt. "Give! Those! Back!" They yell out. The commotion seems to be drawing the attention of other guards in the area, and soon enough you hear a whistle as one in the distance says "Lawbreaker! Stop right there!"

"I'm just trying to have a decent conversation with you lads. You know, you really should have secured this better, I shouldn't have been able to pull these out so easily - what if I was someone looking to harm you boys?" You chide them, eyeing the squad of guards running in. Fifteen seconds and they'll be on you.

"You're mental! We'll put you in bars for this, you know." The one that guided you earlier says.

"You won't, because I'm doing you a favor. You can't even grab your weapons back from a man that's doing nothing but dodging you! This is just sad-" You cut yourself off as you suddenly have to dodge backwards when a sword swipes through where you just were. "I mean, consider this an impromptu training session! You can all do MUCH better than this!"

You find yourself wrapped up in a one-sided melee with an entire troop of guardsmen, each of them poorly coordinating with one another as they try to strike you or otherwise subdue you. For the next five minutes this continues, and the entire time you point out the flaws in their training. Their poor reflexes, their inadequate conditioning, their subpar teamwork!

While you're certain that you gave Nym more than enough time to do the job by now, you're also in a bit of a pickle with everyone surrounding you. They do seem to be flagging at this point though, many of them sweating and panting from so many failed attempts to attack you. You get an unexpected reprieve when a vaguely familiar voice calls out suddenly.

"Stand down!" The captain of the guard shouts. The men immediately part to show him, some of them sheathing their weapons while the others just seem thankful for the chance to catch their breath.

"He...he stole our weapons, Cap'n!" One of the original duo says between pants. The Captain's gaze seems to shift from them to the swords in your grip, before he sighs and shakes his head.

"I can see that. Just...get out of my sight for now, you two." He clenches a fist like he's trying to restrain his anger. He then seems to look you in the face - it's hard to tell with that helmet. "May I have my men's weapons back?"

"Sure!" You say, flipping them over and extending the hilts to him. "It was an impromptu lesson, but I think they learned a lot. I have to say - I'm very disappointed with their training. They didn't even think to use something I couldn't dodge, like that netting over there." You comment, pointing off to the netting decorating the side of one of the Guardsmen's ships.

"So it seems. Perhaps I'll need to develop a new training program for them in the future. However..." He passes the blades off to one of his subordinates before turning back to you. "Please do leave that to me. I appreciate the effort, especially given...upcoming concerns, but it would be best if you avoided such public disturbances in the future. Understood?"

"Ah...I see. I guess I didn't really think it through enough. My apologies, Captain! I'll do better in the future." You rub the back of your head with embarrassment. "And if you need anyone to help you with making that training program, well, you know where I am!" You say with one of your toothy smiles and a thumbs-up.

"That I do. That'll be all." He says, turning and starting to walk off before pausing and glancing at his men. "Are you deaf? I said that will be all. Return to your posts or face half pay for the month!"

They all scramble and depart immediately, nobody eager to lose that much of their wages. You chuckle at the sight of course, and shake your head - you do hope that your impromptu lesson stuck with them, if nothing else. You can't waste your time here either, though, as Ramza gave you a job and you intend to stick with it.

Turning on your heel, you make your way away from the center of the city and towards a certain tavern known as Gardan's. In the alley before you can actually reach it, though, you feel a tug on the back of your shirt much like the one from before. You turn around to face Nym, only to feel the razor-thin edge of steel pressed up against your neck. You stiffen up immediately, wary of moving out of place as you look down at Nym.

"Nym? What's with the uh, knife?" You ask delicately.

"Don't worry about it, it's just how I like to greet people." She says with a grin that's playful in all the wrong ways. "I just wanted to thank you in person for your help. It would have been a much bigger pain in the ass to keep my promise if you didn't."

"That promise being...?" You involuntarily swallow, feeling the knife bite into the tender flesh a little bit as you do so. It makes you want to wince.

"To kill Mr. Stillwater, of course. Loose lips sink ships, Gigas. He was a liability." She says. Your eyes widen as you suddenly realize that you've been played from the start.

"And Doric? Did you kill him too?" You feel anger seeping into your voice. The betrayal, no matter how short of a time you knew her for, makes your heart feel tight and bile to churn in your stomach.

"Oh, no, he's waiting inside for you. Safe and sound." She jerks her head towards the establishment. "It was really, really easy to get him out - you really did a fantastic job with that distraction! I was just going to leave him here originally, but I felt like you deserved a reward."

"And what would that be?" You ask, jaw clenched and muscles subconsciously beginning to tense as you ready for a fight.

Rather than answering you, she leans in and surprises you by pushing her lips up against yours. A brief kiss, unexpected and soft, one that would be innocent in any other context. It confuses you, and as she pulls away you notice that she now looks much different than before. Nym's tan skin is now a delicate pale, her facial features more angular and almost snakelike. You can see her hair begin to ripple like water and change shape too, becoming a bit more spiky and unruly than originally.

"I would feel bad about giving you that with someone else's lips. Hope you liked the payment, big boy~" She purrs in a seductive tone, running a hand along your arm and gently squeezing the bicep. "I can't stick around any longer, unfortunately. Just try to stay out of trouble for me, okay? I'd hate to have to kill you and your friends. Consider this a friendly warning - we're always watching."

She goes to step back, removing the blade from your throat...if there's any time to do something, it's now.

>Disarm and pin her in a grapple. You won't let someone that played you get away that easily!
>She can't be that tough with a thin body like that - knock her out with a powerful blow.
>Wait a minute...seduce her. It's what Ramza would do, and your Captain would definitely know the right move here.
>Just let her go. You don't have any backup right now, Val would tell you it'd be stupid to try something with an enemy of unknown strengths.
>Something else? (Write-in)

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>>6044804
Dropped the picture, whoops!
The unfortunate naivete of poor Gigas...

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>>6044806
Kek. Anons are easier to play than pic related

>>6044813
It's what my lovable gullible cant-count-over-thirteen character would have done.

>>6044804
>Wait a minute...seduce her. It's what Ramza would do, and your Captain would definitely know the right move here.
This is what my lovable gullible cant-count-over-thirteen character would do.

>>6044813
We did get Doric, so mission accomplished?

>>6044804
>Ramza would attempt to seduce her, and Val would kill him for it if she didn’t first. Compromise and ask what it’d take to hire her. They can figure out if it’s ever worth it.

Like we just taught the guards, a weapon that isn’t in your hands is useless at best, used against you at worst. This lady is absolutely a weapon, and one Ramza and Val may consider worth disarming before the assault on Silversmith.

Let’s give them the choice. They have more patience for planning than we do.

>>6044891
Highly unlikley to work, but very funny if it does.

>>6044804
>Ramza would attempt to seduce her, and Val would kill him for it if she didn’t first. Compromise and ask what it’d take to hire her. They can figure out if it’s ever worth it.
Maybe we can at least gather some intel, or catch her off-guard for a...
>>Disarm and pin her in a grapple. You won't let someone that played you get away that easily!
if she declines

>>6044804
Anons we know who she is. She's the scary assassin from stillwaters memory shit. We just stole her from Val!

>Gigas would try to flirt with her.

>"Gigas is always on the winning side. Maybe it's time to jump ship? I have three ships! And if you jump these big arms would catch you! We don't have a beautiful stabby lady yet. We could definitely use your *insert stare at her assets* uhĥh... skills?"

>>6044804
Damn horny people everywhere. I’m fleshing out my vote in >>6044891.

I’m more upset than anything. Our distraction is what let her kill Stillwater so easily. The person that our captain turned over to the Guard to build some goodwill. The same captain that is going to get an earful when he hears how one of his crew played a prank (“training lesson”) on the guards and kept them from guarding said prisoner.

She didn’t just con Gigas. His captain will pay a price for this. Not a large one, but a price he wouldn’t have needed to if Gigas simply left. After all, if she killed Stillwater without him it wouldn’t be anyone’s fault on his crew.

She did worse than make Gigas look weak. She made him a liability to his crew. How is he in any way The Best when his involvement hurt his crew more than it helped?

But he won’t be so easily beaten. He can focus down and get something from this that he couldn’t have gotten otherwise. A loss is unacceptable, but a trade isn’t. He just needs to say the right words, in a way he understands.

>”I’m glad you enjoyed my show of keep-away with their weapons. What do I have to do to play keep-away with you?”

A completely serious line, meant to refer to keeping her from helping Silversmith, that absolutely seems like he’s hitting on her at first and second glance. That ought to get a look and flirty response from her, have it die as she realizes he’s serious, and a laugh that he tripped her up for a moment. Better than most people who hit on her, I’m sure.

So there. The perfect union of upset and flirty Gigas. He can’t know he’s flirting because his Charm is shit, he has to be accidental about it if at all.

I don’t like the outcome of hitting on her, but if he’s not intending to do her then I accept the compromise.

Besides, this is clearly not a woman who wants to be chased. She’d much rather do her own hunting.

>>6044804
>hurr durr its funny cause Gigas dumb and sexy lady make peepee hard.
He is a man governed by his emotions, and he has lost his memory, but he's not incapable of thinking and asking why. He was trusted with this task because he is able to execute without assistance, but that's not going to be the case in the future thanks to this bungle.

>She can't be that tough with a thin body like that - knock her out with a powerful blow.
The Great and Mighty Gigas fears no mundane weapon, especially not a puny knife, and he will not show up emptyhanded after this mistake. Maybe he doesn't have the full picture, but anyone interested in Stillwater will be of interest to the other captains guys.

>>6045006
I can support the one-liner as part of the recruitment/stay-out-of-our-way pitch.

>>6044844
>>6044891
>>6044902
>>6044953
>>6045006
>>6045200
>>6045414
Seduce: 2
Write-in: 3
Disarm: 1
Knock this bitch out: 1
The write-in takes it!
This is still going to require your Face + Charm pool to try to convince her, but now with some more obvious stakes, you can choose to contribute 2 Relationship Dice towards this on a failure - the RD coming from Gigas' Friends! Just remember that if you still fail after using RD, you can shock that relationship...

Anyways, one person roll for me 2d10! If that fails, then vote
>Yes
or
>No
on using RD!

Rolled 13, 16 = 29 (2d20)

>>6045707

Rolled 1, 7 = 8 (2d10)

>>6045707
>>6045709
Woops, force of habit.

>>6045707
>>6045710

>>6044902 is me, and I'll vote to use our RD.

>>6045709
>>6045710
No pairs!
Now it's up to you lads to decide if you want to risk using RD or not. It'll double your pool, give you two more rolls to try to match to either each other or to what you already rolled...but will it be enough? That's for you to decide.

>Use RD

I believe in Gigas man.

I will fight this character assasination every step of the way. Gigas is not an idiot horndog like Ramza.
>No RD

>>6045852
We're already din the attempt. it's too late. This is just to see whether we succeed or fail.

>>6045707
Yes RD.

>>6045714
>>6045717
>>6045852
>>6046136
3 yes to 1 no, we're using it then!
Roll 2d10 for me again, lads!

Rolled 2, 2 = 4 (2d10)

I'll bite.

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Words as smooth as his brain.

>>6046427
>>6046428
Dubs on the RD are still dubs, r-right?

>>6046432
If not i'll call you a cowardly faggot for hiding in the thread waiting for a braver anon to fuck this up in your place.

Not that I left that exact roll on read for 5 hours for the exact same reason, mind you.

>>6046432
Yeah!

>>6046438
Well then, you've saved me from grave shame. Thanks, QM!

>>6046433
Thank you, too, brave anon. I'm not skittish about rolling, I'm just busy at work.

>>6046438
"How dare you pull a fast one on Gigas! Gigas is the strongest and always wins! *Gigas blood pressure goes through the roof* (Riiiiiippppppp) his shirt tears itself apart as his blood pressure causes his whole body to flex. Nym looks at all those glistening muscles on muscles....

There qm I thought I'd help ya out.

Expect the update tomorrow! I'd have done it today, but I ran outta time before muh tabletop gaming. By god do I love my TTRPGS. You lads should seriously try getting into it someday if you haven't already - it's more addictive than crack.

>>6046671
watcha playan?

>>6046768
Lodestar's second tabletop run! I can't get enough of it
>>6044844
>>6044891
>>6044902
>>6044953
>>6045006
>>6045200
>>6045414
The gears in your mind turn, trying to figure out some way to salvage this situation. It was a one-sided transaction so far, one that would certainly prove to have unfortunate consequences for your friends, but that doesn't mean it has to remain that way. As she pulls away, you reach forward to gently grab her by the wrist - not the one holding the knife - and affix your steely, determined gaze at her. She seems surprised and amused in this moment.

"Hold on a moment. Hear me out on just one thing." You demand more than ask.

"Hmm..." She seems to consider it, tapping the tip of the dagger against her bottom lip despite how dangerous such an act is. "Alright, but only because I like that look in your eyes."

"Right." You try not to let your current disdain for the woman show. Val hadn't quite sold you on how bizarre Nocturne's behaviors were, and you're finding her advances so far to be a little unwanted. You liked her a lot more when she was still Nym, to say the least. "What would it take to hire you?"

"Oh? Need someone gone?" She asks, an unsettlingly wide smile slipping onto her face. "Prices are negotiable, it all depends on the factors involved. Difficulty in reaching the target, how many you want done at once, if you want it to be obvious or an 'accident', the status of the mark..." She lists of a variety of things, counting each one by touching the edge of the knife to one of her fingers without actually cutting into the soft flesh.

"What if I wanted you on retainer? A long-term arrangement." You ask.

"That's a tough one, buuut...as long as I get plenty of jobs to keep me entertained, I think I could swing it for about a million annually. One-hundred grand per month, if you prefer a shorter-term contract and don't care about the discount of the annual package." She says with a wink.

You can't help but give an impressed whistle at the staggering prices. "You must live pretty good off a salary like that."

"You'd be surprised how much of it goes towards making sure the right people look the wrong way." She giggles, before shaking her head and shrugging. "But either way, your reaction tells me that you probably couldn't afford me. That's a shame, I'm sure you would have made a good employer."

You crack one of your knuckles with just your thumb as you try to think quickly to salvage the situation, to bring the interaction back towards a neutral one again. "What about the cost to keep you from taking a job?" You blurt out.

"...Oh?" She looks surprised again. "I've never had an offer for that before. Then again, most people don't ever get the chance to ask. That's a tough one! Tell me more, though - I'm interested."

"It's simple. All I want to do is play a little game of keep-away with you. I want to know what it'll take to stop you from taking more jobs from Silversmith." You say, confident that you can reveal your intent now. It's a gamble, but if it works, then you stand to gain everything.

Her amused expression hardly changes, but you could swear it gains a bit more of a dangerous glint to it. "You're a lot more knowledgeable than I thought. That's not the kind of information a teddie-bear like you ought to have, you know." She warns, licking her lips afterwards. "...But I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. A vacation would be nice, after all. Alright, I'll tell you what - handle a job for me, and I'll be out of Threespice for the next month. Otherwise, I'll pretend like we never had this conversation and it'll be business as usual."

"What's the job?" You ask.

She wags her finger at you and tks's in a chiding tone, despite the childish grin on ehr face. "Nope! It doesn't work like that, silly. I can't tell you what the job is unless you agree to it. I can't have you sabotaging it after all. We need to make a deal if you want me to trust you." She says, holding her hand out for you to take should you agree.

Seems like your well-chosen words have taken you a lot further than you thought you'd be capable of, but now you have a different choice to make. Something tells you that no matter what choice you make, you'll have regrets about it in the future; the difficulty is in is telling which one you'll regret more. If only you could see the future, damn it!

Take the deal, shake her hand.
Reject the deal, walk away from this neutrally.
Reject the deal, take her down.

>>6047148
Take the deal, shake her hand.

>>6047148
>Take the deal, shake her hand.
Bold is the name of the Gigas game.

>>6047148
Yes Gigas. If only we had a way to see the future.
>Looks wistfully in the direction of Gremory.

>Take the deal, shake her hand.
>”I don’t think we’ll ever really see eye-to-eye, but that’s part of the fun for you, isn’t it?”
>Slight pause
>”What would the going rate for men like myself be in your world? My captain and I should know how far we have to climb.”
Ramza wants to top the bounty book and Gigas wants to be Da Strongest, and both of them should be worth more than Nocturne by that point. It’s good to have concrete achievements like “earning enough to buy out her network and crush her completely” as mid-term goals, and Ramza SHOULD be part of the fun since she’s really high in the book herself.

I don’t think Val is as interested in one-upping Nocturne on a personal level like the others so I didn’t mention him.

>>6047202
>Gremory
Well, yes, but remember that whatever you see with that becomes set in stone...

>>6047206
Meh. The existence of the spell implies free will is an illusion that can be stripped away at the whim of another at any moment. May as well be the one to do it yourself so you can work the edges of what you saw with forewarning.

Or try to, since someone else could have already locked in your other actions with their own viewing.

Speaking of, tapping directly into the Core to fuel the world’s largest future reading would certainly be one way to kickstart the apocalypse, wouldn’t it? The recursive nature of reading the actions of people who knew what the future would be for, say, every second of the next several years should cause some interesting effects with Time and Space magic!

>>6047148
Take the deal, shake her hand.

>>6047148
>Reject the deal, take her down.
We can't get played like this bros
The job is likely the exact contract she's been hired for.

>>6047148
>Reject the deal, take her down.
Don't let pussy make you a pussy

Me eyes be blurring and not wanting to unblur today. No need for alarm, it's just a temporary paralysis of the ciliary muscles! Annoying for me, though.
With that in mind, I suppose I'll continue the vote until I can actually focus my vision enough to write. Feel free to discuss it one way or the other, try to convince your peers through logic and reason or extreme hostility - whichever floats your boat, chums!

>>6048960
Well, I would call in artillery strikes on my opponent’s positions. Alas, the military hasn’t returned any of my calls.

>>6047148
I suppose we can caveat our agreement with
>”So long as it isn’t a job that benefits Silversmith.” It’s clear we’re after him, and helping him directly wouldn’t make sense. I’m sure she has other clients she moonlights for.

Before we get to today's update, I request that you, my dear readers, answer this simple Yes or No poll on if you've ever personally run a quest before. You don't have to, of course, but we're trying to get a better understanding of the number of QMs and the number of Players that have never been a QM. http://poal.me/e5o7c4
We now return to your irregularly scheduled updates.

>>6047172
>>6047192
>>6047202
>>6047754
>>6048667
>>6048685
You stare at her hand the same way you would at a loaded gun, or perhaps more accurately a snake with bared fangs. You're apprehensive about taking an unknown deal with not only a psychopath, but an assassin that's in the pocket of your biggest enemy. The thought that she could be tasking you with something that could compromise your entire mission weighs on you heavily, too heavily to accept the deal as it is. Bold and brave you may be, you would sooner put yourself to the blade than knowingly put your friends at risk over your own foolishness.

"I get the feeling that you enjoy making me feel so uneasy." You comment dryly, a more wry grin on your face than you think you've ever made. "It wouldn't be half as fun for you if we were more alike, I imagine."

"Oh, but we're a lot more alike than you think! I can tell. I saw it in your eyes down at the arena, when that hydra's venom was flowing through your veins. When you cut through all the excess..." She draws a finger from her collarbone down her chest, stopping about where her heart would be. "Then you can see those dark little urges that only people like us have. That's where the real you is."

You can't help but scoff out loud, despite the gnawing worry her words set in your gut. "You're looking too much into it. I was in a fight, and I needed to win. That's all." You frown as she gives you a nonchalant shrug, the look on her face telling you that she doesn't believe a damn word. You sigh and change the subject for now. "Before I say yes or no to your little deal, I've gotta ask - what's would you charge for someone like me, or my captain?"

"Oh, not too much. Sorry if it stings, but I think I could take care of Trinity without much trouble at all. As a package deal, I'd do it for about ten grand - fifteen if they wanted it to be seen as an accident, or twenty if they wanted to pin it on someone in particular."

"Damn. Guess we've got a long way to go, then...alright, I'm ready to make my choice then. One caveat though, a stipulation that I would imagine you'd find obvious. The job can't be one that benefits Silversmith." You say, holding your own hand out a few inches from hers so that she's the one who has to make the decision now.

"Tshhh. That does change the plan a bit, but I think I can work with that. In fact...yeah, I know exactly what job I want you to do, then." She says, grinning as she grasps your hand.

As soon as her digits squeeze around your limb, you feel the familiar tingling sensation of mana being used, and Nocturne's eyes alight blue. Your own eyes widen as you realize that she's casting a spell, likely one to enforce the deal in some way! An odd wave of dizziness and weakness suddenly pours over you, the world seeming to distort in odd ways with only the woman before you remaining unchanged. Her lips are moving...what is she saying?

>Roll 1d10 (Brains + Remember) to resist the effects of Alter Memory! On a 10 only, receive a Partial Success!
If the above fails, then:
>Roll another 4d10 (Brains + Courage) to resist the effects of Imbue Urge!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>6050018

Rolled 5, 8, 10, 1 = 24 (4d10)

>>6050018

>>6050018
Can we burn RD dice?

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>6050143
We already did so this scene, didn't we?

>>6050143
If we can, which would apply? I’d guess the crew one still applies, and “Regaining Lost Memories” might be stretchable to cover this scenario on account of the memory alteration. Can’t see Gigas being happy with new memories being lost without his consent given everything he’s already lost.

>>6050143
>>6050197
>>6050233
Sorry for the delayed response, I passed the fuck out after posting!
You can, technically. Your Brains and remember pool ends up being a -1 as-is (-2 in your Remember skill is the killer here), but that just means you can roll a single d10 for the possibility of a partial success or a critical failure; same thing happens if you have anything less than two dice to roll at any given time. If you added your Friends and Memories dice to this, you'd have a total of 3 dice to roll on resisting Alter Memory. Which is terrible odds, and you'd be risking shocking two of your relationships.
As for resisting Imbue Urge, if you don't succeed against Alter Memory, your memories are in the active control of someone else at the moment so you can't call upon your RD.

This is all a long winded way to say:
Would you like to call upon 4 RD to bump your resistance to Alter Memory up to 3 Dice?
>Yes
>No

>>6050414
>No

>>6050414
No.
Take the L. Scrambled boy is scrambled.

>>6050414
Yeah, I can take the L too. Stuff like this is why I didn’t think attacking her would work either, our boy here has some major weaknesses to cover.

We’ll see what the others can figure out from our behavior later I guess.

>>6050414
>damn, no

>survey says...
>20 readers
>17 with 'writing experience'
>5 active posters
>all retarded

>>6050416
>>6050424
>>6050451
>>6050502
>>6050559
Listen closely, my dear. When you meet ̸̶̸̸̵̵̴̷̵̴̵̸̶̶̷̷̴̴̨̧̢̡̧̢̡̧̧̢̡̧̡̛̛̛̛̛̛͓͍͙̝̬̞͈̯̳͔̘̠̦̙̭̮̭͉̫̮͓̩̩̜̯̫̬͍̫̫͍̣͔̭̻̘̼̬̟̼̩͎̫̰̪̘̖͖̩̳̥̳̩̝̹͖̳̫͖̞̟̜͎̙͎̗̻̼̥͙̣̤̝̬̮̞̥̘̙͚͍̳̮̻̮̺͓͚̻̘̤͓̗͉͓̩̥̝̥͎̥̯̳̘̺͕͖̯̙̠̣̩͙̳̼̯̰̰͓̪̙̗̩̜̭̺̼͔͖͕͎͚͉͓̞̩̻͈̞̥̖͕̥̣̿͆͑̾̈̑̎͗̒̇̓̔͌̋̃̂̄̋̊̉͌͒͑̎͌̏͛̀̌̀̑̈́̇̈̊͒͋̀̌̈͊͋̐͐̈̈́̎͊̒̒̀̓̄̈͋͊̈́̈́͊̊̋̈̓̽̾̿̍͌̓̍̒̓̄͋̍͛̐́̎̓͋̓͂͗̂̂̽̎́̋̀̊̈́̃̋̑͛̐̎̏̄̿̄̽̒̾̎̊́̒́͊͌͑͛̿͂͌͂̒͛̀̄͋͌͋͛͌͗͑̌̃̾̍̑̉͊̽̀̋͛̑̈́͊́́̍͌̉̂̍̌̕̕͘̚̕̚͘͘̕͘̚͘̚͘͜͜͜͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͠͠͠͝ͅͅͅ, you will want nothing more than to kill them. Only when they are within arm's reach will you realize this. Until then, rest easy knowing that we have made an accord, sweet Gigas. I will stay my hand from interfering with you and your friends...

Some time later:

You struggle not to tap your foot impatiently or give in to any other pointless acts that would show your boredom. You completed your job within minutes, but it seems that Ramza and Gigas have the harder tasks between them. Or at least the more time-consuming ones - you would argue that dealing with the Shipwitch was plenty hard. Not because the retrieval was difficult, mind you, but rather because the Shipwitch in question that you now have to keep company is...well, you can't really put it into any elegant words.

"So why did you guys name yourselves the Trinity pirates?" Sari asks you, marking what must be the fiftieth question in the span of the past five minutes.

"There was three of us at the time." You keep your reply short, informative, and to the point. Hopefully if you keep this up, she'll run out of questions soon.

"Does that mean we'll have to change our name now?"

"No."

"Can we change it if we want to?"

"Probably."

"Okay. Hey, do you know any cool tricks with your guns?"

"Yes."

"Ooh! Can I see them?"

"No."

"Come on, I'm boooored~!"

"No."

"Fine, then I'm just going to keep asking questions. Why do you wear that mask over your face?"

"To filter dust..." You sigh, lamenting your fate. The worst part is that it's a fate you chose for yourself - but you couldn't have possibly known that you would be paired up with such an unnecessarily chatty person.

The tender flesh lining the inside of your throat twinges with irritation; even with the curt responses you've been giving her, this is the most you've had to speak in a while. You idly wonder how things are faring for your comrades, a less than noble part of you hoping they're at least suffering as much as you are in this moment. Not that you would ever let them know, of course.

Gigas is the first to show, you spotting him easily above the crowds around the docks as he makes his way over to the ship you're on. He stands proud, as confident as always as he marches up and gives you and Sari a two-fingered wave.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, my friend! There was a slight complication with getting Doric out of prison-" He says, pausing as he moves to clap an arm around a scruffy-looking old man next to him. You initially thought that was just a random homeless guy wandering the docks... "-But as you can see, I managed everything just fine!"

"Mm. No complications on my end." You say, side-eyeing Sari for a moment.

"Wow, you really ARE tall! Just like Vally said!" Sari says, staring at Gigas with wide and sparkling eyes.

"Vally?" Gigas asks, looking over at you with a smirk. You're certain the pain that you feel right now reaches him through your eyes alone.

"Two loaded guns, Gigas. Don't make me use them." You warn, patting the firearms holstered at your hips.

"Spoilsport!" He chuckles, laughing it off as always. "But yes, good Shipwitch - do tell me what our mutual friend has been telling you about me. I'm dying to know!"

Your face scrunches up as Gigas betrays you as easily as he breathes. Seeking any amount of respite, you glance at Doric, and know what you must do to secure your reprieve. You hop over the railing of the Gleamrunner and onto the docks, marching forward and holding a hand out to the man in greeting.

"Doric." You say with a nod, forcing Gigas' conversation with Sari to blend into the background through sheer force of will.

"Pleasure. Based on the description and what she said...Val?" Doric responds, taking you by the hand and squeezing it moreso than actually shaking it. It's a strong, somewhat painful grip. The kind of grip you've come to expect from a true tradesman.

You tip your hat slightly with your free hand while giving another nod. "Mm. Val Lasombra. I trust that everything went well in securing your freedom?"

"Smooth as butter, and I didn't have to pay the bastard that put me there a single coin." Doric grins, the smell of alcohol on his breath now hitting you.

"No? Then..."

"Mm, the boy had some tanned woman sneak me out while he distracted the guards, apparently. Went smooth as silk on my end, and given how he's not sitting in my cell right now, I assume it went good on his end too." Doric explains for you.

"Ah, I see. We'll probably go through a full debriefing as soon as our captain arrives. He shouldn't be too much longer, hopefully." You say.

Perspective Shift?
>Stay as Val, skip to the reunion.
>Switch to Ramza, play through his torment of a hundred interviews.

Oh, and before I forget.
As a professional courtesy from Nocturne, Gigas now has a 0 in Remember instead of -2! It's the least she could do while she was rooting around in there making changes.

>>6050972
Score!

>>6050971
>Switch to Ramza, play through his torment of a hundred interviews.
Poor bastard. Let's see how abd it really is.

>>6050971
>>Switch to Ramza, play through his torment of a hundred interviews.

It's good we partially unscrambled Gigas

>>6050971
>Switch to Ramza, play through his torment of a hundred interviews.
We can endure.

>>6050972
It is now canon that even Black Pirates feel bad for taking advantage of Gigas’ poor memory and help if they can. Yay for small wins.

Maybe she saw some things in there she’s hoping he remembers to make him more like her.

>>6050971
>Switch to Ramza, play through his torment of a hundred interviews.
This'll be good.
>>6050972
Thank you for the pity points, I was about to lament.

File: 1509542589111.jpg (65 KB, 553x720)

65 KB JPG

Happy 4th of July, lads! Celebrate your freedom by eating good food, just to shove it in those damn brit's faces that they're busy eating MUSHY PEAS and BEANS instead of delicious steaks and juicy burgers!
Sorry to my readers that are from the fictional continent of "europe", but my freedom genes are fully activated today!

>>6051526
Bold word from someone of the colonies.

File: 1307809861001.png (77 KB, 1162x850)

77 KB PNG

>>6051542
Get him, boys.

>>6050992
>>6051008
>>6051147
>>6051296

Not too long ago...

"I've got a list, and I need to find these people." You finish saying, pulling an arm around Harrison's shoulders and starting to head away from the docks with him.

"Mind if I take a peek at this list?" Harrison asks, a request which you gladly oblige by sliding the piece of paper into his hands. His eyes flicker down the rows of names with a surprising speed, and you can practically see the gears in his head turning as he matches names to memories of the people they belong to.

"So, I'm looking for a bit of advice on this. What do you think the best method for gathering these men together would be? Ideally, I'd like to try to interview them and make sure they're a good fit for the crew, but these guys are already vetted by Lobo. So uh, it might not be entirely necessary. Either way, we've gotta find a way to recruit as many capable and trustworthy men as possible." You say.

"Well, the best method would be to tell everyone to meet you somewhere relatively safe and neutral through the FDS - Familiar Delivery Service. Costs a bit of coin per message, but it's the fastest way and guarantees you can contact everyone on the list as long as they're still alive and kicking." He explains.

"How much coin are we talking?" You ask skeptically.

"Last I checked, it was about, uhh, 10 pieces per message. So about 1,000 pieces if you wanted to contact everyone on the list. Not sure if you actually need a full crew of a hundred men though - just twenty should honestly be plenty to staff the ships you've got. They're not particularly large, and only one of 'em even has sails to fuss around with. Unless you're looking to futureproof, of course..."

"Robbery. 10 Pieces for a letter! I'm in the wrong business." You openly lament, groaning. "What are my other options?"

"Recruitment speeches, posters, or just hanging around some of the most popular spots for sailors looking for work. Or you can sidestep the list entirely and see what you can find with some of the local Mercenary Companies. It also costs a fair bit of coin, but with that coin comes an assurance of competence and experience...or so they say." He waves a hand in the air as though he was dismissing the idea.

"You don't think it's true?" You ask, curious now.

"I do, but I also think that they're more loyal to themselves and the coin than anything else."

"Makes sense. I'll put them as a maybe, then." You chew on the inside of your cheek as you take a moment to think. "Hmm...you think Gremory could get the message out for cheaper?"

"The- sorry, the Demon?" Harrison asks, surprised. "I uh, I really don't know. But wouldn't that turn people away, having a Demon's magic suddenly tell them to go somewhere?"

"True. Damn it. Well, I mean, on the other hand I do want people to know what they're getting into. Even if I don't have them send the message, it might be worthwhile to have them with me during the meeting. Lets them know right up front that we've got a Demon crew member, you know?"

"It'll definitely turn some away. But those who remain in spite of a Demon's presence would certainly be the bolder of the bunch. And less likely to cause problems with the Demon, I imagine." Harrison nods a bit. "...But, you know, that also runs the risk of someone doing something stupid when they think the wrong thing about the meeting."

"You're a good man to have around, Harrison. You've got an eye for spotting the good and bad in things." You compliment, chuckling as you pat him lightly on the shoulder. "Keep it up and you might be in the running for First Mate."

"I'll keep that in mind, Captain. You don't actually have one yet?"

"Nnnnot exactly." You drawl, grimacing. "I've been meaning to have Val and Gigas duel each other for the honor, because both are about equally good in different ways for the position, but there just hasn't been a good time for it yet."

"Well, it'd be unusual, but if you're called Trinity...have you considered just running things together? Equal power and responsibility and all that. And if there's three of you as a 'board of captains' or whatever, you always have one person able to break a stalemate." Harrison suggests.

You raise a finger and open your mouth to respond, only to stop yourself as you seriously consider the suggestion. It's true that each of you has strengths that cover the weaknesses of the others. And you have three ships, now that you think about it - there's no reason why you can't all command a ship each and convene with each other on any major decisions. Still, the more prideful part of you doesn't want to relinquish the status and power that comes with being the captain of the Trinity Pirates.

"I'll consider it." You say, lowering your finger after your moment of introspection. "For now, we should focus on the task at hand. I think I have a good plan of action..."

The Gathering:
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (How many out of 100?) of the people on the list.
>Try to find them personally at popular places for job-seeking pirates.
>Disregard the list, hit up some Mercenary Guilds.
>Send a message through Gremory.

The Demon:
>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.
>Leave Gremory to their own devices. You can just explain the deal with them to the new recruits.

The Idea:
>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.
>Stick with tradition. You're the Captain, and you'll be damned if anyone takes that from you.

Write-ins open for each category!

>>6052677
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (50 best out of 100?) of the people on the list.

>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.

The idea is to take the best half, and filter them through the demon presence. We'll end up with around 20 to 35 men; good enough for upscaling in the future. If we got more, well, we'll became the Trinity Armada.

>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.
However we remain Captain-In-Chief.
Ramza can tiebreak vote if one abstain.

>>6052677
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (How many out of 100?) of the people on the list.
40, expecting that half will run away at the sight of Gremory
>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.
>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.

>>6052677
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (How many out of 100?) of the people on the list.
Gotta spend money to make money. Call in the whole hundred, so we can sort best from worst!

>Leave Gremory to their own devices. You can just explain the deal with them to the new recruits.

>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.
I like the 'Captain-In-Chief' idea of >>6052695

>>6052677
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (How many out of 100?) of the people on the list.
>Send a message through Gremory.
I figure do maybe 5-10 people through Gremory and the rest through the message service. Any professions that are more intellectually-inclined should have less of a chance of ignoring the message (for good or for ill), so focus on them. I’ll defer to others on the total number if needed, but I think 30 hires is good to shoot for.

Besides, I’m sure Val would want to learn what a Demon sending a mental message is like without being a test subject, and Gigas isn’t a good test case. May as well get some feedback for him while saving money.

>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.
The marketplace itself seems fairly neutral, so we could bring them to the Demon instead. Less likely for a fight to break out from misunderstandings if they’re approaching us instead of the other way around.

>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.
Like >>6052677 said, we can keep the tie-breaker vote. The argument is simple - if they decide otherwise, they’ll need to hire their own crews (lots of talking for Val) based on their ship and crew’s needs (lots of planning for Gigas). It’s signing up Ramza to be the collective Crewmaster for Trinity, but he can handle the pain better than the others could. It’s a fair trade for the recognition.

>Other
>Ask if any of the Eldingarians wish to join any interviews for crew that would assist on their ship.
They know the tech better than we do, and if they think someone is going to be a good fit for their ship (or the midweight with Eldingarian thrusters) then we can slot them appropriately. More importantly, it’s showing that Ramza recognizes they have valuable input on topics he’s not an expert in and he’ll seek it out, and that’s good optics. He should be all over that given his Charm/Conniving focus.

If we’re going to the marketplace for interviews then they can try and do shopping/selling along the way. They were merchants, after all.
>See if Gremory has any requests for skills among the new hires.
Again, getting feedback so our crew is more appreciative of how wonderful Captain Ramza is. Especially compared to the other sorta-Captains he’ll be making.

>>6052677
>Use the Familiar Delivery Service, send out a message to (How many out of 100?) of the people on the list.
Nothing like showing respect to expertise, If anyone knows people better than Ramza it'll be Harrison.
>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.
We ain't here to recruit bitches, and we definitely don't need 100 of them.
>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.
Thank you OP

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>>6053263
>We ain't here to recruit bitches, and we definitely don't need 100 of them.
True. Imagine having MORE than ninety nine problems, and not only is a bitch one, ALL your problems are bitches.

>>6053264
VOTE NIGGA

>>6053370
I did. I'm >>6052917

>>6052677
>Send a message through Gremory.
>Bring the Demon along with you. Make your allegiance known from the start.
>Swallow your pride, decide to form a Trifecta of Captains later.

>>6052695
>>6052720
>>6052917
>>6052978
>>6053263
>>6053679
Looks like we'll be using the FDS on the best 50, bringing Gremory along to filter the wheat from the chaff, and taking Harrison's idea for later!

Here's how we'll handle things, men. I want 1 person to roll a d50 for me to see how many of the men on the list decide to stick through it despite the demonic presence over your shoulder.
1 more person should roll a d100 for me with a DC of 75 to see if anyone causes an...incident.
And one last person shall roll a pool of 5d10 for Ramza's charm, of which all 6 of his rd are applicable. Each different pair on the Charm roll can be used to make another roll on the d50 or the d100. Width won't matter so much here, but you can always split a wide enough roll into more pairs (IE you can take 3, 3, 3, 3 and divide it into two pairs of 3).

Rolled 46 (1d50)

>>6054072
Oof, no minimum past 1 on the ones who stick it through? That could be rough.

I’ll bite the bullet and roll.

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>>6054082
Well god damn, lads, is there anything you don't roll good at?

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>6054072

>>6054084
Gigas with resisting his mind getting fucked with again, but we can claim it’s in-character.

But yeah, I’m real happy with not worrying about the number of people we’re recruiting. Either Threespice is so cutthroat that a literal demon doesn’t get much notice in our circles or people are a lot more accepting of Gremory than they realized.

>>6054084
>is there anything you don't roll good at?
Apparently not! (Except keeping poor Gigas out of trouble)

>>6054072
Ah, RD question. If we roll one pair of RD and it doesn’t make a pair but a different pair of RD does, does the first one still get the relationship shock or is it all good as long as any of them get the pair?

If it’s the latter, Ramza literally can’t fail to get at least one success with 11 dice in play. I would really like it to be the latter.

>>6054093
The latter. You basically treat it as adding dice to the original pool.
Maximum of 10 dice to play with though, so despite having 6 extra dice to add, you can realistically only add 5. Extra shit only really matters when you're trying to outpace damage or something like that.

>>6054096
Damn. So there’s still a 1 in 222,222,222 chance of failing to make a match. Those are XCOM odds. Beggars can’t be choosers though.

>>6054105
Not that you niggas need it. I mean, DAMN.
>>6054082
>46/50
>>6054088
>87, passing the DC

I made up that whole system for choosing which rolls to boost for NOTHING, lmao.

Anyways, time for me to write!

Rolled 3, 2, 6, 6, 2 = 19 (5d10)

>>6054072
Charm

Rolled 14 (1d50)

>>6054172
1 more d50 roll

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Been quite unconventionally busy and struggling with extremely poor sleep. Your patience thusfar is greatly appreciated; update GUARANTEED tomorrow or OP is a faggot!
Have a cute gril as compensation.

>>6054463
Hmm. The straps on her boots need to be bound better, and the long hair suggests she’s either exceptionally skilled in combat or doesn’t actually fight that much since it’s liable to get cut or caught in things. Smart money is usually on the latter. The boob window, while a popular design choice, is also a poor armor choice. Her leather armor actually seems to be making her bust more prominent! Possible psychological advantage there, but not worth the trade-off.

The scabbard seems a little loose as well. It’s riding low enough that her leg is stopping it from falling further instead of her waist on one side, and that’s not going to be good in a fight or while traveling.

Arms are appropriately armored for a sword fighter though, letting her deflect glancing blows as needed to keep her arms and body safe. The slight armor on her shoulders will also let her shoulder charge opponents if she’s disarmed without seeming too restrictive, which would be useful in a pinch.

The rest of the outfit is acceptable and not particularly relevant.

Overall rating: 4/10 Vals.

>>6054529
This being a JRPG quest based on Tales, she's actually pretty well-equipped for the local milieu.

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>>6052695
>>6052720
>>6052917
>>6052978
>>6053263
>>6053679

"Which is?" Harrison asks you, tilting his head slightly to the side with curiosity.

"You'll see." You say with a cheeky grin, pausing on it for a moment as the two of you stare each other down. The moment gets particularly awkward after a bit, though, so you cough into a fist and follow up with a quick "Care to lead me to the Familiar Delivery Service? I don't actually know the way, or I would have started walking there already."

Just a few minutes of walking later, you find yourself stepping through the doorway of a peculiar tower which bore a plethora of holes drilled through the outside, with nearly every hole having a rod stuck either above or below it. The inside seems to take this design to an even further extreme, with the interior walls and support pillars absolutely riddled from floor to high-above ceiling with such structures. A simplistic rune seems to be carved into the floor itself, through which a slight but steady glow of mana flows - the tingling in your fingers suggests that it's simply meant to diffuse mana into the air itself.

A lizardlike familiar bearing batlike wings slithers through one of the holes next to your head, crawling across the walls with sticky padded fingers and dipping into an entirely different hole without paying you any thought. You step forward into the main area, and opt to call out to see if there's actually any humans here - as it is, you only see a few things peeking from the holes and a moth flying about.

"Hello? Is someone able to uh, help me?" You ask.

"Hello, Customer! How can we be of assistance to you today?" A voice responds to you. You look around for the source of it, unable to find it until it speaks up again. "Do you need assistance?"

You suddenly realize that it's moth that's speaking, your eyes focusing on it as it hovers in place. Surprisingly, despite its small size, it actually seems to have vaguely humanoid features - tiny limbs, and a face that could be mistaken for a man's if not for the size of it and the fact that it was covered completely in black chitin. The eyes, too, are a dead giveaway with how they faintly glow blue with mana and have no iris or sclera to speak of.

"Yeah, I was looking for the human that handles business." You say, glancing around once more.

"I apologize, but there is no human presence here today. Our tender only makes an appearance once every five days. If you are here for business, then I have been designed to help with every need that the Familiar Delivery Service can provide!" The moth replies, chirping cheerily.

"Real hands-off approach to this business, huh? Just let the familiars run themselves." You muse out loud, rubbing your chin.

"I am sorry, but as a Familiar, I can only respond to a limited number of things. That topic is outside of my capabilities." The moth informs you. Son of a...

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"I'll...I'll keep that in mind, then. How much would it cost to send a message to someone in town?" You ask.

"Ten coins per message! Messages that take longer than thirty seconds to recite will require one or more additional familiars to complete."

"Well, you were right about the price, Harry. Let's see...alright, I want to send a message to fifty people. These fifty people, to be exact." You say, folding the piece of paper in half and showing the creature just the first fifty names on the list - sans the ones at the top that you already crossed out, of course.

Its head jerks back and forth rapidly as it seems to read the list top to bottom, and in about three seconds it starts to nod instead. "Of course! What message do you wish to relay? When you respond to me, please include only things you want the recipient to hear. When you are finished, state 'Emphiradria'!"

"Emphiradria?" You ask, having never once before heard such a word.

"Understood! Allow me to repeat the message you wish to send, just to make sure it is correct."

"Wait, no-"

The familiar makes an odd noise that perfectly resembles someone shuffling in place, lasting for only a second before it cuts itself off.

"...No, that is not correct. I would like to re-record my message." You growl with frustration.

"Understood! What message do you wish to relay? When you respond to me, please include only things you want the recipient to hear. When you are finished, state 'Emphiradria'!" It repeats its earlier comment.

"My name is captain Ramza Valentine, of Trinity. I'm looking for good men to recruit onto my ships, and a good friend of mine that everyone's familiar with recommended you. Meet me at the northern end of the marketplace if you're interested." You state clearly and assertively, pausing for a few moments as you wait for something to happen. Then, it hits you. "...Emphiradria."

"Understood! Allow me to repeat the message you wish to send, just to make sure it is correct." The familiar chirps exactly like it did previously, before it begins to repeat everything you just said in your exact voice. Including a bit of background noise at the end, where you delayed.

"That is correct." You frown. "Please tell me that's everything."

"We're almost there! All that is left to do is to collect your payment. Please deposit 500 coins in the payment receptacle!" The moth flutters over to a particular hole on the wall that is much smaller than the others, being only a vertical slit just barely big enough to fit a coin through.

"Seriously? Man. This'll take forever." You gripe, fishing out your coins and going through the tedious process of fitting five hundred entire coins, one by one, through the slot. It is not, by any means, quick work.

"Excellent! We will now distribute and send your message to your recipients. Have a good day!" The moth says as soon as the final coin enters the slot, having been apparently counting the whole time. It then flies up and out of view, most likely to do exactly as it just said it would.

"Well, that was annoying. But hopefully it gets the job done right. That being said, Harrison...minus two points for the suggestion." You say.

"Bwuh- points? We're being ranked?" He sputters, no longer looking as amused as he was a moment ago.

"Sure. And you, buddy, are sitting two points below where you were at before. Better watch it from now on."

"What was I at before?"

"That's above your paygrade to know."

"Bullshit!"

The bickering continues as the two of you exit, a fresh wave of familiars crawling out of the building's numerous holes and taking flight to deliver your message. You make your way quickly to the aforementioned meeting place, hoping to catch Gremory before anyone actually arrives. And catch her you do, the almost shadowy form of the Demon seeming to solidify as you step closer to her stall.

"Greetings, Captain...thisss one was not expecting a visit from thee. Business, or pleasure?" Gremory asks, waving a hand over her wide variety of wares.

"You could tempt a man into poverty with wares like yours, you know. Business, but not that kind - I'm recruiting new people, and I need you on standby so everybody knows you're with the crew. I don't want to recruit anyone that'll do something stupid just because they underestimated the presence of a Demon, you know?" You explain.

"Ahh, it is understandable. Very well...this one does not mind a little extra attention. And perhaps, if we are lucky, my preferred type of business." the demon replies. You really can't tell if Gremory is even capable of smiling or not, but you get the feeling that there was at least the intent of one right there. Is that white stuff her face, or just a mask she's wearing? Thoughts for later.

As you linger about with Gremory and Harrison, only about five minutes pass before people start showing up, asking for one 'Captain Valentine'. You give the first couple a bow as you introduce yourself, and by the time fifteen minutes pass, just about everyone you sent a message to seems to have arrived. Even for a social butterfly like yourself, the sight of fifty men you have to simultaneously impress and be impressed by is enough to put a bit of a knot in your stomach.

"Alright, gentlemen, listen up! As you've probably gathered by now, I am Captain Ramza Valentine. I am a member of the Trinity Pirates. I am an honest captain, and that is why, as some of you have been wondering for the past few minutes, I have gathered you here in front of a Demon's stall." You announce, gesturing over to Gremory. She immediately brings up an Ether and downs it, talons quivering slightly.

One of the men in the crowd steps up, a bald fellow with a disfigured nose and a deep scar running across one of his eyes, which seems to be milky white. "Been waiting to kill it since I first saw it set up shop." He growls out.

"Then I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed, my friend. Gremory here is one of my crewmen. An attack on her is an attack on Trinity, so if you really want to strike..." You say, drawing your mageblade and activating it with a flash into the shape of a scimitar. "Then you'll have to deal with me first."

The man's expression shifts between a complex mix of rage, confusion, and indignance as his gaze shifts between you, the blade, and the demon off to the side. He scoffs after a moment, and spits on the ground in front of you. "I'll have no part in consorting with demons. You and anyone else who dabbles in such things will lead cursed lives, mark my words."

"No, I think the cursed ones will be those who end up going against us. After all...how many crews out there can count a demon amongst their number? As an ally? As a friend? I like my odds compared to my enemies." You reply, draining the mana from your blade and twirling the handle for a moment before you slip it back into its holster.

As the scarred man leaves, only three others seem to leave with him, of similar sentiment and demeanor apparently. The rest seem to be either minorly apprehensive but willing to hear you out, or outright excited at the idea like Harrison was. An entirely unexpected result, given how you thought you'd end up with less than half this number by the end.

The rest of the process was dreadfully dull after that, with you answering an assortment of questions about your crew, the ships at your disposal, some of the experience you have, and various other things to assuage any doubts they may have. In turn, you ended up asking each and every remaining man about their own skills and experience, getting a decent judge for their character - none of them seem the type to go turncoat, and while some of them had a history with Black Piracy, ALL of them were currently proud Blues. Those who previously ran with Black Pirates seemed to regret their past quite heavily.

After about an hour had passed, you were done with your assessments and more than ready to get back to your ship. The only question that remained on your mind was how many of these 46 men did you ACTUALLY want to finalize recruiting?

>Only the 20 best.
>30 of them, cut out the chaff that once ran with Black Pirates.
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!

>>6055552
How many do we realistically need to crew our vessels? Get minimum that many. My instinct, though, is to go with:
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!
If we can consort with Demons, why not ex-Black Pirates?

>>6055552
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!

>>6055552
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!
We set a high bar, and they passed it. It may even be a benefit down the line to have a wide array of experience. It will certainly be worth it if we stand to take any casualties.

That being said, keeping this many men paid and satisfied will be a challenge, but our earning ability, reputation, and combat capabilities will have shot through the roof. We're surely bound to jump up a few places in the bounty book, our old crew back at Ship's Haven won't believe their eyes!

>>6055552
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!
Sure, may as well. Lobo’s vetted them, Ramza thinks they’re legit, and it’s hard to draw a line against former Black Pirates when we have a demon who helped wipe several cities off the map on the crew. It’s good to learn from the competition anyway.

We’ll need to step up our money operations further to pay all these people, but it’s the better problem to have.

It’ll also give us more cover to keep Gigas when he goes off the rails, but I can’t really let that influence my vote here.

>>6055552
>All 46, you worked hard for this, damn it. And spent good money, too!

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>>6055570
>>6055617
>>6055719
>>6056023
>>6057400
All 46 wins it by uninamous vote!
I would normally have the update out here and now, but I've still been struggling with alternating between feeling sick and being filled up with brainfog. As we're on page 7, I'm going to take the opportunity here to archive us and continue getting rest so that, hopefully, I can make a better and more consistent thread 6 once this hits page 10.
I'm not really satisfied with how much I was able to get done this thread, but it is what it is - I don't have the right contacts to sacrifice a few hobos for eternal youth and health. Since this was a shorter thread with multiple perspective swaps, we're going to continue being Val in the next one, so he doesn't get 'jipped'.
For now, the rest of the thread will be used for Questions and Answers. Address them to whoever - me, ramza, aito, chef bastard. Doesn't matter. If you've got a question, it'll get answered!

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/6031360/ Archived!

>>6058069
I guess I’ll ask if your original run in this world had any of the same adventures with the Eldingarian merchants or with Nocturne/Jaghatai this early. We got to meet the Admiral much earlier than they did after all.

Same for if they met any other relatively important characters by now that we haven’t, though I get we won’t know exactly who they met until we officially meet them and it’s no longer a spoiler.

>>6058134
In the original run, Aito's ship had still been crashed, but he was at risk of starving to death instead of being besieged by Raven's ship. He also was solo, having not been travelling with his grandchildren. I felt an active seige would have been more interesting.
Jaghatai was encountered very early and established as a friendly party, with the group bartering away a certain something they found that was relevant to the Gaoth's mission in Lume in exchange for their safety. They worked closest with Jaghatai when establishing a plan for taking out Silversmith.
Nocturne's original appearance was delayed until Disk 2, as a surprise assassination attempt in the middle of the night. They never encountered her in Lume, so she was fulfilling a contingency contract on "Whoever is responsible for my death" from Silversmith.
Stillwater and the Countess didn't actually exist in any form other than vague ideas in the original run, as the party never really tried to get at Silversmith's men - they were far more interested in gaining allies and planning a more direct assault rather than undermining his operations beforehand.
Chef bastard, once recruited, threw one of the players overboard into the sea when they challenged his authority in the ship's kitchen. Never challenge a chef's authority over the kitchen.

>>6058069
Thanks for running, and fee better soon, QM. I'll keep an eye out for the next thread.

>>6058149
Fascinating...

>>6058149
I look forward to having chef bastard on our ships. Hopefully we have a kitchen big enough to fit his ego.

Also, you’re really rich when you’re willing to spend money to kill people after you’re dead. Not like you’ll live to see it after all! Unless reanimation magic is a thing, but it seems unlikely barring some apparatus that could capture your mana when you died and spin it into a new form.

>>6058736
>spoiler
Once you're dead, you're dead-dead. There's no coming back once you're past the line. Though you can get extremely close to that line and still get pulled back from near-certain oblivion, depending on how quickly and how skilled the intervention is.

There are strange things that happen when someone's mana is neither allowed to rejoin the core nor consumed by another entity. Rare, considering you'd need someone to perish in a watertight room, but not unheard of.

>>6058824
I’m willing to bet some enterprising souls (no pun intended) have studied what happens when mana is released and doesn’t return for a while.

Maybe it gets a little moldy and then consuming it makes you a demon because it changes how your mana works. Kinda like eating something with prions in it will change your own proteins and kill you. It’d make sense to test this sort of behavior as far from the Core as possible after all, and those far away lands where demons apparently just “happen” would fit the bill. Some tests were locked away since they had no good way of disposing it, but the vaults decay over time and release the mana into the environment slowly, poisoning the land and people like radioactive materials.

… so who wants to go do a scientific expedition? There’s bound to be some good looting to be done there from all sorts of military types who have tried to weaponize/control what happens there.

>>6058973
>There’s bound to be some good looting to be done there from all sorts of military types who have tried to weaponize/control what happens there
The frozen wastes do contain a great amount of wealth that once belonged to would-be conquerors and explorers that thought they could succeed where others failed. Of course, the dangers there are twofold - a myriad of corrupted creatures, and the everpresent outpouring of Soul that turned them into Monsters and Afflicted Demons to begin with. From what it comes from...remains to be seen. But it'll be a most exciting reveal when the time comes, I assure you - just make sure you're adequately prepared to ensure you and your crew don't become Demons yourselves.

>>6058996
I guess on that note I’ll pose a question for anons. Mid-term, what do we want to drive towards?

I’m thinking we want to work towards things that advance the personal goals of our characters. Ramza is easy since anything that would bring wealth and notoriety will push him higher in the bounty book. That really leaves Val (demons) or Gigas (memories) to set the course.

So would it make more sense to take a lazy route to the frozen wastes to build up our resources for an exploration there to see what we can learn about demons, or do we try and look into Gaoth citizenship since Gaoth itself is the most likely avenue to learn more about Gigas’ past?

Pretty sure we can advance all causes either way, but I’d like to hear what other anons are thinking before we get to the “wat do” thread for where we go next and we have to spend even more time deliberating.

>>6059443
The Gaoth ideology seems off-putting to Ramza's more live-and-let-live chaotic good approach to life.I don't think we should become Gaoth citizens. I think exploring demon knowledge in the frozen wastes sounds profitable. Also, maybe investigating if the shit Eldingar is getting up to is an existential threat to us all.

>>6059447
I figure the same about Ramza, but I didn’t consider citizenship to be a dealbreaker for him. Sounds like you can get it if you simply kick ass hard enough, and Ramza’s bound to do that anyway. Certainly nice to have if it means he can cut through their territory while evading capture somewhere else, or pick up supplies while en-route to another destination.

There is also a small part of me that wants to get Gremory citizenship on the basis that she nuked several of their cities (with help, admittedly) and they’d be cowards not to respect that. I can’t really see any benefit to it besides further validating how fucked up their culture truly is, but it’s an earworm that won’t leave my head.

>>6059443
Uh, I'd say our near term goal is dealing with stillwater and friends. Then seeing if this fake spire is going to kill us.

I'd say we should figure out gigas mind stuff. We know Gremory can fix some of it.

Thanks for running QM.

Get well.

>>6058686
>>6059627
Thanks for the well wishes, friends!
>>6059443
>>6059447
Heading to Eldingar for disk 2 is certainly possible and what the original party did, and conveniently allows for exploration of one of the frozen wastes (the northern or the southern, respectively) on the way there. Unless you wanted to cut through Voda or Gaoth instead of riding the border between the two.
Voda and Gaoth are Lume's immediate neighbors, with Eldingar essentially being on the other side of the world.

Good evening everybody. I have some less than fortunate news about Lodestar, but not as unfortunate as it being shelved forever or anything like that. My health has only deteriorated further since the end of this last thread, as evidenced by a possible transient ischemic attack this morning. It shared virtually all of the symptoms of it, but there was no apparent permanent damage during preliminary testing. Needless to say, I'm going to be exceptionally tied up with medical things in the coming days, and frankly speaking I don't have the time to run when I have the energy and don't have the energy to run when I have the time.
What does this mean for Lodestar? It means we're going on a Hiatus until my gay ass sick faggot body stops being so sick. I'd love to keep running it, I'm utterly obsessed with it like always, but it's just not going to be possible to run it in a way that either you readers or I would find satisfying - updates would be increasingly sporadic, and I'm sure quality would begin to suffer.
I'll still be frequenting the /qtg/, and I'll announce our inevitable return there. Please keep an eye out for it if you've been enjoying the quest so far!

TL;DR: OP is a sick faggot and needs to take a longer break than expected. It could be a few weeks, or a couple months.

>>6071547
Oh hell. Get well soon, QM, for our sake but mostly for yours. Thanks for running it!

>>6071547
Get well soon.

>>6071547
Wishing you get well soon

>>6071558
>>6071624
>>6071802
I appreciate the support, lads. Be seeing you when I see you, and remember to stay healthy and stay happy.