Rinnier Suriah Lamandra was one such Testament, and one whom the town of Carona was most familiar with. Her crimson hair was a common and somewhat iconic sight to the people as she could be found moving about town when she wasn't holed up within the makeshift headquarters. Her word moved the knights, and it was her signature which adorned every receipt or report which had arose during the recovery effort.

Her ready experience in dealing with the management of both people and resources made the fiery Testament a force to be reckoned with in negotiations with merchants and the planning of civillian affairs. Outside of business however, she could often be found wandering the streets of Carona and listening to the words of the people.

The other Testament, however, was one whose face was near equally well known... If for far different reasons. Under affiliation with their new mayor, a pack of demihumans had entered Carona alongside the knights and worked in concert. Their leader, a demihuman of near amazonian height whose strength alone had been enough to warrant the label of 'monster' from the populace, had no name to the people of Carona. She was a necessary evil, and the sole force who kept the other demihumans in line as they worked alongside the knights in reclaimation and reconstruction.

To those knights, that 'necessary evil' was Kara; The laid back and otherwise carefree warden of a pack of demihumans most notable for trying to commit suicide at awkward times. Supposedly her pack had once been much larger, and generally far more in line with the traditional behavior of demihumans, before an ill-fated encounter with the noble they had sworn fealty to left them... Broken, for lack of a better term. The ones remaining were the sole survivors of the aftermath, and some of them occasionally tried to renounce that auspicious title.

While the two Testament held nearly night-and-day reputations amongst the people, they could occasionally be found meeting together on amiable terms... Though their willingness to associate only furthered begged the question of what kind of person Irue Valen was to have subordinates like the two of them working together. In the meantime, today was yet another day in the reconstruction of Carona, and you are...

>Kara
>Rinnier

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

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

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

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB

Misc notes:Thread will stretch out a while, so rather than a long dedicated session, expect a more casual on-going session for the next few days.


Also there's a write-up coming I didn't finish today, so... maybe tomorrow!

Memo:
1.
2. Invite Marchovic on adventures next time there's a chance.
3. Mim said "When are you going to tell her?" Tell what to whom?

>>973243
>>Rinnier

>>973243
>>Kara

>>973243
>Kara

Nice to see Valen Quest back up Riz, I've really been missing it. Feels like all the long running quests have been dying with nary a word from the QMs. Never leave us

>>973266
>Long running quests have been dying.
Which ones? I saw Ouro dropped Lamplighter, any others? He needed a rest anyway. burnout's a bitch.

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>>973243
>>Rinnier
Glad to have you back! You've been missed. Merry Christmas and all that jazz. I'm happy you're spreading the timing out; You usually start running around 12a for me.

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>>973243
>Rinnier

>>973275
Homeless Mutant, Hellborn and whatever it was Exabyte was running are in limbo at the minute and I think Banished is in the same boat. I can't remember when Soma said it would be back but that doesn't matter because I wouldn't believe him anyway. Hive Queen is coming back though, I'm super happy about that.

>>973291
It's usually between 3am and 5am for me. tonight it was 7

>>973275
Homeless Mutant
Hell born
Lamplighter
Everything by Soma
Lizard RE
Samsara Quest

>>973275
Nerv Bridge Simulator returned with much hype after almost being dropped, had one thread then fallen off the face of the earth.

>>973291
We won't be having a long term dedicated session tonight, no. I plan to stretch this thread out over the next few days, because I know everyone has their own holiday plans they want to be apart of.

Also this thread shouldn't have any high tension moments to it. Feel free to get some rest and drop back in whenever you get time.

>>973302
I thought those first two have been dead for ages? I know they were really popular, though.

I kept meaning to try out Samsara, but never got around to it.

>>973305
Bridge bunny quest! I hope the QM is doing alright, I know the work they put into their gifs can be really time consuming.

---

>>973259
>>973291
>>973296
Rinnier!

>>973260
>>973266
Kara!

Writing!

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>>973308
Languid was writing some non interactive alt universe Hellborn on anonkun for some reason but then disappeared again.

I think its pretty funny that when you finally try your hand at a SOL, relaxed session Irue is nowhere to be seen. That poor bitch can't catch a break.

Rinnier. Former princess of Teranford, third in line for the throne, former slave, and current Testament of said irresponsible absentee noble. You couldn't find it in yourself to approve of the choice to leave a town this ruined to their own devices, even if you had to go save someone else. You were royalty, born and raised, and the obligation of that position had been drilled into you since before you could walk.

Noblesse Oblige; The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Faced with a choice between your friends and the people of your country, you knew that the 'right' choice was very rarely going to be the one that left your heart intact.

...But it wasn't your choice to make, and you knew which choice Irue would make time and time again. Such a person was probably the worst suited for rulership as you had ever met, and while you could argue that Irue made that choice with full faith in you being able to handle the affairs of Carona in their absence... You know that would be a lie. In all honesty, you wondered if Irue even considered whether Carona would be alright or not before diving headfirst into trying to rescue Ari.

Again. The girl had terrible luck with being kidnapped.

Still, you had resolved to throw in your lot with Irue. It was the same traits which made Irue terrible for rulership that had convinced you to hazard trusting them. They had risked their life just to keep a promise to you, and seemed to have no concept of restraint when it came to helping their Testament. In return... Those Testament, as far as you could tell, were meant to be there as both advisors and support.

So with Irue trapising around the local area on a quest to get Ari back, you had stepped up to fill the empty roles of responsibility. You had prior experience with handling affairs like these, so it was actually somewhat refreshing to get to flex your capabilities once more. It certainly helped that Dullem was a cooperative man, as that had given you more or less free reign over directing Irue's knights as you saw fit.

...You say knights, but really, they were just brigands. Or peasants, if you wanted to be specific. That distinction was actually something in your favor in this case, as what you honestly needed right now wasn't a fighting force, but more workers. The expertise of their previous lives made supplementing the repairs of Carona much less of a burden on you.

Blacksmiths, weavers, leatherworkers, hunters, carpenters... You found them in your ranks, and their time living as brigands had forced them to share those duties to some extent, further diversifying how they could work together. While officially they were knights, you wondered if perhaps it wouldn't be more efficient to simply hire actual knights and let this group become some manner of elite construction corp.

You glanced up from your desk, thoughts straying dangerously away from business as you realized how seriously you had begun to contemplate the possibility of instituting that 'royal builders' division that never got off the ground back home. You had been here through most of the night, working persistently on the papers and missives which flowed through this make-shift headquarters in need of attention.

You couldn't sleep much lately, anyway. Even if you hadn't been haunted by those wooden golems as much, it was still difficult to let down your guard. You'd distract yourself with things that needed doing until your body gave out and forced you into a sleep.

In the meantime though, morning was rising on another day.

>Check in with Asche
>Talk to Dullem before he leaves HQ
>Go for a morning walk
>Other? (write-in)

>>973357
>>>Check in with Asche

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>>973357
>Talk to Dullem before he leaves HQ

...We have blacksmiths? Can we have them create some spearheads? I want these shits armed.

Asche is probably busy

>>973365
You have a few people who are decent at it.

And yes, you can have them outfitted with spears if you'd like. Currently they're "armed" with knives, hatchets, bows, and a few short swords/hammers.

Also that's lewd.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>973364
1. Asche!

>>973365
2. Dullem!

Holiday dice guide us

>>973365
Yeah, have them create spears for everyone and some left over, maybe a wooden shield for every man if possible? I'd like to drill these guys in phalanx formations at some point.

>>973372
What happened with taking an hour for an update? I missed the vote because of it!

>>973379
I was motivated by unexpected lewd pictures being posted.
The first one reminds me of Kara.
Also smaller posts with less heavy content in them, so it's easier to write.

>>973377
Why do we need a phalanx? Are we intending to fight an open battle with someone?
It's certainly not useful for guard duty.

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>>973384
Glad I could help

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>>973386
I think they should be fit for purpose is all, if they're going to be our knights then they should be able to move and fight as a team. That's the bare minimum.

You make your way quietly through the building you had claimed as a headquarters in search of Dullem. While most of the knights were used to waking up early in the first place, it was still the hour of morning where one could argue the it wasn't even the next day yet. You didn't want to wake them up unnecessarily.

Dullem was already awake though, a fact you had determined even before deciding to seek him out simply because you had caught the scent of something brewing. It was some manner of tea he had managed to find in town, and if you were being entirely honest, he was terrible at making it. You had shared a cup with him each morning now, and the results seemed to vary wildly between 'hot water' and 'sucking on the teabag'. He had bashfully admitted to being new to the whole brewing process in general, so you got the impression he was going through trial and error as to how much to even add at a time.

"Still not sleeping?" He greeted you quietly, raising the cup in hand as you approached with a weary smile to take hold of the proferred container. It was warm to the touch, soothing the constantly worked muscles along your hand as you drew in the aroma. "I've got a lot to do." You respond absently, taking a tentative sip of today's result.

The taste was strong. Amazingly strong. Your face twitched in an attempt to not grimace.

"What did you try today?"
"I added some lemons."
"...Lemon?"

That would explain the sour tang, but nothing like thi-

"Only a few."

Lemons. Plural. He put multiple lemons in a single pot.

"Lemons are typically used as accents, you know? Nothing quite this strong."
"Is it strong? I haven't tasted it yet; Y'got the first cup."
"Ah..."

You glance down at the cup somewhat apologetically.

"Nah, y'look like y'needed it more than I do."

You murmur your thanks as he goes about making his own.

>What's happening today?
>How are the demihumans doing?
>Did you get that map I asked for?
>Other? (Write-in)

>>973412
>What's happening today?

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>>973412
>How are the demihumans doing?

>Did you get that map I asked for?
What map?

>Other? (Write-in)
>Spears and shields
>Thank Dullem for his hard work

>>973412
>What's happening today?
>Have all the dead been identified? How many missing people do we still have?

>>973412
>>973418
>Did you get that map I asked for?

This too. What map?

>>973418
>>973425
>>973430
What's happening?

>>973422
Thank Dullem and mention pokey sticks!

>>973425
Identifying the dead! and the missing!

>>973430
>>973422
The map Rinnier asked for!

Writing.

>>973412
>>What's happening today?
>>Did you get that map I asked for?

>>973434
Can demihumans ever become adepts?

>>973437
Traditionally speaking, no. They have issues hearing and speaking to Mana, and Mana in turn tend to ignore them.

Mana have no interest in being used, and demihumans are more or less incapable of making relationships for unselfish reasons.

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>>973440
>incapable of making relationships for unselfish reasons.
What about Kara? She's clearly different. Maybe she could try her luck with Jinn

>>973445
Kara's impartial to Salamander.

>>973447
I remember she liked the fire, I don't think Salamander factored into it much. I reckon Jinn would be more likely to take a liking to her.

"How is the reconstruction going?"

You break the amiable silence after a moment, buying yourself time to prepare for a second sip of this... steaming hot tea flavoured lemon. "Anything new come up I need to look into?" Probably the most frustrating part of recovery in times like these was the red tape. Permissions needed to be signed, land needed to be assesed, the proper people occasionally needed to be called in or rescheduled somewhere else in order to get things done.

It felt like needless beauracracy obstructing the effort to actually help people, but things could go badly if it was ignored. The system was in place, ultimately, as a means to help people, so it was up to the people in charge to use it as such. In this case, that meant being as proactive as possible in resolving issues that came up.

"Nothing I can think of." The larger man rumbled after a moment, his still somewhat sleeping mind starting to creak to life as you talked. "We haven't been able to make much done clearing the rubble in a couple of the residential zones." The last two words rolled off his tongue in a manner that seemed like it left a strange taste in his mouth. You imagine it was the first time he'd actually had to talk about towns with this kind of terminology. "Nothing y'can do about it, though."

"Mm..." You had a general idea what was causing that issue. A large part of the problem in Carona was simply available manpower, which meant that you were forced to split your resources between reclaiming ruined parts of the town, and reconstructing other parts. While you were reluctant to rely on them, Irue's order for Kara and her pack of demihumans to help the reconstruction effort was something of a blessing. The average demihuman was several marks above any casual civillian, rivalling even the bear of a man who Irue had elected captain of his knights. Though they lacked the skills and finesse required for reconstruction, you had been able to severely expedite the process by working with Kara to split them up.

...And Kara herself was practically a wrecking ball.

"They're still adamant about not letting the demihumans near their homes?" You took a smaller sip, bracing yourself for the overwhelming taste as you let the sour zest burn across your tastebuds.

"Aye." Dullem consumed his first sip of the day's brew, and you politely hid your smile behind the cup as his entire body seemed to shudder in revulsion. "Gnome's balls that's strong. Anyhow, can't say I don't blame em, exactly. I'd have never let a demihuman close to my shack back home, either... Not to talk badly 'bout Kara an' her lot, mind."

You wave your hand dismissively. "Demihumans are demihumans. I still don't trust them, either."

"Well, trust or not, those folk ain't having any of them near their stuff. Ruined or not. So they're makin' a fuss about a human-only salvage team to handle it."

"We don't have the people." You murmur tiredly, eliciting a grunt as Dullem tried to pour more of his brew down his throat. The second sip went better than the first, as this time only his head twisted instead of his entire body. "Got the rest of the guys working round here, like you asked." Since reclaiming the entire residential area wasn't feasable, you had moved to get the commercial areas and town square up and running again as quickly as you could. Larger open spaces for resources, and more building space for shelters to house the homeless while you worked.

Speaking of the homeless... "How's the tally for casualties going?"

"...Could be worse." His mood darkened as you touched on a topic neither of you were terribly enthused over. "But it still ain't pretty. A lot of people were saved when Ser Valen and Miss Alouette intervened, but there were still a lot taken by surprise. The Shrine's handling most of it, though; I can get a report on your desk later today if you want it."

You nodded absently. An update, at least, would be useful. Better the Shrine handle that matter, though. Strictly speaking, Irue's presence here was for reconstruction... While that was undoubtedly appreciated, the people here didn't know Irue, and they didn't know any of the people following Irue either. Relations ranged from amiable to outright suspicious, so you doubted it was worth the trouble of trying to pry sensitive information about missing loved ones out of them when the Shrine could handle it just as easily. It was a minor extension of their role in supporting the grieving, so the task wasn't too much of an extra weight.

"Ah, speakin' of your desk." Dullem blinked, the hot lemon tea shocking him back awake as he pulled out a worn roll of paper. "That map y'were asking me for."

"You were able to find one?" You perked up in interest. You hadn't seen one back in the mansion, but Caylen had a few stashed away that had interested you. More importantly, if Irue was really going to step up as a noble, they'd need an overview of what they were working with.

"Ah, don't get y'hopes up. It's pretty worn down."

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You glance over its contents in the morning light, careful not to spill any of the still warm tea upon the aged paper. Dullem wasn't exaggerating when he said it had seen some use, but the information it had wasn't the sort to change all that much over the years. You could probably make adjustments as needed when something became relevant.

"Thanks for this."

"It's not a problem." Dullem shrugged off your gratitude awkwardly, ducking away from praise as best he could. "Wasn't actually us that found it, either."

"One of the civillians?"

"Kara, actually." He drained his cup, taking the rest of the brew in with a flinch. "Figured the demihumans would find somethin' reclaiming areas 'fore I would, so I put her on the lookout for something like this."

"...Oh?"

"Aye... It wasn't a smooth recovery, mind. Put me in mind of my old dog, when she started bringing me random bits of paper every few hours. Eventually found this, though."

"...I'll have to thank her some time, then." You purse your lips together reluctantly. "All the same, good work. How's the progress on acquiring arms for the knights, going?"

"It's not." He grimaced, "We've got our hands full with construction. Unless we take some people off it to start building the weapons, I don't see it happening any time soon. S'fine, though. I don't reckon we'll be attacked by anything soon, and if we are, we still got our weapons from the forest."

>Prioritize weapons
>Stay on construction

and

>Talk about something else
>Go for a walk
>Find Kara
>Check on Asche

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Only a minor change, but contrast is helpful. I have like 3-4 different versions on my desktop.

>>973464
>Stay on construction
>Check on Asche

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>>973464
Thanks for making such an unexpectedly pretty map for us Riz!

>Prioritize weapons
If it's only a few people then it's not like progress will grind to a halt.

>Pat Dullem on the shoulder before leaving
he did gud

>>973464
>>Stay on construction
That's why we're here.
>Go for a walk

Thanks for the map, Riz.

>>973464
>Stay on construction

>Talk about something else:
What about the Tier estate that burned down some time ago? Does the Shrine have a casualty tally on that? Irue will probably want to see it sooner or later.

>Check on Asche

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>973470
>>973474
>>973482
construction!

>>973473
Just a few people...!
---

>>973482
>>973470
Asche!

>>973474
Walking!

>>973473
Bullying Dullem before we leave, regardless!
---

Alright, it's about 6 am for me, so I'm going to put thread on hold for now. It's christmas morning/day, and I'm sure everyone's got things they need to be up and around for!

We'll pick up with the result of the vote tomorrow. I'll do a tweet thing to tell everyone when I'm coming back for it.

Merry christmas, everyone! I missed you all.

Hopefully I can get that write up done tomorrow.

>>973484
Merry Chistmas!
I missed you too.

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>>973484
Thanks for running Riz!

Incidentally does Valenworld really have teabags or was that just a slip-up?

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ATTENTION ALL ANONS

DO NOT DIVULGE SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN GREENTEXT

I REPEAT, DO NOT DIVULGE SENSITIVE INFORMATION IN GREENTEXT

THE ENEMY LISTENS

I can't bake, so have this

>>973451
Mana doesn't care what you like. Salamander liked Kara, so that's what she's with now.

Remember, Mana hates to share.

So evidently I am DMing a PF session tonight.

I don't know how long it will take, but in the meantime, I bring you this!

The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3

Merry Christmas!

>>974664
> You hoped they didn't inherit his damning habit of forgetting things at the worst moment.

Hahaha. Ha.

>>974664
Mhm. This is a VERY curious writeup. It sheds light on many things... and raises new questions.

>>975765
I wonder how much he had planned ahead of time vs. How much our actions influenced our parents personalities.

Because we must be seriously frustrating alash easy for our Aunt to deal with.

Just re-imagining her face when we picked all 3 Testaments.

Or the "fighting her was like picking a fight with a wildfire".

Also . . . Twins?

>>976405
Irue's dead sister, Ariel?

"Don't mind it, then." You didn't imagine you'd have to be making any major military movements any time soon, anyway. If, for some reason, you did need to do that with this motley crew of peasants then the least of your worries would be whether or not they had new weapons...

It was odd how things either seemed desperate, or perfectly fine, depending on which details you were focusing on at the time; No doubt a product of Irue's unique form of manipulations. It was frustrating for you to try and grasp what the actual status quo you were working with was when everything seemed custom tailored to cast illusions and misdirections depending on the angle. On one hand, everything seemed to be proceeding apace. Carona was recovering, the demihumans weren't causing excess trouble, the Rite was over...

On the other, you were desperately short on resources and manpower, with a contingent of 'knights' that would likely be slaughtered to a man in any respectable military confrontation. They were used to living roughly, but lacked the discipline and training of real soldiers.

"You've done well, Dullem." You reached out absently to pat the man on the shoulder, a habit of familiarity you held from back in Teranford, but found your hand awkwardly rubbing against his bicept instead. He was... A wall of man, and it was easy for you to forget how imposing he was given his soft spoken nature. He avoided praise and undue attention when at all possible, making himself far smaller than anyone with his stature had a right to be. Still... Praise was due where it was earned, and he was nothing if not studious. You owed him and the rest of his 'knights' a lot for the recovery effort they had thrown themselves into. "I'm sure Irue would be proud of what you've accomplished so far."

"Uh... Yeah." His entire body stiffened uncertainly in response, and you could almost see the physical restraint that went into convincing his body to not turn entirely away. Any further commentary was drowned out as unintelligble mumbles into his tea cup. "S'nothin, really. Gotta earn our keep somehow."

"Keep?"

"Erm..." You ceasing to attempt to pat him reassuringly actually seemed to encourage him more than the act itself had. It took him several moments before he would elaborate though, obviously uncomfortable with having let his thoughts slip. "No point in tryin' t'sugar coat it. We ain't qualified for what we got hired for." He sighed quietly, setting the cooling cup aside. "Not that we ain't grateful, but not one of us so deluded as to think we're 'knights'. We saw knights back at Ser Valen's cousin's. What Miss Alouette was in charge of, the training they go through, their skills..." He sucked in a breath softly, careful not to speak so loud as to wake the others still sleeping. "Our lot can hunt, an' we don't even hunt the scary stuff. We're livin' good on Ser Valen's good will alone, an' not one of us got the skills to pay it back as a knight should."

>Did you have something specific in mind?
>Have you talked to Irue about this yet?
>Alouette's training is a special case, don't worry.
>Other? (write-in)

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>>977008
>Did you have something specific in mind?
"Have you thought about how to become real Knights? Are you training and making efforts in that direction?"

>Have you talked to Irue about this yet?
"Irue won't see your troubles until it's far too late. You need to talk to your employer before that happens, else I can imagine what happens and none of it good."

Riz what an odd time you picked to come back, I only checked the board for the two minutes I had for myself these hectic days.
It's great to see you, really looking forward to rue the choices again next year.

>>977186
I am unfortunately talented at picking the worst times to run! I hope you get some rest though, I know the holidays can be a real handful for some people.

Anyway, writing!

>>977008
>Did you have something specific in mind?
>Have you talked to Irue about this yet?

Reassure him, times are hard and everyone is doing the best they can with what little they have but at the end of the day Carona needed help and Dullem came through for them, hell he's done more for the fucking place than Irue has.

Anyway he should probably talk with Irue and work out a plan for self improvement. Everyone starts somewhere and Dullam has potential even if he can't see it himself.

Are you forgetting something Riz?

>>977209
>spoilers
I was frantically rereading all of Valen's archives and write-ups in the week leading up to coming back, precisely because I was worried I had forgotten things during the break.

>>977215
I was referring to Twitter.

>>977221
I didn't forget that! I just sat here and fretted a little over whether it would be annoying to tweet another update after the first one gave an estimated schedule.

>>977215
You madman. How did the quest read from your perspective after all this time? It's been an emotional rollercoaster, but how did it feel for you looking back at things like summoning the banshee in the warehouse and such?

>>977230
Nah, it really is better to let people know. If I didn't have the tab open from last session I would have just assumed you were running late again.

>>977244
I hate my own writing, honestly it felt horrible. There were an innumerable amount of places where I was amazed anyone was willing to put up with the sheer amount of typos or editing mistakes I accidentally left in. By the time I was done, I was a bit apprehensive of even starting the quest back up.

It was also kind of depressing, since I could see a few of the early anons drop out of the quest, and stumbled back across the places where the quest was struggling so much I had considered just calling it quits and accepting that the idea just wasn't good enough for people to vest interest in it.

Though, as a story... It was heartening to see how far we had come from the start. It's easy to get caught up in the present, especially with the span of time between threads, and not realize just how far you (the players) and Irue have crawled. The Rite was a harsh crucible, and it took its toll on the players as much as the characters... But it's interesting to honestly be able to look at where you are, and what you've gained or lost, and say that it's all legitimately your own doing.

>>977260
I'll go add a second tweet.

"Have you brought this up with Irue?" You weren't certain how much you wanted to meddle in this matter, seeing as how it was clearly something of a personal matter to Dullem... But you could easily imagine how something like this could turn out if left unattended, and it wasn't an encouraging possibility.

"...No." He shook his head heavily, and you watched as his shoulders simply sagged under the weight of a topic he dearly wanted to avoid thinking about. "It's obvious, ain't it? We knew when it was proposed that we weren't cut out for this kinda thing... Can't imagine Ser Valen thought any different."

You couldn't... Disagree. The decision to take Dullem and the rest of the brigands as knights wasn't one you had expected from the noble, and it you would be lying if you claimed you hadn't wondered where such a drastic course of action had come from. Your own assessment of their capabilities were similar to what Dullem had just confessed. Had Irue come to the same conclusions, as well?

They always seemed so focused on something or other, but what was going through their mind was a mystery at the best of times, and infuriating others. You had no way of reassuring the man outside of theoretical lip service. However...

"Irue has... A terrible habit of misunderstanding people." You start carefully, "For as much as they can read people, it's the simplest things that catch them blind."

"I suppose you'd know best about that." He grumbled uncomittally, causing you to bite your tongue in an effort to refrain from correcting him. "I'm worried 'bout bringing it up, though. 'Course I thought about sayin' something about it from time to time, but... Y'know, what if Ser Valen ain't noticed? What if they're just bein' patient, and expectin' will shape up when the time comes? Damn me if I end up ruining what we got by opening my mouth and getting us dropped back off in the woods."

In the end, they were people who had been forced into a corner by the squabbling of people above their station. Even when shown kindness, you suppose it made sense that they wouldn't be comfortable just trusting those same kinds of people again.

...As a princess, the sheer admission of his hesitation to even talk to his 'liege' made you furious. Countries lived and breathed by the sweat and loyalty of their people; Nobility, royalty, regardless of title, they existed to be someone the people could turn to - Someone who helped, not abused. Broken trust was a grievous wound to that relationship, and one made unforgivable when it was done without care.

But it was nothing Dullem could help, nor a fault of Irue's that they were like this.

"I can't say what Irue might think about you, but you won't be tossed aside." This much, at least you could speak of. "If you're worried about living up to their expectations, then you need to say something about it. If may be that Irue could find other uses for you and the rest of the knights than... Knighthood."

"Maybe." Dullem accepted your answer, but it didn't feel as if it had assauged his worries any.

"You've already done a great deal for Carona just by stepping in to help rebuild it." You pressed on insistently, unwilling to just let it go. "You may not see it, but everyone is currently struggling to keep moving. You're doing more for Irue with your efforts here than any contingent of trained knights could have."

"An' we're damn lucky for it, too." He agreed. "But what about when all this is over? What 'bout when Carona's all rebuilt? We're buying time here."

"If it's inadequacy that's bothering you, then improve." You straighten your back, brooking no room for argument as you nailed the man to the floor with a tone of royalty. "No one is born a carpenter, blacksmith, hunter or knight, but if you have a dream then you have to follow it. Improve. Get better. If it's martial prowess, then you can learn. If it's weapons, then you can be armed."

"But we're not-"

"No one is." You cut him off gently. "Not at first. I understand worrying that... When the time comes... You won't be good enough. That you'll let people down." You swallowed bitterly, cutting off your own words before something personal overtook the moment. This wasn't about you. "I understand it, but rather than just worry, devote yourself to becoming ready. Ask for help if you need it."

"...Yeah, alright."

You stood there for a few moments more, but the conversation was over. There's no point in trying to push any further; What came next was Dullem's decision.

"I'll let you get back to work." You set your cup down beside his, politely excusing yourself from the engagement as you left the man to collect his thoughts. You remember your own brother giving you a similar speech when you were younger... And it wasn't an easy pill to swallow. Even if you accepted it as truth, it had taken some time for it to sink in, and then even longer before you felt confident enough to act.

In the meantime, you needed a dose of the present to let old scars settle.

That dose came in the form of Irue's maid... Secretary... Asche. That annoying, short girl with a deadpan stare. You had trouble getting along with her, though she had never done anything to actually bother you. It was difficult to explain the kind of immaterial tension that you felt around her, but it set you on edge.

"?"

It certainly didn't help that she was a woman of few words. Irue didn't seem to have any issue understanding her quirks and signals, as you had seen them carrying on a one-sided conversation quite casually from time to time, but as far as you were concerned, the diminuitive girl was a mute.

Still, she paused in her work as you approached, watching you blankly in expectation. You felt like she was judging whether it was going to be worth humoring you, depending on your answer.

>Dullem made tea.
>Let talk? (about what?)
>Has there been any papers I need to know about?
>?

>>977578
>>Dullem made tea.
>Has there been any papers I need to know about?
>Why aren't you with Irue?

>>977578
>>Dullem made tea.
>Has there been any papers I need to know about?

>>977595
>>977612
Tea!

>>977612
>>977595
Papers!

>>977595
Why are you here!

Net flickered briefly, but writing.

"Dullem made tea."
"..."
"It has a... unique taste."
".."
"Worth trying."
"."

You should have just brought her a cup and tricked her into drinking it, just to see her reaction. There went your attempts at a casual conversation today; Awkwardly spent with no return. Her face hadn't changed, no had she so much as grunted an acknowledgement... The feeling that she was annoyed with your presence here was growing stronger, but you had no basis for it.

Like much of your attempts to communicate with Asche, you couldn't tell where her feelings ended, and your own projected frustrations and assumptions began. She certainly wasn't inclined to answer, and her poker face precluded any chance you had of reading something from the stoic maid. Her eyes hadn't even moved as you spoke; Nary a twitch to the side or desk to indicate disinterest... She just watched you. Waiting. All of her attention focused on your every movement, every word, every step.

With no reaction what so ever. Absolute focus, with no interest in the subject.

You coughed awkwardly, breaking the ensuing silence.

"Have there been any papers I should know about?"
"No."
"...Nothing I need to look into?"
"It has been handled."

A soft voice, easily missed in a crowd. She spoke with almost as little inflection as her body language provided. Just like that, you had nothing more to say, and nothing else to ask. This was the complete extent of your conversation with your erstwhile 'partner' in Carona's beauracratic reconstruction efforts. At first you had insisted on going back over the work she had done to double check, but the content proved... Precise. It had only taken a few corrections before she was entirely self-sufficient.

"Do you want to take a break for a while?"
"No."

The edge of your lips twitched at the flat refusal. "There isn't much left to do, is there? I feel like we've gone through most of the backlog." It had been an intimidating list of to-do's to be sure, but the two of you had managed to cut through it a metaphorical machete as the days passed.

"I will not rest until Irue returns."

Casual admissions like that still scared you a little. It wasn't the type of fright which led to screaming, but one that thoroughly unsettled you. It aroused both a sense of intimidation and envy as you tried to fathom what Irue must have done to warrant that much devotion from someone like her. Their relationship was... Beyond you, in more ways than one.

It was the sort of thing that left you feeling distinctly like an outsider, just by noticing it.

"I doubt Irue would mind if you rested from time to time. Someone that lazy can't be too strict on anyone else, right?"
"..."

Your joke fell flat. As flat as your flagging smile, and her own stoic expression. She had no sense of humor that you could discern, and even trying to talk about Irue as a point of mutual relation didn't broker much progress.

"Now that things are caught up, you don't have to stay here anymore." You finally cut to the point, rolling your eyes back with a sigh of frustration. She remained silent, even as you continued. "Irue can't be that far off. Kara could probably catch you up in a day or two, I doubt you want to stay here."

"My task is here." Her stare pierced you unerringly. Unchanging, uncompromising, sea-green eyes that wouldn't so much as blink, nor falter, before your own.

>Argue that she can leave.
>Try another topic.
>Give up
>Other? (write-in)

>>977897
What is your task then?

>>977897
Is Rinnier tired and irritated enough to try to needle her until she gets a reaction? I'd like to try that.

I'm surprised Rinnier isn't entertaining the thought that asche is a fae, she shares ask the common traits. Obsessed with Irue, doesn't speak, have no facial muscles and behave mechanically.

>>977897
>>Argue that she can leave.
Rinnier would make the attempt, but I doubt it'll really work. When she inevitably hits a brick wall
>Give up
and this
>>977929
Maybe if we can get the wording of her assigned task we can work with her better or something.

>>977929
>>977961
What's your task!

>>977961
Just leave tho.

>>977961
I give up.

>>977955
You can try.

Writing!

"And I told you that your task is over. We're all caught up, I can handle it from here."
"..."

You felt your teeth grit together. Her lack of response as much a disagreement as any verbal rebuttal, and you felt your temper stirring as her continued stare roused feelings of being looked down on. You were tired, too tired to truly be angry at something you had been dealing with since becoming a Testamen, but not tired enough to be any less annoyed.

More frustrating is that, unlike Irue, Asche gave you nothing to actually feed off of. You were irritated, yes, but there wasn't anything you could really lash back out at. She just...

"Why don't you say something?" Your arms cross with a huff finally, inner monologue leaking through. "You just sit there, every time I try to talk to you and stare at me. Why? What's your problem with me?"

"Dangerous."

The way she said it so calmly slowed your metaphorical hatewagon, but not enough to derail it. "I'm dangerous? Me?" You splayed your hand against your chest incredulously, "You've dedicated yourself to Irue of all people, and I'm the dangerous one?"

"Yes."

She stared up at you coolly, unresponsive to the disdainful scoff her answer elicited.

"How? To who?"

"Irue."

"Irue's more likely to get themself killed doing something stupid than me." Though there was that time in the library... Which was also technically still Irue's fault... For starting. You weren't in the best frame of mind back then either, but you considered yourself more disciplined than that. When they had thrown the first punch, it just...

Something snapped. You couldn't remember what ran through your mind as the two of you laid into each other.

There was a lot you regretted about that day, and those regrets very stubbornly left your retort feeling hollow. You were already prepared for her to call you out as a hypocrite-

"High maintenance."

-Only to be caught completely flat footed with an unexpected answer. Asche watched your bewildered expression calmly, and you waited - You waited for some kind of explanation. Some further extrapolation. It was not forth coming.

"I'm... What?"
"..."
"Did you just call me high maintenance?"
"Yes."

One hand rose to your temple, a sudden rush of fatigue catching up as your burgeoning irritation was just... Doused in confusion. This didn't even feel like the same conversation.

>?

>>978223
How the hell is high maintenance dangerous and why would that apply to me? Hell im bending over backwards doing her job for her here.

>>978223
"You're not talking about money, are you? Then what?"

>>978223
>"Irue's more likely to get themselves killed doing something stupid than me."
Truer words have never been spoken.
...High maintenance? out of all the ways I might describe Rinnier, /high maintenance/ would never have come up.She's difficult to work with at times, and stubborn, and has a fiery temper, sure, but none of those have anything to do with high maintenance. Actually, that's what I'd call Ari, what with all the being kidnapped and her extreme shyness.


I'd say we either unproductively explode at her that's what I'd do, or just wander away in confusion. Even if she is high maintenance somehow, she surely more than makes up for it in how much useful work she does.

>>978261
>>978277
How am I high maintenance?

>>978304
Just... gonna walk away.

Writing.

"How?" You felt like you were asking that often in this conversation. It bothered you, but you needed an answer to this one specifically. "I'm taking care of everything Irue can't be bothered to do, coordinating Carona's reconstruction, handling the knights... I'm the one everyone comes to talk to. No one asked me to do any of this; What part of that is 'high maintenance' to you?"

"..."

You snorted irritably as the feeling of being looked down upon returned in full force from her casual stare. "Well? I want an explanation."

This... This might have unexpectedly hit a sore spot for you. You had always considered yourself a very 'low maintenance' girl. You didn't need fancy things, you took care of most things on your own. If you had problems, you kept them to yourself. You weren't the kind of person who was overly needy.

You weren't going to back down here.

The silence stretched on, each passing moment only serving to let your temper smoulder back to life from the earlier dousing. If anything, wasn't Ari the highest maintenance one? Wasn't she the one Irue was always going off to save? The one who constantly had to be near Irue? She- ...No, this wasn't about Ari. In the first place, you were somewhat fond of the helpless girl. Calling her high maintenance... Even if she was, you couldn't say it harshly about her. She was extremely dependent.

And had the worst luck with being kidnapped that you had ever seen, but you digress.

"Irue is alone." Asche finally had an answer for you, just as your temper was beginning to fray. Though you weren't sure why you hadn't expected it at this point, those three words were also the only answer she had for you.

"What does that have to do with me being high maintenance?"

"..." She blinked at you. It was the first human reaction you had elicited from the stoic maid, and the victory you felt was disproportionate to say the least. You reigned in that triumph quietly. "Irue moves for the Testament..." For the first time since you had met, Asche's mouth opened but further words seemed reluctant to come out. Or rather, she seemed at a loss as to how to explain.

Rather than humanize her, it gave you the impression that she was just confused as to how to explain something very obvious to a stupid child.

It pissed you off.

"So what? You're saying I'm high maintenance because Irue has to do things?" Just how one-sided could this get?

Asche stared at you for a long moment, and finally shook her head. "When has Irue risked anything for themself?"

"..."

"Those stupid things are done for you."

>?

>>978533
Stupid....... What stupid things? Going and Saving Ari? That's certainly not for me. How about her promises to help my people? Big words, no action. I am stuck here trying to bail Her head out of water because she's my best hope and maybe putting things to right and she can't even do that because se ahs to go fetch a girl holding onto a cursed stick from the woods. There is literally nothing you or I can do until reconstruction is finished or until she gets her blonde ass back here. So either go get her or get the fuck out of my face.

>>978599
Also add how baby sitting a bunch of demihumans isn't for us either. Or how she seems to bring a literal disaster to the simplest things, like sandwich making.

>>978533
"Of everything that Irue did, what part of that was for me?"
Rather than throwing a fit, wouldn't it be better to try and coax out an explanation?
If we must, though.
"How does getting themselves killed over and over do anything for their testaments - for me?"

>>978599
>>978613
Uh.

>>978643
....huh.

...Alright.

>>978670
That does not bode well.

"That's not..."

True. You'd like to deny that, but you couldn't actually think of anything Irue had done for themselves that didn't involve one of the Testament. While there was plenty they had gotten up to which didn't involve you personally, probably the only thing you could attribute to Irue's own initiative was the acquisition of the knights, which was a circumstance thrust on them rather than one they went out of their way to get involved with.

"Alright, but I refuse to accept that I'm high maintenance just because Irue has no concept of restraint." You'd only compromise this far. "Why is Irue's willingness to do crazy things my fault? I'm not making it happen."

"You statistically cause the most incidents and stress."

...That can't be true. Your mouth was already opening to deny it, but- Wait.

Saved Ari once, going on twice...
Picked a fight for Kara... Once?
nearly died getting the polearm...

Oh, then you did stab Irue again- That wasn't entirely your fault, though.

"No I don't! You're counting the arguments, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"That's biased! Irue is too naive half the time, what do you expect me to do?"
"You are also responsible for four instances of near-death experiences."

...Even counting the stabbing, that was only two? Unless there was that time with the Salamander apparitions... Three?

"Four?"
"In pursuit of sandwiches, abandonment to an oakenbear, Mistral's Child, and personally attempted murder."
"The oakenbear doesn't count! And how were the Salamander apparitions my fault?!"
"..."

"Look, there were circumstances behind all of those things, and Irue was also to blame for that last part. Which was an accident." Asche stared at you silently, as if watching a list of excuses pile up in front of her. They were valid justifications, though, and those situations weren't so cut and dry.

"I understand." Unexpectedly, what came next wasn't a condemnation from the stoic maid. She stood from the desk she had taken for herself, quietly placing the quill onto the desk as she continued. "But until you came, Irue was safe."

"You can't just blame me for that. If Irue's life is in danger, it's more than likely their own fault for doing something reckless; Even if it's in some stubborn attempt to help."

"Yes." She agreed without missing a beat, though the soft inflection of her voice had yet to change. Despite the topic, it felt like you were the only one emotionally invested in the conversation... Which had the side effect of making you feel as if you were just being patronized.

"...Where are you going?" You stepped back as Asche calmly strode past you, abandoning the desk she had so stubbornly refused to not moments ago.

"Break."

...Seems like the conversation was unexpectedly over. Part of you wonders if this counts as having gotten a reaction out of her, but you still felt like you were in the wrong here.

>Go for a walk.
>Head towards the Shrine.
>Look for Kara
>Other? (write-in)

>>978827
>Go for a walk.
>Clear our head
>Sulk in a way totally inappropriate for a princess while no one's looking

>>978830
Also a question: were Irue and Ariel identical or fraternal twins?

>>978830
>>Head towards the Shrine.

>>978860
Fraternal, though the two of them were spitting images of each other in terms of looks.

>>978869
>Splitting images of each other
>People still know they are fraternal
>No DNA analysis in the setting

I have two likely explanations, and one of them scares me.

>>978872
Well no, the answer is purely from me. As far as the world is concerned, they were just twins.

>>978878
Yay, the scary explanation has just become less likely!

I'm actually going to shut down for the night, as there's still holiday plans that require me.

We'll pick the thread back up tomorrow as our interlude continues!

Feel free to throw in votes or comments/questions in the mean time. As usual, I'll tally or respond whenever I have time!

>>978887
I'll just take this chance to complain my fanart hasn't been noticed.

<complaining externally>

>>978894
I... Have no idea where to look?

I'm sorry.

>>978897
What did I expect when an anon starts to mass-post professional pictures, really?
It's >>973639

>>978902
Saved immediately to the fanart folder!

Though admittedly, I thought it was a crop from a manga.

>>978907
That's a pretty unexpected compliment.
Did I get the look any kind of close?

>>978902
>>973639
I thought that was just a cropped image from an old manga, good work.

>>973245
>Memo:
>1.
>2. Invite Marchovic on adventures next time there's a chance.
>3. Mim said "When are you going to tell her?" Tell what to whom?

>>978907
While we have some downtime we can try to find something to squeeze into number 1 here.

It's been ages since so I'm going from memory here but a few threads ago I brought up the idea to send a letter to Clara, or the uncle since he's still at home, to explain everything we've learned of Teranford. Especially about the meeting with the tree salesman and what the hell happened to our mansion and how it fucks with the fae. This is critical information and not something we can make use of as we are now but our family just might.

I also can't remember what 3. is meant to be but I have been wanting to sit down with Rinnier and Kara to explain about the doppelgänger. They are the only ones who doesn't know and Ari figured it out but not the whole picture. Kara said to Irue that she was scary and more like other demihumans than her... I wonder how she'll take the fact that the person she was bonding with was a self loathing, Irue-hating apparition and not us.

I think, on the whole, Irue's troubles all stem from her paranoid way of dealing with people and keeping secrets and never fully explaining what is going on. With what's happening to her now in the mansion with Mim and the forest all the frustration of not getting a straight answer from the fae, I have my fingers crossed that it won't be OOC for her to understand this.

Lastly about the fae, when we were at the main house wasn't Clara implying she knew about them? Why would she know but not tell us ANYTHING, not even that they existed? I want to drag all information about this from her or uncle as soon as possible since it has become another life or death situation for us where we are just fumbling in the dark.

>>978917
During Mim's development, her initial specs didn't include much physical description. The reason for that (and for why most aesthetic description of characters in Valen is somewhat sparse, or restricted to defining details) is because regardless of what I say or think, everyone ends up envisioning them in their own way as the story goes on.

For mim, her defining characteristics were being a child, routinely wearing Shrine robes, and being "bookish". Your interpretation of the last detail can vary. Some part of me had begun to paint her mentally with an image similar to Index from A Certain Magical Index, simply due to the fixation on knowledge she had and her usual clothing.

That said, I'm more than willing to canonize this as her appearance henceforth. Except the clothes. The Shrine robes won't be compromised!

Anything my players went out of their way to care about enough to actually make is worth a lot to me; So long as the defining characteristics of a character is captured, I like to use their imagination of the world and people to help add a visual image to the text.

>>978935
All of that won't fit in a single memo line...!

And yes, Aunt Clara blatantly confirmed that she knew about them when she left you there. She even expected them to keep an eye on you, and told you as much.

>>978938
It's not my decision so I'm putting everything out there to see what we can agree on is worth putting in a memo. It boils down into two things, either "write a thorough letter" or "tell them about dopplerue".

>>978942
I'm voting for "write a thorough letter", simply because it affects the whole country rather than just us.

A bit of idle statistics: our current Forgetting success rate is 9/29, or 31%, comprised of 19% in Act I and 62.5% in Act II so far.

>>978998
Yeah, well, act 1 wad a learning curve.

>>979104
Just you wait. Riz is probably only warming up.

>>979109
Let me tell you as someone who was here from the start. If he thinks it was painful reading through the archives as a writer, it was also painful as a player. Both because I contributed my fair share of bad decisions, and because of when three newfags killed ShadowRue.

Fucking fuck fuckery fuck.

And let me tell you that led to me voting a lit more often for the "I swear I'll kill us both" options. Like punching Rinnier in her smug face.

Seriously fuck the guys who killed doppelrue

I will hate them until the day I die

>>979592
I finished reading the archives just in time to be late to that vote.
That was painful.

>>979592
Like. The worst I did was a write in for yelling at a child.

It was Mim.

At least it was "in character." Not an improvement in character. But in the vein of the worst of Irues character.

>>978938
When Rue gets back from Fairyland can we sell off Carona? Or have a big charity/celebration party that doubles as our entrance into high society as the Head of House Valen?

Maybe send out invitations to the Royalty and the Nobles and THEN tell our Aunt and say we would appreciate her presence.

Maybe flirt a bit with the dude who we turned down for marriage originally. See if we can seduce him, or get him to drink Faedeka for a month.

Also we should ask if the Fae can do anything for our Demihumans. The Faedeka seemed to help them. Maybe there's a more permanent solution?

File: Mim.png (741 KB, 596x993)

741 KB PNG

>>979952
You should be proud anon, I've never seen anyone rip apart a kid so well before.

>>980115
Yes.

I'm here to ruin everything.

>>980115
I just had enough of people playing stupid games and it seemed like she was playing politics with us over fucking books.

Whoops.

I mean. Our house had just been taken over by some spooky shit, and we were dealing with spooky golems and the Fae to rescue our most Vulnerable testament and I swear to fucking god I will vote to burn that forest to the goddamn ground and plant those spooky trees in its place if they hurt her, regardless of the good will they may have had.

>>978938
How would Aunt Clara feel about us declaring war on the Fae?

>>979952
>>980115
I didn't even understand that Mim was a child until Riz wondered out loud why we were so hell bent on child abuse.

She's a representative of a mana in the church, obviously she's simply a very childish woman! If I had known I would never have voted to ask her to join us on the trip to the mansion and going back it explains how weird the situations with her were. "You... WANT to talk to Mim?" I thought they just thought we were odd for associating with the oddball, not because we were seeking the counsel of a child.

>>980148
I supported the write-in, to me we were in another goddamn life and death situation and then this kid is prancing around, playing mind games and being a real obnoxious little shit without regard to the situation they were in. Apparently an attention seeking precocious child with the magic of Knowing All Things and a stressed out, supercharged autist don't gel well. Who'd have thought.

I really love how dysfunctional Irue is and how all decisions just come tumbling down around us like a house of cards. Change the tone of the story and it would be an amazing comedic misadventure.

>>980223
Hey. We've had some success. We're apparently more or a terrific and terrifying person than just a terrible one.

And honestly we haven't done jack shit for ourselves really. We just keep getting ducked into helping people. Some of whom we hate.

Like we rocked some Priest dude for Kara and escalated to fighting the city guard because fuck everyone. We're like a Greek Hero.

So once you realize that everything kind of falls into thematic appropriateness.

>>980235
>Like we rocked some Priest dude for Kara and escalated to fighting the city guard because of a joke vote that was deleted and is missing in the archived thread

*Fixed

I swear everything bad that happened later in and around Carona is because of that.

I feel really bad for Roderick, aside from his initial (and very understandable in hindsight) hostility in every scene he's been in, he was a 100% good person. A great guy selfless and devoted to the shrine and the people. The mayor was the one fucking everything up. I was excited during the rescue because I thought we could reconcile with Mr Nice Guy but then someone went and razed the whole fucking town on top of his head. He did not deserve what happened to him except possibly the bite on his hand. He even left the wound untreated so that he could prove that he wasn't lying about the senseless wild child. Honest to a fault and died a pointless death because Irue cared more about her own reputation than the lives of all the people who died in her pursuit to intercept a letter of complaint.

>>980290
Fuck that dude. Pretentious cunt who escalated the situation just as much and despite all his good intentions still sold out his town.

Besides it's not like we killed anyone out of malice alone.

>>980476
Can you be a good person, despite having what some deem a glaring character flaw? He cared about the townsfolk, cared for the Shrine, left his hand untreated for proof; but he cared more about the townsfolk than outsiders, and was (arguably) justifiably racist. Remember, Kara is the exception, not the rule in regards to Demihumans. If we'd met a regular one first, we'd probably have been much less trusting of her when we met her. But we didn't, and just thought everyone else was a terrible racist because they were different.

It's a shame, really. I think we could have had a good relationship with him if we'd met in better circumstances.

>>980654
Yeah, I'm not saying he wasn't redeemable or anything.

Just that redeeming him wasn't our job and it's not like we went after him for no reason at all. First we were protecting Kara, then ourselves, then the worst town in existence.

Which we accidently destroyed because goddamn we have no idea what we are doing.

Honestly next time we see our Aunt we should bitch at her for forcing us into Politics with no backup or training and tell her that if she won't help us then we'll shop around for someone who will.

>>980112
Like. We could still marry the Royalty dude.

>>980112
You can do all of these things! Or try to, at least.

>>980151
I can't answer that, but if you feel strongly enough about it then it's certainly an option!

>>980115
You waste no time with that app, huh...

>>979500
>>979592
>>979637
Everytime this gets brought up, there seems to be a unanimous opinion of "I hate those anons!", but... Valen doesn't have many players. It always makes me wonder if someone is just ashamed to admit themselves, or if the people who voted for it actually dropped the quest since then.

The second seems more likely to me, just because the average playerbase never seems to increase... So logically I gain new readers at about the same rate I lose them.

---

Anyway, I'm back and settling in. Baking cookies and such. I'll work on writing the next update within the next hour or so!

>>980996
I feel sure they were only here for that vote and I wouldn't accuse anyone of being them.

But I've been here since the beginning. Mostly ruining things. I just keep repeating "Greek Heroics" and it doesn't seem so bad. We haven't banged or killed any family members yet for one thing.

>>980996
Also, could we ask the Royal dude we were originally going to marry for help with Carona? Rinnier is still technically Royalty as well. We should ask her if she's thought about marriage to get support for restoring her nation.

Wait. Could we marry Rinnier?

>>981083
>We haven't banged or killed any family members yet
There's always Caylen!

>>981096
>The royal dude
You don't know who it is. No one ever asked. If you'd like to ask Rinnier about marriage though, you're certainly welcome to.

>>981116
I'm def. Voting we jokingly ask Rinnier to marry us so that we can always have her do our paperwork. Also it would probably be easier for her to use House Valens resources than it would be for us.

Eventually Rinnier and our Aunt will surprisingly bond over being insanely frustrated by redheads, and martial prowess.

>>981116
Also, I did say "yet".

>>981116
Also have a good night, got called in so I'm probably not going to make any votes.

Don't forget to post on twitter!

>>981214
Have a good night, anon!

Rolled 1 (1d2)

1. Shrine
2. Walk

an entire day to vote and we're still tied at 1:1

Stepping out of the makeshift headquarters, you couldn't help but wince as the dawn's early light burned your eyes. You used to be such an early riser, always up with the sun... Given that you hadn't been able to sleep much lately, all of that was ruined now. You caught a sparse few naps during the day, using the built up work to keep yourself focused and awake through the night. It wasn't healthy. It hadn't been so bad at first, but your body was starting to complain about being thrust out of its natural rhythm.

Suffice to say, the morose mood you found yourself in had cultivated itself long before that unproductive conversation with Asche. You considered a walk to clear your head, but the practical part of you knew that no amount of walking was actually going to improve your mood any. You were... Tired. Not upset, exactly, just... Tired.

Moving through Carona was a routine habit for you by now, as you had made a point of walking these streets yourself back when you were helping to survey the damage and the best places to start recovery. It was fortunate that you had the Shrine's cooperation in recovery as much as you did, or this would have required far more resources to pull back from... As it was, you were already pulling from several bags of tricks in order to keep reconstruction proceeding apace. Dullem and his group had the experience necessary that let them stretch the usefulness of what they had, and you had spent no small amount of time trying to think back to the solutions you had seen enacted back in Teranford... Between the two of you, the town was actually starting to resemble a town again.

"Good morning, Miss Lamandra!"

More importantly, the people were starting to show vitality again. Many of them had lost everything to Mistral's Child, while others only lost their daily routine. You had become the face of recovery to them... A fact that you can't say wasn't a deliberate move on your part. There were more wounds to dress in Carona than just the wreckage.

The distrust and hesitation present in Irue's knights was a trait shared in a lesser form with the people of Carona. You remember what the Mayor had been planning; Revolution and secession weren't actions one simply woke up to one morning. As badly as his plans had fallen apart in the end, they had been in progress for quite some time... And you doubted something of that magnitude could have performed by a single man in a position of power.

After all, a leader was nothing without people willing to follow.

"You're up early again, Miss Lamandra?"

You couldn't see revolutionaries in the faces of these people, though. The warmth in their greetings, or the way they smiled as you waved and walked past... While it made you, personally, feel better to take a more direct and personal hand in the recovery efforts, it served a more pragmatic purpose. These were people who were well aware of the circumstances of the nation. People who had little to no power of their own, and were forced to rely on the aid and judgement of people far above them.

It was one thing to say that you were a province within House Valen's territory, but what did that mean? To the baker's daughter whose father was lost, or the elder smith whose life's works were buried in rubble? To the young couples reeling from loss, or the husbands and wives who only just saved their children?

There was no one in front of them. No one to look to, nor hold responsible. You could call for aid, but it felt as if your words were entrusted to the open air, and you could only pray for a response. To a people uncertain and wary of what the future would bring, that distance was perhaps the most damning thing of all.

"You seem tired, Miss Lamandra. Don't forget to take care of yourself as well."

It was a preference of yours to walk among your people back in Teranford, but the people of Carona needed someone within arm's reach to talk to. Air their ails to. Vent their concerns and doubts to. Before it was a province of House Valen, it was Carona. It was their home.

Though Irue undoubtedly treated the position as a punishment, or some act of spite, you couldn't help but wonder if this was another deliberate act of grooming for the future Heir... And one they had incidentally walked away from almost immediately.

"Ah, the Testament!" You blinked at the unexpected title, awareness sliding back to you as you realized your feet had led you inexplicably towards the Shrine. "What do we owe the honor of your visit so early?"

Hraes sat on the bottommost step of the flight leading up to the Shrine itself, a cool wind circling the open area at a gentle pace. He raised one hand in a relaxed greeting, not quite willing to stand for the occasion. Of all the Domains within the Shrine, Jinn had taken the brunt of the sinking feelings held by Carona; It was, after all, an apparition of Jinn which had caused the destruction.

Whether that was their fault or not, those favoured by Jinn were held accountable for the mischief of their Mana, and they in turn seemed to have taken it the hardest. The fact that the Mistral's Child had needed to be dispersed by a troop from House Valen, rather than by their own efforts, must have been humiliating.

>Ask about casualties
>Inquire about a specific Domain of Mana (which?)
>Talk about the previous Mayor
>Other? (write-in)

>>981645
>>Ask about casualties

>>981645
>Talk about the previous Mayor

>>981645
>>Ask about casualties

>>981645
>>Ask about casualties
But, uh, maybe in a less direct way, considering those last few sentences. Maybe start with
>Talk about the previous Mayor

>>981648
>>981720
>>981770
So how many people are dead because of you?

>>981688
>>981770
Also your mayor was shit. Shit.

I forgot how long my voting intervals used to be. 15m? 30m? Help.
Writing!

>>981779
did rinnier ever get that box of gold?

>>981829
>Rinnier drew in a breath, and for a moment you waited for some kind of rebuttal - A familiar, scathing retort - Only for her to hang her head. "And the funds?" murmured flatly.

>"Probably already dug up and in route." You gave her an answer specifically to bait a request for clarification... Only to come up empty as she tiredly muttered an her understanding and turned away.

I went back to double check. Irue had it dug up and delivered before leaving for the Fae.

"Lost in thought." You admit. "Checking on the reconstruction eventually led me here."

"The doors are always open, if you need to calm your heart." Hraes' offer was tempting, and you had more than once considered seeking some solace of your own in the Shrine... But it wasn't an option for you. Even ascending the stairs would probably be pushing it for you. You've little doubt that there would be an outright panic if any of the flames in Salamander's Domain were to just snuff themselves out... Or, more dangerous to you, if they decided to make a stand against your presence. The last thing Carona needed right now was for another aspect of Mana to become a source of distress.

"I know. We can't thank you for enough for the help you've offered us after this disaster." Sidestepping his offer politely, you do approach the steps with a tentative pace. "May I?"

"The stairs are as open as our doors, by all means." Hraes shrugged with a good natured smile, shifting over to make room. It was a simple gesture, as the stairs themselves were wide enough for entire processions to comfortably make their way up and down... It was just an invitation of welcome, and one you would gladly accept. "You look like you could use a rest, anyway."

"There's been a lot to do." You agree with a wane smile, letting the cool wind brush up against your skin as you settled onto the clefted stones. "Not just with the reconstruction."

"Anything you feel like airing out?" Coming from the Jinn representative, you refused to believe the pun wasn't intentional... You could only stifle a groan in response.

"The previous mayor of Carona was plotting outright treason." You say simply, "But it's not like he could have made that much progress on his own. He had support."

"Rooting out potential traitors..." Hraes groaned in annoyance. "That's a pain in the ass, especially with how things are."

"Yeah. It would have been a difficult enough job if he were just busted, but with the town like it is now... I don't even know where to start. Most of the evidence is probably buried under a house a roof somewhere, and as for the people..." You trail off exasperatedly, listening to his understanding hum. "It's not something that can be left alone for too long. Every day we wait, it's less likely we'll find any of his allies."

"But you can't start a witch hunt as things are."

"...Yeah."

"There's always something." Hraes sighed alongside you, reclining against the rigid slope of the stairs as if it were the natural thing to do. "I feel for you, but..."

"Politics are beyond the scope of the Shrine." You confirm the words familiarly. Part of the reason the Shrine could stretch its influence so far without opposition was precisely because they made it an official stance to not become involved in local affairs which did not involve the Mana. "You're already doing more than enough. I don't imagine the people would have appreciated us trying to organize them for a casualty census when we arrived."

"That's not right, you know?" Hraes clicked his tongue playfully, "I'm glad you can make use of our list of missing people, but we're not doing it for you."

"The wonders of public access information." You play along tiredly. "You wouldn't happen to know if that list had been updated recently, would you?"

"A few names found. Few names added." The answer was vague and generally unhelpful, but it let you know the list was still shaping up.

>Ask about the Tier incident (what specifically?)
>Ask how Hraes is doing
>Talk about something else (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>982089
>>Ask how Hraes is doing
I'm sure this is someone we want to know about.

>>982089
>>Ask how Hraes is doing

>>982235
>>982240
Hraes! Though you've already kind of met him before.

Writing!

"Our problems aside, aren't you too busy to be cloudwatching?" You lean back marginally to glance at Hraes out of the corner of your eye. For as relaxed as he looked on the stairs, you knew there was more to it than a simple break. After all, you had seen him on this same stair, in this same place, nearly every day for the past week.

There were only so many clouds to watch.

"Haa. Well, the Shrine has everyone doing what they can to help." You felt a soft frown beginning to surface after his melancholic answer. "It'll blow over eventually, but the winds aren't too fair right now." He could still laugh about it and find it in him to make stupid puns, but the general feeling about Jinn since the Mistral's Child was... Grievous, to say the least.

The breeze picked up as you shared an amiable silence under the sky, cooling wind tenderly luring you into a state of relaxation and calm. It wasn't a direct manipulation like you might expect from Shade, or a physical change as Wisp would conjure... But the sense of comfort you gained from the stray wind blowing was enough for you to close your eyes for a moment. This was the call of nature; The sensation of being accepted by the world. Succor without words, which you'd most likely overlook if you were too hasty.

A soft adloquium for those who found themselves standing still... In more ways than one.

"I hadn't thought..." You mumbled aloud, catching the knowing smirk from your erstwhile conversational partner.

"The simplest things can bring people comfort, sometimes." He stared skyward wistfully, "The smell of home. The wind against your skin. Empty skies..." Hraes loosed a sigh, "I do what I can... But you're right. I've spent most of my time out here daydreaming. It's a convenient excuse while I'm adding the little touches."

>Ask about Daydreaming
>What is [Domain] Doing?
>Anything you want to 'air'?
>Other? (Write-in)

>>982434
>>Anything you want to 'air'?

>>982434
>Ask about Daydreaming

>>982460
Airing!

>>982483
Daydreaming!
[As4[Fuko

Writing!

>>982551
Has Rinnier checked to see if Sally is pissed because some other Mana has hooked her up? Just something to check maybe

>>982623
>Sally.
But no, she hasn't. That's... A very abnormal thing to think about, and would typically coincide with large scale reactions from both the Mana that got kicked out, and the "invading" Mana, which would in turn be fairly visible... As most conflicts between Mana are.

"One of the Shrine's Representatives has time to daydream?" You pick at him with a mellow laugh, "Are you sure you're cut out for this job?"

"Representative of Jinn, Miss Lamandra." He corrected, playfully 'tsk'ing at your half-hearted scolding with a lazily waving finger. "I wouldn't be fit for this job if I didn't spend most of my time with my head in the clouds, you know?"

"You are the Representative, so you would know better than I."

"Mhmm." His melancholic smile felt marginally more genuine as he hummed in agreement. "You have no idea how convenient that is. I can spend days at a time just taking naps on the roof, and it's perfectly sanctioned."

"What better place to meditate to Jinn?"
"I do that sometimes, too."

... You had been joking about him being lazy, but was he genuinely the sort to slack off?

"You... Really just use your Mana as an excuse to go take a nap?"

"Sometimes. If I do it too often, Lium or Penelope will probably catch on." He craned his neck up, placing a finger against his lips conspiratorily. "Our secret, right?"

"That... That's too irresponsible for a Rep-"
"Jinn Representative."
"But even so-"
"Jinn."
"You can't just..."

"Shhh." The wind ruffled your hair as he reclined mischeviously. "Jinn."

... You kind of wanted to shake him until he got back to work. How often had he been sitting out here just looking sad in order to take naps?!

"Besides, all the time alone does give me time to think... Don't look at me like that, I take my job seriously on occasion as well."

Wasn't that just an admission that he slacked off most of the time, though?

"Should I humor you, then?"
"You don't have to."
"...What have you been thinking about?"

As irresponsible as Hraes was, he was the go-lucky sort that you couldn't bring yourself to actually dislike. He had been willing to listen to your complaints, so you may as well return the favor.

"Banshee. Or Mistral's Child, since that's what you're probably used to hearing it called." And he didn't hold anything back, did he? Your lips pursed awkwardly as he spoke. "La'Fiel is typically so mild... It's no secret that the presence of Mana is relatively sparse in our region, so it just doesn't make any sense."

>Pry for an explanation
>Dismiss it as a whim of the Mana
>Propose a possible cause (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>982646
We should see how she reacts to Nymph's Wood.

>>982682
>>Propose a possible cause (what?)
Maybe the Mayor was doing something that was disrupting Mana? He seemed to be up to no good, and was working with a member of the Shrine after all.

>>982688
She kept it in a pot in the manor. I think that qualifies as 'no reaction'.

>>982682
>Dismiss it as a whim of the Mana
If Sally's favorite family could fall from grace overnight for no visible reason, nothing would be too strange for a Mana

>>982698
>>982682
To further this, it could even make sense that they tried to use a Mana that wasn't related to Redericks Gnome, to avoid suspicion, and it screwed up because you know, Mana.


Mana can be fickle. [Insert Rinniers Bitterness about Salamander.]

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Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>982720
Let's all look forward to an exciting new year of Valen.

---

>>982698
1. Excuses!

>>982720
2. Or it's a whim!

>>982779
Your filename gives me anxiety.

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>>982779

>>982791
I mean. No reason we can't see how she reacts again.

How did it affect wossnames summoning of the Fire Elemental thingy that we burned our way out with?

"Mana don't need to make sense." You feel a familiar bitterness creep into your voice alongside your cynical answer. "You should know it best as a Representative; They're so far above us, we may as well be ants."

"Hmm... Maybe." Hraes nodded thoughtfully, "I can't say I really understand Jinn, all the time. They're like... Really eccentric friends, I guess."

"Some friends are more fickle than others." Old grudges were starting to resurface. It happened years ago, but given that it felt like a lasting scar to remind you that you couldn't go back to that life, you were justified in not letting go. "When Salamander abandoned Teranford, we didn't understand it either. We prayed. We cried. We begged... We never got any answer." A heavy sigh escaped as you shook your head, wearily attempting to ward off darker thoughts. "I don't see how this is any different."

...
..
.

"I'm sorry." Hraes sat up as the silence stretched on, brushing his hand against your shoulder lightly.

"Why?"

"Seems I made you remember something nasty." He squeezed once, reassuringly applying pressure... And using your shoulder as a handhold to stand up. "I get what you're saying... Luna knows I heard much the same from Priat after he heard Teranford had been abandoned... But I don't really agree." You watched him step off the stairs and sloppily brush the dirt from his clothes. "Mana favour people based on those natured most like them, you know? It may seem like they're playing favorites, but I think they're just looking for someone to talk to, sometimes."

You stared at him blankly, and to his credit, he seemed to notice how outlandish he sounded after noticing your expression. All the same, he stepped back with an easy going laugh. "Maybe if Jinn abandons me, I'll feel the same."

>?

>>982841
> If what they want is someone to talk to, how do we know when they aren't talking versus when we aren't listening?

Maybe we can have a knock down screaming match with Salamander?

I have terrible conflict resolution skills.

>>982841
"I don't think my nature, or the nature of everyone in Ternaford, has changed. Has Salamander changed then?"

>>982857
>>982841
This is pretty good too. But what if it WAS us who changed?

You know, with the whole "Cult moving in and bringing Nymph Wood" thing.

>>982857
Like, could someone in our family have betrayed Salamander on the DL and Mana just kind of took it out on everyone, like taking their ball and going home?

>>982844
>>982857
This stuff!

>>982867
Well, hopefully this dude can clue us in since Priat isn't really a "Shrine" dude so much as a dude loved by Sally and Politics.

"I don't think I changed so drastically to warrant this abandonment." You had probably changed. You certainly weren't the same person you were back then; You had grown. Learned. You had to in order to survive and have any chance of helping your people. Even so... Who you were at heart wasn't something that changed so simply. "Much less me, how could everyone in Teranford have just suddenly had a change of heart like that?"

It seemed impossible. On a scale that large, it's almost enough to make you question whether it wasn't Salamander that had changed.

"I don't have an answer for you." He shrugged apologetically. "I won't pretend to know what went on to cause it... Nor to know what it must have felt like for you when it happened. It seems impossible to me that a nation so beloved by Salamander would have its patron Mana turn on them so cruelly."

"Yet that's what happened."

"It may be." He allowed, "...If I may?" You offer a wane smile. It is allowance enough, and he adopts a more casual stance as his hands disappear into his pockets. "Working as Representative, I've come to understand that Mana and their favoured relate to each other in... Unique ways. Myself, I consider Jinn a dear friend. If I woke one day to find them gone, I wouldn't forgive myself if I didn't do everything I could to find them one more time - Just for a goodbye."

"We tried." You had meditated constantly, you know others had done so as well. "It's not for lack of entreaty that we're left in the dark, Salamander has simply turned its back on us."

"What if that's wrong, though?" Hraes pressed. "What if Salamander never gave up on its treasures, and you just can't hear it calling out to you any longer?"

"...Why?" You blinked hotly, feeling moisture gathering in your eyes that you made quick work of wiping away. Talking about this while you were already tired was... Dangerous. You were too weak right now to really keep yourself collected.

"I'm sorry." But just like the times you had called out for Salamander after Teranford was abandoned... "I honestly have no answer."

It hurt. Prying open old wounds was always going to be painful, but at the very least you had built up an armor of bitterness and spite to keep that pain at bay over the years. No matter what you had tried, there had never been an answer, so... It was obvious, right? Salamander abandoned you. Abandoned all of Teranford. It wasn't as if you hadn't entertained the idea that maybe the fault was with you, but in regards to the entire nation?

It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.

But being forced to entertain the thought that maybe the one who had been abandoned was Salamander...

Hraes was long gone by the time you felt the urge to move again. He left you alone with your thoughts, which was probably for the best. There was nothing else he could have said at that point, and to be frank, you probably wouldn't have been able to properly listen to anything either.

It was close to midday, now. Looks like you spent longer on these steps than you expected.

>Look for Kara
>Investigate the burned down Tier estate
>Visit the residential district demanding human-only recovery efforts
>Other? (write-in)

>>982913
>Investigate the burned down Tier estate.

Try to go and think about what Salamander means there. Surrender ourselves to burning passion for once and just doing what we feel like instead of overanalyzing things.

>>982913
Maybe do some weapon forms there? We gotta be careful not to "burn out" ahahaha. Also good night.

I'm going to leave the vote open until tomorrow! You know the drill by now, we'll pick it up again then as the christmas interlude continues.

This was supposed to be a light thread. We were supposed to be happy. Why can't you just be happy, anon?

>>982913
>Investigate the burned down Tier estate
Mostly to be alone for a while. And possibly coincidentally happen upon a clue.

>>982917
>Happy
>In Valen Quest

>>982917
If you wanted us to be happy, you should have done "Kara Saves Christmas" where we go on a magical journey to find booze to save the Demi-humans first Christmas with a group of children who are the Orphans of Carona. Most from before the tragedy, although there were definitely some new additions after.

Then we could have ruined it adorably by having a bunch of suicidal alcoholic supermen depress a bunch of children with dead parents and poor chances of survival. Or gotten the Demi-humans to adopt them as sort of therapy pets and get better slightly.

BUT THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN NOW, WILL IT.

>>982925
> Or gotten the Demi-humans to adopt them as sort of therapy pets and get better slightly.

Actually let's save this idea and make the orphans work with the Demi-humans. If the people of Carona bitch, use it as leverage to make them take the kids in.

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>>982920
But anon.
Playing as Kara was an option.

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>>982930
Sorry. For a moment I forgot that it really is always us that ruins everything. I love this quest but it hurt.

Fuck it. I'm still going to blame you for giving us agency and expecting anything less.

Let me rephrase. If you wanted happy you should have written a short story about Kara Saving Christmas and not allowed write ins.

>>982934
And no I'm not fixing that watermark from that content stealing site. That would mean getting out of bed instead of phone posting.

>>982930
Just let us do Kara Saves Christmas while super drunk on new years eve. When she wakes up it was all just a dream . . . .

>>982913
>>Look for Kara

>>981238
I completely forgot that there was a vote...

>>982913
>Visit the residential district demanding human-only recovery efforts
>Bring Kara and her brother with us

Those little shits need to suck it up. If they refuse help from the humanoid wrecking ball they are /hindering/ the efforts by forcing a disproportionate division of labor. If the overall project can be finished even a week earlier if Kara can walk in and start tossing out wooden beams and other heavy debris then that is what she is going to do.
They don't have to trust them, they have to let them work. It is patently absurd that they are refusing and hindering aid when the whole town is suffering from loss and grief and desperately need to achieve milestones at a steady pace so that they can return to their lives and put the tragedy behind them.

If they refuse to see the reason and logic behind this then they can simply pay for the extra labor they are demanding. We have planned and allocated our resources and if they are making DEMANDS we put down the other foot and the situation will turn from humanitarian aid, out of our own coffers, into a business transaction.

>>982969
Ah, grab Dullem too. The kind old bear can just be quiet and nod while looking authoritative and imposing while representing the KNIGHTS. As long as he doesn't open his mouth to speak it will be fine. The man is too awkward and uncertain.

>>982913
>>982969

I like this plan, but I want us to try and get in touch with Salamander first. Maybe while we're exhausted we'll be more in touch with the Mana.

Also because I don't want us forgetting about it.

>>982979
We have all day, we can go to Salamander first since they're nearby.

>>982985
Sounds like a plan.

>>982913
>>Investigate the burned down Tier estate
Rinnier and Salamander is something we've been curious about for a long time, but couldn't really ask about without risking her blowing up. I'm not surprised the vote swung this say.

>>982969
Assuming the district isn't critical to the city working, we might just give them the same human labor as the rest, and leave out the demihumans. If they don't want the help, others can use it.

>>983255
I am assuming that it's the rich quarter, who else would be so peculiar about their belongings in this situation? Most townsfolk only own some clothes and cooking utensils, maybe a silver candle holder or porcelain soup bowl at most.
I could be wrong, we'll find out.

If I'm not then yes, it's not critical to the city function but flat out refusing the demands of those with money is going to cause serious trouble in the future. They might actually just up and move to a different town- The money leaves, businesses close up and city folk end up on the streets. Carona could be destitute for the full duration of Irue's governorship and it will be nothing but a farming community with walls.
That is why I propose that we tell them to like it or pay up, if nothing else they understand business.

>>983373

I'd much rather come down with "It's House Valen helping you, you either accept all of our help or none of it. If there are any problems with the Demi-Humans then we'll take responsibility."

If we're going to be responsible for them, we gotta back them all the way. They are broken as far as being sociopaths go. Tamed, if you will.

>>983413
Yes that should work. Taking responsibility is part of the noblesse oblige, it shouldn't have to be stated out loud and I think it makes us sound uncertain about them ourselves.
Your "All or Nothing" approach can be framedt so that the House will see it as an insult that they question our competence. That's what it is, isn't? They think that our choice of employees is incompetent.

>>983634
At work now, but yes. Are they saying they don't trust us to control the Demi-Humans? Because we've got the graves of the ones we've broken to prove that yes, yes we can.

Just House Valen, doing the Impossible again.

>>983634
>can be framed so that the House will see it as an insult that they question our competence.
this isn't a bad idea, but remember:
>"Yeah. It would have been a difficult enough job if he were just busted, but with the town like it is now... I don't even know where to start. Most of the evidence is probably buried under a house a roof somewhere, and as for the people..." You trail off exasperatedly, listening to his understanding hum. "It's not something that can be left alone for too long. Every day we wait, it's less likely we'll find any of his allies."

the townsfolk might not take too kindly to the nobles forcing them to do anything, even if it is for their own good. Done poorly, it could turn people unrelated to that district against us.

>>983806
It's not us forcing them to let us use the Demi-Humans. It's us presenting them with the choice of either moving on ahead without any support from House Valen, or accepting House Valen's support. They don't get to dictate which part of our House is acceptable or not.

>>983806
We aren't forcing people into anything, this issue is about them refusing the aid of the demihumans. They work directly under Irue and that makes them a part of the household. If they refuse their help, they are actively hindering the governor in her restoration effort. This is unacceptable in these circumstances.

If we /want/ to we can even jail them for sedition!

But no, the issue isn't that we are forcing townspeople to work, it's that they are hindering the work by refusing our workers for dubious reasons.

Let's see who we are dealing with before we commit to a course, we don't actually know who the people are yet.

>>982914
>>982920
>>983255
To the Tiers!

>>982969
Residential district!

>>982942
Where in the world is Kara San Diego?

I'm making dinner, but I'll start writing soon! In the meantime...

----

>>983634
>They think our choice of employees is incompetent
Incompetence isn't the concern, so much as they're just exceedingly racist (and for good reason, for once). I wouldn't underestimate how deeply that kind of stigma can run, though...

>>983373
It is not necessarily a rich quarter. As mentioned above, the concern is placed more in roots of racism than "my precious valuables". It's not something you've had to really deal with much, since you primarily pursued Ari/Rinnier's subplots, but racism against demihumans is a very deeply set (and often justified) factor in the setting.

That said... Those concerns you have of them up and leaving? Those are still very valid, and include the populace in general, rather than a specific subset.

Wiping away the traces of your short lived break in composure, you took a deep breath and mentally went back through the list of things you had marked down to look into. Given the time of day, you could probably make a meeting with the people insisting on receiving human-only recovery efforts... It wasn't something you particularly wanted to do, but it was something you would need to address eventually. Then there was the matter of the previous mayor's supporters... If the people themselves weren't in a position to be scrutinized, then you'd just have to look elsewhere.

While you had particular interest in recovering what you could from the mayor's estate, it was the Tier estates which you were currently preoccupied with. Both the original one situated within the town limits, as well as the second one which had become subject to arson... And who knew what else. While not quite as recent as Mistral's Child, the great fire that took the estranged Tier estate in a night was also responsible for the complete eradication of the family.

You'd call it a tragedy, if it weren't deliberately engineered. You knew the mayor had been slowly forcing them out of Carona, and that act was undoubtedly meant to be the decisive final strike against them...

One that had turned out sickeningly effective, if the ruins and ashes before you were any indication.

Constructed to house the entirety of the Tier family, as well as provide them easy access to their beastpens, the Tier estate outside of Carona was no less impressive than the one inside had been. If anything, the movement to force them beyond town limits had been a blessing in disguise that allowed them ever larger structures and living quarters for both themselves and their beasts. That such a huge place could be caught so thoroughly in a simple fire beggared belief.

As a princess of Teranford, a nation once thoroughly beloved by Salamander, you knew fire. You were born to fire. Grew with fire. You lived alongside fire for most of your life. The charred remains that crunched under foot were not caused by any mere fire. You'd have been suspicious of the origin of the blaze here even if you weren't the person the mayor had tried to frame.

And really, when you get kidnapped, faux interrogated, and nearly tortured in an attempt to be made into a scapegoat for something, you really couldn't help but get the feeling that the person doing all of that might be more responsible for it than you are.

So while the old Tier estate was still a little beyond your reach, having been ground-zero for the birth of Mistral's Child, this one was the exact opposite. Left far away from town, it had successfully avoided almost all of the apparitions ensuing attentions, remaining an open book for inspection... And perhaps a prime location to find some leads on the mayor's allies.

...Still, the burned out skeletons of these buildings were anything but stable, and whatever fires had raged here that night were long extinguished. Nature had already begun to retake it at an astounding rate, with blades of grass stretching beyond your ankle.

>Enter the main house
>Investigate the beast pens
>Poke around the outside edges first
>Other? (Write-in)

>>985822
>>Investigate the beast pens

>>985822
>>Investigate the beast pens

>>985816
>Poke around the outside edges first

>>985834
>>985842
Beast pens!

>>985857
The outside!

Seems like we're diving right in, then! Writing!

The main housing could wait. The Tier family were known first and foremost for their rearing of beasts, a bloodline whose skill and dedication to the art had earned them the prestigious honor of becoming vassals for House Valen. Given the clout behind that name, being officially affiliated with them on a personal basis was something that only one other family had previously been able to claim the right to.

Your knowledge of the history of the Tier family before becoming affiliated with the Valens was suspect, at best. You knew of them out of political necessity, which meant that your familiarity with them understandably started only when their name became of any importance. You hadn't expected that even that modicrum of information would ever be put to any use.

Well, none of that mattered right now. In the charred corpse of what remained of their beast pens, you were primarily searching for confirmation of something you did have a thorough understanding of.

The Tiers may have been simple trainers at some point in their life, but once they became affiliated with House Valen, the range of beasts and creatures they came to handle and take care of expanded considerably. You had even heard tale that they had come into possession of a Behemoth not long before Teranford had well and truly fallen apart. Distracted as you were at the time, you hadn't given the rumour a second thought... But from the size of the restraints here, you knew they had been true.

Behemoths were solitary creatures native to the volcanic regions of Teranford. For a creature whose name was just a description of how huge they were, Behemoths lived up to and beyond every shadow their reputation could cast; Massive beasts of muscles and thick hide, accustomed to living in the scorching heats of both Teranford's desert wastes and the molten hellscape of the Salamander's Throne mountain range, they were no stranger to fire. If anything, they were more at home bathed in flame than anywhere else.

So much so, in fact, that they required at least that much heat to remain comfortable. Veritable juggernauts of power that they were in their home territory, they were prone to catching ill or becoming lethargic and weak without enough heat to sustain them... If the Tier family had truly captured a Behemoth, then you've no doubt that they had already prepared the necessary arrangements to keep it healthy.

"And here it is..."

Something to mimic the magma warmed rocks of their natural habitat... This expanse of stark white coals undoubtedly marked the place the beast had once rested. A pit filled to the brim with something that could be artifically heated to an extent capable of recreating volcanic stone.

The color of the coals meant that it had burned hot and long... Though cold and extinguished now, what remained of the enduring fuel was a form of fragile ash that you could crush to powder in the palm of your hand. More important than the coals however, was what had been used to sustain that heat.

Or rather... Their absence.

The only thing you could think capable of sustaining that level of heat for any prolonged period of time were apparitions of Salamander, or failing an Adept to maintain them, the more domestic alternative would have been the apparition cores. The hearts of living, sentient flames which had assumed life through the breath of the Mana. Even one of them would have been enough to fuel the furnace of a forge, but for something of this scale you doubted anything less than a full wagon's full would have sufficed.

Yet this bed was cold, and you felt nothing standing amidst the ashes. Where a literal fortune of apparition cores should have been, you saw only empty ruins.

Suspicious... But not something you could pursue right now. More curious to you was that the the absence of those cores coincided with the absence of the other thing you had expected to find here.

Which is to say, the start of the fire.

>Dig around the ember pit
>Look through the stables
>Inspect the Behemoth restraints
>Other? (write-in)

>>986413
>>Dig around the ember pit

What's going on with Tiers right now?

>>986413
>Inspect the Behemoth restraints

Maybe we can determine whether they were opened before or after the fire.

Also a ninteresting thing is that in Maran's prophecy one of the Tier girls should have lifted the siege on Caylen with the Behemot. But at this time the estate would have been already burned and the Behemot gone.

And a question to Riz (which I'm shamefully asking for the fourth time and forgeiitng the answer each time): does Irue know about the Tier girls Asche saved from the fire? And what did Asche do with them?

>>986436
>What's going on with Tiers right now?
I don't understand the question?

>>986472
>What did Asche do with them?
Asche did nothing. Asche was captured by Kara at the Mayor's behest, which is how she ended up imprisoned in the first place. As for if Irue knows if some of the Tier family survived the blaze... Offhand, I'm going to say yes. If Irue asked for a report on what happened (which I believe we agreed would have happened sometime during the interim between Arc 1 and 2), then Asche's successful rescue of the Tier sisters would have been included.

That said, their whereabouts now...

Well, as far as the world is concerned, the Tier family is eradicated. To you, whom knows there may be some survivors, you're still at a loss as to where they might have ended up.

>At this time the estate would have been already burned and the Behemoth gone.
Should I give you a hint here...? At the very least, you noticing this made me smile.

Anyway, writing.

You shuffled through the ember pit, leaving small clouds of ash to puff into the air in your wake. Reports of a monstrous creature causing a riot on the night of the fire had no better suspect than the owner of this long cold bed... So if the Behemoth had gone on a rampage, you had expected the place to have suffered far more damage than what you were seeing. Deep rivets in the bed, destroyed walls, etc.

Behemoths were not a creature that could be active near civilization without collateral. You weren't even certain the things could be tamed, but even if they were, you still doubted they would be capable of making a fuss without causing some additional damage... So why was this building so relatively sound? You knelt in the ashes, brushing away mound after mound of overturned ash and coal as you traced the huge tracts of metal chain links through the grey-white field. It took you some time, but buried beneath it all were the manacles which had no doubt once been used to keep the Behemoth restrained during its tenure here.

Only one of many. You turned it over carefully, gritting your teeth as you strained just to lift the prodigiously heavy links in order to inspect it more thoroughly. Again and again you repeated the process, walking the parameter of the Behemoth's empty holding 'pen' as you located the various columns and chains which would have been used; Again and again you found the same scene repeating itself with only minor deviations.

Some of the chains had been broken. If the Behemoth had gone on a rampage, that was to be expected, but the problem was in the position and remains. Chains which should have torn the walls down, or upearthed untold amounts of buried weight, were still firmly attached to their restraints. Their breaks were clean; The results of a single link in the chain seemingly snapping apart rather than being stretched and warped apart.

Settling on a scowl, as you weren't certain whether to feel vindicated or furious with the likely dead mayor, you finished inspecting the final chain and found it to share the same trait as most of the others before it: It was completely intact. Before the Behemoth had even roused, it seemed that its restraints had already been loosed.

Sloppy. Engines of destruction as they were, you couldn't rely on a wild beast to route an entire family. It lacked both the intelligence to assign such abstract goals, and the motivation to hunt down escapees.

Your scowl only deepend as you looked out over the cold ember pit.

There were divets which you had expected, large foot prints coinciding with the Behemoth's own monstrous pads, but what you saw was not the field of something that had been furrowed by the titanic creature. Certainly it was dishevelled, nothing on the scale a Behemoth would have left. By that thing's standards, it was almost uniformly smooth.

As a human however, what you saw were mounds and holes. Pinpricks in the dirt too small to have been caused by claws individually the size of a horse. The general pattern repeated itself as you moved through the ruined pen, arms caked to the elbow in bone-colored ash that clung to the sheen of sweat worked up from your exertions.

For a fire of such a massive scale, it was impossible to claim it to be natural. You knew the only way it could have been handled was through the work of an Adept's conspiratorial collusion with a Mana... Which is why you had come here expecting to find the source of the blaze. Rather than find that source, what lay before you was as confounding as it was unsettling.

The cores which had served as the Behemoth's bed had been extracted after the fact. Someone - Or a someones - had returned after the blaze had ended, and the Behemoth's rampage quieted, and deliberately recovered the buried cores.

While you had a fair idea as to who you could blame for their absence... Where were they now?

>Circle the parameter
>Enter the mainhouse
>Do something else in the beast pens (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>986644
>>Enter the mainhouse

>>986644
The only place for the cores to be is where the Behemot is now. Which, if Irue told Rinnier anything, is in the Mayor's underground lair.

>Do something else in the beast pens
Look at the other beasts. Did they die? Did they manage to escape? Were they intentionally let loose?
Look at the food stores for the Behemot (what do they even eat?) Is the amount of ash there consistent with all the food perishing in a fire?

Then
>Enter the mainhouse

>>986653
>>986655
Mainhouse ahoy!

>>986655
Also minor inspections.

Writing!
---

>>986655
You've controlled everything Irue did in Valen, anon. You never once told Rinnier about the Behemoth, or even that you left the mayor down there.

>>986699
Irue continues being incompetent I see.

>>986709
To be fair, you don't tell anyone... anything. From the start, anons have always played their cards very cautiously and close to their chest, and this is reflected in how willing Irue is to disseminate any more information than strictly necessary.

This has had... Effects. Some of which have been expounded upon during this interlude. Suffice to say, the world sees Irue in a far different light than Irue sees themself.

For better or worse.

Good morning!

>>986718
Yes and I hate it! Haha, really nothing gets on my nerves more than misunderstandings and problems that could easily have been prevented by simply talking to others and sharing information. It's why I'm begging to send that letter and to tell our friends about doppelrue- air the sheets and turn a new leaf.

Fingers crossed that it won't be out of character later when we get the chance to do so.

>>986755
I think part of the problem is that we generally don't get a chance to talk. It's always one crisis or the other.

>>986766
Aye, we had that discussion before the break. I hope the pace slows down so we can get more things done before being thrown into the next Indiana Jones adventure with only a single update in between.

>>986718
Well. At least Iruelen will be able to clue Rinnier in quickly when she asks about all this shit.

We really should have a "debriefing" session with Irue when she gets back.

>>986787
> MFW that was supposed to be this thread.

File: Majority vote to not be happy.png (317 KB, 701x792)

317 KB PNG

>>986802

Setting aside the discarded chains, you made one final round through the beast pens. If you thought about the behavior and habits of beasts, then the Behemoth was an outlier from the norm. Most creatures, even in Teranford, would flee from flowing magma or an outbreak of flame... And you had no reason to believe the ones housed by the Tiers would act any differently.

What you found only confirmed that gloomy theory. While some of the stables and containment cells had failed to withold the struggling creatures during the flames, many more had served their purpose all too well. Bodies charred beyond recognition, adding onto the diversity making it difficult to even hazard a guess as to the name of over half the victims you walked the line of, left you perusing a gallery of the dead. Their futile struggles having long since ceased alongside the fire that consumed them, even the smell of corpses had thinned as nature began to take its course. What little stench remained of the remaining carrion was no doubt thoroughly hidden beneath the lingering scent of char and ash.

Those that escaped... You wonder where they had gotten off to. It was an idle curiosity that you had neither the people, nor the inclination, to sate.

You spent some time carefully inspecting the pens, brows furrowed as you weighed your judgements delicately. You were neither an architecht, nor a beast tamer... Which made locating the feed storage in a half-ruined, burned out building more of a challenge than you had initially expected. In the end, you could only roughly approximate which sections they had used for keeping food available.

None of them held the answer you were after. Behemoths were primarily carnivorous creatures, and their size corresponded to their appetite; When they weren't lazing upon the scalding rocky shelves, they were hunting. In times where food was scarce, it would rest more often... Though conversely, if food were plentiful, it would be more active. That was the second worst case for the people of Teranford, and so it was imperative that your hunters had kept careful and vigilant watch on when their 'active' seasons would come around.

The fact those active seasons tended to coincide with 'mating' season and 'Murder everything in my territory' season were simply more reasons to be cautious.

As your inspection had revealed little in way of stockpiled meat, briqued and ashen or otherwise, you were left only with conjectures. If the Tiers had simply been holding the beast, then it would have been preferable to keep it docile... Which meant feeding it as little as possible. If they had been attempting to train the beast, as their household was often want to do, then the feed would have naturally been required in prodigious amounts... Though if you thought logically about it, depriving the Behemoth of food in an environment filled with other beasts would have only spurred it into action via hunger. They had to have fed it regularly, even if they meant to keep it docile.

...Putting aside how they had managed to keep the Behemoth docile and fed, your problem was that its food simply was not here.

A picture you would rather not entertain was quickly being painted before you. You had hoped the Behemoth had simply wandered off into the night after the fire; A heartless wish, perhaps, but there existed no ready source of natural heat in La'Fiel which could sustain the beast in this mild climate. In a matter of months, even the Behemoth's nightmarish constitution would have faltered and left the giant to succumb to a slow... and hopefully victimless... death.

No matter what you had wished, that didn't seem to be the case.

You sighed angrily, shaking your head as you left tracks on course to the main house itself. Part of you earnestly wished the mayor had survived the Mistral's Child, just so you could make the man suffer for the mess he had left behind. The lucky bastard probably died too quickly to even regret what he had done.

Ducking past the low hanging wreckage of the main house house of the Tier burned down Tier estate, you could purse your lips at the sight before you. The evening sun cast shadows between wood and ruin alike. There had been reports of an Oakenbear prowling these ruins a month or so back; Rumours which Irue had casually signed off to a man by the name of Marchovic to handle.

The flippancy in the blonde's willingness to delegate responsibility had irked you, but it was ultimately their decision to make. As the Representative of Shade, you had had the honor of becoming somewhat acquainted with the sharkish man during your time in Carona and you couldn't speak ill of the results he had managed to produce... But as a person, you don't think he was someone you could get along with easily.

The sinking feeling in your gut told you that he probably got along famously with Irue, as he was self-possessed of a disregard for his own well-being that rivalled... Perhaps even surpassed that of the noble who had erstwhile claimed you as their Testament. You... You had resolved to oppose their cooperation as much as humanly possible, in the future.

The chances that they would pass the time making a game of who could be more thoughtlessly suicidal were distressingly high.

All the same, Marchovic had wasted no time in putting together a punitive force of Shade Adepts from the local Shrine to go peacekeeping. At first it had simply been in regards to oakenbear subjugation, but one success had snowballed into a 'minor extension' of the originally stated agreement, and that led to another...

Last you heard they were tied up trying to subdue some indignant Shade apparition awoken in the local graveyard.

Unfortunately, part of oakenbear subjugation was the appropriate disposal of the bodies which had caused their existence in the first place... And as you gingerly walked the creaking floors of the estate, you had to admit that Marchovic was nothing if not thorough in his work. You could see at a glance the places where the dead had been peeled away from the flame-licked floors, or wreckage had been shifted in order to extract those who died in the collapse.

Your daylight time was slipping away though, so prioritizing your search criteria came first.

>Bodies that Marchovic may have missed.
>Source of the fire
>Documents that survived the fire
>Other? (write-in)

>>986817
>>Documents that survived the fire
Rinner is Representative of Shade?

>>986817

>Source of the fire
Marchovich has been thorough as we know and had more resources at his disposal. And the documents are unlikely to have survived, especially if the perpetrators searched the estate afterwards.

What Rinnier knows:
-Stealing the Behemoth was at least one of the goals of the arson
--This means the perpetrators were the people who wrangled it afterwards, or their employers
-To make off with all of Behemoth's food before it burned down required either people on the inside or an attack on the manor later masked by the fire

Other things of note (which Rinnier may not know):
-The Mayor wanted to frame Rinnier for the arson, despite having in his disposal the real arsonist. This means the real arsonist was working with the Mayor, and not just a Teranford slave forced to do this.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>986819
1. Documents!

Also no, Marchovic is the Shade Representative. It's because of that position that Rinnier has gotten to know him, as she's become accustomed to working with several of them during Carona's reconstruction efforts.

>>986829
2. Source of the fire!

Guess it's too late on a weekday to expect a tiebreaker.

>>986849
There are Europeans reading this you know

>>986853
I hope so. I'd feel terrible if my entire playerbase consisted of people slaving through the night trying to keep up.

Bodies... Marchovic and the rest of his squad had likely taken care of them. If there were any left in this place, they'd probably be obscured too much for you to just happen upon without a dedicated search. Though being able to inspect one may have shed light on a suspicion you had. Tied to that suspicion was the source of the fire; Though you were effectively convinced that it had been the result of an Adept's work, something about the fire still bothered you.

In the end it was a treasure hunt for the most unlikeliest survivors of a fire: Documents.

Scrolls and leathers, any form of paper... When it came down to it, burning them were the best form of keeping their contents secret. Salamander was notoriously unconcerned with what it consumed, and unlike Undine, there was never any chance of the secrets lost to its flames being coaxed back to the surface. What you were embarking on was essentially a far flung hunt, but the possibility of something of value surviving was tempting. If you could find documents linked to one of the various precursor actions leading up to the fire, or perhaps in preparation for the mercenaries, then you'd have seized an unexpected lead to pursue.

It wasn't wise to hope for anything too extravagant, but the idea of being able to corner the belligerent factions that had been trying to walk away from their failed rebellion as if to say 'not my problem' was enough to stoke the embers still clinging to life under your fatigue.

Fueled by a faint hope, you began your search!

>1d100, best of three.

Had to step away for a while there. It's 2pm here right now. Great now that I've taken some days off but normally my only chance to play is on my breakfast and lunch break and I swear I am always a few minutes late to the votes.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>986885

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>986885
Look, look, look for valuable clues!

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>986885

>>986887
>>986894
>>986900
...

Writing