Delayed first post, but at leas the thread is up.

>>6146426
Glad to see you back

welcome back

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You join the crowd of Baphomets hurrying to the Temple. You note it's a varied one; higher class and lower class intermingle without any care towards rank or Trade. Religion is the great leveler of differences between the goatmen.

When you realize that, you think it is a damn shame that the Rightful King Society appears to be in full control of the faith! The Society believes that Arthur will return and rule Camelot as the True King, they just need to wait and endure other Pretender Kings until that day.

The idea of Baphomets openly wishing your overthrow for their preferred ruler through the guise of religion is enraging. Those damn priests! Will no one rid me of these turbulent Priests? You don't dare say this sentiment out in the open because virtually every Baphomet is religious and holds the clergy in high regard. And who knows how many Baphomets share the same belief that you're a seatwarmer for the real guy to come back into power?

The Temple still skews crazily to the side, but there are wooden beams propping up the stone walls and even scaffolding over another section. The shortened work hours granted to Baphomets due to the new labor laws mean that there is some time for leisure. It is clear that for some, they dedicate those extra hours to projects near and dear to their hearts, like repairing the Temple. You enter the sacred building, whereupon every Baphomet rises from their seat and does their obeisance to pay respect. After doing that, the crowd moves out of the way so you can reach the front. There's an exclusive seat reserved only for Kings, a brocade coverlet draped over it. When you take your seat at last, the Baphomets sit down for the ceremony to begin. They bring in a white sheep and lead it up to the altar where the Priests await and offer prayers to the round red stone known as Stane O Scone. In the flickering light of the braziers, the redness almost glows.

The animal so docile it doesn't even baa in distress despite hundreds of eyes watching it. It tamely walks up and onto the Stane O Scone where it curiously sniffs about. The Head Priest gives the signal and the ceremony begins. First is a powerful strike to the head of the animal with a golden hammer, and then a silver sickle blade crosses the neck to bleed it out. There wasn't any time for the creature to panic or bleat, it slumps as scarlet blood splashes over crimson rock.

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>>6146932

You had not been expecting an animal sacrifice. When you saw the sickle, you assumed the Priest was going to harvest Mana from the sheep. It is hard to pay attention as earnest prayers erupt from the Baphomets seated around you.

"Gods above and our Lady of the Lost and Found, answer our prayers."

The Stane O Scone groans and grinds as the Priests eagerly look for signs to interpret. Your royal seat is high enough to see that blood is coursing around the surface of the stone. It makes odd shapes and forms at random intervals. If you had been down below with the rest of the congregation, there would be no way to see it.

"Blessed we be, they have answered. Tis a Damsel that has perished! Meep, a powerful one."

For a moment, you believe that the answer is completely uninformative. There's Mordred, Escanor, Lucius, Vivian and the unknown bitch who is female. You assumed wrongly though. You hear whispers from sad Baphomets lamenting.

"Meep, what terrible news."
"It could be wrong..."
"Lady Vivian or Queen Guinevere?"
"Blessed Lady, I offer thee my humble share of oatcakes for the salvation of..."
"Meep, do ye reckon that the sacrifice went awry?"

Ah, that's right. There are only two humans with a Namesake who is female.

There's a rush of Baphomets to the front, each bringing small trinkets to place in a grand shallow stone bowl. It is in the Crucible where they place their offering. The great device that melts down Relics and other items into Mana or reshapes them into something else lies before the Stane O Scone.

"What is the point of offering things to the Crucible like that?"

You whisper the question to Yatagarasu seated by your side. He had accompanied you all the way the Temple and to your seat.

"Well, it makes them feel better mostly. Meep. The Head Priest is rarely wrong when he does his readings. Some great Blessed has died, that is certain as the mountains rimming Avalon's edge. But let us suppose that the reading has erred, then mayhap the Gods will hear earnest prayers and accept offerings to protect the Damsels."

You rise from your seat and offer a gold medallion to the Crucible as an offering. The gold was to be part of your bribe to the Romans but in your anger while using Let No Insult Pass, it had slipped your mind and silver was only distributed. You watch as the gold flickers like an illusion and rise into the air like smoke as your prayer rises too.

"May the Blessed dead not be a Damsel. Let that fatal crown of endings rest on someone else."

You walk alongside Yatagarasu as you head out from the Temple in a sad mood.

"Tis hard to believe, meep. Lady Vivian or Queen Guinevere could be dead. They dwelled in Avalon for so long!"

"Could it be some unknown Blessed no one knows about?"

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>>6146935
"Doubtful, the Priests would eventually find out through their constant soothsaying and prophesying. Unless, of course, the Blessed is immune to such probing somehow. Meep. No, tis unlikely. Lady Vivian arrived around the same time as Ser Rodomonte. We learned Queen Guinevere arrived around the same time as Lord Mordred. Both have survived much."

The news spreads throughout Camelot as Baphomets start conveying the news to those who could not attend. A fresh group of Baphomets go in to give offerings and prayers.

"Let us pray that the Gods smile upon us. We're heading straight into danger tomorrow."

You haven't decided on what you'll be doing while the five teams do their Quest in the World.

"I am ever ready to Guide, Your Majesty!"

You decide to...

>Steal a lot of easy to take Relics, some of them might survive Avalon...
>Scout shrines in Japan and see if they can be used as a Gate....
>Steal Relics, you know a place...
>Attack a deadly creature in Avalon for Mana, there's plenty of places to hunt....
>Visit your school, you might find some of your belongings...
>Attack a human, you still have your list....
>Spy on Nagumo Kyouya, maybe you'll figure out why her name is in Avalon...
>Attack a deadly animal for Mana, there are bears in Hokkaido...
>Explore a part of Avalon through the Gates, maybe you'll end up somewhere new...
>Explore a part of Avalon through the Gates, a place where Yatagarasu has been to before...
>Explore the island of Logres Major, you don't know much of your Kingdom outside Camelot...
>write in

>>6146938
>Find one or more Humans with little to lose, to recruit and bring with you to Avalon so they may find a new life in your kingdom.
Humans are competent. Humans are strong. Humans may or may not get special abilities within Avalon. It's time to start putting our charisma-maxxing build to good use.

>>6146938
>>Explore the island of Logres Major, you don't know much of your Kingdom outside Camelot...

>>6146938
>>Scout shrines in Japan and see if they can be used as a Gate....

>>6146938
>Explore the island of Logres Major, you don't know much of your Kingdom outside Camelot...
A king needs to know his kingdom

>>6146938
>Find one or more Humans with little to lose, to recruit and bring with you to Avalon so they may find a new life in your kingdom.

>>6146938
>>Find one or more Humans with little to lose, to recruit and bring with you to Avalon so they may find a new life in your kingdom.

>>6146982
>>6147252
>>6147314
Recruit humans to live on an island full of xenophobic Baphomets. Things can't go wrong!!!

>>6147146
Shrines

>>6147102
>>6147163
Explore the island.

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You decide to recruit humans and bring them to Avalon. It's a brilliant idea! You just need to find someone desperate enough that they won't mind leaving their old lives behind forever. They might even become Blessed with powers you can take advantage of.

Yatagarasu is speechless as he hears your decision; his eyes widen with concern. It is obvious he is trying to find a diplomatic and courteous way to disagree with your decision.

"Out with it, Yatagarasu. You trusted me not to share your opinion on the Knights of the Round Table, so trust that I will hear out what you want to say about my plans."

With a sigh, the goatman fidgets with his stick nervously before finally speaking.

"You aren't going to transform those humans into 'Mana Pigs', are you?"

"What is that supposed to mean? ... No. Wait, stop. I sense another horrifying factoid about Ser Edgelord is about to drop. Let me be clear when I say, 'recruit humans and bring them to Avalon', I mean that they actually live and work for the Kingdom. Humans have skills, abilities, and knowledge that Baphomets don't have, and it will strengthen Camelot! I'm sure you can see my logic here."

You thought that clarifying would completely relieve Yatagarasu of his trepidation, but you are surprised to see it only partially reassured.

"Thou art also aware, Your Majesty, that most Baphomets hold that Camelot and the twin islands of Logres are sacred and perfect? To be blunt, meep, you know that Guides don't mind foreigners as much as other goats? Thou hast not mingled with the common herd of Camelot as much as those in the Castle."

Ah, that's right. Most of your vassals appear to be xenophobic; the degree of it varies from goat to goat, but they tend to dislike anything foreign. It's one of the reasons why the Anarchists have such a hard time importing their foreign beliefs and ideas. You've already witnessed the contempt Seneschal Hanbei had for the Romans too.

"But the Baphomets love foreign things. They raid Japan for Relics and desire more of them!"

"Nay, Your Majesty. Relics are transformed by Avalon; therefore, it is not foreign to most Baphomets. Don't think about it too much; you'll just get into arguments with your vassals. The Wayfarer Guild has constantly pointed this interesting fact out, and it just makes our fellow Baphomets annoyed at us."

Logic can't overcome emotions and beliefs after all.

"Wait, but I'm a foreigner! I literally came from the World."

"Your Majesty, thou art the King. Our King is not foreign, even if they came from foreign lands."

Right, prejudice actually doesn't have any logical basis. The pretzel logic your Guide is trying to explain amply demonstrates that.

"Well then, I just need to change that attitude. One human at a time."

Yatagarasu sighs.

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>>6147509

"If Your Majesty orders it, then it shall be done. But I must warn ye, Avalon unmakes what it does not like. Things, animals, and even humans. Meep. Remember, we were unsure if Lady Kizaemon would be embraced by Avalon when we first brought her back. If we bring a human here, we must observe them carefully for a few days to see if they are embraced by Avalon or in danger of being unmade."

Ah crap, fucking Avalon hating on modern technology and knowledge. You don't want to accidentally murder someone because Avalon decides it wants to delete them from existence.

"How do you know that Avalon can unmake a human being? Let me guess, Ser Rodomonte revealed that fact?"

"Nay, Lord Mordred found a mortal man about to be unmade while on a Quest on the island of Tintagel. She had no Gate Stones, Tourney Stones, or Guide close by to safely send him back to the World."

"Why didn't she just create a Gate? She must have learned some Runes."

You find it odd that Mordred didn't study Runes and try to learn how to Gate on her own. You're still studying them and possess A Little Bit of Knowledge on them. One day, you hope to learn to open a proper Gate and not be so reliant on Guides to get in and out of the World.

"The Gods and Avalon ignore Lord Mordred; she has a difficult time using Runes. Meep. You may be interested to know that the Gods hate Ser Rodomonte because he kept on insulting them. He too is unable to utilize the Runes as effectively as he should."

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>>6147511

Wow, you are so glad that you've never voiced your complaints against Avalon and the Gods. You will try to keep that up. Also, this sort of explains why Mordred mostly remains in Avalon and goes by ship to get to places.

"Nevertheless, I am determined to recruit a human and bring them to my Kingdom. We will go to Japan and seek someone with little to lose and everything to gain if they start their new life in Avalon. Don't worry, at the first hint that Avalon doesn't like our new recruit, I promise to return them to the hateful World."

The promise relieves your personal Guide. He knows that your word can be trusted.

You return to the Castle. After all, you still need dine in the Great Hall with your Roman guests who are eager to hear the news from the Temple. They are unsurprised to hear that a powerful Damsel perished, it seems that they also have their own methods of divination.

They bring out a pair of dice.

"Loth Rex, we have shaken the bones. They suggest Lady Vivian of the Waters perished. Ah, what a brave lass she was."

Can this method of fortune telling be trusted? First was animal sacrifice and now it is dicing to divine the unknown. You squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep draught of mead to buy time to think before speaking.

"Throwing dice to determine the death of my fellow Sovereign is a bit much. Also, sometimes we augur wrong when trying to see what only the Gods know."

The conversation throughout the meals mostly focuses on the possibility of creating a segregated trading post for the Romans. Though still shaken by your outburst of anger earlier in the day, the Romans still timidly hold out hope for trade and diplomatic relations. Your 'Dejima' idea interests them despite the restrictions and scrutiny it entails.

If other Roman ships arrive, you need to contain them where you can see them. Also, you need to protect them from the Baphomets who might try to do something to them. Usually, you'd let Hanbei handle the finer details of such work but the Seneschal has demonstrated xenophobia and possesses less than ideal political savvy. Negotiations will continue by you or by a Guild Leader you appoint later.

You go to bed early for Questing tomorrow. You will bring back a human to Camelot, what type of person should you aim for?....

>A tradesman! What sort of skill should you aim for?...
>A fellow teen! A handsome boy would be nice...
>Someone homeless! Desperate people will do anything...
>A family member! You have a hikkikomori cousin in mind...
>Someone on the run! They have nowhere to turn to, but you...
>Someone trying to escape! There are plenty of abused people...
>write in

>>6147513
>A tradesman! What sort of skill should you aim for?...
Something new to the goats? Or an expert on a topic already managed by a goat or two in the know? We did say "Humans have skills, abilities, and knowledge that Baphomets don't have, and it will strengthen Camelot", so let's open with accomplishing that. Also we can't go for isekai-ing suicidals because "at the first hint that Avalon doesn't like our new recruit, I promise to return them to the hateful World"

>>6147515
Luckily, the suicidal will forget if you chuck them out at the first hint Avalon wants to delete them. So they'll never remember they've been promised a place in Avalon and not go back to the hateful World.... It's an inbuilt feature.

As for what Trades are missing. Who knows? you never assigned a Guild Leader to the appropriate Guilds and never did a census to figure it out either.

>>6147513
>A fellow teen! A handsome boy would be nice...

>>6147513
>A tradesman! What sort of skill should you aim for?...
As much as I want to get an electrical engineer with hydropower experience on board, I feel like it'd be hard to find one that Avalon won't delete. So let's go for something easier...
>An architectural engineer. They should be pretty capable at helping improve Camelot and could maybe even develop new siege weapons, without passing the threshold that makes Avalon hate them.
Never underestimate the power of a nerd with knowledge of material sciences and physics. Also not too unusual to see them up to their eyeballs in debt just from going to uni.

>>6147513
>>Someone trying to escape! There are plenty of abused people...

>>6147617
Could they transfer silver to the real hateful World if we gave them a few pieces before we threw them out a Gate? Maybe with a vague motivational message plus a fake name and become an urban legend in Tokyo?

>>6147513
>A fellow teen! A handsome boy would be nice...

>>6147513
>A fellow teen! A handsome boy would be nice...

>>6147513
>A fellow teen! A handsome boy would be nice...
>An architectural engineer. They should be pretty capable at helping improve Camelot and could maybe even develop new siege weapons, without passing the threshold that makes Avalon hate them.

>>6147515
>>6147617
tradesman

>>6147536
>>6147758
>>6147834
teen boy

>>6147689
abused trying ot escape

>>6147857
Trying to do teen and tradesman.

Finding a guy our age seems to be in the lead followed by someone who has knowledge.

ran out of time, hopefully tomorrow.

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'Humans have skills, abilities, and knowledge that Baphomets don't have, and it will strengthen Camelot!'

You are aware it is important overcome your vassal's reluctance of outsiders. Recruiting useful people is crucial in changing their minds.

Nevertheless, in the innermost, secret parts of your maiden heart, you really want someone your age to come to Camelot and just socialize with them. You've been acting the part of a King every moment in Camelot; it's tiresome to be surrounded by supernatural beings with no concept of what appeals to a modern Japanese girl or any idea of privacy. All business of a King is public business. From eating to entertainment to physical exercise and more, the notion of privacy is alien to your vassals.

So really, you're going to first invite a teen around your age. Maybe... Maybe you can invite a boy.... A handsome one... with wonderful eyes, perfect skin, and strong arms to hug you.

Wait, you're getting ahead of yourself. You're asking for desperate and maladjusted teens to throw everything they know away to live in a magical world full of dangers and lacking in creature comforts like the internet.

It takes a particular type of crazy person to think that is a great trade.

Well before the break of day, you are awakened by servants who once again throw open the wooden shutters. The Tailor presents his fine sartorial creations by candlelight. For the first time in your life, you are thankful for simple woolen tartan. Though they're quite itchy and heavy, it's nice to be fully clothed. But it is also visually unique; if you walk in a crowd of Japanese, it is going to stick out badly. Luckily, Tokyo is full of weird fashionistas, so you'll get away with dressing that way.


You get into a small argument when the Tailor wants you to wear an aketon for armor. This long-sleeved and quilted garment is perfect for the colder climes of Logres, but in the warmth of Tokyo, you'd die from heatstroke. Also, this 'armor' is practically worthless in your opinion for the stated purpose of keeping you unharmed. You order the 'armor' displayed in the Great Hall to salve the ego of your disappointed vassal; he is proud of his work.

Yatagarasu is waiting by your bedroom door with a pack when you exit, and together you head down to the Chapel where the Priests are readying a blessing ceremony. They bring something called a 'strickle stick' to symbolically sharpen the apprentice Guides' sickles to reap. Dipped in sweet-smelling unguent and sprinkled with fine white sand, they reverently scrape each sickle with the strickle stick while prayers to the Gods to bless this Quest to the hateful World are intoned.

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>>6148828

Soon after a small dish of bread soaked in buttered milk was swallowed, you then lead the vassals to the Garden where the Gates await. The variety of strange free-standing Gates is impressive. There are art deco arches, twisted metal doors, earthen pits, stone porticos, and more to represent a direct link to the hateful World.

The morning bells ring to announce the start of a new day.

Today is day 21 since arriving in Avalon.

You give last-minute reminders and encouragements before passing through the Gate with Yatagarasu to Tokyo!

You head to...

>Kabukicho square, where the street kids called Toyoko Kids gather...
>Mikami, you know it's a school for disadvantaged kids...
>Nijimi, it's supposed to be a school for 'bullied' kids...
>Tayama Girls Reformatory, it's near your school....
>Jiyuuken, it's an 'alternative education' school and probably run by a cult...
>Unified Faith, you know for a fact this school is run by a cult...

>>6148829
>>Jiyuuken, it's an 'alternative education' school and probably run by a cult...

>>6148829
>Kabukicho square, where the street kids called Toyoko Kids gather...
Street kids? Sounds like tough and buff sons of bitches that don't have many conveniences to begin with. The kind that hate japan and japanese society!

>>6148829
>Kabukicho square, where the street kids called Toyoko Kids gather...
First attempt at villainous ally... but if Avalon wants them dead then we have no choice but to send them back

>>6148829
>Nijimi, it's supposed to be a school for 'bullied' kids...

>>6148829
>Nijimi, it's supposed to be a school for 'bullied' kids...
Probably rich in the kind of nerds we need here

>>6148829
>Mikami, you know it's a school for disadvantaged kids...

>>6148829
>Nijimi, it's supposed to be a school for 'bullied' kids...

>>6148950
possibly a cult!

>>6148957
>>6148981
Street Kid supremacy

>>6149007
>>6149057
>>6149146
bullied snowflakes

>>6149095
the poors.

Arrived later than expected

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Nijimi Educational Achievement blah blah blah.

You don't recall the full name of the school, but that's not important. What is important is the purpose of the place. It's a safe harbor to educate kids who suffered bullying at their old school and needed to transfer out.

The only reason why you know of this place is because your cousin attended this school during his middle school years. It's a shame it didn't help because he ended up becoming a full-blown hikikomori and socially withdrawing last year.

From what you recall, most kids at this facility are simply unable to endure the pressure of educational expectations... Or they're slightly 'different.' Be it an unusual focus on niche subjects, an inability to understand how to get along with others, or simply the misfortune of having a learning disability, or anything that makes them 'different,' that is enough to cause them to stand out and get bullied by their peers.

Surely, there must be one or two teens willing to abandon this World and trade it for Avalon.

With Yatagarasu pretending to be a doll in the reusable shopping bag, you walk the early morning streets of Tokyo clad in tartan.

Soon Nijimi comes into sight; you realize you don't have much of a plan. How are you going to entice someone to come with you to Avalon?

"Well, Yatagarasu, any ideas on how to convince someone to come with us to Avalon?"

"Why bother trying to convince them, Your Majesty? No one is going to believe that Avalon exists without some sort of proof. And showing that proof here in the hateful World will cause Backlash."

Your vassal makes an important point. You can't exactly sell the idea of Avalon sight unseen. Yet throwing a bunch of unsuspecting kids into Avalon is a recipe for resentment and outright refusal. A gentle introduction and concrete proof is required.

"Yatagarasu, you're right; we need to show evidence that Avalon exists!"

The Black Prince has the incredibly useful Trait Chevauchée which can absorb a certain amount of Backlash.

"You're going to be the mascot, the representative of Camelot and proof that what we're saying is no lie!"

You declare this to your vassal; he wilts in terror at the idea of revealing himself to mortas. If you show the potential recruits a living, breathing resident of Camelot, they might accept an invitation to visit at the very least!

"Meep, meep, meep. Can't we just use a Gate Stone on a gathering of mortals and transport them to Avalon?! That would be far easier!"

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>>6149675

"It's only easier in the sense that we got them to Avalon. It won't be easy to convince them to live there after we do that. When I got trapped in Avalon and became a Lost Child, if the stupid bitch who kidnapped me tried to sell me the idea that I should live there... I'd only be interested in beating the shit out of her and finding a way home. Seeing you moving and talking will convince anyone that Avalon exists, and we can neutralize any Backlash generated with the cloak."

"Only for a small period of time, Your Majesty! Once the limit is breached, the Backlash will accumulate as normal."

"Then I had better sell my pitch to potential immigrants really well!"

Hiding is simple, you jump up to the roof of the school using your Springheel Boots. The door to the school rooftop is always locked to prevent students from committing suicide. So there's no danger of anyone stumbling on you. What is difficult is to endure waiting for the students to arrive. So while waiting, you strategize and plan.

There's a lot to consider.

-The Romans and the Empire.
-If Lady Vivian or Queen Guinevere is dead.
-Priorities to strengthen Camelot.
-Future Quests to acquire more resources.
-Knights of the Round Table.
-Finding the Lady of the Lake for your Geas.
-Possibly going to Gorre and finding King Urien's corpse.
-Getting a gift for Lucius.

The list goes on and on; there's just so much on your plate. You are one girl; there's only so much that can be done. Luckily, your former Class President experience divides everything into categories of short-term and long-term goals in order of importance.

"Your Majesty, mortals are arriving in large numbers. How shall we proceed?"

"Library, there's always a group of students there. Also, I want you to loot as many books as you can grab. You don't have to talk too much, just enough to make them realize you're real; I'll be doing most of the work."

>Three anons! 2 must roll 3d6 and one 2d6!

Rolled 5, 5, 5 = 15 (3d6)

>>6149682

Rolled 4, 2, 1 = 7 (3d6)

>>6149682
Holy shit three successes right away. I told you charismamaxxing was the way to go!

Rolled 3, 6 = 9 (2d6)

>>6149682

Wonder what boys will think when they see a girl in a weird cloak asking them to go to a magical land.

>>6149702
>>6149758
>>6149772
4 successes

>>6149778
Bonus if she's naked under it

We're going to hook a white knight Rodomonte aren't we?

Time ran away from me. No post tonight.

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With that in mind, it is time to put your plan into action.

*CRASH*

The sliding to the library is utterly destroyed from the force of your of blow.

"I declare that all the tomes and grimoires of this bibliotheca as property of King Lot of Lothian, Orkney and Camelot!"

Yatagarasu shouts out his declaration and stomps into the room where several teens are sitting quietly and playing with their cellphones. They stare at the Baphomet with open mouths of surprise as the little goatman immediately starts chucking books from the nearest shelves into his pack. They disappear into the void, no evidence of bulging or straining at the seams despite the sheer volume entering the interior.

"My good goat, don't take books from fiction. Move and take from non-fiction. Ah damn, I forgot, you can't read Japanese. Hey, can I get your name?" You point to the most bookish looking student in the library, a nerdy girl with a tablet by herself.

"Um, I'm Arisu."

"Well Arisu, do me a favor. Could you please show my vassal to the non-fiction section of the library? We don't have a lot of time."

You give an audacious grin, imposing your authority and force of personality upon the weaker willed girl. Despite her confusion, she meekly obeys and walks Yatagarasu to the right section.

The shock wears off from the students, and they begin reacting at last. They take out their cellphones and start recording the little Baphomet grabbing reams of books and stuffing them into his pack. The stolen goods are heavy and bulky things; the hard limit of how much the little goatman can steal puts a stop to his looting.

You count six teens, 4 boys and 2 girls. More than you expected, but that may work in your favor. There must be one of them willing to throw caution to the wind and come with you.

"Yatagarasu, prepare a Gate to depart."

None dares to move from their seat while the Guide scrambles to write Runes on the damaged doorframe to Gate back to Avalon. There is curiosity and even a bit of fear tinging their gazes as their full attention rests on you. You quickly make eye contact with each teen to make sure they realize you've seen them too and mirror only their curiosity back at them as though you're interested in each individually. As for fear? Well, there is nothing to fear and everything to gain. Every feeling of certainty, courage, and conviction radiates from you.

The key to convincing people is to establish an emotional connection with them and get them to trust you. It won't just be eloquent words; it'll also be the confidence you project and the way you conduct yourself. To move people to tears, be on the verge of tears yourself. To convince people, be utterly convinced yourself.

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>>6151079
"Look at each and every one of you. Sitting there, hitting the record button but not even daring to say a word to me. You're in Nijimi; I get it. This is where you ended up when other people decided to exile you. What does it matter what you say or want? It's not as if anyone cared."

You pause to see how effective your little speech is. Many of them bristled at the reminder of their pathetic situation; no doubt, they are remembering the circumstances that led them to Nijimi. This is not a school where happy children attend out of their own free will.

"When I and my vassal leave, not one of you is going to remember this, and those videos you took are going to get deleted by the hateful World. So listen well, I am King Lot of Lothian, Orkney and Camelot. No, that's not my real name but I am a ruler of the kingdom of Logres. I am inviting everyone in this room to my Camelot. Seize this offer and join me. This is your opportunity to start a new life, have a new beginning. Hey, I see that look! I know what you're thinking 'awesome, magic powers, another world, sign me up!'. Things are not that easy but chances are it's better than here. Happiness belongs to those who make it so, and this school isn't the place for that to happen."

There's some shifting in the seats, and the most handsome boy of the lot raises his hand to ask a question as though he's in class. You want to take time to answer his questions, but that will just slow down your monologue.

Backlash is building...

The hateful World is working fast; maybe you needed more than a week to regenerate the Black Prince's ability.

"If you've got questions, then come to Avalon! I'll answer them. This is a one-time offer; once the Gate is closed, it's gone. Remember this and then decide. What I promise is the opportunity for a new life in a new world. But only if you want it!"

The Runes drawn in chalk are complete. Yatagarasu nudges your leg to get your attention to pray to the Gods for a safe homecoming. The teens in the library erupt with questions and try to talk to you but there's no time. They're no longer frozen but rise from the seats and debate amongst themselves but you have no ear for them.

It is time to pray.

"Gods of Avalon, Kami of Yashima, hear my prayers.
Bear me back to the shining city of my hopes,
Bear me back to the twin isles of my domain,
Rich in offerings, rich in prayers, rich in faith."

The Runes run and twist to cleave open your passage!

With as much as drama as you can muster, you theatrically walk through the glowing portal and leave the hateful World. One moment you were in a modern school library, the next you walk into a sea girt island thick with birds!

"Ah, excellent! We're on Bird Island, I know the way back to Camelot without having to read the stars and Luna. Let us depart!"

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>>6151082

Seabirds like cormorants and pelicans scream overhead, disturbed by the sudden intrusion to their peaceful isle. The salt breeze is unable to expel the heavy stink of guano and rotting fish floating in the air. Your Guide immediately takes out a Gate Stone to prepare the next jump.

"Wait, we still need to see if someone follows. The Gate from Nijimi is still open."

The strange portal is stable and serene. It sparks and glows but otherwise does nothing.

"Do ye think that anyone will follow? Mortals tend to distrust strange glowing Gates out of principle. Meep."

"Well, it'd be nice if just one of them followed after me. I'm prepared to accept none of them are crazy enou---"

You bite off the last words of your declaration as the Gate flares to life to deposit a boy... then a girl... then another boy and...

Stunned, you realize that every teen in the library is crashing out of the Gate as though their lives depended upon it. Their eyes desperate to snatch the opportunity you generously offered back at Nijimi. Six teens, 4 boys and 2 girls sprawl over rocks and white smelly bird droppings.

"Holy shit!"
"I can't believe a fake Scottish magical girl was telling the truth."
"Isekai powers here I come!"
"This isn't a dream, it's real."
"I hope I don't regret this."
"This is Avalon?!"

It's a bumper crop of mortals. You greet them with courtesy and take them back to Camelot where....

>The common Baphomets react badly to the news of the immigrants...
>Seneschal Hanbei struggles to contain his dismay...
>One kid already wants to go home because he discovers there are no modern conveniences and didn't get cool magical powers...
>The Anarchists start protesting in the main square at the 'kidnapping'...
>The Romans at the Castle make an indecent proposal to the most handsome boy of the group....
>The Longship Meeps publically propose reaping Mana to regenerate Chieftain Mototada's legs...
>One kid idiotically declared himself an atheist and pissed off many Baphomets...
>The Candy Maker asks permission to serve one of the girl's 'candy' for health reasons....

>>6151083
>>The Romans at the Castle make an indecent proposal to the most handsome boy of the group....

>>6151083
>One kid already wants to go home because he discovers there are no modern conveniences and didn't get cool magical powers...

>>6151083
>One kid already wants to go home because he discovers there are no modern conveniences and didn't get cool magical powers...

This feels like the easiest of problems to solve with words, and one in six isn't such a big loss. Just need to convince them to wait until the others make up their mind or Avalon starts eating them.
Though I could also see the anarchists protesting and our vassals grumbling.

>>6151083
>>The Candy Maker asks permission to serve one of the girl's 'candy' for health reasons....

>>6151163
+1
Reality crashes down even in a different world

>>6151083
>>The Candy Maker asks permission to serve one of the girl's 'candy' for health reasons....

>>6151083
>One kid already wants to go home because he discovers there are no modern conveniences and didn't get cool magical powers...
Yet. He didn't get cool magical powers YET!
However, the lack of a bidet in camelot is unforgiveable, this is true. How most of the world lives without bidet toilets is insane to me. You truly trust that toilet paper alone to get you clean? Filthy animals...

>>6151083
>The Candy Maker asks permission to serve one of the girl's 'candy' for health reasons....

>>6151163
+1
we need to weed out the undedicated
this isn't a powerfantasy setting, it's an emergency escape, and they should not conflate the two

>>6151285
Toilets make you weak and gay. Back in my day we shat into a hole in the ground like real men.

>>6151343
You need to go back, pajeet

>>6151122
Pathicus

>>6151135
>>6151163
>>6151226
>>6151285
>>6151323
The wonders of internet, flush toilets.... lack of magic

>>6151175
>>6151249
>>6151288
special candy

Dealing with that one superkeen and fastidious kid

Have to go to bed early. No post tonight

no post, returned home late today

Having a hell of a time at work. no post tonight

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The joyous tolling of bells announces your return to Camelot and an entourage of Baphomets comes out of the city bearing banners with your simple heraldic emblem to accompany you back to the Castle.

It is the usual ceremony of greeting the King upon a safe return from a Quest.

What isn't usual is the shocked looks on their faces upon seeing the additional six teenagers accompanying you. You hear more than a few distressed meeps and yees from your vassals struggling not to say something unworthy. The Gods could be listening, but more importantly, you are within earshot! So they swallow any comments and keep to the prescribed ceremony back to the Castle.

As you approach the main gate something curious happens. You hear stones grind as the craggy rock face of Dread Agreste carves itself into being to scrutinize your little group of mortals. Your entourage freezes and waits for the Spriggan to say something, but no words leave his lips. All he does is look; there is curiosity in his dark slate eyes as he inspects each of the six teenagers, but it soon turns into boredom. As swiftly as he appeared, he silently knits back into the white stones of the grand gate.

The whole city turns out to watch the march back to the Castle, all the while your new 'residents' are talking amongst themselves and asking questions.

So many damn questions.

"These little guys are so cute! What are they called?"
"Why is Camelot in such a state?"
"What the hell was with that stone dude?"
"So how many kings and knights are there?"
"How do you gain powers?"

It is tiring to answer them even with the assistance of your vassals. But you did promise to answer their questions. It's also a good way to build up rapport and trust with them. Instead of Questing, you spend some days setting them up as residents.

The challenges were far stranger than expected. For example, what Guild will have responsibility for the newcomers? Technically, every Baphomet belongs to one. Also, what sort of rank are they? Shall they have the honor of dining in the Great Hall, or are they unworthy of your sight and will dine in the lesser halls? Do they have privileges unique only to them? This intense curiosity about where your newfound residents are on the social ladder is intense. This is not something you considered at all during your plotting.

Then there are practical issues to consider. Where will they live? Will they be in the city? In barracks by the Castle? Surely, they won't actually reside in the Castle itself?! What of clothing? The Tailor can't fit out six humans quickly no matter how hard he works. Worse, Avalon will start unmaking most of their belongings in a week or so. Also, will you let the Spy keep them under observation? After all, these are strangers with unknown motivations. They traded the comforts and luxuries of Japan for the absolute unknown; such personalities might harbor ill intent or harmful insanity.

>>6153136
Well, at least you managed to give warning to them about certain aspects of Avalon. It turns out each kid is a complete stranger to the other. They don't even know each other's names....

"BUT I TOLD YOU MY NAME BACK IN THE LIBRARY!"

The nerdy girl rages at the implications of letting another person know their True Name. Her glare is alarming, the gears of her mind churning to punish your inadvertent mistake back at the library.

Trait: A True Heart "Magokokoro", bonus in one on one interaction with a hostile opponent.

"In my defense, I didn't think anyone would want to come to Avalon. Also, we only learned your first name. I want you to remember this. If anyone wants to leave, they can. I will arrange it, just not straight away. It costs Mana, so I'd want to wait to see if more than one person wants to go home."

Arisu grinds her teeth and starts cursing under her breath as she places a book on the fiction shelf. As a socializing activity, you requested the other teens to sort the stolen Japanese books and come up with new names for themselves. They are making a new start for themselves, so why not new names too?

"Then I want to call myself 'Majima Goro'!"
"Well I want to be Arisu 'Mikado'."

It's surprisingly entertaining, like being back in school with your classmates. It's nice to be around actual humans, even if some of them are unsociable. Actually, only two of the six are relatively good at socializing. Majima, as he wants to call himself, is the most normal out of the bunch.

He's also absurdly attractive. My god, how did he end up in Nijimi? Your gut tells you that this guy must have been the most popular boy at his school. You're to believe that this guy ended up at Nijimi because he got bullied?! Wait, maybe he's a weirdo nerd who annoys others when he goes on about his favorite subject?

The other relatively normal one is Arisu. She's at Nijimi because of a 'problem she solved' at her old school. She refuses to explain further; you sense that asking any kid why they're at Nijimi is a massive taboo. The nerdy girl is soft-spoken, polite, and very cooperative when ordered to do something. Unless she snaps and loses her temper. Then she'll stop being a spineless, nerdy, nice girl.

She really needs to learn how to control her temper.

The other four bombard questions at the Spy, Yatagarasu, and the Bard about Avalon and its wonders. They barely do their job of sorting books and almost didn't hear the suggestion of new names.

The funny guy of your group tried to name himself 'King Arthur Pendragon'. Your vassals bristle upon hearing it. The Bard is so incensed, he Vows to kill your new recruit if he steps out of the room with such a name. He Vows to keep it, even if it breaks his Geas. The little Baphomet is almost half the size of a normal Baphomet and talks with an unnaturally mature voice. The sight of him stomping his tiny hoofs on the ground in rage is comical.

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>>6153138
The idiot bursts into laughter and turns to you with a smile.

"This is absolutely hilarious. Fuck, I wish I could record this."

"He's not joking. You step out of this room calling yourself that, you will die. If not by the Bard, then by some other hand."

Auto-success

The death threat at maximum level menace shakes the insolent smile off the tall, lanky boy's face. He nervously laughs.

"As if! You wouldn't let that happen."

"I don't recall promising to keep you safe from your own idiocy."

"Ah fuck you, King."

"I, King Lot of Lothian, Orkney and Camelot, dub thee Dagonet."

Your Namesake speaks through your mouth, unnerving the teenagers. It is the deep, mature voice of an older man, furious at the rudeness. It takes a great deal of self-restraint not to Vow to kill the idiot for his insolence. Instead, you intimidate 'Dagonet' into accepting his new name.

Or else.

He folds like a wet paper towel and apologies profusely.

The other three name themselves with less hassle.

'Miya' is the other teenage girl of the group. There's something off about her; something doesn't quite add up. She's the second most attractive member of this group with her long black hair and smooth skin, but the vacant smile on her face is disturbing. In addition, her questions mainly focus on the process of reaping Mana from mortals. She seems to enjoy the violence inherent in the task.

'Oppenheimer' is the youngest teen of the group. He is an unsmiling boy and doesn't talk very much. He prefers to let others ask questions and listen to the answers. The scars on his hands are deep and relatively new. It's hard to get a read on him, and you don't know what he's thinking about. He's also extremely thin and weak-looking, as though starved of food. Why he chose 'Oppenheimer' as his name is beyond you. There's probably some meaning behind it.

Then there's mini-Rodomonte.

Ah, no, that's uncalled for.

'Maximilian the First' hasn't done anything heinous yet except overuse gaming terminology and show excitement at the possibility of becoming powerful. He is the most interested in gaining powers, peppering the Spy with questions on going widdershin' and getting a Namesake. He's a fat guy, and completely awed with Avalon.

So it is a complete surprise when he is the first to ask going back by evening. You were with Hanbei in the Garden when Maximilian comes in.

"I had enough. I want to go home."

"You barely even got here. The others haven't made up their mind on staying or leaving yet."

"Yeah, well, those crazies say not having internet and running hot water is fine! They can live without it if it allows them to stay away from Tokyo. I have to shit over a fucking pot and wipe with fucking moss on a stick! And these fucking muppets! They don't respect me at all and walk away from me as though I don't exist every time I try to talk to them."

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>>6153139
"Do not insult my vassals. You keep on using videogame references. Stop using it. I explained that it's traumatizing for them."

"Well how else am I to explain the magical powers I want to get? If they'd just explain how to go widdershin' to become a Lost Child and get Blessed, I wouldn't be bothering them."

"It has been explained, it is up to the Lady of the Lake or Avalon to decide and that takes time. Relax, I'm not going to stop you from leaving Camelot. Give it a few days, we'll see if someone else wants to leave too."

"I want to go home now!"

"Then you'll have to pay the price in Mana with your own. I can call a Guide over and we can reap a bit to open a Gate."

The idea of slashing a translucent blade across his throat to reap the necessary Mana to power his trip home only fuels anger from Maximilian.

"This isn't how isekai are supposed to go! Why aren't you acting nicer to me or begging me to stay?!"

The fat boy shouts with frustration and shakes his fist at you.

"I promised the opportunity to build a new life in a new world and will give you the necessary resources to try. You have complete freedom to decide want you want."

Your voice is glacially polite and for a moment, Maximilian almost looks contrite before reverting to his petulance and walks away in a huff.

Hanbei is fuming at the rudeness.

"These mortals take too much liberty with Your Majesty's generosity and grace. Neither vassal nor guestfriend, yet they presume to demand a King to cater to their whims?"

You can only hope that their presence in the Great Hall won't be a disaster. You set up a table for the 'Mortal Guild' to dine there.

>I need 3 anons to roll 1d20 each!

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>6153140
You know, I suddenly don't think it's such a bad idea to drug the mortals. At least with the equivalent of a fucking xanax for the first month.

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>6153140

>>6153140
I'm starting to think aiming for reenactors or an acting club's members might have been smarter.

>>6153140
>>6153182
Forgot my roll.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>6153185
Sigh, how is it that each time I try to roll I make a fool out of myself?

>>6153162
>>6153167
>>6153186
46 is rooster, neither good nor bad. Not a yakudoshi number

>>6153162
>don't think it's such a bad idea to drug the mortals. At least with the equivalent of a fucking xanax for the first month

>>6153182
>aiming for reenactors or an acting club's members might have been smarter.

>>6153136
>what Guild will have responsibility for the newcomers?
>what sort of rank are they?
>have the honor of dining in the Great Hall, or are they unworthy of your sight and will dine in the lesser halls?
>privileges unique only to them?
>Where will they live? Will they be in the city? In barracks by the Castle? Surely, they won't actually reside in the Castle itself?!
>What of clothing? The Tailor can't fit out six humans quickly no matter how hard he works
>let the Spy keep them under observation? After all, these are strangers with unknown motivations. They traded the comforts and luxuries of Japan for the absolute unknown; such personalities might harbor ill intent or harmful insanity.

We need to have a scribe or somebody note all of these issues and concerns down for the next time we decide to pull something like this

No post tonight

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You feel a headache forming. Did you end up taking a bunch of kids who belong on the short bus?

"Well, at least one mortal is a self-disposing problem. His loud proclamations on how he wants to go home after this small taste of Avalon are keeping him safe... Baphomets won't harm an annoyance with such little iron in their soul. I know naught what worthless bard filled his head with fantastical ideas of adventure and powers in other worlds, but it's ridiculous. It's as though he expected the Lady herself to bow her august head to him and let him conquer all of Avalon with a wave of his hand."

Startled, you look around and see the Spy standing off to the side admiring a linden tree. When he had arrived, you do not know. Like a ninja, the goatman appeared to have just simply materialized.

"Those same stories I heard have blinded me to the practical reality of logistics. I imagined things would fall easily into place with barely any work at all. So tell me, Spy, what have you learned about our mortal recruits? You've been on a tour of Camelot and keeping an eye on them."

It is a somewhat promising report. Four of them may adapt to Camelot: Majima Goro, Miya, Arisu Mikado, and Oppenheimer. They admire the city like tourists, ask questions out of genuine curiosity, and grasp the mood of the Baphomets. The Spy rates them most likely to get along with your vassals. They don't appear to have much skill in any Trade but it's only been a day; perhaps something will reveal itself later.

Which leaves the two unlikeable members of the group.

Maximilian discovered on the same tour that none of the Baphomets wanted to be near him as soon as he began asking questions because of his constant video game references. He enthusiastically asked about Avalon, the Lady, the islands, and the Romans but eventually lost energy as vassals made excuses to get away. He can't stand the lack of creature comforts and is amazed that his classmates could endure it.

Then there's Dagonet, who acted like a prick to everyone. His schoolmates barely managed to stop him from talking. Your Baphomets haven't challenged him to a Duel yet because they're unsure exactly what the social position of the new mortal is.

"It's a good thing I can just kick him out. We can pair him up with Max and toss him back to the hateful World. Nothing of value is lost."

"I regret to report, he appears to be some sort of Alchemist. Do the words 'potassium nitrate' sound familiar? He boasted to the Cheesemonger, he can easily make gunpowder because of Bird Island."

Gunpowder? What does Bird Island have anything to do with that? Damn it, you didn't study science stuff all too closely at school. All you know from your Japanese historical drama shows is that there is a recipe for gunpowder involving saltpetre, sulfur and charcoal.

"Are you telling me the recruit most likely to piss off the wrong Baphomet and get challenged to a Duel is the guy who has the most chemistry knowledge!?"

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>>6154623
"He appears to have knowledge on much. He mocked us for laboring so hard to winnow and mill; we could have used a waterwheel to power machines. But whatever secret lore he knows, it won't amount to much. This type has never faced the consequences of his words and actions and now he is here in Camelot."

With people like Dagonet, it is best to let them face consequences to curb their idiocy. You work out that placing the social position of your humans only slightly above laboring Baphomets should still allow aggrieved vassals to beat up any assholes but not kill them.

It is now time for another meal in the Great Hall. Things didn't go wrong there at least. The Seneschal placed the table with the mortals as far away from the Romans as possible and closer to invitees from the city to dine. Tonight 'tour guides' such as the Artist and Candlemaker sit in the Great Hall as reward for their duties. You also order the Bard to entertain for the meal by reciting tales of Camelot for the edification and education of all guests.

It's quite a culture shock for the Japanese teens as platters of food are carried around by servants and portions dished out to wood plates and clay goblets filled with weak ale. You see gloomy Oppenheimer smiling for the first time, the thin, reedy boy vibrating with pleasure as seemingly endless platters sweep past to deposit cuts of meat, pies, fish, loaves of bread, cakes, and more as he pleases.

The Romans are curious about the new mortals, and the Legatus Gaius peppers you with questions and drops some personal observations.

"Rarely do mortals want to stay for long. Even in Roma, the most luxurious and opulent of the cities of Avalon, peregrinus clamor to return to their old comforts and safety. The real test is how they shall react to danger; Camelot is vulnerable to attack from beasts, what with those unrepaired Walls."

A Wyvern ate two of your vassals. A rescue into the hateful World was mounted; even then, one of your vassals died.

You also died.

The aching sensation of metal sliding into soft flesh and obliterating bone and organs twinges in your memories. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth, which no amount of mead can wash away. The meal ends without any problems, and you make a proclamation from the high table regarding your new recruits.

Firstly, you announce the formation of a Guild of Mortals to best represent them and that they are granted two small repaired homes within the Castle grounds as their residence. Seneschal Hanbei had stocked the residents with minor furnishings for their usage too. You walk over to the houses with everyone and listen to what they have to say.

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>>6154624
As usual, Maximilian is full of complaints, which increase when he sees the houses. They're definitely not modern buildings, and the repairs are only mostly done. It is clear that your new residents will need to put in some work to do whatever minor repair is still required. You had asked for two small houses to divide the group by gender.

"What the fuck? Hey King! Why do we have to sleep on a bed of reeds and straw? Wouldn't it be easier and cleaner to just give us hammocks?" Dagonet suggests this in an annoyed voice.

That is a brilliant idea; you never would have thought of that. This Dagonet is smart, but his attitude needs work.

Then there's another interesting development.

"I may need to go back as well."

The loopy girl Miya speaks up for the first time. Maximilian beams at another fellow teenager abandoning Avalon; he isn't alone.

"Can I ask why?"

"I have diabetes and only enough insulin to last me a few days. I tried talking to your Doctor but his idea of treating the 'water thirst disease' is going to kill me. Balancing of humors, salts, leeching, and eating as much as necessary to restore my lifeforce is some of the things he suggested. You can imagine I wasn't very keen on letting him try to treat me."

Arisu wilts at the realization that the other girl of the group has to leave. You are taken by surprise. The idea that someone would need to leave because of a medical condition never occurred to you. Miya wants to stay until her insulin runs out to enjoy Camelot, which is about 3 days. To maintain a mortal resident with diabetes would necessitate stealing a supply of insulin. The cost in Mana versus the benefit derived isn't favorable.

"I'm glad that you told me. Three days from now, I'll send you back with Max. If anyone else wants to leave, just mention it."

With that, Camelot's newest mortals go to bed and try to make sense of their place. You act the part of the King and give Yatagarasu a small break. He had been to the Quarries and almost immediately went on a Quest, so he deserves it.

Team 'Sheep' returns on the third day, their task accomplished with minimal problems. They stole some very cute and fluffy sheep from a farm and even harvested a small bit of Mana from animals in Hokkaido. They left earlier than expected because the farmer witnessed them. They report that none of the Knights of the Round Table interfered during their theft. They shepherd the animals to a pen to isolate them from the regular flock; after all, these sheep might get unmade or Blessed.

Rolled 17, 15, 3 = 35 (3d20)

>>6154625

Team 'Pocket Change' also returns on that day too. The excitable apprentices and journeyman Guides are joyous to accomplish their task. The target had been an old antiquities store from which they stole as much as their packs could hold before fleeing into a Gate. It was a simple smash and grab in the middle of the night without any finesse at all. They proudly bring their loot to the treasury room, where they place it with the books to see if Avalon will unmake them.

Priests prays over the loot and give thanks to the Gods for the safely returned Baphomets. You partake in the ceremony, which pleases the vassals.

On the fourth day...

>Dread Agreste again challenges you to spar, and suggests you run to build up stamina...
>The Dejima plan is enacted; you create an exclusive and heavily monitored area for the Roman trade post...
>Dagonet got challenged to a Duel by a Longship Meeps warrior, luckily it is not to the death...
>Arisu is in trouble with the Spy, she took a book and started reading it aloud to some Baphomets...
>You spent time exploring the island of Logres and finally meet Arminox the slave at his hideaway...
>Goro tries to work with Oppenheimer to make some hammocks, the Weaver is very curious...
>Miya is talking with some Anarchists and they seem to be arguing about something...
>The Priest is requesting some Mana to help repair part of the Temple...
>You test the other Relics in your possession, maybe one of them can be a gift for Lucius?...

>>6154626
>>You spent time exploring the island of Logres and finally meet Arminox the slave at his hideaway...

>>6154625
>You spent time exploring the island of Logres and finally meet Arminox the slave at his hideaway...

>>6154626
>You spent time exploring the island of Logres and finally meet Arminox the slave at his hideaway...
Let's personally meet the poor puppet we'll be sending back to his home

>>6154626
>>The Dejima plan is enacted; you create an exclusive and heavily monitored area for the Roman trade post...

>>6154626
>>You test the other Relics in your possession, maybe one of them can be a gift for Lucius?...

>>6154626
>Dread Agreste again challenges you to spar, and suggests you run to build up stamina...

>>6154626
>You test the other Relics in your possession, maybe one of them can be a gift for Lucius?...
Not knowing what situation they're truly in we can only hope to deliver something useful in time.

>>6154626
Fuck it, last minute changing my vote from >>6154736 to
>You test the other Relics in your possession, maybe one of them can be a gift for Lucius?...

>>6154656
>>6154702
explore

>>6154748
trade post

>>6154835
>>6155069
>>6155070
testing out relics

>>6155041
sparring

no post, have to go to bed.

no post

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You have not changed the overall tasks for your Baphomets. So the scouts still continue their exploration, but the sheer number of resources unclaimed is causing quite a stir. Lately groups of Baphomets have been going outside the Walls to drag back resources close by without permission. These adventurous goatmen pay only the King's take upon returning and keep the rest to themselves. The situation is tempting ever greater numbers to leave their jobs to claim something too if they can. The island of Logres Major is mostly safe, but things can happen.

Two vassals have disappeared entirely. The head goat reported they had not returned to their duties in the last two days and were last seen outside the Walls heading towards Birnam Woods. If they had fallen victim to some monster, tripped into a hidden Gate, just got lost, or met with some accident is unknown.

The Baphomets operate like a Japanese village when it comes to monitoring each other. There's a head responsible for each Baphomet in his small group, numbering up to 20 goats, and they all live together. If one goes missing or commits a crime, then all of them have to answer for it. This particular head didn't immediately report that he had two goats missing. The Sheriff has everyone whipped and then put in a pillory as a group punishment.

You redirect the scouts to search for the missing. There is no Master of the Purveyors Guild to organize groups to drag back resources and report the goods acquired. The longer you go without one, the more Baphomets will go out and risk danger to grab something for themselves. There's also the risk of conflict; the Sheriff reports an unusual number of battered vassals who have clearly been in a fight and are nursing bruises and cuts. He suspects that groups of Baphomets are fighting each other to claim highly desired goods, but no one is willing to talk yet.

You gained some resources... ???? The Baphomets are grabbing some strange things. You do not need flutes, green tea or staves of olive wood. As for other things. Barrels. Copper. Lead. Metals of all sorts.... You'll let the Hanbei deal with it.

You're also sure some Baphomets are engaging in tax evasion. Particularly if they think it's not worth declaring their discoveries, such as exotic fruits. You caught sight of one Baphomet eating mangoes while on a walk through Camelot.

The Engineer has given up trying to repair the main fountain and has instead concentrated on several minor fountains and cisterns instead. He's managed to bring back a few into operation so that Baphomets don't have to travel all the way to the main square. He lists the number of lead pipes and workers required for the main fountain; it's a big job. No wonder he suggested the usage of Mana; he made a survey map of just a small section of the pipes, and it's a maze.

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>>6156301
You spent the morning on approving and denying various requests from your vassals before dedicating time to personal endeavors. There are Relics in your possession that might have special powers.

The Survival Booklets that should not exist. The hateful World burned them to ashes with its Backlash, yet here they are. One contains the name of your 'friend' Nagumo Kyouya; the other has your True Name Kuroda Haruka.

There's the Black Mask; it rattled a warning just before the Wyvern attacked. Yatagarasu stole it from your home, and Avalon has modified it drastically.

Then the Oribe-yake tea bowl, a personal belonging that somehow didn't get erased in the hateful World. Evidence that you once did live in Tokyo, that you were once part of the Kuroda family.

Oh yes, your Cellphone.... That's still with Team Feline. It's taking them a long time to get back to you. They were supposed to recharge that Cellphone while experimenting if Backlash accumulates if mortals witness your cat. The task shouldn't take too long to accomplish. You expect Team Surprise Me and Team Grand Theft to take about a week to accomplish their tasks.

Another thing to worry about.

You flip through the booklet containing your True Name. You start actually reading the pages of the Survival Booklet and realize that the content on the pages has nothing to do with Hokkaido. It instead talks about how to survive on a certain island in Avalon! You quickly check the title of the booklet and realize it just says 'How to Survive' and not 'How to Survive in the Hokkaido Wilderness'.

'When night falls on the island of Gorre, the river rises in a monstrous tide and devours everything in its wake. The path of the river changes each night; therefore, pursue high ground before the sun starts sinking below the horizon and observe where the river runs. If ...'

You learned a bit about the river on the island of Gorre from the Survival Booklet!

Shit, you tore up the pages of the other Booklet containing Nagumo Kyouya's name to create a false trail of clues and puzzles to annoy enemies. In fact, the Carpenter has placed random clues to the pages hidden in Camelot through clever puzzles and annoying fetch quests at your command. You immediately start reading through Nagumo's booklet and discover that the information remains about surviving in Hokkaido.

You experiment a bit and try to order your 'How to Survive' to tell you about Roma, but the information still focuses on the island of Gorre. You wonder if other islands will be described in the future or if it's just going to remain wholly on the island of Gorre.

What a neat Relic, there's also no way this can be a gift to Lucius.

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>>6156302
You set the Booklets aside and start playing around with the Black Mask. You toss it up in the air a few times, tap it, talk at it, and so on, but the damn thing is inert. Perhaps it's an early warning system; it only triggers if there's some sort of danger coming. It did rattle before the Wyvern attacked during the night. In that case, you'll need to bring this Mask on a Quest or to a potentially dangerous situation and see if it does anything.

This also means you risk losing the Mask. You lost the gun Peacemaker after shooting Gareth and discovering that the Knight is bulletproof. Poor Fatty must be quite heartbroken with the loss, though he hasn't said anything to you since that night.

Finally, you start experimenting with the Tea Bowl and discover... It's a Tea Bowl.... It holds liquids and stuff. Water is water, mead is mead, ale is ale. No changes in the liquids it holds.

Wait, what are you thinking!? It's a goddamn Tea bowl; you have green tea. Also, Team Pocket Change stole antiques from the hateful World, you're pretty sure that a full set of tea ceremony tools is amongst the loot.

Invite someone to tea...

>Max and Miya, they're going back to the hateful World, you should say goodbye and make sure they haven't gone widdershin'...
>A Baphomet! Reward them with personal attention from the King or to discuss things in private. Who will it be?...
>A Roman, let him be in awe of the Japanese tea ceremony and show off cultural superiority...
>Dagonet, you need to fix his crappy attitude or tell him to go back to Tokyo...
>Oppenheimer, he is a weird kid and keeps to himself, you should try to learn a bit more about him...
>Arisu Mikado, the nerd girl with the temper and strangely has ordered her name in the Western style....
>Majima Goro, allegedly the most normal of the strange teens and really attractive, okay so you don't have pure motives inviting him...
>Write in a combo up to two individuals...

Rolled 15, 11, 15 = 41 (3d20)

>>6156309
oh hey, a dragon number, that's lucky since Haruka is a Rat.

>>6156303
>Dagonet, you need to fix his crappy attitude or tell him to go back to Tokyo...

>>6156303
>>Max and Miya, they're going back to the hateful World, you should say goodbye and make sure they haven't gone widdershin'...

>>6156303
>Max and Miya, they're going back to the hateful World, you should say goodbye and make sure they haven't gone widdershin'...
I want to get rid of Max posthaste and I want to make SURE he isn't widdershin and stuck here to be an even worse bastard. Miya I'm more inclined to view better because I don't think she was that bad; her health condition is the only reason she cannot stay. Maybe giving her a parting gift of a small silver trinket is a nice gesture. No such thing for the fatty

>>6156303
>>Majima Goro, allegedly the most normal of the strange teens and really attractive, okay so you don't have pure motives inviting him...

>>6156420
Do we want Haruka to be THAT kind of "evil" ruler in another world?

>>6156423
Yes

>>6156303
>Max and Miya, they're going back to the hateful World, you should say goodbye and make sure they haven't gone widdershin'...
That there's no changes in the liquid it holds might just mean the effect it has is perhaps hidden or activated only in certain cases.
Maybe it purifies poisons, or those who drink from it can only speak truth?

>>6156303
>Max and Miya, they're going back to the hateful World, you should say goodbye and make sure they haven't gone widdershin'...

>>6156303
>Majima Goro, allegedly the most normal of the strange teens and really attractive, okay so you don't have pure motives inviting him...

>>6156303
>>Dagonet, you need to fix his crappy attitude or tell him to go back to Tokyo...

>>6156303
Changing my vote from >>6156411 to
>Majima Goro, allegedly the most normal of the strange teens and really attractive, okay so you don't have pure motives inviting him...
If the fatty goes widdershin, we can simply kill him

>>6156303
>Majima Goro, allegedly the most normal of the strange teens and really attractive, okay so you don't have pure motives inviting him...

>>6156687
>>6156490
>>6156436
>>6156420
Now here's the important question, gentlemen. Would Haruka leglock?

>>6156329
>>6156680
Gotta deal with the asshole

>>6156405
>>6156437
>>6156488
saying good bye

>>6156420
>>6156490
>>6156682
teen girl hormones

it's a tie.... well, why not just mix the two.

>>6156747
Saying goodbye to the fatty (good riddance) and to Miya (make sure to add the bit about possible health conditions of people we pull to Avalon to the list of things we learned from this experiment)... then a one-on-one :^) with Majima Goro

>>6156731
Only leglocks anon

No post, I have acquired "The Winter King" to read.

>>6157354
Where's our very own Derfel for the shield wall?

sorry for the delay. Ended up shouting at my manager for suggesting we rehire 'I fed everyone thc spiked food for a prank' guy.

>>6158677
>shouting at my manager for suggesting we rehire 'I fed everyone thc spiked food for a prank' guy.
I hope you aren't going to be fired for that. You might be, but just so you know you are 100% in the right here no matter what.

>>6158677
Please let there be an update tonight

I'm going to post what I have, since I've delayed long enough. I hope to post more of it later. I decided to write a lot to make up for the delays.

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Tonight Max and Miya are going back to the hateful World. It's only natural that you should have a chat with them before sending them home. There are some easily avoidable mistakes with mortal recruits you could have avoided if you had given it a bit more thought. At least you learned from them and can avoid them in the future.

You invite them to have tea before departure. It'll be an opportunity to hear their thoughts on their time in Camelot and maybe learn a few things from another perspective. You also want to make sure that they haven't gone widdershin' and thank them for taking the plunge and coming to Avalon. It is oddly reassuring knowing that humans will dare to come to your kingdom if you give them an opportunity. You just need to calibrate who to invite and how to retain them.

The loot from the antique shop did have scattered pieces of tea ceremony tools. Thanks to your knowledge of quality tea ceremony tools and expertise in the art of tea, it doesn't take long to assemble a set of tools that doesn't look too disparate. The odd collection has a uniquely pleasing aesthetic appeal when contrasted with the western-style iron kettle and tartan cloth spread over the grass in the Garden.

But there's only one Tea Bowl.

You'll have to invite each guest one at a time. This will be good to a certain extent; giving an individual personal attention tends to make them more positive; it makes them feel important, and you'll be able to observe if the Relic has some sort of effect on them individually.

You order normal sweets to be prepared to go with the green tea and some silver trinkets appropriate as a farewell gift. As much as you dislike Max for being a clueless and boorish idiot, it's gauche to only present silver to Miya and leave the other empty-handed.

The invitation to tea is a surprise to your departing mortals. They agree readily enough, with the fat teen Max being your first guest. You might as well train yourself to remember the meaning of the way of tea. Ichigo ichie. Each meeting is unique, never the same and never repeated. It is to be treasured.

Even if you dislike the boy and there's no chance to redo your first impression, maybe this moment having tea will reveal something important. It is a beautiful day, songbirds sing amongst the trees and Gates scattered throughout as the kettle of water boils away. You watch the bubbles carefully to ensure that the water doesn't get too hot.

Your first guest arrives. Maximilian the Great who looks unusually sombre and subdued. Initially, you guessed it's because of his failure to go widdershin' and become Blessed but his face tells a different reason. There's a number of bruises. The fat boy stops and marvels at the oddity of seeing something so Japanese set out in a strange place as Camelot.

"Ah, so exactly how does a tea ceremony go? I don't know anything about it."

"I'll teach you but first, those bruises... Who was it? Someone from the Longship Meeps?"

>>6159405
You expected that Dagonet would be the first to get his ass beaten by one of your vassals. The answer Max provides is perhaps not very surprising.

"It was Arisu. She told me to apologize to some muppets but I didn't say anything worth saying sorry for. So she told those muppets 'she would take care of the issue' and punched me a few times. Said it was for my own good and to shut up because the Baphomets looked murderous. She called it a 'pre-emptive beating' to prevent 'imminent death' but I think she's full of shit."

A headache starts forming. You carefully consider if Arisu read the situation rightly and struck Maximilian to placate the Baphomets or if she just wanted the pleasure of punching the fat power hungry idiot in the face. Given the hierarchical and group nature of your vassals though, someone with an aura of authority had to punish the socially oblivious Max to mollify the temper of your goats.

"I'll make you a cup of tea. Why don't you tell me what you think of your fellow classmates and if you enjoyed anything about Camelot."

Max can't even think of a single thing he enjoyed, he's glad to be leaving Camelot. The only way he could have enjoyed his time is if he got Blessed, that would have made up for the lack of modern conveniences. He had a few people back in the hateful World he'd like to pay back threefold. His opinion of his classmates is mostly negative with the exception of Oppenheimer.

>>6159411
Damn, Arisu doing work. Too bad Max here is completely self-absorbed and would only believe any danger when it impaled through him.

I hope there's more update tonight. This is one hell of a tea cliffhanger

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Goro is an arrogant faggot, Dagonet is an asshole, Miya is a psychopath, and Arisu is a violent bully. Max is derisive of his fellow mortals.

But Oppenheimer is an all right guy, according to Max.

"Why Oppenheimer?"

You ask Max as you whisk the matcha powder and hot water in the Tea Bowl. The Spy mentioned that the thin boy had extensive scarring, as though someone cut him up without any intent of killing him.

"He's pretty cool. He fixed parts of the house and said he used to go to a vocational school. Besides, he's the only one other than me who is super keen on getting powers and becoming a badass. I can tell; he just comes alive and listens real close whenever a muppet talks about becoming a Blessed and fighting!"

That's news to you. Oppenheimer seemed so indifferent; you had a hard time figuring out why he came to Camelot. Is it a good thing that the quiet boy's hunger for power was silent and subtle compared to an obvious loudmouth? You'll have to have a conversation with him one day. Right now, you have to guide the uncultured Max on how to properly appreciate the tea ceremony. Max turns to admire the Tea Bowl as instructed before taking a sip of the frothy green tea.

"You must come from a really classy family, King Lot. Some sort of samurai family? Yeah, definitely, you have that warrior aura. No average teen girl would think of doing a tea ceremony of all things."

Max smiles broadly, sure his guess is correct. And damn him, he's right. You watch as he puts down the Tea Bowl and thanks you for the tea. You present the fat boy with a small torc of silver as a gift; it's a bracelet of two twisting snakes biting the other's tail. He smiles sadly as though this piece of silver is the most definite proof his time in Avalon is at an end.

"Is that your impression of me? Well, you're wrong. Tea ceremony is something any person can train and get good at." You easily lie; it won't do to give anyone the impression that Max is really near the truth. "Well, Max, it's time to make sure you haven't gone widdershin'. You're going home tonight. So I want you to think of your real name. You don't have to tell me what it is; what is important is if you remember it."

If Max has forgotten his True Name, it's a sure sign he's gone widdershin'. Luckily, the fat boy confirms that he still remembers his real name.

The Tea Bowl hasn't affected the boy at all. Could it be that the Tea Bowl is a Relic with no powers at all? The vast majority of things stolen from the hateful World gets unmade; anything left behind is called a Relic. Being a Relic doesn't mean the item has special powers. It just means that Avalon left it alone.

You move on to the next test subject slash guest for tea. Miya is another quiet one out of the mortals; you can't believe she came to Camelot despite having a health condition. Diabetes of all things!? You did not see that coming at all.

>>6160055
You carefully wash the tea utensils and prepare for another round of making tea. Your Tea Bowl is proving to be a damn disappointment of a Relic. Surely it can't be just a mundane Relic, fit only to be a vessel for liquids. It personally belonged to you, so naturally Avalon made it an awesome and powerful tool because of that.... Right?

Miya is a tall willowy girl. Her vacant expressionless face would be pretty if she had any sparkle of interest or life animating it. She arrives at the Garden silently and deep in thought before she stops to stare at the eight graves of the unfortunate orphans abducted by Ser Rodomonte. An unnerving look of fascination flickers in her face as she counts each gravestone with great interest.

Max might have been right that Miya is a psychopath. What is so mesmerizing at seeing the evidence of a great and terrible crime? You try to push what you saw out of mind and focus on being a good host for the tea ceremony. To focus on this moment with this person, it is a time that will never come again.

Miya is extremely quiet and clueless regarding the tea ceremony. You go over the concepts, the tools and the movements associated with the way of tea. The other girl is bored but polite enough to go through the motions of the tea ceremony. You can't believe it, you prefer having Max as a guest and drinking your tea. At least he actually showed interest in the entire ceremony and talking.

"I'm surprised you came to Avalon with your medical condition."

This prompts a bit of liveliness out of the girl. A small sardonic grin flowers on her lips and it is an unsettling sight.

"I was hoping that I'd become Blessed and be cured of it. All those stories about other worlds and magical powers blinded me, I just assumed it would happen. But when I learned from the little goats that becoming a Blessed is rare and that I'm more likely to go widdershin' and become a Lost Child, I realized that I had to speak up about going back. I do want to stay, there's nothing interesting back in Japan for me. Here in Avalon there's death, war and battle to spice things up."

What the hell!? You almost stop whisking the matcha tea in hot water at hearing Miya's answer. You cover it up this pause by observing the green froth of the tea as though determining if it's perfect or not. It's a thin tea, and needs a bit more whisking. You move on to how she liked Camelot and her fellow mortals.

Miya has no opinion on her fellow classmates. She found them all very boring and spent time speaking with the Anarcho-Syndicalists and ideology mostly.

"The communist faction and anarchist faction of the group disagree on how to free Camelot from the tyranny of monarchy, capital and feudalism."

"What's the difference? Aren't they all communists?"

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>>6160058
"Oh no, from the way they explain it. A few believe a vanguard needs to lead the working class to take complete control of your kingdom and prevent counter-revolution by reactionaries. The anarchists completely reject that because they can't justify the idea of hierarchy and that it has to be destroyed right after a revolution to prevent an authoritarian tyranny. In short, some believe they need to take over. The other don't want to impose their will over their fellow Baphomets."

"... You spent an awful lot of time listening to those nuts."

"I was hoping to hear if they had plans to bring out the guillotine and start something bloody. The majority are pacifists, they reject violence."

There is something seriously wrong with this girl. You watch as Miya drinks from the Tea Bowl and places it back on the tartan blanket spread over the grass. Miya looks back at you intently and does something unexpected. A pure smile of joy spreads over her lips, for a moment she looks like a normal teenage girl.

"Did you know that one of the graves in the Garden is unique?"

She knows something horrible and it makes her happy knowing about it. This is something she knows you're going to ask about. YOU REALLY WANT THIS GIRL TO LEAVE YOUR CITY. You give a brittle smile and present your gift of a silver pendant, it's in the shape of a tree. With that out of the way, it's time to ask the question.

"And what about that grave?"

"It's the grave of Boudicca. One of the kidnapped girls went widdershin' and became a Blessed. She died at his hands but only after she cut off a few pieces of him."

It takes a great deal of self-control not to give Miya the pleasure of seeing your disgust. Seneschal Hanbei answered eight girls were kidnapped by Rodomonte. That all eight are buried in the Garden. You didn't ask for more details because you didn't want to know.

You can use 'Let No Insult Pass!' on Miya.

"Thou dire banqueter of tears and sorrows. Away with ye, turn back to thy miserable hovel in the hateful World."

King Lot's voice blends with your own.

"Ah, what an impressive murderous aura you have. It's true, isn't it?... You're a very wrathful person, aren't you?"

She sounds happy to witness your anger.

"LEAVE!

Realizing she's pushing her luck, the crazy girl politely bows her head and walks away from the Garden. Soon Miya is going to walk away from Camelot permanently and you'll never see her again.

You take a deep breath and stare at your Tea Bowl. Nothing seemed to have activated. It is safe to assume that your personal belonging does not have any particular powers.

>>6160060

A rustling of the bushes catches your ear, someone is trying to crawl away after spying on you. You guess it's the Spy and walk over to his hiding place.

You summon Frostbind and cut the bush to shreds to reveal that your guess was completely wrong.

With the fresh green leaves fully shorn, you can see that lying fully on the ground is Majima Goro...

>"Should I even ask why you're here..."
>"You do know that spying is a capital offense..."
>"I can take care of a nutter on my own, you didn't need to come..."
>"You have 30 seconds to explain yourself..."
>"When did you figure out Miya is crazy?..."
>Write in

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>>6160060
Wait a minute, we never confirmed Camelot's rejection of her in this interaction. We definitely need to CONFIRM confirm it.

>>6160062
>"Should I even ask why you're here..."
>>6160132
And this too

>>6160062
>>"I can take care of a nutter on my own, you didn't need to come..."

>>6160062
>"Should I even ask why you're here..."
What's this one's major malfunction?

>>6160062
>>"Should I even ask why you're here..."

>>6160062
>"Should I even ask why you're here..."
Also backing >>6160132, confirm that rejection!

>>6160241
He named himself after Goro Majima of the hit series Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza), and he was in a school for bullied/abused/fucked-up kids despite looking super handsome and without problems on the outside. I guarantee he has at least one issue

>>6160269
oh wait, Max calls him
>Goro is an arrogant faggot
Could be a personality clash or a legitimate insight of the dude. They were in the same school after all.

>>6160279
>Haruka tries to fuck him
>he turns out to be gay
I can see that happening

>>6160062
>>"You have 30 seconds to explain yourself..."

>>6160135
>>6160241
>>6160258
>>6160269
why

>>6160168
nutter

>>6160366
30 second

not post tonight but we have our selection

>>6160713
If Majima turns out gay, Haruka still wins because then she has a potential loyal lieutenant who won't fall for the enemy magical knight girls if Avalon keeps him around. If not then nothing is truly lost.
If Majima turns out straight, Haruka still wins because now she finally stops being a virgin.

no post
got back home late after playing with lightsabers.
As we are heading towards Christmas, I will try to post one or two more.

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I'm a bit confused about Lot, is he sort of just there screaming through Haruka from time to time? Like him breaking through the surface at being pissed off at that seraglio vow or the psychopath Miya?

>>6161387
He's going to pop up extremely grumpy when Haruka is about to lose her virginity

>>6161628
That does get me thinking how he reacted to and treated the previous widdershin kids in the King Lot role. There have been other girls that occupied that position, namely Mordred. Did Mordred die/disappear a virgin?

>>6161268
You assume that the Knights are all girls....

>>6161387
Eternally grumpy old man, occasionally in perfect alignment with Haruka, other times gets pissed off at people and things like a cantankerous prude. He will definitely cockblock her.

Also, no post tonight.
Tonight was dedicated to 'reviewing appropriate workplace relations and communication skills' complete with powerpoint presentation.
Bitch please, you wanted to rehire some asshole joked about adulterating food with drugs and potentially may have done so in the past.

>>6161981
>assume
In that case guess we'll just have to hope none have a good face and better words. Taliesin. Or maybe that can be Maji's role, a diplomat.
>cantankerous prude
Maybe his 'sweet Anna' will be like Guin. Killing two birds with one stone for our villainess.

>>6161981
>assume that the Knights are all girls....
Oh no... the forbidden gay knight on gay knight romance subplot... not like this...
>He will definitely cockblock her.
I bet he wouldn't do that if the person in his name's role was a guy
>'reviewing appropriate workplace relations and communication skills' complete with powerpoint presentation.
Report your stupid boss to his higher-ups. If that fails, keep going higher.

>>6161981
Update...?

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"Should I even ask why you're here..."

"You can ask, but I think you have an idea of why."

The handsome boy gives a lady-killer smile that makes your heart skip a beat. It's disheartening to imagine that Goro has some sort of issue. So far, every other teen from Nijimi has proven to have some sort of peculiarity.

Except outwardly Majima Goro.

Well, now is a good time to suss that out. You look at the Tea Bowl and decide to change things slightly up a bit.

"Why don't you make me a cup of tea and we'll talk?"

He is surprised by the invitation to serve tea to you instead of having tea served to him. Like the others, he had never participated in a tea ceremony, and you have to guide him through the steps while sitting as a guest. He doesn't look elegant while he follows instructions to clean them and lay the tools in order of use.

"We found out Miya was crazy because Arisu immediately moved in with us boys after one night enduring her. We weren't sure about bothering you about it since she was leaving. We agreed to take care of any issues on our own since you assigned us our own kumi. But then I heard you invited those two to a tea ceremony before leaving and got a little worried. A bit surprising; wondered what the point is. They aren't going to remember Camelot after they leave."

Goro finally begins the actual process of making the tea, imitating the movements he saw when spying in the bush.

"True, they won't remember Camelot, but that's not the point. They're the first humans I invited and the first to leave. I wanted to see from their perspective what brought them to Camelot and areas of improvement on retaining people. In regards to Miya, try to remember that I invited everyone here and am therefore responsible."

"Gotcha, duty is heavier than a mountain, all that jazz."

The tea is prepared. Despite Goro's best attempts to follow your instructions; it's clear from your experienced eye that the hot water used to mix the matcha green tea was too hot. Then again, you were deriving joy from ordering around the handsome boy to do your bidding. He's so obedient, and it gives you ideas about certain other things.

It is truly baffling that he was at a school for troubled children like Nijimi.

You take a sip of the tea Goro prepared for you.

The instant you swallow the tea, a flash of understanding cuts through the fog of incomprehension. 'Majima Goro' is the son of a yakuza.

Relic : A Cup of Truth - To those served with this Tea Bowl, they learn one true thing about the server. Only works between two individuals, self serves do nothing.

The look of shock on your face catches Goro's attention.

"Whoa, did I screw up with the tea?"

You stare at the boy, trying to figure out what to say. Something tells you that dancing around what you know will be resented.

"How long have you lived a life according to gokudo?"

The handsome boy hems and haws for a few seconds, weighing how to answer the question.

>>6162900
"I was born into it. Surprised you caught on; the rest don't have a clue. Well, I guess I should have expected it. After all, a katagi civvie wouldn't run around with an irezumi snake tattoo around the neck so proudly out in the open."

WHAT!?!

You touch your neck, stroking the skin to try to feel some sort of oddity. There's no mirror in Camelot; you haven't seen your reflection in the last few weeks. There's a strange roughness on certain parts of the skin followed by smoothness.

"I am not like you. I'm a normal teenage girl!"

"Understood, anego. You're a normal teenage girl who happens to rule a Kingdom. Don't worry; I don't shit where I eat. I'm grateful to be allowed on your shima and be under your protection. I came to Camelot because I needed a place to hide out for a little while. I'll definitely return this giri one day."

Goro bows his head in a perfect dogeza of thanks, touching his forehead to the ground in a bow. This moment utterly shatters your innocent illusion of a handsome normal boy. He's not lying; nothing he just did was a joke or playacting to mess with you.

"Why would you choose 'Majima Goro' as a name if you're hiding out?"

He laughs with boyish charm. Perfect teeth, kind eyes, and smooth skin rivaling any boy band member to break the heart of a girl flash before you.

"I liked the character. The fantasy concept of a man of gokudo. But let me tell you, I'd rather 'wash my feet'."

Why can't any of your recruits be normal!? The despair barely lightens when Team 'Grand Theft' and Team 'Surprise Me' return together at the same time just before the evening with their loot. It gladdens the heart to see they returned unscathed.

Team Surprise Me lives up to their name with a great surprise.

They stole a kei truck; it's in pretty good shape despite having a large dent at the front with some blood smeared on it. They had to work as a team to operate the vehicle since they're the size of children. One to drive, the other to push the gas and brakes, and the other to the shift worked out. The rest loaded up the stolen truck with the loot stolen by Team Grand Theft. You marvel at the sheer amount of goods loaded up and taken by your Baphomets. There are boxes of antiques, Japanese weapons, aromatic agarwood, and more.

"Meep! A banner haul. I grieve to report we had to run over Sir Lancelot to escape, but fear naught! He survived!"

You don't say it out loud but in your personal opinion, killing a member of the Knights of the Round Table would have been great. Patting the solid metal truck, you wonder if Avalon will accept the kei truck. It'd be nice to have the vehicle around to assist the Baphomets, the narrow streets should be able to accommodate it.

Now all that's left is Team Feline to return. It's a bit concerning they're taking so long to accomplish so simple a mission.

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>>6162901
It is time for a simple ceremony of good-bye. Baphomets and your fellow humans turn out to watch Miya and Max depart from Camelot. The fat boy is glad to be leaving while the crazy girl looks as though she can't care at all.

"Hey Miya, I forgot to ask earlier at tea. Think to yourself, what is your True Name? Do you remember it?"

A look of surprise replaces the usual vacant face of the girl as she does what you ask and answers after a slight pause.

"Yes, I remember. Is it important that I remember?"

You address the mortals as a group so that they know

"It is. Listen up, anyone who forgets their True Name has gone widdershin' and became a Lost Child. That means no one back in Japan remembers you at all and evidence of your existence wiped out. Also, to those staying, make sure to keep an eye on each other. Avalon sometimes decides it does not like certain things or people and will try to erase them. The Baphomets call that becoming 'unmade'. So far Avalon hasn't tried anything with anyone, but we won't be sure until a few more days pass."

This causes a stir amongst the remaining mortals. They're still in the process of learning about Avalon and the peculiar rules it abides by.

"Well, good bye everyone. I don't know why you're staying, but I'm going back to the real world. I'll probably see you again soon at Nijimi."

Max waves happily and jumps through the glowing Gate set up Yatagarasu.

"Farewell. I wish I could stay, if only I didn't have diabetes."

The others visible tense at the thought of Miya staying but the nut doesn't take notice before calmly walking through the Gate. When she disappears into the Gate, the rest let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god she's gone. When I threatened to hit her on the first night because she was such a creep, she was eager for my fist. I can't believe I first wanted her to stay in Camelot with me." Arisu visibly relaxes, as though a great weight on her shoulder lifted.

Another day is over.

Tomorrow you'll...

>Enter the hateful World and try to find out what happened to Team Feline...
>Explore the island of Logres and try to find those two missing vassals...
>Appoint a Guild Master and create a trading zone with the Roman...
>Try hunting dangerous creatures for Mana...
>Quest in the hateful World for Mana and Relics...
>Train with your Baphomets and get better at fighting....
>write in

>>6162903
>Enter the hateful World and try to find out what happened to Team Feline...

>>6162903
>Enter the hateful World and try to find out what happened to Team Feline...
Wherefore art thou catto?

>>6162903
>>Appoint a Guild Master and create a trading zone with the Roman...

>>6162903
>Enter the hateful World and try to find out what happened to Team Feline...

>>6162903
>Appoint a Guild Master and create a trading zone with the Roman...
The Romans have been put off long enough.
Also we need to ask the remaining humans to retain a solid way to know their True Name. Haruka did it with the survival guide, but do any of them have something like that?

>>6162901
>Why can't any of your recruits be normal!?
My goat kingdom rts playing magical samurai girl, you CHOSE to recruit randoms at a school for fucked-up kids because we VOTED for it
>Don't worry; I don't shit where I eat.
Will he stand by that if Haruka pins him to the wall with Frostbind and starts pulling his pants down?

>>6162901
>we had to run over Sir Lancelot to escape, but fear naught! He survived!
So Lancelot is a boy here and not a girl like the others?
Also QM, seeing as all the Blessed are technically isekai'd kids, would Lancelot being Truck-kun'd back to Avalon count as a double-isekai?

>>6162947
Depending how high and involved he has been in his organization I wouldn't exclude he already has some eperience in women...
I also wonder what insights the teapot did reveal of our girl to the others... From their iteraction it may have revealed about her family to Max and her personality to Miya, perhaps it does reveal things related to the served interest in the server too since we wanted to know about Goro's damage and that was revealed.

>>6162958
This just means more experimenting is needed

>>6162903
>>Appoint a Guild Master and create a trading zone with the Roman...

>>6162948
I never thought that far ahead but if you get hit by a truck, you simply die. No double isekai subversion here.

>>6162906
>>6162916
>>6162934
cat

>>6162917
>>6162944
>>6163055
Roman

we have a tie, I'll leave the vote up for longer.

>>6162903
>>Enter the hateful World and try to find out what happened to Team Feline...

>>6163236
Congrats, you have your wish >>6163238

>>6163238
Time to search for the CAT!

>>6163292
Please update tonight if possible. This is a great quest and I want more of this japanese knight autism you have

No post tonight. Hopefully tomorrow

>>6163414
Well?

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You are worried about Team Feline. Their mission is simple to accomplish and shouldn't take more than a few days to accomplish.

Yet somehow they're the last team still out there.

Had something gone wrong during their mission?

You summon the Guides to hear their opinions on the matter. It's a scattershot with no consensus between the veterans presently at hand.

"They could simply be taking in the sights and enjoying their time with such an easy task. Meep. The Guide leading Team Feline is a bit of a lazy goat."
"Lazy he be, but he hath no love for danger. Something must be keeping him in the hateful World."
"Mayhap they already accomplished their mission and are in Avalon. Now they are having trouble traveling back to Camelot."
"Meep, they could be all dead. Stop glaring at me like that! It's always a possibility!"

Yatagarasu sighs at speculation and raises his Guide Stick to get everyone's attention.

"We should ask the Priests to do a divination, Your Majesty. We can use Mana or one of the new sheep to answer a simple question: Are they in the hateful World or Avalon?"

The Guides concur to try a divination at the Temple. You reluctantly agree and order the best sheep as a sacrifice for the ceremony. They lead the docile beast through the streets towards the Temple, attracting the attention of many Baphomets and your mortal recruits. At your arrival, the number of curious bystanders swells as the High Priest instructs his underlings to prepare for the ceremony.

The sheep begins resisting; the smell of blood of the last sacrifice clearly agitates it. You can hear murmurs of how that is a bad sign, but the sacrifice goes ahead without further problems. The Priests know how to handle resisting sacrifices and quickly slit the throat of the struggling animal. Hot blood pours over the Stane O Scone and begins to swirl odd shapes. The Head Priest peers closely at the blood sloshing this way and that; the waves and long dripping patterns mean nothing to you.

"The Gods declare they have not touched the soil of Avalon. They remain in the hateful World."

The Head Priest solemnly announces this and then frowns as the blood continues to move around on the Stane O Scone. It is clear the reading isn't over yet, and you start dreading the answer to come. The blood stops running riot and turns black as though dried under a fierce sun.

"One is dead."

This announcement causes a hush to fall in the Temple, then a cry erupts from many throats in response to the pronouncement of death. You remember hearing the same cry once before, when the Long Ship Meeps discovered that one of their own died in the belly of the Wyvern. News of this will spread like a wildfire as Baphomets rush out of the Temple while your Guides rush to offer personal belongings to the Crucible to melt and beseech the Gods. Even Yatagarasu offers something and sends up a prayer for the safety of his comrades.

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>>6163881

You don't know who died. It could be your cat, Lady Kizaemon, for all you know. You rise and cut off a sleeve from your tartan shirt as an offering to the Crucible. It burns easily. It reminds you of a paper protective charm offered to the raging New Year fires at the shrine, and it disappears in an instant, leaving only a thin stream of smoke wending upwards.

"I give thanks to the host of Gods watching over my Kingdom. Over our sorrow, over our joy, over our defeat, over our victory, thou art always watching. Bless us as we carve our way out of each challenge this life brings."

It is a blur of activity thereafter. You can't use the Black Prince again so soon, it's special ability spent until some time has passed to recharge it. You'll have no ability to absorb Backlash. That however is the least of your problems.

Where in the hateful World is Team Feline? Are they still at your home? Or have they moved off to somewhere. You consider ordering another sacrifice to divine another question but the Head Priest pronounces that the Stane O Scone is glutted with blood and won't take more sacrifices.

"If thou wishes for a soothsaying, Your Majesty, then I suggest taking a Priest with thee to the hateful World. I have a Dowser skilled in the rods. Give him some Mana and he shall discover a path to them."

Yatagarasu observes that the entry into the hateful World needs to take place extremely early in the morning then. Around 3 a.m. when most humans are asleep, then there is less chance of Backlash accumulating from potential witnesses.

The bigger the group, the harder to hide, and the harder it is to prevent Backlash from accumulating.

What will you bring? Your servants are packing things for you.

Choose up to three things, remember Stones are heavy....

>The Mask, time to test it out...
>Tourney Stones will transport you to the Tourney Grounds to Duel or isolate mortals so you can peaceably harvest their Mana.
>Gate Stones will allow a quick entrance into Avalon or the World. But where you end up will be random.
>Silence Stones can eat sound and dead noise, perfect for covering up the loud screams of desperate mortals.
>Talking Stones are like walkie-talkies and come in pairs, allowing you to communicate at a distance with your vassals.
>Smoke Bombs are stones that emit clouds of white smoke and hinder sight, perfect for preventing mortals from seeing things they shouldn't!
>Bombards are explosives! The bigger the Stone, the bigger the boom. They look like the Zelda bomb item...
>Blank Stone can be imbued with special powers of your choice or crafted into items of your choice! It costs Mana, and Priests are needed to process them. The greater the power or complexity of the item crafted, the higher the cost and chance of a mishap...
>Some silver and gold, who knows it might come in handy...
>A weapon from the stolen loot, a sword...
>write in

Tis the holiday season. I won't be writing tomorrow or Christmas. So a bit of a break to drink and be merry. I'll probably be at it on Dec 26.

>>6163882
>The Mask, time to test it out...
>Gate Stones will allow a quick entrance into Avalon or the World. But where you end up will be random.
>Talking Stones are like walkie-talkies and come in pairs, allowing you to communicate at a distance with your vassals.

>>6163882
>The Mask, time to test it out...
>Talking Stones are like walkie-talkies and come in pairs, allowing you to communicate at a distance with your vassals.
>Smoke Bombs are stones that emit clouds of white smoke and hinder sight, perfect for preventing mortals from seeing things they shouldn't!

>>6163882
>The Mask, time to test it out...
>Gate Stones will allow a quick entrance into Avalon or the World. But where you end up will be random.
>Smoke Bombs are stones that emit clouds of white smoke and hinder sight, perfect for preventing mortals from seeing things they shouldn't!

>>6163882
>>The Mask, time to test it out...
>>Gate Stones will allow a quick entrance into Avalon or the World. But where you end up will be random.
>>A weapon from the stolen loot, a sword...

>>6163882
>The Mask
Live relic test
>Gate Stones
To gtfo fast on reaching them
>Smoke Bombs
Mitigate backlash

>>6163882
>The Mask
>Talking Stones
>Smoke Bombs

>>6163882
>The Mask, time to test it out...
>Talking Stones are like walkie-talkies and come in pairs, allowing you to communicate at a distance with your vassals.
>Gate Stones will allow a quick entrance into Avalon or the World. But where you end up will be random.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>6163910
>>6164006
>>6164031
>>6164046
>>6164077
>>6164104
>>6164732


So we have 7 for mask

talking x4
Gate x 5
Smoke x4
sword x 1

I'll roll between talking and smoke. 1 for talking, 2 for smoke

Presently writing, but I don't think I can make it in time to post.
Was practicing Misora Hibari songs for new years.

>>6165952
Post one example please

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Now is an excellent time to test out your Mask. It is a piece of armor, best used when there's danger about.

Or so you hope.

It definitely shivered and trembled just before that Wyvern attacked. Since then, it has lain inert in your office. Tying the leather thongs, you can let the Mask hang lightly beneath your chin, covering up your allegedly tattooed neck. It'll be easy to tighten before going into actual combat and wear properly. A Talking Stone and Gate Stone drop into your pack to complete your choice of equipment.

"Camelot is pretty fuckin' metal."

You look up and see that you have an audience. Every mortal is watching you fuss over gear loadout and instructions to the Baphomets. Dagonet is trying for humor, but his pale face shows his sensitivity from watching an animal sacrificed. The rest of the mortals clearly didn't expect the turn of events either; Arisu looks decidedly green.

"Goes to show we aren't in Tokyo any more. I'll be back soon, so try not to cause too much trouble."

You need to rest early; Seneschal Hanbei states a servant will wake you at the darkest hour. All that's left before that is to meet the latest addition to your little band.

The Dowser is a reedy and nervous-looking goat holding a Y-shaped wooden stick. It looks freshly cut; the greenish skin oozes with some sort of sap. This is whom the High Priest recommended for the job, but the goat looks ready to beg to remain in Camelot.

"Dowser, steady yourself. You are going with your King."

This attempt to fortify the courage of the Baphomet fails to put iron in his soul. He looks ready to cry. The Dowser bows his horned head and begins his introduction.

"Y-Your Majesty, truly this—this—this heavy honor of accompanying you is more than your humble servant deserves. Oh Gods, preserve me! But my Craft requires Mana to find what is sought."

"That's not a problem."

".... Meeeeep."

There is enough Mana to allow five dowsing.

The Mana comes in the form of a white flower, dully flickering like a candle. The Guides concentrated the harvest of their reaping in the Crucible for portability. The next request from the Dowser is some sort of bodyguard, which you easily grant. One of the Longship Meeps volunteers to be a shield for the Dowser. It has finally dawned upon the Dowser that he is going to the hateful World, no matter what.

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>>6166660

You hurriedly sup in the Great Hall and excuse yourself when it's over. The Romans have an inkling of what has happened though not the full details. It's not surprising, they have their own divination powers. The night passes uneasily, you can't seem to fall asleep at all and the servants wake you in the darkest hour night.

It's about 3 am in Tokyo, a time where most respectable people are asleep. Yatagarasu waits with the Dowser and his bodyguard at the door of the bedroom. They lead you to the Garden, and at night it is a sinister place. Luna is fully dark and hiding her face, even the stars seem cold and distant.

The Head Priest is awake and gives his blessings over the Dowser and a sermon on his duty. The lecture barely interests the shivering Baphomet who frantically suggest other goats to the mission. The warrior from the Longship Meep rolls his eyes.

Also at the Gate is...

>The Candymaker with a bag of wonders...
>Seneschal Hanbei with an apprentice Guide...
>The Artist with a strange request, he saw it in a dream....
>The Constable presenting a guard skilled with the sling...
>Your fellow human beings, they came out to watch...
>The formerly fat Guide, the same who went with you against the Wyvern...
>The Spy with some sort of news...

Rolled 5 (1d7)

>>6166661
No clue. Therefor, dice.
>The Candymaker with a bag of wonders...1
>Seneschal Hanbei with an apprentice Guide...2
>The Artist with a strange request, he saw it in a dream....3
>The Constable presenting a guard skilled with the sling...4
>Your fellow human beings, they came out to watch...5
>The formerly fat Guide, the same who went with you against the Wyvern...6
>The Spy with some sort of news...7

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>>6166661
>The Spy with some sort of news...

>>6166661
>The Artist with a strange request, he saw it in a dream....

>>6166661
>>The Artist with a strange request, he saw it in a dream....

>>6166661
>The Artist with a strange request, he saw it in a dream...
In a bleak night like this, it must be some fell thing of ill omen, or a true shining diamond bright when all else is dark

>>6166661
>Your fellow human beings, they came out to watch...

>>6166661
>>The Spy with some sort of news...

>>6166683
>>6166899

spy

>>6166685
>>6166687
>>6166730
artist

>>6166741
>>6166664
human

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"An odd hour to be awake, Artist."

The beret-wearing Baphomet looks sleepy and disheveled. It seems he woke up in a hurry and ran all the way to the Castle from his little workshop in the city. Yawning with exhaustion, he courteously bows and begins to speak. You've gotten used to the hideous fake French accent.

"Aye, zeep, I'd rather be in my bed, but ze dream wouldn't let me be."

Dream? It must be important then; you've had a few. They turn out to be mostly informative and important so far.

"Votre Majesté, I ask that you pet all ze cats."

This bizarre request is possibly the most hilarious and unexpected thing ever. Attempts to get the Artist to clarify what he means or what is supposed to result from this strange request lead to nowhere. All the Artist knows from his dream is that you should 'pet all the cats'. You assume that means any cat you see in the hateful World.

A Strange Request - Pet all the cats you encounter while in the hateful World. You have no idea what is supposed to happen if you manage to achieve this.

"Fine then, I'll pet 'all the cats'. This had better result in something to my advantage, like a neat power. Ah... That reminds me, have you drawn a portrait of me?"

There's no mirror in Camelot; you asked around and discovered that the Baphomets regard mirrors superstitiously and negatively. A token of vanity and a danger to the soul they claim. How it's a danger to the soul is baffling. When you tried to question them about it, you discovered that the Baphomets believe that a reflection in the mirror is a soulless abomination waiting to cross over into Avalon and kill whomever it's mimicking. You are amused to discover that they also don't like video recordings or photographs out of a belief that such things steal the souls of those pictured. It's almost exactly how pre-Meiji Japanese thought of photography.

Hand-drawn art doesn't trigger any such worries. And you are in luck; the Artist has finished your sketch a while ago and presents it on bended knee.

On the rough paper, you see yourself sketched in charcoal. The first thing to check out is your neck. There's a tattoo; you can plainly see two snakes curled around the neck tightly.

"It waz difficulte to capture les serpents bleu. Dey move all ze time."

"What are they doing now on my neck?"

"Dey are hissing at each other."

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>>6167679
Blue tattoo snakes moving around on your neck as if they are alive. No wonder the son of a yakuza thought you might be in following the same path of gokudo. You tap on your throat with two fingers to get the attention of the hissing snakes.

"None of that now; save your strength when we face the enemy."

You order the snakes in a kingly voice before turning your attention to the Artist once more.

"And now, what are those snakes doing?"

"Zeep. Dey are sulking."

During this conversation, Yatagarasu has been carefully examining various Gates before deciding on one that looks like a wooden Japanese torii. It used to be red, but time and rain have washed away the paint and left greyish, rotting wood. Your Guide states that this Gate is on its last legs, but it can still serve.

With the now-familiar motions, the Gates crackles to life. Sparks and bolts of energy seethe and stretch as the passageway between Camelot and Tokyo stabilizes. The wood groans under the strain while you step through into the hateful World. It's time to find your vassals and cat.

You arrive in a little abandoned shrine and wince at the tingle of pain from entering the hateful World. You've forgotten about that little feature since you've been using the Black Prince so much. Another thing that takes you off guard is how blinding Tokyo is compared to Camelot. So much light pulses through the metropolis even in the dead of night that the sky shows only the brightest of stars and the moon above. It is such a stark contrast to the pure blackness of Avalon's sky, untouched by artificial light.

The Dowser gets to work immediately as your little team keeps a lookout for cats and wandering humans. First, the nervous Baphomet plucks a petal off the Mana flower and presses the soft white thing into the base of his dowsing stick. It's not very dramatic; there's no sparks or glow of Mana to show that it seeped into the wood. Rather, the petal pressed into the stick becomes a part of it, a white inlay of wood starkly contrasted to the color of greenish living wood.

"Gods above and below, we seek our lost companions. Lead us rightly, lead us safely, lead us forward so we can leave this perilous world as soon as possible."

Holding the dowsing stick, the Dowser points this way and that, up and down, side to side rapidly before coming to a sudden halt.

"How odd... The High Priest said that our missing comrades never touched the soil of Avalon. They should still be in the hateful World. Yet, my dowsing stick can't find hoof nor horn of them."

Only have 4 dowsing attempts left.

Did the High Priest screw up in his divination? It's rare, but it can happen, according to Yatagarasu. Supposing it's a screw-up, then there are a few possibilities. They actually are in Avalon somewhere, or they left for Avalon after your arrival. You voice this opinion to the vassals, but your loyal Guide suggests a third possibility.

>>6167680
"Or they went cliathanach. They went sideways to a place in between here and Avalon. Like going to Tourney Grounds or entering the domain of certain monsters."

That is not welcome news. You remember that odd, infinitely expanding manor when hunting the Wyvern. It was the domain of that fear-inducing plant monster, and it trapped everyone who entered.

"Your Majesty, there is a creature that looks similar to Lady Kizaemon nearby."

Everyone snaps to attention and see a striped brown cat lying very close to the entrance of the shrine. Its yellow eyes narrow when it realizes how much attention it has gotten and starts to rise.

You decide to....

>Head towards the Kuroda house, Kizaemon was eager to revisit her old demesne...
>Order the Dowser to use some Mana to divine something that doesn't belong to the hateful World...
>Pet the cat before it gets away, the Artist requested it because of a dream!...
>Find a payphone and call your Cellphone, it might work! You just need to steal some yen...
>Pray to your patroness Beira for guidance, she knows hidden things...

>>6167681
>>Pet the cat before it gets away, the Artist requested it because of a dream!...

>>6167681
>Pet the cat before it gets away, the Artist requested it because of a dream!...

>>6167681
>>Pet the cat before it gets away, the Artist requested it because of a dream!...
is there a cat dimension?

>>6167681
>Pet the cat before it gets away, the Artist requested it because of a dream!...
I'm assuming cat-ear maids and cosplayers count too, so we need to avoid Akihabara like the plague

>>6167681
>>Head towards the Kuroda house, Kizaemon was eager to revisit her old demesne...

>>6167681
>Pet the cat

>>6167681
>Order the others of your group to avoid looking at the cat. Then approach gently and offer a hand before the petting begins.
Gotta follow feline etiquette or we might not get invited to the cat dimension!

Seems we're going for cats. But no post for a little while.
Happy new years.
Pray for me, we're playing enka for a bunch of Japanese boomers.

>>6167963
Right back at work for our quest. Starting to write.

>>6169300
hell yeah

File: kittylineup.jpg (8 KB, 293x305)

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The Artist said 'pet all the cats'.

Why is it important?

Who knows?

But that is what you're going to do!

"Your Majesty, more cats are appearing.... Truly, are we to pet all the cats? I do believe we're going to fail."

Several cats jump up on a concrete wall and stare at your little group with curiosity. Then down the street, other cats peek around the corner of a wall. Cats by the seconds begin appearing from their hiding places.

"Screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail."

You set the vassals to work, advising them to tread softly, offer a hand, and speak sweetly to the cats to achieve much petting.

"Why are there so many cats?!" Yatagarasu grouses. Your vassals, stunned by the sheer number of felines everywhere, desperately pet each one that crosses into their sight. It is sometimes a painful task, as cats would scratch or bite hands as a toll occasionally before allowing the petting. Such as the one biting your hand as you swiftly give a soft pat on its head. It purrs with delight afterwards and remains sitting as you walk away to the next cat to pet. Your passage through the street is a painfully slow voyage; it is sheer luck that no drunk has stumbled upon you.

This is damn unnatural. This neighborhood isn't known as a haven for cats, yet at this hour and place there are dozens of cats. Even stranger, they're not fleeing.

"Do you think these are the feline recruits of Kizaemon? I can't figure out why there are so many cats hanging around and not running away."

"Meep. Even if they are, four days have passed since Lady Kizaemon and our comrades passed by here. Why would these cats obey orders to loaf about in the open like this for so long?"

Your vassal has a point. If these are not the feline recruits of Kizaemon, then whose are they?

"Your Majesty, I see a cat in the window of that house! Shall we break the window to pet it?"

The warrior Baphomet points at the second floor of a nearby house where a black cat with a white spot on its chest sits proudly, it surveys every single move of your little group scrambling to pet cats. This is getting ridiculous.

"At least this neighbourhood doesn't have any apartments. Yatagarasu, give me a Silence Stone from your pack. I'll get up there on an ice pillar and then crack open the glass."

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>>6170612

You will pet all the cats, nothing will stop you! You easily jump over the low concrete wall and into the tiny garden of the house. It's a typical Tokyo suburban house, there's not a lot of spare room but it will do. Beneath your feet, a chilling of blue light glows and ice forms. With a bit more concentration, magic constructs a thin pillar of ice that lifts you upwards towards the second floor window. The cat within the house patiently waits, tail swishing excitedly as it watches your swift elevation upwards. Now eye level with the feline, it is time to activate the Silence Stone.

The 'teeth' on this Silence Stone are pearly white and very human looking. You still can't get over how creepy the damn thing is. Worse is when it starts to activate, the 'lips' of the Stone seal themselves to hide the 'teeth'. Now the magical effect will devour all sound. You take the Stone and use it to break the window. The sound of the crash and crunch of glass simply doesn't exist while the Stone is in effect, you marvel how shards of sharp glass simply fall in complete silence.

Then the unexpected happens, the cat jump through the clearing you made with a single bound and drops down to the street with unnatural smoothness. It is so sudden; you don't have time to react.

But you saw it, the lips of the strange cat was moving as though forming words.

Then it begins to run!!!

"--------- ________ _____-----"

You shout out orders to the Baphomets down below but realize the Silence Stone devoured your words. Worse, they are so absorbed with petting cats they don't notice that one is fleeing from the scene.

Backlash is building...

Startled, you look through the smashed window and realize it's a bedroom. There's a sleepy eyed little girl staring at you from her bed. She tries to talk but discovers she can't make a single sound.

CRAP!

What are you going to do!?....

>Toss the Silence Stone away and shout at your vassals to chase after the cat!... (This might awaken more mortals and cause them to look outside their window creating Backlash, and that little girl is going to see)
>Toss the Silence Stone away and shout at Yatagarasu to deploy a Smoke Bomb... (You might lose track of the cat, but it will prevent further Backlash)
>Keep the Silence Stone, and chase after the cat! You make sure that your vassals see you running after the fleeing cat!... (That little girl is definitely going to look out her window and see, more Backlash will generate)
>Keep the Silence Stone, and tie up the kid!... (You will lose track of the cat, but you can prevent further Backlash. Besides you can use the Dowser to track down the cat)
>write in

>>6170613
>Toss the Silence Stone away and shout at Yatagarasu to deploy a Smoke Bomb... (You might lose track of the cat, but it will prevent further Backlash. Besides you can use the Dowser to track down the cat)

>>6170613
>>Keep the Silence Stone, and chase after the cat! You make sure that your vassals see you running after the fleeing cat!... (That little girl is definitely going to look out her window and see, more Backlash will generate)

>>6170613
>>Toss the Silence Stone away and shout at Yatagarasu to deploy a Smoke Bomb... (You might lose track of the cat, but it will prevent further Backlash)

>>6170752
We'll be fine

>>6170752
+1 I mean

>>6170613
>Keep the Silence Stone, and chase after the cat! You make sure that your vassals see you running after the fleeing cat!... (That little girl is definitely going to look out her window and see, more Backlash will generate)

>>6170743
>>6170765
smoke

>>6170752
>>6170829
>>6170829
chase

>>6170613
>Toss the stone as far into the bedroom as you can and jump down yourself, if the effect persists at atreet level grab the closest baphomet, point at the cat and toss him forward to chase it as best he's able while you collect the rest of the party under your arms and then follow in the same direction yourself.

>>6170613
>Keep the Silence Stone, and chase after the cat!

>>6171166
>>6171704
we have extra but that's okay, chase the cat is still in the lead. I hope to post tonight.

File: pillarofice.jpg (19 KB, 301x390)

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Have you always been so daring and reckless? Why did you immediately go break a window of an occupied home without thinking?

The question runs through your mind as you watch the little girl stir a bit more into alertness through the broken window. The room you see is a wonderful paradise for a cat, in a corner there's a cat tower and cat toys close to her bed. Confusion blooms in the childish face, then shock takes hold with the awareness of a strange tattooed teenager looking in through her broken window.

The kid knows that her bedroom is on the second floor and it should be impossible for a stranger to stare right into it.

Without hesitation, you collapse the ice pillar into nothingness and drop down to the street. The Springheel Boots absorb the shock of the drop while the ice melts instantly into water. What had been a proud, solid ice pillar simply reduces itself to an unimpressive puddle. Then you begin to chase after the fleeing black cat.

The Baphomets are unaware of the situation; they're absorbed with petting cats. In an instant, you swerve directions and lightly tap each Baphomet as you run past them to get their attention. You consider grabbing one of them and carrying them, but depriving the Baphomets of each other seems like a bad tactical choice.

If you grab the Guide, they won't have a way to escape the hateful World. If you grab the Bodyguard, they'll be left without any combat power. If you grab the Dowser, they won't be able to find you if they get lost.

So you leave the three together and run ahead. The Baphomets must be saying something, but the active Silence Stone eats up their words. At first, they remain still, unable to understand the situation, but it doesn't last long. After all, their King is leaving them behind, and they, as loyal vassals, must never allow that! They start running after you on their short legs with all their might.

Backlash is growing...

The little girl must be looking out from her window, but you don't spare a backward glance. The little detour to grab the attention of your vassals allowed the black cat to pull further ahead. That won't do; time to use Springheel Boots and jump. Muscles tense, you take an immense leap forward disproportionate to the physical effort put in. It clears a lot of ground; it's more efficient than just running, and at the apex of each jump, you track where the cat is heading.

All the while, you hear nothing.

You never imagined how unnerving complete silence is. Cocooned in the magical effect of the Silence Stone, everything around and within is noiseless. The pounding of feet on solid asphalt after every leap, the frenetic beating of the heart, the harsh intake of breath, the ever-present noise of Tokyo—all of it is gone. It's as though you are running in a dead city.

File: catwithwhitepsot.jpg (16 KB, 403x290)

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>>6172318
The black cat arrives near a grungy-looking apartment building. It's a danchi public housing complex that's so dirty and old that the grayish walls have turned brown with age and pollution. To your surprise, the cat stops running at a children's playground and sits waiting for your arrival. The Baphomets are far behind; you don't know where they are. The Dowser might have to use Mana and dowse your location.r.

You land after another mighty leap right in front of the runaway feline.

"---_____-----"

Irritated, you toss the Silence Stone away.

"Caught up with you at last. Thought you could escape a King's affection so easily? MWAHAHAHAH!"

Hand ready, you finally pet the cat who purrs with delight. It even meows for more.

"Okay, you can stop pretending to be a normal cat. I know you tried to say something earlier. Out with it."

"Doth not thee witting know, that a thing won is dearer than what is freely given? Ah but tis time to discharge my humble duty and then take my leave.
Know this well Lost Child of Avalon, for Cath Palug commands and I, the humble messenger, obey.
Know that the pretender kitten who dares to snatch the crown of others and the servants are his to slay.
So go back to thy rightful hell and stay away, unless with rich treasures and eloquence thee can pay."

This talking cat didn't trigger any Blacklash. The hateful World knows yet does nothing at the unnatural violation... unless talking cats are actually perfectly normal in the mundane world.

"Is your boss trying to shake me down?"

"A beneficial exchange of gifts is how I would put it. Thy guest and servant returned and for Cath Palug thy submission and treasures."

"A thing won is dearer than what is freely given. True words from thy master, tell him that I am of the same creed. So I shalt dare and win back my servants and guest."

"Calm thy soul and think tamely. The easier path is before thee but if thy heart of iron is set upon the deadly road, then what more need be said? I shall return to my lassie and go back to sleep, for Cath Palug will knoweth by my absence what thy answer is."

The cat stretches and yawns before attempting to slink off but you stop it from leaving. Shooting the messenger is pointless but you need a clue where his master is.

"I shall reward you; a messenger should not leave without a gift after working so hard. So tell me what reward your King has given you and I shall try to match it."

"Cath Palug is not the cat-sith, and he'd never gift anyone, anything. Thus there is nothing to match from the miser. But dear heart, I shall accept any lordly gift generously granted."

The tail of the cat swishes with excitement and shakes with impatience to see what you'll give. You reach into your pack and find the small dried fish that makes part of your rations. The smell gives it away before your unwrap the silvery fish and the messenger pounces on it with excitement.

File: shrine.jpg (40 KB, 353x429)

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>>6172320
"A miser? You should then consider what you want in a master and seek them out instead."

That causes the cat to stiffen with fear.

"King, you do not know what you say. Fearsome claws, fatal teeth, and horrid fate await those who dare. Death would be a mercy, but clawing Cath Palug knows more hideous punishment than mere death."

"What did I say to warrant such a fearful reaction? I said something very innocent. And now I shall say more. I am not Cath Palug. Know that I am King Lot of Lothian, Orkney and Camelot. Do you hear me? L - O - T. My Dowser will find the way to the realm of the one I wish to challenge, your master knows that. So he won't be surprised at all, and never bother with you if the message given had more than intended."

'It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both'. The question is if Cath Palug avoided being hated and despised. The messenger cat wants to protect his owner is obvious but he might hate his boss enough to drop some info. You've always been a comforting confidant.

Auto success

"Betwixt sky and earth, and above the river. There he awaits all challengers but you must go to him now or else miss your chance."

With one last crunch of dried fish, the messenger cat scampers off into a bush but you are already moving. The Meguro river is nearby and there's a bridge. You don't know what time it is, and you can't risk waiting around for your vassals to arrive. Luckily, you have a pair of Talking Stones. You plant one of the Stones by the offering box of a nearby shrine close to the bridge. Your hope is that the Baphomets will pick it up and you'll have contact with the outside. Perhaps once within, you'll be able find a way to allow your vassals in afterwards.

You walk across the bridge with determination.

And walk, and walk, and walk. After a hundred steps, you conclude that you must have entered the domain of Cath Palug. The modern concrete bridge is unending, though you can see across to the other side where tall modern buildings stand, you never get any closer. Going back is the same result, though you can see the shrine you left the Talking Stone at, you never get any closer to it.

Damn. There must be some sort of trick to this.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

The scream of a teen boy startles your pondering. Where the hell did it come from!? No matter where you look, you can't see the origin of the scream. It definitely didn't belong to Kizaemon or the missing Baphomets, that is for certain. So maybe it's a victim of Cath Palug?

You need to make a decision....

>Jump into the river....
>Try to get under the bridge...
>Blow a hold into the bridge...
>Shout insults and challenges to your enemy...
>Pray to Beira for a clue...
>Wait and see if your team finds the Talking Stone and speak to them...
>write in...

>>6172322
>Call for Cath Palug, from ruler to ruler. No need for insults yet, when you may be able to resolve this situation with honeyed words. Even the fiercest cats can be tamed with patience...

>>6172323
Supporting

>>6172323
Support, and if it refuses to talk or responds badly even better so we can use the let no insult pass.
I would really rather not fight though since we're really low level and a mythical named creature of such a deadly reputation is bound to easily cut us to ribbons. (like an ox sized cat could)

>>6172323
+1

>>6172323
+1

>>6172322
supporting:>>6172323

>>6172323
+1

>>6172323
>>6172330
>>6172353
>>6172369
>>6172372
>>6172384
>>6172532
Talky talk talk

File: cathpalug.jpg (30 KB, 332x483)

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You are literally at the front door; if you announce yourself; surely, this Cath Palug will answer. Heck, if you ask real nice, maybe it will let you in and give everyone back. A bit of flattery, a bit of bribery, a bit of luck, and maybe this can get resolved without a lot of risk.

"I am eager to meet your fearsome acquaintance. For I am the master and ruler of Camelot from enchanted Avalon."

Nothing. Is this creature ignoring you? Irritation spikes within, though your face remains smiling and calm. An outward projection of serenity and friendship to lull the unsuspecting, it usually works like a charm.

"We can't discuss ransom if you are silent and absent. Answer me, Cath Palug. The messenger told me it is treasures you seek. Unbolt the gates, and let your fellow sovereign enter. We have things to discuss, leader of cats!"

Cath Palug's name waxes stronger...

What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Damn it, did you do something inadvertently wrong again!? This damned monster refuses to respond. You stroll around and extol the virtues and gains of letting you into its mysterious demesne, but nothing further happens. Occasionally, you pause and listen to faint noises floating in the air. It is not the sound of the city, but rather the distinctive sounds of combat, screams, growls, and crashes. Could it be that the monster is occupied by something and it can't spare any attention to you. While you listen, your eye catches sight of your team of Baphomets. At the lead is the Dowser with his dowsing stick, pointing here and there in search of something.

Eventually, your little team discovers the Talking Stone left at the small shrine just before the bridge and picks it up. They quickly scramble away from the harsh light of the streetlamp and into deep shadows. The wary goats keep an eye for wandering mortals while Yatagarasu activates the magical item you left behind.

"Your Majesty? Where are you?"

"I'm on the bridge. I've gone sideways but still need to get into the domain of Cath Palug and negotiate the return of Lady Kizaemon and the others. I think I can hear fighting."

When you say this, the Baphomets stealthily run over to the bridge and start looking around. Despite now standing right beside your vassals, they don't see you at all. Oblivious to your presence, they scrutinize everything and walk past you.

"Cath Palug?"

The skepticism in Yatagarasu voice is unmistakable, and his brow furrows with thought. It is odd how you are literally standing right next to your stalwart vassal yet he doesn't see you at all. At one point, you deliberately walk into the Dowser as an experiment but pass right though him like a ghost. He doesn't turn his head and notice at all.

"It's the name the messenger told me. Sorry, we don't have much time to talk."

>>6174183
Damn the Talking Stone isn't going to last long at this rate, you can feel the rock actually softening in your hands like a clump of clay. You remember how a different set of Talking Stones crumbled in the hands of 'Fatty' after a short period of use. That same fate will happen to this Stone soon. It is the only way to communicate with your vassals. You tried to hear what the Dowser and Bodyguard are saying but though their mouths move, no words come out of their mouths.

"Your Majesty, the beast you named died many moons ago. Defeated by a Knight according to the tales of the Bard. Alack, never mind that. If you wish to enter the domain of this obvious fake, try to find something that is out of place and would not belong to a bridge crafted in the hateful World. We shall----"

Cath Palug's name wanes weaker...

What just happened? You watch as the Talking Stone in your hand and Yatagarasu crumbles like a dry piece of bread. You are standing by the Baphomets and they are clearly conversing amongst themselves but you can't hear them. You try shouting, even summon a bit of magic to toss small balls of ice at them for attention but it just goes through them like an illusion.

Cath Palug is dead. If the original is dead, then who or what has taken up the name? A fake, that is what your vassal said. And by disbelieving, it had done something.

"Hey, kitty, I just learned you're a copycat. Unworthy fraud! I'll skin you alive and make you into a shamisen for this deception!"

Nothing. You suppose it is because you acknowledged the fake as the real deal earlier. Once words are spoken, they can't be taken back. Yet, you referred to Cath Palug before this as the master of the messenger cat. You believed that Cath Palug was the real deal and not a fake back then. It didn't cause the name to wax stronger.

It must be because you are in the domain of the monster, he heard you! And through the Talking Stone, he heard Yatagarasu dismiss him.

One step forward, one step back.

Now you need to look around the bridge for something that wouldn't typically belong to it. The bridge is of typical Japanese construction, an efficient edifice of concrete and asphalt dedicated to cars and trucks. At this hour of the night, no vehicles have driven by. In a large city like Tokyo, that is rather unnatural. You look down the river and see the nearest bridge; you see the occasional vehicle drive across it.
Something is keeping vehicles off this bridge. Could it be the power of the fake ward away mortals from driving across? Or is it something else?

There is nothing that seems out of place. It looks exactly like a normal concrete bridge. If what is visible looks normal, then what about underneath?

"Beira, I need your might to seek the way in. Let me explore this unseen region betwixt my World and my Avalon."

Ice forms and solidifies into a walkway leading over the bridge rails and beneath the span.

>3 anons, roll 2d6...

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d6)

>>6174184

Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d6)

>>6174184

Rolled 4, 5 = 9 (2d6)

>>6174184

sad rolls

>>6174239
This entire quest has shitty rolls. Dice gods hate it