/monster/ - The Last Bastion of Romance

Short update but, given how most of the action was inside the building itself, it kind of needed to be.

Unfortunately it seems that things did not go 100% to plan, for either side, perhaps. But what will do you? Will you leverage the Chat Noir on circumstantial evidence or go in yourself?

Is there even a guarentee that they can defeat whatever this is? And what of that Kikimora?

Find out next time, on Wizardquest Z!

I guess I'm writing tomorrow too because that was short and I have a feeking tomorrow will be fun.

>>398722

In retrospect, we should have seen this coming. Well nothing to it then, should have gone with my full frontal assault plan after all. Take a quick looksie and skim though the folder to confirm its incriminating contents and then hand the mail to Clarissa and have her deliver it to the monster lady directly. It's for her eyes only.

Then project an illusion of the folder in your hand and yell for Juniper that we are willing to hand it back, if they release the hostages.

>>398724

Agreed. Skip through the folder to see if it’s important, if it is, deliver it safely as possible. Another thing to remember is that the Galmathorians originally wanted Ophelia in order to put pressure on the Manufactorium, and they now have exactly what they want, along with two other prisoners. I don’t think they’ll be trading prisoners anytime soon. Another important thing to note is that Juniper, who is another plant agent, similarly to Rose, is not a Galmathorian, and only cares about them to the extent that they keep Deleor and the MN from fully allying by increasing dissent between the two. She’s not going to care if the game is up for Galmathoria, so she won’t care about the folder. They’re just a pawn to her.

A SWAT team break-in now seems to be the only real option to rescue our comrades. Clint can be sniper in the best position he can find, with those goggles. We’ll go with everyone else. IF we use illusions, they should be small, but effective ones, like losing your sense of balance, being unable to see/hear, things that will let Flint and Rayleigh take them out easily. We also have two crossbows, so let’s preload those and be prepared to use them. Our greatest threat will no doubt be Juniper and the plants she commands, but thankfully, we have a solution. The only way to kill the plant abominations is to completely destroy them in a way that prevents regeneration. As we have enough mana potions to make Rayleigh cum-drunk, I’m guessing we also have enough to reduce Juniper to a sooty smear.

If When any hostage shenanigans get pulled cuz Ace adores drama, just have Clint shoot whoever’s holding them in the face, or we can cast an illusion that they’re not holding anyone. If they’re being held captive by plants, purging the compound of biomancers, probably limited to Juniper, should take care of that.

>“Alright, now use [Project].”

>“I’m a Pyromancer!”

>“Rayleigh, please.”

>“Ugghhhh.” She says, weaving the cantrip of a spell.

She’s also apparently an illusionist now.

>>398722

Welp, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. As a silver lining, at least this means that Rayleigh can be convinced of our earlier claims regarding Phallia being evil when she sees what I assume is Juniper.

>“This woman, she reminded me of that Chalan we fought before"…

Galmathoria is an independent nation of monsters, so they should theoretically overall hate Phallia as all non-plant monsters outside of Ectria and their love of the Twins are wont to do. And yet one of her plant abominations is within the confines of their embassy to the Monster Nation, showing that her fanatical worshippers are present in an area they absolutely shouldn’t be. If anything, this is damning evidence enough that someone not aligned with the factions within the Monster Nation is silently pulling strings in the background, as well as that Phallia herself is in some way responsible for this manipulation. As such, so long as any authorities happen to see the abomination with their own eyes which should be fairly easy so long as we keep her under pressure and don’t completely destroy her body should we defeat her, they should be more than willing to accept the idea that a third party may be involved in the recent murder case, more so if the other evidence comes to light.

With that said, and how we shouldn’t abandon our companions both because they are our friends and because the mission will become impossible without their support more so when Clint and Finn tell us to go fuck ourselves for leaving Ginelle/everyone else to die, we need to get in there to bail them out of the bad situation they find themselves in. Still, we currently have some evidence on hand, so we might as well do what >>398733 suggests and determine if it’s important enough on its own to prove our case, sending it to Selene if so and letting that Chat Noir member hold on to it and having her stay put if not for reasons I’ll get into later. That said, having the Chat Noir member make the delivery if what we have is good enough instead of Clarissa would make more sense: they report directly to Selene, meaning there wouldn’t be any delays or potential outright prevention like with Clarissa, and we can trust her to an extent considering that she didn’t fuck us over despite having many opportunities to do so. Besides, I’d prefer Clarissa stay with us by virtue of her being able to deliver people to and away from the upper floors of the embassy, which is rather important when that’s exactly where our companions and the evidence are and the ground floor is filled with personnel that would get in the way of breaching and escape otherwise.

As for how to go about the rescue operation, start by giving Clarissa one of the health potions to get her to a point where she can at least fly people to the upper windows again though make sure the Chat Noir member gets a good look at Clarissa’s wounds first—brambles don’t tend to cause such deep wounds, so that’s evidence of a monster biomancer’s influence by itself, which is evidence against Phallia, since we’ll need her to do just that if we want to avoid having to go through the entire enemy force to reach our friends in dire straits. With that done, get her to start moving Rayleigh and Finn, in that order, up to where the rest of our party is so they can help them in the fight before returning to us; the order is rather important as we want Rayleigh to be able to start torching the plant life in a controlled fashion to reduce our opponent’s offensive options as soon as possible while avoiding destroying the building or the rest of the potential evidence fire isn’t ideal for the same reasons it wasn’t ideal back in the previous quest in a similar situation to this, but we don’t have much choice given our lack of magical variety amongst the party.

>>398722

>>398769

Meanwhile, we need to provide more of a distraction, since the enemy is most likely going to start heading back upstairs if nothing on the ground floor keeps their attention. Options for distraction include what >>398733 said about proposing a hostage exchange which probably won’t even phase Juniper, let’s be real here, but may get some of the enemy to attempt to take us down, faking another attack on the opposite side of the building Rayleigh can set up another smokescreen and [Amplify] before she infiltrates the upper floors, actually making somewhat of an attack on the opposite side of the building via magitek rifle shots and a lot of fire from Rayleigh to show we’re not bluffing we’ve already been caught within the embassy, so we’re pretty much past the point of no return now or just simply digging into our [Pocket Sand], throwing some at the front door of the embassy and hoping for the best. Regardless of whether or not we have successfully made the enemy waste more time with whatever we’ve tried, when Clarissa has taken the other two inside we should get her to take us as well.

Once inside, we have pretty much two major options on how to proceed, that being fighting or retreating. As it stands, we’ve made a lot of noise getting into this situation and are going to make even more, so no doubt at least the local authorities have been alerted to the Galmathorian embassy being under attack by this point. Should said authorities get here then, unless we’ve already provided Selene enough evidence to give her reason to send Chat Noir to clean things up, we’re kind of fucked, since we’re the aggressors here and Juniper could hide her true nature before the law breaks down the doors if given the chance. As such, under the assumption we have yet to obtain enough evidence, focusing on fighting the plant bitch to keep her attention while Ophelia and Clarissa search for more proof of a third party’s influence in the recent murder—with Clarissa taking anything they find to the Chat Noir member that should still be hanging around as we didn’t get her to deliver anything yet—would be ideal. If for some reason we have provided enough evidence already, then having everyone help out in the fight is probably better than retreating, since running away means Juniper and her cronies have a chance to escape so they can cause issues for us at a later date, which wouldn’t be good.

As for combat strategy, what >>398749 says with regards to actually fighting Juniper should suffice. I would add that we should probably blow a hole in the wall to expose the room we’re fighting in to the air, partly to let out the smoke from Rayleigh’s pyromancy so we don’t suffocate but also to let Clint have a clearish, there’s smoke after all sightline of the battle so he can start assisting at full efficiency. We could also potentially destroy the stairwell leading to the current floor as a means of slowing down the enemies still on the lower floors, but this would also lead to us being somewhat trapped on the current floor, albeit that may not be an issue since we’re likely not getting away before the guards arrive in droves any way, nor are we retreating through the entire enemy force if we can help it. The only other thing that comes to mind is having Clarissa take the wounded out of the fight if necessary, but that’s fairly self-explanatory.

>>398895

I always imagined he’d be broader

>Story continue

The first thing you do is throw open the ledger and read through it as fast as you can. While your eyes are well trained to look over documents for just about anything of relevance, you quickly realize that you have next to no proficiency in accounting. In fact, you’re only able to pick up information such as payments for small things and maybe a mention or two of names, but it means nothing to you. Perhaps with time you could figure it out, or perhaps Clint or Ophelia, who had more training in such things due to their upbringing. You had already left to become and Illusionist before you really got that far in your studies at home.

Slapping it closed, you groan. “Well that was useless.”

“How so?” Finn asks.

“I can’t make heads nor tails of this. I don’t know if it’s enough information to bring in the Chat Noir.” Holding it up to the air, you shout, “You can have it anyway!”

A hand reaches from the shadows to grab the ledger, leaving you to drop down next to Clarissa and tend to her wounds. A simple [Health Potion] is enough to heal the worst of it, being that they were just some lacerations, but you make certain the Chat Noir member, who probably sees everything anyway, is watching. These aren’t exactly normal wounds, after all.

“W-wait.” Clarissa says as you administer the potion. “You need to get going, now!”

“I need your help.” You say, helping her up.

“Huh?”

“I need you to deliver Finn and Rayleigh into the third floor.”

“Rayleigh I can do, but Finn? He’s way too heavy!” She shakes her head to which the big man just shrugs. Makes sense, really.

“Fine.” You say, handing her the [Farsight Goggles]. “Give these to Clint on your way, he should be in this building to the left and just take Rayleigh.”

You turn to the Squirrel Girl and say, “I need you to cause some havok. Controlled burns, however.”

“Yeeeaaaah, about that.” She says, coughing. “Well, we’ll see.”

“Let’s go!” Clarissa says, leaping into the air. Rayleigh jumps and Clarissa claps her arm before flying toward the third floor again. As she does so, you turn to Finn and nod.

“Alright, it’s our turn to bust in.”

“You’re certain about this?”

“I’m afraid the time for uncertainty has passed.” You say, taking in a deep breath before pulling from your bag one of the crossbows you had. Already loaded too, how fantastic. “Do you think the gates are unlocked?”

“Only one way to find out.” He says, charging forward.

Running through the dissipating smoke, you hear a loud sound followed by a spark of metal before you as a bolt of energy destroys the lock on the outer gate. It swings open, allowing Finn to crash through them, gaining you entrance into the courtyard. Nothing attacks you, so next you head toward the front door, where another bolt obliterates the knob.

A scream echoes from the other side right before Finn crashes through the door with his fully armored charge and slams someone into the stone behind it. They don’t seem to retaliate. The moment you enter though, you hear the sounds of shouting and smell smoke. It seems Rayleigh has begun her assault.

Two Monsters on the stairs look at you in horror as you enter, clearly not expecting something like this as they head upstairs. One of them casually trips and falls for entirely natural and not perceived reason, landing into the other as they hit the landing where Finn knocks them senseless. Another dashes into the room but you fire a bolt from your crossbow, both jarring you and knocking them flat on their ass. Or they could be dead. Either result is good.

>>398982

Rubbing at your shoulder after forgetting how these things kick, you load another bolt before nodding to Finn and searching your surroundings. The first floor is, or perhaps was, a nice reception area with meeting rooms to the sides. Anywhere they could be put, however, you see abundant and rather exotic plant life.

Unable to appreciate further, you head upstairs to the next level. Another group of Monsters, this time with weapons, ambushes you, but you’re able to take them out without much difficulty. Unfortunately, the shouts are getting louder, and you’re certain you hear cries of pain! Making to head up the next flight to the third floor, you pause as you hear another, distinct scream nearby

It’s Ophelia.

“Shit, she’s on the second floor!” You shout, searching about the floor filled with what looks like living quarters and more plants. Gritting your teeth, you shout to Finn, “You go ahead, I’ll rescue her!”

“Are you crazy?”

“Not yet!”

The man blinks before shaking his head and dashing upstairs, leaving you with your crossbow and a stiff shoulder. Remembering where the screams came from before, you run toward them and find yourself in front of a bedroom where Ophelia kneels as a Kikimora drives her bird-like heel into her back.

The Monster looks up as you approach and smiles, pushing the jacket covering her black bodysuit back to reveal the formfitting outfit. She chuckles and says, “Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Or should I say, the Kikimo-“

You fire your crossbow bolt directly at her chest. Before it can reach, however, it burns up into nothing as a localized wall of fire appears before the Monster. She blinks a few times before frowning and saying, “Was that really necessary?”

“Yes, a little.” You say, dropping the weapon. It’s not going to be of any use anymore you suppose. “Let go of the rabbit.”

“Or what?” She asks, fire dancing in her hand. “You’ll tell the guard on me? You’re the aggressors here, they’ll believe this is just self-defense on foreign soil, because it is.” She leans forward, giving you the most aggressive shit-eating grin.

“Face it, you have nothing, and we now have more than we bargained for.”

“Is that so?” You say, shrugging as you pull something out of your jacket. “Then you won’t be needing these, will you?”

The Kikimora’s expression becomes confused for a moment before realization strikes and she hisses. “How did? Where did-?”

“Is it really that important?” You say placing the documents, or well, appearing to place something document shaped into your jacket. “Then the Chat Noir will be very interested in reading it.”

She growls, “Don’t fuck with me, boy!” Grinding her heel into Ophelia’s back, the Rabbit Girl lets out a very uncomfortable noise of pain. She lowers the fire toward Ophelia as well. “Now then, give that back or the rabbit gets it.”

“I dare say I’ll get the rabbit back after the guard have a good look at this document.” You say, waving it as you walk around the room toward the window facing the street. “You’re the one in the lower position.”

“You’re bluffing.” She says. “Juniper has seen through it all, you won’t be able to defeat her either, or whatever is happening there. We just remove the evidence and then, tragically, the troublemakers from Deleor are seen as inciting within the Monster Nation against Galmathoria. How do you think people will react?”

“Better than when they see your arboretum or whatever is going on here.” You say, lining things up. “Do you really think Juniper has your best interests at heart?”

“She is sent directly from the homeland. Her word is above ours, it doesn’t matter if she has our best interests at heart, she just wants to bring us victory over you Deleorian swine.”

“The same swine you want to fuck, right?” You say, staying put and gathering your magic. “I don’t think most men are that willing when you call them such nice names, though I guess everyone has their kinks.”

“Hah, I’ll show you!” She says before throwing fireballs at you.

Ducking quickly, you avoid the projectiles as they shatter through the window and scorch the wall behind you. You pull the knife from your belt and dash in, knowing your form isn’t the best, but you doubt hers is good either. Unfortunately, you forget about her fire wall until the last moment and roll backward when it flares to life, thankfully singed more than anything.

She laughs and summons more fire before letting out an ear-piercing scream and staggering forward while looking down, pushing you out of the way. Ophelia lays there on the floor, mouth coated with a thin sheen of blood as she spits something out before smirking.

>>398983

“You bitch!” She shouts, raising power to cast a large spell, presumably to kill you horrifically, when a bolt of energy flashes outside before zipping into the room and destroying the Monster’s head.

The headless corpse wobbles a few moments before slumping to the side, lifeless.

“Damn Ophelia, I was going to illusion you doing that.” You say, helping her up. “Aren’t you an herbivore?”

“Don’t fuck with a cornered rabbit.” She says, wiping her mouth. “Tastes like chicken though.”

“You good?’ You ask, retrieving your crossbow and loading it before handing it to Ophelia, who takes it graciously as you pull the second one out of your bag.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” She says, popping her back before nodding her head. “I’d hoped Clarissa would be able to get you, I tried my best to get away too but she caught me.”

She holds the crossbow at the ready. “Time to teach those bitches a lesson.”

Dashing back to the stairs, you head up into a veritable jungle. The room is covered in pulsating plant life that seems far, far too much for how many pots are there. Magic thrums in the room, making your teeth chatter as you look around to see Finn hacking at a wall of vines. Running up to him, he turns as you ask, “Finn! What’s happening?”

“Way is blocked, but I can hear them. I think Ginelle might be down, but Alice is still fighting.” He slams his hand on the barrier. “Damnit! And I haven’t seen Rayleigh!”

“I got this.” Ophelia says, pulling a [Mana Bomb] from her bag. She primes it and everyone runs back as the device explodes, destroying a section of the roots and the wall next to you, exposing you to the warm summer night air.

As the debris falls around you, something tickles your nose, making you sneeze as you rub your eyes, allowing you to see properly. The area around the blast is destroyed as multiple vines squirm about the floor, trying to reconnect themselves to the larger body. Beyond this you see Ginelle on the floor, Alice standing above her, sword glowing with arcane energies as vines swirl around her.

She’s covered in scratches on her unarmored face, her armor itself looking fine, but curiously the area around her is coated in a thin veneer of a powder. Infact, as you look about, you see the same powder kind of settling around everything. It makes you sneeze as you think about it, distracting you from the other form in the room, who is currently holding Rayleigh by the neck in her hand.

She appears to be a beautiful woman with long, blond hair and gorgeous features, wearing a tight fitting, red dress with an open back that drifts down to her legs. At your intrusion, she looks to you and you notice something else. A thin line separates out from behind her, growing larger and larger as you realize they’re thin wings spreading out. Beautiful arrays of green, red, and yellow play out before, dazzling you for a moment before Alice shouts,

“Don’t get distracted!”

Shaking yourself, you drop to the floor as a flow of vines appear where you were just standing. Ophelia shouts in surprise as she gets caught by the flow and then thrown backward into a wall. She lets out a cry of pain and tries to struggle, fruitlessly you see.

“Oh?” Juniper says, her eyes flashing green. “I thought Clair may have been able to keep the bottom floor occupied. I’ve been a little busy here.”

“And I thought you were supposed to be a woman.” You say.

“Do you need me to show you my breasts? I will, if you want.” She shrugs and looks to Rayleigh who is glaring at her. “Honestly I should thank you for the light show, you’ve made this all much easier for me.”

>>398984

“Unhand her!” Finn says, holding his sword. “I don’t care if you’re a Biomancer, I’ll slash all these vines apart!”

“Finn!” Rayleigh says before turning to the Butterfly Girl or whatever the fuck she is and closing her eyes. Juniper looks surprised as the Squirrel Girl appears to glow momentarily before bursting into flame and nearly exploding her captors arm. The force of her internal explosion throws her across the room, where Alice catches her and sets her on the floor, the Pyromancer’s eyes spinning as she tries to catch her balance.

Juniper looks at the remains of her arm, which are burning, before growling and cutting it off. As she does so, you notice vines worming through her flesh, seeking to reconnect with the missing piece. Her burning dress she rips off, dropping it to the floor and revealing that she is both not wearing undergarments and that she is indeed, a woman. As far as pain? No, of course not, she seems utterly unfazed by it, merely frowning before throwing out a wave of vines from the pants around her.

Alice gasps and tries to shield Rayleigh, but Finn runs in first, blocking the blow with his sword. The vines squirm around him, trying to move through but he sweeps his sword and cuts them apart. Juniper doesn’t seem all that disturbed by this however, the opposite of Chalan, though the way the vines in her flesh squirm as her arm begins to regrow makes you see them as exactly the same. Gods, if she becomes what Chalan did, you’re in for some real shit in these confined space.

“Alice!” You shout, “Help me fight her!”

“Uh, about that.” She says, almost slipping. “You smelled that dust, right?”

“Hmph.” Juniper says as the vines bulge and a new arm shoots forth, though it is a little more veiny than before. She frowns at it and says, “It’s a little late for you now.”

“What are you talking abou-“ You let out another sneeze, this one far more violent than before, almost staggering you. “The hell is this?”

“Butterfly Girls like myself can shed scales, or didn’t you know?” She shakes her head. “Most other species find it incredibly irritating. I, on the other hand, find it convenient.”

Alice stands and wobbles some, though you’re sure it’s not from her words. Gritting your teeth, you look to Rayleigh, who is still wobbling, Finn standing over her protectively. If only you had Ginelle, you’re certain she could hold her in place enough for Alice to chop her apart. As it stands, you’re left with about one option: Get Rayleigh to light her up.

And for that, you’ll need time. Though your head is starting to swim, you summon up your courage and swiftly fire the crossbow straight at her head. It thwacks forward and slams right into her head, straight into one of her eyes. You blink in surprise, think you killed her as she staggers before she turns to you and says,

“Oww.”

This is enough distraction for Alice to dash forward and slash with Energieschwert. Despite all the opening in the world, she sneezes at the last moment and her slash goes wide, just making a long line across the Monster’s chest, spraying Alice in blood instead of vivisecting her.

>>398985

Juniper grabs Alice and begins to pull her in as the area Alice slashed open violently blooms with flowers that try to tear swarm over the swordswoman. Reaching out with your power, you make Alice’s arm seem to jerk, freeing her in reality from the grasp and letting her fall to the floor, out of reach of the plants. The butterfly girl flaps her wings as the plants retreat within her, and she lifts into the air, sprinkling a wave of dust that makes you cough and sneeze.

“A valiant effort.” She says, tearing the bolt out of her head as a trickle of blood and green ichor dribble down. “But I just have to not lose and I win.”

She’s right, of course. Though the plants roil about you, both of you know that they are what will bring victory for her. What will change the course of this battle is the guard coming in and finding the devastation wrought here. Unfortunately she’s a biomancer, everything here is reasonable if explained, even her strange appearance, assuming she doesn’t heal by then. Which means you’re running out time.

Finn sneezes also as Rayleigh finally seems settled. Unfortunately, while the ceiling isn’t very high, he’s at a disadvantage with his sword. If she noticed Rayleigh rallying as well, she’ll all out assault, or do whatever it takes to keep her fire out of play. Given the scorch marks around the room, you assume the plants covered those as well.

Your train of thought is stopped as another wave of plants reach up to grab you. Dropping the crossbow, you roll out of the way but cry out as one grabs your leg and drags you. Sneezing, you hack at the vine with your knife and release it just in time to see a flower in front of your face. You cock your head to the side as it opens up to reveal a series of sharp, teeth like needles.

Cursing, you push out of the way as it, and many other like it, snap down toward you. Leaping for the others, you land in a heap behind Finn, who is battling vines of his own. Alice hacks and slashes as well, and it quickly comes to you that you might be losing this battle all of a sudden. This realization has you flip to Rayleigh and shout, “Can you make the fire yet?!”

“Huh? Wh-wh-ACHOO!” She sneezes violently and wobbles before looking at you. “Where’d the bird go?”

That… is an excellent question, but not one for right now. Gasping, you push her down as a vine grabs you around the neck and pulls you backward. You choke out, “Burn the fucking bitch!” As you’re thrown across the room to slam into a stone wall, hitting hard before rolling to the ground. Head swimming, before you can do much else you’re swarmed with plant life pinning you down. Illusions aren’t going to help you here, you’re afraid! Looking up at Rayleigh, you try to shout at her, but a vine covers your mouth and all you release is garbled nonsense as she continues to look about, dazed.

A deep sense of panic and desperation comes over you. Oh Gods, you can’t die here, not like this! You have a family at home! A loving wife and two daughters who need you! You can’t be turned into fertilizer for some shitty plants! If you can get her to drop her control of them then you can get out of this. But how? The only thing you can do is force an illusion onto her, something strong, something that will have severe repercussions, you’re sure.

Sorry Saya, looks like you’re coming home a little less stable than before…

Before you can unleash the magic though, something flies through the ruined section of wall and throws something into the room. You see which shock as Clint flies through the air, hits the ground and rolls, before coming up and, in a fluid motion, pulls the trigger on his rifle.

A bloom of blood and ichor sprays from Juniper’s chest as the magic missile explodes her chest, causing her to gurgle and drop to the floor in a heap. The control on her plants fades and they grow limp, allowing you to tear yourself out of them and pull yourself out, spitting out leaves as you collapse forward, dizzy. The backflow of power you’d looked to release, coupled with the scales, has left you dazed, the world spinning some.

“Rayleigh…” You croak, throat sore from the plants. “Please…”

She just cocks her head, eyes unfocused.

>>398986

Finn, however, recovers incredibly quickly and dashes forward, his sword readied. As he reaches the prone Monster, he switches his hands to hold it point down and drive it into her. The blade drives forward and into her neck. You’re certain you hear a sickening popping sound as he twists the blade and pulls it from her neck. Blood flying off his sword. He pants heavily as he stands over her, watching with sword in hand. Nothing happens for a long while and you blink in surprise. Did he kill her?

“Finn! Watch out!” Alice shouts as Juniper, her head sitting at an unnatural angle, jumps from the ground, plant life blooming from her chest, neck, and arms. She pushes him to the ground as the vines reconnect her head lopsided, her eyes glowing an intense green as wickedly sharp thorns sprout from between her breasts like a mouth, opening forth to engulf Finn’s head.

The man stares at the horrific site for a moment and lets out a defiant shout, showing no fear as it makes to devour him. The maw gets within an inch of his face before a wave of fire lashes forth, engulfing the creature.

Juniper, or perhaps the thing that was Juniper, leaps backward and screams in pain as it burns, plant life bursting out of the skin to cover it up and isolate the burning areas. But the fire continues coming, burning more and more, faster than it can recover. It lets out a scream and a wave of magic, plant life bursting out around to strike Rayleigh, but it too bursts into flame as a corona of fire appears around her, catching the floors in an inferno and singing the hairs on your arm while poor Ginelle accidentally goes alight as she lays her.

You, Clint, and Alice drag her backward, putting out the fire as Rayleigh, her eyes filled with malice stalks forward, an empty vial melting as she drops it from her hand. “LET. HIM. GO!”

The thing that was Juniper roars in anger as Juniper’s face slips forward, her eyes coming into focus as she says, her words raspy and slurred. “S-sthop tghis. The rabugh…”

You turn your head and gasp as you see Ophelia, who had long since gone unconscious, is grabbed again by the plants surrounding her. They begin to squeeze on her violently, waking Ophelia up in terror, screaming as her joints begin to pop.

“FUCK THE RABBIT!” Rayleigh shouts, unleashing a torrent of flame that washes over the twisted Butterfly Girl, singing her wings to nothing as her flesh and the plants underneath it burn in an intense inferno, along with everything around her. Including Finn.

“Rayleigh, stop!” You shout, dashing toward the Monster. As you get close, you feel your skin begin to burn from the heat, but you push forward against the agony, seeing the hair on your forearms begin to alight. Literally burning, you grab her shoulder and cry out in agony as you pull back and punch her straight across the jaw.

The fire around her and her eyes goes out as she drops like a sack of bricks to the floor, unconscious. You do the same, rolling around to put out the flame, crying despite yourself. Oh Gods it fucking hurts!

Finn runs up to you and digs through your bag, which is likewise singed, pulling out a health potion and applying it to the burns on your arms and hands, soothing at least some of the pain. Both of you look up though at the other side of the room as a gurgling scream is let loose.

In the smoke and haze of the burning room, you see what’s left of Juniper stagger, spraying blood and ichor that vaporizes before it has a chance to hit the floor. It holds out an arm toward you for a moment before collapsing and not moving.

“Shit.” Alice says, leaping forward into the inferno. Despite the heat, she grabs Finn by his jerkin and pulls him forward toward the relatively unburnt section of the room. His armor is red hot, but you’re not certain you can do anything about that at the moment and his face is…

Around his eyepatch is burned, the thin layer of cloth covering his missing eye lost, revealing the empty socket and the horrific scarring around. Clint curses and begins to apply potion to that as well, saying to you as he does, “We have to go. The fire is going to reach us soon and there’s not much we can do about it without the Pyromancer.”

>>398987

“But the evidence!” You shout, pointing to the room next to you filled with filing cabinets. A room which is now conveniently blocked off by fire. “Shit.”

“Wait, didn’t we buy some fire resist potions?” Clarissa asks, rummaging in your bag because it’s public access now you guess, and pulling out. She hands the vial to Clint. “Drink this and go! You probably would be able to get files better than me!”

Clint looks at the vial of [Fire Resist] potion and nods his head before drinking. He shudders and shakes as his skin seems to glow a soft color of red. He looks down at himself and dashes through the fire, somehow not catching ablaze.

“Come on.” Alice says, turning to Clarissa. “Can you carry her outside?”

“I can try. She’ll be a little hard to move like this.” The Crow Girl says, grabbing Ginelle in her talons. She pulls herself to the hole outside and leaps forward, dropping for a moment but managing to recover as she flies to the ground and deposits the unconscious Badger Girl before flying back up and repeating the process with Ophelia, who had likewise fallen unconscious.

Clint dashes from the room through the spreading inferno, coughing as he hands pats his jacket. “I think this is going to work. But we have to get out of here!”

“What do we do about him?” Alice says, nodding to Finn. “I can’t exactly drag his ass down the stairs, not without burning myself or breaking his neck.

Finn nods and hands you his rifle before grabbing the man without seeming to feel the heat and hoisting in over his shoulder. He staggers a few steps and you stabilize Clint and he nods to you. The four of you depart down the stairs and outside, where Clarissa meets you.

“We’re in trouble, the guard is nearby and-“

“Tobias Shady!” A familiar voice calls out. Your heart sinks as the chief of the guard stands inside the grounds of the embassy, her Imp arms crossed. “You’re under arrest.”

Too tired to care, you slump to the ground as a wave of Monsters flow in to apprehend you and your party.

>You lose [Fire Resist Potion]

>You lose 3x [Health Potions]

>You lose 2x [Crossbows]

—————————————————————————————————————–

“Mr. Shady, get up.”

Sighing, you push yourself up from the cot you were resting on in your holding cell, the same one you were in before, wincing at the burns on your hands. You walk over to the bars of the cell and say in a tired voice, “Can I help you?”

“Chief wants to see you.”

“Yeah, alright.”

The Lamia guard opens the cell and you look over your shoulder at the sleeping form of Clint, Ginelle, Alice, and Clarissa. The others had been taken for medical treatment, again. Of course, you’d have liked some, but some discoloration of your skin and a lingering burning sensation along with that damn itch seem to be the side effects of your encounter after you used the potion. Oh, and you no longer have arm hair, but that’s fine, not like you had much anyway. At least your head is mostly fine, nothing a haircut can’t fix.

Following the guard into the chief’s room, you’re not at all surprised to find Murdocka and one of the Chat Noir standing there. The chief nods her head from her desk and you about collapse into one of the chairs before sighing out, “How bad is it?”

>>398988

“The embassy is lost. It wasn’t worth trying to put out that fire and everyone was already dead. The Monster Lady is stuck with the impossible duty of figuring out how to word this to the leaders of Galmathoria.”

“I see.” You say, running a hand through your hair. “What of Sophie and Patricia?”

Murdocka sighs. “They’re still in custody. It’s morning already and the people in town are gossiping. Some are up in arms over everything and it’s taking all our manpower to keep things from rioting. It’s a miracle we haven’t just strung you up already.”

“Not a miracle.” The Chat Noir agent, the Cat Girl you’ve dealt with before, says. “But it might as well be one. The files you and your associate gave us are quite… intriguing.”

“Yes…” The chief says, worried. “I would have almost preferred if you hadn’t given me those before we took you in. It would have made things less complicated.”

“But good that he did.” The agent says. “The ledger wasn’t particularly important. While it detailed information pertaining to purchases, including a potion meant to obscure scent tracking, the only other thing it mentioned were some names and payments relating to a specific faction in town.”

She lays out the ledger as she says this before pulling out the other documents. “You got lucky pulling these out of that inferno. There must have been a ton of files in there, but the other boy toy must have a keen eye for these things. This details involvement in rallies against the Monster Lady. Perhaps circumstantial if it wasn’t for the seal of the embassy affixed to it.”

You blink, surprised. “You’re saying they were actively trying to rile up support against the Monster Lady?”

The Cat Girl smiles, “That’s how it looks to just about anyone, yes.”

Nodding your head forward again, you feel tired, yet relieved. “So the intrusion into the house? The murder?”

“A set up made by Galmathoria against agents they saw as compromising of their mission. When their embassy was raided, a fire started and unfortunately all the Galmathorians were killed.”

She wipes at her eyes. “A tragedy.”

“However you have to spin this.” You say, sitting up straighter. “But does that mean Sophie and Patricia are free to go?”

“Sophie may have some issues, however the Wolf Girl is free to go.” The Imp says. “But things might come to a head here in a few days. I just pray we can hold together.”

“I see.” You say, standing up again, though your legs protest. “Then I’d like to speak with my team.”

“They’re being gathered into the medical room. I believe the injured have awakened by now as well.” Murdocka says. She makes to lead you away as the Chat Noir says,

“We’ll continue to have our eye on you, Tobias Shady. Good luck.”

Not missing a step, you continue forward, wondering about what that means as your lead to meet the rest of your team. As soon as you step foot inside, however, you feel an awkward tension in the room and the source is unmistakable. All eyes try not to look at Rayleigh, so sits in the corner, legs drawn up to her chest, looking despondent.

When you enter, everyone but she looks at you. Nodding to Murdocka, she takes her leave, returning the room to that awkward silence. After a few moments you say in a soft voice, “Well, this is a familiar sight.”

No one laughs, not that you expected them to. You cough into your hand and look to Finn, Ginelle already on her feet because, as mentioned before, she can take just about anything and be fine. Ophelia lays in bed, wincing as she rubs the bandages around her chest and arms. She got it bad this time, unfortunately. The man looks at you, his burned face now just a new scar, a new eyepatch covering most of it. Some of his hair was cooked however, though you’re not certain when that will reappear.

“Right then. The files Clint found are enough to exonerate Sophie. We’re in the clear, for now.”

A collective sigh comes across the room as some of the tension is relieved. Clarissa is the first to speak up, asking, “So what do we do now?”

>What do you do?

>>398989

So whats our time limit? How long were we locked up?

With that said, have a one on one chat with Ray, ask her for full disclosure about what happened back there. Don't be judgemental or overly supportive either. Be objective and reasonable. Tell her to be careful and ask what the Hospitaliers suggested to do about her condition back in Sanctiford and see if the monster nation capital has any medicine for that, seeing how many monster witches there are here. Tell everyone else to not think worse of her for it.

Everyone else gets a day off to rest, while we shop for what I suggested earlier and restock our potions. Examine the embassy ruins afterward, see if there is anything left in the basement, before we set off for the observatory.

Take the day to recover, have that chit-chat with Rayleigh with control, and go and free Patricia and Sophie from jail. If we see the chastity-belted cat, stick our tongue out at her. Also, while we have the resources, Ophelia should make some more grenades, but in two varieties; one of the normal power Codenamed Imp, and the other of the power level that killed Heather Codenamed Holstaur, as we need a way with slightly less collateral damage of killing the plant abominations.

Beyond that, I think we should restock our lost equipment, and Tobias should write up the proposal here >>398314, probably with the help of Clint and Ophelia, as they have the most political experience. Deliver it to Murdocka, and tell her it may go even further than the evidence we procured earlier in assuring long term peace.

On the next day, it’s time to haul ass up to that observatory. We’ve got a wagon, and these roads are mostly peaceful, and we’ve got aerial reconnaissance, so we’ll be ok. Debrief Patricia. Do we want to bring Sophie? On one hand it’ll get her out of the city at a sticky time, but on the other, she’s probably needed for testimony against Galmathlria, and taking her will put an even larger target on our backs. I vote no.

Oh! And write a letter to Saya and Akella. After they hear about this incident they will go crazy with worry so we should give a brief summary of what happened without going into details that could get into the wrong hands. Unlike the grand faggot, Tobias is actually a good family man.

>>399012

The problem with >>398314's suggestion is that its likely already been considered or is in motion. Its a stupidly simple solution and the people who handle politics surely already thought it out. Selene's been dealing with this for months, if not years now, If it were that easy it would have already been done. Just dropping a proposal won't really do much except maybe help our reputation among the gossip crowd. Even then, Its not even like we have any political clout.

You know what actually this just reminded me of Tob's parents. Fuck it yeah lets do it anyway, Even if its just out of spite.

And while I'd like Sophie to come along, I worry about Ace not being able to do much with her character wise. I already kinda get the feeling he's having a bit of trouble with working everyone in and that party interaction among Rommel and Tobias's group are a bit lacking.

So I'd like to bring her along but if only if Ace thinks he can manage another main character. I like sophie and we can always use more skilled combatants

>>399014

No, we’re not doing it out of spite. We’re doing it in part because it would stifle much of the dissent of the manticore-led faction, because it’s a good, non-violent, solution, and we don’t want the acrimony between Deleor and the MN to be reborn, as we’re married to one, and friends with others. Besides giving the people something to actually demand of their leaders, as opposed to just “We want men”, with no real plan as to how, which is worked out in the exchange system. Having a concrete thing to throw their support behind will do wonders for everyone, and make the politicians get to work, or get out of office. Remember, just because something is simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.

>>399021

Heh

>>398989

The only thing that really comes to mind that no one else has already said by this point is to not just restock, but to purchase even more fire resistance potions than we had previously, potentially to the point where every member of our party has one or two each. Rayleigh may have lost control of herself which resulted friendly fire and we need to talk to her about this, but we still should have really planned for such an outcome as it was a fairly likely occurrence, even discounting hindsight, since accidents do happen and pyromancy is notorious for going out of control in this setting. In order to prevent such a situation from happening again and to let Rayleigh perform to her fullest potential if required, we should take the necessary precautions by making sure everyone is equipped to deal with the fire if needed, for multiple occasions ideally.

Other than that, I would contest the whole 'take the day off before leaving' thing; not because I want to leave earlier, but rather the opposite. We've just gone from being wounded in an ambush, to being even more wounded and in a more serious fashion without giving the original wounds the time to settle. Leaving the next day doesn't strike me as being very feasible in our current conditions, and even if it was it is still risky as hell due to how weak everyone would be as a result of aforementioned injuries. I'd personally leave it a little longer, albeit not long enough for any civil collapse to occur if possible. Maybe two days minimum?

>>399014

>Just dropping a proposal won't really do much except maybe help our reputation among the gossip crowd.

It also won’t really do much harm other than making us look like a smartass, which everyone already thinks we are. There’s no reason we shouldn't suggest it, so why not give it a go?

>The party interaction in Tobias' group is lacking

<So let's bring along yet another party member for Ace to juggle

That aside, I’d argue that, alongside the obvious issue of there being so many characters to balance out which I feel Ace has done an alright job on thus far, there’s also the issue of the plot going a mile a minute. Previous quests had down time where everyone got a chance to relax and we had the excuse to actually interact with the different party members since nothing was present to distract us. Here, as a result of the multiple perspectives showing the important events of each route, such down time is rare, if non-existent, as any potential down time tends to result in the perspective switching, so interaction is more limited as a result. That said, it’s our fault for choosing to swap without giving such down time a chance to produce something more than anything.

>>399021

The anon in question hasn’t shut down anything though unless I’m blind. Also,

>Shutting down questionable ideas that will likely get us killed == stopping party interaction in any capacity

Party interaction is ultimately independent of our actions, as it tends to happen regardless of what we do as a natural result of the party reacting to the situation, so I don’t see how this is related.

>>399026

You read the first part of my comment but don't address the rest. Either Selene is an idiot for not trying this, Or for some reason it won't work. Maybe the King or leaders of Deleor won't sign off, I don't know we aren't privy to the political circle. If we make a scene of it and get the idea into there heads and Selene can't deliver it then you are making a giant pain in the ass for her to manage. Without speaking to her or maybe Sophie about this before doing so could be a huge mistake since her opposition just wants to go back to the old days where they don't just ask for permission.

>>399021

Fam I have been around since the original and I have always been a proponent of fun and wacky idea's, As long as it didn't kill us. Character development and bonding has been something I harp about every quest. You have the wrong dude I think.

Sigh. I miss the old days when we just argued over which mamono to waifu, not the solutions to geo-political problems.

>>399047

I’m fine with two days if that’s what it takes to fully heal.

>>399049

Even if the resistance for this plan is from Deleor, as you postulate, that still makes no sense. What kind of nation would sacrifice it’s national security, due to the end of the monster wars/organized raids, for a couple of men, who are extremely willing to hand themselves over. Remember, this plan was only formulated a couple of months/weeks ago, when the new Sultan of Ectria took power and ended slavery. As Ace wrote, the main reason this most likely has not been put in effect is that Selene has had her hands full with Phallia, and/or that she faces resistance from “traditional” mamono, who want wars to capture men. And to them, the simple answer can be found in the words of the famous Lord Commander of the Order, Silliam CUMseh Wherman: War is hell.

Quick question for Ace, what’s the difference between a Monster witch and a Sorcerer? Are monster sorcerers just called witches?

Tabitha is best girl

Oh right, assuming all goes according to plan, I'll write tomorrow and then be on hiatus for a week as I'm moving on wednesday and will be at a tournament out of town over the weekend.

Unless work is that slow or something, but I doubt it!

>>399008

Just for the evening, it's just past dawn now

Ah Rayleigh, she might need a friend at the moment. We do all recall why she was sent back to Sanctifrond, right?

>>399012

Wew, big boom bombs. Yeah Ophelia can probably work those up… once her bones feel better.

Proposal isn't terrible, it's just leyways do need bilateral work. Trilateral if you want Ectria, but it will be awhile before the leylines are restored enough to build transnational leyways. It shall be… considered.

Thank you for voting no. I love Sophie but yes, this party is too big already

>>399013

It's unlikely to be delivered though. I guess you can give it to a Chat Noir member and maybe they'll send it?

>>399014

Yes, see above ;_;

>>399021

I mean.

I knew my mistake the moment we started on the leyway introducing everyone but damnit this is the party and we're having a good time!

If only you'd sent Ophelia and Alice on their own to the embassy, how badly that would have gone

>>399047

Sure, that's fine to rest. And fiiiinnneee more fire resist potions.

Well, the previous quests also didn't have as much of a time crunch behind them. Most of the characters are also known along with their interactions. But this change of writing pace and to do something different and the new characters don't always jive. RIP.

>>399049

>Harp about development every quest.

I-I try.

>>399051

Well the the Goddess is gunna remove all the waifus so, whatcha gunna do? Sadly to wrap it all up I needed to not introduce a new character so no new romance… between player characters anyway.

Don't forget that Amon is also consolidating is own powerbase in Ectria. Good thing he has Ebe to help out!

I'm kind of sad I couldn't bullshit a reason for her to be here

Yes, a Monster Witch is basically a sorcerer but with a Monster. They are limited to a single variety of magic but cannot draw mana from the ambient area (crystals for the most part) and must consume semen to use their magic. Otherwise they're the same.

>>399084

Really? I thought Ace said that the CO9T’s were special in that respect. As for the dark elves, I remember multiple magic

Types being used, but never by the same elf, which still wouldn’t violate things. Moving down the list, I only remember Tolosh using dark magic, which the mind magic was a part of. Third? Hmm. She is documented as using both fire and dark, though that could be because she was an amalgamation of three monsters, each with their own magic, which also fused. The apophis was the same case as Tolosh, only dark magic. As for the Pharaoh, while she did use both force magic and dark magic, she specifically said that the dark magic was a break-glass “gift” from Dollora, as she drank a vial of something to get it.

If I forgot something, just pull out a contradicting quote and the thread it’s from.

Are we going to need a new thread? We’re pretty close to sage. [spoiler]>>399055

Eh don’t take my complaints, I’m just grumbling. You’re doing fine.[/spoiler]

>>399055

>Yes, a Monster Witch is basically a sorcerer but with a Monster. They are limited to a single variety of magic but cannot draw mana from the ambient area (crystals for the most part) and must consume semen to use their magic. Otherwise they're the same.

If they are sorcerers, then shouldn't they theoretically be capable of using multiple kinds of magic? Since back in the first thread of the first quest, this was stated in the sorcerer's description:

<Generally each individual has a penchant for one kind of magic, (elementalism, summoning, magitek) but with some care and intense study, they can branch out into anything!

Granted I'm not sure how true this is any more, but still.

>>399107

>I thought Ace said that the CO9T’s were special in that respect.

The race wasn't anything special outside of appearance, hence why they nearly went extinct in a time when monsters were outright superior to humans in terms of strength. The only really special one here is Selene, since Sylphie has the excuse of having wizard's blood which works but is a relatively flimsy excuse without other examples and one that you would think means Sophie should also have magic, but honestly it doesn't matter that much if at all, and even then Selene only really utilised pyromancy and could quite easily claim either the same reasoning or the one above if it ever becomes important to know for definite the reasons for her unique position it won't.

>Are we going to need a new thread? We’re pretty close to sage.

Considering Ace is going on hiatus for a week after the next update, it's probably for the best if he waits until he gets back before making another thread. It might get more people's attention that way, not to mention it avoids clogging the catalog unnecessarily.

>Story continue

“We rest.” You say, nodding to the others.

They look about between each other, an uncomfortable silence returning to the room. It’s Clint to speaks up first to say, “Tobias, last time we rested, we almost burned to-“ He cuts himself off and looks to Rayleigh before coughing. “Anyway, maybe it’s best to just be on our way.”

You look over to Ophelia and ask, “How’s your chest.”

“Are you coming on to me? Boy will my mother be happy.” She says before coughing into her hand. “But to answer your question, not great. Health potions don’t fix broken ribs all that well.”

“I didn’t think so.” You say, turning to Finn. “And you?”

The man looks down before shaking his head. “I’d be lying if I said I was feeling fine.” He stretches and then winces. “I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Like that’s all…” Ginelle says, looking to Rayleigh. Her gaze drifts back to you before wincing and looking down at your disapproving look.

Clarissa coughs into her wing-hand and says to you, “Alright then, I suppose we can spare some time to recover. My lungs are still a little smoky.” She turns about to the others before nodding to you. “So I guess we’ll rest up here? Kind of drab if you ask me.”

“Only those who need a bed will stay here.” You say, nodding your head. “The rest can return to Sophie’s place.

“The place that Monster died? Seems like an odd choice.” Clint says, scratching his head. “But alright, beats staying here. You sure these two will be fine?”

“I doubt Finn will let anything happen. Besides, all the Galmathorians here are dead as far as I’m concerned and I’m sure the Chat Noir are keeping tabs.”

“Alright.” Ophelia sighs, leaning back in her bed. “I hate being injured though, it’s so boring!”

“Then build some bombs or something.” You say, shrugging. She holds up her bandaged arms and you nod to her. “I concede the point. Very well then. Everyone else, come with me.”

Clint, Ginelle, Clarissa, and Alice gather up their things and make to head out the room. You prepare to head out after them as well before pausing and looking down at Rayleigh. The Squirrel Girl hasn’t moved at all since you first saw her, just staring at the floor and doing nothing.

Alice notices you looking at Rayleigh and makes to say something before shaking her head. “Hey, we’ll meet you there.” Clarissa gives her an odd look as Alice pushes her away, leaving you with Rayleigh, Finn, and Ophelia.

The Rabbit Girl looks to Finn and shrugs, though she winces in doing so. The man grits his teeth for a moment before saying, “Tobias…”

“Yeah.” You reply, not needing him to finish. Walking over to Rayleigh, you kneel down to her and say, “Well? You going to just sit there doing nothing?”

She makes no reply. Sighing, you shake your head and reach over to pick her up. Now, you aren’t exactly strong, however if you can pick up and carry your wife around, you can do the same with this slight Squirrel Girl. She doesn’t respond, just going limp in your arms.

“Thanks.” Finn says as you walk out of the room, fluff in your face. You don’t mind it though as you just go about your way through the halls of the holding facility, getting a mix of questioning and scandalous looks from the Monsters within.

The early morning sun greets you as you leave the building. You wince for a moment at the sun before looking about for a place to sit down. Luckily there is a nearby café which appears to have opened for the morning, where you sit Rayleigh down, the Monster almost slumping out of her seat as you do so.

“Ah, I know that look.” A Hellhound in a rather revealing Deleorian style serving outfit. “You two had a very… ‘happy evening’ hmm?”

“If you call burning a building down to the ground and almost killing everyone around you happy, then yeah. Very happy evening.”

The Hellhound blinks twice before chuckling. “Mmm, I’ll get you two some tea then.”

>>399187

You shake your head as she walks away before turning back to Rayleigh. The Monster looks despondent as she sits there. Sighing, you tap on the table and ask, “So, what happened back there?”

No reply. She seems devoid of life and vigor. All of it is gone, dead, consumed in the fire.

“Is this what happened to get you sent back to the Hero’s Hall?”

She winces. A simple emotion, but it’s more than nothing. Pressing this you say, “Rayleigh, I read your file. I don’t recall seeing specifics about why you were sent back. Did you happen to hurt-?”

“No.” She says, her voice close to a whisper. “But I almost did.”

Sitting back in your chair you fold your arms and tap your arm. Birds, perhaps some of the more Monstrous variety, tweet about you as you let that hang for a moment. Letting out a breath, you say slowly, “Rayleigh, I’m not here to admonish you. I just want to understand what happened.”

“I almost killed Finn.” She whispers, drawing herself into a ball again. “That’s what happened.”

“Just Finn?”

She winces again. “I was so focused on killing her that I let loose and I didn’t… notice who else was around me.” Her ears sag along with her tail as she says, “I just wanted to let the fire loose.”

“Collateral damage.” You say, nodding your head. “The report states you were sent back for too much collateral damage.”

“Do you know what it’s like to be a Pyromancer?” She asks suddenly, making you blink in surprise. When you shake your head she chuckles softly and says, “Fire intrigues most people, one way or another, either with fear, glee, or respect. For a Pyromancer it’s all of these things. It’s part of who we are, almost as if there is a fire in our blood. It makes us impulsive, drives us to unleash our magic at every opportunity, and sometimes the release is…” She shudders,

“Intoxicating.”

You consider this for a long while before slowly nodding your head. “I think… I understand, a little.”

She cocks her head and looks at you before clicking her tongue. “Of course, you’re a practitioner too. Sometimes I forget.”

“I try not to use my power unless necessary.” You say, shrugging. “I too am aware of what the potential is of my magic, however I am quite aware of the costs. It’s not just me who gets hurt if I use it too much.”

Rayleigh puts her hands together before sighing out. “Gods, are we really having this chat?”

“I think we need to have it.”

“Yeah, yeah I guess it’s just…” She looks off to the side before swallowing. “Are you going to send me back too?”

“No.”

She blinks in surprise, as if not expecting your answer, or at least the rapidity of it. You close your eyes and say, “You’re one of the strongest Pyromancers I’ve seen. Your power is incredible, but you know what your fault is. You’re emotional and lose control easily, and those you love get hurt in the crossfire.”

Each word seems to drive a stake into Rayleigh’s heart. She cringes inward, face miserable, almost on the brink of tears, when you ask, “Do you want to go back?”

“No…” She whispers. “I don’t want to be cast aside for a third time.”

“Well then.” You say, standing up and walking to her. Kneeling down, you put a hand on her shoulder and say, “I think you know what you need to do.”

“I’m sorry.” She whispers, looking to the side.

“I don’t think you need to tell me that.”

She looks at you with curiosity when you say this before taking in a deep breath of understanding. Nodding her head slowly, she makes to speak when the Hellhound returns with two cups of tea, giggling behind her hand.

“Oh my, in broad daylight too. How scandalous! Are you two going to fuck also? This table is pretty sturdy.”

Rayleigh’s eyes go flat and you feel magic surge within her. You gently put a hand on hers and she stops, blinking before blushing and looking down. “No, I think we’ll just drink our tea.”

“Boring.” The Hellhound says, leaving you two to enjoy your drinks.

>>399188

————————————————————————————————————————

You regroup with the others a little later at Sophie’s manor, pleasantly surprised to find the lady of the house and Patricia in attendance. The group decidedly does not sit in the sitting room, instead retiring to the dining hall where you sit as Sophie thanks you.

“I understand there was a little scuffle and some of you were hurt. Thankfully nothing serious?”

You turn to Rayleigh to looks abashed, but at least not dejected. “Nothing time won’t fix.” You hold up your hands. “Akela can practice her make-up skills on my hands I suppose.”

“Hah, that little Anubis of yours? Ah, it’s weird to know I have a niece already… I feel old.”

“You haven’t even gotten laid, you can’t feel old yet.” Alice says, to which Sophie stiffens.

“Excuse me, but I do not offer myself to every man who comes along like someone I can name.”

“Oh? Who might that be?”

“Ladies, please, you’re both pretty.” You say, though they both smile, neither taking it seriously.

Patricia bows her head as well. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused. Once again people are hurt because of me.”

“If Ophelia were here she’d say, ‘you get used to it.’” Clarissa says, holding up a wing-arm.

“Well then. Despite some setbacks, it seems everything may have worked in our favor.” Sophie says, nodding her head. “If you must know, I’d been trying to lure out opposition to mother. Living away from her was both convenient and something I’d wanted anyway. So it all worked out, though I didn’t expect such an elaborate set-up.”

“I suspect Juniper was the one who set off the stink-potion and knocked on the door.” Ginelle says. “She smelled a lot like that potion, though honestly I don’t know if I still had that shit in my nose.”

“And the Kikimora, Clair, set up that member of the opposition party to be a martyr.” You say. “She turned out to be a pyromancer as well.”

“I see. And if what you say is true about their involvement in the politics of the Monster Nation, then they infiltrated the opposition, or even had a hand in shaping it. This is going to give mother much leverage in the coming days.”

“Well that’s helpful.” You say. “It will likely help her keep her power and help solidify some support against Galmathoria, but it doesn’t really solve the root cause of her power issue, does it?”

Sophie cocks her head. “Root cause?”

“Men, the desire and the drive for men.”

The Cat o’Nine Tails frowns. “Well, yes, that is certainly a cause for concern, however-“

“What does your mother… well, our mother, plan to do about this?”

Sophie frowns and begins to speak when another voice says, “Hmm, I’m not certain. Do you have an idea, dear son?”

All eyes turn to see Selene sitting at the far end of the table, her seven tails swaying languidly behind her. She wears an ornate breast plat that functions to push her breasts up while her bottoms barely cover more than her usual garments, showing off a tremendous amount of tanned bronze skin. A tiara of gold sits upon her head of red hair as well and she leans forward, elbows on the table, a feline smile on her face.

“Oh please, do go on.”

“M-mother!” Sophie says, surprised. “When did you arrive?”

“Just now. After what happened last night I figured I should see my darling daughter and son-in-law.” She nods to you. “Now then, what was this about the root cause of my problems?”

You falter for a moment as Rayleigh fish-mouths while Clarissa blinks in surprise at seeing the Monster Lady up close and personal. Gulping and regaining your composure, you say, “I was talking about the shortage of men and a proposal to uh… alleviate that.”

“Well, I could always use more proposals.” She says, waving a hand. “You may continue.”

“Smart-ass.” You mutter under your breath, to which Sophie and Selene’s ears twitch, the former looking shocked while the latter merely smirks. Coughing into your hand you take a moment before saying, “Leyways.”

>>399189

“Leyways?”

“Leyways.”

“Leyways…” Selene muses.

“Ley…ways.” Clarissa says, confused. “Why are we saying leyways?”

“Because it’s the answer to a problem, or at least the illusion of an answer.”

“Ah, politics.” Selene says, smirking. “Such a young age to grasp the essence of them.”

“I am a noble, after all.” When she concedes the point, you continue. “If the main issue with the Monster Nation is a shortage of men, then the remedy is to import more.”

“That used to not be an issue since men could be imported by force. However it was my intention to remove that issue and this is happens rarely. As such, men don’t often tread here anymore and there are plenty of lonely Monsters in Deleor.” Selene says, waving a finger. “A leyway won’t fix that.”

“What if there was a system connecting Deleor, Ectria, and the Monster Nation?”

Selene pauses and cocks her head. “Go on.”

“Ectria, despite being in harmony with Monsters for centuries, still has a large human population and many of them are desperate to get out of Ectria, while others have the wealth to try and bring exotic fare into the country. There is both a demand for Monsters willing to suck a little cock and men looking for new lives. In parts of Deleor, especially in the west, this is likely true too.”

“Mmm, but what of Galmathoria? They don’t take kindly to losing men like that.”

“Fuck Galmathoria. Doing this shows an alliance against such a nation and solidifies essentially the whole continent. Galmathoria would be cut off and about the only other country of annoyance is Danusreal, but they’re too far to affect Galmathoria meaningfully.”

“You assume, anyway.” Selene says. “Intriguging and bold, dear Tobias, but you forget a few things.”

She holds up three furred fingers. “One: Ectria’s leylines won’t be restored for years if we’re lucky. Reaching out the Monster Nation is incredibly far and so any proposal there will have plenty of time to be quashed. Two: While relations between Deleor and the Monster Nation have improved, things are currently rocky and a proposal for Deleor to utilize one of it’s foremost technologies to make a direct line to a historically hostile nation won’t sit well with much of the nobility especially. And three…” She sighs,

“We lack magitek engineers here in the Monster Nation. The world is changing, but the Monster Nation is slow to embrace it. It seems a big leap from twenty years ago but it really isn’t. You’d have to import engineers from Deleor and the country has a vested interest in making sure that won’t happen. Your DSS should certainly have informed you of this.”

“They… did not.” You concede. She shrugs.

“A little naïve, of a proposal, but I like where your head is at. It is… something however. Perhaps a vision I can impart to the people.” She rubs her chin with one of her tails. “It’s something to think about, at least. Thank you.”

>>399190

She smiles at you and you blush. Not like because she’s beautiful, but because you never really had a mother who said those sorts of things to you. Maybe when you were very little your mother did but… it’s been awhile. Makes you feel embarrassed, heh.

“Ah, but look at the time.” Selene says, standing up and walking over to Sophie. She languidly drapes her arms around her daughter’s neck and nuzzles her head. “I’m afraid I can’t stay too long. Don’t want people to come looking for me, even if they know I’m already here, don’t you?”

A Chat Noir member steps into the room from another door. “Sorry.”

Selene sighs. “Well, I just wanted to say I’m glad you’re safe, all of you. Necessary preparations have been added to your wagon, ready for you to leave as soon as you can.” She frowns, “Your task is important, of course.”

Rayleigh nods her head. “Of course.”

Selene looks to you and smirks before using her tails to ruffle everyone, including Clint and Ginelle’s, heads. Before they can react she steps back and says, “I look forward to hearing about your adventures going forward. But duty calls, I’m afraid.” She leaves the room with the Chat Noir member, leaving all of you stunned.

Shaking yourself out of it, you call out, “Can you get us a bunch of [Fire Resist Potions] and some crossbows?!”

You don’t get an answer. You assume she heard you right? Right?

“Well.” Clint says, smoothing out his hair. “That was… something.”

“How embarrassing.” Sophie says, cheeks red. “But that’s mother for you.” She chuckles, “So then, when do you depart?”

“You sound like you don’t want to come with?” You ask, surprised.

Sophie chuckles. “As fun as that might be… it is Sylphie’s calling to adventure. I know my place and it is helping mother, and our nation. Besides, your group seems plenty large as it is. I fear I won’t get the attention I deserve.”

“I feel that way too sometimes.” Clarissa says, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye.

“I as well.” Patricia adds, also shedding fake tears.

“It just doesn’t fit.” You say, rubbing your chin. “No one declines joining the parties, that’s not how the stories go…”

“This isn’t a book, Tobias.” Rayleigh says. “This is reality, one we need to face.”

You nod, serious again. “You’re right. And we’ll all face it together.”

Standing up, you address the assembled group. “We’re setting out tomorrow to the observatory. It’s time to do what we came here to do.”

>To be continued

Ah yes, the "To be continued" aka: It seemed a thematic place to stop but there isn't much in the way of choices to make here, also it's late and I have work.

But hey, make further choices if you have them about your leaving and such. Anything you want to do here in town? Do you want to switch perspective? Be my guest

>>399084

>Dark Elves in Derrick: They participated in a ritual which is its own issue, but otherwise I'm fairly certain they only each used one kind of magic.

>Tolosh: Only used Dark Magic

>Third: An amalgamation of three bodies, Third doesn't play by the rules in any way shape or form

>Apophis: Pretty sure it was also just Dark Magic

>Pharaoh: I don't believe she ever cast anything that wasn't via the staff and it was all the same kind of OP bullshit.

>Sylphie: Yeah that is weird, something isn't right about that

>Selene: Donut-steel, I mean, yeah that also isn't correct, is it?

>>399108

Jesus that was awhile ago, probably before it got solidified, unless it was referring to Wizards but everything has been crafted toward the specializations at this point.

Sophie can use magic actually, she just chooses not to. Like, literally that's the reason. She doesn't like magic very much so she just doesn't, but she's perfectly capable of it.

Eh, just shitpost in here. I'll make a new thread when I have the next update.

Time for the continuation of Rommel's Rock 'n Roll adventure?

>>399192

> Shitpost in here

So we all agree that it's Tabitha>Saya>literal trash>Selene in terms of protagonist waifus right? It's the objective unquestionable truth.

Think we can task Rayleigh with controlling her emotions and compressing her fire into like fire lasers? Also I agree with >>399199 (nice) just minus the shit part.

>>399199

Hmm…or perhaps it just represents the evolution of Ace’s writing skills, no? Most writers do grow in time, and he’s certainly done that.

>>399195

Yes! Time to use everyone’s favorite rock autist to talk to the god of rock autists, fire autists, and RRRAAAGGEE.

>>399203

Considering how Nerg is basically diet Nurgle, Sveth being diet Khorne would be pretty amusing.

I don't think the poor fourth wall deserves to be beaten like that, Ace.

Regarding the whole swapping to Rommel thing, we might as well let the current events play out for more party interactions and to set up for when we next return to Tobias by having him leave the capital before we swap characters. That way, we both help alleviate the characterisation problems mentioned earlier and we swap at a better point that allows for time to pass if necessary.

>>399192

>Jesus that was awhile ago, probably before it got solidified, unless it was referring to Wizards but everything has been crafted toward the specializations at this point.

RIP the nightmare dream of having something devastating like a hydromancer bursting out the fulgromancy when everyone in the party is wet.

>Sophie can use magic actually, she just chooses not to. Like, literally that's the reason. She doesn't like magic very much so she just doesn't, but she's perfectly capable of it.

So what you're saying is that there's going to be a moment in the future of this story where Sophie is forced to use magic to save Sylphie or something then?

>>399199

Shitting on Ace's waifu and bringing about his wrath aside :^), I’m not so certain about that order. Tabitha is obviously the unquestionably best waifu, seeing as she has given emotional support to Rommel when needed, even when he fucked up and pissed off the rest of the party, has bailed him out of multiple bad situations, even to her own detriment, has actively helped him improve himself via training, has gone along with his plans even when she was pissed at him and has shown undying loyalty to the point of refusing to abandon his side for the two weeks he was comatose despite there being a good chance he may never have woken up, not to mention her personality is very much likeable and meshes well with Rommel’s. As such, her being first makes perfect sense and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves.

But placing Saya above Selene? Admittedly it’s been a while since I’ve read Illusionist Quest, but I don’t really remember Saya doing all too much more than the other party members did outside of being lovey-dovey with Tobias when their relationship kicked off. Selene meanwhile acted as a safety net and teacher for the Wizard, despite doing so causing more problems for herself with the other guardians and her lady, purposefully contained her lust towards him due to not wanting to force the ‘lose your virginity, lose your powers’ issue and went as far as to throw herself between Saya and Valinthia to protect the former from being incinerated out of love for the Wizard and his daughter, directly defying her lady’s wishes. Certainly, Saya still has the better characterisation, but I’d argue that’s partially due to her being around more Selene was in the background most of the time and even then it isn't that much better, so I’m not sure I’d agree with that being enough to put her above Selene. I’d say the two should be equal unless Saya did stuff in Illusionist Quest I’m forgetting which is likely.

>>399203

>Hmm…or perhaps it just represents the evolution of Ace’s writing skills, no? Most writers do grow in time, and he’s certainly done that.

While true, it should be noted that Tabitha in Wizard Quest 2 is basically the same Tabitha from back in Wizard Quest 1 only with more heart-to-hearts, so she’s been best girl for a while now, not just since her second round when Ace’s writing improved from prior experience.

>>399208

Eh, I don’t think his anger is quite like that. Given his reaction (rewarding is with a heavy metal guitar) to us impersonating/freeing his daughters, the Wurms, from Danuki servitude, he seems to be the kind of anger that’s extremely hard to set off, but once it is, you A) Don’t want to be the cause of it, and B) On the same hemisphere as he is when he’s going after the thing that made him angry. It’s funny how Rommel has probably the best relationship with gods out of all our characters, as he’s so chummy with Dollora that she sent best girl to save him from the futa-goddess, and that he got Sveth to reward him. That’s probably followed by GW and Nerg, then GW and Solos, as it seems he was acting as his instrument. Last, and certainly least, is Tobias and Jackor, who have that weird hate-like-hate thang, and then Tobias and Nerg, as we kinda sorta killed one of his daughters. TO be fair, she was basically a minion of Phallia, but we made Father Nerg CRY! That is a big no-no.

Fuck have I been busy. But i should give some replies where I can!

>>399195

Guess not, after next update maybe? Would make set up better I suppose?

>>399199

All of them have cute daughterus and loving families.

That's important too.

>>399201

>Fire Lasers

Oh of only Sylphie were here to teacc.

>>399203

Wao i gettin stronk

Rock and Roll adventure fun times in a burning city. Wonder what's down there? I bet it's ice cream.

>>399208

Sveth has a temper but is misattributed as a God of War. Still, warriors do give him praise so… sure, discount Khorne in a way.

>>399248

>Sophie save sylphie

You know, she had plenty of opportunities in WQ2. Seriously, ask her about her magic.

Waifu wars are comfy too.

>>399419

Heather was working as instructed by Nerg. Just because it helped Phallia is quite literally coincidence… right? But yes, poor Nerg. If you'd just got on that boat in WQ2 you'd get to meet Heather's replacement but oh well. I suppose you wouldn't have met Tabitha and all sorts of things would be different.

>Story continue

“Got everything loaded up?”

You turn and wipe a thin sheen of sweat from your brow atop the wagon. Nodding to Clint and Ginelle, who are also loading up crates, you leap down from the wagon to meet Finn, the man being helped over by Alice. It doesn’t escape your notice that Rayleigh gives sidelong glances to Alice, but she keeps her distance as well.

“Last one.” Ginelle says, lifting up a crate like she didn’t just get injured multiple days in a row. Clint finishes loading it and sighs, lifting his hat and wiping some sweat as well. Despite it being cooler here than in Deleor, it certainly is still summer, isn’t it?

“All supplies accounted for.” He says before tapping a crate next to him. “This one just appeared out of nowhere though, there’s two weird crossbows in here and a lot of potions.” He looks to you, raising an eyebrow.

“What? They’re useful potions.” You say, leaving it at that, though you’re certain you see Clint glance to Rayleigh. Moving along, you say, “Weird crossbows, you say?”

“Uh, yeah.” He says, lifting one up. “It’s a little smaller than what we’d see in Deleor.”

“Well, most Monsters are women sized.” Ophelia says, arriving with the help of Clarissa. “I think I could even use one of those effectively. Looks like I can even fit my foot in there to load it up.”

Clint tosses you the crossbow and you put it down, using the stirrup. You manage to pull the string back with less effort than the last one, which makes you feel plenty strong until you notice Finn’s smirk. Pouting, you return the string to neutral and give the weapon back to Clint, who also smirks. Assholes, both of them. Sighing, you turn back to Ophelia.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I got slammed into a wall by plants and had my ribs broken.” She says, wincing. “But I could be worse. I don’t think I’m going to like riding in the wagon.”

“Sure you don’t want to stay?”

“What, and miss all the fun?” She chuckles. “Besides, I have to have lucky feet or something, because I’ve avoided certain death like, at least twice now. Maybe I should invest in that crazy Wizard’s maid constructs.”

“Woah, let’s not be crazy here.” Clint says. “There’s a difference between risk taking with investments and throwing money in a fire.”

“Yes, yes, we can discuss the finer points of being bourgeois later.” You say before turning to the side. “Patricia, you ready?”

The Wolf Girl places a book back in her bag and stands, stretching out her long, canine limbs. “Ready if you are. I’d like to see this place. Besides, I feel if we stay any longer we’ll run into trouble.”

“More trouble?” Clarissa says, blanching.

“The city isn’t going anywhere.” You say, waving your hand. “Trouble will be waiting for us.”

“Like Rose…” Finn says, frowning.

The party becomes quite at that, feeling a sense of nervousness. Despite everything burning, you know in your heart that Rose wasn’t in that fire, if she’s even here. If you have experience with these things, and you kind of do, you have no doubt you haven’t heard the last of her.

“Hey, let’s not get focused on that.” Ginelle says, stretching. “We’ll just beat her down like all the others if we need to.”

“Heh.” Clint says, ruffling her hair, not that she minds. “That’s why I love you.”

“Oh? Just that hmm?” She smirks, to which Clint clears his throat.

“Alright you two.” You say, waving your hand. “Everyone load up, we’re headed out.”

Getting the wounded into the wagon and everyone ready to go doesn’t take very long. While you do, Sophie exits her manor where your wagon is and nods as you finish up.

“I see you’re ready to go?”

“No thanks to you, princess.” Patricia says.

“I didn’t see you helping either.” Ginelle sniffs.

>>400301

“I had to finish a few things after breakfast.” Sophie says, though you’re certain she just wanted to get out of moving also. “But I wish you luck on your venture.”

“Well, we do have lucky rabbit feet.” You say, thumbing to Ophelia, who waggles her rabbit toes. “But we also have skill. We’ll be able to do this.”

“Mmm. I suppose.” She says. “If Saya chose you, then I’m certain you can do just about anything. Just make sure you don’t hurt her, okay?”

“Yes, yes, sis.” You say, to which she smirks.

“Fine, bro.” She chuckles, extending a tail which you shake from atop the wagon.

Everyone waves to her as Clint gets the horses moving, the wagon pulling away and out of the manor grounds and back into the city. You get the looks from before, perhaps even more, as you move through the city, the whispers of the Monsters a little too loud. Ophelia’s ears go haywire flipping about as she tries to listen, her expressions mixed and curious. It seems as if opinions are split within the capital, a day’s time allowing the residents to argue amongst themselves. Hopefully Selene and Sophie will be okay…

When you approach the edge of the capital, a group of guards checks your wagon and clears you, having been informed beforehand that you’d be leaving. Once clear, Clint drives you out into the wide expanse of fields leading off to the mountains.

While there is no true industry in the Monster Nation, the open fields and fresh air feel wonderful after the tension of the past few days. With nary a cloud in the sky, you sit in the front and bask in the warm summer air as cool winds drift down from the mountains from time to time. The spirits of the others seem to rise, even Rayleigh’s.

Speaking of which… she sits next to you on the driver’s seat, her size thankfully not enough to make it cramped, even with yourself and Clint. The man next to you gives her looks ever now and then, but neither say anything. Even with a day of rest, the group still feels awkward around her, huh?

“So, what do you think we’ll find?”

Rayleigh blinks in surprise at the sudden question from you. Frowning, she shrugs and says, “I don’t know, bugs?”

“Like, giant bug girls?”

“Or like, big roaches or something.” She says, rolling her eyes. “It’s an abandoned observatory, not an inn. I doubt anything is living there.”

“I don’t know.” Clint says, frowning as well. “I heard some places deep in the mountains still have some ancient Monsters living there.”

“What does that mean?” You ask, curious.

“Ancient Monsters are those who were old long before Dollora’s Great Transformation.” Patricia says, drawn in by a history discussion. You wonder how she heard before you remember, right, wolf ears.

“They are incredibly powerful Monsters, some of them even having resisted the change or even have control over it. Similar to the creature that Alice spoke of.”

“The Crocodile out in Ectria?” You ask, to which she nods.

“Yes. I’ve heard tales of ancient Dragons who live apart from the rest of Monster society, but who knows what else may live out here. There are places even Monsters before twenty years ago dared not venture.”

“Hmm.” Rayleigh says, tapping her chin. “Well, we’ll just have to deal with it when we come to it, right?”

“That’s exactly right.” You say, looking off toward the mountains.

——————————————————————————————————————-

>>400302

Later in the day, Clarissa flies about overhead, giving more room in the wagon as you ride along, taking in the sun. She keeps you up to date on the paths ahead, giving great news on the roads being clear. While there are some outlying farms, even the Monster Nation needs agriculture, they’re out of your way and nothing to worry about. Patricia and Ophelia, when they aren’t sleeping, are listening for anything else that could come, giving you a wonderful defense system.

Going from Patricia’s information, you get a better bearing of how to go, Clarissa finding you a path of which to follow, though she informs you the road starts to fade away into nothing. You figured you wouldn’t get so lucky going forward, but Clint is a great driver so you doubt you’ll have much issue.

And that’s exactly what happens. Nothing of much interest occurs in the next three days of traveling, though thankfully Finn and Ophelia begin to feel better, if not 100%. You feel very thankful you got the book back from that Cat Girl because between Patricia and Clarissa, you’re able to pinpoint where to go. Driving your wagon further into the mountains, the air becomes cooler despite the time of year. By the end of the third day, Clarissa spots the lake mentioned in the book. Thankfully it didn’t go anywhere in all this time.

The next morning you head toward the mountain lake and, nestled into the trees on the side of the mountain, Ginelle finds evidence of a human structure.

Arraying yourself outside, you take a look at the building. It doesn’t look like much that you can see, being built into the side of the mountain. A large dome the color of the stone around it sits intact, covered in layers of moss and vegetation while sharp stone corners do the same. Clarissa sees no one else around and neither Patricia nor Ophelia can detect any other Monsters present. As far as you can tell, the place surrounding the structure is empty.

Still… something feels off about the place. As you study the structure you feel a deep unease, like you’re standing before a great beast, afraid to awaken it. The others sense it as well, but you’re unable to place what it is. It’s neither magical or magitek as far as you can tell but… maybe it’s just your nerves.

“So it’s really here.” Patricia says, placing a hand on the structure, feeling the stone. She looks over at a set of large, stone doors that stand slightly ajar, vines and roots growing in between the cracks throughout Gods knows how many years. She nods her head. “I have to see what’s inside. Even if Hevensferth can’t be contacted, I have to enter.”

She turns to you and give you the most serious expression you think you’ve seen from her. Feeling her sense of resolve from Patricia, you give her a reassuring nod before turning to the rest of the group. They nod back, a similar resolve on their features.

“Alright.” You say, hands on your hips. “Let’s go speak with the heavens, shall we?”

Posting here because the site is being stupid about creating a new thread.

There wasn't much to say before we switch to Rommel and I didn't think I'd have time to write this anyway so it's something while I look into writing for Rommel tomorrow. If you have suggestions you recall from last time, let me know, otherwise Imma get goin tomorrow afternoon.

>>400304

Nevermind, threads finally went through