/monster/ - The Last Bastion of Romance

Yo! Sorry I filled in for a raid on friday and was out all day today so I couldn't write. Sadly I don't have art to post as a sorry. Hopefully I'll be able to do it tomorrow, though I am filling in again tomorrow… bleh.

>>404112

I would have found a way. Always lean towards the awesome Brandon Sanderson says.

He then says edit your shit and think about consequences you faggot, but that one gets lost in translation.

>>404118

The implication was that she was stopping eruptions by being there. It would revert to normal activity were she not around.

As far as Phallia goes, that I suppose will have to be seen later.

>>404119

Mmm, fair enough. I had made her backstory but hadn't solidified the character much beforehand. Unfortunately it got hamfisted.

>>404126

Oh no

>Story continue

The room goes silent as everyone catches their breath. Before you is the visage of a God, their voice reaching through the heavens and down to you and your party in the mortal coil. Some of you have had this experience before, but it is no less humbling, no less powerful. To see even a reflection of the God of earth and fire is to feel the weight of the land upon you. It is a pressure that cannot be described in something as cumbersome as mere words.

“I… I ah…” You fumble for a moment before standing up tall. Though your body screams in protest, your heart hammers in your chest as your brain makes it clear that you need to face this God head-on and speak your peace. He is a straight-shooter, and so are you. You will not be found wanting by anyone, man, Monster, or God.

“Lord Sveth, God of Earth and Fire, he who created the very ground under our feet. I could continue with the flattery, but I do not believe you wish it any more than I.”

{Hmph.} He snorts in response.

Erm. Well, hopefully that didn’t sound like you were spilling sauce covered noodles everywhere. Best just to push forward. “I would first like to apologize for my actions impersonating you. I wished to avoid conflict with the Wurms, who revere you as children would a parent. As to how we have located this relic, it is by writings about this ancient civilization who has housed the [Heart of the Crags] for so long.”

{The Vestians, yes.} Sveth rumbles. {A people who revered this mountain and strived to create beauty from it. A pity what happened to them.}

You’re not certain, but you think you can detect a hint of sadness in his voice. Before you can muse on that further he says, {You have not answered why you would dare contact me in this manner, however.}

“Yes, of course.” You say, swallowing hard as you collect your words. Before you start speaking, however, you ask carefully, “I would like to know, if it would please you, is this communication… free from prying ears?”

{Are you to imply that my siblings or my father would eavesdrop? Perhaps Jackor, but he is a wild one. I resent an implication otherwise.}

A pressure builds at his words and you regulate your tone before bowing your head toward him. “Of course. I did not mean offense, however what I wish to speak of is of grave importance. It is enough that we have suffered much bloodshed and pain, even being forced to fight one of your children to reach you here. Such is the imperative nature of our goal.”

He narrows his eyes as you speak before grunting. {Vesta… she is not a child of mine, but she is a creature of the volcano, one who was first put there by my damnable sister.}

“Damnable…? Ah.” You work that out for a moment before it clicks. He must mean Dollora, though the scorn in his voice makes your spine shudder. How much does he loathe her? How deep must his animosity be?

Clearing your throat you say, “I will be frank then. We seek your help in stopping Phallia from killing Dollora.”

The room shudders around you, violently.

Your party and yourself, save Tabitha, crouch down to stabilize yourselves and look around and loose pieces of rock tumble down from the ceiling. The rumbling ends as soon as it begins, but when you return your gaze to Sveth, you have to use every fiber of your being to keep from flinching at the utter rage you see there.

{You imply that my sister, who was betrayed by her twin and through it denied us Gods from interacting with the people, would incur the wrath of our father by seeking to slay her sister?}

His rage seethes in every word as he speaks, and you feel as if the temperature is rising again, though you’re certain it’s just your anxiety. You figured being a straight-shooter would work with him, but perhaps you should have shown more deference or tried to ease your way into it.

{If not for the laws of my father I would strike you down where you stand. You will explain yourself this assertion or the land’s fury will be upon you.}

Well that sounds bad. Really bad. Disastrously bad. He can’t reach out and kill you, but he certainly could, oh you don’t know, cause a landslide near where you might be or a cave in. Make it look like an accident. You don’t think Nerg would complain.

>>404486

“I have good reason.” You say, composing yourself. Sveth watches you in a manner similar to Tabitha watching an enemy, scouring you for weakness. Though it is his rage that labeled him a de facto God of war, to say that he knows nothing of combat would be a mistake.

“I would never dream to speak ill of a Goddess without cause. I implore you to understand that we have no option but to reach out to her brethren to stop her from causing such a tragedy.” You clear your throat and continue.

“Ever since twenty years ago, this world has changed. Man and Monster, who had been at each other’s throats in the cycle of life, have joined hands in unity. Though there will always be some animosity between the two, as there is even between humans, things have improved.” You nod to Tabitha who stands beside you. “However, some do not wish for this integration. Mortal and perhaps, divine as well. I do not make this accusation without experience however, but all I can offer is my word.”

Sveth, still smoldering, says, {Speak}.

“Then I shall. It is recent that rampant plant activity has begun throughout the world, particularly in Deleor and the Cradle, a land given over to Phallia and inhabited by plant Monsters. On it’s own, this would be nothing but coincidence, however the accounts of an Illusionist have shown that Phallia has corrupted other Illusionists into Monsters known as ‘mindflayers’ to advance her agenda. One was barely stopped before she could instigate all out war between Deleor and Galmathoria, threatening to drag the Monster Nation in as well. Given that humans and Monsters are of similar strength now and the technology that Deleor possesses, it may very well have been a slaughter of Dollora’s children.”

Tabitha squeezes your shoulder as you continue. “After I myself last met you outside this volcano, I traveled to Ectria, a land which reveres both of your sisters. There, I witnessed those who revered Phallia infested with plants which they used to assault others, and even infest the Pharaoh there who had the blessing of Hevensferth. Though we overcame this, she visited me at the Chasm of Regret, where she imparted her intention to slay Dollora before attempting to silence me personally.”

Spreading your hands wide, you say, “We are out of options. This land lies on the edge of the knife, ready to tumble into destruction at any time. Phalia’s hand is upon all of this, though she tries to hide it from both your sight and Solos’. We beseech you to lend your voice to Solos, that he may thwart her ambitions, for the good of not only humanity, but the heavens themselves.”

Sveth is quiet for a long time at that. He watches you, studies you as if to find any weaknesses in you or your words. Eventually he lets out a sigh, a sound is similar to something deflating. It surprises you as his anger goes from a raging inferno to a low simmer. It’s not gone and it won’t take much to get it back but… it’s something.

{Troubling.}

You look between Tabith and Veronica, the two looking troubled themselves at this word. Clearing your throat you ask, “How do you mean?”

{It is troubling the things you say. Though I had noticed the changes in the land, I have seen much over the history of this world. And yet… this time feels different.} He looks down for a moment before staring back into your eyes, expression hard. {Though I know you and feel your connection with the earth, I also smell the scent of my estranged sister upon you. I have my doubts at your words but I will not discount them.}

>>404487

You perk up, hope flowing through you. “Then you will-?”

{No.}

Surprised, you step back and ask, “W- why not?”

{I will not act upon the words of one man. Men are quick to create fabrications, quick to look for someone or something to blame for their troubles. Even those who scream my name do so when readying for combat, believing I will bless them as they slay those they have disagreements with. No, I will not make such an action upon one testimony.}

You feel adrift for a moment, unable to think of what to do next. Sveth has denied you? Oh Gods… well, perhaps that’s the wrong thing to say at the moment. As you try to figure out something to say to get him back, Veronica steps forward and bows.

“Lord Sveth. I am Veronica, a daughter of Solos. If it would please you, I have something to say.”

The God turns to her and nods, {I feel his hand upon you. Speak, but be quick about it.}

“It is not only yourself we seek to hold audience with. As we speak, our companions are reaching out through similar means to speak with both Filios and Hevensferth. Should they, who are not easily swayed by emotion, be moved to agree, would that lead more credence to our words?”

Sveth considers before chuckling, his laughter like a soft tumbling of rocks down a hill. {You are serious about this then? You truly believe that my dear sister holds such contempt in her heart.} He shakes his head before letting out a disgusted sound. {If mine siblings hold the same opinions as you then perhaps I will consider it. But I pray that they do not, for the thought of fighting amongst ourselves again…} He trails off before turning back to you.

{Rommel.}

You stand up straight and ask, “How… do you know my name?”

{A foolish question to ask a God of that which you use the power of my father to manipulate. Regardless, I will be watching you then to see if the validity of your story exists. Know the consequences awaiting you should I find you to be lying about my sister.}

“I would not dare lie to a God.” You say, standing up straight and looking Sveth in the eyes, such as it is through the crystal.

{Hmph.} He snorts. {You may take this artifact, but I will not speak with you again unless you are able to convince my siblings. I will not speak of this to them until such an event has happened.} He begins to turn and fade away when you shout,

“W-wait!”

Sveth solidifies again and frowns at you. He doesn’t leave though, so you swallow and compose yourself again. “I know it is impudent to ask, but I… I had a few more questions for you, if you are willing to answer them.”

He studies you before sighing, {Vesta}.

“Yes. Though we have defeated her, and though she does not seem willing or able to combat any longer, I still have my doubts about my decision. Was it correct for me to spare her? Should have I overlooked all the pain and suffering she caused merely because she could not handle becoming a Monster? I know she is not one of your daughters, but if she is killed, many of those who could be your children would be destroyed.”

You bow your head and ask, “Please, I do not know if my actions lined up with my convictions.”

Sveth sighs. {There is no shame in mercy. However, there must be consequences for her actions.} He turns his gaze to Galatea, who takes a step back before dropping to a knee.

“My… my lord? Wait… why did I say that?”

{Because you are made of my domain. A creature of rock given life by a being of the mountain, of the molten core of rock. I did not shape you, but you are my child.} He watches her for a moment before turning back to you. {As I said before, Vesta is not my child. She was one of the first creatures made by Dollora, one who lived within the fires of this mountain and who was revered by the Vestians, who derived their name from her, believing her to be one of my incarnations, though I visited them directly more than once.}

He frowns, {When Dollora’s change happened and twisted her, the anguish and grief she felt hurt me as well. Even more so when she lashed out and caused an eruption that trapped both the people and the city underneath rock, their souls being trapped as shades under the mountain. I wished to intervene, but Solos’ edict is law. I could only watch.}

>>404488

“I… I think I understand.” You say as Tabitha takes your hand and squeezes. “Or perhaps, at least in part. I am only mortal, after all.”

{Indeed. But I am well glad that perhaps now she can find a measure of peace and confront her own changes. I do not abide cowards, especially not one of whom lives within my domain.} He nods his head. {Though I have no power to compel you, consider this a request. Make her atone for her actions, make her build the civilization you have here to make up for the destruction of this one. She will enrich the lives of the people here and she will learn to love herself and others.}

The God looks down, the sadness you felt before creeping into his voice again. {If there was but one good to come from Dollora’s damnable actions, it is allowing these Monsters the chance to love.}

“My lord…” You begin to say when he looks back up sharply. Behind you, Galatea gasps and places a hand to her core.

{The Elementals are free from her and are under my protection. Solos does not mind Filios her sea creatures every now and then so I doubt he will care for my own children.}

“What of the Lava Golems?”

{They were never truly alive and have returned to their master.}

“I see…” You look down at your pocket and think for a moment before reaching in and pulling out Donte. “Do you believe that rocks have souls?”

Everyone else in the party gasps at your question, but Sveth seems amused more than anything. He shakes his head. {No. They do not. But being saturated in magic in your presence, and animated by your earnest feelings, they resonate with your strongly, and have what could roughly be deemed a heart of sorts, one which beats in time with yours.}

Maya stifles a joke but Veronica chuckles, “So Rommel does have a heart of stone after all.”

Sveth actually smiles at this. {Is that a bad thing, daughter of Solos? But no, they are not alive. However, the understanding of friendship is within them and I can feel the aspects of such magic.} He closes his eyes and a moment later you feel something… tingling in your hand. Looking at Donte, he hasn’t physically changed but… he resonates in time with your magic.

“What the…?”

{These rocks you consider your friends. They are now attuned to magic, and thus when you influence them, the effects will be more pronounced. Do they have souls? No. But if turned into golems, they will act as if they do, until they return to their slumber.}

“I… I don’t know what to say.” You say, tears forming in your eyes. “To bless them in such a way it… it’s…”

“Oh no.” Tabitha says. “Are you going to cry over rocks?”

{Your love of the earth is commendable.} Sveth says. {But I pray we do not speak again.}

Sniffing and wiping away tears you say, “I understand. Thank you for hearing us, and thank you for your wisdom.” You pause before remembering, “And thank you the time before for the guitar. Ebe loves it still.”

{I know. I listen to her whenever she plucks the strings. Music as heavy as the earth, as powerful as rock. I wish more had the same vigor as that one. But this is enough, I grow weary and have much to think on. Farewell, chosen of Solos.}

With those words, he fades from the crystal.

The room returns to silence as you slump down to the ground, holding Donte close to your chest. This is the second time you’ve talked directly to a God, but it’s just as emotionally draining. Given the physical drain on your system as well, it’s just too much. Tabitha pulls you into her while Maya kneels down next to you and nods her head.

“He has a serious nap deficiency. I prescribe three hours of comfy sleep, stat.”

Bardam thumps her head and says, “You’re not a hospitalier. Still…” He looks back to the crystal before picking it up and securing it in his pouch. “That was quite the encounter.”

“But it’s not over yet.” Veronica says. “As soon as we’re ready, we need to go. A proper bed would do us all wonders.”

As you drift off to a short, tiny little nap you think that yes, you would love a bed. Of course, your wife’s chest is fine too.

>>404489

————————————————————–

You awaken a few hours later and head out find Vesta and Valeria still sitting at the edge of the temple, the two chatting. They don’t seem exactly amiable, but they haven’t destroyed each other. Erwin pops his head out from behind Valeria as you approach, having told them of your delay.

The ambient temperature is much lower now thanks to Vesta, though she still looks as beat as you. She doesn’t glow red hot either, though she assures you that she can concentrate the heat in different places of her body.

“I am sorry about your hand.” She says, nodding at the bandaged mess. “What possessed you to even touch my head when it was so hot?”

Tabitha gives you a look before sighing in defeat. There’s just no stopping your hands, they’re a gift from the Gods. Maybe. Probably not.

You explain the situation to both of them, minus the full details of your plan to deal with Phallia, though she doesn’t seem to care that you leave that out.

“I’d wondered by I couldn’t feel the Elementals any longer. So Sveth claimed them did he…” She shakes her head. “A better parent than Dollora ever was, but I shouldn’t complain. It is not like I did well with my flock either.”

“Sveth made it clear you are to atone for your actions.” Bardam says, crossing his arms.

“And I shall.” She says, looking down at her clawed hand. “It will take a little time to recover my power, but I will do what I can to protect this place and allow it to nurture. The mountain runs deep, with many veins of metals. Ask, and I shall help.”

You cock your head and ask, “Can you leave this place?”

She frowns, “Yes, but I don’t know what will happen outside. I’ve never been anywhere colder than this and I’m afraid I couldn’t use my power appropriately.”

“I see. Perhaps for the best then.” Stretching, you say to the others, “Very well, let’s head home and get some rest before returning to Sanctifrond. Hopefully we won’t be too far behind the others.”

The rest of the party agrees, seeming relieved to get some true R&R. You turn to Tabitha and say, “And for you, my dear, we’re going to spend the next few days together doing whatever you want. You deserve it for putting up with me.”

She snorts, “I’d mostly like a bath together. A shame they’re always so crowded and not mixed.”

“Well, it’s what we have. Not like there’s a hot springs on this mountain.”

“Oh, you want warm water?” Vesta asks as you collect your things. She thinks for a moment and says, “Out of your settlement, northwest for perhaps a mile is a cave littered with such sources of water heated by the volcano.”

“Really?” Maya asks, eyes twinkling. “I suppose Wyverns never noticed due to the caves.” She turns to Bardam. “Permission to scout it out, sir!”

“Permission denied.” He says, nodding to you. “I think we’ll outsource this mission.”

>>404490

————————————————————–

“This is nice.” Tabitha says as she leans into you, her bare flesh pressed against yours. “I began to wonder if we’d ever be truly alone again.”

“I’m glad Vesta knew of this place.” You sigh, relaxing against the side of the hot spring you and Tabitha share. Maya’s magitek lantern illuminates the cavern you’re residing in, having found the place devoid to any person or Monster a few days after returning to Blackfire Reach. Of course, after traveling here you just had to spend a few days of alone time together while the others, including Erwin, did… well, who cares what they’re doing.

“Do you think it’s alright to have spared her?” Tabitha murmurs.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But if she tries anything I won’t hesitate this time.”

“Hmph, that’s my husband.” She looks up at you and pulls in for a kiss, which you lean in toward as well. Before you lips touch, however, she reaches up and gives you a noogie. “My husband who went and gave everyone that moved a headpat.”

“Owwwww, owww, hey!” You say, pulling away form her. “Oh come on, you can at least agree that Galatea deserved one!”

“As she attempted to kill you. Phah, at least she’s fitting in well in the town. As soon as Vesta pulls that lava back and frees the others, there will be more to deal with.”

“Yes, but if they’re like Galatea, we’ll be in a good place.”

Tabitha grunts. “However, there’s the issue of Valeria.”

“Uhm… what do you mean, issue?”

Tabitha glares at you and you gulp, looking for a way to word this. She speaks before you and says, “The issue of what we’re going to do for her. Poor girl has bad scars on her back and her throat now. Looks like she fell into a meat grinder. Honestly I’m going to talk to the council to see if we can’t get her some kind of award.”

“Oh!” You say, relieved. “Yes, we really should. I’ll see what I can get done at the miner’s guild also. Maybe we can send a healer from Sanctifrond when we get there too, however…”

“However?” Tabitha says, watching with interest as you reach behind you to your pouch. Her eyes light as you pull out your [Pipe] however.

“Might I interest you in some passing of the pipe?”

Her eyes twinkle with delight as you fill the bowel with [Purple Leaf] and light it, taking a long puff before blowing out smoke and handing it to Tabtiha. She inhales as well, but doesn’t exhale, instead she straddles you and leans forward to kiss you, breathing the smoke into your mouth. You’d like to cough, but instead you kiss her and she lets out a giggle as you feel yourself stiffen.

She hands the pipe back to you and while you breathe in, she reaches down into the warm waters, her scaled fingers as hot as her blood in the hot spring as she begins to stroke you, ever twist of her fingers making you larger and more erect. You place the pipe in her teeth and she takes in more of the aphrodisiac before placing spitting the pipe outside the water and pinning you to the side of the pool, smirking as purple smoke drifts out of her mouth.

You don’t fight back as she lifts herself up, placing the mouth of her entrance against the tip of your manhood. She gives a sigh of pleasure as she sinks down upon you, the pressure of her swallowing up your cock. You remain like this for a few moments before she starts raising her hips and lowering them, thrusting you inside of her in a rthymic motion.

“Ahhhn, mmmm.” She moans as she pleasures herself upon you, not that you’re complaining. The smoke begins to work its way into you as well, compelling you to thrust yourself into her, timing with her motions while you lean forward and suckle upon her breast. She lets out a surprised gasp before making pleased sounds, encouraging your assault upon her chest.

Her hips move faster and you remove yourself from her chest, instead moving to give her a deep, passionate kiss. She presses you back upon the rocks again and the two of you exchange a battle of the tongues as her lower mouth slides up and down your shaft, hungering for your release.

You can barely contain it under her relentless assault, but you do not stop kissing her, instead pushing yourself further into her until finally she pushes down wholly upon you as you unleash a torrent of your semen into her. She lets out moans in your kiss, holding you tight as her tail sticks straight up out of the water. When you finish, she pulls herself back, flushed from the water and panting from the effort, though she has nothing but joy on her face.

“When this is all over, we’re doing this a lot more often.” She says, exuberant.

“Until you’re pregnant and then some.”

“Well then, let’s get a head start.”

She reaches over for the pipe and takes another puff before blowing out a purple ring of smoke. Her eyes glitter as she looks to you.

“Ready for the next round?”

>End of Rommel section

>Select character

I think that got he majority of the concerns to Sveth. Seems he will consider your words, but is pragmatic enough not to take action. Hmm. I suppose we'll have to check in on the others to see how their adventures are going….

Ah, but at least you're getting some rest with your wife. Or are you? Seems if you have more stock of that purple leaf neither of you will be well rested on your return to Sanctifrond!

Oh and don't let me forget that the [Runite Knife] is done, it just didn't fit with the flow for this update.

>>404512

No reason to disagree. Switch to the BIG, FAT NERDS Grand Wizard and his kids.

>>404492

Yup. Go to GW. And in the meantime…

Time to figure out Phallia's plan! This is what we know about Phallia's actions so far in regards to what Ace has shown, I'll include some of slavsan's stuff only where Ace has mentioned it in his own stories as well.

Goal of Phallia: Get Dollora into the world in order to make Solos kill her. How? As of now, a monster genocide.

Puzzle Pieces:

WQ1 The cock is revealed: The least phallic of all the stories, we never felt her hand, and we only encountered her after confessing our love for Selene, where she adored over our love and stated that she was happy that we had weakened mamono kind, and that she would achieve a perfect world. Obviously we inadvertently played into her hands for human-supremacy, even as we tried to do the right thing, as we made the average monster easier to kill, which will be important later.

IQ/WQ 1.5The cock erects its head: The fort at Helmscrag was destroyed, and the use of mind flayers discovered, though men weren't lost, Phallia's intention was obviously to start a war with Galmathoria, leading to a slaughter of monsters. However, we seemingly averted that consequence by revealing it, and taking the constructs out before they could activate. However, a quick look at the map, and an assumption of planning, reveals that the Cradle is right next to it. Hmmm.

Barbarian quest: I'll only mention the parts Ace canonically mentioned, but the most important part is the rage spores. They easily have the potential to turn the now peaceable monsters into raging killer machines. Although they were Matango spores, they could easily be adapted by Phallia into plant spores/pollen, as Ferns also reproduce with spores. This is very worrying, and looks possible given developments that will be discussed later.

WQ 2 The cock is hard and wet: Here we found out Phallia's plan was to mind control the Pharaoh, and presumably take her army into Deleor for its perceived crimes and to "right" the balance. The important thing here is that at the time, Backfire Pass was under Danuki control, and easily payed through, meaning it would be an easy invasion. However, with our control of the Pass, and the Ectrian non-aggression pact, this was perhaps our most successful mission at shutting down her plans. Phallia so demonstrated her love for multi-pronged attacks with this as well, as Galmathoria SHOULD have also been attacking.

WQ 3 The rock hard cock begins to twitch: What everyone knows is that Phallia has roots monitoring leylines. Now, if we all know basic biology, roots also suck in things, which in this case, is magic. What's needed to make rage spore? The full power of a nexus, which Phallia's followers may have artificially created by channeling the power of separate leylines to one location, the Garden, along with powering that shield. By using rage spores, Phyllis can trigger a monster rampage, right into the bullets of the humans magical rifles, and due to their physical weakness, they’ll be killed much easier with traditional weapons as well.

What Tobias knows: The conservatives in the MN were calling for the return of the "goode olde days" of pillaging and raping for husbands, which would no doubt lead to war, and being aided by at least one plant abomination and Galmathoria in this. This indicates coordination between Phallia's servants, and is important, as it again signals she is trying to surround/overwhelm. However, due to Tobias burning down the Galmathorian embassy and revealing their meddling, along with providing another way to get husbands that will motivate the mammon (leyways), this is somewhat settled.

What Rommel knows: No Phallic activity that I remember, but she could easily be working with the Danuki, as presumably, she wouldd have had her Entrain army pass through there as well. Just keep a further watch on the food supplies that are "desperately" needed, so that we don't all get polluted.

What GW knows: A mind flayer was found in Hudson, where a state/order naval base and port is located. She was revealed to be the leader of a cult whose main purpose appears to be to keep Captain Baha captive. Why? Well, in the words of Baha himself, his wife is quite capricious, and we all remember what happened the last time he left her for too long the last time (Sahuagin). Now compound that with the fact that he's been missing in a place for a very long time where kidnappings are happening, and her "search" could easily be taken as an invasion force. And with a Mindflayer leading the order forces, Phallia's wet dream could happen. Or, she could even infect them with her spores. Thankfully, we rescued Baha and killed the mind flayer, though we still have other things to worry about. Phallia is the god of plants, and uses biomancy, she could easily control algae. Algae can put out a number of nasty air substances (Look up red tide), and could easily become another vector for rage spores.

Summary? If Phallia means to stop a war, the Ectrian channel has been stopped completely, the MN route has been…stifled, the Garden and Galmathoria are still potent, and the Undersea kingdoms status are still unknown, though Baha's return should help. Given this, I believe that our biggest priority needs to be focusing on potential spore contamination/modification by Phallia. In BQ, Franklin stated that b/c the spores were from shrooms, not plants, it affected the vaccine. Now Phallia has the opportunity to engineer them however she wishes. I think we should definitely talk to Franklin, via Seagull/harpy mail, into developing versions of his vaccine for different substances, and on decontamination/filter spells with the rest of the union.

Feel free to add to this, challenge, or give alternate uses for the concentration of magic/protection of the Garden. The only reason it isn't for is to forcibly drag Dollora into the world, as I asked Ace, and he said Solos would personally slap anyone who did such a thing.

>“Do you believe that rocks have souls?”

>{No. They do not.}

>{But no, they are not alive.}

But this implies Babyface didn’t make a heroic sacrifice as he was never capable of dying to begin with, which is blasphemy.

>This is the second time you’ve talked directly to a God, but it’s just as emotionally draining.

Third actually, seeing as Rommel has spoken with both Dollora and Phallia prior to this.

>>404491

How lewd.

I guess we’re swapping to the Grand Wizard then. It’s rather unfortunate that we’ve ended up being stuck to an order rather than having true freedom to swap whenever as per the original intent, but I suppose it can’t be helped.

>>404527

>>404528

To throw my own autism into the mix:

>I'll include some of slavsan's stuff only where Ace has mentioned it in his own stories as well.

To be honest, I don’t think it’s a good idea to include what is basically fanfiction as a part of this discussion, partly because there’s no guarantee that everything or anything mentioned within Slavsan’s works is truly canon (and with Slavsan being dead, he and Ace can’t co-ordinate stuff) and partly because not everyone who has read Ace’s stuff has read Slavsan’s; putting important plot details in side stories is how you end up with the messes like Kingdom Heart’s plot, where most players don’t know what the fuck is going on, and you don’t want to resemble that cringe-worthy disaster if you can help it.

>The important thing here is that at the time, Backfire Pass was under Danuki control, and easily payed through, meaning it would be an easy invasion.

>she could easily be working with the Danuki, as presumably, she wouldd have had her Entrain army pass through there as well

I doubt Phallia is in cahoots with the Danuki. They're generally known for fucking people over, making them poor business partners, and a full invasion force isn't really going to give a shit about a few dozen guards and a bunch of merchants, begging the question of why Phallia should care about them in the first place; the Wurms might perhaps be a threat, but most of them don't know how to fight and they could probably be swayed to the opposing side quite easily should Emphrasea be convinced to swap masters again and you know she would considering she did so easily before. Besides, when the Danuki have their fingers in every pie in every country, you would think we would see more detrimental things should Phallia be working with them.

>Barbarian quest: I'll only mention the parts Ace canonically mentioned, but the most important part is the rage spores.

Could I get a citation for when these were mentioned in one of the Wizard Quests? Because I don’t remember this coming up.

>WQ 2: Here we found out Phallia's plan was to mind control the Pharaoh, and presumably take her army into Deleor for its perceived crimes and to "right" the balance.

There’s also the component of the infection of those Dolloran High Priestesses too, which could imply her plans also involved the decay of Dollora’s influence in Ectria as a whole. This was probably to make the invasion go by smoother by convincing the populace, but still, there may be other consequences of this that we’re not considering.

>Now, if we all know basic biology, roots also suck in things, which in this case, is magic.

We don’t even need basic biology for this, it’s outright stated in the first thread:

<Something hard wormed its way into the leylines and was siphoning not only magic, but information through it.

So it’s pretty clear she’s siphoning the magic from the leylines, whatever the reason for that may be.

>What Tobias knows: The conservatives in the MN were calling for the return of the "goode olde days" of pillaging and raping for husbands, which would no doubt lead to war, and being aided by at least one plant abomination and Galmathoria in this. This indicates coordination between Phallia's servants, and is important, as it again signals she is trying to surround/overwhelm.

I disagree. In our little murder mystery scenario, this was stated with regards to the anti-Selene party member who died:

<“This… isn’t making a lot of sense.” Sophie says. “You’re making it sound like they wanted to get caught and she wanted to…”

<“I don’t think she did.” Finn says, joining you as well. “That is not the face of a martyr. That’s the face of someone who is utterly shocked.”

It seems more like Galmathoria, Phallia’s proxy, was using those seeking the old days to their advantage rather than co-operating towards their mutual benefit—this makes more sense to me than Phallia trying to get those who by their very nature despise her see Selene at the end of the first quest to work with her. With Galmathoria’s influence on the Monster Nation’s politics being exposed, I doubt we’ll be seeing anything more coming from there.

>>404527

>>404528

>Phallia is the god of plants, and uses biomancy, she could easily control algae. Algae can put out a number of nasty air substances (Look up red tide), and could easily become another vector for rage spores.

Algae are plant-like, but whether or not they are actually plants per say is hard to say, since they are photosynthetic bacteria that lack the structures that plants generally have. Granted, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Phallia cannot control algae, as she can apparently control spores of which are likely from fungi, but the jury is out on that front for now.

Assuming she can, however, then her effectiveness via this method would be rather limited. It would certainly have a strong effect on the coast assuming she can somehow transmit anything out of the water, since no one in their right mind would approach whatever unnatural things Phallia is doing, but most sea-based monsters seem to live in deep waters where algae wouldn’t be present and thus would avoid the effects, while most people on the land don’t live by the coastline and thus the damage done by the small number of monsters living in the few settlements by the sea would be minimal. As such, I’d imagine she would look to other methods was this to be her goal.

>Phallia’s plan and goals

If I had to hazard a guess myself, I’d say her siphoning of the magic within the leylines is to repeat what seemed to happen at the end of Illusionist Quest, namely the bolstering of plant-based monsters and making their emotions become harder to control they became very invigorated and frisky without knowing why, but on a much larger scale. Theoretically this could be used to make those monsters within Phallia’s domain go into a murderous frenzy if desired, which would be pretty disastrous when such monsters have a wide distribution around Deleor and somewhat the Monster Nation and when no one would expect an attack from that angle. Another potential reason is to embolden those of which Phallia’s vines have infected, which would likely include most of Galmathoria, thus making those under her influence much harder to kill while also making them easier to control, thus making them better at carrying out the planned genocide.

Also, while unlikely, Phallia may not necessarily be targeting only monsters. Dollora was said to have helped Solos in the creation of human women, which would give them some value to her even if they aren’t strictly within her domain due to her love for Solos and his creations; as such, a large scale attack on human settlements may also prompt Dollora’s intervention were it sufficient enough. With that in mind, her planned attacks probably involve Sanctifrond in some regard.

A final note, the leyway will no doubt go down at some point, as Phallia would want to limit transportation options for both Deleor in their defence against her attacks and for us in our attempt to thwart her efforts. As such, it may be prudent to discuss with Blake when we get back of course, doing so now would compromise the mission how to best position the Order’s forces before we lose the opportunity to send reinforcements to certain locations.

Quick replies

>>404541

I'm sorry, rocks don't have souls, I can't make up an excuse for that.

Also, gotta have lewds every now and then though honestly that's the only route that would until Tobias returns to Sanctifrond I suppose… Oh well.

As far as swapping, well, you could go to Tobias, it just seemed settled by everyone present that this is how we're doing things. I wouldn't have had an issue if people called a change mid thing either.

>>404541

>Spore citation: First thread of WQ 3, use find

>Shit.” You groan. “If she’d managed to release those SPORES and drive the Galmathorians into a frenzy, then how would the Deleorians respond when a horde of Monsters comes into their lands? The balance between man and Monster would be destroyed. I can easily see whispers in the right ears leading to an outright slaughter of Monsters.”

>Conservatives working together

Yeah, I never said it was allies. She’s using them, and Galmathoria too, as tools. All she wants is for monsterkind to die, and if she has to temporarily work with them to do it, then she seems to be willing to do that.

>Leyway shutdown

I was thinking about that too, Blake does need to be notified to start thinking about alternate supply/transport routes, though I would suppose many of the original roads are still in operation, and are roughly adjacent to the leyways.

>Overall

Your ideas are good, we both agree she’s trying to work the monsters into a frenzy, we just can’t work out how. Ah well, I’m sure more will be revealed. At the very least, GW can send a seagull/harpy mail to Blake and Franklin about our suggestions for them.

>>404549

>I'm sorry, rocks don't have souls, I can't make up an excuse for that.

I guess all rocks are gingers then. :^) Babyface and the rest of our friends were and are alive to us, and that's all that matters.

>>404562

>Spore citation

Thanks for that.

With the above confirmed, I can agree with the idea of having the Grand Wizard contacting Franklin regarding the matter, but that seems to be rather difficult to do currently since the former is on a boat going to fuck knows where and probably lacks extremely convenient methods of communication as a result, so we would probably have to wait until after he returns to Hudson to put that plan into action. Also, when we do send such a message, it would be for the best if we continued to keep our mission hidden even if our own part is over, since in-universe the Grand Wizard doesn't know if the others are done yet and there could be an impact on their own quests should this message be intercepted whilst containing such information; better safe than sorry and all that.

>>404604

>Contacting Franklin and Blake

El dorito, by popping in to leave a message for them? Harpy mail via a gull girl, if trust worthy? Baha can probably help with the being at sea part by asking a trustworthy sea monster to deliver it safely. Oh well. In the end it all comes down to whether or not Ace takes up on any of this, and allows us to channel our paranoia through GW.

>Story continue

It’s been over twenty years since your first time. You’ve done this plenty of times since then but you always remember your first time the best, eh? The gentle motions, the uncertainty of your position as the world rocks around you. The smell of fish and the taste of sweat on your lips. Yes, you could never forget your first time, and it’s gratifying to see that even after all these years some things stay the same.

Sailing is seriously boring.

“Are we there yet?” You ask Baha has you lounge on the deck. Using a fan made of paper, you try to cool yourself off without using magic, but it’s not very effective. Sighing, you create a localized [Cold Blooded] and shiver in relief from the heat.

“Not yet you insufferable ass.” Baha says, gritting his teeth. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

“Not really. Sylphie is asleep and the constructs are doing who knows what.”

“Then talk with your damn horse.”

“Mr. Ed?” You ask, turning to look at the horse. Despite being a larger vessel with cargo holds for livestock downstairs, he chose instead to stay topside and make a literal poopdeck. At least he’s nice about it.

“I don’t know, I think I’d be poor company for him also.”

“Grah.” Baha grunts before turning to you. “Very well then, just sit there and be quiet.”

“Yeah, but I’m bored.”

“Are you a child?”

“My wife wonders that sometimes too.” You say, stretching before leaning back against the railing again and looking up at the cloudless sky. It’s beautiful, in a way, but damn if it isn’t warm in your robes. Still, they’re kind of your only clothing option so you have to wear them.

“Hmph.” Baha sniffs, turning back to the wheel. He makes a small course adjustment before frowning and looking at something in the distance. You make to ask what he’s seeing when he shouts to the crow’s nest. A crewman up there replies back something you can’t make out, but which makes Baha smile. He barks a few more orders to the rest of the crew before turning to you.

“Well, it looks like it’s both our lucky days. We made better time than expected and we’re here!”

Excited, you stand up and look around to see… nothing but open water.

All around you is a never-ending spread of open ocean, no islands or anything in sight. Frowning, you turn back to Baha, but the man is already making his way to the rigging with a few other men. The sails are hoisted up as the ship’s speed slows to a crawl. As more crewmen come topside, other passengers follow in their wake as Baha orders the men to drop the anchor. The ship continues to drift forward on momentum for a few moments before it grinds to a halt, causing you to almost lose your balance.

Confused, you walk down the steps and look around, seeing similar expressions on the faces of your party. Sylphie walks up to you with a worried expression while Harmony and Chaika merely assess the situation.

“Uhm.” Sylphie asks, scratching her head. “We don’t seem to be anywhere. How did the anchor stop us?”

“Must be shallow here.” Harmony says, shrugging. “But I don’t see anything.”

>>404776

“This your first time in Fillothia then?” One of the other passengers says, a captive you seem to recall from the naval base. She’s a tall, powerfully built Monster similar to a Sahaguin you’d guess, being that her limbs have green scales and are slimy. She smiles at you with much more personality than the Sahaguin you’d met before, however.

“Uhh, yeah.” You say. “He says we’re here but I don’t really see anything.”

“Oh, but we are here.” She says, nodding her head. “This is the entrance to the city, at least above the water.”

Sylphie looks down at the water before turning back to her. “So… is it under us then?”

“Indeed it is.”

“How are we supposed to get down there?”

She shrugs and walks over to the railing before sitting on it, a bag held over her shoulder. Smiling, she says, “Well, there’s about two ways. For myself, I just swim!”

With that, she falls over backward and into the water. You look over the railing and see no sign of her. More splashes catch your attention as other Monsters, and even a human or two dive in. Worried about your stuff getting wet, also having to swim at all, you turn to Baha to see the man walking over toward you.

“We’re ready to dive. I’d hold onto something.”

“What are you talking about-“

The boat suddenly groans before the floor falls out from under you for a moment as the boat falls.

Before you can say anything, you’re underwater. Panicked, you prepare to cast magic to try to get you out of this death trap when you realize that you can breathe just fine. And that you’re not wet. Also, you’re not dying.

Confused, you look over to Sylphie, who has made the same discovery, as well as the constructs. A shimmering barrier surrounds your vessel, giving you pockets of air and creating an isolation within the sea. All of you look about in amazement as the crew around you act like nothing is wrong while they go about their duties as you sink down farther and farther.

“Woah…” Sylphie says, tugging your shoulder. You blink in surprise and then follow her gaze before letting out a remark yourself.

“Now that… that’s something.”

Fish of all shapes and sizes swim around your vessel in this undersea world. The light above filters through the water, casting everything in a shade of blue that grows darker the farther you go. The passengers who leapt off the boat before you sank swim by, the large Monster waving at you as she swims by a shark while a moment later a Shark Girl swims up and gives you a sharp toothed grin before waving at a crewman who blows a kiss at her.

All around you is an undersea bounty, something you’d never be able to see or experience otherwise. But that isn’t the most amazing part. What your gaze is drawn to above all else is an immaculate structure that approaches closer and closer the farther down you go.

Nestled in the middle of a valley in the ocean is a city made of white stone. Intricate towers rise up as if reaching for the surface while buildings of myriad shapes that mimic the flowing waves. In the distance you see a palace the size of which would rival the Royal Castle in Deleor while what appears to be a cathedral as large as the Grand Temple of the Twins dominates in another district. You’re unable to get a good look at much else before you sink underneath the skyline, but you do notice one other distinctive fact about the place.

Surrounding the city is a bubble much the same as your own. Casting a quick [Farsight], you’re able to see Monsters freely entering into this barrier while fish, both large and small, swim into or around it, but suffer no ill effects..

>>404777

“It’s… beautiful.” Chaika says, her voice unit crackling. She shakes her head a moment later and says, “Maybe I should ask for tears to be installed into my face plate for moments like this.”

“I as well.” Harmony whispers. “This is nothing short of impressive. To think this has been under these waves for centuries.”

“Longer than that.” Baha says, staring out at the city himself. “Filiothia has been around for nigh on millenia, in some shape or fashion. Greatest city in the world I say.”

“Greater than Sanctifrond?”

“Pfff, don’t kid yourself.” He says, chuckling. “But you’ll see in a moment.”

He points toward an area that your ship is being dragged toward. It takes you a moment to notice that the anchor is attached to something moving and when you look down you notice an extremely large crab pulling you along. Did it… did it drag you down here also?

A few other crabs moves other ships you notice, and the closer you get the more you see. A veritable dockyard of Deleorian, Islander, and other vessels you’ve never seen before litter the sea floor, anchored in place in multi-colored docks sharing the same barrier head toward the city. It is at one of these that your vessel is pulled in by the crab, who jams the anchor into the sand before, and you shit yourself not, it waves at you with a massive claw and scuttles away.

“Uh… huh.” You say, watching the event. “What do we do now?”

Baha stares at the city, his eyes locked onto the Palace. He smirks and ignores you until you nudge his shoulder. He blinks as if not remembering you before clacking his tongue. “Oh, right. Well, we better get you put up somewhere.”

“Can’t we go see the Sea Queen?”

“Hmph. I’d need to see if my own hide isn’t to be tanned before I can get you an audience.” He says, shaking his head. “No, you better wait it out, enjoy the city maybe? Anyway, I’ll get you settled in a little bit, I need to get this cargo offloaded.”

You exit the boat with your possessions a little while later, waiting on the dock as Baha completes his unloading. Despite being so close to the city, you hang back on the strange dock, realizing it to be some kind of dense coral under your feet. Sylphie is fascinated by it while Mr. Ed attempts to eat the stuff before sticking out his tongue and nudging Sylphie for feed.

Around you, other dock workers, men and Monster, move cargo to and fro. It surprises you in one way and doesn’t in the other to see that even under the ocean, commerce is commerce. If Hudson is a hub of exotic trade, you wonder how great this place will be? Your interest is certainly peaked when you see an eastern-looking shrimp mermaid sliding along the coral without trouble as eastern men transport cargo.

Once his unloading is complete, Baha takes your party to the edge of the city where Sahaguin guards stand, spears in this hands. They nod at you as you approach and you watch in fascination as Baha walks through the barrier as if it wasn’t there. It shimmers and ripples as he does so, like he just walked into a pool. The guards eye you with suspicion, but you put a hand to where the Sea Priestess marked you and step through the barrier.

A cold waves washes over you while the rune marked area flashes hot, but the next thing you know, you open your else to find yourself inside the city. The others follow a moment later and all of you gape at the inside just as you did the outside.

>>404778

All around you the buildings you saw loom tall, bathed in the shimmering light that filters down from the surface. Outside it seemed darker, but somehow the small amount present is magnified through the barrier so it shines bright and mimics the day, warming your skin and making you feel like you’re in some kind of underwater fairyland. Well, you kind of are except Fairies don’t live underwater. You don’t think anyway, Tobias would know better.

Surprisingly, the city is dominated by canals which crisscross like roads while smaller walkways exist for those who prefer to walk on two feet. Well, beyond the Centaur-like monsters with frills and scales you assume to be Kelpies, but that’s just a small detail. Either way, most of the Monsters prefer to swim through the city while others hop out easily and slide across the coral flooring without any difficulty.

You shake out of your stupor as Baha leads you down a main throughfare where Monsters and men participate in commerce as sounds of bartering and smells of cooking food drift through the area. It feels so alien and yet perfectly normal, like the markets in any city in Deleor. It always amazes you how similar cities can be, even if they’re figuratively worlds away.

Mr. Ed gets a few surprised looks as he walks through the streets, but even more attention is paid to Baha. The man receives praise and adoration from most people, the others merely poking fun at him about how much trouble he is in with his wife. He’s jovial about it and does his best to interact without wasting time as you travel. Eventually, you reach a building with a motif of a mermaid strumming a harp carved into the stone.

“Arr, well here’s your lodgings for now.” He says, scratching his beard. “I best be finishing up with me crew and then heading back home.”

“Sounds like your wife misses you.” Harmony says, to which the captain snorts.

“Hope I’m not missing an arm when I next see ye. I’ll send word if you can get an audience. Otherwise, enjoy the city. There’s plenty of sights including Fish Bait Row for food, the Grand Cathedral of Filios, and even the Flowing Gardens.” He leans forward and chuckles, “Don’t worry, your coin is good down here.”

“Thank you.” You say, nodding to the man. “We look forward to hearing from you.”

He waves to you as he leaves and you enter the inn, getting settled in your room by a Mermaid who looks very similar to the one out front. Mr. Ed is put outback in a room used for Kelpies if they decide to stay there, the horse immediately falling onto a lavish bed not at all meant for him and neighing in delight. Once the Mermaid leaves you to your room, you sigh and sit on the bed adorned with kelp before looking out a window lined with seashells.

“Waiting, huh?” You say, worried. How long will that last, you wonder? Days?

“Well, not much else for it.” Sylphie says. “But things seem peaceful here. It’s out of our hands at the moment so we might as well enjoy ourselves, right?”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Chaika says, pumping her fists together. “How about we tour the city, huh?”

“Not much else to do, though the cuisine has me interested…” You say, smelling some cooking fish in the distance. “Well, might as well do something rather than just sit around.”

Sylphie chuckles, “Very well Dad, what do we do?”

>What do you do?

Wao, you're finally under the waves. You stopped the cult's ambitions back in Hudson, so you're free to enjoy your little vacation. Maybe get some fried squid? Maybe see the gardens? Want to worship some Filios? Whatever you want!

Nothing bad can happen here.

>>404619

The Grand Wizard doesn't care for El Dorito at the moment and he wants to keep his contact with the other Wizards low.

No harpies around here, sorry.

Sea Monster delivery… mmm well another ship could ferry a message but you have no idea when or if it would arrive.

So, you can do something like that if you want. If you want.

>>404779

one thing we shouldnt do is mess with the crabbo, otherwise we get the stabbo

while probably not gonna happen, an underwater leyline train would be fucking radical

Wow. Pretty city. Well, first I want to see how well our magic functions down here. It might be worth it to test out that [Abyssal Point] and [Riptide] spells we were planning earlier. Another thing I want to test is [Ice], as any Ice formed should float, and [Vine Whip], to see if we can do anything with algae/seaweed. This should be done outside the city of course, as it sounds like the city has an air bubble. If that protection things lets us go outside, let’s do it. If not, then just stay inside.

Beyond our magic tests, let’s go check out the Temple of Filios, and wander around seeing what the city has to offer We need to meet a snack vendor who is selling bags of Golden Minnows, and argue with them over why Heated Bread pouches are the superior snack food. The reason being that Golden minnows are just edible crack, and any pleasure from them is gone just as quickly. No, eating any food should be an experience, a journey, an Odyssey, into the realm of flavor, something which Golden Minnows cannot grant their eater

>Surrounding the city is a bubble much the same as your own. Casting a quick [Farsight], you’re able to see Monsters freely entering into this barrier while fish, both large and small, swim into or around it, but suffer no ill effects..

>Surprisingly, the city is dominated by canals which crisscross like roads while smaller walkways exist for those who prefer to walk on two feet.

So Filliothia is basically underwater Venice then, which is rather neat. This also means we should be able to fight fairly normally while within the city’s barrier.

>>404779

Starting off, >>404803 has the right idea regarding magic testing; while we’re not actually submerged in water while within the city unless I’m reading things wrong, the fact that there is water surrounding us at all times, be it outside the barrier or within the canals covering the area, means that underwater combat will almost certainly become a factor at some point, so we should prepare for that possibility now when there aren’t consequences for fucking up our magical options rather than experimenting in a life and death scenario. As for what to practise, in addition to what 55694d has already brought up, there were things like the pistol shrimp idea, combining that with [Abyssal Point] to make [Abyssal Collapse], Sylphie's [Tidal Wave] and [Water Spout] to test. A final note, we should steer clear of any structures or people when we do start testing since collateral damage and the ire of the city’s populace is not something we really want, less so when we want to give a good impression to the Sea Queen to increase our chances of an audience.

Moving on, exploring the city seems to be our only other option right now, so we should obviously do that. The three noteworthy places Baha mentioned seem like pretty reasonable destinations, but I’d also recommend we scout out the Palace’s exterior when we get the chance—seeing as there’s no guarantee that the Sea Queen would be willing to let us borrow her priceless artefact, let alone grant us an audience, we may have to resort to less heroic means of achieving our goals should we get desperate and I’d rather we get an idea of what we may have to deal with sooner and not later in case we need to spring that plan into action nigh-immediately. That aside, it’s probably also worth mingling with the local populace when we get the chance to pick up on rumours that may be relevant to us, such as mentions of potential future threats we may contend with, problems we can assist with to improve our reputation should the Sea Queen initially give us the cold shoulder or methods for contacting Fillios that don’t involve the [Trident of the Sea King] that we could try should our current objective fall through completely.

One final thing, we should absolutely go check out the markets when we get the chance; this place is implied to be a huge hub of exotic commerce, so there could be all kinds of interesting and useful trinkets and equipment being sold there that we could make good usage out of, be it now or once we return to the surface. Also, my inner paranoia says to me that the city’s barrier will either shatter or at least crack at some point in the future, so stocking up on some [Gilly Potion]s or this locale’s equivalent to help mitigate the risk of drowning in these circumstances wouldn’t be the worst of ideas. Even if I’m wrong, at least by doing this we will have something to help us, Sylphie and Mr Ed not die when underwater combat inevitably rears its head.

>>404781

Hmm. Missed this. Yeah, if possible let’a find a reputable looking ship headed for Deleon, write out two letters with the warnings, and ask them to be delivered to a happy mail station. Pay them handsomely, scan them for plants, whatever else we can do to ensure their loyalty. However, with the letters themselves, try to be vague as possible, and rely on anecdotes Phallia wouldn’t know about, just so even if they are captured, they won’t be understood. Alternatively, we could do every internet dweller wannabe spy’s favorite trick with some lemons (if we can buy them), and write our real message there. Franklin should know about that, and we can afford to be blunt with Blake, as his warning is something that won’t make much of a difference whether Phallia knows about it, while Franklin’s will.

>>404981

>**Golden Minnows are, of course, the main export of the city. You want to get killed? Be my fucking guest. :^)

If we can get away with it? Sure. The GW parts always represent 8chan’s autism at its finest, and we need some of it. Though maybe we should be just a little bit diplomatic about it.

Also, do those drawings mean Manos is back up and running?

I did not mean to make everything greentext but here we are.

>>404993

Yeah, would be highly inconvenient if the city was entirely flooded, no? It's not like it's difficult to get outside however. And inside the city a lot of surfaces are slick, so it's easy for the non-bipeds to slither in a way.

>>405036

if others agree, sure

Manos is back and drawing! She still has backlog through so I have to consider carefully what I went to spend monies on and when it maybe finished. I was considering the Sea Queen for the next picture, unless y'all want to see someone else done?

>>405054

a sea queen would be nice, but a holstaur would be better and a holstaur with a gaggle of daughterus would be even better than that

>>405058

Beardicuuuuusssssssss

>>405062

why would i be such a fine connoisseur of big fat cow tiddies

it's not like holstaur best girl anyway ace-kun

>Story continue

“Might as well go see what this place is all about.”

Stretching, you tidy up your clothing and look at your hood before frowning. “Hey Chaika?”

“Yeah?” The Construct asks, donning her own outfit.

“Think anyone would recognize me without the hood?”

“Well, you are one of the most important men with a widely distributed book and marriage to the ruler of Monsters. So… probably not.”

“Huh?” Harmony asks as she accidentally tears her own outfit. She huffs and looks through the hole at Chaika. “Are you being sarcastic?”

“Probably.” Sylphie says, donning a traveling cloak of her own instead of the large black cape. “But this is all relevant on the surface. I doubt most of the people down here even know what ‘Wizardquest’ is.”

“A damn shame.” You say, shaking your head. “I spent so much blood, sweat, and tears in the making of that book. So many typos, so much anguish.”

“Yes, a true shame that more people did not enjoy such a brilliant work.” Harmony says, nodding her head.

“Are we done?” Chaika says, pulling over her cowl. “And for the record, I was only being half a smart-ass, just put on the hood and lets go, shall we?”

Chuckling, you leave the inn and head out into the city. Again, the dazzling brilliance of an undersea world has you staring about in wonder before you shake yourself and continue onward.

Despite the serenity of the city’s architecture, it has all the hustle and bustle you’d expect of a major city. People and Monsters going about their business, with few even bothering to take notice of you. While you’re certain travelers aren’t common in the city, it’s also going to cause less of a headache to wear these clothes than explain to people why constructs and a Cat-o-Nine Tails is wandering around down here.

That being said, a few surface dwelling Monsters can be seen here and there, their eyes watching you curiously as they smell your scent, something seemingly lost on most of the aquatic Monsters. You assume underwater though, they’d easily tell you don’t belong, but thankfully that’s not the case. Though at some point you’re going to have to go outside, if nothing more than to test your new spells.

“Although…” You say, looking down a back alley.

“Dad, no.” Sylphie says, wagging a finger at you. “We can’t cause trouble here, we have to be on our best behavior so we can see the Sea Queen.”

“Tsk.” You say, crossing your arms. “What are you, your sister?”

“Wow, low blow dad.” She huffs. A moment later the two of you snicker while Harmony sighs.

“I wish a real adult was here.”

“Mr. Ed is still stabled.” Chaika says with a shrug.

Your travels would normally take you to the markets first since they’re nearby, but you decide to hit those on the way back. While you’re very interested in what they’re selling, you’re also very keen to see some of the more cultural landmarks of the city. Ah, if only Selene were here with you. Maybe you can convince Baha or that Sea Priestess to let her down here? Of course, maybe it’s not the best idea to bring another monarch into the domain of the Sea Queen…

The area surrounding the Grand Cathedral of the Sea Queen is intricate and old. The buildings seem well kept, but also of older designs while the canals are narrower. Possibly this area was the first built in the city, and you begin to wonder if maybe Filliothia began life as a worship site for those who revered Fillios. But could Monsters really have built all of this?

“Hey! What where you’re swimming!”

You turn to a commotion happening upstream from you. Walking to the edge of the bridge you’re crossing, you blink in surprise as a Shark Girl swims past quickly, pushing aside slower traffic. A Mermaid mother holds her daughter tight and shouts the other Monster dives past, throwing sprays of water up the sides. When the Shark Girl passes under your bridge, you get a glimpse of her expression and see a lack of emotion on her face as she heads toward whatever destination she has in mind.

>>405352

“Huh.” Harmony says, hand on her hip. “Wasn’t that the Shark Girl we rescued from that cult?”

“Oh yeah.” Chaika says. “Who knew she was such a jerk.”

“Kindered spirit?” Sylphie says, shaking her head.

“Is this how you speak to someone who used to change your diapers you little brat?”

The two play bicker as you shrug and head toward the Grand Cathedral again. Guess you get jerks in any city, huh? Maybe you should have left her with that cult if she’s going to be like this. Oh well, you return your focus back to the area around you as you approach your destination.

Looming above you is a building that could rival the Temple of Solos in Sanctifrond. The place is utterly massive and made of the same, white stone as the rest of the city but the design is practically archaic. Perhaps you recall something in the archives the other Wizards had made but it just doesn’t ring a bell to you on what the style is called. It would irk you if you weren’t so inspired by it.

All around the building are statues of sea creatures and Monsters in motion, carved so well you’d thinking them lifelike. Scenes of flowing water decorate the outsides as if to match that outside, while the gentle light filtering through the barrier shines upon the white stone, giving it a rather holy appearance.

It almost feels sacrilegious to step inside, but Sylphie takes your hand and leads you in, the other two following behind.

Inside is no less grand than outside. Following canals into the cathedral, you watch as they head into the main hall to create islands within the room where human and aquatic Monsters can comfortably worship. Light filters down through stained glass windows depicting scenes of what you can only assume is Fillios giving succor to the Monsters of the deep. One depicts her bringing water to the bone dry land while another has her holding out her arms like a mother to all the children of the ocean. In fact, as you look into the main hall, you see at the far end a statue of Fillios in a similar position.

It’s strange though, the depiction of Fillios here varies from the one on the surface. Where the small idol you saw before showed her with a trident, this statue gives off an air of tranquility and calm. Her body is small, in stature, is divinely proportioned, as all Goddesses are, and she has a look of utter calm that is absent in both depictions of Dollora and Phallia. If you had to guess by looking at the three, you’d guess her to be a mother, instead of the two twins.

“Ah, surface dwellers.”

You turn to view a Mermaid similar to the Sea Priestess on the surface swim up toward you in one of the canals. She bows to you, her habit marking her as one of Fillios’s chosen.

“How-?” You ask, but she merely giggles.

“We can tell by your sigils. Also-“ She points to Sylphie’s feet. “It’s quite obvious you’re not from around here.”

Sylphie pouts as you breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh good, I thought it was my shoes.”

“No, but it could be. Fins are much more convenient.” She giggles again. “Should require assistance or wish to offer a pray to Fillios, please do not hesitate to ask.” She bows away and you wave her off as she swims into the main hall.

Without any pressing need, you look around the building, viewing various artifacts of the faith, though none of them are magical that you can tell. The others walk about as well, and you can tell that Chaika especially is engrossed in all of it, what with her history and all. You’re glad she’s enjoying herself, at least.

Looking up from a golden fishing rod that apparently was once wielded by someone to catch the largest mouth bass ever, you notice the Sea Priestess you were talking with before holding her hand on a Crab Girl’s claw, the other Monster seeming distraught. She whispers something to the Priestess who nods and takes her to a back room in the Cathedral. Cocking your head, you shrug and head over back to the others as they convene.

“So as I was saying, apparently Fillios swam the oceans in the past with the Monsters of the sea that they eventually came to love her as their mother over Dollora, who spent most of her time on land. Eventually Fillios spread herself out to all the oceans and even other bodies of water, but she found this spot her favorite and ordained that this chapel should be built here.”

“Uh huh, that’s lovely.” Harmony says as Chaika gushes. Sylphie merely shrugs as you approach and asks,

“What’s with that face?”

“Oh, nothing. Just coincidence, I could have sworn I saw the Crab Girl we rescued from the warehouse down here. She was crying to a Priestess.”

>>405353

“It was a traumatic experience.” Sylphie says, looking down. “Well, anyway, let’s head on and get some food! I’m starving here!”

You shrug and head out of the cathedral. Taking some directions, you head toward the section known as “Fish-Bait Row.” The area is said to be filled with all sort of food from local to abroad. Of course, this reminds you of the islander fare and your stomach turns a little remembering Otit’s leering smile as he made sure you ate all of the eggs.

As you loop around the city, you decide to take a quick detour and view the Palace of the Sea Queen. It’s not too far out of your way and you might as well see it outside since you can’t very well go in.

It’s just as imposing as you saw on your way in, with towers in a more modern style compared to the cathedral. Given the styles, you suspect that it’s similar in age to Sanctifrond… which really puts into perspective just how old that city is also. Still, it’s a rather intimidating structure, yet the motifs of waves kind of put you at ease also.

The large walls and armed guards, on the other hand, do not.

They watch you warily as you walk by, your outfits not exactly doing you favors. You’re totally not casing the place in case things go poorly with Baha. Nah, that wouldn’t be anything that you would do if you’re forced into a corner.

“Good foundation, nice security.” Sylphie mutters as you walk by. “Be hard to get into.”

“Are you discussing breaking and entering as if it were routine?” You ask, mildly amused.

“I kind of did this for a few months. Completely for JUSTICE, mind you.” Sylphie says as you move past and continue on your way to Fish-Bait Row. “But yes, it would be a difficult heist if we had to get in and steal the trident.”

“But you have a way?”

“I’d probably need a little more recon time but I’m sure I could find it.”

You merely shake your head as you make your way to the resturants. It’s easy to tell when you’re getting close by the smell of food cooking, and you’re glad to see it’s not just a seafood you smell. That being said, you can’t help but buy a skewer of plump, marinated shrimp that had just been cooked on over a fire.

They taste divine, and you share them between Sylphie, who also had never had seafood like this. Unable to help yourselves, you hit up a few other stalls, sampling their wares with reckless abandon. The food in Hudson is good, but this! You didn’t know that tuna could be cooked like that! How can cod be made to taste so divine?!

As you and Sylphie tear into some octopus balls made in an eastern style, Harmony merely sighs and sits down, watching the sights. You’d feel bad for a moment about eating in front of her, but both of you had long gotten over that issue. Turning away from her, you go back to the balls when someone bumps you and you drop one. Annoyed, you turn around to face the person who did it and find yourself facing the large Sahaguin you’d rescued alongside Baha.

“Woah! Oh hey, it’s you.”

She looks at you with a cold expression, her eyes devoid of any recognition of you. Frowning, you wave a hand in front of her face and ask, “Uh, are you okay? Something wrong?”

Turning her head from you, she merely continues on her way, crushing your food under her webbed foot as she enters into a nearby restaurant, one which seems rather high class by the sign.

You rub your head and look to Sylphie, who shrugs as well. This day is just getting stranger and stranger, isn’t it?

Chaika watches the affair and hums, tapping her foot but doesn’t say anything, merely following behind you as you try to forget the experience. Your mood is a little soured, but nothing that another snack can’t fix!

“Get your Golden Minnows here!” A Mermaid with whiskers of all things says, ringing a bell. Before her are baked snacks which look like yellow fish. “Best snack in the world! Golden Minnows!”

“Tch.” You say, as you pass, holding up a hand. “This bottom feeding swill? Please, Golden Minnows are chum for plebians.”

“Excuse me?” The vendor says, sliding quickly out of her stall and in front of your face. She sniffs you, her whiskers, or perhaps barbels, sliding across your face. She pulls back and sneers at you. “You smell of heated bread pouches. Disgusting.”

>>405354

“Ex-fucking-scue me?” You say, indignant. “Heated bread pouches are the king of culinary treats, a gift from the Gods themselves and I will not hear them besmirched!”

“Ahaha… uh, Dad, maybe we should go?” Sylphie says, looking nervous. A crowd is forming around you as you fight with the Catfish Mermaid.

“The simplicity of a Golden Minnow gives it it’s power. From this base, an endless variety of flavors can be created!” The vendor says, holding up three different flavored bags.

“Hah!” You pull three heated bread pouches out from your [Pocket Dimension]. “There are more flavors than I can count with the heated bread pouches. But you know what, you know what I really hate about Golden Minnows?”

“Oh, do tell.”

“Golden minnows are just edible crack, and any pleasure from them is gone just as quickly. No, eating any food should be an experience, a journey, an Odyssey, into the realm of flavor, something which Golden Minnows cannot grant their eater.”

With that, you take a bite of a heated bread pouch and chew it slowly.

“Oh you son of a-“ The vendor begins until Chaika blocks her while Harmony drags you away.

“Oh my Gods, I forgot you’re such a fucking idiot over snacks.” Sylphie says, hiding her face, though she is wearing a cowl. “I’m so fucking embarrassed right now.”

“She’s wrong!” You say, shrugging away from Harmony and walking on your own. “Listen, I had to set the record straight.”

“Yeah well you can set it straight back in the room.” Chaika says, walking back up to you. She gives you a look, not that there’s any emotion behind it, before saying, “Idiot.”

Grumbling to yourself, you walk back to the markets, only having to dodge a gang of young Kraken children firing ink at each other. Sylphie looks like she’d want to play, but you take her long and avoid their little turf war as you head into an area which isn’t aware of your reason, logic, and evidence.

Some people call it, “outburst.” You don’t agree.

At least the markets are a good distraction. As you walk through the stalls you see wares of all shapes and sizes, from Deleorian to local. Despite seeing some fantastic magical implements imported from the east, the prices drive you away. Also, you really have nowhere to put them. What if they get damaged in your [Sack of Holding +1]?

>>405355

You do something productive though, buying about six [Gilly Potions], the sort that will allow you to breathe underwater for a short period. They’re pretty common down here thanks to humans wanting to go outside with their lovers from time to time, so you’re pleased to have them on hand for later when you’re practicing spells. It’s not like you’ll need them for anything else.

As you finish paying for these potions, and a few more health potions, you notice Sylphie watching something. Following her gaze, you see another of the Monsters you freed from the naval base, a Sea Serpent who is speaking with a seller of produce and flowers from the surface. She whispers something in the vendors ear before flashing some gold coins. The vendor nods and the two head to an alley behind the stall.

“This is just getting weirder and weirder.” Sylphie says. “I didn’t exactly mean to eavesdrop, but it sounded like she was going to talk about a new and profitable deal or something.”

“Not really our business, is it?” You ask, worried. Really, it isn’t. Really.

“Come on.” You say, putting away the potions. “Let’s head back to the inn for now.”

The rays of the sun, meager as they were, being magnified through the barrier have already begun to fade away. Nightfall comes to the city as you walk back to your inn, but you’re surprised to see light still in the city. At every corner street, even some buildings, is coral that glows a soft, blueish glow. You watch in fascination at it, though the dwellers pay it no mind at all. Would they find your lanterns similarly astonishing, you wonder?

Returning to the inn, you ask if any messages had been left for you and find that no, nothing has been sent. Which means you’re stuck waiting. Well, if you look at it like vacation, you can spend tomorrow sightseeing too. Of course, you can’t wait too long…

“I don’t like it.” Chaika says, standing up from where she was sitting.

“Huh?” You say, breaking from your thoughts. “Don’t like what?”

“The behavior of those Monsters we saved. It’s utterly different from what we saw when we rescued them.”

“Uh, they were captives. Of course they’ll be different.” You say, frowning. “Still, I know what you mean. It’s not exactly our business though.”

“Maybe.” Chaika says.

“Do you want me do something about it?” You ask, to which she shrugs.

“I don’t know, I just wanted to speak my mind is all. I guess I’m fine just going about the city also.”

Sylphie shrugs as well. “Same. I’d like to visit those gardens too, if we can.”

“Well, we’ll look into getting some sleep tonight and figuring it out in the morning.” You say, yawning. “It’s been a busy day. Good night everyone.”

Sylphie waves to you goodnight and leaves to take care of Mr. Ed as you prepare for bed, snuggling into he surprisingly comfortable sheets. Who knew kelp could feel nice? As you drift off though, you begin to feel uneasy. This place is peaceful, perhaps a little too peaceful. Since when has that ever happened?

Well, perhaps you should count your blessings and thing about what you should do on the morrow.

>What do you do?

>>405357

Goshes this is a nice city. You could spend forever here if you had to, though perhaps the fresh air of the surface is better… ah oh well.

Before anyone asks, there were three rescued in the warehouse and two rescued alongside Baha

>>405352

>When the Shark Girl passes under your bridge, you get a glimpse of her expression and see a lack of emotion on her face as she heads toward whatever destination she has in mind.

>>405354

>She looks at you with a cold expression, her eyes devoid of any recognition of you. Frowning, you wave a hand in front of her face

Darn it, we’ve got an infestation. It’s either mental or plants. Thankfully, we’re skilled at mind magic, biomancy, plagamancy, and we’re a Chosen of Nerg, so this should be child’s play. Let’s first find the ones who were acting strange first, though for the ones who were acting distraught, if we run across them, quickly ask why they feel this way. When we do find them, give them a quick scan with both [Magesight] and [Fast scan], and if they turn violent, don’t make the first move. Incapacitate then with [Ice], and then start cleaning their heads, the rest of our party should be able to manage. Right now the greatest worry is that 1. This could spread, and 2. Assassinations are about to occur, as that Sahuagin was stated to be going into a high-profile dinner, and who knows where the shark went. Finally, remember we’re the outsider here, and people LOVE to blame things on outsiders, so be careful with our actions.

>“I spent so much blood, sweat, and tears in the making of that book. So many typos, so much anguish.”

Darn Ace. If you ever feel that way, just look at the reviews for your book. They’re hilarious. My favorite one ends with “Just… don't let your kids read this.”

>>405371

Im shitposting, I love the comments and nothing does well without advertising and algorithms.

>>405357

>All of the victims of the kidnappings in Hudson are suddenly acting weird now that they’ve reached Filliothia

Remember what we saw regarding the ritual?

>You frown and notice that in the light of the lanterns, the floor has a circle made of seaweed around the captives, the pieces of undersea plant life making runic patterns you’re not familiar with. Is this some kind of ritual going on here? Shit, are they going to sacrifice those girls?!

Considering that certain seaweeds reproduce via spores, something tells me we may not have actually stopped the true ritual, or at the very least we have failed to identify Mun’taca’s back-up plan should the sacrifice thing not work out for her. And given her last line before passing on, it’s very likely to be the latter:

>“Heh…” She chuckles. “Even if… even if it is not by my hand I… I will wait for [the Sahuagin] in the Hells. I will wait for them and they will arrive soon.”

Phallia has likely spread her influence down below the waves and we don’t have long to do something about it if this is indeed the case, more so since potential spreading points include the canals themselves, the Grand Cathedral, the local cuisine, the markets and even the Palace should Baha have fallen victim to Phallia’s influence—all places with high amounts of traffic, some also having traffic among influential members of the city.

Of course, jumping at shadows likely won’t end well for anyone, so it would be for the best if we do some sleuthing to find evidence of Phallia’s tampering or someone else’s, but it’s almost certainly Phallia’s handiwork even if it is by proxy before we start panicking. I’d recommend we start by looking into markets, since the Sea Serpent was seemingly making deals with the vendors while all of the other potential infected people have likely moved on by this point, not to mention her first target being a vendor of ‘produce and flowers from the surface’ makes this one of the more likely spreading points for any spore-related shenanigans. Even if we don’t find our quarry, we can at least find that vendor she talked to so we can examine her and her wares. As for how to handle the encounter, >>405371 has the right idea of how to handle things should anyone we investigate turn violent, but should they not immediately try to kill us then we should be good removing any spores or whatever in a fairly stealthy manner, after which we can either move on without a word or mention this influence to the victim with the proof in hand as a means of getting the information about the threat out there to hopefully prevent more infections.

Whether we find anything at the markets or not, we should continue moving to the other locations of interest to search for infected individuals, with the obvious exception of the Palace since we’re not getting in there without Baha’s assistance or breaking in and the latter should be saved until we’re certain we need to intervene in some fashion. Of the remaining locations, I’d say we should prioritise those restaurants, since food is an easy way to spread the infection, followed by the Grand Cathedral, since it has high traffic and Phallia’s presence there would be very much detrimental to us, followed by the gardens, since plants I shouldn’t have to explain this one, finally followed by the canals in general, which we can investigate as we move throughout the city any way and which would probably have spores spread too thin to have any real effect on anyone using them for travel unless they spent all day in them which isn’t exactly implausible in truth, but still. Also, in addition to looking into the canals while we move between locations, it would be for the best if we also looked into the people around us too, since you never know when we’ll find something subtle.

On the off-chance that we don’t find evidence of Phallia’s influence nor any evidence relating to other potential villains pulling strings within the city via abnormal means, then I guess we can accept that we’ve wasted time that was going to be wasted regardless and just go back to the whole ‘testing our magic’ thing we were intending to do earlier. Maybe we’ll find a lead there or something, who knows.

>>405371

>>405377

>Reviews

Did Ace finally get an ISBN and a distributor then?

>>405381

>Reviews

They’re just Amazon Kindle ones, if you go to the website, type in “wizardquest”, it will pop right up

>>405381

>>405400

Yeah, I do have a distributor with Ingram spark (mainly so I could Print on Demand) I didn't get an ISBN for the hardcopy because I doubted any bookstore would carry it… It's about $150 or something to get an ISBN and I figured I could just PoD any books people really wanted. Maybe I'll buy the ISBN eventually but eh. Amazon works for now.

So yesterday I was busy all day and today I'm working on getting things ready for GenCon, where I'll be gone the rest of the week. I might not get this update ready (though I'll try!)

Because I'm being such a dumb to y'all, first one who requests a character I already have art of can ask for a pose of them, etc and I'll put in for a commission of that. Certain characters can be NSFW and you should know by know which those are

Even if I do update, I'll still do this!

>>405668

>first one who requests a character I already have art of can ask for a pose of them, etc and I'll put in for a commission of that

In that case, either something involving Ophelia, such as her running radio comms or performing maintenance on a magitek construct, or Tabitha titfucks. Your pick.

>>405845

Tabitha is a very good waifu!

>>405845

I had a feeling you would go for the NSFW best girl option given the choice. Not that I'm complaining, mind as it would be a bit silly to complain after leaving the choice up to you; I approve of these lovely lizard lady lewds. And Sophie a cute too.