/monster/ - The Last Bastion of Romance

Way to kill off our waifu almost instantly faggot

>>134347

jesus christ, you're a dumbass.

We're in rough shape. Let's scrounge around for as long as we can without keeling over, see if we can grab any food or find survivors. After that, maybe look for some shelter that isn't on fire or filled with corpses.

>>134559

I ate quickly, so as not to potentially be caught off guard. Following through with some bottled water, half of which I dumped on my face, I felt as though I could re-enter the village with some degree of confidence. The area had been completely ravaged, with many more of those silver shells strewn about, and several bodies bleeding out in the street. I ran up to a harpy lying down in the street, shaking her faintly as I squatted down next to her. No response. Her body was already cold, her feathers charred and her skin burned. I stood back up, double taking my surroundings.

Up ahead, I made note of a few fallen horses, as well as a number of humans on the ground, both armored and not, as well as a monster here and there. It looks like there was a small battle in that area. The village resisted, but the attackers broke through.

Walking closer to the fray, I made note that there were actually very few monsters anywhere to be seen; It was mostly humans with makeshift weapons, and there weren't many of them here, either. Near the dead horse, there laid the bodies of armored men, their once silver and red plates, trimmed with gold, now dirtied and bloodied by battle. Looking at the shield of one of the armored men, I made note that the symbol of the Order lay printed across it's width, however, it possessed considerable modification: strange symbols circled the cross, and a strange 8 pointed star lay etched over the entire design. In the very center of it all, a sharp, crescent moon shape within a circle upon the cross. I had never seen or heard of it before. Looking around, I noticed the long-swords and the armor of the fallen men also had the same symbol on them.

Just as I was going to reach down and grab the shield to look further, I heard some sudden commotion in the distance, as well as a great deal of crumbling. Whatever is happening, it's rather close by. I looked around the intersection of the dirt road I stood in. The buildings around me were still burning, crumbling as their simple design failed to withstand the accumulating damage. But as they fell, they did so relatively silently. This heavy sound was that of something like stone or concrete falling, and with only so many buildings made of anything aside from wood, I concluded the noise was coming from the town square. I pondered how I should make my approach.

We should…

>>134735

Take a shield and one of the long-swords if we have enough strength to carry them. I'm not so sure about armor, given our current condition it might not be the best idea to try and slug heavy armor over ourselves. Maybe strip off some greaves from one of the dead knights for added protection if we can manage that.

After we've assessed our equipment situation, we should try to get within line of sight of the town square while staying as hidden as possible.

>>134749

>>134764

I reached down to see what I could take from the knights. Their thick, plated armor proved to be stubborn, and was compromised in several places by combat. Pulling off a pair of gauntlets, I noticed no underlying layers of armor to take. That was fine, considering it would have taken forever to get it off the guy even if it had been there. I reached for the shield and found my arm weakening in response to it's weight. Although thin, they're still large and sturdy, and my exhaustion was not helping the matter. I mustered up as much strength as I could, holding it close to my body. It probably won't be very effective.

I also reached down and grabbed a longsword one of the knights had been using. It's blade was still coated in blood, but it's edge possessed not a single flaw. The red and gold motif of the hilt and handle traveled all the way down the center of the blade, etched with more of the strange runes and symbols surrounding the emblem itself.

(Obtained ??? Gauntlets)

(Obtained ??? Shield)

(Obtained ??? Longsword)

Though minimally armored, I found my weaponry to be sufficient. The villagers that laid strewn before me had nothing in terms of armor, and their weapons were merely pitchforks and hatchets, typical tools found all around the area. They didn't stand a chance. My exhaustion combined with this bulky shield would make stealth difficult, but I would at least attempt to see what was happening in the square. If anyone is left alive, perhaps they can tell me what happened.

I jogged down the street, between collapsed buildings and past more grotesque leftovers of battle, finding a small alley to squeeze into, leading towards the square. Up ahead, I spotted a derelict wagon with it's contents spilled out before me: several large, unlabeled crates. They would make sufficient cover, at the very least. Getting closer, I spotted several people standing in front of the town hall, 3 men and a centaur. I crouched low and approached the crates slowly, to spy upon them.

They seem to have just finished whatever conversation they were having, as they began moving wordlessly, preparing something….some sort of….rope? They tied rope to the doors of the main hall, smoke streaming through it's roof. After binding it to the centaur, they all grabbed on and the man closest to the door screamed "PULL!".

They're currently in the process of attempting to remove the door to the main hall.

I should probably….

>>134881

Examining the people before me a little closer, I notice the men aren't wearing anything particularly threatening or fancy. They look exactly like any other villager, albeit a little on the larger side. That's probably the only reason why they're still alive. As for the centaur, her clothing is considerably finer; mostly white silks and a blue skirt ripped here and there, with patches of soot and blood. There appear to be no symbols of any sort on her body. It's probably a safe bet they were here before the attack and got caught up in this mess. I looked around to make sure it was just us in the square, then slowly rose up and called out to them.

They all stopped and turned towards my voice. Immediately the centaur dropped the rope and took an aggressive stance, ready to charge. Two of the men behind her ran up to her flanks, pulling large daggers from beneath their belts.

"Whoa! Hold on! I'm not one of them", I yelled out, dropping the longsword and raising my gauntlet-ed hands.

"Then why are you brandishing their equipment!?", the centaur quickly snapped back. You look at your hands. Yeah…you did pick up enemy gear and put it on in the midst of a crisis. Still, it was to stay safe.

"I had to protect myself!", You call out.

"Well so do we!", the man on her right calls out, ripping off his brown bandanna and rubbing swear out of his short black hair with his free hand.

The situation is fairing poorly. The 3rd man still holding the rope turns to the others, yelling, "I can't do this by myself, here!"

Whispering to each other, the centaur and the man on the left return to pulling on the rope, while the man on the right advances a little, still brandishing his weapon.

"What are you doing here?", he yells, his body ready to jump into combat at a moment's notice.

"I woke up in the field outside the village…My fiancee is missing! Have you seen her? Her name is Akasha and she–"

Your voice is interrupted by the sound of cracking wood and crumbling stone, followed by the booming echo of two hardwood doors being ripped off their hinges and crashing to the ground. Behind the man in front of you, the two other humans rush inside while the centaur returns to face you again. She doesn't appear to be armed, but her legs can probably deal a considerable amount of damage on their own.

"Get out where we can see you! Drop your weapons and keep your hands up!", the centaur commands. You've no choice but to obey. Abandoning the longsword and shield on the crate, you slowly shuffle into view. For a few moments, the duo take note of your physical condition. The burn on your chest is not small, and the charring and damage around it are far from subtle. Your ordinary clothes and meager face are convincing, but the two are still weary of you.

"I'm just trying to find Akasha, my fiancee….", you repeat. The centaur is uneasy, and the human is beginning to look rather unsure himself. Now that you're out in the open, you can see that the entire town square has been turned into a graveyard. Considering that most of the population and traffic resides in this general area, it makes sense that the most casualties occurred here. A few bodies of the invaders also lay strewn about, their armor and weapons untouched. Looking at the human, you note his weapon is covered in blood. He's most definitely got adrenaline surging through him right now, and it's not helping him overcome his paranoia.

"S-stay completely still! If you move, I-I'll end you!", the centaur says, approaching slowly.

"Kiara, wait!", the man next to her shouts. Suddenly their gaze is drawn towards something behind you. Turning your head slowly, you attempt to look as well. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see something small and blue…. now there's more than one and they're moving……slimes! Wild slimes have entered the area!

"Awww, man! We do NOT need this right now!", the man yells, his weapon beginning to shake in his hand. You turn back to him, "We have to act quickly!", you say, attempting to divert the attention from yourself to the matter at hand. The centaur and human glance at each other with uneasy eyes, but eventually nod towards you. You've free reign to act again, but the slimes are faster than they look!

Time is limited, but the area in front of me is free of enemies. I should probably….

>>135481

With the town guard no longer alive to patrol, the wild monsters around the area have taken it upon themselves to cash in on our situation, probably picking off survivors and newly singled men. I need a weapon to deal with these creatures. Although many different ones lie on the ground ahead of me, the closest ones are the shield and sword I had before. Pushing my body against it's exhaustion, I ran back to the crates to pick them up, turning back to see a handful of blue slime girls crawl into the plaza, examining the area with careless curiosity and lewd faces. I counted 5 before they noticed us, moving in with lascivious grins. The slimes advanced as quickly as they could, three moving on the centaur and human, and two approaching me. As they drew closer, I held up the shield and readied the longsword. The foremost slime immediately jumped at me when she got within striking distance. I couldn't swing quickly enough, so I kept the shield up.

Then something rather unexpected happened: Upon contacting the shield, a burst of red light flashed from it's surface, nearly blinding me. I could feel the metal growing hot on my arm, even through the gauntlet. Looking up, I saw a grand splatter of blue gel, some of it still in the process of landing, spread out before me. In utter confusion, I lowered my guard, searching for the slime that had attempted to attack me. I had almost forgotten the other slime bearing down on me. Seemingly unaffected by what had just happened, she continued to advance in my confusion. With my guard down, I instinctively brought the longsword to task, swiping the blade in her general direction. In yet another, lesser, flash of red light, the blade in my hand traveled through the area with no resistance, evaporating slime wherever the two made contact. In a sickeningly wet splat, the two halves of slime hit the ground, melting into the cracks between the bricks and concrete. The blade in my hand glows red, as though it came fresh out of a forge, residual slime sizzling and evaporating as I look closer. As with the shield, the sword felt hot in my hand. I'm quickly brought out of my careful examination by a yell; Looking around, I see the human nearly being engulfed by one of the offending creatures, the centaur unable to assist, as the other two slimes bind her legs and crawl over her body.

"Hold on!", I call out, charging towards them. I predict that the human is in the most danger, seeing as slimes have very little use for other monsters. The slime is distracted as well, too busy trying to envelop her target. I charge her from behind, following through with another wide swing as i pass by. The human jumps back swiftly, as a precaution. In a another red flash, followed by a massive burst and shower, the slime is forcibly converted into a nearly purely liquid state, my body showered with droplets of her being. Where ever they touch my equipment, the drops sizzle and evaporate. I still can't get over the effect of the weapon, staring at my own hands in awe. The other man and I made eye contact for a moment, as if sharing these same thoughts, before snapping back to the situation at the sound of the centaur's grunts.

>>135502

The aftermath of the attack was depressing. With only about 30 humans left standing, and about 10 or so monsters, the original population was cut by more than 95%, not even including the those who just happened to be passing through. However, I learned of a strange behavior the invaders were exhibiting: They weren't killing monsters outright; They were knocking them out and capturing them. The surviving witnesses said they saw the invaders knocking out monsters with these strange staffs and spells, only resorting to lethal force against the attacking humans or when faced with monsters that put up too much resistance. Large metal carts and cages being pulled by horses were used to transport captives, like cargo. As soon as they showed up, they were gone.

I showed the Elder the equipment I stripped from the fallen invaders. He gazed upon their symbols with concern.

"This….These people were not from the Order. They have similar weapons and symbols, but even the Order is loathe to kill other humans. Furthermore, what purpose would the Order have of living monsters? When they move, they move to kill. I fear we've seen firsthand what the Order has been mobilizing to apprehend…", the Elder says between wheezing breaths. The notion fills you with hope, yet worries you at the same time. Once the village settled back down and the mass grave was dug out, Akasha's body was nowhere to be seen during clean-up. She was probably captured along with the others. There's still time to figure out what happened and take her back.

"Grandfather! The Symbols on the shield do unnatural things! The Sword too!", Derek says, pointing apprehensively at your gear. The Elder gazes upon them once more, looking back at you every once in a while.

"It's likely an incantation to increase effectiveness against monsters. But the fact that it does nothing to you means that it was created for that sole purpose. They look like the Order…they fight like them too….but I do not think they are. Be weary whenever you see that symbol."

The Elder rests against the cot set up in a tent in the town square. A few messengers were sent out to the surrounding cities to request aid, but they probably won't be back for a few days. It's been a long night. You leave the tent with Derek to see his brothers and Kiara waiting outside. They look distraught but are otherwise fine. There's still a little more sunlight to burn.

What to do with the remainder of the night….

Health: Poor

Condition: Exhausted (Sleep), Exhausted (Strain)

Gold: 0

Inventory: Akasha's remains.

Sandwich x3

Armor: Unknown Shield

Unknown Gauntlets

Weapon: Unknown Longsword

>>135529

>>135527

((We don't know if she's dead or not, that's the point. They are all that remains, so they're called remains. But I'll appeal to the request if it makes you happy. From now on, Akasha's remains will simply be called Tattered Cloth))

There's no time to be lost, but I can't push myself too far, or my journey will end before it even really starts. My only lead is their symbology as well as witness reports of the direction they're traveling in. There's no way in hell they'd be able to travel like that without leaving a trail behind, but there's also no way in hell I'll be able to take them on in my current state. Even at my strongest, I'll probably fail to be a match for their weakest warrior. I can't wander aimlessly; ==time is of the essence==.

So what are my options? If I hunt them down myself, how will I get her back, even if I find her? I don't have the money for mercenaries and even if I did, if I were to hire monsters to help me, those weapons and their symbols could prove deadly for even the most adept fighters. I could report them to the Order, perhaps? But if they're running around removing monsters, the Order could very well want these criminals running amok. I'm at a loss….

Perhaps the survivors may know something I can use to my advantage. I walk up to Derek and Kiara, Daniel and Dean walking past me to check on their grandfather. The two are resting on the crates in the square, seemingly disheartened by this tragedy.

"I can't stay here…I have to find Akasha.", I announce, grabbing their attention.

"Good luck, lad. We haven't the slightest clue how to help you….We'll probably be busy rebuilding, given those savages don't come back to finish the job.", Derek says, dismissively. I sigh with indignation. He's no help right now. Understandable, I suppose; I don't know how much of his family he lost, but his brothers and grandfather are the only ones left. Kiara perks up a bit, seemingly apologetic on his behalf, "The others said they saw the invaders travel west, towards Dah'ren. It's a rather large city, so someone has to have seen something, right?"

"I suppose. Did anyone see where they came from?"

"They took the northern road, passing through in one quick sweep. I'd say they came from Gaussia, but that city is huge. Unless they really are from the Order, there's no way they came from there undetected.", Kiara states bluntly. Gaussia…that's the city Akasha is from. I nod in understanding.

"It's not much, but thanks. I was hoping I wouldn't have to start with nothing."

"You're not seriously going after them, are you?", Derek says in disbelief.

"That's the plan.", I say, casually adjusting the sword on my hip.

"That's crazy! Look what they did to you! Look what they did to us!"

"I know what they've done, which is why I'm going after them. I can't afford to do nothing. They've got Akasha; I'll be dammed if I sit idly by while she's still out there!"

"How do you know she's out there?"

"Because she's not here."

"That's not what I meant! She could be dead for all you know!"

I nearly lose my cool, but I understand that he's simply in pain right now. I also cannot deny the possibility that he's right, but it still doesn't justify apathy or inaction. He seems to regret his own words, however, looking down in shame when Kiara shoots him a wayward glare.

"…That doesn't matter. So long as there's a chance, I'm going anyway. Staying here will do nothing to help.", and with that I turn and leave. I will do whatever I can to prepare tonight, and I will depart as soon as possible. I need to consider that ==I'll need food and water while I travel.== I may also want to consider ==changing weapons== or ==staying in Tinburin a little longer==. Most importantly, ==I must never forget that time is not on my side. Nothing good will come of taking too long.==

I have a few free hours to act before attempting to sleep.

I'll go ahead and….

>>135976

I still don't know what city I'm going to, but I do know I'll need supplies either way. It's late, but all the better to nab supplies off the fallen. I've no other choice, considering the circumstances. I manage to grab the following:

(Obtained Cargo Backpack x1)

(Obtained Bedroll)

(Obtained 50 ft Rope)

(Obtained Makeshift Ration x15)

(Obtained Water Canteen x4 (Each canteen holds one day's worth of water))

(Obtained Splint, Minor Disinfectant, Bandages, Burn Ointment x7 each)

(Used One Burn Ointment right away)

(Found a -Steel Dagger-

Damage: Very Low, Reach: Very Low, Speed: Very fast,

A simple metal dagger that can be hidden easily. Effective range of 30 ft if thrown, but unreliable. I store it in my boot.)

(Obtained Unknown Greaves, Unknown Helm and Unknown Chainmail from enemies elsewhere in the village)

(Obtained 45 Gold)

The night turned out much more poorly than I had hoped. Attempting to seek out like-minded individuals, I found my armor made others constantly think I was an enemy. I had that issue earlier, too, with Kiara and Derek. I guess it's worth the risk if it means being armed with effective weapons. I could cover up my armor with cloth or something, but not only would I look suspicious, the heat would be unbearable. These invaders are awfully insistent on their designs and motifs as well; The entirety of the armor is colored with red highlights and gold trim, as well as their symbol in every possible fitting place. I couldn't remove them with anything either; It's as though the metal itself is the color. I thought maybe I could color over it with tar or dye, but it simply runs off as though it were water. The magical components of this mail are becoming troublesome, but I have little in terms of alternatives. I could perhaps purchase leather armor with the gold I found, but it's defensive properties would be lacking compared to this. Right now, in full gear, I look exactly like one of the invaders.

In any case, I've acquired everything I could think to bring with me. I returned to my home, accompanied only by cold and darkness, greeted by a reminder of my situation. Living near the outskirts has spared my humble abode from the attack, but without Akasha, it's just a big, wooden box. I lay down in a bed far too big for just myself, and hold my mind together as best I can, letting my exhaustion finally take over. There isn't time for tears.

(Cured Exhaustion (Strain/Sleep))

(Health improved to Fair)

I awaken mid-afternoon, resting in full from the day prior. The moment I open my eyes, I acknowledge my mission: I must find Akasha, even if it kills me. There's no time to waste. I consume what little food I've got at home, suit up and prepare to head out.

Today I plan to…

A) Travel to Gaussia and find clues of the invader's origins.(3 day's travel)

B) Pursue the invaders themselves towards Dah'ren.(2 days travel)

C) Hold on a little longer, in case aid arrives with something useful.(2 days wait)

>>136471

THERE IS NO TIME TO BE LAWST.

I vote we should head to Gaussia and get some leads. That may or may not give them an even bigger head start on us, but information is a warrior's greatest weapon. Besides, Akasha might have even headed home after the attack, if she had reason to believe we were dead.

>>136474

I figure that with the speed at which the enemy moved in and attacked, there's no way I'd be able to catch up with them as is. On top of that, if they were so bold and foolish as to pass through Gaussia, there's no way in hell they weren't spotted by the populace. Someone, somewhere has to know something. Packing up the last of my gear, I walk outside to see Kiara and Derek making their way up the step stones towards my door. They jump at the sight of me, but settle down a bit when i remove my helmet to speak.

"You gonna wear all that everywhere you go? If someone sees you, you're screwed!", Derek says, shaking his head.

"It's this or nothing. The village isn't equipped to handle the sorts of weapons those bastards have."

"Still, you look like one of them. I was about ready to start stabbing. Speaking of equipment….", Derek turns to Kiara, who is holding a little bundle of cloth and what looks to be some folded leather gear. She looks embarrassed for some reason, but she steps forward, nodding as she hands you the bundle.

"I…I wanted to thank you for saving Derek. I'm sorry about what happened; I hope this helps…", she says, giving a small bow as she steps back again. What have we got here…?

(Obtained Studded Leather Body Armor

Protection: Moderate, Mobility: Average, Weight: Moderate; A jacket of leather, reinforced and dotted with steel. Considered very high end for peasants and low-born classes.)

(Obtained Home-Cooked Ration x3;

A small box loaded with fresh food and cooked with a hint of love. Improves Health and morale a bit and may cure Strain-based exhaustion.)

(Obtained Home Remedy x5;

A very small jar loaded with bitter, stinky herbs. Tastes like hell, but does the body well. Cures lesser Poisons and Various Palsies.)

"Where did you get this body armor? There's nothing like this in the shops….", I say, examining the Studded Leather Armor.

"I asked Derek and his brothers to make it using things I had on hand. They did well, all things considered.", Kiara says, reddening a bit.

"It was her father's. We upgraded it last night using scrap from the makeshift perimeter fence. Take care of it, you hear?", Derek butts in, stern as can be. Kiara's jaw drops.

"I told you not to say anything!"

"It's important he knows what it means to you. Also, we'd really appreciate it if you gave it back when you're done, so that means you're not allowed to go dying on us, you hear?", Derek says, stifling a smile. It seemed a little too goofy for his own good, but it was sincere enough. Giving them both my thanks, I walk with them to the smashed up wooden fence across my yard.

"We'll be seeing ya soon. Right now, I need to make sure my Grandfather stays say safe."

I nod to Derek in understanding, and we finally say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Turning back for a moment, I notice Derek and Kiara are holding hands as they walk. Huh…that explains a bit.

To Gaussia!

>>136737

>so bold and so foolish

MC is actually just pic related

>>136777

Trips force me to say I can neither confirm, nor deny, that claim.

:^)

>>136792

>>137592

>>137368

>>136737

(Condition improved to Good during travel)

(Consumed 2 sandwiches, 7 Makeshift Rations and 3 Canteens.)

The journey to Gaussia was ultimately uneventful. By avoiding forests and caves, I managed to thwart the plans of any would-be predators and ambushes. I did have to hide in a bush every now and again when encountering other travelers, so as not to trigger needless conflicts. But after my first hiding attempt, I knew that I wouldn't be able to enter the city dressed the way I am. I'd probably also have to keep my weapons hidden, too. If anyone sees the symbols, it could mean big trouble, especially if it turns out the invaders did come from Gaussia.

On the final day of my travels, I took note of the city from a distance. A grand, looming wall encircled it's entire perimeter. Small lines of wagons and travelers made their way in and out of the few gates dotted around the city. As I got closer, I noticed something that made me second guess my planning: Order Sentinels. Travelers attempting to enter or exit were being searched and occasionally detained by armed manlets stationed at the gates. I knew of the Order's considerable grasp on the city, but the security was much more formidable than I had imagined. Doubtful of any other ways into the city, I had to think of an alternate way in. Looking around, I took note of a few things: There's a few caravans headed in right now. They're rather backed up and it may take a while for them to get in. The area in front of the gate itself is clear of manlets, but the gap of the wall has alcoves carved into it with multiple units stationed inside. I'm doubtful they can see me as I approach. Speaking of which, I take a moment to exchange my armor with the Studded Leather body armor, putting my shield away and hiding my sword as best I can. That ought to keep people from becoming hostile immediately; Maybe I'll buy a robe to cover the base armor once I get inside. I haven't searched the perimeter of the wall but it's rather huge and looks uninteresting. I see no archers on the wall looking down on the area. Time is relatively plentiful.

My plan of action to bypass security is to….

>>138017

:^)

I weigh my options a bit. I've got a little bit of coin, so bribes are a possibility. But members of the Order are a bit too "pure" for that. With the caravan on halt, I take it upon myself to request the transport of some delicate goods, perhaps. But who can I trust not to rat me out? I scout the line-up for a little while. Most of the caravan drivers are human with a monster of one sort or another by their side. Odds are, they're happy and don't want any trouble. Let's see….there's a yeti? Nah…don't want to give her a rough time; She seems to be having enough trouble as is with the heat. Hmm….there's a oni. She's not carrying enough to hide me, however. Wait….Ah hah! Jackpot! A danuki….

I casually stroll past the other wagons and whatnot and tap on the frame of the caravan in question, "Pssst. Hey…!"

The danuki's ears twitch as she looks around for me.

"Down here."

Her brown eyes size me up within seconds, and she seems none too pleased to see me, "If you're looking to score more Undine water, no can do, pal. The rest of the stock has to go to central."

"What? No no…I'm looking to get into Gaussia with…ehh…minimal frustrations. Might you help me out?"

"What? Get out of here, you lousy–!"

Her words are quickly cut off by the sound of jiggling coins. I raise my bag of coins up into view, reveling in her sudden distress.

"There….there isn't enough r-room for you…."

"That's fine. all you have to do is carry a few things through the gate and give them back when we're both through. I'll give you 20 gold now and 20 more once I get my things back."

She contemplates the matter a bit, seemingly stuck in a fierce debate with herself, before letting out a loud sigh and holding out her hand, "Ugh…pay up! You're lucky I need this."

Happily, I pour out the coin into her hand, counting carefully to 20. The danuki quickly sorts through it, confirming it's authenticity before stuffing the handful into a pocket inside her robe. Just as quickly, she knocks on the frame of the caravan, yelling "Mina! Let's go!"

Suddenly, a small hatch opens on the side of the wagon and a small mousegirl quickly hops down next to me. She moves so quickly, I almost don't notice she's covered in random jewelry and wearing a cooking pot on her head that covers her eyes, "Alright, mister! Hand it over!"

"Mina! What are you doing!"

"N…nothing…?", she says meekly, lifting the pot on her head a bit to look up at the danuki with a single, blue, guilty eye. The danuki is clearly running low on patience.

"Put back the other…uhh…'goods', this instant! And take this man's things before you go!"

Kicking a small rock out of embarrassment, she lets the pot fall back down on her noggin and seemingly looks up at me through it. Then, just as quickly as she jumped down, she jumps back into the hatch she came out of, motioning me over and reaching out, "Alright, bub, let's go."

Still wrapped up, I hand her my traveler's bundle, the armor and weapons hidden by my backpack and bedroll. She seemingly hesitates to grab it, but pulls it in as I push the bag. And like that, the hatch slams closed. Looking at the caravan overall, the hatch blends right in; There isn't even a gap where the door meets the frame. Could be enchanted…

"Hey! You done back there", the danuki calls from the front. I walk up to her.

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I'll be in the market of the eastern quadrant in a few hours. You can get your things back there. I'll probably be here a good, long while…", she punctuates her words with an exasperated sigh and turns back to the line of carts and wagons and whatnot. All clear for me now.

The line for people getting in on foot is much shorter and moves much faster, although it seemed much longer, having to listen to a handful of salamanders bragging about their biggest fights and "trophies" like gossiping schoolgirls. As annoying as it was, it was leagues more pleasant than finally reaching the gate. The sentries posted at the gate were armed heavily, and all seemed to be having very bad…lifetimes, let alone days. After being roughly padded down and having my armor searched, I was forcibly moved along, into the city, with more heavily armored patrols eyeing me through the narrow, judging eyeslits in their helms.

I'm now inside a vast utopia of bustling people, busy streets and flourishing business. I try to keep on moving, so as not to obstruct the flow of movement, but now that I'm here, I feel so lost! But I must remember my mission. Keeping the danuki in the back of my mind, I return to my planning phase.

The city is huge. So many services and places to see! It would be best if I…

>>138437

>>138290

>>138108

Information is what I need, and what better place to get it than a place we're people get drunk off their ass and spew everything (figuratively and literally)? A tavern! But I can't waste too much time, and frankly, even though the populous is bustling and going about their business, you can feel the tensions in the air, especially when an Order patrolman passes through. I want out of here at the soonest possible time.

I figure I'll drop by whatever tavern seems seediest, for efficiency's sake. The mass pillaging of a whole town couldn't have gone unnoticed, and if the Order is suppressing talk of it, then the underground is probably gossiping all about it. I travel through the city, taking note of additional walls and gates separating the city even further. Though they're rather distant, they're still quite large. This must be what the danuki meant when she said quadrants. I figure I'm in the southern quadrant, since I came in from the south gate. There also appears to be a Central segment. I decide I'll examine the southern area before I move on.

The backstreets seem rather clean and tidy. It's almost difficult to find anything out of place or even dirty. There's a few taverns, but nothing I'd look for info in, especially with patrols occasionally popping out. By the time I've covered the whole area, the sun has already passed it's peak, beginning it's long declension towards the horizon. I reach for a ration to curb my growing hunger, but remember I don't have my pack on me. The only thing I've kept is the tattered cloth I wrapped around my arm and the knife in my boot. I hope that danuki keeps up her end of the bargain….

Resisting the enterprising merchants attempting to get me to buy their wares, I decide to move on to the western quadrant. The gates between areas are still guarded, but not as heavily. Riot Knights stand across from each other on either side of yet another steel gate. Their armor is considerably different, probably because they don't work directly under the Order. As opposed to the shiny silver armor of typical Order troops, these guys are dressed in drab yellow gear of various material, lined with pockets and lightweight, defensive plating. Upon their backs are riot shields, and upon their waists are strange "non-lethal" claymores; like a nightstick but much longer. I can't tell if any of their equipment is imbued with anything, but I make eye contact with one of them while examining and he gives me a friendly nod as I pass by. These guys have the emblem of the city itself on their bodies, so they must have been the city's authority system before the Order showed up. It's a shame they're probably taking a backseat to the Order's commands.

The western area is considerably more run-down. It's not terribly bad, but I'm assuming I'm looking at the better streets. The stone and brick roads are broken up and there's a lot more houses. Apartments and laundry wires nearly block out the sky in some places. I take to the alley ways to avoid traffic. Catgirls sitting up on the rooftops stare down at me curiously as I walk past, and the sound of busy streets quickly grows quiet. Sure enough, the back streets are relatively filthy, and I'm pretty sure an arachnae or something lives close by…

"….Oh, git off-it, ya overgrown newt!"

My train of thought is shattered by loud, slurred yelling. Before I even get a chance to look around, I'm suddenly beset by a dragon, slowly following after what appears to be a highly inebriated, bearded, robed, homeless man, headed towards my general direction. The man is stumbling along the alley, bumping into garbage cans and walls, holding what appears to be a broken coat rack with an empty bottle of ale and several crushed cans on one end. In his other hand, he's got some sort of off-brand whiskey, spilling it around onto his hand and already highly-stained robe as he stumbles. The dragon is absolutely furious. She's wearing a white cooking apron, which is surprisingly clean, her breasts stretching the upper fabric, and holding a ladle, with strands of her long purple hair coming loose from her ponytail as she yells, "Who are you calling a 'newt' you drunken old bastard!? I didn't come all this way for nothing!"

"Oh aye? Ya certainly didn't come 'ere fer any good reason, I wager! I told ye a hundred times; I dunnae whurr 'e iz!"

>>140771

I attempt to quickly cross the alley and get out of the way of this trainwreck in action, but I'm far too late. The drunken man stumbles unto me, grasping both my shoulders and nearly smacking me in the head with his….bottle stick, thing. He reeks of alcohol and Ammit knows what else. His beard is long and dirty brown; I'm pretty sure it's actually white but he's spilled so much ale on it, it's mostly splotched out. But in spite of his dirty face and dirtier clothes, his narrow blue eyes seem to gleam with unnatural brightness and clarity. He points at the fuming dragon with his stick, his free hand still on my shoulder, "Aye, laddie! If ya were in me sandals, how would ye deal wit a pesky reptile wit a real bad habit of askin things ye know nuthin 'bout?"

"Don't you dare drag more random people into this!", the dragon shouts.

"Uhh…", I open my mouth to answer, but he's already released me, shoving himself off my body, nearly throwing me off balance. In his drunken stumble, he turns back to the increasingly pissed off looking dragon, he raises his arms slowly, "I'd figure I'd do….this!!", he yells. His hands suddenly begin to glow. The dragon throws down her ladle and takes up a defensive stance, fire beginning to spew from her own mouth. I reach out to stop the wizard, but I'm far too late; In a massive flash and bang, the area in front of the dragon explodes into flames, scorching the brick alley and concrete walls. The force blows out nearby windows and nearly knocks me on my ass. The robed man merely stands there, his arms falling limp to his sides with his staff still in his hand. The smoke clears relatively quickly.

On the ground, the dragon twitches and writhes, her body well-charred. Her apron is nearly gone, as well as nearly all her clothing. She looks like someone just brushed her with soot, but you'd think a dragon could take a hit like that with ease. Speaking of which, did this old drunken fuck just do that? Really? There's no way. I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him towards me…

"Hey! What the hell was that?! Did you….!?…What the…", my words come to a crawl and halt when I realize he's not responding to anything anymore.

"…..Zzzzz……zzzzz…."

The bastard fell asleep. Standing up, no less. Dumbfounded by the situation, I figure it's best to clear the scene quickly, but before I can even move, he suddenly jolts awake, grabbing my hand, "'EY!! Wot jus' happened?! Who're yew!?"

"I just–!!"

"Oy! What's all this then!?", he interrupts, looking back at the dragon on the ground, "Did ye do that, laddie?!"

"N-no, I just–!!!"

"Aye! I like your style, laddie!! I bit messy fer my taste, but ye got the job done! That cunt was driving the hairs off me head!", he punctuates his statement by removing his hat, revealing a shining, hairless dome. It's frighteningly clean compared to the rest of him,"So, what's ye name?"

"Uhh…Davis"

"Darius! Pleased to meet ye, I'm–"

"No, 'Davis'. I–"

"Wait….Shh!!

>>140774

He goes silent for a second. At first I wonder if he fell asleep again, but I begin to see why he's gone quiet. In the distance, I can hear the movement of armor and the clamoring of civilians and lots of foot steps, and it's all getting louder.

"Uh oh. Let's make like siths and become removed from this place! This way, lad!"

The strange man immediately takes off into the alley, just as some of the city guard round the corner at the distant end of the alley. Dammit. Instinctually, I follow after him. He's surprisingly swift, given his age and condition. We round piles of trash and jump over puddles, webs, boxes and whatnot. The area becomes increasingly dark and dirty as we travel deeper into the slums. Finally, we come to a dead end sunken into the side of a building. There's a single door and a yellow street light over it. The man walks up to it slowly and lifts his hand, giving a strange set of slaps and knocks. Must be a code or something. I'm still catching my breath as we wait.

"Wh-what is…this…place?", I say, between gasps.

"Huh? Who're you!? This be The Dreamcatcher, laddie; A decent place to grab a scotch. Don't let the rowdier mamono see ya; Ye be a bit too pure and innocent to be in a place like dis."

I open my mouth to provide rebuttal, but the door opens before us, and I figure I best resolve any banter while I'm no longer on the run. Following the robed man inside, I take note that no one opened the door for us. It's a simple hallway with old hardwood floors and dull, plain paint on the walls. The door echos a slam behind us after we enter. The man turns around again and jumps in surprise, "Ah! Draven! How'd you git in here, laddie? No worries, just stick by me side and you should be fine."

I follow in annoyed silence. This man is as daft as can be. We snake though some of hallways to a large saloon. It's a very strange sight: although there are windows, they've all been blacked out. There's a set of swinging doors on the far end, like an exit of some sort, but there's a brick wall just beyond, effectively rendering it pointless. The old wooden tables have single, dim candle lights upon them, surrounded by empty chairs. The massive bronze and crystal chandelier on the ceiling provides most of the light for the room. There's only a handful of people in here, some sitting at tables, a few bundled around near the corners of the room. They all look like mamono, but I think there's a human here or there. The old man leads me to the bar, offering a seat on the stool next to himself. He hits a tiny service bell sitting on the counter and sighs in content as he waits.

>>140781

While it might not be the smartest thing, I think we should grab this scraggly old fat by the lapels and inform him in no uncertain terms that we are not to be fucked with. We're looking for someone very near and dear to us, and we'll be damned if we don't give our all and then some for this cause. We need this information yesterday, and he's got the privilege of spilling the beans.

>>140781

Tell him that those assbags stole our fuckin wife, and if that doesn't work we do >>140784 .

>>140907

>>140784

>>140800

My blood boils. I ain't having this shit. I reach for the fucker's beard in one swift motion, "Alright, listen you drunken fuck! I–"

When my hand makes contact, it feels like I just tried to grab a fist full of melted butter. It slides off with no effort and slams against the bar with the force I had intended to pull with. F-fuck…

I've already blown my first strike, so I brace for impact of the inevitable counterattack, which is going to hit hard, considering how close I am.

…But it never comes. I look down and the old man is just staring at the service bell. weary of grabbing him again, I sit back down and pretend I didn't just do that. But I retain my goal. Wiping a sickly yellow, reeking substance on one of the napkins, I keep my voice low, so as not to draw anymore attention from the few customers that are now staring at me.

"Listen: These bastards are out on the loose as we speak, doing goddess knows what else out there! They took someone very important to me, and I'm going to get her back if it's the last thing I do. Why don't you save us both the trouble and just tell me what you know, yeah?"

"I can't do that, laddie…."

"What?! Why!?"

"Because I don't know as much as you think I do, lad."

"Then tell me what you DO know!"

Just as he's about to open his mouth and speak, someone walks out from a doorway behind the bar, grabbing our attention. It's a gazer! She's the barmaid, I think. Her footsteps are nearly silent, as are her flowing, drifting eyestalks. They point in every direction, a few of which stopping and focusing directly upon me, seemingly in curiosity. Her gaze is intimidating, honestly; That big red eye sends chills up my spine. The little ones aren't so bad, though it is a little creepy when they don't blink at all. Then her eyes focus upon the old man. They nod to each other as she approaches us, "Heya, Corvy. The usual?"

"Aye. Make it five today."

"Whoa, havin' a rough day?"

"…I guess ye could say that…"

"Huh…and you?", the gazer says, pointing to me. I just settle back down in my seat and wave my hand, "N-nothing right now for me, thanks."

"Suit yourself.", the gazer shrugs, turning towards the bar and grabbing some of the dusty old bottles. Some of her eyes stay fixed on me; Not very reassuring. I turn to the old man again, " 'Corvy'?"

"Me name's Corvus, lad. Some people call me 'Corvy'. Lot's more call me 'cunt' or 'jackass' or 'what the hell are you doing in my cellar'. I hear that one a whole lot."

"Uhh….right."

The gazer turns back around with a few bottles and a stack of five glass tumblers. Setting each one down, she fills them all with what looks and smells like whiskey, followed by a little bit of something strange, clear and bubbly. Finally, she tops off each glass with pale green fluid from a bottle with what looks to be a handful of roasted manticore barbs floating inside. Holy fuck, it smells like death. Corvus grabs one and downs it in a single go. The gazer looks mildly concerned but says nothing, she simply grabs the bottles and returns them to the bar, walking back off into the back room again afterwards. Meanwhile, Corvus lets out a wet belch and sighs in content. An awkward silence looms overhead for a while as I wait for him to continue where he left off. A few minutes pass and all he does is continue to down his drinks. I start to lose my patience when he simply stares at the 4th one for a while, "So are we going to do this or are you just gonna stare at that all day?"

"Uhgn? Do wha? Oh! Danny! I didn't see ye there! How long 'ave ye been 'ere?"

This fucking guy. Wait a sec…..He's drunk again. He must have been coming down off the sauce when I met him. Now, perhaps I can get something out of him. I pull out that symbol again and casually place it on the table, "So, do you know these guys or not?"

>>143711

"Huh? Who guys? These guys? Oi! Dem guys! I know 'em alrighty! Cunts, the lot of 'em!"

"Really? What makes them cunts?"

"Ahhh, dere just'a broken off buncha nuts and dickheads from the Order. They dinnae like the teachings so dey went n studied pagan scripts, lookin fer sum sorta key….I dunna wut dey wants exactly…."

"Hey, keep it together, I can barely understand you. Say that again?"

"I said they're a bunch of damn hooligans, mate!! Dey done went and betrayed the Cheif goddess's holy books to find some….some…..ach, I dunno at all. I kinda knew where they were comin from, but they took it all way too far, I say…"

"What? Took what too far?" What do you mean you know where they're coming from? You know where they are?!"

"No, no, no! I mean, I understand their motives, laddie. Mikhail done and told the others about the Chief Goddess' plans and teachings; Anyone with half a brain knows it don't make no sense….why would ye, as a holy force, make unholy monsters powerful enough to destroy yer own subordinates, in not yerself in da furst place? Ach….the truth is she dinnae intend fer any of dis to happen, lad."

"For any of what to happen?"

"For monsters to end up being our wives, lovers and children, lad. We all know the history of it all: Monsters were flesh-eating, soul-consuming beasts before the mamono lord took over. The high priest texts explain why they're there to begin with. Most people are only told a half truth, that dey're there to be a trial and test ye mettle, but why? Oh ho, get this, laddie…"

Corvus lowers his voice and ducks his head down a little. I instinctively do the same as he continues, "The fact of the matter is, the Chief Goddess isn't the 'chief' of anything. There's plenty other gods and goddesses out there, and a lot of them are much more powerful. How do you think the mamono lord sticks around, eh? People ask why the goddess doesn't do anything; it's because she can't laddie! She tried once, and it didn't end too well for 'er! The fact of the matter is humans can become just as powerful as any god….it just takes a lot of time and effort!"

"So….the goddess made monsters to make humans stronger….to use for herself?"

"Oh aye! See, sooner or later, we're done for, laddie. Everything goes and kicks the bucket, be it plants, animals, monsters, humans, or even gods. But the sorts of things that kill gods aren't like tangible crap ye can hit wit a blade, it's much more…ehh….I dunnae how to explain it…..it's like…abstract…..ye could say….I think….A-anyway, it's all about loyalty, I suppose. The goddess has told humans that there's something out there that can wipe out everything; humans, monsters, gods….everything…and with their cooperation, they can thwart the pending ending, as it were. But lesser beings cannot handle the truth, so they must be trained into loyalty before being told what they really fight for. That's why so many palad!ns seem so bloody stupid, laddie; They'e running amok like meatheads, squashin mamono so they can become the ultimate tools. But some of them ain't so dumb, laddie…"

Corvus sits back up and chugs back his drink. He wobbles a little and squints his eyes. You can tell it's hitting him pretty hard but he's surprisingly lucid. His eyes harden again for a moment, "…The ones that ain't so dumb….They know too much. There's nothing the Order fears more than an ultimate tool that knows their secrets and can't be controled. We call em Harbingers, lad. they see what's going on but they keep the power they're given, and they use it differently. They're fairly recent, but people like them have been around since the very beginning."

"Harbingers….that's the name of the guys that hit Tinburin….Corvus, they're capturing monsters; What could they possibly want with live mamono?"

"Dunno, lad. If I had to guess, I'd say they're harvesting raw energy."

"What? Energy? You mean mamono mana?"

"Yay and nay, laddie. They're taking the mamono for their mana, but they're probably not going to use it as is."

"How do you know?"

Corvus points to the symbol on the napkin once more, grabbing his last drink with his other hand, "The transmutation sigil, that's why. It converts mamono mana back into it's raw, unpolarized form. "

>>143713

"What? I don't…."

Corvus just sighs and lets his head fall into his arms onto the table. He keeps talking, but his voice is muffled, "Yer killing me buzz, laddie. Wizardry 101: matter is energy, energy is matter; anyone that goes into magic has to understand that as one of the key bases of casting. Theoretically, all energies are the same, but you can charge and discharge them into different types. Of the types, there's multiple polarities, and whatnot. It's all very complicated, but I'll condense a century or so of what I learned and give ye the cliff-notes, mate. Ye ever heard those stories about dark valkries and dark angels and dark elementals and whatnot? Don't ye find it odd that such high ranking holy soldiers succumb so easily to mamono mana? Remember that it was the Chief goddess 'erself that made the mamono lord…"

"So…that means that the mamono lord is made of the same energy that the goddess is?"

"Yeh, but a different polarity. Opposing polarities attract; Ya've seen it with magnets, I'd wager. Angels are like mamono magnets, really. Same goes for the mamono, too. Ya've seen what pally magic does to mamono? Terribly effective. The two forces meld with each other real well because they come from the same place, so they're extra effective in the ways they're typically used. But the Harbinger's sigil uses a set of runes that are forbidden in the Order's high priest texts, precisely because it has any potential to eliminate their goddess. It completely fuses the two polarities instead of just sticking them to each other, negating them entirely. The resulting raw energy is released as light and heat, in an almost atomic reaction. The more that makes contact at once, the bigger the reaction, and the more violent the explosion."

"…And it's lethal to mamono….So they're harvesting them to unleash their energy…but what for?"

"I dunnae….could be anything."

"No way, you mentioned someone named 'Mikhail'! Tell me about him."

"Ach…Do I gotta?"

"If you don't, I'm going to keep asking till you do."

"Cripes. You're lucky I swore fealty to mankind and whatnot. Fine.", he straightens back up and downs his last drink. That one hit him extra hard, and he clenches his fists and eyes as it goes down. I begin to wonder just how strong they are to affect someone like him. He finally turns back to look at me, his bright blue eyes tainted with a weary look,

>>143715

"A good long time ago, I was initiated into the Order myself. As a young lad, about half your age. I didn't want it, but my parents couldn't afford to keep me around, so it was mainly just a ploy for resources. I studied hard so I didn't have to go back. I played by their rules, I learned their ways, but none of it ever really stuck. I wasn't the only one. My friend……A guy I knew, Mikhail, 'e was pretty much in the same boat. We got along great, and we agreed on a whole lot, especially when we studied the textbooks together. But studying so hard ended up being more of a curse than anything. Our instructors had high hopes for us, but by the time we had gotten to the graduation ceremony, we were both husks without love for their petty goddess. There had been a lot of crusades going on at the time, too, so in private, we agreed we'd learn their secrets and use them for the greater good, instead. Apparently, we had differing ideas of a 'greater good'. One day, he went with one of the crusading parties and used the transmutation sigil to convert the loads of blood on the battlefield into a variable hell on earth. Everyone on both sides suffered the nearly complete and total loss of all their forces. After that, he disappeared. We had amassed a large following of 'heretics' if you will, by then. No one knew what happened until he came back one night and told us. What it came down to is he sacrificed all the dead and dying mamono to produce an explosion to stop the crusaders, but the explosion chain reacted and killed everything, men, women and children of all species. I was angry. Say what you will about palad!ns, but some of them never wanted to be there. As a matter of fact, if I hadn't been so focused on artifact research, I might have been out there as a support. He'd have killed me, and he had the gall to call it 'an acceptable loss'. Pah. Long story short, we went our separate ways, and I'm assuming he's been busy converting others to think as he does. I left the Order and disappeared from the face of the lands. Odds are, there's a huge price on me head, but I never bothered to look. That's all I know, laddie…."

"I…see.", I say, rather awestruck by his story. This is much bigger than I had anticipated. If what he's saying is true, Mikhail could be the one organizing harvesting raids, and he's hitting small towns to avoid contact with the Order. The Order must know about this, which is why they've taken over the cities….to prevent the mass capture of monsters? Could the Order actively be defending the monster infested cities so as not to give the Harbingers any greater leverage? Then why restrict messengers and transports? Why not send sentinels to lesser villages and towns for defense? I don't think Corvus would know at this point.

My train of thought is suddenly shattered by mechanical noises and what sounds like the jingling of coin. I look up to see that gazer turning on a jukebox at the end of the bar. It starts playing some crappy ragtime music or something. Corvus perks up and looks around for a second, "Ooooh….I say, this one's a classic, lad! Ye know, I used ta be quite the dancer back in me time! I still got me moves, too! Take a gander!"

Corvus gets up from his seat and turns around, promptly falling over and faceplanting on the floor. I jump up onto my feet to help him, but before I can even reach down, I can already hear him snoring. The gazer walks over, nonchalantly, "He's alright. Happens a few times a day."

"You don't say…"

I've acquired more info than I could have hoped to. Although, I guess I'm putting an awful lot of faith into it, to be honest. That Corvus guy is utterly senile, so there's no way to really know if he's telling the truth or not, but a lot of what he said made sense, and I don't think he was in any condition to just make it up like that, either. It'll have to do till I find new leads. In the meantime, I've got to keep moving. I know I still have to pick up my gear from the danuki.

If there's anything else I want to do here, I should do it now before I get going.

>>143747

>>143747

Embarrassed, I pull out a few gold from my pocket and leave it on the counter for the barmaid. She looks at the coins in confusion, "What's this for?"

"A tip, and to cover Corvus, here."

"He's got a tab; That won't be necessary."

"Oh….right."

I just shrug my shoulders and turn back to Corvus. I can't leave him like this. I reach down to pick him up. He's pretty lightweight, and I'm built fairly well, so it's not hard to put him back on his seat in a relatively stable position. He should be alright. When I turn to walk out, I feel a hand grasp my shoulder; I turn and Corvus has latched onto me with his head still on the bar, "Oi….hold on there, laddie."

He adjusts himself to face me, dizzy from his stupor, "Aye…Ay've been thinkin, lad….I've been runnin from dis fer a while, yeh? But….But I can't run forever. I'm gonna help ya, lad. I don't know how we're gonna do it, but we're gonna stop them….and maybe even git yer gurl back, mate."

"Really? That's would be great1 We've got to get moving quickly, though, so I–"

"Ayyye, hold on there, laddie. I'm not going with ye roight dis second, ya? There's a lot I don't know either. I've got some things to take care of, but in the meantime, I want ye to have this…", He reaches into his robe and pulls out what looks like a tiny vial or glass tank of strange…glowing green fluid. It bubbles gently inside. The unit is on a small necklace chain, "I'm gonna go off on my own fer a while. If ya need me, ye can summon me with that, just shake it up real well and open it. I'll try to show up as fast as I can, but it might take a while; Be patient."

(Obtained Reactor Core Necklace;

A chemical tank to summon Corvus with. Refills automatically after each use. Requires 1 hour to refill completely.)

"Aye…..another thing you may want to consider, laddie: I wouldn't recommend foightin the Harbingers outright. I haven't the slightest clue what sorts of things they've made in terms of weapons and magic, but ye already know their equipment fucks up mamono sumthin fierce; an offensive may not be an option if ya dont figure somethin out by the time it comes time to deal with em, ya hear me? I'll help ye anyway I can, but I can't do everything, ya know."

"Right. I'll try to figure something out on my own, if I can."

"Good. Now leave me be…I gottsta git my things t'gether….", and with that, he lets his head slump back onto his arms. I look at the necklace he gave me once more before putting it around my neck. It's actually quite weighty, but not a burden. Now, then, back to business. A considerable amount of time has passed since my agreement with the danuki, so I figure it's time I go get my things. Twisting back through the halls and out the exit, I find myself in the dirty old alley I had been running from authorities in, which got me to thinking if they were still looking. Worried, I looked up and down the alley, looking for any sign they had passed through. I don't think I see any signs, but I must still be cautious. Quickly, I make my way back the way I came, trying to avoid getting lost. Soon, I turn a corner and stop dead in my tracks; Up ahead, I see the scorch mark from the fire spell Corvus used, as well as a trio of Riot Knights examining the area. Two of them have put the dragon on a stretcher and are wheeling her out of the area. She appears to be alive but heavily dazed. The final Riot Knight is facing away from me, brushing the ground, seemingly examining the charring. Eventually, he just sits down on one of the boxes in front of the area, still facing away from me, his blade drawn but out in front of him. He appears to be waiting for something, as he plays with the riot claymore in idle boredom. There's no way in hell I can sneak past him, but all the exits are past the intersection he's sitting in. I need to get by somehow.

Examining the area, I take note of a few things: There's a manhole cover in the alley between me and him. I don't know if I'll be able to open it, but there isn't a lot of space between me and the knight; He'll most definitely hear and see me if I go for it. There's also a ladder covered in webbing even closer to the knight. It doesn't look that sticky. I'm not sure what the hell is up there, but I do remember seeing catgirls, but I don't know if there's a way down aside from the ladder itself. The knight also took off his helmet and is wiping sweat from his brow. It's definitely a little too warm to be wearing these sorts of things, but we've got to have them on, nonetheless, i suppose. If I go back the way I came, I'm not sure I'll find another way out. I'm also not sure if they've already done their comb over the area.

Gotta make a choice. How am I gonna do this?

>>147324

>>147320

…..

It's cold….that's the first thing I think of when I come to. It's dark….that's what I think when I open my eyes. Everything is blurry and I can't see. I can't feel my arm, either. It takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust, but I when I come to, I'm exactly where I expected I would be: A dungeon. My arm is in a makeshift cast of some sort, held up with a strange blue cloth….wait, it's Akasha's cloth! Do I have any of my other things?. My armor is gone, as is my dagger. The necklace is gone. Looking up, I can see the row of bars for my cell. They're thick and placed in a grid pattern for added defense. Across from the bars, there's just a dingy brick wall and a table set against it. On the table is my equipment, with the necklace hanging on the wall, it's faint green glow lighting up the surrounding environment somewhat.

Trying to get up, I stumble quite a bit. I must still be coming down off whatever was in that damn smoke. I don't know where I am or how long I've been here, and there's no light anywhere. The dirt and stone floor shows signs I was dragged in and dropped in the corner. Just as I approach the bars, I hear a loud creaking noise from down the hall and some talking. I can't quite make it out, but I eavesdrop as best I can…

"…over…..the dragon…"

"…down with…..tried to…."

"Luckily he didn't…….with……the moron fell…."

"Down here right now? I'll tell the commander."

"Right."

The voices get louder and clearer as they near, as do the footsteps. Eventually, a palad!n is standing before me, seemingly glaring through his visor at me, "Ah, you're finally awake. We didn't find your friend, but he couldn't have gotten far. He'll be apprehended soon, I'm sure."

I stay quiet. I figure the less I say, the better.

"Most forms of magic are forbidden in Gaussia, traveler. I saw you come through the gate earlier, but you don't seem the magic type. You weren't wearing that necklace when you came in, either. Want to explain why you were trying to run from an enforcer of the law at the scene of a crime?"

"…."

"I didn't think so. Fine by me. The interrogation oni are warming up right now anyway. They're going to do the only thing they're good for and get a response out of you, one way or another. Try not to scream too much; I'll be back when they've….softened you up a bit."

With that, the guy keeps on walking down the hall, looking at my equipment as he passes but nothing more. I take note he's got a sledgehammer on his back that's freshly bloodied, still kind of dripping, too. Ammit-knows what the hell they're doing down here. I can't stay to find out, however. And with that, I'm alone with my thoughts.

"Psst!"

…Or so I thought. I look around to hear the noise a bit better, "Huh? Who's there?"

The sound of shuffling rock grabs my attention from the back of the cell. It's a tiny, tiny brick that's sliding inward, as if the wall were hollow. I walk over and kneel down, I can't see anything but I can hear movement. I whisper towards the hole, "Who's there?"

"It's me! Mina! You missed your appointment, blockhead!"

"Mina..? Oh! Does that danuki still have my things?!"

"Shhh! Not so loud! Yeah, we've got 'em, only because the boss still wants the other half of that gold. Your darn shield burned up my hands, too! I demand compensation for my injuries!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do? I'm stuck in here and all my crap is out there!"

"Shhh! I'm going to help you get out, but you have to agree to help me first, got it?"

"What am I going to be doing?"

"I'm not telling you till you say you'll help!"

"What? That's stupid, I'm not doing that! Who know's what conniving things you'd have me do?!"

"Fine, be that way. Stay here and rot for all I care. I'll just grab your stuff and leave, if you'd rather have that!"

"You little…..fine. I'll help you."

"Attaboy. Wait, is your other stuff going to burn me too?"

"What? No, it's just armor."

"That's what the other crap looked like too! But it burned me anyway, now didn't it? Stand near the cell door and wait for me."

The scuffling of feet on stone made it's way up the wall, towards the ceiling, causing trails of dust to fall between the rocks as she seemingly traveled through stone towards the hallway. A small grate swings open into view, and the little mouse jumps down silently. She's still wearing that cooking pot on her head and she's got bandages on her hands, too. She approaches the door uneasily, "You promise you're gonna help if I let you go? Pinky swear? If you break your promise, I'll hound you forever and ever until you die!"

"Goddammit…"

Pinky swear the little mouse?

RIP

>>155080

Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but shit happens and the board has been real slow as of late. I don't feel like my efforts are really resulting in anything particularly fruitful or interesting.

Well, there's been some off-board meta concepts that I've found really interesting, but it's a whole lot of effort for something I feel like I've already failed in trying to do. If anyone really cares, I've got it in me to tough it out and at least try to finish things, but otherwise I may have to move on.

I probably won't try again considering how bad this one turned out.

>>156239

>>156203

>>156195

I…

I…

I'll keep going…!!

Gimme a bit and the next update will be soon, I suppose. I dunno when, I get busy kinda randomly.

>>150458

>>147360

>>147359

I stick my hand through the iron metal bars. I am uneasy of her proposal, but there's a tiny voice inside my head, screaming "JUST DO IT", disproportionately loudly. But honestly, she's such a meek little thing; How risky could this deal really be? She winces a little as she curls her tiny pinky around mine and stares up at me, almost beaming through her metal pot.

"Alright! I"m gonna hold you to your word on this one!"

"Fine, fine. Now what the hell am I helping you with?"

"I'll tell you once we're out of here and safe. Gimme a sec on this lock. It might take longer than usual….you know, with my hands and stuff…."

"Just hurry up…", I say with a tinge of annoyance. Right away, she takes a few pins from her tiny belt and slowly begins picking the lock. Quiet rattling and clicking of metal fills the air, as does a whisper seemingly right next to the both of us.

"Pssst! Hey! Are you picking that lock?!"

Mina stops dead in her tracks, looking down the hall for the voice. She looks back at me, "I don't see anyone. I think it's a prisoner in the cell next to you.", she whispers. I say nothing, and we both stay frozen, listening further.

"Help! We gotta get out of here and warn people about the Order!"

Unthinkingly, I respond, "Warn people? About what?".

"We were locked up when we came to request aid after our town was attacked by a band of mercenaries! We overheard the guards say something about mobilizing and moving in on the tiny cities or something. We need to get out and spread word!"

"Wait…are you from Tinburin?"

"No, I'm from Vavik, far up north. Some of the guys in here are from Rathio, to the west."

I stop for a second. I try to recall the two cities. I don't know anything about Rathio at all, but I do know Vavik is a mountain village, hidden behind vast formations of stone and caves. It's a no-mans zone, filled with the most dangerous types of wild monsters, from manticores to wyrms. A lot of supply transports headed up there pass through Tinburin, hiring mercenaries to clear paths and defend merchandise, not to mention those actually doing the transporting. A good number of those attempting to cross the Vavik mountain range never leave. The sea isn't much better, but it tends to be much more expensive and time consuming anyway. I decide to ask the guy some more questions, "How long ago were you attacked?"

"Ach…I don't know….maybe about a week ago? 10 days? We've sorta lost track of time in here…"

"And the guys that attacked you? Were they wearing red and silver armor? Gold symbols on it?"

"That's exactly right! They had gunlances, too! Only the Order uses those!"

After hearing Corvus go on and on about the Harbingers, things are starting to make a little more sense: with Harbingers still utilizing Order technology, they can pass off their attacks as Order assaults, turning the attention of the populace where it doesn't belong, consequentially interfering with the Order's operations, I'd assume. But I still need to track down where those bastards themselves are based. I need more answers, "The guys from Rathio; How long ago where they attacked?"

"Uhh….two weeks ago, I think….I know they were here way before us."

"I see…"

"Hey, we can't stay here chatting all day! We gotta get moving before someone sees us! Are you gonna help or not?"

I see little reason not to assist them. Mina finishes undoing the lock just as we stop talking. The door swings open with ease, Mina beaming at her own handiwork, "I may be hurt, but I still got it!"

"Good. Now open the lock for those guys while I get my things ready."

"What? Hey, you could ask a little nicer, you know!"

"Fine. PLEASE open the lock for those guys while I get my things ready."

"Hmph. Fine….meanie…"

>>156714

>>156730

>>156732

I love you.

Also, sewers.

Captcha was iwemnz, that must be a new apple product.

Oi, crispcripple, the fuck's a backend fetch?

>>156751

It's a sign. Robo-waifus soon, comrade

>>156751

>>156744

>>156740

The sewers are dangerous….maybe that can be used to our advantage? No way they'd follow us with that much danger standing in the way. In any case, I see little else that can be done right now.

"Mina, we're going through the sewers. It's the only way."

"B-but…"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"Not right now, just give me a second!"

"We don't have a second. Every moment we're here brings us closer to being recaptured. We're probably not going to get a second chance. We need to go now."

"Hold on," one of the prisoners speaks up, "How will we know where to go?"

"I know the sewers kinda well.", Mina speaks up. I lift my arms in frustration, "Why didn't you tell us sooner then?"

"Because you're all human, stupid. Slimes want humans, not mice. I can go wherever I want, but you guys would be slime food if you went down there."

"Well, we've got no other choice. If we have any chance at all, we've got to go for it.", I say, crossing my arms and wincing in pain when I fold them too hard. This broken bone isn't set in the greatest material, so I can't strain it too much.

Everybody seems restless, but they're all staring at Mina with eager eyes, as though she's got all the answers. Mina just seems pouty, but she sighs and makes her way to the far end of the hall, everyone else in tow. Another prisoner motions towards the door, "We gotta go right, and then I think I remember going left, walking a while, and then the door was on the right…..I think…."

"Oh yeah, real helpful.", another one responds, sarcastically.

"Shhhh!"

In any case, we try to move as a unit. Cracking the door open, it's simply another hallway perpendicular to ours. With no real leads or sense of direction, everyone crouches low and begins running to the right, down the hall. Mina and I stay near each other, but we're just as lost as everyone else. Aimlessly, we advance through the musty, darkened corridors, lit merely by torches and lanterns, the shuffling of our footsteps echoing against the stone walls. Eventually, we find the left turn mentioned earlier, and in a desperate gamble, we follow the path. Before us, however, things become a bit more dismal: Both sides of the very long hallway before us are lined with solid steel doors. There's nothing on them to identify them. Everyone pauses, contemplating the situation.

"Damn! We can't just open them one by one! What if someone is inside?", a prisoner whispers.

"Then we listen as best we can and fight if things go south.", the bald man replies. Slowly we begin nearing the doors, listening as close as we can. There's yelling going on further down the hall, as well as the ambient noise of running and dripping water. Could the sewers be that close? Or is there something else nearby…?

Door after door remains silent and locked. We should have figured they wouldn't just leave them open. Or maybe there's people inside, they're just….in no condition to respond to stimuli, we'll say. In any case, we manage to find a door that's not locked, and that's when all hell breaks loose.

"Crap! Leg it!!", a prisoner gasps as a guard opens the door all the way at the end of the hall.

We're far too big a group to run into the room all at once, and sure enough, we're spotted. We hear a yell as we run into an empty chamber with nothing but a table, a chair and, praise be to all that is holy, a sewer grate in the far corner. As I run up to it, the other prisoners attempt to barricade the door with what little is inside the room. The grate itself is rusted to hell, and although unbearably heavy, comes right off the floor. The bald man grunts as he and a few of his companions lift it from the floor. I turn to Mina with expectant eyes, "Alright, you're up! Lead us out of here…"

"Eh-heh…Uhh…R-right…!", she says with minimal confidence. As we scramble into the hole one by one, the guardsman that spotted us begins ramming the door. The barricade provides little resistance, but it's enough to hold him off until the last man is in.

The path below is a single six foot trench dug under every room in the hall, with a grate for each one looming above. Mina begins running one direction, only to stop as a grate on the far end comes undone and an armored guard pops his head down. He yells at us to stop, but thankfully, platemail is not figure friendly, and he has quite a bit of trouble getting down.

Though we struggle, we immediately begin running the only other direction available to us. Pathetically, since Mina is now at the back of the line, we have absolutely no guidance ahead. For the most part, that's not a problem, since we only have one direction to move in anyway, but eventually the grungy stone gives way to cleaner, neater brick, and the sound of running water gets louder and louder.

>>157430

Up ahead, I hear a yell and the men before me stop running abruptly, resulting in everyone crashing into each other. Not 2 seconds later, a loud splash echos throughout the area. Little by little, we inch forward and I'm relieved by what I see: The city's sewer system is finally before us, sunlight beaming in from dozens of sewer grates throughout all the different tunnels. We stand on a concrete ledge looking down on one of the prisoners flopping around in waist-deep sewer water. Surprisingly, the water is crystal clear, and I can't smell anything either.

The sewers were not like I expected them to be, and they're nothing like the prison's network; Large paths on either side of the water streams make navigation easy, with the arch of the walls providing plenty of headroom. The pale orange stones of the walls look like the ones used in the streets. As it would turn out, I chose a very bad time to admire the architecture; as Mina squeezes out into view, she yells and points at the prisoner still sitting in the water, "No! Get out of there, hurry!!"

"Wha? What's wrong wi–?", the prisoner's words are cut off by a sudden burst from the water. As the water comes back down, I notice some of it is still suspended in the air. It wraps around the man and quickly pulls him under the surface. A few of the other prisoners yell out and attempt to jump in after him, but Mina and the bald man hold them back, with everyone screaming and yelling as the victim before us is rapidly whisked deeper into the maze below the city. Mina stands in front of everyone, with her arms outstretched to keep anyone from advancing, "You can't see bubble slimes while they're in the water! Stick to the walls!"

The bald man and the prisoners continue to yell and argue about what they should have done about their former comrade, but everyone quiets down as a distant siren begins blaring in the city streets above. The sounds of shuffling metal and footsteps echo from unknown places. Those Order goons are quick to mobilize, it seems. Mina begins sprinting down the concrete walkway, holding her pot down on her head manually so it doesn't fall off, "This way!"

>>157433

A lot of the men seem to be fairly malnourished and can't move very quickly. A number of times, as we travel, sudden rumbling in the water causes a few of them to panic and nearly get caught, but we manage to make it through. Eventually, Mina leads us to a long tunnel with a bright light at one end. As we get closer I can see green….and blue…Ha! It's the plains outside the city! Stopping at the mouth of the tunnel, I take note of the area; This tunnel feeds into a creek that flows away from the city, east, I believe, towards the ocean. The remaining prisoners all gather at the edge as well, looking around for any sign of witnesses. So far, nothing. The bald man turns to me, "I'm going back to Vavik if I can. If you're ever in town, ask for 'Laslow' at any of the inns or markets. They'll probably redirect you to me. Speaking of which, I never caught your name."

"I'm Davis. This little loudmouth here is Mina, I guess."

Mina kicks me behind my knee as hard as she can. Despite being barefoot, she kinda caught me off guard and I nearly fall in the water. Some of the prisoners seem amused, but that only irritates her more. We say our goodbyes and the group begins running along the wall, attempting to avoid any patrols or sentinels on watch. I can only pray they make it to the tree line.

With that out of the way, I turn to Mina. She's still a little pouty, but it's none of my concern, "So….Now what? You gonna tell me about that errand?"

Mina freezes up and begins twittling her thumbs again, "Right….so, a while back we got a request for a loan to get some medicine. The medicine itself is kind of expensive and they wanted a lot of it, so they started out with about 1200 gold to pay off."

"Damn…that's pretty fucking steep."

"Yeah. But, ya see, they haven't made any payments on it. At all."

"How long has it been?"

"A year and a half."

"Yikes. How much do they owe now?"

"A little over ten grand. The boss is pretty peeved about it, and she wants it all back now before she leaves Gaussia again."

"Holy fuck. Well if they don't have the money, what are we supposed to do?"

"I…I don't know. That's why I wanted you to promise you'd help me."

"Well who the hell do you think I am?! I can't make gold appear out of thin air, and if they haven't paid it then, they're not gonna pay it now. What do you expect me to do?!"

"Well, you've got weapons and stuff…s-so….you know…"

"My arm is busted; I can't fight."

"Well, maybe we could have it fixed! Some holstaur milk and a better cast might hold you together for a little while…"

"Ugghhh…."

Things are turning south, fast. I made a pinky swear to go through with it, but…is this really the best idea? I gaze towards the outside world to collect my thoughts a little better.

What should I do about reclaiming the money?

>>157447

>Depending on our intelligence stat

Davis does not have any numerical stats, per se, but generalities that vaguely determine how well he does in certain scenarios. For the most part, he's only as intelligent as those who choose his path, but he would be average if left to his own devices.

The rest has to be inferred. I'll hint that he's made his living doing physical labor and odd jobs for his town, so he's built fairly well, but he has no formal combat experience, so he'll tend to lose fights he cannot maintain a clear combat advantage in. Injuries, exhaustion, ailments, and poor equipment choices will reduce combat effectiveness.

Remember to ask questions about his equipment, conditions or surroundings, if you need more information. You can also ask people in the story for additional details, if you think they know anything.

Reminder:

Health: Poor

Condition: Broken Bones (Left Forearm; Poor cast), Hungry

Gold: 0

Inventory: Tattered Cloth

Reactor Core Necklace

Armor: Studded Leather Body Armor

Weapon: Dagger

>>157447

I can't fight, and I can't abandon my promise. I'll have to generate the money manually….but how?

"Mina? You know we're not going to get anything from them, right?"

"W-well…I mean…"

"We have no choice. We'll just have the earn the money some other way and turn it in in place of the debt."

"Are you NUTS? Where would we possibly get more than ten grand in a day?"

"Uhh….Is bubble slime worth anything?"

"Only is the slime is still alive, dummy. And even then, not much."

"Then maybe we can sell some of my things?"

"What? You don't have anything that valuable! Your necklace is pretty but it would probably barely net 400 gold."

"What about the crap that danuki still has?"

"She's not gonna give any of it back till you pay her back her gold…."

"Dammit, work with me here! Do you know any place that deals in black market goods?"

"A few, but you need something to actually sell first. Magic stuff is valuable, but they won't buy anything too common. Most of the black market is geared towards buying, selling, and trading slaves and servants and whatnot…"

"I see….Listen, I'll get the money we need, but first, I'm going to need my pack back."

"But…you lost your gold, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I'll get some back, I just need my supplies first."

"There's no way she'll give it back till she gets her money. I've seen stuff like this happen before."

"Well if she wants anything done, she's going to have to co-operate. We're is she now?"

"Umm….well, you put the city on high alert, so the market is closed…That probably means….ah! I have an idea! Follow me!!!"

The little mouse adjusts her "helmet" and takes off back into the sewers. As we travel back into the city, the sirens continue to blare in various sections of the streets. Large amounts of murmuring and clamoring echoed through the sewers below the busier streets. With such a sudden jailbreak, they probably locked down every single segment of the city. I can only imagine the stress this is putting on the citizens. Still, it can't be helped. As we travel, I take note that eventually the noises begin to fade, and the sewer becomes dirtier and smellier, unlike the clear, clean tunnels we had just been running through. Up ahead, I spot a large room carved into the side of the tunnel, a single ladder planted firmly in the center. As we approach, I see several other entrances and exits into the area; A junction of some sort? The layout is rather confusing. Mina stops by the ladder and waits for me to catch up, my exhaustion making itself known.

"Hurry up, slowpoke."

"I'm going….as fast…as I can…..god dammit…."

"Me and the boss hide out in the southern slums whenever we're not in the market. All the things in the wagon are stored in our storeroom, but….if she finds out there's something missing, she might freak out and get really mad…."

"She'll get over it when she gets her money back. Just…..go get my bag…."

"Wait, you're not coming?"

"I can't climb a ladder with my arm like this! Not quickly, anyway. And time is of the essence, so get moving."

"…."

Mina just curls her lip and sighs. Just like the little rodent she is, she scurries up the ladder with a great deal of dexterity. A trapdoor at the top of the ladder gives way to pitch black darkness, which she immediately disappears into. There's nothing left now but to catch my breath…

…

…The moments pass, then the minutes. Time crawls as slowly as the sludge oozing past me in the channel dug into the ground. I nearly jump out of my skin when my bag slams into the ground next to me. Mina slides down the ladder and lands on the bag as well. I shoo her away as fast as I can, "HEY! There's delicate shit in there!!"

>>157881

"We gotta go! Move, move, move!!!", Mina is panicking a great deal. Before I can gather any clues about the situation, I can hear screaming echoing from the trap door. I'm fairly certain I don't want to deal with what was to happen next, whatever it was. Lifting the bag with my own good arm, I try to take off after Mina. It's a lot heavier when it's not resting on my back properly…

The little mouse seemed to know these tunnels like the back of her hand. No matter how many intersections or junctions we encountered, she never hesitated to choose a path. I'd probably die trying to navigate this maze myself. The tunnels became increasingly dark and musty as we delved deeper below the city. Eventually, however, we encountered another enclave that was without filth or muck, lit by torches and lined with deep purple runic symbols near the ceiling, on the wall. They provided little ambient light, but pulsated in unison. A steel door, with an eye-slot and a much larger sub-door in it's center, stood wide before me. There's no handle on the door, but we didn't even get a chance to knock before the eye-slot swiped open at breakneck speeds. I jumped a little, but Mina didn't even blink. She must come here often. A man's voice echoed through the area as a simple, raspy whisper.

"Ahhh, if it isn't my favorite mouse…..you look terrible….what has happened to you….?"

"It's a long story…I'll explain if I ever get the chance…."

"Ohhh…? This must be serious then….."

"S-sorta…yeah…"

"And who is this….?"

"This is Davis…we've got some things we need to sell for money…"

"Doesn't your boss handle those sorts of things, Mina?"

"This is….uhh…different…."

"Well then….who am I to question the goods themselves? Buying or selling, I do it all…"

I don't have much. What should I aim to try to sell?

Additional Inventory:

(Cargo Backpack x1) No value here.

(Bedroll) No value here.

(50 ft Rope) No value here.

(Makeshift Ration x8) No value here.

(Water Canteen x4 (only one full)) No value here.

(Splint, Minor Disinfectant, Bandages x7 each) No value here.

(Burn Ointment x6) No value here.

(Home-Cooked Ration x3) No value here.

(Home Remedy x5) 5 Gold Each.

(Full set Harbinger chainmail (Greaves, Gauntlets, Mail, Helm))

Harbinger Greaves- Adds a little defense and prevents leg binding from slime, webbing and most types of terrain. 2500 gold obtained if sold.

Harbinger Gauntlets- Adds a little defense and enables combat advantage when grappling mamono. Inflicts non-elemental burning damage to mamono during grapples. No effect vs humans. 3000 Gold if sold.

Harbinger Chainmail- Protection: High, Mobility: Average, Weight: High. Resists mamono energy and ignites materials containing such energy on contact. Repels Order magic to a small extent. Imbued with magic that prevents anything from sticking to it. 7000 gold if sold.

Harbinger Helm- Adds a little defense but skews vision a little. While wearing this helm, harmful songs and sounds inflicted by mamono will have no effect. Dispels false visions and reveals hidden monsters. 3500 gold if sold.

(Harbinger Shield)- Damage: High, Reach: Very Low, Speed: Very slow; Quite heavy. Accelerated polarity fusion system, inflicting high damage if the target is a monster. Resists a great deal of Order magic. An ordinary shield vs standard weapons. 5700 gold if sold here.

(Harbinger Longsword) Damage: High, Reach: High, Speed: Moderate; Accelerated polarity fusion system, inflicting high damage if the target is a monster. Very poor against Order armor. No extra damage vs standard foes and equipment. 4600 gold if sold here.

Reactor Core Necklace- Summons Corvus. Recharges in one hour after use. May experience a delay before he actually shows up. 4000 Gold if sold here.

>>158164

"Eh-heh…This stuff is kinda hard to come by, you know…"

"You know what this is?", I say, putting each piece of armor into the larger slot on the door, one by one.

"Oh, sure, sure. The Harbingers are a popular customer of mine. I can't say I approve of their methods or intentions, but who am I to question them?"

"What?! I need to find them! Do you know where they are?!"

"Tsk, tsk. I'm afraid all of my customers are protected by a strict privacy policy. I can't tell you where they are or what they've bought, sold or traded…."

"But….!!"

"Tch….But, perhaps…maybe….I could tell you where they're not? I don't believe that's a violation of policy…"

"Tell me anything! I need whatever guidance I can get."

"They're not to the south, or north. I don't think they'd go east unless there was something for them in the middle of the ocean."

"So…you're saying I should head west, then?"

"I didn't say that at all. But I know I can't say much more in either case…"

"Dammit…."

As I put the last of the armor into the slot, a large burlap sack slides out with high denomination gold coins. 16000G, in the palms of my hands. It's fairly heavy….

"Good luck out there….don't get caught…."

"Wh-what? How did you know…?"

"I can see everything on the surface, my boy. Now then…..wanna buy something?"

"Errr..I ….Well, what have you got?"

"Eh heh heh…."

Items currently on Sale here

Omnitreads - Footwear that offers incredible mobility, cutting down on travel times and boosting movement speed considerably. Negates adverse movement effects caused by natural weather and terrain. Offers no physical defensive benefit. 1500G.

Mending Meal - A set of pouches of grainy grits of some sort. Cures all broken bones and strengthens them a great deal for a short while. Mamono-based. Restores quite a bit of hunger for a while, as well. 500G per pack of 3.

Tranquilizer Bomb - Chemical balls loaded with weresheep wool and moth scales, commonly used by the city guard. Explodes into a cloud when thrown against a surface. Inflicts sleep on everything caught in a small radius. Mamono based. Don't get caught in the area of effect! 150G each.

Holy Water - A vial of pure water that melts corruption and darkness. Effective vs demons. Faintly weakens other mamono. Cover yourself in it to boost resistance for a short time. 350G per bottle.

Undine Water - Pure waters of the mystical Undine. Removes all negative conditions and completely restores Health to Superior level. Grants immunity to further negative conditions for awhile after use. 1500G.

M.S.S - The Mamono Suppression Sphere. A glass bauble that contains a void rune, calibrated to consume a massive amount of nearby mamono energy. Typically deployed by the highest ranking Order palad!ns. Although non-lethal to most mamono, the effects of Suppression are severe and will floor even the most powerful targets for a good couple of hours at the very least. Very loud. No effect on pure humans. 3000G each.

Subduing syringe - A medical syringe filled with dopamine inhibitors and a cocktail of serotonin blockers, all geared towards suppressing lust in mamono. Can cause withdrawal symptoms within seconds, proportionate to how dependent the target was in the first place. If used on humans, may cause a multitude of complications and may potentially be lethal. 450G each.

Brace Mail - A cumbersome set of body armor with built-in braces that absorb the recoil of Gunlances. Highly damage resistant and immune to explosives. 4500G

Gunlance (Order)- A violent, lance-like weapon that fires destructive shells loaded into it's base. High reach, high damage, high weight and high risk. You may dislocate your arm if not prepared. 2400G

Gunlance shells- A box of 12 standard shells for a gunlance. 600G.

Patrolman Crossbow - A silent weapon carried by city patrolman. Fires a number of different types of bolts. Hard to reload but very accurate and needs very little training to use. 2000G

Standard Bolts - A pack of 10 crossbow bolts. Pointy. 600G

Ignition Bolts- Crossbow bolts that burst into flame on contact with a surface or target. 600G for 5.

Riot Claymore- A 'nonlethal' claymore used by the city guard to shut down the rowdier monsters. Hefty and intimidating. 1600G.

Catnip - Ordinary catnip….right? 100G for a baggie.

>>158191

>Gunlance

pic related

We don't really have enough money for both the lance and its supportive armor, so I think the safest bet is just to purchase the omnitreads and as much mending meal as we can grab while maintaining our budget for Mina.

>>158856

>>158203

>>158201

>>158196

"I'll take the Omnitreads, 6 bags of Mending Meal and…ehhh, fuck it; I'm feeling saucy. Give me the catnip. One pouch."

"Eh, heh heh….no problem. You definitely ARE feeling saucy if you're looking for something like that."

"Wha? How do you figure?"

"I won't spoil anything, but I will say the bag itself is very special. Don't open it until you're absolutely ready to use all of it at once. The breed is far too potent to be treated as it's domestic counterpart."

"R-right."

"Anyhoo, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. Drop by at any of my locations in every major town and city."

"Wait, what? How does that work?"

"Trade secret, my boy. See ya…!"

` And with that, the little metal eyeslot slides closed with blinding speed. I look down at the items the man dropped through the hole in the door, onto the ground for me. I hope these were worth the steep prices…

(Equipped the Omnitreads!)

(Consumed one Mending Meal)

(Broken Bone Cured.)

(Hunger Cured.)

(I've become Empowered (Bone) for a few hours)

I wash down the mending meal with some of the water from my last canteen. Ugh….it's so horrible! It feels like I shoved a whole fistful of sand in my mouth. Doesn't taste much better, either. But undoubtedly, I can feel my arm returning to proper form. I remove the cast from it's place and return the tattered cloth to my arm as an armband. I turn back to Mina. She looks pretty down, despite me just having gotten things taken care of for her.

"Hey, what's with the long face? I got the money, if we just talk things over with your boss, I'm sure it'll all smooth out."

"Yeah, it will now, but later? It's only a matter of time before I have to do something like this again. And I was supposed to collect from the people that actually owed it, not make you lose all your things…."

"It's alright. That crap was getting me into trouble anyway."

"But what about the weapons?"

"Uhh…th-that's different…Anyway! What are you getting at?"

"I can't keep doing this, mister. This is the only way I know how to get by and it's gonna get me into more trouble than I can get out of one day. Today could have been that day, y'know?"

She adjusts the pot on her head with a trembling, damaged hand, so I can't see her little blue eyes anymore. What exactly had that danuki intended for Mina to do? I understand a large debt can fuel some serious drama, but realistically, what was the endgame being shot for? Maybe I should ask Mina's boss myself….

"Listen: Let's just turn in the debt right now and take these things one problem at a time, alright? I'm sure we'll work everything out."

"…."

Mina just turns and walks back the way we came, holding her arm. I have a feeling she's not looking forward to anything that's about to happen. Together, we walk in near-silence, the sound of rushing water ever-present. That and the clatter of gold coins. I count out the 10 grand and put the rest into my own bag. If the debt is a little higher, I'll just give back whatever's missing.

(Gold currently at 3400)

>>159381

Eventually, we make it back to the enclave that ladder was placed into, and as we turn the corner, we're greeted by an unwelcome sight: The danuki is standing next to the ladder, turned away from us, speaking with a pair of the city guard. Her hair is disheveled and she's speaking somewhat frantically.

"…a-and she's probably with that human that you guys just put up on the Wanted posters! I don't care how rough you have to be, bring her back to me. I demand the reward money for leading you to the human, however!"

The guards notice me and Mina and immediately draw their swords. These aren't riot weapons, either; I guess the jailbreak put the city a little too far on edge. The danuki turns around and scowls at us.

"There you are, you conniving, traitorous–"

I cut her off with the sound of hefty gold coin sloshing around in the bag. Her ears perk up and she continues her sentence as though I hadn't interrupted her, "–…wonderful, beautiful, amazing, benefactors, you!"

Now realizing the gravity of the situation, the danuki glances wistfully at the two guardsmen now advancing upon us, "Ah, boys? Things have changed a bit, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go. Permanently."

They turn around in confusion to see the danuki pull out a handful of those signiture green leaves. Throwing them into the faces of the guardsmen, they all burst into thick, white smoke. I can't see anything, but I can hear a whole lot of scuffling, some grunts, and then screams, followed by loud splashing. Coughing and waving, I shoo the smoke away as fast as I can. By the time I can see the danuki again, I notice that not only are the guardsmen gone, the bag of gold I was just holding is also missing. I'm about ready to panic when I notice the danuki hunched over, staring into said bag, her tail twitching in excitement. The ground around her is coated in bubbling slime and sewer water, a sword of one the guardsmen near the edge of the concrete ledge itself. The mess spans all the way to my own two feet, with the other guardsman's blade mere inches away from my toes. There's a bloodstain on the very tip of the blade. The danuki stands back up, attempting to regain her composure, but she's clearly very flustered, her half-lidded eyes brimming with desire. Desire for more gold, I'd wager. As she turns, I notice she now has a long cut across one side of her face, near her eye, but she doesn't seem to care about it. She strides towards me, her tail still twitching, "So…you know….I realize we've never been properly introduced. My name is Belinda. I've already caught yours, what with you making yourself so popular with the authorities and whatnot."

"Uhhh….right."

>>159383

"I can appreciate a man who knows how to bring home the bacon. Good help can be so hard to find these days….sooo, sooo hard…."

I grab Mina and place her in front of me, both hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving. She panics a bit, but Belinda's gaze paralyzes her with fear, "You've got good help right here. She's resourceful and knowledgeable!"

Mina panics a bit, "What are you doing!?", she whispers, trying to look up at me. I bang my fist down on the pot on her head, "Ow!!!"

"Shhh! Shut up!", I attempt to whisper back, through clenched teeth. The danuki looks at us with relatively unchanged expression. I continue, "She did her best to get that debt taken care of. You knew you could count on her…right?"

The danuki sighs and shrugs her shoulders, "The problem was going to be resolved one way or another. I just wanted it over with sooner, rather than later."

"That doesn't answer my question. What is it that you were expecting to happen today?"

"That wasn't your question, either."

"It may as well be. I got involved in this, so I demand to know the intended objective of the task that was assigned."

"What are you on about? It was to get back the money, of course."

"But the ones in debt didn't have any money. They've never had money. They've never even made a single payment. You knew that. You've known that since the beginning. But you sent her anyway. To do what? Steal something that doesn't exist?"

"You don't know they don't have money. They've been living in a relatively nice abode for quite some time. They have to pay rent, obviously, so they have to have money."

"…and if they somehow didn't have the immense sum of inhereted debt that no one would realistically be able to pay in a single day unless they were royalty?"

"Then I would send someone else. Are we done playing 20 questions?"

"Send someone else to what? Take money that still doesn't exist?"

"D-Davis…it's fine, really.", Mina, says aloud. She shivers a little when Belinda's gaze drops down onto the little mouse, backing up into my grip as far as she can go. Instinctively my hands cross over her chest defensively. I can feel her heart racing and her lungs holding air longer than they should be. I must be getting close to something if she's getting like this. There's one person, however, who know all the secrets already, and maybe even the intent.

"Mina, ", I say, not taking my eyes off the danuki, "Who exactly were these people you were to get the money from?"

"Mina is obligated to keep these things, secret, Davis. All information is kept on a strict, need-to-know basis."

"I'm part of these things, remember? I need-to-know who it was I was suppose to help 'deal with', as it were."

Belinda glares at the little mouse, seemingly through the pot. Mina turns and wraps her arms around me, yelling before Belinda even gets a chance to warn her not to, "Hellhounds! I was supposed to kill the whole family of hellhounds in the slums if I couldn't get the money back!!"

It takes quite a bit of willpower not to rip my gaze from the danuki and stare at Mina in disbelief. Belinda herself closes her eyes in a quiet fit of rage. The pieces finally come together, "Hellhounds in the slums, hm? So you knew they absolutely never would pay or would even have the money. And you intended to send this little morsel of prey right to their doorstep, didn't you? You knew she didn't stand a chance. You knew everything. But the big question is, why?"

"Pests are pests, Davis. There's no reason to deal with them any longer than you have to."

The danuki merely crosses her arms and closes her eyes, reaching to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. Mina grips onto my armor a bit tighter, and the sword and shield on my back feel as though they're begging to be used. But I'm definitely not in the greatest condition right now. A tense mood feels the air as we both try to discern what the other is about to do. Finally, the danuki speaks up.

"Normally, I'd have you both killed on the spot for an infraction like this, but I'm still very pleased with your work. I feel it's within my capacity to forgive you, Davis, if you hand over the remaining 3000 gold and forget everything you've seen here today. Mina, this way."

Mina doesn't move. She clings onto me tighter.

"Mina, don't make this any worse for yourself than it already is.", the danuki's tone becomes much more serious. Mina looks up at me, tears streaming down from beneath the pot on her head.

"D-don't make m-me go…Please."

"Tsk…can you do me a favor and hand her over too? This sort of troublesome tripe is exactly the kind of thing that gets us into these situations…."

I know what must be done, and that is…

>>159384

GAS THE DANUKIS

RACE WAR NOW

In all seriousness just threaten her first. If she continues to act like a conniving Jew, off to the ovens

>>159384

Draw the sword. Put on the batman voice, and tell her to step the fuck off or we'll use our 'holy shit fucksword +10' to murderize her so hard she flies into someone else's quest

>>160155

>>160156

>same ID

>>159405

>>159409

>>159499

>>160155

>>160550

I place one hand on Mina's head and reach for the sword on my back with the other, "She's not going anywhere."

"Please don't involve yourself with matters that do not concern you. If you value your life, you'll leave right now."

"I value her life. And you've forfeit yours.", I pull the blade from my back and hold it forward, "Get back, Mina!"

The little mouse gasps a little and attempts to run back down the way we came from. The danuki opens her eyes back up, fury overflowing. With one quick motion, she flicks both of her arms forward, flinging more of those damn leaves at me. In mid air, they burst into puffs of smoke, a hail of knives flying out of the cloud towards me. In my current condition, I can't bring my shield forward in time; Although many of the blades pelt the wide of the shield, a great deal more nip at my arms and legs. The little cuts sting all along my limbs, my legs getting the worst of the assault, but I'm far from out of this fight.

Looking back up over the shield, I see Belinda preparing to pull another torrent of leaves from fuck-knows where she keeps them. I can't allow her the opportunity to attack; I charge at her with the shield raised. The omnitreads close the gap between us quickly, but I'm still not fast enough, and she ducks to the side. To prevent a counter, I swipe at her with the blade in my other hand, but she's still a little too speedy for me in my weakened state, rolling near the edge of the water, where it's dangerous for me to approach. I can't charge her there, or she'll send me diving into bubble slime infested water. Knowing this, she continues prepping another attack. Approaching slowly, with my shield raised, I continue to pressure her, advancing step by step, but she stays out of arms reach, backing up along the edge of the water. In another sudden flick, she flings more leaves directly at the shield itself…

…Which immediately bursts into flames, spraying smoldering bits back at her in a surprise backlash. The edges of the shield glow red and warm up, just as they did with the slimes back in Tinburin. She shrieks and coughs, attempting to jump back out of harm's way, but little does she know harm's way is coming to meet her instead! The blast of smoke was just the leverage I needed to advance, running through it like a raging bull, swiping at her left and right. She's nimble enough that I still can't land a blow, but she's seriously disoriented now. I continue to advance, forcing her away from the water, back towards a corner. Her eyes begin to fill with desperation as I come closer and closer to cornering her. She's not a fighter, she's a trickster; Face-to-face, she can't do anything in a real fight. With her leaves useless at this range, she begins to panic. I bear down on her with the tip of my sword, shield still raised in case she tries something stupid. Her eyes mix anger and fear, her guard still raised, but she dare not move, as I need only thrust the blade to end her for good.

"You…..Y-you wouldn't dare…", she manages to utter. It seems the possibility of death has only just now been realized in her mind. I wonder if she's ever experienced this feeling before, considering she's hiding her body language rather well, but her eyes betray her efforts; She's already accepted that this might be the end.

"Wouldn't I? You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through or what I've been trying to do or what I'm capable of. No one would ever find out, either…."

>>160599

"You….p-please…what do you want? Money? I can give you money!"

"I can just take your money after your life. You have nothing you can offer me."

Her eyes widen even further in fear. Odds are, she's the sort of person who honestly believes that any problem can be solved if you throw enough money at it. Without money, what hope is there? But I've had my fun with her. I'll just–

"Do it, Davis."

I stop at a very familiar, but unusually serious voice echoing over my shoulder. Glancing over, I see Mina, standing with one of the guardsmen's blades in her hands. The pot on her head is gone, revealing a head of short, silver hair….and a missing ear. Her remaining ear is not in great shape either: tattered on one end and sporting a huge hole in the edge. Her blue eyes seemingly glow in the darkness, but not as brightly as Corvus'. She's just finished drying her tears, it seems, and now she's as serious as I've ever seen a mamono, "She can't be allowed out of here alive. Davis…finish her. If you can't, I will, and I promise I won't be as quick about it."

Belinda's face twists with rage, even in the face of my own assault. Mina continues, "She's made my life a living hell since the day we've met. I've been bound to her by a Fell Contract to do her dirty work. It's cost me my ears…nearly my life a few times….And I'm through with it."

It just begins to hit me that I'm not staring at a defenseless little girl. She may not be the strongest, even as a mamono, but in spite of her mouselike features, she's a grown woman. I'm not sure what she's been through, but considering what this danuki has been spouting and what she just tried to do, I'm not going to assume it was fun. Belinda scoffs, grabbing the attention of both of myself and Mina, "As if you could do anything, Mina. The Fell Contract will end you the moment to draw a drop of my blood."

"Unless Davis draws all your blood. Then we all get to leave here happily. Except you, of course.", Mina shoots back, coldly. Belinda winces and turns back to me, "You can't do this! I've been trying to keep the Order from seizing full control of the city since they tried moving in! Th-that's why it's so important I secure the market! What, you don't think it takes any sacrifice to do something like that? You're out of your mind if you think–!!"

"Shut up!", I yell down her face. She flinches and backs down, looking at the floor. Mina advances a little, allowing the tip of her sword to scrape the ground, echoing the sound as loudly as possible, "I don't care if it ends me. You can't be allowed to terrorize the world just because you think you can make everything a little bit better. At the end of the day, you only do it for yourself anyway."

"Mina, this is very serious. I don't think you should–"

"Davis, no. I am serious. Belinda isn't the sort of person to let grudges go. On top of that, the contract ensures I can't fight back when she inevitably sends every mercenary in every major city after us. My weapons will be dull and useless, since the enemies will actually technically be allies so long as they work under Belinda. I won't be able to hide, either, since the holder will know where I am just by holding the scroll in their hands. If I'm going to die either way, I might as well take her with me. Or you can do it and make all this much easier…"

Mina stares at me expectantly. I look back at the danuki to see her staring back up at me again. Her eyes have just begun to water. There's no anger, only fear. I really don't have anything to lose by killing her, and she knows it. I lift the blade to her throat and Belinda begins to hyperventilate, welling tears finally overflowing.

KILL or SPARE