I wonder if anybody can find a good fancy font trick to represent shaking the ground levels of bass. I know there are a lot of tricks that are possible that aren't in the help pages.
[X] Plan Grab and Go
-[x] Go grab your bag: Something's wrong, and you don't want to leave anything behind if you have to do something drastic.
-[x] Write in: "No, I'm taking you with me." Shift, smash the window, rip out the mesh, help Artemis jump on your back, hand her your bag, and fly like the wind. Hopefully in the darkness no one will see exactly what happened. Get as far northeast as you can before putting down somewhere horses can't go, away from people. You can make the trip in hops as often as you're able at night, and walk or hide when you need a rest or you'd risk being seen by people below.
Dragons do not plan. They act.
Dragons do not consider. They act.
Dragons do not hesitate. They act.
-The Dragon Within
You stare at Artemis in horror. How… how could she ask that of you?! How could she ask you to leave her behind to die!? How could she think that you'd… that you could… that…
Mantrae… curse her… curse her curse her curse her!
Through the crackling haze that is starting to descend over your mind, you see Artemis recoil, knocking you out of your anger. As much as you want to just give in, to let your draconic self make these liars and manipulators pay, that won't help Artemis. You know you have to try to think. You don't know how many of them there are, you don't know what weapons they have. You don't know if you can fight them all, but Artemis clearly doesn't think so, and she would know more about what humans can do. Besides, all that really matters is making sure Artemis is safe.
"No."
Artemis blinks. "What?"
"No," you say again. "I am not leaving you here. I'm not going to leave you behind. That is not an acceptable outcome."
"Ryza, you can't… I can't ask you to die for-"
You pound a fist against the glass, tears starting to prickle in the corners of your eyes. "No! I can't lose you too!" you sob. "I just lost Father. I just lost Mother. I can't lose you too. I can't handle that. I can't be alone. I wouldn't survive alone. You promised you'd take me to your home! I'm getting you out of here, whatever it takes!"
Then, before Artemis can try to argue, you grab your dragonstone and focus. Faint memories of Mother's explanations drift through your mind; how you have to find a single emotion, drive all others from your mind and soul. You don't want to transform in rage; that was the most violent of emotions. After all, you need to get Artemis away, not risk standing and fighting. You need something else…
1 Determination, 2/3 Fear
You try to focus on your determination. On the will, the desire, to get Artemis out safely. You thought it'd be easy; you so wanted to… but no matter how you try, you can't banish the fear. The fear of loss, the fear of betrayal, the fear of the unknown, the fear that the next boulder will drop the second you let your guard down.
You're too scared to be determined.
Lightning flares through your dragonstone, brighter and hotter than ever before.
But that's okay.
Your wings wrap themselves tightly around your body, containing the power in your stone as it is unleashed into your heart-form.
After all, fear is an emotion too.
Your body begins to warp, lightning flowing through your shifting veins like blood, but there is no pain.
If that's all you have…
Your flesh hardens into scales stronger than steel. Your fingers and toes curl into claws that can rend stone.
Then that's what you'll work with.
Your stone settles in your throat, thunder coursing through your being. No need for a tablet to cast, magic is your very breath.
"Please… Artemis and I need to flee. We can't stay here!"
Your wings rip apart, revealing your dragon-form. Flying sounds good. You're scared, you can fly, and nothing's going to stop you!
As your heart-mind subsides, you smile on a face that is no longer physical.
You've played at being a human; now it's time to remind the world what you really are.
(2 + 4 + 6) + 2 (Fear)
Your eyes flick wildly around. You can smell them. The humans are everywhere. Can't see them. They want to take Artemis away! You can't let them. Won't let them!
Artemis looks worried. "Ryza?" she gasps. She's right to be scared. There are two humans right on the other side of the door. Other humans, bad humans. Male, both male. Metal armor. Metal weapons. Talking.
"Wonder how long it'll be before we can get rid of her?"
They're talking about Artemis. They want to hurt Artemis! You have to get her away from them!
Glass in front of you. Metal behind that. Breath? No, no, would hurt Artamis! Unacceptable! Claws, claws, they'll do. You grip the wall with three legs, raising the last with talons extended. "Stand back, Artemis!" you say hurriedly, your voice shaking the stone around you despite your attempts to keep it low. She stumbles away, covering her mouth. Good, fast reactions, she's out of the shrapnel zone. You can still do this.
Your armored foot lashes out, shattering glass like badly-made pottery. You try to be quite, but you can't, it just breaks, so you'll have to be fast! Sweeping the rest of the glass out of the way, you rip into the soft metal of the grate, your razor claws ripping and tearing. The iron squeals as it parts. You flinch, that was loud, too loud!
"What was that? Hey, what are you doing in there?!"
No no no! They'd heard you! The two outside! Have to get Artemis! Have to fly! No time no time no time! Key in lock, only seconds… "Get down!"
"What-"
No time! You reach through the ruins of the window, shove Artemis to the ground with the back of your forefoot. Out of the way, she's safe now! Door opens, two soldiers, weapons raised, want to hurt want to kill no no NO!
Dragon!Ryza: Lvl 2 (3d) x2 (Fear) + C Support (1d) + Magical Supremacy (1d) + Monster out of Myth (4 a.s.) + Tenfold Shields (1 d.f.) + Advantage (Ambush) = 8d + 4 a.s. + 1 d.f.
Event: Win by more than 6: Both instantly die, no warning.
12 - 1 (1 Round of Combat)
You're already in mid-breath as the first human starts to open his mouth. Lightning flows from your maw. Not the precise, ordered bolts that Mother or Father would have made. Instead, wild blasts of electrical magic flay the entire wall of the room. Stone scorches. Wood burns.
Most importantly, flesh chars and metal melts. Both soldiers are thrown out of the room as unrecognizable heaps of cooked meat, the scent of them filling your nostrils and causing you to gag. Still, you're pleased. Neither had time to yell or attack. Good, good, they can't call their allies. They can't take Artemis away from you!
The girl herself stares at them. "Spirits…" she whispers. "It's okay, Artemis, you're fine. We'll protect you, just like we promised"
"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?!" you ask desperately. Had you been too late? Stupid, stupid Ryza, you shouldn't have wasted time who cares about a bag Artemis is so much more important…
Artemis looks up at you, and forces a smile. "I'm fine," she says, but you can tell she's lying. Her heart is beating so fast she must be so scared because you left her to get captured when you were supposed to protect her! "Let's… let's go. Let's get out of here."
Best idea you'd heard all day. "Yes, yes, leaving is good," you say. You shift so that your neck is just outside the window. "Climb on, quick!"
Artemis gingerly approaches, carefully clambering over the shards of glass that got inside as well as the candle and open book. "O-okay…" she says. "Hold still, Ryza… this is gonna be tricky…"
You press yourself against the wall, claws digging deeply into stone, holding you steady. Can't drop Artemis, can't drop her, won't lose- Your head cocks, you hear something…
"No time!" you squawk as you hear footsteps coming up the tower on the inside. Many footsteps! Someone must have heard you or seen you! "We need to go now!" "Wait those are too slow to be rushing what are you-"
"What are yo- Eeek!"
Lunging up, three legs scratching and clawing at the castle wall, you reach through and wrap your free foreleg around Artemis, yanking her into a hug against your belly. "I'll carry you," you say, pulling her out the window as you push away from the wall, starting to tumble downwards. "Be gentle with her! You can't just-"
"Ryza! Ryza what are you doing!?" Artemis squeals.
"Rescuing you!" you say, spinning and spreading your wings to catch the air. "Hold on!"
Then you're flying. The wind howls against your face, but you're not afraid of that. You're afraid of the humans below you. You're afraid of dropping Artemis. You're afraid of a lot of things, but not the sky. Never the sky. You're safer up here.
"Oh spirits oh spirits preserve me-" Artemis says as you beat your wings, pushing yourself northeast as fast as you can fly. You look down, any moment expecting to hear alarms and see bows and spells being thrown your way. "It's okay, Artemis, it's okay, you're going to be okay."
However… there's nothing. You see people moving, there are humans down there, but none of them look up. Or maybe they're just pretending not to look up, to make you fly lower. "Very tricky, humans, but I'm not falling for it!" you mutter, angling yourself upwards towards some clouds. Clouds are good, clouds will hide you.
"Spirits of flame, embolden us…" Artemis whimpers, her voice a bit muffled since she's pressing her face to your tummy. You get the feeling she's not really talking to you anymore. "Spirits of wind, free us. Spirits of lightning, energize us. Spirits of light, protect us. Spirits of shadow, guide us. Spirits of flame, embolden us…"
You rise up into the cloud, feeling the wetness against you. Artemis splutters a bit, but you force yourself to ignore it: better that she's safe and wet than dry and gone. "At least try to keep her dry!"
Still, you hug her close, wrapping your legs around her to try and protect her.
You fly from cloud to cloud for what feels like hours, though really it could only have been a few clawfuls of minutes. Finally, however, you start to feel safer, and you warily dip down into open air to take a look around. No sight of any humans. No scent of them except Artemis. Good, that is good.
It was then that you realize how tired you feel. The panicked fear that's driven you out of the castle is fading, and you realize that as soon as that goes, you'll turn back into heart-you. "Uh oh…"
Heart-you can't carry Artemis. She'll fall. She'll die.
Another surge of terror drives you downwards. You can't lose Artemis at all, but you certainly can't bear losing her to your own stupidity! You have to get on the ground! Now!
A moment later, you flare your wings for final descent, flapping hard to shed speed as you aim for the top of a rocky outcropping. It would be very hard for humans to get up there, you'll be safe there, you and Artemis.
Touchdown. Your back legs grip the ground tightly as you use your tail to balance, your forelimbs too busy cradling your precious cargo. Slowly, you settle down, gingerly placing Artemis on the ground. Her legs immediately buckle under her, and she slumps to her knees.
"Are you alright, Artemis?" you ask. The human girl doesn't immediately answer, instead staring up at you, her mouth moving soundlessly. New fear holds your form solid as you cock your head. "Artemis?" Had you hurt her? Had you squeezed too hard? You didn't smell any blood, but you could still have damaged her insides. It's us she's scared of. The danger has passed, let me back out.
You lean down to press your muzzle against her chest, hoping you could smell whatever you'd done. She flinches away, falling onto her back without a word. "Artemis?" "Please, please just let me try to fix this!"
You sense your energy starting to fade, but you have to know. "Artemis!?" you cry.
She yelps. "Ah!" she cries, covering her head. "Ryza!"
Good, she remembers you. You haven't broken her. "Are you okay, Artemis?" you ask, settling back on your haunches, though you don't take your eyes off her.
Slowly, she peeks out from behind her arms, nodding. "I… I think so…" Your eyes widen: she thinks so?! She blanches as you hurriedly lean forward before nodding quickly. "I'm okay, I'm okay!"
Finally, you nod, satisfied. "That's good… I'm glad you're okay…" you say. "You're okay… we're okay…"
The last of your manic, terrified energy fades away. As you feel your body shrinking and softening, you sink back into torpor, satisfied that there's no reason to be afraid anymore.
You are your heart again, and you're kneeling in front of Artemis as she lays on her back, staring up at you with wide, terrified eyes. "I'm sorry…" you whisper. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Artemis takes a short, shaky breath as she sits up. "Ryza? You're… you're back?" she asks warily.
"I never left," you say. "That was me, just like I'm me. She's just the me that is a dragon." You grimace. "I… guess you didn't exactly have the best introduction to her, but she'd never hurt you. She was just scared."
"She was scared?" Artemis squawks. "She was scared?!" She was a twenty-foot dragon! How could she be scared!?"
"I'm thirteen feet at most," you correct. "And I thought I was going to lose you. I thought I was going to be all alone. Why wouldn't I be scared?"
Artemis starts to open her mouth, only to close it, close her eyes, and take a few deep breaths. "I… apologize, Ryza," she says after a moment. "That makes sense. It's just… it's one thing to know, in my head, that you're a dragon. It's another thing to see you transform and start ripping things apart and breathing lightning right in front of me without a word of warning."
"Manakete."
Artemis huffs. "You are not going to let that distinction go, are you?" she asks.
You frown. "Of course not," you say. "It's important to me. It'd be like if I kept calling you…" you pause, since you realize you don't know enough about humans to come up with a good comparison. "Anyways, just… please try to remember."
Slowly, Artemis nods. "I'll try," she says. "But… forgive me for asking, but were you… aware, for all of that?"
"Yes. No? Kind of?" you say. "I mean, it was me the whole time, but…" you shake your head, trying to think. "It's like… I was aware of everything: I could feel my dragon-self's fears and thoughts and I knew what she was doing, but I couldn't control anything: she was in charge."
Artemis flinches. "That sounds awful!" she says. "Trapped in your own body…"
"Why would it be scary?" you ask, confused. "She's me, and I'm her. We're one being, why would I be worried that she's controlling our body."
After a moment, Artemis sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ryza, you're a sweetheart, and I'll be forever grateful to you, but you are strange." You're not quite sure how to respond to that, so you simply ease your bag off your shoulders and curl your knees up to rest under your chin as you watch Artemis.
The pair of you sit in silence for a minute before Artemis sighs again. "Now what do we do?" she mutters, flopping back onto the ground and throwing an arm over her eyes. "I thought we were making progress. I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought we were safe. Now we're right back where we started." She snorts. "No, we're worse off than when we started. At least when we started, I had my bow so I could shoot people. Now I don't even have that."
You crawl over to sit next to Artemis. "I can protect you," you say.
"That's not the point!" she snaps. "I thought we were done with this. I thought everything was okay. I TRUSTED HER!" You flinch back as Artemis's voice rises to a scream. "I thought she was ON OUR SIDE! I thought she'd be able to get us home! Then she STABBED ME IN THE BACK! After everything Legarius and Agrithe have been through together, after all the promises we've made to each other, how could she do this!? Why?!"
With a start, you realize Artemis has started crying again. Gingerly, you reach out and pat her on the arm. "Didn't you say something about her daughter?" you ask carefully.
Artemis snorts. "Oh yes, Sypha," she says bitterly. "The sweet little girl who'd rather be Imperial than free, and who is now the apparently reason I had to betray my own word to not leave Axton and Lancel behind! I promised them I'd get them home, I promised them, and now they're probably stuck in a dungeon cell being tortured for information because they were with me." She chokes on her words, her shoulders shaking. "So many dead because of me. So many hurt because of me. All I wanted was to go visit my little brother, that's all I wanted! Why… why did this all have to happen."
You don't know what to say to that. You don't think there even is anything you can say to that. You simply lay down and curl yourself up next to your friend as she sobs. You soon find yourself crying along, and before long the two of you are just hugging each other and crying.
You don't know how long you both lay on the rough stone like that, taking solace in shared misery. Finally, however, when all the tears are cried and Artemis is just laying spread-eagle, staring morosely up at the stars, muttering something about a book, you clamber back over to your bag, pull out some of the rations you still had, and bring them over to her. Then, once you're sure she's getting some food in her, you finally open your mouth.
[] "Let's just go to Agrithe. We've both had a really bad week, but we can still make it."
[] "I'll go get Axton and Lancel and Kelton. I got you out, I can get them out too."
[] "I met Sypha's friends. They seemed nice. If we can find her, then maybe everything can still be patched up."
[] Write-in
AN: I've added what you've experienced of Ryza's dragon form to her combat mechanics on the front page.
Yellow, which makes sense. I suppose that would make her...Young Adult Gold, by D&D age categories?
Lightning flows from your maw. Not the precise, ordered bolts that Mother or Father would have made. Instead, wild blasts of electrical magic flay the entire wall of the room. Stone scorches. Wood burns.
Artemis, Ryza was scared of a perfectly normal spider. Irrational fear is normal for everyone, but you have experienced this particular person being irrationally afraid.
"And I thought I was going to lose you. I thought I was going to be all alone. Why wouldn't I be scared?"
"The sweet little girl who'd rather be Imperial than free, and who is now the apparently reason I had to betray my own word to not leave Axton and Lancel behind!"
[X] "I met Sypha's friends. They seemed nice. If we can find her, then maybe everything can still be patched up."
This feels most like what Ryza would say, what she would try to do, and also I want it to be true. It lets us resolve everything without hurting anyone we're not decently sure deserves it.
That was a fantastic chapter, @SoaringHawk218, thank you. And I love the picture you picked for Ryza. She's beautiful.
So, thread. I don't think going back for either objective is viable, unfortunately. We don't know where Sypha is to rescue her. We can't trust the Countess to deal with us either; she'd have better odds of getting her daughter back by capturing us and offering us instead, if we revealed ourselves. Even if we did locate Sypha, rescuing her alive would be far from assured.
Similarly, trying to extract Axton, Lancel, and Kelton alive from the dungeons or wherever they are probably isn't viable either. We don't have much time in a transformed state, and we'd have to find them while killing everyone in our way, bust them out, and somehow get them to horses and buy enough time for them to escape. In Dragon form Ryza probably couldn't fit in the hallways or get the job done fast enough, and in heart form she'd be far too likely to be killed by a well-aimed arrow.
I'm afraid we've done all we can do here. They don't have a reason to kill Axton, Lancel, and Kelton. Particularly because their lives will be the only bargaining chips the Countess has left, now, when the Duke comes with an army at his back and a father's fury. Besides, keeping Artemis safe is what they would want us to do, and we can't do that if we attempt more than we can accomplish and fall. We'll be back for them.
[X] "Let's just go to Agrithe. We've both had a really bad week, but we can still make it."
The only apparent witnesses are dead. It seems like we made a fairly clean getaway; the likely conclusion from here is that the 'child mage' is a hell of a lot more dangerous than they thought, and probably some sort of a disguise for a highly skilled mage bodyguard or something. They don't seem to have any mages, so they're likely to be fuzzy on the specifics of what magic can do.
Given that humans don't appear to know that dragons are natural shapeshifters, Ryza's future cover story might as well be that she's not a dragon, she can just shapeshift into one with magic.
Which has the amusing property of being technically true. She's not a dragon, she's a manakete, and the transformation is magical.
The girl herself stares at them. "Spirits…" she whispers. "It's okay, Artemis, you're fine. We'll protect you, just like we promised"
"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?!" you ask desperately. Had you been too late? Stupid, stupid Ryza, you shouldn't have wasted time who cares about a bag Artemis is so much more important…
"No time!" you squawk as you hear footsteps coming up the tower on the inside. Many footsteps! Someone must have heard you or seen you! "We need to go now!" "Wait those are too slow to be rushing what are you-"
"What are yo- Eeek!"
Lunging up, three legs scratching and clawing at the castle wall, you reach through and wrap your free foreleg around Artemis, yanking her into a hug against your belly. "I'll carry you," you say, pulling her out the window as you push away from the wall, starting to tumble downwards. "Be gentle with her! You can't just-"
"Ryza! Ryza what are you doing!?" Artemis squeals.
"Oh spirits oh spirits preserve me-" Artemis says as you beat your wings, pushing yourself northeast as fast as you can fly. You look down, any moment expecting to hear alarms and see bows and spells being thrown your way. "It's okay, Artemis, it's okay, you're going to be okay."
However… there's nothing. You see people moving, there are humans down there, but none of them look up. Or maybe they're just pretending not to look up, to make you fly lower. "Very tricky, humans, but I'm not falling for it!" you mutter, angling yourself upwards towards some clouds. Clouds are good, clouds will hide you.
You rise up into the cloud, feeling the wetness against you. Artemis splutters a bit, but you force yourself to ignore it: better that she's safe and wet than dry and gone. "At least try to keep her dry!"
Still, you hug her close, wrapping your legs around her to try and protect her.
It was then that you realize how tired you feel. The panicked fear that's driven you out of the castle is fading, and you realize that as soon as that goes, you'll turn back into heart-you. "Uh oh…"
Heart-you can't carry Artemis. She'll fall. She'll die.
"Are you alright, Artemis?" you ask. The human girl doesn't immediately answer, instead staring up at you, her mouth moving soundlessly. New fear holds your form solid as you cock your head. "Artemis?" Had you hurt her? Had you squeezed too hard? You didn't smell any blood, but you could still have damaged her insides. It's us she's scared of. The danger has passed, let me back out.
You lean down to press your muzzle against her chest, hoping you could smell whatever you'd done. She flinches away, falling onto her back without a word. "Artemis?" "Please, please just let me try to fix this!"
You sense your energy starting to fade, but you have to know. "Artemis!?" you cry.
The only apparent witnesses are dead. It seems like we made a fairly clean getaway; the likely conclusion from here is that the 'child mage' is a hell of a lot more dangerous than they thought, and probably some sort of a disguise for a highly skilled mage bodyguard or something.
Maybe they'll come to the conclusion that Ryza isn't a actually a child, just a really short adult.
[X] "Let's just go to Agrithe. We've both had a really bad week, but we can still make it."
Taliesin makes a good point. We're in no position to rescue the others at the moment and the Countess is unlikely to kill them, so it's better to get to Agrithe, tell the Duke what happened, then come back with reinforcements.
[X] "I met Sypha's friends. They seemed nice. If we can find her, then maybe everything can still be patched up."
I'm voting for Sypha quest. The thought of finding/rescuing/kidnapping someone Artemis has a bone to pick with and traveling with them for a while seems like good fun. And plus she's probably around our (apparent) age. Possibly a new friend!
[X] "I met Sypha's friends. They seemed nice. If we can find her, then maybe everything can still be patched up."
I'm voting for Sypha quest. The thought of finding/rescuing/kidnapping someone Artemis has a bone to pick with and traveling with them for a while seems like good fun. And plus she's probably around our (apparent) age. Possibly a new friend!
Artemis needs our assistance to survive; all she has is the clothes on her back, right now. No survival equipment, no proper traveling clothes, no weapons. We can't fly off for an extended period. We're going to have to transport her to make good distance, and light fires and hunt food for her.
Artemis needs our assistance to survive; all she has is the clothes on her back, right now. No survival equipment, no proper traveling clothes, no weapons. We can't fly off for an extended period. We're going to have to transport her to make good distance, and light fires and hunt food for her.
The solution of course, is to take her with us. Besides, I highly doubt we'd be given bunk options that go nowhere. That wouldn't be fun to read or write. We also still have three days rations which, if we're conservative, could possibly last close to three days even with two people.
The solution of course, is to take her with us. Besides, I highly doubt we'd be given bunk options that go nowhere. That wouldn't be fun to read or write.
My philosophy is that we should evaluate options as though they were proposals for real courses of action, and decide whether they're a good or bad idea on that basis. I don't have blind faith that every option will have a good outcome just because it's a story. I think choices matter, or at least should matter, so we should treat them as though they matter and take them seriously.
Sure, and as a proposal for a real course of action, I think setting off to find a bargaining chip to rescue our friends is possible. And I never said I expected a good outcome or a success. I just don't think looking for Lady Sypha will lead to us spending five updates on scrounging for food.
Sure, and as a proposal for a real course of action, I think setting off to find a bargaining chip to rescue our friends is possible. And I never said I expected a good outcome or a success. I just don't think looking for Lady Sypha will lead to us spending five updates on scrounging for food.
Here's what I've got. It's something, but it's not great:
Fly a search pattern. Time consuming and probably ineffective.
Help Artemis make camp somewhere safe (go kill a deer for her and get a fire going) and then monitor the Countess' castle from a distance and a high altitude where you're basically invisible in heart form. She'll probably send riders out to the kidnappers at some point. You'll have to hang in there until she does, guess the correct riders, follow them to the kidnappers, if necessary follow those kidnappers back to their camp, try to spot Sypha without getting spotted, then transform and fall on them like the hammer of an angry god long enough to grab Sypha and get her out.
I don't put great odds on either of them working out, although it's not impossible. The costs are time, risk to Artemis of getting caught, and risk to Ryza's identity (which will almost certainly be blown) and to her safety.
[X] "I met Sypha's friends. They seemed nice. If we can find her, then maybe everything can still be patched up."
I don't think this is a good idea logically but it's the answer that I want to give. I might be to focused on the fire emblem games where one or two units could dive into a castle and both rescue there friends and fix things but I think that running away now would really hurt the character arch that was developing and Artemis needs to be a part of the solution so we can't try to do everything herself.
[X] "Let's just go to Agrithe. We've both had a really bad week, but we can still make it."
If we were going to try to fully extract all of the party, the time to do that was when we were at 100%, and right in the middle of the enemy castle while they weren't aware that we even knew Artemis was imprisoned. We are now not at 100%, and even if Mantrae doesn't suspect that Ryza = dragon even though she was snooping through our scrolls, she will be aware that someone with a substantial amount of magical power has broken Artemis out, and that means she's going to be on alert for exactly such a scenario as someone attempting to break Artemis' other allies out as well. So we're now more fatigued than we were before, not already inside the enemy castle, and we don't have the element of surprise. If you thought we couldn't handle the entire castle in rage mode in the previous vote there's no chance in hell we can do it now. The smart move here is to retreat, gather up an army, and then come back and either convince Mantrae to turn over everyone else or break down the gates and get them back forcefully.
regardless of what we pick, I can't help but wonder WHAT the rumors circling around Artemis must be right now. I'm pretty sure no one saw us... which is kind of surprising since we're a giant flying yellow lizard, but one has to wonder what kind of rumors are going to be pouring down the grapevine when a room holding a visiting princess was smashed open, the guards outside melted to the wall, and said princess was nowhere to be found... oh the tin hat theories coming from that should be great.
I think @kitsune9 summed up my feelings on this. Logically going looking for Lady Sypha... the most I can say about it is that it is definitely an idea that we could choose. But I absolutely don't want to leave our companions behind. And like I said last update, I really don't want Artemis to have to leave her party behind to a nebulous fate for a second time in one week.
Also I like both of your suggestions. My master plan would have involved getting a quick lay of the land to see if there were any leads, and then if nothing promising appeared, consult master tracker Artemis. It would be as thorough a plan as the logic it's founded on.
[X] "Let's just go to Agrithe. We've both had a really bad week, but we can still make it."
We won that combat very quickly, but Ryza very clearly does not have full control over her shape. And even if we did, if want to rescue Axton and Lancel and Kelton, we wouldn't know where to start looking - they could be in dungeons for all we know. Similarly, since bandits have Mantrae's daughter, if we wanted to get her back we'd need to go and deal with them, just the two of us. That's... doable, but also risky.
Artemis' dad is the safest bet here - ideally we could convince him help us come back and save the rest of the party. I still don't like leaving them behind, but our first priority should be getting to safe ground.
