[X] Go hunting.
- [X] Carnivores.
Flandre, Big Game Hunter
- [X] Carnivores.
Flandre, Big Game Hunter
Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
However, between the three of them, I'm reasonably sure that they could skin a few animals and make some kind of fur hobo-coat if it became necessary.
EDIT: Votes locked.
[X] Go hunting.
- [X] Carnivores.
3
[X] Go hunting.
-[X] Anything.
4
[X] Wait for Lutecia to wake up and talk things over with her.
1
- [X] Carnivores.
3
[X] Go hunting.
-[X] Anything.
4
[X] Wait for Lutecia to wake up and talk things over with her.
1
Based on what she smells/feels/sees, Flan is guessing that the fort has been empty and abandoned for over a month.
Taking classes in Lockpicking, Restoration, and Smithing.
I can neither confirm nor deny the possibility of creating a suit of bear-corpse power armor for Lutecia to pilot.
However, between the three of them, I'm reasonably sure that they could skin a few animals and make some kind of fur hobo-coat if it became necessary.
*Looks at all the Children's Tunics/Dresses that show up everywhere in the game*
EDIT: Votes locked.
Last edited:
Hunting III
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Go hunting.
-[X] Anything.
"Hmm … I think I'll do some hunting, then. Probably won't find much, unless there are a lot of nocturnal creatures here, but I should only be a few moments away if you need me. I'll … hm, I'll take the carcasses into the other entry, just down the hall, okay?" She nods.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll just wait here, make sure Lutecia's fine." You nod and slip out the door. Hunting is fine, can be fun, but doing it properly involves some scouting as well. Can't just run around, shouting, and hope the local animals are hungry or crazy enough to try to attack you. Even with humans that doesn't work too well! Unfortunately, this place was a military base as well as a military settlement, so animals likely kept well away from it, both due to hunting and in case sick animals attacked the locals. You perch on the less-ruined tower and consider your options. North is very open, and it's got a road where it isn't mountainous. East is less open, but there are more mountains, and there's still the road. West has more woodlands, once you get away from the fort, so it's a good option.
The south, however, grabs your attention and holds it. The terrain rises quickly, and you can see lots of snow on the mountains. It's not cold enough to start snowing here, you don't think, but between the snow and the rougher terrain, patrols are more likely to have missed animal dens. And you're not really being picky right now - anything is fair game. You idly wonder if there are any poaching laws in the region as you slowly fly southward, eyes roving as you search for dens or animals out in the open. After twenty minutes of flying back and forth, you finally find a small cave a few hundred meters off the south-bound road and land in front of it. There are a few bushes with red berries nearby, and you try one of them. You won't necessarily notice if they're poisonous - you have a biology, but it's not really keyed to the human one - but you can taste, and the berries are bitter. You make a note of the plant's appearance and slip into the cave.
The cave is fairly high, and has a small, partially frozen pool and stream that goes deeper. You take flight and stay near the ceiling - no sense letting any denizens catch you unprepared, even as dark as it is. Enclosed areas are easier to search, and the cave is open and not large, so it's not even a minute before you find the residents. You almost drop on the beasts immediately, because you had thought it only a single great cat, but you catch yourself and realize that the three felines are snoozing in a clump, sharing warmth and comfort. It's almost cute, and you summon your clones to make sure you don't unduly damage the creatures. You drop on them and snap the adults' necks, but the younger member isn't in a good position for a clean takedown, and one of your clones is forced to tear its throat out as it tries to flee. You direct your clones to take the remains to the keep. The beasts are white-furred, black-spotted, and have enormous canine teeth. Carnivores, which means you might have some useful ingredients in addition to meat and furs. People are always interested in tokens of power, after all. You are drawn to one corner of the cave, where, in addition to some savaged remains, a well-worn chest sits. Nothing inside except some sacks with rotten fruits and vegetables and some weapons rendered useless by neglect and rust. Probably some hunter's stash before the cats turned it into a scratching post. You leave the cave and adjust your circuit, swinging west and north into the trees.
A handful of beautiful moths flutter around you, and you try to catch them for Lutecia, but your initial attempts destroy them, and you refrain from trying to catch any more. A burned-out cottage with a pair of charred skeletons catches your eye, and you investigate it, but apart from a letter and a book - neither of which you can read - and a handful of coins scattered on the floor, you find nothing of interest. You do keep the book and letter - they may be useless to you, but Patchouli likes books, and you might be able to buy her assistance if you have some that she doesn't. You continue your northern sweep, moving around the rocks that surround the house, and are near the road when you pause and drop to the ground. Three wolves and two reindeer are simply sitting there, next to each other. You frown, wondering what's wrong with this world when a slight rustling from behind you draws your attention. A strange wooden creature stares at you, its head canted to the side. Its eyes glow the same green as the leaves spiraling around it, and you turn back to the animals, noting a similar green haze around them. A tree youkai? Interesting. You turn back to the youkai and take a step forward. It retreats, and when you step back, it returns to its position - and it advances when you retreat, only to retreat in turn when you take a step forward. You shrug, and at the same moment your clones drop through the trees to eliminate the animals, you lunge forward and tear the head and heart from the youkai. Prey eliminated, your clones haul the animals back while you bring the youkai. Having seen the road in your flight back, you decide to end your hunt for the night. You still have things to do, after all.
After making sure the animals are hung from the ceiling and are bleeding properly, you slip back to Lutecia and Agito … only Agito is asleep. You scowl, then shrug. They're safe, of course, so making sure they're both rested isn't a bad decision. You slip her under the sheet, carefully lift one of the beds and use it to block the door, and return to the carcasses. The youkai, unfortunately, turns out to be useless - apart from the heart, which you keep out, its remains are brittle and weak. You carefully remove the teeth of the adults after practicing with the younger male's; you still break one of the older male's teeth, but that still leaves you with three, and that seems to be a good omen. You are also careful to remove the reindeers' antlers. Then you turn to the animals' skins. You aren't really sure if you're doing it properly, but you practice on the wolves and the younger cat, using your claws to make the incisions and then peeling the flesh away. Your attempts are clumsy and incompetent - you lack the patience and finesse to do it without mistakes, and the skins are jagged, torn, and uneven. Your clones take the pelts down to the stream, to wash them and clean off the underside. You sigh; you probably shouldn't even try to skin the adults or the deer. And you aren't really sure what parts are better to eat than others ….
"You realize that smells terrible, don't you?" Your head jerks around to see Agito covering her nose and mouth as she floats in the hallway. You shrug.
"It doesn't bother me." She sighs exaggeratedly and shakes her head.
"Anyway, Lutecia's up, too. If you don't mind cleaning yourself up, why don't you come down and join us? We can talk about what to do." She nods abruptly and leaves quickly, and you frown before looking down. You suppose you are somewhat dirty and covered in gore, and you should probably fix that. You drift away from the carcasses and begin radiating power, burning away your clothes and the blood that accumulated on your body, then put on a clean dress and make your way down the hall. Lutecia is indeed awake, and she smiles wanly at you.
"Um, I'm sorry I couldn't take you straight home, Lutecia." You hang back, unsure how to treat her; when you last interacted, she still seemed unhappy with you. She shakes her head.
"It's okay, Flandre. Agito already told me about what choices there were. I just …." She closes up again, and you wait for someone to say something. Agito comes to the rescue.
"Anyway, it seems Flan did a bit of hunting, so we should be able to try some of that if you want to wait. You also said there might be a place close by, at the river, right? We could go there and see if we can figure out what's going on." You nod.
"Mm. Um, I did find this," you pull out the book you found at the burned house. "I couldn't read it, though, so …." Normally, for you, communication wouldn't be a problem. Just take what you want. But Lutecia has a human outlook, so she probably won't want you to do that. Agito nods.
"Our telepathy gets around that a bit. It's not a perfect translation if we don't know the language, but it's enough to get the point across. So if we wanted to try trading for the intact ones, we might be able to get something - if we find someone." She glances at Lutecia, then gives you a pleading look.
What do you do?
[ ] You scout toward the river, then come back for Lutecia, Agito, and the carcasses if a town is found. Make contact.
[ ] You scout toward the river, then come back for the carcasses if a town is found. Make an even(ish) trade for useful finished materials, then head west into the forest.
[ ] You scout along the river and take anything useful from the town. Then head west into the forest.
[ ] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
[ ] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
[ ] Travel into the forest as a group, without scouting. Keep going until you find someone/something.
[ ] Wait until daylight, then:
- (Insert Option)
[ ] Other?
DM Note: It's currently night, sometime between 9 and midnight.
-[X] Anything.
"Hmm … I think I'll do some hunting, then. Probably won't find much, unless there are a lot of nocturnal creatures here, but I should only be a few moments away if you need me. I'll … hm, I'll take the carcasses into the other entry, just down the hall, okay?" She nods.
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll just wait here, make sure Lutecia's fine." You nod and slip out the door. Hunting is fine, can be fun, but doing it properly involves some scouting as well. Can't just run around, shouting, and hope the local animals are hungry or crazy enough to try to attack you. Even with humans that doesn't work too well! Unfortunately, this place was a military base as well as a military settlement, so animals likely kept well away from it, both due to hunting and in case sick animals attacked the locals. You perch on the less-ruined tower and consider your options. North is very open, and it's got a road where it isn't mountainous. East is less open, but there are more mountains, and there's still the road. West has more woodlands, once you get away from the fort, so it's a good option.
The south, however, grabs your attention and holds it. The terrain rises quickly, and you can see lots of snow on the mountains. It's not cold enough to start snowing here, you don't think, but between the snow and the rougher terrain, patrols are more likely to have missed animal dens. And you're not really being picky right now - anything is fair game. You idly wonder if there are any poaching laws in the region as you slowly fly southward, eyes roving as you search for dens or animals out in the open. After twenty minutes of flying back and forth, you finally find a small cave a few hundred meters off the south-bound road and land in front of it. There are a few bushes with red berries nearby, and you try one of them. You won't necessarily notice if they're poisonous - you have a biology, but it's not really keyed to the human one - but you can taste, and the berries are bitter. You make a note of the plant's appearance and slip into the cave.
The cave is fairly high, and has a small, partially frozen pool and stream that goes deeper. You take flight and stay near the ceiling - no sense letting any denizens catch you unprepared, even as dark as it is. Enclosed areas are easier to search, and the cave is open and not large, so it's not even a minute before you find the residents. You almost drop on the beasts immediately, because you had thought it only a single great cat, but you catch yourself and realize that the three felines are snoozing in a clump, sharing warmth and comfort. It's almost cute, and you summon your clones to make sure you don't unduly damage the creatures. You drop on them and snap the adults' necks, but the younger member isn't in a good position for a clean takedown, and one of your clones is forced to tear its throat out as it tries to flee. You direct your clones to take the remains to the keep. The beasts are white-furred, black-spotted, and have enormous canine teeth. Carnivores, which means you might have some useful ingredients in addition to meat and furs. People are always interested in tokens of power, after all. You are drawn to one corner of the cave, where, in addition to some savaged remains, a well-worn chest sits. Nothing inside except some sacks with rotten fruits and vegetables and some weapons rendered useless by neglect and rust. Probably some hunter's stash before the cats turned it into a scratching post. You leave the cave and adjust your circuit, swinging west and north into the trees.
A handful of beautiful moths flutter around you, and you try to catch them for Lutecia, but your initial attempts destroy them, and you refrain from trying to catch any more. A burned-out cottage with a pair of charred skeletons catches your eye, and you investigate it, but apart from a letter and a book - neither of which you can read - and a handful of coins scattered on the floor, you find nothing of interest. You do keep the book and letter - they may be useless to you, but Patchouli likes books, and you might be able to buy her assistance if you have some that she doesn't. You continue your northern sweep, moving around the rocks that surround the house, and are near the road when you pause and drop to the ground. Three wolves and two reindeer are simply sitting there, next to each other. You frown, wondering what's wrong with this world when a slight rustling from behind you draws your attention. A strange wooden creature stares at you, its head canted to the side. Its eyes glow the same green as the leaves spiraling around it, and you turn back to the animals, noting a similar green haze around them. A tree youkai? Interesting. You turn back to the youkai and take a step forward. It retreats, and when you step back, it returns to its position - and it advances when you retreat, only to retreat in turn when you take a step forward. You shrug, and at the same moment your clones drop through the trees to eliminate the animals, you lunge forward and tear the head and heart from the youkai. Prey eliminated, your clones haul the animals back while you bring the youkai. Having seen the road in your flight back, you decide to end your hunt for the night. You still have things to do, after all.
After making sure the animals are hung from the ceiling and are bleeding properly, you slip back to Lutecia and Agito … only Agito is asleep. You scowl, then shrug. They're safe, of course, so making sure they're both rested isn't a bad decision. You slip her under the sheet, carefully lift one of the beds and use it to block the door, and return to the carcasses. The youkai, unfortunately, turns out to be useless - apart from the heart, which you keep out, its remains are brittle and weak. You carefully remove the teeth of the adults after practicing with the younger male's; you still break one of the older male's teeth, but that still leaves you with three, and that seems to be a good omen. You are also careful to remove the reindeers' antlers. Then you turn to the animals' skins. You aren't really sure if you're doing it properly, but you practice on the wolves and the younger cat, using your claws to make the incisions and then peeling the flesh away. Your attempts are clumsy and incompetent - you lack the patience and finesse to do it without mistakes, and the skins are jagged, torn, and uneven. Your clones take the pelts down to the stream, to wash them and clean off the underside. You sigh; you probably shouldn't even try to skin the adults or the deer. And you aren't really sure what parts are better to eat than others ….
"You realize that smells terrible, don't you?" Your head jerks around to see Agito covering her nose and mouth as she floats in the hallway. You shrug.
"It doesn't bother me." She sighs exaggeratedly and shakes her head.
"Anyway, Lutecia's up, too. If you don't mind cleaning yourself up, why don't you come down and join us? We can talk about what to do." She nods abruptly and leaves quickly, and you frown before looking down. You suppose you are somewhat dirty and covered in gore, and you should probably fix that. You drift away from the carcasses and begin radiating power, burning away your clothes and the blood that accumulated on your body, then put on a clean dress and make your way down the hall. Lutecia is indeed awake, and she smiles wanly at you.
"Um, I'm sorry I couldn't take you straight home, Lutecia." You hang back, unsure how to treat her; when you last interacted, she still seemed unhappy with you. She shakes her head.
"It's okay, Flandre. Agito already told me about what choices there were. I just …." She closes up again, and you wait for someone to say something. Agito comes to the rescue.
"Anyway, it seems Flan did a bit of hunting, so we should be able to try some of that if you want to wait. You also said there might be a place close by, at the river, right? We could go there and see if we can figure out what's going on." You nod.
"Mm. Um, I did find this," you pull out the book you found at the burned house. "I couldn't read it, though, so …." Normally, for you, communication wouldn't be a problem. Just take what you want. But Lutecia has a human outlook, so she probably won't want you to do that. Agito nods.
"Our telepathy gets around that a bit. It's not a perfect translation if we don't know the language, but it's enough to get the point across. So if we wanted to try trading for the intact ones, we might be able to get something - if we find someone." She glances at Lutecia, then gives you a pleading look.
What do you do?
[ ] You scout toward the river, then come back for Lutecia, Agito, and the carcasses if a town is found. Make contact.
[ ] You scout toward the river, then come back for the carcasses if a town is found. Make an even(ish) trade for useful finished materials, then head west into the forest.
[ ] You scout along the river and take anything useful from the town. Then head west into the forest.
[ ] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
[ ] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
[ ] Travel into the forest as a group, without scouting. Keep going until you find someone/something.
[ ] Wait until daylight, then:
- (Insert Option)
[ ] Other?
DM Note: It's currently night, sometime between 9 and midnight.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Nope. The adults looked like this.
Slith10
Back from the dead and ready to party!
- Location
- New Zealand
*Specieism Intensifies*
- Location
- A Place Miserably Bereft of Cats
On the one hand, making contact with a town is probably a good idea. On the other, I'm not sure if we're working with the Dawnguard expansion, in which case... vampires.
Other vampires.
While I'm completely sure that Flandre could show them the true might of a No-Life King, leaving Lutecia and Agito alone for that long strikes me as a poor idea, especially since Lu still isn't in any shape to be up and moving.
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
Other vampires.
While I'm completely sure that Flandre could show them the true might of a No-Life King, leaving Lutecia and Agito alone for that long strikes me as a poor idea, especially since Lu still isn't in any shape to be up and moving.
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
Slith10
Back from the dead and ready to party!
- Location
- New Zealand
Because this was posted a while back:
The Adventures of Kotohime Chapter 1: Kotohime and the New Recruits, a touhou project fanfic | FanFiction
As thanks, I give you this gift:
Da Adventurez of Kotohime Chapta 1: Kotohime n' tha New Recruits, a touhou project fanfic | FanFiction
Enjoy!
The Adventures of Kotohime Chapter 1: Kotohime and the New Recruits, a touhou project fanfic | FanFiction
As thanks, I give you this gift:
Da Adventurez of Kotohime Chapta 1: Kotohime n' tha New Recruits, a touhou project fanfic | FanFiction
Enjoy!
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
1
[X] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
2
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
1
[X] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
2
Not knowing Skyrim, all I can say is that a River is more likely to have a town than a lake, unless there's a river feeding into the lake and the lake's waters move swiftly. Nothing's worse than large pools of stagnant water in the middle ages, because who knows what else has been sitting in it and for how long.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes not locked, is tie, etc. More than an hour.
ultima333
Lazy Snug Youkai
Skyrim is a high fantasy setting, and as such things like sickness and disease are rarely a problem, unless you're stuck in the wilderness or get a particularly bad plague. Most diseases and sicknesses can be cured via prayer to the Nine Divines (I still count Talos, damn whatever the elves say) or by a competent cleric.
We are currently in the center-south, in Helgen. North towards the river would lead us to the aptly-named Riverwood, a small trade/lumber village and usually the first place the player goes after Helgen in the game.
It's a nice enough town, small, friendly people. Just watch out for wolves on the way to the village, I recall there being some on the road from escaping Helgen.
It's also on the path to Whiterun, the capital of the hold (but not the capital of Skyrim). Think Edoras from Lord of the Rings, but a bit more viking themed, because that's basically what Whiterun is.
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Okay, votes are locked.
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
5
[X] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
2
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
5
[X] You scout along the lake, then come back for everything if a town is found. Make contact.
2
Riverwood
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[x] Wait until daylight, finish working on those animals, then:
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
"That's good." You look back toward the hall. "You said Agito already told you what I found, Lutecia?" She nods. "Finding a town is probably the best thing for now - we can learn more about where we are, and if there's anything we need, we can probably get something there, especially since we all look so young. That means we should probably head for the river, since if there's a town within a day's travel it'll probably be along there, because rivers are better for travel and sanitation. But since it's not that late, if we started moving now we'd probably get there before the sun comes up. If this place is as primitive as it seems, that will put them off, so we should probably wait a bit before leaving. I can see about getting the animals finished up, and we could probably use some of that as barter, if you want to try that …." You trail off, waiting for a reply, but she just shrugs. You glower, irritated, until Agito clears her throat.
"You said there was an oven, right? I'm not used to working with raw meat, but we might be able to get some of it cooked, or at least dried out a bit, which will help it last. And it'll give us something to do while you're working with the raw stuff." Lutecia nods and rises unsteadily to her feet. You put the book away and help her stand, but she seems better once she starts moving. They both cover their noses as you near the entry, and Lutecia wobbles, green, when she sees the thickening blood pooling on the floor. Your clones wait on the far side, holding the dripping pelts.
"This is why I had so much trouble taking that movie seriously," you say, and Lutecia twitches. "This is just from a handful of animals - dozens and hundreds of people, it would be a lot messier." You gently pick Lutecia up and carry her across the entry as your clones drape the pelts across the chandelier and file outside. "It's dark in here; whoever looted the place took everything useful he could, so they're off to get some lumber for the fire. I might just pile the meat up on a door or something when we leave, though - not sure of a good way to transport it." You use danmaku orbs to provide light as you carry Lutecia down the stairs and into the kitchen area. Agito flies on her own and immediately examines the oven.
"Not a whole lot better than an open fire, really, but it's got a chimney, that's good …." She keeps muttering to herself as you grab an armful of shattered barrel and carry it over to her. Lutecia carries her own armful, and you carry one of the splintered cabinets over, tipping it over to serve as a bench or platter. Your clones fly in, two of them carrying a whole mess of wood while the third is carrying a huge armful of thatching that miraculously survived the destruction. The thought crosses your mind that smoking is a way to preserve food, which is probably why she brought it, and she grins. Agito and Lutecia start putting some of the barrel pieces in the oven, and then Agito sets them all ablaze. Lutecia steps back for a moment but then moves to the side and a little closer, huddling close to the fire. "There's water down here somewhere, right?"
"A small stream. It's pretty straight, no way to get lost." She nods absently, and you shrug. "I'll get back to work upstairs, then. They'll take stuff down occasionally; if you need help with something, ask them." You turn and head back upstairs, your clones following, and you sigh in relief as you get back to something you can do. Even if it is menial labor. Your clones get to work carving up the wolves while you start skinning one of the reindeer - rather, two of your clones start carving up the wolves while the third goes into the sleeping chamber and returns with a large plank of wood, then hangs back so she doesn't get covered in blood. You focus on the animal and try to avoid boredom.
You leave the savaged carcasses and the ruined pelt of the second reindeer on the floor as you head down to the kitchen. You wish Lutecia and Agito hadn't been so quiet, and that the fire hadn't been as loud as it had been - what scraps of their conversation your clone was able to catch seemed to be about you, but you refused to allow her to eavesdrop, so you don't know what they actually said. The magician sits up from the pile of bedding and rubs her eyes, yawning after her nap. Agito picks at some of the bits they'd set aside and looks over at you.
"Okay, I know you're fine, but Lulu and I need to get clean. So I guess we're going down to the stream, and then we'll come back up and figure out how to get this mess out of here?" You giggle and shake your head as your clones slip out once again. A good thing you were pretty full before you got here ….
"I'll take you down, and they'll see about -" You break off as they move to the doorway and start pulling at the stones, then slamming into them to shake them loose. "It looks like they're going to take the front way out, then. Come on, let's get you two cleaned up." You lead them down into the cavern, past the torture chambers and the broken wall. Agito tsks at the shoddy work, though Lutecia seems interested in the construction itself. After they finish, you carry them up through the hole in the ceiling to your waiting duplicates.
"Alright, so … I guess we should figure out how we're going to present ourselves to whoever we meet." Agito glances at your wings and flaps her own for emphasis. Lutecia frowns unhappily and you shrug. Despite your suggestion, the magician refused to wear any of the furs to keep herself warm, and Agito suggested that since we'd be trying to find a town, we could get some warmer clothing there. She seemed unhappy with that suggestion as well, but it's probably something she'll have to accept.
"I don't see why we can't just go all-out," you say, and Agito gives you a suspicious look. "You're suggesting we make peaceful contact, with you and Lutecia handling communication because you can use telepathy, right? Well, assuming that doesn't get us into trouble right at the start, just use the truth - Lutecia is a mage, you're her familiar, and I'm here to keep you two alive and help you get back home." Agito gapes at you, and even Lutecia seems shocked. "I mean, what else can we say? Worst that can happen is they take it poorly and try to attack you." You look up and scowl at the sun. You didn't notice anything particularly interesting last night, despite the two moons of this world, but the sun seems more hostile than you're used to. That'll take some getting used to ….
Despite a few misgivings, your suggestion is adopted, after Agito extracts a few promises from you to not overreact. You take the north road, with Agito and Lutecia walking beside you as you carry the cabinet over your head like a parasol, the pelts draped over the top, with as much of the meat as possible hidden in the door to keep it out of the sun and away from pests. You point out some of the red berry bushes you saw last night, and Agito and Lutecia study the plant as you walk. Lutecia seems very interested in the plants of the area - you see some thistle plants once you get farther down, away from the mountains. You take a break by some odd menhirs, each with a different human design etched on them - one resembling a warrior, another an assassin, and the third a magician. The seem to have some power, but none of them react to any of you, and you shrug. Probably a burial site, or a place of summoning, which might explain why you appeared nearby.
You're a little tired when you continue, but you keep it from Lutecia and Agito, and if they notice that you're a slightly quieter, they don't say anything about it - which would definitely be out of character for Agito, so you feel pretty confident. Lutecia, on the other hand, seems more energetic, examining the plants and flowers that grow along the road and river, and with Agito keeping an eye on her, you're free to keep a watch for possible trouble. Of course, when trouble actually finds you, you can't do anything about it.
You're almost to the town - if you were being particularly charitable, anyway, since it probably has less than a hundred people living there, counting children and the guards - when several men step from behind trees. Two of them have bows with arrows nocked, but not drawn, and a third man, by the river, constantly scans the air above while the fourth steps toward you, a sword at his hip but arms held out, empty. All four men have yellow tunics, and you can see a horse design on one round shield. The symbol of the local lord, perhaps? The empty-handed man jabbers something in a language you've never heard - and when Lutecia responds with her mind-speech, all four tense. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, the silence of telepathy broken by the man's unnecessary speech, he nods and beckons you to follow. Agito sighs in relief.
"So, what's going to happen?" She shrugs.
"They'll let us in, the innkeeper and the trader will see how good the stuff we got is, and we'll be able to stay the night. The guard suggested we try to make our way up to some college of magic - mages don't seem to be particularly trusted, or something." Lutecia nods earnestly. Certainly, a college of magic would probably help with lots of things, especially if the locals aren't fond of magicians … although lots of magicians gathered together seems weird to you.
The town itself is fairly well-constructed, with most houses having stone-and-masonry lower walls and wood-plank upper floors with thatch roofs. Nothing advanced or fancy, but well-made and sturdy. You're shuffled into one of the first buildings, but not before you see a small forge across the road and some kind of lumber mill along the river. If it's a logging village, that probably explains the small size - they can trade for some food from a farm, but hunt for most of their food without worrying about overhunting too much. The two people inside the building - a smaller, somewhat darker man than the guard, and a woman who looked related - help wrestle the cabinet inside without spilling too much, and then everyone stares when you emerge from underneath. You grin and stick out your tongue, and Agito sighs. The guard shakes it off with a mutter and steps outside, and the man tries to engage Lutecia in conversation while the woman keeps an eye on you. You study the interior, but not much jumps out at you - a few worn weapons, some food, strange jars, and a magnificent golden claw larger than a human hand. Not a real claw, of course, it's obviously manufactured, but it's still impressive. The guard returns with a lumpy, dark-haired man, and they start examining the furs, meat, and the teeth and heart you took as trophies. The guard eyes you warily after a few exchanges.
What do you do?
[ ] Take a nap.
[ ] Grill the innkeeper and/or storekeeper for information.
[ ] See if they have anything particularly interesting in the store.
[ ] Explore the town.
[ ] Other?
-[x] Travel toward the river as a group, without scouting. Follow it until you find someone/something.
"That's good." You look back toward the hall. "You said Agito already told you what I found, Lutecia?" She nods. "Finding a town is probably the best thing for now - we can learn more about where we are, and if there's anything we need, we can probably get something there, especially since we all look so young. That means we should probably head for the river, since if there's a town within a day's travel it'll probably be along there, because rivers are better for travel and sanitation. But since it's not that late, if we started moving now we'd probably get there before the sun comes up. If this place is as primitive as it seems, that will put them off, so we should probably wait a bit before leaving. I can see about getting the animals finished up, and we could probably use some of that as barter, if you want to try that …." You trail off, waiting for a reply, but she just shrugs. You glower, irritated, until Agito clears her throat.
"You said there was an oven, right? I'm not used to working with raw meat, but we might be able to get some of it cooked, or at least dried out a bit, which will help it last. And it'll give us something to do while you're working with the raw stuff." Lutecia nods and rises unsteadily to her feet. You put the book away and help her stand, but she seems better once she starts moving. They both cover their noses as you near the entry, and Lutecia wobbles, green, when she sees the thickening blood pooling on the floor. Your clones wait on the far side, holding the dripping pelts.
"This is why I had so much trouble taking that movie seriously," you say, and Lutecia twitches. "This is just from a handful of animals - dozens and hundreds of people, it would be a lot messier." You gently pick Lutecia up and carry her across the entry as your clones drape the pelts across the chandelier and file outside. "It's dark in here; whoever looted the place took everything useful he could, so they're off to get some lumber for the fire. I might just pile the meat up on a door or something when we leave, though - not sure of a good way to transport it." You use danmaku orbs to provide light as you carry Lutecia down the stairs and into the kitchen area. Agito flies on her own and immediately examines the oven.
"Not a whole lot better than an open fire, really, but it's got a chimney, that's good …." She keeps muttering to herself as you grab an armful of shattered barrel and carry it over to her. Lutecia carries her own armful, and you carry one of the splintered cabinets over, tipping it over to serve as a bench or platter. Your clones fly in, two of them carrying a whole mess of wood while the third is carrying a huge armful of thatching that miraculously survived the destruction. The thought crosses your mind that smoking is a way to preserve food, which is probably why she brought it, and she grins. Agito and Lutecia start putting some of the barrel pieces in the oven, and then Agito sets them all ablaze. Lutecia steps back for a moment but then moves to the side and a little closer, huddling close to the fire. "There's water down here somewhere, right?"
"A small stream. It's pretty straight, no way to get lost." She nods absently, and you shrug. "I'll get back to work upstairs, then. They'll take stuff down occasionally; if you need help with something, ask them." You turn and head back upstairs, your clones following, and you sigh in relief as you get back to something you can do. Even if it is menial labor. Your clones get to work carving up the wolves while you start skinning one of the reindeer - rather, two of your clones start carving up the wolves while the third goes into the sleeping chamber and returns with a large plank of wood, then hangs back so she doesn't get covered in blood. You focus on the animal and try to avoid boredom.
You leave the savaged carcasses and the ruined pelt of the second reindeer on the floor as you head down to the kitchen. You wish Lutecia and Agito hadn't been so quiet, and that the fire hadn't been as loud as it had been - what scraps of their conversation your clone was able to catch seemed to be about you, but you refused to allow her to eavesdrop, so you don't know what they actually said. The magician sits up from the pile of bedding and rubs her eyes, yawning after her nap. Agito picks at some of the bits they'd set aside and looks over at you.
"Okay, I know you're fine, but Lulu and I need to get clean. So I guess we're going down to the stream, and then we'll come back up and figure out how to get this mess out of here?" You giggle and shake your head as your clones slip out once again. A good thing you were pretty full before you got here ….
"I'll take you down, and they'll see about -" You break off as they move to the doorway and start pulling at the stones, then slamming into them to shake them loose. "It looks like they're going to take the front way out, then. Come on, let's get you two cleaned up." You lead them down into the cavern, past the torture chambers and the broken wall. Agito tsks at the shoddy work, though Lutecia seems interested in the construction itself. After they finish, you carry them up through the hole in the ceiling to your waiting duplicates.
"Alright, so … I guess we should figure out how we're going to present ourselves to whoever we meet." Agito glances at your wings and flaps her own for emphasis. Lutecia frowns unhappily and you shrug. Despite your suggestion, the magician refused to wear any of the furs to keep herself warm, and Agito suggested that since we'd be trying to find a town, we could get some warmer clothing there. She seemed unhappy with that suggestion as well, but it's probably something she'll have to accept.
"I don't see why we can't just go all-out," you say, and Agito gives you a suspicious look. "You're suggesting we make peaceful contact, with you and Lutecia handling communication because you can use telepathy, right? Well, assuming that doesn't get us into trouble right at the start, just use the truth - Lutecia is a mage, you're her familiar, and I'm here to keep you two alive and help you get back home." Agito gapes at you, and even Lutecia seems shocked. "I mean, what else can we say? Worst that can happen is they take it poorly and try to attack you." You look up and scowl at the sun. You didn't notice anything particularly interesting last night, despite the two moons of this world, but the sun seems more hostile than you're used to. That'll take some getting used to ….
Despite a few misgivings, your suggestion is adopted, after Agito extracts a few promises from you to not overreact. You take the north road, with Agito and Lutecia walking beside you as you carry the cabinet over your head like a parasol, the pelts draped over the top, with as much of the meat as possible hidden in the door to keep it out of the sun and away from pests. You point out some of the red berry bushes you saw last night, and Agito and Lutecia study the plant as you walk. Lutecia seems very interested in the plants of the area - you see some thistle plants once you get farther down, away from the mountains. You take a break by some odd menhirs, each with a different human design etched on them - one resembling a warrior, another an assassin, and the third a magician. The seem to have some power, but none of them react to any of you, and you shrug. Probably a burial site, or a place of summoning, which might explain why you appeared nearby.
You're a little tired when you continue, but you keep it from Lutecia and Agito, and if they notice that you're a slightly quieter, they don't say anything about it - which would definitely be out of character for Agito, so you feel pretty confident. Lutecia, on the other hand, seems more energetic, examining the plants and flowers that grow along the road and river, and with Agito keeping an eye on her, you're free to keep a watch for possible trouble. Of course, when trouble actually finds you, you can't do anything about it.
You're almost to the town - if you were being particularly charitable, anyway, since it probably has less than a hundred people living there, counting children and the guards - when several men step from behind trees. Two of them have bows with arrows nocked, but not drawn, and a third man, by the river, constantly scans the air above while the fourth steps toward you, a sword at his hip but arms held out, empty. All four men have yellow tunics, and you can see a horse design on one round shield. The symbol of the local lord, perhaps? The empty-handed man jabbers something in a language you've never heard - and when Lutecia responds with her mind-speech, all four tense. After a few minutes of back-and-forth, the silence of telepathy broken by the man's unnecessary speech, he nods and beckons you to follow. Agito sighs in relief.
"So, what's going to happen?" She shrugs.
"They'll let us in, the innkeeper and the trader will see how good the stuff we got is, and we'll be able to stay the night. The guard suggested we try to make our way up to some college of magic - mages don't seem to be particularly trusted, or something." Lutecia nods earnestly. Certainly, a college of magic would probably help with lots of things, especially if the locals aren't fond of magicians … although lots of magicians gathered together seems weird to you.
The town itself is fairly well-constructed, with most houses having stone-and-masonry lower walls and wood-plank upper floors with thatch roofs. Nothing advanced or fancy, but well-made and sturdy. You're shuffled into one of the first buildings, but not before you see a small forge across the road and some kind of lumber mill along the river. If it's a logging village, that probably explains the small size - they can trade for some food from a farm, but hunt for most of their food without worrying about overhunting too much. The two people inside the building - a smaller, somewhat darker man than the guard, and a woman who looked related - help wrestle the cabinet inside without spilling too much, and then everyone stares when you emerge from underneath. You grin and stick out your tongue, and Agito sighs. The guard shakes it off with a mutter and steps outside, and the man tries to engage Lutecia in conversation while the woman keeps an eye on you. You study the interior, but not much jumps out at you - a few worn weapons, some food, strange jars, and a magnificent golden claw larger than a human hand. Not a real claw, of course, it's obviously manufactured, but it's still impressive. The guard returns with a lumpy, dark-haired man, and they start examining the furs, meat, and the teeth and heart you took as trophies. The guard eyes you warily after a few exchanges.
What do you do?
[ ] Take a nap.
[ ] Grill the innkeeper and/or storekeeper for information.
[ ] See if they have anything particularly interesting in the store.
[ ] Explore the town.
[ ] Other?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
One vote has been made ^
[X] Explore the town.
[X] See if they have anything particularly interesting in the store.
Stay inside, not wondering around, not sure how we're going to learn the language. Might need to roll with telepathy the entire time unless we can magic(k) a language into our head... On the other hand, that's messing with our head. Might not end well, unless its the equivalent of just putting a few more books on the shelves in our mental library.
Stay inside, not wondering around, not sure how we're going to learn the language. Might need to roll with telepathy the entire time unless we can magic(k) a language into our head... On the other hand, that's messing with our head. Might not end well, unless its the equivalent of just putting a few more books on the shelves in our mental library.