- Location
- Internet
[X] Practice with Gabriel
Peril's Origin - A Magical Girl Quest [Complete]
- Thread starter Naron
- Start date
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] You heard there are Elven Champions around and go to find out more
In summary, MC make a mistake that render herself no choice but to work as a mercenary for hell. Hell generally is bad but like there is darkness in light and light in darkness, there also good people in hell as well but due to their society, they can't be good or express their goodness or they suffer for it.
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- Location
- over there
[X] You heard there are Elven Champions around and go to find out more
- Location
- Earth
Just saw this.
He is not channeling a shroud of mana; that shroud is the mana he accumulated from charging his spell for a hundred days, similar to how Heidi's sword was more than twice its size with charged mana once she was done.
He is just much better at actually keeping it steady and spreading it evenly, so Heidi thought it was some kind of protective field instead of a continuously growing one-shot nuke.
He, uh, also kept most of it inside his body; the part that poked out was comparably small.
...Does this mean he only used part of his charge? So he could either repeat that charged shot multiple times, or make a significantly larger one?
- Location
- Earth
No, his mana was inside his body instead of floating around outside. Most people keep their mana inside and not outside, his was only poking out because he built it up so much.
Edit: In addition, votes are closed. Meeting the Elves wins.
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4.19 Adventurers & Goodbye
- Location
- Earth
[] You heard there are Elven Champions around and go to find out more
At first you wanted to go look for these supposed champions immediately, but then you were told they explored one of the mines currently overrun by some kind of monster. They are apparently called adventurers by the locals and that gives you a bit of an idea what they actually do.
"How strong are those guys usually?" you can not help but ask Gabriel while the four of you explore the countryside from up high. They are apparently a cut above the rest, but Elves never had a reputation for being strong individually. They make up for their comparably weak states with an uncanny amount of teamwork, becoming exponentially more dangerous the more there are.
Your friend shrugs lightly. "It varies somewhat, but a team of Elven adventurers is usually a decent challenge for even people like you. I do not doubt that you would come out on top one-on-one, but against an entire group... not sure, it could go either way depending on what they specialise in."
Now that is definitely interesting, so you are only more curious.
And the next day, you get your chance; hearing that the group of four has returned from their trip and is recuperating at one of the taverns they have here, you leave the Angels behind and head over. The place is not difficult to find.
The people are even easier to notice.
Aside from the fact the few soldiers currently off-duty are all clad in roughly the same, simple kind of clothes, this bunch at the bar is definitely the most colourful and diverse you have ever seen.
There is a man in elaborate red robes and with dark hair, carefully spreading healing magic over another man's arm where a flesh wound continues to heal. Both men have sharp features, though the second is dressed in blue and white, with various metal ornaments on his clothes. His wild mane is bound into a single braid at the back.
Next to them sit two women, one dressed in orange like the monks and one in green, quietly toasting to each other. The green one immediately noticed you as well, going by how she looks your way; her hair is a single long braid reaching all the way to the ground, and her person is almost completely hidden by an oversized coat of black feathers.
All in all, yes, they are hard to miss.
You step forward after a moment, ignoring the looks other Elves throw your way. The feathered woman turns to you once it is clear where you are going and the rest quickly follows. Mana gently floats around each of them, but somehow those feathers keep drawing your eye; something is odd about them.
Once you stand in front of the bunch, you take them in again and can not help but grin. They do look strong. "I heard there's an unusual bunch around, so I was curious. You're them?"
"Just so", the man in white offers you with a friendly nod, then motions to a free seat next to him. "And you must be the other weird arrival we heard about on the way back. Please, sit with us."
He immediately earns an eyeroll from the monk and a sigh from the other man. The latter speaks up while you sit down: "Must you, Leon?"
"Must I what? Invite a stranger to drink with us?"
While the men have some kind of staredown that only confuses you, the monk slides over to sit on your other side and nudges your shoulder with a faint smile. "He's known to seduce his way through every place we visit."
That explains that. You just shrug at her. "Got it, don't worry." Then you turn to Leon. "I'm not interested."
You never saw anyone's face fall down so fast; as an added benefit, the woman in green smiles for a moment while the monk chuckles. "My, that's refreshingly direct. I'm Roa, that womanizer is Leon, our priest over there is Antonius, and the quiet stick-in-the-mud is Twilight." Antonius and Twilight both offer nods to you, which are returned.
First of all, your own name. "I'm Adelheid." You figured your full name works better this time; a few nods are given to your own introduction. You still consider challenging them, but decide against it. This is supposed to be a vacation after all.
Instead, you turn to Twilight to address the first thing you noticed: "Okay, I've got to ask. What's with those feathers?"
She finishes sipping from her drink and cards through the soft-looking cape, then eyes you calmly. Almost coldly, even. "Nighthawk feathers. Killed it myself." You wait for her to explain, but she does not elaborate. Is this something Elves are supposed to know?
Antonius saves you the hassle of asking with a friendly smile. "Nighthawks live further within the Empire, they are a large, predatory kind of bird that specialises in surprise attacks. Our friend Twilight's group is named after them, and the initiation rite is to kill a Nighthawk with their bare hands. They are the best scouts, hunters, and explorers you can find anywhere."
"You forgot wilderness survival experts," Roa supplies from your other side. She raises her mug to Twilight, who offers hers in return. "But seriously, Twilight is super mobile and deadly. Ambushes wouldn't be the same without her." Then she turns to you with a grin. "Don't you want to ask what I do?"
You just raise an eyebrow at her. "I'd guess you're a practitioner of the Stardust Mountain style, considering the monks up there wear the same robes." Her expression falls and this time the men laugh; Leon seems to have come out of his funk and raises his mug at you this time.
Twilight hides her own smile behind her mug, but offers a quiet "That was too easy" once the laughter dies down, prompting renewed snickers that you join this time.
Once everyone is calm again and Roa put a mug of something into your hand that you decide not to touch, you speak up: "So, I said I was curious; why are you guys traveling around here? Just for the adventures?"
The consensus you get is a 'pretty much'. Antonius motions for Leon. "Last year, our, ah, 'glorious' leader-" "Hey!" "decided that serving as a commander in the legions did not suit him, and so he went to travel and find adventure. I went with him as any childhood friend would, then we picked up Twilight a few months ago. It was quite-" "Stop."
He interrupts himself and casts a glance to Twilight, whose eyes are narrowed. "You promised we won't talk of that ever again." Is she blushing?
"Ah, yes, yes. I was just meaning to say it was a most unusual encounter, out in the wilds."
...
"Did you stumble over her while she was bathing in a river or something?"
That gathers you a few looks, having been the first thought you had when taking in the situation. Antonius laughs heartily and shakes his head, but offers you a wink. "Not like that, no. Anyway, as I was-" "Bet it was the other way around."
Now eyes go to Roa, who grins mischievously. "You jerks aren't telling me either, so I'm just gonna make a wild guess and say she stumbled over you while you were bathing, and then Leon tried to seduce her."
None of the three actually answers, they just exchange a few looks. Antonius sighs. "No matter what answer we give, you would just keep trying to figure it out. So after this point, and no, this was also not it, we will simply refrain from acknowledging you."
The other two nod and you chuckle, then turn to Antonius yourself. "I can guess you wanted to say Roa joined up recently?" He nods, so you just continue and change the subject. "And I guess you're a priest or something?" His robes at least imply that, though the question does bring you a few more looks. This time incredulous.
"How do you not-" "Leon."
Antonius shuts his friend down and shakes his head, then offers you another smile. "Apologies, my friend probably forgot that you were likely raised outside of the Empire." Ah, so Lu's lie is helping you again. "I am a priest of Magmos-" "High Priest," Leon chimes in. "- allowed to channel the tiniest fragment of His power each day. For our little group, I serve mainly as a healer. Calling upon Him is not something I like to do without a good reason, which is likely why I was blessed in the first place."
These guys are definitely interesting; you watch them interact with each other while carefully not sipping from your mug. Getting drunk in a place you do not know so well, having never been drunk before and technically too young for it, is not your idea of a good time.
"Are you planning to join us?"
The question quiets the rest from the banter that started up and draws attention back to you, as well as Twilight who asked in the first place. She eyes you sharply, gaze flitting over your attire and appearance. You just shake your head. "Wasn't planning to. My friend and I need to move on soon, but I wanted to talk to you all first."
She relaxes a little and nods, brow furrowed. Roa whines sadly and claps your shoulder. "Aww, that's too bad. I think you'd fit in well. You're partnered with an Angel, right?"
"Yeah. Sorry, but I'm getting homesick by now, so I couldn't tag along with you. Maybe if we meet again, sometime." You doubt you will, but... maybe you will come back someday, if you feel like going on an adventure?
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
There are four of them, but presenting all of their sheets would be a bit much. So here are Leon and Twilight.
- (Unified Light/Elvin Empire) Leon Kayn
-
A.K.A. "that one asshole who keeps stealing your swords"
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Abilities
- (Unified Light/Elvin Empire) Nighthawk Twilight
-
- Stats
- Weapon
- Spells
- Abilities
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
You spend a little longer with the Elves and actually see them again at the training field the next day, but it is mainly Leon embarassing himself trying to flirt with Lu; he does not seem to catch the hint that Twilight and Roa would have better chances than him, but beside that, the days until the week's end are eventless.
Gabriel did find some time to teach you the theory behind that trick she likes to use against powerful opponents, where she suddenly grows far faster than before. You could have spent more time to get her to coach you through it and learn it faster, but rather figured to have fun with her and everyone.
Now that you know how it works, you feel a little cheated. She has the same speed boost on her sword that you have on your spear, and figured out that it can be made to persist for as long as you do not complete the five strikes it allows. This allows you to spread out each strike and make parrying them all far more difficult. The next step consists of triggering the boost again with a new attack instead of continuing the first one, layering boost over boost. Though she cautioned you against doing it more than four times, which is where it starts to tear at her own body.
You will have to work on that for a while, but you are confident. A present from Gabriel herself, trusting you with one of her most potent techniques, and you will bring it to mastery in time. You even found that holding the boost active, or 'holding it back' as Gabriel described it, is easier for you than for her. You suspect that your specific magic is involved in that.
Once it is time to leave, the four of you gather outside the elven outpost. Far enough for no one to watch you closely. Gabriel and Lucy both receive firm hugs from you and return them just as sadly. "I'll be around," you promise them both, only to receive raised eyebrows. "Eventually."
They snicker and then go over to say goodbye to Lu; Gabriel does embrace her as well, much to her surprise. Lucy leaves it at a firm handshake. "It was an honour to meet you. I shall live up to and surpass the warrior you are and were."
Lu offers her a faint smile and lowers her gaze. "Very well. Do your best, Lucifer. Rise ever higher than any before you, and leave your own mark upon history. Perhaps it shall eradicate mine."
Their grins turn fairly savage, both of them, so you quickly snatch Lu and wave at the two that will remain. "Stay safe, we'll see each other sooner or later! Voyage!"
And like this, you leave behind two waving Angels, to return Lu to where she is from. To spend a little more time with your demonic friends.
To go home soon...
-------------
Fourth Arc, "Ashes of Past and Future", is complete.
No story-vote.
[] Spend EXP?
-[] Yes (Write-in what to buy)
-[] No, save it
=====
+20xp Met Leon, Antonius, Roa, and Twilight
+1,000xp Completed Arc 4
+250xp Without Dying, Technically (You Still Bad-Ended)
EXP gained: 1,270
Total EXP: 2,740
=====
Learned the foundation of an exploit from Gabriel, but no dedicated training with her means it will not be learned before the end of the Quest.
-Hold back the speed-boost of Slash Hell so the hits function as separate attacks and overlay into later actions; increased speed is added together
Additional damage to each hit as follows:
+50% Base Damage "Blender Initiated" (one speed-boost still going)
+100% Base Damage "Blender Ongoing" (two speed-boosts)
+200% Base Damage "Blender Full Swing" (three speed-boosts)
+300% Base Damage "Unstoppable Blender" (four speed-boosts, max)
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Tisaku
Head Chief Thinkomancer
LostDeviljho
Flame Dragon Princess
- Location
- The glorious Pacific Northwest
- Pronouns
- Any
There was gonna be a spar, but then Naron decided that this is a vacation, so no combat.
5.1 The Demon's Gift
- Location
- Earth
The journey back is instantaneous, depositing you and Lu right outside the town surrounding Charon's Keep. A few workers startle upon your entrance and your presence returning, but quickly bow and get back to what they were doing. Imps scurry around between them, hardly even stopping in their work.
The town looks no different from when you last saw it, which is reassuring; you definitely did not lose your accuracy over Leliel's interrupt of your last leap. Conundrum is gone, which kind of sucks, but it could have been far, far worse.
In this case, you aimed for a time roughly a day after leaving for Milidia.
You exchange a nod with Lu and step over to the workers, then deliberately point at an Imp they made to carry an overly large piece of wood for some reason, likely amusement. "You, drop that." She does without question and no one complains. Next, you point over to the main spire. "Go find the Ashen Maiden and announce my return. I wish to speak with her at her earliest convenience."
"Right away, my lady."
And off the Imp is, with the rest already having gone back to work once it became clear you only needed the one. Bossing people around is getting easier as well, though you are not sure how you feel about that.
As you wander away from the workers and to the nearest rune, which the Imp also took to traverse the Keep, Lu offers you a wry grin. "Your demeanor changed since when you came here. Though, admittedly, formal speech does not suit you." You just flip her off and wait for your impromptu messenger to return.
Sure, you could have just waltzed in, but at this point you understand that announcing yourself like that is Hell's equivalent of a knock. Elisabeth does deserve some politeness at least. Sadly, it also means you have to wait here or the Imp is not going to find you.
It merely takes a few minutes for her to return, materialising on the rune right in front of you and standing at attention as best as an Imp can do. "The Ashen Maiden oversees something at the forges, my lady. She wishes to receive you immediately!"
Meaning, she is free and you can drop by whenever you want. "Alright, thank you."
You wave the Demon away and ignore her owlish look; Imps are not used to being thanked, but you made sure not to forget your manners. Especially here. The rank and file here rarely have anyone outranking them be nice, after all.
Once the rune is cleared, you and Lu step onto it; your friend takes the lead, sending you both outside of a giant pit dug at one of the destroyed spire's bases. It seems to have been here for a while. Lu provides information the moment she sees you look around: "The forges used to be on the lower levels of this spire, so it being torn off means they are now under the open air."
And forges they are. Dozens of blacksmiths of various appearances are at work, hammering steel and iron and silver back into shape. You barely see any weapons though, which makes sense, considering that many low-ranking Demons can resummon theirs whenever they get damaged.
Elisabeth is surprisingly easy to find. She is at the central forge with half of the men and women present arrayed around her, as well as half a dozen Dark Stars of all kinds. A glance to Lu only makes her shrug, so she has no idea what the large group there might be doing. Your eyes tell you it is magical, though the buzzing of a hundred angry hornets sounds kind of familiar even from where you stand.
You pull your aura back in just to make sure not to interrupt any fiddly detailwork someone might be doing, with Lu doing the same a moment later. Then you walk down the stone stairway and into the a sea of hot air and sweat that bothers you far less than you would have expected. The people around bow their heads as you pass, but otherwise keep working.
It is obvious that you were noticed long before you reach the central forge, seeing how many heads turned your way and the small crowd opens without prompt as you near. Both of you walk through the corridor and toward Elisabeth, whose expression is deceptively empty; her blindfold gives nothing away as usual. Next to her stands a suit of faintly gleaming armour that the Dark Stars are spreading some kind of Brand Craft over, carefully fitting the lines into nooks and crannies to make every circle adjust to only a single plate of the faintly orange steel.
No, not plate. You know that colour, too. Those are scales, each and every one of them. Dragon scales.
And now that you look closer, you realise that the Dark Stars are not spreading anything. They are charging it. Fine, intricate lines of Brand Craft already gleam on every single scale. You only killed that Dragon a bit over a week ago, how did she make this so fast?
"What do you think? I called in a few favours and pulled the enchanters off other projects, but it is still a bit of a rush job." Elisabeth smiles faintly and motions for the armour; it does not look big enough for her to wear, is what you notice as well.
"I'm surprised you could make anything out of those scales at all. How did you cut them?"
She turns to watch the Dark Stars for a moment and you know all of the crafters around are listening in curiously. Elisabeth does not seem to mind as she explains: "I admit they did not come apart easily, but the power that kept them impervious to damage faded with the Dragon's death. Some trace of its power still remains, so I decided to make use of it."
"I don't think you can wear that," you point out with a frown, only for Elisabeth to chuckle softly. Lu huffs a moment later, apparently having understood what you are still wondering about.
"This is for you, not for me. A present of mine, as thanks for taking on this Dragon despite not having to."
Oh. Now it makes sense. You do not even get upset about it, there was some mention of Elisabeth having your measurements taken. But an entire suit of armour? "I can't really wear it, can I? Armour is kind of restrictive for someone like me who builds on agility." At least pop culture suggests that. You do want to try wearing that suit of armour, though. It looks impressive.
Lu scowls. "Whoever told you that is a fool. While armour may be rather heavy and thus test your endurance more than regular clothes, a properly fitted set is hardly restrictive and does not impact your speed." So pop culture lied to you.
Elisabeth nods at that and motions for the now-complete suit of armour. "This one in particular was enchanted to be as light as a feather. I am aware that it would be bothersome to wear with your transformation storing it elsewhere, but there may be a day where you need this slight edge."
She has a point, but you still want to decline; it is too generous a gift for something you did as a friend. Doing so in front of everyone however, especially after it was already made, might lead to problems.
And honestly, Elisabeth does have a point. The war is still going in your time, so you might need it; you can always get it in time for a fight thanks to Voyage, too.
So, with no way around it, you smile and step forward to inspect your gift. A proper scale mail with gloves and boots also covered in those scales. Gently bending one aside, the tiny bit that is actually possible, shows you they are each connected to a regular plate of metal beneath, interlocking and clacking softly with every movement. The plate itself also bears a complicated-looking array, no, several of them. They interlock in places, a work of art that you can hardly appreciate even as a student of Brand Craft.
From the plate downward goes a skirt of cloth that bears no markings, but, upon checking on the inside, you realise is reinforced with another plate in which the scales down there are anchoured; this one, too, bears Brand Craft.
"Clever. You get around the issue of things shifting around and messing up the arrays by enchanting only the rigid pieces, and each one separately. A lot more work, but much safer."
"Not much more work," one of the Dark Stars interrupts in a wispy tone. "More work in drawing the arrays, true, but far less in understanding the various possible interactions of moving surfaces and adjusting the arrays for them. It evens out."
You nod and finish inspecting the intricate working. "I see, didn't think of that." And nothing exploded despite every array being charged, so you now know that the thing is at the very least not dangerous. "Mind if I try it on?"
Elisabeth's lips curl up involuntarily, but you feel you are the only one who notices. "It is yours, you may do with it as you please. Imps?" A gaggle of the lesser Demons appears from various spots where they were apparently waiting to be called upon, quickly moving over to the armour without any need for further orders. Elisabeth motions for it. "Go ahead, they know what to do."
So you do, and stand still for the next few minutes while a bunch of Imps armour you up over your regular clothes. The blacksmiths whisper with each other, many of them shaking hands over a job well done. Elisabeth is smiling openly once more while Lu watches you with curiousity.
It really feels like nothing. The noise aside, which you can ignore, only the clicking of scale against scale reminds you of actually wearing armour. Your feet slide into the boots easily, the gloves fit onto your hands perfectly, and a double-horned helmet is put onto your head to finish the whole thing. You wish you had a mirror to look at yourself, but you can imagine to cut quite the menacing figure with only your eyes visible and your entire body decked out in glittering Dragon scales. Pauldrons protect your uncovered shoulders but make bending your arms a non-issue.
You carefully test the enchantments, move this way and that, completely unimpeded. You can no longer touch the small of your back because the scales do not let you, but that is easily dismissable.
A moment of focus makes your weapon materialise and you go through a basic sequence without any trouble or malfuctions. It makes you grin and show a thumbs up to your watching friends; Elisabeth claps her hands. "Marvelous. Now, if I may demonstrate the defensive properties?"
You can guess how she wants to do that, but Lu is right there. Even if this is less secure than what Elisabeth expects, you will be fine. "Sure."
Your friend bows her head gently and makes her own blade materialise, wreathed in ominously humming fire that quickly spreads over her weapon instead. "Behold!"
She strikes in a way that makes your reflexes scream. You go through five different ways to parry her as she moves in and suppress the almost instinctual reaction each time; actually taking a hit like this is difficult after practicing how to not take them for so long. Then her sword impacts and...
(Ember of the First Flame: +4000 Base Damage, +420 dice,+5000 Unstoppable (False) = 4,420 Total Damage
Defiance: +10100 Base Resilience, +912 dice,-7575 Juggernaut = 11,012 Total Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective!)
...it does not penetrate. You see both the reshaped flame and another magical field beneath liquify and flow back instead of punching through your armour while the sword itself scrapes over the scales without leaving so much as a scratch. The force of it sends you back a few steps, but you are completely unharmed.
"Huh, this is pretty sturdy." You can not help but grin, even though no one can see it. "I think I get what you meant. This might get useful one day. Thank you."
"Oh, think nothing of it." Elisabeth smiles still while the chatter around you becomes somewhat more excited, with everyone talking about their creation. "This also serves as a proof of concept; the scales converted into this set and testing were not even close to the entire amount harvested, so now that we know it works as intended, we can process the rest."
Clever of her. A test with you, under controlled circumstances, and now she gets to build a few more artifacts based on Dragon scales. Either to make some of her trusted stronger, or to give special equipment away for favours. You nod at her and she motions to the main spire. "Now, I believe you wanted to report on your mission?"
"Yeah, that too. Uh, should I...?" You vaguely point at your armour, but she merely shakes her head.
"Whether you keep it on or have it taken off is entirely up to you."
With that settled, you just take off the helmet and carry it under your arm. Looking at it from the outside again, now you actually look the part of the dark knight, too.
"I see."
A short walk to the next rune and then to Elisabeth's office later, you did not take long to summarise what happened. Neither of you goes into details about what you did in the future, but she does not ask, either.
"So it was a trap after all, meant for Lucifer. We are fortunate that you were there to protect her." Elisabeth slowly taps her desk, then nods to herself. "Very well, I shall update my notes and we will approach the matter differently, at another time. We can be more cautious when engaging this particular opponent."
You have no idea whether she does not say Leliel's name on purpose, but it is probably for the best. Lu still thinks about the encounter from time to time, you can tell even though she never mentions it. That aside, Elisabeth seems fairly unconcerned about your failure. When you point that out, she merely smiles.
"Not every mission may succeed. Having you two back in good health is enough for me." Lu perks up a little at being included, but the point is left at that and Elisabeth changes the subject, her smile faltering a little. "That being said, I believe you wanted to leave us soon?"
Ah, there it is. You were planning to do that, so you nod. Your friend sighs at that and folds her hands. "Ah, well. I am not happy to see you go, but I will not stop you. Do make sure to find me in your own time, though; I believe I would be glad to see you again."
"Can do." Add one more to the list; it is somewhat sizable by now.
"Good. Now, as for your departure, I was planning to see you off with a feast." Wait, what? You blink at Elisabeth, who smiles benignly. "After everything you did for us all, it is the very least we can do, to celebrate your arrival and your deeds properly. This is non-negotiable."
You want to protest, but her last notion takes the wind out of you. Delivered with finality and gentleness in a way that brooks no room for argument. You can not even get mad about it, they want to throw a party for you after all!
So you sigh and hang your head. "Fine, but don't overdo it."
"I certainly won't, friend. It will be in three days' time." How can she be so cheerful right now?
You just shake your head and get up to take off that armour in your room. You can probably get a few more boxes or packs or something to put it into for transport. Or maybe you should wear it on the way home so as to not take up that space?
You can think about it later.
For now, you decide, you will spend your last three days in this time with your friends.
-------------
Who do you spend today with? Pick two:
[] Orux
[] Lucifer
[] Maya
[] Paoras
[] Dragul
[] Elisabeth
[] Gabriel
+10xp You Get a Party
EXP gained: 10
Total EXP: 2,750
Will not be relevant, but here are the details about Heidi's new gear:
The town looks no different from when you last saw it, which is reassuring; you definitely did not lose your accuracy over Leliel's interrupt of your last leap. Conundrum is gone, which kind of sucks, but it could have been far, far worse.
In this case, you aimed for a time roughly a day after leaving for Milidia.
You exchange a nod with Lu and step over to the workers, then deliberately point at an Imp they made to carry an overly large piece of wood for some reason, likely amusement. "You, drop that." She does without question and no one complains. Next, you point over to the main spire. "Go find the Ashen Maiden and announce my return. I wish to speak with her at her earliest convenience."
"Right away, my lady."
And off the Imp is, with the rest already having gone back to work once it became clear you only needed the one. Bossing people around is getting easier as well, though you are not sure how you feel about that.
As you wander away from the workers and to the nearest rune, which the Imp also took to traverse the Keep, Lu offers you a wry grin. "Your demeanor changed since when you came here. Though, admittedly, formal speech does not suit you." You just flip her off and wait for your impromptu messenger to return.
Sure, you could have just waltzed in, but at this point you understand that announcing yourself like that is Hell's equivalent of a knock. Elisabeth does deserve some politeness at least. Sadly, it also means you have to wait here or the Imp is not going to find you.
It merely takes a few minutes for her to return, materialising on the rune right in front of you and standing at attention as best as an Imp can do. "The Ashen Maiden oversees something at the forges, my lady. She wishes to receive you immediately!"
Meaning, she is free and you can drop by whenever you want. "Alright, thank you."
You wave the Demon away and ignore her owlish look; Imps are not used to being thanked, but you made sure not to forget your manners. Especially here. The rank and file here rarely have anyone outranking them be nice, after all.
Once the rune is cleared, you and Lu step onto it; your friend takes the lead, sending you both outside of a giant pit dug at one of the destroyed spire's bases. It seems to have been here for a while. Lu provides information the moment she sees you look around: "The forges used to be on the lower levels of this spire, so it being torn off means they are now under the open air."
And forges they are. Dozens of blacksmiths of various appearances are at work, hammering steel and iron and silver back into shape. You barely see any weapons though, which makes sense, considering that many low-ranking Demons can resummon theirs whenever they get damaged.
Elisabeth is surprisingly easy to find. She is at the central forge with half of the men and women present arrayed around her, as well as half a dozen Dark Stars of all kinds. A glance to Lu only makes her shrug, so she has no idea what the large group there might be doing. Your eyes tell you it is magical, though the buzzing of a hundred angry hornets sounds kind of familiar even from where you stand.
You pull your aura back in just to make sure not to interrupt any fiddly detailwork someone might be doing, with Lu doing the same a moment later. Then you walk down the stone stairway and into the a sea of hot air and sweat that bothers you far less than you would have expected. The people around bow their heads as you pass, but otherwise keep working.
It is obvious that you were noticed long before you reach the central forge, seeing how many heads turned your way and the small crowd opens without prompt as you near. Both of you walk through the corridor and toward Elisabeth, whose expression is deceptively empty; her blindfold gives nothing away as usual. Next to her stands a suit of faintly gleaming armour that the Dark Stars are spreading some kind of Brand Craft over, carefully fitting the lines into nooks and crannies to make every circle adjust to only a single plate of the faintly orange steel.
No, not plate. You know that colour, too. Those are scales, each and every one of them. Dragon scales.
And now that you look closer, you realise that the Dark Stars are not spreading anything. They are charging it. Fine, intricate lines of Brand Craft already gleam on every single scale. You only killed that Dragon a bit over a week ago, how did she make this so fast?
"What do you think? I called in a few favours and pulled the enchanters off other projects, but it is still a bit of a rush job." Elisabeth smiles faintly and motions for the armour; it does not look big enough for her to wear, is what you notice as well.
"I'm surprised you could make anything out of those scales at all. How did you cut them?"
She turns to watch the Dark Stars for a moment and you know all of the crafters around are listening in curiously. Elisabeth does not seem to mind as she explains: "I admit they did not come apart easily, but the power that kept them impervious to damage faded with the Dragon's death. Some trace of its power still remains, so I decided to make use of it."
"I don't think you can wear that," you point out with a frown, only for Elisabeth to chuckle softly. Lu huffs a moment later, apparently having understood what you are still wondering about.
"This is for you, not for me. A present of mine, as thanks for taking on this Dragon despite not having to."
Oh. Now it makes sense. You do not even get upset about it, there was some mention of Elisabeth having your measurements taken. But an entire suit of armour? "I can't really wear it, can I? Armour is kind of restrictive for someone like me who builds on agility." At least pop culture suggests that. You do want to try wearing that suit of armour, though. It looks impressive.
Lu scowls. "Whoever told you that is a fool. While armour may be rather heavy and thus test your endurance more than regular clothes, a properly fitted set is hardly restrictive and does not impact your speed." So pop culture lied to you.
Elisabeth nods at that and motions for the now-complete suit of armour. "This one in particular was enchanted to be as light as a feather. I am aware that it would be bothersome to wear with your transformation storing it elsewhere, but there may be a day where you need this slight edge."
She has a point, but you still want to decline; it is too generous a gift for something you did as a friend. Doing so in front of everyone however, especially after it was already made, might lead to problems.
And honestly, Elisabeth does have a point. The war is still going in your time, so you might need it; you can always get it in time for a fight thanks to Voyage, too.
So, with no way around it, you smile and step forward to inspect your gift. A proper scale mail with gloves and boots also covered in those scales. Gently bending one aside, the tiny bit that is actually possible, shows you they are each connected to a regular plate of metal beneath, interlocking and clacking softly with every movement. The plate itself also bears a complicated-looking array, no, several of them. They interlock in places, a work of art that you can hardly appreciate even as a student of Brand Craft.
From the plate downward goes a skirt of cloth that bears no markings, but, upon checking on the inside, you realise is reinforced with another plate in which the scales down there are anchoured; this one, too, bears Brand Craft.
"Clever. You get around the issue of things shifting around and messing up the arrays by enchanting only the rigid pieces, and each one separately. A lot more work, but much safer."
"Not much more work," one of the Dark Stars interrupts in a wispy tone. "More work in drawing the arrays, true, but far less in understanding the various possible interactions of moving surfaces and adjusting the arrays for them. It evens out."
You nod and finish inspecting the intricate working. "I see, didn't think of that." And nothing exploded despite every array being charged, so you now know that the thing is at the very least not dangerous. "Mind if I try it on?"
Elisabeth's lips curl up involuntarily, but you feel you are the only one who notices. "It is yours, you may do with it as you please. Imps?" A gaggle of the lesser Demons appears from various spots where they were apparently waiting to be called upon, quickly moving over to the armour without any need for further orders. Elisabeth motions for it. "Go ahead, they know what to do."
So you do, and stand still for the next few minutes while a bunch of Imps armour you up over your regular clothes. The blacksmiths whisper with each other, many of them shaking hands over a job well done. Elisabeth is smiling openly once more while Lu watches you with curiousity.
It really feels like nothing. The noise aside, which you can ignore, only the clicking of scale against scale reminds you of actually wearing armour. Your feet slide into the boots easily, the gloves fit onto your hands perfectly, and a double-horned helmet is put onto your head to finish the whole thing. You wish you had a mirror to look at yourself, but you can imagine to cut quite the menacing figure with only your eyes visible and your entire body decked out in glittering Dragon scales. Pauldrons protect your uncovered shoulders but make bending your arms a non-issue.
You carefully test the enchantments, move this way and that, completely unimpeded. You can no longer touch the small of your back because the scales do not let you, but that is easily dismissable.
A moment of focus makes your weapon materialise and you go through a basic sequence without any trouble or malfuctions. It makes you grin and show a thumbs up to your watching friends; Elisabeth claps her hands. "Marvelous. Now, if I may demonstrate the defensive properties?"
You can guess how she wants to do that, but Lu is right there. Even if this is less secure than what Elisabeth expects, you will be fine. "Sure."
Your friend bows her head gently and makes her own blade materialise, wreathed in ominously humming fire that quickly spreads over her weapon instead. "Behold!"
She strikes in a way that makes your reflexes scream. You go through five different ways to parry her as she moves in and suppress the almost instinctual reaction each time; actually taking a hit like this is difficult after practicing how to not take them for so long. Then her sword impacts and...
(Ember of the First Flame: +4000 Base Damage, +420 dice,
Defiance: +10100 Base Resilience, +912 dice,
Attack Ineffective!)
...it does not penetrate. You see both the reshaped flame and another magical field beneath liquify and flow back instead of punching through your armour while the sword itself scrapes over the scales without leaving so much as a scratch. The force of it sends you back a few steps, but you are completely unharmed.
"Huh, this is pretty sturdy." You can not help but grin, even though no one can see it. "I think I get what you meant. This might get useful one day. Thank you."
"Oh, think nothing of it." Elisabeth smiles still while the chatter around you becomes somewhat more excited, with everyone talking about their creation. "This also serves as a proof of concept; the scales converted into this set and testing were not even close to the entire amount harvested, so now that we know it works as intended, we can process the rest."
Clever of her. A test with you, under controlled circumstances, and now she gets to build a few more artifacts based on Dragon scales. Either to make some of her trusted stronger, or to give special equipment away for favours. You nod at her and she motions to the main spire. "Now, I believe you wanted to report on your mission?"
"Yeah, that too. Uh, should I...?" You vaguely point at your armour, but she merely shakes her head.
"Whether you keep it on or have it taken off is entirely up to you."
With that settled, you just take off the helmet and carry it under your arm. Looking at it from the outside again, now you actually look the part of the dark knight, too.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE
. . .
"I see."
A short walk to the next rune and then to Elisabeth's office later, you did not take long to summarise what happened. Neither of you goes into details about what you did in the future, but she does not ask, either.
"So it was a trap after all, meant for Lucifer. We are fortunate that you were there to protect her." Elisabeth slowly taps her desk, then nods to herself. "Very well, I shall update my notes and we will approach the matter differently, at another time. We can be more cautious when engaging this particular opponent."
You have no idea whether she does not say Leliel's name on purpose, but it is probably for the best. Lu still thinks about the encounter from time to time, you can tell even though she never mentions it. That aside, Elisabeth seems fairly unconcerned about your failure. When you point that out, she merely smiles.
"Not every mission may succeed. Having you two back in good health is enough for me." Lu perks up a little at being included, but the point is left at that and Elisabeth changes the subject, her smile faltering a little. "That being said, I believe you wanted to leave us soon?"
Ah, there it is. You were planning to do that, so you nod. Your friend sighs at that and folds her hands. "Ah, well. I am not happy to see you go, but I will not stop you. Do make sure to find me in your own time, though; I believe I would be glad to see you again."
"Can do." Add one more to the list; it is somewhat sizable by now.
"Good. Now, as for your departure, I was planning to see you off with a feast." Wait, what? You blink at Elisabeth, who smiles benignly. "After everything you did for us all, it is the very least we can do, to celebrate your arrival and your deeds properly. This is non-negotiable."
You want to protest, but her last notion takes the wind out of you. Delivered with finality and gentleness in a way that brooks no room for argument. You can not even get mad about it, they want to throw a party for you after all!
So you sigh and hang your head. "Fine, but don't overdo it."
"I certainly won't, friend. It will be in three days' time." How can she be so cheerful right now?
You just shake your head and get up to take off that armour in your room. You can probably get a few more boxes or packs or something to put it into for transport. Or maybe you should wear it on the way home so as to not take up that space?
You can think about it later.
For now, you decide, you will spend your last three days in this time with your friends.
-------------
Who do you spend today with? Pick two:
[] Orux
[] Lucifer
[] Maya
[] Paoras
[] Dragul
[] Elisabeth
[] Gabriel
=====
+10xp You Get a Party
EXP gained: 10
Total EXP: 2,750
=====
Will not be relevant, but here are the details about Heidi's new gear:
- Impenetrable Dragonscale Armour
- Abilities
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[X] Orux
[X] Lucifer
[X] Lucifer
[X] Orux
[X] Gabriel
[X] Gabriel
- Location
- Attached to a wall
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[] Orux
[X] Elisabeth
edit: Changed my mind
[X] Dragul
[X] Elisabeth
edit: Changed my mind
[X] Dragul
Last edited:
- Location
- over there
"I went to hell, and all I got was this lousy T-shirt suit of armor"
[X] Paoras
[x] Dragul
[X] Paoras
[x] Dragul
- Location
- Internet
[X] Paoras
[x] Dragul
[x] Dragul