I'm going to venture a wild guess that you also know better than to go our of your way to antagonise a possibly mad wizard who probably either can teleport across continents or gets up to really weird and unpredictable business. Terzo, on the other hand... Well that there is a fellow who seems like he'd literally piss on some wizard calling themselves Harpell after they lit themselves on fire and just keep snickering down at them staring back in incredulity, utterly oblivious to the universe taking a sudden inhale of apprehension. I find myself wondering if his role in this story might be to summarily get killed off as an acceptable target and means to an end for the narrative.
Given that this is a Quest and given how Alivaril tends to run them, unless we come back here for some reason, that was pretty much Terzo's entire role, as we're unlikely to see him again. We, as the players, are the ones primarily directing this narrative, not Alivaril. He just built the setting and tells us what the consequences of our actions are. Unless we decide curse or otherwise take Terso down ourselves, I don't think he'll be dying in the near future, nor will we be aware of it if he does die.
Knowing the QM as well as I do, I expect the only other major factor in how the plot will progress aside from us is the dice. Alivaril tends to let them decide the outcome of most non-interpersonal events. I suppose RNGesus might decide to smite Terzo, and/or reunite us with this group. But it won't be for narrative reasons, really. If Terzo gets mauled to death by house cats, it'll be because he rolled a metaphorical or actual 1. I say "metaphorical" because Alivairl has some really, really unpredictable dice tables. The "You Died" result could be 100 or 42 just as easily as it could be 1 with him. He also really likes making them.
I'm following the story updates (Threadmarks) and was wondering - where is that information coming from? Was it magically present when entering the world? Is that still about Remnant?
Companionship had spoiled her. Traveling on her own and without anyone to talk to proved to be absurdly boring and not something she'd like to repeat if at all possible. All she had to occupy her was what seemed like an endless forest, several painful subjects that she really didn't want to dwell on in an unsafe area, and nearly-baseless speculation about the world she'd traveled to.
She didn't recall seeing any Wizards who weren't part of Guilds, legal or not; she doubted there would be much work available for freelance Wizards. Why trust an unknown when organized groups were so much more reliable? No, Blake would need to join a Guild at some point if she wanted any kind of steady work. At least the job posting system would make it easy to find and fulfill requests, and the tight-knit nature of Guilds might make it easier to find magical tutors.
Blake wasn't too thrilled with the most common method of Guild identification, though: magical skin-markings that might as well be tattoos. Although they were designed to be removed relatively easily by the subject or a Guildmaster, doing so was culturally equivalent to quitting that particular Wizards' Guild. This trend could prove problematic on other planes. Trying to explain a magical membership marker, a glorified gang symbol, was not Blake's idea of a good time. Hopefully, she'd be able to find a Guild that understood her need to periodically remove and refresh the marker.
A conspicuous oddity did make itself known as a result of her review, too: how could Wizards endure so many attacks if they only had minimal control over their Aura? There had to be another element to their vitality that she was overlooking. Magical infusions, perhaps; if their bodies used mana as an extra energy source, it seemed reasonable that mana-users might naturally wind up more durable than the average person.
I'm following the story updates (Threadmarks) and was wondering - where is that information coming from? Was it magically present when entering the world? Is that still about Remnant?
She had a vision before landing here, it's in the first vote.
Blake is not fully familiar with the setting, or the people in it, but she did get a broad, if shallow, look into the world.
Think of it like someone having read a tourist brochure as a way to familiarize them with their destination.
I'm following the story updates (Threadmarks) and was wondering - where is that information coming from? Was it magically present when entering the world? Is that still about Remnant?
Nyaow nyaow, let's nyot pawll go jumping to conclusions with every bite of mew information. EDIT: To be clear, this isn't a "No."
Next update sent to betas; at ~4.5k words long, odds are that they'll find at least a problem with it. If it's not too big to fix easily, I'll hopefully have the update up tomorrow.
Would you look at that! Our first Nat1 already. Maybe it's just the first entry on a randomized lookup table and thus not an issue, but more likely, we're doing black cats everywhere proud.
At a guess, it's how much chaos the abduction caused in the city, for its defenses, and... maybe "around"?
Beta-read by @Nixeu, and beta-combed fairly thoroughly by @Nachtigall. Thanks a bunch!
Author's Note: I've made another side poll for whether readers would rather have the winning vote appear at relevant bits or just listed at the start. It also seems that some people didn't realize that the "tourist guide" glimpse at planes in the first post was IC—in other words, that Blake knows about the listed content.
[X] Ask more about the kidnapped noble
-[x] Since the alternatives are a dark guild or distant legal one, might the local lord be willing to hire an unaffiliated wizard to secure his daughter's rescue?
[x] Any recommendations for odd jobs? You'll need more money for essentials before anything else.
-[x] You're fairly good at reconnaissance and searching.
[x] Is there anything unusual about this forest? The insects were horrible.
-[x] They mentioned swipers earlier?
-[X] Ask about the purple skin - is it a disease? A curse? How close do you have to be to catch it and what are the other effects past bad tattoos?
[x] Why didn't they list their own Guild as one to join? You're not insulted, just curious.
"I don't really know enough about Warlocks to have an opinion on that," Blake admitted. "Still, I appreciate the warning. Do you mind if I ask more questions?"
Catello snorted and ignored the resulting elbow-jab of retribution from Nero.
"This guy dreams of showing off what he knows," Catello confided dryly. "I'm sure the rest of the camp would thank you for giving him his fix."
"Hey now," Nero protested halfheartedly. "I like teaching. It's not as if I just enjoy the sound of my own voice."
"And yet…"
"Oh, shut up."
Blake rolled her eyes as the two men engaged in increasingly forceful shoving. She should probably cut that short before one of them accidentally pushed the other into the fire.
"About the kidnapped noble," Blake interrupted. "Since the alternatives are either Dark or simply far away, do you think Lord Battalia would be willing to hire…"
Nero was shaking his head before Blake could even finish.
"Frankly, an unaffiliated Wizard is only a small step up from a confirmed Dark Guild member; plenty of Dark Guilds don't identify their members with the usual marks. Sorry. You could try rescuing Lady Amedea and then returning her, but I'm sure that'll force you to search without useful evidence. You'd be reliant on Lord Battalia's honor and goodwill, and any other Wizards that took the job might be unhappy about missing out. You'd more than likely be paid a pittance just so he can pay the others something."
"Might be a good way to get a letter of recommendation, though," Catello contributed. "Plus a boost to your rep. Both would be useful for joining one of the better Guilds."
Nero wrinkled his nose. "Reputation is more of a long-term thing, though. It sounds like she needs a quick solution just to get back on her feet."
"I do," Blake confirmed. "I am fairly good at reconnaissance and searching, though, so it might be worth a try. Do you have any other recommendations for odd jobs? Riches aren't the first thing on my mind right now; I just need the essentials—and bug repellant."
Nero and Catello established eye contact with each other. Catello's expression seemed resigned, but also expectant. Nero quickly huffed and broke eye contact.
"There are always people who have lost something important to them," Nero began slowly. "Lost mail, lost heirlooms, lost pets, you name it. The pay is usually poor, but you can do a lot of those little jobs in a day."
"That's usually Guild work, though," Catello added. "They might take offense if word gets around. A normal Guild would just shrug it off, but since they're already going to be losing many of their usual job offers…"
"Tell you what," said Nero, pointedly ignoring Catello's knowing grin. "I'll give you one of our oldest Resonance Lacrima as an insect repellant, a filled waterskin, and a week of dry rations if you tell me what that black case is. I'm not demanding you reveal your magics or anything; it's just really been eating at me this entire conversation."
Blake blinked. She hadn't really wanted to reveal that she was armed, yet it was hard to believe that any of these people would want to hurt her. Terzo had been the worst of the lot and that seemed to be born from a misunderstanding. Revealing that she had a weapon could be rather telling, but if Gambol Shroud's designation was useless for someone who actually possessed a basis for mechashift weaponry… no, no, she didn't need to give them that much information. The blade alone should fulfill their requirements without tripping any flags.
Still, it was a pity offer and she knew it. Nero and Catello seemed aware that she knew, too, and taking charity from humans always rankled. It felt like they'd rather throw some of their money at the problem rather than actually doing anything to fix the source. Admittedly, it wasn't as though they could fix the source in this case. She might as well just accept.
"A sword," she summarized shortly. "Can I unsheathe it without frightening everyone in camp?"
"Ye—" Nero began.
"You're probably fine as long as it doesn't summon anything," interrupted Catello. "And don't try to show off, please."
Blake tamped down her irritation. If she was going to show off her skills, she would've mentioned it when she was asking about jobs.
"Wasn't planning on it," Blake said shortly, unsheathing Gambol Shroud's blade and unceremoniously laying it on her lap.
Nero scooted closer to her and leaned over the katana. Catello wasn't as blatant about his search, but she could tell that he was still examining her weapon.
"May I?" Nero asked, gesturing to the blade.
"I'd prefer if you didn't," she refused, shaking her head. "I realize I'm an unknown stranger in your camp, but I'm alone in a camp full of strangers. Also, I expect we would have a giant mess on our hands if you hurt yourself with it."
Nero frowned even as Catello nodded approvingly.
"Don't push, Nero," the larger man instructed. "Imagine her unconditionally trusting everyone she meets and how well that would go over."
Nero's frown didn't entirely vanish, but it did ease up. He leaned back without further protest. They weren't wrong: she was well aware that subterfuge and ambush were probably some of the easiest ways to hurt her.
"I guess I shouldn't complain about a healthy dose of caution," Nero admitted. "Which reminds me: don't trust free food and drink, yeah? Especially if you head over to Maroca or another city with an awful lot of traffic. It's suspicious when prices are cheap across the board, too: they need to make that money back somehow. It could just be poor quality food, or… Well. You're attractive, you're a young woman, you're impoverished, and you're traveling alone; that's four risks too many. A sword won't be worth a damn if kidnappers just drug your food."
Blake huffed. She supposed she should've expected uncontrolled criminals to be smuggling people; she already knew that human trafficking was a problem. And now that she was thinking about it, the possibility of abduction raised another problem: she could effectively teleport herself out of danger, but she couldn't bring her belongings with her if she was separated from them.
Catello contributed, "You seem like a bit of a loner. Try to get over that and aim for some of the more populated inns. The more people present, the safer you'll be. Two or three people don't mean a damn; they could just as easily be accomplices."
Blake nodded thoughtfully. That was an issue she hadn't considered. Too many Hunters and Huntresses preferred peace and quiet, and they weren't the sort to overlook suddenly sleepy patrons. Populated inns were actually worse for lone individuals: tipsy workers were a dime a dozen, and it was hard for employees to remember who arrived together when you had fifty other patrons to worry about. Cheap food and drink had a similar stigma: the default assumption was that the owners would be informants and information brokers, not kidnappers.
"I already knew to be wary of strangers and anything 'free,' although I hadn't considered the isolation or economic aspects. Thank you both for the warnings. Anything else you want to tell me about? I have more questions if you're done."
Nero rubbed his chin with one fist.
"Yeaaah, it's kinda hard to know what warnings to not deliver. Traveling alone is dangerous enough. It's far worse when you really are alone. Even membership in a careless Guild would act as a deterrent—and I'm done with the sword, you can put it back."
Blake was honestly surprised not to receive any questions about Gambol Shroud's materials or hilt; for someone allegedly fulfilling their own curiosity, he hadn't seemed all that curious about it after all. Catello took over after Blake obligingly sheathed the blade.
"Consider lying to anyone asking if you're traveling alone. Say you're meeting with friends soon, that your employer expects you back, anything that implies people will look for you if you vanish."
"Eh…" Nero shook his head. "Maybe the employer bit, but saying you're part of a group might scare off people genuinely willing to watch your back. Refuse to answer? You seem like you'd be pretty good at that. Just ask your questions and I'll try to think of anything else that might help."
"You've already been much more helpful than I was expecting. Still, is there anything unusual enough about these woods to attract expeditions? You mentioned swipers, but those sound more like targets for lone Wizards and the insects have been just awful."
Nero once again established eye contact with Catello. The larger man just waved one hand as if to say, "Go ahead."
"The whole area is saturated with more magic than is normal, and old writings mention an ancient militant compound that nobody has been able to find yet. We get treasure hunter expeditions through every few months, and they all return empty-handed—or not at all. And yes, the magical saturation is almost certainly related. I expect the ancients offed themselves in the usual manner for Lost Magic: raw power finally exceeded their ability to control it, and the whole area went up.
"We're just here for herbs, pelts, and wood; all of them have properties that make them valuable to the right buyers. And yeah, we sell the occasional Resonance Lacrima to any explorer who neglects to bring their own. You're far from the first to get mauled by bugs—uh, remind me to fetch your payment if I forget."
"And the swipers?" Blake prompted.
"Eh, they're really just giant cats with tails that hurt like hell. Some Take Over mages like 'em on account of being one of the strongest and deadliest felines around."
"Before fatally underestimating those beasts half the time," Catello grumbled.
"And that," Nero acknowledged. "They'd really just be better off training what they've got rather than looking for easy shortcuts. Hard work gives better power-ups than any spell."
Catello didn't disagree, and Blake filed the sentiment away for future cross-referencing. It held up to casual inspection: weapons and Semblances were useless if you couldn't wield them worth a damn, and magic seemed like a similar tool. It might be better to utilize a few multi-use effects very well rather than skimming a number of single-use spells.
"About those purple blotches you mentioned—are they something you can catch from local wildlife, some sort of curse, or…?" Blake trailed off.
"A very contagious disease," Nero confirmed. "I've never heard of an animal with it, and believe me, people would've noticed. The afflicted become far more sensitive to light, and even a little jostling can make you bruise—that's where the purple comes from. Barely anyone dies if you get to someone who knows what they're doing, but it's extremely important that you rush to do so. Go into debt if you have to, because if you're sick and aren't treated, the sensitivity will spread from the skin inward. All the way inward."
"You could just admit that you forgot the word 'organs,'" Catello said dryly.
"Fffak off," Nero shot back, narrowly self-censoring for Blake's benefit. She really did wonder how that worked with her new translation effect; could it still operate off something like intent if his intentions changed in the middle? Or did it operate under an entirely different mechanic? She'd heard of stranger Semblances, true, but this was definitely on the list.
"Threaten to go to the local lord if the apothecary tries to charge you more than what a few weeks would cost at a workers' inn," continued Catello, ignoring his bristling compatriot. "They don't appreciate extortion when it comes to the treatment of an infectious disease. Ah, but stay about two dozen paces away and you should be fine. The issue is that their sun sensitivity encourages the afflicted to cover up, and if you're close enough to see the bruising even after that…"
Blake bit off a snide comment about human eyesight. Despite what some Faunus claimed, the only major difference between humans and Faunus laid in low-light and night vision. She shouldn't humor the White Fang's more recent sentiments of Faunus supremacy.
"And the name?" Blake prompted.
The displaced Faunus finally got to see what cluelessness looked like on the two grown men before her.
"Uh. Purple…" Nero began, helplessly glancing at his companion as though hoping for a rescue. Catello could only shake his head.
"Not purple fever," Nero tried aloud. "You might be nauseous and bedridden for a few days after taking the medicine, but there's still no fever. Uh. Look, healers don't really like it when people self-diagnose anyway, alright? The name doesn't really matter."
Blake raised an eyebrow and graciously changed the subject.
"Well, you've both been very helpful. However, I was wondering why you didn't mention your own Guild as a possibility. I'm not at all insulted; I'm just curious."
Nero gratefully grabbed the chance to save face.
"To invite someone to a Guild is to say that you vouch for them. We haven't known each other anywhere near long enough for that, and the Green Gliders are invitation-only. Plus, you'd be the youngest person in the whole Guild by a fair margin. They're good people and all–"
"Mostly," interjected Catello.
"–Mostly," Nero acknowledged. "But we're slated for protection and combat first and foremost. Even if you proved that you could keep up, you seem like the sort of person who'd find teasing about your age increasingly irritating as time went by. Find a generalist Guild with mentors, other young Wizards, or both. Don't be the only kid in a Guild of adults."
Blake closed her eyes to avoid rolling them. The White Fang had people who commented about her age, too, but she'd proven herself multiple times over. She ran with Adam, one of the most promising—don't think about it. Nero was right: it would be wonderful if she could just avoid receiving backhanded compliments every time she proved herself.
She did still want to help people, though. Even if Wizard work gave her the resources to help the Faunus back on Remnant, she wasn't sure that she could tolerate a purely mercenary lifestyle. She would much prefer to help people and gather resources at the same time.
"Are human trafficking and smuggling lucrative enough for them to have Wizards on payroll? I don't like leaving problems and assuming someone else will solve them."
"Don't–" "Ye–" Nero and Catello started, stopped simultaneously, and wordlessly let Nero go first. "Absolutely yes. Do not humor any thoughts of hunting them down. Finding Lady Amedea's kidnappers is one thing; nobody sensible would try to kidnap a noble's kid, if only because that noble will hunt them down for the insult. People who make a career out of abduction? They'll have Wizards on payroll specifically for hero wannabes. Wait until you're older and have comrades before you start trying to fight people like that. Don't just deliver yourself to them! You'd become just another helpless victim if they can disable you long enough for magic-draining restraints to suck you dry."
Blake tried not to bristle at the well-intended advice. Going in without a partner might not be as safe, but she couldn't exactly retreat into the place between planes if she'd leave a friend behind. Nero and Catello couldn't know about that, though, and she had zero intention of telling anyone at any point. It was too effective of a backup to reveal.
Nero jerked his head to Catello and let the larger man take over.
"I'm betting that those ears and eyes will make you more vulnerable to sound and sight-based magics, including the hypnotic and sleep-inducing magics popular among competent kidnappers. I don't care how good you are at using magic; you can't fight an entire group all on your own."
Spoken like someone who's never seen a Huntress cull a Beowolf pack.
She was surprised anyone had noticed her eyes and called her out; they were barely outside the human norm. She supposed their slight slant could be a bit more obvious when her ears were bare. Honestly, nothing the Wizards said made her feel better about leaving her ears uncovered. Even in the absence of anti-Faunus bigotry, it might be best to hide them until she had a Guild to back her up.
"I was asking because I wanted to know how risky it might be," Blake grumbled. "You don't need to act like I'm demanding the locations of criminal hideouts."
The two Wizards relaxed almost imperceptibly. Neither looked like they entirely believed her, but all she wanted was for them to stop pressing.
"Good," Nero said gruffly. "There are those who are already working on catching the smugglers; it's not solved yet, but it's only a matter of time."
The authorities aren't exactly doing a good job if the crime wave has become common knowledge for people over a week away. And even if the authorities finally managed to catch the suppliers, Blake sincerely doubted they'd be able to find and rescue everyone who'd already been sold.
"I think," Catello began slowly, "that we're all getting tired and needlessly emotional. Why don't we leave it at that and part amiably instead of in anger?"
Nero took a deep breath and nodded. Blake followed suit. Catello was right about the time; she hadn't even been planning to ask her last question until they reminded her of the White Fang. Adding more impulsive questions to the list might raise questions and concerns she'd prefer not to deal with.
"I'll leave your supplies inside the door," Nero promised. "You ever used a Resonance Lacrima before?"
Blake shook her head. Nero didn't seem particularly surprised, so Blake doubted they could be too commonplace.
"Just pull on the panel until insects leave you alone, lock it at that setting, and hang it around your neck. It should be good for some four or five days if you run it constantly."
Catello shot an amused look at his ally. Blake was guessing that the lifespan was a bit too long for the nearly-depleted Lacrima that she'd been promised. She had zero intention of complaining.
"Thank you."
Nero grunted. "Think nothing of it. Send us a letter when you're safe and settled, would you? It'd be reassuring to know that things worked out for you."
Blake wordlessly nodded. It wasn't as though a letter would be a hardship. Dust, she might even bring word personally if she became good enough at sensing mana to grant an advantage in finding whatever ruins might once have been in the area.
Blake was rather surprised to get a small cabin room all to herself. Oh, it was barely large enough to fit the cot, but it was private and safe. Less impressive (but not particularly surprising) was their lack of indoor plumbing; the outdoor privy was honestly disgusting and she hoped more permanent dwellings would have better amenities.
True to his word, it seemed that Nero had left her the promised supplies within a two-string brown cloth bag. It chafed both literally and metaphorically, but she would acknowledge its usefulness; even if the brown fabric was uncomfortable and clashed with the rest of her outfit, it would still be far better than trying to carry the supplies loose.
Especially since Nero seemed to have given her just a bit more than she'd bartered for. Not a lot, but certainly enough to be deliberate.
Items Acquired: (Dry Rations [7 days])
(2 Waterskins [1 day each])
(Wooden Dishware [Spoon, knife, fork, bowl])
(Resonance Lacrima [~6.5 days?])
(Brown cloth travel bag)
She wanted to look over the Lacrima and try to understand the underlying effect. Exhaustion proved the stronger fighter. She could examine it while she was traveling on the road; for now, it was enough for her to tug and lock the hourglass-like reservoir halfway open, ignore the ringing at the edge of her hearing, and go to sleep.
Blake ultimately slept through breakfast and only barely managed to rouse herself in time for lunch. Nobody seemed to begrudge her the extra sleep, although sheens of sweat on their bodies made it clear that they'd all started work hours ago. Blake tried not to stare.
The Faunus hovered uncertainly for the better part of a minute before one of the workers beckoned her to a kettle. A chorus of halfhearted "Hey"s met her when she approached, and really, she'd wasted enough time already. Blake filled her bowl and glanced around for any of the people she actually knew by name.
"They're out patrolling," came the unsolicited answer from the heavyset woman who beckoned Blake over. "They don't like goodbyes anyway, so don't worry about it."
Blake frowned and nodded.
"Pass on my thanks to them, then? And to the rest of you. I would've collapsed within another few hours if I'd been turned away."
"Mmm," the woman acknowledged. "Just return the favor to anyone needing to share your fire, would you? The world would be a much nicer place if people weren't so damn selfish."
One example instantly came to mind: the Schnee and their hoarding of more wealth than the whole wretched family could use in a hundred lifetimes. It wasn't just the Wizards' world that had too much selfishness.
"I will; it really would be an improvement," Blake agreed with forced calm, and turned to walk while she ate. She'd wasted enough of the day already.
She waited until she'd cleaned her bowl and was well away from the camp before breaking into a light run. There may have been the occasional plant encroaching on the path, but at least she had a path to follow. It would be a fraction as tiring as jumping between trees had been, and she wouldn't need to dedicate much of her attention to the path ahead. Which was good, because it was boring. The path was rough, yet she'd traversed far worse.
She started off by holding up her new Lacrima and looking it over. It was obviously Blue, but the lesser impressions she received took some wrangling to make sense of. It was almost like she was trying to hear through her sense of touch, and only simple stubbornness let her make sense of the separate functions.
(RATION. BUZZ/ECHO)
Ration felt fairly obvious; that portion would be the slide modulating the output. Buzz and Echo were separate from Ration, yet linked together. Buzz took the available resources and converted them to a specific frequency of sound, whereas Echo forced Buzz to continue as long as there was mana available to work with.
…Assuming she wasn't just convincing herself of utter nonsense via confirmation bias. She'd need to find a book on the subject at some point.
(Ability Discovered: Screech [Rank 0])
(Skill Discovered: Artifice [Rank 0])
Practicing with Black while moving proved to be a fair bit more difficult. It didn't want to stay centered on her of its own accord; if she drew mana out of herself, then the strand would fall behind the moment it finished separating from her soul. She'd accidentally hit herself with a minimal amount of Black before she caught on. Blake didn't feel any worse, but that might have been because of the minuscule dosage rather than any sort of personal resistance.
She could tether it, though. Black seemed to want to stick to itself as a cohesive mass—for that matter, she wouldn't be surprised if it was drawn to itself altogether. She could create a floating bundle of Black mana and have it roughly keep pace with her as long as she continued drawing out even the smallest amounts to act as a tether. Actually reaching the point where she could withdraw mana at such a glacial pace occupied her all the way to the main road, and she still wasn't done. She'd improved, certainly, but she was nowhere near finished. Precise mana emissions would need to be a long-term project.
She'd also Withered a dozen plants in passing after she lost control of half as many Black bundles, but the plants would've just been cleared from the path later. Nobody would notice a little more dust in the wind. Besides, now she knew how to Wither something without stopping!
(Ability Improved: Black Mana Control [Rank 1 → 4])
(Ability Improved: Wither [Rank 1 → 2])
(Current Daily Black Mana Capacity: 25%–50%?)
Blake squinted at the wooden road sign beside the entrance to the path. The blocky lettering didn't look at all familiar. She bit down a curse and shook her head. She supposed she was lucky that she could at least understand other people, but her apparent lack of literacy would be incredibly inconvenient. She would need to start learning as soon as she could.
She glanced up at the sky and tried to gauge the time of day. Mid-afternoon, perhaps? The time estimates she'd been given seemed off. At her current pace, she should be able to reach town before sundown. There were other people on the main road, though, which would definitely impede her ability to safely practice Black while running. The last thing she wanted was to carelessly shove a ball of Black into someone.
She could continue practicing if she slowed to a more mundane pace, but that would be slower and she hadn't been given any sort of bedroll. Once she reached the main road, Nero had estimated a full day of travel at a normal person's pace; Blake couldn't go much faster than a midday arrival the following day without drawing attention. She would need to spend a night outside at that rate. However, such a pace would let her keep practicing as she traveled, and would avoid revealing her as a fleet-footed Wizard.
She supposed she should consider covering her ears either way. On Remnant, every Faunus was a target. In this new world, she might be targeted as the only Faunus. Then again, Nero and Catello had talked about how she'd be a target even without the ears; why bother hiding if she'd be targeted either way?
The default assumption is that Blake will leave the bow off and her cat-ears bare. Because of what Nero and Catello said about her risk factors, you may vote to override this.
[] Hide your ears once more. "Permanent cat ears" still seems more problematic here than "lone female, etc."
[] Slow to a more sedate pace and keep practicing. The senses of most people on this plane are supposed to be awful when it comes to mana; you should still be inconspicuous.
[] Maintain your pace and put off mana practice until later. Your reserves are already more than halfway empty, and it'll let you arrive before sundown.
[] Write-in
…And what do you do after you arrive?
[] Focus on avoiding trouble while searching for job opportunities.
-[] If there are any relatively easy errands, complete them as you go along.
--[] Try not to pick anything that would require obvious demonstrations of abnormal physical prowess.
[] Walk around town and try to gauge the general mood of the whole area, not just the main path and market. You don't even know if they have slums yet.
-[] Try to guess what colors of mana are associated with which areas. You won't have the focus to learn as much from eavesdropping, but you could use the sensing practice.
[] Aim to learn what you can about Lady Amadea's kidnappers. This area seems too overgrown for them to travel off the paths without disturbing the undergrowth.
[] Write-in
Voting will be locked for 120 minutes after this goes up.
Considering how many idiots and fanatics the White Fang seems to contain (while Roman Torchwick was a racist he did have a point about the quality of his help), it's strange that Blake hasn't internalized foolproofing statements yet. Then again, so far she is more of a follower and a hypocrite, so I guess it makes sense that she would either not realize or not apply it to herself. Catello doesn't know Blake and the implications of her not having a Guild mark are anything but flattering (rookie or ex-Dark), so it's simply common sense to give the warning.
And she's completely ignoring that there would be other victims she'd probably be unwilling to leave behind, that planeswalking away would reveal her ability, and that she could suffer other consequences before she escapes, like being forcefully addicted to drugs.
Thought like someone who'll die early for underestimating her enemies. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. In particular, comparing a pack of mindless beowolves to a coordinated group of Wizards is seriously stupid.
... I think Blake needs a primer in economics. Just because the SDC handles incredible amounts of wealth doesn't mean that all that capital could be liquidized; if they tried the world Dust market would collapse with horrible consequences for everyone. Sure, they're still insanely rich, but you can't just conflate corporate and private wealth.
Question: Jade's character sheet was subject to the "unreliable narrator" warning and she regularly underestimated her skills. Will Blake's sheet be similarly affected? Though we'd have to expect the opposite direction since Blake has shown several signs of overestimating herself.
I genuinely enjoy playing a character with flaws, but that shouldn't stop us from grinding away on some of Blake's.
Not sure if we should go for a slow and steady strategy while improving our abilities, or get straight into searching for Lady Amadea.
Both have advantages and disadvantages.
Slow and steady will have us more ready to deal with things when shit hits the fan, but that means someone else might rescue the lady, or worse, something permanent happens to her.
Quickly going for the rescue would make sure we get to her first and minimise risks to her, but we'd also be less prepared to actually do anything to save and/or protect her.
That is literally the meta-knowledge I'm referring to. Anything that comes up in the story is just normal knowledge. I won't ban attempts to exploit knowledge of canon settings (attempts that would be out of character for Blake are what the character veto is for!), but trying is just as likely to lead you astray as it is to actually help. Such attempts are like being aware that you should walk at crosswalks without knowing about the associated lights, or trying to shop for shoes at the soup store.
Question: Jade's character sheet was subject to the "unreliable narrator" warning and she regularly underestimated her skills. Will Blake's sheet be similarly affected? Though we'd have to expect the opposite direction since Blake has shown several signs of overestimating herself.
Blake's skills will also be subject to unreliable narration, but any overestimation would generally be on account of application rather than ability - which Jade also did. For example, Blake might know that she could hit something with a spell and theoretically have it accomplish X dffect, but might not be aware of the effects of magic resistance or how well the enemy can dodge. EDIT: Skill/ability numerical ranks are largely arbitrary estimates by a character and the most likely to be inaccurate.
To be clear, there's a moratorium on voting. Discussion is encouraged, and indeed, that's why the moratorium is there at all. If you want to propose a write-in vote during that time or refer to an existing vote with attached discussion, then I encourage using empty brackets [] instead of a filled X so that it doesn't seem like you're ignoring the moratorium.
That is literally the meta-knowledge I'm referring to. Anything that comes up in the quest is just normal knowledge. I won't ban attempts to exploit knowledge of canon (attempts that would be out of character for Blake are what the character veto is for!), but trying is just as likely to lead you astray as it is to actually help. Such attempts are like being aware that you should walk at crosswalks without knowing about the associated lights, or trying to shop for shoes at the soup store.
Leaning towards leaving the ears exposed, myself, as well as:
[] Maintain your pace and put off mana practice until later. Your reserves are already more than halfway empty, and it'll let you arrive before sundown.
[] Aim to learn what you can about Lady Amadea's kidnappers. This area seems too overgrown for them to travel off the paths without disturbing the undergrowth
Keep mana in reserve, and go for the networking boost. We're no one and we don't have the cultural knowledge to safely insert ourselves. We need recommendations, cultural learning, and time to learn basic literacy, which I think we can leverage rescuing the noble girl into.
[] Hide your ears once more. "Permanent cat ears" still seems more problematic here than "lone female, etc."
So I have a question (I'm new to questing and don't even begin to understand the conventions of the art) do I need to vote against this or is there just some critical mass of votes in favor that will make Blake cover her ears again? Personally, as I said before, I really want Blake to get used to showing off what she is so that she can maybe get over her instinctive urge to lie by omission to literally everyone she meets.
[] Maintain your pace and put off mana practice until later. Your reserves are already more than halfway empty, and it'll let you arrive before sundown.
[] Focus on avoiding trouble while searching for job opportunities.
-[] If there are any relatively easy errands, complete them as you go along.
I want to keep the ears out. My idea is to have our public persona be a wizard who has a form of permanent Take Over. We are always cat, but in return we are much faster and stronger then normal. This is decently close to the truth and let's us keep our full on magic quiet while we are still learning while still getting people to take us seriously for jobs.
[] Hide your ears once more. "Permanent cat ears" still seems more problematic here than "lone female, etc."
So I have a question (I'm new to questing and don't even begin to understand the conventions of the art) do I need to vote against this or is there just some critical mass of votes in favor that will make Blake cover her ears again? Personally, as I said before, I really want Blake to get used to showing off what she is so that she can maybe get over her instinctive urge to lie by omission to literally everyone she meets.
If you have zero preference in the vote beyond that one thing, then I guess you could specifically do a write-in vote against it. Otherwise, more than 50% of participating voters would need to include the hide them again line in their votes for Blake to put the bow back on.
Would you look at that! Our first Nat1 already. Maybe it's just the first entry on a randomized lookup table and thus not an issue, but more likely, we're doing black cats everywhere proud.
At a guess, it's how much chaos the abduction caused in the city, for its defenses, and... maybe "around"?
She started off by holding up her new Lacrima and looking it over. It was obviously Blue, but the lesser impressions she received took some wrangling to make sense of. It was almost like she was trying to hear through her sense of touch, and only simple stubbornness let her make sense of the separate functions.
[...]
She'd also Withered a dozen plants in passing after she lost control of half as many Black bundles, but the plants would've just been cleared from the path later. Nobody would notice a little more dust in the wind. Besides, now she knew how to Wither something without stopping!
Glad to see this sort of basic practice is automatic without the need of player input.
I love Ignition, and still hope it'll come off hiatus one day, but one of its major flaws was the (at least perceived) need for excessively micromanaged practice plans.
She was surprised anyone had noticed her eyes and called her out; they were barely outside the human norm. She supposed their slight slant could be a bit more obvious when her ears were bare. Honestly, nothing the Wizards said made her feel better about leaving her ears uncovered. Even in the absence of anti-Faunus bigotry, it might be best to hide them until she had a Guild to back her up.
Yeah, I have to agree with Blake on this one. Showing off her cat ears in public is liable to just attract attention, and that's needlessly dangerous in a region where smugglers and human traffickers run rampant. She can reveal them to allies and/or guildmates, but I don't see any reason to make a moral statement by leaving them uncovered all the time. The only people who'd understand the cultural significance of such an act are on Remnant.
Yeah, I have to agree with Blake on this one. Showing off her cat ears in public is liable to just attract attention, and that's needlessly dangerous in a region where smugglers and human traffickers run rampant. She can reveal them to allies and/or guildmates, but I don't see any reason to make a moral statement by leaving them uncovered all the time. The only people who'd understand the cultural significance of such an act are on Remnant.
Also, Blake is kind of inherently suspicious of others, sometimes bordering on mild paranoia if RWBY canon is anything to go by. I still find it hard to believe that she'd just start showing off something she views as threatening(her true identity as a faunus) without some kind of character moment to back it up.
Glad to see this sort of basic practice is automatic without the need of player input.
I love Ignition, and still hope it'll come off hiatus one day, but one of its major flaws was the (at least perceived) need for excessively micromanaged practice plans.
Pretty much. Almost the only reliable knowledge that you possess and Blake consciously lacks are the respective potential abilities of Black and Blue mentioned in the first post, and the quest's mechanics are such that the difference shouldn't be unacceptably problematic. As in, any potential abilities that haven't been listed under at least Rank 0 would require a ton of blind fumbling to even reach "I have a vague idea of how this might be possible and might be able to manage it with practice," let alone the "incredibly inept, but technically a thing you can do" that is rank 1. Prematurely directing her wouldn't really save you any time.
EDIT: You're welcome to try to exploit that knowledge anyway! You don't need to try to limit yourselves or anything; just be warned that I can't really think of a way that you can exploit it without experiencing more trouble than it's worth. EDIT 3: Just knowing that something is possible isn't enough, which is why I don't think it's worth worrying about. For example, Blake now knows that demon-summoning and death magic are things she might be able to do, but she really needs an example or more guidance than that before she could use either.
EDIT 2: And the minor IC-OOC knowledge gap will probably be bridged soon enough... I think I failed my reassurance check. ^^;
[] Hide your ears once more. "Permanent cat ears" still seems more problematic here than "lone female, etc."
Hm, while I'm sure many people here would like Blake to be more open with leaving her ears out, I do not believe this is the right time for it.
She's still at the very beginning of learning about mana, and standing out is the last thing she wants atm. Once we have a guild or at least some experience in, I think it'd be fine, but for the current scenario where she's down on mana, has spent the day traveling, and is alone in a new world, I think it's best if she covers them up.
So imo it's best if she hides her ears in public for the time being.
