Swords & Glory: You're a knight, go on quests

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Trigger Warning: Expect the worst just incase
Don your armour and raise your blade, this is the Realm, a place of strange magics, territories ruled by scheming nobles, and otherworldly beasts prowling in the night
Die in obscurity, or earn the right to call yourself a Knight
The Knight New
(Heavily inspired by Mythic Bastionland, look it up, by Chrid Mcdowall, it's not finished but pretty dang neat, Elden Ring, and weird old fairytales)
The chosen child died in their cradle, sickness came in the night, and slowy but with more cruelty then any knife, the chosen one had passed
Barely looking gone, as if they were just sleeping, so quiet, so peaceful

Nevermind the grief aplenty, the one had perished before they could ever pick up a weapon, the dark forces that be, the plans of wicked men, and even more tragedies uncountable arose uncontested by all except eachother
But this madness had went on far too long, the chosen child cannot fufill their role, a great misfortune but life goes on, tired of this some have decided to take on the burden themselves

For their home, loved ones, ideals, gold, or glory, many have prepared themselves with armour, weapons, and tricks aplenty, there is no prophesized hero to go in quests, so these aspiring Knights have decided to fufill the role
They chose themselves
You chose yourself


Who is the latest fool to wander the realm?
(Choose a single Knight, a name, and a single option from both their corresponding aspect tables, plan format)

[] Plan:

- [] The Starlit
Born under a strange constellation, the stars tell you things, one of which being that you should go down this path

-- [] Name:
Eltio, Brasmas, Millin, write-in

Starlit Aspect 1: What stars were you born beneath?
-- [] The Arrow
You're incredibly good with bows and crossbows, aiming is not a problem, you're even better at night
-- [] The Helm
You can maintain and even make high quality armour if given the right stuff to work with, you're even better at night
-- [] The Child
You can seem far more innocent, helpless, or just plain adorable then you should be, you're even better at night

Starlit Aspect 2: What do they tell you?
-- [] Tales of beasts in the dark
You know when a dangerous monster is lurking nearby
-- [] Of empires that used to look up at them
You can get a feel for the history of a ruined site
-- [] The etiquette of the cosmos
You can speak in a very convincing manner to gods and greater spirits

- [] The Lost
You've wandered off the beaten path, a stranger to all, and all are strangers to you

-- [] Name:
Zettsby, Luluci, Margill, write-in

Lost Aspect 1: What was home like?
-- [] Grey shores next to dark seas, simple village life, from the west came marauders, they brought you here in chains
You're great at fishing for saltwater creatures, and talented at escaping captivity
-- [] Forests of cylopean trees, the branches wrapped around eachother as if embracing, you slipped into a river and it took you here
You're skilled at navigating dense wilds, and have great knowledge of plants
-- [] A city of ivory and gold, countless temples on every street corner, a cult for every god, you offended one and they dumped you here
You're experienced in finding things of divine nature, and convincing large groups to follow your beliefs

Lost Aspect 2: How do you handle living in this horrible place?
-- [] Not well
You can chug inhuman amounts of alchohol, or similarly consumable beverages
-- [] Fitting in (Reluctantly)
With the right outfit and without immediate evidence to the contrary, you'd fit in almost anywhere
-- [] Remembering where you came from
You can weave incredibly engaging stories of your homeland that only hearts most cold can resist being moved by

- [] The Foolish
You're a legendary knight already! People laugh with joy at your deeds

-- [] Name:
Hachis, Moert, Oleand, write-in

Foolish Aspect 1: Your "Legendary" armament is?
-- [] The whip of the wise lake sage
You know how to wield a fishing rod like a weapon, and how to fish
-- [] The daggers of the ancient one
You know how to wield sewing needles like a weapon, and how to sew
-- [] The bone flail of the tomb
You know how to wield a skeleton like a weapon, and how to grave rob

Foolish Aspect 2: Your first "Legendary" Deed
-- [] You stopped a foul horde
All ducks and things with a bit of duck in them are terrified of you
-- [] You conquered a challenge from hell
You can consume spicy food, breathe smoke, and drink molten lava with no bad side effects aside from tummy aches
-- [] You were crowned king
OF THE DANCEFLOOR! APPROPRIATE THEME MUSIC PLAYS WHENEVER YOU WISH AND YOU'VE GOT SICK MOVES

- [] The Holy
Hero-Worshippers are all across the Realm, praising the chosen one in their own ways, you are no different

-- [] Name:
Saint Petir, Sworn-Sword Joas, Priest-Knight Feldom, write-in

Holy Aspect 1: How did you first see the light?
-- [] The cult took you in when you needed help most
You're well versed in the art of hospitality and caretaking
-- [] They offered redemption, better opportunities, a better life
You're (regrettably) skilled in banditry and ambush tactics
-- [] The voice of the hero definitely whispers to you in your dreams
You've got worrying levels of devotion, few things can break that

Holy Aspect 2: Which cult are you sworn to?
-- [] Order Of The Blade-Gripped-By-Divinity
Your order wishes to one day recreate the hero's weapon to save the world, you can sense and analyze magical weaponry
-- [] Blessed Cavalry Of The Fallen March
Death was merely a setback for the hero, they'll one day ride from the other side with the fallen just behind on our darkest day, you can summon a spectral steed that never tires and can take you through thin walls
-- [] The Burning Pike Inquisition
The hero's death surely was no mere accident, dark forces were at work! You can smell curses from miles away

- [] The Violent
You've never understood what was so calming about the view of a lake, not until you made it red

-- [] Name:
Perios, Avetrax, Johnith, write-in

Violent Aspect 1: How do you like hurting people?
-- [] Flaying
You've got a great amount of skill with a whip, you can reach the bone in just a couple snaps
-- [] Cutting
You've got a great amount of skill with a sword, most enemies lose a couple limbs against you
-- [] Hitting
You've got a great amount of skill with a mace, you've got enough strength to turn folks into paste with one hit

Violent Aspect 2: The mark of your sin?
-- [] In your eyes
Those that look into your eyes know your entire bloody history whether they want to or not
-- [] On your hands
Blood drips eternally from your hands, those that drink of it enter a violent rage until they next rest
-- [] Under your skin
A tumourous dragon is growing within your body, you can use it's power to breathe fire and fly

- [] The Shiny
Hailing from a family of nobles/parasites, you ride forth in glittering armour to honour your family name

-- [] Name:
Lord Abertrunnagbemelschiem, Lady Casternacklevonhoofshire, Etros (Gender neutral noble term of The Realm) Yoshtokkeropteinfrump, write-in

Shiny Aspect 1: What did you bring from home?
-- [] Some loyal soldiers
You have a decent amount of strategic skill
-- [] Some fine luxuries
You know how to party, like really PARTY, also socializing, but mostly the former
-- [] Some considerable funds
You know how to count and spend gold well

Shiny Aspect 2: What noble bloodline do you hail from?
-- [] House Akterstem Of The Broken Blade
Metal cracks like porcelain in your hands
-- [] House Lotumnir Of The Corvid's Flock
Transform into a swarm of crows and back at will
-- [] House Aythugh Of Candles Unlit
With a simple puff of air you can snuff out most fires

- [] The Masked
Sometimes a thing just fits, a glove, a shoe, a tunic, the mask fits better then your own face

-- [] Name:
Catliss, Jaspir, Willhelk, write-in

Masked Aspect 1: Why do you wear it?
-- [] Not even mother loved you
You're hideous beyond words, great at hiding your appearence even in public
-- [] The face of a kinslayer is rarely welcome
You're a well known kinslayer, great at hurting folks when they're not aware of how much danger they're in
-- [] It's a decent replacement
You don't have a face, still have all the same functions and needs, just no features, you're great at creeping folks out

Masked Aspect 2: What is the mask like?
-- [] Pale like marble, resembling a bearded monarch with a unnerving grin
Statues that are close to your size or smaller will follow simple commands, the mask will return in time if lost or broken
-- [] Red like blood, resembling a snarling beast with a snout and tusks
When angered, nearby wild animals will also become enraged but not at you unless provoked, the mask will return in time if lost or broken
-- [] Blue like sapphire, resembling a goddess in mourning
It can shed tears that cause immense sadness and the return of memories of great sorrow when imbibed, the mask will return in time if lost or broken

- [] The Braced
You are a guardian, standing in the path between your ward and whatever foul thing would bring it harm

-- [] Name:
Gyrtrude, Ginger, Flax, write-in

Braced Aspect 1: What unfazes you the most?
-- [] Flames
Incredibly resistant to heat
-- [] Falling
Downward impacts at high speed barely leave a scratch
-- [] Poison
You can drink a cup of toxins and say "I feel fine"

Braced Aspect 2: What is your ward?
-- [] A translucent egg with pulsating gold light within
Almost all birds treat you and your ward with reverence, as long as it is intact
-- [] A skull covered in dusty grey flesh
Feed it a piece of someone and it will whisper their secrets, as long as it is intact
-- [] A mute child adorned in a white veil
Can (somehow) sing a song of peace and tranquility to calm most souls, as long as they live

- [] The Ambitious
Some are fine with being a mere knight, but you aspire to something greater, you want a throne

-- [] Name:
Grifford, Falconi, Hawkmar, write-in

Ambitious Aspect 1: Why do you want to be royalty?
-- [] Cause of the control
You can manage large groups of people and keep them loyal with ease
-- [] Cause then maybe you'll matter
You can in detail explain the pointlessness of life to people around you in a very convincing and depressing manner
-- [] Cause it'll prove THEM wrong!
You can easily push through most hurdles and hardships as long as you're spiting someone who insulted you personally

Ambitious Aspect 2: What did you sacrifice for this dream?
-- [] Your arm
You have a single arm, any attempts to add another will turn into dust, if someone who is currently allied with you disloyal they will be choked and throttled by unseen hands
-- [] Your mind
You are haunted by whispers that tell you all the worst possibilities they can think of, you can save up awe and admiration, make it so your actions leave little impact, and release some awe to increase the impact of other actions, maybe all at once for great effects
-- [] Your afterlife
You're going to a bad place when you die, no matter what, some daemons want to speed up the process, you have a piece of territory under your control, all your actions within it are boosted, and you generally have a good feel of the place, it'll grow the more prosperous it becomes

- [] The Inhuman
Something otherworldly, something strange, but can still wield a sword all the same

-- [] Name:
Cragglins, Mortiz, Teagor, write-in

Inhuman Aspect 1: How do you fit in?
-- [] Why bother?
You're great at Intimidating people, scaring folks, and finding a dark place to hide
-- [] Like a glove
You're great at making human costumes, and seeming like a approachable fellow
-- [] Being useful
Great at hard labour and tedious physical work, you can easily preach about your hireable traits

Inhuman Aspect 2: What are you?
-- [] A Forestchild
You photosynthesize instead of normal eating or drinking, you can make any part of yourself tree-like at will, and the scent of charcoal absolutely disgusts you
-- [] A Imp
You swear so hard it physically and mentally hurts a bit to hear, you can handle abuse in many forms with great ease, and true faith in non-material desires (Belief in a god, an ideology, true love) burns you like fire
-- [] A Elder-Thing
You are incredibly slippery, large, have multiple tendrils, and are quite strong, you can perceive and subtly influence the dreams of those sleeping nearby, it hurts to perceive you for too long, direct communication is difficult
 
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The Knight New
Sir Gerald The Faith-Bound
- Believes the Chosen One's spirit speaks to him in his dreams, is a delusional zealot
- A member of the Burning Pike Inquisition, taught in their ways, he can smell curses from miles away

Sir Henry
- Is quite dumb
- Can fish quite well, and wield a fishing rod like a weapon with considerable skill
- All ducks, and things with a bit of duck inside them are innately afraid of him

Sir Alexander
- Is incredibly resistant against fall damage
- Wishes to protect the Veil Child as well as he can
Sir Gerald's Inventory
- Burning Pike Inquisition armour, engraved with images of daemons being flayed and burning
- A inquisitor's polearm

Sir Henry's Inventory
- Makeshift armour of varying ill-fitting sizes, functional, but stupid looking and uncomfortable
- The Lake Sage's Whip, a mundane fishing rod

Sir Alexander
- Bulky armour with a depiction of a silhouette being guarded from a vast array of dangers by a pair of giant embracing arms
- A simple mace and large rectangular shield
Burning Pike Inquisition
- Accept Sir Gerald as one of their own, cause he is

Old Man Mither's
- Puts up with Sir Henry's shenanigans

The Veiled Child
- Looks to Sir Alexander for comfort and protection
 
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Wirnwood Trail New
"With a hop, with a skip, with some mirth, and with some pip, I'll walk the path, I'll find a way, this knight'll save the day! so what do you say little squire? Does that sound like a good improvement compared to last time?" Henry said, practicing his own theme music
The Veiled Child nodded, very much enjoying giving pointers to Sir Henry's singing practice, it was quite difficult without actually being able to give proper feedback, and with Henry sometimes eating random mushrooms, getting food poisoning, and forgetting some of his lessons, but it was still a nice distraction from all the tedious wandering

"Do you mind keeping it down you prideful donkey-brained jester!? I can barely hear milord's whispers in my ear helping count our rations, which they say are few" The inquisitor was quite miffed this day, he had very few catches to speak of these weeks with the group, only having stabbed one curse wielder in the throat just last Castlesday, and he is itching to prove his worthiness, the extent of his faith, how far he would go to avenge his savior

"This pride is well earned! I am quite the formidable warrior, I'll have you know I-"
"Fought off the dragon in a river near the lake sage's temple, or as FACTS would state, you beat up a alligator that was annoying your fisherman pal"
"Well if you put it like that anything sounds simple you... you delusional wannabe saint"
"Oh well ain't that just hypocritical you-"

"SILENCE!"
Sir Gerald and Sir Henry ceased their bickering, as the towering Sir Alexander neglected his duties with the map for but a for moment to turn and glare at them through the holes in his helmet, rays from the morning sun shining through the trees of Wirnwood Trail and reflecting off the armour of all 3, especially the Veiled Child's guardian

"If you two have enough time to make my ward seem less childish then 2 grown men, which they are, you have enough time to pull yourselves together and help me navigate" Alexander had to repeatedly stop Gerald and Henry's bickering ever since they came together to form the party, the pair's egos clashing whenever they talked with eachother for more then two sentences
"Fine, fine, anything to distract me from the mistake of ever associating with this witless wannabe" Gerald looked over Alexander's shoulder to check the map "Oh, it appears we must retrace our path, we ignored a landmark that would be our turning point"

The guardian of the Veiled Child groaned into the palms of his gauntlets in frustration, before deciding to bottle up the annoyance at this mistake and just try to get back on the route, his ward patted him on the back in comfort, making him smile a bit, he ruffled the little one's hair and they continued on their way

Soon the group finally arrived at the landmark, a tree with a group of 7 lambs sleeping peacefully around it in a perfect circle
Henry looked around when they arrived, before excitedly patting Alexander on the shoulder and pointing at their destination "There! Right there!"
Indeed it was, and easily unnoticed if you weren't paying attention, but Knights are generally guided by fate towards sites of unfinished quests, so it wouldn't have gone unnoticed forever, what was the destination like?

[] A large tree shaped like a sitting man in anguish, holding a great wooden disc depicting the sun, the moon, and the eclipse

[] A village surrounded by dying wheat fields, every resident wears a cloak, even the farm animals wear cloaks

[] A daunting castle, with many crooked towers, from each of these towers came the sound of distant singing, like hearing a choir of sorrowful angels
 
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To Gettleburgh We Trot New
The trio (Plus their kid) walked the dirt trail past wooden fences barely holding onto structural integrity, losing the fight against it's sworn enemy, a faint dry breeze
Wheat greying, brittle, Henry saw one have it's head snap off and turn to dust before it hit the ground

But what confused the party more is the fact the water still ran through this place, the rivers were even pristine, sparkling like a fine wine, so how could such a terrible affliction hit these crops?
They soon arrived at a wooden archway attached to the end of the fences that went along the trail, with the top of it being a chipped and considerably sized wooden board, messy with a bit of crow droppings, stating the probable name of the town "Gettleburgh"

Alexander could see distant specks far off in the air, circling, likely the perpetrators of this vandalism he joked to himself internally
Along the outer edges of the village were tall wooden poles driven into the ground, hanging from the top of each was a incense burner producing a little bit of black smoke, most likely to scare off forest Children

"Hhhmmmm.... the curse's scent is like expired wine mixed with some dirt now that we're close enough for me to focus on it" George sniffed the air catching a whiff of malevolent magics
Alexander turned to him in surprise "Wait what!? Why didn't you say so a couple miles back?"
"I did, but that was only the first time we were at the landmark with sheep, that was many hours back, so I understand if you didn't remember that"

Henry, who was giving the Veiled Child a piggyback ride into the town asked "I've always wondered, what do the different types of curse scents signify?"
"Never knew you had much interest in my work, huh, maybe you'll finally appreciate my contributions" George was surprised at first but decided to default to acting haughty again to his partymember
"Just answer the dang question, me and the child wish to know" The Veiled Child nodded along with Henry's statement

George rolled his eyes "Generally speaking, the scents tell me the motifs of a curse, but this is far less useful then you think, I can still discern which scents belong to which curse, but sometimes a motif or two is left out, also, what these motifs could mean are always very broad too, the earthy scent could mean the ground could be cursed, the ground causes the curse, a pile of dirt is cursed or causes curses, maybe a particularly dirty tree, maybe the curse turns you into dirt, it could mean a lot of things"
"So you're halfway useless?"

Henry felt the pommel of George's polearm jab him in the side, causing him to jump slightly, but not enough to disturb the child's ride

Soon the group were in the middle of town, watching as everyone from children, to adults, to maybe even the elderly, all live their lives with cloaks on their bodies, some even have stitches, or wear belts and leather straps on the robes to make it more difficult to remove them
The same could be said for the local animals, a herder carefully guiding along cattle and sheep with cloaks over them and straps going around their torsos to keep the cloth from sliding off

Though it wasn't all dreary looking, some sewed into little images of stuff to differentiate themselves, like one fellow with a hood covered in embroideries of smiley faces while selling bread, one kid playing with a robed dog with images of faeries sewed onto the back

And another peculiar detail was multiple large buckets outside a local inn, sitting on a barrel, and with a funnel above it, painted onto the bucket was "For visitors"
A robed fellow walked towards them, images of figures frolicking among oversized flowers embroided right above the hem of their robes

"Greetings knights and small child, welcome to Gettleburgh, I'm part of the welcoming committee, well, what remains of it, we don't have many visitors so a lot of the others quit, but momma taught me a friendly face in a new place could always make someones day! I'm Leotthew, so what brings you four to our humble township?" The individual's face obviously couldn't be seen, but they purposefully exaggerated their body movements along with their greeting

"Well I am Alexander, this is Henry, and this is George, my ward is simply called The Child, dont ask, as knights we're here to go on quests, do you perhaps have any issues or perils that need attending to?" Asked Alexander, also examining Leotthew trying to silently ascertain why they were in robes just in case asking directly would've been rude, which he could get away with cause the helmet made observing his eye movements difficult

"Yeah, we know about that questing knight trend, 3 others like you folks passed through here looking for quests also, and on the subject of quests, I guess the carpenters need some protection overnight from the Red-Tinted while constructing the new town wall, and we need help finding the local barber Guckler, she snuck off one day and our Ranger found a shred of her cloak in the woods, but I don't know every problem in this town, maybe you could ask some others? Just make sure not to bother them, one of those other visitors were quite rude" Answered Leotthew
George made a little symbol of a lower half circle with a oval resting in it before saying "We will be on our best behavior, and hopefully keep Henry from embarrassing us"

Henry jabbed the inquisitor in the side with his fishing rod, making the man cough up a bit behind his helmet from the suddenness and the strength of it

What do you do?

[] Have the Party go to the carpenters to help with the wall quest

[] Have the Party go to the ranger to help with the missing barber

[] Have Henry and the Veiled Child go book a place at the Inn, while the rest of the party go to the wall quest

[] Have George ask around for information about that curse he sniffed out while the rest of the party asks for quests

[] The party asks around town for quests while Alexander asks around to find and greet those fellow knights

[] Write-In
 
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Guckler In The Woods New
The party arrived at the border between the town and the woods, they saw a bunch of robed workers with tools deconstructing a old fence and setting up holes to shove some of the supports for the wall into, and the robed ranger readjusting the string of their bow
Alexander walked forward and shook hands with the Carpenter, wearing a robe marked with stitches and the occaisonal wood chips stuck to it during work, hand hidden by a leather glove, the Braced did not pry into the matter, so much effort was likely for a reason they cared very much about

"Names Aggie, locals call me the Carpenter, cert'n more rascally lads run'n about call me Splinter-Crotch after the incident, ya probably those new Knights I've heard entered town, word spreads fast here, the grans love gab'n" The Carpenter greeted, the grip was painfully firm but the tone implied there was no malicious intent behind it, they just held on way too tight naturally
Alexander had felt worse before and introduced himself and his companions, politely explaining the plan to go help searching for Guckler and coming back when she is found, or if it hits nightfall

"That's decent plan I reck'n, and don't worry too much about arriv'n back on time, one of the Knights that came before you guys volunteered to help protect me and my men, I'd prefer more help, but it took multiple years for me to convince the mayor to have me replace the fence with actual defenses, old buggers more afraid of change then the Red-Tinted" The Carpenter pointed to a Knight in fanch brass armour and holding up a red banner on a pole instead of a weapon, alongside wearing armour depicting a ridiculously handsome group of cavalrymen charging a monster

The trio waved goodbye for now to the Carpenter and walked up to the ranger, their robe was a intensely dark green compared to the pitch black of the other's robes, and perched atop their head was a hawk, also hiding under it's own mini-cloak
Henry immediately butted in before Alexander could do a proper introduction "Greetings oh verdant-green garbed knower of the wild's ways! I AM SIR HENRY THE GREAT, NEMESIS TO THE FOUL HORDE, WIELDER OF THE LAKE SAGE'S WHIP, and asker of this question can that bird fly even with the tiny robe on?"

Silence, the bird flapped it's wings in the air above the rangers head, Henry got out of the way to let Alexander speak, satisfied by the example
"Wel- *cough" hello, I am Sir Alexander, the excitable fellow that interrupted me was Sir Henry, and the fellow thinking their grumbles about getting Henry a muzzle are too quiet for me to hear is Sir George"

The Burning Pike Inquisitor snapped still in surprise

"And this little ray of sunshine is the Veiled Child, they don't have a name, but they're a valuable member of the group" Finished Alexander
The Veiled Child did a proud little handshake with the ranger like they made a little deal

The ranger sat up, their tone was tired and blank "Heard you talking to Aggie, I'm Oggie, follow me and stay close"
George nodded "Straight to the point, I like them"

They entered the woods, where fog rolled across the dirt, animals lazily walked from place to place when they didn't have to dun, the grass, the leaves, the bark, they all felt like dry scroll paper and looked somewhat greyish
And the shadows, they seemed longer, warped and crooked

"That curse's scent is even thicker in here, and making me gag too, I wonder why magic runs so wild mostly away from civilization, also kindly pass me the waterskin" George took a waterskin handed over by Alexander
The bland and tired tone hit the party's ears again as the ranger pushed away low-hanging branches and other greyish foliage while going through the woods

"Magic is one with the world, in most towns we establish it should be comforting, safe, orderly, or at least manageable enough, the world obliges, it is tamed"
The ranger kneeld down and picked up a insect, a beetle of somekind, it's carapace resembling a faded and once colourful masked, chipped and smiling
"But where the monstrous make their home, madness is allowed a say, where magic is left to fester and grow like wild vines, you get strange places, at least I get a job out of it"

The ranger crushes the strange bug, soured wine pouring out from between their index and thumb, as the group tried to take another step, Oggie halts them by raising a clenched fist....

Tracking Roll
Rolled a 66 + 10 + 15 = 91

The ranger sees a trail in the dirt when the fog thins out a slight bit, the prints match Guckler's boots, and so the group follows the trail
When the fog returned there were some minor hiccups, but our Knights quickly helped get things back on track whenever they spotted the prints once more

Soon they arrived at a archway of brambles, at which they saw someone in robes with a belt of scissors and scalpels and stiches trying to fight off a bunch of dancing forest children
"GET BACK! Back up! I'm just here looking for someone so go bother anyone else!" The robed one swung around a incense burner full of charcoal, alongside stabbing at the air with their scissors in a threatening manner
The forest children had bark-like skin resembling the local trees, spindly limbs, branches sprouting from their heads, tattered and once vibrant robes, and they were prancing about with ribbons twirling in the air and instruments carved from bones & wood playing

Course of action?
[] Immediately go in for a simultaneous dropkick

[] Join the dance!

[] Try to calm down the situation and discuss things like reasonable adults ( LAME)

[] Write-In
 
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