??? 2011/02/23(Wed)09:15 No. 283733 ID: 71cbb0
File 129848133192.png - (13.25KB , 800x600 , victoriousintro.png )

Ages of the world have passed since then, and ages since the summer crowns were asked for their counsel. When I was a boy, however, my father assured me that if I was ever needful, I need only ask, and the Infinite Voices would speak to me as well. Now, crown of princes past, crown of my ancestors; now, I do need your wisdom. Are you there?

Or were you just a legend, all along?

>>283733
Of course we're here. We're stuck in some crystal on a crown. Not like we can wander off or something. So what's the problem this time?

>>283733
Hey, whacha need?
Romance, adventure, adventurous romance...

Did the legends ever mention that we're almost useless? Because that is the case.

... why young elf, it is depressing to hear someone in such dire straights... i have given counsel to many, and we'll do our best to aid you in whatever troubles you ask of us...

be warned of the danger, though, for the advice we give is either wise counsel... or peril

so ask away, youngling

THIS IS TERRIBLE THERE ARE NO HOT BABES AROUND
COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE TO AWKWARDLY HIT ON

AND THEY'D BETTER BE A DIFFERENT SPECIES

My friend, by the end of the day you´ll be cursing the desiscion to ask for the voices. They´re insane, inane and mostly annoying.
Now with that out of the way, what seems to be the problem?

G̷͘L͟͠͠O̴̸͝R҉I̶͠҉O̷̕Ù̴̡͡͝S͢҉̡ ̶̨̨͟F͏̕R҉̀̕E̶͞S̕H͟͜ ̡͠M̸̸͘͜E̴̡͞A̡T̨̀͠͞

Wait. That's a pig you're roasting there. Meat. You're not a real elf.

Pointy ears? Check.
Pansy attitude? Check.
Armor that looks like tree bark and leaves? Check.
Helping all the little forest animals? ... not check?

Man, you're either the worst or the best Elf ever, I can't really decide.

garelf?

>>283758
Garelf wouldn't need our help. He would just murder his way to the top and then bring someone back in the middle of their funeral just so he could bury them alive. Then have sex with the dudes girlfriend on top of the grave.

>>283761
ah yes, then my mistake

Man, that looks like one tasty animal you got there.

Ho, there, neighbor. Pleasure to meet ya. What might your name be?

??? 2011/02/23(Wed)15:31 No. 283848 ID: 71cbb0
File 129850391016.png - (9.29KB , 800x600 , response1.png )

OH MY HIDDEN GOD YOU'RE REAL

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)15:32 No. 283849 ID: 71cbb0
File 129850394399.png - (7.63KB , 800x600 , response2.png )

Uh, I mean… ahem. Right. My name is Victorious. Yes, I know, it's stupid. Family tradition. My brother was Courageous and my sister was Discerning. To be precise, I'm Prince Victorious the Fifth, of the royal house of the summer elves - though I hear they're calling me Victorious the Last, now.

Now, my problem.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)15:32 No. 283850 ID: 71cbb0
File 129850397297.png - (14.49KB , 800x600 , taleofinvasion.png )

Or… well, I guess I should fill you in on recent events, first, if the stories about you are true. I don't know how attached you were to our kingdom, our people; you were there before it began, and now… now, you're here again, after our end.

The prophecy of the Scavenger Lord has come true, you see. One of the Fae has returned, bloated and twisted with power consumed from the remains of his fellows, who we struck down so long ago to earn our freedom. He enslaved the wild races once more, the orcs, goblins and trolls; he has made alliance with the Outerkind that reside beyond the world, and wields the terrible power of Black Necromancy, binding the souls of the dead and the bodies of the fallen as his servants. He sent that army against us, and we fought, as we were sworn, to the last. We held them until the other races of the east could prepare their armies, and when we fell, we fell in such a manner that they passed straight into the waiting weapons of dwarves, men, and our fellow elves. It was the finest end a race could hope for.

I regret that I could not stand beside my family in those final hours; but only a royal could easily meet with the leaders of other nations, and I was the swiftest rider of our line. So, I survive; last prince and uncrowned king of the summer elves, who are said by the seers of the Great Fountain to number now in the merest dozens. I have no kingdom, but I intend to ensure we leave a legend that will remain for ages yet to come.

But first, I have a duty to fulfill.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)15:33 No. 283851 ID: 71cbb0
File 129850399012.png - (7.93KB , 800x600 , lookback.png )

Just beyond the ridge to the southwest of where I am now, a force of around two hundred orc warriors, sixty goblin raiders and a hundred and forty trolls, along with about four hundred undead, is passing west; deeper into the wild lands. I've been tracking them for days, and I'm certain that they're taking the greatest treasures of our kingdom back to the Scavenger Lord.

The royal treasures of my family are concern enough, but the true problem is that they have that sword - the Mortal Blade, which we used to destroy the Fae and, before that, was responsible for casting down those gods who became the first mortal men. Few have suspected that we were its keepers for all these ages, and we were sure to take care of those who did. Our people may be doomed, but I still cannot allow it to be taken. Somehow, I have to penetrate that army. That's why I need your wisdom.

I suppose I need to tell you what we have to work with? It's not much, I'm afraid.

>>283851
In before "Which of them have knockers/An emotional attachment/looks cute"

>>283851
Any magical powers by chance? Not to be stereotypical just, I mean, elf prince and all...

>>283851
Ok, cool story and all that. So that magical blade, does it lock away the essence of everyone that has been killed with it or something like that? Because if that is the case then I can guess what the last Fae intends to do with it, or well I got two guesses that might be true. Either take all the power for itself or release them and restore them to their original stations. Either one would suck pretty hard.

So yeah, stopping that would be good. And they're a bit too many for you to kill, so next question is how good are you at sneaking? Because sneaking in there and stealing that thing is probably your best bet. May have to shank a guy or two along the way, but a quick in and out in the same night would be the best method. Do you know where in the camp they're keeping it and how it's protected?

>>283851
Yea, ok, we can work with this.
Have any Grey or White necromancers around? I mean, if the fae had Black necromancers rip souls from the afterlife to bind to the dead and form undead minions under his command, then we can fish out the RIGHT souls, patch up the necrosis, and restore enough of the population to keep the species alive.

Ah, I digress, we can talk about violating the natural order for our own purposes later.

We need to know what resources and abilities you have, as well as the resources, abilities, and disposition of the enemy troops. I don't think we'll be able to kill them all with what we have, but we'll do what we can.

Sneaking into the camp at night with some kind of invisibility ring or shadow melding technique would be optimal. Steal the sword; don't fight your way through the army.

>>283850
>So, I survive; last prince and uncrowned king of the summer elves, who are said by the seers of the Great Fountain to number now in the merest dozens.
You know what this means, right? You need to round up the last of your subjects, and repopulate. I know straight sex is not very usual for and elf, and sex in general is more the purview of Spring, but you are going to have to bite the bullet on this one. For the good of the summer elves, you must fuck a lot of bitches.

>>283851
>they have that sword - the Mortal Blade
Oh well I guess that's important too.
But don't let your elven nature stay you from any opportunity to repopulate along the way.
Now I guess we sneak into the faerie camp or something? Sounds suicidal as fuck to me. And dying won't do nobody no good.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)19:33 No. 283922 ID: 71cbb0
File 129851839761.png - (10.21KB , 800x600 , sunwarrior.png )

>>283857

I do have magic, actually! I'm a Sun Knight, able to harness my people's lingering fae magic and our affinity for the brightest season to enhance my vitality. I can store up to five charges of Sun Power in my body, and can expend them to temporarily enhance strength, to heal, or to wash away fatigue. I can also empower my sword with it, granting it terrible power against the undead and other creatures of darkness. I'll regain a charge of Sun Power three times a day, at dawn, noon and sunset. My power is weaker at night, though - I need to spend twice the charges to get the same effect when it's dark. See, I'm not great - just a few levels above a squire, purely average by the order's standards. There are a lot of better Sun Knights than me.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)19:35 No. 283923 ID: 71cbb0
File 129851850117.png - (5.85KB , 800x600 , ohwait.png )

Oh, wait.

I guess there aren't.

>>283910

The wizards say we don't have enough of us to be "viable". Something to do with bloodlines and lineage. I figure they probably know what they're on about.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)19:35 No. 283924 ID: 71cbb0
File 129851852928.png - (11.47KB , 800x600 , runecube.png )

…

I also have this Rune Cube, given to me by the wizards of the Fountain. Six sides, one for each of the six material elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Wind, Frost and Lightning. Each side has four sections, each with one rune, and you can twist the runes around into different configurations. Some of those configurations allow the cube to cast spells - the more matching sides, the stronger the spell. I'll need to spend a charge of my Sun Power to activate it, though.

I only know some of the combinations, though, and its tricky to rearrange the cube. It's not very simple to figure out, either - creating a simple Flame spell, for exempt, requires 2 Fire, 1 Wind and 1 Earth. And this is just a lesser cube - it only produces very simple, practical spells.

I know one combination for creating a flame, one for putting out fires, one for sending a message, and one for making plants grow quickly. I once made it make a loud bang, just messing around - don't know the combination, though.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)19:36 No. 283925 ID: 71cbb0
File 129851858369.png - (10.23KB , 800x600 , mightysteed.png )

Now, my greatest asset - my might steed, Bloodfeather!

I rode him when I left my kingdom, and he bore me further and faster than any other could have done - he's as much a prince of his kind as I was of mine. And I'm an excellent rider; I can bring the best out in any beast, and Bloodfeather's the finest beast you can find!

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)19:38 No. 283926 ID: 71cbb0
File 129851868934.png - (10.89KB , 800x600 , equipment.png )

Oh! And I have my battle gauntlet. The gem on the back will show me the lay of the land for a few miles in all directions - we all had these in the royal family, since we were all expected to be able to lead our forces in battle. And, of course, I have you, the Crown of the summer princes.

Aside all that - I'm an excellent fighter and archer, a good scout, and a capable hunter. I can speak several languages, including the tribal tongues of the wild races. My sword, armor and bow are all of the finest make, my cloak blends with the forest, and I have 20 fine arrows in my quiver, along with one Grey Arrow, which can pierce magic. I also have a pack full of standard wilderness gear.

I estimate 16 days before the band I'm following is likely to meet up with a larger force.

So, what do you think?

WHY ARE YOU MAKING US LOVE YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE AN ELF.

hmmm.... a good distraction idea if we need it. create an effigy of yourself out of wood and stuff and mount it on bloodfeather's back, then have him makea huge ruckuss and then fly away.
this is for later though, like when you are right outside the place the sword is.

anyway hit and run for a few days to dwindle their numbers and make them paranoid sounds like a good long term plan.

>>283923
Don't try to weasel out of it, you pussy. If worst comes to worst maybe you can mix with other sorts of elves a bit, I don't know.

>>283926
>20 arrows
How many are part of that party? How likely are you to miss?
You should be able to fire upon them from that big beast of yours. Ideally you wouldn't need to engage more directly until they're all dead.

>16 days
Well then you'll just have to catch them quicker than that, won't you?

also, what is the combination of plant growth?

Got it, you're a sun elf paladin.

Okay, if you're gonna get that sword with any swiftness, I'm thinking one (or more) of these is going to have to happen.

1: The "Warden" option: Do you have any allies around that owe or your race one and can get there in time to act as an opposing force to get said sword?

2: Guerrilla Tactics: Start picking them off one by one, resupplying yourself with their dead. Booby trap bridges, set fire to their food supplies, etc.

3: The tricky option: Think that you can lead them off kilter by setting fire to different parts of the woods? Or, hey, if you can change the position of the sun, that'd be awesome here.

>around two hundred orc warriors, sixty goblin raiders and a hundred and forty trolls, along with about four hundred undead
Please describe the capabilities of each of those, as you know them from the most recent war. What are the most dangerous talents of each? How effective are you in combat against them- and how effective is Bloodfeather? How do they respond to environmental effects- day, night, storms, cold, whatever?

We need a solid idea of how you match up against your opponents as well as your own capabilities before we can make a decent plan, I think.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)22:09 No. 283959 ID: e5b32e
File 129852777250.png - (10.43KB , 800x600 , shadowsworn.png )

>>283935
>>283939

The thing is... I don't want to have to kill anyone. I mean, I certainly will, if I have to, and undead are fine; but the orcs, the goblins, the trolls, none of this is their fault. The fae bound them, when they were created, to obey. We elves were, too, until we drank the blood of the Free Man, and swore to be the instruments of his revenge. They're savage, but not evil; I've even had friends among the races of the west. And even when an individual does manage to resist, the Scavenger Lord merely has them killed and reanimated. They may have been the army that destroyed my people, but they're victims, too.

>>283945

Allies? Well... there may still be free tribes of goblins or orcs nearby. A small number of the wild races did join the elves in their oath to the Hidden God, and partook of his blood to free them from the fae. But they're just as much on the Scavenger Lord's list of targets as we were, and have surely gone into hiding. Even on Bloodfeather, it would take days to find them, with little guarantee of any profit.

My other option would be to ride north, to the mountains where the winter elves dwell; their roc riders could accompany me back in time to be of help, if we have good winds, but it would be cutting it very fine. And they, too, would be uncertain allies, not being warriors.

In either case, I would have to reveal the Sword. I'd prefer to keep it secret.

>>283942

2 earth, 1 water, 1 fire.

i see, that may be a problem. have you seen any way to break the control after it's established or would only the lord's death release them?

also, it seems your ancestors got too into tradition if we couldn't make them create a anti-brainwashing mandate. otherwise this would of never happened. or, at least I would of tried to make them set that up.

Victorious 2011/02/23(Wed)22:52 No. 283965 ID: e5b32e
File 129853037022.png - (14.88KB , 800x600 , wildraces.png )

>>283957

Well, undead are undead. Zombies, skeletons. Untiring, unfeeling, and with dead souls bound into them to give some intelligence, they're pretty dangerous; but the spiritual struggle makes them far inferior fighters than they were in life. My sun power allows me to dispatch them especially easily.

Orcs were once humans, as the elves were. Like us summer elves, they were made to be warriors, but unlike us, they were made not to be pretty guard escort toys but to be real front-line fighters. I am trained against them, and I could probably take the average orc one-on-one. Against two, it'd be even odds. Three or four, I'd have to use my sun power, and beyond that... well, I don't want to fight them if I can avoid it, in any case.

Trolls were made from dwarves. They're strong and tough, but not really warriors; they were made to be superb craftsmen of stone, and their danger in war is in their ability to lay siege and to manipulate the terrain. They turn to stone under sunlight, but change back again at night.

Goblins, finally, were made from the children of the earth goddess, the halflings. I could easily defeat several goblins in close combat, but that's not how they fight. They're raiders and thieves, with supreme dexterity and keen senses; they've not the strength or stature for serious battlefield archery with a bow, but they're deadly marksmen with anything they can throw, and the greatest of them use stolen crossbows to truly deadly effect. From the back of their riding dogs, they make extremely effective scouts and can be devastating with hit-and-run tactics.

>>283960

"Brainwashing"? The only known way to break the fae bond is by taking the blood of Him In The Shadows; and He only made that offer once.

It is said that truly strong minds can resist by themselves, for a time. Some wizards have also posited that the dark transformation the Scavenger Lord took on himself has weakened his ability to exploit the bond, but I've seen little evidence of it so far.

>>283965
What exactly does the mortal sword do? Do they have any air assets? Best plan I can think of so far is wait for daylight, expend all your light powers to shine blindingly and then nick the sword in a flyby, hoping that the goblins are too stunned/blinded to take down Bloodfeather.

PS: I recommend sleeping with a goblin.

>>283965
Dem gobbies man. Adorable.

ahha! i got it. what would happen if you placed us on someone who is controlled? we could perhaps break the control somehow. if you can capture one of them we could test it, like get the drop on a goblin scout.

>>283965
What's the terrain that they'll be traveling through like? The more I hear, the more it seems like your best bet is going to be striking when the sun is high- probably just before noon, so that you'll regain a bit of power during the battle. The enemy will be weakest then and you strongest; it's an obviously choice. But of course, that throws stealth to the wind completely.

You might be able to make up for that, though, if you can hit them when they're going through a swamp, narrow mountain pass, or similar difficult patch of terrain. Anything to stop them from swarming you for long enough that you can fly down, grab the blade/any other important or useful treasures of your people, and fly out again.

>>283966
In and out, minimal exposure to the enemy... sounds like a good plan. We just need to find out where they're keeping the sword.

Of course, the best approach will always be flying in with the sun's rays, so that they cannot focus on you without being blinded.

No need to rush things! We've got a bit over two weeks, assuming we can't delay them somehow. We've got time to spare; a quick solution is needed, but it doesn't have to be immediate.

Can you get or make a replica of the sword, to switch it with the real one? That should make the theft less obvious and confuse them later.

The best option would be to sneak in, steal the sword, and leave without being noticed. Unless you can effectively disguise yourself as a member of another race, we'll have to rely on stealth. I recommend spending some time scouting out the army; figure out their command structure, patrol routes, and other details of their operating procedure.

Also, if we can lure them away from their scheduled rendezvous, that would give us more time. Can you think of anything the army might go chasing after, or any obstructions we can place in their path?

Another thing to consider: Will they be subjected to some sort of punishment if they fail to retrieve the Mortal Blade? Do their superiors even know they have it?

Assume they'll be making camp by day and travelling by night. It's the only reasonable way they could move an army with a Troll compliment at speed.

>>283959

You could masquerade, or work with unwilling individuals to corrupt orders and trick leaders when questioned about the truth for the purpose of infiltrating the army.

After some thought this pocket cube will have the strongest spells when using only 1 of each element. No idea if that actually works.

The bang was probably Air, Wind, and Lightning in some combination.

>>283965
Well do you know where they're keeping the sword? Because if you don't then finding that out should be your first order of business.

Then we can figure out a good way to get it, like maybe setting a few fires around camp to create some chaos and confusion in the night, then swoop down on Bloodfeather, take the sword and swoop away before they even notice that you were there.

>>283965
Are you sure that your blood doesn't have that power lingering within it? If you could get one goblin on your side then this would be simple.

How does their enslavement work? Does it force them to act in their master's best interest, or does it force them to obey orders?
The first is tricky, but the second simply requires doing something that his orders didn't anticipate.


>>283923
They're right. That's why we're going to have to start kidnapping Elf zombies and using necromancy to at least bring them close enough to life for breeding.

jegus crhist a new jukashi thread with lots of updates, the world is coming to a end

first and foremost, how about a really nice map layout? do you know any hidden passages from ant out of wherever you want to sneak?

so lets say we get the sword, where would you keep it?

>The wizards say we don't have enough of us to be "viable".
actualy, theres one way, but it involves grandparents doing their nieces.

...dont ask.

>>283965
Those goblins are fucking adorable. Hug one.

It would probably be worth your time to spend a day or two in dedicated study of that rune cube. If nothing else, you can try three new combination s every day that you're not in combat; that's something.

Do you have a good idea of what spell effects should be possible with a lesser cube like this one? Surely you have seen others use them to good effect before?

Also:
>Earth, Air, Fire, Wind, Frost and Lightning
>2 earth, 1 water, 1 fire.
I believe there has been a miscommunication here- which does "water" replace on that list of elements?

>>283959
>They may have been the army that destroyed my people, but they're victims, too.
That does not mean you should hesitate for even a moment before killing them. Almost your entire race has already perished for the belief that it is better to fight and die than to live enslaved; if those who are still in thrall had a choice, they would likely do the same. It sounds like they often do, in fact, if they make a habit of resisting and getting killed for it.

Based on that... it sounds to me like most of them would rather die than continue as they are, in thrall to a monster and without hope. In this context, to kill someone does not mean that you dislike them or even wish them any ill. You may not be able to free them in life, but you can still give them the gift of freedom in death. By dying on your sword and thereby robbing their master of a slave, they too have the opportunity to strike back in some small way at the Scavenger Lord.

Victorious 2011/02/25(Fri)16:34 No. 284270 ID: dc5c54
File 129868045178.png - (12.57KB , 800x600 , convoy.png )

>>284120

Oh, damn, I'm sorry, slip of the tongue. Er, mind. Air should be replaced with Water. Or Wind should - they're both names for the same thing. As for this cube's capabilities - it replicates low-level, practical spells, mostly. I've seen people using it for setting fires, clearing tracks, making water... of course, I've mostly only seen them used in a military setting. I guess I could mess around with the cube, if you think it wise.

I agree with you about killing, mostly. But... well, most members of the wild races worship The Free Man. If they die in slavery, he's not likely to take their souls, and they'll be consigned to the Grey Place - he's not the most generous of gods. It's not an absolutely horrible fate, but we try to avoid it.

>>284020
>>284007

I should probably describe their disposition a bit more.

They travel at night. It's easy to follow them, so I usually make camp a good distance away and catch up during the day. It depends on the terrain, of course - they're following the line of a dried river between mountain ranges, and it's quite rough for a large convoy - but they follow a certain plan whenever they can. They have two gruffs (large pack animals - good beasts) with two large wagons carrying most of their supplies and plunder, though they all carry something with them as well. There's also a smaller cart that gets pulled by undead - I don't know what's in there, their leader? The most valuable treasure? Both? And they also have two siege towers, heavy stone things that would be totally impractical to anyone but trolls, who pull them. The orcs move in front, the undead form the rear. The goblins are on their dogs, and range all around as scouts, doing a bit of hunting besides.

Now, during the day...

Victorious 2011/02/25(Fri)16:43 No. 284275 ID: dc5c54
File 129868097981.png - (15.23KB , 800x600 , camp.png )

While they all rest, the trolls retreat into the towers; the orcs make camp around them, the gruffs and the carts, and usually dump most of their supplies into a central area as well. The undead are formed into a ring around them, when space is available, and the goblins usually continue to roam around - they don't need much sleep.

>>284013
They're made to obey orders. But they are given some broad standing orders, unfortunately - don't help the Scavenger Lord's enemies, never work against him, report opportunities for his gain.

>>283966

The Mortal Blade rends magic. It cuts spells into tatters, and made the gods bleed their immortality. Even just holding it will rob a person of any magic they possess, though temporarily.

>>283981

The Sword has the appearance of being made of crystal, with storm clouds moving within. Mist drifts from its edges. I don't think I could replicate it.

I do not think I could disguise myself, nor lure them with anything - I might be able to block their progress with, say, fallen trees, but only temporarily. They do have trolls.

I suspect that most of them do not know they have the Blade, though they certainly know they have the treasures of my family. Their leader, who would be chosen for their loyalty, is likely to know - they may also have their own magic-users with them, who would have sent messages and would be informed. Punishments for failure are likely.

so if you smacked someone who is controlled with the flat of the blade, would it free them? probably ruin undead by destroying the animating magic. still think we should test what happens if we are put on their head.

>>284275
...Does your gryphon depend on magic to aid his flight? His wingspan seems... Insufficient for nonmagical flight. That might make escaping with the sword problematic. Sounds like the Goblins are the most dangerous to you by far. With them around you don't really stand a chance of getting close enough...

>>284275
Ok, here's the plan:
Step 1: Find a goblin. Female is preferred for our own inscrutable reasons.
Step 2: Subdue the goblin. Try to keep from injuring them or letting them warn others. If your cube can do a sleep spell that would be worth the mote it would take.
Step 3: It's very important that you make sure the goblin is tied securely, that they are silenced, and that they are free of tools that could aid their escape. Yes this means striping them naked and tying them to a tree, but you can cover them with cloth for sake of their dignity. Tie each hand and foot separately.
Step 4: Place us upon their head.
Step 5: Wait five minutes. Trust nothing they try to say.
Step 6: Put us back on and we will tell you what we have found.

How much faster is Bloodfeather than the goblin dogs?

It shouldn't be terribly difficult to gauge how much distance the enemy force will cover in a given night, and set up a roadblock or barricade shortly before that point - force them to stop to clear the obstruction, but make it so they won't be able to finish before morning when the trolls get petrified. By doing this in a location of your choosing, you could then arrange to attract the attention of most of the goblins and draw them off far enough to either trap them somewhere (a second barricade or a dead-end valley with a deadfall gate of some kind) or just leave them behind while you rush back the main camp.

I'm afraid I don't have the best ideas for exactly how to handle the orcs and undead, though... if you time it to arrive back at the main camp shortly before noon, you could benefit from a regained charge of sun power mid-way through whatever does occur, though.

>>284280
this is a sound plan and i approve 100%

>>284275
You can try the plan with snagging a goblin. Just fly over and see if there is one seperated a bit from the others while they're out scouting, swoop down and snag it up. Gender is irrelevant. You can try out the crystal on head plan. But there is also another one, try making it drink some of your blood. It was the blood of the free man that set your ancestors free, there might be some in your blood as well. Might have some effect on the goblin.

If you can't turn it though, then you're going to have to kill it. Can't risk that it will warn the others.

>>284308
>Fly over enemy scouts
>Spot goblins through forest cover

Yea, I'm gonna have to say no to that. Besides, a female goblin would make things much easier in certain circumstances.

Hrm.

If somehow helping them free from their slavery isn't altogether farfetched, maybe you could capture one of the more willfull goblins (one or more) while they hunt for food and seek to return them to their senses. They're skilled and agile thieves you say, who might be able to re-infiltrate the camp posing loyal, and steal the mortal sword back for you.

Sadly, it's not like you could concoct a potion or cast a spell that would make someone a bit more willstrong for a period of time. Or is it? Possibilities abound to an open mind. Maybe some of the Free Man's power lingers in your blood, and that tie can be used.

Shame you're a knight, and not a wizard. Wizards tend to be better at solving metapractical problems like that.

>>284310
They're going alongside a dried out river. Shouldn't be an extremly dense forest then. Should be some meadows and open areas where swooping down and snagging someone is entirely possible. As for them spotting us, they would have to think about looking up, and if the cloudcover is low then we can stay in the clouds. Or stay in the sun. Or hell, wild griffons could be common in the area.

>>284275
>The Mortal Blade rends magic. It cuts spells into tatters, and made the gods bleed their immortality. Even just holding it will rob a person of any magic they possess, though temporarily.
This seems like the sort of thing that might be able to free the enslaved wild races. If just holding it would rob someone of their own magic- surely it would also protect them from hostile magic, like mind control?

Which means that if the group's leader really was chosen for loyalty, then he or she will be either keeping the Mortal Blade very, very close or hiding it as much as possible. The presence of something which could free them from their bondage might inspire even the most beaten-down slave to fight the Scavenger Lord's control.

This mostly matters to you because it means that any plan which relies on getting in, grabbing the Blade, and getting out quickly is doomed to failure. It'll have been identified and be extremely well protected- even if those protections were meant against their own army rather than against you.

>>284280
this may work. but goblings camed from halflings? i dunno, man, last time i played a halfling i accidentaly every trap in a room then managed to get the swag of the BBEG body before killing him...

it seems you at least know what roads they are going. i can take you can make fire arrows and traps?

we can lay crude traps on the river bed. the purpose of the traps is not to kill but to slow down the caravan. im pretty sure the goblings would pick whatever fancy trap you could make, so just make them work more for their march.

since at day they are resting, we can get you a bit of a sieging going on. either when they are setting up the caravn or the camp will be when their guard is at the lowest, this plan will be simple: before they set their defenses up, set their supplies on fire with fire arrows. you dont need to set everything on fire, just a bit is enought to stress them.

oh how wonderful would it be if they had beer on it. or maybe gunpowder.

Victorious 2011/02/26(Sat)19:08 No. 284591 ID: c87327
File 129877608599.png - (9.58KB , 800x600 , ponderandeat.png )

>>284276
>>284280

The Sword would probably free them, but temporarily. As for you... I'm not sure. The old legends of the Orb of Wisdom do speak of it having powers over the mind, helping against enchantment, healing madness. But those are old, unclear stories, and you're not the full orb in any case. You seem a bit... fractured. Are you sure you'd be up to it?

Well, we can try anyway. The only problem is, goblins usually travel in packs of at least three, and with their dogs. When they're hunting during the day, they are a bit more lax... maybe if I spooked a deer across their path, and they chased it, I could pick one off... that would be the best time for an absence to be missed, too. Hmm...

>>284311

I'm not a shashesin, who uses their blood to wield magics of shadow and freedom in service to the Hidden God. They're weird. And it takes years to train their talents.

>>284297
>>284383

Bloodfeather can easily outpace the dogs by flying, but not on the ground. I should be careful about flying around too much, though - there are wild gryphons occasionally sighted around here, and they'll get suspicious if they see one around too often.

Setting traps and obstacles, now, that would certainly give me more time. On the other hand, it would alert them to the fact that someone is watching them, someone who's trying to interfere with their orders, unless I take the extra time and effort to make them look natural; something I'm not sure of my ability to do. Wouldn't the secrecy of my presence be more valuable, for now? Hmm - uncertainties on uncertainties! But ever such is the life of a warrior.

Let me see; that's two potential plans we have, currently. First to try and capture a goblin and secure them as an ally, and second to set delays in the path to buy myself time. Which of these should I set out do do, when the day comes?

hmmm, for now i say get a goblin. if it works then we can get a small secret resistance. if it doesn't then we can try something else.

>>284591
>You seem a bit... fractured. Are you sure you'd be up to it?
Not at all, but there's little reason not to try. If we fail you can always kill whoever you tried it on and lose nothing, and if we succeed... it could make a huge difference.

>I guess I could mess around with the cube, if you think it wise.
Yes, I do think it wise. If dawn, noon, or sunset comes and you've got five charges, burn one on experimentation. Focus on earth combinations- perhaps you'll be able to figure out how to make natural-seeming landslides or such. It's a long shot, but not learning anything new would just waste your potential power.

well we can try to set them on fire better after we figure out their itinerary.

anyway, we will need a small hideout and possibly means to get you drunk.

i mean, the gobling. it will help when we try to extract information from it.

>>284608
Second Cube Experimentation.

And yeah, go for a goblin gal.

What's wrong with doing both?

>>284591
Go catch a goblin.
Any traps you could lay down that would be able to slow an army would have to rely on the available terrain. Restoring the river, wiping a pass off a mountain, etc...

>>284591
You can atleast try the blood. It's not like it's going to hurt, well atleast not a lot. And you're probably not going to need a lot of blood either.

So, lets go nab a goblin. Gender doesn't matter. Even if you can't turn it you should be able to get to know where they're keeping the loot. Sadly you're going to have to kill it if you can't turn it, can't risk that it will go and warn the others.

We might be up to the task, Victorious. It's not like we are a multitudinous legion of differing personalities, none of whom have any real experience with your world beyond a knowledge of archetypes, all who engage in a pantomime of real life to keep boredom at bay while offering suggestions to whomsoever possesses our scattered remains and asks for our aid.

...Ah. Oh dear.

Not to worry! We might still be up to the task. Just don't have too high hopes.

As for your next step, I would add my voice to those that suggest you capture a goblin, so that we could try to make it regain autonomy. The benefits of this should be obvious; a potential ally and more information on where the sword might be, not to mention on the army and who leads it. If you can do so without being caught or spotted, so much the better.

...Hang on a tick. You said your Rune Cube could send messages. To whom and how fast? Perhaps you could send for aid.

>>284695
This raises a good question, actually; why did the river dry up, and would there be any way for you to reverse the process?

Also when you get a captive ask them what their standing orders are. If we know what they have to do, we might be able to find a loophope or two.

Victorious 2011/03/03(Thu)13:14 No. 285932 ID: a8f017
File 129918684734.png - (16.24KB , 800x600 , dawncomes.png )

Very well; having waited for the pre-dawn, I'll make my first experiment. One quarter turn, and the face which now shows two fire runes and two wind runes.

Let's see what it does.

Victorious 2011/03/03(Thu)13:14 No. 285933 ID: a8f017
File 129918687221.png - (13.70KB , 800x600 , argsmoke.png )

PFSHOOOSH

ARCK SMOKE EVERYWHUHHAARCH
KUH-HAARCH KAFF COUGH

Victorious 2011/03/03(Thu)13:21 No. 285939 ID: a8f017
File 129918727893.png - (10.78KB , 800x600 , flying2.png )

Well, that was a bit of a surprise. But I suppose it could be useful.

Whatever! Give me an open world before me and a mighty beast to ride on - nothing like it make your prospects feel bright. We've got work to do!

Victorious 2011/03/03(Thu)13:24 No. 285940 ID: a8f017
File 129918746893.png - (10.69KB , 800x600 , landscape.png )

The enemy have made camp over yonder. The hour is but a few after dawn, and goblins are likely out after fresh meat for the cooking fires. They favour hunting from the back of their mounts, but they'll be setting snares as well. In either case, they'll be working in packs - in the forest, most likely.

Do we have a specific plan?

>>284829

I don't know - it's been mapped as a dry river for decades. I could investigate.

>>285940
Do the goblins hunt Gryphons? You might be able to bait them into an ambush if they do.

If not, then find a goblin off on her own, knock her out, and flee with her. We want this to be quick.

...if we can get the river to flow again, it'd take them out and we could recover the sword easily. Yes, investigate.

>>285940
Nab a goblin that is safely away from its pack. Gender or age doesn't matter.

hmmm, i think he is asking for more specifics. do a quick fly over and try to find one that is by itself or only with one other. while you could probably face a larger group and get one away you cannot have witnesses so you would need to kill the rest so they cannot report your presence, so less goblins means less death.

>>285956

-1 to "don't matter"
+1 to loli goblin

>>285940
How good is their eyesight compared to yours? As one of the only objects in the sky, you'll be highly visible; make sure that you stay high enough that they can't make you out, if you can.

If possible, you'll want to get a goblin that's away from the rest of them- just dive down, snatch it up, and fly off. It's probably exactly the sort of hunting maneuver that gryphons are built for. Try to ensure that no one sees you; if you have to, you might need to take out a full patrol in order to isolate one. The important part is that no one sees you, or thinks their goblin's absence is evidence of significant hostile activity- a cautious commander would immediately put more people on alert after one disappearance, so it might be a lost cause to remain on the down-low while grabbing one, but you have to at least try for subtlety.

How good are you with ranged weaponry from the back of a moving gryphon? And how effectively can you communicate with Bloodfeather when dismounted and separated- could you coordinate a strike with him from the sky and you from the ground, or is that beyond your capabilities? Not that I think it's necessarily a good idea, what with killer goblin cavalry around, but it'd be good to know.

Stalk one of the hunting parties. You said yourself that the best chance to catch one of them on their own would be if its mates are too preoccupied with the hunt.

You could also try to scare up some prey and send it in their direction to help that preoccupation come to pass.

>>285950
If it's been decades, I don't think there're much a single guy with minor magic can do.

I haven't got a particular plan, but go for a girl gobbo.

>>285933
I think we have found a smoke bomb function.
And what ever you do DO NOT BE SEE, if they don't know your about they won't prepare for you.

if the river has a dam, it would be really easy to.

except for the city/village that requires the dam. is tehre any major city or point on map up river?

anyway lets focus on getting you a toy gobling now, AND NO LOLIS. we need one that is possibly high ranked and wont put much of a fight. im guessing you also have a good amount of rope, so now we need to find a somewhat lonely gob further away from everyone without giving your position and arrow his ride to death. then we can think in beating it unconsious, stripping it and tying to the gryphon.

using smoke now will make it easy to see you if they havent already. just play low and try to find the one furthest away from camp.

>>286134
>we need one that is possibly high ranked and wont put much of a fight
Outside the camp are the raiding parties. 'High ranked' in this case would mean 'best hunter'.

How are you at setting remotely triggered traps? Looks like there are a few cliffs around: if you can set a rockfall trap to run a goblin off a decently high cliff, baited with some carefully placed game, then catch the goblin as it falls off the cliff, you can successfully abduct them while their comrades will assume they died from the fall. Even if they search for the body at the foot of the cliff (assuming some dense woodland at it's base), that gives you at least a day in which their absence will not be suspicious, and even longer if they assume that the body will be in an unrecoverable state and don't even bother searching.
You could try dropping an animal carcass, but that seems more likely to backfire than deceive.

>>286175
good idea. no one would miss someone that seems stupid.

Victorious 2011/03/19(Sat)23:45 No. 289504 ID: fe29bf
File 13006035454.png - (14.13KB , 800x600 , findgoblins.png )

Finding a group of goblins in a heavily forested area of rugged terrain while staying high enough not to be noticed is... not easy. I spend most of the day looking.

Finally, with the sun about halfway on its journey from noon to dusk, I spot a trio of goblins making their way along a path where the vegetation gives way to rocky ridges and cliffs. All women, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear; goblin riders sort their packs according to their weight, with smaller riders on lighter, faster dogs, so it's not unlikely to find groups that appear sorted by gender.

Which one should I aim for? And how should I do this?

Let's see...

Two are preoccupied, one is not and is well-armed with a crossbow. Yes, we can see their faces from here.

They're all facing away from you. The ones in front are younger.

My advice is to simply divebomb, snatch the one in back, and abscond before they realize anyone is riding that gryphon.

They may just assume it was a very hungry one after a snack. This has a downside... they will then be watching more carefully for wild gryphons overhead (perhaps even shooting at them) in the future.

I suppose if you had some way to knock out the entire group or terminate most of them at once...

You could also choose to smoke them during the dive. This will reveal that there is an enemy agent, however, even if they don't notice your gryphon flying away.

>>289504
Snatch and go. Go for the one with the crossbow first. Cute as they are... Have your gryphon grab one, and if it breaks swing around and get another. Might only need to do it once if you can use sunpower to heal OTHERS.

>>289507
>they will think it to simply be a griffon attack.
Problem with this: Do gryphons generally spontaneously snatch members of well-armed goblin hunting teams? My guess is not. Also, they'd have to be blind to miss the elf riding it, particularly after he draws all of their attention by snatching one of 'em.

The one in the back with the crossbow looks most competent, targeting the one in back is the best from a secrecy perspective, and she'd be the greatest threat insofar as shooting you while you fly off. I would target her. Make sure that she's not in a position to shoot Bloodfeather while being carried- she looks like the type to try it.

As there are three of them, the two you don't take will definitely report everything they see. Killing them might make whichever one you snatch more hostile, though- as you've pointed out, goblins are people and few people take well to having their friends slaughtered. And it would be an absolute bitch to go through a pursuit scenario here, chasing fast mounted targets with a propensity for setting traps- seems like a good way to get killed.

If you could reliably avoid being noticed atop the gryphon, that would be best by far. If your gryphon can pull off this plan without you present, that would also be good. Failing that, you'll have to kill two of the goblins (easy enough with your bow and archery skills, even in a chase scenario) or somehow capture all three (harder, and probably also easiest if you shoot 'em).

>>289509
The best chance for success is probably grabbing the one at the back since they're the most alert and would be the fastest to respond to an attack. The others wouldn't be able to get their wits about them and attack before you get out of range, while the one at the back would probably be able to do that and notice the gryphon had a rider.
Grab her by the arms instead of the shoulders. That way she won't be able to aim her crossbow if she keeps her grip on it.

Lets hope you get this the first time. If you don't then you lose the element of surprise and you'll have to either do this much more violently or target another patrol.

Simple. Go for the crossbow goblin. She seems to be the leader of the group, and grabbing her means that they don't have a crossbow to shoot at you and Bloodfeather anymore. If you can, grab the goblin with the spear too. You said they were good marksmen/women, so while having a spear thrown at you is less dangerous than a crossbow shot at you, having nothing being thrown/shot at you is preferable.

As much I'd really like to say grab the meek-looking one with the spear, you'd probably be better off grabbing the one with the crossbow in back. Especially since you don't want to kill anyone.

Might be able to tie up the one you grab first and swoop around and grab another.

>>289504
Get as close as you can before they notice you, then dive in and make a smoke cloud while you grab the one with the crossbow. That way they have no idea what they're fighting, which makes things easier down the road.

Fellas, what's the rush here?

Can't we wait until one of them gets seperated a bit from the rest, at least? Maybe try to scare up some game in their direction so that they get distracted, maybe spend their weapons before we swoop in and try to carry one off?

I'm just sayin'. If the crossbow-holder manages to keep holding on to that crossbow when you grab her, your mount might be in for a world of hurt.

>>289713
...
i forgot about that. if we make a animal for them to chase appear then it could indeed lure them away.

okay yeah let's go with that instead. got too caught up in the moment.

>Problem with this: Do gryphons generally spontaneously snatch members of well-armed goblin hunting teams?
they do eat horses and knights, and those drive in pack. for them this is just a double sized meal with a sideorder of arrowheads.

im more worried with the fact that the gobling looks not only experienced, but hard to handle. i sure hope you can knock it unconsious in one swoop or else you will have to fight on the air, if that happens, say bye bye to not be noticed.

the good news is that the other 2 younger gobs are so distracted that if you pull this off you can most likely go unnoticed. they may even think that a wild gryphons lives on the area.

Victorious 2011/03/21(Mon)22:25 No. 289988 ID: 81d456
File 130077154571.png - (10.67KB , 800x600 , considerplan.png )

Hm. You can see them from here? Stories of farseeing abilities have been attributed to you, but I wondered if they were just myth. Well, taking the leader seems wise, anyway. If I do go for a simple swoop and grab, the remaining goblins would be almost sure to see me on Bloodfeather's back as we left - they have sharp eyes. However, the idea of making a distraction doesn't hold appeal either; I might not even find animals to spook, and I don't want to risk my mount by himself with a competent fighter in his grasp.

... If I tucked my cloak in close, and we pulled out of the swoop immediately to the side and into a glide downslope, skimming the treetops, I might evade detection. It would be a tricky maneuver.

>>289988
Consider: Screaming Goblin.

>>289993
ah no, he isn't saying avoid the fact the goblin is snatched. just avoid him being seen on bloodfeather's back. a gryphon snatching someone for a snack is not a far-fecthed. but if they know someone was on the gryphon then it would mean an enemy is in the area and they would alert the camp.

>Stories of farseeing abilities have been attributed to you, but I wondered if they were just myth.
We can't control them, unfortunately. Maybe with a whole Orb of Wisdom we'd be able to, but for now what we see is rather random.

>It would be a tricky maneuver.
Well, as my initial evaluation you've got three options. One, try this tricky maneuver and trust in your skill as a rider and the goblins' shock and inattention to keep your identity concealed. Two, swoop down and snatch the goblin, then use your bow to pick off the others and their mounts from gryphonback and hide the bodies so the other goblins don't find them; a vanished hunting party might put their guard up, but probably not so much as to make your task here far more difficult and certainly less than having an elf paladin reported flying about. Three, decide this was all a shitty plan and do something else.

I favor two, personally. Its only downside is that you'd be killing the goblin's friends and then expecting her to help you, which might not work out terribly well. On the other hand, your race was just hit in the face by a big fucking genocide-stick, and she IS enslaved- she might not hold it against you.

Ultimately it's your call, though. You have a much better idea of your capabilities and the goblins' likely prowess and reactions to things than I do.

>>289988
If you think you can pull it off, then a snatch and grab is the best option.

Come to think of it, there really isn't much point in you being on Bloodfeather since you can't really do anything to quell the fighter in mid-air.
The best option probably is having Bloodfeather go alone to snatch her while you wait in a clearing to subdue her on landing, then truss her up and get her on Bloodfeather's back so you can put more distance between you and the other goblins.

Unless you think you can work with Bloodfeather to subdue the entire party, anyway.

>>290031
hmmm, can you have bloodfeather do it alone? if so then that may be a good idea. another idea is a is rolling flip. bloodfeather grabs flips upsidedown and rolls back to right side up in one motion. so grab pull up so hard you flip and turn while pulling up.

killing the hunting pack to take the leader seems to be the stealthiest options, asides waiting till the newbies make a mistake to take the leader alone.

i ask again, do you have how to knock the leader unconsious?

Victorious 2011/03/30(Wed)20:30 No. 291993 ID: 7b729d
File 130154225744.png - (9.85KB , 800x600 , lookdown.png )

I - no, I'm not going to ambush and murder anyone from behind if I can help it. And I'm not going to chance Bloodfeather alone with a goblin good enough to have a bow - I've been trained for midair mount maneuvers. I can pull this off!

Victorious 2011/03/30(Wed)20:31 No. 291995 ID: 7b729d
File 130154229832.png - (13.66KB , 800x600 , snatchanddash.png )

hnnng, fucking... gravity...!

Victorious 2011/03/30(Wed)20:32 No. 291997 ID: 7b729d
File 130154233482.png - (14.18KB , 800x600 , zoomaway.png )

Yes! It worked!! Ha ha! Ha ha ha -!

Victorious 2011/03/30(Wed)20:32 No. 291998 ID: 7b729d
File 130154236879.png - (12.59KB , 800x600 , bigbranch.png )

Ohshit that's a big branch!

DO A BARREL ROLL!

>>291997
USE THE BOOST TO GET THROUGH!

Hocrap swerve left, and hold on! You might have to duck, try not to let the goblin drag too much against the branches. Hope that they are bendy!

no swerve RIGHT. going left will make us still clip it, while right will dodge. jeez.

GO LEFT!

GO RIGHT!

You always go right, yo.

Go straight.

go a bit up, knocking the gobbo uncosious would be a advantage now, we dont want the gryphon hurt so early.

>>291998
I sincerely hope that as a highly skilled rider you've got the ingrained reflexes to get you through this on your own. We might be good with plans but our spur-of-the-moment advice is often shitty.

Up and to the right!

>>292073
This.

Also: "Drop the crossbow!"

Barrel roll to the right.

>>291998
Bank right, see if you can aim it so you knock the gobbo's crossbow out of her hand with the shrubs.

Victorious 2011/04/05(Tue)21:46 No. 294270 ID: 32a5f3
File 130206516508.png - (19.35KB , 800x600 , turning.png )

Come on, turn, turn...!

Victorious 2011/04/05(Tue)21:46 No. 294272 ID: 32a5f3
File 130206518712.png - (9.14KB , 800x600 , wingdown.png )

Yes! Ha ha, we've got-

Victorious 2011/04/05(Tue)21:46 No. 294273 ID: 32a5f3
File 130206520430.png - (15.08KB , 800x600 , crash.png )

Fuck!!

>>294272
'Wingtip' has to be the best onomatopoeia ever.

ELVEN AGILITY! you can get out of this man!

>>294273
Oh, and crap... that didn't go so well at all.

>>294273
Okay. Okay. Shit.

Those still-mounted goblins will have noticed the crash and be coming for you. You need to move quick as soon as you land, got to try and recover and be ready to act. You'll need to incapacitate your original target before she can yell or anything, and if you can't, shoot her. Then the same for the others before they realize that they're up against an intelligent opponent, rather than a wild animal- if they return and report your presence you are boned.

Tuck and roll. Get on your feet asap, subdue the goblin, and get back to your bird.

>>294273
Priority one: Don't die falling.
Priority two: Your Gryphon's safety
Priority three: Not getting caught
Priority four: The Gobbo Prisoner

oh fuck man im falling all these branches

watch the landing, and be ready for a fight, the gobbo may make a run for it if she lands properly.

>>294367
There's not much he can do to help a speeding ton of meat and bone, and Bloodfeather's attempts to stabilize would only be thrown off if you tried.

You don't have much time, but you do have some. If your goblin gets away then the entire army will be alerted even if you do manage to kill or subdue the other two. Restraining her while she's stunned from the crash is going to be a lot easier than if you give her time to collect herself.

Bloodfeather is too bulky for you to move quickly if he's injured, so if he can't move on his own then you won't be able to get him very far.

The other goblins will be along soon. If you're not ready to flee within moments of hitting the ground, then set an ambush and try to subdue the remaining goblins.

Now that you know what to do, put us on the goblin's head so we can try to convince her to order her team to stand down and/or help you restrain them.
Yes, this is a boy-I-hope-this-works moment.

In order, your priorities are:
1: Don't die.
2: Secure the goblin prisoner
3: Check on bloodfeather after he comes to a complete stop.
4: Leave no witnesses behind.

Cube. Air glyphs. All the air glyphs.

>survive landing
>subdue goblin
Solution: land on goblin.

>>294388
Thisthisthis

>>294394
>>294388
pure one type doesn't do anything at all. you need a combination.

Well, if there IS a spell for LEVITATION or SLOW FALL, then USE THAT. If you don't know, then do an ALL-WIND GLYPH COMBINATION.

Grab Goblin. Cushion landing for Goblin. She didn't do anything to hurt you and if you do anything less, then its really your fault she died.

/moralfag

>>294390
>Land on goblin in compromising position

FTFY

>>294881
While I really want to say this,
>>294868
Is probably best.

Remember to heal yourself when you hit the ground.

And then we can get our adventerous romance between a silly elf and a charming, yet stubborn goblin girl.

-longing sigh-

>>294946

>Charming
>Goblins = Savage race, unwilling slaves to the dark blood god

Not saying it's impossible, but it may be best to swiftly restrain her when you land.

>Ruining my dreams.

Careful, Emba, you're trampling on my dreams.

hm crap
try to get hold on a branch while falling,
then get a look where gobbo and bloodfeather landed.
Priorities from there on would be:
1. get to the ground whithout dying
2. subdue gobbo
3. get to bloodfeather/possibly heal him
4. evade pursuers, on bloodfeathers back if his shape is up to it.

>>294978
>Implying there won't be sexiness in a Jukashiquest

>>295060
Of course I'm not saying SOMETHING won't hapeen eventually. Just saying it probably won't happen immediately. We'll want to restrain her and see if we can't evade Goblin Scouts with Bloodfeather and her in tow before we start testing methods to cure the compulsion.

will everyone lay off the gobbo molesting?

its not like we will have a crossover with gnollbard.

One wind, three air. Hope it makes a slowfall or flight or levitation spell. If it doesn't, try to land feet-first, and get ready to use your Sun Power to heal yourself immediately.

Then find that goblin and give it a clonk on the head.

Priority 1: Don't die. Don't let Bloodfeather die either.
Priority 2: Don't get caught.
Priority 3: Catch and subdue the goblin.
Priority

>>295258
"Wind" and "air" are the same thing.

Damnit, I didn't back-check enough. I'm panicking here, I mean what if the impact damages our crown? Think. We don't know enough about the rune cube to rely on it.

Are different spells created by the precise makeup of the symbols, or is only which types of symbol is included a significant factor? I mean, would three wind, one fire produce a wholly different spell than two of each, or the same spell with only minor alterations?

Okay, so apparently I get all thoughtful in the face of danger. Good thing this is all at the speed of thought!

Unless Bloodfeather is a good enough flyer to recover before hitting the treeline, I think you're just going to have to take your lumps. Try and get your legs beneath you to take the impact first. If you've got the training for it, roll with the impact. Either way, get ready to use your Sun Power to heal up immediately and go find that goblin lass.

> Roll when you hit the ground (if you don't land in a tree), and use your powers to heal yourself.

> Find and subdue your Goblin friend or at least make sure she doesn't have her crossbow (so you can make a safe getaway).

> Find your mount and heal him if you can.

> Try to put some distance between yourself and the other goblins.

Say: twist to avoid landing on your head or back, land on your feet then roll as soon as you land.

Whisper to other voices: Don't confuse him with long term goals while he is falling to his possible death, right now only thing he should hear from us is to not land on his head and die from a broken spine/skull... we can tell him what to do with goblins and the like when... or if, he survives the fall.

Also, we should aim at capturing all 3 goblins, should have in the first place... if we just capture the captain and free her from mind control, then what? she goes back to base? but everyone knows she is "dead"... but if the 3 of them return together, all free from mind control, the might be able to do something.

And any type of trap to stop the army makes no sense, there are hundreds of them and they have a variety of talents from nimbleness to strength... any type of trap or obstacle we create will take a lot effort for one single elf to make, and only a few individuals out of the hundreds to undo.

How can you tell this is by Jukashi? I looked everywhere and I cannot see any mention of his (her?) name.
And the wiki does not attribute this quest to him (her?)

Also, is there a discussion for this quest? I cannot find one linked from here...

>>295727
>>/questdis/343689
Look harder next time. :D

>>295727
Um... because he has a very distinctive art style, as well as a distinct ID? Also, this belongs in /questdis/.

>>295724
Use spoiler tags for stuff like that, please.

Victorious 2011/04/12(Tue)15:59 No. 296141 ID: e833ea
File 130264916291.png - (8.06KB , 800x600 , treesonomatopoeia.png )

Yes I know how to crash thank yoow ow ouch argh ow oof ouch ouch fuck ow rgh ow

... 2011/04/12(Tue)15:59 No. 296142 ID: e833ea
File 130264918561.png - (619B , 800x600 , lost.png )

...

Victorious 2011/04/12(Tue)16:00 No. 296143 ID: e833ea
File 130264920694.png - (13.39KB , 800x600 , returned.png )

There you are.

We're lucky. Trees are one of the best things to fall into, but only provided you don't get impaled on a branch. My armour helped me, and our goblin friend was small enough to get tangled in the canopy rather than falling completely through, so she didn't get away in time. Nevertheless, I had to... pacify her.

We're not even a thousand yards from where we snatched her, and Bloodfeather's sprained his wing. I could heal it, but even then, we can't get into the air under these trees. The other goblins surely heard the crash, and if they find where we fell, their dogs can follow our scent.

okay, have blood feather sit in a clearing partially on top of the goblin. while you get in a tree and ambush them.

Create a false path with the Goblin's clothes and then run in a different direction, forcing them to either guess or to split their forces.

>>296143
Go up or down a nearby river?

>>296143
Get on Bloodwing's back with her, put us on her, and have bloodwing start walking. This will wear him out faster, but you'll be able to heal him while moving. Once you're done healing him you can get off and start walking to save his strength.
Take note of when she wakes up, then give her 10 minutes or until the other goblins get here.
If she says "The walrus is away; the carpenter can play." then we've succeeded; cut her bonds loose and we'll have her help get us out of this mess - probably by ordering her companions to go back and report her missing.

Tell us more about the Free Man while you look around and see where you can go from here. If you can *quickly* get up above the canopy and look around then do so.

The Free Man is the same as Him In The Shadows? Who else worships Him besides the enslaved races?

>>296148
Oh, and do you remember seeing any clearings or cliffs near here? Head for one of those so you can get back in the air quickly.

First, heal Bloodfeather. From a practical standpoint, either everything will turn out okay and you can regain your Sun Power at leisure, or everything goes fruit-shaped and having an uninjured griffon backing you up could be very helpful.

Plus, that wing has got to smart.

Now, we can't just run. The goblins will be able to tell that there's intelligent opposition in the area if it's capable of snatching one of their folk and then eluding them. An ambush is our best options.

First, tie up the goblin and place them near the crash site- up against a tree would be good. Cover their bonds with leaves if you can.

Next, have Bloodfeather lay down atop them, trapping them and preferably obscuring the bonds without crushing them. You want to make it look like the work of a lone griffon who then crashed, leaving them knocked out and the goblin thrown clear.

Next, find a good hiding place to lie in wait for the goblins. When they come, you can take one and Bloodfeather the other- that should be an easy enough fight that you won't have to kill any of them.

Argh. Thoughts are all jumbled. Ignore the bit about Bloodfeather lying on top of the goblin. That was part of an earlier, less good idea.

>>296153
We can't do that, we need her cooperation before they catch up, otherwise we're going to have to kill the dogs, which would both greatly piss off our new (hopefully) allies and reduce their effectiveness. If you live on the back of an animal all day you grow a bond, ya know.

>>296148
I support this voice's suggestion for the most part.

For the goblin loyalty thing, we'll see. Heres hoping.

I trust you know the standards for evading tracking? Crossing into a stream on one side, moving up or down river in the water, then exiting, etc.?

yeah, since she is the leader if she tells them to stand down then that is an order they should be forced to listen to.

>>296143
Heal Bloodfeather immediately. Having an uninjured party is desirable under all circumstances.

You're standing. Are you leaving tracks? If the goblins are decent hunters they might already be able to see your boot prints. You'll need to prepare an ambush if they can; they MUST NOT get away with news of your presence here. Ideally you'd be able to ambush and incapacitate them, but if you can't just shoot them. You can't afford to take huge risks at this point. If you shoot them but nonlethally, you can capture them, then either heal or kill them later as necessary.

>>296148
Definitely with the healing, we don't want Bloodfeather injured. I'm not sure if we can communicate with unconscious people though, so you might want to leave us on and restrain her.

Healing may or may not be instantaneous (depends on complicated stuff), and it seems that there's a shortage of time. Speaking of time, how much did we loose in the crash? We got the big, timeless abyss of sensory deprivation between when the crown fell of your head and ya picked us up again.

On the matter of *voice fades* crashing instructions: It's extremely important to crash properly. Back in the age of *words become hard to understand* visionary telecoms, the knievel league *barely noticeable* had three separate manuals detailing *indistinct with the background whispers* ........

>>296148
Good idea. But rather then ordering the other two back to camp as they are (still mind slaves), we should capture them and free them as well. Even if ordered back to camp they might find the whole thing suspicious and describe the situation to someone who might figure it out (assuming they don't).

Also, to verify freedom we should follow the following procedure:
1. Place on head, break mind control. We must be able to sense if it worked or not, else she could just lie throughout.
2. If we sense control breaking, remove us from the head, and then ask if mind control reasserts itself when we are removed. She will say no regardless.
3. Place on head again, reattempt to break mind control... ask if she told us the truth at #2 or if mind control reasserted itself and compelled her to lie.

>>296212
I think I get the effect you're going for here, bro, but use spoiler tags instead of 'In Character' emotes. like so:[.spoiler]wordswordswords[./spoiler] but remove the periods.

Victorious 2011/06/22(Wed)21:06 No. 316540 ID: 8e6de5
File 130880199488.png - (21.37KB , 800x600 , getgoing.png )

Heal Bloodfeather, both of us up. Hope for a clearing so we can get in the air again. It's a good enough plan for now, gives you time to try yourself on our captive. If you can help her, it may just fix everything. If not... well, we'll deal with it then.

Victorious 2011/06/22(Wed)21:13 No. 316547 ID: 8e6de5
File 130880240382.png - (18.40KB , 800x600 , crownoff.png )

It would take a while to explain the Free Man to you... don't you know already, from before?

(>>/questdis/348261)

Actually... you know how to talk to goblins, don't you? They're very casual about a lot of things, but there's one or two things they're sensitive about. Just, uh... don't ask her for her name, that's intimate. Give her some sort of diminutive. Questions about religion, too, avoid those. Just... you need to do this right, ok? I let her get a bit of backwash from healing Bloodfeather, so she should start to wake up again now. It's all on you.

I'll try take care of everything while you're working. Talk to you again soon.

??? 2011/06/22(Wed)21:17 No. 316551 ID: 8e6de5
File 130880263541.png - (22.14KB , 800x600 , crownongob.png )

VATTEWYPIMOEYA

Nhh... ow. Where... Aw jags, what happened?

WTIQVNIWOWKUV

[Try to block out that blacked out text]

Hello.

hello, uh.. let's go with miss. you okay? you took quite a tumble. you were picked up so we could talk to you.

Hey, missy. You've got a nice pair of breasts, y'know? Hope you're not too banged up!

>>316547
Don't you worry, Victorious. We're professionals.

>>316551
Well hello there.

[try to block the black words]
Hello sweetie, or should we call you mind slave?
How would you like to be free?

>>316551
[Try to block black text]

You all right there? Apologies, but there isn't really enough healing magic handy to fix you up all the way.

>>316566
That's your conversational opener? "Nice tits"? Honestly...

>>316588
Moving a bit fast there, I think. Let's introduce ourselves first and not promise or imply anything that we may not be able to back up. We don't even know if we'll be able to provide mental shielding yet.

Goblins! Very casual about a lot of things. The big man said so himself. And they ARE nice, aren't they? I betcha Vic agrees.

Anyways, missy, we aren't gonna hurt you, alright? In fact, if all goes well, we'll be helping you out.

>>316592
I promised nothing. Read the questdis, there is a god who actively encourages the wild races (that's her btw), to fight for their freedom and those that do are awarded such by him. Even if WE can't outright break her mind free he can

>>316551
Miss Rearward- have you a preferred nickname? We are here on behalf of the last of the free elf. You may call him Vic. We wish to free you in turn.

Please make all efforts to cooperate with us. The fate of you, your race, and perhaps even the world depends on it.

Right now, though, the fate of your MOUNT depends on it. As we speak will he not be rushing to defend you? Will Vic be able to stop him without killing him? Doubtful. We have no wish to harm either of you. Please help us avoid this.

>>316572
[block vic's name from this comment]

so i heard you are a accomplished hunter?

would you like to hunt for your freedom, and possibly some half elf kids on a nice flying beach house with a pimping gryphon aviary to boot?

>>316658
[censor this]
5copper, do you have no tact AT ALL?

>>316551
[Block out that black text, and attempt to block-off the source of it.]
Hey there, cutie. Mind if we call you Dax?
Feel that strong arm around you? That's Vic. He's trying to rescue you.
It isn't quite going to plan, but nobody's been seriously injured yet so it's all good.

You know how a strong enough will can break free of that mind control you're under? We're trying to find other ways to break that mind control.
Just tell us if that mind control starts to weaken.

>>316658
jesus fuck man... half elf babies? really? I mean I would LOVE to go that route but you invaded the mind of a mind controlled girl who was taken captive by said elf and this is what you open with?
[censor, dear god censor!]

>Bracketed commands
why why why.

Anyways, you're sort of insane now! Applaud your good luck at having us in your head at the moment, and then answer our questions.

IGNORE THE BLACK WORDS. LISTEN TO US. WE ARE YOUR ONLY HOPE OF FREEDOM. WE ALSO DO IMMORTALITY, WEALTH, CONQUEST, AND CHILDREN'S BIRTHDAY PARTIES. HI.

tact is for those that have time!

and possibly a choice in life...

>>316553
>>316588
>>316592
>>316679
[Block the black text from reaching the goblin, but let us still listen to it.] Seems like it might be good to hear, if'n we can figure out how to translate it.

>>316551
Congratulations, you've got a chance to be free. Unlike every other goblin you've likely ever met. And better yet, if you work with us, letting us help you, and helping us as well, your entire race could be freed as well.

Missy 2011/06/23(Thu)21:10 No. 316955 ID: b77663
File 130888860879.png - (19.99KB , 800x600 , gobgrabbed.png )

WKUVUVLAVWWY

>Hello.
Bloody stars, I've just about had enough of voices in my head.

>Nice tits!
Uh.. thanks. I'm pretty used to people likin' em, but I guess they must be better than I thought if I've got folks with no bodies tellin' me so. Who are you, anyway? And where am I? Last I remember I got grabbed by a gryphon, then-

>Victorious
>Help
>Freedom

Wha- Shit!!

NYYMPEVWOTUYAV

Missy 2011/06/23(Thu)21:10 No. 316957 ID: b77663
File 130888865564.png - (327.82KB , 800x600 , gobgrabbed2.png )

DO NOT SEEK FREEDOM

Aaargh!

DO NOT AID MY ENEMIES

Why did you let me wake up!? Now I have try and do something!

DO NOT ACT AGAINST MY GOALS

>Block the black words

Missy 2011/06/23(Thu)21:11 No. 316958 ID: b77663
File 130888870676.png - (523.03KB , 800x600 , gobgrabbed3.png )

>Block the black
>Block them
>Block them
>Block them

Missy 2011/06/23(Thu)21:13 No. 316959 ID: b77663
File 130888881706.png - (104.54KB , 800x900 , puzzletime.png )

>It's puzzle time!

>Set with a fragment of the Orb of Wisdom, the Crown of Summer Princes (that's you!) can manipulate the enchantments that bind Missy to obey the commands of the Scavenger Lord. The orders he has given are represented by the Red Hand, and its hold on her is shown by the Bonds of Blood - the red ropes - that metaphorically bind her. The red ropes are held by the Chains of Command, and in order to free her, those chains must be refastened.

>To do so, you must move the available segments of chain (marked in the red squares) so that the Red Hand is no longer connected to the Bonds of Blood. Segments can be swapped freely and rotated to fit, but they must all be part of the final pattern; and each segment's joining points must be connected, without dead ends. The Red Hand itself need not be joined to anything, nor the Bonds of Blood, nor you yourselves - you, represented as the Fragment of Wisdom, possess one joining point that you may choose to use or not, depending on whether you seek to accomplish additional goals. Everything in the puzzle is representative of something, thus different solutions to the puzzle may have different effects, of greater or lesser benefit.

>Solutions should be presented in this thread. The final solution used will be chosen by weight of numbers, and debates on what different solutions may cause should be held in the quest discussion thread, so look there before you cast your vote!

>>316957
[block the black]

No you don't. I'm not even sure what you are talking about. Its just you, us, and the fellow with his arms wrapped tight around you.

Q 2011/06/23(Thu)21:35 No. 316967 ID: 05514e
File 130889010856.png - (114.16KB , 800x899 , narbaculardrop.png )

Like I said in IRC, this can go one of five ways but it's dependant on how we want it to go.

1. We can disconnect her from the Red Hand and leave her unconnected to us. (The solution for this is in the picture)

2. Unconnect her from the Red Hand but connect her to us.

3. Unconnect her from everything (Bind of Blood included)

4. Unconnect her from the Red Hand but connect us to it.

5. Keep her connected but connect her to us as well.

I don't know if 3 is possible at all, 1 would give her freedom from the Red Hand and us badgering voices, 2 wouldn't save her from us, 4 and 5 might just have interesting outcomes, hence their suggestion.

I am kinda torn between completely free her and connecting her to us.

Seven01a19!!EyA2IwLwVl 2011/06/23(Thu)21:51 No. 316970 ID: 00d3d5
File 130889107138.png - (10.20KB , 525x339 , Because Star asked me to do this.png )

>>316959
Anybody want to make a nice clean version of this one?

Also, I'm pretty sure it's mathematically impossible to have US connected to all her points WITHOUT the hand also being connected.

MrTT 2011/06/23(Thu)21:52 No. 316972 ID: b1f0e2
File 130889115901.png - (154.24KB , 800x900 , Solved.png )

Solved via solution #2 according to >>/questdis/348300

>>316972
Isn't this solution #3 though?

Anyway, voting for this one.

>>316974
#3 is partially disconnecting her from the red hand. The solution I posted (and seven beat me to, although only because I did it the pretty way :P) completely disconnects her from everyone. The enchantment is looped in on itself and connects only red to himself and noone else.

Solution 6 is to disconnect red from her, but connect him to us. But that is risky as it might give him power over us.

>>316967
I like Q's soloution, dissconnected from everyone

>>316974
oh i get it now, you are saying what i did was #3 on Q's list not #2...
Yea, I was referring to #2 on my own list in the questdis which i linked.

Instead of numbers lets just vote on a goal?

I vote for the solution I and Seven01a19 posted. Which loops the chains back on themselves, leaving us, red, and her all completely disconnected from each other.

Seven01a19!!EyA2IwLwVl 2011/06/23(Thu)22:11 No. 316988 ID: 00d3d5
File 130889231844.png - (125.45KB , 799x897 , wvvcqb.png )

>>316970
Now with art from MrQ! Clean art, Hooray!

>>316967

Started as
1A 0 1B 0 1C 0 1D 0 1E 0
2A 0 2B 0 2C 0 2D 0 2E 0
3A 0 3B 0 3C 0 3D 0 3E 0


The first number is what row the tile started in.
ABCDE refer to the column that the tile started in.
The last number is how much you rotate it clockwise.


Solution 1

2C 180 2D 270 2E 90 1D 270 1E 90

3D 90 2B 0 1A 0 1B 0 1C 90

3B 0 3A 0 Fist 2A 270 3E 0


Solution 4

3A 180 2D 270 1E 0 1D 270 1E 90
3D 90 2B 0 1E 0 1C 90 2E 180
3B 0 2C 0 Fist 3E 0 2A 180

Lets go with that then. It will probably break her blood bonds completely.

I vote for MrTT/SEVENS Solution.

>>316992
The bonds of blood are essentially metaphorical and are not to be taken completely literally. Both mine and Seven's solutions are exactly the same outcome just different ways about it. Really at this point we should just find solutions for all the outcomes and vote for which outcome we want.

yes TT/seven

Suggestion 2011/06/23(Thu)22:21 No. 316999 ID: 234c26
File 130889287345.png - (158.51KB , 800x900 , wecannotcompletethemindslave.png )

This configuration is as close as we can come to making her ours, I think. Five of the six Bonds of Blood and the Scavenger Lord gets nothing. I believe the result would be that she could fight our control, but it would rarely work. I'm not sure what the significance of the leg Bonds as opposed to the arm or neck Bonds is, but legs seemed probably the most harmless.

>>316991
Solution 2
3A 90 1C 270 1B 0 1D 0 2A 0
2D 190 2B 0 2C 0 1A 270 2E 0
3D 0 3B 270 FIST 1E 270 3E 0

>>316999
I wouldn't want to personally. Free is free, otherwise it's just passing control of her to another (ourselves in this case). I'd prefer autonomy.

>>317002
scratch this

>>317002
>>317005
Fixed
Solution 2
1C 0 2A 90 2E 0 1D 180 2D 270
3A 270 2B 0 2C 0 1B 0 3E 270
1A 0 3B 270 FIST 1E 270 3D 0

>>316999
Votin' for this.

>>316999
switching vote here.

o 2011/06/23(Thu)22:54 No. 317023 ID: 45be60
File 130889487142.png - (107.41KB , 800x900 , influence.png )

Fully executed solution 2 ideas just trades one master for another. Solution 3 makes her alone. But partially connecting her would mean some autonomy, but we can still influence her thoughts and actions.

Can I interest anyone in another quest protagonist?

Suggestion 2011/06/23(Thu)22:54 No. 317024 ID: f4eed5
File 130889489454.png - (2.75MB , 800x900 , minor influence.png )

I'd rather we only have a couple bindings in place. I'm not sure what only binding her torso will have, but I went with that.

>>317024
failure. i see a loose link.

>>317024
Invalid - all tile connectors must connect to something.

Let me just save you guys some trouble with the math here. There needs to be an even number of connections out of the chain mess. No set-up that doesn't have 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 connection points will work work.

Oh, bah. Stupid eraser, must have counted the same one as two different things or something.

>>316999
I would like to point you to my solution here
1C 0 2A 90 2E 0 1D 180 2D 270
3A 270 2B 0 2C 0 1B 0 3E 270
1A 0 3B 270 FIST 1E 270 3D 0
as that gives us copleat control
Also I'm sorry about how it's not is a pretty pictur but I don't have any image editing software.


That said I vote that we give her complete freedom

>>317035
drep
Fixed
1C 0 2A 90 2E 0 1D 180 2D 270
3A (90) 2B 0 2C 0 1B 0 3E 270
1A 0 3B 270 FIST 1E 270 3D 0

>>317035
You don't even have mspaint? That's on every windows system ever going all the way back to windows 1.0

>>317038
I used a old mac and a crash erased the appleworks draw (or was it appleworks paint) it came with.
Also i'm not good with computers.

>>317036
damn why cant I see the problems intill after i post

>>317042
I feel you bro, I'm doing this on 15 post-it notes, with bottlecaps for the Bonds of Blood connections

>>317036
disreaguard what I said

>>317003
That might be true in her case... but it's an important configuration to know anyway if everyone bound by the Bonds of Blood is bound the same. At some point, Victorious will be able to slap us on one of the commander types who is actually loyal to the Scavenger Lord, and we might find it extremely useful to be able to force them into working with him.

>>317023
If we're going to set her free, we might as well set her free all the way with >>316988. If we're not going to set her completely free, we should establish as much control as possible while keeping the Scavenger Lord out of it; there's really no point in half-assing it.

My hope is that whatever we do now will be persistent, so if we set her free she will remain free and if we mind-slave her she will continue to be subject to whatever commands we leave her with after we're removed. We don't know that it will work out that way, though, and it would be very bad if we mind-slave her and our commands aren't persistent after we're taken off. She'd likely go hostile immediately. That risk makes me inclined to set her free entirely so that we have greater odds of retaining her as an ally after being removed.

We will want to investigate these mechanics, though, because I think a potentially viable plan here is for Missy to walk us into camp and set us on the head of one of their commanders, who we could then promptly mind-slave and force into working to Vic's benefit. That could make this whole endeavor infinitely easier.


So, basically I'm voting to free Missy all the way using >>316988 and leave all mind-slaving for after we have a better idea of how effectively we can mind-slave. Failing that, use >>316999 to get us the best hold on her possible.

>>317054
True, but it might not be that all chains are the same.

That said, I accept that there may be some individuals it would be beneficial to have a light hold on. However, given that this ones initial thoughts were of worry at having to obey Fae's orders again, I think she seems...reasonable.

>>317054
Great ideas
[Study enchantment]
Although there shouldn't ever be a need for us to create such an enchantment from scratch. Anyone who we would want to dominate in such a way would be loyal minions of screiver.
If we ever have issues with free mortals I would rather we solve them without mind control...

All that being said, knowledge is PURE AWESOME so study the heck out of that enchantment.

That said, I think I largely agree with you.

>>317023
What the hell, voting for this one

>>317056
Hadn't occured to me, but what the hell.
[study enchantment]
ALSO since this is our first free one, we need to bind her to us, and out of the hand. The next one we can make plain ol free, and the one after that we can try making a connection between us and the hand.

!DReamEr2eU 2011/06/24(Fri)00:14 No. 317066 ID: 55c4cf
File 130889967750.png - (110.21KB , 800x900 , realsolution.png )

i got this

I'm voting for MrTT/Seven's solution. As tempting as it is to get a mind slave, I'd rather have a sexy goblin servant that's willingly loyal than one that's forced to obey but resents us. We can just enslave her two friends if they come looking for her.

[Study enchantment]
It'll be interesting if we can replicate it.

>>317068
I am pretty sure she can hear us.
Also I don't want to enslave any of them. We are better than that, we are the force for freedom here.
And I am not saying this just to posture, if we weren't we really would have gone for the other option.
Only person we even considering binding is the generals loyal to him... and even then it might be preferable to just give them the release of death.

>>317069
We're not really a force for freedom. We're the Crown of the Summer Princes. Our job is ultimately to give advice, and arguably for the last several thousand years to do whatever is best for the summer elves. Admittedly there aren't all that many summer elves left so backing them isn't really the easiest job, but that's if anything a reason to try harder. If a bit of enslavement would bring Vic and kin a lot of help, we should not hesitate. We have a responsibility to use all assets and capabilities at our command on his behalf.

There are solid practical reasons why mind-slaving would be a suboptimal move at this point, though, starting with unknown limitations on our capabilities, moving through bad PR, and ending with Vic here probably getting really steamed about it and doing something irrational. If we can convince one or more of the goblins to let us test out some mind-control tricks on them that would be good, though. We really need to figure this out, and we're on a timetable.

I VOTE FOR FREEDOM

It's a little hard to morally argue against enslavement since those who want to try something like that are already too amoral to care. You monsters. Do think of this however: Rather than having other people do your freaking bidding for you, if we took over someone else's mind than we would have to do everything ourselves. If we use the power of friendship, however, we can get people to do all that hard work of controlling a body and having a purpose and dealing with pain and assessing the situation and other stuff for us. Also, if she can hear us arguing about this she's gonna be pissed off and you're making all of us voices seem totally horrible. I don't think apologizing for harboring thoughts of enslavement is easy.

One thing to keep in mind though: We really don't know if merely separating the red hand will allow her to be free of those three commands. If we break her connection to the red hand and she's still bound by the bonds, then we should try connecting to one of the bonds to see if we can break them directly.

I'm rolling with TRUE FREEDOM. Go for it. Hopefully their soul won't explode or something like that.

Voting complete freedom.

i'm fairly certain that if we connect one of the bands of blood to use it'll just create a link, not enslave her, so i say we try that. Though if i'm wrong and it does end up enslaving her we can just order her to choose weather or not to obey any order.

i think the hand has a chain link that must be linked as well. if you cant loop the hand it shouldnt work.

i belive complete freedom should work as well. we might have a stranded warrior in our hands instead of a ally, but its more likely to get us a nice servant and a informant.

>>317120
it could also potentially hurt her, maybe the way its set up is for balance purposes.

Hmmmh. Well, worth keeping in mind that she isn't some mindless drone, even with all the chains connected to the bad dude hand.

I suspect that we'll simply be able to communicate with her with only a few chains attached, and compel her to do things with all, but otherwise she'll have free will. And being able to communicate with her is by no means bad!

I can definitely see the trouble with making our commands compulsory, though. We wouldn't be any different from the bad guys.

>>317150
IF the chains allow communication that big red knows of us and has now informed his army.
I carefully inspected what we have seen and sensed and heard thus far and I do not believe that such direct communication occurs... or if it does its not always on. Also you are suggesting to blindly modify tweak a mind control spell in an unpredictable manner on the hope it will result in communication but not control. It might, or it might have horrible consequences. At least if we completely sever all her bonds then we can make a far better guess as to the result (freedom)

>>316999
I vote this, since I don't think it's possible to connect all six bands to us.

Our entire species is dead. Now is not the time for that "but doesn't that make us just as bad?" crap. We're one or more genocides and several enslaved species away from being as bad as them.

>>317183
we don't have a species, we are just a sliver of an artifact that was last owned by the sun elves. Whom we decided to help, but are not in any way bound to or compelled to. We chose to help because of various reasons, we could very well choose to follow our own path independent of the last sun elves.

Also the sun elves are a race (asian, black, caucasian, latino, etc), not a species (human, dog, cow, etc). There are 7 remaining "pure" sun elves and all of them are capable of crossbreeding with the other races.

>>317186

are you sure about that?

>>317227
yes. both points are explained to us both in the beginning of this thread and in questdis.
We are not sun elves, we are an artifact that the sun elf prince now possesses, that's all.
And the author explicitly described the results of "crossbreeding" the last 7 "pure" sun elves with various other races. Mostly it would be "grey elves"

>>317023
Voting this.

>>317334
I vote for the mirror of this. Right arm's likely more important to control than left, right? We want to have as much control as we can immediately, to prevent stuff from going wrong. Eventually, if we're connected, we can go back in and change stuff later, and remove our control over her piece by piece if we want to be nice and ethical or whatever. If not this solution, then any of the other ones that connect us to five of the six ropes.

>>317348
Agreed.
When we're talking to her we're going to tell her exactly what we did - we took control of her away from the Scavenger Lord, but we can't set her free without him just taking it back. We then order her to ignore orders that she would be completely unwilling to do if she were free.

>>317368
Let's kick skeleton hand ass!

>>317368
FUCK THIS DUDE
SHE IS FREE IN THIS SCENARIO
WE UPHOLD OUR PROMISE
WE HAVE A SHOT AT POWER
LET'S SUCKERPUNCH HIM RIGHT IN THAT FAT RIGHT NIPPLE OF HIS
A LEGION OF VOICES AGAINST ONE GOD
I LIKE DEM ODDS

>>317368
ya sure.

>>317368
Destroy! Let's do this!

>>317370
>>317375
>>317376
>>317378
God dammit, you guys. We are on a stealth mission. The Scavenger Lord might not notice us stealing one minion away from his compulsions, but wiring ourself right up to them and fighting it out is a HELL of a lot more likely to attraction attention. What are you shooting for here that might be worth the risk of tipping him off? This seems like suicide to no good end to me.

>>317385
YEAH WE ARE GOING TO REWRITE THAT CODE BY MAKING IT SAY UNCLE

>>317334
This.