throw it over her head so that she doesn't see where it came from

- Player 2012/02/15(Wed)04:01 No. 386889 ID: 00303c
File 132930728629.png - (55.55KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-051.png )

>be cool
Right

>Don't put your foot down fully...
Sneaking 101. Its not that I can't sneak, but its easier when you're not leaving the watcher alive.

>throwing a rock
>over her head

>tschff!<
Woman: ?!

- Player 2012/02/15(Wed)04:02 No. 386890 ID: 00303c
File 132930737769.png - (52.46KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-052.png )

Woman: "Don't you think this trick is too old for you, smartypants? I'm not leaving until you show yourself!"

Fine by me, as long as you keep talking lady.

- Player 2012/02/15(Wed)04:05 No. 386891 ID: 00303c
File 132930754774.png - (63.73KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-053.png )

Now... taking the long way out to K's place is a waste. Yeah, there are a few homes at the back of her place, but nobody's keeping watch here.

???: "Ye'with them aincha?! Aint letting yestop me!!"
Niece: "Please, don't do this honey!"

... this sounds suspicious.

>>386891
Ok, we seriously need to investigate that.
Listen in to see what they're talking about. If the Niece starts sounding panicked then get in there.

Don't be too worried. It's the baker. Y'know, the one Manuel told us had been screwed up in the head by a few other crawlers some months ago? He's probably having another one of his fits, poor man. Poor Niece, too.

I really wonder what the deal behind that was. Would've been nice if we knew how to help him... that might've earned us some goodwill back in town, maybe even with Manuel.

You could... stay a while and listen?

- Player 2012/02/16(Thu)03:28 No. 387109 ID: 00303c
File 132939170504.png - (64.14KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-054.png )

>its the baker
Yeah, he said something about Niece taking care of him too? I thought he was talking about his niece, or... anyway. Does sound like one of his 'moments'.

Baker: "I'nt letting you stop me! Get outta my way!"
Niece: "Please put down that knife."

Niece sure sounds like she's trying to sound calm, really. I can't tell what's going trough her head thsi exact moment.

bust in and say "they are coming, over the hills! the dungeon siege was a distraction! hurry to the front lines!"

What are you waiting for? Time to be a Big Damn Hero, Player.

Whoah whoah! Hang on now! I -really- think bursting in there or yelling ANYTHING is a bad idea at the moment. That might just set off the crazy guy wielding a knife.

What you CAN do is stick around for a little, see if the fit ends on its own or if Niece can calm him down. IF he starts going nuts on Niece and that GIANT of a woman can't handle him, THEN you'd have due reason to rush to her aid.

Even so, I don't think she'd appreciate it much if you harmed her man (note that she called him 'honey'), so in that case a plain ol' KO or grapple might be for the best.

As a final piece of advice, you might not want to stand in front of the exit for your eavesdropping, in case someone comes bursting through the door. It did sound like the baker wanted to leave. Try hiding around the corner.

- Player 2012/02/17(Fri)17:01 No. 387382 ID: 00303c
File 132952687027.png - (31.42KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-055.png )

>Big Damn Hero
>bad idea
I agree; you should never startle crazy. Which is why I'm going for the lamest heroic entrance ever.

"Did someone here yell 'knife'?"

- Player 2012/02/17(Fri)17:05 No. 387383 ID: 00303c
File 132952715401.png - (51.20KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-056.png )

Boning knife, mostly piercing, actually kind of terrible in his hand.

'Giant' woman is actually working against her here; she may have him cornered, but has no idea of how to take him down without breaking something.

If we had an alley, this would be textbook mugging.

>>387383

"Excuse me, sir, please put down that knife."

okay, put your skills to work and disarm him.

>>387383
'We' do know how to do that, right?

"Going somewhere, sir?"

Nah, go with something similar.

You need to open negotiations.

"What's all this then? I didn't realize the bakery was still open."

>>387383
Close the door, but stay where you are.
"Sir, please put the knife down."

He will probably attack you, since he hates adventurers. So be ready to disarm him.

>>387383
Try not to hurt him. You don't want to come off as the bad guy and abusive situations can be not-so-logical.

- Player 2012/02/18(Sat)08:17 No. 387454 ID: 00303c
File 132958187247.png - (41.19KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-057.png )

>disarm
>know how to do that
I could pin him to the bed, or break his arm in five places if that's what you're asking. But I really want to avoid a situation, there's barely room in this place.

"Sir, please put the knife down."
Baker: "... outsider. Crawler. I know your kind. But you don't smell like them, you don't have the dough, you don't have the key... got to have the key..."

I don't think he's listening. At least, Niece is making no moves. I'd say she's surprised I'm doing this.

Turn to the niece and say "Ma'am, is this man bothering you?"

Ask him what key he's talking about.

"do you want me to get the key?"
and pinning is fine, pin him and have her take the knife out his hand. but yeah let's try to avoid that as long as we can.

Yeouch. This is pretty serious. Good job on keeping calm so far. Baker's name is Benjamin, by the way. I just remembered Manuel mentioned the name the first time you two spoke.

Now, you have a thing that might actually be the key he's looking for. The metal bit you found in the ashes of Byron's torture pit during your first trip. Remember it? The blue-haired punk spoke of it being a key of some kind. Lia attempted to identify it, too, saying that it was related to a 'safe' or 'something safe', that it would 'open a family's ruin' or 'path'... and with that in mind, I'm really not sure we should attempt to just hand it off to calm him down. Maybe pulling it out can be a back-up plan.

Regardless, if the baker isn't listening, give him a reason to hear you out. If you distract him enough and lead him towards you and the door, you could signal Niece to come up behind and help restrain him, or get him in a position where you have the advantage.

You could even try and genuinely convince him to back down while you're at it. It certainly sounds like he's wanting to leave home and go looking for the 'key' he wants, and he's distrustful, probably paranoid. The argument has to be good.

You could pitch something like this: "Sir, I don't know how you know what you know, but I've been down in the dungeon three times now, and there are commies there. They're mercenaries, and have been searching for some key, hired on by a blue-haired horned punk. Now, in my line of work, there's no coincidences, and any fool working with commies is up to no good. I put an end to their search, but they keep coming back, better prepared each time. If you want your key, likely the same key they're looking for, you need to trust me. I'm the only one who can go down there and stop them. With respect, you wouldn't last a second against toughened commies, sir. Can't bring dough to a fight needing gristle. Look, we all have our strengths, so I'll make you a deal. I'll stop those commies and find you your key, if you treat me to your casserole tomorrow. I'm a man who know how to value good food, sir, and you make some of the best I've ever had the pleasure of tasting."

Paraphrase as needed. Really, I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but as long as it distracts him or makes him drop his knife, that should be good enough for our purposes.

>>387504
Not a bad angle, seconded. Let's try to stick some questions about the key in there too though, so we make less assumptions.

- Player 2012/02/18(Sat)15:28 No. 387543 ID: 00303c
File 132960773324.png - (48.78KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-058.png )

If I can get him out of the house, great. I really just need room; my main worry here is that I'll end up breaking something with him.

"Do I have the key?"
Baker: "No no no, I can't smell perfection on you! Dirt, mucus and rot! That's your smell!"
"Then what's your perfect key?"
Baker: "No! No! You ain't listen! Its the key! The yeast, the flour, the dough, and its in there! I can smell it from here, its in the caves, its in the mountain, the mountain's the only thing between me... me and perfection! Sweet perfection!"

Oh I remember this, this is about the bread thing, isnt it? All of this because of bread?

"Do you want me to get this 'key'?"
Baker: "HAH! You wouldn't know the key if you've eaten it! Just another lie, to keep me here! Can't trust you, can't trust her can't trust anyone! I've been lied to enough!"

I really doubt all the chatter about the metal piece will help here; it might have been a key, but its not 'his' 'key'. I'm just glad he seems to be forgetting Niece here... but I wouldn't dare to ask her assistance, For once, he'd see me doing it, second, she's not in the right mind.

Offer to help him get to it, rather than you get it yourself.

Then when he's out in the open we can disarm him.

"No one is keeping you here." Assuming he doesn't just run off at this, continue with:

"It's not lying, we just don't know. Like you said, I wouldn't know it if I'd eaten it, so whats it worth to me or anyone else? I've been to the mountain, I'll go again. Tell me what you know about it and I'll bring back anything there about bread I find."

>Not asking Niece for help.

Fair enough.

Mmm. The key is the ingredient he wants or needs to complete his magnum opus. So we know there's something in the mountain he needs, something he can 'smell'. Unfortunately, he's growing more and more erratic. We need to say or do something to calm him down, not egg him on further by asking questions that make him more and more crazy.

Ok, so how about something like this, guys?

"Sir, I do not doubt your abilities as a baker. Why do you doubt my abilities as a crawler? This is a classic situation. Someone needs something from a dungeon, crawler gets said something, hands it over for some manner of reward, and voila, everyone's happy. You're a superb cook. On the flip side, you go down there alone, you'll be demon-bait in seconds flat. There's commies down there, and worse. Have you planned your trip? Do you have torches? Fighter training? Some way of getting past the guards witout getting locked up? No? Then your best bet is me. All -I- want in reward is some more of your mean casserole, really. You're a damn good cook and it'd be a shame to see you kill yourself, or anyone else, getting what you need."

Again, paraphrase as needed. I'm laying it on pretty thick.

Hey Player, ever hear of something called a Fey Mood? Maybe he really does need something from the dungeon.

yes, if there IS something in there that he can detect then getting it will fix him entirely... ask how good he is in a fight. say you will escort him in, to meet near the entrance tomorrow morning.

>>387563

This might be an option, but it should be our final fallback. Escorting a raving civilian through a dungeon would not be fun.

Also, remember, there's an issue with bringing civilians below-ground. Religion, as far as I recall. The Host can't see you down there, soul doomed forever, etc. I doubt Niece would appreciate it if we brought Benjamin into danger, both (real) physical and (perceived) spiritual.

>>387543
"So you want to go into the dungeon to find something? Ack, this is a terrible time for it. There's a tribe of demons down there and they're pissed as all heck.
I can take you down there, but I don't think we'd find what you're looking for on the first dive.
If I take you, then you'll have to agree to stay with me the entire time and leave when I leave."

Turn to the niece "I can see it in his eyes. He's going to go no matter what you do, but I can at least try to keep him safe. That's as much good as I can do here."

If he agrees then tell him to get a good nights sleep and some durable clothes, and that you'll leave in the morning.

>>387543
Ask him why he doesn't just go the dungeon? Bring out anything potentially edible in your inventory too.

- Player 2012/02/19(Sun)07:27 No. 387727 ID: 00303c
File 132966525953.png - (45.25KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-059.png )

"Sir, all due respect you're a baker. A cook. A terrific cook at that; yesterday's casserole at Manuel's was yours, right?"
Niece: "Yes, it was. We always cook for Manuel."
"Well, it shows; your life is cooking. Not crawling into a cave. Fighting monsters. Sliding on mud. Crossing bottomless pits. Choking on stale air. Getting arrowed on the knee. Digging holes into wet clay to sleep. Waking up with a bug up your nose. Pushing giant rocks. Drinking poison to not die of thirst. You walk in there, you'll be demon bait in ten seconds flat. That place is dark, dank, and full of commies."
Baker: "N-no... I can do it, I know i can do it... I have to do it... "
"Benjamin, sir, I'm a crawler. I do this for a living, and I mean when I say it; the world will lose a damn good chef the day you walk into that cave. Let me do it. At the least, let me come with you."
Baker: "Can't be... I can't can't... I have to do it... can't ... off my way... I have to do it..."

>see in his eyes
>Fey Mood
You're right about that... I can feel his resolve waver, but he just can't let go. Is that the 'fey mood' taking? We'll need a way to keep him here after I subdue him.

I mean, we're not actually letting him into the dungeon, right?

he'll be fine as long as he thinks what he wants will come.

>>387727
Subdue him? And then what, tie him up in here? Send him along to the guard, and have him talk about you running around out here? Not that'll it'll make much difference but... better to resolve this peacefully. If we can. He seems calm enough now, I think we could keep him from freaking out for a day. Let's use that.

"Yeah you have to get it done. You'll get it done best by sending me along. I'll come back to see you every night, until I have it or until I'm dead. If that happens... then you'll do what you have to do, right?"

ask for a sketch of what he wants.

Having a sketch would be useful.

Hrm, if his condition is anything like a fey mood, restraining him is risky in itself, as people affected by fey moods tend to go insane if they are unable to fulfill it for too long. ...Well, go more insane, that is.

With what Player said about his resolve, it seems he doesn't have much choice in the matter. He simply HAS to get that item, and it looks like he'll progressively get more crazy as time goes by if he doesn't get it (if stabbing his dear Niece is any indication, this has already gone on for too long). IF we can figure out what he needs and bring it to him, that would be the best option. No need to bring him. Problem is, we don't know what he needs, and he must be convinced to trust us to fetch it. If he can't be, we may indeed have to bring him along in order to save him from himself.

To do, or not to do, literally. Two options.

-Talk down and restrain him, and find his precious yeast or whatever it is he needs, on your own, or maybe with his directions.

-Alternatively, let him come along tomorrow morning, in your company, with some chance of success to find what he needs. It's going to be rough, Niece may not approve (but, just keeping him here certainly isn't working) and it could all go horribly horribly wrong, but if you can find his ingredient and get him back out alive, he'll be cured. We hope.

Good news is, if this is anything like the Fey Mood we know about, then his bread will be the genuine article. Transcendental baked goods.

If it's not... who knows what the result will be?

At any rate, I'm personally in favor of trying to ask him, nicely, for some sketch, description, location advice beyond 'in the caves in the mountain' or whatnot of what it is he needs. If he cannot give you that, looking for his ingredient would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Your best option would be to bring him along. But not tonight! Tomorrow morning, when you leave again. And you'd have to speak with Niece about it, of course. She'd have to be convinced not to turn you in to the guards.

>>387727
We have no way of knowing what he wants unless he can show us while he is focused on it. If we can get a good description, then we can get it for him. If not, we will have to just subdue him and figure out what it is by finding out more about the other adventurers that "had the key". Wherever they went, we have to go too.

- Player 2012/02/22(Wed)07:37 No. 388247 ID: 939692
File 132992502109.png - (18.75KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-060.png )

>sketch
... you want an insane man to sketch out something that he only knows by smell?

I see whats going on -- you're losing focus again. Let me reiterate. He wants to use it for bread, so it must be something nontrivial and edible. That's a demon-infested dungeon, not the Elemental Plane of Pantry. I admit he seems unwilling or unable to describe whatever he wants.

And you forget we're on a time limit here. Even if he mellowed out, he's liable to cause trouble, if not just walk into the dungeon on his own. There's two questions to be answered here;
What the heck are we doing with him now?
Are we taking him tomorrow?

>>388247
OK, why don't you explain to the guy how quests work. He can then hire you to get the item he wants. That's one problem down.
The other problem, he wants you to find something he can only describe through smell. That's going to be difficult. Why don't you ask him to make something that smells similar to the thing he wants found. Then, at least, you have a reference point.

>>388247

Alright, alright. Let's have a quick vote-thing so you can focus on the matter at hand.

>What to do with him now.

First of all, continue reasoning with him the way you've done already... that seemed to do the trick, somewhat. Tell him if he tries to take the main entrance, the guards there will stop and imprison him ("Isn't that right, Niece? They closed the dungeon, cuz' it was too dangerous."), and that you're the only one who can get by the guards now, so if he wants to do this, he'll have to listen to you.

Option 1: Tell him you need to rest and resupply, but that you can take and guide him early tomorrow morning, if he still wants to go then. Ask Niece for permission. Try to impress on her that just keeping him locked in and penned in isn't going to fix his issue. If this keeps up, he might go truly mad, and the only solution you can see is finding and giving him the thing he wants.

Hopefully this will calm him down for the night, at least. If it doesn't:

Option 2: Once his guard is sufficiently down and if he keeps insisting on going to the dungeon, say you've got a map of where you can enter the dungeon without having to face guards. Reach into your pocket for some paper, and once he leans in to look at it, you can grab his knife-arm, pin and put him in a hold. Then ask Niece to look in your bag for the rope. You can then tie him up. It's not gonna please him, and it'll probably make him even more crazy mad, but at least he'll be securely bound, then.

I favor option 1, going over to option 2 if he can't be reasoned into waiting 'till the morning. If anyone wants to add options or modify 'em, feel free. I just want to resolve this situation, one way or another.

>Taking him tomorrow.

If you've done Option 1, then... yeah. Let's do it. It will at least be easier to have him follow his nose than to wander blindly around searching for some unknown ingredient.

Option 2 means trusting him will be a definite no-go, so then it's a matter of helping Niece to keeping him trussed up and contained, and hoping you find what he's after somewhere, somehow. You're right in that it might stand out, so perhaps it's not too bad. Plus, he will be safer, if crazier, here. Probably.

>>388259
uhhh, wow, that's pretty good.

I would suggest that you just try to convince him that you can get whatever he wants for him if he just has a little patience.

Way easier then trying to protect him while messing around in the death-dungeon.

Why don't we try doing the obvious?

Ask the niece if he's talked about this before and if she knows anything, or if she can put into words or translate what he's failing to say. She can also arrange the whole 'quest' operation.

- Player 2012/02/26(Sun)08:39 No. 389052 ID: 939692
File 133027436257.png - (56.07KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-061.png )

"Do what, get killed? Be my guest, at least the guards are going to catch you as soon as you get to the front gates."
Baker: "Guards? ..."
Niece: "Yeah, place's so dangerous they're arresting anyone trying to get in or out."
Baker: "... no, they never cared... you crawlers always..."
"Just tell him, Niece. Please?"
Niece: "I told you, honey. The dungeon is closed. They're not letting anyone in and won't tell us why."
Baker: "... but..."
"C'mon, Benjamin. Its over. We had enough grief already."
Baker: "... grief... Niece?"
Niece: "I'm here, honey. I'm fine."

- Player 2012/02/26(Sun)08:44 No. 389054 ID: 939692
File 133027469090.png - (30.88KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-062.png )

"Niece I'm so sorry..."
Niece: "There, there... I'm fine honey, you have nothing to worry..."
Baker: "N-no... I did... and my bread..."
"It'll have to wait, sir. You need to rest now."
Baker: "But.. how do you... the smell..."
Niece: "He's just a nice crawler, honey. They'll always smell like rotten dirt from the ruins, you know that, don't you?"
Baker: "... hnnnnyugh..."

... I'm too glad this is over to resent that.

- Player 2012/02/26(Sun)08:50 No. 389058 ID: 939692
File 133027505407.png - (34.41KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-063.png )

Niece: "... Player, right? Thank you... for..."
"It's okay. This happens often?"
Niece: "... sometimes. A few times per week. He's always good by morning. There were only rants before, maybe once he tried walking into the dungeon, but this is the first time he--"
"It might get worse. Keep the knives away from him."
Niece: "-- but... we're cooks, see? He asked me for the knife, we were dicing vegetables for tomorrow... I should have suspected... what should we do? What am I to do about him?...."

Apologies for the crap quality, I took way too long on this for no good reason.

>>389058
Tell her to try to arrange for higher-level crawlers to help him find what he's looking for, and you'll try to bring back anything edible you find next time you're in the dungeon.

Also? Tell her to ask Bella to chain the cooking implements to the table. That way his fits can't hurt anybody outside the kitchen.

yeah that sounds good. can have the knives chained to the counter. right length lets it used for the job and can't do anything else with them.

>>389058
Show him the mushrooms.

I kinda want you to hand us to him, see if he can think of a good description when he doesn't need to talk to describe things

I thought he said we didn't smell like it though? If it IS the mushrooms that would be convenient.

>>389058

Well, I've already said my piece on whether or not we should bring him with us tomorrow. It is an option I think viable to solve this as quickly and efficiently as possible, but we either do it, or we don't, and I think the current vote count is pretty even.

And if we don't, Niece doesn't really have a whole load of sensible options. Sure, she can chain up the knives, but that's not going to prevent him from running off (unless she chains him up too), nor is it going to prevent him from finding other inventive means of hurting people who wants to stop him from hurting himself.

She -could- get the dungeon guards to lock Benjamin up, but nobody wants that, I think. The best option to keep him under wraps, I believe, would be for her to talk to Father McLaughing, Lia and Sun about seeing to that her husband is kept somewhere sturdy, yet safe. They're caring and inventive, so I think they should be able to help if she just told them the truth of things and asked for help. Also, they're the healers in town, so she'll want to go to them anyway.

(That said, if we want to bring Benjamin along, she may want to come up with a decent cover story. Serious kitchen accident, or whatever.)

If Benjamin is kept safe here, her main solution would be to get some crawler to get her the goods Benjamin needs... hopefully that will cure his affliction. Player should certainly offer to -look- for it, especially since he's the only guy available right now who's got the guts and will to look into the dungeon problem, but there's no guarantee that he will find it. Reinforcements from Central are also still a week or something off, so if Player can't do it, she'll have to wait it out.

Depending on how the clergy wants to keep Benjamin safe, he may have to quit making meals for Manuel, though. Same if he goes with us. That's gonna attract attention either way, unless someone comes up with a really good cover story. I don't know if Niece wants to keep this between as few people as possible or not.

- Player 2012/03/03(Sat)11:25 No. 390003 ID: ab3feb
File 133080270587.png - (53.87KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-064.png )

>hand us to him
I'm seriously opposed to finding out what you'd do to him.

>mushrooms
>we didn't smell like it.
True. It can't be anything I have on me.

>chain
"I don't know what you'll do, but I know what I'll do. I'll hide somewhere else for the night. You should look into getting those knives chained to the table or something."
Niece: "... I guess..."
"... and I don't know... if he keeps getting worse, we might need to... eh, the guards or the church might think of a way to keep him from hurting himself."
Niece: "I see..."
"And you really need to find a higher level adventurer before its too late."

- Player 2012/03/03(Sat)11:32 No. 390004 ID: ab3feb
File 133080316093.png - (30.53KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-065.png )

Niece: "S-someone else? But aren't you--"
"Look, whatever he needs from there, he needs badly. And I don't know, I'm just level three? We gotta expect the worst."
Niece: ".. I see..."
"I'll be on my way."

- Player 2012/03/03(Sat)11:33 No. 390005 ID: ab3feb
File 133080320813.png - (63.63KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-066.png )

That was something seriously fucked up.

yeah, let's go.
and the ones wanting to touch him were probably thinking they could figure out what he wanted by looking in his head.

Get to Miss K. Avoid getting seen, avoid drama. And hurry it up.

wait...aren't you level 5?

>>390013
he may be a good person, but he isn't above lying.

The more this situation progresses the more I think we need to guide him through the dungeon. But let's just go sleep for now.

>>390005
Player, when you can, tell someone that the cook is getting worse and needs help.
If therapy can't work, then at least some sort of anti-psychotic medication.
Say, I don't suppose you guys have some smoke-able pipe-weed that is known to calm the user into unfocused lethargy?

>>390004

Fucked up or not, they do need helpzzzzz. We should consider taking the time to aid them.

>Just level three.

Correction. Right now, you should be at level five. You jumped to four after facing Charlotte and mom, and five after meeting with the poor ant queen.

- Player 2012/03/10(Sat)10:39 No. 391644 ID: 751fb3
File 133140477426.png - (37.17KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-067.png )

Nice, ehr backdoor was locked. Time to hope here...

>level 5
>above lying
I deal with facts, and as far as I know I'm level three. Thats the level I had when I got evaluated, I don't feel like a fiver, I don't... know if fivers are supposed to be different actually. So I'll pretend I'm a three.

>medication
Antipsicowhat? There's stuff that makes crazy people into normal people? Outside knocking them unconscious, that is.
... the only think I can think of is very fresh hash, buuut... I wouldn't give that to someone who deals with knives. And I don't think they make their own ropes here, that limits things.
Maybe if we had coca around like back home, a few of leaves once in a while could mellow him right out. He'd need to be careful to not turn it into an habit though.

- Player 2012/03/10(Sat)10:41 No. 391645 ID: 751fb3
File 133140487273.png - (59.76KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-068.png )

Phew. Door open. Nobody saw me. I hope.

>tell someone
I'll tell Kay, does that count?

>guide, dungeon
I'm sure you'll have reached a consensus by morning. Until then, what now? I don't think Kay actually knows I'd be here.

any bells to ring? if not then just wait on the counter and ponder what could need a wrench f that size.

>>391645

Well, it's ill-adviced to poke about in someone's private areas without permission, but if Miss K brings someone home with her, perhaps you should stay away from the room with the front door. Call out carefully to check if he's here, or somewhere else in the building. If nobody's here, go into the next room. Might be she's in her workshop. Wasn't that in the cellar, or something?

At any rate, there's a number of things we should be showing and telling miss K. Those glass things, remember? Not to mention the shotgun shells. Lia mentioned Kay might be wanting some proper gunpowder. Hmm... anything else, guys?

Knock on the counter a few times.

Well, if you have poppies those might mellow him out a bit... still, as you mentioned, most mind-effectants are addictive and that could end poorly (some will eventually lead the user to 'require' some at all times simply to function normally.)

I wouldn't try Coca though... that stuff's a pretty good painkiller but it might just put him on edge a little, we could tell you how to make coca MUCH more effective though a few simple chemical processes... you could probably become rich as all hell but... the side effects, social and physical are simply unacceptable without an incredibly good reason.

Anyhow, you might want to get behind the counter, hide somewhere were you can't be seen through the large glass window, or by any customers who walk in unexpectedly. We only want to reveal ourselves to Miss K, not any other possible guests.

Call for her, but by the inside door there so you don't have to be too loud.

"I don't feel like a fiver, I don't... know if fivers are supposed to be different actually."

Well, see, that depends. Does being a higher level actually convey some kind of advantage such as increased physical strength and agility, or is it just a measure of how totally awesome you are? If it does give you some advantage you can test your level just by trying out something that you couldn't have before, and if it doesn't then why does anyone even care about it anyways?

>>391892
pretty sure it gives you more HP at least.

>>391893

Far as I can remember, leveling has only, to our notice, given him a bigger pool of ADP (seemingly the stuff used to power bad-assery, like... extra adrenaline, or something).

What this means on an effective basis is that he can pull off awesome stuff for longer. We don't know if his HP has increased from leveling. Our logic says it would, but then again, perhaps it doesn't. Mind you, to Player, all of this is just abstract gibberish anyway. We're looking at the mechanics of his existence in a completely different way than he does.

If he doesn't feel different it's probably because leveling isn't something that -would- make you feel much different. From the impression I've been given, your level can be tested or evaluated, giving you something like a set of credentials (as evidenced by the dungeon now being a level six zone).

Others might get a whiff of his current level just by being with him, too. I believe Player told us an anecdote about being with one of his old trainers and how he just got this gut feeling that the trainer was a badass of a higher level than him, despite not even being a level five 'officially'. Or something like that.

- Player 2012/03/12(Mon)12:03 No. 392210 ID: 751fb3
File 133157903267.png - (56.25KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-069.png )

>wrench
I didnt want to know when I first saw it, I dont want to know now. I think its actually a weapon.

>glass things
.. actually, I can't remember any glass things.

>poppies
>coca, rich as hell
... poppies? That one I don't know
Hrmn, you're right. Coca sharpens the senses, sort of. It'd be a terrible idea.
... and that thing about refining sounds a little too shady and a tad too alchemical for my tastes.

>on Levels
Put simply, levels are a measure of experience and survivability. Some people just can do more and take more based on what they've been trough, and measuring that-- having someone's ability as a number, and someplace's danger as another -- helps to avoid needless deaths.

...maybe there's more to that, more to levels. I admit; me becoming a crawler was a huge investiment in time and money, but nobody would make an entire bureaucracy just to help me not getting killed. But I'm not a scholar.

"Kaaay? Are you here?"

No response. Its a small corridor here, two doors and a flight upstairs.
I guess the workshop must be up, we had lunch in the kitchen-storage, the other door is the bathroom.

well options are ether go upstairs or putz about down here some more. wanna stare at that picture on the side of that cabinet? is on the one with 3 cylinders on it. maybe spools of something?

She might be asleep, there is some reason for her not to respond yet. The laws of comedy say she's probably in the bathroom and there is no way it's not going to be awkward. So if that's the case you may as well start there. Knock on that and each door after and ask if she's in there.

Wait around here more. The laws of drama say she's going to walk in just as you happen to be going through her personal things, so let's try to avoid that.

I thought she had a basement? Go upstairs, I guess.

- Player 2012/03/17(Sat)06:51 No. 393547 ID: 751fb3
File 133199231539.png - (44.88KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-070.png )

>upstairs!
>laws of drama
Well, good thing this isn't some badly-written seldomly-sung bard serial, or else I'd be walking into her cheating her husband with their half-brother or something equally stupid.

Huh, this is her room. Its....

- Player 2012/03/17(Sat)06:58 No. 393550 ID: 751fb3
File 133199269446.png - (49.86KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-071.png )

... disappointingly normal, really. Imean, it could be worse, this could be an elaborate disguise to hide a secret passage that'd reveal a world destruction plot commandeered by a mad scientist awakened penguin.

... I have no idea why I just thought of that.

>basement
Nope, none that I could see downstairs. I remember the kids saying something about horrible sounds, where would they come from?

>>393550
Turn around and leave the room NOW.

>>393550
Miss K is right behind you. I think there's a SECRET PASSAGE somewhere.

Look at the cupboard. There is a drawer missing. And that picture above the bed is suggestive. look around if you can't find something to put where the drawer is missing.

>>393550
K's right behind you. Duck.

Spin around with your arms straight out in front of you.

Sidestep and say hi.

warned you dude.

>>393550
>K right behind Player
JUMP ONTO THE BED, DUDE! ROLL OVER IT AND TAKE COVER!

rifle through her underwear drawer.

- Player 2012/03/20(Tue)06:16 No. 394367 ID: 745888
File 133224939389.png - (55.15KB , 800x600 , r001-0010-072.png )

>right behind you
>SECRET PASSAGE
Don't be silly, I'd hear her climbing that flight of s "stwwaaaAAH!"
Miss K: "Gyehehehehe~ look what the cats brought me~"
"How did you do that?"
Miss K: "Adding breaking and entering to your growing list, me Greenie? Never thought you had it in yew~"
"-hey, the door was open! I just"
Miss K: "Trespassing it is! What were you looking for here, mmmn~"

... uh... ok, I came to talk to her right? What did we have to talk about anyway?

>>394367
Give her the shotgun shells, then start talking about what you've discovered.
Also, the offer to teach her how to make gunpowder is still on the table. We're willing to teach her how to make high-powered explosives as well, if she'll make some so we can seal areas of the dungeon if needed. (Also, should do something like 20hp in damage to anything in point-blank range.)

You came here to get a nights sleep and something to eat, and maybe unload on a sympathetic ear. It's never nice to have to kill something friendly, and obviously innocent of wrongdoing, even if it's necessary.

And didn't you pick up another DU shell? You should leave those here instead of hauling them around, it's bad for you to be in contact with a lot of that.

>>394376
She already knows all about modern firearms.

>>394377
>DU cores
...Yeah, it probably wasn't such a good idea to have him hauling around huge hunks of a highly toxic heavy metal with his bare hands for several days straight.

>>394485
they were in his pockets. the fact they could fit in there tells me subspace compartments. also the D in D means depleted. they are very not radioactive.
also the shells are for her to have a nice chunk of high quality gunpowder. not for the shells themselves.

>>394367
>... uh... ok, I came to talk to her right? What did we have to talk about anyway?
First, mention that the chef's fits are getting worse, and you hadn't taken a detour and calmed him down he might have gone homicidal on his own niece if she had gotten in his way.
He wants to go to the dungeon and find some specific ingredient for "the perfect bread" he's been having dreams about. If there is any way K can help him out, she needs to share it so we can prevent a terrible mistake from occuring.

In other news you discovered and managed to accidentally assist in the suicide of a Demon Ant Queen, so the Demon Ants should be clearing out soon over the next few days.

There was also a Ruster carcass on the upper levels that shouldn't have been there.

Also, dimensional portals and demons with shotguns, and Player got to use one too, or did we already cover that?

>>394534
we told her we saw the demon with it last time. he used it this time.