wait, you mean you didn't take it on purpose? .... shit. well at least we can ask murelle to take it back later.

>>179338
Well, if I'm bringing this thing to my school, I better get to know it.
Torus:"Kobold, what is your name?"
Kobold:"Armi."
Torus:"And why did you follow us?"
Armi:"Wanted to be like brother. Become strong mage and maybe help protect."
...Should I blindfold it? I really don't want her to know the location of the school without passing the prerequisite scroll.

okay, tell her why you are doing it first. say 'i need to cover your eyes cause my school is a secret place so until we get inside i can't let you see.' then blind fold her, and i guess have jathura carry her.

>>179349
Torus:"Armi, I need to cover your eyes."
Armi:"Why?"
Torus:"My school is a secret place. Super secret."
Armi:"Um, okay."
I put a blindfold on it's face and tell Jathura to carry it. We start our trek back to the school. I have no idea what I'm going to do with this kobold once I get back.

well, her brother was smart enough to learn magic so she should be able to as well. so i guess once you get there give her a run down on the kinds of magic and see what kind she wants.

>>179356
True.... I think it's going to be a hassle, though. You know, with Haru being sick. I'm going to ask more questions of this kobold. If you want some questions answered yourself, just tell me.
Torus:"Can you tell me what types of magic you know about?"
Armi:"Just black. What brother has."

well, let's hope haru has a speedy recovery.

explain to her the other magics. white mostly healing, green is alteration, and red is a bit of all of them.

>>179383
I also wish Haru gets well.
Torus:"White magic is mostly healing, but there's also some death and law related stuff in there as well. Green is altering stuff, like speeding up time or creating fake things. Red is a mixture of all of that stuff."
And I see you forgot something as well.
Torus:"Last is blue magic. It's like copying other people's magic spells."
Armi:"Death... die... if brother die, can white magic bring back to not dead?"
I blink. I have no idea what it just said.

ack, knew i was forgetting one, hehe. she asked if white magic can revive the dead.

>>179396
Oh.
Torus:"I... am not entirely sure. The closest thing is necromancy. Death magic. It won't revive people, but it's good for creating minions to help protect people and do the dirty work."
The kobold is silent for a while.
Armi:"I do it. For to be ready with brother."
Okay, we're going to have to teach this kobold some proper grammar.

>>179420
Wait a second...
Torus:"Did you tell your brother you left?"
Armi:"No. Was supposed to?"
Great... this just makes it even worse...

*sigh*hopefully they will she wandered off and not you kidnapped her or something. you got anything that can send messages?

>>179865
Uh... I'll see if there's anything like that in the school. ...Random thought. I'm training at least 3000 people in both magic and martial arts. I could easily take over Australia, convert those gnolls, then, using those, I might be able to rule the entire planet. Do you think that would work?

>>179876
yes, eventually, the plan is sound and the only thing it would need is time to execute it. and after it's done dissent may appear as a Governor abuses their position. and you can't run the whole thing alone, too much area for you to do it alone unless you were some kind of super-intelligent multi-armed monster capable of doing 1000 things at the same time. this can be offset if the power the sword get's you enhances your time magic as well, then you can haste yourself enough that it LOOKS like you are doing a lot of things at once.

>>181010
I like that haste idea. I can also try and make clones of myself. I may be able to have my students be the people that help me rule. They already like me for not ruling with fear anymore.

true, they already know what it feels like to be ruled by fear AND compassion, so they would be much less likely to rule with fear then a random guy.

>>181028
Gods damn... the pieces are all falling in my favor easily. I may be able to get this kobold to help me rule the world.
Jathura:"It looks like you have something on your mind, master."

"yes, i do, but it's something that can't be said in front of the new recruit"
until she officially decides you are her friend it would be best to not talk about taking over the world. it also is poor form to talk about it in the open where a random ninja could be listening. yes, that does happen, a person will say their plan aloud and SOMEHOW someone they didn't want to hear it, hears it.

>>181242
"Yes, I do, but it's something that can't be said in front of the new recruit."
Des:"It sounds like you have a good idea -chie."
If any ninjas are listening, I'll just kill them. It'll serve them right.

haha, if you could see them they wouldn't be very good ninjas. if you see one ninja assume 10 more are around that you can't see.

>>181251
Well... uh... maybe if they see me killing the one ninja, they'd surrender themselves to me. It might work.

nope, goes against ninja code. the rest would flee and inform their master.

so, how much further?

>>181405
Not really. Ninjas operate under a code that they are to complete the mission no matter what.
However, I think ninjas are unlikely given how there are far simpler ways to spy on people.

>>181414
>>181415
Hmph... I still think I'm better than any ninja. While we were talking, we reached the school. Not much further to go. I should probably take the blindfold off now. I do so. Any last questions you want to ask me?

>>181435
Oh, no. While you can kill a ninja in a straight fight, that's not how they operate.
Generally, ninjas take the guise of somebody unobtrusive and act in a perfunctory way until it's time to act.
People imagine ninjas as people in black outfits skulking around in shadows, but that's fantasy. A ninja is far more likely to be disguised as a menial worker.
They also do far more than assassinations, such as infiltrating ranks and espionage.

Really, though? I wouldn't worry too much.

>>181450
Heh. Imagine if Raul was a ninja. He did want to betray me, even though it actually cured me. Des goes to Haru's room while I go to mine. Along the way, I tell a student to bring a white mana ritual to my room.
Armi:"How big this place? I'm little hungry."
Oh, yeah. I probably should get some food for us. No kobold, though.

kobolds are hunter gatherers so must wild fruits and game animals would be fine.

>>181463
Torus:"Jathura, what do you want to eat?"
Jathura:"I'll have some spagghetti, master."
Okay. I open the door and turn to a student guarding it.
Torus:"We would like some food. Get some pears, apples, limes, and carrots. They're for the kobold. Jathura wants some spagghetti. I'll have some mi krop."
Daniel:"Will do, Torus."
He walks off to get he food.

>>181495
What's Mi Krop? Also, ask Armi how long her brother has been a black mage.

>>181793
It's Thai food. One of my favorites.
Torus:"Armi, how long has your brother been a black mage?"
Armi:"Um... long time. Don't know how long."
Well, that wasn't helpful.

Maybe she can tell you at what point he WASN'T one and go from there.

>>182256
Torus:"What time was he not a black mage?"
Armi:"Um... long long time ago. Don't know how to count past fourteen."
Ugh... Do you want to teach her how to count, or should I?

well we can see if it was before winter ask 'was he a black mage before it got really cold?' if she still is vague, then yeah, send us over so we can start her up on book learning.

>>182320
Torus:"Was he a black mage before It was cold? Really cold?"
Armi:"No. Not get cold. Get hot sometimes."

*sigh* looks like we aren't going to get anywhere with this. let's start on a numbers lesson, just need to teach her the pattern of numbers.

>>182340
I teach her how to count and similar things for a little bit when our food arrives. I'll let her have a piece of food each time she answers a question correctly.
Torus:"Armi, what's 14 plus 12?"
Armi:"Um... fourteen... fifteen, sixteen, uh... Twoty-six?"

ha, i can see how nir managed to become a black mage, they can learn pretty quickly.

>>182330
It looks like the tribe is from the southern portion of America.

>>182343
Kobolds learn quick, don't they?
She can't attend the school without completing the prerequisite test, but there's nothing stopping you from assigning a recent student to educate her to the point where she can pass.

After all, it would increase recruitment if you did primary schooling so the uneducated would be less so, and then having your current school as a secondary school where the best and brightest go.
Everybody new goes through primary school but only people who are the cream of the crop get to go on to secondary schooling, and those are the ones you make into specialists or officers.
People who flounder in primary school can be menial laborers.

Even better? The people with the worst educations are generally the people in the worst lots in life. If you take them in then you'll have their loyalty, and that goes double for children.

Interesting, proposition, isn't it? Building yourself up as a benevolent organization that is a patron of the poor and downtrodden via a method that provides you with a more skilled and competent force.

Oh, but keep the education politically and religiously neutral, and free of propaganda. You don't need it to have the loyalty of society's detritus, and neutrality would keep other organizations from taking interest in opposing you.
Cultivating a sense of ethics is a wise idea, though, and neutral to boot.

>>182344
Yeah, no kidding. I'm surprised she learned that much in 10 minutes. I hand her a carrot. She starts munching on it.
Torus:"What's 52 plus 83?"
Armi:"...Uh... 52, 53, 54, 55... um... 65, 75, 85, 95... um... Tendy-five, Elevendy-five, twelvedy-five, thirteendy-five. Right?"
Okay, she didn't get that one pronounced correctly.
>>182345
You... you are one of the best guidance spirits ever. I'll announce that plan in a school-wide meeting sometime later this week. Practice a good speech, gather up every one of my informants, and get some of the necessary items. This may be the best idea I've ever heard.

>>182349
I don't know how well you can tell us apart, but you've said things along those lines to me on a semi-regular basis.
For what that credit is worth, I'm also the one who pushes the hardest for you to not pursue ultimate power.

[Subconscious suggestion: If that kind of wisdom and insight is against going for ultimate power, then I probably should give up on it. The guardian spirits have only done right by me so far, so I suppose they deserve at least that much trust.]

>>182456
I can tell you voices apart somewhat easily. Sometimes I get confused about what spirit is what, but if I think about it, I can usually pick apart the confusion. You seem to be the wisest voice here, and you keep saying ultimate power is bad. I'm starting to have doubts on gaining it. I'm also starting to have doubts on the definition of ultimate power. What exactly is it? Is it just strength and being able to summon and do exactly what you want, or is it something else? And should I give a piece of fruit to ultimate power? I mean Armi.

>>182461
We've been over most of this before, and there's no point in going over it again.
From my long years I can tell you that power is useful as a tool, but horrible as a goal.

Right now?
You're the owner and operator of a successful school.
You have the loyalty of people for who you are a beloved figure.
You have the love of a wonderful partner.
You have loyal friends.
You are in a position to secure lands of your own.
You have a brother who loves you.
You are healthy.
You are sane.
Most important of all? You are happy. As sad as it may be, happiness is a rare and precious thing.

Your goals are your own to set, but I can suggest one goal you may want to hold above anything and everything else: Protect your happiness, and that of your loved ones.

Achieving power requires sacrifice, and the more power you seek the more of yourself you must destroy. We care for you, Torus, and those of us who learned this lesson the hard way don't want you to risk what really matters.

[Subconscious suggestion: The voice is right... I am happy, and that's all that really matters. More power won't make me any happier, and trying for it is just going to put people I care about in harms way. I'll just let it come naturally.
The question is, if I'm happy then what is there for me to want?]

think she earned some, she may have gotten the word wrong but she made up her own based on what she already knows which is pretty damn good.

>>182476
You know what? You're right. I am happy. But you know what would make me even happier? Ruling the world through compassion. Memories of my childhood. That sort of stuff. I need to get out of this school more often. I can barely learn anything more while holed up inside of here. Jathura needs out as well. And I can train him to fight better, too.
>>182477
I hand Armi a couple pears and apples.
Torus:"What's 113 plus 388?"
Armi pauses for a moment. She looks really nervous.
Armi:"Uh... uh... 113... um... d- don't know."

whelp, rome wasn't built in a day. still, did pretty damn good after just 10 minutes of study. probably has it figured out but can't think of how to say it. tell her the pattern of hundreds, how it's 1 hundred then 2 hundred. then ask her again.

>>182523
I take the time to teach her how to pronounce numbers correctly, as well as solve a few number problems myself. I give myself a little trouble with 3649320 plus 2384047.
Torus:"Now that that's settled, can you tell me what 999 plus 247 is?"
Armi:"999... um... uh... 1000, 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006... 1016, 1026, 1036, 1046, 1146, 1246. I right? Was hard."
That... this is simply amazing! And to think I allowed the consumption of such amazing creatures!

they are normally rather simple, but because of their simplicity people think they are unteachable. so everyone thinks kobolds are stupid because no one ever tries to teach them anything.

>>182594
I'm definitely going to allow kobolds into my schools now. Think of the usefulness! If one kobold is able to learn so quickly, just think if a ton of them entered my school!

>>182619
don't flood yourself though, until they get into it they will be like unruly children. armi is doing well because she wants to do it.

>>182743
Well, maybe they'll see Armi and think something along the lines of 'oh wow, she's so cool because she learned magic, so I'm going to learn magic as well'. Or am I too optimistic?

some will totally be like that but others wont care about that. other lessons may be interesting them, like advanced carpentry for the woodworkers so they can build stuff better.

>>182899
Hmm... I could use those ones for construction of new schools and maintenance. With the way things have been going for me lately, nothing can go wrong.

.... great, now something is going to go horribly wrong. you jinx it. you said "nothing can go wrong" which is basically telling fate 'i double dare you to make something go wrong'. hopefully it happens soon so we don't need to sit around waiting for it.

>>182944
What? I don't see how me saying that jinxes anything. I was... I didn't say it. I thought it. I was only thinking what I thought. Besides, by your logic, I could say something like 'everything will go wrong' and then I'd get ultimate power or something.

it's complicated, but if we talk about it enough it will go away. say 'everything will go wrong' won't get you ultimate power. it's like saying 'break a leg' to an actor before a play.

>>182953
I don't get why you're so worked up over my thoughts. If nothing goes wrong, then nothing goes wrong. Don't get so angry about it.
Armi:"Can have more food now?"

not angry, worried. but i see your point. anyway, let armi finish up.

>>182964
I hand the rest to her, and she happily munches on the food. I'm done with my thai, so I guess I should get a white mana ritual.

i suppose.

>>183447
Torus:"Jathura, make sure Armi doesn't leave this room. I don't want her wandering around some unknown place."
Jathura:"As you wish, master."
I step out of my chambers.
Daniel:"Is there anything can do for you?"
Torus:"You can keep standing watch there."
Daniel:"Yes ma'am."
I head on to the storage, get a white mana ritual, and head on over back to my room. I kind of want to make a nice speech to Armi before I hand the mana ritual for her to use.

"well here it is, the white mage mana ritual. take hold of it and your training can begin. but be forewarned, i will not take it easy on you. being good at magic takes are work and if you do not think you can handle it then tell me now. if you KNOW you can, then take it"

>>183557
Ooh, I like it. It sets the mood perfectly.
I enter my chambers. It looks like Armi is finishing up her food. I walk over to her and clear my throat to get her attention.
Torus:"Well, here it is, the white mage mana ritual. Take hold of it and your training can begin. But be forewarned, I will not take it easy on you. Being good at magic takes hard work and great dedication, and if you do not think you can handle it, then tell me now. If you know you can, then take it."
I hold it out for her. She looks at the scroll for a moment, then takes it from me. She then opens it and a white stream of mana transfers from the scroll to her through her eyes, nose, and mouth. After it stops, she starts crying.

probably scared her. but after a speech like that you can't ease up. she gets the rest of the night off but first thing in the morning training starts.

>>183570
Torus:"You shall get the rest of the night off. Training starts tomorrow, so you would do well to prepare yourself."
She just sits there and cries. The door to my chambers opens. It's Des.
Des:"We have a problem -chie. Haru doesn't want to eat -chie."

have jathura take armi to an unused room so she can get some alone time and sleep. let's go with des and see if we can make him eat.

>>183597
Torus:"Jathura, take Armi to an unused room to rest for the night. I have to go see Haru."
Jathura:"As you wish, master."
Des and I hurry on over to Haru's room. We open the door. Haru is standing on a chair with a noose around his neck. Shit...

he is still on the chair. freeze him and then have dez help you pull him down then unfreeze.

>>183605
Don't freeze him, destroy the rope instead.
Then ask what's wrong with him.

>>183608
I throw a mana blade at the rope. It severs, causing Haru to clumsily fall to the floor.
Haru:"Ow!"
Des:"Haru, you're a fucking moron."
Torus:"What's wrong with you?"
He looks at me.
Haru:"I can't stop thinking about that moving food. I don't want to be insane, so I'm killing myself."
He gets up.
Haru:"Don't you dare fucking stop me. It'll be insulting."

hit him in the pride "oh? so you are taking the cowards way out, just giving up instead of fighting through it? if you kill yourself i will find your clan and have you officially designated as the wimpiest thing ever." making him mad is better then having him depressed.

Saying that will hurt, but it seems necessary.
Torus:"Oh? so you are taking the cowards way out, just giving up instead of fighting through it? If you kill yourself, I will find your clan and have you officially designated as the wimpiest thing ever."
He turns to me.
Haru:"Fuck you! A coward would be too afraid to kill himself! A coward wouldn't do anything about it! I'm no coward! I will never be a coward! It's not who i fucking am!"
He's really pissed off. Tears are forming in his eyes.
Haru:"A coward would never do this either. Ravage."
AAAAAH! AAAH! That hurt so much... Everything's numb and blurry... I'm having trouble breathing...

just need little more "so, you are saying a brave warrior hurts his friends when they try to help him?" then you can pass out if you want.

>>183753
Torus:"S- so, you aaaaAAH!"
It hurts to talk...
Torus:"Y- you're s- saying... a... a brave w- warrior hur- hurts his..."
I need to make it through this sentence, then I'll send you to Haru. You may be able to convince him not to kill himself.
Torus:"...friends w- when they... w- when they t- try to... to h- h- help him?"
I'll see you... when I wake up... I hope...

...

...

What a bitch! She's not my friend! Friends don't insult other friends!

they do when they are acting stupid. decided you being angry rather then suicidal would be best. also, what the hell are you talking about with the moving food?

>>183766
What? Guidance spirit? Where'd you come from? And the kobold I had for lunch was moving so I'm turning insane. I think you're the ones being stupid. Des removes one of the things on his tail and walks up to me.
Des:"Quit being a moron, or I'll be forced to-"
Haru:"Paralyze."
Des falls to the floor limply.

uh huh. so the chance that it may have been possessed by a vengeful spirit never crossed your mind? you know with the whole deer of death corruption thing going on, ghosts would start getting more common as the Shepards for the underworld dwindle. you obviously need to exorcise it or something. if it works then you have to admit that you fucked up. if it doesn't then we will tell torus to let you go through with it.

@xom: when he performs the 'exorcism' remove the curse. making him not want kobold anymore is one thing but driving someone to suicide is another.

>>183982
Exorsism? I have no idea how to do that. And I really hate you guidance spirits right now. You're trying to get me to be somebody else. If I want to kill myself, just fucking let me!
{[Aww... And I was having so much fun~.]}

do you know a special place in hell exists for those who commit suicide? the middle ring of the seventh circle, where you will hang for eternity with no hope of salvation, for you gave up on life so a new one will forever be bared to you.

we know you know for a fact that gods and demons exist. so a heaven and a hell must exist as well.

just tell some random acolytes to get some white mages to perform an exorcism on that kobold.

>>183988
Quit trying to bluff. You know as well as everybody else that once you die, you become a ghost. No matter what. Once you're ghost, you have to wait for a deer of death to guide you. And there have been no cases of posession by ghosts, only cases of attacks by ghosts.

guide you to where though? a deer of death would find you and guide you to hell.

the kobold's ghost obviously tried to get back into it's body. the movements you saw a manifestation of it's struggle. it died scared not angry.

>>183993
I said quit trying to bluff! No deer of death is going to guide any ghost to a different realm of existence! A 'hell' is basically a mainly chaotic realm. Like the one Des is from. And ghosts are visible. If it was trying to get back in it's body, then I would've seen it! And I just found a vial of poison.

wow, i take it back, you aren't a coward, you're a whiny cry-baby. 'waah waah, my food moved i have to kill myself waaah waah waaaah'
that's what you sound like right now. i hope you get tortured by wiggling food for all eternity you whiny baby. know what your grave stone will read? "here lies haru, the whiniest cry-baby in the world"

>>183998
I'm not a coward! Neither am I a crybaby or a fucking prince! I'm just a black mage who doesn't want to be crazy! ...Fuck, I'm so pissed off, I can't open this shitty vial! These fucking hands aren't helping either!

wait what? you're a prince? no way!

>>184026
No, I am not a fucking prince! Don't call me that! Don't control my life! It's my life, not yours, gods damnit!

you're the one that said it first.

>>184030
No, I did not! You're exactly like my parents! You want everything to go your way and your way only! It's the reason I ran away! I hate them and I hate you! Now go away already!

this has been brewing for a long time, the kobold is just an excuse to go through with it. let's have torus, des, and you go see your parents and kick their asses, is that what you want?

>>184040
Well, I would like to do something about it because I'm not a coward. Maybe I should kill them. It'll teach everybody not to control my life.

deal, you don't kill yourself, we help you get revenge on your parents.

>>184224
I probably should heal Torus. I did a number on her. She probably will be incapacitated for a couple of days. I probably should apologize to you guidance spirits as well. I just got so angry at you and the others trying to control my every action. Just like my parents...

I grab Torus and bring her to her room. I heal her wounds as best as I can. She comes to.
Torus:"Uggh... H- Haru?"

it's okay, now that we know what's up we can work WITH you instead of against you.

i think it would be best to tell her what's up.

>>184231
We weren't trying to control your EVERY action, just prevent you from making a single horrible mistake.
I'm sorry if you didn't see it that way, but friends look out for each other. They step in and meddle with your affairs when you're screwing up, but the key difference is that you can and should do the same.
That's one of the reasons why you should pick friends you can trust; if you pick people whose judgement you can trust, then you don't have to worry too much about them trying to control you when they get involved.

Beyond that? If you don't like how your friends are involving themselves in your life, you can get new ones. In a few days you'll either decide Torus was right and forgive her for interfering, or decide she was wrong and kill yourself and/or stop being her friend.

>>184241
I'm sorry... It's just that my parents- mainly my dad- were extremely controlling, I had to have the exact same way of thinking he did. If I didn't he'd yell at me. My mother forced me to train to become a king. I didn't like it. I will kill the both of them.
>>184237
Yeah... I should...
Haru:"I'm sorry, Torus. We're going to see my... parents."
Torus:"W- why?"
Haru:"To get revenge on them for fucking with me so much."
Wait... if we bring Torus along, isn't that controlling what she does? I don't want to do that.

>>184390
You could ask her if she wants to come with you.

Rather than killing them, wouldn't it be a far more fitting punishment to have them imprisoned?
As punishment for taking away your freedom, they're denied their freedom.

>>184403
You know what? That does sound like a better idea.
Haru:"Um, that is, if you want to come with me."
Torus:"A- anyone who h- hurts my friends deserves... deserves to die. And Haru... Whoever... or whatever c- caused you to see m- moving food, I will kill t- them as well. You know why?"
Haru:"Why?"
Torus:"B- because I'm your friend, and friends l- look out for e- each other."
She winces in pain after finishing the sentence.

now that's a true friend. i guess give her a hug and let her get some sleep.

>>184454
Fine... I'll listen to you only once... next time, stop telling me what to do. I hug her, and she hugs back.

Haru 2010/05/28(Fri)15:23 No. 184516 ID: 34470e
File 127508541838.png - (92.68KB , 605x563 , end 2.png )

Now, I let her rest.