Hi! So apparently we're some kind of ancient advice spirits that people can actually summon!
We gave a lich an existential crisis, it was fun.

>>381096
Well it was only a memory of a lich.

>>381103
OR WAS IT?!

>>381089
Shady political meeting? Oh boy!
So, what's happened since we were kidnapped? Voicenapped?

we got some relevant info for you. the mage guild are interested in the elf not because of his magical knowledge, but because he knows something about the eye pendants that are being used to scout our your country for invasion.

Lin 2012/01/20(Fri)19:25 No. 381293 ID: a9ba96
File 132711634037.jpg - (61.96KB , 576x594 , 352b3174.jpg )

Well, there you are. Right on cue. I guess you've been keeping yourself busy, too.

After we wrapped up the judgement the High Knight gave a speech about faith and justice and I got a notice from one of the Inquisition's men during the festivities afterwards to meet the High Knight for a conference out in the forest.

I was admittedly a bit hesitant to head off into the woods at the Inquisition's request after what happened with the ritual, even if I was technically doing nothing wrong. Not sure if I would have preferred an inquisition ambush squad looking to make an example of me, or whatever this is.

Speaking of the trial, I'll definitely need to try figuring out what happened when I touched the High Knight's shoulder. But for now, we're probably safest learning what the conference is for. These are some really powerful people, so we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.

Lin takes a seat on a log.
>"So, what's going on out here?"

Lin 2012/01/20(Fri)19:30 No. 381299 ID: a9ba96
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I've never liked dealing too much with the people in power. I respect most of them, but I just... don't like dealing with them.

When I deal with people, I don't like having to play it their way, but that's the only safe way to play it. I know that may sound weird coming from someone whose sworn to follow the laws of the paladin, but there's a bit of a difference in dedicating yourself to a moral code and doing whatever you can to play it safe for the higher ups. These aren't bandits or Orcs. You have options when you deal with people on equal footing as you, but authority requires you to act act you're expected to act. If you slip up, if they see though you, If they decide you're a problem...

...If you want to get anywhere in life, you're usually better off kneeling when the captain expects you to kneel. There's plenty of room to better yourself outside that... but you know what they say about "the nail that sticks up," you know?

Grand Inquisitor Andrés clears his throat.
>"Miss Shylton, This conference was called to discuss some very important matters in the Outlands between those closely involved in them. Archmage Gwethana believes that might include you as well."

...I don't like the sound of that. I don't like this at all.

Lin 2012/01/20(Fri)19:33 No. 381303 ID: a9ba96
File 132711683102.jpg - (129.95KB , 479x678 , 736f4511.jpg )

>"Lin, was it? You were responsible for bringing my daughter back safely. I couldn't thank you enough for that."
"Well um, Thank you, Milady."
>"Now, when you told me that the necklace you found with Eline would have to be held as contraband - you have that with you, yes?"
"...Yes, Milady. I was going to present it to the High Knight when I got a a chance to meet him in private."
>"Good. Now, when you told me it would have to be held as contraband at the request of the camp demonologist, I thought little of it initially. You were responsible for retrieval of this necklace, but I figured that there was no way you could have known much about it's... significance. I figured that you were just repeating what Docor Namskul had told you... until I got a chance to talk with the doctor, and he informed how he had deduced the dangers of the pendant."
"..."
>"Something about a glowing, talking orb full of voices that you had given him to inspect explaining it to him? Does that sound about right, my dear?"

Oh shit...

>"Before we get this discussion underway, you... and they, for all intents and purposes, probably have a lot of questions. Provided that you do the same for us, we will answer them to the best of our abilities. The eyes, whatever you've been told they do... if you have anything on your mind, ask now."

>>381303
Hmm. This is probably a good chance to find out if we can trust the Inner Circle.

"What are you looking for in the memories of Those Beyond?" is a question I would like answered. If she asks how we know, tell her that we decided to start talking to Varn after she left.

Alternatively you could just ask for general information about the Inner Circle and its policies.

Ask what information and theories they have on the eyes, make sure we're all on the same page.

>>381306
Not really sure this is wise. What happens when she goes back to ask Varn about it? She might uncover the deception.

>>381311
agreed.

we should ask more about current events. such as why touching the high knight caused lin to syphon off some of his detect lies power.

>>381303
"First, we have our first changeling paladin.
Second, Warpath is building his forces up for an invasion.
Third, Those Beyond ask that you assign Mary and Eline to the command of either myself or Mark - something about negotiations for you calling for their aid."

>>381340
You should not bring up Ath that bluntly. You should instead say there is something on your mind first, ask if the High Knight remembers Ath, and then ask to confirm that he was definitely a paladin. When they ask why you are asking that, say then you should say that he is a changeling who successfully swore the Oath.

Hey, I thought we decided not to tell the High Knight about Ath at all?

>>381303
Make a reminder first that the demonologist is an absolute quack and a fraud. A piss-poor one, at that. It's understandable to have someone around who can make the grunts feel safer, but beyond that and you are simply asking for slaughter, or worse.

hey if she knows we are here, could you ask her to put her hood down? its a small thing but we find that those who hide there faces are rarely trustworthy.

>>381659
We might not want to start this conversation with unkind statements about the High Knight's friend, who is also part of the conversation.

Lin 2012/01/23(Mon)17:09 No. 381755 ID: a9ba96
File 132736738157.jpg - (208.02KB , 765x753 , 08ce502a.jpg )

"Alright... Uh, well, what happened back at the judgement ritual when I touched the High Knight's shoulder?"
>"Oh yeah, sorry about that, babe."
Andrés quickly cuts in.
>"As a paladin, you have a rare blessing, that being your holy aura. Your divine protection from dark magics and disease. Now, the goddess understood, even in the first days of her son's order,always we would always be a proud few that stood against the overwhelmingly vast numbers of scum and degenerates of the realm. To help even these odds, the Goddess made the strength of this aura grow more powerful not only through dedication to her cause, but also by being near the aura of other Paladins. Such ingenious foresight proved invaluable to us today, when our numbers continue to dwindle, but we still stand mighty when we stand by each other."
"yes Grand Inquisitor Andrés sir, but how does that effect what happened at the ritual?"
>"While your aura naturally responds to that of other Paladins, you are still relatively new to our order, and as such your holy aura is not quite as strong as someone whose dedicated their entire life to the cause - and even then, the auras of most veteran paladins never reach the point where they can detect lies, or sense dark intent, or rapidly recover from injuries. For that, you must be truly close to the goddess, like the High Knight is. When you touched his shoulder, your holy aura attempted to grow to match his, and it quite simply wasn't strong enough to do so. Any dizziness or other effects that caused should have subsided by now, yes?"

Well, nobody's glowing blue anymore, so...

"Yes, sir Grand Inquisitor."

Gwethana looks over to Lin.
>"Of course, I'm sure there are much bigger questions to ask, yes?"
"Yes, milady... but uh, they say they don't trust people who hide their face."
>"Ha! Please understand that the hoods worn by members of the guild of mages are part of our order's traditions. It's representative of our willingness to give up our personal goals and desires in order to become tools though which humanity may better understand, unitize, and perfect the studies of magic, and use the arcane arts to improve mankind's..."

Lin 2012/01/23(Mon)17:18 No. 381760 ID: a9ba96
File 132736790535.jpg - (93.61KB , 868x767 , a763ae21.jpg )

>"...Oh, why not? We've nothing to hide here. No secrets between us. If they wish to see my face, I'll gladly grant them that. But surely that's not all they wish to know."
"No, milady. What do you know about... these eyes?"
>"The eye pendant is a scrying tool. It's a semi-organic, self aware, magically constructed eye built to be disguised as a necklace charm or a brooch. It moves on its own, fixates on things it finds to be of interest, and feeds what it sees back to its creator. However, It's built to avoid magical detection, so its range of making this interaction is limited - if it's not within a certain range of a person's head, it stops working. Other charms meant to interact mentally with their user will also disrupt it."
"And... How do you know so much about these things?"
>"We made them. They're used to monitor mages who travel outside the spire for advising, gathering supplies, scouting Elven territories... we've lost a few scouts over the years in Upper Ution, but we've always severed the connection back to the Spire so they couldn't be traced by Elven mages. Someone has apparently dug up a few and altered them to feed information all the way back to Turgeth. According to Eline, that someone may very well be Furor Eternity. Now, you have the eye you found with my daughter, yes?"
"...Yes, milady."
>"Good. While it's likely that your other pendant is keeping it from listening in on us, I'm going to request that you place it on the log next to you, just to be safe. We cannot continue this conversation until that is done."

Lin 2012/01/23(Mon)17:19 No. 381761 ID: a9ba96
File 132736794310.jpg - (37.67KB , 469x518 , f74160ac.jpg )

Lin puts the eye down next to her. It glares at Lady Gwethana, and freezes in place, motionless, as Lin lets go.
>"Very good."
"So, you know about the eyes, what about... Warpath?"
>"Of course we're aware of him. Rest assured that he is of no concern to us."
"What?! We're talking about some ancient evil overlord with an undead army? How is that of little concern to you?"
>"Because, dear. He's picked a fight far out of his league."
"What is that even supposed to mean?"

Lin 2012/01/23(Mon)17:20 No. 381762 ID: a9ba96
File 132736800611.jpg - (65.65KB , 263x647 , d08898fa.jpg )

Mr Amwaith laughs and raises a pistol in the air.
>"It means we have the stupid fuck outmanned, outmatched, and most importantly, outgunned. By his own admission, this guy apparently hasn't actually led an army in a few thousand years. The guy expects the clashing of steel against armor, arrows in the sky, valiant charges, and he may get that from the Elves. But the second his crew of bones in armored suits try to move some serious muscle in the humans' direction?
>I'll tell you this. I wanna see the look on his face when his entire front line gets mowed down in seconds by two hundred riflemen firing from a hundred yards away. You've heard the stories about how the Elves reacted when the humans started killing each other with muskets instead of bowmen back during the Grey Queen's War, right?"
"I think I heard Faer mention that once before..."
>"Eh, you didn't strike me as much of a history buff. Maybe you don't know much about wars from a hundred years back, I couldn't blame you, but you gotta remember that whole Gryphon Skull thing last year in Egias."
"...Yeah, That I do remember..."
>"Then you've probably heard the rumors about this baby. let me tell you now - all true. This here's a Flintlock, based on Dwarven design. Its's how you spell "crowd control" down in the GDR, and it Singlehandedly turned the tides in good King Victor's favor in the last few months of that mess. Victor's had these things mass produced for military usage over the last year, but a handful of them have ended up in the outlands. You just gotta know the right people. Walking dead or not, when you hit a skull with this, it ain't pretty. So If that dirty son of a bitch with the horn helmet is gonna poke his head out of that hole over in Orc country, he's gonna get the honors of taking part in history's first war against a proper army armed with these babies. Aim. Squeeze. Boom. Dead."

Lin 2012/01/23(Mon)17:20 No. 381763 ID: a9ba96
File 132736804775.jpg - (91.39KB , 884x768 , 66ba4b84.jpg )

"But.. if you're really trying to tell me that Warpath isn't a problem... what's this all about?"
Gwethana smiles.
>"It's political, mostly. The governments of Farway and The United Lands of Egias are both very much aware of Warpath's threat, and have been taking the steps to prepare as the Guild of Mages has advised them. Once his forces are taken out by Egias' miliatary, it all becomes a matter of moving in and shutting him down before he can retaliate - However, while we have confidence in our ability to best Warpath in combat, we fear for the integrity of the Outlands in the aftermath of the battles."
"...How does the Outlands factor into this?"
>"We have an... idea of how he plans to invade, and we have a way of limiting his methods of attack. However, since the Outlands lie between Egias and Farway, and the Maiden's Pass at the northernmost tip of the Outlands is one of the most easily accessible and fortifiable routes from lower Ution into Elven territory, it's likely that Egias, Farway, or both will be moving forces into the outlands for defense purposes once the conflict begins. Now, the Outlands have always been a disputed territory between the two, but it's ultimately a sparsely populated mountainous and forested region, so both sides are mostly content on saying that the borders are generally "somewhere in the hills," and leaving it at that. They both have farmers peppered about the area, and while there's undoubtedly some money to be found in owning the territory, neither side needs it enough to spark a war by moving troops into it and demanding taxes from the people in it - which would ultimately include the other nation's handful of farmers."
"Yeah, okay, but what does this have to do with the invasion?!"
>"On top of being a minor source of income for Egias and Farway, the Outlands are also home to countless independent settlements, filled with people who sought to live outside the boundaries of the "great human nations" and leave the troubles they faced there behind. A desire which the Sons of De Justus have sworn to uphold, and a desire which may be lost if one side uses this as an excuse to move in here during Warpath's invasion, and choose not to leave after all is said and done. The observation of the Outlands have always been a point of interest to the Guild, and neither I nor the High Knight wish to see this land consumed by the nations to the west or east. The Guild only has so much pull as advisors for the nobles in Egias and Farway, so we have been working to find a proper political bargaining chip for the Sons of De Justus in case either side ultimately chooses to try encroaching on the Outlands in the aftermath of the war."
"How does Amwaith fit into this?"
>"We've agreed to assist his company in acquiring the late Madame Da'Mounde's resources should he provide whatever assistance his mercenaries can give us."
"And... how does "those beyond" factor into this?"
>"Ahh, and that was what this meeting was all about. Before I explain, however, are you sure there is nothing else you need to ask?"

I... I don't even... Egias, Farway, the Guild, the Sons... they all know about this? But...

ask her if she sure its the exact kind that the guild uses? and ask her to make sure it hasn't been modified please. the guy on the other end seemed way to competent to use a covert method of reconnaissance that the target being scouted knows about.

I wanna know what they're planning on doing when warpath inevitably gets a gun and starts manufacturing his own

>>381765
DON'T MENTION THIS. These people are all obviously incredibly overconfident. Also, I'm pretty sure they're all evil.

Also, they want to make a landgrab when Warpath attacks. They'll let him shatter the Outlands defenses, then move in "reconstruction" forces, and take over without firing a shot. But don't tell them you know this, they'll totally murder you.

>>381765
indeed. why would none of the eyes he is using inform him of guns? what if his legion has some already?

>>381763
"We have far more experience with both firearms and the undead than you could imagine, and you're ludicrously overconfident.
First you assume that destroying the skull would destroy a unit, but that's not always the case. Depending on the style of the mage who created it the seat of power could be in the spine, in a hand, in a rib, in a unit's weapon, in a different location on each unit, or not tied to the unit at all. Until you send in a scout force to capture a few units for research you're better off trying to destroy the pelvis so each unit is certainly crippled.
Second you forget that firearms are most effective because they cause serious trauma to living tissue. As undead are notably lacking in living tissue this poses a problem.
Third? If that's a smoothbore flintlock it would be generous to give you even odds to hit a living person at 30 paces, and reloading after each shot takes a skilled marksman about 10 seconds. If it's got decent rifling then it might be able to hit a person at 100 paces, but since these aren't people you'd have to hit a moving object the size of a melon. Not happening. A good rifled musket has about five times the effective range, but three hundred marksmen versus a thousand skeletons? Smart money would be on the skeletons. That money gets even smarter when you start accounting for misfires, fouling, and how bulletproof steel armor is against musketballs.

The tortoise is coming, my little hares.
We can help you fix this, but you're going to have to hand Eline and Mary over to us since we're very busy and have other things we need to get done.
Also, Lin recruited a new paladin. He's a changeling."

>>381791
Let's not go blabbing on about things that aren't quite confirmed. We don't remember enough about how undead work to say for sure if the magics involved are that flexible. Still, you bring up some valid points to speak on- would these firearms be accurate and effective against undead? And how do we know they don't have guns or know about guns? Do we have any counter-espionage going on?

As for Ath, well... Lin, do you think it's safe to bring up that subject now? Would it cause a schism due to those who are involved here?

>>381783
I think we have a decent idea about the evilness of the people involved here. Remember, the High Knight trusts these people, and he is a BADASS PALADIN/bard who knows when people are lying. And probably can tell if people are evil just by looking at them.

These people aren't evil. We can trust them. Gwethana has oddly sized pupils but I doubt that really has anything to do with anything.

>>381783
What do you mean 'land grab'? The Mages don't seem the type to go for land ownership, and Sons of De Juste are already the main authority in the area.

>>381791
This one makes a lot of assumptions I don't think we should talk about right away.
However, I think we should ask whether they have actually tried rifles against, you know, animated skeletons, which have far fewer organs to puncture than living creatures.

have they tested the effectiveness of guns on the undead? depending on how the local magic works undead might take really specific types of damage to kill, so finding and shooting some before hand as a test might be a good idea.

About with questions like 'have you tested the guns on them', you can probably avoid the chance of annoying the inquisition by relaying that these are our questions rather than yours.

>>381794
What, exactly, have I assumed?
Besides assuming they haven't actually fought and researched Warpath's undead yet - which they've already implied themselves - I've made no assumptions.

Remember how the Lich animated catgirl's headless corpse?

>>381791
Seven. You're talking too much again.

>>381862
Assumptions like what sort of guns they have (unless they mentioned that somewhere and I forgot).
Also, we should try to limit our smugness, as we don't want it interfering with them listening to us. We should point out the flaws in their plan, but explicitly saying they are foolish makes the situation with them more delicate.

Guns are nice, but the reload time is gunna be a real bitch when facing down enemies literally incapable of feeling fear.

Still, I look forward to seeing how that works out.

Preventing a land grab will certainly be a problem, as it would be in their interest for a greater power to militarily protect the locals, but who's? Well, even 3rd party freelancers need payment, and if we end up needed to collect taxes to finance this mess, it starts looking like the Outlands are trying to declare independence and become a nation proper.

>>381910
Err... They literally just said they were using flintlocks, and the basic principles behind how a flintlock works dictate most of the design.

>>381763
"Milady Archmage, Warpath is leading an army of the Undead, which are infamous for their lack of fear or pain. Surely not every shot by our forces will be a pre-ordained head-shot, unless you have found some way to enchant the shot itself? In either case, the dead happen to outnumber the living several times over: do you really believe that our stockpile of guns and ammunition will suffice?"

Also, Star Fortresses are perfect for this scenario. We have a few years, and they have a few mages.

Lin 2012/01/26(Thu)21:14 No. 382517 ID: a9ba96
File 132764125099.jpg - (179.59KB , 754x633 , 6e200293.jpg )

I feel uneasy.

"...Those Beyond is wondering how effective the use of firearms would be against the undead."
>"Not quite as effective as they would be against a living being, but certainly enough to do the job. Damage to the body forces an undead to burn a large amount of the dark magic it stores to remain animated... and Egias' new armaments are very effective at damaging a body. A reanimated skeleton may lack the right major organs to hit, but the force of a bullet crashing into bone in the right places will still put one down just as well as a well placed arrow or sword swing would, then more so."

What these guys are proposing is hard to imagine. The militaries have been using firearms in small numbers for years now, small groups of musketeers to support their cavalry and infantry... But those guns were expensive, inaccurate, they were good for cover fire so you could move your men in during a siege, provided they didn't explode in your hands, or a bowman didn't put an arrow through your neck in the minute it took to reload ... they're nothing compared to what I've heard about these things.

I've seen battles. Ive seen a lot of them, but the thought of entire hordes being stopped dead in their charge, torn to shreds in a storm of sound and lights... if these things can do half the things they say they can do, they tread a fine line between awe inspiring and horrifying.

I say the first thing that comes to mind, trying to force my thoughts to something else.

"The new recruit who tried to interrupt the judgement today is a changeling."
Probably not the best idea.

Lin 2012/01/26(Thu)21:15 No. 382518 ID: a9ba96
File 132764134585.jpg - (151.91KB , 600x669 , 428a23a8.jpg )

The High Knight practically falls backwards off the log, his usual, charming smirk fading into a look of complete shock and confusion."
>"I'm sorry babe, what was that?"
"My run-in with Zebble Creed last night. He was discussing the terms of a contract he had struck with a changeling named Ath before I drove him off. I had found the necklace containing Those Beyond shortly before that, and they had asked me to show mercy to him. They didn't understand when I tried to explain to them that such creatures were beyond mercy in the eyes of the goddess, so I had him try to swear the oath to show them. It worked."
>"...I'm sorry babe, WHAT was that?"

Namskul chuckles nervously
>"Oh, ehm... yes. I knew there was something important I had forgotten to tell you earlier..."

The High Knight and his companions are left speechless, doing nothing more than exchange glances, trying to formulate a proper response. Fayne spends a moment deep in thought before breaking the silence.
>"...Interesting."

Lin 2012/01/26(Thu)21:18 No. 382519 ID: a9ba96
File 132764149135.jpg - (160.47KB , 719x768 , 49910373.jpg )

Grand Inquisitor Andrés promptly explodes into a flurry of deep breaths and gasps before choking out a reply.
>"Interesting? Interesting!? Madame Gwethana, need I remind you that we are discussing creatures who enjoy the taste of infants! They eat babies and the goddess sees fit to allow one in our order, after years of keeping the Outlands safe from their kind?"
>"Think of it as a blessing from your goddess. They say the gods still perform miracles from time to time. He is a changeling, yes? Feyblooded. His presence may aid us in some way."
>"That abomination!? Aid us?"
>"Lin? You wish to know how Those Beyond factors into all of this? Very simple. At the end of the Great War, the surviving Drow were driven deep underground - cast into The Silence. The Silence, thousands of miles wide and hundreds of miles deep, is a dungeon spanning beneath the continents; an ancient prison forged by the gnomes tens of thousands of years ago, before the human race had made it's first step. It was a prison for keeping dark, horrific forces trapped underground so life could grow above, and it is where whatever Drow may survive today dwell for eternity."

>"However, driving the Drow underground forced the Elves to open new entrances to The Silence, new pits to cast their foes deep within, and though those pits have long since been covered over by monuments and temples, they have never been truly sealed. There is too big a risk for Warpath in attacking Ution by sea - we believe that Warpath intends to march his armies through The Silence into Ution. We've spent the past few months pinning down the entrances to the Silence created in Ution - while we likely don't have enough time or resources to cut them all off in time, sealing key entrances once Warpath begins to march his legions will allow us to force his invasion into territories that would give us the upper hand."

Lin 2012/01/26(Thu)21:20 No. 382520 ID: a9ba96
File 132764161845.jpg - (50.52KB , 430x517 , 013612cb.jpg )

>While a heavy amount of dwarven black powder will allow us to swiftly cut off many of these points... others, due to their location deep in Elven territory, may be a much more delicate matter. To avoid incident with the Elves we can't simply amass troops and send them into the area, so we have been collaborating with Egias to gather small adventuring teams to send to these locations instead. However, we have been holding off sending these teams until we have found some way to channel Those Beyond - the adventuring teams will need to traverse areas occupied by the dangerous Fey of upper Ution... and perhaps even their kings, the Fair Folk. An understanding of Feyspeak would be vital for these traversals, but not even the feyblooded can comprehend their tongue - the only ones capable of hearing the fey is Those Beyond. We have looked into other uses for them as well should we face difficulties, but this is the main reason why we seek their voices.

>You do not need to become involved in our affairs in Upper Ution. You were dragged into this by circumstance, and if you want to stay out of this we will understand. I will not ask if you will help us... But I need to know now, will they?"

If theres a chance for elf on elf action, I'm in!

sure. keeping bloodthirsty armies away from population centers via application of high explosives is always good clean fun.

>>382520
BLOW UP STUFF?! YES PLEASE!

And Lin, Ath repeatedly denied that his kind eats babies. I assumed you saying that was just uneducated superstition or prejudice on your part. What is the Inquisitor doing spewing that sort of talk? Shouldn't he know better? Or has that sort of thing actually been verified as having happened before? More than once?

How much information does the Order actually HAVE on changelings, aside from that when they mix with humans it makes monsters, and the Goddess ordered them killed on sight?

>>382519
The Inquisitor is flailing dangerously close to blasphemy. You need to punt him away from that precipice.
"Inquisitor, I ask that you consider your response to this news very carefully; Ath is a paladin, and has therefore received the blessing of the goddess. Are you sure you wish to claim that the goddess has granted her blessing to a babyeater? Or would you rather trust that the goddess found a good soul somewhere unexpected?

Beyond that, I'm not aware of any verified cases of changelings eating babies. Many times where a child went missing or was slain by an animal and a changeling was assumed, cases ones where we actually found a changeling which was responsible?
We have a commitment to truth, justice, and the will of our goddess. If our goddess has decided that being an abomination is a forgivable sin then do we not have a duty to ensure we spread no harmful myths?"

"Those Beyond feel your stated goal is noble and are willing to help, but don't seem to trust the guild or its methods. They also have expressed concerns about 'sentient rights' and annoyance over being considered a 'thing' to be used.
They insist that if they decide to help you they must have control over who is or is not on their team.
They seem to be willing to help improve your firearms to be more accurate, reliable, and effective."

>>382544
This, but without the middle part.

Lin 2012/01/27(Fri)20:29 No. 382760 ID: a9ba96
File 132772497168.jpg - (52.11KB , 496x536 , f7cb9cd7.jpg )

"They're in."

If anyone knows their place in the Goddess' plan, it's Andrés. Something like this is going to be shocking for him, but I have faith that he can find his own answers, and so can the others...

...You know, I never planned on becoming a paladin, but I like to think it finally helped me find the guidance and the direction in my life that I went to the Outlands to find. It's something very important to me, and... I don't like having to question It. It's why what happened with Ath got me so angry. It's why I don't like dealing with authority; a paladin is expected to uphold the law, and a paladin is expected to be good, and sometimewhat really worry about what would happen if the two came into conflict with each other, if somewhere down the line I was somewhere and got and order that... It took me some time, but found a real, worthy calling in the Goddess' oath. I don't want to have to second guess it now.

But at the end of the day, it's still a code worth living by. It's about being just, honest, faithful protectors. It's about helping people. And being forced to think about the code, and why I live by it, over the past few days... well, I realized what's most important about it to me.
Helping people.

"...They're in, and so am I."

Lin 2012/01/27(Fri)20:35 No. 382761 ID: a9ba96
File 132772532104.jpg - (163.34KB , 719x717 , 4527a4ee.jpg )

>"Lin, you're doing a very good thing... and so are they."
"They... want to be sure you're not just using them as a tool. They want a say in who gets sent north."
>"That can be arranged very easily... Can you show me the Orb?"

...I'm still not sure what the hell you are, where you came from, or how you ended up in some goblin's bag of jewels...

But I'm sure glad I picked you up.

>"I'm not sure if you... or even they, fully understand how vital their aid will soon come to be."

... 2012/01/27(Fri)20:36 No. 382762 ID: a9ba96
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>"Those Beyond, Those Beyond, I grant my mind unto you, so you may speak and unto me your many tongues be heard..."