Ah, good, we're "actively" with Dooriya right now.
Since Anna intercepted the message for you, allow me to repeat it before we go jumping around again:
Dooriya, there's a secret we're keeping. I'm sorry, but we don't know what it means, and we can't trust the book with it. We'll bring it up when we can speak with Steve, okay?
Please don't be angry *pitiful squid whine*
If it comes to Steve visiting you in a dream, please try and summon us. I do not know if we will get a message an urge forced upon us, but if not, we should be able to sense it when scanning everybody. Which we do quite frequently.
>“The hunter” Status: Exited. “The priest” Status: Content.
...Do I even want to know? Oh well, I'm just glad they've snapped out of their usual funk.
>“The Alchemist” Status: Bored.
Ooh, Jal's sobered uhhhh wait a minute, these reports are starting to look suspicious. Are there ways for a person to go from having a hangover to being completely sober that quickly?
Just how long have we been out here, anyways?
>“The Valkyrie” Status: Exited!
This one is especially odd, since I've been teasing her about the Yetis, as a result driving her fear way up, and yet she's purely excited? Hm.
The sad part is that it's all actually possible, just really, really suspicious looking.
Bradford, we're dealing with the bulk of the corrupted, do us a favor and keep the damned helmet on, yeah? We'll, uh, look into beard shampoos? Heavy beers? I dunno what works best as a bribe for you but we'll get something.
Split up the forces between west and central passages.

>>584868
Jal probably has a hangover remedy.

>>584863
Dooriya put your helmet on!
[check corruption levels of Dooriya]

We got bad news. Our squad up on the hill was attacked by two yetis that were likely attracted by the scent of a bloody cultist corpse that was left up in a tree. (Seriously, everybody who cleaned up up there deserves a reprimand for overlooking something so blatant.) There was one fatality; A crossbowman had his head ripped off. The rest of the squad is alive but were knocked out of position to the foot of the hill. One yeti was killed; Crushed by a tree that the other yeti tried to throw down on our squad. The remaining yeti took a bolt to the eye but is still alive; Position is unknown but likely still on the hill. Our squad is currently climbing back up the hill but they may not make it in time to give the response signal to the caravan.

We switched to Vlad momentarily before switching to you and asked him what caravan carriers he saw. According to him there are three carriers stopped on the approach to the west pass and flashing light signals up the hill. There's one carrier that stopped right under the tree he's in that was very slow and has a strong camouflage enchantment on it; He says if it hadn't stopped under him he wouldn't have seen it.

It's looking like the lone carrier is the one with the high value items in it, which would include the keystone, but we can never be 100% certain. It might be it does have high value items in it but the keystone is actually in a very lightly loaded carrier going to the west pass which would split off at full speed and make a run for the pass if attacked. So if one of the carriers looks like it's riding light on the snow, focus on taking it out 'cause that one'll probably have the keystone on board. And it's unlikely there'll prisoners on it, so pull out all the stops to stop it.

Do we know what shape the caravan carriers are? Are they enclosed, partially enclosed or open? 'Cause if they're enclosed that'll put a damper on using ranged weapons and grenades against them.

Vlad is already in position over the middle carrier, so send Brad there; Possibly with one more to back him up, but I doubt you have anybody to spare. Everyone else goes for west pass carriers. Give Brad at least one grenade and one of the big bombs, for use in case the camo'd carrier is tougher than expected. Give the other big bomb to somebody positioned nearer to the west pass so they can activate and plant it in the path of any carriers that make a run for it.

Now, we've only got until the caravan either gets the signal or stops signaling and starts moving to get into position, so get moving! We'll switch over to Vlad and see if he can slip onto the carrier unnoticed.

Oh, and Dooriya, when you were going to cast holy magic against those two cultists, did the magic channel through your right arm at all? If so then it getting a surge of magic might explain how it did what it did. We'll have to ask Steve about that later.

Three are near the western pass, one is illusion'd invisible right underneath Vlad. Brad can assist Vlad in taking down the last cart, everyone else move to engage the carts in the west.

Kaktus 2014/07/20(Sun)12:56 No. 584898 ID: 65a774
File 140588619373.png - (37.42KB , 900x450 , 74.png )

>[check corruption levels of Dooriya]
[“The Sister of Wisdom” corruption is 87% and falling fast!]

>Dooriya, there's a secret we're keeping. I'm sorry, but we don't know what it means, and we can't trust the book with it. We'll bring it up when we can speak with Steve, okay? Please don't be angry *pitiful squid whine*
(*Ugh* If you never, ever do that… noise again, I’ll forgive you for… um… whatever you think I’ll be mad about…)
>If it comes to Steve visiting you in a dream, please try and summon us. I do not know if we will get an urge forced upon us, but if not, we should be able to sense it when scanning everybody. Which we do quite frequently.
(I’ll try, I guess?)
>Just how long have we been out here, anyways?
(Almost two hours now.)
>Oh, and Dooriya, when you were going to cast holy magic against those two cultists, did the magic channel through your right arm at all?
(Of course it did! I always use my right arm to channel magic.)

>We got bad news. Our squad up on the hill was attacked by two yetis. There was one fatality; A crossbowman had his head ripped off.
That’s not good…
I hope we can retrieve his corpse…
>The rest of the squad is alive but were knocked out of position to the foot of the hill.
That might be even worse!
>Most of them are going through the western pass, but there's one in the central pass!
Right… why are one of them alone?
>The one in the central pass is camouflaged and moving slowly, I think that's the one with the keystone.
Sounds like they were trying to sneak around us!
And they would succeeded if Vlad wasn’t there.

>Dooriya put your helmet on! Bradford, do us a favor and keep the damned helmet on, yeah?
As soon as I’m done issuing orders!
*Grumble*
Stop being a baby, Brad.
>Do we know what shape the caravan carriers are? Are they enclosed, partially enclosed or open?
They are enclosed.
But they should be made out of wood, so we can still burn them with the fire bombs.
Err… yes, “wood”…
>Vlad is already in position over the middle carrier, so send Brad there; Possibly with one more to back him up, but I doubt you have anybody to spare.
Hopefully the other ranger has seen the flares and is on the move too…
I’m going with Brad. They will need a healer.
Right, Sgt. Duran, go with Alexandra and Brad.
Ma’am!
Right, on my-
>Give Brad at least one grenade and one of the big bombs, for use in case the camo'd carrier is tougher than expected.
Right again, on my way!
Hey! Wait up!
>Everyone else goes for west pass carriers.
Alright people! Check your gear and move out!

…

>We'll switch over to Vlad and see if he can slip onto the carrier unnoticed.
…Vladimir, this is either the stupidest or the smartest idea you’ve ever had…

Insert RIDIN’ ON CARTS! *Guitar solo!*

[scan cart and contents]

Alright, now just wait for reinforcements to show up, they're already on the way.

>[scan cart and contents]
In case that doesn't work, [Scan air-based ripples beneath Vlad]
Vladimir, I agree. This is both stupid and genious. You're flying, man, by the seat of your pants.

Well, it's leaning a bit more towards "stupidest" by speaking out loud when you're trying to be sneaky. Really, Vlad, you ought to know better.

Hold and take no action against the carrier. Brad, Alexandra, and Sgt. Duran are on their way, and the other ranger is likely on the way as well. We'll need you up there to surprise attack when the "fun" starts.

I'd suggest laying prone in the middle of the carrier roof. That'll make it less likely branches will hit you when the carrier starts moving, as well as protect you from possibly falling over if the carrier accelerates hard. It'll also provide some cover from enemies on the ground and make it a bit harder for them to see you... That is, unless the enchantment on the carrier means they can just look right through and see you.

Press your ear to the carrier roof and listen; Maybe you'll overhear the occupants. And feel over the roof for any indication of a hatch. Also, what does the material it's made of feel like?

It's probable the keystone is in this carrier, so that likely means the death knight is in there since they'd want to place a few powerful guards on it to keep the carrier weight down. So you really, really do not want whoever is in there to hear you.

Do you have a grenade on you? 'Cause that'd be great to chuck into the carrier if you get the chance. Well, after we've confirmed there aren't any prisoners in it, of course. Oh, and since you might have missed the info: Jal's grenades were prepared with holy water, so they'll be effective against wraiths and other corrupted beings.

Is that tree next to the carrier doubled up?

Kaktus 2014/07/20(Sun)15:58 No. 584950 ID: 65a774
File 140589709441.png - (25.05KB , 900x450 , 75.png )

>[scan cart and contents]
[Demonic Creature (None): Bone Wagon.]
[Undead Creature (Hostile): Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight.]

>Vladimir, I agree. This is both stupid and genius. You're flying, man, by the seat of your pants.
Um… flying would be the wrong word… it’s like sitting on a weird floating cloud or something…
>Well, it's leaning a bit more towards "stupidest" by speaking out loud when you're trying to be sneaky. Really, Vlad, you ought to know better.
Err… ops… I’m pretty sure I didn’t speak loud enough for anyone to hear…
>I'd suggest laying prone in the middle of the carrier roof. That'll make it less likely branches will hit you when the carrier starts moving, as well as protect you from possibly falling over if the carrier accelerates hard.
Ow… there’s a bunch of knobs and stuff here…
>Press your ear to the carrier roof and listen; Maybe you'll overhear the occupants.
…hmm… I think I can hear a low humming… and… actually, I’ve been hearing marching of a lot of feet for a while now…
>And feel over the roof for any indication of a hatch.
Nope, can’t find a hatch no matter which knob I pull…
>Also, what does the material it's made of feel like?
It’s odd… it’s not wood… nor metal… stone, maybe?
>Do you have a grenade on you? 'Cause that'd be great to chuck into the carrier if you get the chance.
Of course I have a grenade! It’s right here… somewhere… there it is.

>Alright, now just wait for reinforcements to show up, they're already on the way.
Reinforcements? Like b- OH SHIT IS THAT A FLYING TR-
*Crash!*
HO! Time for combat, ya cowardly bastards!!
(…so much for a surprise attack…)

Insert Lali ho_

The door is opening on the front, toss the grenade in!

Alright Vlad, drop the grenade in there. Let's start this off with a boom. Oh and get the hell out of the way, alright? Hop into that tree behind you maybe.

Brad, there's a Death Knight in the wagon. That will be your main foe.

Dang, that's a lot of bones. And where'd they get ones that big? Hmm... They look like the ones that stick out of yetis' backs. Figures they'd hunt the native beasts to build this thing.

[Check corruption levels] A Death Knight is quite likely a strong corruption source so we're probably gonna have to finish this fight fast.

>[Undead Creature (Hostile): Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight.]
Welp. I had a feeling Daniel was gonna be the Death Knight we'd face as soon as we had that vision. Guys, meet Daniel Anderson. He was the guide who led Varius up the mountain and our man on the inside up there eight months ago. I guess there just wasn't any way we could save him from being sacrificed to the Blood God.

>>584952
>>584953
VLAD, DO NOT THROW YOUR GRENADE IN! According to our scan the only occupant of the bone wagon was the Death Knight and he's already stepping out from the back! You'll just end up blowing up the bone wagon and reveal your position without harming the Death Knight at all.

Vlad, listen for the sound of the Death Knight's boots in the snow. As soon as he moves around the corner of the bone wagon move to the back of the roof. If the wagon door is open use your mirror to peek inside to confirm there are no other occupants, then use it to check over the edge for the Death Knight's position. When he's about to reach the front of the wagon lob your grenade up so it lands just behind him and explodes.

Brad, get your hammer ready. As soon as the grenade blows the Death Knight forward charge up full speed and give 'em a Windwalker Grand Slam! Knock 'em outta here!

>[Check corruption levels]
[Check corruption levels of Wagon, Pawns, and Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight]
I just had some odd wonderings.
[Check affiliation of Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight]
[Check affinity between Player Teal and nearby Daemon or Player influences]
I wonder if Dooriya's close enough that it'd pick up Steve's influence. Heck, maybe Bradford's hammer is enough. Assuming we're even allowed to check that sort of thing; wouldn't be too surprised if it required manual input to change what it states, at that.
>Guys, meet Daniel Anderson. He was the guide who led Varius up the mountain
...[Check affinity between Daniel Anderson and Player teal]
[Check time since last known connection between Daniel Anderson and Player Teal]
[Display last known status for pawn "The Sacrifice"] This one should show something, at least, since he's no longer a pawn. Heck, for all we know this might be a temporal clone or something. Maybe "The Sacrifice" is still up and running...
[Display current status for pawn "The Sacrifice"]
Wait a minute, if he was once a pawn, maybe he still is, and still our pawn, just having that title hidden from us? Daniel! If you can hear us, give a salute!
Bradford, Vladimir, assume the worst and that he can still hear us, and fight for yourselves without our advice! ..Or well, mostly without. I suppose it's still possible for Bradford to keep him preoccupied while Vladimir does other stuff, or vise-versa.
Let's throw crazy commands at the game and see what sticks! I mean, it's a beta version, it's easy enough for the Gods to have inserted commands that they hadn't added to the commands list before they hit the bucket, and we've definitely found some of them out already. Hell, Steve even gave us our own personal command for use in junction with The Pebble as our king!

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)01:15 No. 585055 ID: 65a774
File 140593051255.png - (25.19KB , 900x450 , 76.png )

>[Check corruption levels]
[Corruption at 0%]
>[Check corruption levels of Wagon and Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight]
[You can’t check corruption levels on pawns or creature you don’t own / are allied with!]
>[Check affinity between Player Teal and nearby Daemon or Player influences]
[Error! Redirecting to “Check Daemon affinity”.]
[Sir Daniel Anderson is affiliated with “The Blood God”!]
>[Display last known status for pawn "The Sacrifice"]
[Last message: “The Sacrifice was killed by The Lord of the Dead!”]
>[Display current status for pawn "The Sacrifice"]
[Unable to find “The Sacrifice!”]

>Dang, that's a lot of bones. And where'd they get ones that big? Hmm... They look like the ones that stick out of yetis' backs.
(Most of them seems to be human / lizard ones that are melded together… and this might be some yeti bones…)
>Brad, there's a Death Knight in the wagon. That will be your main foe.
Come out here and face me with some damn honor!
…
>The door is opening on the front, toss the grenade in!
(Right, lets blow thi-)
>VLAD, DO NOT THROW YOUR GRENADE IN!
(Huh? Alright?)
>If the wagon door is open use your mirror to peek inside to confirm there are no other occupants.
(It’s empty except for a weird purple glass ball… good thing I didn’t waste my bomb on that.)

>Vlad, listen for the sound of the Death Knight's boots in the snow. When he's about to reach the front of the wagon lob your grenade up so it lands just behind him and explodes.
(Right, press the button and then t-)
*Iced!*
SHIT!!
Attacking me from behind? Do you call that honor?
Don’t judge me by someone else’s actions.

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)01:15 No. 585056 ID: 65a774
File 140593052420.png - (27.17KB , 900x450 , 77.png )

>Brad, get your hammer ready. As soon as the grenade blows the Death Knight forward charge up full speed and give 'em a Windwalker Grand Slam!
Now, have at th- OH CRA-
*Pomf*
MFF!!
…how disappointing…
(Okay, as I haven’t blow up yet that means the grenade won’t activate as long as I don’t let go of the button… which is easy considering it’s frozen in place!! Either way, this is bad!)

Insert Stay cool, stay frosty, take a chill pill and just put it on ice for the time being_

Get up Brad and inform Mr Anderson of the many great opportunities your hammer has for his face.

Vlad do you have anything you can use to potentially warm up the ice? Nothing majorly hot incase that sets it off but you'll need to do something.

Also it is just encasing the grenade and hand or is it frozen through? We might need to apply heating or else you might lose that hand as well.

Brad it seems this guy is an actual skilled opponent who can see your windwalking skills, it might be prudent to kick your game up a notch and prepare to fight a powerful opponent.

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)08:31 No. 585092 ID: 65a774
File 140595669964.png - (25.28KB , 900x450 , 78.png )

>Vlad do you have anything you can use to potentially warm up the ice?
(Um… I got a flare? Maybe that will work?)
>Also it is just encasing the grenade and hand or is it frozen through?
(My hand is encased… though it starting to get rather cold either way…)

>Brad it seems this guy is an actual skilled opponent who can see your windwalking skills, it might be prudent to kick your game up a notch and prepare to fight a powerful opponent.
Get up and face me like a man, you knave.
…you aren’t going to hit me while I’m down?
Just because you have no honor doesn’t mean a knight of the Cobalt Blade doesn’t. Let us fight like gentlemen, Broken One.
>Get up Brad and inform Mr Anderson of the many great opportunities your hammer has for his face.
…
…well? I am waiting… show me what you can do, warrior.
(…I don’t think I can win this with brute force like I usually do… I… I can’t remember how to fight cunningly anymore…)
Ow! …oh, I see cracks! Almost there…

Insert What killed off the dinosaurs?_

Brad fight like you teach Anna: Remember the basic lessons and flow from there, watch and parry, use your windwalking skills to deflect and dodge and strike when his weapon is unable to strike back, it's a large greatsword so it's mobility is hampered if you can use your axe to block and strike.

Your mobility is your greatest advantage, he is still hampered by being in the snow so make sure you take advantage of it!

Dance in and provoke him into swinging by getting close. If he doesn't react then jab at him but don't overcommit. You want to dodge his swings until he does an overhead chop or something where the weight of his weapon throws him off balance or puts him into a recovery period, whereupon you come in and wail on him, then jump away.

Throw your axe and immediately rush in- he's likely to deflect or dodge it, but it will distract him long enough for you to get in close and put him on the defensive. Try to stay in the blind spots of his helmet by circling around him, and try to use that cape to your advantage by getting him to trip or using those convenient grappling points on his shoulders.

And where is your helme- it's stuck in the ground, isn't it?

Vladimir, trying to fight this guy is only going to get both you and Bradford hurt. Daniel is owned by The Blood God, who, despite everything, is very damned honorable. He will only make Daniel stronger if he faces more opponents.

Bradford, the likelihood of finishing this guy off in a short amount of time is low, but then, the likelihood of you wearing him out before yourself is also low. Fight with caution, conserve your stamina. If he strikes heavy, try and parry, deflect, or dodge and strike back immediately.
Something curious: It was "The Lord of the Dead" who killed Daniel, but "The Blood God" who controls him. Somebody happen to remember if we scanned that bearded mantis? Was that his title?

>Helm is stuck in ground.
Just as well-we're going to win this by being faster, not by being armored.
Hrrm. If this guy has ice powers he might do something like coat the ground in ice if we overdo the Wind-Walking, in which case we are screwed-low friction tends to be bad for speedsters.
Part of me wants to ask if you could quickly chop a tree down at him, run up it as it falls, and then when he dodges leap at him, but if he recovers quickly enough that will end poorly.

>>585105
We didn't scan him, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that he was Lord of the Dead.

>>585092
You've got two weapons, that helps. Block with one, attack with the other. The blessed one is best for attacking. Use footwork to get behind his guard or something.

Maybe you could ask the dude why the Blood God fights this war? Won't killing off half the population result in mass starvation amongst the Daemons? It's been a long time since we've spoken to a lucid high-ranking cultist.

Brad, buy Vlad a bit of time by saying you need to retrieve your helmet and put it on first. Just be quick about it and secure it well this time. While you're doing that ask Sir Anderson what you are. You've heard them call you "Broken" all the time, so what does that mean?

Vlad, don't break the ice where the Death Knight can see you. He'll just ice you up again or do something even worse. Grab the flare, jump down the far side of the bone wagon from him and then take cover at the rear to finish thawing the ice. Brad, if he goes for Vlad make sure to get in his way and stop him.

However, Vlad, don't throw the grenade at Sir Anderson unless the fight with Brad looks like it's going badly. Sir Anderson's honorable, so as long as you stay out of the fight and out of sight he won't attack you. But if things start going badly, then throw the grenade. And he spotted you behind him before, so you're not gonna be able to throw the grenade directly at him without getting iced again or worse. You'll have to do it indirectly and lob it over the wagon. Or perhaps you could throw it in the wagon on the side near him and it'll blast the wagon wall out at him. Though, we need to check if the keystone can stand up to a grenade blast first. [Message to Gray: How sturdy are keystones? Would one stand up to a grenade blast?] [Echo outgoing message and reply to "The Savage" and "The Hunter."]

Brad, you've got the advantage of speed and mobility, so keep on the move. Sir Anderson is wielding what appears to be a heavy cleaver sword which would be hard to stop once it gets moving. Use that to your advantage. Maneuver around so you're near the trunk of the tree you threw or the side of the bone wagon and bait him into swinging at you such that you can dodge out of the way at the last second and his sword'll get embedded in the trunk or the wagon. Use that moment to give him a solid hit with your hammer before he can pull his sword back out.

>>585105
We already tried scanning Varius but the Blood God intercepted it and used it to speak to us. But I figure "The Lord of the Dead" is Varius since he's a master necromancer.

>>585110
We've already asked Steve about the rebel daemons killing off the population and he already said they're not going to do that; It'd be counter-productive to producing emotional energy long term. Steve said that they'd end up putting about 45% of the population in life-support "suffering tanks" and subject them to daemonic illusions. So something like "The Matrix."

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)11:10 No. 585119 ID: 65a774
File 140596621209.png - (25.38KB , 900x450 , 79.png )

>[Message to Gray: How sturdy are keystones? Would one stand up to a grenade blast?]
[The Keystone are indestructible with the technology we possess, according to the Light.]

>Vladimir, trying to fight this guy is only going to get both you and Bradford hurt. Daniel is owned by The Blood God, who, despite everything, is very damned honorable. He will only make Daniel stronger if he faces more opponents.
(I can’t fight having a block of ice for an arm anyway!)
>Where is your helme- it's stuck in the ground, isn't it?
(It’s over by the tree. It fell off when he threw me into the ground.)
>Part of me wants to ask if you could quickly chop a tree down at him, run up it as it falls, and then when he dodges leap at him, but if he recovers quickly enough that will end poorly.
(As awesome as that would be, I’m pretty sure I can’t do that. Fell a tree, sure, but run up it? Not going too happened.)

>Brad fight like you teach Anna: Remember the basic lessons and flow from there, watch and parry, use your windwalking skills to deflect and dodge and strike when his weapon is unable to strike back, it's a large greatsword so it's mobility is hampered if you can use your axe to block and strike.
Right… focus…
>Throw your axe and immediately rush in- he's likely to deflect or dodge it, but it will distract him long enough for you to get in close and put him on the defensive.
*Swoosh!*
(He dodges, I come in circling around him on the ri-)
>Try to stay in the blind spots of his helmet by circling around him.
(-he swings his sword from the right side to stop me from going around…)
>Dance in and provoke him into swinging by getting close.
(But I dodge and he leaves himse-)

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)11:10 No. 585120 ID: 65a774
File 140596622827.png - (24.19KB , 900x450 , 80.png )

*Slickity!*
*Urg* …I… I d-did not see that coming…
Let me ask you, comrade, why do work for the slavers? Why stray from what is right?
Right? Let me show you wants right when I bash your head in with my hammer!
Might does not make right… nor does right make you mighty.
How can you call yourself right when you’ll kill thousands upon thousands of innocents?
Instead I would let them suffer in a flawed world? Do you not see the slavery? The injustice? The famine, the wars, the poverty as the so called “players” gorge themselves on the remains of those “Innocent” you try to protect!
Killing them all isn’t really a solution.
No, but remaking the world is. By destroying the corrupted nations, by defeating the players we can create a new foundation for a world better than this one! By sacrificing the few, we can make it better for the many! Think about the future generations that will live in this world! Haven’t your daemon overlords told you about the future?
They said they shouldn’t see it…
Ah, of course. A simple lie to keep you from the truth. They know the world would be a better place if they lost. Please, all I ask of your player is to seek the truth of the matter.
…you’re so full of bullshit…
I have said nothing but the truth, my good sire…
>Maybe you could ask the dude why the Blood God fights this war? Won't killing off half the population result in mass starvation amongst the Daemons?
We will not kill them, but use them for a better tomorrow.
You mean putting 45% of humanity in tanks and torture them?
45%? No, that much won’t be needed… 10%... 20% at most… and they aren’t to be tortured. Why eat stale bread when you can have a real feast? No, if you didn’t wage this war none of this suffering would be necessary. We should have simply taken the slavers and corrupt nobles out of the system and left the innocent alone, but you had to fight, didn’t you?
>Ask Sir Anderson what you are. You've heard them call you "Broken" all the time, so what does that mean?
You’re dead… a memory of the past given life trough grief, anger or regret… I do not know who you was before but know this… your sins will be revealed.
(Woo! I’m free! Dammit, the bottle is still frozen though…)

Insert Talking is a free action_

To be fair, neither did we. Extendible Ice Sword, and I bet he can just break it off or retract it if we move to attack him...
More importantly...The trouble with the Feast, as I recall, is a matter of supply-it takes so much more of those delicious emotions to work, than it does the bad ones.
Have they done the math? Are they CERTAIN nothing would go wrong? And all considered, the Blood God might be on the up and up, but the Deciever, she acts only for herself and her desires, consuming the most precious memories of mortals to sate her greed...
So it cuts both ways. Maybe this isn't the best system, maybe they could make it work, but not all the demons on their side are all nice, either.

You know,Knight, you´re right. We don´t know if our demon allies lie to us or telling us the entire truth. True, true.

But what makes you think YOUR demon allies are any diffrent. From our point of view we saw them

-Tainting the water of an entire City with corpses, to be used as instant undead reeinforcements, and also turning the water into a lethal poison that killed the city dwellers, also to be used as an instant army

- Kidnaping an entire unaffiliated village of, admittetly, slavers but also the slaves to turn them into the aforementioned corpses

- Constantly sacrificing unwilling subjects to strengthen their own powers and forces

- Mindfucking anyone and anything with wraiths and illusions to turn them into corrupted slaves

So seriously, the lines of relativly good and relatively bad, with each side proclaiming their in the right, are so fucking blurry, I´ll just judge all involved by their action.

And while Steve and Bob may be lying, at least they´re not mass murdering to further their goals, unlike the Blood God (seriuosly?), the Deceiver and however the other guy was called.

But if you have additional Information that isn´t just "It is so because I said it", fell free to indulge us.

>>585120
Wait is he saying pleasant emotions are filling, now? Also tell him that he hasn't really given us much of a chance to see the truth when all of the daemons on their side keep attacking our pawns! We didn't go to war with them, they went to war with us! Ask him why they don't just use the emotions of mindless undead, anyway. Why use real people?

Tell him to give us the keystone. We will keep it away from Steve and Bob, AND the other daemons, until we find out who is telling the truth. Speaking of Steve, ask how many wives he's had.

Oh, and he's leaving out some crucial information about that 10% or 20% figure- the daemons are going to have to kill off more than half of the world's population before they get everything under control. I bet at that point around 45% of the remaining population will be in tanks. It's basic math. 10-20% of the CURRENT population and ~45% of the FUTURE population are the same number. This is the only way that all our information meshes together properly. Keep in mind we have an impartial third party that gave us some information about what happens if the "evil" daemons win- they kill off most of the world.

Oh, and Brad, for fighting... take that sword away from him. Grab the blunt edge and pull.
Vlad, if you can still trigger the grenade, it being frozen isn't a big deal. Just try to get it next to the death knight unnoticed.

Wait a minute. He's denouncing slavers, but he plans to enslave 20% of the population by putting them in emotion tanks? HYPOCRITE.

>By sacrificing the few, we can make it better for the many!
>better tomorrow
>comrade
This guy sounds like a communist. Do you know what we do with communists, Brad?

Another big damn hero that's going to save the world. Do you think all you have to do to make the world better is kill the right people? He's spouting inconsistencies that sound good. He calls us slavers while planning to put millions into glass tubes, claims we're waging war while he and the undead kill indiscriminately, and says 'Might does not make right, nor does right make you mighty.' while forcing twisted ideals on the world. He's trying to build the moral high ground, the "foundation for a world better than this one", on a mountain of corpses.

Also what's all this bullshit about players being evil all of a sudden? We've been making ourselves known across time and space and only JUST NOW do people have problems with it.

>>585142
From what we've seen so far, Players are rather focused on their own goals. Those goals tend to be "make my nation the best" or thereabouts. Which generally means war. That could be seen as evil, but really it's just short-sighted ambition.

Well, how does he know the Blood God is telling the truth? How can any of us truly trust anything the daemons say? And therein lies the crux of the problem. They all have a stake in what happens to this world and they all have their own agendas for it. And we have no way to check for ourselves what they say. We don't have future-sight to see if the futures they're saying they see are there. We can't go to the Daemon Realm to see what's actually happening there. All we have is their word about such things. And since we can't truly believe what they say about such things, all we can judge them on is their actions in this world.

But if he knows of some third-party without a stake in all this that we can trust hasn't been tampered with by a daemon that can tell us what the truth is, then we're all ears. But so far the only thing that comes close to that we know of was that ancient golem in the hall to the Vault under the Serathian capitol. It was created as part of the World itself and has been through all the times we've failed and reset everything, so it knew what the possible futures are.

Vlad, if you can break off the crystal from your fire arrow and attach it to the grenade such that it'll break when it lands, do so and lob it over the wagon onto the Death Knight's head. Otherwise move back into the forest on the opposite side of the wagon from the Death Knight, throw the grenade so it just clears the wagon over his head, then nail it with a fire arrow so it explodes above him. And if you think you can't pull that off, then sneak around the back of the wagon, throw the grenade in towards the front on the side the Death Knight is on, shoot a fire arrow at it and immediately go prone on the ground. Just avoid exposing yourself to the Death Knight at all. He spotted you from behind before, so he'd likely spot you again and not be so lenient with the ice magic this time.

>You’re dead… a memory of the past given life trough grief, anger or regret… I do not know who you was before but know this… your sins will be revealed.
I had a hunch this was it. Brad, hate to say it, but you're a ghost. An unprecedentedly strong one, but still a ghost. Sorry, man.

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)13:55 No. 585164 ID: 65a774
File 140597614538.png - (25.15KB , 900x450 , 81.png )

>This guy sounds like a communist. Do you know what we do with communists, Brad?
(What’s a communist? It sounds almost as bad as a capitalist…)
>The trouble with the Feast, as I recall, is a matter of supply-it takes so much more of those delicious emotions to work, than it does the bad ones.
That’s why we need to open a way between our realms. If we take them over to our side we can eat it directly from the source. The energy will not be deluded by passing between the realms and it will be at least ten times more nourishing then before.
>Have they done the math? Are they CERTAIN nothing would go wrong?
We have lived many futures. We have seen both victory and defeat, yet… everything start anew… it is odd… one moment we have won and feasting in our grand halls… another the Mad Jailor is exterminating your species… but in the end we always end up here again…
>And all considered, the Blood God might be on the up and up, but the Deciever, she acts only for herself and her desires, consuming the most precious memories of mortals to sate her greed...
Tell me, where have you heard that from, hmm?

>Tainting the water of an entire City with corpses, to be used as instant undead reinforcements, and also turning the water into a lethal poison that killed the city dwellers, also to be used as an instant army.
As far as I know, that was an accident. The cultist was a bit… exited when they moved the corpses to those underground caves. No, the lower city wasn’t supposed to be harmed… but, if I remember correctly, the reason why that attack failed was because of the player there and the mad Jailor used the innocent of the lower city as human shields to protect themselves when the attack on the higher city came.
>Kidnaping an entire unaffiliated village of, admittedly, slavers but also the slaves to turn them into the aforementioned corpses.
Have you gone back and seen the city? It’s not empty. We only claimed those that used slaves, no one else.
>Constantly sacrificing unwilling subjects to strengthen their own powers and forces.
And you think those that give his new wife her arm back was willing?
>Mindfucking anyone and anything with wraiths and illusions to turn them into corrupted slaves.
Wraiths are only used against high threat targets, most often players.
>And while Steve and Bob may be lying, at least they´re not mass murdering to further their goals.
Really… tell me, do you know of a town called Svartsälv? It’s best known for being the place where the last so called “Windwalker” died?
…to the south? At the river?
Yes, exactly… tell me, how can that town have been completely destroyed by The Blood god when the manipulator… or as you know him, “The light”, has him trapped up in the mountains?
>Ask him why they don't just use the emotions of mindless undead, anyway. Why use real people?
That’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re trying to collect as many undead as we can before we open the gate.

>Wait a minute. He's denouncing slavers, but he plans to enslave 20% of the population by putting them in emotion tanks? HYPOCRITE.
…using the dead is not slavery. Mindless beings can’t really strive for freedom, can they?
>if you have additional Information that isn´t just "It is so because I said it", fell free to indulge us.
I’ve given you some treads to follow… I do hope you at least try to see the truth of the matter…
>But if he knows of some third-party without a stake in all this that we can trust hasn't been tampered with by a daemon that can tell us what the truth is, then we're all ears.
Hmm… I… I shouldn’t tell you this but… there’s supposed to be some kind of… oracle that the gods created that would be able to answer any question you had. It’s supposedly somewhere where The Empire of Amun is today but… I… oh, geeze… forget I said that…
>Tell him to give us the keystone. We will keep it away from Steve and Bob, AND the other daemons, until we find out who is telling the truth.
I… I can’t do that and you know that.

>Vlad, if you can still trigger the grenade, it being frozen isn't a big deal. Just try to get it next to the death knight unnoticed.
(Well, it is if the trigger mechanism is frozen!)
>Vlad, if you can break off the crystal from your fire arrow and attach it to the grenade such that it'll break when it lands, do so and lob it over the wagon onto the Death Knight's head.
(Eat grenade!)
*Fomp!*
(…of course, the snow is too soft to make it explode…)

>Oh, and Brad, for fighting... take that sword away from him. Grab the blunt edge and pull.
So, have we talked enough?
Enough talk! Time for you to die!
Thought so…
(Let’s see if he likes losing his sw-)
>I bet he can just break it off or retract it if we move to attack him...
Son of a- damn moving sword!
I’m dreadfully sorry for this… *Cough*Cough*
What the he- BUGS!? OW!! STOP BIT- ARHG!!

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)13:56 No. 585165 ID: 65a774
File 140597617579.png - (25.06KB , 900x450 , 82.png )

*Slice*
*Gugle!* ow…
I do hope things will be different next time we meet, Teal… now… By this holy sword, I banish thee, stray spirit…
*Cough* W-wha- what’s h-happening?

Insert Quick, Brad, puke on him!_

[Message The Blood God: We are not allied with Steve, as he has not shown us proof. We are simply neutral with him, because he has given us gifts. If you wish to convert us to your side, give us proof. Not gifts and threats, but actual, genuine proof.]
If we aren't allowed to message Daemons, [Echo to Bradford] so he can tell Daniel that is our intention.
Oh, and also, that the Blood God kind of stole away our ally without any mention to us, that's kind of upsetting. As a Daemon, he should be full aware that we jump back and forth and would need notice at our earliest possible point.
>it takes so much more of those delicious emotions to work, than it does the bad ones.
[Policy update: Echo further messages to The Blood God to nearby pawns]
[Message The Blood God: You are half wrong about us being slavers. The Gods are returning, and we have wakened since nine months prior. Our wakened state prevents us from enslaving our pawns, even if we wanted to. Instead, we ask favors, and tell them to follow us only if they believe in our cause.
That being said, there are many, many players out there who are still diseased from the death of the Old Gods. Do you have any recommendations for how to deal with these players, without causing pain, suffering, and death to their armies, nor giving up our friends to corruption?]
>From our point of view we saw them...
[If messages are going through, place the list in a message]
>at least they´re not mass murdering to further their goals, unlike the Blood God
No. The Blood God has not been shown to mass murder. The Lord of the Dead, perhaps, but I have not seen much death caused by The Blood God directly. His corruption has been the sort that can be cut off; it is slow acting. And Bob? I'm fairly certain Bob has killed plenty of mortals.
>Wait is he saying pleasant emotions are filling, now?
By keeping an entire population pleased, they can be. It may take a whole vine of grapes to fill a person, while each individual grape takes a person worth of happiness, but with entire countries growing them they can be feasted upon.
>Also tell him that he hasn't really given us much of a chance to see the truth when all of the daemons on their side keep attacking our pawns!
[Message Blood God: Your allies under the Golden Emperor seem to disagree with your views. Are you working these goals separate from them? Are you intending to betray them in the end?]
>Tell him to give us the keystone. We will keep it away from Steve and Bob, AND the other daemons
[Message: Our intentions are to use the keystones for a new goal, one that nobody has expected. One that should, in fact, fall in line with your goals. Enslaving the Daemons means that the players spread their disease to their pawns, and the world is destroyed. Freeing all Daemons means that the Daemons spread their disease to the people, and the world is destroyed. We have not fleshed much of the plan out, but some of us believe that allowing a certain number of Daemons through will prevent the disease of either side from taking over--it is like a game of tug-o-war, with a big bomb in the center that will be armed as soon as one side falls in. Keeping both sides alive and well is the only way to keep it from going off.]
>Speaking of Steve,
[Message: Regrettably, as grand as it would be for the whole world to enjoy peace and prosperity, mortals are fickle things. Without freedom, they will not truly be happy. With freedom, they can be happy, but they will also be at war. What we need, is to ensure that they don't get too violent.]
> He's denouncing slavers, but he plans to enslave 20% of the population by putting them in emotion tanks?
[Message: Would you be willing to, instead of using enslaved emotion tanks, grant volunteers the right to live in a protected village, where they could approach stations at certain times of the day to feed their emotions to the Daemons? There is no guarantee that there will be enough who agree to it, but it would prevent attempts at retaliation.]
>the daemons are going to have to kill off more than half of the world's population before they get everything under control.
[Message: We are wanting to negotiate as much peace as we can. Diseased players Pink, Gray, and White seem to agree with the idea of peace, and Pink can likely be convinced to join us in including the Daemons. Green is too diseased to see our ideals, Gray is in deep service to Steve, and White's a wildcard-new to the world, we might be able to convince him. Diseased players Red and Purple have evaded us enough that we don't know where they stand.]
>Oh, and Brad, for fighting... take that sword away from him. Grab the blunt edge and pull.
Ooh, invite him to fisticuffs!
>Also what's all this bullshit about players being evil all of a sudden?
Players are a disease left behind by the Gods when they died. We (Player Teal) have only been "awake" and cured for over four months, our time, which started nine months ago world-time. We have heard from the unaffiliated Golems that if we seal away the Daemons, the players will ruin the world through war. However, the Daemons are their own disease--They don't all agree with The Blood God, and there will be way too much war anyways if they win. We need to find a way to cure the other players. White, Purple, and Black are in the same zone as our New God, so we might be able to do something there.
[Message: We have located a New God six months past. As players became a disease from the death of the Old Gods, is it possible the New God can cure them? Cure without death, that is, unless it is the same way in which we cured Gray from Daemonic disease, where they come back in a day without the memories of the disease.]
>We've been making ourselves known across time and space and only JUST NOW do people have problems with it.
Only just now have we been communicating with the Daemons themselves. Chances are, they've had a problem with it for Millennia, and we only just now figured it out. We are, however, awakened, and in a position to do different.
>>585146
Exactly, this is the tl;dr to... Something I typed up somewhere in this giant message.
>Well, how does he know the Blood God is telling the truth?
And how do we know that Steve is telling the truth? Even Bob was proven to be a liar, but also that he spoke truth. They are as capable of telling both lies and truths as we are. This is why I do not like their idea to free all Daemons, nor do I like the idea to enslave them all. I want to work the middle ground and let some in, but keep it at a limit; perhaps even force them to have mortal bodies while in this world so that when they die, they're forced back into the Daemon realm and another Daemon gets a chance to enjoy the outside world. Might be able to set it so that they can act as players, who's customized "mortal body" will be both their avatar and their King piece, suffering the same limitations that we do--No connect command, and no upgrade choices.
Yes, I'm probably a very tiny minority in thinking of doing something like this, but given what we've heard happens with the alternatives, it's the best I can think of.
>But if he knows of some third-party...
Perry. We need to learn to speak with him so that we can figure out if he knows anything about this all.
>Vlad, if you can break off the crystal from your fire arrow and attach it to the grenade such that it'll break when it lands, do so and lob it over the wagon onto the Death Knight's head.
Please hold off on this in case we can actually talk things over.

Aaaand dammit I didn't finish typing this all up in time. If any of this is relevant still, I say push it on through, though.

>>585165
Holy magic?! Steve is a HUGE LIAR!
[message to Grey: Since when do Death Knights know holy magic?!]
>Have you gone back and seen the city? It’s not empty.
It was empty when we investigated right after the attack. Only thing left was the cultist corpse and a glitchy artifact.
>And you think those that give his new wife her arm back was willing?
We were going to kill them in self-defense anyway. Don't compare that to kidnapping and murder.
Oh and guess what, Daniel? We're responsible for the resets. If you want true victory, you MUST attain a victory that WE approve of! You do not have power over your destiny- we do. You have to join us to win. GIVE US THE KEYSTONE.

Vlad, shoot the grenade to get it to explode. We need to buy time for Brad to... well, run away, I think. Where the hell are the other soldiers that were supposed to be with Brad, anyway?

[message to Green: These daemons are spreading so much misinformation...]

I'm thinking if we let them collect undead to send through the portal, then close it permanently afterwards, the daemons will be happy and the mortals will be happy.

That firebomb isn't close enough to cause any real damage anymore, is it Vlad? In that case, aim for the back of the neck.

>As far as I know, that was an accident
It that your excuse? 'whoopsie, I accidentally thousands of people'? that's how you're going to improve the world?

I don't exactly trust Steve, but at least his actions match his intentions. We'll ask him about this stuff, however.

>the reason why that attack failed was because of the player there and the mad Jailor used the innocent of the lower city as human shields to protect themselves
Which player was this? As far as we are aware, Pink and ourselves were the only two players in town at the time, and we were actually using the upper city as a shield for the lower, not the other way around. Did Blue or Red have something to do with it?
>And you think those that give his new wife her arm back was willing?
Fiance. They are not yet married, not until Steve has a mortal body... Which admittedly, we are kind of forcing upon a person, aren't we? Anyways, Steve has claimed that that should not have happened--it was the unfortunate combination of the powers he imbued into the arm and Dooriya's own magic. She tried to smite the cultists, and the arm tried to soak up their souls. The result was sucking the flesh from them.
>Wraiths are only used against high threat targets, most often players.
Then why us? We are only a "threat" because we are uninformed. We are awakened and cured of our disease.
>there’s supposed to be some kind of… oracle that the gods created that would be able to answer any question you had. It’s supposedly somewhere where The Empire of Amun is today but… I… oh, geeze… forget I said that…
...Blood God, thank you. We owe you. Rest assured, you have gained a spot on our Neutrality list. If it is possible to save both Daemons and Players, you've just gained yourself a spot in that plan.
>I do hope things will be different next time we meet, Teal…
As do I, Blood God. Fare well.
>By this holy sword, I banish thee, stray spirit…
[Connect to The Savage]
[Conneeeeect to the Savage!]
[CONNECT TO THE GODDAMNED SAVAGE!]
[Invoke temporal leap! Don't care when, don't care where!]

Vlad, if you still have a blessed arrow, act quick to nock it, draw back as far as you can, step forward just enough to shoot it dead center through the top of the Death Knight's helmet, then step back quick to dodge any shot he makes at you. But if you have more than one blessed arrow then keep shooting them into him as fast as you can. Brad, if you get free after Vlad shoots, reach back to grab your hammer and swing it into the Death Knight.

Kaktus 2014/07/21(Mon)15:49 No. 585194 ID: 65a774
File 140598295197.png - (25.45KB , 900x450 , 83.png )

>[message to Grey: Since when do Death Knights know holy magic?!]
[…since when has holy magic actually existed?]
>[message to Green: These daemons are spreading so much misinformation...]
[Ah, I see you’re starting to see the problem.]

>Vlad, shoot the grenade to get it to explode.
Um… isn’t it… a bit… err…
>That firebomb isn't close enough to cause any real damage anymore, is it Vlad?
Exactly, there’s no way he’ll be in the blast radius.

>In that case, aim for the back of the neck.
*Tock!*
ARGH!
Eat Holy arrows, you son o-
*Iced!*
*Urgh…*
Don’t interrupt me!
VLAD!!
Stay back! I’ll handle this!
*sigh* more distractions?

Insert Don’t lose your head over it, man…_

He's a skilled ice mage and FASTER than Brad, with an extendable sword! I don't think you two are capable of killing him, unless you have another grenade and can get it past his ice magic. Wait, I just thought of a plan. There's a grenade lying on the ground over there, half-frozen. If you can lure the death knight closer and either let Vlad detonate it or detonate it yourselves, that might kill him.

Vlad, get out of harms way and try to keep from bleeding out. Alex will be able to heal you after the battle's over. Actually, if you can get an angle on the grenade, and the farmboy manages to lure the knight to the grenade, you could detonate it and finish the fight.

[message to Grey: Didn't Steve say he was unique in having anti-corruption and anti-undead abilities? Don't play word games with us.]

Alexa, you need to help Vlad. Step around the fighting as best as you can. Vlad, put the cart between you and the... What the hell is that, anyway? [scan blue flame] Whatever, just put pressure on the wound and don't pull that spike out yet, it's likely stopping bleeding. Brad, now's your chance to remove the sword from the equation or use it yourself to kill him.

Alright, we need to stop trying to ascertain what the future will be, and start coming up with contingency plans. We have something the other timelines didn't, and that's that dagger back in the Sultinate. How can we use it to prevent either eternal war, Bob killing everyone, or a daemon takeover? Heh. If it really is the dagger that changes all this, I suppose it actually might be a question of killing the right person.

>>>585196
>Don't play word games with us.
I think we ought to save that for Steve.

>[message to Grey: Didn't Steve say he was unique in having anti-corruption and anti-undead abilities? Don't play word games with us.]
That's The Blood God, not Gray. He's intercepting our messages. No final good-byes, I guess.
> you could detonate it and finish the fight.
...With what? She has no attacks, only healing magic. The one ranged attack she has is her holy smite, which is once per day, and she already used it.
[Message: Why are you trying to kill us? We're the one healthy Player in the entire world! If you truly are our ally, please, withdraw from here!]

>>585220
>she has no attacks
I was talking to Vlad, who has arrows.

[Scan all targets in area] [Display pawn status]

Vlad, you ought to have been issued a healing potion before heading out on this mission so get it down your throat while you still can! Flop onto your back so the Death Knight can't target you, pop the cork and drink it! I dunno if it'll be enough to stop the bleeding if you pull the ice shard out, so don't do that.

Alexandra, there's a frozen grenade with a fire arrow crystal strapped to it on the snow next to the fork in the fallen tree's trunk. If we can get the Death Knight near it then all it needs is enough force to shatter the crystal to ignite and detonate it. Can you quickly whisper to the sergeant about it before he enters battle? 'Cause otherwise I don't know who we have left that could throw anything to hit it hard enough to break the crystal.

Oh, and also tell him that the Death Knight's sword can shoots out an extension really far; It punched through the trunk of the tree behind the carrier when he was standing at the front of it. So he should get out of the way if the Death Knight points that sword at him.

Now run to your left around that fallen tree and climb up on the carrier to help Vlad. I hope he managed to choke down that healing potion. Also, is there no chance you've recharged enough magic for even a partial holy burst? 'Cause that'd be real helpful from up there right now.

Brad, if you have any strength left in you, use it to pull that sword from yourself.

>>585220
The Blood God is not intercepting our messages. That's the usual format for immediate replies to messages. Look here >>584584 and you'll see it's the same as it is here. Also, we can't message daemons. We've tried it before and it doesn't work 'cause they are not players.

Ok I think I know a way to get Brad back in action, remember what Daniel said?

>You’re dead… a memory of the past given life trough grief, anger or regret… I do not know who you was before but know this… your sins will be revealed.

I think this is the trigger for Brad's amazing regeneration, the reason he could regrow an eye was because he was filled by the very thing that brought him back in the first place. In short, we need to somehow get Brad mad, really mad. I do realise this might be hard to do if he is currently knocked out.

Hey Brad, you know, if you die, Anna's gonna die too.

>We have lived many futures. We have seen both victory and defeat, yet… everything start anew… it is odd… one moment we have won and feasting in our grand halls… another the Mad Jailor is exterminating your species… but in the end we always end up here again…

So, shall we tell him what we know about this? Or about the knife that scares Bob?

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)06:02 No. 585302 ID: 65a774
File 140603413388.png - (25.19KB , 900x450 , 84.png )

>[Scan all targets in area]
[Neutral Creature (Friendly): Order Sergeant.]
[Undead Creature (Hostile): Sir Daniel Anderson the Death Knight.]
>[scan blue flame]
[Object (Hostile): Death Knight Core.]
>[Display pawn status]
[“The Savage” Status: Extreme pain. “The hunter” Status: Dying. “The priest” Status: Scared shitless. “The Alchemist” Status: Depressed, headache. “Sister of Wisdom” Status: Celebrating victory. “Sister of Power” Status: Miffed. “The Valkyrie” Status: Sprinting like mad, Tired.]
>[Message to Grey: Didn't Steve say he was unique in having anti-corruption and anti-undead abilities? Don't play word games with us.]
[I… err… he said to me that only the magic of the gods and demonic magic can harm daemons and that I should guess which one he uses… personally, I call it holy to not scare the men.]

>Vlad, you ought to have been issued a healing potion before heading out on this mission so get it down your throat while you still can!
*Gurgle*…
>Brad, if you have any strength left in you, use it to pull that sword from yourself.
Pain… I c-can’t…
>Hey Brad, you know, if you die, Anna's gonna die too.
No… I… I h-have… too…

>Alexa, you need to help Vlad. Step around the fighting as best as you can.
Whoa, careful! You’re a prime target if you leave yourself op-
I’m not going to attack a defenseless maiden. There’s no honor in that…
Ah, someone with honor, eh?
>Wait, I just thought of a plan. There's a grenade lying on the ground over there, half-frozen. If you can lure the death knight closer and either let Vlad detonate it or detonate it yourselves, that might kill him. Can you quickly whisper that to the sergeant about it before he enters battle?
Ah… indeed, you’re right… I think I got a plan… go take care of your boyfriend, before he expires! Quickly!
What? He’s not my-
Well then, brave sir Knight, I challenge you to a duel with swords. No magic nor any magical artifacts. Just sword skills against sword skills.
It would be an honor… except, my blade is already preoccupied. Do you mind if I use a blade made out of magical ice?
As long as it’s nothing more than a blade.
I have to warn you, old man, I believe I’m several leagues beyond you.
Oh, but I do have this to help me even the odds.
A crossbow? Hmm, the bolt isn’t even holy… how can you believe that toy can even hurt me? Nevertheless, only a honorless scoundrel would bring a crossbow to a sword fi-

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)06:02 No. 585303 ID: 65a774
File 140603414625.png - (26.37KB , 900x450 , 85.png )

*Tock!*
*Boom!*

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)06:02 No. 585304 ID: 65a774
File 140603415941.png - (25.61KB , 900x450 , 86.png )

…and only a moron would bring a sword to a bomb fight. Honor my ass. Besides, I said no magic and nothing about bombs or crossbows. So, how’s it going back there?
I was able to stop the bleeding by pouring his healing potion on the wound, but he’s out cold… I just need to stabilize him a bit further…Come on, Vlad, don’t you dare die on me!
And you? Bearded guy?
PAIN!!!
…that didn’t sound good, did it?

Insert Bradford used double team!_

The man has a sword of ice in him. If he hasn't already we want to use his healing potion on him!
...Aaand maybe this is just me being amoral here but might not that Death Knight's equipment make good loot?

Awesome paladin dude there's another orange haired bearded warrior behind you!

Also he's in pain, not dying though which means he'll live but it's gonna fucking hurt like a bitch.

Nice going random paladin dude. Now try not to die from the Doppleganger Bradford who is not behind you. This is probably that look-alike that killed those guards a while back.

>...Aaand maybe this is just me being amoral here but might not that Death Knight's equipment make good loot?
When you have already killed them for a legitimate reason, the term is 'recycling'.

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)07:51 No. 585311 ID: 65a774
File 140604066420.png - (25.82KB , 900x450 , 87.png )

>The man has a sword of ice in him. If he hasn't already we want to use his healing potion on him!
(I’ve almost done with Vlad… and I got a potion myself if he’s already used his...)
>...Aaand maybe this is just me being amoral here but might not that Death Knight's equipment make good loot?
(He was an undead abomination. Morals can kiss my ass about that.)
>When you have already killed them for a legitimate reason, the term is 'recycling'.
(I call it easy cash.)

>Awesome paladin dude there's another orange haired bearded warrior behind you!
Err… wait, who’s he-
Hey!? What are you- Who are you!?
Don’t worry about me, I’m just here to clean up the mess. I see that you’ve already defeated his undead minions, brother paladin, impressive. Now, let me take care of its master.
You can’t just- Hands of that sword!
That I can’t do. I need it to banish this monster once and for all.
…b-brother?
Your sins will finally be paid for…
Wait, what?

Insert This was supposed to be some kind of big shocking reveal but everyone already figured out what’s going on…_

[scan newcomer, check pawn status]

WHOA WHOA BACK UP. Who are you, why are you trying to smite brad, how is brad responsible for the undead, why did you kill all those Von Zolner goons, don't you think there are better ways to atone, and would you really kill your wounded brother?

We're going to meet that death knight again aren't we? or at least another death knight, before this is all over.

and queue Anna.

Whoa now he's not in possession of the undead or even in control! He's our pawn and the undead master is the Blood God Daemon now back off! *Bite*

Before you destroy him, I have but one question:
What is your name, copperbeard?

>>585311
Dammit tell him Brad's on our side! He thinks Bradford is Ragnar. Which he might have been once, but it doesn't matter! He's also our King, and we cannot win if we lose our king! The man thinks himself a paladin, so Alex, you can use your body as a shield to protect Brad and he won't kill you. Granted he'll probably shove you to the side but it will also at least delay him a bit so we can try to talk him out of it.

[query: can we make a different pawn our King?]

>>585311
Everyone, swarm Brad's brother! (*Bite* *Bite* *Bite* *Bite* *Bite* *Bite*)x 100

Alexandra, tell this guy that you and Sgt. Duran can both attest that the sword stuck in Bradford was here when you two arrived and that the Death Knight was standing over Brad. Since the Death Knight made no move to remove the sword from his "master" when the sergeant challenged him to duel we can deduce that the Death Knight almost certainly stuck the sword into Brad. So Brad wasn't the Death Knight's master, nor master of any undead, and is in fact considered an adversary of the real master of the Death Knight, the Blood God.

Tell him what you know of Brad. Tell him that Brad doesn't remember anything before he woke up a month ago at the bottom of a well in Svartsälv, save for a few flashes of memories. That for the month before he showed up at Ängladal he was destroying the undead that were trying to capture him. He saved Vlad over there from being killed by the undead. Tell him that Brad is being watched over and has been working for the Order these past few days. They've confirmed that he's clean now of daemonic corruption and you don't sense any on him either. And he's been fighting on the Order's side against the cultist and undead forces. He even gave 10 crows to clear a penal laborer's debts, for heaven's sake! He's not the monster he was anymore!

Oh, and the eyes of the head of the Death Knight are still glowing, so you might want to jab that blessed arrow up inside its helmet a few times just to be safe.

Brad, Anna's last status was "sprinting like mad, tired" so the yeti's after her! You gotta get up and save her! Just do something! Anything!

>>585341
NO! DO NOT DO THIS! That will just make him think that some daemonic force on Brad's side is attacking him!

Since Vlad is supposed to be out cold I assume his icon at the end was an error and it's supposed to be Alexandra's

Oh and in case nobody else has realized it, that's the man on the wanted poster. The guy who killed all those Von Zolners.

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)10:22 No. 585353 ID: 65a774
File 140604973279.png - (26.20KB , 900x450 , 88.png )

Wops, that was supposed to be Alex speaking and not Vlad in the last update. I blame the heat for that mistake! Damn you, heat!
>[scan newcomer]
[Divine Creature(Hostile): Angle of Justice.]
>[Check pawn status]
[Only one change found: “The Hunter” Status: Unconscious.]

>WHOA WHOA BACK UP.
HEY! Beard Breath! Back off from grumpy!
I’m sorry, but I can’t let him get away ag-
>Alex, you can use your body as a shield to protect Brad and he won't kill you.
Get out of the way, woman.
Just answer my questions. He’s pinned to the ground by a broadsword, he’s not going anywhere.
…fine.
>What is your name, copperbeard?
Do you not know me? I am the great Hero! I am Conrack, the last windwalker! Savior of Järgien!
>Why are you trying to smite Brad.
Brad? Who is… what kind of lies has he spoken to you? That is Ragnar, the very scourge of the gods! You’re a priestess! You should know who he is! Surly, you’ve lost many kinsmen over the years to this monster?
…I wasn’t even born when Ragnar was alive, how should I have lost someone to him?
Not born? What are you talking about?
Err… Ragnar lived 300 years ago?
…you’re either very deluded or he’s manipulation is worse than I thought!
>How is brad responsible for the undead.
Who else would be? He summoned them when we did battle, did he not!? And now they are ravaging the country side as long as he lives!

>He's not in possession of the undead or even in control! He's our pawn and the undead master is the Blood God Daemon now back off!
…the blood what? Demon?
Have you been living under a rock? These undead armies are being led by a powerful demon who wishes to undo us all!
…if this is true… hmm… and I thought Ragnar was bad enough…
>Why did you kill all those Von Zolner goons.
…who?
Clad in green and red? Douchebags?
Ah, those… they tried to extort coin from innocent farmers, so I cut them down.
Wait… you mean those same farmers who reported having a mad man burning down their farm?
They said that King Gustav the fourth, the lord of Järgien, was dead and they didn’t need to pay taxes to him. That’s treason! They needed to guidance from their traitorous ways!
But King Gustav the fourth has been dead for hundreds of years!
…do not test my patience, Paladin. I might have a respect for your ideals, but I will cut you down where you stand if you continue spouting those traitorous words.
>Don't you think there are better ways to atone.
Only death can repay him for his sins!
>And would you really kill your wounded brother?
He is no longer my Brother. He’s just a beast that needs to be put down!

>Tell him what you know of Brad. Tell him that Brad doesn't remember anything before he woke up…
So? Amnesia is not an excuse to be spared! He will face justice!
>He thinks Bradford is Ragnar. Which he might have been once, but it doesn't matter!
…he even gave up most of the money he made making the life of a poor, sick child just a little better!
It doesn’t matter what he’s done. No matter what he does his sins far outweighs his current deeds. He needs to be put down!
>Brad, Anna's last status was "sprinting like mad, tired" so the yeti's after her! You gotta get up and save her! Just do something! Anything!
NO! I can’t… I CAN’T LET IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!
You’re not escaping me again, Ragnar! Step aside, Priestess!
No.
Then you’re in league with him. Might whatever god you believe in ha-
Listen to yourself! Look at what you’re doing!? You’re about to cut down a defenseless priestess in the name of Justice!? IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK JUSTICE IS!?
I… I…
What have you done the last few days!? Who have you helped!?
I help-
You burned down their farm! You ruined their lives! For what!? For a king that’s been dead for 300 years!?
But he’s-
You’ve killed and laid things to waste, while Brad here has saved and rebuilt! Even know, you’re trying to stop him from saving an innocent woman, just because of “JUSTICE”!!
It’s not… no… it’s…

>Queue Anna.
Oh, man, *gasp* the fight is already over? *Wheeze*
…wha- Elusia!? It can’t be… no…
…um… who? *Gasp* Wait, why is there two grumpies?
Elusia?
No… you’re dead! You’re supposed to be dead! EVEN IF I HAVE TO PUT YOU BACK IN THE GRAVE!
…what did I miss? *Wheeze*

Insert He’s grump and he’s not so grump_

This guy was clearly brought back the same way Brad was, although with more memories. We need to get him to realise that his fight was won ages ago and that his blade is needed for another fight. We could to use every Windwalker we can get.

>>585353
I see what's going on here. Both Brad and Conrack have somehow been displaced in time. ...or maybe everyone has. Maybe everyone in the game is recycled every 300 years, and most people just don't remember their past selves... Nah, that'd be crazy. It's probably just that Conrack somehow stepped through a crack in time- remember that the last windwalker just "disappeared"? Brad is like, a ghost or something, though.

Brad, tackle him, disarm him. Tell him that's not Elusia, her name is Anna. They just look very similar, maybe even distant relatives. How much proof does he need to see that he's been displaced in time?

OH we still have those sleep drugs, use them on Conrack!

Anna, how far back can you trace your family history? Any common family names?

She isn't back from the dead, she is probably just a relative you didn't know about. She has living (if unsavory) immediate relatives that we have seen ourselves.
Conrack appears to be back from the dead rather than displaced in time, but as an "Divine Creature" rather than undead, whatever that means.

[Claim The Angel of Justice]
Man, what the heck. Is Conrack being guided by demons posing as gods? I mean, it wouldn't surprise me too much, given that Steve already does so. It doesn't look like he's already got a player, if that's even possible for him, but he might have been brought forth in delusions, manipulated by a player.

Alex, if Conrack can't hear me directly, relay my words to him, please:
Time has passed, the forests have grown, your king has been dead for hundreds of years. Everybody you think you know, is somebody you know to be dead. What of yourself, then? Our lore said you died shortly after killing Ragnar.
We know of the existence of those who can manipulate the dead, particularly one Lord of the Dead, in service to a Daemon calling himself The Blood God. There are plenty of other necromancers, but few with malicious intent such as he. For all we know, your soul has been bound to a descendant of yours, and Bradford's into a descendant of Ragnar's. Deep down, there is no malevelence in Bradford's soul, it is only in the flesh. We have been slowly purifying his body, but a full on holy attack risks destroying him, and harming many of his allies.
...
Now, you're probably wondering who's speaking these words. We are known as Player Teal. Players are something such as "Angels," but, such as how Daemons are not quite Demons, Players are not all the benevolent force you might expect from the wording. Just as there are some forces in the name of righteousness who are overzealous, such as yourself, there are Players who can do so. We, however, Player Teal, have been purified of such traits. All we can do any more is guide our friends, and that's normally all we want to do. Please, do not be our enemy. If we managed to speak directly to you, give it a day and we can release you from communications, should you so desire. Regardless, we have no reason to be opposed to you being near our friends, so long as you agree to attempt to be less zealous. Your very presence may purify the body Bradford inhabits, allowing the soul's purity to shine through, even.

>[Claim The Angel of Justice]
Don't invade the head of someone while we are trying to convince them we aren't evil.

We don't even have an open pawn slot.

> EVEN IF I HAVE TO PUT YOU BACK IN THE GRAVE!
What would that accomplish? You're trying to kill your way to a better world like the daemons you're trying to fight.

Anna, the second grumpie is the ghost of Conrack. He's been hunting down his brother Ragnar, who is also a ghost and also happens to be Brad who happens to be the amnesiac ghost of Ragnar. Yeah, it's messy. Conrack also thinks you're somebody named "Elusia" who's probably a long dead distant relative to you. And apparently he really, really hated her so you ought to defend yourself right now and get out of the way. And maybe tell him your full name, though it probably won't help. Oh, wait... Actually, keep talking! Your may look like Elusia but you probably don't sound like her.

Alexandra, in your best commanding voice tell Conrack that that woman is Ann-Sofie Tempest, not Elusia; Elusia is dead and has been for a long time. He likely won't believe you, so tell him that after what he's done recently should he not slow down to make totally sure this is not a case of mistaken identity before he strikes down an innocent. There's no reason to rush to kill here, right? And ask him to listen to her voice; Does it sound like Elusia's? Does she act like her?

Brad, get to your feet and be ready to take the Death Knight's sword if Conrack makes a move on Anna. Get after him and try to use the sword's extend-o-blade ability to stop him. Make sure to aim it at his legs so you don't accidentally shoot it through him, the sergeant and into Anna. Also, you should have been given a vial of knockout poison. If you get close enough to smash it into Conrack's face, do so. It's the only thing we have on hand that we know will knock him down in one go.

And it's been 300 years? I thought it was only 200. That's what it was in the last two threads.

>>585363
Conrack is a "divine creature," not a pawn, so even though he has a unique name he's not claimable. We also don't have any free slots so even if he was a pawn we couldn't claim him. Also, he's not in any frame of mind to listen to a long speech.

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)12:34 No. 585381 ID: 65a774
File 140605766545.png - (26.29KB , 900x450 , 89.png )

>[Claim The Angel of Justice]
[You can’t claim non-pawn creatures!]

>Anna, tell him your full name, though it probably won't help. Oh, wait... Actually, keep talking! You may look like Elusia but you probably don't sound like her.
I’m Ann-Sofie Tempest! Not… um… whoever you think I am.
But… you… you looks so much…
>Alexandra, in your best commanding voice tell Conrack that Elusia is dead, has been for a long time, and that woman is Ann-Sofie Tempest.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND!? SHE’S DEAD!
But…
>What would that accomplish? You're trying to kill your way to a better world like the daemons you're trying to fight.
…
>We need to get him to realise that his fight was won ages ago and that his blade is needed for another fight. We could to use every Windwalker we can get.
You can’t just go around hurting innocent people! The world you lived in is gone! It’s in the past. You ne-

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)12:34 No. 585382 ID: 65a774
File 140605767855.png - (26.29KB , 900x450 , 90.png )

*Swoosh*
I… err…
Where did he go!?
Whoa, he’s fast…

>It's been 300 years? I thought it was only 200.
(I don’t know, I suck at history. Duran said 300 so I just followed on that.)
>Anna, how far back can you trace your family history? Any common family names?
(Err… I don’t really know… really…)
>Anna, the second grumpie is the ghost of Conrack. He's been hunting down his brother Ragnar, who is also a ghost and also happens to be Brad who happens to be the amnesiac ghost of Ragnar. Yeah, it's messy. Conrack also thinks you're somebody named "Elusia" who's probably a long dead distant relative to you.
Okay, that’s… I can’t even… it’s like some weird, cheap, badly written novel or something…

>And apparently he really, really hated her.
Actually, he loved her…
What? She was his girlfriend or something?
…she was my wife…
…err… wait… WHAT!?

Insert Victory fanfare?_

Uh, okay, wow. Somebody wanna fetch Vlad from behind the wagon so we can actually see him? I don't like not seeing somebody.
Also, can we bring Daniel's head for a ritual to bless him and release his soul from the grasp of the Blood God or something? He was our pawn, and I don't want to see him violated further.
Bradford, did you regain memories when Daniel tried to banish you, or from seeing Conrack? I still stand by what we didn't get a chance to tell him--It seems more likely that you are ghosts bound to descendants. ...I also just had a thought. Was "burning the temples" pinned on you because you converted them and Conrack was the one to actually burn them down? I could certainly imagine you sticking around to try and save what residents you could, and he definitely seemed the zealous sort to do that kind of thing. I mean, he burned down a barn just for saying the King is dead.

>>585382
Brad, is your memory coming back? Please don't go berserk on us.

Alright, now, considering that Steve told us to kill our King, I think we can end our alliance with him. Where do we go now though? Oh shit, we need to get Jal out of the paladin city, or into the company of the Serathians, who are also our pawns in our past timeline, and so should be allied with us still. Actually I think we have our future selves here as well, so I'm not sure why we didn't warn ourselves about this. I guess we achieved victory without any lost pawns so maybe it was best to keep it to our futureselves?

Or... maybe we can pretend we don't know Brad is Ragnar, and continue to keep tabs on Steve and his paladins... That's probably the safest bet right now. The paladins are being lied to as much as we are, anyway. Is Grey in on it, though?

Secure the keystone and heal Vlad. Then we should regroup with the others in the western pass.

[message to Green: The "Light" has betrayed us, I think. The "enemy" daemons might be the ones spreading the least lies... In fact, an enemy Death Knight, who had anti-undead powers somehow like the paladins do, told us of a supposed impartial information source. I suspect we have a presence there in the past, so we will tell you what we learn later, once we've experienced it. Oh and before you ask, we did kill the Death Knight and have no plans to ally with the other daemons at this juncture. I'm not sure if we need to cut ties with the paladins yet. It would complicate things, and the paladins are being lied to as much as we are anyway. I'm not sure about Grey. Grey and Steve seem to have a close relationship, so Grey might be corrupted by Steve and under his control...]

Let's not tell Grey we know Brad is Ragnar until we get Jal to safety. However, we need to find out if he knows...
[message to Grey: Well? Any explanation as to why a Death Knight has anti-undead powers?]

>cheap, badly written novel or something
It isn't THAT bad.

Brad, you realize you can't drop a bomb like that without offering an explanation, right? Alexa, get Vlad and the keystone- make sure it isn't booby-trapped or anything- and let's get the hell out of here before someone else with a grudge shows up. It's possible the others may need help dealing with the rest of the caravan.

And somebody destroy that godawful cart, it's given us enough grief.

Alexandra, how long do you think it'll be until Vlad recovers? I'd imagine it'll be awhile since that ice shard looked like it went through his right chest. That'll have fucked up some ribs, a lung, his shoulder blade and all the muscles around it. He's not gonna be drawing a bow for awhile after that.

>>585387
[Stop those messages to Green and Gray]
Dammit, man! Wait until we get an explanation from Gray and Steve for giving us a mission to kill Ragnar before we do anything like pulling the plug on this alliance! And Gray already told us that divine AND demonic magic can counter demonic magic here >>585302. How else could our Lightbringer "blessed" weapons be so effective against the undead and daemonic forces? So get your facts straight before shooting a message that'll most likely blow up in our faces.

[Message to Green: We got a possible lead on a non-daemonic source of information that might give us the answers we need to clear up what they say is true and what is lies and misinformation. Supposedly the gods placed an "oracle" that can answer our questions somewhere within where the Amun Empire is today. Unfortunately we got this tidbit from a rather chatty Blood God Death Knight so, as usual, we can't trust it right off. When we're next in Amun we'll seek out other sources to verify it's the real deal and hasn't been tampered with before trusting it. But assuming we find it and it's legit do you have any particular questions you want us to ask it?]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Come back Conrack we need your bear- I mean Windwalker skills. *sob*

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)14:50 No. 585404 ID: 65a774
File 140606581126.png - (25.70KB , 900x450 , 91.png )

>[Message to Green: We got a possible lead on a non-daemonic source of information that might give us the answers we need to clear up what they say is true and what is lies and misinformation. Supposedly the gods placed an "oracle" that can answer our questions somewhere within where the Amun Empire is today. Assuming we find it and it's legit do you have any particular questions you want us to ask it?]
[Ask it if you can trust me.]

>Uh, okay, wow. Somebody wanna fetch Vlad from behind the wagon so we can actually see him? I don't like not seeing somebody.
I rather not move him unless we have a sled to put him in.
Don’t worry, Dooriya should be on her way by now with a sled to pick us up.
>Alexandra, how long do you think it'll be until Vlad recovers? I'd imagine it'll be awhile since that ice shard looked like it went through his right chest. That'll have fucked up some ribs, a lung, his shoulder blade and all the musculature.
Luckily, it missed his ribcages and his lungs, but his shoulder is rather badly wounded. He’ll probably be bed ridden a day or two and it will be a long while even with magic before he’s ready for combat again.
>Alright, now, considering that Steve told us to kill our King, I think we can end our alliance with him.
Wait, whoa! A bit… premature there, bud! He didn’t actually, you know, tell us to kill Brad, right? I mean… um… maybe he didn’t know it was Brad or… err…?
OH! It’s probably all symbolic and mysterious and stuff! Like in the books! You have to defeat yourself to become yourself!
…that didn’t even make sense…
…I’m still surprised that guy can still stand and talk after having a blade trough his stomach…
Actually, Brad, you should sit down. You might not be bleeding, but that wounds still seems rather… um… gruesome…

>Alexa, get the keystone- make sure it isn't booby-trapped or anything.
Hmm… it was teal colored right? Because I’m almost standing on it then. I guess the Death knight must have had it on him.
>Also, can we bring Daniel's head for a ritual to bless him and release his soul from the grasp of the Blood God or something?
Err… he did kind of… um… burn up like most normal undead do when we killed him… I can try blessing his armor, if you want…
>Brad, is your memory coming back? Please don't go berserk on us.
No… I… I’m not the one I was back then… not anymore.
>Bradford, did you regain memories when Daniel tried to banish you, or from seeing Conrack?
Seeing Conrack… and hearing him talk about the past…
>Was "burning the temples" pinned on you because you converted them and Conrack was the one to actually burn them down?
No… I… I did that… I remember…

>Brad, you realize you can't drop a bomb like that without offering an explanation, right?
…I… Back then, I was a member in the order of the WindWalkers together with my smaller brother Conrack… I… I left the order when I met her… my wife Elusia… we… we… got a son together and… then… there was a disease… it took them both… I… I went mad in grief… I needed someone to blame… someone to lash out too… but… the only ones who should be blame was to gods themselves… and they are beyond riposte, aren’t they? So… I… I… … …
You attacked the next best thing…their temples and followers?
Yes… that’s it…
>And somebody destroy that godawful cart, it's given us enough grief.
Preparing the bomb…

Insert Worse dung eve-
>It isn't THAT bad.
“Every time I try to read it, my eyes mysteriously start bleeding… and most of my brain commits suicide out of sheer freight that this kind of idiocy can even exist without collapsing into a black hole of ignorance.” – Kaktus’ inner Critic – 9,8/10 (Completely unreadable!)

Alright fine, let's find out if Steve wants us to kill Brad.
[message to Grey: Hey, you know how we agreed to kill Ragnar? Turns out he's already dead. All that's left is his memories. You might want to ask Steve if we've done what he asked already, somehow.]

WAIT don't blow up the wagon! There's some weird purple thing inside it, it could be anything!

>I can try blessing his armor, if you want…
Please, if it's all we can do for him, then it is what we should do. We will still try and get a copy of him to survive, but I no longer know if it's possible to mess with his space-time clones.
>It’s probably all symbolic and mysterious and stuff!
I actually agree with you, Anna. I believe it has to do with defeating the taint upon his soul. His regaining memories mean his soul, at least, is truly Rangar's, but we've been purifying it bit by bit, and if we keep this up, eventually Rangar will be slain while Bradford resumes living.
>and they are beyond riposte, aren’t they?
They are dead. They have been dead for over a thousand years. Any "Gods" that are still present, with one exception, are Daemons. The one exception is a New God, and currently is walking around Gaia in a mortal shell. This prevents him from using most of his powers--including the ability to not die.
> – Kaktus’ inner Critic
[Ticket: The gods are supposed to be dead, who's writing these critiques?]
>[message to Grey: Hey, you know how we agreed to kill Ragnar? Turns out he's already dead. All that's left is his memories. You might want to ask Steve if we've done what he asked already, somehow.]
I'm willing to back contacting Gray, but perhaps a little more subtly?
Something like, "We've acquired more information, and Ragnar definitely was slain centuries ago. There are memories, but what are we expected to do about that? Might be worth asking Steve if "Teal's Power" is needed for the mission. He should know what we mean.
Oh, but something we definitely want relayed to him: Dooriya is a bit upset and wants to summon us into the meeting the next time he visits her. He probably already knows, but we've already freaked Bob out with stuff he didn't know, so better safe with a time buffer than not. We have a lot more questions than what we've publicly announced for him."

>[Ask it if you can trust me.]
That.... would clear up quite a lot. We'd know if the Daemons are a reliable source of information if the predictions align with the daemonic visions, in addition to the obvious tactical implications. I hope the oracle doesn't have a limit on the number of questions you can ask. The last time that happened, the prophesy-speaker killed two of our pawns. I hope he doesn't speak in mumbo-jumbo, either. That'd just be a waste of time.

>He didn’t actually, you know, tell us to kill Brad, right? I mean… um… maybe he didn’t know it was Brad or… err…?
KILL STRELOK.
Sorry.
I'm unsure what Steve's reaction will be- he sounds like a more rational creature than Conrack, but until we can trust him, we should keep this to ourselves. We have no reason to doubt Grey, so he can be a mediator, if necessary. Conrack's recent actions would make him a convenient scapegoat, but that's dirty and, should be a last- ditch attempt.

Belay that destruction order- if the stone is on the corpse, what's inside the cart?

Kaktus 2014/07/22(Tue)21:53 No. 585435 ID: 65a774
File 140609120721.png - (24.83KB , 900x450 , 92.png )

>[message to Grey: We've acquired more information, and Ragnar definitely was slain centuries ago. There are memories, but what are we expected to do about that? Might be worth asking Steve if "Teal's Power" is needed for the mission. He should know what we mean.]
[He says if your King remembers and isn’t shoving his hammer up Alexandra’s butt for being a priestess you’ve succeeded. …that’s a direct quote… just so you… um… yeah…]
>[Dooriya is a bit upset and wants to summon us into the meeting the next time he visits her. He probably already knows, but we've already freaked Bob out with stuff he didn't know, so better safe with a time buffer than not. We have a lot more questions than what we've publicly announced for him.]
[He says it’s understandable and that you’ll soon be able to talk to him face to face about everything.]

>Belay that destruction order- if the stone is on the corpse, what's inside the cart?
What is this? Some kind of… purple crystal ball?
Ah, I know what it is. It’s a magical focus… I’m guessing the legs that move this cart is controlled by it.
…legs?
Um… haven’t you seen it? They’ve stuck a bunch of undead legs on the underside of the cart to get it to move.
>Please, if blessing his armor is all we can do for him, then it is what we should do.
-and by his holy name, I guide you to-

…

Here comes Dooriya!
Finally…
Greetings… it took some time to sort through the prisoners the cultist had captured, so my apologies about that.
At least we were able to save a lot of innocents today…
Innocent? Ha! Let me tell you, most of those faces we found are rather familiar if you’ve checked the bounty board lately. It’s probably easier to catch a bandit out here then a normal person, really…
Either way, we got the prisoners and all the carts are burning, so good job people. We did a great number on them today and we only lost one man… right?
As long as Vlad doesn’t… um… yeah…
Wait, what’s that?
Ah, it’s… Steve asked me to keep a look out for parts like these to bring back. He wanted to see how far they’ve come… but it’s nothing to worry about, there’s no way they already got one to function.

>Scan Harvester.
[Object(Demonic): Fully functional harvester head.]

…you do realize as soon as you said it, they will have a functional one, right?
…son of a-

That is indeed a fully functional harvester head.
Speak thy name and Murphy sends a message.

Speaking of which, stay a safe distance from that thing, I don't want anyone getting hurt because it decided to bite or suck souls or whatever.

>>585435
AAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAActually this is fine. Harvesters are kindof important for the future of the world. I expect we will want to replace the Flawed harvesters at each major rune with the fully-functional ones. I mean, it's not like Harvesters do anything except funnel emotional energy to daemons.

Oh right... Alex, Brad, Vlad... keep that keystone a secret. We are not giving it to Steve and Bob. Oh, and don't carry it anywhere near the Archbishop. He'll be able to steal it right out of your pockets from across the room. I wish we could go unlock a Vault with it, but the one nearby is up at the peak.

>most of those faces we found are rather familiar if you’ve checked the bounty board lately
The Blood God is proving more and more trustworthy. Man, it's a real shame we're stuck helping Gray and The Light. Not that I blame Steve for it, it was mostly Gray's actions that required this.
>Fully functional harvester head
... Maybe set some symbols of Light around, but not on, the harvester head. Try and contain its power.
>He'll be able to steal it right out of your pockets from across the room
Grand... I'm really wishing the Gods gave cured players the chance to have abilities now. Active abilities that could be given to pawns.
Well, at least we have the ability to kill other players, despite being weaker than them. Not so fortunately, the Archbishop serves Steve unwaveringly. He will still have his powers even without Gray's influence, meaning we would need to kill him too, if that's our solution.
[Message Gray: Do you trust us? With everything everybody's said, we're having a hard time telling who to trust anymore, and may, as a result, start offering less direct aid. Service to the order will, of course, still be granted by those who are in it, which is everybody but Daniel Anderson, but we don't even know what his status is other than that "One temporal copy became a Death Knight of The Blood God and was slain." Our temporal power may help gain a living copy, but we don't know for sure.]
I'm also voting against belayed orders to send this message, meaning you'll need at least two of them to overpower it!

[message player grey: ...Well then. Success it is.]

Anna, you are wise beyond your years. Might want to... put a blanket over that harvester or... something. Make sure nobody touches it.

> Let me tell you, most of those faces we found are rather familiar if you’ve checked the bounty board lately.
I was about to say good on the blood god for not using innocents as sacrifices, but weren't the bandits working for the cultists not too long ago? Not that it would have been a great loss, but still, that's cold.

>>585488
We can't switch sides on the word of a corrupted death knight, Not even if it was Daniel. Even if what he says is true, which we cannot even verify yet, it's possible Steve's goals are noble but methods are flawed- in which case we can ask him to do things differently. Even if this is a worst case scenario where all the grief the daemons wrought and good Steve has brought is somehow a nine thread long series of ruses and misunderstandings, there is no reason that the Archbishop should be killed- he's a political type, not a zealot. Even taking everything Steve says with a grain of salt, so far he's been the lesser evil. We'll need solid evidence if we're going to betray him. and preemptively voting against belaying your own message is just juvenile.

[message to Grey: We also met the wanted windwalker guy. He's Conrack, and a ghost like Bradford, except he remembers everything from 200 years ago. He burned down the farm because they weren't paying taxes to the king he thought was still alive, and he killed the Von Zolner thugs because they were trying to extort money from people. A "Divine Creature" seems to be the term for his case... what does Divine mean though? Does that mean a God brought him back?]

Seeing as I have been completely useless throughout this whole ordeal I will now try to help with THEORIES.
First off it is entirely possible that the death knight was unaware of the true end goals of the Blood God and was being lied to or was lying himself.
Secondly, since Anna remembers nothing from her past life is it possible that the event that broke Brad, the Deamon entering the world thing, could of overlapped Ragnar's "soul", programing, with Brads.
And finally is it possible that Conrak was purposefully brought to modern times by an enemy to kill Brad?

>>585496
I still want to tell Gray that we want to be neutral, only sticking with the Order because all our Pawns are a part of it.
>preemptively voting against belaying your own message is just juvenile.
Hah! Of course it is, most everything we do is juvenile!
... Re-reading my message I see no reason to change it, though. I never said we'd abandon Steve, while I did say our people will continue helping out the order. Giving out some honesty about not knowing who to trust ourselves seems reasonable, and I'm asking Gray if she still trusts us. Or for that matter, has. If you want to reword it, be my guest.

>>585552
If we're not going to abandon Steve, and we'll continue aiding the order, then functionally nothing has changed. Steve also said that we'll be able to talk to him face-to-face soon, suggesting he already knows about our doubts and is going to discuss it. This situation will either change or may even be settled soon.
>Of course it is, most everything we do is juvenile!
...Point. Carry on.

[Echo last scan to nearby pawns] ...Dammit, Dooriya... Alright, we're messaging Gray this news immediately. [Message to Gray: Recovered Harvester part from caravan. Scans as "Object(Demonic): Fully functional harvester head." We'll have to bring it in for testing to confirm it isn't a very convincing fake, but assuming it isn't, just how bad are the implications of this?]

We should test the keystone to make sure it's not a fake. It's unlikely it is since the Death Knight was carrying it, but I'd rather not risk the Blood God or his followers being extra clever and doing something like giving a fake to the Death Knight and hiding the real one in the wall of the bone wagon.

Dooriya, check Lightbringer's Book to double-check if keystones are indeed indestructible by any means currently available in the world. Gray told us so but I want to confirm it before proceeding. Once confirmed place the keystone on a rock or other solid surface and Brad'll hit it as hard as he can with his hammer. If the keystone comes out okay, good; We can torch the wagon and get going. If it doesn't then search this bone wagon and the others top to bottom. If the search finds nothing then smash it to pieces and search in those since it could have been hidden in a skull or fused into the bone. Dooriya's magic ought to be a help in breaking it down since the wagon is a daemonic construct and the magic ought to just disintegrate it.

Also check Lightbringer's Book for how much the emotional energy from this world is diluted by passing through the barrier to the Daemon Realm. The Death Knight said that bringing a source of emotional energy to the Daemon Realm would yield at least ten times the nutrition for the daemons compared to what would flow from this world, so I want to see if that info checks out.

Oh, and also look up if there's any way to free a person once they've reached 100% corruption and been taken as a daemon's thrall. We want to know in case something goes horribly wrong on a mission and one of you guys is taken.

Now, there's a few minor things to do before we head back to the city: Collect the Death Knight's armor and gear and bring it with us so it can be modified and reused or sold off. Has the ranger come back yet? If not we're gonna have to track him down before leaving to make sure he wasn't killed. And have the remains of that poor crossbowman been recovered? I'm guessing the yeti took the body so all we have left to bring back is the head, right?

Brad, on the way back fill everyone (that are our pawns) in on what happened with Conrack, what we've found out about you and what the Death Knight told us. Of course we'll have to verify what the Death Knight said, but even so that old feeling of dread that we're doing totally the wrong thing is creeping up on us again.

Brad, you said there was an order of Windwalkers, so what happened to them? How did Conrack end up the last Windwalker?

Of course there's the lingering question of why and how the ghosts of Ragnar and Conrack have come back now and not closer to when they died, and also why they're so strong compared to pretty much every other ghost ever. Hm... Dooriya, could you check Lightbringer's Book for any other account of a ghost coming back as strongly as Brad and Conrack did. I'm wondering if there's anything that's known to be able to do something like that.

>>585444
You must not have been paying attention when Dooriya read from Lightbringer's Book what the capabilities of a fully functional Harvester are. According to the Book a daemon who occupied such a Harvester would be able to wield most of the powers it has in the Daemon Realm while in this world. (Reference: >>/questarch/567105) Needless to say, this is Bad News.

And we're not gonna hide the keystone from Lightbringer. We wouldn't be able to even if we wanted to since Sgt. Duran saw Alexandra holding it. Once he's debriefed Gray and Lightbringer would know we had it and hid it.

Art error: Drina's bangle is on the wrong antenna.

>>585488
Thought up a reason to belay message from my side--Gray initiated the alliance with us, that shows she trusts us anyways. After a full nine months, I'm sure she should know how we work.

Kaktus 2014/07/28(Mon)09:56 No. 586400 ID: 65a774
File 140656656669.png - (25.59KB , 900x450 , 93.png )

>I'm also voting against belayed orders to send this message, meaning you'll need at least two of them to overpower it!
[Error! Please do not try to cheat or I’ll go iddqd on your ass!]
>[Message player grey: ...Well then. Success it is.]
[Message from Grey: Ah, good to know that Bradford won’t slaughter us all when he starts to remember.]
>[message to Grey: We also met the wanted windwalker guy. He's Conrack, and a ghost like Bradford, except he remembers everything from 200 years ago. He burned down the farm because they weren't paying taxes to the king he thought was still alive, and he killed the Von Zolner thugs because they were trying to extort money from people. A "Divine Creature" seems to be the term for his case... what does Divine mean though? Does that mean a God brought him back?]
[Conrack? Hmm… we had our suspicions on that… glad to have it confirmed. And a divine creature is simply a creature created by the powers of the dead gods that still lingers.]
>[Do you trust us?]
[I trust you to make the choice you believe are right. I do not trust you having the information to do the right choice… I don’t even trust myself in that regard.]
>[With everything everybody's said, we're having a hard time telling who to trust anymore.]
[Trust your skepticism and questions. Without knowledge trust is worthless.]
>[Message to Gray: Recovered Harvester part from caravan. Scans as "Object(Demonic): Fully functional harvester head." We'll have to bring it in for testing to confirm it isn't a very convincing fake, but assuming it isn't, just how bad are the implications of this?]
[…I can’t say myself but… um… err… Steve is freaking out a bit after I told him so… I’m guessing this is bad?]

>We should test the keystone to make sure it's not a fake.
How do we-
Give it here! Siegfried, guide my hammer!!
*Sigh* are all your solutions to problems hitting them with hammers?
Only the good ones! Now, FEEL THE THANES THUNDER!!!
*CRASH!!*
Holy- you cleaved the wagon in half!
And there’s not even a scratch on the keystone… it got to be real.
…wait, how in Hel’s frozen domain did you light the wagon on fire with a hammer? I mean, it’s made out of bones! That’s not… how… but…
Because it was awesome.
...

>Check Lightbringer's Book for how much the emotional energy from this world is diluted by passing through the barrier to the Daemon Realm.
Hmm… it’s just says that a large majority of the emotional energy is lost between realms.
>Also look up if there's any way to free a person once they've reached 100% corruption and been taken as a daemon's thrall.
Either by breaking the daemons connection or in some way destroy the daemon itself.
>Dooriya, could you check Lightbringer's Book for any other account of a ghost coming back as strongly as Brad and Conrack did.
“Ghost and other specters are spirits who clings to the mortal coil because of a strong emotional bind, like anger, regret or the need to set things “right”. Neutral ghost can appear in places with a lot of natural magical energy, like most of the northern lands thanks to their large deposit of magic infused crystals, and aren’t more than visions begging for release. Ghost that can manipulate the world are either natural ghost with an extremely strong emotional bind or get infused with a large burst of magical energy (Either through a lot of magic usage, magic battles, the death of a powerful magic user or even the manifestation of a daemon.)

>Brad, you said there was an order of Windwalkers, so what happened to them? How did Conrack end up the last Windwalker?
(…they were in the way of my revenge so… I removed them. Of course, they were already weak thanks to the king’s use of them in the failed war with the Vildmän.)
>I was about to say good on the blood god for not using innocents as sacrifices, but weren't the bandits working for the cultists not too long ago? Not that it would have been a great loss, but still, that's cold.
No, I’m pretty sure these are other bandits. Not all bandits are in cohorts, right?
>Might want to... put a blanket over that harvester or... something. Make sure nobody touches it.
Right, that thing is starting to creep me the fuck out…
I think it’s kind of cute…
…you’re weird, sis… and not in a good way…

>Brad, on the way back fill everyone (that are our pawns) in on what happened with Conrack, what we've found out about you and what the Death Knight told us.
…very well… I guess it’s time for a story, then…

Kaktus 2014/07/28(Mon)09:56 No. 586401 ID: 65a774
File 140656658484.jpg - (68.08KB , 445x218 , At least the pool is close.jpg )

Greetings from Stockholm!

>>586400
RIP bone cart.

Maybe we should switch to Jal, now.

>…wait, how in Hel’s frozen domain did you light the wagon on fire with a hammer? I mean, it’s made out of bones! That’s not… how… but…
...Did you forget he's wielding a HOLY hammer? It was made to smite the undead, and purge their taint from the land. Setting things on fire through such means is fairly common, right?
That, and the intense friction Bradford can cause with his PSI is going to generate a good amount of heat. Throw any sparks in and you can get a flame.
>Book's info
Hmm. This is really something. Definitely going to want to talk to Steve about this all. It may just be possible that in this loadstate, the Blood God actually is one of the benevolent Daemons, and a Daemon's visions just cover previous loadstates.
Er, when I say "Loadstate" I mean loading up a state of time into the crate that acts as "present"...? Temporal control is weird, and even we don't fully understand it, but that's the closest I can think of to explain that term. Probably as riddlesome to you as a Daemon's speech.
>manifestation of a daemon.
Perhaps Ragnar became a Neutral Ghost and it was through the Daemon's arrival at that town that he was given full existence.
>Steve is freaking out a bit after I told him so… I’m guessing this is bad?
[Message: If it is bad, then we should see how well we can study it. It did not appear to have any affiliation, it is simply an object right now. I don't wish to trust Steve with a full Harvester body, but then, he does not seem to have any intention of using one anyways, and if he changes his mind, it is just a head for now. If we get lucky, we might find some evidence of the Word of the Gods, but I would honestly be surprised if the Daemons used such a means to create their bodies.]
>I trust you to make the choice you believe are right. I do not trust you having the information to do the right choice… I don’t even trust myself in that regard.
[Message: That makes three of a kind, then. Green, who is doubtful of all words from the Daemons, and you and us, who are skeptical of their words, but look through to see what truth they do possess.]
We still need to talk to White and Purple on the matter, of course. I believe White figured out that Libby was a mostly benevolent Daemon, but Purple's going to be a tough case.
>I think it’s kind of cute…
I think I know how you feel now, Anna. Calling a Harvester head cute is just creepy. I mean think about it, Dooriya! Steve's going to give himself a Mantis body, not a Harvester body!