Claudio 2017/01/23(Mon)10:48 No. 774198 ID: 39688a
File 148519728475.png - (107.08KB , 1600x1200 , sadness.png )

Uh oh… He doesn’t seem alright…

“… I don’t know...”

Is he… Crying…?

“When I left… I made sure that every candle wasn’t lit… and… and no one saw anybody trying to set the place on fire… nor entering the library… yet… when I came back… everything was like this…! I don’t know what happened, nor the guards do… and the Arbiter wouldn’t even talk to me!”

… Alright… Thalia seems to be even more uncomfortable right now…

>What happened with the old book from the pedestal? -
>if she asked him about his book, he might let slip why it was valuable… -
“… and Thalia…”

>You don't have long before the other guard gets back.
“…someone is coming…”

…

“Hello again, and I thank you, as I expected my partner forgot the time.”

The guard appears behind us. I’m back at being just a doll…

“… You are welcome.”

“*Bluuuagh! ...”

… Well, the owner seems calm right now... although I can tell he was crying moments ago…

“Um… Sorry for that…”

“Girl, it’s getting late already, shouldn’t you be going home now?”

“Well… yes, but…”

“She lives close by; I don’t think there’s hurry.”

“…If you want me to escort you to your home, just ask.”

“Thanks, I wanted to know… Did the book that was on the display survived?”

“… I don’t really know the details, but most of the things that could be saved from the fire were taken to the guard’s storeroom to keep them safe, they will be brought back by tomorrow.”

“Well, I hope it survived… Sir, can you tell me more about that book? It seemed really old…”

“Oh, I would like to talk about it too… Now listen closely, girl:”

The owner suddenly seems to be eager…

“… Really…? Right now…?”

The guard, on the other hand…

Claudio 2017/01/23(Mon)10:51 No. 774199 ID: 39688a
File 148519747494.png - (49.48KB , 1600x1200 , The old book.png )

“It‘s a very old book, you know? According to my father and grandfather, it has been passed down my family for generations. They say it was one of our ancestors who wrote it, but I’m not sure about that because the author didn’t put his signature anywhere, for all I know, it could have been a writer from the times when my family was of the nobility!”

Thalia seems amazed by this; although she still seems to be uneasy… the owner has lost himself in his story. The guard doesn’t seem to be listening.

“It was written in a very old language too… I couldn’t even read it when my father showed it to me… In fact, I never tried to read it, I was always more worried with trying to learn and add more books to the library… My father was the one who built this library, and I inherited it, and with it, the book… I got the feeling my father cherished it, even more than I do, really. He even locked it on the display you saw, and then gave me it’s only key. I never opened it since then…”

“I don’t remember much about the book tough… My father used to tell me that it was about… science and theories of times long passed… Probably like an encyclopedia? I hope it survived… It would be sad if it didn’t, but at least most of its information would probably be obsolete or inaccurate… Yet at the same time it could be helpful for those who wanted to study our history. I also think It probably is worth a ton of money too, as an antiquity”

… Well, we may have found the nature of the book… If it wasn’t by the fact that the book may had some magical essence on it, perhaps I wouldn’t be worried… But suddenly I got the feeling there may be something else hidden within those writings…

Claudio 2017/01/23(Mon)10:53 No. 774200 ID: 39688a
File 148519761862.png - (126.11KB , 1600x1200 , Not sure about the Hair Though___.png )

“… Well, if it survived, it will probably be on the storeroom, But with all that we found, I have my doubts it did…”
“Well, I will be surprised if it didn’t. Those books are though, even if they are old... Oh, here, drink a bit; it’s the least I can do for you keeping me company”

“… I really shouldn’t… But, hells, since you are offering, I will take one I guess…”

The guard sits on that makeshift table, and gets the jar that the other guard was using… Meanwhile, Thalia went back onto the room we where before… I don’t think anyone noticed that she left…

“… Menno… Did that information helped in some way?”

“It probably did. I think I may have found something out but I will need to think a bit more about this, but what about you? ... Are you alright Thalia..? You seem stressed, is there something troubling you…?”

“… It’s just… I didn't like to make him cry… He’s a friend and he really seems to be having a bad time… I never saw him drink that much…”

“… I see… I’m sorry… I didn’t expect him to cry…”

To be fair, I didn’t know that humans could cry without the need of pain or fear…

“… Is that all? You still seem uneasy”

“… Well, there’s something else but… it doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t be able to help me with them anyway…”

“What?”

“Don’t worry… I can hold on, Just tell me what to do, ok?”

…Thalia is putting up a brave face, but its obvious that she’s worried… Why is she pretending to be alright…?

Make it clear she can talk about whatever she want. If possible you will help.

Know, thinking about the magic in that room: if the red spots truly are footprints, what kind of magic would allow this familiar to walk on walls? Also, does it look like that window broken in what direction?
About the book: If his father used to tell him but he doesn't remember we can conclude the subject isn't outrageous or interesting for a common scholar. It's something that can be described as science, so it probable have something to do with the nature of some phenomenon and experiments related, but it also shouldn't contain any explicitly description of magical spells.

>>774200
I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I was just trying to find out what happened, I really didn't expect him to react that strongly.

I guess I don't have a lot of practice handling people.

>Just tell me what to do, ok?
I'm... not sure what else we can do at the moment. I doubt there's much to be found poking around in the rubble (certainly not worth risking getting her in trouble over), and it's probably not the smartest idea following those magic tracks to "Leo". They probably stop before catching up to where he is now, and we wouldn't want to be caught following his trail.

Claudio 2017/01/27(Fri)18:02 No. 775161 ID: dd5574
File 148556894160.png - (159.37KB , 1600x1200 , Slightly less worried.png )

>>774216
>if the red spots truly are footprints, what kind of magic would allow this familiar to walk on walls?
They shouldn’t be necessarily footprints… The familiar could have covered itself on the spell, and thus, everything they touched would leave a trail, with exception of the air, unless it was a very strong spell.

That said… in order to leave a trail in that way… Perhaps it could also have used some earth magic? Those stairs were mainly made of stone; perhaps it could have used that to make it so that its legs would "walk" on the wall… Another way would be that they just climbed, maybe using their claws, although they should have been careful to not leave any sort of recognizable mark…

>Does it look like that window broken in what direction?
Between the ruble and destruction, and the fact that it’s getting darker, it’s nearly impossible to tell… I would bet these windows were broken towards the outside of the building. At least, I’m not seeing any glass on the inside…

>It's something that can be described as science, so it probable have something to do with the nature of some phenomenon and experiments related.
…Perhaps… But magic on its own is a part of nature, and a science, or at least my former master used to say that, although… his methods... would make you think he did it for fun…

>But it also shouldn't contain any explicitly description of magical spells.
I guess… I suppose the arbiters wouldn’t just leave something like that unchecked, right? Although there is the possibility that the magic on the book was to hid its true nature…

>>774276
>it's probably not the smartest idea following those magic tracks to "Leo". They probably stop before catching up to where he is now
When I met them on top of the Tavern, it had already taken off whichever spell they used, so yes, I think those tracks wouldn't give us many clues outside the library...

>we wouldn't want to be caught following his trail.
Yes… I guess doing that would look suspicious even to those who can’t see the trail... but only if they see us.

>I doubt there's much to be found poking around in the rubble

And searching randomly would probably be a waste of time…

Claudio 2017/01/27(Fri)18:08 No. 775163 ID: dd5574
File 148556932185.png - (79.99KB , 1600x1200 , hold onto something.png )

>I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable.
“It's ok, I'm surprised to see him like that too... and the smell of alcohol doesn't help much..."

>I guess I don't have a lot of practice handling people.
Well… The best experience I had so far on that regard was when I met Thalia, and that’s not a lot of time ago… So far, Humans seem to act in random ways.

>Make it clear she can talk about whatever she want. If possible you will help.
“... I appreciate it but…”

She suddenly stays silent… It’s almost annoying…

“... But…?”

“… Sorry… I was about to say that… I don’t think you could help… you can’t see them… Don’t worry, alright? It’s not the first time, I can hold on, just tell me what to do… I need to distract myself…”

Ok… I’m not seeing any sort of movement nor there seems to be magic involved… That means that whatever those things are, only she can see them… this is worrisome in some way…

“Ok, Hold me.”

“…W-What?”

“Just focus on me, alright? That’s what you would do with Serra, right?”

“…Y-Yes… But..."

She holds me in front of her, she's still trying to keep a straight face, but her eyes seem to be somewhat erratic. Hmm… how should I deal with this…? It would be easier if I could know what she's dealing with… I know something that may, or may not, help with that but… well… it’s painful and intrusive… If possible, I would like to avoid using it on her…

Looking at you may be difficult to remember you are alive. Talk to her. Ask if she fear what she see.

I know it seem she have intense hallucinations, but remember, you can see things most people cannot, it's entirely possible that there are invisible realities to be perceive that you are unaware of. Don't offer to replicate one of your old master's cruel experiments if you are not sure it will solve her particular problem.
If and when she decide to tell you about what she sees in what conditions we can speculate about her problem and the possible solutions. Until then the best you can do is make it clear to her this isn't a taboo subject and you won't judge.

Oh she's not upset about what happened? That's a relief. She's being harassed by things no one else can see? Less so.

>what do
Don't leave your hands handing uselessly at your side. Pick them up and hold her hands back as a gesture of emotional support.

Do you want to try and talk about what's happening to me? An outlet might help. Or would you prefer it if I tried to distract you, give you something else to think about?

>I know something that may, or may not, help with that but… well… it’s painful and intrusive… If possible, I would like to avoid using it on her…
What are you thinking of? Could you explain it in more detail to us?

And if it's painful and intrusive, you should absolutely discuss it with Thalia before even considering using it on her. And preferably, when she's not in the middle of an episode, so she can consider it objectively instead of desperately agreeing to something that might offer relief.

>>775163
>Ok… I’m not seeing any sort of movement nor there seems to be magic involved… That means that whatever those things are, only she can see them… this is worrisome in some way…
She's suffering through hallucinations. Remember, she thought you were one also, until you touched her and proved that you're real.

Claudio 2017/02/01(Wed)17:52 No. 776425 ID: e3bf42
File 148600037745.png - (81.09KB , 1600x1200 , moral support.png )

Author: Just noticed I forgot to put the darkness on the previous image, sorry.

>>775490
>Don't leave your hands handing uselessly at your side. Pick them up and hold her hands back as a gesture of emotional support.
Right, that may help a bit… I think…

>>775491
>until you touched her and proved that you're real.
…

“…Remember, I’m here, if you manage to think on something I could do to help, just say it…”

She nods…

>>775178
> Talk to her. Ask if she fear what she see.
“… No… It’s just… They talk… and say things… but... they aren't nice... ”

>What are you thinking of?
I don’t really know all the details; but I know there is magic involved… I saw my former master doing it… all the times… And I had to do it once, when he had more than one "guest"… To put it in a simple way, by doing this, I would be able to know what she’s feeling without causing any sort of damage to me … I thought that maybe, it would help me to see her hallucinations if I tweaked this method a little bit … But it will be intrusive, as I will need to get to one of her nerves, and it will be painful, because not only it would hurt her when I get to the nerve, but the process could also cause involuntary contractions, at best…

My former master used it to learn the best ways to torture each of his victims…

>you should absolutely discuss it with Thalia before even considering using it on her
It would only be fair that way, but as I said… If possible, I would like to avoid using that on her… Should I really mention it later? That could also lead to a lot of questions of which I don’t know if she will take kindly the answers…

>Don't offer to replicate one of your old master's cruel experiments
… I… Didn’t intend to… But it was an option…

Claudio 2017/02/01(Wed)17:53 No. 776426 ID: e3bf42
File 148600042876.png - (106.91KB , 1600x1200 , Help me.png )

>Until then the best you can do is make it clear to her this isn't a taboo subject and you won't judge.

“… But… You can’t see them…”

“Yes, in the same way you can’t see the magical essence that I was always pointing out in this place, yet you trusted in me.”

“… But… they aren’t re… al…”

“… Perhaps, but still, when you say they hurt you, I believe you, even if I can’t see them, and even if they aren’t real. I believe you in the same way you believe in what I said.”

“… Thank you…”

She suddenly takes me closer and traps me with her arms so tightly that I almost feel my insides trying to escape, and I have to be careful with the needles that are stored inside my body in order to not hurt her accidentally…

“… Sorry…”

She’s not letting go though… and being like this makes it hard to see her face…

>Do you want to try and talk about what's happening to me? An outlet might help. Or would you prefer it if I tried to distract you, give you something else to think about?
“… Just give me something else to think… that should help… I hope… shut up.”

Alright… something that could distract her...

“Thalia… I think we should head back to your home too, it's getting dark, and I don’t think we will find much else"

Not to mention that I don’t think she should be here during one of her “episodes”…

“… I don’t think… we should… I don’t want my caretakers to see me like this… Even if they get angry at me…”

>nerve technique
So you link yourself to someone, so you can see what they see? Potentially useful, but yeah that would hurt.

Reiterate there's absolutely no way you do that to someone unless you've discussed it and she's agreed to it.

>If possible, I would like to avoid using that on her… Should I really mention it later? That could also lead to a lot of questions of which I don’t know if she will take kindly the answers
You could wait till you trust each other more before you breach the subject of darker magics.

Should you? I dunno, it depends on if you really think this could help her.

Ideally we should return home, but if she adamantly against facing her caretaker we can go somewhere else. Lingering in a crime scene under unknown magical influence can be dangerous and raise uncomfortable questions.

Claudio 2017/02/16(Thu)08:29 No. 780026 ID: 786d7d
File 148726256048.png - (140.94KB , 1600x1200 , waiting___.png )

>>776432
>Reiterate there's absolutely no way you do that to someone unless you've discussed it
If possible, I would like to avoid using it at all, but things change with time... I may have the need to use it later…

>Should you? I dunno, it depends on if you really think this could help her.
As I said, I probably would have needed to do some changes and tweaks to the procedure in order to be able to see what she sees, and that would take time. It was a bad idea, but still, a possibility…

>>776439
> If she adamantly against facing her caretaker we can go somewhere else
“I don’t think we may find much else here, at least not now, if there is anywhere you would like to go, we can go there. At least until you get better.”

“A- All right… I wanted to leave this place…”
We go outside; she almost doesn’t notice the guard on the door until he greets her. At first, we head towards her home but then, she stops and goes a bit to the right, and finds somewhere to sit on the side of the building, and she starts looking at the sky…

“… They will leave… eventually… I hope … “

“Well… you asked me to try to distract you so… What do you think happened on the library?”

“Huh? I don’t really know… It’s confusing... I believe you would know better than I…”

“We have gathered some information so far, yet I still don’t know how it all happened… Since you know more about this place than I do, you may be able to come up with something that I didn’t notice, just listen and then tell me if you find something curious…”

I explain her about everything I have gathered so far, including the magical essence on the room in which the owner was...

“So, what you think?”

“…There is something that is bothering me… Why the familiar went first towards the other side of the library… and then he went back to the Study when he could just have gone there in the first place?"

“Perhaps its escape route was blocked by the fire?”

“But couldn’t it easily just pass the fire with its supposed fire protection? And there are many windows in that area of the library… the Fire couldn’t have blocked them all.”

“… That’s a good point… You may have given me something useful here, thanks.”

Why would it do that? I don’t know much of protection spells, but I know they would make you nearly invulnerable to said element… so in short, it could have escaped from there, but it didn’t…

I don’t know how much time passes now; I learned that once you forget that time is important it goes away rather fast, Thalia seems calmer, but I can tell “they” are still there…

“… Are you alright?”

She remains silent for a moment…

“…Yes… don’t worry… stop... laughing… ”

Claudio 2017/02/16(Thu)08:29 No. 780027 ID: 786d7d
File 148726259240.png - (91.98KB , 1600x1200 , Angry Par-Caretakers.png )

Suddenly the door of the shop opens… and Thalia’s fath… caretaker! comes out, he almost doesn’t notice her at First

“Ah… There you are! What are you doing in the darkness? I thought I told you to come back as soon as you could!”

“Sorry, I wanted to… look at the stars, and didn’t notice the time…”

“”Sorry” is not enough! Come in, we will discuss it inside, the food is already served and we were waiting for you.”

“Yes… Sorry, just… let me get my stuff…!”

“Alright, but hurry!”

He goes towards the door and stays there; looking at this direction… he seems angry. Meanwhile, Thalia leans towards the side, making sure he can’t look at her talking to me.

“…I’m in trouble… Do you want me to leave you here…?”

You won't be able to do anything around her caretaker, but at least you would be there for emotional support. Stay with her for now, you can leave trough the window latter.

Claudio 2017/02/22(Wed)17:56 No. 782197 ID: 259b4c
File 148781496820.png - (86.45KB , 1600x1200 , four foods.png )

“I will go with you.”

She doesn’t say anything and grabs me, although she seems to be trying to keep me hidden… on the other hand, her caretaker doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to anything besides her…

“Alright… I’m going…”

We enter into the shop, and then we go to the room behind the shop. There’s a lot of equipment here, I guess it is what they use for their trade, many looms of different sizes and shapes, and some cloth and finished clothing laying around, but most of the stuff seems to have been moved, and, In the center of the room, there’s a table with four plates ready to be used on each side of the table, although I only see Thalia and her two caretakers… is the dog the fourth occupant of the table? And where is her dog now that I think of it?

Claudio 2017/02/22(Wed)17:57 No. 782198 ID: 259b4c
File 148781505133.png - (76.42KB , 1600x1200 , PROportions!.png )

She takes a seat quickly, leaving her purse on the side of her chair, while I’m hidden below the table… the… “female caretaker”? Talks first…

“There you are! Could you explain what took you so long?”

“Sorry… I didn’t… Notice the time…“

They all take a seat on each side of Thalia, leaving only one of the plates alone… Suddenly, the male caretaker starts talking.

“I was about to look for you on the library… It was by mere luck that I saw you there…”

“… I’m…”

“I’m not finished! I believe that I told you to come back as soon as you could. Why didn’t you just come back in here?”

“I…”

…She doesn’t seem to be doing well... She feels tense and all that pressure seems to be getting into her, and I can’t do much, aside from trying to try to hold her without risking being seen… and she seems to be having troubles focusing on the conversation…

“…Well, are you going to explain yourself? If you wanted to look at the stars you could have just told us.”

“B-Because…”

*Bark! *bark!

…That barking comes from upstairs, and they sound muffled…

“a-ah I forgot to… Feed Serra! I-I will be back, just a second!”

She grabs me and in quite a hurry she leaves the room and starts going upstairs...

“Wait, Thalia!”

Claudio 2017/02/22(Wed)17:59 No. 782200 ID: 259b4c
File 148781514377.png - (100.51KB , 1600x1200 , PROportions, The Ratios.png )

We get upstairs, and she is heading to her room…

“Thalia, Are you alright?”

She doesn’t answer…

As soon as she opens the door, her dog jumps on Thalia’s leg. It seems to be whimpering… It looks like it wasn’t able to open the door from inside the room…

Thalia closes the door… I can hear her caretakers calling her, but they stop doing so after some time… Thalia simply drops on the floor… She’s crying…

Her dog presses itself on Thalia trying to calm her... meanwhile I can’t think of much else besides keeping myself close to her…

Ask if they know. A good starting point is to determine if she is hiding her condition or the current episode.
It would be better if her caretakers were supportive, but we don't know how they would react and it isn't our place to demand she share her secrets. Give a moment of breathing and to be sure they won't come after her.
If it seem we can talk freely it's a good time to ask more about what she see. Are the creatures in her room? Do they appear in specific places? Do those places affect her emotional state or is their presence suggest another reason? And what exactly are they?

>>782224
Pretty sure she said earlier she hasn't told anyone else.

>>782200
Hug?

Is it that hard to be around them? They seemed concerned for you.

Claudio 2017/02/28(Tue)20:59 No. 783752 ID: 806427
File 148834439833.png - (85.89KB , 1600x1200 , Menno uses Hug!.png )

>>783008
>Pretty sure she said earlier she hasn't told anyone else.
Yes, she said that, although I’m starting to wonder how she managed to keep it hidden…

>Hug?
I guess that could help?

… She doesn’t seem to stop crying... and it doesn’t seem like she’s going to do it soon…

“We are the only ones here Thalia, speak to us.”

*whimper…

Her dog seems worried…

“… I’m sorry… …I’m so sorry….”

“… Are you alright Thalia?”

“… I think… They are gone now…”

Yet… She’s still crying… and she isn’t any calmer than before…

“…They had… their fun…”

“What do you mean…? And why do you say you are sorry?”

“… I’m sorry for… Forcing you out of the library… and for making everyone worry… and also… for not trusting in you, Menno…”

“… What do you mean?”

“it’s… about them… the things I see… I… should have told you more about them… from the beginning… I’m sorry…”

“Would you like to speak about them now?”

“… Yes…"

She’s hasn’t calmed yet… but perhaps talking about it could help her…

>>782224
>Are the creatures in her room?
No… they left… for now…

>what exactly are they?
“It’s… hard to describe them... sometimes they are small... other times… they are bigger… Some have different shapes… others look very normal and human…“

>Do they appear in specific places?
“No… they appear at random… as far as I know… although… they seem to appear when I’m feeling bad… Then… they would say… bad things to me…“

“What sort of things?”

“... They would use whatever they have at hand to... make me unsure of myself… and… have doubts about others… they would say I shouldn’t trust anyone… right now… they were saying I shouldn’t trust you, that you were saying only lies, and that you where the one to blame for… everything that was happening… and they were saying I should… give you away… I don’t really want to say everything they told me…”

“… Thank you for not giving me away.”

Claudio 2017/02/28(Tue)21:02 No. 783754 ID: 806427
File 148834456418.png - (121.99KB , 1600x1200 , Serra uses Lick!.png )

>They seemed concerned for you.
“… Your caretakers seemed concerned… why did you left like that…?”

“Because of the hallucinations… I felt that… If I stayed any longer… something bad could happen… I have no control over them… and they were repeating that I should give you away louder and louder… I couldn’t even listen to what my caretakers were saying… And I didn’t want them to figure it out… I don’t think they would understand it…”

“I see… Thank you for sharing this…”

“No… thank you, Menno, for listening… and … sorry again…”

*Bark!

As soon as we are finished, Thalia seemed like she was going to cry again, but Thalia’s dog climbs on her, and gets closer to her face…

“Ah! haha, don’t do that Serra!”

… Thalia is now suffering Serra’s relentless licks … Was that dog patiently waiting for me to finish? Anyway, it looks like neither of them minds

It seems Thalia is alright now… she doesn’t feel stressed or tense, although she is fighting a bit to try to keep Serra away… It’s hard for me to imagine what’s she going through, and the idea of those… things wanting to get rid of me is… somewhat worrying… Now I’m glad she’s not a mage, she would have many troubles trying to control her power, which would put her in great danger in this city...

“Alright, Serra that’s enough!”

Serra get’s off Thalia, and she gets up while cleaning her dress…

“I… I should get back now… And apologize to them... if you want to stay here, perhaps is for the best after… what almost happened last time… heheh, and I should also come up with an excuse to why I acted the way I did.”

It seems like Serra is going to stick to Thalia’s leg, so at least she will not be alone.

If their presence coincide with her emotional state they are probable imaginary, or less likely a possession case.
Now is a good time to mention there is a way for you to see what she sees. Not that you should do it tonight, but at least let her ponder about possible magical treatments.
For the possibility of they been real, it would be a pertinent question to ask if their advices were ever useful in the past, and if so, were they often helpful? In the case her visions have a prophetic property we should consider getting away from her, for our presence may represent a danger.
As for the lie, she could claim to be distressed by the state of the library and the owner. It's fair to say they are currently far from their former worth.

>Sorry for not trusting you
It's okay, trust can take time.

>visions want to get rid of you
Now, that might be just she's crazy and her hallucinations attack anything around her. Or they might be real in some, recognize that you might be able to do something about them, so they're getting aggressive preemptively.

>And apologize to them... if you want to stay here, perhaps is for the best after… what almost happened last time… heheh, and I should also come up with an excuse to why I acted the way I did.
I can come if you want, or I'll stay. Whatever makes you comfortable.

As for an excuse, blame the library fire, I guess? Worked up thinking about it. It's... sort of close to the truth.

Claudio 2017/03/04(Sat)09:03 No. 784788 ID: 861f76
File 148864701806.png - (39.95KB , 1600x1200 , the door.png )

>>783766
>were they often helpful?
“… I try to not listen to them… Sometimes they often say they are helping me, but I don’t like the way they want to help…”

“Have they ever predicted something?”

“... I don't know... I never noticed at least."

>Now is a good time to mention there is a way for you to see what she sees.
I explain about the idea I had… including the possible benefits and the problems there may be… She… seems to have a strong reaction.

“Are… are you saying that you could cure this?”

“No… This could help me understand better what are you going through, and maybe help in some way…“

“… But you said it’s painful… right?”

“Yes, That’s why I would prefer not to-“

“… It’s alright… if you think that could Help, I will endure the pain.”

… I’m not sure if she knows what “pain” is…

“… Do… Do you think magic could… make them go away…?”

“I don’t know... I can’t make any promises…”

She stays quiet for a moment, thinking, but she seemed… enthusiastic… I suddenly feel like mentioning it was a bad idea, but not in the way I expected it…

>>783989
>I can come if you want, or I'll stay. Whatever makes you comfortable.
“…I think you should stay here for now… I have more questions, but they will be for later.”

>As for an excuse, blame the library fire, I guess? Worked up thinking about it. It's... sort of close to the truth.
>she could claim to be distressed by the state of the library and the owner. It's fair to say they are currently far from their former worth.
“I will see what I do. Well…I will come back soon. Make yourself comfortable!”

And with that, she leaves.

Claudio 2017/03/04(Sat)09:04 No. 784789 ID: 861f76
File 148864706281.png - (67.81KB , 1600x1200 , lying on the bed.png )

I’m alone in her room again… perhaps I should start cleaning everything? It would take some hours to clean all of this, even with magic, but perhaps I should consider NOT using magic with all the hate there is towards magic in this place…

>If their presence coincides with her emotional state they are probable imaginary
>Now, that might be just she's crazy and her hallucinations attack anything around her.
If that’s the case… I don’t know what I could do to help her fight those things… I think she would be pretty much on her own, no matter if I like it or not… The best thing I could do is to help her to see what’s real and what isn’t…

>less likely a possession case.
I have my doubts about it… I heard of beings, probably magical, being able to “possess” humans and that sort of thing, but I got the feeling that’s more of a myth than an actual fact.

>Or they might be real in some, recognize that you might be able to do something about them, so they're getting aggressive preemptively.
Hmm… If that’s the case, then either they think I can do something against them, or I can do something against them… But if they were real… Shouldn’t I be able to sense them in some way? Perhaps that question would be answered once I’m able to see them, but that still doesn't mean I'm eager to do that...

Have you considered the use if anesthetics? There is a dosage that is enough to desensitize the sensations without preventing other signs. You could experiment with that.

>She stays quiet for a moment, thinking, but she seemed… enthusiastic… I suddenly feel like mentioning it was a bad idea, but not in the way I expected it…
You should probably go over this in more detail before you take the last step.

What materials or resources would you need to attempt this nerve magic thing?

Also we're going to need a place and time with some privacy. If she's going to be interrupted by obligations, or her family, that would complicate things.

Claudio 2017/03/11(Sat)15:29 No. 786665 ID: df0d6a
File 148927498232.png - (79.76KB , 1600x1200 , knowledge.png )

>>784792
>Have you considered the use if anesthetics?
I remember those… my master had some, although he rarely ever used them… I think we could try to give her some anesthetics and then see if it would ease her pain while I try to get to her nerve. Sadly, I don’t seem have one of those at hand, and I don’t think those can be found anywhere...

>>784847
>What materials or resources would you need to attempt this nerve magic thing?
Well, a way to get to her nerve is the first thing I would need… After seeing my master doing it for several times, I think I know the location of several of those, so a needle should suffice… but, knowing my master, they could have been carefully selected to inflict the most pain, or in other cases, fear.

As for anything else, well, as long as I don’t hurt anything more, I guess we should find a way to stop the bleeding once I’m done, and a way to restrain her, at least slightly, to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself during the whole process…

>Also we're going to need a place and time with some privacy. If she's going to be interrupted by obligations, or her family, that would complicate things.
Yes, that may have been something she forgot to notice that. I don’t remember how long it will really take, since my master usually liked to take his time with this. I don’t know how long it could take to find whatever it is that she sees, it could vary from minutes to hours.

… I should start cleaning this place. I decide to avoid using magic for now, and just concentrate on gathering all the dirt on one place. I will figure out a way to dispose of it later I guess… and she was right… It was about time this place got some cleaning… Still not as bad as what I used to clean before.

…

>Seems like a herbology book of some kind
> I don’t think those can be found anywhere...
… Maybe they can be found anywhere…? I wonder if Thalia knows how to read this. I will just leave it on top of her bed for now...

Claudio 2017/03/11(Sat)15:31 No. 786666 ID: df0d6a
File 148927511543.png - (128.93KB , 1600x1200 , martial training.png )

After some time, I hear some people coming up the stairs; I quickly hide just to be safe.

“Good night, Thalia.”

“Good night!”

Thalia with Serra enters the room and closes the door; Serra doesn’t waste time and decides to go to its bed…

“… Did everything go well, Thalia?”

“Oh! … Try to not do that please… I thought you were… one of them…”

“Sorry… I will try to show myself first next time.”

“Anyway, it looks like everything went well… I don’t think they believed me, but at least they didn’t try to ask any more questions… Although I think they are probably still worried… what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to clean this room, as I said I would, although without proper tools, it’s proving to be a bit complicated… Wouldn’t you have something I could use as a broom? And some water could help but that would be more to clean myself.”

“Well… I can’t get you water right now… But perhaps you could use one of my old paintbrushes? Here… I have them stored in my wardrobe…”

“Yes… I think this should work for now… Also, I found a notebook under your bed, it is yours, right?”

“Oh… I almost forgot about it... Yes… it’s mine…”

“Can you read its contents? I don’t seem to recognize the code in which it is written…”

“No… I never really learnt how to read this language, even though I should, I only know a few words… Why do you ask?”

“I thought we could use it to find something that could help you with the pain, something like an anesthetic…”

“….An- Aesthetic…? What is that?”

“Oh, it’s a substance that could ease the pain, or even make it disappear, as far as I heard.”

“… I didn’t know something like that existed…”

She seems tired, Perhaps I should tell her about the other things tomorrow, humans need some time to rest too…

“Menno… There are many questions I want to ask you before I go to sleep… You didn’t invent it in order to make me feel a bit better… right? How exactly did you learn of that thing you mentioned? Does it have anything to do with your old master…? And how was everything before you ended free? … I’m sorry if they are too many questions.”

… I guess I knew this would come up sooner or later… Should I tell her the truth…?

>You didn’t invent it in order to make me feel a bit better… right? How exactly did you learn of that thing you mentioned? Does it have anything to do with your old master…? And how was everything before you ended free? … I’m sorry if they are too many questions.”
I didn't make it up. I don't know for certain if it will help you, but making things up would be cruel and short sighted, only raising your hopes to crash later.

My master... was not a good person. He was cruel, and selfish, and in the end, that got him killed.

Yes, it was something I learned from watching him. He used it differently, though. Being able to tap into someone else's senses has obvious uses for questioning or interrogation. It makes it very hard to lie or hide anything. He was exploiting people for his own gain, not trying to gain perspective or help someone.

>Should I tell her the truth…?
Pretty much, yeah. I wouldn't get into too much the exact detail of the horrors you've seen (how's she supposed to sleep after that?), but I don't think you should hide you can from a dark place, or that your master was a terrible person.

The anesthetics aren't optional, you need to find something before trying. You need to find a secure place to do the procedure. Lastly the procedure need to coincide with one of her episodes, so we need to induce or wait for it to happen.

Claudio 2017/03/19(Sun)07:30 No. 788747 ID: 5b4a18
File 148993380976.png - (81.41KB , 1600x1200 , fixing hair.png )

>>786669
>I didn't make it up. I don't know for certain if it will help you, but making things up would be cruel and short sighted, only raising your hopes to crash later.
“I didn’t make it up, I know for certain that it works and I can use it, but I don’t know if it will help you, I mentioned because there may be a chance, if you wanted to take it.”

“… Thank you…”

“Also I never liked giving false hopes”

>My master... was not a good person. He was cruel, and selfish, and in the end, that got him killed.
“… How so…?”

“To put it lightly… He enjoyed causing pain to others…”

She remains silent, but looks concerned…

“But I don’t, and I never did, if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“… You helped him…?”

“Yes… I didn’t have much of a choice back then, familiars must obey their master’s orders on no matter what, we may only complain, unless we were already ordered to not to.”

…Silence…

“… Do you want me to leave?”

“No, no… It’s just… Now I understand why you didn’t say much about him…”

>Yes, it was something I learned from watching him.
“And this technique… I learned it from watching him, but he used it for hurting people... But knowing how it worked, I thought it could be used to help you.”

“...I… See…”

>I don't think you should hide you can from a dark place, or that your master was a terrible person.
“I thought that if I told you, you may consider me more of a threat than a friend. “

“… You probably did well… That’s just the kind of things that the… hallucinations would have used against you…”

Claudio 2017/03/19(Sun)07:32 No. 788748 ID: 5b4a18
File 148993393444.png - (27.76KB , 1600x1200 , sleeping girl.png )

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“Rest well Thalia, I will keep cleaning the room for now… If the sound is annoying just tell me.”

“You don’t need to sleep?”

“No, familiars don’t need to sleep, the closest thing we would do is stay very quiet.”

Which was boring almost all the time.

“Oh… Well… Good night Menno.”

She lies on her bed and I guess she does whatever humans do to sleep. I concentrate more on cleaning the room.

>>786674
>The anesthetics aren't optional, you need to find something before trying.
We would need to try to use the anesthetics first, at least for once so we can tell if they are going to block the pain effectively, and if it isn’t going to prevent the procedure to work.

>You need to find a secure place to do the procedure.
There could be many safe places to hide in the city, but a place to do the proceeding without any interruptions could be slightly troublesome to find, especially if the anesthetics prove to be ineffective in either way. Somewhere out of sight would be the first thing, but I would also need some place where she could be the most comfortable possible to avoid her getting hurt.

>Lastly the procedure need to coincide with one of her episodes, so we need to induce or wait for it to happen.
… This… could be very annoying… and even more stressing for Thalia…. On one hand, we would need to be ready at all times if we wanted to have a chance to try this, but inducing her episodes could be either useless or dangerous, since we still don’t know what makes them appear, and I don’t know if Thalia could take it if we tried to make her hallucinations appear again… She barely seems to be able to keep herself calm when they “are” around… Fuck…

And on top of all of that, there is the chance of hostile magic users, and familiars, being around the city... I guess there is a lot to be done…

Thalia seems to have already fallen asleep, as well as Serra… I would make a guess and say that her caretakers are also asleep… So, should I call it a day and continue cleaning during the rest of the night, or is there something else I should do now that everyone seems to be sleeping?

You could explore the city. Since most of the humans will be sleeping and you got the cover of the darkness this is the ideal time to move around. Let's see if you can find anything of interest for your many projects.

>have to coincide with an episode
Well, we could check if the non-torturous sense sharing even works before we try it on the visions. A proven method would make it less stressful, and avoid the worst case where you fail an untested method while she's having an attack and that makes it worse.

There's also the fact that if what she sees is in any way real, they might respond to your reaching out to them like this.

>>788748
Check on the caretakers, make sure nothing is amiss in the shop.

And yeah, not sure there's much to be done right now beyond tidying up, or scouting around.

Claudio 2017/03/25(Sat)14:54 No. 790418 ID: 672649
File 149047884783.png - (42.05KB , 1600x1200 , going out.png )

>>788805
>we could check if the non-torturous sense sharing even works before we try it on the visions.
Yes, we probably should test it as soon as we get the anesthetics, when she wants to, before trying it for real.

>There's also the fact that if what she sees is in any way real
I really wouldn’t know how to deal with that… If they are real and they try something, it should be fairly easy and fast to just stop the process, and then think on something new… So far they haven’t done much else than trying to make Thalia to get rid of me…

Claudio 2017/03/25(Sat)14:54 No. 790419 ID: 672649
File 149047889384.png - (105.64KB , 1600x1200 , second floor.png )

>Check on the caretakers
The door on Thalia’s room is somewhat ajar so I only need to push it to open it… it creaks a bit and it seems only Serra noticed it, but besides looking at my direction, they don’t seem to care and go back to sleep…

I think I heard the Caretakers going into this room… The door is closed, not locked, but without help it will be hard for me to open it, and it will probably make some noise that could wake the caretakers… By listening closely, I can hear some snoring coming from the other side of the door, so I guess they are there…

Claudio 2017/03/25(Sat)14:57 No. 790421 ID: 672649
File 149047905342.png - (81.54KB , 1600x1200 , hidding.png )

>make sure nothing is amiss in the shop.
The shop seems to be tightly locked; I don’t think there is any way to enter without breaking something… It feels way smaller than during the day too.

…I hear steps coming from outside, getting close to the door… then I hear the lock of the door… I quickly hide behind some of the crates of the shop.

… Whoever comes in locks the door again, it would seem they have a key, so I presume they may be acquaintances of Thalia or her Caretakers… They don’t seem to be trying to hide themselves, but they seem to be trying to avoid making noise… The go directly to the room behind the shop… I couldn’t get a good look of them, but I think they may have taken a seat on the table, the door is slightly ajar and I see some light coming out of the room, so it looks like they may have lit a candle, I can’t see them from the opening of the door, and trying to move the door may warn them of my presence so I think it will be better to leave it like it is for now… at least they don’t seem to be any sort of thief…

Claudio 2017/03/25(Sat)14:58 No. 790422 ID: 672649
File 149047910584.png - (213.03KB , 1600x1200 , ok, WTF.png )

Staying right here with them in the next room could be dangerous… I probably should leave for now…

>And yeah, not sure there's much to be done right now beyond tidying up, or scouting around.
That could help, I think I would have enough time to do some exploring, and still have time to come back and continue cleaning, although I should be careful once I come back…

>>788760
>Let's see if you can find anything of interest for your many projects.
Alright, let’s see… I need anesthetics, places I could hide, and if possible, hide Thalia too… Also knowledge of any sort... hmmm… Should I also search for something else?

I get to the room on the third floor; I think I would be able to leave from here, since I don’t think opening the window would be problematic, and it seemed to be an easy way out of the building for me overall an –Ok, What the fuck is that…?

A ramified magical patter that suggest either a flow trough the least resistant path (like a river or a thunder) or the behavior of an organism trying to spread by growth (like a plant of a fungus).

I have no idea what I'm looking at. What are those things? Trash bags?

Let's see if we find more interesting things. Maybe there is someone else in this house that practice magic, maybe this person's stuff are in this room.

>>790421
Yeah a thief would not sit down and calmly light a candle. Behavior implies this is someone who belongs here.

>>790422
Are those... trees? Is that a giant line of magic in the sky?

Where does it go? Does it touch down somewhere in the city?

>>790435
Wait, this is the sky? I though we were in the third floor room. I really had no idea what I was looking at.

>>790436
We are in the third floor room. We're currently looking out the window.....I think. It's kinda hard to tell from the picture.

Author:Looking through the window of the third floor, like here: >>762759 Sorry for the inconvenience and for taking long to clarify this.

Ok. Disregard the room investigation idea.
Let's investigate this massive magical trail.

Claudio 2017/03/30(Thu)15:01 No. 791759 ID: e30c60
File 149091126397.png - (303.15KB , 1600x1200 , that doesn't seem alright.png )

>>790435
>Is that a giant line of magic in the sky?
Yes… I have never seen something like that, and if it weren’t because it seems to be happening right now in front of me, I would think something like that is simply impossible!

>Where does it go?
… It goes to the top of the great tower in the center of the city… The tower is pretty much irradiating Magical energy…!

>Does it touch down somewhere in the city?
It seems to go to the ground at least once, and then goes back up, going directly to the tower… It seems somewhat close, but going there would probably take too much time and I will not be able to explore much else… It could also be very dangerous… I have never seen that much magic on one place, and I simply can’t imagine how that can affect the existence surrounding it.

>>790443
>Let's investigate this massive magical trail.
Sh… Should I really do that…!? There is no way that quantity of magic in one place is normal… a little bit more and I think I would be able to see the inexistence if I focused on it! … I…. Thought I was more or less understanding the rules of the existence, But this just throws it all away!

Is… This the mages doing…? I simply can’t think why anyone would need that much magical energy... Unless... Could someone be trying to open a gateway towards the inexistence...?!

Claudio 2017/03/30(Thu)15:05 No. 791763 ID: e30c60
File 149091151884.png - (274.28KB , 1600x1200 , End of thread one!.png )

END of Thread 1. New suggestions will be carried towards the second thread.

Also, news on the discussion thread of the quest: https://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/107705.html