>>79427
But is Ridder no longer allied with the Malto family? Is he no longer loyal to his king?
What of the king's cousins and their families - surely they yet live, which gives him someone to remain loyal to?

I digress. At this point, Ridder must deal with this revolutionary.

Say "Identify yourself, that I may know who I am burying this day."

>>79436
No, Ridder's focus has shifted. He will deal with the evil at hand, when he realizes it is a malto he is dealing with, we may have a potential ally in front of us. Try not to kill this person.

Get over it. He's not evil. His revolution may have been pure in heart. Timotei can be the judge of his evil.

This is the time to make new allies.

"Give me a break. The revolution is over. I refuse to fight you over a war that no longer exists. I would like you to help me. And I swear, in the name of the sun god that it doesn't involve the rule of Lord Malto. It involves fighting a great evil creeping upon our land, and judging fom the fact you have a base in this church... you have a stake in defeating it too."

Hand out for handshake, other hand still on your sword in case he tries to punch you out.

>>79440
We don't know it's a malto we're dealing with.
The moment ridder recognizes this, we'll have a identity crisis

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)17:40 No. 79455 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868124949.png - (75.38KB , 750x600 , c4-25.png )

I fight in my lord's name. Whichever evil will face death by my blade will feel it in my lord's name. I will forever be loyal to it!

"Identify yourself, that I may know who I am burying this day."
"My name is Vite Vispa, knave. You may take it into hell where you will burn like all the people you killed yesterday."

>>79446
Juuuust thinking ahead, i suppose we /quest/ors should pretend we don't have foresight.

>>79455
Waitwaitwait. He thinks you did this. You gotta convince him otherwise somehow.

>>79455
"I killed noone yesterday. I came to find this town in flames, and saved the only person I could in time. ...though I did later kill a zombie, but I doubt that counts as a person."

>>79455
I don't remember you killing anyone yesterday.

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)17:48 No. 79470 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868173729.png - (75.45KB , 750x600 , c4-26.png )

"I killed noone yesterday. I came to find this town in flames, and saved the only person I could in time!"
"If it's not some Malto loyalist, then who the hell did do it, huh?!"

>>79470
Tell him we have circumstantial evidence that suggests the lord of the dungeon to the west was responsible.

>>79470
If we could find evidence, would he hear us out?

>>79470
"As if the Malto is the source of all evil in the world! Do you cry out 'Malto' when your milk spoils?!"

>>79470
"I do not know, but I aspire to find out. I suspect it may be whichever evil lurks in the caves west of here."

Lower your weapon. Show non-intimidation
"It appears we have the same goal. I found a paladin who sensed a great evil coming from the cave to the west. We investigated, and heard that 'the boss' of the cave was here. We ran back to intercept the boss, but found this city in flames. Is there anything you know? Did you see anybody who may have done this? I talked to two old men, who are just outside, and a thief. They don't know who's responisble."

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)18:03 No. 79483 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868263449.png - (74.51KB , 750x600 , c4-27.png )

"It appears we have the same goal. I found a paladin who sensed a great evil coming from the cave to the west. We investigated, and heard that 'the boss' of the cave was here. We ran back to intercept the boss, but found this city in flames."

As I speak I lower the sword. The armored man also loosens his stance.
We no longer threaten eachother.

"Then we have a common goal indeed. I am willing to put our feud aside until we find the person responsible."

>>79483
Hmm. Hand him back his sword, but be ready at any time to use yours. Ask him who he is and what he's doing?

>>79483
Introduce the man to your companions.

Ask him what he knows. Compare notes.

>>79483
Is our sword glowing?

Get the old men in. Open the hatch. Have big group talk (assuming that Timotei and Sticks are down there).

You might want to tell him you're not trying to reconquer the kingdom or anything like that despite your flag.

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)18:20 No. 79495 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868359762.png - (49.71KB , 750x600 , c4-28.png )

I hand the man his sword back as a sign of good will.

"How much do you know about the attack?"
"Absolutely nothing. I run the refugee camp to the south and everyone claims to have seen something, but almost none of the stories match."

He lifts his helmets visor.

"If I hear anything new I'll share it with you. And if you keep the frontline here then you can also count on me for supplies... But you're still not welcome any further south than that, Malto scum."

>>79495
"We will maintain this outpost as long as we can. If you have any supplies or manpower, please send them here."

"What has Lord Malto done to incur such wrath upon him and his followers? I saw not but a noble deeds of good from him."

(note: OH SHITS! Look familiar... cept... without round eyes?)

The old men! Give them to the refugee camp! Their families are probably there (also means that there were many survivors).

Invite the man into what was the temple. (you may want to stop using it as a base conisdering you're messing around with the guy's property... might)

>>79501
And that too. You've never heard of the dark side of Malto.

>>79495
Tell her about the old men outside. They are most definitely refugees.

Well, that's better than nothing. That's an ally, and we need as many as we can get. Give thanks for the support, you're unlikely to convince anyone against being revolutionist scum.

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)18:40 No. 79515 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868481848.png - (68.18KB , 750x600 , c4-29.png )

"Outside are two elderly men I found on the outskirts of town. Perhaps their families are in your refugee camp."
"Very well, I'll take them with me."

We exit the church where the two men are bickering as usual. Vite forces them both on top of her mount.
It will be a long walk with that much armor, but she must understand that these men are far too old for any kind of walk.

"Help, I'm going to fall off!"
"We won't fall if you stop shaking so much."
"..."
"Hey, did you fall asleep?!"

I watch her prepare her mount for the journey in thought.
Just as she is about to leave, the question rolls off my tongue.

"What has Lord Malto done to incur such wrath upon him and his followers? I saw not but a noble deeds of good from him."
"That's because you and me are from different worlds, knight."

Without another word she walks off.

>>79515
Ah, yes. As a knight I'm assuming you were born into the noble class, Ridder?

yell "Okay but that doesnt make any sense" after her.

What nerve to persecute those who might follow Lords when they are unknowing of their misdeeds and not even presenting evidence.

The rebels are animals.

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)18:53 No. 79523 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868559778.png - (100.76KB , 750x600 , c4-30.png )

Yes, I myself was born into noble class. My parents were not originally from Piacevole, but were recognized by lord Malto for their valor and bravery when they were working as mere mercenaries.

I mark the location of the refugee camp on my map.

>>79523
Yeah, that would explain it. I assume Ms. Vispa was a touch more common in lineage. There tends to be a bit of a difference in treatment between nobility and commoners.

We will need to discuss this issue later. To improve trust between this new ally we must dig deeper into her grievances with Lord Malto.

If indeed the man was evil when not in public, what will you do Ridder?

explains much. Time to get a base up!
First stop, buying the services of peasents in other towns!... and stopping at S tower on the way. 2 birds, 1 stone

>>79523
Ok, this intruder has amply demonstrated that we need to set up a watch. Can't have strangers wandering into our camp like that.

Would the remains of the windmill serve as a watchtower?

Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)19:15 No. 79529 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868695296.png - (43.27KB , 750x600 , c4-31.png )

I have no business judging my lord. Not when he was alive, and not now he's gone.

Hiring peasants from other towns brings several obstacles: I have no gold to pay them with. There may not be peasants available to travel so far from their homes. They may not even be willing to join me in the heart of a recently deceased city with the intention of holding off an unspeakable evil.

>>79529
Then you have to find those sympathetic to your cause.

I think it's obvious going back to the old kingdom for help against this evil might not be pleasant, but there might be old friends there who will be more than glad to help stop such an evil in the name of Lord Malto. Or more like our recent ally, then well...

We should also think about heading to Sepia Town. A criminal haven might be a good source of information on this evil.

There's gotta be a ton of gold and valuables in the rubble!

>>79529
didn't we get a bunch of gold from that room with the dead people in it?

End of chapter 4 Ridder 2009/11/19(Thu)19:43 No. 79566 ID: fb5d8e
File 125868858782.png - (47.61KB , 750x600 , c4-32.png )

Indeed, I need men who are dedicated to the cause. The call of coin will attracts looters and criminals to the buried treasure around here soon enough, and I don't need them in my base.

Now there's just the question where I can find such men.

In addition I need to get my priorities straight.
I can't help but feel I'm overlooking some things.

>>79529
The main problem here is that we need to have grains and stuffs. Without the basics, we have nothing. We'll need farmers, millers, tree cutters, and builders before we can get anywhere.

Essentially, we need to rebuild the town. The way an empire gets an army is by using its towns' resources. We need a town to start off.

>>79566
OH Snap... just realized.
We have the entire refugee camp down south. They can (and probably want to) rebuild. No money's even needed. Just get them up, and begin salvaging/building.

We should also ask Sticks if she has any contacts we can use.

>>79566
>>79529

looking pretty evil overlord there boss

>>79572
Shh, we can't let him know he's a foil.

For starters the followers of the sun god will probably want this temple back.

Also... you don't even know who started the fire and are jumping to conclusions based the loosest evidence.