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File: 1669073838950.png (733.19 KB, 1410x555, Buiwong Cut-In Final.png)

 No.762858[View All]

>Amy
"Are we supposing there's a little teapot somewhere in this valley we gotta find?" Hurricanrana says, tilting his head. "Is it perhaps short and stout?"

"No more singing, please," Desert sighs.

"Actually…" Mudi says. "In Tartarus, the will is supreme… It's even true at an Anchor. You saw how people suffered when they used techniques to move great distances without being seen, like the Ecclesian flash step. Oh! And we all had to agree on what we saw before we could even enter the anchor!"

"Oh no…" Desert groans.

"The singing probably helped us get this far!" Mudi extrapolates.

"No, no, no–!" Vizsla complains.

"We gotta sing to find the tea ingredient!!!" Mudi declares.

The Paper Trail shrugs.

"R-right?" Mudi asks, losing all her momentary bravado.

>Cloak
As a unit, with paces in sync despite the disparities in height and length, the Ecclesians move out, following behind the Paper Trail.

>Shei
"Take it from someone who has spent more time down here than you–" the Witch says. "Anything you hear claim to belong to or be from 'God' is not to be believed. Best not to overuse that word. An Anchor may be safe enough, but in the Abyss – tantamount to suicide. What you encountered was most likely an Umbral who became overmuch obsessed with that thing, and began to hallucinate a theosis."

>Shei and Flaming
"Cursed?" the Witch repeats. "Is that what they're saying?"

She scoffs, then full-on laughs, like it's the only funny thing she's heard all day. She shakes a ratchet at you. "My Craft is in the mechanical arts. I put no curse on any one of them.

https://youtu.be/C9ESv2NzKkw

"People like them… don't need any curse from anyone. They are curses unto themselves. Curses unto one another… you get me?"

The others ponder this in silence.

She looks at Flow. "But, it is true I got into a dispute with the royals. Must be the genesis of this rumor. Why do you ask?"
589 posts and 4 image replies omitted. Click reply to view.

 No.766546

>>766542
>>766539
>>766544

Amy listens to the names with growing apprehension. Her memories of Tartarus make her more and more uncertain as to how she's ever going to become strong enough to tame these heavy hitters.

"We could throw like half of those names at Asphodel at once, and I still think it would win. I think we could just point that thing in the direction of the other competitors and that would work just fine."

"Heck, even if it DOES die, that's just one HUGE problem taken care of. Fighting really strong guys is hard, but it's easier than fighting a really massive… thing. Even if the thing is not as strong, it's harder to hurt."

"I'm confused, though," Amy looks toward MISTER MOOLAH. "How does this get us closer to the Monumental Pond?"

 No.766547

>>766546
>>766544
MOOLAH smiles with waning patience at Amy. "The Momentary Lake offers a form of immortality altogether preferable to what comes standard issue to all Umbrals – true, godlike immortality, incorruptibility, invincibility… so I've heard. I actually LIED THROUGH MY GOLD-PLATED TEETH earlier. You can't take it with you."

"We'll only need it for a moment," Mudi interjects.

"But anyway," MOOLAH continues, totally ignoring the tiny Witch. "It is little exaggeration to say that it is one of the most desirable pieces of real estate in this neck of LIMBO. Grogar – or whoever holds it now – will not give it up lightly, not unless we can turn his focus away from holding the territory long enough for it to fall out of his control. It takes a lot of brain power to deny access to an Anchor. If we can just tip the balance out of favor for whoever currently holds it, we'll be able to swoop right in and color it like this is a damn map game! This is WAR! And you know who profits the most from war? THE INVESTORS WHO SIT BACK WITHOUT GETTING THEIR HANDS DIRTY!!! Ahem. Hence our strategy."

MOOLAH stops to consider your appraisal of Asphodel. "You're not wrong – but the same could be said of both Tirac and the Sons of Perdition. We're going to want to keep tabs on those two most of all."


>>766544
>>766546
The factions before you can be categorized as such: The Spiders, the Ecclesians, the Witches of Gehenna, the Light Brigade, the Saviors, and Belphecorp.

Of the Spiders, these are their number:
Buiwong
Mocha
The Dragon
Great Voyage
Tantra
Septum Axis



Of the Ecclesians, these are their number:
Gegenschein
Galton
Freischutz
Ichimonji
Holy Hours
Living Saint Zoantharia
Lion
Viper
Anzu
Fox
Rooster
Monkey
Leather Cloak
???
???


Of the Witches, these are their number:
Mudi
Vizsla
Hurricanrana
Desert Lamp
Supper of Crows
???



Of the Light Brigade, these are their number:
Hope
Vitalya
Gjenganger
Evil's Judgment
Zophie
Eligos



Of the Saviors, these are their number:
Flow
Volkama
Deriva
Blessings
Chorazin
Busta
Gadriel
Observer
Hafaza
Rus Tea
Wireframe
Mirror Image
Box
The three Malakhim



Of Belphecorp, these are their number:
MISTER MOOLAH
The Paper Trails
And likely others of whom you do not know.

>You can elect to change up your party composition now and assign these faction groups to manipulate the LORDS OF LIMBO as you see fit.
>These assignments do not have to be 1:1. Multiple factions can be chosen to deal with a single LORD, and LORDS can also go unassigned.
>You can also elect to have the DM select the matchups instead.

 No.766549

>>766547
Shorthorns narrows her eyes, "Based on our numbers and the LORDS we're targeting, it looks like we should have about a half dozen teams with around eight or nine members apiece."

She looks around, trying to judge who would be best to take with her at least as they consider how to group up. "I want to go after Grogar if he's the last one we think was in control of the Lake. I'd like Voyage to go with me for certain… and Gadriel too." She says, wanting to speak to the golden construct after Shei's passing. "Rus Tea, Sir Flow, and Leather are also good company but I want to make sure our teams are split evenly."

 No.766550

>>766547

Amy consults the voices in her head that she's only vaguely aware of for advice.

>Vestigial Sunlight
>[1d10+2]

Roll #1 4 + 2 = 6

 No.766551

>>766549

"Not you TOO!" Amy says when she hears Shorthorns emphasizing random words like a certain business tycoon they know.

 No.766553

>>766551
Shorthorns looks at her, "Huh, what'd I say? LORDS?"

 No.766554

>>766550
The voices – for once – are… contentious. You picture the lot of them looking over a sheet, like a party of adventurers lost on their way may argue over a map. They really, really, REALLY do not want to deal with Grogar. At least one of them is a little curious about the Storm King. One of them won't shut up about TIRAC and insists on pronouncing it in all caps… some…how. Another two vote in favor of Asphodel, but they vote with the fake enthusiasm of one who wants to get on a mild roller coaster, in order to get out of the really big tower drop one.

One of them, a gloomy, macabre sort, is possessed by a certain fascination with the Sons of Perdition… knowing that that broad path leads to destruction. Though perhaps this one voice is not alone in her fascination. You sense that MISTER MOOLAH shares that fixation with the Sons… and the calamity that follows in their wake.

An instant later, you forget each of these contentious inklings.

>>766549
>>766550
Great Voyage grumbles indecisively, while Rus Tea, Flow and Leather are more resolute. Flow goes up the hill to retrieve Gadriel.

 No.766556

>>766547
>>766553

"YES," Amy says before groaning. "GREAT, now I'M doing it!"

>>766554

"Alright, I have some ideas!" Amy announces, taking up a bit of a leadership role - after all, she IS supposed to be a leader.

"Fighting strong guys is scary, but fighting annoying guys is worse. It's not hard to figure out how to fight Tirac or Grogar. It's hard to DO, but that's still not as hard as figuring out how to fight an anchor-sized monster or some guys who always just seem to make things… work."

"Shortyhorns, you and I should go with the rest of the Saviors to lure Asphodel into attacking whatever anchor has the Sons of Predation. Either of them dying is GREAT for us."

"I think the Spiders and the Witches should team up and go learn more about Grogar. The Ecclesians and the Light Brigade should do the same with Tirac. The goal should be to get them to fight each other. Two strong guys fighting each other is good for us. It'll make any fight with them afterwards easier."

"Anyone have any other ideas?" Amy asks, concluding her shockingly coherent plan.

 No.766558

>>766554
>>766556
Shorthorns listens closely to Amy's plan, trying to think if she has any reasonable objections.

"Hmmm… if Grogar is one of the stronger ones, I guess it WOULD be better to deal with those that might be more tricky and less straight forward. Or getting those ones to fight the strong guys first so they can deal with it one way or the other."

She nods her head, "Alright, I don't have any problems with that! Let's go after this 'Asphodel' then as our first LORD."

She pauses, "Huh… why AM I putting so much emphasis on that word?"

 No.766560

>>766558
>>766556
"An astute plan!" Buiwong congratulates you. "But one small edit, I must make. You see– I don't think the Light Brigade have ever gotten to work with the Witches."

Hope's head snaps toward Buiwong and Vizsla, his eyes burning with murder. Vizsla casts an icy leer over Buiwong and Hope.

"Oh…" Buiwong murmurs, smiling with sweet, false innocence. "Am I wrong…? Perhaps you haven't gotten to work together recently. All the same, it'd be good to touch base after how much time we've spent apart. Switch my group with the Light Brigade."

Gegenschein taps his chin. "Ah… am I to take it that a god of the Union, my homeland's beloved pantheon wishes to journey with me? A high honor indeed, divine one."

It's Buiwong's turn for irritation, as he narrows his eyes at Gegenschein, as he mentions the Union. But, he holds back, at the last moment. You know him well enough to pick up on that. "…You pecked the words right outta my mouth, birdbrain. My forces and yours shall deal with TIRAC, while the Light Brigade and the Witches handle Grogar."

"Is there a reason for this switch?" Mudi asks.

"I just think TIRAC sounds like a cooler guy to fight," Buiwong scoffs.

"The truth, for once, if you would," Vizsla growls. "Do you know something about this… Tirek, was it?"

"Oh, you caught me," Buiwong says. "I bought the strategy guide, and really it sounds like I've got the skills to exploit TIRAC's weaknesses. No spoilers, but you shouldn't have too much trouble with Grogar, so don't worry."

Vizsla nearly explodes with rage at Buiwong's continued flippancy… but she tilts her head instead, apparently… noticing something. "I see… I appreciate your input. Fine, then."

Hope, having calmed down as well, nods. "We'll accept this arrangement."

>>766558
"Too much emphasis on the word, huh…?" Great Voyage mutters, but it sounds like he's talking to himself more than anyone else. He continues to hem and haw, pacing about.

 No.766561

>>766560
CORRECTION

In Buiwong's dialogue, change every instance of TIRAC to Tirek. Have Vizsla use the word TIRAC instead.

 No.766562

>>766560
Shorthorns looks between Vizsla and Buiwong as they argue, growing impatient with their bickering but taking a calming breath, seeking inner peace as she lets them resolve their differences.

"If you're both in agreement, I have no issues with either of your targets. Just be careful… every one of us is necessary and I do not want any more loss than what we have already." She chokes up, feeling odd at having to express this at BUIWONG of all people, but for now her old grudge seems so distant in light of what's at stake. "We'll handle the Serpent on our end."

 No.766564

>>766560

Amy narrows her eyes as she watches this interaction take place. She may be dumb, but even she can see the obvious hole in Buiwong's argument. He could have just as easily asked for the groups as they were arranged be sent to the opposite targets.

Amy shrugs. "I didn't really have a reason for which groups would go to which lord," she admits. "So, if Booeywong says he has a way to mess with Tirac, then I say the Spiders and the Witches should go to Tirac and the Light Brigade and Ecclesia go to Grogar."

"Does that work for everyone?" Amy asks. As she does so, she looks directly at Vizsla. She gives Viszla an intentionally strange look to indicate the significance of her choice. She trusts Viszla's distrust of Buiwong. If Buiwong has some plans, then she trust Viszla to sus them out.

She hopes that Viszla picks up on this.

>[1d10] to hint at Viszla
>DC-4 because of Compassion and Gilded Tongue

Roll #1 4 = 4

 No.766565

>>766562
Buiwong bows. "Your wish is my command, godling. And the same to you."

>>766564
>>766562
Vizsla blinks at Amy, then back at Buiwong and Hope. Her expression is blank, but in that blank sort of way that only someone like Vizsla can manage. Buiwong, looking back at that withering blank stare, hunches forward with an exasperated frown. "Don't tell me you're going back on your agreement," he sighs.

Vizsla just keeps staring, blank-faced at them. She turns slightly, catching Gegenschein in her field of view. Gegenschein, normally so unflappable, shifts a little where he stands. Galton looks a little jealous. Normally only she gets to use that on Gegenschein.

Hope looks like he's just done with this shit.

"You already agreed to my plan," Buiwong reminds Vizsla.

She keeps staring.

"The strategy guide's pretty fool-proof…" Buiwong argues.

She keeps staring.

Buiwong groans. "Fine, fine, if that's where you wanna go eat tonight… Spiders and Witches get Tirek and the Light Brigade and Ecclesia get Grogar."

Everybody looks equally pissed off with this arrangement. Except Vizsla, who smirks and snorts.

>>766562
Great Voyage stampedes about the hillside garden in his woes.

>Paused

 No.766571

>>766564
>>766565
Though she tries not to be petty about it, Shorthorns can't help but deride some enjoyment out of seeing Buiwong squirm as Amy expertly negotiates Vizsla going along with him to keep him in check. "Good one," she whispers to Amy with a slight giggle, approving of her decision.

As they seem to have their team and destination set, Shorthorns looks on as Great Voyage stampedes around the hillside. She turns to Amy and the others and says, "I'll be right back…" and moves to run up to Voyage to check on him

 No.766572

>>766571
>>766565

"Thanks," Amy says with a smile to both Flaming and Vizsla.

Then, she adds to Vizsla in particular, "I trust you to not trust him."

 No.766574

>>766571
Great Voyage stampedes another loop as you approach him, as it takes him the extra distance to skid to a halt lest he crash into you. Yet he barely even looks at you for the first few moments, as he's still busy thinking. "Great Voyage… something about that name just isn't sitting right with me. It's not really rolling off the tongue… I don't know, I feel like something about it's cramping my style. Voyage, voyage… you think Great Journey might sound better? Is it too late to change back? This isn't gonna throw off my godhood, is it?"

>>766572
"Way ahead of you," Vizsla says. "I haven't been trusting any of you since the very beginning."
Mudi sighs. "Here I thought we were making progress…"
"I'm more of an authoritarian if you can't tell," Vizsla retorts.

>>766572
>>766571
As the battle plans are drawn up, you look over your allies and realize that, despite the recent loss, you still have quite the fighting force at your disposal. You will likely want to take only a small number of allies with you in your pursuit of Asphodel. Furthermore, you note that nobody's been assigned to keep tabs on the Storm King – or upon your "benefactors" at Belphecorp. It may be worth allocating numbers there too…

>choose up to 4 NPC allies to come with you to Asphodel. Assign others to the other factions, or leave the remaining assignments to the DM. See above for the list of availabile allies.

 No.766575

>>766574
Shorthorns tilts her head in confusion, "You're having doubts about your new name?" She shrugs, leaning into him and offering him a short nuzzle. "I still think it sounds heroic! Ambitious, even. But, if you aren't sure about it, I think 'Great Journey' sounds pretty heroic too… are you feeling alright?"

>>766574
>Suggesting Busta/Gadriel in addition to Observer/Flow

 No.766576

>>766574

"And that's why I also trust Buiwong to not trust you," Amy says with a friendly smile.

"Not that I think that either of you would do anything bad. I just think the people who don't trust each other will get along better than the people who trust the people who don't trust them."

>>766547
>>766574

"Alright, so I picked the saviors to go with us because they're one of the smaller groups. It's kind a bad idea to have a lot of people against Asphodel. But, now I'm realizing we have too many. So, I think it should be me, Shortyhorns, Flow, Observer, Blessings, and the weirdo," Amy finishes off the list pointing at Gadriel, as she still has yet to remember his name.

"The rest of the saviors should go with Bephelcorp," she instructs the rest of them. "Make sure they get to where we need them to be by the end of this," she says, giving Volkama and Rus Tea in particular a significant look when she says this.

[1d10] DC-4 to get them to understand her meaning

Roll #1 6 = 6

 No.766577

>>766575
"Great Journey…" he repeats. "Yeah… yeah, I like that!"

He bonks his horns into yours, then shoulder-checks you, jutting his head down to the base of the hill. "Race you!" he declares. Looks like that's all it took to break his malaise.

>>766576
>>766575
As you hash out your selections, the saviors gather about about you. Nobody raises any objections to their selections. Gadriel is still too crestfallen to react much to being simply called "the weirdo," but he does manage to force out a lifeless nod. Flow, normally not one for outpourings of emotion, stands close to him, and hits him with a subtle nudge. Gadriel looks over, then returns the push with muted gratitude. Further, Volkama and Rus Tea take note of Amy's subtle inflection. Now these two are generally more inclined toward more outrageous expressions of opinion, but with the agents of Belphecorp being so close, they settle for mere knowing flicks of their eyes.

Speaking of Belphecorp, MOOLAH makes an obnoxious show of checking each of the watches worn upon his excessive quantity of arms. When all is said and done, your allies split, and Volkama goes to inform MOOLAH of their intent to reinforce his number. MOOLAH nods, but adds, "I HOPE you don't think you're getting PAID BY THE HOUR. LET'S GET A MOVE ON, PEOPLE."

MOOLAH spins about and begins leading the way to the boundary of the Anchor. Your allies converse among one another, catching up with what little time together they have before they must split apart once more. Gadriel is the last to leave, casting a forlorn glance at Shei's resting place, before closing the gate behind you all.

 No.766578

>>766577

As everyone leaves, Amy gives Gadriel a light hug. "I know how you feel," she says, tearing up a little bit again. "But, this is not good bye, I believe that."

 No.766579

>>766577
Shorthorns grins, "Great Journey it is, then!"

As he shoulder checks her, she oofs and glares at him as he dares her into a race, smiling as she is challenged. "Were it so easy…" she says before giving chase, intent on overpassing him as they reach the others

>>766577
As she meets up with her group, she takes special notice of Gadriel - feeling he may need family more than anyone else right now with Shei's passing - but focuses on the prsent as MOOLAH calls for everyone to get moving. She focuses on the anchor ahead… but does give Shei's memorial and resting place one final glance, bowing her head in reverence.

She looks down to the chain in her tunic, feeling a bit of herself with each link she adds using her magic, and holds it close to her chest. "Look out after us, Shei…" before turning towards the Anchor, and joining with the others.

 No.766580

>>766579

"I'm happy you're honoring him…" Amy says with a smile.

"But, PLEASE remember the no name rule!" she gives Flaming a bop to the head.

 No.766581

>>766580
>>766578
Gadriel forces himself to return the hug, mustering what little strength he has in his wings at this moment. "Yeah…" he mutters. "Let's… make sure the world that Shei's gonna watch over is a world we can be proud of."

…
…
…

Moolah leads you to the edge of the Anchor which the Vestal had made her bachelorette pad. The doily-like mandala of light surrounding the Anchor, encasing it from the darkness of the Abyss, is now fading, and shall soon be gone. At the edge of the Anchor, where cobblestone roads meet the eternal darkness, there are several vessels wrought from enchanted paper awaiting you, shaped like a variety of vehicles. Some are more easily recognizable, such as boats. Others are of a foreign design to you, but with some examination, you discern them to be distant relatives of the magitech airship– you, dear reader, may suspect that these are paper planes. Still others are even stranger, vehicles of war hailing from worlds with technologies far different from your own… now dropped into Tartarus, thrown out like so much trash.

"All aboARD, all aboARD," MOOLAH calls. "Please keep all appendages INside the vessels at all times."

Rooster, sighing at the lack of accomodations for his size, transforms himself with a puff of smoke, out of which emerges a huge rooster. Cloak looks over, then rolls his eyes. You sense he is contractually obligated to do this – he clicks his tongue and nods. "Nice."

It seems that the exact vessel you choose doesn't exactly matter, so long as you're with your travel group. Each paper vessel has a Paper Trail sitting at the helm.

 No.766582

>>766581

"We will," Amy responds resolutely to Gadriel.

>>766581
>>766579

Amy happily boards a paper airplane. "Come on, this one looks fun," she says to the others enthusiastically.

 No.766583

>>766580
"Oooh!" Shorthorns grunts, rubbing the top of her head, "Okay, okay! I-I thought it wouldn't matter since he's… well, you know…"

>>766581
Shorthorns looks on at the many vessels, all made from MOOLAH's enchanted paper, and can't help but be impressed with the designs as she steps onboard the nearest vessel. "Amazing… looking at these ships you'd think they'd fold or crumple immediately, but I know better than to underestimate anything down here."

 No.766584

>>766583

"That's even worse!" Amy says enigmatically.

 No.766585

>>766583
>>766582
Although Observer and Hafaza are rather reluctant to part from one another now, they do so, boarding their own vessels. Flow looks a little skeptical of the paper airplane, being of an aqueous form, but the paper is quite sturdy, and is not weakened in the slightest. Once everybody's aboard their paper vehicle, MOOLAH gives the signal, and one by one they are cleared for departure, pushing off into the Abyss, all in different directions. You notice, as you sail forth, that it takes far longer now for the omnipresent darkness to subsume your thoughts and senses underneath its obliviating weight. Even as the darkness presses in on you, you feel the focused thoughts of your mind persisting, as you concentrate – Asphodel, Asphodel… something about this paper plane must be facilitating this. It's not a stretch to imagine these vehicles to be a valuable resource… perhaps MOOLAH has truly come to see you as a worthy asset to risk the investment of this tech.

But such speculation must wait– for your mission is far from over.

>
>
>

…
…
…

The senses flicker back to life, one by one… yet no Anchor is in sight. All are silent aboard the paper plane, your allies not risking even the slightest word, lest they draw unwanted attention.

https://youtu.be/QIwHNJHA5_o

Yet something wavers here and there, about you, in the darkness. Like a wave of water, turbulence of a sort, imperceptible to all but the spiritual sense… another wave, then yet another, quicker than the last one. The trajectory of the paper plane wavers. The Paper Trail at the helm plays a delicate balance, keeping parallel to the turbulence as he can, while still trying to move onward… could something be trying to push you away…?

 No.766586

>>766585
Shorthorns steels herself as they pass through the Anchor, feeling her entire existence threaded through the needle once again. Only this time, when she regains her senses, she looks around, still seeing herself aboard the paper craft as she looks around for signs of their arrival.

"What happened? Are we here already?"

She looks around, her hairs standing on end as she surveys the darkness, feeling the presence here that threatens to lash out at them from beyond their gaze. "You all feel that, right? Is that… the one we came here for?"

 No.766633

>>766585
>>766586

Amy sniffs the not-air as if she expects something to happen. She remains absolutely silent for now.

[1d10] to sense the (hopefully) unforgettable sense of Asphodel's magatsuhi

Roll #1 8 = 8

 No.766634

>>766586
>>766633
You calm yourselves, and hone your senses and intentions unto Asphodel… and soon enough, a hazy, heat-shimmer mirage forms in your minds, half from imagination, half from that which you sense, out there across the illusory distance of the Abyss. A mountain having taken flight, islands shackled by vertebrae and tissue, a continent swimming through the night…

But four pulses thud out, dull drumbeats that threaten to shred the very drumskin, one-two, one two! Waves of turbulence fractal across your vision, like cracks in shattering glass! Asphodel vanishes into the distance with each one, further and further– and with a final and dreadful crash, an irresistible current yanks your vessel from its course!

https://youtu.be/Ms97rMiyH3g

The Paper Trail pulls up on the paper plane's controls, narrowly pulling you out of a nose-dive over a hellish battlefield. Armies clash and it's impossible to know how many. There are those armored in the skulls of rams, the horns curled and gnarled, slamming themselves against those in armor resembling bulls, burned brass and skybound horns. All around you, an immolated land fans out, like a painting tossed into a fire. There is so much smoke all about that you can no longer see the Abyss on the horizon. The Paper Trail frantically twists at the controls, dodging air-blasts, catapult stones and bodies flung into the air.

"These armies…" Blessings mutters. "Surely they belong to the would-be Lords!"

"I'll try to sense if any of them are here!" Gadriel yelps.

Busta doesn't chime in, instead focusing on shielding the paper plane with gusts of wind.

 No.766635

>>766634
Shorthorns looks down on the raging armies below, lost in the sheer scale of the hellish conflict as the war wages beyond her line of sight and the smoke fills the air and threatens to blow them out of the sky.

"I see the loss of the Vestal is already being taken advantage of! These Lords sure didn't hesitate to commence with the fighting now that she's asleep…"

She looks around, preparing to summon flaming ethereal buffalos to act as a shield if needed as she shouts to the Paper Trail, "Look around for a safe spot to weigh anchor! We'd best see if we can find a spot to wait this out or at least get a sense of where our target is!"

 No.766636

>>766634
>>766635

Amy can't help but giggle with some excitement. "It's just like the old times," Amy says with some glee. "Just the Saviors on a weird adventure."

"I definitely miss our flying home, though… We should try to find a place to land," Amy agrees with Flaming.

[1d10] to spot a safe place to land

Roll #1 9 = 9

 No.766637

Shrieking sounds arc high overhead like a volley of arrows, and the roar of thunder announces their murderous fall. The thunder-blasts send untold numbers of rubble, soldiers and others into the sky. Time and again, you mistake other sounds for these arcs– the final terrors of the native inhabitants of this Anchor, cut as abrupt as all the others.

"Absolutely not!" Blessings says as you suggest landing, forced to shout simply to be heard over the tumult. "Keep making for Asphodel, we can't get tied up in this!"

Gadriel shudders. "But– but… maybe we should… I think one of them's… here…"

"Which!?" Busta asks.

"I don't recognize them, but they've got power off the charts!" Gadriel shouts.

You see a blasted plateau with a dried lakebed, apparently holding no strategic value, as the armies avoid it. Perhaps there…?

 No.766638

>>766637

"There's SOMETHING pulling us here," Amy points out. "I don't think Asphodel has much reason to be pushing us away. Which means someone wants us here. Or not there. Either way… we should find out what's up."

Amy sniffs for magatsuhi in the direction of the lakebed.

>[1d10]

Roll #1 4 = 4

 No.766639

>>766636
Shorthorns thinks back to the times she saw armies of angels and demons clashing on the surface world above, from the safety of the Weather Factory that took them all over the land, and Shorthorns can't help but feel a little nostalgic herself.

"Yeah… really does feel like old times. Hope we can do more to stop the fighting now though…"

>>766637
"I don't even know if we can see Asphodel through all this smoke, can you?! If we stay in the air we'll be shot out of the sky before long. I think we should take our chances over there," she says, pointing to the dried out plateau, "It'll at least let us get our bearings straight and feel out where to go without having to dodge all this!"

 No.766640

>>766639

"Remember, that's why we're here. This fight… and all fights that demons cause will be stopped when we win. We don't need to stop this fighting now."

 No.766641

>>766639
>>766638
Blessings ponders this for but a moment, then nods, ever decisive even now. "Okay. I trust you. Let's go then."

You prod the Paper Trail, and despite its own obvious trepidation about staying here, it flies down to the lakebed as a preferable alternative to being in the sky during all this.

Gadriel's face turns blank. "waitwaitwaIT STOP I CHANGED MY MI–"

As the Paper Trail lands, Gadriel's eyes fix on the source of his anxiety. There are two figures near the rim of the lake, going from tree to tree. They've got tools both primitive and advanced, some you recognize – shovels and picks – and other technologies you don't. One of them appears to be some kind of magitech dowsing rod?

The first figure is very tall and muscular, clad in armor befitting his satyr blood. The other is stout and round, a miserable looking thing, enduring the tall one's beratement and orders.

"Him?" Blessings whispers.

"I… I thought he was further away until just a second ago…" Gadriel mutters in confusion.

"We're all here now," Busta says. "Let's focus. What's the plan?"

 No.766642

>>766640
She nods her head. "Right… I have my eyes on the prize now. We'll stop all of this insanity at its source."

>>766641
Shorthorns turns to look at the muscular, grand satyr along the rim of the lake, looking towards Gadriel with a look of confusion. "Him? Should we be worried, who is that?"

As Busta asks what's the plan, Shorthorns breathes a sigh of relief. "We're out of the crossfire and can focus on finding the Serpent. Everyone concentrate and see if we can pick out a source…" she says, trying to get a sense of the great presence she felt before to see if they can find a waypoint towards their goal

[1d10] concentrating on the source of the will they felt poking at them before

Roll #1 2 = 2

 No.766643

>>766641

Amy stares at the two figures intently. She doesn't recognize them. Or, at least, she doesn't think she does.

"Is that one of those Brothers of Predation?" Amy asks, unsure.

[1d10] to see if there's any memory to be jogged

Roll #1 4 = 4

 No.766644

>>766642
There's far too much going on right now for you to process all the conflicting chaos and noise.

>>766643
"Impossible to tell from here," Blessings says. "The Sons of Perdition are said to shapeshift. But, the air around them is extremely uncomfortable. Simultaneously hot and humid, yet frigid, and icy."

>Both
As you size up the two creatures, the small one happens to look away from the tall one, following some horrible insult. When the small one looks up again, his eyes fall on you, and he nearly falls backward from surprise. The tall one notices this, then looks at you as well. He has white fur, gray skin, and eyes– something's odd about the eyes. You can't tell quite what color they are, but they are neon.

"Oh, that's handy," the tall one says. "Ah, hello there! You mercenaries? Wouldn't happen to be looking for a job or something would you? Nice reward in it for youuu!"

"We keep running into businessmen down here…" Busta observes.

 No.766645

>>766644
Shorthorns grumbles as her attempts to focus on Asphodel is disrupted by the two creatures calling from below, but as her attention is drawn to them, she can't help but get an idea.

"Not exactly mercenaries, no," she shouts down below, "But we are in the middle of something we could use some help on, could exchange favors! Are you two locals to this plane by any chance?"

 No.766647

>>766645
>>766644

Amy says "Hiiii," and waves her hoof-paw when in a friendly manner when they are noticed. However, when Flaming unexpectedly takes charge of the negotiations, Amy shuts up. Being the one who usually handles this sort of thing, Amy nods and concludes that Flaming is doing a fine job of this.

Instead of taking point as the main negotiator, Amy elects to get some info as the eccentric sidekick.

"My name's Amy Thest, by the way," she says in an 'overly-friendly' tone as she steps forward. She gives the tall satyr a slow, lingering size-up. "Who are you and why don't I know you yet?" she asks in a tone that suggests she's impressed by him.

 No.766649

>>766647
>>766645
"Moving on already…?" Gadriel mutters with encroaching despair.
The tall fellow doesn't seem to notice this, and simply slicks back his hair, and makes an impromptu juggling trickshot show of popping a breath mint into his mouth. "The Storm King, at your service," he introduces himself. "Unfortunately I've been far too busy as of late to make times for the treasures of Tartarus such as yourselves, but– there will be plenty of time to make up (and make other things) when I'm the rightful Lord of Limbo once more."

Blessings' eyebrows flick.

"Unfortunately you don't get to my stature without making the most jealous enemies around. One of them has made off with a certain weapon of mine, placed a seal upon it, and even hid it away. I've narrowed it down to somewhere in this neck of the woods – and I even played the armies of Grogar and TIRAC off each other to do the big weeding for me. Think you could help us track it down? I've got cash, credit– or an IOU from the returning Lord of Limbo himself."

 No.766650

>>766585
>>766647
Shorthorn gives a weird look at Amy as she appears to flirt with the Storm King, and an even more perturbed one as the Storm King flirts back, but the small white buffalo rolls her eyes and shrugs it off as she focuses more on the task at hand. Knowing the Storm King is one of the many Lords of Limbo vying for the top spot

"So that was your handiwork?" She says, looking on at the distance with the warring forces of Grogar and TIRAC going head to head. "Well, we could help you track it down - we're actually looking for something in this realm as well. We seek the Serpent, Asphodel. We were trying to sail to him on this vessel but now with all this fighting going on, we can't focus on anything at all above all the violence. Would you happen to have a direction you could help point us in?"

 No.766652

>>766649

"Oh… wow…" Amy says with a small giggle as she's genuinely taken off guard by the Storm King's flirting skills. Then she realizes who she's talking to. She bops herself on the head with her hoof-beans.

"Oh! You're THE Storm King!?" she says, laughing at her own ignorance. "Wow, I guess I just have naturally good taste."

>>766650
>>766649

"Do you know what pulled us here, or was it just your magnetic charm?" she adds with a wink.

>[1d10] to draw info out of the Storm King
>DC-4

Roll #1 4 = 4

 No.766653

>>766652
"Well I can't deny that I always get what I want, and I am quite good at helping others get what they want too. Our interests, clearly, are mutual."

That's key… exaggerated or not, he had a large role in pulling you here to this Anchor, away from Asphodel.

>>766650
"Asphodel?" the Storm King repeats. "You're not going to find him around here. Too much distortion from all the clashing wills of the armies. TIRAC and Grogar aren't here, but they've exerted so much force on their underlings that they transmit their Lords' will with them. But anyway, how about this: when I get my weapon back and unsealed, I'll help you push on from here and escape toward Asphodel. And I will throw in this too: for every one of my competitors I cut down to size, I'll give you all another hand in your own endeavors."

Busta, Blessings and Gadriel share skeptical glances over these ambiguous terms…

 No.766656

>>766653

"Actually," Amy says, stepping closer to the Storm King with a flirtatious smile. "I'm going to be honest with you because I like you. The others probably don't want me saying this," she gives the rest of the party a glance over her shoulder.

"But, we're just trying to get Asphodel and the Sons of Perdition to kill each other. We're not even out to get anyone to win this war. Asphodel and the Sons are just scary. We figure that this chaos is the perfect time to kill two birds with… two the same two birds. Tartarus will be better off without them."

"So yeah, our goals align… like a lot. So, helping us helps you… A LOT. So, let's skip the whole 'favor for a favor' thing and just get down to helping each other? Surely the big, strong Storm King doesn't NEED his weapon to get us where we need to go to find the Sons and Asphodel?"

Amy gives the Storm King puppy-dog eyes.

>[1d10+4] Mantra of Equality
>DC-4

Roll #1 8 + 4 = 12

 No.766658

>>766656
The Storm King leans back. "Ah. Nope, I just can't agree to those terms, not even for eyes as beautiful as yours."

Eyes…

"If we're going by your concerns, everyone in Limbo is better off with this weapon back where someone can keep an eye on the thing. Having it fall into the wrong hands – or have it be in no hands at all for too long – is a lot worse than the Sons of Perdition running around, or if Asphodel gets an appetite."

An absolute rejection of your will… just how strong is this guy? He doesn't look that strong…

 No.766659

>>766653
>>766656
Shorthorns thinks over the Storm King's offer… while they're in this battlefield, it's difficult to find their way out any which way, much less to Asphodel. In which case, forming an alliance with the Storm King - a temporary one at least, seems most beneficial.

As Amy is upfront with their end-goal in making the various factions fight - and not entirely not out alignment of the Storm King's own goals, at that - Shorthorns thinks she can work with this angle, and nods as she goes along with Amy.

"Amy's right! I mean, surely a big… uh, STRONG… big guy like you could help us find our way to them, so we can get them off of your own back, right?"

[1d10] Shorthorns tries her own puppy-dog eyes as she winks at the Storm King

Roll #1 2 = 2


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