An Epic Quest

>Investigate the noise. It's either a townsperson you can talk to or our first combat encounter.

You start walking toward the scuffling sound coming out of the alleyway two streets down from you.

What are you doing?

"I'm checking on the noise, somebody might be there."

It's a city, it's probably some stray picking through the trash.

"I don't think so..." The noise stops as you draw near.

You turn the corner into the alleyway. It looks deserted.

What did I tell you... it was just some animal we scared a—wait a minute...

Your companion's glow gets brighter, better illuminating the space. After a moment, there's a hollow, metallic sound and a tin can rolls out from behind a trash bin. You start to move toward it, when two figures dressed in bronze colored cloaks burst out from behind and start running away from you toward the other end. Judging by the height and the gait, you'd guess that the tallest figure is probably in their early to mid-teens and seems to be holding something clutched close to their chest that's reflecting back some of the blue light back at you. The shorter silhouette couldn't be much older than 8 or 9 and is holding a slightly bulging sack.

"Hey! Stop!" you shout, but they're already at the end of the alley and sprinting to the left.

A few moments later, several black-clad and silent people follow them, blades drawn. You hear a panicked scream.

>What do you do?

edited 27th Jun '15 5:09:04 PM by GhostElm

>Give chase. At least one of these two groups is up to no good. Probably the guys with swords chasing two kids...

>FOLLOW THEM

>Give chase. At least one of these two groups is up to no good. Probably the guys with swords chasing two kids...
>FOLLOW THEM

The two of you sprint (well... to be perfectly pedantic you sprint, your bubble buddy BUBBLE BUDDY‽ floats quite rapidly beside you) down the alley and around the corner. The two kids, who you can now be quite sure are a pair of sisters, are backed against a wall, the black clad mob advancing upon them.

One of the people in black sheathes their sword and extends a hand to the eldest sister, "Give me the looking glass, witch," says a calm feminine voice, "and we won't have to hurt you."

Now that you look, the object clutched in the teen's hands is a hand-mirror with a fractured blue stone embedded in the back. She looks up, and sees you looking at it, and she only holds it tighter.

"I'm only asking once..." the speaking woman in black steps closer

The girl tenses in response, and starts speaking in a strange tongue, " E'o tahwehna- Slap "

"That. Is. Enough." After the lady in black slapped the teen, the tendrils of gold that had begun to coalesce out of the earth with her words start to diminish, and fall like so much sand to the ground. The two of them shrink down against the wall while the woman reaches for her blade. "I didn't want it to end like this, you know..."

>What do you do?

edited 27th Jun '15 10:40:53 PM by GhostElm

DONT WORRY LAPIS WE'LL FREE YOU

>ENGAGE THE BLACK-CLAD ONES IN BATTLE

>Yell: SNEAK ATTACK, BITCH!

>Stab the mean lady in the back with the LOS.

>Stab the mean lady in the back with the LOS/ yell: SNEAK ATTACK, BITCH!

You try to take a running leap into the air to get over the mob that stands between yourself and her, shouting "SNEAK ATTACK, BITCH!" You do manage to distract her, but you also attract the attention of everyone else, and although you do jump rather high, managing to leap over the heads of the other three people in the group, your distance suffers as an effect. You land in the middle of the black clad group. As one, they draw their swords and begin to swing down at you. At this distance, you can hear mechanical whirring as they do so...

>ENGAGE THE BLACK-CLAD ONES IN BATTLE

They swing down at you, but you are able to use the keyblade to keep them from cutting into you.

The woman smiles and turns back to the girls, "Looks like you have some friends, but that doesn't matter much."

You turn your head toward your guide, and you think Can you give me a hand here?

Sure. Here's some advice, you have that rune to -

I know! I meant more tactical help at the moment!

. . . Right! Who should I target?

>What do you do?

edited 28th Jun '15 6:58:14 AM by GhostElm

>HAVE HIM TARGET A RANDOM GUY WHILE WE SMACK SOME MORE RANDOM GUYS WITH OUR KEYBLADE

hold off on attacking the lead woman because she seems important and might have important info

Send a offer to one of the Black-Clad men to join our party

>HAVE HIM TARGET A RANDOM GUY WHILE WE SMACK SOME MORE RANDOM GUYS WITH OUR KEYBLADE

Come over here and attack one of these guys... however it is you do that sort of thing as a floaty...energy... being...

Well... I'm not really meant for physical combat... but I'll give it a shot. It flies above your head, Look away... You do as it says as it looses a blast of blue flame at the faces of your three attackers, burning their hoods and slightly charring and melting their, as you can now see, mechanical faces. They stagger backwards, giving you a chance to rise. Your guide floats weakly up to a roof, presumably to recharge.

Meanwhile, while the fire is at it's brightest, the teen uses the opportunity to shine some of the bright blue light back into the eyes of the lady in black, causing her to swear and rub her sensitive eyes. The young sister then whispers something, and a pair of manacles wrap loosely around her attacker's hands and then buries her head into the side of her elder sister. The lady easily pulls off the chain, and bashes the mirror to the ground, shattering the glass. She then retrieves her blade and pulls up the older girl, readying herself to stab her.

>Send a offer to one of the Black-Clad men to join our party

You shout out to one of the robotic men, "Why are you attacking two young girls, consider what you're doing. Join us!"

It spits out incomprehensible buzzing noises at you out of it's melted... you guess that qualifies as a mouth... whatever it said, it didn't sound friendly...

>What do you do?

>Have our fairy companion use lightning or magnetism on the robots while we go for the woman in black.

shitshitshitshitshitshit

>SMACK THAT WOMAN UPSIDE THE HEAD

(With the keyblade?)

YES

>Have our fairy companion use lightning or magnetism on the robots while we go for the woman in black

Hey, do you think you could keep these things busy while I take care of this bitch?

To be honest, I'm a little tired right now...

Please, just a little distraction is a-

Yeah, yeah, alright... I'll do my thing, you do yours... The light flickers a bit, the flicker is quickly followed by a sudden pulse of energy.

The machines freeze in place and you lunge past them, your keyblade raised above your head.

Your guide's voice is very weak at this point... that's only going to hold them for about thirty seconds, work fast

>SMACK THAT WOMAN UPSIDE THE HEAD WITH THE KEYBLADE

You swing down at the woman's hooded head and feel it split beneath the blade like a watermelon under a meat cleaver. She spasms slightly, and then falls to the ground. With her face uncovered, you can see that she has a face that was much more reptile than mammal. The little girl stoops to pick up all the broken shards of the mirror's glass, on each shard are spasmotic, half formed images, mostly of people crying.

Behind you, you can hear the robots coming back to working order.

>What do you do?

>Protect the girls.

>See if you can cast some magic with that keyblade of yours.

>Have the girls work their magic on the evil robots

> COBRA! RETREAT! RETREAT!

edited 28th Jun '15 12:56:02 PM by dvorak

> COBRA! RETREAT! RETREAT!

... she wasn't a cobra...

I know that... I think it was a popular culture reference that popped into my head from sometime and somewhere I used to be...

You turn to the girls, and say, "When there's an opening, I want you both to run for it. I'm going to try to protect you, but I want to make sure you two are safe."

" Why are you helping us," the oldest sister asks, her eyes are scanning you from top to bottom, and her voice is heavily accented in what you might have once identified as being vaguely Middle Eastern, " you are not in a cloak, so you are not a mage... so why would you help us? What do you want?"

" Yuri, please... they're trying to help us. Does it matter if they're mages or-"

-The robots begin to advance, and you ready your keyblade-

" Of course it matters, Mitya. At home it was different, but here it is us... and them. We can't even trust others like ourselves, what makes you think we can trust this one?"

-she jabs you in the shoulder with a bit of broken mirror-

" I am terribly sorry..."

-one of the robots reaches the three of you, only you take any notice though, and you parry two of it's thrusts and then thrust the blade through the torso-

>Protect the girls

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." You grunt throughout the sentence as you fight with one of the other robots.

" I wasn't talking to you! What, you can't handle a bit of blood? You see Mitya, our hero is afraid of bleeding."

>Have the girls work their magic on the evil robots

"Will you knock it off?? I'm doing all the fighting right now!"

Mitya drops her bag on the ground and steps forward; couple of vegetables slightly past their prime roll out onto the ground. " E'o tahwehna theosh kannem! " A gargantuan hand composed of the cobblestone alleyway and the surrounding stone reaches up and crushes one of the advancing robots. Mitya then drops to the ground, exhausted. As she falls, the hand dissipates, leaving smooth alleyway and a crumpled pile of sparking parts behind.

>See if you can cast some magic with that keyblade of yours.

You focus your energy into the keyblade as you parry the robot, as you thrust forward, a jolt of violet lightning rushes out the end and hits your opponent. It felt powerful, but the machine only seems more energized if anything.

Yuri steps forward and starts to sing in low, melodic tones " Shilo ba'an vera wezh. Apali ata nos. Sulo vesa ka'nun vezh. Lamni trata ros!" Nothing happens for a fraction of a second after she stops, then the robot starts to jitter uncontrollably. The crevices between the separate parts sprout forth bark encrusted tendrils that intertwine and rip it apart. Soon, all that is left in the space where it stood is an apple tree in full bloom, scraps of metal embedded in the trunk.

You gain 20 XP from this encounter and gain a level.

Please choose one of the following.

>Deathwatch: You can tell, just by looking at someone how many days they have left before they die. The downsides, you can't turn off this ability and it can be faulty, as it's choosing the most likely outcome of several possible futures.

>Futurewatch: You can see several possible futures, some good, some bad, this can help you make the best possible choice, you can transfer this power to others for a time. The downsides, while you are looking into the future, you are immobile for as long as you do so, and you lose the ability while the person you have transferred this power to has this ability.

>What do you do?

edited 28th Jun '15 4:54:12 PM by GhostElm

>Go with Futurewatch. Who wants to watch their friends lives slowly tick away?

>Get: As many apples as you can. Nothing like an apple to make hunger go away.

>See if they can magic up some bullets for the pistol.

edited 28th Jun '15 10:55:15 PM by dvorak

>FUTURE VISION.

>Show the girls that we're trustworthy somehow.

>Also tell them we need to find a healer.

>Futurewatch

Your vision goes hazy for a few seconds, and then you see several possible futures concerning what might happen while leaving the alley: including a house falling you, a sinkhole opening up beneath you, a large snake-like being with 12 spider-like legs wandering into the alley and eating you. But the most likely future is that you will exit the alley without pomp or circumstance with the girls by your side.

Which, as boring as it may sound, is exactly what happens.

>Show the girls that we're trustworthy somehow.

"You know... I'm not as bad as you might think... I have some magic, just not a lot."

Yuri nods, " I saw what you did, but that was much less your doing than that of the sword you carry. It's blade radiates power like echoing soundwaves, it may have felt like you... but it was the sword."

"No..." You say, exasperated, "I know the sword is magic... I meant that I can actually do some magic too. Watch." You pick up a rock from the side of the road, and focus extremely hard. Your vision goes blurry again, and, after almost 2 minutes of a lot of nothing, the thing in your hand cries out, and the hawk flies away. You are now panting, and sweat is pouring from your brow.

" An impressive act. It was, again, a shared effort between yourself and the rune, but it was much more of an effort on your end this time. I have never seen its like before, but I might be able to help you make doing that a lot easier next time."

Good luck, sister...

Yuri smiles over at your guide, knowingly... although you are mostly certain that the voice was only in your head. " Here, hold out your hand."

You do.

" Now, point at what you want to change. That calendar on the wall of the mayor's house for example, you see it?"

You point at the calendar.

" Now focus on what you want to change it into."

You ponder for a long while on a suitable rhyme for calendar. Eventually, you give up and decide to take a different tack. You nod.

" That took... longer than I would have expected... but if you have it... now, instead on relying on your will alone, I want you to say a word, any word, even a phrase. What you say might not matter all that much. And move your hand while you say it. This should make this go much quicker."

"Change." You say, sweeping your hand gently downward. The front page of the calendar quickly transforms into a bundle of sage.

Yuri smirks and nods, " I was expecting the entire calendar to change... maybe your power lessens with distance. You also might want to think about using a less obvious word next time, so your opponent doesn't know it's you doing the magic."

"No... that's actually what I intended to do, my power relies on being able to rhyme something with something else, and I think there are a few restrictions... thank you for making that so much easier, though."

" It is not a problem in the slightest."

>See if they can magic up some bullets for the pistol.

"I'm glad... there are a few more favors I must ask of you... the two of you I suppose." You pull out the gun. "I'm not sure what this is... I think it's a weapon of sorts. One that shoots small metal projectiles, most likely."

Yuri and Mitya look at each other bemusedly, " It is a gun... yes... we know what it is, and what it can do."

"Right..." You aren't sure you appreciate the condescending tone she's using, "Is there a chance the two of you can make me some of the projectile weapons it shoots?"

" Buying them might be easier, may I see the gun?" You hand it over, " And then again... perhaps not... where did you get a gun this small?"

"I made it..."

Yuri blinks, " Of course you did..." she sighs, and places her hand over yours, " A xeron venari, seha veran." You feel about a dozen small round bits of metal collect in your palm. " we can get you powder tomorrow..."

"Thank you."

>Get: As many apples as you can. Nothing like an apple to make hunger go away.
>Also tell them we need to find a healer.

"A couple other things... do you know where I might be able to find some food? Particularly an apple if at all possible, I'm sort of craving a fresh apple. Or maybe a healer? Not to eat... obviously, but I think we could all do with some patching up."

Yuri and Mitya turn to each other and talk in a language that is very close if not identical to the one that they cast their spells in.

Do you have any idea what they're saying? You ask your guide.

Vaguely... it's a dialect of the spoken language that goes along with the Old Script we saw back in the other realm... they keep saying the word... well, it's not home, per say... like I said before, this is a hard language to translate, it's quite a ... I guess you'd call it a personal language, full of subtext that doesn't make it all the way into the words. They are also talking about a master... or maybe father would be a better translation... chief maybe?

The girls turn towards you, " We would have to talk to our leader first... but if you are a friend to us, you are in no danger from him and you might be able to stay with our people for a time." Yuri looks quite displeased with this turn of events.

>What do you do?

edited 30th Jun '15 1:36:55 AM by GhostElm

>Accept her offer. Where else are we gonna go?

>Magic a stone into a scone to tide us over until we can get a real meal. (Why didn't we think of this before?)

>Loot the broken robots and dead lizard woman. At the very least we can put the robes on under our armor so it won't chafe.

edited 30th Jun '15 2:46:19 AM by dvorak

>Accept her offer. Where else are we gonna go?

"If it's really no trouble, we would really appreciate it if we could come with you."

" I sincerely hope you are not expecting anything overly luxurious..."

"Well," you chuckle, "Considering what you were doing, I wasn't expecting you to be royalty or anything."

Yuri's eyes harden from mild disapproval to full-on death glare, but she keeps quiet for now.

Now you've done it...

>Loot the broken robots and dead lizard woman. At the very least we can put the robes on under our armor so it won't chafe.

"I'll be right back." You say to the girls, before heading back into the alley. The woman with the dragon-like face has two vials of strange, incandescent blue liquid, a teardrop shaped dagger coated in a strange substance... you assume it's either blood or poison, a short, curved sword, and 20 hexagonal gold coins. The robots... well, the robot who wasn't crushed or turned into a windchime... has identical objects in its possession, along with a wind-up key of some sort. You pocket what you can and wrap the blades in one robe while you start to change into the other.

" What exactly do you think you are doing?"

"I don't want to chafe..."

" Put down those robes, we will get you a pair that are a more... appropriate color when we get to our base."

You stare at her, dumbfounded, but you start to remove the robe. You unwrap the blades from the robe they were in as well.

" You do realize they are just going to confiscate those when they search you at our base, do you not?"

"More weapons for your people I guess."

Her gaze softens a bit. " You are confused... I am sorry for having treated you as though you should know the customs of this land... when Ma'atéyeshui spoke of another realm... I should have realized you were-"

You cut her off mid-sentence, "Who?"

" . . . Ma'atéyeshui" at your blank stare, she rubs her temple, " Your guide..."

"Oh... I hadn't realized they had a name..."

She looks as though she is trying to explain quantum physics to a toddler, " Do sentient entities often not have names in your realm? I presume you have a name."

"That's not what I meant... And yes... my name is Samjon, Sam John von Yoloswagger at your service."

She tries very hard to smile, but a sneer leaks through the façade. " Hmm..."

>Magic a stone into a scone to tide us over until we can get a real meal.

You pick out three stones and place them on the discarded robes. You then move your hand while saying, "I bet you're pretty hungry right now..." The stones change as you speak, and three blueberry scones sit in their place.

After you hand one to Yuri, and she nods, taking a bite, " Thank you..."

Outside of the alleyway, you also hand one to Mitya, and take one for yourself. Together, you all start walking toward the fork in the road.

Ma'atéyeshui?

Ma'atéyeshui stops for a second, her blue glow glimmering. No one has addressed me by that name for many years...

It's what Yuri called you.

For all those who I am speaking to, directly or indirectly, I would prefer if my true name were left unsaid... Call me Ma'at, if you must call me anything at all.

Can do.

You continue walking with the girls, eventually coming to an inconspicuous door out of hundreds, if not thousands, of identical doors in a row of flats. Mitya knocks in a particular pattern, and a voice whispers like steam leaking from a pipe, "Brena?"

" Tolor nui, Mitya, Yuri, Samjon, bel Ma'at vanar coréma."

The door opens, and you realize that no one was actually there for her to be talking to. You assume it is some sort of magic door.

As you step in, the door closes behind you. Before you stands a flight of staircases leading deep into the earth below, golden light reflecting off of what looks to be marble walls. You descend the staircases and come to another set of doors, this time, there are two very muscular men standing guard with swords attached on one side of their belts, and guns attached to the other side.

"Weapons please," says guard on the right, "And we're going to have to search the new person, sorry miss." He says this last part to Yuri and Mitya both.

Mitya searches around for a bit, " Oh no! I think I left the dagger in the alley."

" That's alright, Tanahr, standard protocol. I'm sure father won't mind too much about the missing blade."

" But it was Vela!"

" it's alright, we can go get it in the morning. She hands over her own blade to the guard on the left. The guard on the right, Tanahr, is looking at you expectantly, waiting for you to give him your weapons.

>What do you do?

edited 30th Jun '15 10:08:27 AM by GhostElm

>Hand over our weapons. If we try and hold onto them it will go worse for us. We'll probably get them back.

>Scry into the future as soon as we are someplace we can rest

(Will you also consent to being searched?)