>>5986131
>Gigas. You've yet to meet anyone that can best you physically, or resist your infectious cheer.
Since we're learning about Gaoth and all!

>>5986131
>Gigas. You've yet to meet anyone that can best you physically, or resist your infectious cheer.
Sure, I’ll back >>5986137.

>>5986131
>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade.

>>5986131
>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade.
Luv me Gigas, but I gotta know what that book say

>>5986131
>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade.

>>5986137
>>5986142
>>5986257
>>5986368
>>5986407

Your name is Ramza Valentine, and right now you're trying your best to seem aloof and friendly despite the waves of panic and dread coursing through you at the moment. Had you been a poorer actor, you have no doubt you'd be openly sweating while talking to the dangerous-seeming Captain Jaghatai. You would say that your worries are well-founded, given how you're surrounded by Jaghatai's men and most certainly outnumbered in what could easily become enemy territory should you say the wrong things here. A glance at Gigas tells you that he's completely at ease, and Val is as unreadable as ever, thankfully.

"The Array you mentioned within the ship, and the alloys...they've got me interested, I must admit. Can you tell me more about them?" You ask, hoping it's a neutral enough question.

"I can't say anything about the particulars, as I am not well versed in the mystical arts nor in forging. I can say, however, that the array enables fine control of air movements in a spherical bubble around ten men's heights about the ship. There's a module over there to actually control it." Jaghatai says, gesturing over to where one of his men is stationed. A quick glance at the 'module' shows an interesting display of the ship itself, with the soldier manning it making peculiar gestures above the display to manipulate it.

"That sounds a lot like Slipstream!" Gigas points out, Jaghatai chuckling and nodding along.

"I'm told it's based upon it, yes. Just scaled up and fine-tined. As for the alloys, well, they're like a partial-catalyst I'm told. They can't bestow the aspects of Wind upon mana, but they can preserve those aspects indefinitely when channeled through it. And they happen to be much lighter than similar metals while retaining the same strength, as an added boon." He explains.

"Sounds like we made the right choice with outfitting our other ship with Aerosteel, then. I'm looking forward to plowing through things just like this baby." You say, grinning as you imagine daring and bold maneuvers such as ramming straight into an enemy ship and coming out of the other side with nary a scratch. "You guys got wind-infused cannons at all?"

"Indeed. It's not quite as useful as the rest of the enchantments on the ship, but it does allow our ammunition to maintain its punch at longer distances than usual. Were we to fight a superior force, we could simply whittle them down at a safe distance if need be." He sounds confident in his assurances, as though he's done it before.

You note Val leaning in to talk with the Pilot, perking your ears up to eavesdrop on them for a moment. "I'm interested in your piloting skills. What are some useful maneuvers you've done before?" The gunslinger asks.

"There's a few. If we're facing numerically superior forces, we pull hard to the side and stagger cannonfire to sweep the battlefield. I'm also a fan of getting above an enemy and tilting us by about 45 degrees, so we can get clear shots into their deck with the extra force of gravity assisting us." The pilot explains, then pulling up a little hook attached to his belt. "Just make sure your crew hooks onto something before you do it."

"Interesting..." Is all Val says, before you turn your attention back to the other captain.

"Before we go into the nitty gritty details of Gaoth culture, I want to know something about you, Captain. Glory for Gaoth can be found in many ways, as I'm sure you're already aware. Why did you choose to become a Captain over all other choices?" You ask him, leaning up against one of the metal-wrapped consoles and making sure not to accidentally hit any buttons while doing so.

"There are few honors greater than conquering in the name of Gaoth, my friend. To fight, to win, to lead others in the name of Gaoth! That is a dream that all should pursue, in my opinion. It was my calling, and I answered that calling as soon as I could. What else could I have possibly done? I've no aptitude for engineering, no patience for politics, and the chef has banned me from making any additions to our mealplan. Becoming a Captain was my only fate." He says, crossing his arms and no doubt grinning under that helmet of his.

"Damn, that's rough. You've got some kind of curse when it comes to cooking, huh?" You say with a smirk.

"It could have felled a dragon." One of the soldiers speaks up. "The smell of it alone still haunts my dreams."

"...Well, that's answer enough for that, I suppose." The captain coughs into his fist awkwardly. "Surely you must be curious about other aspects of our culture!" He not-so-subtly tries to get you to change the subject. You struggle not to laugh at that moment.

"Culinary disasters aside," You start, trying to reign in the shit-eating grin that wanted to form on your face. "I am pretty curious about what courtship is like in Gaoth. Although I'm mostly asking for a friend."

"Bullshit." Val says, and you give him a look of betrayal as he shoves the metaphorical knife in your back.

"That's enough out of you, Mr. Lasombra." You scowl at him.

"I imagine it's much the same as it is anywhere, is it not? A man fancies a woman, impresses her, humiliates her other suitors by defeating them in bloody combat, and ultimately wins her favor through might. Assuming all goes well and they prove to be compatible, eventually you duel her father, and once he is satisfied with your worth as a warrior you are allowed to wed." He explains as though it was completely and totally normal behavior.

"...Surely that doesn't happen EVERY time?" You ask, wondering if your dreams of a Gaoth babe are going to be crushed today.

"Well...it's the more traditional way of doing things, yes. The younger generation sometimes chooses to eschew it in favor of a much quicker resolution, proving their to-be loyalty to their chosen woman in a drastic manner in order to win their heart. It varies from case to case, I've seen it range from subduing a powerful monster with no weapons nor armor nor clothing...to parting with one of their own bodyparts as the gesture. Frankly, I find it to be unnecessary and foolish. The traditional ways are superior and have lasted for a reason." He admits.

"And these ways are pretty common for every Gaoth?" You can't help but frown.

"Of course. We would loathe to allow weakness to persist in our society, and proving one's strength is the only way to be sure that poor stock doesn't taint our bloodlines." He thumps his metal chestplate proudly. "Each generation is born stronger than the last, and it's only thanks to our dedication to strength as a people!"

"It's, uh, definitely pretty different from how we do things in Lume." You say. You're not sure what else to say. Gaoth culture seems pretty insane from your perspective, but you're not sure if that's just because of how radically different it is from yours or not. You're sure they would probably think your practices are insane too. You thus decide to change the subject once more. "What about upbringings - what's it usually like to grow up in a Gaoth household?"

Gigas perks up and listens a bit more intently now. "It can vary quite a bit, of course, depending on the expectations of your parentage. Military enrollment is mandatory and expected of all who come of age, naturally, and those who cannot meet our expectations are culled or exiled. As no parent wishes to see this happen to their child, most are trained from a young age to become hale and hearty combatants by the time they mature. Aptitudes in other fields, if presented, are reported to the empire so that a skilled tutor can be sent to encourage the growth of those skills." Jaghatai explains, each word making you dread the idea of Gaoth rule just a bit more.

"So everyone in the nation is trained killer?" Val asks, quirking an eyebrow up that you can barely see.

"Indeed. And while a man's training is focused on martial combat, a woman's place is that of a shamanka - a sorceress. Male ones exist, of course, but it is far more common that a woman's studies be focused on the mystical realm given her physical weakness in comparison to men. We are not a people in the habit of polishing dirt, as it is far better to grow a seedling in it instead." He uses a strange saying you've not heard before.

"Ah, so the tradition of shipwitchery is still strong among your people then, I assume? Is there one aboard the Skyseer?" You ask.

"No. Men and women on the same ship is an ill omen. Each belongs to their own unit, their own crew separated from each other." Jaghatai denies vehemently. "Even putting superstition aside, it would simply lead to bad blood should my men start fighting each other for a shamanka's attentions. Intolerable. Such dalliances must only happen on leave, not under my watch upon my ship."

You try your best to hide your complete and utter disappointment at the revelation that there's not a single woman aboard this ship. You fail, naturally, grimacing heavily and letting out a sigh.

"Better luck next time, Ramza." Gigas says with a chuckle. "By the way, I was wondering...how often does someone kill someone else in this training?"

"Rarely, I would say. Accidents happen, but to do so intentionally? It is a practice only done when one has been trained by either an untouchable or a seneschal. In the former case, it is a mark of restored honor for them and their family in death. The latter, a mark of dedication and competence, demonstrating a worthiness to continue your family's duties." He says.

"I'm not familiar with either of those terms." Gigas rubs the back of his head with a dopey grin.

"Ah - an untouchable is one who has failed Gaoth, but bears something of worth that prevents us from executing him immediately. Once his knowledge is sufficiently passed on to a worthy student, he is allowed to rest at peace among his brothers once more. A seneschal is any who have been personally appointed to a position by our great Emperor, each of them men of great bearing and skill. The Emperor despises all forms of nepotism, hence the requirement for heirs to slay their fathers if they wish to adopt their family's duties."

"That's a pretty raw deal." You can't help but say, frowning. "I don't think I'd have what it takes to kill my own dad."

"You would be surprised what one could do when faced with the prospect of ruining your family should you refuse the responsibility. Still, it's a choice I'm glad I never had to make personally." Jaghatai sighs out himself.

"Let's talk about something a little less heavy. You hear about what the Eldingarians are building? That artificial spire project of theirs?" You shift gears, interested in hearing the Goath opinion on a different nation.

"A foul monument that plans to usurp the essence of the deceased to power a nation of decadence and convenience. They dishonor not only their own ancestors by conceiving of it, but all of our ancestors! Would that we had the power to, we would storm Eldingar in force and put their entire populace to the sword." He clenches a fist tight enough that the metal gauntlet around it groans in protest. "But their defenses are too tight for our raidships to slip past, and too potent to merely force our way through. We would be decimated upon entry, while their ships would be perfectly fresh."

"When you put it like that, yeah, fuck 'em!" You say. "They're going to use the mana from everyone that's ever died just to power their cities. That's pretty fucked up."

"Most fucked up, brother. Most fucked up indeed." Jaghatai shakes his head forlornly. "It is something I can only imagine a Demon wishing to do."

"Demons...hey, is that old fable about the four demons that brought ruin to the nine cities true?" You ask, hoping to get a bit of insight into his view on demons in general next.

"A scholar of the old tales, are we? How interesting. Yes, the ruins of those cities have been preserved as a warning to all of the dangers of Demons. It has inspired many a man and woman to join the Demonbane Court, which was formed by the king that took the throne just after the one in that story had been slain. They root out all demons they can and slay them as their duty to Gaoth, and enjoy a great many privileges that normal soldiers do not. They answer to none but the Emperor's personal authority. Were one to be aboard this ship, I would defer to him on all matters."

"Do you have to be Gaoth to join the Demonbane Court?" Val asks suddenly. Damn it, Val.

"Not born, but a recognized citizen, yes. Any who serve Gaoth appropriately will be given the right to join them. Passing their rigorous tests, however...that is a far different matter." Jaghatai waves the question off, not probing further into it thankfully.

"Here's hoping we become Gaoth citizens in the future, then." You give Jaghatai your patented fingerguns, just to let him know you're totally on his side and will continue to be so in the future. Definitely. "Would the discovery of a new kind of magic warrant citizenship?"

"Hmm? Perhaps? I'm really not sure. It depends on how useful the magic is. Why, have you learned of something?" He asks, interested.

"Space magic. Ever heard of it?" You part your hands and shake them in a flashy manner.

"No, never. Can you demonstrate it?"

"...No." You cringe. "I can't actually use it, but I have heard of it!"

Jaghatai sighs with disappointment. "Then I must regretfully inform you that merely hearing about a possible new form of magic is of no use to Gaoth, and we must deny your request for citizenship."

You groan and slap a palm onto your face. "I should have thought that through a little more." You admit.

"Oh, I've got a question!" Gigas speaks up, slamming the bottom of a fist into the upturned palm of his hand. "I've been wondering this entire time, are you guys planning on conquering the other nations anytime soon?"

You look at him and do your best to hide your growing horror at him just openly asking the thing you've been dreading this entire time, but you're sure some of it must show in your eyes still. Gigas looks completely clueless about how dangerous that question is, and now it's up to you to defuse that verbal bomb before it blows up in your face.

>Roll 7d10 for Ramza, 1d10 for Gigas, and 1d10 for Val!

Rolled 8, 6, 8, 8, 8, 5, 3 = 46 (7d10)

>>5987095

>>5987147
Now that's fast talking!

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5987095

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5987095
Rolling for Val, I suppose.

And holy shit Ramza. Forgot all your nervousness for a second and became the very concept of speech I take it?

>>5987147
>>5987177
>>5987199
Phenominal. Stunning.
While Val didn't get a partial success like Gigas did, he got close enough to it and everyone in general rolled so damn well that I'm willing to give it to him.
Have a vote, lads.

Ramza gets:
>+1 Charm
>+1 Connive
Gigas gets:
>+1 Charm
>+1 Connive
Val gets:
>+1 Charm
>+1 Connive

>>5987210
Ramza did so well that everyone else learned from the experience.

Don’t forget to reward Jaghatai and his crew their level-up point from witnessing it!

Ramza gets:
>+1 Connive
Gigas gets:
>+1 Connive
Val gets:
>+1 Charm

Ramza leans on his strongest skill to pull through, Givas picks up from it, and Val was close to figuring out part of Ramza’s secrets but landed a little off-mark to improve his charm instead. Not that he minds.

The stats go into everyone’s highest skill. Gigas will be out of the negatives and Val could technically succeed at a Charm roll. It’s only a 10% chance, but still.

>>5987222
Jaghatai learns the most important thing of all. The true meaning of friendship.
Wait, that's bullshit...

>>5987223
Ah, so +2 relationship dice for actions that affect his friends. Pretty powerful bullshit indeed!

Sounds like if he were a Gaoth woman he’d get Friendship is Magic instead of True Meaning of Friendship?

But more seriously, I do want to ask him now about if someone who had attacked Gaoth could still apply for Gaoth citizenship and be treated fairly. Would Gaoth accept someone who proved their strength and skill by harming Gaoth itself? It’s a sliding scale, I’m sure, so the most extreme example we know of (that of one of the demons who destroyed the nine cities) would likely be the most illuminating. It shows what is truly more important about a person’s actions when you hit the extremes.

>>5987210
Deviouspilled or Swaggermaxxing, choices choices.
Ramza gets:
>+1 Connive
Gigas gets:
>+1 Charm
Val gets:
>+1 Connive

Ramza is an absolute Kevin McAllister, Dennis the Menace style crafty trickster, and his freaky levels of plots on plots cannot be surmounted. Gigas needs a little work on his charm, and no use polishing dirt with his connive skill. Val however, seems to benefit from a wider range of techniques to draw on, and fits well narratively with both characters imo.

>>5987210
Ramza gets:
>+1 Connive
Gigas gets:
>+1 Connive
Val gets:
>+1 Connive

Connivemaxing. We're called Trinity for a reason.

>>5987414
>>5987210
>Support

Conniving to the max boyyysss.

Welcome back qm.

And thanks for voting for ramza anons. I missed that vote.

>>5987210
Ramza
>+1 Charm
Giga
>+1 Charm
Val
>+1 Connive

Oh, btw, this is my home IP for future reference, when I mobile-post.

>>5987222
>>5987351
>>5987414
>>5987482
>>5987669
Ultimately, connivemaxxing wins out! Looks like the entire gang learned how to pull the wool over people's eyes a little bit better. Writing!
I'll be sure to include >>5987236 your question here, because it's a valid one and we're tricky enough to avoid it being taken the wrong way.

"I had the same thought too, actually." You reply, brain working overtime to weave a line of bullshit that can spin this interaction in a new light. "The benefits of a world unifying governance would be undeniable, especially if Gaoth is the one that comes out on top. Corruption would be a thing of the past, I imagine. Men like Felippe would not exist, could not exist."

"True!" Gigas says, picking up on your shift almost immediately. Val, meanwhile, opts to remain silent but does assent with a slight nod that you pick up on.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you. You have a good, strong head on your shoulders." Captain Jaghatai claps you on said shoulders, chuckling in a good natured manner. "Yes, the Emperor has given many speeches in the past on the destiny of Gaoth. We are the strongest nation, made of the strongest people, with the strongest will. It is only natural that we lay claim to the lands of our lessers, and in doing so we will join them with Gaoth and uplift them in time. We wage war and slaughter those who oppose us because it is our right, and our duty to the world. Once all have come under our banner, peace and prosperity the likes of which the world has never seen will spread to all. It will be a golden age for every blessed soul under the Core."

You feel a bit of bile rising up in your throat at the thought, and it's clear to you that this is nothing more than pure delusion. To you, that future sounds like little more than a nightmare.

"Would it be possible for one who attacked or opposed Gaoth to ever become a Gaoth citizen? If they were strong and skilled enough to do so and live, surely they would be worth accepting." You ask.

"We would be poorer to refuse them. The blood of the strong is an absolute necessity, and if they were strong enough and bold enough to strike at even the heart of us? Then they bear the soul of Gaoth himself within them. As our founder himself once said, the Strong shall thrive, and the Weak must serve. We would be remiss in our duties to reject them solely because of the damage to our pride." Jaghatai says, surprising you with his stance.

"Even if they, for example, killed your emperor?" You clarify.

"How do you think our current emperor came about? When Emperor Altan was but a boy of thirteen years old, he challenged the previous emperor, Naran, to a duel. Naran took it to be little more than an enthusiastic child playing a game, and intended to humble the child in their battle. His mercy was a weakness that Altan capitalized on, and Naran was returned to the Core by Altan's own hand. Altan has since reforged our people into what we are today, returning us to our roots and undoing the damage that Naran's softness caused." Jaghatai sounds proud of the fact, as though he fully believes in Altan's rule.

"You don't have to be of royal blood to become the next Emperor?" Gigas asks, looking quite surprised.

"Of course not. Altan came from common blood. He put his own family to the blade when they sought to use his power and wealth for their own gain, and he has placed several laws to inflict similar punishments upon any who attempt to do similarly with their own blood. Gaoth unites us, not blood. We prove our own worths, not suckling from another's like a parasite."

"How long has Altan ruled for?" Val asks.

"Uh..." Jaghatai takes a moment to glance down at his hands, various fingers coming up and down as he counts it out. "41 years as of this year, I believe. Yes, that's right, there was a celebration of his fourtieth year of rule last year. It was quite the time, a shame you missed it."

"A shame indeed. I'll have to attend the 50th in a few years, then." You say with a shrug. "But speaking of parties, what do you guys usually do after a victory? Surely you party as hard as you work."

"You undersell us, Captain Valentine. No people in the world party as hard as the Gaoth do. You'll see for yourself soon enough, once we eliminate this pirate we're hunting." Jaghatai turns to face the window once more. "Speaking of which, I am most curious about what you intend to do during this hunt. Insights into the tactical side of my peers are always a delight."

>You'll go out ahead of them on the Gleamrunner to grab the enemy's attention, so the Skyseer can blindside them.
>You'll hit them at the same time, encircling the enemy so they stand no chance of escape.
>You'll let the Skyseer grab their attention, then blindside them yourself with the Gleamrunner and perform some boarding action.
>Write-in a different tactic!

>>5988401
>You'll go out ahead of them on the Gleamrunner to grab the enemy's attention, so the Skyseer can blindside them.

>>5988401
>You'll go out ahead of them on the Gleamrunner to grab the enemy's attention, so the Skyseer can blindside them.

Gotta show off vals piloting skills.

>>5988401
>You'll go out ahead of them on the Gleamrunner to grab the enemy's attention, so the Skyseer can blindside them.

>>5988401
>You'll go out ahead of them on the Gleamrunner to grab the enemy's attention, so the Skyseer can blindside them.
We’re more maneuverable than the enemy is, yet too weak to chase them off. If their captain has a third the cleverness he’s supposed to then he’ll know we have a trick up our sleeves, but any option besides engaging us is stupid until he knows the details. He’d be a laughingstock if he ran from us alone.

So we can be sure to bite at him and encourage him to chase us. We can do the harpoon trick as our ship-based tactical act to throw off their broadside from the Skyseer, and if the enemy is still flying after the first hit from the Skyseer then we can both attempt a boarding action to capture the ship, its captain, and its spoils.

In the very unlikely event he runs early, work our way under his ship for a harpoon shot through the keel. I can’t imagine a flying ship taking that much better than a seaborne ship.

Rolled 3, 2, 5, 4, 1, 8 = 23 (6d10)

>>5988417
>>5988493
>>5988528
>>5988883
Sorry about that, ended up pretty busy today! We have a unanimous tactical decision. We're going to be jumping right into the action in the next update! With that in mind, give me Val's piloting check of 8d10 to avoid damage while their attention is on you, Ramza's connive check of 8d10 to ensure their attention remains FIRMLY on you, and Gigas' roll of 4d10 to man the harpoon in case you can deal a bit of damage yourself.
Round 1 will be just you and the enemy pirate, so here's the enemy's piloting roll.
Behind the scenes, if you're interested in the mechanical side of things: Vehicular Combat is decided almost the same as regular combat, with a few key differences. At the start of each combat round, the pilot rolls the vehicle's speed rating + either their hands+piloting or brain+piloting pool. If the ship's size is 3 or higher, they may only use speed + brains + piloting, representative of the fact that the ship is unable to make tight turns and mobility is less of a factor than tactical placement.

The result of these rolls determines each combatant's POSITIONING. Vehicle combatants declare their actions in order of Position width, from lowest to highest (Height breaks a tie). Generally speaking, a maneuverable vehicle with a higher position roll can attack you and you cannot attack it back.
Combat proceeds as normal from there.

Rolled 7, 8, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 10 = 37 (8d10)

>>5989793

>>5989796
Jesus christ, Val, you don't have to show off that much. They didn't even get a pair!

Rolled 6, 10, 7, 3, 9, 8, 5, 3 = 51 (8d10)

>>5989793
Ramza's go.

Rolled 4, 4, 10, 6 = 24 (4d10)

>>5989793
Gigas roll.

>>5989798
He wanted to try the tricks he learned from the other pilot. Not his flashiest work, but damn effective.

>>5989798
We doing loop de loops around these scrubs. He's focused on getting a Goath girl that's dangerous. Gotta show off to the captain to get a waifu.

>>5989865
A vast improvement over the assassin he found attractive.

I wasn’t entirely lying when I said Ramza was asking about Gaoth women for a friend. I admit I was thinking about Gigas since I didn’t think he’d ask, but it applies to Val too.

>>5988417
>>5988493
>>5988528
>>5988883
>>5989796
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2BMJu9OSls

The wind is whipping through your hair as you stand with a foot propped up against the front railing of the gleamrunner, your ship having just emerged from the icefields moments ago. You cast your gaze across the cloudy skies, and just as you suspected you spot a shadow slowly drifting through them, your hunter-turned-prey lurking just in case you were to try to sneak back to their initial quarry.

"Pretend like we don't see them, Val. Head in low and slow, like we're trying to avoid notice." You order, noticing a slight slowing of the other ship's shadow. "We're going to go right up under them, then do a modified tilt maneuver to fire up at them from below. Gigas, man the harpoon."

"Aye aye!" Two voices call back to you simultaneously. You begin to descend closer towards the ground and enter the same cloudcover that your enemy is dwelling in, drifting along at a painfully slow pace as you become locked in an observation match with the enemy. It takes a few moments, but their course seems to readjust to follow you.

"Steady..." You say a few minutes in, having told Val to slowly ramp up the speed, knowing that your ship is far more capable of stopping on a dime than theirs is. Finally, they seem to be just a couple dozen feet behind you, so you hold up a hand and give the signal. "Now! Hard brake and tilt us! Gigas, hold tight and be ready to fire!"

The gleamrunner jerks backwards as Val pulls on the brake with one hand, simultaneously spinning the helm as fast as he can off to starboard. The ship immediately begins to tilt in a way that you're sure the builders never intended it to, and you're grateful that you've got yourself hooked up to the railing right now given how slippery the floor suddenly seems.

"Taking the shot!" Gigas calls out, a muffled blast ringing out as the internal charge launches the harpoon up towards the enemy ship. Their own reactions are too slow, as they've barely started to slow down right as your ship comes directly under them. The harpoon flies up and the sharp ringing of metal ripping through metal can be heard, and Gigas immediately locks the line in reel-only mode to stop it from being pulled away before he seizes the reel and starts to crank it. "Confirming a hit!"

"Excellent work! Val, raise us up above them from their flank!" You say, unclipping yourself from the railing only once Val's righted the ship once more. You make your way over to the communistone next to your pilot, placing your hand on it and focusing your intent on the ship nearby.

"You little bastard, you just cost me a cannon! You're bold for a dead man." The voice on the other end calls out before you can say anything.

"My apologies, captain, but I'm not in the habit of running with my tail between my legs nor with letting insults pass. You fired on my men earlier, and I'm going to take the pound of flesh you owe me in person." You reply, letting an aura of smugness radiate through your voice.

"Hah! You really think you can do anything other than take potshots with a puny ship like that? Hells, you ain't even got a proper cannon on that piece of shit. You fired the only shot you'll get!" He barks out a laugh as your ship starts to raise itself up and over the enemy's.

Your ship momentarily shudders as the cannon you'd apparently hit gets ejected from the other ship, falling down to the ground until the harpoon's line goes taut once more. One less weapon to worry about, you suppose - you'll have to keep in mind which side is missing a gun, in case you need to cross their line of sight at all.

"We're gonna want that cannon for later, so reel it up, Gigas. And work as quickly as you can to extract the harpoon from it so we can take a second shot. We're going to bleed them dry." You order, conveniently 'forgetting' that your hand was on the stone so the other captain can hear your plan. Then you shift your intent to that of the Skyseer's stone, your communications quickly changing to align with their frequency. "Captain Jaghatai, their attention is firmly on the Gleamrunner. You are clear to enter. Their offense is lacking on the portside guns now, and their attention is going to be above them."

"Excellent work, Captain. The Skyseer is now heading to engage. Do as you wish - but I cannot recommend any boarding actions at this time." Jaghatai's voice emits from your stone, and you can't help but chuckle at how well this is going for you. A part of you wonders if you truly could have taken the enemy ship without aid from the Skyseer, but then again...why fight fair? It's not like a black pirate ever would.

That being said, it's time to consider the next phase of your plan as Gigas works on wrenching that harpoon out of the cannon he hauled up. You're damn impressed with the man's strength, that shit can't be light...

>Take the wheel and have Val help Gigas to take the next shot, as he's got the best aim out of all of you.
>All-in on evasive maneuvers, aid Val in piloting. The skyseer can take over offense from here.
>You DO have a heavy-ass cannon aboard your ship now, and you're above them. Drop it on their sails.
>write-in?

Sorry for taking so long. Life kicks me in the nuts every time I start a thread.

>>5991163
>All-in on evasive maneuvers, aid Val in piloting. The skyseer can take over offense from here.

Sorry to hear things are going rough, QM. May you be smoothly sailing again soon!

>>5991163
How far can we launch a fireball?

Far enough to light some sails on fire and force them to run around putting them out?

Life has been grinding mine for a while, but getting kicked in them is still worse. Hope it passes soon.

>>5991183
You could pull the ship close enough to light their sails on fire, if you're quick about it. The skyseer is going to be aiming for the core of their ship most likely, so it should be...relatively safe.

>>5991163
>>5991184
Hmm. We’ll need to look into slow-burning materials we can air drop onto enemy ships. Something like mending sap, so it can travel down well and stick to whatever it hits while on fire.

I’ll tentatively back
>”Sail me closer, I want to hit them with my fireballs!”
but I’ll switch to
>All-in on evasive maneuvers, aid Val in piloting. The Skyseer can take over offense from here.
if we have a tie.

>>5991186
>Investing in napalm
Jesus christ, anon, isn't that stuff a war crime?

>>5991202
If the equivalent of the Geneva Convention exists then it would be classified as such if used by a nation against another nation’s civilians, yes.

While our opponent may be classified as such since he isn’t operating under the military of a nation, it seems more likely he’d be treated as an enemy combatant and thus a legal target for weapons like napalm. There is the fact that a “pirate nation” seems unlikely to have signed the Convention as well, and if they did we’re operating under the same “nation” as it were. It is not a war crime to use such items against civilians (or combatants for that matter) in your own nation, hence why tear gas and pepper spray are used by police in spite of being chemical weapons that would constitute a war crime if used by the military against another nation’s civilian population. Because fuck human decency.

Long tangent aside, I’m not expecting it to keep burning even if you suffocate it or toss water onto it. Stuff like napalm and white phosphorus is horrifying, I just want something easy to light up that has enough mass and fuel to reliably be dropped from above onto a ship without getting blown off-course. I’m sure the wood of these ships are treated to resist burning, but you can’t expect to leave fires on a ship deck to not spread eventually, and a bunch of small, easily extinguished fires are still a distraction that has to have crew tasked to take care of it quickly.

>>5991218
I think QM's horror had more to do with the brutality of napalm's effects rather than the contextual legality of its use to horrifically and painfully melt THESE specific dudes.

>>5991218
>>5991221
I'm just joshin you, war crimes don't exist in Lodestar (yet). Lume is too free-spirited and profit-oriented, Voda is all about manifest destiny, Gaoth is too busy sipping the might makes right juice, and Eldingar believes that the biggest stick is the best deterrent.
Ironically, blue pirates such as yourselves are the most likely ones to agree to not use inhumane practices in a battle. Sadly, blue pirates have yet to form a collective group, and it's really just a catchall term for a loose group of people with similar ideals but no structure beyond separated crews.
Besides that, as far as violent deaths goes, people are burned to death a decent chunk of the time thanks to the proliferation of fire magic. And electrocuted to death. And suffocated. And frozen from the inside out. Frankly speaking, magic doesn't really have a gentle touch in battle most of the time. If it's any consolation though, Monsters tend to inflict just as bad shit if not worse on people.

>>5991163
>All-in on evasive maneuvers, aid Val in piloting. The skyseer can take over offense from here.

>>5991163
>All-in on evasive maneuvers, aid Val in piloting. The skyseer can take over offense from here.
>>5991232
So is Gaoth or Voda the local not!Russia?

>>5991420
>Russia
What kind of 'Russia' do you mean??
I guess the Voda, analogous to imperial orthodox Russia, what with how they conquered the east.
Gaoth seems like a proud, martial society, so they are closer to the USA imo, likely to be a cultural mishmash, 'liberal' foreign policy, probably highly economically dependent on slaves.
inb4 Voda are melanin-enhanced

Rolled 2, 6, 5, 9, 3, 3, 6, 6, 3, 10 = 53 (10d10)

>>5991169
>>5991186
>>5991293
>>5991420
All-in on evasion!
Roll me 4 dice for Ramza's assistance. If he gets any pairs, he can contribute those pairs to Val's pool.
Val's rolling the same pool as before, 8d10.
Gigas is also rolling the same as before, 4d10, to try to shoot them.

Oh, and here's the SKYSEER'S initial assault. Since they're attacking from 'stealth', they don't need to make a piloting check this round. It's purely guns blazing for them. And they have a hell of a lot of guns.

Rolled 9, 3, 2, 8, 10, 8 = 40 (6d10)

>>5991761
And for what it's worth, this is the enemy's piloting roll.

Rolled 7, 7, 7, 5 = 26 (4d10)

>>5991761

Rolled 10, 4, 2, 3, 9, 7, 5, 7 = 47 (8d10)

>>5991761

File: e42.png (200 KB, 356x256)

200 KB PNG

>>5991786
>>5991787

Rolled 4, 7, 4, 6 = 21 (4d10)

>>5991761

>>5991761
So, uh. Same Gigas roll as before, maybe they lose another cannon on the port side. But I’m seeing 5 rolls of 7 against 3 of 3 (can on) and a pair of 8 (pilot).

There’s something magical in this boat, isn’t there? Everyone laughs at the idea of using the little ultralight as a proper ship, but slot a crystal into it and suddenly the space-based runic array that no one bothered checking for kicks on to make the ship’s profile smaller and balance its gravity during hard maneuvers. Is that it?

File: 6571475409d1a62f7ecf7f730(...).jpg (33 KB, 700x458)

33 KB JPG

>>5991163
About the QM curse...
Feel free to use the thread as your personal blog if advice or a good ear from strangers could help you.
You can also tell me to fuck off like the faggot I am, if it makes you feel better.

But I swear there's something out there aiming for the QM of this board.

>>5992482
It's baffling to me how the QM curse is on a per-thread basis. I always thought it was a per-quest basis. Like something that hits you when you first start a new quest, but chills out after that.
We need to study this curse. Learn everything there is to learn about it. Harness it against our enemies. Empower ourselves with the curse energy.

>>5992545
my brother in arenji it is a per-post basis, a sisyphean task like all creative works

>>5992545
I dunno. It feels similar to harnessing hell for clean energy, or transforming into a demon for a power buff, or hitting yourself with radiation to get superpowers. The protag in Curse Carrier got nifty powers out of his curse, but he’s clearly an aberration.

If you learned to harness the QM curse, it’d probably end with us anons banding together at some point to prevent you from erasing quests from the timeline somehow.

>>5992578
I always DID have a dream to become the final boss...

>>5991786
>>5991787
>>5992390
>>5992482
>>5992546
"All hands on the wheel, Mr. Lasombra! I'm going to handle the rest of the instruments for now, we're going to want to pull out all the stops to avoid counterfire now that they're aware the jig is up." You order, unhooking yourself from the railing to move yourself over beside the helm and re-hook yourself in place. "Gigas, take another shot as soon as you have one."

With the various brass levers in hand that control elevation and braking, you work in tandem with Val to stay firmly in the 'blind spots' of the enemy ship, where they can't fire upon you without moving cannons to a different location. And they do indeed try to do so, members of the deck crew wheeling their heavy Basilisk cannons about and clearly growing frustrated when you move out of position again. Their pilot is faring no better, the larger ship having virtually no luck with trying to maneuver into a better spot to counterattack you with - not for lack of trying, but because of the alarmingly effective teamwork between you and Val and your much lighter and faster ship.

You hear the Skyseer before you actually see it, a symphony of explosions ringing out and sending a salvo of whistling cannonballs flying towards the black pirates. Their mast is obscured in a sudden cloud of splinters and debris as a direct hit on their sails instantly cripples their ability to get away, followed immediately by a second set bursting through the side of their ship - you can't see exactly where it hit, but you'll get confirmation soon enough.

Gigas finally takes another shot, mysteriously replicating his previous efforts by spearing another cannon - one of the Basilisks on the deck, in fact - and rendering it out of commission.

"Portside weapons are completely down, and our prey is dead in the water. Now watch, and listen - this is where they get desperate. I shall handle this." Jaghatai's voice rings out from your communistone, and you sigh in relief as you step back from the controls to hand them fully back over to Val for now.

"Take us to port side then, Mr. Lasombra. It should be safe there." You say, clapping him on the shoulder. "We make an excellent team at the helm, I must say."

"Indeed we do. It bodes well." Val replies.

+1 Sailing for Ramza and Val!

You see several of the lesser sails being retracted, a white flag being hoisted up soon after on the pirate ship. A wide-range message pulses out from it soon after, the familiar voice of the man that taunted you before now sounding much less sure and far more stressed. "We surrender to you! You are clearly a superior force, and we have no wish to die. I ask for mercy for myself and my crew. We did not know that we were dealing with Gaoth when we attacked your friend, and we would never do anything to insult the Gaoth, I assure you."

"I had hoped that you would put up at least a bit of a fight once the Skyseer got involved. How...disappointing." Jaghatai's voice responds, sighing out. "Captain Lore, this is Captain Jaghatai of Gaoth. Prepare for boarding. Talks of peace must be done face to face. Should you or any of your men bear any arms on their persons when we step foot upon your ship, they will be executed without hesitation. I hope you understand."

"I understand completely." The Raven's voice says, a quiver to his voice. You think you detect a hint of anger in it, alongside the fear and panic. It must be a sharp hit to his pride to be outsmarted so easily.

The skyseer drifts ever closer to the other ship, eventually swinging a trio of massive hooks down that bite deeply into the wooden deck. A sturdy-looking roll of chain flooring unwinds itself down the length of the poles said hooks were attached to, forming a quick and difficult to break boarding ramp for the Gaoth. The same soldiers that greeted you before begin marching down the ramp, with Jaghatai himself slowly and deliberately walking down last to look as intimidating as possible. You note that he keeps one hand rested on the hilt of his blade, his guard clearly up.

Val brings you in on the opposite end of the ship, and Gigas is quick to deploy your much-more-disappointing wooden ramp to help you all board easily. You and Gigas step down, with you giving Val a nod as you depart so that he knows to stay aboard the Gleamrunner and protect it - just in case. You push past the cowed members of the Raven's crew, approaching Jaghatai and offering a hand out to him.

"I'd like to thank you for your help. With the difference in firepower, I wasn't sure that we'd have been able to take out Lore by ourselves." You say, as he takes a FIRM grip on your hand. You do your best not to let the pain from your bones being crushed show.

"Think nothing of it, my friend. It was our duty - we should be the ones thanking you for your role in aiding us. You served as a fine distraction. I've not seen a ship maneuvering so swiftly in quite a while. It was like watching a dragonfly pursue its prey, moving however it pleases throughout the sky...mesmerizing." Jaghatai replies, before casting his gaze across the defeated crewmen. "It's sickening, isn't it? To think that dogs like this wear the flesh of man. They don't even have the dignity to die with honor, fighting to the last."

"They were quite overwhelmed." You say with a shrug. "Outmatched on all fronts, and crippled before they knew any better. What we did to them hardly feels sporting, really."

"Indeed. What is that saying? Like shooting fish in a barrel, indeed..." Jaghatai says, growing quiet for a few moments, before speaking up once more with a shout. "Captain Lore! Please present yourself."

A man walks into view, breaking through the crowd of captured men. He's about six feet tall, and has an eyepatch covering one eye, but otherwise looks completely unremarkable as far as you're concerned. Jaghatai sighs, and in one fluid motion he's drawn his sword and decapitated the man that stepped forward. The severed head looks on in shock as it and the body swiftly start to dissolve into mana, and the crowd gasps in surprise and outrage.

"You had your chance, Captain, to resolve this with dignity! I am not a man to play games. You have insulted me by sending another to take your place." Jaghatai yells, before raising his free hand up and holding two gauntleted fingers out. "Purge the ship."

The soldiers all around you immediately jump into action, spears and blades of all sorts striking out indiscriminately at members of the crowd. Some panic, some try to fight back, and some try to flee deeper into the ship - but it's clear that the soldiers are experienced in this, as their prey all find their routes cut off, and with all of their weapons off their persons they fare exceptionally poorly against the well-armed-and-armored Gaoth.

It's a gruesome, barbaric, and stomach-wrenching sight to see a crew of at least fifty men being slaughtered down to the last. You hear sobbing, you hear pleading, you hear swearing, you hear it and bear witness to all of it. It makes you want to retch, because while you've participated in your fair share of killings and raids on enemy pirates, you've never born witness to brutality of this level. It was disturbingly efficient, like farmers slaughtering their livestock. Just another day's work to the soldiers doing it.

In less than ten minutes, the ship is empty of inhabitants other than your own crew and the Skyseer's. Empty clothes litter the ground, and the stench of blood is starting to slowly dissipate as a steady stream of blue droplets drift up towards the core. Despite the somber mood it puts you in, Jaghatai seems happier than ever, spreading his arms wide and to the sky.

"Wonderful, is it not? To see the will of Gaoth enforced so tangibly...to prune the weak of mind, spirit, and body from our world. We are blessed to carry on his legacy." The raidship captain exclaims, conviction oozing with every word.

"How did you know it wasn't the real one?" Gigas asks, looking less disturbed than you feel, but still a little uneasy.

"Ah, it was simple. He had gunpowder residue on his clothes in a pattern that only a cannoneer would have. And even if it were the real one...we would have purged this ship regardless. Letting them think that peace was an option was the easiest way to get them to...deliver themselves, so to speak, to our judgement."

File: waxf-rupert-dandridge.jpg (136 KB, 1000x1400)

136 KB JPG

"Isn't that a little dishonorable?" Gigas seems confused. Your eye twitches at the sensitive question.

"Of course not. They proved their weakness over and over, and they were parasites by nature. Honor is only fit for men, not vermin." Jaghatai shakes his head. "You have much to learn, it seems."

"So it seems. Are you sure you got him though? What's he look like, anyways?" Gigas scrunches his brows up as he tries to imagine what Lore could have looked like.

"Let me see." You say, pulling out your bounty book and flipping through the pages. Eventually, you come across an image of a scruffy-haired man with a scar across his face and an overall devious seeming demeanor. You flip the book around to show it to everyone. "This guy. I think I saw him hanging out in the middle of the left flanks."

"I can confirm the kill, sir!" One soldier says, saluting his captain. "He had hidden weapons still on his person, so squad three focused efforts in the initial assault. No injuries sustained."

"Well done. Squad three gets extra rations for the month, on me." Jaghatai chuckles, clapping his metal-clad hands together. "Well! That's a rat's den cleared out, what do you say we celebrate? Unless you have pressing matters to attend to, of course. Ah, and there's also the matter of contribution rewards to discuss..."

>Decline his invitation to celebrate. You don't feel much in the mood for it after witnessing a slaughter.
>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.

And...

>Stake a claim on Lore's ship. It's a proper midweight, and your engineers can probably fix it up enough to bring it home.
>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.
>Negotiate for something else... (What? Weapons, crew, loot but not ships?)

>>5993860
>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.
Weekend at Jaghatai's
>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.
+ask about Gaoth history/historians

>>5993860
>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.

>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.

I say we flip it for a high end midweight. Can we get the bounty since we were nearby when the enemy captain died?

>see very profitable to work with us! Hopefully the next ones fight a bit harder next time. Tell him about the countess and if he'd let you take squad three for a fun in town adventure. As "our crew" so we can slip them into three-piece. We'll raid the countess and split the loot. Since she's a mutual enemy.

Maybe we can capture her and keep her as ramzas concubine.

>>5993860

>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.
>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.

>>5993860
Eurgh. Even so...
>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.
Gotta' keep these freaks on-side.

>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.
Eldingarian tech! And technicians who like us.

>>5993860
>Accept the invitation, in hopes that it'll lift your mood. You could use a bit of cheer after that.
Could use more info on Gaoth anyway.

>Stake a claim on the Eldingarian's crashed ship nearby. You're sure they would appreciate having their vessel and belongings back on hand, even if it's not all that combat capable.
Should be easy to argue for, it’s not a combat ship (yet) and we know the original owners.
>Argue for keeping the cannons you pulled off. While your sailing was masterful, it’s clear this ship needs more punch.
Another one that should be easy to argue for. Jaghatai should appreciate the desire for us to be more lethal, and a couple cannons may be all we need for a ship of this size.

>>5993989
>>5994140
>>5994182
>>5994247
>>5994698
We're going to party like it's 1999, and make sure the Gaoth know that we're calling dibs on Aito's ship. Finally writing!

>>5993989
>>5994140
>>5994182
>>5994247
>>5994698
So anyways, now that I'm done being interrupted every single time I sit down to write...

--------------------------------------------------------

"Well, you took down Lore's men and did the bulk of the work on his ship, so by all means you should take it." You say, rubbing your chin thoughtfully. "That being said, there's a crashed ship nearby that belongs to my newest engineers. Bastard attacked it a day or two ago. I'd like to stake a claim on that, if possible."

"By all means. Reclaim what belongs to your people, I wouldn't deny you that." He replies, clapping you on the shoulder.

"Fantastic! And can I keep the cannons we harpooned? We could use a bit of extra firepower, as you can probably tell." You add on.

"Well, if that is your wish, then I shall grant you two cannons as compensation for your efforts. As I said, the other ship belongs to your people - it is not something I can award, as it is already your property. I'll have my men load two of the Basilisks from lore's ship onto yours - ones that weren't damaged. A sign of my gratitude, for ensuring we wouldn't have to make any repairs on the Skyseer today." Jaghatai says with a chuckle, shaking you a bit.

"Quite gracious of you. Now, business aside, I think I'll take you up on that offer. I always wanted to see how the Gaoth party." You reply, rubbing your hands together in a show of eagerness. Hopefully faking such excitement will help to quell the pit of dread in your gut.

"Then we may as well start immediately." Jaghatai says, wandering over to one of the numerous communistones built into the various consoles and placing his hand on it. When he speaks up, random stones built into the walls of the ship all throughout the ship begin to replicate his voice, an internal system rather than an outbound one...rather clever, in your opinion. "Gentlemen, with today's victory, we shall celebrate with our guests down in the recreation center. Those on active shift are relieved of duties for the day, and those on reserve will process our catch and maintain alertness."

"Hell of a lot of crew here, to be able to throw a party and still complete all your duties." You comment.

Jaghatai removes his hand from the stone, nodding towards you. "Indeed. It is rather unfortunate that we cannot be more relaxed, but as it is we're uninvited guests in enemy territory, so some staffing is always going to be necessary. Indeed, I'm afraid I won't be able to join you in the festivities, as I'll be overseeing things from the bridge as is my duty."

"A grim look into Ramza's future." Val remarks, and you can hear the smirk in his voice.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" You frown over at your gunslinger.

"You always say how you'll be the next great pirate king, right?" Val asks, and you note that Jaghatai's head tilts curiously. "Well, that comes with a lot of responsibilities. Like overseeing your men when you could be partying. You're not going to have nearly as much free time as you do now. Especially if you have an entire fleet to take care of."

"Uh..." You start to sweat a little. That...wasn't included in your dream. "I mean, I can always delegate to trustworthy and honest men. Like you! One man can't handle an entire fleet alone, so that's why we structure ourselves."

"If I'm overseeing the fleet for you, why don't I just become the pirate king instead?" Val suggests. "Maybe I'll overthrow you after you do all the hard work of assembling the fleet to begin with."

"That sounds like something only a mutinous dog would do, Mr. Lasombra. You're not a mutinous dog, are you?" You raise an eyebrow at him suspiciously.

"No. My ambitions lie elsewhere anyways, and being a pirate king would be too big a distraction when it comes to my goals. But it's the kind of problem you should think about sooner than later." He says, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Man's got a point. I'm no historian, but I believe I do recall Gaoth facing similar troubles when he was starting out. More than one attempted mutiny pecked away at his authority before he solidified his rule." Jaghatai speak up. "I look forward to seeing how far you go in your goals, Captain Valentine. Should you truly become recognized as the next great Pirate King someday, all of Gaoth would surely support you. I, at the least, would. Now then...if you would, follow Tseren to reach the recreation center." He gestures over to the pilot that Val was talking to.

"Your will be done, Captain." Tseren stands up from his post and gives Jaghatai a firm salute, before gesturing to the three of you to follow as he heads towards the door.

You follow him down into the ship itself, through ladders and doorways that seem like they COULD be cramped for people of Gigas's size, but for normal people like you are downright spacious compared to similar spaces on other ships. The route to the recreation hall is surprisingly mazelike, requiring you to go further down than expected and then climb back up until you're legitimately lost within the internal structure of the large ship. Tseren explains to you on the way that it's intentional, to skew things in the favor of the defenders should they ever be boarded.

Once you arrive at the center itself, you note that it's a fairly large and spacious area with plenty of kegs strapped securely against the walls. Tables and chairs are bolted directly to the floor, with a few Games Tables replacing the standard fare ones. One of the walls has a collection of handaxes sunken into a wood-lined surface that's been painted with rings of different colors, and not too far from that is a completely empty section that's been lined off with rope for some reason.

As men filter in from various doorways, you turn to Tseren. "So, what can I expect?" You ask curiously.

"I'm unsure how you Lumeans party, but it'll be a fairly standard affair for us. Plenty of drinking contests," He points to the kegs. "Carrom," He points to the games tables. "Axe throwing," He gestures to the wooden target wall. "And fighting." He finally gestures to the roped-off section.

"I was wondering what was up with that space. Are there rules or a specific fighting style they expect you to use for it?" You ask.

"Only one rule, everything else is on the table as long as the participants agree. No striking at another's manhood." He gestures to his crotch.

"I firmly agree with that rule." You nod your head rapidly, cringing internally as you imagine how painful it'd be for someone like Gigas to obliterate the family jewels. "No good can come from sterilizing another man like that."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuaJLHK_LQ

Your attention shifts to one of the soldiers sitting by himself, holding a peculiar instrument of a form and function you'd not seen before. It had strings like a viol, keys like a clavichord, and a wheel that spun under some of the strings as directed by a crank. A slight flow of mana was leaking from the soldier's hands and into the instrument itself, runes etched into its surface alighting with a steady blue glow as he plays. The music seems to take on an amplified property, notes standing out clearly among the incoherency of a hundred and fifty men's chattering. An extra pulse of mana sees it begin to replicate certain notes that were already played as the skilled musician moves on to play additional notes overlaying it, allowing him to perform a piece that would seem impossible for one instrument alone.

The activity begins in earnest as the song goes on. Two men have already climbed within the arena and have started slugging it out with one another with massive grins on their faces, while a rhythmic thud of axes sinking into wood can be heard as people try to beat one another's accuracy. The kegs by far have the most amount of people surrounding them as they each seem to be enrolled in a collective competition with one another to see who can inhale the most spirits the quickest, and the games tables are actually on the quieter side as more reserved individuals partake in tame skill-based contests against each other.

Tseren himself heads off to a Carrom table, leaving the three of you be, though you think you do see Aito at the tables already. Val shrugs and moves over to where the axe throwers are, while Gigas looks terribly torn between joining the drinking or joining the fighting. You know exactly where you'll go, though, and that's -

>The drinks. Only a fool would turn down free drinks! And you have plenty about today that you want to forget.
>The game tables. You're interested in this 'Carrom', whatever it is. Maybe you can make a bit of gold tonight, if you're lucky.
>The axe throwing. Your aim is notoriously terrible, so it should be a fun time for all. Maybe you could improve with some practice, too.
>The fighting arena. You might regret it, but there's got to be SOMETHING fun about it if the Gaoth partake in it often enough to have its own space in the rec area.
>Write-in a different potential activity?

>>5998587
>>The game tables. You're interested in this 'Carrom', whatever it is. Maybe you can make a bit of gold tonight, if you're lucky.

>>5998587
>The game tables. You're interested in this 'Carrom', whatever it is. Maybe you can make a bit of gold tonight, if you're lucky.

>Tell gigas that those fighters in the ring seem stronger than him.... kek

>cheekily tell Val that he's good with guns but is he good with his hands? Imply dangerous love men that are good with their hands. *wink*

>>5998587
>Point out the instrument to Val. It seems like his Recast spell, and if it can be transcribed to runes it could be applied to other things. Like a cannon. Sails. Pistols. Bullets. We’ll never make sense of it, but he might.
Who wouldn’t want automatic weaponry or an auto-renewing Slipstream? I assume it loses efficiency over time but if it can last even two extra uses that’s likely to cover a short engagement to let you focus on other things.

>The game tables. You're interested in this 'Carrom', whatever it is. Maybe you can make a bit of gold tonight, if you're lucky.

>Tell Gigas to have fun fighting. How often does he get to fight people his size?

>>5998578
Oh, and the secret to not getting interrupted when you sit down to write is get a standing writing desk. If you never sit down they can’t get you!

>>5998582
A hurdygurdy? Truly, Gaoth is a land of culture!

>>5998587
>The drinks. Only a fool would turn down free drinks! And you have plenty about today that you want to forget.
>Tell Gigas to have fun fighting. How often does he get to fight people his size?

Let's not make Val work while we all play, though, huh, >>5998689?

>>5998706
I can get behind that. I’d suggest Val keep in mind who the instrument player is then in case we get too drunk to remember what he looks like. There’s always tomorrow.

>>5998587
>The axe throwing. Your aim is notoriously terrible, so it should be a fun time for all. Maybe you could improve with some practice, too.
Best to play with blades BEFORE drinking too much

>>5998634
>>5998638
>>5998689
>>5998706
>>5999371
"Go have some fun fighting, big guy. It's not every day you get to fight people that are just as big as you." You tell Gigas, slapping him on the back. "You can dull the pain afterwards with that booze you're eyeing."

"Ohhh! That makes a lot of sense! Thanks, Captain. I'll go show them just why Gigas never loses!" Your musclebound friend exclaims, punching his fists together a few times as he stalks off towards the arena with a wide predatory grin.

You shake your head as you watch him go, and make your way over to the Carrom tables after a bit of thought yourself. It strikes you as an oddity among all the activities around here, more of a thinking man's activity than anything else. You hover around the table that Aito and Tseren are at, watching the current game with a bit of curiosity - it seems that there are holes at the corners of the table and a multitude of pieces of five separate colors, with but a single piece being brilliant gold while the others are divided evenly between red, blue, and purple. A slightly larger and thicker piece stands out from the others, being a bright green with the symbol of the Gaoth carved into it. Small runic designs are etched into the edges of the board near where each person is sitting, and a more stylistic design rests in the center of the board itself.

Tseren's turn seemingly comes up, and he leans forward to position one of his hands near the golden piece while the other hand rests on the string of runes near him. A slight flow of mana flows from him into the table, his runes lighting up as you raise your eyebrows, unsure of their purpose with no outward signs of what it's doing. He flicks the green piece towards the gold piece, it gliding across the surface with surprising smoothness and sending the other piece sailing towards one of the pockets where it lands - and the golden piece continues in a new direction to strike one of the blue pieces next, repeating the same process of pocketing a piece all in the same move.

"The core is claimed, and I have reached the point threshold. Carrom is mine." Tseren proclaims, to the chagrin of Aito and the other man playing with him.

"You spend too much time playing, brother. You could at least handicap yourself with a drink first!" The unnamed soldier complains jovially, as he helps to gather all the pieces back up and place them in the center of the board.

"You make it sound like that would change the outcome." Tseren fires back, a smirk on his face as he places the green piece in the very center of the array.

"Bah. I'll be the one getting drunk, then, since you won't." He waves the pilot off, getting up from his seat and stomping off to drown his loss in swill. You take the opportunity to take his seat instead of just hovering around nearby, the others glancing to you now.

File: Carrom Break.gif (1.76 MB, 400x300)

1.76 MB GIF

"Ah, Captain Valentine. I did not expect you to be interested in such a boring game." Tseren comments, though his expression shows no sign of surprise.

"It didn't look all that boring. More engaging than cards, at least." You reply, glancing back to the board itself.

"Most of my comrades would disagree, though I wouldn't. It's a game of skill that can take years to truly master, but it's a subtle display of skill that sees many scorn it. They prefer more physical things." He says, placing the golden piece on a rounded section that seems designated for it. "Would you like to play? The premise is quite simple. You are given a nation to vanquish based on the first unclaimed color you sink, and pocket those colors by flicking the striker at them from your strike zone. The core affords you more points than others when you claim it, but you must sink one of your nation's pieces immediately after, in the same turn or the one after, or it is returned to the center. Once someone reaches 25 points, you declare your victory over Carrom."

"Seems pretty interesting. Sure, I'll play. What about the runes, what does that do?" You ask, examining them curiously and tracing the ones near you with your fingers.

"Ah, they allow you to adjust how strong the layer of wind under the pieces is, for more or less friction with the board. It is part of the skill involved, not that most meatheads would understand such. Mastering the flick is only mastering one component of the game." He says, gesturing to the board while he lets a touch of his mana flow into the runes. You touch it, and can indeed feel the strange flow of air forming a tiny barrier on the surface. Bizarre.

"Interesting! Physical and mental skills combined into one game. I'm liking this idea more and more...almost reminds me of using a mageblade." You comment. "Alright, let's do this then. How do we start?"

He maintains the flow of mana into the runes on his side and leans forward, flicking the striker from his zone and causing it to smack into the collection of pieces and send them scattering every which way across the board. Only one piece goes into a pocket, a purple one.

"Terrible break." Aito comments, shaking his head. "Getting stuck with Eldingar isn't great either. Those pieces are heavier than the others."

"There's a lot of layers to this, huh? I'll just have to pick it up as we go." You comment, leaning over to grab the striker and place it in your own strike zone now.

>Roll 5d10 for Ramza's skill at this game! Normally it would be a pool of 7d10, but he has a 2 dice malus from being entirely unfamiliar with this foreigner's game...for now!

Rolled 6, 4, 4, 7, 3 = 24 (5d10)

>>6000200

Rolled 9, 2, 3, 5 = 19 (4d10)

>>6000262
Not bad, not bad. Let's see how Aito does.

Rolled 9, 8, 8, 2, 4, 7, 4, 1 = 43 (8d10)

>>6000587
And the real challenger here, Tseren.

>>6000589
About as good as we should have hoped. Looks like we notched some respectable gains compared to Aito and were simply outclassed by Tseren by the end.

Sorry for the lack of update! I've been busy making sure today, Mother's Day, goes well. And so far it has! Make sure you at least call your mom if you can, anons.

>>5998634
>>5998638
>>5998689
>>5998706
>>5999371
You begin to pour a trickle of mana into the runes next to you, trying to gauge just how much you're putting into it. It's a tricky thing, with no real way to measure it beyond just feeling it out when it comes to such a miniscule quantity. You can tell that it's an inexperienced output by the way the pieces slightly wobble even while just sitting there, so you take a deep breathe and try to steady it just long enough for you to take your shot. You reach over with your free hand and flick the striker, aiming towards a generous grouping.

It flies forward and smashes into them, knocking half a dozen pieces of various colors around, the board becoming a flurry of activity for a brief time. Only one piece makes it into a hole, a red one representing Lume. Auspicious, or ominous? You mentally scoff at yourself for momentarily overthinking a silly game, and pass the striker across the table to Aito.

"Lume's pieces are the lightest, for better and worse." Aito comments for your sake, lining up a shot. He sticks his tongue out as he focuses on aiming, but you can tell that he's too focused on that, his control over his mana output sputtering without his notice. He flicks the striker, and sends it tumbling over itself as the wind barrier jostles it about and sends it entirely off-course. He ends up hitting nothing at all.

"And you said my break was terrible." Tseren chuckles, reaching over to seize the striker again. "I take it that you're not a natural talent with magic?"

"Agh...yes, that's true. There is a reason I got into engineering at a young age." Aito says, crossing his arms as he watches Tseren line up a shot. "Machinery can do things far more precisely than we can. I can't weave a spell into existence to save my life, but I don't need to if I can make something that can do it more efficiently than anyone alive can match. It helps that I've always had a knack for it."

Tseren takes the shot and banks it off the back wall, striking a purple piece from behind and sinking it. He takes the striker back to his strike zone and repeats the same process two more times, before finally failing to sink a piece. "Many believe that a reliance on Eldingarian Wonders will make one weak. But I believe that a strong man with strong equipment makes for a superior warrior."

"There's no reason not to use every advantage available to you." You comment, lining up another shot. An easy score, then a miserable failure as a red piece stops just a hair's width away from the hole. Damn it, now you're trailing behind. "But it's true that if you always rely on something that makes things easier, you won't be able to compare to someone that got to the same level with worse equipment. On a level playing field, the latter individual will always win. Besides, I think it's best to keep your good stuff in reserve and not play your hand too early."

"Wise words from a young man." Aito commends, taking another shot. He actually manages to get one, but also pockets one of your pieces in the process. "Damned! It's been twenty years since I actually played, give me a break."

"Sorry, old man. I don't believe in playing with handicaps." Tseren replies as he takes the striker once more. "That being said...I can see the logic in your words, captain. You made mention of using a mageblade earlier, did you not? Have you ever considered resistance training with it?"

"I haven't. What's that?" You quirk an eyebrow.

"The few who use it in our nation are prone to it. They modify a spare blade so that it resists their mana rather than flows with it. They must fight the blade in order to activate and maintain it. In doing so, they sharpen their will and focus to a keener edge. Their combat-ready blade flows as water instead of sap thanks to this training. They cut through steel as easily as lard. It is a magnificent sight, rare as it may be." He says, going quiet when he finally takes his shot. Two banked in one shot, but the second shot only moves the Core into a new position. Lining up for his next turn, perhaps?

"Hm...I'll look into it. It sounds pretty worthwhile. I don't suppose there's any magebladers aboard this ship?" You ask, hopeful.

"I'm afraid not. It's primarily a feminine practice, owing to their predilection towards mana." He shoots your hopes and dreams down. It's looking more and more worthwhile to find some Gaoth women, and not just to see what they look like under their- "It's your turn, by the way." He snaps you out of a moment of daydreaming.

"Oh, right." You frown, grabbing your striker. You don't have a good shot on anything in particular save for the one hanging on the edge, so you shoot for it...and send it in! The striker goes right in after it, and Aito tsks loudly.

"Foul. That means I can do this!" Aito says, fishing the striker out and placing it riiiight up against a blue piece, well outside of his strike zone. He flicks it, and finally gets a point! He places a hand on his hip and laughs haughtily for a second, before grabbing the striker and going for a second shot...that he flubs. "Rigged."

"Hardly." Tseren doesn't even hesitate this time, knowing exactly what he wants to do. Just a second after he places the striker down, he flicks it towards the Core, with the striker bouncing off the edge of it and sending it into one of the corner pockets. He places the striker back in its place and takes his second shot, sinking yet another Eldingarian piece. "I claim Carrom."

"God damn. Alright, I think I'm starting to get the hang of this." You rub your chin, considering your odds of winning if you play a few more games. Tseren is obviously skilled, but you're quickly starting to understand what it takes to moderate your mana and aim at the same time. Maybe, just maybe, you can start to apply some of your mageblading knowledge to this as well. Or maybe it's just a big waste of time and you should go do something else for now...it's not like Carrom is the only thing to do here.

>Keep playing Carrom, and put some money on the table to up the ante. (How much?)
>Head over to the life of the party and get drunk with the boys.
>Go throw some axes haphazardly at the wall. It looks like fun!
>Join the fighting over at the roped-off arena. Maybe you can see Gigas fight, too.
>Approach that musician that's playing the odd instrument.
>Something else?

>>6004272
>Keep playing Carrom, and put some money on the table to up the ante. (How much?)
I liked the mageblade insight, so I'm ready to keep going on that game.

>>6004272
>Approach that musician that's playing the odd instrument.
Ramza trying to play an instrument will be a laugh. He wouldn’t need to, but it’s the best way to understand how it works!

>>6004272
>Go throw some axes haphazardly at the wall. It looks like fun!
huck some steel

>>6004272
>Keep playing Carrom, and put some money on the table to up the ante. (How much?)
Not sure how much money we have, and I'm on mobile. Let's start small? I doubt Gaoth respects profligate gambling on their elite military vessels.

>>6004290
>>6004426
>>6004553
>>6004875
More board games, alright! I'll simplify things a little for you lads.
You have 8,150 gold in your pocket.
>Bet 0, you just want to keep playing for the fun of it.
>Bet 150.
>Bet 500.
>Bet 1,000.
>Bet 5, 000.
>Fuck it, all or nothing.

>>6005452
>Bet 150.

>>6005452
>Bet 1,000.

>>6005452
>Bet 1,000.

>>6005454
>>6005516
>>6005680
Good enough for me, let's drop a grand on some betting.
Roll 6d10 for me this time, with your malus being reduced to 1 thanks to having played a warm-up game!
I'll let a different anon roll for Tseren and his pool of 8d10.
It's too rich for Aito's blood.

Rolled 6, 6, 9, 9, 1, 7 = 38 (6d10)

>>6006146

Rolled 10, 6, 6, 2, 8, 3, 9, 10 = 54 (8d10)

>>6006146
Guess I’ll do Tseren then.

>>6006146
>>6006164
Not sure how I feel about beating ourself. But we apparently gave Tseren a fight hard enough that he had to play perfectly.

>>6004290
>>6004426
>>6004553
>>6004875
>>6005454
>>6006164
"How about we make the next game a little more interesting?" You ask with a sly grin, pulling out your gold pouch and placing it on the table. "What do you say? I'm thinking of starting the bet at, I dunno, a grand maybe."

"Too rich for my blood!" Aito says, standing up. "Good luck, my friend."

"I accept." Tseren says, pulling out his own sack of gold. The two of you take a moment to count out a thousand pieces from your respective collections, placing them together in a pile off to the side for now. "With two players, the rules are largly the same, but the third color gives points to either player that sinks them as long as they sink one of their own afterwards. This variant has Voda representing subcores instead. It's your break." He slides the striker over to you and begins to assemble everything back in the center.

Once everything is ready, it's up to you to kick the game off. With the striker appropriately positioned, you flick it as hard as you can to really send them scattering, making sure to moderate your flow of mana appropriately. The green piece slams into the pile and smashes the cohesive unit apart, pieces flying every which way and two red pieces sinking at roughly the same time luckily. You pump a fist joyously, before passing the striker over to your opponent.

"An excellent start. Let's see if you can keep up that momentum..." He says, expression growing more serious.

What follows is a far better showing than either of you displayed before. You and Tseren both try to mess up each other's future shots while simultaneously sinking pieces of your own, the board slowly but surely dwindling as you play as tactically as possible. Trickshots become a necessity as everything is positioned such that direct shots would see only failure, and a tension grows as you both become unsure if you can eke out a victory against the other.

You become aware of your loss just a turn after Tseren becomes aware of his inevitable victory. He has the core set up for a goal, and while you think you have all of the Eldingar pieces blocked, he sees an opening that you don't thanks to his experience. You may be a fast learner, but you know that he has you trumped when he smirks as he lines up a shot on the core. After he sinks it, you find yourself white-knuckle gripping the edge of the table as he prepares his next move. He banks the striker off one wall, richocheting it off a second wall, taps one of YOUR pieces to bounce off it, and it gently moves one of the purple pieces slowly but surely until it softly enters the same hole that the Core fell into.

"TSHHH, DAMN!" You find yourself shouting, smacking a fist lightly against your temple in frustration. "I could swear I had you!"

"A mistake that you won't make again, I'm sure. No matter how grim things may seem, there is always a path forward. Victory is not a possibility...it is an inevitability, for those who know how to seize it." He proclaims, nodding to the pile of gold. "You fought well, and gave me a good game. For this, I shall be lenient on you. I'll take only half of what you bet, no more." He states, reaching forward to take the majority of the pile of gold. A fourth of it remains for you, and you nod gratefully at him.

"That does lessen the sting. Thanks, friend. I suppose I've learned a valuable lesson today! Maybe next time I play, I'll be able to eke out a victory against you." You pocket your five hundred gold pieces, trying not to seem irritated at losing so much money. Generosity only soothes the gambler's soul so much, and damn it, you can't help but feel cheated when you pull out all the stops and still lose! Inexperience be damned!

"Don't count on it." He says with a cocky grin of his own. "I'm the best player on this entire ship."

"Tshh..." You brush it off, looking around. Val seems to have moved over to a seat, silently watching those fighting at the arena with an analytical gaze. Gigas, now much more bruised but happy looking, is enjoying some booze with a few of the Gaoth soldiers that are loudly and poorly singing some national song around him. Aito seems to be examining one of the axes over at the throwing station, perhaps interested in their construction more than the game itself. The musician is still playing, but given how he's talking to another man with a different strange instrument in his hands - one that seems like two pieces of wood with a strange scrunched-up bag between them - he might be moving on soon.

>Head over to the life of the party and get drunk with the boys.
>Go throw some axes haphazardly at the wall. It looks like fun!
>Join the fighting over at the roped-off arena. You've got frustration to work off.
>Approach that musician that's playing the odd instrument.
>Something else?

>>6007168
>Go throw some axes haphazardly at the wall. It looks like fun!
gaoth demands fingies

>>6007168
>>Go throw some axes haphazardly at the wall. It looks like fun!

>>6007168
>Approach that musician that's playing the odd instrument
For the sake of that other anon who was interested!

>>6007168
>Approach that musician that's playing the odd instrument.
Thank you for your support, anon!

>>6007260
>>6007398
>>6007168
>I'll support you guys cause idrc and anon did ask before.

>>5998638
This is me. Idk why it is a 1 id also. >>5994140
Wow all my posts are 1 id. I don't even phonefag or vpn.
>>5989865
Also me. Hope that helps tie my votes together

>>6007175
>>6007190
>>6007260
>>6007398
>>6008563
Righto, we're going to go see what the deal is with Prince over there!
Sorry for the delayed response yet again. I have a really good excuse this time, I updated windows and spent an entire day and night unfucking it. Thankfully I didn't lose my files! Always keep a flash drive with recovery media on it, lads.

>>6008995
Lucky.

Last update bricked my whole computer.

>>6009108
Jesus christ, anon. I hope you were at least able to reinstall windows and get it working again, even if you lost your files.

>>6009129
Yeah luckily. My windows HD only 500gb while my main HD is 2tb.

So didn't lose everything but lost enough to still be butthurt. And took me like 2 weeks to get a usb with windows media from my cousin.

>>6008995
Setting things back up the way I like it took a lot longer than I thought, so uh...expect the update tomorrow, in the morning!

File: Concertina.jpg (1.36 MB, 3006x2934)

1.36 MB JPG

Not wanting to lose a potential opportunity, you try to put your frustrations aside and stand up from the gaming table. "Enjoy your games, Tseren. I'm tapping out for now." You say.

"Of course. Enjoy the rest of the party, captain. It's not often that outsiders are invited to join us in our festivities." He says, glancing off towards the revelers enjoying drinks and raising a hand up at one of them while jerking his head towards your seat. Seems like he's already lined up a replacement for you, the cocky bastard.

You stalk off in the direction of the musician, only answering Tseren by casting a wave over your shoulder without looking back at him. You're absolutely certain that it made you look just a little more mysterious and aloof, and as soon as that thought justifying it crosses your mind you internally cringe. You make a silent vow to be more careful not to pick up the habits and behaviors of your companions, knowing that it's exactly the kind of thought that would pass through Val's own head.

The music now fades into nothing, the last song of the original musician having reached its conclusion. He's facing his companion and chatting away with him, and upon your approach you catch just the tail end of that conversation, much of it muffled thanks to the rowdy voices of the nearby crowds. "- Twisted his head all the way around." You do a double take as you register what you heard, the one with the billows-like instrument turning to glance at you with a chuckle. "Oh, hey. You're that Lumean captain, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. What, uh...what were you talking about?" You ask, trying not to look too weirded out.

"Oh, just what we ended up doing in that last skirmish. Like I was saying to Parda, one of the bigger guys knocked my gun out of my hands and thought that it'd give him the edge, so I grabbed him by the head..." He starts, holding his hands up, both of which are still strapped into his instrument, and gives a twisting motion. "And snapped his neck so hard that his head went completely around. Definitely something I'm considering writing a song about. It's not every day you get a chance to do that to someone."

"Brutal. And very impressive, I don't know many men that could pull off a feat like that." You nod, with only Gigas really coming to mind. "So he's Parda, and you are...?" You prompt.

"Ah, I'm so forgetful. Sorry, brother, I'm Zarthus." He removes a hand from the strap to offer it out to you. You take it to shake it like any normal person would, but he tries to reach past your hand to grasp your forearm instead, leading to a very awkward moment where you two both flub your motions.

"Shit, sorry. I'm still trying to get used to Gaoth customs. We shake hands in Lume, you see." You correct yourself, going in for a forearm-grab now while Zarthus nods and shifts gears to try to grab your hand instead, once more resulting in a disaster of a greeting.

Parda seems to find this a riot, as he's now laughing his ass off next to you and getting redfaced in the process. Zarthus takes the opportunity to slap Parda on the back of the head, scoffing in a loud yet clearly unserious manner.

"Control yourself, man! You're going to make us look bad in front of the Lumean." Zarthus scolds him.

"Hopefully we can forget that embarrassment with a few drinks later on. I should introduce myself too, by the way - Captain Valentine. Ramza Valentine, to be specific. You can call me whatever. Now I'm going to greet you in the GAOTH way." You emphasize, going for the gesture one last time and successfully clasping forearms with Zarthus.

"Congratulations, you two have finally managed a basic greeting! I understand it in Whatever's case, but you Zarthus? For shame. You're lucky the captain doesn't send you back to training." Parda teases, elbowing Zarthus in the ribs. "Anyways, what brings you over to us humble soldiers, Whatever? Going to request a song, perhaps?"

"Perhaps. I was actually interested in a few different things, namely that instrument you were playing and the magic you were using." You admit.

"Ah, of course! This is my magnificent Ghironda. She's a beauty, isn't she, brother? Assembled by my great grandfather for my grandfather's birthday, and passed on ever since. It is a traditional instrument in our country, and I've taken to mastering it to honor my ancestors. Did you enjoy her singing voice?" He asks, proudly stroking the instrument as though it was a kind of cat.

"I did, it was really impressive. Unique, too. I've never heard anything like it." You confirm.

"I should hope so. It took quite a while to learn how to play while holding onto a spell, you know." He says, tracing the runes on the instrument with his fingers. "It begins to store copies of whatever vibrations it feels as you feed mana into it, and when you activate the final rune with a bit of extra juice it starts to replay those vibrations. The end result are notes being played over and over until you back off your mana, letting you play songs that would normally require multiple people."

"You don't have that in Lume?" Zarthus asks, curious.

"Not particularly. Our bands are focused on a variety of instruments working in harmony, rather than one instrument excelling on its own. I imagine it's cheaper to not need enchanted instruments, too." You say with a shrug.

"A different school of philosophy, then. The individual must prove their worth without relying on others masking their mistakes. At least, that's what my teacher taught me. You'll find that the replay enchantments are quite common in Gaoth instruments." Zarthus says, flipping his instrument to the side to show you a copy of the same runes that were on the Ghironda. "This is a Concerta, before you ask."

"Fascinating..." You rub your chin as you try to memorize those runes for now.

>Did you have any other questions or things you wanted to talk to them about?

>>6010150
>But Gaoth believe in teamwork in other fields, right?

>>6010150
>Would replay enchantment work on weapons?

Mageblade replaying strikes while we strike another spot.

>>6010150
>Despite your philosophy of individualism, you're playing together. Clearly there is a lot to be gained from cooperation between talented individuals.

>>6010150
>Can the repeated notes trigger a separate set of runes that repeat or start a smaller part?
For example, the runes dump some mana into a small resevoir that plays a subset of an existing replay. After three sets of replays are going, it’ll get filled up often enough to play the smaller repeat every other “part” in the music.

Along with what >>6010726 said, that’d allow us to do a more complex task like automating the broadside cannons. Release a mechanism that feeds a cannon shot in, measures out a set amount of powder from a feeder, closes everything up, ignites the mixture, then opens the cannon and starts over.

If it can’t do that well, I’m sure the engineers, Val, and our resident demon would find it an interesting problem to solve for. It should still be good enough to repeat the simpler tasks of priming a gun, giving Val the option of turning his gun into an automatic in exchange for accuracy and extra mana cost.

Though it would be nice if the recoil from the act could feed into something similar to these instruments and play the OPPOSITE vibration. Recoilless guns? Silenced cannon fire? Depends on how quickly they can make it react. In fact,
>Can the glyphs be used to cancel out any repeated notes instead? Bring silence where there should be noise.
May as well ask.

>Can we purchase one of these instruments and an example of some music? We know others who would like to learn more about the instrument, and we’d like to surprise Gigas by playing some Gaoth music during some of your parties.
Get a sample if we can.

>>6011102
Great line of thought anon. i'll support it in addition to my write-in.

QM be wary, it seem your thread might be plagued with a bad case of "engineer trying to apply a set of defined rule to pierce the most holes in the most things"

>>6010560
>>6010726
>>6010867
>>6011102
"What else do you know about these runes? Do you reckon that the replay enchantment could work on, say...weapons? Or if they could trigger a separate set of runes?" You ask them, curious about the potential applications.

Parda and Zarthus share a confused look with one another, before both of them shrug simultaneously at you.

"Sorry, brother, but runecraft is not our strong suit. We can use them, but that hardly makes us experts on their capabilities." Zarthus says with an apologetic and slightly regretful smile.

"I could at least theorize on what it could do with a weapon. It replicates vibrations, so if you had a weapon that vibrated back and forth quickly, you could layer up those vibrations to make it cut like nothing else, no? A novel idea, worth experimenting on later, I think." Parda considers it, tracing the runes on his instrument for a moment in thought. "Or a hammer that releases a deafening sound the moment it strikes someone. That'd really disorient them."

"I've been considering something to overlay previous attacks while I continue an assault, but I'm not yet sure on how to do it. It'd be one hell of a card to have up my sleeve in a fight if I can manage it someday." You admit.

"Now that sounds interesting. Like an echo of your strikes and blows...it does sound similar to Replay, but sadly not something that mere vibrations can accomplish I think. I could always be wrong though, like I said, we're no experts!" Zarthus says.

"Alright, what about...can the runes be used to cancel out repeated notes? You know, produce a counterfrequency to kind of cancel out a sound and leave silence instead." You throw out a different idea.

"N...Actually, you know what, that sounds possible. Zarthus?" Parda turns to his friend, an inquisitive look on his face. "Think we could do that?"

"I don't see why not. You'd just want to set it up beforehand, no? And figure out what to play for a counterfrequency, of course." His friend replies, the gears clearly turning in both men's heads now that you have them thinking.

"Hmm. Any chance I can purchase one of your instruments and maybe a score to play? Some of my crew would like to know more about the instrument I'm sure." You rub your hands together, eager to get your hands on one of these things.

"Ah, I wish I could offer you mine, brother...but it would shame my ancestors greatly to give up an heirloom for coin." Parda shakes his head regretfully.

"A thousand gold." Zarthus says, prompting Parda to look over at the man like he just sprouted a second head.

"Zarthus!" He says. "Didn't your sister make that for you?"

"Aye, she did. And I'll be sure to split the profits with her when I next see her." He nods confidently, a smirk on his face. "So, how about it, brother? A handcrafted Gaoth Concerta with integrated replay runes for only a thousand gold pieces. I'll package my scores and maintainance supplies with it, too. You won't find such an instrument anywhere else in Lume, I'm sure."

>Yes, you accepted and paid 1,000 gold for it.
>No, you rejected the offer on second thought.

After making your decision and concluding your business, you shifted gears back to an earlier topic that was on your mind. "So, Gaoth emphasize a philosophy of individualism, yes? Do you believe in teamwork in other fields at all?"

"Oh, of course. In matters of war, we live and fight together. Victory or failure is met as a whole. There are still plenty of times when we fight by ourselves, of course, usually when honor is on the line...but we would sadly meet little success were we to apply our individualism to the kind of battles we so often see." Parda replies. "It's best to think of it as proving one's worth as an individual, but never at the cost of one's brethren. To value your own pride over the life of a brother is, in fact, weakness. At least, that's the way I see it."

"I think I'm starting to get you guys. I'll admit, your ways do make a lot of sense, even to an outsider like me. My upbringing had me thinking of you all as little more than bloodthirsty marauders." You say.

"I do enjoy a fair bit of violence and bloodshed, this is true." Zarthus chuckles, cupping his chin. "But no, as with all people, there is more to us than what you see from the outside. We are harsh compared to others, yes, but there is a goal to this harshness. We have a unified direction, a purpose that others often lack. It adds to us, rather than diminishes. I'm sure that we are exactly as Gaoth envisioned we would be, all those centuries ago."

"Especially me. I'm definitely his favorite." Parda boasts, puffing up his chest.

"His favorite jester, perhaps." Zarthus deflates his friend's ego. "Not that he's lacking for entertainment up there in the core, I'm certain."

"I better leave before I witness fratricide." You say with a laugh. These two act like they very well may be true blood brothers. You kind of hope you'll meet them again someday, not that you can be certain if you ever will. Still, you've got what you wanted from this, and now it's time to move on you feel.

>Go and drink with everyone, let your worries fade away and enjoy the rest of the night. (Timeskip)
>Get Val and Gigas together, you're gonna have them compete against each other in the Arena to finally decide which one is going to be your First Mate.
>Do something else. (Write-in!)

>>6011208
Oh, I really wouldn't worry about trying to break anything. After all, the eventual threats you'll face may well warrant it. You will definitely have to work for it, though.

>>6011240
>Yes, but offer 800. His sister would get more money and prestige from pioneering novel forms of weapon-based rune crafting for Gaoth and he knows it. If she can’t, that just means someone else she knows can.
>Now, if his sister really does want to take the concept further, we’re amenable to meeting later to discuss research and funding. No reason we can’t bring glory to Gaoth together, and Captain Jaghatai ought to allow it.
Highway robbery, but I’m willing to pay most of it for the information alone. I’ll try and dig him a little lower since he now has the idea too and anyone interested in thinking through it would bring Glory To Gaoth. It’s important to them after all, hence the capital letters. It’s also something they’d retain an advantage with since they already have crafters experienced with thinking through these runes due to their musical tradition so even if knowledge spreads they’ll be better than (most) other nations.

>Go and drink with everyone, let your worries fade away and enjoy the rest of the night. (Timeskip)
I’m amenable to other write-ins. I don’t want a straight physical match between Val and Gigas for First Mate position though. It should go to the person who can best run the ship in our absence, and that demands more than just combat skill.

>>6011240
>Yes, you accepted and paid 1,000 gold for it.

>Go and drink with everyone, let your worries fade away and enjoy the rest of the night. (Timeskip)

>>6011240
>Yes, you accepted and paid 1,000 gold for it.
Along with some pointers and tips
>Do something else. (Write-in!)
Find the Eldingarians and tell them we've secured the remains of their ship.

>>6011240
>pay the 1k

>Timeskip

>>6011240
>>6011300
Adding >>6011454’s write-in to my vote. They’ll be ecstatic to hear that!

>>6011454
>Find the Eldingarians and give them the good news
Shit, good thinking.

>>6011240
Adding the above to >>6011309

>>6011240
>>Yes, you accepted and paid 1,000 gold for it.

>Go and drink with everyone, let your worries fade away and enjoy the rest of the night. (Timeskip)

>>6011300
>>6011309
>>6011454
>>6011457
>>6011740
"Alright, go enjoy yourself, brother. Your purchase will be aboard your ship when you go to leave, packaged and secured safely and soundly." Zarthus says with a grin, patting the gold you gave him.

After rolling your eyes at the man, you make your way over to the partygoers and do your best to push through the masses to get at the beverages that lay beyond. It's difficult, far more difficult than it would be at any other kind of party, but you're not the kind of man that would give up when free booze is on the line - you shove and squeeze your way past until you lay claim to a clean mug and start to fill it up straight from the tap.

"There you are, Cap'n!" A familiar voice calls out above the clamor around you, and you look towards the source to see that it belongs to a redfaced Gigas that's clearly had a lot to drink already. "I was wondering when you'd show up to drink with us! How about a contest?"

"As long as I'm not paying for drinks, then sure." You reply with a nod, raising your now-filled mug up in a faux toast before bringing it to your lips for a taste. More viscous than you'd expect, with notes of honey that coat your mouth and stick with you for a bit...before it starts to tingle and pop like incredibly tiny fireworks after a few seconds. "Woah, what the hell is this?"

"I asked the same thing, they call it Zephyrian Rum! Something about using Royal Jelly in it, I didn't get the full jist." Gigas shouts over the noise.

"It's good shit!" You declare, pulling the mug back up to your lips to take a deeper drink.

Within only a few minutes, you and Gigas both seem to forget entirely about any notion of a competition, just drinking to your heart's content and talking about the most inane and nonsensical things. You introduce yourself to who-knows-how-many Gaoth soldiers and you're pretty sure you either heard or told quite the funny jokes given how everyone, including yourself, ended up laughing quite a lot throughout the night. At some point you'd gone over to Aito and told him in a jumbled fashion that you secured his ship for him, and he very well may have gone out to it immediately given how you don't remember seeing him at all for the rest of the night.

Parda and Zarthus join you for your drinking at some point, and you believe Jaghatai himself might have found time to join the party later in the night given how you recall the golden gleam of his armor, but you can't remember drinking with him at all if you did - it's a shame, because you'd have liked to be able to put a face to the man beneath the helmet. You know for certain that you tried throwing axes with Gigas and Val only to end up throwing extremely wide and very nearly hit someone with it, but beyond that it's a bit of a mystery to you.

You are, of course, clutching your head as you try to recall the details of the previous night. You awoke just a couple of moments ago on your ship, drifting near the cove that Aito's ship was hidden and with the Skyseer nowhere to be seen. Your head is absolutely killing you, but unlike the usual hangover so is the rest of your body. It feels like you were keelhauled or dragged behind a horse, aches and unseen scrapes all over you. With a groan, you push yourself off the sleeping bag that count as your quarters aboard this ship, and look around to see that Gigas is still thoroughly passed out while Val is keeping watch over at the railing.

"Mr. Lasombra, you're awake! How did things go last night?"

"You got blackout drunk and accidentally threw an axe into someone's leg. Then they beat the shit out of you in the arena, but you had a drink together afterwards, so it probably went well." Val reveals.

"No wonder I feel like I've been run over by a carriage." You suck in air through your teeth, touching a tender spot on your gut and lifting up your shirt to take a look. Your entire stomach is covered in multicolored bruises ranging from dark purple to a strange green. "Any chance you could, uh, work some magic on me?"

"Of course, captain." Val says, rolling his eyes as though you wouldn't see it. Or maybe he just doesn't care if you see it. Either way, he places a hand on you and starts to channel his mana into a spell, a tingling sparking energy suffusing through your body as Energize takes form. You can feel your injuries mending themselves rapidly thanks to the accelerated healing, your stomach growling just as Val removes his hand and ends the spell.

"Ahhh, that's the stuff...damn if it doesn't make me as hungry as a lion, though. I could eat an entire gazelle." You stretch now that you're healed up, cracking some joints in the process for even more relief. "Now, where's Aito? We didn't accidentally lose track of our new engineers, did we?"

"He's down there fixing his ship, now that he has a chance to. Been at it all night, with his grandkids."

"Excellent news. Three ships already...we've got a little armada forming. Not that any of them are particularly well-equipped when it comes to weaponry yet. Oh, did-"

"Yes." Val interrupts you, gesturing over to the two cannons installed on either side of the ship now, before shifting to point over at a small collection of cannonballs in the back of the ship. "Everything's all sorted out already. Oh, and one of the soldiers left this with us, saying you purchased it...?" He says, pulling out a bag and opening it for you. It looks like it's the Concerta and all the other supplies the man said he'd include.

"Yeah, it's a traditional handmade Gaoth instrument with replay runes on it." You explain.

"That sounds...cultured. A bit odd for you, if I'm being honest." The gunslinger looks at you weirdly.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I'm cultured as fuck, Val!" You protest.

"I meant no offense, captain. It's just not something I really envisioned you doing. It's not the most elegant looking of instruments to seduce women with, after all."

You raise a finger and get ready to protest further, but you can't think of anything in that moment to actually say. You would absolutely learn how to play something just to woo a fine broad, after all. "...That's not why I bought it." Is all you manage to come up with.

"And the true reason would then be...?" Val pries.

"The runes. I've got some ideas on what we can do with them, but it'll require study. Practice. But let's set that aside for now, we've got things to do." You say, staggering your way over to the helm and placing your hand upon the communistone. "Aito, come in Aito. You get that ship running yet?"

"Captain Valentine? Yes, yes. About half an hour ago, actually! Just tuning things now. It can fly, but it's not pretty yet. Will need a lot more work back in Threespice to get all systems functional. But it's good enough to follow if we don't push it too hard." The old man's voice answers you.

"Good to hear. Get her up in the air, we're going to make our way back home now." You finish, and lift your hand from the stone. "Val, take the wheel. I'm going to kick Gigas awake and have him work on our breakfast."

"Aye aye." He replies, tilting his hat to you in a polite gesture and moving to claim the helm.

>Roll a single d100 for Luck on the way back to Threespice [again]!

In addition, you have half a day's journey of downtime due to how slow you have to go for Aito's ship to keep up. Choose a downtime activity for Ramza, Gigas, and Val!

>Read one of your books! (Which one?)
>Practice your fighting style! (Mageblades for Ramza, Firearms for Val, Unarmed for Gigas)
>Try to learn how to play the Concerta!
>Something else! (Write-in)

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>6012359

>>6012359
>Val & Ramza : Study the runes of Concerta
>Gigas : learn how to play said Concerta

I'm picturing Val doing theoretical work, Ramza practical application, and Gigas Dooting the accordion

>>6012407
I can support this. Charming scene! Maybe bring in one of our Eldingarian techs (the cute lady...?) if any of them are good with runes?

>>6012359

>>6012359
>Mageblades for Ramza, Unarmed for Gigas
>Val studies the instrument. Since he has gun knowledge.

>>6012407
+1

>>6012407
>>6012518
>>6012520
>>6012641
It's a tediously slow journey back, thanks to the fact that you're having to take things considerably slower with the injured Eldingarian vessel trailing behind you. The floating maze of ice seems to be in a relatively straightforward and open position today, no doubt in part because of the Skyseer forcing everything apart yesterday, and there's still nary a sight of any monsters within it. You have to wonder if the Gaoth cleared the fields out during their stay, and your imagination brings forth a vivid scene of cannons firing upon snarling beasts and soldiers impaling the few monsters that manage to board. Another part of you starts to wonder what kind of monsters the Gaoth deal with in their homeland, and if they're anywhere near as numerous as they are in your shattered country.

Val snaps you out of your thoughts as he speaks up from behind the wheel. "At our current pace, it'll take us at least half a day to get back. We should take shifts."

"Good idea. I'll take over the first leg of the journey then, give you a bit of a break while it's landscape I can handle." You say, heading over to seize the helm. "Do as you wish with your free time, but my recommendation would be to try to study the runes on that instrument I bought. They'll come in handy at some point, trust me."

"...Aye ye, captain." Val replies after a short delay. He motions for Gigas and grabs the bag containing the Concerta and all of its supplies, and the two of them move towards the front of the ship to start their work.

It becomes clear that Gigas swiftly becomes bored with Val's work, and as soon as Val is done copying down inscriptions of the runes you hear the sloppy work of an unskilled musician trying to play. For about an hour, Gigas seems to alternate between trying to read the sheet music and trying to play what he thinks he read, but he soon abandons the sheets entirely and just tries to do it by 'feel'. His craft begins to improve after that, no longer sounding like a sheep being strangled, but it's a far cry from anything good yet.

You're unsure of what Val's come to learn until after several hours Val approaches the helm to switch out with you. You incline your head towards him and gesture with one hand to the sheet of paper in his own. "Find anything out?"

"The only book I have references runes for water magic, so unfortunately I wasn't able to crack the base spell. Celia could probably do it, and she's the only person I know who's formally trained with runecraft. Maybe Gremory, but wind magic might be outside of their 'expertise'." He says the demon's name with clear disdain. "That being said, I did learn that runes require converting matter to a pseudocatalyst by infusing the matter with the right elemental mana."

"Hoh, so that's how they work? It makes sense, I suppose...you need the right element to cast any given spell, and raw mana won't usually do the trick." You nod thoughtfully, stepping away from the helm now that you have the chance. "I'll see if I can do anything on the practical side of things. And maybe get Gigas to stop offending our ears."

"Good luck, Captain. For all our sakes." Val says in a serious tone.

You roll your eyes at his antics and head over to Gigas, standing over the man only thanks to the fact that he's sitting down on the deck. "Alright Gigas, you and me are gonna switch it up a bit. I'll play something, you play something. Try to one-up each other. That'll be a good way to improve, I reckon."

"Sounds like a plan, boss!" Gigas beams at you, offering the instrument out to you. You gladly take it, looking down at the runes and outlining them with your fingers for a moment.

"Alright. Check it." You say, starting to 'play' the instrument but focusing far more on the runes than anything else.

You slowly pour a trickle of mana into them, trying to get a feel for how they work, doing things on instinct more than theory. You definitely get a sense of the runes reshaping the mana as it passes through it, weaving it into the form of an unfamiliar spell, but it's so exact and miniscule that you find it difficult to grasp the first go-around.

"Wow, that was like a cat being drowned!" Gigas laughs boisterously, slapping his knee. "I can definitely do way better than that. Give it here!"

"Hey, you have a few hours of practice ahead of me! Besides, I was...distracted. Yeah." You seethe, feeling your face grow red with indignation.

"We can't all be as great as the great and mighty Gigas, my friend." He boasts back, grinning as he starts to play once more.

This becomes the routine between the two of you, swapping back and forth as Gigas genuinely tries to learn how to play while you use it as an excuse to fiddle with the runes. By the time you're approaching the end of the ice-field, you've got a rudimentary idea of how the spell actually works, though you haven't yet had the chance to put it into practice without the runes. It's something, even if you don't think you can actually re-create the runes without more indepth knowledge on runecraft...or at least a longer time to study it.

"Captain, I believe I saw something." Val's voice cuts you out of your focus who-knows-how-many hours into your studies. "In the ice."

"Full alert, Gigas! I want eyes on whatever it is. Identify it and assess the threat." You order, popping upright and shooting your gaze around.

"Aye!" The big man declares, doing much the same and pulling his spyglass out.

File: True Dragon.jpg (653 KB, 2560x1408)

653 KB JPG

It's tense for about a minute as you each try to search for what Val saw, sweat dripping down your forehead and muscles tensed as you become increasingly uncertain if what he spotted was benign or a threat. You start to wonder if Val was mistaken at all when you finally see a reflection on the ice, slowly drifting forward and blending into it quite well.

You make out a long serpentine figure with uncountable scales, something you'd mistake for a gargantuan snake if not for the fact that a pair of clawed hind legs came into view. Then, through the ice itself, the creature emerges with naught more than a ripple from the otherwise solid surface - it was no reflection, but an image of what was within. A head protrudes forward, covered in thick horns and bearing a mane of gold. Just the head alone is the size of your ship, and an eye bigger than your whole body regards you lazily for a moment before it decides that you are not the prey it seeks; the creature's body begins to shift back towards the ice.

"A true dragon..." Val mutters, while Gigas seems wholly speechless.

"That...that must be why we haven't come across any monsters in here." You stare out at the creature. A thought then crosses your mind, of how valuable such a beast is. Dragonscales are some of the most sought-after materials for armor, let alone a horn or tooth from the beast, and supposedly they make for potent components in alchemy and enchantment both. The greed in you swells, a hungry desire for what a slain dragon can offer you, but that very same avarice quarrels with the idea that the dragon is ultimately a boon for the area thanks to its monster-hunting tendencies.

>Give the order, hunt the dragon. Claim the riches its body holds!
>Let the dragon pass by without interference, let a good omen stay good.
>Attempt to entice the dragon closer. Maybe you can get a part from it without a fight.
>Something else?

>>6014316
>Attempt to entice the dragon closer. Maybe you can get a part from it without a fight.
Heeeere, drakey drakey drakey....

>>6014316
>>Attempt to entice the dragon closer. Maybe you can get a part from it without a fight.

Something, something, a dragon gifting a scale to a mortal is said to bind them both in a oath by turning said mortal into a guardian.

>>6014316
>Attempt to entice the dragon closer. Maybe you can get a part from it without a fight.
Could also just search the area. Scales are likely to have been cast off around here from wounds received while hunting, assuming the dragon keeps itself “clean” by removing chipped or damaged scales while at home.

>>6014316
>Attempt to entice the dragon closer. Maybe you can get a part from it without a fight.
Connive!

>>6014396
>>6014425
>>6014507
>>6014637
Alright me hearties, roll me a 5d10! This is a Charm check, not a connive!
Oh, and two others can roll a 2d10 for Gigas and Val, respectively!

Rolled 7, 9, 4, 4, 5 = 29 (5d10)

>>6015459

Rolled 3, 3 = 6 (2d10)

>>6015459
Rolling for Val. How is he at speaking with massive beasts?

Rolled 6, 2 = 8 (2d10)

>>6015459

>>6014396
>>6014425
>>6014507
>>6014637
>>6015468
Your greed doesn't wholly win out, and you resist the urge to immediately order a hunt on the beast, but you still can't help but eye the various fortune-making components on it. A single scale from a specimen this large would secure you a whole lot of cash, after all. With this in mind, you decide do the next best thing: You'll try to entice the beast closer, taking a more amicable approach.

"Val, Gigas. Do something to get it to come closer. Just don't make it angry." You order, furrowing your brow and casting a glance around to your ship's stocks.

"Here, kitty kitty!" Gigas calls out, getting a disdainful snort from the dragon as it turns even further away. "Nooo, don't be like that, come here!"

Val, meanwhile, takes a more action-oriented approach and kicks over a barrel of preserved fish. The brine they were in spills out over the deck, but that seems to serve his plan well enough as it spreads the smell of the fish much more than it would normally. The Dragon's head whips back over towards the ship, large serpentine pupils dilating as it spots the small mound of salty fish by val, and it starts to drift back towards you.

"Have a meal, on us." You say as it brings up its gargantuan claws and grasps onto the side of the ship, keeping the gleamrunner forcefully in place while it checks out the possible meal and eyes the three of you onboard warily. "Go on, we won't hurt you." You reassure.

After a moment's hesitation, it begins to feast, its long forked tongue darting out and scooping up what would be two massive armfuls for you. It swallows the bunch without so much as chewing, and immediately goes in for another batch - which presents somewhat of a problem, as it'll be done with the entire pile in just a few seconds at this rate.

"Tasty, right? Enjoy the food." You say, slowly approaching it. You raise your hand to pat it, pausing when its eye darts over to you and it lets out a rumbling growl, warning you not to proceed further.

"That's not how you do it, Ramza. Watch this!" Gigas says, confidently striding forward and going to give it one of his infamously overly-strong pats.

You can see exactly how horribly that'll go, especially as the Dragon's lips curl up into a snarl, so you act before it can. In a flash, your mageblade is in your hand and you channel mana through it, urging it to take the shape of a whip that you immediately wrap around Gigas' legs to trip him. He falls facefirst onto the deck with a loud "Oof!", and the Dragon's sneer immediately turns into something of an amused smile.

"You definitely would get eaten if I let you do that, dumbass." You berate him, only for your attention to shift as one of the dragon's surprisingly prehensile fleshy whiskers probes the solidified mana protruding from your mageblade.

It seems curious about it, so you change the shape of it to something akin to a treebranch next. The strangely expressive beast's brows seem to raise up in surprise, and its attention shifts entirely from the food to your blade.

"𐏀𐎮𐎸 𐎡𐎤𐎠𐎱 𐎠 𐎽𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎭𐎦𐎤 𐎠𐎱𐏂" It articulates something unknown to you, seeming to be a structured language of some kind. These creatures can talk? Or can they?

"Val, can uh...can Dragons talk?" You ask, glancing over at him from the corner of your eye.

"...I have no idea." He answers after a moment of hesitation. "But a lot of beasts have some form of communication, even if it's not as detailed as human language."

The Dragon, uncaring of the conversation between you two, seems to gets its fill of examining your blade and instead furrows its brows, seeming to concentrate on something. "𐎨 𐎽𐎤𐎤 𐎭𐎮𐎼" It utters something once more, and a brilliant blue sphere of pure mana manifests just a few feet off the deck of your ship. After two heartbeats, it ripples and changes into a crude facscimile of the very fish it was just eating, and the beast snorts and allows the mana to dissipate.

It seems to grow suddenly disinterested in you and your ship, releasing the Gleamrunner from its claws and whipping back around to dart back towards the icebergs all around with a burst of speed. Just as it came out, it merges into the ice with little more than a momentary ripple on the otherwise solid surface, and quickly disappears entirely from your sight.

That's not to say it didn't leave anything behind though, as when it whipped around, a handful of strands from its extraordinarily long mane seemed to have been caught on the ship. The golden strands blow in the wind, and while you're still stuck there dumbfounded at the fact that it seemingly replicated the effects of a mageblade without an actual mageblade to use, Val and Gigas are quick to collect what was left behind before the winds sweep them away.

"Is that really possible?" You ask yourself quietly, glancing down at your mageblade - now deactivated, thanks to the fact that you lost your focus. "...Just something I'll have to try in the future, I suppose."

The rest of the trip is, for better or worse, entirely uneventful. It's a quicker journey once you're finally out of the icefields, and when you dock back at Threespice, Harrison is once more the one to greet you. He graciously gives you a free pass for Aito's damaged ship, saying that he'll just explain it as an 'emergency docking' situation to his bosses.

Aito and his grandchildren disembark from their ship and the three of them collectively bow and thank you once more for your aid, before excusing themselves to get what they need to perform some proper repairs on it. That just leaves you and your two partners now, ready to tackle the city once more.

>Finish that recruitment, you've got three ships you need to fill and barely anyone to fill it with.
>See if anyone in the markets can make something useful with Dragon Hair, or see if they want to buy it.
>Find Gremory and have her help you with your ideas surrounding Replay.
>Go and blackmail the Marquis, now that you've got some free time for it.
>Practice something, Read something, or Research something. (What?)

This'll be the last vote of the thread, like usual I'm going to take a short break and make a new thread once we hit page 10! I hope you've enjoyed the thread so far, and here are my usual questions for you lads:

What's been your favorite moment so far?
Who is your favorite character?
Do you have any theories poking around in your heads about anything?
Is there anything in particular you might want to learn more about?
Is there anything you would want me to improve upon in the quest or in my writing?

>>6016892
>Finish that recruitment, you've got three ships you need to fill and barely anyone to fill it with.
Highest priority. We can keep the dragonhair for our post-haul market-crawl, other things are more downtime friendly, but maybe start making moves soon, before we run out of time with the guard.

>What's been your favorite moment so far?
First thread had a lot of high points, salvaging the Arcadia, scoring with Aiko, Gigas' armwrestling hustle were all also really fun.
>Who is your favorite character?
All of your girls are very... likeable. The main dudes are all chads in their hearts, and my headcanon is that all 3 of them are the captain, hence the crew name. Your 'old tom' type characters are cool too. Feel bad for the slave captain, but cest la vie.
>Do you have any theories poking around in your heads about anything?
Gigas isn't Gaoth he's just Like That
Actually the Gaoth are like Gigas, because Gigas is secretly the immortal Pirate Lord Gaoth who isekai'd himself for shiggles
>Is there anything in particular you might want to learn more about?
Magitek, all kinds of weird and fascinating urban fantasy applications of so many kinds of magic. Love that shit. Maybe some spirituality if that's a thing. Also add more critters.
>Is there anything you would want me to improve upon in the quest or in my writing?
More posting, more content, but do what works.

>>6016892
Argh, every sinfgle option is appealing!

>See if anyone in the markets can make something useful with Dragon Hair, or see if they want to buy it.
>Finish that recruitment, you've got three ships you need to fill and barely anyone to fill it with.
>Find Gremory and have her help you with your ideas surrounding Replay.

In this order. Only the first one, if we can just pick one for now.

>>6016897
>What's been your favorite moment so far?
The salamander burger contest, desu. I'm a sucker for goofy character moments. Recruiting Gremory is a close second.

>Who is your favorite character?
All of them are great, but for now it's a tie between Gigas and Gremory.

>Do you have any theories poking around in your heads about anything?
The big bad is that Eldingarian tycoon, for sure. Gaoth's gonna be a problem, though.

>Is there anything in particular you might want to learn more about?
More about Eldingar, honestly, but I think that's inevitable.

>Is there anything you would want me to improve upon in the quest or in my writing?
Nah, it's all gucci.

>>6016892
>>Finish that recruitment, you've got three ships you need to fill and barely anyone to fill it with.
>>See if anyone in the markets can make something useful with Dragon Hair, or see if they want to buy it.
>>Find Gremory and have her help you with your ideas surrounding Replay.
>Practice something, Read something, or Research something. (What?)
Replay and Mageblade thanks to GETS insight for Ramza. Music for Gigas. Draconic language for Val.

>>6017404
>Support

We need crew asap and all these other things are good too.
>>6016892

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2024/5986131/
We're archived!
If things go well, the next thread could be the last one of Disc 1. I wonder which of the lands we'll go to first once Lume's arc is completed.

>>6019932
Hmm... Gaoth or Eldingar?

>>6020103
>Would rather go to the other side of the world and hit up Eldingar than visit the lands of the filthy Vodans
Based?

>>6020103
I'd say goath. We need some more bamfs in our combat team before we raid eldingar and stop that fake pillar they are making.

Great thread qm. Much fun. BTW how are you gonna do group combat when we get our crew? Also is there gonna be a crew loyalty meter?

Also qm are there slavers? It might be a good idea to raid them and free people and try to get crew that way.

>>6020339
Traditionally, I've handled group combat by having player-allied groups essentially negate certain other groups or particular threats the player characters would otherwise have to face personally. They work to free up the 'main cast' so that you can do what you need to do faster and with less complications. Coincidentally, I handle preparations in a similar way, provided that you make the RIGHT preparations. In some scenarios, if you have good preparations and you're able to bring your crew in on a mission (or if you just have a truly massive crew), you could even have a Mook Pool to fight alongside you, representing the amount of men you can afford to spare.
Crew loyalty to each member of the main cast will be measured by a certain number of RD, once you've got a good number of crewmen to command. It's more of a way to track faceless goons under your command than named characters - the named guys are fleshed out enough that I can very easily intuit their reactions to what you do and consider if they want to bail ship or not.

You've seen slavers! Stillwater was one. Or at least that was part of his job, he did other things too.

>>6020626
Thanks qm.

Anons let's wreck stillwaters slaver friends. I'm sure he was getting shipments.

>>6020339
>Willing to join psycho murderers because fiction taught him that technology is bad

>>6022109
Our votes as Ramza so far HAVE leaned towards religiosity and a distrust of secular science as it relates to the core and spires.