INTRO (please do not skip this)

◕ Fatale Albion is a Spin-Off of Lumina Canima’s “Meguca Royale”, taking place in the U.K. Three players have already been selected in the first thread, and they each will answer to their own prompts with their own characters. This Quest will have major spoilers for PMMM, so if you haven’t watched it yet and don’t want me to ruin it for you, watch it right now or else. If you still want to read and participate in this quest then I’ll have something to show you.

◕ The update format this quest has followed is ‘Updating then immediately falling to sickness for a week’. When not falling to sickness it will likely take 1-2 days to update.

◕ In the previous thread, all girls have had their Wishes come true. One has been adopted by a large and happy family named the “Imeredalas”. Another has finally been able to get a date with the one guy she’s always wanted to be her boyfriend. And the last one is a girl from the Victorian Era who has been transported to the modern day in order to survey Humanity’s progress.

◕ They are now fighting a Familiar in a Witch’s Labyrinth after a Friend-turned-Sister, a Boyfriend in the making, and a Freshly picked servant became lost in the forest that is this Witch’s Labyrinth.

OTHER STUFF

>Nigga, are you going to get sick again?

My immune system has been checked and I’m fine now. It would take a curse for me to get sick again.

>Do you know who archived the last thread?

No. I have to find out so I can thank them myself.

>Can I also join in the suffering?

Oh, sure. I believe I can accommodate two more players. (Maybe)

Just fill out this Contract Form and you can try and fit in.

Name: (The name of your character. Shameless Self-Insert or not)
Appearance: (The garish looks of your character. Clothing descriptions are also welcome.)
Quirks: (Personality traits, how they behave. Examples of how they act in specific situations are good. This space is vague intentionally, but remember: Simplicity is power and Brevity is the Soul of Wit.)
Wish: (The Wish that you made with your Incubator. Your magical ability and theme is influenced heavily by your Wish. Make sure to be careful, some wishes have unforeseen consequences.)

Our current Terrible Trinity is as follows:

Name: ф Stephanie Smith ф

Appearance: A tall and skinny girl, with a pronounced slouch. She has black hair styled in a messy ponytail, due to a lack of means to properly take care of it. Wears thick prescription glasses. Previously did not own many clothes aside from a pair of school uniforms, so her fashion sense is still catching up.

Profile: Being previously an orphan, Stephanie puts on a jaded, cynical, and self-serving exterior—aided in no small part by a rather foul vocabulary—, while in truth being quite soft and sensitive.
Though loathe to admit it, she will go to great lengths to help someone she even remotely considers a friend, and especially those she considers family. Like her current one, the Imeredalas, and her Friend-turned-sister, Megan.

Her Wish was “To have a loving family, loyal friends, and a place to belong. Maybe a pet dog. Or a cat? Both?”

Stats
>£ Physical Affinity: 12
>λ Magical Affinity: 12
>彡 Dexterity: 14
>メ Perception: 12
>⸫ Wisdom: 10
>π Intelligence: 10
>ღ Charisma: 10
>φ Mind: 14
>Ω Constitution: 14

>Abilities

Stephanie can be able to make herself, objects, and other people, adopt qualities from other matter nearby. She can make her body as hard as a steel wall and a rock as soft as a pillow. Turn her body into fire or water.
But she has to be wary of the consequences. If you turn your body into water, how will you hold something?
Stephanie can use Physical Affinity to force objects and people to gain the qualities of other objects. If the target is against the change being done, then Stephanie’s PA Vs. Target’s Con will be tested

Stephanie can manipulate similar, discrete matter. A large pile of rocks can be freely manipulated. As can water, blood, flesh, and others that your imagination can think of.

Name: 𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌

Appearance: A girl with a standard build, long, brown hair that is let down and not styled in any particular way, and many freckles. She likes to wear long dresses and otherwise modest clothes.

Profile: A shy girl that speaks with a slight stutter. Whenever she’s overwhelmed by emotions and nervousness she can barely speak a complete sentence and retreats into her mind. But strong passions lay beneath the surface that flare when needed and cause her to spring to action.

Her Wish was that "I'd really like it if Oliver was my boyfriend..."

Stats
>£ Physical Affinity: 10
>λ Magical Affinity: 14
>彡 Dexterity: 12
>メ Perception: 14
>⸫ Wisdom: 10
>π Intelligence: 10
>ღ Charisma: 12
>φ Mind: 14
>Ω Constitution: 8

>Abilities
Soul-Mate

Abigail can link her mind (and soul) to another person. When this link is established, each person knows exactly where the other is at all times, and each person can communicate past all language barriers. Including, relevantly, stuttering and mutism.
Abigail can scan the thoughts and memories of a person she is linked to with an MA check.
Abigail always has a link to Oliver that can never be broken.

This connection can be made easily if there is consent between both participants. In the event where a non-consensual connection is made, Abigail’s MA Vs. Target’s Mind will be tested.

A necessary secondary ability to make use of her primary is that Abigail knows exactly where her thoughts end and others’ begin.
She has an acute awareness for what she is thinking at all times and whether or not those thoughts are normal for her, making forceful mental manipulation impossible.
Abigail cannot be mentally influenced by Magic that does not originate from herself.

Name: Ө Viktoria Walker Ө

Appearance: A girl of somewhat short stature, with massive golden hair that cascades down her back, and what people in the modern day call a “Resting Bitch Face”. She is also blessed with bafflingly big breasts.

Profile: Being born among the Victorian Era's elite nobility, she was endowed with bafflingly high standards of personal conduct and morality. She knows nothing of the current era, but will impose her views on others regardless. She is very picky and very annoying.

Despite being a time-errant girl, she still has a good head on her shoulders when it comes to what people want and how they will behave accordingly. She can also figure out the mechanics of some modern inventions if they are simply improvements of things seen in the past.

Her Wish, stated to Kyubey, was: “Feline, send me two hundred years into the future.”

Stats
>£ Physical Affinity: 16
>λ Magical Affinity: 8
>彡 Dexterity: 10
>メ Perception: 14
>⸫ Wisdom: 14
>π Intelligence: 14
>ღ Charisma: 14
>φ Mind: 10
>Ω Constitution: 8

>Abilities

Viktoria can freely manipulate time within an area. Time can be stopped, accelerated, and rewound at any moment using a PA Check. The maximum area of this Ability only potentially covers her whole manor. (currently)


A side-effect of her time-manipulation is that Viktoria always knows exactly what time it is at all times, even through time-travel and manipulation.
Viktoria is also immune to any kind of Time Manipulation that doesn’t come from herself.
She knows exactly where she is relevant to any known location, and how fast any object is going.

Due to all of this knowledge about locations, timing, and speed, Viktoria uses Intelligence in addition to Dexterity whenever a Dexterity Check is made

Interruption!!

>>6130947
Nice try, lady. Next time you should use you time-manipulation... faster.

Speaking of, I never did get your actions last thread.

>>6130953
I will simply remain on guard in case the current enemy gets out of control. My magic is area based, so friendly fire is easy.

Rolled 1, 3, 4, 2, 2, 4, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 4 = 31 (12d6)

Alright.
This is, in order:
Megan playing Support and making weapons (MA 14). Yeah, Stephanie was right when she said that Megan was fucking stupid for rushing in. Megan is made for Support but she was panicking.

Riko shooting the Familiar with specialised arrows (PA 20 (16+4)). Riko has a lot of specialised tools for the hunt.

Harriet trying her best with the weapon that Megan made for her (PA 18 (8+10)). Yep, this is a completely regular person trying to bat at a Familiar. Think of early Sayaka with her gaudy club.
If anyone is wondering why the hell she has a +10: Megan rolled 10 Successes on making a weapon for Harriet before anyone arrived.

Normally everyone would roll Dex for initiative. But the Familiar has Become Tree, courtesy of Stephanie, so the Trio, et al goes first and the Familiar doesn't get to move.
Instead, the Familiar is trying to escape its arboreal fate. (PA 16)

>>6130972
I will note that you can localise the effect and make it as small as you want. So long as you can see the location.

>>6130937
Hello bong menheras(bongheras?) I'm glad your quest lives and wish you all a wonderful suffering!

let's gooooooooooooo
observin eagerly, you got this marie-san, show your immune system who's boss

Welcome back to the MEAT GRINDER! Stiff upper lip, or whatever you Brits say. Consider this thread monitored by one half of the Gruesome Tuesome

File: GRQAv7mW0AA3SJp.jpg (259 KB, 900x1600)

259 KB JPG

>>6130937
Terrible fucking OP, not very easy to tell apart in the catalog. Besides that wow, you are still in this?

Good to be back, QMbey.

ᛗ The Trio, et al

The Familiar was now standing on three legs, still no less an abomination to all nature. Megan had just told Stephanie that it needs to be put down.

“Yeah, Megan. You’re right.”
Stephanie reluctantly looks away from Megan’s body, and towards that ugly-ass motherfucker trying to find its footing. Megan tries to rise but Stephanie pushes her back down.
“Wha-”
"You stay put. What the hell were you thinking, rushing in like that? Were you just trying to show off in front of me? Fucking stupid. Watch my back. I'll deal with this ugly piece of shit thing."
Megan snickers. “Fine, I’ll stay down. Just don’t blame me if you end up getting killed.”
“Well, considering I’m only here because you’re here…”
“Oh, fine. It’s all my fault. Now go slice that chimera’s arse open with the discount Soul Edge!”
”The hell’s a Soul Edge? Whatever.

Stephanie adjust her glasses, then looks around at the trees. The trees root into the ground, preventing movement but giving them nutrients.
”I just need to see the qualities of the object and move them huh? Real simple, innit?”

While the Familiar is finding its footing, its legs and paws catch on something. Roots made of sinew and skin grow into the ground, providing no nutrients but preventing movement. And the Familiar can’t oppose this transmogrification.

>>Ө (M1 PA £ Roll: 10 (Target: 12) = 2 Successes)<< (Transform the Familiar’s Legs)

With that done, Stephanie prepares to rush in for a blow. But she hears a voice in her head before she can move.
”Hey! You can hear me, right?”
What the-
>>𐤌 (M3 Perception & Charisma メ & π Roll: 7 & 12 (Target: 14 & 12) = 7 Successes)<< (Link Stephanie, Viktoria, and Harriet Together.)
”Yeah, I can hear you…. Who are you?”
”I’m Abigail, that girl in the painter outfit. I’m linking our minds using my magic.”
”Speaking of: Viktoria, you’re being silent.
”My ability has a very large range with extremely disruptive effects. I will remain on guard in case this beast goes out of control. I will send my servant to fight in my stead for now.”
Abigail’s mind goes blank for a moment.

”H-Harriet, are you okay with being thrown to the wolves like this?!”
”I am completely okay. I have far more experience in this than all of you.”
”Oh! You’re a Magical Girl as well? That would explain the weird-ass maid uniform you have on.”
”No, I am not a Puella Magi. The maid uniform is my work clothing.”
Abigail makes a quick note to pry into her mind one day to find out how she has more experience than all of them while simultaneously not being a Magical Girl at all.

”Abigail, do you have a plan? Otherwise I’m just going to try to cut this motherfucker in half.”
”W-well, hmm...”
Abigail was sweating nervously, she can’t think of any good plans!

As she’s desperately scrambling in her mind to search for at least some words of advice, Abigail sees a bright light above her.

>>Э (M1 MA λ Roll: 8 (Target: 14) = 6 Successes)<< (Regalia: Create Equipment for Abigail)

And from that light comes a hat. A beret to be specific.
Megan leans up, still sitting in the pile of flesh that Stephanie pushed her in. Surely for her own safety.
“Wear it! It’ll help offset your weaknesses!”
Abigail complies and...

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌
π Intelligence: 10 > 16

She feels smarter, somehow. Like she can properly sort and articulate her thoughts faster.

>>𐤌 (M1 Intelligence π Roll: 15 (Target: 16) = 1 Success)<< (Create a plan to take down the monster.)

Abigail goes over the scarce information she has. This thing is a Chimera, a combination of multiple animals put together in some magical way. But it’s still an animal, it has anatomy just like all others.
This means it must have weak points, certain organs that it just can’t live without. It doesn’t have any sort of fast regeneration like what she’s seen in some fantasy books, so that’s a blessing. Most animals can’t live without their head, that’s easy, but…
This thing is also just a patchwork set of limbs from creatures.

”Everyone, aim for the joints! Its body is just a bunch of body parts sewn together, carving them apart should be easy!
”So do what I was already going to do, but smarter. I like it.”
”Did you hear the message, Harriet?”
”Yes, my lady.” Harriet takes a surprisingly combat-ready stance with her spear.
“Why are you all just standing around and staring at each other?” Riko was flabbergasted at how everyone had suddenly gone mute but still going through the motions of a conversation.
“O-oh, we’re communicating mentally using my magic.”
“Hmm, you’re going to be a pain in the future.”
“But for now-”

Riko draws her bow, a trophy, a bird-shaped ornament, shines red and the arrow bursts into a powerful flame. Unlike any natural flame that the girls have seen, it’s a bright, harsh red that grows as Riko draws the arrow back further.
“This is the Trophy of Patricia, Brimstone Arrow.”
“Make sure to aim for the vitals!”

>>Ꜻ (M1 PA £ Roll: 8 (Target: 20) = 12 Successes)<< (Trophy of The Hunt: Patricia’s Brimstone Arrow.)

Riko looses the arrow and it streaks through the clearing like a star, combusting the air around it. The acrid scent of burnt flesh and blood fills the nostrils of all in the clearing, while the arrow’s flames grow as it travels, somehow gaining more power over time. Flouting all laws of thermodynamics.
The arrow impacts the Familiar’s head and explodes, destroying its head. The Familiar slumps onto the ground, defeated-

{%<<£{=!%<: 45 HP > 21 HP

The creature still gets up. Headless, but shambling
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking with me!”

“I was not expecting this thing to have central motor generators this powerful. But I suppose that’s magic for you.”
The chimera exerts its strength to break away from the roots its legs have become.

>>? (M2 PA £ Roll: 8 (Target: 16) = 8 Successes)<< (Break free of the roots.)

It manages to break free. But instead of going for the girl that trapped it in the first place, it goes after the most inactive person in the clearing.
Viktoria. It must have mistaken her contemplation and patience for inactivity and powerlessness.
The beast makes an impressive pounce across the clearing, which Harriet, being the closest to Viktoria, attempts to intercept.

>>H (M8 PA £ Roll: 7 (Target: 18) = 11 Successes)<< (Intercpet the Familiar. Protect Viktoria.)

The Familiar looks like something straight out of Viktoria’s nightmares. A giant headless creature that is a perversion of nature brought about by Witchcraft. Thankfully she has someone watching over her.
Harriet shoves Viktoria out of the way and braces herself. There is no way she can muster the same amount of force as the Familiar is a purely human body, so it’s best to simply allow it to break itself on her weapon.
The monster cannot stop itself in time and gets a spear lodged in its torso for its troubles.

{%<<£{=!%<: 21 HP > 10 HP

If the beast still had a head it would be yowling in pain. Harriet withdraws and makes sure that Viktoria is okay.
“Sorry for shoving you, my lady.”
“I understand. You were simply trying to protect me. As any good servant should do.”

The beast still gets up after that. Injured beyond fighting condition and outmatched, it attempts to flee the clearing.
Riko prepares another arrow.
“Wait!” Abigail stops her.
“It’s likely going back to whatever it considers its den. Do any of you have any ideas on what this... thing might consider its home?”
“Most probably the location of the Witch that created it.”
“Uh, how important is this Witch? Should we follow it?”
“Well, if we kill the Witch then this whole situation will be resolved. Following it to the Witch’s location will heavily cut down any hassle, especially since this Witch seems to be distorting the space of this forest to make it more difficult to navigate.”
“Grea-”
“But then we’ll have to deal with the Familiar again. In addition to any that Witch has near her as protection. There’s also the well-being of Oliver to think about, shouldn’t we confirm he’s okay?”
“Right, Oliver!”

Abigail reaches through that invisible, invincible bond between herself and her lover. She needs to make sure he’s okay, that he hasn’t been mauled to death or something!

Oliver’s feelings at the moment were heart-warming and slightly calming.
”Where am I? I was hoping to visit Abigail to tell her about the party, but then I got lost in these woods.”
”I hope she’s okay. I don’t want to see her sad. Maybe she thinks I don’t like her or that I’m tricking her by telling her about the party but not where it is or anything.”
”Maybe… She was trying to visit me and got lost too? I hope not, I don’t want to see her hurt. She’s the most cute when she has a smile on her face.-

Abigail comes back to reality by Stephanie snapping her fingers in front of her face.
“-Gah!”
“Earth to Abigail? What were you daydreaming about back there? And why is your face so red?”
“W-well, I have a bond with my b-boy- my-.”
“The boy you have a crush on, alright.” How did she figure it out so fast?! Is she that obvious?!
“Yes. I was checking on him through the bond to see If he was alright.”
“And?”
“He’s fine. He’s lost in this forest like many others, but otherwise untouched. And he’s ironically worried for my safety.”
Megan stands up and looks towards Abigail incredulously. “He’s completely untouched? How? There are giant monster animals hunting down people in these woods!”
“I don’t know!”
Stephanie scoffs. “They’re probably not that big of a threat if we sent doggy over there crawling back to its bitch of a mother.”
“You are all Puella Magi, you are specially equipped to deal with them. Regular people are not so lucky.”
“Speaking of ‘doggy’, we need to decide: Kill it now or follow it to its Witch?”
Riko shares her opinion. “I recommend following it to the Witch. Any good hunter knows that stalking the prey before killing it makes it taste better. Besides, do we really want to wander around these woods for a Witch?”
Megan glares at Riko before rebutting. “Killing it now means we get rid of a threat we have to face when we’re dealing with the Witch. With how dangerous Witches inherently are, I would rather not deal with more obstacles when facing one.
Harriet simply stands guard next to Viktoria. “I have no real opinions on which course to take. As we, especially Viktoria, get out of here alive, I’m okay with anything.”

>Following it to the Witch. Killing it now to not deal with it later. Maybe even searching around to evacuate people like Oliver. There are a few crossroads here. And not all need to choose the same option.

>>6131904
Yes, I am (un)fortunately still in this. A shocking development for some, I am sure.

>>6132211
Yes, very good. Let's get this Witch-hunting Meguca-suffering party started!

>>6133334
I could see it either way really, but I think I lean towards following it to the Witch. We have no idea how hard it is going to be to find the Witch if we don't have a convenient tool like this, and if it takes too long we might end up with extra casualties.

In the meantime, I'll talk a little over the Oliver bond:

"Oliver, this is going to sound really crazy, and it is, but this is Abigail. There's no time to explain right now, but you are in danger. I'm with a group of people coming to... remove the threat. Don't worry about me, these people are *really* strong! There's even that crazy bow lady! Anyways, you just need to hide. There are terrible things in this messed up place, it's not the normal forest like we remember. I know it's all really weird and hard to believe but *please* trust me. I'm not playing a game, it's very scary, and this is real, but we can make it out of this. You need to hide and make sure nothing finds you. If you need to run, focus on me and the link we share, and run as fast as you can to me, you should be able to know where I am if you do. Stay safe Oliver, I'll see you soon."

>>6133332
>>6133332
Create a fast-time zone between me and thee Familiar and shoot at it post-haste. No chatter.

Regarding >>6133334, I do wonder why this would be un-fortunate.

>>6134570
Are you sure? What's your plan for finding the witch?

>>6134668
Walking. I shall not have these threats accumulating.

>>6133332
"The girl with the bow has the right idea. Let's follow the ugly fucker to the cunt that's causing all this and kill her! If there are more of those fucking things around her? We'll have a go at thrashing them like we did with this one!"

if you two want to follow the creature, you may want to try to stop viktoria from immediately blasting it to oblivion
while the question may have been posed democratically, all you menheras are really just in control of yourselves!

>>6135145
There's not really a lot I can do. I guess I can yell "no stop" but I doubt Viktoria wouldn't blast a monster she intends to blast just because a random girl told her not to.

>>6134711
>>6134570

That's... A very simple but understandable action and reasoning.

This is simple. Just roll a 6d6 if you want to shoot with an accelerated zone. One set is for the zone, the other is for the actual shooting. Don't worry, it is impossible for you to miss.

The successes on both sets will be pooled. If you somehow don't do 10 Damage with PA-16 and two sets of 3d6, then you are cursed. Perhaps more than me.

And about finding the Witch without tracking, it will be difficult. As you might have expected. It's not impossible but it will be a pain, and you may get jumped by more minor Familiars if you get lost.
Not to mention the chance that the Witch might be a bitch and forcefully manipulate the space of the forest to split you up...

If Viktoria ends up killing this Familiar, then everyone will have to do an M4 Perception Check to find the Witch. Failure means getting more lost. Unless Viktoria somehow gets an absurdly high PA roll.

>>6135356
>>6134711
Yeah, sounds like shooting the familiar is just going to lead to us encountering more familiars. Seems counter productive to "not having these threats accumulate".

Rolled 4, 3, 5, 4, 5, 1 = 22 (6d6)

Seems counter productive to simply assume it's leading us to the lair it's meant to protect.

>>6135442
I don't see how? We came to that conclusion as a result of a successful intelligence check, and it's a natural thing to assume anyways. Meanwhile you are killing our only lead and we will otherwise need to pass perception checks just to not get lost, let alone find the witch, and we're likely to run into more familiars from taking so long to find the witch, which you initially said your goal was to avoid.

>>6135475
Which we'll take out one by one, individually. Let's have fun exploring our newfound powers.

>>6135500
That's all well and good from a player perspective, but in universe that's pretty callously evil. Might be a good character moment for the Viktorian noble to act uncaring of the commoners dying as a result of her wanting to have fun and explore her powers but this will probably have social consequences.

Rolled 5, 1, 1, 6, 1, 3, 3, 3, 4 = 27 (9d6)

>>6135442
The funniest (and worse for some) part is that you rolled the exact amount of damage needed to kill. Impressive.

Now that you have killed a defenceless, dying monster, everybody needs to do an M4 Perception Check.

HOWEVER:
Abigail's link between all of you (Viktoria, Stephanie, Harriet, Riko) allows all of you to know exactly where each other are at all times, so you won't get split up, and if one of you happens to find the Witch, then the others will be there shortly. Praise be to Abigail.
Megan... She's not so lucky.

These are the Perception Checks for:
Riko (メ Per-12)
Megan (メ Per-12)
Harriet (メ Per-10)

Rolled 2, 3, 3 = 8 (3d6)

>>6135659
Your definition of evil is quite bizarre, so I do not care for it.

Rolled 4, 6, 6 = 16 (3d6)

>>6135679
"What the fuck did you do that for?! We were going to follow that one to its mum and then do the whole lot in! Awww, come onnn...!"

>vs 12 メ Perception

Rolled 1, 5, 5 = 11 (3d6)

>>6135679
"People are dying out here! Why would you kill it! I said to wait! It was already crippled, what good could possibly come from killing it when we have no idea where the witch is?! You need to be more careful with that cannon! That carries a lot of power, you can't just go shooting it at everything you want to."

ah yes, some delicious guca conflict is brewing

>>6135693
"As you can very clearly see, I'd rather we take the fiends one at a time. We struggled enough with just one."

>>6135765
"I can, and I will, because I want to. Save that anger for the Witch. We've got a contract to fulfill."

>>6135814
"Wha-con-- did you hear me? People are *DYING*. You want to talk about duty? Why would we be here unless it was to save peoples' lives?! I don't know how you can dismiss this so easily, but people's blood are probably on your hands now. However, the one thing you are right about it is that we do need to fight that witch. Let's just hope we can find her quickly."

>>6135815
"...What an odd individual, isn't she, Harriet? Or did the centuries do this to everyone? Let us move for now. We have plenty to discuss tonight."

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>6135693
>>6135691
>>6135765

Well, this practically writes itself.
I still have to create the words though, I'm writing now.

And this roll is for nothing at all.

ᛗ The Trio, et al

Before anything, Abigail decides to warn Oliver of the situation he’s truly in.

"Oliver, this is going to sound really crazy, and it is, but this is Abigail.”
”Abigail? Are you talking with me through my mind?”
”There’s no time to explain right now, but you are in danger. I’m with a group of people coming to… remove the threat.”
”The threat? Also, if I’m in danger then shouldn’t you also be?”
”Don’t worry about me, these people are really strong! There’s even that crazy bow lady!”
”Wait, her? You guys came to an understanding over the whole ‘almost shot you with a bow’ situation?”
”Yeah, we actually… came to a truce to protect you.

”Anyways, you just need to hide. There are terrible things in this messed up place, it’s not the normal forest we remember.”
”Hmm, it looks the same to me but I’ve never gotten lost here before. Even when I was a wee lad.
”I know it's all really weird and hard to believe but please trust me. I'm not playing a game, it's very scary, and this is real, but we can make it out of this. You need to hide and make sure nothing finds you.”
”What, are there monsters in these woods hunting people down like in a bad horror film?”
”E-eheh...”
”No fucking way, there’s no way.
”Oliver, I swear-”/i]

”Do you remember that time you came to my workshop and asked me about my work?”
”Y-yeah. I wanted to know more about what you do, to take interest in your hobbies.
”Do you remember what you actually did when I tried to answer you?”
[I]”...I looked away from you and put my head in my hands...” Abigail remembers that day. Another failure caused by her nerves.
”And why did you do that?
”I-I was worried that I would come off as weird or creepy by walking up to you and asking you about what you were doing! What kind of girl just goes up to someone and plays Twenty Questions with them?! God, I was such an idiot! Why couldn’t I have just cut the pretense and just say-”
”I love you” AAAHH. HE SAID IT! Well he thought it, but there’s not much difference here.

”That was a test. You passed. Only the Abigail I know could be so cute while being so embarrassed.”
Abigail became flustered. How could he be so smooth?! And why the test?!
[i["Shut up, you stupid face!"
"Awh, but you love my stupid face."
"No! I'm not going to talk about how cute your stupid face is!"
Abigail’s mind pauses when she realises what she just thought.
”Wait I-”
”Ah, no! No rewinds!”
”Anyhow, I’ll be hiding in a hollowed out tree.”
”There’s just a hollowed out tree near you?
”No. I made it hollow.”

Well. At least now Abigail knows Oliver is likely safe.

“So, what’s the deal with the monster? I’m pretty sure animals like this aren’t born normally.”
“Witches create Familiars to aid them in protecting their Labyrinth and often capturing people. Familiars are usually completely obedient to their parent Witch, but I have heard stories of Magical Girls with mind-altering powers turning them onto their side.”
“So if we stalk this monster, it’ll lead us to the Witch?”
“Very likely, yes.”
“Great!”

Stephanie waves her hands in front of Abigail’s face.
“Hey, lovebird! What do you think we should do about the Familiar?”
“Hm- ah!”
“W-well we should follow it. Hunting down this Witch and resolving the situation will save the largest amount of people the fastest. Even if we have to deal with some more Familiars with the Witch, I would happily go through that to expedite this.”
“I agree. Tracking this one and killing the whole lot is more efficient on the face of it.”
“What about you, Vikkie?”

“My decision is clear.”
Viktoria holds the cannon like one would hold a mini-gun, and preps to fire.
“W-wait, no!”
“Fucking Hell, don’t do it, you bint!”
Abigail and Stephanie’s protests fall on deaf ears, as Viktoria fires with no hesitation.

>>Ө (M1 PA, PA £, £ Roll: 12, 10 (Target: 16) = 10 Successes)<< (Execute Familiar)

Usually a cannonball travelling at such slow speeds wouldn’t kill, even if the target was wounded. Conveniently, Viktoria was blessed with an ability that could generate thermodynamically impossible amounts of energy.
Between Viktoria and the Familiar, the colours of the surroundings become greatly saturated. Light is brighter and the red viscera on the floor has a sharper tone. The moment the cannonball enters this field, it suddenly moves as if it was four times faster.
The cannonball lops off the head of the Familiar, and it slumps on floor, inert.

Stephanie takes off her glasses and facepalms forcefully.
“What the fuck did you do that for?! We were going to follow that one to its mum and then do the whole lot in! Awww, come onnn...!"
Abigail just looks in shock. Before panicking.
"People are dying out here! Why would you kill it?! I said to wait! It was already crippled, what good could possibly come from killing it when we have no idea where the Witch is?! You need to be more careful with that cannon! That carries a lot of power, you can't just go shooting it at everything you want to."
Viktoria doesn’t even look back at them.
Viktoria gives Abigail a blank face. "As you can very clearly see, I'd rather we take the fiends one at a time. We struggled enough with just one."
Riko sighs. “I really should’ve stopped her before this happened. Besides, between all of us, we just need to act wiser in the future to deal with them. I’m sure your struggle with this one was the growing pains of your first fight with Familiars ever. Also, I agree with Abigail on that cannon: That thing has a strangely high amount of firepower for such a short girl to be holding it, let alone firing it.”
Viktoria glares at all of them while spacing herself. “Enough of this blather. If I want to fire this armament then I can, and I will, because I want to. Save that anger for the Witch. We've got a contract to fulfil."
Between the large cannon she’s holding, the military uniform, and her stern tone, Viktoria still looks threatening and commanding even though she’s the shortest person among them.

Despite this, Abigail approaches her. Keen on reminding her of the potential consequences of this rash (in her opinion) action.
"Wha-con-- did you hear me? People are DYING. You want to talk about duty? Why would we be here unless it was to save peoples' lives?! I don't know how you can dismiss this so easily, but people's blood are probably on your hands now. However, the one thing you are right about it is that we do need to fight that witch. Let's just hope we can find her quickly."
Abigail considers these words to be the last thing she’s going to say to her for now. She bets Viktoria is probably going to ignore them anyway.

Viktoria lets out a “tsk” and looks towards her dutiful servant. "...What an odd individual, isn't she, Harriet? Or did the centuries do this to everyone? Let us move for now. We have plenty to discuss tonight."
“If I may speak my mind, my lady, I believe that dear Abigail does have a point.”
Viktoria gives Harriet an incredulous look. “Wha- you too?! What’s in the food they give to you nowadays?”
“We will learn about modern food recipes later, my lady. I would like to talk to you about the potential consequences of your behaviour.”

“Although you are blessed with a power to fight against impossible odds, many are not so lucky. Some are accosted by Witches and Familiars with no proper recourse, with nothing but prayers and wishes unheard that they will live to see tomorrow. Puella Magi, actualisations of the concept of Wishes come true, are the only people capable of saving them.”

Harriet looks away from everyone. As if she can’t bear to look them in the face.

“In the event that Puella Magi cannot save them in time, they will suffer immensely through no fault of their own. They will cower in grief and despair, pray for saviours that never come, and then be cut off from this mortal coil with no fanfare. That is a fate we should avoid for these innocents, and we should take any chances of finding the Witch, or any Witch for that matter, faster.”
She looks at Viktoria, her eyes, her face… She looks like she’s going to cry.
“Please, my lady? For the future, please be more responsible?”

Viktoria looks at her servant’s face. That stupid, pitiable, cute face reminding her of her responsibilities. And she decides to acquiesce, slightly.
“Fine. I promise that when I end up finding the Witch first, I will inform you all of its position post-haste.”
“That’s what you should be doing anyway, bitch. Also, what makes you think that you’re going to find it first?”
“First, I was performing some Noblesse Oblige, you should be grateful I even tried, many didn’t in my day. Second, I know I’m going to find it first because I am the most perceptive out of all of us.”
“Not perceptive enough to realise the severity of the situation, apparently.”
Viktoria glares at Abigail, but decides to not antagonise her and instead fulfil her promise.

Travelling through a forest filled with killer monsters while trying to find their mother is not considered a good time by anybody sane. But some among this group are having a worse time than others.
Riko is the farthest away from the group, keeping to bushes and sometimes climbing trees for vantage points. Even when she doesn’t find anything, she doesn’t panic and simply rejoins the group with warnings of any nearby Familiars. Of which there were few.
Megan is staying near the middle of the group. Her skills were more suited for supporting others than scouting or acting as a vanguard. She did end up making a watch to check the time. It’s only eleven A.M. in the morning, and yet the sky in the forest is as dark as midnight.
Stephanie, Abigail, Harriet, and Viktoria are at the front of the formation. Viktoria tried to send Harriet to the back, but she showed a surprising amount of backbone, and Viktoria allowed her to stay.
Viktoria pushes past some bushes, and sees a clearing.
Viktoria feels like she just saw a Surrealist image of Hell.

>>Ө (M4 Perception メ Roll: 8 (Target: 14) = 6 Successes)<< (Locate the Witch.)

A large, humanoid feminine figure made of a combination of arboreal mass, flesh, and… felt(?) is in the middle of the clearing, with scissors and sewing needles suited for her size. Near the Witch is a pile of body parts from all sorts of animals, including humans, and she seems to be- Sewing. The Witch is sewing the body parts together to make a chimera.
Viktoria thinks back, that Familiar did look patchwork at the joints of the limbs, but she was not expecting it to be literal patchwork. This is a textile workshop out of her nightmares.
Surrounding the Witch are six fully completed Familiars. Unlike the previous one that was some combination of Canine and Feline, these were all sorts of combinations. One was a combination of a man and a tiger, another was a combination of a bird and a lizard, creating a draconic-looking creature. It’s a profane, motley menagerie over there.

”Everyone, I have located the Witch.”
”Great. Now can we kill that git, fast?
”Yes. The Witch is ten metres and twelve centimetres to the west of your position.
[I]”...Why that exact distance? Do you have a GPS in your brain or something, lass?”
”What is a GPS?”
”Enough chatting. We need to join up with Viktoria to minimize any chances of problems.”

As the group approaches Viktoria’s location, they hear rustling in the bushes and wingbeats. They all prepare their weapons for the oncoming threat.
Very large insects come out of the bushes, approaching the girls fast. Thankfully, they are only large relative to normal insects, and are midgets compared to the average human. This was a small mercy when there was an innumerable swarm of them.
“We have no time to be dealing with these gross fuckers!”
“If we just run then they’ll likely come after us, and we’ll have to deal with even more Familiars when fighting the Witch!”

Riko steps towards the swarm. “There is a solution to this predicament.”
“You can all go ahead to the Witch and Viktoria, I can stay here and deal with this swarm.”
Abigail was shocked at this suggestion. “But- Riko, look at how many of them there are!”
Riko draws her bow. “Hmph, small prey compared to the past. The real issue is that I will not be able to join you all in fighting the Witch until later.”
[i[“So the real choice is temporarily getting rid of probably our heaviest hitter, and in exchange we don’t have to deal with a swarm of Familiars.”

“Harriet, Megan, your opinions?”
Megan shrugs. “None, really. Although last time I said to kill that wounded Familiar, these Familiars are not wounded. Dealing with them won’t be as easy as going all Final Argument of Queens like Viktoria. But on the other hand, do we really want to deal with a giant insect swarm while also fighting deadly monsters?”
Harriet glances towards Viktoria’s probable position. “I would prefer we get to the Witch as soon as possible. Riko can probably take care of herself, given her implied experience.”
Abigail sees right through Harriet and knows that she is also suggesting this to get to her Lady as fast as possible.

”Viktoria, we’re delayed. Insect Familiar swarm.”
”Oh, how dreadful!”
”You can say that again. Do you want to support in any way?”
”Hmm… I could create a stasis field near you so the swarm is frozen in time. I do know exactly where all of you are through the link and can exclude you from the effects of the field.”
”You can just… do that?
”Yes. Though I may be just a bit inaccurate...”

Megan raises her voice “Regardless of what we decide, I might as well do this now. Abigail, Stephanie, Viktoria yes I know you’re listening in on this. I can create equipment to help you using an ability I call ‘Regalia’. I can only create a limited amount though, one for each person. I should make them now while we still have the time. What equipment do each of you want?”

>Megan can increase a single stat of any of The Trio by 6 until the Witch is defeated.
>The Witch has been located by Viktoria. But the rest of the party has been accosted by insects. Do you leave Riko behind to advance to the objective? Will Viktoria decide to perform Temporal support? Or will someone have a spark of imagination?

>>6140157
I really don't know what stat to increase, I don't have a lot that will help with combat. Is my int bonus still present? If not I might just renew that.

>>6142332
It is still present.
Choosing a new bonus will get rid of the old one. So increasing a different stat will get rid of the Int bonus.
Good call.

>>6130937
Almost missed this thread due to the OP image. I genuinely thought you'd given up on the quest, but I'm really, and I mean really damn glad you're keeping at it.
>Can I also join in the suffering?
I'm tempted to join the suffering that being british entails, if the offer's still up, that is.

>Name: Alba Appleton
>Appearance: The shortest of the short, with a surprisingly athletic body. Her natural ginger hair is a short unkept mess thanks to cutting it off with her scissors. She wears a green beret at all times... Which might as well be Theseus’ Ship with how much she’s had to sew and patch back together.
>Quirks: She's always felt unimportant in the grand scheme of things and overlooked - As a consequence, she's grown with an evident desire for other's approval and praise. Needless to say, she's also a reckless show-off searching for attention.
>Wish: "For real, furball?! Anything at all? Easy then, I've had this my mind for absolute ages! Go on now, turn me into a natural born prodigy!"

>>6130939
>>6142589
Meant to reply to this instead of the OP. Oh well.

>>6140157
>>6140157
"No cause for fucking around and doing things by halves, Meg. Give me something t' make me stronger and hit harder. It's called for, with six of those bastards all squared up around that nasty fuckin' slag there."
>Stephanie wants a PA boost.

Now, as for the insects. I'm all for Riko handling them, but I wonder if I could lend a hand. Can I use my ability on more than one creature and, as an example, endow a load of insects with the aerodynamic qualities of a nearby pile of rocks? If that's a bridge too far, could I alternatively manipulate the ground beneath them to shoot up in clods of dirt, disrupting them and making them easier pickings for Riko?

>>6142696
You can do both. Entirely within your abilities.
Changing a single quality of a person is simply an M1 PA Check. A group of insects is M2 (They're not that big, and they are particularly vulnerable to extrinsic forces.)
Usually they would roll Con to resist, but they have no Con.

>>6142589
Ah, another one ready for this. And an energetic one!
I will have mercy and let you decide: Do you want to "Coincidentally" be in the forest today, somewhere else in York, or somewhere else in the U.K. entirely?

>>6142717
Mercy? Hah! Rejected. Do whatever works best for the plot currently imo. Though, I'd be lying if I wasn't biased towards being somewhere in the forest.

It has been so long since my last prompt that I have forgotten about this quest in its entirety. That is not a good sign. I've decided to relegate my spot to our new player, Alba, so that the pacing doesn't suffer any further from having too many players. Do please turn little not so sweet Vikky into an NPC and be kind to her. I shall not participate any further.

Rolled 2, 5, 1 = 8 (3d6)

>>6142717
Alright, let's do it. Insect wings to rocks, please.

>Check PA.

>>6143586
Well that's a hilarous amount of successes.12 if we include the +6 boost from Megan. Those insects are petrified.

>>6142727
Alright then. This is probably a blessing for all involved.

>>6143537
Fair enough. I will be kind to good Vicky.

In that case, it is time to write.