Lucia threw back her head, snubbing at Miranna’s words.“I ought to thank you, Harpy, for scaring the villagers into hiding,” she said, one hand steadying the magical tendril at your ankles, while raising the other towards the Nettle Harpy’s head. “It’s less of a trouble for me now.”“You promised me five minutes,” you called out, nearly stepping out of her snare. You trusted your friend not to punish you for a mistake.She clenched her fist, leaving it hanging. Glancing your way, she nodded, quickly returning her eyes to Miranna’s.You lifted both palms to your neck and cleared your throat.“Miranna. The prophecy says that it’s the Demon Generals I am destined to slay. If those demons cease to be Generals, the prophesied death will need not to befall them.” You turned to Lucia. “Wouldn’t it be best for all? No need for bloodshed.”Lucia’s lengthy eyebrows brushed together. “I never said I’ll join your side, young Niklos.”Miranna let out a heated snort, searing embers flickering at the sharp ends of her claws. “That’s the response you’ll get, Niklos—from all of them. They, unlike myself, hold little care for their lives, or are too naive not to take the prophecy seriously.” She pointed a talon between you and Lucia. “But how do you know her?”Lucia murmured, her voice gentle and fleeting. “Four … ”“I don’t want you to join my side, Lucia,” you said, bringing up the hand clutching the knife, your fingers tangling in your hair. You yanked at the locks, not letting go until you felt pain. “Why can’t you women just play along?” Releasing it, you looked back at both of them. With a sigh, you added, “You just have to relinquish your role as Demon General."“I fail to see how this pertains to what you promised to talk with her about, young Niklos,” Lucia admonished. “Will you?”“Yes, that was the follow-up part of it,” you said. “Miranna, in return, Lucia wants that you refrain from damaging the trees. Not to claw them with your talons, nor to scorch them with your flames.” You rubbed at your temples, casting a glance back at Lucia. "Is there any other harm she ought to avoid?"“The buildings, and everything else made out of cut wood.”Miranna waved her hand through the air, fiery trails following her nails. “She just said that she won’t join you!”“She will, she will, trust me.”“And why is the welfare of trees of such importance anyway?”Lucia’s expression hardened, her eyes narrowing like owl’s.“Because life courses through every tree, Harpy. Every. Tree.”“That doesn’t stop me from harming everything else though?”“Miranna,” you pleaded, “you only need to avoid landing in forests or villages, and in case we need to, hold back on using your fire magic. Surely that won’t be that much of a problem for you?”
“It’ll be annoying,” Miranna whinged, working her talon between the gaps in her teeth before spitting out. “How am I suppose to tell whether it’s wood or not during a fight? Why should I hinder myself?”“If you wish to see the end point of the prophecy, this is part of it.”“No, it isn’t. Nothing of the sort was mentioned.”“This is how I plan to bring it about, Miranna. If you don’t agree with me, or how I’m going about it, then perhaps—““I understand. I understand! Fine, trees with souls or whatever, I’ll be careful.” Miranna said, her teeth clenched. Lucia gaze moved from you to the Harpy, as if seeing a wild beast tamed; but it wasn’t you, it was the prophecy.“Why should I believe her words?” Lucia asked.“Can you believe me?” You pressed a hand to your heart. “I’ll keep an eye on her, and if she forgets, I’ll remind her.”Lucia looked down at the earth, lifting her other hand, her elbow bending as the tendril around your feet dissolved into a a green haze. “I’ll know even if it’s a single tree.”“Well then, it is settled. Now you can let us go.”“I can’t.”“You what?”“If I let you go just like this, the Demon King has ways of knowing that I lied,” she said. “There’s a rune for it.”Miranna, her eyes half-lidded and disinterested, added, “He does.”Glowing pollen gathered and swirled in Lucia’s outstretched palms, branches and tendrils sprouting forth. “I’m not going to harm you, young Niklos. I’ll use but half my strength. If the Harpy seeks to flee with you, she’ll need to put up a fight.”Miranna rolled her shoulders, the cracking bones echoing louder than the wind. “Are -you- made out of wood? I know you bleed so I don’t think so. And those things you summon? Not going to be my fault.”> Remind Miranna that despite her craving for a fight, all she needs to do here is grab you and take flight. Trust her to do so.> Reveal to Lucia about the clog’s fate before the battle unfolds. Knowing her, she’ll probably be surprised and hurt. Use the moment to jump in Miranna’s arms and yell for her to fly away.> Remind Lucia of the Old King’s messenger. Encourage Miranna to summon him and the village-folk forth, making it troublesome for Lucia to wield her magic in their presence.> [Write In]
> UPDATES?Between daily and once per two days.> PREVIOUS THREADS?https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=TPNMSTDGBHK> MUSICAL SUMMARY OF THE FIRST THREAD?https://files.catbox.moe/71bjdm.MP3> OTHER QUESTS?https://pastebin.com/raw/YJ2k1TuN
>>6152352> Remind Lucia of the Old King’s messenger. Encourage Miranna to summon him and the village-folk forth, making it troublesome for Lucia to wield her magic in their presence.Aw yea get diplomancedAlso even a single tree? Overly harsh
>>6152352> Reveal to Lucia about the clog’s fate before the battle unfolds. Knowing her, she’ll probably be surprised and hurt. Use the moment to jump in Miranna’s arms and yell for her to fly away.
>>6152352> Remind Lucia of the Old King’s messenger. Encourage Miranna to summon him and the village-folk forth, making it troublesome for Lucia to wield her magic in their presence.Welcome back, QM!
>>6152379>>6152425>>6152431“You aren’t out of everyone’s sight, Lucia,” you said, nodding to the side, pointing past her. “There’s the Old King’s messenger there.”Lucia hands clenched suddenly, the drifting pollen vanishing between her fingers. She glanced over her shoulder, her braids sliding down her back. “What-what do you mean he is there? I see no one.”“That’s because he’s hiding,” you said, stepping with a stride towards Miranna and pointing your finger at her. “He’s afraid of -her-.”The Nettle Harpy bared her teeth in a broad grin, lifting her protruding breastplate with a defiant arch. “As he should,” she said. “Have they not abandoned their folly? If they have still the will, I’ll gladly oblige!”You shook your head, stepping firmly between them both.“A different time, Miranna,” you said, turning to Lucia. “Should the villagers learn that you’re a demon, it would surely be a hassle for you, wouldn’t it? It’ll be even more difficult if the man spreads words further.”Lucia exhaled sharply, a single bead, be it sweat or dew, rolling down her brow. “I didn’t take you for the sort to exploit my weakness so, young Niklos.”“I trust that the Demon King will understand,” you said, lowering your voice to a whisper. “Miranna, can you contrive a reason to summon them outside?” You nudged her side. Already in a mood for bloodshed and carnage, Miranna pressed her lips in a pout. The fire sputtered off her claws along with the sharp scent of burning air. With a reluctant tilt of her head, she drew a deep sharp breath into her lungs through her cracked teeth and bellowed, her yell stilling every other sound.“I come to this place, and what greets mine eyes—a desolate hamlet?! How am I to tally heads for the Demon King’s Muster if you are all hiding? Would you all defy him so openly? So brazenly?! Come outside to me at once, least I set your dwellings afire just so I can count your heads!”Doors creaked opened in discordant unison, men and women spilling out into the muddy streets, heads first. The messenger peeked from behind his hiding place. Seeing as she there would be no battle, Miranna wasted no breath waiting for the all the villagers to appear. Sinking her talons at the tender space behind your knees, she heaved you off the ground and spread her massive wings.Lucia stood rooted, chewing her lip as she watched you ascent and leave.
*** *** ***You were brought once more to the comforting warmth of the sun, no longer hidden from it by the dark and brooding layer of the clouds. You couldn’t recall whether the weather had always been thus, or if it was the Demon King’s doing. Not only Miranna and you were deserving of the real sunshine, you knew, but it wasn’t in your power to change the weather herself. Yet, if the Demon King was at fault, perhaps you could find a way? Well, it was just a thought.You sighed, and so did Miranna. Another warmth was found in her embrace.“I’m not happy that you denied me the chance to clash with her,” Miranna said, her talons almost restless to cut through your garments. She inched them away. “But the look upon her face! I had not know she would fret so much about being wielding her grassy magic! Imagine! What kind of demons does so?”You managed a weak smile, a nervous chuckle escaping your lips. As you slid the sword into the sheathe hanging off your shoulder, you also tucked the Grub Hag’s knife beneath the leather belt that circled it.“She became a Demon General for reasons far different from yours, Miranna.” You peered down at the fleeting forests and hinterlands below you. “In any way, from now on, it’s best if you refrain and avoid harming any of the tress. One is far too many. I know it’s annoying, but please bear with it.”Miranna clicked her tongue. “Yeah, I was hoping that you weren’t serious about it, hero,” she said. “Why should we care what the Arboreal Witch approves of or not? Tell me, are you intending on befriending each and every General?”“Lucia … it is a long story, but I knew her from long time ago, and we were friends long before I learned she was a demon. If the prophesy decrees that I’ll end her, I’ll strive to prevent that. She is good, if not of whimsy.“I doubt I have anything of the sort with the other Demon Generals. And for the Twister of Wishes, I’ll need to force her to lift her curse, and if not … “You shared with her about the nature of the curse befallen on the village.“O-o-oh,” she exclaimed, her wings, like freshly forged blades, cutting through the wind instead of giving an inch to it. “That one is truly wicked. She can make you do anything she wants or needs as long as her chains hold you. Not much of a problem if you can dodge or break them—they aren’t that tough.”“You make it sound so easy.”“You are the hero! Why would it not be so?”You ran a hand through your hair and shook your head. If she let you go now, hero or not, you’d end up a pancake. “Why didn’t they return Whiskers to you?”“They didn’t care to harm it. They were just petty against a Demon General.”> [Write In]> Free vote, you can ask Miranna if you have any questions as you fly to the Living Armour Enclave. Or, if you want to do something else, you can do it too.
>>6152431Thank you. What did you (and others) think of Lucia?
>>6153283>protruding breastplateHow much protrusion we talking, QM? Hmmmm?>>6153287She cute.>>6153284>Ask how she first became a Demon General, and how she and her brother came to work for him.Let's learn about our waifu.
>>6153284>>6153429Backing Lucia seems to have something special against Miranna, it’s hard to believe our birdbrain is truly the most destructive force against nature in the land. I know she gave the excuse that others put the wood to use in like the lumber industry, but the damage to the forests should be far greater. Also, isn’t burning and smashing trees a form of use when it’s for her own convenience and amusement?
>>6153429>>6153680“And what would they do when they see me?”“Can’t really say,” Miranna said with a soft shrug. “I’ve never seen them parley with a human—save upon the battlefield—nor ever take one as prisoner.”You shuddered in her arms, your lips turning dry and chapped.Miranna regarded you, her bloodless lips curving into a grin.“But you’re no ordinary human, hero. I’m sure, if they spurn your demands, you shall swiftly undo them. I shall leave you with the strongest of them!”You swallowed, the saliva clinging to the walls of your throat.“Uh-huh,” you mumbled, turning your gaze aside from her glowing soul-piercing stare. “Should it come down to it.” All you wanted was to ensures that Whiskers was safe.“Tell me, Miranna, could there another cause behind Lucia’s ire? Is it truly all sparked by you burning the trees and paying it no mind?”“I didn’t even know that she was bothered by it!” Miranna exclaimed. “How was I suppose to know, when she’s never at the Citadel, or the councils, or when she doesn’t even participate in the battles?”“Does she?” you said.Miranna nodded vigorously, her white lock swaying about with each shake.“I cannot fathom what the Demon King thought when he made her a General! It came so abruptly? Like, who?! She had done nothing to make herself worthy.”“I assume you two hardly know each other?”“I know nothing of her. I can name a thing or two of every General, but her? A pain in the rear, a thorn in the heel. She appeared from nowhere, hero, was granted the General’s title, and scarcely lifted a finger since. And yet I … !”The soft wind ruffled your hair, warm sweat beading upon your brow.“Seems like the enmity is mutual,” you said, raising your arm to wipe your brows. The Demon King had a special arrangement with Lucia; as she confessed, she kept watch over the humans for him in a manner no other demon could.“I’m curious now, now that we have the time: how did you become a General?”Miranna paused, regarding you in silence, her tongue tracing the edges of her teeth before she moistened her lips. For a moment, it looked like she was thinking of eating you, and was deciding on which bite to take first.“You’re curious about my past, hero?”You flinched. Miranna laughed and teasingly tousled you in her arms.“There were no undeserved favours nor hidden back-schemes; I earned it as any true demon would—by raw strength,” Miranna declared, drawing you closer to her chest as pointed her talons at herself. “My mother, a demon of unrivalled might, was born with wings bestowed to her by the very abyss, wings unseen before or since: unyielding, unbreakable, immense, sharp, and ever-restoring,” she said. “When I was born, she learned of a prophecy that I would eclipse eclipse and surpass her, and in spite, she took away my feathers.”
Miranna glanced at the passing clouds, her shoulder shifting as thought something chafed beneath her armour. “It wasn’t easy living a demon without wings, but seeing that my mother places such faith in the prophecy, so did I.”Gliding up the skies, she unfurled her raven-black wings, each feather catching the gleam of the sunlight like an arrowhead. “I found a way to turn -her- wings into this very cloak, with a bit of magic. I couldn’t have my wings, so I took hers instead. After, all I needed was to fight and triumph, and if anyone refused to yield or take me seriously, I broke them; in time, the Demon King noticed.”“And what of your brother?”Miranna leaned in, her tiny nose curling. Understanding the problem, you raised your hand to scratch between her eyes, eliciting a contented sniff.“Sarem? I had no leisure to mind his affairs or watch over him. I’d forgotten he earned his place in the Citadel. I’m happy for him, though I’ll care more whence he’s General. Truly, I don’t know what worth he brings as a Warden—”The horizon vanished behind a looming volcanic peak. Hardened ridges carved the slopes, twisting basalt veins there amidst the patches of molten stones. Rivers of lava poured down from its crown in bubbling torrents of churning magma, like an infernal avalanche. Ash-laden plumes clung to the ocean air like parasites, suffocating the sky into a bloody, mummified haze. The molten flow scorched the shoreline, the newborn basalt plates sprawling across the sea edge like a dark-grey crust of thin frost. The sprawling terrain revealed its scorn: cracks deepening with each noise, and the granite sharpening with each gust.“I must say, he chose a most forsaken place to cast them into exile!” Miranna said with a whistle, her wings easing into a soft descent. “Now, they should be around here somewhere, close at hand. How do you want to go about it?”> You doubt you’ll be able to stay here for long. Ask Miranna to locate Count Whiskers and then tell her to swoop in with all her speed so you can grab him.> Request Miranna to bring you down at the Enclave’s entrance, ensuring they can see you without feeling threatened. Explain that your intent is purely to find Count Whiskers. > You’re not only here for Count Whiskers, but to convince them to help you. To do that, you’ll need to be assertive. Instruct Miranna to lower you directly in the middle of the haunter armours’ enclave, so they can see she’s with you. Explain to the haunted armours’ the prophecy told, and ask about their exile.> [Write In]
>>6153429>How much protrusion we talking, QM? Hmmmm?She puts breast into the BREASTplate.
>>6154891>mfw>>6154887>You’re not only here for Count Whiskers, but to convince them to help you. To do that, you’ll need to be assertive. Instruct Miranna to lower you directly in the middle of the haunter armours’ enclave, so they can see she’s with you. Explain to the haunted armours’ the prophecy told, and ask about their exile.Not that we're necessarily keen on usurping the Demon King, but we are far past the point of being able to just disappear and live a normal life unless we find a way to get his generals off our back.
>>6154887> Request Miranna to bring you down at the Enclave’s entrance, ensuring they can see you without feeling threatened. Explain that your intent is purely to find Count Whiskers.Just cooperate and I won’t melt you all down and reforge you into horseshoes
>>6153287Either she's just too nice for her own good or she really likes Niklos because she didn't seem terribly eager to harm Niklos at any point. Even after he ratted her out.>>6154887> Request Miranna to bring you down at the Enclave’s entrance, ensuring they can see you without feeling threatened. Explain that your intent is purely to find Count Whiskers.
>>6154924>>6155288>>6155772The more Miranna descended, the hotter the air grew. “Take me to the entrance,” you asked her, steeling yourself.On the winding slope between the sleepless volcano and the growing cinder peninsula, nestled between the twin lava-laden ravines, on top of which edges stood blackened basalt walls, rose a plateau with a refugee upon it. Within the walls’ stone-stacked depths, a fierce glow bled through every fissure, embers and white ash spilling out. The hot steam poured from the vents, streaming down the volcano’s bluffs, blanketing the ground like a fog, with the parching arch joining in like charcoal snow.Encircled by the high walls and veiled by the mist stood a vast tangle of above-ground passageways, stretching from dome to dome, its shape resembling a maze. Hundreds of basalt stones were stacked upon one another, their layered crowns gleaming with glassy obsidian tiles. The labyrinth’s shadows sprawled against the ember-lit walls, bashing at each other like stubborn horned rams.Miranna caught sight of the entrance—an opening set between the walls and a worn stone arch bridging the lava streams—and touched down at its threshold.She didn’t lower you, yet the scorching air crawled up your skin regardless, like a famished beast given a bone to sink its teeth in. Miranna’s wing wrapped around you, its immense span shielding you from the boiling heat. In spite of her affinity with flames, her pale freckled face grew wet with sweat.“I haven’t been inside,” Miranna said, parting her feathers enough for your eyes to see through. The heat’s touch dried her plumage, thought only barely.No sooner her had claws touched the bridge than a sharp clang of armour rang from the tunnel’s mouth. From the chill darkness stepped out a hollow suit of armour, its steel infused with or by a demon spirit. His spiked pauldrons were warped by the heat and licked by the flames, his breastplate poorly patched by obsidian plates, with sulphur taint yellowing and chipping half its helm.“Back you are, King’s obedient. Now, bringing a human?” he said, words rattling through every seam of its armour. “Do you, King’s loyal, mean to barter him for the furry creature?”“We’re here for the pet,” Miranna said with a smirk. “But this one here is not for barter. That’s his belonging, you know? It would be best if you return it.”He strode further outside the basaltic entrance, black ash settling upon his shoulderplates. “As if any demon, no matter how small or beastly, would belong to a human. We have taken a liking to it. As had been said to you, King’s unquestioning, we are fulfilling the King’s order. His is above yours. Your demands mean nothing until his are satisfied. Take them with you as you leave.”
> Tell him you doubt that Whiskers is staying here willing. Tell him that if he doesn’t believe Miranna, to let you and Whiskers meet and see for yourself.> Ask him if they are content in their exile, and what are they even doing? If, as you except, the answer is a ‘no’—tell him that you have a solution. Share with him the prophecy and that there’s a remedy for their plight.> Allow Miranna to remind her why she is or was the Demon King’s strongest Demon General. Let her thirst for battle be quenched, and clear the path ahead.> [Write In]
Sorry for the breaks and thanks for your patience!
>>6156474>> Ask him if they are content in their exile, and what are they even doing? If, as you except, the answer is a ‘no’—tell him that you have a solution. Share with him the prophecy and that there’s a remedy for their plight.>>6153287She was honestly nicer than I expected.
>>6156475> Tell him you doubt that Whiskers is staying here willing. Tell him that if he doesn’t believe Miranna, to let you and Whiskers meet and see for yourself.>>6156481I think they may respond better once they see we have indeed bent a demon or two to our will (that is to say, Miranna and Whiskers)
>>6156474>>6156481Changing to> Tell him you doubt that Whiskers is staying here willing. Tell him that if he doesn’t believe Miranna, to let you and Whiskers meet and see for yourself.>>6156484That's fair.
>>6156475> Tell him you doubt that Whiskers is staying here willing. Tell him that if he doesn’t believe Miranna, to let you and Whiskers meet and see for yourself.Our kitty will come to us fo sho
>>6156481>>6156484>>6156529>>6157638Before Miranna could seize the perfect chance given to thrash the pompous armour for his insolence, you interrupted. “I doubt that Whiskers is staying here willingly,” you said, the helm’s eyeless facade snapping at you, it’s yellowed patina crackling sharp and loud. You paused, waiting for answer, but he stood still, silent as a stone.“Right. Whiskers is the pet’s—““I did not think you, of no worth, would dare to speak.” His voice, unanchored to a body, intruded and echoed. “You question me?”Miranna glared through the empty slits in his visor, her eyes smouldering.Your throat, raw and dry from the surrounding heat, parched even more as you continued talking. “You haunted armours are the only ones here, right? Whiskers came solely at my request; why else a demon would?”“And what sort of request was that? And his name is not so feeble.”“No, it is. Count Whiskers in full,” you said, furrowing your brows. The Demon King may have altered Whisker’s guise, but you would not allow them to strip him of his name! “I asked him to pursue after the letter that the Demon King had sent here; in a form of a paper bird of sorts?”His silence pulled back like a tide, his body shifting briefly to Miranna, then surging forth with ghastly force.“Who is this human?”“He’s someone you shouldn’t mess around with, hollow shell,” she said.He clenched the chipped worn hilt, bare iron exposed like a bare bone.“It is not your say, King’s serving, who is it can mess with or not.”Miranna pushed in, the rising heat from her forehead causing the surface of his helm to blister.“If you don’t believe her, nor me, then let me and Whiskers meet,” you said. “You’ll see for yourself that I’m right. He will recognise me.”“To let you into our enclave?” he said, leaning in, unfazed by the damage Miranna was inflicting, their heads nearly clashing. Miranna’s voice came out as a hiss. “Are you afraid that you’re -wrong-?”He stilled, his armour ringing as rust flaked off the corroded steel. “I cannot understand the nature of the trick you, King’s submissive, is trying at here, but I’ll -allow- the human to be wrong,” he voice, his gauntlet letting go of the sword to vanish beneath the swirling mist. “In return for my kindness, once you, the defeated, fail, you’ll serve as my thrall. You, the conquered, will not last for long, but those few days, I’ll take respite by placing my duties onto you, the vanquished.”He turned and stepped into the tunnel, steam wrapping around him as thought it was foam. He had made his offer.
Miranna placed you on the ground, her wings billowing like dark fluid before settling around her shoulders alike a cloak. Trusting in you more than you did yourself, she nudged at the entrance with her talons, beckoning you inside. The tunnel’s low ceiling squeezed Miranna, but left you a handful of inches between the smooth matted stone and your head. The chill was sudden, just as it was wet. Milky mist gathered on the basalt ceiling of the corridor, dripping down the cold, smooth walls to the even floor, where it formed narrow rivulets that flowed further into the depths. Miranna followed—you could tell by the dim amber gleam settling on the mist, her fire failing to penetrate it. The haunted armour was but a shadowed blur ahead, and as the passage forked and branched, you skittered to be close near, wary of losing your way in here. With you blind and Miranna unable to spread her wings, this might have been a mistake—Clang. Gauntlets and graves rattled the mist, their sound softened and muffled by the fog. But not from in front of you. Behind.“I’ll content you for that fine armour,” a whispering voice said, making Miranna halt and pivot. “I will ask of your whole arm.”> Step through the mist and in front of Miranna. She’ll likely accept any reason if someone is dumb enough to challenge her. Take up your sword and ready yourself to face down the heckler, with words or assertiveness. > Reach for Miranna’s claw in the foggy darkness and tug her along and ahead before she can react to the unseen figure. Keep moving with her.> Let Miranna handle the provocateur. The one who was leading you through the tunnel keeps moving, so if you wait, you’ll lose sight of him.> [Write In]
>>6157697> Step through the mist and in front of Miranna. She’ll likely accept any reason if someone is dumb enough to challenge her. Take up your sword and ready yourself to face down the heckler, with words or assertiveness.
>>6157697>> Reach for Miranna’s claw in the foggy darkness and tug her along and ahead before she can react to the unseen figure. Keep moving with her.
>>6157697>Let Miranna handle the provocateur. The one who was leading you through the tunnel keeps moving, so if you wait, you’ll lose sight of him.
Update tomorrow. We might need a roll we'll see!
Rolled 3 (1d3)>>6157858>>6158776>>6159003
>>6157858>>6158776>>6159003The faint clattering of the haunted armour faded with each new step, his form swiftly disappearing into the mist. He didn’t stop. Wishing not to lose your sight of him, and trusting Miranna to catch up and soon, you hurried further into the fog, chasing him.You walked in silence until the cooled steam suddenly scattered into a vast chamber, the basalt walls ceasing to confine you. The mist hung thin in the murk, no longer as blindingly pale nor as enveloping as it been inside the tunnels.Basalt slabs, their surfaces smoothed and edges worn, been stacked to form arching walls and vaulted roof, with magma sealing the crevices like a thick coal tar. Dull volcanic tiles wept steady drops, the hissing steam from outside battering on the exterior.Dark silvered silhouettes came out from the fog, their steel clashing briefly, crackling sparks igniting the unseen, before slipping back. The soft mist was forbidden to settle, as, one by one, the haunted armours collided in battle, pairs of them echoing from corners of the chamber that seemed vacant.“What’s happening?” you asked the haunted armour that brought you here, halting near the exit just as he did it. “Where’s Whiskers?”“They are coming to a decision as to who will toil this day,” he said, his helm floating over an empty head. “The loser will do so.”“Loser?” —you drew out the word— “As in, one?”“One shall toil; another bested is found when a task demands so.”You glanced past him and into the clouds of brawl.“And the rest? What do they do instead of working?”“Whatever they wish,” he replied. He lifted his battered, rusted blade, and pointed it at a vague space. “We hadn’t decided yet as to who the devil beast shall belong. Last time, I’d seen it here.”Your friend, in spite of your efforts, was nowhere to be seen.> Without venturing deeper into the chamber, yell out for Count Whiskers to come. Be hopeful and ready to welcome him in your arms.> Walk into the chamber and search for Count Whiskers at a closer distance. Be careful, and try to avoid getting in-between the many brawling haunted armours.> Best to wait out the cacophony of battles. Turn to the haunted armour that lead you here and idle talk him with questions until the fights in front of you are done, and it’ll be easier to search.> [Write In]
Oh gee, again, we all on our own.
>>6159611> Best to wait out the cacophony of battles. Turn to the haunted armour that lead you here and idle talk him with questions until the fights in front of you are done, and it’ll be easier to search.So uh how’s exile?What kind of toil does the one guy do?
>>6159611> Best to wait out the cacophony of battles. Turn to the haunted armour that lead you here and idle talk him with questions until the fights in front of you are done, and it’ll be easier to search.+1 to >>6159797's small-talk.You ever tried to call a cat? Good luck.
>>6159797>>6159919Waiting it out seemed like a better choice than wading into the midst of the unseen fray and getting your sides gutted by an errant sword.“So um … “ you began, glancing at the haunted armour at your left, “I have heard all of you have been cast into exile? How fares you lot?”He shifted, his hollow voice skimming through the visor’s slits.“It’s in the name, ‘exile’. It is not suppose to be pleasant.”You put your back against the hewn basalt. “No, of course not,” you muttered, weighting each word. “But this is one dangerous and barren-wide place the Demon King had decided to throw you into.”He took a moment, as if his inner armour gathered breath into empty lungs. “No one else would survive here,” he said. “No other demon, and especially not a human. We are left to our own, on our own, to do this.”You eyed him: the wear and tear, damage, and rust were all too apparent on his layered plate. “Your kind don’t seem to fare much better here.”He struck his chestpiece, the sudden clang cutting into your ears.“We do not feel pain,” he explained. “A haunted armour will survive as long as a single piece of it remains. We can mend from any damage, as long as we get get a chance to touch some metal, steel and iron.”“I take it there’s not much iron ore here?”“You gather right,” he said. “There is hardly anything, and in places that could often swallow you whole: lava streams, brimstone pools, and rhyolite sharpsands. To seek a few handfuls of metal powder only to suffer worse harm in the trying is folly. Moreover, justly, none wish to smith or carry out the mending, so one will only be compelled by force.”You tilted your head to the side; the clashes tolled aloud.“Is that what they are fighting about?”He shook his head, his invisible neck seeming to snap.“No. Whoever fails here will undertake the King’s errand."The haunted armours battled, their weapons splintering and their armours tearing. The triumphant stepped aside, and the defeated shambled deeper into the ethereal basin, hoping to strike before others would. If there was -any- honour, it was not the kind you knew. They stirred the waters, the cloudy bubbles bursting like brittle pottery in a hot kiln.“Wouldn’t it be swifter if you all joined in? Then you could return.”“You, of no worth, know little,” he said. “The duty of our exile is to shape a new domain brought by the volcano’s molten flood. With every new avalanche, the igneous land consumes the waters and stretches. Yet, we have been here for months, and still, the volcano continues to burn. It may take a year before it quells and perishes. We do what’s necessary.”
Only two remained struggling, with one armour-cloud spirit pounding his gauntlet onto the other’s helmet, cracking it open as thought it was a skull. The vanquished one faltered and toppled, its sword and gauntlet skimming softly at the waters—as you reckoned, the evidence of defeat.The fighting ceased, the mist and clamour stilling; two tiny red eyes gleamed at you from the far edge of the hollow. Without wasting time, you hastened towards him. Hidden by the haze, you slipped by unnoticed.Just as you were to pass by the fallen, it lunged, clutching at your iron boots, half of its metal-clad fingers torn or eaten away by rust.“I missed you … somehow,” it said, its voice strung and shallow. No, it was a suit of -female- armour: curved at the hips, cupped at the chest, with a narrowed waistline. The now-cracked helm, too, looked feminine—its contours softened and sloped, with a subtle tapering at the chin. “Wait” —the close-fitting helm lifted up, the hinged throat guard bending, all of its rivets missing with holes instead— “I see flesh. You’re a human?”You shook your boot, but her—could the haunted armours even have a gender?—grip held strong. Her left vambrace was missing, scorch marks and hardened lava blemished marking the steel in black or reddened patches.“Doesn’t matter,” she hissed, with her only hand clutching the broken half-sword. “You’ll go there instead of me and—“A pair of black pawns landed on and pressed down her helm. Count Whiskers stretched and yawned, his forked tongue flicking and his furry wings quivering. He stared at you with lazy, blood-red eyes and mewed. You caressed beneath his chin, he, in return, letting out a purr. “How did you get here so fast?” you asked it without expecting an answer.You stood in the very heart of the chamber. In that moment, all eyes within it fell upon you. You could feel the armours’ chill-inducing attention, their ethereal glances and glares full of tensed scrutiny.“What’s a human doing here?” one of them said.“That beast is allowing him to touch it?!” another said in disbelief.“It bears a rune. I thought it belonged to the Demon King?”
> You might as well use the chance given. Take Count Whiskers into your arms and shout out to the gathered crowd of haunted armours the other reason you are here: that you are the prophecy’s hero and you could really use their help.> You don’t feel comfortable challenging them without Miranna by your side. Look at the haunted armour that led you here and point at Whiskers, as if to declare that you won the wager, and Count Whiskers is returning to your side.> Gently pick up Whiskers off the haunted armour’s head, offering her a hand. Explain to them that, regardless of the harsh environment, if they continue to fight each other every day, they’ll end up wearing down each other armour. How will they look in a month, if not a couple of years from now? Their only path forward is to rise up against the King.> [Write In]
>>6161641> Gently pick up Whiskers off the haunted armour’s head, offering her a hand. Explain to them that, regardless of the harsh environment, if they continue to fight each other every day, they’ll end up wearing down each other armour. How will they look in a month, if not a couple of years from now? Their only path forward is to rise up against the King.We’ll be the new demon king
>>6161641>Gently pick up Whiskers off the haunted armour’s head, offering her a hand. Explain to them that, regardless of the harsh environment, if they continue to fight each other every day, they’ll end up wearing down each other armour. How will they look in a month, if not a couple of years from now? Their only path forward is to rise up against the King.Well, time for our first ass-backwards fall into being the prophecy. But we're not the Messiah yet, at least to ourselves.
