>>6183472
In the air, flying high above, are two teens. A boy in flowing robes and a girl wearing a gold crown hovering out of reach of a gigantic cat. It is a smart battle tactic, for the gigantic cat can only dodge and try to hide from its foes since it cannot reach upwards into the sky.

Another spindly stone tower collapses into a cloud of dust and debris, hiding the scene of battle from your sight.

"Oh gods, it is King Arthur. I'd rather not battle with the King of Knights this day."

The warrior Baphomet sweats at the thought of crossing blades with such a powerful enemy.

"Whee, whee, around and around I go! Here is the blade, here is the horn, and there is the cat, there is the goat."

The Dowser spins gleefully like a top before coming to a stop and pointing towards a section of the domain away from combat. Without even waiting for you, he starts trotting away. Your group follows after the intoxicated goat, eager to get some distance from the battle.

"Tell me, Yatagarasu, what do you know about King Arthur and Merlin?"

You carefully push the supernatural candle along; it makes no sense to leave the door to get out behind if it can travel with you.

"Meep. Merlin is a very odd Wizard, he knows no combat magic and always works alongside a comrade. He can fly, divine, heal, and shield. I hath not seen too much of his abilities, but make no mistake! Just because he can't attack with flames or lightning doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. He once dropped Lord Mordred over a cliff and tried to drown her by churning the waves and tides."

You aren't happy; Merlin sounds like a very versatile and troublesome enemy. You almost consider King Arthur easier to deal with when Yatagarasu explains her abilities specialize in long-range attack.

More specifically, Light of Avalon which is basically a laser attack. She can concentrate it as one gigantic beam or split it up into a dozen smaller but weaker beams.

"She wields a holy light that scorches the earth and all in the way. Her aim isn't all that good, but I believe she can cast it twice a day. The sword she wields is not one of the named swords such as Excalibur, Clarent, or Caladfwlch. Of that, I am sure! Meep. I know not how skilled she is with a blade. I assume she knows how to use it."

You know that Arthur fired off her attack once earlier. If Yatagarasu is right, then she only has one more attempt to nail the fake Cath Palug. Otherwise, she will get in close and fight. It is no wonder that the Knight remains in the air and waiting for the right opportunity to attack while Cath Palug tries to hide and dodge.

Well as long as the enemies are busy, you can safely look for your missing vassals. Despite--- or rather because--- he is high as a kite, the Dowser uses his divining skill with supreme confidence and complete fearlessness. The Bodyguard notes he still has a few more pieces of candy just in case.

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>>6183482
The Dowser leads everyone past shattered towers until he stops before one particularly impressive derelict. It must have been a very grand tower but now it lies crumpled on the earth. Blocks of stone shattered by the fall retain traces of fine carving. The stones have fallen in such a way it has created a cave.

"Meep! Praise the gods, we have found them."

The Dowser cheerfully announces and immediately runs into the cave before anyone can stop him. A slingstone whizzes past the head of the drugged Baphomet but he pays it no mind at all. Instead, he simply continues his run and disappears from view. A series of meeps and yees emanates as the inhabitants of the cave.

A horned goat head pops into view, you recognize it is one of the apprentices. He looks frazzled and injured but he's smiling as your group is bade to enter. When you do, you take stock of the situation. Team Feline is in terrible shape, several Baphomets have dirty bandages wrapped around their wounds and one goat covered by large sheet of canvas is lying in the corner of the cave is very still. There is the distinct smell of rot in the air. You order Yatagarasu to pull back the sheet.

"Ack, tis my comrade Guide."

A disemboweled corpse; innards hastily stuffed back inside the body and sewed up with a rough stitch. It was all that the apprentices could do to keep the corpse whole. It explains why they couldn't flee. You look around the cave and see that the walls covered in Runes, a desperate attempt by the inexperienced to escape the domain.

"Where is Lady Kizaemon?"

"She's gone to challenge the fraud after he slew the master. We know naught where she is. Twas two days ago and not a hair or whisker since then."

Damn.

You'll need to decide what to do. There's 10 acorns of Mana to use, it'll come in handy...

>Send Team Feline back to Avalon, you can use 5 acorns of Mana to brute force a Gate out of the domain....
>Eat 5 acorns of Mana and power up, you're going to need it...
>Eat all 10 acorns of Mana and power up,
>Use all 10 acorns of Mana to heal Team Feline, you're going to use them against your enemy...
>Don't use any acorns, tell Team Feline to rest up. Your team will go and find the cat...
>Give 2 acorns each to the Dowser, Bodyguard and Yatagarasu, and eat the rest for yourself...
>write in

>>6183483
>Eat all 10 acorns of Mana and power up
We're gonna need it. Our meeps are fodder to knights of the round. Yatagarasu can help them form proper runes now that he's here.

>>6183483
>Eat all 10 acorns of Mana and power up,

>>6183483
>>Eat 5 acorns of Mana and power up, you're going to need it...

>>6183483
>>Eat all 10 acorns of Mana and power up,

>>6183483
>Eat all 10 acorns of Mana and power up

Returning after a 4 thread absence. Mana is our biggest issue, both for our lacking personal power that is causing some anons anxiety, and regarding our bottlenecked Camelot repairs.

If we need more to make an escape, or want to try and get a good gift for the Romans, then we can scrounge for Relics. Finding our cat should be our priority though.

>>6183510
+1

>>6183650
I think we can do that eventually, but we still need to do stuff regarding city management. Those Romans are an eyesore and stopping us from finishing up the guild issue so the meeps can do their assigned tasks effectively. I say we address the Romans quickly and make them fuck off so that's one immediate problem dealt with. We need ONE relic to throw at the Romans so our end of the niceties are upheld, and time is running out. I don't know if we can safely get out of here to try relic raiding outside. Do we just ditch the Team Feline stragglers plus any injured into Avalon so they can make their way back to Camelot? Or do we take everyone plus Kizaemon with us for looting? Is it easier or harder to open a gate to shift back to Avalon in a Domain like this one?

>>6183510
>>6183563
>>6183624
>>6183650
>>6183657
eat it all

>>6183581
eat half

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You'll have to go looking for the cat then. What concerns you most is Team Feline and what to do with them. Can they be returned to Avalon and make their own way home?

"Once they're in Avalon, they know enough lore to find their way back to Camelot. If they can leave this place. Getting into a domain is much easier than getting out, meep."

Yatagarasu twirls his stick and thinks over his answer.

"The monster still commands and rules the domain. To break out of here swiftly, we could use Mana and force a Gate back to Avalon. I reckon five acorns will do the job. The other options take time or risk peril. One option is to use the candle to get as close as possible to the border between the hateful World and this domain, then start collapsing it to get out. HOWEVER! This will take time, and we have accumulated much Backlash already. Sending out a large group of Baphomets risks triggering the hateful World to raze what does not belong."

The apprentices start carefully packing their belongings as Yatagarasu continues his explanation of escape routes. They move painfully slow and won't be much use in combat.

"Meep. The others that risk peril. We pay the toll to the monster, and he lets us out. But who can trust such a beast? One who would murder a powerless goat so brutally? My brother Guide, who lies dead at my hooves, is not a fool; he could easily see how powerful the fake is and try to buy mercy. Failing that, he'd try to avoid angering the monster and wait for our arrival with ransom..."

"I can guess what the other perilous option is... Kill the monster, and that will cause the domain to collapse and allow escape."

"Or weaken it to cause it to abandon this domain for elsewhere. Remember that strange fear plant in the manor? I didn't need to use Mana to pierce the domain because it abandoned it."

Your personal Guide pulls out a large leather bag and some rope from his backpack. The volume of the items far exceeds the dimensions of the backpack; it clearly came from his magical storage area. The injured Baphomets take them and begin carefully wrapping and binding the corpse of the veteran Guide. They lift the corpse and reverently carry it over to Yatagarasu with his backpack ready and opened as wide as possible.

Sorrowful chants echo in the dark cave as the bearers of the dead slowly march forward.

"To halls more royal than found in Avalon he has gone."
"Rest well, oh master Guide, thy journey is at an end."
"Tales shall be told in thy honor at every feast."
"Great Lady of the Lake, bear him away."

Feet disappear first, going past a depth that should be impossible for a backpack. Then the torso goes in, and then the head, until finally the entire corpse is safely stowed away.

"Meep, your Majesty, we have at least one deed done to our honor. We have the Cellphone. 100% charged."

Cellphone fully charged, it'll last a week at least.

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>>6184876
An apprentice kneels before you and presents your Cellphone with both his hands. With a quick flick, you enter your password and open the screen. You decide that powering down the device is best for now and put it away in a secured pocket within your tartan.

"You've done well to survive. We will go back to Camelot together, even if I have to slay everyone in the way."

You look down at your acorns of Mana, there's only ten of them. How you wish there were more. You pop each acorn of Mana into your mouth and chew quickly. The crunch of each is toothsome and satisfying and the taste is nothing like you expected; it tastes something like your favorite caramel pudding.

Except much better.

It is a marvel that Yatagarasu refrained from devouring the entire harvest of Mana you gifted to him so many days ago. You feel the Mana flowing within like a stream, filling in the cracks.

Something is rising from the depths of your soul.

You feel...

>Calm and focused, action and consciousness blur together and melds into perfect concentration...
>Strong as a bear, your strikes are heavy enough to crush the enemy who dares to stand before you...
>Swift and enduring as the horses coursing over the field of battle, flying towards danger...
>A flash of enlightenment, the Gods listen a bit more closely to your prayers and pleas...
>Tougher than a stout shield, blows feel lighter and cuts shallower as your body is fortified...
>More skilled in battle, the swirl of blades and the din of war become familiar friends...
>The icy voice of the Queen of Winter whispering something secret, strengthening the might of frost...

>>6184878
>Strong as a bear, your strikes are heavy enough to crush the enemy who dares to stand before you...

All are useful, but wisdom and skill can be developed naturally, to a certain degree. Right now I think either need raw strength or the ability to endure greater blows or those that bypass our other defences or attempts to dodge. Greater physical attributes are also probably less susceptible to backlash from the hateful world, compared to our ice magic. Unless we start throwing cars or something.

>>6184878
Thank you for keeping me updated on my queen's mental status, brave warrior. Serge et Vince!

>>6184878
>>Calm and focused, action and consciousness blur together and melds into perfect concentration...
if we need to, somehow get around Arthur and Merlin with our inner voice aggroing them, we need the mental presence
It's not like being stronger will help us against either of them, they are way beyond our league

>>6184878
>>The icy voice of the Queen of Winter whispering something secret, strengthening the might of frost...

>>6184878
>Swift and enduring as the horses coursing over the field of battle, flying towards danger...

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>>6184878
>Swift and enduring as the horses coursing over the field of battle, flying towards danger...
Swift as the Wind...

>>6184878
>Swift and enduring as the horses coursing over the field of battle, flying towards danger...
Speed AND stamina? Fuck yeah.
I yearn to be a blitzkrieg that enemies cannot hope to touch, a storm that none can weather.

>>6184878
>>Calm and focused, action and consciousness blur together and melds into perfect concentration...

>>6184906
bear

>>6184914
HUH? Okay.

>>6184948
>>6185248
Calm before danger

>>6184973
Grandma is teaching

>>6184975
>>6185001
>>6185185
gotta go fast