>>207969
Knock him out, rust off the restraints. Then it's time for asking some questions, and he had better answer them or things might get nasty.

Then depending on his answers you should either hold him hostage while making your escape or kill him and make your escape.

>>207969
"Bigot. Slaver. Be glad I don't like killing."

Put him to sleep, rust out of your chains, then break his fingers to let off some steam. Oh yeah, also steal his pants.

Scry ahead so you don't get caught off guard.

>>207969
>>207979
This sounds about right.
Except you don't have to be nearly as nice as putting him to sleep. Just make sure whatever you do, you do it quietly.

>>207969
Can you use some of your magic voodoo jubjub skills to mind control the guard, could be slightly more useful than killing him.

If there's no other option just kill him, the less people chasing you the better. I recommend boiling his blood if you decide to go fancy, or crushing the brain stem for a quite quick, quiet death.

You don't want to kill anyone? o.O

Hey hey, did you know they burned your tail? Imma start calling you stubby okay

Next update:

This Thursday. 15:00 CST (afterschool)

P.S.: Sorry for the sporadic update schedule. Studying for midterms soaked up more time than expected.

>>207979
Seems the best. Make sure you put him to sleep fast though, he might have some kind of alarm trigger.

Don't say anything to him before sleeping him, you don't need to give him further warning.

Got home late. Quest still happening tonight.

Can you set him on fire? Set him on fire.

I apologize for the constant delays. Incoming cut-scene to tide you over; I promise a true update will happen as soon as it's finished (tonight and ongoing tomorrow).

I'm experiencing a major learning curve using GIMP (which I've never done before to this degree). This is why:

Animated Cutscene Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/22(Thu)16:43 No. 211114 ID: bc1727
File 127984222964.gif - (84.31KB , 520x398 , Untitled.gif )

...

Cutscene Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/24(Sat)10:57 No. 211807 ID: bc1727
File 127999426650.jpg - (375.62KB , 927x796 , 1-10.jpg )

[i].........................................[i/]

Renewed vigor rushes into my once tired muscles. I step from the wall, towards the now thoroughly confused guard.

“It’s still supposed to be knocked out...What the hell, Mun...” Torra mutters to himself. My chains give no resistance as I step from the wall - they snap impotently at rusted links and limply clank behind me in raucous failure.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/24(Sat)11:01 No. 211809 ID: bc1727
File 127999448557.jpg - (280.56KB , 875x649 , 1-11.jpg )

My guard’s eyes widen with shock, but he instinctively jumps into a combative stance.

“Shit!-...Mun!” he yells.

He rushes me - far too slow. Before he gets two steps in, my chain wraps around his arm and I effortlessly move aside. I step right past him, yanking his arm with me. Severely off balance, it's all he can do to turn with me to keep his arm from coming out of its socket. I double around and apply a heavy offensive chain to his head.

He falls.

I’ll never forgive you. I’ll never forgive you. I’ll never forgive you. I’ll never forg-

I hear the door swing open behind me. “What the hell is going on he- woah!”

I’m going to kill them all…Please stop me!

>I’m going to kill them all…Please stop me!
No.

>>211809
Don't really feel like stopping you now. Do what needs to be done.

>>211810
Kill them. Kill them all. It's dangerous to let them live.

How about you throw some mana at your legs to make them faster, clothesline that guy, and get the hell out of here.

Set the dude on the floor on fire. The screams while he is burning alive type fire. Walk towards the exit and say "Out of my way.". If they don't move, kill them.

A question. Is freedom what you want?

Don't kill them just yet. They could possibly be of use to you.

>>211809
Focus on escape.
Killing them won't change anything.
If you really want to stop this you need to escape and regroup.
So you can strike at the source of this foul business.

Fuck that, do not kill them! Make them sleep, both of them. Knock the guy you're holding out and jump the other one, do not kill either of them.

yes, SLEEP them, DO NOT KILL!

>>211809
Go nonlethal. Knock them out, break their limbs, leave them in extreme pain, crippled... Stop short of death.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/24(Sat)19:36 No. 211985 ID: bc1727
File 128002536326.jpg - (119.28KB , 428x570 , 1-12.jpg )

>>211814
>>211817
>>211818
>>211833

His crystal comes first...

I rune-accelerate my body so that I can instantaneously close the gap between me and the willer. He instinctively grabs for his crystal, so I take his hand between mine. He freezes completely; Beads of sweat dot his face. I can feel the resonance of his crystal like a million voices. Their power sings out like a haunting chorus to my ears - or so it seems.

It’s been a really long time, hasn’t it?

I absorb it all, breathing it into my body, through my hands. I can’t help but wonder if he feels it too, although I know mortals can’t. I sort of pity him for that. I step back from him - my hand leaves a trail of blue mist in its shadow, but only I can see it - the rage inside of me quiets significantly and I don’t know why. The willer nervously breaks his stand-still by slowly looking down to glance at his crystal. His mouth gapes a bit as the realization hits him. His source of power is now just a rock.

“How…” he wonders aloud…What in the hells are you?-” he asks. I blink him to sleep. I blink his partner to sleep as well, though I don’t know when or if he’ll be waking up. He’s alive at least.

They’re both alive - I did it...I didn’t kill anyone.

I take a deep breath and sigh in great relief.

And this power! Haha, I haven’t eaten mana from a crystal in…I don’t even remember - I almost forgot how…filling it is. I feel amazing. I could tear this place down brick by brick and not break a sweat. Alright, excitement will have to wait. I gotta get the hell out of here - but not before finding out why I’m here to begin with.

What first?

Nice job. What's your name, anyway? Push them into a corner and shut the door, look out into the hall.

yeah scry up a quick map of the area. no point in rushing things.

>>211987
Its name is Wedgie.

Scry just outside the door to see if there's anything outside and just run out there if there's nothing. If there's two ways to go, make one end of the hallway slippery and run the other way.

>>211985
Heal your tail. Use... uh, 'healthy' for that? Then... the guard you manhandled? 'Awake' him so you can interrogate him.

Also, take off your blindfold. Intimidating as it may be to keep wearing it, you're burning mana by seeing through it.

>>211985
You appear to be a mana-eater.

Do you have any knowledge of beasts that eat mana?

>>212001
Its tail is normally like that.
If we awaken the guard we might end up getting false information or just wasting time if they're not very pliable. We don't know when anyone will be back, we want to roll with the element of surprise as best we can.

>>211985
Find another human to ask some questions. Use magic to make them tell you the truth.

Rust the chains off and walk out like nothing happened. Don't bother with explanations. Sleep anyone who tries to stop you.

How about a pair of pants? You'll have to make a tail hole of course.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/25(Sun)17:24 No. 212309 ID: bc1727
File 12801038868.jpg - (149.85KB , 807x581 , 1-13.jpg )

>>211993
>>211995

Right, a map. Here I go - Oh… Well, it’s definitely bigger than I expected. I know what everyone was focused on at the moment I saw them. I also see my target.

>>211987
>>211995

That’s way more careful than I need to be at this point.

>Interrogate
>Don’t interrogate

There’s only one person here I have any interest in talking to, and he’s the red dot on the second floor.

>>212176
>>212188
>>212001

These shackles are heavy and uncomfortable, but they’re improvised armor and better weapons than nothing. As for pants…as much as I hate being naked, I’ll pass on stripping someone to get them. I noticed a locker room on the first floor. That can be a priority after I pay Mister Mattani a visit. Sneaking in and out of places with nothing is what all my training has been for…This isn’t what I had in mind, but I have the advantage and then some.

Hm, this isn’t my blindfold. Mine is much bigger than this. I’m not sure why they didn’t just leave it on. I guess it’s just their procedure. Why would I take it off, though? I barely got out of that last situation without killing anyone. Any eye-cover keeps me calm...Usually. The last thing I need is to go into a rage and kill the guy I’m trying to get information from. Besides, I have mana to burn.

>>212008

I can do it because I’m half dragon. I’ve never met another like me, but to say that there couldn’t possibly be anyone else would just be me lying to myself. There are much better times for me to be thinking about this, though - it’s safe to say that no one in this human compound have half the abilities I do, and that’s what matters.

Anyway, I surveyed my surroundings. It’s time to move. Where to first?

hmmm... that human in the other cell is interesting. perhaps he can be a temporary ally.

...Amazingly I'm going to say go without him, first check the small room filled with stuff nearby the cells, then go to the room upstairs.

>>212309
Holy shit are you fucking kidding me? You pulled up a map with which doors are locked and peoples' fields of vision?

Oh, sorry, right, objectives. Walk out. Don't bother with the three guys in the side room. Take out the two doors seperating you from what appears to be a security checkpoint. Do whatever you want with them. Skip the stairs to the boss. Bust out the window straight in front of you and climb up to the second story and smash in a window and enter. That lets you bypass 2 locked doors and 1 person.

>>212316
a giant commotion is not what we need. someone could hit an alert button and send out an SOS and then we have a huge group on our ass.

First check on the other cell room with inmate. Then go to the first unlocked room and take care of those guards and take the lift up. If it doesn't cause too much of a commotion it could be the most quiet way to the boss.

>>212316
I would say do this except seal the unlocked door to the side room you pass shut to be safe, along with the locked door past the two humans you'll run into.
Deal with the humans by sleeping them, preferably from outside the room if you can do that.
You can prevent any commotion with a mute when you break open the glass. When you get to your target, grab him and hurl yourself out of the window you came in, making the spot you land on the ground softer. Or just land on him, it's only the second floor after all. Enchant yourself with speed again and get out of there with him, you can interrogate him somewhere safer.

>>212316
Climbing in through the window is an ace plan, and I support it.

I am quite curious as to why there's a human prisoner here, though. We should go see who it is first.

It looks like we can either head up the stairs or take the room next to the cells which leads to a lift to the main hall.

Go to the door before the stairs and scry inside. Find out what kind of room that is.

Can you do that at will or is it draining? Certainly give us the advantage.

Ok, I'm assuming a locked door isn't going to slow you down much, so you can make a beeline straight for your target and you'll only need to encounter two people. Looks like they are watching television so you may be able to sneak right on by using that silence magic.

But it looks like there's a prisoner down the hallway. It'd certainly make it difficult to get through quietly, but you could probably save them.

If the prisoner is someone you know bring them along with you, otherwise leave them.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/28(Wed)10:13 No. 213195 ID: bc1727
File 128033719426.jpg - (232.93KB , 665x797 , 1-14.jpg )

>Human prisoner?

Whoever it is, they are in a cell with no field of vision - out cold, blindfolded or both. It only makes sense that they’re a prisoner here, but I can’t explain why the place is so empty. I can only guess this is a slave trade operation - maybe every other slave was sold...Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.

>>212316
>>212566

Heh, I guess I have come a long way in scrying. When my consciousness passes through a door I can tell if it’s locked or not without looking twice; a far cry from barely being able to get a crude understanding of my surroundings in the same 5 to 10 minutes of scrying - if even that. The field of vision thing is really only useful for me to know where that person may have been headed. It still takes a while to scan the area, so it’s not like I can instantly update where everyone is. Ugh, come to think of it, I forgot to check for items and places of interest - I guess I’m showing my stress...I’m not used to being captured like this. Oh well, my maps will never be perfect anyway - I glazed over a few empty bathrooms and forgot where they were. That bunker to the right was definitely much bigger than this map makes it out to be and had more vehicles in it. A lot of things will change as I actually get up to them in person.

Fortunately this isn’t a mission - I just want info, clothes and I can move from there. Nothing I find in here would be of any help to me, so checking every broom closet is pointless. Even if I found a gun, I’d never use it, so it’s okay that I didn’t search for them to begin with. When I get out of here I can worry about fine-tuning how I make my mental maps. With a little tweaking they’d be a much greater advantage for me.

Anyway...

>>212560
>>212324
>>212316

[i]So either stairs or lift for the basement, then either stairs or window for the first floor. Well, I’m closer to the lift, so I’ll take a look there first. If I see an exploitable time to move, I’ll do that. Otherwise I’ll bust through the three security doors and take out the guards. A bit of a pain, but I’m raring to use some of this power.[\i]

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/28(Wed)10:13 No. 213196 ID: bc1727
File 128033723351.jpg - (268.66KB , 1004x800 , 1-15.jpg )

>>212566

The closest guarded room to me is, judging by what I’ve seen, the room where slaves would be taken in and out - I’d find it hard to believe that they just bring them through the front door. The security checkpoint ahead is a surveillance room. It seems like the cells themselves aren’t monitored, but I’d bet the hallway is. I can deal with that.

I take a deep breath and a moment to mentally prepare for my next move, and then I get to work. I scry the hall from behind the cover of the door. I see what seems to be a camera and I carve a rune of darkness over it. In a calm, steady pace, I exit my cell to a few doors down.

This is it...oh.

The door is locked, so I pass a spherical mana field straight through the mechanism and superheat it - it punches a perfectly circular hole through the lock. Asides from the sound of some popping components, it’s a quiet entry.

On any other day, brute force magic would be a waste, but boy is it fun when I have the stuff to burn!

Surprisingly, the prisoner looks up at me. Well...towards me.

“You’re not my captor...” the human girl says in a low, timid voice. She seems to think for a moment, but it’s hard to read. “Tell me we’re escaping!” her voice begins to rise. “Oh, gods we’re going to be free soon! Did everyone else get out alright!? I don’t understand, I didn’t hear a thing! What happened?” she says, struggling against her chains.

...

>>213196
First off, tell her she needs to be quiet. If she makes too much noise, she may draw attention.

>>213196
Is she blind? Magically or naturally? We should be able to get her out of here easily in either case. She can follow along in your wake as you disable guards and escape. She doesn't have to do anything except stay out of your way and keep out of sight. You might have to lead her by the hand if she doesn't have any magic ability though...

Tell her to be quiet; if she seems to be a jabbermouth you can just Mute her.

Oh, and watch out; the men in the surveillance room will have realized something's wrong when their camera went dark. Expect guards to come check on it.

Tell her to wait and be quiet. You'll be back to rescue her.

Run in through the only available green door and disable all the dudes inside. It's probably a security station and you can use it to open doors without having to waste mana.

She's human, she can't have magic, right?

Ask her if she can maneuver by herself.

Break her shackles and collar. Tell her that they already moved everyone else, that the only prisoners left are just you and her right now, and that escape is the priority. Ask her name and give yours.

You need to make this girl realize that she needs to shut her hole. Ask her what happened, etc.

Yes, ask her for the most abridged possible story of why she's here and possibly why you're here. Be calm but stern to imply the need for brevity.

After that tell her to keep quite and behind you if her freedom is important to her.

ether all the others were sold or the men here 'forgot' to sell her. she is currently desperate and will probably cling to you, at least hasn't been broken though.

>>213196
You're going to have to respond now since she's aware of your presence. Normally I'd recommend making her stay put until you've finished your business but the situation calls for a different approach. Leaving her in the cell will work against you if someone comes by to patrol, what with the lock being broken.

As far as what to do with the girl, well, verify that she's competent enough to move and move silently. Explain your intentions--you're going after someone, the saving people thing is secondary (unless that's also your perogative). If she's too much of a risk then put her to sleep. Having to look after her as well is too much of a risk given the circumstances and leaving her conscious of your presence but left locked up could mean her broadcasting your recent freedom.

If you have to keep her in the cell, can you repair the lock? Better that than burning mana to power through conflict you could avoid otherwise due to extra baggage.

>>213196
If you haven't got any personal objections to the concept, I guess you might as well help her. :V

Is she going to be an asset or a liability? Oh who am I kidding? Nobody here puts their own survival ahead of the survival of others. Whatever. If you decide to rescue her tell her to shut the fuck up and stay hidden.

If she were anywhere near as powerful as you she would have broken out by now. So she's a weakness. You are going to have to babysit her to make sure she doesn't die. Just like the followers in Fallout 3. Damnit Jericho if you die again I swear to god I'm not reloading the game to get you back. All you do is slow me down, attract the enemy's attention, and die constantly. We don't need a Jericho on our team.

>>213196
Rust her chains off and tell her to stay quiet and stay behind you. If she isn't prompt about following your orders put her to sleep and move on.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/30(Fri)23:20 No. 214122 ID: bc1727
File 128055723431.jpg - (57.63KB , 522x262 , 1-15-2.jpg )

>>213216
>>213197
>>213200
>>213228
>>213233
>>213236
>>213259
>>213267
>>213286
>>213290

It seems as though a million thoughts echo through my mind, but not one tells me what I could possibly say. My heart sinks; I do what I always do in situations like these.

I move to her side and free her from her shackles without a single word. I keep alert for sounds of any guards that might have gotten suspicious - I hear nothing.

“You’re not human...” she says, her voice lowering. Her head drops. “They didn’t get away... Did they?...” her face turns towards me, but her eyes focus on nothing. I see now why they didn’t bother to secure her as well as they did me.

“Stay quiet and stay close to me. Can you do this?” I say quickly, clearly and without emotion.

“Oh, s-sorry,” she responds meekly. Tears stream freely down her face. My heart sinks further. “I can do that.”

Gods, I broke her. Why am I so terrible at this?!

Sensing a lingering, but mostly faded sleep spell on her, I quickly go to work canceling it.

“Your strength should have returned. Move,” I say.

She slowly stands, but braces herself against the wall. Some relief comes to her face - I’m glad to see it.

“Thank you - whatever you did, I feel a little better. I’m just...so weak. I bet they didn’t feed you either, did they?” she asks quietly. I simply shake my head no - forgetting for a moment that she’s blind. “No,” I reply.

I’m hungry too, but she must have been here much longer than me...

>Ask for her (abridged) story.

No...now isn’t the time. I’m really not good with words anyway...it’s best I stay quiet and professional...

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/30(Fri)23:22 No. 214123 ID: bc1727
File 128055734745.jpg - (175.04KB , 980x581 , 1-16.jpg )

While I move towards the door she calls out to me. When I stop, she cuts herself off and freezes, as if suddenly unsure of herself.

“Wait, I - ...What is your name? I’m Cris,” she eventually asks, finally departing from her wall.

“...Wedgie. Enough questions - Stay in this spot until I call for you,” I respond. I pass through the door. I still hear nothing.

Cris follows awkwardly with her hands out until she finds the doorframe where I was standing. I wait until she does to move further.

“Wedg- really...?” she says under her breath. Although she looks utterly confused by my answer, she abides by my request for silence.

Hm, that could be a problem. What could I get to make this easier for her? I doubt there’s a cane lying around...Oh well. Wait...of course!

I turn and approach her. She doesn’t seem to react.

“Do you want to see? It wouldn’t be permanent,” I ask her, point blank.

She seems unfazed by the question. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“I’m blindfolded, but I can still see without my eyes - I’m scrying my surroundings. I can do the same for you, but the spell won’t last forever. Do you want to see? ” I repeat. She stares ahead blankly; I can’t read her expression.

“Do it, please,” she says, without hesitation. I imbue her with mana and enchant it with sight.

I hope she can control it. Even for someone without the talent, it shouldn’t be that hard...

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/07/30(Fri)23:25 No. 214125 ID: bc1727
File 128055753860.jpg - (272.91KB , 1032x594 , 1-17.jpg )

I can’t immediately tell if it worked or not, but she parts ways with the door frame. Her head turns rapidly from side to side and her arms drop to her sides. She turns to face her cell. I can hear her breathing become more rapid. She swings around and faces me. I can see her mouth words, but she isn’t saying anything. She steps up and puts her hands to my face abruptly, but gently - as if by instinct. I don’t react. She examines my face with her hands, then she caresses my cheek.

“I’m...sorry. All I’ve ever had...All I ever knew of a person’s face was touch...” she pauses. “You’re so beautiful...Is-is this what I’ve been missing?”

...

I feel her try to lift my blindfold. “Why on earth are you wearing this? Let me see your eyes!” she says, excitement returning to her voice. I grab her wrist. She gasps.

“Enough. Let’s go,” I say. She looks down; embarrassed but still smiling.

“Right...I’ll be waiting.”

I finally leave her at the door frame and proceed with my plan, but now I’m distracted. I seriously wonder if that was a good idea. But that’s not all I’m distracted by...

...Beautiful?

yes, you are beautiful, but too many humans are blinded by hatred to see that. ironically a blind girl could see you more clearly then they.

and it was a good enough idea. as long as she stays quiet and follows your directions she should be no trouble.

now let's go knock out/ maim some more guards.

>>214125
Call me foolish, but I'd want to check B2 for anything interesting before moving past the guards. Also discover what the small room at the end of the cell hallway is. It should only take a short while to go glance over there, you can rust through the door hinges or something with mana to get through without a problem and little power loss.

After that, beeline for the security office, take out everyone in your way as fast as you can hit them so that no one is behind you. Then retrieve prisoner girl and take the lift up.

>>214125
Yeah yeah kindness and shit is what she mostly cares about. Also, she probably likes your exotic figure if you want to go in a literal sense.

Obligatory you have a great ass comment is probably going to happen. Choose whatever belief you want. Inner self, the exoticism, or the ass. Still keep moving forward, maybe go into B2 since to see if we can find some clothes of some sort, at least for the girl. She's probably more embarrassed or bothered by her nudity than you are. It looks like a storage room and there aren't any people in there.

You're pretty beautiful, from everything we've seen. Kindly remind her that as wonderful as sight is, you still need to get out of here now.

Attack the guard house, through the unlocked door. Hopefully you can open more doors from there without having to waste even more magic.

>>214135
Yeah.. a normally blind person embarrassed by nudity and with an opinion on body shape. Makes total sense.

Anyway, leave the girl there until you can secure the closest room and then bunny-hop with her from place to place when all is clear. May as well not leave her completely behind.

Kiss her, you fool.


No I'm kidding, remember to find some extra clothes for her though

Clothes can wait. Escape is the first priority.

You two are an interesting pair... One who chooses to be robbed of sight, and one who longs for it.

Ordinarily I'd say the slave-handling room would be less dangerous but if they can see us blanking the cameras we should head through security and disable it before an alert can be raised. Taking the lift might also be a huge liability here.

>>214144
That is completely normal for a normally blind person. They still want to look good and are embarrassed by nudity, being blind doesn't change that.
Clothes are not a priority, you would need to go out of your way or strip someone to get them. And she thinks you're beautiful, I'm sure she would want you to go without clothes.
Now that you have someone to protect slowing you down it will probably be best to take out that security office through the unlocked door. Sleep seems like a good way to disable them, especially if you can do it from a distance. If possible, unlock the doors you intend to go through and lock every other door from the security room. When you're ready to take the lift go pick up your new buddy and mute then break a window leading outside, telling her to wait against the wall for you to come for her so no one spots her from a window. You can pick her up when you grab the target and bail out of the window, imbuing your limbs with mana.

Mneme!CRITTerXzI 2010/07/31(Sat)15:11 No. 214315 ID: c4c313
File 128061428334.jpg - (76.79KB , 807x581 , directApproach.jpg )

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say check out B2 before going on. You should have a few minutes before anyone notices your guard is missing, and it looks like there's a bunch of stuff down there. Maybe clothesbetter armor!

After that, first right and take out those two humans. If you wake up the third guy he should still be in his pajamas, so easy to just sleep. One of them should have a key to the door that leads to the lift. If you can operate the lift (maybe the girl can) then get yourself up to ground floor. Immediately go out the window to the left, and scale the wall, busting in the window on the second floor, where only an unlocked door stands between you and your target.

Don't think to hard on her calling you beautiful. She's probably been blind most of her life (if not all), and to a blind person any color is beautiful. I imagine to her you've given her quite the gift by allowing her to see for a while.

While I think scaling a wall is more risky than we should be doing, no matter what the longer term plan is the first goal is to take out the security station. They'll know something is up and raise an alert if blacked out a camera, so you should make it a priority to move to the security room quickly and incapacitate the guards there.

I can't tell from the scry which is the security room. The unlocked one on the right looks like a break room, but there are things that look like monitors. The one up the stairs behind the locked door looks like a security, and there are two people watching what looks like a console, but that might be a television.

Fix Zeekar & Kamon 2010/08/03(Tue)17:47 No. 215317 ID: bc1727
File 128088286368.png - (537.32KB , 1410x621 , 1-20.png )

>>214126
>>214135
>>214140
>>214144
>>214160
>>214164
>>214409

My mind races - I move down the hall to the corner, but my thoughts continue to buzz. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself.

…Okay, focus. Focus.

>Check B2

Didn’t I already decide to move forward? I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t make a plan and stick with it.

>Security room
>Slave Handling room
>Lift

I’d really like to take the lift if possible - better cover, but once I really start disabling every camera I come across, those security guards will start getting suspicious. For the lift to make any sense, I need to avoid the security room without fooling with the cameras.

>>214315

Hmm, it’s really tempting to just get straight to Mattani’s office like that but for all I know there’s a busy street right outside - Scaling the building would definitely make a scene. I could just say “fuck it” and area sleep the whole building. That’d burn through all this mana I managed to get my hands on, though…

Wait - that gives me an idea I think will solve all my problems at once. I'll have to thank that human for his crystal's power later. Hehe.

I carve a rune to blink myself invisible to natural sight. When the rune fades, I proceed unhindered down the hall to the slave transfer station. Luckily, keeping on task seems to put my mind at ease somewhat. I begin to hear unintelligible yelling as I reach the room. The sound seems as though it has to pass through several walls to get to me. As I peer through the glass of the sliding-door, I notice only one of the humans that were present before. He fills out paperwork; a pair of headphones drowning out the distant ruckus as he works.

Lucky me - there must be a distraction back there. Whatever I’m going to do, now’s the time.

>>215307

I hope that distraction isn't your new friend.

Put him to sleep, make it look like he nodded off.

Make sure the human isn't seen by the cameras.

Could you modify the camera feeds so that they repeat the same footage of... nothing happening? Then you could just leave the cameras on, and nobody would ever know that something was wrong.

Are you familiar with the blood choke? It doesn't cost any mana.

Best quest.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/08/06(Fri)19:51 No. 216002 ID: bc1727
File 128114950079.png - (242.54KB , 1022x458 , 1-21.png )

>>215321

Done.

His body slumps over - My hand is waiting to catch his forehead. I gently lower him to his desk in hopes that it seems like he passed out from exhaustion. Hopefully no one was looking closely. Patting him down uncovers a set of keys, some gum, what seems to be a few scraps of note paper and a pen; I recall with disappointment that there was a card reader by the lift.

Damn, he was useless. Now what?

The persistent yelling escalates between the two men in the back room - the men’s restroom if I remember correctly. I begin to feel as though I did this man a favor, putting him to sleep.

>>215340

I probably could if I had access to the security feed, but I already decided to avoid the security checkpoint.

>>215318

I suddenly get a bad, albeit unlikely feeling that Cris could somehow be in trouble. With some difficulty, I try to push my worries to the back of my mind for the time being - I have work to do.

Can you scry her really fast, make sure your fears are unjustified?

Will you be able to make Cris invisible as well when you need to get through here with her?

You're going to have to check out the bathroom with the two guards. Bathroom's unlikely to have cameras so you don't have to be as careful, you could sleep one while you blood choke the other to save a bit of mana. Drop him once he goes limp and you won't kill him.

If neither of them has a card for the lift we might be in a bit of trouble, but if they do we can go grab Cris, make her invisible, and bring her to the female bathroom to hide and wait while we clear the next portion.

>>216002
Hm. Scry a little to see what they're yelling about.

>>216008
We might be able to magically carry our voice to the appropriate place for her to hear it, without needed to backtrack personally. If a ventriloquist can throw their voice across the room, we can throw ours down a couple corridors, around some beds, and through a couple doors. Because we're awesome.

Cutscene Zeekar & Kamon 2010/08/08(Sun)22:44 No. 216516 ID: bc1727
File 128133265864.png - (369.33KB , 768x1024 , 1-22.png )

>>216007

The feeling of dread grows in the back of my mind, but I try to focus.

>>216008
>If neither of them has a card for the lift…

There’s only one way to find out.

While maneuvering around a desk to reach the restroom door, one of my chains collide with it causing a loud rattle - It doesn’t slow me down, but the once rowdy conversation abruptly lowers to a hush - not a good sign.

Oops.

Not particularly concerned by the threat of two confused humans, I enter anyway. I pass into a small hub, complete with flowery paintings lining the walls prior to the bathrooms proper. As the argument seems to escalate again, I shake my head with a sigh; they are perhaps not as perceptive as I had given them credit for. With a deep breath, I prepare to enter.

I flash my consciousness in and out of the bathroom to get a basic idea of the enemy layout and shove my way through the door. The two males cry out in cowardly unison as the door swings open. Their unexpected outcry even gives me pause; a deathly silence falls upon the men’s restroom.

“W-who the…Who’s there? C-can’t you tell we’re busy in here!? Use the other lavatory!” the angry man brusquely orders towards the door. I recognize his voice as belonging to the primary agitator of whatever argument was previously being held here. The other human speaks up as well, obviously taking the chance to lighten the prior mood with a nervous chuckle, “It…it’s gotta be the guys messing with u-”

“Shut up! Don’t you hear that?!” the first one interrupts with a dismissive raise of his hand.

I approach my now fearful quarry, but my chains loudly object to my stealthy approach.

The angry man’s face goes pale and he presses himself against the tiles of the back wall…I slow my pace and ominously advance.

“Fuck! What - what the Hells is…You hear that too, don’t you!? Tell me you hear that!” the angry man wails pathetically. “I hear it! I hear it…” the other man yelps with exasperation, seemingly more afraid of his superior than of my ghastly approach. That seems to change as I draw ever nearer - their whimpers become more shamelessly panicked as I go. When I am within reach, I stop. I hear their breathing halt in comical unison.

I snatch the angry man from the protection of his wall and pull him into a stranglehold. He appears to be dragged towards the exit by an invisible force, straining out what cries for help he can all the while. The other man stays frozen, mouth agape. By the time I am midway through the room, the human can no longer hold back his flight response and the darts for the door, almost flying into a stall in the process. I trip him with the thick of my tail and order him in no uncertain terms, “Don’t. Move.”

He remains trembling on the unsanitary floor, hands covering his head. I drag the angry man from the bathroom, laying him against a wall of the hub when he loses consciousness. I then return to finish the job - His cohort hasn’t moved a muscle since he fell. I grab him by the collar of his shirt and hoist him off the ground. His eyes go wide with terror and he squirms helplessly against my grip. Needing him to answer my questions, I drop my guise; I am now visible again.

“Y-you’re not!” he gasps. “I-I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me! I just escaped a city with my family - The…We had nothing! This was the only job I could find and it paid enough to get us back on our feet! I know I should have turned it down anyway; I hate the idea of human trafficking! If you let me go I swear I won’t work here anymore…I was just about to get fired anyway! Whatever you are, please don’t kill me!” he blubbers all in one breath.

“Enough!” I raise my voice for a moment. He goes silent. “Where is the key to the lift?” I ask steadily.

“I-it…My s-supervisor has it! I mean, he’s in charge of it - if he doesn’t have it on him it’s in his desk, I swear! It’s a red card!” he says. That is all I needed to know. I blink him to sleep and shove him into a stall. As I return to his supervisor, I breathe a single sigh of a relief that I don’t have to listen to any more of that. Unfortunately, however…

Egh, it’s not on him.

I restore my invisible state and return to the slave transfer room. I deduce that the supervisor’s desk is probably the one with the computer terminal - overlooking that, one of the drawers finally yield a red card-key.

This must be it. Let’s give it a try…

I swipe the card through a reader on the door to the lift hallway. The light turns green for a several seconds and goes red again when I choose not to open the door. I let a pleased smile slip.

One step closer to getting the hells out of this place.

Cutscene 2 Zeekar & Kamon 2010/08/08(Sun)22:48 No. 216518 ID: bc1727
File 128133293678.png - (153.09KB , 969x712 , 1-23.png )

I return to the room where I left Cris…Oh. My heart sinks for a moment, but I try to keep calm.

Please be okay. She couldn’t have gotten far and even if she was captured, they wouldn’t hurt her, right? Nothing to worry about.

I search deeper down the hall, lowering my invisibility having re-entered the hallway with the disabled camera. The hall dips down into a stairwell, which thankfully is also a dead-end. Cris is there.

“I told you not to move,” I say.

“Sorry...you disappeared and I wasn’t sure what was going on. When you didn’t come back I started to explore a little. I’ll stay still next time, okay? Hey, what do you think is behind here?” she responds. I sigh.

It’s a good thing I took that camera out of commission…

I notice the door is locked with another card reader. Since I’m here, I swipe my card to satisfy the relentless bombardment of curiosity that I had prior resolved to resist. The reader’s light turns green and I go in. We descend into the lower basement level to a large, dark storage room.

Zeekar & Kamon 2010/08/08(Sun)22:49 No. 216519 ID: bc1727
File 128133297729.png - (347.03KB , 847x568 , 1-24.png )

“What in the world are those things?” Cris asks in amazement. “Cages. Probably what they brought us in with,” I respond, scanning the room for anything remotely useful - nope. Cris quickly loses her sense of wonder and frowns.

“How could those people do this to us? We were…” she pauses. Her fists clench tightly. “The world would be better off if this place just burned to the ground…” she says, her voice edging off and becoming tense.

Should I say something? …No, I’ll just make it worse if I do.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing useful in here,” I say while turning to leave.

“Yeah…” she responds and follows me out. “If I see nothing else, I want it to be the face of the monster responsible for all this,” she says, flatly - but then her expression softens. The door closes behind us with a mechanical whirr. “Thanks to you, I’ve already been able to see the face of an angel,” she smiles weakly. I cringe. My thoughts abuzz, I contemplate a response but can’t form the words.

I’m not an angel to anyone…I don’t deserve those words at all.

I clench my teeth and focus on moving on. I restore my invisibility and draw a rune on Cris as well. She gasps as she fades from visibility. A slight discrepancy in my plan occurs to me…

“Take my hand. If we come across anyone, I’ll take care of them, just do as I say and you’ll be fine,” I say. Fortunately I can still sense her presence through the rune I placed on her and I reach for her hand. “Don’t move. I’m coming to you.”

I take her by the hand and steadily lead her to the lift. In a few moments, we’re inside unhindered. The doors close.

“What will this do?” Cris asks. “I’ll take us up a floor. From there we’ll have to go up the hard way to reach Mattani,” I respond. The lift begins to move.

“How do you know all this…?” she says. “I scryed the building before I left my cell,” I answer again.

“I didn’t even have the slightest idea that magic could do so much,” she says as the lift slows. “Not many do,” I retort.

“You’re amazing.”

The doors open with a ping. I step out with Cris and the lift closes behind us. I can’t help but feel relieved to finally see daylight.

Well, this is it. This’ll probably be my last move before getting some answers out of that human upstairs.

What would be the best way for me to get there with Cris? I can’t forget that I need to use up the rest of this mana too. If I don’t use it soon, it’ll all go to waste - I don’t get the chance to do this often, so I might as well go flashy!

Well, there's that dude behind that locked door in the room in front of the stairs. Let's put him to sleep as well... the flashy bit comes when we get upstairs. That guy in the checkpoint? Just disintegrate the door in front of him before putting him to sleep too. Then we can cut the next door in half... scry inside the main dude's office before paralyzing him.

We can use Mute in areas where we are to keep them from hearing any noise.

Mneme!CRITTerXzI 2010/08/09(Mon)00:11 No. 216525 ID: c4c313
File 128133791914.jpg - (75.47KB , 807x581 , flashy.jpg )

phh, you want flashy? Blow a hole open in the ceiling here, and rise up through the falling debris like an avenging angel. Or demon, whichever you prefer.

Goat boy. c:

Hey... take the angel comment as a compliment. Angels are supposed to be things that cause fear at the very sight of them. Even when bringing good news, they have to tell people to calm the fuck down. Well, they'd probably use better language than me, but there ya go. Those cutesy flying babies aren't what they're supposed to be like.

Lawyer Dog 2010/08/09(Mon)01:10 No. 216530 ID: 70d9eb
File 128134141860.jpg - (88.33KB , 807x581 , map.jpg )

Security is probably keeping an eye on the main entrance, I would leave that guard alone. He probably will stay on that entrance even if you're detected.

With security so close to those windows and almost right below our target we should probably take the stairs, and then go into the unlocked room. Put up a mute spell enveloping the windows on the side of the building with the target, and then break through the window in the unlocked room. Set Cris down on the ground and edge over to the target's room and break in while sleeping him and grabbing him with mana strengthened hands. You'll want to bail out of the window with him and Cris and get to somewhere safer to interrogate him.

Or if you want to be flashy you could blast a hole through the wall to his room instead of going through the unlocked room's window.

>>216530
Flashy is good, but in this case you should go subtle, at least until you get there. Follow this, though yeah, exploding wall could be good so long as you scry his location again to make sure the debris won't kill him.

...Is that another blind person near the restroom?

Create an armored suit made of crystallized mana, then outfit it with all manner of Mana-fueled weaponry. Mana-Repulsors in the palms, shoulder-mounted Mana Wave Cannons, Magick-Seeking Mana Missiles, maybe even a Mana Whip.

>>216771
Oh, and if non-violence is your thing, uhh...I guess the mana boolets could cause a taser effect or something. Nothing lethal, just give them such a shock.

>>216771

Woah woah woah he got all this mana from about a crystal the size of a quarter. How's that translate to a full body of armor and weaponry made of the stuff? That'd be enough mana to like, level the city from blinking. Make your armor out of something a little more subtle and classy than crystallized mana.

How about solid diamond.

Other options: Timestop, teleportation, and walking through walls. Or levitation.

Flashy might not be responsible when we have a character very dependent on us in tow. Keep playing it safe.

First put the two in the surveillance room to sleep. They seem to be close to the door on this side and it'll give us a lot more freedom to move around.

Next check outside. If it's somewhere Cris can hide and be safe make her wait there while you go back in through the 2F window and jump Mattani from behind.
If the outside is unsafe just go up the stairs and take her with you. There's one more person up there but it looks like it might just be a secretary.

If you are looking for flashy, how about a localized earthquake after you leave. Taking away the place they ran this slavery ring from would be a super smart move.

Oh wait, I've got it. You can just bust through the ceiling and come up through the floor.