The Fifth Thread of Fatale Albion!

The Fatale Albion Thread Archive:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Fatale%20Albion

Other Threads by Lumina Canima:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=meguca+royale

INTRO (Please do not skip this)

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


◕ In the previous thread our two relevant Puella Magi, Abigail and Stephanie, found out that there is a Witch in the school they are going to. Stephanie buried a couple of Familiars then fulfilled the Britbong's ultimate dream of almost killing a demon with a football kick. Abigail found the Labyrinth Entrance (on her first search as well, twisted luck). And Stephanie might get a free Grief Seed!

OTHER STUFF

>Can I also join in the suffering?

I’ve decided that I’m accepting new players for now. Just fill in this Contract Form and you’ll be all set.

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

Active Dramatis Personae

Name: ф Stephanie Smith ф

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

Profile: Being previously an orphan, Stephanie puts on a jaded, cynical, and self-serving exterior—aided in no small part by a rather foul vocabulary—, while in truth being quite soft and sensitive. Though loathe to admit it, she will go to great lengths to help someone she even remotely considers a friend, and especially those she considers family. Like her current one, the Imeredalas, and her Friend-turned-sister, Megan. Loves her new cat, named Fate, and dog, named Opportunity. Her Wish was “To have a loving family, loyal friends, and a place to belong. Maybe a pet dog. Or a cat? Both?”

The fact that she is a Puella Magi and ipso facto her body is dead didn’t sit well with her at first. She gets adopted but now their family has to take care of a zombie? Fucking hell. She’s tried to focus on the brighter side of it though, as everything she wished for came true, and she’s going to enjoy it.

Stats

>£ Physical Affinity: 12 (The Puella Magi Average)
>λ Magical Affinity: 12 (Ditto)
>彡 Dexterity: 14 (Surprisingly high. Maybe those long limbs help?)
>メ Perception: 12 (PM Average)
>⸫ Wisdom: 10 (The Human Average)
>π Intelligence: 10 (Actually higher than one would think for someone with no traditional education)
>ღ Charisma: 10
>φ Mind: 14 (She’s enjoying her new family and nothing is stopping that.)
>Ω Constitution: 14 (Her Body is dead already, so what use is this stat anyway?)

Abilities

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

Stephanie has recently jumped up in power. She can now convert parts of her body into an element and gain some aspects of it as well as better control. This Magia is named “Families of Matter” and “Adoptions”

Name: 𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌

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

Profile: A shy girl that speaks with a slight stutter. Whenever she’s overwhelmed by emotions and nervousness she can barely speak a complete sentence and retreats into her mind, unfortunately for her love-life, this was often when Oliver was around. But strong passions lay beneath the surface that flare when needed and cause her to spring to action. An artist with a good eye, and a passion to do the previously impossible for the sake of what she believes to be good and fight against unfair conditions. An overall conciliatory person. Her Wish was that "She'd really like it if Oliver was her boyfriend..."

Stats

>£ Physical Affinity: 10
>λ Magical Affinity: 14 (Due to her Abilities purely dealing with the intangible and having practice, this is higher than usual)
>彡 Dexterity: 12
>メ Perception: 14 (She has a good eye for detail. Useful for an artist.)
>⸫ Wisdom: 10
>π Intelligence: 14 (The actual average for a good student in modern education.)
>ღ Charisma: 12
>φ Mind: 14 (Oliver is her boyfriend! She gets to go on dates with him! Not much can put a damper on that!)
>Ω Constitution: 8 (Having no physical way to defend yourself can suck. Especially when you don’t exercise)

Abilities

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

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

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

A recent addition to her toolkit is her ability to disassociate from her body to enter a separate realm that she’s been told is called the “Crossroads” by using the Magia “Crossroads Jaunt”… It’s Astral Projection. Her tutor doesn’t like the term but it’s Astral Projection by another name.

Abigail has a Witch named “Claire” or “Clarion” sharing living space in her Soul.

ф Stephanie Smith ф

Stephanie’s Adoption: Solid Earth (+2 PA, +2 Con. +2 PA when manipulating Solid Matter)

Current Time: ~5:55 AM
Current Location: P.E Fields

Stephanie quickly recovers from her frustration with the scene in front of her: another Familiar. At least this one is being actively pinned down by another potential Magical Girl, Alba.
Stephanie yells “Heads up!” to Alba and rushes forward, her feet and shins clad in a combination of dirt, artificial turf, and wood from the shed door. She doesn’t feel any extra weight from the mass, probably due to her “training”, and her shins collide with the Familiar’s face. Alba pinning down its body and Stephanie delivering a kick with such force causes its head to turn 180 degrees, though due to the strange physiology of Familiars (“What kind of bodies do these things have?” Stephanie wonders) it doesn’t die.

>>??? Familiar ??? HP: ?/?? -> ?/??<<

Stephanie doesn’t want to waste any more time however, so she pulls Alba away from the Familiar and towards the exit of the shed before creating a fault beneath the Familiar.
The gaping maw of Mother Earth opens and swallows the Familiar, making the ground around the fault distort before closing and mending like nothing happened. Unlike the last time she performed such a trick, the fault needs to be much smaller due to all of the sports equipment surrounding both her and the Familiar. She wants little collateral damage in this moment and she mostly succeeds, though unfortunately some footballs, basketballs, and tennis rackets end up falling into the hole with the Familiar. Stephanie can deal with that later.

>>??? Familiar ??? HP: ?/?? -> ?/?? (Trapped. Must succeed an M16 PA Test to escape.)<<

“Whoooa!” Alba marvels. “How’d you do that?! That’s some pretty cool magic- Wait are you a Magical gir-” Alba is then forcefully dragged away by Stephanie.

“Lass, we can have a chinwag later! Right now I’m tight on time and can’t afford to bugger about.”

“Uh- okay, but where are you taking me?” Alba asks while being dragged.

“Meeting with my friends. Something tells me you would want to be there.”

Alba then surprises Stephanie by breaking out of her grip easily. Stephanie is briefly shocked by this; Alba is very short while Stephanie is tall, how could there be such a disparity in strength between them? Then Stephanie examines Alba’s body and notices that she’s actually pretty athletic-looking, at least more than Stephanie and her skinny body.

“Are your friends also Magical Girls like me?” Alba asks excitedly.
Well that confirms it for Stephanie: Alba is a Magical Girl.

“Come with me and find out, mate.”

Alba nods and follows Stephanie without hesitation.

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌

Abigail’s Status: Unconscious (Full access to the Crossroads. Can regain consciousness by using “Crossroads Jaunt”)

Current Time: ~5:55
Current Location: Staff Room

In the Staff Room, Abigail has two major points of interest she could examine: The literally blindingly attractive substitute teacher Ashleigh Walsh, or the strange electric equipment next to her that was no doubt made from the stolen circuitry in the Science Lab’s Cabinet.
Abigail ultimately decides on Ashleigh. She’s been suspicious and Abigail has other methods of figuring out what the electrical equipment is. Besides, Abigail was never an electrician while her Magic is all about looking into people.

Abigail floats over to Ashleigh and leans over her shoulder to eavesdrop on the conversation on her phone. Claire decides to examine the electrical equipment, it’s not like you need two people to look over a phone.
Whatever communication app Ashleigh’s using is almost completely featureless, with nothing identifying what it could be or who are even involved in the conversation. What kind of clandestine communication is this woman having that requires such secrecy?

”A, have you assembled the device?”

”Yep. A doddle with your Magic as well, that thing is a big cheat you know that?”

”Yes, yes, but I can’t use it on myself. That’s part of the reason I teamed up with you.”

Ashleigh has a playful smile as she types her next message.

”Wha- would you not have teamed up with me otherwise?! I’m more than just a pretty face you know!”

”I would apologise if I didn’t know for a fact that you’re way beyond any self-esteem issues www. Especially in relation to your looks.”

”Easy for you to say now, I’m out here pretending to be a slag straight out of Love Island so no-one pays attention to you.”

”And I treasure our friendship for that. Genuinely though, thank you so much for joining me on this. I don’t think I would have been willing to investigate that large surge of Magical Energy here in York if you weren’t here to back me up.”

”Speaking of: How are things going on the Witch investigation?”

”I haven’t found the entrance yet but I think I’ve figured out how the Witch manipulates people to generate Grief. Also, I might have figured out the previous identity of this Witch before she Witched Out.”

Ashleigh sighs when reading that message.

”Why do you care so much about how the Witches were like before they became Witches? It’s too late to do anything but kill them and put them out of their misery for everyone’s sake.”

”Well I believe that prevention is the best cure. If we can figure out what puts Puella Magi into a despair spiral then we can properly treat them to prevent it. Also… There has to be a way out or forward other than death. The fact that people get sacrificed as an inevitability in this Cycle isn’t something that sits well in my chest.”

”How many times do I have to say this: You’re barking mad whenever you go on about this. Magical Girls aren’t like your brother or therapy patients, they’re basically emotionally volatile weapons.”
Despite her message, Ashleigh’s face is that of worry instead of anger or frustration.

”Do you call yourself a weapon, Ash? When you started this life and made your Wish, were you planning on discarding your Humanity? HAVE you discarded your Humanity? Even though my Soul isn’t in my body, I still live everyday. Between hunting Witches and fighting other Puella Magi I take my time to treasure the relationships I have, especially with you, Ash. And I would hate to see you turn into a Witch, so much so that I would probably Witch Out right after.”

Ashleigh shifts her eyes away from the phone screen nervously before quickly and clumsily writing down her next message.

”yeah yeah ‘ash rabu’ or whatever”

”Haha, 大好き, Ash-chan~ www”

Abigail can tell they’re blatantly using humour to undercut their nerves.

”I need to get into position for the tour soon and look at the material again. All the energy in the world and it doesn’t stop me from being bored. Tata~”

With that, Ashleigh closes her phone and leaves.

And Abigail realises something important: She needs to wake up and get everything sorted with the others before school starts proper.

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌 & ф Stephanie Smith ф

Abigail’s Status: Conscious (Full access to the real world. Can access the Crossroads by using “Crossroads Jaunt”)
Stephanie’s Adoption: Solid Earth (+2 PA, +2 Con. +2 PA when manipulating Solid Matter)

When Abigail wakes up she is greeted by her love, the very reason she discarded a normal life in a moment of passion, and the one person she can never keep her nerves around: Oliver.

“W-waugh! W-why are you here?!” Abigail says in an embarrassing voice.

Oliver doesn’t respond with his usual cocksure and comedic replies, worry is painted on his face instead.
“Well, I came to the cafeteria for a snack and then saw you passed out on the table. I was really worried so I decided to stay with you until you came to. For some reason this new girl, Megan, wanted me to leave you alone until I said that I’m your boyfriend.”

Megan, who had looked over Abigail’s body the whole time when Stephanie left, tries to justify herself.
“Look, I didn’t know what Oliver looked like okay? Anyway, could you warn me before passing out like that again? Why did you even do that?”
Abigail remembers that Megan still isn’t in the network and doesn’t know about her Magic in much detail.

Megan sighs in exasperation. “Whatever, just tell your lover-boy here to leave before we discuss anything more. Especially before Stephanie gets here.”

At that moment, Stephanie bursts into the cafeteria and a small ginger girl wearing a green beret walks in after her.
“Megan, shit’s fucked out here-” Stephanie is interrupted by Megan signalling her to be quiet and pointing at the obvious mundane person in the room: Oliver.

“Oh- uh, could you give us some privacy?” Stephanie asks of him.

Oliver walks away from Stephanie and Megan, but doesn’t leave the room.
“If this is about Magic or something then I already know it exists. Kind of hard not to figure that out when I can talk to my girlfriend with my mind and I was apparently going to be hunted down by monsters in a forest.”

Megan facepalms. “Great, we already have two mundane people getting involved in this world. Three if we count the midget you just brought, Stephanie.”

“Well actually-”

“I’m a Magical Girl!” The small girl interrupts.

The small girl puffs out her chest in pride and announces herself with grandeur. “I’m Alba Appleton, the Magical Girl who saves people from monsters in forests and… Pins Familiars- wow, I don’t have a lot of accolades yet, I need to work on that. Are you guys also Magical Girls?”

“Y-yes.”
“Yeah, mate.”
“Yep.”
“No, I’m not even a girl.”
Abigail, Stephanie, Megan, and Oliver answer respectively.

“Oh my god, this is perfect! We already have four Magical Girls and the one mundane sidekick!”
“Sidekick?” Oliver interjects.
“Every good Magical Girl team has a good spread of teammates that cover each other’s flaws and the one mundane friend that helps them keep their ties to their regular life!”

Stephanie thinks back to Magical Girl Drillface. She was usually a solo girl but if she extends the definition of “teammate” then it is true even for that show. But this isn’t an anime, it’s real life.

Alba continues her exposition of common Magical Girl Anime tropes. “Now all we need is a cool team name and we’re set! What’s your team name?”

Megan face hardens and she holds back a harsh criticism, instead saying: “We don’t have one, why would we need one?”

“Every good Magical Girl Team needs to have a cool name! Like ‘The Inner Court’ in Sailor Queen!”

“...I’m not going make one just because you think it’s cool.”

Megan’s rebuke jabs into Alba’s heart, she felt genuine betrayal. She recovers from her anguish, adjusts her beret before adopting an air of erudition, then formulates her argument for why Magical Girl Team Names are a critical matter.

“If we perform correspondence with each other then we will need a name to refer to all of us as a group to make communication easier. Creating a term to refer to ourselves also lets us differentiate ourselves from any ‘group outsiders’ that may exist, if a ‘Dark Magical Girl’ tries to infiltrate our ranks then she can be isolated as we know she is not one of us. There is also the fact that if we become famous in the Magical Girl Community, if one exists, then they will decide what to call us, and I would rather control what kind of reputation I have, thank you very much.” Alba argues in a composed tone.

Megan ruminates over Alba’s words for a moment, before acquiescing. “You make good points but us two aren’t the only people here.” She looks at Stephanie, Abigail, then Oliver. “You guys can decide what to call ourselves. As long as it’s not ridiculous I’m fine with it.”

Oliver shrugs. “I’ll go with whatever you lot say.”

>Stephanie and Megan can decide on a team name. This provides no real mechanical advantage but are you going to let the masses call you something like “The Phantom Fuckers”?

“Now that we’re done with the inane natter, let’s get on with the actually important stuff: What did you two find?” Megan asks Stephanie and Abigail.

Stephanie and Abigail explain everything they can remember, Megan tries to organise it neatly.

Collected Information:

>”The Witch’s Labyrinth Entrance” (Important!!!): The Witch’s Labyrinth Entrance is inside the Headmaster’s Office. The earliest discovery by Abigail.

>”Draconian Rules”: This Witch manipulates small amounts of people in a group to enforce invisible inscrutable rules with very harsh methods often involving assault. Interestingly, only a small amount of students are actually Witch-Kissed, all of the others just follow suit due to groupthink, peer pressure, and conformity. The members of school staff seem to be untouched. Abigail personally confirmed that Oliver is also not Kissed.

>Ashleigh Walsh: A new member of staff that is suspicious as all hell. She’s incredibly attractive in a way that only a stereotypical “British” Anime Character can be and talks like she’s from Essex, she’s in charge of Stephanie and Megan’s tour around the school. From Abigail’s snooping around in her phone they know that she’s investigating the Witch with someone else, so the chances of Ashleigh being a Magical Girl are very high.

>Miss Kanata: A member of staff in the SEN Centre. She’s seemingly shy, meek, and conciliatory. She gave Stephanie a stack of papers that not only contains a map of the school but also notes on the Witch Investigation that she’s also doing, along with an invitation to a meeting in the SEN Centre during Lunch. Just as with Ashleigh, the fact that she’s investigating the Witch makes the chances of her being a Magical Girl high.

>Familiars: Stephanie has the dubious distinction of being the first to find Familiars in the school. They seem to prefer indoor locations and are weak in a fight as far as Stephanie is concerned. It doesn’t diminish the fact that Familiars showing up in a pedestrian location outside a Labyrinth is very bad and means the Witch has more influence than first thought.

Questions to Answer:

>”Entering The Labyrinth”: Finding the Labyrinth turned out to be the easy part. The hard part might be getting inside. The Headmaster’s Office is actually locked and they need to make sure the Headmaster isn’t inside the room before they get in, so breaking in might be complicated

>”Are You a Special Needs Kid?”: Who should actually go to Miss Kanata’s Meeting? The invitation was extended to Stephanie but she probably won’t complain about some +1s. They don’t know exactly what information will be revealed or even if it’s a trap, so bringing more people might be a gamble. But hey, if it’s not a trap then a Grief Seed was promised! You can’t let the opportunity for a free Grief Seed pass by can you?

>”The Identity of The Witch”: A matter more personal to Abigail. Finding out who the Witch likely was and why they despaired so much they turned into a Witch would be helpful information on figuring out how to convince her to stop all this and change for the better.

>”Engineers Needed”: A much lower priority mystery. Ashleigh was seen next to a large piece of electrical equipment that was no doubt made from the stolen equipment from the Science Lab’s Cabinet. What is it? Why make it? Claire and Abigail memorised what it looked like in detail but they can’t explain what it does.


The Team can only puzzle over the information for so long before they need to leave for lessons. Now would be a terrible time to get stuffed into I.E.
Ignoring the Magical Powers, they have an Artist, two Engineers (Oliver is a prodigy, Alba counts herself as one), two girls who are well-versed in underhanded behaviour and delinquency, and an actual reformed Witch.

They need to figure out as much as they can, throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks. The Puella Magi don’t want to see what a Witch’s Labyrinth fully manifesting in a school looks like, and the situation will likely get worse the more they wait.

>Discuss among yourselves. Try to piece together whatever information you can and attempt to answer questions. Having a hunch to investigate is better than wandering aimlessly. Brute-forcing an answer is possible with an M4 Intelligence Check, but having a good argument and reasoning for your hunch can decrease this check to the point it doesn’t exist. Though, perhaps doing more investigation later and coming back with more information can make things easier?

>>6264085 (OP)
new reader, I have noticed the thread coming up a few days ago, so I binged the rest
I don't know where the other players went, but want to join, if allowed
would that be alright?

>>6266678
Yes, absolutely.
As said in the OP, just fill out this Form and you'll be all set.

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

Another thing I'll note is that although you'll be in York, where you're from can be extremely variable (England alone is a pretty diverse place). And you don't have to be in school (some children don't even get to go to school, period).

>>6266703
Brevity is the Soul of Wit, and I am as dull as rock. Unable to write straight to save my life.
Pick what you find interesting, cut what doesn't fit. I won't mind no matter how much you take.


Name: Emily Brighton

Appearance: Skin stretched across a gaunt, almost skeletal form. Over it, loose clothes hang. As comfortable as can be found. For pants, belted jeans, always, without a belt, they'd simply fall. The hair is short, less bother washing it, the cut is rough, self done when it grows too much. Tall, for her age, used to do bouldering, she was quite good, before all of this.
Her face near always bears a grin. After all, why not? It signals your brain that you're feeling good, making it release a steady stream of happy hormones. When happiness is a choice, take it.

Quirks:
When one is at risk, they are watched. Months and months in the emergency ward, glass room right across the observation center, you every movement in front of a dozen sisters. No matter the hour of the day, or the needs of your development. Unless you want to bother the sisters to temporarily unplug your cannula, and risk ruining it, you piss in a bucket. At that point, embarrassment becomes a liability, one you remove.
When one can't eat, the nutrition is dripped via vein. If one has to stay for long, too long, the cannula is not removed until it stops dripping. Until it bursts, or becomes so infected that it clogs. Not a moment before. It hurts, all the time, any movement makes it hurt even more, but laying there, you get used to your mind screaming at you, ringing that bell of panic that something is wrong. And you finally realize, pain is just pressure, pressure that can be acknowledged and ignored.
When you're forced to lay down for so long, that all the hard won muscles atrophy, the form becomes a shell, being stuck in a room for what should be the best years. To survive, one has to stop thinking of the future, for there is no future, and comparing to the past, for the past is gone, now is the only thing that matters, making the now the most fun and comfortable as possible, making survival bearable.
Food, proper food, is one of the great pleasures, before, it was certainly a core, but now? All that is left is those vile nutritional drinks, at first they were bearable, like an almost spoiled milkshake, but being the ONLY thing you can stomach without going back to the hospital? That's one cruel punishment.

Wish: I wish to bite, tear, and devour, whatever I desire and however much I desire, without suffering ill effects.

>>6266714
I see we're going with Kafka's The Metamorphosis mixed with Kirby of all crossovers.

Writing.

>>6266703
>>6266714

Emily Brighton

Emily was not in school like most girls her age. She kind of wishes she was now, she likely wouldn’t have seen a dead body in the middle of the woods if she were in school instead.

Her original reason for wandering around the woods of York was, ironically, Physiotherapy. The doctors that put her into that life-saving prison where she turned into an emaciated husk had the heart to sign in a note to her school saying she needs to take a break and do some extended physical activity now that her body is… so different than it used to be. Get used to walking again, stretching, clim-.

Maybe not that one yet.

And eating actual food! The last thing she wants is to get Refeeding Syndrome. Though, perhaps her unique metabolism would prevent such a thing.

Regardless of her reasons for being here, the reality is that she has a dead body right in front of her laying in the dirt. From her scant glances at the body it’s surprisingly pristine. The clothes are still on and not even damaged, clinging to the body of the young girl. The girl looks to be about Emily’s own age, she might have been a victim of that incident in these woods yesterday. But according to her sisters no-one was actually killed, hmm…

Emily adopts an exaggerated thinking countenance while chewing some gum. It’s possible that the girl was attacked by animals, but Emily isn’t sure if animals extremely dangerous to humans were in abundance in these woods. Perhaps a separate crime happened and the mass-kidnapping covered up this one? In that case she would have to take a picture or bring the body in for identification.

Or she can just leave the woods and leave the body here. No-one except her parents and sisters know she’s here, and she managed to convince them to let her wander alone… They seemed almost happy to have her out of sight. Just like she’ll be happy to not be a potential suspect of a crime.

>No matter what you have done, you now have a dead body of a girl in front of you. What to do? Leave, grab the body, examine the area, or something more… imaginative?

>>6266745
She looks dead, but... is she? Could just be a narcoleptic with some kind of thing that makes her stink. Emily has never seen a dead body before, though she has been in the room right before that one girl.... never mind, that's past. Keep the smile.
She won't get accused of murder for checking a pulse. It would be a pain to bother with the cops when she finally has some time to herself.
...Though just in case, she wraps her shirt around her hand, should help against fingerprints and stuff.

>>6266764

Emily Brighton

Emily moves forward to examine the body, but before touching it attempts to wrap her shirt sleeves around her hand. She notices that would be a bit unnecessary because she’s wearing dress gloves. Back in the past she would have never worn gloves, but one of the first things she did to confirm whether her Wishes came true was to bite off one of her fingers.

It came right off and she swallowed it in surprise.

It grew back far faster than it should have but she’s worn gloves since then to prevent herself from biting her hands off. No matter, she’ll just wrap her shirt over her gloves for maximum protection against fingerprints.

Emily first looks at the body more closely, and her narcolepsy theory starts to take root: This girl doesn’t look dead, she really does look like she’s just sleeping or inert. The way she’s laying down also hints at it, it’s not like she’s splayed on the floor after trauma, it’s more like she decided to take a nap here. There’s also the lack of that distinct dead flesh smell. Absolutely terrible, ruins her appetite. Just a thin, Black-haired girl… far too many fit that description.
Emily kneels and reaches down to the girl’s chest and feels… nothing but cloth. No heartbeat. Damn, this really is a dead body. But she does feel something hard under the girl’s clothes. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she finds a piece of pure black jewellery that looks like a Fabergé Egg. This girl doesn’t look rich so why would she have that?

“Hello.” A voice behind Emily introduced herself.

Emily quickly gets up and wipes her hands as if it’ll clear them of suspicion, and she tries her best to look as inconspicuous as possible. Kind of difficult when you look like a shambling corpse yourself, but she makes it work.
Looking at the new girl, she’s a dark-skinned one in an outfit that Emily swears went out of fashion two centuries ago, and holding a plushy of a familiar white creature. Her face, despite walking in on a gaunt girl checking a dead body, is a very bored one, like she doesn’t even care about the dead body.

“How attached are you to that dead body? I need it for something in the future.”

>”How attached are you to that dead body?” What kind of question is that? The real question is whether you’ll let a stranger take a dead body, that’s suspicious as all hell.

>>6264095
I think it would be prudent for Stephanie to go to Miss Kanata's meeting alone, but with the rest of us somewhat nearby in case things go wrong. Seeing that Ashleigh has some sort of contact she is working with, I think it's plausible that Miss Kanata is the person she is in contact with since there shouldn't be too many Magical Girls in York, and others existing inside the immediate school seems unlikely. Maybe Stephanie can talk in a way to probe if Miss Kanata was the person Ashleigh was talking to without giving away too much? Maybe like talking about how she's new to magical girl business and it's so tragic how the witches come to be, and wishing there was some other way.

Getting in to the Headmaster's office during the school day sounds treacherous and very difficult, so I think it would be best for after school or in the evening, but getting access to the school then might be difficult and anyone seeing us there would be immediately suspicious. I'd like to hear the other characters' opinions on this.

If we have time in the cafeteria, I can describe the electrical device to Oliver, but it is very low priority because I can also do this through the link during class or break or generally at any time. Only get around to this if we finish our other talks and plans and still have time left before class.

At this point it's difficult to decipher just who the witch could be. Since the entrance to the labyrinth is in the headmaster's office, it's not unreasonable to suspect the headmaster, or at least some member of the staff, though that would place them well above the age most magical girls usually are. Maybe we could get with our friends and see about any recent gossip besides that which is related to the rules shenanigans. Maybe someone had something really bad happen to them which would be a cause to witch out. Oliver could help with this by talking with his circle as well.

Also, we're overdue to get Megan in the link. She's part of the team too, no reason I can see to exclude her. Alba's very new, and we're not sure we'll work together all that much, so caution would dictate we stick to verbal communication with her for now.

>>6266811
Well, the body is interesting on one hand, Emily never saw one, and not like this. She knows that even a freshly dead would smell, body that doesn't smell is more like a *doll*.
But it also brings bother, a threat to her walk. A possible annoying cop interrogation.

Getting rid of the doll body is a favor for Emily, in a way, but... this girl doesn't know that, and wants the body.
The girl herself is an unknown. The plushie though, the girl knows the creature, or at least knows someone who does, and Emily got a great deal out of that one.

Emily grins.

The girl could get in trouble for wanting the body. She values it.

Emily licks her lips.
This walks is great, but what would be oh so better is on the way back, going to that nice chippy place, with the huge sloppy potions, the ones where they give you a mix of all the condiments if you ask for the special, and getting three- no. FIVE servings.
Emily swallows her spit.. alongside her gum. Dammit, that's practically the only thing keeping her from being constantly peckish.

Maybe more, a bit more, the corpse has jewellery, that has to be worth something. Detract that from the price... The girl doesn't know you know. Just a quick move and you could snatch it. Double dip.
Emily's eyes hone on the girl. Hungry.

"Depends, what are you offering?"

~2 weeks of downtime had me worried for a sec. Good to see we're still rolling.

>>6264092
A team name, then? This Alba had a point; a proper team needed a proper name. Were they a proper team, though?

"No use rushing. Could go either way, this team business. Let's show we've the makings of a magical girl team and hunt down this cunt of a witch first, yeah? Else we'd be looking like right gits, spending time coming up with fancy-soundin' names only to bugger it all up."

>>6264095
Broadly agree with what Abigail's proposing here >>6266840. Stephanie should meet Kanata "alone", with Abigail providing overwatch through her astral projection. It does seem likely that Ashleigh was talking to Kanata. I think we should absolutely try to suss out what they might be up to. Stephanie would not be my first choice for doing social stuff like this, but she'll have Abigail in her head, so that ought to count for something.

By the looks of it, we'll have to break into the Headmaster's office and that isn't something we can do while school is in session. Breaking in after school's out might be the way to do this. Stephanie has near-infinite tools to deal with any physical impediments keeping us out and Abigail's power can help avoid any night shift guards. If breaking into the school after hours is an option we want to consider, we'll have to do some more legwork to see what we'll be up against.

>>6266889

Emily Brighton

Emily considers the situation: The body piques her curiosity, but it’s also a possible annoyance. As much as she wants to examine the very strange doll-like body more, she also doesn’t want her day ruined by a police investigation. Being stuck in a closed room, unable to escape while people surround you and ask you prodding questions… She doesn’t want to go back there.

Getting rid of the body would be a positive for Emily, which means she has a great information asymmetry for negotiations: This other girl doesn’t know how much Emily actually values this body.

Emily grins.

The girl could get in trouble for wanting the body. She values it.

Emily licks her lips, then swallows her spit- and her gum by accident, damn. She then gives this dark-skinned girl in front of her a smile that would activate anyone’s fight-or-flight instincts on a primal level, no doubt thinking of devouring something. But this strange girl holding a plushy barely reacts.

"Depends, what are you offering?" Emily inquires.

“An all-you-can-eat buffet.” The dark-skinned girl replies immediately.

Emily scoffs “Surely you’re having a laugh?”

“No. I am willing to pay any price necessary for that body, I need it for a… scientific experiment of sorts. Potentially ground-breaking work.”

Emily at least knows how much this girl needs the body now, but there’s still the main question. “What kind of food is served at this all-you-can-eat buffet? How much can you afford and how? I have a very large appetite, you see.” Emily says, making a grand understatement.

“I am mainly skilled in British food, however I can also create Italian, French, German, and African dishes. I can afford all of this due to the business I run.”

“And you don’t run a restaurant?”

“I could, but I don’t have the ’table manners’ for it. As you have no doubt noticed, I am not a very amiable person.”

She’s not wrong. This entire conversation she’s somehow acted as disinterested as possible despite bartering for a dead body she’s supposedly willing to pay any price for. Still, an all-you-can-eat buffet… Emily swallows more saliva building up in her mouth, and focuses on haggling.

“An All-you-can-eat buffet is an interesting starting offer, and very suspicious as well. For multiple reasons.”

“I am fully willing to pay any price and render any service for that body. Also, that piece of jewellery you no doubt found on the body is not necessary for me to have, you can keep it.”

Emily’s breath hitches, how did she know about the jewellery? Does Emily have a tell? She continues on with that smile which should obscure any real emotions.

“We can continue bartering if you want, or you can just give me the body and I’ll invite you over for the buffet. Your choice.”

“Hmm, probably better than the chippy place I was thinking of.” Emily thinks aloud.

“Chippy? I’m sorry, that means something much different to me.” The girl replies.

>An-all-you-can-eat buffet is a hilariously fitting bargain for Emily, but that’s partially why it’s so suspicious... But we are told to not look a gift horse in the mouth, so perhaps Emily shouldn’t think hard about the chance to fill hers.

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌 & ф Stephanie Smith ф

Abigail’s Status: Conscious (Full access to the real world. Can access the Crossroads by using “Crossroads Jaunt”)
Stephanie’s Adoption: Solid Earth (+2 PA, +2 Con. +2 PA when manipulating Solid Matter)

”Testing, testing, one, two, three.” Megan thinks.

”I can hear you.” Abigail replies

”Aye, me too.” Stephanie adds.

”Woo! This is so cool! Usually you would need an Incubator to do this, having a fellow Puella Magi as a relay is real convenient, and trustworthy.”

”Yes, I don’t trust Kyubey for obvious reasons as well. Now, to discuss how to deal with my brethren.”

The first topic discussed was the meeting with Miss Kanata.

“I think it would be prudent for Stephanie to go to Miss Kanata's meeting alone, but with the rest of us somewhat nearby in case things go wrong. Seeing that Ashleigh has some sort of contact she is working with, I think it's plausible that Miss Kanata is the person she is in contact with since there shouldn't be too many Magical Girls in York, and others existing inside the immediate school seems unlikely. Maybe Stephanie can talk in a way to probe if Miss Kanata was the person Ashleigh was talking to without giving away too much? Maybe like talking about how she's new to magical girl business and it's so tragic how the Witches come to be, and wishing there was some other way.” Abigail proposes.

Stephanie smirks. “God, I knew that woman reminded me of an older version of you, but if she really does raffles off about that stuff then I’m going to ask if you have extended family elsewhere.” She says jokingly.

”I did not think there would be another Puella Magi like you, Abigail. These are truly strange times we live in, even by this country’s standards of Puella Magi activity.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a weirdo who wants to redeem Witches. Do you agree with my plan?”

“It looks fine to me, I can go in ‘alone’ while you’re on overwatch with Astral Projection-”

”Shut UP you SIMPLETON! It is NOT Astral Projection! There is no ‘Astral Plane’ as agreed upon by Puella Magi scholars! The Crossroads isn’t-”
Abigail decides to close Claire’s connection to the others for a moment. Until she calms down.

“… As I was saying, you’ll be there in spirit, literally. I’m not the best at socialising, but I’ll have you in my head, so that ought to help a bit. One of the things we need to confirm is that guess on Ashleigh and Miss Kanata working together, if we’re right then we get a two-for-one deal on Magical Girl allies if we convince Miss Kanata to work with us.”

“Then I’ll keep watch over Abigail’s body. I doubt monsters are going to attack her in a crowded place, but if what you guys said is true then there’s more than just monsters to worry about.” Oliver says.

“O-okay. Thanks, Oliver.” Abigail squeaks out.

The second topic discussed was slightly more important: How to get into the Headmaster’s Office where the Witch Labyrinth is.

“Getting in to the Headmaster's office during the school day sounds treacherous and very difficult, so I think it would be best for after school or in the evening, but getting access to the school then might be difficult and anyone seeing us there would be immediately suspicious. I'd like to hear all of your opinions on this.” Abigail proposes.

“Sounds like we’ll have to break into the office, and that’s definitely not going to be possible while school is in session. We could do it after school, I can get past any physical barrier and Abigail can probably help us get past anyone on a night shift. But if we’re doing that, then we need to figure out what we’ll need to get past.”

Abigail, with more knowledge than any one person should have, replies to Stephanie. “Generally speaking, security in the school is very sparse during the evening. There’s usually one person at the front gate and receptionists taking peeks at the security cameras. Students are allowed to stay in after school long after it’s actually over, up to two hours, but other staff members are usually still in due to meetings and clubs.”

Stephanie looks at Abigail curiously. “And how do you know all this?”

“I’ve been here for years. Also, two heads are better than one.”

“Alright, lasses… Still no obvious solutions though.”

Alba raises her hands up and jumps up and down like an excited student who really wants to be chosen to answer a question.

“Go on.” Abigail says.

“There’s a way we can get the staff out of the school at any time!” Alba shouts.

“What are you talking abou- ah.” Abigail realises Alba’s suggestion.

“The Fire Alarm! Every member of the school is taught to treat every fire alarm like it’s real and evacuate to the playground, this includes all the members of staff, even the Headmaster goes outside!” Alba explains

“A fine, if reckless, plan. Now, one problem: Who’s going to hit the alarm if we go with this? Something tells me that the school won’t be happy about a false alarm, even if it’s a life or death situation, let alone a joke which is the excuse we’ll likely have to use.” Stephanie asks.

Alba shrugs. “Something to discuss. I’ll take the fall if necessary-”

“I’m probably the most suitable, actually.” Oliver says.

“O-Oliver?!” Abigail exclaims in confusion.

“I’m not a ‘Magical Girl’. I don’t watch a whole lot of anime or manga, but something tells me you probably need magic powers to fight monsters without dying. There’s no way I’m going to be helpful when you’re in the ‘Labyrinth’ proper, so I might as well help you get in and be a scapegoat if needed. This is more important than a day in I.E” Oliver’s face shows his sincerity and duty, the look of a serious person willing to take on burdens for others.

“Thanks for being willing to take one for the team, Oliver.” Megan says.

”I’m remembering why I wanted him so badly. Make sure you treasure him and he doesn’t get hurt, Abigail. If he gets hurt, then… I don’t know what I’ll do.” Claire sounded almost crazed at that last part.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind, Claire.”

Due to having enough time for a final topic, Abigail asks Oliver about an electrical device she saw in the staff room. Abigail attempts to describe it with words as best as she can, but doesn’t have much luck. To help, Oliver pulls out a box (where was he keeping that?) that contains a bunch of art tools, including an easel.

“You’re a better artist than writer or engineer, Abigail. Use that talent you have.” Oliver says with a smile.

Abigail pushes down her blushes and nervousness from Oliver complimenting her, and focuses on her artistry. Her hands move at blazing speeds due to working under a time limit, and she creates the most detailed sketch of the device she can from memory. Despite the rough look of the sketch, Oliver can glean some information from it.

“From the looks of it, it’s a CED.” Oliver states.

“CED?” Abigail asks.

“Conducted Energy Device. Like a Taser.”

“It looks like a massive mace though.” Stephanie adds.

“Sure it’s in the overall form of a historical European weapon, but it has a power inverter and a high frequency transformer, classic electroshock weapon design. Honestly impressive that they managed to build this from the stuff in the lab cabinet, and brazen- I’m pretty sure this is illegal.” Oliver explains in a clinical manner.

“So, one of the new members of staff, who is very likely a Magical Girl, is running around with a massive electric weapon. Grand.”

“Well, there’s no way she can just keep it on her at all times given how large it is. It’s more likely that she’s hiding it somewhere for future use, but it’s probably just a better idea to not mess with her.” Oliver says.

The discussion tapers off after that. Deciding that they’ve done all the discussion possible with the information they have, Abigail ends the meeting.

The Houseroom Period, where all students would meet with their assigned Homeroom teacher, was taken up by an impromptu assembly in the Drama Theatre. Abigail didn’t consider it impromptu, neither did Stephanie or Megan, who’s tours had to be postponed to join in.

All of the students in the school are led to a hall large enough to contain them, and all of their eyes are focused on one man in the spotlight: Their Headmaster, Mr. Kidbrooke.
He’s an old man, or at least he looks old now, with bags under his eyes and a remorseful look on his face but a full head of hair. Abigail knows he’s seen better days.
He gives a speech apologising for not protecting the students and staff under his care, promising to do better in the future (or as much as he can, Summer vacation is in a week) before thanking Alba for leading the people out of the forest, and letting her make a speech in front of everyone.
For some reason, Claire was talking about how Alba was going to blab about Magical Girls in front of an audience, but she never did. Abigail wonders who the heck would be stupid enough to do that?

Afterwards were the standard school periods. Usually Abigail would take advantage of her good grades and doodle in her textbooks, but her mind was occupied with questions yet to be answered.
Like who was the Witch? The Labyrinth is in the Headmaster’s Office but it’s definitely not the Headmaster, he’s way above the age for Magical Girls as far as Abigail knows. The other easy guess is a member of staff, but that’s also above the age range- But then Miss Kanata and Ashleigh are very likely Magical Girls…

“Abigail?” One of Abigail’s teachers says.

“Huh?” Abigail blurts out.

“I asked you a question: Who first proved the Pythagorean Theorem? Given that you’ve been either doodling in your book or spacing out, you surely know the answer. I can’t fathom another reason you would be so bored in my lessons” Mrs. Singh asks.

Abigail knows it’s Mrs. Singh for sure, not just because of her voice but because she’s probably the only person who would ask a question that’s seemingly related to Maths but is actually a History question. And who asks their Secondary School students who first proved a theorem?! Who’s going to know or remember that?

But Abigail is prepared. She always is.

Abigail answers: “While the name of the theorem suggests that Pythagoras proved it, he was never credited with proving any theorems in his time, and it was used by the Babylonians and Indians centuries before him, so it is much more likely that one of the Babylonians or Indians discovered it first.”

Mrs. Singh smiles and claps. “Well done! Everyday you prove why in Top Set for this class, truly a bright mind, even if you can’t always focus. Reminds me of Deborah.”

Abigail wouldn’t consider regurgitating information she remembered to be any sign she’s smart, but she won’t argue if it gets the teacher off her case.

While Abigail was dealing with Maths, Stephanie and Megan had to deal with Science.
Not an actual lesson but rather a trip to the lab led by Ashleigh Walsh.

“I don’t actually know a whole lot about this lab, I think there’s a gas pipe for Bunsen Burners at every desk, and, like, electrical outlets hidden in the floor for practicals, and all of the chemicals and equipment and stuff is in that cabinet over there. But it’s locked though. They’ll probably unlock for you two during lessons though, right loves?” Ashleigh says in that vapid tone.

Stephanie has to admit that Ashleigh’s a decent actor. She’s acting just stupid enough that no-one would suspect her of anything like making a weapon but not so dumb that people would question her becoming a member of staff.

Oh-uh, y-yeah we’ll probably have practicals here or something.” Megan replies nervously.
Somehow, knowing that this woman built an electroshock weapon for unknown purposes still doesn’t stop Megan from crushing on her. Was she always like this and Stephanie never noticed? Either way, it’s up to Stephanie to spot if she lets anything slip.

“Uuh, do you know where the teacher keeps the fire extinguisher? I’ve been told I have to show you it in case a freak fire happens.” Ashleigh asks.

“Did they not tell you where it is?” Stephanie replies in an incredulous tone.

“No. A big safety fault, but I’ll be fine, probably.”

“Well, shite. Your guess is as good as mine, I’m new here.”

The three girls then have the strangest bonding activity: Looking for a Fire Extinguisher.
The first logical spot was near the gas pipes, you would want the fire extinguisher to be near the spots with the highest chance of a fire, right? Not there.
Next was what they think is the teacher’s desk. The teacher is the one in control of the room and would be calm enough to grab the extinguisher and use it, so it should be there, right? Nope.
Not near any exits to the room either, where the hell could it be?

“Maybe it’s in the cabinet?” Megan thinks aloud.

“Nah, it’s not in there.” Ashleigh replies matter-of-factly.

“And how do you know that?” Stephanie asks with suspicion.

“Well, why would they put a fire extinguisher, something you need to get fast, behind a door that’s usually locked? Makes no sense, it’s like they want people to die in a fire.” Ashleigh explains.

“Hm, good point.” Stephanie can’t help but feel suspicious about her however, given the information she knows.

“Oh well~. If you guys happen to see a spare fire extinguisher around here, give me a call.” Ashleigh pulls out a small paper card. “This is my number.”

“YOUR NUMBER?!” Megan shouts excitedly.

”God’s sake, sis, keep it in your pants.” Stephanie thinks.

“it’s for business purposes only.”

“Oh… okay.” Megan’s immediate deflation would be comical to Stephanie if she weren’t crushing over an extremely suspicious individual.

A bell sounds off, and all of the students attempt to leave their classrooms as fast as possible. It’s breaktime, one of the few moments of freedom from that prison of letters and numbers that is the education system.

Almost all of our resident Magical Girls were in the playground outside. Some would have considered it strange for Abigail to be outside where everyone is running around and there’s a bunch of noise, her behaviour makes people think she’s more of a ‘reading books in the library’ kind of girl. Abigail herself would say she’s an artist first and foremost, and you cannot become a better artist without experiencing the world around you.

Megan and Stephanie, who physically embodied the “Nerd” stereotype with their physical appearances, were playing a mock game of football against Alba. 2 V 1. The sisters against the lone prodigy. Alba was somehow winning the game 2 – 1, even with Stephanie “cheating” subtly with magic. At least Alba is sweating, so she’s exerting effort, but it hurts Megan’s pride a bit, if her sore attitude about losing is any clue.

Abigail takes her eyes off that game and towards the light of her life, one of the main reasons she came here if she was honest: Oliver. He’s doing laps around the entire playground.
His muscles rippling, his chest moving up and down with each breath, the sweat dripping from his body…

”Are you enjoying the view?” Claire chimes in.

”Oh please, I know you’re enjoying it as well. Can you blame me? Besides, he’s my boyfriend now, I have full rights to ogle him.”

”That may be right Abby, but could you quiet down your thoughts about his hampton? It’s really distracting me from my game.” Stephanie thinks while defending from Alba.

”Yeah, I’m kind of regretting being let in to the Link now. Megan thinks before trying to intercept the ball.

Abigail’s face turns as red as a tomato. ”O-oh God, W-were my thoughts really being broadcasted that much? I thought that wouldn’t happen, like, maybe my filter would stop it?”

”Usually it does. Sometimes strong emotions make your mind not bother trying to keep it to yourself”

Abigail starts panicking. ”O-oh n-no. D-did Oliver hear them or anything? Oh nononononono...” Abigail leans into the table, trying to hide her face.

”Well if he did it doesn’t seem to be deterring him given that he just took off his shirt.”

”W-WHAT?!” Abigail shoots up in her seat and immediately glues her eyes to Oliver.

There he is, shirtless. Apparently he was so hot and sweaty that he needed to take off his shirt and spray water all over himself. No other reasons for this.

”Abigail, I’m sorry for wasting my chance at redemption but can you kill me right now so this is the last thing I see?”

”No. I’m going to record this moment in my mind perfectly so that we can look back on it together forever, like true friends!”

”Thank you for your generosity Abigail, I am truly blessed to be with you.”

”Fucking hell, the randy thoughts are just getting louder- how do I turn this shit off?”

”Oh, I should probably grab my art supplies! This is prime muse material!” Abigail leans down to open her bag-

Then falls on the floor and clutches her chest.

Stephanie, Megan, and Alba decide to call off the Football game, 2 – 2 is the final score, then they sit cross-legged on the floor, trying to focus on something else.

All of them feel an absolutely terrible foreboding feeling of doom in the pits of their hearts, like their bodies were instinctually trying to warn their owners of the danger they’re in. All of the Puella Magi frantically look around, trying to figure just what the hell is giving them this godawful pain.

Abigail gets up and looks around in time to see Oliver get pushed to the floor by a group of four students.
Oliver isn’t an easy mark however, he quickly gets up to his feet and attempts to run. The students pursue him, and two of them pull out knives!

”What the fuck, they brought knives into school?! I should’ve smuggled my sword in if I was going to be dealing with this shit!” Stephanie thinks in disbelief.

”I apologise for the poor timing, but that baleful feeling in your chests is likely being caused by a Familiar of some kind.”

”Claire, d-do you not feel it?”

”No. I have a different kind of pain in my non-existent chest however. A burning pain born of rage and a need for revenge. Surely you know why?”

>>Do you feel it too, Abigail?<<

>There are four students, two of which have weapons, chasing Oliver. There’s also a Familiar somewhere around this location, according to Claire. Choose carefully on who should deal with what and how.

>>6269493
Hey, One of my strongest soldiers! Yeah, this took a while because I had to think a bit (a lot) about mechanics. What kind should be in this game, how many I actually need, etc.
Good to see you here.

>>6271078
Let's keep it rolling, then.

>>6271077
"Twat. Fucking cunt." Stephanie transmits across the mental link. "The witch is bloody on to us or what, then? Don't reckon Oliver broke any of the daft rules she's got people following. Anyroad, Abigail, find the familiar! I'll see about keeping Oliver there from getting stabbed."

As she jumped up from the turf, Stephanie felt that this life-or-death situation was sorely lacking in something: idle banter. "By the way, Abby, have to say. None too shabby, him, eh? Fuckin' get in there, love!"

Focusing on the matter at hand, Stephanie had to act quickly and with restraint—the two seldom went together with her. Those were normal students, so she couldn't go burying them or kicking their heads in. Then again, those were normal students with normal knives.

"Meg, stay behind me. Alba," though Stephanie didn't know a thing about this girl's magic, if she could wrestle with a familiar, she could surely be trusted to handle herself here. "Take the two without knives. Put them on their arses and keep them there, sound?"

>Run in to help Oliver and get between him and the two students with knives.
>Tap Adoption: Solid Earth for +2 PA and +2 Constitution, along with ability to manipulate metal (and other stuff, but this is the important bit).
>Harden Stephanie's skin and intercept the pursuers. Not tremendously worried about getting stabbed here.
>Use metal manipulation to destroy their knives or to aid in disarming them.
>Lay them the fuck out.

>>6271060

That is one hell of an offer. Hell of a suspicious one too. But what's the risk to that reward?

If Emily accepts, the girl could have a hit squad waiting behind the trees, waiting to silence Emily, but then her choice doesn't matter.
Discounting that, well, then the only risk left is the girl bailing on her. So Emily needs to follow, one way or another.

But if the girl's telling the truth, well... *Any* price is quite the amount. and an all-you-can-eat... Emily thought about them, among the many sweet and desperate dreams, but never been in one herself.

Emily's stomach growls.

The needs in life are simple, barely worth mentioning, while the Wants, those are varied. Balancing sweet and salty, bitter and base, hot and chilled.
But such variety would easily fall under the grant offering. If Emily had access to a truly wide, endless buffet, what else would she need?
A nice place to sleep and live, exercise in nature, some social interaction, TV for shows, access to light reading, and of course, the internet. But all of those are trivial to get to get compared to the potential of *this*.
If she had all of that, for the rest of her life... Would it not simply be Paradise?

Suddenly, the question has been flipped, and Emily is, for the barest moment, forced into self reflection. What would she be willing to do for that?
Emily has a lot of time on her hands, and even if she's recovering, she doesn't feel weak. If she was well off and safe, her family wouldn't care. Really, what would she *not* be willing to do?

Emily's smile only grows, as the path forward becomes clear.

"Listen, if you make that offer indefinite, if I can visit your all-you-can-eat buffet whenever I want, eat what I want."
Emily dry swallows.
"Well then, Ms.Frankenstein, I don't know much you value this, but I'll be your Henry. I'll help you with what you need, when you need. And you can be sure I'll carry the body for you."

Emily extends her bony hand and offers a handshake. Because what else can she really offer for that prize?

>>6271077
Getting even more flustered by Stephanie's comment, Abigail tries to think and act quickly.

"Not the time Steph!"

Maybe I could trace the links between these ruffian students to a familiar, but that requires traveling to the crossroads, and that is very reckless right now.

Ah... am I stuck using my mundane senses?!

Abigail frantically glances all over the yard for anything that might look suspicious or out of the ordinary. The immunity to mental magic might help get through any obscuring effects hiding the presence of a Familiar.

>>6273688
Actually Network Sense doesn't require use of the Crossroads. Thanks for reminding me Claire, I guess I could use more practice.

I'll use Network Sense to see what connections those aggressive students have, and try to trace any that seem suspicious, or barring that, try to quickly go through all of them starting with those closest by.

you're killing me, QM

[blue][b] 𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌[/b][/blue] & [green][b]ф Stephanie Smith ф[/b][/green]

[blue][b] Abigail’s Status: Conscious (Full access to the real world. Can access the Crossroads by using “Crossroads Jaunt”)[/b][/blue]
[green][b] Stephanie’s Adoption: Solid Earth (+2 PA, +2 Con. +2 PA when manipulating Solid Matter)[/b][/green]

[green][i]"Twat. Fucking cunt."[/i][/green] Stephanie transmits across the mental link.

[red][i]”I concur.”[/i][/red] Claire sends back.

[green][i]"The witch is bloody on to us or what, then? Don't reckon Oliver broke any of the daft rules she's got people following. Anyroad, Abigail, find the familiar! I'll see about keeping Oliver there from getting stabbed."[/i][/green]

[blue][i]”Y-yeah, I’m on it!”[/i][/blue] Abigail tries to think about how to locate the Familiar while her mind is going through a lot of pressure.

[green][i]"Meg, stay behind me.”[/i][/green]

[i]”Wha- but Steph, I can-”[/i]

Stephanie gives Megan a look that is equal parts angry and protective before justifying her decision [green][i]”My body is tougher than yours and I’m pretty sure I’ve been in more fights that aren’t against Familiars.”[/i][/green]

[i]”F-fine...”[/i] Megan acquiesces and clutches the football they were playing with like it’s a stuffed toy.

“Alba," though Stephanie didn't know a thing about this girl's magic, if she could wrestle with a familiar, she could surely be trusted to handle herself here. "Take the two without knives. Put them on their arses and keep them there, sound?"

“Yep!” Alba says. She’s way too happy for a person going into a fight.

Stephanie kicks up from the turf and examines the “Battlefield”.
The portion of the playground they’re on is a natural turf of dirt and grass, most of the rain has dried but there are still some patches where water has pooled up and made mud. It’s a wide open space, but there are some shelters to block the rain and sun, made of cheap metal and steel with tables and chairs suited for picnics. Abigail is hiding beneath a table, trying to hide her body in case she has to enter the Crossroads.

Stephanie and Alba though? They’re on the frontlines.
Stephanie strides boldly towards the shithead students trying to stab Oliver, she [green][b]steels[/b][/green] her heart for a fight against them. There are many more things made of [green][b]steel[/b][/green], Stephanie’s bond with Megan is [green][b]iron-clad[/b][/green], she’s bound to protect her new friends like a sword and shield, every part of her will is unbreakable.
But the body is only flesh and bone. Fortunately her body is dead already, inanimate matter is easy to manipulate, If her will is unbreakable [green][b]her body can follow suit.[/b][/green]

𐤌 Abigail Fulson 𐤌 & ф Stephanie Smith ф

Abigail’s Status: Conscious (Full access to the real world. Can access the Crossroads by using “Crossroads Jaunt”)
Stephanie’s Adoption: Solid Earth (+2 PA, +2 Con. +2 PA when manipulating Solid Matter)

ф "Twat. Fucking cunt." ф Stephanie transmits across the mental link.

ʘ ”I concur.” ʘ Claire sends back.

ф "The witch is bloody on to us or what, then? Don't reckon Oliver broke any of the daft rules she's got people following. Anyroad, Abigail, find the familiar! I'll see about keeping Oliver there from getting stabbed." ф

𐤌 ”Y-yeah, I’m on it!” 𐤌
Abigail tries to think about how to locate the Familiar while her mind is going through a lot of pressure.

ф "Meg, stay behind me.” ф

Э ”Wha- but Steph, I can-” Э

Stephanie gives Megan a look that is equal parts angry and protective before justifying her decision.
ф ”My body is tougher than yours and I’m pretty sure I’ve been in more fights that aren’t against Familiars.” ф

Э ”F-fine...” Э Megan acquiesces and clutches the football they were playing with like it’s a stuffed toy.

“Alba," though Stephanie didn't know a thing about this girl's magic, if she could wrestle with a familiar, she could surely be trusted to handle herself here. "Take the two without knives. Put them on their arses and keep them there, sound?"

“Yep!” Alba says. She’s way too happy for a person going into a fight.

Stephanie kicks up from the turf and examines the “Battlefield”.
The portion of the playground they’re on is a natural turf of dirt and grass, most of the rain has dried but there are still some patches where water has pooled up and made mud. It’s a wide open space, but there are some shelters to block the rain and sun, made of cheap metal and steel with tables and chairs suited for picnics. Abigail is hiding beneath a table, trying to hide her body in case she has to enter the Crossroads.

Stephanie and Alba though? They’re on the frontlines.
Stephanie strides boldly towards the shithead students trying to stab Oliver, she steels her heart for a fight against them. There are many more things made of steel, Stephanie’s bond with Megan is iron-clad, she’s bound to protect her new friends like a sword and shield, every part of her will is unbreakable.
But the body is only flesh and bone. Fortunately her body is dead already, inanimate matter is easy to manipulate, If her will is unbreakable her body can follow suit.

Alba stretches her legs before bounding off faster than Stephanie could possibly go. Stephanie could only think: ”How is this girl so fast?”
Her speed isn’t the only thing that startles Stephanie, as Alba grabs a leg of one of the students with both hands and performs a Both Hands Scoop to slam him into the ground with a meaty impact. He’s alive, if his screams and groans are anything to go by, but he’s not getting up any time soon. That’s one out of four.
The other shithead students are briefly shocked by the sudden knock-out of their teammate. Alba takes advantage of their shock to launch a flying kick into another student’s stomach and uses the motion of her fall to perform a sacrifice throw that sends him through the air and onto the ground as well. That’s two out of four in only a few seconds.

The throw puts Alba on the ground, but she’s done her job. Oliver has retreated behind Stephanie.

“Give ‘em hell.” Oliver tells her while putting his shirt on.

“Yeah I will, lad. But why aren’t you hooking it?” Stephanie replies.

“We have an audience, and I don’t think they want me to leave.”

Stephanie looks around again, and notices the crowd of students surrounding them like a ring.
ф ”Are they really all here to watch some kids go at it? At least when I had a fight back in the orphanage it was only me and whatever munter tried to bother me, and not some grand spectacle. Not to mention that there would be adults around to stop it soon after it started, where the hell were they?” ф

Stephanie shakes her head, there’s more pressing concerns. She storms towards the two shitheads holding knives. Alba was smart and scrambling away on the ground fast, but that still means they’re threats: The closest targets are Stephanie and Oliver now.
Stephanie doesn’t remember how many fights she’s been in – when you live a life like hers at her age, you lose track of things like that. Regardless of how many, she’s learned some basic knowledge of how to efficiently lay someone out.
She approaches one of the students, a girl that’s a regular height, and therefore shorter than Stephanie. One of the basics: Take advantage of distance and range. Stephanie thrusts her arm in a straight towards the girl’s face, which leads into her second bit of basic knowledge.
The girl attempts to block the straight by covering her face with both arms, and the strike doesn’t land.

Because Stephanie was feinting, and now this poor girl is wide open.
Inexperienced people in hand-to-hand combat often end up overcompensating in protecting their head, stomach, and groin, if you feint for one of those areas you can hit another. Stephanie was polite and just punched this girl in the stomach. That punch transitioned into a grab as she twists the girl’s shirt to get a good grip, said shithead girl reacts by trying to cut Stephanie’s wrist with her knife.

The knife breaks on Stephanie’s iron will manifest.

Stephanie didn’t make every part of her body steel not because she can’t, but because it would be blatantly strange and she’s not sure what the rules are on the whole “Magical Girl Masquerade” thing, or if one even exists, but she would rather be safe than sorry. In cases like these, every part of her body that’s covered by her clothes is steel, and her skin hardens in response to physical trauma.
She throws away the girl by her shirt and she crawls away in fear while the crowd cheers. That’s three out of four.

Stephanie glares at the last student left, a girl also holding a knife. She’s smart and decides to put distance between Stephanie and herself.

Stephanie squeezes her hand into a fist, the blade twists and bends before breaking.

She would’ve called Alba for a tag right after to take advantage of the girl’s shock, but she’s too busy soaking in the crowd’s cheers to tag team. So instead Stephanie focuses on something else: idle banter.

ф "By the way, Abby, have to say:” ф
Stephanie takes in Oliver’s physique. She’s not as crazy about him as Abigail but she has to admit she can understand where Abigail’s coming from.
ф ”None too shabby, him, eh? Fuckin' get in there, love!" ф

Getting even more flustered by Stephanie's comment, Abigail tries to think and act quickly.

𐤌 "Not the time Steph!" 𐤌

Maybe she could trace the links between these ruffian students to a Familiar, but that requires travelling to the crossroads, and that is very reckless right now.

𐤌 “Ah... am I stuck using my mundane senses?!” 𐤌

Abigail frantically glances all over the yard for anything that might look suspicious or out of the ordinary. Her immunity to mental magic might help get through any obscuring effects hiding the presence of a Familiar.

ʘ ”Ahem. Abigail, my student?” ʘ Claire chimes in.

𐤌 ”Yes?” 𐤌

ʘ ”You seem to have forgotten one of my lessons.” ʘ Claire says in the tone of a disappointed teacher.

Abigail thinks even harder, what could she be missing that would solve this situation…!

𐤌 ”Network Sense!- But doesn’t that need the Crossroads?” 𐤌

ʘ ”No. I will explain this once again: We are exploiting a normally weak Bond made from mere senses to look into other, more powerful bonds. Though I do admit this is the first practical test.” ʘ

Abigail focuses on the last girl remaining, she’s a small thing – not as small as Alba but smaller than Abigail – and her hair cascades down her shoulders like a gentle waterfall. The bond between Abigail and this girl is weak, they’re basically strangers, but Abigail feels… something. Even though they are different portraits painted with different brushes, they are at this moment in the same veduta on the same canvas. Who else is in this veduta?

Abigail briefly becomes aware of everyone watching this girl, and promptly cuts out all of the ephemeral bonds based on sight and sound. This leaves the more important bonds remaining. Interestingly, Stephanie, Alba, and Oliver’s bonds to her are still visible. The first two are based on their feelings of aggression towards the girl, these kinds of emotions can strengthen weak bonds. The last one…

This girl is Oliver’s Friend. Huh, interesting.

Ignoring the other friends this girl has, Abigail examines an interesting connection:

>>Network Sense<<
>>Subject: Jack Armstrong<<
>>Filtered Search: Familiars<<
>>Result: Bezzie<<
>>Relationship: Witch-Kisser<<

Abigail won’t pretend that she knows everyone in the school, but she does know that she’s never heard of anyone named Bezzie. Another sign that this definitely isn’t a normal person (aside from showing up in the filtered search for Familiars) is that when Abigail traces Bezzie’s position in the crowd and looks at it, it’s… not human-looking.
The description that Stephanie gave was accurate: If she wasn’t paying close attention to it Abigail wouldn’t realise that this thing isn’t human, but on closer inspection everything looks [i]off.[/i] The stance is too low and awkward, it isn’t looking at the combatants like the rest, its facial expression are almost non-existent, it ALMOST looks like a real person but doesn’t and probably never will.
As a quick trick, Abigail manipulates the perception of everyone in the Link to make this Familiar more obvious. It practically glows on the canvas compared to the rest of the crowd.

𐤌 ”Alright, that’s the Familiar found. But how are we going to get rid of this thing when it’s in the middle of a crowd?” 𐤌

”I believe I could be of assistance in that regard, my dear Abigail” A familiar voice says in Abigail's mind.

Abigail is startled. It’s felt like so long since she’s heard that voice even though it was only yesterday, though that may be because she was never expecting this girl to show up again. But she recognises that archaic posh voice anywhere.

𐤌 ”Viktoria?!” 𐤌 Abigail thinks, stunned.

Ө ”Yes, it is indeed I: Lady Viktoria of the illustrious and ancient Walker Family.” Ө

𐤌 ”Where are you?!” 𐤌 Abigail asks in shock.

Ө ”On the roof of this establishment.” Ө Viktoria answers matter-of-factly.

𐤌 ”Okay but WHY are you up there?!” 𐤌

Ө ”I was doing some research on the World Wide Web when an absolutely ghastly feeling was cast upon my soul. I wanted to rendezvous with the rest of you to discuss what it could be so I tracked you all down through this mental bond we have to this school. I climbed up to the roof of the school to gain a better vantage point and happened upon the queer sight of Stephanie in an altercation. I did all of this while halting time for the school of course. And now we’re here.” Ө

Abigail decides to not question how no-one notices the… massive girl on the roof of the school and instead asks a more relevant question.

𐤌 ”How are you going to help take out that Familiar? Isn’t your weapon a cannon? I’m not interested in collateral damage!” 𐤌

Ө ”Oh- Oh Lord no, I’m not interested in collateral either! It would not do for a lady to harm the common man!” Ө Viktoria responds in an offended tone.
Ө “I have managed to manipulate my weapon into the form of a rifle I can aim well, I believe the phrase used to describe it is: ‘Designated Marksman Rifle’. With enough time I can pop that Familiar’s head right off its body with no mess, while being completely silent no less!” Ө Viktoria chuckles at her own rhyme.

ʘ ”Be that as it may, we should still thin the crowd somehow so Viktoria might get a clearer shot and we can end this faster. Or, who knows, we could do it ourselves without her help.” ʘ

>At any moment, Abigail or Stephanie can call Viktoria to take a shot at the Familiar. This will likely kill it, if the shot hits its mark that is. There’s only one hostile student left, Jack, and she’s Kissed so she’s not in the right mental condition to run from an obviously disadvantageous position. Also, where the hell are the staff members?!

Emily Brighton

That is one hell of an offer. Hell of a suspicious one too. But what's the risk to that reward?

If Emily accepts, the girl could have a hit squad waiting behind the trees, waiting to silence Emily, but then her choice doesn't matter.
Discounting that, well, then the only risk left is the girl bailing on her. So Emily needs to follow, one way or another.

But if the girl's telling the truth, well... ANY price is quite the amount. and an all-you-can-eat... Emily thought about them, among the many sweet and desperate dreams, but never been in one herself.

Emily's stomach growls.

The needs in life are simple, barely worth mentioning, while the Wants, those are varied. Balancing sweet and salty, bitter and base, hot and chilled.
But such variety would easily fall under the grant offering. If Emily had access to a truly wide, endless buffet, what else would she need?
A nice place to sleep and live, exercise in nature, some social interaction, TV for shows, access to light reading, and of course, the internet. But all of those are trivial to get to get compared to the potential of *this.*
If she had all of that, for the rest of her life... Would it not simply be Paradise?

Suddenly, the question has been flipped, and Emily is, for the barest moment, forced into self reflection. What would she be willing to do for that?
Emily has a lot of time on her hands, and even if she's recovering, she doesn't feel weak. If she was well off and safe, her family wouldn't care. Really, what would she NOT be willing to do?

Emily's smile only grows, as the path forward becomes clear.

"Listen, if you make that offer indefinite, if I can visit your all-you-can-eat buffet whenever I want, eat what I want."
Emily dry swallows.
"Well then, Ms. Frankenstein, I don't know much you value this, but I'll be your Henry. I'll help you with what you need, when you need. And you can be sure I'll carry the body for you."

Emily extends her bony hand and offers a handshake. Because what else can she really offer for that prize?

The girl herself is shocked by Emily’s words, perhaps the first ever time she’s expressed an emotion since Emily’s met her. She looks around the place in confusion, as if trying to check if she’s in a dream.

“Ms. Frankenstein?” She says.

“Yes. You know, Dr. Frankenstein, creator of Franken-” Emily starts.

The girl waves her hands to silence Emily. “Yes, yes, I know what you’re referencing, I read the piece when it was published.”

Emily tries to not make the curiosity on her face obvious. “When it was published?”

“Yes, when it finally arrived at the local library in my hometown.” She says in a rushed voice.
“Ignoring the cultured literary reference, I can definitely extend that offer indefinitely. That was my offer the whole time, in fact.”

“Ah, brilliant!” Emily’s smile curls up and looks more genuine than usual. “So, do you need any help transporting the body or…?”

“No. Just wait a moment, I have a coffin I can put the body in.”

Emily decides not to ask why this girl had a coffin prepared. She likely knew the person this body belonged to.

After putting the body into a rather basic wooden coffin, Emily and the strange girl head to the City of York. Emily tries to make small talk.

“So, why were you briefly shocked about the Frankenstein thing?” Emily asks with a mouth full of berries she had picked on the way.

“I never realised that I’m doing something immensely similar to Frankenstein until now, it threw me for a loop. I will thank you for being my ‘Henry’, but I will warn you that being in collaboration with me may make your life more difficult.”

Difficult. Emily thinks on the word.
Did Emily have a difficult life? She was (emphasis on [b]was[/b]) a skilled climber, part of a well-off family (they needed to be in order to take care of thirteen daughters), and wasn’t lonely by any chance due to them. But the… Incident, followed by her recovery and current state puts weight on the other end of the scale. Not to mention the distance she’s had from her family since then...
Emily’s smile is starting to feel heavy. She swallows the berries in her mouth and talks more to distract herself from it.

“I never got your name. Can’t be partners in crime when I don’t even know your name.” Emily says.

“Marisa.” The Strange Girl replies instantly.
The girl now known as Marisa thinks that it’s her turn to ask a question.
“Why are you eating those berries?” She asks, curiosity slightly tinting her voice.

“They’re tasty.” Emily’s answer is simple. Which to Marisa is the problem.

“Those berries are poisonous.” Marisa states.

“Oh!” Emily utters in genuine shock. “They’re surprisingly good for poisonous berries, I always thought poison would taste bitter but the berries have a very sweet taste to them. I would want them to be a bit less sweet with more ‘body’ to the texture though, any more sweeter and it would taste like those Bramley apple pies that they dump a bunch of sugar into.” She critiques, popping more berries into her mouth like they’re grapes.

Marisa looks at Emily with a blank face hiding incredulity. Though Marisa cannot say much herself, as she is carrying a coffin on her back through the woods.

“Thank goodness I’m giving you a buffet, you’d probably eat a Pufferfish unprepared out of hunger otherwise.” Marisa’s brash words come out with no hint of hatred or annoyance somehow.

Emily holds her laughter, it wouldn’t look pretty with a mouth full of food and especially on her face.
”I probably can eat a Pufferfish completely raw and live. Though would it taste good is the real question…” She thinks.

Emily and Marisa make it to the sign that they’re close, but also one of the few obstacles they have to overcome: The York City Walls.
Getting into the city through the walls should be easy. There are multiple intended gatehouses that allow entrance and the place is in fact a minor tourist attraction, but there’s the issue.
A group of two teenagers(? Marisa looks like one but Emily can’t help but be suspicious) carrying a coffin, which implies a dead body, would gather a lot of attention that Emily isn’t sure is wanted.

“Dr. Marisa Frankenstein, do you want everyone to see us with this?” Emily asks on the off chance this girl WANTS everyone to see them carry the body in.
You never know, Marisa is likely some sort of mad scientist and they’re not well-known for subtlety.

“No. Being seen would bring far too much attention and I do not want that attention turning into suspicion.” Marisa answers.

”Ah, I see I’m collaborating with the reasonable kind of mad scientist- well, as reasonable as a mad scientist can be.” Emily thinks.

“Do you have an entry plan then?” Surely this girl grave-robbing before the body is in the grave has a plan for actually getting this body where it needs to be, right?

Marisa stays silent for a conspicuous and worryingly long time before clearing her throat.
“I do not have an entry plan.” She finally admits.

”Ah, I see I’m collaborating with the reckless kind of mad scientist who doesn’t plan out her schemes for contingencies- if she plans them at all.” Emily tihnks.

Regardless of her new acquaintance’s planning skills, this wall is between Emily and an infinite all-she-can-eat buffet. It doesn’t stand a chance.

But how is Emily going to get pass this foe? She could climb the walls-
Maybe not that one.
Emily plumbs her mind for information about the walls.

There are four main gatehouses that allow easy entrance, and despite the very suspicious pair comprising of a girl carrying a coffin and another looking like she should be in it, it’s not a path Emily can entirely write off. She could just feed a lie to anyone curious enough to approach them about the coffin then be on their merry way. Though, was Emily ever a good liar? Is Marisa?

Another way in are the posterns: secondary entrances that were built in less exposed, less visible areas. They were explicitly made for people to enter and exit through them inconspicuously, but that just makes it MORE likely that someone will question them if they are seen sneaking in. They would have to abscond from the premises fast after entering.

An option that is possible with any entrance is to simply make a distraction. Make a big enough mess and maybe people will ignore the girl with the coffin?

>No matter what she does, Emily WILL make it through. This is not a question of “If” but “How”. Emily will not be denied her infinite all-you-can-eat buffet, let alone by a literal wall.

>>6277736
I'm sorry for killing you and probably Abigail and Emily. I'm not the one who should be doing that.
You might not believe this but the reason this took long (longer than I wanted by a long time) is because I was suddenly evicted from my house and needed to move out really fast. Ignoring the time spent moving everything in a rush, my actual internet will take 2 weeks to come back. I'm currently using my phone as a hotspot, which is probably part of the reason formatting broke. This is only going to get harder before it gets easier, but you can trust me to always post here no matter what.

>>6278437
((I will pray that your troubles abate, OP. Thank you for the awesome updates, and keep yourself safe.))

>>6278437
>but you can trust me to always post here no matter what.
despite the speed of the quest, this remains true. your tenacity still surprises me. fatale albion is like the turtle of the fable