upstairs first, also you should close the door before you go upstairs. so no passerby thinks something is wrong.

The contents of the cash register would be useful, even if its just a little bit.

>>246424
First order of business: While you're in a relatively safe, unobserved place, try out that tendril. Try juggling some fruit with it, and enjoy a moment of childish fun as your world becomes bright and happy thanks to your new powers. Also get used to using it, because practice makes perfect.

Second, look for a bag or sack or something. You'll want to take some of this food with you when you go, because you can't break into stores every day and expect to go unnoticed. Fortunately, you'll be able to easily stop other urchins from taking it from you with your new powers... though doing so without having them get away and tell anyone will be a trick.

I would not try to explore the place. The things "of value" here are cash, food, possibly knives or other common tools if there are any around.

Kabal 2010/10/20(Wed)19:35 No. 246443 ID: bec62a
File 128762853749.jpg - (42.11KB , 504x360 , Up the stairs copy.jpg )

You had already closed the door on the way in, a dirty habit of yours, but in this case it was rather helpful.

Amidst the options given to you, you decide to head upstairs. They're a creaky bunch, loud and annoying, and with every step you cringe a bit, but for the most part you get upstairs without alerting anyone, if anyone is still in the building to begin with.

Upstairs appears to be more furnished than below, with a tacky wallpaper, photos and paintings lining the second level walls. Up on the second floor there appears to be four doors:

One directly at the stairs entrance, two more to your right and one last one behind you, opposite of the staircase's exit.

Of the four doors, the one behind you is open, revealing what appears to be a bathroom. You don't have any urge to use the toilet, so there are the three other doors up here.

Which one will you enter, or will you just go back downstairs?

>>246443
What are you looking to accomplish here? There is nothing that you're likely to find upstairs which you can use in a practical sense, and you don't want to be discovered- by people who are also most likely to be upstairs. You'd have to flee or kill them, and neither option is that good. You could steal a blanket, I suppose, but that's about as good as upstairs will get for you.

Unless someone else has a great idea for what to do upstairs, I'd call it a mistake and go back down.

open each door carefully and peek in.

"Hey, hey now!" Professor Cattington interrupts you as you stand there trying to make up your mind "What do you think you'll find up here? Obviously a death trap, you know."

"Oh, shush, you." You poke him on the nose, shutting him up, but the Professor does have a valid point.

Simultaneously your companion does have a point; if there's anyone up here, it'll be dangerous, but your childish curiosity gets the best of you.

"No, no, what are you doing!" Professor Cattington chides as you go up to the door in front of you, "You'll get caught, then all sorts of terrible things will happen!"

"Hrm, fine..." You mutter to the cat doll, going back down the stairs.

Back downstairs, as you've nothing better to do, you grab an empty sack and start to fill it with apples; for fun you decide to try and play around with your tendril, using it to fill up your bag.

Unfortunately, your skill with the tendril is less than perfect and you knock over a stack of cans, making quite a bit of noise.

"Clumsy goddamn girl!" Cattington yells at you as they clatter across the wooden floor.

Immediately you go still, as though hoping to avoid some other accident, but now you've got a major problem.

If anyone is in the building, they will have probably heard it.

--------

Too lazy to draw.

>>246451
Well, it seems you're likely done here. Grab your bag, run over to the door, and listen for any movement upstairs- the floors creak, so it should be obvious. If there's anything, get out of there quick. If a couple minutes pass with no movement, you're probably fine.

And chide the good professor on his language, either as you're leaving or after you think you're safe. A man of his education should be more civil.

well jeeze. seriously. what is the point of having this place to ourselves right now if we aren't going to get any looting in? a simple blanket would go VERY far
as would clothes or stuff to make clothes with. getting a better lot in life is why we accepted Cattington's offer in the first place. if we stay in the cold and dark out of fear, then we have gained nothing.

Go hide somewhere for about 5 minutes to make sure nobody is going to come down to check the noise, then quickly loot anything obvious and leave.

>>246460
the only loot on this floor is food. if we want ANYTHING other then that we need to explore. we can just life steal anyone that gets in our way.

>>246461

Yes.

This.

Do this one.

>>246461
Life steal anyone who gets in our way, and get the church all up in our business six hours later? I think not.

Anyway, things are already better- we don't have to worry about where our next meal is coming from, for one thing. We don't have to accomplish everything at once. Our best attributes are spirit and toughness, remember- we have what it takes to play things careful, doggedly taking small steps one at a time until they add up to something big. Food here, blankets soon, then better clothes, then a place to stay, and gaining in skill and power all the while.

You decide to make yourself very scarce in a corner of the room, underneath a crate for good measure.

Several terse moments turn into several terse minutes, and quickly enough you realize no one is coming for you.

Out of curiosity, you head back upstairs and peak into a room to find it strangely empty. You look into the other rooms and also find them empty.

A quick look up and down find that you're perfectly alone in the building.

Content in your knowledge that you're by yourself, you could either stay and continue your looting, or leave.

do you mean the room is bare or that no-one is in it?
if bare the check the cellar, if just no one is in them then take a blanket and use it like a sack, then check the cellar.

Loot blankets, any clothing that might fit you, and anything small and shiny. Just fill the bag unless Prof. Cattington has a way to carry more.

The rooms are still fully furnished, but there's nobody inside any of them, so for the moment you've got the building to yourself.

From your quick look about, the first room upstairs appears to be the master bedroom, the second appears to be a child's room, from the looks of things a girl's room. The third room appears to be a kitchen and dining room.

The cellar appears to hold a lot of junk in trunks, more food, and a furnace that's on its last legs.

Of course, as there's no one home, you don't know how much time you have left to do what you will, so therein lies the problem.

okay, get the blanket off the kid's bed and throw a bunch of clothes into it at random. then get downstairs and get a ton of food. then leave.

You decide to drop some apples out of your sack to make room for the clothes

You head back upstairs, into the girl's room, intent on grabbing yourself a new dress. You check the drawers to find that they're strangely empty. You look to the bed to find that it seems oddly undisturbed.

Another curious thing is that there seems to be a black cross over the bed, then it dawns on you: The girl who once lived here has just recently died.

Your attention turns to the black chest at the bed's end, opening it to find it full of clothing and other personal belongings. For a moment you consider not taking anything, but Cattington chimes in.

"Not like she needs it anyway."

Taking the cat's morbid advice, you randomly grab a dress and shove it into your sack. While you're there, you find a good pair of shoes that fits surprisingly well. You take the blanket off the bed for good measure.

With that done, you begin to head back downstairs only to hear a mad fumbling at the door, followed by it being violently opened.

The shopkeeper from earlier rushes in, cursing violently, loudly, followed by a loud bang and more cursing.

He seems to be preoccupied with something else, whatever it is.

You also come to the realization that the hub-bub outside has turned to yelling and screaming. Something seems to be happening outside, whatever it is.

is there a back door? how about a window? make use of these convenient escape devices!

>>246487
If there's yelling and screaming outside, it's probably something you want to avoid. Try to find a window on the opposite side of the building from any screaming, and take it. You can probably use your tendril to lower yourself to the ground in a controlled fashion, if it comes down to it, although a mundane method would be less conspicuous.

if you want to see what is going on then get on the roof and peek down on the road.

Kabal 2010/10/20(Wed)22:04 No. 246502 ID: bec62a
File 128763749697.jpg - (326.67KB , 1650x1650 , Destructor Claudia copy.jpg )

The room you're in right now has a conveniently placed window, overlooking the alley opposite of the door you entered from.

You pry it open and with it the yelling outside becomes more distinct. You peek out it to find that everyone in the street seems to be running away from something, and from the looks of things, not to something. You look to the opposite street to find people also fleeing something, but there appear to be some gendarmes amongst them, blowing whistles as though trying to evacuate the people.

Either way, you decide sticking around here isn't the best idea, so in a moment of brilliance, you consider using your tendril to lower yourself down.

Without bothering to test it, you use your tendril to grab onto windowsill and lower yourself down. It's easier than you thought, and soon enough your on solid ground.

Now in the midst of the alleyway, it's easier to see what's going on the ground.

As you're gathering your senses the building you were just in seemingly explodes, causing you to go prone and curl up into a ball as tightly as possible.

As the dust settles, your look up and realize that most of the lower half of the store was taken out by a flying streetlamp, still embedded in the other half of the building that wasn't knocked down.

From here you can see the street clearly now, and you can see what exactly everyone was running away from: A young girl, no older than you is walking down the lane. From her back protrude six scythed talons, cutting down those that stray too near.

Around her is a sea of bones, clattering against the ground, like iron sand attracted to the magnet.

As you watch in amazement, she reaches into the sea of bones, some of their mass swarming together into a terrible blade. Casually she launches it forward, impaling a man before exploding into a shower of marrow, maiming all those around him.

Upon this girl's face is a look of absolute dread, half of it obscured by a mask carved into the form of a skull. She continues to leisurely amble forward, killing anyone and everything she sees, ripping the skeletons out of the bodies of any she passes. As you watch intently, you realize she's pulling something else out of those bodies as well: It's a white, pulsating thing that feels as though it's screaming in absolute terror.

Somehow, deep within you, you know that is what a soul looks like.

The sheer, horrifying sight sends you reeling, emptying your apple laden stomach all over the pavement.

"Wh-what is that?" You ask the Professor between heaves, but he remains eerily silent "Wh-what should I do?"

"I never would..." Cattington whispers, only to go silent once again.

You look back up to this mass murderer, to find in horror that her eyes are focused on you. For a moment you're sure that you're going to die, right then and there.

Then she turns away and continues on her stroll of destruction, ignoring you.

You're safe for the moment, but what now? Cattington refuses to lend any advice. The first thought that goes through your head is to hide; surely there's a good box here you can just wallow in for the time being. Or, alternatively, you can run.

The street behind you is still full of people scurrying in seemingly random directions, gendarmes still trying to evacuate everyone. It wouldn't be too hard to get lost in the crowd.

just run, if anyone finds you hiding they will think it was you.

>>246502
You don't want to be around here; there will be people coming to deal with her. Grab your stolen bag and hightail it, and don't stop until you're halfway across the city.

And be glad that apparently that girl doesn't go for killing others of her kind.

You decide to run, going with your instinct to be as far away as bloody possible.

To that end, you step into the other street to find it wildly chaotic. Apparently more than a few peopled decided that looting and rioting it perfectly acceptable during a wild liberi assault, breaking into homes and robbing stores. The gendarmes available are doing the best that they can, but it appears to be obvious that they can't stop all the looters.

Meanwhile, the people running in the middle of the street don't seem to be going in any particular direction. Everyone just seems to be running.

You can either go up the street or down the street, or forwards, across the street and into another alleyway.

run perpendicular to the path the bone chick took. would put you optimum distance.

Kabal 2010/10/20(Wed)23:15 No. 246532 ID: bec62a
File 128764173467.jpg - (448.84KB , 1650x1950 , Haters Gonna hate copy2.jpg )

Alright, I think I'm gonna call it a night, as I was drawing something cool for this, but my photoshoop crashed and now I'm raging too hard to continue.

We'll pick up again on Sunday.

Kabal 2010/10/27(Wed)23:40 No. 249206 ID: bec62a
File 128824805325.jpg - (446.90KB , 1650x1650 , Knights copy.jpg )

Alright, back. Well sorta.

Just plug orders in and I'll eventually get to it.

-----

You hear the thunderous clash of hooves against stone, and take a moment to look behind you, curious of the source.

You find a pair of paladins rushing down the street upon horseback, brandishing lances.

A moment later you find half of a horse thrown back, quickly followed by the upper half of a paladin.

He's still somewhat alive, and in his death throes he catches sight of you. Agonizingly he attempts to claw his way towards you, as though begging for help.

In the end he's just speared through by a lamp post sailing through the sky.

Sticking around is looking more and more dangerous.

I bet it's focus is that mask. You could use your tendril to yank it off, might stop this rampage.

You're a noobie, just run far away from this. Keep a look out for any buildings you could take refuge in. Breaking in to a home to hide would be a pretty normal-person thing to do in this situtation.

lie i said, run perpendicular to her path. if she is going north or south then go easy or west, going east or west, go north or south. would maximize your distance gain.

Run like a little non-demon powered girl.

Kabal 2010/10/29(Fri)20:22 No. 249955 ID: bec62a
File 128840892366.jpg - (154.87KB , 1100x1100 , Sammy And Marie copy.jpg )

You decide to run like a little non-demon powered girl.

Seeing as how the demonic killing machine in question is heading east, west appears to be the best decision.

As you turn, preparing to start sprinting, something hits you with tremendous force, sending you sprawling to the ground.

It takes a moment for you to collect your senses, trying to figure out what just happened.

Sitting before you rubbing her head is another girl around your age, unlike you she’s dressed rather fancily, complete with a posh fur coat, obviously a girl of higher breeding than yourself. Her blonde hair is dressed in pigtails, and in her hands is a dog doll, dressed as a gentleman with a bowler hat and monocle. For some odd reason this doll is what strikes you more than the girl herself.

“Bloody hell, who stands in the middle of the street…” She angrily snarls, revealing excessively long fangs.

She looks up at you, ready with words of harsh reproach, only for her eyes to fall upon Professor Cattington. Her eyes turn from annoyance, to worry, then to adamant frustration.

“I hope you aren’t thinking what you’re probably thinking.” A deep, growling voice states, and for some odd reason you can only assume it came from the dog.

“I know, I know, but I can’t help it!” She yells angrily in retort, bolting back up. “You’re new, right?”

“Ah, um, -erm, yeah?” You awkwardly respond, unsure of what to make of this development.

“I swear Tabitha, this will get us both killed.” You hear that voice again, apparently chastising this girl.

You look down to Professor Cattington, but he remains despondently silent.

“Here, come with me.” She demands, grabbing you by the hand and dragging you up, whether you want to or not. “We need to get out of here, quickly!”

“Come on, more Paladins will be here soon!” The twin-tailed girl urges as she drags you onward.

A curious development, she seems to be dragging you north-westward, somehow easily navigating the chaotic streets without any effort.

While you don’t think she means any harm and wishes to help you, in the past you’ve been easily deceived before. Unfortunately, her grip is as iron shackles; even if you wanted to get away, you're quite sure you can't break her grip.

As she drags you through an alleyway, you’re stopped by a gang of older boys, brandishing numerous weapons and gloating over what seems to be a bunch of goods stolen during the chaos.

“Oi, what’s this?” The apparent leader smiles deviously as he regards the two of you. “Some stupid girls deciding to come through our alley?”

“Hey, just let us through, alright?” The girl tries to persuade the boys to no avail.

“Even though riots be happening, blokes gotta make a living, ya know.” He laughs, brandishing a lead pipe “Maybe if you paid the toll, we’d be happy enough to let you through.”

“Tch, don’t blame me for what happens.” She growls in return, letting go of you.

Instinctively you hide behind the girl, but simultaneously this is also your chance to escape.

Will you follow her, or will you get away?

follow. she seems to be a newbie as well. be ready to help her with your draining ability. not enough to kill, just knock them out.

Stay with her, she's worrying over you for a reason. Escaping her would distract you both from getting to safety.

Stay with her. Also help out vs the boys.

Stay with her. She's got a Foci too, and unlike you she knows how to use it! Do you really want to trust Professor Cattington for everything you know? He already practically confessed to stealing the soul of the last girl who carried him around.

>>249955
Urgh. I don't like this girl, or for that matter this situation. We try to run, and first there's one other demon girl, then a second to slow us down and get in our way. And this one seems inclined to force her will on us- regardless of the fact that we were planning to run on our own. I foresee her taking us somewhere and telling us what to do, possibly for a long while.

Still, you need information... and at least temporary safety, so going with her is probably best.

>she seems to be a newbie as well
No, she doesn't. She obviously had a good idea what was going on back there, and is of the opinion that we need to be dragged around and told what to do. Those are signs of someone with experience.

>not enough to kill, just knock them out.
No one that's seen you use your powers gets to stay alive. Those knights will come hunting you- and you aren't nearly as nasty in combat as that other girl. Further, if this girl uses powers here, even if you don't you'll be guilty by association anyway.

Result: If it comes to fighting, go all in. Don't hesitate, and worry about the morality of the issue later. You were starving and freezing to death only hours ago- the brutal truths of me-or-you life on the street should be crystal clear anyway.

Let the girl take the front, and use your tendril to grab anyone who tries to run away around the neck and yank them back/down, hard. If she can talk your way through or no one runs, let her handle it.

i just noticed cattington said absolutely nothing.

play as a dummy untill the fight comes to you o is opportune to save your new "mistress"

also inquire cattington about this turn of events.

You're better off running and going around. Leaving a trail of dead bodies isn't a good idea and fighting will be noisy.

If you can get out of sight somewhere you could use your spectral tendril to get the both of you onto the rooftops.

We're assuming this girl intends to use her powers straight off the bat. If she's experienced (i.e. has survived while avoiding the attentions of the Church for some time), she probably knows about lying low and avoiding using her powers unless absolutely necessary. There's a good chance she can deal with a few opportunistic street kids purely physically (being obviously healthy and well fed vs. probably vagrants...), so rumbling her cover, unless we actually need to do so to save her life, would only cause problems.

Not knowing the capabilities of your new friend, depending on the size of this gang, and on whether we can piss them off enough not to scatter off running when we use our abilities. That all has to count for something. And if you don't kill any of them or even injure them, and they run, the paladins will think that there jumping scared at anything. Probably won't take there word for it or even investigate the issue. Even if they spout the look of your abilities. Of course if this comes out too often at different intervals then suspicion will arise.

Lets hope that this is not an age that as soon as someone yells witch there target is toast and/or the target look-a-like.

So the best tactic is an all-or-nothing one. If you kill one, kill them all. If you scare one, scare them all. Or leave altogether.
Killing them rouses suspicion faster but allows you to tone your abilities more making you stronger to deal with more threats. Scaring them rouses much less suspicion but you won't hone your abilities any. And leaving altogether (if possible) will cause no suspicion, but again you won't hone your abilities any.

My guess is that you are only able to kill one at a time at the moment, and we don't know how many your friend can kill. You can probably take on 4 without much problem. More if you piss them off enough.

Personally I'd want to find out if a Liberi can get into the Paladin order without them figuring out your a Liberi. It'd be an dangerous but advantageous position if even possible.

>>250234
>Personally I'd want to find out if a Liberi can get into the Paladin order without them figuring out your a Liberi.
Liberi are little kids.

Paladins are adults, because you don't send children out to fight demons.

I don't see how that could possibly work.

Kabal 2010/11/02(Tue)23:52 No. 251746 ID: bec62a
File 128876716534.jpg - (298.11KB , 1100x1100 , Attacking girl copy.jpg )

You decide against your better, violence fearing judgment to stick around and help out the girl. Clutching the still silent Professor Cattington ever close, you muster what little courage an eleven year old girl can muster.

Before you are seven boys of various ages, ranging from nine to thirteen. They're dressed 'humbly' in soot covered clothes, probably all workers in the same factory or profession. Regardless, they stand assembled before you, brandishing crowbars, lead pipes and cricket bats with nails festooned through them.

"Tch, why don't you all just..." The irritable girl begins to loudly proclaim, as though putting emphasis on the very last words "Just lay down and die."

As though by muttering those words, four of the boys simply collapsed, laying upon the ground, motionless, as though dead.

The three remaining, all boys in roughly their twelfth year, the leader included stood motionless, in shock, unsure of what just happened.

"W-what did you just do!?" The leader cried, his cohorts trying to tend to their fallen comrades to no avail.

"Tch, didn't completely work..." She murmurs in response, tossing her dog doll to the side. "...But, better than nothing."

With that she dashes towards them with inhuman speed, upon the lead boy in the blink of an eye. Before any can react she is behind him, restraining his arms with the same vice grip from before.

Baring her fangs, she bite deeply into the boy's throat, suckling upon his blood. Part of you is mortified, but the rest of you is shot through with the sensation of fear; she is a predator, and you are little more than prey for her.

You look to his associates to find they too are caught in the aura of fear, incapable of doing little more than watch as their comrade is devoured.

She finishes draining him of all his essence in mere moments, then looks to her next victim, wiping the dripping blood off on the back of her hand.

Her target is paralyzed, too frightened to move, but somehow you have the feeling that this sensation of overwhelming helplessness is one of her powers.

Regardless, the last remaining victim screams in terror and runs, attempting to flee, leaving his friends to their fate.

Unfortunately, he is dashing in your direction, forgetting your presence. Considering how you spent most of your life unnoticed, somehow this doesn't surprise you; even in life and death situations your presence goes unnoticed.

"Hey! Kill him!" The girl orders you the moment he bolts.

His eyes are still glued on the vampire girl, unaware of your presence.

What do you do? And if it comes down to it, how will you do it?

Delicious vitality, you must eat it.

If he gets away he is going to call the Paladins on you. You'll have to stop him.

Time to try out your vitality draining powers.

At the least, grab him.

Listen kill any other enemies and drain them. We need to test out your viltality powers.

CUT THEM DOWN

Theres little for it. If he gets away, your description will be linked with the Vampire girl's actions, and those Paladin guys will be on you like a fat man to a twinkie.

At the very least, he needs to be stopped. Grab him, and drain him. Maybe hold shy of killing him, though. Child murder doesn't sit well with my stomach, nor yours, I imagine. At least, not yet.

Also, don't like the idea of being bossed around by this girl.

Leaving him to run at this point is no good. Just tackle him with all your might and hang on, draining his vitality and making sure he can't run.

You'll have to gently chastise this girl about this afterwards. She's just spreading trouble.

FINISH HIM

>>251746
You can't let him get away and call for help. Not after this. The girl's quite rude, but she's got the right idea on this one.

Tentacle. Lash out and grab him around the neck; yank him to the ground, and hold it tight so that he can't make too much noise. Then vitality drain until he stops moving.

Punch him in the ear with Glancing Drain.

Perhaps have Spectral Tendril do the following, while punching: extend it from hand, reaching for the brain, trying to damage it enough to kill and/or while using Draining Touch or Continuous Contact (if it can be used for this action).

You know...even if we do end up having to kill him...I can't even fathom a reason for us to try to do it in such a horrifying manner.

>>252060
If we are going to kill him, as the current consensus seems to be, might as well do it quickly: the brain is the single most important part of the body, without it, one will most assuredly die, therefore, since we can bypass most of the brain's protections, as I am aware of them, we should just destroy it and get the murder done with.

>>252429
the tendril doesn't go through things, your plan is invalid.

>>252430
...? No, it can go through things; that's how we unlocked the door. That aspect of my plan's only invalid if the tendril can't go through organic/living/whatever matter.

>>252445
We unlocked the door by fitting our tendril through the cracks around the door and breaking the lock. It can't phase through matter.

>>252461
could still kill them egyptian style
get at the brain through the nose.

Suggestion 2010/11/08(Mon)02:32 No. 253949 ID: bec62a
File 128921236724.jpg - (125.41KB , 1000x800 , Strangling copy.jpg )

His frenzied footsteps lead him ever closer to you, your heart beating in frightened tune.

He's close now, barely upon you; this is the moment. Do you, or do you not?

You summon what little courage you have, taking in all your fears, your anxieties, your hatreds turning your heart black, drowning it with tar.

Sending your tendril for his neck as you avert your gaze, you strangle him whilst simultaneously pushing him away. Your ill-aimed attack succeeds in picking him up and pinning him against a wall, sending a pair trash cans tumbling.

You close your eyes, chanting under your breath a simple phrase "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." You repeat over and over again, a simple prayer to steel your little heart against the terrible thing you're about to do. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

He's trying to gasp for air, flailing about wildly in a desperate, confused attempt to break free. But, you don't let him, his meager voice growing weaker second by second. He struggles less and less, his labored attempts to breathe turning silent.

As you squeeze your fist, your tendril following in kind, you can feel his life force being wrung out of him like a rag, your body greedily lapping up the drops.

It makes you feel strong. It makes you feel better.

Unconsciously you begin to tighten your grip, still chanting your simple little prayer, your mind becoming intoxicated by the taste of a soul.

Then suddenly, you feel nothing dripping from him. You open your eyes to find his eyes staring emptily up into the sky, his body lifeless.

You realize you killed him. You murdered another human being.

You withdraw your tendril, letting his still body slump to the floor.

Kabal 2010/11/08(Mon)02:34 No. 253950 ID: bec62a
File 128921247720.jpg - (90.41KB , 800x800 , Crying copy.jpg )

Professor Cattington didn't promise this. He didn't promise. He didn't promise. He didn't say. He didn't say. He said. He said. He said.

You recline in horror, guilt sinking into every facet of your being.

It's not my fault. It's not my fault. It's not my fault.

Your grip tightens on Cattington, as though trying to squeeze into a tight little ball to escape your sin.

You're broken out of your realization by the other girl, patting you on the shoulder "Well, at least you did it. Good for a newbie, I guess."

"W-why-why-why-" You stumble over your tongue, your horror turning to blind rage "Why did I have to kill him!? It's your fault, yours, your, yours!"

"Hey, we need to do things if we want to survive.." The girl defends herself, grabbing you by both shoulders "They needed to die, understand? They saw too much; had they just fallen for my hypnosis, it would've been fine, but they didn't."

This is too much, too big for you. Dangerous things, frightening things, people dying horrifically, killing, murder. You’re just a little girl lost and scared in a big world, just too much. Your furrowed pout turns into tears as you begin to cry, your teeth chattering in the cold as you simply can’t control it, this tumultuous outpour of emotion; the fear, the anger, the hate, the disappointment, the sorrow, the anxiety, the guilt, it all comes pouring out.

This is all just too much, too much.

You do your best to try and stop the tears from coming out, but once they started, you can’t stop it and you begin to cry uncontrollably, silently. Still you try and maintain that brave demeanor, staring silently at the girl as you shiver.

The girl standing before you sighs in defeat, her expression softening. “Jeez, if you do that…”

"We did what we had to do." She assures you, gently hugging you "Sorry, but this is how your life will be from now on."

Your anger melts away into sobs in her arms, the warmth and touch of another human being a foreign, yet comforting thing.

“Hey, I’m going to need you to be strong, okay?” She pulls you away after a few moments, wiping your tears away “I need to deal with the remaining four, then we need to get rid of the bodies before we can leave.”

You nod silently, letting her get to work.

She turns back to the four remaining boys lying motionless on the ground. “Hey, you, get up.”

In eerie unison they rise, look blankly to the girl; in her commanding of others she had a noble air that just felt so natural.

Marching up to each one, she whispers a secret into their ear, a hidden agenda deep within their minds.

After whispering in the ears of each one, she clapped her hands “Alright, all of you leave. Remember what I told you.”

They departed sluggishly, splitting up into two groups that left out of either end of the alleyway. In the end, only you, the girl and three corpses remained. She quickly goes about, searching for something and finding it by your feet.

“Hey, move over, would ya?” She orders you and you tentatively obey, confused.

Her goal was the cover of a manhole, leading straight into the sewers. She rips it off with the greatest of ease, tossing the steel cover to the side.

“See, I’ve got an arrangement with Johnny, King of Rats.” The girl explained as she went to work, painstakingly dragging each corpse into the hole and dropping it in. “I supply him with delicious bodies for his ‘subjects’ and he gets rid of any ‘accidents’ I might cause.”

You silently nod, not knowing who Johnny was, nor why he was the King of Rats, you just assume he’s someone like you who lives in the dank sewers and gets rid of bodies for her. All this is still just one huge shock for you.

She’s working quickly, but this is also the first chance you’ve had to actually talk to her, even if it is dealing with corpses. You could probably ask her a question, maybe even get two in, before you’re back to running.

You try to wipe away your tears on your sleeve, but they still keep coming, and they won’t stop. When he begins to move the boy you killed, you turn away instinctively, unable to bear.

>>253950

Ask her for her name, and give her yours. If you have time, ask her how long she has been doing what it takes to survive.

Now I feel kinda bad. A necessary evil, perhaps. Still, if you don't want that to happen...well, we'll need to find another way other than killing to enable you to protect yourself and your secret.

Ask the Vampire girl the basics, name, age, etc. Then ask who the hell that girl blenderizing the whole neighborhood was.

Also, what did she tell those boys?

Ok my little girl two questions.

1. How did Johnny become the king of rats?
2. Is there a way to make ends meet by working with you?

Also I want to tell you something which might help. You need to make sure that you are ready to kill more people, you need the energe to survive and you will have to do that. The difference between you and a killer is that you have to kill to survive and sometimes to take down evil guys. So remember so long as you don't murder children or go mad then it's ok.

Ask her where you're going and if she has a nice house. Also you haven't introduced yourselves yet. Ask her how the hypnosis works. If this girl had been a little wittier she could maybe have said something like "It's the cops! Run!" and even if she hadn't caught all of the boys with the hypnosis the others would probably have ran away with their friends...

When no one is looking bite Professor Cattington's ear to punish him for dragging you into this.

as long as you never enjoy it, you are fine.

Samantha, they were going to hurt you. When they thought you were just a little girl who couldn't fight back, they were going to gang up and toy with you as easily as that girl toyed with them, thinking you would be helpless. You should never, ever feel bad about acting against people who were going to hurt you.

And if you really can't handle it... well... later, when you are somewhere safe, you can break down. For now, just don't dwell on what's going on or let it touch you. Ignore anything that upsets you. Treat them as not important, not real, just a game. Anything to let you keep moving and acting without hesitation rather than thinking about what's gone wrong.

Okay, so that last advice could take her down the short road to serious mental problems, but there aren't that many ways to avoid that in the long term here and we need her functional. Mental stability and being a demon child who feasts on the souls of the living don't go well together.

Shoddy update is shoddy Kabal 2010/11/16(Tue)18:01 No. 257124 ID: 10990a
File 12899592604.jpg - (130.64KB , 1100x1100 , Dragging bodies copy.jpg )

You pathetically attempt to wipe away the last of your tears, trying to convince yourself that what you did was justified, that had you not acted only a more terrible fate would've awaited you. What you did was out of self defense, justified and with cause. Despite such reasoning, it doesn't make you feel much better. You awkwardly watch her drag the first body, the boy you killed, towards the manhole.

"M-my name is Samantha, I'm eleven years old..." You question, still desperately trying to stop the tears "What's yours?"

"Name's Tabitha," The pigtailed girl replies with a grunt as she tosses the first body down "I think I'll be twenty or so this year..."

The answer shocks you; she can't appear to be any older than you, maybe even a little younger if you squinted hard enough, but twenty just seemed impossible. Then again, considering tonight, maybe impossible things weren't so impossible.

"Who's Johnny?" You ask with some trepidation as she begins to drag the next body over "You said he was king of rats?"

"Johnny, King of Rats" She corrects you as she drops the next corpse down, dusting off her hands "You've gotta say the whole thing, otherwise he gets angry. He's a crazy Liberi, been living in the sewers who knows how many years. He lords over pretty much all the rats in the city."

You conjure up a fanciful image of a boy holding a royal court in the sewers, attended by giant rats dressed as nobles and ladies, knights and jesters. The whole idea seems too silly, but if this girl is leaving her fate to a boy living in the sewers who held sway over rats, he must not be too silly. Then you consider what happens to the bodies Tabitha sends down, and you decide not to take anymore fanciful flights of imagination.

"I was wondering..." You timidly ask as Tabitha begins to drag the last body "...Do you know who that girl was? What's going on...?"

"Oh that..." She pauses for a moment, her expression going sour. "She... She's terrifying. She stayed with us a few days, but I never would've imagined that her vendetta would turn to this..."

She shakes away her recollections, returning to the task at hand. "I'll tell you what we know when we get home."

"Home?" You ask, gnawing the still silent Professor Cattington on the ear on reflex. The word still leaves a sour taste on your lips.

“I live a few blocks away; this was the short cut I normally take, but these buffoons decided to set up shop.” She explains, dropping the last body down and covering the manhole. “Now, I’d like to get home quickly… Where’s that leisurely gentleman…”

As though on cue you hear that same deep, growling voice from before calling out from beneath a pile of rubbish “Get away from me you cur, I’ll have your master serve your head upon a plate!”

Following the voice, you discover Tabitha’s foci dealing with a rat curiously sniffing him “Why can’t you just buy me a proper bag to sit in, instead of just tossing me off to some corner!?”

“Tch, shut it dog.” She grumbles back, picking the doll up by the ear, then smiles to the rat “Oh, hello there mister rat. Please tell Johnny that we deposited a few treats, okay?”

The rat simply looked up to Tabitha as though understanding and scurried off, leaving the two of you in a dark and lonely alley.

“Hey, I’m sorry I dragged you into this.” She apologizes out of nowhere as she began to dust off the dog. “I wasn’t thinking about what you wanted or anything. You don’t have to come home with me or anything. We can just part here and that’ll be that.”

“Normally, I ask for permission when I drag someone around, but there was just so much going on, there’s still so much going on, and you just looked so helpless…” She smiles weakly at you, and you realize once again the chaos still floating in the air. “If you’ve got someplace else to go, I’m sorry…”

Do you follow, y/n?

leaving on your own now could get you cornered and questioned. you DO want to figure out how to make due on your own, but that is still a ways off. go with her.

Yeah follow, she seems to know whats going on and you can probably just leave if something happens.

Somewhere else to go? No, not particularly. Follow!

>>257124
Okay, Samantha, it's good that you're holding it together. (Sorta. Mostly.) You might find it easier to give off less of a 'lost, timid child' vibe if you make an effort to be polite, no matter what happens. Tabitha is right in that you looked helpless and clueless, like someone who needed to be shoved around- you need to act like you have things together even if you really don't. So speak courteously and carefully.

"No need to apologize. Thank you for your help, and the invitation to your home. Please, lead the way."


Still think that we'll need to drive Samantha a little crazy if she's going to run into violent situations on a regular basis, but I suppose we can leave off on that for now. But coping mechanisms are very important and should be established in advance.

I say to follow. A whole new world has open to us, and I'd rather know what kind of world we're in before prancing about like a curious kitten.

NOT DEAD! JUST LAZY! Kabal 2010/11/23(Tue)00:12 No. 259155 ID: 7bef4e
File 129049995237.jpg - (299.21KB , 1100x1100 , Meeting copy.jpg )

“N-No need to apologize…” You reply to her with a sniffle, a little smirk on your face trying to attest to your wellbeing “You saved me there; thank you for the help.”

“I’d be happy to go to your home.” By now you’ve managed to stem your tears, although the redness of your eyes betrays what little façade you manage to put up. “Please, lead the way.”

Tabitha’s face lit up, a grin revealing her canines, a bolstering of her crestfallen mood “You won’t regret it, I swear.”

“C’mon, let’s get out of here.” She laughs, grabbing you by the hand and tugging you forward once more, but this time it’s a playful pull “My house is only a few more blocks away, not too far at all!”

You go along willingly, somberly looking back for a moment at that silent alley, that unremarkable place where you murdered another human being. It quickly melts away in the urban landscape, forgotten amidst the hundreds of thousands of other alleyways just like it.

As she leads you on the streets become wider, turning into avenues, the houses becoming older and farther spread apart. You meet fewer and fewer people as the neighborhoods get nicer; you can only deduce you’re leaving the epicenter of the event and everyone else has caught on and decided to barricade themselves in, or perhaps it’s simply gotten that late, or maybe in these sorts of neighborhoods no one goes out at night. In the distance you can see plumes of smoke being licked by orange flame, and occasionally an explosion tears through the air, but regardless of what’s happening, you can tell you’re getting farther and farther away.

Eventually you reach a neighborhood where all the residences are truly old, the haunts of the aristocratic, more akin to manors than houses. Tabitha eventually leads you to one of the largest ones, a walled off residence lined with hedges, at its center a towering three story mansion. It gives off the air of an abandoned home, but you can tell someone’s inside, by the presence of lights in some windows and smoke billowing from a chimney.

“Come in, come in!” She urges as we step up to a small side gate, using a little key to open the padlock.

Tentatively you step in first, only to be amazed by what you see: an old courtyard made of stone, overgrown with vines and weeds, a little fountain filled with stagnant water, a rose garden overgrown with thorns. Standing prominently before you was that ancient manor, appearing more imposing and intimidating than it originally appeared outside.

“Mikelus is waiting,” Tabitha tugs at your sleeve, snapping it out of your awe. “I want to catch him before he falls asleep.”

Without giving you a chance to respond she leads on once more, opening a pair of old oaken doors. The foyer is what you would expect from a ridiculous mansion; vast and expansive, a marble floor and a great chandelier hanging above, the second floor looming down upon all those that entered. To the left and right were great portals that led to the auditorium and dining area. There was sparse artwork or displays upon the floor; the bare ebony walls were testimony to that.

Again, Tabitha pulls out of your wonder by dragging you up the stairs and to the second floor, a room to the right. Leading you down a maze of hallways you eventually end at another pair of great oaken doors. She pushes them open gently, as though measuring to see whether or not her intrusion would be seen.

“You’re a bit late, Tabitha.” A voice calls out, from what you can gather of its volume and timbre, it probably belonged to a boy.

“Sorry Mikelus, something terrible happened…” She responds, fully opening the door and stepping into the firelight. “And I picked up someone new.”

From the vast array of shelves of books, walls lined with tomes so high as to require a ladder to reach them, you can only assume this is the library. At the room’s far end was a great roaring fire, at which several thrones stood. In one of them was a boy, you guess your age, perhaps younger, intent on scrying a manuscript.

“Someone new? Do come in then.” He urges, setting his book down and finally giving you some modicum of attention “She looks like she just came off the streets, Tabitha.”

“Well, she did. At least, I think she did.” Tabitha replied, taking her coat off and hanging it from a nearby coat hanger, leaving her foci on a shelf and letting it scurry off to some corner of the library. “You can leave your sack right there.”

You do as you’re told, leaving your sack full of clothing and assorted fruits at the coat hanger’s base before addressing the boy “My name is Samantha Kerrinton…”

“Samantha, hmm? Cute name.” He ponders for a moment as Tabitha strode over “I am Mikelus Deus. Might I ask what your little friend’s name is?”

“Ah, erm, this is Professor Cattington…” You introduce, displaying the doll, but he remains silent. “C’mon Cattington, say something…”

“Hrm, that’s curious, but it’s fine. I’m sure my Tartarus is laying about here somewhere.” He chuckles, then beckons me to come closer “Here, come closer, where the fire is warm, I’m sure you’re quite chilly in those rags.”

“Sorry love, I didn’t find it.” Tabitha interrupts, kissing Mikelus on the cheek “Samantha on the other hand, we’re fortunate we found her. Rather terrible things are happening in the city. She has no idea at all about anything.”

“I-I only found The Professor today, not more than a few hours ago, so…” You add on as you approach, enjoying the heat from the flame. “…You could say I was just born…”

“Ah, I see. Well, you can tell me about whatever’s going on outside later.” Mikelus leans back in his chair, leaning against his cheek, Tabitha standing to his side “For now, I’m sure you’ve got many questions and no answers, if your partner’s silence is any indication.”

“Well, I was wondering…” You begin, squeezing Professor Cattington with a tinge of annoyance.

what am i now? Tabitha says she is much older then she looks, am i going to stay a little kid forever? what are these powers i seem to have?

What terrible things are happening, whats going on?

What's the deal with this house? Can you stay here for the moment?

What do your new friends generally do? How come the paladins are after them?

>>259155
If the Professor feels like remaining silent, let him. You don't need his help. Just stay polite and try to be confident in what you say.

If he answers your questions, it would be polite to thank him for it... but it would also be smart to ask him and Tabitha if they expect anything of you since they're being so nice. Expecting them to be helping you out of the goodness of their hearts might be a bit much.

And, if at the end of the conversation you feel inclined to trust them very much... you might ask, softly and carefully, why it felt so good to do what you did in the alley. That's not normal, and you need to understand it, even if you don't want to think about it much.

Hmm... Personally, I'd rather ask Mr. Wilde on what's going on with us and what's the deal with 20 year-olds looking four to six years younger. He has kept his promises thus far (>>242202)
and for better or for worst we're stuck with the intellectual feline plush.

I'd ask the young lord these question:

"What's going on with the city?"
"What was Tabitha looking for in the city?"
"Why was a young woman, with a myriad of blade-like limbs attached to her, attacking everything in sight in the city?"
"Also are we in danger from those horse-riding knights?"

Maybe he doesn't like being introduced as Professor Cattington... He could just be being wary or observant, though.

Kabal 2010/11/30(Tue)00:45 No. 260813 ID: 7bef4e
File 129110672443.jpg - (262.12KB , 1200x700 , Cutins copy.jpg )

Too much Disgaea. Also, go to Discussion thread to discuss Paladin-Liberi quest.

“Are we really safe here?” You ask, eyes darting about, unable to meet your benefactor’s eyes and just more than a little fearful of your new surroundings.

“Quite so.” Mikelus replied as he shut the book in his lap shut “We’ve lived here for a good decade and nothing terrible has yet to happen.”

“Mikelus has turned the mansion into his place of power” Tabitha explained with a smirk “So he’s set up more than a few illusions and tricks to keep people from bothering us.”

“For most part, everything thinks I am the eccentric and reclusive nobleman Reynard Delussion, from Gaul, who came here with his daughter after purchasing several factories.” He elaborated on his guise further, in an attempt to ease your fears “And Tabitha, well, she just keeps on hypnotizing people, to varying degrees of success.”

His last comment seemed to leave a bitter look on Tabitha’s face, but it’s an expression most likely born out of what had occurred a scant hour ago.

“You mentioned… Living here for a decade, but both of you hardly look older than me.” You continue to ask, standing there awkwardly “And Tabitha said she’d be turning twenty…”

“Oh, that’s a lie. Tabitha’s actually thirty.” Mikelus began to jest, only for him to earn Tabitha’s ire by flicking his ear. “Ouch, I was joking, you know.”

“I’m surprised your partner hasn’t told you anything about that.” Tabitha sighs as she turns her attention back to you. “We’re what are known as ‘Liberi’ now. We’re immortal; we’ll never age, never grow old. Always children, forever more.”

It takes a moment for the full weight of those words to strike you, but you come under the realization that for the most part your future has been barred from you. You can never grow up, get married, have children of your own and die naturally. You’ll never have a normal life ever again. All you can ever do is exist as these people in front of you do, outside of the stream of time.

“Of course, you now possess powers beyond any normal person, adult or otherwise.” She attempts to reassure you, catching wind of your emotions “Each of us have our own powers, so it’ll be up to you to figure out what you were given. The Professor should be able to help you in those regards, once he decides to start talking.”

“I… I see…” You murmur, still rolling the idea around in your head, only for a distant explosion to interrupt your thoughts “W-what was that?”

“Yes, what was that? Mikelus asks curiously as he rose from his throne, going to one of the massive window panes.

Outside in the distance a great cloud of smoke was rising up, red and orange flames leaping up and coloring the plume in violent colors.

“That’s the terrible thing going on outside.” Tabitha explains as the three of you gather around the window, watching as the city was doused in a hellish light “Vivian’s gone on a rampage.”

“Vivian?” You ask, the name wholly unfamiliar to you.

“As you saw, she’s frighteningly powerful, older than both of us combined.” She continued to explain, eyes glued to the outside “She came here to settle a familial matter, and came to stay with us for a short while before going out to finish whatever she came to do.”

“I didn’t know that was the full extent of her power…” Mikelus stated, simply awestruck “It’s like watching a war.”

“Didn’t she come with another Liberi? He was a little quieter, obviously significantly weaker than her. He was a bit like her servant, I guess” Tabitha asked, “You spent the most time with them, what was his name, Mikelus?”

“It was Wilde. Oscar Wilde.” Mikelus stated without much fanfare.

“Wilde!?” You cry in surprise, holding up your foci “Does that mean it was you!?”

He stares at you blankly, as a doll would, and for a moment you wonder if he will stay silent as he has for the past hour or so.

“I am he.” The doll blankly states as though admitting to a crime. “I am the same boy who was here with Vivian but a few days ago.”

“What!?” Unanimously escaped everyone’s lips in surprise, you most of all, as you come to learn that the demonic doll in your hands was a living boy not more than a day ago.

“Yes, it is the truth.” Wilde confessed as he hung limply in your hands “Vivian and I came here for a personal matter, but we were betrayed. Agents of the Church assailed us and I think I died. That betrayal and my death probably sent Vivian over the edge.”

“She probably doesn’t care anymore, and would be content to simply burn the world. I don’t doubt her ability to.” The doll summarized, sighing in sadness “We never should have come here. If only, if only…”

Being privy to such knowledge was a little more than shocking; even Tabitha and Mikelus are staring at the Foci with honest surprise.

“When a Liberi dies, he becomes a foci; I am the very end of the terrible Liberi cycle.” He explained remorsefully “Although as every moment passes by, I forget my former life more and more, becoming little more than a cloudy haze…”

Heavy with the weight of such frightening knowledge, an awkward silence falls across the three of you, simply unable to say a word. You know that this is what comes after death, existence as a Foci.

”Well, I guess that means we’ll have to go into hiding.” Mikelus sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, breaking the silence and returning back to his throne. “Once this blows over, every Inquisitor and Paladin will be combing the streets for other rogue Liberi.”

“You’re free to come with us too, you know.” Tabitha sighed as she followed Mikelus and collapsed in an adjacent chair “We’ll probably end up going across the channel to Arturia or maybe to Gaul…”

“I was wondering…” You begin to ask tentatively, not desiring to sound rude or unappreciative “Why are you so willing to help me? A complete stranger who you just met little more than an hour ago.”

“That’s a good question.” Mikelus states as you approach “You see, we all make promises. Most of them are small promises that are easy to fulfill and don’t take much time at all. In comparison, there are others that are very much pledges for life. Generally these are only made to people we very truly love with all our heart.”

“What he’s basically saying is that we promised our best friend to help any Liberi we come across.” Tabitha annoyingly stated as she cut straight to the heart of the matter “He was such a good kid, but stupid too. Because we loved him so much, we decided to honor his last wish. Granted, we’ve got limits to how much we’re willing to do.”

“And I’ve got my own personal reason.” Mikelus added as he opened his book back up. “My mission is recording the histories of Liberi. Many books in this library are the long tales of a Liberi as they were born, killed, survived, and came to us. This book I read right now is the tale of Vivian, the ancient creature out there putting the city to the torch.”

“No one ever stays with us too long.” Tabitha sighed “Even you will come to leave us sooner or later.

“Either way, I’m sure you’re rather tired right now, so I’ll leave my prying for later. Just know that the cost of your stay is you telling me your story.”

With those last words an awkward silence falls over the three of you, leaving you to mull over your thoughts.

Suggest an action to change the mood, or something.

This is the prime moment for an awkwardly loud stomach growl.

>>260816
As far fetched as this sounds, this is probably the best thing to do.

>>260816
Verily.

Well, then. This is a lot to take in for you. Perhaps we should get to know Oscar "Professor Cattington" Wilde. While the opportunity still exists.

>>260931
I believe Mikelus would like this as well. :D

>>260813
You might as well tell him your story. Keep it short and simple; if he's interested in the lives of Liberi, well, yours is still very short. I doubt he'll care much about beforehand.
-Things went horribly wrong. You were freezing to death in an alley.
-You made an agreement with the promise of being kept alive.
-A little theft went off well; a massive attack outside went less well. You fled and ran into Tabitha.
-And from there the story is known.

After that, try to find out a little more about the Church and their relationship to you- apparently they'll be descending upon this place soon?

When the talking is done for now, get some rest. Sleep in a comfortable bed would probably do you a world of good.

Sorry for the long delay folks. I haven't had much of a chance to draw anything regarding Liberi Quest lately, but I've had the text ready for a week or so. As it appears as though this state of affairs of not drawing, but certainly having enough time to scratch out some writing will mean that from henceforth Liberi Quest will be a text quest, save for the occasional cutscene, but also more regularly updated to the tune of four or more times a week. In my head I'm experimenting with an easier to use/draw format which would speed up response time immensely, but until then, making due with prose.



“I…” You break the silence suddenly, your voice trembling a bit, doing its best to not break “I want to tell you my story.”

“Now?” Mikelus asks curiously, his eyes breaking their line of thought and turning to you “Well, I suppose there’s no better time then the present…”

“I know it’s not very long, or very interesting, but…” You begin, trying to find the right words “…But I want to tell you now.”

“Well, we may as well start from the beginning.” He yawns, lazily getting off his chair and strolling up to one of the book cases.

“Come over here, Samantha.” Tabitha beckons you, leading you to one of the desks scattered about the library, the most spacious and used of them all.

Laden upon it are dozens of closed tomes, a burned out candle standing lonely amongst them. She leads you to one of the seats before it, pulling it out for you to sit. From here the stacks of books about it seem all the more towering and prestigious, and even the little candle feels a little more noble. Tabitha on the other hand begins busying herself, tearing down the towering stacks and neatly putting them off to one side; leaving only the lonely candle stick in her wake.

“Tch jeez, I always tell Mikelus to clean up after himself…” She murmurs in the midst of her cleaning, opening one of the desk’s drawers and pulling out a quill and an inkpot.

“I do, it just gets messy as soon as you get back.” Mikelus replies to Tabitha’s mumblings, earning him a glare. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

Sitting down behind the desk, he puts down a great green tome, opening it to reveal that it is barren of any written word, simply an empty book. He flips back through it, eventually stopping at the empty title page. Meanwhile, Tabitha moved to sit in the chair next to mine, slouching in it lazily.

“This is your book. Your story goes in here.” He simply states, opening the inkpot and dipping the quill into it “So, let’s start from the beginning.”

He titles it simply “The Story of Samantha Kerrigton” by “Mikelus and Tabitha”.

“Well, I became a Liberi I think little less than three hours ago…” You begin your tale, telling him of your discovery of Wilde, your robbing of a grocery store, fleeing before the terrifying might of Vivian, bumping into Tabitha and the unfortunate encounter you had with those boys in the alley, before finally coming here.

“Wow, that really wasn’t much.” Mikelus sighed with much disappointment as he sank back into his chair, only to have his forehead flicked by Tabitha.

“You don’t have to go and be a prick about it!” She chided him before sitting back down “Of course she doesn’t have much of a story!”

“Alright, alright…” He sighed as he went back to the tome, his eyes lighting up with curiosity as an idea struck him “Why don’t we start from the very beginning? This is something of a treat; most Liberi don’t remember their real childhoods, but I’m sure you remember.”

“Well…” You consider, thinking of how your short life has led up to this point.

PICK YOUR ORIGIN:

A.The child of a decent middle class family, you were educated and relatively well off until roughly three months ago, when your mother and father were killed by the plague. With no other relatives to care for you, you were sent to live in an orphanage-school. The headmaster and faculty used punitive measures to make sure you and your fellow orphans stayed in line, regularly beating the children or denying them food for the slightest infraction. After one of your friends died due to the severity of the beating she received, you decide to escape with a few others. Unfortunately the plan fails and you’re the only one to escape. By the time you met Wilde, you had been wandering the streets for a couple of days.

B.After your father remarried you went to live with your new stepmother and step sisters. While they treated you rather coldly, and your father was away often, you got along well enough, until your father was killed in a Steamtech experiment gone horribly wrong. Your wicked stepfamily immediately used his wealth for their own ends and began treating you more or less like a slave. Eventually they simply tossed you out of the household and left you to die on the streets. By the time you met Wilde, you had been wandering the streets for a couple of days.

C.You came from rather humble origins, but your family was able to secure you an apprenticeship to an apothecary, which would hopefully keep you from working in the factories. While the apothecary was a strange and a bit distant to you, for the most part you avoided much of the problems a member of the working poor had to endure. About a year ago your family died when the factory they were working in suffered a fire that killed nearly all the workers within. With no other family to speak of, the apothecary became your legal guardian, and he began to act strangely towards you. Eventually he came abuse you in many terrible and different ways, revealing his sadistic nature. One day you fled, unable to take his torment any more you flee, wandering aimlessly for a few days until meeting Wilde.

>brutal orphanage
Reasonable, if unpleasant.

>wicked stepfamily
Far too cliche. Though it does provide a plot hook of "return and make them pay". Come to think of it, all three of them do that.

>Abusive master
Samantha is far too innocent to have been the helpless subject of abuse by a sadist for months on end. I don't think so.


Overall, I'm going to go with A. Doesn't clash with what we've done so far, and if nothing else it at least provides evidence that Samantha has a bit of a spine buried in her somewhere. That's always good to have in a backstory.

>>262829
As arousing as C is to contemplate, A seems like the best backstory to me.

Add another to "A."

"B" does sound cliche and Sam is too innocent for "C."

Agreeing with A

YOU SELECTED: A

“My family was…” You begin, thinking fondly of far off days gone by. “…A good family. My mother and father were kind, and they always tried their best to make sure I was happy…”

“But… One day, they grew sick and died.” You recall, bringing faint tears to your eyes “And I was left all alone. I had no other family, so I was sent to an orphanage instead.”

“It was a… Nice orphanage, for girls like me. But the people there, the adults, they were so cruel…” Your memories go from sad to worse, creating a great knot in your heart “I tried my best; I really did, but after Katherine was… Was…”

“Katherine was one of my best friends there. She was very nice, but clumsy, and a little slow, and so she’d always somehow end up angering one of the governess’. It didn’t help she had a weak heart as well.” You continue to relate, your eyes staring straight to the ground, unable to look at either Tabitha or Mikelus “And so, one day they beat her for breaking a mirror during our chores. I think Governess Strum was mad about something else that day as well, because she beat Katherine furiously.”

“It was only after the Governess finished hitting her, that they realized Katherine had died…” The memory still bled fresh in your mind, having occurred only a few months ago “And so several of us decided to run away, because we all feared death.”

“Out of us, I was the only one who managed to escape…” You finish, finally raising your head up to see a teary eyed Tabitha and a melancholic Mikelus.

“Oh, you poor girl!” Tabitha cried as she embraces you, her warmth oddly comforting “I’m so glad you escaped from that place…”

“Thank you… For telling us your story…” Mikelus coughed awkwardly as he shut the book. “You’re the third Liberi we’ve ever met who remembered what it was like before…”

“Yes, even we don’t really remember those days too well…” Tabitha explained as she patted your head “So, even though those memories hurt, you shouldn’t forget about them…”

The great gong of a clock interrupted the moment, striking twelve times before falling silent. It was truly the dead of night now; the fireplace was slowly dying out and a weariness overcomes you.

Releasing you from her embrace, she put on a comforting smile “Now, I’m certain you’re tired, so we should call it a night. Do you want to eat first, or would you prefer going straight to sleep?”

>>263073
This is actually somewhat disconcerting. You haven't been a Liberi long- are you going to forget everything prior to your turning? Everything you liked, everything you hated? Soon all that will be left of them are words in that book.

This might be your only chance to record precious memories before you lose them. Things like your parents' names, and what you liked about them- even what they looked like. The same for siblings or relatives, if you had any, and your friends at the orphanage. The names of those adults that abused you, what they did, and how they can be identified. You don't have to write all that in the book, but shouldn't it be somewhere?

If you want to let your former life fade away completely, you can... but it's not a choice that you'll be able to take back, once all you can recall about your family dissolves like mist. And you have no idea how long that will take- probably not more than days or weeks, based upon what Tabitha just said and some wild conjecture.


Anyway. Once that's dealt with, or you've decided to put it off until tomorrow, eat something light and get some rest. You'll probably need it.

yeah, get it all down, reading it will keep you stable and help give you direction. you are also going to probably need to make yourself a little insane in a benificial direction so that you cannot go insane in a bad one. cause the insane cannot be driven insane again. also help numb you to killing so that if someone REALLY tries to hurt you you can stop them and move on without breaking down.actually, backburner that, cry about that person you killed once you are in bed, get it all out there. but have a snack so your stomach isn't empty.

This quest has died. D:

I really hope not. :(