Could be a magpie. I wonder whose ring that is. Make a note of it in case there's a reward. Or you could try to take it now but that bird will fight you. Now's not the time to lose a fight with the local fauna.

Make your jump.

Talk to the bird. Quietly, so junior cop doesn't hear. Just tell it what a pretty bird it is and be nice to it. Crows remember these things.

Ask it about the secret of flight.

Panda 2024/01/11(Thu)14:36 No. 1080771 ID: ab70bc
File 170501261114.gif - (91.19KB , 560x560 , Rileyquest 72.gif )

It does look like a shiny ring.

You don't do 'quiet,' and inside voices aren't your specialty. But you try to not scream to be stealthy.
"Wanna trade?" You say this at a perfectly reasonable volume.

"TRADE?" The bird leaves its nook and hops around in front of you. "ONE FOR ONE. YOU LEAVE YOU TAKE."

Looks like you have a choice between a ring, a dubloon, and what looks like an old, shriveled finger?

"GIVE ME VALUE."

Freak out, because it's a fucking talking animal! Holy shit!!!

Oh wait, you're a talking animal too. Leave the battery, take the ring. Then use your permanent marker to write on the floor of the entrance TRADING COVE

Not sure if we have anything to trade exactly, but do we want something Cool, or something Spooky?

Coin could be neat, although i do lean towards the ring...

For spooky? Definitely finger, for all we know it's haunted. Or from a dead guy.

And more importantly:

Protect Them at all costs, vital birb.

Consider if you don't need any of these, you could offer value in return for help. A flying ally who could distract someone might be better.

Trade the battery for the ring. Give it the marker as a way to communicate with you later, bird-related mail is the way of the future.

>>1080773
The crow will appreciate increased word-of-mouth for his business.

Go through the coins in your pocket, examine them carefully to see which one is the shiniest. Offer it in trade for the finger. Leave the ring and doubloon, you don't have anything of enough VALUE for those.

Then throw the finger on the sidewalk to freak out junior officer down there. While he is freaking out, make the jump.

I will give you ALL these glorious shiny coins in my pocket if you will go down there and dive-bomb and harass and distract that cop down there.

Panda 2024/01/12(Fri)19:28 No. 1080893 ID: ab70bc
File 170511653448.png - (308.86KB , 1036x803 , Rileyquest 73.png )

It's very shocking.

Panda 2024/01/12(Fri)19:29 No. 1080895 ID: ab70bc
File 170511659077.gif - (62.88KB , 560x560 , bird steal 1.gif )

Before anything else, you give into your urge to deface public property for the laughs.
Aaaand-- hey!

>>1080896
Ask what it wants to draw. You can help! Always willing to encourage a fellow artist.

It appears you have given value? Goodbye Sharpie, we hardly knew ye. Wish it best of luck brandalising things with it.

But proffer some pilfered coins at it too, see if you can’t exchange for two things. Then take the rad shrivelled finger and the ring (to go on it), if the canny corvid finds the trade acceptable.

Give battery, ask if bird would enjoy committing battery on a guy we need distracted.

An old shriveled finger for a sharpie... that sounds like a good trade! Question is whether you can use the finger to distract Nathan so you can stop thinking about touching his dong.

Panda 2024/01/22(Mon)15:02 No. 1081630 ID: ab70bc
File 170596452551.png - (530.57KB , 1374x1429 , Rileyquest 76.png )

The bird has immediately gotten bored of the pen, and you pick it back up without contest.
You have one spare battery, any more and you won't be able to play Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown.

The bird plays aloof but is interested enough in how shiny it is to give you time to pilfer the ring.
You try to touch the finger but can't bring yourself to do it. Whoever lost it has been missing it for a long time and it's... really gross.

"MORE." The bird shouts before you can check out your swag. "GIVE ME MORE." Looks like a single battery isn't enough to make him happy.
Hangon. There's some coins in here...
You let it pick one.

- battery
- 25c

It looks like if you want it to do anything else it's going to be expensive.

Panda 2024/01/22(Mon)15:02 No. 1081631 ID: ab70bc
File 170596455011.png - (126.95KB , 894x893 , Rileyquest 77.png )

The ring is plain and golden. It looks shiny, polished or well worn. It's oddly warm, like it's been sitting in the sun.

Your hand is feeling a little itchy.

Give it the 25 cents, you don't want to lose Shrek privileges.

D̶͇̯̍̈̐͘Õ̴̯Ņ̶̅͌̄͜͜ ̶̺́̅̒Ṯ̵̢̢̟͛H̶̯̹͌͌͌͐͠E̸̢̠̬̎̀̏͂̑͗͜ ̵̧̢̠͖̼̃̐̃̋̔͘R̸̛̤̅͂̒͆̃I̴̧̡̯͎͓̻͒́̉͊Ǹ̶̙̩͚̃̌͝͠G̸͙̬̼̯̩̎̄͗̕͘

Also give the bird $0.25 I guess

Good find. Wash hands.

Come back later. This birb is the worb.

Give the $0.25, let's not be cheep

Give coin, receive precious

give the 25
put the ring on your infected itchy hand

Give the 25c, wear the ring. It is pretty and was probably taken from a rotting corpse along with the finger. Don't think about it.

>>1081631

Maybe...
Maybee its hhhaaAAUUNttteeeed.

Or the crow was sitting on it.
Very insulating your average crow ass.

See if it fits!
Ring finger of course.
You can freak out your friends with a fake shotgun marriage story.

>>1082117

If it was it would still be on the finger, genius! Magpies pick up a lot of shinies, it was probably just lying around somewhere.

>>1083266

It's a magpie, not a crow, but you really think your friends are going to fall for that a third time?

Panda 2024/02/24(Sat)20:11 No. 1084474 ID: ab70bc
File 170883428201.png - (336.80KB , 1246x1279 , Rileyquest 78.png )

You can't give up Shrek until you beat it. Otherwise people will say you couldn't beat it.

The bird, content that he just hustled you returns to his cave with the day's profits. From the sound of the clink the guy's got a whole stash of coins back there. A wild animal is richer than you.

Panda 2024/02/24(Sat)20:11 No. 1084475 ID: ab70bc
File 170883430024.png - (116.95KB , 1196x991 , Rileyquest 79.png )

It's not going on your ring finger, because that would mean you're married to the bird and that's weird. You don the ring on your middle finger in case it buffs your bird flipping powers.

The ring doesn't seem to do anything and as far as you can tell your hand is still totally visible. It's a bit loose, but you'll wear it for a while in case it gives you super powers or something.

+1 warm gold ring

Panda 2024/02/24(Sat)20:12 No. 1084476 ID: ab70bc
File 170883434289.png - (614.61KB , 1530x1997 , Rileyquest 80.png )

Whatever's got the cops interested is one building over beside Mrs Nora's carpet store.
Oh hey, there she is. Hello Mrs Nora! It's probably a good idea not to piss her off if you're hiding from the police.

How do we want to make this trivial jump?

Successfully.

Well, you're going to have to distract her first before she witnesses you making the jump and then alert the cops.

Why does flashing her to make her faint seem to be popping up in my mind as a distraction? We'll use that as a last resort. for now, offer the crow your pencil (you got a sharpie, you don't need a pencil anymore) and ask it to fly into her window and distract her.

To get across, can we remove a long enough piece of lumber to use as a bridge? if not, I guess just take several steps back, then make a mad dash and jump across. You should be athletic enough, skater gurl.

>>1084476
Do it like a ballet dancer.

>>1084476
First give mrs nora your brightest smile and show her your new ring.

Then its time to see if it buffs your leaping skill.

Tell Miss Nora you'll climb down instead of leaping if she stares at your tits.

You don't want to marry the bird? That's not very crowmantic of you.

>It's probably a good idea not to piss her off if you're hiding from the police.

> How do we want to make this trivial jump?

If she noticed you, give her a cheerful smile and wave. If she didn't, try to avoid getting her attention.

Take a running jump, vault off the ledge, and don't try to do a flip (that would be stupid) but do flex your arms in midair, posing for the briefest moment like a cool Amazon.

Panda 2024/03/03(Sun)13:53 No. 1085245 ID: ab70bc
File 170950279371.png - (644.39KB , 1617x1459 , Rileyquest 81.png )

You successfully make the jump. It really wasn't that hard and you managed to avoid scraping your knees this time. As long as it doesn't require any strength it's safe to assume you can do anything moderately athletic.

Things have gotten a lot quieter, besides the wind in the trees and the cars a couple roads over it's silent.
And it's getting dark fast. If you don't get home soon you're going to be out without a source of light. Even for you that's kind of a bad idea, there are things in the woods at night.

Panda 2024/03/03(Sun)13:54 No. 1085246 ID: ab70bc
File 170950284151.png - (308.63KB , 1072x851 , Rileyquest 82.png )

Between the two buildings is an arm, severed cleanly beneath the shoulder lying in a surprisingly small blood puddle.
You have good night vision and can make out the shape clearly but the detail is lost this far away. It feels familiar.

Your unnamed bird friend has disappeared and you are alone again. Suddenly the night feels very cold and you miss your jacket.

It's only a hallucination, it's only a hallucination, it's only a hallucination!

looks like someone needs a hand...

Anyways, this will be a cool thing to tell your friends when you get home.

Speaking of which, we made it across, now lets get down and take the path home before NOra rats you out to Nathan

>You have good night vision and can make out the shape clearly but the detail is lost this far away. It feels familiar.

If it's familiar, and has gray fur, hopefully, it's not Debra's arm

>there are things in the woods at night.
Spooky things? Is that arm gonna become The Thing(tm) from Addams Family hopefully?

>It feels familiar.
HOPEFULLY it isnt :V

>>1085246
>severed arm, small blood puddle, suddenly cold
Ghost alert! Look around, listen carefully.

>>1085246
Am i imagining it or does that hand have a ring mark.
You know, like you get when you wear one a long time.

Wow that... sure is a dead body. Or part of one. Just like you wanted. To see.

...

Regret everything and go home and hide in your room.

Well, you were hurrying to meet your friends, right? Will you be able to stay the night?

>>1085249
I went back and checked; Debra's remaining arm was indeed the right arm. No images clearly showed the spot where a ring would be, so unclear there. I hope it's not hers. :/

Panda 2024/03/09(Sat)21:26 No. 1085972 ID: ab70bc
File 171004836714.png - (388.90KB , 1085x964 , Rileyquest 83.png )

You drop down into the alleyway onto a pile of dirt, the grass helps break the fall. It's easier to see the crime scene up close.

Oh fuck. That's a whole fucking arm. That's awesome?

You have good night vision and it looks like it could be Debra's; it's about the right size, the right fur color. It's also the right arm.
You notice a ring mark. You don't remember seeing a ring on her finger today?

It's gotta be that missing ring. The bird's swindled you into carrying part of the crime scene. Do you want to drop it and act like nothing happened or keep it?
You did pay for it...

Aw man you hope it's not Debra. Pour one out for the homies dude.

This bird's incriminating us!

Unless they're actually helping us...

This is gonna sound crazy, but what would happen if we put the ring on the finger where the mark is?

There IS one question that's not exactly solved though: Debra's or not, how's there a severed arm here?

Was it bitten off, ripped off, or cut off maybe?

Quick, check if there's a Peg where it'd attach to the body, is this a Jumbo Mrs Potato Head??

Is it Alive (in the zombie sense)?

>>1085972
Poke the arm with a stick.

Just turn around and go. You can find out what the police are looking at (an armless body?) later.

>>1085974
do this

>>1085972
Your prints are all over it.

However if you get found with it you can at least tell the truth.
"I bought it off a bird while climbing on roofs looking for ghosts and a shortcut." Doesnt sound like something an escaped mental patient would say, right?

Maybe have a quick look around though.
I mean, how many murder scenes are you going to get a look at in your life?

Then be ready to hide if officer killjoy turns up.

>>1086001
Her prints are on the quarter. It's a verifiable story!

Why would Debra's right arm be here? That's crazy! She wasn't wearing that ring earlier, so maybe it's someone else's just with her dimensions and fur color.

Or... hey! Could this be a prank? Check if the arm and blood if they're actually real! Poke poke!

And there's also too little of it, right? There should be a blood trail around if someone really got their arm lopped off here. Just arm + puddle o' blood is real weird. Like it just dropped to the ground - as if shed! - and whatever blood was in it pooled out.

Look about the crime scene more. Did you miss anything else? If not... well. If only you had a camera. But you also got places to be, people to meet. If nothing else comes up, it may be time to move on.

>>1086025
Ah, wait a minute. There IS a trail isn't there? A thin line of blood streaking off towards you. Not droplets. That's... super weird.

If it's Debra's arm, then there's no crime, right? Debra lost her arm a long time ago! She wasn't bleeding like this from her stump when you saw her on the swing. How could her arm be here? Now? And (uggh) fresh?

well, there's one thing you can relax on if you get accused for murder: you have an alibi. Officer Murphy saw you hanging out at the restaurant before he got the call about something happening and leaving. The only thing you'd be guilty of is tampering with the crime scene, but that's like, whatever.

>>1086025
Sorta weird, yeah

>>1086026
Nah, that's a crease in the arm

>>1086033
That's a good point; you can relax a LITTLE

>>1086001
Oh right also the ring is too narrow to hold identifiable prints.

The main issue is that Mrs Nora saw us heading towards this location. What we SHOULD do is mail the ring to the cops, anonymously, with a typed explanation of how it was found. We also need to ask Mrs. Nora to not tell the cops we were here. And also find out if Debra is still alive.

>>1086127

Of course she's still alive! We saw her just earlier today! Wait—oh. Oh.

>>1086146
Hey.
What if its the GHOST of her arm?

Better find a good poking stick, and poke away just to be sure.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086855 ID: ab70bc
File 171099966158.gif - (239.03KB , 560x560 , 3_19_24 Rileyquest arm poke.gif )

>put the ring on the finger
Ew, gross! You're not gonna touch it. It's cool but there's a line.

You poke it with a stick instead.

Yep that's definitely a real arm. No ghosts here. The wound doesn't look very gruesome, there aren't any obvious bite marks, it looks like it was cleanly torn off. And it's fresh but there there isn't much blood, so maybe it was moved here.
That's about all you can figure out.

You stop jabbing it when the sound of a woodpecker wakes you up. It's gotten dark and without your jacket you're already feeling the cold.
Getting home doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

Panda 2024/03/20(Wed)22:41 No. 1086856 ID: ab70bc
File 171099969221.gif - (540.65KB , 800x513 , bird big.gif )

Before you can do anything the unnamed bird joins you once again.

"NUMBER FOUR."

The bird drops this spooky shit on you like it's no big deal, the streetlights flicker behind you.

It makes a weird noise like it's clearing its throat then surprisingly, continues. "THAT'S WEIRD, RIGHT?" It hops around on the arm a bit like he's trying to be disrespectful. "I KNOW YOUR MIND, I HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS. IS THIS THE RAT?"

The bird knows.

"KNOWLEDGE COMES AT A PRICE. SOME PRICES ARE TOO DEAR TO PAY."

The little fuck looks you dead in the eyes.

"TEN DOLLARS."

...Yeah okay eldritch enlightenment is probably worth ten bucks.

>>1086856
Shit. You don't have that much on you. Tell it to follow you and you'll get the money.

You do have that much laying around somewhere, right?

>"TEN DOLLARS."
Damn, i thought the person who lost their arm was the one getting eviscerated...

Might as well though, that's like two Big Macs (alas).

Also contemplate the idea that this Crow may actually be some sort of Supernatural Being, and what rad powers he might have potentially

I dont think we have 10 dollars, or anything worth 10 dollars, sooooooo... bye!

>>1086855
Oh, is that some kind of mark in the pavement under the hand?

>>1086856
I think it's time to entertain the idea that you may be tripping balls.

Check your sewer cut hand Riley.
See if it's flaring up, itchy or otherwise odd.

Resist the temptation to poke the crow with your grade A poking stick.

If you havent got anything worth ten dollars try barter.
Maybe the stick will do.
It's a pretty rad stick.

>>1086864
I think it's just a crack on the concrete. You can see other cracks like that on the floor in other panels too

>>1086856
What about i give you a name as payment like "Mordicai"

It pretty obviously is Debra's arm, but it's not like you can reattach it or anything, right? The magpie is selling you what you already know!

You need to leave this place. Get home before it gets dark. The arm is not a ghost, so... time to forget this ever happened?

Oh, but you can give Debra back her ring, at least!

Stare it dead in the eye back and ask if it takes IOUs.

>>1086856
Is this just the crow again in a diffrent guise?

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:12 No. 1088130 ID: ab70bc
File 171246316174.png - (108.29KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 86.png )

You check your hand. It looks pretty good actually! There isn't a sign there was ever a cut here, which is weird even for you.

There's an itch in your bones that makes you want to clench your fist, even when you scratch it the feeling won't go away.
It's like when your leg goes dead and you have to shake it a lot or when you hit your elbow on your chair.

"Dude what the fuck. Ten dollars is at least two Big Macs, and soda." You could dine like a king for that kind of money. It's outrageous.

The bird bows its wings. "I CAN WAIT. THERE IS NO DEADLINE ON WEALTH."
What a weird little dude. Maybe you can find him later when you're more loaded.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088131 ID: ab70bc
File 171246318967.gif - (154.71KB , 560x359 , Lights out.gif )

There are maybe a few people in town that are this old-lady-tiny whose arm this could be, and Debra's definitely the one most likely to get into wacky hijinks that involve losing an arm. It makes sense it'd be her.

Before you can jab the crow with your stick in hopes of a discount, the flickering lights fade out leaving you in the dark.

Panda 2024/04/06(Sat)21:13 No. 1088132 ID: ab70bc
File 171246322150.png - (91.33KB , 1080x680 , Rileyquest 88.png )

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh that's so laaaaaaaame." Thankfully, you can see pretty well at night, at least when there's moonlight around. People get lost in the woods and things get w e i r d in the dark.

Checking out a crime scene was cool, now you can check 'poke a dead arm' off your bucketlist. You should probably figure out a way to get home though, you're cold and this bird sucks.

+30EXP for sneaking into a crime scene
You leveled up to Problem Sleuth

Hmm, did time really pass that quickly actually?

Before you go (probably to band if you didnt completely miss it :V), be sure to ask if you can pick up like a snow cone/hamburger, is it free?

If yes, do it immediately. He might go Gwah (or Woo)...

Also consider that you're probably totally in something Spooky and/or Supernatural (good thing?)

>>1088132
Alright start walking home. Stick to the streets for now. Quick pace.

Guess it's too late for band practice. Ah well, time to go home.

>>1088133
Definetly hamburger more filling the greasy vein clogging sort we cant waste money on frozen water and milk

>>1088141

Good point. You're going to want to watch your weight. It's starting to affect your climbing prowess. Need some healthy food to counteract that sweet bun.

It's a moot point really, the hamburger place and the soda fountain are both going to be closed this late at night.

...what kind of town turns out their street lights when it gets dark?

oh yeah, as you leave, give the bird the bird and tell it, "smell ya later"

>>1088131
Oh
My
God
Hes got contacts in the local council electrical maintenance team!

>>1088132
Woo!
Youre a problem sleuth instead of just a problem!
Good going riley!

Keep your stick and head home.
You can clack it along the fences you pass and you never know when youll find something in need of a good poking.

Time for band practice. It's not too late for that, right? It would be super lame to ditch your friends when you said you'd be there. Besides, you need someone to tell about the cool severed arm you saw, you must be bursting to get that one out.

>>1088142
Its more of a we literally cant waste money on anything thats not filling cant waste money on whats basically water mostly

Panda 2024/04/20(Sat)18:21 No. 1089279 ID: ab70bc
File 171366246533.png - (100.80KB , 935x710 , Rileyquest 89.png )

You're not fat... right? You eat all your vegetables; burgers have onions, tomatoes, and pickles on them.
That's basically a salad.

You're probably still able to get home for band practice. Uh, probably? What time is it again?
You can grab some food on your way home but suddenly you're self conscious about your waistline.

Wh, just eat the sticky bun, and consider it your last treat before your diet.

>>1089279
You're not fat.
You're
Uh.
Rubenesque.
That's artistic beauty.

If you want to lose weight the most impactful thing you can do is avoid sugary drinks. Drink water, it's good for you!

>>1089279
Short answer: Yes you are fat, but yes you are also well-endowed and high-spirited, in quantities that are far above the norm.

>>1089279
Just eat the treat you are pretty enough that it dont matter those bunny models have flat stomachs but they have no tits or ass and sort of look like guys but also they would not survive fall or the zombie apocalypse on kale and lettuce due to the cold and malnutrition

Do you not normally have those jelly rolls? Most people do. (Most raccoons do?) Like 90% of your body fat is your tits, anyway. Get food if you're hungry. (You have a sneaking suspicion you'll get a lot of advice how to eat strategically if you do.) If you're not hungry, just head home.

>>1089317
Remember you need to also dehydrate and have dangerously low fat content for those movie abbs also not as noticable with alot of hair.
Also yeah so long as you are not under feed you should have a jelly roll its natural to have that amount minimum to protect organs and to have something when times get lean when migrating to a new hunting and gathering spots often along a river.

>>1089279
No you're not fat, your a pretty average weight all things considered.

Your doing just fine, and besides fuck societies rules and standards, since when did that matter?