STATUS:
@SaltSight Game was Astlibra: Revision. Found it on sale bundled with another game I've been wanting so I gave it a shot and got like, straight indie JRPG of the early 2000s injected into my veins.
8 mos ago
Current
@SaltSight Game was Astlibra: Revision. Found it on sale bundled with another game I've been wanting so I gave it a shot and got like, straight indie JRPG of the early 2000s injected into my veins.
3
likes
8 mos ago
Hate that strange ennui that hits after 100%'ing a really, really good game. Good time was had, but man am I glad it can't mess my sleep schedule up anymore.
6
likes
2 yrs ago
Rich people blood sports is how the Oscar's should always have gone. As a hot blooded american man I cant sleep at night without witnessing violence of some kind.
3
likes
3 yrs ago
So true. Anyways, play Lancer!
3 yrs ago
Final Fantasy: Stranger in Paradise is the funniest shit I've ever seen while also not being a bad game. Just crack open some cold ones with the boys, blare Limp Bizket, and Kill Chaos.
Crusader, crusader, please take me with you The battle lies far to the east Crusader, crusader, don't leave me alone I want to ride out on your quest I'm waiting, I'm waiting, to stand by your side To fight with you over the sea They're calling, they're calling, I have to be there The holy land has to be free
Fight the good fight Believe what is right Crusader, the Lord of the Realm Fight the good fight With all your might Crusader, the Lord of the Realm
We're marching, we're marching, to a land far from home No one can say who'll return For Christendom's sake, we'll take our revenge On the pagans from out of the east We Christians are coming, with swords held on high United by faith and the cause The Saracen heathen will soon taste our steel Our standards will rise 'cross the land
Fight the good fight Believe what is right Crusader, the Lord of the Realm Fight the good fight With all your might Crusader, the Lord of the Realm
To battle, to battle, the Saracen hordes We follow the warrior king Onward, ride onward, into the fight We carry the sign of the cross Warlords of England, Knights of the Realm Spilling their blood in the sand Crusader, crusader, the legend is born The future will honour your deeds
Fight the good fight Believe what is right Crusader, the Lord of the Realm Fight the good fight With all your might Crusader, the Lord of the Realm
(Come Crusader let battle commence)
Fight the good fight Believe what is right Crusader, the Lord of the Realm Crusader, the Lord of the Realm
Fight the good fight Believe what is right Crusader, the Lord of the Realm Crusader, the Lord of the Realm
Varjan war hounds? Magnus had heard stories of the Varjo Kingdom from his father; Namely, absolutely nothing good came of dealing with them. Their fighters were strong, but lacked any semblance of honor or respect for the fallen. He wondered if Emilio had done something wrong, though he had a feeling that the Varjans army didn't need much of a reason to justify their actions, if they mutate their hounds to such a horrifying degree. When talk of reward and pelts came up, Magnus was eager to skin them, though buying a new tunic was...well, not many places made tunics for his size, and even then, he didn't feel like he could just replace a gift so easily. Perhaps he could simply get it patched up in town.
"I'll skin them then...I'm just glad you're okay, Mr. Emilio." Magnus said, getting to work quickly. He'd be fine to carry the numerous pelts on his own, feeling he might as well put his brawn to some use. Once they arrived, Magnus was excited to ditch the pelts for some gold once they got to the store. Though he couldn't really see past the stack of hide, he gave the cyclops woman a passing glance and a small smile, just in friendly passing. Looking to the side of his pile of hides, he'd give a small wave of greeting to the store clerk. "H-Hello ma'am. We're um...adventurers, looking for someone building a flying machine here. Do you happen to know who's building it? I-If not, that's okay, we have hides to sell too." he said, trying to hunch a bit to look less intimidating.
Nephele simply followed Christine, not wanting the young lady of the manor to hurt herself, pondering over what she had been muttering about. Was she dissapointed that a man wasn't acting with her? Was it THAT sort of play? Nephele didn't know, and really didn't especially care; All that mattered was the job at hand, and making sure that Christine didn't fall flat on her face in her excitement. Her exuberance did draw out a smile from Nephele though, who kept pace with her to keep her from falling flat on her face, or needlessly mutilating her hands on her claws. "I know little of space squids or acting, but I'll do my best to meet your expectations." she said, simply keeping pace. "Please be careful with my hands, Christine. I wouldn't want yours to be hurt." she added thoughtfully, now more or less just walking hand in hand with her. Given her utter lack of knowledge on personal space as well, Nephele was a might bit close.
The glum Minotaur sighed, knowing that Arletta was right; It was his own fault for not just taking it off before charging in, or storing it at the guild for wearing around there. Dwelling on it wouldn't do much good, but the thought of how badly he just ruined a gift still hung in his mind as he looked at the man who had previously been fending for his life. Taking a deep breath, he at least felt good about saving the man's life...even if he had put a very axe-shaped hole in the side of his vehicle. Well, hopefully that could be fixed. Seemed like a waste to just abandon the thing to the wilderness.
"I'm glad you're alright, Mr. Emilio. I-I'm Magnus, and this is Arletta...a-and um...not a couple." Magnus said, tapping his index fingers at the last bit. His cheeks seemed a bit red too, clearly a bit flustered at the idea. While Arletta was certainly pretty, he'd be wrong to assume that her kindness was meant in any romantic sense...at least, that's what he thought. Female monsters tended to be more well received than he was. Female monsters were beautiful, but male ones...well, that was give or take to the eye of the Gazer, he supposed. He'd read enough of the old tales of monsters being slain for kidnapping women and the like, so he just...kind of assumed that nobody COULD want him in a romantic fashion. "We're on a job request for someone in Mahigan...b-but um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you wind up in such a tight spot? Was there anyone else with you that got hurt?" The Minotaur asked, before crouching down by the stagecoach to examine a bit of the damage. Maybe it was still usable, even without horses. Magnus could push it...he supposed. Not very fast, but it wouldn't be too big of an issue, so long as it wasn't a push needed all the way back to Sonorra. While he was down there, he pried his axe out, examining the edge and running a calloused finger along it, making sure that it wasn't blunted from the throw.
Nephele felt the slightest chill run up her spine as the birds cawed from overhead, her ears standing a bit on end as she walked through the graveyard. Honestly, she was prepared to unleash some fog if need be, but it seemed that Gerald's daughter was relatively alive and not some form of being bent on destruction. Well, that pretty much meant that her paranoia was unfounded, the act of the girl freaking out so much eliciting a small giggle from the dragoness. Addressing the noble daughter, she said: "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. While it would be profitable, I'm not the type of dragon that kidnaps, so rest assured that you won't be waiting on a knight." as a small attempt at lightening the mood. People liked jokes...if that could even be called a joke. Her delivery was far from comedic.
Regardless, Nephele offered the woman a slight bow, before continuing. "I am Nephele Megalos the Third, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Your father has contracted me and my friend to assist in preparing for your harvest festival. He asked me to bring you, so if you are ready, we can go meet with him." Nephele said, smiling slightly the whole time. This girl had a wonderful smile...assuming that by "spooking" people she meant pranks, then perhaps she was the humorous sort. She certainly seemed to succeed in making the stony faced dragon woman's expression crack a smidge.
Because of Arletta's quick swordplay, three of the six now lied in pieces on the ground. Thankful for having such a skilled partner for such a fight, Magnus took a deep breath, trying to think of what to do next. Normally, wolves were cowardly once they were outnumbered, but he doubted that animals bold enough to attack a stagecoach would back off so easily. He didn't like it, but killing the remaining two was the only remaining option. If left to wander, they'd just form new packs and strike out against other innocent people. Hefting his axe up, Magnus really wished that they would have just ran away after his battle cry...even if they were animals, if it wasn't to survive, killing wasn't something he enjoyed in any capacity. However, a life was on the line, so it was reason enough. A swing of the cold axe in his hands would have slain yet another, but the beast, showing clear experience and killing instinct, sidestepped the blow only to lunge at Magnus' neck. A bite that would have been fatal, had he not managed to grab the beast by a horn to divert its bite to the air, freeing his other hand to grab its other horn. A snarling bark echoed from it as it stared him in the face, trying to snap at his face and claw through his tunic before a quick whimper filled the air, its neck snapped by the sharp twist Magnus subjected it to.
The body fell limp once let go, Magnus hurried to his feet and grabbed his axe, looking down for a moment to notice...he'd scarcely had this tunic a few hours and already there was dirt and grass staining it, a large gash now made in it from the beast's horns and claws, though Magnus himself was only barely scratched. His right eye twitched a smidge before he let out a loud bellow, THROWING his axe at one of the beasts and almost splitting it in two from the force as it collided with the stagecoach, pinning the beast's body to it.
"THIS WAS A GIFT!" he yelled furiously, before glowering at the remaining beast. Looking it dead in the eyes, Magnus seemed just as bloodthirsty as it was...a fact that seemed cemented by the furious heat of his breath, and the fury in his steps. While it backed away, Magnus slowly started to regain his composure bit by bit, before giving the ground one furious stomp, a final sign for the damn thing to back off; Outnumbered, the thing could only run to death head on or escape, as the Minotaur's gaze remained focused upon it, the previously present primal fury seeming to have faded just a smidge.
Regardless of the outcome, Magnus would dejectedly look down at the hole in his tunic, rubbing his right temple with that respective hand. "S-She is going to kill me..." he said in a hushed voice, not wanting to admit that he got careless and wound up ruining her gift for him. The Minotaur seemed...far more worried with the tunic than he was with the armored man atop the carriage.
"A play sounds delightful; I wouldn't mind performing a bit, if you would pardon my inexperience." Nephele said, keeping a reserved air about her as she walked. The hustle and bustle of the place seemed very lively, so her doubts about the job were starting to dissolve a bit. After all, what purpose would an illusion have to deceive not only the eyes and ears, but the nose as well? At the mention of the two available tasks, Nephele was made aware that she wasn't very well suited to rope work by just looking at her hands.
"Um...much as I would love to tie complicated knots, my hands don't exactly permit that..." Nephele said, a bit self conscious as she tapped her clawed digits together. Tying a rope, in just about any form, seemed like an impossible task for the knife-handed woman. She'd be lucky if the rope wasn't being shredded if she even held it. "Regrettably, I must insist on...not tying knots. My deepest apologies." she said, bowing her head in apology. "I can, however, retrieve your daughter for you. I'll be brief. Maria, make sure to ask for help if the chandelier is too heavy." she said, hurrying out to accomplish her task. It was a bit shameful, she had to admit, but she just...couldn't tie a knot. Regardless of rope or wire, she'd lived her whole life in a damn cave. Having managed to avoid an embarrassed red from coming over her cheeks, Nephele patted herself on the face after leaving to go to the graveyard. She would need to become capable...much more capable to become a dependable adventurer. For now, she simply resolved to making it up to Maria later, carrying herself on swift feet to the graveyard in search of the girl, expecting it to not be very crowded at this hour. Once she found the girl, she would approach, perhaps a bit too close, and a bit too fast. Practically dead behind her if she were facing the other way.
Appearance: Weighing in at 634 pounds, and at 5'10", its a wonder that she doesn't break desks with her high weight for her small frame. Her skin, while almost as white as porcelain, is a synthetic textile meant to replicate the look, feeling, and warmth of flesh, and as such from a pure visual perspective she appears utterly human. However, her arms are capable of detaching at the elbows and shoulders, her wrists can spin 360 degrees, and overall she is very UN-human when in combat mode. Oddly enough, her hair is entirely natural, and grows out of her scalp like a normal human's...probably the oddest thing about her.
However, each of her different Virtue Drivers slightly alter her hair style in various ways. In Zero Driver Form, her hair is simply kept straight, with nothing special about it.
Zero: Her hair is worn straight down, with no discernible style to it, aside from being kept relatively neat.
Kindness: Her hair gets put up into a high ponytail, and her bangs get tucked behind her ears.
Chastity: Her hair gets pulled into two long twin tails that go to about her mid-back.
Humility: Her hair oddly regresses to being very short, giving her a pixie bob cut
Abstinence: A single large braided tail that reaches her waist.
Patience: Her bangs lengthen to cover her eyes somewhat, the back shortening to around neck-length.
Generosity: Her hair is woven into a tied back double braid
Diligence: Her hair gets pulled back into a neat bun at the back, leaving only her bangs at the sides of her head.
Skills: Extremely adept at mechanical repair, as well as various other skills that vary in competency based on what Virtue Driver is enabled at the moment.
Zero: Cleaning, Cooking, Stalking.
Kindness: Brain Surgeon level medical skills, nursing.
Chastity: Flower Arranging, as well as hair care.
Humility: Pet care. Psychology.
Abstinence: Meditation, sewing.
Patience: Stalking, Bird Watching.
Generosity: Extreeeeeemely relaxed.
Diligence: Sparring, and Physical Training
Sacred Gear: As she herself is a Sacred Gear, it could instead be said that every natural ability she possesses is stemming from her nature as an artificial protector of Humanity, one of the most glaring errors in the system created by God, by being a gear requiring no user whatsoever. Her sentience however seems to be where most of her power went in her creation, as on the most simple terms, Auriola's weapons all lack the true power an individual Sacred Gear of each type would possess. She cannot surpass a master of a Sword Based Sacred Gear, nor outdo something such as Twilight Healing using Kindness Virtue Driver. Her greatest strength comes in the form of versatility and speed, being capable of switching between her various Virtue Driver states at will.
Originally a weapon designed to Protect Humans and Destroy Devils, her arsenal consists of various armaments and devices that either serve to protect humans, or to eliminate threats to them. Her Virtue Drivers can be switched between immediately, but they are limited in functions. Kindness cannot use Chastity's sword, nor can Patience wield Humility's drones. In addition to this, in order to alleviate worry in bystanders, she was designed to embody the seven virtues of humanity in the core Virtue Drivers she possesses, causing her personality to rapidly shift based on which is installed. This can easily be seen by the changes to her hair, and attitude to a situation once one becomes active.
Her right arm, as well as her left in some cases, transform into her weapon of choice for her forms, though these are able to retract quickly into looking like a normal human arm once more, or just stopped from transforming into a weapon altogether. As stated before though, she cannot carry other Virtue Driver's weapons into other Driver's. In addition, she will automatically self repair after enough time passes in a battle upon receiving a wound, but this takes a huge toll on her energy if the repair is large. She can also strangely create entirely new limbs from energy that condense over time into identical copies of the real ones, but this is only if she's plugged into an outlet.
Zero: Her fingers are able to open up and fire small, condensed bursts of energy. Weak, and lacking in range, but she also uses it to propel herself. The soles of her feet in all forms also possess this ability, and in this form she is capable of repairing herself using her own energy reserves. Requires that she at least have some charge left, which can be acquired by either having a member of the peerage give it to her, or if she were to plug herself into an electrical socket. The plug compatibility was installed by Ixveria after some...complications. Her default form, and the one she is most comfortable with. Due to reading about an android fighting for justice in some manga or another, her arms in this state can also detach at the elbow, letting her release a massive close range burst of energy from them, that she calls "Virtue's Flash."
Kindness: Magic Healing Apparatus in the form of a small orb of condensed magic that is pulled from her chest, near the reactor core, that must be consumed in order to take effect. Can also be used as a balm, and as such rubbing it on surface level wounds is enough to begin the healing process. While this is useful in a pinch, it heals by speeding up one's natural recovery processes, and as such can only heal someone from injuries that aren't immediately going to kill them. However, if say someone's lung was punctured, ingesting the ball would result in the hole being patched up neatly. Its applicable uses are huge, but it causes a tremendous toll on the one being healed, as it is speeding up their body's use of protein and energy to repair.
Chastity/Chaste Blade: A large sword that is almost larger than Auriola herself. This is by far the most simplistic of her weapons, as well as boasting the highest close range destructive power. There isn't much to say about this one, save for that Chastity is a bit slash happy with it.
Humility/Observers of Humility: Miniature drones are dispensed from salvos along Auriola's arms, resembling tiny puppet versions of her normal self. These can be used for reconnaissance, restraining individuals, or...for suicide bombings. Each drone roughly carries the strength of a grown adult human male, and also carry enough explosives inside of them to set off one hell of a body-mounted fireworks show. Each is also equipped with cameras in their eyes that link back to Auriola, and have a range of operation of about 20 kilometers around her.
Abstinence/Bulwark of Purity: Her right arm is transformed into a large tower shield, serving for pure defensive purposes in order to defend those she's fighting for/beside. This shield is incredibly hard to damage, but lacks almost any offensive capabilities save for ramming it into someone.
Patience/Reach of 1,000 Days Wait: Her right arm transforms into a long-barreled rifle like weapon that can hit a target accurately from hundreds of kilometers away. It fires beams of concentrated magic, supplied by her core, and is by far the strongest asset she has at range, limited only by the need to charge between shots, and the fact that bright pink laser beams kind of expose you while sniping.
Generosity/Spread of Peace: Her right arm turns into a massive machine gun, carrying somewhere over 1,000 rounds in a magazine formed of condensed magic that, while lacking anywhere near 1/100th the power of Patience's rifle, its made up for in the speed of its shots, as well as the massive spread, almost guaranteeing at least one shot to land. Sadly, very wasteful for energy consumption and is best used to deal with weak crowds, or intercept multiple projectiles.
Diligence/Tempered Hands: Both hands become massive plated gauntlets that hit with almost as much power as Chastity's Blade together. The hidden strength of this weapon comes in the form of them being detachable, and propelled by rockets after detaching from Auriola. These can travel for upwards of 20 Kilometers before running out of fuel. While powerful, these leave her incredibly open if she misses, as she has to physically retrieve at least one before changing form. While these are out, her raw physical strength is boosted, enabling her to lift much heavier objects.
In the case of any of the above forms not having access to the right arm, the left arm is used instead.
Magic: None
Strengths:
EXTREMELY Versatile, able to switch between her 8 states almost instantly.
Is extremely durable as a machine, and has the knowledge to repair herself using her Evil piece and various metals.
Literally designed to kill Devils.
Weaknesses:
Completely unable to sense Senjutsu, or any form of Chakra as she herself has no aura as a "Being that Isn't Alive." While this could technically be a benefit, that she has no aura to read, it puts her in great danger when facing a Senjutsu user in one on one combat.
Sinks like a rock in water, and as such is unable to maneuver well underwater, or against water magic users. She can't drown, but she'd be unable to escape the bottom of a deep lake without walking to find a bank.
One-Track minded robot that will throw anything away to save human life, including her own body. Even if her opponent were a reincarnated devil that was once human, she would prevent their death at the cost of her own life.
Her core personality is disabled when a Virtue Driver takes over, and as such the impetuousness or hesitance of one could be considered as not being her own. For example: Chastity is stupid, and might charge into an obvious trap. Patience might fail to act quickly after disabling an opponent, etc, etc.
Personality: At her core, Auriola considers herself as being a simple autonomous drone, but she herself doesn't realize just how..."human" she is. While she isn't so great at expressing it without the use of her Virtue Drivers, she feels complex emotions such as Anger, Happiness, Sadness, etc. Particularly, she is terrible at expressing them, as her feeling something may simply just result in her bottling that feeling up and treating things as normal, until a Virtue Driver is needed, gets installed, and then explodes with the appropriate response to that emotion.
However, in Zero Driver form, she is incredibly receptive and accepting of other's, as well as new ideas and ways of thinking. She values everything in life as a learning experience, and often will go out of her way to help someone, even if they're treating her like garbage. Her devotion to her duty as the Bulwark of Humanity is her guiding philosophy in life, believing Human Life to be the most precious thing in the universe, and as such, the thing most worth giving her artificial life for. Her capacity to care for others goes to borderline stalker levels, as she will often memorize someone's schedule, their eating habits, hobbies, interests, number of times they roll in their sleep, etc.
As she has very much decided to try and make the former humans/half-human hybrids of the peerage as comfortable as possible, she has taken to becoming the Art Club's "Maid" in her Zero form, and seems to enjoy the concept of flowing clothes. She has a tendency to become obsessed over researching various aspects of human culture, from pornography, to manga, to horror movies in an effort to understand what is beneficial to humans, and what is interesting to them. This, as one could imagine, lead to many confusing conversation starters.
Kindness: Says it in the name, her attitude of caring for and spoiling people shoots through the roof, and she suddenly becomes unable to fight...anything, really. She abhors conflict of any kind, and tries to mediate as best she can.
Chastity: Ultra bubbly and peppy, her personality shifts to that of a hyperactive school girl with the strength to level a building. Completely oblivious to any kind of romantic or sexual implications, and forgets any actual information of how humans procreate temporarily, thinking that babies come from holding hands. She's also a hyper dense idiot that is a danger to other people normally.
Humility: A somewhat domineering personality boost that makes her much more...interested in other people. Particularly, in correcting behavior. She acts like an overbearing mother trying to get someone to straighten out, and has a tendency to come off as being sadistic, when she really is just trying to help someone shape up their attitude. However, she isn't full of herself in the slightest, and is often apologizing after her efforts to help someone have finished.
Abstinence: Protective and proud to the utmost, Abstinence gives Auriola an almost regal aura about her, being incredibly refined in taste, posture, and speech. One could mistake her for being of noble bearing, if not for the fact that she is literally a robot designed to fight shit. In addition to her regal prim and proper nature, she also has a terrible sense of humor, laughing at only the worst of jokes...making her the only Driver with a differing sense of humor. Or, a legitimate sense of humor, not just one built around reading the mood and scene around her.
Patience: Shyness and melancholy overtakes Auriola when in this state, often driving her to hide behind objects or people as she observes from afar. Incredibly terse and often showing little emotion, Patience has Auriola turn into the most deadly wallflower, putting all processing power to observation and awareness. Because of this, she is also mindful of others to an extreme degree, helping in small ways without saying anything half the time.
Generosity: The most lax of her personalities, often finding simple joys between humans to be the best thing in the world. As such, she's always trying to include everyone in everything, figuring that "the more, the merrier" might as well be a virtue in and of itself. This personality however is more than a bit pushy, often literally dragging people into things she think they might have fun doing, and often getting everybody in the peerage one massive potluck lunch if she's active at the time.
Diligence: A no-nonsense serious personality shift that seems to give her a permanent scowl whenever she sees...anybody not doing something to train. Like this, she is the most physically minded of the Drivers, and will often drag random peerage members out on morning jogs or to go lift weights. Big ones. Of course, she'll do anything if it constitutes as training, and will earnestly praise those who are trying their hardest.
History: Her creation is a mystery to her, but Auriola faintly remembers a shining light coming to her in the first nanoseconds of her operation time, telling her of her purpose: Protect Humanity. Such a simple command was issued with such expectation and meaning behind it, that in spite of her memory having been corrupted for the period of time between then and her awakening, she remembers it every night, as if waking in a dream.
A being that was created to exemplify the seven tentative principles of human virtue, she would come by the name Auriola after being revived, a corruption of the name of the Auriolus Talisman depicting the seven archangels
The sacred gear that received no name beyond a simple designation as a prototype, Counter Demon Peace Unit - 000 was created with the intention of not being a force used by a humans, but to be an independent force that no human could ever possess. Fighting side by side with humans, it's purpose in spite of its name was to protect humanity, at that time caught in the crossfires of the Great War. Her purpose was to save humans. And only, humans. As such, fallen angels, demons, and even angels that were believing her to be on their side were cut down if they laid hand on a member of her flock. She was deemed an utter failure, and for the longest time was kept locked away in order to find the faults in her design. She was systematically taken apart and put back together, time and time again until the war's conclusion, where she was violently dismantled by the Angel Faction, as she was perceived as a mindless machine with only the intent to kill in its programming.
Her parts, while breakable, were not all able to be destroyed, as what remained of her was somehow stolen by a traitor to the faction, and was experimented on in the effort to produce more of her, aligned with their own. The years went by, and she remained offline, tied down and nothing more than a torso and head stripped of its power source. Centuries turned into millennia, and eventually she was deemed a failure once more, scrapped and discarded, with the intent being to destroy her entirely. Whether it was a miracle, or some act of divine intervention, she regained power and manages to escape by digging her way out with the help of the Observers of Humility, literally crawling with one arm in search of civilization before her power failed once again, this time in a remote thicket, far from anything or anyone for the longest time.
That would have been the end for the twice failure, had someone else not given her the third and final chance she could take in life. A Knight shaped chess piece was fitted into her reactor within her chest, effectively reincarnating her as an Artificial Devil, coming online for the first time and obeyed her new master without reservation, able to see from her actions and personality that her likelihood of harming any human being was extremely slim. With her new found power source, she was able to restore her lost limbs without issue. Not to mention, she was now given the purpose in her mind to "Carry out Ixveria's Orders", And as such has joined the peerage as their resident Gynoid killing machine.
Mhm! Good, since I um...doubt I'll be smart enough to help on my own." the Minotaur spoke, clearly relieved to have a familiar face on a quest like this, with science he was not so familiar with. Neil's comments were rather interesting though...and lead to Magnus imagining himself flying on a massive bouquet of giant balloons. And the fact that'd he'd be looking at the ground the whole time. The mere thought made him a wee bit queasy, so instead he figured that flying on the back of a bird just made more sense.
Magnus was surprised when the priestess called out in greeting to him, turning around and looking somewhat confused as he was handed a package. Carefully opening it to peer at the contents, Magnus' eyes lit up bright enough that you'd think he's stolen them from a kid on christmas morning. Holding the large white tunic out proudly, Magnus carefully put it on, having to restrain himself from jumping with joy. He...had a shirt! Tunic to be specific, but a top nonetheless! The broad neckline did show off a good bit of his shoulders in a somewhat odd way, but that helped it remain a smidge loose, given that if it was too snug, Magnus just lifting his arm would tear the thing.
"Y-You made this? Thank you so much!" Magnus said, giving her a respectful bow, this time minding his horns to point at the ceiling as he craned his neck. "If there's ever anything I can do to pay you back for this, let me know. Good luck on your translation hunt!" he said excitedly, before bounding through the hall and out the door, just in time to see the person arrive. He didn't know if they were here for a job, but it was likely that it'd get done.
Eager to get going, Magnus felt like today would be an amazing day; He'd get to finish a quest with someone he'd thought long gone, see a flying machine, and now his shoulders would stay warm! Feeling snug as a bug, Magnus rushed back inside, having absentmindedly forgotten his axe, before rushing out once more, incredibly thankful for Rebecca's gift.
Magnus was looking forward to visiting a monster-friendly town, hoping to perhaps find more clothes tailored for people with horns. That optimism soon turned to worry as he saw the overturned stagecoach and the man stranded atop it. Thankfully it wasn't people, as Magnus took a deep breath, steeling his courage and readying his axe in hand before exhaling a bit of steam out his nose, eyes narrowed on the beasts. Charging headfirst into the fray, Magnus swept one of the beasts who had tried once more to leap at the stranded man along with the blade of his axe, dragging the thing for a second before its body would fall into two halves, Magnus' axe now caked in its blood. Now that the element of surprise was lost, he only hoped that he could distract them to let Arletta deliver a strike from behind the group.
Having charged past in his attack, the Minotaur man was stooped low to the ground, exhaling furiously, as if trying to exude a sort of primitive dominance over the beasts. Suddenly, his voice cracked the snarls and growls of the beasts as he let out a tremendous bellow from his vocal chords, both trying to intimidate, and distract these things. He needed to make sure that none were trying to attack the man, or noticing Arletta's follow-up...whatever it might be. It was likely a strange sight to see the shy, wallflower of a Minotaur suddenly charge, but it seemed that he had experience fighting animals, at the very least. Five remained, and any who got close would get a swing of Magnus' Jotun Baal.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir. I'm curious as to what this show will be, but we're ready to help, if needed." Nephele said, maintaining a perfectly preserved air of professionalism and pose, seeing that, at least as far as appearances went, this place most certainly wasn't abandoned. Of course, she had experience in such tucked away towns being considered abandoned, so perhaps it was just her imagination in thinking this town was...sketchy. Beyond sketchy, even. There was something she couldn't put her finger on regarding the air here, but it put her on edge.
Regardless, she had confidence in her ability to defend herself if needed, but for now pleasantries would ease her nerves beneath the surface. Her hard, sharp claws were netted together in front of her, walking to follow the gentlemen once he would lead them...if he would, more like. "Out of curiosity, why send for help from an adventurer's guild for a task such as this? Naturally we talk on all sorts of work, but it strikes me as...a bit out of the way for your village." This was, to simply gauge a reaction, after which she would follow with: "But, I suppose it matters not. We'll ensure that your festival is as joyous as ever." Gazing toward the manor, Nephele pondered momentarily on whether this could all simply be an innocent festival...but doubts still lingered in her mind. Regardless, she'd make sure that the truth, and whether her suspicions were found to be justified or not, came to light. So long as she stuck together with Maria, this job would go smoothly, she felt.
@Silver Carrot(REB) Magnus was kind of excited to be bunking with a fellow male monster, mostly because it meant a lot less questions being asked about his nature of existence. That and, Freyr was a nice guy.
Morning would come, and the light shining through would make the minotaur who, wanting five more minutes, rolled over, only to fall off his bed entirely. Having nearly impaled the floor with his head, he figured this was a sign from whatever powers might be that now was wakey wake times. Rising and giving a calamitous yawn, the large man almost ducked to leave the room, but was glad to see he could walk right on through the doorway with his head held high. The whole place felt so much roomier...still, not as roomy as his old Labyrinth, but eh, beggars can't be choosers. Giving the strange new black scaled dragon woman a brief greeting, the awkward minotaur hurried to try and see if there was a job that could catch his attention. And...lo and behold, someone was looking to figure out how to fly. That sounded amazing! The idea that someone could fly like a bird, harpy, or other associated winged flight-capable monstergirl was astounding to him, and as such he was excited to hear more details. Hearing Arletta ask for more as well, Magnus gave an excited nod. "I want to help! I-I mean...if even someone like me could fly too, then whatever this contraption is must be amazing! A-And heavy...so, I could help with lifting things." he said, voice trailing off a bit at the end as he realized how silly it sounds in general. "That and...I-I feel bad about not being able to pitch in from yesterday, so I wanna complete a job."
@Eviledd1984 Having felt rather at home in the stonework of the guildhall, Nephele honestly had no qualms with sharing a room with the boy named Neil. In fact, having pretty much lived alone in a cave for much of her life, she relished the chance to become friends with her bunk mate, though...after staring at him in his sleep for roughly two hours, she kind of wondered how someone such as him would make it as an adventurer. Nothing seemed especially outstanding for him as far as humans went, but seemed much healthier than normal folk. Perhaps it was because he got a lot of sun? Regardless, Nephele soon settled into sleep herself, having to sleep nude since...well, it was either wrinkle the dress or go commando. Besides, not like she would let anybody see. Being able to breath thick fog was useful for immediate public nudity prevention.
The next day, the dragoness got out of bed rather late, having rather enjoyed the luxury of cotton and cloth compared to gold minted coins, and set about dressing herself in her own privately fogged room, seeing as Neil had already exited. Maria caught her attention quickly, and a smile formed on Nephele's face, giving Maria the most terrifying handshake given that her entire hand was pretty much able to slice flesh apart on a glance, but luckily her hand was none the worse for wear after. "I have intended to for days now, but I wanted to be sure of the guild's competence. You proved it, and as such I finally had reason to come out. That...and the dress makes me not feel awkward in public." she said, taking in the atmosphere as the guild hall filled with the various other monstrous and human companions. So many sizes, shapes, and colors...the world was far larger than she could ever have imagined.
When the jobs began to be examined, Nephele was quick to want to prove her worth, looking over the quests at hand and picking up the one titled "Opera Night" between too fingers. "...A ghost town, it seems. I'd rather not have someone more capable be lead on a snipe hunt such as this, but I've experience myself in making towns disappear. And, if the town has been rebuilt already, then no matter," she said as she turned to Bart. "I'm not sure if any others will care for such a request, but I won't stop any who want to see this manor."