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File 170942406761.png - (191.22KB , 1000x1000 , LF8 Title.png )
1085129 No. 1085129 ID: 75b262

Ciarán, my brother, intends to summon the soul-devouring Airceacháin to start a war. It was my mother’s last wish that I, Ráichéalín Uí Liatháin, return from exile to end his madness.

Lazy Wiki: https://questden.org/wiki/Lazy_Fairy

Takes Place Immediately After POV 7: https://questden.org/kusaba/questarch/res/1064862.html#1064862
105 posts omitted. Last 50 shown. Expand all images
>>
No. 1105588 ID: c5529d

It’s been so long since I’ve been with trustworthy people I can depend on. I thank you all, let’s do this.
>>
No. 1105589 ID: 273c18

Tell Dotti she needs to hide her anger for now. If we are to fight, it needs to be a surprise, because we can't win a head-on battle.
>>
No. 1105590 ID: d30887

"I've spent a long time pretending to be better than everyone else. It was wrong. They were wrong, and they're going to destroy so much just to prove themselves right. It's time to bring them to justice."
>>
No. 1105626 ID: 6c233e

"I couldn't ask for a better team. We can do this. We will do this!"
>>
No. 1105670 ID: 2f41db

"Just in case anything happens i want you all to know that i shall always regard you as... people... i met."

Then give it a couple of seconds for them to read the expression on your face.
They'll know what they realy mean to you
...and the joke may break the tension.
Humour.
Great for morale.
>>
No. 1119447 ID: d30887

Also, confess to Serah
>>
No. 1119448 ID: 28931d
File 176696321548.png - (109.17KB , 401x210 , LF8 17.png )
1119448

The dim glow of the fungi in the tree bunker slowly fades. I squeeze my forearm. It’s happening.

Landi, Serah, Dotti, Kayk, Pierre… I hope I see you again soon.

“They’re here,” I tell them. “Before we… split up, ah… I…”

Landi alights on my shoulder, filling me with warmth. She waits for me to finish, silently.

“Thank you for… for trusting me. For letting me trust you, too,” I say. “I… I don ‘t know how I can repay you. Maybe I can’t. But… please, bear with me for just a little longer. We can do this t-together.”

The last word sticks in my throat. I don’t want any of them to get hurt, not just because I feel responsible for them, but because I care about them.

It hurts to think on how long it’s been since I could say that.

The acrid burn of miasma fills my nose. I’ve been immune since I was a child, and Serah’s improvised antidote will help the rest of the party resist its effects. Part of me hopes it isn’t as effective as it could be, in order to let my Circle go easy on them. Hopefully Dotti doesn’t let her instincts overpower her need to play-act.

The tree’s roots groan to life, wrapping around all the unauthorized intruders in the bunker- myself included. I resist as I was trained- straining my muscles so the roots harden around me, then when then tighten like ropes, I slacken my joints to allow me enough room to begin to work on freeing myself. Not all of us are strong enough to break out like a mutagen-enhanced Lady or a dragon, small enough to escape like a fairy, or limber enough like a fox to slip free. It takes a minute, but I get loose enough before my Seer’s eye detects movement on the other side of the bunker door. I worry about Serah, and Dotti, and-

>>1093136 And I remember that Pierre is the one who will need the most protecting, not them. I have to focus on him.

I wrench my head sideways to see how Pierre is handling the vines. He’s… already free, somehow? Maybe I underestimated him, or-

Or maybe the trap didn’t sense him at all because of his anti-magic.

Ice-cold realization hits me. If my Circle figures out that Pierre didn’t trip the defenses, if they see that he’s not lying bound in some roots, or if one of them counts the number of broken traps, they might find out that a supposedly normal human in a very normal robe, is somehow connected to the Censor war party circling over the forest that’s no doubt drawing my brother’s attention at this very moment.

“Landi!” I hiss toward the glowing orb in the few seconds we have left. “Move some broken roots near Pierre! Put them in his robe, make it look like he struggled!”

Landi bobs in acknowledgement just as the bunker door opens. Kayk lets out a high roar of challenge, forcing her way through two of my Circle’s warriors, who aren’t armed except for a few bolas, which I recognize as the base for a net. Serah charges behind, swinging her war hammer, and immediately takes three plague-burst rounds to her helm, followed by a fullisade of debilitating spells. Her armor shimmers with heat, dissolving the nauseating agents, but more follow. Even as she swings her hammer, she gags, overcome with unfamiliar poisons foreign to her alchemy. She retches, and the scent of bile fills the air.

For all that, it’s nothing compared to the focus they give Kayk. Ten, twenty, I lose count after thirty Circle warriors peppering her with slowing arrows and weighted arrowheads, netting, and restricting spells, the chanting of druidic magic rising over her roaring, refusing to give her the clarity of mind, or the space, to transform into her full size.

Around me, I hear shuffling boots, a curse in my native tongue, a furious fox bark. The crack of wood hitting skull. More curses. The sound of heavy breathing. The sound of a tiny cage latching shut. More retching.

Kayk’s enraged roars dull to groaning. The druidic chants continue, lulling, calming even my nerves, until a boot kicks me hard in the gut.
>>
No. 1119449 ID: 28931d
File 176696335112.png - (487.39KB , 900x544 , LF8 18.png )
1119449

“Get up.” A vaguely familiar voice, from years ago. He knows I’m faking. I only barely recognize him as a Circle member I sparred with.

I take a shuddering breath and get my bearings.

Dotti is unconscious. Pierre’s wrists are manaced in iron, quaking, eyes wide. Landi is caged in a cold iron box. Outside, Serah is unhelmeted, her face a mess of vomit and dripping blood from a gash above her eye. Four swords are at her throat.

Kayk is in her humanoid form still, bound tight in netting and vines, eyes glazed, one of my Circle members still chanting, soothing for now, but slowly building in tempo. I recognize the one leading them, not chanting, just watching. She’s the one I was worried about, the one eager to have a dragon under her thrall. Her name is Máire, and her smile is hungry.

Above it all, Ailín watches. His gaze locks with mine from atop the nearby hill.

“Speak for them,” my old sparring partner says. I finally remember his name. Fergal. A brave warrior- and one with a hatred for humans as strong as any among my Circle. He won’t trust me, not after I’ve spent so long among them.

“Speak. You mean… give their surrender,” I say, using the human word with emphasis, so my party can hear.

Fergal responds with a backhand so brutal it splits my lip. I feel a rush of fury through my mental bond. Not mine. Taranis’s.

“They do not need to understand,” he says, spitting on the ground next to Pierre, who gasps, horrified. “This is for us. Not them.”

Through the pain, I understand. Ailín won’t lower himself to negotiate surrender with Serah, or Pierre, both humans. Fairies and spirits are untrustworthy. The spell on Kayk can’t be let up, not now at least, or else she would fight.

That leaves just the damaged goods. Me.

Who do I offer our surrender to?

1. Ailín. My first boyfriend, the heartless one who delivered my brother’s message, and is a horrible person. I do not want to give him the honor of accepting our surrender.

2. Fergal. He’s a brute and will too-eagerly use the honor of accepting a human’s surrender. I have a bad feeling about what might happen to Serah and Pierre if he’s given the honor.

3. Máire. Giving her the honor would boost her ego even further, and wouldn’t do anything to lessen the spell on Kayk since she isn’t chanting. Giving her the honor would embolden her even further to toy with Kayk’s mind.
>>
No. 1119450 ID: 1c8348

Fergal. If we laid out all of the options to the party, I get the feeling Serah would advocate for letting her take the brunt of the pain here. We can't saddle Rae with more mental hangups, given everything she's already going to be going through, so Ailyn is out. Kayk isn't a warrior, but being a dragon will already put a spotlight on her that she may not be ready to endure. She won't have the fortitude to stand up to Máire if we embolden her.

Serah is a tough girl. She can endure some pain, and she will find an angle to minimize as much of it as she can. And you're sure she'll watch over Pierre as best she can too.
>>
No. 1119451 ID: 173962

Ailín. Who cares about feeling shame about giving him the honor at this point. The other two options are going to really harm at least one or more of your friends. Plus as they say, pride cometh before the fall. Let him enjoy that little bit of pride for now.
>>
No. 1119454 ID: d30887

Maire. If she does something to Kayk and you manipulate Maire into boasting about it in public, Mai will join the fray. That might be what you need, and you wouldn't need to sneak messages yourself.
>>
No. 1119455 ID: fd169b

1) Ah, but you aren't giving him an honor are you. You're using him to further your own ends, without him even knowing. Let him have his petty victory, in the end you'll have the last laugh.
>>
No. 1119457 ID: 53f758

>>1119455
Oooh! Yeah, good point! Also, negotiating with ex boyfriend might assist in moving things along. If he starts to get cocky, you can just play the “I don’t wish to speak with you any longer than I HAVE to” card. Ailín might just get even more annoying in response, but the others would probably get annoyed with HIM for being annoying, leading to one of them potentially interfering.
>>
No. 1119458 ID: f9c4b2

>>1119451
>>1119455
this. lose the battle, but win the war.
>>
No. 1119461 ID: 2f41db

>>1119455
Agreed.
Let him presume your humiliation in surrendering to him specifically.
Play into it.
It wont be hard to make it look and feel real as it probably will be horrible to surrender to HIM of all of them...
But... that will hide the motivation.
He will presume you seek favorable terms due to past relationship.
The truth is, he is a strategic choice.
A known terrain in a battlefield of subterfuge.
You know him and his ways.
He remained in the circle and has experienced little change.
Predictable.
You, he will presume to know, but his knowing is based on the you that was, not who you have become.
She, he is not ready for.
>>
No. 1119466 ID: 3d92d2

Your ex isn’t special. They’re all horrible people.

Fergal. Accepting a human’s surrender without deigning to speak to her is an empty boast.
>>
No. 1119675 ID: 28931d
File 176758333999.png - (13.75KB , 584x500 , LF8 19.png )
1119675

“Ailín.”

“Ráichéalín.”

I want to curse him. For his callousness. For his heartlessness. For leaving me. For abandoning me. For not understanding me.

Instead, I offer our surrender. On behalf of our party, I untie my sheathed short sword, Samhain, and hold it to him, pommel-first. He accepts it with a small sigh- not what I expected at all. He checks the blade, pulling it from the sheath for a moment, then immediately hands it back to me.

“I accept your surrender, but not your blade,” Ailín says. “I will not part you from your birthright.”

He’s letting me keep the most dangerous weapon I own? I glance quickly to the side. None of the Circle question it. My brow furrows.

The blade. My brother wants to complete the set. He’s… given instructions not to part me from it. He wants it done cleanly.

Does he want me dead, too?

“Where is Ciarán?” I ask, throat dry.

“Your brother is commanding the Circle’s defense against the Censors,” Ailín says. “Seven celestial griffons, carrying Censors armed for battle against a Terrorscale whelp. Once he has fended them off, by right their quarry becomes his. What has your band done to draw out such a force willing to risk the retribution of Mai Terrorscale, should things go poorly?”

“Those humans claim authority that is not their own, and they will lie when asked their motives,” I say truthfully. “They hunt Lady Serah Kensington for reasons they will never tell you or me. Would you like me to guess what they are?”

“No,” Ailín says with a small smirk. “We will seek our answers from the Lady and her entourage. They will tell us differently from what the Church declared to your brother, and the truth will be hidden in what none of them tell us. Perhaps it has to do with your fox spirit, some fae magick, or sacred knowledge of the Church.”

“Since when has my brother cared about any of those?” I cross my arms. "He always wanted to take my place as future Warseer, but the enchantments… only a few have the temperament, and to adapt… it takes take time and training.”

“Such a shame that not all who walk the path of a Seer can reach the end,” Ailín says, and I feel a heat burn in my scars. “But some of us are meant for better things.”

I want to snap at him, scream, rage, but…

He didn’t mean it as an insult. I can read him, even after all this time. Better things… he didn’t mean it about my brother, did he?

“Perhaps,” Ailín says softly, “You could tell me about some of the things you saw outside the forest. Before your brother returns.”

The implication being that I won’t be able to tell him anything after that.

He extends his hand.

I’m scared. For a brief moment, I want to open up to him. Remember what we once had. Will he listen? Will he understand?

Do I take his hand?
>>
No. 1119678 ID: 1c8348

Fuck no
>>
No. 1119679 ID: d30887

Your ex is psychotic. He's calm because he doesn't know how the world works. He's loyal because he has no idea or understanding of how volatile and destructive your brother is to a world he doesn't realize exists.

You want to hurt him? Find a way to make him learn how the world really works. The rest will play itself out in his head.
>>
No. 1119680 ID: fd169b

That's what he's expecting isn't it. If you play along, keep his guard down...
I mean he hurt you, you won't give him that chance again. Just use him until you can be rid of him again.

You might use this opportunity to seed the idea that your companions could be useful to the elves. Something that might keep them from getting too hurt.
>>
No. 1119682 ID: 717e10

>>1119680
This. nothing more sneaky than a little bit of manipulation.
>>
No. 1119687 ID: 53f758

Yes, *use* him to your own ends. You definitely WON’T accidentally genuinely connect with him in the process, leading to you having someone on the inside you can rely on. That would be really good if it happened, but you’re the cool and tough Rae Rae! You’re definitely manipulating him and nothing else will happen! I think it’s a *lie* to say the world is 100% sucky and miserable and scary outside of the woods, but it’ll still put some fear into him if you bring up the duality of that. Life on the outside can be warm, but it can also be cold.
>>
No. 1119693 ID: 2f41db

Let him see your indecision as you stand. It may convince him of the efficacy of this line of questioning. While some of it may originate in genuine curiosity, make no mistake. It is information gathering.
Keep what you share vague.
Tell him out there things are worse in some ways and better in others that are hard to articulate. That there is joy to be foundbeven if some times it is an elusive quarry. That being surrounded by such differences is a challenge, but one that can strengthen your sense of who you are. But mainly that it is so BIG out there. A horizon that goes on forever, not to the treeline.
>>
No. 1122785 ID: 188e95
File 177240866389.png - (6.53KB , 460x404 , LF8 20.png )
1122785

His outstretched hand lingers. Once, I saw comfort in that.

I hesitate.

He knew me. My dreams. Who I used to be.

Who I used to be…

Who am I now?

I’ve hurt. I’ve cried.

I’ve… grown.

I take his hand. It’s warm.

I’m thrust back, years ago. When we were both so full of pride and hope and fearlessness. When our problems were so small, our ambitions so large, our future so bright only our passion could outshine it. I see the sparkle in his eyes, and I wonder what he sees in mine.

Everything he’s done, I want to believe, is out of some sense of kindness. Keeping my mother’s death from me. Pushing me away from this land. Sending me further from my birthright. To another place, another people, another life.

“Ailín…”

Our fingers intertwine.

“There is so much out there,” I say, voice trembling. “An endless horizon of possibility. Thousands upon thousands of lives stacked atop each other, building a bridge to infinity.”

“It’s madness, isn’t it?” he asks. His fingers tighten. “Any one of them could set it alight. The fragility…”

“It is,” I say, and I tighten back. “But they… they don’t. They go on. Not a one starts the blaze. And together, with all their efforts, they cross the gap to a place where even a dragon can be a simple baker. Isn’t that something?”

I started out trying to manipulate him, but now… I remember what we had, and where we are now, and my eye is wet. I blink the tear away.

“Rái,” he says. He cups my cheek and I want to hit him, and I knew this was why I couldn’t surrender to him and I’m going to be weak in front of him and I don’t want that, I’m the fierce Rae-Rae.

But I’m not, am I? I’m the same girl who adopted a scarred stormcrow, who looks out for her friends, who found a new family.

I can be soft. It’s okay to let myself feel. Not like before.

I don’t cry.

But I do let Ailín touch my scar.

“You care for them,” he says, sighing.

Silence.

“They are soft,” he says.

I say nothing.

He lets my hand go. The wind picks up.

“…Which of them needs you the most?”

Who do I ask Ailín to take me to?

1. Landi
2. Serah
3. Dotti
4. Kayk
5. Pierre
>>
No. 1122793 ID: 9fe8e1

Serah. Dotti will need you eventually, as she's a curiosity, but they won't waste any time mistreating the human noble.
>>
No. 1122794 ID: 94d85e

Serah.
>>
No. 1122806 ID: 173962

I know Serah. She has grown considerably. And one thing I know about her is that she can deal with stress really well now. She can also defend herself if needed.

1. I think out of everyone, Landi needs Rae. She is the least mature, unpredictable. But most importantly, probably thinks all of this is her fault (lucky panties and all that).
>>
No. 1122809 ID: 53f758

I don’t think Rae Rae wants to comfort Landi. But I think she should comfort Landi. It would do her some good to comfort Landi. Alternatively, Dotti is a cute fox girl and I want to see more of her. But that’s like, a passive effect of Dotti existing, so, grain of salt.
>>
No. 1122820 ID: fd169b

1) Landi most vulnerable (actually its Pierre but we can't let on that he's important)
>>
No. 1122821 ID: 1c8428

Landi
>>
No. 1122834 ID: 266230

Landi needs you most at the moment
>>
No. 1122835 ID: d30887

Stay silent.
He's lived in a bog made of lies. An autocracy built on hollow nuances and twisted virtues.
If he doesn't wear many faces, he's the designated suicide bomber. You can't trust where he's going.
>>
No. 1122839 ID: 847683

>>1122835
Àgreed.
This stinks of a lesson hes planning on teaching.

But we may not be allowed to stay silent so if that is the case... we should pick the one capable of withstanding any cruelty he may be planning.
>>
No. 1122862 ID: a6de65

never trust a pretty boy. him calling them soft does not scream good intentions... 2.
>>
No. 1123173 ID: 0c2899

Landi
>>
No. 1126155 ID: 89e385
File 177778420360.png - (135.55KB , 1163x477 , LF8 21.png )
1126155

This is a test. Every instinct I have screams it at me. Even so, I can’t help my friends if I don’t step into it.

“The fairy,” I say.

“Good,” Ailín nods. “I told Fergal to disarm her. You can confirm that we emptied her dimensional storage of the most important items.

Fergal. The brute.

My heart sinks.

Ailín walks me to the spot, far from the bunker, where Fergal has disarmed Landi.

She’s whimpering. Muttering under her breath, softly, eyes unfocused, sweating and shivering.

“Vivi… it hurts so much,” she grits her teeth. “How did you stand it? Vivi, please, I need you… Vivi…”

Bile rises in my throat.

I know that, given enough time and healing potions, they can recover, but I remember the time we fought the Spirit of Bloodshed and Landi didn’t take well to the potions. If her mental state is too scarred, for too long, even those might not help.

“Fairies are troublesome,” Ailín says. “Full of tricks, contracts, spells. Even more dangerous if they are Summoners, and so difficult to keep them from making a quick escape no matter their skills. Fortunately, clipping their wings every so often will make escape impossibly painful.”

“Should have let me cut them off entirely,” Fergal growls.

“Do you ask to cut the legs off every captive?” Ailín asks. “No? Then please, stick to tradition and what is proven effective.”

I hate this. I hate it all. I hate that Landi’s being tortured all because of this stupid plan and it’s all my fault. Doubts fill my mind. If this is what they’re doing to Landi, then what are the others being put through? Worse?

I don’t know, and it terrifies me.
>>
No. 1126156 ID: d30887

Pragmatism and preparation can only excuse so much. That your captors don't have more creative methods of subduing a non-human target after decades of duty shows exactly what your brother has been filling them up with: combat manuals and a directive to sacrifice themselves for their dear leader.

If they are cruel inside, then there is little left to do but nyx this plan and subdue your captors. But this reeks of a dictatorship. Your brother has seen the monsters that the worst of humanity devolved into... he has become one. He will likely embrace those monsters while murdering humans and elves alike.

You want revenge? Sever the head and watch the worms squirm underneath a rotting body. But keep your rage in check for now. The beings in front of you have been hollowed out. Hatred towards them only matters when they become people again.
>>
No. 1126157 ID: fd169b

She put her trust in you, so you have to see this through.

The guilt you're feeling is mislaid, it rightfully belongs to them who hurt your friends so callously. keep it inside, when the time is right you repay them for these sins.

But you have to stay strong until then. Ask to see the items he mentioned.
>>
No. 1126158 ID: 94d85e

So your ex-boyfriend doesn't trust fey, that's not an excuse to torture them. Giving any prisoner to Fergal is a mark against his character. Ask him to- please... find a new jailer. Just give her to Pierre's jailer, not Serah's as she was her familiar. One powerless fairy is hardly more taxing to watch over than a human.
>>
No. 1126159 ID: 69a6e9

Been awhile, and I'm thinking about Landi's Djinn partners right now. Do they realize that Landi has Djinns on her side? Hopefully they didn't get that information out of her, but perhaps we made it here in time before they started questioning her and only disarmed her.

One thing I wanna do is ask the status on her standings with them and see if they can help in your upcoming battle with your brother, especially how her standing with salt is considering some issues she had.

But before we can ask Landi, there are two things we'll need to do.
First we will have to be alone with her even if you have to confirm she's been disarmed to do it like Ailín wants us to. It should be fine if we check as long as we have those Djinn kept a secret.

Once we are alone, second step is to try to give Landi from therapy to get her mental state better before she can help us.
>>
No. 1126161 ID: 70f58a

Tell them you have a more foolproof solution. A contract. Landi can sign a contract stating she cannot attempt to leave until her prison door is opened and she is released (or something to that effect, which would allow her to escape if a prison break succeeds).

Or, maybe something that's easier to sneak by the guards... a contract stating she cannot use her wings at all while she is in camp. That way, they won't have to clip them, and it won't make a prison break any easier.
>>
No. 1126265 ID: 847683

Raelynn.
Let the anger you feel sharpen your will.
Focus yourself.
>>1126159
Yes.
He knows contracts exist and weird fae rules. Lets use that.
State that she can only open her storage to her party members and never with outsiders nearby.
Bound on a contract level to prevent theft.
To get them to Back away and let you talk quietly.
>>
No. 1127400 ID: 89e385
File 178026546574.png - (7.64KB , 500x476 , LF8 22.png )
1127400

Landi’s pain is so intense that I can feel it myself. Why did I even agree to this plan, if I knew it was going to put my friends through such suffering?

I can feel myself being drawn back to my first battles, when I had such hope of being a Seer for the Circle. It hurt then, too. The battle was too intense- I could feel the agony then, as I can now from Landi, all around me, overwhelming me. I wasn’t meant to be a warrior like my mother and father. Like my brother, too.

I’m just me.

A surge of warmth flows through my mind, from head to toe filling me with a firm, resolute confidence. Taranis. His faith in me. My friends’ trust, conveyed through him.

My Circle thought of connection like this as a weakness. But here, now, it’s something I need.

Landi needs it, too.

“Did you separate the alchemist’s bombs from the rest of the implements? Weapons, potions, elixirs?” I ask Fergal. I look over the emptied inventory. There are items missing, but I don’t tell Fergal that. Perhaps Landi is better at hiding things in her dimensional pockets than Fergal is at searching them. “You have emptied her inventory, but it is hard to see if any of it is about to explode.”

Fergal frowns. “That’s what those containers are? Bombs?”

Ailín groans.

“Separate them. Carefully,” I instruct them. “This fairy is the human warrior’s beast of burden, and her supporting enchanter. Assume that that pile is highly dangerous and explosive. The human warrior and this fairy are contracted.”

“Do you know the terms?” Ailín asks.

“I do not,” I say honestly, remembering the time my mind fizzled trying to read Dotti’s contract. “But I do know that they are inviolable. If you form one yourself with her, she would be bound to follow its terms. Including that she not try to escape.”

“Bah!” Fergal scoffs. “A fairy would bend its words to their own benefit. I trust no such paper.”

“Trusting a fairy contract to accomplish your own goals, instead of the fairy’s, is foolish,” Ailín nods in agreement. “If you can convince her to not attempt any escape, that would save her from further harm.”

That excuse is all I need. I bend down to Landi and hold out my hand.

“Serah’s Fairy,” I say softly.

She keeps shivering. I’m worried- if she breaks down and summons Salt with what little mana she has in a desperate effort to stop her pain, it could be disastrous.

I take a small risk. I know fairy names have power for them, even nicknames, but this is something I can’t hold back if I want to reach her. “Landi.”

She looks up at me.

“Vivi? No… Rae?”

I hold out my hand. “I’m here, Landi. I promise I’ll look out for you, if you promise me you’ll stay strong.”

“Serah, too,” Landi says. “And Dotti. And Kayk, and Pierre. Don’t let them hurt like this. F-fucking promise me.”

“I promise I’ll make sure they don’t… hurt as much as you do,” I say.

Landi lets out a deep, long sigh and stops shivering.

I look up to Ailín, pointedly ignoring Fergal. “Give her a sip of healing potion so she doesn’t freeze to death. Fairy dust and wings keep them warm.”

Ailín points to Fergal, who rolls his eyes but pulls out a stopper to measure out a drop or two. For a moment, I want to tell him to give more, but then I realize something. I’ve actually managed to convince Ailín- and Fergal through him- to follow my directions.

That is something I can work on. They’re not overly suspicious of me. They’re not binding my hands or doubting my advice.

Serah’s plan worked. I have some freedom of movement, and some credibility. If I am informing the Circle about a serious threat- like Serah’s bombs, for example- then I can probably get Ailín to take me to another party member without arousing suspicion.

Or I could go directly to my brother and see what’s become of him. Seeing him fight the Censor war party might give me more insight as to how he is leading the Circle.

Or… I could simply talk with Ailín. His interest in the outside world could be a ruse… or it could be genuine. He has hurt me in the past- but we shared moments before where he understood me better than anyone else. His own twisted affection might be useful, if I can trust myself to trust him again.

Rae has freedom of movement. Choose one path.

1. Suggest a dangerous party member to the Circle, so Rae can visit them. Spends time, and does not help Rae’s bonds with any of the Circle.

2. Ask to be taken to Rae’s brother. Will give her insight as to his mental state and leadership style. Will also shorten the time the rest of the Party is kept in interrogation.

3. Spend time with Ailín and/or Fergal, and tell them about the outside world. Taranis can visit one of the Party members while Rae does this and report their status, as he doesn’t need to focus on her safety at the same time.
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No. 1127402 ID: 94d85e

2. Help them all at once by shortening their stay in elfin hospitality.
And keep those fingernails sharp for when your brother's eyes are in reach.
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No. 1127403 ID: fd169b

2) have to see what we're up against
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No. 1127407 ID: d30887

2) Get the reactions from the top first, and you can learn what kind of environment the grunts are stuck in. You'll also spread their attention away from your party if the boss needs extra bodyguards to keep him from you.
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No. 1127411 ID: fe0bf7

3. Maybe that little bit of time with them to talk to them about the outside world and what you went through would be enough to spark something, maybe support Rae against her brother, and maybe even bring the circle to a newer better direction over one of domination. Of course we might not be able to convince everyone in the circle, but getting as much as we can might make the difference.
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No. 1127414 ID: 9fe8e1

2, No point in dragging out the party's suffering and making Rae suffer by seeing them in pain. Let's get straight to the point.
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No. 1127434 ID: 847683

As much as i want to suggest going straight to brother, to stop the pain.
It may be that this is worth considering.
>>1127411
We have some indication there is more flexibility of thought among the group than we hoped.

However, seeing brother fight and how he leads is important too. If its a limited opportunity, that could be more important.
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No. 1127456 ID: d97243

1) Go see Kayk. The threat is that she’s a dragon, obviously.
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