Lamia Legacy Quest: A Western

This one is too far gone to get anything from it. Let Zhou put it down. It won't live long anyway.

"I don't think we're gonna get anything of value to this one." You say to Keel. "May as well have Zhou put him down."

"I can see how you'd feel that way." Captain Keel says, "But nevertheless, I've got my own questions I want to ask. Corporal!"

Officially beckoned, Corporal Red ducked into the tent only to be handed Keel's notebook.

"Pretty those up and see if he responds to any of them."

Leaving the tent you turn to Keel. "I want the rest of these bastards found. How many times have they hit this ranch?"

He waves his hands placatingly, "They've hit more than just you, but we gotta figure out what they are doing before we can stop it. They may let something slip."

You're about to respond when you notice McCain moving with purpose towards you. "Something the matter?"

"Those folks of Zhou's are doin' something with the dead. Figured you'd want to know."

Moving back towards the main compound, you see that the uninjured beastfolk have set up a series of pyres, two in the center flanked by 6 larger ones on the outside. Sending Tai, you see him exchange a string of rapid questions to Zhou, who answers just as a rapidly. The younger man turns to you. "They wish to give their dead their rites. Part of that includes using the fallen enemies as a beacon to shine them to their afterlife." You see an uncertain looking Zhou look to you then back to the pyre before muttering something to Tai. "He says if you wish to consume some of the dead, he will not stop you." You hear McCain's snort of laughter behind you.

>?

>We don't eat dead people. Or living ones.
>Tell him that the survivor is all his once they've been questioned.

>"He says if you wish to consume some of the dead, he will not stop you."
Yeah, just tell him that they survivors are his once we're done questioning

Man, Ive actually been waiting for this, though it feels like I missed something.

We dont eat people. Thats probably a myth.

"We don't eat the dead, nor living for that matter." You say, watching as Tai translates. You see the beastman look at you, then at the pyre, still waiting. "Let him do whatever he's gotta do. Also let him know the survivors are all his once the questioning is done."

Apparently satisfied you watch as Zhou and his people move the slain Phoenix to the outer pyres. With his dead laying face up in the center, and the enemy laying face down split evenly between the six satellite bonfires you see a pair of the Zhou's beastfolk step forward, torches in hand. They walk towards the center, igniting the base of the middle pyre as one, before setting off the outer circle starting at the bottom, one going left and one going right until all the pyres are lit. You watch them place the torches on the center pyre before they back out, rejoining the rest.

As the smoke begins to billow and the flames catch, you leave Zhou and his people to their vigil. Heading inside you ease yourself heavily into the sofa. From behind you can hear McCain ask, "Well, Miss, what's next?"

"I don't even know anymore. What do you think we should do?" You sigh, sinking deeper into the cushions.

"Well, Traveler and Greenbriar are still in Riverport, as is the carriage. We'd ought to go get them. Also there's the business with the gateways. Not too big on magic but having that opening to the Phoenix bugger's cave has me uneasy, should try and close it soon. Get your buddy to do that maybe."

"What else?"

"See what Keel's plans are? I'm not sure in all honesty. It's why I asked you." McCain admits.

>Response?

"Right. . . Could you please go back through the portal to get to Riverport faster. Take someone with you who isn't Tai. While you get our horses and carriage I'll talk to Keel about what he thinks the next course of action should be, Veles and I see to getting the portal closed and making it better protected against further hijacking. . . . You seen Mari?"

Seconding this

"Right... Could you please go back through the portal to get to Riverport faster. Take someone with you who isn't Tai. While you get our horses and carriage I'll talk to Keel about what he thinks the next course of action should be, Veles and I see to getting the portal closed and making it better protected against further hijacking... You seen Mari?"

"Last I saw she was up in the air keeping an eye out. I'll get her."

You head back out into the cold and reopen the gateway, poking your head through and surprising a pair of Nitor posted to watch it. Satisfied that it will stay open for a bit you pull your head out just as McCain comes round the corner. "She'll be by in a few." He says, jumping through the gateway. Not wanting to close the gateway, you wait by the back for a bit, shivering until Marie flutters out of the sky, landing next to you.

"You wanted to speak to me Miss Masterson?"

>?

Just makin' sure everyone's accounted for. Also, did were you in the air when the Phoenix were coming through? If so, did you see any of them heading in a direction other than the ranch? One of them, an Elf pretending to be "Two-Hands" McCain, came through the portal but wasn't among the dead or a capture. He came through last as far as I could tell.

Remove the "did" from the second sentence.

"Just makin' sure everyone's accounted for. Also, were you in the air when the Phoenix were coming through? If so, did you see any of them heading in a direction other than the ranch? One of them, an Elf pretending to be 'Two-Hands' McCain, came through the portal but wasn't among the dead or captured. He came through last as far as I could tell."

She frowns "Well I wasn't in the air then, no. I was talking with the building foreman when I heard the shots. By the time i got there everyone was stuck in. Didn't see anyone from the air though. He'd have left footprints in the snow though, wouldn't he? It'd be pretty easy to see which way he went." She says extending an arm-wing towards the rear of the portal before looking up at snow that's been lightly dusting the area since you got here. "Shit."

"Just figured I'd ask, don't worry about it. Just keep on guard. Actually, thinking about it, you mind going with McCain back to get Traveller and Greenbriar? Kind of want to keep Tai here to translate to Zhou's people and aall that."

"Not a problem Miss Masterson." She says, ducking through the portal before snapping off a salute.

You give the rear of the ranch a quick look, seeing if you can find any depressions that might have shown which way the fake McCain might of went. Your search bears no real fruit, and with a frustrated sigh you head through the gateway yourself.

Nodding to the pair of nitor by the gateway you head up through the tunnel into the main cavern itself. All throughout you can see Schola Nitor archivists and magi combing through the interior, a gaggle of them seemingly poking at the barrier blocking the cove from the open water.

>Go see off McCain and check in with the nitor.
>Go find Veles.

>Go see off McCain and bring Veles with us while we check in with the Nitor.

>Go see off McCain and check in with the nitor.

You head over to where McCain is talking with a couple of the archivist in a loose circle that opens when you approach.

"Something the matter?" You ask McCain.

McCain shrugs, "Nothing, just figuring out when their ship is due back in Riverport so I can grab Traveller and Greenbriar."

"We're due out shortly, clearing some room so that we can safely transport some of the things we found here." One of the archivists says gesturing to a few boxes in a corner. He holds his hands up franticly as you approach. "Hold on Miss, a lot of that looks to be poisons, and sift through the notes, theres at least one reference to a poison specifically for Lamia and other Leviathan-kin." You pause at that. "Still looking through of course, but whatever it is it must be potent to take out something that is effectively living venom. No offense."

"None taken. Is there anything else you found?" You ask.

"Barrier seems to be self sustaining. Its based out a mechanism we've never seen before. Got our artificers looking at that. Meanwhile the head magi is looking at the portal we found along with your big friend, trying to get a read on what we're dealing with. Looks like they severed the link to that one. Still looking through a bunch of stuff though. Trying to figure out what is what."

You hear a shrill whistle from the tunnel in the rear of the cavern and see one of the nitor calling for everyone boarding the LSID to do so now. Leaving Marie in McCain's care you part ways, figuring on seeing the two in a few days. Turning, you see the cluster of Nitor still examining whatever it is by the barrier, wheras a slew of the schola scuttle from one of the tunnels on the far side, where you figure the portal must be.

>Check out the Barrier Mechanism.
>Check out the Severed Portal.
>Head back home.
>Other?

>Check out the Severed Portal.

>Check out the Severed Portal.

You head towards what you think is the portal, weaving your way through the stream of people carrying books and notes and the like. After heading down the long and unusually wide tunnel you open into a second cavenr, maybe a fourth of the size of the main one. At the far end you can see Veles talking with the lead Magi. All along one side is a series of tables with notes and mechanisms. Along the other looks to be place where something massive was recently moved. Slithering through you catch a snatch of Veles' conversations.

"Those figures can't be right, you're sure that's what you sense?" The lead magi says with no little amount of incredulity.

Veles still has his hand on the blood runes on the wall and answers, "Fifty. Not counting the massive spike that went through. None of them came back through."

"But no idea where they went?"

Veles shakes his head. "The link is severed. I could not find where they came out."

"A general direction maybe? It'd at least narrow the search."

"I could try that, give me a moment." He says, before noticing you. "Oh, hello Sasha. This one wishes for me to unravel the secrets of this portal. I must say I am more interested in the barrier they created, but I do agree this is a matter of safety."

Leaving him to focus on whatever he's doing, you turn to the Magi. "Things are handled at the ranch. For now, one got away and two of mine didn't make it, but the Phoenix got the worst of it. What have you found here?"

"Fairly conclusive proof that the Kingfisher was here. Probably the entire time. They moved something big through the portal here when they left. Not sure what it was, but we're trying to find out. And find them more importantly."

"That cannot be right." Veles says, letting his hand drop from the wall, a look of puzzlement on his face.

"What can't?"

"The portal points down."

And that's it for this thread. Net cut out a couple times there, but came right up. Winds are supposed to pick up tonight so I don't want to risk dropping off mid update. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

If anyone's got any questions or comments or whatever I should be about for a bit longer. Thanks again for bearing with me. Really need to get better internet. Satellite is just not cutting it.

Thanks for Running Chem!
I wish that the 8 total people we had in here were here the entire time, as well that I had been here the entire time, but Machts Nichts.

How many of the beastfolk did we rescue? I don't recall what we were doing for them.

Cest la Vie.
18 including Zhou, 16 now. 3 are fairly young you gather. You've dropped a lot of cash to expand the bunkhouse and integrate them as part of the ranch. At least until they feel their debt has been repaid.

What age do they look, approximately? Do the beast folks appear to be accostomed to work? Callouses, muscles, etc.

Youngest are Teens, mid-late roughly. It's hard to tell, most of them are fairly lean what with being starved for as long as they were. Artyom's got them pegged for fighters, and the quicker to recuperate have taken to the light duty work McCain's given them without issue.

Gotcha. Did they have much to say on their preferred diet?

As far as Tai has told you, pretty much whatever he puts in front of them. No dietary restrictions as far as you know. Preference for meat, but well, you really can't blame them.

Cool, thanks Canid. How's life?

It comes and goes. You?

Good, glad I caught your thread. Just got back from camping. Good times.