Does unconsciousness induced by bludgeoning count as kicking the possessor out? Pendle might have a bit of a headache, but we could get some answers. He's probably bluffing about Ona's mortality anyway.

Sad that we couldn't spot this earlier; whoever they are, they're a lot like us. Chest markings instead of shards, though? (Sorry our SpiritEyes® are not very good if those are just your carapace segments, Pendle.) Who are they making offerings to, anyway? That might explain why turning girls into ugly meat sculptures is a good idea.

Let's reassess our goals here:

1. We don't want Ona to die

2. We need Pendle/Leonid to identify that amulet

Unfortunately for the second goal he's possessed so we need a way to exorcise this guy. Unless...

...ask him if there's a choice for him to not kill Ona and stay on as a magical consultant???

I mean, he's kind of a douche, but it's not like our group hasn't done some messed up things things before, too: Burying a guy alive, kidnapping a princess, burning down a town, attempting regicide, murdering all the previous inhabitants of the dungeon unprovoked

Hell, we already have some summoned demons/monsters under our command, what's one more?

... Ok, what if. What IF. Ona ALREADY made an antidote for herself? She's always been paranoid about guys! She's the doctor, she'd have noticed he had a poison fang! Or - OR - Pendle (that is the guy currently being possessed) had figured out what was going on, last time we contacted him, and set up something to try prevent his alter ego from doing something. Or both. Or something!

What I'm getting at is, there's a chance Ona's ok and just pretending. How exactly doesn't matter. IF she is, then shout 'Ona get him now!!' and be ready to jump on him if she does move and gets him. Or maybe do some sort of heavy handed hint to her to attack him from behind? Eithey way if she doesn't move then she is actually poisoned and yeah go for option 2. We could track him down, or track Pendle down, after. Muschio is going to be coming in from the air, after all! We can tell him to keep an eye out from above!

He removed his shard? FOOL. ORBWIDE APB Pendle has been possessed. He has a poison fang. He has to be taken alive to milk the fang to make antivenoms. Which is Tislomer's job once she has the stuff. 2 lives at stake.

>>1071738
You have some points, but you're being weirdly stubborn about this. Really we just want Ona to be okay and for you to cooperate. You still have info we want.

Anyhoo I think your seizing upon that 'good luck' has possibly gotten you to overplay your hand and fail to account for something: Ona's often-hilarious paranoia about getting caught up in 'one of those rape things'.

this may not work, but why dont we stab him with the poisoned fang too? i dont know how quickly the fang's poison sets in, but it could force him to procure the antidote
unless if he's already then we kinda fucked

Wes, that thing on his chest. Is that, like... a magic tattoo, or scars, or a rune, or just his bug-pecs? Relevant for later.

Anyway our only option here is two. I'd rather let him walk than let Ona die. He can't leave until we see her wake up, though.

THAT SAID. I think allowing him to stay as our magic consultant and occasionally feeding him a girl from the locals should be considered, at least as long as it takes to figure out how to exorcise him. (Obviously, we don't tell him that last part.)

Wes, choose option 2, but ask him to pick up the shard so we can negotiate with him directly for however long it takes the antidote to take effect.

Bruh.

You don't get it.

There is no scenario here where you come out on top.

You get away? We hunt you forever. Our children's children's children will be hunting you, and they'll know all your tricks.

Ona dies? You'll be begging for death. We will drag you in front of Muschio, and he torture you forever. He will force you to stay alive just so he can hurt you more.

You do not get Ona. You do not get freedom. You do not get a happy ending. It is over, and your only choice now is between cooperation and painful misery.

My advice? Undo what you've done to Ona, get down on your knees, and beg for mercy. We may only break most of your limbs.

"Wait. Do you... not know what a mage's Death Curse is? The one where they take their full thaumaturgic potential and sacrifice it all in one go because they're already dead, and point it towards cursing their killer? You know, the reason why armies don't go straight for the mages and have to resort to sniping, hexing, and other means of subterfuge?

Well dang. The voices told me they were going to do something highly unethical called Karving - with a 'k' for some reason, edgy - but I think we can settle for Oona cursing you to take the weight of half the forest straight to your groin. Repeatedly"

Yeah, no, fuck you, we're picking option four. Hit him' in the NUTS RATBOY!



Seriously though, this guy's a literal demon with a god complex who targets weak women, there's no talking nor reasoning to a man like that. And while he's certainly stronger than us, a big guy like him ain't faster-or at least not fast enough to stop our first hit from connecting, especially if we're close enough. And lastly, while he is just possessing this body, he's still in that body. It feels pain just as any other one would. So a disabling attack like that has a good chance of taking him down (We've have seen him react to pain before, right?)

Here's the plan: Tell him you take option two, then he'll get real close to you to either mock you or look down upon you (Trust me I know he'll do this) Then we just one-inch-punch him square in the groin with our hammer. Then you just have to make sure to knock the laid the hell out! Easy as that!


As for Ona...While she may have been bit with a poison we have no idea works, she's still been BIT with a poison. So it's all in her bloodstream, all we have to do (like with a snakebite) is suck it out of it.

So, I'm sorry to say this Wes, but you gonna have to get to some suckin', and not the sexy kind.



So anyone got any addictions to my plan?

We need to know how to make the antidote. Pretend to let him go so he spells the beans. Babrakus was following, he should be here by now.

>>1071738
Let him go get the antidote.

This might not be the time for Saturday morning cartoon heroics.
Let him go to get whatever he call the antidote.
We'll have Tislomer assess the cure when she gets here.
If he lied she can lead a party to hunt him like a dog. I doubt some smug academic is going to know the first thing about covering his tracks.
Maybe hunt him like a dog even if he gave us legit stuff so he won't haunt the area.
Ona might be able to help when she gets back on her feet. Erisol too given her, IIRC, intrinsically magical nature. But she seems more like blaster caster.

Oh, crazy idea: subdue him, and then connect the two halves of the symbol on his chest. It looks like it represents division, but in any case it's most likely required for the possession to work.

Or we can try to forcefully implant him again with a crystal shard and let us try to rip the antidote out of him.

Hopefully the ghost hands from Ona's childhood flashback show back up to help

>>1071738
Definitely jam that crystal back in. We pulled information out of the high roller, we can do it here too. We just have to remember to lie to him once it's in, so that he doesn't know about the dragon.

Take option 2, receive antidote, then apply hammer to nuts. I don't see why we have to be chivalrous with this asshole.

Being realistic here, if we take this situation at face value then it looks hopeless for Ona's survival.

We'd need something beyond our influence to help.
Muschio coming back and either Erisol having healing magic or the dragon knowing this demon and their true name; Ona having another spare antidote on her; This demon actually staying true to their word and having an antidote

The only thing I see saving her here is outside intervention or bargaining with the demon.
The best I can suggest is trying to strike a deal with this guy and ask him to pick up the shard so we can directly bargain with him.

>>1071826
youre very right that the demon holds all the chips here. but if giving it freedom gives us a chance at saving ona, we should take it, however unlikely. i would argue against letting it hear us all, looking at some of these other plans of action.

thinking about it, a lot of our secrets are totally compromised now that this demon guy got access to the crystal. muschios gonna be pissed when he gets home

If Ona still has the shard, that means we can still reach her.

ONA, WAKE UP!
"On dsusweil m'nem na toht, eimb sem'met ma on ymot!"
"Bem ha bem, fa'tong catul, eiys coa coa kombool!"
"Om kmem hata t'met!"
[b] FIGHT ONA [b]

Joke's on us, Ona just passed out from too much booze, and Pendle's trying to cover for her to keep everyone from finding out she's an alcoholic.

>>1071835
>YES!

THIS IS HOW A WITCH DOCTOR FIGHTS!

"On dsusweil m'nem na toht, eimb sem'met ma on ymot!"
"Bem ha bem, fa'tong catul, eiys coa coa kombool!"
"Om kmem hata t'met!"

THIS IS HOW A WITCH DOCTOR LIVES!

>>1071731
Hey crazy idea let's not make a deal with a literal demon
If we let him go, he's 100% guaranteed to cause more problems down the line.

>>1071840
OOO EEE
OOO AH AH
TING TANG
WALLA WALLA BING BANG

>>1071848
Ooooh yeah
Look at it go
Roll down the barrel
Feel it in your bones

>>1071844
Thats a problem for "future us"
I Hate those clowns

>>1071844
A demon with Ona at his mercy and unknown levels of strength.
When his previous victims were found they were thought to have been savaged by some kind of beast.
Who's to say he isn't playing weak and would just rip Wes and Babrakus to shreds if they actually went for him.

Wes 2023/09/06(Wed)18:54 No. 1071869 ID: 46e818
File 169405164905.png - (14.82KB , 800x600 , 1655.png )

Babrakus arrives, out of breath. I'm glad to have the backup but I think more muscle isn't going to solve this.

If you want to get him back on the shard to negotiate, I'll go with it. But I don't like the idea of making deals with this guy.

"F-f-f-f-fine. W-we'll w-work out something. T-they want you b-b-back on the orb n-network."

>"Why should I need to do that? You and I can negotiate just fine.
>Tick tock, by the way."

Wes 2023/09/06(Wed)18:56 No. 1071870 ID: 46e818
File 169405176322.png - (14.33KB , 800x600 , 1656.png )

"T-t-t-they s-s-said you nnneed to get bb-b-back on becc-cause they w-want to t-t-t-talk to you d-di--d-d-d-d--"

>"DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DIRECTLY? Spit it out, you mental deficient.
>Hellfire, fine. Anything to not have to listen to your obnoxious fucking stutter for another minute."

Wes 2023/09/06(Wed)18:56 No. 1071871 ID: 46e818
File 169405180319.gif - (91.87KB , 800x600 , 1657.gif )

>"Let's make this quick. You know my terms. If you have a counteroffer, it had better--"

[Animated]

Pendle 2023/09/06(Wed)18:59 No. 1071872 ID: 46e818
File 169405198918.gif - (191.76KB , 800x600 , 1658.gif )

milkwood sap diluted in the acid of a citrus fruit, two to one
no more than a thimbleful
administered by needle directly into the blood
tislomer has everything at her table

don't kill me
can't escape without legs
brittle exoskeleton
do whatever it takes

>>1071871
♪Welcome to the internet♫

Wes 2023/09/06(Wed)19:03 No. 1071874 ID: 46e818
File 169405218423.png - (17.33KB , 800x600 , 1659.png )

>"THAT NOISE!
>What was that NOISE?!
>What have you done?! Another trick?? We could have ended this peacefully!"

Well...
You heard the man.

Sweep the leg.

HIS EXOSKELETON'S WEAK / BREAK HIS LEGS / NO KILL / WE KNOW THE ANTIDOTE GOTTA GO YOU GOT THIS YOU HAVE A HAMMER

TRANSFER TO TISLOMER

>>1071874

Kneecap the fucker.

>>1071872
Take notes Tislomer, time to work!

Same plan as before, don't kill him, break his legs if he tries to escape.

Tell him the following things: that noise was Pendle fighting his possession and we have the antidote recipe now, how we handle him is entirely up to how he behaves; he's not escaping and we need Pendle/Leonid alive for knowledge. So, he needs to relax and maybe we can overlook all the hostilities.

Escort him to another room if possible so he doesn't try anything while the others tend to Ona.

Then switch to Tislomer so we can give her the antidote recipe.

Sure sure go for the legs but-

>>1071872
Get those instructions out!

thimbulful of milkwood sap and citrus fruit acid, two to one, delivered by injection
tislomer has the stuff needed!

we'd be fastest, accuracy is now required.

>>1071874
Welcome to the Empire. And that's classified.

Wes, Pendle's still in there, but we got the data for the antidote. If we get disconnected, it's 2/3 Milkweed Sap (Asclepias) and 1/3 Citrus (Lemon or Lime) and inject with a syringe or coat a blade and stab her with it. In fact, you probably have enough supplies for multiple antidotes, so rip his antennae off and stuff them up his ass.

Oh, almost forgot to try something. [GTM.setNeuralFeedback(1.67);]

Formula to Tislomer ASAP, 2 doses; Wes/Babrakus, Pendle has to live to contain the demon he has. Without legs he has no escape. Exoskeleton weak vs blunt objects. Fail and demon escapes, so do not fail. Stall if outmatched.

Don't worry, we will.

Break his kneecaps!

Chuck the hammer at his face to make him flinch and stomp on his knee.

>>1071874
No, we couldn't.

GET HIS LEGS!

Pendle is being possessed and he's still in there. He gave us the recipe for the antidote. Told us to go for his legs and that his shell is brittle. Send us to Tislomer so we can get her the recipe. Subdue/debilitate, but don't kill.

Props on the acting, Wes.

>>1071874
We have it. Break his legs but spare the body! We can save Ona and banish the demon, saving the poor man beneath.

Do whatever it takes to keep him here, alive.

In the words of an old joke… something, something, arrow to the knee.

Basically go for the knees

Be mindful of the fang as well! Just in case you don't want to rush another dose of the antidote!

>>1071874
If you're going to hobble him, you don't need to do both legs, just one. Sprain his ankle, really. Unless he has some sort of demonic strength, maybe just push him over and pin him under a piece of furniture. He possessed a nerd.

Oh, you stupid fuck. You grabbed her crystal instead of your own? Rookie move.

Babs, Wes, you heard the lady. Both of you, dive for a leg while he's disoriented. Snap into them like a slimjim. He might be a demon possessing someone, but he's possessing a fragile dweeb and a scholar. His body shouldn't, physically, be too tough.

>>1071904
>Oh, you stupid fuck. You grabbed her crystal instead of your own? Rookie move.

Pretty sure Ona's is still implanted.

>>1071915
Yeah I realized it was Pendle Actual on a reread.

>>1071874
KNEECAP THE FUCKER, NO KILLING, OUR BOY'S STILL IN THERE.

>>1071565
PLEASE WAKE UP ONA!
...Please

Wes 2023/09/07(Thu)19:22 No. 1071937 ID: 46e818
File 169413976102.png - (13.66KB , 800x600 , 1660.png )

"B-Babrakus."
>"Huh?"
"Can you r-r--rread?"
>"Not really."
"Can you r-read t-t-t-tt-t-Tislomer's stuff? Do you know her s-station?"
>"Pretty good."
"Run inside, g-grab citrus f-f-ffruit acid, milkwood sap, needles, some mixing bowls, a thin knife, and a g-gl-glass gl-glass funnel if you c-can ffffind one."
>"Got it. You sure you don't want me to stay and fight? Wait for Tislomer to do it?"

"Ona's on borrowed time. Go."

Wes 2023/09/07(Thu)19:23 No. 1071938 ID: 46e818
File 169413982099.png - (18.09KB , 800x600 , 1661.png )

"P-Pendle, buddy.

I guess yyy-y-you're r-really in there.

S-so I'm sssorry for how this is g-going to go down."

>>1071938
Make it quick and make it clean as you can… Sorry Pendle.

You got this, Wes. Pendle is cheering for you right now. It's go time.

>>1071938
He will try to grab you or grapple you to secure a bite, hammer any limb that gets close to you.

Careful with faints, if his head gets close, aim for the mouth.

Multiple arms means higher center of gravity. Trip him or knock him over and then break his legs.

>>1071951
Oh yeah, this dude is really tall and lanky. It should be easy to trip him
>>1071938
Do a sick spin and use your gigantic unsightly tail to sweep his legs!
If you do it hard enough it might even break them.

>>1071938
Vibe check upon his knees!

Keep him alive if you can but don’t sacrifice your life or Ona’s to do it. Do whatever it takes.

Feint with hammer, hard kick to leg, shatter knee with hammer, attempt to render unconscious.

Babrakus, did Tislomer manage to create potions of speed, agility or something? Were there some in the haul boss and Ashedel brought back from Sepia?
If yes, you might want to take one for yourself, you will need to be as fast as possible.

We're going to try to do stuff on our end. Might not work in this dimension, but we've rewritten the fate of entire empires...

[Entity: State True Name[
[Pendle: Enter Cyberpsychosis]
[Wes: Kereznikov Effect, 1 Minute]

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:06 No. 1071984 ID: 46e818
File 169421436473.png - (17.17KB , 800x600 , 1662.png )

He comes in hot, closing the distance faster than I thought.

Hammer finds chitin. Doesn't slow him down.

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:07 No. 1071985 ID: 46e818
File 169421444777.png - (21.22KB , 800x600 , 1663.png )

Fighting gets close. The hammer sees more use.

Pain shoots through me. I can feel him cracking under each blow. I wonder if he can feel anything.

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:08 No. 1071986 ID: 46e818
File 169421449864.png - (17.11KB , 800x600 , 1664.png )

He's tall. He's close.

Headbutt tackle to the center. Drop him to his back.

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:08 No. 1071987 ID: 46e818
File 169421453323.png - (14.54KB , 800x600 , 1665.png )

I bring the hammer down.

Clang.

There goes the fang.

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:10 No. 1071988 ID: 46e818
File 169421461891.png - (18.94KB , 800x600 , 1666.png )

Clang.

Strike. Temper. Draw.

Clang.

Strike. Temper. Draw.

Clang.

Strike. Temper. Draw.

Wes 2023/09/08(Fri)16:11 No. 1071989 ID: 46e818
File 169421469675.png - (14.95KB , 800x600 , 1667.png )

Pendle. I guess you're still in there.

Clang.

I'll keep you alive.

Clang.

I meant what I said.

Clang.

I'm sorry for how this had to go down.

Clang.

Uh, Wes, it's fine if he can still crawl... Wes?
Man, Ona's gonna kill us when she wakes up if you aren't already dead.

>>1071989
Metal.

How are you feeling? We saw that bite hopefully it takes time for whatever it was to take effect. If we can switch over to Babrakus we'll tell him and Tislomer to prepare two batches. One for Ona, one for you.

Well time to crucify this bug

this will look very bad for us(wes) if ona wakes up after getting the antidote and she wakes up seeing him all bloody but at least we have an excuse for it
by the way if he's stopped moving for now, pocket *both* fangs and then check up on ona

My word, that's... a lot of blood. You holdin' up okay Wes?

>>1071989

Rein it in man. I don't think he's going anywhere any time soon.

>>1071989
Well, Muschio won't be the only one missing limbs after this, at least. We can start a support group.

You got him, Wes. Slow down. More activity pushes the venom through your body faster, and you got bit. If he already bit Ona then you got less of a dose, but you gotta take it easy until the antidote gets here. You got his legs. That's enough.

Uh... damn. Nice going? I guess?

We'll uh, make a recommendation to get you some better quarters or something like a case of some good smokes and booze for your heroics.

Also, if there's any cloth around you might want to wrap up Pendle so he doesn't bleed to death. Then sent us over to Tislomer or Babrakus

Okay, once you're done with his limbs, put the hammer down and let Donpag arrest you. We'll explain the situation.

...Oh, and rip his torso exoskeleton off. That sigil might be some kind of cognitohazard, but it's our only lead on whoever Karved Pendle.

Do we have anything to bind him? Y’know, so that you don’t have to break all of his limbs. Just a suggestion.

You'll make him a wheelchair later. Good work Wes.

Don't go overboard, but make sure the job is thoroughly done. You're bit, you'll be passed out shortly.

If you're about to pass out, send us to Babrakus.

>>1071989
Whatever you do, don't fall asleep.

if we can teleport to tislomer or babs, we should probably tell them to grab double the ingredients for wes now

tangle him in the bedsheets.

We really need to switch, gotta see what can be done on the other end.

Wes 2023/09/09(Sat)20:41 No. 1072075 ID: 46e818
File 169431731293.png - (9.50KB , 800x600 , 1668.png )

That's enough.
He's not in any shape to fight.

Babrakus will be back soon with the ingredients. I'll mix them up myself. Can't be that hard.
I don't like needles, but I'll make do.

Wes 2023/09/09(Sat)20:42 No. 1072079 ID: 46e818
File 169431737369.png - (9.20KB , 800x600 , 1669.png )

Just gotta hold on a few minutes.

Cavalry's here soon.

Wes 2023/09/09(Sat)20:44 No. 1072080 ID: 46e818
File 169431744248.png - (15.45KB , 800x600 , 1670.png )

Nice night.

We won, right?

Muschio, Pendle's neutralized but whatever was infecting him got to Oona and Wes
grab Babrakus then get to the lab
Milkweed Sap and some Lemon or Lime or whatever and a syringe
sour fruit you can grab, 66% sap 33% lemon
Babrakus knows where to go
Inject in Oona and Wes they're infected
Hurry hurry hurry

There is so much more at play here than the czar and the false king. Muschio, an aura of darkness pure lingers wherever you go, and despite your motives changing, you are touched by something much darker. The paladins might be zealots, but Ridder had no such proclivities when he told you about what he sensed within you.
Some say it came from beyond the sea. Some say it was born in fire.
What do you think?

>>1072082
Wait!
when did Chapter 27 even started??

>>1072095
You know what? Let's just call this Ch 26+27
My proposal for the title of Ch 27 is
Protrusions and Chamfers

>>1072101

>Next Chapter
https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/1072212.html