More updating!

Once again, the site has been updated! The stars of destiny, detective, NPC partner benefits, war battle, rumors, comment box, newspaper, liberty castle, the cooking battle section, and the old book sections have all been updated. Note the stars of destiny; you have 94 now! That means only 14 more official stars! Woo hoo!

Play scripts and bath scripts are still under construction, and the mini game section needs work too. I will update as soon as possible!

Slight update!

Ok, I am still working on Bath scripts and Play scripts, but I have posted the first published script and given you two new bath scenes in the new tab for Bath, play, and old books. I will be adding more each week, so be prepared!

The updates strike back!

Hi all!

So in my attempt to bring back the updates, I have updated nearly everything on the site! Your Star of Destiny list, investigations, comment box, ramza's rumors, liberation ledger, NPC partners, war teams, accessible town list, and Liberty Castle pages have all been updated! Also, your recipes have been fixed and updated! I added recipe 7, "Banana Foster" as you have it, but wasn't on your party inventory page! And as a reward/treat, I am giving you recipe 46, Cheesecake, as a reward for putting up with my delays!

Also note: I am still working on the play scripts and Bath scripts. I am going to be posting updates on these tomorrow, so keep an eye out!

Session 25 Recap: Snagging Another Silverberg

Continuing our tour of ravaged towns, we came to Adosi village, which seemed to have been hit worst of all. Fire scarred every building, and the place was far too empty; one of the surviving villagers told of hundreds being force-marched into the mayor’s house and never coming out again. After buying a quail from a starving villager, we demanded that the Union soldier guarding the mayor’s house let us in to investigate. When he didn’t recognize Kuarjav or any of us and refused, Daisy went bear and scared him into passing out, leaving our way clear. The only oddity we found was a coin Royce called a “quarter”, which he pocketed. But then someone suggested that the fate of the villagers might be even worse than we’d feared. Considering what Yuber had done to Pearl and almost done to Daisy and Royce, there was good reason to think that he could transform whoever he wished into a demonic slave. And with huge swaths of his forces banished by Leknaat, and more melted into goo in the last battle… Yuber had to have holes in his ranks that he was itching to fill.

“I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation.” – William Tecumseh Sherman

Aeltion Castle, to our surprise, still flew a Harmonian flag, probably the last one in the country. Daisy waved at a guard on the walls as we swooped in, who got slapped by his commander for waving back. We asked to be let inside, but the soldiers refused, saying they were commanded by Albert Silverberg to open for no one but Harmonian forces (though Priest General Sasari apparently did not fit the bill). Caesar considered what he knew about his brother and said we should sneak in through the castle sewers to make a grand entrance on Albert’s doorstep.

The Aeltion sewers had to be the strangest tunnels in all of Harmonia, complete with giant living peeps and gummy bears, ninjas, ducks, and evil pandas (seems like Albert was on acid when he hired his staff). We even stumbled across an enormous snake in the depths that seemed uninterested in fighting us, so we took note to come back later with Gabi. A young man of 15 or so crouched shivering in a corner near the exit, babbling about Albert’s mad training program, and threw off his strategist robe in defeat. Daisy put Youngster Joey back on his feet and took him with us, not willing to abandon a child to the sewers of madness.

Finally, inside the castle, the party marched up to Albert’s office and demanded his help. He refused, and set his lieutenants to fight us one by one. Royce jumped on the first duel and won handily against Diego; Harold defeated Clint with a flourish; and Daisy beat down Ash in single combat. Albert revealed that he had always intended to join us, but that his lieutenants had doubts about the Union Army that could only be silenced by being bested by our top fighters. That was enough for us; Albert Silverberg joined our ranks. Before we left, Albert’s assistant gave us the Play Script “King Lear”, and we acquired Recipe #41 “Bacon” and a Corruption Cloak. (Meanwhile, the players decided that Kuarjav was running a t-shirt empire based on sweatshop labor.)

There was only one city left to explore then, and that was Aria castle in the southeast. We purchased a cow from a starving vegetarian; taking pity on the man’s plight, Royce abducted him and dragged him back to Liberty Castle for a good meal. Meanwhile, the rest of us bought a recipe for Mac & Cheese and swung by the inn, where we heard a girl named Erica singing her heart out. Sciath approached the girl and invited her to sing for the troops. Erica did not see what she could do to help, but Sciath reminded her of the importance of keeping up morale, and that “War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers” – William Tecumseh Sherman. Seeing that her talents would be appreciated at our castle, Erica happily accepted.

Back at Liberty Castle, in Hai Yo’s kitchen, we found him challenged by Arakawa, an apprentice of Gyokuran’s.

Nash quickly learned that his favorite type of food was he wife’s favorite foods!

Geddoe here is a hero among heroes! He’s traveled far and wide to find his favorite food is Chinese!

The architect of your home and mine, it’s Reynaldo! He loves his pasta with red sauce!

This refined noble lady has refined taste! Maybe French food? It’s Juliet!

Eggrolls (eggrolls, no spice): Harold, Hai Yo: 10,10,10,10

Spaghetti with Meatballs (spaghetti+sugar): Kuarjav, Royce: 10,10,10,10

Nutella Crepe (sandwich+chocolate sauce): Daisy, Sciath: 999,10

Total: 117

Arakawa: Fancy Caviar 5555, Dynamo Ribs 5555, Chocolate Cake 1111

Total: 44

His confidence crushed beyond all reason, Arakawa left us with Recipe #28 “Caviar”, and left to go pick up the pieces.

Recruited: Albert, Erica

(non-star recruits: Diego, Ash, Clint, Youngster Joey)

Investigations: Albert, Erica, Aila, Joyce, Gomez

Session 24 Recap: Millions of Minigames

Needing to relax after the stresses of war and burying friends, the team spent some time exploring the rapidly growing community inside Liberty Castle. Ace had already set up a rock climbing game up one of the inner castle walls, so we had a climbing race with Daisy, Harold, Kuarjav, Royce, Ace, Hai Yo, and Casey. It was a close race with some surprising performances and pitfalls; Kuarjav actually climbed quite swiftly until he missed a handhold and fell, luckily coming out unharmed. Daisy reached the top first, followed by Royce and Casey, and Ace rewarded us with a couple of special items and accessories.

Down in June’s parlor, Daisy took another stab at the dice-rolling game, chinchorin, and rode a wild stream of luck to win 96,000 potch. The young berserker popped in to confess her love of gambling to Lucius before running off to try her hand at fishing with the kraken. Kuarjav seemed especially proficient at this one, being an old man, and with his help we caught some salmon, tuna, and shrimp in the waters around the castle. Jacques agreed to give us an archery lesson, and we did so well that he gave us all the prizes he had.

Getting back to business, we flew down to the Grasslands with Caesar to enlist the help of the Karayans. We did some trading and bought a deer, then headed for the chief’s house, which was distinguished by the presence of a huge griffin outside the door. Sciath recognized it as Fubar, and she and Daisy treated the puzzled griffin like a kitten. Hugo came out to see what the fuss was about and introduced himself as the village chief and the Flame Champion who Caesar helped win victory for the grasslands some years before. Caesar quickly filled Hugo in on the war, introduced us, and let Harold the diplomat make his case. The fancypants offered to return Harmonia-controlled Le Buque to the Grasslands once we liberated it, and Hugo readily agreed to help us. He mentioned that he would send a message to his friends among the Zexen knights as well to let them know what was happening, but he didn’t expect much response; Zexen had been known to ally itself with Camaro in some past conflicts, and Zexen politics move very slowly.

With Hugo’s forces now pressuring Camaro from the south, the rest of us carried out Caesar’s plan to liberate as much as we could of Camaro-controlled Harmonia with a massive pincer attack. At Olmir, Grant holed up in the fortress while Yuber led his demons against us, but they were no match for our new combined strength. As we surrounded the castle, Caesar unleashed his secret weapon, the “holy water arbalests”, while Royce and Vasuki jumped in and dropped holy water from the sky. It was encouraging to see our chief strategist lending an ear to the wisdom of our old spokesman, who once said, though we are grateful for the assistance of our new friends from the Howling Voice Guild, “A battery of field artillery is worth a thousand muskets.” -- William Tecumseh Sherman

Scores of demons dissolved and scattered before Grant broke and ran. And with that, southern Harmonia was freed in one day from the Camaro invaders. Oshollow, Lindlake, and many other regions were opened to us at once. The only places left under Camaro control are Coldwall Castle in Osthill, Ordin Castle (biggest stronghold), and Fort Falfax (poorly defended).

The team wasted no time in traveling to all of the liberated lands and sending relief to the hardest-hit villages. At Osil castle, we found an otter swimming in a fountain and named her Smidge. In Caleria City, we bought some nice equipment, a play script, and the recipe for hot dogs (a culinary revolution!). In Le Buque, the town of the mantor-riders of Suikoden III fame, chief Maximus was too concerned about the fate of his wife Patricia to listen to us, and our reassurances about her safety fell on deaf ears.

Finally, another cooking battle! With our help, Hai Yo faced off against Takagi, the Drunken Chef of Kanakan!

This super-refined lady is super-hard to please! It’s Harold’s sister, Anna!

She may be rich, but she likes simple foods like Pizza and Pasta! It’s Katherine!

The head librarian of the One Temple, this man of knowledge knows Japanese food is the best! It’s Brian!

The junior tactician of our Union Army, it’s Dexter! To win his vote, try some brain food!

Appetizer: (sushi+salt) Smoked Salmon Sushi, Daisy and Harold, 6787

Main Course: (pizza+salt) Mushroom and Olive Pizza, Sciath and Royce, 7888

Dessert: (fresh fruit+no spice) Fresh Fruit, Hai Yo and Kuarjav, 5666

Total: 92

Takagi: fancy caviar 3444, filet mignon 2333, bananas foster 8999

Total: 61

Poor Takagi staggered off drunkenly to the bar, leaving us with Recipe #7 “Bananas Foster”. Delicious!

Recruited:

Investigations: Katherine, Luther, Joker, Jacques, Queen

Session 23 Recap: Failing a Friend, and Collecting the Countries

The battle against the demon that used to be our leader was quick and brutal. It changed its shape once to try and gain an advantage, but our combined efforts felled it, with Daisy landing the finishing blow. As soon as their hands were free Daisy and Royce charged Yuber, who had been standing and watching with his lieutenants the whole time. But the pair never got close to touching them. Yuber froze them where they stood and sent them into fits of excruciating pain, threatening to do to them what he’d done to Pearl. Daisy switched to her bear form to try and power out of his hold, but to no avail.

Just as it seemed the reckless pair were doomed, Yuber succumbed to a surprise attack of arrows, fireballs and lightning, falling for the same trick as in Crystal Valley. Six people charged in, several of whom were familiar to Harold. We joined the fray with gusto, seizing our advantage; Daisy knocked out Grant almost immediately, and all of the enemies were almost overpowered. But Windy showed up, furious at the invasion of her new castle, and teleported her allies away.

The six human warriors lined up before us to introduce themselves, pointing out that we’d all had the same idea to attack here. They gave their names as Geddoe (the leader), Joker, Jacques, Queen, Ace, and Aila, the “Southern Frontier Defense Force.”

With the fighting over, the Unity Rune heroes gathered around the fallen demon. They were relieved to see that their combined power was enough to restore Pearl to her human form, though she was obviously dying. Kuarjav, who knew a hopeless cause when he saw one, bowed his head, but Daisy rounded on him with angry accusations. She even said that if he hadn’t given up so easily throughout his life, he wouldn’t have spent so much of it in prison (Harold chastised her immediately, but Daisy has yet to apologize). Pearl, on the other hand, understood the inevitability of her death, and used her finals breaths to warn the party that Yuber had just stolen the True Demon Rune from Harmonia. This he held in addition to his True Eightfold Rune, which was difficult for everyone to believe; no one is supposed to be able to support two True Runes within a single body.

And so Pearl passed away. Daisy murmured, “I won’t forgive you,” but whether to Yuber, Kuarjav, Pearl, or even herself, none can say. Cradling Pearl’s body, Daisy led the others and the six new allies to the castle. They proceeded slowly up to the war room, earning gasps and cries from everyone who recognized the body of their former leader. The grief felt by Dexter, Damien and Jonah, who had joined up with Pearl long before any of us had met, was especially deep.

Harold quickly arranged a state funeral for Pearl, with speeches, PR statements, and a viewing of Pearl’s body as she lay in state. All of her good friends and the leaders of the Union Army had something to say, finally ending with Kuarjav. Even our official army spokesman made a pithy, if rather gloomy, statement: “I think I understand what military fame is; to be killed on the field of battle and have your name misspelled in the newspapers.” –William Tecumseh Sherman. Meanwhile, Caesar sought out Harold, who he recognized as a fellow cool-headed thinker in times of crisis, and they discussed their concerns over how far Camaro might be willing to go to win. Harold suggested that they start trying to recruit other nations to the Union Army’s aid, and Caesar agreed.

Later, we all got together for a more lighthearted activity and finally had Roxie build our Guardian Statue for the castle. We gave her the four Squirrel Plans, and as soon as she was finished, an oversized flying squirrel in a red cape appeared from out of nowhere! Veterans recognized him as Mukumuku, and though the poor creature was very confused, Daisy hugged him and he was quickly adopted as the castle mascot.

At Royce’s suggestion, our first target for recruitment was the Dragon’s Den (Leknaat teleported us all the way there). Royce’s presence allowed us to walk in and explore wherever we liked, much like our trip to the Howling Voice Tower with Clive. The party was shown in to speak with Futch, who listened with interest to our story; he was especially furious to hear that Windy had returned, she who murdered his first dragon, Black, many years ago. Futch agreed to lend us his help, though he had to remain at the Dragon’s Den for the moment. While we were in the area, we explored a bit more and found a dragonrider training his partner by fighting a tiger. The big cat was not aggressive enough by his standards, however, so he gave him to us for our zoo. Afterwards, we had beer and steak with Royce’s parents and heard embarrassing baby stories.

The party went straight to Harold’s cousin Klaus’ mansion in Muse, Dunan after that (stopping off at Liberty castle to release the tiger). The startled guards informed us that Klaus was not home, so we marched to City Hall instead to try and see the president. To the surprise of those who had journeyed to Harmonia from Dunan, we discovered that Klaus himself was now president, thanks to his investigation of Teresa’s clandestine deals with Harmonia. The former president was now confined to the dungeons, though she was still treated with courtesy and kept as comfortable as possible for the old woman. Harold found and popped a bottle of wine, made introductions, and gave his cousin a recap of our war efforts. A formal alliance between Dunan and the Union Army was quickly drawn up. Harold introduced his sister Anna to Klaus, as it was the first time those two cousins had ever met. Klaus thoughtfully gave us access to his treasury to help supply our travels.

Eventually, Harold and Klaus kicked the others out so the cousins could spend the night drinking and catching up. Daisy and Sciath ditched the guys and went out partying with some of Daisy’s old friends, leaving the rest to their own devices for the night. We did some shopping the next day and took advantage of Klaus’ discounts to upgrade some of our weapons.

We wrapped up our business in Dunan and returned to Liberty Castle to start our third cooking battle. Hai Yo was confronted by a small child named Wakai, maybe 12 years old, who challenged him to the most adorable duel ever.

The judges:

“The big bad Kobold warrior loves his protein to grow even bigger! It’s Wayne!”

“This investigative reporter will report you success or failure to all the food critics, so be sure to please her! It’s Lynn!”

“This former noble man loves the high lifestyle he once had! It’s Byron!”

“This noble lady is a tough to please! Give it up for Bernadette!”

The dishes:

Appetizer by Sciath and Hai Yo: Creamy Grain (gratin+sugar): 10, 10, 10, 10

Main course by Daisy and Royce: Filet Mignon (Steak+salt): 10, 10, 10, 10

Dessert by Harold and Kuarjav: Apple Pie (pie+sugar): 6666

Total: 104

Wakai made Fancy caviar 7788, sushi 6666, and pudding 4455

Total: 72

As a reward for our victory, we got Recipe #19 “Sushi” from Wakai. Daisy offered him some pie and a place at the castle, as per usual, but her offer was refused. Maybe one day we’ll find a worthy apprentice for Hai Yo!

Recruited: Geddoe, Joker, Jacques, Queen, Ace, Aila, Mukumuku, Hauser

Investigations: Mukumuku, Rosalita, Geddoe, Ace, Hauser

Session 22 Recap: The Palace and Pearl

Burning with curiosity, we dragged Clive with us to go visit the Howling Tower, where few people outside the Howling Voice Guild have ever stepped. All of the initiates were surprised to see us, but they could not turn us away with Clive as our escort. We spent some time exploring and acquired some sake and a recipe for a “Bento Box Lunch”. Later, Lorview City gave up the secret of their famous Tacos.

We put Vasuki’s wings to the test and rode her out to Cerock castle to check up on Hikusaak. It may be because Cerock is renowned for welcoming outcasts from all walks of life, but we were all able to stroll right in and ask to see Roy, the doctor who might be Kuarjav’s former student. They knew each other the moment they stepped into the room, and an emotional reunion followed. Roy let us in to see Hikusaak, resting in a private room with Priest General Bryce never leaving his side. We talked about a lot of things, starting with our true identity, surprising Bryce – he’d thought we were Harmonian, or so it seemed. Hikusaak tried to explain what he’d intended for this country before his Circle Rune precipitated Harmonia’s decline, though it was hard for some members of the team to completely absolve him of guilt for all of the horrors and injustices his country had perpetuated. In the end, both parties were left with much to think about, and we returned to Liberty Castle for the moment. On our way out, Kuarjav secured Roy’s support for our cause; he also shouldered the responsibility of informing Roy of his father’s death.

Back at Liberty Castle, we had our second cooking battle, this time against the pitiful Kobayakawa (though he put up a slightly better fight than we expected). Daisy and Sciath made Clam Chowder for appetizer, earning us solid 10s across the board. Kobayakawa’s Pickled Fruit was well received as well with a 9,9,9,10. Harold and Hai Yo aimed to please with their Grande Tacos, but unfortunately their score was all 7s. On the other hand, Kobayakawa’s special Spaghetti with Meatballs earned him a row of dismal 4s, virtually assuring our victory. Royce and Kuarjav brought it home with all 8s for their Fudge Brownies, while Kobayakawa’s Deep-Fried Ice Cream earned 6,6,5,5. Final scores were 100 for us and 74 for the challenger, and Kobayakawa granted us his recipe for Spaghetti before retreating (after Daisy offered him a brownie and a place in our castle, as is quickly becoming the standard ritual).

Harold brought up a good point when we talked with Caesar later; Windy would know that her sister was fighting for us, and Leknaat’s survival could be our key to victory. Victor, Flik, and Humphrey were assigned to guard the sorceress for as long as Windy was still a threat.

The next morning, Daisy woke up to find things not quite right once again. To her shock, she realized that she seemed to be at least five years older than she should have been, maybe more. She hurriedly rounded up the others as well as her dad, Sasari, and Jeane, and demanded an explanation. Sasari berated her for not telling him earlier about having the True Chronos Rune. Armed with full knowledge of recent events, the former priest general was able to removed the True Rune from her sword, transfer it onto a new item (the ball gown we received from June), and undo the changes it had begun to inflict on Daisy’s body. Jeane took the ball gown and hid it away in an undisclosed location.

Our ninja intelligence informed us that the Camaro forces had built a base for themselves in the Circle Palace and the capitol city was still overrun with demons. The ninjas of the night couldn’t tell us much, so we opted to take our special task force in to see for ourselves. No demon stood a chance against our ninja-augmented might, and soon we found ourselves sneaking down a hallway deep inside the palace itself. We hid at the first hint of voices and spotted none other than Grant and Felicia strolling towards us, chatting about something we couldn’t quite hear.

Choosing to take advantage of our ambush, everyone leapt out at once and quickly overpowered the pair, with Royce pinning Felicia and Daisy’s knee firmly in Grant’s back. As we debated what to do with our prisoners, the weapon that Daisy had wrested from Grant’s hands began to complain. Daisy recognized the Star Dragon Sword immediately from her dad’s stories and greeted him enthusiastically, though the sword was less than thrilled at being held once again by someone of Viktor’s line. But the young berserker was able to convince the True Rune that he was better off with her than with Grant and Yuber’s forces, and that was that.

Yuber arrived at that moment, for things had been going far too easily for us. He demanded the release of his people. When we refused, he summoned Pearl to his side and offered a trade: Pearl, relatively unharmed, for Grant and Felicia. There was some debate as to whether or not we believed it to be the real Pearl and how we could tell. There seemed to be no way to know for sure. But left with no choice, we decided (despite Harold’s protests) to make the trade.

The moment the exchange was made, the demon hit Pearl with a spell. Her anguished screams filled the hall, and she began to twist and transform into a hideous demon herself. It appears that next time, if we want to get out of the palace alive, we may have to kill our former leader.

Recruitments: Roy

Investigations: Roy, Isis, Tina, Cassie, Diaz