>>28035 https://youtu.be/bIF_a8F-Y0Q?si=sxSKV6ZrQXWaXwYU While you did want to help, the jackal’s immediate leap in wanting to use high authority to fix her issue was a bit off-putting. Best to stay cordial, at least. “I’d invite you back to our camp, but my buddy and I plan on playing some tunes late into the night, so we might not be the quietest option. However, I’m guessing y’all didn’t see it, but there was a pretty quiet place that some hippies set up at. Just look for the painted VW bus. It seemed like it had open skies, although you may want something to fan away the uh… smoke.” you mention to the two. A slightly confused look crossed Renee’s face, while Freddie let out a laugh. “Hey, that works for me! I don’t mind stoners, and Renee could probably benefit from the contact high.” he says with a smirk. “The what now?” the anubis asks quickly, her attention snapping to her husband. He just smirks at her, and runs a couple fingers behind her right ear, scratching it and causing her to shudder slightly. “Don’t worry about it. We’re having fun this week, and you’re gonna relax. Those were the top two priorities on your task list this week, remember?” he says affectionately to her. She nods, leaning into his fingers. He looks back at you, giving you a nod and a smile. “Thanks for the tip, I owe you a drink! I’ll have my mini-bar set up later tonight, so swing by.” “Will do! If you happen to play any instruments, you’re welcome to jam with my buddy Ben and I, we’re always looking for more folk to play with.” you offer back. You felt an odd tingle on the back of your neck, like you were being watched intently. Shaking it off, you glance back at the supply hut, and see Ben and Mara exiting, wagon in tow loaded with firewood, and a bundle of what looked like tiki torches, just a bit more “gothic” in appearance, with a skeletal hand posed open at the ends. “Speak of the devil! What’s with the torches, halloween coming early or something?” you ask. Ben hefted the bundle up, wearing a massive grin. “Who cares how they look, these things are fucking awesome. Show ‘em, Mara.” he answered, The fox smirked, rolled her eyes, and waved her hand over one of them, causing a bluish-purple flame to appear in the palm of the skeletal hand. Okay, yeah, that was pretty cool. “Oh sick! I think we’ll need to get a couple of those for our tent, too. What do you think, Renee?” Freddie added, taking his hand away from the anubis’ ear to point at the torch. The jackal shook her head, seeming slightly dazed. “Hmm, wh-what now? Oh, Mana Torches, yes, we could use a couple.” she mutters, starting to focus again. Mara immediately zoned in on her, closing the distance between the two in moments. The kitsune, wearing that slightly wider than normal grin, leaned in very close to the anubis, who was now wearing a familiar bewildered look. She grasped Renee’s right paw, turning it over to glance down at it. “Hmmmm… my, oh my!” Mara said in a sing-song fashion, and looked back up, locking her gaze with the stunned jackal. “I see triplets in your future! Quite the boon from the gods, would you agree?” the fox exclaims. Renee’s jaw drops slightly, and her face began to take a reddish hue. “I-I.. wha-... t-triplets?!” she manages to stammer out. With a swish of her tail and flick of her wrist, a business card appeared between Mara’s fingers, which she set down in the anubis’ paw. “Indeed! If you would like to know more, here’s my info. I’ll be here all week, so take your time to think it over. I will say though it would be a pleasure to do business, as there is much to discuss!” the kitsune explains, and taps the card in the anubis’ palm. “I do not wish to keep you and your husband waiting, though. You still need to buy your torches and pitch his tent~” she finishes with a smirk. The anubis’ face took on a deeper blush, but she nodded all the same. “Y-yes, you’re right, thank you!” she exclaims quickly, and turns to Freddie, who just seemed perplexed with the whole ordeal. “Well, let’s buy what we need, and we will seek out these… hippies.” she says, and pauses for a moment. “By the way, what are ‘hippies’, anyway?” she asks. This made him snort, and shake his head. “You’ve been here for over a year and you haven’t heard of hippies yet? Hoo boy…” he replies with a chuckle, as they turn to enter the hut. “Thanks again, we’ll be in touch!” he says to your group with a nod, before passing through the doorway. Ben and you turn to look at Mara, who had a smug, satisfied look on her face. https://youtu.be/D8yiAKqTYlw?si=lODnEYTtEp0O8Ay2 “That was fuckin’ slick. I can see how you make a killing in your craft.” you mutter quietly to the fox. She stifles a giggle, and begins to walk deeper into the festival bazaar. “Quite, although it is the truth, she has triplets in her future, at some point in time. I will need to do a few spreads in order to even narrow down the pertinent details, and all of those will take a lot of time. So! I feel that gaining an inevitable customer is worthy of a small celebration, and I know there’s at least one libations tent around here somewhere. Shall we?” Mara explained. “That sounds like you’re buying, in that case, yes, let’s! We’ll get something to go and check out the rest of the place.” Ben says with a grin, and tugs the mostly filled wagon along behind him. You turn back to look around the hut, only to notice the pink cat is gone. Ben pauses for a moment. “Oh yeah, did you get that guitar chick’s number?” he asks. You felt your heart stop for a second. “God damn it. No.” you sulk. Ben shook his head, and started moving again, gesturing for you to follow. “Hey, don’t worry about it, the week’s just starting, she’ll probably pop up somewhere. C’mon, let’s get that drink Mara’s buying us.” As the fox had predicted, your group came upon the beer tent in a handful minutes. It was a stone’s throw from a large first-aid tent, which you found mighty convenient. The walls of the beer tent were rolled up for now, allowing as much customer and air flow through as possible. From the front to about midway, there were multiple round tables set up. At the backside of the tent there was a makeshift bar with stools, and behind that, was a row of beer trucks parked just outside, allowing the bartenders to pour fresh suds while staying in the shade. As it was still relatively early in the festival, the beer tent was lively, but not crowded. Your group strolls up to the bar, and you glance around at some of the other patrons. At one of the tables, you notice two of those tan surfer-hoodie-fishnet girls from that oddly cold camp you passed earlier in the day, along with a skinny pale guy wearing a red beanie. He, and the tanned girl to his immediate left, who you noticed had small horns peeking out from dirty-blonde bangs under her black and orange hoodie, were both engrossed in some game they were each playing on their own pc decks, nudging each other and playfully shit-talking, from the few snippets of conversation you caught. The second girl, a platinum blonde in a gray and electric blue hoodie, was looking slightly irritated with her two companions, while she sipped what looked like some kind of slushy booze through a straw. She tapped her red stained fingers rhythmically on the table, rolling her eyes on occasion. You couldn’t blame her really, who brings a game system to a festival, anyway? A few tables up from them, you saw a large red-skinned sandy-blonde woman with stubby horns, engaged (and winning) in what looked like a drinking game with a slightly larger, green skinned azure-haired woman with tall silver horns. Seated between them was a much smaller, auburn-haired girl with large mouse ears, who was puffing away on a small pipe. She seemed to be egging on the green skinned woman, growing more smug every time she wobbled. All three were wearing the same shirt, a black tee bearing the simple picture of two crossed swords, with the text “G.T.G. Contestant” above the swords, and “Lunapalooza ‘2X” below it. A tall and busty blue-skinned woman, wearing a white tee that read “Lunapalooza STAFF” on the front and back, was in the middle of setting down another round of drinks at their table. On the opposite side of the tent towards the edge of the canopy, you saw a scruffy, brown haired guy leaning against a strange greenish-black slab and having, what looked like at first, a very active yet one-sided conversation with the woman next to him. She was a bit taller than him, wearing a matching daisy-patterned sun hat and blouse, with a long seafoam-green braid falling down her left shoulder. You noticed that while she didn’t seem to emote too much, she was still gently conversing with her companion, while tapping away at a small tablet. Behind her was an absolutely gigantic pile of bags, but at a second glance, you realized it was a bunch of bags strapped to a very large dark green beetle carapace. That’s when you noticed the slab the guy was leaning on was the same kind of chitinous material. It gave you the impression of a kite shield, the more you looked at it. At the end of the bar, you saw another couple, though they looked to be a bit older, mid thirties to early forties, if you had to guess. The guy had long salt and pepper hair, tied in a loose pony tail, and wore a ratty olive military jacket, with faded patches on the sleeves, along with a set of aviators clipped to the front pocket. The woman appeared to be another cat, with black and dark purple hair, though you noticed a lighter purple peppering in the black. She was wearing what looked, judging by how bright the coloring was, a brand new green and white tie-dye shirt. On the back was a big silver flying saucer, with the words “I Believe!” written in smoky-styled text above it. They were both chatting with one of the bartenders, a ginger squirrel girl in another staff shirt. Ahead of you, Mara and Ben we’re already placing their order with the third bartender, who you couldn’t see from behind the two. You sidled up on the other side of Mara, an- oh. The bartender was a woman slightly shorter than you, with a dark caramel skin tone. Her pastel yellow hair was done in pigtails, which fell behind a pair of sunset orange fins on either side of her head. She had a rather lithe build to her, if you were to guess, she was probably an excellent gymnast. Her eyes, the same orange as her fins, snapped to you, and she gave you a demure smile. “And what would you like to drink?” she asks, her soft voice reminding you of wind chimes in the breeze. You felt that flutter in your stomach again. 1. Order a basic beer 2. Order a high quality beer 3. Order a cocktail 4. Order a shot 5. Order a wineglass 6. Order a water You can name a particular drink with your choice, otherwise I'll pick something relatively fitting. Additionally Talk with a patron? Pick One. The Bartender does not count as a Patron

>>29463 >if even the writer tells me it's a bad idea Just to clarify, I will never say one idea over another is bad. Just to be wary.

>>29746 Glad everything seems to have worked out with the couple, seeing an uptight awoobis among a bunch of hippies sounds like a funny time. Can't go wrong with a cocktail for a drink. There sure are a lot of options for patrons. If I had to pick, maybe the brown haired guy and the gal besides him? Would like to hear other people's opinion though.

>>29746 Guess it shouldn't be too late to ask, but how much knowledge of the MGE should we consider while taking decisions. I imagine the character knows barely anything, taking into account the visually descriptive way you introduce the monstergirls. Either way, those torches are definitely not normal, and we should be wary of them. Who knows what kind of magic they have in them, other than the pretty light show. As for the drink. >>29966 The cocktail is probably the best choice if you want to drink all sorts of unknown substances. The fruity drinks are always the strongest ones, meaning it's probably mixed with some sort of weird aphrodisiac fruit. Wouldn't find it strange if it makes you "fruity" as well. Think going for a basic beer is better, or if it's before 15:00, 2 basic beers. For the patrons, not much interesting seems to be around. We can go with the scruffy guy+stoic girl pair. She might not be much of a conversationalist, but maybe he has a couple stories to tell.

>>30756 >Guess it shouldn't be too late to ask, but how much knowledge of the MGE should we consider while taking decisions? Consider as much as you can. Anon's knowledge of Monster Girls and their world is pretty surface level, but your's is not. Things you notice should be mentioned, as that might set off Anon's Intuition. I should also mention, if further detail is needed on one thing or another, we can always do a Perception check. Checks can be rolled with 1d6 for now.

>>29746 1. Basic beer, it's budget friendly and sociable.

>>31000 >Perception check Y'know, that would have been somewhat nice to know at the start, so just to try i'll do one now, see of we can see anything. I don't know how hidden/wishiwashy you want to keep the stats. Aside from knowing they exist, we pretty much don't know what they do. It'd be perhaps a good idea to keep a character sheet with stats and status effects(like the chatty cat thingy from before, it's not quite clear if it's still active), as well as some general info about what's happened, like relationships to the others in our camp, or other stuff like that. Not saying you need to, writing and designing the CYOA is already enough work, but it'll probably also be good for people jumping in afterwards, to get a quick idea without being overwhelmed by all that's happened before, which isn't much for now, but might become more as we go.

>>31061 I'm probably gonna sound like a dick, and that's not my intention at all (autism and no tone over simple text notwithstanding) , but I kinda figured that would have been obvious from the start, since we rolled for stats to begin with. However, it has been pretty clear that what's obvious to me might not be obvious to everyone else. Considering I'm a bit esoteric in nature (if the very in-depth tarot reading at the start didn't give it away) and see symbolism and patterns in some of the weirdest shit, that's probably a given. >Character Sheet To spoil one minor thing, check-ins with Mara will show current stats and what's active/has been activated. Chatty Cat in particular is still active, as it hasn't been very long since Anon had his first beer. Other substances can and will have both positive and negative attributes, especially when considering the amount imbibed. As far as keeping things hidden, I like surprises, and I like setting up surprises. There's a lot of room for experimentation and expansion, especially later down the line. There is a very poignant rhyme that applies to our current choices, by the way. >Roll for Perception Please go ahead and roll, and I will go from there. I will say, focusing on something will work better than just a general check. Is there anything in particular that pops out at you?

>>31072 >I'm probably gonna sound like a dick Not at all, it just sounds like you have quite the experience with TTRPGs and similar stuff, and just assumed it would be obvious what the stats do or how mechanics work, but with people from different backgrounds, there's bound to be some who don't( like me, i am the who doesn't). My assumption until now was that the only options we could take were the ones laid explicitly in the posts, and as you can imagine, a perception check is not one of them, nor was it mentioned before. If there's any other similar stuff like a perception check, i wouldn't know either. I don't know how effective checking in with Mara is going to be for that. If you want to take a decision based on your stats or current situation, we'd need to ask Mara, meaning waiting for a response from you as well as she needing to be in the scene and it making sense in the context of the scene for us to ask her, both in terms of time and social. Not in a strict sense of calculating anything, but it feels strange to go through all the process of asking a third person if you yourself are feeling chatty or tipsy currently. Having a small sheet with a section saying "You feel a bit more chatty than usual" is more efficient in that matter. We can leave the checks with Mara for more complex/write-heavy stuff stuff. Also has the advantage of checking our stats(It's still kind of in the air if luck is one of them). Ultimately i leave it up to you, of course, and maybe it's just a me problem and this is well known stuff. It just would have been nice to know the mechanics in advance. >Please go ahead and roll Sorry, i forgot.

>>30756 >>31001 Let's go with beer then, also consider me a first timer with CYOAs too so the clarification above is much appreciated.

>>29746 https://youtu.be/j946Wsh7vNA?si=N274H5qHUjh9E19w GENERAL PERCEPTION CHECK P:3 + D6 = P:9 (2 over P.I. Cap) “Uhhhh…” you sound out, mind drawing a blank. You shake your head to collect yourself, and examine the choices available. From the basic taps available, you see the usual suspects; a few Miller taps, a few Coors taps, PBR, Sam Adams, and something Mexican (in this case both Modelo and Corona). Curiously, you didn’t see any mainline Budweiser products. The high quality beer selection has a lot of the usual imports you’d see around; Guiness, Newcastle, Sapporo, and Haufbrauhaus. Amongst those are various local small breweries, and, what you are guessing are a few monster style brews, considering the taps were glowing. One that stands out in particular has an Egyptian eye at the top of the tap, mostly because it seems like the eye is actually staring back. The tap handle reads “Amber Nights”. You stand on your tip toes, glancing up and down the bar at the bottle rail that was just slightly out of sight from the counter. Once again, you saw a typical selection. Whiskies like Jack, Jim, and Johnnie, amongst other staples. There are various flavored rums from Bacardi, spiced rums from the Captain, and one large bottle of inky black Kraken. Flavored vodkas like Stoli and Smirnoff are also peppered about. Yet again, mixed about with the normal bottles, you notice that some of the bottles give off a glow. There are a number of wine bottles, though no brands you recognize. You can at least tell it was an even mix of reds and whites. Just like the other liquor options, there are some bottles that are glowing. At the very least, the ones that are seem to have a different cork stuck on the top, as they look deep purple, almost black. You look back at the bartender, who's waiting patientily, though she now has a warm, yet amused grin. You glance back up at the price list above the taps an- Jesus fucking Christ. Eight bucks for a basic beer? You knew it was a festival and prices would be high, but God Damn, this is worse than the beer prices at the actual Renaissance Fest you used to go to. Twelve for a high quality beer, ten for a cocktail, eight for a shot, and fifteen for a wineglass. There's a large note scribbled and underlined below the menu, that reads “ WATER IS ALWAYS FREE! STAY HYDRATED!”. Well, that’s a small blessing, at least. Either way, you're glad Mara's paying for this round. “Uhh, give me just one moment, sorry.” you mutter. The bartender nods, looking even more amused. “Take allllll the time you need~ I’ll get your friend’s drinks ready while you decide...” she says, her voice trailing off as she heads down the bar. You turn to Ben and Mara, the former has a smirk on his face, while the latter still looks pleased as punch over the encounter with Renee earlier today. “So, what did you two order?” you ask, and took a moment to look around at the patrons again while they answered. Starting with the couple at the end of the bar, you try to get a better peek at the patches on his arm. The biggest at his shoulder was one that looked like a kite shield, colored a lighter shade of green than his jacket, with a big red number 1 in the middle of it. Below it was a small black eagle. You move on to his wife, only to find her staring right back at you. She gives you a wink and sticks out her tongue, before returning back to her conversation with her husband and the squirrel bartender. “Eh, I got a Modelo. I just want a buzz, I don’t want to get trashed right away.” you hear Ben say, your gaze moving over to the scruffy guy and his stoic beetle companion. It seems like she's carrying everything they had with them, with how much was piled and strapped onto her carapace. Examining the different bags and satchels closer, you notice a small tripod tied to the handle of a smaller black case, both of which look rather beaten up. On the top of the case is a spot where you assume a branding face plate once was, now instead it's covered with duct tape, with “Lenses” scribbled onto it in permanent marker. “I ordered a whiskey sour. It felt like the most refreshing choice at the moment.” you hear Mara answer, as your view shifts over at the monsters having their drinking game. The large green gal was close to finishing her beer before the red gal did, only for her to slam the plastic cup back on the table. She begins to cough and hack, and hammers her fist on her chest a couple times. Red calmly finishes her beer, setting the empty cup on top of a stack next to her, and gives her opponent a smug grin. The mouse was laughing up a storm, as Green seems to recover, angrily finishing her beer. She tosses the now empty cup over her shoulder, and gives the mouse a light shove with her forefinger, before turning her attention back to the bar. Her vision flicks over your group towards the busty blue bartender at the other end, only to flick back and settle on Ben. “Oh ho ho! Someone wants to get gut rot!” you hear Ben tease the fox. You finally look back at the first table you passed when you entered the beer tent. The two gamers were still there, still playing on their PC decks, while their companion’s attention was no longer focused on them. Instead, you notice her glancing between big Greenie, and Ben. She seems to take a long drink every time she looks at him, and aggressively taps her red stained fingers whenever she looks back at Greenie. “Oh shush! I’m only having one.” Mara replies with a laugh. You keep glancing between Ben, Greenie, and Red-Fingers, and swallow the lump in your throat. There wasn’t a lot of tension in the air right now, but it did feel like something could possibly happen down the line. You certainly didn’t want to waste too much time after you got your drink, at least. Now that you thought of it, you turn back around. The orange-eyed, yellow braided bartender had returned with Ben and Mara’s drinks, and she sets them down on the counter in front of them. She then turns to you, and gives you that amused grin again. “So, did you decide on what you want?~”

I'm going to let this sit for a few more days, in case any decision changes occur due to the new information. We are currently sitting with a basic beer and talking to the scruffy guy as our favored choices.

>>31521 That's amazing. Well beyond anything i could imagine. Safe to say, there won't be any more perception checks in the future onwards.

>>31521 The Egyptian eye is making me pretty curious. Maybe I should change my vote from regular beer to that Amber Nights thingie.

>>31521 YOLO, I want to try the Amber Nights.

Alright, it's been a few days. Choices are now locked in, the next part should be posted soon-ish.

>>31521 You glance back at the Egyptian eye on the large glowing tap, still staring back at you. “Uh, yeah, I think I’ll try that Amber Nights beer. Who makes that one, anyway?” you request, then ask. “That’s a good choice! It’s from Cairo’s Fork Brewing.” she says, making her way over to the tap. Grabbing a large plastic cup from a dispenser next to the taps, she begins to fill it with the amber colored brew. You couldn’t help but trace her form with your eyes, as her dance-like swaying was rather hypnotic. The white daisy-duke shorts and one-size-too-small staff shirt she wore were more of a nice touch to the whole scene. She soon returns, and hands the cup to you. “They’re out of.. Illy-Noy?” she follows up, slightly blushing. “Illinois.” You correct her with a smile, and grab the beer. “Thanks…uh…” you say, starting to pull your drink from her grip, but she holds tight onto it. “Lakini~” she replies. She places her other hand over yours, and looks directly in your eyes. “My name is Lakini~” “Uh…I’m Anon.” you say somewhat awkwardly, that fluttery feeling hitting your stomach again. Her orange eyes break from yours for a split second, flicking down the bar. She frowns for the briefest of moments, then looks back into your eyes. Giving you a flirty smile, she squeezes your hand one last time, before letting go. “Enjoy your Amber Nights, Anon~” Lakini says, her orange eyes still locked to yours for a few more seconds, until her attention is pulled completely away. You look down the counter, and notice Red-Fingers has made her way up, and is flagging her down with her mostly empty glass. The caramel-tan bartender makes her way towards the patron, but stops for a moment, and glances over her shoulder at you. “My shift ends just after dusk, by the way~” she adds with a wink, before continuing on down the bar, her swaying gait still drawing your attention. Your face felt hot for a few seconds, and you nervously clear your throat. That odd tingle on the back of your neck starts up again, and you idly scratch it with your free hand, while taking a generous sip of your amber brew. It has an almost sweet-bread flavor to it, that changes to a refreshing herbal, hoppy-like taste over time. That really hits the spot! SPIRITS - Temporary Intuition +1. Temporary Resolve extended, Tolerance 4(-2) [Casual Drinker] = Chatty Cat extended. https://youtu.be/wLtXKYz3v48?si=zJrk-zPdYiEBF5yW That tingle on your neck starts feeling a bit stronger, and you turn to look down the other side of the bar, outside of the beer tent. All you see is just a steady stream of people moving to and fro, either heading to one of the stages, deeper into the festival bazaar, or back towards the campgrounds proper. You raise an eyebrow, but think nothing more of it for now. A hand tapping your shoulder pulls your attention back into the bar, and you turn to face Ben and Mara. The former had a big smirk across his face, while the latter wore her usual larger than normal smile. “Heeeey, nice! You gonna come back here tonight then?” he asks you. You feel your face go hot again for a few seconds, and you cough. “Uhh, maybe, if I don’t get sidetracked or somethin’.” you reply, and look past your friends towards where the bartender was at. She was in the middle of shaking up a new drink for Red-Fingers, and that one-size-too-small shirt made every shake very pronounced. While that grabbed most of your attention, you didn’t fail to notice the big green lumbering shape stumbling down the bar towards your group. Looking at Greenie, you saw she still had her eyes locked on Ben, and was making a bee line for him. Before you could warn him, however, you saw Red-Fingers flick what was left of her old drink into the larger woman’s path. Not a second later, and Greenie slips on one of the ice cubes, falling face first towards the bar. With a loud crack, her forehead makes contact, and smashes into part of the wood counter, splintering a portion of it. With a groan, she tries to stand back up, only to stumble, and falls onto the floor in an awkward heap, gaining the attention of everyone in the beer tent. “Whoa! I guess even the Jolly Green Giant can’t hold her liquor!” Ben cackles, and pulls out his phone, snapping a few pictures of the knocked out woman. You look back up at Red-Fingers, and see her staring at your friend with a satisfied gleam in her eye. She then looks at you, her face turning serious, and gives you a curt nod. You return it out of polite compulsion, though you hope you didn’t just agree to give her dibs on Ben. Gazing past your friend’s savior, you see Greenie’s companions still seated at their table. Mouse was in the midst of a laughing fit, while Red was rolling her eyes. She raised her fist towards the smaller girl, who did the same in return. Three shakes later, and Red held out a flat palm, while Mouse kept her hand as a fist. The smaller girl got out of her seat, stifling her laughter as she left the beer tent, most likely to the medic station nearby. A loud clicking noise grabs your attention, and you turn your head to see the scruffy guy has left his table, with a rather nice but expensive looking camera in hand. He steps a bit closer to the drunken heap, taking a few more pictures once he’s satisfied with his new vantage point. “Hey Tilly! Ya think Cherrywood’s gonna be okay with five photos?” he says in a loud, southern drawl, while fiddling with something on the back of his camera. Looking over at the beetle, you see her simply shake her head. “Three more. She’s picky.” she replies simply. The scruffy guy shrugs, climbs up onto the closest empty table to Greenie, and snaps three more pictures from a higher angle. “Well, she did say eye-arr-jee wants everyone to see as much of the jubilee as possible…” he muttered back. “I.R.G.? What the heck is that?” you pipe up and ask, catching scruffy’s attention. He hops off the table, and takes a few steps towards your group. “Oh! Howdy! It’s Interrealm Geographic. Me an’ the missus have been doin’ a lot of work for ‘em over the last year.” he answers, sticking his hand out. “Name’s Gus, an’ that’s Tilly over there.” he adds, gesturing to his beetle companion at the table. She raises her hand and waggles her fingers in a casual greeting. “Anon. That’s Ben, and that’s Mara.” you reply, gesturing to your friends with a nod while shaking his hand. “Nice to meet y’all! So, just arrived, I take it?” Gus asks, and nods towards Ben’s wagon filled with firewood and mana torches. “Kinda, we finished setting up most of our campsite ‘bout a half hour ago. We’re just exploring now. How about you two?” Ben pipes in. “Since before dawn.” Tilly answers, leaving the table to shuffle closer to her husband. With her large frame, along with all the packs and bags strapped to her back carapace, it took her a moment to navigate around the tables and tent poles. “Yep! One of the things I.R.G. wanted us to get was a few good sunrise pictures, an’ since this is technically a business trip, we got to come in early before the rest of the crowds.” Gus adds, fiddling with his camera a bit more. He turns it around, and shows off a few of the pictures he snagged this morning. It looks like they were taken directly from higher up in the catwalks of the Main Stage. They were gorgeous, the sun rays and the shadows giving a deep contrast over the rich colors of the Oasis grounds. With the visible details not being overexposed by the light, you could easily tell he was good at his job. “Damn, that is nice!” you exclaim. “If you got here that early, you must have found a good spot to set up for the eclipse then!” you add. To your surprise, Gus shakes his head. “Nah, I wanna wait until the night it happens. I.R.G. asked for my absolute best with the eclipse photos, so we gotta set up somewhere that’s pretty clear, and away from as much light pollution as possible. That cuts out the stages, and I won’t have an idea of what’s best when folks are still comin’ in and settin’ up.” he explains. “He’s picky, like Miss Cherrywood.” Tilly adds simply. “That’s also true!” he finishes with a chuckle. You were getting a pretty good vibe from the both of them, and you were still feeling pretty chatty from your drinking, so you figured, fuck it, may as well mention it. “Well, on the off chance you don’t find a spot for your photo, our camp, Pyrite Lane, has got some open skies, though we plan on jamming some tunes late into the night.” you mention to the couple. Gus smiles. “We’ll keep it in mind, but there’s still a lotta festival to see, so who knows what’ll happen.” he replies. “He brings up a good point, we gotta start rolling so we can see what else this place has!” Ben adds, taking a swig of his beer. With another tail swish and wrist flick, Mara steps forward, a copy of her business card between her fingers, which she hands to the scruffy photographer. “By the way, my skills happen to revolve around divinatory practices. If you or your wife happen to be interested, I am sure we could work out a barter. Perhaps a short reading for, let’s say, a few good pictures?~” she explains. Gus takes the card, flipping between his fingers a couple times as he examines it. “Huh, maybe. Do ya do rune castin’ at all? Tilly’s got a thing for them.” he asks. “The runes know all.” the beetle piped in, causing Mara’s trademark grin to appear. “Indeed, they do know all! I do a variety of readings, rune casting included.” the kitsune replies, and points at the bottom of the card between Gus’ fingers. “If you want more details, I do have a website. It is a little bare bones right now, but it lists all of my available services.” Mara then bows her head slightly, and begins to move towards the outside. “But, we really should get moving. It was a pleasure, though!~” “Likewise! We’ll see each other again.” he says. With a final farewell, your group begins to leave the tent. As you exit, you glance over your shoulder one last time at the bar. Lakini is still chatting with Red-Fingers, but she gives you another flirty wink and wave. You wave back, feeling your face grow hot again. Coming back here right after dusk is sounding more and more like a viable option the longer you stare at her. Back outside, your group begins to wander deeper into the festival bazaar proper. There were now many more festival-goers wandering around, but not so many as to completely clog up the walking path. As your group went along, you were starting to see more choices for food scattered around the grounds. At one spot, a group of food trucks had parked to form a circle, offering a variety of greasy fair food staples. Across from the food trucks, there were a few different huts, serving what appeared to be more monster-oriented drinks and dishes, along with an open grassy area that a few groups had decided to picnic at. From there, the walking path split, with one end wrapping around the food truck circle towards another part of the bazaar, while the other end went a little further ways beyond the food huts, terminating at a very large, pink roofed tent. Multiple appetizing fragrants wafted through air from the tent, while the inside was a blur of moving people. You guessed this was probably the Eros Kitchen the cat from earlier mentioned. While everything around here either looked or smelled delicious, you weren’t that hungry, as the beer munchies hadn't quite kicked in yet. Moving on, the next part of the bazaar was one you had been looking forward to, and so far, one of the busiest: The Merch Lane. While some of the booths and tents were still setting up, there were a number that already had some of their wares out. The first few open booths had a focus on the musicians performing over the week. Trinkets, posters, shirts, and other apparel is on display, mostly from bands you knew or were somewhat familiar with, but there were plenty of others that you didn’t recognize. You surmise most were probably bands from across the portal. Next to these were a couple booths selling Lunapalooza branded merch. Like the band booths, these carried a wider variety of trinkets, gear, apparel, along with a curiously large assortment of blankets. At one of these booths, you see a large yellow and black mass with legs bobbing around in the back. In a flash, it turns around and scuttles outside. Getting over the shock of seeing something that large move that fast, you relax a bit more when you see that it’s an arachne. Spiders you could deal with, they weren’t like snakes. Besides, you’d encountered a married one before back home in Moorhead a few times. Though while the bubbly amazon delivery girl had a larger and fuzzier build that reminded you of a wolf spider, this girl reminds you more of a sleek orb-weaver. She places what looked like a few more folded blankets on the display up front, then scuttles back into the booth just as fast. A few spots down from there, you were a little surprised to see a booth that specializes in musical gear. While they didn’t appear to be open for business just yet, from the small assortment you saw on display, they sold more than just basic bongo drums and cheap harmonicas you’d usually see displayed at a fair. The shop sign even promised wares from triangles to cellos, but across the price listing was a hastily slapped sign that read “Out for lunch”. What really caught your attention though, was a bolded sentence at the very bottom of the booth’s shop sign that read “Ask about our enchantment deals at my wife’s shop next door!” Sure enough, the booth right next to the one selling musical gear seemed to specialize in both selling pre-enchanted items, along with applying enchantments to items you can bring in. There was nothing on display yet, but there was a very distinct charge to the air. Even standing next to the tent, you could feel the hair raise on your arms. Like the music shop, the pricing sign for the enchantment shop had another hastily slapped message over it that read “Back Soon, out with ‘Lunch’”, with a heart scribbled next to “Lunch”. Past Merch Lane, the walking path split into three directions. Thankfully, there was a large signpost that labeled which way was which. The left path circled around to another section of the bazaar, and past that a ways was the Main Stage. The middle path went straight towards the EDM Tent, as well as something called “The Grand Tribal Games Arena”. The right path went on a bit of a ways towards the Second Stage, and had a branch that hooked back around towards the Campgrounds. The three of you finish your drinks, and toss the empty cups into a bin by the signpost. “So, where to next?” Mara asks. Ben rolls his shoulder, and grabs the handle of the loaded wagon. “I could check out maybe one of the stages, but I wanna get this stuff back to camp sooner than later.” he replies. “I’m fine going wherever either of you feel at this point, as long as there is at least one potential customer I can give my card to.” the fox states. You realize at this point it’s been a little over an hour and a half since you left camp. There’s still a lot more of the festival grounds to see, but you kinda had an idea of what you might expect, at least as far as today is concerned. Where do you want to go? There’s probably a show going on at either stage, but you remember that the EDM Tent doesn’t kick off until dusk. Still, something about that Games Arena sounded intriguing. Otherwise, if you head back to camp now, you’ll be heading back a different way, so who knows what you might find. 1. Take the left path 2. Take the middle path 3. Take the right path 4. Doubleback down the way you came for food, merch, or and/or something else.

>>33853 I have slight suspicion that "lunch" might be a euphemism for something... anyway >4. because I want to buy a Lunapalooza shirt to remember it all by

>>33853 +1 for >>34098

>>33853 I don't think we should come back to the Bar at night, i don't want our breath to smell like a british open air coastal market in the morning, and who knows what will happen if that tolerance stat hits 0. Also, maybe we should mention the tingling neck to Mara. Maybe she has something to say about it. As for where to go, I would have said to take the right path, that way we can enjoy a bit of music and get rid of the wagon, but no point in going against the majority, and i'm sure Ben and Mara would will split and go back to camp no matter what we choose, so i'd say leave that to them and go back to the booths, so if there is anything curious they have to offer.

>>33853 “Y’know, I kinda want to go back and buy one of those festival shirts. We can head back to camp after that, or I can just meet up with you later.” you declare. Ben looks like he’s about to say something, when his stomach loudly growls. He starts to laugh, and shakes his head. “I was about to say sure, but how about this? I’ll go buy some grub for us all from one of those food trucks, and you can buy an extra shirt for me. Sounds good?” he offers. While you weren’t exactly hungry right now, you might be when you got back to camp. “Sure, sounds fair. Mara, what do you want to do?” you ask, turning towards the fox. She places a finger to her lips, looking lost in thought for a moment. “Hmm… I’ll go with you, Anon. There might be some hidden gems mixed in with all that clothing.” she replies, a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eye. You grin back, you recognize the look of a deal hunter. Your sister would get the same gleam every black friday. “Works for me! We’ll meet back here, unless there’s a line, I don’t think I’ll take more than ten minutes.” Ben says. With everything settled, your group heads back down the path, splitting at Merch Lane. As you look for the festival merch booth, you idly scratch the back of your neck again, which reminds you of that odd tingle you felt earlier. “Hey Mara… I got an odd question for you.” you start. The fox simply nods for you to continue. “Well, since we got here, every once in a while I feel this really strong, but odd tingle on the back of my neck. It almost feels like som-” “Someone’s staring daggers into you?” Mara pitches as a suggestion. Actually, yeah, it felt exactly like that. You nod, and the fox’s wider-than-normal smile appears. “That’s because someone is staring at you. Your third eye is being coaxed open, meaning your Intuition is growing. Tell me, do you know if this tingle feels malicious?” she asks. You ponder for a moment, and shake your head. “Not really. Just… intense.” you reply with a shrug. The kitsune laughs softly. “That’s not a surprise, really, especially around here. Some monster has her eyes set on you, and she wants you bad.~” she answers. Oh. “Can you recall when you first started feeling it?” she follows up. You start to think back to earlier in the day, when your train of thought is cut off by an angry shout. Glancing around a few times, you find the source of the yell at the official Lunapalooza Merch booth, and make a beeline towards it. As you get closer, you begin to make out distinct voices from the dull roar of the crowd. “-dred for the hoodie?! The fuckin’ tag says eighty, and that’s still a rip off!” you hear an irate male voice yell out. “That’s our base price. Tsuki’s an excellent weaver, and this one was enchanted by my new business partner a few booths down. Therefore, it’s a premium product. Two hundred.” a bored, but slightly irritated and heavily accented feminine voice replies. As you pass by the last of the crowd and arrive at the booth, you see the source of the argument. A younger guy, you’d estimate that he was probably in his early 20s, was glaring at the booth’s merchant, an asiatic looking brunette woman with fluffy animal ears and a thick, ring patterned tail flitting behind her. The hoodie in question they were arguing over, bore the Lunapalooza logo, and the tye-dye coloring kept shifting hues, like some tacky RGB lights on a computer. “I could give two shits about which cunt sewed the clothing. I have sixty in cash right here. Give me the hoodie.” he demands, and slaps a few bills onto the sales counter. Getting a better look at the dude, besides his demeanor, his whole appearance just screamed ‘Gay Cowboy’ and ‘Yuppie Douchebag.’ Designer jeans, what looked like a brand new leather bomber’s jacket, an obnoxious Stetson pulled down over one eye, and a really fruity looking orange scarf around his neck completed the ensemble. You do a double-take, as you just now notice there’s a woman gripped onto him, hiding behind his back. She didn’t look especially noteworthy, a pale human looking girl with a bad blue dye job in her hair being the most visually striking thing about her. Considering it looked like she wants to be anywhere but here, it didn’t surprise you much that you didn’t notice her. “Billy, let’s just go…” she says almost imperceptibly, lightly pulling on his jacket. “Shut the fuck up, Gina! You wanted the hoodie, let me get the god-damned hoodie!” he turns and barks at her, causing her to cower more behind his back. A deep frown crosses the shop-keep’s face. “My my, how rude. Four hundred. Firm.” she states flatly. The yuppie douche went red with rage, looking like he was about to pop a blood vessel. He started to aggressively point at himself. “That’s bullshit! Do you know who I am?! I’m Jamie and Leto Larson’s son! Hello? The owners of Chord Studios!” he brags while furiously pointing at himself. Now that name rang a bell. Chord Studios had once been a premier video game company, but the last few years of poor creative and financial decisions, caused primarily by this douchebag’s parents, led to their dramatic fall from grace. A smug grin crosses the raccoon merchant’s face. “I can’t say I know who or what that is, but I will say…” she begins, standing up to lean over the counter, her face inches from the yuppie’s. “I could give two shits about which cunt you popped out of.” She then sits back down, still grinning. “Four hundred. Firm.~” You see one of the eyelid’s on Billy’s face twitch a few times, and from the way he’s winding his arm back, it seems like he’s about to strike the raccoon girl. A loud cough, however, stays his hand. https://youtu.be/8BYeBvkbiIA?si=odeYRx5Ck26zczh0 “Is there a problem?” a baritone voice asks, cutting through the noise. Everyone turns to look at the source, which was a rather burly looking ginger guy in ripped jeans and a leather vest loaded with patches. One of those patches caught your attention immediately, as it was a black patch with bright red lettering that read “WAR HOGS MC”. Next to him was a pale woman who had more of a punk-rocker look, with wild silver hair and bright brass colored eyes, wearing studded leather straps over a ripped shirt and similarly torn black leggings. Oh boy. “It’s not your business, dude.” Billy says dismissively, turning his attention back towards the raccoon shopkeep. “Wrong. You made it everyone’s business the moment you started throwing a tantrum like a spoiled brat.” the biker says, taking a few steps closer. “So, do we have a problem?” he finishes, stopping within swinging distance of Billy. The yuppie glared at the biker, his arm still cocked back, when the punk-looking woman stepped behind the biker. She leaned her head over his shoulder, and wrapped her hands around his chest. “C’mon, try us, boy! I’ve been itching to taste blood since Sturgis.~” she taunts, and starts to reach a hand under the biker’s vest. He firmly, but gently, grabs her wrist, and holds it in place against his chest. “Not here, Nikki.” he says softly to her, and looks back at the yuppie. “Well?” Billy stares at the two for a few seconds longer, scoffs, and lowers his arm. “Let’s go, Gina. This place isn’t worth our time.” he mutters, and with a harsh yank, starts to drag his girlfriend away from the booth, much to the chagrin of the raccoon shopkeep, as well as the punker gal. “That’s right, ya alp-bait-bitch! Keep runnin’!~” Nikki screams at him. The biker gently starts to pat his hand on her wrist. “Okay, that’s enough babe, the little nepo shit ran off.” he says to her, then looks at the merchant. “Apologies for stepping in. Nikki and I can’t stand pissants like him.” he explains, a sheepish grin across his face. The raccoon just smiles and waves her hand. “It’s alright, thank you. Please, take all the time you need.” she replies. As the biker and his punk wife resume perusing the wares, Mara and yourself step closer to get a better look at what’s available. The first thing that you were drawn to were the variety of t-shirts. All of them bore the full Lunapalooza logo in one form or another, but beyond that and a few colors, the base shirts were pretty simple. Next to those was a selection of enchanted shirts. One in particular that caught your eye had the logo dead center, but the text around it is what you were focused on. It read “I Got ___ at Lunapalooza, and all I got was this stupid shirt.” While the phrase was a common one for souvenir shirts, the fact that the blank portion was swirling really piqued your interest. Next to those were the enchanted hoodies that the yuppie had been arguing over. There was a bluetooth speaker below them playing a basic drum beat. but it made the enchantment effect obvious; The colors of the hoodie were sound reactive, and would change hue and intensity with the music. It reminded you of those cuttlefish you saw on a nature documentary once. Well that’s kinda neat. Below those were stacks of different hats, mostly ball caps and knit beanies, all of various colors and bearing the festival logo. The portion of these that were listed as enchanted apparently had a form of hearing protection, allowing the wearer to stand right next to a speaker stack without discomfort or potential injury. Seems pretty handy. Next to those were a display of festival branded steel water bottles, some of which gave off a slight blue glow. It reminded you a little of the glow you saw back at the beer tent. The ones that were enchanted were listed as “EverHold”, so whatever temperature a drink is when it’s put in, is the same temperature it will be when it comes out, even if it’s years later. So, essentially a really fancy thermos. You found that quite tempting, considering your old work thermos was accidentally crushed under your truck last winter. Next to those were a stack of pillows and sleeping masks. While they didn’t have an obvious glow or shimmer to them, they were both advertised as being woven with weresheep wool, while the pillows were also stuffed with gandharva feathers. You had no idea what either of that meant, but you guessed it was probably to help the owner gain a deeper sleep. These were piled next to a stack of colorful weresheep wool blankets, which you assumed had a similar effect. Next to those were some thick, furry white blankets that were labeled as- “Dirk! Dirk! They got bunyip blankets!” you hear Nikki exclaim, quickly pulling her husband over to the display of furry blankets. “We could get all sorts of nasty on this and it won’t stain!” she explained, bouncing excitedly. The biker raises an eyebrow, and the punker girl rolls her eyes and smiles. “You could change your bike’s oil over this thing, and it won’t get dirty. At all.” she added. The biker’s eyes widen a bit, and he turns to the shopkeep. “We’ll take two.” While the raccoon was helping the biker couple, you were still mulling over what you might want to buy. Mara still has that bargain hunter’s gleam in her eyes, so she might be able to help you barter for a cheaper price. 1. Shirts (Base: $35, Enchanted $65) Key Item 2. Hoodies (B: $80, E: $200) 3. Hats (B: $20, E: $40) 4. Water Bottles (B: $25, E: $50) 5. Weresheep Wool Sleeping Masks ($20) 6. W.S.W. and Gandharva Feather Pillows ($80) 7. W.S.W. Blanket ($120) 8. Bunyip Fur Blanket ($450)

>>37402 A biker bitch vampire? Cool. Anyway, I think the hooies are a little too expensive without some of that bartering (haggling?) Definitely want the swirling t-shirt, key item or no. That and the water bottle are of interest to me. So... 1 and 4? Ben wanted a shirt, so get him just a regular one. That'd come up to $150 altogether, before Mara starts arguing with the tanuki. That's a solid third of our funds.

>>37402 Now I'm curious about that intuition, I want to roll to see if we can find out more about it, maybe a lead on where it's coming from. That enchanted hat sounds pretty appealing too for such a low price.

>>38164 >>37402 Please tell me we can have another anon roll again.

>>37402 That's a bit of an interesting specimen. I'm sure we'll have to deal with him later. As for the shirts, i'm a bit apprehensive about the fact that they say "ALL I GOT was this stupid shirt." The fact that they are enchanted doesn't mean they aaren't cursed to be a self fulfilling profecy so that nothing else happens for the rest of the festival except for us getting that shirt. Nah that sounds too schizophrenic. Don't know if Mara is getting something for herself. The fact that her paying doesn't affect out funds means her funds are separate from our own. Along with an enchanted water bottle, and one of those anti ear bleeding hats, should come to 210$, which should be bearable if Mara's haggling is successful. A pack of Camels is definitely something a Danuki would want, and i'm sure Mara can make it seem rarer than it actually is. Hopefully she has more tact than the last guy and doesn't end up having the prices raised, which is a real possibility if we are to consider that first segment as "subtle" foreshadowing. >>37779 Were you intending to buy the normal water bottle? 20$ for a normal water bottle seems very steep.

>>38474 >Were you intending to buy the normal water bottle? No? Now hold on >1 shirt, base ($35) = $35 + >1 shirt, enchanted ($65) = $100 + >1 water bottle, enchanted ($50) = $150 Pretty sure my math checks out.

>>38512 Oh, i guess i didn't think about buying Ben an unenchanted shirt. To me it feels like we'd be cheapping out you know. A shame we can't telepatically ask him.

>>38168 If someone else wants to, they can. 2 is not really a bad roll here, though. >>38474 >The fact that they are enchanted doesn't mean they aaren't cursed to be a self fulfilling profecy so that nothing else happens for the rest of the festival except for us getting that shirt. >Nah that sounds too schizophrenic. I might be nuts, but I can assure you I'm not that nuts. For now, at least. The shirts will not curse you, I can guarantee that.

>>38736 >If someone else wants to, they can That seems very lenient with the rolls then. If someone gets a bad roll we can roll again. Perhaps you might want to set a hard limit of rerolls per day. Anyways, i think i'll abstain from that for now. If there is anything weird or strange, i'm sure mara would tell us, so it's a good moment to see what a bad Perception roll looks like. >>38736 The reasurance is not needed. I think it's natural for the PC to have a certain skepticism towards mamono magic, which is unknown to him. Can't trust random strangers too much, ya know. It's pretty obvious such a thing wouldn't happen. Having 7 completely uneventful days in a festival isn't something any writer would do, least of all one that's trying to be and have fun. The exaggerated skepticism is mainly for roleplaying the character a certain way. I think it's fine if there is a certain realistic uncertainty around magic items.

>>38813 >That seems very lenient with the rolls then. Well, yeah. It's one of the reasons I went with a D6 system, but also why we have a stat cap currently set at 7. There's only so much information we can glean as an average human. Some situations will have a limit, but here in this instance? There's not much reason to. >The exaggerated skepticism is mainly for roleplaying the character a certain way. Oh I'm aware, I was mostly just joking about my mental state as the author and potential inclusions of misdirections/red herrings.

Alright, next part is currently in-progress. If you have any changes on what to purchase and barter with, voice them now. So far it appears we've settled on two shirts, one water bottle, and possibly one hat, as well as leaning into our intuition for a clue about our possible stalker.

Next part is taking awfully long aye...

>>40604 In the immortal words of Gabe Newell: these things... take time.

>>40630 Gabe Newell is the last person you should be quoting.

>>37402 https://youtu.be/3tDI11wEzfw?si=ZvmYo_0LeVjUJIA2 You were definitely getting yourself one of those enchanted shirts, you had to satisfy your curiosity. It was probably a good idea to get Ben one as well. The hat and water bottle also seemed like good ideas, and when you began to do the mental math, you frowned. That was a good hunk of your funds right there. You could downgrade Ben’s shirt to a normal one, but you felt really conflicted on that. Mara, sensing your dilemma, leans in closer to you. “Not the cheapest selection around, hmm?” she asks quietly in jest. You grumble slightly, still in the middle of your shirt choice. The fox taps you, pulling your attention back, and points at the shopkeep. The raccoon was just finishing up with the biker couple, and while both parties were leaving the exchange happy, she didn’t seem to be as enthused as her customers. As soon as they were out of earshot, she let out a sigh, rubs her eyes, and begins to recount the money. “She looks like she needs a smoke break.” Mara observes, and gives you a nudge. What does that have to do wi- oh right! The Camels! “What did you want to buy? With what we both have to trade, I’m sure I can talk her down quite a bit.~” she explains, and you quickly rattle off your shopping list. The kitsune is then lost in thought, doing her own mental math, if her finger counting is any indication. “We’ll need to do one large purchase if we want the best deal, but I should be able to figure out your share from the final price. You can pay me back afterwards.” she continues, then begins to tap her fingers in the palm of her cupped hand. “Get your cigarettes ready, on my signal I want you to present them.” she finishes. You nod, and fish out one of the packs from your drawstring pack, palming it. Now ready, Mara turns and the two of you begin towards the merchant, pulling her attention away from her money counting. “Found something you like?” the raccoon asks, hastening her money counting. “A few things, yes. If we were to, say, purchase over five or six items, would that net us a slight discount?” Mara asks in a probing manner. The merchant narrows her eyes, but a smile appears on her face. “Perhaps… depending on the items in question… what did you have in mind?” the merchant inquires back. Mara’s deal-hunter grin grows, and she leans closer. “Well, a few of those enchanted shirts look quite enticing~ My companion was also interested in your hats and bottles, and one of your wool blankets caught my eye. I am also curious if you happen to have any small squares of patterned cloth available?” the fox begins to explain. INTUITION CHECK: STALKER I:2 + T1 + D2 = 5 When she uttered ‘Companion’, that odd tingling feeling on the back of your neck returned. Knowing now that someone is probably staring at you, you decide to lean into your intuition, and see if you can pinpoint them out of the crowd. You weren’t exactly sure how you would accomplish this, so for now you close your eyes, and decide to focus on the sensation. The conversation Mara was having with the raccoon began to fade into the dull roar of the festival crowd, which sounded almost like waves crashing against a shoreline. That tingling feeling intensified, but became more pronounced on the right side of your neck, just above your shoulder. As casual as you could appear, you open your eyes again, and begin to look around the booth like you’re shopping again. When you glance over towards the source of the stare, you see a commotion in the crowd and hear a yell. Near one of the other merch booths, you see a quick flash of creamy white that disappears into the crowd, but not without knocking over a couple patrons. “JEE-ZUS! Watch it, lady!” one of the patrons, a lanky guy with shaggy brown hair, yells back into the crowd. He then helps a woman up with similarly shaggy hair, only hers was more of a dark chocolate brown compared to his. Instead of normal arms, she seems to have wings, like the harpies you’ve seen in Moorhead now and then, only hers were more fleshy than feathery. You assume from how she immediately hugs him when pulled up, that she must be his girlfriend. “You do sound rather exhausted. Have you had a break for lunch, or even just for a smoke, yet?” you hear Mara’s voice speaking up through the crowd’s roar. You then feel the tip of her tail brush against the back of your hand palming the Camels. That must be the signal. As casual as you could be, you begin to slap the top of the box against your other palm, packing any loose tobacco tighter into the cigarettes inside. “Oh c’mon Mara, why do you gotta mention smoking? Doncha’ know that kicks off my cravings?” you add for effect. The raccoon’s eyes were glued to the box in your hands, and once you stopped packing, you began to tear off the cellophane. The rich odor of fresh tobacco began to permeate the air, resulting in the merchant sniffing the air, her ears flicking slightly. “Sorry, I know you’re trying to quit. You did bring an extra pack, right? You know those are usually hard to come by on festival grounds.~” Mara layers on. “Hmmm… since he is cutting back, would you be interested in his spare pack, as an additional payment? You would be doing him a favor, after all~.” The merchant narrowed her eyes at the box in your hand, seemingly still unsure. As a final push, you take one of the cigarettes out , and hand it to the raccoon. She rolls it between her fingers, possibly examining how fresh it actually was. She then brought it to her lips, and it was then you realized you didn’t have a lighter with you. The fox had you covered though, and with a snap of her fingers, a blue flame appeared above her thumb. The merchant leans towards the flame, lighting the cigarette and taking a long drag. A moment later she exhales, and a smile appears on her face. “Gods, I needed that.” she says, her posture beginning to loosen. “I am more of a pipeweed person, but this will work. If you are offering the whole pack, I believe I can reduce your final cost down by, oh…” the merchant continued, the gears turning in her head. “Now wait one moment, I have one more proposition for you.~” the kitsune interjected. The raccoon rose an eyebrow, but nodded for Mara to continue. The fox’s tail swished again, and a small stack of business cards had appeared between her fingers. “I happen to be a business woman as well, and I believe we could agree on a… mutually beneficial arrangement.~” The raccoon takes one of the business cards, her eyes scanning across it slowly. “...Go on.” the merchant says, glancing back up at Mara, and takes another drag from the cigarette. The fox’s trademark too-wide grin appeared again. “Let’s say, one of my customers decides to have an hour long reading. Once wrapped up, I could send them your way, with one of your business cards, with the promise of, ohhh… maybe a ten percent discount?” Mara proposes. “With a minimum item amount?” the merchant immediately asks. “Naturally~ Ten percent would be wasted if it was just on one item.” the fox continues, and sets her stack of business cards down. “On the reverse side of things, if one of your customers spends an amount you deem fair, you could give them one of my cards, and I would offer a fair discount in exchange.~” The raccoon stared at the business cards, while tapping her finger on the table, lost in thought. “If it helps to sweeten the deal, I could also give you a reading, at no cost.~” “Tsuki as well.” the merchant stated simply. The corner of Mara’s smile twitched ever so slightly. “Facets of my personal future do not concern me too much, I would rather not ruin the gods' surprises. Business insight is another matter entirely.” the merchant continues, and takes another small drag. “Tsuki, however, has a near-crippling shyness with men. If you can help her, I would be most grateful.” Mara’s smile softened a bit, and she nodded. “I’m sure I could provide some helpful advice.~ Just how shy is she, though?” the fox asks. The raccoon smirks, and turns to look deeper into the booth. “Tsuki! Did you find those fabric bolts yet?!” she yells. The sound of something tumbling can be heard, followed by a feminine yelp. A moment later, the yellow and black spider girl you saw earlier in the day skitters out from behind one of the displays, with a few rolls of patterned cloth in her hands. “I found these! I think these are the ones we got last mon-” Tsuki begins, setting the bolts down on the table, when she suddenly notices you. She was pretty cute, her pixie cut dark hair looked mostly black, but had a deep midnight-blue shimmer when caught in the sunlight. The autumn rising-sun patterned kimono she wore was quite modest, and complimented the natural coloring of her spider carapace. Her light blue eyes were locked to yours, and when you gave her a smile, her face immediately flushed red. With a barely perceptible squeak, she skittered back into the booth behind the displays. Mara lets out a slow and low chuckle. “My ohhh my… I wouldn’t have said that’s near-crippling, but to each their own.” she observes, and shrugs. “Sure, I’ll give her a reading as well. Do we have an arrangement then, along with our purchase?” the fox finishes. The raccoon chews her lip for a moment, takes one more small drag, and nods. “We do.” she states simply, while holding her hand out. “Hiroko Shirai.” The kitsune grasps her hand, giving it a quick shake. “Mara West, happy to be in business with you.~” she replies. “Now, what was that final bill at?…” Barter Funds at $395, 2 Packs of Camel Wides, 3 Packs of Wunder Purples Gained: Stupid Shirt, E-Pro Beanie, Everhold Bottle Minutes later, the two of you were heading back towards the forked path sign, richer in merch but slightly lighter in pocket. Mara had paid Hiroko via her credit card, and your share of the bill had been a little over a hundred bucks, along with the pack of Camels, of course. You were wearing your new shirt and hat, while your new water bottle was clipped to one of your belt loops. The shirt you chose had an interesting blue and green tie-dye pattern, with the blues appearing in sharp, angled lines, while the greens being more wispy. It reminded you of the ‘Winds and Lightning’ comment from your tarot reading earlier in the day. When you put it on, the swirling portion morphed into hand writing, which was your own, curiously. The full phrase now read “ I Got a Chatty, Heavy Buzz at Lunapalooza, and all I got was this stupid shirt”, though you noticed the writing get fuzzy at moments, as if another message was trying to form. You’ll have to mess around with that later. The hat you chose, a navy blue version of the knit beanie, was more appealing than the ball caps, mostly because back home it was practically freezing for two thirds of the year, and you could get away with wearing it at work. You were pleasantly surprised to find that the hearing protection was adjustable, simply by running a finger along the edge of the lunar eclipse patch. Sliding your finger across the face of the patch had an additional effect of clarifying nearby voices, probably so you could have a conversation with someone right next to a blaring amp stack and hear them just fine. That will probably have a lot of uses! Mara had the lion’s share of merch, starting with her own enchanted shirt and hat (“These ears are far more sensitive than you would think~”), along with a whole blanket-pillow-mask sleeping set. The square of fabric she bought, compared to everything else, was surprisingly mundane. It was about the size of an extra large bandana, and bore a rather tacky psychedelic eye pattern dyed into it. While most of her merch she carried in a plastic bag Hiroko provided, the cloth she held in her other hand, taking a moment now and then to stare at it for a few seconds. “Soooo… what’s with the bandana?” you ask. The fox ran her thumb across the fabric, a soft smile on her features. “I wanted a new cloth to place my cards on, at least when I’m not back at camp. But that’s not what you’re curious about.” she explains, then closes her eyes. “The pattern happens to remind me of someone I knew from years ago, and a dumb joke of theirs…” she trails off, her smile wavering slightly. The fox then takes a deep breath, and lets out a heavy sigh. You weren’t sure, but you thought you saw tears welling on the corners of her eyes. “You uh, you gonna be alright?” you follow up in a softer tone. Mara nods, using the bandana to wipe her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’m just… tending old flames and lamenting what was.” she replied cryptically. You must have given her a perplexed look, as the fox let out a soft, albeit pained laugh. “It’s a long story. Maybe for another day.” the kitsune added. You simply shrug in response. It was her personal life, so you didn’t pry any further. Mara’s ears began to flick and twitch, one of them swiveling to face further up the path, as a warmer smile graced her features. “I believe I hear Ben, and a few others with him.” Who the heck did he find now? Passing by a few more groups of festival goers, the two of you eventually gained sight of the signpost. Sure enough, Ben was sitting cross-legged on the ground, leaning against his wagon. He was in the middle of what appeared to be a very animated conversation with three girls forming a loose circle with him. The most striking feature of the girls that you noticed, is that they all wore open back shirts, exposing folded gossamer wings and smaller, tail-like segmented abdomens. “Ope! There they are!” Ben yells out, waving you over. The three girls turned to look in your direction, and as you got closer, you were able to make out more features. The tallest girl, sitting closest to Ben, had jet-black hair, tied back into a loose pony tail. Two large, black antennae poked out through her hair, bobbing and twitching now and then. You noticed that her black and white striped abdomen had a gnarly looking stinger at the end of it. She kind of reminded you of those territorial hornets you’d get in the corner of your yard every summer. The shirt she wore was a modified black-tee, with a faded logo on the front that read W.A.S.P., which made you chuckle. She gave you a quick nod of acknowledgement, and turned her attention back towards your friend. The other two girls kept their undivided attention on you, though. The middle girl had a similar black-and-white style to her, albeit with more stripes than the hornet girl, along with rose colored jewelry that added more accents. Two feathery, gray and red antennae poked out from her short, flapper-styled platinum blonde hair that ended in crimson tips, and were bobbing and twitching in your direction. Her striped abdomen lacked a stinger, but it did have a shiny red, heart-shaped mark on it, which almost looked transparent. You couldn’t tell what was on the front of her shirt from this angle, but just like her companions, it was black in color. The last girl, the shortest of the three, was far more colorful than her friends. Her chitin reflected the sunlight in hues of sapphire, gold, and emerald, which complimented her jade, pig-tailed hair. Her antennae were more spiked, yet also wispy, and like the girl before, were locked onto your location. A deep blue colored willowy fur ran along her upper back and shoulders, giving her the appearance of wearing a feather boa. The top of her shirt read “The Offspring”, and you believed the artwork below it was from their Americana album. A lazy smirk was across her face, and with an exhale, a plume of smoke escaped from her nose. In her hand was a small, brass, sherlock styled pipe, which you recognized was Ben’s. So that’s what they’ve been doing. It figures that Mister Green Lung would find some like-minds to kill time with. “I got you guys some bacon poutine!” Ben said as you and Mara got closer. Sure enough, cutting through the odor of weed was the mouth-watering smell of fried bacon and potatoes. “Poutine? There’s canucks here?” you asked with a laugh. Ben grabbed two large, unopened cardboard containers, with plastic forks taped to the top, and handed them to you and the fox. “Yeah, they had a big food truck with a Canadian flag on the side, it was run by a bunch of elves and reindeer girls.” he explains, then turns to the hornet. “What did you say they were, Yvonne?” “Whitehorns.” the hornet named Yvonne said, and gave you another nod. “So you’re the Anon and the fox Ben keeps raving about.” she adds with a grin. “Oh yeah, Anon, this is Yvonne, Rochelle, and Morgan.” he explains, pointing at the hornet, the striped girl, and finally the colorful girl. “We got to gabbin’ about some of the bands we wanna see this week while we were waitin’ on our food, and it turns out they haven’t even found a place to camp yet. I offered a spot at Pyrite Lane, but I told them we needed to see what you two thought first.” he finished. “Those stuck-up bees and flower cunts in The Garden said they didn’t want us ‘Punks’ throwing off their folksy, indie vibe.” Yvonne adds, and spits on the ground. “Ya figure other monsters would be the last ones to judge you by appearance, but whatever. We wouldn’t have met Ben if they didn’t shoo us out.” You look over at Mara, who seemed to be scrutinizing the trio. “They seem alright to me, I’m not picking up any bad vibes.” she said quietly, just loud enough for you to hear. Glancing back at the three, you leaned back into your Intuition once again. A peaceful feeling crosses over you, with no other lingering thoughts or sensations following. You guess that means they passed the gut check. So, do you want to bring them back to Pyrite Lane?

>>41039 >You were pleasantly surprised to find that the hearing protection was adjustable, simply by running a finger along the edge of the lunar eclipse patch. Sliding your finger across the face of the patch had an additional effect of clarifying nearby voices, probably so you could have a conversation with someone right next to a blaring amp stack and hear them just fine This is pretty cool. >So, do you want to bring them back to Pyrite Lane? Sure, whatever punk rock nonsense they get up to can't bother us with our trusty magical ear protection equipped. Now let's eat. That stuff looks pretty appetizing.

>>41039 Man, Mara is scary when it comes to business, isn't she. >you see a quick flash of creamy white that disappears into the crowd, but not without knocking over a couple patrons. Aha, so our stalker is a giant icecream girl. Sounds very apetizing. As for the wasps, i get the feeling they'll be trouble sooner or later, but i personally have no reason to outright reject them, as long as they don't go around snooping in places they don't belong. Usually they are agressive, but if weed can pacify rapehounds, it can pacify hornets too

>>41039 Bring them back and give Ben his shirt.

>>41039 >>42558 That reminds me, is the Stupid Shirt mentioned among our items the shirt we're wearing or the one we got for Ben?

Any updates and/or response to anon's (>>42633) question?

>>42633 >>43509 Ben's shirt is currently in Mara's bag with her stuff, and both his and Anon's are Stupid Shirts, just different colors. Next update is in progress, and should hopefully be posted somewhat soon-ish.

>>41039 “Sure! Why not? Our camp could use more folks.” you say, popping open your container of poutine. Damn, it looks even better than it smells! As you begin to chow down, Morgan hands the little brass pipe back to Ben, who taps it out into his palm. “And the bowl’s cashed, so that’s another reason to head back.” he adds, pocketing the pipe, then turns to Yvonne. “We got a lot more White Widow to smoke and some beers n’ booze back there, too. Y’want a Big Friendly?” he asks. A smirk crosses the hornet’s face, as she places a hand on his bicep. “If it’s your Big Friendly? Anytime~” she flirts back. Ben simply laughs and stands up, helping the black and white bug to her feet. While being the tallest of the bugs, she was just a smidge shorter than your friend, but not by much. Rochelle and Morgan follow suit, the smaller bugs stretching their arms and wings out. “Let’s get a move on, then! We’ll do a lil’ more partyin’ and start catchin’ some bands afterwards.” he replies, moving to grab the handle of the cart. Yvonne heads to the other side of it, and tosses a couple luggage bags towards her friends. Rochelle catches her bag, a large black duffel with a red cross on the side of it, while Morgan has to jump to grab hers, a well-worn khaki canvas backpack that had a metallic rattle when jostled. The hornet then hefted her own luggage, a mottled gray seabag, over her shoulder, contorting her wing to rest up and over it. On the side pocket were two large, embroidered black letters that read ‘G.K.’ Underneath that was a smaller set of embroidered black letters that read ‘Y. DuBois’. With her other hand, she lifts up an even larger blue duffel, opting to hold it by the carry straps. You were guessing that was probably their tent. https://youtu.be/QMOPQInpOCU?si=KtxfuFDEwbiowdXr As the group starts to move, Ben, Yvonne, and Mara take the lead, while you hang back with Rochelle and Morgan. From the quick snippet you hear, it sounds like Mara is already asking the hornet if she’s interested in a reading session, making you grin between bites of poutine. That didn’t take long. “Heeeeey! Sooooo, Ben says you play the flute?” you hear Morgan ask on your left, her stoner’s drawl grabbing your attention. The short colorful bug girl kept pace with a brisk stride, occasionally hopping or skipping a few steps ahead. You swallow the last bit of potato and cheese left in the forkful you took, and clear your throat. “Eh, I’m alright at it, I can at least play a few songs.” you answer somewhat modestly, your grin turning a bit sheepish. “Hmmmm… Ben said you were reaaaallllly good, not just alright…” you hear Rochelle reply skeptically in her own drawl , and you look over at her. The striped girl’s russet eyes were half lidded, a lazy but content smile crossing her face. Like Morgan, she was also walking somewhat quickly to keep pace with you. “Maaayyybeee… you could play us a song?~” she suggests, stepping closer to your right side. You feel the tip of one of her feathery antennae brush against your arm. “Oooooh! Yeah! Do that, that would be cooooool! ” Morgan adds, practically skipping at every step now. “I can hold your food while you play!” she then offers, sidling up closer to your other side. You start to feel one of her antennae tapping against your arm holding the poutine container. “Don’t do thaaaat… her gut is a bottomless pit…” Rochelle counters. “You can give it to meeeeee… I’m more…” she continues, and slowly looks you up and down. “...Thiiiiirsty than hungry, right now…” she finishes with a smile. You can feel your face starting to turn a bit red. “Heeey! I wouldn’t eat the whooooole thing! Maybe just a nibble~” Morgan jabs back, tapping your arm faster with her antennae. You look back over at the shorter girl, her hazel eyes wide as her eyebrows twitched upwards twice. “I might have an appetite, but I’m a gooooood girl. I’ll only do what I’m told~” she flirts, the lazy smirk from earlier returning to her face. “Besides, right noooow? I’m craving some cake.” Her eyes scan over your arms and hands, while her antennae slid down your upper arm. “Sooooo, how’d a beefcake like you end up picking flute over anything else?” she asks without missing a beat. Your face grows hotter, and you choke back a cough. “Uh, well, my flute’s been handed down through my family for a few generations now. I think it’s my great or great-great grandfather who originally bought it.” you explain, your free hand scratching the back of your neck. “I ended up being way more interested in it than my brother or sister when we were kids, so my Dad ended up letting me have it.” “Mmmmm… a family heirloom~” Rochelle observes, and you feel her feathery antennae brush against part of your arm again. “Soooo… that means you plan on having kids… riiiiight?~” she asks you. You cough, and you feel your face burning bright red. “Okay sluts, stop layin’ it on so thick!” Yvonne yells back over her shoulder with a laugh. “Poor guy’s gonna pop a blood vessel if you keep it up!” Morgan sticks her tongue out, while Rochelle smirks and gives the hornet a rude gesture. They did, however, both step a little away from you, giving you more breathing space. You’ll have to thank Yvonne later. After a few quiet moments, you feel a poke at your side. “Welllll?~” Rochelle prods, giving you a soft smile. “Um… eventually.” you mutter, and awkwardly clear your throat. “Anyway, I can probably play something when we get back to camp.” you then offer, causing Morgan to begin skipping again and Rochelle to hum in delight. It at least gave you time to finish your poutine, too. From there, the conversation flows a little easier. Morgan had asked you what you did for work, and after explaining to the girls what all an electrician did, the girls shared a little more about themselves. As it turns out, Morgan, due to her strong sense of smell and taste, is an excellent forager, as well as an aspiring chef, who wants to share her passion for tasty food with as many people as she can. Her current hurdle in her craft, though, has been appearances. While her culinary attempts end up being quite tasty, they look anything but. (“It all looks like puke, but it tastes like heaven!” Yvonne piped in.) Rochelle, on the other hand, is training to be a nurse. From a young age she had always desired to help others, a drive that her parents encouraged by having her apprentice with the village healer. This resulted in her discovering an affinity for blood magic, yet she still wants to learn more mundane methods of care. Since crossing the portals, she’s been looking into Earth’s medical practices, which has also given her an addiction to old TV hospital dramas and soap operas. While you conversed, your group passed by the fork heading towards the second stage, and the sound of a single funky percussive bass line echoed slightly over the crowd noise. That sounded kinda cool, so you hoped whoever it was, was just doing a sound-check for a later show. Further up the path your group was on, you started to see the edges of the campground, with tents and the occasional camper or RV popping up. From this side of the camp, it seemed there was more of an even mix of humans to monsters, and while many spots had been taken, there was still a lot of space for more groups to settle in. One of the sites on this side of the campground reminded you of the War Hogs camp, although way more country. A couple camper trailers, horse trailers, and tents had been set up in a loose circle around a large bonfire. Seated around the fire were some men, a few holstaurs, a couple centaurs, what looked like some sheep girls, one out-of-place looking blue-skinned woman in tan robes and with a skeletal-looking arm, and one very tall looking rabbit girl in an oversized 10-gallon hat. One of the camper trailers had its window open, and the sounds of Johnny Cash’s troubles filtered out from it. A little ways down from the cowboy camp, was a site that had more of what you would call an asiatic theme to it. There were only tents here, but each and everyone sported colorful patterned tapestries, a few of which you recognized from earlier. You guessed this was probably where Hiroko and Tsuki were camping when they weren’t working at their booth. Like the previous site, this one had a large bonfire, though unlike the last site, there were not as many campers seated around it. A massive, olive-skinned spider woman with horns was resting as close to the blaze as she could, a look of pure bliss on her face. Seated behind her on her furry carapace was a small, nerdy looking guy, who was in the middle of giving her a shoulder rub. Next to them, was a woman with features that reminded you of a panda, sharing a drink with another woman who had long, purplish-auburn hair. Said hair seemed to move of its own will, almost giving the impression of octopus tentacles. The last campsite that stuck out to you, was one that seemed the most mundane (all things considered), but something about it just seemed off. A lot of small cheap tents that sported hand-painted pentacles, a thick haze of intensely strong smelling sage, and the tinny sound of some bad new-age music coming from a broken speaker assaulted your senses. There were a few human-looking women milling about, muttering to themselves and waving around smoldering bundles of leaves. The words ‘Gypsies’ and ‘Wiccans’ ran through your head, making you wonder how much of that was intuition, or simple profiling. It wasn’t too much longer after that when you arrived back at Pyrite Lane. As soon as you passed the tree line, you heard Rochelle gasp. “You guy’s found a pooooond?!” she exclaims, her eyes widening. Cackling with glee, she drops her bag, and jumps into the air. Her wings immediately become a blur as a loud whining-hum fills the air, as the mosquito zips towards the water. A splash soon follows, cutting off the hum, only to be replaced by more giggling. “This week’s gonna be aweeessooooome!” she yells, spreading out to float on her back. Yvonne shakes her head, but you hear her laugh. “Hey, don’t get distracted! We gotta still gotta set up the tent!” the hornet yells back, while setting down her gray sea bag. With a clatter, Morgan drops her backpack, leaping into the air to buzz around the place. After a few passes, she stops above a small cluster of trees a couple yards from your tents, and waves at Yvonne. “These trees look goooooood! I think it’s the best we’re gonna get!” Morgan shouts. The hornet nods, and makes a running leap with the tent bag, her wings sounding like a roaring engine as she flew, joining Morgan to hover above the spot. Just what the heck are they doing? You look over at Ben, your eyebrow raised, and he simply shrugs. “We won’t know unless we look.” he says, and starts pulling the wagon towards the tents. Mara was wearing a smirk, and began to move towards her shelter with her bag of merch. “You two go on ahead. I need to find the right deck for Yvonne, once they finish up, she wants to know what her future holds.~” she explains, disappearing inside her dwelling, only to step back out a moment later. “Oh, Ben! Before I forget.” she starts, stepping quickly over to him. “Here’s your shirt, Anon and I were able to get an enchanted one for you, as well.” she continues, handing him the bundle of red and gold fabric. “Sweet, thanks!” he replies, unfolding it. You could tell from here the writing on it was starting to morph, but you couldn’t see what it said. A grin crosses Ben’s face, and he glances over at you. “Yeah, that’s dope. I’m gonna toss this on quick.” he says, his eyes flicking down to your shirt. “Though… I think I’m gonna toss on a hoodie over it. I dunno how much I wanna advertise how fucked up I’m gonna get to everyone.” he adds. You glance down at your shirt, and notice that it now says you have a Chatty, Slight Buzz. Huh, he’s probably got a point. “Ya know, that’s a good idea, I’m gonna toss on something over mine, too.” you say. The three of you return to your respective tents (Ben and yourself taking a moment longer to undue the padlocks you set), and you rummage through your duffel until you find something suitable. You had heard nights in the desert could get cold, so you packed a few button-up flannels and long sleeve t-shirts. Finding one of your lighter flannels, you quickly tossed on the blue and black patterned shirt, buttoning it up part way, followed by rolling up the sleeves. The writing on your tie-dye shirt was now partially obscured, but you could check it easily when needed. Returning outside, you join back with Ben, who now wore a dark green zip-up hoodie over his red and gold tie-dye shirt, though at the moment, he left the hoodie unzipped. His shirt read his status as Cross-Faded, which you figured was probably from his weed combining with the beer from earlier. Making your way behind your tents towards the trees where the bugs were planning to set up, you were at first confused, as you could see their tent bag on the ground, but nothing else. Ben tapped you on the shoulder, pointing upwards when you glanced at him. Looking up, you feel your jaw drop at the sight that greets you. Strapped tightly between three of the trees was a fabric floor, easily large enough to fit the girls, and possibly a few more people. Morgan was inside the structure, holding up the supports while Rochelle and Yvonne hovered outside, securing the poles to the anchor points. Once finished with that, they quickly began to set up the rainfly above the shelter, and soon, the livable habitat was complete. You hear Ben let out a low whistle of appreciation. “That’s sick. I hope they brought a ladder so we can check it out!” he says. You were hoping so too, but there was no way in hell you were climbing up there unless you were Stone Sober. Yvonne slowly buzzed downwards, landing in front of Ben, a satisfied smile on her face. “Alright! So are we gonna party, or what?” she asks, giving your friend a playful nudge on his shoulder. A gasp from the bug’s tent catches your attention, and you look up. Morgan is leaning out of the door, staring at you with a wide eyed gleeful grin. “LUUUUMMMBERJACK!” she calls out, and begins to giggle. She leaps out, hovering for a moment until Rochelle joins her, and the two zip down to land in front of you. The fly’s eyes are locked onto your arms again, while the mosquito is giving you another lazy smile. “Soooo… how ‘bout that sooooong?~” Rochelle asks. Gained 3 Campers. Current campsite capacity is 6 of ??? Camper Skills Yvonne: Bouncer Morgan: Forager, Chef (Student) Rochelle: Medic (Student) What kinda song do you want to play for the girls? 1. Something Rock 2. Something Pop 3. Something Classical 4. Something Vidya Also Pre-game options before the first show (Can select multiple): 1. Drink a beer? (Y/N) 2. Drink some liquor? (Y/N) 3. Drink some water? (Y/N) 4. Partake of the White Widow? (Y/N)

>>44189 Okay then, time for the pied piper to make his debut. I'm assuming anon isn't Ian Anderson and can't play Bouree, which is classical AND rock together. Classical would probably be easier since that's what the instrument is associated with, even if the present audience might not be into it. So I'd say 3. What are drinking though? Water's a boring option, hard liquor and weed a little too much. Beer would maintain our buzz. We just ate, so it's not like we'd be drinking into an empty stomach. So 1. Y

>>44226 >I'm assuming anon isn't Ian Anderson and can't play Bouree Half-correct, Anon might not be Ian Anderson, but he can play Bouree, albeit not flawlessly. If we were to say Ian is a 10 out of 10, Anon's flute skills are about a 6 to 7, giving us plenty of room for improvement. Being an heirloom instrument as well, Anon's family has had him listen to more than just classical pieces. So yes, Jethro Tull is on the table. Get him drunk enough (a risky maneuver) and he might start singing like Ian, too.

>>44313 Then let's go for Bouree!

I guess it's dead, then?

>>45930 >I guess it's dead, then? It's been one week. Updates have been coming out in about 2ish or so weeks, so, next part is in progress. Writing isn't magic, it takes time. Alternatively, you can help by posting and encouraging discussion regarding our current options and what we might possibly encounter down the line! That would help a lot more than a bump with a 'it's dead, Jim' comment.

Definitely drink some beer at least too, we here party

>>44189 “Uhh, sure! Let’s get a fire going first, though.” you reply, and turn to Ben. “How long does it take to set up that portable pit you brought?” you ask, causing Ben to snort. “Seconds! I’ll have it started by the time you fish out and put your flute together.” he replies, and gestures back towards the rest of the tents. “I’ll set it up by the pond, if the fire gets outta hand for some reason, we’ll have enough water to handle it.” “I’ll start looking for sticks and leaves!” Morgan exclaims, her wings buzzing again as she flies deeper into the woods. The rest of your group heads back to the clearing, with Ben disappearing into his tent for a moment, returning with the cooler, along with the collapsible pit and his cajon drum on top. After a few strides and a quick glance around, your friend seemed satisfied with the spot he chose, and began to build the pit. He wasn’t kidding, either, by the time you managed to get your flute case out of your drawstring bag, he had the pit assembled. As it was just five inter-locking vented metal plates, it wasn’t the most difficult thing to put together, but the speed was still impressive. When your flute was finally ready, Ben had some of the kindling that Morgan was gathering smoldering in the pit, and was beginning to place some of the smaller dried firewood over it. Mara had returned from her tent, bringing a small camping chair and pop-up fabric table with her. Yvonne retrieved her sea bag from where she had left it, rummaging through it quickly to pull out three folding tripod stools. Rochelle moved the wagon closer to the pit, then went around staking a few of the mana torches around the edge of the pond. With not much else to do after that, she decided to simply stand by and admire your flute, a soft smile gracing her features as you play a few scales to warm up. Moments later, with the fire finally burning merrily, Ben cracks the cooler back open. “Who’s thirsty?! Other than beer, we got Jager and Whiskey!” he asks, then adds. Yvonne was immediately at his side, looking down into the cooler. “I’ll take a beer. What’s Jager?” the hornet replies. Ben hands her one of the tall red and gold cans, making her eyes widen. “HA! They really are called ‘Big Friendly’s’!” she exclaims with a grin, popping the can open right away. “Told ya!” he replies, then pulls out a familiar large square green bottle from the cooler. “This is Jagermeiester. If you like black licorice, you’ll love this. It’s not as versatile as whiskey, or as strong, but it’s tasty!” He then twists the cap off, cracking open the seal, and lets Yvonne sniff from the bottle. A curious but perplexed look crosses her features. “Huh. It kinda smells like the jelly sweets my father likes to snack on.” she mutters, as Ben reaches back into the cooler. “Who else wants a beer?!” he calls out. You hold your hand out, and with practiced ease, Ben immediately tosses a can right into your waiting palm, which you cracked open a second later. “Mara?” The fox shakes her head, and holds up a small plastic water bottle. “I’m good for now, thank you, though!” she replies, setting the bottle back down on her table. She had that eye-patterned fabric spread across the top, and was in the middle of shuffling a few of her decks. “I’ll take one!” Morgan shouts over the buzz of her wings, returning from the woods with another armful of kindling. She lands next to the wagon, dropping the bundle and skipping over to the cooler. “Ro, you’re still thirsty, right?” she then shouts over her shoulder. The mosquito in question was still focused on you, and murmured something nearly inaudible. “Ro!! Do you want a beer!” Morgan yelled again, a giggle warbling her sentence slightly. Rochelle’s attention on you breaks for a moment, as she turns to the fly. “Uhhhhh… yeaaahhh! I could go for one, I’m feeling prettyyyyyy…” the mosquito trails off, her attention turning back to you as you finish your warm up scales. “...parched.” she finishes, licking her lips. With another giggle, Morgan snags two cans from the cooler, takes two of the stools from Yvonne, and skips back over, handing one of each to Rochelle. Both bugs crack their cans in unison, each taking a few big gulps. With a satisfied sigh, a lazy smile crosses the blonde bug’s face. “Sooooo… what song are you gonna play?~” she asks, setting up her stool to take a seat. You take a sizable glug of your own beer, and place it on the ground near your feet. SPIRITS - Temporary Resolve sustained. Tolerance 4(-2.2) [Casual Drinker] = Chatty Cat sustained. Temporary Intuition still at +1 “It’s a little piece called Bourée. Kind of an old song, but it's been revamped in a bluesy style.” you answer, then nod at Ben. “I just need a beat, when you’re ready.” Your friend had just put the bottle of Jager back into the cooler, and was pulling out a beer for himself, along with a large mason jar containing both the White Widow and an herb grinder, which he hands to Yvonne. “One sec!” he replies, then fishes his brass sherlock pipe back out of his pocket. “Could you pack this for me?” he asks, handing it over to the hornet. She gives him a nod and a grin, as he sits down on his box drum, and rolls his shoulders. “A one, two, one two three four!” https://youtu.be/tbg7U9tIC88?si=H4cbYkfzByS9OGEZ While you were playing, Yvonne set her stool up between Ben and Mara, with the fox beginning to draw a spread for her. The hornet already seemed deeply invested, casually preparing the next bowl while her eyes were locked to the cards. Glancing down at the table, you see The Fool, The Star, The Lovers, and the Three of Cups face up, with a fair number of cards still face down. You then turned towards the shorter bugs, the girls sipping their beers, wide smiles across their faces as they stared at you. Rochelle’s gaze seems to bounce around you from one place to another, but Morgan’s eyes stay glued to your arms. Soon, the flow of the music begins to take you, your own eyes closing to focus on the tune. Minutes later, you finish the song with a slight flourish, and open your eyes. A flutter of applause comes from the girls, with Morgan and Rochelle clapping the loudest. Yvonne starts to cough out smoke, and passes the lit sherlock pipe back to Ben. “Ohhhh yeah, that was goooood! Better than ‘just alright’.~” the mosquito teases, causing your face to turn slightly red. You pick your beer back up, and take another decent swig. “Waaay better! You don’t gotta be modest!” Morgan adds, then smirks while bouncing her eyebrows. “Though Ro and I do think modest guys are veeeerrrry cute.~” the fly finishes with a wink, turning your face more red. Rochelle lightly pushes Morgan with her elbow, followed by a half-serious ‘shhhh’. “Uhh, thanks.” you reply sheepishly, and take another nervous swig. You then hear a yell towards the edge of the camp, near the banner, and turn. You see a somewhat busty goat girl in shutter shades, a neon green halter top, with matching cargo shorts, waving at your group. With her is a shirtless brown haired guy in denim shorts, carrying a backpack and a forty (which at this distance appeared to be a High Life) . They both smile wide as they catch your group’s attention. “Heya, neighbor! We thought we heard songs from the woods!” the goat yells, as the two make their way into camp. You snort and start to chuckle at the new girl’s comment. “Wrong album, but close!” you reply. She gives you a quick, perplexed look, but shakes it off, so you move on. “Anyway, who are you two? You said you’re neighbors?” you ask. “Yeah! I’m Bryce, and this is my wife Thalia.” the shirtless guy answers. “Our group’s set up a few minutes down and away from the main path. We heard you playin’ right after we left camp to check out who’s on the main stage, and she kinda dragged me here.” he explains with an awkward laugh. “I can’t ignore another flautist when I hear one!” Thalia says, playfully flicking his ear lobe. Bryce immediately reached and pinched the goat’s ear in return, making her bleat and laugh at the same time. She then bats his hand away, and stifles a giggle. “Anyway, we thought we’d say hi before heading to the show! Are you guys staying here, or going to one of the stages? We wouldn’t mind some new friends joining us and sharing our wine!” she adds. 1. Finish Pre-game, join your ‘neighbors’, and go to the Main Stage 2. Finish Pre-game and go to the Second Stage 3. Pre-game for a little longer, then go to the Main Stage 4. Pre-game for a little longer, then go to the Second Stage

>>46628 >ou see The Fool, The Star, The Lovers, and the Three of Cups face up, If only I knew how to read the tarot, I could see how this relates to the current situation. Three of Cups = the three bugs maybe? Well anyway. I'm a little curious about these new people, and them being a married couple means they're probably "safe" to be around, even if the goat doesn't recognize Tull references she makes herself. So should we just go to the main stage, get some actual music in? Experience what the festival is all about? If we stick around for any more "pre-game" we'll just get more inebriated. Or maybe that'll happen anyway. But 1. for now