File: 1345083245826.png-(16 KB, 700x700, s13_01.png)

Saffron looks at you with a slight smile on her face, as if to say "we did it," but you can only keep staring at the gears as they slowly wind down.

File: 1345083375480.png-(15 KB, 700x700, s13_02.png)

Ever so slowly do they stop spinning and you stare transfixed into the abyss full of metal. The bloody gears glint slightly from the far-off light of the torch. It's gruesome, but you can't turn away.

File: 1345083630105.png-(14 KB, 700x700, s13_03.png)

As you stare, you hear a deep rumbling from beyond the darkness.

"FOUR. OF METAL."

You shake your head and try to block it out.

"I HAVE DONE. WHAT WAS ASKED OF ME."

>>3924631
Surprise surprise, turn out if you follow an evil spirits voice instructions, things don't typically work out for you.

Oh boy.

Check if Saffron got the gem out of his eye, and pick up the jasper stone off the floor.

And if Chance really did complete his task, the dark machinations in this place might still be underway. Makes sense for whatever was talking to him to throw him away after it no longer needed him.

Is Chance... not dead? But how?

>>3924736
Seems like a good idea, also think we should apologize for that whole thing that happened last week.

File: 1345084188131.png-(17 KB, 700x700, mare please.png)

>>3924784
> that whole thing that happened last week

>>3924736
Agree, be a good time to check out our inventory too

>>3924805

>tfw Chronicle said he trusted us and we keep fucking up

>>3924860
>We keep fucking up
This is our first decent fuckup, isn't it?

>>3924878

Log 8 was pretty bad, but yeah, we're in an awkward situation here.

I think us fucking up and saffron having to pay for it is going to be a recurring theme to these sessions.

File: 1345084889269.png-(16 KB, 700x700, s13_04.png)

>>3924736
You look over to Saffron, and she's already holding up the gem. Your left eye twitches, but is undermined by the booming voice that bellows out of the gears.

"FOUR OF STONE."

>>3925040

Uhh

Keep listening I guess?

>>3925040
Just to be sure, ask Saffron and Chronicle if they're hearing what we're hearing.

>>3925254

Good idea

>>3925254
Good thinking.

File: 1345086175015.png-(18 KB, 700x700, s13_05.png)

>>3925254
You look over to Chronicle, who has picked up the jasper stone. Saffron is putting the blue gem into the bag hanging on her hip.

"I AM THE CONDUIT."

You ask them both if they can hear anything, that maybe... maybe the gears messed up your ears or something.

"ME. ME!"

They both shake their heads.

>>3925531

Uh-oh.

>>3925531
i vote we go someplace that doesn't talk to us

>>3925643
Before we go, take another look at the tablet in front of the gears, to get those words Renne missed last time.

>>3925669
Also, if we're going, we've got a choice to make. Are we heading back into the broken statue room to check out the room on the other side/+the floor below, or are we heading straight on up to the 8th floor to get out ASAP?

>>3925707
yes, we need to decide what we are doing 100%, no more having Chronicle save our ass
i vote for exploration

>>3925707

This is probably the most significant choice we've had to make so far. There may be no going back if we go up, but our overarching goal IS to get out and we might not come back if we go down.

I still vote to go downwards.

>>3925531
I think this is just like the voices coming from the bodies of Chronicle's team. We have to get away from Chance's remains.

>>3925707
keep going down. we will probably find more things we can use or will require later

>>3925867
>I think this is just like the voices coming from the bodies of Chronicle's team
so she can listen to dead people?

>>3925866
To be honest we're not even sure if we'll find the exit up there. I agree with exploring down here before going up.

>>3925912
short answer, yes

>>3925912
Well do you think Chance is alive after all that?

>>3925959
>>3925966
>sHE is that little
>thing…
>that does not know how to LISTen.
>I CAN TELL that
>you know how to listen, you are Here
>after all.

but do you think she knows that she can?

>>3926004
I doubt it. Lucky she's got us to guide her!
>We are voices in Renne's head

File: 1345087668139.png-(14 KB, 700x700, s13_06.png)

>>3925866
>>3925905
You nervously ask them if you can move somewhere else, that the sight is unsettling you and you would like to leave.

"SPEAK! PLEASE. GUIDE."

You suggest the nearby room, as it's significantly cooler than the spire room.

"QUIET. QUIET!"

File: 1345087795771.png-(26 KB, 700x700, s13_07.png)

As soon as you cross into the next room, your thoughts clear, and Chance's voice is gone.

>>3926201

Apologize to Chronicle for the earlier stuff ups.

>>3926375

yeah, we should probably thank him for saving our asses.

>>3926375
To both of them.

Y'know, he has presumeably been trapped in that stone column for a stupidlong time. Do you think tumblrguy might be dead?

>>3926414
Yeah, apologies. We thought we might be able to reason with him, then that fell through but we wanted to make sure Saffron hadn't lost her mind or soul or whatever it is those orbs do, and we still needed his eye to get through that door at the top and...
We messed up, and made things a lot more dangerous than they needed to be. Sorry.

Maybe do an inventory check when the conversation's done.

File: 1345089141252.png-(14 KB, 700x700, s13_08.png)

>>3926375
>>3926414
>>3926496
You sit down and apologize. You apologize to Chronicle for trying to reason with Chance, which endangered everyone. You apologize to Saffron for interrupting her and making her lose focus. You explain that you didn't want to lose the gems in his eye or his hand, fearing that they would be lost to the... the spinning gears. You were trying to devise a plan to make Chance give them up and to leave you all alone, but there was too much commotion and pressure.

File: 1345089785961.png-(259 KB, 1352x3280, Map for those who dont have it.png)

>>3926585
Let's check out or inventory and decided if we should go down the hall to the west or head down those stairs. I wanna check out the rest of this floor first.

>>3926751
Some hugs are in order maybe?

File: 1345089981767.png-(15 KB, 700x700, s13_09.png)

Saffron smiles and responds in her calm, soothing voice.

"It's okay, Renne. We're all here now, aren't we? We're all okay?"

She coughs a few times, and looks over at Chronicle.

"Yes." He looks as if he's still collecting himself. "Yes. Chance is no longer an issue, that is the most important thing, and we have both the red and blue stones."

>>3927101
...Thankyou.

>>3927031
We should clear this floor first before heading down...
>>3927101
Yes, now seems like a good time to hug.

I can't help but feel like saffron and Renne are switching roles...

>>3927502

Agreed. Isn't there a door to the left side of this room?

File: 1345091144849.png-(33 KB, 700x700, s13_10.png)

>>3926585
>>3927031
>>3927408
You thank them from the bottom of your heart, with everything that you have to give. You couldn't have asked for better friends to accompany you on this horrible journey you ended up in. Before you move on, you ask to take a look at what everyone is carrying, not having checked in so long due to being chased around the temple.

In your saddlebags you have a spade, a brush, a tiny ball peen hammer, a single bundle of hay, a pick, a bundle of writing utensils (one pencil, two charcoal, one crayon), and a good sized stack of papers (including your maps), and Gusty's note.

Saffron is carrying a small book given to her by Remnant, your room keys, a dog biscuit, your Marshalltown trowel (sharpened), a small cloth bag, two pieces of dried meat, one jasper stone, and the green and blue gems.

Chronicle is reluctant but opens his small cloth bag. In it is a small book, and the other jasper stone. He also notes that the other cloth bag that Saffron is carrying belongs to him, that he lent it to Gusty before... Before they were separated.

>>3927590

We should ask what that book is.

>>3927612
Which book?

>>3927612

>I typed this before I read Chronicle's possessions

...both of them, actually. Though Chronicle seems a bit reluctant. Can we also ask him to look inside the other cloth bag?

>>3927612
and what is in that small cloth bag

>>3927590
give Chronicle his bag back and look at the books
also eat, you guys are probably hungry

>>3927590
Did we ever look at the other end of this room?

File: 1345092248583.png-(19 KB, 700x700, s13_11.png)

>>3927612
>>3927654
>>3927674
You give back Chronicle's empty bag, and he thanks you, tying it to the other side of his crudely fashioned saddlebags. You ask him about the book.

"It's my... my journal. I intended to use it to document all of my findings for the dig site to use, but... but you know how that ended up. I have been using it to record my, now our, experiences in this place. When we leave, I am sure it will be invaluable."

>>3927654
Bag was empty when we found it.

>>3927717
The western end? Nope, and Renne's left it blank on her map, so presumeably it's too dark for her to have seen the door over on that side.
>>3927649
Seconding giving back the bag and asking about the books; last time we tried to ask Saffron we got distracted by hugs.
Then have Renne circumnavigate the room with the torch and add it to the map.

>>3927976

Well, his name is fitting, at least.

Check out Saffron's book.

Have Chronicle slip Gusty's note and the keycards in his journal. They're unlikely to be of use to us from here on out and are just taking up inventory slots, but it'd be good to have them archived.

File: 1345092869579.png-(19 KB, 700x700, s13_12.png)

>>3928054
She pulls the book out and looks at it funny, the cover rather beaten up and used, the pages dog-eared. She reads it slowly and levelly.

"Bad Dreams. And You. A hoofy guide for those spooky nights, 4th ed."

>>3928248
Man... aren't we a little late in checking these items?

>>3928248
>for when nights are 2spooky

>>3928355
hey
we got caught up in stuff
like everyone being dead or dying

>>3928248
Ahahaha.
Poor Remnant. Must be his personal copy.
Let's do this
>>3928214
then have Renne take that book, give it a quick glimpse through and put in in her freed inventory slot, since I assume he meant it for her.

>>3928355
When you're being pursued by a homicidal monster is not the best time to mess around with inventory

>>3928248
Burst out laughing.
Poor Remnant, hope he's doing ok in that lifeboat. Let's get on with exploration so we can hopefully meet up with him again.

>>3928248
Awww, Remnant.
>tfw he probably would have had a heart attack and died had he come
>tfw I hope we can hug him for the book once this is over

>>3928420
Second

File: 1345094236651.png-(14 KB, 700x700, s13_13.png)

>>3928420
>>3928463
>>3928515
You try not to snicker, knowing that Saffron and Remnant have known each other for quite a while, but the image in your head is still amusing. You flip through a few pages, trying to find points of interest that you've had in your dreams.

Darkness -
...represents the looming void of the unknowable future... ...recurring themes of darkness could mean a deep-seated fear of the future, or deep waters in which one cannot see the bottom. ...could also represent a fear and unknowing of oneself.

Voices -
...conflict in your life, indecision, problems with coming to terms with events... ...rare cases, premonition, although this has proven to be strange coincidence more often than not. ...continued hearing of multiple voices, please consult your doctor as this may be the result of stress, or potential mental illness.

>>3928694

...It looks like typical self-help stuff. Probably useless. We should check out that last room on this floor.

>>3928694
Remnant is best old pone. This is adorable. I wonder how old that book is.

File: 1345095710062.png-(34 KB, 700x700, s13_14.png)

>>3928214
>>3928420
You give Chronicle Gusty's note and your keycards to put in his journal, but he politely declines and offers to carry them in his bag instead. You take Remnant's dream book, leaving Saffron with a lot more space. You then slowly trot around the room to investigate, finding out that there is a wall to the west of the room, and a staircase in the center of the room with a blood trail leading down it.

>>3929240
Take the door.

File: 1345097105320.png-(20 KB, 700x700, s13_15.png)

>>3929292
You ask the others to follow you to the door on the west side of the room. When you enter, you notice that the room is similar to the one you've seen on the floor above, the large octagonal slab sitting in the center of the room. You can't make out much else, except the doorway on the far end of the room that is lit by a soft orange glow.

>>3929647

Hold the torch over the slab to see if you can see anything on it.

Am I alone in here?

>>3929647
See where the chain leads.

>>3929726
no, but it is kinda lonely

>>3929647
Looks like this wall can be opened by Saffron too.
Although that blood on it gives me a bad feeling...

>>3929647
Looks like another door or something that can be unlocked by saffrons gloves. On the wall

File: 1345098322915.png-(16 KB, 700x700, s13_16.png)

>>3929771
You look up to see the chain leading to nowhere. Raising your torch up, however, you can see coagulated blood caked onto the chains, flaking off, much, much older than anything else you have encountered before.

Wait.... did i miss a boss battle?

>>3930035
Whaat about the blood on the wall and the slab?

>>3930035

Blood on the chains hanging from the ceiling? Whatever happened in here was violent.

And back to the orange glow, this means there could be not one, but TWO spire rooms? This place could be larger than we thought.

Let's get all the details. Examine the slab more closely.

>>3930069
If youre referring to when chance got killed next week, then yes.

>>3930126
Last week you mean? And dammit!

>>3930126
*last

>>3930155
Haha yeah just check out the archive. Dont worry we wont get renne killed

>>3930155

Yeah we could have used your input. We were dropping the ball hard.

>>3930207
I got my electicity cut off for 2 weeks, im way behind on the story, guess its time to raid the archive.

File: 1345099164041.png-(17 KB, 700x700, s13_17.png)

>>3929726
>>3930081
You lower the torch down from the chains and hold it in front of the stone slab. You notice the smell again, thick and sickly, coagulating blood. The blood on the slab is much newer than the blood on the chains. You notice that the slab is more of a slight dome with grooves cut into it, rivulets of blood flowing to the corners of the slab and down the sides onto the floor. Looking around the room, you notice that it is ever so slightly bowl-shaped, with tiny grooves leading towards the stone slab.

>>3930216
>We were dropping the ball hard.
That was an understatement...
renne should be dead

>>3930308
we have Saffron and Chronicle to thank for not being paste on the floor

>>3930276

Here's my thought. If this room is directly below the room the goat was killed in, and that room is directly below the room that Gaston was killed in, somewhere below this room is either a large collection of blood, or something that is collecting that blood. All the grooves are funneling it downward, and it explains blood being on the chains on the ceiling of this room.

I don't have a copy of the map up right now so I could be wrong but I think the positioning lines up.

>>3930337
LK had mercy on us.

>>3930276
I vote next room!

>>3930276
I bet there's something in there.

Peek into the next room.

>>3930394
>LK had mercy on us.
isn't an ankh a symbol for luck? i could be wrong...

>>3930364
Nice deduction skills. Only one way to find out if youre right!

Maybe I wasn't paying attention, but did we ever find out what the gears in the other room were for?
Aside from attracting insane murderous beasts.

>>3930447

Nope.

>>3930409
Woah. According to this article, crux means cross. Renne Crux.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh
since the ankh means life, does that mean she will live? (or the reason she DID live last thread?)

>>3930545
>Renne's special talent is not dying

>>3930545
From what I remember, her name was a play on words. Someone described it when we named her, that the "ren" is the part of your soul that represents your name.

>>3930276
Maybe we could try using the shovel-spade-thing to scoop out whatever may be in the bowl

>>3930670

The room we're in is shaped like a bowl, not the dome thingy itself.

File: 1345101014630.png-(19 KB, 700x700, s13_18.png)

>>3930394
>>3930407
The doorway leads to a hallway that curves south. When it opens, you find yourselves standing on a ledge, the warm orange glow of the room surrounding you.

>>3930866

...Are we gonna get to see the room?

Are we surrounded by lava on the bottom floor? Lets see the rest of the room in front of us..

File: 1345102141066.png-(1.57 MB, 700x700, s13_19.png)

>>3930995
>>3931136
The cavern opens up before you, and you can barely see the other side from the glare. Some of the chains along the wall are broken, while others are strung towards the center of the room.
[audio01]

>>3931234
Here's my guess: Behind the wall of the room we were just on is a mechanism to raise this thing from the lava.

Meaning that the one we activated where Chance died might have done similar with the other lava room.

>>3931234
Well, i bet we can get the mystery cup if saffron sticks her gloves in the wall in the previous room.
Btw, how long have they been here?? When do they sleep?

>>3931336

It's worth a shot.

>>3931316
I am very befuddled about location. Does someone have a map?

>>3931234
>>3931395
Map!

File: 1345103260947.png-(8 KB, 700x700, s13_20.png)

>>3931395
>>3931411
You quickly jot it down, the heat of the room starting to get to you.

>>3931578
>heat starting to get to you
Better hope its a can of coke

File: 1345103907481.png-(14 KB, 700x700, s13_21.png)

You retreat to the previous room and inspect the northern wall. There are two bronze discs set in the wall, with the slight definition of a door. The wall is entirely covered with deep scratches, and blood along the scratches.

>>3931790
Crack 'er open while we're here
Still have to check the rest of the room behind the statue and downstairs.

>>3931849
Oh wait we already checked the one behind the statue in log 11. Damn my feeble memory. Now that we have both eyes we'll eventually need to put them in the big one without melting our brains.

>>3931790
Open it.

>>3931790
I think the blood is just leakage from the above floor. The scratches idk

Open er up?

Had to head off for a bit, just got back in.
>>3929240
Goddamnit, I was trying to make our inventory better but all I've done is make it so Chronicle can't carry anything new, either. If I'd realised this'd happen I would have given some more stuff to Saffron so everyone had a slot free so they could pick up stuff when needed. Ah well.

>>3931234
Is that another platform off to the left?

File: 1345104845546.png-(19 KB, 700x700, s13_22.png)

>>3931849
>>3931960
Saffron steps forward and you hear the click of her gauntlets against the discs, once more. With a twist, clunk, and a heave, she tosses the door open.

>>3932076
Was wondering about that too...

>>3931961
Gosh i say stupid things when im tired

File: 1345105809916.png-(20 KB, 700x700, s13_23.png)

The wall is shallow, the door just a thin facade for what is behind. The piece of bronze gleams in the torchlight.

File: 1345105934093.png-(2 KB, 98x108, Well well well what have (...).png)

>>3932434
Oh boy.

>>3932434
Does anyone have the completed translation image?

>>3932434

Someone get this, I'm shooting robots.

>>3932461

What was this from, again?

_ _ R _ _ G E

File: 1345106218203.png-(137 KB, 2500x1700, Handyy dandy translatory (...).png)

>>3932434
Those ticks aren't on Soup's guide, unless I'm missing something obvious (always a possibility).

BR?I?E

>>3932500
Nothing, just me being silly, sorry. I forget what it's off, but I just messed around and glued a few symbols together.

>>3932532
his D and G look off, it'd "bridge"

>>3932532

Oh right, I remember that.

The word looks like "BRIDGE" to me

>>3932550
>it'd
it's, damn it

>>3932434
Get a closer look at the bronze thing. Can it be removed?

>Bridge
Ha ha, time to become the conduit.

BRIDGE

>>3932550

Yeah, sorry, it's my shitty handwriting.

Dammit, every time i figure out something puzzling, someone posts before me.

Tumblr update
>What are the sacrifices for?
>Misguided Hounds

So... they don't serve any purpose and Chance was just confused as we thought? What're the rooms he's been doing them in for, then?

>>3932611
As far as i can think of, religous purposes at the most.

So. Bridge. Any ideas?

>>3932669

>>3932585


>"FOUR OF METAL. FOUR OF STONE. FOUR OF BODY. FOUR OF SOUL."

>"I HAVE DONE WHAT WAS ASKED. I HAVE PAID TRIBUTE WITH MY BODY AND THEIRS. I HAVE ASSEMBLED WHAT WAS NEEDED."

>"I AM THE CONDUIT. THROUGH MY BODY SHALL ALL POWER PASS. I AM THE CONDUIT. WHY HAVE YOU GONE SILENT?"

>>3932611

Yeah, it really seems that tumblrguy thinks that Chance was just a bumbling idiot.

Can the brass piece be taken out? Is it the chest piece of the armor?

>>3932669
>>3932689
Alternatively, perhaps the collar'll let us access a bridge out to whatever that is above the lava? Seems a little contrived, but the other pieces've all unlocked new areas.

>>3932689
Oh. Yeah.

Just had an idea. What if we need to put the gems in the skull to get the bridge?

>>3932578
Just stating in case someone hasn't realise, pretty sure this is the collarpiece of the suit of armour.

Y'know, we've got an octagon here with writing in it. What happens if Saffron pushes her begloved hand up against it, in imitation of ANCHOR STEADFAST?

>>3932708
I hope this doesnt mean losing another chunk of saffrons soul.
;_;

>>3932763

That is a good point. This octagon does look like the one that anchored the second glove. That one required a stone to power the spell, I think. What if we put the stone in the collar before removing it from the wall? Maybe this particular spell powers a bridge.

File: 1345107465623.png-(18 KB, 700x700, s13_24.png)

You walk up to get a closer look. It's a piece of forged bronze set into a carved relief in the wall. It fits snugly, but with a little touch of your magic, you make it budge.

>>3932808
DO THIS

>>3932817
tell Saffron to put the jasper into the armor and put her paws on the wall
and, i dunno... think of a bridge, i guess?

>>3932817
We wear this bling.

Im gonna go to sleep now. This will probably be the last renne quest I participate in since school is starting :( if you could make it on fridays or saturdays that would be alrite with the summerfags otherwise ill see you on my lurking time.

File: 1345108763687.png-(25 KB, 700x700, s13_25.png)

>>3932828
>>3932932
You ask Saffron to try something. You levitate one of the Jasper stones from her bag up into the piece of armor. You have her place her paws against the wall inside of the octagon. You ask her to think her hardest, as hard as she possibly can, to think about a bridge. A bridge leading to... somewhere important... anywhere. A bridge to home.

>>3933067
There's no place like home, there's no place like home...

>>3933080
Goddamnit me, forgot to clean up that excess canvas. Ah well, I'll fix it on the next version.

File: 1345108927727.png-(298 KB, 1552x3280, Map notes.png)

Y'know what, nevermind, fixed.

File: 1345109007742.png-(24 KB, 700x700, s13_26.png)

You can see her shoulders trembling. You can almost feel her thinking. You wait, unable to breathe.

"Renne... I... I don't think it's doing anything. I can't feel anything, what's supposed to happen?"

>>3933116
Tell her we were testing a theory and that it didn't work. Ask her to put on the copper thing.

>>3933137
>Ask her to put on the copper thing.

W-what? Is that really necessary?

>>3933137
>Ask her to put on the copper thing
Wait what no
That's the equivalent to another glove
Put it in her carrying space, she should have enough with that inventory silliness earlier.

>>3933158
THIS ONE IS OUR TURN.

>>3933158

Do this

>>3933185
For about the first time ever, I'm not vehemently opposed to ADVENTURE's suggestion here. If we're able to wear it, it might not be a bad idea for us to take the hit rather than rack Saffron's troubles up even higher.
At any rate we'll be splitting that "Soul of the earth" between two bodies, which might help stop one of us losing control.
Of course, there's the question of if it's even possible, given one of the gloves rejected us when we tried it.

File: 1345110329831.png-(25 KB, 700x700, s13_27.png)

>>3933158
Saffron takes the jasper gem out and puts both it and the piece of bronze very snugly into her bag.

>>3933353
Anything interesting in the hole it's left behind?

>>3933259
well the gauntlet did get hot when we put our hoof in, we just couldn't get it all the way in
i bet it would work with this piece

>>3933259

It's a good idea, but I don't think there's a pressing need to use this piece right now.

Let's go down the stairs.

File: 1345111539344.png-(28 KB, 700x700, s13_28.png)

>>3933376
>>3933473
You give the relief in the wall one last check, and find nothing in there whatsoever. You walk back into the room with the stairs, leading the way.

File: 1345112799689.png-(24 KB, 700x700, s13_29.png)

You descend the stairway, following Chance's blood trail. When you reach the bottom, from the light of your torch, you can already see some splatters of blood, signs of Chance's struggle you heard from before.

>>3933758
Levitate the guard's detatched hand and give Saffron a high five

File: 1345113738408.png-(12 KB, 700x700, renne.png)

Calling it for tonight. Thanks for participating, everyone.

>>3933918
Thanks again LK! A lot less depressing this time.

...Man, where'd everyone else go?

>>3933968

studying

s-sorry anon

>>3933968
Where else?

ADVENTURE.

>>3933968
They're DEAD

>>3934031
>>3934055
Both valid excuses. Keep up the good work.

>>3934077
Not a valid excuse. If they're dead, then they should be haunting the thread and giving us cryptic advice through illusionary flickers that require a codebreaker to solve.

>>3933968
i fell asleep... fuck
I'M SORRY RENNE