World of Monsters CYOA (Part III)

A, I enjoy a good swamp.

Oh, wow, I didn't think this would continue. So happy to see otherwise ~ I vote A too, and keep my previous vote for the bad end if that's still up and running.

Good to see that my idea for the party formation was a good choice.

As tempted as I am to pick Owp Island, let's go with Valdra Island first. I am curious as to what's there. And I'll stick with my vote on the bad end.

Bad end vote is indeed still going. Vesago has two commissioned bad ends I owe them, then it'll be time for that one, but first I want to get some updates out to get us progressing since it's been a minute. Thank you for all of your patience everyone.

No problem, Zero. Good to see you back in this. :3

A

welcome back Zero

"We set sail for Valdra. Based on what Asmodeus said that one seems closer, and according to those notes we found in the castle Owp Island isn't dangerous. We should head to the island where our friends could be in trouble first." Celtica explained.

Mio gave a nod. "It's true, I've been to Owp Island myself. It's a rather lovely place, I was on my way back to the mainland from it when I got sucked into one of that monster's whirlpools." she explained. That decided things, anyone who had ended up on Owp Island likely wasn't in too much danger. The notes on Valdra has called it a swamp too, with ancient temples controlled by monsters. In some ways that sounded more dangerous than Asmodeus's isle of pleasure.

Celtica gave the nod to Elphelt, and Elphelt gave the nod to Drake, and with that they changed course and set sail for this mysterious Valdra Island. It would take more than a day to reach, so after the party took turns as lookout and guards for monsters Celitca grabbed Asia and headed into bed with Elphelt.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought along my servant too~" the pink haired girl said, Drake naked and around her arm. The dark skinned knight merely shrugged. "You know my tastes, I have no complaints." Celtica said before hopping in. Even time on that island hadn't done anything to Celtica's sex drive, she was more than happy to spend plenty of time having fun with this four way.

The next day the journey continued until at last the island was in sight. Even from a distance they could see the violet mist of the swamps drift out around the place. "This land feels wrong..." Asia mentioned. Celtica could see that. She hoped that her allies were safe, if they were actually there.

Circling around after getting closer at least there was some bright news. The swamp didn't completely extend across the entire island thankfully and while old looking there seemed to be a port town with buildings made of stone. A scant few ships were docked there, but enough that perhaps it was still inhabited?

Drake commanded the ship's crew to pull in and weigh anchor while Celtica and the others got themselves ready. "Celtica, how're we gonna handle this? What if the port is run by monsters?" Nephenee asked, back to wearing her crimson military uniform. The spearwoman certainly had a point, the notes did say it was monster controlled.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Unfortunately, humans seem to still infest this island." the Oracle said within Celtica's mind. That was one less thing to worry about, but how to approach the situation? And who to bring? Some people should definitely stay behind to protect the boat.

A. Head out and start gathering intel on the island.
B. Head out and start searching for your missing companions.
C. Head straight into the swamp and seek out some monsters.
D. Write-In.

Also, Who should come with you?
Available Party Members: Asia, Elphelt, Nephenee
Available NPCs: Drake, Mio, Nereid, Augus, July

Picking A, and I'm thinking we should bring Nephenee, Asia, and Elphelt. Just a scouting party that is well-rounded if trouble occurs. Drake and the others should stay with the ship.

DrgnmastrAlex wrote:Picking A, and I'm thinking we should bring Nephenee, Asia, and Elphelt.  Just a scouting party that is well-rounded if trouble occurs.  Drake and the others should stay with the ship.

Agreed.

Agree with above
Recon and lets keep the main group together.

Yep agreed time spent on a recce is rarely wasted

Taking the usual suspects of Elphelt, Asia and Nephenee, Celtica began to head out once they were properly secured at the port. "Make sure nothing happens to the ship, alright?" Celtica said towards Drake. "Who do you think you're talking to here? Nothing will happen with me around." she responded confidently.

Celtica and Elphelt both trusted her to keep her word there. That meant they could focus completely on the task at hand. The port itself looked somewhat like the fragments of ruins and ancient temples, though strengthened up to be more hospitable for living. Even with the menacing swamp in the distance there were people walking around. At least there was a community to ask around in.

Finding answers wasn't terribly hard either. According to the residents this island had once been lush and vibrant until the corruptive influence of a powerful swamp witch made it what it was. Able to command wicked monsters and twist the very island itself she claimed more and more of the land until this city was all that remained.

"The witch lives in a temple need in the swamp, but nobody's ever gone there and returned." a redhead blacksmith with a blonde bang explained.

"The land's rich with treasures, if you head for the swamps. I stay here and guard the city, but as long as I get paid that's fine with me." a stoic and short blonde girl said, a massive blade with a skull hilt in her hands.

"Oh good, it seems you've already learned a bit about this place." an all too familiar voice responded as she overheard their conversations.

Celtica turned to see Valeria was here and looking quite good for a castaway. "Valeria! It's great ta see you!" Nephenee exclaimed, the party going closer to the shop she was sitting down at. "You've opened up another shop?" Asia asked.

Valeria nodded, though her expression wasn't as pleased as Celtica would have thought. "Yes, well...there are things we need to discuss. I arrived here with Bullet after the shipwreck. I don't know if anyone else made it here, but we quickly found an easy way to make money. My skills at shopkeeping, and Bullet's battle skills to let her dive in to the swamp to grab the hidden treasures it held. We'd already made 500 coins when Bullet vanished on a trip." the woman explained.

A get rich plan gone wrong, as much as Celtica considered Valeria one of the more self capable members of the party that would be one way to get her to trip up. "So then we've got to go into this swamp and find Bullet, right?" she asked.

"Easier said than done. As I'm sure you've heard, once you go far enough in you don't get out. Bullet is no fool, she would have heeded the warnings, but if something forced her too deep..." Valeria trailed off. "Well sure, but we ain't about to give up, right?" Nephenee asked.

Celtica was right there with Nephenee. If Bullet was out there then they needed to drag her back. "You know exactly what Cel is thinking, don't you Valeria?" Elphelt asked with a smile, and the redhead nodded.

"I had hoped to have more people back to stage the rescue, but this will have to do. We'll need to be very prepared however if we want to do this. I've only seen the monsters that come out of the swamp but Bullet tells me there are some real fighters in it."

Of course, preparation was key. The only thing to decide was how to prepare for this.

A. Test the strength of the monsters of the swamp yourself.
B. Gather information on the swamp in town.
C. Look in the shops for new materials.
D. Head back to the ship and strategize with everyone.
E. Write-In

---
It's been a minute, but the new girls who showed up-

Spoiler:

Nifty! Good to see Valeria back.

I'm picking C first, then after we find anything of value, I'll go with B.

C and B seem to be the best course of action

Also, maybe take Val aside, ask whats the deal with the new girls, namely are they volunteers acting out of the goodness of their hearts or 'recruits'

Agreed C&B is the logical choice.

C sounds like a good idea! I do love a good shopping trip, who knows what slimy gunk might be on display~

I suppose A is too much of an obvious Bad-End? ~

Alright, B first (With a slight E in there to ask if they've tested the monsters' elemental resistances, the locals should know what the monsters are weak and resistant against) and then C to buy accordingly.

A new town meant a new chance to get equipment and useful items. Celtica herself did still have that impressive Fox Blade that she hadn't got much use out of yet, but it was still important to look into the weapon shop for everyone.

Thus the party with Valeria in tow regrouped over at that redhead's store. "Don't think I have much more to tell you, but if you want weapons I've got plenty of those! The name's Dana, I'm a blacksmith." she said with a smile.

Dana's Shop-
Darkness Blade (60 Gold): A violet sword tainted by the dark magic of the swamp. Chance of poisoning the foe.
Twin Volt Spears (80 Gold): A pair of golden shortspears that can channel electricity.
Tyrant Hammer II (100 Gold): An ancient gold and crimson hammer from the swamp reforged to optimal use. Very heavy, but can release surges of energy.
Flash Shield (80 Gold): A white and blue shield imbued with light magic, allowing it to release a short range burst of light when struck.

Another shop they went to delivered a surprisingly familiar face as well. "Hello there, would you like to buy something?" the sweet voice of the blonde asked, a nice white outfit and blue jewelry making it clear that this was indeed Sylphie. She had been at that tent camp where Celtica had met Valeria, which just doubled the coincidence of it all.

Valeria shrugged. "She wouldn't tell me what she's doing here other than travelling, but her wares are pretty good."

Sylphie's Treasure Shop-
Pharaoh's Guard Armor (80 Gold): A set of gold and black armor with a black jackal-like mask that is highly revealing and a theme like that of a desert guardian. Increases resistance to Earth, Wind and Dark attacks.
Helix Wave Scroll (40 Gold): A scroll that teaches a reader the hypnotic Helix Wave spell.
Deep Ring (85 Gold): A ring from the depths of the sea that can glow with an eerie light. Increases the effectiveness of hypnotic abilities.
Magma Axe (75 Gold): A large red and black axe that pulses with burning magical energy. Increases the effectiveness of fire attacks while equipped.

Among town there were two other shops, an item shop and a clothing shop. Both of them seemed to hold gear that could protect one from the swamp, so it might be important to enter them as well.

Item Shop-
Anti-Toxin (20 Gold): A potion that removes the corruptive properties of the swamp.
Resist Potion (15 Gold): A potion that cures non-corruption related status ailments.
Manastone (20 Gold): A crystal imbued with magic that recovers 3 MP for the one who crushes it.
Valdra Toxin (50 Gold): A vial of corruptive poison made from the magic of the swamps. Effects may vary.

Clothing Shop-
Shadow Maid Uniform (60 Gold): A sleek black and blue maid outfit designed for silent cleaning. Decreases chances of being discovered while sneaking or hiding.
Gladiator Garb (90 Gold): A bronze partly armored outfit with a cape that allowed for easy movement. Endurance and Agility up by 1 Rank.
Dragon Vest (100 Gold): A stylish red suit with a dragon theme to it, the dragonic patterns magically enhanced to allow the wearer to slowly recover MP over time.

There was one issue however. As useful as some of these might be, Celtica was near broke. Valeria might be willing to use some of her funds now, but that usually came with it's own requirements. The other option was selling items. Some of the more useless items had been put away at the castle, but they had plenty of gear left on them.

A. Get nothing, focus on intel gathering.
B. Ask Valeria to pitch in (What are you buying?).
C. Sell some items (What are you selling?) and buy from the shops (What are you buying?)
D. Try to brainwash the shopkeepers to get what you want (What are you going for?)
E. Write-In

---
Apologies again. I really want to update this more.

D! After all we're doing this to help them... right?

-Darkness Blade
-Pharaoh's Guard
-Helix Wave Scroll
-Deep Ring
-Shadow Maid

CorruptiveSpirit wrote:D! After all we're doing this to help them... right?

-Darkness Blade
-Pharaoh's Guard
-Helix Wave Scroll
-Deep Ring
-Shadow Maid

Seconding this. :3

CorruptiveSpirit wrote:D! After all we're doing this to help them... right?

-Darkness Blade
-Pharaoh's Guard
-Helix Wave Scroll
-Deep Ring
-Shadow Maid

Logic kinda dictates swamp enemies should be inmune/resilient against swamp magic poison, but it could be useful for a bad end other enemies later, so sure ~

I don't know if this even influences the choice, but perhaps try to get the Deep Ring first to minimize the risk of someone resisting?

Hmm, can we borrow a bit of gold from Asia (she's with us right?) and just buy the Deep Ring (equip it)
THEN Option D with all the venders gathered, "Hey come here, I've got this awesome trick to show you, just look this shield for a second."
Proceed to get the stuff we were looking at and ask Val if she wants any of these girls as part of our past arrangement (have this talk in private)

DrgnmastrAlex wrote:

CorruptiveSpirit wrote:D! After all we're doing this to help them... right?

-Darkness Blade
-Pharaoh's Guard
-Helix Wave Scroll
-Deep Ring
-Shadow Maid

Seconding this.  :3

Me too! I mean, it is not like it could backfire on us and end up making us their new assistants or anything, right?

tilltherewas1 wrote:Hmm, can we borrow a bit of gold from Asia (she's with us right?) and just buy the Deep Ring (equip it)
THEN Option D with all the venders gathered, "Hey come here, I've got this awesome trick to show you, just look this shield for a second."
Proceed to get the stuff we were looking at and ask Val if she wants any of these girls as part of our past arrangement (have this talk in private)

This is indeed possible.