Pillar Quest

>>1650764
>>Keep your Promise and See Cassie

Writing

"...I made a promise man. You aren't the only one I've been neglecting" you say with an apologetic look

he gives an irritated grunt "Yeah whatever man. I guess I'll just fly solo or some shit."

he kinda... storms off before you can respond, not that you expected anything less, you have a sneaking suspicion he's jealous of her for taking up
all your time, from his perspective at least, and it's true yous pend an awful lot of your admittedly rare free time with her, but, she's your girlfriend
more than that, you love her. It took you awhile to really realize it, but she's the one, and once your life is more stable, and you're done paying off medical bills,
you intend to propose... if you can convince her asshole of a father to play along at least.

You gather your things and head out of the school grounds, your beater is pretty old, but it's a serviceable truck, you don't even really know what brand it is, that's more due to
you not caring about that sort of thing. but despite all that, it's a big tough bastard, because of that, you've taken to calling it the Titanic III, as a joke, Cassie laughed when you told her
said you're tempting fate.

After a short drive you make it to Cassie's place, unfortunately for you, she still lives with her parents, and her father really doesn't like you. Says you're too risky, a punk, and he isn't exactly wrong.
His car doesn't seem to be in the driveway though, so he must not be here, much to your relief.

You park at the side of her house and honk, and after a moment she comes out the front door waving with a smile. Cassie's about 5'9, taller than Brandon, with honey colored hair, and a simple one piece white dress.
simple would be a good way to explain her. She's gentle, if with a bit of a snarky sting to her. She an artist too, a good one too, in your opinion, very realistic in style.

She lets her into the passenger side when she gets up to the truck "Hey! took you long enough, bet you fell asleep in class again."

you scratch your jet black hair and look away sheepishly "I have no idea what you're talking about Cass, I'm always paying 110% attention"

she rolls her eyes and giggles "Suuure. So, where we going tonight?"

>Bowling
>Steakhouse
>Party
>Other

>>1651068
>>Steakhouse

writing

"I thought maybe we'd go out to eat, i mean, ya know, be a bit more traditional."

"Sounds good, so where? a Denny's or something?" God bless her heart you have never met a more low maintenance woman

"Jesus, I'm not that poor Cass. I was thinking we could go to Texas Roadhouse or something."

she raises her eyebrows "Ok woah, I mean, that's not a whole lot more expensive but uh, i mean you don't have to go that far out of your way Spirit. You don't need to buy me with fancy food or anything"

You chuckle "I'm not trying to buy you or anything Cass, I want to show you my appreciation, if I could I'd give you so much more but... this is all i can do. besides, we haven't been able to be together, just us for
awhile... I want it to be special."

She smiles "Well... ok than"

You guys head to the steakhouse, you were luckily smart enough to call forward and make a reservation, so you were guided to a table almost immediately. You enjoy your meal, and talk about meaningless things, how you've been
how she's been, the latest dumb thing Brandon did, or her brother did. but partway through she gets quite, an expression you recognize pretty clearly, she has something she wants to talk about but she isn't sure how to bring it up.

"Hey, hey Cass what's up?"

"...It's nothing"

"C'mon don't give me that, I know that face, what's up, y'know you can talk to me about anything."

she sighs and reaches into her purse and takes out a painting, it's a surreal piece you see a a taller man, 6ft with a broad back, pitch black hair, and strong arms, in a simple white tshirt and jeans, with his back to viewer.
He faces a nice house that is aflame, as a shorter man stands in front of him facing him, with oily black curls sneers at him, with a somehow also solemn expression.
It takes you a few moments to understand what you're seeing, the man with their back to the viewer is you, the house is Cassie's, and the man... is Brandon.

"What... What is this?" you ask, confused

"...I had a dream, I... don't remember it very well, but I drew it as soon as I woke up, and... I saw this" she says quietly

"Is... this what you're so worried about than?"

she nods quietly

"Cass... it was just a dream, it's nothing, Don't worry about it too much."

"...I know but... I have a really bad feeling Spirit. It's not just this. I..." she's quiet for a moment than smiles "You know what, no, it's... it's nothing you're right"

"Yeah, let's just enjoy tonight right?"

she nods, and you guys finish the night off without any more mention to this, you take her home and before she leaves, she goes quiet again

"Hey, Spirit. Can you hold on to this for me?" she says, handing him a bulging 3 ring binder

"Well yeah what's up?"

"It's... nothing, just... i think my dad is getting a little worried abiut my drawings is all" she hurries out of the truck and waves, not waiting for your response as she heads back to the house.

>Shrug and leave
>Go after her
>other

>>1651383
>>Shrug and leave

writing

you should've gone after her.

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>>1651616
naaaah, its fine, whats the worst that could happen?

You shake your head and shrug, she gets like this sometimes, you've learned not push her when she gets like these. you head off, and go back to your apartment.
When you get there, you decide you may as well take a look through her folder, and take a seat on your bed. You've never actually gotten to look through her stuff, so you're curious.
As you flip through it however you get more and wore disturbed. You and Cassie have very very different different schedules, a fact you know for certain, you are never anywhere near each other throughout
the day... but you see paintings, and drawings of your daily life, random events that you remember with clarity upon seeing these, they go back al the way to the brawl you lost last year, up to your encounter with
Brandon today... and they continue past that, pictures of things and people you've never seen or met, but you are in the pictures with. and at the end, a picture of the universe, or you think at least... shattered, like glass.

You shake yourself out of it, and decide to just... shit the binder and not think about it. she probably just drew the things he told her about, and the rest are just... dreams, yeah.
You put the binder away and decide to go to bed, as you do, your phone ring's, It's Cassie.

"Hey cass whats up?"

"...Spirit?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Of course, anything."

"If... if anything... if you hear anything tonight, about me, anything. ignore it, please."

"Wha...what? You aren't making any sense Cass"

"That's ok, just promise. Please"

"I...ok, I guess"

"Thank you Spirit... Good Night, I love you"

"I love you too..." she hangs up, that was... not normal. But yous till somehow get to bed.

In the middle of the night, you are woken by sudden sirens, you groggily get up and check the window, you see, a fire truck pass by, and in the distance, you can see smoke... in the direction of Cassie's house...

>Investigate
>Go to Bed
>Other

>>1651665
>Investigate
[FORESHADOWING INTENSIFIES]

>>1651665
>>Go to Bed

>>1651665
>>Go to Bed
trust your girlfriend, don't be a promise breaker.

writing

You decide to just sleep, it's... it's probably nothing right?

That night your dreams are fraught with chaos, you cannot remember anything clearly, only fragments, you see fire, a house, and hear a familiar voice say "I told you she'd break your heart"

You awake, and life is normal, you get up, have breakfast, and go to school.Most of the day is the same, till class is suddenly interrupted by a police officer entering the room

"Excuse me, i need to speak with a Mr... Spirit Vains"

As expected the entire class bursts into muttering as you stand up "That'd be me.. What's going on?"

"I think we should discuss this is private sir"

you have a sinking feeling as you follow him out of the room, and he leads you to the office where they oblige and let you on an unused office

"From what I Understand, You were in a relationship with a Miss Cassandra Bond, is this correct?"

"Yeah, we've been in a relationship for 5 years now... did something happen?"

he's quiet a moment before sighing "I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you this but... last night, around 3:20 AM, Ms Bond's residence was set aflame. Her family made it out safely... she... didn't make it."

you feel as if the blood in your veins has frozen solid "What... You... this is a joke right?"

"I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of this sort of news... I'll give you some time alone, I will see you tonight at your residence to talk more."

"I...yes..."

you feel like you're suffocating. as if you are sinking into an endless ocean of pressure and darkness. You are excused from school, given the circumstances, and the rest of the day goes by in a haze, you meet witht he officer.,
but don't really hear what he says, you just nod and let him speak, eventually he leaves, and you just... huddle there, until your consciousness leaves you.

You awake the next morning to sunlight and the clanking of cups, you look up to see Brandon in the kitchen, having prepped an entire breakfast "Hey dude, you're finally, up... I heard what happened. Look you know how I felt about her... but
I'm sorry I guess.

>Get angry
>Nod numbly
>Sigh and just... accept it
>Other

>>1651910
>>Not now Brandon

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>>1651910
>>Other
BEGIN MORTAL COMBAT WITH BRANDON!

Writing

"Just... not now Brandon... I don't need this."

"Dude I'm just trying to-"

You cut him off with a burst of anger "I SAID NOT NOW OK!"

He slowly raises his hands "Ok jesus... fine. But you know how to get ahold of me if you need to talk man..." he backs slowly out of the house, leaving the already made breakfast... and it's
resulting dirty dishes there for you to deal with yourself. Your breath hisses out between clenched teeth as you sit at the table and just,,, put your head in your hands for awhile, until the smell causes your stomach to grumble, and thus
you give into hunger and eat the meal left for you.

you spend the next several days mostly holed up in your room, except for a short jaunt out to change the locks, cause you don't know how the fuck Brandon got in, but you really don't want to deal with that shit again.
You mostly just... think. You do a lot of thinking, and... reading. Specifically the binder, your only keepsake of Cassandra. You're convinced she left it to you for a reason, the odd way she gave it to you and her making you make that promise... it's almost like she knew what was going to happen.

The day of the funeral comes, and on your tv, which you never really turn off, you hear news about the orphanage you grew up in being burned to the ground as well, apparently, there was only one survivor, but they ran from the scene before the police could interrogate them, a 16 year old Kid named Jacob Seizer. He's currently under suspicion of starting the fire.

about the same time, Cassie's mother shows up,asking you to attend the funeral, her father didn't want you to attend... but her mother though it was important that her boyfriend attended.

>Attend Funeral
>Investigate second fire
>Continue to be a shut-in
>Other

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>>1652133
>>Other
We hunt that fucker Brandon down and kill him dead! We can use his blood to bring back girlfriend.

Breaking and entering is a serious crime, and he left us with dishes. He must pay.

>>1652133
>>Attend Funeral

Writing

you could have saved her, Anon. but you just had to listen

you turn to find a Kid, probably mid-highschool age, standing there, they've obviously seen better days, and their clothes are covered in ash, and singed in places, their Dark blond, almost brown hair must have been longer at some time, but singe marks tell you a good portion has burned away "..yeah?" you say, colder than you mean

"Uh... you're... you're Cassandra's boyfriend... right? She used to talk about you and..." the kid seems pretty awkward

"...I was yeah. What do you want?"

"Uhm, well, she always told us stories about you, how brave you are and... uhm, My friend... kinda like my brother... he's missing" the Kid gives you a look full of fear "The people on the news are saying he started the fire, but that's not true!"

"...Wait, your friend's that kid from the news?"

the kid nods "Yeah..."

"...I... agh I dunno kid, i don't think I'm the guy you need here, talk tot he police or something... whatever she told you, it was probably an exaggeration."

she shakes her head vehemently "No! I can't go to the police, they think he's the bad guys but he didn't do it!"

"How do you even really know that?" you respond coldly, you almost cringe at your own words internally "He was probably just hiding it from you."

"No!" the kid says, their voice rising in pitch, almost like a girls. "It wasn't I saw them"

"Saw who?"

"The real ones that did it!" the kid's almost angry now

"...Ok sure. So what, what am i supposed to do?"

"the kid gives an upset sigh of frustration "Ooooooooh! Maybe you're right, maybe she did exaggerate, the guy in her stories wouldn't be this... this..." they struggles for a moment before exclaiming "BAKA!"

you just sort of... stop for solid 10 seconds before managing "...what?"

the kid suddenly covers their mouth, blushing beet red and retreats.

>Go after the kid
>Go Home
>Other

>>1652451
>>Go after the kid

>>1652451
Ok, either put a scripted warning in the OP or don't allow for >Other cause so far choices have had little to no affect . It also helps if you put what choice(s) you go with at the start of each post. Putting in transitions from post to post would also be helpful.

All that aside, this seems to be a depression/self pity quest, Im out.

Writing

>Go after the Kid

You grimace, ok maybe you were a bit hard on them. Sure Cass is gone, but that's no excuse to go all emo on the world "Hey, Hey! wait wait I'm sorry ok? Just having a hard time, is all."

The kid slows down and lets you catch up. You massage your brow "Ok, ok, i believe you, I'll help. Tell me what happened"

"...really?" they say pouty

"Yes, really." you sigh "So tell me, I can't promise I'll be able to help, but I can at least try."

"Well... ok" they say hesitantly turning to face you

"It... it was late... I remember waking up to Jacob opening the door to my room... he told me to be quiet... that something dangerous was happening. he said we had to run... I'm... not a morning person... i take a long time to
wake up, he led me through the hall's, and it was only when we were almost out i noticed the smell... the burning. we started to run and... there was a man in front of the door... he has these... really long, really thick knives,
and gross curly hair full of grease, like he never washed it... He said... Uhm... something about... columns.. Pillars, that's right!, he said Jacob was one... and than... he attacked him and.... I'm really not sure what happened...
I got scared and ran off... A cop found me a little later..."

You're quiet for a few moments, lost in thought. It's... a bizarre tale for sure. But you can feel she sin't lying, she doesn't think she is at least, could be she just had some sort of stressed out dream afterwards and thinks it's real.
...but you have a feeling it's not, and the guy she described... it's probably not, but you can't help but get a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach

"ok... I believe you... let's go..."

>Check the internet for clues
>Go to the Ruins of the Orphanage for Clues
>Talk to the cops for clues
>Other

>>1652719
>>Go to the Ruins of the Orphanage for Clues

writing

>Go to the Ruins of the Orphanage for Clues

"...check out what's left of the orphanage, there might be a clue there"

The kid seems reluctant, but comes with. Pretty much as expected, there's not a lot left other than rubble.

The sight hurts a bit to see, you grew up here too, and you had a lot of memories here... but that's something you can deal with later. You both begin poking and looking around the debris, and you
find something curious... a drawing, in Cassie's style, it's a mess though, and hard to really decipher, you decide to take a few moments cleaning it off, and when you do it's... disturbing. it's you... in the rubble of the orphanage, your back is tot he viewer
and in front of you is... the kid being held by... Brandon? A Dagger to their throat. before you can do much more than puzzle at this, you hear a scream on the other side of the rubble. You hurry over hurriedly and...
It's like the drawing, it's just as you saw.

"What... Brandon? What the fuck!?" you yell incredulously as he see's you and swears

"Aw fuck... you... dammit Spirit what are you doing here! You... agh.." he grimaces and looks away "You weren't supposed to see this man... I tried to keep you away from this shit..."

"The fuck are you even talking about?! Why the fuck are you holding a KID at knife point! This is more than a little fucked up Brandon!"

"Look man, this is way out of your depth just.. forget this ever happened..." he sorta trails off as he says that and sighs "Yeah no that's lame and not going to work, of course it won't. Just try to trust me on this man, this really ain't what it seems"

"Not what it seems?!" IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE ABOUT TO MURDER A FUCKING KID BRANDON"

"I... Look Trust me dude it's-"

"NO! FUCK THAT!" you yell, as righteous anger fills you "PUT THE KID DOWN"

As you make your declaration, he goes slack jawed for a moment, followed by a look of sorrow, and you notice... your chest is glowing the mark of a Blade shining brightly through your shirt "..Dammit this is what I was afraid of.. You're one of them."
he tosses the girl aside "Fuck i suspected but I tried to avoid it...Fuck" and without further ado, he dashes at you!

>>TO BE CONTINUED

I will continue again tomorrow at 2PM PST

The world seems to slow down as Brandon rushes you and the facts of your current situation seem become very clear to you, like the entire world slows to a crawl around you. He had to let go of the kid to rush you, meaning for one reason or another you must be a higher value target, or maybe this situation has simply impaired his judgement. Either way, the kid's safe. You however are still in a shit load of danger, he's got a weapon and you're unarmed... not the worst situation you've been in honestly. It's the speed that's the real problem, he's always been more agile than you, whereas your edge on him is your brute strength, if you can get even a single solid blow or hand on him, it's over.

You watch him closely as he approaches as if through slow motion, he takes a wide shallow swipe at you, even if it hit that wouldn't do much more damage than a paper cut, what is he... ah he has a second hidden knife. You watch from the corner of your eye as it slips from his left sleeve, and he brings it forward for a low thrust to catch you unawares after disorienting you from the swipe. Seeing through it you side step, and grab for his wrist. He's surprised, but doesn't lose composure as he slips your grasp, and with a feat of athletics you didn't know he was capable of he falls backward and plants his left hand, knife still held, onto the ground, and shifts all his weight into a spinning kick aimed at your shins, even seeing things as you are now, your body cannot react fast enough, and you land on your back with a loud thump as the air rushes from your lungs. Following up Immediately, he bring his right hand down over your throat to hold you down, dropping his knife in the process. you feel your airway restricted but not closed completely, he's not trying to choke you, just hold you down.

"Don't move, ok. just... just fucking sit there, I can still fix this." he seems to be almost choking on his words, but in the process of trying to force you into giving up, he's loosened his grip just enough that you could turn the tide. You figure, if you can get the drop on him quick, you could reverse this situation, subdue him and get out with the kid.. but it occurs to you that maybe if you just give in for now you could get some more answers...

>Turn the Tables
>Give in
>Other

>>1654141
>>Turn the Tables

Writing

>Turn the Tables

So sure of his victory, Brandon left one, very important part of his guard open

His groin

"UGH!" he cries as you thrust you knee his nads as hard as you can possibly manage, rolling off of you. Not ready to let this go to waste, you hurry to your feet, and give him a swift kick to the side of the head,a nd he goes limp.
You take enough time to breath a sigh of relief before checking on his breathing... yeah he's still alive... you're kind of relieved. you have no fucking clue what's going on, but he was your best friend since you were a kid, besides... the thought of ending a life makes your stomach churn.

"Hey kid you ok?!" you call out to where you last saw the kid, who peers out from the remains of a pillar

"Uh-uhm, is it over?" she asks cautiously

"Yeah... for now, but we gotta hurry, he won't stay down forever." you say in a hurry as you approach the kid "Is he the one that attacked your friend?"

"Ye-yeah... that's him..."

this is all making less and less sense, you wish you could take him with you and interrogate him, but you have no way to restrain him right now, and honestly, you aren't sure you could repeat this result a second time.

"Fuck... ok, is anywhere outside the orphanage that he likes to hang out? a sort of safe place maybe" you ask, urging the kid to move, both of you hurrying away from the ruins

"Uh, I don't know... school... oh uh... he's been... working out a lot? maybe the workout room?

"...You sure he'd go to a workout room to hide?" you ask dubiously

"Uh well" the kid blushes "I guess he there's the local park... and I think he wanders around the mall sometimes?"

you sigh and rub your brow "God this is dumb" you mutter under your breath "Ok, we'll head..."

>To the School workout room
>To the local Park
>To the Mall
>Other

>>1654298
>Go tell the cops what just happened

writing

>Go tell the cops what just happened

"...To the cops. We need to tell them what happened. If we're fast enough we might be able to lead them here before he wakes up. If they do, we'd be able to prove your friend innocent."

"Uhmm... ok" the kid nods a bit hesitantly

"So...I haven't caught your name. I'm Spirit. Spirit Vains."

"Uhm.... Sarah. Sarah March"

"..." you kinda... pause for a moment "Wait you're a chick?"

she gives you a sort of... insulted look "O-of course I'm a girl! Just cause my hairs a little shorter cause it got burnt..." she pouts

"No uh sorry, you just looked kinda like a guy and..."

That was probably not the right thing to say

she glares at you "What. and what."

"I uh.... nothing!" you say hurriedly "I mean you're plenty womanly, plenty of... assets?"

she stares at you with a dead stare "Hentai"

"Ok, what the hell is up with the gratuitous Japanese even... you know what, whatever!, let's just go"

"Hmph!" she says refusing to look at you as you sigh and head over to the nearest police station

The station's in a bit of a state when you get there, people hurriedly heading all over, seems pretty busy today, i suppose with two arson cases in the span of a week that's to be expected though.
You're able to get someone to listen to you, and they send you to a room in the back to wait while they go to check if Brandon is still there. Sarah is put in a separate room as they want to question her about Jacob, who is still missing.
After a while a young woman about 5'8, with but length strawberry blonde hair in a suit comes in and flashes you a badge

"I'm Lt. Seriko. I've been put in charge of your case. We checked the Location you mentioned, but this Brandon was not there. we have an officer checking his residence now. Now, could you please tell me exactly what happened at the scene?"

you gather your thoughts for a moment. A lot of what happened makes very little sense... honestly the whole glowing thing on your chest was probably just a stress induced hallucination... but no, brandon remarked on it too... he reacted to it...
you tell her everything. You don't really know why, even the crazy bit with the glow, and for her part, she takes it all surprisingly in stride. After you finish talking she nods.

"Ok, I think I have a better idea what's going on now. So-"

the door opens behind you "Ok Kid, we didn't find anything at the scene so you can go."

"Uhm... ok? but i was just in the middle of telling her what..." you look where Lt. Seriko was sitting, and she is no longer there "...eh?"

the guy rolls his eyes "crazies" he mutters "look, we're very busy, so scram ok?"

"Uh... ok, wait what about Sarah?"

"The girl's been taken to social services."

"right..." this is all getting more and more bizarre, but you can do little now but move on. But now what do you do?

>Continue your search for Jake
>Go home and sleep on it
>Go to the ruins of the orphanage
>Go to the ruins of Cassie's House
>other

>>1653014
Fuck that guy

>>1654528
>EEUbGlh2 Anon was right

which guy exactly anon

Writing

>>1654546
>EEUbGlh2
kThat negro akept making out of character retarededed bvotes anon, he wasn't right. H e was bitching cause op wouldn't let him have his lolrandom stuped way.

>Fuck that guy

"Ok look officer, I have had a really bad week, so cut the crap. What the fuck is going on here? Whats up with the disappearing cop? Social services? Already? We've been here like... 15 minutes, what about her being interrogated?'

"I don't like your tone kid. Just scram, the girl's fine. If you don't calm down, i'm going to have to detain you." the cop's definitely a bit irritated

You take a breath. The guys right but, you can't shake the feeling that something is off. "ok, I get it, but i mean, she's still here right, no way they elft eyt... can I at least say talk to her first. I was helping he rlook for ehr friend before we came here"

"No, she's gone kid just forget about her. besides, ain't you a bit old for her?"

your face screws up a little "What? Uh, no It's not like that, she was just-"

"Whatever, just go" he waves you off

Left with little choice, and unwilling to assault a police officer, you oblige and leave, but you can't help but feel bad for leaving Sarah behind. Unsure what to do now you find yourself just... wandering, and reflecting. eventually you take a seat on a bench and just think. As you do you become of a slight bulge in your right pocket, and realize its the drawing you found before you got attacked by Brandon, all crumpled up. It's... definitely Cassie's style of drawing. Seeing it causes a twinge of pain in your chest, but you push it back. this isn't the time for self pity. Instead, you begin to consider the connotations of the drawings, each one has been accurate to actual events that occurred... except one. The drawing of you confronting Brandon in front of Cassie's burning house. It's almost prophetic... You decide to play with the idea mentally. Let's consider Cassie's art really was prophetic images, why was that one not true? Maybe... maybe because she knew? Maybe she knew about he prophetic power... and wanted to avoid that future? That... that would explain why she made you promise not to go to her house, no matter how bad it seemed that night...
But this is all crazy!, Completely outside the bounds of reality right? Nobody can see the future... But it doesn't change the fact... those drawings were pretty damn eerie.

you sigh in frustration and in response a cup of coffee appears in front of your face, "You look like you need a drink" you look up to see... Lt. Seriko

"What... what are you doing her- no, where did you go you just... disappeared, when the other cop showed up!"

she gives an embarrassed smile and looks away "Yeeeah, sorry about that, wasn't expecting them tos how up so quick... Look, can we talk somewhere? Somewhere private optimally"

"Why?" you ask cautiously

"Because. I can give you answers. But someone could be watching out here."

"..."

>Yes
>No

>>1654710
>Yes


rfuck, sorry quest frong, was drunk and like 7 post behind whin i said fuck that guy, would have voted diffrently if i had checked he auto update box when i read the pupdate when our bud chelld that girl up witha nichfe

It's no problem sir

Writing

"...yeah, ok. If it lets me make some semblance of sense out of all this, I'll take it. We can talk at my place...also" you take the coffee "Thanks"

she gives you the first genuine smile you've seen in some time "Was the least I could do, considering."

You raise an eyebrow "Considering what?"

"Your girlfriend, Cassandra. And the betrayal of your friend"

You wince "Y-yeah. right..." you shake your head and hurry home, she takes the hint and shuts up.

Something's off when you get back. the door is unlocked... and you know you locked it before leaving "..hold up a second" you say, waving for Lt. Seriko to wait, as you slowly edge your way into the apartment.
The entire place is a mess, dressers up turned, papers everywhere, your entire apartment has just been completely torn apart "Ah shit, shit shit shit!" you hurriedly start looking to see if anythings been taken, while Seriko
takes this as her cue to see whats going on
"What's going... ah... I suppose it was only a matter of time... at least you weren't here when they arrived. Did they take anything important?

"I'm looking!" you call, and after a moment, you realize exactly what they took

Cassandra's Binder of Drawings.

>TO BE CONTINUED

I will announce the next run of Pillar Quest on my twitter which you can find here! https://twitter.com/QuestFrog
Have a good day!

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This is a nice thread

you feel your face twist into one of incredulous puzzlement. They took... Cassie's Drawing's? Why? to wreck an entire room over it more than anything...

"They took Cassie's binder" you say blankly

"Binder?" Seriko asks "Was there anything important inside?

"I...sort of... It was her drawings and paintings, everything she ever made... she gave it to me before..."

Seriko frowns "that's... bad. very bad"

You give her a confused look "What do you mean? They were just drawings. i can't understand why they'd be important enough to steal." you sigh tiredly taking a seat on your bed

"The drawings, did you ever get a weird sense of... deja vu looking at them, or like... they looked like something that had happened before, or-"

"Or it actually happened after seeing the drawing" you say quietly

Seriko furrows her brow "Than it's exactly like I thought... Spirit, we have to find that binder. It's very important."

"I'm starting to get that, but why exactly?" you have a feeling you know what the answer is going to be, but it's just so... incredible that you need her to confirm it for you, to confirm you aren't crazy.

"They're prophetic. They tell the future, or, well, possible future's, likely one's... She left them with you, to guide the way. But in their hands..."

>Guide the way to what?
>Who's hands?
>Who the hell are you exactly?
>Other

>>1666736
>Who's hands?

Writing

"They call themselves the Seven Deadly Sins" she says "I'm not entirely sure what they want, nobody is, But they're powerful, they took over the entire Universe in the space of a few earth day-"

"Woh woah, we're talking the universe now?" You ask incredulously. You were willing to beleive the Prophetic pictures bit due to teh overwhelming evidence pointing to it so far, but this? This is just ridiculous

She frowns and scratches her head "Oh right... You wouldn't know...." she sighs and grabs a seat from the kitchen area of the apartment, and sits on it backwards facing you. "Look, i need you to just... open your mind for a bit for me, ok? everything I'm about to tell you is going to sound impossible and insane. I am going to sound insane, but I promise, everything I'm telling you is real."

You can feel her in her demeanor that she's dead serious, and part of you wants to laugh. Part of you wonders if you haven't gone mad in the wake of Cassie's death and this sin't all just some sort of messed up delusion. "Okay, I'm listening. Not like things can get much more nuts anyways."

She gives a nervous chuckle "Yeah about that..." she takes a deep breath, and begins to talk

"Earth isn't the only planet out there with sentient life... not by far. It's full of sentient life, and non sentient life. In fact, there is more planets full of life, than not, earth is just in a dead sector, in the middle of what was neutral space. Earth's significantly under developed... if unique, so, it was deemed that no nation would openly approach it until it reached a certain level." she sighs "That was a long time ago though, when I was a little girl. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, the Seven Deadly Sins appeared... and nothing the 4 Great Nations threw against them could stop them. Their powers were beyond anything we had seen before, and now... they control everything."

"What about earth? I haven't heard of these assholes before today"

"Yes, even here, just... from the shadows. I don't know why they didn't just conquer it like everything else... but I have a guess."

"And what would that be?"

"The Pillars of Life" she says solemnly "Old old legends say, that when the Universe is about to fall into despair 6 people will bring the world back from the brink.
Courage: With a Will of strongest steel, able to stand fight through any fear, and face any obstacle.
Wisdom: With a calm Mind and heart, who keeps them on their path when the darkness would obscure it. Truth: With a pure keen mind who see's through the lies that will cloud their path.
Determination: As resolute as a Mountain, and twice as stubborn, they are the wall that defends their purpose.
Morality: He who defends their virtue and determines the true Good and evil. and..." she suddenly hesitates than with a sigh and a look of sadness, continues
"And Prophecy: Born only to die, who's Life will be the guiding Light that will show them their path."

"..." that last line hits you like a truck, because you know exactly who it refers to. It couldn't refer to anyone else in this context...

>"It's... fine, just continue"
>...So Cassie died... all for some dumb prophecy?!"
>[ENTER A QUESTION]

>>1666911
>>"It's... fine, just continue"

writing

She gives you a worried glance before continuing "They probably think at least some of the Pillars are here... I think they might be afraid of them"

"Afraid? a group with enough firepower to supposedly take over the entire universe in a few days is afraid of 6 people?" you ask incredulously. the idea seems absurd

"Not just any six people Spirit. The Pillars. If it was learned that they had been born the people would rally behind them. And to them, that is a distinct threat."

you nod slowly, still not totally understanding "Ok so... are there any pillar people here? Besides..."

she gives a shrewd smile "At least two."

"Which?"

"Courage and Wisdom. You, and me."

You blink "Wait... what?"

she smiles "I suspected for awhile, but your story confirmed it. Your chest glowed with the Mark of Courage. It's why your friend was so upset... he must have known for awhile. But was hoping you'd never awake."

This is all giving you a headache. Not long ago you were just a normal college student, now you're supposed to be some... savior of the Universe. No way, you're just... you. That's all you've ever been. "What if... what if I don't buy it."

she cocks her head in confusion "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. What if I just... refuse to believe all of this. Just go on, mourn my girlfriend and just continue college."

she gives you a very worried look "...Than, you doom an entire universe full of people. And yourself. Because, regardless to whether or not you believe all this, they do. And they won't stop hunting you until either you're dead, or they are,"

There is a heavy silence for a moment as you consider her words. If she's right... if this is real, and it's beginning to feel pretty fucking real... you're already in to deep. You can't turn back, return to your normal life even if you want to.

"...Ok. I get it... So what next?"

"Now... we fnd the others. The Pillars seem to attract each other... so they might be nearby. any ideas?"

>"Well, there was this kid, Jake"
>"There's this weird girl, Sarah."
>I dunno maybe my professor, nobody comes to mind"
>Other

>>1667143
>>"Well, there was this kid, Jake"

>>1667143
>"Well, there was this kid, Jake"

Writing

>"Well, there was this kid, Jake"

you continue "He lived in the orphanage I grew up in, where Cassie volunteered... it burned down not long after Cassie's place did, the cops are looking for him under suspicion that he started the fire... but i heard Brandon was there that night."

Seriko nods "I see, yeah, that sounds like the Sins than. They must have found some definitive proof he's a pillar than. How long has he been on the run?"

you shrug "I dunno, hadn't paid too much attention to the story till now. Two or Three days maybe?"

"Ok" she says, sighing in relief "He's probably still nearby than, hopefully at least. We need to find him before they do."

"yeah" you mutter before nodding, psyching yourself up "Yeah. I dunno if i totally buy all this yet, but there's definitely some crazy murderers out there, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let them take out some innocent kid."

She nods "Right, now, any idea where we could start looking for clues?"

"Probably whats left of the orphanage"

"Ok, let's go than" she grabs your arm

"Huh? ok, but you don't need to-"

before you can finish your sentence, there's a blur of motion, of... everything, and you are standing in front of the orphanage. Than you are kneeling in front of the orphanage, staring at the ground, puking your guts out "oh godd what is this."

"Uh...woops?" Seriko blushes in embarrassment "Probably should have warned you first... teleportation can be a bit rough your first time."

it takes you the better half of 15 minutes to recover from the sudden movement, before you finally get up. together you look over the orphanage, after some time, you discover another drawing you must have missed, but as you go for it, you notice movement behind a broken pillar, Seriko doesn't.

>Continue grabbing the paper, see what happens
>check out the movement [roll 1d100]

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>1667347
>>check out the movement [roll 1d100]

writing

>Rolled a 30

you immediately rush the movement, you're a bit on edge after hearing all this shit about the Sins, unfortunately, you're so invested in your bull rush, you forget to prepare to fight, and the Little girl who was spying on you catches you straight in the nose with her punch

"Sum ub a bish!" you spit hand to your nose as the girl shakes a little from the fright and stares at her hand

"uh..." she says uncomfortably, and you suddenly recognize her. It's that weird girl, Sarah

Seriko hurries over "What hap...snerk" she muffles a laugh "Did you just ... get decked by a little girl?"

"I'm not little I'm 16 jeez!" she pouts angrily and looks away

"Whatever you shout rubbing your nose "Why did you punch me anyways?"

"You scared me, I couldn't see you clearly, I thought maybe you were them."

Seriko leans in "Who exactly"

"Some scary guys... they called themselves the 'Social Services, but I've seen them,a nd that was not social services, i kicked one in the balls and ran here. Than you guys appeared out of nowhere, like literally just poped into existence, what was with that anyways? You wizards or something?"

Sabrina giggles at Sarah's hyper response before shaking her head "No, i'm not a wizard. a wizard is a lesser male mage. I'm a Sorceress"

Sarah stares wide eyed "Woooooooooah" you can't believe she believed that without hesitation

"Ok slow down there Seriko-"

"Call me Sabrina" she cuts in

"Sabrina, whatever. You're telling me you use magic now?" This is getting harder and harder to believe. Than again, you did just teleport

"Whats that saying you earthlings have again? Oh, right 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.'" she smirks

"So... it's just science that looks like magic."

"No, it's magic. It doesn't mean it isn't scientific though"

"Isn't it not by definition" this woman confuses you greatly

"Maybe by yours. Not by ours, Magic is just the transfer of energy into another form via certain brain functions. It's complex and takes a certain amount of innate talent and years of practice"

Yeah this is getting to be a bit much "Ok Sabrina, this is getting to be a bit much fo-" you are interrupted by Sabrina moving suddenly, eyes now hard as she points at you, and a bolt of lightning blasts from her forefinger, over your left shoulder, you turn quickly in surprise, your cheek tingling as you watch a man in a black suit crumple spasming, dropping the large knife he had in his hand.

"Punchy, did you make sure you weren't followed?" Sabrina calls at Sarah

"Did you just call me punchy?"

"Doesn't matter answer the question "Uh i dunno, I thought I lost them..." at that 5 more sorta... pop in out of nowhere

"Oh fucking hell" you curse

one of them steps forward, a man with a particularly large scar across his face points a... is that a sword? at you. "Ok kid's, Here's the deal. you come wit us, and we won't hurt ya's. We understand each other?"

Sabrina Scoffs "Please, we both know that isn't true, your masters wouldn't allow it"

"Aw, yer brekin me heart here girl, Don't ya trust me?" he says with a grin

"Not as far as I could throw you"

"Ah wells, i was hopin for a fight anyways..."

The man takes a few intimidating steps towards you and his men draw variety of weapons, prepared for battle...

>TO BE CONTINUED

Thanks for playing today, hope you enjoyed it. sorry my posts take so long , I'm a slow writer, but I'm trying to improve., see you on sunday at 2pm PST!