NeoCardMaker Holy Grail War

[LordCowCow 841]

"Don't you worry, Saber, this is the best outcome for you. Seems I was late to the party but now that I'm here..."

>dramatic gaze off into the distance

"The war might as well be won."

>Head to Abandoned House

[Skaia 578]

"I see. Well, keep on eye on the church for now."

I go into a bar to check it out.

[Chaos Sonic 443]

11 hours ago, Yui said:

"Of course it'll work!" Your Servant takes the knife back, pocketing it and looking at the map some more. "We can set out to get the place ready whenever you want! If there's something else you want to do before taking off, take care of that business first."

>"No time like the present. At the same time, I would venture a guess that the other Masters and Servants in this war may actually be doing prep work rather than rushing head first into battle...at least, if they're smart."
>Takes the map and pockets it
>"Plus with quite the bit of cash we got from your luck streak, we can definitely use that to our advantage as well."
>Prepares to leave the hotel

[Sethera 290]

"All right then. Let's go mountain-climbing."

[Saikazo 241]

"Alright, we'll see you all tomorrow!"

>Head to the Slums

[Blake 312]

“Noon it is, then.”

Follow servant and wait patiently.

[yui 576]

23 hours ago, Tormented said:

"I'm mostly just looking around" I keep an eye on this boy at the corner of my eye.

"Looking for information about the location of our greatest treasure, a lady named Thunderhead seemed to suggest you have all the answers. I suppose it wouldn't be much in the way of a good game if you just told me the location of the treasure but what can you tell me?"

(side-note, I want to try a different text color for everyone's favorite officiator. so that's what the below is.)

"Oh yes, I have the Grail. Could even show it to you, if you want. Except, well, it's not ready yet. Six Servants need to fill the vessel so it's ready to go, et cetera et cetera, surely you know how it is. As-is, the Grail's only useful as a decoration or a very fancy drinking cup, and can't grant any wishes until there's only one of you seven left." The officiator takes a confident nod. "I of course have no wish I want granted by the Grail. I'm much more interested in watching the rest of you fight each other for it."

23 hours ago, LordCowCow said:

"Don't you worry, Saber, this is the best outcome for you. Seems I was late to the party but now that I'm here..."

>dramatic gaze off into the distance

"The war might as well be won."

>Head to Abandoned House

The abandoned house is a crumbling old structure that has clearly seen far better days. Along the way, you did manage to overhear some loose rumors about the place. Many claim that the house is haunted, though the exact nature of what's haunting the place is unclear. It's just a hunch, but you get the suspicion that maybe - just maybe - it has to do with the fact that the area around it was turned into a graveyard. Whatever it is, the rumors say it seems to appreciate food offerings.

As you pass by the graves and examine the house up close, you reaffirm that yes, this place will probably give in on its own in another 20-30 years just from how neglected the house looks. Aside from a plate near the door that wouldn't look out of place in a grandmother's kitchen, everything is old, weathered, and is essentially the house equivalent of a decaying corpse. If you were an architect, the sight of it would probably make you pretty sad. The door has been left open, the lights do not work, and what little furniture you can see on the inside from here has been more or less torn to ribbons.

17 hours ago, Skaia said:

"I see. Well, keep on eye on the church for now."

I go into a bar to check it out.

BGM

You head into one of the bars. Immediately, you are hit with the smells of old people, alcohol, and cheap food. There's a lot of talking going on inside, and what little bits you can pick up over every other conversation mostly have to do with either the warehouse explosion that was covered on the news earlier, or baseball. Suddenly, as you're passing by one of the tables, someone grips your arm. You turn to see who it is.

An old man, who has clearly had quite a bit to drink tonight. You aren't sure just how old he is, but if you had to guess based on his appearance, his age probably has three digits in it. He points to the man sitting opposite him, who looks just as ancient. "T... Tell him!" the old man slurs. "It'sh not, it'sh not a difficult concept. Everybody gets it. Go on, let him know and set this old fool straight."

12 hours ago, Chaos Sonic said:

>"No time like the present. At the same time, I would venture a guess that the other Masters and Servants in this war may actually be doing prep work rather than rushing head first into battle...at least, if they're smart."
>Takes the map and pockets it
>"Plus with quite the bit of cash we got from your luck streak, we can definitely use that to our advantage as well."
>Prepares to leave the hotel

"Anyone rushing into a fight this soon is a fool," your Servant proclaims. "No enemy is worth fighting before you've scoped them out. And if they're stronger than you, of course you avoid them. That's how I got by in life." They say that as if it's something to be proud of. Servant in tow, the two of you leave the hotel, course set for the island. As the two of you look out to the sea, you can just barely make out the island from the shore, though it's pretty tough to spot in the middle of the night.

"Can't say I'm a swimmer, if I'm being honest. I think I know how to get us over there though. If you don't mind some activities the police would find less than agreeable."

11 hours ago, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd said:

"All right then. Let's go mountain-climbing."

"Let's." You can't be certain, but for just a moment, you could have sworn you saw a smile on Berserker's face. The two of you take the long trek across town, and eventually make it to the mountains sitting northwest of the city proper. They're quite a lush shade of green, as is the grass in their vicinity! Perhaps the rain shadow effect made the soil especially fertile around here? More than that, though, the first thing you notice is the entrance to an old mine.

7 hours ago, Saikazo said:

"Alright, we'll see you all tomorrow!"

>Head to the Slums

You and Archer make your way to the local slums. Whatever windows aren't barred are gone entirely, most people don't seem to have gone to the trouble of mowing their lawns in months, and there are way too many dogs running around. You seem to encounter at least two on every block, and although they do eye you over, they seem to pay neither you nor Archer much mind besides that. Moreover, you notice that anyone out and about at this late hour seems to go out of their way to avoid acknowledging the dogs.

Well, everyone except for that blue-haired guy who--oh dear he's heading straight for you. And he doesn't look like he's here for tea and cupcakes, either. He stops more or less directly in your path, eyeing you and Archer. "Hmm... never seen you two before. Don't look like sis's goons, either. Alright, good." The boy then holds out his hand. "Wallets, please." Suddenly, all the dogs in the area have stopped, and are looking directly at the three of you.

7 hours ago, Blake said:

“Noon it is, then.”

Follow servant and wait patiently.

You follow Caster back to the storage district, and overhear him muttering something about automating delivery trucks to feed him resources. He makes a number of "shopping" trips in the area, and your role has mostly boiled down to carrying whatever odd objects and materials he happens upon. He seems particularly fascinated by a magic 8-ball he found in one of the warehouses, but hasn't taken it out of the box yet. When the two of you return to your base, you follow Caster into the room he set aside for his own workshop, and simply leave your haul wherever. As Caster starts rummaging through the materials, he pulls out a knife, some coal, a jar of honey, and a few other things as well, setting them down on an old desk as he starts talking.

"This won't be a quick process, Master. If you'd like to turn in for the night, I'll wake you up when our new allies return. Unless you'd rather we have some nice conversation, you and I."

[Blake 312]

"Hm..."

After a short talk, head to sleep in the room as my servant works.

[Saikazo 241]

"Okay, buddy, buddy, lemme level with you," I say as I take out my wallet and pull out the money. "You can rob me right now and get all of 25 dollars, or, you can take me and my partner here to whoever runs this place, and hit the jackpot. I'm talking name your price level of jackpot. There's something big going on in town, and I need some help, so I came here. What'll it be? 25 bucks and a card, or literally naming your own price?"

[Ash 237]

"Yeah sounds about right, do you know of any information on the other masters?"

[Sethera 290]

*looks around*

"Oh wow, this place is pretty peaceful! I like it."

*looks at mine entrance*

"Uh oh, that looks dangerous...but also kind of cool. And maybe it can be a good place to sleep if it rains and stuff too. Hmm..." *thinks for a bit* "Let's go check it out, shall we?"

[LordCowCow 841]

"Hm, hm, what do ya think? Could be a pretty nice place to set up shop. Might make it hard for anyone to sneak up on us."

>Goes up to the plate

"Here, have a Snickers, you're uninhabitable when you're hungry"

>Leaves a candy bar on the plate and take a step back to observe.

[Skaia 578]

I'll look at the man a bit dumbfounded. Then I'll look to the other ancient and say, "uhh, well, you heard him. It's uh, not that hard." 

[Chaos Sonic 443]

17 hours ago, Yui said:

"Anyone rushing into a fight this soon is a fool," your Servant proclaims. "No enemy is worth fighting before you've scoped them out. And if they're stronger than you, of course you avoid them. That's how I got by in life." They say that as if it's something to be proud of. Servant in tow, the two of you leave the hotel, course set for the island. As the two of you look out to the sea, you can just barely make out the island from the shore, though it's pretty tough to spot in the middle of the night.

"Can't say I'm a swimmer, if I'm being honest. I think I know how to get us over there though. If you don't mind some activities the police would find less than agreeable."

"If we can do this without killing any of the innocents like that or making too much of a scene for the other combatants to find us, then I will allow you to 'work your magic', as they say."
>Allows to let my Servant do what they please, provided no innocents are harmed in the process or make it where the combatants find us

[yui 576]

19 hours ago, Blake said:

"Hm..."

After a short talk, head to sleep in the room as my servant works.

You and your Servant talk some, and you then head off to sleep. You will be pinged when the time comes to wake up.

18 hours ago, Saikazo said:

"Okay, buddy, buddy, lemme level with you," I say as I take out my wallet and pull out the money. "You can rob me right now and get all of 25 dollars, or, you can take me and my partner here to whoever runs this place, and hit the jackpot. I'm talking name your price level of jackpot. There's something big going on in town, and I need some help, so I came here. What'll it be? 25 bucks and a card, or literally naming your own price?"

The boy pauses, taking your words into account. Before coming to a decision, he takes the money in your hand, and counts it up before returning it to you. "Alright, you've convinced me. Let me go get my manager." The boy turns around, and starts as if to lead you somewhere... only to immediately turn back around. "Hi, I'm my manager." The dogs in the area go back to their own business, as the boy slings an arm over your shoulder and leads the way into the house you encountered him just outside of. The place smells very strongly of dog hair, various meats, and just a faint hint of cinnamon.

He sits down at a couch, and gestures for you to sit at a chair opposite him, though he does glance at Archer every so often. "Don't mind the smell. Oh, and if you're allergic to dogs, you should go, like... now. I should have mentioned that already. Whoops. Now then, let's talk business. What do you and your odd friend want from me?"

18 hours ago, Tormented said:

"Yeah sounds about right, do you know of any information on the other masters?"

"Of course. I've been watching all seven of you. But I can't just hand out info like that. It's my duty as officiator to remain neutral in this affair."

5 hours ago, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd said:

*looks around*

"Oh wow, this place is pretty peaceful! I like it."

*looks at mine entrance*

"Uh oh, that looks dangerous...but also kind of cool. And maybe it can be a good place to sleep if it rains and stuff too. Hmm..." *thinks for a bit* "Let's go check it out, shall we?"

"Agreed." With Berserker leading the way, you head into the old mine. It is... well, old. And while it is quite dark inside, Berserker seems able to see just fine. You manage to navigate by following the sound of her footsteps. "Wait." It isn't very far into the mine though, before she stops you. And even in a dark mine, you can tell why. A gaping hole in the ground in front of you. Probably the unfortunate result of an old cave-in or something.

2 hours ago, LordCowCow said:

"Hm, hm, what do ya think? Could be a pretty nice place to set up shop. Might make it hard for anyone to sneak up on us."

>Goes up to the plate

"Here, have a Snickers, you're uninhabitable when you're hungry"

>Leaves a candy bar on the plate and take a step back to observe.

You leave a candy bar on the plate... and nothing seems to happen. You think you catch sight of something moving inside the house, but given you couldn't really make out a shape, it was probably just your eyes playing tricks on you with the power of suggestion.

2 hours ago, Skaia said:

I'll look at the man a bit dumbfounded. Then I'll look to the other ancient and say, "uhh, well, you heard him. It's uh, not that hard." 

"Y'sssssee that, you old coot!? Even this young feller understands, you pronounce it like that peanut butter. That's what the guy who made it said, and he would know! He made it!" The old man lets you go as he and his fellow fossil continue arguing over if it should be pronounced with a hard or soft g, allowing you to look around the bar freely again. Aside from their conversation, nothing new of interest passes through your ears. Chicken wings seem to be on a pretty huge sale though.

1 hour ago, Chaos Sonic said:

"If we can do this without killing any of the innocents like that or making too much of a scene for the other combatants to find us, then I will allow you to 'work your magic', as they say."
>Allows to let my Servant do what they please, provided no innocents are harmed in the process or make it where the combatants find us

"Okay. Follow me, Master!" Your Servant looks around at the harbor area, before fixing their eyes upon something in particular. Somebody left their boat docked here. Just a small boat for four passengers. Your Servant immediately hops in, looking around at the levers, the seats, and... the key slot. "Right. Keys." They then slide down onto the floor of the front seats, looking for a panel of some kind. "Master! Do you know how to hotwire one of these things? We can always fire it up with magecraft, but doing things the old-fashioned way just feels so rewarding."

[LordCowCow 841]

"Well, that was anticlimactic."

>Approach door

"Knock knock, coming in, please don't haunt me too bad."

>Enter house

[Ash 237]

I laugh "You can't fault me for trying, well I guess I should take my leave." I depart (assuming no interruptions)

"Lancer. Can you go up to the wall and scout around? If our goal is to eliminate everyone then we need to find out where our targets are first" meanwhile I use a magic spell to trace any unusual tracks of Mana around.

[Skaia 578]

I'll ask my servant if they like chicken wings before purchasing a bunch and heading back to base. 

Edited December 5, 2019 by Skaia

[Chaos Sonic 443]

13 hours ago, Yui said:

"Okay. Follow me, Master!" Your Servant looks around at the harbor area, before fixing their eyes upon something in particular. Somebody left their boat docked here. Just a small boat for four passengers. Your Servant immediately hops in, looking around at the levers, the seats, and... the key slot. "Right. Keys." They then slide down onto the floor of the front seats, looking for a panel of some kind. "Master! Do you know how to hotwire one of these things? We can always fire it up with magecraft, but doing things the old-fashioned way just feels so rewarding."

"I suppose I can take a try at that. Seen an old friend of mine do it a few times before and actually taught me...at least once. Just keep your fingers crossed."
>Allows the Servant to move from where the panel is and attempts to hotwire the boat.

[Sethera 290]

"Thanks. That could've been bad. One pitfall is enough for me. As I thought, this place is dangerous."

*looks around*

Does the hole block my way forward?

[yui 576]

23 hours ago, LordCowCow said:

"Well, that was anticlimactic."

>Approach door

"Knock knock, coming in, please don't haunt me too bad."

>Enter house

With Saber in tow, you enter the house. It's rather dark. Enough so that you can't really see much of anything.

"Master, if I may." Saber doesn't seem to do much at first, but that changes soon. Although you do feel more powerful by being in his vicinity, more important is that his armor begins glowing, giving you a convenient light source that follows you around inside the house. The pattern of "very torn-up" continues from the furniture up to the bottoms of the walls. You also see what seem to be scraps of old food offerings scattered around here and there. Suddenly, you feel something brush against your leg, moving in the direction of the door at very high speeds.

23 hours ago, Tormented said:

I laugh "You can't fault me for trying, well I guess I should take my leave." I depart (assuming no interruptions)

"Lancer. Can you go up to the wall and scout around? If our goal is to eliminate everyone then we need to find out where our targets are first" meanwhile I use a magic spell to trace any unusual tracks of Mana around.

"Understood." As Lancer makes his way back to the wall, you try to detect anything unusual in your area. For just a brief moment, you could have sworn you detected something in the direction of old town, but as quickly as you picked it up, it was gone. Must have been a dog with abnormally high magical circuits or something. The only other thing of note is that - in addition to the officiator - you detect a signal not unlike Lancer's inside the church. Speaking of Lancer, he reports back via telepathy.

"Oh boy, have I got news for you. Something's glowing in the abandoned house not too far from the church. Not only that, but I see a couple of figures on a boat, heading out. The driver seems to stand out a bit. Might be a Servant."

16 hours ago, Skaia said:

I'll ask my servant if they like chicken wings before purchasing a bunch and heading back to base. 

"I have never tasted them." As you return to your base, it isn't long before you're joined by your Servant. "I have confirmed the mystery Servant visiting the church was indeed Lancer. I also detected the presence of an additional Servant inside the church itself. Lancer, meanwhile, appears to be scouting out the inner city right now. It seems unlikely he'd find us from up there if we're in here."

10 hours ago, Chaos Sonic said:

"I suppose I can take a try at that. Seen an old friend of mine do it a few times before and actually taught me...at least once. Just keep your fingers crossed."
>Allows the Servant to move from where the panel is and attempts to hotwire the boat.

Your attempts to hotwire the boat are rather successful, and the boat starts up with no trouble. "Good job, Master. Now, sit back and get comfy. Next stop, that remote little island!" Clearly eager to see just how fast a motorboat can go, your Servant rockets out into the sea once the boat is no longer in danger of running into the docks. They seem to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. Inevitably though, this fun boat ride must end, and your Servant pulls up at the edge of the island. "And we're here." Once the two of you are out of the boat and on solid land, your Servant drags the boat onto the land, just enough to keep it from being gently carried away by the tide.

"So what's the plan now? Do we just make a ruckus until another Master notices?"

2 hours ago, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd said:

"Thanks. That could've been bad. One pitfall is enough for me. As I thought, this place is dangerous."

*looks around*

Does the hole block my way forward?

The hole can't be sidled around, but it seems like Berserker has an idea. She picks you up, and leaps across the hole with her powerful Servant legs, landing squarely on the other side of the hole.

"Hmmm..." Berserker looks down the hole, just to see how deep it goes. Seems she can't see the bottom. "Convenient."

[Ash 237]

"If our objective is to be the last standing then perhaps a slow play would be to our advantage... You were quite tactically sound during your time weren't you Lancer, what would you suggest? The way I see it is we can eliminate individuals that are on their own or stay and wait for us to be the last standing."

[LordCowCow 841]

"Wow you really do have a shining personality."

>Looks to door

>Sees thing

>Helps thing

>Thing runs

"Next time I'll bring tuna."

>Set up a thing by door and any window I see

>Continues to explore house

[Skaia 578]

I'll go back to home base and lock the door behind me. Sitting back down with my servant, I'll present  some chicken wings to them, eating some myself saying, "well, it's probably for the best that we didn't engage with Lancer just now. The other servant is something to consider, but, it's probably best for us to lay low in the morning. Then we can go do some recon, and maybe learn more about our little bomber friend. Do you have any place specifically you want to scope out?" 

[Chaos Sonic 443]

16 hours ago, Yui said:

Your attempts to hotwire the boat are rather successful, and the boat starts up with no trouble. "Good job, Master. Now, sit back and get comfy. Next stop, that remote little island!" Clearly eager to see just how fast a motorboat can go, your Servant rockets out into the sea once the boat is no longer in danger of running into the docks. They seem to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. Inevitably though, this fun boat ride must end, and your Servant pulls up at the edge of the island. "And we're here." Once the two of you are out of the boat and on solid land, your Servant drags the boat onto the land, just enough to keep it from being gently carried away by the tide.

"So what's the plan now? Do we just make a ruckus until another Master notices?"

For the meme side at that first question...not to be taken seriously...

Spoiler

"We shall commence that after we do our best to scout this island to the best of our abilities. We need to find a location to bunker down in as well as locations for where to set traps. Once all that is taken care of, then we'll get the other's attention."
>Begins to scout the area