StrangerYou find Jae surrounded by three strangers who may as well have "bad news" scrawled across their foreheads. The thuggish men exchange nasty grins as they cluster around her.
Jae"You're not going to hurt a defenceless girl, are you?" Jae's voice sounds strangely conciliatory.
Stranger"We'll hurt you, all right. But you'll like it." The ringleader gives her a lecherous wink.
YOU"You there! Get your filthy carcasses out of here, or I'll..."
StrangerThe trio turn their gazes to you — big mistake.
JaeA lightning-fast attack blows off half of the thug ringleader's skull before he can let out so much as a squeak. The other two goggle at Jae in shock, who is pointing her weapon at one of the two. She blandly repeats her question: "You're not going to hurt a defenceless girl, are you?"
Resistance Fighter"Eh, no, of course not. We'll probably just go—"
JaeThe second thug's head explodes. Jae now looks at the final man, as calmly and coolly as before. "What's it going to be, big man? You're not going to hurt a defenceless girl, are you?"
Resistance FighterThe louse falls, trembling, to his knees. "Please, don't ki—" He does not get the chance to finish. Jae silently stands over the three bodies, her expression unwavering. Her lips are pressed tightly together.
YOU"Who were they?"
Jae"Just some ashmags looking for easy prey. They didn't find it."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"
JaeJae's cold gaze cuts to you. "No, [Name]. I'm not bloody all right."
Jae"We've landed in the worst-smelling shitpile in the universe. This place isn't just threatening our lives, it's gutting our souls. And for the first time in years — and I mean bloody YEARS — I've lost all hope." Jae's voice is hard and her eyes are black pools of ice, but cracks are forming, and you can hear the whispers of terror that break through to the surface. "You know I don't give a shit about a bloody party, right? But that scissor-fingered creep hasn't just mutilated my body, he's mutilated the life I've spent so long building."
Jae"Years of games, deceit, and subterfuge, of telling myself that I do deserve more than a squalid death in the gutter — and he went and disembowelled it and turned everything inside out in a couple of hours. Without that life, who am I? What do I look like to people? Back to being scum, only entitled to scraps. I've lost my golden mask, and without it, life... is the same old shit as before."
YOU"To me, you will always be a princess of Efreet."
Jae"Oh, [Name], you don't need to say that groxshit to me! I'm not a snivelling kid that needs comforting. You know, everyone knows, even I know, but I almost managed to forget — the topic's closed. I'll adapt, pick up the pieces of my mask and stick them back together again. But it won't fool you anymore — you'll have to come to terms with that."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"
Jae"The 19th Efreet Regiment doesn't put up with weaklings. Forgive me for that sorry display back there. Bloody awful idea."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."
Jae"Sir/Ma'am, yes, sir/ma'am. Jae Heydari, standing ready for orders."
end of branch
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."
Jae"Uh-huh. I'll try to reassure everyone that I haven't become completely unhinged."
end of branch
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I suspected you might be lying about your past. No need to take it so hard."
Jae"So you're telling me that I'm a shit liar as well? Fine — I'll just think of a better story next time, a more convincing one."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You have never given a damn about rules or expectations. You never fitted the mould of a princess or a deserter. You are simply Jae Heydari."
JaeJae smiles thinly, but the darkness recedes slightly from her eyes. "You can see through any mask, [Name]. You're right — that's one thing I can't change about myself. I'm Jae Heydari and I love rebelling against norms under any guise."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I prefer the new you."
JaeJae smiles sweetly as though trying to soften the crudeness of her words: "Sorry, [Name], but I don't give a shit. I don't prefer me this way and I don't want to feel like this. So keep your pity and comfort to yourself — I'm not a wounded little girl who needs your protection. I'll pick myself up, dust myself off, and in time, I'll make a new mask for myself, a better one."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Offer nothing but sympathetic silence]
Jae"Don't give me that crap. You don't need to fill your head with my problems. I'll just take the pieces of the last mask and try to cobble together a new one for myself. A better one."
YOU"Who were they?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Are you all right?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"You made short work of them!"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"I need you in my party. Fight at my side."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"Go and calm down inside and pull yourself together."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Draw your weapon] "Time to clear some of the dirt off the streets of Commorragh."
StrangerThe trio turn their gazes to you — big mistake.continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Wait silently]
JaeA lightning-fast attack blows off half of the thug ringleader's skull before he can let out so much as a squeak. The other two goggle at Jae in shock, who is pointing her weapon at one of the two. She blandly repeats her question: "You're not going to hurt a defenceless girl, are you?"continues where this line first appears above