Campaign: Off Road
I am okay with this plan.
We should bring a total of 8 people searching for Alan because that's how many we can easily hide with our 2 Molly's Mundane Mirages.
-Ike
-Zech
-Nik
-Lune (squire)
-1 water mage
That leaves room for 3 more recruits. Try to choose some relatively competent seeming ones.
Find out everyone's name at least.
Sounds like a plan. You also turn your nameless mooks into named mooks.
From the recruits you choose Bokk and Reik, two brothers that seem quite skilled with their bows but can also handle a sword if need be and Sandetris who wields a short sword and a buckler. You figure having some long-range fighters with you is better in such wide open areas, especially if you encounter enemy archers or mages. It would also probably be easier to use your ability to help them. They're nowhere close to Ike's level of skill but they should help in any engagement. Even if your opponents are way out of their league, they will at least distract them and/or keep you from getting overwhelmed. After all, a man can only deal with so many people attacking him at the same time before he is overwhelmed.
The mage is called Dhiesmas and he seems like a jolly old man. You haven't seen him use his abilities for anything more than the communication spell and meditating, but you assume he must have at least some skill. He had no problem with accompanying you on your quest for Alan, even though this isn't exactly the mission he was given when he left Chizra.
"On second thought I will stay with the caravan. Can do more good there training the recruits. I am sure you will find Alan without me."
Nik (And Lune) will stay with the caravan.
He is willing to lend his mirage and a couple sleeping gas bolts to Ike's group. They might help.
Okay then. You don't follow Ike after all. I won't erase the above action since I had already written it.
Campaign, Ike!
Sounds all right, let's move move move and find this Brad to ask him some good questions.
You keep following Brad's trail for a couple of days until you reach the Hills of Midnight, a long range of hills dividing the desert in two. Their natural resources make them one of the few places that hold (or at least held) any sort of human presence in the vicinity. You climb a small path, past some ruined buildings and through rocky outcrops until you reach a secluded area. The path ahead of you dips into a dry riverbed before winding up a steep hill and into a plateau with a few buildings. There is little doubt that Brad's trail will lead you up there. You take cover behind a hill as you survey the area, discuss this development and consider your options.
The largest building is a two storey thing of stone and wood resting against the wall of the plateau. From what you've seen so far of this kingdom's architecture, you'd guess this building extends into the hill somewhat. The ground floor is mostly made of stone, except for a room on the side that looks like a later addition. It has no windows and only two doors, one in the front, hidden beneath a small balcony, and another on the side, on the wooden walls of the 'addition'. The second floor is mostly wooden and has a few windows. A man is standing guard on the front door, hiding in the shade of the door from the harsh midday sun. You can't see if he is carrying any weapons from here. There are no other guards in sight, so it should be just the one, unless more are hiding nearby (or one of them is using the nearby outhouse).
Sandetris says this has to be the Wandering Arms, a pub rumored to exist somewhere on this side of the Hills of Midnight. The rumors say this is a lawless place where criminals and fringe elements of any sort gather to conduct business in a 'safe' environment or simply partake in the various forms of entertainment provided there (most of them illegal). If D was here he'd probably say something about scum and villainy.
Next to the guarded building is a stable, little more than a large wooden corridor from what you can see. A few horses are lazily munching their lunch, their forms visible through small windows, though there doesn't appear to be anybody guarding them. Maybe they think people would be too scared to steal from them.
There's a dirty magical pump close to the stables, feeding into a half-empty watering trough. It must have been used recently, for you can see a large pool next to it that is probably more mud than water at this point. Dhiesmas informs you that he feels the flow of Water magic is a bit stronger than average here, but not significantly so. Maybe that explains the abundance of water or maybe it's caused by it. Whatever the case, you can clearly see the effects, the weeds and shrubs growing around the plateau and even a few sad trees, their tall thin branches vibrating with the slightest wind, the few leaves on them looking ready to be carried away at any moment.
Closer to the road there is some sort of storage area, a stone building leaning against one of the cliff faces surrounding the plateau. Judging from the tracks coming out of it, something has been stored in it recently.
On the other side of the plateau is the probable site of a farm plot, enclosed by the remains of a fence. There are several weeds and shrubs growing in it, overflowing out of the plot and spreading away from it. Two tents have been set up close to the edge of the plot. Though they are in pretty good condition, they appear abandoned; it doesn't look like there's anything in or around them. Opposite to the tents there are the remains of a small tower, the collapsed stone blocks leaning against a rock outcropping.
Something inside Ike stirs at the sound of the words of his companions and the sight before him. He remembers that these lands were given as a reward to soldiers of the Kingdom in wars both old and recent. In the past this was a decent reward, as the nearby mines were full of precious minerals and with good management one could not only live comfortably but also make a fortune. However, with the mines drying up, so has any life this place had. People can
survive here, sure, they can pump water to cultivate plants and feed magi-cattle and work the mines hoping to gather something worth a few gold pieces, but they can't manage anything more than that. With no Guardsmen nearby, bandits are free to raid and plunder as they please. With no priests to ward their homes, magical beasts can wander in and ruin their lives at any time. With no healers, any injury can prove fatal to those who don't know how to take care of themselves. The only people left here are people rich enough to guard their estates, people too stubborn to leave and bandits.
From what he remembers, this area was one of the first to be inhabited, so it is highly unlikely the legitimate owners of this place are still inside. It is also very likely that the wooden parts of the structure will be weak and degraded. There storage area is probably also a mine, though it's also likely some of the tunnels also lead into the house, though if the occupants of the house were not idiots they would have locked that access, since monsters could enter through ventilation shafts.
None of his companions have anything to suggest about this particular area beyond simple guesses. Looks like all the reading he did while intoxicated may have had some effect, though he is still unsure how much they could help. He might not be able to recall it out of his mind at will but the knowledge he gained is definitely in there somewhere.
You can't see any other guards, but this place is bound to have at least some security at the entrance. They might also have lookouts, now that you think about it. They may notice you are here soon, if they haven't already. However if they haven't seen you coming, you could probably sneak into the building undetected. You have no guarantee they could be friendly or that Brad hasn't paid them to ambush you. Maybe sneaking in and gathering more information would be best. On the other hand, maybe there's no reason to overcomplicate things, no reason to make yourself appear guilty. You have no affiliation with law enforcement, no reason for the men in the building to oppose you. If you approach as an equal or a potential customer, you don't see why they wouldn't let you speak to them.
Pink dot at the bottom is Ike.
Red dot is guard.
Yellow squares are tents.
Gold dots are trees.
Blue dots is a muddy pool.
Green gots are grass and shrubs.
Alan, Tooltip Voice Candidate
<Huh, neat! Well, I kinda zoned out after I turned into water, and then woke up in this big water place where there's water everywhere! I met this guy named Ocean, who's also a girl and me at the same time. It's pretty sweet, I can see all sorts of things now. I'm not gonna haunt you, no worries. Do you still have my eyes, though?>
If I'm capable of it, try to see if I can find where my eyes are, if Brad doesn't have them with him.
((Apologies, Parisbre, but you seem to have missed me.))
((Whoops. Sorry.))
"Oh, yeah, got them right here." Brad says, making a motion to pat one of his pouches but reconsidering mid-gesture.
You take a look for yourself and you can indeed see your eyes on the table between Brad and his friend as he explains about them
It's getting harder to stay focused on being you instead of being everybody else.
Campaign: On Road
"Hey Irine, Ike!" Theri said as she walked over to them (as they met, knowing they're a group apart) after a good sparring (and safety training) session in melee, with the theme of unarmed principles and 'how not to get yourself on the pointy end of a weapon up close'. "I blame Irine for everything pretty thus far. I mean I can do magic now! But a thought hit me; my magic isn't that...pronounced, like summoning things is difficult. I've been wondering about Alan too, and it hit me how easy he was able to summon strange things. What do either of you think is up there?"
Conduct Military Drill! Ensure our 'army' and even the civilians are pretty organized and not-going-to-die-easy!
'how not to get yourself on the pointy end of a weapon up close'
The way you phrased that makes me imagine something like this:
"This is the pointy bit of the stabby thing. Pointy bit = Bad. Don't get hit by the pointy bit. Instead, take the stabby thing from the other guy. If you really need to, you can then use the stabby thing to stab the other guy. Make sure the pointy bit is pointing away from you while you use the stabby thing."((I thought I had posted before, but apparently not. My connection has been spotty as of late, so that might be why.))
1. Getting some light armour is easy. Magical protection is not as easy to get however, you usually need an Order mage to maintain wards around a person or a place, protective Order enchantments are not as easy to make. From what you understand they have one or two but are not willing to give them up.
2. You get an Amulet of Firelight. Named after one of the Angels of Selas and blessed by one of her priests, this small thing is supposed to light the Dark places and offer protection against the Darkness. It's a small bronze-coloured bullet-shaped object dangling from the end of a chain that emits a faint orangered light. You don't know how helpful it will be, but you accept it, along with the priest's blessings. You hide it underneath your clothes for now, not wishing to attract more attention to yourself than necessary.
3. Your group has already received a good deal of supplies, you can use them as you see fit. You've also got a master alchemist traveling with you, you can ask her if you need anything specific. You might want to be careful about what you get from her though. She's not an evil psycho or anything (as far as you can tell), but she does seem a bit fond of experimenting and playing pranks with her potions.
4. Spell scrolls aren't really used in this part of the world and the mages here don't know much about them. Scrolls are mostly used in the northern kingdoms, beyond the Dunes. The mages in this part of the world prefer to enchant objects and use their natural magical ability to control them, instead of binding their activation to the reading of a scroll. The closest thing they have is certain enchantments that can only be used after speaking a 'password spell' of sorts in the Old Language. You guess limiting the availability of scrolls is a good way to ensure the power held by mages is not used by the common man, though you don't say that to their face.
5. Clothes is the easiest thing to get. There's no shortage of clothes.
6. Your group has received several gold coins along with your supplies, you're certain you could use them as long as you don't spend them on anything that will make everyone else angry at you.
7. Ike is searching for Alan, so those two are more or less the same action.
Zechariah returns to the group with a new wardrobe. As much as weaponry, armor and enchantments are crucial to the success of the mission, being able to fit into the environment and not look like a complete outcast is important as well. He was always a fan of simple clothing, so he chose to go with a beige-colored blouse, coffee-colored pants and a taupe-colored hooded cloak. In addition, he carried a bandana which could be used to protect his face against the sands. He would wear the cloak over whatever armor he had. Finally, he collected a pair of light gloves, which he put away in his pockets for now.
Go visit the alchemist.
Zechariah greeted the alchemist in accordance with local customs.
"Good day. I was told that you were an alchemist, and that you could get me potions. I'm not looking for anything spectacular. I just want something that will help me focus - a clarity potion, perhaps. Do you have anything of the sort?
Furthermore, do you know any mages who could do enchantments?"
She says that none of the mages travelling with your group are really good at enchantments, but they should be able to create simple things with a bit of effort. Furthermore, the creation of powerful enchantments requires the mage to be in the presence of a powerful power source. Enchantments might also need a power stone to act as a battery, depending on how they function.
Potions however only require the right ingredients and the right execution. Magic can be used to help transform ingredients and make the process easier, but powerful magic is usually unnecessary for alchemy. So, assuming she has the right ingredients, she should be able to make pretty much anything. You're not sure how truthful such a statement is, but she's the master.
She says that focus is a very vague thing. What do you intend to focus on? If you want to focus on, say, watching something without getting distracted, she could make a potion that strips you of most thoughts and emotions, making you docile and receptive to information. If you wanted to focus on yourself and your connection with the Flow she could give you a mediation aid commonly used by the temple monks. If you wanted to focus on the world around you she could make you a potion that enhances your perception, allowing you to see details others would miss. If you wanted to focus on making your spells more complex, she would need to learn a bit more about you in order to understand which aspects of yourself she would need to enhance. The same would be true for potions that would make your magic more powerful, since she would need to know which elements she would have to boost. If you want something that would make you resistant to mind affecting abilities, then she could make a potion that makes your mind more resistant to changes. It all depends on what you really want.
Maximus: Outside
Brian Hoss, hull of the Maximus
Just stay still for now.
Well, uh... Ok. It's a good tactical decision, aiding the rest of the team, however staying out here all alone might not be the best thing for your personal safety.
The doors holding the turret in place lose power, the ones that failed to lock sliding backwards a bit. Blinded by your ability, the turret remains immobile.
Kosak Durar:
Kosak follows spear guy, hoping to get to the turret's control room and break whatever's making it fire. Assuming spear guy communicates that's where he's going.
You follow the Toaster and help him open doors.
"Um... maybe we should have gotten that healing thingy?"
Can we go back and get that healing thingy? Park the broken guy here first if so and go do it.
After (or if no) seal the airlock and then go in further. We'll find another way to get the rest of them in once we deal with the turret. Speaking of, once we get inside, orient self. Which way are the further turret controls?
Let's say you got that before going in to save time.
"Um... maybe we should have gotten that healing thingy?"
Can we go back and get that healing thingy? Park the broken guy here first if so and go do it.
After (or if no) seal the airlock and then go in further. We'll find another way to get the rest of them in once we deal with the turret. Speaking of, once we get inside, orient self. Which way are the further turret controls?
You have no idea where the turret controls are. This section is only You could either try going into the turret now that the door is holding it still but if the power of the door fails before you deactivate it it could be bad for your health. Or you could follow the lines leading away from the turret in the hopes of reaching a control room but for all you know those are all the way to the bridge. And you have no idea what you'll find if you go either way.
You know what? To save time, let's say you ask your interface. After thinking for several seconds (during which you proceed with your actions), it responds by showing a crude map of the local area on its screen. It says that the turret is almost completely isolated in this state, you will need advanced communication technology and security unavailable without access to the ship's AI or its bridge or at least a main comms console. It can guide you to the nearby turret control room, where you will need to restore power and extend the connection to the turret. Assuming the turret has not been tampered with, it should accept the connection allowing you to give it orders. Otherwise, you would need to break open the turret and disable its control system or power source or ammunition.
Okay, let's go find that turret control room. Give everyone a minute to get ready before touching it.
You seal the airlock behind you and open the door leading further into the ship. Being unpressurized, the liquid you've brought in is content with mostly staying in the airlock. As you push yourself away from the airlock, you can see droplets drifting away with you, reflecting the light coming out of your helmet and spacesuit. The droplets (and you) are slowly being dragged towards a wall, showing to you that there's gravity (or the Maximus is accelerating) but it's so weak the effects can mostly be ignored. It's a bit disorienting, crossing the barrier from liquid to air when there's so little gravity. Swimming is no longer a viable means on locomotion and the weak gravity field is not capable of holding you against the floor to allow you to walk. Instead you move by dragging yourself forward, holding on to handholds, kicking against walls, grabbing small pipes.
Your Interface informs you that the air is breathable. That's probably good news for those with a punctured suit. And it would mean that damaging your helmet is now less disastrous, although it goes without saying that it should still be avoided.
You follow the map provided by your Interface, moving through cramped serpentine tunnels, forcing open bulkhead doors and airlocks as fast as you and your teammates can. You're glad to have the map. All intersections are labeled with forgettable serial numbers, with some paths hidden beneath grates or behind pipes. There's no clear distinction of up and down, the wall that has handholds or lights changing from corridor to corridor for no apparent reason. You're certain you'd get lost in here without the map.
And then suddenly, after a couple of minutes, you pull the release handle on a wall and find yourself in a more 'normal' corridor, being smooth and simple instead of angular and functional. What's more, it has a very clear up and down, the up being where most of the (currently dark) lights are and the down being the widest part with no handholds. The simplicity however is deceptive. You can sense that the walls of the corridor occasionally contain sensors of all sorts, as well as hidden vents, pipes and even the occasional speaker.
You immediately notice something is wrong. Your Interface put you quite close to the control room, just a couple of corridors away. All you have to do is cross a couple of doors. However, said doors are half-open, their locks manually disengaged in a manner similar to the one you are using. Granted, two of these doors are unshielded and terribly easy to unlock, but that doesn't mean they could open on their own.
You make your way to the control room, carefully checking your surroundings for potential threats. You don't see, hear or feel anything. This place looks dead.
The control room itself looks like the command station of a submarine, a few cramped workstations, each specialized to perform a specific function. One has a holodisplay most likely used to display sensor data. Another is shaped more like a racecar chair with various control sticks, buttons and screens, probably meant for a gunner. They all look bare, pristine. Given that the turret is capable of acting autonomously, you guess this his place was probably meant as a backup, rarely saw any use.
You extend your senses, inspecting the area while looking for the backup power for this section. Immediately you find another problem hidden beneath a nearby console: two wires going into an unknown substance surrounded by nuts and bolts. A very crude booby trap, designed to both server the control room's connections and injure anyone inside it. You don't know what would trigger its activation, so you simply disconnect it and remove the detonator.
Somebody went through a lot of trouble to activate the turret and make sure nobody else has access to it. Who knows what other traps might be in here. You best be careful while moving through the ship.
Seeing no other traps in the area, you reconnect the nearby emergency batteries to restore power to the control room. You try to use the command terminal to try to connect to the turret. The terminal informs you that it is biometrically locked by user Dave Nal. You ask your Interface and it informs you that no such person exists on the ship's manifest. It suggests connecting it to the terminal so that it can attempt an override.
Un-missioned
The whispers in your mind intensify to a cacophony of overlapping sentences. It's hard to make out, but a single word stood out: 'Free'. You try to remain focused but it's just too much. It's disorienting to say the least. If you weren't already sitting, you're certain you'd have fallen down. But a few seconds later it stops, allowing you to start to think clearly once more. When your head clears, you realise that the twisted doll has circled around you and is making its way to the door.
You have no doubt about it. It knows. Did it read your mind? Or maybe there was a problem with your performance? Maybe it thought you should had reacted differently to it touching your mind? You can't tell. All you can tell is that if it removes the chair blocking the door, you'll have 3 dolls to deal with instead of 1. You feel like there's something unfair here, like the world is cheating you somehow. Every plan you come up with, no matter how good, is almost immediately turned against you, as if this a nightmare or the afterlife and this is some kind of torture for your past sins or someone's twisted idea of a joke.
At least it didn't attack you while you were incapacitated, though you aren't sure why it would do so. Even with one arm broken it would had a good chance of defeating you if it attacked while you were incapacitated. Maybe it has some sense of honour or goodness that kept it from attacking you while you were defenseless? Or maybe it is just as afraid of dying as you are and prefers to risk expendable dolls just like you do.
" 'Free'..." Napoleon muttered as he got out of the chair and turned to face the twisted doll. Grabbing the lamp with his free hand, Napoleon felt a bit tensed as well as disappointed. No matter how good his plans are, they always failed. He was sure that he had every base covered, that every eventuality have been accounted and prepared for. By all logic, he should've won already. Now, complete defeat inches closer for every failure and he was running out of options. However, by the amount of upsets he endured at the hands of this doll, he should've been defeated, even dead by now. Now it felt as if he was being toyed with by either this doll or some higher power, having his strings pulled like a marionette. Now that would be ironic...
The thought of anyone playing such games with him made his blood boiled, yet curiosity held back most of his temper. Whoever saw fit to treat him like a puppet may have a purpose for him and Napoleon was intent on finding out who. Perhaps this doll is an agent of this... being or a free-roaming entity but he must try to communicate with it in order to contact its master or to determine its intentions. At the very least, he would see whose face to carve up with a doll armed with claws.
Assuming of course that this isn't some sort of purgatory or hell made to punish him for using his dolls to steal people's belongings.
Clearing his throat to get the twisted doll's attention, Napoleon spoke, "When you was near me, I only understood the word 'free'. Is it freedom you craved? Freedom from me? You seemed to got that covered! Is that why you're attacking me, to win your freedom?! *huff* *huff* "Maybe it's about something else too? Maybe either you or your master want me? Tell me what do you want from me!"
While awaiting the twisted doll's 'answer', be prepared to defend against any attacks, even if the hidden doll and the lamp must be used. Unsummon the doll if it is grabbed by the twisted doll.
The twisted doll ignores your shouting. It shoves the chair away from the door, allowing its slave-dolls to barge into the room, immediately rushing towards you with their arms raised to strike. You throw the lamp at them and it shatters against one of them, spraying lamp oil everywhere that is ignited a moment later. You belatedly realize that that might not have been the best idea as now you still have two dolls running towards you, only now they are on fire.
You send your doll to defend you, making it tackle the most flaming doll, while you get your sword ready to swing against the other. You swing just as it brings its arm down towards your head, breaking the arm in half. You kick the doll back while it's off balance, throwing it into the two other dolls still struggling on the floor, the fire having caused significant damage to them. You take this opportunity to pat your clothes to extinguish the flaming doll fragments on them. By now the fire on the floor has started to spread, no doubt aided by the aged and dusty wood of the nearby cupboards and cabinets.
You approach the flames, the heat making your face uncomfortably warm, and raise your sword to finish off the dolls but you are slammed from behind by the twisted doll. You didn't notice it moving, you thought it was still behind the flames. It throws you off balance and grabs your sword hand with its one good hand, trying to pull it away from you. At the same time it is using its broken arm to grab you by the neck. You can feel it attacking your mind again, trying to gain control over you.
Stephano Falcone
(Whelp, time to go)
Rush out of the building. While I'm running, contact Iris and quickly tell her I'm outside, being pursued, and need to reach her quickly. Describe my location if she's willing to come get me. Otherwise, if I receive directions to her location, then navigate to her as fast as I can. If I'm being pursued, then withdraw my gun and fire it in the direction of my pursuers. My intent is to force them to take cover and hide, rather than actually injure them. If I am surrounded by hostiles at any point, then as a last ditch effort, grab the nearest civilian, put my gun to that person's head, and use the person as a hostage.
You run out of the building, pushing the doors so hard their hinges shudder and moan. The guard keeps following you, shouting threats behind you.
"Iris, I'm outside! I could really use some help!": On my way! :
You hear a gunshot behind you but do not feel any pain. It must have missed. You turn around and fire back, forcing the guard to seek cover behind a nearby car. You keep running towards the exit from the parking lot, trying to ignore another gunshot coming from somewhere behind you, but to your dismay you notice there's another guard there and he is currently running towards you with his gun drawn. You raise your gun, focus your aim and are about to shoot when there's the screeching of tires and a van slams into the guard, throwing him into a nearby car.
"Get in!" Iris shouts from the driver seat, making a gesture for you to approach.
You fire a couple of rounds behind you to make sure they stay back while you board the van, sitting beside Iris.
"Drive drive drive!" you shout as the gunshots start again. The wheels spin and the van launches itself towards the exit, smashing through the parking barrier and into the street outside. A couple of gunshots are heard, accompanied by the sound of bullets hitting metal and then the only noise is the van's engine straining to accelerate as fast as it can as it speeds away and the sound of your and Iris' rapid breathing. Taking in your surroundings in these first moments of relative calm, it looks like you're in a suburb, rural areas interspersed with clusters of buildings and the occasional factory.
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1128486 times)