A quiet round, although Felice has some fun/headaches.
- Turn 40: Diamond Nights -
Night falls on the City of Diamonds. Predators stalk the nights, but you all gather in the inn…Before heading to bed, Thuun realizes just how long its been since he has eaten, and immediately rushes to the tavern/inn owner and buys up a enormous amount of food, practically a banquet, before promptly stuffing his face in the most expedient manner.
Relate the information to my compatriots.
Tell Felice I'll need to see that Light book in the morning to be able to learn the lucidity spell.
Suggest we sleep in shifts, because seriously, shit is gonna go down and we all know it even WITHOUT OOC knowledge.
You walk into the inn’s taproom just as the last rays of light fade from the sky. It’s now truly dark outside. You storm up to the counter.
“Rightio. I’ll have two dozen mutton shanks, ten bowls of rice, three pounds of roast beef, four roast pumpkins and as much cranberry jam as you have in stock.”The serving girl behind the counter looks at you blankly. “Huh?” she mumbles. She looks… stupid. As though she’s been hitting the pipe. You dutifully repeat your order. “We got a pig on the spit, roast winter vegetables and some bread. Is that okay?”
You sigh.
“Yeah, that’ll be fine. Make mine two orders.”Your compatriots begin to appear. Ekoka looks smug; he must have pulled off something pretty cool. Baldur looks - and smells - like he’s been drinking as he wanders in from the street Somehow, he’s still perfectly ambulatory and barely even weaving. Lyu looks like he always does; perpetually smiling. You wonder how he does it.
Lastly, in comes Felice. You look closely at him; something seems different. Suddenly you spit out a mouthful of cheap beer in surprise. His eyes are glowing! They’re glowing with an icy blue light, like marsh-flames are trapped within his skull. You’ve never seen anything like it.
Strangely, he doesn’t even seem to notice. He orders food along with the others and the four of them sit down to join you. Finally the others notice Felice’s new acquisitions; you cover your food as they all take it in turns to spit-take as well.
“What the hell is up with your eyes, Felice?” you ask finally. He raises an eyebrow.
“They’re glowing! Burning, even!”He blinks.
“Ah. All right, so, weird stuff happened inside of my noggin. Now, whenever I concentrate, I see some kind of blue sphere inside of me. I get the feeling I need to open this thing up somehow, but I have no clue how to begin doing this. Any ideas?” He looks hopefully around, but everyone’s faces are as blank as yours.
”Damn it,” he mutters.
”Oh, also, I'm done with the books, so if you want to borrow them, now's your chance."Everyone’s still a little startled by Felice’s new eyes to register what he’s saying right away. Finally, your brain restarts enough for you to share your day’s gleanings.
”Well. In other news, mages aren’t exactly welcome here in Shas Ria. Which is damn weird… Outside of Sinlamurien in Limeros, Shas Ria has always been the biggest magical centre in the world. It seems that they’re as terrified here as they were back in Shas Isa.” You eat some pork. It’s not great, but at least it’s filling.
”Those devilings? The mages here haven’t heard of them. Professor I spoke to damn near chased me out the second I mentioned demon-inside-human.””So he agrees with me, then,” Lyu observes.
”Demons can’t control humans. Whatever this is, it’s like a demon, but it’s not one. It’s…””Something new,” you finish. You place the pile of sketches and diagrams on the table, studiously avoiding wet patches.
”Good news, though, he and I managed to theorise a way to destroy any more crazy-maker sigils. Bad news is it takes serious firepower. Ekoka and I won’t be able to fully destroy them until we get much stronger.” You glance at Felice, still slightly unnerved by his burning eyes.
”I’ll need that Light magic book in the morning… if I’m to learn this spell, I need to get a hang of Light magic first.”The others murmur. Ekoka seems keen to get started, but also quite wiped. Finally, Baldur speaks. He barely slurs at all, not showing the faintest sign of his day of drinking.
”I spoke with the messenger who visited the Palace,” he begins.
”Turns out, Shas Isa went nuts. The Baron is dead, most of the town is crazy and apparently ‘witches’ are the new kindling.” He taps his chin thoughtfully.
”According to the messenger, the only normal one is the mayor. Eating like a horse, though.” The news is disquieting. The baron, dead? That just doesn’t seem possible. The man was as indomitable as the mountains he lived in.
”Apparently, the beastie that killed the Baron was a fair sight stronger than ol’ Vanda whatsisname. The messenger said the beastie physically tore the Baron in half!”With news like that, there’s not much more else to say. You all quietly and soberly go back to your food.
Loan out magic books to companions, try to get some kind of idea as to what to do with my mind orb thingy
You’re a little surprised that your eyes are apparently glowing. You hadn’t noticed at all! You shrug. The news is sobering, but at least it’s pretty much what you had expected.
”Well, I’ll take the graveyard shift.” You set the pile of magical texts on the table and get up to leave.
As you’re walking, you prod a little at the mental orb. (1)
Something… Just on the edge of your vision. With a start you realise the world has blue-shifted. You glance around quickly, but nobody else is reacting. In fact, nobody else is moving. Everything around you is flat and blued over, as though the world were dyed. Everything appears inanimate, as though painted onto a canvas.
You walk through the still world, stepping around frozen patrons. It’s eerily silent. There must be… You shut your eyes. The orb in your mind is still whole, but glowing brighter than ever. ”Stop it!” you shout in the depths of your mind. “Whatever you’re doing, stop!” There’s a sudden swirl of red to your right and then the colours are back.
”Okay. What in the name of sanity was that?” you growl. Behind you, your compatriots are swearing in surprise. You call out to them and wave, and they calm down. You chuckle and walk out the door and head for the room.
Okay, ball, let’s see what you’ve got, you think at the glass orb thing. (3) You give it a rather vicious mental jab. It sparks, but doesn’t really do anything. (4) So you jab it again, imagining getting a massive run-up and driving your elbow into it. The orb flashes and suddenly you’re swept off your feet and flying towards the stairwell! (3, 6) you mostly manage to recover your footing, but stub your feet hard enough to bruise. Interesting.
(4) This time, you imagine caressing the ball. It hardens for a moment and becomes clarified in your head; you stop and grab hold of the banister as images swarm into your brain. There’s no rhyme or reason to the pictures; you see carriages pulled by explosions. You don’t know how it’s explosions, since you can’t see them, but you do. People sitting in front of little boxes that have glowing sides. Metallic birds that have eaten hundreds of people. And you see the infinite, vast chasm between stars and suddenly you open your eyes and the images are gone.
Okay, that was weird.
You drag yourself up to the room, exhausted, and collapse onto a bed.
First off, make a mental note to buy a glove for my rockhand.
After that, study one of the unread magic books until it's time to sleep.
"Hm. I'll need to practice this,” you mutter as you look over the rough clay book. But you feel pretty proud of your accomplishment, and with a smug grin on your face that you know will annoy Thuun, you head down to get something to eat.
A short time later, you return to your room carrying the Force magic tome. You sit in the armchair and read about Force theory for a few hours; behind you, the cracked pieces of the moon slowly rise over the city and paint it a pale grey.
You while away a few hours reading. Force seems to be the most elemental of magics, a simple outpouring and focusing of energy. Of the eight schools, it is one of the most dangerous to deal with; as you read that, you give your rockhand an amused glance. But it would seem that Force is not all about brute strength; you read about how the subtle use of Force magic can be used to simulate luck. In particular, the book seems to detail one weak but undeniably skilled mage who, incapable of simply blowing his opponents apart, would use delicate nudges to upset their footwork or guide their blades harmlessly past. Well beyond your level, but still pretty interesting.
The angel described in the book’s centre is none other than Rampel, the same as the angel in your Earth magic text. The four angels seem curiously interlinked. But Rampel in particular is a quite obdurate fellow, judging from his spheres of guidance. You chuckle. He’s certainly a good match for the hard-headed Cylenians.
Congratulations, you’re now Level 1 in Force magic! Useful by itself, Force magic can be combined with other elements to give them a nice extra ‘oomph’.Pick up a random magic book if I can, and commence reading it! Otherwise look through the Cylenian bible and examine Cylenian beliefs.
"Ah, good literature! How I love it!" you sigh happily and pick up a random text. It turns out to be the Water magic book! You take it up to the room you’re sharing with Ekoka, not at all surprised to find him already engrossed in a book.
You sit and read for a while. Apparently Water magic is as much about entropy and simple redirection of forces as it is about directly controlling water. It’s also apparently pretty important in weather magic!
The book also contains a treatise on Haamiah, the patron saint of priests as well as Yagalia. It doesn’t contain much that you didn’t know, although it turns out that Haamiah should apparently be keeping an Eye on Thuun as well, given His sphere covers both Water and Life magic. You idly wonder what would happen if Thuun were to try and combine water and Life magic. Would it attract Haamiah’s attention?
Having not much else he wants to do, Baldur flips through a few of the magic books before heading to bed.
You sit and idly flick through the Fire magic text. The book seems to have been written by a young hothead, which is rather fitting, you think.
A curious diagram catches your eye. It’s not Nathaniel, that one was a few pages back. This one is more familiar…
”Ah!” you shout. It’s a description of the forging technique that Thuun used on your blade! Damn, that event was scary. You were not expecting the son of a bitch to split the goddamn earth open.
The page describes a rune that is a weird mix of the characters for bronze, fire and rivers. You’re not entirely sure what it’s meant to be, but you’ve seen it somewhere before… Curious.
You keep reading. The book is rather interesting; it delves into the theory of Fire magic and how it’s about aggression as much as it is about passion. it also describes the ‘momentum’ of a fire, and how once a fire has properly caught it is so much more difficult to combat. Interestingly the language seems to describe swordplay just as much as it does magic. You’re not entirely sure that swordplay is a whole lot like a forest fire, but this author certainly seems to think so. Nevertheless, the author describes how to ensure that magical Fire acts like real fire does; you let that sink in a little and smile.
New passive trait gained: Momentum! On attack, your opponent rolls to block. On a roll of 4 or 5 the strike is only blocked (no parry) and on a coin-flip of heads you immediately strike again. The second strike cannot critically fail, and if the second strike is blocked then they are knocked over and gain a -1 to actions next turn.
The moon slowly passes over the night sky. The five of you take turns watching out for one another through the night, but nothing at all happens.
The next day dawns cloudy and damp. There will undoubtedly be rain at some point, and judging from the clouds, a rather spectacular lightning storm.
Lyu Brak (Harry Baldman)Profession: Priest
Status: Reading
Inventory:Staff (Bronze-Capped)Gnarled Old Staff
Skull Covered in Rude Words
Religious Necklace
Warm Priestly Robes and Pants
Warm Priestly Shoes
Inscribed Leather Cuirass and Greaves35 gold
10 Jimsonweed Fruit
Many bits of Thuun’s legs
Jagged shard of bone
Curious dagger
Earth Magic Book
Water Magic Book
Wounds/Status: You’re all good!
Abilities: [Boundlessly Cheerful] [The Good Priest] [Life Channels: Head, Chest, Left Arm] [Obdurate] [Not that faithful] [Righteous Litany ]Baldur Bergfalk (USEC_OFFICER)Profession: Mercenary
Status: Reading
Inventory:Reforged, Really Sharp GreatswordWorn leather jerkin (and normal clothes)
Worn leather boots
Booze
Bear fur cloak265 gold
Wounds/Status: You’re all good!
Abilities: [Skilled Bargainer] [Momentum] [Guileless] [I'm Not Right Handed] Lao Thuun (BFEL)Profession: Warrior Mage
Status: Stuffing his face.
Inventory: Blunted bronze sword
Leather armour
Acolyte's SuncloakReligious Necklace
210 gold
Lucidity Spell Tome
Wounds/Status: [Crippling HeadacheAbilities:[Enduring] [Dragon Aspect: 1] [Slow Cast] [Atoner] [Spellsword ]Spells:[Life Spell: Wisp] [Flame Cloak] Magical Experience:[Ea: 1] [Wi: 0] [Fi: 1] [Wa: 0] [Li: 2] [Fo: -1] [Lt: 0] [Sh: 0] Felice Nasib (Pancaek)Profession: Seaman
Status: Practicing
Inventory: Repaired Shortbow
Twelve Arrows
Three High Quality Arrows
Five Explosive Arrows
Sharp DirkWater Magic Book
Light Magic Book
Warrior’s Broadsword
Silken Underwear
Nautical Longcoat
Leather Armour Set63 gold
Wounds/Status: You’re all good!
Abilities: [Fearless] [Comprehension] [Mysterious Orb in your Mind’s Eye] [Not a Landlubber] [Trick Shot] Ekoka (GreatWyrmGold)Profession: Wanderer
Status: Studying like a good boy.
Inventory: Cracked shillelagh
Wanderer's Cloak
Sturdy Clothes and Boots
Length of Rope
Flint and Tinder
380 gold
Clay Book
Force Magic Book
Wounds/Status: You’re all good!
Abilities: [Survivalist] [Dual Focus] [Slow Cast] [Rock Hand] [Maladjusted to heat] [Guiding Spirit] Spells:[Wind Spell: Alacrity] [Clayform]Magical Experience:[Ea: 1] [Wi: 1] [Fi: 0] [Wa: 0] [Li: 1] [Fo: 1] [Lt: 1] [Sh: 0] 
Author
Topic: Roll to Go Mad: Turn 44 - The Markets (Read 142603 times)