- Turn 41: Apotheosis -
The following morning, the five of you meet in the inn’s simple and smoky taproom to discuss your next moves. At the end of it you decide to separate for the day and gather what you will, once more meeting at dinner time to discuss the day’s gleanings…Day 2: Morning1. Read the Water Magic book.
2. Attempt to purchase gloves to conceal my hand.
You head for the old, worn wooden stairs, your mind already focusing on the Water magic book that you aim to collect and read. What secrets will it hold?
You sit yourself in your customary loveseat, the book open in your lap. The frosty morning sunlight is streaming in over your shoulder. You smile contentedly and begin to absorb the knowledge within the tome. As hours pass, you read about basic water magical theory. It would seem that water magic is not, in fact, bound to the three forms of water alone - although without water around, the magical form is certainly extremely limited!
The text describes a way around that, however. The ability to summon water from the same realm wherein demons live! The water only lasts for as long as your concentration is focused upon it, making it impractical as a long-term water source, but if you ever needed water magic in a hurry you could certainly summon it.
It would appear that the demands of water magic are far less than that of earth magic, too! As water is far easier to manipulate, the magical rebound common to all magics is less for water as compared to earth. You have noticed something similar in regards to wind magic, although you have not used it in some time.
You've levelled up! You can now control water in jets for about 20 to 30 feet and can freeze, melt or boil small bodies of water (about ten cubic feet) at will.Pleased with yourself, you put the book away and amble downstairs and towards the markets. A short stop at a tailor’s
(-10 gold) provides you with a pair of gloves that nicely hide your hands from wandering eyes.
Attempt to establish communication with the sphere
You find a quiet corner to sit in and shut your eyes, focusing all of your attention on the sphere.
"Okay, sphere, if that's your real name. It seems to me that we're going to be stuck together for some time, so we might as well make the best of it. I'll promise to not mentally punch you out fo frustration anymore, if you promise not to almost send me falling down a stairwell.” The sphere doesn’t respond. You nudge it ever so slightly.
”Hello?” It pulses in your mind. You smile.
”It would also help if we could work out some form of communication. Do you come with a manual or something?" The orb pulses again and again, each pulse brighter than the one before. With another bright flash, the orb is suddnely glowing a steady blue.
You mentally reach out and touch the orb, laying one hand firmly on the surface. You can feel power coursing through you! Your eyes snap open and you
understand. A bird flits by, practically in slow motion to your expanded mind. You glance at it and, not quite sure how, you understand. You know every move the bird is going to make. Curious. You let go of the bird and stand to look out the window, one hand still firmly on the orb in your mind. You reach out and, somehow, see the people below you.
He will step to the left to avoid the oncoming cart.
He will rob that woman.
She does not notice and will head straight for the stall up ahead selling bolts of bright cloth.
That child will thieve from the thief.
Curious.
You can’t see much, but you can
see. Turning back to the room, you gesture imperiously at your bow. It flies into your hand. Grinning, you picture a made bed within the orb and wave your hand. Your bed makes itself in front of you. You laugh. It’s all so simple!
Ability unlocked: Psychic, Level 1! You can partially understand your opponent, gaining a +1 to hit and to dodge when you focus. You can also manipulate small, non-living objects, up to a mass of two kilograms. Both abilities have cooldown timers and your concentration can be disrupted.You sense the power within you come under a semblance of control, although the orb is still there within your mind. Although you can't see it from your angle, the fire in your eyes has faded down to nothingness, merely a dim glow of the irises when you're in full darkness.
Off to the temple, leave Lyu and Ekoka to their argument and go ask the priests about our new destination. And possibly other things lapdances
You stride north, intent on the temple. It’s only when you get there that you stop and blink. The temple is a huge, soaring affair with a large golden dome on top, with massive doors of gold and silver… just like your vision. But this one is damaged beyond repair! The dome is dented, blackened and torn open in several places. The golden door is wide open and cracked right through, a massive slab of the door having been torn off and lying on the ground. No looters have touched the door, even though it would be worth millions. The silver door is cracked as well, but the damage doesn’t seem as severe, since the door still looks mostly whole.
You shudder and head inside.
Before you can head anywhere, you’re met by the Head Priest. He looks… angry. Very angry. “You!” he growls. His nostrils flare. “I can
smell the curse on you. How dare you enter this place?”
Awesome.
(1+1) You raise your hands to try to placate him; the movement draws his attention, thankfully, to your Suncloak and his face, mottle with rage, softens slightly. He still doesn’t seem entirely happy to see you. You’re utterly lost for words and entirely stumped. This is not how you pictured this going at all!
(4) Another priest comes to your aid. “Elder Typheus, relax!” he says, laying a placating hand on the older man’s shoulder. He turns to look at you; with a start, you notice that he has a long strip of cloth bound around his head so that it covers one eye. “This is the man I told you about. Take him to the Altar. Show him the truth of the world.”
The priest’s face reddens again. “The truth of the world?” he practically yells. You shrink back slightly. Other priests in the temple’s atrium have long since fled. “What truth? That our world is dying?” He gestures at you. No, not at you… At the broken doors behind you. “We are unmade! Our God is dead, cut in half, and an imposter hangs in his place!”
He’s purple by now. “And Lunette, the Goddess of Creation and Destruction, is cloven into three. Her broken body is garishly displayed above us like a trophy mounted on a hunter’s wall. We are but the playthings of some terrible fiend! That, boy, is the truth of the world!”
The head priest shakes off the other’s hand and storms off, still yelling, still purple. The other priest shrugs. “I’m sorry… Solvarion’s demise has affected everyone differently. Come. I will show you.”
The priest leads you through the inner doors and you enter the chapel proper, a massive circular room. You can see the dented dome high above you; the room is covered in flakes of gold from the roof. “Why has nobody cleaned?” you ask. “At my temple, the head priest would have whipped the acolytes black!”
The priest shrugs again. “The others are terrified to come in here. Many of them believe that the room is cursed. All of this happened in the very instant that the sun was cloven in two, so the others believe that the force that struck Solvarion resides here.” He leads you to the altar. “Look. And understand.”
You step up and look at the altar. A simple, circular table draped in white cloth, with the Orb of Solvarion set at the very centre. A masterpiece of magic, the Orb is made by twirling a pure white and pure black stone together with gold, swirling them into one perfect sphere with golden flecks throughout. The result is emblematic of the God’s powers over life and death as well as his literal presence as the light. It’s one of the holiest symbols and each temple treasures their Orb.
Except… this orb is broken into two pieces, one piece slightly larger than the other. The sight saddens you, stabs you with a spike of ice to your very core. How many hours did you spend, gazing into the depths of the Orb at your home temple?
You turn questioningly to the priest. “What am I meant to see, other than this?” you ask. He smiles and says nothing. He seems to be waiting for something. Damn priests.
To the duke! Utilize priestliness to its utmost potential to reach the old dirty bastard as soon as possible!
You wander out the door and follow the same path as Thuun, aiming instead for the palace that wraps around the Temple. It takes you the better part of an hour to arrive at the gates to the Palace. Once there, you give a reverent smile to the Guards and stroll sedately towards the gate. “Hello, good fellows!” you call, waving congenially at them. (2+1) “Might I be permitted to enter? I have business with the Duke.”
The guardsmen glance at each other. They’ve clearly been out here for several hours and appear quite surly about it. One looks about to open the gate, but his companion stops him. “What business do you have with him? We got no word of strange priests comin’ by,” he retorts.
(4+1) “I’ve come to claim a bounty,” you offer. Their faces light up in curiosity. “My comrades and I cleared the road south of here of a pack of ravening demons!” A little embellishment never hurt a good story; the trick is in giving them just enough details to keep them hooked. You give them a fairly inaccurate version of what happened in Cnoc Adh, mentioning that you had been sent to find the fate of the missing messengers - a solid starting point, since all of Shas Ria surely knew of the lack of communications.
“Anyway, since I’ve recently become a very rich man - yet am sworn to my priesthood - I feel I should share my bounty with valiant guards.” You offer them a small pouch of gold. “Charity is a virtue, and there should be enough charity here to buy wine for your whole platoon!”
The guards glance at each other, then shrug. The gate creaks open and you toss the small pouch to the guard that seems to be in charge. “Thank you for your charity, kind priest,” he chuckles and waves you through.
(-35 gold)You smile beatifically and with sedate, priestly grace you stride on through the gates and head for the main entrance. The story of your bounty races ahead of you, somehow, and you find few guards stopping you. It’s all a bit of a blur, but you find yourself standing before the Duke.
He’s not a very imposing man, fairly skinny and a little bug-eyed, but he moves as though he knows how to hurt people viciously. Given the well-used sword at his side, you figure he probably can. “A bounty?” he asks. “I have posted none such.”
“It was posted by the Baron of Waterstone, given to us maybe five days ago.”
The duke’s slightly buggy eyes sharpen. “I think you’d better start from the beginning, and don’t even think of lying to me.”
So you tell him the story, describing both the Baron and Cyrus in great detail to appease the Duke. You describe the monster that you fought, how it transformed a village into weaker, quite mad versions of itself, and how you killed it. (4+1) The Duke’s face pales throughout the story and he winces when you describe Cyrus’ death.
“Well. That’s quite a tale… and it certainly explains a lot.” He nods. “Well, I approve the bounty. And I think I’ll have several more posted, since these damnable creatures appear to have completely cut us off.” He draws up a note and signs it. “Present that to my valet as you leave; he’ll grant you your reward.”
Ten minutes later sees you wandering back down the street, a large and sturdy sack over your shoulder.
(+ 10,000 gold)Uh... Go wandering around the city and browse the markets.
You wander for hours through the markets, marvelling at the many things for sale. One district houses weapons and armour; you see weapons of all kinds, from small throwing daggers to huge halberds, and armour for people of all sizes. Food stalls, clothing stalls, it seems almost as if the whole world is for sale in Shas Ria’s central markets!
And urchins are everywhere, constantly getting underfoot. You sigh. Why does every big city always have so many orphans? (2) It’s not for several minutes that you notice your purse is a little lighter… Oops.
(-3 gold)But the people seem antsy. Troubled. Bundled in their furs against the cold of the world, they hurry to and fro. There’s no laughter, no banter. People shoot surly glances at one another and as you pass, more than one bartering customer launches fists at the respective merchants. You shake your head. It’s all too weird for your taste. You get the feeling that you and your friends should leave the city, and soon.
Lyu Brak (Harry Baldman)Profession: Priest
Status: Getting paid.
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 Greaves10,000 gold
10 Jimsonweed Fruit
Many bits of Thuun’s legs
Jagged shard of bone
Curious dagger
Earth 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: Getting robbed
Inventory:Reforged, Really Sharp GreatswordWorn leather jerkin (and normal clothes)
Worn leather boots
Booze
Bear fur cloak262 gold
Wounds/Status: You’re all good!
Abilities: [Skilled Bargainer] [Guileless] [Momentum] [I'm Not Right Handed] Lao Thuun (BFEL)Profession: Warrior Mage
Status: Getting yelled at.
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: Psychicising
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] [Not a Landlubber] [Trick Shot] Psychic Abilities (Level 1):
[Comprehension] [Lesser Telepathy] [Lesser Telekinesis]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
Stone Book
Force Magic Book
Water 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: 1] [Li: 1] [Fo: 1] [Lt: 1] [Sh: 0] 
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Topic: Roll to Go Mad: Turn 44 - The Markets (Read 141832 times)