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[escaped lurker]

The Plains of Grating, Fifth Age
The Age of Death, Year 625
Day 19, Early Morning

Setting your intermediate goal to raid the humans again, and maybe scout southwards, you start to prepare. Having an autonomous scout like a reanimated owl would be quite practical for those undertakings, and to that end you keep an eye about and the troops at the keep, all the while taking a closer look at the temples. In the temple district proper, are four great temples and a good number of smaller shrines. The area is still saturated with fragments of godly magic, but you are sure that whatever the humans worship in the mountains is far stronger by now.

Spoiler: City Map (click to show/hide)

As a reminder, the yellow areas are where the temples are.

Very easy to deduce is the identity of the temple with the statue out front. It may be toppled and broken at several places, but it is clear that it once was a voluptuous – if not even pregnant – woman. A god for fertility is often seen, maybe it even was a god of agriculture or healing. Either way, you are not very interested in searching the temple, as you are kind of an anathema to it. It even might lash out at your intrusion.

Even knowing that they channelled the water underground, you are mildly surprised that they led an aqueduct here to form a small artificial lake on the grounds of another temple. Actually, you are more surprised that it still works even now. It might have been anything from the rain-bringing sky-god to the river god that soaked the fields. Another temple – the walls long since fallen into disrepair – has ample frescos inside, most depicting crafters and trade. It is also the second biggest temple, with a market that big no wonder.

The main temple is seemingly dedicated to their god of war. Multiple statues honouring heroes from times past are arranged in what remains of the gardens that surrounded it, and multiple monuments tell of successful wars. You presume that even some champions might be enshrined inside, but angering a main god is something you would rather not do on a whim.

Revisiting the temple in the civil area, yields no clue towards the identity of the one-eyed god, leaving you to wander further. The small temple that sits in the south of the city overlooks the slum, and you already have seen a good deal of it while searching there. Seeing as one of the few brick houses in the area is right next to the temple grounds, and once was outfitted with quite the kitchen, you suspect it to be either a temple to a god of celebrations and merriment, or some life-god of healing and mercy.


While wandering the ruins, you spy and hunt the local owls on multiple occasions, using Improved Sight to your advantage. The improvement is quite strange, but not necessarily unpleasant – your steps do fall a bit short at the start though. Either way, ten tries later and three arrows less, you finally are able to wound one of the animals. Not long after you hold its corpse in your hands, making your way back to the keep. Seeing as the owl itself is a very flimsy thing, reanimating as a zombie does take less mana than you initially suspected. Thanks to the feathers, it also looks quite normal – safe the spot where the arrow pierced it, and the glowing eyes.

You leave it to its own limited devices for the time being, but as it retained the ability to fly you consider it as a success. While you are at it, you also drain the ring of its mana, and fill the schorl instead. Another spell later and you are relieved that shouty is bound to his skull, and is spending his time flinging curses and profanities at you. Seems like his god is not as powerful as he thought him to be, you can't help but remark to yourself. Still, he is the only ghost in the keep, and a quick look around the market and along the main roads shows nothing different. It seems that the souls already moved on, not surprising considering how much time already seems to have passed. Back in the vicinity of the one soul that is showing itself – a soul that is spewing insults and what-not with renewed vigour – you curtly strip it of its free will, ready to transfer it into the nearby owl. But for now, you can take your time to question it about the humans that live on the mountain.

You have gained a new Follower.
You have strengthend your necromantic knowledge.
You have strengthend your transmutationic knowledge.
You have rediscovered a new spell.
Healing Gambit – 2 MP converts to 3 HP, Duration 5 Hours
Can temporarily close mortal wounds and even re-attach lost limbs, safe beheading

Quite the universal healing spell, it makes no difference if the target is living, dead or even artificial. As long as it is corporeal, the wound is closed with pseudo-flesh that will hold up as long as the spell does. A real life-safer, which is quite often used in battle when a real healing spell would be too complicated and cost intensive. As the documented case of a specific gnome acolyte shows, life can be extended for at least one month if this method is used. Though really – unless one is unable to cast true healing like in the mentioned case, it is not a very wise nor productive thing to do.

Currently:
205/205 HP
45/175 MP
70 MP Stored

Status:
Well-Fed - Doubled HP-Regeneration
Lacking Sentient Nourishment - -1 Agility and Intelligence for Skill- and Combat-checks

Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)

Ghoulish Vessel
Strength: 11
Endurance: 11
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 5

~10 HPD
~40 MPD

Inventory:
Medium Band of Gathering 0/20 MP
Leather Jerkin
Woolen Pants
Leather Shin-boots
Twohander
Shortbow w. Iron tipped Arrows

Resources:
1 Human Skeleton
1 Amethyst Geode - 30/30 MP
1 Rock Crystal Nugget 0/20
1 Schorl Geode 40/40 MP
1 Emerald Chunk 0/100
1 Horse Hindleg

Items:
1 Saddlebag
1 Shortbow
2 Quivers
3 Wooden Arrows
9 Iron tipped Arrows
1 Rope – Thin, 4 Meters
1 Tinderbox
1 Hatchet
1 Bronze Axe
1 Quarterstaff
3 Daggers
1 Long-Dagger
1 Shortsword
1 Rusty Sword
1 Wooden Spear
1 Knapsack
7 Silver – Crudely minted
45 Copper – Crudely minted
1 Pair of Linen Clothing
7 Smoked Goat Cuts

Skills:
Adept of the School of Necromancy
Adept of the School of Transmutation
Acolyte of the School of Divination
Beginner in Feral Combat
Capable in Archery

Spoiler:  Spells (click to show/hide)

School of Necromancy - Adept
Branches: Mysticism, Occultism

Animate Skeleton – 50 MP
Raise a temporary Skeleton to do your bidding. Lasts 1 Day, extendible by 3 MP per day.
Can be made permanent by spending additional 30 MP on it.

Turn Lesser Undead – 30 MP
Allows you to destroy, render harmless or straightly take over an undead creature.

Soulspeaker – 20 MP
Allows you to contact the souls of the dead, and to communicate with them. Duration 1 Hour.

Enslave Lesser Souls - 25 MP
Allows the enslavement of lesser, or rather “newly dead” souls.
A soul may be placed into a construct, resulting in an autonomous undead.
A souls essence may be devoured, restoring half of the souls previously held maximum mana.
Devouring a Soul or failing this spell has the chance to transform the affected into a wraith, which will be hostile towards the caster.

Animate Zombie – 80 MP
Raise a temporary Zombie to do your bidding. Lasts 1 Day, extendible by 5 MP per day.
Can be made permanent by spending additional 40 MP on it.


School of Transmutation - Adept
Branches: Enchanting, Alteration

Drain Energy – 20MP +50% of the drained Energy must be paid in MP
Allows you to drain a prone or enslaved creature of its mana or vitality.

Change Object – 30 MP, Duration 1 Hour
Allows you to temporary change the properties or shape of an object.

Store Mana – 25MP + Desired Amount
Allows you to store mana into gemstones.

Healing Gambit – 2 MP converts to 3 HP, Duration 5 Hours
Can temporarily close mortal wounds and even re-attach lost limbs, safe beheading

School of Divination - Acolyte
Branches: Kabalism, Mysticism

Improved Sight – 10 MP, Duration 1 Hour
Your natural vision is improved threefold.

Spoiler: Followers (click to show/hide)

	Skeletal Horse Permanent Quite Damaged
	Skeletal Human Permanent
	2 Skeletal Goats Permanent
	1 Zombie Owl Permanent

Spoiler: Mind Map (click to show/hide)

Purple Dot: Location of our Cave Red Dots: Attacked Places

" I better be thorough with my questions. As soon as he enters his new body, his memories will be dispersed. Mainly because they are – just like the soul – bound to the body. Also one of the major reason why I remember so... regretfully little. "

Well then, so much to do, so little time. There are just too many suggestions going on at once, especially long-term plans. Well, I tried to cram a lot into this turn, but that wall of text is not very much to my liking. Well, once we hit L proper, there will be a bit of Q&A and suggestion rounds outside of the plot, so I guess this will also become a topic by then.

As for some of the assumptions;
We felt the magic in the west of the keep, not the temple which we found on the third turn.
If you guys really want to, we can continue studying. But we will take quite the malus towards it, as I feel that after 3 days of non-stop mental action, we feel quite strained in that regard.

[GiglameshDespair]

Well, no more studying for a while, then.

What is the human kingdom he belongs to? Who rules it?
Where are the nearby cities?
What year is it?


Those are the only ones I can think of.

[Weirdsound]

-General questions about the state of the human armed forces in the area would be nice.

-Which Hovels and Huts in the area are most likely to have livestock (We could use a few beefy zombies)

-Ask the poor sap where he lived, and about his family. And his friends. Drill him at length. We can use information to play mindgames with them later on if need be.

-Inquire about the location of skilled tradesmen. If we can enslave smiths and the like, and they retain enough memories, they would be most useful to our cause in the long run.

-Ask about nearby priests, temples, and other things that the undead should avoid.

[Worldmaster27]

It is the year 625.

What is the human kingdom he belongs to? Who rules it?
Where are the nearby cities?

+1 and
Which god holds the most sway here?

-General questions about the state of the human armed forces in the area would be nice.
-Ask about nearby priests, temples, and other things that the undead should avoid.

also these

[Weirdsound]

Also, a question, when we stripped shouty of free will, does that mean we successfully cast enslave soul on him? Or is that just something we can do with Speak to Dead?

[escaped lurker]

Also, a question, when we stripped shouty of free will, does that mean we successfully cast enslave soul on him? Or is that just something we can do with Speak to Dead?

We successfully casted enslave soul on him.

[Tomcost]

+1 to all the questions.

I actually liked the long update, I never mind walls of text.

And I don't know what to suggest now, so I leave the job to you guys.

[Mr. Strange]

What is the human kingdom he belongs to? Who rules it?
Where are the nearby cities?

+1 and
Which god holds the most sway here?

-General questions about the state of the human armed forces in the area would be nice.
-Ask about nearby priests, temples, and other things that the undead should avoid.

also these

+1, and ask about those horns we heard and their seach party that ran into us.

[escaped lurker]

The Plains of Grating, Fifth Age
The Age of Death, Year 625
Day 19, Early Morning

There is a lot you want to ask, and so you do – with the soul answering as truthfully as he can. He does not know all the knowledge that you seek of him, but most of it. Enzel – as he was called - was mainly a field-hand, but also part of the town militia. He was not half bad at it either, and even got pretty high in the yearly fights, held at their annual harvest festival. Being close to 40, his parents passed away some time ago, officially leaving him with his older sister as only family – only that he has a ten year old bastard that he can't take care of, having ended the relationship with the mother a few years ago. Both life with her family in the valley. His closest friends are another field-hand and the proprietor of the farm. You get some personal information that only he should know for both of the men, and his old sweetheart.

The humans in the area are united under a theocracy, with Anselm, Keeper of the Herd, Bringer of Spring, Lord of Growth and Protector of the Harvest being the main god. He is a life and fertility god, with his alleged sibling Nurum associated with war, peaceful afterlife and the smiting of undead. Then there is their mother Leiyne, Goddess of Magic, Weather and the Mountain, of which he knows next to nothing. Lastly, there is a plethora of demi-gods, elementals and ghosts that are also worshipped, some on the most basic of superstitions. They have their own timekeeping, with the current date being the 327th Spring-Year – the count started when Anselm manifested himself in front of the lot, but Enzel also knows that it is the fifth age and 600-something, but the true calendar is so unimportant in their lifes, that only some scholars seem to care.

Three cities are home to his people, Dustower the one you already have seen on the hillside the smallest of them, the whole area counting about 300 humans. As the fields are quite small, they mostly keep to goat herding and hunting, even trading for additional field-fruits from the other villages. In the bottom of the valley lies Benstead, the main hub of the area, complete with what they call a cathedral – big enough to fit half of the valleys 600 people. They mainly live from their fields and livestock, with cows being quite common. Further north, some way into the canyon they also have Guleshore, the region being home to about 400 of the lot. Their livelihood is – again – chiefly made with their fields and animals, but they do have a bit of mining and smithing going for them.

Much of the population is spread out and living on farms and steads in the greater area, of which most tend to livestock. Only about a third of the people are living in the cities themselves. Each of the cities keeps their own militia, which is kinda mandatory for all the men and seen as good sport for the dry months of the year. Inside of the villages, there are shrines to the three main gods, with at least one priest caring for each of them, in the case of Benstead even two lesser, and a high priest. You are not keen on challenging a city with nine priests anytime soon, you can't help but remark. The Priests of Leiyne also double as magicians, “able to summon forth holy spirits” - which you ascribe to some brand of Evocation.

Asking about the horns, he tells you that it is a very easy form of communications – which even kids are told to understand at an early age. There are a few alarms and outcries for help, but also some that announce festivities or call for a meeting. You let him tell you the alarm for enemies, the call for help, and the festive one. It might take some practice, but it is just a simple sequence of sounds.

Currently:
205/205 HP
45/175 MP
70 MP Stored

Status:
Well-Fed - Doubled HP-Regeneration
Lacking Sentient Nourishment - -1 Agility and Intelligence for Skill- and Combat-checks

Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)

Ghoulish Vessel
Strength: 11
Endurance: 11
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 15
Charisma: 5

~10 HPD
~40 MPD

Inventory:
Medium Band of Gathering 0/20 MP
Leather Jerkin
Woolen Pants
Leather Shin-boots
Twohander
Shortbow w. Iron tipped Arrows

Resources:
1 Human Skeleton
1 Amethyst Geode - 30/30 MP
1 Rock Crystal Nugget 0/20
1 Schorl Geode 40/40 MP
1 Emerald Chunk 0/100
1 Horse Hindleg

Items:
1 Saddlebag
1 Shortbow
2 Quivers
3 Wooden Arrows
9 Iron tipped Arrows
1 Rope – Thin, 4 Meters
1 Tinderbox
1 Hatchet
1 Bronze Axe
1 Quarterstaff
3 Daggers
1 Long-Dagger
1 Shortsword
1 Rusty Sword
1 Wooden Spear
1 Knapsack
7 Silver – Crudely minted
45 Copper – Crudely minted
1 Pair of Linen Clothing
7 Smoked Goat Cuts

Skills:
Adept of the School of Necromancy
Adept of the School of Transmutation
Acolyte of the School of Divination
Beginner in Feral Combat
Capable in Archery

Spoiler:  Spells (click to show/hide)

School of Necromancy - Adept
Branches: Mysticism, Occultism

Animate Skeleton – 50 MP
Raise a temporary Skeleton to do your bidding. Lasts 1 Day, extendible by 3 MP per day.
Can be made permanent by spending additional 30 MP on it.

Turn Lesser Undead – 30 MP
Allows you to destroy, render harmless or straightly take over an undead creature.

Soulspeaker – 20 MP
Allows you to contact the souls of the dead, and to communicate with them. Duration 1 Hour.

Enslave Lesser Souls - 25 MP
Allows the enslavement of lesser, or rather “newly dead” souls.
A soul may be placed into a construct, resulting in an autonomous undead.
A souls essence may be devoured, restoring half of the souls previously held maximum mana.
Devouring a Soul or failing this spell has the chance to transform the affected into a wraith, which will be hostile towards the caster.

Animate Zombie – 80 MP
Raise a temporary Zombie to do your bidding. Lasts 1 Day, extendible by 5 MP per day.
Can be made permanent by spending additional 40 MP on it.


School of Transmutation - Adept
Branches: Enchanting, Alteration

Drain Energy – 20MP +50% of the drained Energy must be paid in MP
Allows you to drain a prone or enslaved creature of its mana or vitality.

Change Object – 30 MP, Duration 1 Hour
Allows you to temporary change the properties or shape of an object.

Store Mana – 25MP + Desired Amount
Allows you to store mana into gemstones.

Healing Gambit – 2 MP converts to 3 HP, Duration 5 Hours
Can temporarily close mortal wounds and even re-attach lost limbs, safe beheading

School of Divination - Acolyte
Branches: Kabalism, Mysticism

Improved Sight – 10 MP, Duration 1 Hour
Your natural vision is improved threefold.

Spoiler: Followers (click to show/hide)

	Skeletal Horse Permanent Quite Damaged
	Skeletal Human Permanent
	2 Skeletal Goats Permanent
	1 Zombie Owl Permanent

Spoiler: Mind Map (click to show/hide)

Purple Dot: Location of our Cave Red Dots: Attacked Places

" Guess.. that would be all. In a moment, he won't remember anything. "

That.. were a lot of questions, all right. If you can think of anything else, do so now. In the next update he will loose his memories. On that note, the bit about crafters won't really work because the memories will be all gone. Well, autonomous undead are capable of learning, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

[Worldmaster27]

So many people... so many corpses!

As he obviously doesn't know anything else, we will bind him to the owl. Then we should try to get onto the southern-most wall and see what we will. There may be a small village or hermit out that way, if we're lucky. Bring our owl with us when we check it out.

[~Neri]

Ask what the sound sequences for the horns are.

[Tomcost]

We already said that we wanted him to be in the owl, so that we can use it to scout without them ever realizing that they are being scouted.

The human skeleton should be animated and made permanent as soon as we have spare mana.

Also, I vote on going on a strict no-food-while-we-are-at-full-health diet.

[Weirdsound]

Ask what the sound sequences for the horns are.

I think we already did. Remember to teach him those sequences again once we put him in his new body. Also reteach him where the priests are at.

[~Neri]

We already said that we wanted him to be in the owl, so that we can use it to scout without them ever realizing that they are being scouted.

The human skeleton should be animated and made permanent as soon as we have spare mana.

Also, I vote on going on a strict no-food-while-we-are-at-full-health diet.

I agree with the no food thing, better to save it for later when we need it.

[Weirdsound]

We already said that we wanted him to be in the owl, so that we can use it to scout without them ever realizing that they are being scouted.

The human skeleton should be animated and made permanent as soon as we have spare mana.

Also, I vote on going on a strict no-food-while-we-are-at-full-health diet.

I agree with the no food thing, better to save it for later when we need it.

Yeah. Seeing as our health is full, and our next action is likely waiting to fill our gems and restore our Manapool before the next big party, I doubt we are in much risk of needing to restore our health.