Roll 43
"I-I'm fine, thanks. Just having trouble with my footing."
The thing doesn't seem to affect you anymore now that you are in the shadows. You continue to follow the trail of eyes, leading you down to a huge round chamber with a candlelit table in the center. Seated on one of the chairs is an unkempt noble wearing green and white; the colors of Vin; splattered with mud and dirt.
In the other chair is a huge man in black, imposing yet paradoxically quite gentle in appearance. He wears the robes of a monk, although with a quiver on his back he does not wield the arms of one--monks must never spill blood.
There are two additional crystals like the one you found at the street. One is held by the noble (or ex-noble). The other is on the table, in front of the non-monk.
The Lady of Winter appears from your right, somehow having either taken an alternate path faster than you or having deliberately not shown you the fastest.
...
You have a black Cloak of Ash (protects against Ashlight and fire)
You have a green poison slime with Paralysis
You remember a red, blue, and a green spell-slime (weak)
You remember many eyes
You have a red resonance crystal.
You have a spiny walking stick (Attack power: (attacking head) 2, (attacking other parts) 1)
You have a silversteel falchion (Attack power: (on odd swings) 3, (on even swings) 2)
You remember your time in the wilderness well
You have some sandwiches and citrus
You have a Sprite Trap, labelled with the words "Samantha Magdelene, professor at U.T"
You have seventy-five Hours
Traits and Skills:
Mystical Learning
>Your Aganis spells are reduced in complexity by 1. Spell complexity determines the number of turns it takes to prepare a spell. You can cast early, but each turn you skip incurs a negative die. Complexity rules:
+1 if range is longer than 1-2 yards
+1 if multi-target
+1 if effect lasts more than a single turn, or if a creature is created
+1 if created creature is more complex than a slime
Animal Handler
>Gain +2 positive dice whenever animals are involved, unless you are hunting them
Wilderness Survival
>Gain +2 positive dice for actions involving gathering natural resources, starting fires, tracking, and other survival skills
Photographic Memory
>Weak memories become strong if you successfully cast them the first time
Cannot Speak
>Silence is golden
One-Eyed
>Your targets gain +2 positive dice if you attack them from a distance
"Intruders in the Castle of the Lady? We need to keep an eye out for them." Zikal whispers back to Wilhelm. He then turns to the Lady. "I must ask, what is the purpose of such an elaborate maze of a castle, already in a deadly swamp?"
Lady of Winter: I greet all of you! You have found what I call the Castle of Souls, maintained for aeons. Above you is my great library, holding books not meant for eyes but for lost souls to acquire their forms. My faeries preserve the images of those who have died, allowing one of my spirits to return their memory to the world, never letting any legacy pass away. Observe.Out of various dark and unlit halls come knights in shining armor, men of war. There also proceed monarchs in royal robes of burgundy, indigo, and white, thinkers in primitive togas, and a man whose image is well-remembered by any churchgoer: the philosopher Aristolius.
They do not speak, but instead take seats around the edge of the room. They all appear to be glowing, giving off just enough light to illuminate the chairs below them and nothing else. It is an effect similar to the Lady, who can always be seen even in the dark.
...
Your whole body is protected by some sort of green glow, visible in the dark (-1)
...
You have 3 black empty tomes (black tomes must be written in red ink, and gain +2 positive dice if inscribed with an illusionary spell)
Silent Wind of Night: Dispells all nearby items and detatched effects, regardless of origin. Shapeshifts, summons, and polymorphs are unaffected.
Phantom Lake Essence: Dark tendrils emerge from the book, ensnaring enemies that fail to dodge.
Unending Phantasmagoria: Dissolves a dead body to create a reanimated ghost in place of this tome. The ghost can use Shadow Blink and drops a black spell tome upon death.
You have a stack of spell tome pages and a black cover
You have a bloodied ceremonial dagger (Attack power: 3) (attaches to target and Drains it, suppressing it) (remembering a memory teleports this weapon to your hand)
You have a Beech Javelin (Attack power: 3 (thrown), 1 (stab))
You have 10 Javelin memories (lucid)
You have about thirty Hours
You have a royal goblet, a golden watch, and some jewelry
You remember the Lady of Winter
You remember many eyes
You remember many pixies
You remember a band of Arinthian soldiers and some bandits
You remember a bandit sinking into the ground
Traits and Skills:
Forest Ranger
>Gain +2 positive dice when navigating and moving through the wilderness, as well as performing stealthy actions
Javelineer
>Your targets get +2 negative dice when you target them with a javelin
Noble's Education
>Gain +1 positive dice when learning from writing or conversing about literature
Shapeshifter
>You have unlimited strong memories of forest animals
Cynical
>Others will press any advantage...
Xenophobe
>Foreigners always disappoint
Willhelm nods.
keep the intruder in sight. Try not to let him out of my sight.
The shadow thing seems to notice you staring at it, and retreats into the darkness. It acts like a cable, although it doesn't seem to have a contour. A cable made of shadows. You could have sworn you saw fingers as well.
[5][4] You spot more of the things appearing just barely visible next to each of the ancient glowing people, at the edge of their soft light.
...
You have a schematic of an iron arrow trap
You have a steel axe (Attack power: 1) (Deals piercing damage if the attack connects but fails to pierce)
You have an iron mace (Attack power: 2) (If the target has less than 2 damage, deals piercing damage)
You have a charged large greatbow (Attack power: 3 (charged), 1 (uncharged)) (charging takes one turn of preparation)
You have an uncharged Quickbow (Attack power: 1. Can fire twice per turn. Charging it allows you to fire two arrows per attack, four in one turn)
You have 11 arrows in your quiver (Attack power: 1)
There is one recoverable arrow near the Old Fortress Mound
You have an important scroll in a copper cylinder
You have about one hundred Hours
Traits and Skills:
Man of Steel
>Gain +1 positive dice when using melee weapons, as well as lifting and wrestling actions
>Your opponents get +1 negative dice when attacking you
Fists like Hammers
>Gain an additional +1 positive dice while unarmed
Bow Mastery
>Your targets get +2 negative dice when you target them with a bow
Illiterate
>What's a book?
Amnesia
>You have forgotten many things
"Misters, misters. I'm armored, armed and pissed. We should solve things cordially or they'll get really ugly really quickly and that'd be bad for all of us. How 'bout ya stop reaching for those weapons and first ask whether the lady even wants to join you?" His suggestion sounds helpful, his apparent calmness belying the willingness to murder carefully sharpened over his mercenary career.
Try to convince them to be reasonable; Charisma applies. In case they decide to attack, take out the most immediate threat with a Zweihänder strike and leave the blade on the enemy, fire once with the arquebus at another then swap to the Katzbalger.
[6]
[1][5] He stares, his pyramid-mask hung in place. After a brief silence, he responds,
Lunatic 3: Wa-wait, the Lady? You don't happen to be speaking of the Lady of Winter, do you? The Illuminant Order has sought to make contact with the Lady of Winter for decades now, but so far she has shunned us.The mysterious voice reacts to this, once again audible to both Valerie and Leonhard.
"Oh
Lord, not
them. Still, if it's the best way to get out of this..."
A thousand eyes open up on the floor, covering the area around the five lunatics. They focus their pupils toward the lead man, who suddenly feels the weight of a thousand faceless stares on him.
Lunatic 3: Mmm, so the myths are true. The Lady is the only authority we maintain respect for on this forsaken world. The Illuminant Order shall leave you in peace.All five reach out and grab onto their ropes, still hanging from the ceiling.
...
Your head is sunburned (1)
...
You have a black Cloak of Ash (protects against Ashlight and fire)
You have a Zweihänder slung on your shoulder (Attack power: 4) (can only be used offensively every other turn)
You have a Katzbalger (Attack power: 2)
You have an arquebus (Attack power: 3) (Your opponent gets an extra positive die to dodge)
You are wearing light plate armor (incoming attacks lose 1 attack power if over 1)
You have about one hundred and fifty Hours
Traits and Skills:
Charisma
>Gain +1 positive dice when speaking with others and persuading them
Veteran
>Gain +1 positive dice to defense rolls, and your enemies gain +1 negative dice to their defense rolls
Swordmaster
>Gain +1 positive dice to attack rolls with long, bladed weapons
Sharpshooter
>Your targets get +1 negative dice to their defense rolls
Noisy
>You get +1 negatice die to stealth, and an additional +1 negative die if you are wearing armor
Old Pains
>In cold weather, without thick clothing, you get +1 negative dice to all actions
I stay quiet for a little longer.
((See above))
Traits and Skills:
Secret Powers
>DoOOoobillidabidydappidydap dipigillidydapda!
Current Stat Modifiers:
+2/(max 2) positive dice to attack rolls
+0/(max 0) negative dice to enemy attack rolls
+1/(max 1) positive dice to defense rolls
+0/(max 0) negative dice to enemy defense rolls
It is the 6th hour after noon. Ash is burning out, still giving +1 to the first die of a Thoughtform roll. This effect will linger on until the start of the 8th hour.
Expected end of Ashstorm: 7th hour. (Next hour: Turn 50)
Author
Topic: Pastblasters - Adventures in Wizardry (Turn 55) (Read 91083 times)