Roll 22
"The Lady of Winter likely sent us in this direction to meet you, so if you wish to accompany us to the lake, you would be much appreciated."
Lily: If the Lady said so, I have to follow you. I never get lost in the woods.She looks down the hall toward the light.
Lily: Well, when you're done going through the former master's stuff, I'll be outside. I miss the suns.She skips out from your presence and turns the corner. Then, she stops.
Lily: We might not be leaving right away...She looks unnaturally bright. Originally you thought the brightness was just a visual side-effect of the dim passage, but now it's clear that she is brighter than she would have been in normal sunlight. This can mean either that she is using magic to trick you, or that an Ashstorm started while you were inside the hideout.
...
Your whole body is burned (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 a giant eye
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 looks to the bow, then to Lilly.
"T-t-t-thank you."
He smiles awkwardly at her.
"Blessed are they who maketh such great works of art, for their labours will produce beauty that please the troubled hearts of the faithful."
((This is before Lily tries to go outside))
Lily: Aww, you don't need to be so kind. I don't have a use for it, it's yours like everything else in here.She comes closer, whispering into your ear behind Zikal's back. [6][1] Zikal does not notice, although he is likely suspicious of the girl anyway.
Lily: That dagger is another thing I made. It gets stronger as it collects souls, and if he kills enough with it, he will be able to bring back people he's killed. Please don't let him misuse it....
Your whole body is burned (1)
Your left arm is bruised (1)
...
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.)
You have 13 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
>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
((Beh.))
"Fine. Any more information on the merc? And start explaining more and yapping less."
Inside.
He describes the mercenary you asked him about.
Astrologer: Short girl, elvish, wears a frilly red dress, rides this animal that looks like a cross between a lilypad and an eel. I don't know exactly how she kills people, but the Office said Motorov's body got eaten. So I guess I got a pretty good idea.
[1][3] You have a difficult time finding shelter inside a building, since everyone else is also pouring into the shops and stores bordering the plaza. Citing safety concerns, most shop owners only allow a fixed number of individuals inside.
It seems you will have to leave the marketplace. Perhaps the inn will have room, as it's a spacious building. If not, a local church or the (further) nearest cathedral will allow as many people to enter as necessary. The problem is that the longer you walk the more dangerous it gets outside.
...
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
Archae looks for shelter from the Ashstorm.
Shelter is all around you. During Ashstorms, property owners are required to open their doors to anyone seeking refuge. [1][2] In practice, however, most of the buildings are already full and you are rejected access, citing fire hazard concerns. You'd be lucky to find even one.
Ashlight is said to enhance the capabilities of an Adept, making it require almost no thought to bring things into existence. This is both a blessing and a curse, as Adepts with malevolent thoughts and memories may accidentally (or willingly) release them into the world, wreaking havoc on places unprepared.
...
You have a green poison slime with Paralysis
You remember a red, blue, and a green spell-slime (weak)
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
>You can create and cast simple (complexity of 1 or less) Aganis spells on the same turn. Spell complexity:
+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
"Certainly."
"This should be fun."
I follow her lead.
Efa passes the gate to the inner city, showing the guards a certificate she was (supposedly) issued by the Office of Law Enforcement. You, as a summoned being, were considered her property so long as you were not found acting independently. This means no flying around, unfortunately, unless you can do it without getting caught.
The policy is, as you discover, that all who enter the inner city must receive a permit from the OLE before they are allowed inside. The exception is during cathedral services, where all are allowed inside (and security is drastically tightened).
The first building Efa visits is the Great Cathedral, a monolithic structure carved from the rock this city was built on. Its terraces and slopes were hewn smooth by the scorching light of Ash over a hundred years starting in 139 and finishing in 244. The old lenses used can still be seen in the spacious entrance lobby, hung by iron chains from the ceiling over a marble pedestal.
Cathedrals are typically places of worship in the Empire where the poor sing alongside the rich, and all social divisions are forgotten (Or at least, this is the truth in major cities where the clerics have the most influence. Not everyone loves their neighbors, however). The lobby opens by two large doors, each carved from a slab of obsidian, into a huge long black hall with rows upon rows of seats on a stepped floor. At the far side, a massive Oak grown from an old ballista bolt grows behind a raised stage, where the choir is currently gathered for rehersal. The next service was due to start in an hour, but due to the unexpected Ashstorm it will be postponed an hour after the Ashstorm ends and all inspections are complete.
The Cathedral is more than just a theater, however. It serves as a repository of knowledge, and so the great chamber is surrounded by seven floors all the way up to the stained glass ceiling (which, as you discover, glows a brilliant purple during an Ashstorm. Black Glass tends to do that). The theater space is cut directly out of the floors, so occupants can look on over the rails.
The organization of the floors is as follows:
- The 1st and 2nd floors function as museums containing Church artifacts and historical documents. These recount the story of the Arinthian rite, untouched by revisionists and preserved for centuries.
- The 3rd and 4th floors contain the works of the Monks Hospitaller, a hospital run by dedicated monks and nuns. It is this place where those suffering from debilitating illnesses are offered a final place to rest before their deaths. It is said that many well-known Adepts have made pilgrimages to this place, in order to heal whomever they can with their gifs.
- The 5th and 6th floors are stocked with books and treatises of all sources, from the writings of the pagan philosophers to modern works by Pluton and Doregaard.
- The 7th and final floor is a memorial ground for not only the saints, but those who have made extraordinary contributions to mankind's search for truth. This floor is filled with coffins and memorial slabs to the ancient philosophers and scientists who, though flawed individuals, nonetheless changed the world. It is rumored that the right leg of Aristolius lies here, the only part of his body preserved after the Warlord of Rama had him torn apart.
Efa says she plans to visit the library floors.
Traits and Skills:
Secret Powers
>DoOOoobillidabidydappidydap dipigillidydapda!
Current Stat Modifiers:
+0/0 positive dice to attack rolls
+0/0 negative dice to enemy attack rolls
+0/0 positive dice to defense rolls
+0/0 negative dice to enemy defense rolls
It is the 4th hour after noon. Ash is blazing bright in the azure sky, burning all exposed objects and adding +1 to all die in a thoughtform roll.
Expected end of Ashstorm: 7th hour. (Next hour: Turn 32)
Author
Topic: Pastblasters - Adventures in Wizardry (Turn 55) (Read 91258 times)