Roll 41
"I've seen those eyes before. They seem to appear near the Lady. This must be on track."
Cautiously continue along the new hallway. Keep watch of the eyes.
[3][5] The hallways don't seem to go on and on as far. Each mirror in the "mirror world" turns out to be another piece of reflective fabric.
The eyes Wilhelm refers to seem to be real objects, however. You approach them all the way to the end of the tunnel. By now you've torn down all the fabric and have reached the end of this side passage. Here the hallway turns to the side and the eyes close, disappearing into the wall without a trace.
...
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 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 whispers to Zikal
"Careful. Eyes watching."
The next hallway is curved and level. There is a metal grate for a floor, revealing another hall underneath, but as you walk you notice a metal grate above you as well. You seem to have walked in a circle, and yet you are a level below where you were even though there is no noticeable tilt in the ground.
No wonder looters can't find anything of value in this castle, with this level of mind-screw.
At the bottom of the non-euclidean stairwell you enter a round chamber with a table in the center, illuminated dimly by a wax candle. There are five seats around the table, and in front of two of them are palm-sized crystals lying on the table.
...
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
"Then are you the one who called me here?"
She gives a brisk nod, and gives no other words. Her expression still betrays a sense of confusion, oddly human for a "keeper of this land." Then again, she never explicitly stated what she was.
"I suppose it would be difficult to put this in terms that you could understand. This world you live in, you see, does not exist in a vacuuum. There are powers far greater than man in force, and most of these are now associating with the Min. I am one of the few that are not, but alas my kind is rare. I am a rebel, you see, to the natural order that the other Keepers wish to impart. My only ally is the indifferent Keeper of the Sands, Trolli, who bears no duties nor responsibilities over the barren land assigned him."...
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 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
"Hello? Hello? The cat's mine and he doesn't purr when he's alone, so please don't pretend you didn't hear." He knocks on the doors once more and waits for a suitable response. "I'll enter in five seconds. Five, four, three, two, one..."
Instead of bursting in, the mercenary opens the door fully before carefully looking around and only then getting inside. "There you are, Klein. Come here, you little rasc-" Leonhard stops upon noticing the cat seems to have found someone wearing crimson, and pokes the crystal he had put away. Is she the one?
[1][6] You enter the room and discover Klein on top of a strange woman in a bright scarlet robe and a strange hat, lying on a large pile of costumes which seem to be torn apart and disassembled.
The woman is lying with her hat pointed toward you, so you cannot see her eyes, but she appears to be rubbing Klein's chin.
The voice from the crystal answers your query.
"That's the one. Tell her you are in contact with the Lady of Winter."
With that, the pile of costumes underneath the woman begins unraveling into seemingly self-aware tendrils. These tendrils snake across the hard tile floor and reach for the crystal in your hand. In response, Klein bites the woman's finger while meowing. The tendrils stop every time he bites.
"It seems like she's having a dream. Try to wake her up."
...
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
Hidden from view, I watch and note Efa's reaction to the situation. If she is incapacitated, or put at risk, then I might need to act, but I think she's okay thus far.
The cat seems to have grown long fangs and a coat of many spines like those of a porcupine. It bites Efa's finger, strangely drawing no blood despite the fearsome teeth.
The pile of clothes emits tendrils of flesh and suckers, which draw close to the visitor shortly after he enters the room.
Speaking of which, the visitor is wearing a bright, shining suit of armor with an arrow across the chest: a paladin of some Holy Order. He holds a bright blue crystal in hand with a silver arrow hanging from a pin drilled through the bottom.
Outside, you hear gale winds, heavy impacts, and explosions all across the castle and surrounding town. It seems as if objects are falling from the sky, howling so loudly through the air that you can hear them through hundreds of feet of stone.
Efa seems perfectly awake now, but doesn't seem to be aware of the happenings around her.
...
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 5th hour after noon. Ash is blazing even brighter 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 42)
Author
Topic: Pastblasters - Adventures in Wizardry (Turn 55) (Read 91563 times)