Go via the bridge of Khalad-Tal
+1
GEOMETRIST
+1 and +1 to the bridge of Khalad-Tal.
+1
Sure, go to the bridge.
Bridge seems like our best bet.
Bridge. Let's show the dwarves were not afraid.
You ask the ranger how you would be able to get to Khalad Tal from the hunters' outpost. His frown widens slightly, but he directs you towards one of the paths radiating away from the cluster of buildings. He asks you once more if you're sure you wouldn't rather wait until the safer route is clear, but you're certain. You are, after all, a powerful elven arcanist. You can protect yourself.
The day drags on as you continue through the snow. The terrain becomes rockier and the path starts to wind along the face of the mountain. As the sun inches towards the horizon, you round a corner and see the dwarven bridge for the first time.
The immense structure of stone and metal stretches across the valley. You know that Khalad Tal is an ancient megastructure, a monument to dwarven determination, skill, and ingenuity, but you never considered that your journey might take you across it. The path weaves back into the mountain and the bridge soon falls out of sight. The wind whistles through the cracks in the stone around you as you silently continue on your way. As the sun begins to truly set, the small, unkempt trail you follow abruptly joins with a much, much larger road - this one carved directly into the stone of the mountain. A dwarven highway, leading directly towards the bridge. Looking north once more, you see the massive structure up close.
It's positively humbling. The highway spans thirty feet wide, and the central pillars supporting the bridge soar above the causeway another thirty feet. The fact that any civilization, let alone an ancient one, could have built such a thing boggles your mind.
You remember the ranger's warning about border patrols. After checking to see if the coast is clear, you hurry along the road towards your destination.
At the edge of the bridge, no sign of border patrols yet. A third of the way across, still no dwarves. You glance out over the valley and wow, are you high over the ground. You carefully avoid thinking about what would happen if you somehow fell off the edge. Halfway across, everything's -
"Be still, elf-kin! The territories of Nirborh are sealed to the barbarians of the lowlands. What business have you trespassing upon the works of the ancient dwarven kings?"
At the far end of the bridge, you see four dwarves leveling crossbows at you while a fifth calls out in a booming voice. You freeze in place.
This could be very bad, depending on how trigger-happy the commander is. Dwarves, for the most part, have no love for men or elves. At the best of times, they trade their crafts and metal with an air of clinical detachment - at the worst of times, they conquer without remorse. The humans have numbers and the elves have wizard-lords, but the dwarves have superior weaponry, ancient magics, and efficient, highly trained legions.
If the commander is a peaceful sort, you might be able to talk your way through this; if he's not, you
might be able to avoid the first volley of bolts and escape before they can reload.
Something seemed off about how he spoke, though. He sounded tense, stressed, almost angry. You look closely at the patrol. Your elf eyes see their armor is dented, the paint scraped off in some areas. One seems injured, a bloodstained bandage wrapped tightly around his arm. Their quivers are almost empty, only a couple bolts each.
What do you do?
GEOMETRIST
+1 and +1 to the bridge of Khalad-Tal.
+1 to geometrist
+1 & PTW
GEOMETRIST
Yay! Now I dont have to change my suggestions so we arent just some ole wizard!
+1!
You are a
geometrist! Your magic allows you to create powerful runes, perform incredible rituals, and calculate the hypotenuse of a triangle.
Runes are magically charged symbols. You can carve, paint, sculpt, or otherwise write them on practically any object. Runes can be either
spirit runes or
rift runes. Spirit runes can be used to create the effects of spiritual magic, but have a limited supply of energy. Once they run out of energy, they become inert and must be recreated. Rift runes draw upon the rift to perform mentalist magic, but have a small chance of going inconveniently haywire at a plot-critical time.
The object a rune is inscribed upon determines how strong the rune can be, and often has different strengths for different effects! (For example, stone makes for good warding runes, while silver makes rift runes less likely to explode.) As a general rule of thumb,
the more expensive and/or thematically appropriate the material is, the safer/more efficient/stronger/better it is. Similarly, the larger and more inconvenient to create a rune is, the stronger it is.
Rituals are... rituals. It's pretty self-explanatory. By doing a mystic chant/burning a specific type of shrub/tearing out the heart of a small animal while shouting 'ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn' you can cast extremely powerful (and equally specific) spells! Need to summon a rainstorm? There's a ritual for that! Need to bind a demon? There's a ritual for that! Need to destroy a small town? There's a ritual for that! However, rituals take both time and very specific resources. You could try substituting reagents and cutting corners to make the ritual more feasible, but you might not like the effects.
Since no self-respecting mage would leave his/her tower without some mystic shenanigans up their sleeves, you made sure to bring a few spells on the road with you! You have...
- One small silver disc
- Two palm-sized marble tablets
- Three palm-sized wooden tablets
- Five one-use pieces of parchment
What spells do you have engraved/written on them? Use your imagination, but be specific. I reserve the right to veto horrendously overpowered suggestions.
In addition, you have a set of tools that will let you carve certain stones (sandstone, alabaster, soapstone, etc.) and wood, as well as pens and ink to write with.
Spell Rules-Rift magic cannot be 'still' (no barriers, healing, etc.). It is chaotic and usually destructive, but can also be temporary (for example, opening a door in a wall that warps back to normal once the spell ends). Basically, reality is a suggestion to the rift.
-Healing is limited. You can fully heal minor wounds or stop blood from gushing out of that gaping hole in your chest, but don't expect to be back in the fight immediately.
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Topic: [ISG] Teovanth (Read 22962 times)