Welcome to the weekend, where the earlier mention of a slow update schedule is immediately crushed! The next five days will have less updates, I suspect. Possibly.
The final night was peaceful, for the most part. Eveline was very happy to be back inside, as she apparently attracted a horde of children that deemed her as a very cute and intelligent dog. She spent an hour getting petted and being too nervous to say anything. She covers her face in her hands while saying it was SO embarrassing. Which was ultimately really cute. Her tail was high up, swinging slowly as it reflected her mood. When you jokingly tell her that you could pet her for a while if she liked it so much, she goes quiet for a while, looking a little appalled. The effect was instantly lost when you noticed her tail wagging against the wall at such velocity you feared it might crack. It took all you had to not burst out laughing. She soon catches herself doing and grips her tail, looking even more embarrassed. She then hid herself under the covers and didn't come out again. You went to sleep right after, it's not really a problem. In the morning, you'll just not talk about it for her sake.
You still snicker a little though.
When morning comes, the innkeeper is there to wave you away. Seems like she doesn't have any hard feelings, and that she managed to look like a human being again. She waves your group off, though you suspect it's more out of relief than anything. Still, you're just as glad to be out of that town as they are glad to be rid of the scholars. Especially now that they have the opportunity to talk about creating a new spell. Every scholar, apart from the bard, is talking excitedly about creating a spell like this. The leader of the discussion is a young girl wearing goggles of some kind. Her red, unkempt hair and high-pitched voice makes her stand out, now that she has a reason to be excited. Turns out creating spells is right up her alley, considering she's a scholar of metamagic. Not many people bother in that study, considering there aren't many ways one can cast a spell. It's always just expelling magical energy and twisting it into the desired shape, ultimately. It all happens so naturally metamagic is considered unnecessary at best. Still, it could be useful for creating a new spell, most likely. You're the amateur here, so you stay out of the discussions. You actually keep yourself busy with the bard, who is telling the story of how a sword made a man a king once. You wonder how some watery tart throwing swords at people is a good ground for a constitutional monarchy, but the dwarf tells the tale with such enthusiasm you can't help but enjoy yourself. Meandra is also listening to the tale, as creating spells doesn't really concern her. Surprisingly, Eveline IS with the other scholars. Apparently, she has a couple potions that aid in removing illusions and the like. You didn't really pay attention.
After a two-day walk, during which nothing of note happened, you come across something very special indeed. A massive stone building, with large pillars holding up the front. In-between those pillars, you see ruined statues. Some look to be completely overtaken with vegetation, while others seem to be destroyed intentionally. Regardless of how it has been hit, though, it's impossible to tell what these statues might have represented. At best, you recognize some humanoid feet.
Alright, people, we're stopping here! It's getting late...Considering the sun is already on the horizon, you can't help but agree, but you usually walk until it's too dark to properly see... Richard notices your look, however, and quickly explains before you can even ask.
This temple is a common spot for travelers to rest in. Rest assured it's perfectly safe! No curses or goblins of any kind. It'll make for a nice change of pace from sleeping on the ground, no?There's a murmur of agreement, and the group goes inside the massive stone building. You notice there isn't a lot of dust for such an old building, and all sorts of rudimentary supports and wood keep everything steady. The most interesting part was the fact there were already people inside. A whole caravan, in fact. The doors are wide enough to allow passage of a cart, after all. Once inside, the scholars quickly introduce themselves to the caravan-folk. They are travelling merchants and performers, and one of them quickly puts on a show with a showhorse. Acrobatics on top of a horse is quite a sight to behold, as the horse and rider need to be in perfect harmony. Plenty of ooh's and aah's come from the audience, and you catch yourself holding your breath on more than one occasion. After that, the scholars also perform some tricks of their own. The bundle of cloth turns out to be a capable pyrotechnic, creating all manner of impressive fireworks. The ceiling here is so immensely high that no troubles seem to arise. The echoes of the firework go down, further into the temple. You noticed a passageway deeper into the temple earlier, but Richard said that anything of interest is long gone. At best, one can find some dusty old sleeping quarters at this point.
Soon enough, people are tired from doing their performances. You've been busy entertaining three small children, who are all very interested in the "spider lady". They can't quite pronounce your name, and just stick with spider lady. You don't really feel like getting annoyed over it, they are quite small, after all. Eventually, the whole place goes to sleep. You're quite glad to get some rest after dealing with kids for while. How do parents stand it!? Still, comfort lies in a soft blanket...
Suddenly, however, you are shaken awake by a rough hand. You reach for your sword as your eight eyes open, until you see it's the bard. He looks worried.
Ey, lass... I need yer help with somethin'. I suppose it can't wait until morning?Not quite... This might be serious. Follow me.You rub your eyes for a bit, and put on a proper shirt over your underclothes. You decide against putting on your armor, as you plan on going back to sleep soon. The dwarf takes you over to the caravan people, and stops at their main cart. They have three total, all quite colorful.
See this? he says, as he knocks against the wood. It makes a rough noise, but nothing seems out of the ordinary.
Amazing, wood is solid... Why did you wake me up for this?Ya didn't hear it? Listen closely. More thunking against the wood. You still don't hear anything unusual.
I'm going back to bed.Ya still don't get it?! It doesn't sound hollow! This is no caravan, it sounds like a block o' wood on wheels! That don't make sense. Maybe it's just loaded with some hefty props? Geez, man, I just want a night's sleep. Look, I'm thinkin' this thing isn't a caravan, but a mimic! Insidious little bastard musta snuck inside the wagon and started replacin' it. It's hard to tell,
but I've got a keen eye fer that sorta thing. We gotta destroy this wagon before that thing eats anybody.Who the hell ever heard of a mimic copying a cart? Come on, you're just paranoid. You say, yawning.
Look, I needed you fer some muscle, in case the damned thing wakes up, but we need to wheel it outside and burn it. I'm not helping you burn down a people's livelyhood!It's not their livelyhood anymore! Soon enough that thing will have engulfed the whole cart, and then it'll move on to the people using it. Before ya know it, you've got a colony of mimics on wheels! You want that, Drider? A buncha toothy monsters rollin' inta town, eating townsfolk?Help the dwarfMAYBE he's right, but his evidence is awfully flimsy. And why the hell does he want to do it in secret, anyway!?Go back to bedYou won't get involved in this sillyness. You've got better things to do than bother with some madman's delusions.Get the others involvedPerhaps getting some scholars involved would be the better option. They could make a more educated guess than some guy with a drum.Get everybody involved. Whatever this guy is doing, everybody should know about it. IF he turns out to be right, the caravan people have a right to know before the cart gets burned. OtherStats
Level: 7
HP: 30/30
Mana: 22/22(8 mana invested)
Stress: 10/75
Inventory
Equipment:
Drider Shirt
Steel sword
Items:
Magic Cookbook
Pick-axe
4 sleeping bags
five potato sacks
Pot, pan, kitchen knife collection, scraping tool.
Rough leather armor
160 coins
Sheared Gardener's iron shield
Party
Ex-bandit: Yunikki Madotsu
Alchemist: Eveline Flynn
Floramancer: Meandra Malindra
Arch-mage: Richard Mi'ami
Magic, skills and minions
Magic:
Resurrect vermin: Allows you to resurrect very small creatures such as rats(1) (invests 1 of your max mana)
Resurrect average beast: Allows you to resurrect creatures such as dogs, cats and other similar-sized creatures.(10- (invests five mana)
Reshape minion: Allows you to slightly change the appearance of your resurrected minions. (///......)2
Minion Vision(weak): Allows you to see what a minion sees. The minion must have eyes.
Animate Piece: Allows you to animate just a piece of dead tissue. It requires your constant attention, and cannot act independently. (invests one mana) (1)
Graft: Allows you to use dead tissue as a replacement limb. Requires a lot of mana. (2 per second)
Gather Soul: Allows you to make a soul visible. You can't do anything with it, quite yet. (10 mana)
Undead flashbang: Allows you to blow up a minion for a flash-bang effect. (15 mana)
Stitch: allows you to close a wound and stop bleeding as fast as you can stitch. Costs very little mana, but requires something to stitch with.
Minions[/b]
one sewerhound
Three rats(enhanced claws) On the hound
Skills:
Poison Stinger (Potentially lethal)
Major experience in blocking and swords.
Climber
Crafty: Bolas
Cooking skill: Excellent
Corpse Cutting: below average.
Animal handling: inexperienced.
Necromantic knowledge
Soul Sniffer