Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 188599 times)

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #540 on:** April 01, 2017, 06:03:17 pm »

No you don't! SHE's the imposter! You yell, still nursing your shoulder wound. Everyone in the room is warily looking at the two of you, and people make distance between themselves and both driders in the room. Finally, the captain of the guard speaks up.
Look, both of them look identical. We need some way to figure out which one's the imposter.
You speak first: Are you serious!? I'm the one with all the gear and a CHUNK OUT OF MY FUCKING SHOULDER! I'm fucking dying, here!
T-true, but... This one says she was stripped clean. Considering that the both of you want to be "Sydney"... We can't rule that in.
And the bite?!
You and I both know why that isn't into consideration.
The dopperganger is smirking. She's mocking you!
D-don't. You stumble a little as your vision swims. You pant in exhaustion, but manage to regain your senses after shaking your head. Don't think you've won yet... How would we tell the difference, then? Need a blood-test? Because there's plenty of mine around...
Identical to the last bit, that won't work.

Come now. Just finish her off! Your doppelganger says, proudly displaying her naked body while she does it. Some of the guards are barely hiding their stares. Disgusting...
You're not out of the woods yet, either!
Well, why would she move upwards? Why would she try to hide in here instead of going towards the guards? Your doppelganger continues.
Why the hell wouldn't I try to put a door between me and some crazed bitch trying to EAT ME!? Besides, isn't she a bit too lucid to be biting people?
People awkwardly look around. Eveline seems to jump a little at the reminder. Still... people remain wary.
You're being deceived! I had to work with what I had, you know! She killed some of these wizards already! Your double yells. She's losing composure.
I needed a place to fix myself up after getting bitten, and i'm still bleeding RIGHT NOW. AND! I wouldn't stay here clawing at a door like some mutant, I would have blocked the damned window!
No, I wouldn't.
YES I WOULD!
Fuck you!
SUCK A FAT ONE AND CHOKE ON IT YOU CANNIBALISTIC CLOD!
Geez, language...
YOU STAY OUT OF THIS YOU LITTLE BITCH! your double yells

Your doppelganger claps her hands over her mouth. Eveline is taken aback.
Any more things to say? You say smugly.
T-this means nothing. I-i-i'm sorry, I didn't mean... Uh..
She's really sweating now. You try to smile, but the pain's making it quite difficult.
Hm... Lock 'em both up, this is asinine. Get her some medical attention first.
Your doppelganger screams in fury, and removes a sword from the scabbard of another guard. Screeching in a fury, she charges forward with the sword and clumsily swings the sword in your direction. Fortunately, you still have your shield, and you bash the sword out of her hand. She clearly doesn't have your skill in sword and board, and thank Gods for that!
Well... That makes the choice a little easier, doesn't it.

She is quickly cuffed, and Eveline and a guard with a white sash comes towards you. The handkerchief gets removed, and is replaced by a bandage with a green salve on it. It stings like hell, and you cry out. Eveline quickly hands you a potion, telling you to drink it. You do so, with gusto. You feel a lot less dizzy all at once.
I don't have much more of these... How often do you end up in these situations, Sydney?
It's been a tough week for me.
They're taking away everyone who was possessed, and your uncle and father just in case. From what I could tell, people will be fine in a little while, as the control was cut just a bit before we found that doppleganger. I figure it was out of mana.
The guard with the medical supplies finishes applying her bits and pieces. And then pulls out a pair of cuffs.
Sorry miss, but we still need to take you in. Just in case, of course, but when dealing with dopplegangers, the Tower gives some pretty clear directions. it's part of the law.
But I!... Oh fine. But are the restraints really needed?
The guard smiles, and puts the cuffs away. You follow her, still suffering a little bit, but you're still much better off.

I don't think they want me around for much longer... Do you need me to do something while this gets sorted out?
Could you get the small bones together in the room? I blew up my little skeleton when I tried to get away from that bitch.
...Sure? I guess. Not a problem.
You're getting carried away to a temporary holding cell. You may end up staying there a while, and you should get a plan ready for it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Made a few edits. I REALLY need to stop writing these at midnight, these were outright shameful.
Please, whenever you notice one of these mistakes, perceived or blatant, mention them. I will fix them as soon as I see the message. Any critique at all is welcome.

RAM · « **Reply #541 on:** April 01, 2017, 06:57:09 pm »

Mention that this thing is probably associated with a group that has been known to grow new limbs and double in size, change their skeletal structure, and continue to fight enthusiastically while on fire, which does work but, again, can take a while and being mauled by someone who is on fire was not fun. Oh, and lets not forget the highly infectious crawling skin/paint/tattoo thing which really shouldn't happen again without a massive ritual but... well, it is worth paying attention to the details. Also ask if the evil cult brand on our backs is the same...

Commune with Death. We could use their opinion on souls, inquire as to whether their tests are more species tolerant now, try to get them to open up a bit on the day-to-day hassles of posthumous management...

Practise our soul-sight. Try to see through walls, determine the difference between a new and mildly bored guard and an end-of-shift barely-conscious-from-boredom guard...
Try to figure out what that headbutt-thing and exploding pet trick were all about. Did they achieve anything, can they be formalised. There is probably little that can be done without practice, but it is worth a review of our memories.

Consider that our current injury is remarkably similar to the first time we killed someone and ate human flesh. Somewhat ironic really that no matter who gets bitten, between us and our double it seems that the one doing the biting always looks like us.

P.S.
The following line seems to have been cut off.

Quote

Your doppelganger screams in fury, and removes a sword from the hilt of another guard. Screeching in a fury, she charges forward with the sword and clumsily slams the

P.S.P.S.
Do you generally want perceived mistakes to be pointed out? I am certainly no Tolkien but I notice the odd thing that seems off...

TheBiggerFish · « **Reply #542 on:** April 01, 2017, 07:01:43 pm »

Also, "removed a sword from the hilt of another guard" - that should be scabbard, not hilt, unless something really weird happened.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #543 on:** April 02, 2017, 06:00:27 pm »

So I should probably mention that the doppelganger is most likely related to an eldritch cult?
The Tower put out some warnings about the cult, yeah. You're on an official investigation, after all. I'll give the message to command, sure.
You come quietly for the rest, letting the medicine do its work. It stings a bit, but you can walk comfortably. If you had to rely on muscles in your legs, you'd be in trouble, but seeing how you work on the power of hydraulics, it's fine. The prison isn't that far. It's a different building than the one where you interrogated John, or perhaps it's another side of it. You wouldn't quite know, as it looks built into a district wall. There is a large hall, guarded by some well-decorated guards. The guards are just about the only thing that looks clean here, though, the rest of stone looks a bit dusty, and the tapestries are bug-eaten. You are put at the first cell you pass, and it looks... nice. As far as a cell goes, anyways. You got a carpet, a table,a pen and some ink. The bed is still just a plank jutting out of the wall, so if you do have to spend a night here, you'd be better off using the carpet. The guard that escorted you here drops off a ratty looking shirt, and is asking you to undress and hand everything over. Considering that there's not that much you could do about it in your state, you comply without a word.

The shirt is... better than it looks, but worse than you'd think. It doesn't itch, but it's kind of... moist. Clearly second-hand. Still nothing you can do about it. They put all your belongings in a chest next to your cell, so when you get out it'll be easy to take care of. Now that you're here, you can just kind of think for a while. Reviewing your recent combat performance, you think back of your flashbang maneuver. It's honestly nothing more than a build-up of mana inside an object of some sort. Like a waterballoon, kind of. It doesn't do any damage, from what you can tell, but it's VERY loud and blindingly bright. You, however, are unaffected. If you knew more about magic, you could probably figure out why that is, but hey, what can you do. As it stands, you now know you can spend an wasteful amount of mana to blow something up. Other than that, you ponder other things. Such the shoulder bite, and how the wound itches! You put your hand on the bandage, and you get a bit of horrifying stinging to accompany the itching. It doesn't even cancel it out, it just gives you two different types of agony to mull over. You feel extra bad about all the times you must have bitten people... At the very least, you know at least two of them deserved it. But during the raid...

You feel a deep shame when you think of that. Why didn't you get out of the camp before that happened? Now you've almost certainly got innocent blood on your hands, or to be more precise, stomach. you feel a little queasy just thinking about it. Or perhaps you're just hungry.
Bad thought. Bad thought. Nope, go to jail.
You move on to something else. You try detecting some souls. You close six of your eyes, and meditate for a few seconds before seeing the different flames through-out the facility. All manner of colors can be seen through the walls, all of them pretty wisps. They are, unfortunately, identical apart from the color. Every person has their own color, it seems, although most seem to be an almost in-perceptively different variant on red. Far more colors than something silly like a forum could ever display. You don't know what a forum is, but it sounds nice. And then, finally, you decide you want to try something very, very special.

You close all your eyes, and think as hard as you can about Death, the person. After a few minutes, you feel something. A growing feeling of finality seems to grip you by the throat, and you feel bile coming just before you awaken in a strange place. Looking around, you see nothing but a twilight. Stars and veils of purple shift and turn in a beautiful dance across space, and you aren't even standing on a floor of any type. Your mouth falls open in amazement as you see all manner of figures in the shifting veils of purple. Suddenly, you become aware of a presence. Just behind you, a rail-thin man appears in a strange suit. It's all in black, and clings to his figure in such a way to make his shoulders stick out sharply. His head is a skull, and somehow full of expression. He appears to be smiling at you, how you can tell is anybody's guess.
Hello, Sydney. You've been busy, no?
Where is this? hell, WHAT is this?
You wanted to contact me, well here I am. I always liked visitors. Anyways, welcome to the limbo of the gods. Any god that ends up forgotten ends up here. Every star here is a remnant of a God.
But there's... You look around you again as everything keeps shifting ever so slightly in beautiful patterns. Stars go as far as the eye can see, and most likely beyond even that.
Untold numbers, yes...

The figure steps closer to you, until he's right in your face.
You must know that I'm terribly good at my job. Anyways, biscuit?
You haven't even blinked, and a table has appeared between the two of you. There is a cup of tea in front of the both of you, colored in a murky black; As he said, there is also a pack of biscuits in the middle. You sheepishly take one of the biscuits and put it on the saucer.
So, we've both got a few minutes... What would you like to ask? And please, drink up.
First of all, you seem a bit more...
Punctuated? True. I'm a bit more serious when it's personal. Just a habit I kept up, considering I'm the last thing everything talks to. During the Blighted Beak trials, I don't quite care. It's rude, I admit. Still... It's a way destress a bit, you know. Similar to tea.
Not sure what you mean with punctuated, but... I guess it somehow fits. Speaking of the tests, are they a bit more multi-species friendly now?
Death laughs heartily. His laughter seems to echo off the infinite space the both of you seem to be floating in. You need to focus on Death, or you could start staring into oblivion. It's the type of infinity that makes you feel like you're looking at the back of your head, if you look hard enough.
I must admit, I hadn't gotten around to that quite yet. It seemed fine, honestly. Climbing the tower and touching the largest flame is not part of the tests. Unless, of course, you collect all the skulls and animate them into a golem. I've been waiting so long for somebody to do that... Still, you'd have to be pretty batty to think of that to begin with. Touching that fire would have been the fastest way to finish the test. It's a sort of fail-safe I kept around.
Does it get tiring? Taking care of the dead? I mean, you must be the god with the most things on your plate by far.
...Hm. The skull's "expression" turns a tad more serious. I'm not a god, Sydney. I am a concept. One of the most primal concepts, even, present in all worlds. I go beyond gods. When the last light of the universe is extinguished, I will be the one to place the chairs on the tables, turn off the light, and to lock the door. So, no... I don't even understand the concept of tired. Your death-gods affect where people go, however. They claim that they are death, to be sure, but they all know that I'm the one they will see at the end.
I'm sorry for bringing that up, I didn't know-
No worries! No worries. I must admit, I like a bit of dramatic speech. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about? I've got plenty of time. And please, drink your tea.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #544 on:** April 02, 2017, 07:53:50 pm »

Well, people kept saying that The Gestating God was dead. Semantics? Or did it really pay a visit here and then start messing with mortals again...

Souls! What are the dos and don'ts? It seems like it would be rude to mess with them overly without checking in with the proper authority... Can we have some tips on what can contain them?

Oh hey, does Death know anything about our double? Does it have its own life or is it somehow sharing ours or something weird like that. The first thing it did was try to eat us, that reeks of incompleteness. If it is only a partial life, can it be completed without chewing on a certain someone? The whole topic of people-made-from-other-people thing seems like it would be an interesting topic to discuss with present company.

Is it true that you can make deals with Death? What are some of the most entertaining ploys people have tried?

Wow, thinking back on the test, we planned to live to 2000. It is starting to look like we could take off two zeroes and it would still be ambitious...

WHAT IS UP WITH THE BLACK VOMIT!?! I mean, sure, it was really really useful that one time when we needed a distraction to escape a slave auction, but in general, black ichors pouring out of our mouth in impossible quantities is not something that we would have expected and is more than a little disquieting.

Can we take stuff in and out of here? Maybe we could bring snacks next time. Or, no, using it as a secret storage space would be rude, wouldn't it? Will we always come to the same place or will we get a different view of the stars next time?

_{_{^{^{How... How many people have we killed?}}}}

Why is drider inedible- !!! Can we take the cookbook into this place!!! Ehh, it would probably just explode trying to make a recipe for dead gods and primordial concepts and the raw substance of meaninglessness that is Limbo...

Can we get a bulk discount for almost dying so often?

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #545 on:** April 03, 2017, 05:50:22 pm »

You take a sip from the tea in front of you. It's... really good. Strangely thick, though, somewhat like milk. The taste is hard to describe, the closest thing you can bring to it is "savory sweet", but it has a lot of another small bits and pieces to the taste. Eventually, you get a bit of a headache thinking about it, so you decide to just accept that it's good tea. You then come to your next question.
So. People told me the Gestating God is dead. But he still seems to be out of your hands... What's up with that?
The Gestating God is an eldritch being in many respects. One of the ways it was eldritch is that it was not just dead, but gone. When it was defeated millennia ago, it was destroyed so thoroughly and utterly, it was removed from existence. Not even memories or ideas like it could exist. That's the closest thing to death it could have happen. But... Hm.
Death rubs his chin in thought for a while, and then clicks his tongue before talking.
I should explain something to you, first. About the gods. All gods are created, based and nourished by want. Because mortals could not live in a world that is without purpose or reason, they created gods to explain it. And so, God's were created, and they created the world retro-actively.
That doesn't make sense.
True, it doesn't. For as far as you should know, what you experience is truth. Your current generation believes in a creation god, so it is through a creation god that your world was made. If you were to believe a great explosion created the universe, then that would be the origin of the universe. There is no permanent truth. Apart from death. He chuckles to himself. And taxes.
You can't help but laugh. Taxes?
Or entropy. Something always comes at a price, in some way. It doesn't matter. To return to the topic of the Gestating God, this being of complete non-existence willed itself into existence. Don't try to figure out how it works, that's why it's eldritch, after all. You can't even say the creature's name without being struck deaf. And with its return to existence, it also returned followers, books, memories and rituals.
You shudder at the last word. You feel your teeth grinding as you see Jack again, even in this place.

Hm. Have a biscuit. It will calm you.
You do as he says. Sure enough, you feel better almost the second the biscuit touches your mouth.
I think I should mention that Jack's soul is entering limbo, bit by bit. I'll be honest, however, she is most certainly going to hell. Still, it's preferable to the creature she is now.
That's... Good to hear, I suppose. I didn't know her that well or anything, but... Seeing somebody turn into THAT.
It would have been traumatic even if you didn't know her at all. But I digress. The point is the Gestating God was too dead for me to work with, and that it lives outside the constants of every universe. So that's that. Anything else?
Well, to keep the previous theme, what about my double? Does she have a soul or...
Hm. Difficult to say. It would be more accurate to say she has your soul. She is a double in almost every respect. No need to worry, though, your soul is unaffected. And as it stands, she only has half a soul. Enough to work with, surely, but she will feel... incomplete. A constant, gnawing hunger that overpowers everything that keeps you in check. A lack of an über-ich, in short.
A what?
Nevermind that. In short, this creature is what you would be if you were born as of a few hours ago, and were connected intimately with the Gestating God from birth. She knows enough to function, but not enough to live.
Could she be completed without eating me?
...What? You wish to... Hrm. Hah. HAHAHAAA Death laughs heartily for a while. You're a bit too intimidated to join, but you give an awkward, worried smile.
It has been too long since I've been properly flabbergasted! Good show... Anyways, no. Her hunger dictates that she must feed on you. She could eat every last bit of you, and still feel unfulfilled. She would continue on into a search for power, ever-searching more and more. It's a return to your drider roots. The wizard that made your kind did not quite think through that part. And no, don't ask about the creation of your species. Births are the exact opposite of my job.

Alright... Different topic. About souls. Are there any dos and don'ts? I recently figured out how to make one appear, but other than that...
You will learn more, in time. I'll soothe you on one thing, however, you can do as you like with souls. The universal constants will make it that any soul will ALWAYS make it back to me. People may try to delay it, but everybody pays in the end.
Everybody, eh? I heard of people making deals with you.
None have ever avoided death. I like to play a game for their soul, but only for the conversation. Chess is a popular one, though I can never remember how the little horse-shaped ones move.
Aren't we having a deal right now?
Yes. But not to prolong your life beyond the time I would come for you.
I guess. Actually, I've been meaning to ask, what the hell is up with the black goop I keep vomiting after I get some information.
Ah, that... Well, It's fine in here, but you and I cannot talk in the material world. At all. The black vomit is a byproduct of your body and brain being unable to handle the information, no matter how little. It is created from nothing, and soon disappears into nothing. It's a necessity. It's a very dangerous gift you chose, Sydney. Knowledge has always been a very toxic fruit, and this makes it quite clear. I'm quite glad you chose it, however. The unused path carries many treasures.
I don't remember choosing it, though?
Well, you didn't choose consciously. Best if you don't think about it.

So... This is gonna sound a bit greedy, but can I use this space for things? Like storing items?
No. You can't bring anything in here. I let you keep the illusion of your items so you would be more at ease. You've been naked far too often in the last week.
So it wasn't just me thinking that? Good.
Even if you could bring over items, they wouldn't be here next time. This "room" only exists as far as the conversation. In the infinity of limbo, it's impossible to ever reach the same place twice.
Alright then... Last question... How many people have I killed?
In your primal state? Three during the raid, although some more died because of your command. You killed three more in the slaver's den, nobody you wouldn't have killed either way. All in all, not as bad as you might fear. Don't let it get you down, Sydney, in these cases it's hardly your fault.
You're still a bit bothered, of course, but you move on quite fast.
Well, I'm out of questions. Thanks for the tea and biscuits.
Thanks for the conversation. I'll see you next time.

The infinite space begins to swirl and stretch even more than it already was. Everything fades away, and you vaguely hear Death's hollow voice say one more thing
Sorry about the mess!
When you wake up, you quickly cough up a whole load of blacked vomit. This is only the first thing you notice, as you seem to be blind and deaf, too! You wipe more gunk from your eyes, and knock out some of the stuff out of your ears as well. You even need to wipe your nose to be rid of the black goop. You must have been leaking from every orifice on your head! You shake your head a little, and see a collection of guards staring at you through the bars. Two of them have their spears poised to stab you through the bars.
Uh... I can explain?
Please do. The guard in the fancy plate says.
I was having a chat with Death and this is kind of a byproduct of that? It'll disappear soon, don't worry. It's not poisonous or anything.
That's still pretty messed up, drider.
Well, I can hardly help it, can I?
...Well, whatever. I don't get paid enough.
The guards retract their spears, and most return to their patrol. One of them remain, however.
You'll be in here until tomorrow. Then we can bring in a couple wizards to verify who's who, and to make sure all the victims are free of mind-control.
You've still got to wait it out a little longer, it seems.

Sleep.
It's a little early, but you've got little better to do, right now.

Experiment.
You've got magic powers. That should prove interesting.

Write something
You have pen and paper available. You could write some things down, if you wish.

Other

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #546 on:** April 03, 2017, 06:29:51 pm »

Jot down the major points that Death told us about our double. Also draw doodles, can't have too many doodles, doodles of skeleton lizard and drider girl?

We're pretty sure that there is some general magic, we could try some basic stuff from that? Maybe try to make your bed glow, or lift one end of the pen by sticking magic under it, or make a small patch of floor cleaner just by really wanting it? Also we did that thing when we hit our double, maybe that is a real thing, we could try magic punches?

This medicine on our shoulder is basically all dead material, right? And we have a hole in our shoulder? And we have a Graft spell to use dead material in place of our own body... What could possibly go wrong?

Building a hammock would also be nice and maybe we can train ourself to do it automatically while thinking of other things. Spiders seem to have a natural affinity for building a home afterall...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #547 on:** April 04, 2017, 06:49:02 pm »

You briefly consider creating a hammock, but you have nothing to hang the ends on. You net may be sticky, but it's not quite enough to carry your weight with as little as a stub attached to a wall. At best, you could make a carpet, and that would just be redundant. So, instead, you "sit" down (more accurately, you drop your legs and put all your weight on your abdomen. Chairs remain a difficult concept) and begin writing what Death told you about the double. About how she's basically working on nothing but instinct and is driven by a constant hunger, and how that hunger is mostly directed at your flesh. Other than that, however, you still don't know much that matters. Half a soul is probably important, and how it is about as exact a clone as physically possible. Still, it's rather clear she needs to die. After writing everything down, you've barely reached half a page. You've still got some time to kill. Around ten hours of it, in fact. You are going to be bored.

Magic experimentation it is! Considering you managed a flashy (literally) headbutt earlier, you can probably perform general magic tricks. You think so, at least. So, now you just need to figure out how to do something cool with that. You start by trying to make your bed glow, although you have no idea why or how. Flooding the thing with magic doesn't work, you don't even lose mana! It just returns to you like water to a sponge. The best you can do is keep it around the bed as a sort of layer, but that doesn't do anything visible. Levitation is the next experiment, and you get a little success. Pushing some magic under it seems to work well enough, but the fine motor control is VERY lacking. You essentially just made an invisible bump appear. It also cost you a teeny bit of mana, three points of it to be exact. You stop trying after that as it leaves you bored. Finally, you stare at a piece of dirty ground, trying to clean it with your mind. After you develop a headache, you come to the conclusion that that isn't going to happen either. Well, it looks like moving or glowing objects in the world is just about impossible to perform usefully with your current ability. So you're limited tto your flashes, for now. You try to perform some flashy punches, at least, with some success. There isn't quite as much noise when you punch out a bit of magic, and it costs less, too. Seems like the severity of the hit decides how much flash and bang there is to each strike. Still, it's quite costly in mana, and you end up spending fifteen mana in total. Before you completely give up, you try one more thing. A spell you already know. You are about to try grafting the bandage to your shoulder. Nothing about this could possible go wrong!

When you finally pull yourself together, and wipe some tears from eyes, you are forced to rethink the idea that nothing could go wrong. The pain was so intense it left you reeling on the floor, without a sound. You essentially just collapsed with little more than a squeak. This was dumb on every account! You should really only try to place meat in places that requires meat. Using plant matter is clearly out of your area of expertise. Fortunately, you dropped the spell instantly, and only ended up spending two mana on that blunder. Seeing how you're just about spent in mana and ideas, you're about to go to sleep when you suddenly see multiple guards rushing past. They look to be in a state of alarm. You hear one of them say something about an escape! Well, as concerning as that is, there's very little you can do...
You try to go to sleep, as you need some way to spend those hours.

LEVEL UP!
Expanding shell: You gain additional carapace over your spine, and it flares out in a waving pattern across your back. Your mark is a black discoloration on the carapace
Teeth: Your teeth increase in number, size and sharpness. They become very effective at tearing flesh.
Spiked carapace: You gain small spikes at the joins of your carapace. They are not overly sharp, but they still hurt. There is potential for expansions
Electric poison: Through a strange mutation, your poison has the effect of electricity. Adds a glow-in-the-dark effect and muscle spasms!
Poisonous fangs: You gain the ability to transfer poison through your bites. You've got two retractable fangs behind your canines to do it with.
Insanity: Your poison has the long-term effect of causing insanity. While not permanent, it is debilitating.
Fortified mind: You are completely immune to any mind-control. No ifs, no buts, nothing works. Remember that this is very rare magic, however.
Soul Sniffer: your interest in souls have made you very adapt at detecting them. Every creature with a soul has a trackable "scent".
Insight+: You can see and understand things that go beyond most people. This is extremely dangerous, however, and could lead to permanent madness.
Arcane hands: Your carapace adapts itself to more effectively perform "flash"-punches, reducing mana cost and improving effectiveness. You gain a magical mark on your carapace
Enhanced connection: Allows you to see through your minions better.
Toxic Fruit: Allows you to projectile vomit the black goo at will.

Stats will be after the level-up.

crazyabe · « **Reply #548 on:** April 04, 2017, 07:12:26 pm »

I Vote for Expanding the shell, or Generating Electric poison, Avoid the teeth because they will make us more like Her.

RAM · « **Reply #549 on:** April 04, 2017, 07:26:55 pm »

I want to vote teeth because I am cruel and evil. And enhanced ability to eat people is exactly what Sydney wants!

Toxic fruit seems useless. It is harmless and temporary. Useful for blinding people though, and the ability to appear eldritch at will has already proven valuable, but to spend an upgrade on it seems wasteful.

Fortified mind would be a huge weight off of our mind, but we are already resistant to magic and it is rare, just cannae justify...

Insanity just seems too prone to causing trouble. Insane people are not always as incapacitated as one would like and people are going to send askew glances your way as you ascend the ranks of cosmic horror.

Soul Sniffer could be massively useful if we find ourselves doing more investigative work. Also telling us if someone strange has been loitering around our stuff or something...

Insight+ would be interesting. It would be nice to know what people are putting in our tea and biscuits...

I feel that enhanced connection is a real winner too. Remote cameras and manual control cannot be understated.

I vote soul sniffer Because I cannot resist the lure of bold text.

Puppyguard · « **Reply #550 on:** April 04, 2017, 07:28:29 pm »

I vote for electric poison.

TheBiggerFish · « **Reply #551 on:** April 04, 2017, 07:32:18 pm »

Soul Sniffer.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #552 on:** April 05, 2017, 03:36:09 pm »

The vote currently stands between Electric poison and Soul Sniffer.
I'm going to use this as an excuse to possibly skip writing the update because of who I am as a person.
And because I'm behind on voice acting work.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm a lazy git most of the time.

hachnslay · « **Reply #553 on:** April 06, 2017, 02:46:58 am »

Soul Sniffer
especially because we might be able to upgrade it eventually.
seeing the souls around us, maybe through walls...
For now we should try to identify our own soul thoroughly and compare it to the other drider. also detect some guards and see if there is a lingering scent of our friends. try to guess which ones are which.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #554 on:** April 06, 2017, 05:36:29 pm »

Your mouth is dry, and you've got a little drool on yourself. Sleeping on the floor is a little easier for you than most, but it's still a little outside of what you're used to. You don't feel that great, the vague beginnings of a headache seem to be there. You're mostly just dehydrated, ultimately. On the table there is a jug of brackish water that you take a swig of, though you need to force yourself to swallow the stuff. You wipe the drying drool off of yourself, rub your eyes again to wake up properly. The cell is colder than before, and guessing from the amount of light, you guess the sun isn't up yet. You yawn, and try to stretch a little. After a few pops from your back, and a second yawn, you shake your gun and take a look around. Nothing's been added to your cell, although you hear people talking from the end of the hall. They sound a bit rushed and panicky. As they come closer, you recognize one of the voices. It's Meandra's master, the one with the rainbow lightning. You suddenly notice a strange sort of smell, that only intensifies as the voices come closer. You can understand them now, but the smell has you captivated. It sort of smells like... Soap. Very good soap, at that. It doesn't turn overpowering, even as it only grows more intense. Soon, though, you notice other smells mixed in. One of them smells like lavender, and another like... a barbecue?

When they reach your cell, they just look at eachother and point their palms to you. Before you can utter a word, all hands fire a white beam that converges and hits you straight against the chest. Apart from the blinding light, it doesn't hurt. Actually, it feel quite comfortably warm, like a hot summer's afternoon. After the beam is on you for about ten seconds, it stops. You're about to ask what that even was, but before you can even get the air in your lungs they have opened the cell door. Meandra's master, Richard, speaks as he opens the door.
Would you mind explaining to me why I have to check if you're a real drider and not a construct? Or for that matter, why my student got cut up by one of your "friends"!? He sounds absolutely furious. Some spittle flies from his mouth as he speaks, showering your shirt a little.
What!? Is she hurt?
Yes, she's bloody well hurt! She got possessed by whatever thing there was in the tower, and apparently one of your friends decided to use a sword at one point. She's going to have scars, and it's a damned miracle we were even able to save her in the first place! Now would you care to explain what is even going on!? They didn't give me an iota of information!
Okay, okay. The thing is-
We've got to keep moving, Richard. They're asking us to make sure there's no-
Residual effects, yes! Fine... Walk with us, drider.

You begin walking, or more like running alongside the gaggle of wizards. They seem to be in a hurry for people that apparently needed around half a day to get here to begin with. You decide to keep talking as they run.
Alright, from what I understand, they made a copy of my using the flesh I gave to them.
Why the hell would you give your flesh to anybody?!
It was for the Blighted Beak! They seemed trustworthy enough!
They have to stick and prod anything they can get their damned hands on! Of COURSE they'd experiment with your marked flesh. Now we've got a damned feral drider on the loose!
ON THE LOOSE!?
Lured in a damned guard, and tore his throat out! Then she escaped through the damned sewer entrance!
WHY IS THERE A SEWER ENTRANCE!?
BECAUSE THIS CITY IS OLD AND MADE BY A SERIES OF LUNATICS THAT ALL DESPISED THE PREVIOUS LUNATIC'S BRAND OF MADNESS!
He stops for a moment to gasp up some air. He doesn't have a lot of stamina, it seems. Still, you seem to have reached the end of the journey. There's a massive hall up ahead. The stonework looks shoddy, and a large collection of people are inside. Some of them are covering their faces with their hands, while others sit calmly. You see your companions at a collective table. Everybody is wearing prison uniforms, unsightly gray things.
Another strange thing you notice is the SMELL. While an individual smell is nice, this cacophony of smells is really uncomfortable to deal with. You get used to it in short order, fortunately, but your sense of smell is completely gone!

The wizards take up specific points around the group of people, and then cast a sort of bubble over everyone but the wizards. The bubble quickly closes, leaving strange sparkles behind. Nobody appears to be affected, although most seem bewildered. After that, Kasimor yells that things appear to be fine and that everybody can collect their property from the chests in the back. He just barely has time to request for orderly lines, but the chaos had already started. After about an hour, everything appears to be sorted out. Most people here are wizards or similar, so not many will steal things. The people covering their faces were all part of Blighted Beak, and you recognize the leader now that he's back in his colors. Your companions come closer to you, seemingly to ask "What now?". Yunikki is still busy putting her armor on. You also see Meandra, who looks... horrible. You see a faint semblance of a stitched scar around her collarbone, but it's clear there are more complications. She walks with a limp, and it's the first time you see her being deeply unhappy. She looks so pale, too... Her master is trying to comfort her, and they hug eachother as Meandra begins to sob.
God, that just cracked your heart in two.

Comfort Meandra
She's your friend. You can't just leave her like that.

Plan of action
You'd better get something together with your companions. There's a crazed drider and a cult out there...

Get more information
You clearly need more information, first.

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Author Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 188599 times)

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