Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 190069 times)

DolosusDoleus · « **Reply #720 on:** June 20, 2017, 06:52:04 pm »

...Be nice

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #721 on:** June 22, 2017, 03:51:13 pm »

Very good. You understand you need to protect and serve... That calls for a reward, I believe.
Almost mockingly, Sydney gives the ogre ten coins. Fortunately, the creature doesn't take it as an insult, and quietly accepts the money. He promptly begins to chew the gold piece, bending it a bit out of shape. Over a small amount of time, he grinds the middle part of the coin down with his strangely sturdy inner teeth. Perhaps his tusks are a bit easier to snap off. Or perhaps Sydney is exceptionally strong. All of these are possibilities, ultimately. Eventually, after the first coin was worn down enough, the ogre cracks it with the top of his tusk, and slides it down. So now he has a ring of currency around that tusk, making it worthless.
Whatever gets the moron happier and compliant.

Now, of course, we should keep some ground rules.
THOGG HOPE GROUND NOT UNHAPPY
That means basic rules, you imbecile!
OKAY.
For starters, don't start trouble without my orders.
THOGG NOT PLANNING
Second: You listen to me, and only me. If you do well, you will get rewards. I'll give you a brand new tusk, made out of gold, if you're clever enough to follow that rule.
...YOU CAN MAKE TUSK SHINY? WHY NOT SAY THAT? NO NEED FOR PAIN.
Would you really have followed me? No, I needed to make sure you understand who is stronger and who is weaker.
THOGG GET IT
Good... You'll be glad to hear i'm usually a lot nicer, but right now I'm just... A little occupied. No need to worry about your other tooth.
Thogg just rubs his remaining tusk, centering around the coin he skewered on it. He already began chewing on the second coin.
Perhaps you should explain to him that the metals in the coins aren't meant to be licked, but you honestly doubt lead poisoning or similar could do much to harm him at this point. Sydney should make a mental note that she can perform that bit of magic better than you can. It's a modified version of the Stitch spell, using some mud and similar to close and fix a wound. It's not perfect, however, and if it wasn't for the fact that ogres are partially made up of rock it likely wouldn't have had such great results.

Thogg lumbers behind the party, looking a bit cowed and looking at Sydney like she might just try and kill him at any moment. The rest of the party is doing their best to ignore the elephant in the room, although Meandra is the first to walk back and talk to Sydney
My masters kind of mad at you for what you did there. And I can't really blame him... I mean, breaking his tooth like that and just forcing him to follow you? It's kind of...
Would you prefer that I killed him, perhaps?
Wha-no! I mean. What I want to say is that, uh, it's just kind of unethical to put that creature into... uh.
Are you trying to say "slavery"? Come now, plant girl. Something this big and powerful would be wasted on some silly toll bridge joke. Now, he's a fresh member of something much greater.
What are you talking about!?
I improved his fate. It is now entwined with mine. He will be a part of something far greater than some toll.
THOGG SURE HOPE SO, AT THIS POINT. THOGG SUSPECTED GETTING EATEN.
Thogg may be right if he doesn't keep his silly little mouth shut.
THOGG MOUTH NOT SMA- WAIT. THOG GET IT. SORRY BOSSY LEGS.
Meandra looks at Sydney with a shocked expression. Her mouth hangs open, and her large eyes are like dinner plates My gods... You're not acting like yourself at all, Sydney! What's wrong with you?
I'm better than usual. Excuse me if I hurt your little feelings, miss... Sydney says, mockingly.

Meandra makes some distance, and goes to talk with her master. Sydney doesn't particularly care what she does. She seems terribly dull, ultimately. Not to mention, one wound and she's unsure of everything? Not to mention she's ashamed of her scars... Those are a mark of pride! You took a hit that permanently marked the body, and you kept going. Nothing even comes close to rivaling a scar when it comes to showing valor and strength. Weak little girl...
She won't last long like this.
Ladies and gentlemen! We have arrived. Welcome to Dunwich!
It's a good thing that Richard managed to get some excitement going, because the place looks kind of awful. It's just a collection of randomly placed hovels and homes, hardly even qualifying as a village. Nobody's even walking around in the streets, although sydney sees some shifty eyes before every house they pass closes it's curtains.Not a very welcoming bunch, are they?
No trouble in that. We won't be staying long. There are some things I need to get done here, and there's all sorts of interesting activities going on here,
if you were to search. Remember to check the underground, and most certainly the Dunwich tower. One of the best libraries in the region, you know.
Now that he mentioned it, Sydney can see that the town is a bit larger than what the appearance would suggest. It's right next to a forest, and she hadn't expected that they would build in the woods without cutting down the trees. The Dunwich Towers are indeed sort of impressive, sticking above the rather tall trees. Of course, no guarantee that Sydney would be too interested in reading...

Explore the general town
There might be something among the houses. If nothing else, it will allow you to further deal with your fresh ogre.

Explore the tower
Maybe reading can be fun? If nothing else, you might find something exceptional. The ogre won't fit, so you'll just have to trust him.

Explore the underground
It seems odd that this town would have an underground. Maybe it's something unexpected? The ogre can just barely fit, but he's far from comfy. He won't be of much help if something were to happen...

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RAM · « **Reply #722 on:** June 22, 2017, 05:19:11 pm »

I think perhaps that it might be time to calm down? Take a look at the library, and also sneak a view from the windows. Getting the lay-of-the land helps if you end up getting lost in a dungeon and coming out of a different place than you went in. Also we could do with more knowledge on, well, everything really...

We really ought to introduce Death to Queen at some point.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #723 on:** June 24, 2017, 04:45:05 pm »

THOGG STAY HERE. NO PROBLEM. LOOK AT BIRDIES, MAKE TOOTH-RINGS.
And you know what happens if you try to run.
THOGG UNDERSTAND IMPLICATION OF MURDER, YES.
Sydney resists the urge to scream at the inconsistent intelligence level of the ogre. How can something so dumb still be so vaguely sassy? She shoves open the double doors of the library, which are a lot lighter than the size and material would suggest. Must be some very light wood.

The library is as dull as Sydney expected. Rows upon rows of boring old books written by fools that don't know what they're writing about, trying to show how to be a better person. Bla, bla bla. She ends up looking at few combat guides, for what it's worth, but almost none of them are useful in any way. They mostly refer to footwork. BIPEDAL footwork, meaning that all it really tells her is that sharp end go into man. There is a brief consideration to look into the potential magic tomes, but who has time for that!? There are far better things to do with one's time than spend hours upon hours laboriously trying to understand some dusty old tome. She'll let YOU take care of that aspect, if nothing else. after trying to read for about half an hour, she gives up. Then she goes up the tower to at least get a good look outside, ignoring any and all books or readers along the way. The stares are quite pleasing, but there are better things to be done. Eventually, at the very top, there's just a hatch leading to a large bell. There is a ladder in place, but guessing from the dust it's been a while since anybody's been up there. While going up the wall isn't in any way a problem for Sydney, fitting through the hatch is. Most of the time the size discrepancy has been a bit glossed over, considering Sydney can still fit through the average door, but today it's an actual issue! Isn't that lovely?

Of course, it leaves ~~Sydney~~ The Queen rather annoyed.
A lot of things kind of annoy you. Don't you think this has gone on long enough?
I'd say no. Plenty of things to do, though I fail to see why I even bothered with this place.
Learning isn't exactly a bad thing, you know
You don't learn from dusty old books! You learn on the battlefield, you learn in your lair! Experience is what truly counts in this world!
You're not too smart, are you.
She says to herself.
I was thinking you would like the title "Queen"
I do, but that's beside the point. I'm not my own thing, I'm a part of you!
I don't think i'm THAT lacking in self-control.
No need to be passive-aggressive... Fine. But take care of the minion outside. Show him your strength!

You shake your head, coming to your senses. Remembering the original purpose of going up the tower, you look out the window to get an idea of the surroundings. Sadly, this proves to be almost entirely futile. The forest covers nearly everything, and the tower sticks out quite a bit above the treelines. Although, it does mean that you can just look for the tower if you need some way to get back. Climbing a tree isn't that hard, really.
Now you just need to decide what book you're going to read, if you're going to read at all. Of course, there IS an ogre outside that hasn't met you. Well, You-you.
Either way, you've got some thinking to do.

Go outside and talk to the ogre.
You'll need a proper plan on how you'll handle him, and you don't quite have the stomach for it.

Read about magic
While it's unlikely that you'll get a new spell or anything, but it could be used to START figuring something out

Read about Combat
While the Queen tried to read about it, you're a bit more patient. Maybe you can figure something out?

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I really am sorry for the updates right now, but when this month is over things should be going back to normal.

RAM · « **Reply #724 on:** June 24, 2017, 06:12:11 pm »

Magic There is likely not many people who know the basics and common theories of magic, and a book can probably cover them fairly well. On the other hand, The Orcs ought to have such books, and while it would be nice to get a bit of underlying theory to ponder during our journey, there is probably some local flavour worthy of perusal. Perhaps something about local legends, or traditions of using/surviving the forest...

We do need to put some consideration into the ogre. It won't really do to have it think that our normal self is the same as the self that claimed it. It might lead it to presume that we are weak or something. Still, we did offer it a contract of service in exchange for compensation, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that, and keeping it in our employ will likely keep it out of trouble. Ogres may or may not be predisposed towards being bloodthirsty thugs, but there will be enough other people around to make those sorts of assumptions that it would probably get into trouble sooner or later. Coerced service is, of course, bad, and we should carefully broach the topic of the ogre being free to find its own path in the world if it so chooses, but perhaps that can wait a litte, and we could discuss this mess with Meandra, Yunikki, and Eveline too, perhaps they will have some advice...

For now perhaps some version of the truth? That we try to be nice but become domineering and brutal when irritated and we intend to be a considerate employer for the rose-tinted-foreseeable future?

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #725 on:** June 25, 2017, 05:43:54 pm »

Exert from: The Learning of Magic and Enchanting Services
"The intrinsic quality of magical power is often how it reflects upon the soul and character of the user. One of the central questions of the current age (time of writing is the Age of Ragolo the Wyrm, long may he reign) is if magic is a reflection of the soul, or the soul a reflection upon the magic use. It is a known fact that, through effort, one can learn spells and abilities outside of the natural tendency towards a single collective of spells. Users of pyromancy often reflect that primal nature, but the usage of pyromancy is so varied it's impossible to create a common stereotype. Where one may destroy a forest, another may cauterize a wound using the same magic. So many state that the soul reflects upon the use of magic, and the spells that come with it. Others state that that the fact that they gather these spells mean that they must act accordingly. This has led to many question of free will, which has been discussed to an almost excessive degree among me and my colleagues. As such, I will not be diverging further into the topic as I continue this book.

Now, dearest reader, we will get into the meat of things. The discovery of new spells is a complicated process, and it is of no surprise that most prefer to hand down the the known techniques and making people rigorously apply them to their own way of being. In some cases, this is attempting to put a round peg in a square hole. During my stay at the orc tower, serving as the teacher of healing magic, I saw many students being written off as worthless despite it being clear that the teaching method is merely lacking. I took it upon myself to change the way that thing must be taught, and applied an experiment in my class. While the schedule required that we apply theory and other pre-planned ideas, I took the time to see what fits the best using a test. I dubbed it Test of Reflective Creation, and I gave my students two months to create an artwork of some description according to their wishes. I placed no limits, other than the fact that they themselves must have had a major hand in its creation.

The results were tragically mixed, as some students simply lacked any artistic passion and many lacked talent. Of course, the quality of the works is irrelevant to the true purpose. Through the development of their work i managed to get an idea of how their minds worked. Some worked together to create something, others laboriously spent hours of their time trying to create, and yet others simply let their ideas fly. In each of those, I applied the appropriate teaching style. Some were now working in groups, others continued the usual program of rigorous study and some I gave tasks to complete without specific guidance outside explicit requests for it. Sure enough, it proved to be one of the most famously capable classes the tower had seen in many years! But, sadly, there was a downside to all this. While the results were much better in quantity, the actual magics were noticeably more unstable, especially on those that I left without constant guidance. So while they had learned and achieved more than any other, I had a below-average success rate when it came to the final exams. Due to their involvement in my experiment, however, they were not penalized for their lackluster results, and I took responsibility. I had to apply some extra classes to work out all the kinks in their development.

Despite this, however, my theory of personal application of learning is gaining increased use in the tower. Under the guiding eye of Ragolo the Wyrm, may his scales never break, I believe that in a few years all people will be using my teaching strategy. The tower and other schools will adapt to this, creating a better learning environment and improving the quality of magic everywhere!"

Huh. So that's how they're going to do things at the tower, I suppose? Although, the age of the Wyrm is about one-hundred years ago... you mutter to yourself. The book itself continues on about the different applications of magic in a teaching environment, so it loses its relevance to you. You decide that you've got a four-meter problem waiting to happen outside, either way. You'd better get that over with, most likely, considering there are no books on the surrounding area. At best, they have a map of the town, which has been outdated for about a year.
The second you step outside, the Ogre flinches and greets you. NGH. HULLO
Hello Thogg... How are you feeling?
UHH... THOGG FEEL OKAY. NO PAIN, PRETTY BIRDS... THEY LEAVE POO ON SHOULDER, BUT THOGG NO MIND. THOGG NO CARE WHERE HE DOES BUSINESS. IS ONLY FAIR.
Too. Much. Information
WHAT?
Nevermind that. I just want to let you know that things will be more than fine for you if you co-operate.
MORE SHINY?
Among other things, yes. DON'T try abusing that, of course.
I DON'T START FIGHTS. NOT A RAIDER, JUST A TOLLMAN.... USED TO BE TOLL PERSON.

Explore the general town
There might be something among the houses. If nothing else, it will allow you to further deal with your ogre.

Explore the underground
You're going to discover what's below the ground.

Find one of your friends
Some social contact is in order, considering you were a little abrasive for a while.

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RAM · « **Reply #726 on:** June 25, 2017, 06:12:35 pm »

Hrmm, so what does necromancy say of the soul...
Steady accumulation of undead rather than spontaneous generation of dramatic effects.
Refusing to abandon things even in death.
...
Necromancy is the magic of hoarders...

Maybe healing with a life-hoarding spell? Creates a glob of necromantic stuff that parasitises good moods, energy, and well-being in order to provide bursts of such in emergencies? Perhaps we have an affinity for storage magic? On the other hand, healing magic is sort of "you do it then it is done" which is not so much the hoarder way... But the same principal could probably produce something similar to magical steroids, allowing us to improve our ability to gain physical fitness.

... How does the timing of moulting work? Is it a regular thing or voluntary? Is there a time that it is likely to occur that we should be prepared for? What does it say about Eveline that she is familiar enough with "they eat people" to casually justify keeping someone alive with their entrails hanging out so as to enslave their children, is sufficiently familiar with said enslavement to consider using them as a mount as obvious and to know the theory of keeping them tame, and is potentially somewhat amorous towards someone with a majority spider-by-volume quotient? Does she think of them as predators? Servants? Powerful savages who can sweep you away but if you can hold their heart then they are yours? It is really difficult to pin down s/m/penny-dreadful-bodice-ripper/the-woman-of-my-dreams-has-a-massive-pair-of-abdomens/some-combination-of-the-above, but I guess that is her business.

Search for friends: we ought to get the message out that we are back to being petite and polite. Also, some reinforcements to help sort out the ogre situation would help too. Going from intimidated minion to employed companion is a difficult transition. Probably best to be vague about it and just stop making threats and start trying to provide paid tasks or something. Perhaps we could try paying him to carry some stuff... If we had anything to carry and we not really rather good at carrying stuff ourselves... even if it is a bit lacking in dignity...
Also... It would be kind of good to have someone to talk to. This has got to be our longest 'episode' yet. A bit of a comforting "we are not starting a cult and if ever we do it would be a nice one with vacations and personal freedoms and clearly defined and communally-beneficial goals in addition to general cult membership" along with "Most people expect driders to be centuries old, we are still too young to be thinking about such things, and we are not the most maternal of people, but we would at least try to get our children somewhere decent to grow." along with a dash of "we might occasionally torture people into submission, but we are never going to be comfortable with the idea"...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #727 on:** June 26, 2017, 06:05:35 pm »

Well, that's quite timely, I must say. I was getting the sedative ready, to be honest with you. your favorite little kobolt says, with a little nervous laugh.
What, just like that?
It worked the last time. No reason to hold back on it, as long as I'm careful with the dosage. Of course, I would have gotten the scholars involved. Or tried to.
Uh, Meandra would have gotten the scholars together. I don't like talking to them. She wrings her hands together nervously. She does that a lot when talking about the potential horror of social interaction.
Too lively?
I honestly just have trouble talking to people out of the blue, especially when I need something from them. I can talk to you no problem, because you're my friend. But other people...
I think I get it. Kind of. I knew somebody in the village that was the same way. I tried to set him up with somebody, you know, but that didn't go anywhere.
Ultimately, I had to turn down the proposal from the both of them! you laugh.
The ogre behind you cocks his head a little at your turn-around in personality. When you look back at him, he shoots back into position, trying not to look at you. He's still afraid of you, which is... good.
Better keep it that way. It's safer!

D-does that happen often?
What, people trying to date me? It happened a lot in my village, I guess. I think it's because of size difference? Maybe they just did it on a dare. Whatever.
It was a nice change of pace from the stones the local travelers liked throwing.
People tried to STONE you?!
They kinda sucked at it, most of the time. We didn't have a lot of good rocks in the area. We clean them out, and what's left is generally just gravel. Rocks on the road is bad for a town that relies on carts and people passing by.
Still... Doesn't that hurt?
Well, you know. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but the intent hurts more. I had a real edgy phase a couple years ago because of it. Ran away from home to look for my mother, that sort of thing.
I have GOT to hear about that. Meandra's voice suddenly booms out. Suddenly she's beside the two of you, and you never even saw or heard her approach! You quickly recover to keep your dignity. Eveline is currently on all fours under your abdomen, shaking like a leaf.

Meandra laughs heartily, showing her teeth in a devilish grin. She's quite chuffed that she managed to surprise you like that.
What, didn't you hear me? Honestly now, you two need to pay more attention. This is DUNWICH, you know. All kinds of crazy stuff happens here.
I thought, after burning mimics alive, I'd have the chance to relax a little. But nooo, we had to go to another spooky town.
I'm joking, really. Only danger this town has is the gene pool drying up!
You all snicker at the joke. What little you have seen from the inhabitants, they don't seem too genetically diverse. Cousins look to be very friendly here.
But hey, I wanna hear about your edgy phase. Because honestly, if getting the big guy here on your side by doing what you did isn't your edgy phase, I don't know what is.
Uh... That's a little complicated, I'll be honest. I'll just talk about the edge, if you don't mind. So, like I said, I ran away from home to find my mom, who I have never even seen in my life. You should know, I still remember my birth, so yeah, I was abandoned BEFORE my birth. Although, I think that's normal for driders? Anyway,
I decided to start looking around for any signs people found of a drider passing by. Some punks told me that they knew of some old lair deep in the forest, where a bunch of stuff happened. So I packed my bags in the night, and started looking around for it in the forest. Surprise surprise, there was nothing there. God, I was SO angry during that time,
you know? I was all "bwahh, behead those who insult Sydney!" Guh! I'm cringing just thinking about it! Anyway, after a day or two, my dad found me along with my uncle.
They're both really solid trackers, you understand. Although I did make it kind of easy, considering a lot of trees felt my wrath when I threw a tantrum. Then, of course, came the walk of shame back to the village while my dad gave me the lecture of a lifetime. Things were kind of strained for a week after that, but eventually I found different ways to deal with it.
How'd you do that?
Hunting. Without weapons, if I could. Well, I'm equipped with some natural weapons, like my stinger. I, uh, didn't have any upper body carapace at the time,
though. That's... really new, actually. It's only been two weeks ago since I grew this.
Drider puberty?
No... It's too sudden. And besides, I'm hardly in drider puberty. That comes around in my thirties. Got the human puberty down pat, though.
Uh...
I don't know much about it either. Just read some old book about it once. Apparently, Drider puberty is marked by laying an "empty clutch". I lay a couple of empty eggs. Well, they have some ingredients, and I think you can get some kind "yolk" out of it, but it can't be used for anything. It's not even edible. Too poisonous.
Weird.
I'm a gal growing out of a spider. I'm allowed to have some weird.

YOU TALK LOTS. CAN THOGG TALK?
...Sure Thogg.
THOGG SEE UGLY BIRD. HAS SLURPY TONGUE. IT THINK THOGG NOT SEE IT, BUT THOGG DID. THOGG SUSPICIOUS OF UGLY BUZZ.
Just what are you talking about?
THOGG NEVER LIKED WOODS HERE. MANY BUZZINGS, MANY SLURPINGS. THINGS GET WEIRD SINCE LAST ROUND MOON.
...What do you suggest, then?
UHH. THOGG NOT SURE? THOGG NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO TURN OFF CAPS LOCK, PLEASE NO EXPECT PLAN.
He... may be on to something here. Dunwich is known for having weird stuff happen to it, on occasion. I mean, we came here in a quiet period, but if something seems weird I'm inclined to believe it.
Uh... Mister Thogg? Can you describe that "ugly bird" for me, please?
IT BUZZ A LOT, MOVE REALLY FAST. LOTS TOO MANY LEGS. REALLY BIGG BUTT AND REALLY LONG NOSE.
You can see the color drain from Eveline, even through her fur O-oh my god... It's the Bloody Whisperer. Isn't it? Oh my gods. Oh...
The what?
It's... A massive mosquito, essentially. It isn't a dangerous creature by itself, but it brings disaster upon any place it goes. M-my mother told me of it, she was a survivor of one of those plagues. It was... She preferred her current life of slavery over returning to where the Whisperer was. S-she screamed of it in her sleep. Kept talking about the bulging eyes, and bleeding gums. It... It terrified me.
THOGG... KIND OF SCARED NOW.
Well... We'd better get something done, if it's real.
It's most likely just some folks tale. We get giant versions of things all the time, how's a mosquito going to be exceptional?
Better safe than sorry, I'd say. Besides... I think I'm exceptionally well equipped to handle a bug, don't you think?

Hunt for the creature.
You're not sure if it's actually dangerous, and the forests are a danger on their own, but perhaps it's best to have peace of mind. Remind yourself that overconfidence is a slow,
and insidious killer, however.

Leave it be.
You'll be sure to close the windows at night. A mosquito won't be barging in people's homes, especially ones that are as paranoid as these.

Prepare others for danger.
You'd better spread it around that there's some THING going around being really spooky.

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crazyabe · « **Reply #728 on:** June 26, 2017, 06:56:17 pm »

Hunt for the creature, Bring Thogg, and anyone else who is willing to come with us to see if we can track down what sounds to be the mother of all plague bearing mosquitos.

RAM · « **Reply #729 on:** June 26, 2017, 06:57:47 pm »

Quote from: Liquefied Spleens on June 26, 2017, 06:05:35 pm

IT MOVE REALLY FAST. LOTS TOO MANY LEGS. REALLY BIGG BUTT.
You can see the color drain from Eveline, even through her fur O-oh my god... It's the Bloody Whisperer. Isn't it? Oh my gods. Oh...

Well that could be anyone...

Before we all jump onto the "communications would end 99% of all horror movies with a happy ending within the first half-hour" band-wagon, it seems prudent to consider that this town is known for weird, and talking about giant mosquitoes of doom is probably going to get us the "noisy tourist" polite glare...
Hunting sounds like loads of fun. Putting up webs, making sticky bolas, practising stinger-thrusts at odd angles, traipsing through dingy forests looking for trails of desiccations... 'Tis the life!
But, umm, perhaps we could go around enquiring after such beasties. See if the locals know of something that matches the description, check the library. And if they happen to end up warned that there is a territory-scale banshee that likes to suck on infants in the process, then so much the better...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #730 on:** June 27, 2017, 05:03:07 pm »

So, you're positive it's just some kind of massive mosquito? Richard says. He has his arms crossed and is leaning backwards, clearly sceptical.
Thogg was kind of vague, but there aren't a lot of other things that fit the description. Buzzing, "slurpy" tongue, too many legs and what seems so be some kind of thorax? Sounds like a mosquito.
Hm. Your ogre may just be trying to deceive you. You DID tear out a tooth from the poor thing. He has an accusing expression, clearly trying to guilt trip you.
You're not too proud that you did that, but you DO have an ogre on your side now. It was worth it, as far as you care.
THOGG TAKE OFFENCE TO IMPLICATION. THOGG NOT LIAR! Thogg says, more annoyed than angry.
I... uh. His knowing pose falters for just a moment.
IT OKAY. YOU NOT KNOW THOGG.
I can't place quite him either. Anyway, back to what we were talking about, this mosquito... Eveline seemed terrified of it, called it the "Bloody Whisperer".
Sounds like something to be concerned about.
The Bloody Whisperer? Really now... That's an old folk tale from the west. They said it appeared to "feast upon the fear of a blighted area". Total nonsense, of course. Mosquito's were merely drawn to areas of disease for the corpses and weakened prey. Diseases don't much matter to a creature that only lives for a week at best, so they tend to get their worth. Correlation and causation are quite different.
He takes on a condescending tone. Why you aughta...

Then why the hell is it HERE? If s-something's going on here, and that creature wants to get his fill on us, aren't I damn well RIGHT to be scared of the damned thing!? Eveline says, with the courage of a terrified woman. She's clearly uncomfortable talking to Richard like this;
Eveline... Look. You're a very clever young girl, but you need to place your old kobolt superstitions behind you. This is proper civilization where you can be your own woman! There's no need to fall for old fairy tales.
That... Really? Is that really where you're going with this? The social awkwardness is making room for some indignation now. Her face is turning a bit red.
I am. You need to calm down, and for that matter, I forbid you from hunting the creature! Your firebombs could set this whole forest, not to mention the town,
ablaze! I won't be held responsible if you were to go around, wildly throwing our toys around!
Now he's don't it. She's gone over into a full-blown "angry".
Toys?! I'll have you know that I need to work more in one evening that you have to work in a week! Don't think for a second you're better than me b-because you're some kind of fancy wizard! I c-can't believe you w-w-w--would j-just. uh. Just DISREGARD me like this because I can't t-throw fire out of my h-hands or b-bring back the dead. I'm SORRY that I'm not some great wizard, alright? I-i make do, with my b-bottles and my s-stuff I can make do. W-when was the last time YOU had to make an improvised grease fire, huh? W-when did YOU have to make blazepowder to give light to a whole party!? I bet you don't even know how to make the stuff! Her stuttering and small pauses for breath really hurt the quality of the rant, not to mention her voice cracked multiple times. Still, it's fun to see her shout like this. It's like an angry fluffball.
When her hair stands up it just makes her look extra poofy.

I didn't mean it like that and you can bloody well calm down! I was not trying to degrade you, I just don't want you throwing fire around in the highly flammable forest over something that is likely to be nothing more than a damned bug!
Well too damn bad! We're going to kill this thing, with or without your consent, right Sydney?!
I mean. I WAS going to hunt it either way.
*tsk*. Fine. YOU can hunt it. But Eveline remains here! I'll not have any fire used in this! You can kill the creature as long as you don't damage the forest. As much of a waste of time it is.
Oh come on, master. Don't be such a stick in the mud. Sydney and co can handle it, no problem. We can get that eastern lady involved, get some sticky silk, it'll be great!
Hmmm... Get home safe, please. I don't want anything bad to happen to you.
Richard looks at you and very carefully says to you that you need to protect her with your life. Protective old man, isn't he...

Still, that ends that conversation. You gather up Yunikki at the Inn, as she's the only one that's easy to find. She was just lying around in her room, relaxing after a long walk. Her armor is still quite heavy, after all. She's still glad to follow you around for a bit, as she's getting a little stir crazy. She didn't get to do anything in the last two adventures, after all. Before you head into the forest to go hunting, however, you make one final stop at the library to inquire after any kind of mosquito that was spotted. The kindly librarian was happy to help you out on some knowledge, but she does point out that she never saw or heard of giant mosquitoes in the area. She doesn't quite care, though. What threat could such a thing even pose? You warn her about tempting fate, but she just scoffs.

Well, if nothing else, the town is likely to hear about it. Most people here don't really leave their homes much.
On that note, you should get a plan on how to hunt the creature. Mosquitoes are very fast and skittish by nature, so you'd better prepare properly. And fast, you're not far off from sunset. Hunting the creature at night would REALLY invite disaster.

Go after it now, without preparation.
It's one bug. While you may need to throw a rock of some kind to catch it, you'll figure it out.

Prepare for the hunt carefully
You'd better make sure everything's in order.

Wait for morning.
You can't risk getting caught in the dark. That never ends well.

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RAM · « **Reply #731 on:** June 27, 2017, 06:15:23 pm »

Feasts on fear huh? Maybe we could use Eveline as bait... The best way to catch a bug is to build a web, and the only problem with that is that it is really difficult to get the specific bug that you want to run into the specific net that you want. If we start early then we ought to be able to make a very secure campsite, or even just inside the edge of town. If it attacks in the middle of the night then it attacks a webbed area with guards, and if it doesn't then we can go after it in the morning. Keeping Eveline with us and under guard does seem wise if what Richard said about the legend is true. Fire is a worry in a forest, but we can probably camp in the outskirts without too much trouble and Eveline ought to have some things that don't burn, Yunikki could probably take her on a trip to buy a spear or quarterstaff, we ought to have the funds for a decent one in Eveline's size and the town must at least have a qualified carpenter even if we do have to account for a boonies markup. Carapace is rather wonderfully resistant to fire and noxious chemicals, compared to skin at least, so her specific kit probably isn't the best suited regardless, unless there is a swarm. Don't leave Eviline unarmed by try to make sure that she has plenty of non-flammable options to resort to prior to the explodey last-resort.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #732 on:** June 28, 2017, 05:18:35 pm »

...Just finishing up, yes! All fine on your end?
Not quite! Your web's sticky, I can't quite get it done. Yunikki yells, sounding a bit annoyed. Your webbing's a bit more sticky than what you're used to, but it's the first time you spun it for the intent of catching something. Apparently, you are very much a creature of instinct. Different poison for feeding, different webbing for catching... It doesn't really make sense, but that's probably why you're a "magic" race rather than a normie. Regardless, your camp is coming along quite nicely, although it looks like the start of a horror story. The webbing gives a rather creepy effect, as it has a sort of "slimy" effect to it. In reality, it's just some strands coming loose, but it does look kind of creepy. It really doesn't help soothing Eveline's nerves.

She's just sitting by the still unlit campfire, shaking like a leaf and trying to to start the fire by staring at it. She REALLY doesn't want to be out here without her alchemy supplies, but that's the only way she would be allowed to leave. She's not defenseless, by any means, she still has that knife she looted from the caravan at the beginning of your journey. It's a very pretty blade, and still quite sharp. Whatever works...
Finishing the last of the webbing takes some work into the night, but you get it done before anything bad happens. Now, of course, you need to start the guarding. Eveline takes first watch, mostly because she's too anxious to actually sleep. You, Meandra and Yunikki are quite alright with that. You have no doubt that she'll be shouting you awake with no trouble. You just hope keeping all the plot-relevant characters in one place won't bite you in the opisthosoma. Despite that thought niggling at the back of your mind, you go to sleep without much trouble. When you are woken, it's just to keep watch for the last few hours. Seems like you got everything you're going to get when it comes to sleeping, considering that the sun is close to rising. The light level is steadily increasing already, and it doesn't look like you caught ANYTHING. Maybe you took the eating fear thing a bit too literal? Anyway, you start by waking up Thogg, who you didn't trust enough to give a shift to. He didn't do anything while he was here, though he did seem to enjoy himself. Apparently, he's very much entertained by fire, and helped keep the campfire alive.

Well, you missed out on sleeping in a bed, but at least that conserves the travel-cost. You suspect that Meandra's master won't much mind the fact that you were gone. As you and Thogg clean out the webs surrounding the camp, you discover that you DID manage to catch a rabbit. It's already dead when you find it, but it's completely intact. Bugs haven't even touched it yet. You suspect it was caught fairly late, and it eventually died from the stress. Rabbits are really dumb creatures, considering one of their defence mechanisms is literally dropping dead so the other bunnies can get away. Still, you're quite glad for the free meal! Although that does raise the question...
Say, Thogg? What do you eat, exactly?
YES. He says, as chews on some gravel.Apparently, their tusks are the weakest part of them to break.
Or you just got some context to just how powerful we are...
I EAT ANYTHING. ROCKS GOOD, MEAT BETTER. NO LIKE GREENS, GIVE THOGG THE RUNS.
You click in annoyance. Too much information, right there.
After cleaning the webs, you wake up your remaining companions and begin the return to the town. Eveline still looks a bit skittish, but she's a lot less energetic about it. You're not entirely sure if she actually slept this night. Still, you'll have to look into making a proper hunt today, but you're going back into town to check up on everything and make a proper plan.

The first building is quickly spotted. You weren't that far from the town, but far enough to make sure that the bug would head to you. You suspect it would stay away from the town itself. When you turn the corner, however, you suspect that something may have gone terribly, terribly wrong.
There's a corpse in the middle of the road. It has been torn to ribbons, more like, leaving it little more than gore and bones. More distressingly, there's very little blood around. Apart from what little is there to soak the soil, it looks positively drained.
Oh. Looks like the bug went here, instead.
My god... A bug did this? He's been torn to shreds!
You can hear Eveline starting to hyperventilate next to you as she begins to take several steps back. She swallows, forcing herself to breathe normally.
T-t-that... Wasn't. the bug. I-it's... T-the plague. It's starting... we need to leave. WE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!
Eveline! It's one dead body... Whatever it was that did this, we can get to them. No problem.
THOGG SEE SOMETHING!

Out of the morning mist, you see a villager stumble closer. He looks haggard, covered in blood and limping. You all keep your distance.
The blood... They want the blood. Why...
He falls to the ground, facefirst. Empathy wins out over caution, and you come closer to the fallen man. He shakes and whimpers, his muscles contracting seemingly at random.
Sir!? Are you alright?
At the sound of your voice, he forces himself upright with the speed of desperation. His bulging eyes and bloodfilled mouth look up at your group, making Eveline jump back in horror
The blood! Y-you? Where were you! Gi-*GAKH* He coughs and hacks for a little while, bloodied spittle flying everywhere. Then, he spits out a glob of something and begins to claw at his lips. Before you can intervene, he has torn them off! Yet more blood drips from his ruined chin, and he jumps forward! He grabs Yunikki, and clamps down on her arm. Teeth go flying as the metal stops the assault, and Yunikki quickly smacks him into the dirt with a well-aimed punch. You unsheathe your sword, and tell the man to stand down before you make him. He merely rattles, like something that is taking in it's final breath. Through the copious amount of blood, you see something in that ruined mouth of his. His teeth have been replaced by horrifyingly thin and sharp nails, grinding into his flesh. All of you jump back at the sight as he rolls around on the floor, gurgling and chittering. You can hear Thogg making whines of fear just behind you, distracting you just enough so you can't see what happened next. With a terrible, desperate scream, the man bits down on his arm and begins to tear away at his flesh. The flesh gives in to the cannibalistic assault, and soon tendons and muscle tear away into that bleeding maw. This seems to be the straw that broke the camels back. Yunikki, as the man keeps eating himself in a frenzy, grab her sword with both hands, and hews into the neck of the insane creature. The head deattaches, and the nail-like teeth remain in the arm. You swear you can still see the jaw masticate the flesh for a few more moments before finally becoming still. Meandra vomits in a bush somewhere, and Eveline begins to scream

I TOLD YOU. I TOLD ALL OF YOU! BUGGED OUT EYES, BLEEDING GUMS! THE WHISPERER COMES FOR US ALL! WE. NEED. TO. LEAVE!
I... What is this?
THE BLOOD PLAGUE! T-they crave all blood now, even their own! I-i don't know what they will do to get more, but that man wasn't even fully turned! T-they'll only get worse! We need to get out of here! There are tears in her eyes, and she's shaking in pure terror. A bit of spittle hangs from her muzzle, as she looks around in a panicked frenzy. You've never seen her this scared before.
But the other scholars, and other survivors...
I'm not leaving without my master! We need to save everyone we can, right now! W-whatever this plague is... We'll have to try and handle it! The Scholars aren't so easily defeated... If we can get to the inn, we can start saving people.
Who the hell knows what else is in this damn town! We should do what the kobolt says, and book it! W-we can still get to the damned tower, or whatever...
Sydney? I'm begging you... Save my master, and the others! I NEED you for this!
Thogg and your undead minions look at you for directions. Somehow, even the undead look troubled...

Look for survivors!
We can't let this continue! We need to save as many people as possible from this... disease.

Run!
Y-you're not dealing with this! You need to retreat!

Exterminate! Annihilate! Destroy!
This disease MUST be quarantined. If something like this spreads... You will NOT allow it! You'll kill them to the last man!

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This is about to get a little nasty.

RAM · « **Reply #733 on:** June 28, 2017, 07:46:58 pm »

Survivors
Option three is my vote, but we will want Her Ladyship for that and she is ill suited to quarantine. The scholars have a wide array of burning and destruction-based effects that can be exploited for containment and sterilisation, and may even be able to offer a cure of some sort... For now, Eveline needs a hug, ideally from our more fleshy parts as carapace may not help her current mindset. Also, we need to stop her from running off on her own. Perhaps she can be persuaded to just hold onto our torso from behind to free our arms. But it would definitely be preferable to recover the scholars, who are presumably somewhat capable of defending themselves, in place of running off on our own while a whole town of zombies potentially hunts us.

Hopefully the undead do not have any tasty blood, try sending them ahead to warn of danger. Of course, this is just standard "better them than us" practise for dealing with friendly undead and blind corners... Consider using the bunny as a distraction too, it presumably has a noteworthy blood content.

Strategy-wise, Thogg and ourselves are probably somewhat inherently resistant. Yunikki seems immune so far, but should watch out for whatever the "fully turned" ones are like and should focus on things sneaking up on us and guard Meandra. Meandra hopefully has some useful combat and detection magic. Eveline, as always, is our expert, and if she can focus on the weaknesses of large insect transformed humans, and plague-monsters, then that would be ideal. Besides, Spider trumps bug...
Actually, upon revision, Yunikki's armour will probably detract from her awareness. She would probably be better pressed to protect whoever is taking the lead. Either us or Thogg should take rearguard duties, depending upon whether Eveline requires too many cuddles for us to operate effectively at the front.

Also, regarding the inevitable horde around the inn. It is probably best to get everyone else onto a roof. The for the nearest available drider necromancer to make a distraction, probably some sort of speech about how juicy spiders are, and then flee. Once the horde is at a suitable distance, one or more small rodents can give their lives for the cause and blind the horde for long enough for a drider to duck between two buildings and hide on top of it. Meanwhile the remaining forces ought to have the means to evacuate the inn against a much reduced horde. Given the choice of Meandra who is potentially going to be overly committed to a personally important outcome and lacks combat experience. Eveline who is temporarily unfit for command, Yunikki who is primarily loyal to someone who isn't there and her own survival, and Thogg who is an unknown... Yunikki gets put in charge. She ought to see the value in attaining spellcaster support and will also be willing to scrap the mission if things go south, probably with a high degree of professionalism.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #734 on:** June 30, 2017, 04:51:29 pm »

Now that this horrendous month is over, we should be back to daily updates. I won't be doing today, however, as I'm really friggin' tired and I really want to do the appearance of the plague justice.

In case you didn't know about it yet, this is heavily inspired by the Crimson Court DLC for Darkest Dungeon, which is in and of itself the reason you're wrestling with all sort of eldritch beings. In fact, you're fighting the exact SAME eldritch being. The difference being that you're not fighting it at the source, and things are much more wide-spread.
The other eldritch being has some inspiration from Eternal Darkness, a very underrated lovecraftian horror game for the gamecube. I strongly suggest you emulate it, it's most certainly worth your time. Ulyaoth's name was directly lifted from there, but our Ulyaoth is not even close in power, and never will be.

I will also add this little morsel of intel for you: It will take many years for the eldritch presence to actually manifest properly everywhere. Things are really messy NOW, but it will slow down by a lot once the basic things are in place. Because of this, there will be another timeskip of two or four years in the (relatively) near future, provided you actually survive until then.

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