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Author Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended)  (Read 189970 times)

omada

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #975 on: September 18, 2017, 03:59:42 pm »

Yukinni to the right drider to the left.

It's a road not a dungeon, if someone going to ambush us they gonna flank us. I don't think they will easily hide exactly the way we are marching.

It will be less pleasant that we might have to cut a bit of grass out of the way and "enlarge" the road on the way, but heh...
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He is short, with a small and failed beard
He likes wood, spears, ducks for their nobility, and rabbits for their weak hearts and funny reproduction rate.
he has a hard time to focus, and values, err almost everything, he dreams of mastering a skill.

RAM

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #976 on: September 18, 2017, 05:08:57 pm »

We could look into getting some undead. Some zombie monkeys or something could scout ahead and screech at anything loitering near the road...
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omada

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #977 on: September 18, 2017, 06:06:23 pm »

Yup, does our familiar have eyes? We could use him to see things from a better perspective

Raising zombies could work on this too very fine, without even needing to screech

But first we need to see an animal and kill it. Talk to Meandra if she knows about this place fauna, or if she has something to attract and capture an animal (I'm feeling that  might be a good idea to show her our gardener shield, she is a floramancer right? Maybe she could use her magick to grown a kind of discreet plant that might make the shield better, a plant that might squirt something in the direction of a sharp object)


WAIT


WHERE IS THE COOKBOOK? (you forgot to add on the list or we did shit somewhere and lost it?)

Handle it to someone else to keep abusing the book properties looking if there appears something that shouldn't be here that we might want to avoid/prepare against/hunt (Because i think it will be not so smart to walk with a book on hands while we might want a sword fast)


Hey, back on mutterstew, it expires quickly? We might want to do it again later and stock it in bottles for next adventures
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Novice english wordsmith
Dabbling english speaker (rusty)
He is short, with a small and failed beard
He likes wood, spears, ducks for their nobility, and rabbits for their weak hearts and funny reproduction rate.
he has a hard time to focus, and values, err almost everything, he dreams of mastering a skill.

Liquefied Spleens

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #978 on: September 21, 2017, 04:44:15 pm »

So you're saying it was a bog unicorn, right?
Yep. Ever since it drooled on it, there's been grass coming out of it. I didn't think it mattered.
Well, you're right. Bog unicorns are connected to swamps, so you can't get anything more interesting than grass. It doesn't even carry liquid all that well, it's mostly just magic. The stuff just disappears if you pull it out.
So there's nothing much to add, I suppose?
No. She clicks with her tongue as she looks the shield over one more time. You haven't been cleaning it too well, though, I think you've got some rust under the grass.
How would I even clean it? There's grass in the way!
It's still flammable. Or inflammable. I forgot which, doesn't matter.
It's both. Eveline and Sucy say at the same time. Although Sucy adds a "dummy" to the end of the sentence. Meandra rolls her eyes with a smile as she hands the shield back to you. The road isn't too annoying, although you don't have ankles to twist, so maybe you're just kind of privileged. You're far enough from the heart of the jungle (most of it) that the moisture isn't so all-encompassing. People had real bad cases of the sweats when they were outside the city, and after an hour of walking you're completely soaked in your own sweat. This is ultimately the most comfortable you've been walking through a forest in about four years.

Of course, that didn't take long to go wrong, of course. You had the flanks covered quite well, even scaring off the errand porcupine or wild boar, but the thing about the (pseudo)jungle is that things are still quite busy above. The trees are massive and covered in all manner of vines and plantlife.
So you don't notice it when there's a proper rope among those vines.
You only noticed something went wrong when you hear Eveline call out. You see a blur of movement, and that blur snatches up Sucy before you can stop it. She doesn't scream at all on the way up, only grunting in minor pain as the figure lands on a thick branch. You hear a distinct accent as the figure begins showboating. He looks to be an orc, tall and long-haired. He wears brown pants and no shirt, letting his green skin help hide him up there. He is far above you, but his voice carries far.
HI-DIDDLY-HO, MY DEAREST ADVENTURERS! YOU NEEDN'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR FRIEND, SO LONG AS SHE DOES NOT STRUGGLE, AND YOU MAKE NO MISTAKES, NOBODY WILL HAVE TO TAKE A MOST UNFORTUNATELY TUMBLE!
You see Sucy next to him, and his hand has a tight grip on her robe. She seems to be calm about the current situation, although you can only guess at her expression.
PLEASE MAKE A DEPOSIT OF FIVE-HUNDRED COINS AT THE NEAREST TREE, AND I WILL SEND THIS DASHING DAME ON HER WAY AFTER YOU LEAVE.
Meandra is quick to capitulate, and pulls out her purse.
Alright, we need to come together on this one, I don't have everything on me... She's talking quite fast, clearly trying to keep calm in this situation. The others are, of course, a bit more used to these situations. Although you'd personally prefer to climb up there and give him a piece of your mind, you can't risk Sucy's life.

When the money is put together, which was quite easy. There's quite a bit of spending power between all of you, you prepare to put it all in a bag when you suddenly hear the sound of the hostage-taker yelling in pain. You look up, and see him convulsing on the spot. His legs almost miraculously find a place to stand, but he himself is swinging his arms and and yelling in blind pain. Sucy is laying down, clamped around the very thick branch the both of them were standing on. From this distance, you see that she is making small shocky motions of her own, almost as if she's sobbing. Of course, that's enough staring. You rush up the tree as fast you your legs can carry you, and quickly find a way across. Your spidery body almost instinctively carries itself across the web of branches, spreading the weight enough to prevent any from cracking. As you get closer, you realize the man looks... swollen. His entire body is grotesquely growing larger, like a balloon. It's enough to make you slow down just a tad.
Then, he ruptures. He doesn't even scream as his torso finally rips from the pressure, sending his innards flying. It's a geyser of blood and organs, covering the surrounding leaves and splattering down below. The body, what's left of it, flops off the branch as Sucy is completely covered in blood from where she's lying. You're just out of range, merely getting some on your front legs. You stand there for a time in disgust and shock, even as Meandra can be heard screaming and retching down below. Eventually, Sucy says something, still in her eternal monotone.
Would you mind carrying me down? I don't much care for this height.
You pick her up, as careful as you can now that she's... slick. You hope for her she brought some extra clothes, and on the way down it finally occurs to you to ask:
What just happened?
While he was swing up, I used one of my hip-flasks on him. Well, the syringe, at least. He didn't feel it at first, considering the stuff has a bit of a delayed reaction.
She laughs to herself, between her teeth, making it come of more as halted hissing.
I may have overdone it on the dose, though.

Oh my gods I'm going to have nightmares about this. Meandra says, as you walk past the splatter zone on the road. Blood is still raining down from the leaves, and the grisly sight of the freshly hollowed husk of warped flesh and cracked bone does not help any in making the picture any less horrific. You briefly consider cleaning the body up, but creatures will come soon to eat it, regardless. If another traveler sees this, that's their problem.
The rest of the journey was far less exciting, although Meandra keeps a bit of distance between herself and Sucy. She still looks a little pale in the face, borderline sick from the sight she has seen. Still the forest starts clearing up, enough that you can just barely catch a glimpse of a fire between the trees. It's just about noon right now, so it's probably some people cooking their lunch. Of course, the road has been getting more and more dangerous...

Keep walking
The fire's not on the main path. Ignore it, and it will go away.

Carefully check it out
There might be some shenanigans going on here. Better check first.

Enter openly
They're not surprising you.

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Mutterstew doesn't keep that well, as it kind of congeals unpleasantly over time, and the magical boost is gone after an hour. It's a stew that mumbles to you, after all, this stuff doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 02:57:26 pm by Liquefied Spleens »
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RAM

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #979 on: September 21, 2017, 05:29:30 pm »

((Would you like people to suggest edits if they think that they see a mistake?))

Enter openly
If it is untended then we should either snuff it or flee. If it is hostile then better to know than not and if they are competent then they have lookouts who know the terrain better than us and if they aren't competent then us barging in shouldn't change things overmuch. If they are not hostile than sneaking around would be begging for a misunderstanding.

But they probably wouldn't notice a lizard, even if it s a skeleton with wings, there are many lizards in forests. But, umm, our familiar is not all that wonderful as a scout, unless we have learned to see through flame-eyes.

They probably hunt extensively, there might be something lying around a camp that can be animated, but blind animating is probably difficult, especially at a distance, and is not a great way to introduce yourself unless you really like starting ghost stories about wildlife returning to haunt the hunter...
« Last Edit: September 21, 2017, 05:31:22 pm by RAM »
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omada

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #980 on: September 22, 2017, 10:03:24 am »

((Would you like people to suggest edits if they think that they see a mistake?))


The rest of the journey was far less exciting, although Meandra keeps a bit of distance between herself and Meandra.

Oh, i begun to grow so used to Elderitch beings that i for some time thought it was proposital or a hidden hint about her


I was going to vote for check carefully, but RAM idea made me confused and inclined to enter openly, bah, we don't have an professional thief with us to check, but we can stop a bit and do something in the mid term, try to hear something, look around for souls (might have someone in the trees) use the chance to see if the trees have something resembling a soul (and make vegans pissed)

No ambush visibly set? They didn't talked out loud about the last traveller they robed? The group enter openly, Yukinni shielding them with a hand on the hilt, we enter slowly between the trees, if they start going to rob us we can land in one of them and make everyone shit their pants in the first seconds of battle.

If just travelers ask for sorry (because they will still be uncomfortable with a drider getting out of the tree cook/hunt a bit with them and ask to join (if they're going the same way)
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he has a hard time to focus, and values, err almost everything, he dreams of mastering a skill.

RAM

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #981 on: September 22, 2017, 03:35:51 pm »

...
I forgot about seeing souls, and didn't mention looking up, just after being ambushed too!
I am worst adviser. Much agreeing with other adviser in penitence.
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Liquefied Spleens

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #982 on: September 22, 2017, 04:38:28 pm »

I'll go above, go in after a while and see what happens. If anything bad happens, I'll come down.
Got it. I'll go in first, try to be quick about it.
You climb the closest trunk as fast as you can, skittering up at an amazing speed. The proper branches are quite high, but the fire isn't too far from a trunk. Getting down will be cinch. From where you're standing, however, things don't look too grand. There are three people around the fire, and all of them are wearing some familiar headgear. It looks like a skull with a spiked ring behind it. They're all male, shirtless, and have claws attached to their hands. They just seem to be staring at the fire, although you think you see something interesting in there. There are exactly three souls visible, but with the abundance of life in these woods, there's a decent shot that you may be missing something that's close. You don't have a good feeling about this... You start the climb down, just as Yunikki walks through the bushes. The three people at the fire hiss and mumble something in a language that sounds utterly wrong. Like it should not be wrung through a throat. They all get up, and take a combat stance.  The closest one immediately swings his right fist, tipped with sharp claws, towards Yunikki. She sidesteps the clumsy haymaker with ease, and the man goes flying because of his own momentum. To your surprise, Yunikki is trying to reason with them.
Lay down your arms! We mean no harm, but we will retaliate!
The men growl more words of that forbidden tongue, and the next one flings himself at Yunikki with wild abandon. He is stopped with an armored fist to face, cracking the mask and knocking the figure on his back.

With an audible thump, you finally land. As the figure turns, you stick your sword through him. He groans in pain, and he snarls at you with his exposed mouth, his mask not reaching there. You remove your blade, and he slumps to the ground. He will bleed out in no time. Now for the other two. The one that Yunikki dodged is back up, and is assuming a more sensible position, defensive with his fists raised. At least it seemed more sensible, until a small sack explodes against the back of his head. Green vapors escape from it, and he instantly starts coughing and wheezing. Looks like either Eveline or Sucy is doing their job. Possibly both. That just leaves the one Yunikki laid out with a punch. He currently has your sword pointed at his throat, and Yunikki's sword pointed at something precious. Either way, he's not getting up at the moment.
So he just roars in frustration, instead. They're clearly quite eloquent. The one that was coughing has stopped moving entirely, mostly likely having choked to death.
What were you doing here?
WE FULFILL THE ORDERS OF THE COMING HARMONY.  ORDERS YOU HAVE REFUSED, YOU FILTHY TRAITOR! the man yells, with a scratchy voice. Seems he spends most of his time screaming, from the sound of it. Of course, you don't quite care about his wellbeing at all.
He's working with the gestating god. I'm going to kill him.
...I'll see his actions as an act of flagrant heresy and not stop you. These people are scum.
Just before you can add deed to work, however, you feel something thick and slimy wrap around your waist. Looking down, it looks like a green tentacle, covered in suckers. With unnatural strength, it rips you away from your future kill. The tentacle disappears as fast as it appeared, and you turn in the direction it came from. You see a woman, this time, wearing a similar mask as the other cultists, albeit more golden. She whispers in that same guttural language, raising a simple-looking staff in your direction. A cold feeling of dread forces itself in you, but you power through it and charge forward. She seems surprised, and waves her staff again. A portal opens in front of you, and another tentacle flies out with blinding speed, intending to knock you back. Your shield takes the attack without issue, and you are hardly even slowed. Once more, the portal closes and takes the tentacle with it. You place your sword to the left, and take a wide, powerful swing, aided by your momentum.

Her head goes flying, landing with a soft thud in the grass. Her body remains standing, frozen in its final moments. The muscles must have locked up, somehow. You decide to push the body over, and stab it in the heart for good measure. No need to take risks...
When you look back to Yunikki, you see her cleaning blood off her sword with an oiled rag. The owner of said blood is dead, saving you the trouble of killing the last cultist.
That's the end of that... I head of cultists along the road, but I didn't think they'd be so...  brazen.
They work for the gestating god. "Subtlety" is not part of its powers.
There's something in the fire! Some kind of... brand? Eveline says, having come out of the bushes. Sucy drifts behind her, looking disinterested.
I guess they like burning eachother?

Take a closer look at the branding iron and the surrounding area.
If they were heating it up, maybe they have hostages? Better take a look around. They aren't too tough, anyhow.

Leave now.
Nope, not tempting fate. We're outta here. Maybe loot them for gold, at best.

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I would like it if you were to suggest edits, yes. I've said it before, i tend to do these when I'm already tired, and I'm not too clever in general.

EDIT: Made the modifications to improve the grammar and spelling. I swear to god I'm not usually this bad, but I think I'm spoiled by Word's spellchecker.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 05:49:39 pm by Liquefied Spleens »
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DolosusDoleus

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #983 on: September 22, 2017, 05:08:23 pm »

Leave. LeaveleaveleaveleaveleaveleaveLEEEEEAAAAAAVVVVEEE.
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RAM

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #984 on: September 22, 2017, 05:23:12 pm »

Search thoroughly.
Ignorance will not keep us from being baited into traps, and knowing more about these... ... might give us an edge in the long run. And if they really do have prisoners then woohoo! Party on the naive-hero train and all Trojan horses are invited!

Oh, and be cautious, and especially cool down that brand. The symbol probably has some sort of important meaning, and the brand might be enchanted. We really don't want any accidents if it turns out that someone has been exploiting permanent true-strike enchantments...

Hopefully though, the terrible feeling of foreboding is just residue and not something imminent.

P.S.
Imma open with maximum pretentiousness. I feel as though it is best to state an argument rather than just putting in a possible correction without qualification. Please insert various feelings of humility that may not be depicted due to my obsession with excessive analysis and explanation.
If anything bad happens, i'll come down. I as a word is always capitalised, even in contractions such as "i'll".
you don't have a good feeling about this... Sentences start with a capital letter.
The men growl more words of that forbidden tongue, and the next one flings herself at Yunikki with wild abandon. I believe that "herself" is actually a male cultist.
He is stopped with an armored fist to face, cracking the mask and knocking the figure on his back. I would go with "onto his back". "On his back" feels like an identification rather than an action, as though they were on their back throughout the whole sentence.
A cold feeling of dread forces itself in you, but you power through it and charge forward. I would go with "forces itself into you" which would imply that it was forcing itself to enter you. "Forces itself in you" feels like it is forcing-itself while already inside of you. Of course it could be already inside and forcefully churning around or something...
Her body remains standing, frozen in it's final moments. "It's" = "it is". "Its" = an "it" that owns something, such as some final moments. I guess that contractions are more powerful than ownership when it comes to apostrophe wars...
« Last Edit: September 22, 2017, 05:41:08 pm by RAM »
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omada

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #985 on: September 22, 2017, 07:23:53 pm »

Leave. LeaveleaveleaveleaveleaveleaveLEEEEEAAAAAAVVVVEEE.

This suggestion came directly from eveline :v

Search thoroughly.
Ignorance will not keep us from being baited into traps, and knowing more about these... ... might give us an edge in the long run. And if they really do have prisoners then woohoo! Party on the naive-hero train and all Trojan horses are invited!

Oh, and be cautious, and especially cool down that brand. The symbol probably has some sort of important meaning, and the brand might be enchanted. We really don't want any accidents if it turns out that someone has been exploiting permanent true-strike enchantments...

Hopefully though, the terrible feeling of foreboding is just residue and not something imminent.


Yep, check the stuff, check the staff, check with arcana first somehow (try to scan the area with pure mana? maybe we can force to gain "detect magic" like a bunch of our magics), double check everything with soul sight

If something has power, ask Yukinni how the crusaders do , ask if we can purify this shit.

After checking for traps, mundane and arcane, and with no imminent danger or tracks about hostages, loot the rest
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He likes wood, spears, ducks for their nobility, and rabbits for their weak hearts and funny reproduction rate.
he has a hard time to focus, and values, err almost everything, he dreams of mastering a skill.

Liquefied Spleens

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #986 on: September 23, 2017, 05:06:46 pm »

Well, I like that you have this high of an opinion on the crusaders, but we can't quite purify things. Unless you count burning it.
Eh, close enough. Thought about this branding thing?
She kick the campfire with her armored boot, sending ash and cinder everywhere. The branding tool lies on the ground, still red-hot and dangerous. Yunikki is digging up some earth to throw over it as the rest of the party looks around. Meandra does some extra stomps on the cinders, in order to prevent a forest fire. You doubt the moisture would let it, but you're not an expert. The first thing you note is that this camp looks like it had more visitors than just these four. There are traces of people EVERYWHERE, and unless those four cultists were doing their best to have the most varied backstories and hobbies possible, from many different walks of life, as well.
You notice a little trail. Just a little more flattened grass than what seems normal. You decide to follow it, into a large collection of bushes and other plant-life. You call out for Eveline to join you (who is protesting the current "closer look" the party is making). After a little while, Eveline calls out to you about a hole she found. She can fit in just fine, but you don't stand a chance to get in there beyond your human waist. You figure most humanoids can fit in there with varying levels of discomfort. You bring in the other bunch to have a closer look while you keep a guard. Yunikki is the first to go in, head-first. She has to dig and shuffle a little before she got in, but she calls out that there's far more space beyond the entrance. Sucy and Eveline join her, while Meandra stays with you. She's not entirely non-action or anything, but she'd prefer to stay out of trouble.

The waiting is unbearable as your companions go deeper, and eventually you hear some shouting. It's over as fast as it began, though, and after a few minutes they come back out. You're about to ask if they found nothing, until you see an unknown pair of hands come through the hole. An elderly man crawls out, wearing a mud-covered robe. Guessing from the amulet around his neck, he serves one of The Many. Separate religion from the one the crusaders follow, but there's hardly any trouble between them. He introduces himself as "Friar Biscuit", explaining the odd name as part of his chosen god. The god of food and plenty also has a silly sense of humor, it seems. He thanks you for the rescue, and asks if you could escort him to his village, just a mile or two from here. He promises rewards...

Find your own way back
We've got things to do and places to be. You'll figure it out.

Alright.
Escort him to his village. A little extra gold or food can't hurt...

Interrogate
This stinks. What is he not telling you?

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RAM

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #987 on: September 23, 2017, 05:41:35 pm »

...
interrogate
Be mindful of what is around, and probably get a little distance from the hole, it is a fairly obvious spot for someone to loiter while a trap is sprung. But as to the interrogation? There may be other prisoners, and know what happened to him as he arrived may help to locate them. It also gives an opportunity to interrogate him on the details of his experience, and possibly picking out some inconsistencies or suspicious omissions.. And make sure that someone is paying attention to the surroundings. It is easy to focus on the prisoner and not notice the trees rustling...

Perhaps we could animate a couple of the cultists as lookouts? Still, we ought to be cautious about mixing our magic with Old Jesty's stuff. Probably best not experiment while so removed from "controlled environment"...

If the interrogation works well then taking him home seems sensible. We get what is presumably a civilised place to stop that is not completely overrun by cultists, though a lookout might be wise if we sleep there.

And, umm, try to get a sense for ambient magic. If there is some massive ritual building around us then it would probably be discernible even in the absence of a formal detection magic.
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Urist has been forced to use a friend as fertilizer lately.
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omada

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #988 on: September 24, 2017, 01:26:40 am »

...
interrogate
Be mindful of what is around, and probably get a little distance from the hole, it is a fairly obvious spot for someone to loiter while a trap is sprung. But as to the interrogation? There may be other prisoners, and know what happened to him as he arrived may help to locate them. It also gives an opportunity to interrogate him on the details of his experience, and possibly picking out some inconsistencies or suspicious omissions.. And make sure that someone is paying attention to the surroundings. It is easy to focus on the prisoner and not notice the trees rustling...

Perhaps we could animate a couple of the cultists as lookouts? Still, we ought to be cautious about mixing our magic with Old Jesty's stuff. Probably best not experiment while so removed from "controlled environment"...

If the interrogation works well then taking him home seems sensible. We get what is presumably a civilised place to stop that is not completely overrun by cultists, though a lookout might be wise if we sleep there.

And, umm, try to get a sense for ambient magic. If there is some massive ritual building around us then it would probably be discernible even in the absence of a formal detection magic.

+1.
After interrogation and burning of cultist corpses see our radar cookbook, it can still have something "suspicious" around. If not, ask if he don't want to join us to cook something to lunch, he might be hungry and it's dangerous to walk when fragile even short distances, and he might also be a talented cook to help us make the most delicious of dishes, then we prove we are paranoiac check his soul and only then we escort him (say sorry to Meandra, but she might be pleased by the rewards when we get there)
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Novice english wordsmith
Dabbling english speaker (rusty)
He is short, with a small and failed beard
He likes wood, spears, ducks for their nobility, and rabbits for their weak hearts and funny reproduction rate.
he has a hard time to focus, and values, err almost everything, he dreams of mastering a skill.

Liquefied Spleens

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Re: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure
« Reply #989 on: September 25, 2017, 12:48:22 pm »

“While I’m happy to remove cultists from this world,” You say,” I’m not letting you off this easy, old man.”
The man seems surprised. He takes step back, intimidated.
“Were there any other prisoners?” You ask first, your voice even, but with a clear edge. The man mumbles a bit, and bring yourself closer by a few steps. That seemed to bring back his capacity of speech. “T-there were others, yes… I knew them well, they were part of my flock.” The man looks away from you. “Once that mark was on them, they ceased to be themselves. They joined the woman, cackling and raving about the Harmony.” You keep a close eye on him, trying to discern if he’s lying to you or not. It suddenly occurs to you, however, you need to keep a close eye on the surroundings. You tell your companions to keep an eye out, and most of them were already doing so. Except for Meandra. Who is crossing her arms and keeping an eye on you.
“Right. Were they preparing to mark you, as well?” You say to the man. He seems to cringe at the question, before composing himself again. “No. They planned to showcase my broken body before the town. To show what they are capable of, and to intimidate them into joining this heretical cult.”
“Truly? How would that work… There were only four of them, and they were almost a non-issue to just the five of us!”
“I… I assume they mean to capture more and convert them to the Harmony! Please, I just wish to go back to my flock… I’ll reward you, still, but please.”
… You can’t think of any other question that seems important. You eventually agree, and apologise for your behaviour. You had more than enough experience with the gestating god to be cautious, you explain, though he hardly seems satisfied at that answer.
He seems to perk up at the sound of food, however. The fastest way to a man’s heart…

Your cookbook is extra thick in this jungle. It usually has a consistent thickness, replacing pages when needed, but in the jungle the sheer amount of things available is beyond even the book’s capacity. Of course, that also means it’s difficult to properly detect somebody using this book. You’d need to leaf through the WHOLE thing in order to find something resembling “cultist smoothies”(that was a joke, it suggests not even touching the masks). Of course, when it comes to making food it’s still a great boon. You get to work on creating an extensive meal with baked mushrooms, some of the meat Meandra bought for the road, and wild potatoes(aided by Sucy to prevent poisoning. The girl REALLY knows her mushrooms).

You even manage to make some sauce with the left-over oil, which you got from Eveline. Mushrooms aren’t on the menu too often back with the tower, which you find to be a crime against the culinary arts. You were one of the few people that always cooked for themselves, and others of they asked. Of course, nobody ever dared to enter your home after the stories got around that you covered the whole place up in webbing and did mysterious things to anybody who entered. People were fairly alright with your extra legs, but there was still a little racism there.

After the meal, the priest seems to be far more calm and happy to be rescued. Meandra was quick to agree bringing the man back to his village. She gave you a bit of an earful of instantly intimidating and questioning a hostage of a horrible cult during dinner, although you were hardly listening. You know you were in the right to be VERY cautious. The priest takes you off the beaten path, to say the least, taking you along roads only a practiced eye could hope to see. It takes about ten minutes before you see the first building, a simple shack made up of mudstone and covered with leaves. The rest of the village is similar, mostly using mudstone, although the housing grows a bit more elaborate than simple shacks. The inhabitants look dissimilar to the priest, considering they are all orcs. Their green skin clashes against the human’s ebony skin, and it seems a little odd to you that his flock would not share his race. Still, perhaps he was sent by one of those religions to convert them? Still, even the jungle orcs are far from savage. Most follow the Light, in fact, which can be explained by the crusader presence.

Yunikki seems a little on edge. The priest tells you that you are welcome to stay here for the rest of the day for the rescue, and that he will speak to the chief about this. He claims they do not speak common here, which puts you at a disadvantage. You speak three languages, and none of them are even close to orcish. If they spoke Eastern or Belician (although that one’s a dead language at this point, your home country adopted common as the only language. Your dad was stubborn about learning it, though) you’d be fine.

Meandra seems delighted to stay here, especially when she saw the pole in the middle of the village, marking the town centre. She claims that it’s a legitimate Shaman’s Pole, which can only be created by some of the more advanced floramancy. Because the culture that makes these is vehemently against outsiders putting their arts on paper(they have started wars over it) she’s more than happy to stay here for a little while.

Stay a while and relax.
Everything seems fine. It’s a good opportunity to find out a little more about the cultist activity, if you find somebody that does speak common…
Investigate
You may have let the man go, but maybe something’s still off? Skulking around won’t be taken too kindly, of course…
Make distance
This is too good to be true. You’ll be staying outside the village in case something’s up. You can survive a night outside, if you prepare properly.
Talk to your companions
Maybe your friends have something to say in the matter. Of course, meddling around may cause a little trouble among them, as well…


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« Last Edit: September 25, 2017, 12:52:24 pm by Liquefied Spleens »
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Neat stuff I do:
A suggestion game about a drider that does a lot of stuff. I think it's kinda neat.
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