Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[syvarris]

Test the silver armor with clockwork plating.  Specifically, I want to see if a piece of silver armor placed atop a metal plate still functions, and then place a piece of silver armor below a metal plate.  In both cases, charge one of the thaumic rifles with 1 mana and shoot at the armor.

Use the new keys to look for robot weaponry in other areas.

Disassemble one of the thaumic rifles, too.  Try to understand how it works.  Draw some sketches of it.  If it's made of iron, and Ekrov can't figure it out on his own, cast a know-based spell on learning how it works.  Maybe do the same with "animate" if that can work, and wouldn't cost more than d6?  The goal here is more understanding thaumic devices than the rifles themselves.  Sketch everything, as always.

Spoiler: O.o (click to show/hide)

Name: Ekrov Trenian Vyachilad
Description: A noble's son, Ekrov is a boy on the cusp of adulthood, and barely looks it.  His hands are soft, his appearance taken care of, and his bones slightly visible under his unmarred skin.  He's scrawny, clearly having never done manual labor in his life, and somewhat short--though it's hard to tell whether that's due to age or genetics.  His eyes are wide and constantly look around in absentminded wonderment; he's clearly out of his element in this, and gives off a tourist-y impression.  He wears a clearly high-quality outfit, but to his credit it looks unusually practical for a noble, subdued brown in color and light aside from thin pieces of light leather in strategic locations, clearly intended more as protection than a fashion statement.  He carries a small backpack, and wears a light cloak that's had an absurd number of little pockets clumsily sewn into it.
Magic Path: Alchemist Sculptor
Mana: 33 (300 thaum carried)
Magic Words: "Animate", "Cloud", "Banish", "Iron", "Human", "Clockwork"

Stats:
Strength: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6+1
Knowledge: d12+2
Will: d6
Senses: d12+1

Ongoing Effects:  None.

Current Sculpture Materials:
1. Something of perfect roundness
2. Ash from the ruins of a city
3. Skin containing an old scar
4. A book
5. Honey
6. Something that came from beyond the skies

Inventory:
Backpack
Lightly armored traveling outfit (enchanted to d6, from d4)
Wooden shield (+1 to armor rolls, most of the time)
Steel stilleto (d4 melee)
Merc Longsword (d6 Melee)
Ornamental spring pistol (d6 ranged) [6/6] (30 spare shots)
Alchemist gear
12 gold, 8 silver (Saeko owes him 400 gold...  For someone with d12 sense, Ekrov can be pretty gullible.)
LOTS of thaum.
Orb key thing, looted from long dead pilot corpse.
35 (!) Clockwork mainsprings capable of powering full robots
Enough pieces to reassemble a full combat robot.
FERROUS MEMENTO, THE MEMORY SKULL!
--Enchanted to only open when the correct passphrase is spoken to it.  Only Ekrov knows the passphrase.
--Enchanted so that Ekrov is always aware of its location and status.

Two broken clockwork robots, shoved in crates.  Details here,  here, and here.  And a question about rewriting their minds here.
A pair of strength-increasing clockwork gauntlets, which were clearly meant to be used by the robots, "seemingly for bending metal".
A strange blunt clockwork circular saw that is extremely effective at cutting through metal.
A  straight bladed clockwork sword, with a slot in the bottom for a power cell.  It is a lightning saber; when properly empowered, it will produce high heat and electrical discharge that will greatly enhance both its cutting power and the damage it causes.  It needs a power cell of the right size; which is basically a charged battery.
A large bag of bomblets, taken from an unexploded clockwork bomb.

Paints, a dish, sands, glitter, water, general scrying supplies.
Pencil + Paper.
Expensive medical supplies.

Sketches of:
Gyrotourbillon's workings
Benedict the Griffon
Detailed but incomplete schematics of clockwork robot people.
Clockwork machinegun schematics.
Simple clockwork tools schematics.
Schematic for a simple remotely-operated alchemist-gear manipulator thing.
Maps to the three caches of clockwork loot buried somewhere between Alkahest and Lake Candentis.
The design and construction for a full combat robot, of the kind found in Gravid.
The structure and enchantment framework of a flying thaumic warmachine, found within Gravid.  Incomplete, due to Ekrov's lack of understanding about how the machine knows what to do.


TO-DO LIST:
MEMORY TINKER!!!

Clockwork stuff:
Fix a robot
Try to reverse engineer and understand those power pellet crucibles.
Fix the broken machine guns
Look into cloning machine gun ammo?  Probably not something we'll care about ever, but I wanna DAKKA...

Cache A: The buried death pellet furnaces, both the unopened ones and the empty opened one.
Cache B: All the unexploded bombs from the wreck, including one that's been opened and had some of the bomblets taken out.
Cache C: The rest of the loot from the wreck, buried inside crates.  Contains:

"A large number of tools (These are what you could call mundane tools like wrenches, screw drivers, plyers, and the like. There are a lot of them in different sizes and shapes but none are hugely rare or valuable on their own. Though they are admittedly well made.)"
"A pnumatic self heating rivet gun and the air compressor for it"
"A sort of 'Jaws of Life' style combination spreader and cutter. Basically a massive pnumatic pair of plyers/snips."
"3 more working machine guns, and a half dozen that are broken in some way"  ((These deal "d12 [damage], if memory serves, though they often roll multiples."))
"About 10 or so big boxes of ammo (there are a lot of loose belts around so the amount isn't exact)"
"A welding system"

[piecewise]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Name: Eve
Appearance: 4 ft tall female human with long hear that constantly changes color. She always wears a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She has slightly tan skin and green eyes. most of her right arm is made of aluminum, from her hand to her forearm.
Magic path: Servant Sculptor
Mana: 9
Strength: d4
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8
Senses: d8

Ongoing effects: None

Items needed for current Sculpture

1. An arrow, caught mid flight.
2. A piece of Amber containing a living thing
3. A block of Lead
4. A compass
5. Solidified Smoke.

Spirit: A silver quiver with 5 arrows that looks like a rib cage
Spirit Task: Unknown
Inventory: Doctor's bag, Thick fur shirt d4, Thick fur leggings d4, ghost charm, 100 ft of string, a pry-bar, 9 gold’s worth of food and water, Idol of Flux,18 gold, a silver quiver thst looks like a rib cage,, a bow, and 3 silver arrows.
Materials: Lightsilver, Silver, Stone, Water, Mercury, Erode, Channel

“Thank you. Do you know of a way to communicate with mischief gods?” Listen to his answer, then look at my ghost charm for spirits to help

The adventurer shrugs and suggests doing enough mischief to get the god's attention. If he's still around of course.

No spirits around here, sadly.

Meant to go search the towers and such with Saeko, as that might be more likely to have cool stuff.
Try to find an animal word.

Spoiler: Zavi (click to show/hide)

Name: Zavirius En-Drani Haver, Painter
Appearance: A girl of unknown but apparently foreign descent. She claims to be the last surviving member of a long-dead ancient race, kept preserved in some kind of magical stasis, but this is likely untrue. Though her skin is a strange shade not normally seen on the continent, and her hair is bleached white with a slight green reflective tint. She is not very tall but stout like a dwarf and startlingly strong. She's wearing a red gambeson, gray pants, metal bracers, shin guards and a sallet helm.
Mana: 5
Method: Flesh-Inscribed Channel
Materials: Lightweight, Explosion, Toxic, Lightning, Sunlight
Strength: d10+1
Speed: d8+2
Endurance: d6+2
Knowledge: d8+1
Will: d8+1
Senses: d6+1

Ongoing effects: Permanently immune to nerve gas

Inventory:
160 Gold
Backpack
Tattoo kit
Paints and brushes
Medium Armor (d6)
Kite Shield (d6)
Long Sword (d6)
Catch Pole
3 Small Bombs
Manacles
1-mana/shot explosion powered rifle.

Silver axe-helm.

Salt the Condor-Winged Baboon
Strength: d8
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d4
Will: d4
Senses: d6

Small bag

In Alcahest:

Wooden Arm-Guards (d4 armor)
Hemp sack
Kukri (d6 weapon)
Square-tip machete

[2v12]
No luck. Also, searching for specific words makes the roll harder.

Goto inn and rest. Pay a bit extra to the innkeeper for him to ignore birbman.

After that, try to get a rough idea of where the last part of the artifact is. Also try to get info on where the nearest bandit gang is located/operates (not necessarily in Fearce).

Try to sell those leather skins (15 of them) for a good price. Use last two and the hammer from our tools to adjust Ecalir's armor.

Spoiler: Darwin Zeppeli (click to show/hide)

Name: Darwin Zeppeli
Appearance: An old medicine man.

Magic path: alchemist gut-reader
Strength: d4
Speed: d6->d8 + 1
Endurance: d6->d8 + 2
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8 + 2
Senses: d10 + 1

Mana: 39
2 bottles with 10 thaum each (20 total)
Ongoing effects: None


Magical materials

Vacuum!
Reanimate
Sharpen
Viscera
Diamond
Rope

Inventory

1 sedated bugman

dissection knife: d4
Springy metal knive: d6
Springy metal sword: d6
Springy metal halberd: d8
Curved blade: d6
Icepick: d4
gun: d8 [50 rounds left]
9 smokebombs
thaumic bomb (currently empty)

Ecalir's old armor: d8 (in use)
shield (+1 to protective rolls from armor)
Sealer Suit: d4 (vs magic)

Alchemist’s Gear
402 gold 
5 silver
Octopus core
15 kg black biometal

A glass slab with a topographical map of the kingdom carved into it
a bottle of glowing blue sea water, inside protective box with lock
a glass orb with barely visible lotus inside of it, inside staff assembly.
magic coin
Small book
magic compass + map
Gimbal that points towards diamonds (range around 100 meter)

book on normal plants and animals
book on magical plants and animals/creatures
handbook on making weapons&armor, including a list of known types
a detailed account of the Artifacter war
map of the old world
good quality book&pen
good history book
series of good maps of area around Alkahest and the volcano

Paradox snail (inside jar) and things to keep them happy and fed, linked to Ecalir
Extra pair of paradox snails
Doctor's bag
set of ingredients (plants, chemicals and the like) for making poisons or antidotes (21 uses left)
High quality backpack
donkey named Yvonne for carrying
Zomboraptor head
Lantern
several hundred feet of rope
climbing crampons
a grappling hook
iron stakes
net made of rope
several vials with imp fat
20 vials
2x Collapsible rod
10 oil flasks
300 feet of really big, thick, strong rope
100 feet of metal chain
box of metal spikes
pair of binoculars
4 boxes of rags
Medium armor: d6 (not in use)
2 sets of digging tools (for Darwin + Ecalir)
Extra digging tools (for hired workers)
tarps, paint, and other stuff we can use to camouflage things with
17 leather skins (30 gold worth)
2 doses of fast-working anesthetic for knocking out humans

You pay 3 silver to the innkeeper and then respond to his questions about birdman with another two gold.

Going by readings from the compass now, and what you remember of it in Alkahest, you think the last artifact is in one of two places: Offa Helmonth or Balneum Mariae.

You get 23 gold for the leather.

[3v5][8v2]
With some rough hammering and straps you manage to convert the nonfitting d8 armor to semi-fitted d6 armor. Its not perfect, but its better than running around with his tail feathers in the wind.

Test the silver armor with clockwork plating.  Specifically, I want to see if a piece of silver armor placed atop a metal plate still functions, and then place a piece of silver armor below a metal plate.  In both cases, charge one of the thaumic rifles with 1 mana and shoot at the armor.

Use the new keys to look for robot weaponry in other areas.

Disassemble one of the thaumic rifles, too.  Try to understand how it works.  Draw some sketches of it.  If it's made of iron, and Ekrov can't figure it out on his own, cast a know-based spell on learning how it works.  Maybe do the same with "animate" if that can work, and wouldn't cost more than d6?  The goal here is more understanding thaumic devices than the rifles themselves.  Sketch everything, as always.

Spoiler: O.o (click to show/hide)

Name: Ekrov Trenian Vyachilad
Description: A noble's son, Ekrov is a boy on the cusp of adulthood, and barely looks it.  His hands are soft, his appearance taken care of, and his bones slightly visible under his unmarred skin.  He's scrawny, clearly having never done manual labor in his life, and somewhat short--though it's hard to tell whether that's due to age or genetics.  His eyes are wide and constantly look around in absentminded wonderment; he's clearly out of his element in this, and gives off a tourist-y impression.  He wears a clearly high-quality outfit, but to his credit it looks unusually practical for a noble, subdued brown in color and light aside from thin pieces of light leather in strategic locations, clearly intended more as protection than a fashion statement.  He carries a small backpack, and wears a light cloak that's had an absurd number of little pockets clumsily sewn into it.
Magic Path: Alchemist Sculptor
Mana: 33 (300 thaum carried)
Magic Words: "Animate", "Cloud", "Banish", "Iron", "Human", "Clockwork"

Stats:
Strength: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6+1
Knowledge: d12+2
Will: d6
Senses: d12+1

Ongoing Effects:  None.

Current Sculpture Materials:
1. Something of perfect roundness
2. Ash from the ruins of a city
3. Skin containing an old scar
4. A book
5. Honey
6. Something that came from beyond the skies

Inventory:
Backpack
Lightly armored traveling outfit (enchanted to d6, from d4)
Wooden shield (+1 to armor rolls, most of the time)
Steel stilleto (d4 melee)
Merc Longsword (d6 Melee)
Ornamental spring pistol (d6 ranged) [6/6] (30 spare shots)
Alchemist gear
12 gold, 8 silver (Saeko owes him 400 gold...  For someone with d12 sense, Ekrov can be pretty gullible.)
LOTS of thaum.
Orb key thing, looted from long dead pilot corpse.
35 (!) Clockwork mainsprings capable of powering full robots
Enough pieces to reassemble a full combat robot.
FERROUS MEMENTO, THE MEMORY SKULL!
--Enchanted to only open when the correct passphrase is spoken to it.  Only Ekrov knows the passphrase.
--Enchanted so that Ekrov is always aware of its location and status.

Two broken clockwork robots, shoved in crates.  Details here,  here, and here.  And a question about rewriting their minds here.
A pair of strength-increasing clockwork gauntlets, which were clearly meant to be used by the robots, "seemingly for bending metal".
A strange blunt clockwork circular saw that is extremely effective at cutting through metal.
A  straight bladed clockwork sword, with a slot in the bottom for a power cell.  It is a lightning saber; when properly empowered, it will produce high heat and electrical discharge that will greatly enhance both its cutting power and the damage it causes.  It needs a power cell of the right size; which is basically a charged battery.
A large bag of bomblets, taken from an unexploded clockwork bomb.

Paints, a dish, sands, glitter, water, general scrying supplies.
Pencil + Paper.
Expensive medical supplies.

Sketches of:
Gyrotourbillon's workings
Benedict the Griffon
Detailed but incomplete schematics of clockwork robot people.
Clockwork machinegun schematics.
Simple clockwork tools schematics.
Schematic for a simple remotely-operated alchemist-gear manipulator thing.
Maps to the three caches of clockwork loot buried somewhere between Alkahest and Lake Candentis.
The design and construction for a full combat robot, of the kind found in Gravid.
The structure and enchantment framework of a flying thaumic warmachine, found within Gravid.  Incomplete, due to Ekrov's lack of understanding about how the machine knows what to do.


TO-DO LIST:
MEMORY TINKER!!!

Clockwork stuff:
Fix a robot
Try to reverse engineer and understand those power pellet crucibles.
Fix the broken machine guns
Look into cloning machine gun ammo?  Probably not something we'll care about ever, but I wanna DAKKA...

Cache A: The buried death pellet furnaces, both the unopened ones and the empty opened one.
Cache B: All the unexploded bombs from the wreck, including one that's been opened and had some of the bomblets taken out.
Cache C: The rest of the loot from the wreck, buried inside crates.  Contains:

"A large number of tools (These are what you could call mundane tools like wrenches, screw drivers, plyers, and the like. There are a lot of them in different sizes and shapes but none are hugely rare or valuable on their own. Though they are admittedly well made.)"
"A pnumatic self heating rivet gun and the air compressor for it"
"A sort of 'Jaws of Life' style combination spreader and cutter. Basically a massive pnumatic pair of plyers/snips."
"3 more working machine guns, and a half dozen that are broken in some way"  ((These deal "d12 [damage], if memory serves, though they often roll multiples."))
"About 10 or so big boxes of ammo (there are a lot of loose belts around so the amount isn't exact)"
"A welding system"

Both configurations work, but the second one results in the shot sort of "Splatting" against the armor, damaging the clockwork armor somewhat before it can be nullified by the silver.

[9+2 v 7]
The thaumic rifles are far simpler than the flying machines. They take mana from the body, shuttle it down the "Veins" and redirect it out the tip. The actual conversion of mana to a "Bullet" seems to be done by a crystal of sorts within a bulge of the gold wiring  near the center of the rifle. The crystal's composition seems to be that of a normal rock crystal, but there are many tiny engravings on it; so small you can't make them out with the naked eye. Using a lens liberated from a robot's eye, you focus in and make out the words for [Force] [Fire] [Lightning], all d6, and a fourth [Dust] at d4.

Loot one or two pieces of statuary that look particularly good, looking for ones no larger than a person.  Benny should be able to carry those back to the loot pile.

Before searching the flying machine wreck, spend 50 mana to advance my Will to +3, and 30 mana to move Kno to +2, in case the spirit is hostile, to limit the potential danger it can do with ~100 mana.  If the spirit's there, it must be in something there, so check stuff by touching it with my magic senses.  Try to establish communications, and take away whatever part it's stuck in, if it isn't hostile.  Hopefully it'll be bored and want to go somewhere new.

Continue telling everyone to explore technician areas like before.  Hopefully better luck this time.

Open a couple of the new doors with the "aristocrat" key, to see what's inside.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Japanese girl with a long black braid and a white and red fitted robe with long gloves.  Clothing made of metallic thread.  Pointy, somewhat elfish ears.  Violet tinted eyes.  Visibly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light.  Missing fingernails on right hand.

Invoking Empath

Str  d6 +1
Speed  d8 +1
Endurance  d10+3
Knowledge  d8+1
Will  d10+2
Senses  d8 +1

Materials: d12 Ape, d12 Grow, d12 Strengthen, d12 Expand, d8 Bird, d6 Force, d4 Ice
Location: Ruins of Gravid.
Status: Fine.  Missing fingernails on right hand. Slightly enhanced hearing.
Temporary Effects: d8 Grow Strengthen for hearing, day 8/30.

Familiar.  "Benedict"  Cougar/red-tailed hawk, adequate flyer, garage-sized with 120ish foot wingspan.
Natural weapons d10, d10+d6 with swooooop.  5/4+1 enchantments. d6 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Grow, d10 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Bird Speed, d12 Strengthen Grow over 1 week.  Eats 3 gold/day worth of food.  Properly harnessed and well kitted out for riding and baggage.  Equipped with a steel helmet.

Str D20
Spd D6
End D12
Kno D4
Will D8
Sen D6

Expedition Status:
Saeko, Ekrov, Zavi.
3 guards, 2 in personal service.
3 assistants and workers.
Excavation tools and equipment.
22 days worth of supplies.
Key orbs: Soldier, Technician, Aristocrat
Accessable locations: unexplored: small bent path, large open room.

explored: Through soldier-locked door. leads to..
storage rooms
guard rooms
farm area
garbage disposal + magicoal furnace!
hangars
locked armouries.
more locked doors.

Loot:
8x suits of silk clothing.
8x suits of cotton clothing.
7x Thaumic sabres.
23x magic rifles
6x suits of magic armour
Broken magic armour bits.
Thaumic tools

Items:
Ghost Charm
Alchemist's Gear
Two machine guns! with lots of ammo.
94 mana
6 thaum
243 gold
d8+1 armour: The outfit, and a shield.  Weighs as if it were d4.
parachute popsicle-stick.
Sealer-suit gloves
Shield.
Adamant Weave Backpack.  Contents are magically lightened via Lightweight spell.
Waterskin
Adamant Weave Cloth.  Sufficient for an outfit or two backpacks.
5kg steel rod
Compass
Goggles
Doctor's Bag
Sealer suit material.
Surgical tools
Magic Spyglass
~250 gold value of gold and silver ingots and precious gems.

Jade tablets with d8 View, d10 Steel, and d10 Speed.

Alchemy Supplies

Stashed:
Cable-wrapped metal box of happiness.
Box of painting-golem

Notes: Improving physical stats with strengthen, d4->d6 is d6, d6->d8 is d12, d8->d10 is d20 or more.

(Default for Ekrov, help with the technician rooms, and test if the mage armour works if layered with regular armour.  Shouldn't take more than one or two mana. Look for robot weapons, too, might be some in this more secure location.)

You grab a statue of what looks like a waifish young girl playing a harp and the head of what you assume was a larger statue. You pick the head because it is simply an incredibly expressive and well done piece.

Ok. [7+1 V 6] The spirit isn't hiding in the machine so much as it seems to have been directly integrated or fused with the machine. Particularly with a partially crushed golden lantern looking thing.

Now, both you and Ekrov wanted to explore further but I'm putting that a bit on hold for two important reasons. First, the Aristocrat's key appears to be able to open every door in the entire section, with the exception of one.  The crew grabs you and Ekrov and Zavi and drags you all in to the depths of the structure. The hemisphere, as it turns out, extends deeper than they originally thought: indeed it goes hundreds of feet under the sands. They have unlocked doors to armories, to store rooms containing magicoal, and finally to what appears to be a control room of sorts. It is a vast room, shaped like a ring, which seems to encompass something even larger at its center. There are great slabs of silvered metal set into the walls, gold veined controls on plinths, what appear to be suits of black armor sitting in specially made cradles and trailing long gold cords from their heads and shoulders. It seems both ornate and functional, the sort of controls helmed by royalty or generals, not crewmen.  And the one door that is left, the one that cannot be opened by they aristocrat's key, leads to the center of this control room ring. And it bears the unmistakable symbol of a great crown. A king's door.

[syvarris]

Spoiler: RP (click to show/hide)

The evening after the crown door is found, Ekrov quietly approaches Saeko, looking worried and carrying a pair of packed bags.  He insistently tells her that he needs to show her something, in private, and if she agrees, he immediately leads her off into the ruins.  Once inside, he takes a winding path, towards no clear goal, until eventually the two of them have to climb up a rope onto the ledge of an empty hallway.  Only then does he finally sit down and rest, breathing heavily from the trip.

After a minute spent there, he sets down the light, then opens one of his packs, pulling out a sheaf of papers which he spreads across the floor.  Diagrams of clockwork limbs, annotated with dense chicken-scratch script heavy with jargon and abbreviations, drawings of thaumic devices accompanied by intricate sigils, even some drawings of Benedict--it's an eclectic mix of drawings, which Ekrov picks through carefully, shuffling and reordering the pages, though there's no clear pattern to his actions.

Eventually, he settles on one page, dominated by a single drawing of the entire thaumic flying machine he had been studying, a murderous mechanical dragonfly.  He sets the paper down between him and Saeko, then slaps both his palms down beside it with finality.

"This." he says, as if the word was some grand revelation.

"Or... what it means.  Just a day ago, I thought this was dead.  That it would never leave this place, that in all likelihood I would just finish copying the design, and then melt it.  But now, now we have fuel.  Now, now this thing can be flown out of here.  We could take it.  We could take so much from this place!  And so much of it is--is... Guh, why is this so hard to say?"

Ekrov shakes his head, clearly lost in his rant.  He makes an odd gesture beside his head, then turns it in a half circle, before sighing.

"We've just unearthed a dead army, Saeko.  Two dead armies.  I know you're happy about the find, all the riches here, but this is not good.  If we take the best, and sell it, somebody else will use it.  Weapons do not lay around and protect people by merely existing.  If we leave it, other people will find it, and then they will use it.  And if we take it, and destroy it, we've lost something that... that we won't find again.  I told you about the mage breakers, and Telcal, and... how much is wrong with the country.  What we've found here--" he stops for a moment, placing a paper with a sketch of a thaumic rifle on top of the war machine, then placing a close-up portrait of a angular robotic head atop that "--we could make an army with it.  An army that can change things."

He stops, grimacing down at the robotic head.  "But... I just... I don't know.  What I'm doing.  Right now, what I'm talking about."  He clasps the sides of his head with his hands.  "I don't even know if what I'm saying has any sense, or reason, I feel strongly about this, more strongly than I've felt about anything in a long time, and I don't even understand how I feel about it!  I have a thousand thoughts about what is sitting right in front of us, and I can't even sort through which of them are crazy, and which are obligation!  This, this is an opportunity to change the country, but what I'm saying is dangerous bordering on insanity, and yet I can't not say it!  I--I know I'm not making sense, but I need you to help me.  Help me think about this.  I'm thinking too much about it, and I just... feel more conflicted the more I think..."

[Devastator]

Spoiler: RP (click to show/hide)

I don't know about an army, Ekrov... I'm also not sure what's special about an army.  I mean, we had an army together just last month.  We took it underground to fight against an army of bug-people backed by a mage-turned giant.

The magebreakers are another army.  They're small, and have lots of magic gear, and are elite, but they're still an army.

So.. yeah, we have a lot we can change things with.  But there's something to remember about that, Ekrov.

It's people who change things, not stuff.  People are the ones who go places, they do things.  Back where I came from, nobody would look twice at a group of four powerful heroes moving around together solving problems and acting like armies in themselves.  So, what we have found here, well, what we've found is just the same thing everyone already had.  Just.. more."

<gaaaasp>

"It is dangerous, very dangerous, but it's nothing new in and of itself.  Last month there was a bug mage ruling a town and stealing fifteen people a month.  A few months back, I was crossing the wasteland, looking at the stumps of dead trees, and stayed in a town full of people just.. barely.. holding together, with each day a bit more hopeless than the last.

..And, well, before that, I was in another town.  It was a bit rougher, a bit more lively, had a bit more hope, but then a couple of mages came through town and fought each other with fire and lightning, killing many.  I did what I could then, but it wasn't enough.

..Yeah, Ekrov, I'll listen to you, but I think it's wrong to do nothing with this power.  I mean, I could have just went home to my home village, years ago, and never decided to travel.  Since I came here, I may not have been strong enough to save everyone, but I've saved many.

I mean, we can talk about what exactly to do with all this, and I'd be happy to discuss some ideas, but for right now?  I'm saying we should take this out, and bring a good amount of this back into the world.  I remember you were telling me earlier how everything in this country used to be much better when there was more magic around, and well, all this, it is magic.  Maybe we do it in small, careful ways, maybe we do a few big things, maybe we spread it around to many people, maybe we concentrate it..

But we should do something with it.  The only question is what."

[Naturegirl1999]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 hide)
 Name: Eve
Appearance: 4 ft tall female human with long hear that constantly changes color. She always wears a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She has slightly tan skin and green eyes. most of her right arm is made of aluminum, from her hand to her forearm.
Magic path: Servant Sculptor
Mana: 9
Strength: d4
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8
Senses: d8

Ongoing effects: None

Items needed for current Sculpture

1. An arrow, caught mid flight.
2. A piece of Amber containing a living thing
3. A block of Lead
4. A compass
5. Solidified Smoke.

Spirit: A silver quiver with 5 arrows that looks like a rib cage
Spirit Task: Unknown
Inventory: Doctor's bag, Thick fur shirt d4, Thick fur leggings d4, ghost charm, 100 ft of string, a pry-bar, 9 gold’s worth of food and water, Idol of Flux, 18 gold, a silver quiver thst looks like a rib cage, a bow, and 3 silver arrows.
Materials: Lightsilver, Silver, Stone, Water, Mercury, Erode, Channel

Shoot one of the arrows at the desert sand on the spot where the temple once stood

[Devastator]

Try to hug everyone, draining the NPCs.  We've struck it rich, and everyone should be happy.  Use my excessive cuteness to make sure people think it's adorable.

Take some samples for the alchemy kit.  Two vials of magicoal, some of that gold wire, and a piece of the chunks of silvered metal applied to the wall.

Help examine the room in further detail, starting with the materials of the wall, the door, the controls and the suits.  What are they made of, and can I figure out anything about what they did and how they worked?  Without trying to wear them or anything?  Something like that can wait for later.

Examine in particular looking for specific words.  Look for words for Magic, Contain, and Control.  A magicoal storeroom might be a good place for magic, and the other two might have chances with the control room, or the doors and walls of it.

As for other orders, well, haul as much magicoal up to the surface as possible, and convert 50 thaum worth of it, to get an estimate of exactly how much magicoal we're talking about.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Japanese girl with a long black braid and a white and red fitted robe with long gloves.  Clothing made of metallic thread.  Pointy, somewhat elfish ears.  Violet eyes that glow brightly.  Visibly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light.  Missing fingernails on right hand.

Invoking Empath

Str  d6 +1
Speed  d8 +1
Endurance  d10+3
Knowledge  d8+2
Will  d10+3
Senses  d8 +1

Materials: d12 Ape, d12 Grow, d12 Strengthen, d12 Expand, d8 Bird, d6 Force, d4 Ice
Location: Ruins of Gravid.
Status: Fine.  Missing fingernails on right hand. Slightly enhanced hearing.
Temporary Effects: d8 Grow Strengthen for hearing, day 9/30.

Familiar.  "Benedict"  Cougar/red-tailed hawk, adequate flyer, garage-sized with 120ish foot wingspan.
Natural weapons d10, d10+d6 with swooooop.  5/4+1 enchantments. d6 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Grow, d10 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Bird Speed, d12 Strengthen Grow over 1 week.  Eats 3 gold/day worth of food.  Properly harnessed and well kitted out for riding and baggage.  Equipped with a steel helmet.

Str D20
Spd D6
End D12
Kno D4
Will D8
Sen D6

Expedition Status:
Saeko, Ekrov, Zavi.
3 guards, 2 in personal service.
3 assistants and workers.
Excavation tools and equipment.
21 days worth of supplies.
Key orbs: Soldier, Technician, Aristocrat
Accessable locations: All of lower level of city ruins, save for king door.  Likely access to still-unexplored upper levels.

explored: Through soldier-locked door. leads to..
storage rooms
guard rooms
farm area
garbage disposal + magicoal furnace
hangars
locked armouries.
more locked doors.

Loot:
8x suits of silk clothing.
8x suits of cotton clothing.
7x Thaumic sabres.
23x magic rifles
6x suits of magic armour
Broken magic armour bits.
Thaumic tools
Art Pieces:
statuary of harp-playing waifish girl.
very fine quality evocative bust.

Items:
Ghost Charm
Alchemist's Gear
Two machine guns! with lots of ammo.
14 mana
6 thaum
243 gold
d8+1 armour: The outfit, and a shield.  Weighs as if it were d4.
parachute popsicle-stick.
Sealer-suit gloves
Shield.
Adamant Weave Backpack.  Contents are magically lightened via Lightweight spell.
Waterskin
Adamant Weave Cloth.  Sufficient for an outfit or two backpacks.
5kg steel rod
Compass
Goggles
Doctor's Bag
Sealer suit material.
Surgical tools
Magic Spyglass
~250 gold value of gold and silver ingots and precious gems.

Jade tablets with d8 View, d10 Steel, and d10 Speed.

Alchemy Supplies

Stashed:
Cable-wrapped metal box of happiness.
Box of painting-golem

Notes: Improving physical stats with strengthen, d4->d6 is d6, d6->d8 is d12, d8->d10 is d20 or more.

[piecewise]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 hide)
 Name: Eve
Appearance: 4 ft tall female human with long hear that constantly changes color. She always wears a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She has slightly tan skin and green eyes. most of her right arm is made of aluminum, from her hand to her forearm.
Magic path: Servant Sculptor
Mana: 9
Strength: d4
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8
Senses: d8

Ongoing effects: None

Items needed for current Sculpture

1. An arrow, caught mid flight.
2. A piece of Amber containing a living thing
3. A block of Lead
4. A compass
5. Solidified Smoke.

Spirit: A silver quiver with 5 arrows that looks like a rib cage
Spirit Task: Unknown
Inventory: Doctor's bag, Thick fur shirt d4, Thick fur leggings d4, ghost charm, 100 ft of string, a pry-bar, 9 gold’s worth of food and water, Idol of Flux, 18 gold, a silver quiver thst looks like a rib cage, a bow, and 3 silver arrows.
Materials: Lightsilver, Silver, Stone, Water, Mercury, Erode, Channel

Shoot one of the arrows at the desert sand on the spot where the temple once stood

The arrow strikes the ground and vanishes. A moment later the ground shakes, splits and then erupts into a geyser. A geyser of snakes.  All manner of snakes spray out of the earth and rain down on the open field, slithering away in confusion a moment later. The geyser continues to produce snakes for about a minute before slowing and finally petering out with one last garden snake punted a lazy half foot into the air.

Try to hug everyone, draining the NPCs.  We've struck it rich, and everyone should be happy.  Use my excessive cuteness to make sure people think it's adorable.

Take some samples for the alchemy kit.  Two vials of magicoal, some of that gold wire, and a piece of the chunks of silvered metal applied to the wall.

Help examine the room in further detail, starting with the materials of the wall, the door, the controls and the suits.  What are they made of, and can I figure out anything about what they did and how they worked?  Without trying to wear them or anything?  Something like that can wait for later.

Examine in particular looking for specific words.  Look for words for Magic, Contain, and Control.  A magicoal storeroom might be a good place for magic, and the other two might have chances with the control room, or the doors and walls of it.

As for other orders, well, haul as much magicoal up to the surface as possible, and convert 50 thaum worth of it, to get an estimate of exactly how much magicoal we're talking about.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Japanese girl with a long black braid and a white and red fitted robe with long gloves.  Clothing made of metallic thread.  Pointy, somewhat elfish ears.  Violet eyes that glow brightly.  Visibly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light.  Missing fingernails on right hand.

Invoking Empath

Str  d6 +1
Speed  d8 +1
Endurance  d10+3
Knowledge  d8+2
Will  d10+3
Senses  d8 +1

Materials: d12 Ape, d12 Grow, d12 Strengthen, d12 Expand, d8 Bird, d6 Force, d4 Ice
Location: Ruins of Gravid.
Status: Fine.  Missing fingernails on right hand. Slightly enhanced hearing.
Temporary Effects: d8 Grow Strengthen for hearing, day 9/30.

Familiar.  "Benedict"  Cougar/red-tailed hawk, adequate flyer, garage-sized with 120ish foot wingspan.
Natural weapons d10, d10+d6 with swooooop.  5/4+1 enchantments. d6 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Grow, d10 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Bird Speed, d12 Strengthen Grow over 1 week.  Eats 3 gold/day worth of food.  Properly harnessed and well kitted out for riding and baggage.  Equipped with a steel helmet.

Str D20
Spd D6
End D12
Kno D4
Will D8
Sen D6

Expedition Status:
Saeko, Ekrov, Zavi.
3 guards, 2 in personal service.
3 assistants and workers.
Excavation tools and equipment.
21 days worth of supplies.
Key orbs: Soldier, Technician, Aristocrat
Accessable locations: All of lower level of city ruins, save for king door.  Likely access to still-unexplored upper levels.

explored: Through soldier-locked door. leads to..
storage rooms
guard rooms
farm area
garbage disposal + magicoal furnace
hangars
locked armouries.
more locked doors.

Loot:
8x suits of silk clothing.
8x suits of cotton clothing.
7x Thaumic sabres.
23x magic rifles
6x suits of magic armour
Broken magic armour bits.
Thaumic tools
Art Pieces:
statuary of harp-playing waifish girl.
very fine quality evocative bust.

Items:
Ghost Charm
Alchemist's Gear
Two machine guns! with lots of ammo.
14 mana
6 thaum
243 gold
d8+1 armour: The outfit, and a shield.  Weighs as if it were d4.
parachute popsicle-stick.
Sealer-suit gloves
Shield.
Adamant Weave Backpack.  Contents are magically lightened via Lightweight spell.
Waterskin
Adamant Weave Cloth.  Sufficient for an outfit or two backpacks.
5kg steel rod
Compass
Goggles
Doctor's Bag
Sealer suit material.
Surgical tools
Magic Spyglass
~250 gold value of gold and silver ingots and precious gems.

Jade tablets with d8 View, d10 Steel, and d10 Speed.

Alchemy Supplies

Stashed:
Cable-wrapped metal box of happiness.
Box of painting-golem

Notes: Improving physical stats with strengthen, d4->d6 is d6, d6->d8 is d12, d8->d10 is d20 or more.

[2+3v2]
You manage to gather 72 mana via hugging the entire group.

The gold wire is easy, as are the chunks of silver wire, but the magicoal is a bit more difficult. According to the crew the magicoal is separated into two groups; the first group is the small storage, where small amounts were stored together, and the large storage, the great piles of it that were just left in a room.  Small storage is fine still, easily gathered, but the large storage stuff has become unstable and partially fused over time into what amounts to a tenuously stable pile of arcane energy. Attempts to take pieces from it carelessly could result in a cascade event where one piece loses its physical integrity, causing others around it to do so as well.  The resulting release of energy would be catastrophic, both in terms of conventional damage a likely in terms of damage to reality in the area.  They recommend slow excavation or draining over time. You take one of the stable pieces from small storage for the moment.

[4+2v10]
You and the team examine the room in detail, looking for clues and information. The walls here seem to be made of the same black stone but compressed or hardened. Unlike the stone from before which had a sort of velvet like texture, this stuff is hard and crystalline. Probably significantly more robust, if you had to guess. All the structural things are made of it, but the other objects aren't. The silvered panels feel like they're similar to the silver armor in a way, while the suits are made of precious metals and ornate lacquer plates.  As to how any of these controls function or what the suits are for, you're not sure.

[6+1v19] No luck.

In terms of the small stores of magicoal, the following numbers are what I'm gonna give ya.
1. Each chunk of coal is about 1kg
2. Each chunk contains roughly 30 or so mana/thaum (3d20)
3. There are at max about 70 chunks of coal per barrel of it, though actual amount in them varies and is generally more in the 30-50 range (3d20+10)
4. There are, so far, 17 barrels that have been found.

Barrel 1: 46 pieces.

Converting first piece: 34 mana
Second: 50.

Total: 84

Barrel 1: 44 pieces left.

[Radio Controlled]

With some rough hammering and straps you manage to convert the nonfitting d8 armor to semi-fitted d6 armor. Its not perfect, but its better than running around with his tail feathers in the wind.

Just pay the local armorsmith to turn it into a fitted d8 then.

Going by readings from the compass now, and what you remember of it in Alkahest, you think the last artifact is in one of two places: Offa Helmonth or Balneum Mariae.

After that, go check out the closest of those two locations for the final piece.

Spoiler: Darwin Zeppeli (click to show/hide)

Name: Darwin Zeppeli
Appearance: An old medicine man.

Magic path: alchemist gut-reader
Strength: d4
Speed: d6->d8 + 1
Endurance: d6->d8 + 2
Knowledge: d10
Will: d8 + 2
Senses: d10 + 1

Mana: 39
2 bottles with 10 thaum each (20 total)
Ongoing effects: None


Magical materials

Vacuum!
Reanimate
Sharpen
Viscera
Diamond
Rope

Inventory

1 sedated bugman

dissection knife: d4
Springy metal knive: d6
Springy metal sword: d6
Springy metal halberd: d8
Curved blade: d6
Icepick: d4
gun: d8 [50 rounds left]
9 smokebombs
thaumic bomb (currently empty)

Ecalir's old armor: d8 (in use)
shield (+1 to protective rolls from armor)
Sealer Suit: d4 (vs magic)

Alchemist’s Gear
423 gold 
2 silver
Octopus core
15 kg black biometal

A glass slab with a topographical map of the kingdom carved into it
a bottle of glowing blue sea water, inside protective box with lock
a glass orb with barely visible lotus inside of it, inside staff assembly.
magic coin
Small book
magic compass + map
Gimbal that points towards diamonds (range around 100 meter)

book on normal plants and animals
book on magical plants and animals/creatures
handbook on making weapons&armor, including a list of known types
a detailed account of the Artifacter war
map of the old world
good quality book&pen
good history book
series of good maps of area around Alkahest and the volcano

Paradox snail (inside jar) and things to keep them happy and fed, linked to Ecalir
Extra pair of paradox snails
Doctor's bag
set of ingredients (plants, chemicals and the like) for making poisons or antidotes (21 uses left)
High quality backpack
donkey named Yvonne for carrying
Zomboraptor head
Lantern
several hundred feet of rope
climbing crampons
a grappling hook
iron stakes
net made of rope
several vials with imp fat
20 vials
2x Collapsible rod
10 oil flasks
300 feet of really big, thick, strong rope
100 feet of metal chain
box of metal spikes
pair of binoculars
4 boxes of rags
Medium armor: d6 (not in use)
2 sets of digging tools (for Darwin + Ecalir)
Extra digging tools (for hired workers)
tarps, paint, and other stuff we can use to camouflage things with
17 leather skins (30 gold worth)
2 doses of fast-working anesthetic for knocking out humans

[Egan_BW]

Drain a chunk of magicoal from the small storage to test if I get the same rate of mana from it as conversion to Thaum (3d20).
If so, eat a full barrel of 70 chunks for 210d20 mana and spend 1420 mana maxing my stats to +5 each.

Spoiler: Zavi (click to show/hide)

Name: Zavirius En-Drani Haver, Painter
Appearance: A girl of unknown but apparently foreign descent. She claims to be the last surviving member of a long-dead ancient race, kept preserved in some kind of magical stasis, but this is likely untrue. Though her skin is a strange shade not normally seen on the continent, and her hair is bleached white with a slight green reflective tint. She is not very tall but stout like a dwarf and startlingly strong. She's wearing a red gambeson, gray pants, metal bracers, shin guards and a sallet helm.
Mana: 5
Method: Flesh-Inscribed Channel
Materials: Lightweight, Explosion, Toxic, Lightning, Sunlight
Strength: d10+1
Speed: d8+2
Endurance: d6+2
Knowledge: d8+1
Will: d8+1
Senses: d6+1

Ongoing effects: Permanently immune to nerve gas

Inventory:
160 Gold
Backpack
Tattoo kit
Paints and brushes
Medium Armor (d6)
Kite Shield (d6)
Long Sword (d6)
Catch Pole
3 Small Bombs
Manacles
1-mana/shot explosion powered rifle.

Silver axe-helm.

Salt the Condor-Winged Baboon
Strength: d8
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Knowledge: d4
Will: d4
Senses: d6

Small bag

In Alcahest:

Wooden Arm-Guards (d4 armor)
Hemp sack
Kukri (d6 weapon)
Square-tip machete

[syvarris]

((Edit:  This was in response to Egan's original action of going and carefully draining the big pile of mana.))

"Zavi!  No!" Ekrov shouts, rushing in front of her and holding his arms out wide.  His voice quavers, filled with much more fear than one would expect.  "Just, please, no!  Not yet!  You can go take mana from the barrels, but, just---don't touch the pile, please!  It's dangerous, it could kill us all, more than that--it could damage reality!  You can drain it, later, you can have all the mana you want, but please, let us be careful and think about it, first!"

[Devastator]

Use 30 mana to up senses to +2.

This turn examine the now-opened armouries, and recover any interesting looking weapons and armour.  Also look specifically to see if I can find a word for something like Weapon, Armour, or Protect.  Check for other things too, such as armoury tools, they might have offensive words on them if I can't find the preferred ones.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Japanese girl with a long black braid and a white and red fitted robe with long gloves.  Clothing made of metallic thread.  Pointy, somewhat elfish ears.  Violet eyes that glow brightly.  Visibly glowing with a pinkish-purplish light.  Missing fingernails on right hand.

Invoking Empath

Str  d6 +1
Speed  d8 +1
Endurance  d10+3
Knowledge  d8+2
Will  d10+3
Senses  d8 +1

Materials: d12 Ape, d12 Grow, d12 Strengthen, d12 Expand, d8 Bird, d6 Force, d4 Ice
Location: Ruins of Gravid.
Status: Fine.  Missing fingernails on right hand. Slightly enhanced hearing.
Temporary Effects: d8 Grow Strengthen for hearing, day 9/30.

Familiar.  "Benedict"  Cougar/red-tailed hawk, adequate flyer, garage-sized with 120ish foot wingspan.
Natural weapons d10, d10+d6 with swooooop.  5/4+1 enchantments. d6 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Grow, d10 Strengthen Grow, d8 Strengthen Bird Speed, d12 Strengthen Grow over 1 week.  Eats 3 gold/day worth of food.  Properly harnessed and well kitted out for riding and baggage.  Equipped with a steel helmet.

Str D20
Spd D6
End D12
Kno D4
Will D8
Sen D6

Expedition Status:
Saeko, Ekrov, Zavi.
3 guards, 2 in personal service.
3 assistants and workers.
Excavation tools and equipment.
21 days worth of supplies.
Key orbs: Soldier, Technician, Aristocrat
Accessable locations: All of lower level of city ruins, save for king door.  Likely access to still-unexplored upper levels.

explored: Through soldier-locked door. leads to..
storage rooms
guard rooms
farm area
garbage disposal + magicoal furnace
hangars
locked armouries.
more locked doors.

Loot:
8x suits of silk clothing.
8x suits of cotton clothing.
7x Thaumic sabres.
23x magic rifles
6x suits of magic armour
Broken magic armour bits.
Thaumic tools
Art Pieces:
statuary of harp-playing waifish girl.
very fine quality evocative bust.

17 barrels of magicoal. 3d20+10 pieces each, each containing 3d20 mana.
first barrel has 44 chunks.

Items:
Ghost Charm
Alchemist's Gear
Two machine guns! with lots of ammo.
86 mana
90 thaum
243 gold
d8+1 armour: The outfit, and a shield.  Weighs as if it were d4.
parachute popsicle-stick.
Sealer-suit gloves
Shield.
Adamant Weave Backpack.  Contents are magically lightened via Lightweight spell.
Waterskin
Adamant Weave Cloth.  Sufficient for an outfit or two backpacks.
5kg steel rod
Compass
Goggles
Doctor's Bag
Sealer suit material.
Surgical tools
Magic Spyglass
~250 gold value of gold and silver ingots and precious gems.

Jade tablets with d8 View, d10 Steel, and d10 Speed.

Alchemy Supplies

Stashed:
Cable-wrapped metal box of happiness.
Box of painting-golem

Notes: Improving physical stats with strengthen, d4->d6 is d6, d6->d8 is d12, d8->d10 is d20 or more.

[Egan_BW]

"Was gonna look at it first, obviously. I don't think anyone here but me can safely deal with it."

[syvarris]

"..Yeah, probably.  I'm not really sure, we only just realized the scale of it, I haven't had time to think about it.  But--yes, it needs to be dealt with, we can't just leave a reality bomb sitting here, but, it's been sitting here for decades.  It can wait, for a few days.  There's no harm in being careful, in being sure that we don't kill ourselves.  Right?  There's no sense in defusing a dormant bomb, when you might be risking setting it off early."

He forces a weak smile, which falters and dies almost immediately.

[Egan_BW]

Zavi crosses her arms, looking a little annoyed. "So what you're saying is that you want to go look at it yourself first, and then let me look at it."

[syvarris]

"Actually, I'd rather we both look at it.  Or, really, I want to see you channel--see how you channel, from stable magicoal, first.  I don't understand your abilities fully, nor do I understand the magicoal fully, and I just--I don't know if it's safe.  I know, you're a mage breaker, you have special training that I don't know about, but--please?  There's no cost to just draining the barrels first, to be safe, and it would give me peace of mind.  I--I know you don't care for my peace of mind, but... we're working together here, right?  There's no harm in it?"