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[Glass]

1: Fuck glamor.
2: Our Calculation is only 55%. I don’t think that’s enough.
3: I’m not sure our skill with divination is good enough to try this and expect good results.

Oh well. I say we just stay out of it with 4.

[brewer bob]

Yeah, I think I'll choose to stay out, so 4. (Though, I'm tempted to give 2 a shot.)

Edit: Changed to 3

[Maximum Spin]

Lol, why did it decide to give us a free boost to something we not only never use but just SAID we'll never use.

I feel like we should give 3 a shot, more because I want to practice divination in a way that hopefully won't get us killed.

[brewer bob]

Sure, I'll switch to 3.

[Yellow Pixel]

4

[King Zultan]

3

[Enemy post]

Divination.

You try casting divinations that connect one old noble to another, exposing their worst secrets.

Unfortunately, you can't quite disentangle yourself from the divination webs you weave, and so your targets learn your secrets as well. The primary thing they learn is that you have far more power than you have yet displayed at court, including abilities such as glamors that could make fools of them or wreck them. (Increased Vilification.)

The nobles learn each other's dirty secrets as well, which leads to a mild bit of chaos as trade wars erupt in the kingdom.

Queen Thecla is not pleased with you. (Decreased Thecla Relationship.)

At least you know what you did wrong. (Gained Divination.)

An assassin does soon show up in your bedroom during the night. An automatic alarm you created goes off, and you wake up to find a man in a tight-fitting black outfit with a curved dagger, who has presumably picked the lock to your room. How do you deal with this character in a way that will stop further such attempts?

1.Cast a negation bolt, preserving the head to show later.
2.Cast a glamor and ask the assassin to lead me to the noble paying him.
3.Run the assassin through, then cast a divination to learn who hired him.

The primary thing they learn is that you have...abilities such as glamors.

lol.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Royal Sorcerer Foo

Appearance

A bookish, spectacled man wearing a shimmering cloak and a noble duelist's uniform

Magic
  Negation:8
  Automation:11
  Glamor:2
  Divination:5
  Vivomancy:12

Skills
Ancient History: 8 (Fantastic)
Fighting: 1 (Bad)
Subtlety: 3 (Decent)
Charisma: 7 (Excellent)

Personality
Optimism:60%/Caution:40%   
Humor:49%/Solemnity:51%   
Empathy:45%/Calculation:55%   

Relationships
Romances (Interested romantically, but not sexually, in men and women)
Tal

Tal: 56 (Good)
Cos: 46 (Bad)
Sam: 75 (Great)
Vera: 54 (Fine)
Thecla: 49 (Bad)
Church: 31 (Bad)

Kingdom

Kingdom Power: 2 (Decent)
Adoration: 51%/Vilification: 49%

Inventory
Gold: 677 gold
Sword
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Clutch of Dragon Eggs
History Book, True Life of Abraxas
Golem Manual

Students
Blessed Sam

Pets
Verdigris the Baby Dragon

The Dead
The Academy Inquisitor

Plot Points

Chapter 1

You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You killed the inquisitor with negation magic.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You animated a serving tray to retrieve an alchemy set, but in the process, you released some dangerous chemicals.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You destroyed the specter.
You obtained a clutch of dragon eggs from the crow's nest of an ancient airship.
It became clear that the spilled chemicals were going to consume the whole academy.

Chapter 2


You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
You created two horses and freed them in the woods.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that those who follow orders regularly are more likely to be glamored.
You learned the location of the Magisterian capital from True Life of Abraxas.
You met a hat seller but bought nothing from her.
You allowed a thief to steal from Fruitseller Fran.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You kissed Tal.
You restarted the automated mine that was the dodecapede's lair.
You restarted Akriton's giant fans after the death cloud passed.
Cos and you agreed that you would secretly work for Akriton.
Though you thought you kept a low profile, you heard inquisitors are coming to town anyway.

Chapter 3

Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You waited until the inquisitors left.
The old man revealed himself to be Mayor Cos, who is a shapeshifter.
You went to a House of Sun service, led by Blessed Sam.
In the middle, your vivomancy disguise wore off, but Blessed Sam did not take any action to pursue you.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.

Chapter 4

You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you sneaked into the basement.
You found a university student held in the Cathedral dungeon—the last mage left there.
You decided to leave the student in the cell.
You found a secret passage that avoided a somewhat terrifying room.
You found a room that looked similar to a vision of a pleasant afterlife.
You found the Cathedral's library.
You found an old statue of Abraxas that promised to answer questions about the Church.
You learned that an item called the Great Oracle lies in the Magisterian palace, and that it could be used to join all minds into one.
You learned some designs that may help scour the sky from True Life of Abraxas.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that Abraxas became an immortal specter, and that you might become one yourself given enough negative energy.
The hierophant came to make an offer of sainthood to you.
Inquisitors and Church guards pursued you out of the capital.
You escaped the Cathedral and headed home.

Chapter 5

You blasted all but one of the guards pursuing you, leaving the lone survivor to report that you are not to be trifled with.
You headed back to Akriton.
On returning to the market, you discovered it had burned down due to a lightning strike.
Tal's house was marked for destruction by the Twilight Band, a group of shapeshifter haters.
The queen offered you a position as an advisor, which you accepted.

Chapter 6


You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became the official court wizard for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
Spymaster Dol reported sightings of the Neighbors' airships near the Negative Sea.
The queen asked you to determine in what ways the kingdom should adopt magic to stay competitive with the Magisterians.
Blessed Sam became Blessed Advisor Sam when you arrived at court.
You recommended using vivomancy-created beasts to supply the kingdom's labor and enhance its military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.

[King Zultan]

1

[brewer bob]

1

The primary thing they learn is that you have...abilities such as glamors.

lol.

Haha, I guess the nobles didn't learn so much about us after all.

[BlackPaladin99]

1

[Glass]

I knew it was a bad idea.

Yeah, yeah, 1. Nobody’s going to be happy, but we won’t be dead.

EDIT: Dear God, we lost a fuckton of our reputation from that play. Down from 60% adoration to 51%. And I’m willing to bet we’re going to lose more right now.

[Yellow Pixel]

1

[Enemy post]

Negation.

"Nihilo!" The assassin's body disintegrates, leaving just the head. You bring it to the next meeting of the queen's court. It sends an intimidating message that puts the assassination attempts to an end. (Increased Vilification.)

You see Blessed Advisor Sam around the palace occasionally, but he seems to always recall a reason to head in a different direction, and you never talk to him outside the throne room.

You soon receive a letter from Mayor Cos detailing what has happened in Akriton since you left.

The streets have actually been overrun with wild pigs and sheep, which have bred at an alarming rate thanks to your magic. It seems one can hardly walk out the door without tripping over a farm animal. Some Akritonians are going broke trying to feed strays, while others roast up any animals they can find. "It's a zoo around here," Mayor Cos says, and you can imagine him trying to keep a straight face as he writes this.

One day near the end of winter, Tal bursts into the throne room, out of breath, causing all the courtiers to stare.

Tal is panting for breath, still dusty from the road. She didn't dress for an audience—in fact, she still has Noodles tied around her waist.

"A big airship," Tal says between breaths. "Of the Neighbors. East of Akriton. I rode here as fast as I could."

You're slightly embarrassed that you didn't think to establish some kind of divination link with Tal, now that you two have nothing to hide from each other. You will do so in the future.

"Did it attack?" the queen says, rising from her throne.

Tal shakes her head. "I think it was…testing us. Like a cat jumping on the table, seeing whether you'll shoo it away."

"What did it look like?" Queen Thecla asks, and Tal goes on to describe a sleek, rounded vessel with a flat bottom and four long, equally spaced black poles protruding from its sides and top.

"They're essentially giant wands of negation," you say. "The warships of the ancients were equipped with them."

After Tal gives a detailed report, the queen dictates some instructions to messengers bound for towns near the Negative Sea. Tal turns to leave, but Queen Thecla invites her and you to dinner instead. "You will risk your life many times over in the months ahead," the queen says gravely. "The least I can do is feed you."

Unsurprisingly, Tal did not pack any dresses fit for dinner with a queen, but Queen Thecla arranges for one of her ladies-in-waiting with an appropriately slender build to lend Tal something suitably elaborate.

Tal arrives at dinner in a cream-colored dress with a high collar, bell sleeves, and a crinolette-stiffened skirt. On her head she wears a black-feathered fascinator. She looks beautiful and miserable.

The queen wears a crinoline-stiffened crimson dress with a black corset that looks even more uncomfortable, but she seems perfectly at home as she takes her seat.

The three of you dine in a small, windowless private dining room lit by a crystal chandelier. A couple guards stand watch by the exits.

You wonder whether the queen would be so incautious if she knew Tal was a shapeshifter. You don't know the queen's feelings about the matter, but some famous historical assassinations were carried out by those magically enhanced descendants of the Magisterians.

Over the course of the long meal, Tal picks at one strange offering after another, but dutifully eats the sous vide eggs, the mushroom sorbet, and even the head cheese in mole sauce. Somehow the cook must have heard Tal was "adventurous" and thought the term applied to her eating habits.

You, on the other hand, think the food is delicious.

Queen Thecla and Tal exchange pleasantries and talk a little about their families, but they aren't really connecting.

Then the queen relates an anecdote from her childhood that ends with, "Of course, I didn't really have any friends then, besides my nanny and my stuffed bear."

Tal perks up at this. "What was the bear's name?"

"Bear Bearson." The queen shrugs and smiles. "I still have him, in my bedroom closet. Couldn't bear to part with him, I guess."

You exchange a surprised look with Tal. Did that just happen?

The queen just laughs—not at her own terrible pun, you gather, but at the look on your faces. Tal chuckles and shakes her head, wondering why she was so nervous before. Slowly the room begins to thaw.

"I have a stuffed animal, myself," Tal says. "Noodles the monkey."

"I saw," the queen says. "You were wearing him around your waist when you delivered your report."

Tal blushes at this. "I…wear him for good luck," she mutters, now awkward again.

This seems like your chance to intervene.

1.Animate the two stuffed animals and introduce them to each other.
2.Animate Bear Bearson, but save Tal the embarrassment of animating Noodles.
3.Bring up how tired Tal must be, helping her escape the dinner faster.

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Royal Sorcerer Foo

Appearance

A bookish, spectacled man wearing a shimmering cloak and a noble duelist's uniform

Magic
  Negation:8
  Automation:11
  Glamor:2
  Divination:5
  Vivomancy:12

Skills
Ancient History: 8 (Fantastic)
Fighting: 1 (Bad)
Subtlety: 3 (Decent)
Charisma: 7 (Excellent)

Personality
Optimism:60%/Caution:40%   
Humor:49%/Solemnity:51%   
Empathy:45%/Calculation:55%   

Relationships
Romances (Interested romantically, but not sexually, in men and women)
Tal

Tal: 56 (Good)
Cos: 46 (Bad)
Sam: 75 (Great)
Vera: 54 (Fine)
Thecla: 49 (Bad)
Church: 31 (Bad)

Kingdom

Kingdom Power: 2 (Decent)
Adoration: 46%/Vilification: 54%

Inventory
Gold: 677 gold
Sword
Alchemy Set
Torc of Life and Death
Clutch of Dragon Eggs
History Book, True Life of Abraxas
Golem Manual

Students
Blessed Sam

Pets
Verdigris the Baby Dragon

The Dead
The Academy Inquisitor

Plot Points

Chapter 1

You and Tal stumbled on an ancient magic academy.
You discovered a book of vivomancy, and an inquisitor chased you.
You found an ancient dueling ground.
You killed the inquisitor with negation magic.
You explored the academy library.
A divination revealed a potential ally in the form of a golem, so you took a manual on the operation of golems from the library.
You animated a serving tray to retrieve an alchemy set, but in the process, you released some dangerous chemicals.
You found a laboratory with a trapped specter.
You destroyed the specter.
You obtained a clutch of dragon eggs from the crow's nest of an ancient airship.
It became clear that the spilled chemicals were going to consume the whole academy.

Chapter 2


You flew up the coast of the Negative Sea back to Akriton.
You created two horses and freed them in the woods.
You made your parents think your finds in the academy were purely of historical interest.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that those who follow orders regularly are more likely to be glamored.
You learned the location of the Magisterian capital from True Life of Abraxas.
You met a hat seller but bought nothing from her.
You allowed a thief to steal from Fruitseller Fran.
You agreed to hunt a dodecapede with Tal.
You kissed Tal.
You restarted the automated mine that was the dodecapede's lair.
You restarted Akriton's giant fans after the death cloud passed.
Cos and you agreed that you would secretly work for Akriton.
Though you thought you kept a low profile, you heard inquisitors are coming to town anyway.

Chapter 3

Two inquisitors came to your door: the more aggressive Blessed Jacob, and the kinder Blessed Sam.
An old man intervened, claiming you weren't home.
You waited until the inquisitors left.
The old man revealed himself to be Mayor Cos, who is a shapeshifter.
You went to a House of Sun service, led by Blessed Sam.
In the middle, your vivomancy disguise wore off, but Blessed Sam did not take any action to pursue you.
Blessed Sam asked you to heal his pet dragon, Thomas.
You agreed and healed Sam's dragon.
You offered to teach Sam vivomancy, and he agreed.

Chapter 4

You rode to the capital in a wagon with Sam and Jacob.
While Sam and Jacob fought, you sneaked into the basement.
You found a university student held in the Cathedral dungeon—the last mage left there.
You decided to leave the student in the cell.
You found a secret passage that avoided a somewhat terrifying room.
You found a room that looked similar to a vision of a pleasant afterlife.
You found the Cathedral's library.
You found an old statue of Abraxas that promised to answer questions about the Church.
You learned that an item called the Great Oracle lies in the Magisterian palace, and that it could be used to join all minds into one.
You learned some designs that may help scour the sky from True Life of Abraxas.
You read in True Life of Abraxas that Abraxas became an immortal specter, and that you might become one yourself given enough negative energy.
The hierophant came to make an offer of sainthood to you.
Inquisitors and Church guards pursued you out of the capital.
You escaped the Cathedral and headed home.

Chapter 5

You blasted all but one of the guards pursuing you, leaving the lone survivor to report that you are not to be trifled with.
You headed back to Akriton.
On returning to the market, you discovered it had burned down due to a lightning strike.
Tal's house was marked for destruction by the Twilight Band, a group of shapeshifter haters.
The queen offered you a position as an advisor, which you accepted.

Chapter 6


You returned to the capital, summoned by the queen for an interview.
You became the official court wizard for the queen.
You moved into the royal palace.
Spymaster Dol reported sightings of the Neighbors' airships near the Negative Sea.
The queen asked you to determine in what ways the kingdom should adopt magic to stay competitive with the Magisterians.
Blessed Sam became Blessed Advisor Sam when you arrived at court.
You recommended using vivomancy-created beasts to supply the kingdom's labor and enhance its military.
You told the queen glamors were not worth the health risks.
Over dinner with Tal and the queen, you learned of the queen's childhood stuffed animal, Bear Bearson.

[Glass]

2
Let’s not embarrass Tal.

[brewer bob]

2