11
[Initiative:]Luna's Vestige (syvarris): 76
Skylord (Devastator): 74
Heavenly Clerk (Fluffe9911): 73
Ignorance's Witch (Egan_BW): 67
Golden Flare (Lenglon): 23+20-20=23
Outsider Spider Legs: 26, 47, 38=26
Cast twice: "Anzakreave Wendelnelve."
The spell's Words are the same either way, but you wonder just how consistent a given spell can be, either way. With Essences, perhaps you could attain more reliability, but nonetheless...
(Power: 2)
(Control: 1+1=2)
A tiny spinning disk of purple is flicked out from your hand, and another from the shadow. You note that the intended directionality is
not conformed to, at all, though there's enough eggs that the disks hit, regardless - and accomplish nothing.
(Power: 6)
(Control: 2+1-1=2)
On your second attempt, the power you beckon swells immensely, and your control, slightly fatigued, does not handle it well.
If you were trying to
aim, that would have been an issue, but other than 'in that general direction and not at the Clerk', your requirements aren't that strict.
That doesn't mean you ignore it when the primary disk and the shadow-disk fly off in completely different directions. At the very least, each of
these manage to embed themselves wholly in a pair of Outsider-eggs, breaking the wretched shell and leaving them to melt into malice-laden but inanimate fog.
Two down, and if you had more control, perhaps you could have curved the shot through several more eggs.
But what can be done to increase your control, short of working with Watermelon to grow your capacity?
"I'd like to capture you, but I don't have the time. I'll just put you out of your misery."
Activate Form Augmentation.
Destroy the final leg. Use the whip wrapped around it to drag it closer, and then stomp the leg out of existance.
Then go into the nest. If I fail to destroy the leg, make a second attack.
Okay, enough playing around. This thing hasn't been much of a threat - not for lack of trying - but that doesn't mean it isn't an Outsider. Time to end this.
(Reel: 5+1+1+1=8)
(Might: 6)
The evil thing fights with all its might to not get dragged in. You're stronger, though. What's it gonna do, when your form swells with the might of your soul?
(Fatality: 6+1+1+1+1=10)
(Resilience:
N/A)
You grab the leg and slam it into the ground. A spiderweb of cracks echo out from underneath the dream-pavement. Your excessive force pays off, the leg is vaporized. Really, it can only be described as absolutely annihilated. It gives up the ghost, the black haze dissipating.
You get up, ready to go - but you note from the corner of your eye, a small black crystal has been left behind in the wake of the last leg of that spider-fiend. From what you can see, it's like there's a living shadow within the crystal, a microscopic fruit of misery.
"Minor dream shard detected. Purging Outsider residue."With a flash of green-splintered-dreaming light, the crystal's black coloration fades, replaced with something clear, that you can see through on a tangible level. On the metaphysical level, however, the crystal is brimming with potential.
"Purge successful. Structure can be harvested from the pure shard to expand your soul's capacity. Some trace of the conceptual elements that made that Outsider distinct remain. Those elements could instead be extracted to allow for the use of additional Words."[Minor Dream shard: consume to either grant all Defenders +2 Progression, or grant all Defenders access to the Words Sshyths and Shabliis.]Fantastic. With this, everyone can get stronger. You pocket the shard, then rush through the portal.
"AHHH! OH JEEZ OH JEEZZZZ! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFFFFFFF!!!"
GET THIS EVIL VINE OFF ME AHHHHHHHH
Aaaa, Progenitors, there's an
evil vine on your legs! Get it off! Get it offffff! It's an Outsider plot!
(Might: 6)
With strength you didn't know you had, you trip the roots off you, jump to your feet, and crash headfirst into the cavern wall. It doesn't hurt, surprisingly.
Maybe you're secretly invincible!
... or, more realistically, it's hard for something so mundane to threaten a hero like you.
You look back at the Outsider vine that surely was out to strangle you, only to find a mass of comparatively mundane leatherlike roots. Somehow, that doesn't seem like something an Outsider would create. Maybe it's the lack of a hateful aura of malice.
Skylord arrives through the portal just in time to not see you struggling with mundane roots.
Ignorance's W̸͕̾̓i̷͔̅t̶̖̘͈̏͗̆c̸̟͖͗̀̐̑h̵̥͓͎͔̄̚
Ignorance flops the bat around in her hands, getting a feel for its weight and cold and staring into the eye of the carp within.
"I consider this an unmitigated success. Nice to meet you! Do you have a name? I'm going to call you Bob. Okay Bob let's kill some outsiders! You'll help me out, right?"
Make friends with Bob! Charge into the portal and break shit with my bat! And cast Yeqselq Gurbylert Izx!
Bob the fish seems nice and ready to inflict incredible violence onto entirely deserving Outsiders. You're not sure what he's going to do, really, but he does come with a pretty nice waterbat to smack things with.
Golden Flare looks to be trying something fancy, but you're not quite so invested in waiting around, when there's a Nest to clear.
(Power: 4)
(Control: 3+1=4)
According to your newfound affinity for fish, a pair of fins vaguely resembling ears materialize atop your head. Well, to be precise, the fins are attached to a mesh of tiny tentacles that promptly embed themselves painlessly into your skull, but after that they're your head-fins. You can even flick them around a bit, and feel the flow of the air with them.
Though you swear they're getting longer.
Well, that's neat and all, and your camaraderie with Bob only grows, but you have a portal to leap into. So you do that, and arrive in a miserable cavern full of the evilest eggs you've ever seen. Luna's Vestige and the Heavenly Clerk are there too, and Skylord with her vine-whip.
Now the question is what you're all going to do about these eggs.
Alright, time to try something.
I first take a moment to plan out my next spells carefullly
I don't have the ability to use enough words at once to do this all in one go, but I think there's two ways I can try to get around that. The first one is to make the base object first, then modify it. The second way is to try to craft the spell slowly, and see if I can delay it resolving while I build up power and words for it slowly. Luckilly, I think I can test both at once. I'll try to stretch this spell out, but if it has to resolve at the midway point that'll be fine.
Now then, first I need to image what I'm making. I think the way the words work is the power is shaped by the words sequentially, so I start with the most basic aspects and build it up as I construct the spell. In which case I think I know what word order to use.
Finally, the image. I'm making a firearm out of bronze, starting with the base shape of the weapon and then modifying it further until it is ready for purpose. So I need a long and narrow bronze cylinder, with mechanisms to manipulate the gunpowder and shot that will be housed within.
And now, lets do this. I'm going to try to cast this single multi-word spell slowly, giving myself time to regain energy so that I can make it take extra words by casting over multiple turns, but if it needs to resolve right away, then that's fine.
First, the base material of the weapon, bronze.
"Magi-"
Then that material needs to be shaped into the barrel of the weapon it will eventually become.
"Renne-"
Third, it needs to be prepared to handle and manipulate the gunpowder it will contain, and pre-loaded with a small charge
"Gengae-"
Ignorance gives herself fin-ears and jumps into the Nest portal. Were those fins burrowing into her skull?
Right, moving on.
(Heart: 5)
You have something new in mind, and chant each Word in sequence, but without letting them become separate spells.
(Power: 4)
(Control: 6)
For once, it feels like the magic is on your side. You can feel it building up, but you make it clear to yourself, you're not done.
Nothing manifests, but the magic hangs in the air. At least for now, you can continue the spell. If whatever force you're calling upon slips, the Words will complete whether you want them to or not.
Still, this is fantastic progress.
[The Nest's eggs will hatch in [2 Turns].]
H_HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
H___HH_H______HH##H
H_H______H_H##HHH#H
H_H_H_HHHH_H##__HHH
H_H_H____H_H_HH__HH
H_H___HH___H___H_HH
H___H_HH_##HH_HH_HH
HHHHH_HHH##___HH###
HHH___H#HH_HH__##*#
H___H_HHHH__H_HH###
H_H_H_______H_HHH_H
H_HHHH_HHH_HH___H_H
H___H____H_HHHH_H_H
HWWWH_HH_H_HH__###H
HW@W__HH______H#*#H
HWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Houses have been marked in H. They may be traversed by breaking through them. Assessment: moderate-high risk. Broken houses are italicized, and may be traversed with reduced risk.
Roads have been marked in _. By default, your party may traverse 4 road areas per [Turn], at a steady pace. Assessment: low risk.
Obfuscated, unknown areas have been marked in #. Assessment: unknown risk.
Intangible Outsider webbing has been marked by W. Assessment: high risk.
Nest has been marked by N. Assessment: high risk.
Key areas, that may contain your objective, have been marked in *. Assessment: unknown risk.
@: Heavenly Clerk, Skylord, Luna's Vestige, Ignorance's Witch, and Golden Flare - and the entrance to the Nest. Heavenly Clerk, Skylord, Luna's Vestige, and Ignorance's Witch have entered the Nest.
Author
Topic: The Gate of Dreams - Glass Cream (5 / 5) - 16 (Read 30442 times)