Turn 4 - Helfd paints the living room red.
Actions:Back to studying.
You get back to studying. [5] You have unlocked new secrets in the sphere of Death Magic and are now an Adept. I have added the adept perks to the first page. You may now study to unlock a new element in the sphere of Death, or further your education and try for the rank of Sorcerer.
Alicia leaves the Tower in the direction of the village. Along the way, she looks for a sheep, horse or other large animal. If she finds one, she slays it with her magic and reanimates its corpse into a mount so she can travel faster - or at least in style.
You travel on foot for a while before spying what appears to be a wild stallion grazing near the road. You quickly lash out with your magic in an attempt to slay it. [6] You may have overdone it a bit. The spell takes on a life of its own, forming a great dark presence which descends upon the equine. The animal looks up in terror before its lifeforce is devoured and the magic takes residence in its body. After a few shuddering steps, the beast looks to you with dark eyes. Its hooves burst into flame, and its nostrils snort fire: You have created the first Nightmare!
It bows its head, accepting you as its master... for now.
If bandits agree, go with them and the skeleton army into the catacombs and search them thoroughly. Should they not agree, let the skeletons kill them, tear the skin from their bones and then revive them as loyal skeleton soldiers.
Intimidate, Negotiation, Terrorize: [1] The bandits are belligerent to the last, and do not believe you will follow through with your claim. The skeletons move in at their refusal and the struggle is brief, as the bandits are still locked in place by the blood magic. The skeletons tear the flesh from their bones in a sickening and bloody display of strength.
The entire common room is now awash in blood and twitching corpse pieces. The skeletons collapse, no longer able to be chained by blood magic. You attempt to revive them as skeletal soldiers: [6] You succeed admirably, and dark energy floods the skeletal remains. Still wet with blood, they rise with a clattering noise to their full height. Unlike the long-dead skeletons, however, these bones have a spirit and will to oppose your control. You set about to bind them to your service: [2] You succeed, barely. The skeleton of the leader, its eyes burning with rage, is within inches of your throat before you finish the binding. It stops in place, straining against invisible bonds. You do not think you can control them for long, you made them far too strong.
Atempt to just destroy the man's life force, failing that go the other extreme and disintegrate the body, if the villagers are still uncooperative, rinse and repeat
The villagers crowd around to see what is happening when you pick a man, seemingly at random, and attempt to extinguish his life: [2] He doubles over in pain as a void shard embeds itself in his chest, feeding on his life energy. His clothing begins to ice over, but he does not die.
Failing that, you attempt to disintegrate his body entirely: [3] The void shard expands and consumes him utterly, leaving naught but dust.
Decipher the journal
You set to decoding a few more pages of the journal. [5] The next few pages all use the previously discovered cypher. It is still slow going, but you managed to read a bit more. It seems Xan had gathered some information on the hidden library, and had uncovered evidence that it related to magic of the mind, the magical sphere of Psionics. You also find this drawing amongst the pages...
Entity actions:
Dig!
[5] Finally, the earth elemental gathers its powers and begins digging in earnest. The progress is astounding, and by the end of the day you have a tunnel stretching all the way to North Sharonton. The elemental stops when it reaches a wall of stone inscribed with protective runes, and tells you that it cannot tunnel through it. It seems sad that it cannot follow your command, and the enormous entity sulks beside the tower.
Capitulate?
[2] The villagers look on in horror as the man is destroyed. Several men grab farm implements and pitchforks. There are some watch volunteers as well, armed with rusty mail and simple swords, who rally to the village's defense.