I've added a section to save proposed experiments, to be performed when you have the opportunity. Basically, I'll do recent suggestions first, and if you don't have more plans for the day you'll kill the rest of your time with one of these. You can vote up one you'd really like to see done.
I want to find out more about the land where the Sacred Grove was. Did the Golgothans just burn everything, or did they actually curse the land?
Revealing ourselves is completely out of the question, we would undeniably be hunted down by any human and elf alive. Also, bigger creature means less control... Hell, they could even try to kill us. Also, if a random half-dead creature is found we'll be in DEEP shit.
I rather like the idea of counteracting the Taint, though.
Ask more about the elves history and learn about the tainted lands destroyed by the necromancers
You decide to delay writing a reply to Elana- nobody will be out and about today to deliver it anyway, except those who cannot avoid it, or the foolhardy. Fetching your cloak, you head out to the Temple, snatches of song drifting out of merrily wet windows as you pass. When you arrive, you hasten inside, out of the rain. Quietly passing through private rooms where elves sit in meditation and musty storerooms, you return to Pevo Zephyrtempest's study. The aging elf sits at his desk, sheaves of paper before him, and smiles up at you as you enter.
Well hello there, Nym. Nasty day out, isn't it?Indeed it is, Pevo. I must admit, the foul weather inspires foul thoughts, and I've been thinking on what you said yesterday.Oh? And what did I say yesterday?You touched on the Sacred Groves, home of Elvenkind. How were they destroyed?The Sacred Groves were brimming with Life, more than anywhere on Urak, cultivated and enhanced by the Life Mages. Balkoth and his Necromancers attacked to steal that Vitality, to fuel his armies. When resistance was eliminated, he scoured the earth, drawing every last drop of Life from the very soil itself. Nothing can grow in dead soil, you know.But wouldn't the life return eventually? Mayhap, but it is difficult to adequately describe the devastation Balkoth wrought. He burned every tree, sucked the vitality of the soil, killed and reanimated the creatures for his own fell purposes, and he did this over an enormous area. And I have reason to believe he did something to prevent regrowth there. Why do you say that? Because I've been there, dear girl. All sand and rock it is, out in the wilderness far from human habitation. Nearby villages say it is bad luck, or cursed, and it may well be so. I spent days searching, but was unable to find the center of the Groves before I was attacked by a great skeletal monstrosity. Everything we know about Necromancy says that the creature couldn't possibly date to the Golgothan War- undead simply do not last that long without being cared for.Wouldn't someone have seen what was done there? Some survivor, or spy? There were no Elven survivors. Every Elf who stood to defend their homes instead of fleeing perished- we do not even know how effective their resistance was. Our ancestors spent the next year of the war seeking sanctuary in Thrimesdur, until we were ushered to Yicelafo. The next few years we heard no word from outside the Vale, as we focused on building a new home and hiding from outsiders, for it seemed to our ancestors that Balkoth must prevail, and pursue us sooner or later. We didn't even hear that the Dwarves had switched sides until years after the fact- the only Elf present at the Last Battle died on the battlefield.There was an Elf in the Last Battle? Yes, and a few in other major theaters of the war as well. Many who were adults when they fled the Sacred Grove couldn't bear to stand by, after learning how complete Balkoth's devastation had been. After settling the new generation into their new home, they took up arms and rejoined the fight. They were few, and their impact was small, but they were there.Other theaters? I thought all the fighting occurred in Thrimesdur. Oh my stars, no- although that was where the Last Battle took place, Balkoth and his generals were active across much of Urak. The Black Fleet nearly flanked Thrimesdur by sea, but were ultimately repulsed by the navies of the Jeweled Coast. Balkoth could have swarmed Thrimesdur under an army of zombies six feet deep had he not also needed to defend his rear against the Dwarves. And when the Horse-Lords joined the fray, Balkoth had to divert resources and allies to fighting them at home so they could not deploy on the plains of Thrimesdur in force.I had no idea the Golgothan war was such an... inclusive affair. Indeed- so far as we know it was the greatest war in the history of Urak. Its study is something of a hobby of mine, which is why I went out in the world so long ago.Perhaps one day I'll make such an odyssey myself; See the sights, learn the history. Perhaps you should- there is much that cannot be learned or experienced within the Vale. My time Outside was perhaps the most dangerous, and at times the least pleasant, but it was certainly the most rewarding. Ah, but I have a class of youngsters to teach- please excuse me.Thank you for your time, Pevo Zephyrtempest. Anything that reveals us as a necromancer at this point is a luridly bad idea. There is absolutely no way that it would be a good idea, so we're not going to do that. No raising an undead army, no telling the village elders and, this is an important one, no more necromancy in town.
Instead, we're going out into the woods and doing some basic tests. Admittedly, most of these are unlikely to work, and they're not listed in any specific order, but they're things we'd kick ourselves for not trying sooner if they do turn out to work:
-Try that thing woose1 suggested. I kinda doubt that necromancy works like that, but if we find out later that it does, we'll kick ourselves for not having tried it sooner.
-So far, everything we've reanimated has had purple fire start glowing in its eyes. What happens if we revive something without eyes, like an earthworm?
-Attempt to revive a previously destroyed zombie. While I have the sneaking suspicion that any damage sufficent to destroy a zombie will also prove sufficent to prevent it from being revived once more, it's another one of those things we'd kick ourselves for not trying sooner if it works.
-Try reviving a dead plant. Preferably one that's largely intact but pretty obviously dead, like a weed you dug up out of the garden and left out to dry for a day or two.
Further, I have a short list of longer-term experiments that we should keep in mind if we can't think of anything else worth trying. Again, not in any specific order.
-This one's a bit morbid, but bear with me. Take two crayfish. Shell one, leaving the meat inside as intact as possible. Remove the flesh from the second while leaving the shell as intact as possible. Attempt to revive both and compare the results. Is vitality in flesh or in bone? In both? Neither? Regardless of what we find, it should prove instructive.
-If you ever have enough spare mana, see if you can control multiple dead crayfish at once, and if there's an upper limit on how many perspectives you can hold at once. Stop if you get a headache, feel dizzy or anything else seems strange.
-See what the maximum range is for controling one of your zombies, and if it expands with practice. May take more than a day of effort, but it'll be good exercise.
-Try to find out if zombies have a memory, if they can be made to recognize specific objects. I recomend starting with a ball or something, and instructing a zombie to follow that specific ball wherever it goes. After testing it to make sure it works how we expect, substitute in another ball that has a different colour or a different size, and see if the zombie knows it isn't the right ball to follow. We can move to more abstract things from there, like having if understand things like "any ball" "any non-red ball" "the biggest ball" and stuff like that, or even to sort a pile of pebbles into stacks by colour.
Also, as an experiment: attempt to use our life-manipulation abilities to transfer the 'life force' we find in the corpses back into us, to fuel raising the dead. That way, we might further reduce the cost of making our zombies.
Do some testing and just try to gather knowledge, but remember knowledge is power guard it wel.
we should also try the live draining thing on small insects. this way we can learn the rate of regeneration. because if we spend 2 mp to raise an ant, how much do we get it we drain the life out of the thing. oh and if we can use the life drain in that way, can we also use it to heal ourself?
I also agree with everything Grek said.
Of Topic: I say good job to monk12 for the fast updates.
As you leave Pevo to his teachings, you walk back out into the soaking rain. By your best guess, it is a bit after noon- the morning's incident has reminded you that you need to gain more control of your Necromantic arts, and though you lack a truly safe haven for such experimentation you predict that a secluded glade in the woods will be safe enough, as all the elves who would normally be out and about will be staying safely at home today. To the forest!
After an hour or so of walking, you find a place where the trees grow thickly together, providing relief from the wind and the worst of the rain. Settling down on your heels, you drop a crayfish corpse on the wet leaves of the forest floor. You theorize that Necromancy, at its most basic, involves taking latent Vitality from a corpse and rekindling it, bringing the target back to some semblance of life. If true, then you should be able to draw that latent Vitality out of the corpse and into you, instead of leaving it in the body.
You focus your will on the crayfish- nothing. You try to empathize with the corpse- nothing. You try to invert the way Mana normally flows out of you, but all you accomplish is giving yourself a slight headache. Perhaps you're going about this the wrong way, or perhaps your theory is wrong.
Next on the agenda- eyeless earthworms! A bit of rooting is sufficient to discover a nice big one writhing in the mud, but much like the ant you are a bit concerned about how to kill it without simply rendering it into goo. After casting about a bit, you find a nice big puddle and proceed to drown the creature in it. It takes a while to drown, but it's an earthworm- they die hard. Returning to the relative dryness beneath the trees, you focus your will and
Raise Zombie.
The earthworm begins, almost imperceptibly, to glow purple. It also tries to start burrowing, before you snatch it up for closer inspection. The glow appears to be emanating from tiny, nearly invisible bristles. On a hunch, you cast
Sense Vitality- the zombie barely registers as containing any Vitality, although the trees around you have dozens of VP each. Bringing your will to bear, you try to draw that smidgeon of Vitality out of the worm and into you, forming a connection between you an-
Steal VitalityA purple spark flies from the worm to you, blinding you with its brilliance before it strikes you in the face! With a startled yelp, you fall backwards, clutching at your head. Tentatively, you probe with your fingers- no damage appears to have been done. You walk over to the puddle- no marks on your face, no blemishes. You examine the worm in your hand, discovering that it is no longer a zombie, although it does not appear to have suffered any physical damage.
Calming yourself, you think back to the moment the spark hit you. You think, perhaps, you felt something, but if the worm had held a smidgen then what was stolen was a mere smidgen of a smidgen. You are reasonably sure that, given a target with more Vitality, you would get more noticeable results.
You judge that although night is approaching, you have time for one more experiment. Returning to the crayfish, you cast
Raise Zombie, watching as purple fire erupts from its eyes and it begins to shamble about. You then place your foot on the zombie and begin to slowly press down, listening to the creature's carapace snap and pop. As soon as the purple fire dies, you quickly remove your foot before lifting the creature for inspection.
The crayfish's body is broken- the shell is shattered in a few places, and most of its limbs are twisted at an unnatural angle, one of its legs gone entirely. Bits of crayfish innards ooze through the cracks in the shell. Gently setting it back on the forest floor, you
Raise Zombie once more. It takes noticeably more energy, but once again the crayfish rises. You bend down, looking- purple fire blazes from the cracks in the shell, and the broken legs are straight. The missing leg is still gone, however.
Out of mana and out of time, you crush the crayfish once more before setting off for home. You arrive in a drizzle sometime after sunset- exhausted by your day's effort, you decide to skip dinner and go straight to bed. You sleep long and peacefully, with no interruptions. The next morning, the sullen sky promises more rain to come, but right now it is dry.
Vitality- 10/10
Mana- 10/10
XP= 8/10
Inventory- Eight Copper Pieces,
Elven Tunic,
Elven Cloak, Belt Knife, Pouch(4 dead crayfish)
Status- Content
General
Detect Magic- 1 MP - detects spells and magical items near you
Calm Animal- 1 MP - causes wild animals to become peaceful
Sense Vitality- 1 MP - you can detect the Vitality of living things, with a bit of effort
Necromancy
Raise Zombie- ? MP - You can take the formerly living body and turn it into a zombie, but you lack understanding or even much knowledge of the particulars. You need practice.
Command Undead- 2 MP - You can merge your awareness with an undead creature, gauging its general condition and issuing explicit orders it will obey to the best of its ability. You can also give orders that will persist beyond the end of the spell.
Steal Vitality- 3 MP - You can suck the Vitality out of living things (or undead, at least.)
Your Parents- Your mother is a prominent Mage serving in Yicelafo itself, and your father is a Ranger Lieutenant, currently patrolling the borders.
Omo Thunderjaw- Your best friend, brave and true. He is currently an aspiring Ranger, and is currently home on leave.
Elana Foundwasps- An old flame of yours, she is currently studying with the Mage the next town over.
Pevo Zephyrtempest- The village Sage- you can ask him for knowledge of what history the elves possess. He is somewhat absent minded and easily distracted.
Ari Wetdawn- The village Mage, here to cure ills and bless crops. He knows much of Life magic as well as magic in general, but is also most likely to discern your true nature.
-Zombie plants! Possible?
-This one's a bit morbid, but bear with me. Take two crayfish. Shell one, leaving the meat inside as intact as possible. Remove the flesh from the second while leaving the shell as intact as possible. Attempt to revive both and compare the results. Is vitality in flesh or in bone? In both? Neither? Regardless of what we find, it should prove instructive.
-If you ever have enough spare mana, see if you can control multiple dead crayfish at once, and if there's an upper limit on how many perspectives you can hold at once. Stop if you get a headache, feel dizzy or anything else seems strange.
-See what the maximum range is for controling one of your zombies, and if it expands with practice. May take more than a day of effort, but it'll be good exercise.
-Try to find out if zombies have a memory, if they can be made to recognize specific objects. I recomend starting with a ball or something, and instructing a zombie to follow that specific ball wherever it goes. After testing it to make sure it works how we expect, substitute in another ball that has a different colour or a different size, and see if the zombie knows it isn't the right ball to follow. We can move to more abstract things from there, like having if understand things like "any ball" "any non-red ball" "the biggest ball" and stuff like that, or even to sort a pile of pebbles into stacks by colour.
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Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 685003 times)