Well, I'm still sick, but at least my head doesn't feel wrapped in wool anymore. Thanks for the well wishes.
And, although I had intended this update to encompass a broader period of time, your actions have lead to... unexpected results. Hooray procedurally generated story!
-Make a zombie insect that will stand still, then see if we can take its vitality when it is behind a rock (out of our line of sight).
This experiment is probably no longer necessary, as we have seen that detect life does not work without line of sight (though there may still be other ways of detecting it).
We should also ask more about the strange things Pevo saw on his trip through the Grove Wasteland. When he talks about the undead he saw, ask him if there are ways to detect such creatures so you can avoid them. He might know if there are other ways to detect undead, but we have to be careful to have the subject turn up naturally in the course of the conversation.
[edit:]After that we should ask how he escaped the huge one that attacked him, both to have the conversation not end on the topic of detection and because I am kind of curious.
Some of these experiments are pretty risky to do in the Valve. Starting fires, buying dolls for no explicable reason, trying to pump extra vitality into zombies and all of that run a high risk of us being caught. It's time to prepare to leave for Thrimesdur:
Inform our parents of our plans, ask Pevo if he has any recomendations for where to visit and let Elana know what we're planning in next letter to her. We should have time for one or two more letters before we leave, but it would be rude to put this off.
You realize that your growing power is making you capable of greater feats, and each new ability is potentially a new way for you to be discovered. You need to get more serious about leaving for Thrimesdur, starting now!
You pen a quick letter to Elana Foundwasps, expressing some interest in her activities and the choice she faces before mentioning how your recent studies have given you a keen interest in life outside the Vale. You then write two more letters- one to your Mother, and one to your Father, informing them of your decision. They deserve to know.
These letters are important enough- and their recipients distant enough- that you feel the need to insure their speedy delivery. You find a young elf boy, and after a bit of haggling he agrees to carry your letter- in exchange for
three days' rations and TWO copper pieces, the greedy bastard! Sourly, you watch him dart off- at least he'll deliver the letters straightaway. He'd better, for that price!
Heading to the Temple, you find Pevo singing a Teaching Song to a group of small children. You smile- it's one of your favorites, about the First Great Caravan that came to Yicelafo after the Golgothan War, bearing news about Balkoth's fall and bringing many fine crafts and supplies never before seen in the Young Vale. There is a sense of wonder in the tale, of a renewal in interest in the places beyond the borders of the Vale, coupled with an assuaging of fear. As Pevo finishes, sending the children off to lunch, you sit down with him.
Your song echoes my thoughts, Pevo Zephyrtempest- I've a yearning to see the places beyond the Vale, to feel the wind in my hair.Oh, do you now? You do- I recognize that glint in the eye. I won't try to stop you- in fact, I'll speak to the Elders on your behalf.You will?I will. I'll ask you a question- can you tell me the last time somebody left the Vale?No. When was the last time somebody left the Vale?Two hundred and eighteen years ago. And that was just an expedition to catch a thief in the Thrimesdur Caravan- they never left the Walled Jungle. The last time an Elf walked in human lands was Two hundred sixty three years ago, when an adventurous young Ranger decided to leave with the Caravan and travel the Jeweled Coast- he fell in love with the Sea, and only visits infrequently now. I don't believe he's returned to Yicelafo since before you were born, though he's sent letters.Two and a half centuries? That's a pretty long time.And it is even longer by human standards- the grandfathers in Thrimesdur have maybe heard stories about their grandfathers' grandfathers encounters with Elvenkind. Maybe- more likely, most humans have forgotten we exist. I fear we are becoming too insulated, too cut off from the rest of the world. No, I won't oppose your journey- I'll do whatever I can to aid you.It is good to have your support, Pevo. Do you have any advice on what to bring, or where to go?Go wherever your feet take you, though it will be easier to convince the Elders to let you go to Thrimesdur- they are more comfortable with them than other humans. There is all kinds of equipment you could take with you- food, rope, bedroll, candles and crowbars, fishhooks and flasks, paper, parchment, pouches! I doubt you can afford a pack animal, so you'll have to make do- take what you can carry, and remember you can always buy what you need in most towns. Oh, I know! Come with me.Pevo clambers to his feet, then leads you to his study. Rooting around his desk, he eventually comes up with a scrap of paper, then presents it to you proudly.
What is this thing?A map of Yicelafo, of my own creation!It is? What are these brown squiggles?Oh, those are the cliffs surrounding the Vale.And the round green squiggles on top?Those are trees!Uh-huh. And the green lines?That would be the expanses of the Walled Jungle. And before you ask, those yellow dots are Elven hamlets, with Yicelafo proper being the one with the star, and the Black circle to the East is Larothor, "Squeezedlips." It is a moderately prosperous town of the Empire, and is where the caravans ferry across the Great River. It would be a good place to start your journey- from there, you can take the road or a boat South to visit the great cities, and if you reach the coast you'll be able to find a ship going just about anywhere.Thank you- this is very useful! What if, say, I wanted to visit the Grove Wasteland?Then you'd be a fool, but you'd be a fool that should take the road East out of Larothor. You'd want to travel to the Capitol of the Empire, where you'd choose to either head north across the wilderness or continue east until you hit the river- you should be able to get better maps there, anyway, to base your final decision on.I suppose I'm a fool then- I'd like to visit the home of our ancestors. Were there many dangerous creatures there?Nothing dwells there, that I encountered, apart from the skeletal monstrosity.Is there a way to detect the undead creature? Magic or the like?From what I know, any magic used to detect undead would require line of sight to the target, and at that point it is pretty obviously a skeleton monster.How did you escape such a creature?How do you think, girl? I ran faster than it! It seemed to give up after a few miles- for a while I had been worried it would just wait for me to collapse from exhaustion.You ran for a few miles?I wasn't born with this cane, you know! And I can still run when the occasion demands, at that. Here, I've got a smaller world map you can use for reference as well- Now off with ye, I've got some young'ns to teach. And I'll speak to the Elders.Thank you, Pevo.If we have time between necromancy experiments and our other preparations, start fishing/doing odd jobs for extra money. We'll need the money to get some basic supplies for our trip.
In addition to EveryZig's suggestion I would say that today should be used to get some of our planed experiments out of the way. That said I do have one to add test if we can convert vitality to mana, ideally something else's vitality rather then our own. If life mages can convert mana to vitality maybe necromancers can do the opposite
EDIT: Oh, also, might as well try this out while we're at it. Attempt to turn Vitality into Mana. It'll be almost as good as Mana potions. Just be careful people don't start to notice vast swaths of decimated forest.
You decide to divide your free time between shoring up your meager cash reserves, and practicing your Necromantic arts. With the day half gone, you elect to spend the latter half of this day in experimentation at the Tree.
You first decide to try converting Vitality into Mana- it certainly seems like a Necromantic sort of thing to do, and didn't you hear a story about Necromancers killing people for power?
You
Steal Vitality from a nearby tree, and easily handle the ball of Vitality that emerges. You think of the way Mana feels when it flows out of you when spellcasting, then imagine that flow reversed. Nothing. You try to focus on the Vitality, thinking to break it down somehow, but it seems as homogeneous as water. You try to pull it into you while directing it towards your Mana pool, but the Vitality just hits you and dissipates without noticeable effect.
Frustrated, You walk back to the tree and try to feel the Vitality within- maybe you can extract the Vitality as Mana directly. You can't detect the Vitality, so you
Sense Vitality- you can feel the Vitality, but you just sense its presence, not its form or its flow. You try to reach in and take it with your thoughts, but you realize that you are simply preparing your Vitality stealing spell, not attempting something new. It seems like there should be a way to do this, but you can't figure it out.
This looks awesome!
We should fashion or buy a doll that can move it's limbs (has joints) and try to animate it.
I support this.
With the doll experiment, we can save ourselves some time and effort by using a piece of rope. That should be flexible enough while still being readily available.
You get a short length of Rope Reed Fiber rope, and settle down to weave it into a doll. The task is surprisingly more difficult than it looked when your mother did it for you as a child, but after some trial and error you hold a figure with a large, looped head, two long looped legs and short, uneven arms formed from the end pieces. Gingerly, you rest it on Rocky and attempt to
Animate Object- nothing.
Puzzled, you try again, but the Mana fails to release properly. After a bit of thought, you remember that you were already manipulating Vitality the last time you cast this spell. Moving to a tree you haven't sapped yet, you
Steal Vitality, extracting a ball of 2 Vitality from the living wood. As the ball of Vitality floats toward you, you gently redirect it to the Rope Doll, murmuring
Animate Object.
Success- of a sort. The Vitality bleeds into the Doll, and your Necromantic Sight registers the Doll as possessing 2 Vitality... but the Doll just lies there. To your eye, the fibers of the rope bristle with purple fire, but it seems undirected. You poke at the Doll, but it remains limp and unresponsive. You attempt to
Command Undead, but the spell fails to resolve- you realize you don't know what it's like being a Rope Doll, and the spell requires a certain amount of empathy.
You focus your mind on the Doll, trying to
be the rope. It needs eyes, you think- if it had eyes, it could see. You try to imagine seeing through the eyes of the Doll, looking up at the canopy of the forest, and-
Alter GolemYou jump back, startled, as phosphorescent purple fire leaps to life! The head loop seems to gather the purple fire from throughout its body, concentrating it in the center of the loop. The head loop is alive with purple fire, but within the swirling energy is two bright points of purple flame- eyes.
You poke the Doll again, but still elicit no response. You yearn to experiment further, but you are out of mana for the day. You bury the Doll, and leave to do some fishing before sunset.
The next day is bright and sunny as you return to your experimentation. Digging up the Doll, it appears to have suffered no harm for its night in the dirt. You
Command Undead, and this time your consciousness readily merges with the Doll. You can feel the dirt ingrained in the rope fiber- you try to lift your head, but fail. In fact, although you can look about freely with your eyes (even going so far as to peer out the back of your head at the stone you lay on,) you lack the strength to move the rest of your body. Curious- why is that?
Lacking ideas for further study regarding the Doll, you turn to accomplish one of your previous experiments- the zombification of a plant! You realize you probably should have uprooted a shrub yesterday in preparation for this task, since plants take a while to die... but then you remember you're sitting inside of a big ol' dead tree!
Moving outside, you focus on the tree and
Raise Zombie- and stagger back, in pain and shock! Clutching a nearby tree to hold yourself up, you take stock- raising the tree not only drained your
entire mana pool, but it appears to have caused you harm as well! Drawing a shuddering breath, you examine the oak- it's undead alright. The entire trunk is wreathed in dancing purple fire. Examining the hollow, you notice that where there used to be a deep gouge in the core of the tree there is now a purple cylinder bridging the gap. Purple fire seems to flow up and down the trunk within that cylinder.
Standing back, you gaze on the tree in dismay. Even now, in the middle of the day, you can see the purple glow faintly reflected by the surrounding trees. At night, this place will blaze like a bonfire. But what can you do about it? You have no mana, and destroying the tree by hand will be extremely difficult without help, especially since you are unsure exactly how much punishment this thing can
take. Maybe nobody will walk this way in the night? It's hardly something you'd like to stake your life on, but it may be your only option. You need to think of
something!
Vitality- 8/10
Mana- 0/12
XP= 14/20
Inventory- Six Copper Pieces,
Elven Tunic,
Elven Cloak, Belt Knife
Abilities- See Necromancy(Passive)
Status- Weakened and in pain
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. This spell removes up to 6 Vitality from the target and gives 1/3 of it to you.
Animate Object- 4 MP - You can force Vitality into inanimate objects, things that were never alive to begin with. It seems to be more complicated than Zombification though- your Rock doesn't do anything, which is hardly useful. you'll need to experiment with this more.
Alter Golem- 2 MP- You can make basic alterations to an existing construct or animated object.
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.
Rope Doll
2 VP
Can see, can't move
Undead Oak
5 VP
Hardness 8- When physical damage is dealt, subtract 8 from the total.
Can't see or move
-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.
-Attempt to raise a pile of ashes from a cremated corpse.
-Raise an earthworm and then, once it is raised, cut it in half at the border between two segments. Which ends, if any, are still animate? Continue cutting into halves at segment lines until all parts are dead or it has been divided into a prostomium, peristomium, pygidium and a pile of ordinary segments.
-Make a zombie insect that will stand still, then see if we can take its vitality when it is behind a rock (out of our line of sight).
-See how much damage a dead body can sustain before it is unraisable
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Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 685080 times)