Shopingwise, we're in a bit of bad shape:
Our total shopping list adds up to somewhere on the order of 1.4 gold. We have 6.6 silver. We're going to have to forgo buying some of the things that we'd like to have.
Step one is to ask Omo what he's bringing and strike any duplicates. If Omo is planning to bring a hatchet, 50' of rope, 3 spare ranger knives and a fully stocked medical pouch, we don't really need to be bringing the same. If it's still not enough, there' some other things to get rid of.
...
I recomend the following:
In order of priority,
Trail Rations (3 days) (1.5 sp)
Bedroll (1 sp)
Writing Materials (up to 1 sp)
Hatchet (up to 2sp, if Omo doesn't have one)
Healing Supplies (ask Omo what he recomends to bring)
We have 6.6 silver, so my proposed shopping list is...
Trail Rations(1.5)(5.1 remain)
Bedroll (1)(4.1 remain)
Rope (.
(3.3 remain)
5 parchment + Scroll Case (How many pachments does a scroll case protect?) (2) (1.3 remain)
10xCharcoal (.1)(1.2 remain)
Wax Tablet (1)(.2 remain)
Also, another idea for stepping off the path to experiment on the way - we thought we saw some useful herbs. 
Will our parents be likely to show up at the fair? If so... MOOOOOOOCH
You rearrange your shopping list- a bit less food, since you can probably forage well enough on your own, lower priority on the rope since you don't plan on going anywhere particularly rugged soon... good enough for now. You get the bright idea to ask Omo what he has before you buy redundant items- that should save you some money, and he might have thought of things you've forgotten.
In order of priority,
Trail Rations (2 days) (1sp)
Bedroll (1sp)
Hatchet (up to 2sp, if Omo doesn't have one)
Subtotal: 4sp
Parchment (4 sheets) (0.8sp)
Charcoal (10 sticks) (0.1sp)
Scroll Case (1sp)
Rope Reed Fiber Rope (20') (0.8sp)
Subtotal: 2.7sp
Healing Supplies (ask Omo what he recomends to bring)
Wax Tablet (1sp)
How long a walk is it to the fair? I think, experimentation wise, we could do with laying low for a little while. And everyone we need to talk to and everything we need to do is there. Since we know we can use our magic on things we can't see (remember raising the crayfish), we can do some simple magic on the walk so as not to worry about it expressing itself during the night. Concentrate on trying to understand it, focus it, notice the details. Nothing particularly new or experimental, just going over what we know and see if we notice anything new.
Some simple spells we can cast on the walk:
Get some more dead crayfish or something else fairly whole in a bag.
Insure we can raise them through the bag like we did that night, but keep them in the bag. See if we can raise two at once.
How do they interact?
Command them both to remain still and calm. We haven't done much commanding, so pay careful attention to the experience.
Drop some silver in the bag and see if they react.
Finally, attempt to "Alter Golem" on one of the zombies. Is there anything we can change? Can we mash them together and make them one zombie?
That should easily drain most of our mana for the day, and it's all stuff we can do on the walk without being obvious about it.
You decide to take a break from running around in the woods by yourself, and take a trip to the Caravan Fair. Omo is probably already there, and you don't want to spend your limited cash without consulting with him first- besides pretty much anyone who is anyone will be there. After all, the Fair is the social event of the season! Songs will be sung, dances danced, strange items and stranger tales from the outside world put on display, and various mind-altering substances will be readily available for those so inclined.
Although, this is not to say you won't be doing some experimentation. After all, it would be most embarrassing to suffer Mana buildup in the midst of the greatest gathering of Elves short of the Fall Fair. The crayfish you already had are back at your little Grove (and probably rotted to goo, come to think of it,) but you know of a little pool not too far away that is too small to support larger fish, but is a ready supply of crayfish, toads, and other little creatures suitable for bait.
You easily net a pair of minnows, and let them air-drown on your way back to your home. Hesitating a moment, you decide to wrap them in a rag before putting them in your pack, sandwiched between your spare clothes. Securely buckling the pack shut, (after preparing a meal for later,) you set off on your journey to Yicelafo.
Heading to the river, you walk westward along the bank. Elves aren't much on making roads, but between the frequent traffic and tall trees there isn't much undergrowth along the river's edge, making it the fastest way to Yicelafo if you don't have a boat. After you get about half an hour outside village limits, you feel alone enough to attempt some subtle Necromancy.
Focusing on the minnows in your pack, you attempt to Raise Zombie- no dice. Frowning, you think harder- you picture how they looked in the rag, imagine them pressed down by the weight of your clothing in the dark of your pack, and you
Raise Zombie. You spend 1 Mana, although you don't feel any different. Casually, you unshoulder your pack, holding it in front of you- although you don't see any direct light, your Necromantic Sight informs you of the existence of a source of Necromantic energy within the pack.
Continuing along the riverbank, you shoulder your pack and try to imagine what it is like to be a minnow. You are long, you are swim, you have little fins and are half tail, you are wedged in a rag in a sack, and you
Command Undead. You gain that peculiar double vision- before you you see the woods, the river flowing by, an elf in the distance, but you are also aware of cloth and dark and a nearby dead fish. The undead minnow is flopping about, and you silently command it to remain still. Carefully looking through the minnow's eyes, you are reasonably certain the minnow is still fully wrapped in the rag- good thing, too, since you'd rather not have your clean clothes smell like fish.
You amicably nod to the elf as she passes, and she smiles back at you. Whistling a jaunty tune, you continue upriver with your passenger, passerby none the wiser!
Once you're alone again, you prepare to raise the second minnow. You hesitate a moment- you've been maintaining the Command Undead spell on the first minnow, and you aren't sure whether you can cast a different spell while doing so. There's one way to find out!
You aren't in any rush, and carefully think about what you want to do, while maintaining awareness of the current minnow. When you feel prepared, you
Raise Zombie. Through the eyes of your current minnow, you happily watch fire erupt from the other minnow's eyes, and it begins to jerk about in a mockery of its last moments of life. It appears to take no notice of its traveling companion.
You try to shift your awareness to it, but cannot. Thinking for a moment, you carefully cast
Command Undead while maintaining control of your first minnow. You gain a general awareness of the other minnow, but you don't gain its perspective. You try to order it to be still, but fail. Thinking a moment, you try to shift your awareness again- this time, you succeed! You maintain a general awareness of the first minnow, but now you see through the eyes of the second minnow. You order it to be still, and it complies.
As you walk along, you try different experiments as it strikes your fancy. You try to directly control them both at once, but fail. You try to Alter Golem to merge them into one superfish, but fail. When you pause for
dinner, you take a moment to poke them with a silver coin, with no noticeable effect.
After dinner, you decide to do some testing of the range of Command Undead. As you walk away from your pack, your awareness of the minnow (both through Control Undead and Necromantic Sight) begins to drop off rapidly- once you get more than a couple yards away from your pack, the spell ends along with your Necromantic Sight's awareness of the minnow's existence. Returning to your pack, you sense the minnows again, but don't regain control of them.
As you consider the results of your experimentation, you continue upriver. You soon encounter more and more elves, some slower than you, some faster. Many of them carry a pack with camping gear, similar to yours. With the setting of the sun, you arrive at the outer limits of Yicelafo. On the north side of the river (the side you are currently on,) you see lights twinkle into being as the Arboreal City winds down toward the night. Across the river, similar lights at ground level betray the presence of the reveler's camp- somewhere on that shore the Caravan itself is also resting, resting before the renewed festivities tomorrow.
You ponder where to spend the night. You could always crash at your Mother's house- she maintains an apartment in downtown Yicelafo. Meeting with her is probably going to require some catching up and explanation of your journey, explanation that you may want to put off until the next day. You could also seek out Omo or another of your acquaintances across the river for a no questions asked rest, or, given how clear the night appears, you could probably sleep in the open by yourself, perhaps a bit worse for wear since you lack a bedroll. You should also consider how (and if) you will dispose of your minnows.
Vitality- 9/10
Mana- 6/12
XP- 17/20
Inventory- Belt Pouch (
6.6 Silver Pieces),
Elven Traveler Garb,
Elven Cloak, Belt Knife, Leather Backpack (Flint&Steel, Small Empty Potion Bottle,
Fishing Equipment,
Spare Traveling Clothes x2)
Abilities-
Sense Necromancy(Passive)Skills-
Competent FisherStatus- Tired
Seven days since Manifestation
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. It seems the mana cost is related to the overall quality of the corpse, and maybe the size?
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.
Vitality- 13/13
Mana- 3/3
XP- 20/30
Inventory-
Elven Tunic,
Elven Cloak, Belt Knife
Abilities-
Track,
SurvivalistSkills-
Novice Observer,
Competent Ambusher,
Competent Staff User,
Poor LiarStatus- Eager to leave
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.
-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.
-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
-Also, it seemed interesting that the loop was recognized as the center of life. We should test raising different rope Golems, some who are linear, some who are looped or knotted in different ways. How does the golem react to music, and what if we made one out of clay, with more distinguished features?
- Test Command Undead by commanding something you've raised to self-terminate. A further test of this would be if it could work on the undead that other necromancers have summoned.
- Test Command Undead, and see if can you over-ride commands given to a zombie summoned by another necromancer. Does the zombie respond to the most recent order given, or does it have loyalty to whomever summoned it? Or maybe it is under the control of the more powerful of the two necromancers.
- For Animate Object, see if you can make an object levitate, or move to your will. Maybe this could develop into telekinesis..
World Map
Yicelafo
Author
Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 686250 times)