Dissecting the fish will kill it anyway, so we should probably just do the drain vitality test on both, unless we can Command Undead to make them remove their bones without destroying themselves.
I was actually opting for the "swallow them whole" route. I mean, we can nibble on their fins for a taste, but imagine seeing inside your own anatomy. We might even see something important.
Before we do that, though, we should see if we can make them self terminated. Don't want to try the whole "steal vitality" trick on something that's INSIDE you...
Eat one of the minnows. Does it taste like it's spoiled at all during the time it's been zombified, or did the unlife preserve and protect it from bacteria and mold growing on it?
You move into the bushes by the side of the road, out of sight of passerby. Composing yourself, you cast
Command Undead- it's easier now that you've practiced, and you command one of the minnows. You command,
Die, but no response.
Cease, Still, End, Self-Terminate... no luck.
You decide to deal with the dead things the way any elf deals with a dead thing- eat it. Quickly, before anyone can see you, you scarf down the minnow. It tastes pretty terrible, what with being a cold raw minnow and all. There's a bad moment where you can't make yourself swallow it and it sticks in the back of your throat, but with supreme effort of will (aided by making the minnow "swim") you manage to get it down.
You are rewarded with one of the most singularly unpleasant and repulsive experiences you've ever had. Although you lose the sensation of the minnow wriggling down your gullet after it gets through your throat, you can still sense its presence in your esophagus with your Necromantic Sight. You
think you can feel it moving, but you're pretty sure that's just psychosomatic. From the minnow's point of view, you now know that your esophagus is a slimy, disgusting place that squeezes your food down and down. Soon the minnow hits your stomach, and you have a few moments to enjoy the sight of your half-digested dinner sloshing about before the acid melts the minnow's eyes.
Unfortunately, this does not kill the minnow- not right away, anyway. You are vaguely aware of the flesh of the minnow dissolving away- you are pretty sure most of the tail is gone by the time contact is severed, and your Necromantic Sight stops registering anything in your stomach. You are queasy, [8] but don't vomit. So that's something, anyway.
The thought of trying that again- even without Command Undead in effect- turns your stomach. You decide to use your magic to eliminate the other minnow. This is a good time to knock off one of your planned experiments- leaving the minnow tucked away inside the bag, you focus on it and
Steal Vitality. Success! You don't steal an appreciable amount of Vitality, but you kill the minnow (again) and now know that Steal Vitality does not require Line of Sight- not through cloth and leather, anyway.
We should probably go find Omo. If we're going to be camping with eachother for who knows how long, we may as well find out if he snores.
Go find your friend at the fair and talk about what traveling supplies you'll bring along today or tomorrow, whenever it's convenient and then buy them. If possible, some time over the next few days find Pevo and learn how to make mana potions, this is practically a must have skill, we need it and leaving before learning how to make them would suck.
I doubt we'll be able to/ have time to do any experiment during the fair so we'll have to put that on the backburner.
EDIT: Also don't forget to eat the fish, other wise they'll smell.
You decide to go find Omo- you can pool resources tonight and be ready to take care of business tomorrow. You walk further into Yicelafo, the path faintly illuminated by the lights in the treehouse windows above. At this hour, there are few travelers about, but you aren't alone when you get to the Canopy Bridge. The Canopy Bridge is the main thoroughfare between the North and South sides of Yicelafo, composed of a massive rope bridge anchored to two massive trees on either end, stabilized by ropes to the ground and other, smaller trees, and stretching whole across the Great River before dividing into a mess of smaller bridges and arboreal pathways.
From your vantage point atop the South end of the Canopy Bridge, you can see campfires and tents stretching to the south, the shadowed late-night revelers moving from camp to camp. Looking for any given elf in the dark at this hour would be a difficult task, but you know Omo. When you reach the ground, you listen to the snatches of song drifting through the trees, and head in the general direction of the bawdiest, most enthusiastic chorus. Before long, you come to a sizable group of elves well into their cups, and it is easy to pick out Omo's tall figure among the celebrants.
Oy, Omo!Nym! Glad you could make it- come on, you'll have to do some serious drinking if you want to catch up!Nuts to that- let's head back to your tent and work out what we'll do tomorrow. I've got a few things packed for our trip, but I want to know what you have.Omo's face becomes sober.
Oh... you haven't heard. Come on, then, let's go.Heard what, Omo?Omo's only response is to press his mug of wine into your hand, and start walking away. The thought of alcohol makes you distinctly ill at the moment, and you run to catch up.
Omo! What haven't I heard?The caravan brought news. Bad news. The world's on fire out there, Nym- there's no way the Elders will let us leave.What? What happened? I know banditry was on the rise when the Fall Caravan came through, but hardly anything happens in human lands during the Winter.The banditry is worse now, so they say, and the monstrous races have been raiding in force. But that's not the worst bit- there's a Necromancer in Thrimesdur.WHAT!?! But... that's impossible! There's never been more than one Necromancer active at once, not since the War!Oh, you've heard about the Necromancer along the Jeweled Coast then?Omo misses your dumbfounded expression as he stoops before a tent, lifting the flap and ushering you inside. It's a simple tent, plain canvas held up by sticks and a nearby tree trunk- more of a lean-to than a tent, really. You lay down your pack and lean against it as Omo fumbles the flap closed.
So, yeah... between the Necromancers and the banditry and the fighting and all, we haven't got a hope of leaving.Omo, I'm tired and not thinking straight. Can you start at the beginning?Well, nobody knows much about the Necromancer along the Jeweled Coast- nobody is really sure where he is, even, but he has united the Pirate Lords and is ravaging the coastal trade, so we hear. Apparently he's been doing this for some time, but only recently has it come out he's a Necromancer. The one in, er, Thrimesdur, that one's new. Some blighter from some random village, just started up and raising hordes of the undead. He was tricky about it at first, so nobody stepped on him when he was starting out, but now he's got a massive army marauding back and forth across the Empire.Is anyone stopping him?Last word is he smashed a huge Imperial Army led by the Emperor's son, and every fight he wins swells his forces. They say he's marching on the Capital, but rumor says he's actually heading this way, to the cities of the Great River.Bloody hell! What's with the merriment!?! You'd think there would be panic in the streets!The hilarity is a bit forced- you can tell. I expect the Elders will call for full mobilization, mandatory conscription, seal the borders.Are we going to war? I mean, out there- fighting by Man's side?I don't know, Nym. I just don't know. We'll talk about it tomorrow, I need to sleep now. It's been a long day.With that, he promptly curls up and falls asleep. You try to follow his example, settling with your pack for a pillow, but your mind is racing. Two
other Necromancers? And apparently they're both thoroughly evil, or at least megalomaniacal- did they start that way? Were they like you, once? And what will you do now?
It's a long time before you fall asleep.
Vitality- 9/10
Mana- 1/12
XP- 19/20
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- Uneasy
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 - Range: Line of Effect. 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- Drunk
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.
-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 685851 times)