Chapter IIwhoohoo, the story continues!
My vote:
We are not in the wilderness yet (one hour walk from a village or city is NOT wilderness), just out of the elven forests. Get a nice sleep at the inn to celebrate our freedom and dry up from our swim.
Also: gather information at said inn about current state of affairs, local mages, general thoughts about magic in Thrimesdur and get the opinions of these humans about elves. That way we know what to expect for the future.
Finally: Check book for basic illusion spells that can alter ones appearance. If they do not like elves, we might want to work on an illusion and pose as humans.
Well, what do you say- should we camp here and head into Larathor tomorrow, or press on and sleep in an inn tonight?I don't know- how likely do you think it is that the Rangers might follow us? Wouldn't Larathor be the first place they check?I'm not sure, but I don't think there will be much pursuit. Certainly not until tomorrow morning, when the ferryman is awake to bring them over- I doubt they'll try to swim after us.Alright, we'll spend the night in an inn, and leave first thing in the morning.If you say so.You briefly check your supplies, and find that everything survived warm and dry. Pulling on a dry shirt, you gather your things and follow Omo deeper inland, into the tall grass. Once out of sight of the river, Omo turns downriver, carefully guiding you around scrub bushes and animal burrows. You catch yourself eying the sky uneasily- it's so
big out from under the trees, and you feel horribly exposed.
Omo seems unbothered, frequently gazing up in delight as more and more stars emerge. Despite your nervousness, you have to admit that the gaping sky
is rather spectacular. Stargazing is a rare treat in Yicelafo- you're accustomed to the narrow slices you can catch along the Great River or at the larger ponds. The pageantry of the cosmos is much grander when seen in its fullness, and while you recognize many of the constellations there are many more celestial bodies you've never had occasion to see, let alone catalog. They are unfamiliar, strange, alien, and to a degree, disconcerting- but they are quite beautiful for all that.
It isn't long at all before Larathor comes into sight, a vision that in some ways is as strange and exciting as the night sky. The town is surrounded by a high wooden wall, and you wonder where exactly they got all the lumber- you don't know of any lumber camps on the Elven side of the river. There are tall wooden towers dotted with torches at each corner of Larathor, as well as at the gatehouse. Pennons and flags snap in the breeze, dark shadows in the torchlight. The light of unnumbered candles, lanterns and torches within the walls gives the town an internal glow unlike anything in Yicelafo.
As you approach the town walls, you see a pair of guards standing next to the open gates. One of them stops you before you enter.
Good evening, travelers. What's your business?We're just on our way through- we'll stop for the night and be off in the morning.And where are you bound?East.Burn me if that isn't peculiar- a warrior and a woman coming from the North in the middle of the night, bound for the East and the territory of Nightroar the Necromancer?Hey, the sun only set like an hour ago.Blasted suspicious if you ask- ...wait a minute, you're Elves!What, did you think we were Necromancers?Sorry! Sorry, I didn't know- you have to admit, these are troubling times for mysterious strangers to arrive in the darkness. You Elves hardly ever leave your blasted forest- er, no offense intended. Are you here on official business? To help us against the Necromancer, I mean?Well-Why else would a pair of Elves be heading East?Of course, stupid question. Burn me if it isn't good to hear good news for a change- I don't mind saying we need all the help we can get, with the attacks and all.Attacks?Nightroar has been sending raiding parties West to terrorize the towns and farmlands. They don't seem very coordinated, but burn me if there aren't too many for the Imperial Chargers to handle. They can't be everywhere at once.Troubling news, but if you don't mind, we're rather tired and have a long trip ahead of us. Do you know of a good inn we could stay at?Certainly, don't let me keep you. Ah, if you're looking for an inn I would recommend the Jolly Badger- a quality place, and the innkeeper is honest. It's on the main road heading south, can't miss it. Fare well on your travels!You walk into Larathor, leaving the guards to gossip behind you. Once you are out of earshot, you pull your cloak up over your ears and give Omo a nudge.
Maybe it would be better if we weren't obviously Elves.Eh? Why shouldn't we be what we are?Because we stick out like a sore thumb, and we don't know if we're being pursued.Oh. Fair enough.The streets of Larathor are nearly deserted at this hour- the main roads are well illuminated with street lamps, but the side streets are much darker, with only the occasional lantern casting a pool of light. The buildings here are tall, stone affairs, and to you the heavy structures seem to loom over the flagstone street- you've never been someplace without
any plants! Omo, as expected, is eager to drink it all in, peering down every side street, inspecting the detail of the iron lamp posts, gazing in delight at the taller structures, some four or five stories tall!
Soon enough, you arrive at the inn the guard mentioned- the sign over the door depicts a dancing badger with a tankard of ale in each paw. Inside, you find the common room packed with patrons enjoying their drinks and the music of the performer in the corner. You sidle your way over to the bar, where the innkeeper is dispensing drinks. Explaining that you want a room, the smiling fat man waves a serving maid over to escort you upstairs in exchange for two silver pieces. The maid leads you to a small, well appointed room, and after you assure her that you need nothing else she returns downstairs. Omo looks towards the stairs and the sounds of laughter and singing, temptation clear on his face.
Y'know, I think I'll just spend an hour or two downstairs. Get a feel for the lay of the land, maybe a drink.Omo, not two hours ago you were swimming across a cold river fleeing Elven Rangers. We'll be leaving at first light, and you want to hit a tavern.Not just a drink, I want to do some asking around, maybe get some info on what Nightroar has been up to.Fine, I'm not your mother. I get the bed though!Like I was gonna get that anyway. See you in the morning!Dropping your stuff, you settle down for the night. It's been a long day of hiking, swimming, and more hiking, and the bed is soft and warm- you fall almost immediately asleep. Early the next morning, you awake to the noise of Omo snoring on the floor. You lie back, taking in the unfamiliar sounds of city activity outside- the rumble of carts, the ring of horseshoes on stone, the muffled footsteps of somebody upstairs. You are tempted to sleep in, but don't want to waste any time.
First things first- you pull out
Prestidigitation for the Beginning Practitioner and start flipping through it on the search for Illusion spells. While you find a couple minor auditory illusions, you are unable to find any optical illusions. Skimming the section on other Magics shows that Illusions of various kinds are widely used by Chaos Shaman, as well as Water Mystics and Air Seers. Stymied, you stow away your book and then beat Omo with your pillow.
Wake up! It's morning!Agh! Have a heart, Nym!Come on, we've got time for breakfast and then we need to hit the road. I won't feel safe until we're out of Larathor.That's funny, I won't feel safe after we leave. The guard wasn't exaggerating about the undead attacks, if the common room is to be believed. The road south is choked with refugees. The Imperial Chargers are swamped, between trying to maintain order on the road while also responding to each zombie attack. The raids don't seem to be doing much damage themselves, but the reaction to the raids is crippling the Empire.Is the Necromancer leading these attacks?Life above, no. That's why the attacks are so ineffective- the undead are pretty stupid and uncoordinated. Nobody knows where Nightroar himself is, since none of the scouts sent to investigate have returned. We do know there is a hell of a lot of zombies a few days march east.Can we go around?I don't know which way we should go, I don't have a map. We should probably buy one, and maybe some other things. And, y'know, as long as we're out and about we could take in some of the sights...Omo, we need to leave as soon as possible. If the Rangers follow after us-It's hardly likely they'd find us if we're just wandering through the city! Come on, our first day in a human town and you want to leave without seeing more than an inn? I was asking what there is to see last night, and the locals swear the temple here is one of the most beautiful on the Great River, and apparently there's a prominent actor at the theater in town, and you can get a great view of everything from the towers in the keep, and-You lean back, rubbing your temples as Omo babbles on. On the one hand, you don't want to spend any more time in town than you have to- you don't want any potential pursuit catching up with you, you want to come clean with Omo as soon as possible, and it feels like ages since you've done any solid experimenting. On the other hand, it sounds like Omo is dying for some sightseeing and you're sure he's going to be unhappy if you leave straightaway, and it wouldn't hurt to get information from somebody other than a tavern full of drunks. How should you handle this?
Vitality- 10/10
Mana- 12/12
XP- 19/20
Inventory- Belt Pouch (
84.2 Silver Pieces),
Elven Traveler Garb,
Elven Cloak, Belt Knife, Leather Backpack(Bedroll, Flint&Steel,
Weak Mana Potion, Scroll Case(4 blank Parchment,
Charcoal),
Trail Rations Fishing Equipment,
Spare Traveling Clothes x2,
Prestidigitation for the Beginning Practitioner by Joddo Meadtrust, Crystal(5oz))
Abilities-
Sense Necromancy(Passive)Skills-
Competent Fisher,
Dabbling SwimmerStatus- Exasperated
Nineteen 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
Brew Mana Potion- A Mana Potion takes twice the potions potency in Mana cost, and requires 1/2 hour per point in brewing time
Waterproof- 1MP/Hour duration - Makes an object non-absorbent. Does not prevent corrosion (such as from acid or rusting) or magical effects related to water/liquid
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, Leather Backpack(50' Rope, Hatchet,
Camping Supplies),
Masterwork Elven StaffAbilities-
Track,
SurvivalistSkills-
Novice Observer,
Competent Ambusher,
Competent Staff User,
Poor Liar,
Dabbling SwimmerStatus- Excited
Omo Thunderjaw- Your best friend, brave and true. He is currently an aspiring Ranger, and is eager to leave the Vale.
Curo Nightroar- The Necromancer of Thrimesdur, said to be insane, he controls a massive army of the Undead and threatens the Cremated Empire.
Pirate King- The Necromancer operating along the Jeweled Coast, he commands a mixed force of human and lizardfolk pirates along with his undead minions.
-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..
- we should try pricking our finger, and stealing the vitality of an insect or something, and see if it will heal the cut.
- Another thing we need to play with is fire. Fire golem? HELL YES.
-Play with blood. Maybe that's what the golem needs. Blood. Mix some of your own blood into the clay.
-Like we tried to be the ropeman when we raised our first golem, we can try to be the earth when we make a clay or earthen golem, etc.
- Try to infuse vitality into the crystal to see what it does.
- See what happens if you infuse Mana and Vitality into the same crystal.
- Steal Vitality on self
1. Imbue a small, uncrushed mana crystal with mana. Cast Detect Magic on it, comparing it to a mana potion.
2. If successful, turn the imbued mana crystal into a golem using 2 vitality. It is important to later experiments that we use exactly 2 vitality. Continue observing with Detect Magic.
3. If successful, attempt to Alter Golem in order to imbue the mana cystal with the ability to cast a cheap spell using the mana stored within it when commanded to. I recomend Detect Magic, since that should be easy to test.
4. If successful, continue to have the crystal cast Detect Magic even after it has run out of mana, in order to see if it can cast the spell using vitality like a mage can. Assuming this works, we will be able to discern the conversion ratio between vitality and mana.
5. If successful and the conversion ratio is > 3 mana per 2 vitality, have a mana crystal that is able to hold at least 3 mana wrapped in thick leather with a single small hole. Firmly attach this leather-covered crystal to a stick that is suitable as a handle
6. Imbue 3 mana into the crystal before turning it into a 1 vitality golem that will cast Steal Vitality as quickly and often as it can on anything that comes within 4 feet of it, draining the vitality into itself.
7. Note to ourselves that, because Steal Vitality works on line of sight, only things that come within line of sight of the single hole in the leather will be drained of vitality.
8. Enjoy our new lightsaber.
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Yicelafo
Author
Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 685346 times)