Time flies when you're having fun! A friend of mine talked me into NaNoWriMo- for the uninitiated, National Novel Writing Month is a challenge to write a 50 thousand word novel between November 1st and November 30th. Needless to say, that's a lot of writing, and is why this update was delayed so long. I'm not going to win (currently at 26k) though I have enough written I think I will finish the book- my current goal is to get it done by the new year.
Anyway, enough about me and the things I do instead of this awesome game- on with the story!
I would advise against stalling. We're in a dream, so it may not even work, and even if it did it would be needlessly antagonizing a powerful opponent, which is #7 on the Big List of Things Not To Do When Becoming a Powerful Wizard, right alongside "don't brag" and "don't cast spells that you don't know what they do".
We should say that A] We agree with their goal of making the world safe for necromancers, but B] we can't agree to be on the same side as someone like Curo Nightroar since his sort of necromancy is the sort that gives all necromancers their bad name, and C] because of that we're not saying where we are until something changes and we are willing to join.
Also, I don't think they really expect us to go all "yeah, let's kill all our previous societies". If they aren't stupid, they will consider the possibility that we are still attached to our previous societies and should be willing to take the longer route of letting us getting disillusioned with it while pushing us relatively gently to their side along the way.
"Will you work with us, and share our knowledge? Where are you?"
"I'd like to work with other Necromancers, but I can't endorse your methods. You want me to abandon my people, my friends? To join up with a maniac like Curo Nightroar? It's Necromancers like him who make everyone feel the need to bring whole armies against us."
"You'll see- your friends and family will abandon you once they know who you really are. It's inevitable."
"It's only inevitable if you don't try! There has to be another way- Necromancers coexisted with the rest of Urak long ago, and they can do so again. I know it!"
Fale rolls his eyes, striding closer to you. "Pfft. You know nothing. You'll see the truth of my words sooner or later, but don't hold onto your stubbornness for too long- I can't help you if you get yourself killed. We'll talk again- until then, stay out of our way."
Suddenly, Fale lifts his hand- his fingers are wreathed in purple fire as he gives you a firm shove. Surprised, you fall backward, tumbling into your fishing hole as Fale's strange room fades away. The purple fishes swarm around you, blocking your view as they mass in impossible numbers, swirling closer and closer...Anyway, on the morning inform Omo of the situation, and tell him you need to start working on becoming able to oppose them, which including training, researching and building a power base. Work on doing so. We need to work on overtime to be able to be in a position where we can actually declare opposition to the other necromancers. If the necromancers can somehow scry us and see that we tell them that we are doing so so can keep him as our asset for now and that we are working on creating a power base so we are safe from those who would hunt us. Stall some more. Also, research old tomes and etc. to discover if there is any "good" death god, or at least a neutral one. We might need a god to handle another.
But make sure to tell everything we can to Omo in the morning of this event - Full transparency. Let him know we're relying on him to be our conscious as we descend into this political powder keg.
After a night of murky, half-remembered dreams, you awake to the sound of Omo snoring on the floor. With a tired groan, you roll over in bed- although your other dreams are rapidly dissipating, your encounter with Fale Packunion remains sharp and clear. There is no doubt in your mind that he (or she, or it) is no figment of your imagination.
Judging by the weak light attempting to crawl in the window, it is either early morning or quite cloudy outside. After rubbing your eyes, you conclude you won't be able to get back to sleep. In the interests of fairness, you decide Omo should get up as well- sitting up, you dig through your pack for
Prestidigitation for the Beginning Practitioner. Close inspection confirms that it is a sturdy, well crafted tome. Reassured that the book will be fine, you toss it off the foot of the bed, about where you judge Omo's head to be.
"Agh! Wha- Did you just throw the book at me, Nym?""Yeah. I had a weird dream last night.""So you chucked your textbook at my head!?! You could've brained me!""It's not like you were using those brains anyway.""On the contrary, those brains are giving me a nice pounding headache to thank me for the ale I had last night. I was rather hoping we'd get to sleep in before we go tramping through the wilderness.""Sorry, no such luck. Listen- the dream I had wasn't really a dream, I think. Somehow, some other Necromancer contacted me in my sleep."Omo sits bolt upright before wincing and rubbing his head.
"Wait, what? Necromancers can do that?""I guess? He said his name was Fale Packunion.""Strange name- sounds vaguely dwarven.""Yeah. He appeared to be an elf though- actually first he appeared to be a human woman, then changed to an elf man. He said he was trying to unify the Necromancers under Morka, god of Death. Ever hear of him?"Omo shakes his head.
"No, I've never heard of Morka. I know the Golgothans worshiped Golgoth, but they're all dead now.""Wait, really? I didn't know that.""Yeah, well, you'd have known if you had paid more attention to the Sages. That's pretty much all I remember, though. What happened next?""He said something about teaching me Necromancy in exchange for my allegiance, and everyone I love will betray me, yadda yadda so on and so forth. I turned him down- I know he's definitely working with Nightroar, and any friend of his is no friend of mine.""Right. So... what now?""I don't think he knows I've left the Vale- he kept asking where I was, like he didn't know. I don't know if anything has really changed for us- we know the other Necromancers are working together to conquer the world, but not much else at this point. I say we go on like before. If we leave now, we should make Aloclesno before nightfall.""Yeah... that makes sense, I guess. Let's get some breakfast first, though."After taking advantage of the opportunity to freshen up, you head downstairs. The common room is empty except for the sleepy innkeeper, who stifles a yawn as he brings you a bowl of oatmeal with some dried fruit slices on top. Omo begins to devour his portion with single-minded determination.
"So do you know which way we're going?""Mmmph. Yeah, I was talking with the soldiers about it last night. There's a dirt road that should take us straight to the forest, more or less. There's a few flyspeck farming villages between here and there- most are abandoned, but the one furthest south is still inhabited.""The village closest to the forest?""Mmhm. Patrols head that way every now and again to make sure they're alright, but they haven't seen much in the way of zombies- too far out of the way, likely. We should be able to spend the night there before going on into the forest.""Wait, you didn't tell them we were going into the haunted forest, did you?""Please, give me some credit. If anyone asks, we're looking for family from one of the abandoned villages."After breakfast, you gather your things and hit the road. As it turns out, it is indeed both early in the morning and quite cloudy out. A warm southerly breeze promises rain as it tugs at your cloak and stirs the flags of the Imperial troopers. There is a general exodus in progress as most of the soldiers gear up and head out on patrol, while the remainder continue their efforts at fortifying the village. Leaving through the East Gate, Omo quickly peels away from the marching warriors and takes you down a narrow dirt road.
It is something of a kindness to call it a road- more accurately, it is a set of wagon-wheel ruts straddling a strip of dirt hard-packed from generations of traveling feet. Hardy weeds stubbornly eke out an existence on the otherwise barren path. The road zigs and zags its way through the farmland near the village, but once out in the open spaces it straightens up quite nicely. It also deteriorates somewhat- clearly, not many travelers leave the highway to visit the boondocks.
For the most part, the road leads through uninhabited wilderness, grassland broken only by the odd bush or shrub. Every once in a great while, you pass a solitary farm- some are abandoned, their windows boarded shut and occupants fled, but many of the farmers stubborn enough to scrape an existence this far from civilization are also stubborn enough to remain in their homes despite the Necromancer threat. Their life appears largely unchanged as they work the fields, getting the first crops of the season planted.
As Omo mentioned, there are indeed small hamlets out here, little more than a half dozen stone farmhouses clustered around a good source of water, with maybe an inn or some craftsman's shop. The grey clouds begin to drizzle on you as you pass through the first hamlet, but by the time you've passed the last villager returning from his field the rain has stopped. When you pass through the second hamlet early in the afternoon, however, there are no villagers to pass- every home and shop is boarded up, abandoned. There is something profoundly unsettling about a completely deserted village- rather than take your lunch there, you continue on a ways out of town.
The drizzle makes a serious attempt to qualify as rain as you continue following the road southeast, but ultimately peters out after about an hour of dampness. The farmhouses become few and far between as the land gets more and more rough, the monotony of the countryside now broken up with the occasional boulder. The road becomes less a road and more of a trail as the grass and weeds grow over the wagon tracks, making footing difficult. It's a very boring afternoon of walking- Omo seems to be alone with his thoughts, and you find your own thoughts returning to your strange dream, searching for clues. You've never heard of Necromancy being associated with dreams in any story, but then again, you've also never heard of them being associated with golems, either.
Prestidigitation for the Beginning Practitioner makes no mention of dreams or dream magic for any of the other Magical Faiths. Really, the only dream magic you've heard of comes from fairy tales which have no basis in fact.
The sun hangs low in the sky when you begin passing farmhouses again. Though they appear to be deserted, they do not appear to have been abandoned for long- children's toys and farming implements still litter the ground, and at one farm you see a small herd of cattle still within their pen. Looking around, you see no farmers- your shouts elicit no response from the locked and hastily boarded up farmhouse.
The village comes into view after another couple miles of walking. It is clearly larger than the hamlets you passed on the road here. Not only are there more houses, but a prominent two story building rising up in the middle of town appears to be a temple. You hear plenty of commotion, but encounter no villagers until you stand in the center of town. Beside the temple is an open, grassy area- or rather, it would be open if it were not full of villagers standing around, talking anxiously. Other villagers hurry in and out of the temple, running off on whatever errand is important enough to take precedence over dinnertime. Looking further down the road, you can see a large, loud man directing a line of villagers shoveling dirt, digging a trench to the east of the village.
Omo scratches his head, looking at all the activity.
"Well, I don't see anyplace that looks like an inn. Maybe the temple? I don't know what the commotion is about- hopefully they don't look poorly on strangers."You look around in concern. You'd hoped to get a good night's rest here, as well as some more information on the supposedly haunted forest you plan to skirt, but you aren't sure where to go or who to talk to. Any ideas?
Vitality- 11/11
Mana- 12/12
XP- 20/35
Inventory- Belt Pouch (
80 Silver Pieces),
Elven Traveler Garb,
Elven Cloak, Headband, 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),
Improved Necromantic Sight(Passive)Skills-
Competent Fisher,
Dabbling SwimmerStatus- Tired
Twenty 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- Alert
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.
Fale Packunion- A mysterious figure who appeared to you in a dream, attempting to recruit you to the cause of his Death God. May or may not be the Pirate King or some other known figure.
Morka- The aforementioned Death God. You know basically nothing about him/her/it, except his link to the other Necromancers.
-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 recommend 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.
World Map
Northwest Thrimesdur
Author
Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 685193 times)