So, to restate my short term actions:
1.Test the flask. Smell it, pour some in a glass, take a small sip, etc...
2.Find Omo and then go find Eko.
3.If there is nothing wrong with either of them, confront Eko about the zombie. Ask him why he didn't warn the villagers. Tell him we found the zombie while exploring the temple. (We were curious about what was in the basement. We were curious about what was in those trapdoors because they looked like prison cells and we couldn't understand their purpose.) Tell him we understand the need to perform experiments, however that's no reason to keep his fellow villagers in the dark. If they knew, they could have better defended themselves. Also ask him how did he manage to capture it without it killing him?
4. Prepare to venture into the forest. (Preparations will depend on the results of the previous actions (if we get to complete them without problems) , so that is why I left it vague. It is a way to state my long term intentions, not a proposal to go into the forest right now.)
+1 to this.
+1
I guess this doesn't have much of a problem.
+1
Even so, he IS withholding information and acting strangely. If there is something wrong, we should know about it. If he has some kind of a problem, we should know about it so we can maybe help him. We're not shaking him down, we're not extorting him. We're asking because we care and are concerned both about his safety and the safety of the villagers.
And I think studying that thing before killing it is more beneficial.
You stretch, rubbing your head as you walk away from the resting patients. Dismissing your See Vitality spell, you return to the fireside armchair to think about what you've learned. You know Eko knew about nearby zombies before the attacks, but said nothing. You're pretty sure he's a Wizard and not a Necromancer, but it's still strange behavior. You know Eko has been concealing a zombie in the basement of an Order Temple, though how he got it down there is a mystery. You know (or at least guess) that he's been experimenting on that zombie. You know... he's been drinking a lot?
Curious, you walk back to Eko's room. Snatching up the flask from the bedstand, you pop the lid off and carefully smell the contents. You are rewarded with the scent of pungent, bitter beer; Sewer Brew, if you had to guess. Not a popular beverage among the elves, but it was the drink of choice for many human Caravan guards since it was nearly as inexpensive as it was intoxicating. Maybe Eko is like Pevo, mixing his Mana potions with alcohol, but you don't really want to test that theory directly. Besides, you saw him drinking from a flask like this just this morning, not long after breakfast.
You've more than half a mind to investigate the forest further, but Eko is definitely keeping secrets. He might be able to provide more information if you confront him about it, and whether it's about the zombies or the forest, more information is a good thing. You resolve to do just that... after you find Omo. You don't think things will get violent, but prudence never hurt anyone.
Setting the flask down, you grab your cloak and check your headband before hitting the streets of Bedscaled. You pause a moment on the temple steps as a brisk wind grabs at your cloak; a much stronger gust than the breezes you knew in Yicelafo. The Sun is bright in the sky, sinking toward evening, and the cloudless sky promises a starry night.
You peer up and down the street, gathering your cloak and trying to deduce which way Omo might have gone. There really aren't many places of interest in the village itself: a blacksmith works his forge not too far away, another house advertises a carpenter's workshop around back, and a broad side street leads to the village well. No inns, no taverns, no places of song or dance or drink. It's the sort of pastoral scene that would have fit in Yicelafo with a few cosmetic changes, and not the sort of place Omo would seek out. On a hunch, you walk down the road to the East, where the villagers have been digging a defensive ditch.
Up close, the ditch is quite impressive, as deep and wide as the shovels used to dig it. The bottom is quite muddy, a morass no attacker could easily escape. The dirt has been piled on the inside, forming a packed earthen wall to further slow invaders. The only break in the defense is the road leading east; a few heavy wagons stand ready to block the path, with extra barrels and bags of dirt to give the barricade extra weight. You can see that the ditch does not yet fully protect the village. Though the Northern end bends out of sight around the village, you can still see the Southern end of the ditch just short of making it's own Westward bend. You can also see the reason the South end of the project is not so far along as the North end.
"There we were, just outside the dark, haunted forest," you hear Omo say as you approach his end of the ditch. Omo gestures expansively to his audience, half a dozen burly villagers leaning on their shovels. Another group of villagers continues the work of digging, but you can tell from their slow pace and turned heads that they're spending more time listening to Omo than they are working.
"So I cracked him in the head with my staff, of course! I couldn't let a moldy old zombie stand between me and the children. But that's when I realized-" Omo cuts off in surprise when he sees you wave. Making hasty goodbyes and ignoring calls to finish his story, Omo walks over to join you.
"Do you really think you should be distracting the ditch-diggers with your tales?" You ask dryly.
"What?" Omo asks innocently.
"I'm keeping spirits up! We're practically heroes here; well, I am, anyway. I have to leave out most of the bits you did. They do think you're brave for coming with me, and the part where we flee the forest monster with the kids on our backs is a crowd pleaser.""Is it? How many people have you told this story?""Oh, I don't know. Everyone who asks, which is everyone I talk to for more than a minute. I can see why bards spend all their time telling stories; it's fun! And it's not like there's much else to do in this town. Did you finish your book?""I read what I wanted to." You reply curtly, kicking at a clod of dirt.
"And now you and I are going to ask Eko some pointed questions about the you-know-what.""The what? Oh!" Omo throws up his hands at your level stare.
"What? That's nothing I want to dwell on. Are you sure confronting Eko is wise?""I'm sure it's the fastest way to get some solid information. I'm tired of guesswork. As soon as he gets back, we ask him.""Well, you won't have to wait long." Omo points down the road.
"Looks like Eko's back." Squinting, you can make out a robed figure making its way toward the village in the distance. Soon enough, you clearly recognize Eko Cleanvise walking with shoulders slumped and head down. He straightens up as he nears the village, running a hand over his balding head and settling authority over his shoulders like a cloak. He nods to the ditch-diggers, who ignore him as he walks by. You and Omo fall in on either side of him as you walk back toward the Temple.
"So... the wards all good?" You ask, fumbling for a way to broach the zombie in the basement.
"Yes, yes, no problems there. The village should have some warning if any zombies come this way." Eko replies absently.
"Great, great. Uh...""Speaking of zombies, we found the one you've got tied up in the basement." Omo interjects.
Eko stumbles, biting back an oath as he anxiously looks to see if anyone is nearby. You have the road to yourselves, but Eko grabs each of you by the arm and pulls you in closer.
"I'm sorry, what?" Eko speaks quickly, and nervously.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""You really want us to believe you don't know everything that goes on in your own Temple? Besides, we found your notes. Don't worry, we're not going to tell your secret to anybody.""Though maybe you should have told the villagers before the zombie attacks." Omo says darkly.
"Maybe you wouldn't have two orphans to care for in your Temple.""I couldn't have known there was an attack coming!" Eko protests, frantically waving his arms.
"I cast my divinations, and there wasn't another zombie around for miles! I thought it was just a straggler from the fight to the North. I did nothing wrong!" Eko begins fumbling his flask from beneath his robes, then pauses, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Wait... how did you know I found that zombie before the attacks?"Vitality- 10/11
Mana- 7/12
XP- 26/35
Inventory- Belt Pouch (
80 Silver Pieces),
Elven Traveler Garb,
Elven Cloak, Headband, Belt Knife,
Hatchet, 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- Nervous
Twenty one 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- X MP - Range: Line of Sight. You can suck the Vitality out of living things. This spell removes up to 2X 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.
Impair Undead- 2MP- Range: 30ft (close enough to see in detail.) You blinded a zombie with this spell.
See Vitality- 1MP- Allows you to see the machinations of Vitality in living things as well as you see the workings of zombies with your Necromantic Sight.
Vitality- 12/13
Mana- 1/3
XP- 29/35
Inventory-
Elven Tunic,
Elven Cloak, Headband, Belt Knife, Torch(lit), Leather Backpack(50' Rope,
Camping Supplies, Waterskin(mostly full), Torch),
Masterwork Elven StaffAbilities-
Track,
SurvivalistSkills-
Novice Observer,
Competent Ambusher,
Competent Staff User,
Poor Liar,
Dabbling SwimmerStatus- Bandage, left arm
Omo Thunderjaw- Your best friend, brave and true. He is currently an aspiring Ranger, and is eager to leave the Vale.
Eko Cleanvise- The priest of the village of Bedscaled, his wards against the undead have failed him
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?
- 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.
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.
- Trying to develop a destroy vitality spell, using the same principles of the steal vitality, except without keeping it usable. It might be possible to do it for cheaper or causing more damage for the same mana.
- Trying to use the principles of the destroy vitality or the steal vitality spell for a disinfectant spell. It will require a lot of fine control, but it should theoretically be possible.
- We could also try to overbuff a zombie. Is there a max to the amount of vitality a zombie can have? And what happens if a zombie gets a lot of vitality?
* Remove someone's soul. Try to store it for a time in a living thing like a tree, or confine it in a mana crystal, then put it back later. See if they're functional.
* Attempt to swap souls between two different bodies.
* Carefully attempt to displace our own soul from our own body. See if we can move around apart from our bodies, like astral projection. See if we can cast while in this state, enter other occupied bodies like a possession, then return to our body later.
World Map
Northwest Thrimesdur
Your XP went up by two since I forgot to increment that last update.
Are you certain he said Life mages? We know Order has healing spells too. If Life mages, people who can see the vitality network of things, have tried then that means that we probably have no chance of succeeding with a pure vitality manipulation approach. We need to find what's missing from them, if possible. Then again, necromancers are more capable of recreating life then Life mages so maybe they are also more capable of recreating souls then Life mages.
Something like a shark proof cage for necromantic constructs? Or something like a hunter's blind? Or a fence? Either way, good idea.
Teehee, raise thread is still funny.
And it will always
be funny, one of the many risks of running a Necromancy-themed forum game
Author
Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions (Read 684222 times)