[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X]Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X]The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
[X] Blanket: You don't know how long it'll take you to get to Artemis's home, you'll want to be warm. Besides, Mother made it.
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X] Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X] The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
-[X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
Going with Alcor's version, because honestly? even unenhanced, our electricity should be fine for now damage-output now. Shadow magic, on the other hand? We've got the potential for stealth, as people've mentioned... but reverse engineering the basics now means a higher chance of being able to learn Nosferatu and Luna in the future, which are some of the most useful spells a mage can know in the Fire Emblem universe, being self-healing and Resist-ignore respectively.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X]Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X] The DragonWithin: How to along with yours
[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
-[X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
[X] confront them. I don't think there's more than two, maybe three. We can take them by surprise."
The main rule of a stealth mission is not to leave enemies behind.
[X] Blanket: You don't know how long it'll take you to get to Artemis's home, you'll want to be warm. Besides, Mother made it.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X] Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X] The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
-[X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
[X] Plan Survival of Traditions
- [X] Extra Food: You don't know how long it will be before you fid someplace with food, you should probably be prepared.
- [X] Good Clothes: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X] From Dragon to Manakete: A History of our People
- [X] A Mother's Wisdom: Words from the First Mother
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
The reason why I went with this plan was if we are inside a Fire Emblem plot, or most JRPG ones anyway, we will have to deal with some ancient powers, good and evil, in order to reach a happy end. Therefore I'm trying to save the important ancient lore in order to not be blindsided when we start dealing with the remains of our parents and ancestors. History of Manakete and Mother's Wisdom sounds like the big relevant context, the big bad's actions would then be the only missing pieces.
I know going the runesmith/blacksmith/item crafter route is popular and very enticing, but it seems it will cost a lot in terms of material and time to learn, therefore, if we have to get some long term benefit, I would prefer it would be to magic that can be easily turned for battle purposes.
Food and clothes are for short term survival. And clothes are extremely important in what will probably be a feudal society, dress like a lord and most people will expect you to be one. It will easier to be considered an ancient dragon from time forgotten with the good clothes, it will also serve as a good disguise to make the humans forget we are a completely clueless little girl lost in time.
This vote's gonna be a bit messy to tally. Also, are you ok with people doing plan votes? I imagine those don't count towards the consensus.
[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X]Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X]The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X]Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X]The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
- [X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X]Runewrighting: Making Magical Masterpieces
- [X]The Dragon Within: How to get along with yours
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
[X] Plan Practical Magic Focus
-[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
-[X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
-[X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
-[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
-[X] Blanket: You don't know how long it'll take you to get to Artemis's home, you'll want to be warm. Besides, Mother made it.
-[X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
[X] go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
Admittedly I feel a little iffy about leaving the extra food behind, but swapping out the blanket for that on a vote like this would feel somewhat petty.
Even if Nosferatu turns out to be a Light spell on this continent, speccing into Dark early on could still get us Luna fairly quickly, and if the QM hasn't nerfed it into the ground like Sacred Stones did, that's going to be a massive help once we start going up against foes who actually have a RES stat that's worth a damn.
Ofc, that is assuming that we can build up a weapon rank in that type at all, and that the tablet isn't just a Spectre card on ten different steroids. But either way, as long as we get to stab people with their own shadows, I'm happy.
Ed. - That's my second post in a row on this thread that's gotten a Funny from the GM. I can think of at least three reasons for this, and all of them are equally terrifying.
A few things about magic that Ryza would know, since she has the Arcane background:
1) All manakete can use all types of magic, but they cannot use them all equally.
While Yellow manakete are the best at magic as a whole, the other tribes could, with training, use all five types of magic. They just generally weren't as good at it.
That being said, each tribe is naturally gifted at their own type. While training does play a part, if you and an equivalently-trained Red manakete were to get into a fire duel, they would absolutely win, just as you would absolutely win a lightning duel.
2) Enhancer runes are limited.
You've never studied anything but the basics of Yellow magic, but you are confident you could cast the basics of other elemental magics with a corrisponding enhancer rune. However, until you've taken the time to actually put in the work of studying it, the basics are all you'd be able to do with them.
3) Battle magic has tiers.
There are three rough tiers of "standard" battle magic, with each tier taking more power and skill to cast than the last. You know you can cast the first tier of lighting magic naturally.
(In game terms, you have an unbreakable Thunder that you can cast whenever you want, with Elthunder and Rexthunder being the other two that you need help to use.)
Each school also has some spells that don't fit neatly into the standard tier list, and they generally take even more power and skill to cast than the three "tiered" spells.
EDIT: Make that four tiers: I forgot about the Arc_____ level spells.
4) Different magics do different things.
This may seem obvious, but it goes beyond elements. For example, while Yellow magic is best know for lighting, you also know that it can be used to increase people's energy and stamina, provide resistance to magic, and other support tricks. You also know that the other types of magic have similar support abilities, but you never had a chance to study those in detail.
(In game terms, staves are also split between the types of magic.)
On one hand, sticking to a naming convention for the four magic tiers can only be good for organizational purposes.
On the other hand, seeing Rexthunder instead of Rexbolt instigated an immediate response of primal revulsion. And no matter how I try to say it to myself, Rexflux just sounds weird. I think it's the double x. Not to mention that dark magic has never actually had names that conformed to the tier-indicative structure that other magic types used. In fact, the only time it had spells that could be considered traditionally tiered was in Radiant Dawn - all their other appearances have been chock-full of esoteric effects instead of just straight damage boosts for higher-rank spells.
...man, now I'm wondering if any of the other uniquely-named spells are going to appear. Things like Thoron, Excalibur (or Aircalibur, or Grafcalibur... man, these games have a lot of -calibur wind spells, don't they?), and Bolganone are bound to do some weird shit since the Rex- spells are locked in the top dog position.
Oh, bother, you've gone and gotten me excited.
Just, uh, do try and read some of those spell names out to yourself once in a while. If they don't survive a quick Cringe Test, you should probably work on them a bit more.
[X] Plan Survival of Traditions
- [X] Extra Food: You don't know how long it will be before you fid someplace with food, you should probably be prepared.
- [X] Good Clothes: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
- [X] Beyond your Stone: A Guide to Practical Magic
- [X] From Dragon to Manakete: A History of our People
- [X] A Mother's Wisdom: Words from the First Mother
- [X] Thunder's Cry: An enhancer for lightning magic, your specialty. With this, you'll be able to do a lot more damage with lightning.
Question: I haven't gone through all of the votes, but why is the food option gaining traction? Artemis is an archer and likely at least moderately capable of hunting and, if that fails, Ryza can turn into a dragon. One that sounds like it has instincts that she can tap into.
Question: I haven't gone through all of the votes, but why is the food option gaining traction? Artemis is an archer and likely at least moderately capable of hunting and, if that fails, Ryza can turn into a dragon. One that sounds like it has instincts that she can tap into.
[X] Tablets: Typically used to aid in spellcasting, these stone tablets have been carved with runes. You can also use these to help you learn new magic, though that will take time.
[X] Scrolls: Large rolls of parchment with informational texts. You already know what a lot of them of them say, but a few stand out as being about topics you're less knowledgeable about.
[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
-[X] Dark Shroud: An enhancer for the Black tribe's shadow magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser shadow magic.
[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
- [X] Good Clothes: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
-[X] Gemstones, Gold and Silver: These precious materials will be invaluable if you want to make runes like your father's. You'll have to learn how first, of course.
-[X] Good Cloths: You find a few extra outfits in the chest, and one of them looks far more finely made than most of what you wear. If you ever want to make a good impression, this might be useful.
-[X]Mother's Hymn: An enhancer for the White tribe's light magic. You were never trained in this, but with this you could probably use lesser light magic.
[X] ...go around. You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get us around that corridor safely."
"What to bring when exploring a pre-Fell ruin: Torches, so you can see, buddies, to keep you safe, and most importantly, some chalk so that when you regain your sanity and remember that exploring pre-Fell ruins is a bad idea, you can find your way back out."
You can tell that Artemis wants to fight. You're not entirely sure how, you never spent much time with people close to your own age, but somehow you know she wants to confront these people who have hurt her friends. However, she hesitates, glancing between you and the approaching light, clearly indecisive.
"We should go around," you say softly. "You said we should try to avoid trouble, and I think I know how to get around that corridor safely."
Artemis takes a deep breath before nodding. "Yes, you're right," she says, the grip on her bow loosening slightly. "Come on, let's go."
Quickly backtracking, you lead Artemis back to another corridor that should get you around where those bad men were. (6,6 + 2)
Only to find nothing but rubble. It seems that this corridor has collapsed.
You skid to a halt, thinking desperately. There was another way around, there always was, but it was several hundred feet back, and it lead dangerously close to the area where Artemis had said there would likely be more hunters. Since there were some ahead of you, she was probably right about that, and those corridors got even more narrow…
Narrow…
"Ryza, talk to me I can't see anything!" Artemis hisses as the sound of footsteps comes ever closer.
"Way's blocked, but there's a small gap we can slip in," you say, pointing to the slit that you'd seen on the edge of the collapsed corridor. "Too narrow to get far, but there's a turn further in where we can hide. After they bypass us we can go the original way."
"Risky. If they do see us-"
"It'll be fine! I promise, trust me! The visible path leads that way, so that's the way they'll look!"
The light grows ever brighter behind you, enough that Artemis can clearly see herself. She measures the distances with her eyes, clearly doing some sort of math in her head, before nodding. "I suppose that is our best option," she says, slinging her bow over her shoulder and slipping into the crevasse you noticed. She had to squirm a little, but she made it to the bend without much trouble. "Come on, Ryza, there's plenty of space," she whispered.
Being smaller, you were easily able to make it, finding yourself in what almost looked like a small room: the falling rocks having jammed themselves miraculously to form a sheltered space. "It'll be good to remember this if we need to hide," you whisper.
Artemis, however, had her ears perked, listening to the man's voice from before. Scooting closer, you listen in too.
"-give her every chance to come out, more than she deserves after killing our boys, and she hides like a rat! Oh, what I'll do to her-"
Another voice, this one softer but still edged with frustration, speaks up. "Your boss said we can't hurt her," he said sharply. Artemis tenses against you: something about that voice must have set her off. You grip her wrist; not sure what she wanted to do but certain that staying put was better.
"No, Boss said we can't kill her. I ain't gonna kill her, just make her pay for all this." The first voice lowers conspiratorially. "If we find her, I'll give you a turn. You've had to bow and scrape at her feet, surely you have a whole list of grudges you'd like to take out on her pretty little body. And even if you don't, well, she ain't bad to look at, could have some fun with her…"
Thankfully, Artemis's furious hiss is covered up as the second voice snarls from right outside your shelter. "Don't compare me to yourself, merc! Besides, you shouldn't talk about her like that!"
A moment of tense silence followed before the second voice let out a cry as something was slammed against a wall. "Oh, you soft on the princess, are you," the first voice growled menacingly. "Maybe havin' some second thoughts about all this?"
Unable to resist, you carefully peek out from the shelter, trusting the shadows to protect you. Artemis doesn't reprimand you, either not wanting to be overheard or too busy fingering the hilt of the knife on her belt with a murderous expression on her face.
There are two men just outside the ruined corridor: a massive titan, bigger even than Mother, wearing only a pair of pants to reveal his enormous muscles. A large axe hung over his shoulders, freeing one hand to pin the second man, a shorter, wiry man with a bow of his own, against the wall by his neck. The first man's other hand, meanwhile, was holding a torch uncomfortable close to the second man's face.
He continued. "Well listen up, boy, 'cause I'm gonna give you some life advice: you better get rid of those soft feeling right now, 'cause she ain't got any for you. I know her type: she'd see us all hang on principle, and you've gone and stabbed her in the back to boot. Give her half the chance, she'd put an arrow in your gut just to watch you die slow. The only way she's not gonna get you is if you get her first. You get me?"
The second man's hand was scratching desperately at the other's meaty fist. "Can't… breath…" he choked out.
"I said, you get me?!"
"Yes, yes I-"
The big man dropped the smaller man, who fell to his knees, gasping. "You better, you little bastard," he growled. "And if you're think your fancy knight can protect you, think again. There's thirty of us and only six of you. You try anything, we string you all up right next to the proud bitch who said no to the boss's generous offer."
You see the smaller man's face contort in anger, but he doesn't speak, just pushing himself to his feet. "Let's go," he mutters sullenly.
The big man grabs him by the shoulder and shoves him along. "Good idea," he said, not even glancing down the ruined corridor you were hiding in. "I swear, when I find her…" The voices trailed off, and the light slowly faded.
After a minute, Artemis takes a deep breath. "Sentinel refuse those foul, evil…" she hissed before looking down at you. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Ryza. I swear, most people aren't like him."
You hoped not: you liked Artemis, and you hoped most humans were like her rather than that… crude man. "It's okay, Lady Artemis," you say, wiggling your way out to let her pass. "Are you okay?"
"…No, no I'm not," Artemis sighs as she makes her own way out. "Those numbers… there were only four traitors: Robert and his goons. Where did the other two… Fell!"
"What is it?" you ask, stepping towards her. Something crunches faintly under your feet, and you look down.
"There were three of the yeomen that surrendered during the fighting: if these bandits thought they needed more men to look for me, they'd offer them their lives in return for helping search." Artemis sighs. "Sounds like one said no, and they killed her for it. Probably Emily, she always had a hot temper…" She bowed her head. "Sentinel protect her."
You rise from where you'd crouched, carefully patting Artemis on the leg as you study the parchment. "Looks like one of them dropped this."
"What is it, I can't see."
Looking around, you don't see or hear any signs of trouble, so you take the risk of making a small lighting ball. "I think it's a map," you whisper. "Yes! This looks like home, or at least parts of it!"
Artemis studies the map with a smirk. "Excellent," she says. "Looks like this is what they've patrolled so far. Look, they found one of the other entrances you mentioned, but not the other two! We still have a shot!"
The two of you set off again, passing where the men came from on your way forward.
Even with the map, even with your own knowledge, the going is hard. As you go deeper and deeper, more and more signs of damage become apparent. Wall that once held beautiful tapestries were now bare and scarred. A room that had once been a library now stinks of rot and decay. A storage room overrun with rats that set you both on a hasty retreat. Had you been doing this alone, it wouldn't have been easy, but having to guide the nearly blind Artemis along, helping her over unstable ground, pulling her through tight corridors, constantly worrying that the odd noises that always filled this place now hid more sinister threats.
You start to worry that you've bitten off more than you can chew. (4,5 + 1)
However… you do remarkably well finding your way. The first time you run into trouble, it was pretty easy to get back on track. There was a collapsed passage, and rather than go around you tried to go over. This unfortunately reminded you that you'd spent most of your time on the first floor of your home, and didn't know the second as well. Therefore you took a wrong turn, got lost, and eventually Artemis convinced you to just go back and stick to the lower floor. You can admit that this delay was mostly your fault. (3,2 + 1)
The second time was most certainly not your fault. How were you supposed to know that that web you brushed through was inhabited by the second biggest, meanest spider you've ever seen in your life!
"Get it off, get it off!" you squeal, running around in circles as you try desperately to brush at your hair.
"Ryza, I can't do anything if I can't see!" Artemis says irritably from where you'd accidently shoved her against the wall when you started flailing. "And stop screaming, you'll get everyone's-"
ZAP
Oh… maybe channeling a nearly lethal dose (for a human) of lighting into yourself had been a little overkill. You could smell a faint burning scent, though thankfully you could tell it was your clothes rather than your body. Artemis was moaning, covering her eyes where the bright flash had probably nearly blinded her. At least she'd missed your wings sprouting due to panic: that would have been embarrassing. You whistle a bit as you force them back just in time for Artemis to uncover her eyes.
"…Let's go. Let's just… go," she says after a long moment, clearly having to work to keep her temper in check. "And… let's avoid all cobwebs for the foreseeable future." Gingerly, you make your way back to her and continue on, trying to ignore her mutters about "girly-girls." Still, you tried to keep your spirits up, surely it couldn't get-
You turn a corner, and it seems the whole corridor ahead is one giant cobweb.
You freeze in place, causing Artemis to bump into you. "What now?" she hisses. You silently create a ball of lightning to show her what it was. She bites back a few words before shaking her head. "Alright, let's go around."
It takes you a long time to find your way back to the path you'd wanted to be on, but at least the spider was dead.
Stupid spider. (3,6+1)
Thankfully, it seems you hadn't attracted too much attention with that little… escapade. As you continue on your journey, Artemis eventually calms down, and the pair of you fall back into the rhythm of moving when only one of you can see.
As you walk, however, your thoughts drift. Walking past the remnants of Mother's training room, you pause: how many times had you come here, begging her to let you play with her in dragon form? As you pick your way through the remnants of a rune lab of your father's, you stumble upon what you are sure are the shards of a clumsily-carved figurine you had made for him.
You start to truly understand that everything you knew was gone. You'd been most focused on Father and Mother, how they had gone to the Mother's side without you, but it wasn't just them. Your home of almost a century. The work of generations of manakete, many of whom had vanished before you were born. All gone. Nothing but dust and ash and untold stories. You didn't even know where you would begin to rebuild it.
You try to continue walking, but your vision starts to cloud: you can feel the tears prickling at the corners of your eyes, but you can't stop. If you stop you don't think you'll be able to get going again. Besides, Artemis needs you, so you press on. You rub your sleeve against your face, trying to clear your vision, but everywhere you look you can't help but see the way things should be. You see the world your parents made, the one they brought you up in… and then realize that it's gone, never to return.
"Ryza?"
With a start, you realize you've come to a halt, and Artemis is staring down at you questioningly. "Sorry," you say, looking around and trying to place yourself. "I… I got distracted."
Artemis purses her lips. "Are you okay, Ryza?"
"I'm fine," you say quickly, perhaps too quickly. "I think… I think I'm a little turned around, but give me a moment and I can figure out-"
"I didn't ask if you knew where we were, Ryza," Artemis says, turning you around to face her before crouching down. "I asked if you were okay."
"What do you mean?" you ask, even as you start to realize you had no idea where you were. You must have gotten way off track while you were distracted. Cursing yourself, you try to place where you'd ended up-
Only to gasp as Artemis pulls you into a hug. "I may be blind right now, Ryza," she said. "But I'm not deaf. I heard you crying." Had you been? You thought you'd stopped yourself, but before you could defend yourself you feel your shoulders shake. "It's okay to be sad, Ryza. I can't imagine what it would be like to wake up and have to wander through my home, only for it to be so different and desolate than I remember. Having to do that while guiding someone past people who would hurt you both… it's okay to not be okay."
As you melt into Artemis's embrace, you realize that this is different than the panic-stricken moment in the shrine when you realized that Father and Mother were gone. This was a gentler grief, a steady pain that had been building every step you walked since you left the relative stability of Father's last, greatest work. As you cry, there's no screams, just quiet sobs as you press your face into Artemis's shoulder. She doesn't say anything, but after a few moments, you realize that she's humming something. It sounds familiar, but it takes you a moment to place it as the lullaby you'd hummed to her when you were trying to help her get to sleep.
Sensing your confusion, she pauses. "Sorry if I'm not getting it right," she said, "but you sang it when I was on the brink back in the shrine; so I thought it would be important to you. What is it?"
Sniffling, you manage to answer "Mother sang it to me. I think I remember the words…"
Artemis tightens her grip slightly. "That's okay," she says. "Sometimes, things like this are better without words." After a moment, her humming shifts to a song you've never heard before. "My mother sang this to me, back when I was little," Artemis said. "A song for a song."
It took another few minutes, when thankfully no bandits or spiders or other nightmares came upon you, but finally you felt calm again. "Thank you, Lady Artemis," you say.
"You're welcome, Ryza," she says. "And… you know what, drop the Lady, at least while it's just the two of us. With everything we've been through already, what we still have to get through, I like to think we're friends."
"…Thank you, Artemis."
"That's better," she says. "I think we're well outside their search pattern now: let me take some of the slack. A little light, and we'll get back on track in no time."
You pause for a moment before nodding: she seems confident enough, so you relight your lightning ball, throwing the corridor into relief. "That better?" you ask as you look around. Now that you were calmer, you realize that you weren't really that far off, you just needed to backtrack a few hundred feet and take a left turn.
"Much," Artemis said. "Come on, let's get out of here. Then I can bring you to my home: they'll love you, I promise."
As the two of you set off, Artemis finally able to see and help with the navigation, you feel confident that you're on the right path and will reach the exit soon. Hopefully, there won't be any of the bad men already there.
"…So do you forgive me for the spider incident."
Artemis playfully bops you on the back of the head. "Don't push your luck, Ryza."
You couldn't say how long you traveled together: alternating between the dim light of your lighting ball and total darkness when you thought you heard something or someone nearby. However, eventually you peek out of the old, dried-up water path you'd used as a shortcut. Seeing nothing, you clamber up with a bit of help from Artemis, who easily vaults out after you. "Alright: we're on the other side of the mountain now," you say. "Hopefully, we're in the clear."
"I hope so too," Artemis says. "I wonder how late it is out there: if it's dark then we might be able to slip away without anyone the wiser." She grimaced. "Much as I wish I could make all of them pay for what they've done myself, discretion is sometimes the better part of valor, and being faced with nearly forty bandits and traitors is definitely one of those times."
You nod along: Mother or Father could have easily annihilated all forty of them with their dragon forms, but you've only ever transformed under supervision. Mother's letter may have said that you should be willing to use your dragon if you had to, but you didn't think you should go picking fights if you didn't have to.
"So I've been meaning to ask," Artemis begins, glancing down at you. "Why is this place so big? I thought it was just you and- wait..." She holds out a hand to stop you. "Kill the light!" she hisses. You instantly obey, and as you peer ahead into the darkness you see what worried her: a faint, flickering light in the distance. No rune-lights, that was an open flame.
"Someone's there," Artemis whispers. "How hard would it be for someone to go around the outside?"
You shrug. "If they could fly, really easy. Otherwise, it might take them a while, but we have been in here for a long time, so it's possible."
"Da…rn," Artemis mutters. "We could go back, but it would take us ages to get to the last exit, and we're back in a search pattern now." She squares her shoulders. "We should take a look: we might still be able to get out this way, and it might be our best option."
Looks like your hopes of getting out without a fight were less likely now.
Creeping forward, you approach the light. Oddly, even as you get closer, you still don't hear anything where you mentally place the torch, no footsteps, not voices, nothing. There are noises, but they seem to be coming from further away, and they seem… distorted. Confused, you let Artemis stop you a few steps back from the corner before she goes forward and peeks around herself.
"It's just a torch," she whispers. "But I hear some talking beyond it. Stay here, I'll go check it out." Before you can think to argue, she slips around the corner and out of sight.
'She told me to stay by her side,' you think as you follow. 'So that's what I'm going to do!'
She glances back at you with a huff. "Fine, just be quiet!" she hisses. You simply nod as you follow her to the next corner: if your mental map is right, this should be the way out. Kneeling, you peek out at knee height as Artemis does the same at head height.
The first thing you see is the sky. It looks like mid-afternoon; the sun is bright in the sky, and the air is brisk. Taking a deep breath, you savor the smells.
Artemis's fingers grab your ear and tug you back. "Careful," she says. It's at this point that you notice the people.
There are eight of them in total. Two are sitting just inside the entrance, facing inwards. They wear clothes very similar to the ones that the man who'd been pinned to the wall wore, though theirs are dirty and torn in places. You also realize that neither of them seem to have their hearts in their apparent job; more interest in looking at the ground and scratching with their short blades than keeping watch. They look tired, defeated even.
A group of five men, three more of the rough, muscled men as before and two smaller men wearing long cloaks are sitting behind the first two, playing some sort of game. Unlike the first two, these men look like they're having a grand time, laughing and rolling their dice. Every now and then, one of them will glance at the two men inside the cave and throw a taunt or insult at them, but the watchers ignore them.
The last man, sitting by a horse further back, is dressed in clothes similar to the two watchers. However, unlike them, his do not look as dirty or unkempt, and his eyes are sharp and cold as he keeps watch over all of the men. Thankfully, he does not seem to peer into the darkness, as he might see you. He carries a long bow.
"Those two in front… they must be the conscripted yeomen," Artemis murmurs to herself, tugging you back around the corner. "Probably put out front in the hopes that I would shoot them first if I tried to break out this way." She closed her eyes, her thoughts racing. "Ryza, how many can you take out?"
"What?"
"There's at least six people between us and freedom, maybe more outside. There will almost certainly be more coming from further inside. I can't defeat that many on my own. Can you make the difference with your magic?"
"But I thought we were trying to avoid fighting," you say nervously.
"I know," Artemis says, and you realize that she's trembling. "I know we should find some way to go around, maybe wait until night and sneak by them. I know that fighting here is stupid." She looks helplessly at you. "But those men, they fought for me, and I left them to die. Their fellows did die because I ran. These two… now that they're here, alive, I can't leave them again." She kneels down and puts her hands on your shoulders. "But you're right, avoiding conflict is smarter. This doesn't have to be your fight, Ryza. I can-"
You shake your head. "No. My answer has not changed; I won't leave you, Artemis. You're my friend." You steel yourself. "If we must fight, then we must fight."
How will you free the conscripts and escape?
[] Go all out. There's only six of the bad men in sight: hold nothing back. By magic and lightning, you will purge this corruption from your mountain. If needed, you will call upon your dragon: they will not stop you!
[] Lure them in. You've proven that you can see in the dark far better than any human: if you lure these ones in you and Artemis can pick them off one by one. Thin their numbers until there's none left.
[X] Lure them in. You've proven that you can see in the dark far better than any human: if you lure these ones in you and Artemis can pick them off one by one. Thin their numbers until there's none left.
BTW, how are we supposed to interpret the dice rolls? I don't recall you explaining how they work, but maybe my mind's fuzzy.
I never did explain, because I'm still a bit fuzzy myself. I'm using a rough version of a Harry Potter RPG I found, mostly to give myself some randomness rather than just having what I want to happen happen.
The basic idea is that I roll 2d6 and add some bonuses/maluses based on what's going on, and >6 is a failure (something big goes wrong) 6-9 is a Success with Complications (Nothing major goes wrong, but things will be harder later) 10-13 is a True Success (Nothing goes wrong) and 14+ is a Major Success (not only do you succeed, but you get some additional boon.)
I can leave them off if people find them distracting.
[X] Go all out. There's only six of the bad men in sight: hold nothing back. By magic and lightning, you will purge this corruption from your mountain. If needed, you will call upon your dragon: they will not stop you!
I feel like trying to lure them in would just forfeit the element of surprise. Ideally we could try to lure one of the watchers in since Artemis thinks they might be persuadable back to her side but that leader guy in the back seems pretty alert and I don't know how we could manage that without causing suspicion. If we could though, that'd be a very attractive write-in to me. Absent that I think it's probably best to see if we can take them by surprise since only one of them seems to actually be paying attention at the moment.
