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Not Quite Lovecraft

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Actually, that's a fair point. But maybe we should also do some reading?

[X]Work on your portrait
[X]Study the books you retrieved
 
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Rest and Redressing
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    • You head home for a short time after this. You need to take the time to recover and pull yourself back together. The offering you present to Isis before her shrine is large and bountiful, given with as much heart as you can find in yourself. It feels like not enough, though you know it's accepted and can feel the weight of owing lifted. It could have ended so much more terribly than it did.

    You bring out your portrait and add more layers of paint to it. You try to capture a sense of surety and strength. The portrait resists you. As strong as you are, it has always been one of mind and spirit, not body. Still you persevere. You manage to add a sense of lean strength. It is not a true change to your constitution, though you wish it was. No, you will simply be able to burn other things to keep yourself going. And that, you accept, will be enough.

    It feels good to recover and feel the fresh layers of paint over your body as it molds into life. The injuries are completely cleared, and you are ready to head out again.

    [ ]Go to Africa
    [ ]Go to England
    [ ]Go to Egypt
    [ ]Study the books you found
    [ ]Turn away - you have sacrificed this much, you do not need to give more
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • I notice that China was an option in the prior vote but not this one?

    To increase our combat ability I would suggest we make a proper weapon rather then increase our brute strength. Use that new obsession with guns to paint a magic gun or something.

    Our sanity is still tenuous (Unless the little break to paint helped recover some?), so I would be careful with what we pick here. Not turning back of course, the cult won't forget about us, but still we should proceed cautiously.
    A little refresher on the Carlyle Expedition:
    Blacksheep said:
    The more you looked into things the more you became aware that you needed to know more about the Carlyle Expedition. It had been a rather public disaster at the time when it happened. Similar to what happened with Larkin, Roger Carlyle had had a sudden change of interest, from being a simple playboy that was big at parties to an intense interest in archeological expeditions. The core expedition members were one Sir Aubrey Penhew, a noted egyptologist, Hypatia Masters, a beautiful high society lady with a skill for language and photography, Jack Brady, a hired bodyguard for Carlyle, and Doctor Robert Houston, a psychoanalyst and famed dream interpreter.

    They had set out for Egypt almost a decade ago. They started by heading to London to consult with Sir Aubrey Penhew, where he joined the expedition, before reaching Egypt. News at the time claimed an important find was heralded, but the expedition had refused to comment on what they had discovered. A couple weeks later they headed down to Africa and headed inland towards Nairobi. At the beginning of August they hired twenty bearers and headed into the wilderness, only to utterly vanish. It was only in March the following year that reports of the expedition were heard once more, from a tribesman reporting a party of whites near the mountain of the Black Wind.
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    Started at London where they picked up the egyptologist. Went to Egypt and found something "important". Headed to Africa where the final incident happened.

    So I'm going to say we follow the same path:
    [X]Go to England

    We have connections in England we can talk to. See if they have heard of the cult, and warn them if they haven't. Then see what we can track down about Sir Aubrey Penhew, and where the expedition was headed.
    Spend a bit of relaxing time checking in on our family to recover sanity too.
     
    SEVENTEEN English Shores
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    • You booked a ship across to England. The trip was pleasant, even if you felt it was a shame that there wasn't a shooting gallery you could bring your pistol out in. Alas, it was locked away securely in your luggage, and it would be expected that it would stay there while you were in England. You were more than happy to head to your family's estate to stay with them while you were investigating. Your niece and nephew were young adults now. It felt strange to enter the home and see the wear of years on your brother's face. Your brother looked just as disconcerted by the lack of them on yours.

    [ ]Spend time with your family, get to know them once more
    [ ]Head to the Penhew Foundation to ask after Aubrey Penhew
    [ ]Check the papers for local news
    [ ]Check in with Reverend James Fraser
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • Blacksheep said:
    It felt strange to enter the home and see the wear of years on your brother's face. Your brother looked just as disconcerted by the lack of them on yours.
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    This is going to be even more fun after another few decades. We might have to pretend to be our own decedent or something. Also going to be sad if/when Oliver outlives them.

    [X]Spend time with your family, get to know them once more

    Family first, then the Reverend. Then investigation.
     
    Time with Family
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    • You are quick to accept your brother's invitation to go out for a night of drinking. The family business is doing well, and Samuel is more than happy to brag about his successes. He asks after your own, telling you that he hadn't heard of you in art circles, though he sheepishly admitted he had not looked as often as perhaps he should have. You laughed and assured him that you were a rather niche artist. You were doing quite well for yourself, but unless Samuel developed a taste for more esoteric art it was highly unlikely he would hear your name bantered about.

    Samuel didn't understand, but he was as always supportive. He asked if you ever did end up marrying Emily, and you told him that while you were still very close with one another, it had not resulted in marriage. "You should ask her now, you're not getting any younger," Samuel warned. You smiled and took a sip of your drink. You weren't getting any older either, you weren't concerned.

    Your niece was more than happy to show you her embroidery work. Interestingly you could catch glimpses of the symbols you had set around the estate so long ago to protect your family in her work. And if you looked at her, you suspected that she knew more than the others in her family. You were lucky that whatever she had done in her exploration, she had not yet gotten into any danger that left lasting marks. Protection symbols were certainly harmless enough for her to play with, if perhaps a sign you should take some time to make sure she was aware of the dangers.

    Your nephew Jack had turned his mind to shipping, and was eager to follow in his father's steps. Going with him and Samuel to see the races was a wonderful way to pass the day. Jack said that he thought hobby shows were more classy, and spoke of a model train show he had hoped to see, but was content enough for a day watching the horses.

    [ ]Speak to your niece about what she's found
    [ ]Check on the protections around the estate
    [ ]Ask after your sister
    [ ]Head to the Penhew Foundation to ask after Aubrey Penhew
    [ ]Check the papers for local news
    [ ]Check in with Reverend James Fraser
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • [x]Teach by example
    -[x]Speak to your niece about what she's found
    -[x]Check on the protections around the estate

    She should know why protections are important and how to maintain them. Perhaps even how to safely learn about them or modify them.
     
    Susan's Lesson
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    • You immediately arranged for your niece to spend some time painting with you. She was more than happy to join you and work alongside someone she knew was an accomplished artist. Her art had come far from the drawings she had wanted to keep hidden when you last saw her. It was enjoyable to take the time and speak with her about how she could improve and how you picked what to include in a drawing.

    You smiled as you found yourself sketching the impossible sky you had seen in your dream with Phileas. You looked over at Susan. "I saw you've been practicing with the sigils I placed around the house."

    Susan looked up at you her eyes instantly sharpening. "The house felt warmer after you placed them. It helps at school too, to have a piece embroidered. It's comforting."

    "Not a use I would have foreseen," you mused. "I didn't tell you how they worked last time, simply that it was a ritual meant for protection."

    "You did not," Susan agreed, watching you closely.

    You paused in your painting to pull out a sketchbook and began to rapidly lay out the basics of the ritual Isis had taught you. "This ritual invokes the protection of the goddess Isis. This is her symbol here, and this one is for warning away intruders. Here is another that will help turn away unfriendly eyes. And this one is what gives the entire ritual its power: it siphons off bits of energy from those in the home to keep itself active."

    "It steals from us?"

    "No more than what wouldn't be missed," you assured her. "I would never use something that would cause harm. It works better the more people live here in fact, because of that little detail. Its strength is only equal to what you can afford to give it, and without any active offerings it will only take what is spare."

    "What if I wanted to do something active?" Susan asked eagerly.

    "Now that is something you need to be careful about," you warned her. "You seem to have created a level of harmony with the sigils, and that will help you use them, but there is still a price. Isis is very real, and you do not want to upset Her. You also want to be careful using any of these sigils independently. Laid out together they create protection, but I don't know what they can do on their own. I only know that the rune for empowering the ritual could drain you if you accidentally gave it too much."

    "How do you know this?" Susan demanded.

    You smiled. "Trial and error. I found a path of my own that suits me." You gestured to your painting. You could almost sense the nature of the colors in the dream within the painting. "I thought I would be here if any of you started exploring this on my own, but here I am, late."

    "Teach me now," Susan demanded.

    You took a deep breath.

    [ ]Teach her about Isis: focus on the goddess for channeling magic
    [ ]Teach her what you can about sigils
    [ ]Teach her about channeling through creation: look at her embroidery
    [ ]Write-in
     
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    • [X]Teach her about channeling through creation: look at her embroidery

    The magic of creation is Oliver's best magic. The ability to use time and effort to create magic that lasts. Once you have that foundation, everything else follows.
     
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