No Roll
-1 Funds
Automatic Success
'Yugri's Magicks' is the name of the shop you decided to consult. As far as you can tell it's the most popular magic shop in town. Which still feels weird for you to say instead of a 'Materia Shop.'
As soon as you cross the threshold inside, you find yourself facing several shelves full of clear crystals, and an older Dalmascan woman manning the front desk.
"Hello." You greet.
"I have a question, do you do appraisals?"
"We sure do, what would you like appraised?" You hand her the staff, and the woman begins examining it closely.
"Hmm… this isn't Amal's standard sort of staff. Is this custom-made?"
"I don't really know. I got it secondhand." Technically you recovered it from a shipwreck but, close enough.
The woman hummed, examining the head of the staff and adjusting her grip.
"Well, I've never seen a staff quite like this, but I can identify the magic inside well enough. This staff was made for White Magic and should enhance any healing spells you cast. I think it also has-"
With a swing of the staff, a warm healing glow fills the entirety of the room you're standing in. Neither one of you are injured, but even so the healing light feels pleasant.
"There we go! It has a Cura spell stored inside. I imagine it has to be recharged between uses, but still."
"Recharged?"
"Oh there's no active steps you have to take or anything, just letting it absorb some Mist will be fine." The woman assured you.
"Is there anything else?"
"Just one more thing." You unwrap the large crystal you found and gingerly hand it to the shopkeeper.
"This is the biggest piece of magicite I've ever seen…" She muttered to herself, gently turning the crystal over in her hand.
"I don't think it's a spell stone… but it can't be nethicite either… is it just raw magicite?"
The woman kept muttering things in that vein for what felt like an hour, until she abruptly straightened.
"I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It's powerful for sure, and I think it has an alignment to ice but even when I poke and prod it I can't seem to use it. That said, even if it's not a spell stone, it's a very large chunk of magicite, and it would sell well. Are you considering selling it?"
"Sorry, it's not for sale." You say firmly.
"Shame." She holds the crystal out for you to grab. You take the crystal back, feeling the chill creep into your fingertips as soon as you touch the smooth crystalline surface.
"Do you have any advice on ways I could try to use it?"
"Try… for lack of a better term, bonding with it." She suggested though she looked somewhat skeptical.
"Try casting some spells with it in hand, or holding onto it while you practice. If you feel it stirring, that's a step in the right direction. Sorry, I couldn't give you more."
"That's alright, thank you for your time." You pay her for the appraisal and walk back into the storm, the unwrapped crystal right in your pocket.
For some reason, the storm doesn't seem as cold…
[Master's Staff Identified]
[Master's Staff Effects: Increase the power of healing spells cast by 1. Allow the user to cast Cura once per day when equipped.]
[Ice Magicite? Partially Identified]
[Ice Magicite Effects: Bonded Hero resists HP loss due to environmental heat and cold. May have additional effects.]
D100= 57+ 16= 73
Tier 1 Success
As it turns out, doing chores during a blizzard was a uniquely terrible experience.
You couldn't see more than a few feet away at most, the wind was almost constantly howling and threatening to knock you down, and patches of ice seemed to spring up in your way.
It was also very cold.
The one bright side to all this (if you could say there was one) is that people seemed willing to pay extra for your trouble. Which was great! You needed the money. But it meant you spent hours of each day cold and miserable.
Migelo, the absolute saint that he is, invited you one day to look after his kids while he did some business. You immediately accepted, drawn in by the promise of staying inside next to a sunstone and entertaining children. Which sounded like heaven after days of running back and forth in the snow.
Of course, what ended up happening was…
"Where's Vaan?" Your seemingly innocent question made most of the kids look away, the kind of 'hand in a cookie jar' look you could pick up from a mile away.
"I'm not mad, I just want to know where Vaan is."
It took some time, but eventually, the kid named Kytes cracked under the weight of your disappointment and admitted he was in Lowtown. Specifically a part of the Waterway he liked to train in. You politely thanked him and said you were going to go retrieve Vaan. You're locking them inside the shop, and if any of them run after you, there will be hell to pay.
As far as you can tell, none of them attempted to follow you.
Finding Vaan's training spot wasn't all that hard. Kytes's instructions got you pretty close and after that, the sound of Vaan's yells echoing in the Waterway was enough for you to find him.
When you finally caught up to him, he was fighting a giant rat with a small knife. Before you could intervene, the rat threw itself at him and managed to knock him down, only for Vaan to mercilessly stab it in the soft underbelly.
The groaning teen shoved the body off of him and stood up, only to freeze as he heard you clear your throat.
"Vaan. What the heck are you doing?"
He turned to you giving you a full view of the many scratches on his face and chest, dirt, grime, and blood clinging to his clothes. Thankfully, most of it didn't look like it was his.
"... Training."
"Looks like pretty rough training." You comment lightly. In your experience, trying to pry secrets out of children (teenager in this case) tends to make them hold onto those secrets even tighter.
"Well, I was wondering where you were. Migelo will be back for dinner soon, though it's looking like you'll need to clean up first."
"Please, don't tell Migelo." Vaan immediately pleaded.
"I won't." He looked at you in shock.
"Really, I won't. I know all about trying to keep secrets from people. Just… aren't there safer ways to train than this? Do you really have to come down here and fight rats?"
"It is safe, nothing in this section but rats. And I can sell the pelts when I'm done. Two birds, one stone." Vaan defended himself firmly. You could see by the look in his eye he wouldn't back down easily.
"Alright." You said, not quite happy with him, but willing to keep your word.
"Just be careful okay?"
"Yeah yeah," Vaan replied flippantly.
"We should get back before the old man gets home."
[+2 Funds]
[What's up with Vaan?]
D100= 44+ 16 +10 (Flower of the Slum)= 70
Success
It's much, much easier to stay hidden from Shinra when they're the outsiders. You can spot them a mile away even in a crowd, they stay away from rougher-looking areas. It helps that their "Envoy" is Heidegger, a man you're certain has never willingly stepped foot in a slum in his life. The blizzard makes it even easier since most people don't go outside.
The Turk would normally be a bit trickier to get around, but you're fairly certain that he is on this task to keep Heidegger safe, not hunt for you.
At the end of the day, your attempts to hide from Shinra aren't particularly difficult for you, or even take that much effort. You stick to the underground when you can, making use of the shortcuts and back alleys you've found to avoid the main roads. If you see a Shinra footsoldier, or especially the Turk, you immediately move to another street, duck into a shop, or otherwise make yourself scarce.
It's not all that hard, but it does eat into the time you could use doing other things. Taking the scenic route during a blizzard does kinda stink, but oh well.
Better cold and miserable than tied up and dragged to Shinra tower…
[Greatly reduces the chance of being noticed by Shinra.]
D100= 75+ 29 = 104
Success!
With your newfound understanding of the staff and crystal, it felt like a good time to try and tap into them. Unfortunately, you had no idea how to do that, and no idea how to train yourself to do that.
So you found a quiet corner of the lower city filled with junk and started playing around with them (the staff and crystal, not the garbage.) Namely by firing magic blasts at said garbage
It was hard to say if you were learning anything by shooting bolts of magic at random trash heaps, but it felt like excellent target practice. Seeing if you could knock down specific targets without hitting the junk around them, or trying to knock a big pile down in a single blast.
Now that you knew what the Master's Staff was capable of, it was easier for you to feel how it influenced your spells. It helped you direct them and made them stronger but it wasn't like Materia, which gave you the knowledge of how exactly to cast a spell. The Master's Staff was supposed to enhance healing spells, not create them, which left you with a bit of a conundrum.
The healing magic stored inside wasn't enough to 'color' your spells. When you attacked with Ruin, it didn't tinge it with healing magic. Even when you cast Bio through the staff, it didn't purify or nullify the poison (as discovered when a giant rat attempted to interrupt your practice)
Clearly, you were going about this the wrong way, but that begged the question. How are you supposed to go about casting a cure spell? Normally you'd say "use Materia" but that wasn't an option.
… then again, you've cast healing magic without it in a pinch before, haven't you? Maybe the answer isn't in the staff, maybe it's in
you.
Cloud always said that it was impossible to control a Limit Break. It's hysterical strength born from emotional turmoil, physical peril, or both. But even if you can't do it on command it's still an ability that you possess, one that isn't granted by Materia or training. If you can cast a healing wind, surely you can cast a cure spell.
You set down your staff, the poison Materia, and the Ice Magicite. You stepped away, closed your eyes, and tried to recall what was going through your mind back then. Desperation? Compassion? Love?
Cloud is on the ground, groaning in pain as he tried to force himself to his feet. His left arm was hanging limp and gushing blood, the Buster Sword on the ground in front of him. Your heart aches in sympathetic pain. On reflex, you raise your hands and-
"Heal!"
A warm glow emanates from your hands before it flickers and fades away.
It's not much, but it's a start.
[Aerith learns to cast 'Cure']
[Aerith's bond with the Ice Magicite? grows]
D100= 98
Critical Success!
(QP assigned by
@MagewyrmMira is refunded)
The funny thing is, you didn't plan to bump into Ashe today.
Due to the blizzard, people were doing everything they could to get to their destinations as quickly as possible. Taking shortcuts, walking briskly, rudely shouldering their way through crowds, that kind of stuff. Since you're trying to avoid running into any of Shinra's goons, you take extra care to either blend into crowds or take the scenic route.
It was during one such detour that you turned a corner and almost slammed right into Ashe.
"My apologies." She said almost automatically and immediately stepped around you.
"Hey wait up!" You quickly catch up and poke your head in front of her.
"Are you just gonna walk past without saying anything?"
"Oh!" Ashe jolted in surprise, having clearly not recognized you the first time.
"Hello, Aerith."
"Are you okay?" You ask seriously. Now that you're looking at her, her nose and cheeks are red from the cold, and her expression looks unfocused.
"... I don't know. I just needed to think." Ashe shakes her head sadly, and for a moment you're reminded that ruler or not, she's barely an adult.
"Come on, let's go to my house and warm up." You say, more of a gentle command than a suggestion. To your relief, Ashe follows you.
In your defense, you never intended to pry her feelings out of her. You just intended to give her a warm and safe place to think. But after Ashe had a bit of warm tea she was off to the races
"The strange thing is, I obtained all the legitimacy and power I wanted on a silver platter, and that made adjusting to all the harder. It made me realize how unprepared I really was to be a Queen. Basch keeps trying to give me advice-"
"Oh, Basch… It's looking more and more likely that Basch has been innocent the whole time, and I've been hating the wrong person for years. The investigation isn't quite done but all signs so far say he is innocent."
"He wants to reclaim his spot as a Captain and serve me like he served my father. But will the investigation be enough to save his reputation? If it isn't, what will the people think of me employing a kingslayer?"
"Not to mention his injuries, just a new low that the Arcadians have sunk to. He's healing but most of his scars won't heal, only fade. I half wish the empire hadn't vanished, now they can't pay for their crimes."
Ashe stopped her rant, taking a moment to catch her breath. Only to suddenly flush as she realized she'd just spent the last few minutes unloading her worries on you.
"It's okay, it sounded like you needed to get it off your chest." You reassured her.
"… I do feel a bit better." She admitted.
"I wish I could give you better advice but… I'm not much for politics." It's sadly true. Living in Shinra's territory usually meant 'politics' was just dealing with Shinra.
"Just try to think things through, and make sure you don't do anything that you'll regret later."
"That's alright. I didn't expect you to have any answers for me. I do apologize for my poor manners." Ashe said, regaining a bit of her poise.
"I fear I've been a terrible guest. What do you wish to talk about Aerith?"
Rather than answer straight away, you hum and sip your tea. What do you want to talk about? There's so much to ask, so much to say, and so little time to say it all. So you have to ask yourself…
[ ] Warn Her About Shinra: Let her know what you do about Shinra. It should help her avoid any unkind deals.
[ ] Offer Your Friendship: Let Ashe know that you're here for her. Queen or not, you care about her personally.
[ ] Ask About The Envoys: You're curious about the other Envoys, King Leo and Maester Seymour. What does Ashe think of them?
[ ] Offer to Train Together: Both of you are mages, you more powerful and Ashe more flexible. There's a lot you could teach each other.
[ ] Ask About the Hunter Clans: Ashe has lived in Dalmasca all her life right? Surely she would know more about the Hunter Clans than you?
[ ] Ask If You Can Help Her: She seems like she's in a tight spot right now. Is there anything you can do for her?
[ ] -Write In-
Bet you didn't expect there to be another vote here huh? But I figured you guys had a lot of things to ask or say. Initially, the limit was going to be 2 topics, but you got a Crit. Enjoy your princess tea party. Also, I had a hard time picking Vaan's dialogue color. His colors are light brown (taken by Ashe) White/Silver (A little weird, also I usually use grey for NPCs) and Red (Also weird, but good enough.) Don't let it be said picking the dialogue colors is easy.
Also, I know I said all QP spending would be final earlier. But it felt mean to use QP on a crit where it would do nothing. So add that to the list of impromptu house rules, QP will be refunded if the roll it's used on is a crit.
