"There have been times when I've thought of suicide but with my luck it'd probably be a temporary solution." - Woody Allen
-I
Two people were sitting on each side of a silver table in a room entirely dark. Above them, a small light shone, the light reflecting on the taller woman's cascading silver hair. She was wearing a long sleeved black dress, with a silver chestpiece, and was leaning over her table, chin propped up by her crossed hands.
"Do you know why you're here?" She asked, her voice low and velvety as the other person in the room panicked. Ignoring the questions and the eventual anger, she just smiled, laying back against her throne.
"You are here because you have been chosen, my dear."
That gave the other woman pause and she looked at her warily.
"Do you remember? Your death." She gave a tinkling laugh, mist spiralling into shapes that were very familiar to the other woman.
A woman, nondescript to the point her face wasn't visible, was crying, reading some books, before looking up at the noose she tied up to the lamp. It could be sad, if it weren't so boring.
With a sob, she let go of the book, and was grabbing the rope, when suddenly, a silver truck surged from the wall in front of her, destroying everything in his way.
"How sad."Then the image disappeared in a fluttering of manga pages as the beautiful woman closed her fist.
"In any case, you, have been chosen. To be reborn in another world." The light flickered a bit, sparks dancing in her eyes and over her lips. "Tell me, mortal, do you know of Harry Potter?" It is, after all, your only good point.
Her smile widened upon seeing the expression of the woman. Now, drink into the well of power until intoxication.
"Don't worry dear, I'll take care of everything."
My generic reincarnation story isn't doing so well...
As she wished for, she was born into a well off family of beautiful people, who wouldn't mistreat her, but wouldn't get her to be too attached either. It took her a bit of time to understand who her mother was, but when she did, her own violet eyes, inherited from said mother, kept reminding her of how stupid she was. Still, her 'parents' did their duty, but nothing more. It was a bit underwhelming. She didn't complain, she got everything she needed, and her parents were there if she wanted them to, but still, they didn't even make any remarks on her awfully precocious behavior, or her above average intelligence! How was she going to get early credibility if they insisted on treating her like a baby? She had people to save! Her father didn't even react about her prophetic dream ploy! It was so frustrating!
And so, for this girl, reality and fiction became exchanged.
Ten years later, she was on the train to Hogwarts, looking for specific people, namely two black haired children, and two brown haired ones. As she collided with a loud, redheaded girl, her eyes laid upon a boy with long black hair and pallid skin. She almost attacked him on the spot but just turned around, her mutter of "disgusting." perfectly heard by the two of them.
The "How rude! Don't listen to her Sev'!", however, went unheard by her. She found them in the end.
...
The sorting was a short affair. Not.
She was now into Hatstall territory, following Professor McGonagall's footsteps, as she was arguing with the Hat.
"Slytherin will help you learn and refine those thoughts into something usable."
"I don't care! Put me somewhere else!"
"You don't care about the future? Slytherin is the only house that can give you what you want."
"I already know what's inside of it anyways! I can't go into Slytherin or they'll never accept me!"
The Hat went silent in her mind for a moment, before...
"No, there is one other trait that defines you. Very well, better be..."
The Hat shouted "Ravenclaw" and as its mental abilities reset, to prepare for the Sorting of another student, the Hat wondered idly if the Ravenclaw could at least help curb her hubris.
At the table of badgers, the girl and the boy were having a conversation...
Soon enough, the Shadow of Voldemort engulfed even Hogwarts, leading to a darker and darker atmosphere. Still, it reassured Aife that things were going following the scrips, even with a few changes.
"...For the sake of..! I will not go out with you James Potter, even if you were the last man in Britain!" Fifteen years old Lily Evans shouted, eyes ablaze, as she stomped away, towards their classroom, glaring at anyone who dared laugh at her. James' figure sagged a bit, while Sirius Black was hollering encouragements. On the side, the two other members of the Marauders, Remus and Aife, just rolled their eyes good-naturedly.
James just glared at Snape, who was trying to calm the irate girl down, without too much success. He'd have to do something about it. An arm thrown around his shoulders distracted him from his thoughts. Aife just glared at the mousy young boy slinging towards the third spot on their table and fingered her wand contemplatively, a wicked smile on her face.
"[Mission: Ruin Peter Pettigrew's potion], get~"
Bravery.
He'd never been that relevant. Short, chubby, with a cowardly disposition, and not that smart to boot. Still, his mother loved him and tried her best to raise him right. He didn't know what possessed the Hat into sending him to Gryffindor of all things, since he was clearly Hufflepuff material and all.
He never was able to fit in there, not bold nor brave enough, not athletic nor handsome enough, not personable or popular enough. He had no friends there, so it was no wonder he grew farther away from his chosen house, towards that of his heart. He was always welcome there, the badgers were kind to him despite the perpetual bad luck that followed him ever since he got sorted in that house. More than once, covered in ink from his blown up inkwell, he thought, tears in his eyes, to abandon Hogwarts and come back home. However, each time he thought about it, his mother's disappointed face came back to his mind and he marched on. Still, after the third month of schooling, he sat in potions with the people that would become his best friends ever since.
Lily was fire and passion and light, always animated or incensed about something. She was the kind of person to go after the bullies and make a lot of noise to protest about injustice. People didn't get why she wasn't in Gryffindor.
Severus was water, calm, placid, and inexorable, yet ever-changing and flexible. He was the one to go to when it came to talking down people, his mastery over the language and brain making everyone wonder why he wasn't in Slytherin.
He didn't care, they were his friends, and he was theirs. They never made him feel useless or unwanted, never overshadowed him. In his mind, he couldn't help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
Now, the Overlord came for them. The house was well trapped, however, even Lily's knowledge was dwarfed by the monster in front of him. Clad in black armor, and yellow eyes glowing through the three horned helmet...
The memory of a full moon came to his mind. Glowing yellow eyes. A brown blur. Him pushing Severus out of the way by instinct. The pain of having his arm torn off. The screaming of Lily and the whiteness of Severus' skin. The red haze as he fainted.
He came for her, he realized.
A hit from the mace sent him flying near the fireplace and he lay there coughing.
He was here to kill her.
He was here to kill Lily.
He was here to kill the one who made him more than he ever thought he could be.
That was not acceptable.
Opening a pained eye, he slowly got his wand and ignited the fire. He couldn't feel his legs anymore. Wheezing and feeling the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, he got two small green packets from a compartment in his glove.
He was fine with that.
A tramble of the wand sent one of them flying towards the fireplace, as terrifyingly powerful spells were shot all around, turning everything around them into ash.
He wasn't fine with that.
"..." He murmured, the fidelius spell keeping the destination secret from their ears.
He would have to be fine with that.
He aimed his wand at the redhead's back and called out. The accio spell took root, before sending her flying his way. With a wave of his want, he sent her inside the emerald fire, where she disappeared with an indignant shout as he gave her an apologetic bloody smile.
"Sorry Lils, but... I promised."
To the bloody, black haired young man who died too young at fifteen. The one who loved Lily more than anything in the world, so much that he died protecting her from a werewolf in the forbidden forest.
He will be fine with that, he thought as the lifetime of determination that never came to him strengthened him, and he glared at the inhuman monster in front of him. He chuckled wetly.
"You know, an interesting thing about floo powder?"
The thing reached for him. The wolf in him snarled defiantly.
"It blows up real well. Bombarda maxima."
Everything went green.
This wouldn't be enought to kill it, he knew, but it would take years for him to heal, and time was all Lily needed. He felt sorry for leaving her, but he was selfish and didn't want to bury another friend.
Let at least one of us survive this nightmare.
As he faded, he liked to think his black haired friend was scolding him for being an idiot, that's what Sev' did, that mother hen.
The world goes on.
After several apprenticeship refusals, years after her graduation, Lily decided to swallow her pride and make the appointment. She arrived five minutes before the indicated time and waited, until a maid told her to follow her inside, leading her towards another room. Behind the desk, a vaguely familiar strawberry blond haired man was looking at her with piercing blue eyes.
"I've read your recommendations miss Evans, all were glowing with praise. However..." his arm swept the air above his desk, sending her file flying. So that was it, just another typical pure bl-" I prefer to test people I'm hiring in a more... hands on... fashion."
Before she could even react, he snapped his fingers, and to her right, she saw simmering cauldrons and piles of ingredients, already prepared, laying on a table. Lily looked at him while he only raised an eyebrow at her, the message clear.
Prove it.
Lily couldn't help but smile almost maniacally as she saw the Greek Fire potion turn an alarming shade of puce.
After three hours of intense potioning, the man commenting here and there, Lily was drinking the orange juice like a woman coming back from the desert, sitting in front of the man. After she did, she put down the self-refilling glass and sighed, before speaking up.
"So, how did I do?"
"Hm. " he rubbed his chin pensively "There are a few bad habits that need correcting, you need to be more flexible about the doses and to learn more about plant based ingredients, but I can work with that. Hesitation disappears with experience after all."
Her hopeful expression made him laugh.
"Yes, miss Evans, I will take you as an apprentice."
As Lily suddenly started crying, startling the man, she was wondering if Severus and Peter were proud of her.
In a darkened room, the silver haired woman smiled, drinking from a cup holding the stars, her eyes narrowing and flitting towards a red haired woman clad in leather.
.
"Oh? The legendary shut-in finally came out of her cage?
"Oh? The legendary two-faced whore isn't busy choking on Thor's dick?" The redhead immediately replied, eliciting a snort from the silver haired woman.
"Those words sound like those of a sore loser. Are you upset we didn't invite you?"
"Oh, don't worry, I invited myself~" Was her airy answer, causing the other's expression to drop.
"This was forbidden millenia ago." She almost hissed in rage, a satisfied smirk painting the redhead's face.
"Oh, direct intervention, yes. However..." She laughed lightly, cutting herself off. "Well, considering what happened, I can't very much cause more problems than you guys do, right?" Her hand waved at her as a small mote of gold illuminated her index. "I mean, you know how I work, right? I can't create miracles."
And yet, I never lose. You too, would do well to remember that, Freyja.
The shadows have woken up.
???
The King sleeps in the dark.
???
???
???
The circle is complete.
Victory isn't a promise.
Dear lord, we didn't know how tedious it was to deliberately alternate between good and bad things. Well , more than our usual anyways. We like interludes. They're like exposition central. Or at least help compensate for an in medias res start like we did. 'Bravery' was supposed to be shorter, but we were inspired. We like redemptions. There are a lot of timeskips, but we hope it is readable enough?
-Animal (mundane and magical) Ranches : +45,000 Galleon (after salaries and charges), 1d6 Epic animal components/ Turn
-- 1000 Employees, payed 544 G/m on average.
Potion shops 'Montmorency' in England: + 50, 000 Galleons/ Turn
--500 Employees payed 502 G/m on average
Spendings
Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning : -25,000 Galleon / turn , 1d6 – 3 Chance of Loyal Superior Unit, 1d100-95 chance of Loyal Hero Unit. (Muggleborn population : 95%)
Lease: 20,000 Galleons/turn (10 turns left)
Maintenance, taxes, salaries of the manor: 18,900 Galleons/turn (50 of them, 376 G/T on average)
Skylight : A sapphire that seems to shine with an inner light. +10 to results if used to create items with [Life/Order] Attribute. ??? Anchor:??? (You really need to study it) Magic Book: (Need to translate to use)
Dragon Rearing book (Need to translate to use) Dragon nest plans (Need to translate to use)
Ingredients: Hydra venom
Chimera heartstrings
Inventory: Cloak of Crystal: Gain 1 Crystal / turn (Value: 5000 G) Still Eye of the dragon +1 Troops Morale, +1 Troops Luck (Value : 2000 G) Quiet eye of the dragon +5 Troops attack damage, +5 Troops attack defense (Value : 2000 G) Pendant of free will: Immune to mind magic and hypnosis. (Value 8000 G)
Rumor Mill:
Since Dace is a Main Intrigue character, to compensate for the fact that he cannot take the field and lead armies (well, he could, but he knows he sucks at it so leaves it to the guys trained for it), he can instead act directly on what the rumor mill says. If taken with some of the other action choices below, this will increase the chances of them being successes due to synergy. AP: 2
The ministry intends to pass laws to restrict the employment rate and average freedom of magical creatures, once again. Normally this wouldn't even make a blip on your radar, but it seems some people have been using your family's tragedy to advance their agenda.
[] You may have to do something about that. (Event roll: 22)
Several people, couples, who actively fought against Voldemort were spirited away, the most prominent of them all being, strangely enough, the newly widowed Frank Longbottom, who had a near legendary row with Dumbledore at Hogwarts and stormed out, taking with him his mother and one year old son.
[] You wonder what happened, it seems some investigation will be necessary. (Event roll: 78)
Speaking of the Order, it seems they are laying the groundwork to come out in the open. Which is a bit strange, considering that some of their more combat capable members were disappeared mysteriously back in April. Dumbledore probably found out something that would allow him to tip the balance somehow, gods knows he was the only competent one in his little organization.
[] You don't know if you want to know what the old codger was up to, but the last time he pulled a seemingly crazy move, it ended up with Grindelwald comatose and his army destroyed. Look into that. (Event roll: 2)
Apparently, a lot of magical plants and have appeared on some remote island near the Scottish shores. The land has been up to sale, but somehow, people haven't noticed it until recently. It was decided to auction it off.
[] Something's fishy about all of this, and you want to know what. (Event Roll : 99)
Well, that's enough about rumor mongering, now begins Turn 1 !
Turn 1
Diplomacy: Adviser : Elizabeth Gwallawg : Actions : 2
With Eli here, she's freed up enough of your time to make it so you could do something else if you wished to. She'd do equally well as a spymaster, but she's content enough. Now, what to do though, you have no idea!
[] Have a chat with Dumbledore. You've put it off long enough, and as much as you loathe the old man, he is a major player and you shouldn't let him run around unchecked. This will open up funding options.
[] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. He's young and eager to please and surprisingly easy to influence for somebody so brilliant when it comes to money. Sure, he's working for Voldemort too, and will probably spy on you, but there are signs that his loyalty is less... Ironclad than one may think.
[] Visit the Ministry, try to build up contacts. The people over there like you well enough, but you never know who you can meet, and what you can find. Besides, you've been acting like a recluse the last month, that's bound to make some people nervous.
[] Get yourself a XXXXX Class creature permit. Your very illegal pet dragon won't be small for much longer. Gods only know what kind of other creature will latch on you. Costs 2000G
[] Attend Academy graduation. You are, after all, the owner, founder and the one who funds the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning, located in Cardiff. This will increase your chance of people with exceptional potential stepping up next year, such as Oliver and Miss Evans.
Stewardship: Advisor : Oliver Lapierre : Actions : 2
Oliver, for all of the one track mind he has, is quite efficient when he comes to administration. Of course, he'd rather become your researcher, but for now, he'll do as your steward.
[] Develop your budding empire, you need to spend gold to earn more gold, after all. Costs 10 000 G. Gains variable.
[] Work on coordinating Your granddaughter's and your own shops. This should lessen some expenses while increasing profits for both. Costs 5 000 G.
[] Lily Evans has come to you asking for funding. She's surprisingly cagey about why she wants it, but she's proven to be a level headed woman most of the time.
-[] Accept
--[] 5000G
--[] 10 000G
--[] 15 000G
-[] Refuse
[] The wandmaker Ollivanders noticed the sudden increase in magic around your house, mostly because bowtruckles love fairy eggs, and their presence reinforces trees, making them perfect for wands. You may be able to strike a deal with him. Or at least get that damned tent away from your favorite petunia patch.
[] Find sources of building materials. Your contacts went out of business not that long ago, and you need good sources. Guaranteed access to Wood and Stone production facilities. Chance of getting access to Gem, Crystal, Sulfur or Mercury production facilities.
Martial: Actions : 1
This isn't really your cup of tea, and it kind of shows. However, luckily, a massive project has attracted your attention. You seriously hope you'll find someone to handle this for you soon.
[] Animal pens. Crudely explained, you need a place to store your dragon, his mothers, your pet dog wolf, his pack, and the fairies that are about to overrun the small woods near your manor. If you see one more of those giant bowtruckle things, you're fairly sure you won't be able to dislodge Ollivanders from your lawn.[May only be taken if the [Rampart: Find a suitable location]and [finding sources of building materials] actions are taken]. May only build one per turn for stealth reasons.
-[] Wolf den : Produces 10 Wolves / turn, 1 year after construction. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G
--[] Direwolf den: Produces 10 Direwolves / turn;, 1 year after construction. Replaces Wolf den. Costs 10 Wood, 3000 G
-[] Pixie huts: Produces 15 Pixies/turn, available immediately. Costs 20 Wood, 1000 G
--[] Sprite huts: Produces 15 Sprites / turn, available immediately. Replaces Pixie huts. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G
-[] Dragon Cliffs: Produces 1 Green dragon/ turn, 5 years after construction. [Needs [Dragon rearing book] and [Dragon nest plans] to be translated.] Costs 30 Stone, 20 Crystal, 20 000G
--[] Dragon Lair: Produces 1 Golden dragon/turn, 5 years after construction. Replaces Dragon Cliffs. Costs 30 Stone, 20 Crystal, 40 000G
[] Hire more security staff. -10 to enemy infiltration rolls. 2000G
[] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G
[] But will that security chief be the best ? No. Try to poach an auror or two! Considering what they're doing with them, they won't be missed. Risky, though. And costly. 7500G
Intrigue: Actions : 2 (1+ Intrigue over 25)
You're not sure you'll find anyone you trust with this to help you, save for your wife, but you need her more where she is right now.
[] Plots are good for your health! Plot against: (Will receive intel on their moves, plus additional actions if the opportunity arises.)
-[] Dumbledore's little club of vigilantes.
-[] Voldemort's band of hooligans.
[] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people dying left and right...
-[] Plot to take over shops in Diagon Alley (England, London).
-[] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
[] Compulsive plotting is also good for the morale!
-[] Go on a matchmaking spree. Chance to increase Diplomacy, gain RP with some people, reputation.
-[] Go on a trolling rampage an adventure! Chance to increase Intrigue, inconvenience enemies, gain RP with some people.
[] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
-[] Plot with Oliver: +10 to Stewardship action rolls (+2 RP with Oliver)
-[] Plot with Elizabeth : +15 to Diplomacy action rolls (SL MAX)
Learning: Actions : 2 (1+Learning over 25)
You're not letting anyone not from your family handle those books. Ever. You'll have to wait until either Elizabeth finds herself a newfound passion for reading, or until little Scáthach decides paper isn't for eating and learns to read. You have a feeling the latter will come earlier.
[] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
-[]Dragon Rearing book [Takes 1 session]
-[]Dragon nest plans [Takes 1 session] (reduced because you have a live dragon to experiment with)
-[] Magic Book: [Takes 4 sessions]
[] Attend lessons to your own Academy. (due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.) Since you're the owner, you can attend for free.
-[] There were a few lectures about Herbalism...
-[] You don't believe in that meditation mumbo jumbo, but there are a few interesting applications you can think of...
-[] Huh. You didn't think they'd build special buildings for Care of Magical creatures...
[] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
-[] Everyone has a price! Bribing Diplomacy is an important skill after all...
-[] With all of the things going on right now, you need to brush up on your Estates management.
-[] Resource acquisition is important too, you can't always rely on buying off the opposition.
Mysticism : Actions : 1
It stings a bit that you're just on the lower spectrum of powerful, but you'll deal. Though, you'd really like it if someone could step up and help you with all of that, you've got too much work to do.
[] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
-[] Find a suitable location.
-[] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures. (Currently 3/7: Fairy line, wolf line and dragon line)
-[] Spare resources for the building: Pay 30 000 G, 30 wood, 30 stone. (0/30 000, 0/30, 0/30)
-[] Investigate the ??? Anchor
[] Spend time with:
-[] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP, SL unlocked)
-[] Lucius. His wife and your heiress are rather close, especially since apparently, their son enjoys your daughter's company. And Narcissa wants a daughter. (+2 RP, Scáthach unlocks Draco Malfoy SL and gains 2RP)
-[] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
-[] Oliver. You've thrown a lot of work his way, may as well make him feel appreciated, right? (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
[] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.) Author's random ramblings:
The previous vote had a tie between fairy or dog wolf. So we'll flip a coin. As with the character creation choices, you'll see the results of the vote when it becomes relevant.
The diplomacy options may seem like intrigue options, because they are. While character traits have an influence on stats, they also have an influence on narration. Since Dace is manipulative and can use his intrigue to pass diplomacy checks, that reflects on the available choices. This will remain the case, until/unless you get a specific skill for him that should be available soon-ish with the correct choices.
For the options themselves, we tried to find a way to give you an idea of what each action does, but since there are more 'players' in game than you, the results became radically different each time, so we gave up.
That early nat 100 is carrying you hard. Tier 7 creature available immediately. Much wow. Thankfully, this only gives you about 10 turns of advance (And throws you into the jaws of AP hell).Riddle and Dumbles could still squish your faction with a thought though since it takes time for dragons to mature, especially those of the four limbed, 'Fuck you magic' variety, as opposite to the regular two limbed variety that gets downed by a well placed cunjunctivitis curse. Yes, we were disappointed by the dragons in the 4th book!
BR-chan seems to be throwing a bone at Bumblebee.
Speaking of rolls, we'll remind everyone that the higher it is, the better, 50 being the average. The opposite is also true.
As for the prices, Dace is a proud man, he refuses to consider anything but the best materials, with the best artisans to work them. That's why prices seem so ridiculous compared to HP stations of canon. On the other hand, that also means that his employees are paid 20% more than anywhere else, which is why he can afford to have rather high standards.
Plan:[/b] Curiosity killed the cat, but horcruxes brought it back]
-[x] Rumor Mill:
--[x] You wonder what happened, it seems some investigation will be necessary. (Event roll: 78)
--[x] You don't know if you want to know what the old codger was up to, but the last time he pulled a seemingly crazy move, it ended up with Grindelwald comatose and his army destroyed. Look into that. (Event roll: 2)
-[x] Diplomacy:
--[x] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. He's young and eager to please and surprisingly easy to influence for somebody so brilliant when it comes to money. Sure, he's working for Voldemort too, and will probably spy on you, but there are signs that his loyalty is less... Ironclad than one may think.
--[x] Attend Academy graduation. You are, after all, the owner, founder and the one who funds the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning, located in Cardiff. This will increase your chance of people with exceptional potential stepping up next year, such as Oliver and Miss Evans.
-[x] Stewardship:
--[x] Lily Evans has come to you asking for funding. She's surprisingly cagey about why she wants it, but she's proven to be a level headed woman most of the time.
---[x] Accept
----[x] 10 000G
--[x] Develop your budding empire, you need to spend gold to earn more gold, after all. Costs 10 000 G. Gains variable.
-[x] Martial:
--[x] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G
-[x] Intrigue:
--[x] Compulsive plotting is also good for the morale!
---[x] Go on a matchmaking spree. Chance to increase Diplomacy, gain RP with some people, reputation.
--[x] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people dying left and right...
---[x] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
-[x] Learning:
--[x] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
---[x]Dragon nest plans [Takes 1 session] (reduced because you have a live dragon to experiment with)
--[x] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
---[x] Everyone has a price! Bribing Diplomacy is an important skill after all...
-[x] Mysticism:
--[x] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
---[x] Investigate the ??? Anchor
-[x] Personal:
--[x] Spend time with:
---[x] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP, SL unlocked)
---[x] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
--[x] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.)
---[x] Lily Evans has come to you asking for funding.
-[x] Rumor Mill:
Several people, couples, who actively fought against Voldemort were spirited away, the most prominent of them all being, strangely enough, the newly widowed Frank Longbottom, who had a near legendary row with Dumbledore at Hogwarts and stormed out, taking with him his mother and one year old son.
[X] You wonder what happened, it seems some investigation will be necessary.
Rolled 45 + 5 = 50.
Of course, as with any investigations, one needed to figure out the good questions. 'When' was obvious, after all, since it was on the day of Alice Longbottom's burial, the mourning husband chose to lash out at Dumbledore.
'Why' was a little trickier, after all, but in the end, it came to the fact that Alice was a member of the Order. According to his contacts, there was a confrontation between the Order and Voldemort on the day he decided to go dragon hunting, and over a dozen people 'disappeared', leaving Aife and Dumbledore himself wounded. Alice was among those numbers.
However, Frank Longbottom's mysterious disappearance was different, since all of his assets were frozen, and he took his family with him, meaning that he went away of his own volition, which was a tad different from all of those families, who were taken unwillingly, considering all the traces of combat. In other words, Frank knew what was going on and decided to be proactive about it. Tough, that didn't particularly help Dace, since that would only agitate the terrorist into a frenzy and make things more difficult for everyone involved.
It took him weeks, but in the end, he managed to find them, and not a minute too late either...
October 31st
It was a cloudy night in Kirkwall, Scotland, when Dace arrived at the last place his informants managed to get a tracker on the Longbottom tribe. Though, considering the flashes he saw coming from the windows of the dingy hotel, he came late. A massive shockwave blew up the windows and made him stagger, raising hastily a shield to protect himself from the falling glass. Then, there was no more noise, meaning everybody was probably dead at this point, which was safe enough.
Putting himself under a disillusion spell, he walked in quietly, cautiously making sure he didn't step on enything, which was harder than it may look, because the inside of the building was savaged and strewn with corpses, not all of them human. That was concerning, because he was fairly sure he just saw the charred remains of an inferius, which meant the terrorist got too impatient to play by the rules...
He slowly climbed up the stairs, wand at the ready, saw that one door had been blasted away, wooden splinters laying uselessly to the ground and decided to enter himself, to be met with a strange spectacle.
Right in front of him were a black robe, a pile of ash and a wand. On his right was the corpse of a man, blond and solidly built, wand in his fist. On his left was an elder woman, wheezing worryingly, gripping a crib and lastly, there was a blond toddler screaming his lungs out in said crib, ignoring everything else in the room.
Deciding not approaching the woman was a good idea, he cleared his throat, narrowly dodging a blasting hex.
"Why, good evening to you too, Augusta." He started out sardonically, rolling his eyes at how high strung she was, before remembering that the woman was injured and likely dying. "The aurors have received an anonymous tip something was up here. Do you need any help?"
The woman half sat half laid on the ground and looked at him with a calculating expression.
"Well, too bad, I'm not a healer and I didn't really come expecting it. I suppose, however, that Dumbledore will come here first, considering he had a month to heal, or send my dearest daughter and her little gang of hooligans. His having a phoenix should allow you to survive." He continued as if she had asked, eliciting a snort, then pained cough from her, and he saw a black liquid coming out from her mouth. She shook her head and put her wand to her temple, letting a silvery strand follow the tip as she removed it. Understanding what she was thinking about, he got an empty flask and gathered the silvery not-a-liquid inside, before corking it and storing it away. Then, with a graceful hand move, she signalled for him to go.
That was strange, he thought once back at his manor, staring at his family's pensieve, before getting up, emptying the flask in it and dunking his head through the reflective surface. Then, several minutes later, he got out and groaned.
A prophecy. Great.
[Dace is now aware of the prophecy given by Sybil Trelawney]
Now he needed to know what he wanted to do about it...
[]Nope. Not touching those things with a ten feet pole.
[]Maybe he could leverage some of this somehow?
[]Get involved directly.
November 1st
-[x] Mysticism:
--[x] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
---[x] Investigate the ??? Anchor
Rolled 95+5 = 100
After last month's 'excitement' Dace decided it was a good idea to make sure the mysterious but obviously magical item found in the ruined city guarded by dragons wouldn't blow his house up if he sneezed at if the wrong way, and thus decided to do some research.
As always, his family's knowledge delivered and at the end of the first week, he found some interesting facts. The item in his hands, this anchor, was designed to gather mana, convert it and soak up an area with it, lending strange properties to the land. The one in his hand was supposed to imbue uge swathes of langs with [Nature] typed energy, that allow several types of creatures to thrive, which explained the bowtruckle invasion.
This in itself wouldn't be usable, but there were hints that the Overlord's vaunted Tower was in fact alimented by one of those anchors. There were a grand total of five different types: [Order], [Chaos],[Life],[Death] and [Nature], each linked to different types of Strongholds , that were used during the Era of Conflict.
However, Dace was no optimist: if he found one of them, he could be sure that others did too, meaning the the Era of Conflict could yet reappear, but at the very least, he was fairly certain he had some sort of advantage over the others in that he had a book on how those Strongholds worked.
All he needed now would be to find a place to use this and to smuggle his very illegal dragons there. With last month's excitement, he completely forgot that he needed to take care of that.
[Dace now knows about the Stronghold types and creatures, will actively seek out components, increased possibility of related events]
November 24th
Of course, him taking anything resembling a vacation meant that everything had to go to hell when he turned his back. He had to learn from the newspaper that Dumbledore discovered an ancient artefact, a gate, that was linked to the one they usually used to dump their criminals in, and was a stable, permanent way of transportation.
Except those gates were hijacked by someone, and now strange creatures were appearing in London, causing widespread panic. Apparently the muggles believed them to be failed experiments, but Dace knew better, having spent half a month reading about them.
They were bipedal, and walked slowly. Their backs were hunched, as if they were more at ease with running on all fours or digging tunnels. Both their hands and legs had three claws, and they wielded simple spears. They were brown, save for an eye-less green head, their giant mouths filled with tickedly sharp teeth. People had taken to calling them mole men, but Dace had another name for them.
Troglodytes. The footsoldiers of the Dungeon.
And when you speak of dungeons, you think of Overlords.
This worried Dace as he realized he may not have as much time as he initially thought.
[The Overlord has begun scouting the area near London. The Statute of Secrecy is severely endangered]
December 3rd
-[x] Stewardship:
--[x] Lily Evans has come to you asking for funding. She's surprisingly cagey about why she wants it, but she's proven to be a level headed woman most of the time.
---[x] Accept
----[x] 10 000G
-[x] Personal:
--[x] Spend time with:
---[x] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
--[x] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.)
---[x] Lily Evans has come to you asking for funding.
Rolls: 41+5+10 =56
As the Ministries all around the globe were running in circles playing the blame game, and the death eaters were being tried following the fall of Voldemort, Dace was reading his registers, before a knocking sound made him look up, calling for whoever was coming to enter.
"Good Evening, Lily."
The redheaded young woman looked at him from gehind her square glasses, hair gathered in a tight bun and wearing a plain brown robe. Hm, this may be rather important, if the girl was bothering with formalities.
"Let's avoid the pleasantries, shall we? So, " he began, steepling his fingers together. " What brings my wayward apprentice to me today?"
Lily reached within her bag and showed him a file with a picture ot the troglodyte on the front and prepared herself to speak out when he chuckled in an amused fashion. Now her moves made sense.
"I was wondering whan anyone else was going to notice. I gather you're intending to take the fight to the Overlord instead, little miss Order?"
Her gobsmacked expression was revealing enough and he reached under his desk, throwing a bag full of galleons.
"Imagine my surprise when one of my previous projects approached me with a request for funding and came back with something that wasn't supposed to be in this world anymore. Then, after a bit of research, I learned those things went by five. Considering your own history and recent events, it isn't such a leap of logic that you would be aiming for the one thing that can endanger them the most."
"Which one was it?" She asked at Dace warily, and the man hemmed for a bit, before deciding this information was harmless enough to reveal.
"Nature. You'll understand that, as I won't reveal your identity to them, I cannot do so for you either."
The woman frowned but nodded and took the gold with her, before turning around and beginning to leave.
"Not even going to ask me to contact them for an alliance?" Dace called out curiously, which made the woman stop as she was putting a hand on the door's handle.
"I... Not now. Not before I can stand on my own two legs without needing help." She answered, before opening the door and going out. The girl's hero complex will be the death of her, he mused.
Will he need to do something about it?
[] Yes, the fiery redhead has poor impulse control and a grudge.
[] No, she can handle herself, you've got your own problems to worry about.
[Lily Evans embarked on a quest to seek the Order Anchor, +2 RP, SL revealed.]
January 1st 1982
-[x] Personal:
--[x] Spend time with:
---[x] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP, SL unlocked)
Rolled: 74+5 : 79
Part of Dace's failure as a father was that he didn't involve himself in his daughter's life. Therefore, doing the opposite should do the trick. That was how he found himself reading a book on potions, his granddaughter sitting on his knees while Hassan was sprawled in front of the fire in their living room, his tongue lolling in extacy.
"Uu." The girl pointed at a strangely drawn item.
"That's a Unicorn's horn." Dace explained, while the girl tilted her head and pointed at another.
"That's a dragon's heartstring."
"Uu?" Was her inquisitive answer.
"Once a dragon dies, potioneers harvest their bodies and turn them into ingredients.
"Uu!" She brandished her plushie while pointing at a small stone.
"Yes, a bezoard comes from cutting a goat open and extracting the stone from their stomachs."
The girl had a distinctively disturbed expression as she squeezed the plushie to her chest protectively, making the man snort.
"Worry not, I promise we won't turn Amalthea into potion ingredients anytime soon."
The girl puffed her cheeks, before yawning and cuddling into the adult's chest. It was her nap time, he reminded himself. While the girl was currently between two and three years of age physically, she wasn't even a year old in reality, so her not being able to speak yet wasn't really concerning. Still, he had more work to do, and called a maid to bring the child to her room to rest.
[Scáthach doesn't think of you as a stranger anymore and will have an easier time learning potions, +3 RP, SL unlocked]
February 10th
-[x] Martial:
--[x] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G
Rolled 24 + 5 = 29
You didn't find anybody, the activity at the ministry made it so anyone competent enough was already occupied. This was upsetting considering the resources sunk into the project. Oh well, better luck next time.
[Failure! +20 to next roll for martial adviser.]
March 23rd
-[x] Intrigue:
--[x] Compulsive plotting is also good for the morale!
---[x] Go on a matchmaking spree. Chance to increase Diplomacy, gain RP with some people, reputation.
Rolled: 46+5 = 51
Perhaps it was the context, perhaps the people. In any case, less people are marrying, love isn't in the air, and Dace is getting looks again.
At least, he's been invited to Danny and Sarah's wedding! He loved eating wedding cakes, they taste like success. Now that he thought about it, Rita wrote to him about the interview. Apparently, she managed to find interesting facts...
[] Tell her about the wedding
[] Let her do as she pleases
-[x] Diplomacy:
--[x] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. He's young and eager to please and surprisingly easy to influence for somebody so brilliant when it comes to money. Sure, he's working for Voldemort too, and will probably spy on you, but there are signs that his loyalty is less... Ironclad than one may think.
Rolled: 18+5 = 23
Lucius is a bit busy being tried for being a death eater right now. He appreciates the sentiment though. +2 RP
[Dace will get to eat cake.]
April 30th
-[x] Intrigue:
--[x] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people dying left and right...
---[x] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
-[x] Stewardship:
--[x] Develop your budding empire, you need to spend gold to earn more gold, after all. Costs 10 000 G. Gains variable.
Rolls: 97 + 5 =102
It seems the panic from England spread towards Wales, despite the government's best efforts. That, and the fact that Death Munchers were getting arrested in droves caused the emergence of lots of businesses up for grabs. Of course, Lucius having been proven innocent, he was busy aggressively taking over England, however, Dace was free to do as he pleased in Wales and Cornwall...
Greenfire (Floo powder producers since 1930): + 10 000 Galleons/ Turn
--200 Employees payed 500 G/m on average
Medjica (Healing salves and potions): + 10 000 Galleons/turn
--150 Employees paid 750 G/m on average
Yet, it seems like he misjudged the amount of money necessary and had some leftover...
(Due to Dace's wish to stockpile resources for the Rampart, those Galleon generating businesses produce materials instead.)
[Dace is advancing his master plan to corner the Welsh economy as well as ensuring his own autonomy.]
May 12th
-[x] Learning:
--[x] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
---[x] Everyone has a price! Bribing Diplomacy is an important skill after all...
-[x] Learning:
--[x] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
---[x]Dragon nest plans [Takes 1 session] (reduced because you have a live dragon to experiment with)
Rolls:
75+5=80
Spring was in full bloom, and Dace decided it was warm enough to get out of his cave to do something productive instead. Like working on how he would extort people better. With dragons. They usually made up for a compelling argument, even if he owned them illegally.
37+5=42
Well, that was the plan, however, along the way, Dace got lost in the perilous world of legalese. In the end, he'd like to think he got better with his diplomacy, but he hasn't advanced a bit with dragons.
[Diplomacy skill acquired, no dragon taming yet.]
June 25th
-[x] Diplomacy:
--[x] Attend Academy graduation. You are, after all, the owner, founder and the one who funds the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning, located in Cardiff. This will increase your chance of people with exceptional potential stepping up next year, such as Oliver and Miss Evans.
Rolled: 90 + 5 = 95
Surprisingly enough, Dace has been asked to speak in front of the students, since for once he bothered to come. Not willing to make a fool of himself, he accepted and gave out a speech about hope for the future, change and all that.
What was really amusing however, was that quite a lot of youngsters picked up on his double meanings. Next year's recruitment was bound to be interesting, if nothing else...
+20 to GASL unit production roll next turn.
That part was long, and I had to move from my apartment since the year is over, so my apologies if this is a bit late.
[X]Maybe he could leverage some of this somehow?
[X] Yes, the fiery redhead has poor impulse control and a grudge.
[X] Tell her about the wedding
[X] Buy 'George's Inferno': +12 Mercury, +12 Sulfur, +6/turn
July 2nd 1982
[X]Maybe he could leverage some of this somehow?
His partners in crime were looking between his pensieve and him in disbelief.
"Run that by me again? 'Cause I think I heard something stupid right now, just to make sure." Oliver rubbed his forehead with one hand, the other making sure his charge didn't fall off his lap as he made his knee jump jump, making her laugh happily. Dace smiled thinly, before sitting back.
"But of course. Apparently, Albus Dumbledore met with a woman, the granddaughter of the seeress Cassandra Trelawney, and she gave him a prophecy. According to it, a child born at the end of the seventh month would be born soon, and that child will be the rival of a dark lord. Dumbledore and the Terrorist seemed convinced of its veracity and thus, seeked out families that fit the description, 'parents who thrice defied him'." He paused, remembering the scene, and remembering a particular clue. "I'm not sure about what Augusta did to the Terrorist before she died, but I know for a fact that the child wasn't marked. The boy was the only thing intact in this entire house."
"Which means 'the one with the power to defeat the dark lord' is still an unknown..." Elizabeth mused, before she frowned. " No, not quite. If as you think, that person isn't dead, they will come after the boy for revenge sooner or later, making the prophecy come true any ways. A mark can be interpreted as the target of an assassination, after all."
"True" Was Dace's answer to this input. "Prophecies don't like people meddling with it, so trying to influence it won't work, however, that does not mean we can't make use of the results..."
The problem was, they had no idea when this would happen.
But just because he didn't know how, didn't mean he didn't know anyone who did.
August 15th
[X] Buy 'George's Inferno': +12 Mercury, +12 Sulfur, +6/turn
[X] Yes, the fiery redhead has poor impulse control and a grudge.
After finalizing the purchase of a small chain of alchemical shops, Dace contacted a few people and learn that Lily went to a vacation in Orkney, where there was a rumor about a magical surge causing the emergence of magical breeds of plants. There were also tales of giant white towers and perpetual snow, but most people called them just that. Tales.
It seemed that Lily found what she wanted however, she was soon confronted to a sad fact: She had neither the resources, nor the creatures needed to have a functional Tower...
However, what made him raise an eyebrow was that it seemed Dumbledore noticed, and thus went to investigate. Of course as a concerned mentor figure he was, Dace decided to go there himself to watch everything burn monitor the situation. [Further options available on turn 2]
August 30th
[X] Tell her about the wedding
Well, Dace could say it was surprise, but he'd be lying. Rita, after all, could smell a scoop from miles away. The fact the bride was one of those who testified against the character of his (ex)daughter, and the groom one of his numerous success stories, added to the fact he'd be attending in person to a public event for the first time since the trial, were more than enough to attract some measure of attention from everyone.
On both sides.
Therefore, something had to be used as repellent, and he just know the person for the job.
Rita, of course, was overjoyed and immediately accepted his invitation.
September 12th, 1982
Possessions:
Gains:
-Animal (mundane and magical) Ranches : +45,000 Galleon (after salaries and charges), 1d6 Epic animal components/ Turn
-- 1000 Employees, payed 544 G/m on average.
Potion shops 'Montmorency' in England: + 50, 000 Galleons/ Turn
--500 Employees payed 502 G/m on average Greenfire (Floo powder producers since 1930): + 10 000 Galleons/ Turn
--200 Employees payed 500 G/m on average
Medjica (Healing salves and potions): + 10 000 Galleons/turn
--150 Employees paid 750 G/m on average
Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning : -25,000 Galleon / turn , 1d6 – 3 Chance of Loyal Superior Unit, 1d100-95 chance of Loyal Hero Unit. (Muggleborn population : 95%)
Loan: 20,000 Galleons/turn (8 turns left)
Maintainance, taxes, salaries of the manor: 18,900 Galleons/turn (50 of them, 376 G/T on average)
Skylight : A sapphire that seems to shine with an inner light. +10 to results if used to create items with [Life/Order] Attribute. Nature Anchor: Allows to soak up a zone with Nature energy, necessary to build a Rampart. Magic Book: (Need to translate to use)
Dragon Rearing book (Need to translate to use) Dragon nest plans (Need to translate to use)
Ingredients: Hydra venom
Chimera heartstrings
Jobberknoll feathersx4 (Truth and mind potion ingredients)
Inventory: Cloak of Crystal: Gain 1 Crystal / turn (Value: 5000 G) Still Eye of the dragon +1 Troops Morale, +1 Troops Luck (Value : 2000 G) Quiet eye of the dragon +5 Troops attack damage, +5 Troops attack defense (Value : 2000 G) Pendant of free will: Immune to mind magic and hypnosis. (Value 8000 G)
Event Roll: 58
The troglodyte attacks stopped when summer arrived, and the light with it. This was what truly marked the return of peace for the Wizarding world in the United kingdom. Not that any of it mattered to Dace, as he was currently reading a paper about a certain student at his academy who had a lot of promise. Her name was...
[] Sophia (Learning/Mysticism type; Pure researcher type, more likely to unearth lost secrets.)
[] Agatha (Stewardship/Mysticism type: More likely to generate economic oriented magic events.)
[] Jeanne (Martial/Mysticism type: More likely to generate battle magic related events.)
And she somehow managed to find the cause, even if she lacked the knowledge to name it, of the magical perturbations in Wales (yours truly) and England (The Overlord). According to the inquiries, it seems like she was brilliant enough that the Department of Mysteries is going to move and try to poach her if you don't snag her first. Considering her abilities and potential, she may grow up to become an excellent Mage (Mysticism adviser)...
[] See if you can hire her, standard contract.
-1000G/Turn (Salary)
[] There are rivals for her employment, see if you can't sweeten the deal a bit...
-1000G/Turn (Salary)
--4 000G
-+30 to hiring roll
[] Hiring her isn't enough, make sure she stays with state of the art equipment!
-1000G/Turn (Salary)
--10 000G
-+60 to hiring roll
-+20 to Mysticism Action rolls for the next 3 turns, down to +10 afterwards
(Available Galleons: 78 600)
In any case, besides finding himself help up to his standards, he had a lot of things to worry about. First thing being...
Rumor Mill: AP 2
Dumbledore's faction strikes again! For some reason, they decided to pool all of their resources and buy some land in the magical side of Northumbria.
[] Suspicious...(Event Roll: 39)
Today an old woman came to Dace, eyes white and blind. Well, she came to one of Dace's assistants and gave them a rolled piece of paper, which now lays on his desk. It was a map, well part of a map. Dace recognized it as a puzzle piece. After he tried to investigate the woman, all he found was another note. 'Look for the Obelisks.'
[] Looks like it's time for a good old fashioned treasure hunt. (Event Roll: 95)
Dace received an invitation to a gathering of intellectuals, headed by no one else that Tom Riddle himself. The letter said that he would not begrudge him his absence, due to his circumstances, but his presence would be appreciated.
[] Looks like you're going to talk potions once more. (Event Roll: 9)
A strange mist gathered in the sea, North of Cornwall. Strangely enough, dementors are not involved. Still, this is unusual, and with all the magic phenomena popping up left and right, one cannot help but wonder...
[] Investigate. This is almost next door to Dace's house. (Event Roll: 3)
And now begins...
Turn 2
Diplomacy: Adviser : Elizabeth Gwallawg : Actions : 2
Elizabeth mentionned she'd be less avaliable due to some shootings, but she's still here often enough that you can offlead some responsibilities to her.
[] Have a chat with Dumbledore. You've put it off long enough, and as much as you loathe the old man, he is a major player and you shouldn't let him run around unchecked. This will open up funding options.
[] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. After that unpleasantness following the fall of Voldemort, the poor man doesn't know who to trust. Neither do you, but hey, what's life without some friendly backstabbing?
[] Visit the Ministry, try to build up contacts. The people over there like you well enough, but you never know who you can meet, and what you can find.
[] Get yourself a XXXXX Class creature permit. Your very illegal pet dragon Is growing rather tall now, it won't take much for people to notice you have a flying, fire breating death machine behind your house. Costs 2000G
[] Attend Academy graduation. You are, after all, the owner, founder and the one who funds the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning, located in Cardiff. This will increase your chance of people with exceptional potential stepping up, such as Oliver and Miss Evans.
[] Visit the Order faction. You're getting along well with Lily, and you think she'll need the support when Dumbledore and his little club will come visit. Who know what you can win from that ?
Stewardship: Advisor : Oliver Lapierre : Actions : 2
Oliver, for all of the one track mind he has, is quite efficient when he comes to administration. Of course, he'd rather become your researcher, but for now, he'll do as your steward.
[] Develop your budding empire, you need to spend gold to earn more gold, after all. Costs 10 000 G. Gains variable.
[] Work on coordinating Your granddaughter's and your own shops. This should lessen some expenses while increasing profits for both. Costs 5 000 G.
[] The wandmaker Ollivanders noticed the sudden increase in magic around your house, mostly because bowtruckles love fairy eggs, and their presence reinforces trees, making them perfect for wands. You may be able to strike a deal with him. Or at least to get that damned tent away from your favorite petunia patch.
[] Find sources of building materials. Your contacts went out of business not that long ago, and you need good sources. Guaranteed access to Wood and Stone production facilities. Chance of getting access to Gem, Crystal, Sulfur or Mercury production facilities. Cost variable.
[] Takeover. You're well placed in your country, due to both luck and shrewd management. Now is the time to launch your attack and corner the potions market! Cost : 100 000 G
[] Real estate hunt. You have an anchor, you have some creatures, but you still need the place. Look for suitable lands to create your fortress on. Cost variable (10 000 – 50 000 G)
Martial: Actions : 1
This isn't really your cup of tea, and it kind of shows. However, luckily, a massive project has attracted your attention. You seriously hope you'll find someone to handle this for you soon.
[] Animal pens. Crudely explained, you need a place to store your dragon, his mothers, your pet dog wolf, his pack, and the fairies that are about to overrun the small woods near your manor. If you see one more of those giant bowtruckle things, you're fairly sure you won't be able to dislodge Ollivanders from your lawn.[May only be taken if the [Rampart: Find a suitable location]and [finding sources of building materials] actions are taken]. May only build one per turn for stealth reasons.
-[] Wolf den : Produces 10 Wolves / turn, 1 year after construction. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G
--[] Direwolf den: Produces 10 Direwolves / turn;, 1 year after construction. Replaces Wolf den. Costs 10 Wood, 3000 G
-[] Pixie huts: Produces 15 Pixies/turn, available immediately. Costs 20 Wood, 1000 G
--[] Sprite huts: Produces 15 Sprites / turn, available immediately. Replaces Pixie huts. Costs 10 Wood, 2000 G
-[] Dragon Cliffs: Produces 1 Green dragon/ turn, 5 years after construction. [Needs [Dragon rearing book] and [Dragon nest plans] to be translated.] Costs 30 Stone, 20 Crystal, 20 000G
--[] Dragon Lair: Produces 1 Golden dragon/turn, 5 years after construction. Replaces Dragon Cliffs. Costs 30 Stone, 20 Crystal, 40 000G
[] Hire more security staff. -10 to enemy infiltration rolls. 2000G
[] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G (+20 to roll)
[] But will that security chief be the best ? No. Try to poach an auror or two! Considering what they're doing with them and all the post-war budget cuts, they won't be missed. Costly. 7500G (+20 to roll)
Intrigue: Actions : 2 (1+ Intrigue over 25)
You're not sure you'll find anyone you trust with this to help you, save for your wife, but you need her more where she is right now.
[] Plots are good for your health! Plot against: (Will receive intel on their moves, plus additional actions if the opportunity arises.)
-[] Dumbledore's little club of vigilantes.
-[] Voldemort's band of hooligans. Well, what remains of it, anyways.
-[] The Overlord of Chaos faction
-[] Lily Evans of Order faction
[] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people being arrested left and right...
-[] Plot to take over shops in Diagon Alley (England, London).
-[] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
[] Compulsive plotting is also good for the morale!
-[] Go on a matchmaking spree. Chance to increase Diplomacy, RP with some people, reputation.
-[] Go on a trolling rampage an adventure! Chance to increase Intrigue, cripple enemies, RP with some people.
[] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
-[] Plot with Oliver: +10 to Stewardship action rolls (+2 RP with Oliver)
-[] Plot with Elizabeth : +10 to Diplomacy action rolls (SL MAX)
-[] Plot with Scáthach: +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score . She's still a bit young, but better get started early!
Learning: Actions : 2 (1+Learning over 25)
You're not letting anyone not from your family handle those books. Ever. You'll have to wait until either Elizabeth finds herself a newfound passion for reading, or until little Scáthach decides paper isn't for eating and learns to read. You have a feeling the latter will come earlier.
[] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
-[]Dragon Rearing book [Takes 1 session]
-[]Dragon nest plans [Takes 1 session] (reduced because you have a live dragon to experiment with)
-[] Magic Book: [Takes 4 sessions]
[] Attend lessons to your own Academy. (due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.) Since you're the owner, you can attend for free.
-[] There were a few lectures about Herbalism...
-[] You don't believe in that meditation mumbo jumbo, but there are a few interesting applications you can think of...
[] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
-[] With all of the things going on right now, you need to brush up on your Estates management.
Mysticism : Actions : 1 (2 if Adviser is hired)
It stings a bit that you're just on the lower spectrum of powerful, but you'll deal. Though, you'd really like it if someone could step up and help you with all of that, you've got too much work to do.
[] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
-[] Find a suitable location.
-[] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures. (Currently 3/7: Fairy line, wolf line and dragon line)
-[] Spare resources for the building: Pay 30 000 G, 30 wood, 30 stone. (0/30 000, 0/30, 0/30)
-[V] Investigate the ??? Anchor
[] Spend time with:
-[] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP)
-[] Lucius. His wife and your heiress are rather close, especially since apparently, their son enjoys your daughter's company. And Narcissa wants a daughter. (+2 RP, Scáthach unlocks Draco Malfoy SL and gains 2RP)
-[] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP)
-[] Oliver. You've thrown a lot of work his way, may as well make him feel appreciated, right? (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
[] Personal supervision. Supervise an action from the other sections. Gain +10 to rolls if Martial, Stewardship or Diplomacy action, +20 if Leaning or Mysticism action, +30 if Intrigue action. (May be used multiple times, but not on the same actions.)
[] Extra action. Use you own free time to do stuff. (May only be taken once, may be used as substitute for AP)
Interlude: Choose 1:
[] The queen
[] The flower
[] White
[] The Necromancer
[] Determination
[] The storm
Remember that roll 99 event in the Rumor mill? Well, that was the homm holding, which Lily converted to a Tower. It was a 99, after all. I'll repeat once more, 50 is neutral 50+ is better, 50- is worse, the more extreme, the better/worse. Of course, if you choose the highest, you get goodies, but if you choose the lowests, you get to not be blindsided when the situation explodes... This year's rumor mill did not favor you. Sorry about the lateness, I've fallen ill and try to recuperate. As promised, you may choose your interlude. Some are obvious, others not. HOMM stats will only be available when the rampart is a thing, by the way.
He'd always known he was different, destined for greatness.
After all, didn't all the best and brightest heroes come from nothing? Everyone likes cheering for the underdog, that's a fact.
So in this regard, his own humble beginnings would be the start of his own legend.
His mother died giving birth to him, the cause being in part due to the damage his birth caused to her, she was too proud to beg fro help from the muggles that could have saved her, and in part due to heartbreak, she had brought it upon herself, desiring something out of her reach and forcefully acquiring his father's affections.
Looking at it now, he'd never forgive her for the latter.
Heartbreak syndrome, the illness each and every child conceived when one of the parents is dozed with a love potion. Depending on the strength, some emotions become unavailable for them, the more powerful the potion, the more emotions out of grasp. As a child conceived under a strengthened version of Amortentia, most of the emotions related to affection were out of his reach.
At first he didn't care, watching Billy crying over his rabbit only made him both satisfied and disgusted that the boy would make such a scene for such a trivial matter. He constantly felt tired, like a fish too big for its bowl. From this frustration, his power was born, and this was the happiest day of his life, he really was special, not just an 'emotionless freak'!
However, he really should have known better, as he watched his wardrobe burn. A new world opened itself to him, where he was 'normal'... The thought horrified him to the core. Being only one face among the crowd, a speck on the tapestry of history, merely noted before sinking into oblivion...
He didn't want that.
He wouldn't accept that.
So he threw himself, body and soul within his studies, he became the best, using the looks he herited from his muggle father to ingratiate himself to the student population, layers upon layers of manipulations to use the situation to his advantage, and by his fifth year, he became 'special' again, Tom Riddle, the best, most beloved student of Hogwarts. The hunger within his soul soothed by the adoration of his fellow students. Then came his sixth year...
Red was all he saw.
Th-thmp.
Glorious red curls, pale, flawless skin, emerald green eyes, a smile that could light up a whole room and an aura that made people want to come close, like moths to a flame.
Th-thmp.
Anastasia Rizona was a half-blooded witch who came to England to escape from the war, her Italian heritage playing against her, and yet, within half a week, she had every student eating out of her hands.
This was illogical.
He couldn't understand at that time.
A burning feeling spread through his chest, bis breath came short, and soon, his mind became filled with thoughts of her. He tried everything to get rid of that disease, potion antidotes, counterspells, even talking to Slughorn and nothing helped. Time passed, and he felt as if his very soul was being burnt out. The agony was overtaking everything, and yet, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her.
Which is why he called in something that would.
For you see, he truly was a 'special' person.
He was the descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself! He found the secret room he left to his descendants, had access to his knowledge and the guardian of the room. For some reason it was deeply amused about hearing his dilemma, but was gracious enough not to comment on it.
The attacks began, Slytherin house became isolated, and finally his peace came back, letting him think more clearly than he ever could for the last year.
It took a bit of soul searching, but he realized two major truths about himself: He could only have a semblance of happiness if he was at the very top, adorated by all, and he was terrified of dying. Death was a horrifying concept, where everything ended and was made equal, no matter who you were, or what you did. Of course, he decided, this was utterly unacceptable, the cold fingers of fear gripping the back of his head. He began to look for ways, and all but one were fruitless.
Horcruxes were a strange point. On paper it seemed like it was a good idea, put his soul into an object so that even the body is destroyed, one could stil resurrect. However, if it was that efficient, why wouldn't more dark wizards use it? Where was Herpo the foul? Emeric the Evil? If Horcruxes were the key of eternity, why did all of the people rumored to use it disappear mysteriously? Was there a secret price to pay for it that he wasn't aware of? Conflict raged within his mind, not helped by the fact that he finally found his father, only to be rejected by him.
So focused he was on his research, that he stopped organizing attacks, and the worst happened.
Anastasia noticed him.
She began hounding him, green eyes knowing too much, she was everywhere he went, escape was impossible, and the flames came back with her, causing his mind and very magic to run into directions he'd rather them not to.
How was he feeling today?
What did he think of muggles?
Did he know anything about the Heir of Slytherin?
Hey hey, how about they went to study together?
Half of him was screaming at the tops of its imaginary lungs to run away.
The other half just nodded dumbly to her requests.
The world around him was swirling, similar to the chaotic state of his mind, until he couldn't bear it anymore and ran away to his last sanctuary, where he lay for hours, maybe days, trying to calm the fever down. Tha'ts when he saw her.
She'd even followed him here.
An unbidden anger rose within him, at the same time the emotions only her could call out did.
She spoke to him gently about how she wouldn't say anything, that she was sorry she didn't notice he was so tired, that she worried about him. That she loved him, despite knowing about who he was and what she did.
Tom broke.
He didn't remember what happened, the snake would explain it to him later, but when he woke up, it was to Anastasia laying dead on the ground, his hands around her throat. A hysterical laughter came from his mouth as a void he forgot reappeared, devouring him from the inside as if to compensated for its one year long absence. That's when he decided to do it.
His very first Horcrux. However, it was impossible, for regret was the only thing in his mind, this wasn't a cold blooded murder where he was in control, this was him killing the girl he 'loved' in a fit of madness, he realized. If the fire of 'love' was hard to bear, the pain of loss was even worse, and so he went ahead and did the unthinkable. He spent three days doing nothing but checking the formula, altering it and making sure the body was preserved by the spells. Then,he got the girl's wand and did it.
This was the most pain he ever felt, as his five senses got cut off from him.
It felt like he waited for years, in fact, this probably was the case, before somebody picked him up. Getting them to use him enough for him to overtake them was trivial, he was in a wand after all. After he woke up, savoring having senses again, he tried to think about what he should do and came to a blank.
The original gave up on his name and appearence, fashioning himself into a Dark Lord following some asinine quest for pure blood supremacy, so he supposed he could take thosa for himself instead. The pitiful wizard he took over was from a very old family, and had some written knowledge about the past.
Tom Riddle reappeared into society as a scholar, and wasn't Dumbledore ever so shocked to learn of it, a small, vindictive part of his mind whispered into his mind. His connections didn't fail him, and in less than half a day, he found himself staring up at his original self. Red eyes, bald and skin pale as death. He really was ugly. The Original gave him the mission to continue investigating Death, so he did.
At some point, the Original brought him the body of Anastasia, and he discovered it was filled with something. A strange magic, that somehow allowed some part of her to remain even after death. After that, he was like a shark who smelled blood in the water and experimented on the corpse, until an accidental bout of mind magic revealed memories that had him floored.
His world was fictional.
He then proceeded to repress it, to instead concentrate on the knowledge it gave.
This body was filled with the blessing of the Love goddess Aphrodite, and Anastasia used it to try and seduce him. He felt a bit betrayed, but in her situation he'd do the same, besides, he already killed her and was defiling her corpse, so he wasn't really upset. If anything, he was grateful to her, because she opened the way to several ways to accomplish his objective. After all, if there's one thing those American muggle comics taught him, it's that taking what scares you and using it for your own purposes is exceedingly efficient.
Holding a black cube in his hand, he chanted in a black tongue forgotten to man for millenia, the sky darkened, the stone blackened, and the preserved corpse of Anastasia spasmed on the stone table, empty eyes opening as bony hands began digging their way out of the ground.
"Good morning to you, Anastasia." He spoke out smoothly. "Do you understand your mission?"
The death knight smiled and bowed.
"I do, my beloved master."
Today, he was investigating the members of the Order of the Phoenix, starting with the one apparently married to a Death eater. Then, as he saw her, a familiar heat in his chest began to rise. Not as violent as the previous one, but enought to pique his interest.
A smirk spread on his lips. Looks like it was time for him to start a collection.
The moral of the story : Don't try to mindwhammy the dark wizard into being in 'love' with you. It'll only spook him. Nobody likes it when dark wizards become spooked. Especially if what he feels isn't 'love'.
At the beginning, it was going to be 'stupid reincarnate tries to relive her favorite romance fanfiction and get shanked by younger Tom Riddle', but it wouldn't generate enough chaos. So instead you get this.
Now, all the implications in this interlude, We wonder if you can find them all~
PS: Heartbreak Syndrome is something We invented, because We thought the whole "Evil since birth" thing is a cop out and reserved to the Overlad.
Hero
-[X] Agatha (Stewardship/Mysticism type: More likely to generate economic oriented magic events.)
-[X] Hiring her isn't enough, make sure she stays with state of the art equipment!
Event
-[X] Investigate. This is almost next door to Dace's house. (Event Roll: 3)
-[X] Looks like you're going to talk potions once more. (Event Roll: 9)
Diplomacy
-[X] Get yourself a XXXXX Class creature permit. Your very illegal pet dragon Is growing rather tall now, it won't take much for people to notice you have a flying, fire breating death machine behind your house. Costs 2000G
-[X] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. After that unpleasantness following the fall of Voldemort, the poor man doesn't know who to trust. Neither do you, but hey, what's life without some friendly backstabbing?
Stewardship
-[X] The wandmaker Ollivanders noticed the sudden increase in magic around your house, mostly because bowtruckles love fairy eggs, and their presence reinforces trees, making them perfect for wands. You may be able to strike a deal with him. Or at least to get that damned tent away from your favorite petunia patch.
-[X] Work on coordinating Your granddaughter's and your own shops. This should lessen some expenses while increasing profits for both. Costs 5 000 G.
Martial
-[X] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G (+20 to roll)
Intregue
-[X] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
--[X] Plot with Scáthach: +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score . She's still a bit young, but better get started early!
-[X] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people being arrested left and right...
--[X] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
Learning
-[X] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
--[X]Dragon Rearing book [Takes 1 session]
-[X] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
--[X] With all of the things going on right now, you need to brush up on your Estates management.
Mysticism
-[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
--[X] Find a suitable location.
--[X] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures. (Currently 3/7: Fairy line, wolf line and dragon line)
Personal
-[X] Spend time with:
--[X] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP, SL unlocked)
--[X] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP)
--[X] Oliver. You've thrown a lot of work his way, may as well make him feel appreciated, right? (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
-[X] Extra action. Use you own free time to do stuff. (May only be taken once, may be used as substitute for AP)
--[X] Looks like it's time for a good old fashioned treasure hunt. (Event Roll: 95)
September 10th 1982
-[X] Agatha (Stewardship/Mysticism type: More likely to generate economic oriented magic events.)
-[X] Hiring her isn't enough, make sure she stays with state of the art equipment!
The meeting took place in mid-September. The young lady had, of course, been really enthusiastic to receive your personnal invitation and easily agreed to your request, which lead Dace to sit in his comfortable office at the academy.
What he should have expected though, was the scrawny, mousy, plain looking wizard currently trying to murder him with his eyes sitting on the other chair in the room. At least there was the heavy oaken desk between the two of them, and he was confident enough in his physical shape that he could break the other wizard in two bare handed if need be. However, the problem was that the man was a recruiter for the English Department of Mysteries, therefore he probably knew much more about dark magic than he did.
Agatha had a rather striking appearence, with vivid blond hair and massive glasses. He also had a rather thick german accent and the tendancy to make ample movements when explaining something. She was currently beaming at both of them, her legal guardian, an aging woman with grey hair looking at them sternly.
After a moment to put his thoughts in order, Dace decided to open the negociations.
"As you may have surmised," He started, hands folded on his desk, where everybody could see them "the talent exhibited by the young Agatha was impressive enough to attract the attention of several parties, and I therefore decided that it would be the best for everyone involved to solve this problem now?"
The man nodded stiffly, which made Dace smile a bit. For him to be so rattled, something had to have happened at the ministry, he'd need to look into that, eventually. In any case, he decided to be polite and let the other man make his offer first.
"Hm. Yes, well, everything is in this contract. We can't tell you exactly what you will be working on before you sign the agreement, of course, but it has to do with your paper on the emergence of those 'magical singularities'."
A discrete look at the mirror on Dace's side allowed him to read the contents of the contract. It was a fairly standard ministry contract, with wages quite inferior to yours, but with a substantial starting bonus. The fact that she would be allowed to consult their archives and study their prototypes was also very attractive...
The girl looked at Dace in a conflicted manner and he smiled magnanimously, before reaching for his own piece of parchment, secured inside his drawer, and with practiced ease slid it in front of them. The girl's eyes bulged as her mouth opened, and the ministry man choked on his spit.
A thousand galleons per year was a lor more than a regular ministry official earned. Dace even heard about a deparment head that earned less (was it something about muggles?).
What really sold it though was the ten thousand galleons of budget to get herself started on her research, and the names of the foremost artesans who could help her build the contraptions necessary to practice her craft. Not everyone had Ollivanders on call, it seems. Then there was the fact that Dace would allow her free reign of the Academy grounds provided it didn't disturb the classes...
"Ah.. Erm, it's a bit..." She was clearly staggered, therefore, it was time to go for the kill. Thanking Oliver for his hard work, he reached inside a pouch at his belt, adn got a golden item the size of his fist. He raised it od the sunlight hit it, causing it to shine brightly and project rainbows on the walls.
"I understand that my offer may seem... Underwhelming. However, as the owner of one of those 'Magical singularities', I am very interested in what you would find out, should you be allowed contact with them..."
"Wh-What?" Was the girl's only answer as she was staring at the scale, almost hypnotized. "That's a dragon scale..." She whispered in realization.
"Indeed." He answered smoothly, delighting in the fact he could almost hear the other man's teeth grinding together.
The girl blinked a bit, then jumped on the pen and signed your contract hastily. Then she looked ar you with an almost uncomfortably intense gaze, amber eyes sparkling wildly, and spoke out once more with a lower, throatier voice.
"Show me."
He would have to be careful here, too much intellectual stimulation and his nonexistent chastity may be in danger here.
Agatha Hired!
+1 Mysticism action
+1 Personal action
+30 to Mysticism actions until turn 5
+10 to Mysticism actions afterwards
October 14th 1982
Event
-[X] Investigate. This is almost next door to Dace's house. (Event Roll: 3)
It took a bit of preparation, but this time, you managed to start your investigation at the same moment an Auror patrol was scheduled, and Dace convinced them to let him accompany them. Not even ten minutes off the shores, he found a spot of fog just hovering still over the water. However, what was so wrong about it was its stillness. No matter how much the wind blew, it didn't move an inch. Several spells were used, to no avail, it was completely placid, and the water around it might as wall have been replaced by oil with how calm it was.
Deciding enough was enough, Dace got his wand out and moved it in random patterns, gathering his concentration. View Air was a spell he could cast as long as he was holding the unknown book and he could cast it wandlessly, however, with so many people around him, it was unwise to reveal that. Wind gathered around him and, unknown to him, his blue eyes shone green as he was finishing the spell and aimed it at the fog. A massive gust of wind hit the fog and a deafening bell like sound rang, causing the aurors to put their hands to their ears. The spell wasn't enought to breach the barrier and lift the fog, however, it wasn't its objective.
Dace got a parchment off his back in an almost dazed manner and put his wand on it. Dark lines spread from the tim, flowing along the paper and turning int shapes. What the aurors, who were gathering around him, saw was a map that showed an island hidden by the fog.
However, what was wrong with this island was what it held. Cursed temple producing Skeleton warriors, Estates holding vampires, a fog generating tower, ans, more importantly, a fort decorated with skulls, made with blackened stone and metal fashioned in deadly spikes. Add to that the foule energy around the air that he could feel and that made his hackles rise and he knew what they were looking out.
"Necropolis." Dace hissed, all semblance of control gone in face of this.. Abomination. The detached part of his mind knew Dace wouldn't normally be too offended by that, however, Natural energy was an energy of Life, and therefore was inclined to be hostile to Death.
"What was that, Mr Gwallawg? Do you know something about it?" an Auror, the leader of the group looked at him in surprise and suspicion.
Dace looked at the fog once more and wille dhis boat to back off, slowly.
"This is the dwelling of the Necromancers and Death knights, a place where all that lives is perverted and trapped into the eternal torment of undeath, feeding the army of corpses that has no other choice than obeying to their masters." His voice was low, an animalistic growl at the back of his throat expressing his anger.
A Necropolis, less than three hours from his house.
That was unacceptable.
A shiver shoot up his spine and almost on reflex, he cast another spell, Haste and his boat shoot through the water, barely avoiding the poisonous green blast that hit the other boats. Once it dissipated, what they saw made the younger aurors ill. The spells hit the ones who stayed behind an they fell on the boats, screamin gin agony. Flesh was falling off their bones, melting and gathering ot the boat's floors in dark puddles, but somehow, their bones were still moving, the poisonous green energy coiling around them like snakes before seeping deep into the bones.
They all stopped moving, and the stillness of the water spread. Dace cursed and continued moving the boat to keep away from the stillwater. He didn't know what was this sorcery, but it was obviously very bad. Another chill had him shouting to go down, flattening himself to the boat's ground ant another explosion made him shake, feeling nauseous. A quick look around revealed thay all headed his warning, and a clattering noise had him looking ahead.
The skeletons of the dead aurors were all rising as one, their skills slowly turning towards them, dead orbits animated with a poisonous green light.
Dace bit back a few choice insults that came to his mind and looked at the visibly shaken head auror next to him.
"Gentlemen, I suggest we flee."
While they nodded vigorously, it was a fact that apparition didn't work. A spell came to Dace's mind, however, it was costly and would leave him weakened.
"I can destroy those things, but that will leave me unable to power the motion spell on the boat. Does anyone know it?" A lithe woman nodded hesitantly, which was enough for him.
"Very well." He aimed his wand at it and concentrated on the Destroy Undead his spell tome gave him. Another gust of wind rose, slamming into the creatures and pulverizing the dozens of skeletons that were on the boats. A shrill scream rang throught the air and the fog parted, revealing another skeleton, clad in ornate robes, a staff laying uselessly to its side as its arms crumbled. Then, as ti fell and turned into dust, Dace fell to his knee, breathing heavily, his head spinning. The well of power inside of him was almost empty now, and his consciousness faded...
...
He woke up to what seemed to be Saint Mungos, the Mediwizard attending to him shouting outside of the room. Few moments later, he was blinking blearily as severam robed people enrered the room, some of those people aurors that were in the boat with him, led by a man with a lion-like mane of tawny hair, yellowish green eyes behind golden framed glasses and an insigna over his right breast.
Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office was staring down at him, eyes boring into his skull as if to unearth his secrets. There was a tense silence, before he finally spoke out.
"Mr Gwallaws. On behalf of the Ministry and the Auror Office, I would like to give you my sincerest gratitude for your heroic actions of two days ago." Two days huh. Dace thought it would take at least a week. Then he checked the date and realized with horror that he missed the wedding. "However." The man raised his voice, having found out that Dace was distracted. "Your knowledge of what happened here was considered suspicious for some members of the Ministry..."
Dace snorted.
"Department of Mysteries is probably still sore I got the one they went at such lengths to hire."
Scrimgeour cleared his throat before continuing.
"It would go a long way to restore the trust to explain what you know and why."
"How rude. Are you saying I'm not an esteemed member of the society anymore because I did my duty as a citizen?" Dace put his hands over his heart in fake hurt, making the other man's eyebrow twitch, before he let them fall with an inscrutable expression instead. " As you should know, our library is the most expansive in all of Britain, second to none. Not even Hogwarts." He stated." As an avid reader, I found myself perusing those tomes frequently until one day, I found a book telling stories of war, magic and creatures unknown. I chalked them up as tales, however, I have met thrice with signs that those legends have at least some amount of truth to them."
Leonine eyes narrowed as the man bit out. "Thrice?"
"Thrice."Dace nodded." The first time was the dragon gathering in Wales. The second one was the troglodyte invasion of London, the third one was the Necropolis. The tales spoke of five magical factions and one nonmagical. Nature, Order, Life, Chaos, Death, and Barbarian. After investigating some more, I have managed to identify most, if not all of those faction leaders and where they are based, even if the Overlord behind those troglodytes still eludes me, seeing that they are most likely based underground."
"I see." The Department head finally spoke out. "This is troubling." He didn't know half of it. "We are indebted enough to you as is" It seemed to hurt him to ask a known Welsh nationalist for help, it seemed." however, is there any way to ask that you lend those books and your knowledge to the Ministry?"
What are you ready to loan to the ministry? (Recompenses may vary.)
[] Nothing, there are spies everywhere and the Ministry can't guarantee your or your books' safety.
[] Don't help them yourself, you're a busy, frain old man, even if you don't look the part.
[] Don't send them books. Claim that the conservation charms won't protect them outside of the library
[] Some of the books. The less incriminating, only descriptions, no technical knowledge beyond how to deal with Chaos and Death creatures.
[] Help them yourself. The Ministry has no faction backing them up right now and will be easily wiped out if nobody steps up. -1 Personal action.
[] Write-in. (Within reason, I reserve the right to ignore them if OOC)
"And those spells!" The female auror blurted out. "The spells you used were nothing I ever saw!"
Scrimgeour silenced her with a glare before turning towards you with a raised eyebrow and Dace shook his head.
"Family magic, I'm afraid."
That brought a frown to the auror's face. However Dace was currently busy cursing in his mind. It was much too early to drop the masquerade and reveal himself. As is, he'd need to Either use Oliver as a figurehead for the Nature faction, or convince Lily to cover for him in order to keep people away from him.
The ministry is aware of the Necromancer's existence, subversion now impossible., relationship down from neutral to hostile towards them.
The Order of the Phoenix is now aware of the Necromancer's existence., relationship down from neutral to hostile towards them.
The Overlord is now aware of the Necromancer's existence.
Lily Evans is now aware of the Necromancer's existence., relationship down from neutral to hostile towards them.
The Necromancer is now aware of your existence.
You have a Necromancer stronghold in your backyard, and it seems they're here to stay.
Your secrecy in endangered.
October 23rd, 1982
-[X] Looks like you're going to talk potions once more. (Event Roll: 9)
Well, at least, that's what you intended. Then, after a row of scouting, you discovered the drinks were poisoned, and undead were crowling underneath the building and decided to run away as politely as you could. Considering who was doing the inviting, and what happened to the other invited people, the Necromancer is most likely Tom Riddle himself, which is very worrying considering your encounter last year...
You now know that Tom Riddle is the Necromancer, what do you do with this information?
[] Send it to the faction leaders directly. The masquerade is broken.
[] Have those messages sent anonymously to the faction leaders. Some may ignore it, but your secrecy is safe.
[] Write-in. (Within reason, I reserve the right to ignore them if OOC)
November 2nd, 1982
-[X] Get yourself a XXXXX Class creature permit. Your very illegal pet dragon Is growing rather tall now, it won't take much for people to notice you have a flying, fire breating death machine behind your house. Costs 2000G
Money was what made the world go round, and that saying proved true once more today, with the proof safely tucked into your personal vault. What you didn't expect though, was Ollivanders and Scrimgeour chatting in front of your house. The man looked at you with an unimpressed stare.
"Dragons." His voice was mixed with disbelief, and it was at moments like that that Dace was glad that he bothered to cover his bases.
"They're a very good thief deterrent." He admitted shamelessly, as one of Sigurd's nannies raised her reptilian head from behind his manor and stared at the trespassers before growling lightly, sparks coming out of her snout.
Scrimgeour's bushy eyebrow was twitching. The man was surprisingly fun to rile up.
You got your permit, therefore they can't touch you or your dragons! Just in time.
November 17th, 1982
-[X] Have a nice brunch with Lucius. After that unpleasantness following the fall of Voldemort, the poor man doesn't know who to trust. Neither do you, but hey, what's life without some friendly backstabbing?
Malfoy manor looked like the result of one persone trying to cram as much luxuries per square meter as possible, to the point some of it was downright gaudy. Seriously, the white marble flooring was veined with native gold of all things...It was a certainly impressive, and a bit intimidating testament to the Malfoy's vauted ability to gather riches. The man himself was waiting for you, almost anxiously, and rose up immediately to shake your hands as you entered his living room.
"Dace, it's good to see you again."
"You saw me three weeks ago as I was getting that dragon license." Dace jested, letting his host lead him towards the seats.
"You know what I mean." Of course he did, support from one such as him was certainly instrumental for the man to be found innocent.
"I doubt someone like you would make such a bad business decision and decide to follow that crazy terrorist when he hasn't even proven himself as a leader." The older answered mildly, savoring the flinch of the younger one.
"True..." Was his only answer. Dace wondered if he should speak about his family before thinking better of it. This could be considered as a threat and undo most of his work on the younger man.
"Well, enough about those dreary subjects, let's talk about better things. Like business." He changed the subject rather obviously, to the relief of Lucius. "Good help is hard to find nowadays, I had to open a school to finally find some!"
"Yes, I heard about your standards. However, isn't five Optimal in your academy's Newt equivalent a bit excessive?"
"No, no it isn't. It is the same reason I'm not employing house elves, I know my worth, and I'm not about to settle for anything but the best for me and my family. A man's worth is reflected by those who follow him after all." A dubious glance was sent to the house elf wearing a dirty washcloth that had a deer in the headlight expression on its face, then Dace nodded at it while the other man grimaced in distaste and the elf disappeared. "Besides, they're much prettier to look at." He finally added, this time getting a disbelieving look.
They made a bit more small talk, and it seems that Lucius is warming up to the system Dace tries to put in place for muggleborns. Whether it is because purebloods still get an advantage or because he hates them less is up to him though.
+2 RP with Lucius, Lucius' acceptance of muggleborns increased, respect to Voldemort diminished.
December 20th, 1982
-[X] The wandmaker Ollivanders noticed the sudden increase in magic around your house, mostly because bowtruckles love fairy eggs, and their presence reinforces trees, making them perfect for wands. You may be able to strike a deal with him. Or at least to get that damned tent away from your favorite petunia patch.
It was finally time, Dace narrowed his eyes in front of the tent planted where his poor petunias used to be, to do something about the eccentric wandmaker.
"Ah, Mister Gwallawg." He turned around towards the old man, pale eyes staring at something Dace couldn't see. "I never sold you a wand, none of them ever reacted to you." The bowtruckle in his hair waved at Dace before returning earing the fairy egg it held, while Ollivander looked at the wand held loosely by the owner of the land. "May I?"
Dace shrugged and gave it to him. The man took it and stared, hemming and hawing as fingers prodded at it and he used spells such as measuring and weighting ones.
"A most intriguing wand. 13 inches, supple, Cedar wood and dragon heartstring. A very powerful wand, destined for someone that shouldn't be crossed. Very well maintained. I assume you polish it every month?" At his nodded, he hummed some more. " And who would be the creator of this? The work is much too fine to be one of Gregorovich and too unusual to be one from Antonin's."
"That would be my mother." The younger man answered and Ollivander stilled. His eyes rose from the wand to Dace's eyes instead.
"Bridget always had a talent for this. She died too young." An old pain ran in his eyes. "A talent that she said ran in your family." Then, he continued a bit more uncertainly. "Has she left any more of those?"
"Yes, she did. They're in the vault." Dace continued, a bit uncomfortable with the situation. "... Would you like to see them?" He asked after hesitating a moment.
A slight smile appeared on the wandmaker's lips.
"Yes... Yes, I would like that very much." The bowtruckle on his head trilled almost happily, ans the forest animated itself. Dace was about to turn around to see what was happening, but the man's hand gripped his wrist like a steel vice.
"Then let us go, young Dace." His pale eyes glittered maniacally, leaving the younger man to wonder if the other man wasn't crazier than first expected.
You didn't get Ollivanders to move out! But you bonded together over your dead mother! Garrick Ollivander SL unlocked, discovered Dace's weakness to crazy old men, the forest behind your house is behaving strangely...
January 10th, 1983
-[X] Work on coordinating Your granddaughter's and your own shops. This should lessen some expenses while increasing profits for both. Costs 5 000 G.
The whole place was a mess. No, more than a mess, that place was a dump. Grossly overpaid unqualified purebloods, almost unpaid, unqualified muggleborns, overworked soil, ridiculous prices, this was an insult to you and everything you stood for! And worse, this happened with almost all of the shops Dace found. The potionner soul inside of him was screaming bloody murder, and he was of the same mind, before remembering he already murdered Rosier.
Retroactive murder for efficiency's sake? He could get along with that.
In any case, it took a lot of work and more gold than previously estimated, but after he invited Horace Slughorn and a few other potion makers to witness the chaos Rosier's and Lestrange's monopoly had brought, it was either he got to burn this place to the ground and remake it to his standards, or they were all storming the ministry. There was that crazy woman toting around greek fire flasks and a worrying light in her eyes who volunteered her services fo free.
In the end, things went his way and he got all of the permits necessary to turn this mess into something acceptable. He even got some of his money back (10 000 G) However, this venture revealed a crucial detail: He forgot that not everyone could afford studies after Hogwarts, and therefore, he should do something about it.
At least Horace approved of his actions and invited him to his salons more frequently? The poor man got paranoid after learning he only escaped death back in October because he was down with the flu on that day.
Lost 60 000 G.
Horace Slughorn SL Unlocked
Potion shops 'Montmorency' in England: + 50, 000 Galleons/ Turn
--500 Employees payed 502 G/m on average
Upgraded to
Potion shops 'Montmorency' in England: + 60, 000 Galleons/ Turn
--500 Employees payed 550 G/m on average
Medjica (Healing salves and potions): + 10 000 Galleons/turn
--150 Employees paid 750 G/m on average
Upgraded to Medjica (Healing salves and potions): + 30 000 Galleons/turn
--150 Employees paid 770 G/m on average
Do you implement a scholarship system? Academy results will be improved depending on choice.
[]No things are fine as they are
[] Yes, 5 000 G/Turn
[] Yes, 10 000 G/Turn
[] Yes, 15 000 G/Turn
February 6th, 1983
-[X] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G (+20 to roll)
Dace found himself in quite the conundrum. In front of it was the man he though to hire initially, a nondescript man who used to be the leader of a mercenary band, and the there was Scrimgeour sipping tea calmly, sitting in one of his sofa with the infamous Madeye, pink scars on his face indicating he got injured, again.
"Please explain again why you're here?" Was all he could say when Scrimgeour browbeat his way into this meeting.
"As a person of interest to the ministry, you need more protection. As such, we have arranged for an auror to help keep you safe. Moody here got gravely injured fighting a minotaur and I thought having him organize your security would be an acceptable retirement plent for him." The man answered placidly.
What will Dace do?
[] Hire Mad Eye Moody:
The best among the aurors, your manor may as well be unpenetrable as long as he's here
Elite martial trainer: he churned out more duellists than Slughorn did potioneers
Divided loyalties: He's a member of the Order, and a ministry spy. Don't expect your secrets to remains so, unless you manage to subvert him.
Scrimgeour will stop stalking you.
+1 Martial action
+1 Personal action
-1000 G/Turn
[] Hire Jason Swallows:
As a mercenary, he's pretty generic, however, he's got a good grasp of defense.
Martial trainer: He's good to teach the basics of combat and fitness
Loyal: As long as you pay him, he's your man, and nobody else's
Scrimgeour will double down on the stalking.
+1 Martial action
+1 Personal action
-1500 G/Turn
[] Who guards the guards? Hire both:
-2500 G/turn
Jason will keep an eye on Moody, your secrets will be much safer.
Moody will train Jason.
Scrimgeour will grumble but accept your decision
You get the benefits of both.
March 22nd, 1983
-[X] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
--[X] Plot with Scáthach: +2 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 1d2 Intrigue to base score . She's still a bit young, but better get started early!
-[X] Spend time with:
--[X] Scáthach. She is your heiress and granddaughter, even if she isn't really interested in your plots yet, she seems like a normal enough child, so you should pay attention to her, right? (+3 RP)
Once again, they were in his study, reading another book. Scathach now could speak fluently and even read a word or two, so they were training her on that while he was also doing his paperwork. Sitting once again on his laps, she was looking at the book dubiously before looking up at her grandfather.
"Grandpa, why to you tell lots of people to do the same thing, if it only one person to be done?" She asked, obviously confused by the main character's latest scheme. Dace laughed quietly and hoisted her up a bir, so that she could see what he was doing.
"That's simple. If you have a plan, you always need several backups, because there are always chances that your primary plans fail."
The little girl tilted her head. "Why?"
He got a few papers out and showed her the contents.
"This time is a good example. Let us see. Once upon a time, there was a war against ... let us say Mortimer." Scáthach giggled as he wrote the name on the paper. "Now, Mortimer isn't really all there, and he decided part of the population was evil, because he said so." He drawed a circle that he slashed once, then two arrows coming from Mortimer to the two halves.
"But that's stupid!" She exclaimed, earning herself a pat on the head.
"Yes it is, but as I said, Mortimer is crazy." He then made an arrow coming from one half of the circle to the other. "However, for some reason, some people follow him in his way and them to start persecuting that part of the population. Do you understand me so far?"
"Yes Grandpa!"
"Good girl. Now, however, imagine that Mortimer dies." He crossed the name off the paper " All his followers will be tracked down and arrested, losing most of their assets to the government, the same government his followers infiltrated. So, in the end, who get their assets?"
"The followers?" She scrunched her nose in intense concentration.
"Exactly. In the end, the bad guys don't lose anything. Now, there is a family that specializes in selling finished products. They require a ot of components to make said products. Here is the fact: One of those family serving the terrible Mortimer sells those components. There are only two of them alive, and soon they will die out. Rather than letting this go to waste, there are different ways to go and get their assets. First, have them marry into the family, since they'll be dead soon, you inherit. Second, get friends in the government so that you ge to buy it once they die. Third, if there are laws about it, honor duel them about some thing or another."
"That's not very nice." Interrupted Scáthach.
"No it is not." Smiled her grandfather. "But all is fair in war, they would do much worse." He touched her nose, making her cross eyed. " Perhaps our means are not honorable some times, but we are far from rabid dogs either. Kindness is good, but kindness without the power behind to back it up is nothing more than another form of cruelty. That's the very basis of pragmatism, to be able to see things clearly, and act on it following the most efficient manner."
The little girl nodded, committing the words to memory. Her dear grandfather omitted all of the murdering and the blackmail involved in that kind of business, after all, she might be a bit too young for that...
+5 RP with Scáthach, Scáthach gains 2 intrigue
April 13th, 1983
-[X] Plots are good for your purse! With all those people being arrested left and right...
--[X] Plot to take over shops in the Green Alley (Wales, Cardiff)
With the things calming down, nobody's selling. Such a shame.
Failure.
April 22nd, 1983
-[X] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
--[X]Dragon Rearing book [Takes 1 session]
-[X] On the other hand, you could also brush up your management skills...(due to owning ??? Anchor , this will cause the emergence of some skills.)
--[X] With all of the things going on right now, you need to brush up on your Estates management.
Dace finally got around to translated that book correctly, just in time, because Sigurd was eyeing Hassan in a worrying way, and he knew Scáthach would be devastated should something happen to her favorite dog, but with all of the changes around, he didn't have enough time to spare to work on increasing his ability to manage estates.
Dragon rearing book translated. Failure to learn Estates.
April 29th, 1983
-[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
--[X] Find a suitable location.
On such a short notice, Dace was only able to find three spots of land that somehow fit the bill
[]The first on was in an area between Oxford and Bristol, England
-Some feelners sent there discovered gold
-In the middle of the action
-Poor defenses
-The only reason people sold it is because they hear strange noises at night.
-The cheapest land to buy and build on
-Lots of scrutiny
[]Second was in a national park in Connemara, Ireland. It's unusual to have land available in national parks.
-Seaside access
-Farthest from the other factions
-Lots of wood, Possible sources of Mercury.
-The middling option, pricewise.
-Less scrutiny
[]Third was Yr Wyddfa, in Snowdonia, Wales. You really don't know why this one is up for grabs, it's the highest mountain of Wales, surrounded by more mountains.
-The most easily defensible one, old muggle repellant charms keep them from being exploited by muggles.
-Very likely to be rich in stone, gems and/or crystals
-Close enough to the other factions while far enough to have room to grow.
-The costliest one. Its isolation and the terrain constraints will make building anything on it difficult.
-People wil essentially ignore you.
May 9th, 1983
--[X] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures. (Currently 3/7: Fairy line, wolf line and dragon line)
Well, Dace thought, he didn't know if it was a success or a massive failure.
It seemed what he thought to be bowtruckles were in fact baby sylvanians, and Ollivander somehow learned how to communicate with them after one year of camping over his petunias. He didn't know how to feel about that. Sylvanians will be available for recruitment.
One of his agents also managed to capture a pair of strange animals. A solar stag and its mate, a moon doe, that were crrently penned in, though it would take years and good treatment for the animals to forgive them. The strange thing about them was the fact there were scraps of dark clothing where they were found. Moon does and solar stags will be available for recruitment
Agatha heard about your efforts and once she was brought up to speed, decided to handle it for you herself. She then proceeded to rampage through your library and in less than a week had a training plan prepared from the ground up and the first few druids are already in training. She said something about keeping the ecoterrorists out of trouble, but Dace decided it was better to ignore it. Druids will be available for recruitment.
Things were going splendidly, until Agatha got texts about elves. Then she started screaming and running around, her hands windmilling in the air. Then, she kindapped a house elf.
That, in itself wouldn't be that concerning, Dace did much worse himself. However, she decided to dissect it to see what it truly was and the results were pretty clear. It seemed old Salazar was more wily than Dace first thought, creating several species from one. However, it was rather concerning that this one in particular was one of those. Oh well, he thought, he didn't care either way.
In any case, Agatha decided she'd get her "Tolkien elves" one way or another, even if she had to create them herself. Elves will be available for recruitment. Eventually. Maybe?
May 27th, 1983
-[X] Spend time with:
--[X] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP)
--[X] Oliver. You've thrown a lot of work his way, may as well make him feel appreciated, right? (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
Upon learning Dumbledore was going to visit your student, you decided to kill one bird with two stones and brought Oliver with you. He was the only one who knew how to drive a dragon anyways.
(To be continued)
June 18th, 1983
-[X] Extra action. Use you own free time to do stuff. (May only be taken once, may be used as substitute for AP)
--[X] Looks like it's time for a good old fashioned treasure hunt. (Event Roll: 95)
This was an old puzzle map, with drawings that were supposed to represent a landscape. Of course, this was the modern era, and he had a staff to delegate stuff to. So he did just that, and three weeks later, he had some strange golden box holding a blue teardrop gem within, all of this obviously magical.
The anchor had a massive, and almost...Eager? Reaction to it. Dace didn't know exactly what was happening, but he'd shelve that, as he had more important things to do.
In any case, it was almost disappointing how simple it was to find the treasure, but Dace reminded himself he was that kind of person who'd rather spend minimal effort to do something.
This turn didn't want to eeeeend.... Therefore a lot more mistakes than usual escaped my checking. Feel free to point them out.
Epic mode next, like in the Prologue, where I don't have to bother with all this planning stuff.
Dace's mana capacity is 20 right now, and he's got Basic Wisdom and Basic Air Magic due to his druid class, so in total the spells cost him 18 Mana. Any more and he died of mana starvation. Still, that and the good rolls kept him from being put into too serious of a danger back on the boats. However, considering what kind of utility Heroes 4 heroes have, he's a bit pathetic, not lying about that.
The five NEWTs Dace absolutely wants from his household's servants are Defense against Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. Yes, combat butlers and ninja maids are actually a thing for him.
Scáthach rolls are the bomb. Either very good or very bad. Often at the same time.
Another note, due to who you're in contact with, some SL are more beneficial than others, for example, your Janitor has much less impact and advantages than your world renowned actress wife, so you should pick who you're SLing carefully.
-[X] Spend time with:
--[X] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP)
--[X] Oliver. You've thrown a lot of work his way, may as well make him feel appreciated, right? (+2 RP, SL Revealed)
May 27th, 1983
Upon learning Dumbledore was going to visit your student, Dace decided to kill one bird with two stones and brought Oliver with him. He was the only one who knew how to drive a dragon anyways. Because yes, Dace decided a dragon was a perfectly valid way of intimidating the other party.
The hardest thing about the travel was making sure nobody could see the massive, green dragoness flying over the country. However, she was a very swift flier, so it didn't take a lot of time to arrive there. Having sent word ahead to Lily, she gladly gave him the coordinates to land there, a deserted white plazza in front of what seemed to be the Town Hall. For now, there didn't seem to be any project, and the buildings around were dilapidated.
Truly, it was a massive stroke of luck for her to have found this place, the infrastructure seemed to be solid so far. As she came out of the Town Hall, he looked at his apprentice.
Having a goal did wonders to her, Dace noted, her red hair and green eyes were more vibrant, and her skin was glowing. Well, becoming an Enchantress did. Her hair was gathered in a bun, and she wore a dark red dress decorated with a golden girdle and ruby encrusted golden brooches holding her right sleeve is a fashion not unlike that of the greeks. As she walked down the white stairs of the Town hall, followed by giant bronze automatons, she looked around, and the aura of power around her started humming as her smile became a frown.
"It's good to see you again, Professor Gwallawg, but we have other guests."
The sheer disdain she managed to cram in a single word was impressive, if nothing else. Dace followed her line of sight and was met with an interesting spectacle. In a flash of flames, Albus Dumbledore arrived, phoenix on his shoulder, clad in a purple robe lined with gold. Behind him, on his right and left, were James Potter and Aife Lupin, both of them in full battle regalia. The solemnity of the group made him want to laugh and he tapped his companion with his elbow, causing him to stop slouching, instead standing straight up and crossing his arms over his chest with a thoroughly unimbressed expression. The dragoness just stared down at them lazily.
Albus was the first to react to Dace's presence, and he coughed, causing his followers to stop trying to murder you with their eyes.
"Young Dace, and... I'm sorry, I do not think I got your name?"
" Oliver Lapierre, G.U. Graduate. Would say it's nice to meet you but my mum raised no liar."
"Yet you run around with one of the worst." Ah, Aife, always up to point out the obvious. Her second pregnancy was visible now and it was a wonder she was allowed out there. She looked paler and more tired than he remembered she was, and there was an angry black scar running from the lower left of her jaw to under her jacket's high collar. Still, there was something that needed to be adressed.
"Ah, but here is the beauty of being me, I do not lie if I can help it. It must run in the family, really, truth is so much more devastating." He defended himself, seemingly completely relaxed, in an almost amiable way, savoring the flinch in the Dumbledorean delegation. "However, as much as this heartwarming reunion touches me, I still have a meeting to attend." He swanned towards his apprentice, taking her offered hand and bowing down to it, lips almost, but not quite, touching her knuckles, before letting go. "And it would be quite the insult to ignore the Lady of the castle when she comes to greet us in person, right?" A sideways glance revealed James Potter's jaw was clenched, wand in his fist and his face undergoing an amusing change of color.
Oliver decided to follow his employer's cue and bowed lightly to her offered hand before awkwardly going back to taking care of the dragoness, not looking behind him, despite the fact that Lily's eyes seemed to linger quite a bit on his back, which made the young Potter scowl even harder while Aife frowned in incomprehension.
[] Oh hoooo~.. (Dace tries to get them together. Variable results.) [] Well, there's nothing he could to about it right now. (Dace doesn't try to get them together)
The hallways were long and high, the arches of pale stone allowing for light to pass, and after being escorted to what seemed to be a reunion room, the automatons left them to instead stand vigil alon the room's walls, while people were sitting down. Lily, holding herself as if she was a queen, was sitting at the end of the table, where she could see everyone. Dace sat to the right side of the table while Dumbledore and his men sat at the left.
They all sat in silence, until Lily began showing signs of impatience, one leg over the other and nails tapping the wood of her armrest, right elbow on the other while her head was laying on her hand. She was looking around, eyes half lidded, as il considering what she should be doing next.
Well, Dace was only here to watch the proceedings, but he could still use that.
[] Negotiate with Lily, after all, you have the thing the order doesn't have: Resources. She, on the other hand, seems to have unearthed old forms of magic that would seem useful. Not to you, because you won't go into the fray like an idiot, but to your subordinates...
The powerful array of Order Spells focus on countering other spells, cursing, mind control, and illusions.
-[] [Spell] : Blur - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy
Combat - Blessing
Blur obscures the target's true position, increasing its Ranged Defense by 50%.
-[] [Spell] : Dispel - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy
Combat - Blessing/Curse
Dispel removes all spells from the target.
-[] [Spell] : Magic Fist - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy
Combat - Curse
Damage: 22 + 2 dmg/level + Wizardry
Magic Fist does a number of points of damage based on the level of the caster to a single target within the line of sight of the caster.
-[] [Blueprint]: Conservatory of Order (irregular building) 20 Gems to buy
Cost to build: Conservatory of Order – 25 000 Gold , 8 Wood , 8 Stone Requires: Druid's Hall level 1
Teaches Order Magic spells. Depending on the level of the druid's hall, it teaches 2 spells each for levels One, Two and Three and 1 spell each for Levels Four and Five.
- [] Charity : She needs all the help she can get, so as a good mentor, you'll lend her a hand. Trade 1 Gem for 1 RP (may be taken multiple times)
[] Negotiate with Dumbledore. After spending all of their gold to buy that land, and being so stretched due to fighting Riddle and the Overlord, they are in a bit of a pickle right now.
The negotiations finally died down, Lily rebuffing Dumbledore's offers each and every thime while trying to include Oliver, who was more than happy to stay in a corner and teach some tricks to one of Hassan's pups that he somehow smuggled onto Sigurd's back. Meanwhile Dace was watching the proceedings, when a familiar chill ran through his spine and he felt the need to curse. Silent stinging hexes were sent towards Lily and Oliver, who jumped while Dace began walking outside, towards the courtyard where he knew the dragon was waiting for them.
[Martial interrupt!]
And this was not a moment too late, because as he reached for it, dark shapes floated down from the sky while a group of putrefied inferi accompanied armored skeletons. Behind their lines, a dark cloaked individual, likely to be Riddle or one of his subordinates, was watching the proceedings atop of a thestral.
"You have to be joking." Was all that left his lips, breaking the silence. The people on his side looked at him in shock, but he felt that after having been attacked thrice already by Riddle, annoyance was a perfectly warranted reaction!
Dace quickly took stock of his situation. Dementors made running away impossible, which meant fighting was the only option.
What does Dace focus on? (Choose one)
-[]Air control : The dementors are a pain, but he can deal with them.
-[]Culling the herd: The zombies are an immediate menace.
-[]Sniping the head: Try to attack the black figure.
Oh my god drawing her portrait in a non animu fashion took so long!
Negotiations
-[X] Oh hoooo~.. (Dace tries to get them together. Variable results.)
-[X] Negotiate with Lily
--[X] [Spell] : Blur - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy --[X] [Spell] : Dispel - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy --[X] [Spell] : Magic Fist - 2 mana 3 Gems to buy -- [X] Charity : 7 Gems
-[X] Negotiate with Dumbledore
--[X] 20 000 G/t : Fawkes : gain 1d6 Phoenix tears / turn.
Well then *cracks finger*s let's get to it.
*After rolling*. Yep, just about as broken as expected.
Turn 2.3: May 27th, 1983
Having finally caught on what was happening, Dumbledore began barking orders to the two other members of his little club and they immediately began beelining for the cloaked figure, while Lily called upon her mechanical men. Which left Dace only one venue of action, which was the air.
To be fair, he was the one with a dragon.
"What do we do boss?" Oliver asked him, jaw set in grim determination.
Dace took a moment to think. Wight Air strike roll : 88 + 10 ( Tactics) = 98 Versus Dace plan : 87 + 5 (genius) + 10 (Blood of ???) = 102. Success ! Number penalty waived.
The pattern of their movement seemed rather obscure at first, but then he noticed the rotation between units. It seemed that they were trying to encircle and herd them towards the center, where the darkest, and likely most powerful were waiting to suck out their life and/or soul. Dace wasn't really clear bout whether those were evolved wights or en entirely different species altogether.
"You drive, I eliminate them." He answered, sheathing his wand back inside his sleeve and gripping the book in his purse, feeling its windy thrum fill his mind with the knowledge of the same spell that saved him back then at the sea. He'd really need to check what was up with it. Dace fight: 73 + 5 (genius) + 10 (Blood of ???) + 20 (Book of ???) ( Disadvantage negated by having Oliver drive the dragoness for him) = 108.
Following his instructions, the man led the dragoness though the air, Dace concentrating a good chunk of his energy into the spell he was about to unleash. The undead, having felt that something was afoot, rushed towards him with an inhuman screech, as the human released his control over the spell. Dace spell : Loses 15 Mana, 1(Power) x 10 + 10 = 20 damage to all undead. Damage ignores defense due to rolls. Dementors hp : 18 = Dementors dead
A massive gale of wind escaped from his hands, spreading to trap the flying undead inside a vacuum, before it retracted suddenly back inside Dace's hand, taking something with it with an deafening shriek and a flash of pale light. When the two men opened their eyes again, all they saw was falling bones and black scraps of cloth, they were alone in the air, wind howling in the grey sky.
Result : Aerial Victory. Dementors eliminated to the last, may run away.
Oliver turned towards his employer, a finger pointed towards where the dementors were supposed to be.
"Erm, boss? You're not supposed to kill them."
"And Whyever not?" He gave him an affronted look.
"You can't kill dementors." The younger man tried again, making the other huff."
"Of course you can, they're old magic, you just need to used the same kind that created to destroy them."
Dace starting exp : 856/1000
Oliver starting exp : 25/1000
Fight results: Victory!
Exp gained: 405 each
Dace Current exp: 1261 / 2000 : Level up!
Oliver current exp: 430 / 1000
Still, after his fight, Dace felt something was off, as if there was well of power within him that was about to burst and only needed his say so to take shape...
Choose one:
[] Spells that seemed more complicated before now were more accessible to him... Gain Advanced Wisdom.
[] The air around him sang with a song he was beginning to understand... Gain Advanced Air Magic
[] Magic wove itself around him like a protective shield... Gain Basic Resistance
[] He had a feeling that things were going to go his way now... Gain Basic Luck
In any case, a look down below showed him that things.... Didn't go well at all. Necromancer strike roll : 93 (this was the lowest of 3) +10 (Prodigy) + 10 (Nat 100 against OotP) = 113 Versus Dumbledore plan : 51 + 5(genius) = 56. Result : Freaking Ow...
Dumbledore tried to implement some sort of strategy that had them attack the dark figure from three different directions, however, with a wave of the hand, they were swarmed from all sides and effectively separated, if the trails of corpse he could see from up there were correct. The logical thing would have been to retreat and regroup, however, something happened that kept them from doing so... James fight: 96 – 20 (outnumbered and outwitted) = 76. Nope.
James was holding his wand arm, whithing on the ground in pain, while Dumbledore was looking from behind a circle of fire, trying, and failing, to blast the dark figure away. Aife fight : 76 + 40 (WotN) + 10 (The Gamer) – 20 (outnumbered and outwitted) -30 (Divine intervention) = 70. Nope.
Aife didn't fare any better. There was a moment, where it looked like she was about to pull out some sort of trump card, however, at that crucial moment, she fell to her knees, screaming and holding her head. The figure reached slowly for her neck, hand wreathed in poisonous green light, when Dumbledore bellowed, calling for Fawkes. In a flash of fire, the phoenix appeared, taller than the man and made of fire. Fawkes to the rescue! 98 + 20 (he's a freaking phoenix) + 10 (Aerial victory) -10 (outnumbered) = 118 (against 113). Fawkes manages to evac them.
Dumbledore threw a mournful look at Lily's direction, before glaring at you and the members of the Order disappeared from the battlefield, teleported away by the magical creature. Land strike roll. 86 + 10 (Tactics) = 96 Versus Lily's plan: 6 (oh god...) - 10 (alone) = -4 Critical failure. Huge penalties
What had Dace worried, though, was that he didn't see Lily anywhere, and undead were crawling through the only building in this place, the Town Hall. Lily Fight: 75 + 20 (army) + 10 (Lay of the land) – 40 ( Critfail) - 20 first battle = 25 versus 96: Massive defeat.
Having a bad feeling about it, he pressed Oliver to approach and located her near one of the windows, covered with blood and injuries, pieces of her guardian automatons strewn on the ground. The only small mercy about that was that the window she was located at was on the other side of the building and the figure couldn't see themm here. Dace's foresight : 97 + 5 (genius) = 102 against 53 (detection roll). Pass.
Taking the chance, he had Oliver suddenly fly lower and got his wand out, casting an attraction spell that had Lily fly screaming outside of the window into his arms. Then, Oliver got the idea, and they decided it was time to make themselves scarce, despide the redhead's protests of her having it well in hand. She was also crying and screaming at the top of her lungs, so she might not be all that reasonable right now.
Result of the battle:
Minor Life faction loss.
Minor Nature faction victory.
Major Order faction loss, Order faction destroyed?
Major Death faction victory, Fort acquired!
Due to enemy critical, relation with Life faction set to hostile!
Relation between Lily and Life faction set to Vendetta!
Hero unit acquired : Lily Evans. You may assign her as Head librarian (learning adviser) after spending a personal action on her next turn.
Blue player defeated.
(Oh, and Negotiations with Dumbledore are off, by the way.)
Negaverse: Pick your poison:
[]OrderQuest: The end?
[]DeathQuest: complete victory?
[]LifeQuest: What happened here?
[]ChaosQuest: Meanwhile...Wat?
[]Aife's isekai adventure isn't going as expected: The saltening
Well, at least now you'll get that Order conservatory plan for free?
[x] Accompany Dumbledore. Even pregnant, you are the Order's best fighter.
"If you're sure" Remus frowned, letting his arms fall to his sides, eliciting a loving smile from Aife.
"I am, don't worry, I'm the strongest, right?" She turned around, looking at her precious baby boy. Romulus Lupin seemed to be his father's son, at least he inherited his colors with brown hair and eyes.
"And you, don't bully your daddy too much, understood little guy?" She cooed as he rubbed his eyes and nodded sleepily.
It took them a while, but they arrived to the isolated island where Lily built her base. It was strange, made of creamy and white stone, and men made of metal were milling about. The woman in question was looking at them from the top of the stairs unmoving.
James' face lit up into a loving smile.
"Lily! It's been so long! How have you been? You should write more!"
The redhead looked at them and Aife thought she saw a glare, but she must have imagined it , after all , Lily was James' wife and Harry's mother. Then, a terrible roar rang trhough the air, and she saw a gigantic dragon flying down towards them. They prepared themselves to combat, but Lily raised her hand.
"It's okay, I invited them."
Aife frowned, then muttered "Observe"
Name: Charlotte
Species: Green Dragon (Tamed)
Level 7 Dragon
HP :180/180
What kind of idiot would call a dragon 'Charlotte' ?! Wait, Hagrid would, but she'd hear about it if the Order had access to dragons. Some movement caught her attention and she instinctively looked at the two men coming down from the Dragoness.
The first one was a very handsome young man, tall and muscled with wavy blond hair falling over his eyes and a cowboy hat.
The results had her blink, both because the man didn't look like a veela at all, and because of his irregular class. She was about to scan the other, when she realized that it was her own father. He looked in surprisingly good health. Lily smiled at him and walked down the white stairs of the Town hall, followed by giant bronze automatons, she suddenly looked at them with a frown
"It's good to see you again, Professor Gwallawg, but we have other guests."
Aife was surprised by tho hostility in her voice, and sneaked a glance at James, who looked as surprised as she was. A sinking feeling in her stomach appeared at the same moment a quest window did.
Something is wrong in Orderville.
Lily is behaving strangely compared to your knowledge. Find out why.
Reward: 10 exp,[The phoenix rises] Quest available.
Failure: Lily becomes the Order's bitter enemy.
Do you accept the quest [Y/N]
The closest word describing what she felt at that moment was 'horror'. She didn't think her father would sink so low!
Albus was the first to react to Dace's presence, and he coughed, drawing her attention away from her biological father.
"Young Dace, and... I'm sorry, I do not think I got your name?"
" Oliver Lapierre, G.U. Graduate. Would say it's nice to meet you but my mum raised no liar." That was curt and to the point, and mildly insulting, yet again, if he came with Dace, he was probably poisoned against them by his lies.
"Yet you run around with one of the worst." She couldn't help but say, cramming her voice with disapproval.
"Ah, but here is the beauty of being me, I do not lie if I can help it. It must run in the family, really, truth is so much more devastating." ... That was low. "However, as much as this heartwarming reunion touches me, I still have a meeting to attend." He swanned towards Lily, taking her offered hand and bowing down to it, kissing it, before letting go. Was he trying to seduce her?! She was a married woman for Merlin's sake! "And it would be quite the insult to ignore the Lady of the castle when she comes to greet us in person, right?"
She had to keep her foot on James' to keep him from murdering the man on the spot. Later, they'd get their chance. The true surprise, however, came from the younger man, who imitated awkwardly his employer (?), and from Lily, who almost like she enjoyed the attention. At least, it look that way to James too, who was almost hissing in rage. Finally, they got to enter. The building was old and dilapidated, but she could feel it held some kind of magic she couldn't understand yet. Then, after a row of negotiations, Dace suddenly got up, back ramrod straight, and stormed out of the building. Dumbledore blinked, before doing the same, far faster that one would think him being able to.
When they got out, they were met with a vision of horror. THere were undead everywhere, and a notification that appeared
Betrayal! Somebody sold you off to the army of darkness!
Surviving was much more easily said than done. And in the end, she found herself on her own.
There was no choice but to use that. Gathering her thoughts, she focused them on her beloved Remus and their child. She couldn't die here, she had a family to come back to!
"I love you. Please marry me." Her soon-to-be husband asked her with a loving smile, his warm amber eyes only seeing her in the entire world, being even more awesome that the one described in the book.
"Ragna-" She began to call out the name of her ultimate attack. Now now, what do we have here? A divine level attack? Oh no, that won't do at all...
"-Urk!" Her hand flew to her throat as the shout died. You do know intervening directly at a time like this will cause a penalty to be applied, right?
Her hands then reached her head as she screamed at the top of her lungs, the pain unbearable. How dare you...
Her vision swam while at the corner of her eyes, she saw messages that were most concerning.
Critical enemy damage!
Special attack sealed!
[Ancient Curse] Debuff applied!
The pain almost doubled in intensity, despite all of her pain resistance and [Gamer's Mind]. Oh please, as if you never did that. Remember who's the one who gave Tommy the idea to attack the potioneer's meeting in hopes of killing that guy? How's that working for you?
Ever so slowly, the figure approached her, swatting away James' attemps to protect her as one would a fly. Ladies, ladies, calm down, you're all pretty~
Pale, cold fingers traced the black scar on her jaw, before settling on her throat, and squeezed. You shut up you sex-crazed manwhore!
She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, and this wasn't supposed to happen! Gee, how aggressive, you know, you should embrace your other side more~
The figure's other hand approached her face, poisonous green coldness filled her vision, before a flash of bright fire took her away. Get a room you two. In any case, Divine intervention penalty will be taken into account and punished for all of you that used it. Yes, I'm looking at you three.
Aife, James and Dumbledore reappeared in their temporary headquarters, in front of Molly Weasley's pale face. She looked tired, as if she hadn't spend a good night and almost screamed as they appeared, before realizing who they were. You can't do that! You're not even a player!
"Molly." Dumbledore sighed, feeling and looking as old as he was. " I need you to call the Order, I have terrible news." Yeah, goddess of the land or not, you're only there because He thought it'd be a good idea to have an arbiter.
It took a few hours, but soon, everyone was up to date and arguing on why this could happen. It was then the Arthur weasley spoke, apparently uncomfortable. ... I see. I suppose you're all in agreement with what she said?
"It would make sense, if it was Gwallawg senior who betrayed the hour and location of the meeting. I mean, he's friends with Lucius Malfoy, of all people." Uhm, guys? That's not a good idea...
This almost caused another row, but Dumbledore intervened. Yes we are. You're en eyesore!
"No, no it isn't him." He shook his head. " He hates me too much to let anyone else but himself cause my own ruin. Another error from my youth, I'm afraid." Very well. Then, it won't be a problem if I'm a player, right?
Aife didn't understand. Why did he insist so much on Dace not being behind it when it was obviously him who did it? She almost scoffed. There were about 50 dementors out here, indestructible, unkillable monsters, and he somehow managed to kill them all? She wasn't that much of an idiot. She waited until Dumbledore retired to take a well deserved rest that she got up from her chair, attracting everyone's attention. You can do that?
"Everyone, I think we need to talk." I was invited as a player after all, I just stayed neutral as a favor. However, with Freyja and Ahriman's misbehavior, we are now in a rather problematic situation
She took in the tired faces in front of her. If Dumbledore wasn't going to help her stop her father, she was going to do it herself. Therefore, wouldn't it be my job, as the Arbiter, to solve it?
Anyways, aren't you concerned with what was said? I mean, our father seems to be working with the Nature faction leader as Riddle's spy, even if we have Madeye keeping an eye (heh) on him, he's , like, the magical equivalent of a ninja. We really should make sure he doesn't get swayed that way. He sounds like he'd be nice, and he can break through the Lupinsexual barrier.
And what was up with Lily anyways, she didn't even try to talk to James while they're married! Wait, where is she anyways, Fawkes evac'ed us, but she wasn't at the reunion. Zebra?
Glad you asked. After that defeat, Lily's spirits are very low, but your grandfather is an excellent host. And he has a way with women. Don't worry too much, she'll be just fine. Though, if you see her, you may need to check if she's wearing silver.
Oh, and, Severus, Lily and Peter were close friends, Lily and Peter tried to save him, only to end up with him dying to save Lily instead and making Peter promise to protect her. Well he tried anyways, speaking is hard with half your throat torn off. And Peter got bitten. And As a freebie : Peter is also dead, he died to save Lily too. Rolls some dice. So yeah. If you see Lily run away, as you are right now, she'll kill you without remorse.
James is as good of a fighter as we are and there's Madeye who knows the place, we can probably do it if we double down and use one of Kiyo's Miracle points.
Somehow, you guys agreeing with them makes me scared. And Corvid is pinging me on Discord. Fine, I'll bite. However, I'll note that I was coerced. This is going to end horribly.
That thing is Canon btw, take from that what you will.
Aife tried to use [The power of love]! It wasn't very effective.
Note that the colored text was originally invisitext. And that Wisdom stat doesn't exist.
There was going to be more romance, but then, while forcing myself to read Dramione on ff.net for inspiration, I remembered I was allergic to everything related to love that was not either courtly love or Gomez and Morticia and gave up. So yeah, it ended up being more shounen than the originally intended shoujo. A bit disappointed we didn't have DeathQuest, just because they call him Fumbledore.
Personalities: Note than any resemblance with people from SV or QQ is entirely coincidential and in no way corresponds to anyone whose internet handle may seem familiar.
SoulReave: Laughing anarchist.
Corvid: Tho one who wants the MC to die painfully.
Kiyotan: The sane guy/girl, save for their unfortunate attraction towards anything yandere.
Orky: The guy with a plan.
SuperMinion: 'oh fuck' detector. Also happens to be what remains of the thread's morals and self-respect.
Brunette24: The number cruncher.
Formatting is too long, so I won't be doing a negaverse for a while again.
It's nice to find another man of culture with such firm standing against horrific travesty of all that make a good written character that is Aife and her archetype. What a nice person with great tastes that Corvid
Birds of a feather and all that. On another side, the rolls for the 'summer invasion' got out of hand, so sorry I couldn't post yesterday, I had a hard time spinning it in a passable way. Geeze, this was supposed to be the lighthearted playthrough because of Dace's flippant view on life and (grand) daughteru's... (grand) daughteru-ness.
Summer 1983 : Three words: Puppies, Revelations, Hell.
"I see, you worked really hard, didn't you?" Dace declared to the young woman in front of him. They were on the bed of a guest bedroom, talking, fully clothed no funny business here thank you very much and Dace wasn't a valid target for your affections sorry Lily, the redhead having had a good cry over everything that happened to her. There were empty pots of vanilla ice cream laying on the ground, casualties of the war, and Lily was currently in her spring roll form, covers forming a protective cocoon around her. The Lily-roll was also sitting, her arms going through strategically placed holes in the covers, and she was hesitantly petting a wolf puppy, who was obviously enjoying the attention, its tiny, fuzzy tail whipping through the air like a windmill, yipping, and trying to alternatively catch her fingers, his tail, and failing at both which often made it fall on its butt.
Dace selected the nicest, goofiest, least threatening puppy of the bunch to make sure she understood wolves and werewolves were nothing alike. Besides, if it worked with Dace's phobia of cats, it had to have some impact here, right? So far it seemed to work better than his chances with McGonagall. Though, it may have been the aromantic aspect that weird-ed her out, him running away almost screaming in terror when she turned into a cat probably didn't help.
"Thanks, it means a lot to me." Lily gave him a watery smile, before rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry I made a fool of myself back there, you had to jump in to save me again huh."
"It's fine, I was in the area anyways." He waved her apologies aside, swatting away the excited baby animal's sneak attack on him, making it fall back onto the bed, bouncing away back to Lily. It then proceeded to play dead, four paws in the air and whining, causing Lily to tentatively scratch his belly, laughing a bit.
"You're not scary at all, are you? You silly dog."
She may, however, have acquired the same difficulty to separate dog and wolf that Dace developed along the way. Though, to be fair, their behavior towards the humans of the mansion was the same as a dog's so it could be excused. In any case, Lily seemed stable enough for Dace to do his job as an educator without risking her exploding at him. Still, obtaining the lady's consent was the gentlemanly thing to do.
"Lily, do you feel ready to look over what you did wrong?" He asked her gently, passing her yet another pot of ice cream. He was mildly surprised she could eat that much, it was the fifth in two hours, yet again, potioneers were cheaters, her stomach was likely a lot more acidic than normal.
Lily looked up at him, biting her lip, before nodding wordlessly, hugging the puppy who busied itself with licking her chin.
"Good. The first problem was that you were too impatient. You should have waited that the noise around the place died after people investigated it. As it were, you pretty much broadcasted your location and intentions to all of the other factions, which allowed them to find you and nip the threat you represent in the bud."
Lily flinched at him pointing out her biggest character flaw but hummed her understanding.
"Next is an affinity problem. I gather you had difficulties using Order spells?"
Another nod.
"Order spells need to be cast with a tranquil state of mind, and if there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're easily riled up. You're a very passionate woman, if we were to be objective, the models that corresponded the most to you would be Chaos and Life. However, those two are out for obvious reasons. Your third mistake was trusting Dumbledore."
That earned him a raised eyebrow despite her red rimmed eyes, and Dace raised his hands in surrender.
"I despise the man, everybody knows about that, however, I acknowledge both his intentions and ability. "Even if it stung." The problem is the people he surrounds himself with. As far as my network knows, he spends most of his time putting out fires in the ministry, keeping the Underworld in check, and bailing his followers out of trouble. That leaves too distracted to bother checking where their loyalties lie, and I wouldn't be surprised if they've got several spies among them. That's probably why they knew Dumbledore was on the move, and made their own to sabotage the chances of an alliance. Then there is Aife and her clique, but one thing I count on is that any plot she comes with fails in a rather spectacular way. It would be entertaining if it wasn't so embarrassing."
She gave out a strangled laugh and squeezed more, causing the puppy to wriggle and free himself, before going back to frolicking under the bed. She looked at it mournfully, putting a spoonful of Ice cream in her mouth while Dace snorted and patted her back. And that's when things basically went to hell.
The wall exploded, revealing Aife and some unknown persons, and a stag with blood covered antlers. It took him a second to realize it was an animagus, time that was used to morph and reveal James Potter, while wands were raised against Dace. Well. That was annoying. Aife threw a glance at Lily and spoke at her, smiling reassuringly, part of the wall fell, revealing the full moon outside.
"I'm sure things are confusing right now, but you need to come with us, that man is bad news, don't worry, we'll protect you."
"Pro...tect." Lily's face was white and her eyes glazed over, turning towards James. "A stag." She continued dazedly.
Dace put his arm in front of her, wandless, and spoke out almost conversationally.
"Somehow, I do not think Dumbledore knows of it." Some of them looked guilty, but Aife just scowled even deeper, glaring at his arm.
"Albus isn't the only member of the order. We're here to save Lily from you!" She sniped, making the older man laugh drily.
"Like you were here for her all of there years? When her friends were killed? When her apprenticeship fell through due to her status? When you left her alone to fend for herself against Riddle and his army of darkness?"
"Voldemort is dead, he was vanquished on Halloween by the prophecy child. You're just one of the Necromancer's followers trying to capitalize on the fear he invoked to further your agenda!"
Upon hearing that, Dace sneered, looking down at her in a definitely unpleasant expression.
"So that's your current theory to try to keep things as close as you canonical point of view. How cute. However, you forgot a small, unimportant detail... Harry Potter was never born."
That apparently got to her as surprise was plain to see. But Dace continued, deciding that as a father, it was his duty to deal with his (ex) daughter's delusions.
"Lily and James never married, and why would they? You beloved mutt killed her best friend Severus in front of her after all, even if she didn't know about that back then. Did you think she'd ever date successfully that man, Severus' biggest bully, after seeing her best friend die confessing his feelings of love to her?" Dace tilted his head like a bird, a cruel light in his eyes. "Did you think this is the only thing your interference ruined? Oh no, no no no, you don't get out of it that easily my dear."
"Shut up!" James shouted at him, brown light going out of his wand and catching Dace in the chest, sending him into the wall. There was a meaty thud and he fell, wheezing. The smile on the elder Gwallawg's face, however, was only one step short of demonic.
"It's fine... live your life as you want it... After all... Your daughter is here to... Pick up the slack."
"I don't have a daughter." Aife affirmed, uncertainly, doubt visible on her face, which made Dace cackle and hack, secretly glad today was a day where his granddaughter was sleeping at Narcissa's.
"Ever wondered what s it that you forgot after you poisoned me?" The dawning horror on her face was hilarious.
Moonlight was streaming on the room by now, but before Dace could finish breaking the impertinent chit, an odd strangling noise on his left had him looking at Lily. She looked even worse, eyes fixated on the moon. The full moon.
Oh dear. Was all the man thought, before falling, stomach flat on the ground, activating a secret passage and crawling to safety, terrified puppy under an arm.
"The stag... Under the full moon... You were here but why.. Sev' said... But then... The wolf... Mooney... The marauders? But then... Prongs." Her right hand began scratching at her temple, the other holding an indigo cube that seemed to be the Order anchor. "Prongs was here... Moony was here...Sev' said-Catspaw-yourfault-youwerehere!" Her speech became more and more erratic as she began shouting, her hand falling back to her side. Dace couldn't see her face, but he hade a nice view of James' tentative of denial and Aife's panic of having the situation fly out of her control. When Lily spoke out again, it was with death in her voice. "This is all your fault. Your fault. Your fault, your fault yourfaultyourfaultyourfaultyourfaultyourfaultyOurfAUltyourfFAUltyourFAUltYOURFAULT!"
She screamed so loudly and shrilly that Dace had to cover his ears, the scream a lot more stronger than it should be, with an odd echo to it.
Then, the cube in her hand broke, and everything became red.
When Dace came back to consciousness, the first thing he felt was heat, but he smelled no smoke. He opened one eye, then two, and saw something really unexpected. Lily apparently underwent some sort of growth spurt, her hair bright red and surrounded by an aura of fire, and was currently straddling Aife, holding her head and bashing it to the floor, while a pillar of not-fire rose to the sky, keeping any spell from going through. The manor was totaled, it seemed. On the side, back against a half destroyed wall, James was holding the cauterized stump that was his left arm. Too bad it was also his dominant arm huh. Meanwhile, Aife managed to kick Lily in the sternum, sending her flying. However, Lily fell on her fours and pounced again, nails turned into bright red claws digging into her abdomen, causing a rain of scarlet to gush out.
Now that he really concentrated on it, the howl suspiciously looked like 'die die die'...
It really looked like Lily was going to kill Aife, as her teeth were digging into his daughter's shoulder, hands raking through her torso in the non-fun-likely-extremely-painful way, when a voice resounded through the chaos, booming like thunder.
In a flash of light, Dumbledore had arrived.
However, This Dumbledore didn't look happy at all. In fact, he looked positively furious in the first time since ever. Taller than usual, blue eyes showing none of their usual mirth, his face black and beard almost clapping with electricity.
"ENOUGH." He said simply, the aura of power around him deforming it until it sounded like a giant's war cry. Lily looked at him and hissed, before launching herself in his direction. He looked at her with pity in his eyes, before raising his hand, covered with what seemed to be a golden armor and caught her face. A bright flash of light came from his palm, making her screech as if her very soul was attacked. Then, after a while, she stopped struggling, her body turning limp. Dumbledore let her fall gently onto what remained of the bed and stared at Dace, who scowled, raised his arms in an 'I'm the victim here!' way expressing his indignation at being suspected and then shamelessly pointed his fingers at the wayward vigilante club members.
Following the pointed digits, Dumbledore's expression turned thunderous again as he walked towards his followers. With one last apologetic glance at Dace that also promised that they wouldn't be getting out of it scott free, he drew his wand and everyone dissipated in smoke, leaving Dace alone in his house's ruins with Lily sobbing, prostrated on the ground.
The small animal, having realized danger was over, padded towards her and began licking at her face.
"P-Pu-ppy...Pu-uppy..." The young woman was babbling incoherently, clearly out of her mind.
Well, Dace thought, this was just great.
Dumbledore just ran out of patience, And Dace makes for a(n un) surprisingly good villain. You'll get the numbers and all tomorrow. Lots of votes to make, since it's the planning phase, therefore enjoy your chapter without any responsibilities
I hope Lily's speech showed how much her mental state degraded in an emotional way? I'm not that good with emotional writing, which is why Dace looks like a sociopath.
( Dace's true feelings regarding his daughter, finally revealed!)
The Aife-Negaverse is currently on fire due to the revelation of Dace having known about canon all along and the fact he revealed just how much she messed up. Pissed Grandpa isn't a nice grandpa. Then, there's that thing about Lily utterly wrecking them while berserk. that's 42 martial an 59 mysticism for you
Orderquest Status : sobbing in a corner and begging for mercy.
Lifequest: Ready to show who exactly kicked Grindelwand's butt so hard he's still sobbing about it in his tower.
Deathquest/Chaosquest : Wondering what's happening right now
Guess who rolled a Nat 1 (result after modifiers : -21) on her composure roll, immediately followed by a 94 (result after modifiers : 114) Amplitude roll... and a 84 on an attention roll. Lily goes boom indeed. So, don't hold your breath on her becoming the learning adviser right now, now you need to bring her back to the sane side of Nature. You may PM to ask about some rolls for this chapter if you're curious, but it's a bit spoilery.
Part of Aife's attitude with her father maaaay have been unconscious jealousy over his paternal treatment of Lily. Hey, you guys are the one who took the 'sword that slayed the king' perk, you should have expected some amounts of 'chichiueeeee!'.
Now though, since everyone and their mother messed up in some way, I need to release information about Dace's failures, otherwise, I'd risk people calling me out on him being too competent .
In any case, Lily's gonna need massive amounts of puppy therapy. I hope you guys don't dislike the doge, because you'll see lots of 'em.
