NSFW means not safe for work, and describes content that is not appropriate to peruse in a public environment ( such as work), like pornographic or violent content and all.
SFW is the opposite.
Questionable Questing is a forum similar to spacebattles and sufficientvelocity, however you can post NSFW content here (it specializes in it), but it still has a section for SFW, even though it is rather small in comparison.
Edit: on another note, more ties! I'll give it 1-2 more days before I flip a coin.
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]Get involved directly.
[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
So Neville is the boy who lived and something happened for Lily to swear eternal vengeance. Great! What did that daughter do to destroy canon as it exists?
I wrote it all in Fleur de Lis. Well, most of it. Some of it ? At least for the Harry potter isn't a thing .
For the whole 'enough axes to grind to arm a lumberjack army' thing, well... the rolls haven't been kind to Lily and her (dead) firends, sooo... Yeah. Only reason she isn't a raging bitch towards you is because Dace picked her up in her hour of need.
I wrote it all in Fleur de Lis. Well, most of it. Some of it ? At least for the Harry potter isn't a thing .
For the whole 'enough axes to grind to arm a lumberjack army' thing, well... the rolls haven't been kind to Lily and her (dead) firends, sooo... Yeah. Only reason she isn't a raging bitch towards you is because Dace picked her up in her hour of need.
I kinda want her to see how far her rage will go but, I'm a person with empathy so maybe helping her cope with what happened might be a better solution.
I kinda want her to see how far her rage will go but, I'm a person with empathy so maybe helping her cope with what happened might be a better solution.
Then I would quite strongly advise you to keep monitoring her instead.
On another note, you'll get to vote for interludes at the end of each turns, so you can see how the world progresses. All I can say, going with the rolls I have, is that Lily's character development isn't over yet, and even if you don't keep tabs on yer you'll stil get some info. Though, you can also choose to use them to get some intel on the 5 rival 'players'.
For now, things are rather slow, but they'll pick up by the time Babeh is 16-ish. Not that there won't be catastrophes before, of course, but that's when the limitation on a certain person are lifted.
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.
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.
[x] Plan: Good apprentices are not redshirts, even Gryffindors
-[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 'Gemma's Jewels': +12 Crystals, +12 Gems, +6/turn
Crossover has been confirmed for a while now, though, to be more precise, the reason dace can intervene in the rumor mill isto compensate for the fact that he's a heroes 3 hero, while babeh is a heroes 4. If you know the games, you'll get why its important
Edit: I checked, crossover confirmed at the end of Prologue (5)
Well I voted on the QQ side of things, because I was curious if there was actually activity in the SFW section. I'm assuming there's no double voting, so I'll refrain from casting another vote.
Interesting premise, although I wish I had my computer on me so I could edit the posts of their errors.
Would be unfair if I counted double votes, yes. The reason I went to SV was because activity on QQ was rather low. As for the quest, well, it goes in layers so I have stuff to write about and for you to find out.
A question, since Lily is still apparently single I wonder what is James doing since the woman he loves haven't been all that accepting of what happened to her friend?
[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.
[X] Agatha (Stewardship/Mysticism type: More likely to generate economic oriented magic events.)
[X] 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
[X] Looks like it's time for a good old fashioned treasure hunt. (Event Roll: 95)
[X] Looks like you're going to talk potions once more. (Event Roll: 9)
D
[X] 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.
[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
S
[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.
[X] 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)
M
[X] Find yourself a Security Chief (Martial adviser). You need all the help. 5000G (+20 to roll)
I
[X] Plotting is an excellent bonding activity!
-[X] Plot with Oliver: +10 to Stewardship action rolls (+2 RP with Oliver)
-[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!
L
[X] Translate books. Knowledge is always useful.
-[X]Dragon Rearing book [Takes 1 session]
-[X]Dragon nest plans [Takes 1 session] (reduced because you have a live dragon to experiment with)
M
[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
-[X] Find a suitable location.
P
[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] 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)
-[X] Lily. Your old apprentice is up to something, you want to make sure this won't get out of hand. (+2 RP)
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)
@LordPenguin can we go on the treasure hunt another turn? Say if we don't take it hear can it become a regular action? Or if not, can we use the "take an extra action" personal action to take an extra action on the rumor mill stuff?
I'm assuming that we have "investigate the anchor" completed and that's what the marking is for, and not that it's locked in. Are we allowed to "double down" on actions and double select it to give a bonus of some sort to it?
Please let me know if that's possible, I'd like to switch things around if we can
@LordPenguin can we go on the treasure hunt another turn? Say if we don't take it hear can it become a regular action? Or if not, can we use the "take an extra action" personal action to take an extra action on the rumor mill stuff?
I'm assuming that we have "investigate the anchor" completed and that's what the marking is for, and not that it's locked in. Are we allowed to "double down" on actions and double select it to give a bonus of some sort to it?
For the treasure hunt, yes, you own the map, so it's still possible, but you'll take a penalty because someone is on the hunt too. THough, you should be able to mitigate it with bonus rolls.
Double down is allowed, though redundant with the supervising personal action, however, doubling down makes me roll twice, not give a bonus. All actions can be taken multiple times, save for the ones who explicitely are marked.
For the treasure hunt, yes, you own the map, so it's still possible, but you'll take a penalty because someone is on the hunt too. THough, you should be able to mitigate it with bonus rolls.
Double down is allowed, though redundant with the supervising personal action, however, doubling down makes me roll twice, not give a bonus. All actions can be taken multiple times, save for the ones who explicitely are marked.
[X] Plan Thank Merlin we're rich.
[X] The flower
I like the fact that we are acknowledging that we have a lot of money for our problems. Sad that Augusta died and what happened to Neville?
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.
Dear Lord what happened so it wasn't Polyjuice but an honest to God cloning. Curse you horrible fanfiction authors you're just making this world worse! We now have two Dark Lords instead of one.
