That's why I like it when people share their pet theories. Some of those could have been debunked earlier~
Considering what Riddle says in HP2, and the ritual in HP4, I've always been under the impression that having several Riddles running around was a possibility. I mean, if the half of the soul overtakes the victim, turning the body into a copy shouldn't be that hard if there's two prodigies working on it...
...is it possible to shove some actual emotions in a Riddle? That sounds like it'd be an interesting thing to do. It'd probably take some finagling, but we could probably make a batch of emotions for him.
Or take the easier route and have him father some children with a lady of reasonable stock (or just use him to make some more potion babies). Then we can bring those potion babies into our bloodline.
Make everyone important after some time a part of our bloodline. That's the real neutral victory.
Too bad Albus Dumbledore is old and gay. It'd have been nice to add him to our übermensch project
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.
[] 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)
I'm leaning on helping them ourselves and having copies of how to deal with Chaos and Death creatures distributed, starting with the most common ones and slowly letting them have more. Don't know how we would need to phrase that.
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.
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)
Our end goal is to live a long life and for our bloodline to be so prominant to never be destroyed -- hopefully with it also ruling the world, rather than just have some of the rulers be of our bloodline. That doesn't necessarily have to happen in our lifetime though, so we just need to start along that path.
We need something to give Tom a hit for attacking us, but not enough to set him against us. Besides, it was only a little assassination attempt. Nothing to hold a grudge over if he doesn't put that much effort into it.
I just don't know how to go about that, although I'd think Dace would have some idea of how to pull it off.
-[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.
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...
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
I'm gonna need to run the numbers, but I'm leaning on the highest level. We might want to implement strict performance requirements to maintain that scholarship though. We don't want weak candidates wasting our money after all.
[] 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.
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.
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?
I'm leaning on helping them ourselves and having copies of how to deal with Chaos and Death creatures distributed, starting with the most common ones and slowly letting them have more. Don't know how we would need to phrase that.
Don't think about it too hard, it's a case or whether he prefers everyone to believe him at the cost of his secrecy because of the weight his name carries or not.
For a certain value of good, I suppose, haven't rolled yet on the elves, but you're a bit short on ranged unit without them, since the druids are pretty costly and high tier.
Bad Event rolls
-[X] Some of the books. The less incriminating, only descriptions, no technical knowledge beyond how to deal with Chaos and Death creatures.
--[X] Not the actual books though. Just copies.
-[X] 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.
-[X] Have those messages sent anonymously to the faction leaders. Some may ignore it, but your secrecy is safe.
Pureblood Answer
-[X] Who guards the guards? Hire both
Scholarship question
-[X] Yes, 15 000 G/Turn
Location Choice
-[X] 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 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
Not the place a neutral faction wants to set up, although the strange noises sounds like it could have interesting things for us, it has gold, and it's cheep.
[]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
Gets the fuck away, has sea access for international trade, less scrutiny, and lots of wood. We also need to deal with defending our coast but with flight that isn't too hard.
Leaning this one, but I could be swayed to a different one.
[]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.
Mountain fortresses are really fun when you have flight and teleportation. Lock this place down and we're probably set defense wise. If we could set up something to remain self-sufficient in there we could last against siege indefinitely, and no one should be able to maintain a siege against us unless they're basically the only other faction left. And if there's basically only one other faction left, we'd probably bend the knee to their rule.
I want to buy it, but we're probably gonna need to grab the middle option instead.
They're all the same price, and yes, it's without the development. Since not a lot of land is available for purchase because of old families buying off everything, it's exceedingly costly. Welcome to inflation.
Hm, I'm not on my main computer RN, but to the top of my head...
-[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!
With all your modifiers, you got 140, while the ministry got about 120. You'd have lost her had you not chosen your option.
-[X] Investigate. This is almost next door to Dace's house. (Event Roll: 3)
You managed to pass the detection check (over 70) and got the fudge away while the ministry goons failed. After that, HoMM number crunching took over. You Epic ranked book carried you hard. Otherwise you'd be deader than a doornail and playing a 4 years old.
-[X] Looks like you're going to talk potions once more. (Event Roll: 9)
Due to the previous one, Dace was on guard and the difficulty was lowered to 40.
-[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
50-60
-[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.
Rolled 10 (Failure), amplitude roll 60, You had enough money, money spent to force a pass. Synergy with previous events, rolled 3, got a Slughorn.
-[X] Rampart: Step one (must complete all of those to unlock step 2)
--[X] Find a suitable location.
1,43,99. Those rolls made me laugh so much that I remember them precisely and well, you know the drill, Low roll = nasty surprise that will bite you in the butt sooner or later.
--[X] Find a full roster of Nature-themed creatures. (Currently 3/7: Fairy line, wolf line and dragon line)
With bonuses added:
190, 80, 50 (Failure) Agatha save roll: 63(pass), 31 (Critical Failure) Agatha save roll : 56 (pass, but critfail penalty applies.)
1,43,99. Those rolls made me laugh so much that I remember them precisely and well, you know the drill, Low roll = nasty surprise that will bite you in the butt sooner or later.
It was a Nat 1, with Agatha's +30 on top of it, but still a nat 1. Now that I think about it, you got 2 of them in one turn, lucky you!
Edit: More seriously, stop a second and think why going to the nat 1 place, as opposed to everywhere else on the map, would warrant a Nat 1 placement? I already hinted at it in previous posts.
Edit: More seriously, stop a second and think why going to the nat 1 place, as opposed to everywhere else on the map, would warrant a Nat 1 placement? I already hinted at it in previous posts.
Is it the Overlord's place or is something else there? I'm assuming it's something that can kill us, so it's best to be extra careful and just stay the fuck away.
Curious what the crit fail penalties are -- it's linked with the elves, and my best guess is that she'll be obsessed with making proper elves
For now, it leaves you with a creature slot taken that you cannot use, and unknown amounts of resources needed to fill it. As for where the crit is important, it takes a bit of piecing back bits of trivia I spread around, and actually reading the Informational sections to guess. Considering it's a rather important point, I won't answer that question.
For now, it leaves you with a creature slot taken that you cannot use, and unknown amounts of resources needed to fill it. As for where the crit is important, it takes a bit of piecing back bits of trivia I spread around, and actually reading the Informational sections to guess. Considering it's a rather important point, I won't answer that question.
If we ever get staff that like this quest hopefully they can abuse their authority work within the system to get that as one of the tags for this quest. Since I can't remember how new ones are made outside of staff action
I'd recommend editing the first post a bit. The first couple of posts are important to convince people to actually read the quest. The SFW side of QQ doesn't have a very good rep (before even getting into how QQ as a whole isn't seen in the best of lights), so shifting that to the bottom of the post can help. If people bother to read the whole first post then they're far more likely to read further on.
There's also the problem that the votes are too high effort for the average voter, and there isn't too much to disagree on. The majority of people that read any particular quest are closer to lurkers than active players, so they tend not to post if discussion is weak. Turn votes like this also have too high of a barrier to entry effort wise to an average voter, so they won't bother making their own vote. If there's only one vote, most will jump on it, and if competition doesn't show up early then people tend not to make a competing vote. That's doubly true if the leader isn't disagreeable to most players.
A single two/three option vote in a turn is far more likely to get people voting (and having competing votes, which can drive discussion) than a multipart plan vote.
A lot of other things that can be messed with to increase attraction, but basically all of the other ones off the top of my head wouldn't work for one reason or another.
-[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!
[X] Plan We're an rich pureblood and we just want to have fun
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.
What does Dace focus on?
-[X]Air control : The dementors are a pain, but he can deal with them.
Assuming we our ledger is up to date, we can easily afford this. We don't really have anything that uses gems yet and even with the 16 I have us spend here we still have 6 left, and the location we're gonna develop will almost certainly have a good source of them for us to tap into. The 7 I have us give to her bring us within spitting distance of SL 6, and honestly I'm tempted to give another just to make sure we can get it next turn. But I like 7 since it's lucky.
As for the Dumbledore bribes, I'm more than willing to pay 20,000 G per turn for 1d6 lategame (if not outright endgame) healing items a turn. We could honestly make a nice chuck of that back by selling a portion off at our pleasure. This has to be at least market value for Phoenix Tears for us to even consider accepting it after all. The others aren't really worth the running cost at this point. We can grab them later if we really want them which should be at least cheaper on our wallet. Purebloods throw lump sums around to make things happen; we'd never make pipelines to our enemies pocket for the dirt off their boots.
In the middle of updating it, righ now it is up to last post, I have yet to retract the 17500 for the academy and the martial advisers
Edit: Done, you've gor 57 600 G/T to play with.
In the middle of updating it, righ now it is up to last post, I have yet to retract the 17500 for the academy and the martial advisers
Edit: Done, you've gor 57 600 G/T to play with.
Awesome. Not gonna change my plan then. Probably are going to want out coffers to fill back up before we really start throwing money around in the coming turns though.
