Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Teloch · Aug 16, 2017

your team of lunatics so far

Lucifina (aka you, aka Lu, aka Lucy, aka Sparkling, aka Gosling)

Race: the new nameless humanoid species
Gender: Female
Age: biological - around 21 in human years; actual(?) - almost half a year (?).
Background: protege of a natural science scholar, unknown origins
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Follow the white cat" - you have a moody guiding spirit at your side who can boost your spirit aspect advancement should you get on its better side (+1 spirit arcane charge point after passing hard charisma attribute check (18)), expect its occasional interference.

"No one is an island" - you get 1 + n bonus to all social influence skills and CHA rolls when applied to teammates, where n is the number of steps of the target's affection tier beyond neutral (applies to both positive and negative affection dimensions). Additionally, get +3 to the mentioned bonuses if Amalia is around and can provide quick advice. Passive effect: unearth more insights on followers.

"It's in my blood" - you get a permanent +1 bonus to Intelligence and +1 to arcane skill. Actions that train arcane aspects have a 1/6 chance to double the yields unless the base earning equals or exceeds one full level. You are more prone to magic-related actions and thoughts. You might find it harder to resist the allure of magic in some situations.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	9		9	4
Constitution	16		16	11
Mobility	10	(+2 cond.)	10 (12 cond.)	5 (7 cond.)
Perception	11		11	6
Coordination	14		14	9
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	18(+1/3)		18	13
Wisdom	17		17	12
Charisma	20		20	15
Luck	4		4	4
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Dice bonus
Melee combat	1	4		5
Ranged combat	2			2
Arcane skill	7	7	(+1 cnd.day)	14 (15 cnd.day)
Defense	3	4	1 (+2 cnd.w.)	8 (10 cnd.w.)
Objects usage	2			2
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	7	1		8
Balance	2		(+2 cnd.w.)	2 (4 cnd.w.)
Sneaking	3			3
Reconnaissance	5	1		6
Persuasion	10	2		12
Intimidation	6			6
Haggle	7			7
Performance	8			8
Seduction	8			8
Geography lore	7	2		9
Nature lore	7	1		8
Arcane lore	7	5		12
Social and cultural lore	9	2		11
Craft lore	7	2		9
Lingual lore	9			9
Daily craft	6	2		8
Pharma and treatment	7	3		10
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	7	2		9
Art	7			7
Artificery	6	1		7
Burglary	5			5
Huntsmanship	4			4
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	7			7

Flight and wing-related traits

Wings skill level	13
Flight mastery level	advanced
Normal speed	above average, can forcefully accelerate to considerably fast
Maximum range	considerably far, anywhere up to twenty-eight kilometers.
Maximum height	considerably high (up to 250 meters)
Maximum extra lifting weight	low (10 kg)
Balance	above average, withstands weather and can try to regain without landing
Launching surfaces	solid grounds
Air feats	diving, gliding, hovering, thrusting, basic aerial spellcasting
Land feats	dodge extra propulsion, posing, enhanced balance, enhanced surface acceleration, shielding with wings

#1) Thaumaturgy level 7 (6/7 to level 8):

You can sense the activity of the entropic aspects within ~1000 meters radius, and unusual concentration/malfunction of other aspects within ~200 meters radius.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to constitution
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You regain mental strengths a little bit faster during the daytime.
Using thaumaturgy during the daytime requires less mental and physical effort.,
You can allegedly see prophetic dreams
You can temporarily nullify magic in ~30 meters radius or in a 45 meters-long 30' cone a few times a day, or emit an anti-magic field up to ~15 meters radius a few times a day.
you can temporarily amplify the aspects power around you once a day
you can temporarily amplify or suppress the aspects power of a target up to two times a day
You can try to scan surrounding areas for traces of planar breaching with very high odds to succeed and sense the short residue of extraplanar entities.
You can conjure light on the basic level (sparks, flashes, rays)
You can shape light on the basic level (flash explosions, molding into orbs, luminal barriers, luminal domes, wedges of solidified light, sparks strike)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill when exposed to the sun but also get -1 to arcane skill at night AND in dark places.

#2) Spirit level 7:

You are able of an advanced Nether-realm vision
You can assess the memory traces of objects and entities via nether-realm vision and tactile contact
You can sense soul sparks in ~75 meters radius
You can sense the sparks of the living, undead, minor spiritual beings, bound spirits, phantasms, genius loci, and some other spirits
You can sense concentrations of the Limbus energies, the thickness of the barrier, and traces of spirits from the material plane
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to perception
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to wisdom
You can scan the target's soul characteristics and receive advanced-depth results
You can try to smite a spirit
You can try to disperse a spirit
You can try to temporarily bind or scare off a singular lesser spiritual being
You can communicate with discovered spiritual beings

#3) ~Open affinity slot~

Your journal, a comfortable set of clothes, a plain dress, a custom-made set of lightened composite armor, an arming sword ("Holly"), a high-quality rondel ("Mercy"), a decorative blue ribbon, a silver necktie with a bounded spirit, superb leather harness.

Capable of crudely repairing clothes, making basic tailoring items like belts and patches, and producing low-effort/cost items like stuffed toys. Capable of applying first aid to prevent bleeding. Knows how to make and disinfect bandageware.

Ulren Kyres (aka Ren, aka Mountain boy)

Race: Bhiroth
Gender: Male
Age: 68
Background: mercenary, former soldier, outcast
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Not on my watch, not again" - shields Lucy from considerable harm in combat situations at own expense.

"I promise you that" - when in the same group as Lucifina, will make the second set of saving rolls to avoid critical health conditions.

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	21	+1	22	17
Constitution	21	+1	22	17
Mobility	14	-1	13	8
Perception	12		12	7
Coordination	15		15	10
Micromotorics	13		13	8
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	18		18	13
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	9	9		18
Ranged combat	5	5		10
Arcane skill	6			6
Defense	10	10		20
Objects usage	6	3		9
Mounted combat	8			8
Willpower	6		-3	3
Balance	7			7
Sneaking	4		-5	-1
Reconnaissance	5	4		9
Persuasion	4			4
Intimidation	9			9
Haggle	3			3
Performance	3			3
Seduction	5			5
Geography lore	6	5		11
Nature lore	6	3		9
Arcane lore	6			6
Social and cultural lore	5			5
Craft lore	6	6		12
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	6	4		10
Pharma and treatment	5	2		7
Weaponsmithing	6	6		12
Armorsmithing	6	6		12
Tailoring	3			3
Art	4			4
Artificery	5	7		12
Burglary	4			4
Huntsmanship	5	2		7
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown, but he demonstrated feats of great balance, stability, and hardiness. Perhaps, he might have an undiscovered arcane aspect bound.

A very worn half-plate armor set, worn set of clothes, a glaive, mechanical mace with spare heads, heater shield, hand crossbow, one quiver of bolts, enchanted amulet (+1 STR +1 CON - MOB)

Semi-proficient in the daily craft. Adept in smithing (martial-level weapons and armor). Proficient in artificiery (lesser contraptions). Expert in picking/maintaining war gear, and capable of minor mechanical upgrades of such. Knows the basics of hunting and skinning.

Sephorah of house Terphor (aka Seph, aka Sephie, aka Princess)

Race: Daeva
Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Background: Rosaline's agent, former slave, voluntary expatriate.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Odd kind of friendship" - when Ulren and Sephorah are fighting crowd-controllable enemies (not giants, flying creatures, etc.) in the same team, the one who makes the lowest total offensive or defensive score out of two can reroll that offensive or defensive roll set (only the highest score counts).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	15		15	10
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	16		16	11
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	18		18	13
Micromotorics	12		12	7
Intellect	14		14	9
Wisdom	12		12	7
Charisma	18		18	13
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	7	6	1	14
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	4			4
Defense	6	5	2	13
Objects usage	4	5		9
Mounted combat	7			7
Willpower	4			4
Balance	8	8		16
Sneaking	7	8		15
Reconnaissance	4	4		8
Persuasion	6	5		11
Intimidation	7			7
Haggle	6	2		8
Performance	6	7		13
Seduction	8	7		15
Geography lore	4			4
Nature lore	4			4
Arcane lore	4			4
Social and cultural lore	5	6		11
Craft lore	3			3
Lingual lore	5			5
Daily craft	3	2		5
Pharma and treatment	4			4
Weaponsmithing	4			4
Armorsmithing	4			4
Tailoring	5			5
Art	5			5
Artificery	3			3
Burglary	4	6		10
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	4			4
Sorcery	4			4

Unknown if any. No signs of her having seeds of arcane aspects bound so far.

A set of clothes and undergarments, a superb set of compositive medium armor (manticore materials), a superb leather harness for bags and tools, a qualitative longsword "Ember", a parrying dagger, a quiver of tossing knives, a kit with burglar's tools.

You suspect she's incapable of legal manual labor aside from the bare basics of daily routines.

Karl Norskov (aka Mage, aka 'that' mage)

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: appears to be in the late thirties to early forties
Background: elementalist mage, major arcane enthusiast, disowned son of a noble family.
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):

"Old habits die hard" - when making an offensive arcane skill roll in combat and getting less or equal to four, reroll it (only the highest score counts). This perk also applies to combat rounds where Karl makes an arcane skill roll only for the defensive score.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	13		13	8
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	16		16	11
Intellect	20		20	15
Wisdom	16		16	11
Charisma	14		14	9
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	1			1
Ranged combat	4			4
Arcane skill	8	9		17
Defense	1	2		3
Objects usage	5	5		10
Mounted combat	2			2
Willpower	7	6	-2	11
Balance	1			1
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	6			6
Persuation	7			7
Intimidation	2			2
Haggle	5	1		6
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	7			7
Nature lore	7			7
Arcane lore	7	9		16
Social and cultural lore	8	5		13
Craft lore	8			8
Lingual lore	8	7		15
Daily craft	8			8
Pharma and treatment	9			9
Weaponsmithing	7			7
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailorng	8			8
Art	6			6
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	9			9
Sorcery	8	3		11

#1) Conflagration and radiation level 7:

You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to strength.
You have gained the permanent +1 bonus to intellect.
Your casting in dry weather or nearby fire sources amplifies pyromancy.
You can regain mental strengths faster near the heat sources.
You can sense and read the heat sources in a vast area.
You can channel the arcane powers to temporarily amplify own physical strength.
Your spellcasting uses both mental and physical strengths or the varying proportions of such.
You can temporarily infuse objects (including tools and weapons) with pyromancy powers.
You can conjure heat on the intermediate level (sufficient to melt iron)
You can suppress and channel heat on the intermediate level (rays, waves, charges, orbs, tactile)
You passively gain +1 to arcane skill for every 3 points of STR above 10. This trait also applies -1 penalty to arcane skill for every 2 points of STR below 10. Does not apply in the case of arcane self-empowerment.

A worn set of travel clothes, a backpack, a grimoire (or a diary), an old pocket chornometer with a chain, an intricate smoking pipe

None you know about

Amalia Brant (aka Lia)

Race: Human (Eastlander)
Gender: Female
Age: Young adult
Background: Former maidservant
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"Shipper on deck" - +3 To all social skill rolls against the companions with positive affection levels (neutrality affection level excluded). If previously gossiped with about other characters that she knows, can provide a one-time boost of +3 to all types of social interaction skill rolls to the requester.

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	12		12	7
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	11		11	6
Perception	16		16	11
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	18		18	13
Intellect	12		12	7
Wisdom	20		20	15
Charisma	11		11	6
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	7	3		10
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	7	3		10
Mounted combat	4			4
Willpower	8	3		11
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	4			4
Reconnaissance	7			7
Persuasion	5			5
Intimidation	4			4
Haggle	5	4		9
Performance	6			6
Seduction	3			3
Geography lore	8	2		10
Nature lore	8			8
Arcane lore	8			8
Social and cultural lore	6	2		8
Craft lore	8	3		11
Lingual lore	6			6
Daily craft	8	10		18
Pharma and treatment	7			7
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	6			6
Tailoring	5	9		14
Art	7	3		10
Artificery	8			8
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	7			7
Alchemy	7			7
Sorcery	6			6

Uknown if any

Leather camisole of fair quality, compositive crossbow, a quiver of bolts, a bag of small tools, a rucksack, a set of road clothes, a plain cloak, a knife, a belt water bag.

Master of daily craft and inventory management. Fairly good cook (specializes in fried snacks) and knows how to correctly ration different foods. Good tailor, capable of qualitative repair of clothes and production of professional effort/materials goods like suits and dresses. Her designs lean towards practicality rather than fanciness.

Isaac

Race: Human (unknown heritage)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Healer apprentice
Status: Healthy

Perk(s):
"We are of one blood" - Any non-hostile actions towards animals or beast folk have +4 bonus to attributes or skill rolls. Can use WIS instead of CHA for interactions with animals and beast folk (aka empathetic approach).

Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	13		13	8
Constitution	15		15	10
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	14		14	9
Coordination	10		10	5
Micromotorics	17		17	12
Intellect	15		15	10
Wisdom	14		14	9
Charisma	7		7	2
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2		-5	-3
Ranged combat	5		-5	0
Arcane skill	6	6		12
Defense	4	1		5
Objects usage	6		-5	1
Mounted combat	3		-7	-4
Willpower	5	7		12
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	2			2
Reconnaissance	5			5
Persuasion	1			1
Intimidation	3			3
Haggle	1			1
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	5			5
Nature lore	5	2		7
Arcane lore	5	5		10
Social and cultural lore	3			3
Craft lore	6			6
Lingual lore	3			3
Daily craft	6	3		9
Pharma and treatment	6	7		13
Weaponsmithing	6			6
Armorsmithing	7			7
Tailoring	5			5
Art	4			4
Artificery	7			7
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	3			3
Alchemy	6			6
Sorcery	5			5

#1) Body level 5:

You can sense breathing and blood pulse of living entities in ~100 meters radius.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to constitution.
You gain the permanent +1 bonus to charisma
You can scan the detailed physiological state of a target in many details including sicknesses, inflammations, as well as the state of physical integrity.
You can make an attempt for a minuscule boost of the physical performance of oneself or a target at the cost of own mental strengths.
You can accelerate the metabolism (and so, often times, the recovery from ailments or traumas) of living creatures at the cost of own mental and physical strengths.
You can try to numb the minor pain of a target living creature at the cost of both mental and physical strengths or share it with yourself with the low transference loss ratio

A robe with a hood, a bag with bandages and medications, an old iron amulet, a belt with tincures

Good at applying and synthesizing remedies. Capable of providing first and complex medical aid. Has some skills in inventory management.

Jorgen Ostgard (aka Jory, aka Craven)

Race: Human (Lyflander?)
Gender: Male
Age: Young adult
Background: Alchemist assistant
Status: Healthy


Attributes	Base value	Modified value	Total value	Dice bonus
Strength	11		11	6
Constitution	11		11	6
Mobility	12		12	7
Perception	18		18	13
Coordination	12		12	7
Micromotorics	15		15	10
Intellect	16		16	11
Wisdom	13		13	8
Charisma	9		9	4
Luck	2		2	2
Misfortune	2		2	2

Skill	Attribute value	Learned value	Modified value	Total value / Dice bonus
Melee combat	2			2
Ranged combat	6	1		7
Arcane skill	5			5
Defense	2			2
Objects usage	6	4		10
Mounted combat	3			3
Willpower	6			6
Balance	2			2
Sneaking	5	4		9
Reconnaissance	7	5		12
Persuation	2			2
Intimidation	1			1
Haggle	3			3
Performance	2			2
Seduction	1			1
Geography lore	6			6
Nature lore	6	4		10
Arcane lore	6	3		9
Social and cultural lore	4			4
Craft lore	5	6		11
Lingual lore	4			4
Daily craft	5	3		8
Pharma and treatment	6			6
Weaponsmithing	5			5
Armorsmithing	5			5
Tailoring	5			5
Art	3			3
Artificery	6			6
Burglary	7			7
Huntsmanship	6			6
Alchemy	6	6		12
Sorcery	6			6

Unknown if any

A robe with a hood, a traveling cane, a bag with small instruments, a belt with glasses, a rucksack

Good at synthesizing remedies or other compounds from both organic and inorganic ingredients. Fairly good at understanding how chemistry works and has an eye for experimentation. Capable of locating and recognizing substances. Has basic skills in inventory management and knows a thing or two about craftworks.

General condition: High morale, everyone's healthy, two weeks worth of food supplies, sufficiently-budgeted, low on alchemic reagents.
Money: 1081 Talers
Food: 82 food units (9 full days of sustenance on Bloom 28)
Food consumption: 8.5 food units per day

Lucifina - 1
Ulren - 2
Sephorah - 1.5
Karl - 1
Amalia - 1
Isaac -1
Jory - 1
Mount(s) - n/a (pasturing season)

Medication: 5 medicine units
Alchemy stash: 4 reagent units, 5 blank alchemical basis compounds (crafting boosters & subsidizes)

Free stash space: up to 130 kg

1 Incindiary bomb (great)
1 Regeneration potion (superb)
1 Regeneration potion (weak)
1 Stimulator/painkiller potion (weak)
1 Potion of momentum (Temp: +3 STR +3 SPD +3 COOR - 1 INT - 1 WIS - 1 CHA) (standard)

A bundle of books from Dalgaard's library, Yvie's ulchaar (Morinth's parcel)

Mounts: 1 workhorse (Softie)
Team's reputation:
Kheree hunters (Tevon-Talab militia) - CELEBRATED
The Lyf Kingdom (Lyflanders) - WELCOMED
Eastern Freelanders (Baathorians) - CELEBRATED
Central Freelanders (Tevons) - UNKNOWN
Western Freelanders (Ertanghalians) - UNKNOWN
Nyth-Rhathon (Bhiroths) - UNKNOWN?
Olfadir (Westlanders) - UNKNOWN?

Ship-o-meter

Lucifina

Ulren

Sephorah

Karl

Amalia

Isaac

Jorgen

Lucifina

X

Devotion (96)

Comradery (82)

Amiability (12)

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (44)

Neutrality (10)

Ulren

Devotion (96)

X

Friendship (58)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (38)

Amiability (20)

Neutrality (4)

Sephorah

Comradery (82)

Friendship (58)

X

Suspicion (-11)

Sympathy (34)

Amiability (16)

Neutrality (0)

Karl

Amiability (12)

Amiability (13)

Suspicion (-11)

X

Neutrality (9)

Amiability (13)

Amiability (14)

Amalia

Friendship (70)

Sympathy (38)

Sympathy (34)

Neutrality (9)

X

Sympathy (47)

Sympathy (32)

Isaac

Sympathy (44)

Amiability (20)

Amiability (16)

Amiability (13)

Sympathy (47)

X

Friendship (51)

Jorgen

Neutrality (10)

Neutrality (4)

Neutrality (0)

Amiability (14)

Sympathy (32)

Friendship (51)

X

Tier	Relative numeric scale	Description
Devotion	91 to 100	You would likely self-sacrifice for each other if necessary
Comradery	71 to 90	You are deeply loyal to each other
Friendship	51 to 70	You have each other's trust
Sympathy	31 to 50	You have common interests, views, or simply find each other nice
Amiability	11 to 30	You are polite and good-willing toward each other
Neutrality	-10 to 10	You are strangers or largely indifferent towards each other
Suspicion	-11 to -30	You question each other's views and values
Distaste	-31 to -50	You avoid and distrust each other, but remain rational
Intolerance	-51 to -70	You dislike and disrespect each other
Scorn	-71 to -90	You avert and loathe each other, even if irrationally
Hatred	-91 to -100	You are at each other's throats

Teloch · Apr 15, 2019

Hey guys!

I will be a little bit busy searching for a flat to rent this week as I found a new job at the capital. Searching and moving in isn't the most inspiring process for writing activities, so I afraid I won't be able to write a fully-fleshed update anytime before the weekend. Sorry for keeping you hungry for content.

However, if things go smooth, I may be able to squeeze a bonus side-story until then. This why, here goes the bonus vote for the character from whose POV should it be. In the meanwhile, I'm going to brush up on the logistical / inventory side of the quest and plan out the mainline update.

[] Amalia
[] Jory
[] Isaac

Teloch · Apr 15, 2019

Some minor story-related rolls.

Edit 1:
Amalia, daily craft: 36 (legendary difficulty check beaten)
Amalia, haggle: 26 (hard difficulty check beaten)
Amalia, persuasion: 14 (very easy check beaten)
Jory, alchemy: 26 (hard difficulty check beaten)
Isaac, arcane: 32 (epic difficulty check beaten)
Isaac, pharma and treatment: 23 (normal difficulty check beaten)

Edit 2: Holy cow! not a single 1-9 roll. The support characters are on fire, which translates into: expect good economic decisions, some profit on the side, nice logistical choices, and even Seph's speedy recovery from an injury.

Seriously, these guys deserve some gratitude

Varder · Apr 15, 2019

[X] Amalia

Emanyzal · Apr 15, 2019

[X] Jory

I'd like to see the perspective of the only member of our group who mistrusts us.

wingstrike96 · Apr 15, 2019

[X] Isaac

veekie · Apr 15, 2019

[X] Amalia

I want to see that legendary check

Martenzo · Apr 15, 2019

[X] Jory

Teloch · Apr 16, 2019

So... uh. A tie.
Someone undo the tie, please?

uiopion · Apr 16, 2019

Absolutely not =p

[X] Isaac

Someone else gets to abuse that power.

wingstrike96 · Apr 16, 2019

uiopion said:
Absolutely not =p

[X] Isaac

Someone else gets to abuse that power.

You mean Absolutely Knot

Martenzo · Apr 16, 2019

Oh very well then... Seeing Jory's perspective would be great, but seeing that legendary check would be cool too.

[X] Amalia

Teloch · Apr 16, 2019

Alrighty then. Seems like it is only proper to wish Craven better luck at getting that sweet spotlight during another side story voting or camping episode.
As for Amalia... seems like Lucy may or may not start feeling jelly

Teloch · Apr 27, 2019

Hey folks! I've had quite an adventurous week (find and rent a DECENT flat in less than 6 hours at the capital, hack myself and coworkers out of the office when the door stuck dead, endure the three-staged odyssey of finding a district net provider and actually coming back online). So yea, it may sound a bit too sentimental, but this little thread of mine and its readers seemingly became a companion in my real life adventures, following me wherever the life throws me on this green globe.

Now, when I can cross out "to explain where the heck I was for almost two weeks" out of the to-do list, good news: updates are gonna roll in, and the odds are I'm already writing Amalia's side story while you're reading to this post.

Zaealix · Apr 27, 2019

Teloch said:
hack myself and coworkers out of the office when the door stuck dead

Computer-fu or Fireman Teloch to the rescue?

Teloch · Apr 27, 2019

Zaealix said:
Computer-fu or Fireman Teloch to the rescue?

The latter

Teloch · May 1, 2019

Evening at the Moon Steed inn. The last rays of reddish sunset paint the city in warm colors, making it look further into the spring that it is. Slowly but surely, the number of citizens hustling around decreases, freeing the streets for late returnees from the boozers, city centries, and the adventurous kind of youth which are ruled by their rowdy whims and desires. From the opposite windows, the edge of the approaching night can be seen. The scene is of peace, bearing no clues of the deaths and violence that took place in suburbs half a week ago.

You sit in the small hall on the second floor, stretching your legs after a day full of chores and running around the city and its suburbs. You notice the slight ache of your hands when you let your chestnut hair (which grew from "marginally medium" to "rather long" since you left Kirhol behind) down. You feel tired but also satisfied. You brushed, fed, and maintained your party's pack horse whom you nicknamed Softie, effectively cutting the stable's pay for services to what is due only for the upkeep. You negotiated free-of-charge stay at the inn for your party in return for the forgiveness of the debt Adgun - the aging owner of this inn - had before Gunther - the owner of Raider's Halt, where you stayed at Narvic. You've done the plentiful laundry for the group that accumulated over the weeks, thoroughly sanitized chambers for Sephorah, so she won't get infected while being treated by Isaac, bargained a free use of inn's sustenance stocks within reasonable limits in return for cooking master-classes, which cut the expenses on food, prepared field lunches for Lucy, Ulren, and Karl when they were about to go out for the bounties, serviced the tools and glassware Jory and Isaac used for alchemic purposes, and atop of all that cozied up the chambers where your group stopped to the closer analog of what they might have looked like during Inn's better days. And the best part about this impartial list of what you have done so far? You don't feel like slowing down anytime soon.

Others could not overlook your flurry of daily effort and discipline - Isaac and Jory were happy to have you around, promising to procure something for you after they finish their attempt of putting that mysterious arcane substance the frenzied wildlife was irradiated with to practical use and thus monetization. You found this promise interesting because Jory isn't someone you would call normally charitable. For a moment, you assume that, away from the safety and comfort, he finally began to grow, but you quickly discard this thought - most likely, Jory is doing this out of the necessity to keep whatever few friends he'd got from Dalgaard's mansion to outweigh his unpopularity among the rest of the group. But even if so, non-monetary acknowledgment of one's effort was infrequent back in the manor, making you feel cozy from hearing it more and more frequently.

Even Lucy, while having to wake up early and come back late and tired from the sorties with guys, during those short evening windows of time when you see each other, she mellowed and almost purred whenever you tended to her wings. It may not be the most proper comparison, but she indeed acts as a pet to being pat or having her wings brushed. From the side, it must look silly, and you exhaust a single quiet giggle while thinking about it.

Then, there was Adgun, squeezing in a line about how he won't mind you buying most of his inn in case if you return from the journey alive and decide to settle down. Even though he posed and spoke it as a joke during today's small chatter, the look in his eyes begged to differ: given how you haven't seen anyone from his family (who would be co-owners of the place) and considering those three formations in the corner of the inner yard that look like improvised memorials, you are almost sure that should you ever take this "joke" seriously, he would be relieved to pass a part of his legacy that this inn is to your industrious hands simply because he does not seem to have better alternatives.

You sigh slightly sad: the traces of the owner's descent into the pit of melancholy were not only visible from his behavior and composure as well as the state of his property, but also from the morale of the girls serving at this inn. From what you can tell, that experience exchange and kitchen master classes that you showed them was the first interesting series of events they have had for quite some time. Slightly shaken by the gap in productivity between you and them, they asked you how much does your party pay you or what is your share in group's spoils to make you work so hard, to which you joked that when your groupies are dry, warm, and fed, they tend to bicker less.

Well, that joke wasn't a lie, if to be perfectly honest, but neither it contained other parts of the answer: ever since you were a child having to support your incomplete family, you hated the feeling of being useless or letting others down, and, after both skirmishes on your way to Baathor, you began to feel like not doing enough. Having one of the teammates injured weren't helping your self-esteem, and even despite going all-out in daily and logistical chores, you were asking yourself if things would've been different if you could fend for yourself and others. Knowing that the journey will get more dangerous the further you go to the west, and having an example of a person who could not even speak coherently a season ago was now throwing herself - even if somewhat recklessly - against the beasts which would make many strong men whimper, you came up with an improbable request.

You pause your stream of thoughts, registering that you somehow returned to the obsessive idea which would have made your mother scold you for even thinking about should she still care and be around. You sit straight, unwrapping your hands from your chest, as it often happens when you think or worry too much. You call onto your memory and sense to evaluate the surroundings. Jory and Isaac were still out in the city, most likely attempting to make some sellable product out of that creepy green arcane fluid that irradiated the local fauna. Karl, Ulren, and Lucy returned from their bounty hunt, sufficiently excited after the hunt and satisfied with the reward. You recall Lucy heading to your group's chambers to spend some leisure time with Sephorah shortly before you moved to this hall. You could hear muffled voices of Ulren and Karl coming from the balcony that overhangs the inn's entrance - right against you.

For a moment, you inhale deeply, pondering whether or not you should voice your the concern and request that was pestering your mind of late. For two more moments, you silently stare in the direction of the chamber where Lucy was still hanging out with Sephorah, most likely trying to comfort her and to entertain with the stories of her recent exploits. Then, you breathe out, making your mind on the matter: in the worst case scenario, they would just call you a fool, which is something you can shrug off. With that thought, you stand up, feeling the minor ache in your back and making a mental note that others may not be wrong when they say that you tend to overwork yourself. Regardless, you carefully make your way to the balcony, bracing in the wake of a potentially embarrassing conversation.

As you peck through the door gap, you overhear the men discussing weapons made of which metals can hurt void spawns and ethereals. They notice your invasion very shortly, halting the conversation. Karl, in his typical factitiously-polite manner, gives Ulren a nod, signaling the abrupt end of their exchange, and proceeds deeper into the inn, leaving you head-to-head with Ulren and gathering a couple of stares trailing his escape. It is almost three years since that time when Karl got a little too drunk and way too liberal with his tongue, possibly seeking for pity by telling the story about his youth and the personal tragedy in which it resulted, which you commented in a not-so-flattering way. Despite his impaired condition during that event, he somehow remembered your judgment, and ever since then avoided any unnecessary and moderately-meaningful interactions with you. By the look on Ulren's face, you can say that he also noticed Karl's strange reaction to you, even though he missed the entirety of context needed to make any conclusions.

The bulky man stares at you after the mage disappears in the depths of the building. By now, you figured out that he's a rather silent type, preferring gestures and actions to words.

"Um... Sir Ulren? I-I hope I didn't interrupt anything of great importance..." you start unsure. You are much better at comprehending and perceiving things rather than converting them into lofty words. To make things more difficult, Roths think a bit different compared to Landers, which sometimes makes exchanges with them challenging by various degrees depending on the situation at hand.

The man silently shakes his head and raises one of his brows questioningly; he's not annoyed or irritated but rather curious what's on your mind. It's clear that he wants you to elaborate.

"It's about what happened at the gates a few days ago and my role in it - or rather the absence of such," you speak straight, making a bet on the straightforwardness of your interlocutor and following the tactic that rarely failed you.

Hearing that, Ulren relaxes, adopting a face akin to one of a parent who's about to listen to whatever nonsense their child has to say. "You did what you could - kept the mount, our possessions, and other noncombatants safe and in check. That was not a small thing when everything was going haywire and most of the civilians were in a panic," he replies, "don't tell me that you were thinking about throwing yourself into the fray in the same manner Lucy did".

"No... well, yes. In a certain way," you answer, "I felt irrelevant when we ran across Merigold's wraith. More so back at the gates, because we've didn't get out of it unscratched. " Unnoticeably for yourself, your shoulders lower when you relay your inner turmoil, "The feeling of being useless isn't something I would wish to anyone."

"So that's why you fly around as if you won't have a sound sleep unless the exhaustion from the day's work will kick you down. Just so you know, even if you threw yourself into the fight for the sake of helping us, you would have been the first to fall: the beast would've broken you with one swing and finished off with the second one," Ulren replied in an attempt to reason with you, "we happened to have enough vis to slaughter the manticore, but not enough kick to keep everyone unharmed. That's why the rogue is where she is now and, should I say so, she's stupidly lucky to survive that, and that's why you would have thrown your life away if you attempted to aid us. If nothing else, things would've been better if we took Lodric with us instead of that craven".

"It is true but... this isn't the last time we will be in peril - not in the land we are bound to traverse," you remain persistent, leading the conversation to the main idea behind it, "and who knows where or when would emerge a situation when the outcome will hinge on everyone including myself".

"So you want me to teach you how to fight," he almost interrupts you and tries on his stone-like face. You are slightly dumbstruck for a moment but recover quickly.

"Yes," you answer, unintentionally making it sound almost like a question.

"You do realize that learning how to defend oneself is hard, not pretty at all, and requires a lot of discipline?"

"Yes," you reply again, "but it's better to be tired and aching regularly than dead in the middle of nowhere once". Even though Ulren's face does not change with your answer, your intuition tells you that he's about to chuckle. Is... is he toying with you?

"And you do realize that finding own fighting style is something that draws from practitioner's traits and thus is very personal in nature, right?" he continued before you could answer: "can you tell me what was the most menacing game you ever put down?"

"I..." you began to stutter, registering that there isn't much you can satiate his curiosity with and not sound like a fool. "I drove a rabid hound away with a swab once..." you do realize how pathetic it sounds but continue anyway, "and mauled a burrik dead by tossing a bucket the other time".

"A mutt with a swab?"

"Yes," you clutched your left arm with the right palm.

"A burrik with a toss of a bucket?"

"Yes..." you hide your eyes in shame.

The third specifying question did not follow, though. Instead, Ulren fell silent and scanned you up an down thoroughly for a couple of times. The painful suspense hung in the air.

"Alright then. You don't have enough pith to pose any danger in melee at the moment, but you proved by your work that you have swift hands and more than enough endurance and eye-measure. Teaching you how to use ranged weapons and toss projectiles might be fitting and bring some benefit to the first-liners after a certain point. If that goes well, I may try teaching you how to handle polearms since they are simple yet effective, and fit your short frame. Just know that I expect you to show the diligence you possess. We may start this week right after I figure out what gear you should start with".

His answer almost made you want to give him a squeeze - the task barely viable given the difference of your sizes and the fresh memories of how Claudius almost choked you unconscious in his hug during the last Solstice. Your broad grin and barely legible chirping conveyed your excitement perfectly, though.

After a few moments during which you calmed down a bit, you inquired: "Sir Ulren, did you already decide that you will offer to train me but asked those questions just to tease me?"

Ulren's forcibly-stony face gave a crack in the form of a lopsided grin, "Not entirely. It's always worthwhile to hear what one has exposure to, even if it's not much". You cocked your head to the left due to his excuse. "Bhiroth young barely starting their initiation decade usually don't have more in the way of experience than you do," he justified.

You grinned, "Thank you. I feared you would not understand my request and laugh at me, but it seems my fear was groundless".

"Nah," he waved your veiled compliment away, "thank you for keeping us supplied and in marching condition. You know, if you were born Bhiroth and were taught how to fight, you would've made a perfect Raufdur; maybe even risen to Hofdig".

"Raufdur? Isn't it a caste of provisors?" you reached out for the definition of the term from your memory, which was supplied by all the books about Rhoth races that you've read.

"Aye," your knowledge chiseled a genuine smile on his face, "And one more thing: don't address me like one of your Landers' so-called knights: I have little to nothing to do with living in inherited lavishness, chasing haughty skirts, and filling my days with feuds with the likes of myself in the name of my superiors"

"Sure thing... Ulren? Don't you mind me addressing you so?" you asked with a smile, to which the man nodded approvingly. Despite the popular belief that Roths are at times hard to converse with, you sensed no such complications. Quite the opposite, even - it seemed like he understood your motivation perfectly clear and there might have even been a spark of sympathy.

wingstrike96 · May 2, 2019

Now we just need grenades

veekie · May 2, 2019

Teloch said:
You sit in the small hall on the second floor, stretching your legs after a day full of chores and running around the city and its suburbs. You notice the slight ache of your hands when you let your chestnut hair (which grew from "marginally medium" to "rather long" since you left Kirhol behind) down. You feel tired but also satisfied. You brushed, fed, and maintained your party's pack horse whom you nicknamed Softie, effectively cutting the stable's pay for services to what is due only for the upkeep. You negotiated free-of-charge stay at the inn for your party in return for the forgiveness of the debt Adgun - the aging owner of this inn - had before Gunther - the owner of Raider's Halt, where you stayed at Narvic. You've done the plentiful laundry for the group that accumulated over the weeks, thoroughly sanitized chambers for Sephorah, so she won't get infected while being treated by Isaac, bargained a free use of inn's sustenance stocks within reasonable limits in return for cooking master-classes, which cut the expenses on food, prepared field lunches for Lucy, Ulren, and Karl when they were about to go out for the bounties, serviced the tools and glassware Jory and Isaac used for alchemic purposes, and atop of all that cozied up the chambers where your group stopped to the closer analog of what they might have looked like during Inn's better days. And the best part about this impartial list of what you have done so far? You don't feel like slowing down anytime soon.

Perfect Maid Technique!

Teloch said:
Even Lucy, while having to wake up early and come back late and tired from the sorties with guys, during those short evening windows of time when you see each other, she mellowed and almost purred whenever you tended to her wings. It may not be the most proper comparison, but she indeed acts as a pet to being pat or having her wings brushed. From the side, it must look silly, and you exhaust a single quiet giggle while thinking about it.

Is fluffy.

...does she even realize it herself?

Teloch · May 3, 2019

wingstrike96 said:
Now we just need grenades

veekie said:
...does she even realize it herself?

I think the answer gonna pop up in the next update-o

Teloch · May 9, 2019

ETA: tomorrow around this time. Sittin' at 3300 with some dialogues and voting boxes ahead.

Teloch · May 12, 2019

You peeked through the door gap to one of the rooms occupied by your group at Moon Steed inn. Inside, you saw exactly what you expected: a dusky, horned damsel lying on a bed under a few covers, with her back facing you, and her hips protruding upwards like a miniature mountain. Even though she miraculously resisted the worst effects of manticore's poison, the injury and the residual toxins were still taking a toll on her, with the treatment procedures not being any more pleasant. However, after a couple of bounties fulfilled with the guys, you've got something to light her up a bit.

"Seph? How are you holding?" you inquired for politeness' sake, "I've got something for you~"

The woman did not turn around: "If it's again that serum which made me vomit, sweat, and urinate at the same time, then you better just end me," she weakly waved her right hand upwards without making any efforts to face you.

"Seph, you know that Isaac is doing everything he can to get you back on your feet, and I'm sure you do realize how lucky you were to get off so relatively easy"

"Yea, yea' pleasant medicine exists only in children games" she grumbled. You don't know whether it was the discomfort from the wound or just a simple irritation from having to impersonate a vegetable while everyone else was busy, but she's been like this for the last few days. Well, mostly - she stopped shooting with death-related jokes a couple of days ago, which can be considered as progress.

Seeing no initial progress in drawing her attention, you approached her bed, carefully poking her right shoulder to no avail, alas. "Come o-o-on, Seph. Or I'll start calling you Sephanie~".

"You can butter my nates and call me a biscuit but I'm not taking that cockatrice's piss ever again," she grumbled back, making it obvious that convincing won't work. Fortunately, you had a spare plan - two of them, in fact: white, soft, and fluffy.

After double-checking that you closed the entry doors, you uncovered one of your wings and shoved it close to Seph as if unintentionally. Credit be where it's due: she heroically resisted the power of cute for about seven seconds, after which she was reduced to an ooo-ing and ooh-ing creature whose sole purpose and joy was tugging your feathers. After about a minute in which she satisfied her tactile urges, she finally turned to you, noticing a bottle of gastronomical rather than pharmaceutical sizes and a pie on a dish in your hands.

"Why didn't you tell me that you've got something good?" she inquired with playful Incomprehension, to which you just rolled your eyes and grinned. In a couple of minutes, after you helped her to sit straight, you were already chewing to the treat - the juicy veal meat pie with veggies and seasoning. It wasn't tasty in a way the food in Lyf was, but it still was quite savory and even more so filling; the baker that sold it to you said that it's the traditional Baathorian snack which is popular among shepherds, couriers, and other trades that are expected to work away from the city and in long shifts.

You were less impressed about the drink, though: you could sense the fruit vibes, but the overall taste was weird in a way you could not describe. What you could describe, however, was the odd feeling of your nose tip numbing and body warming up.

"is this the first time you try a brew?" Seph inquired after watching you react to whatever the thing you drank was, "It's just a cider! Looks like last year's, but still weak enough".

"If it's weak, I don't want to know what's a strong brew is" you replied, rubbing your nose and registering the heat in your cheeks.

"Pffft..." Seph recoiled weakly, "laughing still hurts a little". She looked blankly at the bottle in question, "Never thought I will miss fyr dew one day," she spoke, catching your curious look, "it's made from the mix of fruits that grow only in Kathor river valleys. Most of them are sweet with varying sour or even spicy notes. All these apples and pears pheotorians cultivate are bland in comparison".

"Do you miss home?" you asked, jumping on the opportunity to shift the topic.

"Yes and no," the answer followed after a short pause; your question chiseled a complicated grimace on her face, which is odd given how easy the question is. "I still cling to the idea that I didn't leave but flee my homeland and with it the ways of my people. Siblings' rivalry, many-layered intrigues, feuds and hatred under the masks of politeness, and the main rule of Bael: either you destroy everything and everyone on your climb in society and thus the tower, or others cast you down in a blink of an eye and you will have to toil through your short days at the fringes".

You decided against interrupting her - whether her tongue loosened a bit because of her poor body condition or because of you growing on her did not change the fact that she was opening up little by little.

"Back then, I thought that I already knew enough about the world to be sure that a better life was just across the sea and nothing bad would happen to me if I try to reach it," she smiled pensively, with her eyes clearly looking somewhere in the past, "but I didn't realize that the world isn't better or worse from one region to another - it is just the different kind of mess in each part of it," after saying that, her smile became faint for a few moments before recovering, but this time with some dose of bitterness, "To think that I was stupid enough to believe that all northerners would be as good as you are, Sparkling".

This sentiment caught you off-guard, and you needed to do something about it. "But there is a lot of good people: Amalia is so dependable and doing her hardest to help us all or how Isaac is trying to be of aid to everyone despite being in a condition which no one would envy".

"Oh, I see where you're heading~"

"Well, yes. Even though you don't like him, I can't see how a person prone and capable of saving and trying to give a better life to complete strangers which they picked from some forest be bad," because it sounded a bit too emotional, you decided to water down the statement a bit, "just so you know, he told me that you were of great help back at the gates and that he might have something for you at the next city we are heading to"

"Please, remind me to teach you how to lie someday," Seph tried on a smug face.

You shrugged plainly, "Believe it or not, but I doubt it would change anything"

"... Things went from unbelievable to creepy way too fast for a convo that isn't a storytelling night around a campfire" Seph's smugness gave way to confusion, from which she recovered swiftly, though.

"A-anyway..." she muttered, letting the previous topic fade away, "It is probably the for the first time in years that I'm saying this, but thank you for taking care of me".

You cocked your head to a side, plainly passing her an opening to elaborate.

"Just before you start acting like all those horribly prim and terribly shy Lyflander damsels, just know that it's not a small deal. I have had many older siblings, but they were way too engrossed in competing for elders' attention and so patronage to give a damn about me. And on top of that, we - Daevas - are very dependable on the conditions in which we live our lives. So, as silly as it may sound, by such favors like today you are buying me time and..." in the last moment, she reconsidered finishing her thought, faintly biting her lower lip, "yeah. Thank you".

"If there is anything that I've learned from the first weeks that I remember is that one has to rely on and support others for everyone to get through. Whom would I be to turn a blind eye to a person without whom I probably would not have even reached Kirhol and who is the second person I know the longest?" you considered giving her a rub, but that would probably have to wait until her recovery, "I don't know if there's the real family that I have or had, but I have what constitutes as such, and you are a part of it".

"Aww. How many times have I told you that you're a peach?"

"This seems to be the third or the fourth time," you replied, receiving a weak but still a squeeze.

"Just, please, save me embarrassement and don't tell others that you got me all mellow"
_________________________

Baathor - the fortress of civilization facing the wild expanse. Life is harder here and so are tempers of locals. After the fauna outbreak in the suburbs, the city returned to its normal rhythm in a couple of days - a mildly shocking yet not entirely incomprehensible contrast with Kirhol, which stewed in fear for almost a month before the push came to shove and, most likely, did not stop painfully reacting to the happened crisis ever after. But here? The events and ordeals with oftentimes lethal or otherwise tragic outcomes were not unique, forcing the community into the learning of how to take a hit and how to move on over the losses.

With one team member being in the non-deployable state, you felt both the need and obligation to fill in her shoes to some extent or at least to reduce the pressure on others. And so, you volunteered to help Ren and Karl to earn some coin, getting shocked by how many menace eradication and person search bounties were pending for hirelings. Ren wasn't very keen on letting you do the nitty-gritty of these tasks first, but he still took you on board, probably deciding that he can keep the potential threats to you in check, that your unique abilities can prove to be of great help and even open way of completing some of the more specific bounties, and that some practical experience will do you good in long run.

And it seemed like his judgment was correct: during those few contracts that you have made with Karl and Ren, you have gained valuable experience. For example, there was a contract on one of those monstrous bears that terrorized the suburbs during your arrival - even if injured, it managed to flee from being slaughtered, caving not far from the city and starting to terrorize local farmers. It wasn't hard to seek out the beast but rather to put it down. It was where you learned two things: cornered animals are the most dangerous, and faux-dodges with redirections are as powerful in defense as faux strikes with follow-ups are in overcoming guarded stances. From the short but violent encounter, during which you had to deploy your magic and use wings add some extra velocity to dodging attempts, you've learned how to mislead your adversaries on how will you move in combat.

But your martial advancement was inferior to your progress in arcane. There was a unique and thus well-paid bounty on an ethereal threat eradication at the stead of one of the old Baathorian clans, the resident of which complained about the violent nocturnal activity of an incomprehensible shade-like entity. Even before your team spent a night at the mansion, weeding out the menace that manifested in clusters of objects and furniture that wreak havoc on the home, you sensed the reek of the void from the appointed location and the entity that haunted it. It's extinguishment, however, boiled down to demobilizing the unnaturally-fast, objects-possessing entity, and you exorcizing it, while the guys were trying to ward you from the being's furious resistance that lobbed everything that can hit hard. During this uncommon confrontation, the idea of using your luminal barrier technique to not ward yourself but to isolate the adversary struck you when the menace proved to be too fast for Ren and Karl. To their surprise and silent joy, you managed to perform the new trick without a hitch, which led to the poltergeist's swift deconstruction and then banishment by your thaumaturgistic capacities.

In the conclusion of that exotic bounty, Ren was visibly proud for the pivotal role that you shouldered, Karl was thrilled by the experience itself, and everyone was glad to receive a hefty monetary reward that wasn't even diminished due to the considerable collateral damage. After this event, you saw Karl showing signs of a careful enthusiasm, that manifested in drawing comedic parallels with all those violent and rowdy drifter hobos known as adventurers and how your team is exactly like them. What you found more interesting is his little input on the nature of the voidling menace that you took down: he said that he once knew an amateur demonologist of wanton habits and exotic companionship preferences that liked to share about his conjuration practices with convives. According to the volumes of unverified data that he shared, the thing your party encountered was most likely an imp on the verge of morphing into the higher forms, or, in other words, it was a void-originated phantasm that infested this house, feeding on plentiful memory trails and imprints of strong emotions, that was about to undergo the phase of conception. This phase is known and called so due to the void phantasms making a push for creating their corporeal shells either via hunting fresh flesh with the intent to bend and twist it or by possessing living creatures and burning out the previous owners' souls from the bodies before slowly starting to morph them. The first ones are classified as demons, while the latter are devils. The entity which you have exorcized was, apparently, preparing to go the first way, demonstrating demonic violence instead of devils' subtlety. You put down a mental remark that Karl can share quite an exquisite knowledge if he gets lively enough, which does not happen often.

This realization about your teammates' traits wasn't the only one, though. Along with more difficult jobs, your party also ran some minor ones. One such task was to find a child that disappeared from its family with no trace. Armed with your ability to read memory traces and compare them against the soul sparks, further reinforced by your ability to sense entities from the distance and your team's deduction, the job went smooth if a bit too overextended in time. The kid was found shivering from cold, hungry, scared, and lost in one of the nearby woods. The surprise came when Ren rejected the humble but still honest payment for returning the kid without justifying the reason neither to the contractors nor to you and Karl. Later that day, when you exchanged with stories of day's events with Amalia, she told you that due to Roth's women lower fertility and longer windows of recovery between consecutive childbirth, their race repopulates slowly, adding extra social value to motherhood and upbringing as a whole. Due to this and the alleged martial roots of their culture, which revolves around preservation and survival, many bhiroth males are likely to have this ingrained, deep-rooted respect for mothers - at times even of other races. Albeit mightily delayed, but it explained why Ren was acting like an obedient calf around Morinth back in Kirhol.

Regardless of your impressions, your first round of mercenary work with a part of your group went smooth and quite profitable. As a welcomed bonus, the experience had a teambuilding effect on Ulren and Karl, who were still often arguing about your talents, how to develop them better, about politics, bestiary, and many other topics but within the boundaries of a friendly rivalry. Additionally, you noticed that Ren's views on you have changed: no longer he saw you as a helpless cub that you once were, but rather like a junior sibling, showing signs of respect and pride whenever you managed to perform well. Something equal can be said about Karl's shift of perspective regarding you: it went from polite and careful curiosity to even more careful admiration. Perhaps, you enjoyed these changes, but it's not like you were feeling like talking about them: no need to get cocky and careless after one successful week.

However, fortune was accompanying your group not only out in the fields but in the common endeavors as well. While you dedicated your free time to read the pieces from Rosaline's library that were at hand and then polemize with Karl on the topic of arcane and the rules it obeys, Ren paid a couple of visits to local smithies, which oversized glaive. He also produced a spare arbalest with a simple yet effective mechanism, which he didn't sell right off the bat despite having such an opportunity, making you wonder why.

Isaac put quite the effort into patching up Sephorah. Even though he seemed to do better with the arcane part of the treatment, material means were also involved, setting up the wounded daeva on the road to speedy (even if not entirely complete, compared to Claudius's levels of mastery) recovery. When he wasn't tending to the patient, who mocked him for turning beetroot-red from staring at her left breast while treating the injury that was located slightly above it (and thus making him blush almost purple), Isaac also assisted Jory in studying that arcane-infused liquid harvested from the crazed animals. Together, they managed to determine that among the plethora of arcane influences, the substance resonated with the body arcane aspect, most likely causing abnormal vigor as well as deformities to those afflicted. The second part of the discovery was the fact that the properties of the substance were quickly diminishing, imposing the time pressure on studying it. With some effort uncommon to Jory in particular, the boys managed to conserve a couple of samples via using third-side reagents and produced a few samples of the test substance that could allegedly act as a strong painkiller and regeneration accelerator. Of course, they did not test it on people and had no plans of selling it to potential consumers, but the citie's alchemical atelier bought out the results of their work for a handy sum.

The week turned out to be productive for everyone except Sephorah (for reasons obvious), but Amalia managed to exceed everyone's expectations by shouldering the daily, logistical, and financial chores like a master. With her unrelenting productivity, your group had only to pay for the stable cell that the mount occupied, the price of materials used in various crafts, and little or sporadic purchases such as snacks or gifts. The total balance of 1580 talers with which your group came to Baathor has increased to the equivalent of 2230 in a week time. For most of the commoners, this sum would suffice to run a household for almost a year without being thrifty, but you had a long journey ahead of you, imposing the need to buy expensive supplies, tools, and consider procuring more mounts for the travel speed sake. There was a good thing about stocking up before having to depart, though: your group made quite a reputation during your stay, with some of the merchants recognizing you and hinting on discounts. However, it wasn't the only type of things attracted by your group's reputation...
_________________________

It was a cloudy morning in Baathor when you were summoned of all the sudden to the Tchonun longhouse. The beardless courier lad relayed to you that Aela took interest in the deeds that your group made as mercenaries and that she may have a lucrative offer for you. Ren was already starting to evaluate the groups' overall situation and readiness for departure, which is why he did not receive the new development all that enthusiastically. Still, declining an invitation for an audience from the current head of one of the leading Baathorian clans wasn't a real option.

Later that morning, you and Ren were led into the longhouse by one of Tchonun clansmen, encountering Aela not in a hall but in the armory, changing a string of a refined bow with other clansmen tending the similar duties. When you arrived, the banter that dominated the armory hushed down, with Aela shifting her face to you but not interrupting her weapon maintenance routine.

"You've made quite a name around here," she spoke without bothering for any formal greeting, "I bet that, given their family reputation, Sargays were lucky to have only one spook to rattle their house. Good job, though".

You just shrugged vaguely, not feeling particularly comfy with a half-dozen of rough-looking men (presumably hunters or militia) measuring you with their stares.

"So, what's the job?" Ulren spoke with his normal brick-to-the-face level of subtlety.

"Ah, down to business, it is~," Aela replied. You felt like she enjoyed such format of a conversation, which left its mark on her intonation. "You seem to be good at butchering uncommon threats and it happens that we have such. The beast is an aberration that, from the reports of scouts and survivors, looks like an overgrown bloody blend of a horse and a man or two, it is said to spew clouds of poison and rot at its victims and may have other unreported magic tricks stored up. It appeared about two moons ago near one of the villages south from Tevon-Talab, from which it banished all of its former residents and which it turned into its lair, where it resides up to this day. We are interested in that settlement and need the scum dead. I recall you saying that your route lies to the west, which almost certainly means you will pass Tevon-Talab. If so, what would you say about meeting our people there and helping them seize control of that nest of pestilence by killing off the pestilent scum?"

"And what would we have for it?"

"Hmm..." Aela hummed, testing the strength of the string she attached filling the hall with the muffled crackling of the weaponized sinew, "Does six hundred halbis atop of two donurgian steeds or one courser elasmore sound good to you?"

There was no immediate reply from Ulren - you saw his lips moving a little while he was most likely calculating the estimated price of the payment and compared it against whatever data he had in mind.

"Not bad," he finally spoke, putting a faint, one-sided grin on Aela's face, "But we are not yet sure if we can depart in a day or two as one of ours haven't recovered completely, not even mentioning that we haven't discussed this opportunity with the rest of the group. Mind us giving an answer a bit later?"

"Sure," Aela answered, trying her best to hide the annoyance brought by the second part of Ulren's answer, seems like she wasn't very fond of democracy as a concept, "Just report in when and if you make your mind. You will need to know whom to seek for in Tevon and what to give them in order to be recognized, so try not to ponder for long enough for those who have the intel to move out".

Shortly, you left the wolf-bannered longhouse, going down the street and listening to Ren's estimation of the payment (600 halbis converts into 450 talers, while two steeds of the donurg breed cost as much as an average courser elasmore - 2000 talers, making the total payment anywhere from 2200 to 2600 talers depending on the age and condition of the animals) when a familiar figure lined up with you. It was Ergon - Aela's sibling.

"Excuse my intervention," he began, "I believe we were introduced, but just in case - I am Ergon, and you talked to my sister earlier today." For a Turanian and a silent type which he came across as he was speaking quite elaborately.

"Aela has sound judgment and always been good at seeing people for their strengths, but she also always lacked carefulness and foresight, which made compensating her shortfalls my job. I am aware of the offer that she made you and, if you decide to take the commission, would like to aid you. Should you agree to join the hunt, do let me know so I could send a lieutenant of my own to assist your group. If not for the combat alone, I believe they are going to be of great help at surviving the journey through the plains."

"We will consider that," Ulren replied. You noticed a spark of suspicion in his eyes, or at least he, as always, wasn't particularly thrilled by the new development.

"Then, I dare not to delay you any further," he spoke and gave you something that looked like a medium between a nod and a slight bow. "have a good day, nokhod". With that, he turned around, pacing back to his clan house at a lively pace.

You exchanged looks with Ulren; it seemed like you were bound to make a big deal of decisions that day, not even counting the start of preparations for the journey.
____________________

[] Accept the job?
-[] Yes, let Ergon know. Depart this week.
-[] Yes, but don't let Ergon know. Depart this week.
-[] No
--[] Depart this week
--[] Stay in Baathor for another week

[] Your future route to Tevon-Talab - your next destination regardless of whether you would accept the commission or not.
-[] Straight western route through the grasslands (twelve to sixteen days of travel, three to four points of character development, open plains with scarce woods, high risk of people encounters, low risk of fauna encounters, very high supernatural risks, low odds of finding places of interest, below average hunting/foraging opportunities, scarce natural covers)
-[] South-west, through the river valley (sixteen to twenty days of travel, four to five points of character development, moderate plains with moderate woods closer to the river, moderate risk of people encounters, high risk of fauna encounters, low supernatural risks, high odds of finding places of interest, high hunting/foraging opportunities, plenty of natural covers)

[] Lucy's plan of actions
-[] Travel development plan (time point quotas depend on travel time)
--[] write-in

[] Skill training
-[] Melee combat
-[] Ranged combat
-[] Arcane skill
-[] Defense
-[] Willpower
-[] Arcane lore
-[] Lingual lore
-[] Daily craft
-[] Weaponsmithing
-[] Armorsmithing
-[] Artificeiry
-[] Pharma and treatment
-[] Tailoring
-[] Sneaking
-[] Persuasion
-[] Performance
~~-[] Seduction~~
-1 time point. Raises by 1. Repeatable

[] Intensive training of attributes
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
-2 time points, each round raises an attribute by 1/2 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/3 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/4 if the base attribute is X => 18. Repeatable.

[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
-1 time point, each round raises an attribute by 1/4 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/5 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/6 if the base attribute is X => 18. Repeatable.

[] Raise flight mastery by 1
-2 points, repeatable

[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
--[] Bonus 1/2 to melee combat
--[] Bonus 1/2 to defense
-[] Study soul aspect
-2 Time points. Repeatable. For thaumaturgy: current level 7 (+0/7 of the next level), above hard wisdom attribute (18), above hard intelligence attribute (18), hard arcane skill (24) each yields 1/x of the next level + 1/x default for investment. You can pick one of the bonus skills, but the maximum progress per a training session can't exceed 3/x of the next level. For soul aspect: current level 5 (+0/5 of the next level), above normal wisdom attribute check (16), above normal intelligence attribute check (16), below normal arcane skill (18) each yields 1/x of the next level + 1/x default for investment.

[] Try to bond with someone
-[] Ulren
-[] Sephorah
-[] Karl
-[] Amalia
-[] Isaac (Easy CHA check (13))
-[] Jory (Hard CHA check (18))
-[] Ergon's lieutenant (if applicable)
-1 time point, cumulative, you can write in clues for me to flesh out in the next updates

[] Try to act as an intermediary between someone
-[] (specify person A) and (specify person B)
-1 time points, cumulative, you can write in clues for me to flesh out in the next update

-[] Stay development plan (14 time points)
--[] Write-in

[] Join Ulren and Karl at completing the second round of small-time bounties
-8 Time points, guaranteed +1 to melee OR arcane OR defense skill, 60% chance for additional +1 to melee OR arcane OR defense skill, 30% chance to get another +1 to melee OR arcane OR defense skill. Free melee, arcane, defense and LUCK roll for extra rewards depending on how many tiers above normal checks (20+) beaten and if luck is triggered. Free CHA roll for extra bonding with Ren and Karl.

[] Go on a series of shopping sprees with Sephorah and Amalia
-8 Time points, guaranteed +1 to haggle OR persuasion OR performance skill, 60% chance for additional +1 to haggle OR persuasion OR performance skill, 30% chance to get another +1 to haggle OR persuasion OR performance skill. Free haggle, persuasion, performance and LUCK roll for extra rewards depending on how many tiers above normal checks (20+) beaten and if luck is triggered. Free CHA roll for extra bonding with Sephorah and Amalia.

[] Assist Ulren and Jory with arms and inventory preparations
-8 Time points, guaranteed +1 to weaponsmithing OR armorsmithing OR alchemy, 60% chance for additional to +1 to weaponsmithing OR armorsmithing OR alchemy skill, 30% chance to get another +1 to weaponsmithing OR armorsmithing OR alchemy. Free weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, alchemy skill and LUCK rolls for extra rewards depending on how many tiers above normal checks (20+) beaten and if luck is triggered. Free CHA roll for extra bonding with Ulren and Jory.

[] Join Karl and Isaac in some arcane practice
-8 Time points, guaranteed +1 to arcane skill OR one round of Thaumaturgy practice OR one round of Spirit magic practice, 60% chance for additional to +1 arcane skill OR one round of Thaumaturgy practice OR one round of Spirit magic practice, arcane skill OR one round of Thaumaturgy practice OR one round of Spirit magic practice. Progress is determined by the rolls needed to raise arcane aspects (INT, WIS, Arcane). Free CHA roll for extra bonding with Karl and Isaac.

[] Targeted skill training
-[] Melee combat
-[] Ranged combat
-[] Arcane skill
-[] Defense
-[] Willpower
-[] Arcane lore
-[] Lingual lore
-[] Daily craft
-[] Weaponsmithing
-[] Armorsmithing
-[] Artificeiry
-[] Pharma and treatment
-[] Tailoring
-3 Time points. Repeatable

[] Intensive training of attributes
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
-4 Time points, each round raises an attribute by 1/2 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/3 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/4 if the base attribute is X => 18. Repeatable.

[] Routine attribute training
-[] STR
-[] END
-[] MOB
-[] PER
-[] COOR
-[] MICR
-[] INT
-[] WIS
-[] CHA
-3 Time points, each round raises an attribute by 1/4 if the base attribute is X < 14, by 1/5 if the base attribute is 14 =< X =< 17, and by 1/6 if the base attribute is X => 18. Repeatable.

[] Practice or study your aspects!
-[] Practice thaumaturgy
--[] Bonus 1/2 to melee combat
--[] Bonus 1/2 to defense
-[] Study soul aspect
-4 Time points. Repeatable. For thaumaturgy: current level 7 (+0/7 of the next level), above hard wisdom attribute (18), above hard intelligence attribute (18), hard arcane skill (24) each yields 1/x of the next level + 1/x default for investment. You can pick one of the bonus skills, but the maximum progress per a training session can't exceed 3/x of the next level. For soul aspect: current level 5 (+0/5 of the next level), above normal wisdom attribute check (16), above normal intelligence attribute check (16), below normal arcane skill (18) each yields 1/x of the next level + 1/x default for investment.

[] Try to bond with someone
-[] Ulren
-[] Sephorah
-[] Karl
-[] Amalia
-[] Isaac (Easy CHA check (13))
-[] Jory (Hard CHA check (18))
-2 Time points, cumulative, write in cues and hints for me to flesh out in the next update.

[] Write-in

Teloch · May 12, 2019

Sheets are updated, ship-o-meters are too. You know what time it is.

veekie · May 12, 2019

[X] Plan Soul Growth
-[X] Accept the job?
--[X] Yes, but don't let Ergon know. Depart this week.
-[X] Your future route to Tevon-Talab - your next destination regardless of whether you would accept the commission or not.
--[X] South-west, through the river valley (sixteen to twenty days of travel, four to five points of character development, moderate plains with moderate woods closer to the river, moderate risk of people encounters, high risk of fauna encounters, low supernatural risks, high odds of finding places of interest, high hunting/foraging opportunities, plenty of natural covers)
-[X] Lucy's plan of actions
--[X] Travel development plan (time point quotas depend on travel time)
---[X] Try to bond with someone
----[X] Isaac (Easy CHA check (13))
---[X] Skill training
----[X] Arcane skill
---[X] Practice or study your aspects!
----[X] Study soul aspect
---[X] If 5 time points are available.
----[X] Skill training
-----[X] Arcane skill

Teloch said:
After double-checking that you closed the entry doors, you uncovered one of your wings and shoved it close to Seph as if unintentionally. Credit be where it's due: she heroically resisted the power of cute for about seven seconds, after which she was reduced to an ooo-ing and ooh-ing creature whose sole purpose and joy was tugging your feathers. After about a minute in which she satisfied her tactile urges, she finally turned to you, noticing a bottle of gastronomical rather than pharmaceutical sizes and a pie on a dish in your hands.

Oh no she's learned how to exploit it

Teloch said:
"Шis this the first time you try a brew?"

Is this a typo?

Teloch said:
After this event, you saw Karl showing signs of a careful enthusiasm, that manifested in drawing comedic parallels with all those violent and rowdy drifter hobos known as adventurers and how your team is exactly like them.

This is how adventurers start....

Teloch said:
The beast is an aberration that, from the reports of scouts and survivors, looks like an overgrown bloody blend of a horse and a man or two, it is said to spew clouds of poison and rot at its victims and may have other unreported magic tricks stored up.

...Nucklavee?
I THINK we can deal if we fight without any observers so we can do the full flying Arcane Warrior thing.

Teloch · May 12, 2019

veekie said:
...Nucklavee?

This. This goes to you

uiopion · May 12, 2019

The question with Ergon is whether we think having flight > another body that presumably knows how to fight. Pure dice-wise the the extra body is better, but I don't know how having flight will open up tactics that were otherwise unavailable (at a minimum vastly improved scouting).

Agreed on path. Loot? loot

Training wise - direct skill training on the road got more efficient relative to attribute training (on the road relative to in town). Well, it's always more efficient for combat-related stats. Attributes can be more efficient for broad skills and don't care which ones in particular (also direct base stat checks). For us in particular, attribute training is efficient skillset-wise for perception/micro/int/wis.

Soul training will require 2 actions to complete even if we roll super well (20% of 4/5) so we won't have it for the fight unfortunately.

Also that's a 4 point plan. We probably want to insert a contingency action if we get 5.

Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

Who is the bae? (Yes, we know that it's Lucy, but still - who's your favorite character)

Ulren, because he's a big bro I never had

Sephorah, because of the floor-chair-face dance

Karl, because smug

Amalia, because a cinnamon roll determinator

Isaac, because kuudere

Jory, becuase...

Rosaline, because I miss her

Mia (the ghost cat), because smug^2

Dunno - I need more party members

Dunno - I want more character interactions

Dunno - Where are the shipping battles, QM?

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

Tired Cultist

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ

ಠ_ಠ