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 · May 2, 2021

Seph Burglary: 20+7 > 20 (pass)
Elgarar Perception 1+6 (Elementary), Mobility 17 + 2 (Hard), Geographic lore 8+11 (Easy), Recon 9+9 (Easy), Huntsmanship 5+12 (Easy), no luck influence
Inga Perception 7+3 (Trivial), Mobility 1+4 (Total Fail), Geographic lore 15+8 (Normal), Recon 6+12 (Easy), Huntsmanship 17+12 (Very Hard), negative luck influence
Krom Perception 5 (no influence)
Amalia Perception 9+4 (Easy), Intelligence 17 (Normal), Burglary 16+5 (Normal), Craft lore 12+10 (Normal), Daily craft 15+18 (Epic), no luck influence
Loїс Perception 7+8 (Normal), Intelligence 13+4 (Normal), Burglary 11+6 (Easy), 6+3 (Elementary), Daily craft 4+6 (Elementary), negative luck influence

Verdict: not that good. Except for the already gathered clues and what Seph gonna extract, barely two findings.

Also, I think I'll revise the general rules for attribute rolls later on because as of now, they are a bit too RNG-based. What I have in mind gonna decrease the variance and put more emphasis on the basic & modified level of attributes, making both underperforming and overperforming rarer for characters of adequate preparedness. For example. Lucy in her current state will have no chance to score under 16 for charisma (very easy on the revised scale) but neither she will be able to go over 35 (almost legendary bar one point)

uiopion · May 2, 2021

Cool magic rope in the box right?

Teloch · May 3, 2021

uiopion said:
Cool magic rope in the box right?

Na, not really...

Teloch · May 10, 2021

"Does it look complicated?" You threw a casual inquiry to Seph, who was sitting right from you, leaning with her back against the post of a rotten wooden fence. Both of you decided to not go far off from the commotion point as, for this round of investigation, your primary concern was processing the clues retrieved by others.

"Not exactly an expert in lockpicking, mind you, and it's the first time I see such a mechanism, but be sure I'll try my best." Oddly enough, her reply came without establishing eye contact with you - she was primarily consumed by inspecting the box and its protruding lock.

"Did you have to pick locks often in the past?" you decided to take some risks in the conversation.

"No. Maybe a dozen times, and that's it. My specialty was a bit more... glamorous than poking locks in silly places till they cling the right way." The way she worded it was a bit too strange for your liking. Especially the "specialty" part. As for the tone, you could say if she was forthcoming about shedding light on her background or not. Hence, you returned to the half-deformed due to an arson chunk of silver that once was a fancy hair comb. There was engraving on its handle with barely-distinguishable floral motifs. The comb teeth from one side were still straight enough to execute their primary function, while from the middle and to the opposite edge, the teeth bent and then fused into a singular solid flake of silver. At first, you wondered why Amalia considered this an item you might find suitable for soul-tracing, but, after you scoped down on it, an outline of an imprint left by a soul sparked through your mind. Whether it was Lia's intuition or knowledge to which items people get attached to, she was right: you can work with this knick-knack.

But before you could cut off all the external distractors and dive into a semi-trance state to inspect the object, a satisfying clang rang from your right.

"Done~" Seph's voice resounded with almost a songbird's melody.

"You weren't joking about trying your best, haven't you?"

"As much as I'd love to bask in appreciation, this lock wasn't as complicated as it seemed at first. All it took to pry the box open was misplacing the controlling cylinder a bit, bypassing the need to fiddle with the springed bolts." With that, she concealed her foldable set of latchkeys into a belt pocket, "So, what are you waiting for?" she said while elegantly sitting on her own feet and turning closer to you, expecting your closer presence while unboxing the haul.

And that you did, crawling on your fours nearby her and training your sapphire pair on the dusty box. You could not recall from where Lia said she retrieved it, so it remained untouched by the fires, but it was of little matter now. Seph pried open the bonnet of the container with both of her gloved thumbs, revealing a compact object wrapped in a few layers of frayed, scarcely oiled fabric. After carefully unveiling it without removing the content from the box, the two of you ended up staring at the artifact in perplexion.

"Is this a root shaped like a knife or a knife with the wildest and the most unwieldy handle imaginable?"

"It's the question you should've kept for Lia. In my opinion, it looks like a bizarre tree growth. Or I'd like it to be just an abnormal twig, rather."

You held your hand over the bizarre object, attempting to sense if it had any arcane powers and if it was safe to touch. The returned sensation was that of the ambiance of this place - the item exuded the same resonance of the body arcane aspect as the place in general. The only thing that made it stand out was a slightly higher frequency compared to the surrounding ambiance. There was something else about the arcane feedback it gave out, but you could not interpret the impression correctly. Seph briefly glimpsed at the item and then stared back at you with her glowy orange eyes, wordlessly inquiring, "would you do your magic thing to it?" in the most subtle way possible.

With a hint of apprehension, you took the object that looked like an unevenly cross-patterned handle strapped to the triangular blade-like side and made out of an exotic material that appeared to be an almost iron-dense wood. By slightly parting your lips, looking at the object, and then back at Seph, you answered her query with the same gesture she used to inquire it. Then, after exhaling softly, you scoped down on the strange amalgam between a root and a knife. Even without an intensive effort, the imprints revealed themselves to your inner eye. This wasn't an object like all the others you investigated: it was handled by many users in the past, with most of them united by one single motif, repeating itself again and again. Just like the frost-covered multiple windows or Rosaline's manor in wintertime, almost every user's soul carried the same pattern - the pattern of fracture. Practically every soul to ever leave its mark on this object sustained a painful and deep spiritual wound. Time and time again, imprinting this moment of fractioning on the fetish piece.

When you snapped back to reality, the first thing you saw was Seph's amber pair of eyes attentively registering every flinch or twitch of your frame.

"This thing... it had many owners during its existence, and almost all of them had their souls dented while handling it."

"I have an awful feeling about this, Sparkling," Seph murmured.

You gave her an agreeable nod and put the bladed root (rooted blade?) back to its box, retracting your hands towards the silver hair comb, the inspection of which was interrupted by Seph's burglary success. And once again, you closed your eyes, focusing on the mark the owner of the tool left on it. Unlike the root-looking dagger thing, there was only one soul in possession of the item. Given the function of it, it was likely a girl. And, judging by the size and structure of the stamp, she was pretty young by the time the comb had been abandoned. This girl's soul seemed to be conflicted. On the one hand, her soul appeared to follow an even, somewhat dull, and symmetrical pattern, giving you the vibes of duty, acceptance, and even fatalism. On the other hand, this pattern was disrupted in places as if there was a force or a yearning inside her to explore beyond whatever boundaries restrained her, physical or immaterial. This pattern persisted through the entire imprint, indicating no resolution inside the owner's soul or, at the very least, the item had been left behind before such upshot occurred.

You snapped back to reality over Seph's quiet "What did you capture?" question, to which you replied with the question of your own: "You say Lia found this in what appeared to be the only nursery in the grand house? And overly-decorated, at that?"

"Yes, why?"

You ignored her question for now - not because you wanted to pass as being rude but because your intuition screamed about how probable your worst suspicion is. With that, you quietly stood up, walked a few steps towards the second ritualistic amphora, took it into your hands, and, to Seph's amazement, smashed it against the ground with all your limited strengths. Putrid stench washed over you as the foul contents of the pottery spilled out in the sunshine. Among rotten fruits with berries and decayed leaves, there were blackened, carious bones. Bones that were too reminiscent of those in a human's palm, with the dried remains of what once was meat still clinging to them.

You closed your eyes for a long moment while dealing with the sensation of disgust and shock before turning towards Seph and staring back into her dazed eyes.

"I think we might have just found the reason why the original family had to move here as their new place." You gulped and inhaled before continuing, "There's a hefty chance their original neighbors might not have been condoning of the practices the family did to their own children."

Seph's shocked face morphed into disgust and then just plain saddened. "Nothing can make you feel like a fool for fleeing your homeland more than discovering people being the same sort of shit in all parts of the world," she murmured before going quiet.

None of you talked for a couple of minutes after that, letting the thought sink and the generated revulsion gradually fade away. Then, you took a seat to the right from Sephorah. Leaning against the crumbling fence just like she did.

"Are you alright, Sparkling?"

"I'm fine. Just frustrated a bit," you replied wearily while hugging your knees, "The rejected Merigold, an entire village massacred after siblings' betrayal, and now this. It's just too much to expect not to stumble at a paranormal vortex spawned in the result of people's wickedness, is it not?"

The sensation of a palm gently rubbing your left shoulder emerged, supported by a reply: "I've seen a fair share of foulness in my not that long lifetime, but today's finding is outright sickening. So, don't take it too close to the heart: it's must be just our luck or the absence of it."

You wanted to object to her uncamouflaged attempts to comfort you, but, even if her reassurance did not sound persuasive enough, you internally appreciated her intent. So you just kept silent for a moment, trying to placate your frustration-driven emotions with at least some success.

"When I was little, Simin - one of my older sisters and the one who actually acted sisterly - told me stories about vagrant tribes from beyond the Nahaan ridge who occasionally infiltrate the valley to kidnap settled kinsmen and use them as thralls or sacrifices for presumed oasis spirits. Back then, I thought those were just her tall tales, invented to dissuade me from wandering around without supervision, but after what we found today, I don't even know anymore..."

You made a mental remark regarding the mention of "oasis spirits." Can the reason behind the sacrifices this family made be of the same purpose? And if so, how does precisely it work from the kabbalistic perspective? Seph wouldn't likely have answers to these questions, but with her bringing up some snippets of her background, you felt like there's a chance she might share more with you. So, after holding a slight pause, you decided to find it out.

"Back in the day when I stayed at Rosaline's house, Ren and Claudius mentioned your homeland. Among describing its arid climate and the significant distance from where we are now, they said that it's not like anything one may witness on Pheotor. Same conclusions I've gathered from some of the books I've read. So, if it's so special, then why did you leave it? If you don't mind me prying too much, that is."

Seph's face did not seem all that surprised - she might have very well known you'd ask this. Although, her stare slipped from you into nothingness as she was picking up an answer from the metaphorical bundle of such. Or at least that's the impression you've got.

"A prospect to make a life I want to live? Thirst for freedom? Foolhardiness? Maybe all these reasons and more." Saying that she stretched her legs forward, leaning heavier with her back on the fragment of a weathered fence. "If you went as far as to ask out and read about my homeland, you would probably know of our aging peculiarity. Live your life in back-breaking labor, constant need, and boredom, and you would be fortunate to reach the seventies. And to the contrary: have everything available, including the time for whatever leisure and pursuits you desire, and you might rack up a few centuries of lifespan. As you can guess, fortunes and privileges are vital for daevas in more ways than one, which means there's never enough. Climbing the metaphorical tower of status and prestige is the only expected way of life for Kathorians. Those who refuse to participate in what you northerners call a rat race swiftly lose what they have and are pushed to the bottom."

Seph made a slight pause to look at you and, apparently, to verify you were still listening, which you did. Then, seeing that your reputation as a good listener was still legitimate, she turned her face from you towards the inner yard yet again.

"Being so dependent on your living conditions also puts an enormous emphasis on your family. One would say that I was lucky to be born into a minor noble dynasty that, despite not controlling any land, is renowned for producing many famous entertainers, socialites, and concubines, owning a few establishments and a share in luxury trade. But, being the sixth in the line for the head of the dynasty meant that my fate to become a marriage diplomacy asset, a living doll to entertain other nobles, or any other tool for the house's ambition was sealed the day I was born."

Your dusky interlocutor bent her legs in the knees and hugged them the same way you did, giving you a sideways look. "From us having this talk here and now, you can deduce my opinion on the life prospects I had back in Bael. I fled; opted to throw myself into an utter unknown instead of conceding for the lifetime of a ruthless struggle for the shiniest gilded cage on the shores of Issaran."

Even though she finished her speech, you only narrowed down at her facial expression, as there was a feeling that whatever she might think of her decision might be reflected in her body language right now. The signals indeed followed - an odd curve of a lip, a faint grin which you would describe as bittersweet, and the gaze looking downwards as if she was tired or upset. Thus, whatever hopes she might have had for her exodus from Kathor, did not seem fulfilled substantially.

"Thank you for your story," you concluded with a tiny smile once you harvested all the clues from her expression, "Pretty sure that roaming with a motley band might not be the future you chased, but at least you have us. Even Ren seems to be softening towards you of late, and Rosaline expects everyone back in due time. So, at the bare minimum, you are both free and not alone."

Her reaction to your words came in delayed; perhaps she was estimating the worth of the "not alone" part. But in the end, she flashed a lopsided grin, probably trying to hide the mild embarrassment behind it.

"You sweet little peach, you know that?"

"With you periodically reminding it - pretty much," you answered in a playful tone.

"Oh, you're not only sweet but also a cheeky one, ain't you?" She stood up and stretched her athletic frame upwards after all the idling. "If it wasn't for a situation on our hands, I would've cuddled you senseless."

"True," you replied and also lifted up yourself from the ground, remembering that it might not be the best time for leisure.

"Do you have any thoughts on our current progress? Maybe some ideas of how we should better approach recovering whoever that is from the caverns?"

"That I may, but first, do you have any idea why whatever haunts this place hasn't shown up yet?"

"The most obvious reason would be the still-present sunlight. From a metaphysical perspective, sunlight is the grating of reality that keeps all other natural laws intact and functioning, meaning that the void-spawn chaotic nature gets repressed by it."

"But didn't that tree-possessing demon thing jump us in the morning?"

"It happened in a thick fogbank, where sunrays are dispersed, remember?"

"So you say it's more of a direct sunlight contact than the time of the day factor, and there's a high chance that the thing is already lying in wait for us below?"

"Yes. It seems to be the most probable layout at the moment."

Clearing that out, Seph shook her head at no one in particular and lightly clutched to her horn, thinking. "Hate to admit it, but the arrogant fellow might be right about scouting the lakeshore: even if we find a rope or its substitute, the insertion point is dreadfully bad, and the odds are heavily against us."

"How so?" You tilted your head questioningly.

"No surprise factor due to us rattling the place, which means that we won't be able to sneak past easily, if at all. And if these demonic things are at least half-intelligent, there's already an ambush that might be in the making. Second - the enclosed space that prevents sound from dispersing. This means the moment we or anything else makes any significant noise will be the moment every single thing in that cave will get to know where we are. Third - the poor entrance point that won't allow us all to descend. Some will have to be left above to operate the rope, and some simply won't squeeze in."

Instead of saying anything, you hugged your sides anxiously as she did have a point. The suspiciously elaborated point, even more so.

"With the quiet approach discarded from the get-go, it all boils down to our collective brawn, which would be severely hampered without that Inga colleen, who might be too massive for a rope, and the overfed mutt, who won't be able to get down for obvious reasons.

And then, there's Amalia, who can't put up a fight and should not get down at all. There's also the arrogant man-thing with a bow, whose best usage in such a crumpled space would be serving as a meat shield of unreasonably high annoyance. So that leaves only you, me, and the pooch's master against animated demonic monstrosity and whatever those lurks are."

To say that your enthusiasm was curbed was as good as to say nothing at all.

"And finally, there's the extraction problem: the survivor might not be able to use the rope, depending on their integrity and fatigue. So, even if we reach the mark, we might have to fight until there are no threats left or until we find another way out. To avoid that, before the thing would crawl up for us, we might want to spend some extra time securing more entrances to add some maneuver options."

Never you thought Seph to be dumb, but a tactical analysis of the situation at hand wasn't something from the realm of expected, resulting in your somewhat awkward "You sure have a particular mindset regarding tasks concerning infiltrations, don't you?" feedback.

This reply visually struck some of the glints from her eyes. Did she get offended or hurt? Whichever way your comment poked her, she refused to provide more readable cues, recomposing in an instant and answering: "There were many things I had to do after getting to Pheotor, including many which I'm not proud of." She crossed her arms on the chest, releasing them after a few moments of what you might consider as hesitation, "But that might be a story for another time."

"Sorry, I did not mean to..."

"That's alright, Sparkling. I would've been concerned if you weren't curious about those who travel with you."

You exhaled with relief. "Seph, can you help me with something?" you spoke softly, to which daeva raised her brow at your inquiry. "Guys found a feather earlier. My feather, to be precise. It must have slipped through the gap between my back and this faux rucksack, so can you please check if it's still secured?"

"Goodness! Don't tell me they got suspicious."

"No, they did not, in part thanks to Loїc's short temper."
You turn your back, looking back at her over the shoulder, "He did drop an unflattering remark regarding the loose feather, though."

"Pft, what a yokel," Seph grunted while looking sideways before starting fiddling with your 'backpack' wrapper, "How are you feeling? Do they ache?"

"Terribly uncomfortable and itchy. Would do anything to flap them for a few moments."

"Sorry, Sparkling. If I take it off, only Amalia would be able to tie it back anew, so you'll have to endure it 'till we're done here." You felt the belts wrapping tighter as Seph tightened the decoy.

"Thank you, Seph..." you exhausted with a faint grin.
________________________________

Minutes later, Inga and Elgar returned, frustrated and, in the case of Inga, holding to the side of her head. Finally, after persistent inquiring, she confessed that some loose piece of debris must have slipped by and hit her. You weren't convinced, though, attributing the event to a rise of paranormal activity of the place, which you left unvoiced. The hit, fortunately, wasn't that serious, leaving Inga more irritated than hurt. As for her and Elgar's findings, both could only spread their hands and relay the only thing they uncovered: chunks of lurks' manure of about a day's age, which meant there was undoubtedly their colony nearby.

Then, about a dozen minutes later, Amalia and Loїc emerged from the barn, dragging along a clangy object behind them. That object happened to be a homunculus of a few differently-sized rusty chains tangled together, reinforced with cloth wraps in some places, and plexed with even more cloth and wire. Amalia was, once again, apologetic for not managing to find any decent rope and thus having to come up with this heavy and noisy monstrosity of a chain. Loїc was uncharacteristically quiet about his own findings, which you found suspicious if not comical. Your attempts to poke him onto this were cut short by Amalia saying he was helping her to assemble the golem of a chain. She also mentioned the shed having a rather wild interior, as if someone mixed and repositioned everything without knowing how inventory or intramurals, in general, should be organized.

After a couple of minutes of explanations, the rest of the crew got their share of a cultural shock punch. Amalia was silent if a bit anxious, Inga seemed deeply disgusted, Elgar confused, and only Loїс with Krom were unphased by the reveal. But with all said and done, the time was high for carrying out a decision of what to do next. Recollecting Seph's input regarding your situation in your mind and listening to Loїc's nagging about the need to inspect the "damn lakeshore", you looked above. The sun was slowly moving to the horizon. In about two hours and a half, the dusk would be inbound, and whatever dwells underneath this cursed place will leave its subterranean hideout to "welcome" the trespassers.
_________________________________________

Descend to the caverns through the well right now?
[] No
[] Yes, with these characters:
-[] Lucy
-[] Sephorah
-[] Amalia
~~-[] Inga~~ too voluminous and heavy
-[] Elgar
~~-[] Krom~~ does not have hands to use a rope
-[] Loїс
(Multiple choices available. This will move the selected characters to the caverns while those who did not join will man the rope and wait above. The descent will make further exploration impossible as you will proceed with whatever knowledge/findings you obtained. Not descending right now will continue the investigation.)

[] Search group A composition:
-[] Lucy
-[] Sephorah
-[] Amalia
-[] Elgar & Krom
-[] Inga
-[] Loїс

(Multiple choices available. Characters occupied in other tasks can't participate. Those not occupied with other tasks or not in group A will be put into group B. You will be able to change groups' compositions after each round of inspection)

[] Group A's fourth investigation zone:
-[] The grand house's ruins (perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, strength attribute, burglary skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)
-[] The smaller house's ruins (perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, sneaking skill, burglary skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)
~~-[] The smallest house's ruins~~ ~~(perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, burglary skill, daily craft skill, social and cultural lore skill, luck rolls)~~ You have serious doubts there's anything left to discover there.
~~-[] The sheds~~ ~~(perception attribute, intelligence attribute, burglary skill, craft lore skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)~~ From Lia's words, there's not much to be found there.
~~-[] The inner yard~~ ~~(perception attribute, intelligence attribute, social and cultural lore skill, huntsmanship skill, reconnaissance skill, luck rolls)~~ Even if there's something left to find, you doubt the findings would be of value when you have the survivor's approximate location figured out.
-[] The western orchard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The eastern orchard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The field in proximity (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The backyard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, geography lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The lake's closest shoreline (perception attribute, mobility attribute, geography lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)

[] Group B's fourth investigation zone (if applicable):
-[] The grand house's ruins (perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, strength attribute, burglary skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)
-[] The smaller house's ruins (perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, sneaking skill, burglary skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)
~~-[] The smallest house's ruins~~ ~~(perception attribute, micromotorics attribute, burglary skill, daily craft skill, social and cultural lore skill, luck rolls)~~ You have serious doubts there's anything left to discover there.
~~-[] The sheds~~ ~~(perception attribute, intelligence attribute, burglary skill, craft lore skill, daily craft skill, luck rolls)~~ From Lia's words, there's not much to be found there.
~~-[] The inner yard~~ ~~(perception attribute, intelligence attribute, social and cultural lore skill, huntsmanship skill, reconnaissance skill, luck rolls)~~ Even if there's something left to find, you doubt the findings would be of value when you have the survivor's approximate location figured out.
-[] The western orchard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The eastern orchard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The field in proximity (perception attribute, mobility attribute, nature lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The backyard (perception attribute, mobility attribute, geography lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)
-[] The lake's closest shoreline (perception attribute, mobility attribute, geography lore skill, reconnaissance skill, huntsmanship skill, luck rolls)

Teloch · May 10, 2021

Raptor580 said:
Dont know when this started or how but all i know is i now need this kinda art of everyone in the group now, and maybe even a group picture. Regardless this is amazing.

I gotcha

@Mother Nyx your bestie finally got her appearance :3

KrakenCaller8991 · May 10, 2021

Teloch said:
I gotcha

Jesus H. Christ!!!!, she and Ulren would have the most beautiful children in the world!!!!

Teloch · May 11, 2021

KrakenCaller8991 said:
Jesus H. Christ!!!!, she and Ulren would have the most beautiful children in the world!!!!

Ulren: Why my ears are suddenly hot?
Seph: *hicks and then mumbles* Alright, who the heck mentioned me?

Amalia:

veekie · May 11, 2021

[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс

Down the hatch and fingers crossed.

Teloch · May 11, 2021

Alrighty then. I'll call the vote closer on 14-th, so try to drop your votes until then, please.

In the meanwhile, I'll try to make a fresh lore post.

Genesys · May 11, 2021

[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс
Yeah, jumping down with all viable combatants seems fine. Not the most cautious approach, but eh, whatever.

KrakenCaller8991 · May 11, 2021

[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс

Raptor580 · May 12, 2021

[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс

Varano · May 12, 2021

[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс

Teloch · May 14, 2021

Scheduled vote count started by Teloch on May 10, 2021 at 6:21 PM, finished with 9 posts and 5 votes.

5 people have voted
[X] Yes, with these characters:
-[X] Lucy
-[X] Sephorah
-[X] Elgar
-[X] Loїс
- veekie
- Genesys
- KrakenCaller8991
- Raptor580
- Varano

Teloch · May 16, 2021

Excerpt from the "Great Atlas of Pheotor" by Sir Rand Ainsworth

Pheotor. The first thing that comes to mind of an educated reader from hearing this word is how come something so well-studied, and even mundane require any further academic attention. Here, my dear reader, is where misconceptions begin.

The first and most common of them would be the popular opinion that Pheotor is a continent. It is not. Pheotor is the western edge - read macroregion - of the vast continental mass known in geographic circles as Heimurn or simply Heim. The second most common delusion would be the assumption that the etymology of its name is of early Pherinian origins. In reality, the name Pheotor is a slightly adjusted word from proto-alvizian language, whose meaning is fatherland. Not in the meaning of "father's land" or "father's house," but a peculiar attribution of the realm with father's status and subjectiveness as an entity. There are many more misbeliefs regarding our shared home, with some of them elaborated further in this book, yet they are not the main topic of it.

So, what is Pheotor? Pheotor, as mentioned above, is a vast chunk of an even larger continental mass, which lies in between Yrsegard continent to the north, Eucad continent to the southeast, and is washed by the Ars ocean from the west. Due to the lack of verified information regarding the eastern realms of Pheotor and anything that lies further, the share of its size in the greater continent is unknown, even though some geological studies hypothesize Pheotor occupying anywhere from 25 to 38 percent of Heimurn's total surface. A decade before the writing of this book, the obstacles that prevented any attempts for the eastbound exploration was the gargantuan mountain ridge east-north-east of Lydenia and the tremendous impassable wilds east of the Northern Hinterlands. As a consequence of the First Star's War, however, seizable chunks of Pheotor's northern realms turned into dangerous and anomaly-filled badlands that pose a lethal risk for anyone brave or foolish enough to attempt re-exploration.

As of now, within our reach is merely to hypothesize on what lies beyond the nominal eastern belt of death or to seek answers within the oldest legends. Nevertheless, I believe that the day will come when the future generations of cartographers will draft the complete coastal line of Heimurn. But until then, we'd have to settle down for studying the known realms like Pheotor and its regions.

The continent is best viewed through the division into nine subregions for both the convenience and systematic approach. Here are these regions following in from west to east and from north to south order: the northwest ridge and Gulljarr islands, the northern plains, the northeast rim, western hinterlands and Soltsveig islands, the heartland chain, the Eloran woodlands & north Cullanor, Eiborean peninsula, Ebongale highlands & archipelago, The south Cullanor gateway & Lydenia.

Further in this book, each of the mentioned regions will be reviewed scrupulously. So, for now, let us give them the brief characteristics.

The northwest ridge is a region consisting of the Eldheitaed mountains, Blugd-tur valley, and subcontinental islands such as Gulljarr. This region has a dualistic nature, with massive mountain ranges at the north edge contrasting with the flatlands in the southern valley. What unites these distinct regions is their harshness and roughness, which allowed only the sturdiest and most stubborn Roths and Landers to make it their home. Consequentially, this domain features a high range of biomes: mountains, hills, mountain valleys, dense pine forests, mixed forests, grasslands, river woodlands, ocean shore lowlands, bogs, plateaus, and plenty of lakes. In addition, the climate is a bit less but still variable, ranging from northern and moderate marine to continental and semi-arid. Such a rich combination of biomes and climate zones contributes to the extreme variability of habitats, which results in the highest biodiversity on the continent. This abnormal biological diversity also factors into the highest concentration of megafauna in Pheotor, with Cullanor valley coming in second in this regard.

Contrary to the northwest ridge, which is said to point towards the fabled continent of Indoran, which supposedly lies across the Ars ocean, the northern plains lie securely socketed into the continent. Unlike its western cousin, this domain is represented chiefly via plains, hills, river valleys, and woodlands. The climate axis follows from north to south and slices the region into three zones: marine, humid sub-continental, and then humid continental. Local seasonal fluctuations of temperature rise further to the south. The relief of the zone is primarily flat, as follows from its name, with only the outcrop of Eldheitaed ridge from the west adding some texture. The relatively high hospitality of this zone made it home for Lyflanders, Rabenians, Choroths, and Bhiroths. Unfortunately, as one of the consequences of the War of the First Star, which predominately unveiled in this zone, severe ecological and arcane damage has been done. Nowadays, up to 40 percent of the domain's eastern side is anomalies-filled, wild badlands, unprecedently dangerous, and hence poorly-studied. Because of it, the bordering nations of Lyf, Rabenia, and Nyth-Rhathon found themselves besieged by the modern echoes of the most devastating conflict in Pheotor's recorded history.

The northeastern rim is the domain that borders with northern flatlands and mimicks their traits in most regards. There are differences, however. The most notorious of them would be the lower bottom temperature margin and the more significant portion of the territory being in the sharply continental zone. The next difference is the division of the domain on the continental part and the mildly mountainous Bjorvald peninsula interrupting the shoreline to face the Yrsengard. The northeastern continental edge of this domain lays a start to massive taiga forests, marking the eastern border of the known Pheotor. Although, due to the already-mentioned repercussions of the First Star's War, the continental part of the rim has been unavailable for research, pushing the edge of the known Pheotor further to the west. Moreover, the calamity turned Bjorvald into what counts as an island, nearly isolating its dominantly Hodaroth and Alvizian inhabitants from the rest of Pheotor if not for the sea routes.

In contrast to the above-mentioned northern realms, the western hinterlands and Soltsveig chain are a picture of hospitability. Due to the warm oceanic stream, the latter does not even have winter season as such, while the former is the domain with the largest share of arable and fertile soil in the known Pheotor. Predictably, the layout of the western heartlands mainly consists of plains, forests, hills, and valleys. Moreover, while the northern realms are bristled outwards, the western hinterlands are dissected by gulfs and estuaries, offering Westlanders access to year-long iceless natural harbors. As for the relief, the western heartlands are enclosed between the Erbon mountains from the north and the Ebongale range from the south. Naturally, due to its strategic geography and climate, the ensued valley historically proved to be a cradle for great empires.

As for the Soltsveig chain of islands, it would have been an over-extension to count it as a part of the western Pheotor realm if not for their geological origins, bound to the continent. But in all other aspects, they are different from the continental west. As mentioned before, these Islands have only three seasons, and their climate is marine to sub-tropical. Home to Western Alvizians, these masses of land harbor exotic flora that fructifies more than once per year and fauna not found anywhere else in the world. The texture of these islands is also gentle, featuring pastoral hills and idyllic fields, surrounded by posh beaches and sand scythes. All these mentioned traits give some justification to Island Alvizian's innate isolationistic behavior.

Similar to how the northern macroregions are interconnected, the heartlands (or the heartland chain) are the gateway to the western hinterlands. Unfortunately, this domain is casually known under the term of the Eastern Kingdoms, which does not make any sense geographically-wise due to the center of Pheotor residing here. The word "chain" is used to specify the region's demarcation logic, which centers the territory along the converging arrises of Erbon and Ebongale mountain ranges, enclosing and fortifying the westward hinterlands.

Like the northwestern ridge, this space is highly variable in terms of biomes, ranging from smaller mountains, mixed woodlands, river canyons, and compact grassy glades. Climate, however, is more constant, with the western half of the domain enjoying the humid, mild continental climate and the eastern side is more sharply continental. The local humidity level is relatively high, but only due to the mountains' rainwater harvesting effect and the numerous rivers, which gave this domain its second nickname - the "Riverland."

The patchy geographical conditions of this region contributed to its socio-political status-quo, promoting the sustainable existence of petty kingdoms by separating them from each other by numerous natural barriers, again proving the role of geography in politics.

Much like the western heartlands, the Eloran woodlands and the northern Cullanor valley as a whole is the second most hospitable location on the known continent. Featuring a temperate continental climate, mainly flat relief, and a sufficient humidity level sustained by the rivers that source from the heartlands chain and the Sophron gulf near the center of the Cullanor valley. The biomes' layout consists of all types of forests, plains, grasslands, meadows, and occasional swamps. These conditions create the perfect basis for the diverse wildlife and flora habitats, which can be rivaled only by the Blugd-Tur valley.

Considered by many to be the eastern political pole of the continent even after the fall of the Eloran empire, northern Cullanor is a homeland for multiple Alvizian kingdoms. Same as the northern rimland and lowlands, it did not escape the damage caused by the War of the First Star, having to face the same challenges as Bhiroths and Lyflanders daily. However, unlike the northern realm where the Corethian empire saw its violent end, the north Cullanor sustained a lesser degree of ecological ruin, limited mainly by expansive forest fires. Hence, the Alvizian's anomalous badlands are relatively tiny compared to the larger northern disaster zone. Moreover, the reports say that the Eloran disaster zone is steadily shrinking each year.

Little divides the geographic community as efficiently as the question of Eiborea classification. This pig hoof-shaped landmass of significant proportions is of the exact geological origins as the Ebongale peninsula, from which it is separated by a strait so measly that even five merchant ships would have a problem crossing it side-to-side. Hence, many prefer to call Eiborea an island since it has a locked shoreline. Still, we'll keep calling it a peninsula as we have emphasized the geological fidelity in this book.

Eiborea is an oddity of Pheotor in even more ways than the already-mentioned separation from the mainland. Lying across an internal sea, relatively the western heartlands, it features a unique blend of marine, semi-tropical, and tropical climate zones. The terrain is also somewhat rugged, featuring knobby landscapes, plateaus, and textured hills. Moreover, Eiborea, just like Soltsveig, central and southern Ebongale, has only three seasons in a year, with the yearly lowest temperature seldomly approaching the water freezing point for insignificantly brief periods.

With its location and geographic traits, Eiborea could've been the third geopolitical pole of Pheotor if not for a simple yet straightforward issue: the relative lack of fresh water sources makes the organized agriculture more challenging than in the conditions of potential competitors. Consequentially, this puts a limiter on the maximal hypothetical population the peninsula can sustain. But even then, despite having to rely on unpredictable rainfalls, Eiborea offers a secure home for a patchy population of Landers, Gvuroths, and even Island Alvizians, which results in a distinct regional culture somewhat alien to the constant intercultural struggle of the mainland Pheotor.

Frequently called "Eldeitaed's southern sibling" by geographers, the Ebongale ridge certainly shares a fair number of traits with the mighty northern mountain formation. For example, the edge of the Ebongale ridge is also elongated and reaches out to Eucad across the sea. Just like Eldheitaed, Ebonglae massif uneven the terrain, creating a lot of highland and foothill sub-biomes. But, unlike its boreal sibling, the texture of Ebongale mountains is tamer, standing for lesser average elevation relatively the sea level. The second most noticeable difference of Ebongale is the climate array, which spans from north to south, and ranges from temperately continental to semi-arid at the southmost point. The last defining feature of this domain is the adjunct archipelago, sprinkled with a high number of smaller islets and spanning to the southeast from the mainland.

Same as with the chain heartlands, due to the lessened passability of the macroregion, the local population is condensed in autonomous city-states, some of which are mainland-bound with a few occupying larger islets of the archipelago. As for the demographic makeout, it consists of Gvuroths and Eastlanders, with the bit of Daevish enclaves also present. The presence of Eucadian native species is hardly a surprise as Ebongale is the closest Pheotorian realm to the southern continent in both logistical and natural terms.

East from Ebongale lies the southern Cullanor valley. Wild, overgrown, and with little to offer in terms of settlements, it is frequently considered the continent's backwater. However, that's a statement a bit too bold when applied to the two-way link region, the northern passway of which leads to densely-populated Eloran, and the south-eastern edge of which leads to Lydenia - the presumed southern passage to the rest of Heimurn. Although, the main defining feature of the southern Cullanor is the aquatic gateway to the northern part of the valley via the Sophron gulf.

Southern Cullanor features a blend of warm marine, mild continental, sub-tropical, and sub-arid climate zones, which change each other seemingly on the abstract axis from northwest to southeast. As a result, the inhabitants are about as variegated as the biomes. When this domain had a strong presence of civilization, the only time was back in the ancient days before the Pherininan empire and the first Alvizian dominion. It is said that the antique empire saw to raise settlements here for its heightened geo-arcane properties, which might be true, given the frequency of weather anomalies and other supernatural events emerging in this region. However, the modern Alvizian states are too fractured to put a concentrated effort to tame this frontier, so the knowledge the ancients possessed is still securely out of our reach.

Teloch · May 17, 2021

Ok, folks. I've brought you some serious glam. You can find it here. You might want to give her a hug ~~and a sweater~~, cause it's cold outside.
Must admit, the studio did some damn incredible job.

Teloch · Jun 1, 2021

Mkay, seems like my immediate med bills won't be as huge as I thought (not the coof: rather the consequences of lockdowns and a bit skewed lifestyle as a result)
From other news: gonna squish an update by the end of this week (It won't be that huge), and already thought out the next character art. Guess, there's little intrigue of who's that gonna be.

Teloch · Jun 11, 2021

As the last words regarding the assumed cause of the local haunting slipped from your lips, the tense sort of silence crept over the congregation before you. Inga and Sephorah stared at you, quietly expecting further comments or instructions. Elgar and Amalia stared into nothingness, pondering on your reveals, with the latter also nervously yanking the buttstock of the crossbow on her back. Unlike the rest, Loїс was drilling you with his stare impatiently, most likely not giving the slightest damn to the story you unearthed. In this odd situation where everyone seemed to quietly put it onto your shoulders to determine the course of actions, you sensed a different kind of pressure: the weight of responsibility for others' safety in the face of genuine risk. With this novel tension weighing on your heart, you conceded a single tiny shiver before bracing oneself and coming up with a decision.

"The time is high for us to put to use all the findings and dive down for the survivor. If we linger for much longer, we'd see the voidling emerge from wherever it's sheltered to hunt us in the open."

Your decision came out clear, causing mixed response signals from the patchy group. Lia, perhaps subconsciously, took the crossbow Ren made for her and nervously squeezed it with a worried expression on her face. Seph smirked mirthlessly and shook her head ever so slightly, nor as much in disappointment in you as in anticipation of a hard time ahead. Inga and Elgar slowly shifted their glances from you to the "homunculi" chain lying at your feet and then to the half-ruined well. Contrary to your expectations, Loїс did not throw another fit just to show how much he did not like the situation and how profoundly he doubted your competence. Instead, he muttered something under his breath, which you could only imagine being a Turanian variation of "finally, damn it," and looked up to the skies with unspoken gratitude to whatever deity he believes in. Only Krom seemed unphased by what you said, raising one of his fluffy ears in a genuine "what are these straight-walkers talking about?"-type puzzlement.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Inga did not withhold her skepticism, "No offense to your friend, but this improvised chain does not look reliable at all. At least not reliable enough for me to not worry about tearing it on the way down." She brushed her hair nervously, "Maybe, we should really check the lakeshore for a possible grotto entrance?"

"It would've been a great idea if only time was not of the essence. Sun suppresses demonic and general paranormal activities to a degree, meaning that whatever haunts this place will be drastically more dangerous to deal with or even to barely avoid should we take it too long."

"I don't like it," Inga muttered.

"Neither do I, but we have to balance the risks. If we hurry now, we might get out from this cursed place just before the haunt gets to come out and cause chaos at the surface. And believe me: it won't help anyone if we follow the suit of yesterday's victims."

"But how do I get down?"

"You don't," you answered Inga's frustrated last-ditch attempt to protest, "you appear to be the strongest and..." you paused for an emphasis effect, "not that I question your grace, but the hole in the well's wall might be just too narrow for you, meaning you staying above and manning the chain when we descend and emerge would be ideal. Besides, we can't afford to go down in full composition anyway."

As your glance shifted, Amalia blushed in what you could only describe as mild shame and disappointment. She somehow knew that you saw her more as a deadweight than an asset in a combative situation. It did not reflect well on her.

"Lia," You spoke out softly, "You've done great so far, but I'd ask you to also stay above and watch Inga's back. She might need some help with the chain and whatnot, and it would be great if someone could fetch us aid if we end up in trouble."

Amalia's face curved to host mixed emotions: on the one hand, she felt relieved for not having to dive into the hotbed of danger, but on the other, she still felt ashamed for not being considered equals with the others. "Guess, that's the best way to go about it..." she murmured while pressing the crossbow to her chest like one would expect from a scared child clutching to a favorite toy. Inga patting Lia's shoulder and exhausting a lopsided grin distracted the latter, though.

You exhausted a smile and spoke to Lia again: "It's not only Inga needing help and a spare pair of eyes but also us requiring to make sure we'd be able to retrieve the person from below. We don't know of their condition, so can I ask you to figure something out that would allow us to lift them up in case of their impaired mobility?"

Lia's eyes made a tiny circle before darting towards the smallest cottage and then back to you, "Y-yes. We've come across some adequately preserved cloth, so I might try to make a sling."

You gave her another - more confident smile before commenting: "See? You've got a plan right away. Just as expected from our most reliable packmate."

Your tiny attempt to sway Lia away from self-deprecation caused the ex-maid to refocus, but Loїс's demonstrative cough brought you back to more pressing matters. As impatient as he was, you have just expressed how important the timing is, yet you haven't elaborated the gist of the plan.

You stared down at the half-crumbled circle of well's stones and then spoke:

[] "Our priority is speed. We go down, we fight the opposition only to push through, we get the survivor, and then get out as fast as we can. What to do with the place at large can be decided once no one is in immediate danger."
[] "We need to neutralize the place first. After we destroy the voidling's conduit, the issue with the race against time will be taken out. Those lurk things and the environment might still be dangerous, but at least there won't be a reality-bending malevolent force obstructing us."

"Does anyone of your outlander lot has a spare weapon?" Loїс inquired, "something less situational in enclosed space than a bow, perhaps."

Sephorah stole a sideways glance at the archer before looking at you and employing a stony face. Judging by a couple of irritated twitches of her ear tips, she wasn't keen on lending him any tossing knives. Or anything at all aside from a spit on his carcass.

Amalia's crossbow wasn't any more helpful in dark caverns than his bow, not even mentioning she might need it while staying with Inga. So, the choice of whether or not to lend anything to the short-fused archer fell onto you.

[] "I can lend you my sword if that would be of any help. Just remember to return it since it has more than a bare utilitarian value for me." (you won't be able to use the mixed combat style in encounters)
[] "Maybe you can find some use in that ceremonial dagger that we've procured? Of course, it might be unwieldy or revolting to use, but at least it is something."
[] "No, I'm afraid we don't have any spare weapons."

To your reply, Loїс barely grumbled. Admittedly, he wasn't particularly delighted, but it's not like you expected him to demonstrate any degree of goodwill or, for that matter, basic manners. Not until you find his mentor and get anywhere remotely safe, that is.

Instead of sparing any more time for what Seph would describe as a lost cause, you observed the preparations of the "lost cause's" sibling - Elgar was busy coating the blades of his short spear and throwing axes in the contents of the jar taken from his waist belt. He caught your studying eyes and gave an answer before you even mustered the question: "A blend that acts as a toxin when comes in contact with amphibian's blood. Lurks, salamanders, anglers - it won't kill them on the spot like the master-made analogs but make 'em sloppy enough to finish the bastards off. I took a jar with me, knowing the high odds of encountering these menaces in this time of year, so..." He shrugged, "good thing we identified them before encountering. Want to use the remaining half of the jar, or should I give it to someone else?"

(*1.3 melee rolls modifier when using a weapon against lurks)
[] "I would like some"
[] "Sephorah might put it to some good use"
[] "Your brother, maybe?"
[] You just shook your head dismissively.

"Speaking of lurks, can you tell me more about their weaknesses and peculiarities? Inga praised your expertise in natural sciences earlier so, if you have some intel on how to better counteract these species, it would be grand."

Your query puzzled Elgar - not in a way that would indicate the lack of knowledge, but rather how to squish the said knowledge into the bite-sized format. "Well, aside from the poisons and nest-purging tactics that we're using seasonally against them... Lurks are a somewhat nocturnal species - most active during dusk and dawn. Their eyesight isn't suited for daylight, which you may turn into your favor with those fancy light tricks of yours. Though their smell is exceptional, able to smell blood hundreds of steps away when in the water and somewhat shorter on land. They aren't all that dangerous when in small numbers, but when in groups, they will pick a target and try to slow them so the rest of the swarm would have a chance to overpower the prey. Also, they are way more slaughterous in the water, but it's not like you or anyone else was going for a swim in a grotto below a haunted manor, right?"

"Wait a second!" Seph clanged into the conversation, making Elgar unwittingly step back from her. Of course, you wouldn't say he was all that wary of her, but it wouldn't be far-fetched of a guess he was seeing a daeva for the first time. "Sparkling, are you planning on flashing out the grey matter out of those things?"

"That might be an effective tactic. Yes. Why?"
(Lucy's offensive arcane skill checks add up 0.3 of their total value to defensive arcane skill score when dealing with lurks)

"Just alert me before you go on an illuminational frenzy, alright? Otherwise, you might scorch my eyes out, too."

"Is your kind also nocturnal?" Elgar made a shy attempt to inject himself back into the conversation from which he was squeezed out by your horned friend.

"Hmph. My kind lives in a valley surrounded by deserts, meaning it can be pretty hazardous outside at noons," she tilted her head while training her amethyst-orange pair on the young hunter, "never seen a daeva?"

"Can't say I did," Elgar backed away slightly, "apologies if that offended you somehow."

Seph gave him a look which you could only describe as estimating before finally reapplying her no-nonsense facade, pacing back from where she came from, and throwing a cold-ish "Don't stress it - I got used to it by now" over her shoulder. If only you did not know any better, you would not have guessed that she was just messing around. And with that, you gently pinched the man's wrist, murmuring: "Just what she said: it's nothing." The beastmaster sighed out softly, nodding to you with a sense of finality as he had nothing more of essence to tell you about the lurks. And with that, you proceeded to assess your own faculties before the descent.

While Amalia and Seph dragged the rusty jigsaw of a chain to the well and Elgar persistently commanded whining Krom to stay with Inga, you made a dive into your thoughts. Unfortunately, the situation did not develop ideally for you: the identity of the haunt was to remain a mystery, same as the underlying source of whatever bolsters the abnormal growth in the surroundings. And that goes without mentioning the tactical disadvantage of the selected entrance point and the risks tied to going in with a fraction of the group. However, you were to proceed into the unknown, not entirely oblivious of what to expect for the first time ever. Your previous experience and the discoveries made granted that coveted sense of control.

Moreover, thanks to your magical gifts, you appeared to be well-fitted to the expected ordeals below the abandoned grounds. Recalling your first encounter with a voidling-possessed shell, you closed your eyes and tried to estimate the remaining vigor in your frame that would be convertible into incantations. Perhaps in part of the effect of the uncovered trinket, your nerves came back with uncommonly precise feedback: you had the juices to conjure at least two anti-arcane conical explosions, with the remnants sufficient enough for auxiliary light and tactical barrier operation. With both the voidling and the lurks being susceptible to effects of thaumaturgy, the key to success seemed to lie within appropriate rationing of your spellcasting.

"Having some doubts?" Inga supported her brush of your shoulder with an inquiry that startled you with its abruptness.

"No, just making a plan of how to carry oneself once we're in. Some experience dealing with demons I may have, so the main concerns are those amphibians and the environment itself."

"A prepper, ain't you?"

You just weakly shrugged your shoulders under her palm.

"That's nice. I hate the thought of having to stay behind, but the best I can hope for is you to return my two dumbs in one piece~."

"Sure..." you muttered, watching her smile and walk towards the well, ready to get you and others down. As she left you, a wave of momentarily panic washed over you, brought about by the realization: this time, if anything goes wrong, it would primarily be on you and your decisions. Recollections of the perished Beilford escapees, pale bodies of Rosaline's servants, and the contorted face of the man whom you failed to save before yesterday flashed before your eyes. A tiny voice in your mind whispered that she might be overestimating you. But, just as suddenly as the doubts stirred your heart, you countered them with recollections of fending off that ambush on Rosaline and yourself, warding away the unveiling hellscape a few days ago, and that very first incantation of yours that helped Ren and Seph to fight off the skeletal husk.

"... I will try my best," you pretended to whisper to inga's back, but in reality to yourself, self-convincing that this evening, you won't let the worst happen. Not after the night before yesterday. Not when everyone depends on you.

But as much as you'd loved to stay and psyche oneself more, any furthers delays were betraying the purpose of haste. So, Seph - as the most agile from the group - was the first one to go down the chain with the attitude of mundanity. After nimbly disappearing through the well's wall, her melodic voice announced the relative safety of the descent, prompting you to follow.

And so you did. Although your self-invoked determination took a substantial hit the moment your palms clutched the rusty, interlinked amalgam of a few variously-sized chains and when you realized that climbing vertically is significantly more challenging than it seemed. Fortunately, Inga and Amalia were collectively strong enough to pull you down with the chain, and Seph sufficiently gracious to yank you into the darkness of the cave. When your feet touched the floor of the cavern, and two familiar orange eyes squinted at you in half-darkness of the subterranean entrance, you sighed out with relief and summoned a tiny light speck.

The subtle light illuminated the inlet, exposing weird, orange-colored moss, sporadic fungi growing on walls, and a corroded iron torch holder besieged by the underground vegetation. Apparently, this branch of caverns wasn't exactly untouched by human hands. While the rest of your slimmed-down group made their way down to you, the timeframe to listen to your supernatural senses presented itself, which you followed through.
No longer hindered by the distance and obstruction, three different sensations made it to you: the signs of a few primitive soul sparks by the edge of your perceptions, the unavoidable void aether trail leading further into the dark, and the pulsation of the body arcane aspect. They all came from under the thick shroud of darkness ahead of you, suspending you in the surreal, almost primordial state of fear. They say that people are afraid of the dark since it is the closest thing to the abstract of the unknown, but you knew it was untrue - people fear not the darkness itself but what lurks inside it. And you knew that the murk ahead of you was not harboring benevolent presences.

The crackling of an igniting torch and Loїс's perpetually unsatisfied face yanked you out of the visceral introspection exercise. To a degree, seeing his smug, nescient mug was relieving, even though you knew that the demon lurking below won't be repelled by it alone. But in any case, three pairs of eyes were staring at you, expecting further decisions or comments from you.

You confirmed the previously established primary goal, and with that, the newly-formed wedge composition embarked on its hesitant journey to the heart of the cursed place. In the nervous silence, your group proceeded onward through the descending path laden with increasing volumes of fungi, dirt, and moss. There were two narrowing sections on this path and sporadic rotten remains of wooden boards. Whether they were used as wall props or flooring remained unknown, unlike the fact that the existence of this place was not a secret to the original dwellers of this holding.

A couple of times, your group stopped in its tracks when an undeterminable sound echoed from the depths. Hearing things one could not see wasn't the most encouraging experience, but all of you pushed forth anyway, even if driven by diverging reasons. Moments later, before the paranoia could become unbearable, the group lost sight of walls as it entered the grotto hall. Everyone froze in their tracks to evaluate the new surrounding, including the gap in the middle of the cavern, a narrow "bridge" to the opposite side of the hall, black water surface at the bottom of the cave. Occasional wet flops and drops could be heard as if something was stirring the tides. It was distressing enough, but when you engaged your sense of souls, your feathers under the wraps stood up: it was there - the voidling - clinging to the side of the bridge like an insect. What was even scarier: the pitch-black glassy surface beneath you pullulated with the primitive soul sparks.

It wasn't complicated for you to figure out that both the demonic vessel and the lurks organized an ambush in the act of unlikely symbiosis. You tugged the vanguardist by their sleeve, looking them in the eyes, silently shaking one's head, and pointing at the spot from where the putrid void stench was emanating. The gesture was interpreted as intended, with everyone's eyes widening. The sticky feeling crept down your throat, but you hurriedly focused your mind. The size and intensity of the anti-spark were more extensive than that of Merigold's apparition but nothing compared to the root of the cursed valley. The thing's vessel did not emit any sound: no breaths, growls, or other audial cues. It certainly knew where you all were, and it definitely planned to lunge out once you start crossing the natural bridge, sending someone down to their death by the scores of amphibious carnivores instantly.

But even though the demon could sense your presence and even your affinity with thaumaturgy, it did not seem to realize the extent of your powers and techniques. With the preserved magic strengths estimation on your mind, you browsed through options of how to proceed. Alas, all of them would likely escalate the raid into a full-blown engagement of varying conditions.

[] Evoke a luminal shield and take the head to bait and counter the ambush. It will almost certainly result in an open engagement with the demonic vessel in a risky environment. And if you would parry the trap with the thaumaturgic barrier, you may have to rely on your companion's ability to counterattack in the early phases of combat.
(Easy (17) arcane skill check, luck roll)

[] Take advantage of the demon's vessel stationarity and strike it with the anti-magic cone. It would be hard to aim using only your spirits sense, which also translates into a potential miss or diminished damage, but this is the safest of the options. You will deplete your strengths considerably, though, and the fall of the thing would likely rattle the lurk's nest.
(Free arcane skill roll * 0.8, luck roll)

[] Send someone to lure the demon out and then strike it with the anti-magic cone. This will put someone into immense - possibly lethal - danger, but it will also allow you to land devastating damage onto the fiend. Unless you miss or some other misfortune takes place. This will also eat out plenty of your remaining magic strengths and alert the lurks if the demon falls down.
-[] Sephorah
-[] Elgar
-[] Loїс
(Baits below normal balance skill check (18) and luck roll, if failed, normal defense skill check (20) and luck roll, if failed again, hard balance skill check (24) and luck roll.
Lucy's free arcane skill roll *1.5, luck roll)

Teloch · Jun 12, 2021

Forgot to mark the voting open phase. Bruh.

Anyway, don't be shy.

Varder · Jun 12, 2021

[X] Evoke a luminal shield and take the head to bait and counter the ambush. It will almost certainly result in an open engagement with the demonic vessel in a risky environment. And if you would parry the trap with the thaumaturgic barrier, you may have to rely on your companion's ability to counterattack in the early phases of combat.

Teloch · Jun 12, 2021

Varder said:
[X] Evoke a luminal shield and take the head to bait and counter the ambush. It will almost certainly result in an open engagement with the demonic vessel in a risky environment. And if you would parry the trap with the thaumaturgic barrier, you may have to rely on your companion's ability to counterattack in the early phases of combat.

you missed three voting blocks in the body of the update

Varder · Jun 12, 2021

Teloch said:
you missed three voting blocks in the body of the update

Didn't miss, still thinking what I want to vote for.

Teloch · Jun 12, 2021

Varder said:
Didn't miss, still thinking what I want to vote for.

sharing weapon / tincture is not strictly crucial, but the first one is basically deciding between "fast in, fast out, no bollocks" and "murderhobo mode engage"

Teloch · Jun 12, 2021

*performs @uiopion and @veekie summoning dance*
People seem to need your tactical analysis

Varder · Jun 12, 2021

Teloch said:
sharing weapon / tincture is not strictly crucial, but the first one is basically deciding between "fast in, fast out, no bollocks" and "murderhobo mode engage"

I know. Yet I'm still stuck. I hope it'll pass after some time.

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?

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(Discrete Mokona)

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Tired Cultist

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Tired Cultist

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Tired Cultist