Edifier
Trusted within thoughts.
- Location
- Court of Moon Wizards
The most fascinating thing about Edificise is that its source of power is Deific... same as Ellie.
Would it act as her home? An extension of her?
It's a Girl's World -- And Lilly wants Adventure
Would it act as her home? An extension of her?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Anyway, Presuming my analysis holds true on the nature of Boundless Ethos
1) We're a ways out yet from hitting diminishing returns, XP is coming fast and furious and the circumstances are likely going to stay in favor of that for some time. But we have plucked many of the low hanging fruit at this point. After our Sixth Ethos (Which should be coming very soon, the moment Evie gets 1 point of XP and [Brave Blood] gets just under 50), we're going to be stuck there for a while unless things continue to escalate, unless we actually get a Dungeon to go with our Dungeon Core (And it's not just turning Lilly into meguca like I figure it has).
2) The Diminishing Returns Fairy will start whipping our ass somewhere around the Eighth Ethos. Our level per Ethos is low enough still that while we'll have an extended period before hitting the Seventh Ethos, by the time we're at the Eighth, unless there's some serious grinding opportunities to be found, we're going to be a long-ass time getting there. Sixth is right around the corner, and our overall level is still low enough that Seventh will come before Lilly's thirteenth birthday (Barring a sudden drying up of Gravitas of course), but the last of the low hanging fruit are gone by the time we start grinding the eighth, and it will become a slog after that. (Lilly is just on the cusp of level 14, which thanks to the weird aberration is enough for Sixth Ethos. Seventh happens at Level 19 (20), Eighth happens at Level 25 (26), and keep in mind that most people don't exceed level 30 or so ever unless they're an international badass--which if she lasts that long Lilly will be but still.)
3) The highest level we know is a thing is 100, this is sufficient to bring our progression to the Sixteenth Ethos as long as this progression holds true. That's admittedly a hilarious amount of power, but this is also something only the most aggressively cultivated experts in the setting can hope to reach.
Anyway
Now that we have a vague idea of how our Ethos Picks progress (Again, unless there's some big spanner in the works), we can actually have something resembling a plan!
Some factoids to keep in mind at least anyway.
1) Don't pick something that requires another Source we don't have to really shine for the Sixth Ethos, because the Seventh will be our last option for a while unless the universe catches fire by then. (So if Stennvoker shows up again, we'll have to pass--we need a good Mana or Oath Ethos first to really let it pop without a lot of study).
2) Our core build--at least--seems to be secure. Our priority should be to either add functionality or augment. We should take great care with Ascendant or Apotheotic draws due to the x10 multiplier on the XP cost, because that significantly delays our next pull on the gacha. Safer to do so for the Seventh than the Sixth, but getting these at all is very uncommon.
3) It will be difficult for us to survive institutional level negative attention until we have at least the Eighth Ethos, and preferably the Tenth.
1) We're a ways out yet from hitting diminishing returns, XP is coming fast and furious and the circumstances are likely going to stay in favor of that for some time. But we have plucked many of the low hanging fruit at this point. After our Sixth Ethos (Which should be coming very soon, the moment Evie gets 1 point of XP and [Brave Blood] gets just under 50), we're going to be stuck there for a while unless things continue to escalate, unless we actually get a Dungeon to go with our Dungeon Core (And it's not just turning Lilly into meguca like I figure it has).
2) The Diminishing Returns Fairy will start whipping our ass somewhere around the Eighth Ethos. Our level per Ethos is low enough still that while we'll have an extended period before hitting the Seventh Ethos, by the time we're at the Eighth, unless there's some serious grinding opportunities to be found, we're going to be a long-ass time getting there. Sixth is right around the corner, and our overall level is still low enough that Seventh will come before Lilly's thirteenth birthday (Barring a sudden drying up of Gravitas of course), but the last of the low hanging fruit are gone by the time we start grinding the eighth, and it will become a slog after that. (Lilly is just on the cusp of level 14, which thanks to the weird aberration is enough for Sixth Ethos. Seventh happens at Level 19 (20), Eighth happens at Level 25 (26), and keep in mind that most people don't exceed level 30 or so ever unless they're an international badass--which if she lasts that long Lilly will be but still.)
3) The highest level we know is a thing is 100, this is sufficient to bring our progression to the Sixteenth Ethos as long as this progression holds true. That's admittedly a hilarious amount of power, but this is also something only the most aggressively cultivated experts in the setting can hope to reach.
Anyway
Now that we have a vague idea of how our Ethos Picks progress (Again, unless there's some big spanner in the works), we can actually have something resembling a plan!
Some factoids to keep in mind at least anyway.
1) Don't pick something that requires another Source we don't have to really shine for the Sixth Ethos, because the Seventh will be our last option for a while unless the universe catches fire by then. (So if Stennvoker shows up again, we'll have to pass--we need a good Mana or Oath Ethos first to really let it pop without a lot of study).
2) Our core build--at least--seems to be secure. Our priority should be to either add functionality or augment. We should take great care with Ascendant or Apotheotic draws due to the x10 multiplier on the XP cost, because that significantly delays our next pull on the gacha. Safer to do so for the Seventh than the Sixth, but getting these at all is very uncommon.
3) It will be difficult for us to survive institutional level negative attention until we have at least the Eighth Ethos, and preferably the Tenth.
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JayTar
Idea briefcase
Presuming my analysis of your analysis is correct:
The assumption that our level scaling will run like a normal persons is faulty, and not just because of the shenanigans Lily will surely get up to.
Lily's level is the sum of the levels of her Ethos, and the exp cost per level of each ethos increases independently.
So if Lily has eight Ethos all at level 30 she will have a total level of 240, but only require the exp to go from 30-31 to get her next level.
1. Pretty sure [Dream within the Forest] is a dual source of Essence and Legend. When [Collective Communion] was added to [Dream within the Forest], Legend was as well. Essence sourced from the Forest within the Dream, and Legend sourced from the Dream within the Forest.
2. More precisely it's based on an Ethos highest attained level, which right now is five.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
You're not wrong, that's the biggest thing that makes the high level content viable in the first place.
That being said? "Normal" life only gives XP for the Ethae you're making solid progress with. The universal XP stuff only seems to apply for fighting and defeating dungeon constructs.
That...
(Reviews The Timeline)
That's... It I guess?
That almost feels too strong though. But it completely fits the data--even accounts for the old aberration. If that's the case, we'd have thirty Ethae by the time we hit the 'Ordinary Professional' level cap, and that's absolutely bugfuck insane. There's got to be a measure to keep things und...er...
...
I think we might be about to find that out. I wonder if Ethae within the same Source fuse and create something with the strengths of both?
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ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
I'd really like Lilly to get a versatile, spell-creation capable Ethos before the easy Ethos dry up.
Having access to a variety of utility magics is a very good thing, and while we could bet on Edifice being able to magic up artifacts I'm not going to count on that until I see it. Also the benefits of having Cleaver of Fortune for spell development have already been remarked upon. Furthermore, any form of magic that can be advanced/developed without being involved in dangerous events would be really helpful. Lilly's life is probably going to be interesting no matter what, but if we ever do get downtime having a development path that isn't reliant on seeking out danger will be very helpful.
We passed up Sorcerer and Quickwrit Stennovoker this time to fill the more immediately pressing need of mental defense, but I'd really like get something like those before the Ethos start drying up (so as our sixth, seventh, or maybe eighth if I have Alectai's analysis correct).
Also, so far we have warrior, support/healer, general competence boost, eldritch familiar, and now mental defense slash mental healer. The only things we're really missing are utility and social, and getting a social ethos should perhaps wait until Lilly's in a better headspace.
Now, the question is, how do we induce the type of Ethos I want? Perhaps we should have Lilly look into this Education thing, it'd be good for her and likely trigger some wizardly Ethos in the process.
Having access to a variety of utility magics is a very good thing, and while we could bet on Edifice being able to magic up artifacts I'm not going to count on that until I see it. Also the benefits of having Cleaver of Fortune for spell development have already been remarked upon. Furthermore, any form of magic that can be advanced/developed without being involved in dangerous events would be really helpful. Lilly's life is probably going to be interesting no matter what, but if we ever do get downtime having a development path that isn't reliant on seeking out danger will be very helpful.
We passed up Sorcerer and Quickwrit Stennovoker this time to fill the more immediately pressing need of mental defense, but I'd really like get something like those before the Ethos start drying up (so as our sixth, seventh, or maybe eighth if I have Alectai's analysis correct).
Also, so far we have warrior, support/healer, general competence boost, eldritch familiar, and now mental defense slash mental healer. The only things we're really missing are utility and social, and getting a social ethos should perhaps wait until Lilly's in a better headspace.
Now, the question is, how do we induce the type of Ethos I want? Perhaps we should have Lilly look into this Education thing, it'd be good for her and likely trigger some wizardly Ethos in the process.
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
It would probably be wise for us to try and get Lilly some type of education (for a multitude of reasons), but I believe that the conservative small town might be a tricky place to start.
On the one hand, this analysis was before we went all in with becoming Savior of the Town (Helpful Child Edition). On the other hand, local sensibilities may consider parting with a pile of gold to be preferable to teaching a *girl* how to read.
We also may need to be careful with our Ethos picks while in Harmurph to not go to far afield of public perception. Right now, we are a Battle Druid with Essence and Pithe sources, and nothing else. Cleaver, Evie, and presumably Bedrock will be subtle enough for plausible deniability, but if the wrong person detects us with Mana (even though I REALLY want us to get a Mana Ethos), we may have trouble explaining ourselves.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Yeah, that's the real fucker of a problem we're dealing with. We're already on the ragged edge of plausible--to go further is to enter the realm of impossible and that means questions we can't answer (And I stand by the fact we won't be in a position to slip any nets until we're clawing up to our Tenth Ethos or so. It gets even harder if we include getting our family out too)
I joked about it, but our best solution in the short term really depends on how the dungeon works. If we can basically create a remote combat shell to use as a proxy when we need to flex but have to take care for exposure--and load it with our more vulgar powers--that could be a solution.
Alternately, a Magical Girl Paladin-chan transformation might help too.
I joked about it, but our best solution in the short term really depends on how the dungeon works. If we can basically create a remote combat shell to use as a proxy when we need to flex but have to take care for exposure--and load it with our more vulgar powers--that could be a solution.
Alternately, a Magical Girl Paladin-chan transformation might help too.
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- Location
- United States of America, Michigan
Uh what? Divergence for Dream has been bouncing up and down leaving us at where we started Divergence wise. Certainly not steadily declining like you said.
- Location
- PA
*crosses arms*
...So uhh, I must not have taken the same amount of extensive notes Alectai has to keep track of how the char sheet has changed but uhh.
I question the idea that different Ethos that use the same resource 'Oath, Mana, Essence, etc.' will actually play nicely with each other.
Like... Pithe is Pithe, and in describing the usage of such earlier, the way the options were worded more to avoid 'Pithe strain' or avoiding 'Essence Strain'.
Now, Dream is Magic in that it's Essence well basically equals YES, it's Naruto's Chakra Tier, the kind of thing where we just throw lots of it at problems and it works because we just have that much juice behind it. The others...Do not seem to have that kind of power behind them.
True Song outright broke, and the others took some strain in that 'save Harumph' adventure we just went on- overusing [Sample Space] messed up [Rungs of Wisdom], and Lily pulled back on [Melded Carapace] to keep the rest of the Pithe powers from being strained...
I think Ethos powers that use Essence,Pithe, whatever, all draw from the same 'MP pool' so to speak, so doubling up...Probably is less 'Double Essence power go!' and more 'Okay do I use Forest Essence or Dream Essence'?...That said, I don't have a good feel for what that Dream within a Forest being Essence AND Legend does to the power-maybe if Lily notes some sort of upgrade to how potent it is...But the Hearthstaff, I thought, WAS the Legend power-up, which makes it somewhat awkward. Maybe if we can get the whole story from Yolun and complete the story we'll get something good from it/greater understanding.
...So uhh, I must not have taken the same amount of extensive notes Alectai has to keep track of how the char sheet has changed but uhh.
I question the idea that different Ethos that use the same resource 'Oath, Mana, Essence, etc.' will actually play nicely with each other.
Like... Pithe is Pithe, and in describing the usage of such earlier, the way the options were worded more to avoid 'Pithe strain' or avoiding 'Essence Strain'.
Now, Dream is Magic in that it's Essence well basically equals YES, it's Naruto's Chakra Tier, the kind of thing where we just throw lots of it at problems and it works because we just have that much juice behind it. The others...Do not seem to have that kind of power behind them.
True Song outright broke, and the others took some strain in that 'save Harumph' adventure we just went on- overusing [Sample Space] messed up [Rungs of Wisdom], and Lily pulled back on [Melded Carapace] to keep the rest of the Pithe powers from being strained...
I think Ethos powers that use Essence,Pithe, whatever, all draw from the same 'MP pool' so to speak, so doubling up...Probably is less 'Double Essence power go!' and more 'Okay do I use Forest Essence or Dream Essence'?...That said, I don't have a good feel for what that Dream within a Forest being Essence AND Legend does to the power-maybe if Lily notes some sort of upgrade to how potent it is...But the Hearthstaff, I thought, WAS the Legend power-up, which makes it somewhat awkward. Maybe if we can get the whole story from Yolun and complete the story we'll get something good from it/greater understanding.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
[looks up warily]
Are we talking 'good amazing' or 'bad amazing' here...?
Are we talking 'good amazing' or 'bad amazing' here...?
Thebigpieman
I've got this, I think.
- Location
- United States
Why not both.
Is Yalśfreet the origin of Essence?
And is it why Evie has none? Of course it could be that some beings don't have essence.
And is it why Evie has none? Of course it could be that some beings don't have essence.
Slyvena
I don't like pie.
- Location
- Pie Shop
Sounds like you'll want to vote for 'The end of the 2nd Era' when the next Interlude Vote comes up.
- Location
- Austria
- Pronouns
- He/They
Word of God said that Lilly's ability to focus Pithe on body parts also applies to other Pithe stuff that really shouldn't do that, so that would be a fun way to trigger the epilogue.
I also just caught up and whoa, this is amazing.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Well, no, the issue is that Lilly's Pithe focusing should be causing her limbs to seizure at best, and explode at worst. but because of Oaken Core and the other powers attached to {In Thy Likeness} her physique can tolerate high stresses much better, due to being made of bound up organic fiber for the purposes of damage resistance as opposed to mostly water and squishy stuff.
Becoming Meguca will probably be another step down that line by centralizing most of Lilly's critical life-sustaining functions into her Meta-Anchor.
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Glaistig Uaine, like rip out other peoples' powers Glaistig Uaine?
Oh my, we might not be the only multi-ethos after all.
Non-Canon Omake: Ill-Gotten Loot
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
It seems the muse has hit me once more (but this is probably the last for now). A direct-ish sequel to my previous one, with full-fledged Trickster Evie.
Non-Canon Omake: Ill-Gotten Loot (Warning: It's a bit longer)
Non-Canon Omake: Ill-Gotten Loot (Warning: It's a bit longer)
Lilly: Is…is she dead? If she's faking, she might send out another mental command and-
Evie: No, Lilly, she…she's gone.
Lilly: W-what about Aboleth? Is he going to control her now or-
Evie: No, it's…Spirits pulling the stunts like he and I do need a living soul to stay anchored to this world. Otherwise, we've got nothing to tether us against physio-spiritual forces at work here, which ends with us getting spat out the Outer Realms.
Lilly: So, it's over?
Evie: Yeah, it's over. How are you holding up?
Lilly: …I don't…I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Am I supposed to feel…guilty? Sick? Like, I've done "lethal" blows while training with Mathew, but this is for real. How is someone supposed to feel after murdering someone else?
Evie: I don't think there's really a "wrong" or "right" way to feel about something like this. I'll be honest, this might be more [Bedrock]'s wheelhouse than mine.
Lilly: …If I could have just knocked her unconscious-
Evie: Nope, none of that. Her Ethos is specifically designed to overpower almost any defenses it comes across over time. It's only because of my [Hybrid Siphon] that I was able to stop the mental attacks, and there's a chance it could have come up with an answer to that if she had survived. It would take a specialized group like the Noosemen to contain her, and, well, they aren't here.
Lilly: …Am I going to hell for this?
Evie: Are you going to- No, Lilly, no! This is textbook self-defense! Some of the angels are hardasses, but even they don't look at actions in a vacuum. Maybe the Choir of Grace might wring its hands over a "last minute redemption" that was never going to happen, but even the Choir of Mercy would have to admit you did your best in a bad situation. Lilly, on multiple levels, this was the right call.
Lilly: Gosh, what am I going to tell Captain Martin.
Evie: …And now we turn to mortal concerns.
Lilly: Evie, I have to tell somebody about this.
Evie: Generally speaking, when a young scion of a noble house is found dead in the woods of blunt force trauma, is that usually considered "a big deal?"
Lilly: Captain Martin will believe me, and I can swear under truth spell that she had mind control abilities and was trying to make me bite my fingers off. Textbook self-defence, just like you said, right?
Evie: And if believed that this would end with Captain Martin, you'd have a solid argument. But royal deaths bring royal investigators; diviners and coroners and interrogators of the highest caliber. And they're probably going to ask you a few follow-up questions. Like, say, "how did you shake off the mind control when nobody else has?"
Lilly: …I, uh, used [Bedrock] to shield my mind and-
Evie: Ping! Lie detected! The "correct truth" is "I recently developed a skill that allows me to retain my own mentality, and I have massive Essence pools to keep it running for as long as I need." This avoids accidentally naming an Ethos that you don't have, and it sidesteps the fact that you didn't actually use said skill. Of course, all of that is moot depending on how much they care about the truth.
Lilly: What do you mean "how much they care about the truth"? Isn't that their job?
Evie: Actually, for many royal investigators, their job is finding neat little stories that end with the perception of justice being served. If they care too little about the truth, they'll stop at "Who killed the noble?" without caring at all about the context, meaning you hang from a rope. If they somehow care too much about the truth, they may stumble across the actual answer to "Why did she confront you of all people?", at which point you'll WISH they had hung you from a rope. Even if they accept the story you would tell Captain Martin, they're stuck with the fact that the evidence seems to point at a member of the nobility being responsible for the mass slaughter they followed on the way here. And if the choice is between undermining "the trust and deference owed to the nobility", and silencing one little peasant girl in the middle of nowhere…
Lilly: So, what, I'm just supposed to bury her out here and not tell anyone?
Evie: I know you wish that the world was fair to the truly just, but that's not how things work at this time.
Lilly: …Damn it. *pulls out Heartstaff shaped like a shovel* I guess we're really doing this.
Evie: …Uh, before we do that, we've got another bit of clean-up to do. You recall Aboleth mentioned something about Deific fragments?
Lilly: Yeah, he was going to have Valerie pull out it out of me and merge it with hers so that…No. Evie, no!
Evie: Lilly, listen to me-
Lilly: I'm not going to dig in her corpse and pull out the Fragment so we can eat it for more power!
Evie: It's not really a physical object, you don't need to-
Lilly: I'll just bury it along with her. That'll bring an end to the whole business-
Evie: It's dangerous if it's left in her body!
Lilly: …What do you mean? There's no Valerie and no Aboleth, and we're hiding the body anyway. Is it going to explode?
Evie: A Deific fragment is a concentrated parcel of power that can used to support massive spiritual structures. Most mortals aren't able to even get near one without rampant mutation, but your bloodline makes it so that you can sustainably interact with one. The Maw implanted these in you and Valerie to use at the basis for its Multi-Ethos structure. This issue is that now that Valerie is dead, this structure will start to degrade, eventually leaving a big ball of massive potential that will try to bond with ANYTHING it deems a potential host. If we leave out here long enough, eventually it's going to get in touch with a mole or a tree root or some 5-year-old boy wandering the woods looking for buried treasure. The fragment will try to merge with them, but all potential and no structure means that the result will be both monstrous and powerful. But there is a way to contain and neutralize this Fragment so that it can't cause any more harm to anyone.
Lilly: So, what do we do?
Evie: Oh, it's real simple. First you place your hands on Valerie's forehead. Then you start infusing the body with Essence, which will act as bait for the Fragment to follow back to you. You'll feel a nibble, then a tug, and then you'll feel the Fragment practically LUNGE at you, but don't panic. Now, it's still sedate enough to "have a conversation", as it were, so it's going to start trying to show you visions of your heart's desire to have you agree to bond with it. Piles of gold, a wizard's spellbook, cheering crowds, your father fully recovered, Mathew with his shirt off, whatever it thinks you want. You, being a smart girl, say "No," and then activate a Pulse Surge to "push" it away a bit. At that point my tendrils will grab hold of it, and I'll take care of the rest. Simple, right?
Lilly: …How dangerous is this?
Evie: Eh, at this point, I'd rate it a 2/10, given that you know to resist the temptation and that I've got your back. But the more time the structure has to degrade, the more "feral" the fragment will be.
Lilly: Right, let's get this over with. *Lilly starts to reach out to the corpse, then stops and lowers her hands to her sides.*
Evie: Uh, you okay there, Lilly? If you need to cycle [Bedrock] a bit to calm your nerves, that's understandable.
Lilly: So, this is the process by which we're going to "neutralize" the Fragment, correct?
Evie: …Yes?
Lilly: So, hypothetically speaking, if we were going to be going forward with the "consummation" process, what would we be doing differently?
Evie: …Well, you'd still need to extract it using the process I described.
Lilly: And then you'd "take care of the rest." Just like you "took care" of my body to make it…whatever it is now.
Evie: Look, I was a baby following instructions that told me that it was going to help you, I couldn't imagine that-
Lilly: But you're not a baby now, are you? You're a spirit fully responsible for her own choices. How exactly are you going to neutralize the Fragment, huh? Can you break it down for me a bit?
Evie: …The raw mutating qualities of the Fragment are mitigated once a new design has been introduced allowing for potential integration-
Lilly: DAMN IT ALL, EVIE! I told you I didn't want to do to do this consummation crap, and you try to trick me into doing it anyway! How am I supposed to trust you when you pull shit like this!?
Evie: Look, I'm not lying about what happens when a Fragment is left unattended! If we don't take care of this now, eventually there will be a monster roaming the countryside that make the Alphas look like puppies!
Lilly: But do we have to integrate it? And how does this make us any better than Valerie and Aboleth?
Evie: Because they started it! Look, we both agree that, independently of anything else, they had to be stopped, right? This ends up leaving one more mess that we have to take care of, which just happens to be something that we are able to profit off of-
Lilly: Profit? PROFIT!? This isn't some dungeon monster that we can pull the teeth off of and sell at an adventurer's guild. This was a real actual person! And after what happened to her… I-I can't go through with this!
Evie: …Alright. What do you propose we do instead?
Lilly: What if we just extract the Fragment and just…store it someplace until it dissipates? Or better yet, just rip it into pieces?
Evie: Lilly, we're talking about literal god essence, some of the most spiritually durable and dense material in the cosmos. I don't have the tools to "smash" it; I don't have the tools to make the tools to "smash" it. Now, I can temporarily store it in a sort of "soul closet", but the decay rate outside of actual use can be measure in centuries, and if anything jostles your soul too hard, there's a chance that it will spill out and apply raw potential to your soul structure…which would end very badly.
Lilly: I don't want to keep that thing inside me at all! Okay, what if we extracted it, made some kind of soul container, then hid it away somewhere where nobody would ever find it?
Evie: Oh, you mean like stuffing it in a lockbox and dropping it in the sea? Or maybe tossing it in the caldera of a dormant volcano?
Lilly: …Y-yeah, like that.
Evie: Lilly, raw Fragments aren't bound by the limitations and rules of the Melange Layer. They will simply outlast whatever container they are placed in. The lockbox will rust, or buckle under the pressure, or get broken into by a mer-person. If you drop in a volcano, the "soul container" will melt first, and the Fragment with bond with the lava, turning a dormant volcano into the capital of the Land of Fire and Ash, population: zero. Even if you did manage to create a semi-sustainable set-up to contain it, trying to actually hide it is an exercise in futility.
Lilly: What do you mean?
Evie: If some adventurer with, say, [Ladder of Wisdom] happened to ask "Where's the strongest unclaimed source of magical power in a 20-mile radius?" in the right spot, they'd be given direct instructions leading directly to the Fragment and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop it. There are SO many Ethos that are dedicated to finding things, disarming traps, and undoing wards. If the price is right (and a Fragment is definitely the right price), there's no static defenses you can muster that will stop people from trying to claim it. You'd need the resources and continual vigilance usually associated with religious orders to try and defend it.
Lilly: Then why don't we do that? Find a religious order that can keep it safe from everyone else?
Evie: …Let us put aside my natural distrust of religious orders due to them falsely labeling me as the "Mother of Lies". Let us also put aside that you'll be giving away a magical power that is probably worth at least 10 times the total value of Harmuph. How the hells are you going to explain how you got it. Even "Lucky Lilly" has no business finding one of these, and they're not going to believe you just "wrapped it in a blanket" to be able to actually transport the thing. If you think the people investigating Valerie's death will be thorough and invasive, hoo boy-
Lilly: So, you're telling me that eating this thing is the only option if I don't want to die by discovery or be an asshole who leaves problems for someone else?
Evie: Lilly, I don't know what to tell you. This is the best option I can think of.
Lilly: But there has to be another way! I…I think I'd rather die than end up like Valerie.
Evie: …Oh, Lilly, no no no noooooo! Was THAT the problem this whole time? No, Lilly, no, I wouldn't do that to you! I'm going to be scrubbing that Fragment with an iron sponge before I even begin to start shaping it! No memories of slaughter, no touch of the Maw, and no fucking Will Winnower! This is going to be spick and spam pure Potential, fresh out of the box. I'm so, so sorry I didn't communicate that properly! Gosh, if I thought I'd be stuck with an Apothetic Ethos, I'd be spitting a lot more fire than you have.
Lilly: Oh, thank the gods. It's just…I don't want to have that kind of power, ever. If some stray words caused me to hurt somebody-
Evie: Lilly, it's all right. Everything's going to be alright.
Lilly: Okay, I feel a lot better now. But…I guess…is this going to make me like Aboleth? You know, hunting down other people with a "great and terrible purpose?"
Evie: Lilly, is that something you truly wish to do?
Lilly: Wha- No, obviously not.
Evie: Then we're not doing it, end of story. Lilly, I'm not going to force you to do something you clearly don't want to.
Lilly: …Evie…Evie, you can't SAY that! This whole conversation is all about "things I don't want to do!" "Yes, Lilly, you have to bury the dead girl in the forest and not tell anyone about it!" "Yes, Lilly, you have eat this godflesh or else a terrible monster will come up and kill everyone!" But now it's "No, Lilly, you can do anything you want!" You keep changing the rules and twisting the facts on me! You always use the "correct" truth that gets you what you want, even though you know I'm not using the same definitions as you. It doesn't matter if you're "not lying" if I can't trust a word you say!
Evie: Lilly, I…You're right. You're absolutely right. I have been taking advantage of your trust, and…that's not what good friends do. The correct…the more accurate truth is "you can do whatever you want, as long as you can handle the consequences." For the body and the Fragment, I only see very narrow courses of action that avoid you facing drastic consequences. But you know what, you have an independent source who, if nothing else, you know to be incredibly accurate.
Lilly: …Ladder, is there any way to report about Valerie without suffering really bad consequences?
Ladder: Captain Martin will always report the fate of the Lothswane child back to her estate. Her estate will not be satisfied with any explanation unless someone is dead or in chains.
Evie: …Aaaaand there we go. Yeah, it might not be a bad idea to get in the habit of doing that whenever I go off on some crazy scheme. Wouldn't do to get stressed out when there's a much easier solution to be had.
Lilly: That's…probably wise. But what about finding the other conduits?
Evie: Well, as far as I can tell, there are no "drastic consequences" for not following Aboleth's plan. His big problem was that he ended up turning finding the other conduits from "a possible way of Valerie getting power" to "the only way for Valerie to get power". You, on the other hand, have much more options available to you. You're making healthy wages doing work that you've always wanted to make into a career. You have a chance to learn from Captain Martin and from some of the adventurers that have made it to Harmuph. You're even gaining experience at a decent clip in the dungeon. At that point, abandoning all that just to try and track down people scattered across the world who might grant you a boost and may very well be stronger than you seems downright uneconomical.
Lilly: …Uneconomical? Okay, see, I think that's the problem I have with you: there are no "absolutes" with you. It's like Mother teaching me accounting; everything's got a set value, and if there's not room for it in the budget, it has to go. But the thing is I know that Mom would never, like, sell me or my brothers away to someone for any amount, because we are "absolutely" valuable to her. But your problem with Aboleth didn't seem to be so much that what he and Valerie were doing was evil, but that their budgeting balance wasn't very good. Like, was Valerie really no different from an Alpha to you, just a problem that we ended up profiting from afterward? Does the fact that she was a person (or at least, used to be) not really matter to you at all? Does…anything?
Evie: …Lilly, I promised that I wouldn't lie to you, so I won't. I have been around for a very, VERY long time. The sources of all magic, the establishment of the Melange Layer, the creation of Ethos, and every story you've ever heard of how the world was made? I've been running around for all of it. I've seen acts of sacrifice and mercy that would make you weep for days, and spiteful cruelties of such massive scale that would make you question goodness itself. I've seen the wise grow senile, the mighty grow weak, and good, GOOD people suffer and die. The point I'm trying to make is that in order to survive as a cognizant sapient being who keeps outlasting everyone else, I've found that I have to…parcel out my emotional investment. So, let's look at Valerie. Am I joyous that you had a terrible unforeseen foe that was trying to kill you but had something you could use once you beat her? Not really, no. Is the value of the prize worth the great risk to your life and the clear distress that this has brought you? I'm…willing to consider the matter a valid debate. But if you're asking me to grieve for some mad dog that's tortured and killed maybe a hundred people by this point, that we barely knew for a minute…I'm not sure I have it in me. It'd be like asking you to grieve for the Rampant Dungeon that corrupted your father and killed your neighbors. There's…there's nothing there. As far as I'm concerned, this is just the ending of one sad story out of thousands, and chances are that in a century's time, I'll probably have completely forgotten her name.
Lilly: …I can't think like that. Or…maybe I can, but I won't. Today, I'm choosing not to. *Lilly steps away from the corpse and bows her head*
Evie: Lilly, what are you-
Lilly: She's not going to get a real funeral, so this will have to do. *Ahem* Valerie was…Valerie…Valerie Lothswane did not deserve to have this happen to her. I don't know who she used to be before all this. Maybe she was spoiled, impatient, maybe even a little bit cruel. But I can't imagine that anything she did was worth being twisted by the Maw, being stuck with a spirit that was trying to use her, being tricked into choosing an Ethos that would drive her mad. She must have been someone who enjoyed things other than torturing people. Maybe she liked flowers, or singing, or candies, or sunny days, or warm hugs…just a regular little girl with a secret bloodline that shouldn't even matter. But I'm sure that regular girl was gone long before I met what monster was formed from her.
May whatever part of the true Valerie remains find peace, and may the Maw and Aboleth rot in hell for what they turned her into.
Evie: …And the angels rejoiced.
Lilly: What was that?
Evie: Lilly, that was a…very mature thing to do. It's probably not something that I would have done, but I am proud of you for choosing to do it.
Lilly: …So, what are you going to do with the Fragment? Am I going to get another Ethos?
Evie: Perhaps, but we may want to consider if today's events will be part of the "momentum" that guides the menu of choices. We could also probably use it to massively shore up the Tower, or perhaps do some other soul modification. But all that can wait for later, I've got some serious scrubbing to do first anyway. We can talk it over more once you've had a chance to rest. But for now, "We do what we can…"
Lilly: …"And we do what we must."
Evie: No, Lilly, she…she's gone.
Lilly: W-what about Aboleth? Is he going to control her now or-
Evie: No, it's…Spirits pulling the stunts like he and I do need a living soul to stay anchored to this world. Otherwise, we've got nothing to tether us against physio-spiritual forces at work here, which ends with us getting spat out the Outer Realms.
Lilly: So, it's over?
Evie: Yeah, it's over. How are you holding up?
Lilly: …I don't…I don't know how I'm feeling right now. Am I supposed to feel…guilty? Sick? Like, I've done "lethal" blows while training with Mathew, but this is for real. How is someone supposed to feel after murdering someone else?
Evie: I don't think there's really a "wrong" or "right" way to feel about something like this. I'll be honest, this might be more [Bedrock]'s wheelhouse than mine.
Lilly: …If I could have just knocked her unconscious-
Evie: Nope, none of that. Her Ethos is specifically designed to overpower almost any defenses it comes across over time. It's only because of my [Hybrid Siphon] that I was able to stop the mental attacks, and there's a chance it could have come up with an answer to that if she had survived. It would take a specialized group like the Noosemen to contain her, and, well, they aren't here.
Lilly: …Am I going to hell for this?
Evie: Are you going to- No, Lilly, no! This is textbook self-defense! Some of the angels are hardasses, but even they don't look at actions in a vacuum. Maybe the Choir of Grace might wring its hands over a "last minute redemption" that was never going to happen, but even the Choir of Mercy would have to admit you did your best in a bad situation. Lilly, on multiple levels, this was the right call.
Lilly: Gosh, what am I going to tell Captain Martin.
Evie: …And now we turn to mortal concerns.
Lilly: Evie, I have to tell somebody about this.
Evie: Generally speaking, when a young scion of a noble house is found dead in the woods of blunt force trauma, is that usually considered "a big deal?"
Lilly: Captain Martin will believe me, and I can swear under truth spell that she had mind control abilities and was trying to make me bite my fingers off. Textbook self-defence, just like you said, right?
Evie: And if believed that this would end with Captain Martin, you'd have a solid argument. But royal deaths bring royal investigators; diviners and coroners and interrogators of the highest caliber. And they're probably going to ask you a few follow-up questions. Like, say, "how did you shake off the mind control when nobody else has?"
Lilly: …I, uh, used [Bedrock] to shield my mind and-
Evie: Ping! Lie detected! The "correct truth" is "I recently developed a skill that allows me to retain my own mentality, and I have massive Essence pools to keep it running for as long as I need." This avoids accidentally naming an Ethos that you don't have, and it sidesteps the fact that you didn't actually use said skill. Of course, all of that is moot depending on how much they care about the truth.
Lilly: What do you mean "how much they care about the truth"? Isn't that their job?
Evie: Actually, for many royal investigators, their job is finding neat little stories that end with the perception of justice being served. If they care too little about the truth, they'll stop at "Who killed the noble?" without caring at all about the context, meaning you hang from a rope. If they somehow care too much about the truth, they may stumble across the actual answer to "Why did she confront you of all people?", at which point you'll WISH they had hung you from a rope. Even if they accept the story you would tell Captain Martin, they're stuck with the fact that the evidence seems to point at a member of the nobility being responsible for the mass slaughter they followed on the way here. And if the choice is between undermining "the trust and deference owed to the nobility", and silencing one little peasant girl in the middle of nowhere…
Lilly: So, what, I'm just supposed to bury her out here and not tell anyone?
Evie: I know you wish that the world was fair to the truly just, but that's not how things work at this time.
Lilly: …Damn it. *pulls out Heartstaff shaped like a shovel* I guess we're really doing this.
Evie: …Uh, before we do that, we've got another bit of clean-up to do. You recall Aboleth mentioned something about Deific fragments?
Lilly: Yeah, he was going to have Valerie pull out it out of me and merge it with hers so that…No. Evie, no!
Evie: Lilly, listen to me-
Lilly: I'm not going to dig in her corpse and pull out the Fragment so we can eat it for more power!
Evie: It's not really a physical object, you don't need to-
Lilly: I'll just bury it along with her. That'll bring an end to the whole business-
Evie: It's dangerous if it's left in her body!
Lilly: …What do you mean? There's no Valerie and no Aboleth, and we're hiding the body anyway. Is it going to explode?
Evie: A Deific fragment is a concentrated parcel of power that can used to support massive spiritual structures. Most mortals aren't able to even get near one without rampant mutation, but your bloodline makes it so that you can sustainably interact with one. The Maw implanted these in you and Valerie to use at the basis for its Multi-Ethos structure. This issue is that now that Valerie is dead, this structure will start to degrade, eventually leaving a big ball of massive potential that will try to bond with ANYTHING it deems a potential host. If we leave out here long enough, eventually it's going to get in touch with a mole or a tree root or some 5-year-old boy wandering the woods looking for buried treasure. The fragment will try to merge with them, but all potential and no structure means that the result will be both monstrous and powerful. But there is a way to contain and neutralize this Fragment so that it can't cause any more harm to anyone.
Lilly: So, what do we do?
Evie: Oh, it's real simple. First you place your hands on Valerie's forehead. Then you start infusing the body with Essence, which will act as bait for the Fragment to follow back to you. You'll feel a nibble, then a tug, and then you'll feel the Fragment practically LUNGE at you, but don't panic. Now, it's still sedate enough to "have a conversation", as it were, so it's going to start trying to show you visions of your heart's desire to have you agree to bond with it. Piles of gold, a wizard's spellbook, cheering crowds, your father fully recovered, Mathew with his shirt off, whatever it thinks you want. You, being a smart girl, say "No," and then activate a Pulse Surge to "push" it away a bit. At that point my tendrils will grab hold of it, and I'll take care of the rest. Simple, right?
Lilly: …How dangerous is this?
Evie: Eh, at this point, I'd rate it a 2/10, given that you know to resist the temptation and that I've got your back. But the more time the structure has to degrade, the more "feral" the fragment will be.
Lilly: Right, let's get this over with. *Lilly starts to reach out to the corpse, then stops and lowers her hands to her sides.*
Evie: Uh, you okay there, Lilly? If you need to cycle [Bedrock] a bit to calm your nerves, that's understandable.
Lilly: So, this is the process by which we're going to "neutralize" the Fragment, correct?
Evie: …Yes?
Lilly: So, hypothetically speaking, if we were going to be going forward with the "consummation" process, what would we be doing differently?
Evie: …Well, you'd still need to extract it using the process I described.
Lilly: And then you'd "take care of the rest." Just like you "took care" of my body to make it…whatever it is now.
Evie: Look, I was a baby following instructions that told me that it was going to help you, I couldn't imagine that-
Lilly: But you're not a baby now, are you? You're a spirit fully responsible for her own choices. How exactly are you going to neutralize the Fragment, huh? Can you break it down for me a bit?
Evie: …The raw mutating qualities of the Fragment are mitigated once a new design has been introduced allowing for potential integration-
Lilly: DAMN IT ALL, EVIE! I told you I didn't want to do to do this consummation crap, and you try to trick me into doing it anyway! How am I supposed to trust you when you pull shit like this!?
Evie: Look, I'm not lying about what happens when a Fragment is left unattended! If we don't take care of this now, eventually there will be a monster roaming the countryside that make the Alphas look like puppies!
Lilly: But do we have to integrate it? And how does this make us any better than Valerie and Aboleth?
Evie: Because they started it! Look, we both agree that, independently of anything else, they had to be stopped, right? This ends up leaving one more mess that we have to take care of, which just happens to be something that we are able to profit off of-
Lilly: Profit? PROFIT!? This isn't some dungeon monster that we can pull the teeth off of and sell at an adventurer's guild. This was a real actual person! And after what happened to her… I-I can't go through with this!
Evie: …Alright. What do you propose we do instead?
Lilly: What if we just extract the Fragment and just…store it someplace until it dissipates? Or better yet, just rip it into pieces?
Evie: Lilly, we're talking about literal god essence, some of the most spiritually durable and dense material in the cosmos. I don't have the tools to "smash" it; I don't have the tools to make the tools to "smash" it. Now, I can temporarily store it in a sort of "soul closet", but the decay rate outside of actual use can be measure in centuries, and if anything jostles your soul too hard, there's a chance that it will spill out and apply raw potential to your soul structure…which would end very badly.
Lilly: I don't want to keep that thing inside me at all! Okay, what if we extracted it, made some kind of soul container, then hid it away somewhere where nobody would ever find it?
Evie: Oh, you mean like stuffing it in a lockbox and dropping it in the sea? Or maybe tossing it in the caldera of a dormant volcano?
Lilly: …Y-yeah, like that.
Evie: Lilly, raw Fragments aren't bound by the limitations and rules of the Melange Layer. They will simply outlast whatever container they are placed in. The lockbox will rust, or buckle under the pressure, or get broken into by a mer-person. If you drop in a volcano, the "soul container" will melt first, and the Fragment with bond with the lava, turning a dormant volcano into the capital of the Land of Fire and Ash, population: zero. Even if you did manage to create a semi-sustainable set-up to contain it, trying to actually hide it is an exercise in futility.
Lilly: What do you mean?
Evie: If some adventurer with, say, [Ladder of Wisdom] happened to ask "Where's the strongest unclaimed source of magical power in a 20-mile radius?" in the right spot, they'd be given direct instructions leading directly to the Fragment and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop it. There are SO many Ethos that are dedicated to finding things, disarming traps, and undoing wards. If the price is right (and a Fragment is definitely the right price), there's no static defenses you can muster that will stop people from trying to claim it. You'd need the resources and continual vigilance usually associated with religious orders to try and defend it.
Lilly: Then why don't we do that? Find a religious order that can keep it safe from everyone else?
Evie: …Let us put aside my natural distrust of religious orders due to them falsely labeling me as the "Mother of Lies". Let us also put aside that you'll be giving away a magical power that is probably worth at least 10 times the total value of Harmuph. How the hells are you going to explain how you got it. Even "Lucky Lilly" has no business finding one of these, and they're not going to believe you just "wrapped it in a blanket" to be able to actually transport the thing. If you think the people investigating Valerie's death will be thorough and invasive, hoo boy-
Lilly: So, you're telling me that eating this thing is the only option if I don't want to die by discovery or be an asshole who leaves problems for someone else?
Evie: Lilly, I don't know what to tell you. This is the best option I can think of.
Lilly: But there has to be another way! I…I think I'd rather die than end up like Valerie.
Evie: …Oh, Lilly, no no no noooooo! Was THAT the problem this whole time? No, Lilly, no, I wouldn't do that to you! I'm going to be scrubbing that Fragment with an iron sponge before I even begin to start shaping it! No memories of slaughter, no touch of the Maw, and no fucking Will Winnower! This is going to be spick and spam pure Potential, fresh out of the box. I'm so, so sorry I didn't communicate that properly! Gosh, if I thought I'd be stuck with an Apothetic Ethos, I'd be spitting a lot more fire than you have.
Lilly: Oh, thank the gods. It's just…I don't want to have that kind of power, ever. If some stray words caused me to hurt somebody-
Evie: Lilly, it's all right. Everything's going to be alright.
Lilly: Okay, I feel a lot better now. But…I guess…is this going to make me like Aboleth? You know, hunting down other people with a "great and terrible purpose?"
Evie: Lilly, is that something you truly wish to do?
Lilly: Wha- No, obviously not.
Evie: Then we're not doing it, end of story. Lilly, I'm not going to force you to do something you clearly don't want to.
Lilly: …Evie…Evie, you can't SAY that! This whole conversation is all about "things I don't want to do!" "Yes, Lilly, you have to bury the dead girl in the forest and not tell anyone about it!" "Yes, Lilly, you have eat this godflesh or else a terrible monster will come up and kill everyone!" But now it's "No, Lilly, you can do anything you want!" You keep changing the rules and twisting the facts on me! You always use the "correct" truth that gets you what you want, even though you know I'm not using the same definitions as you. It doesn't matter if you're "not lying" if I can't trust a word you say!
Evie: Lilly, I…You're right. You're absolutely right. I have been taking advantage of your trust, and…that's not what good friends do. The correct…the more accurate truth is "you can do whatever you want, as long as you can handle the consequences." For the body and the Fragment, I only see very narrow courses of action that avoid you facing drastic consequences. But you know what, you have an independent source who, if nothing else, you know to be incredibly accurate.
Lilly: …Ladder, is there any way to report about Valerie without suffering really bad consequences?
Ladder: Captain Martin will always report the fate of the Lothswane child back to her estate. Her estate will not be satisfied with any explanation unless someone is dead or in chains.
Evie: …Aaaaand there we go. Yeah, it might not be a bad idea to get in the habit of doing that whenever I go off on some crazy scheme. Wouldn't do to get stressed out when there's a much easier solution to be had.
Lilly: That's…probably wise. But what about finding the other conduits?
Evie: Well, as far as I can tell, there are no "drastic consequences" for not following Aboleth's plan. His big problem was that he ended up turning finding the other conduits from "a possible way of Valerie getting power" to "the only way for Valerie to get power". You, on the other hand, have much more options available to you. You're making healthy wages doing work that you've always wanted to make into a career. You have a chance to learn from Captain Martin and from some of the adventurers that have made it to Harmuph. You're even gaining experience at a decent clip in the dungeon. At that point, abandoning all that just to try and track down people scattered across the world who might grant you a boost and may very well be stronger than you seems downright uneconomical.
Lilly: …Uneconomical? Okay, see, I think that's the problem I have with you: there are no "absolutes" with you. It's like Mother teaching me accounting; everything's got a set value, and if there's not room for it in the budget, it has to go. But the thing is I know that Mom would never, like, sell me or my brothers away to someone for any amount, because we are "absolutely" valuable to her. But your problem with Aboleth didn't seem to be so much that what he and Valerie were doing was evil, but that their budgeting balance wasn't very good. Like, was Valerie really no different from an Alpha to you, just a problem that we ended up profiting from afterward? Does the fact that she was a person (or at least, used to be) not really matter to you at all? Does…anything?
Evie: …Lilly, I promised that I wouldn't lie to you, so I won't. I have been around for a very, VERY long time. The sources of all magic, the establishment of the Melange Layer, the creation of Ethos, and every story you've ever heard of how the world was made? I've been running around for all of it. I've seen acts of sacrifice and mercy that would make you weep for days, and spiteful cruelties of such massive scale that would make you question goodness itself. I've seen the wise grow senile, the mighty grow weak, and good, GOOD people suffer and die. The point I'm trying to make is that in order to survive as a cognizant sapient being who keeps outlasting everyone else, I've found that I have to…parcel out my emotional investment. So, let's look at Valerie. Am I joyous that you had a terrible unforeseen foe that was trying to kill you but had something you could use once you beat her? Not really, no. Is the value of the prize worth the great risk to your life and the clear distress that this has brought you? I'm…willing to consider the matter a valid debate. But if you're asking me to grieve for some mad dog that's tortured and killed maybe a hundred people by this point, that we barely knew for a minute…I'm not sure I have it in me. It'd be like asking you to grieve for the Rampant Dungeon that corrupted your father and killed your neighbors. There's…there's nothing there. As far as I'm concerned, this is just the ending of one sad story out of thousands, and chances are that in a century's time, I'll probably have completely forgotten her name.
Lilly: …I can't think like that. Or…maybe I can, but I won't. Today, I'm choosing not to. *Lilly steps away from the corpse and bows her head*
Evie: Lilly, what are you-
Lilly: She's not going to get a real funeral, so this will have to do. *Ahem* Valerie was…Valerie…Valerie Lothswane did not deserve to have this happen to her. I don't know who she used to be before all this. Maybe she was spoiled, impatient, maybe even a little bit cruel. But I can't imagine that anything she did was worth being twisted by the Maw, being stuck with a spirit that was trying to use her, being tricked into choosing an Ethos that would drive her mad. She must have been someone who enjoyed things other than torturing people. Maybe she liked flowers, or singing, or candies, or sunny days, or warm hugs…just a regular little girl with a secret bloodline that shouldn't even matter. But I'm sure that regular girl was gone long before I met what monster was formed from her.
May whatever part of the true Valerie remains find peace, and may the Maw and Aboleth rot in hell for what they turned her into.
Evie: …And the angels rejoiced.
Lilly: What was that?
Evie: Lilly, that was a…very mature thing to do. It's probably not something that I would have done, but I am proud of you for choosing to do it.
Lilly: …So, what are you going to do with the Fragment? Am I going to get another Ethos?
Evie: Perhaps, but we may want to consider if today's events will be part of the "momentum" that guides the menu of choices. We could also probably use it to massively shore up the Tower, or perhaps do some other soul modification. But all that can wait for later, I've got some serious scrubbing to do first anyway. We can talk it over more once you've had a chance to rest. But for now, "We do what we can…"
Lilly: …"And we do what we must."
So, guess which project shot to the top of the freaking list! That's right, Fragment Radar! Oh, not to seek, no, no, no, but to hide…or at least prepare. I can't believe we got caught flat-footed like that. If Aboleth hadn't been the Idiot of the Realms and screwed up the PRINCIPLE ADVANGATE of a Multi-Ethos, that could have gone really bad, really fast.
At any rate, I'm going to see if Lilly can practice using [Wild Affinity] to get her woodland friends to cover up the trails and markings leading to the crime scene. Noble or no, somebody's going to be following the trail of corpses, and we need to make sure they find nothing but dead ends. Valerie was an "easy sell", but I'd prefer not to have the conversation about dealing with someone who's "just doing their job" for quite some time.
It might have been easier if Valerie had just shown up in town to begin with; that would have tied up the story neatly. But no, Valerie with actual hostages or "minions" would have been exponentially harder to deal with. A lot more tears and questions afterward as well, and there's no way they would have let us near the corpse.
I'm almost tempted to ask Lilly if she would have been so gracious if her family had been Valerie's "playmates". But no, she's had enough growing up to do today. Buried her first body like a champ! Her funeral giving her closure will hopefully keep her from "confessing" out of guilt, and [Brave Blood] and [Bedrock] need a few wins to avoid more divergence.
Speaking of conversations to avoid, there were a few major gaffes today. Got caught handling her regarding integrating the Fragment; I felt that would have more of a "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission" situation. The "Valerie 2.0" bit was a MAJOR oversight on my part, but she calmed down fairly quickly from that. Which I immediately screwed up with some mild gaslighting during a stressful conversation, leading to a breakdown of the "hosting a Trickster Goddess" problem. It got so bad that I had to feed her the "Ladder verification" to get her to calm down. I was hoping to save that for later, but that's the price you pay for screwing up. Also, I'm probably going to have to "be more specific" for a while as well. It's a little tricky trying to map out our power dynamic, but if she gets frustrated enough with my antics to pick [I Tear the Veil] and try to use it on me…well, I don't know how that Ethos interaction would work, and I'd rather not find out.
I also narrowly avoided the "would you jump ship?" conversation. As to actually doing it…I don't know. I mean, Valerie's been my only data point for options, and yeah, I'm good here. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what "something better coming along" would look like. Someone richer? Someone on a boat who won't be chased by authorities? Someone more gullible? And besides…Lilly's speech got to me a little. She didn't deserve to be part of this mess, and she doesn't really deserve to have a spirit that's just trying to use her. Granted, I'm not saying I'd be willing to die for her (especially not "die" die). But she's trying as best she can and…I want that to matter. At least for today.
Speaking of that little speech, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that we're almost guaranteed to see [Reverent Advocate] again, a very good choice for her build (I just REALLY needed a safe harbor at the time). On the other hand, I'm, like, 80% sure that her little prayer was a big old "Room for Rent" sign to the guys upstairs, and they are priming up a "virtuous counterpart to guide this lost soul away from temptation". Maybe I need to drop a few "asshole angel" stories to Lilly in our downtime, it's not like those are in short supply.
…They're going to make their candidate sound like Mathew, aren't they? "Oh, yeah, I'm the approachable, good-hearted, boundary-respecting sort who just wants you to be the best that you can be." And they call me a seductress. Lousy bastards.
At any rate, I'm going to see if Lilly can practice using [Wild Affinity] to get her woodland friends to cover up the trails and markings leading to the crime scene. Noble or no, somebody's going to be following the trail of corpses, and we need to make sure they find nothing but dead ends. Valerie was an "easy sell", but I'd prefer not to have the conversation about dealing with someone who's "just doing their job" for quite some time.
It might have been easier if Valerie had just shown up in town to begin with; that would have tied up the story neatly. But no, Valerie with actual hostages or "minions" would have been exponentially harder to deal with. A lot more tears and questions afterward as well, and there's no way they would have let us near the corpse.
I'm almost tempted to ask Lilly if she would have been so gracious if her family had been Valerie's "playmates". But no, she's had enough growing up to do today. Buried her first body like a champ! Her funeral giving her closure will hopefully keep her from "confessing" out of guilt, and [Brave Blood] and [Bedrock] need a few wins to avoid more divergence.
Speaking of conversations to avoid, there were a few major gaffes today. Got caught handling her regarding integrating the Fragment; I felt that would have more of a "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission" situation. The "Valerie 2.0" bit was a MAJOR oversight on my part, but she calmed down fairly quickly from that. Which I immediately screwed up with some mild gaslighting during a stressful conversation, leading to a breakdown of the "hosting a Trickster Goddess" problem. It got so bad that I had to feed her the "Ladder verification" to get her to calm down. I was hoping to save that for later, but that's the price you pay for screwing up. Also, I'm probably going to have to "be more specific" for a while as well. It's a little tricky trying to map out our power dynamic, but if she gets frustrated enough with my antics to pick [I Tear the Veil] and try to use it on me…well, I don't know how that Ethos interaction would work, and I'd rather not find out.
I also narrowly avoided the "would you jump ship?" conversation. As to actually doing it…I don't know. I mean, Valerie's been my only data point for options, and yeah, I'm good here. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what "something better coming along" would look like. Someone richer? Someone on a boat who won't be chased by authorities? Someone more gullible? And besides…Lilly's speech got to me a little. She didn't deserve to be part of this mess, and she doesn't really deserve to have a spirit that's just trying to use her. Granted, I'm not saying I'd be willing to die for her (especially not "die" die). But she's trying as best she can and…I want that to matter. At least for today.
Speaking of that little speech, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that we're almost guaranteed to see [Reverent Advocate] again, a very good choice for her build (I just REALLY needed a safe harbor at the time). On the other hand, I'm, like, 80% sure that her little prayer was a big old "Room for Rent" sign to the guys upstairs, and they are priming up a "virtuous counterpart to guide this lost soul away from temptation". Maybe I need to drop a few "asshole angel" stories to Lilly in our downtime, it's not like those are in short supply.
…They're going to make their candidate sound like Mathew, aren't they? "Oh, yeah, I'm the approachable, good-hearted, boundary-respecting sort who just wants you to be the best that you can be." And they call me a seductress. Lousy bastards.
Slyvena
I don't like pie.
- Location
- Pie Shop
That is absolutely phenomenal work there, @Silverking!
I have already been quite impressed with the depth of thought and reasoning some of you are bringing to bear on Lilly's circumstance. (Sometimes it feels like I'm getting to read free Rationalist Fiction)
But these omakes have just been the absolute awesome cherry on top of the cake.
I won't make a habit of this, but as it is somewhat tradition to grant bonuses for omakes/art in Quests: here, have this.
Sometimes, things just go right: :::Silverking Exclusive vote:::
[ ] I'm kind of a big deal: +500 Free exp. Allocated in full or parts wherever you wish. (Won't be given all at once, will match any exp Lilly earns 1-to-1 until exhausted. So if she earns 200, she gets an extra 200 and still has 300 left in her additional pool.)
[ ] She's in the zone: Choose a specific power. The next time Lilly rolls to progress its Tier, she automatically rolls Crit 100 and has some form of epiphany or discovers a completely novel use she had not yet considered.
[ ] Someone tried caffeine for the first time: Lilly receives +5 to every roll for a full chapter. (So long as that would be a good thing.)
(No changing your mind based on future events. You must choose now, and it stays locked in.)
Bonus will be justified 'in story', it won't just drop out of the sky.
I have already been quite impressed with the depth of thought and reasoning some of you are bringing to bear on Lilly's circumstance. (Sometimes it feels like I'm getting to read free Rationalist Fiction)
But these omakes have just been the absolute awesome cherry on top of the cake.
I won't make a habit of this, but as it is somewhat tradition to grant bonuses for omakes/art in Quests: here, have this.
Sometimes, things just go right: :::Silverking Exclusive vote:::
[ ] I'm kind of a big deal: +500 Free exp. Allocated in full or parts wherever you wish. (Won't be given all at once, will match any exp Lilly earns 1-to-1 until exhausted. So if she earns 200, she gets an extra 200 and still has 300 left in her additional pool.)
[ ] She's in the zone: Choose a specific power. The next time Lilly rolls to progress its Tier, she automatically rolls Crit 100 and has some form of epiphany or discovers a completely novel use she had not yet considered.
[ ] Someone tried caffeine for the first time: Lilly receives +5 to every roll for a full chapter. (So long as that would be a good thing.)
(No changing your mind based on future events. You must choose now, and it stays locked in.)
Bonus will be justified 'in story', it won't just drop out of the sky.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] She's in the zone: Choose a specific power. The next time Lilly rolls to progress its Tier, she automatically rolls Crit 100 and has some form of epiphany or discovers a completely novel use she had not yet considered.
Very Late Edit: I am a sleep deprived moron who can't read.
Very Late Edit: I am a sleep deprived moron who can't read.
Last edited:
Slyvena
I don't like pie.
- Location
- Pie Shop
Ya goose. But I appreciate the enthusiasm.
Having a fair bit of fun with some of the dialogue in the next chapter, I think ya'll will enjoy it.
- Location
- San Ramon, CA
Thank you very much for this opportunity, @Slyvena . Your setting and story-telling have been very engaging and entertaining, and I am glad that you've enjoyed my little "narrative reflection" on it.
As for the rewards, I did a bit of thinking, and I think I'm going to go with:
[X] She's in the zone: Choose a specific power. The next time Lilly rolls to progress its Tier, she automatically rolls Crit 100 and has some form of epiphany or discovers a completely novel use she had not yet considered.
-[X] Rungs of Wisdom
The Force Multiplier, the Early Warning System, the Provider of Answers (context optional). Extra XP would be useful (the Tower's more of a glutton than even Evie is), and being "just a little bit more" for a day or so could be very helpful to consolidate our gains that our risks have earned. But ultimately, the one eternal enemy that Lilly has is the information gap, and the Ladder has been continually been a game-changer that turns failures into successes in both social and combat applications. Besides, there's a storm in the form of a little girl that Lilly NEEDS to see coming so she can prepare.
As for the rewards, I did a bit of thinking, and I think I'm going to go with:
[X] She's in the zone: Choose a specific power. The next time Lilly rolls to progress its Tier, she automatically rolls Crit 100 and has some form of epiphany or discovers a completely novel use she had not yet considered.
-[X] Rungs of Wisdom
The Force Multiplier, the Early Warning System, the Provider of Answers (context optional). Extra XP would be useful (the Tower's more of a glutton than even Evie is), and being "just a little bit more" for a day or so could be very helpful to consolidate our gains that our risks have earned. But ultimately, the one eternal enemy that Lilly has is the information gap, and the Ladder has been continually been a game-changer that turns failures into successes in both social and combat applications. Besides, there's a storm in the form of a little girl that Lilly NEEDS to see coming so she can prepare.
Slyvena
I don't like pie.
- Location
- Pie Shop
Locked in. Did a roll; Epiphany is titled "Throttle and Topic control."