Remove ads

Mammoth Apostate vs the World 1: "Lost in the Mist"

Reader mode
Well, here it is! Criticism, advice and and commentary are more than welcome. I do wish to improve my writing skills and I know there's plenty of things I could have done better here.


"...Can you please repeat that, Richard?" Glass asked her boss, astonished.

"We'll build a shrine using the auto-jigs, fill it with assorted astrological symbolism and mirrors, then use those to focus sunlight through the stained glass focus and down onto a water basin made of silver. Then you'll do a magic thing and we scry on whatever magical things Charleston has in reserve for when we attack them." He repeated, word for word and with the same calm, vaguely smug smile on his lips that he had when she entered the room.

She took a deep breath. "Right." The word was said in roughly the same tone one would say 'what the fuck'. "I assume there's more to this than just throwing a bunch of astrological bullshit everywhere and hoping I'll do the rest, because if there isn't, I'll be pissed off at you."

Richard's smugness intensified, and he wordlessly slid a manilla folder across the desk for her. Glass took it from him, opened it, and inside she found a series of notes and detailed blueprints.

"Remember how we spent yesterday going through that list?" He asked while she perused the blueprints.

"Yeah, of course I do." She answered, tracing her fingers down a page that contained a diagram describing how a few lines of text and symbols would have to be engraved onto various geometric patterns. Some she recognized as the names of planets or angels, while others were phrases in latin. "Honestly, I had no idea people had come up with so many ways to predict the future and see whats happening far away."

"Yeah, if I see a word ending in '-mancy' ever again I swear I'll throttle someone." He muttered. "Anyway, after we left for the day I kept pondering the problem of what kind of ritual we should attempt, and eventually I realized we don't need to stick with one tradition or ritual setup and that nothing says we can't mix thaumaturgic principles with Magical ritualism and sorcerous foundations." He said, a smirk on his lips. "And also that I have full authority to use the auto-jigs for whatever purposes I need, within reason."

Glass frowned. She was pretty sure he'd still need approval from the rest of the council before they handed over the keys to the auto-jigs, but considering they had already been tasked with magically spying on Charleston, using them could very well be 'within reason'. She still wanted to call bullshit on principle, the smugness he was radiating was kind of ticking her off, but judging by the folder on her hands he had taken this assignment seriously and put in the effort to see it happen.

She quickly closed the folder and estimated the number of pages inside it.

...Make that a worrying amount of effort. She quickly looked at his face, and now that she paid attention she could see the telltale signs of a lack of sleep on his face, red eyes with deep bags underneath them. Suddenly, she was feeling far less annoyed and a bit more worried.

Richard continued his explanation, seemingly not noticing her scrutiny. "And so I spent the night in this office, working out what symbols would work best for the ritual and where they should be inside the shrine, and by the time the sun was rising I was knocking on the door of the engineering department with a full set of notes for designing the shrine itself."

"I can't imagine you were welcomed by them very warmly," Glass interjected, picking one of the documents in the folder. At a glance, it seemed to be a rough sketch of a dome with a hole on it. From the looks of it, there were about a dozen similar sketches there. "What with the hour you showed up and the kind of assignment you had for them..."

"Au contraire, dear Ms. Cartwright, I was received as one of their own." He replied, smirk still on his lips. "By that point I was sleep-deprived and fueled by nothing but caffeine, manic enthusiasm and spite at my own need to sleep. From the moment I entered they recognized I was their kin in spirit if not in college degree."

Glass suspected he was still one of their spiritual kin, if the way he was acting was any indication. It seemed he hadn't even taken a nap despite pulling an all-nighter. Granted, as far as she could tell from the time they had spent working together this was almost normal normal for him, but it was a bit worrying nonetheless.

"And when I left my brothers, I did so with those blueprints, a CAD file for the auto-jigs, and an invitation for their D&D campaign." He concluded. "Now, as for the ritual itself--"

"Right right, the ritual." She interrupted him, leaving the Councillor blinking in surprise. "Can I ask you a question first?"

"Sure?" He answered, hesitantly, his previous calm smugness replaced with confusion.

"Did you take any breaks to rest today?" She asked, crossing her arms and tucking the folder under one of them. "Or yesterday, for that matter?"

"Well, I..." He started hesitantly. "I didn't. Couldn't, really, there's just so much to do and with the operation against Charleston looming closer I had too much on my plate to take a break."

Glass could hardly believe her ears. Hearing her boss try to make excuses for overworking himself was pretty high up on the list of things she never expected to happen. "What the hell, Richard?"

Seeing her response to his excuses, he sighed deeply and laid back on his chair. "You have to understand, Glass." He said, running a hand through his hair. She'd seen him do it often enough she assumed it was a nervous tic. "Between getting everything in order for our biggest military operation since the Apocalypse and making sure this ritual went without a hitch, I simply did not have the luxury of resting."

"And how are you going to get anything done properly like that?" She pressed him. "I know you're used to staying up late working, but you've been awake for how long now? Thirty hours?"

"About thirty, yes." He replied. "And I have full intention of resting after we're done here, Glass, I promise. I just need to give you the details of ritual so you can prepare for it."

They stared at each other, both unwilling to budge in the issue.

It was Glass who relented first. "Fine. Tell me what this ritual is about." She said. "But I'll make you take a couple days off very soon."

"Look, you don't need to--"

"I swear to God, if you try to refuse I'll talk with General Harrington," She threatened, "And you know he'll agree with me."

That shut Richard up immediately. For all the he was the man's technical superior in non--military matters due to his status as a Councillor, he still respected Harrington and owed a lot to him. The whole reason he got his position so soon after arriving in Savannah was because the General vouched for him.

"...All right, I'll take a day--"

"Days."

--A couple days off." He amended. Being bullied into taking a break, and by his own second-in-command to boot. This really was the Apocalypse. "Can we please move on to the ritual?"

"Yeah," Said second-in-command agreed. "Let's get on with it."

"Okay then. The basic idea behind it is simple." He replied, eager to move the conversation back on track. "If we're going to get any information on Charleston through magical means, we'll need to perform some sort of divination ritual and there are way too many methods to predict the future or scry into what's happening far away, which is no surprise, all things considered."

Glass couldn't help but notice that Richard was slipping into what she had come to call his Lecture Mode. From her experience, it involved a lot exposition, going into a number of tangents, pacing the room while wildly gesticulating, and the occasional rant on the stupidity of the academia.

"Divination is one of those ubiquitous concepts that shows up in nearly every culture, and keeps resurfacing in new forms even in modern, industrialized societies, either as fads or as minor superstitions..."

Richard's lectures weren't that bad, if she were perfectly honest. He spoke with passion as well as authority, and in many ways he reminded her of the best of her college professors. Most of the time she'd let him get it out of his system and at least feign paying attention if it seemed like something important.

But today, she was having none of it. A few sharp raps on the table were enough to snap him out of it.

"...but I digress." He said, looking somewhat sheepish. "The basis of the ritual is simple, and uses some of the most recognizable forms of scrying. In essence, you'll recite some magical words while staring into a pool of water in a silver basin and attempt to scry through it." He finally explained. "I considered using a crystal ball at first, and then a mirror since those are even more recognizable, but a pool of water is just as valid and we can exploit any thaumaturgical links between the water and Charleston's port to get a better look at it."

So far so good, her bullshit sense for magical matters hadn't gone off during any portion of the actual explanation, but she pressed on. "What about the rest of the shrine? All that astrological symbolism seems kinda excessive."

"Don't worry, everything in there was carefully thought out." He assured her. "Astrology has deep links with divination, and the stars have been used for navigation as well as assorted ritual purposes since antiquity. The star charts directly above the pool of water are those of the sky above Charleston, and the vessel where the water will be will have a map of Charleston and its surrounding area engraved on it."

Richard frowned for a moment, deep in thought, and then added, "Actually, it'd be easier to explain the rest with all the blueprints. Can you pass them over?"

Glass did so without comment, and Richard gave her a grateful nod. He opened the folder and took out a large blue paper that had been folded quite a few times. Its was promptly unfolded and laid out on the table, revealing a curious structure.

It was an isometric view of a square building, roughly the size of a small two-story house and sporting a domed roof. It was fully enclosed and whose only entrances were a pair of large double doors on the ground floor and hole at the very top of it. The whole thing was colored oddly, with the uppermost portion colored in yellow, with a ring of magenta right below it and the ground level colored in green.

"Despite the obvious Thaumaturgy involved in it," Richard explained, "And the Magical aspect from it being a ritual, this whole thing is still Sorcery at its core. As such, I tried to include the rule of three in as many aspects of it as possible. From the overall structure of the shrine..."

He unfolded a different blueprint now, revealing the ground floor split into three sections, each a different color. "To the component pieces of each part of the structure."

"The hole at the top is for sunlight to shine in," He continued, returning to the previous document. "It'll work best during sunny days between eleven and thirteen o' clock. The sun has a multitude of religious and esoteric associations in many cultures, as does sunlight and light in general. I'm hoping to channel it's associations with divinity, and how light and sunlight in particular are associated with banishing darkness and revealing what laid inside it."

He took out another blueprint, this one covered in mechanical devices whose purpose Glass couldn't immediately identify. "Naturally, we'll use the focus we obtained in the ritual. This whole thing here," he pointed out a collection of gears and pistons, "is essentially an array of mirrors that'll focus the sunlight onto the stained glass fragment, and it's engineered so the whole thing can be adjusted through a computer or mechanically by a single person. The rest of it," He gestured at the other contraptions, which consisted of what looked like a collection of pumps and tubes set inside the floor of the upper portion, "Is a cooling system that's meant to make sure our focus won't melt from the heat, and even if it does melt or shatter it will fall into the pool of water, which would have some magical significance of its own."

And finally, he unfolded a third blueprint, this one of the ground floor, which was rather plain aside from the engravings on the walls and the place where she assumed the pool of water would be, right in the center. "As for the ground floor, it'll feature the silver vessel that'll hold the water, as well as more astrological symbolism and some other things I added to fill the free spaces and as potential safety measures."

Glass frowned at that. "Safety measures?" So far, nothing seemed particularly dangerous, and as much as she didn't like the idea of performing any sort of Sorcery, she had to admit Richard had put a lot of thought into this. That he had added extra safety measures of any sort was as troubling as it was reassuring.

"Don't worry too much about it," He reassured her. "It's just things like the names of the Archangels at the four cardinal directions, some prayers in latin, and I managed to fit in a Sator Square directly behind you. Just in case."

Just in case, he says. She made a note to look up what a Sator Square was. "All right. I think I can see where you're going with this." She said. "All the symbols are meant to invoke thaumaturgic links, right?"

"Yeah, that's the idea." He confirmed. "In theory, the symbols will act as sympathetic links and help direct and maybe even help power the Sorcery. The star charts and the strong sunlight will probably be the most important components, really."

"But still, does it need to be that grandiose?" Glass asked. "A whole building is a bit... it sounds like you're trying too hard, you know?"

Richard shrugged. "At the very least it'll help with the atmosphere for the ritual." He glanced at the blueprints again, thinking hard about it. "Honestly, it can be scaled down without losing the core parts of it. All you actually need is the pool of water, a tripod to hold the glass shard, and strong sunlight."

"And why not do just that?" She pressed. "I get that you put in a lot of effort in this but that sounds simpler, more reliable and faster to set up than all that."

"Because I want to stack the deck in our favor as much as possible." He explained, massaging his temples. "Between possible magical defenses on Charleston's side and how dangerous Sorcery can be in general, I want to make use of every possible advantage to make sure it works and that you walk out of it safe and healthy." He looked at her straight in the eye. "And if that means staying up all night to create a shrine for it, then so be it."

And now Glass felt a bit guilty for being so hard on him. She wasn't going to let him off the hook, he was getting his days off one way or another, but she'd apologize after they finished here and he had his rest.

"Alright, alright..." She said, trying to think of something else to ask, partially as a way to change the subject. "And what about the charms themselves? I'll need to recite them in order to complete the sorcery, and I can't help but notice you haven't said anything about those yet."

"That's your job." He stated bluntly. "To be honest, I have no idea what sort of charms would work, so I was hoping your magical sixth sense would help you come up with something."

Glass stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief. "You know I've never done anything like this before, right?" She said. "The best I can think of at the moment is "mirror, mirror on the wall" and that's pretty much it.

Richard laughed when she said that. "You know, that might actually work!" At her nonplussed expression, he elaborated, "It's a three part charm just like the one we'll need. First 'Mirror,' followed by 'Mirror on the wall,' and finishing with 'Tell me who's the fairest of them all'."

Oh. This time its was Glass who burst into laughter, which prompted another outburst from Richard. "You know," she said after their laughter had died down. "I think I'll keep that one in mind, just in case I can't come up with anything good. That way we'll have at least one charm, right?"

"I guess so." Richard agreed, still snickering. "But if it's any help, the shrine is filled with western astrological and Christian symbols. It'd probably work best if you could incorporate something related to them into the charm, like a prayer to the Archangels or a request to the Sun."

"I'll try to keep that in mind as well." She said. "Anyway, is there anything else to this ritual? Because I'm all out of questions."

"No, I think we're done now." He replied. "The only thing left to do is pass the project over to the rest of the Council for approval." He frowned a bit, then added. "I was thinking of roping Mrs. Choi into this project by having her lead the pre- and post-ritual checks on the mechanical parts, which would sort of make the whole thing into a three-part ritual as well, but..."

"Alison is kind of a bitch and would probably refuse any requests for her to participate in a ritual out of sheer stubbornness?" Glass supplied.

"...I was going to say she's a handful to deal with in the best of days and that this sort of thing is likely to set her off, but I won't disagree with you." Richard said. "Either way, I'll leave dealing with her for later."

"You did promise you'd go to sleep after we're done here." Glass reminded him.

Richard sighed. "And I'm nothing if not a man of my word."

Glass beamed. "Good!" She said, and immediately got up from her chair and started folding the blueprints herself. "Leave the rest to me, you go get your well-earned rest!"

Richard chuckled, and got up from his own chair. "I'd tell you to wake me up if anything comes up, but..."

"I wouldn't anyway, yeah." She continued without missing a beat, but she realized how that sounded the moment she finished her sentence and hastily added, "Well, I will if it's something really important. You get what I mean, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." He reassured her, and went on to grab his suitcase and coat. By now, Glass had finished putting the papers back into the folder, and was on her way to the door with it under her arm. Richard opened the door for her and made the universal gesture that usually meant 'Ladies First', which earned him a smile and a "Thank you."

The pair then exchanged goodbyes, and walked to different ends of the corridor.
 
Highwind Omake support is Locked.

------------------

You have spent the action for a magical scout. Glass will be presented with various opportunities that will present you with a Y/N decision ( that will be resolved using combat consensus - first 2 agreeing votes lock the decision). A yes will then require a 1d10 roll I will modify to reflect off camera factors (shrine, etc.)

-----------------

Write up will be up asap, but my family have co-opted my larger monitor blocking access to my PC. Apparently family Minecraft is --A-- thing now. :anger:
 
Omake has gained some benefits.

Shrine design is especially well thought out, scrying Charleston bonus obtained.
Protective design elements effective in bolstering a casters defense from this location.

Bringing Allison Choi onboard and having Director Highwind give her a rundown tour similar to Glasses have paid dividends.

Having her look over the mechanisms that adjust the mirrors, focus and channel the light (to reveal what is hidden) result in an unspecified bonus enchantment.
 
All the preparations have been done, the Shrine is functional, Glass has meditate on how best to begin the sorcerous incantation.

She takes inspiration from a dog eared copy of Frank Herbert's "Dune" it seems appropriate to plagiarize a portion of the Mentat mantra. She pictures the words in English, but when they leave her mouth they are twisted by sorcerous intent into a language that has not been heard since the oceans drank ancient Mu.

"It is by my will alone I set my mind in motion."

The first recital the alien words 'feel' thick in her mouth, it takes concentration to move her tongue correctly almost as if she were a child struggling during speech therapy.

The next makes her eyes bulge, her skin flush as the first beads of perspiration appears upon her brow as she fights not to vocally stumble. She knows to fail this far in will have lingering physical consequences.

It is now that the computer program begins to subtlety adjust the mirrors to maximize sunlight upon the stained glass shard, the light also grows somehow. Not in brilliance nor in heat produced, but somehow it feels more -wholesome-. When it strikes the basin engraved with the map of Charlestown the thaumaturgies energy is added, and the water in the basin mirror the tidal ebb and flow of Charleston Harbor.

Glass is bolstered and draws some added strength, almost as if there is a supportive hand on her back.

The third recital is the most intensive, sweat rolls freely, head to toe muscles quiver, the most apt descriptive would be to compare it with childbirth. Glass can feel a small sliver of her life flit into the sorcery.

A way opens and Glass experiences her first out of body experience.

She can sense that her body now stands easy, physically she is only mildly winded. With a minimal effort she can make the meat suit parrot the thought she is thinking.

But she also senses an invisible channel leading away to the Northeast, a vantage point centered over the Citadel chapel.

Begin the scout? Y/N
 
[X] Y

We've only just started and we're already too far in to stop. Not without at least some intel.
 
Combat consensus achieved.

----------

As Glass dives into the unknown she marvels at this new sensation, she is an unfettered concoiusness floating light and free.

"This must be what a butterfly feels like..."

No sooner does the thought form than an astral construct of a burnt orange butterfly forms mimicing a Monarch, but where the spots on the wings should be is instead a photo real depiction of Glasses own eyes, down even to masscaraed eyelashes.

The sight eminates from both front and back sides of the construct allowing a 360 panaramic view.

Sadly there is not much to easily see... a preturnatural gloom obscures sight lines a stones throw away from the chapel.

If Glass focuses hard enough on any particular spot she can penetrate the gloom but it is an active resistance.

There are however 2 noticeable exceptions to the standard gloom.

The first is swirling vortex she can sense leads to below the chapel where old build records indicate nothing should exist. The feeling here is of a dangerous undertow, something that welcomes investigation too readily, but seems like it would be reluctant to part with a guest.

Second is a darker knot of gloom that parts reluctantly and actively gathers and reinforces its shadows, a clear act of will.

Although Glass may choose to use her ability to concentrate through the gloom to find tidbits of intel, the 2 exception are more likely to be noteworthy.

[ ] continue with basic concentration but redouble your efforts.

[ ] investigate vortex

[ ] investage the knot of darkness

edit: as always write in is a valid option.
 
Last edited:
Hm....

My thinking is the knot of darkness, or general redoubling. The basement feels like, well, a trap.

Also, getting strong Mothra vibes from Glass's manifestation here.
 
[X] continue with basic concentration but redouble your efforts.

This seems the safest option and right now I think safe and reliable are our best best
 
I'm not sure what to vote for here. I sort of want to see what's under the knot of darkness, but that might alert whatever is maintaining it and cut our scrying short.
 
Combat consensus achieved for redoubling. @KnightDisciple & @Dream Logic voiced support.

---------------

Glass buckles down and muscles through, she is a bit shocked as her efforts to reveal what is hidden are aided from home.

The area under scrutiny is suddenly suffused by a directionless light and the gloom fades.

Choi's contribution no longer a mystery.

The knot of darkness hisses.

"Loathsome beauty, why do you disrupt such tranquil gloom? You should have Fluttered on bye, butterfly that is not. My master has charged me to keep his work unseen, you threaten to make me look bad."

Ebon skeletal hands with nails of obsidian stretch outwards from the knot towards the construct holding Glasses persona.

Waves of purest apathy drift lanquidly towards Glass. She has been engaged in a battle for mental dominion.

Wizardy's Law of Dictomy is being invoked; you have no choice you must dominate or suffer submission to the extradimensional gloom.

Roll 1d10, first come first serve.
 
Last edited:
Please explode the roll, with wizardry the size of the difference between opponents dominance rolls MATTERS.
Smithsguild threw 1 10-faced dice. Reason: Glooms dominance attempt Total: 1
1 1
 
Something tells me Glass is one decent explosion roll away from getting herself a familiar. Don't fuck with this butterfly. :V
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top