Seems like the pulsing is to the north. Seeing as that's where the babby mammoths probably are...
[X] Follow the pulse your soulgem can feel.
[X] [Mistfist] Would things have diverged significantly if we'd killed the second lion instead of evading it?
Thanks everyone for voting. I'd like some more, but this vote seems like it's going to win.
Just in case though, votes will close in 24 hours.
M/M vote:
[Mistfist] Would things have diverged significantly if we'd killed the second lion instead of evading it? - 3
*Edit: Huh, that's one way to get your M/M vote to appear I guess. I'll be counting those however they're posted by hand, so don't worry about following this voting style.
*Edit2: Votes are closed!
Adhoc vote count started by mistfist on Sep 5, 2017 at 8:36 AM, finished with 7 posts and 3 votes.
[X] Follow the pulse your soulgem can feel.
[X] [Mistfist] Would things have diverged significantly if we'd killed the second lion instead of evading it?
A/N: Thanks @Tayta Malikai for beta-ing again. <3 [Mistfist] Would things have diverged significantly if we'd killed the second lion instead of evading it?
To put it rather simply, yes, yes it would have. The degree of change depends on what choices you would have made instead of going up a tree and waiting until the lion left, but there were three distinct routes that I had thought up in which you could have killed it without dying yourself. Without going into specifics, there was the safe route, in which you killed it without harm and under your own power, the risky route where you received an injury, but succeeded, and the wish route.
The wish route would have changed things the most, as you can probably imagine. Had you made a wish here, it most likely would be more focused on combat or strength, but since you're the voters, you'd have a better idea about that then me. There were bad routes as well, but since we're talking about the ones in which you kill the lion, I'll refrain from discussing the aftermaths of those. Instead, let's go into the positive changes.
Primarily, killing the lion would have improved your standing in Deep Forest, especially from your parent's perspective. Yes, your parents don't keep you from hunting, and trust you to keep yourself safe, but before you made your wish they thought you were, for lack of a better word, weak. However, had you come back with the corpse (or just proof of your victory), their entire mindset towards you would have shifted. You would have been considered for the mammoth mission even if you hadn't wished at that point, although you probably would have been paired with Ruka or a younger hunter in this potential timeline.
Another, more immediate change would have been the reactions from the family you met in the forest, as well as your choices involving them. If you remember correctly, I had you voters choose which community they were from before you learned their names. Were you carrying a dead lion, maybe your choices could have changed, and you'd be dealing with a family from Flowing Water, or elsewhere. Maybe you wouldn't have helped them at all due to being covered in lion's blood. Maybe Yono would have attacked you out of fear, or begged you to pass them by. Maybe, maybe, maybe…
However, the thing that would have changed immensely, and in my opinion most importantly, is Morra's confidence. A cave lion is a threat even to an experienced hunter, and had you killed one with your own power, Morra would have been beyond ecstatic. Not only would she not be terrified at the sight of big cats, but in future combat she would have had the confidence to not flinch at deadly threats or powerful opponents. As Morra is now, she is confident enough that her magic can bring her success, but outside of her sling, she has less trust in her more mundane skills in combat.
The choices you make accumulate, dear readers; don't forget that. Everything you do affects Morra's future, and while killing a lion was an important choice, it was far from the only one. M/M Question
[Morra] Write-In.
Or
[Mistfist] Write-In. [] Follow the pulse your Soul Gem can feel.
Had you… imagined that? That brief, steady hint of magic to the... north? Northwest? Somewhere in that direction.
Something magical had urged you to touch your Soul Gem while you were, admittedly, panicking a bit. A pulse, tiny yet persistent, that almost seemed to be calling out to something. Seems to be calling out to something.
There!
… or maybe, someone?
Honestly, it's a better lead than anything you'd thought up so far. Even if the adult mammoths were to the south like their tracks indicated, could you really trust that they were still there with magic being involved? At least following this pulse you know you'll find the wisher or… a Witch.
But it hadn't felt like Leewa's had; no gloom or despair. Just the feeling of magic emotionlessly pulsing.
You couldn't tell if that was good, or bad. Both had risks, a Witch because of its chaotic and powerful aggression, but if the wisher was unreasonable, or actively malicious...
You'll just have to make the most of what's to come. Focus on the mission, Morra. On helping Roto, Hura, Neso, and in the long term, even Moving Frost. You don't want to pick fights with another community, and getting the mammoths to them before they start acting strange is the best start to getting away from that.
Leaving the junction isn't difficult, even when you're doing your best to avoid stepping on the prints in case you or anyone else comes back. The correct direction is easy to sense as well, especially after you change into your magical form, the comforting weight of the fitted skins and pouches of stones settling perfectly upon your body, your sling changing in a flash of light to something inexplicably more familiar than the weapon you've had most of your life.
A little west of the northbound tracks, is what your enhanced senses tell you, and so you go.
You can't really feel what the pulse is supposed to be doing (or saying?) but it's constant and easy to follow, which you'd be thankful for if you knew why it was happening. Does the wisher know you're coming? Are they calling for you? Calling for more mammoths? Or could it be something else entirely?
You don't know, but as the sun slinks ever-nearer to the horizon, you make your way closer to the persistent throbbing of the magic. The line of mammoth footprints fell behind you long ago, but you feel far from lost as you weave through undisturbed shrubs and hills of mud. The trees are few and far between the more you trek northwards, and you're thankful that your magical clothes are more than suitable for keeping you warm. The sight of snow is common now, although whether that's due to the lack of trees blocking your vision or the lowered temperature as you move further north, you don't know.
What you do know though, is that as you crest a final hill, the rhythmic beat of magic echoing around your breastbone, you spot your target.
A herd of mammoths, although the word is not truly accurate as there is only a sole adult mammoth in sight, is standing in a circle around the eldest, heads bowed and unmoving. Their trail comes from the east, where you suspect they split from the northbound path sometime after the wisher did whatever it is they did, and while it is just as orderly as the prints headed to the south, you can make out an all-too familiar glistening near the edges and center.
The stain of blood, even from here, is entirely unmistakable.
Another pulse draws your attention to the circle of mammoths, and you finally have a good look at the source of the magic you'd been tracking for the entire afternoon. Another pulse passes, and by then you realize it isn't the circle itself making the pulse, but the eldest.
The mature mammoth is standing still in the center, head arched upwards with its trunk pointing straight towards the sky and glowing with what can only possibly be magic. It may just be your eyes as a wisher, but you can see the waves of magic flowing from somewhere on the mammoth's head, up its trunk and outwards, into the sky. It would practically appear to be frozen, were it not for the visible clouds of breath coming from the mouth, and the single, visible eye, staring right at you. sorrow
The ring of adolescent mammoths, however, is being disturbed. From the left edge of the circle, you can make out four, maybe five wolves preying on one of the still-motionless juveniles. Two of the wolves have lept back when you came into view, and are now growling at your presence as the others continue their feast. Next to them lie two mammoth corpses, eaten long before you arrived as evident by their scattered skeletons.
The ground, although mostly blocked from sight by the ring of mammoths, is bloody.
You… that's just… what..?
Sincerely, you do not know where to even begin thinking. There's clearly no wisher here, that you're sure of thanks to your sensing abilities. But whatever they did to the sole adult mammoth here; and to the younglings! It's just… it's so wrong.
None of them appear to even be alive anymore! It's as if their will as a free animal was taken from them and replaced with spirits! Hadn't Meera said the oldest mammoths were like a toddler? The utter cruelty the wisher put into this action is unjustifiable; leaving the mammoths no way to defend themselves from wolves, or lions. That goes against everything you've been taught. Animals are supposed to be free to choose, and move, and act, not frozen in place like this...
And for what? A magic pulse that doesn't even seem to have a purpose?
Disgusting.
You need to do something about this.
What do you do?
[] Write-in. A/N: Here we are. Whether this was a decent first destination or not will become clear over the coming updates.
Something magical had urged you to touch your Soul Gem while you were, admittedly, panicking a bit. A pulse, tiny yet persistent, that almost seemed to be calling out to something. Seems to be calling out to something.
The mature mammoth is standing still in the center, head arched upwards with its trunk pointing straight towards the sky and glowing with what can only possibly be magic. It may just be your eyes as a wisher, but you can see the waves of magic flowing from somewhere on the mammoth's head, up its trunk and outwards, into the sky. It would practically appear to be frozen, were it not for the visible clouds of breath coming from the mouth, and the single, visible eye, staring right at you. sorrow
The ring of adolescent mammoths, however, is being disturbed. From the left edge of the circle, you can make out four, maybe five wolves preying on one of the still-motionless juveniles. Two of the wolves have lept back when you came into view, and are now growling at your presence as the others continue their feast. Next to them lie two mammoth corpses, eaten long before you arrived as evident by their scattered skeletons.
Just a reminder that vague and incomplete votes will be met with vague and incomplete updates.
You have the initiative here. It'd be best not to waste it.
For everyone else: could I get some votes please? I'll be honest and say that I most likely won't be updating this weekend, but I'd still like an obvious winner before then.
[X] Rescue the mammoths.
- [X] Shoot the growling wolves first.
- [X] If the wolves move to attack you, jump backwards over the hill, landing at the bottom.
-- [X] Then shoot the wolves as they come over the hill.
- [X] If the wolves flee, don't pursue.
- [X] Check the mammoths for wounds.
- [X] Use your magic on the adult mammoth.
Tally will be closed in three days, when I might have time to write.
This tally will be updated if/when more votes come in.
Also, we're still missing a M/M vote, so if someone could do that, that'd be great, thanks.
Adhoc vote count started by mistfist on Sep 20, 2017 at 8:43 AM, finished with 7 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Rescue the mammoths.
- [X] Shoot the growling wolves first.
- [X] If the wolves move to attack you, jump backwards over the hill, landing at the bottom.
-- [X] Then shoot the wolves as they come over the hill.
- [X] If the wolves flee, don't pursue.
- [X] Check the mammoths for wounds.
- [X] Use your magic on the adult mammoth.
A/N: Thank you @Tayta Malikai for spotting all of my silly mistakes <3 [Morra] Absence is a response
Sipping from a cup one of the girls had handed you, Bertila you think her name was, you swish the liquid around in your mouth thoughtfully. Sweet, but not overly so like the drink the girl from the land called 'Tennessee ' gave you. 'Sweet Tea' was right! That had been disgustingly sweet, too much for you and many of the other girls to bear. However, unlike the other teas you tried, it did introduce many of the girls to the idea of ice going into drinks. Learning that some people lived, or will live, in places that were hot all year long was shocking, to say the least. You don't think you'd be able to survive without the cold!
And as for how people got to drinking in the first place...
Sometime during your question and answer session with the girls, they had found out that you and Ruka only ever drunk water back at Deep Forest, the only other 'drink-like' thing coming from fruits. Every, single, one of them spoke up at this, saying you should try this, or that, or 'wait this is better', or 'no you philistines this is superior', or 'you only had wine? Ew'. And then there was a bunch of yelling until the girl who did all of the drink summoning shut them up.
Eventually everyone agreed to only show off one drink each. No one wanted her to use her magic all the time, but Meredith said she'd made her wish for a reason, and sharing drinks with all these new people was a bonus for her. The drinks she summoned were more than enough for everyone, cause after that… Well, you think the cheery, almost swaying mass of girls around you showed the result well enough.
No matter where you looked, you could see the mingling going on as people shared their favorite drinks from their homes, although the ones wearing the weird stones called 'glasses' on their faces (You'd seen glass before from when you looked at the petrified lightning, but to think it could be used to hold liquid, and correct vision!), as well as some of the younger girls, seemed to be scrunching up their faces at most of the liquids offered. Something about an ingredient inside them, alcoal, alcahal. You didn't know what that meant, but Ruka seemed to, and kept you away from what she said was 'too hard for you right now'.
What a meanie! Some of the drinks you'd tasted before Ruka stole them had been delicious and tingly all the way down your throat! You'd never tasted anything like it before!
You don't think Ruka noticed the one you're holding now though, heheheheh. It still tingled, but much more subtly than the previous ones.
Speaking of Ruka, there she was hovering just out of reach and keeping an eye on everyone, sipping from a glass of bubbling brown liquid, a longing, blissful look on her face. You hadn't gotten to taste it yet, but almost a majority of the girls called it 'coke' or 'cola'. You wonder what the bubbles were for…
Ah well, maybe you should go ask Ruka for a taste!
Oh Rukaaa~
M/M Question
[Morra] Write-In.
Or
[Mistfist] Write-In.
[] Rescue the mammoths.
- [] Shoot the growling wolves first.
- [] If the wolves move to attack you, jump backwards over the hill, landing at the bottom.
-- [] Then shoot the wolves as they come over the hill.
- [] If the wolves flee, don't pursue.
- [] Check the mammoths for wounds.
- [] Use your magic on the adult mammoth.
Before you can even start doing anything else, you need to get these wolves away from the mammoths. Even if it wasn't your mission to get the herd moving back north, you will not allow for mammoths to needlessly get hurt in front of you. Seeing animals get hurt and unable to do anything about it is truly enraging, but you're here now, and you'll do your best to protect the group, as well as keeping down your anger towards the monster of a wisher-!
Breathe Morra. Calm down, and focus. These mammoths clearly can't save themselves, so focus on what you have to do.
The two growling wolves, mouths coated in dried blood, pick up in their snarling as you unhook your sling. Restraining your rage towards the wisher as much as possible, you place an ordinary stone in its place. One should be enough for now, but if the canines choose to attack instead of run, you might have to resort to using some magic to scare them off for good.
Yipping comes from the carcass as you start your spin, and you watch carefully as two additional wolves step out into view, mouths still dripping. Given by the still-shaking corpse, there's at least one more left behind it. 'Remember Morra, don't get surrounded', you can almost hear your father say. Wolves don't attack people often, but it's good advice nonetheless.
Right before the bloody wolves can reach the others, you let the stone fly and hit the ground in front of them with a solid thunk, casting up a cloud of dirt and mud and grass.
All four let out a startled yelp and back away, almost glaring at you as if you were just an annoyance. Those stupid wolves! You know most hunters don't seem them as threats, but why do they have to cause you so much trouble? You might have to hurt one if they try anything else.
The newcomers, visibly older than the others, quickly approach the duo of growlers with more yips, sniffing, and gestures you couldn't possibly understand, but that the other two seems to comprehend. No longer growling, but still keeping their eyes on you, all but one go back to their most recent kill and bite deeply into its skin.
"Hey!" You yell at them, spinning your sling up again as threateningly as possible, but it has no effect. They're still pulling intently on their prey. What are they doing!? Don't the wolves know what'd happen if you hit one of them? Did they think you missed earlier? "Get away from them!"
You snap into motion the instant they start tearing chunks from the third mammoth's body, letting loose a cry of anger alongside a second stone, directly towards the lone wolf left watching you.
There's no chance for it to dodge or escape. With a nearly sickening crunch, the stone smashes through the wolf's head with ease, it's body plopping to the ground bonelessly.
You look away.
You'd warned it, warned them, and they had chosen to stay. Though you might feel… feel a little bad for killing one of the youngest of the pack, it had to be done. You need these mammoths to live. Waiting for them to finish eating, or gather more meat, or whatever; that couldn't be allowed in case they hurt another mammoth.
A howl comes from the one it had been next to just before, almost mournful, but you watch as it's nipped into silence by one of the older canines. Each carrying a large piece of mammoth flesh, all but one and the still-hidden fifth (well, fourth now) sprint away from you in the opposite direction, not even looking back.
You smile in grim satisfaction, proud of yourself for getting them to leave, and watch the last of the pack, which you assume to be the eldest, step warily towards the body of the wolf you'd killed. All while staring directly at you, it sniffs its packmate and gives it a nudge, whimpering at the lack of reaction.
You- that's not fair! You're not supposed to feel bad for them! They were eating the animals you were supposed to protect!
And yet, as the lone wolf croons beside the corpse, you can't stop the frown from forming on your face, nor the furrowing of your eyebrows.
Wolves were just another animal that needed to eat, and needed to stay alive. Your priority was keeping the mammoths safe, but did you really have to kill one of the wolves to do so? They were already pretty skittish when you missed on purpose…
Could you have done this another way..?
...
You almost cry when the small group of wolf pups comes bounding out from behind their meal, looking around with little teethy grins.
Watching the eldest lead the tiny pack of pups away from you, periodically glancing back towards the wolf you killed, is what finally forces you to wipe your eyes.
You… you are going to have to think long and hard about this when you have time. You know you were cruel just now, maybe needlessly so, but now you have mammoths to take care of. You don't have time right now to worry over what you could have done.
Maybe you can release the mammoths from whatever this magic is before sunset, so they can defend themselves while you're asleep. You'll have to hurry, it's not too far from the horizon, but you believe you can get it done in time.
You have magic of your own, don't you?
Now at the bottom of the hill, you finally get a good view of the utterly massive creatures before you, that your fellow hunters from Deep Forest somehow hunt without issue.
The mammoth children are already taller than you, even from their kneeled position, rear ends sticking out against each other a few heads above yours. You'll have to squeeze past the young ones to get a better look at the adult inside the circle, but it's easy enough to check the smaller ones for wounds since they're all bowing towards their elder.
Thankfully after checking over them all it's just the three eaten by the wolves with any damage. It's possible they may be suffering from hunger or thirst, but you can't tell until they're freed from this magical paralysis. You're still astonished that creatures this big could be influenced like this, even by magic, but it's the eldest that's most shocking to you.
The female (you can tell now that you're nearer), is easily twice your height, and with its trunk extended, you can't help but gulp at the sight. The tip, still repeatedly glowing with a brownish-blue magic, is taller than a tree of twenty winters, maybe triple your height.
If you have to get up there to stop this magic, you're finished.
Speaking of magic though, you suppose that now would be as good a time as any to use your wish magic to get a better idea of what's going on.
Sitting down outside the circle in case you fall over, you look up at the hulking animal, watching the waves of magic pulse outwards a few times, just in case you spot anything of importance, like a sign the wisher made or a mark, or something.
There's nothing, at least not from the ground. The pulses seem to be originating from the top of the mammoth, but without getting up there yourself, you can only assume that's just because it's the head.
With no further hints, you let your magic loose, and look at the mammoth. Tick
Images. It's always visions of things that could be, or actions that could be done, but just as it had been with Neso, what you see is different from the rocks and plants you'd looked at before. You see paths, far less than Neso, but that may be because you're looking at a mammoth, not a person. Choices the mammoth makes, simplistic really, but choices all the same.
You see it following you alone, with the entire herd, dozens large, with just the children. You see it attacking you, defending you, comforting you. Living for its herd, dying for you. Dying for its herd, living for you.
It too, has paths that lead to deaths, both its own and yours, but it isn't… it's hard to care about them as much as Neso's. Yes, it's horrible, and some are truly disgusting, but you don't feel the urge to shove them away like you did with Neso's paths.
You can still sense those, just out of your grasp, waiting to be seen again, or used.
Not the mammoth's paths though. Her paths, you could use these easily, if you so desired. None of them require any effort either, just a few bits of food and healing and she'll be as good as yours.
But, as harsh as the word is, do you really want a mammoth as a tool?
If taken too far, it could be a crueler fate than the one the mammoth wisher forced upon it. Watching its young die and being unable to stop it is bad, but being under your control until it dies is just-
It may just be an animal, but Meera's words still ring in your head. Like a toddler in mind…
Alongside the paths come more sights and feelings, things you could do with its body should it die. Fantastic looking tools made from its tusks, delicious meals and stews made from its milk and meat, blankets and furs made from its skin. Weapons and medicine, poisons and furniture. You can see hundreds of possibilities that the corpse of this mammoth can bring you and Deep Forest, but again, the thought of killing her stops you from imagining about it more.
Instead, you feel your power continue onward, without your command. Tick
In another instant, you look again, this time at the magic.
It's… Truthfully, it's nothing too interesting. You probably could have figured it out on your own, if you ever felt to urge to produce magic that called out to every magical being within its range. Whatever the mammoth wisher did to this female and the younglings made the pulse just strong enough to reach a full day's journey away-
Oh. Ooooh no.
Even with the practical uses of the magic flooding your mind, the dawning horror that's filling your gut is unstoppable.
This technique, this pulse of magic and calling, doesn't just notify its originator of its activation. You'd known that from the start, way back at the junction when you'd felt it in your Gem, but now…
Now you know its range.
The wisher can feel it for sure, it hasn't been a full day since they left the junction, but Roto, Meera, maybe even Yoha since she can do the telepathy thing; they can definitely feel it too. But as much as you'd like to worry about distracting your fellows from Deep Forest, it is the magic's second use that makes you shiver.
Witches can hear it too.
You don't know if they'll follow it, or pay attention to it at all, but you know that Witches can feel it.
You need to make a decision soon. Making a pulse like this is big, and to be honest it might help you and Deep Forest immensely in the future. If you can call witches to a deserted place with a large enough signal, you could set up a breeding ground for them, perfect for keeping Grief Seeds ready for you and Roto. But here, in this muddy plain and no preparations…
This is not a good place to be waiting for Witches.
With the last of the images comes the ways to disable the pulse. On the top of each of the mammoths' heads lie a mark about the size of your fist. It has no real meaning to you, but according to your magic it means 'call' to the person who placed it. Disrupting this symbol is the easiest way to halt the signal, but a significant hit from anything magical should do the trick as well. So too would killing the adult mammoth, but even if you weren't reluctant to do so, it would just shorten the range by several hours.
Although the pulse can work on its own, growing in range as more magic is put into it, it's amplified immensely when attached to an immobile living thing. Trees, animals, people, all would do the job perfectly (though people seem to cause the largest boost).
While you can't quite understand the math (you shudder) behind the range, knowing that twenty three younglings and one adult female create a pulse that can reach a full day's travel away is extremely helpful.
Maybe your dad would know how to understand how to make something large enough…
Regardless, you'll be talking to the Elder about this ability anyway. Calling Witches to you is not something that should be handled lightly.
Visions finally fading, you jump to your feet, dusting yourself off. Time to get to work.
As you weave inside the ring, hurriedly sliding between smelly furs of two younger-but-still-huge mammoths, you freeze as you catch sight of something unexpected.
Under the feet of the eldest mammoth is a woman, sitting against the front right leg. Her furs are light, clearly not prepared for this temperature, and the front is scratched so thoroughly it's almost like she crawled here. There's no other clues as to where she could be from, or if she's from a community at all. Her face is completely ordinary, pretty in the motherly sort of way, but the sheen of sweat on her face makes it hard to care about that.
The completely mundane woman, eyes fluttering and body shuddering as she lets out a breath, is nonreactive as you step nearer. It's not hard to tell why, with all the blood you can now see pooling around her, but you gasp when you finally catch sight of her legs, or rather, the crushed mess that remains of them.
This patchless, unidentifiable woman, is not far from death. If you had to be honest with yourself, everything you know as a healer says she should have been long dead already.
So either magic is keeping her alive, or her inner strength is so immense, she's staying alive with pure will alone...
Brown, teary eyes flicker open and you freeze, watching as they pan over to you, not quite looking at you, but seeing you all the same.
"D… Do?" She whispers out, before squinting and shuttering jerkily.
You suck in a breath and hurry yourself towards her, only to let it out, relieved, when you realize you hadn't just watched a woman die. She's only unconscious, not dead.
However… It won't be long before she fades for real.
This- This is too much. You have too many things to decide, how are you supposed to handle this? This woman dying, the adult mammoth and its pulse, the wisher most definitely coming this way, witches possibly behind them, the wolves maybe returning with backup, and night time fast approaching… All problems you have to solve quickly. Do you have time to prepare for them all?
You don't know, but you have to decide now.
What do you do about the eldest mammoth's paths?
[] Leave the paths alone for now.
[] Make the mammoth yours. No free will. Severe mental damage.
-[] Until you reach Moving Frost.
-[] Permanently.
-[] Write-In.
[] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[] Until you reach Moving Frost.
-[] Permanently.
-[] Write-In.
[] Free the mammoth of all control. Freedom until death.
[] Write-In.
What do you do about the magic pulse?
[] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[] Find out how to stop it, but wait before doing so.
-[] Until nightfall.
-[] Until someone arrives.
-[] Write-In.
[] Write-In. [] Leave it alone. What do you do about the woman?
[] Leave her alone.
[] Wake her up and question her.
-[] Without healing her.
-[] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[] Heal her.
-[] Until she can die without pain.
-[] Until she'll live.
-[] Fully.
[] Comfort her until she passes.
[] Write-In.
What do you do about the corpses?
[] Write-In.
Do you plan to do anything else?
[] Write-In. A/N: Whew, this update got pretty big. Glad I got it out though, even if I missed out on it being another September update. Hope you all enjoyed reading this one, we're heading into some stuff I've been holding back for over a year, and I'm super giddy to show them off.
Also, I will need a proper M/M question this time. Nothing will get you nothing for the next few updates, as bonus things like this won't happen often~.Unless you find the trigger
I expect the next update to be close to this one in length, so you can probably expect it in 1-2 weeks. See you then, and thanks again for reading!
[Mistfist] Are there any metal being worked in the area? Copper, gold and meteoric/bog iron can be found natively after all.
[X] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[X] Until you reach Moving Frost.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Heal her.
--[X] Until she can die without pain.
--[X] Comfort her until she passes.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
Two votes really isn't enough to close, especially for this important vote.
I'll be closing voting in 3 days, and if there's still a tie by then I'll flip a coin. Or roll a die. However many votes there are.
Vote wisely~
As for the Mistfist question veekie asked, "[Mistfist] Are there any metal being worked in the area? Copper, gold and meteoric/bog iron can be found natively after all."
No. Metal is not being worked on anywhere by anything except naturally in the Earth. Some might be used as hammer heads or as hard tips to sticks, but that's only because they're heavy rocks that hit harder than usual.
Even in story, you've seen metal like you described (the meteoric metal that your grandmother found) but all she and your father did with it was put it in a box.
Remember that this is around 30,000 BC. People were too busy gathering food everyday to experiment with shiny rocks.
Adhoc vote count started by mistfist on Oct 3, 2017 at 9:32 AM, finished with 5 posts and 3 votes.
[X] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[X] Until you reach Moving Frost.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Heal her.
--[X] Until she can die without pain.
--[X] Comfort her until she passes.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[X] Free the mammoth of all control.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
Adhoc vote count started by mistfist on Oct 4, 2017 at 1:35 PM, finished with 6 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[X] Until you reach Moving Frost.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Heal her.
--[X] Until she can die without pain.
--[X] Comfort her until she passes.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[X] Free the mammoth of all control.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
Adhoc vote count started by mistfist on Oct 6, 2017 at 8:26 AM, finished with 10 posts and 5 votes.
[X] Free the mammoth of all control.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[X] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[X] Until you reach Moving Frost.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Heal her.
--[X] Until she can die without pain.
--[X] Comfort her until she passes.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[X] Make the mammoth protect you. Sees you as a part of the herd.
-[X] Until you reach Moving Frost.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Heal her.
--[X] Until she can die without pain.
--[X] Comfort her until she passes.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[X] Free the mammoth of all control.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
[Morra] Would you rather fight one hundred duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?
[X] Free the mammoth of all control.
[X] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[X] Wake her up and question her.
-[X] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[X] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
Since both Morra questions are rather silly, I'll be answering them both. It fits the mood after all.
Winner is:
[] Free the mammoth of all control.
[] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[] Wake her up and question her.
-[] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
Just binged this Quest. Definitely liking where it's going. The power...while I actually think front-loading the lich and witch bomb made for a great narrative, and I like the power and the ability to accumulate knowledge for the village and accelerate development in all regards, I do have to admit I wish a Wish had been made that banked on being the First Magical Girl.
Something that really hammered home the feeling of Legacy, wherein all that came after are walking in Morra's footsteps.
I'm hoping Morra's grows into some gravitas, something that lives up to the Quest name.
Though, if I had been around....I'd probably have given in to temptation to make the following Wish:
"I wish myself and humans everywhere were beloved by you and your kind!"
Because I would laugh forever as the first wish forces the entire Incubator race to understand this strange and illogical thing called Love. Yeah people probably won't vote for this because fear of a Monkey's Paw, but if the spirit of the Wish came true, in which Morra is hoping for herself and others to be valued and loved by the spirits...
Well that changes the dynamic of the entire system, on Earth at least.
Forever.
I might actually ask this question when the next update happens, because I remember you said something about AU for how the system works here, and referencing SOMA. And since the Incubator's contract system might actually require them to be emotionless to work right...
Well maybe we'd have really sporked the system, and either ruined it or made them learn to improvise.
Funny as it is, this question might actually be informative later.
Just binged this Quest. Definitely liking where it's going. The power...while I actually think front-loading the lich and witch bomb made for a great narrative, and I like the power and the ability to accumulate knowledge for the village and accelerate development in all regards, I do have to admit I wish a Wish had been made that banked on being the First Magical Girl.
Something that really hammered home the feeling of Legacy, wherein all that came after are walking in Morra's footsteps.
I'm hoping Morra's grows into some gravitas, something that lives up to the Quest name.
Though, if I had been around....I'd probably have given in to temptation to make the following Wish:
"I wish myself and humans everywhere were beloved by you and your kind!"
Because I would laugh forever as the first wish forces the entire Incubator race to understand this strange and illogical thing called Love. Yeah people probably won't vote for this because fear of a Monkey's Paw, but if the spirit of the Wish came true, in which Morra is hoping for herself and others to be valued and loved by the spirits...
Well that changes the dynamic of the entire system, on Earth at least.
Forever.
I might actually ask this question when the next update happens, because I remember you said something about AU for how the system works here, and referencing SOMA. And since the Incubator's contract system might actually require them to be emotionless to work right...
Well maybe we'd have really sporked the system, and either ruined it or made them learn to improvise.
Funny as it is, this question might actually be informative later.
Hi there! Always happy to have newcomers aboard and bringing in different opinions.
The Wish was always going to be an important event in Primo, and believe it or not, you've already done things that will entrench your legacy even if you died right now. Maybe not anywhere near as much as the wish you suggested, but Meera and Deep Forest have been permanently affected by your actions.
As for your wish suggestion, I probably would have changed 'your kind' to 'all spirits' to fit Morra's character, but that would have certainly been an interesting wish to write.
I'll be happy to go more in depth about the topic in the update after the next, so be sure to ask it. You're almost guaranteed to win any M/M vote since people seem to be running out of ideas for that.
Again, thanks for joining! Hopefully I'll have the update up by tomorrow.
A/N: Sorry about the delay, but this weekend I had a bad case of 'no-electricity' which put a damper on my writing speed.
Thanks again to the wonderful @Tayta Malikai for betaing! <3 [Morra] If you could pick between having a harmless, chibi wolf, or a harmless, chibi lion as a pet, which one would you choose?
[Morra] Would you rather fight one hundred duck-sized horses, or one horse-sized duck?
Heh.
Heheh. What did you guys give Morra? She's drunk!
Hehehehehaaaa, you g-guys are silly. The, the wolfie, obvo- obvis- of course! Lions are bad. Bad bad bad and they should all just d-die. Bah, e-e-even the small ones would… would be evil.
Ish jus a bi' tof grape juice, Ruru. Nothin ta worry bout.
But wolfies! They can be nic! And they're a-already cute! They w-w-would be more cuter if they were smol. Smol wolf. Heheh. I told you guys no alcohol, and you gave her wine. Of course.
I… I bet if you got a small lion and small w-wolfie together, they'd, they'd fight cause the wolfie would protec me and the lion hates. Smol wofie…. Heheheheh.
My father drinks wine during court meetings! I don't see the problem. Hmmph!
And how about the ducks and horses Morra? What about them?
What even is this question?
Heheeee. W-well I've never… I don't think I've s-seen a horsie, but they-tI think they're big, and I-I jus wanna see the giant duck. They're so tiny now, I think it'd jus fall over! That'd be hil- hilar- hilari-. That'd be funny. Heh. I'm going to try and make her more understandable.
Oh, Morra! FIne, fine. She is your friend after all.
H-hi Ruka! I'm jus telling evyone about how ducks are… Ooh are you using magic? Cooool!
It's just some healing Morra, you know that.
Of course I do, but why did you heal me? I felt just fine!
Of course you did Morra. How about you explain why fighting the horse-sized duck is better to the silly people here.
Right, most of you aren't hunters! Anyway, large animals are much, much easier to evade and kill than an army of tiny ones. It may just be me since I use a sling, but smaller targets that can pile up seems to me like a much more challenging trial than a single enemy. I'd just have to keep away from it until I get a good enough shot in, and with magic it'd be over in an instant!
There was that so hard?
Was… did I explain it poorly earlier? Aww I thought I was being clear.
No, you were very clear on how you thought dogs were cute. Insistently clear. Which is why you're no longer allowed to drink wine.
But Rukaaaa.
A silent glare that Morra knows too well, silences all further objection.
...oh fine.
M/M Question
[Morra] Write-In.
Or
[Mistfist] Write-In.
[] Free the mammoth of all control.
[] Stop it immediately. You don't want anyone or anything approaching you as you deal with the other problems you have.
[] Wake her up and question her.
-[] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
The woman, injured as she is, will have to wait. This pulse needs to stop immediately.
You don't have time to waste now that you know what it could be calling, so you're quick about it, rushing from mammoth to mammoth and getting rid of the marks with a quick flicker of magic. On each of the bowed mammoths' foreheads, or at least where you think a forehead on a mammoth would be, the marks glow steadily. Even on the deceased ones, the brownish-blue light hums towards the center mammoth with a regular umph, going through you like you were nothing at all.
With quick applications of your magic, the marks vanish in a flash, and the mammoth children slump to the ground. The first time it happened (You were so scared! Had you murdered him? Had your visions lied to you?), you had to make sure you hadn't killed it by accident, but only exhaustion could be sensed through your healing magic. Sound asleep in an instant; it's like they had been awake for over a day straight!
Thirty-five sleeping mammoths surround you when you finish, and you're left looking up at the towering matriarch in trepidation. relief
Every mark that disappeared caused the pulse to… change. The deactivation of some caused its rate of pulsing to slow; some caused it to weaken in intensity, and when all that was left was the matriarch, the only thing you could feel with your magic was a wavering hum. Now the sole producer of the signal, she should only be providing enough power to reach a short distance away, halfway to the junction, maybe.
Feels weird now…
The challenge of how you're going to scale this creature keeps your mind distracted as you drag the woman out from underneath, blood trailing thickly behind her, but you freeze when the pulse vanishes. A new feeling of something unknowable comes over you as you watch the elder stumble after you, a new, sky-blue image hovering over its head.
An eye, blinking in a semi-circle, opens wide and stares when it centers on you.
You freeze at the focus the magic is projecting towards you, and pull the shuddering woman closer. No. No it's not focusing on you. It's focusing on the woman breathing shakily in your arms.
As the elder shakes the earth on its way towards you and the woman, a brief feeling of worry arises in you for the sleeping mammoths. If they awake, will they move too? Can they handle the strain? Thankfully though, they haven't woken up; likely because of you dispelling the wisher's magic entirely.
But that alone fails to stop you from worrying. It doesn't seem like the mammoth is going to attack, but with something of this size, you have to be careful anyway.
You wouldn't want to get stepped on.
Keeping a close eye on the female as it stumbles to a stop right above where you dragged the woman, you curiously sense the air as the magic changes to the now-familiar pulse. The humongous animal is once more frozen above you, the only motion coming from its breathing and its fur, swaying in the soft wind.
It's tracking the woman. It has to be. Moving her further towards the edge of sleeping mammoths proves it, as you watch the lumbering matriarch follow her again.
Why is it doing this? Now you have more questions than before! Who could this woman be for the wisher to make mammoths track her? It's not following people in general, since you're never being focused on, so who is this lady? A daughter? A wife? A sister?
The image returns to the shape and color of the mark of calling, floating downwards until it's out of sight. A different type of magic, then? It's odd, to say the least. It felt strange to your senses, both mundane and magical, but you can't quite place the reasoning behind it…
No time left to waste though. You need to get to talking with this woman, and this wisher's magic is getting in the way of that. You have this feeling that she'll know something about what's going on, which is certainly more than you can say about yourself!
Getting on top of the mammoth is actually easier to do than you'd thought. You didn't even have to try climbing her since it only took you four jumps (two going straight over, much to your embarrassment), before you landed close enough to the fur to grapple on. Again, it's disturbing how little the matriarch reacts to things. You'd think she were dead had she not been breathing beneath your feet.
Just as it had been for the children, the mark is easily discoverable beneath a tuft of hair on the matriarch's forehead, and you prepare yourself as you raise magic to your hands. This is going to be the last mark in the small herd here, and when it's gone, you truly have no idea what will happen next.
Will the wisher notice? If they're out of the range, can they notice? You didn't sense any traps, but you never noticed the second tracking form either. Could this all be a trap?
As your mind races, you come to realize that… it doesn't matter. You'd be able to handle whatever's coming no matter what. You saw yourself arriving at Moving Frost. So you would make it. You would.
And this mammoth, this matriarch, she needs to make it through this too. It isn't just you feeling bad for her and her herd, it's also anger towards the wisher, horror at the idea of being controlled, and above all else, a resolution to stop this from happening ever again.
Determination and certainty are all that fills your mind as you bring your hands down, cascading your intent outwards around the mark and snuffing it out.
All you are met with is silence. joy
And then, in a burst of emotion, you can feel the mammoth's mind clear. It's simple in structure and thoughts, but almost exactly as Meera had said it'd be like. A toddler. A protective, motherly, toddler. thanks
Its emotions towards you clear, you rub its head and giggle. Crooning happily beneath you, the mammoth returns the favor by tapping your back with its trunk.
"You're welcome, miss mammoth." You say with a smile blooming brightly on your face. You're glad something came out of this.
Patting the trunk, you remember one more positive thing that can come from this. You land next to you your goal after jumping off the fluffy edge, and the wind caused by the impact ruffle the thin furs draping her shoulders.
The woman is pale now, breaths quick and fluttery, and your healing magic is on her chest before you can think. You need answers before she dies, and while you hate the thought of letting a patient die, this woman isn't one. She has no community to return to, and it's almost guaranteed that the wisher is hunting her down. As much as it hurts to think it, this woman is already dead, and you are just asking her corpse for information about what caused her death.
'This is an autopsy, Morra' You tell yourself again and again as you flood healing magic into her skull, bringing her consciousness to a state of… wakefulness.
"Ah!" The woman lets out a short scream, clutching herself as you lift her head up on top of some furs. Even if you can't spare magic to ease the pain, a pillow would bring her (and you) some comfort. "Do? Is that… no, you're a… a girl?"
"I'm Morra." You answer her, seeing no reason to lie. "I'm sorry but… you're probably going to die soon."
"Heh," She spits, blood dripping down her lips once more. "I think I can tell, girl. I'm called Fa. Have you seen… tss..! seen a man, or… or my son?"
Chills trickle down your spine. "I haven't seen anyone but you and the mammoths, sorry. Do you know how you… how you got hurt? A white fox, perhaps?" If she's seen Meera, she's probably seen the wisher too. Whatever happened to her legs may be horrific for her to remember, but you need every clue you can get before the wisher gets here.
"Fox..? Oh, the spirit. It was talking t-to… ow… to my son before… before the mammoths went weird." She whispers, and you have to heal her head again to keep you from fainting. Her son… Fa can't be more than twenty five winters!
"Oh… It was t-talking with your son. H-how old, is your son?" You ask her, not even sure you want to know the answer.
"He just survived his fifth winter…" she replies with a blissful look on her face.
W-what…
What..?
F-five winters? That's…
Meera, what have you done?
You- you need to- can you do anything? Should you?
What do you do?
[] Continue vote in abeyance.
[] Ask Fa specific questions
-[] Write-In.
[] Write-In.
[] Wake her up and question her.
-[] Only healing her enough so she's conscious.
[] Take some tusks, meat and furs for your use on the journey, then leave the rest to the wolves.
A/N: So I've been holding this not-so-little secret in for a while. This wisher is actually one of the first characters I designed, way back in June 2016, so it's a relief to finally get him into the story.
