A hand grabbed the collar of your shirt. A blanket of cloak covered your eyes from the blinding...
That-Shop-That-Was-Not-There-Yesterday Quest
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OP and CharGen Part 1
A hand grabbed the collar of your shirt. A blanket of cloak covered your eyes from the blinding view outside. The hand pulled you inside.
"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for morta- Oh, oh dear..." You can't place the tone or even the gender of the voice speaking to you, still covering your eyes. Which is good because even as you close them, you can still see colours of sheer wrongness. What even is going on. "...Right, right. We will need to settle this carefully. Let's look back. Can you remember who you are?"
---
You are a shop owner.
Well, you think. That kaleidoscope of lights still confuddled you silly. So let's back track for a bit.
You are:
[] Write In (Name, Gender, Avatar (Optional))
Okay, you managed to recollect that much knowledge. Good, you haven't gotten memory loss or amnesia. That's great. Now your store, floating in the midst of all these... things, is...
[] A hard-earned culmination of your years as a travelling merchant. You've been to the far ends of the world, selling all sorts of things like:
--[] Herbs from the far Arabia, the odd weaponries for wandering mercenaries and brigands, all sorts of odds and ends really. In that line of work, you had to be sharp and perceptive. Your next customers might go for your money instead. (Mundane Medieval/Renaissance Era Background)
--[] Magical reagents, magical swords, magic potions, magic everything really. You're no Wizard of Lark Castle, but you definitely have an eye for magical knowledge. A scholar by trade, not by profession. (Magical Medieval/Renaissance Era Background)
[] Pooled up from your industrious acumen. Who found it in your sheer fortuitous luck to have bought a shop with a workshop attached to it, creating and selling:
--[] Weapons of war. What? With the onset of the Concert of Europe, you made quite the killing, literally and proverbially, at selling expertly made guns in your capacity as a gunsmith. (Mundane Industrial Era Background)
--[] Mechanical constructs. The advent of steam and clockwork machinery allowed you to stretch your Forte to an unforeseen height. Well, okay compared to the Virtuvian Man, you are but a fledgeling, but you do know your way around these constructs...ish. (Steampunk Industrial Era Background)
[] Not yours, as a matter of fact. No, you're just some down-on-your-luck schlub working the graveyard shift. You were the only one taken after the events, though. Your job was to:
--[] Take good care of the pawn shop. Shady figures usually come by in those times. You had to be attentive. Both in the matter of appraising the weirder things that came through the graveyard shift and ensuring the store doesn't get robbed. (Mundane Modern Era Background?)
--[] Handle in the matters of the general store. Though you alternate between graveyard and night shift, your line of work is decidedly relaxed, plenty of time to go procrastinate to deal with other matters. (Mundane Modern Era Background?)
Right? Can you think that much at least?
---
---
So my brain decided that it would shunt its thought process to making a Quest...again. This time though, I made sure that this is planned at least well enough. Fingers crossed at this one.
"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for morta- Oh, oh dear..." You can't place the tone or even the gender of the voice speaking to you, still covering your eyes. Which is good because even as you close them, you can still see colours of sheer wrongness. What even is going on. "...Right, right. We will need to settle this carefully. Let's look back. Can you remember who you are?"
---
You are a shop owner.
Well, you think. That kaleidoscope of lights still confuddled you silly. So let's back track for a bit.
You are:
[] Write In (Name, Gender, Avatar (Optional))
Okay, you managed to recollect that much knowledge. Good, you haven't gotten memory loss or amnesia. That's great. Now your store, floating in the midst of all these... things, is...
[] A hard-earned culmination of your years as a travelling merchant. You've been to the far ends of the world, selling all sorts of things like:
--[] Herbs from the far Arabia, the odd weaponries for wandering mercenaries and brigands, all sorts of odds and ends really. In that line of work, you had to be sharp and perceptive. Your next customers might go for your money instead. (Mundane Medieval/Renaissance Era Background)
--[] Magical reagents, magical swords, magic potions, magic everything really. You're no Wizard of Lark Castle, but you definitely have an eye for magical knowledge. A scholar by trade, not by profession. (Magical Medieval/Renaissance Era Background)
[] Pooled up from your industrious acumen. Who found it in your sheer fortuitous luck to have bought a shop with a workshop attached to it, creating and selling:
--[] Weapons of war. What? With the onset of the Concert of Europe, you made quite the killing, literally and proverbially, at selling expertly made guns in your capacity as a gunsmith. (Mundane Industrial Era Background)
--[] Mechanical constructs. The advent of steam and clockwork machinery allowed you to stretch your Forte to an unforeseen height. Well, okay compared to the Virtuvian Man, you are but a fledgeling, but you do know your way around these constructs...ish. (Steampunk Industrial Era Background)
[] Not yours, as a matter of fact. No, you're just some down-on-your-luck schlub working the graveyard shift. You were the only one taken after the events, though. Your job was to:
--[] Take good care of the pawn shop. Shady figures usually come by in those times. You had to be attentive. Both in the matter of appraising the weirder things that came through the graveyard shift and ensuring the store doesn't get robbed. (Mundane Modern Era Background?)
--[] Handle in the matters of the general store. Though you alternate between graveyard and night shift, your line of work is decidedly relaxed, plenty of time to go procrastinate to deal with other matters. (Mundane Modern Era Background?)
Right? Can you think that much at least?
---
---
So my brain decided that it would shunt its thought process to making a Quest...again. This time though, I made sure that this is planned at least well enough. Fingers crossed at this one.
Last edited:
Mechanics Section
CharGen Part 2
Credit goes to @BungieONI that helped me beta the Paradigm Mechanic and to @zero_breaker for providing encouragements and moral support.
---
"That would be 340 Silver~" You said that cheerily to your latest customer, who paused before scowling, half in shock half in annoyance.
"The price was not that high last month. The hell Alicia?" Rost Myers said. "I mean come on, that's half my pay in Müg Academia for Muntz sake."
You look at the items that the middle-aged magician bought once more. Sixteen feathers of Ice Phoenixes, the essence of unlife, and... ah. That.
"Well, for starters, you know my policy well enough. Supplies and demands~ You have a shortage of something, and the price ramps up. And the item that we happen to be in low stock is..."
"The Allfather-damned normal chicken blood."
"Yes." You said matter of factly.
"You are charging 100 silver for a vial of fucking pheasant blood."
"One of the last hermetically sealed vial of fucking pheasant blood, yes." You smiled lightly as you correct the mage . "Look, it's not my fault some hedge mage in the Academia casted Mass Transfiguration that turned all chicken ten towns from here into their primordial ancestors." Miniature drakes running around the world would normally classify for a Subjugation Call, but said hedge mage was inept enough that those drakes ended up with humanoid fingers instead of claws. Choking drakes are far less threatening than jugular-cutting drakes.
Well, at least his finely ground bones make for a nice reagent.
"How did you even think of stocking chicken blood anyway?" Rost grumbled as he writes a cheque to the Royal Bank. "Last time I checked, you're just a merchant with some nice financial acumen and good luck. Not an Allfather-damned Oracle."
"No magic, only the guidance of the Great Gil, the Patron of Merchants." You lightly chuckle as you put the bought items in the bag. "The best 50 silver I ever spent on Portent Reading."
Rost snorted at that. "Sure, praise the Great Gil for your cheque then."
"Hallowed be his name." You intoned solemnly. Rule #1: Never take your patron god in a lesser light. Once that done, you hand the bag over to the magician. "Come again soon~"
"I'll come back when the chickens come home to roost." Despite the scowl, the man waved his free arm as he walked out, ringing the bell. You smiled contently. Another transaction finished~
Social Paradigms Revealed
You look around at your small shop. Were it not for the contents, the entire shop is mundane. From one end to the other, the entire shop is filled to brim with racks, putting your wares in neat tidy display. You, meanwhile, sit behind the counter across the shop's entrance, angled lightly to break the flow of magic in case someone tries to rob your nice establishment. And it is a nice establishment. Your shop:
[] [Vote for the Shop's Name]
... is one of best place in the entire Citadel where one can get magical items and reagents of various types and denominations. The end result of your effort as a traveller was this. One of the most secure building in the entire Fort-City, both to contain the sheer blast of magic in case something explode in here or if something tries to explode its way in.
cling
Ah, a new costume-
Power overwhelming. The Herald cometh. The Inner Fire is kindled.
Instinct, born out of close calls to Crow's Repose, made you:
[] Reach for your left arm gauntlet. Normally, it is but a 'normal' gauntlet, tempered and enchanted to stop a keen edge of a sword from cutting through. But you had attached a Void Crossbow, a weapon hidden in a sheathed dimension, with arrows custom-made to seek and devour magic intended to harm its wielder.
[] Prepare to flick your right wrist, releasing a hidden latch that keeps the hilt of your unformed ice-sabre hidden inside your sleeves. Permafrost edges ensures that all manner of energy attacks are rendered impotent and absorbed to its cold deep blue core.
[] Think of the intricate restraint mandala layered under the store. Your talents with magic are not very good, but proverbially pulling the trigger of a metaphysical net enough to restrain a Greater Dragon is as easy as breathing.
---
"That would be 340 Silver~" You said that cheerily to your latest customer, who paused before scowling, half in shock half in annoyance.
"The price was not that high last month. The hell Alicia?" Rost Myers said. "I mean come on, that's half my pay in Müg Academia for Muntz sake."
You look at the items that the middle-aged magician bought once more. Sixteen feathers of Ice Phoenixes, the essence of unlife, and... ah. That.
"Well, for starters, you know my policy well enough. Supplies and demands~ You have a shortage of something, and the price ramps up. And the item that we happen to be in low stock is..."
"The Allfather-damned normal chicken blood."
"Yes." You said matter of factly.
"You are charging 100 silver for a vial of fucking pheasant blood."
"One of the last hermetically sealed vial of fucking pheasant blood, yes." You smiled lightly as you correct the mage . "Look, it's not my fault some hedge mage in the Academia casted Mass Transfiguration that turned all chicken ten towns from here into their primordial ancestors." Miniature drakes running around the world would normally classify for a Subjugation Call, but said hedge mage was inept enough that those drakes ended up with humanoid fingers instead of claws. Choking drakes are far less threatening than jugular-cutting drakes.
Well, at least his finely ground bones make for a nice reagent.
"How did you even think of stocking chicken blood anyway?" Rost grumbled as he writes a cheque to the Royal Bank. "Last time I checked, you're just a merchant with some nice financial acumen and good luck. Not an Allfather-damned Oracle."
"No magic, only the guidance of the Great Gil, the Patron of Merchants." You lightly chuckle as you put the bought items in the bag. "The best 50 silver I ever spent on Portent Reading."
Rost snorted at that. "Sure, praise the Great Gil for your cheque then."
"Hallowed be his name." You intoned solemnly. Rule #1: Never take your patron god in a lesser light. Once that done, you hand the bag over to the magician. "Come again soon~"
"I'll come back when the chickens come home to roost." Despite the scowl, the man waved his free arm as he walked out, ringing the bell. You smiled contently. Another transaction finished~
Social Paradigms Revealed
Paradigm, in its absolute simmered down form, means 'a pattern'. In this Quest, this is the main adhering mechanic that ties everything together. Every character has Paradigms. Paradigm is their traits, hopes, prejudices, and overall worldview reduced into one or more whole. It allows them to view through the world in their own ways, solving a problem often unsolvable or hard to accomplish than with other Paradigms... and would often seem weird when others try to view things from a different Paradigm.
As a trader, interacting with people with different sets of Paradigms comes easy, though by no means simple. It's your job as a shopkeep to figure out the needs and wants of your clientele and establish a relationship ofparasitism mutualism with one another.
In the current state of the game, there are four main Paradigms types:
1. Social Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones overall stance with interaction with fellow human (or not) beings.
2. Ambition Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones greatest desires and how far would one go to reach it.
3. Analytical Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones capability and method of understanding the world, the mundane and magical.
4. Combat Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones propensity towards... disagreeable conflicts and methods to end said quarrels.
In terms of gameplay, these Paradigms act as a sort of interface... though as a reduction of a whole, these would not be able to encompass the whole complex and often contradictory nature of human (or not?) beings. To help with this, each Paradigms are given a sub-category of Notes, a small one-two line snippets that help to establish the more complex nature of your clientele.
That said, a way of thought could be changed. A revelation would turn a sinner to a saint. A stroke of luck or misfortune would upend one's life forever. A bad day could drive a man to evil. Regardless, Paradigms could be changed through effort.... or other influences.
As a trader, interacting with people with different sets of Paradigms comes easy, though by no means simple. It's your job as a shopkeep to figure out the needs and wants of your clientele and establish a relationship of
In the current state of the game, there are four main Paradigms types:
1. Social Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones overall stance with interaction with fellow human (or not) beings.
2. Ambition Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones greatest desires and how far would one go to reach it.
3. Analytical Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones capability and method of understanding the world, the mundane and magical.
4. Combat Paradigm: This Paradigm governs ones propensity towards... disagreeable conflicts and methods to end said quarrels.
In terms of gameplay, these Paradigms act as a sort of interface... though as a reduction of a whole, these would not be able to encompass the whole complex and often contradictory nature of human (or not?) beings. To help with this, each Paradigms are given a sub-category of Notes, a small one-two line snippets that help to establish the more complex nature of your clientele.
That said, a way of thought could be changed. A revelation would turn a sinner to a saint. A stroke of luck or misfortune would upend one's life forever. A bad day could drive a man to evil. Regardless, Paradigms could be changed through effort.... or other influences.
You look around at your small shop. Were it not for the contents, the entire shop is mundane. From one end to the other, the entire shop is filled to brim with racks, putting your wares in neat tidy display. You, meanwhile, sit behind the counter across the shop's entrance, angled lightly to break the flow of magic in case someone tries to rob your nice establishment. And it is a nice establishment. Your shop:
[] [Vote for the Shop's Name]
... is one of best place in the entire Citadel where one can get magical items and reagents of various types and denominations. The end result of your effort as a traveller was this. One of the most secure building in the entire Fort-City, both to contain the sheer blast of magic in case something explode in here or if something tries to explode its way in.
cling
Ah, a new costume-
Power overwhelming. The Herald cometh. The Inner Fire is kindled.
Instinct, born out of close calls to Crow's Repose, made you:
[] Reach for your left arm gauntlet. Normally, it is but a 'normal' gauntlet, tempered and enchanted to stop a keen edge of a sword from cutting through. But you had attached a Void Crossbow, a weapon hidden in a sheathed dimension, with arrows custom-made to seek and devour magic intended to harm its wielder.
[] Prepare to flick your right wrist, releasing a hidden latch that keeps the hilt of your unformed ice-sabre hidden inside your sleeves. Permafrost edges ensures that all manner of energy attacks are rendered impotent and absorbed to its cold deep blue core.
[] Think of the intricate restraint mandala layered under the store. Your talents with magic are not very good, but proverbially pulling the trigger of a metaphysical net enough to restrain a Greater Dragon is as easy as breathing.
CharGen Part 3
[X] Think of the intricate restraint mandala layered under the store. Your talents with magic are not very good, but proverbially pulling the trigger of a metaphysical net enough to restrain a Greater Dragon is as easy as breathing.
---
As you thought of the restraint mandala, the customer raised a placating hand. "Peace, shopkeeper. I mean no harm." You proverbially put your mind-finger off the trigger and to look at your customer more clearly. A fair-faced man with yellow hair and matching set of eyes pleaded on you. "My curse must have startled your sensibilities. W-whatever it is that you were going to pull on me, I implore you to not do it."
You have to admit, it's rare that a customer managed to startle you so. You...haven't exactly heard of such a curse, but it's not even the weirdest thing you've heard. "My bad then." You relaxed. "Must've been one hell of a curse, to be that impacting."
He chuckled wryly. "Y-Yes. Very." He continued to raise his hand as he walked to the counter. "I wish to sell an item I found in my travels. It's magical in nature and a lot of people pointed to this shop if one wishes to trade in a respectable manner."
"Hum, sure. Hand me over the item then."
The customer, who you note to be wearing a yellow traveling cloak, presented a small plain leather sack from behind him. Opening the rope wrapping, you slowly reveal the item in question. It was then that you let out a low whistle.
That of course, without mentioning the set piece of the ring in question.
Without a doubt, this is the eye of the prize. A fingernail sized yellow gem... er... Citrine? No wait, tourmaline. Yes, that would fit the colour scheme. A beautifully cut product that simply dazzles the eye. Even discounting any magical potential or capability, this ring already fetched a heavy price.
... or for example, if it truly is a high-grade magical ring.
Your stopped yourself from salivating openly and looked at the readings from the lenses, visible only to your eyes. The tourmaline is infused with enough mana to single-handedly channel a Meteor spell. The engravings around the ring themselves seems to be made in Ghriz, one of the obscure branches of the Magic Language, ensuring that any mana channeled would be amplified through. From what is seen, some of these scripts are unidentified.... yet the entire array works perfectly. Not to mention the gem does not show signs of being full yet. A-an-
"Miss, are you alright?"
Oh no, you're actually salivating.
"Er, not quite. I am a treasure miner, see. Part of the reason I got this curse was that I had dug too deep at times. During one of my excavation attempts, I found this ring. It certainly looks nice, but I can sense magic enough that this has more worth and I pocketed this until I gone to the Citadel and long story short, here I am. So, how much is it worth?"
"Well..."
[] Undersell it. He does not the true worth of the item, let it be so. You could fetch a great profit out of this and gouge the price up.
[] Let's not be a greedy girl. Explain the approximate worth of the ring. Making a clean profit out of this is easy enough, knowing your contacts.
[O]Let's be completely honest about its worth. This would take a lot of your money from the treasury, but you'd break more than even anyway. You're a merchant. If you're not playing for money, you should just be a farmer. Blocked by existing Paradigm.
---
As you thought of the restraint mandala, the customer raised a placating hand. "Peace, shopkeeper. I mean no harm." You proverbially put your mind-finger off the trigger and to look at your customer more clearly. A fair-faced man with yellow hair and matching set of eyes pleaded on you. "My curse must have startled your sensibilities. W-whatever it is that you were going to pull on me, I implore you to not do it."
You have to admit, it's rare that a customer managed to startle you so. You...haven't exactly heard of such a curse, but it's not even the weirdest thing you've heard. "My bad then." You relaxed. "Must've been one hell of a curse, to be that impacting."
He chuckled wryly. "Y-Yes. Very." He continued to raise his hand as he walked to the counter. "I wish to sell an item I found in my travels. It's magical in nature and a lot of people pointed to this shop if one wishes to trade in a respectable manner."
"Hum, sure. Hand me over the item then."
As a trader, one needs to know all manners of details about the items that would be bought and sold. As such, you are to appraise the items in question. To appraise an item, Analytical Paradigm is used. This would reveal details and Qualities regarding the appraised item in question. Depending on the Analytical Paradigm used, different details or Qualities may be revealed... or give complete misinformation.
In the current state of the Quest, aside from narrative benefits of the items themselves, there are two relevant stats attached to Qualities:
In the current state of the Quest, aside from narrative benefits of the items themselves, there are two relevant stats attached to Qualities:
Price: This dictates the 'worth' of an item. Though the seller sets the price of the items, this stat works to identify if the selling price attached to the item is higher or lower than its closest 'objective' worth.
Desirability: This dictates the overall 'want' factor of an item. Attached to an item, this stat is dependent on a person's Paradigms. For example, a rogue would have no need for a battle axe, but a warrior would, and to a lesser extent, a woodcutter would buy it if given no alternatives. That said, though different Paradigms modify whether someone would be inclined to buy something for a huge price tag, if the price is right (and low enough), anyone would buy anything.
Desirability: This dictates the overall 'want' factor of an item. Attached to an item, this stat is dependent on a person's Paradigms. For example, a rogue would have no need for a battle axe, but a warrior would, and to a lesser extent, a woodcutter would buy it if given no alternatives. That said, though different Paradigms modify whether someone would be inclined to buy something for a huge price tag, if the price is right (and low enough), anyone would buy anything.
The customer, who you note to be wearing a yellow traveling cloak, presented a small plain leather sack from behind him. Opening the rope wrapping, you slowly reveal the item in question. It was then that you let out a low whistle.
An ornate ring of sorts is displayed in front of you. The ring itself is of excellent make. You see etchings and engravings inlaid around the inner and outer layer of it. These etchings themselves seemingly have been enchanted, glowing in a rainbow gradient that, while certainly looks extravagant, does not hurt the eyes at all despite the flashing to the eyes.
That of course, without mentioning the set piece of the ring in question.
Without a doubt, this is the eye of the prize. A fingernail sized yellow gem... er... Citrine? No wait, tourmaline. Yes, that would fit the colour scheme. A beautifully cut product that simply dazzles the eye. Even discounting any magical potential or capability, this ring already fetched a heavy price.
Of course, you're not here to simply appraise its normal qualities. The Wizard's Shelf is far more than that.
Using a series of mind link commands, an array of lenses fly off to the air above the ring. Another command activated a mandala on the counter, catching the ring in the circle and letting it float mid-air. As it did, the lenses spun around. For his part, the man fidgets nervously, looking at the lenses with concern. Well, he has the right to be, those could detect quite a wide array of magic systems and its workings. For example, if the ring happens to just be a fake simulacra, you'd know and he'd walk away with nothing. Or for example....
... or for example, if it truly is a high-grade magical ring.
Your stopped yourself from salivating openly and looked at the readings from the lenses, visible only to your eyes. The tourmaline is infused with enough mana to single-handedly channel a Meteor spell. The engravings around the ring themselves seems to be made in Ghriz, one of the obscure branches of the Magic Language, ensuring that any mana channeled would be amplified through. From what is seen, some of these scripts are unidentified.... yet the entire array works perfectly. Not to mention the gem does not show signs of being full yet. A-an-
"Miss, are you alright?"
Oh no, you're actually salivating.
You wipe your mouth. "Y-yes. And er, you said you found this on your travels?"
"Er, not quite. I am a treasure miner, see. Part of the reason I got this curse was that I had dug too deep at times. During one of my excavation attempts, I found this ring. It certainly looks nice, but I can sense magic enough that this has more worth and I pocketed this until I gone to the Citadel and long story short, here I am. So, how much is it worth?"
"Well..."
[] Undersell it. He does not the true worth of the item, let it be so. You could fetch a great profit out of this and gouge the price up.
[] Let's not be a greedy girl. Explain the approximate worth of the ring. Making a clean profit out of this is easy enough, knowing your contacts.
[O]
CharGen Part 4
[X] Let's not be a greedy girl. Explain the approximate worth of the ring. Making a clean profit out of this is easy enough, knowing your contacts.
---
For a moment, you thought to stoop low enough to essentially scam the man out of his ring. But no. You're better than that.
You'll just somewhat scam him instead. Better for your conscience and still net you money.
"Well, for one thing, you hit the absolute jackpot with the ring." You explained as you disable the array of lenses and the floating panel that held the ring afloat. "This is a very damn valuable ring, discounting everything."
"Oh?" The treasurer miner smiled jovially. "How valuable?"
"Enough to hire a Chronomagus to cast a Temporal Bubble to look to the past for buried treasure." At that, his yellow eyes glittered like the tourmaline ring on the counter. Good, hook and line set. "That's without the magical factor."
"A-and what happens if you add that factor in?" And no need to even use a sinker.
"Well, you could hire out two Chronomagus instead. The sapphire gem is a very good mana conduit, very conducive to mana transfer and could store a large amount of mana."
The man frowned, "Sapphire? Yellow at that?"
You nodded, keeping your expression straight. "Yup. Rarer than normal blue sapphire, part of the reason the entire ring is expensive."
"Ah, and the engravings?"
"Ornamental in purpose.... for the most part. The array contains hermetical patterns that helps channel the prana containment, but most are used to make the entire ring lit up like a rainbow."
"That complex?"
"Yes, that complex." You grinned, knowing the deal is finished. "Do you accept cheque? I don't have enough money to pay for the ring upfront."
"Written contract, actually." He went to rummage his pockets and you had to suffer a little bit of panic as the curse manifested. "Finders Keepers law for found artifacts means that I have to, often enough, track everything about how I found it and the like. It is very fussy, but I kinda need to do it." You nodded at that, a bit of a fuss to deal with when it was your turn to find stuffs at abandoned cairns and the like. Possession laws are tricky to deal with when the spectres of the previous owners are willing to back up their claims on sword point. "I pretty much filled all the forms and now just have to need you to sign the contract for me to hand the ring over, alongside the payment amount." He presented to you a stack of paper sheafs. He paused before inhaling a deep breath.
"I solemnly swear to the Goddess of Truth, Visve that all the informations in here are fully correct as well would never harm those that were to sign the letter. May she smite me if I err even a single letter."
You paused. You can sense the world around pausing alongside you. Of the Pantheon, invoking Visve is the last thing anyone would try to do, partly because she is fickle and exacting and partly because any invocation has a chance of smiting you even if you were true. Her followers said that if you are telling the truth, you don't need to prove it in her name anyway as truth will, according to them, win out.
The man in front of you is definitely mad. Then again, he's a treasure miner.
The moment passed and the man is not at all smote down. "Now that that is done with, shall we sign it in?"
"...Yes we shall." You paused. "You're not even negotiating with me on the price?"
He smiled. "Not at all, they say you're one of the trustable traders in this town, so I will take your offer to hire Chronomages for my ventures. Set your price."
You considered that for a moment. And feel your conscience rebelling, slightly so, at his display of honestly and gullibility. It passed easily before you sign in the note. 400 Gils. That's more than you have on hand. Still, very much an item to behold.
He smiled cheerfully as he extended his arm to you. "That indeed, is true. I hope we can continue to meet again, my travels takes me quite far, you see."
You grinned back before extending your hand to shake his. "Likewise, I hope you can bring me more of these."
He nodded. "See you then," He looked at the letter. "Miss Alicia. May the fortunes be in your side." With that, he left the shop with the clinging of the bell.
You exhaled a sigh of contentment. Another transaction finished~ You picked up the ring. "Truly, Alicia, you have done i-"
That was when the world exploded around you. You had barely a thought as the ring flashed yellow and you're taken to blindness. You feel as if your eyes boiled on spot as white vision turned black. Accompanying it, a crescendo of pure sound assaulted your ears and that took you to deafness.
And that was when you lost consciousness.
---
From the top of the tallest building on the spire, you looked down. The shop had truly disappeared then. The entire space around the Wizard's Shelf had truly been displaced. You note the unfortunate man that had crossed to close to the threshold. He's entirely without his left arm now. He'll live though, nothing this world's magic couldn't fix.
"Well then, I guess we'll see each other someday, Miss Alicia." And with that, you vanished.
---
For a moment, you thought to stoop low enough to essentially scam the man out of his ring. But no. You're better than that.
You'll just somewhat scam him instead. Better for your conscience and still net you money.
"Well, for one thing, you hit the absolute jackpot with the ring." You explained as you disable the array of lenses and the floating panel that held the ring afloat. "This is a very damn valuable ring, discounting everything."
"Oh?" The treasurer miner smiled jovially. "How valuable?"
"Enough to hire a Chronomagus to cast a Temporal Bubble to look to the past for buried treasure." At that, his yellow eyes glittered like the tourmaline ring on the counter. Good, hook and line set. "That's without the magical factor."
"A-and what happens if you add that factor in?" And no need to even use a sinker.
"Well, you could hire out two Chronomagus instead. The sapphire gem is a very good mana conduit, very conducive to mana transfer and could store a large amount of mana."
The man frowned, "Sapphire? Yellow at that?"
You nodded, keeping your expression straight. "Yup. Rarer than normal blue sapphire, part of the reason the entire ring is expensive."
"Ah, and the engravings?"
"Ornamental in purpose.... for the most part. The array contains hermetical patterns that helps channel the prana containment, but most are used to make the entire ring lit up like a rainbow."
"That complex?"
"Yes, that complex." You grinned, knowing the deal is finished. "Do you accept cheque? I don't have enough money to pay for the ring upfront."
"Written contract, actually." He went to rummage his pockets and you had to suffer a little bit of panic as the curse manifested. "Finders Keepers law for found artifacts means that I have to, often enough, track everything about how I found it and the like. It is very fussy, but I kinda need to do it." You nodded at that, a bit of a fuss to deal with when it was your turn to find stuffs at abandoned cairns and the like. Possession laws are tricky to deal with when the spectres of the previous owners are willing to back up their claims on sword point. "I pretty much filled all the forms and now just have to need you to sign the contract for me to hand the ring over, alongside the payment amount." He presented to you a stack of paper sheafs. He paused before inhaling a deep breath.
"I solemnly swear to the Goddess of Truth, Visve that all the informations in here are fully correct as well would never harm those that were to sign the letter. May she smite me if I err even a single letter."
You paused. You can sense the world around pausing alongside you. Of the Pantheon, invoking Visve is the last thing anyone would try to do, partly because she is fickle and exacting and partly because any invocation has a chance of smiting you even if you were true. Her followers said that if you are telling the truth, you don't need to prove it in her name anyway as truth will, according to them, win out.
The man in front of you is definitely mad. Then again, he's a treasure miner.
The moment passed and the man is not at all smote down. "Now that that is done with, shall we sign it in?"
"...Yes we shall." You paused. "You're not even negotiating with me on the price?"
He smiled. "Not at all, they say you're one of the trustable traders in this town, so I will take your offer to hire Chronomages for my ventures. Set your price."
You considered that for a moment. And feel your conscience rebelling, slightly so, at his display of honestly and gullibility. It passed easily before you sign in the note. 400 Gils. That's more than you have on hand. Still, very much an item to behold.
After that, you sign in your name, Alicia Lemongrass. Done. "The contract is sealed."
He smiled cheerfully as he extended his arm to you. "That indeed, is true. I hope we can continue to meet again, my travels takes me quite far, you see."
You grinned back before extending your hand to shake his. "Likewise, I hope you can bring me more of these."
He nodded. "See you then," He looked at the letter. "Miss Alicia. May the fortunes be in your side." With that, he left the shop with the clinging of the bell.
You exhaled a sigh of contentment. Another transaction finished~ You picked up the ring. "Truly, Alicia, you have done i-"
That was when the world exploded around you. You had barely a thought as the ring flashed yellow and you're taken to blindness. You feel as if your eyes boiled on spot as white vision turned black. Accompanying it, a crescendo of pure sound assaulted your ears and that took you to deafness.
And that was when you lost consciousness.
---
From the top of the tallest building on the spire, you looked down. The shop had truly disappeared then. The entire space around the Wizard's Shelf had truly been displaced. You note the unfortunate man that had crossed to close to the threshold. He's entirely without his left arm now. He'll live though, nothing this world's magic couldn't fix.
"Well then, I guess we'll see each other someday, Miss Alicia." And with that, you vanished.
CharGen Part 5
You awaken hearing the roar of a dragon. You blearily stood up, your knees weak from... whatever happened. Speaking of, what just happened?
You checked yourself, somehow having slept outside the counter, feeling your ears and eyes. You swore you felt your ears pop from... whatever happened. But you seem whole and hal-
-Why are you wearing the ring?
The tourmaline gem shines brightly on your left ring finger, seemingly inert and not doing anything. Your instinct flares as you activate the analytical lenses and check the ri-
The ring is out of magical energy. Okay. That's...substantially not good.
So you were knocked out, and the ring attached itself to your finger and oh...
You were too busy checking yourself to note outside the shop.
Sunlight no longer shines. No, what shone in its stead is a sheer kaleidoscope of colours. You mentally note that these colours shouldn't even exist but you don't care about that. No. You don't care. You need to go outside. You need to go outside.
You walked down the aisle and made your strode to the door. You must see the outside and go outside.
You open the door. You bask in the gloriously utter wrongness of the colours. Wonderful. Time to step out into the voi-
A hand grabbed the collar of your shirt. A blanket of cloak covered your eyes from the blinding view outside. The hand pulled you inside.
"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for morta- Oh, oh dear..." You can't place the tone or even the gender of the voice speaking to you, having the cloak still covering your eyes. Which is good because even as you close them, you can still see colours of sheer wrongness. What even is going on. "...Right, right. We will need to settle this carefully. Let's look back. Can you remember who you are?"
You nodded, still seeing the flashes of colour in your mind. "M-My name is Alicia Lemongrass, a shopkeeper. I uh, where am I? And for the matter, could you get the cloak out of my face?"
"Not yet, I need to do something first." You hear the footstep of the person as they made rounds around the store. You couldn't hear what they are saying, but judging from the pulsing of magical energy, they seem to be chanting something.
A few minutes pass as you try to shake off the phantom vision before light abruptly enters your vision as the cloak is lifted from your head.
You come face to face with an old and wizened man, carrying beside him a seemingly gnarled staff, topped with a shining blue crystal.
Oh, and the fact that his eyes are also glowing blue. "Miss Alicia, focus your eyes on this crystal of mine." You can identify his voice now, a very crisp yet gentle tenor that calmed you down as you nodded and focuses in. "Good. Now, this will sting a little." As he said that, the crystal glows brighter and brighter before emitting a blinding flash. You flinch and jerk backwards, blinking fervently. "That should do it. Now, do you realize where you are?"
"No." You said, unsure. "I was finishing up my transaction with a client when all the sudden, the ring, which was not on attached to my hand then flashed bright and...here I am."
The old man nodded. "Right, well. Okay." He seems to be deliberating on trying to tell you something, and you know from experience that the face he's making conveys a certain 'you would not like the news one bit'. "So, do you want me to traumatize you with the blunt truth?"
"Is there no other option?"
"Not really, no. Not with this sort of predicament."
You pause and ponder for a bit before sighing. "Okay, sure."
"You're now an undead lich stuck on the formless wastes of the worlds. You died on your way here and there's a cooling corpse of your former self behind the counter right now."
You blink once. Your mind churning to process the sentence. "Eh?" You... honestly don't know anything to say to this at all. Anything that he said must be true, you thought as your mind retreats to trying to continue processing what he said. You find yourself trying to consider the boggling implications of what he's saying and find yourself... surprisingly fine with the whole concept. For now at least.
But that doesn't mean the old man didn't notice your distress. "I wouldn't expect you to be fine, but, to my eternal shame, I can't help you much right now but to drop you off to a random world."
That is surprisingly helpful of him. "Out of this... wasteland? That's beyond of what I could do."
"Indeed. In addition, I've taken the time to cover up your... body and apply some light preservation techniques."
"I... suppose you're not giving me an answer on what happened?"
"In due time, Miss Alicia. I am trying to find out the answers as well. I will visit you in... where ever you find yourself in soon. No need to worry about yourself, I don't think." With those words, he rapped his staff to the floor, making the crystal glow deep blue once more. "The transportation spell will activate in a bit."
You sigh, still trying to process the entire thing in your mind. "Can I at least get your name?"
He smiled in the way that an old wise wizard could do. "You may call me The Guide."
"... That's not a name."
"True, but I refer myself in the way I want. And that'd be my name."
With that, you feel your vision blinded once more as pure flash of blue shone in your eyes.
You checked yourself, somehow having slept outside the counter, feeling your ears and eyes. You swore you felt your ears pop from... whatever happened. But you seem whole and hal-
-Why are you wearing the ring?
The tourmaline gem shines brightly on your left ring finger, seemingly inert and not doing anything. Your instinct flares as you activate the analytical lenses and check the ri-
The ring is out of magical energy. Okay. That's...substantially not good.
So you were knocked out, and the ring attached itself to your finger and oh...
You were too busy checking yourself to note outside the shop.
Sunlight no longer shines. No, what shone in its stead is a sheer kaleidoscope of colours. You mentally note that these colours shouldn't even exist but you don't care about that. No. You don't care. You need to go outside. You need to go outside.
You walked down the aisle and made your strode to the door. You must see the outside and go outside.
You open the door. You bask in the gloriously utter wrongness of the colours. Wonderful. Time to step out into the voi-
A hand grabbed the collar of your shirt. A blanket of cloak covered your eyes from the blinding view outside. The hand pulled you inside.
"What are you doing here? This isn't a place for morta- Oh, oh dear..." You can't place the tone or even the gender of the voice speaking to you, having the cloak still covering your eyes. Which is good because even as you close them, you can still see colours of sheer wrongness. What even is going on. "...Right, right. We will need to settle this carefully. Let's look back. Can you remember who you are?"
You nodded, still seeing the flashes of colour in your mind. "M-My name is Alicia Lemongrass, a shopkeeper. I uh, where am I? And for the matter, could you get the cloak out of my face?"
"Not yet, I need to do something first." You hear the footstep of the person as they made rounds around the store. You couldn't hear what they are saying, but judging from the pulsing of magical energy, they seem to be chanting something.
A few minutes pass as you try to shake off the phantom vision before light abruptly enters your vision as the cloak is lifted from your head.
You come face to face with an old and wizened man, carrying beside him a seemingly gnarled staff, topped with a shining blue crystal.
Oh, and the fact that his eyes are also glowing blue. "Miss Alicia, focus your eyes on this crystal of mine." You can identify his voice now, a very crisp yet gentle tenor that calmed you down as you nodded and focuses in. "Good. Now, this will sting a little." As he said that, the crystal glows brighter and brighter before emitting a blinding flash. You flinch and jerk backwards, blinking fervently. "That should do it. Now, do you realize where you are?"
"No." You said, unsure. "I was finishing up my transaction with a client when all the sudden, the ring, which was not on attached to my hand then flashed bright and...here I am."
The old man nodded. "Right, well. Okay." He seems to be deliberating on trying to tell you something, and you know from experience that the face he's making conveys a certain 'you would not like the news one bit'. "So, do you want me to traumatize you with the blunt truth?"
"Is there no other option?"
"Not really, no. Not with this sort of predicament."
You pause and ponder for a bit before sighing. "Okay, sure."
"You're now an undead lich stuck on the formless wastes of the worlds. You died on your way here and there's a cooling corpse of your former self behind the counter right now."
You blink once. Your mind churning to process the sentence. "Eh?" You... honestly don't know anything to say to this at all. Anything that he said must be true, you thought as your mind retreats to trying to continue processing what he said. You find yourself trying to consider the boggling implications of what he's saying and find yourself... surprisingly fine with the whole concept. For now at least.
But that doesn't mean the old man didn't notice your distress. "I wouldn't expect you to be fine, but, to my eternal shame, I can't help you much right now but to drop you off to a random world."
That is surprisingly helpful of him. "Out of this... wasteland? That's beyond of what I could do."
"Indeed. In addition, I've taken the time to cover up your... body and apply some light preservation techniques."
"I... suppose you're not giving me an answer on what happened?"
"In due time, Miss Alicia. I am trying to find out the answers as well. I will visit you in... where ever you find yourself in soon. No need to worry about yourself, I don't think." With those words, he rapped his staff to the floor, making the crystal glow deep blue once more. "The transportation spell will activate in a bit."
You sigh, still trying to process the entire thing in your mind. "Can I at least get your name?"
He smiled in the way that an old wise wizard could do. "You may call me The Guide."
"... That's not a name."
"True, but I refer myself in the way I want. And that'd be my name."
With that, you feel your vision blinded once more as pure flash of blue shone in your eyes.
Glimpses of Things to Come
"Child, I beg of you, stay." The wizened old man calls out hoarsely from the bed. What bare skin peeking out of his bloodied bandages revealed patchworks of raw scars and sutures. Despite having no arms, not any more after yesterday, he still tries to reach out to the much younger man, currently on the process of wearing his chainmail armour.
Not that it'd be help against the Abominations.
"I cannot, grandfather. Not after hearing what has been said by the Fire Clerics. If what they say is true..."
---
The swordsman gurgled his last breath, his throat drowning with his own blood from the slice on the neck that he sported. He tumbled to the ground dead as his killer moved on to the next warrior in line.
The warrior yelled, making a charge at the killer. "Die you filthy abomi- hurk." A charge that failed as his lungs are pierced through, crimson blade jutting out of his back. Without a sound, the blade slides back out and without support, the body fell.
It's the twentieth body that fell dead tonight. The night is young and the Undead Moon is still up high. More must fall before It slumbers once more.
---
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The faint girlish voice sounded from behind him. Two figures cloaked with garments as black as the night walked in silence, ensconced as they are in the dense forestry.
Suicide, is what they are practically doing.
"No. This isn't, my niece. But we must fulfill our duty. Even unto death, where we become Wanderers."
The niece said nothing in return, where they reached a clearing in the forest, where no trees nor vegetations grew.
Only a patch of cold sand where a chained body laid, trashing against the bindings that held it.
"Let us perform the Work."
---
In the afternoon sunset atop the mountains, the festivities continued. Cheerful villagers chanted their hymns and songs, the great firepit, tended by the eldest amongst them, light up in a comforting heatwave.
"Are you ready, Chosen?" The eldest of the Tenders spoke out to the young man in front of him, barely eighteen summers, who looks positively excited.
"I am ready." The eldest Tender nodded and hand him the molten dagger.
"Then do it."
With the command, the Chosen sank the blade to his own heart.
---
The shipwreck washed ashore in the cloudy morning, carrying in tattered hulls two people, cold and barely hanging onto the wreck. The two who were the sole survivors of the journey. Their arrival was watched by three masked people, standing on the beach.
"P-Praise be!" The first survivor, an old man, nearly bones by now, wept tears of joy as one of the watchers made their way to his side, carrying with him a jug of water and a piece of warm bread.
"W-Why? Why must I be only one to survive once more?" The other, a much younger man, cried tears of anguish instead, lamenting his cursed luck. The second watcher made their way to him, carrying the same thing as the first one did.
"Because it is fate." The third watcher spoke, the masculine voice muffled behind the bleached white mask, as he made his way to the survivors. "The journey is long and treacherous to reach the Court Beyond The Sea. Do not be sad that others did not make it. Remember their sacrifice instead." He carry with him two masks, both bleached white, and offered them to the two survivors.
"Remember that here, the King will guide us to salvation."
Not that it'd be help against the Abominations.
"I cannot, grandfather. Not after hearing what has been said by the Fire Clerics. If what they say is true..."
---
The swordsman gurgled his last breath, his throat drowning with his own blood from the slice on the neck that he sported. He tumbled to the ground dead as his killer moved on to the next warrior in line.
The warrior yelled, making a charge at the killer. "Die you filthy abomi- hurk." A charge that failed as his lungs are pierced through, crimson blade jutting out of his back. Without a sound, the blade slides back out and without support, the body fell.
It's the twentieth body that fell dead tonight. The night is young and the Undead Moon is still up high. More must fall before It slumbers once more.
---
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The faint girlish voice sounded from behind him. Two figures cloaked with garments as black as the night walked in silence, ensconced as they are in the dense forestry.
Suicide, is what they are practically doing.
"No. This isn't, my niece. But we must fulfill our duty. Even unto death, where we become Wanderers."
The niece said nothing in return, where they reached a clearing in the forest, where no trees nor vegetations grew.
Only a patch of cold sand where a chained body laid, trashing against the bindings that held it.
"Let us perform the Work."
---
In the afternoon sunset atop the mountains, the festivities continued. Cheerful villagers chanted their hymns and songs, the great firepit, tended by the eldest amongst them, light up in a comforting heatwave.
"Are you ready, Chosen?" The eldest of the Tenders spoke out to the young man in front of him, barely eighteen summers, who looks positively excited.
"I am ready." The eldest Tender nodded and hand him the molten dagger.
"Then do it."
With the command, the Chosen sank the blade to his own heart.
---
The shipwreck washed ashore in the cloudy morning, carrying in tattered hulls two people, cold and barely hanging onto the wreck. The two who were the sole survivors of the journey. Their arrival was watched by three masked people, standing on the beach.
"P-Praise be!" The first survivor, an old man, nearly bones by now, wept tears of joy as one of the watchers made their way to his side, carrying with him a jug of water and a piece of warm bread.
"W-Why? Why must I be only one to survive once more?" The other, a much younger man, cried tears of anguish instead, lamenting his cursed luck. The second watcher made their way to him, carrying the same thing as the first one did.
"Because it is fate." The third watcher spoke, the masculine voice muffled behind the bleached white mask, as he made his way to the survivors. "The journey is long and treacherous to reach the Court Beyond The Sea. Do not be sad that others did not make it. Remember their sacrifice instead." He carry with him two masks, both bleached white, and offered them to the two survivors.
"Remember that here, the King will guide us to salvation."
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CharGen Part 6 (End)
You open your eyes to find that The Guide is gone and you're alone in The Wizard's Shelf. You look to the windows and see no horrifying mind-altering colours assaulting your senses. That's great.
Less great, you ponder as you take another glance at the ring on your finger, is that you're no longer human. A fact soon checked as you made your way to the counter to find, as The Guide had said, your body (or at least a body) covered in glowing blue fabric, perhaps signifying the preservation spell he mentioned. You see around the head region, a certain crimson dampness permeates and bloodied the fabric extensively.
You clutch your head, remembering the fact that you had felt something akin to your head popping out when you were transported. You force calm to yourself as you decide to refocus yourself, slumping with your back to the counter.
The Guide had asked if you remembered yourself. Time to check that more extensively.
So far, so good. Your memories for the basic things haven't degraded at all.
Less great, you ponder as you take another glance at the ring on your finger, is that you're no longer human. A fact soon checked as you made your way to the counter to find, as The Guide had said, your body (or at least a body) covered in glowing blue fabric, perhaps signifying the preservation spell he mentioned. You see around the head region, a certain crimson dampness permeates and bloodied the fabric extensively.
You clutch your head, remembering the fact that you had felt something akin to your head popping out when you were transported. You force calm to yourself as you decide to refocus yourself, slumping with your back to the counter.
The Guide had asked if you remembered yourself. Time to check that more extensively.
Name: Alicia Lemongrass
Age: 23 Winters
Occupation: Self-Employed Owner of "The Wizard's Shelf"
Age: 23 Winters
Occupation: Self-Employed Owner of "The Wizard's Shelf"
So far, so good. Your memories for the basic things haven't degraded at all.
Social Paradigms
｢An Offer You Can't Refuse｣
The trick of being a good merchant is to simply have something that the other party doesn't have and needed desperately. They'd go to all lengths in getting that item.
｢The Enigmatic Host｣
Being a magic-oriented trader allows one to be a bit more... grandiose. Many would consider your attitude to be sheerly pompous and self-serving, but the theatrical effects and result outweighs that in your mind~
You pause your musings, recalling your past. the Great Gil and his tenets are the closest thing you have to a... parental figure, what with all the time you spent from your childhood as a traveling merchant.
A traveling merchant is the one profession that you're pretty sure would've caused your death several times over. Between the harsh winters, banditry problem, or whatever magical madness that almost monthly terrorized the countryside (not to mention the collateral damages of the Subjugation Calls), it's almost a miracle you managed to survive into the 15th Winter.
A traveling merchant is the one profession that you're pretty sure would've caused your death several times over. Between the harsh winters, banditry problem, or whatever magical madness that almost monthly terrorized the countryside (not to mention the collateral damages of the Subjugation Calls), it's almost a miracle you managed to survive into the 15th Winter.
Ambition Paradigm
｢Drive of Greed｣
There's one thing in the world that you desire. It's money. Gold, silver, bronze... you need it.
And if there's one tenet from the Great Gil that you follow the closest is that "One Shall Always Make Profit". It's a simple tenet that you have, well had, followed. It's what allowed you to buy the shop at the ripe age of 18 Winters. It's what allowed you to survive through the years, what with the often bad weathers, broken wagon wheels, and the healing cost for the errant limb dismemberments.
Whatever dangers this new world holds, you hope it does not come with the sudden chance of limb loss.
Whatever dangers this new world holds, you hope it does not come with the sudden chance of limb loss.
Analytical Paradigm
｢Eye for Value｣
Through various means, be it magical or mundane, you have developed a talent for shifting through piles of trash to find the diamonds in the rough.
｢Once Fooled, Twice Appraised｣
No one trader boast a record of having spotless transaction capability. Somewhere in their life, they bound to make a mistake. The best you can do, in the event of making a mistake, is to check again, from a different angle if need be.
And hopefully, less people trying to swindle you with worthless junk. You've had enough of the 'this is a heirloom passed down for generations' excuse and 'this is definitely valuable'. No. Just no. There's a reason why you bought all those appraisal arrays and the reason why you broke the one tenet you hold most dear from the Great Gil and went into red that one time...
Combat Paradigm
｢Forewarned than Forearmed｣
The best combatant isn't the one who holds the best weapon. The best combatant is the one who knows what weapon his opponent is holding and how to counteract that.
... and also why you bought all that nice fancy restraint mandala. Though the regulation in the city allows shopkeeper to essentially be the king in their own shop, you're not all that enthused with the prospect of killing your customers. Even if they might prove to be something of a bother. Because trying to clean the bloodstains out of your shop would be a hassle.
At least on the road, you can leave the mess lying for nature to reclaim. Not so for a fixed domain.
Musing out of the way and you're pretty sure that you didn't have any loss in memory, or at least, not important ones. You stood up, and you now have one thing on your mind.
"What do I do now?"
Vote the following based on Ranked Voting:
[] Okay so first things first, assess just where are you right now. You could hear no commotion outside, so you're pretty sure that you're somewhere in the wilderness. But again, where.
[] Money. You panic for a brief moment, worrying about your hidden stash of Gold and Silvers before relaxing after you made a mental check that the stash weren't disturbed at all during the chaos. You need to make a proper inventory on your wealth though.
[] Also, you need to make an inventory on all the items you have around the shop. The ground floor is where you put the usual sellable items, but you have a basement and upper floor storage-cum-house. Those are where you put the good stuffs.
[] Also, also there's a nagging feeling inside your brain that tells you that something is wrong. Okay, everything about the situation you found yourself in is wrong. But something about where you're at right now feels terribly wrong. You need to start thinking about self-defense. And maybe barricading the whole place.
[] Aside from all that, there's also the fact that you have a corpse. Right. The corpse. A quick scan using the arrays shows that, though the magic The Guide use is foreign and definitely different than anything you've seen, the preservation spell should last an entire week. You could hold off checking your own dead body later, you think.
[] And of course, with regards to yourself, your apparent lichdom. The Guide said that he might have answers, but you could try finding them yourself. Like... where is your soul right now? Or, why did you spawn with another body when you die? Or more importantly, the question on why you have a full flesh body in the first place. Last time you brushed your knowledge on the magical compendiums, Liches don't have fleshy bits... so what gives?
At least on the road, you can leave the mess lying for nature to reclaim. Not so for a fixed domain.
Musing out of the way and you're pretty sure that you didn't have any loss in memory, or at least, not important ones. You stood up, and you now have one thing on your mind.
"What do I do now?"
Vote the following based on Ranked Voting:
[] Okay so first things first, assess just where are you right now. You could hear no commotion outside, so you're pretty sure that you're somewhere in the wilderness. But again, where.
[] Money. You panic for a brief moment, worrying about your hidden stash of Gold and Silvers before relaxing after you made a mental check that the stash weren't disturbed at all during the chaos. You need to make a proper inventory on your wealth though.
[] Also, you need to make an inventory on all the items you have around the shop. The ground floor is where you put the usual sellable items, but you have a basement and upper floor storage-cum-house. Those are where you put the good stuffs.
[] Also, also there's a nagging feeling inside your brain that tells you that something is wrong. Okay, everything about the situation you found yourself in is wrong. But something about where you're at right now feels terribly wrong. You need to start thinking about self-defense. And maybe barricading the whole place.
[] Aside from all that, there's also the fact that you have a corpse. Right. The corpse. A quick scan using the arrays shows that, though the magic The Guide use is foreign and definitely different than anything you've seen, the preservation spell should last an entire week. You could hold off checking your own dead body later, you think.
[] And of course, with regards to yourself, your apparent lichdom. The Guide said that he might have answers, but you could try finding them yourself. Like... where is your soul right now? Or, why did you spawn with another body when you die? Or more importantly, the question on why you have a full flesh body in the first place. Last time you brushed your knowledge on the magical compendiums, Liches don't have fleshy bits... so what gives?
Prologue I
Right. The first thing you have to do in an unfamiliar land is to do two things. Get acquainted with the new land and to protect yourself better. You quickly relieve your store ｰ a necessary sacrifice, you lamented slightly ｰ from several weaponry. The first, is a curved sabre, void of any elemental enhancements, complete with a scabbard that you quickly latch onto your belt. The second, you opted for one of Melifilli's creations, a pair of daggers created from metals mined from the Underworld itself. They'll come in handy, you're certain of it.
Weapons Equipped:
That matter somewhat settled, you open the door to...
... a familiar yet unfamiliar world.
You blink as you gaze on the land surrounding you. The sun is shining bright, still yellow-orangish in tint. The sky is blue, as usual. You inhale the air around you, still breathable and could still be felt by your senses ｰ confusing you with the whole Lich weirdness ｰ as you take a step outside.
A gust of dry wind hit you with full force as you get to the first discrepancy. You've been to grasslands before. But you've never been to a grasslands with yellow grass. You peer around, your store located conveniently atop of a small hill, finding that throughout, you could only see yellowish pale grass surrounding your vision. No large vegetations either. You do not spot any trees or vegetations that reach above your ankles. That said, you do see an imposing mountain range to the... well, you don't know the cardinal directions and the sun is high up, so you don't really know where the mountain range would be located outside of knowing that it is directly behind your shop.
It was now that you felt that the wave of sweltering heat hit you. The dry wind carry with it gusts of heat that flares around. Well, you wouldn't be out here for long anyway. You extend out more and more mandalas outward, putting them sparsely around your store and letting them lay dormant there. They will act as both an alert system and traps. Anything that step on these traps will proverbially shake your shoulders as a warning before clamping shut on the intruder, trapping them in the mandala with no escape until you let them out.
Satisfied for now, you retreat to the magically cooled shop, taking care to fortify the door with another mandala. Spreading the "Mandala of Restraint" around to do things that they weren't normally supposed to do does reduce their effectiveness. But it's not like you have any other large scale defense option. It's overkill, certainly... but you have a feeling that it's not.
Regardless, time to deal with your own corpse. And doesn't that sound weird to even think of. You made your way to the body and steady yourself as you lift the cover.
You stop yourself from gagging as you gaze face to face with your own dead body. The state... wasn't pretty to behold. Your eyes are... gone, for the lack of better word, apparently popped alongside your brain. Dried blood and brain matter caked out of your ears, eyes, and nose. You quickly throw the blue fabric back to cover your head, having seen enough to nearly make you vomit. You decide to slowly drag your own corpse down to the basement... and clean the mess along the way.
... After a surprisingly uneventful corpsehandling and cleaning later, you decide to calm yourself by the way of plunging deep into book keeping.
It's a surprisingly involved period of book-keeping as you keep track of every potions and reagents you have on hand, seeing which ones are going to expire and become unusable, you definitely need to try to preserve some of these reagents or better yet, try to cultivate them somehow. Food for thought for later. After the perishables are accounted for, you try to make sense of the weapons and artifacts you have on hand. There's....even more of them. From scrolls and tomes of knowledges, several miscellaneous jewelries, to the armaments. You take trips up and down your shop, trying to see if everything is in place.
Overall, the affair consumed a better part of your day and by the time you looked out, it's dusk already. You're not even done doing everything yet not to mention checking the stash of money when your stomach growled. You sigh, deciding to make your way up to the second floor and call it a day.
...
The upper floor of your house is relatively cluttered. Boxes filled with bottled reagents and the occasional weapon racks littered the place. That's not to say that you haven't spruced the place up. As much as you enjoyed the rush of air on your face as you drive your wagon along, the joys of having running water for bathing, an actual kitchen, as well as a central fireplace are too enjoyable compared to the hazards of being outside. You quickly took it upon yourself to take a quick relaxing bath, though without removing the ring. You don't know nearly enough to be certain that the moment you take the ring off, you wouldn't spontaneously turn into a skeletal being or worse, dead.
With bath over, you decide to take light up the stove, taking a piece of sausage from the icebox as well as a mixture of bread flour plus eggs. Without evidence to the contrary that you do not need food, you decide to create a quick bread batter in a bowl, putting the entire mixture on a mandala on top of the kitchen countertop. The mandala lit up as the Gastronomer's Touch is applied to the mixture, allowing it to rise perfectly in less than four minutes, enough time for you to warm the oven and prepare the sausages. Almost no time seemingly passed as you cook the sausages, carefully adding the correct amount of (likely unavailable in this new world) spices, wafting the aromatic smell that soothes your mind and make your stomach growl harder. You quickly decide to use yesterday's batch of bread to eat instead, opting to cook the new batch of bread overnight. You input in a few commands to the kitchen set to turn the oven off after the bread are cooked. And with that...
... you set about eating your first meal in this new world, where ever it is now.
Result:
-> The Wizard's Shelf and surroundings completely fortified to the point of overkill. Alicia gained Lark's Vengeance and Void Daggers, ensuring total combat versatility... though it's more the weapons and mandala array that will allow Alicia to succeed, instead of her own justifiably lacking combat skills.
-> Location scouted. Yellow grassy fields as far as the eyes can see with an absolutely large mountain range located behind the shop. You can see no traces of civilization in the slightest.
-> Corpse sufficiently disposed off to the Cellar. Further options on dealing with it available later. ???
-> Perishable goods in the shop tracked. Further options on dealing them unlocked.
-> Imperishable goods somewhat tracked. Alicia is reasonably sure that she's not missing any important goods. Need to be completed later.
-> Money situation not yet assessed. ???
-> The Lich Situation is not yet assessed, other than knowledge that Alicia still require basic human needs.
---
That's a fun turn and a half, feel free to correct any errors and ask away for more information. An avatar vote for Alicia will be made soon-ish, after I do some book-keeping and tracking the background events.
Weapons Equipped:
The matter of material weaponry sorted, you put yourself in deep thought to sort out the immaterial weaponry as you made your way to the door with one hand gripping the sabre. You set your mind to work on exercising the mandalas, circles of varying sizes arraying themselves on the walls of your store, hardening them from anything short of a full blown volcanic blast. Or equivalents like a Greater Dragon belching their elemental breaths.
That matter somewhat settled, you open the door to...
... a familiar yet unfamiliar world.
You blink as you gaze on the land surrounding you. The sun is shining bright, still yellow-orangish in tint. The sky is blue, as usual. You inhale the air around you, still breathable and could still be felt by your senses ｰ confusing you with the whole Lich weirdness ｰ as you take a step outside.
A gust of dry wind hit you with full force as you get to the first discrepancy. You've been to grasslands before. But you've never been to a grasslands with yellow grass. You peer around, your store located conveniently atop of a small hill, finding that throughout, you could only see yellowish pale grass surrounding your vision. No large vegetations either. You do not spot any trees or vegetations that reach above your ankles. That said, you do see an imposing mountain range to the... well, you don't know the cardinal directions and the sun is high up, so you don't really know where the mountain range would be located outside of knowing that it is directly behind your shop.
It was now that you felt that the wave of sweltering heat hit you. The dry wind carry with it gusts of heat that flares around. Well, you wouldn't be out here for long anyway. You extend out more and more mandalas outward, putting them sparsely around your store and letting them lay dormant there. They will act as both an alert system and traps. Anything that step on these traps will proverbially shake your shoulders as a warning before clamping shut on the intruder, trapping them in the mandala with no escape until you let them out.
Satisfied for now, you retreat to the magically cooled shop, taking care to fortify the door with another mandala. Spreading the "Mandala of Restraint" around to do things that they weren't normally supposed to do does reduce their effectiveness. But it's not like you have any other large scale defense option. It's overkill, certainly... but you have a feeling that it's not.
Regardless, time to deal with your own corpse. And doesn't that sound weird to even think of. You made your way to the body and steady yourself as you lift the cover.
You stop yourself from gagging as you gaze face to face with your own dead body. The state... wasn't pretty to behold. Your eyes are... gone, for the lack of better word, apparently popped alongside your brain. Dried blood and brain matter caked out of your ears, eyes, and nose. You quickly throw the blue fabric back to cover your head, having seen enough to nearly make you vomit. You decide to slowly drag your own corpse down to the basement... and clean the mess along the way.
... After a surprisingly uneventful corpsehandling and cleaning later, you decide to calm yourself by the way of plunging deep into book keeping.
The Wizard's Shelf is a place filled with accumulated magical items varying from size to function. Alicia, being a follower of Great Gil's tenets, made sure to stock up on various goods, as necessary and applicable. Trying to list everything that she has in stock, from the perspective of yours truly, would be tedious to the fullest. You don't need to know that she has a bundle of herbs specifically for back pains nor do I need to write that.
So instead, the way the shop inventory work is by the way of you, that is to say, the Questers, retroactively writing what items Alicia has to offer. Want her to stock a magical gauntlet to sell to an enterprising fighter? You could do that. A healing potion for an injured protagonist-type? Done deal~ The only thing thats stopping you is your imagination... and the QM's approval to how it fits to the setting of Alicia's homeworld. Having a detailed write-in or plain asking the QM about the background information on how things work in Alicia's homeworld is a quick way to get approved. Feel free to submit questions as well Items designs to the thread.
Over time, this system will be refined, but for now, this will do.
So instead, the way the shop inventory work is by the way of you, that is to say, the Questers, retroactively writing what items Alicia has to offer. Want her to stock a magical gauntlet to sell to an enterprising fighter? You could do that. A healing potion for an injured protagonist-type? Done deal~ The only thing thats stopping you is your imagination... and the QM's approval to how it fits to the setting of Alicia's homeworld. Having a detailed write-in or plain asking the QM about the background information on how things work in Alicia's homeworld is a quick way to get approved. Feel free to submit questions as well Items designs to the thread.
Over time, this system will be refined, but for now, this will do.
It's a surprisingly involved period of book-keeping as you keep track of every potions and reagents you have on hand, seeing which ones are going to expire and become unusable, you definitely need to try to preserve some of these reagents or better yet, try to cultivate them somehow. Food for thought for later. After the perishables are accounted for, you try to make sense of the weapons and artifacts you have on hand. There's....even more of them. From scrolls and tomes of knowledges, several miscellaneous jewelries, to the armaments. You take trips up and down your shop, trying to see if everything is in place.
Overall, the affair consumed a better part of your day and by the time you looked out, it's dusk already. You're not even done doing everything yet not to mention checking the stash of money when your stomach growled. You sigh, deciding to make your way up to the second floor and call it a day.
...
The upper floor of your house is relatively cluttered. Boxes filled with bottled reagents and the occasional weapon racks littered the place. That's not to say that you haven't spruced the place up. As much as you enjoyed the rush of air on your face as you drive your wagon along, the joys of having running water for bathing, an actual kitchen, as well as a central fireplace are too enjoyable compared to the hazards of being outside. You quickly took it upon yourself to take a quick relaxing bath, though without removing the ring. You don't know nearly enough to be certain that the moment you take the ring off, you wouldn't spontaneously turn into a skeletal being or worse, dead.
With bath over, you decide to take light up the stove, taking a piece of sausage from the icebox as well as a mixture of bread flour plus eggs. Without evidence to the contrary that you do not need food, you decide to create a quick bread batter in a bowl, putting the entire mixture on a mandala on top of the kitchen countertop. The mandala lit up as the Gastronomer's Touch is applied to the mixture, allowing it to rise perfectly in less than four minutes, enough time for you to warm the oven and prepare the sausages. Almost no time seemingly passed as you cook the sausages, carefully adding the correct amount of (likely unavailable in this new world) spices, wafting the aromatic smell that soothes your mind and make your stomach growl harder. You quickly decide to use yesterday's batch of bread to eat instead, opting to cook the new batch of bread overnight. You input in a few commands to the kitchen set to turn the oven off after the bread are cooked. And with that...
... you set about eating your first meal in this new world, where ever it is now.
Result:
-> The Wizard's Shelf and surroundings completely fortified to the point of overkill. Alicia gained Lark's Vengeance and Void Daggers, ensuring total combat versatility... though it's more the weapons and mandala array that will allow Alicia to succeed, instead of her own justifiably lacking combat skills.
-> Location scouted. Yellow grassy fields as far as the eyes can see with an absolutely large mountain range located behind the shop. You can see no traces of civilization in the slightest.
-> Corpse sufficiently disposed off to the Cellar. Further options on dealing with it available later. ???
-> Perishable goods in the shop tracked. Further options on dealing them unlocked.
-> Imperishable goods somewhat tracked. Alicia is reasonably sure that she's not missing any important goods. Need to be completed later.
-> Money situation not yet assessed. ???
-> The Lich Situation is not yet assessed, other than knowledge that Alicia still require basic human needs.
---
That's a fun turn and a half, feel free to correct any errors and ask away for more information. An avatar vote for Alicia will be made soon-ish, after I do some book-keeping and tracking the background events.
Prologue II
You're jolted awake with the sound of alarm ringing inside your mind and the utter screeching outside of the shop.
"B-Bwah?" You articulated as you scramble to stand, very much toppling down the chair where you had slumped previously to sleep. You were planning on using the bed but you were busy book-keeping and before you knew it, you fell asleep.
Now though, you got a much bigger problem.
You slid Lark's Vengeance out, the sabre gleaming from the light refracted by the many fire sources in your 'house'. You take a look outside the window, peering to check what's with the commotion...
"W-What the actual fuck...." ... to find that you're surrounded in a sea of monsters.
After settling your heart-rate to a more manageable degree, you look out once more. The first thing you'd note is the fact that it wasn't... really a sea of monsters, though it is relatively the case. You peer out to a screaming and screeching horde of dark humanoids figures, numbering perhaps in the dozens, all around The Wizard's Shelf.
Fortunately, it seems that they can't do anything. You note, relieved, that the integrity of the mandalas surrounding the shop is uncompromised at all. They are stuck clawing, bumping, and screeching uselessly at, by all accounts, your fortress walls. You felt pretty secure at that.
It's a relieving thought that lasted for several seconds before your connections to the mandalas signals degrading structural integrity.
"Oh fuck." You note as you 'see' that the protections around the store walls are fraying, their effects that seemed previously ineffective now suddenly becoming effective.
It was then that you hear a loud thunk noise, finding that something is hitting the door with force significant enough to wear down the mandala there even further.
The walls of The Wizard's Shelf are being breached by unknown feral humanoids. In particular, whatever is hitting the door is going to breach in much faster than the others through the windows. Once the Mandala holding a particular section of the wall are fully dismantled, it will take thirty minutes to fully regenerate ｰ an unfeasible timeframe for Alicia to survive. Though most of the Restraint Mandala's 'task' is being rerouted to barricading the walls, Alicia is still capable of temporary using the Restraint Mandala to gain an upper hand in combat.
Pick One Option From Each Category, No Plan Format (or moratorium) on account of Alicia working on snap judgements:
[] [Monsters] The walls will not hold. Release the bindings on the mandalas holding the window shut. Funnel them in from your windows and inside. Reapply the mandalas once sufficient numbers of those things are inside for you to pick off.
[] [Monsters] The door will not hold. Whatever the being is, it is strong. Thankfully, it seems like it's the only one amongst them all. Release the mandala and let that thing in first. You can worry about the others later.
[] [Monsters] ... Or you could do both. You're insane for thinking this, but if this works, you might very well survive until... morning? Until they are all dead? Or until you are dead, whichever comes first.
[] [Items] You need something longer ranged. The sabre and daggers are extremely powerful, but your planned defensive weaponry, the Restraint Mandala, is... occupied. You need something else.
- [] Write-In An Item
- [] You haven't actually finished sorting out everything, but you do have that (Let Alicia [Read: QM] decide herself). Due to choices in task prioritization, Alicia's choice may not be the best.
[] [Items] You need something to augment your capability. You trust yourself to handle normal bandits and brigands, not... whatever the hell those are. You need to level the playing field, by imbibing some potions you have on your disposal.
- [] Write-In An Item
- [] Big, scary, tall, and positively dangerous? You know just the thing to counteract those (Let Alicia [Read: QM] decide herself). Due to choices in task prioritization, Alicia will use the best (according to her Paradigms) potions to deal with the creatures.
[] [Location] Make your stand on the ground floor. You are taking a lot of risks, by staying in the proverbial ground zero, but you can fall back easily up and down. Not to mention, staying in the ground floor means that you're protecting your goods. And right now? They are all you have. Aside from your (un)life, that is.
[] [Location] Make your stand in your living quarters. You have a perfectly serviceable funnel in the form of a staircase. Those beings would need to line up for you to properly get up. But if you ever get overwhelmed, you'd have no escape point.
[] [Location] Make your stand on the basement. It's cramped, and considering that you're small and the creatures aren't, you could turn that to your advantage and start cutting them in close range. Of course, you'd also be unable to fall back, same as above.
[] [Magic] Okay, for someone who is a merchant specializing in magic items, your talents with magic are surprisingly shit. You don't have nearly enough control to well, control the magic. Using magecraft in this scenario may be the only option you have to succeeding though.
[] [Magic] On the other hand, the Backlash on using magic without fine control may very well what 'kills' you. You loathe to find out what will happen now and you doubt it will be something as 'manageable' as getting your limbs severed.
"B-Bwah?" You articulated as you scramble to stand, very much toppling down the chair where you had slumped previously to sleep. You were planning on using the bed but you were busy book-keeping and before you knew it, you fell asleep.
Now though, you got a much bigger problem.
You slid Lark's Vengeance out, the sabre gleaming from the light refracted by the many fire sources in your 'house'. You take a look outside the window, peering to check what's with the commotion...
"W-What the actual fuck...." ... to find that you're surrounded in a sea of monsters.
After settling your heart-rate to a more manageable degree, you look out once more. The first thing you'd note is the fact that it wasn't... really a sea of monsters, though it is relatively the case. You peer out to a screaming and screeching horde of dark humanoids figures, numbering perhaps in the dozens, all around The Wizard's Shelf.
Fortunately, it seems that they can't do anything. You note, relieved, that the integrity of the mandalas surrounding the shop is uncompromised at all. They are stuck clawing, bumping, and screeching uselessly at, by all accounts, your fortress walls. You felt pretty secure at that.
It's a relieving thought that lasted for several seconds before your connections to the mandalas signals degrading structural integrity.
"Oh fuck." You note as you 'see' that the protections around the store walls are fraying, their effects that seemed previously ineffective now suddenly becoming effective.
It was then that you hear a loud thunk noise, finding that something is hitting the door with force significant enough to wear down the mandala there even further.
The walls of The Wizard's Shelf are being breached by unknown feral humanoids. In particular, whatever is hitting the door is going to breach in much faster than the others through the windows. Once the Mandala holding a particular section of the wall are fully dismantled, it will take thirty minutes to fully regenerate ｰ an unfeasible timeframe for Alicia to survive. Though most of the Restraint Mandala's 'task' is being rerouted to barricading the walls, Alicia is still capable of temporary using the Restraint Mandala to gain an upper hand in combat.
Pick One Option From Each Category, No Plan Format (or moratorium) on account of Alicia working on snap judgements:
[] [Monsters] The walls will not hold. Release the bindings on the mandalas holding the window shut. Funnel them in from your windows and inside. Reapply the mandalas once sufficient numbers of those things are inside for you to pick off.
[] [Monsters] The door will not hold. Whatever the being is, it is strong. Thankfully, it seems like it's the only one amongst them all. Release the mandala and let that thing in first. You can worry about the others later.
[] [Monsters] ... Or you could do both. You're insane for thinking this, but if this works, you might very well survive until... morning? Until they are all dead? Or until you are dead, whichever comes first.
[] [Items] You need something longer ranged. The sabre and daggers are extremely powerful, but your planned defensive weaponry, the Restraint Mandala, is... occupied. You need something else.
- [] Write-In An Item
- [] You haven't actually finished sorting out everything, but you do have that (Let Alicia [Read: QM] decide herself). Due to choices in task prioritization, Alicia's choice may not be the best.
[] [Items] You need something to augment your capability. You trust yourself to handle normal bandits and brigands, not... whatever the hell those are. You need to level the playing field, by imbibing some potions you have on your disposal.
- [] Write-In An Item
- [] Big, scary, tall, and positively dangerous? You know just the thing to counteract those (Let Alicia [Read: QM] decide herself). Due to choices in task prioritization, Alicia will use the best (according to her Paradigms) potions to deal with the creatures.
[] [Location] Make your stand on the ground floor. You are taking a lot of risks, by staying in the proverbial ground zero, but you can fall back easily up and down. Not to mention, staying in the ground floor means that you're protecting your goods. And right now? They are all you have. Aside from your (un)life, that is.
[] [Location] Make your stand in your living quarters. You have a perfectly serviceable funnel in the form of a staircase. Those beings would need to line up for you to properly get up. But if you ever get overwhelmed, you'd have no escape point.
[] [Location] Make your stand on the basement. It's cramped, and considering that you're small and the creatures aren't, you could turn that to your advantage and start cutting them in close range. Of course, you'd also be unable to fall back, same as above.
[] [Magic] Okay, for someone who is a merchant specializing in magic items, your talents with magic are surprisingly shit. You don't have nearly enough control to well, control the magic. Using magecraft in this scenario may be the only option you have to succeeding though.
[] [Magic] On the other hand, the Backlash on using magic without fine control may very well what 'kills' you. You loathe to find out what will happen now and you doubt it will be something as 'manageable' as getting your limbs severed.