What a way to start off a quest. For a moment there I thought things were going to stay on the rails. Thank Pulura for best ferret. Now, what to do?
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Semblance? Auras? You have no idea what Amber was talking about after the fight and you won't let your ignorance stand.
[X] Why and How You're Here - Amber doesn't seem to know what the ethereal or shadow planes are. And even if she did, you should probably explain why you came all this way. As well as you can.
I'm in favor of these three options.
Cinder might have backed off for the foreseeable future or this could be little more than a tactical retreat on her part and she is planning to launch another attack within the next 24 hours. If it's the latter, then the damage to her Grimm gauntlet damaged may inspire Cinder to attempt a more straightforward assassination of Amber. It would be best to take time to share info and prepare just in case.
Talking about Semblances and Aura will be critical in keeping the current party alive, what with those two things being so central to the arsenals of trained fighters on Remnant. That information will provide Shayla with a better idea of the capabilities of her enemies as well as her new ally and be able to create a better plan for dealing with any ambushes in the future. That talk will also serve to inform Amber that Shayla and Bella do not have soul powered magic force fields of their own and that they will be vulnerable to attacks that Aura wielding fighters would be able to more readily endure.
In depth magic talk is tempting, but this just isn't the time or place for it. Same with any in depth sharing by Amber and Shayla of their respective worlds. That's the kind of talk to have when things are much safer. Explaining how and why she is on Remnant should hopefully be enough for the time being.
I really expected this to be way simpler until I went and reread the wiki notes on Emerald's semblance. I thought her limit went from one to ten, not two to three. But the rails were always going bye bye with what I've got planned. It just gets to be more subtle now.
Ha! Bella with the save! Try explaining that one, 'sorry boss we almost had her if it wasn't for that meddling winged child and her prismatic partner that was also a ferret.'
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Semblance? Auras? You have no idea what Amber was talking about after the fight and you won't let your ignorance stand.
[X] Why and How You're Here - Amber doesn't seem to know what the ethereal or shadow planes are. And even if she did, you should probably explain why you came all this way. As well as you can.
Talking about the assassins is obvious. While it would be amusing to maintain our ignorance of semblances and auras it feels natural that Shayla would ask to get a better idea of their attackers' combat abilities. I figure we also want to figure out as much as we can about this world as soon as possible. Revealing our divine mission can wait until we are somewhere safe, or at least somewhere with sufficient booze.
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Why and How You're Here - Amber doesn't seem to know what the ethereal or shadow planes are. And even if she did, you should probably explain why you came all this way. As well as you can.
[X] Amber's Magic - You know magic when you see it. Amber might not have said any verbal components but the somatic and material components were obvious, as was the glow of her eyes. Is she an elementalist? A hyper specialised druid or maybe an oracle with a weather based curse? You think you've heard of those.
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Semblance? Auras? You have no idea what Amber was talking about after the fight and you won't let your ignorance stand.
[X] Remnant - You're from another world and you have a lot of questions.
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Semblance? Auras? You have no idea what Amber was talking about after the fight and you won't let your ignorance stand.
[X] Your Magic - Amber isn't blind. She saw bits of your fight and while she could shrug most of it off as a versatile elemental semblance it wouldn't explain your mirror image spell. Or how Bella healed her.
As much as our character would like to learn about Remnant, it's only fair that Amber get to know some more about us. Plus, if she knows about our magic, we can potentially better combo our powers in case of another attack.
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Semblance? Auras? You have no idea what Amber was talking about after the fight and you won't let your ignorance stand.
[X] Remnant - You're from another world and you have a lot of questions.
Cinder is going to be pissed which will make her both dangerous and careless.
Backstory:
You are Shayla Barakiel, one of countless orphans left to grow up on the streets of Kenabres. You don't know if your parents were crusaders who perished in battle or refugees who left you behind, but you claim Sarkoris as your homeland all the same.
In Kenabres you met your dearest friends; the tiefling Talaith, your familiar Bella and the dwarf Edrekk. You spent your days on the streets and your nights in Edrekk's workshop, scavenging for half of your meals and fighting tooth and nail to stay out of trouble. Alone you could've been taken in by some noble with more money than sense but you refused to abandon Talaith to the mercurial street gangs or the inevitable attention of the inquisitors, because of her infernal heritage and her uncontrollable magic.
You were nine when you had to take up arms to keep Talaith from the pyre, and act that saw the two of you fleeing the city for the dubious safety of the Worldwound. It should have been a death sentence or worse. By the grace of the gods the two of you managed to find your way to Pulura's Falls, a hidden sanctuary full of puluran priests and an elven iconoclast who took one look at you and Talaith and declared she had found her pupils.
You learned much over the next five years - the movements of the stars, the nature of the arcane, how to fight with a hammer and all the history Fethrymil could get you to remember. You found your faith in Pulura in that tiny island of safety and Talaith learned the truth of her magic, summoning the dragon-horse Hengrei Firemane and taking the title of Godcaller for her own.
When the Knight-Commander came to Pulura's Falls with news of the Fifth Mendevian Crusade and the liberation of Drezen you knew what you had to do. You and Talaith followed Fethrymil to Drezen and signed up for the crusade, two fourteen year old's marching in the ranks of the dwarven soldiers where you met Edrekk again, much to his fury and dismay. Despite Edrek's wishes you proved yourself again and again in the crusades, earning accolades, awards and injuries in equal measure.
When the crusade ended in far less time than anyone expected thanks to the heroics of the Knight-Commander you found yourself adrift. Talaith was suddenly surrounded by members of the Stareye clan celebrating Hengrei's return, Fethrymil left to find out everything she could about how Thassilonian cities could have been catapulted forwards in time and Edrekk was working with the Pathfinder Society to unseal the sky-citadel Jormurdun. You drifted from reclamation expedition to reclamation expedition until one night, Pulura spoke to you.
Divine Mission:
Given to you by Pulura on behalf of an unknown deity:
The sacrifice of one enriches the whole as the new is born. Safeguard the child and ensure the coming dawn.
You don't know what it means.
0 Banked XP
Primary Abilities:
The Study of Inexorable Iron: Expert
Arcane Magic: Veteran
[0/1600XP]
Considered by many to be most rational of the four magical traditions, arcane magic manipulates the metaphysical essences of Matter and Mind to achieve the effects desired. As a denizen of the Worldscar you primarily draw on the arcane energies of your own soul instead of relying on the arcane energy in the world around you. These energies quickly replenish when exhausted as your soul draws on the magical energies around it, unless you have reason to prevent his, as was common in the worldwound. You have mastered third level spells.
Conflux Spells: Veteran (favoured)
[0/800XP]
Spells you have invented through your combination of magic and combat that can't easily be taught to another unless they share your Study. They grow in power with your mastery of magic but it will take internalising a new aspect of your Study to learn more.
Martial Combat: Expert
[0/800XP]
You wield your hammer with the skill expected of a knight, albeit one that has only just earned his title. It is an extension of your arm, one half of the unstoppable force you embody on the battlefield.
Other Magics
Geomancy: Trained
[0/200XP]
The world is a living tapestry of magic, one you have learned to feel the same way you can feel your own soul. Knowing that the ocean is present in any raindrop you are hesitant to do anything more than attune your own magics to the flow of the world without extensive preparation. But with practice and study you can learn to direct this magic almost as easily as you wield your own lesser magics.
Innate Divine Magic: Expert
[0/800XP]
Your angelic heritage grants you some innate divine magics that come to you as easily as the arcane spells you've studied for years. By working to tap further into this wellspring of magic you could learn much that is foreign to your understanding of magic - healing spells, divine blessings and holy spells are all options.
Aura:
Aura Enhancement: Skilled
[0/400XP]
Aura Manipulation: Untrained
N/A
Semblance: Unknown
N/A
To know yourself is to know your limits and the more Amber teaches you about drawing out and manifesting your aura the more you realise your ignorance. Your fears and motivations are difficult to grasp beyond the obvious thus manifestations of aura beyond the most basic elude your grasp. You've learned to enhance yourself with aura, granting you speed, strength, fortitude and healing when you need it, but are currently incapable of extending your aura beyond your body.
Secondary Skills:
Arcana and Spellcraft: Skilled
[ 0/800XP]
Your knowledge of all things arcane; the magic traditions, obscure theories, magical creatures like dragons and elementals as well as the minutiae of how spells are created, prepared and constructed.
Astronomy, Astrology & Stellar Phenomena: Trained
[0/400XP]
Your knowledge of the night sky and the stories told of it. Your knowledge of Remnant's sky is restricted by the foulest of all things, light pollution.
You have specialised knowledge about the constellations of Golarion and what omens like comets and aurora mean.
Dust and Technology: Novice
[0/100XP]
You have learned of the existence of dust and the many wonders it allows the people of Remnant to create but have no idea how to use it yourself.
Gods and the Great Beyond: Trained
[0/200XP]
Your knowledge of the deities, faiths and devotees of Golarion, as well as the planes of existence that make up the multiverse and their inhabitants.
You have specialised knowledge about the plane of existence called the Abyss, a plane of evil utterly unfettered by law, and the demons that infest it.
You have specialised knowledge about your patron goddess Pulura and the tenants of her faith. This includes detailed knowledge of the night sky of Golarion, the stories people tell of the constellations and several treatments for homesickness.
History and Culture: Skilled
[0/400XP]
Your knowledge of the civilisations that have risen and fallen on Golarion and Remnant, the peoples that dwelled in them and how they interacted.
You have specialised knowledge about your home nation of Sarkoris, the Worldwound that once consumed it and the crusading nation of Mendev that fought to free it.
You have specialised knowledge about the ancient empire of Thassilon, imparted to you by your teacher Fethrymil, as well as the status of New Thassilon, the result of two ancient Thassilonian cities being catapulted through time.
Medicine and Healing: Trained
[0/200XP]
Your ability to patch up wounds, diagnose and treat diseases.
The Natural World and its Primal Magics: Trained
[0/200XP]
Your knowledge about the natural world and its wild inhabitants as well as the intricacies of geomancy.
Wilderness Stealth and Survival: Skilled
[0/400XP]
Your ability to navigate, forage and hide in the harsh corrupted wilderness of the Worldwound.
Traits:
Celestial Beauty: None who look at you could mistake you for a mere human. Your softly glowing eyes, your perfectly symmetrical features and of course the wings that so perfectly match your hair.
Familiar Bond: You share an empathic bond with Bella, allowing the two of you to share your feelings and always be roughly aware of the other's location.
Night Vision: You can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions.
Polyglot: You have a gift for learning languages. The languages you know include the following;
Hallit, the native language of the kellids, spoken in Sarkoris and the surrounding nations. You are fluent.
Taldane, the common trade language of Avistan, originating in the empire of Taldor. You are fluent.
Celestial - The language of the Upper Planes of the Great Beyond, written in a logographic script. Some understanding of this language is innate to your blood.
Dwarven, the language of dwarves. The alphabet is shared with the elemental language Terran. You learned this language from Edrekk.
Elven, the ancient language of the elves. It is believed the language is a complex blending of draconic, sylvan and celestial with an alphabet containing 33 letters. You learned this language from Fethrymil.
Thassilonian, the language of the fallen and returned Thassilonian empire. Known for its complex alphabet of three separate runic scripts and for being the precursor to Varisian, Jotun and Shoanti. You learned this language from Fethrymil.
English - The language spoken on Remnant. You possess a magical proficiency with this language.
Pulura's Faithful: You follow the teachings of the Shimmering Maiden, one of the primary gods of Sarkoris.
Her edicts are to aid travelers, comfort the lonely and teach the constellations.
The following acts are anathema to her: mocking the homesick, denying warmth to others and polluting the skies with smoke or light.
Spellstrike: You may combine your spellcasting with a striker from your weapon, combining and intensifying both.
Wings of Heaven: You possess wings, allowing you to fly through the air like a bird - though you tire much faster than any bird you've seen.
Equipment:
The Crushing Maul: Your weapon of choice, awarded to you for heroic acts in battle during the Fifth Crusade. It has been enchanted to resonate with your spells, potentially allowing a spellstrike to leave your foes clumsy and dazed. Embedded in the side is your Righteous Medal of Valour.
An Amulet of Hidden Virtue: a symbol of Puluran faith that has been enchanted to guard the soul against corruption, granting the wearer protection against harmful magics.
A Glamered Cold Iron Breastplate: the armour you were issued as a crusader. Despite the name it includes an armoured skirt. It provides superior protection for your torso, belly and thighs and can be magically disguised as mundane clothes.
A Tuning Fork: a valuable spell component you could someday use to return to Golarion.
A Thassilonian Grimoire: a gift to you from Fethrymil. The early pages are full of her own notes on the runic and sin based magics of Thassilon while the later ones are your records of your magic. You need this to prepare your spells. You have not yet uncovered the secrets of its enchantments, though it seems to grant you proficiency with the language of Remnant.
Your Jormunheim Clan Dagger: a gift Edrekk gave you when you reunited during the Fifth Crusade. It is forged from cold iron and has a trilliant amber set into the pommel. A matching dagger was given to Talaith.
Your Personal Journal: a book full of your notes on everything that isn't directly related to arcane magic.
Inventory:
The Pathfinder Chronicles Vols 33 & 40: A collection of field reports from assorted Pathfinder Agents, published in dense hardbacked tomes
Righteous Medal of Valour: A medal rewarded to those crusaders that slew a demon mightier than they. You earned it when you downed a glabrezu that was crushing two knights in its claws.
Scarf: This poorly made blue scarf was woven from the mane of the dragon-horse Hengrei by Talaith and given to you.
Scroll: A tablet sized scroll given to you by Beacon
Two scroll cases full of pulpy magazines and adventure serials
Spellbook:
Cantrips:
Gale Blast: Wind flows from your outstretched hands and whirls around you, striking those nearby and forcing them away.
Bullhorn: You amplify your voice to be held at great distances.
Detect Magic: You send out a pulse that registers the presence of magic. You receive no information beyond the presence or absence of magic.
Ghost Sound: You create illusory sounds that can't replicate intelligible words or music.
Mage Hand: You create a magical ghostlike hand that floats through the air at your command. Due to its insubstantial nature the hand is easily destroyed if used for strenuous tasks.
Prestidigitation: The simplest magic does your bidding. You can perform simple magical effects for as long as you focus on the spell.
Produce Flame: A small ball of flame appears in the palm of your hand, and you lash out with it either in melee or at range.
Ray of Frost: You blast an icy ray that both harms and slows the target.
Shield: You create a magical shield of force attached to your hand.
Scatter Scree: You create a jumble of rocks in an area, harming those standing there and making footing unreliable.
Tanglefoot: A vine covered in sticky sap appears from thin air, flicking from your hand and lashing itself to the target.
Arcane Spells:
1st Level Spells
Gravitational Pull: By suddenly altering gravity, you pull the target toward you. The greater your focus on this spell the greater the effect.
Gust of Wind: A violent wind issues forth from your palm, blowing from the point where you are to sixty feet away. The wind extinguishes small non-magical fires, disperses fog and mist, blows small objects around, and pushes larger objects or creatures.
Feather Fall: You cause the air itself to arrest a fall. The target's fall slows to 60 feet per round and if the target reaches the ground while the spell is in effect, it takes no damage from the fall.
Hydraulic Push: You call forth a powerful blast of pressurised water that bludgeons the target and knocks it back.
Magic Missile: You send darts of force streaking towards creatures that you see that automatically hit. The number of darts depends on how long you spend casting the spell and the power of the spell slot used. Each dart may be aimed at a different creature.
Magic Weapon: You imbue a weapon with magic, making it gleam with power.
Message Rune: You record a message up to 5 minutes long and inscribe a special rune on any flat unattended surface within reach. The nature of the rune's appearance is up to you, but it is visible to everyone and it must be no smaller than 2 inches in diameter. You also specify a trigger that creatures must meet to activate the rune. Those who touch the rune and meet the conditions of the trigger hear the recorded message in their head as though you were speaking to them telepathically. You know when someone is listening to the message, but you do not know who is listening to it. The rune lasts for at least a day and maybe as long as a week.
Shattering Gem: A large gem floats around the target in an erratic pattern, intercepting attacks. If the gem is struck it shatters, assaulting the offender with its shards.
Shocking Grasp: You shroud your hands in a crackling field with lightning, electrocuting with a touch. Foes clad in metal are especially vulnerable to this.
Shockwave: You create a wave of energy that ripples through the earth. Terrestrial creatures in the affected area lose their footing or fall to the ground.
2nd Level Spells
Heat Metal: A metal object is rapidly heated, becoming red-hot for an instant.
Invisibility: An illusion renders the target invisible for ten minutes, breaking when they take direct action.
Mirror Image: Three illusory images of you swirl about your space, potentially causing those who attack you to hit one of the images instead of you. Once an image is hit, it is destroyed.
Obscuring Mist: You create a cloud of thick mist to create concealment and confusion.
Telekinetic Maneuver: With a rush of telekinetic power, you move a foe or something they carry.
3rd Level Spells:
Earthbind: You briefly steal the ability to fly from an opponent.
Haste: You distort time to accelerate the movements of yourself or an ally.
Magnetic Acceleration: You magnetise an object to launch it at an opponent at speeds akin to a bullet. The spell is more accurate against a foe wearing a large amount of metal or made of metal.
Conflux Spells:
Runic Impression: You trace a temporary empowering rune onto your weapon, granting it one of the following effects:
Bane: Through hate and wrath you strike at the inherent nature of the enemy. When the spell is cast you must select one of the following options:
Demons - Chaotic evil outsiders, embodiments of mortal sin and corruption.
Flaming: The weapon burns with a flickering flame, burning those it strikes.
Frost: Cold mist rises from the weapon as it freezes those it touches.
Ghost Touch: The weapon becomes partially ephemeral, striking creatures with incorporeal forms as easily as it does corporeal foes.
Returning: When thrown or propelled at an enemy the weapon swiftly returns to its wielders hand.
Shock: Electricity arcs from this weapon to harm those it strikes.
Thundering: The weapon's impact resounds like a boom of thunder, striking at both body and hearing.
Shocking Strike: Your weapon becomes as a lightning bolt, striking with all the fury of a storm. Your blow is conducted through metal and water as if they were air.
Thunderous Strike: The impact of your weapon resounds with power, driving your foes to the ground with a deafening thunderclap.
Studious Spells:
Ant Haul: You reinforce the target's musculoskeletal system to bear more weight. This lasts for 8 hours.
Mage Armour: You reinforce your armour with shimmering magical energy, extending its protection to the unarmoured portions of your body.
True Strike: A glimpse into the future ensures your next blow strikes true
Other Magics:
Halo of Light (Cantrip): You can create a radiant halo around your head, glowing as bright as a flaming torch.
Bless (1st level spell): Celestial light illuminates the way, filling hearts with courage and guiding their arm. You bless an ally, empowering their actions.
Humanoid Form (2nd level spell): You transform your appearance to that of a humanoid. This transformation doesn't change your abilities in any way nor does it grant you any special abilities. The transformation ends after an hour.
Searing Light (3rd level divine spell): You shoot a blazing ray of light tinged with holy energy. Fiends and undead are particularly vulnerable to this spell.
Name: Bella the Beneficent Ancestry: Ferret Background: Runt of the Litter Class: Celestial Soul Familiar Age: 11
Bella's combat ability, drawn from her experience hunting.
Foraging and Hunting: Skilled
[0/400XP]
Bella's ability to feed herself and others, as well as track people.
Healing Touch: Skilled
[0/400XP]
Bella's paws can be infused with positive energy, healing a living creature or damaging an undead creature with a touch. This has debilitating effects on the creatures of grimm.
Secondary Skills:
Animals, Plants and Monsters: Trained
[0/200XP]
Bella's knowledge of the natural world and those that live in it.
Congeniality and Joyspreading: Expert
[0/800XP]
Bella is a free spirit, dedicated to making friends and spreading smiles when she isn't worrying about Shayla. Even when people don't believe in talking animals they can't help but become her friend.
Traits:
Celestial Soul: Through the familiar bond Bella has come to resemble an aasimar with her prismatic fur and healing touch.
Familiar Bond: You share an empathic bond with Bella, allowing the two of you to share your feelings and always be roughly aware of the other's location.
Illusory Disguise: Bella can magically disguise herself as a similarly shaped and sized creature for up to an hour.
Scheduled vote count started by shepsquared on Apr 23, 2022 at 4:54 AM, finished with 9 posts and 7 votes.
[X] The Assassins - They got away but they could easily come back for another try. By comparing notes on your attackers you can both prepare for next time.
[X] Why and How You're Here - Amber doesn't seem to know what the ethereal or shadow planes are. And even if she did, you should probably explain why you came all this way. As well as you can.
[X] Amber's Magic - You know magic when you see it. Amber might not have said any verbal components but the somatic and material components were obvious, as was the glow of her eyes. Is she an elementalist? A hyper specialised druid or maybe an oracle with a weather based curse? You think you've heard of those.
[X] Your Magic - Amber isn't blind. She saw bits of your fight and while she could shrug most of it off as a versatile elemental semblance it wouldn't explain your mirror image spell. Or how Bella healed her.
Amber ends up leaving you to refocus and care for your wounds as she retrieves Chalk, leaving you and Bella alone with your thoughts.
You had the names of a town or village or something, a region and a kingdom, none of which you recognised. It didn't guarantee you weren't on Golarion but considering Amber didn't recognise the continents you mentioned it pretty much narrowed it down to just Sarusan, which could be a placeholder continent that map makers swear is actually there and you wouldn't be surprised.
You'll assume you're on another world then. You'll know for sure when you see the stars but you're confident enough now. The second question is if you're on the Material plane or not and that's a lot harder.
You're pretty sure each of the major planes are drastically different to the Material in at least one major way - even if you'd ended up in a part of the Ethereal that wasn't full of mist you'd still have noticed the subjective gravity - but you'd need to hope you kept the notes on the planes and do some testing.
"She seems nice." Bella says, breaking you from your thoughts.
"She seemed pretty suspicious for someone I just fought beside." You counter as you frown in thought. "But it looked like the only thing that surprised her about all this was us showing up, so maybe she has to deal with a lot of assassins."
"Maybe she was put off by how you stopped listening to her halfway through the conversation?" Bella suggests, standing on her hind legs to look you in the eyes from her perch on the fence.
"Maybe." You say, looking away with more than a little embarrassment. It's been three years and you haven't gotten used to talking to people who don't know as much about magic as you do.
"Just make sure you listen to what she says. If she asks a question, answer it or say that you don't want to instead of ignoring it." Bella says patiently. "You know as well as I do that we couldn't have handled those bandits alone."
"And if we split up now they'll be able to pick us off at their leisure. And if they don't we'd probably still be lost, even if we followed the road to a town." You agree, standing up and turning so Bella can give you one last check over.
"You're ready to go then?"
Your turn brings Amber into view, riding an unarmoured white horse. It's a little odd to compare the woman to you - she's a fair bit taller than you standing and the horse just adds to the impression, her dark skin and hair contrasting with her lighter clothing.
You're wearing your dark iron cuirasse and skirt over thick brown and grey clothes that you're pretty sure used to be white with golden boots, gauntlets and a few details on the armour, most significantly Pulura's face on a pauldron.
Amber's armour is almost non-existent in comparison - a single pauldron, a bracer on the other arm and metal boots. She looks good in the outfit but it looks entirely impractical to you.
But considering the magic she threw around she's probably using a mage armour spell or something similar to compensate.
"Almost." You say as you pick up your hammer and breathe deep, placing a hand over your heart as you invoke your mage armour spell.
"It will be mine."
Is the incantation, a fragment of thassilonian concerning the sin of envy focusing the abjuration spell as a shimmering field of force spreads from your hand across your body, fading from view after a few moments.
"What was that?" Amber asks, having reached the fence you'd been sitting on and seen everything you just did.
"I figured I should be prepared for if the assassins come back." You say with a shrug. "Now I don't have to worry about getting my arms and legs shredded by a glass storm."
"Why didn't you activate your aura earlier though? Going into battle without it is a little foolish." Amber asks, obviously cutting herself off before she could say anything more judgmental about you.
"I didn't activate anything, I cast a mage armour spell. It was dumb of me not to do so earlier today but I didn't have time once I crossed over here." You say, more confused by her words than offended. "I really wasn't expecting to get into a fight the moment I got here."
"You don't know what aura is, do you?" Amber asks with concern.
"A visible manifestation of the magical energies of a given person or object normally only visible with specific magic?" Is your response as you think of how mage armour would look under a read aura spell - a pale blue light coating your skin.
Amber sighs and shakes her head after seeing your earnest expression.
"Aura is the manifestation of your soul." She says as she begins to glow with a warm yellow light. "It guards you from harm, warns you of danger and strengthens your attacks. We can channel it through our tools, weapons and armour to enhance them and to trigger and control the effects of dust." She pulls what you assume to be a wand from her back, only for it to extend and become the staff she was using before, tiny motes of fire dancing around the red crystal pointing towards you.
"I definitely don't have that then." You say in disbelief. "I can do all of those things with different spells, but one cause for all those effects? You'd have to be a lot smarter than me to create that spell matrix."
"All living things possess aura, from humans and faunus to plants and animals. The only living things that don't are the grimm and they're soulless." Amber says, looking thoughtfully at you before collapsing ehr staff.
"We should probably get going." You say, grabbing your pack off of the bag.
"Do you want to ride with me?" Amber asks, patting the saddle behind her. You give Chalk a dubious look, the years of terrible experiences you've had with every horse that wasn't a dragon flashing through your mind.
"I'll walk for now. Make sure he's got plenty of strength for any potential escapes." You say, turning and getting started while ignoring Bella's giggle from her perch on your shoulders.
"If that's what aura is, then what's a semblance?" You ask.
"A semblance is an expression of your aura that's unique to you, an expression of your individuality. For some people it manifests as something obvious like superspeed, pyrokinesis or making a second you but for others it can be subtle, like bad luck." She explains.
"Sounds useful." You say, wondering what sort of semblance you'd have. Something aggressive like making your hammer bigger as you hit would be amazing. "What's your semblance then?"
"I don't know." Amber says wistfully. "My training has been focused on…" She trails off but you already know how to finish the sentence.
"Your magic. I can't blame you, it was pretty potent." You say, thinking about the brief glimpses you got of Amber fighting. "Very elementally focused but that's not a drawback most of the time."
"It's supposed to be a secret." Amber says mournfully. You glance back at her and smile.
"I won't tell anyone you've got magic powers. I'll probably draw more attention than you anyway - only the truly jaded don't react to meeting an aasimar." You say with confidence. The attention you got from strangers got old fast, but you'd happily put up with it so someone else could be ignored.
"I take it aasimar isn't just another word for faunus then." Amber says.
"I don't know what a faunus is, but an aasimar is what the learned call planetouched or a planar scion. One of my ancestors had close contact with an angel and that supernatural heritage manifested in me." You explain, hoping Amber doesn't ask the question that every one asks.
"Close contact?" You hear her mutter.
"Aasimar can be descended from any sort of celestial. Tieflings are descended from infernals like demons and devils, ganzi are descended from proteans and the geniekin are descended from any elemental ebing, most commonly genies." You say before Amber can say anything else.
"You're descended from an angel so you look like one? Your family must be considered blessed." Amber says after a moment.
"Maybe? Most of the time supernatural heritages lie dormant for generations and only show up every now and then - my parents were probably just human." You explain.
"Right. Well the faunus are the other intelligent species on Remnant - they're essentially humans with animalistic traits like a monkey's tail or a bird's wings. They can all see in the dark but beyond that it's difficult to say anything about them as a whole." Amber says. You glance back at your wings and then at her.
"So people are going to look at me and think faunus then?" You ask.
"Definitely. You might want to let me do the talking." She suggests with a wince.
"Fine by me." You say with a shrug.
Silence falls as you consider this.
Faunus sound like some of the more inaccurate descriptions of various planar scions or the fervent dream of some idiot who believes humans can have children with amurren, iruxi or ysoki* than anything you've heard of before.
Maybe they were like the beastkin? No, being able to turn into or speak to animals is too big for Amber to ignore.
It sounds like you might not want to be mistaken for one, but they could hardly be treated worse than tieflings were right?
"What happens if those bandits show up again?" Bella asks, presumably addressing Amber.
"We should run. They were way too prepared to fight me alone, which probably means they have something to do with my backup not showing up." Amber says.
"Do you get a lot of assassins coming after you? Is this some sort of noble feud of inheritance or something equally stupid?" You ask, hoping that isn't what you walked into.
That prompts a laugh from Amber.
"I'm not a noble, I'm a farmer. There aren't any nobles left after the Great War. At least not in Vale. They were after me because of my magic." She says, her voice getting serious at the end.
"So next time they might be aiming for me?" You ask, more than a little surprised. Maybe this was more like the crusade then you thought, with demons aiming to eliminate the biggest threat on the battlefield in the form of a spellcaster.
"Maybe? I don't know how you got your magic so whatever they were planning might not work, but they wouldn't know either and might just assume it's the same." Amber says.
"Many hours of study, practice and experimentation." You say in response. "How'd you get your magic anyway? A witch's curse, a god's blessing or some obscure heritage?"
It takes Amber a few moments to respond and when she does so its in a quiet voice.
"I inherited it. And when I die, someone will inherit from me."
You tilt your head as you think that over. The closest you've ever heard to magic being passed on after death was how some summoners could summon the spirits of the departed, or one of the theoretical sacrificial rituals Fethrymil had written a book about.
"Magic aside, what did you think of them? The red one had a bow that could split into swords for some reason and could somehow conjure glass and the grey guy had weird metal boots." You ask, realising that this is probably more of an immediate concern.
"I didn't get a good look at their faces." Amber says after a moment of thought. "No, it's more like I couldn't properly see their faces. Probably the green one's semblance - if she could hide them completely it'd probably be pretty simple to just blur their faces."
"Neither did I." You say after a few moments of thought. "I know the man was in grey and the women wore red and green but it's hard to remember anything more specific."
"I did." Bella says. "Well, not the green haired girl's face, she was too far away. But the other two were easy - grey hair and eyes was wearing grey and black like he wanted to look generic and he only armoured his arms. The woman had black hair, amber eyes and a red and gold dress."
"They probably didn't have a chance to affect you." You say with a grin. "No one ever targets the familiar."
"Unless they do." Bella says, reminding you she normally stays away from fighting.
"I'm guessing the glass stuff was the red lady's semblance, but what was with the weapons of the other two." You say, returning to the focus of the conversation.
"The grey guy was acting like his heel was a threat to me and I didn't get a good look at the green one's weapons but they definitely didn't feel like crossbows."
"They were guns. The man had guns in his boots too." Amber says, sounding confused.
"Guns? You mean those explosive crossbow things? Aren't they too unreliable and hard to rely on to put in a boot?" You say with some confusion.
"So you know what they are?" Amber asks.
"I've heard of them. But the one time I saw one it might have been one of Numeria's bizarre devices instead. We weren't exactly fighting together." You say as you think back to the crusade.
"Well guns use dust to explosively propel bullets with more speed and force than any bow can accomplish." Amber says, sounding more than a little uncertain. "The larger the bullet the more damage it can do and the longer the gun the longer it's range, but a lot of people combine guns with their melee weapons to give their blows more impact."
"So the grey guy would've kicked me and shot me at the same time." You say, trying to imagine it. It sounds like the telekinetic projectile spell, but you can't imagine that'd be very powerful. You'd passed over it for a reason.
"And he could've used the recoil to get some distance between the two of you." Amber continues. "Guns can only carry so many bullets in them, so there's an opening when they need to be reloaded. But I'm not sure how boot guns would be reloaded in the middle of a fight."
"Probably not worth thinking too hard about." You say, dismissing the details. You'd need to look this up later. "But speaking of the grey guy's boots, there was a lot of metal in them. My shocking grasp spell hit him like he was wearing a suit of armour, and I know it wouldn't affect you like that." You say, thinking of the oddest thing that you'd seen in the fight.
"They seemed like normal boots when he was kicking me, guns aside." Amber says.
"Maybe they're made of an especially conductive metal?" You suggest after a moment of thought. "I'll definitely remember that for next time though."
A few minutes pass in silence before Amber speaks up.
"So you know about magic but not aura, faunus or guns. You couldn't speak English until after you got here and you fought in a crusade - what kind of world is Golarn?"
"Golarion." You immediately correct. "And that's a hard answer when I don't know all that much about Remnant. But I guess I'd say it's more varied than Remnant? We've got elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, orcs…
So many intelligent species I'm not sure if there's a proper count considering how the more obscure species tend to live only live in one place like the shoony." You pause and think a little harder.
"I can only really talk about Mendev and Sarkoris with confidence since nearly everything else came from centuries old books. And the crusade was, well there's a lot of history there." You say darkly.
"But the short version is that over a century ago a planar rift opened in Sarkoris, a permanent portal between Golarion and the realm of endless corruption and violence that is the Abyss. The crusades were the seemingly endless wars fought by Mendev and the Church of Iomedae to prevent things from getting any worse.
"I fought in the Fifth Crusade and I'm proud to say we won. The Worldwound was sealed and most of the demons killed. Sarkoris hasn't been re-established yet, but it's only a matter of time." You finish with pride.
"Why did you stay? Why didn't someone take you somewhere far away from the war?" Amber asks sounding utterly horrified.
"I grew up in Kenabres at first and that was safe, if you ignored the permanent risk of mortal cultists. There were these giant wardstones that the crusaders used to effectively wall off the Worldwound, preventing any demon from crossing the border. If my parents hadn't gotten themselves killed or abandoned me I could've had a fairly nice life." You say, deciding to leave out what happened after Kenabres for now.
"But I don't know anything about my parents. All I had growing up were Bella, my friends Talaith and Edrekk and eventually my teacher Fethrymil."
Amber falls silent, letting you think about what you've told her.
"You've never heard of the Abyss before I mentioned it have you?" You ask, remembering she didn't seem to know about the ethereal plane either.
"It sounds like Hell." Amber says dryly.
"I mean, Hell is the lower plane of tyranny while the Abyss is the lower plane of evil unrestrained by law. They're both pretty terrible places but they're different kinds of terrible." You explain.
"You're telling me there's two hells." Amber says, sounding shocked.
"If by hell you mean 'places that torture the souls of the dead' there's technically three. Abaddon lies between Hell and the Abyss, and it's a twisted monument to the final destruction that eventually everyone, even the gods will fall to." You say unphased. "But there are three good outer planes too - Heaven, Nirvana and Elysium. As well as three kinda neutral planes."
You pause and consider how to deliver the relevant information. There's a good chance Amber will end up passing this on without you being there and you don't want to over complicate it, or leave important anything out.
"But they're not that important if you haven't heard of them before." You decide. "More important is the multiverse itself, since that's how I got here. You know about the material universe right? All the galaxies and stars and things?"
"Yes but you almost make it sound like you know there's life on multiple worlds." Amber says.
"I mean, I know there is now." You say as you wave vaguely at the world around you. "But there are stories about stuff like that all over the place. Supposedly Baba Yaga was born on a world called Ert before she found her way to Golarion and that's why she only shows up in Irrisen every fifty years or so and there's apparently portals that lead to Castrovel, Akiton and the other planets in Golarion's solar system if you know where to look." You say, thinking about the Pathfinder Chronicles and the numerous pulpy knockoffs it spawned.
"But to focus on my point, the entire universe is what we call the Material Plane. The Inner Planes are wrapped around it like the layers of an onion that's balanced atop Pharasma's Spire and the eight other Outer Planes are arrayed like a wheel around the spire." You explain, wishing you could draw some diagrams to better demonstrate this.
"I got here through the Ethereal Plane, which is what's called a Transitive Plane. It's like an invisible mist that overlaps with all the Inner Planes and if you can get there you can go to any of them, if you know how to navigate."
"So why did you come here? I'm not saying I don't appreciate the help, but you clearly didn't know I existed until you arrived." Amber asks after a few moments of thought.
You think for a few moments rather than answer immediately. Everything you've told Amber so far is what you'd consider common knowledge, but this was a mission given to you by Pulura herself. On one hand you might need Amber's guidance to figure out anything about what you were supposed to do. On the other hand, it might be better to keep it a secret until you know more about Remnant. You weren't told which god gave you this mission and that might be because they have a bad reputation here.
=================================
Do you tell Amber about your divine mission or do you make something up?
[ ] Tell Her
[ ] Don't Tell Her
As the day turns to night you and Amber have to set up camp. What trouble strikes during the night?
[ ] Creatures of Fear and Terror
[ ] Grimm Bait
[ ] Spiders of Unusual Size
=================================
*More commonly known as catfolk, lizardfolk and ratfolk respectively.
Expositional conversation go! I enjoyed this though I had to stop myself from going off on tangents. If you've got any questions or if I messed anything up please say something, I'm happy to elaborate, especially on the stuff that Shayla knows.
I'm already regretting how I've decided to do spell incantations with how hard it was to put something for envy that fits a purely defensive spell so don't surprised if I swap over to emphasising thassilonian runes or something instead when you spellcast.
Fun note about the last update, your presence screwed up Cinder's plan more than is obvious because Shayla doesn't know what to look for. She was assuming a tighter schedule than they actually had and with you interfering she tried draining Amber's powers without breaking her aura first. So that wouldn't have gone down the same as canon even without Bella's intervention.
It's interesting that Creatures of Fear and Terror and Grimm Bait are two different options. One would think that both would would mean encountering the Grimm but since the Bane of Darkness quest was said to relate to Pathfinder lore it could be that this option could refer to something from the Pathfinder end of things coming over to Remnant. On the other hand Grimm Bait doesn't necessarily mean Grimm, but could rather mean that the party is set to encounter someone that's giving off negative emotions and in so doing "baiting" Grimm.
Maybe Amber's day has been so weird she's not willing to question things right now. Maybe she knows more about what you've been saying than she's letting on and knows your words are way more true than they have any right to be. Maybe she's so scared of having to face Cinder & co alone that she'll put up with anything to keep a friendly face around. Maybe she thinks you're insane or lying and doesn't remotely want to confront you about it.
Maybe the rainbow ferret is a sign that some things just shouldn't be questioned.
It's interesting that Creatures of Fear and Terror and Grimm Bait are two different options. One would think that both would would mean encountering the Grimm but since the Bane of Darkness quest was said to relate to Pathfinder lore it could be that this option could refer to something from the Pathfinder end of things coming over to Remnant. On the other hand Grimm Bait doesn't necessarily mean Grimm, but could rather mean that the party is set to encounter someone that's giving off negative emotions and in so doing "baiting" Grimm.
I (deliberately) don't have a lot of ways to have stuff from Golarion show up for a while and I needed a way to stick a big fight into options like "you meet Jaune on the road" or "the plane shift was super subtle and happened in a corridor and now you're in a Mistralian tournament'. So - there are things in the Ethereal Plane that could've noticed and followed you.
Also - grimm are super weird from a pathfinder perspective. They're a bunch of perpetually spawning always evil monsters but none of them are independently intelligent and only a few of them have notable esoteric abilities vs what would be largely mundane on Golarion (in 2e chimeras, blink dogs, gargoyles and sphinxes are just listed as beasts). From a gm's perspective they're a half finished set of outsiders with nothing to really unify them beyond their general look.
You don't need to think too hard about whether you should share your mission with Amber. Pulura teaches her followers to share their stories to both entertain and educate. Granted that was mostly about constellations because they made navigation easier, but the sentiment here was the same.
"I don't mean to sound egotistical but I was sent here by the goddess Pulura." You say, hoping Amber has heard of your goddess.
"Pulura? Is that supposed to be one of the names of the sister gods?" Amber asks. You don't bother turning to look at her, you can hear the skepticism in her voice.
"Pulura is the goddess of the northern lights, constellations and homesickness. She was once worshipped as the kinder side of the cold in contrast to the cruelty of Kostchtchie and has always been an ally to both Desna and the Black Butterfly, but she's never claimed relation to any other god, nor have any been attributed to her." You explain, trying not to get annoyed at her ignorance.
You'll never forget the sight of Pulura. The green and pink lights of the aurora coalescing in front of you, forming robes around an invisible dancer. How the stars clustered in her hair, how the elegant dancer became visible so slowly you couldn't tell when her soft Tian features replaced the gaps between the stars.
It was the second time you've seen a god manifest on the Material Plane and it was just as beautiful as the first. Eventually you're roused by Amber's voice, having fallen into a silent reverie.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." You say, wiping a tear from your eye. "Pulura chose me for this mission but the mission isn't for her. It's on behalf of another god, one who wanted to remain anonymous." You let yourself scowl since Amber can't see you, more annoyed by the secrecy now than when Pulura explained it to you.
"My task was given to me in the form of a riddle or maybe a prophecy, rather than a simple goal. Which leads me to think it might be from a god of secrecy or knowledge like Norgorber or Nethys, but that's just speculation. And I'm really hoping it isn't Norgorber - he's easily the worst of the ascended."
"So what was the mission?" Amber interrupts your speculation before you can bring up other possibilities like Pharasma or Irori.
"The sacrifice of one enriches the whole as the new is born. Safeguard the child and ensure the coming dawn." You repeat, trying to match the exact intonation of Pulura.
"That's it?" Amber asks. "I'm not sure what I expected, but don't you need more than that? How did you even get here?"
"Once Pulura departed I went back to my master's workshop and took what I needed - a scroll of plane shift and a tuning fork. I crossed over to the ethereal and followed the guidance offered to me, exactly as Pulura told me to. It took the form of golden ribbons or threads of light that traced out a path."
"The sacrifice of one and the birth of the new." Amber murmurs, deaf to what you've been saying.
"Does that mean something to you?" You ask, turning to see her deep in thought.
"Maybe." She says, gesturing uselessly. "But it's something I'm not supposed to tell anyone."
"To do with your magic right?" You ask. Magic that's inherited when someone dies isn't something you've heard of before, but you can imagine the chaos that it could create.
"Unless you're pregnant, that's the best lead I have." You say, glancing back to see Amber's unamused reaction.
"Not a chance." She says after a few moments.
"You don't want to double check your mental maths?" You ask glibly.
=================================
Serious conversation gives way to silence and intermittent conversations about more casual topics. You trade details about your favourite meals, festivals and stories as the fenced off hills become fields that were left to lie fallow years ago.
It's a surprisingly striking sight, the way nature has slowly reclaimed what people laboured over for decades if not centuries.
You can compare it to the ruins you saw in the Worldwound - shattered buildings and fields scorched and polluted so nothing could ever grow again. Instead of destruction and corruption all you see here is neglect and the occasional broken fence.
When night falls you set up camp in a particularly hilly field, Amber waiting until you were busy gathering wood for the fire to create a hole and fill it with rainwater from a summoned cloud.
You're not sure why she's trying to hide it when you already know, but you're in no position to make demands. You've seen enough to satisfy your curiosity anyway - she's obviously an elementalist, one not devoted to any element in particular. It's definitely primal magic - if you try you can feel the magic of the land react to her every time her eyes start to glow.
It isn't until after dinner and nightfall that Amber speaks up again.
"You really believe what you said before? About how a god appeared to you and chose you for a divine mission?" She asks, looking at you with a mix of envy and something else.
"Of course I do. Seeing is believing." You say, realising it's inadequate. "You're not very religious are you?"
"Not a lot of people are nowadays. Not after the Great War." Amber explains.
"Pulura saved me and my sister when we should have died. She guided us to safety and I'll never forget that. And even if she hadn't, if we'd found our way to the Falls through sheer luck, the comfort I found in the teachings of her priests isn't something I can forget. Meeting Pulura, receiving this mission - it was a validation of everything I've done in my life." You say, brushing your fingers over your removed pauldron, touching her holy symbol.
"That must be nice." Amber says sadly.
"I never asked for my magic. I was happy in Keshi, working in the orchards and riding Chalk and Cheese. Then some huntress dies after taking a shortcut through our fields and suddenly I have a great destiny I must fulfil." She says, staring into the fire.
"Yesterday was my first chance to go home in a year. And my useless escort had to ruin it by getting my mum too drunk to stand. And once he catches up I'll be sent off to another safehouse in the hopes I can learn enough to fulfil my destiny before one of those maniacs tracks me down and kills me." She says, too sad to be angry.
"And you thought I was too young for war." You say with a wan smile. "Is your teacher really that bad?"
"They don't have anyone to teach me magic. Plenty of people who can teach me to fight, to use dust or build a weapon. But not how to put my destiny to use." Amber's voice is growing more and more bitter. In response Bella has abandoned you, jumping into Amber's arms and trying to cheer her up.
"I could teach you magic." You suggest after a moment of thought. "We're working off of different paradigms but I know the theory behind primal magic. And plenty of little details will be the same."
"An angel falls from the sky, saves my life and offers me exactly what I want. Maybe I should start praying." Amber says sardonically.
Before either of you can say anything else the fire starts to crackle, suddenly emitting a great cloud of smoke that covers your little camp in seconds. You hear the howls of wolves moments later, coughing as you blindly grasp for your hammer.
"Beowolves!" Amber yells. Moments later a gust of wind extinguishes the fire and scatters the smoke, but you can see sooty stains covering both you and Amber.
It takes but a moment of focus for a halo to surround your head, the light ensuring Amber can see as well as you.
You can see a dozen massive black wolves running toward the two of you from a neighbouring field, their crimson eyes and bone-like masks matching the description of the creatures of Grimm Amber gave you earlier.
"Watch for the assassins. I can handle this." You order Amber before taking flight and aiming for the lead beowulf, a monster twice as tall as the rest.
It sees you coming, rearing up and jumping to try and catch you in its jaws. You respond by snapping your wings closed and rolling in the air, bringing your hammer in an arcing circle and drawing on your magic.
"Behold my fury."
The incantation for Gale Blast echoes across the field as your hammer strikes the beowulf's head, the blast of wind sending the alpha crashing into its lessers below you.
You let yourself drop, landing in the middle of the pack with a confident grin.
"Suffer my ire."
Your hammer pulps the head of the closest beowulf, the shockwave spell dropping several of them into a crater and giving something to put your back to.
You turn to face the Alpha again, getting a brief glimpses of Amber hurling flame and lightning at one of the assassins. You can't let her fight them alone, she won't hold out. Fortunately you have the perfect spell, once you kill the Alpha.
This time the Alpha is more cautious. It lets two of its lessers leap at you from either side, forcing you to turn away before making its move. You sidestep one grimm and shove it into the other's path with ease, spinning your hammer and bringing it up to meet the Alpha's chin.
"Unrelenting wrath."
Is the incantation for Thunderous Strike and the resulting boom knocks the alpha onto its back, joined by half of its remaining pack. You crush its chest and skull with two swift blows, turning to face Amber and the assassins.
But someone else has joined the battle - a dark haired man in a red cloak and grey clothing, easily fending off the grey assassin with a massive scythe, the green woman already retreating.
No sense letting her escape. You ignore a beowulf as its claws scrape uselessly against your armour, crouching low and pointing your hammer at the woman.
The faint twang of a bowstring is the only warning you get before half a dozen arrows cover the hill, a fiery explosion kicking up enough dust to blind you, leaving you open to the rest of the beowolves advancing on you.
You manage to get a few hits in as the grimm try to get through your armour with sheer force, eternally glad your mage armour spell covers your wings as you're unable to defend.
The sound of clockwork clicking and whirring is the only warning you get before something blows past you. You hear the grimm get cut down, apparently dismembered or bisected form the number of thuds. When the smoke clears the newcomer is right in front of you, a greatsword held ready to fight.
"Who the hell are you?" He demands to know.
"I could say the same to you." You respond, lowering your hammer despite the heat in his words.
"This all seems really convenient." He begins to say, only to grimace at the sound of more beowolves.
"That soot." He says, stepping forwards and grabbing your arm. "Once they get a whiff of that the grimm will be coming from all over to get at you."
"That explains why they blew up the campfire." You say. Fortunately prestidigitation is one of the simplest cantrips there is. A simple incantation and rush of your shoulder is enough for the soot to start vanishing from your body.
"Shayla! Are you okay?" You turn to see Amber looking a little worse for wear, her cloak torn and just as covered as you.
"I'm fine. But I'm hoping one of you has a plan." You say, looking back at the man.
"Our ride will be here in twenty minutes. We'll just have to hold out until then." The man says, poking at a glowing rectangle on his wrist.
"Is that all?" You ask with bravado you don't entirely feel. "We might not have even needed your help."
Amber responds with a hysterical laugh that leaves you and the man both moving to help her. You let him catch her before you fall, turning to see another three beowolves running towards the hill.
They're not waiting for the rest of the grimm you can hear howling? They're dumber than dretches then.
=================================
You're not sure how long it takes for the ride to arrive, the loud droning whine making you lose your focus.
It's quite a sight to see approach, the bulbous looking flying machine of glass and metal lighting up the hill with two massive torches. You can't imagine why anyone would design an airship to look like that, but you're past caring.
"I've got a few questions for you." The man says - Qrow was what Amber called him.
"So long as you answer a few of mine." You say. You're not sure you can trust him, especially not when it feels like he's considering just leaving you here.
=================================
The flying machine, this 'Bullhead' is taking you to safety. A guarantee reinforced by the man you're pretty sure was meant to be watching Amber's back the entire time.
When he interrogates you during the flight, how do you answer his questions?
[ ] Completely honestly. In as much detail as possible.
[ ] Simply and truthfully
[ ] You only share what you've already told Amber, with a little extra for context.
What do you ask him about?
[ ] What happened to him? He's apparently the worst bodyguard you've ever met, and you saw a few let their charge into battle without so much as a helmet.
[ ] What's so important about Amber? You can keep Amber's sharing of her secret secret and you'd love to know more. Even if it is just the official story.
[ ] What's all this technology? Flying machines, gun-boots, a collapsing staff and some giant transforming sword. Amber said this stuff didn't use magic but you're not sure you can believe her.
AN:
I can definitely say letting the first test of the combat system being against people that thoroughly outclassed you was a huge mistake, but that's how the dice fell.
I'm pretty confident with the mechanics for magic and stuff now and I only had to do a little retconning from what I said during character creation. Expect an info post tomorrow, though lore will have to wait until it comes up in story.
For the record the grimm bait was both Amber's emotions and the smoke.
[X] What happened to him? He's apparently the worst bodyguard you've ever met, and you saw a few let their charge into battle without so much as a helmet.
