Here's hoping they really don't ask questions about Amber.
But anyway... If Port's going to be accompanying us, I'm concerned that we're gonna have to explain to him why we're going off the beaten path, even if we do find the cause of this disturbance. Going with Coco and Fox to ask questions is going to lead to some confusion. As for Bella, I'm convinced she's gonna cause problems until we can bank some EXP into her.
[X] Accompany Velvet and Yatsuhashi to the farms outside the town. That's where the problem is.
[X] Stay with the Bullhead
With these options we're likely to downplay our weirdness and shore up if something strange is happening.
My intention isn't for Bella to be causing problems long term- she's better with people and has less hang ups so she does what Shayla wants to do, which in this case is drop the pretense and not bother trying to keep secrets they'll never succeed with.
Comparing huntsmen to Atlesian soldiers as the only other consistently armed and trained group we see in the setting I have to assume that huntsmen have an overwhelming focus on mobility and that aura is just so good as a defense that wearing armour doesn't add enough for it to be worth it.
It's certainly different from the DnD mentality of agility based defensive meaning giving up durability. It's hardly a tradeoff if the added protection of armor is so minimal that it is universally considered less valuable than the loss in mobility wearing such armor would incur.
Is there anything in Pathfinder that would complicate that thinking, like armor or magic that would make a tanking approach more viable and choosing to wear armor viable, or is the baseline firepower of Remnant to the point that even Pathfinder protections are insufficient? Do spells like mage armor and the ability to enchant clothing to provide defensive bonuses only serve to make the Remnant approach even more insurmountable?
Here's hoping they really don't ask questions about Amber.
But anyway... If Port's going to be accompanying us, I'm concerned that we're gonna have to explain to him why we're going off the beaten path, even if we do find the cause of this disturbance. Going with Coco and Fox to ask questions is going to lead to some confusion. As for Bella, I'm convinced she's gonna cause problems until we can bank some EXP into her.
EDIT: Alright, on second thought...let's have Bella come with Coco and Fox so we could engage with both problems at once.
Port's a Beacon professor and trusted by Oz, I don't think Shayla should have to tiptoe around him to do her job and I'm not sure how she would be able to do her job if she's trying to hide magic from him on top of everyone else. Besides if Oz thinks there might be a magic cause to what's happening in the town I don't think he would have assigned a teacher he didn't clear to know magic.
My intention isn't for Bella to be causing problems long term- she's better with people and has less hang ups so she does what Shayla wants to do, which in this case is drop the pretense and not bother trying to keep secrets they'll never succeed with.
It's certainly different from the DnD mentality of agility based defensive meaning giving up durability. It's hardly a tradeoff if the added protection of armor is so minimal that it is universally considered less valuable than the loss in mobility wearing such armor would incur.
Is there anything in Pathfinder that would complicate that thinking, like armor or magic that would make a tanking approach more viable and choosing to wear armor viable, or is the baseline firepower of Remnant to the point that even Pathfinder protections are insufficient? Do spells like mage armor and the ability to enchant clothing to provide defensive bonuses only serve to make the Remnant approach even more insurmountable?
There's no lore explanation for increased hp, saves and so on with level in Pathfinder, but the general paradigm would be growing more skilled and improving your equipment - a high level wizard will be wearing robes as heavily enchanted as a high level paladin's armour while the monk might just be wearing pants and bracers because they've trained their body to be more durable than normal and can draw toughness from touching the ground, but they'd still enchant the bracers.
(I might also handwave some of this as subconcious usage of unawakened aura having less obvious and potent effects because as far as I'm concerned a level 12+ fighter should be a shonen protagonist)
For now I'm assuming Mage Armour offers Shayla no benefits since she was only using it before to compensate for not wearing a helmet and being unable to protect her wings which aura does brilliantly, but someone like Ruby or Weiss who relies solely on aura would benefit a lot from Mage Armour keeping from losing as much aura to the attacks that actually hit them.
They both have something to offer, but a lot of huntsmen would focus more on the utility offered by enchanted clothing rather than sheer protection - being basically immune to fire or lightning, getting to turn invisible or terrorise people, that sort of thing.
Meanwhile Shayla is going to still be focused on parrying, tanking or counter attacks over dodging because that's just how she fights. It'll be up to you guys if she focuses on being an unstoppable force in motion, implacable but slow or something else.
"I need to head south." You decide, making sure to emphasise the I.
"That would be the most pressing matter." Port agrees before turning to Coco. "The mission is yours. I know you can handle it."
You can see CFVY react to this with confidence, though Coco shoots you another suspicious look.
"Bella, why don't you go with Yatsuhashi and Velvet." You suggest, your familiar still perched on Fox's shoulder.
"Oh can I? I think I do my best work on farms." Bella says excitedly.
"Sure." Yatsuhashi says with a smile. Bella responds by leaping at him, latching on to his belt and scrambling up his back.
"What work do you do on farms?" Velvet asks as you silently wish Bella would come up with a better answer.
"I'm really good at herding animals. Once you get a good grip on them, they'll go wherever you want." Bella boasts.
'Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum' You silently quote in agreement. Bella's never managed it since she always goes straight for goats, but the principle is sound.
"Sure." Coco says sceptically before looking back at her team. You accept the dismissal with a single wave and get going, followed by Port. Hopefully Amber was just walking Chalk along the track and not galloping, otherwise this could take a while.
=================================
Battle Site, The Road to Keshi
Professor Peter Port is perhaps the most quintessential militant follower of Erastil you've ever met, despite living in a city comparable to Axis and never having heard of the hunt god.
When discussing his prey he's arrogant to a fault yet is always trying to make sure anyone who listens can benefit from his experience. He obviously cares about his charges a great deal but suffers from a generational gap with how easily they dismissed him on the bullhead.
Presumably he'd be deadly serious on the battlefield, but you've seen none of that. He doesn't even pretend to wear armour and his axe is shaped like a trumpet or bone rather than something sensible.
All in all, you can't help but respect the man. You saw three or four taldan professors just like him in the crusade, all somehow managing to turn years of theoretical knowledge and bluster into something useful. Three of them had been cooks and wagon drivers, but they were still useful.
"What, exactly, are you looking for?" Port asks as he looks over the path. Little evidence of the fight remains after a month but you recognised it immediately.
You confirmed that with a map on Port's scroll of course, but it wasn't necessary. The hard part is trying to figure out where in the air you emerged in the Material Plane.
"I crossed over to Remnant without a Plane Shift spell. That means I was guided to a natural rift between the Material and Ethereal planes or the god guiding me here just punched through the planar barrier with their power. Which would have left a hole that healed over time." You explain as you scrutinise the sky.
"Either way, whatever's troubling Keshi could have gotten here by following me. If I can find the rift then we can try and figure out if anything came through or head to the Ethereal ourselves to investigate form the other side." You pause as you realise something deeply unpleasant.
Unable to see anything you take off, trying to hover at the height you think you emerged at.
"Anyone close to Keshi on the Ethereal will be able to look through the planar barrier to see the Material. They'd be able to see through walls and walk through doors. Even worse, a lot of the things that dwell on the Ethereal are capable of affecting the Material from there. Most common would be ghosts or phase spiders" You continue.
Nothing visible or audible. No odd breeze or any signs of ectoplasm. You think that means there's no open rift here but you can't be certain.
"Phase spiders? I assume they're not simply out of phase with reality?" Port asks.
"They're more properly known as Ether Spiders, since they're one of the only biological creatures native to the Ethereal Plane. They're capable of phasing between the two with ease and can weave webs on the Ethereal that trap people on the Material." You explain as you consider the possibilities.
From what you heard the Worldwound was perfectly visible to the naked eye, but that was after over a century of growth. It also wasn't a natural rift, which might be the important detail.
The rift would be clearly visible from the Ethereal as a shimmering curtain of light, but you're not sure about what it should look like from here. A curtain of mist? If so it'd be hard to distinguish from a cloud if you're off about the height you emerged at.
With a gesture and an echoing whisper of Celestial you focus your will. Magic radiates from you in a sustained pulse, bouncing off anything magical it touches.
Except it doesn't touch anything. You try again with less focus, letting the pulse react with the items on your person.
One, two, three, four, five responses. Exactly what you'd expected. Still no rift.
You spend several minutes flitting through the sky, aware of the essential futility of the task but determined to properly try it, before landing with a frown.
No evidence of a rift. But that isn't proof it isn't there. Just proof that you don't know how to look.
If a hammer and chisel isn't enough for the task then you grab a saw. In this case your saw is geomancy.
In theory even a natural rift between planes is an abnormal blight on the natural world. A place where the natural harmony is eternally disrupted and the magic of the land would be influenced for miles.
So you land and drop into a squat, closing your eyes and focusing on the world around you as you slow your breathing.
This is the third time you've attuned your soul to Remnant and it still feels off compared to when you attuned yourself to Sarkoris. It feels like the land is sleeping, the power all lying deep below the surface. Drawing it out would take hours if not days.
Sarkoris always felt turbulent. At times it was turgid and twisted, tainted by the Abyss. Other times it was pleasantly warm or felt like birdsong. The magic was right there, ready to be used and forcing you to exercise caution.
You don't know if this sort of variance is normal or if magic wasn't flowing properly, or how you could tell if the issue was with Sarkoris or Remnant. What you do know is that you feel nothing different here.
Eventually you stand and stretch, silently admitting failure.
"Did you find anything?" Port asks as you blink at him, fully expecting him to have a pipe in hand and surprised at the absence.
"No. Either there's no rift or its natural state is closed." You say, considering your other options.
Not that they exist. The few spells you draw from your angelic heritage would be useless here whilst the tuning fork is only useful to someone who knows a lot more about the planes than you do.
If only you'd gotten a riftwarden to teach you instead of a druid.
As you reflect on what could have been you turn your attention to the empathic link you share with Bella. She's feeling overwhelmingly smug in the exact way she does whenever she decides she's won an argument with you and less than a mile away.
A glance at the sun reveals that you've been out here for hours, more than enough time for team CFVY to decide they'd found everything they could and should instead come see what you've been doing.
You'd have noticed if Bella was in any great danger, but since you weren't paying attention you have little clue what happened. A probe of intense curiosity causes Bella to emanate amusement and satisfaction back, followed by her own curiosity. You respond with frustration as you turn to Port.
"Bella's on her way, presumably with CFVY. Apparently they've found something." You say.
"Then it seems you were simply looking in the wrong place." He says with a shrug. "Not every hunt can be successful. Why one time when I was a boy I spent hours wading through the swamp, determined to present my mother with a delicious duck dinner. Unfortunately it was not until I returned home empty handed that I learned it was in fact, rabbit season." He says with a twinkle in his eye.
You have no idea what he's going for so you shrug back.
"I just wish I could tell the difference between there not being a rift to detect and me not being able to detect the rift." You grouse.
A few minutes later you can see CFVY come down the path, Coco in the lead with something held tightly in her hand and Yatsuhashi at the back, carrying some large indistinct thing over his shoulder. It looks vaguely quadrupedal but it's nearly impossible to make out details, even as they draw closer. Between the two are Fox and Velvet, with Bella perched cheerfully on Velvet's shoulder.
"You'll never guess what Velvet and Yatsuhashi ran into." Coco calls out.
"Some sort of animated dream?" You guess, trying to remember what else dwells on the Ethereal Plane. Technically the Dimension of Dreams is a demiplane that overlaps the Ethereal but enough things escape it for a dream to be a possibility.
"What? No, they fought a group of yarn lizards that this guy was in charge of." Coco says, confused by your answer.
A glance at the hand she's holding out reveals the ugly brown bat-like creature trapped in her grip.
"Oh, a mephit." You say feeling a little underwhelmed. "Please tell me that this isn't a neophyte summoner not knowing how to make the summons obey him."
"If you know what he is, can you understand him?" Coco asks, shaking the mephit and getting a groaning response that sounds like a boulder splitting and shattering.
"No, I don't speak any of the Primordial dialects." You say with frown. It had never been relevant before. "A mephit is a minor elemental spirit, largely self concerned and commonly summoned by inexperienced mages because they've got just enough magical power to be useful but aren't clever or strong enough to be more than a nuisance if you screw up." You turn your gaze to what you assume to be the 'yarn lizard' on Yatsuhashi's back, finally able to make out the individual gossamer threads that composed its body and how sunlight doesn't properly reflect off of them.
"They're made out of quintessence!" Bella says excitedly.
"Quintessence? Are you sure?" You ask, stepping closer and reaching for your dagger so you can get a sample.
"Their bodies slowly disintegrate after they're dead and they don't properly interact with matter, they have to be composed of Spirit." She says.
"They were also almost invisible and didn't make much noise." Fox adds.
"And they could create a sort of telekinetic lasso from their tails." Velvet says.
"Aether elementals. Something of a misnomer as elements are definitionally made up of one of the four elements and quintessence isn't an element but the result of Spiritual essence being made physical by various means, but frustratingly accurate nonetheless." You say as you wrack your brain for something you'd read years ago. "While normal elementals often mimic animals in form aether elementals almost always resemble intelligent life, as that is the only form of life found on the Ethereal and because they can form from congealed ectoplasm. They're generally unconcerned with affairs of the Material Plane so they were probably summoned by whoever summoned the mephit." You say.
"How good are they with their telekinesis? Because that could explain everything the townsfolk noticed happening - unlatching gates, breaking fences, moving things around to form ramps or to try and draw grimm to a given place." Coco asks.
"Well I've never heard of yarn lizards before, but most beings either have strong telekinesis or precise telekinesis. None of that sounds beyond them, especially if they had direction." You say turning to the mephit. It opens one eye to give you a thoroughly defeated look before speaking.
"Dare I hope that you are as wise and fair as you are beautiful? Or are you as deceitful as these others?" It says in the Celestial language.
"Smart enough to know that you didn't do this alone and wise enough to hope you'll tell me what I want to know." You respond.
"Try as you might to loosen my lips, the Ostentatious Ochrevena of Many Monikers will tell you nothing. Lest all my toil and travails be turned to naught but ash I shall defy you until the stars go dark." It says, grinning as it imagines its words coming true.
"Ochrevena isn't interested in talking and has a colossal ego." You say as you switch back to English. "It must have been summoned, no way a dust mephit convinced a group of aether elementals to follow him and didn't immediately take advantage of it." You decide. "But the summoning could have taken place on the Ethereal Plane and the summoner had it lead the elementals through the rift. They're probably watching everything that happens, knowing that nothing can reach them."
You just don't know why anyone would do this - or really what they were doing. If the 'yarn lizards' were invisible and inaudible they could have been doing a lot more without getting caught.
On the bright side, CFVY have brought you solid leads - the rift is probably located north of Keshi since that's where everything has happened. You don't know if it somehow moved or if it was always there and you were deliberately guided to Amber but that doesn't matter. If you go there you should be able to find it.
Alternatively you could use the decaying corpse of the 'yarn lizard'. Quintessence is supposed to be very easy to stabilise into a new form and you should be able to create a tuning fork attuned to the Ethereal Plane with it. You'd be able to use that to locate exactly where you came through and then make a key or something to force the rift open again.
Finally you could interrogate the mephit. You aren't the best at that sort of thing but you've six people to help and the egotistical prick definitely has the information you need.
=================================
What do you do next?
[ ] Create a quintessence tuning fork
[ ] Head back to the farms to try and find the rift
[ ] Interrogate Ochrevena
=================================
Some of the options will take longer than others and they all involve the other characters getting involved with their own opinions, but it's worth noting the only time-sensitive option is how the yarn lizards will eventually dissolve into nothing. That'll probably take a day though.
I considered switching to Bella's point of view for this, but it would've doubled the length of the update and I don't have the time spare to do that at the moment.
I think making the fork is probably the most important, since it'll give us a guarantee (or at least as close as we can get) on finding the rift (and possibly any future rifts?). Interrogating is probably also pretty important though, since the mephit might have information for us on who summoned it and what their agenda might be. I don't think there's much point on heading back to the farms without the fork, since we should have enough time to at least make it first before something goes catastrophically wrong.
Making a tuning fork is also the one time limited option whereas we can still interrogate Ochrevena later on.
[ ] Create a quintessence tuning fork
Edit
[X] Interrogate Ochrevena
Having thought on it a bit, trying to get information out of Ochrevena first might be the smarter choice. As Shayla pointed out the yarn lizards could have been able to cause more trouble but they didn't. As unlikely as it is, it could be that the yarn lizards were supposed to be found and Shayla expected to create a tuning fork to find a pathway into the Ethereal plane. Or not given the new information revealed below.
In any case there's a plot afoot and it's probably wiser to try and figure out what it is to avoid walking into a trap.
I think making the fork is probably the most importnat, since it'll give us a guarantee (or at least as close as we can get) on finding the rift (and possibly any future rifts?). Interrogating is probably also pretty important though, since the mephit might have information for us on who summoned it and what their agenda might be. I don't think there's much point on heading back to the farms without the fork, since we should have enough time to at least make it first before something goes catastrophically wrong.
Assuming there is a natural rift (a decently safe bet since elementals and mephits can move between planes on their own) you should be able to find it and go through it without the fork. A fork is mostly used for creating new rifts, which you'd normally be unable to do without the Plane Shift spell (which is 7th level and a long way off), but the Ethereal plane is closer to the Material than others and you're pretty sure the barriers between the two are very thin here.
Wait... don't dragon grimm summon grimm? Are Grimm a pseudo-elementals formed from negative energy? If they are native to the abyssal realms and are summoned as a result of greater grimm or specialized summoning areas, that could explain so much about their existence. Especially if they have the ability to feed of of emitions tied to negative energy in a manner to fire elementals benefiting from fire.
Wait... don't dragon grimm summon grimm? Are Grimm a pseudo-elementals formed from negative energy? If they are native to the abyssal realms and are summoned as a result of greater grimm or specialized summoning areas, that could explain so much about their existence. Especially if they have the ability to feed of of emitions tied to negative energy in a manner to fire elementals benefiting from fire.
I'm very deliberately not commenting on the theory, but I do wnat to be clear about aspects from Pathfinder.
The grimm have more in common with daemons than demons - demons are chaotic evil and want to twist and corrupt everything until the only thing left is them ruling over the Abyss. Daemons want to annihilate everything with a soul and unmake the totality of the multiverse.
Negative energy in pathfinder is specifically the elemental energy of destruction. Its a natural part of the universe and fundamentally neutral in nature because everything gets destroyed eventually, but a lot more evil things use it than good because it is inimical to mortal life - the best you can get is how all undead replace their positive life energy with negative energym, leaving them constantly hungry for something (flesh, blood, souls, etc) and almost always twisted and evil. So negative energy as Shayla thinks of it has nothing to do with negative emotions, though its possible an outsider could feed on emotions.
Assuming there is a natural rift (a decently safe bet since elementals and mephits can move between planes on their own) you should be able to find it and go through it without the fork. A fork is mostly used for creating new rifts, which you'd normally be unable to do without the Plane Shift spell (which is 7th level and a long way off), but the Ethereal plane is closer to the Material than others and you're pretty sure the barriers between the two are very thin here.
I think we could probably skip the fork for now then; it might be useful for tracking down any hypothetical summoners hiding out in the Ethereal plane, but we should probably confirm they actually exist and get some details on them first.
This might be the best thing to do first. Creating a tuning fork should still be done quickly, we never now if we might need it later for something else and it would be a waste of perfectly usable material of we let it decay.
Complete random note because I saw art from an unreleased pathfinder book and because I'm going to end up rolling a d100 for something that happens completely unrelated to everything else (unless it perfectly harmonizes somehow), but there's absolutely a chance you'll run into Ruby, Yang, Zwei and their new sprite knight best friend:
I don't think that 'advanced interrogation techniques' will get us in anyone's good books, not that I would trust the information not to lead us into a trap anyway.
I don't think that 'advanced interrogation techniques' will get us in anyone's good books, not that I would trust the information not to lead us into a trap anyway.
Okay, vote closed. A bit of a turn around from when I started thinking about the update, but I hadn't put any thought into the interrogation scenario beyond 'low cha character has to relay questions from the high cha characters' so that's fine with me.
Scheduled vote count started by shepsquared on May 10, 2022 at 9:05 AM, finished with 14 posts and 6 votes.
It probably wouldn't have been that bad, since Coco would've spotted 'the obvious strategy of 'playing to his ego' pretty fast but it would have been awkward.
Roll: Knowledge - the Great Beyond
Bonus: 2 (Gods and the Great Beyond)
DC: 10 + 9 (Esoteric) + 2 (Brief Glimpse) = 21
Roll: 15 + 2
Result: Failure
Mephits are stubborn creatures. They're well aware of their status at the bottom of the pecking order on the Elemental Planes and compensate by many means - constant mischief, cruelty whenever they can get away with it and always telling themselves who much better they'd be at being in charge.
So you won't be able to get the ostensible Ostentatious Ochrevena to talk about his summoner anytime soon. You don't know enough about dust mephits to guess at the best approach, nor would be comfortable threatening him.
He isn't a demon and you won't treat him like one.
Instead you'll focus on something that will lead you to the summoner without having to worry about anyone's opinion. Something you only have a limited time to achieve.
A tuning fork is the key component of the Plane Shift spell, allowing the caster to target a teleportation spell across the undefined infinities of separate universes without ever having been to the destination themselves. But they're useful for so much more than that.
With the quintessence that the 'yarn lizard' is made of you could make a tuning fork attuned to the Ethereal Plane and easily track down the rift between planes the elementals have been using - or reopen the rift you originally came through.
Hidden in an inner pocket of your pack is a tuning fork you took from Fethrymil's study, one attuned to the Material Plane, specifically Golarion. You could use it to navigate the Deep Ethereal to find your way back home, or to teleport directly there from another plane with the Plane Shift spell - or as a guide on how to craft another.
"I'm going to need you to put the elemental down and step back. I've never done this before, so there's a non-zero chance I hit some kind of resonant frequency and blow it up." You say to Yatsuhashi as you crouch down and sort through your supplies.
You'll need the ash wand, the crystal vial and the tuning fork. When you pull them out you can't help but rub the caged circle that represents your home before standing, seeing that Yatsuhashi hasn't moved,
"You want to hold your horses and tell the rest of us what the hell you're doing?" Coco cuts in, Yatsuhashi stopping with the corpse now awkwardly cradled in his arms.
"I can use the quintessence of the elemental's body to create a tuning fork that resonates with the Ethereal Plane. That will let us travel to the Ethereal Plane and track down the summoner." You explain.
"You know that sounds like nonsense right? I get that you apparently know about all of this, but we don't. And since this is our mission I'm going to have to insist on you filling us in before I decide what we do next." Coco says angrily.
You take a moment to examine the yarn lizard's corpse as you consider the time frame you're working with. It's dissolving, yes, but not that fast. Unless it's just going to vanish all at once when it reaches some kind of critical threshold you have more than enough time to talk before getting to work.
"Wait, why didn't you tell them anything?" You ask Bella, realising that you shouldn't have to do this. "You've had hours to explain everything while I was out here."
"I thought we were meant to keep it a secret." Your familiar reminds you with an innocent look. "That's what Ozpin asked."
"Technically Glynda was the one who asked us to lie low and that was about not letting people see us at the school. Which you deliberately ignored." You complain.
"So did you. And magic in general is a secret here." Bella argues.
"A specific type of magic is a secret here. That doesn't justify not telling someone about elementals and where they come from when they've already fought them." You respond. Sometimes it feels like Bella's deliberately trying to frustrate you.
Or maybe you're just frustrating yourself.
"You're saying these things are magical?" Coco asks, unimpressed.
"I think she's saying that she's magic." Fox adds.
"I am a spellcaster, yes. The creatures Velvet and Yatsuhashi fought are magical beings from another plane of existence that almost definitely arrived here through magic and we're going to need to find another spellcaster to find out why he's doing any of this." You say blandly, trying to figure out the best way to explain this.
"There's no such thing as magic." Coco says.
"What?" You say reflexively, staring at her in shock. She actually means it too. You look at the rest of CFVY and see the same certainty in their eyes. "That's not… How could you… Why would you…" You can't help but trail off as you try to come to grips with the sheer stupidity of that statement.
"Magic only exists in fairy tales. It's just stories about witches turning people into toads, children falling into other worlds and dragons reviving the dead. Charming little lies we tell children so they don't have to see the real world." Coco says.
"I don't think I've ever heard something so ignorant." You say as you pinch your nose. "Magic is everywhere, in everything." You need to prove this somehow. "Here, catch." You say, tossing your hammer to Coco.
"What do you expect me to do with this?" She asks, holding it at arm's length.
"Look at it. Prove to yourself that there's no hidden mechanism, no battery or dust charge." You say.
Coco does so with a patronising look, examining your weapon of choice. There's no collapsing mechanism there, no bright crystals or clockwork showing. Just a diamond shaped head with specially designed spikes, a solid metal haft, the rune of crushing inscribed on one side and on the other side - Oh.
"That's the Righteous Medal of Valour. Awarded to crusaders who slew a demon greater than they. The hammer was a gift for the same act that earned me the medal, since my old hammer shattered in the battle." You say, annoyed at being sidetracked again.
"Elementals, mephits and demons. What else have you fought? Angels? Dragons?" Coco asks mockingly, though you see Fox frown from behind her.
"Mostly just demons." You say, feeling control of the conversation slipping away from you. Before you can try and take control again a bright flash of light interrupts your thoughts.
You turn to Velvet, seeing her box has unfolded to reveal a different box, one with a circle atop it and several protruding pieces of glass. She's pointing it at your hammer and another flash of light is emitted from the top circle as she presses a button.
"What is that?" You ask, pointing at the device.
"Oh, I just wanted to take a few pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little surprised. "I hope you don't mind."
"No, not what are you doing - what is that?" You clarify.
"It's a camera. It takes pictures." Velvet says, sounding a little lost. "Here, see for yourself." She says, turning the device's back to you.
You step closer to her and see the frozen image of your hammer in Coco's hands, perfect in every detail.
"Of course, you can create a flawless image that would put countless painters out of a job, but there's no such thing as magic." You say. You can see Velvet about to explain but stop her with a shake of your head. "Fine, I'll show you." You say, walking over to Coco and taking back your hammer.
"What are you going to do, pull a rabbit out of your hat?" Coco asks. You respond by resting your hammer on the ground and pulling off your gauntlets, taking a moment to lace your fingers together and stretch.
"You will observe that I have nothing up my sleeves." You say in the exact same tone before twisting one hand up and closing it into a fist. In the same moment you speak a few words of Celestial, your voice echoing as a ghost-like hand appears in front of you.
Another incantation creates a second, the two Mage Hands floating down to grasp your hammer and raise it into the air with a careless flick of your wrist. Once it's above your head you let the hands fade, catching your hammer and twirling it as you take a step towards the fence.
As you focus your will and swing your hammer lights up with magic. A dark orange circle forms around the centre of the head as lightning spreads from your hands along the haft. In the circle two runes form the base of a triangle - the Thassilonian rune of the Vengeful Man, looking like two hooked horns and representing wrath, and the celestial rune for the virtue of justice, looking like a sword. At the top of the triangle is a phrase written in flowing elven script, the phrase you speak to enforce your will on the world.
"Summon the storm" is the incantation, echoing as the hammer's head hits the fence. Lightning scorches the wood as it shatters, the magic circle fading the moment you complete your swing.
Shocking Strike, your favourite spell. You turn back to your audience and raise your hammer high. Next comes its companion.
"Command the thunder" you declare as you swing the hammer at the ground, another circle forming as you do. This time there is no lightning. Instead the sound of the hammer falling grows impossibly loud, creating a boom of thunder as your hammer hits the ground and forces CFVY to flinch at the sound.
Thunderous Strike, the same spell you used to down the glabrezu.
"Semblances do one discrete thing, yes? Super speed or telekinesis. So how did I just do that?" You challenge them to respond.
"You could have a semblance for creating storms." Coco suggests, but you can tell she doesn't believe it.
"The hand trick could have been done with hard light dust too." Yatsuhashi says, sounding a lot more doubtful.
"I have spent seven years of my life studying arcane magic. And one of the first lessons of magic is that you do not, cannot, know everything. Accept that there are things you do not understand, things you will never even know you exist. Accept that the world is that much larger and stranger than you've ever considered." You demand, seeing them glance at each other.
"Look at me. I can fly, despite my wings not being large enough to lift my body from the ground." You say, spreading your arms wide. It doesn't take any effort at all to summon your halo, finding it more responsive to your emotions than ever since Amber awakened your aura. "I shine despite lacking a flame or filament."
"Winged faunus can fly because of their aura, even though they have the same issue." Velvet interjects, almost wilting as you blink at her.
"And flying has become much easier for me since I got my aura unlocked." You agree. "But I could fly before that, though you'll have to take my word for it." You pause before deciding on another argument. "Explain Bella then. Ferrets can't talk. They don't have fur that's all the colours of the rainbow and they can't heal with a touch."
That at least stumps them, Fox nodding as you talk and Bella does a handstand to show off. One down, three to go.
"Just keep watching, with an open mind." You say, setting your hammer aside and deciding on another spell. "The three spells I've demonstrated are of the school of evocation. Next I will demonstrate conjuration."
Two dark blue circles appear on your palms as you hold them opposite each other, bearing the runes for sloth, growth, slime and zeal, and spinning in opposite directions as you murmur in celestial.
Blue threads of light spin together to form a vine that starts to ooze sap after a few moments. Instead of flinging it at an enemy you wind around your left arm.
"That is Tanglefoot, a spell designed to slow and harass the foe rather than directly harm them." You explain. "For transmutation I present Humanoid Form."
A wave of your hand across your face and more celestial causes a veil of light to sweep across your body and compact your body down. Your wings vanish and your hair turns the same shade of red that Edrekk has, even as your armour seamlessly shrinks to fit you.
Less than six seconds later your audience is staring at a smirking dwarf in shock. You manage to keep the smug look on your face for only a few seconds before you can't help but shudder.
"Uhh." You groan. "Why didn't I choose to be a strix or something? Losing limbs always feels wrong." You complain.
"Are you okay?" Yatsuhashi asks.
"I'm fine." You say with a barely suppressed wince. "So, evocation, conjuration and transmutation. One more spell would make four out of eight schools shown. Unfortunately the divination spells I prepared aren't what you'd call flashy, so instead I'll have to settle for illusion."
You bring your clean hand to your breast and trace a circle on your armour. It responds by gleaming and vanishing, replaced by a perfect copy of Coco's clothing.
You stand there and let your audience stare for a moment before speaking.
"I am Shayla Barakiel from the world of Golarion. I was raised under the light of Desna's Path*, beneath the moon Somal. I am a mage, a warrior, a crusader a dozen times over. I travelled to Remnant on a divine mission, emerging into the world maybe a hundred feet above us a month ago.
"Call me a liar, a fool, a madwoman. Whatever you like. I'll prove you wrong as many times as it takes." You declare, staring at Coco.
"That's more like it." She says with a grin. "What do you need?"
"Time to work with that." You say, pointing at the elemental's corpse.
"And what do we need to do to be ready?"
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After a brief explanation of elementals, the multiverse and the dangerous inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane** Coco is satisfied, her team giving you the space you need to work on making a tuning fork.
The first thing you do is carve a chunk of the yarn lizard's flesh out and secure it in the crystal vial, confident that even once it loses its form you'll have some small amount of aether to work with.
The essence of Spirit made solid by Mind, Life and Spirit itself, quintessence, or aether, is inherently malleable. It is the material that the Outer Planes and their inhabitants are made of in the same way you are made of Matter.
The only one of the Inner Planes that quintessence can be found upon is the Ethereal Plane. To form a tuning fork from it would normally require hours of carefully manifesting aether on the Material through meditation, precisely manipulating the energies of your soul to give you what you want.
As you already have plenty of quintessence, all you need to do is give it a permanent form without altering its fundamental nature. The form is easy - a tuning fork akin to the one you already possess, though it will need to be longer and thinner. As for its nature…
The Ethereal Plane is one of the transitive planes, a universe full of beings that once existed and things that never will. It is home to ghosts and dreams, to things that yearn for reality as they stare into it, unaware of what the ever present fog hides from them.
Anything can exist there, though it may only last a moment.
With the wand you impose your will on the lizard's aetheric form, causing the threads that make up its skin to run and meld together, condensing and becoming more real as it shrinks. As you do you focus on the sensation of when you first awaken, those strange moments when your dreams haven't faded and you can't remember which reality is true.
The end result is a long narrow fork that seems to be made from tarnished bronze or copper, the natural hue of the metal covered by a green patina.
You tap it against the wand and listen to the eerie note it produces. Perfect.
Only once you rise from a crouch and stretch your back do you realise it's gotten dark while you were working. Dark enough that you get your first proper look at the stars above Remnant.
You can't help but be struck by how far from home you must be. Beneath a shattered moon and alien stars you briefly feel utterly lost.
Then you recognise the patch of darkness that must be Monstra's maw and the studious part of your mind takes over. If that's Monstra then that must be the Wyvern's tail with the Knight below. The Serpent is the obvious ring with a tail and the three triangles are the Hunter's Hounds.
From there you can easily find the Dragon's Eyes, the pole stars of Remnant. Part of you feels personally offended by Cynosure's*** absence, but you already knew that Desna was unknown on Remnant.
You force your mind back to the task at hand before you go for your journal and start drawing star charts. As much as you want to take advantage of the complete lack of light pollution here, the summoner comes first.
Looking around you can see Yatsuhashi standing by the fence, obviously watching over you. Behind him the rest of CFVY have started a fire, presumably planning to set up camp.
"You're finished then?" He asks.
"Definitely." You say, flourishing the fork and being momentarily shocked by the sticky brown sleeve on your arm - right the glamour. And the sap. Not your smartest decision. At least you've got your wings back. "Did anything happen while I was working?"
"Port went back to town so he can send a report with his scroll and the mephit tried to escape a few times." Yatsuhashi reports. "He can breath a dust cloud that really stings, dig a pit with a wave of his hand and blind you with glitter, but he wasn't expecting Fox to just ignore it."
"Expeditious Excavation and Glitterdust. And the breath weapon of course" You guess as you spot the pits. "About what I'd expect from a dust mephit, since they're composed of both earth and air. But if he's a caster then this is a bit more complicated than I thought."
You frown as you walk towards the fire, Yatsuhashi following behind you. You'd dismissed the idea without thinking about it before, but Ochrevena or another mephit could be the mastermind. It's uncommon for mephits to develop their spellcasting beyond the basics, but Ochrevena has definitely started to do that if he can cast glitterdust.
The poor prisoner has been thoroughly immobilised, his arms and legs bound together and his wings somehow stuck to the half buried boulder Coco is sitting on. He looks thoroughly resigned to his fate by now as his captors cheerfully dig into their dinner.
"Are we good to go?" Coco asks when she spots you.
"I've got the tuning fork but there's a few things I should probably warn you about first." You respond. "The Ethereal Plane doesn't really have gravity, terrain or solid ground like you're used to and you guys can't fly, which could make things tricky."
"So we'll be falling sideways but there won't be anything for us to collide with?" Fox asks.
"Not exactly. Maybe I should explain this once we're on the Ethereal Plane, it won't make much sense until then." You admit. "Also when dealing with a spellcaster you should really gag them so they can't manage any verbal components."
As you point at Ochrevena the mephit glares at you, snarling something in the grinding tones of Terran and twitching his fingers.
You can't help but laugh at how unintimidating the little guy is, falling to your knees as the cackles steal the breath away from you.
You can see the others reacting out of the corner of your eye as Ochrevena casts something else and vanishes, presumably teleporting away since the rope is left behind and can't stop laughing at their confusion.
You start to get control of yourself as the grass and earth beneath you turns into sticky, sucking mud. You struggle to your feet as you sink into the mud, seeing Ochrevena hovering above you and laughing at your plight.
"Know children that your valiant struggle against the inevitable victory of the Seigneur of Sienna will soon be over. Try as you might, the Oneiric Obstacle outwitted you long ago." He gloats dramatically.
"What's happening?" Fox asks. You frown as you look around, seeing even Coco is struggling against the mud, despite still sitting on the boulder and barely touching the dirt.
That doesn't make much sense, someone should have been able to get free by now. And you just got hit with Hideous Laughter, which means Ochrevena isn't restricted to elemental spells.
"It's an illusion! Oneiric Mire just makes you think there's a quicksand bog!" You yell.
"Your irksome intellect shall hardly help! My mighty master's needs demand your demise." Ochrevena declares.
You close your eyes and focus, shutting out both Ochrevena's words and the sensation of sinking into the mud, instead beating your winds and leaping straight up.
The conflicting sensations from your legs and wings almost make you spiral into the ground, but it gets you into the air.
Ochrevena snarls at you, only for a colossal ghostly hand to tear through the air and grab Ochrevena, leaving the mephit barely visible beneath the claws.
As fast as it appeared the hand pulls backwards and vanishes, taking Ochrevena with it. The illusory bog fades away as you let yourself drop, leaving the five of you too try and gather your wits.
"What was that?" Velvet asks.
"I don't know, some sort of giant?" You guess. "But I don't think there are any giants known to live on the Ethereal."
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The dust mephit was stolen from your grasp. What course of action are you going to advocate for?
[ ] Use the tuning fork to immediately go after him (Coco's plan)
[ ] Go get Professor Port and cross over to the Ethereal in town (Velvet's plan)
[ ] Wait until morning to head to the Ethereal so you're all at your best (Fox's plan)
[ ] Write In
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Knowledge: The Great Beyond
Bonus: 2 (Gods and the Great Beyond)
DC: 10 + 9 (Esoteric) + 2 (Brief Glimpse) = 21
Roll: 15 + 2
Result: Failure
*One of several names for the galaxy Golarion resides in, named for the goddess Desna who created the stars and how the galaxy seemingly leads the eye to Cynosure, the pole star and Desna's divine realm
**Ghosts, ether spiders and animated dreams are the best known inhabitants of the Ethereal Plane, but far more dangerous are the ethereal stalkers, who kidnap people to implant their young into, the sahkils, fiends who embody human phobias, and the night hags, who feed on souls through nightmares.
***Cynosure is the pole star of Golarion and the divine realm of Desna, goddess of dreams, travelers and the night sky. Many on Golarion believe that it serves as the pole star on all worlds because of Desna's role as goddess of the night sky and creator of the stars.
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Your spells have all recharged since you showed them off, so you don't need to worry about being useless if you go after Ochrevena. As always, ask any questions that come to mind.
