Water is wet; gods are treacherous, Carwyn Cadwallader's life is suffering; all of these statements are fundamental truths. Your old life was frankly shit, shit that stank so severely you won't further entertain any thoughts of comparing the two because honestly, you are depressed enough without jumping down that rabbit (FUCK YOU ANDRASTE!) hole.
So. Somehow your mother was killed. Again. By a fucking god, because why the hell not right? Well, as unbearably traumatic as that is, you also have to deal with the giant fuck off undead army to the south, which according to the grapevine is now marching (Expediently Shambling?) on towards Northumberland, thankfully they seem to be avoiding Lancaster, along with the brand spanking new tower that appears to be determined to kill everything. As if the first Tower wasn't bad enough!
Not to mention that itty bitty, minuscule detail about how the Don Squirrel got pimped slapped into a boarding school, killing everyone inside it and making the ever uncertain future of wizardkind much bleaker all around.
You aren't panicking though, in fact to the outside observer you are disturbingly calm; an imbecilic servent even insinuated (full on said it actually) you had become despondent once she assumed you could no longer hear her, you'll punish her later for her insolence, right now you must plot. Plotting has always made you feel better... for now, your forces should be more than enough to hold your ground against the horde until you can create a spell or something to push them back south, maybe even into wales? Those bastards have had it good for too long, and its past time they had a burden to bear that wasn't self-inflicted!
By all, that's half decent (because nothing is good anymore) if it didn't take so much effort you would *scream!* Unfortunately, that would be bad for morale and more impotent, disturb your studies. Once you had finished planning (brooding really, you are self-aware enough to admit that much at least) you marched over to your ever useful ( Ha.) Cube of power(Noval ideas and unredeemable curses) to try to unravel its abilities through observation.
That was hours ago now. You have locked yourself in this room to do nothing but stare at a featureless cube as remained still and slightly luminescent. That luminescence was causing you a moderate amount of aching in your eyes, as it turns out, staring at a bright object in a dark room for hours on end is terrible for your ocular health, will the discoveries never cease? That infernal pulsing wast helping for the pain either, its been going on for...actually that just started didn't it?
Forcing your eyes to widen so that you may observe this phenomenon more clearly, you notice that, yes the light of the Cube has started to pulse rhythmically, almost like a heartbeat! Eager for the distraction valid form of research you fully engross yourself in observing the Cube, much to the displeasure of your still aching eyes. You continue to watch the Cube, the pulses are picking up in speed, and you quickly deduce its a count down of some sort.
The pulses are growing faster now; you stopped bothering to count them when they reached six pulses a second, you half notice the sudden surging of energy as the pulsing stops, and suddenly the Cubes light is blinding.
You feel a wave of pure magic push through you and the stone walls of the castle after that? you can no longer say, you were a bit preoccupied dealing with the mind-numbing pain of whatever it is that is happening to you.
Truly, to be you is to Suffer in every sense of the word.
The End?
Six hundred and twenty-three words for what essentially translates into, "well damn."
JackQuest Negaverse : The end ? (canon) +108 (geez)
Finally finished writing this out, and thank you @SocsoD for helping beta read this omake. It's 2.25k exactly @LordPenguin.
Blackjack said:
You'd been having an enthusiastic nighttime walk through this part of Winchester, when you'd felt that telling feeling of magic in the air and decided to investigate it. By the time you'd arrived at your new destination, scant minutes after the feeling had manifested you were treated with an interesting sight.
A white dog and a strange and unknown thing were facing off in a ferocious battle, with corpses littering the clearing around them, their clothing signaling their allegiance to the church. You'd never seen anything like that thing before and so decided to fall back onto your standard response when some new creature would come up. Kill it. Simple and a high rate of success. After all, if it's fighting one of our creatures it has to be an enemy.
With that in mind you run towards them, pulling your sword out and planning to have a exciting battle as you charged into the fray. Or rather you would have if you hadn't somehow tripped and fallen meters away from your target, landing in a disgruntled heap. As you got up you saw that neither of them were faring much better, with the white dog trying to attack the thing except constantly misjudging it's range with both it's claws and it's lunges, leading to attacks that wouldn't have hit the thing even without it dodging away from the attacks.
Of course, any hopes of a good fight to be had were dashed when you saw the thing didn't give a better performance than the incompetent dog. It was throwing out death magic, powerful spells for sure, but it was missing it's targets by a mile, even when the dog was relatively immobile.
You got up, feeling disappointed and prepared to end things quickly when movement on the edge of the clearing caught your eye. As the shapes drew closer, your face shifted into a large grin as you got a better look.
A dainty woman with a brown ponytail, accompanied with a masked man wearing spandex and a white dog logo on the chest with a long coat started approaching. They were the members of that fucking league of nuisances, the bitch and the mutt. Hope flared in you once again at the chance for a wonderful fight as you grinned at the chance to remove that damned thorn in your side once in for all.
Still, you had to think things through quickly, the bitch was a vampire so she was going to try and get in close and drain your lifeforce while the mutt tended to stick to those guns. If you were going to take them out, you'd have to rush down the mutt to keep him from providing cover for the bitch, and when it was just you and the bitch you could dance around her touch and easily cut her down.
All of these thoughts took place over the course of a second and while you prepared to rush the two of them the brat decided to join the party, bursting out from the treeline and running until she reached your side.
"Father, are you all right?"
'I'm fine brat. You don't have to worry about me. I could have been able to beat the two of them myself, but I suppose this can let me see how much more training you need. Go and fight the mutt, I'll kill the bitch."
"Of course father," she intoned as she started walking over to the pair, unsheathing her knife along the the way.
Honestly, you were glad the brat decided to show up. While you were sure of being able to take on the two nuisances and win, you were far less sure of being able to do the same and deal with the thing that was locked in the most pitiful excuse of combat you'd ever seen with the balverine.
While it hadn't been fighting with anything one would call "skill", it was still throwing out death magic with abandon, which implied either high mana pools or a large amount of power, neither of which would be good to deal with in a three-way fight, with the dog having just been acting as a mere white dog, not instant fodder but likely useless for a truly serious fight and so would probably lose against the thing in a drawn out fight.
You might end up regretting this later, but you ended up deciding to send a message out to the others connected through ỳ̸̫̭͓̗͖̋͌̈̃̐̅͆͆̋͑̅̚o̶̧̳̖̲̺̾͛ͅu̷̧̥̘̖͚̾̋̋̒̿̽͗̄͊͘͘r̶̖͇̺̞̻̙̞̤͒̽̃̈́̋̑̈́͛̕ͅ ̶̥͛̈́̀ṃ̵̝̟̹̹̜̲̞̻̫̞̱̉̓̐̏́̉͊͒̍ä̵̡̳̩͍̮̰̱̻̹̇͐̒̉̓̃̊͝s̴̢͔̦̣̯̜̆̓ẗ̵̢̡͕̰͕̪̺͍̟̮͕̰͈͊̋̇̋͊̚͝ẻ̴̛̬̪̬͈̎̈́̔̓̋̽͛̏́r̷̨͕̲̫͇̟̰̭͔͓̝̺͕̈́̈́̋͋͌ͅ.̸̰̮̪͍͕̻̟̍̔̎̓͛͐͝͝ͅ ̷̮̇̉́͛͝ If nothing else they do need to know no matter what, that something like this exists, since you thought that all of the death factions had been accounted for and purged or turned when possible.
You sent the pulse out and expected nothing else to happen, having alerted them. Of course, you ended up being wrong about your pulse leading to nothing else occuring.
As was seemingly becoming far too common this battle, before the brat made it far enough to start engaging, another interruption occurred.
On your right, a small amount of fog started to emanate from the large trees as three people in deep, black cloaks that obscured their features walked into view, The Tribunal. It seems that someone had been looking in on you closely and had come running when you'd sent the alarm, sending them to judge the thing.
And you'd think that would be the end of things but no, of course it couldn't be. Today was just a day of everything getting crazier and crazier. Coming out from your left was the bug, your fucking stalker. This was just getting ridiculously chaotic and for the life of you, you couldn't figure out how a simple walk around the block led to this type of gathering of your enemies.
Everything seems to still for a second after all of the new arrivals made their entrances and glared at one another, as if locked in the largest, most convoluted Mexican standoff imaginable. The dog started to waver, looking like it was going to try and run before righting itself and standing its ground, despite being truly outmatched and heavily shaking. Then true chaos ensued in the area.
The bitch quicly moved in towards you while you charged to meet her in the center, and as the mutt readied his guns to fire on you the brat rushed in, pushing at him and preventing him from getting a clear shot off or being able to do anything other than dodging.
The bug, having been aiming towards you, diverted and changed targets to the brat to try and take pressure off of the mutt, before he started having his exposed position bombarded with bullets by the Tribunal and had to dive for cover.
Throughout all of this, the dog stayed in it's spot, seemingly petrified while the thing stayed back and started channeling death magic, quickly building up a purple orb of the magic.
The Tribunal slowly moved back from the main battleground and had two of their numbers guard and send shots into the constantly undulating knot of people while the last one started to chant and summon something unknown.
The lack of their suppressing fire on the bug led to him finally having a chance to reinforce the mutt, who had lost his coat and gained a long cut on his forearm since the brat had started her attack. With the bug forcing the brat back to avoid the shots, the mutt finally got a chance to go on the offensive, leading to her starting to start getting tired and inching closer and closer to making an ultimately fatal mistake.
While the Tribunal disengaged, the mutt also tried to do the same to much worse effect. It bounded off, only to trip over it's own paws and sprawl out near the edge of the clearing, not gone but at least away from the main fight.
Then everything seemed to change as you saw something from the corner of your eye.
You saw a purple light emanating from the alien, building up with alarming speed, and the alien seems to have a mocking smile on its face before it started panicking, and attempting to stop the spell, with the ball of magic it had been forming starting to sputter. The shape began randomly spiking, the spherical form deforming and destabilizing before returning into a sphere for a brief, heart-stopping moment. It unsuccessfully tries to stop the spell one last time, but the spell has already taken form. The sphere contracts into a pinprick of light before exploding outwards at a blistering pace.
The thing falls, seemingly consumed by it's own spell while the quick bloom of death magic continues onwards and rapidly starts striking the other fighters in the battle. You see it quickly hit the bug, the mutt, the white balverine, and the brat, with all of them immediately collapsing though only the bug and the mutt fall still. Still, it continues onwards and hits your part of the fight with the bitch by the time you blink. There was a split second window where you see the magic hitting the bitch and actually healing her before it's upon you.
You feel a flash of pain and then the nothingness overtakes you.
The magic boom continues unabated, killing almost all living creatures in its path. Within seconds the spell reaches it's limit and dissipates. It leaves behind the city of Winchester, which has been transformed into a land of the dead.
AN: So uh, that happened. These were some extremely insane rolls that led to this situation, as in multiple nat 1s and 100s considering this was meant to be a standard patrol type action. Fear not though, despite the ending of this chapter this isn't the ending of Jack Quest. I'll need to change up some of my notes and probably do a format change but I guarantee that I'll be writing more for you all.
Unlike Jack, Tonks actually passed her check against the AOE death spell, so she's alive. A bit shaken up but she's heading over to her mother's place.
Honestly the town is gone so I think we succeeded beyond all of our wildest dreams. Winchester had the magical and nonmagical governments of the country there so that is great for crippling the country.
Can't forget that Sirius Black and Reaver are dead, and we wiped out the church faction in the area. Considering what they were guarding that's a major win for us too.
What I want to know is what was that weird thing that was throwing magic around like it's going out of style. That's not exactly common to see, and we know most of the prominent Death magic users to boot.
Alright, since it doesn't matter anymore I'll let it spill. That thing was a Kreegan, which is a demon in this quest. The reason I'm telling you this? Hell is gone, the backlash went through the demon's connection and killed everything on the other side. Hell was meant to be a faction later on in the game but this incident has killed them all off.
The demon rolled a 100 on it's incantation speed roll and a 1 on it's control roll. For an idea of it's actual power you need to understand the initial encounter rolls for it. The demon was a 97 encounter roll for the balverine, and then followed up by a 78 when a 70 in this situation was meant to be an borderline apocalypse tier roll. So you had to say hi to Ophiuchus of the Poison Star. Then Jack was a nat 1 for the balverine, and then all of the rest spiraled out based on your personal rolls.
You assumed the Balverine was one of yours, but just because you can make White Balverines doesn't mean that they can only be made by you. Those church soldiers that were dead when you stumbled on that fight? They were her squad that had been killed by Ophiuchus earlier in the fight, though her organization wasn't part of the main church.
"You know what?" The white-haired man had a revelation, who was holding to his raft for dear life as it rocked in the middle of the whirlpool, that was gradually revealing an underwater, ruined, city. "I always wanted my pet boss encounter."
"Shut up and hold on." His companion grunted, his voice tight from the strain of holding on the wooden contraption.
"No, seriously, imagine it!" The younger-looking man let go of the raft with one hand, the other, silvery one still firmly attached to the wood. He then began waving his fingers animatedly. "You, the always-dour, always boring guy, and then, suddenly!" His arm shot out, forcing his older counterpart to duck. "You become awesome! Besides, other you is a better conversationalist."
"Yeah, I'd like a better you too. One that would learn to shut up-"
"Too late, bored now." The white-haired man pushed him off the raft, hearing the ever so sweet infuriated shouting as he finally touched down on the seafloor. He rearranged his clothes, ensuring they weren't too wet, before turning around with a beaming expression on his face.
"MEEEEEEEERLIIIIIIIIIN!" The man was shouting with a fearsome expression on his face.
"Yes~?" was the gleeful answer of the other, who looked as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
"When I catch you will murder you-"
Merlin tuned him out, lifting the sleeve of his white robe so that his silver arm was fully exposed.
"Do your best Ish-chan~!"
"FUCK YOOUUUUUUUUUU!"
"How rude!" He pouted, before his hand fiddled with his pouch. "Good thing we can remedy that! "
"Master..." A pale young woman with long foam colored hair emerged from the waves wearing a black kimono with orange flames. "This..." She held out her hands, revealing a black sphere.
"Just on time Kiyo-chan! At least there's someone!" He shouted in Ishmael's direction." Reliable here. Good job!" He petted her hair, her lips twitching up slightly.
Merlin then walked away, smiling beatifically, (like an idiot, people jealous of his good looks would say!) and spoke out once more.
"Well, I suppose some amount of formality should be observed here. *Ahem*. Ah, well, who am I kidding! It's not as if I can make things any worse, right guys?" The air shivered, and he was splashed with saltwater in the face. He closed his eyes, spit it out and whined. " You guys have no trust in me~"
" 'If you finish this, you can get out quicker.' Is what Hime-Sama said." The young woman said with her usual empty expression. Merlin put his fist to his chin in contemplation.
"True that. Well then, if we can't go down..." He looked to his side, towards a giant obsidian door on the floor that was shivering, covered by chains."He'll have to go up! As is my privilege under the Ninth Crown, I call upon thee, Follower of the Fifth! Awaken from your slumber beneath history and walk under the light once more!"
Then he shifted his position, crouching a pit, and put himself in a pitcher position as his arm began to retreat, the black sphere thrumming within the silver hand. He then threw it like a baseball as the gruff man was finally emerging from the whirlpool and hit him on the face. Then the ball exploded in fragments of light, that immediately entered him, turning his whole silhouette into a ghostly blue. Then, Merlin heard wet crunches and had to wince at the sound of flesh tearing. The girl didn't bat an eye.
When this stopped, another figure emerged. A fit young man with a healthy complexion, wearing antiquated armor walked out, hand rubbing the back of his hand and looking a bit embarrassed.
"Aw, geez, don't call me like that."
Merlin blinked. He hadn't expected that.
Wind blew around them as they stared at each other.
"'You should start to look for a way to get out.' Is what Hime-Sama said" Kiyo spoke out, earning herself another headpat. This time from the Persian man.
"We know Kiyo. We're just thinking on how to do it. Any idea, mage?"
"I can't use magic right now, buuut I may have an idea." He looked consideringly around him before his eyes lingered on the ruins.
One hour later, they were looking at a Pillar. But not any pillar. It was half propped up on another pillar, and on top of it, the remnants of their deceased raft were firmly attached to it. On its side, one could read the letters "S.S.Buster". At the bottom of the pillar, strange, intricate symbols were engraved.
"Look at our baby, I'm so proud of it!" Merlin faked a sob as if he were feeling emotional right now, while Kiyo sat in the middle spot of the three seats he could see. He took the front one, and the Persian man took the last one.
"Hello everyone, we wish you a good trip on the Arash airlines~" Merlin started out, ad the other was turned around, palms facing the symbols, and he was breathing heavily, muttering words in a long-dead language. Small sparks and embers appearing along the pillar.
"Lift up in Three... Two...O-"
A massive gout of flames came out of the man's palms, entering the pillar, then violently rushing out of the bottom of the pillar, causing the entire contraption to immediately fly up at high speed, interrupting the mage's bad impersonation of a stewardess.
They flew for minutes until Merlin got another black Sphere out of his pocket.
"Hey Arash! Wanna see something fun?"
"Yeah?" The Persian man grinned up to his ears, or it could be the wind pressure.
"Bet you can't throw that thing that way faster than our ship!"
"You're on!" The orb changed hands, then sailed through the air at unreal speeds, until it left a regular person's field of view. Then, suddenly, a gigantic ship erupted off the ground as they were flying down. Directly in their way.
Time almost stopped for a second as the busty, redheaded pirate lady's eyes widened upon seeing the three people riding a flying pillar, the three people looked at her, the girl impassive, the black-haired man apologetic, and the white-haired one grinning manically. Then, time resumed its course, and the pillar went through the ship's deck, the strength of the collision sending all of them and their rides to the ground.
Merlin, Arash and Kiyo gor up relatively easily and looked at the wreck in front of them.
"My poor pillar~" Merlin sobbed.
"Me ship!" A woman shouted in anger and indignation. The redhead came into view before she saw them, and her eyes zeroed in on Merlin. "Ye! Ye're th' one who did this t' me ship! Ye're goin' t' pay fer every piece o' gold I used fer it ye hear me?!" She grabbed his shoulders and began to shake him."Where did ye even learn t' drive that way?! Ye're a menace fer everythin' that's good 'n holy in this world ye washed out two-bit failure o' a mage! In me days that kind o' failure would ne'er be allowed t' even be close t' th' helm! "
Arash got closer to Kiyo as the pirate was shaking and scolding their mage.
"And this is why you will have to go and pass your driving license when you get older, Kiyo."
"..." Kiyo remained silent, as the pirate lady got frustrated, punched the wizard in the gut, causing him to fall on the ground, and proceeded to kick his fallen form.
"Hey! Do we get a name?" Arash called out to the woman, who grinned at them triumphantly, one foot on Merlin's back and a rosy flush on her cheeks before she lifted him off the ground and hefted him up on her shoulder.
"Elizabeth Tudor. Call me Bess or Betty. Drake'll do , too."
Wunderkind:+10 all stats, +15 all skills Atlas: +10 Martial, +5 Diplomacy, +40 armed combat. Doubled lifespan Colossus: +5 Di, +5 Ma, +30 Presence, +20 Manipulation, Intimidation auto success. Stentor: +5Di, +3Ma,+20 Presence, +10 Strategy Elven Grace: +10 speed, +50 Movement, +3 Ma, +15 combat
[Bloodline] Child of Babylon : +5 My, +5 Le,+20 to all loot rolls, +20 Research. Proto-Human: +20 to rolls when accomplishing feats accomplished by fellow humans.
Defining Sin/Virtue:
Envious: +2 in, - 1 Di + 5 Stealth
Humble : + 2 Di, – 5 Presence
Lifestyle trait:
Hero of Skill: Skill, stats and exp gains doubled. No skill caps.
Profession:
Follower of the Light: [Fifth Crown]: +9 Martial, +4 Learning, +4 Diplomacy. No stat caps.
Personality traits:
Adventurer: +1 Ma, -1 Di
Brave: +2 Ma, +10 Combat
Brawny: +2Ma,+1Di,+5 combat
Content: -1 In, +5 Empathy, +5 common sense.
Family person : +1 Di, +10 to rolls involving family.
Gregarious: +2 Di, + 10 Presence
Honest: +3 Di, -2 In
A future by the sword:Being defined by a weapon is nothing shameful, pushing every aspect of it to the extreme, even if death only awaits, nothing to regret. Keeping eyes on the horizon, towards the future? Something to strive for. As long as you keep kindness in your heart, you will never have to fear.
Adds 20% Martial to Mysticism.
Skills:
Diplomacy
135
Cap:
Presence
260 + 15 + 30 + 20 = 325
Leadership
160 + 15 = 175
Empathy
185 + 15 = 200
Stewardship
87
Cap:
Entrepreneurship
150 + 15 = 165
Self sufficiency
210 + 15 = 225
Accounting
170 + 15 = 185
Martial
139
Cap:
Strategy
250 + 15 + 10 = 275
Armed combat(weapon)
250 + 15 + 40 + 15 = 320
Logistics
250 + 15 = 265
Intrigue
111
Cap:
Manipulation
250 + 15 + 20 = 285
Perception
110 + 15 = 125
Stealth
100 + 15 = 115
Learning
108
Cap:
Research
140 + 15 + 20 = 175
Crafting (craft)
195 + 15 = 210
Common sense
140 + 15 = 165
Mysticism
117
Cap:
Magical Combat
270 + 15 = 285
Utility magic
250 + 15 = 265
Lore
130 + 15 = 145
Willpower
105
Cap:
Environmental spells
245 + 15 = 260
Offensive spells
15 + 15 = 30
Defensive spells
210 + 15 = 225
Skill bonuses:
Presence (300) +60 social interactions
Leadership (150) +7 happiness in all cities +1 Leadership skill (3)
Empathy (150) 5 RP gain / interaction + 4 personal action (must be social) Keystone: Diplomacy (150) : +1 rank Diplomacy (3)
Entrepreneurship (150): +1 Rank to Mining(3), +15 to industry rolls.
Sel sufficiency (200): Allows to build a holding for free. Obtain [Secrets of Skill]
Accounting (150 ): +1 Rank to Estates(3), +7,5% of your gold reserve /turn Keystone: Stewardship (150) +1 Rank Nobility(3), +10% Gold gains
Strategy (250): + Ranks up to Tactic(5), Offense(3) and Defense skills(4). Armed Combat (300) : +60 Damage. Gain the first strike and no retaliation abilities.
Logistics (250) : +1 Rank up to Pathfinding(5) and Seamanship skills(4) Keystone: Martial (250): +300 Health. Gain the ability to act four times every 2 turns in a battle (the other turn will be thrice). (doesn't stack with higher levels)
Manipulation (250): +1 Rank to Charm skill(5). May target someone each turn and damage their SL with someone else by 8 RP.
Perception (100): +1 Rank to Scouting skill(2). Select 10 counties. You are now aware of the going ons of notable people in those particular areas.
Stealth (100): +1 Rank to Stealth skill(2). Stealth attacks now deal triple damage. Keystone: Intrigue (100): +1 'bug'(2), +1 Rumor
Research (150) +30% exp gain
Crafting (200) Autopass for up to Major Artifacts, 20% to craft Relics, 10% to craft Legendary Artifacts, 5% to craft Mythical artifacts.
Common sense (150) +35 to skill cap limit, + 15 all rolls. Keystone: Learning (200) +1 Limit break on all stats. +10 skill gain on Tier 2/5/8 successes.+1 stat gain on Tier 3/6 successes. Willpower unlocked
Magical combat (100) spell effectiveness tripled. ( May be toggled for any three spells per combat )
Utility Magic (100) :May use any spell of any kind without interference. Enemy magical resistance halved.
Lore (100) You may spend a personal action each turn to acquire information about any one written subject. Keystone: Mysticism (100) +200 Mana, +20 Mana/day, Gain Grandmaster-ranked (and its requisites) elemental magic of your choice (Order Magic chosen). [Ascension] Mechanics unlocked : Human Path II: +1 Roll
Environmental spells (200) Willpower cost halved for Environmental spells.+100 Will + 20% spell damage.+10% Willpower exp gained with each casting.
Defensive spells(250) Willpower cost halved for Defensive spells.+100 Will + 20% of total willpower added to will regeneration.+10% Willpower exp gained with each casting.
Keystone: All (100) : [Secret of Human Potential] : Aging stopped. All caps negated. +100% Magic resistance.+1 Dice roll. Health doubled. Mana tripled. +4 Morale and Luck.
Level 26:Ranger: has Basic Archery ability and +10% Ranged attack
Personal ability:
The best archer: Gains the [Double Shot] ability, may attack and deals 8x damage to structures. No range penalty.
[Double shot] : attacks twice in a short time instead of once.
Increases hero's Melee Attack and divides the natural defence of enemy creatures.
Never reduces enemy hero's defence. Never reduces creature defence below 10.
Advanced: Melee Attack = 20. Natural defence of enemy creatures divided by 2.
Archery - Combat Secondary Skill
Increases hero's Ranged Attack and divides the natural defence of enemy creatures
Never reduces enemy hero's defence. Never reduces creature defence below 10.
Grandmaster: Ranged Attack = 30. Natural defence of enemy creatures divided by 2.
No damage penalties for long range, obstacles and castle walls.
Hero has Ranged First Strike and Two Ranged Attacks abilities. Requires Expert Combat.
Magic Resistance - Combat Secondary Skill
Hero has a chance to resist hostile spells.
Grandmaster: 100%. Requires Expert Combat.
SCOUTING - Primary Skill
Increases scouting radius, exposes stealthy enemies and shows extra information on the adventure map.
Grandmaster: +5 scouting radius, shows enemy town and army screens and reveals enemies with Grandmaster Stealth. Requires Expert Pathfinding.
Pathfinding - Scouting Secondary Skill
Reduces terrain movement penalties and increases movement for hero and his/her army.
Grandmaster(III): no terrain movement penalties, 125% extra movement.
Seamanship - Scouting Secondary Skill
Gives hero extra movement at sea, and acts as Tactics, Offense and Defence skills in sea battles.
Master: +150% movement at sea. Master Tactics, Offense and Defence in sea battles. Requires Advanced Scouting.
Stealth - Scouting Secondary Skill
Makes hero (but not other creatures/heroes) invisible to creatures and heroes on adventure map.
Grandmaster: invisible to all level creatures and heroes with Master Scouting skill. Adjacent heroes with Master Scouting skill can see the hero. Requires Grandmaster Scouting.
TACTICS - Primary Skill
Increases speed and movement of all friendly creatures.
Increases Melee and Ranged Attack of all friendly creatures.
Master: +40% to Melee and Ranged Attack. Requires Advanced Tactics.
Defence - Tactics Secondary Skill
Increases Melee and Ranged Defence of all friendly creatures.
Master: +40% to Melee and Ranged Defence. Requires Advanced Tactics.
Leadership - Tactics Secondary Skill
Increases morale and luck of all friendly creatures.
Expert: +3 morale, +3 luck.
NOBILITY - Primary Skill
Increases all creature growth in the town that recognises the hero as its governor.
Expert: +30%. Requires Basic Estates and Basic Mining.
Estates - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero produces gold each day.
Expert: 300 gold + 10% per hero level.
Mining - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero produces resources.
Expert: 2 wood, 2 ore and 4 other resources over a 5 day period +10% per hero level. The 4 other resources cycle 1 each through gems, mercury, sulfur and crystals - in that order.
Diplomacy - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero can convince a percentage of greatly outnumbered hostile creatures to join him/her for a price. Cost of surrendering is reduced. Diplomacy doesn't work on creatures of opposite alignment.
Expert: 50% of creatures, but no more than 360 experience points +10% per hero level. Surrendering cost = 60%.
ORDER MAGIC - Primary Skill
Gives hero the ability to cast Order Magic spells.
Grandmaster: hero can cast level 5 Order Magic spells. Requires Grandmaster Enchantment and Grandmaster Wizardry.
Enchantment - Order Magic Secondary Skill
Gives the hero extra spell points and increases spell point recovery.
Grandmaster: +50 spell points, +10 spell points recovered per day.
Wizardry - Order Magic Secondary Skill
Increases the effectiveness of Order Magic spells.
Grandmaster: +100%.
Charm - Order Magic Secondary Skill
Hero can convert a percentage of greatly outnumbered hostile creatures to his side. Surrendering cost is reduced.
Grandmaster: 35% of creatures, but no more than 300 experience points +10% per hero level. Surrendering cost = 65%. Requires Expert Order Magic.
Spells known
Precision - 2 mana
Combat - Blessing
Precision increases the target's Ranged Attack by 25%, and also gives target no penalty for range, walls or obstacles.
Infernal Wrath – Level 1 – 200 Willpower
Combat – Damage
Deals 50 Damage to every enemy in the area This formidable, dark spell calls forth vortices of energy from the nether realms. A portal opens beneath each victim, draining their life into the underworld. Higher levels increase the damage inflicted.
Name: Elizabeth the First (Atalanta/Samantha Starley)
Wunderkind: +10 all stats, +15 all skills Stentor: +5Di, +3Ma,+20 Presence, +10 Strategy Blessed: +50% fertility, +5 Di, +40 Presence, +20 Manipulation Egerie: +10 Di, +5 In, +40 Presence, +20 social rolls Colossus: +5 Di, +5 Ma, +30 Presence, +20 Manipulation, Intimidation auto success. Elven Grace: +10 speed, +50 Movement, +3 Ma, +15 combat Proto-Human: +20 to rolls when accomplishing feats accomplished by fellow humans.
Defining Sin/Virtue:
Lustful : +1 In, +5 Manipulation, +10% fertility
Chaste: +1 Le, + 10% Fertility, + 5 to all rolls with spouse.
Lovestruck: Lust/Chastity:Unlikely to seek out companionship from anyone but the target of their affections. -50% RP increase with other people of the target's preferred gender.
Lifestyle trait:
Hunter : +2 Ma, +1 In, +5 stealth
Profession:
Follower of the light: Eighth crown: +9 Martial, +4 Intrigue, +4 Stewardship. No caps on stats.
Personality traits:
Adventurer: +1 Ma, -1 Di
Ambitious: +2 all, -5 empathy
Brave: +2 Ma, +10 Combat
Gregarious: +2 Di, + 10 Presence
Stubborn: +1 St, -1 Di
Skills:
Diplomacy
70
Cap:
Presence
150 + 15 + 20 + 40 + 40 + 30 + 10 = 305
Leadership
150 + 15 = 165
Empathy
100 + 15 – 5 = 110
Stewardship
57
Cap:
Entrepreneurship
100 + 15 = 115
Self sufficiency
120 + 15 = 135
Accounting
150 + 15 = 165
Martial
75
Cap:
Strategy
150 + 15 + 10 = 175
Armed combat(weapon)
110 + 15 + 15 + 10 = 150
Logistics
135 + 15 = 150
Intrigue
119
Cap:
Manipulation
95 + 15 + 20 + 20 + 5 = 155
Perception
210 + 15 = 225
Stealth
80 + 15 + 5 = 100
Learning
103
Cap:
Research
125 + 15 = 140
Crafting (craft)
105 + 15 = 120
Common sense
130 + 15 = 145
Mysticism
105
Cap:
Magical Combat
115 + 15 = 130
Utility magic
145 + 15 = 160
Lore
200 + 15 = 215
Willpower
110
Cap:
Environmental spells
45 + 15 = 60
Offensive spells
50 + 15 = 65
Defensive spells
15 + 15 = 30
Skill bonuses:
Presence (300) +60 social interactions
Leadership (150) +7 happiness in all cities +1 Leadership skill(3)
Empathy (100) 3 RP gain / interaction + 2 personal action (must be social) Keystone: Diplomacy (80) : +1 rank Diplomacy or gain Basic Nobility
Entrepreneurship (100): +1 Rank to Mining(2), +10 to industry rolls.
Self sufficiency (100): Allows to build a holding with a 50% cost reduction. Obtain [Ecological studies]
Accounting (150 ): +1 Rank to Estates(3), +7,5% of your gold reserve /turn Keystone: Stewardship (100) +1 Rank Nobility(2), +10% Gold gains
Strategy (150): + Ranks up to Tactic(3), Offense(1) and Defense skills(2).
Armed Combat (150) : +30 Damage. Gain the first strike and no retaliation abilities.
Logistics (150) : +1 Rank up to Pathfinding(3) and Seamanship(2) skills Keystone: Martial (150): +300 Health. Gain the ability to act thrice every 2 turns in a battle (the other turn will be twice). (doesn't stack with higher levels)
Manipulation (150): +1 Rank to Charm skill. May target someone each turn and damage their SL with someone else by 4 RP.
Perception (200): +1 Rank to Scouting skill(4). Select 20 counties. You are now aware of the going ons of notable people in those particular areas.
Stealth (100): +1 Rank to Stealth skill(2). Stealth attacks now deal triple damage. Keystone: Intrigue (100): +1 'bug'(2), +1 Rumor
Research (100) +20% exp gain
Crafting (100) Autopass for up to Treasures. 20 % to craft Minor Artifacts, 10% to craft Major Artifacts, 5% to craft Relics, 1% to craft Legendary Artifacts
Common sense (100) +25 to skill cap limit, + 10 all rolls. Keystone: Learning (100) +1 Limit break on all stats. Unlocks willpower if it isn't already. +1 stat gain on Tier 3/6 successes (+5 skill gain on Tier 2/5/8 successes.)
Magical combat (100) spell effectiveness tripled. ( May be toggled for any three spells per combat )
Utility Magic (100) :May use any spell of any kind without interference. Enemy magical resistance halved.
Lore (100) You may spend a personal action each turn to acquire information about any one written subject. Keystone: Mysticism (100) +200 Mana, +20 Mana/day, Gain Grandmaster-ranked (and its requisites) elemental magic of your choice. [Ascension] Mechanics unlocked.
Human Path II : +1 Dice
Keystone: All (100) : [Secret of Human Potential] : Aging stopped. All caps negated. +100% Magic resistance.+1 Dice roll. Health doubled. Mana tripled. +4 Morale and Luck.
Level 1 Captain. Obtains the Golden Hind: A ship that can sail through water and air alike. Doesn't count towards Invincible Armada counter.
Personal ability:
The invincible Armada: Each ship in her possession gives Elizabeth one extra attack.
Increases scouting radius, exposes stealthy enemies and shows extra information on the adventure map.
Grandmaster: +5 scouting radius, shows enemy town and army screens and reveals enemies with Grandmaster Stealth. Requires Expert Pathfinding.
Pathfinding - Scouting Secondary Skill
Reduces terrain movement penalties and increases movement for hero and his/her army.
Expert: no terrain movement penalties.
eamanship - Scouting Secondary Skill
Gives hero extra movement at sea, and acts as Tactics, Offense and Defence skills in sea battles.
Expert: +100% movement at sea. Expert Tactics, Offense and Defence in sea battles.
Stealth - Scouting Secondary Skill
Makes hero (but not other creatures/heroes) invisible to creatures and heroes on adventure map.
Advanced: invisible to 2nd level creatures and heroes with Basic Scouting skill. Adjacent 2nd level creatures and heroes with Basic Scouting skill can see the hero. Requires Advanced Scouting.
TACTICS - Primary Skill
Increases speed and movement of all friendly creatures.
Increases Melee and Ranged Attack of all friendly creatures.
Basic: +10% to Melee and Ranged Attack.
Defence - Tactics Secondary Skill
Increases Melee and Ranged Defence of all friendly creatures.
Advanced: +20% to Melee and Ranged Defence.
Leadership - Tactics Secondary Skill
Increases morale and luck of all friendly creatures.
Expert: +3 morale, +3 luck.
NOBILITY - Primary Skill
Increases all creature growth in the town that recognises the hero as its governor.
Advanced: +20%.
Estates - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero produces gold each day.
Expert: 300 gold + 10% per hero level.
Mining - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero produces resources.
Advanced: 2 wood, 2 ore and 2 other resources over a 5 day period +10% per hero level. The 2 other resources cycle 1 each through gems, mercury, sulfur and crystals - in that order.
Diplomacy - Nobility Secondary Skill
Hero can convince a percentage of greatly outnumbered hostile creatures to join him/her for a price. Cost of surrendering is reduced. Diplomacy doesn't work on creatures of opposite alignment.
Basic: 30% of creatures, but no more than 120 experience points +10% per hero level. Surrendering cost = 80%.
COMBAT - Primary Skill
Increases hero's Melee and Ranged Defence.
Advanced: Melee and Ranged Defence = 20.
CHAOS MAGIC - Primary Skill
Gives hero the ability to cast Chaos Magic spells.
Grandmaster: hero can cast level 5 Chaos Magic spells. Requires Grandmaster Conjuration and Grandmaster Pyromancy.
Conjuration - Chaos Magic Secondary Skill
Gives the hero extra spell points and increases spell point recovery.
Grandmaster: +50 spell points, +10 spell points recovered per day.
Pyromancy - Chaos Magic Secondary Skill
Increases the effectiveness of Chaos Magic spells.
Grandmaster: +100%.
Spells known :
Fire Aura - 2 mana
Combat - Blessing
Power: 11 + 1 dmg/level + Pyromancy + Sorcery
Fire Aura causes the friendly target to do minor fire damage in addition to its normal melee combat damage. Great in battle! Just don't walk too close to the drapes.
Turncoat 1 – 80 Will
Combat – Curse
Duration: 5 turns.
This insidious spell manipulates the enemy's mind whilst the caster is close enough (melee range), gradually turning the target into an unwitting ally. Higher levels allow control of the victim's mind for longer. (Can only be mastered by evil Heroes)
Soc and Pawn both had characters that they could awaken around them sooo...
Say it with me now : B U S T E D
It kinda is scary when you think even like that hard mode is still likely to murder them thrice over... At least you guys got to a general ideas of high end skills!
Also, I'm bad at Math. Feel free to point out any mistake to me. Or ask question. Memelin is nonsensoleum on legs, after all.
[X] Plan babysitter 53
-[X] [POV] Urie
-[X] [Council] Urie Blake: Mysticism
-[X] [Council] Sharon: Mysticism
-[X][Caretaker] Veela babysitter when they arrive but until then Ava
-[X] Contact Oliver and see if you can get a Veela babysitter for Craidd
-[X] Equip heroes with whatever artifacts that will help and have them supervise troops and construction of forts down south.
-[X] See who is attacking the tower.
First hour
What a pain... Urie thought sleepily, as he trailed behind Sharon. Today was a twin tails day, so she'd be extra annoying today too... Especially since they were called back to Gala-something to be named council members. Maybe? He wasn't paying attention.
He sighed.
'The night falls with a silent sigh, cold and alone are we,
The salvation for which we sacrifice ourselves
Flares once then dies, smothered by the all-encompassing dark.'
Why did he have to survive that day? Everything was such a chore when the world hates you... A nearby owl hooted mockingly at him, disdain shining in its beady little eye.
[Sloth activated]
He could have tried diplomacy but was too much of a bother.
He lifted his middle finger at it in provocation and was promptly swarmed by a flurry of those feathered menaces.
'Ah... How tiring.' Their pecking actually stung. 'Oh the pain, the pain, let blood spill instead of tears.' He thought lazily, trying to fight sleep.
He fell to the ground, the birds having finally taken their pound of flesh, when he heard Sharon refuse the position.
"Alright, we'll do it." Sharon nodded confidently.
'...What? '
His eyes opened and he struggled to get up. he must have heard it wrong...
"I'm sure responsibility will force him to shape up!" The twin-tailed devil continued, the redhead... Eve or something... looked relieved.
"Hey, weren't we here to say no?" He felt the need to ask, the cold dread of realization beginning to crawl along his spine. Sharon huffed and waved her hand.
"You would have run away if I didn't spring it on you at the last minute."
...She was right. How dare she?!
Urie actually felt indignation and it showed, causing Sharon to smirk smugly. Eva Cleared her throat and showed them a mirror hanging on the wall. This one had a bronze border ornated with dragon scales, and she spoke out one name. A very familiar one.
"Oliver Lapierre."
As the man came into view, Urie raised an eyebrow as Sharon let out a surprised shout. Long blond hair, tanned skin, scars here and there. He ditched the cowboy hat in favor of a golden banc shimmering on his forehead, and the way his mouth was set was a far cry from the manic, danger-seeking man Urie knew him as. Which probably made sense, resp-
'Huh. So that was her angle.' His lip twitched.
Silly Sharon, she'd need a lot more than that to get him to move.
"Have you thought about our discussions?" Avie asked, all business, as Oliver's eyes flickered to them for a time, before going back to her.
"Yes. I'll have someone sent here-"
"My lord! The little lady has been abducted!" Someone shouted on the man's side of the screen. Oliver's eyes narrowed, pure danger burning in his irises.
"My apologies. It seems an emergency requires my attention. Sarah will arrive in an hour in Gwallawg Manor's garden."
"Huh. Boss' brat got abducted?" Urie commented lazily, attracting Oliver's attention.
"So you remember too."
Urie sighed. This was going to be too much work.
"Yeah. Got stuck in an isolated half-plane or something in the last mission. Figured if you were around, she'd be with you."
There was silence within the room. Then Sharon exploded.
"You knew what happened and didn't tell me anything?!"
It was Urie's turn to smirk.
"Yes."
Sharon screamed in frustration as communications with Oliver ended and Avie looked like she had several questions to ask. Then, the doors opened, revealing a flustered maid, followed by a rather relaxed Dace.
Silence reigned in the room.
'What have you wrought? A miasma of memories as affections writhe forgotten under the weight of time?'
The Welshman looked around, raised an eyebrow, and focused on the redhead.
"It seems I suffer from a bit of amnesia. I, therefore, will not be assuming my previous duties." She tried to protest, but he did not let her. " Of course, this doesn't mean I will neglect my duties to the son I do not remember fathering. I will be in the library if you wish to look for me. I will be going now." He nodded to the redhead, before walking out, clearly finished with the conversation.
Dace Gwallawg is back from his coma, though a bit amnesiac. Also somehow, it seems his magic has been crippled. What did Ava decide to have him do? (Care and advisor option can be taken at the same time if you have someone to take care of Craidd when he is doing his job as an advisor)
[] Take care of his child. Third time is the charm... Right?
[] Learning advisor. He's the one who knows best how to navigate his library, and he was apprenticed to several famous people...
[] Intrigue advisor. This is his strong point when he has the time, means, and anonymity to actually do something.
[] Willpower advisor. He was the only one save Sally to even have a remote idea of what was going on here.
As he headed out, after passing by the armory, he saw Evelyn talk with the person who was apparently sent by Oliver. Blond hair and blue eyes, but the air around her was indicative of her mixed blood. Most likely, this was one of the man's numerous sisters. as for why she was there...
[Sloth activated]
That was none of his business. Besides, she looked like she was strict. In other words, another troublesome person to be around. Good thing he was leaving the place.
Still, he heard the decision that was made about her. Something about qualifications...
What to so about Sarah Lapierre? Oliver sent her here to act as a liaison and trust her to act in his interest if he is out of contact. (both options can be taken if you have another person to look after Craidd when she is doing her job as an advisor)
[] Diplomacy advisor. Her CV indicates she is used to being involved in diplomatic situations.
[] Martial advisor. Her main profession, and the reason she was sent here, is bodyguard. A very proficient one at that, as she has worked for people like the French Minister of Magic.
[] Nanny. She's a Half-veela. Therefore immune to whatever charm ability Craidd had. Veelas are also infamously hard to influence.
After collecting a few items from the treasury, Urie and Sharon apparated towards the forts. Or at least they should have.
Second Hour.
22 + 65 (Utility magic) = 87.
Instead, they arrived in front of Yr Wyddfa, their old base. Maybe it was a force of habit, maybe not. Still, the mountain looked unperturbed, though, to Urie's senses, the barrier was still thrumming as it usually did.
Hm?
Urie's usual sleepy look focused. How strange. How come people didn't re-invest that place? Furthermore, why-
1 + 40 (perception) = 41 Critical failure!
Urie's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of someone walking behind them. They turned around and saw someone. He had fair hair, a pale skin, and a gentle-looking face. He then looked into his eyes, and the deep-seated cold malevolence he could see there left Urie breathless. The man smiled, his form illuminated by the beams of moonlight peeking through the foliage.
"What a wonderful night to be taking a stroll, don't you think so, Mister Blake?"
The man's voice echoed in the silent woods.
Alright. Now Urie was worried. He looked at the man, his completely relaxed demeanor despite the fact that he supposedly alone during the night against someone he knew was dangerous suggested they weren't even a threat to them...
He remembered why the situation was unnerving him now. That complete disregard of Urie's ability to present danger. He's mat another person like that. The Overlord.
Composure roll (DC 60) : 19 + 35 = 64 Failure
Common sense roll: 33 + 35 = 68 Failure
Common sense roll: 43 + 30 = failure
Memories of fires, screams and charred flesh after his stupid, stupid decision came back to the front and he felt himself tremble.
"Nothing to say?" The man asks, ignoring the state or terror both druids were currently in, and he looked in the direction of the mountain. "I will just speak my piece then." He smiled mildly at them, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do you know how many times this farce took place? Too many times. This here," he showed the mountain with his arm." Is just the latest chapter of it. How many times have you been dancing like string-less puppets I wonder?"
15 + 40 (perception) versus 84 +65 (manipulation) = failure.
Urie tried to tune the man's words out, but the way he spoke had a way to worm itself within his brain, and his attack reflex, drilled into him by Madeye and Oliver, suddenly left him. The man's smile widened upon seeing that apparent surrender.
"My, you can learn. How droll. Do not worry, I am not here to hurt you. After all, you were the ones who interrupted my stroll in those lovely woods, were you not? I just have a few questions. First one, how is my beloved nephew doing? Life must be hard for him, after suddenly losing his father."
"...Nephew?" Urie asked cautiously, trying to ignore the fear clawing at his back. The man's eyes narrowed a bit, but his smile stayed firmly fixed on his face.
"Why, my nephew Craidd, of course. I believe he is the leader of his land?"
Urie's mouth immediately closed, and he refused to say anything more, the other man not reacting at all.
"No news about the war in Ireland, I gather?"
Urie didn't answer.
"Disappointing, but expected. After all, information is not what you have been focusing on." There was a slight amount of derision in his voice. "Very well then, I will not hold you back any longer, after all, you have important things to do." He turned around and began walking away, Urie and Sharon beginning to relax. Urie began thinking about what he should do about this...
Common sense : 33 + 35 (common sense) =68 Failure
Amplitude: 90
This was not the Overlord situation. The man was alone and had his back turned to them. Furthermore, he had a lot of dangerous information about them. He couldn't be allowed to walk away free.
"Sharon." He muttered, getting the woman to nod hesitantly as they prepared to fight.
Highest tactic rank : Unknown man. Unknown man gets a free turn.
Unknown man attacks Urie! (92/14) Morale activated! Unknown man attacks twice! (97) Guildmaster activated! Urie is now stunned! Urie takes 33 damage.
Urie's Hitpoints: 127/160 (-33)(stunned)
Sharon's Hitpoints: 130/130
Unknown man's hitpoints: 150/150
Urie aimed his wand at the man, preparing a stunner, only to be met with a fist to the face that sent him to the ground, out cold.
Sharon attacks the unknown man (28/81) No morale or luck activation
The unknown man takes 13 damage.
The Unknown man attacks Sharon (97/54) Morale activated! Unknown man attacks twice! (94) Guildmaster activated! Sharon is now stunned! Sharon takes 33 damage.
Urie's Hitpoints: 127/160(stunned)
Sharon's Hitpoints: 97/130(-33)(stunned)
Unknown man's hitpoints: 137/150(-13)
The Unknown man decided to end the fight.
When Urie came to, both Sharon and he were tied up, gagged, and all of their inventory was spread out in front of them. Their wands, their items... Including the treasures they brought with them to help them in case an undead attacked. The pendant of life, Charm of Mana, Bow of elven cherrywood and crown of the supreme magi.
The man was sitting on a nearby stump, looking unruffled. He gave them his eternal benign smile.
"I must admit, I did not expect you two to be so mannerless. However, perhaps I should. Now, whatever should I do with you..." He mused.
Enemy manipulation roll : 100 + 65 (manipulation) = 165.
His smile took a nastier edge as he walked unhurriedly towards where Urie was tied up, and crouched, one arm over his knees so that he would be at eye-level with the druid. Then, he lifted his other hand and his index touched Urie right between his eyebrows.
"You cannot win this. You have tried once, and everybody around you died." Suddenly, a blade was at Sharon's neck. "Shall she die for you this time around?"
Urie tried. he really tried to think of a solution to get Sharon out of this, but he couldn't. If it were him who died, he would welcome it, but he knew the man knew it too.
"Indeed I do. After all, she's the only reason you didn't simply off yourself, is she not?"
That she was, despite the fact that she was-
"An utterly annoying girl. And I suppose this is where you start waxing poetry about her."
... Did he-
"I do not need to read your mind to know how you're thinking. Whether or not you are here in front of me. Whether or not she is in front of me. I will know, Mister Blake. I know everything there is about you, from the time you fell asleep in the girl's locker at the academy, to the fact you forgot to eat breakfast this morning."
'The man stopped smiling, as his eyes blazed like stars.
Around, all around, the dark premonitions gather.
The herald of catastrophe laughs with the wind.'
"I am tired of this charade, Mister Blake. As an educator, it is my belief that living is learning. Be it yourself or others. If you are not learning, then, clearly, there must be something wrong with your environment, do you not think so?"
...Just kill him already.
" I will not, Mister Blake. Letting you live is a worse punishment."
The smile was back again as the wind picked up and the branches began singing. Urie felt as if the air around them was trying to smother him.
"There is always something worse than death awaiting us all, yet again, this is why you chose to take the coward's way out, did you not?"
....
The man got up and walked back, his eyes never leaving the druid's. Then, after he walked into the shade of a tree, he suddenly melted in the shadows, to disappear from view. When Urie gathered the crying Sharon in his arms, he noticed a note left on the necklace.
'Next time, I will not be so merciful.'
Urie took a deep breath.
[Sloth activated]
And happily let the haze of indifference take over once more. Still, even despite it, the encounter did leave a mark...
[]Trauma: Urie has tried twice, and twice, he was squished like the bug he was. -10 damage against bosses. Will now do anything possible to avoid confronting non-aggressive people, ignoring rolls.
[]Trauma: The unknown man is the crystallization of all Urie's fears come true. -20 to all of Urie's rolls against the unknown man. Will now do anything possible to avoid confronting non-aggressive people, ignoring rolls.
Third Hour.
Still, they had to move. And this time, Sharon was the one to side apparate them, just in time for them to join with the scouts and witness what was going on with the tower thanks to the enchanted magnifying glass in front of them...
There was a cloud of darkness that came out of the armors of the blackened knights. For those were the real deal, not the undead parodies they sometimes spied at the borders. They were lead with a tall, armored figure, accompanied by a pale woman with brown hair.
"Unsightly, is it not?" To their right, a woman in a blue kimono and with yellow eyes appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Uninvited guests are most unpleasant~" She suddenly got up from the edge of the tower, landing onto the sea, and bouncing at surreal speeds towards the necropolis, gracefully avoiding the undead as she touched land. There, Urie couldn't hear what she was saying, but he saw her get rectangular papers out of her sleeve. She raised her hand and swiftly brought it down, the paper between her fingers being consumed and summoning a pillar of fire falling from the heavens. Then, the woman jumped, avoiding a bolt of lighting, coming from a hooded, white-haired mage.
'Heaven's fury collided with the ground's rebellious energy...'
She landed in front of the tower's door, inclined her torso, put a fist on her hip, another under her chin, and said something like 'Miko' before running within the tower. Urie could see a sea of white hands trying to grab at her before she disappeared...
'Pale fingers of the sweet, pale lady of respite that eluded him even now...'
Urie sighed, looking away, and accidentally walked on a cat's tail. The cat had friends. They all jumped on him and caused him to fall from the tower. Sadly, he landed on a pile of hay and was alive, at the mercy of the enraged felines.
'All hope must sicken and die.'
"Urie, you're not back to reciting poetry in your mind, are you?" Sharon called out from the tower's top.
Just kill him alreadyyyyy~
Well, someone ran afoul of the local punch wizard...Who's actually not a trained fighter. At least the guy was nice enough not to steal stuff like the pendant of life, yay?
So, Camelot his hitting the tower! Black smoke knight, white-haired mage and pale brown girl seem to be commanders, and kimono girl seems to be opposed to them and jumped into the tower. And the sea of stone hands. THis isn't gonna end well, is it?
Also. Poetry. I'd say kill me now, but that would be letting Them win.
Right, he had to check what was going on here... Urie sighed, rubbing the itching scratch marks on his hand while Sharon was applying disinfectant to the ones on his face.
Self-motivation: DC 50 (80-30): rolled : 49
[Sloth activated]
Seriously though, it was too much of a pain to deal with. He closed his eyes and leaned back, tuning out the noise, until he was drenched with icy water. He opened an eye and irritatedly looked at Sharon, who hat her wand out, and a raised eyebrow.
"Urie~" She started with a sweet yet dangerous tone that promised untold pain and/or annoyance if she was ignored. "Why don't you go ahead and check what's going on in there?"
'It's an order', went unsaid.
Apparently, "I don't want to" wasn't a viable reason to refuse, Urie mourned while sitting on a chair, eyes on the tower, chin resting on his crossed arms, ignoring his now burning ear. Why did that woman have to pinch him so hard, seriously!
Sighing once more, he decided to give it a half-hearted try. His eyes narrowed slightly as his usually unused brain began to activate.
Going there himself was out for multiple reasons. First, that land was an unknown that needed to be checked to at least eliminate possible dangerous variables. Then, there was the matter of the army. They bore all the hallmarks of entities corrupted by the 'void' he kept hearing about, meaning direct contact was out. He looked around him and saw one of the furry beasts from hell and looked at it, calculatingly.
Falling back on his training, he lifted his hand, fingers extended towards the animal, and he began asserting his will. The animal tried to resist, but in the end, Urie prevailed, the now docile animal padding towards him, then nimbly jumping on his lap and purring.
Hm. This was troublesome, he thought, petting the animal, and decided its name would be Mittens. He'd have to get another one and give this one to Sharon, that would keep her off his back for a while. He finally saw the one who attacked him, mangy beast that it was, with its chipped ears and oozing sores. That one would do nicely.
Taking control of it was a lot harder, but in the end, his control over Nature just gave him that tiny extra edge over the beast. He then used his wand, using levitation and homing spells simultaneously, causing the cat to sail through the air, over the sea, and towards the designated area.
Being able to manipulate magic from this far would be tricky, but at least, since he didn't seem to do anything at a first glance, people wouldn't accuse him of working, of all things. The animal touched down, and he felt assailed by a headache. Something was interfering with his control, but he managed to wrestle control back, using the animal's own senses to scout the area.
Right. First thing first, what was wrong with the grounds here. He'd seen the effects of Death soaking the land once before, and this was many times worse. However, it did share similarities, from what he could see and feel. The magic restriction was still in effect, which could be dangerous, but more than that, it had a draining effect. It was hard to gauge, but the mana loss approximated 50% each time a spell was cast. Furthermore, the draining effect was constant, though the beast he was using to scout was unaffected. Strange, that.
The beast padded through the deserted battlefield, noting several fleshy formations growing off the ground, their coloring being the same dark purple as pretty much everything except the bones on the ground and the murky, yellowish dark green of the sky. Approaching one of them, who looked like a liquid-filled bowling ball on top of a finger-thin stem, he thought about it for a moment.
75 + 40 (common sense) = 115 : T2 success.
Then had the cat look around for something appropriate. There, a stick. Manipulating items is hard without opposing thumbs, but with a bit of time and effort, he managed to pierce the sac, to reveal something odd. Horrifying might be too mild to say.
Surrounded by a transparent liquid looking a lot like egg-yolk, something resembling a monstrous fetus came into view. Its appearance was skeletal as if it were only bones covered by the slightest bit of skin. It had no lips, sharp, jagged fangs directly visible, and pointed ears. While it may be premature, the creature was twitching, and Urie decided to have his spy trot away before the newborn decided the cat would be a good blood source, mulling on that discovery.
Defiled lands abilities discovered : Spells over level 1 cannot be cast
50% of the mana cost is drained somewhere
-2 mana each battle turn for living units. (Urie's note: does not affect regular animals?)
Plants are growing vampires?
Finally, he arrived at the tower, its entrance looking appropriately ominous, with stalagmites of rotting flesh hanging at the top. Funnily enough, one particularly big one caused the middle of the corridor to sag slightly, making the ensemble look like a diseased throat. Spooky.
The moment the cat entered, Urie felt slightly nauseous, his vision swimming, but he managed to hold on. The cat's eyes allowed him to see around well enough, though, he was slightly worried by what he saw.
Broken bodies littered the floor, both human and not, and he touched one of the white stone fragments with one paw, rolling it around. A stone finger. Concerning for many reasons. First, this place is supposedly made of flesh, first and foremost, therefore stone decorations have no reason for existing, which only meant one thing. Those were creatures that were either made that way or became like this after their death. However, considering the fact that the place where the finger was severed looked like broken stone, that means those were likely stone creatures from the very beginning.
Neither the undead nor the void were reported to have those in their roster which left two possibilities: Evolved forms, or variants. Both were concerning, but the latter was the worse one. After all, variant species were more powerful than the original line.
The vampire 'birthing pods' came to his mind. Nothing about this place fits with the archives he found in the Rampart he was sent to, and while he didn't really pay that much attention to them, he had read Sally's report and had a fairly good grasp of the general line-up from of undead forces.
63 + 65 (lore) = 128 : Tier 4 success
Stone parts... Were possible, in one type of unit. A variant from an evolved zombie form. However, zombies were a highly varied breed, as their strength depended on what was the living 'base' of their form. Truth be told, it was more of a general term to describe undead that had a physical form and flesh on their bones.
Banshees huh.
Strange. They are support units, and shouldn't be used to be the first line of defense under any circumstance due to how fragile they are. That meant something was off about this entire situation or said variant is an offensive unit that they had in great enough numbers that they could afford to sacrifice them early on. In other words, they have even stronger units up ahead.
Powerful units that have links with zombies and can be of use in those dark and narrow corridors...
Death Knights.
Shit.
Now he really needed to investigate this whole mess.
He explored the rest of the floor, the smell irritating his feline nose, but found nothing of interest here, save that any dead organic matter was getting absorbed in the building, which meant that trying to damage the tower would be futile. So he climbed up, and up again. He had to run up for ten floors, before being met with a rather peculiar scenery.
The place was illuminated by an orb of light held up by the silver-haired man. His group had drastically dwindled to barely fifty people in total, though they all looked strong. All around them, angel statues were immobile, stuck in various attacking forms. And on the far end of the room, there was an empty throne on which a skeleton sat. It was immobile though, and the really interesting thing was behind it. Chalk white skin, fiery red hair, barefoot and clad in a simple green dress, the unnatural shade of skin and utter lack of breathing were the only hints she wasn't human. She looked at the group, and her lips twisted in a too wide, savage grin.
"Why, hello there." Lily Evans spoke, her deep and raspy voice sending chills down Urie's spine.
Speaking of spine, someone was moving him. Careful of not breaking the link, he looked around to see that Sharon was carrying him around, bridal style, and a soft look in her eyes, before she remembered where they were.
"Shut up. We look ridiculous like that..." Sharon pouted, looking embarrassed at their situation, Mittens on her right shoulder. He personally didn't see anything wrong with that, gender roles were too bothersome to even start considering. If someone's good at something, let them do it instead of forcing the job on those who don't want to do it. Besides, what man wouldn't want a woman strong enough to carry him around if needed? He nodded to himself, in awe of his own judgment. All of this energy saving would do him wonders.
Still, it looked like she'd need some reassurance. Urie sighed and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to go red and immediately drop him with a squeak. He snorted, silly girl, it's not as if they hadn't gone any farther before.
He looked indifferently as Sharon was scolding him about public displays of affections and pinching his cheeks to keep his attention on her, her skin warming him up.
He sighed, throwing the Grey at the back of his mind.
His lip twitched up.
Maybe trying a little harder would be fine, right?
Looking around for date spots would be a pain, though.
+1 ??? (13/14)
He closed his eyes, sharing his senses with the cat once more to witness the confrontation that was about to take place.
In which Urie is flirting with Too Much Information territory and adopts a cat.
Also, he's actually pretty strong as a wizard, when he can be bothered to do something, huh. Well, he *is* a wunderkind, Sloth is just a terrible trait to have on an NPC.
More importantly, the writer thanks the bulli for making sure the lazy guy was focused on his job and not doing emo poetry this time.
Alrighty, then~ feel free to the next 1 to 7 hours~ and choose your character pov. Votes by plans, and ending in 48 hours.
[X] Plan Marvel Ultimate Alliance
-[X] [POV] Ava
-[X] Try and find other non-Void people who are planning on attacking the Tower in order to hopefully share information and coordinate an allied attack. Take 2 hours
-[X] Start the process of having your golems march to the Tower to have them hopefully reach your allies in time for the assault.
-[X] Search the Archives for whatever you can find about the Tower of Babel and anything that might help you and your allies defeat it
-[X] Send someone to investigate the place Johan and Urie fought since that area is too important to ignore
Hour 4
After sending orders for the patrols and troops, Ava looked enviously at the houses without light she could see through her window, then sighed. This would likely be a sleepless night, and not even used to have fun, she mourned within her mind, before getting to work.
She was far from good at military matters, but even she could see that there was a giant tower of Death in the backyard, and they weren't ready, or even able to deal with it. Dace had swung by to tell her he'd be requisitioning some of their reagents but otherwise didn't really tell her what he was up to after he dumped healing potions down the throats of injured agents and dragged them to the agency. Concerning, yet again, the man was not known for his social graces.
Looking at the mirror on her desk, she was drafting some proposals for Mr. Lapierre while thinking about the next step, when Urie's face came into view.
"'Lo boss." He looked even more tired and defeated than he usually did, with red scratch marks on his face. " Just to let you know, there have been a few people poking around the tower, gave a few of those mirrors to them, they'll contact you in about an hour." His face then disappeared, replaced by Ava's own, slightly tired appearance.
Wait, were those bags under her eyes?
They were!
After sending instructions to move the mirrors in a half circle around the desk, Ava immediately ran out of the room, into her own brown and blue bedroom to get her 'battle armor', or, more accurately, her designer red dress and her heavy duty make up. She couldn't afford to look anything less than stunning, especially if her beauty could help stack the odds in her favor.
Hour 5.
Messages and mirrors were sent, office and Ava properly decorated, the meeting was scheduled to begin soon, when Dace appeared, slapped a file on her desk, and jogged out of the room. Ava looked at it curiously, before the file escaped her stupefied hands.
Genetic Traits: [Will be passed down]Lords of the Swamp : +2 St, +2 Ma, +1 Nobility, +15 Combat Bright: +3 all stats Strong : +2 Ma, + 1 Di, + 10 Combat Wizard: +2 My, may use magic
Lifestyle :
Architect : +2 St, +1 Le, -10% Construction costs.
Profession :
Architect : +9 St, +4 Le, +2 In.
Sin/Virtue :
Greedy: -1 Di, +10% Money gains
Chaste: +1 Le, + 10% Fertility, + 5 to all rolls with spouse.
Character traits :
Ambitious: +2 all, -5 empathy
Brawny: +1 health (hidden), +2Ma,+1Di,+5 combat
Stubborn: +1 St, -1 Di
Zealous : +4 Ma -5 rolls with opposite factions.
Character Skills:
Diplomacy
12
Cap: 30
Presence
30
Leadership
30
Empathy
30 – 5 = 25
Stewardship
29
Cap: 70 (72,5)
Entrepreneurship
70
Self sufficiency
70
Accounting
50
Martial
28
Cap: 70
Strategy
70
Armed combat(weapon)
65 + 15 + 10
Logistics
70
Intrigue
12
Cap: 30
Manipulation
20
Perception
30
Stealth
20
Learning
18
Cap: 45
Research
45
Crafting (craft)
5
Common sense
40
Mysticism
8
Cap: 20
Magical Combat
20
Utility magic
20
Lore
5
Willpower
8
Cap: 20
Environmental spells
0
Offensive spells
0
Defensive spells
0
Skill bonuses:
Level 2 Lord
Personal ability:
Swamp lord : Allows Fortress units to ignore negative terrain effects.
Genetic Traits: [Will be passed down]Lords of the Swamp : +2 St, +2 Ma, +1 Rank Nobility skill, +1 Rank Combat skill Wunderkind: +10 all stats, +15 all skills Beautiful: +3 Di, +20 Presence Witch: +2 My, may use magic
Character traits:
Rowdy: +1 Ma
Playful : +1 Di
Affectionnate: +1 Di
Diplomacy
Belladonna Bulstrode
Stewardship
Alfonzo Greengrass
Martial
Rafaela Nott
Intrigue
Cassius Nott
Marius Nott
Learning
Anthony Travers
Mysticism
Wilhelmina Black
Bull's Hooves: Strathearn
Yearly gains/expenses
+942,500 G/T (major settlement)
+24 Stone
+12 Gems
+12 Sulphur
+2 Elemental stones
+2 Liquid fire
Happiness : 6 : People are starting to relax.
4 ( Medium town) – 4 (Is this the end?) + 1 (luxury) +1 ( buildings) + 4 (Charity)
Situation :
Safety : 3 : Could make do with some more guards : +15 enemy infiltration DC
Health : 1 : Basic healthcare is put in place : +5% Disease resistance.
Econ : 3 : The industry is self sufficient.
Education : 0 : No schooling set up.
Research : 1 : + 5 to research score when researching techs.
Food reserves : 2 (1 set for sale) : May support a population of 100,000 people
Population : 10,000 people
Maximum population: 50,000
Industry slots (0/4 Slots taken):
-Bulstrode's Fortresses: ++ econ ++ safety – 10% building cost.
The Bulstrode family's building company. While they may not be as polyvalent as the Carrows, they conpensate by being more thorough on the security aspect.
-Improved farms: + econ, +++ food, + happiness + 30.000 G/T
Farms that grow both regular and magical crops, while engineered to not impoverish the ground.
-
-
Miscellaneous slots (0/3 slots taken)
- Hanging Gardens (in construction)(Secret Project)
-
-
Infrastructure:
-Basic hospital: + health
-Basic guard station: + safety
Military slots (0/3 taken)
-
-
-
-
Notable places:
Improved Stone Quarry. 24 Stone per turn. 2 Flawless Marble per turn. Building material : + econ
Improved Gem Mine. 12 Gems per turn. 2 Elemental stones per turn. Luxury : + happiness
Improved Sulfur Mine. 12 Sulfur per turn. 2Liquid Fire per turn : Reagent : + research
Products set for exportation :
4 Sulfur = 10 Wood
1 liquid fire = Native gold
Political stance:
Isolationist : is not inclined to make a move either way Objectives :
Complete the Hanging Gardens Secret project
Educate his heiress
Continue building up his hold
Build up an army Diplomacy:
Has an alliance with the Macmillan family.
Member of the reigning duarchy of Scotland with Wilfrid MacMillan.
Due to Nat100, + 20 to all actions against Bulstrode for 1 years (not including this one).
That... Ava immediately decided not to ask how in the world he got that amount of information on a man a country away and focused on what it gave her. Bulstrode and Travers were indeed allies, and knowing that the Nott fell back there was also very good. As for his agenda... It was unhelpful, though understandable, and a bit surprising a man as reclusive and unambitious as him managed to rise that high in Scotland.
More concerning were the reports about the Goblins invading Derby, of all places, and being attacked by humanoid creatures resembling demons that got out of portals. The goblins seem to be determined to fight to the last, which is good, but that also means that, should they fail, the closest 'territory' was Wales...
The mirrors flickered, revealing various faces, from the square and somber face of Augustus Bulstrode to the delicate features of an unknown man of Asian descent.
"I have received news of what was happening with the Kreegans. I will send some elven druidesses and dragons to assist you in protecting your territory. I won't be able to send more, the undead horde has managed to break quarantine and are trying to cross the Mediterranean sea." Oliver started, clad in armor as if he was headed towards combat, which he likely was.
Bulstrode grunted, visibly ill at ease, but then,
"Travers repaired the floo. Should be fine as long as you've got powder. Will owl you some if you don't have any. Nott also said they'd work with Travers on making the transfers secure."
"We're flying up here and are landing in Wiltshire to keep the undead in check there" Aife was visibly flying on something, her body moving up and down rhythmically, and Ava could see flashes of white feathers here and there." Be careful, some of them will be coming from the North Sea and Northumberland. The attack on the tower probably caused them to gather all of their troops."
The Asian man smiled, somewhat condescendingly, at Ava as he listened to the other's propositions.
"Hello everyone~" another face appeared in every mirror, in miniature at the bottom right corner. It was Sally, though it seemed that she encountered massive changes in a few hours. Her usually loose hair was tied up in a side ponytail held by a blue ribbon, she wore square glasses missing a rim on top and wore a suit jacket that allowed people to see a fair amount of her cleavage. "I heard from someone that something interesting was happening here~!" She said boisterously, giving people an exaggerated wave. Was it Ava or was the top part of her hair twitching slightly? "So this lowly, yet hypercompetent secretary decided to lend you a hand for old times' sake~"
"That will not be necessary." A smooth voice answered, and another image appeared next to Sally's, the one was that of the man who supposedly ambushed and defeated Urie and Sharon. Sally pouted. Pouted.
"Bu-ut~ She's my friend in need you know? I promise I won't try to use the Killing Stone, so please may I do it Goshujin-sama~?"
The man smiled in a benign manner, then uttered a simple word that had the woman blanch.
"Daji."
The Asian man's interest rose drastically and he straightened up.
"Th-That's not my name~" Sally whined
"The current situation is indeed problematic, so I will allow you that much freedom. However, do try to remember what your job is, we can't have you running wild considering your... Proclivities. Especially after your latest stunt" The man continued, ignoring her protests.
Sally's cheer had completely disappeared now.
"I'm sorry~ I'll be good now..."
"See that you do." The blond man nodded, before disappearing from the mirror's surface, leaving the rest in silence, both because their communications were compromised, and, on Ava's part, because it seemed that something was going on with Sally, and she couldn't help. Sally coughed, and her manner became more sophisticated.
"Let us ignore what just happened, shall we? I have been investigating this tower and it has a grand total of a hundred floors~ The Camelot crew has been hard at work, but last time I saw them, they were struggling against the stone angels on the twenty-second floor. By now, they should be on the thirtieth, if they haven't been wiped out~ Damaging the tower is useless, it regenerates using corpses. Hm~What else~" She looked up on the side, a finger tapping her chin in concentration. "You already know about the limitation on abilities, your pet druid probably already informed you about the birthing pods, and I know I gave you the spread of creatures to expect... Hm. Did you know about the birthing chamber in the Halls of Fate?"
Ava stared in silence while the rest looked as confused as she was.
"Basically! Diomedes was killed, and his soul is being gathered in there as the intended wielder fo the god-slaying spear Longinus~! But you should worry about people like the Stone Angel, Mithra's son, the Scapegoat or even Aimée~" Sally leaned forwards, hand on the side of her mouth and looking around, speaking in a low voice as if she was telling them a secret. "She's completely crazy, told me that she 'Always wanted to be a boss in a dungeon crawler'." She leaned back, waving. " And that's all for Secretary Sally's section~! Next time I'll try to have a jingle~" And only the original people involved in the conversation were visible, the woman had disappeared.
"This is worrying." Aife said after a moment of silence. "I'll try to see if I can bring in more than valkyries while I set up this outpost."
"It seems I may be able to aid you with your quandary." the Asian man smiled placidly. "However, I am afraid that I am a foreigner, without any means to help myself here in this foreign land. I would request a place for my.. Family, I believe it is called? To stay in for the duration of this mission. Furthermore, this is a very dangerous mission for me, and I would like to receive an appropriate reward for my efforts. " He lifted his hands to prevent any protests. " Of course, the spear is too dangerous for the likes of myself to ask for, however, I believe taking one item of my choosing among your treasuries would be adequate compensation for the risks I will face."
Bulstrode immediately refused to let him stay at his home but was willing to open his treasury to the man. Oliver categorically refused to have him stay at his home, citing political and security concerns due to the veelas staying at his home, but was also willing to let him choose an artifact stored in his vaults, while Aife just snorted, saying she had a treasury empty of artifacts, he could still take something from it, but he wouldn't be staying at her home either, because she disliked the idea of having strangers near her daughters, especially after the abduction attempts.
perception : Ava : 99 + 60 (empathy) versus 79 + 75 (manipulation) = Ava wins
Ava took some time to ponder on the question. They did need every help they could, but clearly, that man was hiding something. Besides, she didn't like the way he was looking at her. It wasn't the usual slightly dazed and lustful look men took around her, but rather a predatory one, that she received from the more dangerous kind of people. Still, as the man had no place to stay in, she had to arrange something, if she wanted him here...
Does Ava allow [Warrior of Sunstone and Jade : Tang Yan Wuying], to help? ( will require arranging a place to stay and/or opening the treasury to them. (the latter can be refused if another form of compensation is found))
[] Yes
[] No
Accommodations?
[] In Gwallawgysol Dinas
[] Build him a manor, Write-in manor location (-100.000G, -10 Wood, -10 Gems, -10 Crystal, -5 Elemental stones)
Does Ava open the treasury to them?
[] Yes
[] No
-[] Compensation? (write-in proposals)
Hour 8
After the negotiations, Ava finally switched off her mirrors and let her head lie on the desk. Once this was done, she'd need vacations and cute guys. Preferably the enthusiastic puppy-type. Just as she was thinking about it, people entered her office and she just glared at Dace, who looked fresh as a rose.
"You took a nap, didn't you?" She growled in frustration as the man didn't deign to answer her.
"There is very little known information about this tower. However, it has shown to appear before global scale catastrophes happened." The man began, ignoring her. " Babel was famous indeed, but it also happened before the sinking of Atlantis, and there were a few aborted tries during the times of Camelot and the lives of the Founders. however, it seems that it requires numerous deaths to manifest, and that number has been increasing. Furthermore, if what that 'Sally' said is correct, this means that trying to 'starve' that tower is a good solution, if a time-consuming one."
"And it so happens time is not a luxury we have." Ava griped, earning herself an amused huff.
"Quite so. However, it is also an undead creation, and as such, should be subject to its rules." Dace put a small flask filled with a transparent liquid that was glowing slightly. " This is 'Holy Water'. No relation with the church, I am afraid, but it should be able to damage anything undead-related. If drunk, it will partially protect people from the effects of Death magic."
He then took one step back, frowning.
"There wasn't much information about Babel. In fact, I have seen several books that were damage each time they were about to lead to that topic. Some of those haven't been touched since my mother's time, in other words, the information has been controlled tightly. I had more luck on the topic of the undead, however, it isn't applicable as, if my hunch is correct, the tower itself is the necromancer, therefore unless it disappears, the undead armies will not be defeated."
"Fat load of good that 'hunch ' of yours will do, Gwallawg." The only man to ever make it on Ava's blacklist save criminals entered her office, followed by an uncomfortable looking Sharon.
"As if your 'facts' were any better. Still jealous because a librarian did better than you?" Dace sneered at the man, causing him to sneer back at him. " I base my hunches on concrete, historical elements, not guesswork, and I dare say it has brought more results than you did."
"Oh?" the military man smiled nastily. "Look at the world outside. All of this history you're so proud of using is fake, even you can't pretend to be the original."
Dace gave him a look, silently lifted his hand and, with two fingers, pinched the eyepatch on William's face, pulled it away slightly, revealing an intact eye behind it, the elastic band straining against the force, and hissed.
"Lo and behold, neither can you." He then let it go, the eyepatch making a popping noise as it slapped itself against the other man's eyelid, turned around, nodded towards a thoroughly entertained Ava and walked out of the room, huffing.
Sharon hesitantly lifted her hand as if to ask a question and began speaking up.
"Uh, so, not that it totally isn't uncomfortable or something but, um, you remember the castle at Yr Wyddfa that we had? Oh wait no, you don't remember because it never happened here..." The woman was rambling now." Uhm, basically, we have a castle now? Also, I think it got pillaged or something because there's less than I remember?"
That was most unhelpful, Ava thought until she saw the list and her mouth fell open...
10 Holy water added to treasury.
Name: Holy Water Slot: Inventory Description: When a hero drinks it, it casts Death Ward and Bless on the recipient. When thrown at an enemy, it acts as the Holy Word spell.
Bless - 2 mana
Combat - Blessing
Bless causes the target inflict maximum damage. I foolishly left the hospital wagons, donning armor and joining the battle. There I supported the troops as well as healed them.
Death Ward - 3 mana
Combat - Blessing
The target of a Death Ward is 50% resistant to Death spells, and their Melee and Ranged Defense is increased by 50 % against Death-aligned opponents. Our greatest and darkest enemy, the necromancers, needs our strongest defense.
Holy Word - 2 mana
Combat - Direct Life Damage to Death Units
Damage: 49 + 4 dmg/level + Spirituality
Holy Word does damage to a single Death target based on the level of the caster. The power of Life concentrated in a single word - it's as good as a sword against those with evil souls.
Dace Gwallawg and William Collins are hostile towards each other
+98 187 Galleons
+5 Mercury
+6 Crystal
+4 Gems
+26 Stone
Dragon Rearing book: allows to build Green Dragon nests (tier 7 rank 1 Nature units)
3x Unicorn horns War Unicorn horn
Dragon wing Tabard
Class: Minor artifact
Slot: Back
Description:+20 Mana, +2 Mana/battle turn
Part of the [Power of the dragon father] set
Yr Wyddfa and its dwellings will be available post-event.
The golems are still on their way towards Wiltshire, that has been designated as the rendez-vous point. So far, they haven't encountered enemies yet.
[] Write-in next actions (1 hour per action)
[] Write-in pov
[] Give items to heroes? Write-in.
Huh. I looked around the thread, and you had another Intrigue Nat100 with Ish, funny that (rip Ish). Safest one of the bunch too, nobody would have wanted a Nat100 on intriguing against Merlin.
Sally says hi, Sally says bye, Johan is being a ninja.
So, uh. Yeah. DQ1 Base found. Somebody looted it though.
It also looks like Dace and WIlliam are gonna have problems with each other. Who'd have thought?
More info on Babel, by way of there not being info on it. ( and now you know why a certain person even bothered to infiltrate the place)
For the pov : you may choose people that are not yours, or who hold specific items. Some may detect you spyinf on them, though.
Votes by plan, 48 hours!
Level 3 : The Devastated Playground : Desolatio (1)
Level 3 : The Devastated Playground : Desolatio (1)
[X]Plan Not Our Problem
-[X]Yes
-[X]Build him a manor : Oxford
-[X]No
--[X]Dragon egg
-[X]PoV Ava Lloyd
-[X]Have Ava and Dace try to look for someone to replace her as a diplomat when she's taking a break.
-[X]Have Ava Take a break with Dace or said diplomat taking control.
Hour 7
During the meeting, Ava closed her eyes, thoughts racing. Then she opened an eye, and read an addendum on Dace's file. Her mind made some quick calculations before she decided to trust the man.
The people in front of her were waiting for an answer, so she smiled and did what she always did.
"Ah, I'm sorry. There may be a bit of a problem here. In fact, there are several problems with those proposals. First is, I am ashamed to admit our territory is not safe as we are currently enacting our clean up protocols to get rid of those. Or apologize for this, we are willing to build you a base fitting your requirements." She angled her head so that the lamp's light reflected on her red gloss. " The other problem is that our treasury may only be accessed by relatives of our Lord and people who took blood oaths to serve his family." An utter and complete lie, but he didn't need to know that." It also contains items that may seem innocuous at first, but are in fact extremely dangerous. In fact, an item of similar make going berserk is what caused this situation, albeit, it was a mild one." If you squinted and looked at it sideways, maybe.
Ava let the room digest this for a minute, before continuing.
"Of course, we wouldn't expect you to work for nothing and as such, will arrange for proper compensation. I will only request for you to wait until your base is complete and your tour of the others' bases is done."
The man in front of her mulled about her answer before he nodded.
"We will see." His expectations were clearly raised by her answer, which worried her quite a bit, but in the end, this was one of the times she had to make a bet. of all of them, only Oliver was based around longer than they were, and from the way he formulated his agreement, he was planning something, too.
Hour 9
'Thank Bulstrode for having Travers hurry up and fix the floo~' was all that was running through Ava's mind as she downed her fifth cup of coffee in two hours. Exiting from the green flames, she saw people hurry to build the manor. An architect studied the man's demands for a traditional, Asian building, and admitted building a place from the ground up outside of the city was a good idea due to space constraints.
The building was vast, indeed, facing South with a typical pagoda roof. The walls were made of stone and reinforced with magic, as England was colder and more humid, making paper screens unpractical. It was still covered in a red plaster, and the tiles on the roof were black.
The heavy, wooden door was a bright red surrounded by dark green, with golden accents surrounding the nails holding it together. There were two phoenix knockers that were equally golden.
On the inside, the floors were made of marble while the bright red pillars were decorated by golden Asian dragons coiling around those, seemingly supporting the ceiling, that was decorated with stylized clouds. The entrance hall was large enough to accommodate a hundred people dining here, with a slightly elevated platform made of wood against the wall opposite to the entrance. Two slightly less noticeable doors, on the floor, were surrounding said platform and leading towards an inner garden that was still under construction and could be admired thanks to the arches on the corridors surrounding it, leading to the various rooms.
All in all, this place could accommodate a hundred people easily enough, and the stone wall surrounding it offered some measure of defense and privacy.
Ava didn't really get it, but the architect gave her the okay, and the dragon's ruby eyes glinting in the light of the hanging crystal candelabras were impressive indeed.
Standing outside of the building and clad in her red satin dress, she refrained from yawning, holding a box between her arms and stomach, not-so-subtly supporting her chest and taking off some of the weight that was tiring her back. Then, the delegation arrived. The man, Tang Yan Wuyin, seemed to be in a bad mood. He gave one look to the building, snorted, but looked slightly less annoyed. He then looked at Ava, then at what she was holding, eyes lingering on her chest for longer than was acceptable.
Next to him were two women looking at her in an evaluating fashion. Well. 'Women' may be a bit too generous of a term to use. One of them was glued to his side and was looking around sixteen to his nineteen. She wore traditional Chinese clothing, and her theme color seemed to be light pink. Her hair and eyes were black, the former reaching her hips. The other was a girl, clearly under fifteen, and had a shock of white hair. Contrary to the older girl's gentle air, she seemed to be a dominant person. 'Seemed' was the key word here, as she immediately melted whenever the male gave her any attention.
Yes, Ava thought, keeping him away definitely was the good decision here.
"Greetings." She finally spoke out. "I have your payment here. However, I would rather it to not be shown here in the open, to limit the risks of theft. May I interest you in a visit of your new temporary home?"
"Yes." He nodded regally and followed her, earning a raised eyebrow from the luxurious hall. He did not comment on anything until they were back to the entrance. Here, she freed the box and put it on the grand table.
"We have thought about it so as not to offend you due to different cultures, and in the end, decided to go for a 'safe' choice. Not that this gift is safe by any means." He locked eyes with him, elbow 'accidentally' subtly pushing up her assets as she was signaling towards the box. "This gift is one that will need care and is potentially very dangerous. Still, we assumed you would be strong enough to handle it." She leaned away, hands lifting up the lid, causing the box's four sides to fall off, revealing gems spilling out and, more importantly, an emerald scaled egg, thrice as big as an ostrich's, glistening in the light.
The man frowned, while the gently looking girl approached cautiously, fingers touching the shining surface, before she jumped, expression wide in surprise, and ran to the man, talking quickly in their language. The only thing Ava got from this conversation was that she called him 'big brother' and for her own sanity, she was going to assume it was a custom to call older men this.
The man's expression changed from annoyed to intrigued.
"What is this? Xiao Wen told me it had a massive amount of magic" He said, stumbling on the last word, visibly unused to it.
Ava smiled, clapping her hands together.
"This is a Dragon egg. This particular breed is a local one, the Welsh Green, and will grow up to be rather large, which is why the training grounds are so big."
"Our dragons are different." the pan stated, furrowing an eyebrow.
"Why, yes. However, this is outside of my domain of competence to explain, so I advise you to contact Lord Oliver. He is the dragon specialist, out of all of us."
The quickly hidden expression of fury on the man's face was all she needed to know that something happened there. After clenching his fists, he bowed.
"I am unsure we can expect any good to come from that man. As such, we would like to request you grant us the help of one of your specialists."
"Hmm..." Ava tapped the side of her lip, thinking. There were only a few people that could be trusted around that man, and none of them were competent with dragon rearing. Save one. She turned towards him and smiled. " It should be doable. However, that man is busy with monitoring the tower, so you will have to come to him~"
Yes, Ava thought as she told him where his target was, Sharon's report of those two meeting each other should be worth a few laughs when she wakes up.
"Thanking the Lady for her forethought." The man's figure rose up to stand straight.
She waved the compliments off behind her shield of (flirtatious) courtesy and almost ran towards the next meeting.
-[X]Yes
-[X]Build him a manor : Oxford
-[X]No
--[X]Dragon egg
Ava Diplo : Nat100 + 70 (presence) + 20 (Lust) + 20 (offended by the others' paltry offers) = 210 (doubled success tier : 14 : +25 presence, +4 Diplo, +12 stat cap)
Tang Yan Wuyin is impressed and respects Ava for the gift and handling of the situation, especially considering the pitiful offerings of the other leaders. He will be trustworthy, for now. He will set a base in Oxford and will answer if called to assault the tower.
Hour 10
She arrived a bit late, to see that the man Dace almost abducted looked particularly unruffled.
Ava's first thought was that he was hot, with his toned body and light blond hair falling over droopy grey eyes.
[Lust] Activated.
"You're hired." Her mouth spoke before her brain did, but it was too late by then. Dace sighed and shook his head in amusement.
"You heard the boss, Andrei."
"Are you not?" the blond man looked in askance towards the Welshman, a subtle Russian accent appearing in the way he rolled his "R"s.
"Not a chance." Was Dace's immediate reply."This position is too visible for my tastes."
And there was not a single minute Ava didn't curse him for refusing to get the job back. Aaaand now the coffee was leaving her veins, she decided it was sleeping o'clock.
"Too bad, you're the one in charge while I'm sleeping." she threw at him as she was going out of the room, not waiting for his answer. She didn't even care to change, save for a quick charm to remove her make up, and she fell unconscious the moment her head hit the pillow.
Dace and Andrei looked at each other.
"I will take care of the talking?" the Russian asked more than he offered.
"That would be for the best. Speaking of which, something requires your attention." the Welsh answered with an expressionless face as a woman in a suit gave him a stack of papers, that he handed to the other man who looked at it curiously, then, the more he read, the more his expression fell.
"You're not giving me an easy job."
"Of course not." Dace nodded. "Thankfully, you are more adept with words that I am."
Andrei Ivanov recruited and set as a diplomacy advisor.
Dace Gwallawg has recruited more agents for the agency (13/20 total).
Dace Gwallawg has uncovered a conspiracy against you led by the No-Majs, Democrat and capitalist factions, had their heads assassinated, and framed the Void for it.
William Collins' credibility is hit by his inability to keep the territory safe.
Remaining factions:
Warmongers : Mood : Ecstatic
Traditionalists: Mood : Happy
(Objective: get rid of No-Majs complete) Free Tech: Spell Breaking : Spell breaker (Technology)(Upgrade to units) : + 10 to rolls (story mode) when infiltrating (or invading)magical places.
Royalists: Mood: Content
Looted electronics from the enemy faction database.
South, the tower of flesh shuddered and, with an ear-piercing wail, its lowest part melted, the web of bones forming its skeleton trembling and falling under its weight. The result was a shorter tower and a forest of bone fragments surrounding it.
Meanwhile, London was burning...
Level 2 : The Many-faced Garden: Terra : COMPLETE
Level 3 : The Devastated Playground : Desolatio STARTING Urie's report:
Cat got caught and is carried by their wizard.
Angel woman is terrifying
Also, somehow she can force people to age into dust on touch
Brown haired woman turns into a giant murder-silver-back-werewolf who's also magic resistant and turns people insane
Angel woman is terrifying. Attacks from shadows and all. And immune to physical damage.
Seriously, there's the wet dream of every horror writer going on inside of this. There were arms coming out of that guy's eyes and they pried his skull open and a gore-covered stone angel got out of it and I have no idea how it works!
Reached floor 30, they were about to kill the woman when a brown-haired priest wielding swords between his fingers whisked her away and there were those... Things coming out of the walls.
Black blobs that mage guy said weren't void-related at all.
Looked a bit like piles of black ribbons with red edges and more eyes than a spider.
[]Write-in your plans
[]Write-in pov ( unless force majeure happens, Ava's out for 7 more hours)
Note: If you have Urie do something else, he'll drop his spying to do it.
I'd say I'm surprised with the rolls, but then I remember whose plan it is and only feel despair.
So of course, I'll have to make up for it with more chaos and mayhem.
Aife's arriving next hour with her troops at the meeting point, chinese hero is on-board, dragons also arrive next hour, and Dace is happy because his sneak sneak stab need is fulfilled.
"Ah~ This is going to be an annoyance I can already tell." He lifted his hands, revealing a black orb. Then his hand squeezed, and light lines appeared on its surface. " This is probably a waste, but we can't afford to wait, therefore, We're going to need you to come down ______ !"
The orb disappeared from his hand, exploding in a shower fo black dust, and the ceiling of their fleshy level constricted and opened, like an eyelid, revealing the brown-haired, green-eyed undead a floor above them, then up and up, until a brown-haired young man in a priest's garb fell down in their direction. He used one of his swords and stabbed it inside of the wall to slow his descent until he reached their level.
No words were needed, he knew a dying person when he saw one.
A twisted, too big smile appeared on the pale man's face.
"Oooh, you shouldn't have done that..."
Nothing seemed wrong on the outside of the tower, the morbid aspect and the silence were unperturbed, in the inside, however...
As the enigmatic man disappeared from view, the walls clenched and unclenched, flesh rippling and twisting in alien ways that caused anyone looking at it to hurt in some alien, unknown way.
A mysterious green sweat began to appear on them, falling to the ground like rain that slithered into becoming snaking vines snapping at anything in their way. Out of the ceiling, walls, and floor, bloodied hands forced their way out, grasping at them.
The green strands twisted and constricted around the hands, breaking their bones and reducing them to a bloody pulp as the ground rose and fell, like an unstable sea.
Words unknown echoed, fragments of an illusory time as a fell wind rose.
Light flashed, revealing capillary veins and blood, that beat to an unknown heartbeat. Two figures were dueling.
The hands, mangled, were still holding, the strands were still lashing out, and the drums just beat louder. then, the floor opened, all the way to the base of the tower. Lower and lower still, rows upon rows of teeth that looked like a phantasmal grass littering its borders.
From it emerged a hand. Alabaster white, with glowing green, vegetal tattoos. Then, another followed, holding on the walls, nails drawing blood, as a green haired head emerged, a beautiful face and androgynous torso were next...
On the opposing side, out of a river of black blood, brown hair and empty, pitch black orbs were visible.
Both titanic beings were looking at each other, expressions deformed by the raw hatred they held for the other.
The giant, brown-haired woman fell onto the other, and this signaled the beginning of their fight.
On the sides, the floor began to swirl, as if they were the sides of a demented drill, or conveyor belts, bringing everyone up and up and up, towards the deathly maw the falling woman came from.
The silver-haired man looked unperturbed, albeit paler than usual, and his face showed only focus.
On his right, the pirate queen was holding a sluggishly bleeding Arash, his breathing too shallow to even be seen and a deep, gruesome wound just over his heart secreting an oozing black liquid spreading in his veins and slowly eating at his soul.
_____'s hands began glowing and he muttered words unknown trying to stabilize the Persian man. Arash seemed a bit better, but his pallor was marred by black veins, his skin beginning to take a grey-ish tint.
_____ swore and got an athame out, plunging it inside Arash's heart, the blade vibrating and glowing like the sun, causing the nearby undead to screech in agonized pain
And all the while, the skeletal thin man with glowing blue eyes emerged from a nearby wall with a blast, then looked down at the group in pity. 'Is this the best mankind has to offer?' His expression says.
"I admit, last time we met, the conversation was much smoother."
"Might have been because of the lack of goddesses duking it out in the background"
"Or you not being a cripple."
Merlin winced.
"That really stings, y'know."
The pale man ignored him.
"Mah, it doesn't matter either way. the witch of Miracles is a tenacious one. That she is. Or whenever he's not delivering justice."
"He's an odd guy, you know? Hates men so much that he's constantly crossdressing."
"Not that girls are any better. I mean, Have you seen Reisen?"
"She's not even hot"
The redhead tried to interrupt him but also got ignored.
"Worst case of DiD this side of the continuity I swear."
"Half of the body rotting away, spreads black sludge of lost souls around, the usual, you know?"
"Man is she a nutty one."
"Heh. Nutty."
Then, he took a wheezing breath and sat down, his legs crossed.
"Can't move from that spot, Green bitch called me out of retirement for the last favor I owed her. After that, I'm washing my hands off ____ _____ and will enjoy ____________ away from the ____ _____."
Merlin mulled on that information, his brain trying to ignore his ally being devoured by the Void to try and think of a solution, but with his spotty knowledge- Hey, can you hear me?
Holes in his memories. If He got to him, then how much of himself could he trust? Key thoughts detected: "Memories", "Man in the white hat", "Self-doubt". Activating safeguard.
W-Wait... if that's the case, doesn't that mean-! Ah~ No, not yet I don't think so. You're hard to handle, you know?
Lady Tudor let out an alarmed shout as Merlin suddenly fell to the ground, screaming and convulsing, vomiting blood while clutching his head in pain. You can, can't you? Nevermind that, I'll probably be dead when remember. Whatever happens remember to never go to the Last Dem- Oya Oya, what do we have here~?
Level 3: The Devastated Playground: Desolatio: Complete
Level 4: The Embalming Sands: Solitudinem: Complete
Level 5: The Plagued Badlands: Morbus: Begins.
Merlin or : THe art of systematically shooting yourself in the foot. You do realize your objective is to keep the tower up and running as long as possible, riiiiight?
Well, nevermind that, that means less possible losses for the questers, so there's that, I suppose.
Surprisingly low-key, all things considered, since it's pretty unnoticeable from outside the tower.
[X] Plan Rational Discussion
-[X] POV: Dace (Kufufu version)
-[X] Inform Tang Yan Wuyin of Camelot climbing the tower and the threat of them betraying us, as well as the ease of which they could do so. Make mention of the Void's capabilities, Angela, the Knights of the Round Table, and their Merlin. Place special detail on what happens to a person and their priorities if they become infected by the Void.
-[X] Make enchanted sunglasses for the allied troops in order to counter stone angels.
-[X] Have some agents check out the meeting point to make sure it's secure for us and our allies.
-[X] Research what the black blobs that Urie saw are to figure out what they are and what they do.
Morbus Hour 1 ( 7 AM GMT)
The days were shortening at an alarming rate, Dace mused in his new office, sipping from a bottle of Pepper-Up Potion to keep him alert, ignoring the steam whistling from his ears as he did so. His right arm was mechanically tapping sunglasses after sunglasses, their dark tinted lenses becoming mirrors when he did.
His eyes were focused on reports he was getting about his operations, before she shook his head, getting out of his seat and towards his fireplace. After a flash of emerald, he looked around, got his wand out and stretched his sense. Besides the nearly omnipresent Death around them, he didn't think there was anything more than what his agents reported to him about this meeting point, in other words, that there were no ambushed units.
There may be traps, but the team didn't pick up anything on that side, and he simply didn't have that kind of time to waste, he thought about the glasses and the marshall, his two greatest headaches at the moment.
Hour 2 (8 AM GMT)
The took it back. This was Hell.
What "this" was, was a meeting room in a building he rented to make sure he had a place to conduct semi-official business? Plain, with a desk, several couches facing a coffee table, and tall windows letting lots of light. The bright walls were causing him pain, but more than that, the three people he was meeting with were annoying.
After careful analysis from the files of his old institute, he managed to track down people that would be useful to his objective, which led to him discreetly inviting them in a way he knew they would accept, and accept they did. He almost regretted it now.
The meeting started well enough, the first one arriving being a member of the Royalist faction, the one in charge of their diplomatic matters, to be more exact.
She was average in height, but that was the only average thing about her, her file revealed. Anemone Locksley had red hair and dressed in a red suit. For a second he wondered if she and Ava were related. Her major problem though was....
Well.
She stared at him.
Without blinking.
It would be a lie if Dace said it didn't unsettle at least a little.
Then the second guest came in, Straight out of the West district, home to most of the members of the Warmongering Faction.
Contrary to the redhead, he was more than willing to talk. His reddish-brown eyes scanned the room, lingering on both Dace and Anemone, his mocking smile widening and his eyes gaining an interesting glint.
"Oh my, this is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to be called for a threesome."
Dace, who was drinking tea at the time, promptly coughed as it went down the wrong pipe. Anemone's eyes finally leaving him in favor of her turning her head towards the man, her frizzy red hair hiding her face. The man raised his hands.
"Hey, a man can dream~. Speaking of, I found the next theme of mine, and it will be..."
The man suddenly got onto his knees, closed his eyes and joined his hands as if he was praying and tilted his head. Then, he opened an eye, that lingered in between the woman's legs who, upon noticing, immediately got up, face flaming.
"Red lace~What a naughty, naughty girl you are~"
In the time it took him to blink, the redhead had jumped towards the brown-haired man, her wand in one hand with the clear intent to hurt him. The man sidestepped her attack while getting up, continuing to talk.
"Oooh, S&M, been a long time. I'm a biter. You? You look like someone who likes using her nails and wow, those are pretty fingers. Wanna learn how to use them?" His head leaned back, a stray spell causing the wall behind him to explode, plaster showering on both of them. He then crouched, his leg swiping behind her knees and causing her to fall, as he pounced on her, forcing her to face the ground as he immobilized her arms long enough to reach for the wand in his back pocket, unsheathing it, and striking her with an immobilus spell. He then got up and, as if nothing happened, he began dusting himself off.
"While I enjoy getting down and dirty, that's not really what I had in mind, honey. Unless it's one of those 'Cheat on your lover in front of them while they're helpless' situation? In that case, I'm properly stimulated, come in!" He opened his arms towards Dace, a saucy grin on his face while the woman squirmed even harder to try and break the spell.
Dace was considering whether or not jumping off the window was worth it at that point when the door opened, a bored-looking man with wavy black hair entering to see the scene.
"O-Oh, did I get it wrong again?" He muttered, obviously embarrassed, and made for leaving the room when the man who caused all of this chaos walked to him, throwing an arm around his shoulders, the action causing his black silk shirt to lift up, and dragged him back inside the room, kicking the door closed behind them.
"Nah, you're alright, and what would your name be, sweetie?"
The black haired man gave him an alarmed look, then yelped and ran when the lascivious man groped his backside.
"What the fuck?! I didn't sign up for that!" He shouted towards Dace, who was massaging his temples.
"But I'm so good at it~Don't let your being straight lose you the occasion to experiment~"
"That will be quite enough." Dace finally spoke up. " You've made your point, Mr.Baldwin." The man preened smugly, while Dace continued. " I originally engineered this meeting for you to meet with each other so that you would know the other's existence. Anemone Locksley is the head of Image of the 'Golden Crown' Royalists. Balthazar Baldwin is the Treasurer for the 'Right of Might' association of war fanatics, and Sean Jackson is an Archivist of the...'Blue Blood Committee'" Dace read out, unable to keep his disbelief from showing. Who names their associations like that?
"I will not hold you back any longer, I know you are all being monitored, and you all have your instructions." Dace dismissed them, wanting to be alone, and allowed himself a sigh of annoyance once 'alone', five minutes after they left. Good thing the hinges of the windows behind him weren't greased recently. The slight squeak was his only warning someone entered.
"Missing me already?" A husky voice whispered in his ear, leaving the Welsh man to make a decision.
Nope.
He then activated the spells of his furniture and blasted the offender with a high-pressure jet of water, causing him to fly in a wide arc. The man still had his uses, insufferable as he was, therefore, he didn't throw him out the window. The body made a dull noise when hitting the wall, Balthazar falling to the ground, groaning.
"Gwallawg you tease, you don't get to leave me all hot and bothered on your floor again~"
Dace ignored the man, reading his files, trying to get his work done. Good thing he had those defensive spells woven into this desk. Well worth the money, if you asked him.
"I've never been so wet in public and you're just ignoring me?!"
Apparently, Andrei had the same idea as him and, after warning their Chinese collaborator, began working officially on the factions and population. However, what his agency picked up was troubling. Apparently, he picked up another annoyance, and it didn't have the integrity to take a cue from Parkinson and drop dead.
Collins. Odin. Slytherin. Lots of names for such a small and petty man.
This was probably the biggest disappointment of Dace's life. He didn't even bother to fake his curriculum vitae correctly and was acting like a petulant ten-years-old. No, it was probably too harsh on the children. When he heard stories about the founder of Slytherin, he was expecting someone wreathed in shadows, a power that was inescapable, and what he got was an envious man dressing up as a pirate.
"Daaaarling~I'm warning you~If you keep ignoring me, I'll definitely enjoy what's coming up next~"
Dace may have been a bit too obvious with his eyepatch stunt, but in his defense, the man's face just begged for a punch, and Dace was a pacifist. And it was all it took to have the man switch his plotting towards him. Oh, of course, the man was still aiming to get Ava replaced by himself as Regent for Craidd, but any resource spent on trying to get rid of Dace would be essentially wasted at this point, which was both good and bad.
Dace pondered on what to no next in that ruined office.
He didn't have a lot of time left to undo what took one year to Collins to set up. Especially since he had other duties to attend to. He got up and looked up, in the direction of the current target of his annoyance, to see that the man naked, all of his anatomy displayed for the world to see, standing, hands on his hips, in front of the door.
The Welsh man then turned around, opened the window and jumped, activating the portkey that transported him back to the headquarters.
Some things were just not worth it.
Hour 4 (10 AM GMT)
Let it not be said researching something with only a vague description and no samples is easy. Do you know how many creatures look like shadows?!
His first thought had been lethifolds, living, non-sentient cousins of the dementors that had similar abilities and looked like cloth, but the eyes and red trim were new. Or old.
In this case, very old, as they only appeared during the period zoroastrism was active, and only in places said religion existed. They didn't have names, and the descriptions were sparse, but it was the best fit.
This... If this was right, that would mean that those creatures were, indeed, related to the cult of Angra Mainyu, and if so, that meant whatever was in that tower warranted divine interest.
If he wasn't wrong, and Collins was Odin, that meant several factions were at odds with one another, which would help explaining the sheer scale of this conflict.
He'd read Urie's report, and he knew there was something he missed.
Why do all this?
It would have been more intelligent to act secretly if domination was the goal. That this tower needed to be up meant several, unnerving things. It was most likely a ritual.
It was most likely a blood ritual.
Dace felt a chill when he thought about the power generated by using hundreds of thousands of lives as fuel. He'd need to investigate more.
After taking his orders to block Collins' current moves, one of his agents gave him the files on his collaborators. Nothing inhabitual was found on the first two but on the third... Was a naked picture of Balthazar laying on a bed of roses with strategically placed betals on his form, the man having adopted a sultry expression. Dace blinked, then set the picture on fire.
He'd have to check prescription dates...
South from here, after a bit of a scuffle, Aife and her Valkyries arrived to the meeting place...
-[X] Inform Tang Yan Wuyin of Camelot climbing the tower and the threat of them betraying us, as well as the ease of which they could do so. Make mention of the Void's capabilities, Angela, the Knights of the Round Table, and their Merlin. Place special detail on what happens to a person and their priorities if they become infected by the Void.
99 + 100 (presence) + 20 (presence keystone) : T5 success
-[X] Make enchanted sunglasses for the allied troops in order to counter stone angels.
Crafting : 48 + 70 (crafting) : 118 : Pass : Dace makes the glasses
Enchanting: 88 + 25 (utility magic) : 113 : T5 Success : Dace enchants the glasses
-[X] Have some agents check out the meeting point to make sure it's secure for us and our allies.
9 + 80 = 89 : Fail. Basic Scouting activated: nothing detected. Either higher stealth level, or nothing there.
-[X] Research what the black blobs that Urie saw are to figure out what they are and what they do.
96 + 50 (lore) + 10 (Gwallawg library) = 156 : T3 success
Andrei :
Establish friendly contacts with (presence check, autopass save for Nat1) + 10 faction loyalty to Craidd
Traditionalists 94
Royalists 72
Governing body of Nesaftre 3
Bulstrode 64
Dace:
Send a scouting team/ salvage team to Lancaster, the local castle was blown up, let's see what we can take. x2
18 54 : Nothing found. Place looted.
Continue domestic cleaning, put some trustworthy people where I need them. x2
90 + 80 (Perception) = 170 vs 150 : learns more details about william's plotting.
(William
Morbus Hour 1-4 (autopass save for Nat1) + 10 when acting against them (stackable)
Plot against: Dace 49
Plot against: Ava 49
Plot against: Andrei 31
Establish surveillance: Andrei 31)
D4 : 4 : all of William's scheming for this 'turn'. Plotting bonus negated
84 + 60 (Manipulation) = 144 vs 140 : pass
Rolling for trustworthy people:
Sean Jackson
Anemone Locksley
Balthazar Baldwin
Faction loyalty
Faction
Craidd
William
Winner
Royalists
10 +10 ( legal ruler)
20
mixed
Traditionalists
10
80
William
Warmongers
10
70
William
Age: 33
Profession: Accountant Agent Agitateur
Good grasp on economy and numbers, though his lack of motivation and deplorable attitude could use work.
Addendum : Caused a riot when his favorite dessert disappeared from the cafetera menu
Addendum 2 : incited several teacher into commiting unacceptable actions and was caught engaged in intercourse with several of them at the same time. More on that in the [Mass-Fire] file.
Addendum 3: Expulsed from the Gwallawg Academy of Superior Learning after the director filed a complaint and had a restraining order put in place against him, on the grounds of unacceptable behavior.
Age: 22
Prefession: Motivational Speaker
Excellent work all around, model behavior. Was involved in a double suicide incident in her last year.
Wunderkind: +10 all stats, +15 all skills Blessed: +50% fertility, +5 Di, +40 Presence, +20 Manipulation Egerie: +10 Di, +5 In, +40 Presence, +20 social rolls Witch: +2 My, may use magic
Clear blood: +1 My
Defining Sin/Virtue:
Lustful : +1 In, +5 Manipulation, +10% fertility
Chaste: +1 Le, + 10% Fertility, + 5 to all rolls with spouse.
Lovestruck: Lust/Chastity:Unlikely to seek out companionship from anyone but the target of their affections. -50% RP increase with other people of the target's preferred gender. (Is inclined to act decisively if something threatening en existing or intended relationship appears.)
Lifestyle trait:
Socializer: +3 Di, +5 presence
Profession:
Motivational speaker: +9 Di, +4 In, +2 St
GASL education : +7 Diplomacy
Personality traits:
Glimpse of the stars: There is beauty in the world and the world is beauty, in the way it interacts with each part of its self to complete its whole.
Adds 20% of Diplomacy to Mysticism
Erudite : +2 Le, +5 Research
Family person : +1 Di, +10 to rolls involving family.
Gregarious: +2 Di, + 10 Presence
Honest: +3 Di, -2 In
Just: +2 St,+1Le, +5 Presence
Skills:
Diplomacy
51
Cap: 125 (127,5)
Presence
120 + 15 + 40 + 40 + 5 + 10 + 5 = 125 (235)
Leadership
80 + 15 = 95
Empathy
110 + 15 = 125
Stewardship
16
Cap: 40
Entrepreneurship
5 + 15 = 20
Self sufficiency
25 + 15 = 40
Accounting
10 + 15 = 25
Martial
18
Cap: 45
Strategy
40 + 15 = 45
Armed combat(weapon)
40 + 15 = 45
Logistics
35 + 15 = 45
Intrigue
20
Cap: 50
Manipulation
30 + 15 + 20 + 5 = 50
Perception
20 + 15 = 35
Stealth
40 + 15 = 55
Learning
22
Cap: 55
Research
45 + 15 + 5 = 55
Crafting (craft)
25 + 15 = 40
Common sense
50 + 15 = 55
Mysticism
31
Cap: 75 (77,5)
Magical Combat
10 + 15 = 25
Utility magic
50 + 15 = 65
Lore
75 + 15 = 75
Willpower
12
Cap: 30
Environmental spells
10 + 15 = 25
Offensive spells
5 + 15 = 20
Defensive spells
20 + 15 = 30
Skill bonuses:
Diplomacy
Presence (100) +20 social interactions
Leadership (80) +4 happiness in all cities +1 Leadership skill or gain Basic Tactics
Empathy (100) 3 RP gain / interaction + 2 personal action (must be social)
Keystone: Diplomacy (80) : +1 rank Diplomacy or gain Basic Nobility
Age: 31
Profession: Archivist
Good worker, though lacking talent. Despite his communicaiton problems he is not shy. Has anger management problems and was involved in several fights.
[]Write-in next decisions, Advisor transfers, point of view, etc...
The rolls love messing with me. I hate writing lust characters.
I put all the rolls at the same place because. I guess I wanted to see if this was better?
48 hours votes. Will have to go on QQ if the pov of the walking pile of garbage is taken.
I'm going to be more precise: none of the characters introduced in this update are possible advisors unless Daces makes it possible.
Also, Rip Dace. Not a fun place to be in.
The golems will arrive in 2 hours at the meeting point. Aife has arrived there. No word on the others yet. Urie's sloth struck and so, he went to sleep. Sharon is unable to report any changes that weren't already reported.
Defining Sin/Virtue:
Lustful : +1 In, +5 Manipulation, +10% fertility
Chaste: +1 Le, + 10% Fertility, + 5 to all rolls with spouse.
Lovestruck: Lust/Chastity:Unlikely to seek out companionship from anyone but the target of their affections. -50% RP increase with other people of the target's preferred gender.(Is inclined to act decisively if something threatening en existing or intended relationship appears.)
When it was time to go to sleep, Craidd felt a pressure in his head, like when he needed to sneeze, so he did, and suddenly, he wasn't in the snow anymore.
Instead, she was in front of a sea of white, and in front of it was funny-eyepatch-grandpa. He didn't look happy.
"We do not have much time. Mine is up. It's all up to you now."
He touched Craidd's brow with a glowing finger, then he was back with Sarah.
Craidd's head tickled a bit.
"He went away now. " The child spoke out, disappointed that the funny man with a winged hat disappeared.
"What a loss." The woman that stayed with him agreed, closing the book she had been reading while the men were talking. She was a funny person, turned into a bird-woman and back when he asked her and juggled with fireballs.
He didn't like having to change beds. His previous one was better, but they insisted because his nanny would have a hard time tucking him in if he didn't.
She was a funny woman. She spoke weird.
Funny-eyepatch-grandpa agreed with him. He used to tell him she was a French and a filthy half-breed.
When Craidd told her that, she kneeled in front of him, and slapped him. It hurt a lot!
Then she told him, calmly, that it hurts people like that too when he tells them these types of words. Craidd mulled over that.
He didn't care about hurting others.
He said that to Sarah.
She asked him if he wanted her to slap him again.
He told her that he didn't.
She told him that saying those kinds of things made other people want to hurt him.
That was a problem. Grandpa-funny-eyepatch told him not to say it out loud.
Morbus Hour 5 (11 AM GMT).
Craidd woke up feeling numb.
He didn't understand what was going on. Grandpa Eyepatch and Funny Hat told him he was seeing things that happened far away, and usually asked for a report but this time... This time he just stared at him and raised both eyebrows.
"I see. I will have to deal with them immediately then."
"Who's them?" Craidd asked as the man was beginning to shine away.
"Bad people. If a blond man looking like that comes, don't talk to him." He showed him a picture, that was familiar.
"That's my dad," Craidd stated.
"Your dad who isn't there for you when you have nightmares." Funny Hat said.
"He has work to do," The boy answered, "and he was injured."
Funny Hat Man smiled at that. It wasn't a nice smile. He walked out through the door as Sarah entered. She was pretty as always, wearing a dark purple pullover and black trousers.
"I brought your breakfast." She grinned at him, walking quickly inside the room, putting the tray on his bedside table. Craidd looked and made a face while she was looking for clothes for him to wear. Orange juice. Ewwww...
"If you don't eat everything, you won't get to play in the garden!" Sarah called over her shoulder as she was rummaging through his closet.
Craidd didn't care. There was snow now.
"No snowman for you then!"
Craidd drank his orange juice with his breakfast.
Hour 6 (Midday GMT)
He prefers her to Sally, he thinks. She doesn't make him eat meat.
It's not that it tastes bad, but seeing the cows being killed each time he's about to eat steak makes doing it feels gross.
Death. It's a funny thing to think about. He didn't know the flesh rotted that way off the bones when people died.
He toyed with his food thinking about it.
"What happens when we die?" He asked. Funny Hat Man told him and said that people would lie to him about it.
Sarah gave him a look.
"You like to ask the hard questions huh." She sat with a portion of the cake she had been cutting. Chocolate, cherries and whipped cream. He was feeling himself salivate. "It depends on what you believe in, I suppose. Heaven, Hell, Elysium, Kur, they change with your religion."
Craidd understood precisely nothing. Sarah smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Don't ask questions you wouldn't understand the answer to. it will just make you feel stupid."
"I'm not stupid." The boy said mulishly, crossing his arms. Sarah waved a fork holding a piece of cake under his nose and he opened his mouth.
Hmmm, chocolate...
What was he thinking about again?
Oh, yeah, chocolate!
He ate obediently as Sarah fed him his cake slice.
Hour 8 (2 PM GMT)
Loud noises, Sarah called them alarms, rang in the courtyard while they were making snowmen. It sounded a bit weird because the snow was falling and besides Sarah and the burnt woman, he was alone here. The blond woman jumped and reached for a stick, her wand and looked around.
Meanwhile, the burnt woman floated closer to him, black voids where her eyes should be. Craidd tilted his head, looking at her and her lips split her face. She twirled in the air, then shook her head.
"Nothing dangerous to you, my cute little prince." She said with a raspy voice.
Oh, then they could continue playing.
He said that to Sarah, who had a strange expression on her face. She walked to him and kneeled, lifting her hat slightly to look at him.
"Craidd, we are alone here."
"No, we're not!" The boy protested, pointing his finger at the burnt woman, who waved back. "She's been here longer than you, too!"
Sarah's eyes flickered towards where he was pointing, then back at him.
"I see. And what is her name?"
The burnt woman's mouth opened, blood oozing from it, and she began exaggeratedly mouthing something.
" Oh...Roh?" The woman nodded. "Ro- sie...no -sa-lin-d. Rosalind." The ghost nodded encouragingly, before mouthing something else. "She says her name is Rosalind Gwallawg."
He felt Sarah freeze when he said that.
"Hey, Sarah, can we continue to play? Rosalind says there's no danger to us here."
"...Alright." She answered with a smile that wasn't one. Looks like her tummy hurts or something. Not his problem though.
And that was that. She didn't mention grandmother again.
He liked Sarah, she didn't ask him questions as Sally did.
Hour 9 (3 PM GMT)
Playing in the snow is nice, but it's cold.
He was drinking hot chocolate in his bedroom while Sarah was talking to someone next to the door.
It looks like his grandfather went to sleep again.
How lazy.
The scenery disappeared and He was back in the chambers of flesh, his face feeling intense pain as the undead in front of him held him by the head with pure, emotionless light shining in her red eyes. Around her, dark fog coalesced, forming a skeletal warrior clad in black armor. In its hands, a scythe of foul energy was shining as it swiped at him.
He laughed, and laughed, as his severed body fell to the ground, and the undead, the man-made creature, walked away towards the two fighting giants, flickering lights causing the entire scenery to writhe with each strike.
His decision to eliminate Archimedes as soon as possible was sound.
Too bad they were too stubborn to properly die.
"Indeed." A feminine voice answered his thought as the last of his sight disappeared.
After a moment of vertigo, he found himself sitting in a classroom that would seem ordinary in any school, save for the fact that a woman was playing chess, and that it was already sunset.
The woman smiled prettily, long fingers toying with her bishop piece, humming in agreement.
"Your decision was good, but your actions were not. Thankfully, my successor got the hint and stayed out of it~"
The old man huffed, self-deprecating smirk stuck on his face.
"She may have been the only one."
Black Pawn took White Rook.
"Was it worth it?" She asked, after a moment of silence.
"No. No, it was not."
The woman in white laughed.
"Then, this is no wonder you lost. You have all of his flaws, you know? Just none of his qualities." She noted in an airy voice.
"Whose?" He asked, his eyebrow raised in disbelief. This question earned him a smile that was all teeth.
"Why, Salazar's, of course."
Two men were meeting in a dimly lit room. One was tall, wearing a grey trench coat while the smaller one had a portly build underneath his white tuxedo.
"Is it true?" Trench Coat asked agressively; his index almost stabbing the offensive piece of paper laying innocently on wooden the table.
"See for yourself." The other scoffed, getting a folder out of a case that suddenly appeared. On the top of it, with big, red letters, was written "Deus Project."
"Babel is, in its essence, the means that facilitates the birth of this iteration's Longinus. The ultimate Anti-Divine construct." Her smirk grew, her eyes shining knowingly as the man began to laugh. A cold, wheezing and defeated laugh.
"It never was an item." He said in realization as he leaned back in his seat, horror warring with awe at the plan that finally was put in action. "It was a person."
"I almost didn't make it, what with the Playwright's meddling. Mirror stepping up to compensate for Diomedes' loss was a nice surprise. Checkmate, by the way." The green-eyed incarnation of Death giggled pleasantly and he looked down. His king was, indeed, cornered by Black pieces.
"How did they not know?" He asked as it made no sense." If the Playwright managed to get access to everyone's memories and altered them, how did you make that plan?"
He thought she couldn't look any smugger, and he thought wrong, as her lips stretched more that was humanly possible, revealing black, rotting flesh underneath the flawless white skin as the corners were steadily reaching the ears.
"Don't you remember? I was out of the world when this happened."
Yes, she was banished by Gaia during the fall of this timeline's original Babel, after someone...
"You communicated your coordinates to the heavenly cohorts?"
"Yes~" She nodded happily. "After ensuring that a beautiful, bodacious blonde bombshell discovered a miraculous way to banish people to another dimension and transmitted it to their high command."
He had no words.
"This is suicide." He stated, more for himself than for the utter madman in front of him. Yet again, one of their incarnations allegedly got killed when they scolded an invading enemy because they blocked the sun in front of them.
That might explain a lot of things.
"You know, when you've got unlimited tries, suicide is a relative concept." she shrugged, leaning her chin on her crossed fingers, a brass medallion dangling into view.
Something at the back of his mind squirmed in distaste upon seeing it. Instead, he looked around, and through the room's window, he saw energy wisps swimming in the air, gathering towards a central point.
"What happens now?" He finally asked, breaking the silence, eyes shifting towards the woman.
"You go where every god goes when they die." Her grin turned even more sinister, eyes half-closed forming crescents that were stretching as a black liquid began dripping from the corners. Her head turned towards an empty spot in the room. "You know, " She added conversationally." It looks like I was annoyed at you for sending the Void my way. Cheers Shakes, next one's for you."
He heard shifting and he turned back towards the woman, to see jagged, uneven teeth that looked like knives, oozing with dark slime that dripped down as the maw of Death was approaching. A rising sense of panic invaded him.
On a checkered floor, a white queen fell and rolled to the ground underneath a chessboard. On the right was the perfectly immobile lower half of a woman clad in white. On the left, a male's body was twitching, the noises of crunching bones and muffled screams remaining unheard. His form was yanked up and up, until he disappeared from view, a hand falling bonelessly to the ground before a web of black goo latched onto it and snatched it up.
The woman in white was daintily licking the tips of her fingers to get the last of the silver foam off them, looking rather ordinary, save for her abnormally pale skin. She accidentally let a small burp out, hid her mouth behind her hands and giggled. Then, her satisfied smile turned into a sneer.
"No train station for you." She smiled, looking at the empty spot the divine entity used to occupy. She got out of her seat, almost skipping, and got the fallen piece back on the board, before grabbing the item and waltzing with it, one hand cradling it to her chest and the other grabbing a corner as if it were a hand. The remaining pieces were sent flying everywhere and disappeared as she danced within the room, humming a song. In their place, smoke coalesced to form moving pictures of several people and a giant wheel, with miniature pictures of those same people.
As suddenly as she had started it, the dance was over, and she sat on the chessboard, legs swinging while she reached for her ponytail, and got a letter opener out.
"Welp, my job is done, so what do I do now?"
She crossed her arms, eyes closed in concentration, the item bouncing up and down.
"Eureka!"She opened her eyes, rising a finger in victory!"I have no idea! Let's leave it up to chance!" she then threw the item she held at random and turned her read in its direction.
"Right between the eyes~" On the picture, two sleeping brown-haired babies were floating in the water, bubbles lazily ascending. Behind them. a black-haired man was noting results.
Aimée was suddenly wearing a pantsuit and a fedora and held a suitcase in her gloved hand.
"Time to ruin America!"
A fortress was floating in the sky over the sea while underneath, a swarm of undead was slowly, but surely, crawling over the water, creating a bridge towards the opposite side. One of the towers shifted, its top aiming at the structure, separated in eight, revealing a sparkling orb, and an indigo beam shot, exploding upon touching the undead swarm. Once the smoke and vapor dissipated, only a crater was left in place.
The control room was minimalistic, with only two buttons on the deck: "Aim" and "Shoot". That's where the master of the place found his newest and most problematic charge. Teenaged, with fair skin, big blue eyes, and platinum blond hair. She looked up at him innocently while keeping to mash the Aim button, the canon outside moving around in search of a target.
"What's up Rufus?" She chirped happily, while the leonine man felt the need to bang his head against the wall.
"You cannot aim at France from here." Was his only answer, causing the girl to pout cutely.
"Can we go shopping in Australia then?"
"No seeding the country with mind-controlling parasites, no flesh-eating parasites, no unleashing antediluvian horrors, no virus, no brainwashing, no... No whatever your vengeful mind can cook up to burn France to the ground. We are at war Marie, I have no time to play babysitter!"
As he turned around and got out of the room, trying very hard to ignore the giggling behind him, Rufus Scrimgeour sighed and wondered when exactly that jerk would come to get her off his back. If he had to deal with her raising another strike force by convincing his men to join her in a bloody battle against France, so help him, he'd strangle her himself.
Helga Hufflepuff was humming as she got the cookies out of the oven, tray in one hand and bowl of dough in the other. She skipped out of the room, yellow dress fluttering and golden curls bouncing, towards the playing grounds of her castle. The bronze gate opened, and her smile widened. There were about thirty children of various ages playing with baby unicorns, the sun reflecting nicely on their golden coat. She was about to call out to them when somebody tugged at her dress. It was little Luna, with her too-big eyes and messy blond hair.
"Mummy said the dough wasn't good for eating." She said, causing Helga to look mournfully at her bowl, then at the skeletal ghost of Selene Lovegood, that was hovering over her daughter's shoulder.
"Well then, if your mother says so, she must be right." Helga gave up on arguing and gave Luna a cookie.
"Yes! Mummy is always right!" The Founder sighed and shook her head, before calling out to the children.
"Oooooh hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh!" A woman in a white dress laughed, her black hair flying wildly around her.
"What now..." Semiramis let her head fall onto the desk.
"I think it's because the Greek Pantheon has fallen." Helga proposed helpfully.
They both turned around to see the former priestess laugh around maniacally, hands forming claws as her face was turned to the ground. Then, she began twirling around, lifting both her middle fingers towards the mental representation of an azure sky.
"Think of it that way, as long as she basks in it, she's not going to try and get out?" The blonde tried to comfort the Assyrian queen who has buried her head under her arms, groaning.
"Too late for that." She whined, causing Helga to look back up, only to see a space where Medea should be. A flash, an idea that wasn't hers came to her mind.
'Fufu, Reverse-engineering Armageddon's blade can't be that hard, right?' Medea's overly happy voice almost sang in her mental ears.
...
"Oh no."
Solomon winced, a headache assailing his senses. The plan that had been set millennia in advance finally bore fruit but now...
Well, let's say his new "boss" would be unhappy if he slacked out. Too bad. Speaking of.
"Do you require any help with your encroaching madness?"
Pale lips twisted into a demented smile in madness, and a high pitched voiced cooed.
"Oh no my Sweetling, I don't, my favorite son is already on the case. Go back to watching the fireworks~"
The dark-skinned man sighed, eyes going back to staring on the water surface, that reflected a peculiar scenery. Mount Etna was ablaze. From it, strange creatures were going out en masse, now unchecked as the Hellenic gods disappeared, and the Vatican had a rather... unfortunate accident.
The creatures themselves were various in shapes, some were vaguely humanoid, but only because they stood on two goat-like legs. They were surrounded by four arms that would be more at home on spiders and had a mouth full of white teeth where their heads should be. They were naked, covered in a shiny, dark purple skin that was oozing some corrosive slime that was eating the stone under the creature's feet.
Farther in the distance, he saw a gigantic yet oddly beautiful snake-woman snuggling against an equally big, winged man whose lower body was made of snakes and storm clouds. The scene could have been endearing if it were not for the black monsters coming out of the woman's scales or the booming laugh of the man in face of the carnage.
He smirked.
He'd been planning for this for so long already, it was about time for phase two to begin. The rings on his fingers were glowing to the candlelight, only one of his fingers being bare of those ornaments.
Like a gigantic spider web going haywire, information traveled, as the hand of an angry god furiously hacked at the tapestry, broken strands falling onto a knotted mess on the ground.
Craidd's head hurt.
Event Over !
Gained Anemone Locksley and Balthazar Baldwin as advisors.
Lost That one military guy nobody liked and no one will miss.
Re-emergence of Chaos Faction, Natural supremacy lost.
Added world map to the Social tab in the informational section. Well, a link, at least, because SV doesn't like pictures now. Putting it below too, for the ones too lazy to get to the tab~
Added reputation and world powers to the Social tab in the Informational section ( after the councilors) World Powers
Tip: the higher the number, the closer the relationship is to evolve up. SImilarly, the lower it is, the closer it is to degrade into something... Unpleasant. Have diplomats go on meetings, send gifts, have your family members (if you have those) work abroad, or have their families come to you, flex your spying muscle, or complete their tasks to upgrade those ratings!
National (Neighboring) Powers:
Scottish Duarchy (Leaders: Joseph MacMillan and Augustus Bulstrode): 2/10
Ireland (Whatever is Void's commander): 0/10
British Ministry of Magic (Leader: James Potter): 6/10
- Aife Macavey (born Gwallawg, Craidd's Sister) is a key member of their government and not on bad terms with Craidd : +2 reputation gain per year.
International Powers:
L'Iris Dorée (Leader: Oliver Lapierre): 5/10
-Sarah Lapierre (Oliver's sister) Acting as Liaison : +1 reputation gain per year.
L'iris Argentée (Leader: Jean-Henri Dumont): 9/10
European Union (Leader: Unknown): 2/10
United States of America (Leader: Unknown): 9/10
Northern Union (Leader: Unknown): 5/10
Jade Dragon Empire (Leader:Unknown): 5/10
Arabian Federation (Leader: Rufus Scrimgeour): 4/10
Winter Republic (Leader: President Voldemort): 2/10
South American Alliance (Leader: Unknown): 5/10
Hijos Del Sol (Leader: Quetzalcoatl(?)): 8/10
As for the Rating of this Event....
You chose not to get overly involved in this, considering the actors at play this was a wise decision. You didn't abuse the hourly system for its worth, especially considering how barren your council was, and the amount of write-in options. You didn't choose to declare yourselves kings, in those troubled times, it may have been easier to legitimize, but it would have had consequences to be sure.
You didn't traumatize your Player Character, congratulations, you are maybe-decent human beings.
You went the way of appeasement, didn't antagonize the powerful stranger who was secretely the half brother of the current Jade Emperor.
Plus a few other small things, which gives you a rating of.... 85% ! Very good!
-The First Reward has been automatically selected, look forward to it the next few years. Or not. Your choice.
-The Second reward is a highly skilled unit, Who is C U S T O M I Z A B L E! Within limits. I'm trusting you guys with this, don't make me regret it. Also, treat them well. Pretty please. I'll throw in that you can choose a species, for it, though I'll draw the line and tell it has to be humanoid. I mean, you could choose to create Tim the Philantropic Brainslug, sure, but you will be judged and found wanting.
Name:
Write in
Picture:
Write in
Bio:
Write in, keep it related to your later choices.
Genetic traits:
Since this one is very shiny and tempting, I'll have to restrict your options a bit~
In Other word, you get a free Genetic trait, your pick among the list (yes, even the gold ones!). However, if you want more, you'll have to take negative traits of the same amplitude. For example, if you want another gold trait? You'll have to take a black one.
You cannot take two traits belonging to the same category (Intellect, Strength, etc)
Apparently SV likes eating colors, so, order goes from top to bottom : Best to worst in the Good traits ( aka Gold-Orange-Purple-Green-White) and from Worst to... Least bad, I guess? ( Black-Brown-Violet-Blue-White)
Intellect:
Wunderkind: +10 all stats, +15 all skills 100
Prodigy: +7 all stats, +10 all skills 99
Genius: +5 all stats, +5 all skills 95
Bright: +3 all stats 90
Quick: +1 all stats 85
Warper : Can assign an area in which no magic will take place (line of sight). +6 Luck. Luck bonuses in rolls activate. Gain the 'mind manipulation' and ' telekinesis' abilities.
Psychic : Can assign an area in which no magic will take place (~1000 meters). +4 Luck. Luck bonuses in rolls activate. Gain the 'mind read' and 'limited telekinesis' abilities.
Precursor : Can assign an area in which no magic will take place (~100 meters). +2 Luck. Luck bonuses in rolls activate.
Zero : No magic in a limited area around the character. (~10 meters)
Blank : No magic in a limited area around the character. (~1 meter)
Intellect:
Imbecile: -10 all stats, -15 all skills
Stupid: -7 all stats, -10 all skills
Idiot: -5 all stats, -5 all skills
Slow: -3 all stats
Dull: -1 all stats
Desolation: Not only you cannot have children, but any child you adopt, or take care of, will encounter unfortunate accidents until they leave you. Your legacy ends here.
Curse of the desert: No matter which method is tried, may not have biological children.
Sterile: May not have children the Natural way
Barren: -40% Fertility
Cold: -20% Fertility
Beauty:
Monstrous: -10 Di, -5 In, -40 Presence, -20 social rolls
Hideous : -8 Di, -3 Intrigue, -30 Presence, -10 Social rolls.
Ugly: -5 Di, -30 Presence.
Unpleasant: -3 Di, -20 Presence
Forgettable: -1 Di , -5 Presence
Banshee's voice: -7 Di, +3 In, -30 Presence, those who listen to you will be cursed...
Mute: -5 Di, -10 Presence, -20 utility magic.
Broken voice: -3 Di, -10 Pres
Croaky voice: -2 Di, -5 presence
Shaky voice: -1 Di
Magic:
Muggle: -5 My. May not cast magic, may not perceive magical creatures.
Squib: -3 My. May not cast magic, may perceive magical creatures
Iron-blood: -1 My
Defining Sin/Virtue:
Choose one of each :
Sins:
Lustful : +1 In, +5 Manipulation, +10% fertility
Proud: -2 Di
Wroth : +3 Ma, -1 In, -1 Di
Greedy: -1 Di, +10% Money gains
Envious: +2 in, - 1 Di + 5 Stealth
Slothful : -1 all, + 5 Strategy
Gluttonous: - 3 St, +1 all save Stewardship.
Virtues:
Chaste: +1 Le, + 10% Fertility, + 5 to all rolls with spouse.
Humble : + 2 Di, – 5 Presence
Patient : +1 All save for martial
Charitable: +2 Di, + 5 Empathy
Kind : + 2 Di, -1 In, + 5 Empathy
Diligent: +1 all
Temperate : +2 St, +5 Self sufficiency
Warning: Some combinations have secondary effects, in the spirit of sportsmanship, here are the ones who do:
Lovestruck: Lust/Chastity:Unlikely to seek out companionship from anyone but the target of their affections. -50% RP increase with other people of the target's preferred gender.
Vengeful Wrath/Patience: + 20 to all rolls against a person who you designed as an enemy. -50% RP increase with the people around them.
Rivalry: Envy/Kindness: Upon great ally success (T5+), +20 to all scores of the category until you get an increase yourself. Stress increased in case of failure. Potential RP losses if too much of a gap in abilities is created in their favor.
Efficient: Diligence/Sloth: - 2 to all stats. + 20 (on top of the regular bonus) to actions you personally supervise
Noble: Pride/Humility: Increased resistance to Manipulation. Increased RP gain with subordinates, Decreased RP gains with superiors.
Investor: Greed/ Charity: + 10% National tax, 10% chances of owned business booming. Stress increased when wasting money.
Epicurean: Gluttony / Temperance: +25% total health, increased chance of traits appearing, increased chance of illnesses.
Personality traits:
Adventurer: +1 Ma, -1 Di
Ambitious: +2 all, -5 empathy
Bastard: -1 Di
Brave: +2 Ma, +10 Combat
Brawny: +1 health (hidden), +2Ma,+1Di,+5 combat
Content: -1 In, +5 Empathy, +5 common sense.
Cynical: +1 In, -1 Di
Deceitful: +3 In, -2 Di
Erudite : +2 Le, +5 Research
Falconer: +1 Di
Family person : +1 Di, +10 to rolls involving family.
Gregarious: +2 Di, + 10 Presence
Groomed: +15 Attraction
Honest: +3 Di, -2 In
Just: +2 St,+1Le, +5 Presence
Lunatic (False) : -2 Di
Mischievous: +1 In
Paranoid : +3 In, -2 Di
Poet: +1 Di
Pragmatist: +1 In, +1 Le, +5 common sense.
Shy: -1 Di, +2 Le, +5 Research.
Stubborn: +1 St, -1 Di
Suave : +1 Di
Uncouth: -10 attraction
Zealous : +4 Ma -5 rolls with opposite factions.
-Now that's done, here comes the Third Prize! Grandpa funny-eyepatch left you something in his will! Except I can't go too much into details so... What do you pick?
[] A small stone that looks like an egg. Holding it makes one feel, not smarter, but sneakier? (will help develop mental skills.)
[] A ribbon that makes one think of cats. The way it shimmers is just irresistible. (will help develop magical skills.)
[] A rusty old spear who saw lots of use. One could wonder what it exactly did... (will help develop physical skills.)
THis one will have fought me ever inch of the way dear coconut on a stick...
SV keeps eating my colors. It sucks.
Anyways, better be by plans here, I'm thinking of giving it 48 hours?
