I'm not so sure Sally is a good idea since she's mysticism focused with Tammy and has Angra watching over her meaning that the vision might not be completely fine if she doesn't want us to see something which considering she's working under the Anti-Christ Johan there is probably something like that. This is not to say that Sally isn't a good idea to spy on since she is kind of on our side and in an important position just that it might have some issues.
I would also wouldn't underestimate Xianxia dude's grudge given how he's apparently important enough that everyone was willing to hand something from their treasures to get him on our side and how crazy Xianxia powers can get.
I'm not so sure Sally is a good idea since she's mysticism focused with Tammy and has Angra watching over her meaning that the vision might not be completely fine if she doesn't want us to see something which considering she's working under the Anti-Christ Johan there is probably something like that. This is not to say that Sally isn't a good idea to spy on since she is kind of on our side and in an important position just that it might have some issues.
I would also wouldn't underestimate Xianxia dude's grudge given how he's apparently important enough that everyone was willing to hand something from their treasures to get him on our side and how crazy Xianxia powers can get.
We know Xianxia dude is powerful, right? And refusing him is going to make him have a grudge against us, anyone who has read xianxia would agree with me saying that.
If he's on that level of power that people are willing to give their best artifacts and actually think that it's worthwhile, I am willing to bet that he can see you spying on him. And if you think he would hold a grudge normally, how bad do you think it would be if we started to spy on him? I bet he would have a worse reaction than Sally, even with Angra and Johan.
[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.
Not refusing him outright to not annoy him. Having a house built specially for him will stroke his ego. Have Ava mention diplomatically that most of the items in the treasury need blood oaths or are family exclusive or something then give a dragon egg as compensation. It's good, but since it's not a breeding pair, it's not worrying. (also everybody likes dragons and don't chinese protags have a thing for them anyways?)
Manor build in Oxford, away from the base and in the middle of everything (undeads, invasion, government, etc) Meaning that they'll be hit first if something happens, and if they're not, they're remote enough that they won't be an immediate concern.
Panda said something about events helping with chargen, so I'm getting a replacement for Ava here if possible. If not, Dace is legitimate, so William won't be taking even more power for himself.
PoV Ava because we need to keep our eyes home. William is running around, and without Ava's diplo abilities, we won't get a read on the situation with Xianxia man and I want that as soon as possible.
For treasuries, I think they don't have much, they all had a later start and Panda told me that they didn't have much luck with the loot when she was screaming about Nat100s, so they probably don't see it as a problem. It's likely that our dragon egg will be the best thing they'll get, though we'll need to reinforce our security to avoid theft in the future if the person survives.
[X] Plan Fox Secrets
-[X] No to allowing Tang Yan Wuying
-[X] POV: Sally
-[X] Make some defenses and have Militia prepare for an attack from Derby in case the goblins fall
-[X] Take a break
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.
[X] Plan Men in Black
-[X] POV: Sally
-[X] Have some agents check out the meeting point to make sure it's secure
-[X] Make enchanted sunglasses for the allied troops in order to counter the Angel in your eye thing
-[X] Look up what the black blobs that Urie saw are to figure out what they are and what they do
-[X] Contact the England Church to see if you can get more Holy Water and maybe see if you can find out about the brown haired priest Urie saw
Here's the plan first there's Sally as the POV since she likes us and may be able to give us some important info about the higher levels of this event
Next is making sure there are no surprises about our meeting point since it's an alright filler action and it can help make sure our alliance isn't just exploded or whatever as soon as it really assembles.
Making enchanted sunglasses because they're cool and to help prevent the whole weeping angels in your eye thing we saw happen to a knight.
Doing some research because knowing is half the battle (G.I. Joe!)
Finally, I do an action about the church to both see if they can help and well as maybe figure out why Kirei Expy saved Lily.
"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.
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 you remember. Whatever happens remember to never go to the Last Dem- Oya Oya, what do we have here~?
[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.
[X] Plan Russian Love
-[X] POV: Andrei Ivanov
-[X] Have some agents check out the meeting point to make sure it's secure for us and our allies.
-[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] Research what the black blobs that Urie saw are to figure out what they are and what they do.
Basically the same as Pawn's plan since I can't convince him to change it meaning this likely meaningless but whatever. The only differences is that I have our POV be our new Diplomat who might also be a spy to see what secrets he hides (I'm hoping he's working for Volde since I like him from what I hear).
I also move the secure the meeting point to be before Aife and her troops reach it so if there's any kind of traps or listening devices we get them before anybody is there.
[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.)
[X] Plan now go and STAY AWAY
-[POV] Craidd. I asked Panda, he's having visions of the POV, and having him in a coma is bad considering stuff like Odin and Dace. Will have to trust reports.
-[X] Have William take care of leading our troops into battle. (hoping he dies there, seems dangerous place to be in.)
-[X] Have Sharon investigate what kind of ritual the tower is used for, and what kind of consequences its completion would have.
-[X] Have Andrei continue working on getting the opinion ot their side. Then Sleep if Ava is up.
-[X] Have Ava (she should have woken up) or Andrei reach out to notable powers.
-[X] Have Dace continue working on his sabotaging the influence of William, then go to sleep ( pepper up potion isn't something you casually drink, we need him on top of things or not on things at all.)
Rotating advisors to keep them operational.
