Fuck YEEEAH. So much for sleep.

You are Osyki, newly promoted Totemist and first line of defense for your village against the rabid Behemoths wandering the land. Your master, the previous Totemist, fell in a battle against a terrible Behemoth, leaving the duty of defending your settlement to you. Now, you have upgraded your village's defenses, trained your mind, and spent some time grooming your apprentices for duty. You have just finished a pitched battle against a pack of ferocious Raptors, resulting in a new Focus for you and your assistant's first successful Feral Binding.

>What will you do?
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Previous Threads: [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=totem]]

[[Sorry for the late start folks! I intend to go late tonight and possibly continue into tomorrow to make up for it.]]

>>20900034
Let's head back towards the village, now that we have a full fledged cotemist we both have stuff to experiment with.

>>20900071

You tighten the straps on your pack, hefting the thick thigh-bone that glows in tessellated scale patterns. Quinn throws the spine over his shoulder, and the two of you set off back toward the village.

It is about three minutes into your walk that Quinn starts gushing.

"That was SO COOL!" he shouts, rounding on his heel to grip you by the shoulders. "You were like, PCHOOO," he says, mimicing your lightning-fueled punch. "And then like BRAKOW," he continues, slamming a hand into the ground. "And then I was like WHAM!" he finishes with a boyish grin. "That was the most exciting thing I've ever done! I can see why Terra's so enthusiastic!"

>>20900034
"And now you get to start the best part of being a Totemist, experimenting with bindings.

So, why did you choose the spine?"

Let's get back home, we have a drawer to open.

>>20900222
"Congratulations on being a real totemist now! Soon you'll be just as decked out as me. So why the spine?"

>>20900222
"Quinn, how are we going to impress people if when we describe the battle we sound quite that excited? We need to keep a bit of the mystique, enough so that they are confident in us and feel safe. So when we retell it we need to sound confident, like it wasn't a big deal, underplay it a bit.

Then when the Slayers go to collect the bodies, Raptor meat, bone and leather is useful after all, we'll seem both humble and more impressive.

Why the spine?"

>>20900236 >>20900264 >>20900249
You let out a long, hearty laugh. "Quinn, how are we going to impress people if when we describe the battle we sound quite that excited? We need to keep a bit of the mystique, enough so that they are confident in us and feel safe. So when we retell it we need to sound confident, like it wasn't a big deal, underplay it a bit. Then when the Slayers go to collect the bodies, Raptor meat, bone and leather is useful after all, we'll seem both humble and more impressive," you say, a wry grin across your face.

Quinn has the good sense to look a bit bashful. You slap him on the back, shaking your head. "And now you get to start the best part of being a Totemist, experimenting with bindings. So, why did you choose the spine?"

Quinn shrugs. "I dunno. I suppose after seeing you at work I wanted something flexible, something powerful. Let me tell you, I got hit with that tail. It's sturdy stuff."

You chuckle as you progress to higher and higher ground, dipping out of the tall grass into the flat plains once more. The village is only a few minutes walk now.

>1d100

Rolled 12

>>20900372
Rolling

Rolled 73

>>20900372

Rolled 21

>>20900372
Remember, when messing around with bindings try to match it to something that works with the personality and feel of both the part and the creature it came from.

>>20900408

As you stroll toward the village, something catches your eye. For the briefest moment, you catch sight of the slightest plume of smoke drifting over the horizon, curling lazily around the highest of the Ikrin peaks. Your eyes narrow, and you pick up the pace of your stride. Perhaps it's nothing, just a Drake out for a hunt or a small brush fire, but the sight of it reminds you all too well of the destruction wreaked on your village the last time you let your guard down. The smoke looks almost greasy as it expends itself against the peak in the wind.

You arrive at the village a short time later, and are pleased to find it remarkably unscorched. You and Quinn proceed swiftly into your workshop and begin picking out items for testing.

>What will you test? Roll me 1d100 for each item, taking the five highest in ten minutes.

Rolled 57

>>20900498
Bind thigh bone to pants.
Elemental infusion of earth on lightning boots.

We should commission some lightweight greaves, or maybe half-plate.

Rolled 43

>>20900526
Oh, and one other roll since I named two things.

Rolled 61

>>20900498
First thing to check, before we start fiddling with bindings, is the drawer which should be open now.

After that I'm thinking attaching the thigh bone to our chainmail might be interesting.

Rolled 65, 83 = 148

>>20900498
If an earth-aspected elemental anomaly was this effective for Cordia and the gloves, it would make total sense for an air-aspected elemental anomaly to make our cloudstrider boots something AMAZING.

So I suppose I'm rolling to fail a totem related to air, and turn it into an air gem. Just like we did last time.

>>20900563
I don't think that is the sort of thing we can control. Until we research anomalies more I advise not trying to make more of them. The Earth anomaly has done an awful lot for us, it's even messed with our magic when we aren't touching it, I don't want to try to introduce Earth and Air to us as the same time until we know exactly what we're doing.

>>20900563
I'll do those rolls again. Though knowing my luck we'll get it backwards this time.

I was going to suggest going for a water gem if we decide to go Golden Sun on this. Use water to dampen the magus' fire.

Rolled 82

Lets unbind the gauntlets, check in with Cordia, and rebind them to the mirror and armor.

>>20900656
To clarify, I am not sure if Cordia's infusion is permanent or not, and wish to see if we can still make the Mirror of True Sight and Warden's Disregard.

>>20900541

First things first, of course. Before you begin picking out your ingredients for today's experiments, you cross the room to the chest of drawers nestled beneath a set of hanging cabinets. A quick peek through your second sight reveals that the first seal is, in fact, almost completely degraded. The runes of the circle are cracked and broken, and the entire magical construct pulses weakly with a faint gray light. You reach out a hand and grasp the knob of the drawer through the circle, take a deep breath, and pull.

The seal shatters outward, flinging motes of deep green energy in every direction. You wince, but as the seal breaks the drawer slides open a fraction of an inch.

You hesitate for a moment, then pull the drawer the rest of the way open. Nestled inside is a deep black case, golden script decorating its borders. The clasp of the ebon metal box is a fleur-de-lis of brilliant gold. You lift it from the drawer, removing it from the velvet pillow within, and pop the clasp.

The sight within is initially underwhelming. A small roll of aged vellum. You unroll the scroll, Quinn peering at it over your shoulder.

One the top half of the paper is a circle, some sort of ritual written in entirely indecipherable runes. Below that is a map.

A map of the upper east side of the continent. There is your village, marked with a star. There is the brush, and the Ikrins, and the swamp.

And there, beyond the swamp, is a massive hill-land. There, beyond the Ikrins, a desert dotted with deep black and red crags and crevices.

There, beyond the desert, a vast sea.

And there, at the very lower left hand corner of the map, is a -city-.

>>20900757
A map!? YES! I've been hoping for this. I think you mentioned in the last thread that you had a map of some sorts?

>>20900757
I wonder if we're meeting explorers from this city, if this city has expanded into a nation, or even if it's just some unmapped village's totemist.

>>20900757
Well, that's interesting. How old does the map look?

>>20900656

You hand Quinn the map to peruse as you focus on unbinding the Gauntlets. Even when you were unable to speak, tearing a Focus from its binding never felt like quite such a struggle, like trying to pull a cork from a long-sealed bottle. It the bang that accompanies the usual flash of light which catches you off guard. When the light clears you glance down at the skull in your hands, and start in surprise.

The bone, polished white when you bound the Earth to it, has faded to a mottled yellow. The crack in the cranium's center seems more pronounced, deeper, and the entire affair feels lighter in your hand. The Elemental Earth drops into your other hand with a weighty -thud-, still glowing dimly.

You call to Cordia and she stumbles as she manifests, leaning against a nearby table for support. Her skin is drawn tighter than usual across her spindly bones, and her eyes seem further sunken than ever before. Still, she looks pleased.

"Hello, T-totemist." she says with a small cough.

>>20900934
Awwww shit. There's a price for UNbinding it? Aieeeee.

IC: "Cordia! What's wrong? What happened?"

>>20900934
Hello Cordia. How are you feeling? You don't look so good, and your focus looks to be in worse shape than before.

>>20900934
"How unfortunate. Given your earlier reaction to the infused Earth, I had hoped it would... complete you, or in some way heal/fill you. But it seems the opposite occurred."

>>20900967 >>20900949

You lunge forward, eyes wide. "Cordia!" you exclaim, taking the spirit's hand in your own. "What happened to you? You look... well, sicklier than usual!"

She laughs a little at this. "I feel fine, Totemist. F-fantastic! I feel -alive- again." She coughs, the motion shuddering across her emaciated frame. "Please, d-don't let me keep you from your work. Go on, fuse me back into it. I could feel again in there. Breathe again. I was -me- again."

She shakes as she says this, and you slowly close your fist around the Elemental earth. She watches the hand holding it with a steady gaze, the only stable thing about her. She holds up a hand, mouth opening as if to speak, but quickly closes it again watching you carefully.

I wonder how late I am.

>>20901161
Oh hey, thread still ongoing. New participant in 10 minutes or so when I've read the thread so far.

>>20901128
"Cordia, I know that you want to go back, but I'm worried that if I do so I'll never be able to unbind you without breaking the focus.

I want you to describe, in detail, everything you felt while bound like that. If you help me understand the Elemental Earth and how it binds things maybe I'll be able to do this without hurting you. I want you to be happy, but I also want to keep you safe.

Don't worry about this keeping me from my work, this is my work."

>>20901128
Cordia, are you -really- okay? You don't look okay to me, tell me what happened to you in there?

>>20901128
"Interesting. You weren't attempting to resist the unbinding were you? If what you say is true, it might not be the Infused Earth itself that damaged you, but rather the separation."
...Would it be possible to permanently fuse the Infused Earth to Cordial directly, and have that be effectively an upgraded Focus?

>>20901175
I'm going to second this, Anon said everything I wanted to, better.

Let's put Quinn to work on some totems. We're still behind on repairing totems around the village so ask him to run down to the Slayers to check what they need while we work with Cordia. Maybe we should see about making totemically enchanted armor? Simple protective and blood staunching charms could make a huge difference in their capabilities as a unit.

>>20901289
We can set him to that after he has some fun with his new spine. I mean he just got to the best part of Toteming, messing with bindings, and it'd be rude to not let him play around some.

>>20901175 >>20901224 >>20901216

"Cordia," you begin, "I know that you want to go back, but I'm worried that if I do so I'll never be able to unbind you without breaking the focus.

"I want you to describe, in detail, everything you felt while bound like that. If you help me understand the Elemental Earth and how it binds things maybe I'll be able to do this without hurting you. I want you to be happy, but I also want to keep you safe."

"B-but--" she begins, but you hold up a hand to cut her off.

"Don't worry about this keeping me from my work. This is my work."

She look sas though she is struggling internally for a moment, then takes a deep breath. When her eyes open, they remain locked on the hand holding the verdant sphere.

"At first, it was uncomfortable. Like suffocating, being crushed. But then I stopped struggling. It was like slipping under for a second time, watching that liquid black close in around me, but once I did I felt... incredible. Invigorating. I could SEE everything that was going on around me. I could FEEL the texture of scales, the wind rushing past me. It was more alive than I've ever been, Osyki, and I was a pair of gloves. Can you even fathom that?"

You blink, a bit taken aback. This is the most you've ever heard the slight spirit speak. She takes a step toward you, the skin on her face pressed tight to reveal the contours of her skull.

"Please, Osyki." she says in a pitiful voice. You glance up to Quinn, who slowly shakes his head, eyes narrowed. You note his hand perched warily on the pommel of his mace.

>>20901362
Great, we've created an addict.

>>20901362
Clearly, pure elements are like spirit heroin.

Obligations:
* Divert a River through the town - from the snowmelt, to Lady Boand's pond
* Provide Thane with a cup of your blood boiled and reduced to a paste at the new moon.
* Make more useful totems for the village
* Spend about 24 hours at Lady Boand's pond

To Do:
>Spend time with Elana, Aurora, Quinn, Terra.
>Make a log/journal of shit a Totemist needs to know
>Make more totems with personal benefit
>Pick up Totem materials

For example. This shit that Cordia's going through after being unbound from the Earth?
This right here is shit a totemist needs to know.
"Earth Binding - an Earthen creature, if bound with an elemental earth, will develop an affinity and dependency for it.
If it is then unbound from the elemental earth, the binding focus will weather, and the spirit will become weaker."

>>20901362
...I'm tempted to let it go. Could we try fusing the Elemental Earth to her Focus rather than to the result? If the UNbinding was the problem, we can just choose to unbind it.

Before we do anything else though, I want to check her with spirit sight. In fact, let's make this a teaching moment and have Quinn learn how.

>>20901425
THANK YOU I've been looking for that list. And an excellent first step in studying the phenomenon.

Now that we have a map, I want to try hunting a wild Wolf or Boar, take its nose as our trophy, and bind its spirit to the map.

A tracking creature + the part of that creature that finds stuff + a map = ?

>>20901362
"It's okay Cordia, I swear I will bind you back to it in time. I would not deny you this, I would not deny you feeling the wind once again.

All I ask is time, I want to research this, the effects this has, see if there was anything written about it. I want you to feel these things again, I truly do, but I want to do it safely.

I'm not blind even though you may not notice it, or simply don't care, this hurt you and I don't want to see you in more pain than you have already been through.

Please Cordia, you can trust me. It'll all be okay."

Look at her, her bone focus and the Elemental Earth with our spirit sight.

>>20901362
Cordia, you sound just like I did back when I examined Elana's eyes for the first time.

>>20901412
>>20901392
Not quite, if you remember, she was drawn to it from the beginning.
I'm okay with just leaving her bound to the Gauntlets forever if she likes it so much. The only trouble is I'm not sure if we can remove them from our arms without undoing the binding.

>>20901568
As much as she may enjoy it, I don't feel comfortable turning a thinking spirit into a set of gloves. At least permanently.

>>20901568
That's not a big deal, they can shift as we need them. When we didn't want the full gauntlet they shrunk to little triangles on the back of our hand that didn't get in the way.

>>20901568
What other stuff does Cordia get bound to?

Earth Gauntlets = Spiky black deathpunch
Normal Chest = Breath immunity
Normal Boots = Double step boots
Normal Mirror = Mirror of true sight

I'm wondering what happens if we make her into Earth Boots.
Upgraded boots would result in much faster movement - especially since she's a speedy type of creature.

That leaves the rock turtle unbound - I expect we can produce some kind of Lightning helmet or Lightning gloves.

>>20901619
>implying we want the turtle to be anything other than the Cloudkicker Kamen Rider boots

>>20901581
Eh. Given that she appears to still be conscious when bound to the gauntlets, and can still see and feel the world around her, it's hard for me to really equate that with imprisoning her or something like that.
But yeah, ideally I'd like to perma-infuse the earth to her Focus, if that's even possible.

>>20901687
I'm not so sure about that, her current form appears to be weakened, so I interpreted she would become a set of gloves if we left her in there long enough. I might be interpreting things incorrectly, of course.

[[Just to be sure I'm clear, the consensus is to try fusing her focus to the Elemental Earth itself, and monitor the result with Spirit Sight. Is that right?]]

>>20901687
This makes me think that using the rock turtle to help dig the river is NOT a very smart idea.
We don't want two crack addicts fighting over one ball of crack.

>>20901707
This seems reasonable and I support this.

>>20901707
Seems like it, and I like that idea

Rolled 30

>>20901707
Check how she looks using Spirit Sight, do a quick search through Aryen's notes on anything remotely related to this, and then seriously consider it.

Rolling for note checking.

>>20901707
That sounds like a reasonable plan. Try to make some sort of super focus that means we can unbind her from items as we chose while letting her stay with the Elemental Earth.

This sort of thing we should check through the books for some info on Elemental (Blank)s and look at Corida and the Elemental Earth with Spirit Sight before we do so.

File: 1348812450123.jpg-(200 KB, 322x750, 1343165851324.jpg)

>>20901715
Oh god, spiritual drug dealer Osyki. I can see it now:

QUINN, WE HAVE TO BIND.

Rolled 48

>>20901737
>30
TG DICE AUGH.

Rolled 83

>>20901737
I'll help with hitting the books.

>>20901790
Totally didn't mean to roll again, but I'll take what you give. How about it, Diarca?

You nod, holding up your free hand to ward off the encroaching woman. "Alright, Cordia. Alright." you say soothingly, picking her focus up from the table once more. "Let me try to understand how this works."

You press the emerald sphere to the skull of the Focus again, noting with a small frown that a small hemispherical indent has formed where it rested before. "All I ask is time, I want to research this, the effects this has, see if there was anything written about it. I want you to feel these things again, I truly do, but I want to do it safely."

She shivers, but stays where she is. Her eyes close as if awaiting some great rapture.

You flicker over to second sight and watch her form carefully as the raw earth touches the skull. The cord binding her at the navel to the Focus flares bright as the Earth touches the bone, and she lets out a soft sigh of relief. You note small pinpoints of essence break away from the cord and float off into the air, tiny novas of blinding starlight that fizzle and burn away into nothing.

You consider the implications. Binding her directly to the Earth could stop this degradation, or it could burn her spirit out entirely. You've never seen anything -consume- spiritual energy like this seething green orb does, the raw energy it contains destabilizing the umbilical link from Focus to Spirit.

>Will you bind Cordia to the Raw Earth Gem?

Rolled 16

>>20901869
>Will you bind Cordia to the Raw Earth Gem?
Yes.

>>20901869
Only after further research. I don't want to possibly sacrifice Cordia for an experiment like this.

>>20901869
It's... what she wants. I'm not comfortable with it, but it's what she wants.

>Will you bind Cordia to the Raw Earth Gem?
Yes, but I want to take notes. Stop and write down what we're doing and what we're seeing.

>>20901869
I don't like that idea, maybe once we find out more about it, but right now my vote is no

Rolled 74

>>20901869
Huh.
If it were an inanimate object I'd be all for it. But this is another SPIRIT we're gambling with the existence of here, and I don't feel right doing that.

>>20901869
"Cordia, this could be dangerous, and once it's done I will not be able to reverse the process, even if it succeeds. You could die, I could lose you forever.

It's up to you whether you want me to go through with this, whatever your choice is I will stand by it."

>>20901869
So, if infusing elemental earth is the equivalent of giving someone drugs,

then binding them directly to elemental earth is like ... turning their entire body into drugs?

This can only end well.

You swallow hard, focusing on the Raw Earth in your hand. It looks as though it should be searing your hand off in second sight, enveloped by a catastrophic aura of intangible green flame. You close your eyes, steel your nerves, and focus...

But your hands drop to your side, separating the Focus and the Earth with an audible crackle. Cordia lets out a shriek of protest, and you shake your head.

"Cordia, I'm sorry. If this were an inanimate object, I'd be all for it. But this is your LIFE we're gambling with here. Once this is done, I might not be able to reverse it. You might lose everything with this."

You see Quinn nodding along with you. "I could lose you forever. Is this really worth it to you? The choice is yours, whether you want me to go through with this or not."

She struggles with this visibly. You can see her visibly turn her head to wrench her eyes away from the sight of the forest green orb, wringing her hands.

"...I do want this, Osyki," she says softly. "I died a long time ago, and lived again as a monster. I can't forget the things I've done, trapped inside that shell of bones. How could I possibly keep going with that kind of knowledge in my head? It... it lets me forget. It lets me feel."

Rolled 46

>>20902080
Do it doc do it

>>20902080
I really don't want to do it. I feel like doing more research could make it so much safer.

But...

Cordia wants this. I hope nothing goes wrong, but let's do this

Rolled 5

>>20902080
Give her frail body a hug.

"It will be done Cordia, may you feel the breeze upon you once more. May you forget the things that hurt you and be happy by my side.

Just stay calm, remember who you are, remember everything that makes you special. Remember that you are the one consuming the Earth, it is not consuming you. You are taking it into yourself, letting it complete you.

You are stronger than you think, you can do this."

Then bind it, carefully, we want to keep Cordia's essence intact.

>>20902080
I figured as much. Can't really find much fault in her reasoning either.

>>20902080
I'd still say no, but the other players seem intent to kill her off, so let's just get this over with.

>>20902080
You still think you're a monster, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. You can still think for yourself, you are still you! I want to help change this perception you have about yourself. I need to know you'll still be you on the other side, because I want to give you a second chance in this life. I want to give Cordia a second chance.

You slowly nod, noting Quinn's paling face as you do. "Alright. I won't pretend to understand, but I can respect your wishes."

There are tears brimming in your Spirit's eyes, and you close your hand around the earth once more. "But remember this. You still think you're a monster, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. You can still think for yourself, you are still you! I want to help change this perception you have about yourself. I need to know you'll still be you on the other side, because I want to give you a second chance in this life."

You fill your lungs with air and slowly, methodically, press the Raw Earth to the Skull Focus once more. Runes of green burn unbidden and unseen beneath your skin, and your sight flares with a phantasmagoria of spirit-enhanced colors.

"Just stay calm, remember who you are, remember everything that makes you special. Remember that you are the one consuming the Earth, it is not consuming you. You are taking it into yourself, letting it complete you."

You close your eyes.

"You are stronger than you think. You can do this"

You chant the words of binding.

>1d100+10

The only reason I can see not to do it would be because there's a chance she won't be of use to us anymore. And I can't see that as a fair reason at all.
I mean her own despair turned her into a monster and made her cling to this world, and we then bound her too our will.
Like... in her shoes, I don't see much incentive for her to stock around as she is.

Rolled 76 + 10

>>20902253
For Cordia. No matter the result may she be happy.

Rolled 70 + 10

>>20902253
If this fails in any way, farewell Cordia
If this succeeds, welcome and congratulate her.

Rolled 10

>>20902253
Here goes nothing.

Rolled 9 + 10

>>20902253
...Goodbye, Cordia.

Rolled 22 + 10

>>20902253
I think an 86 makes it, but why not go to five?

Rolled 73 + 10

>>20902268
Let's stop here.

Rolled 35 + 10

>>20902253
M A X I M U M

R
O
L
L
S

Rolled 55 + 10

>>20902253
Emperor, guide my dice.

Rolled 32 + 10

>>20902253
Well, here we go. Godspeed, Cordia.

File: 1348816356894.jpg-(327 KB, 1920x1080, Binding Array.jpg)

>>20902268
>86

The surge of sagebrush light sweeps outward from the sphere, and you feel the Skull Focus go soft in your hands. It dissolves into nothing in your grasp. The particles flow into the sphere of deep green in a tremendous vacuum. Papers fly from your desk, and the workbenches themselves tremble and scoot a few inches inward toward the sudden influx of power. Quinn lets out a cry, shouting something unheard as the words are ripped from his mouth and devoured by the hungry sphere of force encapsulating your right hand. The bones in your palm shift from the force, rolling over one another with a terrible grinding. You grimace, fighting to keep your hold tight. You will not let her fall. Not now.

The din ceases suddenly, all at once, as the vortex greedily consumes itself. The Raw Earth glows in your hand, second sight unnecessary, burning with brilliant malachite fury. You watch as the runes now adorning its surface blaze with raw white power. It shakes in your hand for a moment, volatile, then grows still. The flaming green cools to an olive glow, and the nova white settles to a silvery film.

You feel hollow for a moment before a bubbling laugh echoes across the room, a wonderfully familiar tone. A sudden explosion of dust in the middle of the room heralds a sudden apparition, a figure of swirling jade dust and brilliant onyx eyes. A cry of pure jubilation pops past your ears.

"I can BREATHE!"

>>20902472
And everything went better than expected! How's the new you, Cordia?

Now here's the crazy question: Does she count as an Avatar of Earth now?

>>20902472
"I would hug you, if I could."

>>20902472
"Cordia, you're alright. I was worried there. I'm so glad you're okay, I'm happy for you, I'm really happy for you.

Tell me, how does it feel, how did the transition feel? I'm betting you feel rather different."

>>20902496
I can't think of any reason why we can't.

>>20902472
Sup.

So, can you do stuff in your current form, or do you still need to be bound to objects?

So, if I remember correctly, Bone Wardens are air spirits. Earth is the opposite of air, so maybe if we create pure elemental air, we could bind it to our rock turtle focus? Something like opposites complete?

>>20902504
>I can't think of any reason why we can't.
See
>a figure of swirling jade dust
Might be a tad difficult to actually hug that.

>>20902472
"Hug" her, or at the very least "hold" her.

"I hope you're as happy as I am to see you here, well and in good form. I was worried all along, but now that this ordeal is over now, I'm really looking forward to the future."

Are you STILL consorting with that pile of hubris?
Don't you have a village to protect? One too weak to protect itself?

>>20902553
I AM protecting my village. My totems are just as important as any villager, because they are alive and they help me ward off the dangers of this world and the world without.

"Cordia!" you exclaim, letting out a relieved laugh as she scoops you up into a rib-cracking hug, pressing you tight against the cold malachite of her form. The air wheezes out of your lungs, and you tap her shoulder urgently. She finally releases you, and though you stand hands on your knees gasping for breath, you do so with a smile.

"Feel any better?" you manage to croak after a moment. She twirls in the air, no longer the emaciated shell she was before. A figure of deep green and black stone, intermittently dissolving into a silhouette of stone dust before resolving itself into a solid form once more. She nods enthusiastically.

"It's even better than before, Osyki. It's wonderful!"

You sigh. "That... is a relief. I'm glad I could help."

She nods, her eyes alight with joy, sparks of green fire burning deep within the black glass of her gaze. "And I believe I am still capable of returning the favor, Osyki."

Indeed, though the after-glow of your fusion is still dying through your second sight you can see a cord of incandescent green linking Cordia's new form to the sphere of earth in your hands.

>>20902607
Your work is important, and it's good to take care with your work. Carelessness comes before a fall, after all.
But I think you're showing too much ... care ... with your new pair of gloves here.

>>20902609
Can Cordia hold the sphere?
We'll have the Blacksmith make a backpack or a shoulder holster or something so she can keep the earth sphere with her.

Anyway, life is good. Let's get them new RaptorTrousers, and tell the town that there's some Raptor parts to go harvest.

Ask the people if you can have some of the unwanted beast parts - either for totem ingredients or as bait for scavengers.

In other news: More totem research is needed.
Totems that help with Working quickly, Working efficiently, Working hard, and Working skillfully are good.
Totems that help hunters, gatherers, or other such outdoorsy folk are also good.
Is there such a thing as a totem of digging or earth-moving? That'll help with the river.

>>20902609
"That's good. I'm glad I managed to help you. You look much healthier and I can't wait to see what sort of beautiful things you can make.

I want to try to understand this Elemental Earth, how I bound you to it, how it seems to have become some sort of modified Totem itself, how it's changed you and you've changed it.

Could you describe the transition, how you feel right now compared to earlier, everything you can in detail?

Just give me one second to get some paper and something to write with."

>>20902614
A happy spirit is a productive spirit. If we had just kept her as gloves we don't know what would've happened, it could be that the Elemental Earth would have damaged her and the binding and in that state we couldn't transfer bindings effectively, after we separated them we needed to do this to keep the wonder combination of her and the Elemental Earth working, it probably is even stronger now.

>>20902614
"Modi, fury is all well and good. There is no finesse to fury though. If I was nothing but a raging murder machine, then I would've died a long time ago. All great leaders must have a report with their subordinates. Think of this as me forming that report, and attempting to inspire one of my loyal troops to feats greater than she would previously be capable of.

If it really bugs you though, we'll be killing some drakes soon. I do hope the blood of dragons will sate you."

>>20902614
Cordia deserves to have more than just a prison to inhabit. Besides, I suspect I would find no complaints on your part had I chosen to empower you instead. Even if you do not share my sentiments Modi, you will find your future will be one... decidedly less violent than you are accustomed to.

>>20902647
A Happy spirit is also a spirit that grows in power.
There is no doubt that there is a lot of power in her new form, yes.
But you know what they say about pride.

>>20902657
I didn't know generals would cuddle their troops by the fire and say "I don't know what I would've done if I had lost you".
But pardon me. Clearly you know more about war than I do.

Back at the Irken range. Were you just being practical with your resources, or did you -fear- those drakes?

>>20902686
Oh please, I'm hardly cuddling Cordia. No no, I'm saving anything of the sort for someone else entirely. Do you honestly think that this won't have any benefits though? Can't you see the power pouring off of the sphere? Can you imagine if I did this with all of my bindings? I would be unstoppable.

As for the Ikren Range, I was mostly conserving my resources, but I'll admit to being less than eager to face a flight of drakes while hanging off the side of a mountain. I'd much prefer to lure them into a trap.

>>20902678
>Cordia deserves to have more than just a prison to inhabit.
What has she done to merit this freedom?
Or, is it that freedom is the right of all spirits?
I can think of one or two spirits that could enjoy such a right.

>you will find your future will be one... decidedly less violent than you are accustomed to.
Very well.
Do I have your permission to relay this message to the Iron spirit intent on claiming the Irken peaks, or should I save it for when the Magus comes to claim his apprentice?

>>20902686
I'd prefer to call it healthy respect for their strength.

Think about it, there were 5 of them in their preferred battleground. I was most of the way up the mountain and it's a long way down. Should it have come to a fight they would have complete control over it, they would choose when and where the engagements occurred, if one was wounded it could back off and I couldn't pursue.

Sure I had my poison bow, but the odds were still stacked against me.

If it came to fighting one, with a battlefield that I could work with, and my preferred bindings I'd happily sate your thirst.

>>20902712
Magni, nobody trusts you enough to even consider letting you out of the spear. We keep them bound but we try to make them happy within those limits. Cordia is still bound but no longer bound to the remnants of her grief.

Don't worry, I'll find you some Drakes to kill. I'm not planning on killing our new neighbors though unless they turn out to be extremely hostile.

Don't relay any messages.

>>20902708
>Can't you see the power pouring off of the sphere? Can you imagine if I did this with all of my bindings? I would be unstoppable.
No, Osyki. You would like Ayren.

Your drake trapping plan ... has merit. Will you spend some time learning about Drakes, and how to hunt them?

>>20902736
Well of course, it wouldn't do to go running blind into a battle. Hardly totemist behavior. Any knowledge you'd like to impart before I start my research?

>>20902736
Yes, they are potentially dangerous to the village, killing them makes you happy, and are powerful when bound.

Me going after them won't be on a whim however, it will be after proper research and preparation, the needs of the Village come first so it may take a bit.

A thousand thoughts rush through your head all at once, but you force yourself to take things one step at a time. You fetch a quill and paper and have Cordia walk you through the process of this strange transformation, recording everything you can remember about the events leading up to it. Cordia describes the process as a sort of pressure in her core, her soul, expanding and reinforcing what was a hollow shell of a spirit until it could contain the vital spark of life once more.

Quinn watches with wide eyes as the newly recast spirit of stone relays this tale. His hand has traveled from his mace to his belt, and his other rests solidly on the Spine Focus at his side.

Upon inspection in second sight, the Raw Earth does indeed seem to have become Cordia's new focus. What that will do to the process of binding her, you have no clue.

But then, you suppose that's what experimentation is all about.

>Alright. Let's total up a list of experiments to try for Osyki, binding-wise. Once we have around ten combinations I'll disappear for a while to write out the results.

[[Also, a fond welcome to the series' first RPer. I don't mind it (I think it's kind of neat, actually), but I wouldn't take anything this Magni says without a grain of salt.]]

>>20902775
Oooh we have so much to experiment with.

Raptor Bone: Pants/Greaves, Chainmail

Cordia 2.0: Gauntlets, it might be different now, Chainmail, Bow, Hammer.

>Don't relay any messages.
I wasn't intending to. But violence is a part of what you do, and a part of the world you live in. Do not forget that all things -end-, Osyki. Almost always, against their own will.

>Any knowledge you'd like to impart before I start my research?
Drakes will land to snatch their prey, even if the situation seems dangerous. In a very literal sense, pride comes before a fall.

>Talking of drake hunting
(Your spear hums slightly)

Cordial+gauntlets, mirror, chain mail.
Attempt to commune with raptor spirit.

>>20902775
Okaaay... let's see here, can't do elemental infusions anymore. How about we do...
Cordia x Breastplate (To get the armor that stops our heart, see if it still does that and what has changed.)
Cordia x Bow
Cordia x Gloves
Cordia x Boots

We also need to call our new binding from it's focus and chat with it, then do...
Raptor x boots
Raptor x bow
Raptor x pants
Raptor x sword (I assume we have a sword, if not we can grab just an old sword lying around the blacksmith's shop.)

>>20902775
Modi Magni x Unbound

>>20902808
Ahh >>20902805 raises a good point. Scratch out cordia x boots and replace it with cordia x mirror on my list.

>>20902775
We ought to summon our new Raptor friend. Get a handle on him (it) and whatnot.

For new Cordia we rebind the gloves as a control, then mirror, amulet, mail.

>>20902808
Ignore boots, who needs footwear that isn't Cloudwalker's Stride?

>>20902814
You aren't allowed to vote.

>>20902712
When I said your future would be less violent, I didn't mean that conflict would disappear right away. Wherever my journey might lead me, there will be an end eventually. When that end claims me, there will be a place for you. Take that as you will, I can say nothing other than you will find something interesting when I'm gone.

Also, Cordia will not exclusively hold the rights to freedom- I will find a way to provide all of my totems an existence beyond what flesh and blood gave them previously.

>>20902814
How about no. Because of obvious reasons.

>>20902775
Raptor Pants
Raptor Helm/Hat
Do we have a Seeing lens/telescope? Raptor + That.
Talk to raptor.
Cordia 2.0 Mirror
Cordia 2.0 Chest
Ykree + Map. Just to see what putting a tracking monster into a map does.

>>20902814
Oooh man, being unbound is so great. I can just bask in the warmth of these coals and relax all day. Such a luxury...

>>20902845
Come to think of it ... What on earth would happen if we got a Cordia 2.0 map?
Would it be a map of where all the Bone Wardens in the world are?

File: 1348820229408.jpg-(43 KB, 500x442, soon.jpg)

>>20902854

>>20902856
Hmm, Cordia 1.0 it might have been a shard of bone that had something about graveyards, tragedy or something like that engraved in shifting patterns on it. Or a skeletal compass that points to whoever is going to die next.

Cordia 2.0 I don't really have enough data to make a good guess.

>>20902854
An excellent point. It's high time we start binding Amal and Tryd to things. For science.

>>20902907
Man, you know what would be awesome?

If you could have boiling hot water at ... like, any time. You could cook stuff or drink tea or be really effective at washing things.

Now, I wonder if we have any FIRE spirits around here, to bind into a really big pot of WATER...

>>20902907
>>20902921
What happened to helping you identify an apprentice? No appreciation for services rendered! Always have to have more...(grumble grumble)

>>20902938
Man, we should totally spend more time at Boa's spring.
In that place with all the WATER.
It sure is awesome being around all that WATER.
Cool, clear, splishy splashy WATER.

Just kidding Tyrd. You're still awesome.

>>20902938
[[It's Tryd, friend.

Also, disappearing to write up these combos. Bear with me!

*Out to Lunch Sign*]]

I must be off to bed, look forward to reading this on the morn.

>>20902950
He Tryd, he Faild. Amal for more RPing, but it will seem Modi-ous and get Ayren if you can't keep a reCordia names. The problem just gets Magnified by the large cast.

Hmm... we should work on decoding that ritual in our spare time. It's probably how to bind an Avatar. What kind of Avatar do we want to try binding, anyway?

We ought to start working on building that river if we're not making utility totems. Maybe ask a local land spirit for some help doing that? Or maybe the spirit of the village.

>>20902938
The apprentice Oyski chose isn't the one that won the competition.

>>20902982
Avatar of Grief.

Or, with less grimderp, an avatar of Beauty would fit surprisingly well with all the women Osyki keeps running into. That or an avatar of Chastity :P.

>>20902982
That really depends on what we can find.

We know Avatars wander around due to them being a common cause for Bone Wardens I'm not sure we'll be able to choose which ones we have in our area. Though we might be able to summon or call them to us. I'd prefer something easy to work with, not something like greed, vengeance, rage or anything like that. Something like industriousness, cooperation, courage, would be much better for us.

>>20903028
Avatars of vengeance are easy enough to work with.

"I AM VENGEFUL."
"what at?"
"THAT DUDE OVER THAT WAY."
"will you come help me for a bit if I help you beat up that dude?"
"YES. BUT IF YOU SCREW ME OVER IMMA BE PISSED"
"kk let's go"

>>20902980

[[While I write up the results, this should serve as a refresher on the major players in our story: http://pastebin.com/18Wwu9jQ . After this session I'll make up another file for your binding record.]]

>>20903037

[[Okay wow a full half of that message got cut off, but the gist of it is there. List of major cast members, etc. etc.]]

>>20903037
Seems to be missing Swamp Mother, Ykree, Terra.

>>20903040
Just a note, decimated refers to one in ten being destroyed.

>>20903055
Terra's on the list under Quinn. I don't think we've managed to get a word out of the Ykree, so see Rock Turtle spirit for more information.

>>20903074
>>20903055

[[ http://pastebin.com/uwRsEHcX ]]

>>20903105
Thx.

You start with your newest acquisition, despite the burning urge to experiment with Cordia's newly enriched powers. The spirit comes easily enough as you call to it, all but leaping to the call. A spectral raptor, much larger than the one you slew and with a gleam of intellect in its eyes soars through the air overhead, landing with much flourishing of the tail and rearing of the snout. As soon as it sets eyes on you it lets out a low hiss, but the way its tail droops clearly displays a sense of subservience. You realize that this raptor's last memory was likely the sight of you and Quinn slaying its alpha. It does not display any signs of immediate intelligence, so you banish it. You have a lot of work to do, and the sun hangs low in the sky already.

When you press the raptor's thigh bone to your own and speak the words of binding, the surge of light that follows fades to reveal an interesting result. Your trousers have taken on a scaled texture, mottled crimson and black scales covering your pants in a greave-like pattern. You take a lap around the exterior of the workshop in record time, kicking up clouds of dust in your wake.

>[[Binding Complete: Velociraptor Greaves. Boosts Osyki's running speed, increases jumping distance. Provides a modicum of lower body protection.]]

-Chainmail
>[[Binding Complete: Talon Lash. A scale shirt transforming Osyki's arms into raptor leg-like appendages: Reverse jointed, powerful, and tipped with wicked claws, but lacking in manual dexterity.]]
(Cont)

>>20903216

-Bow
>[[Binding Complete: Hunter's Pounce. Tips arrows fired with curved claw arrowheads. Seems to curve arrows toward warm-blooded creatures.]]

-Sword
>[[Binding Complete: Predator Talwar. A curved black blade with a deep crimson handle and no hilt. Extends a blade of invisible force a few inches from the edge of the weapon when swung, leading to assaults with a deceptive reach.]]

-Mirror
>[[Binding Complete: Paranoia Shard: A mirror approximately the size of a peach which hovers in front of and to the right of Osyki at all times, reflecting the landscape immediately behind him.]]

You slump back with this final binding, sweat trickling down your forehead. Your stamina for this sort of thing seems to be increasing, but this many rapid bindings are still difficult for you. You resolve to take a short rest, then move on to experimenting with Cordia's new abilities.

[[It is officially 2 A.M. here, so I will call the thread for the evening before I pass out at the keyboard. Thread will pick back up again tomorrow around 1PM PST. Apologies again for the late start and slow progress this evening. Feel free to discuss plans for the future, exploration and binding related, while I slumber!]]

>>20903216
>You realize that this raptor's last memory was likely the sight of you and Quinn slaying its alpha.
Wait, wasn't this the alpha?

Speed Pants. Neato.

>>20903229
Plans:

Cordia bindings.

Still interested in what Ykree + Map will do.

Research how to Hunt Drakes.

Research into Totems for personal use - ones for keener tracking senses, or tireless work, or greater spiritual energy.

Keep making those village totems.

Harvest totem materials (e.g. for that totem of Iron Determination)

Keep up the Terra and Quinn Training.

Research into Digging totems or Digging spirits or STUFF WHAT MAKES RIVERS.

>>20903232
Naw, Quinn got the alpha, we got a different one.

>>20903229
See you then, I needed sleep soon anyways.

I think those greaves are going to get added to our new standard set of equipment. Combined with Lightning boots we can Rider Kick like never before. The speed is also nice. Though the Tulwar could be fun to use in duels.

bump

I'd like to try Amal+map, given one of the resources he provides is knowledge of spirits.

Bumping to keep this on the board for OP.

Pretty sure this is a list of all the items we've bound spirits to in the past:
Mace, mirror, buckler, rope, charm bracelet, amulet, bow, dagger, chain mail shirt, drake wing, gauntlets, Verdis Wyrm stinger, cloak, and fruit.
I figure Quinn's welcome to trying out this stuff for himself.

I wonder what our cotemist is going to bind his raptor spine to.

Damn it! I Totally didn't get an email for this last night!

I'm here.

Cordia+shovel=I'll dig my own damn river?
Also, we should check with Amal and Boand to make sure what we did to Cordia doesn't violate any spirit taboos or whatever.

Rolled 61

Rolling to summon Diarca.

Rolled 7

Rolling to find op

>>20906947
>>20906978
Some good news and some bad news.

Op was devoured by a tear in reality and no longer exists.
But we've found a way to reach into the otherworld and draw things from it.
I just hope what we bring back is Op.

>>20906989
Other way around. We had a good roll and a bad one, so Diarca came back and then was eaten by a grue.

Rolled 53

>>20907008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nigRT2KmCE
Obligatory.

>>20907008

[[Mother-fuckin' grues, man.

I am around and keeping an eye on the thread, but I wont be able to start posting for another hour+ when I get out of classes and back to the computer proper. Sorry for the delays.]]

>>20907052

Have no doubt, we'll be waiting ;)

>>20907052
Oh hey, guess that portable torch works. As long as they eat you in one swallow (HUEHUE) you can light 'em up from the inside.

File: 1348861746138.jpg-(231 KB, 1366x768, game.jpg)

>>20907063
Here's what I'm doing currently - playing a video game.
My char, thus far, looks like a hobo.

Rolled 36

summoning op

>>20908156

[[It's a damn good thing I'm kind of easy to summon.]]

You pluck yourself from the ground, leaving your Bone focus bound to your legs. Feeling refreshed after your rest, you produce Cordia's Sphere focus from your pocket and focus. She materializes before you in a puff of jade dust, waiting patiently for her first task.

>Bind Cordia to what item first?

>>20908255
Mirror or chest

>>20908271

Chest

>>20908294

That would be the chest armor piece right?

>>20908255
Mirror seems good.

Kind of want to see what Map does

>>20908294

You waste no time in pressing the now sealed sphere of earth to your chainmail shirt, chanting the words of binding with your eyes closed precautionarily. The surge of light that follows leaves a different feeling in your heart than the usual sparking of Totemic energy. A weighty miasma descends on the core of your spirit as a mantle of slate slides onto your shoulders. Bands of rock encircle your form, fusing together into flexible plates.

>[[Binding Complete: Gnome's Garb. Greatly boosts the wearer's constitution and defensive capabilities. Capable of ejecting rock shards when attacked as reactive armor.]]

A stylized skull pushes itself from the center of your chest, stamped in a seal of obsidian. Two orbs of green light burn in its eye sockets.

"Oooh. This is different," it says in a feminine voice. "Much less dreary in here now."

>>20908427
That's Swiggityswag.

What next?

>>20908427
It speaks! Exorcise the evil spirit!

Wait, hang on, Cordia really is an Avatar now. Only other spirit we've had do that is Magni.

>>20908451
Don't be daft. She's just a levelled up Bone Warden.

If we want an Avatar we need to find one.

Maybe some kind of Avatar of Greed, so that Modi Magni completely flips his shit and goes 105% apeshit for terrible terrible damage.

And before that, we need to get more parts to upgrade the village's defenses

And also get some more totems or bindings for personal use

>>20908451

Indeed. This is most interesting.

>>20908478
>>20908451
( Your spear is not doing anything interesting or saying anything at the moment )

>>20908477
If we're talking about Avatars, there's one we absolutely must have: Preparedness.
>inb4 we bind our future self

I think it's entirely possible that Cordia's something approaching an Avatar now. She's certainly not like anything else in our corner.

Diarca, what moon phase is it in game? It might be time to boil some blood for name hiding, especially if we're going to be making contact with foreigners.

>>20908427

This armor is a very good start. I'd say go next with the Bow.

You chuckle. "Well, that's different. Breathing's back in season, apparently."

The skull on your armor lets out a laugh at that. "I'll say. For you and I both, it seems. Come, let's try something else. What next, what next?"

You unseal the binding, flipping the Earth Core in your hand lazily. You cast your eyes across the group of ingredients assembled, then with rapid action unbind the Ykree spirit from your bow and seal Cordia into it.

The flash of light that erupts from the fusion is a deep olive green, rather than the customary white flare. When you blink the spots from your eyes you find yourself holding a long, thin shaft of curved obsidian. It warps in your hand into a recurved bow, and a thin string of what appears to be quartz snaps between its spiraling ends. You test the strength of the string, then fit an arrow to it.

Aiming at a tree not far from the village wall, you loose the arrow. A low, humming resonance echoes out as it streaks through the air, and as it impacts the tree there is a reverberant crack. The tree shudders for a moment, then explodes into splinters in all directions. Quinn looks up, a flail linked by vertebrae in his hand, and blinks. "Damn."

>[[Binding Complete: Plummeting Stone. Sends resonant waves through pierced targets, shattering them with powerful seismic waves.]]

>>20908582
Samefaggin' my Map suggestion.

I'm thinking Armor would be awesome as it is essentially Armor of Not Die.

>>20908594

[[Would that be the Cordia+map, Ykree+map, or Amal+map suggestion?]]

Rolled 2

>>20908611
I dunno.

>>20908611
I'd go with Cordia + Map just because I have absolutely no fucking clue what the hell it would be.

Ykree finds food, Amal finds spirits, and Cordia finds ... I dunno.

>>20908582
Map, and then mirror?

>>20908611

Cordia should be reserved for something more useful; plus, as a sentient spirit, we don't want her crammed in a dusty old map. That being said, earth gels well with maps, so there's no reason not to try it and move on to something else.

>>20908626
>>20908611

They all seem pretty interesting. After the map, mirror perhaps?

>>20908582
Cordia + fruit = instant garden?

>Velociraptor Greaves + Cloak, Boots and Plummeting Stone Armor

It seems that we have a pretty good combo right here.

You know, the thought just occured to me.

Our village doesn't have any kind of protector spirit, does it?

Could we symbolically fuse Cordia with something central to the village (central stone in village well, etc) and have her act as a protector spirit? She's friendly, she likes being free, she's a human spirit so she can empathize with the villagers, her great horror is that her own village burnt down, and earth should have great affinity for a protector.

Plus it'd give the villagers another bridge to the spirit world that isn't us...

>>20908713

Furthermore we're going to need something to act as some kind of guardian if we ever intend to really explore the world at all, and Quinn's a bit inexperienced for such things and will remain so for at least a couple years of proper study.

You set the Bladed Fin focus aside, taking Cordia from your bow in a surge of emerald. You pop into the workshop for a moment to retrieve Ayren's map, then balance the marble of silver and green on the parchment's surface as you chant the words of binding.

The orb sinks into the paper without much ado, sending ripples of green across the map. Dots of various colors begin to fill themselves in on the map, mostly clustered around the Ikrins.

>[[Binding Complete: Stone Sight. A map of the deposits of rare gems and minerals nearby. Smaller dots indicate deposits further beneath the earth.]]

"This ritual... is this what I think it is?" Cordia mutters from within the map. "Wow. Ayren's been holding out on you."

>>20908713
Technically, Sylvia is the village's guardian spirit, since the village is within her domain.
Like there doesn't seem to be a divide between man and nature here.
As for the map thing, I'd say Amal, best case scenario, he could lead us to an avatar.

>>20908752

.. what is Cordia? I'm exploding from curiosity!

>>20908752
Ritual? You mean the map was already enchanted?

>>20908752
I thought that would be the result. Let's take it to the papermakers, get them to copy it.

"The drawers test should have been the first clue. I can't read it at all, what do you think it is?"

>>20908773

Well yes and no. Sylvia has the interests of the whole forest to look after and, while she's quite friendly, I'm sure the wellbeing of the forest spirits outweigh in her mind the wellbeing of the village. We need someone who knows every villager by name and ensures their continued protection, as well as spiritual help and advice.

>>20908809

Agreed with this.

>>20908788

She stays silent for a moment, then begins to speak. As she does, the runes on the map arrange themselves into a readable shape.

"It's a ritual for long-distance overland travel by taking a shortcut through the realm of spirits. The ritual deconstructs your body and reforms it wherever you exit the spirit world. No wonder he could manage to get to Behemoth lairs while keeping the village safe! It says he'd use this with an air spirit to jump from place to place by flying through the World Without. It's... fantastically complicated, but I'm sure you could pull it off, Osyki."

>>20908896

>mfw the Old Man traveled through the Warp

File: 1348869755426.jpg-(16 KB, 300x300, Minecraft_Nether_Portal.jpg)

>>20908752
A mining map? Not too useful.

I guess Ykree would only show small creatures and other likely prey, also not useful.

Wonder if Amal + Map would do anything.

Somehow binding Cordia to the Village seems like a decent idea, if we're not going with the Armor of Not Die suggestion.

Wonder if we can somehow bind Cordia to a digging pick or a shovel, or ask Cordia if there's anything she can do to dig in her current form. We do need that river, after all.

>>20908896
Wonder if we can jump from place to place using an Earth spirit to Dig through the world without?

>>20908809
I see your point, but I would say it isn't something we should rush into.
Like consult with Boa, Sylvia, and our master's notes.
For now, I second >>20908801

>>20908896
Oh boy oh boy oh boy! An air spirit, huh? How about this: Let's dig that river and fill it, then go and tell the cloud guy that we did and get him to be our air spirit guide. Then we jump to the other side of the mountain and punch an iron spirit in the face.

Either way, enough experimenting, let's get to work.

>>20908929
Cordia should stay on the gloves I think. The armor is reactive, which means that it fires without our input, which practically screams "Friendly fire". The gloves give us even more combat and utility options, just like the boots.

>>20908939

Well yeah, we'd need to talk with people about it, first of all being Cordia herself. Unwilling protectors tend to be a bit problematic.

That being said, I do think Cordia's one of the few spirits we've got that's sentient, friendly and powerful. It'd be a waste to use her on some random combat upgrade when we can really affect the lives of everyone in the village for good.

[[ So what's the consensus moving forward here?]]

>>20909052
I... Don't know. At all. There's thinking about enshrining Cordia as a village-wide guardian spirit going forward, but not without speaking to the village elders, the Slayers, Sylvia and Cordia herself.

I'd like to suggest finding out if there's ALREADY a spirit for the village, as I have for the last four threads. I'd like to avoid giving up such a useful tool and companion, if possible.

>>20909052

Do we still have time to experiment? If so, I'd throw Amal on the map to see what he gets and his opinion on the spirit travel bit. He's an air spirit, no?

Also, speak to Cordia. Ask if, her being all earth-y now, if there's any way she can help us dig the river through the village. Also, pitch her the long-term gig of village protector and see what she thinks.

>>20909052
From what I see, ask Cordia and the others about the possibility of her being the village's protector, as well as maybe ask Cordia about digging the river

>>20909052

I'd say start looking into options of getting that river dug, while studying this whole spirit travel thing, so that after the river is dug we ask some of the air spirits to help us out.

>>20909136
>>20909128
>>20909122
>>20909114

Not quite a concensus this one :D

So:

1) Test the Map with Amal
2) Talk to Cordia about Protector position
3) Find out the Protector situation
4) If there isn't one, talk to elder about it.

+5) While binding Cordia to the village, we might look for the other totems that enhance productivity and what not.

>>20909114

If there is a village spirit, I'd think someone in the village would know. Plus, even with him being all mysterious, I can't imagine our master wouldn't have introduced us or at least mentioned a protector spirit. It'd be kind of a big deal.

>>20909052
I can't offer consensus, but I see some useful options other people are suggesting.

Cordia as village spirit seems useful, especially if she can help dig.

Amal map seems useful.

>>20909149
I've been samefagging requests to get totems of personal use for 3 threads now.
We're eventually going to get workshop totems or carryable totems.

>>20909052
Take map to paper-drafters for now, then get back to work?
Maybe try binding Cordial to a shovel for enhanced excavation?
At some point we should get back to work.

>>20909149
Switch 2 and 3

>>20909177

Yes this too. Get a copy of the current map so that the Miners can have their way.

There is a good chance that we can get some good totem bases from those rare minerals.

>>20909337
We can also go with the miners to collect some crystal butterfly samples for our super effective illusion totems.

I kind of figure that by the time we have time to go exploring, Quinn will have enough training to hold the fort for at least a little while.

>>20909149

[[Alright folks. Posting from my phone, internet's cut out entirely. I'll begin posting again as soon as it gets back online, with a big post for this plan of action.

Sorry again! I'll be switching internet providers soon, I think.]]

>>20909533
That's where you went, we'll be waiting(as always), so no worries about it

Rolled 66

>>20909533
so the runes we need to carve to do the feral binding couldn't we just get arrows with the runes as blades so we could just shoot them into dangerous things?

Rolled 19

>>20909718
Well we'd need to either shoot it sixteen times, or spend hours laboriously carving each and every rune in such minute, perfect detail on such a small surface. Neither method guarantees success.

Or do you mean shape the arrowheads like the runes? In that case we'd need to shoot it sixteen times, or we'd need some kind of weird, circular arrowhead that would probably throw the balance off and fuck up the flight path.

Perhaps we should take a break from our own excitement and see how our apprentice is going with his bindings? Perhaps give him some suggestions if he is stumped.

>>20909817

Damm we need more coffee here.

Rolled 14

>>20909750
even a spike with the runes as the point so we don't take as much time to cut the dam things something we can hit it with and keep moving in and out quick

Actually, i think we need to try to replicate the Earth Gem. We should ask Cordia if she could help us make another, then see about Elemental Water or Air. Somewhere outside the village preferably. Once we ge the hang of stabilizing raw elemental anomalies, I think we should give one to each of our spirits. Fire for Tryd, air for Amal, etc.

Also, and more importantly, we need to see if we still have elemental affinity for Earth now that the gem is otherwise occupied. Has it wrought a permanent change in our powers, or were we simply drawing from a finite pool of power? There are still a LOT of unknowns here.

>>20910693
The two you named are nature spirits though. It would be like offering them a pound of flesh.

>>20910693
I believe it's a case of "Opposites attract" Magus. So we'd give Tryd water and Amal Earth, and the rock turtle air.

>>20910693
>Actually, i think we need to try to replicate the Earth Gem
So you want us to purposefully fail at making a totem, potentially blowing us up to get an elemental gem?

>>20910748
I was thinking of it being more of a case of carefully preparing an infusion process, but not putting anything into the infusion pot, just slowly extracting raw elemental essence and pressing it together along with a little bit of our aura to hold it together, and to keep the flow even and balanced until we get another stable anomaly.

>>20910693
I think that what happened to Cordia is a lot more than the mere power up you seem to see it as.
Like Bone Wardens are variants of the "hungry ghost" archetype, as they endlessly collect bones in a futile attempt to fill the emptiness arthritis core.
Even after we bound Cordia, that void was still within her, as evidenced by her emaciated appearance and perhaps even the crack in her Focus.
The infused earth had such a strong reaction to her because it was able to fill the hole at the center of her soul.

>>20911850
>arthritis
...damn you autocorrected.
Should be "at their".

>>20911875
Yeah, there's a reason I turn that off on my phone. But i think you're onto something. The bonding between Cordia and the Earth may be completely unreplicatable. We need to watch Cordia closely to see if this is a permanent condition, or just a hearty meal to an eternally starving spirit that she might eventually metabolize and want more of.

>>20911977
I wouldn't worry about that. Seeing as her original focus dissolved, and the drastic change in her spiritual form, I'd say that the infused earth consumed her as much as she consumed it.
I'm just saying that I find it very unlikely that other spirits would respond the same way, given that they're while, while Cordia was... Hollow.
Like there was already a space that needed filling.

I don't think we will need to worry about Cordia anymore.
What we do need to do is make sure that we aren't slacking off. Have we finished the village's defensive totems? What about the utility totems?

>>20912611
I'll concede the point. But instill think we need to experiment with whether or not Osyki still has Earth-powers, and what changes exposure to tbe anomaly have done to his magic. Maybe in a few months we could see about trying it again, maybe with a different element. For now we need to check for lasting damage.

>>20912683
I think we still have more of those to do. And i think we should have Quinn start making duplicates of the ones we already made, so that if we die, he doesn't have to scramble around bleeding himself dry to replace all the wards.

I'd like to re-suggest making more of those area-hiding totems and scattering them around the entire forest, and maybe into the swamps eventually. The bigger the Magus' blindspot, the better. And if Quinn, Terra, and Osyki each make 1 per day, the blind spot should grow much faster than if Osyki was doing it himself.

>>20912683
I agree.
At minimum, we should replace all totems that broke with our master's passing.
First we should get the Slayers to help us move the raptor carcasses before scavengers get to them.
And eventually we should tell the Elders about the people the Mother of the Swamp saw, and maybe Ayren's map also.
As fun as messing around with bindings are, we can't fuck around all day.

>>20912804
Speaking of the area hiding totems, I wonder if Sylvia and Boand would help evenly distribute the totems if we delivered them in bulk each month or so.

While we work on those totems, are we eventually going to get ones that make us work more efficiently, or have more Totem power?

>>20913078
It's on te 'to-do-eventually' list, right after 'make totem that improves Diarca's internet connection and removes his need for sleep'

Rolled 84

rolling to summon op

>>20913366
You fool, you don't need to summon OP, you need to fix his internet.

Rolled 51

Rolling to fix all internet everywhere forever.

Welp, no op today.
Come back tomorrow

[[Anyone still about?]]

>>20914859
Yes, but I'm about to go to bed.

Yes, but I only really lurk the thread, sorry.

>>20914859
I'm here and active. What's up?

File: 1348900552873.jpg-(119 KB, 731x1000, Osyki.jpg)

>>20914912
[[I suppose it's too late to continue this for this evening. I think I've sorted my internet issues. Tomorrow is my birthday, and so I will be busy, but I'll try to run another thread on Sunday if I can.]]

>>20914949
>>20914949

Happy fukken birthday.

>>20914949
Roger that. Grats on 32, Diarca.

>>20914949
Happy birthday man, see yah Sunday.

>>20914949

Indeed, do enjoy ;)

>>20914949
happy birthday man

>>20914949
Thanks for the amazing thread, as always, Diarca. and congrats on surviving another year! See you Sunday!

>>20914949
Happy birthday, and thanks for running the thread

>>20914949
Well happy birthday.
I wish I had a present to give beyond my gratitude for running my favorite quest on all of /tg/.

Rolled 59

>>20914949
happy b day man

>>20921627
Are we going to keep this thread alive with birthday congratulations until he makes it back tomorrow? Because I'm ok with that.

Happy Birthday, Diarca. And thanks for being amazing.

I just found out that this quest was a thing, and I'm catching up in the archives.
You're a fucking trooper, gentleman, and scholar, Diarca. Happy birthday. You certainly deserve it.

Sunday, eh

birthday bump

Rolled 9

>>20928704
ph'nglui mglw'nafh OP frch'n wgah'nagl fhtagn

>>20929770
Bad news guys, I botched summoning Op.

Happy birthday yesterday Diarca, hope you had a great time. Just found this quest and been catching up with the logs.

>>20931704
Neat.

Wonder if Op will show up today?

Rolled 88

>>20929773
Here, let me try:
"Klaatu barracuda necktie!"

>>20933394
In b4 op

Regarding our agenda, I would say that making Cordia the village guardian, while a worthy goal, isn't exactly something we should focus on right away.
Like I can't imagine the ritual itself being easy, not to mention clearing things with Sylvannis and the village Elders.