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A cataclysmic war, referred to hereafter as the Collapse, erupted about one thousand years into creation, and all but three demigods, all but two races, and all the gods died off. The tattered remnants of the world held together through the power of the three surviving demigods, including yours; the female demigod of the elves, named Asa. Three huge alchemic weather machines keep the world habitable, while the demigods have dispensed with the use of Heralds in favor of Avatars: physical projections of themselves that can walk and talk like people.

The afterlife was dismantled in the wake of the Collapse, and now, all souls are simply ‘inverted’ in the seas of Chaos outside reality after death, and absorbed by their corresponding demigod.

You were assigned by your King to track down a gang of bandits that had sided with the secessionists in the southlands, but were ambushed and nearly murdered by the conspiracy and their ancient weapon, the Orb of the Feathered Demon. Because the weapon can kill demigods, the Pantheon survivors made you a Herald in secret, and have charged you with killing the ten conspirators who survived the battle in the woods.

Previously, the King informed you that you have driven the main conspirators into a panic, and they’re preparing to leave the city. You have a general idea of how they mean to hide, but no specific idea about their destination, save that they may be trying to find a large mine to hide in. Now, you’re preparing to raid his lieutenant’s warehouse, with a small army of specialists.


All mechanics are based on a 1d100+modifier roll.

Before we begin, you need to establish which set of wargear you’re bringing.

>Full Heraldic armor
>Full Shadow armor
>Full Auxilia armor

>Shield and spear
>Twin swords
>Dagger and sling

OR

>All the weapons

>>35592278
> Full Heraldic Armor
> All the weapons

Might as well be prepared, and look badass.

>>35592278

>Full Heraldic armor
>Shield and spear

It’s time to go.


You’ve been staring at the ceiling for three hours straight. You’ve tried meditating, you’ve tried to sleep more, you’ve had a shower, you’ve cuddled up next to Jerome and tried to let his heartbeat lull you to rest, and it’s not working at all.

With a quiet sigh, you heave yourself up out of bed and go have a light breakfast. No heavy food before a battle. You tromp downstairs in your rumpled pajamas and stuff some cold bread in your mouth, then go back upstairs and strap on your Heraldic armor. After a moment, you grab the mask, too. No sense in being unprepared.

You start strapping on your weapons, carefully slotting them all into place. The spear is at the armory still, but that’s no trouble. You’re meeting at the parade ground out front.

You slip the mask and helm into a bag and sling it over your shoulder. As you turn to go, you hear Jerome speak up.

“Hey.”

You glance back to see him sitting up in the bed, staring at you with a strange look on his face.

“Sorry I woke you early,” you say as you walk back to his side. “I’m off.”

He looks down. “Yeah.” You talked the previous night. “Will you be okay, though? I know you said… I mean…”

You arrest him with a raised finger. He looks up at you, then flinches as you lean in to press your lips against his. He relaxes and returns the long, light kiss. “I’ll live,” you murmur. “I’ll find you at work when I’m done.”

He grabs your hand and squeezes, an awfully subdued gesture from him. “…Okay.” He wipes a tear away as you straighten back up, and you can’t help but wonder if he was awake all night too. “Okay. I love you.”

You caress his cheek with your free hand. “I love you too, Jerome,” you assure him softly. “I’ll find you.” You spin on your heel and walk out.


(con’t)

The tunnel is cold, dark, quiet, and oppressive. It’s bitter cold upstairs, and this way is faster and safer anyway. The castle is a graveyard on this unpleasant Monday morning. It’s as black as old pitch outside, and with all the troops sent south, it’s empty. The sound of your armored boots echoes on the stones as you walk into the armory.

The Enchanter at the desk stands up at once as you walk in. “Your Eminence!” she says. “Just in time, I just opened up.”

You nod once and stop at her desk. “Good. Is my spear ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she says, passing it over. The distinct glimmer of enchantment skitters off the shaft and head. “Armor-cutter and durability, as promised!”

“Excellent,” you say, giving it a heft. It’s the same weight. Good. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“An honor, Herald,” she says, bowing.


Outside, you slap your helm on and walk up to where the others are gradually assembling. So far, just a few Brothers have shown up, but it’s not even 0600, so it’s not surprising.


>Ask Asa for last-minute advice
>Wait for the rest of the team and head out
>writein


ALSO; CHARACTER SHEET UPDATED!

>>35593148

>Ask Asa for last-minute advice
>Wait for the rest of the team and head out

You thumb the Gem as you approach. {Sister. We’re gathering for the attack.}

[Good. The instant you can confirm he doesn’t have Kotrick’s Orb, page me, and I’ll step in.] Asa’s voice is calming, which is just what you needed. [Fear not, Sister. You can handle this criminal. No matter how powerful he is.]

{Thanks, Asa.}

You release the Gem and walk up to where the Army commander, a Major you don’t know, is standing, inspecting his sword. “Major.”

He turns and starts to say something, then cuts off. He looks over your shoulder, and as he does, his eyes get wider and wider.

You look back, and your own jaw drops. Kelscik’s here.

You expected his armor to look like Garren’s. It doesn’t. His entire body is covered in shimmering metal, but it’s not plates and chain. It’s shifting liquid, held in place by some spell. It flows around him, ensconced in little hexagon-shaped magic cases, which you can barely make out in this light. He’s got his cloak and robe on over it, so it’s probably only a little bit thinner than your own armor, but under that shifting metal, he’s got an entire outfit on. You can’t quite make it out, but it looks like his burned-flesh clothing. It’s a disconcerting effect, to say the least.


(con’t)

His Firesoul mask isn’t bound into his bones like Garren’s was. He’s got it strapped to his shoulder, and an enchanted helmet on with an obvious slot for the mask. To the left hip of his shifting metal hex armor, there’s a double sheathe, where two small blades hang in silvery scabbards.

Kelscik walks right up to you and nods. “Herald.”

You snap your composure back into place. “Voyager. Welcome. You’re loaded for bear.”

He snorts. “You have me on crowd control, madam. I didn’t even bring my good swords.”

He’s obviously just trying to impress upon the Army types that he’s in charge, so you nod right back. “Of course. Are the Brothers following you?”

“No idea,” he says idly. “When do we move out?”

One of the soldiers shakes himself out of his shock. “Uh, at 0630, sir. Twenty five minutes. We attack as soon as we’re all in place.”

“Good.” Kelscik steps back and folds his arms. The metal hexagons shift into smaller shapes, bending around his arms like the softest fabric. “And are we receiving any intelligence?” he asks.

“We are.” You glance back at the castle, where a few more troops and a woman in a black cloak are making for you. “Ah.”

The cloaked woman stops for a moment when she sees Kelscik’s mesmerizing armor, but she unlocks her joints quickly, and walks up beside the Major. “Sir?” she asks, glancing nervously at Kelscik and you.

The Major soundlessly jerks his head at you. The woman bows. “Madam Herald,” she says. “Her Ladyship Gherta asks me to pass you this.” She hands you a letter and a map.

>Read them here
>Get in position first

>>35594102

>Read them here

Slow thread tonight. Alright, I'm making the map.

>>35594794
yup
I was a bit busy earlier and other guy seems to be totally busy

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You accept the papers with a nod. “Thanks.” You crack the seals and read the letter first.

-Herald.

I will be brief. We have discovered little since yesterday, but what we have learned may be of some use. The warehouse was originally two floors, with nine-foot clearance. Now, it is one large room, save the office in the corner. Why, we don’t know, but the shelves don’t go up to the ceiling.

Moor is gathering no horses. Again, we don’t know why.

The windows are not guarded, but the doors are.

The adjacent buildings are watched, but not infiltrated by the enemy yet.

Moor has tapped the Well, possesses a Gift, and has magic. You probably knew, but I suspect your allies don’t.

The roof is not guarded.


I hope that helps.

-Gherta.


You look at the map next. The building is on a large, flat section of the merchants’ district, which will be pretty busy this time of day.


>Set up barricades in the nearby roads
>Keep the reserves and healers mobile instead
ALSO!
>Send somebody to watch that stable
>Keep everybody on hand instead

>>35594838
>Set up barricades
>Send someone to watch the stable
>Suppress nervousness

>>35594838
>>Set up barricades in the nearby roads
>Send somebody to watch that stable
Some eyes on the warehouse itself as well. I want to know how many guards are on each door.

The Brotherhood contingent’s remainder rounds the corner as you finish reading the letter. Culler’s in the lead, in medium plate armor, and on horseback – all of them are, actually. You look over to where Culler – decked out in his finest gear – is marshalling the Brothers. Even as you do, Dervich appears at the door to the barracks and double-times it over.


Eight Brothers, plus Culler and Kelscik. Thirty Army troops, and a Major to command them. Three College Mages – two of them combat specialists. Dervich. You. Six Shadows, including Newlar, who nods in your direction when you make eye contact with her, but keeps her mouth shut. A team of ten Auxilia snipers. Infiltrator Zahn, and another Infiltrator you don’t recognize. Sixty three combat-capable people, with ten minutes to go, plus the other mage and the spy.

Against anybody except the conspirators, it would be ludicrous overkill. Academic overkill, even. Insulting. Against Elger Moor and his men? Maybe enough.


You wait eleven minutes, just to be sure.


(con’t)

A minute after the final BONG of the great clock passes, you clear your throat and move to stand beside the Major. “All right, people, listen up! Our target is the conspiracy that threatened the city last month!”

A bit of noise amongst the soldiers dies down. You face the Brothers and nod. “These Brothers and Sisters have agreed to lead the attack! We’re punching through the outer doors of a warehouse, killing everybody inside who doesn’t surrender instantly, and blocking the nearby streets!”

Kelscik raises one arm as you gesture in his direction. “We have the honor of a Firesoul in attendance as well! Voyager Kelscik will be leading the medical team. Speaking of which, where are they?”

Zahn speaks up. “Your Eminence, they are waiting at the rondezvous site, along with whomever the Spymistress is sending.”

“Very well.” You jerk a thumb at the exit of the parade ground and direct your next words at the spy. “Madam, please make your way to the southernmost gate’s horse stable and keep an eye on things there. Moor’s people will run from there, where their cache is, if they get a chance.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she says, and she starts off.

“One last instruction, my friends,” you say, as Dervich steps in behind you. “The enemy has magical weapons. Expect obstacles. I wish I could be more specific.”


>Any final comments?

>Roll out

>>35595555
>Roll out

You take one last look around the parade ground, watching how the entire party – even Kelscik – are listening carefully. That Herald stuff is serious business. “All right, Cender. Move out.”


It’s a strange column. You all mount up in the stable and take off, riding through the streets towards the warehouse. You grip the spear on its strap with one hand and guide the horse with another as you follow the Major to the destination site. You pass a few startled Guards and early-morning workers, who quickly scatter clear as you ride through the roads, but nobody moves to stop you.

Upon arrival, you slow to a halt several blocks away. Zahn and the other Infiltrator engage the stealth enchantments on their modified Shadow armor and slink towards where a few Army men in medic uniforms are crouched next to a large, featureless brick building.

After a moment’s quiet conversation, Zahn beckons you over.

You dismount and slink down the road, crouching beside the others as the rest of your force ties off their horses. “Herald,” one of the soldiers says. As you lean in, you notice the scars on his neck – he’s a former member of the Thieves’ Guild. Interesting. “The place has a guard at each of its five doors,” he whispers. “Nobody at the windows. At least thirty people inside. The horses left this morning.”


>”Where’s Elger Moor?”
>”Are the guards attentive, or not?”
>”How many people are coming and going?”
>”Anything else?”

>dispatch the barricade force and get the Brothers into position

>>35596130
>>”Are the guards attentive, or not?”
>>”How many people are coming and going?”

You squint, but you can’t see the building around the corner. “What about the guards?” you ask under your breath. “Attentive, or sleep-deprived?”

“Tired, but armed, heavily,” he whispers. “One at each door. Outside.”

You frown at that news. “They’re not hiding?”

He scoffs. “Not even trying.”

“What about traffic? In and out of the building, in but not out, what?” you ask next.

“A bit of pedestrian traffic on the streets, but the people going in are going in on foot,” he says. “I haven’t seen anybody leave yet.”

>Get the troops into position
>Ask more questions

>>35596278
>"Any sightings of Moor?"

after that
>Get the troops into position

>>35596278
>>Get the troops into position

“What about Moor?” you ask urgently.

He blinks. “The bossman? He’s up in the office. I think. It doesn’t have windows.”

The Major and Kelscik swalk up behind you, Kelscik moving silently in his bizarre armor. “Gentlemen,” he says quietly. “I will be controlling the crowds, and healing as needed. Any questions?”

The Army guys’ eyes bug out. “Uh, no, sir,” the scout manages. “We’re… glad to have you.”

“I should think so.” Kelscik looks up at the bruised-looking clouds. “Sunrise in a few minutes. We should move out the troops while we can.”

“I agree,” you say, rising to your feet and dusting your knees. The armor clacks under your gloves. “Hmph. All right. Thanks, gentlemen,” you say, nodding to the medics. “I want one of the three of you on each of the four corners of this place, ready to rush in if we need you. I also want barricades, as best as you can make, at the corners, behind the medics, Major,” you tell him.

He nods. “On it. We brought some timbers to make rams, but I doubt we’ll need them if the target is built like these places,” he says, jerking a thumb at the rotten wood door of the building beside which you’re all standing. “I’ll lock the place down as soon as you attack.”


>”No, before. Go take alleyways and get into position before I sound the charge.”
>”Sounds like a plan.”

>>35596491

>”No, before. Go take alleyways and get into position before I sound the charge.”

Also, if the woods old and rotten, does Elsa think it's feasible to just have a small Brotherhood team with mages blast through the wall directly into the office?

The doors of the adjacent building are wood. You don't know what the doors of the target are made of. Also, the office is on the second floor, with no windows, and all the buildings nearby have brick walls.

You shake your head at once. “No. Go set up now. Take back alleys if you have to. We’re not leaving them a way out.”

The Major salutes and runs off. The Army forces dismount and start filtering into the alleys and roads, out of view of the doors to the place, and you see his men break and follow.

You and Kelscik walk back to where Culler and the Brothers await instruction. Culler’s gleaming armor catches the torchlight and casts it around, almost as much as Kelscik’s. It’s a bit distracting, actually. “Master?”

Culler turns to face you, one hand on the pommel of his blade. “Your Eminence. Are you ready?”

“I am.” You point at the intersection of your road and the one that brackets the warehouse on the west side. “We’re setting up barricades with medics at each corner. I want you and the Shadows at the doors.”

One of the Shadows speaks up. “How do we deploy?”

>Focus on the main door – we don’t have enough men to spread out fully
>A small team at each of the five doors – anybody who gets past will get caught at the barricades

ALSO! Where do you want the sniper team? Their repeater crossbows can cover this range without much trouble.

>On the nearby rooftops
>In the attack teams
>At the barricades
>writein

Always remember, you can improvise a new plan if you dislike the premade ones.

>>35597383
>Focus on the main door – we don’t have enough men to spread out fully

>On the nearby rooftops

Damn, keep forgetting about those second floors.

>>35597383
>>A small team at each of the five doors – anybody who gets past will get caught at the barricades
Please tell me we are prepared to make liberal use of tear gas.

>On the nearby rooftops

>>35597485

Every single member of the sniper team has the same grenade pouch you have on your character sheet. So do some of the Army guys at the barricades. You can also assume some of the Brothers do. The Shadows probably don't, but they'll have Concussion bombs and Flares.

Waiting another few minutes to find a consensus or tiebreaker vote.

>>35597557
How many guys do we have left? I voted no more splitting because we already split people off for barricades and the stable. If we still have a reasonably sized group we can cover the other entrances too.

>>35597636

Culler.

Six Shadows.

The scout.

You and Dervich.

Eight Brothers.

Two War Mages and one Healer Mage.

>>35597694
Yeah that's dangerously low. I guess we could split off 4-5 of the shadows to watch the other doors.

>>35597694
Split into groups for the four small dors.

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Rolled 4 (1d4)

Four votes, four suggestions.

Fine.


Rolling 1d4.

1 is for >>35597478
2 is for >>35597485
3 is for >>35597806
4 is for >>35597849


On another note, it is very frightening to have the Captcha be your area code.

>>35598029
haha
what a scary coincidence

All right, I'm preparing the new map. I'll post it in a moment.

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YOUR FINAL POSITIONING, ONCE YOU GIVE THE SIGNAL AND KILL THE ENEMY SENTRIES, IS HERE DISPLAYED!

>>35598680
Looks good. Lots o' tear gas should be used.

>>35598747
I said we should get them last thread! It was the entire basis of my plan!

“All right, we have four small doors and ten snipers,” you tell the group. You turn to the Skirmish Sergeant – your own former rank! How the world’s changed – and point at the building next to you. “Get up on the rooftops, trooper. Use those crossbows and lock down the windows. Cover the barricades.”

He snaps off a salute and takes off at a run. His soldiers follow him towards ladders and doors as you turn back to Culler. “Master. Dervich and I will stay with the Infiltrators, and hit the nearest door. You and the Shadows divide the other doors between you. We’re going to use tear gas, so everybody should have their masks on, if they have them.”

“Of course,” he says with a nod. “Six Shadows, nine Brothers… five men each. Will you not be joining us, sir?” he asks, glancing at Kelscik.

The ancient warrior shakes his head. “If I am attacked, perhaps. But if that building is full of artifacts and weapons, and I cut loose, the city will be in peril.”

Culler’s lip twists, surprisingly enough, but he nods. “Very well.” He turns away, gesturing at the Brothers and Shadows. “My friends, we have our task.” They quickly spread out and disappear into the alleys.

You creep up to the corner and crouch behind the rough, weather-beaten brick. The two enemy guards you can see from your hiding place are dozy, but still attentive. In fact, the one closest to you straightens up as he sees one of the Major’s men run down a nearby alley with a piece of timber.


(con’t)

Time’s up. You leap from cover and whip a lead bullet at him, taking him right in the chest. He crumples like a paper doll, and even as the other guard who can see you from where he is suddenly turns to face you, a trio of crossbow bolts slam into the side of his head. At least the snipers are on the ball.

You duck back into cover and prime some tear gas, then pause. “Uh, Zahn… got any of that mask stuff?” you ask.

She blinks. “Why would you need that? Are you gassing the place?”

“We should.”

“Hmph. Not enough for you and your… partner,” she says, looking at Dervich.

You shake your head. “Never mind.” You pull the helmet on and slip the mask into the slot.

Dervich shudders. “Gross. Where’d you get that?”

You grin behind the ugly crystal. “A gift from Asa. Good thing I can breathe through this.”

“Can you use the Gem?” he asks.

You reach up for your forehead, but the porcelain gets in the way. “Nope. We can’t gas the whole place, though, so we’re good.”

“What about me?” he asks.

In response, Zahn slaps a handful of goop over his face. He recoils, but as soon as it sets a moment later, he blinks and leans back in.

“Powerful stuff,” he says disgustedly, “but it works. What about my eyes?”

Zahn passes him a pair of a goggles from her pack. “Don’t lose those, those are mine,” she cautions him grimly.

He nods. “Thanks.” Zahn and her partner, Bright, affix their Shadow masks into place, and you wait.

After a moment, you see Culler appear at the far corner and flash you his sword flat. Peeking past the edge of the building, you see another team at the far side of the building.

You wait another few moments, then signal back to both groups. You make the Auxilia signal for ‘one minute,’ then run.


(con’t)

Ducking out of cover, you race over to the door, sliding under the window and placing your fingers against the door. It’s wood, but it’s pretty solid. You grab an acid grenade from your pouch and spill a few drops on the hinges as Dervich unlimbers his spear. Bright crouches behind him, a short blade in each hand. You hear Zahn extend those hooks in her armor as you feel your heart beat in your chest. It’s time.


Do you want to use any of your abilities before charging in?

>Soul-Finder
>The Sight of Enigma
>Through the Eyes of Ghosts
>amplify one of the above with the Stone of Sights
>Some other power

>No, just charge

>>35599105
Soul Finder to get all possible locations of Moor
When we open the door amplify Enigma power to see who has gifts, and maybe the amplification will identify the gifts?

I can hope.

>>35599105
all of the above

You breathe deep and draw on your powers, specifically your sight abilities. All of them.

“Mai’te’s spirit, guide me,” you whisper, and Zahn kicks down the door.

You chuck tear gas grenades in and duck back. You hear the glass crack, you see the world glimmer and shift as your eyes seek souls, and you’re in.

The four of you rush in and move along the inner wall, scouting out the room. You hear thunderous crashes as the other four doors breach, and the choking coughs you identify with tear gas victims. There’s screams, breaking wood, and the crack of magic through the air. One corner of the building flashes with brown light as somebody unleashes a blast of nature magic, then the whole room is a warzone.

You see a man in workers’ clothes rush out of the darkness, swirling a pale white in your enhanced vision. No Gift, no Well-tapping. He’s a non-threat. You club him upside the head as you rush through the smoke, and he’s down.


The rest of the room is chaos. Between the rows of stacks, you see men dismounting ladders and drawing weapons. You see guards and workers running out of the kitchens, and some makeshift cots. You see a bit of movement in the office above, but then it’s gone. You see the Brothers engaging the guards, holding them at bay, and workers screaming and choking.

You see somebody who’s tapped the Well and has a Gift up above, but nearly half the Guards have one or the other, and judging from the black flames licking the walls, at least a few are mages, too.


What do you do?

>>35599612
Head for the guy up above. It's probably Moor, and we have a soul harvesting skill that can get through whatever magic and gift he has.

>>35599612
Up! If we can confirm Moor doesn't have anything dangerous we can call in Asa to lay some smack down, right?

Rolled 97 + 14 (1d100 + 14)

Moor. Kill him, and Asa can trivialize this. You charge for the southeast corner of the building, blowing past a few fights. Zahn and Bright peel off to reinforce Culler’s group, which is quickly dispatching the group of guards they’re fighting, and Dervich stays hot on your heels.

Rolling 1d100+14 for Perception.

>>35599861
holy shit
please do all our rolls from now on, and I'll roll for enemies

The soul up top is moving a bit, but not much. You reach the bottom of the stairs when the sight suddenly clarifies, as it comes within the focus range of your Ghost ability. It’s a soul, Well-tapped, Gifted, and… and…

Not Elger Moor.

You stare at the soul, feeling a sensation like a punch to the stomach. “That’s… not the target,” you whisper.

“What?” Dervich shouts over the clamor of battle. “What did you say?”

“That’s… that’s not the target!” you manage, almost reeling in rage and sudden confusion. “Moor was human! That’s an elf up there!”

Dervich gapes. “You can tell?”

“I can see the soul! It’s the wrong color!” you tell him. “Elf souls are silver and black! That one’s silver and black, it’s an elf! Moor’s not even up there!”

Dervich stares up at the little stone box in the corner. “Then where is he?”

*BOOM*

An entire stack topples over, aflame, as one of the Brothers flies backwards to slam into the walls. You spin on your heel to see a jet of fire erupt from the grate in the middle of the room, down into the cisterns below.

“Oh no,” you whisper.

Another jet of fire, even brighter, as Gannet appears in the chaos to rush to the Brother’s side. Three workers with blades charge her, and she rises from her crouch to fend them off, as a Shadow rushes to her aid, but you can’t even see it. The spectacle in the middle of the room is a bigger problem.


(con’t)

File: Cursed_worm_fully_grown.jpg (883 KB, 1500x962)

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The grate is melting. There’s something down there, something powerful enough to throw a Brother from his feet, and melt steel. The fire charges extinguish, and something slithers out of the hole.

You have the feeling you’ve seen it before. Seen it in the battles in the forests, seen it in museums, seen a living one in the memories you’ve experienced, basking in a far-off river, while Ritera meditated.

It’s a Cursed Worm. Not an old one, not a strong one, not even a healthy one – it actually looks a bit anemic. But it’s a Cursed Worm. Forty feet long, skin like steel, breath of acid gas, as fast as a mongoose and free of anything to get tangled on the stacks and piles of crap in the warehouse.

And you’re indoors.


>What now?

>Join the fight against the guards so you can focus more on the Worm
>Go get Kelscik
>Send somebody for backup
>Call Asa and ask for advice
>See to the person upstairs
>Evacuate and let Moor’s men deal with the Worm

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>>35600254
IT'S A TRAP

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You guys spend so much time in the city that you don't even get to see any of the fantastical beasts.

That problem's solved now!

>>35600339
Gee. Thanks.

>See to the person upstairs
He's not Moor. But he's obviously significant. The reasoning from before stands.

However, if the worm starts wreaking shit more than our men can handle and we can't take out the elf, just pull back. We have the perimeter secured.

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>>35600387
Hey, not my fault y'all decided NOT to secure the cisterns under the place before attacking. That thing's been down there for three weeks. In-game.

>>35600312
>Join the fight against the guards so you can focus more on the Worm

Elf upstairs was probably only picked because he was both gifted and Well tapped. He shouldn't be consequential beyond that.

Also do we know anything about cursed worms? Might wanna page Asa about them if we don't.

>>35600518
Actually, yes! Elsa's seen one before. They can grow up to a hundred and sixty five, sixty eight feet in length, they breathe acid gas they use to stun their prey, and they're vulnerable to some kinds of attack magic. Their only true weakness is that medical magic actually harms them. Nobody's quite sure why.

Elsa didn't fight the one they found while bandit-hunting, but she was watching the Legionnaires fight it. Its acid wrecks anything with heavy armor since the gas can get trapped under the plating, but it's vulnerable to magic, Current attacks, and most alchemic weapons.

>>35600578
Sounds like we may need some medical assistance here! Call in a Healer, but keep him covered while he does his work.

“Dervich, back up the others,” you snap, leaping up the stairs. “I need to see if this guy’s a hostage.”

“On it!” he barks. He rushes over to where Culler is dismembering a guard and joins in with vigor.

You tap the Gem as you run up the stairs. {Sister! Moor’s not in the office, I don’t know where he is! He had a Cursed Worm in the cistern under the building! It’s loose!}

[Damnation,] Asa curses, the first time you’ve heard her do it. It actually takes you aback, before the situation drives you forward again. [Sister, find the Orb and I’ll lock down the entire district. I can help you fight the Worm, but not if that Orb is in play!]

You race up the stairs, trying not to look at where the Worm is whirling about in the middle of the room, melting everything. You throw open the door to the office.

A crossbow bolt zips out of the darkness to shatter against your shield. You gasp reflexively as the magic sparks fizzle away, then growl and smash the one-shot trap out of the doorframe. “Garbage,” you grunt.

“H-help…” a voice whispers from deeper inside. You grab a torch from the wall and light it quickly, holding it up to illuminate the gloom.

Inside is a dark elf, a woman. She’s badly beaten, and even from where you’re standing, you can see huge bruises on her hands and face, and bloody tracks on her hands. She struggled against whomever brought her here, and it accomplished nothing. You try not to wonder what else they did to her.

“Ma’am?” you ask, kneeling beside her. “Are you restrained? Can I help you out of here?”

“Can’t… feel my foot,” she whimpers. “Tied off… blood flow…”

You shift the torch, and sure enough, her foot is black – the rope holding her to the desk in the corner is cutting off the blood. You could heal her, but you may not have the strength to do much against the Worm if you do.

>Heal her
>Free her and pass her off to Kelscik
>Leave her here for now and go fight
>writein

>>35600800
Indeed. These things are nowhere near as tough as their ocean-going equivalent, and this is a half-starved juvenile.

>>35600823
>>Free her
>>Leave her here for now and go fight
Can't do the healing thing now. Need to stay awake. We need to identify if the orb is in the warehouse or not.

>>35600823
>Free her and pass her off to Kelscik

You hesitate for a moment, torn. “Ma’am, I’m going to free you, and then I need to go fight the criminals downstairs, and their pet Cursed Worm,” you finally tell her.

She groans. “Wait, wait, no… don’t go down there,” she whimpers. “The… that bastard, with the weapons… he’s down there…”

You grab the rope and slice it with your dagger. She cries out in pain as blood starts flowing into her injured leg again. You grab her shoulder and force her to listen, drawing on Asa’s power to do it. “Who? Elger Moor? The criminal?” you demand.

She nods, weakly. “He’s down… there… oh, my leg…”

“Does he have a glass ball, with cursed paper inside, and everybody’s scared of it?” you demand.

She slowly nods.

Damn it.

“All right, I’m leaving you here until I can get some backup,” you tell her. You tap the Gem as she collapses back down on the floor, cradling her leg after you cut her bindings free.

{He has the Orb!}

[...Oh. I’m sorry.]

{What do I do?} you demand.

[Run. Just run,] she says heavily. [Fast.]

Your stomach ties into knots. {…Sister, what are you about to do?}

[Something I’ll hate myself for doing, for a long time,] she says quietly. [Unless you have a better idea?]


>Go try to use your powers on the Worm
>Go get Kelscik
>Go fight conventionally
>writein

Sorry I didn't go with your choices for what to do with her, but they contradicted.

File: 1327910631039.png (19 KB, 300x309)

19 KB PNG

>>35601088
>>Go fight conventionally
Find Moor. KILL HIM.
If Asa fucking goes and has a divine tantrum and tornadoes the building I'm gonna be mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!

>>35601088
>Have Asa actually tell us what she did.

>>35601088
>>Go get Kelscik

Whatever we do, don't let Asa do something crazy like destroying the whole area. Isn't the whole reason we're a herald so that Asa doesn't have to purge everything to stop the orbs?

{Like fucking hell you are, Asa!} you snap. {I’m going to go down there and kill Elger Moor!}

She’s quiet for a moment. [You are a courageous woman, Elsa. Go, then. Is this office place windowless?]

{It has no windows that face out, but it has one that looks over the warehouse floor.}

Asa’s Avatar appears beside you, kneeling below the windowsill level. You start and recoil at the sudden sight of her glittering skin in the torchlight. “Go, sister,” she says. “Go. I will heal her.” She rests her hands on the dazed elf woman’s face, and her body relaxes. “Ah, Circe… you didn’t deserve this, poor thing,” Asa murmurs to herself.

“You’re not at risk?” you ask in surprise.

Asa shakes her head, sending her tight brown curls of hair about. “No, the Orb is line-of-sight, recall. As long as I keep my head down, I’ll be fine. Go. Kill Moor.”


[Temporary End of Thread]

Sorry to run, but I have to sleep. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.

>>35601319
bumpin for almost theeeeere

>>35601319
>>35601716
This thing I do, mall, i do it for you

>>35603007
bump

>>35601319
Bump! For great justice!

Back. Thanks.

Time to kill a big fucking worm.

You edge around the corner of the office door, staring down into the large room. The scene is anarchy. The workers are running, bleeding out, choking on the little clouds of tear gas around the exits, or fighting. The guards are all fighting, but some are fighting to escape, while others are just defending themselves.

One of the Shadows on the north wall is down, as is one of the Brothers. Neither is moving. The team you came in with – Dervich, Zahn, Bright – are all up, helping Culler. You see a worker charge through the tear gas at the west door, then appear again with a bouquet of arrows in his face. So the snipers are on their game, at least.

The east door’s team is faring better than the other two. They caught a few guards trying to escape, and it looks like they actually managed to restrain one with a glue grenade. Your divine eyes reveal perhaps twenty two people left alive of the thirty-odd enemies in the place when you entered. You’ve lost two, they’ve lost six. Soon enough, superior Brotherhood and Shadow training will assert itself, and you’ll almost certainly win.

Except for the Worm.

It’s coiling and inching around the upended stacks and boxes in the center of the room, where the cooling metal from the cistern grate is sizzling and scarring the rock. A worker got too close, and is face-down on the floor, dissolving out of his rotting clothes. Other than that, though…

The rest of the workers and guards are on their feet and moving, and all three of your teams on the ground are outnumbered.


>Use that weaponry of yours to relieve the strain on one of the groups
>Just go after the Worm with your powers
>Try to get past it into the cistern
>writein

>>35605873
oh man I overslept hard

>Just go after the Worm with your powers
When To Harvest the Damned says X1 uses, does that mean 1 per day or one and then never again?

>>35606866
It's a Daily.

>>35606902
hrgh
might be worth to use on worm even if we don't get to do it to Moor.

You have a whole platoon of specialists here. They can handle the guards. But that Worm is indoors, pissed off, starving, and in your way.

You glance back at Asa. “Sister, I’m killing that thing.”

“How?”

“Harvesting the Damned,” you say grimly.

She looks up at you. “Hmm. A good idea. Use a smoke grenade to get close.”

“Thanks.” You set your breath and vault down the stairs. The tight spiral tube rushes by as you sprint, taking it three stairs at a step. You cannon out of the bottom of the stairwell, colliding full-speed with a guard, knocking him flat on his ass. You roll up and start running as Dervich falls into step behind you.

“Elsa! What’s the plan?” he demands.

“The plan is that you stay back, and don’t touch that thing!” you command, running through the battle. “Keep my back clear, but don’t let it see you!”

“Got it,” he says, falling back a pace.

You clear the nearest rack of boxes and skid to a halt – it’s thirty feet away. It hasn’t seen you, it’s looking at the north gate, but it’s even scarier up close.


>Lay down smoke and advance quietly
>Lay down smoke and advance quickly
>Have somebody distract it
>writein

>>35607112
>>Lay down smoke and advance quickly

>>35607112
>Lay down smoke and advance quickly

No time to lose. You drop your other two tear gas grenades and run for it. The corridor of expanding grey gas expands up and laterally about seven feet – not enough to completely obscure you, but enough to disguise you. You hope.

You emerge from the gas about eight feet short of the Worm, but it’s seen you now. It quickly uncoils from the stack it was entwined with and lunges straight for you.


Roll 1d100+12

File: 1394508827062.gif (78 KB, 600x600)

78 KB GIF

Rolled 42 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>35607471

Rolled 72 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>35607471

>>35607471
The tear gas isn’t helping. Through your mask, it’s not hurting you, but it’s also obscuring your footing.

You stumble on a piece of debris and slow, and the worm is on you.

The beast’s juvenile fangs aren’t venomous yet, but they still hit hard. You stare in horror as a fang the size of Jerome’s arm scratches against the shield your helm projects, then shatters them both. The creature recoils, now missing a fang, but with your shield down, that acid breath will kill you.

>>35607471
Somehow, you manage to duck under the Worm’s jaw, scrabbling against the ground as you roll free. Dervich screams, but you rise again, hacking at its armored skin with your spear. All you have to do is expose the flesh, just expose a bit of flesh to touch.

The beast whips its head at you, clearly crazed. Elder Worms are supposed to be almost as smart as a wolf or pig, but this thing is beyond training – Moor’s probably had it in the basement for a month. You slash and stab with your spear, and its new armor-cutting enchantment is working wonders, but its armor is thick.

An arrow whips out of nowhere to stick in your right pauldron. You gasp in sudden pain and stagger sideways, whirling around to confront the new threat. One of Moor’s men is firing a bow at you from the spiral stairs, having apparently broken free from the melee to snipe.


>Ask Asa to kill him, then kill the worm
>The worm’s injured and starving – leave it be and go after Moor
>Kill the worm, forget the attacker!
>Scream for Dervich to get him and go back to cutting
>writein

>>35607828
>Scream for Dervich to get him and go back to cutting

>>35607828
>>Scream for Dervich to get him and go back to cutting
I hope he isn't dead.

You inflate your lungs through the crystal and scream. “AL! GET THE GUY ON THE STAIRS!”

“How?” he bellows back, and your heart freezes as you turn to face him. He’s fighting for his life. Two of Moor’s men are attacking him, and it’s all he can do to fend them off.

You go back to hacking away at the worm’s armor, ignoring the gouts of ichor that erupt as you finally hit flesh. It rumbles, clearly hurt, and you ram your hand into the wound.

“BE GONE!” you scream in the primordial elf tongue, just like the ingrained instincts in your Gem tell you to do.

In an instant, a stream of white-hot energy erupts from your hand, coursing through the Worm… then it’s gone.

It doesn’t die, it doesn’t burst into flames, it’s just gone. Like the Orb had hit it, or like Asa had teleported it away. It just disappears.

You stumble forward as air rushes in to fill the space it had occupied. The whole rooms seems to shake as the flesh of the beast disappears.

[GAH! That… well, it worked, I suppose,] Asa says breathlessly.

{Are you all right?} you manage as you climb back to your feet and start running over to Dervich.

[Well, a forty foot Cursed Worm just appeared in the middle of the Cage, somehow, and I had to launch it into Chaos, and then teleport its flesh into space, but sure, I’m fine,] she says drily. [Are you all right?]

{I’m fine, but Alan’s fighting! Be back in a moment!} You break the link and leap at Alan’s attackers.


Roll 1d100+12

Rolled 11 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>35608133

Rolled 84 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>35608133
gotta save

Rolled 32 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>35608133
I can't believe my rolls are saving the day here

You tackle the nearest guard full-on, slamming him against a nearby stack and knocking the blade from his hands. Dervich sweeps his spear low, tangling the legs of the other, who goes down in a heap, but not in time. As he falls, the second guard stabs upward.

Dervich makes a sound like a deflating balloon. He slowly crumples, armor clattering against the stone floor, as the spear drops from his lifeless hands.

“AL!” you scream. The guard you tackled tries to stand, so you slice his neck wide open with your dagger, then roll over beside the second and drop your armored shoulder on his throat. The second guard expires too, leaving nobody near you but Dervich. You fumble up beside him and press your hand against the hole in the thinner middle plates of his stomach armor. “Dervich, stay with me,” you order.

“…I’ll try,” he moans. “Ow…”

You quickly look around – the two of you are alone. If Moor’s even still here, he’s not helping his men fight.

That doesn’t mean it’s calm. Behind the stacks of shelves and boxes, you see a Brother fall, an arm little more than bone, as a mage in Moor’s guard contingent catches him with a fire spell. The mage goes down an instant later as a Shadow rams a bodkin up to the hilt in the guard’s back. Culler catches a worker’s dagger with his armored glove, then slams his fist into the man’s midsection, adding a jolt of magic for good measure, and blasting the man apart at the middle.

“Al, listen,” you say urgently. “Did you see the Orb? Did you see Moor?”

“…No,” he groans. “I didn’t…”


>Heal him
>Call for a medic and go down the cistern
>Call the reserves in
>writein

>>35608533
>Call the reserves in
>Call for a medic and go down the cistern

>>35608573
that
Also asks Asa if any of the triad have received some dead memories with info about where Moor went?

You squeeze Dervich’s hand. “I’ll go get a medic.” He starts to say something, but you release his hand and charge for the nearest door.

You emerge from the building into a scene from a dream. Kelscik has his hands at shoulder level, fingers up, and his eyes are half-closed behind his mask. The streets are completely empty, save your troops, half of whom are staring at the Firesoul with shock.

Kelsick’s hands are emitting a strange glow, which saturates the air around him. Above, you can see a crackling field of energy coalesce at the edge of the glow, which reaches to encompass the block you’re in, and the other four blocks near him, in a rough dome. You can see the people outside pressing it experimentally, but it’s not budging. He has four blocks under a shield.

For a moment, you hold no doubts whatsoever as to why he charges a king’s ransom. That’s the kind of power that kept armies alive in the old days.

Still, you’ve no time to gape. You urgently signal the medic nearest you. “Get over here!” you call. “We’ve got men down! Major,” you add, spinning to face the man. “Get in here! Crash it, we’re calling in the reserves!”

He nods acknowledgement, and his men round the barricades. As you run in, you pull the mask aside again and press the Gem. {Sister, where’s Moor? Did the dead men know?}

[Yes, he jumped down as soon as you entered the building. He’s in the cisterns. In fact, now that he’s gone, it’s safe for me to enter the fight.]

{As much as I’d like to watch, I should pursue!}

[Alone? I think not.]


>”I have to!”
>”Fine, I’ll grab the Brothers and go down there.
>”I’ll get the Infiltrators to come with me.”
>”Can you spare an Avatar?”
>”I’ll get Newlar, I’ve worked with her before!”
>”The Major has thirty men and three mages. We’ll grid out the cisterns and sweep it!”
>writein

>>35608860
>”Fine, I’ll grab the Brothers and go down there.

>>35608860
>>”Fine, I’ll grab the Brothers and go down there.
Paying them good money. May as well get a use out of it.

{Then I’ll get the Brothers to back me up!}

As soon as you charge in, though, you see that calling for backup may have been a tad unnecessary. Asa’s Avatar is standing at the top of the stairs, and glittering bands of silver light are pouring out of her fingertips, immobilizing all of Moor’s remaining employees. The Brothers and Shadows are cuffing and disarming them, while Gannet kneels next to the row of wounded soldiers. She looks up as you enter. “Your Eminence,” she says, sounding quite shaken. “What happened? What was that thing?”

“A Cursed Worm juvenile,” you tell her without slowing down. “The medics and mages are en route. As soon as they arrive, fall in. We’re going to sweep the cisterns.”

She blinks. “Uh…”

Culler cuts her off as he arrests your progress. “Your Eminence, we have fatalities,” he says. “The job for which we were hired and equipped has concluded. We’re understrength, wounded, and rather lacking in tunnel-fighting gear.”

You stare at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

“We’re not going anywhere without a chance to regroup,” he says firmly.

You brush past him and crouch beside Dervich, who is far too pale and still for your liking. “We’ll see.”


>Rally up everybody you can and go underground
>Go set an ambush at the stable
>Just regroup and ensure that everybody gets healed up before making a move
>writein

>>35609276
>Just regroup and ensure that everybody gets healed up before making a move

You glare into the giant hole in the ground. “Damned criminals,” you mutter. You set both hands on Dervich’s wound and do your level best to staunch the bleeding.

The reserves charge in, medics and Kelscik on their heels, but they slow as they see what Asa’s doing. After a moment’s consternation, they set about cuffing and binding the surviving enemies.

As soon as the last one’s secured, Asa’s Avatar walks up beside you and kneels at Dervich’s shoulder. “Alan,” she greets him quietly. “I’m sorry. No sonner do you become my sister’s Paladin, you fall.”

“Not… dead yet…” he groans, faintly.

“No, indeed,” Asa says. She beckons Kelscik with a wave of her hand. “Nor shall you be.” She stands as Kelscik walks up next to your strange tableau. “Voyager, will you please heal this young man?”

Kelscik raises an eyebrow. “Hmph. Very well. I’ll bill the King for it, eh?” He reaches down and runs a gloved finger over the wound. “Done.”

Dervich blinks. “…What? It’s… whoa.” He splays his hand over the wound and stares as it comes away clean. The dried blood is even gone. “That… thank you, sir.”

You slowly shake your head. Even Garren needed a moment to cast her spells. Kelscik really is at an entirely different level.


>Now that you have the whole group here (except the snipers) what do you do?

>>35609650
>Into the breach

>>35609690
With whom?

>>35609741
Brotherhood members. And Culler I guess, since he insisted on regrouping them.

>>35609799
He meant more than a few minutes. He wants tunnel fighting gear before they go in (and more money).

>>35609650
Where does the cistern lead?

“Where do those cisterns lead?” you ask Asa.

She looks up from Dervich. “The sewers. From there, the Utility tower at the southeast corner of the city, the smaller one.”

As soon as the healers are all at work, you assemble the survivors in the middle of the large room, near the grate that had laid under the stacks the whole time. “All right, people, well done,” you tell them all, pulling off your mask. “Now we need to choose. Are we going in after him? I say we all are, but I also can’t order some of you lunch, much less into battle. So if anybody wants to go down after Moor and secure that weapon, we have to do it on a volunteer basis. Doesn’t mean you won’t get paid, it just means I won’t order you to do it.”

The Major and his men all step forth, and one of the mages does too, but of the Brothers, only Hart and Auvi step forth at once. After a moment, another Brother, one you’re told by Hart is named Elder, joins them. A few of the Shadows, and Bright, join you a moment later.

Thirty one infantry, a mage, three Brothers, two Shadows, and an Infiltrator. Half your force. No snipers. No medics.


>Is it worth it?

>Or would you prefer to rip open the boxes and see what Moor was smuggling?

>Or go set an ambush at the stables?

>Or go tell the King what happened, or ask Asa to do it and go home?

>writein

>>35610149
Are the stables near that utility tower?

About two miles away, overland.

>>35610149
We won't be able to snipe underground anyway. No medics tho.....

>Rip open a single box quickly, then head over to the stables for ambush.

Might be better to ambush him at the utility tower.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Flipping a coin. 1 is stables, 2 is Utility tower.

“All right,” you say, hiding your disappointment. “We’re heading to the Southern Utility tower. That’s where these tunnels let out.”

Asa coughs. “Most likely let out,” she says. “The sewers have other exits. If Moor means to flee the city, though, that’s likely where he’s going.”

The group looks around, apparently taking stock of their low numbers. “Should we summon some Guard forces?” the Major asks. As he does, Dervich starts ripping into one of the crates that toppled over when the Worm burst in.

“Whoa!”

All heads swivel to look at him as he withdraws something from inside. “Are these… is this what I think it is, sir?” he asks, directing his question at Kelscik.

The old Firesoul frowns. “If you think they’re iron ingots, young man, you’re quite right.”

Dervich keeps digging. “And… gold too!” he says, pulling some out. “Copper… this is all metal bars.”

You peer at the boxes. “Were they smuggling metals? That doesn’t seem profitable.” Then you shake your head. “This is for the Captain-General to paw through. We need to move.”


>Run for the southern tower on foot – it will take longer, but you will be able to call Guards to help you
>Go on horseback – you’ll get there right away, but you’ll have less time to muster allies
>Ask somebody to go rally backup and go there by either means overland
>writein

>>35610704
>Ask somebody to go rally backup and go there by either means overland

File: 1401793292810.jpg (82 KB, 432x432)

82 KB JPG

When I say 'either means,' that means 'pick one.'

>>35610753
Whoops sorry since it got us some extra allies I assumed horseback. Poor reading.

Got it. I'll be back to write in a bit.

“Specifically, on horseback,” you instruct. “Head back out to the mounts and go for the tower.” Your volunteers troop out as the others look back to you. “The rest of you, thank you for your help. For those promised payment, please submit your requests to Governor Ekrine in writing,” you tell them.

As the place empties, you turn to Dervich. “You can go too, if you want, Al. That was a bad hit you took.”

He shakes his head gamely. “I’ll be alright.”

“You will, but it’s right now that I’m worried about,” you press.

“I’m fine,” he insists.

“Suit yourself.” You turn to Asa. “Sister, who was the hostage?”

She looks up to where the woman is staggering out of the office above. “A passer-by who had a Gift, and had tapped the Well. Moor grabbed her as bait. How he knew she had tapped the Well, I have no idea.”

“Alright. At least she’s safe,” you say.

“Should we get going?” Dervich asks.

“Yeah.” You walk out as Asa’s Avatar goes to talk to the hostage. “Ever been to the South Tower?”

He shakes his head again. “Nope. Never even seen it.”

“Well, it’s a sight,” you tell him. “Trust me on that.”


Your group mounts up on the horses and stride past the abandoned barricades. As soon as you’re clear, you grab one of the snipers, just returning from the roof. “Auxiliary, run back to the garrison and sound the alarm,” you tell her. “The target escaped into the sewers, but we caught or killed all his men.”

She nods. “Aye, ma’am. Anything else?”

“We’re heading for the South Utility Tower,” you inform her. “Go grab as many Guards as you can and get down there.”

She salutes. “Yes, ma’am! I’m on it!”


(con’t)

The South Tower is the smallest of the city’s Utility structures. It’s where the waste from the city’s water system is magically purified before the water is flushed out into pipes to irrigate the farmlands that ring the city. You could pump it back into the city, but the portal at the north end of town does that just fine. If only you had one of those to Skyborn, you muse, as you ride through the streets.

It’s not even bright out yet when you arrive. The looming tower casts a deep, black shadow over the cityscape. You dismount outside and hold an impromptu war council.

“All right, what’s the plan?” Hart asks.

“We need to get the reinforcements deployed between here and the stables,” you say. “Remember, we have one of Gherta’s people watching the stable. If Moor is coming here, he’ll be here soon, so we should get set up.”

“Obviously,” Hart says impatiently. “But where?”

>The rooftops – spring an ambush
>Inside – set up a blockade
>The streets – choke off road access
>writein

>>35611570
>The rooftops – spring an ambush

If they see anything they'll just go back down and use another exit.

“We’ll get all our ranged people up on the rooftops,” you tell him. “When I see him, I’ll give the signal to open fire. That means everybody with a ranged weapons gets up high.”

“Got it,” Auvi says. He strings his bow and makes for the corner of the Tower, but you grab his shoulder.

“Whoa, whoa,” you tell him. “We’re forgetting something.”

“What?” he asks, annoyed.

“The Utility mages. What do you all think we should do with them?” you ask the group.

Bright shrugs. “Evacuate the Tower, I guess.”

“If they see the place empty, they’ll just use another exit,” you point out. “And we shouldn’t shut down the purifiers unless we have to.”

“Then you come up with a plan,” Auvi snaps.


>”No, we evacuate them anyway.”
>”We’ll just have to trust that the mages can take care of themselves and hope Moor doesn’t come out firing.”
>writein

>>35611873
>>”No, we evacuate them anyway.”
he's just gonna end up taking them hostage.

>>35611873
Ugh I forgot about the people who would actually be in the tower. Ugh, I guess evac them and if Moor doesn't come up in a reasonable time send people out to all other known exits, and relocate to the stable.

Sorry, folks, but family dinner's ready. I'll come back to write more as soon as I'm done.

>>35612233
No worries. About time for me to grab dinner too.

“We pull them out anyway,” you tell him. “If any of them can fight, great, but they’ll get in the way otherwise.”

It only takes a few minutes to get the mages in the Tower to pack it up when you tell them there’s a criminal with an ancient superweapon en route. As soon as the place is cleared, your Gem warms.

[Sister, if I may, you should use Through the Eyes of Ghosts to see when and where he pops out.]

{Ooh, good call.} You finish climbing and step aside on the roof of the textile wholesaler where you’ve set up your ambush. Guards and the Auxilia troopers are filtering into the area piecemeal and being redirected by others into ambush spots. {Here we go.}

You engage the Chaos powers in your eyes yet again, and the world takes on its curious pallor. You look down. The Tower is empty of people who have tapped the Well on the bottom floors. You look around below you, but you don’t see anybody in the tunnels for over a mile. Moor was uninjured, he wouldn’t have taken an hour to get here.


Roll 1d100+14 for Perception.

File: 1331787680794.jpg (45 KB, 640x480)

45 KB JPG

Rolled 33 + 14 (1d100 + 14)

>>35613178
Here we go

Rolled 41 + 14 (1d100 + 14)

>>35613178
Come ooooon

Looking down, you still see nothing. The streets are empty, the tunnel is empty, the sewer is empty. Then your brain kicks on, and you look up.

“Oh, right,” you say aloud. “It’s a tower.”

Standing atop the building is Elger Moor. He has the Orb in his hands, and he’s staring at you. From this distance, you can’t make out his words, but his lips move. Then he holds the Orb aloft, shakes it once, mockingly, and throws himself off the building.

“EYES UP!” you scream, and the entire group starts. Hart makes it first, he suddenly points and stares as Moor plummets down to the road below, and slows on a cushion of air he projects from his free hand. Bright leaps from concealment and rushes forward, but Moor hefts the Orb, it shimmers, and Bright’s clothing falls to the road, empty.

[Elsa! He’s using the Orb!] Asa suddenly gasps.

{I NOTICED!} you yell in your mind. Moor turns and glares at an Auxiliary who dared to fire upon him with a bow, and as the sizzling remains of the arrow fall to the ground after skipping off his magic shield, he hefts the Orb again, and the Auxiliary sniper disappears from the world. Moor resumes walking, mere feet below you, completely unconcerned, knowing full well he won’t be attacked – if he is, he’ll just use the Orb again, and if there are so few of you left that he can get away, Asa will just destroy the whole area – the exact task for which you mouthed off to Haret for attempting.


>”JUST CHARGE HIM, EVERYBODY!”
>”Find cover and get down!”
>Ask Asa to just nuke the street
>Use a divine ability (Mind control? Sleep?)
>writein

>>35613559
>Use a divine ability (Mind control? Sleep?)
Sleep. Stay out of sight.

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>>35613559
>>writein
The orb only ever is used on people...

FRAG OUT

>>35613559
>>35613716 (You)

Set the sleep time to like an hour.

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>>35613734
EVERYBODY. HAVE EVERYONE THROW ALL OF THEIR GRENADES AT ONCE! FILL THE STREET!

Let's see his magic shield absorb that!

>>35613777
I dunno if that's safe for anyone involved
Let's not

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>>35613867
When has it ever failed to provide victory?

>>35613955
I don't remember that doujin... care to remind me?

>>35613955
The fact that you're within five meters of him means you can't use it.

And you've only used it wisely once in this entire quest.

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>>35614018
Fine. Just yell at everyone to get out of LOS and toss solitary grenades.

You stab the Gem and focus. {Forgive me, sister, but I’m using Peace.}

[…As you must, my beloved sister. Do it.]

You roll away from the edge and climb to your feet, drawing deep on your power, as much as you possibly can. Moor sees you and raises the Orb, but his eyes widen as he sees your mask. “You!” he shouts.

You close your eyes and pray.

You hear a succession of *thud*sounds.

When you open your eyes, you see that the other troops on your roof – and most of those nearby – are out cold. You look down to the street and recoil – Moor isn’t sleeping. He has a metal disc in one trembling hand, and he’s panting heavily, but he’s not sleeping. The Orb is in his other hand, inactive. The strange Unlight that was swirling around it before is gone.

“That…” he gasps. He sucks in a breath and blows it out. “That was close.”

You immediately shift the mask and stab the Gem, but nothing happens. It’s ice-cold.

“Having trouble with your divine bullshit?” Moor says, though the tremble in his voice betrays how emotional he is. “Of course you are. I paid six million acerts in cash for this thing,” he taunts. “Good luck.”

Oh. Ohhhh. It’s a portable nullifier – the same thing you saw Umbara kill himself over in your dream. He can’t use the Orb, or any other demon- and divine-powered weapons… but neither can you use your powers and Gem. It’s even glittering with Spireling crystal, just like the Dome.

The game has changed.


>Scream for everybody to open fire
>Jump down and beat him to death
>Try to shoot the nullifier through his magic shield.

>>35614155
>Jump down and beat him to death
I think everybody is too asleep to open fire
Whoever isn't asleep can join us.

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>>35614155
>>Jump down and beat him to death
Fuck him. AUXILLA SERGEANT SKILLS ACTIVATE!

He's got the nullifyer in one hand and the sphere in the other. He's gonna have to drop one to fight us.

Rolled 27 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

VERY WELL! Rolling 1d100+6 for reflex check!

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Well, shit.

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>>35614509
This is all your fault.

Rolled 1 - 500 (1d1 - 500)

>>35614509
rolling 1d1-500 for Moors reflex check

Rolled 41 + 6 (1d100 + 6)

Rolling another check. This is for the actual fight, the last one was for the landing.

Rolled - 1000 (1d0 - 1000)

>>35614687
rolling -1000 for Moor's actual fight

Yeah, no. He’s a criminal, sure, and he’s got shiny toys, but you spent the last seven years fighting for your country. You have high ground, six weapons, and a company’s worth of soldiers. This will not be a problem for long.

You immediately throw yourself off the roof. He leaps back with a choked-off cry of surprise – whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t this. You land and roll, sweeping with your spear, and he has to jump back again. He has an ancient weapon in both hands, but that just means he can’t fight back. He’s a mage, though, and he’s shielded, and he has a Gift you haven’t identified. You have to move fast.

“ATTACK!” you roar to the sky, and your forces break cover and charge.

Moor screams a curse and throws the nullifier against the ground at his feet – it doesn’t break. He stares at it for an instant, then his face darkens with rage. “All right, you fucking cunt, that’s it! If I’m dying, you’re dying first!” He slips the Orb in a pocket as you leap to your feet and stab at his shield with your spear. His shield is a tough one, but they can all break – if one the Enchanters made for you can break because a Worm bit it, the one he’s got can too.

Elder gets in first. The grizzled old elf Brother slams his hands against the shield, and it flickers, but then he’s sent flying backwards with a smoking hole in his chest as Moor unleashes a blast of energy. He’s not dead – somehow – but he’s hurt. You smash the shield with your shield, over and over, ducking behind it as he fires at you, too, and it flickers again. One of the skirmishers fires her crossbow – it nicks the shield, but it still doesn’t break.


(con’t)

“DIE!” Auvi screams, firing again. The arrow sizzles into the shield. You scream and stagger as a blast from Moor takes you on the legs, but sheer willpower keeps you going, and you stab with your spear again.

Abruptly, the arrow Auvi fired explodes. Moor staggers sideways as the blast rushes into his magic shield – it’s just air, after all – and with an abruptness that startles you, you’re INSIDE the shield.

Moor spins to face you, probably to shoot you again, then his eyes widen as he sees you a foot away.

You haul off on your shield and swing sideways at his neck, crushing his larynx. He chokes and staggers, but then his body shimmers – his Gift! His neck reinflates, right before your eyes. “You’ll pay for that!” he screams, ramming his hand against your torso. He’s inside your shield, too.

*BANG*

You grasp his arm with suddenly numb fingers as a beam of energy rips through the enchanted armor you’re wearing, singeing your skin. By all the luck, the blast doesn’t completely shatter the ancient armor Asa restored for you, but it hurts. “Don’t… give me… a lever,” you manage, and you wrench his arm as hard as you can.

He screams as it pops out of socket. Auvi and several of the other troops fire again, then have to stop – the rest of your guys are too close now. Arrows and bolts clatter and scorch against your shields, but none penetrate.

But now you have his arm disabled.

With numb fingers, you reach down to your hip and draw one of your Shadow swords. He stumbles as you kick the back of his leg, and then ram the sword clean through his chest.

Moor gurgles and flops down to the ground, writhing. You start to lean over and rip out the blade, but he grabs something at his waist –


(con’t)

*HISSSSS*

Hart skids to a halt, just outside the shield. “BACK!” he screams. “That’s poison!”

You stumble, but your weak knees give out, and you collapse on your back as the poison cloud washes over you. You feel a horrible, familiar numbness creep through you as the gas floods your lungs.

Then it’s gone, suddenly. You fumble to stand… and everybody nearby starts shouting.

“No! No, no, damn it, no!” Newlar gasps, backing away. Hart’s face is a bloodless mask of horror. Even the stoic Auvi takes a step back.

You blink. “Huh?”

“YOU BITCH!” Moor suddenly screams. You jerk away, shocked. Moor is… is rising to his feet, in a spectral, hazy form, leaving his body behind. “LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE!”

You look down… oh. There’s your body too.
The nullifier didn’t disengage. You and Moor both died outside the effective area of the demigods’ ad hoc soul-catching ability. You’re both ghosts.

This is a problem. With the nullifier engaged, you can’t page Asa.


>There must be an Avatar at the castle – send a horse rider there to contact it!
>She may have sent an Avatar covertly when she lost contact – have people look for it!
>writein

>>35614950
shiiieeeeeeet

>She may have sent an Avatar covertly when she lost contact – have people look for it!

I know this looks hopeless, but it's not a punishment for choosing a melee battle against a mage - as dumb as it was. One of the conspiracy members was going to have this artifact, guaranteed. There is a way to progress without getting sucked into the afterlife, I promise. The answer is
in one of the dream sequences.

>>35614950
>>writein
Run/float out of range and start screaming for Asa?

Can we just yell at someone to stomp on the nullifier?

So who is ready for Herald Dervich quest?

Not yet! I looked back through dream sequences to about thread 15. The most recent two seemed to be most relevant. Last one was the ghost attack. We interact with Current and Flares oddly. Maybe someone uses a current spell on our body while we try to possess it again or something?

We could also maybe try asking Asa to build us a new body?

Okay, writing.

Dervich starts to move in to smash the nullifier, but you throw up your hands. “NO! No, don’t! Not yet!”

He stares. “But… Elsa, you… you’re a-”

“I KNOW!” you shout. “I’ve been a ghost once already, trust me, I know! If Elsa gets here in person, she can fix this!” Your words cut off as Moor lunges through you, falling flat on the other side.

“NO! NO! YOU BITCH!” he screams. You feel a thrill of even deeper horror as the first of the whispers start in the back of your mind – you’re going mad already.

“Quick, Dervich,” you say, ignoring the persistent sounds that only you and Moor can hear. “Run for the nearest spot an Avatar might be. Asa must have come when she lost contact with me, so just get clear and start screaming for her Avatar! And Haret, too!”

“Haret?” Dervich asks, confused.

You glare at Moor’s raving specter. “Somebody has to drag this idiot into the afterlife.”

Moor’s ghost suddenly leaps up and starts running. It clears the edge of the nullifier and keeps going, running directly for the gate.

“Hit him with a Current grenade, quick!” you bellow, pointing at the retreating ghost.

One of the snipers breaks from her shock and throws a grenade. It breaks at Moor’s feet, and he disappears into the air with a howl.

“How long will that last?” Dervich asks nervously.

“A day, two,” you mumble, shaking your head. “Go!”

“Right.” He turns and runs, looking wildly around. Another of the Auxilia mounts her horse and takes off for the castle.

You stand there awkwardly, just shuffling around, trying to think, and ignoring the whispers in your ears. The other soldiers gingerly poke at the empty piles of clothing or try to dissipate the poison with their magic, if they have it.


(con’t)

After nearly half an hour, Dervich comes running back, panting and sweating, with Avatars of Haret and Asa – and Veir, the gang’s all here – at his back. As soon as Asa sees you, she gasps.

“Sister, no!” she cries out, skidding to a halt at the shimmering barrier of the nullifier.

“Yeah,” you say heavily.

“How… he had a nullifier?” Vier asks, staring at the dead mage.

Haret points at it. “He did. The monster.”

“Can, uh… can this be… fixed?” you ask carefully. “I mean, like in the forest?”

Asa runs a hand over her mouth, a visible sign of her true self’s horror. “Oh sister, no… not like before,” she manages. “Oh, Elsa…”

“There’s… nothing I can do?” you ask, feeling a sense of displacement work its way into your spectral body. If this is the end… maybe she’ll at least let you say goodbye to Jerome, but…

“Nothing YOU can do,” Haret says pensively.

Everybody looks at him as he slowly steeples his fingers and presses them to his lips, eyes shut, and assumes a pensive stance. “Hmmm… perhaps the past holds our answer.”

“What do you mean?” you demand. Haret places one hand on his hip and stares into the morning sky.

“I seem to recall… the incident with the Dome… wasn’t there some decision made around that time, about resurrection, involving ghosts?”

Vier nods. “There was. It was decided that ghosts would never be restored to their bodies, that it smacked of necromancy, which is a Forbidden School.”

“Right, right,” Haret says, waving his hand. “But… I seem to recall that there was some debate about the bodies themselves…”

Asa gasps. “Right!” Why they’re bothering to have this conversation in their Avatar forms and not just talking in the Geode, you have no idea. Maybe they don’t want to be rude. “It had never happened before Umbara! He was the first Herald to kill himself, so…”

(con't)

“Right.” Haret walks right up to the edge of the nullifier and beckons you forth. “Herald, we need to take a quick vote. Do not, under any circumstances whatsoever, leave the protection of this nullifier. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” you say, glancing back at it. “Uh, how long will it last?”

He shrugs. “The ancient Spireling stuff was pretty durable, but it’s also well over three millennia old. Figure an hour more. You’ll not go mad that fast.”

“How reassuring,” you mutter.

The Avatars vanish. The other soldiers look at each other awkwardly, before somebody you don’t recognize asks the obvious question. “Um… Herald?” You turn to look at him. “Uh, what does… that feel like?”

You look down at your hands. “The same as last time,” you deadpan. “You get used to it.”

He manages a nervous titter.

Abruptly, the Avatars return. “All right, Herald, thanks for waiting,” Vier says. “Look. We have the fourth Orb,” she says, pointing at the lump in Moor’s corpse’s pocket. “And we have the nullifier, and we’re pretty sure there aren’t any more of those. The suggestion has been leveled, and I won’t say by whom, that we simply take you to your rest.” You tense up, but she keeps going. “That said, none of us want to do it. It’s a matter of precedent and protocol. Every single ghost ever has been taken to its rest, by force if need be, since the very first ghost was created, just under four thousand years ago. You, however, have proven yourself to be as clever, kind, honest, creative, loyal, and willing to make up for mistakes as any Herald or other mortal agent we’ve had in a long time, and you may be the only person in three thousand years who can break the demon-shield on Skyborn’s engine room,” she adds, pointing vaguely southeast.


(con’t)

Vier continues. “So here’s the deal. And if you all could find somewhere else to be, I’d be much obliged,” she says, glaring at the soldiers and mages, including both the Utility people and civilians who have gathered to see the spectacle. “This is between us and our friend.”

Hart reaches down and scoops up Elder, who’s nearly managed to heal himself during all the fighting. “Right. Uh… get well soon, Elsa,” he says awkwardly. He and the others drift back to where you tied the horses as the Guards shoo off the crowd.

Vier nods as the last of the Utility mages walk back into their tower. “Elsa. Listen. We’ve all come to rely on you, and the fact is, we can’t resolve this one way or another without breaking some rules.”

“What?” you ask, confused.

Haret speaks up. “We could restore you – breaking one rule – or let you die and create another Herald, breaking another rule. Alternately, we could let you persist in ghost form, but there’s no way you could possibly reach Skyborn before going completely insane, and we’ve been wrong about how many magic and demonic artifacts there are in this Novai person’s bag of tricks so many times that we’re not willing to risk doing this without a reliable mortal agent.”

Asa walks up to the nullifier and stares into your eyes. “Sister, please,” she says quietly. “I can’t break this news to Jerome. Please accept what Vier offers.”

You shake your head – the whispers are getting louder. “What? She hasn’t offered me anything!”

Vier sighs heavily. “Elsa, we will restore your body, like we did in the forest. It will be painful. It will take over a day. It will not fix the scars on your flesh, though you and Asa may be able to work something out in that regard. And you must understand that this will happen a grand total of once. We will never restore you again.”


(con’t)

“Even if Kotrick and Novai have some other weapon like this?” you ask, jerking a thumb at the Orb. “Or another nullifier?”

“Yes,” Haret says flatly. “We will find another way. If that means granting no more exceptions to our rules for this city, and simply destroying it, as you… convinced me not to do once, then… so be it.”

>What does it entail?
>No. I’m tired of this. Say goodbye to Jerome for me and take me away.
>Whatever. Just do it.
>I need time to think about this.

>>35616415
>What does it entail?

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>>35616415
>>Whatever. Just do it.

>>35616415
>>What does it entail?

You steel yourself. “What does it entail?”

Asa gestures sadly at your body. “We will have to work our power to restore the damage to your brain, first of all, which may remove some of your powers. The rest… we can fix with a normal healing surge, the kind I can do every time you sleep. It will take over a day. And, frankly, it is very tiring. We will have to work your ghost back into your body, which even now clings to the barest fraction of life, in the spiritual sense at least. If your body were destroyed, this wouldn’t work.”

“Will it fix Moor?” you ask.

Haret shakes his head. “No. In fact, one moment.” He walks around the bubble to where Moor’s ghost had vanished and thrusts his hand into the air. A thin wail echoes through the air, and Haret flicks his fingers. “Done. Moor is finished.”

“Thanks.” You give one lingering look at your corpse and nod. “I’ll do it. How do I break this to Jerome?”

Asa sighs heavily, another sign of her emotional turmoil. “I’ll help. He’s a very loyal man, but this is going to stretch his willingness to put up with your new role to the breaking point. You’ve already died once, and swore it would never happen again. Now it has. Most marriages end after the first time a partner dies. Now it’s happened twice, and you’re coming back.”

“…Think he’ll divorce me?” you ask mournfully.

The silence is distinctly uncomfortable. “I hope not,” Asa says at length. “I imagine I can convince him not to, but… I can’t promise anything.”

Haret beckons to where Dervich is awkwardly hovering, out of hearing range. “Alan, my son, please,” he says as your Paladin approaches. “We have summoned a wagon from the castle for her body, and when it arrives, protect it. Elsa, please go into the tower and enter the tunnels, so the people on the streets don’t see a ghost and panic,” he says. “We’ll summon you when it’s time.”


>ask questions
>just get it done
>writein

>>35616861
>just get it done

>>35616861
>>just get it done
Off we go!

>>35616861
>>just get it done

I'm wonder if we'll really have a chance of finishing this well.

>>35616951

The quest, or the resurrection? The quest, probably. The resurrection, almost certainly. Since no actions are under player control, there won't be any dice rolls. Whether you all can improvise post "I came back from the dead" talk with your husband, now... we'll see.

You walk silently down into the tunnels below the Tower and sit on the stone floor. You can’t help but cross your arms over your knees and bury your face in your arms. This is awful! Has a single part of the mission Asa’s given you gone perfectly?

But then, that’s war, you suppose. You look down at your spectral hands and try to ignore the whispers. This is taking a long time…

Then you’re gone. Blackness.

Pain. A lot of pain.

Blackness goes, bright light.

Searing agony. Pinching feeling all over.

Howling sounds. Elf voices. A human crying out, too.


You wake.


(con’t)

You slowly sit up. You’re in the infirmary of the castle barracks. Your clothing is gone, but it’s on a rack in the corner, along with your armor and headgear, all fully mended.

Jerome is sitting in a chair at your bedside, fast asleep. Your mother is sitting beside him, reading a book. Your father is snoring on a couch in the other side of the large room, beyond the maze of partition curtains.

“Mom?” you ask weakly.

She starts and nearly drops her book. “Elsa!” she whispers. “It worked!”

“How… how long was I out?” you mumble.

“Over a day,” she tells you in the softest tone. “It’s Wednesday afternoon.”

You slowly shake your head. “Mm… what did they do?”

“They sort of… stitched your ghost back in, I think,” your mother says, her voice quailing. “They wouldn’t let us in the room when it happened. How do you feel?”

You examine your bare arms. They’re yours, not some new ones. The mess that that magic spell made of your chest is healed, at least. “I’m… I’m fine,” you murmur. You’re in a hospital gown and there’s slippers at the bedside. “Did you guys come to see me wake up?”

“We did,” Belle confirms. You slowly climb out of the bed, feeling pins and needles in every limb.

“Ah… stiff,” you groan. You wobble over to where Jerome is sitting and gently grasp his arm. “Hey… wake up,” you tell him.

He doesn’t stir. “He was up all night and morning, worrying his heart out, poor thing,” Belle sighs. “He was crying so hard when Asa talked to him about what had happened.”

“What did she say?” you ask.

Your mother looks sadly at the scars on your hands. “She told us everything,” Belle says. “Haret and that Auxilia fellow had some sort of argument, too, but they left this morning.”


>Try to wake somebody up
>Page Asa at once to get an update
>writein

>>35617413
>Page Asa at once to get an update

You thumb the Gem and it immediately warms. {Sister?}

Asa appears before you. “You made it!” she says excitedly. You start to shush her when she envelops you in a bear hug. “I’m so relieved… you’re alright, sister,” she exclaims.

“Thanks, but Jerome and Dad are asleep, so…” you murmur. She puts a finger to her lips and nods.

“Sorry. How do you feel?” she asks quietly.

“Alive, which is an improvement,” you say, hobbling over to the rack. “Hmph. All my stuff is here, good. Thanks for repairing all this,” you add.

“Certainly.” Asa looks back and tsks as Jerome stirs. “Ah, Jerome. Good afternoon.”

Your husband rubs his eyes as you finish shuffling into your shirt and Heraldic uniform pants. “Mmm… Asa? Is… Elsa!” he says, scrambling up. You hold your arms out as he approaches. Worryingly, he hesitates for a bare instant before wrapping you up in his embrace.

“Hey, handsome,” you murmur. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he mutters. “…Feel better?”

“Yeah,” you assure him, squeezing him around the middle. “Yeah, I do. It took a while, but I’m back, like I promised.”

He tenses a bit, but he just holds the hug. “Yeah.”


(con’t)

Half an hour later, you’re destroying a ham and cheese sandwich, you and your family are out in the hall, talking, and Asa is presenting you with a new list.


1. Explorer: Master Novai Faren – Light elf, living in an unknown location outside the city walls
2. Noble 1: Don Kotrick, human, local crime lord, hiding in the Quiet Forest mining complex with the last of his men
3. Noble 2: Elger Moor, human, Gifted Mage, and second-in-command of Kotrick, hiding in stolen goods warehouse in merchants’ district. Deceased
4. Mercenary 1: Everett Soutri, former Army officer light elf, lives in a converted jewelry store in the noble district, male human, Well-tapped and incredibly smart. Deceased
5. Mercenary 2: Caliso Wind-thief, female dark elf, running for her life on the Margent Highways, Gifted battle scout. Deceased
6. Mercenary 3: Gardener ‘Hooks’ Dunwaith, Gifted, Male human. Deceased
7. Mercenary 4: Kerry Ding, War Mage, Orondian expatriate, lives in a small farmstead in the woods near ambush site, male human. Deceased
8. Mercenary 5: Derek ‘Jester’ Bowler, former member of the Governor’s bodyguard, hiding in a warehouse on the river to the north, outside the city, awaiting passage to another country, male wilderness elf. Deceased.
9. Mercenary 6: Faye Whitehand, referred to as ‘Feathers’, female human. Captured alive, since deceased
10. Bodyguard 1: Richi Donnai. Deceased
11. Bodyguard 2: Heldo Donnai. Deceased
12. Invisible bodyguard: William Laurenz. Deceased
13. Kotrik’s hitman, wilderness elf, real name Cordel Keen, handle ‘Forest’, living in noble district in a small mansion under an assumed name. Deceased
>”We know the weapon guy’s name!”
>”So Kotrick did run for the mines.”
>”How did Kotrick escape the city?”
>”What was in those boxes in the warehouse?”
>”Who did we lose in the fighting?”
>writein

>>35617960
>>”How did Kotrick escape the city?”
>”Who did we lose in the fighting?”

>>35617960
>”How did Kotrick escape the city?”
>”What was in those boxes in the warehouse?”
>”Who did we lose in the fighting?”

You glare at Kotrick’s line. “How did that prick escape the city?”

Asa sighs. “We missed the mark. He left before you even attacked Moor.”

“Moor was a diversion?” you ask, stunned. A man that integral to Kotrick’s plans doesn’t fit the profile of a diversion.

“Mmm… no, the Worm was the diversion,” Asa says. “You attacked Moor about an hour before he was going to make a break for it. The men I captured, their interrogations have revealed much. Kotrick was smuggling a vast amount of artwork, specifically sculptures, out of abandoned ruins in the woods. The metal sculptures would have casts made around them with magic, then melted down. The metal would then be brought inside the walls and re-poured in a place the Governor’s men have since raided,” she explains, “and sold. Since the metal was the same, there was no real way to establish their falsehood. That’s what those metal ingots were. Melted statues.”

“Clever,” you admit. “Was there anything else in there?”

Your patroness nods. “Tons of weapons, and many, many boxes of stolen goods,” he tells you. “Moor was cleaning house, selling as much as he could. Incidentally,” she adds, “we found those things that were stolen from your friend Roland’s warehouse in Forest’s basement. They are in your home for you to review and return, if you wish.”

“Thanks,” you say automatically. “So… um. What casualties did we take?”

Asa’s mood turns dour. “Several. Four Brothers were hurt, two killed. Two Shadows and Infiltrator Bright. Two Auxilia killed. Of your total of thirty one enemies, seventeen are dead, all the rest are captured. The hostage is alive and well.”


>”So now what?”
>”Is the mine secure?”
>”Wait, this isn’t the mine we thought he’d use.”
>”Can we just collapse the mine?”
>”Where’s Dervich?”
>writein

>>35618321

>”Wait, this isn’t the mine we thought he’d use.”
>”Is the mine secure?”

>>35618321
>>”Where’s Dervich?”
>>writein
What powers did we lose?

Rolled 17 (1d100)

Oh, right, the powers. Okay, rolling 1d100. If it's above 80, you'll lose a power I'll pick at random.

>>35618614
ty based dice gods

>>35618434
why would you remind him???

“Hang on,” you say with a frown as you realize something. “This isn’t the old dwarf mine to the north.”

“No, it isn’t,” Asa agrees. “As it would be, they decided to use a smaller one, which they could control on their own, without having so many exits that they couldn’t secure them all. More men have remained in Kotrick’s service than we anticipated.”

“He’s probably emptying his pockets,” Coby says coldly.

Asa offers him a little smile. “Probably.”

“What about the mine now?” you ask. “Is it secured?”

The glittering demigoddess closes her eyes. “Had we not asked the Governor to send men to the mine to the north, it would have been,” she says. “But Ekrine pulled men from this mine to secure the other. Dietrich is scrambling every single soldier he can spare to surround the place, but… between the battle in the south and the casualties you’ve taken already, your army has few men to send.”

You stand up and stretch, passing the list back to Asa. “All right. Where’s Dervich?”

“He’s in the barracks, packing,” Asa says. “He’s moving out, since he’s been discharged from the Auxilia. He’s been formally instated as a Paladin.” She grins. “You should see how he struts that new uniform. He pulls it off, I must say.” The others chuckle.


(con’t)

“Also, we’ve decided that since he’s going to be accompanying you from here on out, or at least until you’re done, he’s going to be given access to the Governor, like you. You can send him in your place to meetings and such, so long as the King isn’t present, since that requires more security.”

“Good to know.” You start bundling your armor and weapons to go. “So… how is everybody else?” you ask.

“Busy,” Coby says. “The whole city’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“I bet, and I’m sorry,” you tell him. “I wish we could end this faster.”

“Yeah,” Jerome says quietly.


>Any other questions?
>yes/no

>>35618913
>No

As the others stand to go, Jerome stays sitting. He’s pretty pale, actually. Asa stays seated as well. You all exchange your hugs and farewells. As your parents walk out, though, Belle sends you one last, worried look over her shoulder.


You sit back down as Jerome looks up. “So…” he starts.

“Yeah,” you say heavily. “Go ahead and say it.”

He chokes back a sob that breaks your heart. “Baby, I can’t do this,” he finally admits. “This is… this is…”

Asa looks away. “You should have privacy for this.” She stands as Jerome grips his head with both hands. Giving him one reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, she disappears.

Finally, he looks up. Tears are already staining his face again. You can feel some, too. “It’s… fuck, how do I say it? It’s not killing me, it’s killing you! Twice, now, literally! I can’t watch you do this!”

>Stay silent and let him vent
>Butt in and remind him it has to be done
>Just move to sit by him and let him explain
>Ask him what Asa told him
>writein

>>35619299
>Stay silent and let him vent

>>35619299
>>Stay silent and let him vent
blooop

>>35619299
>>Just move to sit by him and let him explain

You stay still as he talks. “And… Elsa, you promised you’d come back to me, and when you didn’t, and then, then…” he breaks down again. “I thought you were dead! And then, I think to myself ‘no, she isn’t, she comes back every time,’ and then Asa appears and tells me you’re a ghost!” He stares at you, longing for an explanation. “Elsa, please! Just… just… I can’t take this any more!”

You wait a moment to be sure he’s done.

How do you reply? Recall that you didn’t lose any speech abilities.


>”Jerome, it’s almost over. There’s only two left.”
>”If you mean that, what do you want to do about it? You already said you’re in for the long haul.”
>”Is there something else hurting you?”
>writein

>>35619596
>>”Jerome, it’s almost over. There’s only two left.”

>>35619596

>”Jerome, it’s almost over. There’s only two left. And they have no orbs left. Moor had the last one. Asa will be able to watch over me personally from here on out."”

You nod as he finishes. “Yeah. It’s not something I want you to endure. I think we’ve both suffered enough. Thing is, Jerome, if I stop, more people will suffer. And I want you here so we can enjoy the rewards. There’s only two left-”

“What reward?” he demands, startling you. “Some place in the woods? I like Clen! I like this city! I like my job, our neighbors, the district! I don’t want to move! Did you or Asa even think of that?”

>”Hey, that part was a surprise to me too!”
>writein

>>35620205
>>writein
"Alright. We can stay in Clen then."

"You get to leave the city and live in the boonies" sounded like a shitty reward to me in the first place.

>>35620205
>"I'm sorry, I should have asked you. We don't have to move. I'm sure no one will begrudge us wanting to stay in the city, Asa least of all."

It would help if you asked Asa about it, but of course you can just do that when she shows it to you.

Writing.

You push back your reflexive anger – you thought he knew you had been surprised by that. “Yeah, that was wrong to assume,” you say instead. “We can stay here. I’m sure Asa will understand.”

“Yeah,” he says heavily. Apparently a concession is what he needed. “What’s so important about this shrine, anyway?”

“All I know is that it was devoted to Mai’te, or built by her, or something,” you say. “It’s not important. We can just sell it if you prefer to live here. I like it in Clen too.”

“Yeah,” he says again. “Yeah. Okay.”

You stand up and move to sit beside him. You lean against his shoulder, and after a few moments of silence, he drapes one arm around your back in return. “I love you, Jerome, I really do,” you murmur. “I’m sorry this is so nerve-wracking.”

He sighs and leans back against you. “I should just quit complaining,” he says ruefully. “All I got was mugged. You got killed. And again.”

“You’re not wrong to register your unhappiness,” you protest. “I should have picked up on it sooner. We’re elves, we’re supposed to be good at this emotional stuff.”

“It’s all those humans you hang out with,” he jokes feebly.

You chuckle and close your eyes. “Hey. Big guy.”

“Hmm?”

You kiss his cheek and stand up. “Let’s go home.”

He nods. “Yeah.”


(con’t)

As you walk out, armor bundle in hand, you press the Gem. {We’re done.}

[Dare I ask if all is well?]

{Sure. We’ll be alright. We’ve decided not to move into the shrine, though.}

[You did?] Asa sounds almost crestfallen. [That… why?]

{Because we don’t want to leave the city,} you explain. {We love it here.}

[…Oh, very well. At least come see it before rejecting outright, though! I padlocked it three thousand years ago, you’d be the first people since then to set foot there in three millennia.]


>”Our minds are made up.”
>”Fine.”
>writein

>>35620671
>”Our minds are made up. I'm sorry. Maybe you can give it to another Herald someday and it will be even older then.”

>>35620671
>>writein
Vacation home?

>>35620671
>>”Fine.”

Thinking >>35620771's idea.

>>35620671
>We can see it, but Jerome wants to stay in Clen, and I want to stay with him...

We've lost Asa forever

>>35621089
ASA ROUTE CLOSED

>>35621120
THIS IS BULLSHIT

DROPPED LIKE ITS HOT

I keed, I keed. I feel bad for Asa though, she was obviously looking forward to having people in her shrine. I think she really digs Elsa and Jerome.

so how about a threesome eh? eeeeehhhhh?

{Sister, I appreciate that, but we love this town. We don’t want to move out into the forest.}

[It’s a three hour walk, or a forty minute horse ride,] she grumps. [It’s not some shack, it’s a three-level temple, with a private lake and a meditation sauna!]

{Wait, really?}

[Yes! I’m honestly a little insulted here, Elsa. Do you imagine I was exiling you? I know you’ll be ejected from your current housing once your Auxilia tour is up anyway. I thought you might want to move into luxury.]

{Fair enough. We’ll use it as a vacation home, then,} you assure her. Her mind’s voice doesn’t reply, but she does seem to sigh.

A while later, you see the glowstone of your exit appear in the tunnel. The Gem warms again.

[One last thing, sister. During your operation, I realized that one of your abilities was being too slow to unfold in your mind. I have prepared it for your control now, if you have a second.]

{Sure.} That familiar feeling of peace and warmth flows into your mind as Asa releases new powers into your Gem.


ABILITY UNLOCKED: SPARE NO BURDEN
New Divine Ability unlocked!

Spare no Burden: The ability to speak to your patron deity is powerful enough at normal speed. Now, you can think to her at the speed of light. You can now keep up with the Pantheon members in the Geode. PASSIVE.

{Interesting,} you think. Then you catch your steps. Jerome nearly collides with you. {What is this?}

Her reply isn’t even a string of words so much as a precise feeling. It’s still characterized, but instantaneous. [You can think deliberately, or you can think like a goddess, Elsa. Speaking to me in mid-fight will never be a problem for you now.]


(con’t)

{Wow.} The mere act of thinking hasn’t changed, but now, communicating with Asa is lightning fast.

“You okay?” Jerome asks.

“Yeah, fine… Asa was just telling me something,” you assure him. You reach your door after a bit more walking and pull it open.


Inside, you see that nothing’s changed except the mail pile, which is reaching staggering heights. You sigh as you pass it – you’ve got a lot to do.


LEVEL TEN: DARK LIEUTENANT COMPLETE!

Progress: A
Combat: C+
Improv: B


All right! Only two jerks to go, and you finally triggered the Cursed Worm encounter I prepared like four weeks ago.

Combat was above average of what I expected, but tacking Moor was a really bad idea. Luckily, I had the reconstruction scenario all set and ready to go, so I’m just glad you got the dreams that you got on the Dream Table to show you what to ask about.

Lots of writeins, which gains you bonuses. Nice! Keep them coming! Longer ones too!


I’ll return tomorrow! Keep the thread alive!

>>35621243
IS THE ASA ROUTE LOST

MALL PLS

File: 1368183230450.png (17 KB, 612x567)

17 KB PNG

>>35621271
How hard are you willing to work? How many people are you willing to recruit?

>>35621307
Also: Jerome A Jerk, good in bed, but him going all "muh emotions" and saying he can't do this anymore after telling us he's in it for the long haul was frustrating to read.

I feel like we're the cop from Heat, and he's the bitchy spouse.

>>35621243
Yeah, I thought Ding was an exception, but mages are all super strong. I hoped all our armor enchants would help us more than they did. I guess the next ones should be anti magic, if those exist?

>>35621271
Asa a shit.

>>35621383
fuk u 2 sempai

>>35621383
Hard to say as generally fighting mages at long range=BAD IDEA normally. But here they seem to be more gamebreaking than 3.5e wizards.

>>35621243
Well, the nullifier was going and he had both hands occupied. It seemed like a good idea since he had the shield thing.

>>35621345
How many people have to worry about their spouse coming back from the dead? He's a simple kind of guy. This is way more than he signed up for. He's not considering divorce, he just couldn't tell when it was appropriate for him to register his problems with the situation. Then they all burst free at once when he saw a demigoddess stitching his wife's ghost back into her body. If it reads like he's overly emotional, it's because he's being emotional.
>>35621407
>>35621401
War mages are. Utility mages aren't very dangerous. Also, you're fighting specialists.


Be back soon! I'll play tomorrow morning and get the groundwork ready for the Kotrick and Novai fights.

>>35621466
bump

>>35621466
come back and give us Asa route someone else

Okay, I slept on it.

In hindsight, I think the reason Jerome's speech came off as ungrateful and annoying is because of timing, not argument. It was right after Elsa came back from the dead.

That said, if it made you feel emotional too, that's a good thing. It means I got you involved in the story. That's a win condition, as far as I'm concerned.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: WAR UNDERGROUND


You set your armor on the rack in your room and run your hands over the strange metal. It’s as good as new. “Thanks, Asa,’ you murmur.

Jerome sets his own things down on the table by the bed and starts sorting them. “Uh, Elsa,” he starts. “I’m sorry I jumped down your throat like that, right off the operating table.”

“Forget it,” you tell him. “This is way over our heads.”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “Well. Anyway. It’s about two in the afternoon… I took the day off. Do you want to just relax here, or do you want to go do… whatever it is you do when you’re out preparing?”

>”I should go check in on the King.”
>”I should go thank Culler for everything.”
>”I should go check on the warehouse.”
>”I should go see Dervich.”
>”I should go see Kelscik.”
>”I should go see what they did with the Orb and nullifier.”
>”Nah. Let’s be couch potatoes.”
>writein

>>35626752
>Let's be couch potatoes

You do have a lot on your plate, but you also just came back from the dead. “Nah,” you say, turning back to him. “Let’s be couch potatoes.”


Half an hour later, snugged up in front of a roaring fire, you rest on the couch with a blanket over the both of you. He’s sprawled back on the cushions, just reading, while you rest with your head on his chest, eyes shut. You were scared, you were hurt, you were technically dead, but you had your talk. Time can heal the rest, you hope.

You shift your head a bit on his chest and let your arm hang down beside the couch. “Jerome… thanks. Thanks for understanding.”

He bookmarks what he’s reading and sets it down on the little end table. “I don’t understand, but… maybe I don’t need to. If you say it’s almost over, then I take your word for it.” You both fall silent as the logs crackle and burn on the fireplace.

You find yourself dozing off after a while, and shake yourself awake. “Mmm… I need to move around.”

“Want to go somewhere for dinner?” he asks. “Maybe you’ll feel better with some food in you.”

>”Sure. Someplace nearby.”
>”Someplace nice.”
>”Cheap and greasy. I need feel-good food.”
>”Nah, let’s eat in.”
>writein

>>35627595
>”Sure. Someplace nearby."
Minimize the crazy fan chance.

Back and writing. I was updating your character sheet.

“That sounds good,” you agree. “Someplace close, so we don’t get swamped by the fans outside.”

He half-smiles. “Look out the window.”

Curious, you clamber off of him and walk up to the window, and sure enough…

“They’re gone!”

“Yep.” He ambles up behind you and starts strapping on boots. “They’re gone. They’re all outside the castle. Waiting for you, or something, I dunno.”

“Wow.” The devotion of your fans is a bit humbling, actually. “Well, they’re out of the way,” you say aloud.


You hurry upstairs to change into civvies and a nice cloak, then wait for Jerome to finish getting his coat and wallet. You duck out the backdoor and walk down a few streets to where a little pub with a nice grill is, one you’ve patronized many times.

The proprietor looks up at you from the spigots as you walk in. His eyes widen at once, when he recognizes your brand, but he keeps his mouth shut, probably because you know him. It’s only when you sit at the bar that he speaks.

“Elsa Ledren… wow. Uh, hi. And it’s Jerome, right?” he asks. The squirrely little dark elf shakes himself loose. “Uh, what can I get you?”


You both order and get your drinks. As you do, you hear the *clack* of pool balls and darts.


>Want to play, or just eat quick and go?

>>35627971
>Just eat quick and go

You wait for the food, and while it’s sizzling on the spit in the back, you take a quick look around. The crowd is awfully thin, but there’s a face you recognize.

Sister Gannet is sitting at a table in the back, staring into her drink. She looks up and catches your eye, looking surprised, but quickly nods and looks back down.

As you’re eating, a few people approach, but whether it’s the businesslike way you’re eating or the aura of noninterest you’re projecting, nobody actually says anything. The crowd picks up a bit as you finish, and you pay your bill quickly – you don’t want to stick around.

Outside, you pull up your hood and start walking, when Gannet materializes in the alley beside you. “Um, Elsa?” she asks hesitantly. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but…”

You see Jerome’s shoulders tense a bit, but you squeeze his hand. “It’s okay, I know her. What is it?” you ask Gannet.


(con’t)

She hesitates again, then gingerly clasps your hand with hers. “The Worm. Thanks for that. Those things scare the hell out of me. I nearly broke in there before you did… whatever you did.”

“Oh!” In all the chaos, you had nearly forgotten about the forty-foot acid-breathing worm. “Right. Uh, certainly, don’t mention it,” you tell her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

She smiles at last, albeit not much. “Yes. You too. We all feared the worst. Master Culler actually felt a bit guilty for leaving the way he did. Did you happen to hear how much Master Culler and Master Kelscik charged the King, by the way?” she asks, her good humor returning. “Almost fifty million Acerts between them.”

Your jaw drops. “Fifty million?”

Jerome stares. “For one day’s work?”

Gannet giggles. “The King was apoplectic, but after hearing that you managed to take the Orb and capture the warehouse intact, he paid up. I’d recommend not hiring Kelscik again. The old man’s sleeping on a bed made of the King’s money tonight.”


>”Where did you hear this?”
>”Yeah, I think we’ll avoid that from here on out.”
>”If it works, I’ll pay his prices.”
>writein

>>35628474
>>writein
"Whoops..."
>>”Where did you hear this?”

>>35628474
>”Yeah, I think we’ll avoid that from here on out. That's more than fifty times more what Garrett charged.”

Cool. One more and I'm calling it quits for the week. Thanks!

You pull a face. “Yuck. I think we’ll just have him be a consultant from here on out. Where did you hear this?”

Gannet giggles again. “Culler. He thought it was funny. The Brotherhood and the Firesouls overlap a lot, but the older Brothers sort of think of the Firesouls as prima donnas.”

You can’t help but laugh at that image. “Sure. I can see that.”

The Sister steps back. “Well. I’ll let you go. Thank you again, Elsa.”

“Sure. Good night.” You wave her goodbye as she departs.

“How do you know her?” Jerome asks.

“We’ve fought together several times,” you tell him. “In the ports and at the warehouse.”

“Ah.”


[END OF THREAD]

>>35629136
thanks for running!

Bump for the Skype and IRc crowds that wanted to catch up.

>>35629136
Nice thread!

If you're still here, could we hear more about how mages work? I was picturing something like DnD wizards/sorcerers, where if you were up close they'd have some penalties casting, and if you were far away you'd get annihilated by an unholy magical barrage. Is it the opposite here, mages are strong at close range but spells weaken over distance? Or are they completely OP and can kill you anywhere?

>>35629808
Sure. Let me finish chores and I'd be happy to explain more.

Simply put, magic is like a battery inside the body. It's measured on a logarithmic scale, with 5 being average, 6 being impressive, and anything 7 and up being superhuman. Kelscik is about an 8.1, Sun is somewhere in the high double digits. They call him The Living God because he basically is.

As far as magic works, there's some sort of beneficial relationship between studying it and your lifespan - having it is the only way to extend your life without tapping the Well, and it slows aging instead of stopping it outright. A complete study of all the basics of magic in every school would take about sixty years, so most people just study the basics of one or two fields and then go on to master one specific sub-field - Utility Mages, for instance, tend to focus on water magic for cleaning sewage, Current magic for powering devices and keeping infrastructure up, and healing magic for hospital use.

Alchemy works the same way, and the best alchemists are usually mages, though not all of them.

Combat magic is usually focused on directing large amounts of specific energy, imbued with some elemental power, though your hands or a weapon. A blast of brown energy, for instance, is attuned to earth magic (though it's really Tarsh magic, I just call it earth magic for convenience). Magic tends to dissipate over range, quite a lot for some styles, and the amount of energy needed to make matter from nothingness is so high that most people simply create some summoning circles with things they want in them, and then use one-way summoning magic to call them to their hands when needed, rather than actually materialize it. Summoning living material seems to be impossible. That's why that teleporter was so dangerous.


Since magic is directed through the hands, and simple magic has no verbal component, most Mages are toughest at close range.

Anything else you wanted to know?

>>35630846
So there's no somatic component either? Mages don't need to trace fancy air circles or make weird hand signs for those simple spells?

Also how are they at long range? What advantages do we get for keeping distance from mages? Just more time to dodge their attacks, or do spells weaken or require more energy over a distance? If they're far away, doesn't that also give them an opportunity to pull out the big powerful complex spells?

>>35631062
>So there's no somatic component either?
Ssssort of. You have to know what you want the spell to do to cast it silently.


> Mages don't need to trace fancy air circles or make weird hand signs for those simple spells?
Nope.

>Also how are they at long range?
Simple spells dissipate, unless they're specifically designed not to, and those are very tiring.

> What advantages do we get for keeping distance from mages?
Their spells dissipate over range. Bullets don't.

>Just more time to dodge their attacks, or do spells weaken or require more energy over a distance?
They weaken and require more energy, yes. Both.

> If they're far away, doesn't that also give them an opportunity to pull out the big powerful complex spells?
Maybe. Those dissipate, too. Physical and divine powers don't dissipate over range, except for the ones where I specifically tell if they're ranged.

>>35631126
Ok, thanks. Magic mechanics learnt. More Eragon than DnD.

Maybe? I don't know Eragon.