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>>45011147
Everything else however, has been largely theory. You'd expected incantations, canned spells, or something to that effect, secrets to make you summon doom upon your enemies. It was anything but, Veles saying that the real limit of magic was your own creativity. However your creativity appeared sorely lacking as you tried to find a way to move this water from one basin to the other without spilling the contents. Veles stressing the importance of finesse excersizes.


>Continue (Give a strategy.)
>Take a break
>Go check through the notes again.
>Go check on the ranch proper.
>Ask Veles about advanced training.
>other?

Season: Winter

Money: 1675
New Backpack - (Sealed)
Kozak Bladesx2
Repeater - Unupgraded

Sasha: Skill list
Ranching +4
Scholar +3
Marsksmanship +5
Natural Ability (Lamia) +3
Intrigue +4
Casting (Draconic+4 Roc+2 Leviathan+3 Troll+1 Elemental+1)
Falconry +1

>>45011167
>go through notes
Yay! It's finally back!

>>45011167
Shape the earth into a trough for the water to run through. Or, allow a small trickle of water to leak, the water will follow the past of least resistance, meaning you only have to make small corrections.

>>45011344
I'm pretty sure the point is to move the water purely with telekinesis. If we have to build a trough first, it wouldn't be useful in combat or an emergency.

>>45011344
For that problem, I suggest that we mentally view ourselves putting the water into a bucket. Then use the image of the bucket to hold our focus on keeling the water in the air until we get it to the other container.

>>45011344
>>45011372
>>45011413
If you're gonna go for the attempt, give me a 1d20+1 roll, both avenues fall under the same 'elemental' purview

Rolled 19 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>45011592
I still want to look over the notes on how the ranch is doing in our absence.

>>45011372
I meant use our mind powers to it.

>>45012181
I thought you meant to use our earth magic to construct a trough to force the water through.
That's how I understood it at leas.
Ether way, you should roll for your way of trying it too.

>>45012238
Ya already rolled yours, and judging by the number, yours is clearly the correct way!

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>20
You first attempt to mentally shift the water into the second container with your mind alone, causing rivulets to extend out of it and up into the other one. Veles lets out a low whistle as one tendril extends itself just barely reaching the lip of the bowl before you lose control, a few droplets splashing into the bowl, the rest of that tendril hitting the ground. There's just simply two much moving, too many little parts to account for.

You're still wheezing from the exertion when Veles quietly upends the one bowl into the other. "Once more. Try something else perhaps."

You think back to the burrow that Veles taught you and then focus on the floor between the pots. Gesturing wildly, you raise up some of the and create a makeshift ramp between the two, sinking the empty pot into the earth. You find it far easier to get the tendril of water up into the the trough and let gravity do the rest. It is still taxing however, and you fall back after coaxing the last of the water onto the ramp, catching your breath as it slips into the other jug.

Veles claps his hand on your shoulder. "Good work, the point of this is to show that there are less taxing ways to achieve your result than brute forcing it. Take a bit of a break, we'll continue in a bit."

Shaking your head, you move towards your personal little alcove off of the main chamber.

>Go over the magical notes.
>Go over the reports from the ranch.

>>45012386
That wasn't what I rolled for, but whatever.
I want to look on the ranch notes first still.

>>45012386
>Read the reports from the ranch
>Grab a drink, mind shenanigans is thristy work!

>>45012452
Also, she did try it your way, but her magic wasn't strong enough to do it.

>>45012551
No, she didn't. What was done was she tried to send send tendrils of water across. Not a glob.

>>45012452
>>45012598

I combined votes so as to not have a stall. Your method had a higher DC since you are trying to account for each individual particle if you do it that way. Difficulty scales to how much you are relying on magic to account for it. That's why it failed in its first attempt. It wouldn't have moved if you tried to grab the thing in one go in its liquid form.

>>45012619
That's why I used visualization. It doesn't focus on each droplet of water, it focuses on the picture in your head. You create a force that acts like the bucket and use it to puck up the water. It's not manipulating the water, it's manipulating air to manipulate water. It's much easier to do.

>>45012619
>>45012675
Oh well. It doesn't matter.

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Grateful for the reprieve you snag some cool water from an unmolested pitcher, downing a majority of it as you flop down into your pile of furs. Daisy, having grown like a weed and showing no signs of stopping, is perched on a hastilly tapped coatrack peg on the side of the cavern wall. Grabbing the journal, you go through the last couple days worth of notes.

Tai and Tataina have hit it off apparently, he's teaching her her letters now that the brunt of taking care of Artyom is over. Marie and McCain have been tending to the cattle mostly, assisted in the other chores by Artyom, who's refusal to remove his new armor has kind of negated his usefulness in cattle herding, the polished sheen riling the herd up whenever he attempts to do those duties. McCain had been adding relevant snippets out of his newspaper detailing important goings on in the area. The last of which was a flyer for a sale at Enos' shop, his subtle way of telling you that he bought supplies in bulk.

As for the UFK itself, the mainland is still posturing with the Phoenix Empire, who are still passively denying they have anything to do with the invasion. As for the invaders, neither hide nor hair of them has been seen outside of ransacked settlements on the very edges of UFK controlled lands. Two or three times references are made to 'captured dead' phoenix soldiers who you can only assume are the ones that attacked your ranch. No other successful defenses from their movements being reported. All in all they are like trying move water with a piece of cloth.

You look over to the Iron Book written by Dragon Who was Dragon. Veles has been kind enough to pull relevant entries out of it and translate it into the snake cant. Its been fairly insightful, but in a way that is impenetrable until you actually try it and see for yourself. Next to that are your own notes on magic.

That said, you're still pretty damned tired from your attempt, but you might feel up to another one of Veles lessons.

>Action?

>>45013159
About what time is it?

>>45013274
Still fairly early, prolly an hour and a half before noon. Veles is fairly big on routine wakeups.

>>45013309
If we're as tired as you've made us out to be, I'd say it's for the best if we do something non-strenuous until lunch.
-Possibilities-
>Look over our notes some more. (my vote)
>Take a short nap (about an hour).
>Play with Daisy
We then eat lunch. After that, we'll see what happens.

>>45013159
She should take a nap, can't read notes when we're sleepy! Possibly on a nice hot rock out in the sun? That's usually good for a restful nap, reptilian or not. Then we look over our notes some more!

>>45013414
Let's play with Daisy. Do we have falconry gear?

>>45013675
Hot rocks are in short supply at the moment given its winter at the moment.
>>45013736
You've got some ancient looking ones that Veles handed you, blinders, wrist brace, the like.

>>45013675
It's the middle of winter, so We'd need one heated by a lamp or fire or something.

>>45013414
We could also:
>Work on our rifle (figure out exactly how and why it works, and hypothesize how to make it better)
>Eat lunch early.

I guess I'll go with >>45013675 's vote.
Sleep is important.

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You figure some R&R is in order. Slipping on the handling gauntlet, you take Daisy and your notes up to the gateway atrium. The not so little falcon fluttering in agitation as you passed the rookery. Using what you know to light the braziers, and rigging up an impromptu hearth you sit on the balcony above the slew of defunct portals, basking in the heat while watching over the vibrant whiteness of the snow filled valley.

With Daisy happily swooping from perch to perch, you pour into the notes. Nothing else of note on the ranch you dive into the iron book notes. You see where you made your 'mistake' with the water, if you can call it that. From what you glean from Veles' translation, to pick up something of an amorphous shape the amount of magical energy required increases exponentially as you try and 'hold' the liquid together. Apparently creating a magical bucket around water would let it play off each other, but one would have to have the finesse to keep all the water from trying to flow outside of the projection. Or in laymans terms 'Because magic.' is the most energy inefficient way of doing something. For example, troll runes can be created without any outside instrument, but any caster worth their salt would use a focus or an engraver to create them.

You find yourself dozing off reading the notes, and come to to the sound of scratching. Crawling over to the lip of the balcony you see Veles working industriously. Noting your curious look the big snake answers the unspoken question. "Tending to the gateways, while their exits may be gone. I would feel remiss to my sire if I let them lapse here."

>Inspect the gateways.
>Go back to the lessons.
>Visit the ranch.
>Go eat.
>Other?

>>45014664
>Visit the ranch.

>>45014664
>Inspect the Gateways
Even if we cant yet, learning about how to create and maintain trans-spacial portals couldn't be a bad thing.

>>45014664
> Visit the ranch
Make money, fuck bitches.

>>45015055
But we don't have any wolf or dog girls! How can we fuck bitches without them?!

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"Its been a minute since I've checked on my ranch. The Phoenix buggers have been too quiet for my liking so I'm gonna check on it. Did you have anything you wanted me to do today?"

He shakes his head, "Nothing really, more finesse excersizes, I'll come through if I've forgotten anything major. Consider yourself freed for the day."

You nod, beckoning Daisy to your arm as you bundle up the best you can. Focusing on the gateway, you activate the latent magic within opening the portal to your home. Ducking through, you are blasted by a cold that almost forces you back through the other side. Gritting your teeth, you sidewind towards your house, slipping inside in a matter of seconds. Once inside you're pleased to note the tiles within are still warm. You mentally thank your late father for insisting on installing those heating pipes beneath them, and head over to the stove where you stoke the flame.

From the safety of your upstairs window, you see Artyom proudly strutting around the edges of the compound, acting as an icebreaker for a pair of Liama's men. McCain is atop Traveller, plowing through the snow as he tends to the cattle. Traipsing through the somewhat cleared portion is Tai, running chicken feed to the coop with Tatiana in tow. In the distance you catch a flash of red, and see Marie conversing with the workemen, who seem to be checking how the bridge is holding up to its first winter.

>Action?

>>45015542
>Check in with Marie and the workmen.

>>45015542
Confer with McCain. He is far more competent than we probably deserve.

>>45015714
But he's out in the field, and the field is covered in snow. . . Snow is cold. Cold is bad. We should either watch everyone from the house until lunch or go to the one that would require going through the least amount of snow to talk to.

>>45015714
You are right though. He IS far more competent than we deserve.

>>45015542
prolly check in with marie

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Not wanting to hazard the weather if you don't have to, you wait for them to come in for lunch. It doesn't take long, Tai slipping in and doing a double take when he sees you. Nodding in greeting, you let the phoenix empire man get to work, heating up leftovers of what appears to be roast beef, creating some sort of sauce you can only imagine the taste of as soak in the smell of the food.

Tatiana and Artyom are the next in, giving off a respectful greeting as the edge over to where Tai is cooking. Handing the pair some plates, the centaurs retreat back outdoors and you see them heading towards the bunkhouse. Cocking an eyebrow at Tai he simply mentions they've not wanted to be in the way, finding our dining room to be rather... cramped.

McCain is the next in, he's surprised to see you as well, and gives you a rundown of what he's already told you. Only new developments are that one of the cattle doesn't seem to be taking to the cold well, he's got it in the barn, but if the condition doesn't improve it might end up in the larder. Between that and the ones you lost to the mountain lion a few months back, you're still fixing to make a tidy profit, provided future loses are kept to a minimum.

Marie is the last in, sliding in behind Liama who energeticly greets you, informing you that no, none of the damned phoenix bastards had made an appearance. Marie on the other hand reports that most of the work on the buildings near the Casimiran pass has been completed, and the men are clearing the areas for the further built plans, but the ground is too hard to start work on, and until the situation on the other side of the mountain stabilizes, apparently the 'big bossman' who you can only assume is Serrak has put a stay on future building.


>Anything specific you wanted to ask?

>>45016530
Wait, Marie's got a COCKNEY ACCENT?!
I want us to be with her even more now.

>anything specific we wanted to ask
Not really. I just like her the most. I like her even more now that that's her battle-cry.
(I will never stop wanting to romance her.)

I suppose we could ask her for any interesting stories about any mischief she got into while living in the ruins of Citadel.

>>45016530
Nah nothing really.

What do we have on the agenda candid? can't really think of shit we need to do

>>45016530
If there's nothing we can do roght now i suppose the only thing beneficial is go train more in magic so we can be of actual use when spring comes and we either go after the phoenix bastards or go through the mountian

>>45016820
All we NEED to do is eat lunch. I want to ask Marie about stories about her adventures before we hired her.

>>45016889
obviously, but after is the question

>>45016820
You kinda wrapped up a lot of stuff before we went on the break, right now there are two things stopping you from making money on your trade route, the Kozak/Szlachta conflict in the centaur lands, and the phoenix invasion.

You actively went to learn magic from Veles prior. You got like a net total of +6 to rolls from your studies so far.

>>45016946
So i'd probably say go back and learn some more magic, maybe try to develop our venoms.

It'll be useful come spring to be a force to be reckoned with considering the shit we need to do. Especially since trying to tackle those two issues isn't really reasonable right now due to the whole cold blooded thing.

>>45017233
>>45016946
Yea we're kind of at a loss as to what we can do right now

>>45017379
>>45017233
Can we please have story time with Marie?

>>45017420
I seriously doubt she has very much to say.

And it doesn't really benefit and advance things much.

>>45017452
It doesn't NEED to benefit us. (It would, though. To some extent.)
It's bonding. Bonding with people makes you closer friends. When you're friends with people they try harder for you.

>>45017452
You also don't know that she has nothing to say. She could have LOTS to say. We just haven't asked.

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"Hey Marie, you mentioned you grew up in the what was left of the Citadel."

Marie freezes as you mention it, looking over towards where Liama is chatting happily with a dour looking McCain, who is by and large suffering her attentions. "Yeah, I did. Why?"

"I've not really been to anything bigger than Riverport. I was just curious how life was like there."

"Hard. Above anything else hard. Those who weren't rich lived in the ruins. Those who were rich reclaimed the ruins, pushing off those who were there. It was all legal, the folks in the ruins were squatters and they'd be given 'compensation.' A pittance. Folks quickly split up into two types. The oppurtunists that fed off the hard work of their fellow squatters, and those who tried to make things better. The shadows were part of the latter. For all the good it did."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean any offense."

She shakes her head, "Don't worry overmuch about it. It was a long time ago and quite far away. We did do some REAL good though. Bunch of nobs got together and bought what used to be an old inn. Massive thing, maybe fifteen floors. It'd been making due as a tenament before they hustled everyone out of there and put razor wire all around it. Me and a couple of the other shadows managed to slip in and get everyones belongings out before they toppled it. I hear its a garden now." She grimaces, focusing on her roast beef melt. You feel a sickening sense of deja vu from that story when the door suddenly opens.

Framed in the doorway, covered in enough furs to look like some ancient behemoth is Veles. Disconcerting worry is on his face, the first you've seen him use that expression.

"Something wrong Veles?" you venture hesitantly.

"Someone is tampering with the old gateways. How or why I do not know, but one is picking up a new terminus. Given it used to go to the far northern reaches of your 'UFK' this should not be possible."

>Action?

>>45018051
Get the fuck to the portal and prepare for what might be coming through. Anyone who wants to help should come. Make sure to tell Artyom to come with us.

>>45018051
Get more information, if any, on when, details of where it changed to, anything else that might help us prepare.

>>45018051
welp time for orcs and magi science soul monsters

>>45018051
pretty obviously checking that shit out

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Grabbing everyone free, you make with all speed to the gateway. Holding it open you hustle through your war party. McCain, Artyom, and Liama flanked by two of her mercs. Leaving Marie in charge of the ranches defenses for the time being (Her grin on that pronouncement making you nervous.) you head through. The gateway rotunda has grown pretty cramped with 3 lamia, a centaur, an elf, and a pair of armed humans inside. With the others covering the gate in question, you and Veles begin inspecting it, him rattling off a string of information about it in snake cant. Over your shoulder, you can practically FEEL Liama drinking in his discussion. Veles points to the artwork engraved above the dias the gateway would be on. A small gem inset between a carving of an insectoid and a tusked humanoid. Every so often the gem shifts in the light, sparkling

"It is attempting a link. Something has divined its location and is seeking it." Veles says aloud. "If we time it properly, we might be able to divine the diviners location and how they are doing this." He scrawls some sigils into the ground with his blade. "I need to you focus on the sigils. They will act as a waypoint for me. If I were to channel them a link might be created between here and there. There needs to be seperation."

>Roll 1d20+1 Troll Magic

Rolled 11 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>45019075
Rollin'

>>45019241
Well, you can't have the Random Number gods' favor on ALL your rolls.
(Still better than nothing though.)

>>45019241
C'mon people. I rolled a 12. See if you can de better!

Rolled 8 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>45019379
I'll give it a shot

>>45019595
We need more.
Surely SOMEONE must have the RNGs favor!
(There have been seven posters. Where are the other 5?)

Rolled 15 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>45019075
plz

>>45019803
Thank you for doing better!

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>16

You focus on the sigil, using the same mental processes you do when you open the gate between here and home. It glows a faint blue, almost unnoticeble as you do so, but you ignore it, instead focusing on keeping the thing activated. As you do that Veles places a hand on the gem in the dias. Palm flat to it you see the old snake stare off ahead, as if in a trance before he speaks. <I see blood. Blood is the crux and blood is the medium. Hands dipping into it. Sigils. Not carved, painted. Using the blood. I also smell something foul. Death long since coming but denied. The death scent is mixed with the blood as well. The sigils are Roc in nature. Divination. Of course. Roc Sigils using blood as a medium to channel energy. Inefficient. Effective, but much blood needed. Bodies. Some same as those painting, some different, less different than same. Bloodless. Another gateway, different. Underground. Entire area beneath the earth. Near. Nearer than the land the gateway went.>

He slumps backwards, spent. You and Liama prop the old snake as he shakes himself to wakefullness. "Whoever they are. They are nearby. On this land mayhaps. They know of this gateway. Sense it. It will take some time before they can open. More blood needed for that. Much more."

>?

>>45019846
So the phoenix empire is gonna take a bunch of slaves from the surrounding villages, then sacrifice them to gain access here.

>>45019846
Send Marie to get in contact with the nitor captian and inform him of this >>45019918 possibility

>>45019846
We need someone to tell the Nitor that some shit is probably going to be going down soon.
We need to get Veles to a safer location so he can rest.

>>45019944
We might want to see if Veles would be willing to let us destroy the portal, or at least if placing shit in it would cause anyone coming through to be telefraged.

>>45019979
Nah don't destroy, ambush

>>45019846
begin fortification for ambushing. Then let the nitor know about this shit

>>45019987
No. It is worse to have the possibility to lose the place than kill them actively.
If they make it in: Scorched Earth.
They will have NONE of what they want to take.

>>45020036
Well no shit, we set ourselves up right outside this room and as soon as they open the portal you send in an unending torrent of flame. Then maybe follow back and wipe them out, maybe not.

We need the phoenix threat done with in order to start helping with the situation across the range.

>>45019987
We won't, however, destroy the Portal unless we have Veles' permission or they have already made it in. If they over power us, the portal must be destroyed, and anyone still alive must make sure nothing is stolen by them by destroying everything.

Placing things inside of the portal, I'm hoping, will kill them when they try to warp in. This is preferable to Scorched Earth, but Scorched Earth is plan B.

>>45020112
My mind immediately goes to worst case scenario. I assume the worst will happen and plan for it.

>>45019846
What the other anons said about informing Nitor and getting Veles to a safer location.
Then, confer with the others-get a plan, a backup, and a backup to the backup.

>>45020180
Plan B is destroy everything.

>>45020180
This definitely but bring up ambushing them to everyone. I'm sure veles has considered this before

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The next few moments are a blur as you begin barking orders to the followers. Opening the gateway to your house you send McCain and Artyom through with explicit orders to get to the nitor as quickly as possible. Shifting the bulk of Veles' torso onto Liama, she and her men keeping their rifles trained on the gateway her tremendous longrifle gleaming as she crooks it in one arm. Moving at twice the speed of slither you duck into the main cavern, grabbing a pitcher of cool water and hurrying it back up to the gateway. Veles takes the thing and downs it in one go, making massive pulls as he drains it. He shakes himself again, trying to get some energy.

<Took more out of me than I like. Roc magic is not my specialty. Blood neither. Spent too much time looking at them I think. Trying to work out what they were doing.>

<Are you going to be ok?> You ask, worriedly.

He lets out a half cough <In time yes. It was only taxing is all.>

<Should we destroy the portal? Stop them from getting through?>

<It would only delay them, and tell them someone knows. They found that one because of the nascent channel between it and its old terminus.>

<You're sure they don't know?>

<They are working slow. Supplies are limited underground I imagine. If I'd guess, concealment is more important than haste to them.> he pauses, then laughs to himself <They probably think it a relic. Untouched but preserved. Fitting. Bst we had leave it alone. I imagine they'd hasten the pace if we closed it down.>

<But what happens if they do start to increase the pace?>

Liama's voice called from over your shoulder, uncharacteristicly hard, <We'll be ready for them.>

And this is it for tonight. Been running since three and it's a weekday so I don't want to ruin anyone's sleep schedule too badly. I'm HOPING to get back to WEEKLY threads here, no promises but things look kinda hopeful for that.

As always thanks for reading, and bearing with me while I vanished for a while there.

>>45020673
Good to have you back, don't want this to die.

>>45020673
Thanks for running Chemlab!
You are the real MVP.

>>45020673
Thanks for running, came in to late to contribute.

>>45020673
Thanks for running, Canid. Sorry I missed so much of it. Appreciate your running.