Hello and welcome to Arcana Quest!
Take the role of a burgeoning young Mage who definitely does NOT engage in mad sorcery, and have fun with it!
I'll be running a few threads of this and then decide on whether to continue it or not depending on the interest it gets. Don't have a twitter, maybe I'll get one at some point.
Dice Rolls to do something are D100, Bo3. Random Rolls are a flat D100 or D20, I'll tell you what to roll of course.
Character sheet will be coming next week.
English is not my native language, so please forgive typos, grammar errors and awkward phrasing, but I'll do my best.
This is my first quest, so any critique and/or pointers to improve my writing/ storytelling are greatly appreciated.
Anyways, let's get into this. Have fun, keep shitposting to a bearable amount and try not to rip each other apart.

>>1616109
>todd
>male
>human

Just a regular old todd here, no magic blood in this regular joe.

>>1616109
>Arraya
>F
>ELF PRIDE WORLD WIDE

>>1616197
>>>>(((((elf)))))
Physically remove yourself

>>1616109
>Selthar
>female
>Orc

Lets go full wannabe shaman

>>1616175
>>1616197
>>1616216
Well, let's make a compromise.
>Arraya
>Female
>Half-Elf

>>1616243
Well shit
thats what i get for not updating before posting

>>1616252
Waiting 5 more minutes for tiebreaker, else i'll go with arraya because it firs better in the setting

ou calm yourself. A cool head and logical thinking are a Mage's most important tools, afterall. Solving problems is your trade, it's what magic is about, and you know that you've faced much more difficult ones in the past - you just can't remember. After a few minutes of prodding around in your mind, you finally find something that has a feeling of identity, of self. The thoughts are slippery, but you manage to hold on to them, and you remember. And how could ever forget! You are Arraya, magical prodigy, Arcane Inventor, Spellshaper, Magus Extraordinaire! You'd never become on of those creepy abominations, and they definitely don't spook you! Well, becoming a "proper" and "acknowledged" Magus will maybe take a few more years, but whatever. You really are immensely talented though, and nobody can question that, not even those stuck-up old men at the Academy. Of course, while you obviously excel at ritual magic - you've decided to think of this... temporary handicap as not a failure, but a minor setback and something you can learn from - you specialise in...

>Elementalism (Air/Earth/Fire/Water)
Elementalism is very versatile, combining the overwhelming offence of fire with the sturdy defence of Earth and the Utility of Air and Water. Of course, everybody specializes in one or two of the elements, but you have all of them at your beck and call to some extent.
>Arcanism (Mana Control/Barriers/Utility)
Arcanists can fling volatile blasts of raw mana, counter enemy spells, empower their own and create barriers to protect themselves and allies. They also have lots of utility spells, being able to create illusions and teleport short distances.
>Spiritualism (Summoning/Self-Enhancements/Spiritcalling)
Spiritualists can summon elementals and spirits to fight or complete tasks for them, but are limited in the amount of spirits they can permanently bind to themselves. In order to not be helpless without them, they can imbue themselves with their power or call much more powerful spirits for short instances to deliver a devastating blow.

>>1616284
You* damnit.
Just to clarify, you'll be able to use all three schools of Magic, but the one you choose here will be your most powerful one.

>>1616284
>>Arcanism (Mana Control/Barriers/Utility)

>>1616284
>Arcanism (Mana Control/Barriers/Utility)

calling it in 10 minutes

You let out a content sigh at your progress, get up and dust yourself off. You flex your metaphysical and watch with satisfaction as some blue-purple arcs of raw magical energy crackle around your body, charring a few patches of grass and stirring up the ambient mana. Activating magesight, you take a moment to appreciate the complexities of your runic arrays' magical signatures. You wonder what those were for... well, all in due time. You take another look around, take your gear after spotting it a few meters away, and start walking into the woods as you take stock. Your notebook, an enchanted satchel of holding full with arcane reagents, an extremely sharp knife for carving runes various other magical paraphernalia and...

>A wooden staff with a glass orb at the top and a dagger. As you pick it up, the orb flashes white, before being seemingly filled with a slightly luminescent white gas.
>A wand and short sword. A crystal shard floats a few centimetres in front of the wand's tip, flanked by two smaller ones. The sword looks unusual, broader at the tip and curved – a Kopis, the merchant called it.
>A gauntlet and a sword. The gauntlet has fingers that almost look like claws and is inlaid with four small and one large green gem. The sword has a slender look to it, hiltless and slightly curved.
>Other

During your trek through the green - you always enjoyed being in nature, despite violating its laws on a daily basis - you keep trying to uncover more memories on your current situation. Specifically, where you are and why you are here. After a while, you manage to remember why you were passed out in the woods. One of the first things that came back was the fact that you were conducting an experiment, but its nature eluded you until now. You were trying to learn a new spell, and when you say new, you mean it. It's one of your unique talents: you can craft your own spells, albeit only with great effort, rare reagents, a lengthy ritual and a not inconsiderable risk to your person. What you tried today was new ground even for you - you tried to invent a hybrid spell. They are extremely rare and combine two schools of magic, in this case Arcanism and Spiritualism. Though you cannot remember what you wanted its effects to be, you can tell you were successful by the nagging feeling in the back of your mind that started when you remembered this. Anew spell that wants to be released. By concentrating a bit you can tell it has a somewhat lengthy incantation, so you probably shouldn't use it in the middle of a fight. Your unconsciousness and temporary amnesia were most likely effects of the backlash of casting such a complex ritual, from a schools you aren't all that proficient in nonetheless.

cont.

>>1616381
You flip through a few pages of your notebook, but without the reference of you memories most of it doesn't make much sense. You also immediately notice that a lot of it is magically encrypted, sealed and/ or hidden (including the parts about the new spell), but how to access these parts was not included in your current memories.
You also remembered why you were in the woods: The Academy you're studying at is nearby, but its headmaster has a stick up various orifices and doesn't let you perform unknown and potentially dangerous experiments on Academy grounds anymore. You argued the lab equipment couldn't have been that expensive, he argued back that it was about the rest of the tower. Anyway, you should probably head back soon – there's still some time left before dawn, but you're tired from your brief excursion into the land of magically induced coma. Also, you'll just go ahead and assume you told someone where you're going, and they might be worried why you're not back yet. Alternatively, you could stop by the city to get the one thing that isn't conveniently available on Academy grounds: a drink. Because you sure as hell could need one after this, and it would even be on the way. The city was built right next to the Academy, after all. You also have the faint memory you wanted to check out something around here, something a peer mentioned to you. You try to figure it out while you walk, and about a minute after you finally came across a road, scraps of a conversation finally start to pop into your head. After a bit of a mental puzzle, you manage to remember what the person – whose identity you still have no idea about – told you:
“...and at the crossroads a mile south of the city, just head south-east into the forest instead of taking one of the roads. Walk for about 20 minutes, and then turn west at the ruined tower. Another ten minutes, and you'll come across a clearing with a dead tree in the middle. But once you dispel the illusion, you'll see that it's actually some kind of obelisk. Normally I'd keep something like this to myself, but I couldn't make sense of its magical signature for the life of me. I thought maybe you'd have more luck...”.
As you decide what to do, you notice that you unconsciously started walking along the road without even hesitating. The second you hope that you didn't walk in the wrong direction, a bend in the forest road reveals a crossroad with a signpost. Taking a look at it, you see one of the signs points at Cerilla – right, that's what it was called.

>Go right back to the Academy, calm anybody who might be worried because of your extended absence, acquire glorious sleep
>Stop by at your favourite Tavern, get a drink and maybe meet some people. It's on the way, but it might still be a bit of a dick move to keep people waiting. Not that that ever stopped you
>Go back into the forest, you want to see this Obelisk. Maybe it'll hold the key to acquire UNLIMITED COSMIC POWER

>>1616381
>A wand and short sword. A crystal shard floats a few centimetres in front of the wand's tip, flanked by two smaller ones. The sword looks unusual, broader at the tip and curved – a Kopis, the merchant called it.
>Go right back to the Academy, calm anybody who might be worried because of your extended absence, acquire glorious sleep

>>1616381
>A gauntlet and a sword. The gauntlet has fingers that almost look like claws and is inlaid with four small and one large green gem. The sword has a slender look to it, hiltless and slightly curved.
>>1616385
>Go right back to the Academy, calm anybody who might be worried because of your extended absence, acquire glorious sleep

keeping the poll open a while longer, waiting for a tiebreaker and with this little activity it makes sense to wait a bit longer

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Well, I doubt I'll get a tiebreaker, but I'll give it five more miutes. after that the dice decide

File: MC_Wand_Shortsword_Starter_Kit.jpg (340 KB, 1157x1001)

340 KB JPG

Wand and Kopis it is then

>>1616510
Ah, and I'm writing. Prewritten stuff ends here.

File: NPC_Cerilla_City_Guards.jpg (48 KB, 736x883)

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You feel a bit of relief as you reach the city walls. Today was a productive day, but you're tired of walking and want to sleep. At least you could magically alleviate most of that brutal headache. You nod to the city guard as you put your hand of the aura scanner, and walk through without any questions after it confirms you to be a member of the Academy. You walk through the city at a fast pace, eager to get to bed. Nobody bothers you, most likely on account of you being armed and wearing obvious mage robes. You give a longing look to the tavern in passing, but continue on in to the other end of the city while dusk breaks.

File: The_Academy.jpg (1.5 MB, 1920x1080)

1.5 MB JPG

As you round a turn, the Academy comes into view. Built on multiple floating Islands, it is the most famous magic school you know of. While its proper name is Academia Arcana, most people just refer to it as the Academy. You walk up to the thin bridge of land that connects the central island with the city. Most people would kill to enter it, but you didn't even react to the opportunity when you first got the offer of a scholarship. You expected it to be boring and restrictive, hindering you in your research. But you were surprised how open they are when you finally came here after being exiled from your home town for “endangering the people”. Pfft. They always played the rabbit incident off as something dramatic.
You stand there for a while and let the memories come back.
You quite like it. You can largely study and experiment at your own discretion, the equipment and resources are top notch, and you have yet to require a facility they don't have. The portals that connect the different parts of the enormous institution are rather convenient, and all that's not even mentioning the largest building on academy grounds: The Library. 7 stories tall and containing over 1 million books on every magical and mundane topic one could think of, it's the Academy's pride and joy.

File: NPC_Academy_Guard_Captain_Mary.jpg (62 KB, 552x900)

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As you walk up to the gate, a woman in the armour of the Academy's private guard, a corps of locally trained mage-knights, jogs up to you with a frown. You expect trouble, but what you get instead is a crushing hug. “Arraya! Where were you?! I was so worried, you said you would just do a quick experiment, but you were gone for seven hours!”
As she lets you go, you rake your mind. You know this woman... Something with “M”. Mmm...ichelle? Monica? Mara? Marielle! That's it, she's the captain of the guards. “Calm down Marielle,” you say with an easy smile. “Just some complications with the ritual, nothing to worry about”.
The young woman, however, just squints at you. “You never call me Marielle. What happened?”
Oh, right. You're one of the two persons actually allowed to call her Mary, the other one being her little sister. You scratch your neck as a faint blush spreads over your face.
“Well, um... I might have temporarily wiped my memories because of the backlash? Please don't tell anyone.”
She looks at you for a few moments before bursting out laughing. “Ahahaha! So even the oh-so-perfect Arry can fuck up a spell, huh? Well, good to know I worried about nothing. Best go sleep it off.”
“Yeah,” you reply. “That might be best. I'm dead tired.” You wish each other a good night, and you turn to leave, when you realise something.
You have no idea where you room is.

>Ask her if she knows where your room is, suffer the indignity
>Try to find it on your own, hope that you can either remember or find help
>Just go back into the city and rent a room for the night, you can afford it

>>1616587
>Ask her if she knows where your room is, suffer the indignity

>>1616587
>>Try to find it on your own, hope that you can either remember or find help

>>1616595
support

writing for finding it on your own. roll me a D100 for memory, first one counts

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>1616632

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>1616649
That'll do. Also, encounter roll.

File: Alchemy_Teacher.jpg (67 KB, 540x720)

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You struggle with the decision for a while, but in the end you decide to try to find it on your own. You've been able to regain your memories somewhat reliably, and Mary would never let you live it down. And if you don't find it, you can just say you're lost – after all, you haven't been here that long, and the Academy is huge. You walk across the dark, mostly empty courtyard and look around. All around the central island float smaller ones, each with its own building, many of them specialized faculties. In front of you is the large main building, with its countless spires. No doubt that is where the students and teachers live. You approach the main gate and pass through it, feeling the telltale shiver of magic all over your body – identification spells, no doubt. The entrance hall is fancy, but not opulent. Portraits of the former and current headmasters line the walls in regular intervals, leaving space for more. Gold and silver are used in tasteful amounts, and large doors and stairs lead to different parts of the building. One of them is helpfully labelled “Student Quarters”. You walk up the stairs and find yourself in a smaller, but equally beautifully decorated hall. As you look over the various doors, you spot a spiral staircase and a smile comes to your face in time with the memories to your mind. You step past the first step and into the middle of the staircase. You chant a quick spell, and a disk of force materializes under your feet, carrying you to the very top of the tower. You step off it and start walking towards your room when you hear someone clearing their throat behind you. You turn around and immediately have to look up, as the man standing before you is an Orc. Bald head, white beard and a monkey...-thing on his shoulder. You have to think for a bit, but after a few seconds you realize that the Alchemy teacher is standing in front of you. “Ah, Professor Grolash,” you say with an easy smile. “Good evening. I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I'm quite tired and would like to go to sleep.”
You wait for him to dismiss you – the old greenskin has never been anything if not accommodating – but he just raises on eyebrow. “Miss Arraya,” he says in a gruff voice, “did you gather the herbs on the list I gave you? And the vial of Manticore venom?”
You stare at him for a second as memories of him telling you to do exactly that on your excursion trickle back into your mind.

>I'm sorry, there were some complications that I'd rather not talk about. I'll do it tomorrow.
>I searched the area, but the herbs were apparently already harvested, and the Manticores avoided me. (Lie.)
>Why don't you gather your ingredients yourself? Should you be sending students on dangerous tasks?
>Other

Rolled 83 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

And a performance roll for someone else.

Well, I'm heading to bed, continuing tomorrow. If anyone is still reading this, feel free to vote and/ or leave critcism. Good night everybody

>>1616708
tell him what happened and that you dont remember

>>1616708
tell him the truth tell him what happened and that you dont remember

>>1616708
I support this
>>1616753

Also, I like it OP. Very detailed and descriptive, helps with immersion when it's OC. So far can't say much about history's development and mechanics since it's a young quest. I'd advice not to use the memory as a plot driving mechanism because it gets repetitive fast. Also try to get a twitter so we can know when you're on. Good job!

>>1616885
Thanks! The memory thing won't be something permanent, I just thought it was a nice way to do character creation. You'll have them back once you get some sleep.

I also just realized that I'm a retard and forgot an encounter roll in the forest.

“Well... I would've done it, but there were some... complications with my experiment, the backlash knocked me out for a few hours and gave me some temporary amnesia. I'm alright now though!”, you quickly add, as his face immediately changes from slight annoyance to concern as he listens to your explanation.
“A student, unconscious in the forest for hours, and then having to find their way back without any memories? No, that is not alright. I'll have to bring this up with the headmaster.” he answers you with a stern look.
“No, no. That's not necessary! I'll be more careful next time, I promise! If I do something I don't know the consequences of, I'll just get someone to come with me.” If the headmaster got wind of this, you probably wouldn't be allowed to experiment freely anymore.
The Orc looks at your pouting face for a few moments, before he finally gives in with a sigh. “Fine, fine. But if anything like this ever happens again, you're banned from experimenting without supervision. Now get some sleep, that's the best cure against amnesia.”
You smile and thank him, making your way to your room. When you reach your door, you hear him call out to you once more: “Oh, and Arraya? I'm still expecting those reagents. Have a good night.”
Well, you'll be going out again sooner rather than later anyway, can just grab them on the way. The only tricky thing will be the manticore venom – most manticores don't even produce it, the subspecies with the scorpion-like tail is rather rare.
But, those are problems for another day. You push your aura, the magical equivalent to a fingerprint, against the door and sigh in relief as it opens. You enter your study, filled with various magical tomes, ingredients and tools, and through the door on the other side, into your bedroom. You strip down, quickly wash and dry yourself with magic, and finally collapse on your bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

>>1618117
Oops, that was me.

The next morning, you wake up with a blessedly clear head. You sift through your memories, noting with no small amount of pleasure that everything seems to be back in place. Well. Everything except you new spell, that is. It still eludes you for some reason. You stretch yourself and head down to the cafeteria for some breakfast. You scan the tables, but there's no one you no eating. You get some bacon, eggs and toast and a mug of black tea to go with it, and sit down to eat. As you enjoy the well-cooked meal, you think about what you should do today.

>Head back out into the forest. You have the alchemy assignment, and you still wanted to check out that obelisk.
>Head into city. You can always hear the newest going-ons there, maybe you'll hear something interesting.
>There's a blackboard here in the Academy, where students and teachers can post requests. Maybe you'll be able to kill two birds with one stone and make some money on top.

>>1618133
>There's a blackboard here in the Academy, where students and teachers can post requests. Maybe you'll be able to kill two birds with one stone and make some money on top.
SWEET SWEET JOB POSTINGS

Well, I doubt that I'll get another vote, so I'll get to writing

You decide to check out the request board, if you'll be going out anyway. You make your way past the rows of slowly filling tables and into the great hall. You pass a few people you know, but don't stop to talk or do more than give a quick nod of acknowledgement. A few minutes later you arrive, and take a look at what your peers and professors need. Most are too mundane for you to consider or would be too much of a detour, but after a few seconds of thinking, you decide on...

>The Headmaster has set up a request for elemental stones to restock the Academy's dwindling supplies. You know of a nearby cave that has quite a lot.
>The Spiritualism teacher sent a few adventurers he met in town to retrieve a tome from a nearby ruin he has reason to believe it is located in. It's been four days, and they haven't returned.
>A student has found found half of a key and thinks he knows where the lock is, but isn't proficient enough with tracking spells to find the other half.

You take the piece of paper off the board and start walking towards the quarters to retrieve your gear. As you pass one of the doors that leads to more rooms, you suddenly stop in your tracks as you smell something that definitely doesn't belong here: Blood.
You quickly make your way into the deserted corridor and follow the stench. After passing a few closed doors, you get to one that catches your attention, as a small spot of crimson is visible beneath it. You open it and the smell immediately becomes much stronger, almost overpowering. Inside the small storage room lies a young woman with auburn hair. Her clothes are ripped, and you can see two small piercing wounds on her, one in her right shoulder and one just beneath the collarbone on the same side. However, those are not what killed her. A vicious slashing wound goes from the crook of her neck on the left side diagonally down, through her collarbone and into the ribcage. Your eyes widen as you take in the scene, and you can't help but notice that there is surprisingly little blood.

>Call for help – a teacher or a guard, anyone more qualified.
>Examine the body yourself, then go get help.
>Leave – you don't want anything to do with this. Last thing you need is being a suspect.

>>1618169
>The Headmaster has set up a request for elemental stones to restock the Academy's dwindling supplies. You know of a nearby cave that has quite a lot.
Lets get some academy points by doing this and Professor Grolash's quest as soon as we can. First things first though,
>Examine the body yourself, call authorities afterwards
We don't know who is behind this and everyone is up to suspicion. Better have a good look before calling authorities in case they are involved somehow.

>>1618188
writing.

You approach the body and crouch down to take a closer look. You lean her forward a bit, noting that there are no injuries on her back – she saw the assailant coming, but there are no signs of struggle – she couldn't defend herself, even though the first attack wasn't lethal. Based on the small size and shape of the penetrations, you'd guess rapier, a thin dagger or throwing knives. You note again that considering how grievous the wound is, there is surprisingly little blood on the floor. Activating your magesight, you examine her aura. It's almost completely gone, which combined with the mostly dried blood, leads you to think that it happened yesterday evening. Most likely after you came back, as you would've noticed the sounds or smells. That's good, means you have an alibi thanks to your conversation with Professor Grolash. You also notice that even though she's been dead for a while, a mage that is talented enough to be accepted into the Academy should have more magical energy in her body. As you mull this over, you notice a wound you hadn't seen before: a frayed hole in her jugular, roughly a centimetre in diameter. You examine it, and your breath hitches as you realize what is off about it: the skin is ripped outwards. This is no entrance wound, the blood literally erupted from her body. And the only explanation for that is blood magic. Suddenly, it all makes sense. The shoulder wounds – small shards of the assailant's solidified blood, used to gain some modicum of control over hers and paralyse her, keeping her from casting. The small amount of blood and magical energy – she was drained and her blood taken, a mage's blood contains their energy and is an extremely potent component for blood magic rituals. The large wound in her shoulder – inflicted post mortem, in an effort to conceal the true nature of the crime.
>You have to tell the headmaster. A bloodmage on the loose is one of the most dangerous things there are. There's a reason it's illegal.
>Just tell the Guard, it's their job and you have jobs to do. The headmaster will hear about it either way.
>Other

>>1618194
Okay so if the assassin approached her frontly, that means they knew each other at some point. Also, since the murder occured in the bedrooms and there're identification spelss to get in, that also means the killer is either someone from the academy or a magician powerful enough to mock those.

Professor Grolash was with you so he's probably not the one who did this as far as we know, so he should be the first to know about this. You can't trust a single person though, so the guards should know as well.

>Tell Grolash, then proceed to talk with the authorities

After thinking for a while, you decide to tell Professor Grolash – he can provide a testimony that you were incapacitated by magical amnesia and talking to him around the time it happened. You close the door and cast a quick sealing spell just in case someone decides to mess with the body, and head off to the teachers' quarters. It's still rather early, and you catch him on his way to the cafeteria.
“Professor Grolash!”, you call out to him. “I have something important to tell you.”
He regards you curiously and waves you closer. “I assume you didn't remember that you gathered my ingredients before knocking yourself out?”, he says with a smile, but it quickly dies on his lips when he sees your expression and you cast a privacy spell to avoid eavesdroppers. No need to start a panic.
“I just found a corpse.” you say, his eyes going wide. “Died yesterday evening, roughly around the time we were talking. Blood magic. Frontal wounds but no signs of struggle, so she either knew the killer or he surprised her. I think she was paralysed. Blood and magic drained.”
The old orc's expression becomes more and more grave with each word you say, and he has you direct him to the body while he sends his familiar to get the guards. At your questioning look, he explains that it can repeat short messages. How convenient. You soon arrive at the body, and after a quick examination Grolash comes to the same conclusions as you. After the guards arrive, you both give your respective testimonies and you are quickly manoeuvred out of the hallway while someone goes to fetch the headmaster. You are told not to tell anyone what you found, and the hallway is sealed of in in a manner of minutes. You stand there for a while, dumbfounded, before you remember you've still got things to do despite what happened, and that you should maybe go on with your day.

cont.

>>1618241

You soon get your stuff and make your way through the Academy, suppressing a shiver at the increased presence of Magebreakers around Academy grounds. They are specially trained Antimages, vicious Warriors that excel at countering and eliminating rogue mages. They were introduced after the rampage of Jaralesh the Mad 127 years ago, which claimed over 20'000 lives. A bloodmage on academy grounds is one of the few things that makes you happy to see them, even though you can feel the sickening aura of their Magebane platemails from 50 metres away. The unique alloy is made from cold iron, silver and powdered dragon scales, and quenched in water that has been exposed to the Void. It absorbs spells like specialised barriers, and casting anything within 10 metres is said to be extremely painful.
Quickening your step, you are glad when you reach the city, and eventually the forest. You walk the same way as yesterday, and soon arrive at the crossroads.

>Go south-east first. You want to check out that Obelisk, and you just have turn south at the tower if you want to reach the cave.
>Go south-west first. You know of an area in that direction where Manticores like to make their nests.

>No matter which you do, you'll gather the herbs as you go.

Also, roll me 1D20 for encounters.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>1618253
Go South-west first. Get me some manticores!

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>1618253
>Go south-west first. You know of an area in that direction where Manticores like to make their nests.

Was gone for an hour. Back and writing.

>>1618305
Barely made it

You decide to get the venom first. You walk through the dense forest, keeping an eye on your surroundings. Manticores aren't the most common of creatures, but these parts have good conditions for them and they tend to be rather aggressive – especially towards their favourite prey. However, no manticores try to eat you. Normally you'd see that as good news, but today you're the hunter. After walking through their territory for about half an hour, just as you were getting frustrated, you finally spotted a trail of pawprints, crossing your way. You decide to follow them to the left first, and after a few minutes, you catch sight of the animal – but it's dead, half eaten, and the tail is among the missing parts. You curse under your breath and examine the carcass. Killed by a large animal, but the good news are that based on the scaly stump of a tail, it was indeed the venomous species. Maybe you'll be able to find its mate? You decide to follow the trail in the other direction. After walking for another 15 minutes, you come across its nest. However, what you find there is not what you expected.

File: Baby_Manticore.jpg (53 KB, 792x1008)

53 KB JPG

Sitting in the nest, mewling in what you assume is hunger, is a baby Manticore. It's young enough that its wings haven't developed yet, but you know that its venom is just as potent. This is an incredibly valuable find.

>It's essentially harmless, just “milk” its venom like people do with snakes
>It may be a baby, but it's still a monster. Kill it, harvest its venom glands.
>Manticores are very intelligent. It would be expensive, but a Spiritualist could soulbind it to you, bringing it to the cusp of sapience and making it your familiar. It would also be a constant source of its venom.

>>1618383
Hmm... I'm not quite sure about the milking, it could be dangerous, but I don't want to kill it either. Do we have any money to do the soulbind? This would be my choice if possible.

Qt manticore :3

>>1618409
Your monthly allowance is quite generous, so you're pretty well off. And there's always work for a mage.

>>1618416
>Do the soulbind

You slowly approach the pup, which is looking at you fearfully. All fear is forgotten, however, when you crouch down in front of it and offer it some meat from your rations. It immediately pounces, devouring the meal and looking at you with pleading eyes. You giggle and offer it some more meat, which it eats somewhat slower, but just as enthusiastically. After it's done with its meal, it lies down at your feet, purring. You cast a quick sleep spell, and after a minute the small beast is snoring away. It's friendly and mostly harmless, yes, but you still don't really want to get a stinger to the shoulder. You pull some cloth out of your enchanted satchel and fashion a makeshift backpack to put your new pet into. You shoulder its diminutive weight, and start heading east.

>Go straight east. Obelisk, here we come!
>Go south-east. Gotta get them gems.

Another D20 for encounters, please.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>Go straight east. Obelisk, here we come!

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>1618443
I'm rolling for the Obelisk too

>11
Writing.

File: Shadow_Panther.jpg (102 KB, 846x943)

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You make your way straight east, which should lead you to the hidden Obelisk. You stay aware of your surroundings – you're still in Manticore territory, afterall. However, you are not assaulted as you walk through the greenery. After perhaps 20 minutes of walking, the forest is becoming noticeably denser, old oaks competing for light with tall pines and dense yews. You make yourself a path through the dense undergrowth, using your Kopis like a machete, and it is here that you notice you are being stalked. The predator is completely silent, and you don't see it move. But its greatest advantage over normal prey has been turned against it: it has some form of pseudomagical ability, and you can feel its aura.
So when you reach a small clearing, you immediately get out your wand, cast some basic wards on yourself, and turn into the direction of the beast. As you watch, a part of the shadows seems to come loose and solidify, forming a completely night-black panther that slowly stalks along the edge of the clearing. It bares its teeth, gives a low growl, and pounces.

>Combat initiated! Choose a path of action and roll 1D100, Bo3.
>You have basic abilities in Elementalism and Spiritualism, and are proficient in Arcanism.
>There aren't really specific spells, just do whatever you can think of and is realistically possible for a talented, but young mage.

>Put up a Barrier to repel it, pepper it with Mana Blasts
>Blink a few metres back, charge fewer more powerful blasts
>Reinforce you skin with earth elementalism, attack it with your sword
>Cast a spray of fire at it
>Other (write-in, be creative!)

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>1618516
>Put up a Barrier to repel it, pepper it with Mana Blasts

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>1618516
>Put up a Barrier to repel it, pepper it with Mana Blasts
Charge up a Fire Barrier.

>>1618523
Fire isn't solid, though.

>>1618523
Ever heard of Wall of Fire from D&D?

>>1618516
>Put up a Barrier to repel it, pepper it with Mana Blasts
Use our best arts first, it's the best chance

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>1618548
Forgot to roll.

just cooked some food, writing for barrier and quick blasts while eating, so this update will be a bit slower
forgot to add, arcanism gets +30, so this>>1618551
is an 88

>88

The second its feet leave the ground, your barrier is up. You've never seen or heard of an animal like this, so you decide to go the extra mile and infuse it with fire, creating a patch of energy that contorts the air around it with heat directly in front of it. The beast impacts the it face first and shrinks back with a yelp as its assault is answered by a gout of flame. You retreat a few steps back and start quickly firing bolts of energy at it around your shield. It tries to dodge, but the flames disoriented it and every hit sends it stumbling. After around 5 of your rapid-fire Mana Blasts, it collapses, whimpering and with tendrils of shadow floating around its battered hide. As you prepare to finish it, you suddenly feel the incantation for your new spell spring to the forefront of your mind, along with the strong urge to cast it at the dying beast.

>If you devised a hybrid spell just to finish enemies off, it's gotta be pretty good. Take the risk.
>It's no more danger, and you still don't know what it does. Don't take the risk.

>>1618564
>It's no more danger, and you still don't know what it does. Don't take the risk

>>1618564
>>It's no more danger, and you still don't know what it does. Don't take the risk.

File: This_But_Smaller.jpg (830 KB, 1000x905)

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You decide not to take the risk, and simply cut its throat with your sword. You continue on through the woods, and about 10 minutes later finally reach a clearing with a dead tree in the middle. You activate your magesight and after a minute of searching, pick up on a rather subtle thread of magic. It's easy to dispel, as Illusions tend to be once you've found them, and with nary a flicker, an Obelisk rises in front of you. 20 metres tall at least an looking like it's made of obsidian, it is quite an imposing sight. You observe the way the ambient mana ripples around it and prod at it with a few mental limbs, and have to admit that your peer – whose name you now remember is Felix – was right, you've never seen anything quite like its aura. You recognize some patterns; one for the illusion, one that connects, and one that protects. But you can't tell what it's connected to, or what it's protecting. Taking out your notebook, you start putting down notes and prepare to spend some time here.

>Roll me 1D100, Bo3, for magical analysis!

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>1618623

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>1618623

Rolled 69 (1d100)

i'll just do the last roll myself

>69 + 20 = 89
>Success!

You observe the Obelisk over the course of about an hour. It doesn't seem to react to natural stimuli at all, which makes sense considering that it's most likely been there for a very long time. After a while you begin tugging and prodding at different parts of the layers of magic wrapped around the whole structure. At first you think that this also doesn't get a reaction and move on. But after everything else you try doesn't do anything whatsoever, you return to just poking it frustratedly, and notice something: the places where you prod don't react, but there is on specific signature that seems to retreat as far away from your prying mind as possible whenever you focus on something else. You concentrate on it, holding it in place, and finally manage to push some of your mana into it. Three things happen. Firstly, with a grinding sound, a compartment around one metre off the ground opens. Secondly, you can feel magic shoot into your mind, connecting itself to a specific magic: your magesight. Thirdly, three streams of light erupt from the tip of the Obelisk, each in a different direction: a green one goes straight east, a white one north-east and a blue on south-east. You switch your magesight off and on again and confirm that they are invisible without it. Walking up to the compartment, you see a small, red gem in the shape of a square inside. It emits magic, but as far as you can tell it is neither malicious nor cursed.

>Take it
>Leave it

>>1618655
>>Take it

>>1618655
>Take it

Alright, I'll get back to writing tomorrow. Thanks for playing, especially you two.
Feel free to leave any comments or criticism, and have a good night

>>1618655
Bro format your crap its hard reading this shit.
S P A C I N G I S Y O U R F R E I N D

>>1618682
What's wrong with the formating?

>>1618712
I'm guessing he's talking about the lack of paragraphs. Still, OP has better punctuation and grammar usage than most people on /qst/. Personally, I don't find it hard to read.

>>1618744
Yes to this. Doesnt take much effort to press enter at regular intervals.

Massive walls of text are very hard to keep track of where you are (for me) and dissuade people with certain reading dissabilities (like me appearantly)

And it looks unappealing as fuck.

>>1618791
For example, during reading OPs last few posts, I was skipping and rereading sentences and lines constantly. The former from lack of interest in reading a blob of text and the later when I was interested in certain details and going back to things I missed.

>>1618800
>>1618791
To summerize. Format please. Kinda Like this:

(OPs last post)
You observe the Obelisk over the course of about an hour. It doesn't seem to react to natural stimuli at all, which makes sense considering that it's most likely been there for a very long time.

After a while you begin tugging and prodding at different parts of the layers of magic wrapped around the whole structure. At first you think that this also doesn't get a reaction and move on. But after everything else you try doesn't do anything whatsoever, you return to just poking it frustratedly, and notice something: the places where you prod don't react, but there is on specific signature that seems to retreat as far away from your prying mind as possible whenever you focus on something else. You concentrate on it, holding it in place, and finally manage to push some of your mana into it.

Three things happen. Firstly, with a grinding sound, a compartment around one metre off the ground opens. Secondly, you can feel magic shoot into your mind, connecting itself to a specific magic: your magesight. Thirdly, three streams of light erupt from the tip of the Obelisk, each in a different direction: a green one goes straight east, a white one north-east and a blue on south-east.

You switch your magesight off and on again and confirm that they are invisible without it. Walking up to the compartment, you see a small, red gem in the shape of a square inside. It emits magic, but as far as you can tell it is neither malicious nor cursed.

>>1618682
>>1618805
Alright, thanks for the constructive criticism, it's greatly appreciated. I'll try to keep it in mind.

File: ARCANA_Shitty_Map.png (99 KB, 1336x648)

99 KB PNG

You don't even really have to think about it. You take the gem, half expecting some defence mechanism you missed to try to blow you head of. However, nothing happens, and you pocket it before closing the compartment again and letting the illusion snap back into place. The streams of light, however, stay, now being emitted by a small black orb hovering in the air.

You quickly create a small, horizontal barrier beneath your feet and levitate it upwards until you can peek over the treetops. The light continues on for what seems like miles, eventually disappearing out of sight. You frown. Way too far to go there today, you'll either have to calculate roughly where they are going and open a portal to get closer, or make it an expedition, which could take a week or two. Whatever, you've been feeling kind of cooped up in the Academy anyway, maybe it's time to go see some places.

Either way, you've got another job, so you start setting out east until you arrive at the ruined tower. Nobody really knows who built it and for what purpose, and anything of interest has long been taken. Now it just serves as a landmark, and occasionally as shelter for monsters. You went on a picnic date here once and were interrupted by children on a dare, who you scared off by levitating a brick around and letting some sparks come off it, and ever since there's a rumour floating around that it's haunted. You don't bother correcting it.

You turn south at the tower and start making your way towards the cave.

1D20 for encounters!

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>1620588

File: Owlbear.jpg (197 KB, 742x614)

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You make your way through the forest, humming a cheery tune. You've completed 3 of the 4 tasks you've set yourself, and it's just past lunchtime. As you walk, you start seeing more and more signs of a large predator being in the area: clawmarks on trees, furrows in the ground, and a lot less small forest critters around.

Just as you are inspecting a stump that looks like the animal used it to sharpen its claws, you hear a rustle behind you. You look back and duck just in time to dodge a claw swipe aimed at your face. You stumble back, eyes widening at the angrily hooting form of an adult Owlbear.

>Combat initiated! Choose a course of action and roll 1D100, Bo3.
>You have basic abilities in Elementalism and Spiritualism (+15), and are proficient in Arcanism (+30).
>There aren't really specific spells, just do whatever you can think of and is realistically possible for a talented, but young mage.

>It's a giant and deadly animal, but still an animal. And all animals fear fire.
>Stay with what you're good at, stay out of its range and fire Mana Blasts.
>Its size can be turned against it. Enhance your speed with spiritualism, push Arcane energy into your sword, dance around it.
>You need the big guns for this. Keep your distance and call a Greater Spirit

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>1620588

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>1620600
>>Its size can be turned against it. Enhance your speed with spiritualism, push Arcane energy into your sword, dance around it.

>>1620600
Forgot to add
>Other
write-ins are, of course, welcome.

Rolled 84, 42 = 126 (2d100)

>>1620602
Alright, doubt I'll get more votes, so I'll get to writing. bonus is +15

You blink backwards to get some room and prepare yourself for the fight. You're no Spiritualist, but you've got a few elementals bound. You quickly pull out the crystal that contains an Air elemental, let it know what you need with a thought, and crush it while chanting. “The debt paid, the contract made, grant me your boon and return to whence you came!”. As soon as the wind rushes out of your fist, you can feel your body become lighter, and wind seems to assist your movement. You put a quick, temporary enchantment into your blade, causing it to glow a bright blue-purple and crackle with energy, and charge at your adversary.

The Owlbear lets out another loud hoot and hacks at your with its beak, but you jump to the side with magically assisted speed. You hack into its flank, causing it to hiss in pain, and duck underneath a clawswipe, using your momentum to roll out of the way of the second one and coming back up with an underhanded slash that puts another bloody gash into its side, the arcane energy in your weapon causing it to ignore its thick hide and hard muscles, slicing through fur and flesh like butter.

The beast howls in rage and keeps attacking faster and faster, but you stay on your toes, dancing out of the way of devastating swipes and bites, getting counterattacks in whenever possible. Its endurance is great, but after a while you can see it slow down from the blood loss. It's looking good for you, but your elemental enhancement won't hold out much longer either.

>Keep at it, hope that it'll be too slow to come close after the enhancement runs out
>Get some distance while you can, try to finish it of with a fireball
>Close the distance, stab it with your sword and discharge all the energy at once
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>1620617
Can we trap it in a forcefield and let it bleed to death?

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>1620617
>>Close the distance, stab it with your sword and discharge all the energy at once

>>1620619
You can do that, yes.
Waiting for a tiebreaker, writing if there's none in 15 minutes

>>1620617
>>1620624
changing to this: >>1620619

Rolled 34 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>1620626
alright, writing. barrier is arcane, so modifier is +30

>123

You suddenly get an idea – it won't be long for the world anyway, so why make an effort? You step back as the Owlbear rears up for another attack, putting some distance between the two of you, and then just create a dome-shaped barrier around it, effectively trapping it. The animal realizes what you did and starts pounding against the transparent wall in abject rage, but doesn't even manage to put a scratch in it. Slowly, but surely, it slows down, stops attacking, and just glares at you with hatred in its eyes as it collapses, breathing heavy with blood loss and lack of oxygen.

As its eyes start to gloss over and become unfocused, you get that feeling again: that now would be the time to cast your new spell.

>Cast it
>Just slash its throat

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>1620635
>Cast it

I wasn't here to vote for this shit earlier, so I'm doing it now.

How could people resist the mystery box?

You give in to the urge – after all, it's your own spell, what's the worst that could happen? You hold out a hand and chant the incantation as a complex, bright blue magical circle forms in front of your hand. You pour your mana into it, and suddenly a lance of blue energy bursts forth from it, bolting towards the downed Owlbear. About a metre before reaching it, it suddenly splits, the two parts opening up like an arcane maw. It tears into the animal, which lets out a yelp and then goes still. You are surprised at the lack of obvious wounds, but after a moment, the energy – still connected to your palm – retracts just as quickly, seemingly pulling a ball of blue-white light with black veins out of your fallen foe and back into your hand, where it gets promptly absorbed. As you stare at your hand with your mouth open, a black tattoo forms on your hand, depicting a stylised Owlbear's head, flanked by its claws.

>Spell gained: “Absorb Spirit”! This spell can only be used to finish off enemies, killing them and absorbing part of their spirit. You don't gain anything from weak or mundane enemies, medium and strong enemies give you a limited amount of uses of an active ability (depicted by a tattoo that vanishes when those charges are used up), and exceptionally strong enemies (bosses etc.) can even give you permanent abilities.

>Spells in this setting are a specific branch of magic. Most everyday magic is just controlling mana freely, bending it to your will, which makes it extremely versatile. Spells need to be actively learned and are more static, but extremely powerful and can have unique and complex effects.

>3 Charges of “Spirit Claws” gained! You can use this ability to gain large claws like an Owlbear's and a strength for three rounds of combat. You can use the claws for powerful melee attacks that knock enemies down on especially high rolls.

>>1620639
surprised me too, I didn't wand to railroad but was actually already writing it during the voting period. Normally people always go for the mystery box...

>>1620648
strength enhancement*
god damnit

>>1620639
Because it is supposed to be a long-casting spell and the panther wasn't trapped

>>1620648
Are we supposed to pick one here? I don't get it

>>1620653
Okay, maybe I didn't make the situation clear back then. The Panther was collapsed and on the brink of death - you literally walked up to it and cut its throat.
Also, it's even deader than normal right now, so I'll continue running in ~4-5 hours.

>>1620659
No, just forgot to add that I'll take a break, sorry

>>1620664
>>1620665
See ya in a while OP

>>1620648
Damnit I was asleep. Pretty cool abilities though, Cant wait to do something with em.

Alright, back and writing.

You smile in satisfaction as the rush of power dies down. Now that's a useful spell! You wonder what kind of power you'd get from more powerful enemies...
For now, however, you make your way to the cave you know to contain elemental stones or gems, same thing really. These are useful as a rather basic but still powerful component of many kinds of elemental magic. Inlaid into a weapon they infuse it with their respective element, they ease the summoning of elemental, can be used in a powdered form for potions of elemental affinity and that's all not even mentioning their uses in various rituals.

After walking for another 10 minutes or so, you finally reach the mouth of the cave, easily identified by the glowing crystals surrounding it and the heavy elemental saturation of the ambient mana. You enter the cave, looking around curiously. You knew of it, but you've never actually been in here. The walls are covered in bio-luminescent moss, and crystal stalagmites and stalactites are everywhere. These aren't as rare and valuable as Elemental Stones, but you still break some off and pocket them – they're commonly used reagents, after all.

As you continue on, the general elemental aura slowly becomes more specific, and after a while you're pretty sure that the gems you'll be getting here are of the fire and air variety. After rounding a corner in the pathway, you suddenly find yourself in front of a fork.

>Go right. The light coming out of this tunnel is tinged orange, and you can hear movement and what might be words further in.
>Go left. The light coming from this tunnel remains blue, though it might be somewhat lighter. The very slight breeze coming from within brings with it the smell of corpses.

>>1620931
>>Go right. The light coming out of this tunnel is tinged orange, and you can hear movement and what might be words further in.

File: Crystal_Cave.jpg (3.01 MB, 3560x1440)

3.01 MB JPG

>>1620931
Shit, forgot my pic

>>1620931
>>Go left. The light coming from this tunnel remains blue, though it might be somewhat lighter. The very slight breeze coming from within brings with it the smell of corpses.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

I'll just go ahead and roll a dice to see where we are going

>>1620931
>>Go left. The light coming from this tunnel remains blue, though it might be somewhat lighter. The very slight breeze coming from within brings with it the smell of corpses.
Aw im late.

After a moment of indecision, you turn to the right path. As you walk along the crystals start glowing orange, but that is just a reaction to the presence of fire aligned mana – once you'd harvest them, the glow would abate and they'd be the same you can get closer to the entrance of the cave. You continue on your way, the air growing ever warmer as you come closer to the noises you heard earlier.

At this point, you can make out what sounds like meat tearing and multiple hissy voices, but their tone is weird, aggressive, and you don't recognise the language. You walk up to an opening to a large cavern, and peek inside. The room contains lots of fire stones, but that is not what draws your attention. Instead, you stare at its inhabitants, which seem to be some form of Kobold, many of them grouped around a large crystal formation in the middle. All in all, you count around two dozen.

They talk to each other in their weird tongue in a deranged fashion, seemingly starting and stopping to yell at random intervals, and every minute a fight breaks out or stops somewhere. The weirdest thing about these creatures, however, are the crystals growing out of their scaly skin. Their shoulders and hands are positively covered in the spiky additions, a row of them runs down their spines, and there are scattered over the rest of their bodies. At first you think this might be a species you've never heard about, but then you put two and two together: their seemingly random aggression, their weird deformities, it all points towards Spelltaint. You shudder as you reach this conclusion – you really, really don't like the tainted.

Spelltaint is a sickness that occurs when young children, up to the age of three, are exposed to too much magic. It can lay dormant for up to a decade, but when it breaks out, it is devastating. Arcane mutations spread throughout the body like cancer, sometimes causing some pseudomagical abilities, but after a few weeks of intense pain, the victim loses their mind, attacking anything except sometimes other mutants on sight. Mary's little sister had it, and you where the one who cured it when it broke out – it's what earned you her gratitude and loyalty.

These Kobolds are most likely all born in this cave, mutated by the ambient mana. There is no reasoning with these things – sentience has long left them, and you see some distinctly humanoid bones in a far corner of the room.

>Considering their surroundings, they're most likely resistant to fire. Start firing Ice lances. (+15)
>Their minds are eroded, which might make them susceptible. Try a group enrage spell. (+0)
>Charge up a big blast, fire it into the central crystal to create a shrapnel explosion. (+30)
>Leave. There are too many of them, and you can just get Air Stones instead.
>Other (write-in)

Regardless of choice, roll 1D100, Bo3!

>>1620997
Welp.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>1621004
>>Considering their surroundings, they're most likely resistant to fire. Start firing Ice lances. (+15)

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>1621004
>>Considering their surroundings, they're most likely resistant to fire. Start firing Ice lances. (+15)

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>1621019
>>1621023
Writing.

>96

You step back behind the wall and take out your wand. As you close your eyes and concentrate, the crystal at its tip starts glowing and shards of ice, each about two feet long, start materializing. Once you've called seven into being, the projectiles hovering around your head like an icy halo, you step out of cover and start flinging them at the kobolds. The first is hit square in the head, the ice bursting out the other side, tinged a deep red.

Silence descends over the cave for a second, soon interrupted by a meaty thud as a second lance drives itself into the chest of another one, killing it. Once it hits the floor, the room's occupants devolve into enraged chittering and screaming, charging at you with murder in their mad eyes. You methodically drop one of the creatures after the other while summoning more spike, but have to quickly form one into more of a shield as a large crystal shard crashes into it. You look past the charging mutants, seeing that a few are staying back and throwing javelins not unlike your own at you, albeit made of harvested crystal and with much less force.

You concentrate for moment while fending off the melee fighters, and spikes of ice shoot up from the ground beneath them but a few manage to dodge. You also notice out of the corner of your eye a kobold with a larger crystal spear performing what looks like some demented kind of rain dance.

>There are seven melee Kobold, five ranged Kobolds and one dancing Kobold left.

>Focus on the melee Kobolds
>Focus on the ranged Kobolds
>Take out the dancing Kobold

>Write-in if you want to do something specific, else I'll assume you want to continue using Ice.

Combat rolls!

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>1621056
>>Take out the dancing Kobold

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>1621056
>>Take out the dancing Kobold

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>1621071
>>1621072
Poor dancing kobold

>>1621071
Also, you just rolled two 81s in a row.

>96

You're not sure what that weird dance is supposed to accomplish, but you're not intent find out. You don't regret your choice as the Kobold suddenly lifts its spear, which is starting to glow orange. Then your ice spike hits it in the shoulder and spins it to the side, and the stream of concentrated fire that breaks forth out of the tip roasts a crystal thrower instead of you. You clench your fist and the ice in its shoulder erupts, taking most of the neck with it.

You grab one of the spears out of the air next to you, flattening the sides and honing them to an edge in the second it takes your swing to reach the head of the kobold that was swinging at you clumsily. You release the weapon and it surges forward, implanting itself in the chest of a ranged kobold and pinning it to the crystal behind it. Another one leaps at you, this one wielding two sharp crystal shards like daggers. You mirror its armaments in ice, parrying its strike and burrowing one in each of its sides. A third one tried to sneak up on you, but you whirl around, gripping its head and emanating freezing cold from your palm. When you let go of it and its head hits the floor, its head shatters into frozen chunks of brain matter.

>Four melee, three ranged are left! You should be able to finish them off pretty easily, but...

>Roll me 2 D100, Bo3 each! One combat, one perception!

Also, sorry for the slow update, I got interrupted

Rolled 14, 94 = 108 (2d100)

>>1621161

Rolled 37, 43 = 80 (2d100)

>>1621161

Rolled 65, 23 = 88 (2d100)

Alright, nailed that perception check. Last port of the night incoming.

File: Crystal_Golem.jpg (112 KB, 637x954)

112 KB JPG

>80, 94

You survey your last foes. Three ranged, four melee. You pull out your Kopis to block the continual and extremely telegraphed strikes of two kobolds while channelling mana into your wand. After a few seconds, you swipe it horizontally, and a wide blade of ice erupts from it, shooting forward and cleanly bisecting two of the ranged ones. The last survivor manages to nick your arm before he gets a spike to the head.

Fending off your attackers is easy, but you don't get much of an opportunity to counter attack. So you start walking backwards while blocking, placing a rune on the ground behind you. You pass it, and one of the kobolds steps on it, causing icy shrapnel to eviscerate his legs and making it easy to finish him off. The two beside him stumble, and are quickly put to the sword. As you are about to move in to kill the last one, a low rumble comes from the wall beside it.

You decide not to get into the range of whatever that is, and the next second the wall explodes into a shower of crystal shards, killing the kobold instantly. A large creature steps out from the hole and fixes onto you with murder in its eyes. A naturally formed golem... now that's rare.
You fire a lance of ice at its chest, but it shatters, leaving barely a scratch. You grip your wnad bit tighter. This... is going to be a much harder fight.


>Alright, that's it for today. Hope you liked it, even though it's kinda sad to only ever have two people in here. Guess there's not as much interest as I had hoped.
>As always, comments, tips and criticism are welcome.
>Have a good nigh /qst/!

>>1621225
Don't feel bad OP. /qst/ is a small board and it's harder to get people interested when it's original content, you'll notice that games that already have a fanbase usually get more people interested.

If you want more people to play, you need to consider a few things
1) Most people work/study during the week, so they'll be more likely available on the weekends
2) Most ppl here are americans, so american afternoon and night is the best time to play
3) Always better to have an schedule. If we knew at what time the game is going live, we can connect at that time. Just today when I checked /qst/ you already had a couple of posts ins and where in a break and when I checked again the other round was over
4) If you have a way to inform your players when you will be on (twitter, discord) it can be easier to play.

You're doing a good job and I'm liking this story. Don't drop it!

>>1621225
Sorry Flux, my sleep schedule has been fucked up. I like this quest, and I am sorry I missed it.

>>1621313
>>1622735
Thanks!
Yeah, mostly I just ran when I had time and stopped when I was tired. I'm gonna finish off this thread today at around 13:00 EST, not gonna be much more though. I'll skip tomorrow and run another one on saturday. Shitty thing is that being european means american evening is when i go to sleep, 7 hours time difference... But yeah, saturday's thread will be up around 13 o'clock EST too.

You jump back as a lumbering fist comes crashing down in front of you, leaving a small crater in the floor. It raises its other arm, hand open, and you just barely get up a barrier in time to block the spray of wickedly sharp crystal shard, each half a foot long, erupting from its palm. Your last few ice spear do... not much, and it's all you can do to keep your distance for now.

>This thing is hard, and the only way to deal with that is overwhelming firepower. Back off, charge up the biggest Mana Blast you can. (+30)
>Use fire elementalism, concentrate it as much as you can. Try to melt it with a ray of heat. (+15)
>Use fire elementalism, get creative. Summon up a fireball, compress it as much as possible to get a bigger explosion. (+15)
>Big hits are what spiritcalling is made for, and you might get lucky and catch one can decimate hard things. (+15)

>Roll 1D100 + appropriate modifier!

>>1623965
>Write In
Use Fire elementalism to heat it up really fucking hot
Then freeze it so it shatters

Meanwhile, try to not get hit by it, of course.

Rolled 44, 55 = 99 (2d100)

>>1623968
Supporting this
Rolling two dice just in case.

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>1623968
Forgot my dice

>>1623968
Alright, writing for this

Also, those rolls. 44, 55, 66. Wtf?

>81

You consider and throw away one solution after the next while dodging the powerful blows, and when the right one finally comes to you, you almost laugh about its simplicity – basic physics, how didn't you think of this earlier? You raise both hands and begin bathing the hulking figure in fire while backing away. The air starts heating up quickly and the fire stones all around thrum in resonance, giving slight boost to your flames. The crystals in the golem's front start turning orange almost immediately and you break out into a grin, until you realize it's not because they're heating up. You suddenly remember why mages usually regard crytsal golems with a lot of caution: they use the crystals natural ability to store mana to absorb magic. But you don't let up – not like you can punch this thing to death.

After a while of walking backwards and shooting fire, the being's front finally starts to look a bit melted. You keep it up for a few more seconds and then let the flames abate, only to replace them with streams of a localized blizzard the next second. The effect is immediate: Although the golem doesn't shatter where it stands, it still reels back as cracks start form all over its front, chunks of crystal falling off its form. You smirk. Now he shouldn't be as tough a nut to crack.

The smirk is wiped off your face as you hastily blink a few metres backwards and to the centre of the cavern to dodge a sphere of glittering energy. You couldn't see the glow in its hands over the glow of, well, pretty much everything around you. The only warning was a spike in its aura, and only your quick reflexes saved you. You look to the sphere as it bursts upon impact, everything around it literally erupting with crystals. You just thing how happy you are you weren't caught in it, as an errand shard buries itself in the side of your thigh. You hiss in pain as you pull it out and quickly cauterize the wound, but putting some weight on the leg, it shouldn't really hinder you.

>Its armor is cracked and it seems to have slowed down a little. Move in, finish it off with the owlbear claws (3/3 uses, +20 (10 swordfighting, 10 str buff))
>Those cracks don't look like they'd play very well with some blunt force trauma. Charge up a big blast. (+30)
>This fight has has decidedly too few explosions. Lob a ball of fire at it. (+15)
>It worked last time, though the cracks will likely make it less effective. Keep alternating fire and ice.
>Other (write-in)

>>1624050
>>This fight has has decidedly too few explosions. Lob a ball of fire at it. (+15)

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>1624050
>>Those cracks don't look like they'd play very well with some blunt force trauma. Charge up a big blast. (+30)

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>1624050
>Those cracks don't look like they'd play very well with some blunt force trauma. Charge up a big blast. (+30)

ah shit, forgot to ask for rolls. 1D100, Bo3 please!
>>1624059
>>1624069
nice to see you two again

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>1624059

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>1624050
>Lob a ball of fire
Burn this fucker down

>>1624050
>Those cracks don't look like they'd play very well with some blunt force trauma. Charge up a big blast. (+30)

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>1624103
Ah damn forgot to roll

File: Heart_Crystal.png (99 KB, 320x320)

99 KB PNG

>115

You turn around and put some more distance between the two of you while starting to gather mana in your wand's crystal. The golem has realized it wont catch up to you at its slowed pace, and so you're back to dodging crystal shards being flung at you. You gather more and more arcane energy, compressing it further and further, until you let it fly as a roughly cylindrical, blunt bolt. About a foot in diameter and to in length, it crackles with power as it soars towards the golem, impacting it square into the chest and sending crystal shrapnel everywhere.

You had the forethought to put up a barrier, and that is being rewarded as it is peppered the remains of you foe, which completely shattered along the cracks that formed before. After a few seconds, silence finally spreads throughout the cavern, only interrupted by your breathing. You're pretty powerful, especially for your age, but even your reserves are finite, and at the moment you're feeling pretty winded. One more fight like this would be alright, but after that you might have to resort to your sword a bit more often.

You walk up to where it stood, and in the middle of the pile of crystals lies a single shard, glowing blue and the size of your forearm. Since it was a naturally formed golem – or as natural as a being of magic can get – it doesn't have a core to speak of, and you won't be able to make your own from this. But it'll still make for a good reagent.

>Gained Heart Crystal!

You get to harvesting fire stones, making sure to take more than necessary so you have some for yourself too. Afterwards you look around the cavern, and find a smaller one adjacent to the one you fought in.

>Gained Fire Stone Shipment and Fire Stone x10!

>Roll 1D100 for loot, first three rolls count!


>You've got everything you came for and more. Go back to the Academy, maybe they'll have news about the murder.
>Go explore the other part of the cavern, you want some Air stones!

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>1624166
>>Go explore the other part of the cavern, you want some Air stones!

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>1624166
>>You've got everything you came for and more. Go back to the Academy, maybe they'll have news about the murder.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>1624166
Enough fighting and exploring for today. Let's go back to the academy to see what's going on with the murder and do the soulbinding.

>16
The first thing you find in the room is a human skeleton, its bones obviously chewed on, but still wearing clothes. You get excited as you pat it down and feel a coin pouch, but are immediately disappointed when you open it and what greets you isn't gold, but copper.
>21 Copper gained!
>42
The next thing you find looks like the shards one of the kobolds was using as daggers, except they have an actual, sharpened edge and a “grip” in form of some twine around the thin, round end. It doesn't look very sturdy and is probably useless against armor, but it's a curiosity.
>Crystal Dagger gained!
>91
Your last find is much more interesting. At the very end of the room lies the corpse of a tainted kobold. What interests you however is not the wretched little creature, but the crystal growing out its chest, right where the heart is. It's a translucent black and shot through with a blood red pattern, and about the same size as the heart crystal. You break the fascinating find off, and put it into your bag.

You decide that you've had enough action for today, and head back to the Academy. You walk through the woods with a spring in your step, happy about the productive day, and occasionally pet your baby manticore, causing it to make happy sleepy noises. You're really glad that the soulbinding ritual usually takes some of the malevolence out of creatures that tend to be that way. As you walk through the woods, you hear a voice, sounding young but rather frustrated.

>Investigate!
>Be on your way.

>>1624257
>>>Investigate!

>>1624257
Oops, forgot
>Blood Crystal gained!

>>1624257
>>Investigate!

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You break walk towards the voice, and after about minute come across one of the many dirt paths that criss-cross through the forest. On the path stands a... young girl? A young, redheaded girl in a somewhat ridiculous stereotypical wizard hat, and an equally oversized backpack. Okay...
The girl is currently struggling with a slightly oversized map, apparently not sure how to hold it, and grumbling about “incompetent cartographers”. She appears to be lost. This is so stereotypical, if she turns out to actually be way older than she looks and ridiculously powerful you're gonna jump off a floating island.

You stand there for a while and wait for a reaction, but she's rather engrossed in the map. After another minute you clear your throat and her head snaps up, a relieved smile immediately forming.
“Let me guess,” you say, “you're lost.” She beams up at you. “Yes!”
“That's... not something you should be happy about.”
“I'm not,” comes the enthusiastic answer. “But you can show me the way! I'm Elizabeth by the way, but you can call me Ellie.”
You smile at her and say “Nice to meet you Ellie, I'm Arraya. Whe-”
“Oohh, Arraya, that's a pretty name! Is it elvish?”
You pull back your hair, revealing a slightly pointy ear. “Yep.”
“That's so cool! Anyway, I'm going to the Academy. Can you tell me the way? Or show me?”

>Sure, just head north until you hit the road, then west, and then north again at the crossroads.
>Sure, that's where I'm headed anyways. We can go together.

>>1624257
>Investigate the voice
While being on our way. Also, what do our books say about the blood crystal?

>>1624313
>>Sure, that's where I'm headed anyways. We can go together.

>>1624314
From what you've got on you right now, nothing. You've heard about them a few times, usually in the context of enchanting, but for more details you'd have to ask an expert or go to a library. Your personal collection might have something, and you can't think of a topic the Academy's doesn't cover.

>>1624313
>Sure, that's where I'm heading. What are you doing here by the way? Where sre you from?

>>1624313
>>Sure, that's where I'm headed anyways. We can go together.

>>1624320
Okay so I'm writing that down in the to-do list after we're back at the academy.

“Sure, you can just go with me, I'm heading there right now.” You say with an easy smile.
Elizabeth looks absolutely ecstatic, practically bounces as she follows you, using her slightly too large staff as a walking stick. “That's so cool! Why are you going there? Are you enrolling too? Do you think we'll have any classes together?”
You chuckle a bit, her enthusiasm being rather infectious. “No, I've been studying there for a few months now. As for the classes... I doubt it. I'm mainly working on my own projects, and I'm guessing you'll start off with the basic courses.”
That makes her drop her smile for the first time and provokes a pout. “Hey! I'll have you know that I'm a powerful mage! My Mom's a mage too, and she says I'm the most talented she's ever seen!”
You hold up your hands in mock surrender. “Ok, ok. Just not often you see a little girl that's proficient in magic. Speaking of which, what were you doing out here alone anyway?”

As soon as you stop doubting her abilities, her smile picks back up. “I told you, I'm going to the Academy! My village isn't far, just two hours down the road. It's called Whitewoods, because of all the birches in that area. They're really pretty! I can go through forest on my own, and I have my friends to protect me!” She holds out her hand, and a small butterfly seemingly made of light lands on her finger. Okay, that's pretty impressive – controlling sprites at her age, she really must be talented in spiritualism.
“I told you where I'm from, now you have to tell me!”
“Well, I'm from Erston, a town about a day's travel east from here.” You answer after a second of hesitation.
“It's good that it's near, means you can visit more often!” she answers, chipper as ever.
“I... doubt that's going to happen. Don't really have anything left there, and they kicked me out of town after the rabbit incident. I don't think they'd take too kindly to me just coming back.”
She looks at you as if you had just shattered her whole worldview. “How rude! You're so nice, why would they do that! And what's the rabbit incident?”

“Weeeell...” you say, kind of embarrassed. “I was experimenting with an enrage spell, and might have overlooked some rabbit fur in the runic array... Causing all rabbits within two miles to fall into a berserker rage. Some of the townsfolk still have scars on their calves.”
She stares at you for a moment and then doubles over laughing, taking a minute to get herself together. “That reminds me of that one time I let an Ice Sprite loose in my Grandma's bed! I was grounded until her cold got better...”

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You continue on, sharing anecdotes until you reach the city gates, where you dutifully use the aura scanner and vouch for your young charge. You continue through the city, pointing out various landmarks and sights to Elizabeth, who takes it all in wide-eyed. Once you reach the Academy gates, you leave her with the guard who stands on watch waving to her as she gets escorted to the Application Office. You keep on walking towards the grand hall, trying to ignore the Magebreaker who's been following you from around 20 metres distance ever since you arrived. You're guessing they haven't found the assassin yet.

>Find Mary, find out about the Assassin situation
>Find Professor Grolash, deliver the ingredients
>Find the Headmaster or his secretary, deliver the stones
>Find Professor Whitedale, she usually does soulbindings for students
>Go to the Library, find information about your blood crystal
>other

>>1624442
>>Find Professor Whitedale, she usually does soulbindings for students

>>1624442
>Find Professor Whitedale, she usually does soulbindings for students

No bringing the untamed monster in front of others

>>1624442
>>Find Professor Whitedale, she usually does soulbindings for students

File: NPC_Professor_Whitedale_S(...).jpg (591 KB, 1920x2687)

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As soon as you enter, you start making your way to Professor Whitedale's office. The sleep spell you put on the lightly snoring pup should wear off soon, and carrying an untamed and potentially dangerous monster through the Academy would be rather unwise. You arrive at her office soon after, your knocking being answered by the squawk of her phoenix companion, confirming that she's in. A few seconds later comes a thoroughly bored sounding “Come in”. You enter, to the sight of Professor Whitedale with her feet on her desk, summoning fire sprites and feeding them to the bird. You always found her preference for outfits that... accentuate her assets and are rather revealing somewhat tasteless, but whatever.

She takes one look at you, says “Yes?” and immediately returns her attention to her activities. You clear throat and say “I'd like you to perform a soulbinding for me, professor”, which at least gets her attention.
“Oh?”, she say, at least looking at you. “And what would you like to have bound?”
You reach over your shoulder and grab the Baby Manticore, which is just waking up, placing it on her desk. “This.”
She immediately starts fawning over it, scratching it behind the ears and saying things like “Ohmygoshitssocute”. You'd heard that she's enthusiastic when it comes to magical beasts, but even the phrase “complete change of character” didn't prepare you for this. While you're still taken aback, she asks you whether it's a male or a female.

>Male
>Female
(pure fluff choice)

“Alright,” she says once she has somewhat regained her cool, the manticore still looking somewhat dazed from the overdose of affection it just received. “There're two things we can do with this cutyey. One, we can do a normal binding, making it loyal, slightly more intelligent and taking the edge off that nasty temper. Probably won't hassle you for human meat either. Upside, in a year or two it'll be fully grown, meaning combat applications, breeding and advanced bindings, which would make it stronger. Downsides, it's a hassle to house and feed, and let's be honest, the things you'll be fighting in two years time if you continue like this aren't really gonna give a shit about a Manticore. Yes,” she continues at your surprised look, “even I have heard of you.”

“Anyway, two. We do a static binding. Same benefits when it comes to intelligence, loyalty and benevolence, and the character will develop pretty much identically. But the body is gonna stay like this. No use in combat or breeding, but much easier to keep and feed, you can keep it with you on Academy grounds, and as with many venomous species the venom is actually more potent at this age. Defence mechanisms and all that. Also, it's really cute.”

>Take the standard binding
>Take the static binding

>>1624600
>Also, it's really cute.

Well I'm convinced.
>Take the static binding

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>>1624621
That was kind of badly phrased, should have been
>stays really cute
because, you know. pic related.

>>1624652
Can we mount the manticore if it gets big? Because that'd be cool enough to do the standard binding instead of the static one. Also, we can't keep it on academy grounds unless we do static?

Sorry for being retarded

>>1624684
Eh, those're sensible questions. You can mount once it's fully grown, but again, that'd take around two years. I kind of doubt this quest will run that long. You can keep it on academy grounds either way, but once it grows too big it'll have to live in a separate area for large animals. as long as it's a baby you can keep it in your room and it can follow you around in the buildings. You can't take a fully grown manticore into a classroom or the library - wouldn't even fit.

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Alright, thread's deader than dead and I was only gonna do one more post anyways, so that'll be it for now. I'll archive the thread, next one will be around 13:00 EST on Saturday. Also, have a 5-minutes-in-paint-WIP Character sheet.

>>1624600
>Male
>Take the standard binding

I'd rather not create a semi-sentient being that may grow to loathe being forever a baby. Also, I feel like our character would have no issue with keeping a fully grown Manticore around in public.

>>1624600
Gonna second >>1624901

>>1624600
>Female
>Take the standard binding
We can admire the babies for cuteness in a while.

>>1624600
>>Take the static binding

>>1624600
>>Female
>Take the standard binding

>>1624786
not cute/10

>>1624600
>Take the standard binding

This is some good stuff, OP. I like the idea of a more familiar-like static binding.

>Female
>Static Binding