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Your name is GRIFFON CARO-TWAIN. GRIFF to your friends. You are very drunk.

You had just spent the last few minutes turning your stomach inside out into the toilet. Your aggressive yartz-session was the product of playing a bit too much archmage’s cup and wizball; two popular drinking games that you, despite your current state, definitely won at. With your stomach freshly emptied, you threw your head under the faucet and drank water until you felt just as sick as you did before; can’t be hungover when the big competition comes up.

Ah, right! Tomorrow there was a big adventure into a local dungeon; it was the last weekend before classes at Mothwood College started, and apparently this was a yearly event for the freshmen and lower years. In teams of three, groups were racing to get to the bottom of Meridian’s clocktower dungeon first; you had initially been told it was just for bragging rights, but you’d just found out there was, in fact, a cash prize.

You had also, somehow, just noticed that you’d stumbled out of the bathroom. You had no idea where you left your cellphone, and were currently attempting to drunkenly retrace your steps back to it. The energy of the party had mellowed out quite a bit, but not that many people had left; meaning that the rowdy crowd had coagulated into deathly still masses of exhausted college students.

How had you found out that there was money involved with this yearly tradition? Oh, right; you hadn’t really processed it until you had already stumbled past, but groups were signing up and handing over thirty zil each. Winner takes all, you’d heard; which, with the 10-15 groups there would be, would be a pretty tidy sum of 300-400 zil. The group you currently had in mind was your colleague Poya, and fellow Zethrym, Krieg; not a horrible party, but since there was cash involved, you wanted the best you could get.

First thing’s first, though. Phone.

>Stumble back to the bathroom, you definitely left it there.
>Find someone you know, get them to call it. You knew that Poya, Krieg, and Murky all have your number.
>Keep retracing your steps, all the way back to the yard and out the gate if need be.
>Find the host and let them know you lost it, hopefully your cell will turn up before tomorrow.
>Write-in.

<2/2>

>>5008750
>Find someone you know, get them to call it. You knew that Poya, Krieg, and Murky all have your number.

Normally I'd just backtrace but as QM noted we are very drunk.

>>5008750
>Find someone you know, get them to call it. You knew that Poya, Krieg, and Murky all have your number.
I don't imagine our memory is too reliable atm

>>5008750
>Find someone you know, get them to call it. You knew that Poya, Krieg, and Murky all have your number.
Probably the best option for now.

>>5008750
>Find someone you know, get them to call it. You knew that Poya, Krieg, and Murky all have your number.

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You stumbled through the party for a while; rubbing your fingers into your temples as you grumbled and groaned to yourself. The music certainly wasn’t the wall-shaking party mix that was on before, but it was still bassy enough to vibrate your currently very fragile head in an unpleasant manner.

With a lurch, you practically fell into Murky’s arms as you pushed through a circle of people. Her hands hooked into your armpits, she desperately tried to keep you standing. “Woah, hey Griff.” she said, rather plainly. “Feeling okay...?”

You explained your current predicament, and also explained that you weren’t feeling too well. Murky, with an apologetic shrug, told you her phone had died a while ago; “I think I’m going to go sit on the railway bridge and kick my legs for a bit.” she said, slowly letting go of you as you found your footing and making a face at the stain on your shirt. It was just water, though; you were pretty sure, at least. “You’re welcome to join me once you find your phone.” Murky added with a smile.

Stumbling off, you made off looking for someone else to give you a hand. You passed a small group of giggling witches sitting on a sectional couch; the air around them was filled with gentle, pink sparkles as they weaved practical-joke curses on the drunken masses. The preppy Alcadnists were bad enough, but who invited the witches?

“Listen, we head through the undercity and we can cut like three or four floors out.” Wes’ voice suddenly cut through the crowd; finding your ears and leading you over. “It’s not like the monsters in the clocktower are that bad until you get near the bottom. Every stirge or slime we run into isn’t gonna do anything but slow us down.”

Wes and Krieg were hanging out in the kitchen, occasionally interrupted by people digging through the fridge, but mainly looking over a map they’d scrawled into a notebook. Pulling up relevant information on their phone as well, the two of them were plotting a rather elaborate route to the bottom of the clocktower. You managed to interrupt them, right before Krieg came in to point out the flaws in Wes’ idea. With speech slurring a bit, you did deliver your plea for assistance, to which Krieg happily accepted. “We’re heading out to Dux Labs in a bit; if you want in, feel free to come by.” Krieg said, nodding. He passed you his phone, already ringing your phone.

“Hey Griff,” came the voice on the other end. “It’s Poya; I’ve been trying to find you for the last, like, half hour.”

You went out into the backyard to find Poya, finally reuniting with your cellphone. “I was about to walk back to Lenzig’s, so it’s good I found you.” she said, sitting with her elbows on her knees and her palms against her cheeks. “What about you?”

>Head to the railway bridge to sit with Murky.
>Go to Dux Labs to plot with Wes and Krieg.
>Walk Poya home.
>Fuck about at the party for a while longer.
>Write-in.

>>50098
Quick reminder before I vote--what's 'Dux Labs' again? Do we know what it is?

>>5009901

It was mentioned in passing last thread; it's more or less the Zethrym "headquarters." Somewhere between a university building and a rec center.

>>5009886
>>5009913
Ah, thanks! In that case...

>Go to Dux Labs to plot with Wes and Krieg.
I know we're still uh... 'Under the Influence', but bros before hoes, dig?

>>5009886
>Head to the railway bridge to sit with Murky.

>>5009886
>Go to Dux Labs to plot with Wes and Krieg.

Aren't the best plans the ones you come up with when on the verge of passing out?

>>5009886
>Go to Dux Labs to plot with Wes and Krieg.

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You sat outside for a little longer, taking breaths of fresh air as you tried to clear your head a bit. You watched Poya leave, Murky leave, and the majority of guests leave. Eventually, there were just the hanger-ons and friends of the host; of course the witches hung around getting their kicks, but you decided quite readily that it was time to go.

It was a bit of a wander to get to Dux Labs; not that you couldn’t have taken a train, but it was a nice night and in your drunken stupor you had come upon a strange desire to stretch your legs. As you passed under a railway bridge and a train squealed by above, you thought about Murky sitting up there for a moment. There was a moment before you left where you debated heading off with her, but your desire to make new friends (and crush your competition) managed to supersede that.

Dux Labs was different than you remembered; though you last visited it years ago, and you were also not exactly in a right state of mind. Your boots squeaked off the tile floors, and the air was filled with the faintest smell of ammonia. The front administration desk had its shutters pulled down, and the light behind it was off; in fact, almost all of the lights were off. The building was illuminated only by the faintly glowing warded tanks lining one of the walls, filled with homunculi embryos. That, and a single overhead light in a sitting area of the lobby; under it, on a set of plush seats, were Krieg and Wes.

“Hey! You made it!” Wes said with enthusiasm, throwing a hand into the air. You collapsed onto one of the couches and tried to join in on their machinating as best as you could; eventually the planning fell away (or Krieg would claim that it was finished) to more typical joking around, gossiping, and good-hearted antics. Because the building was mostly empty, the three of you played some music and continued the party with just the three of you.

Your memory of the night was hazy at best, but you had a distinct moment burned into your mind; the three of you sitting on the Labs’ roof, looking over the city. You were also waiting for an owl to deliver the food you three had ordered, but that was less vital to the cathartic coming-of-age moment.

For your first night in Meridian, you fell asleep on the couches in the lobby.

<1/2>

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“Wake up, idiot!” an unfamiliar voice rang out above you. “Wow, he is really, really out, huh.”

With a twitch like a risen corpse, you pulled your hands up to your face to rub your palms into your eyes. Awkwardly, like a poorly-puppeteered marionette, you sat up and glanced around the room. Dux Labs was certainly busy now; at least a dozen Zethrym crowded about in adventuring attire. They were practicing spells and counterspells on each other, training their homunculi to fetch, and tightening the straps on their armor.

“There, he’s up. Good luck with getting him in fighting shape.” the voice came again; it belonged to a girl that you didn’t recognize, walking off before you could even catch her name. In the space where she was standing a moment before, Wes quickly stepped in. He put his hands on your shoulders and shook you gently.

“I put you, Krieg, and I down as a team.” he said, looking fetch in a stylish but functional adventuring outfit. “We’ve got like, two hours before we’re supposed to meet at the base of the clocktower. I know you’re probably a bit hungover, but you’d better figure your shit out quick.” Unlike Wes, Krieg was still dressed in his thick labwear; though the steam-piston punches he was laying into a conjured test dummy gave him an intimidating side that you hadn’t seen before.

“There’s a couple groups we should keep an eye out for.” Krieg said; you weren’t sure how long you had been sitting there, but you zoned out enough for you to not notice him walk up to you. Purple flux-smoke was trickling out in wispy strands from the vents in his coat’s shoulders.

“Those three witches signed up.” Krieg started, exhaling. “Murky also decided to play, grouping with some other Zethrym-”

“So much for not being interested.” Wes added, throwing himself onto the couch beside you.

Krieg cleared his throat. “The Murgleib girl is in with another Alcadnist, as well as someone named Ambergris. There’s also a pair of twins; Paprika and Padparadscha. The fact that they’re confident enough to sign up as a group of two has me worried. Lastly, there’s a trio of hedge mages who’ve been practicing together since the start of the summer, apparently.”

“So that’s who we should keep an eye out for. The rest are nobodies that we should have no trouble wiping the floor with.” Wes added with a smirk. “Get yourself ready, and we’ll meet at Clocktower Plaza in, like, an hour forty five? Good? Good.”

You didn’t have a lot of time, but you were going to at least get something done beforehand.

>Head past a general store; you could use some breakfast, as well as maybe some potions or something.
>Go to a local spellcrafter’s; there probably wasn’t time to learn any new spells, but you could definitely treat yourself to a new pair of gloves.
>Get some of your stuff from Lenzigs’; there were belongings that you could use that you didn’t have on you.
>Write-in.

<2/2>

>>5010634
>Head past a general store; you could use some breakfast, as well as maybe some potions or something.

>>5010634
>Head past a general store; you could use some breakfast, as well as maybe some potions or something.

are our threads as nifty as those of our companions?

>>5010634
>>5010672
I should rephrase that as do we own clothes that cool - if so I might want to get our stuff from Lenzigs' instead

>>5010686

I'm on my phone, but definitely OP.

You've got more clothes at home; but nothing really in terms of functional, adventurin' clothes.

>>5010745
Shopping it is

(Hi everyone! Update coming within probably the next hour. I'm going to try to tighten up my schedule so that people don't think that I've left when I'm away for 24+ hours.

I'm thinking of trying to commit to two updates a day; one around when I get up, one before I go to bed. Whenever that may be; I'm in PST and I have a fairly average sleep schedule to give you an idea of what to expect.)

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Slowly, you slouched forwards and managed to drag your groggy body off of the couch. You slid into your sweater, barely managing to avoid elbowing another Zethrym; while the Labs were certainly busy, more and more aspirants began to funnel out towards Clocktower Plaza. You elbowed, intentionally this time, through the crowd as it congested the doorways. Once free, you made off towards what your phone declared to be the nearest general store; travelling at a brisk, but certainly not stressed, pace.

In Moloch you were much more familiar with family business, corner stores, and community favourites; here, in Meridian, the first convenience store you came across was a chain store with an exceptionally brightly-painted exterior. It’s not like the famous brand was totally unexpected; there were certainly Valemarts back home, but it certainly reminded you that you were in the city.

The doors swished themselves open as you approached; the intricacies of their enchantment surely exceedingly complex. The shelves and shelves of snacks were no sore sight; you grabbed breakfast with certainty. But, the back of the store had the things you were really here for, the stuff that they checked if you were 19 for. That was what was going to help you win this contest.

Wandering down the aisles, you considered what to buy; with student dues, meal budget, and that money you owed a friend back home in mind, you had about 150 zil to spend. Not that you were in a rush to spend it all in one place.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQV8vbbfa7jVvyxfF_tlanPsKERR-OFTXKxkgnV8QuZjSox8hHqGaNYrs8Gdh59p8xsOsaTjYcVJ5wd/pub

>>5012640

(If you have any standard-ish RPG items you're after, you can suggest something and Griff can browse a bit harder.)

>>5012643
Nostrum Dose (With Pulp) - Ƶ4.99 x3
Squelch - Ƶ4.99
Astra Inhaler - Ƶ14.99
Vibe - Ƶ9.99
for a total of Ƶ 44,49 leaving us with Ƶ105,51

>>5012640
>2 pulpy nostrum doses and 2 squelches

are there poisons to sabotage rival teams or is that too RPGish to jive with the modern setting?

>>5012804

There's an 8% tax on goods in Arcadia; Meridian included. So that'd be Ƶ48.53 total, but that 8% tax would apply to any purchase.

>>5013314

Generally poisons aren't something you'd use on another person. In a better scenario, Griff (and most alchemists) could definitely make RPG-ish poisons, but there's no practical use for them to be sold in a general store.

(Bit of school stuff right now, so I might not hit that twice a day until the weekend. It's the eventual goal, though.)

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By the time you decided on what to get, you started to realize that you really should’ve grabbed a basket on the way in. You grabbed three doses of nostrum (with pulp); you suppose that the pulp is where all the best stuff is, but you (and most others) really just found it gross. You also grabbed two bottles of Squelch and an inhaler while you were back in the pharmacy. Picking out a box of potato wedges on your way to the checkout; you told the cashier to grab you a vibe from behind the counter. Any flavor, you figured; though Wes liked the orange ones, apparently.

“Your total comes to fifty-three zil and ninety-two zebs.” he said as he finished ringing through the last item. “Would you like to donate two zil to help efforts to conserve the habitats of weak monsters like slimes and walking stumps?”

You shook your head dismissively. Then you remembered to get him to scan your breakfast.

You made your way to the door with your pockets stuffed to the brim; twenty-five zebs for a bag was for suckers. Because of some combination of sleepiness and hangover, you almost walked right into a burly, horned figure checking a fistful of tickets at the lottery kiosk. He flashed you a toothy smile and gave you a thumbs-up.

“Goin’ through the freshman fighting pits today? My lil’ brother’s doin’ it too. Hope he’s on your team, else you’re toast!” he said, letting out a self-content laugh and running his fingers through his dark red hair.

You took a train the rest of the way to the clocktower; the terminal was barely a block away from Clocktower Plaza. On your walk there, you did notice that it was certainly busy; an excess of college-age kids looking ready for trouble. You had to assume the locals knew what to expect if this was a yearly ritual, but all of the participants had the courtesy not to come together as a single, huge crowd.

“If we’re three floors ahead from the start, everyone’s gonna be too busy fighting behind us to catch up.” Wes’ voice rang out through the crowd, as usual. Him and Krieg were on a bench, obviously discussing strategy. Murky and two other girls you didn’t recognize were sitting on the curb a few feet away; though one of Murky’s teammates was wholly unfamiliar, the other one was the girl that had woken you up, you were pretty sure.

“Monsters are worse than other mages. If we go first, we get the most.” Krieg replied, banging his fist against his palm. “We stay subtle, only start pushing for it once we know the monsters have chewed up the competition.”

You had only met these two yesterday, but you really thought that their plans would be switched; just given what you knew of their personality. They both turned towards you and spoke in almost unison, “Griff, what do you think?”

>“We go with Wes’ plan.”
>“We go with Krieg’s plan.”
>“I think I need more information...”
>“Actually, I’ve been thinking...” (Write-in.)

>>5016181
>“We go with Wes’ plan.”
Skipping a few floors will give us a little wiggleroom in case we run into... Complications. As long as we're smart about it it shouldn't toss anything at us that we can't handle!

>>5016181
>“We go with Wes’ plan.”
Are monsters really worse than other mages? Seems doubtful, I thought mages usually win.

>>5016181
>“We go with Wes’ plan.”

(Hi! Busy day or two, sorry. Though, I'm putting a bit of time into a development on the art side of things that will a. hopefully look more polished, and b. make posting way easier for me. Stay tuned! Back before the end of tomorrow.)

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>>5018242

(Oooone more day. Sorry for all the delays! No plans to abandon ship though, hoping to keep working through any hitches that might come up. Hopefully my new idea will expedite updates going forwards. Have a preview!)

>>5019247
What does he keep in those pouches

>>5019247
Lookin' pretty flashy, Kreig. No rush, OP--still interested!

>>5020125

Tater tots.

>>5020301

Don't run too far, update coming probably within an hour and a half.

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You let the gang know you thought Wes’ plan was best. Being ahead of everyone seemed like a good idea in any kind of race, with this one being no exception. Krieg was stoic, but sometimes a bit overly-cautious; you were certain he could hold his own against a group of monsters, but it wasn’t surprising that he preferred to avoid them.

“Right on.” Wes said, biting into his lip and shooting you a pair of finger-guns.

Krieg pulled his goggles down over his eyes and stood from the bench. “I think Wes’ plan is decent, either way. I’m not going to waste time arguing here.”

Wes stood as well, and while the three of you were tightening belts and putting on alchemy gloves, Murky and her cohorts ran off in the direction of the clocktower. “See ‘ya at the bottom!” one of them yelled as they left, sticking their tongue out at you.

Wes’ plan wasn’t complicated by any means, but it was outside the box enough that it was unlikely anyone else would’ve thought of it; take a train to the undercity and bust into the clocktower dungeon a few floors past the start. The top floors were a maze, and the majority of teams were going to be caught up fighting each other near the beginning.

“So the bottom floor of the dungeon is actually an Old Meridian library; to win, we’ve gotta hold the big circular seal on the ground down there. Five minutes, king-of-the-hill style.” Wes said as the rather poorly-maintained undercity tram rattled along its track. The air of the cab smelled like rusty zebs, and there were a couple unscrupulous figures in the train with you; you didn’t much care for the undercity, Moloch was mostly suburbs and this sort of locale really put you out of your element. “I hear they used to do this in the dungeon out in Grinwood, but some professors asked them to stop. Too dangerous, apparently. Speaking of, who do you have for magical history, Griff? Euler?” Wes continued, barely talking to either you or Krieg; though, it did make it a bit less tense with him blathering on.

You could see the clocktower’s underbelly from the train platform where you got off. The air was dank, filled with a dense, cold fog that made your nose run. There was a bit of light coming from above, but the area was lit most of all by ever-active streetlamps. The wooden roads were clear. People down here weren’t often in a neighborly mood.

“Damn it.” Krieg said, gesturing off towards what you could make out of the dungeon. Murky and her two friends were fighting their way towards the entrance you had been planning on using. Or rather, one of her friends (the one you didn’t recognize) was doing most of the fighting; and doing it well. “Suppose it’s not surprising that they were listening in on our plans.”

“Whoever their third is, though, she’s doin’ work.” Wes said, whistling.

<1/2>

>>5020376

>“Let’s take them on, nothing like competition between friends, right?”
>“Let’s head a little deeper, first. Undercity thugs, monsters, what difference does it make?”
>“We could still enter on the same floor, but from a door on the other side of the dungeon.”
>“There’s fighting on the floor above them, we could pick off the winners while they’re weak.”
>Write-in.

(Sorry for the delay! I’m not sure what exactly gave me this idea, but it’s a bit visual novel, eh? It’s not perfect, but this way I can focus on character designs without having to draw them multiple times a day. You’ll still get plenty of new art in backgrounds, poses, outfits; but hopefully I can reuse stuff enough to post daily, at the least. Hope people like what they see!)

<2/2>

>>5020379
>Write-in

Suddenly tempted to spontaneously switch to Krieg's plan and just follow immediately behind Murky's group. If they're rushing ahead of everyone else like we wanted to then we get the best of both worlds there, a lead and an easy ride deep into the dungeon.

If that's not viable I'd want to try going deeper into the undercity.

Are the headlights a Zethrym thing?

>>5020379
Looks good, man, and it'll probably save you time when drawing updates so it's a win-win!

>>5020397
+1 to this--if we just need to hold onto this rune then we can just let Murky's team do most of the heavy lifting while we watch from a distance. Once they're tuckered out we can take our lead!

>>5020397
>>5020422

Krieg made extra sure to remind you that when Wes said "seal," he was referring to a tile pattern on the floor; about twelve feet across. "Hold" as in hold ground.

You could also definitely just follow behind Murky, but one of the two groups fighting would be right behind you; for better or for worse. You'd have to fight Murky and co. if they got to the library before you.

Also; yeah, Zeth Glyphs are a popular Zethrym accessory. They're actually enchanted pieces of glass (or plastic, if you're cheap) that float there and glow because of Zeth aspect influence. Some people make theirs, but nowadays it's easier to just buy them since they're rather inexpensive, even if it's a custom design. It'd be like making your own socks. A fun (if not a bit cruel) prank is to find or make a spot of thin astra and trick your friend into walking through it; their glyph drops right off their head. Hilarious.

Thanks for asking a lore question. That's always fun!

>>5020428

(The last part is genuine, I swear.)

>>5020428
I'm down to follow Murky then. If we know where the library is we can rush ahead when we're close enough.

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You and your cohorts followed close behind Murky and her crew; the dungeon wasn’t crawling with monsters by any means, especially because their mystery third was delivering cartwheel kicks and train-piston punches to the critters that came in their way. Every rideword was left a stack of loose papers, and every piece of animated furniture was turned to broken planks.

“Pretty sure that’s Judith.” Krieg said, making sure to be quiet as possible; you could hear commotion all around you. “We live in the same building, same floor; quite the character.”

“Judith Kope? Ugh, I haven’t seen her in years. We’ve got a history; our parents are, uh, business partners.” Wes added, shrugging. “You do mean the one in the fashionable goggles, right? Not the one killing everyone?”

Krieg nodded. “Yeah. I don’t recognize their third at all.” Wes seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The clocktower dungeon had a rather simple layout; about fifteen floors were below the ground level, each one shaped like a donut. The center was a large pillar, housing the staircases that connected each floor to the next. On some floors, it was a simple matter of circling the pillar to the staircase on the other side; on others, all of the old pieces of clockwork and decaying sewer lines made things a bit more complicated.

There was a constant grinding and stamping coming from all around as the gears tirelessly worked; the undercity’s dense fog permeated the dungeon as well, condensing into fat water drops on every cold, metal surface. Thankfully the floor was mostly metal grates; all of the spots where it was stone pavers, instead, had long been overcome by dense moss and soggy fungus.

“I think we’re starting to get pinned down here.” Wes hissed under his breath as the three of you huddled into an alcove to hide. Murky’s group was ahead, but slow; the groups behind were catching up, you could hear them stomping around on the floor above you. “We’re nearly halfway, but things are just going to get worse once we get even deeper.”

>See if you can catch up to Murky and pounce when they’re off-guard.
>Stand your ground and take out the first group that passes.
>Keep hiding in the alcove until a better opportunity arrives; who cares if it’s wet and cold?
>Attempt to go around the outside of the tower to go around Murky.
>Write-in.

>>5021788
>Attempt to go around the outside of the tower to go around Murky.

This option sounds like the coolest
also their mystery third sounds like she'd solo our team

>>5021788
>Attempt to go around the outside of the tower to go around Murky.

>>5021788
>Attempt to go around the outside of the tower to go around Murky.

Fortune favors the bold!

(Hi all! Canadian thanksgiving weekend, so I am a bit wrapped up in family stuff. There'll be a post tonight for sure, though!)

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While Wes and Krieg were quietly arguing over the logistics of forwards vs. backwards, you climbed up onto a decrepit pile of boxes and heaved yourself through a gash in the dungeon’s wall. The inside certainly seemed subterranean, but there were more than enough holes in its facade to let in lights and sounds from the surrounding undercity; the clocktower was just as much of a tower below ground as it was above.

You carefully found footing along a narrow ledge; though it was a bit of a drop down from the hole you’d escaped from. There were crevices, moulding, and ancient support structures along the tower’s exterior that made it a plausible path downwards; if not a bit precarious. “Dis’ bones, what the fuck are you doing?” Wes hissed from above in an aggravated whisper. You couldn’t see him the way you were standing, your back was pressed against the wall to narrow your profile enough to fit on the ledge; his voice was plenty recognizable though.

The yawning void sat below; the thick sea of fog making it look as though one tiny slip could have you falling endlessly. The occasional ruined spire poked out from the grey-blue clouds, cutting a trail through the fog as it processed through. With how well-placed every step would have to be, it wasn’t practical to try to skip the whole dungeon like this; but you certainly would be able to sneak around Murky.

“Careful, Griff!” Krieg said, his voice chiming in; you turned your head until your cheek was pressed against the damp stone, looking towards the path ahead. A creature was clinging to the wall about a dozen feet away from you; ahead and above in equal measures. Its rubbery, dark yellow skin was covered with dewy drops of water; suction-cup tipped fingers gently popping whenever it lifted its spindly arms away from the wall. A single fist-sized eye sat in its head, rotating around incessantly.

You swallowed a lump in your throat. You would’ve figured for sure that the worst monsters would’ve been inside the dungeon.

>Attack! Might as well get one shot in for free?
>Crouch down and try to sneak past it. It’s only got one eye, after all.
>Try to get your friends to pull you back into the dungeon.
>Write-in.

>>5025035
Can Krieg and Wes back us up from here or would we have to 1v1 the monster?

Do we see any other monsters on the way down?

Can we free attack it in a way that knocks it off the wall?

>>5025187

Krieg and Wes would most likely back you up; but they would certainly prefer not to have to.

You can see other monsters in the air and on the tower generally about, but this is the only one that's really in the way; at least in terms of just skipping the floor Murky's on.

You probably can't knock it off; it's got four legs all suctioned on quite well. Though nothing would stop you from trying.

>>5025035
>Crouch down and try to sneak past it. It’s only got one eye, after all.

Eye think we can make it!

>>5025035
>Crouch down and try to sneak past it. It’s only got one eye, after all.

(The next update is already in the works, but would people want a simple success/fail roll system for actions that could possibly fail? Just so that if they do fail, it feels less like I've pulled the rug out from under you.)

>>5025875
I would personally go for that--even a simple 'best of 3 1d100' system would make things a bit more random. That said, do whatever you're comfortable with--there's a lot of quests that get by without dice.

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Slowly and carefully, you shuffled along. The creature above ran its tongue over its unpleasantly human smile, letting out gentle chuckling sounds to compliment the suction-cup pops. It was about as long as you were tall, with four legs and a knobby, lizard-like body.

With your knees slightly bent, you managed to move about one torso’s worth over horizontally every few seconds. As you passed under the monster, your field of vision failed to encompass its slimy body; you resorted to moving even slower, standing still whenever you could hear its breathing getting closer.

In an instant, you lost balance; you weren’t sure what made you fall. A bit of the stone ledge falling away, too worn down by time? One of the creature’s occasional chirps catching you off-guard? Maybe you just put your foot down wrong and fell over your twisted ankle; either way, before you could think, there was a sea of fog rapidly approaching.

There was a sound like wind filling a sail as you pierced the cloud’s thick membrane; your fall suddenly broken by a decrepit wooden roof. The lower levels of the clocktower were overgrown with shanties, like ivy crawling its way up a tree trunk; this shanty in particular was, like the tower itself, starting to show its age. Hardly stopping, you fell right through the roof and into the room below, leaving a very Griff-sized hole. (And taking 3 damage. It hurt, no question; but your fall wasn’t actually that far, the dense fog made it seem like you would’ve gone much further down.)

“What in Dis was that?” a voice rang out, from the other side of one of the room’s sagging wooden walls. It was an adult, male voice; gravelly and cold. There wasn’t much in this room; a derelict attic full of moth-eaten tablecloths and long since emptied boxes. Pieces of paper and cardboard were scattered about, starting to sprout clusters of white and grey mould.

“Bet it’s just a rideword. Or another piece of this old tower sloughing off.” another voice came, just as much of a ruffian as the last. “A bunch of kids are running through here no problem, you’re not telling me you’re scared?”

“No, no.” the other replied, dejected. There was a pause before he chimed back in to change the subject. “This kid who knows Dark Alchemy; what’s the lead?”

“Well, they’re a Zethrym for sure. V says we’ll be able to tell, so we’ve just gotta keep an eye out for any Zethrym doing anything out of the ordinary. He wants them alive, too, so don’t get carried away.”

You weren’t sure what these strangers were up to, but it didn’t seem like they were up to any good.

<1/2>

>>5028070

Griff’s HEART is 9.
>Shoot first, ask questions later. Though you wouldn’t have your friends to back you up. [Fight.]
>Walk in, start schmoozing. You think you can make out Zeth glyphs on these guys, maybe you can fool them into thinking you’re with them. [2d20 MIND]
>You’d have to go past these guys to get back into the dungeon, sneaking almost just worked. [2d20 BODY]
>There was a staircase in this attic, the only other way out; maybe you could get to the bottom of the clocktower through the shanties?
>Write-in.

(A character’s HEART score, mostly just applying to Griff in this case, is a measure of their capacity to do difficult things. If a roll calls for BODY, you need to roll equal to or under your HEART; if a roll calls for MIND, you need to roll equal to or over your HEART. You roll a number of d20 (generally 1 to 3) depending on how difficult the task is; you only need one success to succeed, but more than one might end up with an even greater success.

A write-in answer might call for a roll, and you might be able to come up with, or argue for, reasons that you should get additional dice. You’ll likely never die or suffer any massive penalties for failing a roll, but you might not get a particularly fortunate outcome.)

<2/2>

>>5028071
>Walk in, start schmoozing. You think you can make out Zeth glyphs on these guys, maybe you can fool them into thinking you’re with them. [2d20 MIND]

Oh fuck we're a Zethrym who's doing things out of the ordinary

but also dank alchemy? we should find out what's up

Rolled 6, 2 = 8 (2d20)

>>5028071
>>Walk in, start schmoozing. You think you can make out Zeth glyphs on these guys, maybe you can fool them into thinking you’re with them. [2d20 MIND]

I think this is how this works?

>>5029720

Oops, sorry! I rolled and then started writing after the last response; but going forwards, yeah, you should probably roll for an answer if required and nobody else has yet.

I could take this roll instead, if you think it would feel more genuine.

>>5029983
Whatever you wanna do, man--I guess the big question is who's gonna do the rolling: the QM or the players?

>>5030002

I think it would be fair to do it normal-ish ttrpg style; the players roll for all their characters' actions, and I'll roll for enemies and etc. Either privately or on here, I don't really think I'd be fudging that much, anyway.

>>5029983
Just one roll? I'll roll in the future, wasn't sure if you wanted to confirm the vote first.

Rolled 1, 8 = 9 (2d20)

>>5029983

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WOE! You rolled a 6 and a 2.

You took a few moments to psych yourself up before throwing the dilapidated door open, putting on your best undercity thug look; furrowed eyebrows and a slight scowl.

The two strangers immediately turned towards you, a pair of dangerous looking Zethrym; besides their menacing appearance, they also looked particularly confused. Before they could speak, you immediately began to spin an elaborate yarn about how you were sent as an inside man regarding the whole dungeon crawl operation. You even included a pun about “dropping in,” in reference to the large hole in the ceiling behind you.

“Quiet!” one of them said suddenly, cutting off your long-winded (and in hindsight, extremely implausible) reasoning. “V said anything goes, so let’s make sure that this twerp doesn’t ruin this for us.”

It was very clear, very quickly, that they weren’t falling for it. Nobody can say that you didn’t try, though.

You shoved a table over, throwing them off guard for just long enough for you to hop the mess you’d just made and bolt for the door. They were hot on your heels, though, and it was going to take more than that to lose them for good.

Thankfully, you had made your way back into the dungeon; twist, turns, and monsters all.

>Try heading back up. If you found Murky and her team, they’d definitely get you out of this jam.
>Keep heading deeper. You had ended up with a breakaway lead, and this was still a competition after all.
>Write-in.

>>5031937
>>Keep heading deeper. You had ended up with a breakaway lead, and this was still a competition after all.

We've just found our guinea pigs--lead 'em into a pack of monsters deeper down, then hopefully regroup with Krieg and Wes while these new jokers distract the creatures!

>>5031937
>Keep heading deeper. You had ended up with a breakaway lead, and this was still a competition after all.

surely if we keep digging eventually we'll get out of this mess

>>5031937
>Try heading back up. If you found Murky and her team, they’d definitely get you out of this jam.

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You took a deep breath and kept running; dodging poltergeists and animated furniture that tried to nip at your ankles as you left your two pursuers in the dust. Without turning your head to look back, you knew they weren’t letting up so easily, though; the sounds of them barreling through obstacles not only let you know how close behind they were, but also that they were tough enough to not be slowed down by your average monster.

Eventually, a few floors later, you finally had to take a break. Your twiggy legs were on fire and your heart was pounding with enough force to burst a hole in your chest. You pulled up a mildewy crate to take a seat; the area illuminated by a rather gaping hole in the dungeon’s exterior wall. You had a moment to just sit and think; there was an animated grandfather clock a floor or two above that was keeping the thugs busy, however briefly. You managed to dodge past it before it could hex you, but they weren’t so lucky. It would give you enough time to catch your breath, but not much else.

The whole time, there was a single thought in your mind: who were those guys? You didn’t often see people with Zeth glyphs that were just... in the shape of the Zeth symbol. It would be like wearing a shirt that said “shirt;” a bit redundant. What it did tell you, though, was that they wanted to be identifiable as Zethrym; but not identifiable as individuals. Also, who was V?

You started heading off deeper into the dungeon, only a few floors away from the bottom. Your phone had died a while ago, and holes in the walls were less and less frequent; thankfully, you were able to travel at a slower pace, because running full-tilt through the pitch blackness would be a good way to get yourself injured even more. Especially because of all the weird slime that started showing up all over the floors as soon as you passed the big hole you rested by. It was black, but whenever it caught a tiny stream of light, it reflected a full rainbow of colors; like an oil slick.

With nothing more than the faintest glow from your Zeth glyph to lead the way, you carefully maneuvered through the clocktower dungeon’s lowest, and most dangerous floors. You wanted to get your mind off of things a bit, somehow; while you were walking, you thought about...

>Tamitha Tucker, a girl from your hometown you used to be close with.
>All the people you’d met in the last day or two. The party did help you get into the local social scene pretty fast.
>The upcoming Owlnights dance. You needed to decide on a costume, after all.
>Lenzig and your “apprenticeship.” What could he possibly want from you, or Poya, for that matter?
>Write-in. You had a whole nineteen-ish years to reminisce about.

>>5035302
>Lenzig and your “apprenticeship.” What could he possibly want from you, or Poya, for that matter?

>>5035302
>Lenzig and your “apprenticeship.” What could he possibly want from you, or Poya, for that matter?

>>5035302
>The upcoming Owlnights dance. You needed to decide on a costume, after all.

I'm a contrarian

>>5036239

I'll give it a bit to see if anyone else wants to weigh in; but in the meantime, do you all think the actions given are.. broad enough? Seems to be a general consensus a lot of the time, and I don't know if that's just bandwagoning or people being in the same mindset; I don't necessarily mind it, I just hope it's not that I'm giving options that seem to have an obvious "right" choice to people. Any thoughts from anyone?

>>5036279
Options do seem like they span a broad enough range, people might just not want to cause a tie.

>>5036279
I think they've been good so far--nothing's felt too samey yet which is good... sometimes it can be tricky creating valid and varied choices, but I think you're doing fine. Players just tend to pile on to the same idea sometimes, especially if they're new to the quest.

Hi! Not dead, just midterms. Sorry for vanishing all the time.

>>5039639
No worries, man--best of luck!

Hope everyone had a good real-life Owlnights and enjoyed a kingly feast of candy!

Posting will resume soon.

>>5035302
>>The upcoming Owlnights dance. You needed to decide on a costume, after all.

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The myriad sounds of monsters echoed through the dank floors, pools of sticky technicolor goo becoming more common the deeper you went. You had been tightening your alchemy gloves so much that the spaces in between your fingers were starting to hurt; though you couldn’t help it, you had to be ready to throw spells at anything that jumped out at you.

Moving to a new town certainly put a lot on your mind, so your thoughts bounced around as you shuffled along.

Lenzig Murr; a self-proclaimed hedge mage, despite being born to an Alcadnist family. Never married, never had kids. Despite all of that, (or perhaps because of) he was easily one of the greatest minds in magic currently alive; there was no doubt in your mind his works would be immortalized like Hohenheim, Radsze, or any other famous academic.

You didn’t know why he wanted you or Poya; you supposed he had zil to spare, and paying for a few kids to go to college was certainly an act of kindness. But you still didn’t know why he chose you two; neither of you were particularly skilled spellcasters. Poya had training, but no talent, while you had talent, but no training; there were droves of students, even at Mothwood, that had both.

That being said, you weren’t about to start complaining. Sure, you took a quick look at the first reading he had assigned you and it was dense stuff; studying under him wasn’t going to be easy. But Lenzig wasn’t a cold person by any means; he smiled a lot, tugged at his collar when he couldn’t find the right words to say, and although he rarely laughed outright, he did make an occasional joke. You two had only spoken briefly, but he was hardly the steely-gazed scholar that his reputation made him out to be.

Of course, you couldn’t keep the Owlnights dance from your mind, either; costumes, candy, and loud music. There was a proper winter formal a few months down the line that would be much more of an event, but the Owlnights dance was more along the lines of a party; you were planning to dress up like a skeleton, get drunk, and cut a rug on the dance floor. Slow, partner dancing was not something that you expected to happen; but it wasn’t uncommon to bring a date as a plus-one. You had a couple thoughts, but you hadn’t asked anyone yet.

>>5047293

Suddenly, reality came back in full force; you had made it to the Old Meridian library without even noticing, though it was quite dark so that was hardly a surprise. The vaulted ceilings went about thirty feet up, with dozens upon dozens of shelves filled with mouldering books packed into the great hall. The little light that was there came in through a single, great window; though you were so far down that the undercity fog blocked most of the rays.

The great seal design on the ground that you were supposed to stand in for five minutes was quite spectacular; an intricate artwork of wood pieces, cut to an absolute perfect fit. There was a small problem, though; the resinous structure built almost perfectly above it, hanging from the ceiling. From it came a steady drip-drip of that strange sludge. It suddenly hit you what it was: monster blood.

Just for a moment you could see the rubbery yellow tail of the creature you’d seen earlier disappear into the nest it had built; something had hurt it. It was weakened, but mad, and there was a very high chance it wouldn’t be too happy about you lingering under its nest.

>It’s hurt and backed into a corner. Time to fight.
>Those thugs were probably still after you, you’d better wait for them first. You wouldn’t want to have to fight them and the monster at the same time.
>Fuck it, just hide. Either your group members, or Murky and co. would be here eventually; they could do the hard stuff for you.
>Write-in? It was never too late to come up with a new plan.

>>5047297
>Those thugs were probably still after you, you’d better wait for them first. You wouldn’t want to have to fight them and the monster at the same time.

while we wait, see if we can lay a trap for them? or maybe some way to anger the monster and make sure it attacks them instead of us.

>>5047297
>>Those thugs were probably still after you, you’d better wait for them first. You wouldn’t want to have to fight them and the monster at the same time.

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You thought about how to make an impromptu trap, but you didn’t really have a good sense for that kind of thing. Krieg was great with gadgets and the like, and would certainly have been able to help, but the best you managed on your own was piling up some books haphazardly near the door you came in from. If those thugs barged through, they’d make quite the racket; hopefully it would be enough to rile up the monster into attacking them.

Besides that, you tightened your alchemy gloves one more time and got ready for a fight; one way or another.

(Hi there! No options on this one; but hopefully a new thread in a couple hours. Getting near the bottom of the board, so hopefully being back at the top will liven this thing up a bit. I had an eventful few weeks, but now I’m on break for a while so I’ve got lots of time to draw and post.)

>>5052636
always good to hear the qm curse is giving respite

>>5054089

New thread.