>>5344701
Short summary of Elden Ring’s past:

A god called “The Great Will” ruled over the continent known as “The Lands in Between”

There are several regions within this place:

Altus Plateau, a land in the mountains, where Leydell, the royal capital is. A large mountain called “Mt. Gelmir” is on the left side of this region. On it’s right is the Mountaintops of the Giants.

Liurnia, a land mostly filled with water where the Carian Royalty and academy of sorcerers are.

Limgrave, a land made up of forest and wild animals, south of Liurnia.

Caelid, a land close to the sea. Home to large mines and gravity sorcerers. West of Limgrave.

Mountaintops of the Giants, the highest place of giants that worshipped the Flame of the Fell gods. A threat to the Erdtree that was exterminated by Godfrey.

The Greater Will controls the continent by using the Erdtree, a large tree where souls go to reincarnate, and messengers that resemble a large hand with only two fingers.

These agents’ words are deciphered by The Golden Order, people who dedicate themselves to following the teachings of the Greater Will.

Queen Marika, a god, was chosen by the Greater Will as an Empyrean, a candidate to rule over the entire continent. With the help of Godfrey and trolls, they exterminated those that might be a threat to the Greater will.

Some time during her rule, a war between the gods happened: Radagon’s soldiers and Carian royalty occurred because of an territorial dispute. When Radagon met Rennela on the battlefield, they fell in love and he ceased his aggression.

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>>5344701
CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER
*Players can propose different names and objectives for the characters

>Carian Knight - Calabria
Carian knights are soldiers handpicked by the Carian queen, exceptionally skilled in glintstone sorcery and most types of melee weapons.

Calabria isn’t as skilled in fighting as her peers, but her knowledge on glintstone and their manipulation is unmatched.
A sorcerer through and through.

While others are tasked with security work, she is given the task of catching theives who stole ceremonial weapons that was supposed to be a gift towards the Golden Order.

She is equipped with..
Glided plate armor that is adorned with ceremonial decorations
Carian glintstone staff
Carian knight’s sword - Double edged hand and a half sword (can be used one/two handed) that also acts as a catalyst for sword spells

Decent at fighting, good at sorcery and has good defense. However, Carian royalty demands perfection.

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>>5344701
>Black Key confessor - Marina
Black Keys are spies of the church, armed with a crossbow, a single handed sword and several spells designed for stealth.

Out of all the Black Keys, she is one of the most brutal and least liked. Marina is given the difficult task of executing war criminals on Radagon’s side.

She is equipped with..
Black Key crossbow
Black robes
Arming sword (double edged, single handed)
Finger Seal (catalyst for casting spells)

Highly skilled at combat, but lacking in armor and friends.

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>>5344701
>Former convict - Polter
Former convict who acquired a taste for shellfish during his incarceration, who decides to leave his old life behind and starts a shellfish restaurant.

With his lack of funds, the only source of shellfish lies in the seas and rivers of Liurnia, filled with gigantic lobsters and oysters.

He is only equipped with..
Some rope
Large knife
Torchpole (torch attached to a pole)
Imprisonment helmet

Good at cooking and has pretty good strength, but lacking in magical abilities and poor.

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>>5344701
>Godskin apostle - Azul
Former follower of a cult dedicated to killing the gods, now without a master. Marika’s shadow, Maliketh has killed the Gloam Eyed Queen and sealed back Destined Death, removing the cult’s godslaying powers.

Azul hated how uncaring the gods were. He and his family were miners, extracting glintstone scrap from the mines of Caelid. When someone was injured, they were cast aside. Any attempts to voice concerns about the dangers resulted in beatings and threats.

If under the gods, they didn’t care about him, why should he care about them?
The Golden Order, The Carian royalty,
The Raya Lucaria academy, all of them will be killed.

Let the Black Flame deliver unto them death, once more.

He is equipped with..
Godskin peeler - polearm made for cutting god and demigod flesh
Robes that can stretch itself, made from gods’ skin
Godslayer seal (catalyst for casting spells)

>>5344701
>write in
Be sure to give name, a short background and objective of this character!

>>5344707
>>5344701
>Former convict, Polter.

>Godskin apostle, Azul

https://youtu.be/GoC8OBjs7Iw

>>5344704
>>Carian Knight - Calabria

>>5344707
Picking this.

Thanks for all the replies!

Gotta sleep. I’ll close in the vote in ~9 hrs

>>5344708
>Godskin apostle - Azul

>Black Key confessor - Marina

Haven't played Elden Ring yet, probably should. Will participate anyways.

>>5344704
>Former convict - Polter
Throw in a little orphan girl he raises named Colette and you have a 10/10 quest on your hands.

>>5344708
>Azul
I wanna vibecheck Radagon and crash the wedding while going on an autistic rant about the nature of oppression.

>>5344708
>>Former convict - Polter
>Fishfearme.jpg

>>5344708
>Godskin apostle - Azul
I hate fighting them as anything but a powerstancing grug, but I love these niggas' drip.

>>5344717
>>5344722
>>5344724
>>5344771
>>5344798
>>5344823
>>5344907
>>5345030
>>5345055
>>5345201
Voting closed
Godskin - 4
Convict - 3
Carian knight - 1
Black Key - 1

>>5345245
Godskin and Convict are tied.

>>5345245
I'll switch to Godskin to break the tie.

>>5345292
Traitor.

>>5345292
Traitor.

>>5344707
>>Former convict - Polter

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5345276
>>5345292
>>5345320
Technically voting closed so I’ll do tie breaker roll

1=polter
2=Azul

>>5345294
>>5345308
H-how? I never voted for convict to begin with!

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>>5345323
In the depths of Caelid, far away from the gale of the sea and light of the Erdtree are the glintstone mines Azul once worked at.


All those suffering, death, and for what?
The wages are minimal and the Liurnia people think of them as nothing but insects, even though people like him were responsible for the glintstone of those fancy staves of Raya Lucaria Academy.

Azul’s body was covered in crystalline protrusions and his skin hardened into a stone like texture during his time there.

Still, the wounds of a miner apprentice wasn’t as severe as someone like his dad, who worked there until he became more similar to those ice spitting slugs than a man, or his uncle, who was kicked out after his arm was broken from a fall. He doesn’t even know where his uncle is anymore.

The Gloam Eyed Queen and the other cultists were the only people who didn’t care about his physical appearance and thought him the spells to alleviate the pain.

A few years ago, he left his family in Caelid and made some money as an apostle of this cult, acting as an Black Flame artilleryman for the cultists whenever they raided a structure. He sent a portion of it back to his family, knowing that it can only delay the inevitable for a time.

His family and relatives’ graves remain unmarked, but decorated with the Fire Blossoms. Such flowers only bloom in the Mountaintops of the Giants, and carry with them the sparks of ruin.
An acknowledgment of revengeance against the gods.

It wasn’t long until Marika’s shadowbound beast, Maliketh caught up with them and killed the Gloam Eyed Queen, sealing back the godslaying powers of the Black Flame into his blade.

If only the gods paid that much attention to what’s going on under Rennela’s academy.

With Azul’s funds drying up, and both of his families destroyed, he plans to spite the gods during their times of peace.

[Picture of Azul’s father]
(Cont.)

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>>5345331
There are a few options to disrupt the peace and cause discord among Rennela and Radagon’s side.

>>Attack the Church of Vows
The Church of Vows, located on the right side of the academy, is where they will have the marriage ceremony in a month.
Heavily guarded by Carian knightd and Leyndell knights. The church also has a large tortoise, who is a Pastor of Vows.

If Azul were able to kill or injure the pastor or the knights, the skills of the elite forces and security of the events would be questioned. The people would be scared and the higher ups would be blaming each other.

>>Attack Sellia’s markets
Sellia is a town of sorcerers in Caelid. It’s filled with sorcerers of Rennela’s academy and upcoming students looking to get into the academy.

In honor of the marriage, the sales of glintstone staves have skyrocketed.
If they were destroyed publicly by a Godskin, the reputation of Rennela would surely deteriorate.

>>Destroy glintstone dragon eggs
Rumors of Raya Lucaria academy guardians, glintstone dragons, laying eggs in the lakes of Liurnia reached Azul’s ears.

If they were located and destroyed, it would reduce the overall firepower of the academy and deal a significant blow to security.

>>Disable Lift of Dectus
Grand lift of Dectus is the main link between Atlus Plateau and Liurnia.
Guarded by Leyndell forces.

If Azul were to disable it, it would mean that the logistics of Golden Order is slowed down massively. The marriage might have to be delayed, even.

>>Write in

[Picture of Grand Lift of Dectus]

>>5345333
>>Attack the Church of Vows
The Church of Vows, located on the right side of the academy, is where they will have the marriage ceremony in a month.
Heavily guarded by Carian knightd and Leyndell knights. The church also has a large tortoise, who is a Pastor of Vows.

If Azul were able to kill or injure the pastor or the knights, the skills of the elite forces and security of the events would be questioned. The people would be scared and the higher ups would be blaming each other.

>>5345333
>>Destroy glintstone dragon eggs

>>5345333
>Attack the Church of Vows
This is probably going to be the most difficult and risky out of all of the options but there's a high reward if this can actually be done.

>>5345333
>Lift of Dectus
If we destroy it we buy time to do other things, or take them apart piecemeal as they come down the cliff.

Oh, Btw, since we used to be a glintstone miner I have to ask: Is our skin still all gnarly and tough, and do we know the rock blasting spells, even if we don't currently have a staff? Because using one of those at a crucial moment could save our possibly stony ass.

>>5345396
Changing my original vote to this.

>>5345333
>>Disable Lift of Dectus

This way we have more time to more carefully approach this and avoid rushing anything.

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>>5345409
Azul knows the basic Shatter Earth spell but he needs a staff to cast it

Any glintstone staff will do

>>5345426
Then we'll just have to skin a mage for one then, won't we? Maybe we could get one from a Glintstone Dragon's glintstones later, which feels like a very Godskin thing to do.

>>5345370
>>5345341
>>5345396
>>5345416
>>5345418
Alright, 3 votes for disabling dectus lift.
1 vote for dragon egg
1 vote for church of vows
Gonna close the votes in an hour

>>5345524
Azul decides on disabling the Grand Lift of Dectus.

With the supply line cut, Leyndell forces are going to have a hard time transporting people, food and gear into Liurnia. It’ll deal a blow to both the Golden Order and Liurnia.

Settled, then.

Azul wakes up early in the morning, reciting his incantations and resharpening his polearm.

Smooth rocks from the lakes were used instead of whetstone. Spending years on poverty made him perceptive to the ways of reducing costs.

He leaves his current home, an abandoned wooden shack on the hills of Liurnia. In front of him are long roads that lead to the Church of Vows, and a village at taller hills still.

Azul covers himself in tattered rags and wraps cloth around his Godskin Peeler, disgusing it as a walking stick. He carries a large bag on his back, appearing as a wanderer or trader.

Even before the sun rises, a few travelers are already walking down the paths.

Azul occasionally glances at the Church of Vows on his left. Several horsemen and knights patrol the area near the church and look at the travelers as they walk by.

The soldiers glare at the disfigured hands of Azul but remain silent.

Moving further north, Azul can the village on top of the hills. He knows better than to step foot in that village.

Even though he is walking around the town, some children are throwing pebble towards him, from the outskirts above him.

Those things hurt quite a lot, but the mere attempt of trying to retaliate would likely incur the wrath of their parents and guards. Azul quickly walks away while keeping his backpack on his back.

He remembers when a wandering sorcerer was pelted by those kids. A single glintstone pebble knocked one of those kids out and the rest cried for help.
The sorcerer ended up being beaten to death by a mob.

Maybe they should’ve taught their children to not throw rocks at people they find disgusting if they don’t want their kids to be harmed.

(Cont.)

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>>5345812
After moving past the town, the path leads downwards, towards a long flat road. Azul hides behind the hills to observe the situation.

Ahead of him is the Grand Lift itself, surrounded by several dozen Leyndell soldiers armed with lightning infused polearms and plate armor. Around 8 horsemen patrol area leading up to the lift, and half a dozen ballistas are watching over those soldiers.

To get past them and reach the Lift, Azul decides to…

>>Attack the Ballistas, then confront the Leyndell soldiers [Enter combat]
Approaching them head on would be a difficult fight. Azul might be able to cast Black Flame to disable those ballistas, but those cavalry might prove too fast, even with his elastic godskin robe.

>>Attack the village as a distraction, then slip by to deal with the separated forces [Enter combat]
Attacking the village on the hills as a distraction could work. Some of those soldiers, especially the cavalry would arrive there, allowing Azul to deal with footsoldiers and the ballistas.

>>Attack the village - Attach children to his body as meat shields [Enter combat]
Fuck those kids. Azul had enough of their rock throwing, and wanted to teach the people a very valuable lesson: How far will they go to do their job? If they shoot or hurt Azul, they would be hurting children in the process, damaging their reputation. If they don’t, they’re incompetent at their job as guards.

>>Wait until nightfall [Stealth check]
The night could provide some cover.
They only have lamps and torches as a source of light. Even though they can cast lighting, it is taxing on their mind. Azul could try to use his elastic Godskin robe and slip past them during those hours.

>>Write in

>>5345813
>Some combination of attacking the village at night while attaching children to our body to use as meat shields.

In regards to stealth, we don't need to make it all the way to the lift, nor is that likely considering we aren't a super stealthy character, the point is to divide and conquer while hampering the enemy as much as possible. Plus, those kids really deserve to suffer!

>>5345813
>>Wait until nightfall [Stealth check]
The night could provide some cover.
They only have lamps and torches as a source of light. Even though they can cast lighting, it is taxing on their mind. Azul could try to use his elastic Godskin robe and slip past them during those hours.
Act like we're the hermit we're disguised as until we're close to the lift, then get to fighting once we're behind the defenses.

In the meantime, try and find a staff instead of waiting around. We can use Shatter Earth on the lift to damage it.

>>5345813
>Wait until nightfall [Stealth check]

>>5345813
>Attack the Ballistas, then confront the Leyndell soldiers [Enter combat]
Approaching them head on would be a difficult fight. Azul might be able to cast Black Flame to disable those ballistas, but those cavalry might prove too fast, even with his elastic godskin robe.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5345822
>>5345833
>>5346228
>>5346399
Votes:
Wait till night fall - 1
Wait till night fall, use children as meat shields - 1
Wait till night fall,disguise as hermit and find glintstone staff - 1
Attack ballista - 1

Rolling for tiebreaker on nightfall
1 = attach children as meat shield
2 = hermit disguise & find staff

>>5344708
Wait, how does Mariketh have Destined Death if this is before the night of black knives?? I thought it "got out" for the first time on that night.

>>5346861
>Wait, how does Mariketh have Destined Death if this is before the night of black knives?? I thought it "got out" for the first time on that night.

It got out 2 times: At an unspecified time when Gloam Eyed Queen got the Black Flame
AND
Before the Night of the Black knives, when Ranni stole a portion of it to give to the Black knives and Rykard

Maliketh always had Destined Death, but the Godskins plucked some of it out as the Black Flame, channeled through Godslayer GS.

When Maliketh defeated the Gloam Eyed Queen, he sealed back Destined Death and the godskin lost that power.

I’m not sure how long the Godskin has been around, but definitely pre-Night of the black knives, since the Gloam Eyed Queen was stated to be an empyrean, and that Maliketh sealed Destined Death within himself after the Night of Black knives.

If he sealed DD within himself after killing Gloam Eyed Queen, Ranni wouldn’t be able to pluck it out since he needed to die for it to activate.

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>>5346905
Lore from godslayer gs

>>5346558
Still writing, don’t worry!
Was a busy day today. Expect it in a few hours

>>5346558
Gotta sleep. Ugh. Can’t finish it today. Gonna post in ~10 hrs

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Rolled 11, 53, 59 = 123 (3d100)

>>5347064
Azul waits for night to fall…

The forest on the north east of the town is probably the best location to hide.
Azul waits for the late morning and uses the large crowds of people to slip into the forest.

Once again those children still laugh and throw pebbles at the masses underneath them, unable to do anything about it.

He spends most of his time hiding in the trees nearby the town, waiting for the sun to set.

Dried meat and small crumbs of bread sustain him during the day, where he remained in bushes and tall grass, mostly observing the people while not moving much.

Occasionally he comes out to gather vines. It’s likely good enough to hold children and himself, but using it to hold those knights would fray the rope.

The evening comes. He can see the tiredness in those guards’ eyes, their sluggish movements and the lack of awareness.

He finally dons his Godskin Robe and unwraps the polearm. With the coils of vines by his side and his Peeler on his back, Azul is now ready to execute his plan.

Firstly, he’ll stretch the robe to take the children with the vines to attach them to his body.

Then, he’ll take out the horses in the town, to slow them from getting word out.

Finally, Azul will tackle the main Leyndell forces at the lift.

(Dice correspond with these 3 actions)

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>>5347594
11 & 53 & 59

During the evening, the children begin to leave the outskirts of town, returning to their parents.

With their backs turned, Azul stretches his robe, moving his upper body forwards and trying to snatch kids with his rope.
Unfortunately, with the speed his upper body was moving, it ended up knocking them into the dirt instead.

They scream frantically and try to run away.

Azul shifts his robes and moves his lower body to catch up with his upper body, deciding to pursue them normally on foot instead.

The sounds of metal clanking alerts him to the soldiers moving to respond to the situation.

Time to improvise.

Two dozen soldiers confront the Godskin apostle.

Six of them, situated on the walls are crossbowmen, lightly armored with cloth armor and steel helmets.

Sixteen of them are lightly armed foot soldiers, holding polearms and protected by steel helmets and covered in mail.

Two of them are soldiers in plate armor and holding poleaxes. Azul recognize their intricate helmets’ decorations. Banished knights, capable of summoning wind with their weapons and dashing around quickly. These disgraced soldiers that work as mercenaries are far more effective than most.

The banished knights were first to approach him, with the less well armored men moving by his side.

Azul lets go of the vines and holds his Peeler with both his hands.

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>>5347756
He holds the polearm above him, and spins it.

Black Flame emerges from the ground, creating a whirlwind that engulfs one of the banished knights who tried to rush in with his poleaxe and burns most of the spearmen. The arrows those crossbowmen fired were disintegrated by the Black Flame.

With most of the spearmen taken care of,
Azul performs a thrust with the bottom of his polearm towards the second banished knight.

The sheer force of the thrust knocks him down, allowing Azul to ram his Peeler into the visor, tearing apart his eyes and killing him.

Before he could attack the reloading crossbowmen, he gets knocked back by a charge from the burned Banished knight who just recovered from that whirlwind.

Azul tries to knock him down with a thrust, but before his weapon could make contact, the knight stomps on the ground.

Bursts of air are summoned from the ground forming a brief vortex around the knight, which redirects the direction of his Peeler away and makes Azul lose his footing.

Taking this fight right now is too dangerous.

Azul stretches the robes and his upper body moves towards the walls, dragging his lower body along and avoiding a downward strike from the banished knight.

With his polearm, he climbs the walls and reaches the crossbowmen. A single horizontal swipe with his weapon made one of them duck, allowing Azul to grab him as a meat shield. His left arm firmly pins his body in front of Azul’s.

The five remaining ones hesitate long enough for a few attacks, harassing them long enough for Azul to throw them off the walls. They won’t die, but it will buy him enough time to execute those horses before leaving.

Azul pulls out his seal from his pocket, a bracelet with a small stone carved with words of incantations and embedded with a black gem. After muttering words of the Gloam Eyed Queen, Black Flame forms around his palm.

The stables didn’t stand much of a chance.

His Peeler is sucked in by the robes, sticking to his hip as he tosses the fireballs.

(Cont.)

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>>5347759
With one hostage taken and horses burned, he jumps down from the hills, using his stretchy body to tumble akin to a log rather than a man, breaking the fall.

While walking towards the Grand Lift, the crossbowman muffled screams can still be heard, even when he is entirely covered by the robes.

Azul is irritated by this man’s incoherent words.

The crossbowman looks up and sees his stone like texture of his face. His muffled screams become louder.

Azul is even more irritated.

"Crossbowman."
"Listen well."
"Leyndell soldiers will try to kill me as I use you as a meat shield. You might survive. Annoy me further and you will NOT."
His barely restrained rage shuts the hostage up for now.


The cold gale makes Azul’s robes flutter.
Better act fast before they are alerted or any rain happens.

Azul holds the seal and mutters a prayer. Small flickers of Black Flame emerge from his fingers. He slams it against his and the crossbowman’s chest.

This spell, Black Flame’s Protection, singes the body with the Black Flame, reducing that damage of normal weapons and the strength of healing.
Any damage done to the body with quickly be soothed by the flame, allowing wounds to be closed quickly.

With their bodies strengthened, he is now ready for the assault.

Casting Black Flame from his hand, he tosses it at one of the ballistas.

With the strong wind, it moves offline and hits the soldier instead. He screams as the Black Flame tear apart his skin and corrodes the body. The burn briefly wears off, but he could barely move from all the damage to his tissue and bones.

The partisan wielding knights immediately cast lightning unto their weapons and chase after Azul once they see the Black Flame on his hand.

Azul stretches his robes, moving upper body in a wide circle and casting another spell while letting his lower half stand on the ground.

Pillars of Black Flame emerge from the edges of the circle, cutting off the cavalry from their friends outside.

(Cont.)

>>5347760
Now fully illuminated, they see that Azul is holding a man hostage with his left arm. They hesitate to cast spells or attack right away.

One of them charges the Godskin, trying to go for his head.

Azul sidesteps the charge and throws a cut with his polearm. The sickle part of his weapon cleaves through a horse’s leg, sending the knight tumbling into the Black Flame pillar.

Seven more horsemen.

The smoke from the Black Flame starts to become unbearable for everyone in the circle. They create a lightning spear from their hands and throws it at the ground near the Godskin, attempting to make him lose balance and possibly fall.

He can’t dodge it all forever. He puts his seal back in his pocket and grab the Peeler.

Azul stretches his upper half and contort his palm with the robe, allowing him to move towards the horsemen and spin the Peeler, injuring the horse and quickly retreats back to the middle.

While he does manage to make the knights fall off their horses and kill some of them, a few horsemen behind him were able to land several cuts to his sides and back.

The robes absorb the cuts, but the bruises from a moving horse are still painful.

(Cont.)

>>5347761
The pillars fade away at last, allowing fresh air to enter the lungs of the people inside the circle.

The horsemen disengage and move around the Godskin Apostle with their polearms, trying to outmaneuver him and land a cut.

The Leyndell knights arrive at the fight on foot, holding their large shields in front of them from any remnants of the Black Flame.

Azul covers the crossbowman with his robe and rolls on the floor towards the Knights.

Some brace their shield against the attack while some attempt to jump over what is essentially a human who is the size of a wooden log.

Those that jumped were quickly knocked down and crushed into the ground.

The soldiers manning the ballistas also have a hard time aiming at an object that low to the ground and moving that quickly.
They too, were knocked around by Azul.

Now Azul has the advantage, being closer to the Grand Lift than nearly everyone else and having access to the ballistas.

The horsemen and Leyndell soldiers decide to retreat than fight someone with a hostage and six ballistas that he can quickly reach.

The ballista crew were quickly wiped out after they decide to retreat towards the lake, likely going to Raya Lucaria to ask for reinforcements and additional ranged support.

Finally, the Grand Lift is his.

(Cont.)

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>>5347762
It is an extremely large piece of machinery, which is activated by a Dectus medallion, something he doesn’t have right now, not even those soldiers he killed have them. The lift itself is just a large circle shaped platform in front of statues.

That being said, the two large statues next to the Lift are important to it, as they will move upon activating the medallion.

If they were destroyed, the mechanism for receiving the transmission from the medallion could be disrupted. They are made from stone, and each have a small amber gem in their forehead.

Azul’s Black Flame won’t do much good here. It may be effective against living creatures, but stone? Not so much.

>>Use ballistas to shatter the stone statues

>>Steal the gems from the statues’ forehead

>>Pull the statues down and make them crash unto the platform [Strength check]

>>Ask the crossbowman (hostage) for advice
He probably doesn’t know much about the mechanism, but he might’ve seen people use it a few times.

>>Write in

>>5347763
>Pull the statues down and make them crash unto the platform [Strength check]

>>5347763
>Pull the statues down and make them crash unto the platform [Strength check]

Rolled 70, 42, 70 = 182 (3d100)

>>5347797
>>5348005
Strength check

+2d100 for successful defeat of guards
3d100 vs 60

>>5348988
Can’t finish this post tonight. Maybe in 10 hrs

>>5349233
Double 70 vs 60

The Godskin lets the crossbowman go for now, instructing him to gather the string of the ballistas and scavenge rope from the corpses.

If he succeeds, Azul will let him go free.

The crossbowman extracts some strong string from the ballistas, and rope from the ammunition crates.

Azul wraps it around the head and polearm of a statue. With them firmly secured to thinner points of the statue, he attaches the rope to his hands and pull as hard as he can.

He’s not unused to pulling large objects. During his time in the mines as a child, he had to carry heavy rocks, sometimes even more than adults when they were sick.

His skin became rough and some of it turned into stone. Bumps of crystals and rocks protrude from certain spots from prolonged exposure to the glintstone scraps.

With all those work, it built up some muscle, and with the Black Flame still burning in his body, he is able push his body to it’s limits.

Enough fracture a statue, tearing apart the polearm and making it fall.

The stone statue and it’s poleaxe falls down, causing a loud boom and sending waves of dust in every direction.

The rocks shatter the surface of the platform, creating cracks and breaking small chunks of the engraved lift platform.

Good, but not enough.

Azul clears the area and removes the dropped stone from the platform and continues to pull another statue down.

There’s four statues in total, but the other pair is too far away for it to hit the platform on it’s way down.

(Cont.)

>>5350274
Azul can afford time to pull the second statue down because those Leyndell soldiers retreated.

Once again, he pulled the statue’s weak points with the rope.

His hands have become scratched and hot from all the friction, but he non the less persisted. Having some mild pain on his hands was nothing compared to countless days of hauling rocks and being smacked with a stick when he wasn’t fast enough.

With his anger recalled, he gains the strength to pull the statue until it falls once more.

Another loud boom happened.
Azul preemptively covered his face to avoid rocks and dust from hitting it.

The lift’s masterfully engraved platform is now shattered, having five large cracks that span from the edge to the middle.

With those cracks, Azul could pry some of the chunks away.

After he tears apart the platform, it looks more similar to a crescent moon with jagged edges. Structurally, it won’t be able to hold much, and the mechanism behind it is likely damaged.

Before leaving the hills of Liurnia, he carries the chunks of the platform and tosses it down, letting it shatter on some rocks at the bottom of the hills.

With most of the Grand Lift destroyed, Azul feels satisfied in getting closer to revengeance against the gods.

Azul knows more mounted soldiers will be coming from Raya Lucaria and the Church of Vows soon, so he descends down the hills using his stretchy robes to avoid the roads.

The moon is nearly full during this night, giving the Godskin a decent source of light as he navigates downwards, into the lakes and caves.

(Cont.)

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>>5350276
After setting foot the lakes of Liurnia, he looks around before taking off his Godskin robes.

The rumbling of the water alert him to the presence of cavalry.

Azul hides behind the trees to observe who they are.

He sees horsemen who have black armor on horse like mounts that are covered in dark clothing traverse the lakes. These must be the Night’s cavalry, mounted units of Leyndell.

Two of them patrol the trees, one holding a Voulge and the other holding a flail.
Azul could probably take them on normally, but he can’t take them and Carian soldiers at once. Especially not after the injuries sustained today.

Azul doesn’t have the stamina to cross the lakes and walk all the way to west of Liurnia tonight.

He takes a gamble and sleeps inside a cave on east Liurnia instead, hoping that the soldiers would think he is a mere miner.

Unknown amounts of hours pass before he wakes up again. Seems like no one bothered him while he slept. His robe is still in his bag, and the Peeler is still covered.

(Cont.)

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>>5350278
Leaving the cave, Azul discovers it is the late morning of a new day.

He leaves the lakes of Liurnia and spend some time to rest and to formulate the next step of his plan to bring down the gods.

From what he can gather, this is what the public knows…

A Godskin attacked a town in east Liurnia and killed several guards. He took a hostage and attacked the Leyndell forces defending the Grand Lift.
They were defeated by him, and only a few barely escaped to ask for reinforcements from the Church of Vows and Raya Lucaria academy.
When they arrived, the Lift was heavily damaged and the Godskin gone.

Many people criticize the forces of Leyndell for their unpreparedness and slow response time. Concerns of further attacks by the Godskin cults begin to spread among the people in Liurnia and the other lowlands, Caelid in particular.

The presence of Godskin also makes the divide between supporters of this marriage and detractors grows even larger.

“If the Golden Order can’t even take care of it’s problems, why should we unite the lands and make their problems ours?” Is the general sentiment among the critics.

Of course, the supporters argue that since the Godskin attacked an area in Liurnia, they should bond together to take down the Godskins before they become a problem no region can handle on their own.

The Academy and Church still insist on of the marriage by the end of this month.

With the Grand Lift under construction, trading between Leyndell and every other region also stagnates. Aside from the lift, there’s also a path in the mountains from Leyndell and Liurnia, but those take a long time and can only transport few carts. The market will feel the effects of shortages soon.

As for the threats, he won’t have to deal with more elite Leyndell forces being sent into here or other lowlands. Those Night’s Cavalry won’t have any crossbowmen or heavily armored Tree Sentinels backing them up.


This is perfect for Azul. More chaos among the people will allow his actions to slip by more, and less threats he needs to deal with.

(Cont.)

>>5350280
He can afford to spend some time to rest and do things that could make his future plans easier.

[YOU HAVE 2 TIME IN TOTAL]

>>Buy more rations [1 TIME]
There’s a new store in east Liurnia that sells shellfish. Apparently the owner managed to kill those giant lobsters and oysters. It’s a source of cheap food.
Azul has enough money to buy from him.

>>Find a glintstone staff [1 TIME]
More security around Sellia and the academy means Azul has to scavenge
a staff. How successful this will be will depend on luck. Having access to his old rock blasting spells could be useful, though.

>>Make Spellproof livers [1 TIME]
Azul could spend time hunting beasts and glintstone butterflies, creating a cured liver that can heavily reduce magic damage. Might come in handy against Carian and academy forces.

>>Make Bleedclot medicine [1 TIME]
Azul could spend time hunting large octopi to create a medicine that stops blood loss - a weakness of Godskin cultists’ cloth armor.

File: CD26587B-58C1-4A84-AD5B-5(...).png (13 KB, 200x200)

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>>5350282
Picture of prawn (rations)

File: D9725371-50A6-4071-89DB-0(...).png (7 KB, 200x200)

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>>5350286
Picture of a glintstone staff

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>>5350287
Picture of Spellproof liver - reduces magic dmg

Carian knights and Raya lucaria forces often use magic

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>>5350288
Picture of Staunching blouses (bloodclot medicine)

Godskin apostle and noble robes are thin cloth armor - susceptible to cuts

>>5350282
>Make Spellproof livers [1 TIME]
>Make Bleedclot medicine [1 TIME]

Get that defense up

>>5350390
+1

>>5350390
>>5350547

Dice roll on amount

First roll for spell liver
Second roll for bloodclot

Rolled 2, 4 = 6 (2d4)

>>5351048

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>>5351050
One week has passed since that day.
The marriage will occur in three weeks.

During the past few days, the divide between the supporters and detractors of the marriage have deepened. Buildings in Liurnia are vandalized and brawls broke out in Limgrave.

The Sellia market was a battleground between salesmen, selling glintstone staves at a heavily marked up price.

Perfect. There’s no major riots or wars yet, but just another spark will be enough to send the masses into actions.

Azul is in his tent, in the forests of East Liurnia. He rested and recovered from the wounds inflicted by the knights and crossbowmen.

He hunted beasts and gathered plants to create medicine that could prove useful in the next steps of his plan to bring down the gods.

The hunt on wild beasts was somewhat successful, yielding two bundles of Spellproof dried livers.

The hunt on large octupi was exceptionally successful, yielding four bundles of Bloodclotting medicine.

While the Godskin cult essentially disbanded due to the Gloam Eyed Queen’s death, some members are emboldened by the actions of Azul.

Some of the Godskins currently in Atlus Plateau, Mt. Gelmir and the Mountaintops are planning on taking back their queen’s greatsword, located in Leyndell.

If they can do so, it’ll be a huge loss of face to the Golden Order forces, and the Black Flame of the Godskins will be even stronger. It won’t bring back the ability to slay the gods, but the amount and power of the Black Flame will be greatly strengthened.

As for the Godskins in the lowlands, they are eyeing Sellia. It’s a town of sorcery that allies itself with Caria. Home to Night sorcery (stealth related) and Gravity magic.

>>5351502
With the supply line disrupted, there’s a few more spots Azul could think of to cause some damage to the gods.

>>Steal Carian ceremonial gifts [Combat]
Carian ceremonial weapons are currently being transported back to Caria Manor for safekeeping after Carian Knights tracked down who stole it. If Azul can intercept that caravan holding the weapons, the power of Carian royalty will be questioned even further. He’ll have to contend with the Carian Knights and their cavalry, though.

>>Sneak inside Raya Lucaria [Stealth]
If Azul can sneak inside Rennela’s academy, he could definitely try to burn their books and kill her students, sending a message that even those under Rennela’s care are not safe. Support from Liurnia will surely fade if he succeeds. Facing Rennela by himself is too dangerous, though.

>>Attack Sellia along with other Godskins [Prolonged Combat]
A siege on Sellia will be a long battle, taking several days or a week, but if successful, the Godskins can eliminate most sorcerers outside of Liurnia that could support Rennela.

>>Destroy the fortified Church of Vows [Speed check]
The Church of Vows has more forces than Azul could take on, and if he could steal a glintstone staff from one of them, he could tear down the structure itself, doing little harm to the soldiers but a massive blow to morale and fueling the fear even more.

>>5351503
>>Attack Sellia along with other Godskins [Prolonged Combat]

Fuck sorcerors

>>5351503
>>>Sneak inside Raya Lucaria [Stealth]

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5351508
>>5351880
Tiebreaker
1 = sellia
2 = academy

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1.72 MB JPG

>>5352143
Azul wants to taking part in the siege of Sellia, but he doesn’t have as much fighting experience as the other nobles or apostles, ones who were with the cult far longer than he has.

He decides to infiltrate Raya Lucaria instead. His skills in magic will be more useful there.

Unlike the previous attempt, he’ll be sneaking in during the day.
The school’s auxiliary armed forces - marionette soldiers, can detect people even in darkness, and the Glintstone dragon outside the school will be asleep during the late morning hours.

Under early morning fog, Azul can traverse the lakes and blend in with other travelers in Liurnia. From a distance, he is nothing more than a wandering miner.

High above the waters are the tall pillars of dirt and stone which hold the academy. Several slopes and stairs containing countless men watching over the people entering the academy means that Azul cannot go inside the conventional way.

On the tallest belfry that touches the sky, a sorcerer in a stone helmet cast a spell which covers the academy with a faintly glowing sigil, a spell that strengthens sorcery, and a symbol of new day starting.

There are several of getting to the main classroom at the top.

RED PATH
>>Scale the cliffs [Speed check]
The shortest route to the classrooms, but is easy to spot. Azul will be forced to use his robes’ stretching powers, should he be spotted, they will know that a Godskin is coming. Azul could survive a fight with a few sorcerers at close range, but a squad of bow sorcerers at a distance will easily kill him. His Black Flame doesn’t have as much reach or move as fast as their projectile spells.

Fastest route, but with the most risk of detection.

GREEN PATH
>>Use the elevator in the middle [Combat/Stealth]
Underneath the main classroom and the library is an elevator system, accessible by getting inside the middle of the academy.
Mostly guarded by Marionette soldiers - four armed soldiers with double crossbows and pikes. Frail, but devastatingly powerful. If he can slip by, or defeat them, he can quickly get into the classroom without setting alarms.

Relatively fast route but combat is likely.

BLUE PATH
>>Sneak inside the barracks and disguise himself as a Battlemage [Stealth/Speed]
Azul could climb up the small cliffs at the slope and disguise himself as a battlemage, mages who specializes in combat. They use explosive magic and large hammers, capable of killing most people in one shot. Unusually, they train in using stone clubs and attacking with the glintstone staff itself. Azul could easily fit in considering they more commonly use mundane (non lethal) weapons rather than lethal sorcery.

Slowest out of all three paths, but he’ll acquire a glintstone staff and least likely to be detected.

>>5352644
>Sneak inside the barracks and disguise himself as a Battlemage [Stealth/Speed]

>>5352644
>Use the elevator in the middle [Combat/Stealth]

>>5352644
>>>Use the elevator in the middle [Combat/Stealth]

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>>5352740
>>5352743
>>5352861
Through the middle, then.

Azul walks to the back of the academy and climbs on the small cliffs. The shorter distance and less steepness means that Azul could climb without having to use the Godskin robe’s stretching power.

With the cliffs scaled, he drops down to the ground.

The area itself has several glintstone pillars scattered around the ground. Small trees and bushes are planted at the edges of these grounds, in an attempt to cover them from prying eyes.

Instead of the typical turquoise blue, these ones seem to have a purple hue to them.
Must’ve been imperfect glintstones, unfit for academy use.

With the large amounts of cover provided by plantlife and glintstone, Azul could observe the marionette soldiers and his objective.

The elevator system is right in the open, right next to a small cliff with marionette soldiers holding bows.

In total are 12 soldiers.
Four of them are holding spiked clubs.
Main security force. Their polearms are shorter than his, but multiple of them can overwhelm him. They patrol around the elevator.

Two of them are holding four daggers.
Short range ambush units. Their shallow cuts won’t matter much but if he gets distracted by them, the polearm and bow using units can line up a killshot. They rarely move around, sitting near the glintstone pillars mostly.

Six of them are holding recurved bows. Ranged units that can deal devastating damage if they can continuously attack Azul. Most are on the small cliff next to the elevator.

They are covered in crudely made metal cages, more reminiscent of a skeletal structure rather than armor. A thrust from his polearm can easily hit their bodies.

Before he attempts to go to the elevator, Azul puts on his Godskin robe and unwraps his polearm.

(Cont.)

>>5353429
He has a few ways to get by.

The marionette soldiers are lethal, but frail and most importantly, can’t speak well due to the metal muffling their voices.
If he slips past unnoticed, or kill them all, he’ll still accomplish his objective of getting to the classrooms.

The soldiers wield weapons that only deal physical damage, so the spellproof livers won’t be useful here. The bloodclot medicine could be useful when dealing with those spiked clubs, though.

They are artificially made soldiers - Smoke from the Black Flame can’t choke them out. Destroying their skulls won’t kill them, but render them unable to speak or see.
Getting rid of limbs are actually more effective considering their thinness compared to a human’s bone and muscle

>>Kill them all - Attack the bowmen first
Those bowmen need to go first. Getting into a fight with melee units and having ranged units supporting them will be tough.

>>Kill them all - Attack the spearmen first
Those spearmen can overwhelm Azul.
He needs to take them all out before they can inflict serious damage to him.

>>Avoid confrontation - set trees on fire
Azul could briefly set the plantlife on fire by throwing his Black Flame fireball.
The marionette soldiers will be distracted by the noises, allowing Azul to get on the elevator and slip away.

>>Avoid confrontation - throw glintstone shards
Throwing small chunks of glintstone can cause the soldiers to be distracted by the noise, but this process will take the longest time.

>>Immobilize them - push and throw large pillars [Strength check]
Azul could throw and push the large glintstone pillars at the soldiers, crushing them under the weight if successfully done. They could probably still attack, but won’t be able to move or alert others. Failure means having to kill them, though.

>>Write in
Note: the soldiers are blocking the path and their patrols overlap. Some kind of distraction is needed for stealth.

>>5353432
>>>Kill them all - Attack the spearmen first

>>5353432
>>Immobilize them - push and throw large pillars [Strength check]

>>5353656
>>5353657
Tiebreaker
1 = kill
2 = immobilize

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5353665
got you

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5353665

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5353666
>>5353667
Nevermind.

Final tiebreaker.

Rolled 69, 28 = 97 (2d100)

>>5353668
Strength check

+1d100 unaware bonus
vs 60

>>5353669
Writing…

Gotta sleep for now. Finish it in ~8 hrs

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>>5353768
69 vs 60

Once again, Azul relied on his strength. The arms that once carried heavy rocks has served him well in the present.

He picks up a decently sized chunk of imperfect glintstone, about half his height, and rests it upon his shoulder.

Azul does a running start and hurls the rock at the bowmen.

The stone limps through the air, tumbling through the thin legs of the bowmen, sending most of them off the cliff.

Before it could rise up, the Godskin detaches the Peeler from his robe and cuts off their arms. As they writhes on the ground, he picks up several large rocks and drop them on their torsos.

Fragments of metal launch from the broken machine, and a large dent in it’s chest is formed. An black abyss that is more reminiscent of a hollow tree is created.

The last bowmen are attracted by such a noise, but before it could pull back the bow, Azul hooks onto their foot with the sickle portion of his polearm, sending it falling down.

He stomps on the marionette soldier’s hand and slams a stone into the torso.
All four bowmen are gone.

The spearmen heard the commotion and move to hunt him down while the dagger wielding ambushers are hiding behind a maze of glintstone pillars, attempting to assassinate him if he does get close to the elevator system.

Behind the tree, Azul picks up yet another large pillar of glintstone. This one is slightly smaller, being the size of his torso.

As soon as the spearmen approach the tree, he chucks the stone at one of them.

Due to their lack of weight, the one that got hit was forced into the floor, it’s legs trapped by the large rock.

Before Azul could grab another rock, two spearmen rush him.

They perform two thrusts simultaneously, aiming for his neck.

He anticipates the attack and redirect the spiked clubs into the tree with his polearm, embedding it. With the spears briefly stuck, Azul grabs one of the soldiers’ arms and cuts them off with his curved blade.

With a few twirls of his sickle like blade, he slices of three of the arms.

Before he could place a large rock on the first soldier, the second spearman smacks him in the back with the spiked club.

The cloth armor dampens the blow somewhat, and Azul is able to kick him away.

He grabs the nearly armless soldier and hurls the body at the second spearman.
It is able to dodge the body, but during that time Azul closes the distance and grabs onto their neck, throwing it against a tree before finishing it off by grabbing a rock to pin the head to the floor.
It wails around hopelessly.

The daggermen hold their position and so does Azul. With the spearman unable to hold a weapon, their sluggish attempts to stand up gave Azul more than enough time to crush their head with a rock.
The weight of the rock on their chest and head trap them to the ground.

(Cont.)

>>5354399
Instead of trying to navigate the maze like glintstone pillars and guess which one the two daggermen are hiding behind, Azul tears apart a tree and uses the trunk as a weapon.

Uprooting the tree is rather difficult, even with all of his strength. Azul opts to do a controlled burn on the tree, burning the branches and the bottom of the trunk away.

With most of the material burnt by the Black Flame, he pulls on the trunk and make the fibers break away.

With essentially an oversized pole on his hands, he rests it on his shoulder while holding the bottom of the trunk.

With a step forwards, he swings horizontally and shatters several pillars of glintstone. In a single hit, he sends a daggerman flying into the a wall.

The sheer force of the trunk has broken the body, making the marionette fold into itself.

Purple shards scatter the ground, emitting light and betraying the second daggerman’s position. Before he could rush Azul, he is knocked back by a forward thrust of the trunk.

While the soldier is trying to stand up, Azul winds up a vertical strike on his head.

He raises the trunk high and let it fall.

The head is crushed by the impact, and the crudely made body is shoved into the ground.

All of the marionette soldiers are neutralized.

Before he leaves, he buries them under piles of glintstone rocks, ensuring that they would be unable to move, and their noises muffled.

(Cont.)

>>5354400
The bows have decent draw strength, so Azul takes one of them alongside a quiver. It’s a decent ranged option that isn’t magic.

The spiked clubs have shorter range than Azul’s Peeler, so he doesn’t bother taking it.

The knives look decent.
Azul takes one of them as a sidearm.

ITEMS GAINED
Short bow and quiver
- fast firing, decent dmg, has good range
Good for long ranges where his Black Flame fireballs are too slow

Knife
- decent damage, short range
Secondary weapon that could also be used as a tool

With these items collected, he steps on elevator.

Eventually someone will find the destroyed marionettes, no point trying to disguise anymore. Move fast, hit hard and leave.

The Godskin steps off the elevator and sees a path backwards and a path forwards.

Behind him is a large library that used to be a cathedral.

The library is heavily fortified with Carian Knights, and Rennela is possibly there.

In front of him is that tall belfry that once had a sorcerer in it, and a large building with a tall circular dome. That’s the classrooms.

The main classroom is his main target.
Fewer guards and weaker sorcerers.

(Cont.)

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>>5354402
He gets out of sight as soon as possible, heading towards the classrooms through a window on the left of the main door.

During the late morning, the students are usually in class or haven’t arrived yet, allowing Azul some freedom to explore.

After almost an hour of information gathering, Azul picks a spot to attack..

>>Get ontop of the belfry to cast Black Flame ritual - cover the entire academy in smoke
The tallest belfry is next to the classrooms. Up there, the power of spells are boosted due to an enchantment.
If he could climb up there and cast pillars of fire, it would not only kill multiple people from smoke inhalation, but also prevent reinforcements outside from getting in.

The most dangerous method, but will send the biggest message. Prepare for hoards of projectiles.

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>>5354402
>>Destroy paintings at the debate hall
The debate hall is a large room which holds pictures of important people in the school. Rennela, Caria royalty and Radagon. Having it burned by Black Flame would mean the security was compromised and the reputation of the academy tarnished. It is unlikely to be populated during the morning.

Sending a message without bloodshed. Somewhat dangerous.

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>>5354402
>>Execute comet sorcerers - the most skilled students of the academy
Those that master Comet spells are exceptionally intelligent.
If Azul can ambush them, he could remove potential dangers in the future.
However, if this ambush fails, he’ll have to take them down head on. Comet spells are large, powerful projectiles with fast travel time. They have slightly less range than Bow sorcery, but can be fired in quick succession.

Highly dangerous, but this will remove powerful ranged units, making his escape be easier.

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>>5354402
>>Steal ceremonial gifts
In a few hours, a caravan containing ceremonial gifts to the Golden Order will arrive at the academy for safekeeping until the marriage occurs. If these ceremonial weapons are stolen, it would show the incompetence of Carian Knights.
It will be stored in the Library, so he’ll have to ambush the Carian knights carrying them. They are skilled in melee combat, but have less ranged spells than normal sorcerers.

The ceremonial weapons are highly dangerous, but demand large amounts of intelligence or faith. Few can ever use it effectively.

Highly dangerous, but this will completely halt the marriage. Caria Royalty cannot afford showing up empty handed to the marriage.

>>5354402
>>Take down a Red wolf [Boss fight]
Red wolves are an intelligent species of animals breed by Radagon, given to the academy as a marriage gift. They grow slowly, but display exceptional intelligence. They act as professors and occasionally ranged artillery unit due to their mastery of Comet spells, one of the hardest to learn. Currently, only one is stationed in the upper parts of the academy. Azul will have to fight one in the astrology dome at the top of the classrooms. Unarmored, but fast and has powerful spells.

Highly dangerous, but this will destroy the goodwill of the people in Leyndell.


>>Write in

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>>5354412
Picture of Red Wolf

Traditionally they act as professors, and are capable of talking.

In combat, they are proficient in using faith and intelligence to cast spells of both Caria royalty and Golden Order.
They reserve slower, powerful incantations of the Golden Order for close range while pelting fast spells of Raya Lucaria at a distance,

Right now there is one Red wolf in the observatory at the top of the main classroom.

>>5354403
>>>Get ontop of the belfry to cast Black Flame ritual - cover the entire academy in smoke

Go big or go home

>>5354412
>Take down a Red wolf [Boss fight]

We gotta do a boss fight

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5354426
>>5354480

Tie breaker
1 = smoke
2 = red wolf


Also, even though I didn’t specify bossfights in other routes, there will be options that could lead to them. You’ll know it when you see it.

>>5354490
Azul decides to write the most powerful message of all. Even without Destined death, the Black Flame pillars can consume the academy, snuffing out lives and burning the architecture.

To reach the belfry which stands above the observatory, Azul must climb outside the classrooms.

With the elasticity of his Godskin robe, this normally wouldn’t be a problem. He can coil around the tower like a snake to get to up a building with such a smooth surface.

However, people in the two small belfries at the top of the library and the observatory could spot him.

In the library belfries are most likely two marksmen mages will try to shoot him down with bow spells - powerful explosive projectiles that take a while to charge.

In the observatory is a Red wolf. It’ll likely cast Comet spells at him before retreating to alert the students. After telling most students to stay put in their rooms, the Red wolf will create a militia from the students who could use Comet spells - large projectiles that can be cast in quick succession, but are not explosive.

His Black Flame fireballs are outranged by the marksmen, but is close enough to fight against the Red wolf.

The short bow could reach them, but it isn’t strong enough to severely injure the Red wolf, unlike the fireballs.

(Cont.)

>>5354630
Azul will have to choose what to prioritize..

>>Ignore both - Focus on climbing the tallest belfry
Instead of retaliating, he’ll focus on dodging attacks.
By the time he finishes casting the Black Flame pillars around the school, he’ll have to contend with several explosive shots and a hail of comets.

Fastest way to accomplish his main objective, but getting out will be extremely difficult.

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>>5354630
>>Distract the Red wolf - Black flame and bow [Bossfight]
That Red wolf must be distracted.
Azul cannot afford it to rally more sorcerers that have ranged spells.
He can keep climbing the belfry while pelting spells or arrows at it.

Decently fast way to accomplish his main objective, but escape will be difficult due to the explosive arrows from the marksmen.

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>>5354630
>>Repel marksman mages - bow
He cannot afford taking a hit from those marksmen. Showering their general area with his own arrows will make them reposition, delaying the process of casting their explosive bow spells.
He can keep climbing the tower while shooting, but he’ll have to deal with the Red wolf.

Decently fast way to accomplish his objective, but climbing the belfry will be difficult due to the Red wolf’s comets. Escape is moderately difficult as the comets have less range than the arrows.

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>>5354630

>>Kill marksman mages - bow
Instead of showering the library’s belfries with inaccurate shots, he could go for precise, lethal blows. His climb will be slower, but escaping the academy will be easier.

Moderately slow way to accomplish his main objective, but climbing the belfry will be quite difficult due to the Red wolf’s fully charged comets. Escape is moderately difficult as the comets have less range than the arrows.

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>>5354630
>>Kill marksman mages in melee range - Drive Rennela and her forces back [Bossfight]
With his elastic robe, he could jump to the library and deal with those marksmen at close range. They will be quickly cut down, but Rennela and her closest guards will be alerted. He’ll have to avoid the most dangerous spells that the Lands in Between has ever seen.
Running away is not an option due to their range and numbers of casters.
Should he make them retreat, Azul will be able to find special trinkets in the library which can vastly improve his magical abilities.

Highly dangerous, but if successful, allows Azul to be a better spellcaster. Escape will be the easiest as the library is right next to the cliffs. Relatively slow way to accomplish his main objective.

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>>5354630
>>Kill the Red wolf, inside the observatory [Bossfight]
That Red wolf must be killed.
It is one of the most skilled sorcerer here, possessing mastery of glintstone sorcery and Golden Order incantations.
Defeating such a powerful being can increase his strength. He’ll have to drop down to fight, but he won’t have to deal with the marksman mages.

FYI we are reaching the mid point of this oneshot

>>5354632
>>Ignore both - Focus on climbing the tallest belfry

>>5354644
>Kill the Red wolf, inside the observatory [Bossfight]

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5354670
>>5355026
Tiebreaker

1 = belfry
2 = red wolf

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>>5355191
Azul doesn’t bother fighting the agents of the academy and focuses on accomplishing his main objective - spread fear across Liurnia by creating walls of Black Flame on the highest belfry.

Before he climbs outside, he eats a spellproof liver. Three out of four remains.
The cured meat was tough to chew, and rather salty. After letting the salt and his saliva break down the meat, the meat could be chewed properly.

The blackened exterior is torn apart, revealing a softer inside that emits a faint turquoise light. A mixture of medicinal liquid that is extracted from glintstone fireflies, reducing the power of magical attacks taken.

No point using Black Flame Protection. Their attacks are magical, and that spell only protects the flesh against physical weapons.

With his body hardened against glintstone sorcery, he leaves the window and climbs the intricately made roofs of the main classroom.

The large tome sits at the middle of the main classroom, while the belfry is on the left side.

It’s time.

Azul jumps up from the rooftops and stretches his robe around the belfry, wrapping himself around the tower and letting the robe move itself upwards by maintaining contact with the structure.
It’s way too smooth for his Peeler to pry, anyway.

As soon as he begins coiling around the tower, he sees bright lights from the small belfries of the library. Those two marksmen are casting their bow spells.
Not a danger for now.

While they are slowly summoning their magical bow and arrows, Azul focuses his attention on the observatory.

He detaches the Peeler from his robe and holds it, in preparation for an attack from the Red Wolf.

When he loops around the belfry and sees the Red wolf, the thing had already opened the observatory.

It’s jaw opens and several turquoise comets fly out of it’s mouth.
Trails of glintstone drift across the sky as it makes their way to Azul.

Spinning his Peeler, he summons a whirlwind of Black Flame in front of him, blowing back the comets into the rooftops.

As soon as those projectiles hit the rooftops, bricks are torn from the buildings, kicking up a storm of dust.
Grey and aqua smog form around the walls and roofs, making it hard for the Red wolf to get another volley.

It retreats to direct students to safety and rally skilled students to take down the Godskin.

(Cont.)

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>>5355826
Once the Red wolf retreats, Azul is nearly at the top of the belfry. However, those marksmen have formed a large magical bows and arrows in front of them.

Instead of firing immediately, they continue to charge their spells.
From a distance, he can see that they are creating more arrows on those bows.
Those marksmen weren’t lining up a single explosive shot at Azul, they were lining up eight.

Azul continues climbing, hoping they aren’t shooting his back as he pulls out his seal in preparation to cast his spell.

The Godskin finally reaches the top of the tallest Belfry in Raya Lucaria, with his seal in hand.

With his incantations murmured and palm touching the engraved floor, he casts Black Flame Ritual.

Azul’s breathing became slow and his mind sharper than ever as his hand grazes the floor.

As soon as he brings his hand holding the seal upwards, Black Flame shoots out from the walls surrounding the academy.

Hundreds of flame pillars engulf the institution in Black and Whiteness, causing the water around the academy to boil and fade away.

The roar of Volcanic boiling reaches the ears of everyone in and around the academy.

As soon as he finishes casting this spell, dark smoke approaches everything inside Raya Lucaria, trying to get inside any living being’s lungs and extinguish their lives.

(Cont.)

>>5355829
Before Azul could think of a way of escape, he spots the two library marksmen letting loose all their magical arrows. Eight glowing arrows are launched his way, moving towards the belfry he is standing on.

Instinctively, he jumps down to avoid the volley.

The explosive spikes barely fly past him, still tracking Azul as he falls down.
Fortunately, he was close to the belfry and the volley hit the belfry behind him instead.

Several explosions go off behind him, creating shrapnel from the fragments of blown up rocks that strike his back.

The multiple explosions nearly deafens the Godskin.

As he falls, he spots the Red wolf and nearly ten students firing comets at him.

There’s no way but down…

His fall won’t be lethal since he could use the elasticity of his robe to break it somewhat, but escaping without getting shot in the back will be extremely difficult.

>>Fall in the middle - catch the elevator
Azul could drop down into the middle of the academy and hold on to moving elevator to break his fall.
It’s the same way he came from, but he’ll be pursued by Carian knights on foot when he tries to leaves the academy.

A fight against multiple foot soldiers will be inevitable as he tries to leave the academy. His skills in close quarters fighting will be pushed to the limit.

>>Fall outside the academy - go through the Black Flame pillars
Azul could fly past the walls of the academy, allowing him to gain a considerable distance on foot as he escapes. While he is resistant to it, going through the pillars of Black Flame will fatigue him. Only ranged units and cavalry can reach him then.

A fight against mostly Carian cavalry will be inevitable as he tries to get to the hills of Liurnia. His speed and good judgment will keep him from being cleaved.

>>Fall into the observatory - Land on the Red wolf
Azul could use his momentum to crash into the observatory, using the Red wolf to soften the fall. He’ll be hunted by the all the students inside the classrooms, but if he can make it to the right of the building, a large cliff will be his escape route.
The Black Flame pillars would be gone by then.

A test in parkour, environmental usage and speed. His wits and trickery will be the only thing keeping him in one piece.


The next choices after this will be a series of choices have several correct answers that will boost his rolls.

>>5355846
>>Fall outside the academy - go through the Black Flame pillars

>>5355846
>>>Fall outside the academy - go through the Black Flame pillars

>>5355846
>Fall outside the academy - go through the Black Flame pillars

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>>5355863
>>5355869
>>5356463
Azul makes his robe stretch out like a kite and glides into the Black Flame pillar he just summoned. Enduring the Black Flame is worth it for the distance he could gain from the academy.

Torrents of teal comets and small bullets pierce through the smog of the Black Flame. While most are wayward, some managed to graze Azul’s robes.

The pain of such impacts were incomparable to what lies ahead of Azul.

Right before he goes through the Flame pillar, he makes the robes cover his entire body.

Even with the fire resistant Godskin robes, Azul can feel his insides burning up.
The heat surges throughout his body.
His body panics from a shortness of breath and his blood boils.
His eyes briefly close from the tiredness

He is woken up by the force of his body crashing into the mud and water of Liurnia. Looking back, he can still see the academy still covered in Black Flame.

His Godskin robes still have the Black Flame on them, charring Azul. He panics and attempts to dampen them with his hand before remembering important tenets about the Black Flame.

"Once the Black Flame touches you, it will always take a portion of you away."

"It cannot be extinguished until it finishes doing so."

"This ‘portion’ will be consistent regardless of how powerful a being is. A demigod will feel the same pain as a human being burned by it. This ‘equality’ is what the Godskins are built upon."

Azul recomposes himself and lets the Black Flame slowly fade away on their own while walking away from the lakes.
He could likely avoid capture by going into East of Liurnia’s hills and hide in Limgrave, south of Liurnia.

The Black Flame pillars cover the academy in a storm of Black and White, meaning that ranged attacks from inside cannot reach him. It’ll take several long minutes before it could wear off.

However, the quick response force outside of the academy are capable of attacking him.

Gallops of horses and the vibration of the water alerts Azul to mounted units pursuing him.

Those horsemen are too fast for him right now. He’ll have to avoid their attacks and make them retreat.

He detaches the polearm from his robes and turn around.

(Cont.)

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>>5356858
Only two horsemen are sent after him. Strangely small for a quick response force. Perhaps that siege in Sellia is going well after all?

Four Carian knights on horseback comes his way. Two on each horse.

The ones in the front wield glaives with a glintstone at the bottom of the shaft - both a melee weapon and a catalyst for casting spells.

The ones in the back hold glintstone staves in their left hand. Their right hand are used to hold onto the riders in the front.

Each mounted unit move to his left and right side. The riders let the glaives rest at a near horizontal angle, perpendicular to the horse. With that much speed, the glaives will easily cut through the Godskin robes. Parrying such strikes are not possible. If he’s lucky, it would only cut through his leg or arm, causing him to bleed and reducing his ability to move.
If he’s not, it might just cut right through and sever his limbs.

The staff wielding knight on his left summon a large sword with a rectangular blade, designed for thrusting. They point the tip towards Azul as the horse gallops towards him, much like knights of old that used lances. The thrusting sword extends past the horse’s head by several meters.
Azul being in front of the horse means that he can see the diamond shaped cross section of the blade - it cannot cut.
If he gets hit, he’ll be stuck on the blade, unable to dodge anything.

The one on his right casts a swarm of floating daggers above their head - these magical daggers are commonly called ‘glintblades’.

Those nine blades will shoot towards him when the horse are a meter or so to Azul.
Each one will deal minor damage, but all eight at once will hit him with such force that it could shatter bone.

Three threats present themselves to Azul..
two slashes from a glaive (two riders)
a thrust from a magical sword (knight on horseback - left side)
a volley of small daggers that shoot at him
(knight on horseback - right side)

(Cont.)

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>>5356859
Azul needs to determine what is the order of the attacks before thinking of ways to avoid them…

[Order: First to reach Azul -> Second -> Last to teach him]

>>Glaives -> Sword -> Glintblades
>>Sword -> Glintblades -> Glaives
>>Glintblades -> Glaives -> Sword

Once he figures the order out, he can think of plans to take care of each attacks.

To deal with the glaives, Azul can…

>>Jump over the glaives - Defensive
Jump above the slashes with his elastic robe, allowing retaliation against the glintstone staff wielder on horseback.

>>Duck under the glaives - Defensive
Safe way to avoid the slashes, allowing retaliation against the horses and the rider wielding the glaives.

>>Kneel down and brace the Peeler - Offensive
against the ground. Plunge the top part of the polearm into the ground, pointing the spike of the bottom towards the horses.

To deal with the long thrusting sword, Azul will…

>>Sidestep the thrust - Defensive
Avoids both the glaive and the sword.
This will also allow Azul to cut the horse as it moves by him.

>>Shoot the horse with the bow - Offensive
Release a volley of arrows into the horse’s head, terrifying it into moving elsewhere.

To deal with the nine glintblades, Azul will..

>>Cast Noble Presence - Offensive
Summon a gust of wind that expels things away from his body, blowing away the glintblades. This is a hot wind that will afflict the burn of Black Flame unto both riders and horses.

>>Cast Black Flame Ritual - Defensive
Summon small pillars of Black Flame around him, which will disintegrate the glintblades when touching it.

>>5356860
>>Glintblades -> Glaives -> Sword

>>Kneel down and brace the Peeler
>>Sidestep the thrust - Defensive
>>Cast Noble Presence - Offensive

>>5356887
+1

>>5356887
+1

Rolled 81, 63, 98 = 242 (3d100)

>>5356887
>>5357138
>>5357159

vs 60

No bonuses - the order of attack is incorrect

[Correct order from first to last to hit Azul is Sword -> Glintblades -> Glaive]

“The thrusting sword extends past the horse’s head by several meters.”

Sword has the furthest reach based on the description, being several meters ahead of the horse

“Those nine blades will shoot towards him when the horse are a meter or so to Azul.”

Glintblades have a meter or so firing distance from the horse

“The riders let the glaives rest at a near horizontal angle, perpendicular to the horse.”

The glaives are perpendicular to the horses, so they are around the middle of the horses, and having the shortest reach

Writing… expect it in ~8 hrs

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>>5357654
>No bonuses - the order of attack is incorrect

apperantly Azul does not care about order of attacks. He will just fuck their shit up like his older Godskin Noble Kin.

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>>5357654
>>5357693
81 & 63 & 98 vs 60

Azul predicts that…
the nine Glintblades will hit him first
the glaives will hit him next
the sword will be the last to hit

With that in mind, Azul pulls out his seal and thrusts his belly forwards with his arms behind his back - the signature spell of large Godskin nobles.

While he isn’t quite as large as them, it still produces a substantial amount of wind.
The heated shockwave sears the water around him… but the horsemen haven’t reached Azul yet, so the horse and horsemen didn’t get burned by it, nor did the glintblades were in range for them to fire.

Shit. Azul must’ve judged the distance wrong. Crashing into the mud and water after singed in Black Flame can make anyone’s vision blurry.

While the gust of wind didn’t do any damage to the attackers, it did soften the ground enough for Azul to firmly plant his polearm in it.

He easily sticks the sickle portion of his polearm into burnt mud, making the spike point towards the horses. Azul kneels down and grip the polearm tightly as the cavalry charges at him.

The one with summoned Glintblades moves away from Azul, while the other,
the one with the conjured sword charges at him.

The staff wielding Carian knight adjusts the blade so he could skewer Azul before the horse can make contact with his polearm.

(Cont.)

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>>5357905
Azul can’t back down now. If he leaves his position, he might have a chance to not be skewered by the sword, but he would be cut down by Glintblades, glaives and possibly be trampled.

He carefully watches the tip of his blade race towards him.

The sounds of galloping hooves and exhausted breath fade away from his mind. All that matters now is his timing.

When the distance between thrusting sword and his chest is only a meter away, he acts.

With his right hand, he swings his hand and slap aside the sword.

While the magical sword can phase through non living things and has no weight, it is still a sword.
This design in particular is specialized for thrusting, and lacks an edge.
Essentially, Azul is hitting a blunt metal rod.

Azul feels immense, but brief pain in the back of his hand as he slaps aside the blade, redirecting the thrust away from him.

The horse reaches him at last, but his stance holds firm. The rider tries to steer it away from Azul, trying to cleave him with their glaive while he is on the ground.

The horse fails to completely avoid him, and the spike tears through the calves of the horse, forming a ravine of blood across it’s lower half.

It screams wildly as it falls to the ground, throwing both Carian Knights into the mud. Azul already filtered such a noise outside his mind, only focusing on the two knights that was thrown into the mud.

The horse paints the ground with red, forming Rivers of Blood that separates the combatants.

On one side of this river are the two Carian knights. The regal sliver and dark blue of their uniforms are covered in filthy brown as they pick themselves up from the floor.
The glaive and glintstone were thrown into the dirt as well, landing in the middle of the river of blood. With their primary weapons a continent away from them, and they resort to drawing their sword instead. A single handed weapon that can cast sword sorceries.

On the other side of this river of blood is Azul, emerging victorious from this bout.
His white robes and polearm now stained with shades of yellow and red.

The smell of the beast’s fat and guts phases him not. For once, his mind and body became as inseparable as the black and white of the Flame itself.

(Cont.)

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>>5357907
Before Azul could deal with the two knights on foot, he catches a glimpse of the second horse behind him.

The rumbling of the water and the shadows allow Azul to sidestep the charge without looking.

Glintblades dash through the air, fruitlessly curving towards him but never being able to touch the Godskin before they fly past him and lose their speed.

Right after the horse passes him, the rider swings the glaive downwards as a desperate attempt to kill Azul before having to reposition.

The time the rider took to swing the glaive meant that it briefly does not have the same momentum as before. Such sluggishness allows time for Azul to counter that attack.

Holding his Peeler with two hands, Azul catches the glaive with the sickle portion of his polearm, wrenching it away from his head and retaliating by thrusting the bottom of his polearm into the horse immediately when the glaive no longer threatened him.

The spike embeds itself deep inside the horse, causing it to panic and dash away before Azul could retrieve his weapon.

No matter.
Looking to the ravine of blood from earlier, he spots the two dismounted Carian knights running towards it to retrieve their primary arms.

Azul stretches his upper body to pick up the glaive and the glintstone staff.

(Cont.)

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>>5357910
To be a stonedigger, one must have a moderate amount of intelligence to cast rock blasting sorceries. While such days are long past him, he still retains those memories.

Azul doesn’t know most offensive sorceries and attaches the staff to his robe instead. He’ll learn them later.

Holding the glaive with both hands, he is now ready to take on the knights once more.

Immediately Azul performs several thrusts at the rider, who still have a glintstone staff on his hip.

The low commitment strikes aimed at the face force the rider to back away, giving Azul room to deal with the other knight.

The knight also moves back, avoiding a one on one fight.

The two soldiers raise their sword above their head, casting a sorcery from their weapon.

Translucent aqua surrounds the steel, growing larger and larger with each passing moment until it reaches the size of a lance.

With their reach lengthened, they perform a downward cut at a seemingly safe distance from the Godskin.

Azul pulls out his seal and thrusts his belly out as they attack. Strong bursts of hot wind blow against them, knocking them into the ground and burning them with Black Flame.

Their glowing blades lay on the ground, just within their reach. If they could endure the Black Flame briefly burning their insides, they could-

The Godskin swings the bottom of the glaive into the heads of the disoriented soldiers. The thick metal pommel crushed their skulls, fatally wounding them.

Two left.

(Cont.)

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>>5357912
Around Azul are shallow water and blood of animals. After looking back to the river of blood from the horse he killed, the Godskin sees a horse lying on the floor, not far from there.

His Peeler remains stuck inside the horse, but the two other Carian knights somehow disappeared.

If they had used Night sorcery which could bend light and turned them invisible, there would be some disturbances in the water.

This anomaly prompts Azul to get a closer look, holding his seal in his left while the glaive in his right.

As he gets closer, he notices strange shadows near the horse. He walks around it and tries to look at what is behind the horse.

Two Carian knights sprint towards him, with several pots wrapped in cloth and leaking turquoise liquid.

Academy Magic pots.
Magical explosives that detonate when it comes in contact with air. Behaves much like the sword sorceries - ignores armor and only able to affect flesh, making them good anti personnel weapons.

Only a meter or two are between him and these suicide bombers. Casting his spells or using the glaive will take too long.

Azul stretches his arms to grab the horse and slam it into the Carian knight’s head thats moving closest to him.

(Cont.)

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>>5357913
They fall to the floor and detonates the pots. Azul’s robe tries to cover as much skin as possible.

Bright white and teal blast everyone away, throwing their backs into the shallow water.

When Azul wakes up, his stone skin was cracked and burning.

His ears were ringing from the explosion, and the corpse he once held as a shield were reduced into a pile of crimson flesh.

He gets up to retrieve his polearm.
The Carian knights leak blood from every opening of their armor. Their armpits, joints, and visor are slowly spilling out the liquids inside their bodies.

Azul has conquered Carian knights sent after him, and is able to walk to the hills of Liurnia uninterrupted.

The Black Flame pillars have faded, freeing those still alive inside from the Godskin’s grasp.

Azul finds shelter in the woods of Limgrave, where he is able to forage food and rest for several days.

(Cont.)

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>>5357915
The next few days are one of the most chaotic days the Lands in Between has ever seen, rivaling the first days of the Godhunt itself.

The attack on the academy has killed hundreds of people due to smoke
inhalation. The people in Liurnia has completely lost hope from the lethality of such an attack and became disillusioned with Caria Royalty, causing thousands to leave Liurnia, in search of a safer home.

This mass immigration has severely starved the academy and Liurnia itself of workers. In a week or so, anyone that still stayed there will face shortages of food, arms, shelter and medicine.

Caelid isn’t much better. The siege of the Godskins on Sellia has devastated local population and killed one third of the sorcerers in Caelid. The Godskins formed Black Flame pillars around the town, burning down structures and killing most by smoke inhalation.

The rest of Caelid is also looking for another region to escape to while waiting on Leyndell to support the local forces. Limgrave is their best option, being the closest, but the wild beasts there will make living difficult.

Those still living Caelid and Lirunia are reverting back to primal instincts.

A man’s life is measured by how much flesh is on my body.
A child’s life is measured by how easy they can be raped.

These attacks prompted immediate action by Marika.

Godfrey, Marika’s husband and commander of barbarians that became mercenaries, is ordered by Marika to deploy his forces in Liurnia for the foreseeable future.

Maliketh, the most widely feared being in the Lands in Between, and Marika’s bodyguards are deployed to Caelid.

Azul still hasn’t heard back from the Godskins in Leyndell.

(Cont.)

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>>5357916
A strange phenomenon emerges in a few days after Azul’s attack.

Yellow and red flames leak from the eyes of some that still remain in Liurnia and Caelid.

Those afflicted by it can spew out bright yellow flames from their bodies, causing burns that drive a sane person into a state of madness.

This is what Azul has longed desired - shared suffering among those favored by the gods. With the state of Liurnia, the marriage is indefinitely postponed.

He did not foresee this new ‘yellow flame’ however, and this new flame should be investigated incase it proves useful to the Godskins.

He only has a day or two of leisure before needing to act again.

>>Celebrate victories with other Godskins in Caelid
The Godskins have laid a successful siege on Sellia. They want to hear how Azul brought down Raya Lucaria academy and invite Azul to celebrate and share their spoils of war.

>>Investigate Liurnia’s yellow flames
The yellow flame spewing people lurk around the hills of Liurnia. Understanding this new phenomenon could help him in the future.

>>Create burn treating medicine in Limgrave
Azul could hunt a few animals and gather plants to treat his burn wounds.
While the ear ringing has ceased, the burns still makes it hard for Azul to focus.
His eyes might miss things he normally wouldn’t if left as it is.

>>Hunt for large shellfish in Liurnia
These past few days have been rough on Azul. A decent dinner might just be want he needed. While lobsters and oysters might be considered lowly food, meat is still meat. Stress relief is important for everyone, after all.

>>5357918
>>Create burn treating medicine in Limgrave

Afterwards we can hunt something to eat and meat up with the Godskins in Caelid... If they survive Malektih that is.

>>5357918
Fun fact: lobsters were at one point considered lowly food

“In 1622, the governor of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford, was embarrassed to admit to newly arrived colonists that the only food they "could presente their friends with was a lobster ... without bread or anyhting else but a cupp of fair water.”

“Lobster shells about a house are looked upon as signs of poverty and degradation,” wrote John J. Rowan in 1876.

Perhaps that’s why shrimp dude in Elden Ring liked it so much, as he would’ve been accustomed to eating it.

>>5357935
I knew that but i have never tried Lobsters. Are they good?

But i know my Elden Ring Character loves the Stuff. No i don't have a problem for spending tens of thousand of runes on Lobster Tails.

>>5358001
The are an aquired taste for Yankees, But down here in the south, its very good. First timers? 70/30 chance to like it. The 30% is for a possible allergic reaction.

>>5358001
I got the chance to eat it a few times.

It’s pretty good. The meat is somewhat more ‘dense’ and chewy than shrimp

Lobster rolls are pretty kino.
They’re also a lot softer than the ones that are served normally

>>5357918
>>Create burn treating medicine in Limgrave

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>>5358500
>>5357931
Azul spends a day hunting for plants in Limgrave.

Azul mainly looks for herbs in the caves and forests, avoiding the hoards of people and animals roaming the flatlands.

After gathering all the ingredients, he reflects on what he has caused…

Wanderers from Caelid travel in packs at night, trying to look for any infrastructure in Limgrave. Even from a distance, Azul could see dead men walking - people who had their flames on ambition permanently snuffed out.

Some fortunate ones find shelter and food to keep themselves alive for the next day.
Some wander too far from their group and witness how cruel nature could be.

Velvet stains the stone and trees of the remote areas of Limgrave.
Even with polearms and multiple people, large bears called ‘Runebears’ were able to cleave through humans.

Those that tried look for food in the shores were met with large swirling balls of tentacles, ‘Land Octopi’ whose spikes can tear through flesh. Apparently they need human blood to operate their ovaries.
A result of long standing demihuman infestations in the south of Limgrave, perhaps.

Seeing the scale of destruction on the people and the suffering it brings them almost made the Godskin feel sympathy for them, but Azul’s heart has already been hardened through the years of slave like working conditions.

The friends and relatives he lost are too many to remember. Some were better people, more skillful, more diligent than him, yet still fell while he yet lives.

The same can be said for these immigrants. The hardworking, courageous and kind types are corpses while lesser ones remain. Cowardly, manipulative types that use others as stepping stone for their own goals.

In the end, it was always about results.

The academy certainly didn’t care how the stonediggers were treated, they only cared about how much glintstone scrap they could produce.

The Golden Order didn’t care about the Godskins either. They killed the leader just so the public can pour more money into them. Had they had the public interests’ in mind they would’ve hunted down every Godskin in his continent rather than letting us slowly die off.

Those townsfolk of Liurnia also didn’t care when they beat the sorcerer to death. Even though their children attacked them first, they only cared about the results on their children, not the process of how it happened.

The world itself is built on achieving results rather than morality of the process to get it.
Cuckoos kick out weaker birds to establish food for itself.
Male ducks rape females simply because they have the power to.

(Cont.)

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>>5359192
If Azul were to change the world (or at least, this continent) by removing the powers of gods on people, he must be prepared to inflict suffering.
No matter how high the cost may grow, it cannot get in the way of his dream.

The Godskin strengthens his resolve once more.

With his mind tempered and medicine made, he spends the next day tending to his wounds.

The orange burn treating powder is doused with water and placed on the burn, before being covered with bandages.

Before doing so, he cleans the wounds with water and dries it off. Making sure it is not exposed to air or water is essential for reducing pain and stopping infections.

Cloth covers his arms, legs, and a part of his torso. It will take a week or more to completely heal, but at least he isn’t distracted by the pain.

He barely moves around today, only drinking stew while watching chaos unfolds in Limgrave.

Watching two people beat each other to death over a slice of meat became entertaining to him.

Perhaps this excitement is what Leyndell citizens experiences when they gamble on Omens, humans with misshaped bodies that have horns on their bodies, fighting each other.

As the evening approaches, Azul finds a shiny rock to sharpen his polearm.
After polishing the weapon and running it through a stream, he heads back to his makeshift tent.

(Cont.)

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>>5359193
It’s time for important decisions.

This is the turning point.
The marriage has been cancelled and the people are decimated.
It’s time to deal with the demigods.

>>Sack and destroy Sellia - get out of Caelid before Maliketh arrives
Maliketh and Marika’s special units will arrive in Caelid soon, likely with Destined Death on their side. The objective is to cause as much damage to the allies of Liurnia as possible before escaping.

Azul will be supported by most of the Godskins - a few dozen.

Time to remove Carian Royalty’s allies for good.

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>>5359198
>>Initiate Godhunt in Liurnia - hunt down Godfrey
Maliketh and Marika’s forces are highly trained shock troops that are few in numbers. Trying to ambush them in Caelid will be difficult.

In contrast, Godfrey’s forces act more like a traditional army, being deployed to Liurnia. There’s too many soldiers under his command, so the objective is just taking down Godfrey and high ranking members.

Azul will be supported by several Godskins looking to take Godfrey down right now - ten people.

If Godfrey falls, he and other Godskins will gain immense power by absorbing his remembrance, having the knowledge and strength one of the most skilled commander in the Lands in Between.
One step closer to defeating other demigods.

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>>5359200
>>Ambush Maliketh and Marika’s forces in Limgrave - Steal back Destined Death
Maliketh and Marika’s elite forces will have to go through Limgrave before they could enter Caelid. Maliketh is definitely wielding the Rune of Death, but Marika’s elite forces are just as likely to do so. If Azul could steal their weapons, he would have the means to kill a god.

Destined Death, otherwise known as Rune of Death, is ‘logic’ governing death - those that wield it can easily kill anything, even gods themselves.

Azul will be supported by a group of Godskins looking to get their hands on Destined Death once more - almost twenty.

The most dangerous plan, but if successful, allows the Godskins to fight the gods head on.

>>5359198
>>Initiate Godhunt in Liurnia - hunt down Godfrey

If we can lure part of his army away it should be possible to do with ten Godskins. If his Army is with him though? probably Suicide. He is the Lord of the Battlefield for a reason.

But if it succeeeds..... an army that lost their leaders. The carnage from roaming bands of deserters would cause a LOT of Death.

>>5359198
>>Sack and destroy Sellia - get out of Caelid before Maliketh arrives

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5359229
>>5359301
Tiebreaker
1=godfrey
2=sellia

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>>5359797
It’s best to not push his luck any further. Taking out Leyndell knights and Carian cavalry is fairly impressive, but Azul isn’t strong enough to fight a demigod, especially when said demigod possesses one of the most lethal substances known to man.

The majority of the Godskins will be there, and likely stole valuables from Sellia.

To Caelid, then.

A few years ago, Caelid was a lowland filled with forests all around the outskirts of it. Now, only embers remain.

Crossing the worn down brick walls separating Limgrave from Caelid, a red sky greets him. The constant burning has caused the air to feel heavy.

Even from a distance, he could tell that the days long burning of the Black Flame has destroyed Caelid. Barriers of black spikes surround Sellia, a collection of scorched branches and trunks from the assault.

The mines outside the towns stink even more than usual. Mountains of half eaten corpses are found inside and near the caves. The bitemarks look similar to a human’s. A group of refugees must’ve sought shelter in the mines and after supplies ran out, ate each other.
Or maybe they were captured and eaten by others?

There’s no point mourning them.
To hesitate now would mean forfeiting the new world he wish to create.
All his friends..
All his family..
It means nothing now.

His duty is to hurt the gods as much as possible, and bring about change.

Azul traverses the steep hills and mountains with his elastic robes until he reaches Sellia, town of Night sorcery.

Mountains and tall hills surround the town in a U shape. Charred forests cover the town from the swamp in front of it, and several towers are placed all across the towns to serve as lookouts and sniping positions.

Such natural fortifications did little to impede the Godskins, and the forests were the perfect kindling for Black Flame to engulf the people in smoke. Countless dead without having to use a melee weapon.

(Cont.)

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>>5360085
Sellia is nearly abandoned, with the mountains being occupied by Godskins who occasionally come down to steal food and valuables.

Most of the people still there are civilians who barricade themselves in their homes, waiting for it all to be over.

The towers in the town are painted in dried blood and fragments of skulls, a reminder of what happens to any resistance.

The pale white watchtowers have been largely redecorated by velvet stains of corpses with missing faces.

As Azul reaches the top of the hills, he notices a few Godskins looking down at the town while sitting on makeshift chairs made from burnt wood.

They seem to be enjoying the view beneath them while drinking Cerulean flasks, treasured items of sorcerers that allows them to cast spells repeatedly without exhaustion.

The moment Azul steps on the hills, the other Godskins greet him. They inform him that most of the people in Sellia are dead or missing. Most of the Godskins are in Caelid, trying to sack Sellia for a few more days before leaving.

Saph is there as well.
He’s a close friend of Azul that he rarely sees after the Queen’s death.

He was born with abnormally large, with a tail on his back, and horns on his head - people with such deformities are considered ‘Omens’, cursed children that must be killed or kept out of sight.

For most of his childhood, he was locked up in a prison in Leyndell, and was only free when Godskin Apostles infiltrated the city and unlocked the cells.

Ever since then, he became a Godskin.
He left Leyndell and escaped to the Weeping Peninsula, an area south of Limgrave, where he worked as a cook.

While Godskin Nobles wear large robes, giving the appearance of a fat person, they can move just as fast as normal humans. However, due to their large bodies, they cannot stretch their limbs like Apostles - rolling and puffing their robes are their main ways of manipulating the elasticity.

(Cont.)

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>>5360088
Unlike Azul, Saph prefers to do his work discreetly. He is skilled with his sidesword, but prefers to tamper with food or machinery as opposed to removing limbs in order to accomplish his goals.

The men nod at each other. They don’t really talk much, but can understand each other just fine.

The Godskins talk about the current
state of Sellia and what they did recently.

The gist of it is…

Roughly 70% of people in are Sellia gone - around 50% are dead and 20% missing.

The Godskins have just finished organizing the spoils - most of the loot is theirs. Azul can probably trade something.

Roughly 30 Godskins are here currently.
10 Godskins are in Liurnia, wanting to assassinate Godfrey. They’ll act in a day or two.

About half of the Godskins want to ambush Maliketh and Marika’s men in Limgrave, wanting to get their hands on weapons enchanted with Destined Death once more.

The rest wants to stay in Caelid for a few more days to finish off Sellia and get more stuff.

(Cont.)

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>>5360090
During this lull, The other Godskins offer Azul a choice of trinkets.
Powerful items they found as an acknowledgment of Azul’s feats.

CHOOSE ONE
>>Fire scorpion - increases damage of fire cast at the cost of being less resistant to physical attacks
Talisman found on a Black Key confessor, a spy from the church who was in Caelid. They commonly used crossbows to assassinate targets, and this charm ensures their explosive bolts are lethal.

>>Godskin cloth - heals bearer after performing several attacks
Cloth that Gloam Eyed Queen used to cradle newborn with. A trophy of a Godskin Apostle’s death that was found in Sellia.

>>Concealing Veil - makes bearer translucent
Bundle of dark blue cloth found on a Black Key confessor’s corpse. Such talisman allows men to become nearly invisible without using magic.

(Cont.)

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>>5360090
Right now Azul and the other Godskins has a few days before Maliketh and Marika’s forces arrive.

Azul has…
Four Carian Glintstone staves (looted from the Carian Knights he fought eariler)
Four Carian crests - magical trinkets that reduces exhaustion from performing combat techniques (looted from the Carian knights)

Azul decides to…

>>Trade with other Godskins
He looted some stuff from the Carian Knights. Azul could bargain for more magic items or supplies with it.

>>Find more treasure in Sellia
Now that he has a glintstone staff, he could use rock blasting spells to destroy Sellia and try to find anything still hidden underneath the ruined town.

>>Learn more spells
Sellia is a town of sorcery after all, learning different types of magic could make Azul more versatile. Being able to throw rocks or make his weapon invisible could be useful.

>>Venture into the mines
The mines might have smithing stones in them, and the inhabitants are probably dead anyways. The stones could be used to improve the lethality of his polearm.

>>5360091
>>Godskin cloth - heals bearer after performing several attacks

Swirl tha Stick around baby right round right round

>>5360093
>>Learn more spells

Knowledge will be key to success to murder whatever will come for us next.

>>5360091
>Concealing Veil - makes bearer translucent
>>Learn more spells

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5360128
>>5360344
Tiebreaker
1=godskin
2=veil

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>>5360544
Azul decides to take the shiny blue cloth. Having something that can conceal his presence will be useful in avoiding fights and hunting.

Azul knows he can’t stay in Caelid for long.
The towns and people have been so utterly destroyed that it would take many years before this wasteland has a semblance of civilization again.
Maliketh will be here soon to clean up the Godskins.

With that in mind, Azul tries to learn as much as possible from the texts the Godskins have collected.

He spends his first night in Caelid studying the fundamentals of sorcery - astrology.

Glintstone is what the sorcerers draw their power from, a substance which contains the power of the stars - that is why glintstone spells often resemble miniature comets.

Glintstone sorcery is the basis of all other sorceries, primarily focusing on the construction of celestial objects.
Most accessible and simplistic forms of sorcery, but lacking in versatility.
It offers mostly projectile weapons.

For Carian sorcery… Azul can’t find anything that explains how their spells work. Must’ve been a well kept secret of the royalty, then. Their spells summon conventional weapons that pass through armor and target living beings.

For Night sorcery, they focus less on the star themselves but rather the light it produces. This process allows their spells to be mostly invisible by bending light.

For Gravity sorcery, they focus on the gravitational force of stars. On it’s own, it has few offensive options - it’s main purpose lies in assisting others. Conventional missile weapons can be turned into explosive weapons when accelerated, and ditches can be quickly constructed by a few casts.

(Cont.)

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>>5360852
The first night were spent understanding the core concepts of the different types of sorceries. He can finally learn to practice casting spells tomorrow.

The next day arrives…

[Azul has two more days until he must leave Caelid]

Azul only have time to learn two spells.
He decides to choose…

CHOOSE TWO

>>Glintstone sorcery - Glintstone stars
Casts 3 fast moving projectiles chase after a target.
Faster than using his Black Flame, deals more damage than arrows, but has less range than the bow.

An intermediate option between the power of the Black Flame fireball and the speed and range of the shortbow.

>>Glintstone sorcery - Rock blaster
Refined version of stonedigger sorcery, allowing the user to quickly break down walls in addition to crude rocks due to the faster spin. The accelerated speed can make this spell lethal to even armored humans.

Shatter walls, and people, should they get too close.

>>Carian sorcery - Glintblade phalanx
Summon five floating daggers that shoot out at enemies when they are a meter away from Azul.
Fades through armor - only makes contact with flesh.
Defensive spell that even detects invisible enemies. While one dagger is weak, multiple hits can break bones.

An additional line of defense when enemies approach.

>>Carian sorcery - Carian retaliation
Defensive performed by swinging the glintstone staff at the sorcery to redirect the energy of it into 3 Glintblades.
Secret technique of Carian Royalty to repel enemies’ sorcery.

Allows Azul to parry spells.

>>Night sorcery - Unseen blade
Turns a weapon invisible for a minute.

>>Night sorcery - Unseen form
Turns caster invisible for a minute. When combined with the concealing veil trinket, allows complete visibility.

>>Gravity sorcery - Rock sling
Pulls 3 large chunks of rocks from the ground and throws it at the target.
One of the few offensive gravity spells, capable of stunning foes. Even a troll can still be concussed several boulders strikes them. Range is similar to Black Flame.

Deals less damage than Black Flame, but can stun enemies.

>>Gravity sorcery - Gravity well
Fires a projectile that pulls enemies towards caster.
Deals very little damage, but can trip enemies or make them fall depending on terrain. Good for separating one enemy from a group. Range is further the Black Flame, but shorter than the shortbow.

Utility spell that can pull a target towards Azul.

>>5360853
>>Carian sorcery - Carian retaliation

Countering Spellcasters will be very useful once we come into contact with Caria again. "Parry this you casual wolf"

>>Gravity sorcery - Gravity well

Fire over canyon. Chunk enemy into canyon. Climb down to loot and profit.

>>5360853
>>Carian sorcery - Carian retaliation
>>Gravity sorcery - Gravity well

>>5361136
>>5360987
Writing.. cant finish it tonight. Maybe in 10 hrs.

>>5361993
Azul spends several hours during the morning practicing the two sorceries.

After a morning of practicing, Azul managed to cast Gravity well.

Among the short hills near Sellia sits Azul, only surrounded by rocks.

He managed to cast the spell by thrusting his staff into the ground and remembering depictions of the sun’s gravity.
Those drawings and lines are still vivid even after several hours.

Purple lines appear above the staff - a depiction world’s magnetic field. A reminder of how important it is, as without it, the world would not survive the sun.

A round ball with a dark center and blaring violet is sent from the staff, a projectile made of condensed gravitational field.

The orb dashes through the air and manages to pull a few rocks towards Azul.

After some more practicing, he is able consistently cast the spell one handed. With the ability to cast one handed now learnt, the afternoon was spent practicing the Carian Retaliation spell.

With his exceptional dexterity from years of mastering his polearm, he is able to manipulate the staff quicker than traditional sorcerers.

The spell creates a brief barrier that can transform other forms of sorcery into glintblades.

After some experimenting, Azul can accelerate this process by holding the staff near it’s bottom, allowing the swing to occur faster.

Huh. Good trick to know.

(Cont.)

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>>5362704
The other Godskins have continued their destruction on Sellia. Only food and old books were found. Most of the loot was already found during the first few days of the siege, anyway.

The good stuff were divided and traded among the Godskins who are resting on the hills around the town.

Saph isn’t in Sellia.
He said he going to go investigating some cave near the shores of Caelid.

After a long day of casting sorceries, Azul decides to rest underneath a small tree on the hills at the outskirts of Sellia.

It was supposed to be a short nap before he begins practicing again. Dammit.

He is woken up by someone touching his shoulder. The sun nearly setting. Must’ve slept for several hours too long.

It’s Saph, the Godskin Noble.

He said he found something strange at the shores of Caelid. Near the shores is a large cave that goes deeper than anything he has ever seen. He saw large thorns and branches in a cave, a sign of large Bloodroses - rarely seen plants that produces liquid that can dissolve flesh.

Bloodroses have highly toxic saps and only grows in soil that had been tainted with the occult - heretical magic that the Leyndell’s Golden Order and Raya Lucaria reviles. Little wonder then that the region furthest from both groups are where they are found.

He spent the entire day harvesting and making tinctures from the flesh eating sap.

The result is a viscous crimson liquid that can be applied to weapons. With the amount he gathered, he could arm most of the Godskins with it.

With this concoction, the Godskins can challenge Maliketh and Marika’s units - Two dozen Godskins armed with crossbows loaded with flesh corroding bolts can quickly make the shadowbound beast bleed out.

(Cont.)

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>>5362706

The two Godskins go talk to the others about this discovery.

The hills are cluttered by the white robes of the Godskins as the ones outside the town are called back for this meeting.

Several ideas are proposed on what should be done…

>>Support the Godskins in Liurnia in fighting Godfrey
With these corrosive concoctions, the Godskins in Caelid should regroup with ones in Liurnia to attack Godfrey and his officers.

Leaving Caelid now is also a tactically sound move - an early escape in case Maliketh arrives early.

>>Leave Caelid - escape to Limgrave and Liurnia until the situation becomes better.
These blood and flesh melting concoctions are powerful, but the Godskins are still as vulnerable to being killed by Destined Death as before.
They should just leave Sellia and lay low for now. Most of the sorcerers and Rennela’s supporters are dead, anyway.

Run and fight another day.

>>Stay in Caelid - Assassinate Maliketh
The shadowbound beast is a much larger target than Marika’s special units.

While the Godskins aren’t completely sure who or what is Marika’s units, they know that their size are regular the same as humans - Maliketh is the most mobile and most powerful among them. If he is killed or heavily injured, the Godskins can easily take them down in a straightforward fight rather than requiring ambushes.

A chance to retake Destined Death once more.

>>Stay in Caelid - Assassinate Marika’s units.
Instead of focusing on Maliketh, targeting Marika’s soldiers will remove other users of Destined Death besides him.
The Godskins might be able to steal their Destined Death imbued weapons if they’re lucky,

A safer way of regaining the power to kill the gods.

>>Explore the bloodrose cave
Bloodroses are small plants that are rarely found, yet the ones in the cave is much larger than usual. There must be something within that cave that causes such plants to flourish. Sending an expedition into the cave could be useful.

Perhaps more powerful occult material lies inside?

[Picture of bloodrose concoction]

>>5362707
>>Explore the bloodrose cave

Lets check this out and then Skedaddle out of here before Malektih arrives. We can probably still help the others in Liurnia afterwards. Godfrey is gonna be a hard target to crack even with extensive preparations.

>>5362891
+1

>>5362707
>>>Support the Godskins in Liurnia in fighting Godfrey

>>5362707
>Explore the bloodrose cave
I'm curious about what's hidden there. It might be useful to let it out and roam free in Caelid.

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>>5362891
>>5363174
>>5363681
>>5363782
(Oh hey 4 responses!)

The group decides to send an expedition into the Bloodrose filled cave.

Four Godskins are dispatched to investigate this abnormal cave.

Saph - Godskin Noble
Well versed in botany and gastronomy.
The one that found this cave in the first place.

Azul - Godskin Apostle
Skilled in combat and capable of casting stone digging spells.
Defeated several Carian and Leyndell Knights.

Mera - Godskin Apostle
Powerful caster that specializes in explosive variants of Black Flame.
Her artillery fire played a major part in the siege of Sellia - burning down the forests, engulfing off the main entrance and exit of Sellia in fire.

Five more Godskins will act as security.
They are stationed around the shores to watch for anyone approaching.

For signals, they decide on Freezing Pots. Treasure found in Sellia, engraved with a Carian royalty crest. If the security throws the pots into the cave, it’s a signal to get out of the cave. If the expedition team throws them, it’s a signal to send a quick response force in.

They have about 10 hours to explore.
After this, they’ll leaving Caelid.

Hoards of Godskins walk across the Caelid. Beyond the ash covered roads and forests of frail remnants of trees are the shores, south east of Caelid.

Normally such shorelines are too dangerous for most people, large land octopi - a large ball consisting of several tentacles wash up on the shores, biting any that come near.

Walls of once pulsating grey mass lay silent, scattered around the beaches.
From the thin tentacles and shriveled skin, they must’ve starved to death several days ago.

There’s no going back.
Caelid’s wild life and people have been destroyed, likely irreversibly… but Azul has chosen this path. This is the closest he has gotten to remove those gods from power.

After setting up fortifications made from burnt rocks, dirt, corpses of the land octopi, the security team authorizes the expedition team into the cave.

(Cont.)

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>>5363896
All three Godskins carry the Freezing Pots, looted knives and several large bags for the Bloodroses.

The cave is filled with steep slopes and no man made constructions. Large petals and stems of the Bloodroses are platforms that the Godskins must adapt to. At least Saph has cut off the spikes.

The three Godskins methodically cut off the spikes before using the large stem as a pole to slide down.

Their feet touches a warm liquid.
Shining a torch on it reveals a pool of strangely bright scarlet blood.

Above the surface are several branches overlapping each other, forming a bridge.
On this bridge is where Saph collected the Bloodroses which grew on the walls of the cave.

The Godskins can’t even see the bottom of this pool even with the torches.

Azul and Mera stretch their upper bodies to remove any Bloodroses still hanging on the walls while Saph walks further into the cave.

After the two apostles are finished with cleaning up the walls, Saph points them towards others deeper in the cave.

The bags begin to fill up with Stems and petals of Bloodroses.

Saph notices something weird with the blood pools as they keep going deeper in the cave.

Mutated bird feathers.
Unlike the giant crows of Caelid, these feathers appear to have flesh attached to them.

These are tumors - a clear sign of unrefined regeneration of the flesh.
Those crows must’ve come in contact with something that changed their biology.
This is something even Omens couldn’t do. What form of magic is this…?

Mera decides to touch the blood pools with a Bloodrose’s petal. Not corrosive.
Before Saph could ask the two Godskins to turn back, Mera have thrown several Freezing Pots at the pools. Azul and Saph still have their pots if an emergency occurd.

The pots shatter and freezes the large pools underneath them. After shining a light on it, they can actually see an opening in the seemingly never ending depths of these crimson pools.

Saph shatters the frozen blood with his sidesword’s pummel, forming a temporary tunnel deeper into the cave.

After reaching an opening, they find a large forest full of Bloodroses and pillar like trees that not even a giant tear down.

Above them are a large structure made from stone. A half finished white building that is lit by bright orange torches, with burning red liquid fueling them.

Such a sight is something that no Godskin has ever seen before.

Stepping inside those forests would be suicide, as the mutated crows might overwhelm them.

The Godskins decide to stretch around the tall trees, swirling around them like serpents.

As for Saph, he can inflate his robe to move on the large petals of the giant Bloodroses to avoiding falling into the forest.

(Cont.)

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>>5363897
Mutated bird in the forests
(Cont.)

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>>5363898
An hour or two passes before they reaches this half finished colosseum.

The stairs towards the top has no people watching over it. No sounds of the birds or other wildlife reached the stones.
Only the sounds of footsteps are with the Godskins.

The peak of this mountain is a large flat ground where chantings are heard.

(Cont.)

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>>5363902
A ritual where these.. ‘cultists’ are painting a sigil on the ground with red liquid.

It’s a drawing of a stylized trident painted with blood that explode into fire with bright scarlet color after they finished drawing.

(Cont.)

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>>5363904
The cultists wear dark robes and adorn themselves with small Bloodroses.
On their sides are rapiers with spiral blades or jagged daggers.

They look towards the skies which are seemingly decorated with stars even though they are underground and praise a strange being called “Formless Mother”

From the Godskins’ eavesdropping, they are awaiting the arrival of an Omen that will create a dynasty to replace the Golden Order. They know that an Omen who was born from Godfrey and Marika will one day reach this place, and form a pact with this ‘Formless Mother’ to bring a new type of magic into the Lands in Between.

This is interesting…
Another group that somehow knows about the gods, and yet wish to replace them..?
Do they know about the Godskins? Do they see them as enemies? Allies? Neutral to them?

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>>5363905
The three Godskins decide to..

>>Approach these cultists to negotiate a deal
They can talk, so maybe the three Godskins could negotiate a deal with them? Help the Godskins vanquish the gods and in return, their future leader will be have an easier time building this dynasty.


>>Attack the cultists
No. The Godskins cannot allow a god, even one that will replace the current ones, to be in power. We end this now.

>>Leave
They can’t waste anymore time here.
We already have the Bloodroses.
Time to leave.

>>Call reinforcements - Attack
We need more Godskins in order to challenge them. Mera will run back to call for a response force from the surface.

>>Call reinforcements - Negotiate
We need more Godskins in order to negotiate with them. Mera will run back to call for the majority of the Godskins to assist them in this mission. If they believe they can’t fight us without losses, maybe they’ll be more willing to listen to our offers?

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>>5363905
Picture of their rapier

>>5363906
>>Call reinforcements - Attack

No Gods shall defile these lands no matter who they are in opposition to. This Formless Mother is but another oppressor. It will be a mercy to free them from that impure obsession. reinforcements might be clutch here since they apperantly have some connections with the Blood Roses and might use their properties. Burning them to less than ash should get the trick done and not empower any creatures that feed on blood.

>>5363906
>>>Approach these cultists to negotiate a deal
oh it's the mogh cult, yeh we could use this guys

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5363913
>>5363919
Tiebreaker
1=call attack
2=negotiate

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>>5364724
This cannot happen.
The Gods that align with the Erdtree is a danger that has shaped things to their will at the cost of groups of people - Omens, and those blessed by the Crucible have been declared as unlawful and hunted down. Their mutations haven’t hurt anyone yet they are imprisoned from birth.
Not to mention Trolls who were enslaved even after they fought on Godfrey’s side against the Fire Giants.

This new god, the Formless Mother, might be better or worse than previous ones. Azul isn’t sure which it will be, but he knows that having a central figure that the lands worship paves the way for unquestioned power through fanatical belief.

Taking them down will be difficult.
They have the terrain and numbers advantage.

Saph and Azul observe the situation while Mera runs back to gather more Godskins to assault this underground palace.

Some of the rapier wielding blood cultists paint some kind of circle with their bloody fingers.

Their fingers are a pale grey color with black fingernails that leak blood consecrate the white stones with a perfect red circle. With their circles complete, they sink into the floor.

According to snippets of their conversations, the ones that disappeared have ‘invaded’ people to use as blood sacrifices.

By the time the other Godskins arrive at the palace, there’s 30 Blood cultists left. About 10 disappeared.

10 daggermen and 20 rapiermen against 15 Godskin Apostles and 5 Godskin Nobles.

It’s time to execute a plan.

(Cont.)

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>>5365334
Those rapier wielding cultists wear less ornaments and armor than the dagger wielders.

It seems like the daggermen are more skilled in blood rituals and are more respected.

The daggermen are furthest from the Godskins, being tens of meters away from the stairs. Circles of rapiermen surround the daggermen.

On Azul’s side, the apostles can act as ranged support or skirmishers while the nobles are dedicated shock troops.

The Godskins are hidden on the stairs while the blood cultists are on the top of the mountain, on the flat ground of the stone palace.

Azul’s battle plan will be…

[1 action each for Apostles, Nobles and Azul]
[Specify which group will act first]

>>Artillery fire - Apostles
Mera and other apostles will throw explosive balls of Black Flame to blow up the circles. This will likely kill most of the daggermen, but some of the rapiermen will survive the blast.

>>Precise Black Flame fireballs towards daggermen - Apostles
Azul and other apostles will throw small fireballs that will incinerate all of the daggermen. Rapiermen will be alerted and be unharmed.

>>Precise Black Flame fireballs towards rapiermen - Apostles
The apostles will throw small fireballs that will incinerate some of the rapiermen. A majority of the rapiermen will be killed, but the daggermen will be alerted and unharmed.

>>Roll into them - Nobles
Saph and other nobles will puff up their robes and roll into the hoards of cultists.
It’ll knock down most of them, but it won’t be fatal. Good for buying time.

>>Shatter ground - Nobles
The nobles will shatter the ground with the pommels of their swords, making the rapiermen’s approach towards the Godskins more difficult due to the uneven ground.

>>Skewer - Nobles
The nobles will rush in and try to skewer as many people in a few powerful thrusts.
Unless the cultists are distracted, they’ll be able to avoid most of it

>>Take hostage - Azul
With Azul’s gravity well spell, he could pull a rapierman away from the group and take him hostage.

>>Stay defensive and deflect spells - Azul
With Azul’s Carian Retaliation spell, he could charge in and try to deflect spells the daggermen could throw at him.
Timing is key to avoid being bled out, but if successfully performed, he could keep his other Godskins safe.

>>Throw his remaining Freezing pots - Azul
Azul, Saph and a few others still have their freezing pots. Throwing it at the cultists will disorient most of them, and inflict frostbite on them. Most will be injured, but alive.

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>>5365334
Picture of daggermen

>>5365339
Note: this isnt a 1 correct answer thing - some choices when combined may get high boosts to rolls, depending on the logic of such plan

>>5365352
Write-ins are acceptable as well although each group (apostle/noble/azul) must only do 1 action

>>5365338
>Azul throws the Pots into the Group to disorient them.
>Artillery fire designed to pen in the cultists and rob them of their breath with the black flame
>The Nobles move in and Skewer the Cultists

For Next round i have this Idea.
Nobles start a full on Rollout that hems in the Cultists so we can incinerate the left over ones with precise Black Fire Artillery.

>>5365528
There is no next round

>>5365708
so either we die or the enemies die? okay.

>>5366048
No, I meant that as in, I’ll give you a different set of choices right after this one

>>5365338
>>>Artillery fire - Apostles
>>Skewer - Nobles
>>Stay defensive and deflect spells - Azul

>>5365528
>>5366067
Tiebreaker
1=
>Azul throws Freeze pot
>Artillery fire designed to pen in the cultists
>The Nobles move in and Skewer

2=
>>>Artillery fire - Apostles
>>Skewer - Nobles
>>Stay defensive and deflect spells - Azul

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5366077
Tiebreaker roll

Rolled 64, 36, 32, 70 = 202 (4d100)

>>5366077
1st roll & 2nd roll
VS 60
Artillery fire vs all cultists
[+20 stealth bonus]

3rd & 4th roll
VS 40 if first roll successful, VS 70 if first roll fail
Skewer vs all cultists

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>>5366078
84 vs 60, 70 vs 40

Their unnatural skies are covered by a rain of Black Flame spheres. When they finally felt the heat of such artillery, it was already too late.

Black Flame explodes on the cultists, knocking most into the pale stone walls. Dazzled by their internals burning and ears ringing, most of the daggermen struggled to stand up after receiving such an attack.

The rapiermen faired slightly better, leaning against the walls and looking at the stairs.

Before they could draw their weapons, all five Nobles expand their robes into large balls and roll into them.

The rapiermen are sent flying across the half finished building, some are thrown into the wall and others got their weapons knocked out of their hands.

After the Nobles tumble into the crowd, the Apostles rush in to kill as many cultists as possible that are still weakened from the blast.

With quick thrusts of their polearm into their heads, most of the daggermen are killed before they could reach for their daggers.

As for the rapier users, some were able to evade the Nobles by pretending to lying unconscious on the floor.
Before the Apostles could finish them off, they throw pots towards them.

The Godskins sidestep them, and they shatter on the ground.

Swarms of maggots and flies burst from the hideous pots, who try to bite and latch on to the Godskins.

Those insects get quickly burnt away by Apostles spinning their polearms and forming a whirlwind of Black Flame,
but it was a good enough distraction for the cultists to regroup.

Current situation…

10 -> 3 daggermen
20 -> 8 rapiermen

(Cont.)

>>5366315
As the whirlwinds fade away, the cultists are in a loose battle formation.

The majority of the cultists are in lines covering the middle of the room, forming an oval. Those daggermen are in the middle, protected by lines of rapiermen pointing their weapons at every direction.

The Nobles are behind the cultists while the Apostles are in front of them.

The Nobles can’t roll into them right now - the risk of their attacks being stopped by several rapiers are too high.

Azul stands in front of other Apostles, with a staff in his right hand and his polearm in his left.

The daggermen quickly take notice of him, and swings their daggers diagonally in his direction. Instinctively, the rapiermen in front of them duck.

Six rays of blood shoot out from their daggers, racing towards Azul. They fly across the sky faster than an arrow, and leave behind a trail of onyx and ruby, like comets moving through the night sky.

As soon as the rays of blood move past the heads of rapiermen, the ones that just ducked throws maggot filled pots towards Azul as well. Heavy in flight, but devastating if the pot breaks.

The rapiermen at the edges of the oval shifts their feet and prepare to lunge at the lone Godskin holding a staff.
From their reaction to being blown up and rolled over, their speed is likely not that faster than any normal human.

Once again, Azul will need to predict which attack will hit first.
[First to hit -> Second -> Last]

>>Rapier lunges -> Pots -> Blood rays
>>Blood rays -> Rapier lunges -> Pots
>>Pots -> Rapier lunges -> Blood rays