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Red (Val Aman, a Tea Party in the Woods) No, no, no, no nono, no! Why were there wolves? She was almost having fun. She was almost free! Why do they have to follow her everywhere?! Can't she ever escape them?! If she couldn't run and if she couldn't hide, there was really only one solution. It always came down to this. See, Red had a huge phobia for wolves and, well, canines in general. Sometimes even foxes affected her, but other times she was okay with things that weren't actual wolves, but she never did well with the wolves themselves. When a wolf howled, her mother had to run in and keep her from panicking. But her mother wasn't here anymore. In fact, she wasn't sure anyone was actually there, at least not anyone able to keep her from freaking out. So, she was going to freak out. The thing is, though, even though she was terrified of wolves, it didn't keep her from acting. She never shriveled up in fear. She just got out her axe, and cut the drat things down. "They're coming," she started as a whisper, before saying, more loudly, "The wolves are coming!" She wished that, for once, the people around her would understand. That they would help her, instead of just watch in terror or confusion, or ask her to calm down. She could fight them alone, she could! But just once, if she had others on her side... That was probably wishful thinking. They were probably staring at her like she was crazy, or something. Since the wolves were still oh so far away, and it only took one glance to confirm that, she foolishly got her hopes up, and looked to see how any of eccentric members of the forest tea party were reacting to the crazy wolf girl. D: Phantasms +2 (Raise an army of phantasms to fight the wolves!) M: Hallucinations -2 (I wonder if there's a better way to handle Hallucinations other than just "roll it every post")
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Feb 8, 2013 00:29
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Edo (Eosia, Imperial University of Eisos) Edo frowns slightly as he changes Ajikan, healing his injuries. But he's doing more than that, of course; now he knows how, Edo decides to actively rework the mage's frame, correcting badly set bones, strengthening and extending muscle fibres and converting fat to muscle. He also corrects a dozen minor flaws in the man's skeletons and shifts a few of his organs around to more accurately reflect what he's seen in more healthy people. When he's done, the magister is in the best possible condition a man of his age and... grain? could possibly be. Grain. Edo can't think of a better concept for it. It's like every human is a unique piece of wood. He's worked on a few children and seen a match of sorts with their parents, but it's not 100 per cent. So, he reasons, it's probably based on the parents along with something else. But, as with wood grain, a person's grain seems to set hard limits on what Edo can do. Unless Stavos is involved. Stavos' influence changed the grain itself, converting everything about Magister Katinos into a new grain based in bronze. It's an area well worth investigating, Edo decides, once they're done healing the world. But he doesn't say all this to Ajikan, of course. It's possible Edo doesn't know how. "I guess that's one way of seeing it. I'm not sure how you would describe what I can do, but when I look at people, I can see what's wrong with them. It's like when you look at a good piece of stone or wood. The potential for what it can be is obvious. Then I reach out and carve away the wrongness - bring out the shape that's waiting. I've been able to do it since the falling star, but I'm still learning about it - every time I heal someone I learn more about how it's done. "There's some strangeness, though. I thought I might be able to heal minds, too. There was a man who was beating his wife, often when he was drunk. I tried to heal him of his violence, but instead I changed him so alcohol had no effect. I'm still not sure what I did there. I don't understand how brains work." Edo shrugs. "Does that make sense to you? How does your healing work if you don't do what I do?" Edo will assist Stavos in any action or go along with whatever he's got in mind. No separate action here about from answering the question.
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Feb 9, 2013 01:02
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Civar Kit'An (Arandia, Harvan, a tavern) "A friend you say. Well, out of deference to your friend's shyness I won't ask what exactly happened to your friend. Hmmm" I sip my sharbat meditatively, considering the various stories I've heard. In a flash of insight I have it and I have to struggle not to let the devious, devious grin burgeoning inside from shining out like, a suddenly unhooded theive's lantern in the night. "In all the stories, the god's are only thwarted in their plans for their hero by some dark and malevolent force. Normally, I'd counsel your friend to go see a reputable witch, or offer to take a look at him myself. Now though..." I took another sip while I carefully chose my words. "When you first met Aideen and me, we were on our way North because I can feel where a dark, malevolent force is at work up there. It's possible that just it's presence would be enough to cause minor... unintended consequences to the god's transformations. Or maybe it deliberately changed your friend for its own purposes. It would have to be ungodly powerful to do so at such distance, but then, it would have to be ungodly powerful for me to feel it at all. You should come with me. Perhaps slaying this meinvættr will cure your friend. At the very least, it should bring him one step closer to his cure. Edit: Edit is not qoute LLSix fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Feb 10, 2013 |
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Feb 9, 2013 01:30
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Stavos (Eosia, Imperial University of Eisos) Stavos listens to what Edo says, then softly adds to it himself. "Edo's abilities appear to be that of shaping. Mine appears to be that of change. Don't look surprised; we all know no one believed that story that I told. But, until I saw what Edo did here, I didn't know myself what was going to happen. I didn't know whether he was a sham, or whether he truly had potential." He clears his throat, and then continues. "You say that it is as if we merely changed things with our will. That is, actually, not a terrible way to put it. When you reach out to grab an instrument, you do not think about all of the actions that you perform; you flex your muscles smoothly and calmly, and your hand moves forward to grasp. That is what I have found, at least; I am able to reach out, and grasp the very nature of things. I can change them. At first I practiced changing lead into gold, as my profession leads me towards, but discovered that I could change other things as well. I changed one of Edo's wood carvings to opal, to convince him join me, but you interrupted before I could even try." Stavos walks to Katinos, and continues, "When I could feel Edo trying to not only heal, but to shape Katinos, I could not help myself but to try and assist. It was by changing the very fabric of Katinos's body that I changed him to bronze. This was," Stavos adds quickly, "not the intended result, but one which I believe the Magister is pleased with," to the smile and wan nod of Katinos. Turning back to Ajikan, he states "As such, I decided not to try to assist as Edo worked on you; it is clear that the interactions between these two forces are not yet predictable, and I shall need to take time and care in experimenting here. Your assistance here, in fact, would actually be of great value. I seek Knowledge, Magister. I wish to understand this ability of mine, and wish to refine it, control it, and use it. It's a lot like Cilantro, actually," he says to puzzled looks. Stavos retrieves from his cloak two small pouches, and pours the powder in one out onto the floor. He sprinkles the shavings of the other onto the first, which sparks and causes small wisps of flame where they meet. "Artificer's powder and iron shavings," he says to the audience of his impromptu lecture. "It has been well known for some time that when one is poured atop the other, a reaction occurs that brings the elements of fire. Many alchemists thought that this was the end result, a curious entry into their tomes of formulae. One day," he says as he pulls out another pouch, "a hungry alchemist used it to spark the kindling that would light the fire with which he would eat lunch. He spilled a bit of his seasoning, you see," Stavos intones while pouring the third pouch out. The resulsts turn the sparks to a strong flame with a curious blue center. "And he discovered that the transformative properties of cilantro extended past his meat rubs. Without a hungry researcher, we'd never have discovered Artificer's Fire, and many an adventurer, soldier, and woodsman would still be rubbing two sticks together." Stavos pulls out a fourth pouch, and drops a pinch into the hungry flames to cease their reaction immediately, then spreads the ashes with his shoe. "Were you a more credulous and less learned man, Magister, you would think that what I performed was magic. It is not; it is simple alchemy, repeatable in as much as you wish of it. And yet it is something more; something less easily described. Please, I have one last trick for you in my act. Provide for me something that you knew well, but which is not of great value, and which you could bear to do without." Ajikan thinks for a moment, then brings forth a monogrammed handkerchief which he hands to Stavos, who takes it. "This handkerchief is made by a tailor, who I am sure plies his trade well. He takes the cloth which is made by a weaver, and who gets his cloth from a farmer. All of these people follow their own formulae. And yet here I am, the cilantro, and I have come to surprise you." Stavos holds the cloth so that all can see it, then focuses upon it, and transmutes the monogrammed "A" into gold. Brilliant blue dyes change their luster as all watch. "I came here to help Edo, but now I ask help of you in return. I ask of you that you understand what we are doing, and that you help us with what we need. There is a terrible occurrence nearby, and I fear that as we create it comes to destroy. Help us, Magister. Believe in us, follow us, and aid us, and we will bring your magical studies into a world you have never even known exists." Gonna try to inspire Ajikan. At a minimum we need to skadoodle and get to that horrible gut-wrenching feeling in the world, but having mages help us out would be great, so even if inspiring doesn't work we still need to go. [+2] Transformation to change Ajikan's hanky with my mind, to prove my powers. [+4] Alchemy to try to make a tortured metaphor make sense and to help inspire. Hoping that Edo can help us out here, and that our actions towards sculpting the magisters can assist it.
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Feb 9, 2013 05:56
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Beltheus-Hell, His store, and a bar. Beltheus smiles a cruel grin, and then steps back into his basement. Making sure the portal is invisible to prying eyes, he then transforms himself back into the form that the man called Vanthos was. This should, at least, convince the public that he had not changed. And really, had he? Oh, his form was different, and his abilities greater, but Beltheus felt like he hadn't changed so much as awakened the potential already inside him. He finishes cleaning up in the basement, and then heads to the pub. He has work to do. His new master had made it clear. His power, and indeed, his continued existence, depended on the number of souls he recruited and empire he built for himself. This meant finding those who he could convince or manipulate. And where better to find the hopeless and desperate than in a bar? He realizes this is perhaps low hanging fruit; that these are easy "marks", and he likely wouldn't gain the power that he would if he had corrupted someone of stronger will. Still, he might be able to find a diamond in the rough, and, as the old saying goes, "all big things start small.". He may not win the Pharaoh over tonight. But, he hopes, this will give him experience and raining in his new situation. So, he goes to the bar...not the local bar where everyone knows him and where the alcohol is diluted with camaraderie and goodwill towards mankind. Instead, he travels to the poor section of town, and looks for the seediest, most desperate place out there. Concealing the portal and regaining my former shape. [+2] Demonic Duke to do it. Then, going to the most run down and pitiful bar in town, one where I can, hopefully, lead them into hell.
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Feb 9, 2013 07:05
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Daveron (Arandia, Harvan, a tavern) Daveron sat idly drinking, his mind wandering to dark places as ever, chewing a piece of mutton. He looked around the dimly-lit tavern, full of men that he felt some small amount of kinship with; types that speak with their hands in the heat of the moment. He looked to Ilvis and Civar, and back to his drink. "Alright you lot!" Daveron stands up, pointing his finger at the tavern-goers. "I'm looking for men with a certain disposition, men who take what they want, but backed by law, not banditry." His hand lowers to his weapon, "We will create something great in this rotten world, carve it in, and twist the blade if we don't get the goods." "Stand forth, and join my side if you will." Daveron regards the tavern with drunken eyes, and a slight grin. Attempting to create a force of Paladins, men of outwardly great virtue, but upon inspection reveal nothing of heroic quality, but nothing of evil quality either. Essentially, the Paladins are going to be thugs in a robber baron scenario; the only thing that makes the men recruited as such non-bandits is the fact that they have a noble granting their organization legitmacy. Ilvis and Civar will be involved in this process too (hopefully), so here's the bonuses I propose to the roll: Daveron +2 Noble Blood - Hey, it's a noble leading a group of people he appointed himself! He can do no wrong. +4 Dirty Fighter - Teach them underhanded tactics, sucker punches, eye stabbing, the lot. +2 Bad Luck - Bad luck just happens to find those that oppose the Order; misteps in combat, saying too much about where valuable goods are... +2 Truth - Only those that are committed to following some sort of ideal versus those who just want to scrabble over pocket change can join this order; also, this makes them very good at finding out just where the valuable goods are kept during shakedowns. Ilvis +4 Martial Training - To obviously train these dudes into something resembling fighters. +4 Champion - To give the Order the appearance of more legitimacy, i.e. an iconic Paladin of the force +2 Sacred Sword - Some sort of training ritual thing that solidifies membership in the order. Civar +4 Tinker - For maintenance on the Paladin's Gear +4 Alchemist - For brewing concoctions to "fake" miracles of sorts, as well as uh..hand grenades? +2 Stage Magician - A group of fake Paladins wouldn't be complete without some sort of cheap stage-show tricks to confuse simpletons into believing something amazing was happening +2 Order - Out of chaos, a single uniting force is found behind these men; legitimized brigands as they are, this is one of the core features of the Order. I forgot the other divine qualities that Ilvis and Civar had, so if you guys end up wanting to add to this, go ahead and post those as well 
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Feb 10, 2013 05:08
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Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan) "Oh! That kind of makes sense. My friend was telling me about some really strange and uncomfortable cramps earlier, and kind a weird feeling towards the north. Sort of like a... sort of like a hole in the world? Like something which was right was suddenly completely wrong? Maybe it is this meinvættr thing you're talking about. That would make a lot of sense in context, I guess." Taking a deep breath and enjoying the warm flush of my cheeks, I start to doze off slightly with my head between my hands. But then Daveron stands and does a thing. I know this thing. I've been practicing for this thing on my own for like years. "Wait, what are we doing now? You want to get these guys on the trail of the meinswater or something? Wait, I know what this is. This is one of those things, the founding of a uh... *coughcough* founding of a knightly Order right? Dad told me about this, you got your dire circumstances, and then you got your brave doughty souls, and then you swear an oath to never forsake each other on your swords or whatever is on hand, and then it's Brotherhood all the way down. I got this, I remember how it's supposed to go." Pushing forward despite the drink still lodged somewhere between my mouth and my throat, I raise my sword somewhat unsteadily as it begins to reflect the wobbly and uneven light of the room. "Yeah so y'know to swear an oath by the stars above, to defeat all evil within the nation, and also all that other knightly stuff." Racking my brain for the way this is supposed to go, I think back on Dad's stories about how this is supposed to go, and maybe kind of remember how it went the last time Elspeth and I did this behind the stables with the dog and the farrier's boy. "And then there's the one about widows, and not leaving a guy behind. And maybe we need some candles? No I think I've got this actually, nevermind on the candles..." Fair enough to say that Ilvis is slightly harmlessly potted? Because tbh that's the only way I'm comfortable with helping you swear in a band of thieves by any other name which is still just as big a bunch of dicks. As for what I can throw to help you out, +2 Sacred Sword: Well it's a thing right? Swearing knightly oaths on swords? I've got a sword right here. It's Sacred and poo poo! Great for consecrating oaths and whatnot I'm sure. +4 Martial Training: Yeah I definitely remember this part. Dad says when you get a good bunch of lads along with you, sometimes it just feels really right, really team. So then you break out the booze, y'know there's a thing with uh candles? I remember candles too, and then it's oaths. Oaths and brotherhood, pretty sure. There's the one oath about the thing, and not abandoning your buddy. And the other one about widows and stuff...
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Feb 10, 2013 06:46
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Edo (Eosia, Imperial University) Edo can't help being inspired just a little bit by Stavos' call to the Magisters for help in understanding their powers. That is, after all, why Edo came to Eosia in the first place. Almost enough to overcome his initial disgust at being called insane by the alchemist. He's helped the rest of the way towards acceptance of a new friend by Stavos' clear acceptance of Edo's preferred course of action - finding that wound in the world and shutting just as soon as can be. But he doesn't say anything, not confident that he wouldn't be tempted to insult the magisters when they rolled their eyes or otherwise indicated their limitless vanity and stupidity. Instead he just smiles and nods along, playing the role of the beloved yet perhaps a little wayward son. Probably the only relevant quality to aid Stavos' action is Charming +2, although I'll leave it to your discretion whether he's been enough of an arsehole so far that Foible: Pigheaded doesn't also apply to reflect the abundant bad blood.
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Feb 10, 2013 08:48
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Civar "I have a bad feeling about this" Kit'An (Arandia, Harvan, a tavern) Converting a bunch of near-bandits into law-enforcing bandits wasn't the worst of plans. If nothing else, it rounded up most of the actual bandits and put them to work. I've certainly put my hand to worse things in the past, and for once, I wasn't assailed by the nausea I'd come to associate with chaotic elements since the Night of Falling Stars. Maybe this really would make the area more orderly. Standing at Daveron's side I demanded of each man a copper coin as they came forward. The element of sacrifice, and personalization would help with what I was planning. Using my new-forged order hammer, Tinker's Treasure, I rammed a sense of order, into each coin as I beat it into shape on the tavern's hearth. A "knightly" order should have an insignia. Something to bind them together and ensure their actions were orderly and lawful(ish) if not exactly good. Once each man had been sworn in by the Eisner and Daveron, I handed them their new insignia. I don't know how many times I repeated these words that night "Welcome to the Order of the Raven's Claw. These insignia will let you speak to your brother's in the order at need, and help you find each other, however far you may wander. I suggest you keep it close and safe. Should you lose it, terrible luck will be afflicted on you. Should it be stolen without your consent, the same will happen to the thief." The bad luck bit isn't something Civar can do, so he thinks it's just a bit of showmanship and trickery. It seems to fall solidly inside Daveron's ideas though, so it would be cool if it turned out to be true. I'd left a small piece of each copper coin on the hearth as I forged them. I forged each insignia on the same spot, binding them together through the left over pieces. At the end, there was a large lump of copper that look surprisingly like a raven's nest. Picking it up, I handed it to Daveron. "This will allow more of the insignia to be enchanted, just place newly forged insignia inside and they will acquire the same virtue as those I've made tonight." Making Star Trek-esque combadges for Daveron's Band of Bloody Bandits Tinker +4 = making trinkets Order +2 = binding the trinkets together Magic Hammer +? = good at making stuff Poor -2 = hey, copper coins aren't the best thing to make stuff out of The idea is that they'll feel a greater sense of togetherness and cohesion if they can talk to each other at any time. They'll also be less inclined to be total fuckups if it is easy to hunt traitors down. I'm also making an insignia for each of us, that allows us to speak with the Raven's Claw members, but doesn't allow them to find us. If I can't do this, I guess show them how to make handgrenades - Order +2 (so they don't blow up in their face), Alchemy +4, Magic Hammer +?, Poor -2 Zombie - I hope this is what you were looking for Edit: fixed some spelling issue LLSix fucked around with this message at 18:51 on Feb 10, 2013 |
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Feb 10, 2013 18:37
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Adam - Sellos mines The nerve of him, he thought, shuffling his way back to the crew. He wants to make a wife out of Barbara, Barbara! The lady could make milk curdle with her eyes! Well, he pondered to himself, at the very least, she'll be great for raising incredibly obedient children... He had a few other problems to worry about, of course. Kovar might be keeping the town busy, but trade was trade, and the town needed supplies and, more importantly, customers. He wondered just how much of this inner voice of his, the one that had come about when he gave his big speech, could influence how people worked, and decided to put it to the test. It didn't take him long to organise the people of Under-Sellos - a name he had come up with since about noon - together in their various workshops, nor did it take long to get the ore they had been carving out from their respective hovels. Before he could start building a grand underground village, he had to teach them a few things about how to work the material they had. True, some of them could easily figure it out after a while, but this was rather important. If he could ensure that they made fantastic quality items - pots, pans, trinkets, weapons - he could easily get the name of Sellos metal onto the market. And if he is going to recruit more people to work with him, and for him, this was the way to go. Besides, he mused to himself, maybe someone will come up with a new type of ale, something new to try, maybe made from something sweet like honey or something. Action: Organise the dwarves, make a good number of cool metallic stuff if fine quality for people to trade and sell to bring in some Dwarf (Divine) +2 The way to craft stone and ore is in their bloods now. they just need the right push to make it come out. Leader (Divine) +2 Of course, by right push, Adam means not just make a crap ton of axes. Okay maybe one or two... or three... but that's it!
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Feb 10, 2013 23:50
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Octagon (Val Aman, Val Setin) The journey to Val Setin involved a barge down the river. The air is stank with humidity and your companion finds it easy to spin webs to catch insects. She makes one notable and interesting observation part way during the voyage however. "This is most curious. By now I ought be dead, I wonder if you have something to do with this perhaps?" She muses although seems to take her longevity quite in her stride. You arrive at the docks in Val Setin and make some 'discrete' inquiries as to where it would be best to purchase a poison. To your chagrin you remember why Val Amani annoy you, everyone has their own secret brews with all kinds of effects and there are no less than 6 'honest' alchemists that would be able to provide you with what you want. Success, you manage to figure out which alchemists will sell the type of poison you want. Which is an important thing in Val Setin. Degowin (Frozen Wilds, Northward) The hunters are a little unsure about the stew, it smells strange to them and their animals do not wish to eat of it. Yet after seeing what Degowin did to Thurjin they are not only too scared to decline it, but also wonder if some part of the strange power that Degowin has gained will rub off on them as well. The meal is eaten in utter silence and at the end the hunters thank you for your providence. The trek home takes the group a few days as they are laden down by their kills. On the first day the hunters comment that the weather seems warmer than they are used to. By the second day a number have taken off their cloaks and heavy jackets, too hot under their weight to bear wearing them. They discard them on the ground, not being able to carry them and their hunts. On the third day all of the hunters have begun to walk bare-chested in the snow, not seeming to notice the chill bite of the cold at all. They walk almost soundlessly and the world around them seems louder and more profound for the first time. When you return to Northward the wives and children of the hunters rush out to greet them, only to slow and pause to see their husbands and fathers doing the impossible and walking with the spirit the Shaman spoke of. Quickly someone goes to rouse him and he returns to you, your headdress ready. He has worked the pelt of the Great Stag into the headdress as well, with the skull and antlers forming the body which rests on your head and the pelt running down your back. He offers it to you solemnly. "I see you have brought our hunters home safely, all save Thurjin. Do you know of what happened to him Great Spirit? He was lead of our hunters and his wisdom and guidance in the hunt has fed us well for a number of winters." Success. You can work on your hunters more if you want, but at the moment they can walk bare-chested through the snow and do not leave much sound when passing. Hot weather will bother them more however. Andra (Arandia, Coltain) The children at least seem eager to jump to the orders of Andra the Witchslayer. Even Baros who clearly not eager to return to the forge reticently returns to talk to his master. Although the others you ask for gather around at the wharf quickly enough Baros it seems was detained by his master to either do chores that had piled up in his absence, or to assist in making the harpoon. There are a number of fisherman all debating amongst themselves the details of the serpent gathered by the time your group of followers arrives. Success, feel free to steer this a little bit and decide what's true and false about their stories. Mazir (Elysian Sands, Elysia) You don't know where you went wrong. All of your plans indicate what you did should have worked, you punished only those wicked and deserving and yet...yet the clan leaders viewed what you did as horrific. Not only did a few of them invoke some antiquated and possibly made up clan laws about they being the ones to punish crimes amongst their peoples, they called you a monster and demon. The clans have united, at least for the time being yes, but against you and not with you as you had hoped. Yet it has not come out into the open just yet. There is a small window before all of Elysia knows who you are and what it is you can do. Your followers for their own part have their own ideas. Salima advocates bewitching the leaders to follow you, or using their wives to get at them. Berel suggests simply taking them by force and taking their souls for yourself. They are powerful people and even if their souls are not worth any more than another man's, surely the fear you generate can be used to control them. Hartun and Zel remain silent on the issue, being the first to be bound in your service is changing them each time you consume another soul. Once or twice recently you have not even needed to make your will known to them, they have simply done what you wished. Failure, this was a big action and you just rolled under. Don't panic though, I'm not going to kill you off for it, so feel free to get creative with how Mazir reacts to this situation. Kovar (Taeless, Sellos) You have no idea how Jusep's evening with Barbara went, he won't speak of it and seems thoughtful this morning, more so than before at least. There is a group that has arrived for training this morning much to Kovar's relief. About a third of the males in the now upper-town have taken to the field and there are many others standing and sitting by watching. Even if not all are following Kovar's challenge, it seems many of those left on the surface are at least curious enough to watch what happens. Success Red (Val Aman, A Tea Party) The men and women dancing don't seem to hear you. Neither do the people at the table. But the trees...the trees hear your cry and step out of the ground. A couple of them even pull out some axes, to cut down the wolf of course. What kind of nasty tree would cut down another tree after all? (Near Success, so I made it different and interesting. I am going to lose a track of everything I include in your delusions one day) Edo and Stavos Magister Katikos has been testing his spell casting and cheerfully informs Ajikan that it is also fine. Ajikan looks at Edo and Stavos for a moment, before considering something and looks at Katikos. He casts a number of further spells before thinking about things. He strokes his beard for a moment while thinking about something and then squares his shoulders as if he's made some decision. "Okay then. You want to know more about this, both of you, then do what you Katikos on me. Let's say...you try and make me out of Obsidian. It's different in composition to bronze and should give us a better idea of how the process works. If you need some we have some around here for testing. It's a good stone for storing arcane energy." He says and retrieves a piece and hands it to Stavos. Katikos seems thoughtful and then smiles a little, as if realising something. Failure, but just. So you have one more hurdle to jump before you can be let go. Ajikan is going to put his body on the line for science again! This definitely has nothing to do with the chance to have youth again and possible further arcane power. Beltheus Beltheus disguised himself as the mild mannered Vanthos. It was fairly simple, you were very familiar with your original form after all. Disguising the Gate however was much harder, as your hell seemed to creep out of it a little. The room had a slightly sulphurous smell and the floor around it was slightly singed. But eventually you used enough perfume and illusion to cover this up. Your imp remained there to deal with anyone who might investigate too far. The bar stank of beer, sweat and despair. Once upon a time the smell would have been quite off-putting but now Beltheus could smell the sin in the place. Men who indulged in murder, lust, theft and worse perversions were accompanied by women who plotted the humiliation and death of others and to get ahead enough to escape this wretched place. You couldn't pinpoint these senses yet, but there were at least three souls here that might make reasonable starting servants. The rest might do well as fodder for whatever tortures you wished to punish them with. Whatever it was, their suffering would fuel you well. The barkeeper was a fat and gross man with greedy eyes that strayed to many women, especially those with bosoms that spilled out of their inadequate bodices. Another group of men were gathered around two men at a table. One looked scared and cornered like a rat, the other was a larger and more menacing man with a knife stuck in the table slightly to the side of his hand. Then there was the one man who seemed in charge of the whores about the place and the woman who seemed innocuous enough, yet everyone stayed away from and who had eyes that appraised everyone. A number of people looked over Beltheus, who appeared to be the mild mannered Stavos. Some were greedy and others were sizing him up for something...unpleasant. Success, it'll be harder for anyone investigating your house to discover the gate. Daveron and Ilvis Daveron's plan ends up in many more rounds of drinks being bought and Ilvis finds her/himself wound up into this as well. His new body is reasonably tolerant of alcohol and he doesn't shame himself but he doesn't have the tolerance and experience of Daveron and many of the converts. The hangover he nurses is not pleasant, until he finds he can dispel it with a bit of focus if he wishes. His/her memories of the night are a little hazy but he remembers that Daveron and he went to another pub in town and got together a group of men. Then s/he got her sword out and knighted all of them while Daveron made them swear an oath. But...his oath was not what a proper knightly oath would be. They were sworn to Daveron's prosperity and power, beholden only to him and empowered to divine the truth so no man could hide what was rightfully Daveron's. You don't think that Daveron is planning any sort of banditry but it's still a concerning turn of events. And over the next month or so the knights became more organised. Daveron used his wealth and his influence to purchase an old keep and they started renovating it. Once it was done up they rode to the main roads and challenged all men to prove they were not smuggling goods. Over the next week or so Daveron had gathered a bit of wealth from this and he and his men had begun to change a little. Daveron had always been a big sort of guy, but recently he'd gotten a reputation for being...well larger than life, stronger than a work horse and able to sniff a lie should it be told. He and his men had seemingly grown a bit larger, more thuggish in appearance. It wasn't all bad, even though things had mostly run away from her/him, Ilvis found that a number of the knights seemed to be less influenced by this and appreciated the spirit of the law more than the letter of it. And when Civar brought the badges he had been working on you find that they do not work for Daveron's men, only yours. Aideen is with him and when she sees you she smiles a little and has a few quick words for Ilvis, while Civar and Daveron try to figure out why the badges won't work. "You seem confused by your change Ilvis." She says, smiling a little when you act surprised she knows your real name. "But I do not think it is a curse from afar like Civar suggests. Consider, you spent so much time trying to pretend to others and even yourself a bit that you were a man. A forge is a place where metals are changed and moulded into new shapes, harder than before. And you took the essence of it into yourself..." Success, but since Daveron and Ilvis have different views about what the order should be Daveron won out. There's a small group that follow Ilvis more than Daveron, but otherwise the others follow Daveron. You should probably name your lawyer paladin thug order as well! Civar You're not sure what's wrong. Some of your badges work for some of the men and not the others. But they don't seem defective, because one that works for one knight will not work for a different one. Eisner seems to have some idea, but he's busy talking with Aideen right now. Success, your badges work...for some of the knights anyway. Adam Adam leads the Dwarves to discover what they're good at, to forge and create things aside from just axes and refined metals. To your delight, you discover amongst the Dwarves you have jewellers, armourers, stonemasons, sculptors and of course, some brewers. You have trouble doing much with your still limited space and making workshops will take more time, but you have a number of tradesmen ready to provide goods to sell and of good make and quality as well. Your only problem is that you realise that you need to plan your construction underground carefully. You can't build haphazardly like one might on the surface. Your little village will do for now, but if you plan to attract more people and when more Dwarves come or are born then you will need to have room to house them, for them to move around and for them to work. Being a leader is more than you originally thought and not all about making speeches it seems. Success, you've got the foundations of some craftsmen and tradesman. You're very limited and hampered by facilities and space at the moment however. Lilian For a few minutes all the response Lilian has is the sound of waves lapping against the side of the ship. Then one of the robed figures you saw, the female as she removes her hood, comes into the room. "Ah you are awake. I apologise for our rough treatment earlier. We needed to get you out of the arena without anyone noticing. I am Magister Itayana of the Imperial Academy of Eisos. We have rescued you because we are trying to investigate others like you." She looks to be in her late 40s with greying hair, and her robes conceal some simple but obviously expensive clothing, with a gold chain around her neck which connects to a medallion with two jewels set into it. HiKaizer fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Feb 12, 2013 |
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Feb 11, 2013 04:01
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Andra (Arandia, Coltain) "Let me get this straight," Andra finally says after about an hours' worth of stories, some of which are conflicting, from the fisherfolk. "There's a serpent. Its scales shimmer in the sunlight, and it's somewhere between ten and fifteen feet long, and it likes to coil itself around the boats and break them. And since it has no arms or legs, no one can tell how it swims up out of the water but clearly it does. That about covers it?" This being a fairly accurate summation of the most plausible common elements of the stories - Andra lends no credence to Old Jim's insistence that the serpent wears spectacles and tried to debate poetry with him before getting frustrated that Jim couldn't manage a decent couplet to save himself before wrecking his boat - the fishermen nod in grim agreement. "Well then," Andra notes. "That could be a problem. I'll need someone to volunteer to loan me their boat. I can't promise it'll come back in good shape, but I am hopeful that the merchants will reimburse you if anything goes wrong. I'll just have to get a harpoon, take a boat out there, and kill the damned thing, that's all." The fishermen cheer, and volunteers come forward; finally she selects the boat of a man named Reynard, because it looks sturdy enough not to turn over at the first sign of high waves and also because he looks healthy enough for his family to absorb a financial hit if his boat is destroyed; while making arrangements with the man, she asks him to run to the smith's to verify that the harpoon is in fact being made - and to pass along a message that she will personally be quite irritated if the smith is, in her words, "overly harsh" in punishing young Baros. Gonna get on a boat and find a serpent and kill it with a harpoon in the eye (or, failing that, a big-rear end sword). Unless it really DOES wear spectacles and discuss poetry, in which case something else will have to be worked out. Using Protector [+2] (because Andra is attempting to protect the fisherfolk of Coltain and the economy they support) and Unstoppable [+2] (because if she gets knocked off a boat and crushed by a sea serpent she still will not stop killing it).
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Feb 11, 2013 05:14
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Degowin (The Frozen Wilds, Northward) Degowin stood before the crowd, squinting as they all sought to catch a good look at him, then shrinking back when they made eye contact. “Your son is dead, Tanjan. Fallen in honorable combat for the sake of his way of life. I am, or was, Degowin. He sought to kill me before the sky cracked. He saw in his dreams that I would torture his people. He was wrong. I am here to prepare our people. Something terrible has happened in the South, something wrong. Worse than the taboos broken in the dark and the cold. I cannot define it, but it is an alien wrongness. You are a shaman, yes? Perhaps you could see it as well. A feeling of wrongness, something in the South.” Degowin placed his hand on the Shaman’s forehead, stretching out with his magics and trying to touch the Shaman's own. “Can you see it?”  Attempting, somehow, to show the Shaman of Northward(dubbed Tanjan) what I, uh, experienced when that demon stuff went down. Not a drat quality of mine does, maybe the shaman can do a little shaman-ing? \/\/ I'm trying to share a past magic-based event through divine experience/magical means. Phooey on not being able to track him down in order to risingbattle. Guess I'll dick around in the North. JamezBfod fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Feb 11, 2013 |
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Feb 11, 2013 06:02
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Two notes: 1. Since people are moving towards Beltheus now, one thing I don't think I've made clear is that the sense of wrongness is not persistent. It happened once, when Belsataroth broke through reality into this world, creating a hell and the first demon in the world. This radically changed the fundamental nature of reality and every Divine being felt it. You can't use it as a radar though to track down his rift. You know where-abouts it is, and people in Eisos would be able to figure out about a 5km squared area it lies in, but no-one knows for sure. That said, you haven't forgotten that either, so even when time passes you'll be able to remember which direction it was roughly in. 2. You can either stack 2 divine traits, or 1 mortal trait and 1 divine traits, or multiple mortal traits. You cannot stack 2 or move divine traits and any number of mortal traits. I probably should have made this simpler from the start by saying only divine stacks with divine, and mortal stacks with mortal. I may still do so soon.
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Feb 11, 2013 09:22
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Lilian - Somewhere on the Ocean Groaning Lilian got up off of her bed, she wasn't sure just how long she had been out for this time. "Now where am I...rocking, the smell of salt water..ahh the ocean?" sitting up she'd look around her room in a half awake daze.. "Is anyone there? Where are you taking me NOW?"
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Feb 11, 2013 10:51
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Edo Edo's smile falters as he sees the need in Ajikan's expression, and the smugness of the bronze Katikos. A few hours ago Edo was healing people who needed it. Now he was, what? Making the city's most powerful more powerful? It rankled with a simple fisherman like Edo. The higher castes only ever thought about themselves, and besides, neither magister ever really needed his powers. Let alone the terrible... whatever it was a short while ago. Isn't that important too? "Shouldn't we should practice on something less valuable than a human? How about we try to turn that bit of obsidian into a puppy? I think it'll be more challenging - I've never tried to use my power on something that's not alive before."
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Feb 12, 2013 05:19
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Kovar - Sellos Kovar looks over the people who’d arrived for training. He’d spent the whole prior evening coming up with exactly how it was he was going to train these people. At first it seemed to be an insurmountable problem but fairly quickly after running into that wall, he felt the power well up deep within him and the every potentiality fell into place the solution obvious. So here he was the next morning heartened by the appearance of so many. ⅓ of the town was double his minimum number to make this plan work, and by the end, if things went as he knew they would, he’d have pretty much all of them. “I’m glad you accepted my offer. Now, I hope you’re ready to work hard, because soldiering isn’t an easy life, but what it is, is the best chance you have. Now, lets get down to business.” The first exercise was getting them into formation. Nothing too complex, just something rectangular something with enough space for him to move through it and observe as necessary. It went as well as one might expect from a bunch of completely new recruits, but that was the point. It had provided Kovar’s keen eyes with more information than any of the townsfolk had realized. As he watched time seemed to stretch out, and just as how he could see the moves of the games of strategy he could see so much more about them, suddenly as plain as day. He had seen how the moved, saw how they carried themselves, saw a small smattering of leaders, and saw who were the natural followers. He’d learned in just over an hour what would have once taken him days to figure out. “Alright, this formation is the one you will be in every morning at sunrise on the dot. If by the time the sun breaks free of the horizon you are not in formation, well you’ll see. Now, we’re going to do some exercises, I know some of you used to be thatchers or barkeeps and so many other professions. Soldiering is physical, you will carry things, heavy things, you will march long distances, you will need to be able to fight laden down with armor because I have no doubt you all want to live. Well, if you want to live so much then you had better be prepared to be in the best shape of your life all the time. You’re body is your instrument, your tool, your building, it is everything to you now. So, I know many of you are not in the best shape of your lives, and some of you think you are but I assure you, you are not. When I am done with you, though, you will most certainly be in better condition than you thought was possible.” “So, lets start with something easy: jumping jacks. Keep doing them until I tell you to stop. And begin!” As the men started to do the exercise Kovar began to pace through the formation, examining the form of each man and making corrections where necessary. What he didn’t do was tell them to stop. He watched how quickly they got winded, but the point of this exercise beyond merely physical conditioning was to find out exactly how far they could go. They might not enjoy it, but when he was done they would be amazed by how much longer they could hold out. When the last of them finally gave out, he walked leisurely back up to the front. “Good, now you know exactly how far you can go. I’m here to tell you that it’s not nearly far enough, but trust me when we’re done you’ll be able to do something like this without the slightest bit of effort. Now you’ve got 15 minutes to rest, and then we start again.” He was as good as his word, and for the next week that’s what they did. He was serious when he said he’d work them into the finest shape of their lives, and from sunup to sundown they exercised. First it was easier stuff, but then he worked on not just building stamina but building muscle. Soon they’d done every sort of exercise imaginable, and once they’d plateaued they came the next morning to find bags of stones laid out for them, then each day the weight increased. The first few days there were those who were not in formation on time, or who would talk back to the general, but those people quickly found out that being forced to do extra exercise while the others rested was not pleasant. A few left in a rage, but as they saw the progress of their friends, they would find their way back, suddenly volunteering to exercise on their breaks in order to catch up to their peers. What they didn’t realize was that within this intense exercise regime Kovar was seamlessly weaving in many other aspects of soldiering, fitting them in so naturally that the townsfolk never even realized they were there. They learned to march while they ran, they learned formations from some of the odder seeming exercises, they learned to charge from sprints, to carry the weight of their kit from the rocks. Most importantly though, with each and every action Kovar taught them discipline. The Mirnian had always been a believer in a disciplined army, he’d seen too many units of nobles allowed to do as they please ruin perfectly good strategies and get themselves killed in the process, and in victory they were worse than in death. At least when they were dead they didn’t have the temerity to try and rape and steal from the peasantry. No, Kovar had always been a strict disciplinarian. This army was going to be something new, something special, but mainly his army from the ground up, so he burned discipline into the brains, into their souls, into everything they did. When he was finished this was going to be the best disciplined army on the planet, and that was going to be the key to their success and survival. Eventually, once he thought they were ready, he started to hand out wooden weapons, mainly in the shape of axes, a favor from Adam. They would not look real, but the weight in their hands, the air resistance, they would feel real in every way. It was then he began to teach them to fight. They might not have realized it at first, but each and every day they were being tested, and Kovar saw who the best among them were, the ones who rose to the top. As he taught them to fight, he also began to organize them. Those from among them that had caught his eye quickly found themselves being put in charge of groups of others, and slowly a chain of command began to coalesce. Units started to eat together, train together, they were encouraged to spend their free time together. At dinner each night, those that had done well, those Kovar eyed for command were invited to dine with him. At these meals he lectured and talked with them, he taught them to be leaders, he taught them how to keep their men alive, and he taught them to know when men had to die for the sake of the rest. To be invited to these meals was an honor, and eventually a regular cadre formed. From that cadre came the sargents, the deputies, the lieutenants for this nascent army. Once the units were formed, the leaders selected he began to stage mock battles to give them a taste of the chaos of combat, and to unite all of their skills. He would set one-side up with an objective and another to prevent that. Occasionally he would command one side personally, using his power to show exactly what a difference having a good general made. The other side would grumble about unfairness, but they knew that eventually the tables would turn and Kovar would be leading them. What was important to Kovar, was that both sides quickly saw that he wasn’t just talk. They might have learned that sometimes there were battles you couldn’t win, but what he gained was their respect and slowly their admiration. He was careful to continuously change the makeup of each side, the last thing he’d want was two have two mutually opposing sub-armies instead of one united one, and it helped the units learned the strengths and weakness of their comrades in arms. Naturally, there were some who simply couldn’t fight, but Kovar was well aware that an army was more than just front-line soldiers. He quickly identified those who would never be up to the stress of combat, and he kept them through the exercise and some of the weapons training. Even though they were never going to fight on the front-line Kovar was a firm believer that every person in an army have a grounding in the basics, when they knew how to march and how to handle themselves with a weapon they would be all the better at managing the aspects that kept the men supplied. More, the training built confidence in them and comradie with the troops. Kovar wanted an army, he wanted each and every soldier to feel like they were part of the same thing, even those who managed supplies. However, once things escalated to mock battles he pulled them aside and began to teach them the arts of the quartermaster, the rear-guard, and the many other essential functions needed to keep an army functioning. Somehow, while doing this he managed to set aside time to help get newcomers up to speed. He’d never expected the entire town would join up on the first day, but he planned that everyone would be in by the end. That meant that people would be joining throughout the process. He expected most of the growth would happen in the second or third weeks and people started to see the signs of improvements, but he had plans to ensure that even holdouts would be able to catch-up to their peers. So it was that Kovar attempted to forge the townsfolk of Sellos into an army. He’d lost track of the days, but soon enough the day came to hand his troops their real weapons and armor, naturally of dwarven manufacture. He stood before them looking over what the townsfolk had become. Training the Sellosians to be excellent soldiers and forming them into an army. Divine Strategist[+2] - Designing a training program from scratch to deal with varying levels of physical fitness, varying backgrounds, changing class sizes, and with the intent of producing a large number of well trained troops is something no mortal mind could accomplish. Experienced General[+4] - Kovar’s trained troops before, many many many times. He knows what works and why.
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Feb 12, 2013 08:33
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Cacto posted:Edo "You said your power was healing and from what you've said let's look at what you've done. Firstly you've been healing people in the markets, which is from a theoretical standpoint simple enough. But you've also changed someone so that they can no longer be an alcoholic. That could be considered healing, yes, but that's starting to get to intent. None of what you've done has worked on existing arcane principles. In fact it seems that intent is more important than method, to the institution's collective mortification." Ajikan says focusing on the situation at hand and the possibility of arcane learning. Now that he's caught up in his work he seems...more reasonable? At least somewhat less overbearing when you are part of an equation and rather than a person perhaps. "But you're focussed on healing. Stavos has had a lifetime of alchemical studies so it's ironic that his talents have turned to that area. But are you sure that combined you can do that, to bring an inanimate object to life? That requires you to shape flesh, create a mind and to also create a soul. What I suggest is simpler, you only need to shape my body...and on a more practical level a dog cannot tell us about what it is you have done. You've done this before together, so if you do this now it will give Katikos and I something to investigate. You said you had something to do, so the quicker we sort this out the quicker you can get to that." Ajikan seems pretty stubborn on it and can provide what he sees as good reasons for what he is doing. I rolled for this but you got a low result, so you'll find it challenging to get out of the situation without acquiescing to his demand.
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Feb 12, 2013 23:28
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Beltheus-The Tavern, Eisos Beltheus closes his eyes for a minute and absorbs the atmosphere of the place. It excites him. So much potential, so much despair, which means so much hope. His eyes flick over potential servants, as he approaches the bar. Taking a seat, he tells the bartender, "Some date wine.". Then, seeing the eyes of the whoremaster look him over, says, "And one for him." Sliding money out on the bar, he asks the bartender, I need someone to do a job. Somebody smart, somebody clever, and somebody who's willing to do what has to be done without wringing his hands about it. You know anybody like that?" He slips another coin onto the pile. All the while, he extends his senses toward the two men at the table near him, trying to look beyond their outward appearances and discover what they really are, and if they will be suitable tools for his needs. Trying to read the souls of the two men at the table, trying to find out about them, who and what they are. +2, Demonic Duke. Also buying a drink for the pimp and pressing the bartender for info. Persuasion +4 for that Epicurius fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 03:39
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Andra Baros eventually arrives with the spear and almost reverently hands it to Andra. With that done, after a few farewells Andra takes her newly commandeered boat and paddles out of the shallows and into deeper waters. Curiously enough no other boats are out at the moment, all the fishermen seem to have decided to flee while Andra fights the serpent. So she is left to her own, which was good, no-one else would get hurt. The waiting was the worst part however, as time seemed to stretch into a hazy miasma upon the surface of the ocean. After an uncountable period time (mostly due to having little to track it by) Andra's boat is suddenly rocked and a great serpentine head pokes out of the head of the water near you. It sticks out its tongue like a snake, twitching as it tastes the air. Then after a moment it roars and charges at you, the boat shudders and breaks as it swallows Andra whole. This doesn't stop Andra though, who begins cutting her way savagely out of the snake as blood starts mixing with water as she breaks through the skin and flesh of the monster. By the time she has hacked her way out she finds herself sinking down towards the sea floor, unable to really swim upwards in her armour at all. Andra reflexively tried to hold her breath as she struggled, but eventually she couldn't hold it any more and she gasped. Water flooded down her throat and she began to think of drowning...only to discover she was not in fact drowning at all. Apparently she could breathe in water, or perhaps did not even need to breathe at all any more. She was however sinking rapidly down into the dim dark depths of the bay with little she could do to swim back up, the serpent sinking silently beside her. Success, you managed to slay the serpent. However I wasn't sure if you were wearing armour or not (as you are in your pic) but I thought this might be a good way to make things a little more interesting than 'goes to bay, kills serpent, comes back'. Degowin (Frozen Wilds, Northward) Degowin pressed his hand to the Shaman's head. Tanjan recoils back at the touch, but was held firmly by the larger Degowin's grip. "I can feel it...something far too the south...it hurts the tear something strange dark fire pain hurt pleasure it won't stop won't stop let me go it hurts it huts it hurts!" Tanjan is shrieking at this point, writhing so much in Degowin's hands that you let go by surprise. He staggers back a few steps before wailing in despair. "What have you dooone? I can't see!" He wails, bringing his hands to his eyes which have burned away to twin ice cold flickers. Failure, and you were so close as well. Kovar (Taeless, Over-Sellos) It was a beginning. Although Sellos was a small town and those males who were now not dwarves did not really make up even a full unit they were starting to listen and obey. It was easy enough to do so when the most threatening enemy you had to fight was a training dummy of course, and they'd get mowed down by actual mercenaries right now if it came to open combat. But they had an edge in that they had Kovar to plan and account for their weaknesses and over time those would be shored into strengths. That said the main issue was size. Sellos was small and especially so compared to Taelos and other large Taelesian towns. Kovar would need to attract people and build up Sellos, or Over-Sellos as some people had begun calling it to contrast the Dwarves of the new Under-Sellos. Success, but it will take you a long time. You won't need to roll again for your current troops, but it's not going to happen in a couple of weeks unless Kovar starts tampering with people and experimenting with his Divine powers. Beltheus (Eosia, Eisos) The barkeep seems surprised at first, that such an outwardly unassuming man would be making such a request. But then he smiles greedily and says; "I'm sure I ken find summon." And gives you the worst tasting date wine you would have tasted in your life had you still been Vanthos. But you might as well have been drinking water for as much flavour as it had to you now. As for the men next to you, when you looked closer you could read the sin on their souls like another man might read facial expressions. There was a smaller man who was inclined to drink and petty theft, but the other man next to you was tougher, not a big thug mind you but lean and hard. Not just physically as well, his soul reeked of murder, violence, lust and other things. He had potential, either as a potent source of torment for all his sins or to be moulded into a servant, like Beltheus had moulded you. Success, you've located one of the vile souls in this place (the bar was a good place to start).
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Feb 13, 2013 04:01
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Mazir- Elysian Sands Mazir sat with his arms crossed at the table. His mind raced, how did his plan go so wrong? The pieces were assembled, but they didn't play the way they should, and now he was under threat from these men. They were uniting the clans right now and preparing to expose him negatively to the Sands. Around him, his followers debated and discussed what they're next move should be. Salima advocated slowly bewitching the chief's wives to manipulate them, but that took time, and soon these sheep would be fleeting to spread word of him. No, he needed direct action, and unfortunately, this meant a direct confrontation. All his followers were here, all clad in the black cloaks of the fellowship. ENOUGH! he bellowed. Silence fell over the hall. I have decided, while deceit would be preferable, we have naught the time to implement such a plan. We need action. Brothers, sisters, gather your arms. We will storm into the camp, and we will take the souls of the chiefs! We will force their little bands to submit. They will know fear, they will know power, they will know the dark name of MAZIR! His followers cheered, as they rushed to the racks carrying the tools of war needed. Once everyone was assembled, Mazir pulled out a map of the town, and labeled where the clans were at. Rattling off orders to his people, everyone head out, prepared to storm the clan meet. They will all be there.....This is it, this is the chance. Mazir thought as he extended his hands. He had slept well and was refreshed. He would need every ounce of power to bring this to an end. He was ready. I'm storming the clan meet and slaying the leaders who reject me. My followers and I will be raising hell (metaphorically) and hopefully forcing the soon to be leaderless clans to submit to my power. [+4 Intellect] Mazir has planed out this attack as best as he can given the limited time. Him men are stationed at key points that will allow them to easily storm the camp, or eliminate sentries while the main force moves in. It's still a small group, but Mazir is using everyone to the best of their abilities. [+4 Magic] Between magical attacks, and illusion magic, Mazir will be unleashing every spell he has in his arsenal to kill impediments, and intimidate clan followers to surrendering and submission. [+2 Charisma] Using his appearance and words to force the submission of those who feel the terror after the leaders are dead. [Divine Action +2 Soul Magic]. Killing and absorbing the souls of the leaders at this very public meeting. I forgot how many are there, but Mazir will consume as many as he can. Assuming this works, I've been cooking up a cool speech for MAzir, I hope I get to use it, please dice gods be good to me! 
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Feb 13, 2013 05:09
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Degowin (Frozen Wilds, Northward) Degowin was startled as well. "I tried to protect you. Mortal eyes were not meant to see..." Degowin picked up a handful of snow, the one he had caused to fall. "If you would allow me, I will try to restore your sight." A handful of snow pressed against each ear, and then a handful pressed against each eye, and Degowin looked to the Villagers. "Pray for him, for he has seen the Great Evil of the South." Okay, spinning this with a divine action. Dropping my Sound Control[+2] and Cold[+2] to give him excellent hearing to compensate for the sight loss and a way to see temperature with my cold powers(Predator vision based on temperature variance). I'm also having the Villagers feel involved.
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Feb 13, 2013 05:50
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Kovar - Over-Sellos It was a start, it would take time but he felt confident he could whip the Sellosians into above average soldiers, and with him leading and using his gift as a whole they would be an exceptional unit. However, he knew that, merely exceptional would not be enough for what lay ahead, not if he wanted to keep his promise to Adam. No, what he needed was not great soldiers, not exceptional soldiers, but the best soldiers that had ever walked the face of the world, and he had an inkling about how he might get them. He’d seen what happened to Sellos, the miners transformed into dwarves as they came to respect and even idolize Adam. He’d also come to the conclusion that he, Adam, and Thanadrion were of the same make, whatever that might be. It was the combination of these two facts that started his mind working, could this change that came from following , a whatever he and Adam were, be harnessed and directed. In his training as a weaponsmaster he had learned to harness his mind, the same techniques he was teaching to Adam would allow him a modicum of control over his own mind. If he focused himself, truly and deeply, into visualizing the change, might he be able to control it? If he could the army that he desired, that he, in truth, required would be at his fingertips. He would be able to keep his promises and make the Sellosians into the best fighting force in the world. However, this power was strange and unknown, simply trying it out of the blue could spell disaster. No what he needed was to test his hypothesis, and as he thought about it the perfect subject came to mind, Burd. He had been a latecomer, and he’d never quite clicked with the training regimen and was already starting to fall noticeably behind. However, it was clear that what he lacked was not determination, Kovar noticed that Burd always arrived early, and was clearly putting everything he had into trying to keep up. With this in mind, Kovar approached him one evening after the end of training. Seeing the general approach, Burd seems to deflate, he knows he’s not doing as well as he should. Before Kovar can even speak, the smaller man pipes up, “Just give me another chance, sir. I promise I’ll do better, I’ll come in early and stay late for extra training.” “Well, I might have a way to help you improve yourself.” “I’d do anything, sir.” “Good, because this method might be odd,and it might also be dangerous, but if it works I can guarantee you’ll never have to worry about falling behind again. Are you interested?” “Yes sir!” Burd seems over the moon at the prospect, he had been expecting to be dismissed from the training, but instead he’s going to receive personal training from the general. “Good, then I’ll expect to see you bright and early on the next rest-day.” He described a place up the mountain a bit where they might have a bit of privacy. “I’ll be there sir.” When the next rest-day rolled around, Burd was as good as his word, and he arrived at the training ground at the crack of dawn ready to give it his all. He found Kovar already there. “Alright, Burd, now we’re going to run through some exercises. For this to have a chance of working you’re going to have to trust me completely, can you do that?” “I’ll do the whatever it takes to catch up, sir.” “Good. Now let’s begin.” Kovar begins to walk the smaller man through some exercises. This training regime was designed with multiple objectives like the others. Along with the fitness aspect, this particular set of exercises was designed to help Burd trust in Kovar. Kovar lead him through the first steps just like normal, but as Burd began to get into it. Kovar closed his eyes, and gained control of his breathing. In his mind he began to use the same technique he had used with Adam. In... 2... 3..., Out... 2... 3..., soon he had returned to the relaxed state of his weaponsmaster training, and using the techniques he focused his entire mind and soul on visualizing Burd changing while at the same time trying to tap into that place where his own power lay. In his mind’s eye he could see as clearly if not even more so than if it was actually happening. As Burd went through the exercises, he would begin to transform. As if by magic, his muscles would grow, his skin would toughen, even his posture changed. He became a soldier before Kovar’s mind’s eye. It wasn’t just physical either, though his body was stronger and better than any man’s Kovar had ever seen before. Kovar could see it in his features, the way he held himself, the way he moved, Burd had hardened taking on the mentality and attitude one can only gain through actual combat. Just as importantly, Kovar could tell he was disciplined to the core, it seemed to radiate off of him. He knew, simply, knew that this new Burd was a soldier who would carry out his orders to the letter and never fall prey to panic. He was the ideal soldier. The image was so real, and so vivid he almost forgot he had closed his eyes. It was only with some effort that he managed to open his eyes to see if his hypothesis was correct. Trying to use Kovar’s divine power to forge Burd who had a lot of dedication but absolutely no talent into a super-soldier. Stronger, faster, hardier, and with the mental advantages that come from having faced the crucible of battle and survived time and again. Divine Strategist[+2] - Kovar draws this idea for this plan from his power, and it is his power though the untapped form of divinity that Kovar attempt to work this miracle. Weaponsmaster[+2] - It is the techniques of directed visualization of focusing his senses completely that he learned when his teacher taught him the arts of the weaponmaster that allow Kovar to try this experiment.
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Feb 13, 2013 06:10
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Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan) "Well, I don't get it. Looks pretty much the same to me however you cut it. Handy enough little trinkets I suppose." Tossing the emblem overhand back to the man I borrowed it from, I shrug at Civar blankly. "Magic eh? Go figure. But yes, I'd be happy to travel north with you Civar but beforehand I just need to see about putting a couple things to rights and find myself a new horse." Looking down at the heavy saddle left unused in a corner of the forge, I sigh wistfully. "Poor Chestnut, who would have thought that they'd have gotten quite as lucky as they did with those arrows so quickly. Anyway, no offense to you and your cart and all but I can hardly load up my armour and gear on it and ride into battle can I?" Rapping my fist softly against the battered wood of the old cart, I grin ruefully. "Although I suppose we could put some iron plates on here, make it a bit less flammable or something perhaps?" (Some time earlier? Later? Within a few hours/days of the rest of the post for sure) "COUGHCOUGHCOUGH!" Grabbing Aideen firmly by the arm, I lean against her shoulder and cough loudly into my fist. (Oh balls, what does she know? Does it still show? What about the uh...) Looking down surreptitiously and coughing again the cover my embarassment, I whisper to her lowly. "Well uhm, Aideen you know thinking on it I probably should have asked you first since you're a witch and all. But if you don't mind me asking, how much do you know?" I pale slightly at her mysterious smirk and unmistakable gesture in response. "Please don't tell anyone else! It's just a bit awkward right now you know having a uh, different biology and all. Being a squirrel or a fish was nothing like this, since even then certain elements of my anatomy were not quite as they are and all, and it's remarkably chafing and turns out the whole silly swagger is an actual thing and there's no possible way I could explain this to my mum but wait! The forge! This is because of what we did in the forge? So I can change it back? That's great!" Starting back towards the forge I look back at her and wait expectantly. "What exactly do we need to do? The other witch I met spoke in a lot of riddles and prophecies, most of which I was told would gradually make sense over time anyway but to be quite honest the clearest sentence I ever got out of her was 'Pull the Sword from the anvil' and that was really just the once. Please tell me there's not some sort of magical quest of self realisation and spiritual refinement I need to pass beforehand, I'll try my hand at solving riddles if I must." Alright LLSix, I'll pass the ball off to you. But yeah I'm thinking Robo-Swordunicorn of Justice? Go all-in on a divine action? Tell you what though, Ilvis will be steering well clear of any forges for the duration just in case. Puppies are dicks fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 06:11
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Andra "So this is odd." What the hell, if she doesn't have to breathe underwater - or maybe at all, damned if she knows - maybe she can talk underwater too. So she sank, and watched the serpent's death throes, streamers of blood floating upwards to the surface in a crazy inverted fashion, with the sunlight dappling the water in a way that, were Salvador Dali alive in this place and this time and this world, would make a hell of a painting. Note to self, the warrioress thought, stop being so loving overconfident. She should have switched out her usual armor for some leather. She knew she was going out on the water. Stupid of her, really. Still, how is she not dead? Maybe it's the serpent. It must have some kind of magic about it. Or maybe the blessings and whatnot that Civar was tossing around when they were together were responsible. Or... oh, hell. Who cares? Not-drowning beats drowning. She can think about it later. So she had two options, as she saw it - try and struggle out of her armor so she could swim back up, which would be the smart thing to do, or... nah. That's boring. Besides, why not ride this particular (and metaphorical) horse as far as it'll take her? She knows which way Coltain is, after all. So when she hits bottom, as she eventually does, she just starts walking. Or, rather, she pauses, jabs the harpoon into the serpent's neck, makes sure she's got the enormous snake well-hooked, and then starts walking... dragging it along. Look, otherwise no one's going to believe her. You know, I honestly meant to include a line in my last post about Andra stripping off her metal armor so that she wouldn't drown, but I forgot. I mean, I figured since she had the Naval Experience mortal Trait she'd be bound to know better, and it slipped my mind to make it explicit. So it's my fault, really - and besides, you're right, this is way more interesting. So yeah. Andra's walking back to Coltain. Bound to be a shore somewhere. She'll just emerge from it. Eventually. You know what she won't do? Let go of this harpoon. Hell, for all she knows it's magic and lets her breathe. This harpoon is awesome, she's keeping it.
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Feb 13, 2013 06:30
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Wilhelm - Minburg It was happening again. People were giving him those strange looks, and he responded the only way he knew how, "What, you've never seen a bug man before!?" It was a rhetorical question, clearly, and it was one that was responded with the proper answer. Stone silence. Wilhelm had to think quickly before his rhetorical question was responded with an improper, literal answer of rocks and thrown objects. The old man may be a grouch and even sometimes an instigator of violence, but he was never an intentionally violent person. He had never really hurt anyone before, and even though he had changed his temperament was the same as it had always been, "I am here because I cannot hide this from any of you. I've no better way of saying what has happened except that I have changed." The old man paused on that final word. 'Changed' was the least that could be said about what has happened to him, "My body has changed, but I have not. Youth has returned to my body- I no longer ache, and I may move faster than I ever have before, but I am still Wilhelm." His eyes began to tear up. It was the first time in a long time that he had spoken from his heart, and his spirit was brittle with years of self-created isolation and buried emotion. "I've found that I may speak with insects," he chokes out as he waves a chitinous arm towards the parade of foodstuffs that is moving to and fro on his insect servants, "And it is the first time that I have not felt alone for the past thirty years." His heart flutters as the words continue, "Though I have taken all of you for granted, because I have always considered you as the family that I have never had. The people to carry on my legacy when I have passed." Wilhelm pulls in another breath, his gut full of butterflies, "I am still Wilhelm, and if you allow me to continue to teach you- Help you as I always have- you will never live through another hungry night, but first you must honor me with your trust." He felt like he just ate gravel, and his mouth went dry. His very human plea still conflicted with his very bug-like appearance; his hemolymph chattering and groaning as he nervously shifts, awaiting a reaction from his audience. He looks upon the boy at his side with pleading eyes as he awaits judgement from his home. The thing that he has invested his entire life into improving and helping. Wilhelm is pleading with Minburg to not stone him to death and to let him help them as he always had despite his significant, scary change. I would hope that his reputation in the area as an Agricultural Genius +4 and Master Beekeeper +4 will help in his plea, but Wilhelm also cannot help it that he is Crotchety -2.
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Feb 13, 2013 06:30
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Civar "Of Course I Know What I'm Doing" Kit'An (Arandia, Harvan, Raven's Claw Castle) I ask the men several bizzare seeming questions, sometimes making them answer several times, both with and without the insignia. Questions like: "What is your name?" or "Do you have a Ser Wilhelm?" or "Are you a virgin?" or "What is your favorite color?" or "How fast can a sparrow carrying a coconut fly?" After thoroughly confusing everyone watching, possibly including myself, I say: "A-ha! Just as I thought" and nod my head sagely. "Well, that's settled then. Nothing to be done about it now." not an action, but thought doing this in character be more interesting than asking on IRC - Checking to see if the badges only work when the wearer is being truthful or anything like that. Also checking to see if the tracking function works even if the communication part doesn't. If this was an action I would also, also be trying to convince everyone I am super smart and way awesome even though my badges don't completely, totally work the way their inferior minds maybe expected them to, but it is not so it is just fluff. *** Ilvis posted:Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan) I looked around the area for inspiration and my eyes lighted on the now deceased Chestnut's saddle. "Yes, I think, with your help, I can make you a knightly steed. One more than strong enough to haul a cart covered in metal plating. I'll just need a few things. 100 billets of iron, 36, no 37 frog legs, two shattered swords, 20 billets of bronze, a bucket of good ale, horse mane hair, 2 shields, best if they're much used and taken from a defeated foe, oh, and your gauntlet there. Yes, the one you're wearing will do wonderfully." My father didn't have time to teach me much, but he always said 'if you have no idea what you're doing, make sure no-one else does either and they'll follow you anyways.' Taking a deep breath, I continued my list of demands until everyone in the area had cleared out, afraid of being sent to get my next insane request and I could get to work in peace. I've made several toy horses as toys for the rich, but this would be much much larger, and... "That reminds me, I need a spear! Or better yet, the head of a ballista bolt! Although I suppose an honest man's hoe will do if you sorry lot can't even find a single ballista bolt." Working with every appearance of great haste I carefully and methodically gathered the things I would need together, hidden amidst the chaos of my actions. From this confusing mess, I worked to bring forth a greater truth, the pure form of a war horse,with steel muscles, an unquenchable thirst for justice, and order flowing through it's veins. Looking up I spot Aideen coming back from her talk with Eisner. "Good there you are! Come here for a moment please." Continuing in a whisper once she reaches my side: "I could really use your help here. I've never tried anything like this before, and I'm not at all sure how to bring this horse to life once I'm done." D: Divine only action - Making a Unicorn for Puppies D: Order +2 - using order strengthened metal for most of the parts Tinker's Treasure (magic hammer) +? Maybe get some help from Aideen, using witchy magics to help give it a soul/mind/life/connection with nature? expecting help from Puppies & Zombie (Just justice I think)
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Feb 13, 2013 06:45
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Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan) Watching Civar at his work, I hem and haw as I help out as best I can without getting too close to the forge in case there are any further unintended consequences. Seeing the form of the horse take shape, I can't help but think of all the mythical beasts and peculiar animals from Dad's old books. "Civar, do you happen to know what a Unicorn is? It's one of those really awkward heraldic beasts, sort of like a massive horse with a uh sword in the front." Laying my sword across the top of the soon-to-be-head? helm? of the thing, I mouth the words to the inscription along the blade and whisper a prayer. The parts I can make out properly anyway. "mumblemumble Justice... I think it would be useful actually, after all we put spikes all over the outside of a normal warhorse's armour anyway right? And I think it quite cuts the right sort of image, sets the right kind of standard you know?" I'd like to use the following Divine traits in aid of Civar's act of awe-inspiring creation of the Swordicorn of Justice +2 Sacred Sword: Alright so this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous but uhm, if you're really serious about building some sort of mechanical horse I want it to have a sword on top. In the front like a Unicorn. It's just a thing. Unicorns are manly right? Maybe even build a slot in there on top where I can lock my sword in for extra measure? +2 Justice: S'made for justice isn't it? Temperament-wise anyway, and really part of the worth of a good warhorse is how it manages to stay cool under pressure and is intelligent enough to follow the urgings of it's rider. An ordinary warhorse would be pretty drat excited by the prospect of riding downrange at somebody in battle, and the Swordicorn is probably going to be the same right? For Justice purposes. So I suppose if I could, I'd empower the Swordicorn with a tenacity and drive to get ridden and to do Justice to things. Which thinking on it probably makes sense with the other prophecies I'm apparently still well and caught in the middle of. Puppies are dicks fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Feb 13, 2013 |
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Feb 13, 2013 07:03
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Mazir Elsyian Sands, Elysia) You did not believe in such things as Gods, but had you, Mazir might have believed what had happened before had been a sign. Because whereas before nothing had gone right for him, all of his plans were coming together. Salima had drugged the drinks of a number of the guards and you'd slipped into the camps of the People's leaders easily. Furthermore when you had gotten closer Hartun and Zel had reached forward and taken the souls of the two men out themselves, Zel holding the thing in his hands wondrously like a child might gaze at a new toy. Then you had rushed into the chamber of the leaders, in your full power and slain the closest three immediately with raw magic bolts. Wrenching their souls away Mazir used them to power his next magic as he shaped the ground, like he had back when Hartun and Zel had first tried to rob him. Then one by one with the leaders gagged and bound you killed and ate their souls. They had power, power over others and it rushed into you like an intoxicating drug. It was almost all Mazir could do to stop himself simply tearing out the souls of everything around him in his ecstasy. But then he regained his control, his composure. There was something else he had to do. As Mazir passed a mirror, one of the true luxuries of one of the clan leaders, you noticed that the green light had begun to spread from your eyes further down. Your mouth was more a dark glowing abyss of eldritch green than anything else and your veins softly glowed in the darkness of the tent. Well the dice liked you, so I guess you get what you wanted. Degowin (The Frozen Wilds, Northward) The villagers seemed unsure what to do, but suddenly the hunters began a soft chant. It had no real words or purpose, it was just a reverence and a wish to ease the pain of the shaman. Slowly the other villagers began to chant as well, hesitantly at first but with growing confidence as the whole group began to feed into itself. Words began to form out of it more clearly, asking for Degowin to give the man peace and mercy. Then Degowin took his power from inside of him and moved it through the snow and into the Shaman. It would not be quite right to say that the snow melted, because it got colder and began to turn clear. The snow began ice, ice harder than steel and it spread over the shaman. At first he shivered, then his skin began to grow pale before finally turning blue with the cold. The ice had gathered at certain point, filling out his gaunt elderly frame a little so that he was not so frail and also gathering around his ears. Finally the ice began to darken into cold flesh until there was no difference between ice and flesh any more. His eyes were still burned down to twin icy blue embers, but he did not seem to look through them any more. "I can hear it..." He whispered. "I can hear the frozen wilds, the creaking of the trees bearing the weight of snow, the snow of wolves chasing a stray rabbit, the clouds in the sky gathering snow within themselves. I can hear it all my lord." He said in a hoarse whisper, not like the Frostborn, but from wonder. Then he cupped his hands together and furrowed his brow. The air around it grew misty as he created a simple spear-head made from ice. "It is a magnificent gift my lord." He said, presenting his simple construct to you. There was something...right, something satisfying about how he called you 'my lord'. It stirred something within you, a desire to gather more of it, more worship to you. There was a whispering power in it, that if you gathered more might become louder and stronger.  You rolled a 12, so you got something pretty cool. Your Shaman can hear, understand and speak to the wilds as long as they are cold enough. Furthermore he has simple ice magic, nothing to rival your control of course but he could go toe to toe with some of the Magisters of Eisos now when it comes to mastery of ice magick. Kovar (Taeless, Over-Sellos) As Kovar focussed on Burd in his trance he felt something within him stir. It was like a small flame. Before he'd used it to light his way, to see how battles would play out and the lines the connected to them. Supplies, morale, terrain, equipment, movement...all of these were easier to see when he placed that light to it and looked. But now that he held it Kovar kindled it into something stronger, a proper fire that coursed within him. He looked over at Burd, while in his trance and saw that the young recruit was doing his best but something was betraying him. His body, smaller and less suited to work than others. His mind, less disciplined but yet willing to change and not knowing how to. And something deeper. A different quality. There was a tiny ember there, a fleck of flame. Kovar reached out to it and tried to coax it by giving Burd some of his own fire. But once he started giving him a bit of his own power he found he wasn't sure how to stop. Power poured into the recruit who suddenly doubled over as his body was wracked with changes. Muscles began to grow and his skin began to toughen, the leathery kind of nature it takes on when one has been in hard conditions all his life. But it didn't stop. Burt began to grow even larger still, his bones beginning to thicken and lengthen and his skin began to change into something else, no longer skin and tougher. Eventually Kovar yanked himself out of his trance and sat there panting. Then Burd politely coughed and spoke, his voice suddenly much deeper and gravely like one who has grown used to shouting a lot. "Excuse me sir, but I think we're going to need a new set of clothes." Kovar looked up and blinked in surprise. Burd had changed like he had wanted. The man's skin was tough looking and tanned unlike the pasty white it had been a minute before. Not only this but it was as though the things that had been masculine about Burd had been turned up a notch. He was greatly swarthy now and over seven feet tall. But the most startling change was his face. Aside from his sudden explosion of facial hair there was a calm and stern expression in Burd's face. His eyes were replaced with radiant pools and he was calm and collected. Even from his bearing Kovar could tell that he would follow any order and that only the strongest of compulsions would break his calm. Then Kovar looks at himself and realises he has physically undergone a similar change. Your previous clothes structural integrity, unfortunately, failed during the transformation. Then Kovar realised the one part he had been missing. He and Adam, and perhaps other people like them changed those around them. But then again, those around them also changed them. Like Adam's sudden crystallisation of the understanding of leadership, pressed onto him by the Dwarves. Success, gain the trait Strength [+2] because basically most of your action was making him a stronger soldier and it was the most practical and tangible part of it I could use. Also your eyes glow as well now, it's purely cosmetic. Andra (Arandia, Coltain) Time had even less meaning down in the cold depths of the ocean. Andra did feel the cold, but it was slower to creep into her than it once might have been. Even despite all of this by the time Andra's head broke free of the water and drank in the salty air she was very cold and glad to get onto the beach. She was nearby to Coltain, but in one of the inlets to the side of it. It would take her some time to drag the carcass all the way back. But at least she would warm up by the time she did. The first to come across her was a fisherman, who was collecting muscles and other similar things from rock pools. He looked at Andra, then at the serpent she was dragging and went very white. "Starry skies preserve me." He mutters to himself. Wilhelm (Arandia, Minburg) There is not an outpouring of tears and repressed affection for the now chitinous Wilhelm most people seem to say things like; "Well, that wouldn't be right." and "You did give us this food I suppose." But the fact remains that most people are still pretty weirded out by all of the insects going on. Not really sure exactly how to treat the now bizarre and inhuman Wilhelm, they seem to decide the only way to treat him is normally. So people buy your food, although you're not really sure what to do with the coin. And slowly over about a month people seem to get used to the sight of Wilhelm and although he is weird and kind of monstrous, he stops being quite so scary. So it is much to Wilhelm's surprise when another voice comes into his mind. "Look mummy, I have wings!" A small child, a boy, the one who had asked you for a ride before. Then another voice, this time a man, one of the other farmers. "poo poo...poo poo poo poo poo poo my wife is going to kill me." He wasn't related to the boy. And a third voice, a female thinking to herself. "Well...I suppose I do have some nice curves now but still this fur is a little...different. Bzz. Did I just think bzz?" It's the same kind of way you 'hear' your insect hives but these are more like actual people's thoughts. Success. And like Adam, over time as people accept you and begin to follow you in small ways, some people begin to change... Civar and Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan Duchy) Well, it looked like a horse. If a horse was made out of metal that is. And it moved like a horse. That much Ilvis was sure of. Yet it did not act like a horse. It responded to Ilvis, to Civar and to those among the Order that the badges would work for. To the others it would look sternly and become immovable. It also had a sword in its head which was...not a thing that normal horses had. Already it had given a wicked cut to one of the more unruly and ill-tempered of Daveron's followers, nothing lethal or particularly debilitating, but it had made itself quite clear that it would not let him touch or ride it. Which was impressive as it did not make any sound at all, except for the sound of rustling metal as its joints moved. Ilvis and Civar did not really feel affection from it, but more of a kind of respect and connection. All agreed. It was a most magnificent, yet unnerving creature indeed. You made a robot unicorn with a sword horn. I give up. Really. The one time I relied on the dice to prevent something
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Feb 13, 2013 11:01
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Edo "Fine, lets just get this out of the way. I'll try to remove your magical power too to see if the alcohol thing means mind powers or was something to do with the man's guts. Don't worry, if it works I'll try to reverse it," Edo says before immediately reaching out with his power for the magister. Divine healing/lifecarving +2 to work on Ajikan with Stavos and turn him into obsidian and remove any magical power he may have. Carving +4 might be applicable too.
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Feb 13, 2013 20:48
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Andra (Arandia, Coltain) "Yeah, hi," Andra calls over, taking a deep breath. Maybe she doesn't have to breathe, but it's nice to remind herself that she can. "You wanna maybe round some people up to give me a hand with this thing? It's really fuckin' big and if I gotta drag it all the way into town it's gonna get wrecked and then I won't be able to get someone to carve it up and cook the fuckin' thing." Drag. Drag. Drag. "And get someone to bring me some fuckin' booze, too." Shouldn't she be tired by now? Well, she can think about that by the time she gets back to town. Right now it'll just freak her out and make her miserable. Later. Later for that. Later for a lot of things. Using Charming as Hell [+4] to try and get a posse together to drag this drat thing back to town. The plan is to get the serpent back, and as a reward for killing the Serpent she will ask the town's merchants to pay for some chefs to filet and cook the drat thing and feed the town. Like, the whole town, anyone who wants some. Well, first a volunteer can eat some, in case it's poisonous. She'd be that volunteer, but she's not sure how or even if the poison will affect someone who apparently doesn't breathe. And can survive the pressure of being that far underwater. And who hasn't gotten the bends yet. So, yeah. Then there will be booze, and hopefully that will prevent her from having to think very hard about whether or not she's actually still human.
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Feb 13, 2013 21:44
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Octagon - Val Aman, Val Setin Octagon spends his time on the barge fishing or merely resting. The mugginess did him no favors. Upon the listening to the spider's musing, Octagon raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "Are you so short-lived? If I'm to thank for your continued good health, I don't recommend straying far." Once in Val Setin, Octagon is besieged by choice. Keeping in mind his clients specifications, Octagon determines it would be best to meet with each of these alchemists for a demonstration. He makes a note to wear gloves, and accept no food or drink that he did not prepare himself. Hip flasks and trail rations for the foreseeable future, how lovely. Discretely [+4] meeting with each Poisoner [+2] in turn for a demonstration of their product. I will then purchase whichever I feel best meets my client's demands. I don't know if this even requires a roll, but just incase, there it is! I only trust these assholes as far as a crossbow bolt flies. I am strictly business.
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Feb 14, 2013 01:57
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Ilvis (Arandia, Harvan Duchy) "Haha what? Can he do that? I mean, a normal warhorse certainly has that sort of temperament so I guess it's not too far off that one made of swords would be too." Laughing along with the others at the Unicorn's antics and general distemper, I help Daveron's fallen knight up and dust him off with my other hand. "Yeah they bite like a bastard if you don't come up on them the right way. Oh wait, give that back to me for a moment. Let's see what happens if I do this-" Acting on a hunch I grab the coin back and fumble around the base of the thing's neck, trying to find the gap I saw earlier when I was out giving it a ride. "I think I saw a slot up here, maybe a gap that will fit one of these just right..." Yeah I'm going to slot one of those copper coin things of Civar's right in there. Since he made the thing in the first place, maybe there's a convenient spot to bang it in with the hilt of my sword or something? Let's find out! 
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Feb 14, 2013 02:15
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Civar Kit'An (Arandia, Harvan, down by the river) "Have fun getting to know each other. I want to meet some old friends in Harvan, but I'll see you on the North road out of town tomorrow morning. It's been fun, but I don't know how much longer we can afford to wait before dealing with the trouble we all felt up there." With a cheery wave I head out of Raven's Claw (Daveron's) Keep and down towards the fair field outside Harvan. I'd told Aideen I'd introduce her to the Tia'Cha and I always kept my word. Sometimes. Ferka's troupe had long since passed on, but another troupe had arrived the day before. As we approached I spotted a woman dragging a young boy back towards the caravanseri by his ear. "Syeira! By Path and Wheel it's good to see you again!" I sweep her up in my embrace and whirl her around before kissing both her cheeks. "Just look at you, as enchanting as ever. I want you to meet Aideen, she's been traveling with me for the past while. She knows some of the same things as the Wise Women and I thought it would be good for her to talk with them." Glancing down I notice the ritually beaded necklace she's wearing. "Or should I say you? I thought you would never settle down and finish your training! I'll leave you two to talk, who is the troupe leader? I should pay my respects and I want to give him the opportunity to try my beer before I share it around." Turning, I dive into the cheerful, familiar embrace of the Tia'cha like a fish returning to the sea. I drape a loose piece of bright red silk across my chest like a sash and snag a piece of roast meat off a spit, munching on it happily and mumbling delighted greetings to old friends. My walk becomes more graceful and relaxed as the light-hearted sound of a zither drifts through the air. I snag a running child and dance her willy-nilly back to her mother who had been chasing her without missing a beat and then, duty done, return to play by snagging a sharbat skin from insufficiently wary hands. After a deep drink of the sweet juice inside I hand it off to the next person I pass. Partying with the Tia'cha - pure mortal action, total bonus of +6 M: Stage Magician +2 - everyone likes a good storyteller, and boy do I have some stories to tell M: Alchemist +4 - I'm not a total freeloader - I've been here long enough to brew up a few barrels of my special ale and at some point during the night I share it around.
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Feb 14, 2013 04:23
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Kovar - Outside Over-Sellos Kovar was stunned by his change and the revelation that the changd and empowerment were a two way street in equal parts. Then he was elated, his experiment had succeded. Burd was now the ultimate soldier, and he himself had been empowered at the same time. Once he had mulled over these facts for a time, he looks over at Burd. Walking over to the once tiny but now giant man, Kovar claps him firmly on the shoulder and says, "Well, at the very least I doubt you'll ever be at the bottom of the class again." "No, sir. I'm certain that won't be a problem ever again." "Good. Now we should probably be getting back to town. I'm certain there will be quite a bit of explaining to do, so you are to remain with me until I instruct otherwise." "Sir, yes sir." Burd responds with a perfectly executed salute, touching his closed fist to his chest. "Now, I suppose we'll have to deal with at least basic modesty." Looking over the shreds of his old clothes and quickly constructs a simple loincloth and Burd follows suit. The pair heads back towards Sellos to the uncertain reaction that awaits. Heading back to Sellos, should be interesting to see how the people react. Hey Ddwarf, we should chat when I get back from model NATO on Sunday.
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Feb 14, 2013 19:25
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Mazir- Elysian Sands Mazir felt the power surging through his body, he felt the charisma and power these leaders had, their taste of authority. It was intoxicating and felt great. As he looked in the mirror and saw his transformation, it brought what he thought was a smile to his face. Compsoing himself, Mazir looked to his followers, who had performed beyond expectations. Hartun and Zel especially, he had seen them hold the souls of the fallen, they were developing their own powers, and this please Mazir to no end. Once this task was done, he would have to help them develop further. Standing in the center of the carnage, Mazir ordered his followers to each carry a body outside. One by one the emptied the chamber and haphazardly threw the bodies outside, where a large crowd was forming. The only reason they hadn't charged yet was the sight of their powerful leaders lying slain on the ground. As Mazir stood behind the bodies, he raised his hands in the air, magically enhancing his voice and moving the various illusion spells that increased his presence. RABBLE! He boomed YOUR LEADERS LIE DEAD, SLAIN AT MY HAND! THEY DARED TO RESIT THE MIGHTY MAZIR AND THEY PAID THE PRICE. I OFFERED THEM POWER AND THE ABILITY TO FINALLY UNITE THEIR DISPARATE PEOPLE, AND THEY THREW IT AWAY FOR THE PETTY SAKE OF PRIDE. NOW THEY ARE DEAD, AND I NOW OFFER YOU THE SAME DEAL. JOIN WITH ME, AND KNOW POWER, SERVE AND WORK WELL, AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR DESIRES MET, YOU WHIMS SATIATED AND NO WANTS. RESITS, AND YOU WILL BE SLAIN LIKE THE PEST YOUR LEADERS WERE, AND YOUR SOUL EATEN! SERVE AND I OFFER YOU A FREE PASSAGE TO THE WORLD BEYOND, FREE FROM HAVING YOUR SOUL DEVOURED! A NEW ORDER IS COMING TO THE SANDS, WILL YOU SHRINK BACK AND REFUSE TO JOIN THE POWER, OR WILL YOU BECOME THE PEOPLE YOU WERE DESTINED TO BE, AND TAKE THE OFFER OF POWER TO FINALLY BRING ORDER TO THIS HARSH LAND!!! Removing his robe, Mazir reveled his bare chest to the group, showing his mark. TAKE MY MARK AND SEAL OUR BOND AND ONE DAY THE SANDS WILL CASCADE UPON THE WORLD! Making a frightening speech to the now leaderless peoples of the clans [+2 Charisma] Using my natural talents at persuasion to drive home that they should join me. [+4 Magic] Magically enhancing my voice so it carries over the camp, as well as creating various illusions to make me look even more intimidating.
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Feb 14, 2013 20:22
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Degowin (The Frozen Wilds, Northward) Degowin concentrated, listening to the winds and thinking on what had just occurred. “Lord? A title of those of the South? Born to riches and to growing fat on the hard works of others?!” He looked to the villagers. “That is not our way! We work, we suffer, we thole the North! We each rise according to our strength!” There was a madness to his eyes. He seemed to be on a lucky streak. “My title would be Huntmaster, though others may come.” He tapped his chin. “Tanjan, how are our stores?” “Low, Huntmaster.” “Hmm. Hunters! Take your rest today. Tomorrow, go out and hunt bear and wolf. It will leave us with less competition and more game next year. At home...hmm. Bring me beer and a sack of seed Barley. Clear some snow off of part of a field. I wish to try something.” Degowin had the grain poured into mugs of beer, infusing the mix with his power over the cold. Throwing them about the field, he willed them to grow in the cold. Making Winter Barley. Divine Action using Cold[+2] and some alcohol, making a species of grain that will grow in the long winters of the North, even through the frost and snow. Also having the hunters go after wolves and bear, for food and to lessen the competition. Willing to hear any more concerns the people have. No promises on how I'll react to them.
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Feb 15, 2013 07:41
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Adam - Under-Sellos Hmm... Adam had come up to the surface for a moment, sitting by the entrance to Under-Sellos with a mug of ale in his hand, looking up at the sky. Under Sellos was a great place to be - the feel of the earth above and below, the heat from centre of Sellos itself keeping them warm, the sounds of work throughout the night and day. It was great, sure... but sometimes, it helped one to remember where they came from, and time and time again, Adam would come to the surface, just to get a quiet moment to himself, unbothered by anyone or anything. It was a great place to bring yourself to a peaceful demeanour, and also a good place to think. The Langleys had been pretty serious about their role in Under-Sellos: being the first family to change, they figured they were the ones who deserved the best hovels. Naturally the good old Wimbush had attested to their place in the suddenly formed hierarchy, and a tiny ker-fuffle kicked off. He thanked Thadorin a million times for getting in there before someone remembered they were making weapons in the Fel Forge that day. It wasn't the only incident either. The forges were too close to the hovels. Siska had insisted that her family have the upper path by the newly built forges - something about being close to smelting Iron helped her sleep at night. Dain's newly founded brewery - he kept promising to invent an new type of ale that would blow everyone's minds by being sweet or something - was unnecessarily too far away from anyone to make the trip home without serious drunken repercussions. The point was... it was getting rather crowded in there. Adam's plan had been simple - just tunnel up some more paths, build there, and everyone's happy. Except Thadroin - seriously where would he be without him? - had simply asked which direction he wanted to go? Up or down? Left? Right? sideways? Getting the place built was easy. Figuring out how to do it was next to impossible. He needed help. He needed a plan. He needed someone who could think about things in different directions to tell him which would be the best way, and he would tell them through Stone and Ale how to make it all make sense. He needed Kovar. Where in the world was he anyway? In the meantime though, he might as well do his best to keep everyone busy as well as they are. He resorted to trying to get people into the right spaces, make them comfortable, get them into the right vibe. He had to do his best to make sure people weren't going to get angry, and he had an idea of how to do it. Action: We're going exploring! If we're going to try and expand this place, we need to know how it's structured and how it works out. Fel died here by falling somewhere dangerous, so to make sure everyone is safe Adam is going to explore and map out as much of the mine as possible. Leader +2 I better take some of the more robust of the families with me. Having an extra few pairs of eyes will give me as much of a scope of the place as possible Dwarf +2 Under stone, over earth. A dwarven life underground is a good one Also hey Valhawk, feel free to find me before my expedition into the depths for this one!
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Feb 16, 2013 00:09
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Sorry, I just don't think I have the time to actively participate at more than a really unfulfilling level, so I'm going to have to bow out. I'll assist Edo as a last action in whatever he wants to do.
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Feb 16, 2013 06:43
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 21:24 |
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Lilian comprehension flashed across her face as she started to process what was being said "Others like me? I am not quite sure I understand what you mean." she closed her eyes and focused on listening to the sounds of the ocean, taking in it's salty smell and falling into the rhythm of the waves.. "I suppose playing ignorant would be pointless. I'm afraid you wont learn much off of me however, as I am as in the dark as you are. But I a sure you I have not done a thing wrong and by now my family is looking for me..so if you'll take me home." she let out a pained sigh, knowing full well she was not going to be took home.
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Feb 18, 2013 05:46
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