|
super sweet best pal posted:We should've touched both at the same time. That was one of my favourite write-ins so far. it was so simple and would have changed a lot that i didn't foresee. Please break this deadlock for when i wake in the morning!
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2020 13:45
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:16 |
|
|
Rarity posted:I have been summoned to vote for C, electioneering is a sham Hi Rarity, long time no see. If you're going to read/play along then welcome! Mod note: New readers and voters are always welcome, but please dont just vote brigade from elsewhere with no interest in the story though (I know this is a throwaway vote intentionally, but just wanted to say something for the future!).
|
|
#
¿
Jan 14, 2020 22:55
|
|
|
Voting is closed. G edges ahead by 1 and wins.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2020 00:13
|
|
|
busb posted:
You shiver as a wave of energy flows through you, tingling and tickling you with its irritation. As you stare off into nothingness, filled to the brim with purple viscousness like the richest honey, many ideas come to you. From the Blackness, your subconscious, from Ruby? You don't really know for sure. But you consider them, one by one. The stone holds particular interest to you. Control draws you. Your childhood and adolescence have been punctuated by a lack of control of your own destiny, and perhaps a part of you rails against that, against the social ropes that tie you and bind you. But these metaphorical limits are edged out by Ruby's... gift. His thirsty siphon and guiding shackles. You may have made a deal with him to save your life, but at what cost? You force the intuited forms from your mind and focus instead on what you desire. You sculpt and mould the purpleness into a small, but strong blade, like a sculptor's chisel. Your fingers move shaping, holding and honing it. It's extremely difficult and the end result is improperly thin in some parts, thicker and bulbous in others. The blade end is as sharp as you can make it, but many burrs and notches exist on its length. You try to fix them out, but you run out of purple, and with a ^flex^, you finish your meld, release the Blackness and return to proper, real sleep.  29th FifthToil, 263d You wake to a particularly cruel jolt, your head hitting somewhat soft cloths padded behind your head and neck. Above you flies a pair of hawks in tandem, twirling and circling before one dives to the ground, and returns to its mate grasping a desperately wriggling fieldmouse in its talons. "Jeff? Jeff! My man you're awake!" A toothy smile peers at you. You give Trev what you think is a solid effort to smile, but you think the reality might have been less than impressive given Trev's laughter.  "I couldn't believe it, we'd basically given you and that soldier up for dead, vaporised in that Magi trap! Happy to see we were wrong though! Sure you're even uglier, but girls like a man with a scar right? Err well maybe not as many as you have, but they look to be healing alright anyway!" You force out a chuckle. You feel okay. Mostly tired, hungry and thirsty. Trevor sorts out the latter two, but refuses to let you sleep and keeps talking for hours as the cart trundles on. Since you triggered the Magi trap, the Delve team had tried anything they could to safely test the stones and figure out what they did. Trev himself was 'cajoled' to step on them both like you did, but nothing happened. After that they began tunnelling down and trying to break into what Primary Lalian was calling a secret magical item hoard, that she was convinced existed somewhere nearby. Your sister was a strong advocate of this theory, butTrev confides in you that he's pretty sure she just wanted to find out if her soldier and you had fallen through a chute or trap and wanted to find you both. After several months without any success, a couple of weeks ago the gruff Secondary, Umah, stepped in to organise the disbandment of the Delve which is by now well overdue back at the Academy. Umah and Lalian had many loud fights, with Lalian desperate not to return empty-handed. In this time, Delvist Catarin went missing. She had been spending days and nights examining and fiddling around with the weird silverish tree thing, but one morning she never returned. Prentice Aita and Johnny Sickle went out to find her, but they too never came back. A day later, the bandits attacked. It seems they expected to just roll through and chase everyone away without a fight, but your sister and her squad were much more competent and prepared than they expected. Trev says about 16 bandits tried to push in, but between your sister and the quasi-earthern and timber fort they managed to hold their ground and killed many of the poorly equipped bandits. Other bandits were injured by Delvists as they tried to hoist themselves over the walls, as many were focused and prepared and willing to help others. That is, until the Magi appeared. His first explosion killed several soldiers and sent the camp fleeing in fear. Lots of Prentices were slain as they panicked and hid in the camp, as well as Delvists Famik and Neira. Lalian and Umah both made it to the cave. Of the original Delve team, all are dead apart from Trev, Dapimo (you groan at that), Aldos, and four of the older Prentices. Well, and now you. A thought crosses your mind. How many other delves have ended in disaster like this, and misattributed to Magi traps? You have no way of knowing, but given how and why a Magi showed up, you fear it might be more common than anyone knows. What about Kel you ask? "Oh he's okay... a broken hand and leg. He's in the other cart with the the other soldier, Artur. The magi-killer, Imogen is leading us all back south. Well, nearly all of us." He pauses. "Umah and one of the older Prentices remained behind. Kel told them how you escaped and they're going to stay behind and secure the tunnel until more serious help and supplies can be sent. Lalian is furious, and not speaking to anyone, but Umah is apparently in charge now and well, we're mostly all happy to be leaving that cursed place. Uh, i mean I've heard a bit of what that soldier, Kel you say? What you and him found in the caves. Is it true? Did you find some sort of secret Magi tomb?" You tell him yes and no. You've been able to piece together little, but it appears to be some sort of Magi laboratory and sanctuary. But you didn't get a whole lot of time to poke around, as you and Kel were alone and running out of food and tried to escape. You don't tell him about the small box of what you recovered, nor of the chisel you have melded. poo poo. You pat yourself down but don't find either of them. You try and keep yourself calm but swear, if they're left behind you're not sure you'll find them ever again. Trevor leaves then, and a smiling and relieved soldier hauls them up into your cart, and throws you a chunk of bread. You tear into it and give your sister an awkward, strong hug. You hold her for a while, then when you are released, you could almost swear there were tears in her eyes as she scrubs her face.  You retell your story as best you can, and hear basically the same as Trev's story from her. "I'm so happy to see you brother. I thought you had been lost to us forever. Ma would have tanned my hide every cycle until she died, so thanks for coming back and saving me from that by the by." She lets out a strained, but relieved laugh. You speak to her softly of what you and Kel found, and allude to the importance to the Academy of what you found. Some of which may be lost forever unless you can return to collect something you hid before you ambushed the bandits. Imogen shakes her head and sombrely says: "It's too dangerous, and your body is too fatigued to go travel, brother." She then scrabbles around in her pack absently, and brings out a small tightly packed bundle, which she opens briefly for you to see. You see a flash of red and purple, and you smile.  "Kel did tell me there was a useless curiosity that you would probably like among his stashed gear outside the camp. Along with this strange ugly purple stone l thing I found you clutching. I doubled back weeks ago, but let me know if you still want them. Best i hang onto them for now though, no?" She winks. You nod, relieved. You owe Kel a lot for being quick on this. But you *did* save his life, even if you probably shouldn't tell him what you did. So maybe you're kind of even. 19th Sixthtoil, 263d You spend weeks trundling back toward Vise, and soon you see the Earthen Way Bridge in the distance and your ragtag group lets out a bit of a cheer. By evening you'll be back at the Academy.  For about a week you've been walking and regaining your strength. You're alongside Kel's cart, Imogen beside you, and you ask them if they'll stay in Vise. "For a time, perhaps a week for Artur and I. Kel needs to rest and time for his bones to mend, so he'll need to stay in the militia's infirmary, possibly until after Storm. I'll leave him a certain bundle until you can come and collect it, but don't take too long, these urban militias can be pretty greedy". "Besides, it'll mean Jeff has to come visit me and cure my boredom at least once, right?" Kel pipes up from the cart. You laugh, and agree. But you'll visit him much more than that, you promise. And with that you clasp Imogen's left hand, then Kel's good hand. Promises made, and bonds of fraternity forged anew. Your first Delve is over.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2020 03:10
|
|
|
Before we move on with the fallout of the Delve at the Academy, I've been wanting to do a summary of the story so far and i think this will be a great point to stop and let new readers join just before we hit the next chapter of Jeffrey's life. Chapter 0 - The beginnings of the not-so-humble Jeffrey of Gratitude You are Jeffrey Tavernboy, born to two loving parents, your Pa - Gertrand and Ma - Myrtle and with your elder sister Imogen. Together they have run the Splintered Oar tavern in the hilly mining city of Gratitude, a somewhat eyeroll-worthy play on words. But your family did good business in feeding hungry miners and merchants, as well as stimulating and delicious tea.  You learned over your childhood of the history of the land, how the Liberator and his army arrived from his homeland after hearing of your peoples' plight at the greedy and grasping claws of the cursed Magi. Foul warlocks that over 250 cycles ago cruelly ruled and enslaved your isolated continent. In their defeat, they cursed your land, and now every cycle there are violent, magical Storms that devastate the surface. Only cities like Gratitude are protected by the Liberator during this time, everyone else is forced to live one month of every cycle in underground caverns or basements. His Deliverance led to the creation of your society, focused on every man and woman performing their sworn, notarised and enforced Duty to the Liberator. The land is metal-poor, with strong and useful metals and ores highly sought after.  In your childhood you dabbled in several things, mostly inspired by filial devotion and helped out your family in the tavern along with your sister. You kept a close bond with your whole family, and in turn your family would do anything for you. In particular, you once overheard your father 'negotiating' (bribing) one of the local government officials - Lady Alecta of the Administration. Unfortunately your small 'donation' of a single copper nail (which as a child seemed large) only drew the attention and ire of the greedy official, and sent you down a path of avoiding the government wherever possible. You also went on to meet an kindly older woman, Hanah, in the town Plaza, whose Duty, among other things, was to clean and preserve the Liberator's statue. Getting on in years, she convinced you to help her out by climbing up and cleaning all those hard-to-reach spots, particularly the statue's Feather - a finely wrought obsidian looking thing held in the Liberator's proud, upturned hand. She told you many tales and stories of the Liberator, his generals and their great battles against the Magi in times past, and the coin you earned went to small things here and there.  You went on several solo excursions outside the city into the surrounding foothills, and encountered none other than a couple of carnivorous large rats, which you kind of scared away with some rocks. You claimed it as a great victory, even if they simply wandered off away from the pesky child-Jeffrey. You used it as an example of the dangers outside the city, and eventually gave your best buddy Kel all your coin to make you a trusty homemade sling. He took some liberties with your copper nails, and his mother ended up making Kel one as well, at your expense. You privately felt a bit miffed at this, and it led to you not spending as much time with him as you may have otherwise. Jeffrey then learned to his parents' horror, that doing whatever you liked was not in fact a very good idea. He brought back some strange flowers one day, and got a quiet dressing down. Your mother, due to heroics in her prior life as a soldier or guard, had special dispensation to brew a strange, inebriating tea from some of these same herbs - which can only be legally purchased and consumed by a member of the Liberator's elite expeditionary force, the Emberguard, who often visited your tavern over the cycles. You learned that anything which impairs a person's ability to perform their Duty is a crime - a key reason why the only beverage you are allowed to sell is tea.  You also learned about the Administrations role in doling out Permits for any extra-Duty activity you could dream of. The increased taxation due to banditry in the region led you to try and earn extra coin for the tavern and your family. but all you got instead was insulted by another wrinkly old Administration official who you think tried to fleece you. You left without a Permit, your dreams of hunting small game dashed. Nevertheless, you spent time practicing with your sling when you could - but you never devoted much time, preferring to help Hanah clean and your family in the Tavern. Over the cycles you kept up practice very rarely, and never became more than highly unskilled at its use. When she came of age, your sister Imogen decided to follow in your mother's martial footsteps and enlisted in the army at Vigil. Perhaps swayed a bit by your own interest in the Emberguard and watching caravan guards practice and train, she left for her new life, one which your childhood friend Kel eventually joined also. Taxes continued to rise before you reached your own Duty age, bandits kept plaguing your city's trade, and the tavern was looking in dire straits with the introduction of a Levy to raise more militia. Your mother, to your father's chagrin, decided that the only way was to take up her sword again, and went out as a caravan guard for several cycles. She left you a strange iron brooch to safeguard you - it was worth a lot more than anything you'd ever seen.  It was a symbol of something owed to your mother by the Emberguard, and you wore it underneath your tunic. You were determined to help your family, and that day saw you climb the Liberator's statue for Hanah and clean it. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818#post494781327 You were cleaning the statue when one of the Magi-cursed storms rolled across the city - a week early than it had ever been.  You were in the middle of cleaning the feather, when your brooch seemed to get stuck on the feather. Stormstrikes are usually safely deflected from the city, but for some reason, the brooch melted after a very nearby strike, and it turned liquid, sticking to your chest and the Liberator's feather, and somehow this caused a Stormstrike to bend towards you, and hit you clean in the chest. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818#post495075779 Bordering death, you ^hear^ the voices of two beings, each weak and pitiful, and vying for access to some sort of power that you seem to possess. One Amber  . The Ruby however promises you power, and to heal your battered body and return you to life. The Amber can't promise you will live, and so you ^touch^ the Ruby and save yourself. He takes your power, and in turn mostly heals your physical body, and in addition shapes and moulds your mind itself - a boon you begged from him. He promises you more if you continue to feed him with energy and eventually free him from… wherever he is imprisoned. This event perhaps changed you even more than you thought. You eventually found this exchange with the two coloured entities left you with shackles of red around your metaphysical self's neck, as well as a tiny splinter of gold in your arm. The shackles feed your benefactor every time you consume power in the world. As for the splinter, you know not. This saw you return to your physical body, alive but grievously burned and hurt. Your convalescence took months, and you have a scar for life across your chest where the brooch and feather melted inside you. You carry this strange, black alloy inside your physical body, and have found it enables you to… project a shadow self. In it, you see brilliant colours and light and you have over many cycles learned how to take in some small amounts of this energy to feed Ruby, and eventually ^meld^ it into physical objects. You have also discovered that you can absorb people's emotions and use it for the same purpose, but your knowledge is fleeting and simple. After the events of the Stormstrike, you are struck by another great idea, and claim to three Administration officials from other cities - investigators of the phenomenon you were central to - that you were struck by a Stormstrike and lived... something that is impossible. The three take you to their leader, the Lady Kyra from the capital of Liberty.  She imprisons you for weeks, questioning you and submitting you to… tests. You are eventually released as a braggart and a liar, earning the intense emnity of the investigator Lady Jinda for wasting her superior's time. But you do manage to impress one of their party, an old, fat oreologist Bortwin, with tales of a new, black alloy. He is an ore and metal specialist from the thriving craftsman's city of Vise to the south. He slips you a piece of paper, and eventually manages to give you the option of attending the Academy in Vise as your Duty - where you can learn to read and use your (hopeful) Ruby-blessed smarts to become rich, powerful and/or important. You survive a gruelling test when you reach Duty age at 15 from your city's rulers, the Foreman of the mine, and two of the Administration officials that you offended as a child. You pick your Duty as Prentice to the Academy, and with your mother you scrounge enough coin to pay for your first cycle, and leave your home city and your family, and the tavern behind.  https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818&perpage=40&pagenumber=3#post496653248 Vise is huge, easily three or four times the size of Gratitude, and the Academy is a sprawling complex where you are forced to study exceptionally hard. You learn of the five pillars of your peoples' scholars: Quantology - the study of mathematical predictions from everything from taxes to food production and consumption Lexicology - the study of reading, writing and translation Artiology - the study of making things, the most popular subject for your people Anterology - the investigation of history, and exploring dark caves and magi secrets to recover useful artefacts Caelology - investigation of weather and the Storm and your stricken lands and environments.  You excel at many areas of study, particularly and in the face of prejudice against you from coming from a provincial city, earn the friendship of your roommate Trevor - a friendly and charismatic orphan from far-off Whisper and his close friends Celestine and Kassandra, as well as the hostility from various Visean and Libertean children used to privilege, and their ringleader Dapimo. You tutor Trevor who is failing Caelology, and quickly learn you have a head for numbers. You also excel at reading and writing, and Caelology and you finish first in those three subjects, winning coin prizes that help you pay for your next year's studies. The more physical demands of Anterology and Artiology means you are merely decent at them.  Your erstwhile investigators Chloy and Bortwin (who is also your benefactor), then nab you in the middle of the night to call on you, neither having forgotten your actions around the disappearance of Gratitude's feather - for which Hanah was blamed publicly and never seen again. They believe otherwise, and you confess that you think you saw the feather melt with iron to form the new alloy. Chloy begs you to help her research and end the magical Storms which continue to arrive earlier and earlier every cycle. Bortwin seconds you into experimentation with him, and you work with him to minor discoveries on creating what you have come to call the Blackness - the dark metal alloy that lives inside you, and is your terrible, perhaps magical, secret. You and Bortwin have not figured out how to create more Blackness yet, although it may be the key to expanding your projected-self's strength. Key to it though, is the metal ore Carentium, an exceptionally rare ore that was fashioned centuries past by the Liberator and acts as a Storm-repelling barrier. It is prized over all other metals, and possession of it would mean instant and swift death. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818&perpage=40&pagenumber=4#post499501501 Your second cycle at the Academy sees you continue to excel scholastically. But your insistence to not be silenced and give up your top placings means that you and many other Prentices from rural areas are selected by 'lottery' to assist in the most dangerous of undertakings - a Delve. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818&perpage=40&pagenumber=4#post499951556 Your third year, you go on the Delve. Led by Anterologists, and protected by none other than your sister Imogen and her squad of requisitioned soldiers, who has risen to the rank of sergeant, and Kel, a somewhat delinquent but still capable soldier, you seek out the ancient, buried cave of a suspected ancient Magi. You try your best to guide your fellow Prentices to success and survival - as you were warned that you would be no more than rats for the deadly magical traps and pitfalls that frequent Magi buildings. You build ties with your fellows, and rise as a quasi leader among them. You also try and help your sister's priorities of defence, and you convince the Delve leader Lalian for you to construct basic defenses around the Delve camp. Eventually you push her too far in an attempt to throw your rival Dapimo into the cave complex first - and hopefully face first into a deadly trap. It backfires, and you find yourself ordered to trigger a trap you found.  Upon triggering it, the Blackness inside you reacts and instead of merely trying to protect yourself, you attempt to grab the trap's magical energy and consume it in yourself and feed Ruby. Although by pure fluke you manage to untangle its complex working, the energy is too much for you to contain, and you end up teleported into the Magi's chambers along with Kel, who tries to save you at the last minute and gets carried along for the ride. You find that too much colour to contain or use makes you violently ill, and you vomit up glowing and toxic green goo, which handily is your only source of luminescence. It also results in green pustules forming and bursting all over your body, and your once youthful face suffers from scabs even still. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818&perpage=40&pagenumber=5#post500537239 Without access to the surface, Kel looks after you until you can stand and help him safely explore your surrounds. The teleporting shiftstone completely depowered through your meddling sees you stuck, and you investigate what becomes clear is the tomb and workshop of a centuries-dead Magi. Kel hacks his skeleton to pieces, while you investigate three things A letter in your language, that is perhaps partially translated into the Magi's own language - something that has never been achieved by your people yet Vials of coloured liquid, some of which you steal away with you A huge, sloughed metal spire that reaches up all the way through to the surface - the thing that was spotted by a scout and inspired the whole Delve in the first place  Before you can figure out what exactly is going on, Kel insists on figuring out an escape route before your scavenged supplies run out. You inadvertently poison some kind of giant cavern bug eyeball thing with your green toxic waste in your tunnelling out, and finally find your way back to the Delve camp, where you find bandits have fought their way through your defences and occupied the camp, and your sister and some of your fellow Delvists are holed up in the entry cave. Crushing your only physical gift from Ruby - a stone medallion which he scraped from your hair and scalp and eye fluid - Kel uses its brief invisibility to ambush and kill the outlaw leader and several soldiers, buying your sister and her one remaining soldier time to sally out and join without being heftily outnumbered. You hadn't chanced however, on the robed figure there being an actual, Liberator-damned Magi  He bests your invisible friend, and makes to kill him when you leap to his defense projecting yourself with the Blackness. You stop and consume his magic, but it's power is once again too much for you to fully contain, and you leak purple goo and fall unconscious. Your sister is able to sneak up on the man, and cuts him down from behind before he can do anything else. She is the first to kill a Magi that you know of, in over two hundred cycles. Using the purple energy you could contain, you have ^melded^ a crude amethyst-coloured chisel. With it, you plan to try and chip away at Ruby's shackles. He has been useful, and part of you desires the power he brings, but you also fear what you see as his ruthlessness and capriciousness. You have now returned to Vise, and must seek to somehow complete your third cycle of studies in less than two months, with your Delve being over two months late to return, and with most of your fellow Delvists slain. But you are alive. And you will overcome, as you always do. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3885560&userid=148818&perpage=40&pagenumber=6#post501664130 You are Prentice Jeffrey. You have survived your eighteenth Storm. You have survived a Delve. You have survived a Magi. But what will become of you, and your close friends and family now? busb fucked around with this message at 08:11 on Jan 17, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 17, 2020 08:07
|
|
|
18th SixthToil, 263d Your ragtag caravan enters the city and makes its way back up to the Academy hill without much hassle. Dirty and tired merchants being a common enough sight, and your group has dwindled substantially from its expeditionary size. Imogen remains walking with you, making smalltalk about the huge size of the city, while Kel and Artur divert off to the militia quarters with your… somewhat smuggled artefacts. The Custodia at the entry wave you through, obviously having been informed of your arrival. When you reach the complex, a handful more Custodia stand ready, as well as a couple of familiar faces. Both the Profektus and Lady Jinda are there, as well as another glum-faced man who you don't recognise. The Profektus then speaks "We welcome you back, brave Delvists, though we assumed the worst given your tardiness. We eagerly await your formal report. To aid in this formality, the Custodia will escort you to waiting rooms. You will then be called in to a formal interview with our esteemed Administration Representative, Lady Jinda. It is very important that you are wholly truthful to ensure that the records and knowledge of the Academy is preserved for future Delves. And that the Administration is kept fully apprised of course." Crap, you've been warned to avoid Jinda but seems like you're not going to get that wish. She steps forward, but makes no sign that she recognises you. She then waves at the Custodia, one of whom comes across and holds your arm gently, but firmly, as she walks you inside. You see Imogen speaking urgently with the Profektus as you are led away. Several other Custodia start the task of unloading the carts with what you brought back - pretty much limited to rubbish from the entry cave so you wish them good luck. The Custodia sits you down in a small room, and then takes your satchel, as well as a quick search of your robes to make sure you've not secreted anything away. Satisfied, they tell you to wait here until you are called, and that your belongings will be taken to your room. You nod, sit on the bench and wait. At least this one has a cushion, as you reminisce about waiting for your Duty interview. Hours pass and your stomach is grumbling in anticipation of supper before the Custodia peeks their head in and says they're ready for you. You walk past the other waiting rooms and they're all empty, and as you are led into Lady Jinda's office, you are passed by Lalian, who is being firmly led out by two Custodia. She looks at you desperately, and opens her mouth to speak, but the Custodia briefly shakes her shoulder and ushers her away saying "Now now. Ye know ye carn't say nothin'."  And then like that, you're in front of Lady Jinda. She looks, if at all possible, even grumpier than you remember. Probably not helped by the fact she's been stuck here interviewing people for hours. "Now who do we have... Prentice Jeffrey is it?" She says while reading from a scroll on her desk. Across her desk are various scrolls and miniature statues, used as weights to keep them unfurled. You recognise them as mostly representations of a large feline in different aspects of hunting and repose - and what must be a crest of her noble house on the wall behind her taking up a good three-quarters of the wall.  "Well boy? Let's get this done with. Seems you had nothing of note in your belongings or on your person. Now, tell me everything. Everything you found, everything you saw, everything you did." She taps her quill on the inkwell and waits for you to start. You've had some time to think about this, but a lot of the post-Delve process was never explained to you. It seems like it's intended to be semi-secret to keep the record-taking process. But you must have been placed last in the interviews for a reason if they're making you speak after Lalian. previous vote posted:
But you want glory, and you reckon you earned it. So you launch into the story, highlighting your achievements and not particularly focusing on what the Delvists did or didn't do. When it comes to organising the Prentices into being an effective camp support team you fall silent for several moments and have to correct your tense, with nearly all of them dead now - their corpses accounted for in the trench outside the Delve camp and from a pit nearby where those wandering outside and 'lost' were grabbed by bandits. Your friends… your quasi-responsibility… now dead. You recover, perhaps quicker than you should, and continue. You play up your role both in setting up and fortifying the camp, as well as your discovery of the two trap stones - and your eventual discoveries underground. When you get to this point Jinda becomes immediately interested. You openly talk about the key findings you made - the partially translated letter, the vials of liquid, and the strange semi-molten metal spire. You do not, however, let Jinda know that you have your own copy of the letter and some vials in Kel's safekeeping. Nor do you tell her about the box or chisel you ^melded^. But you could, if you wished. But your lack of humbleness makes Jinda look up at you properly for the first time. She examines you and says "Jeffrey… you… you're the same lying runt aren't you? You!" She seems lost for words that your paths have crossed once again and her eyes bore holes in your skull.  "You lie…" She whispers. "You lie again, right here, to me. After all you've already done you..." Her voice starts getting shrill. You insist that you're not lying and those things truly exist in the cave. By now, Umah will be there and examining everything and will be able to confirm it all! And not just that, but Kel was there underground with you! "Some dumb soldier investigated centuries-old ruins? HAH!" She scoffs. "Did he learn to read and write down there too?" You consider for a while but shake your head, Kel didn't really understand what was down there and trusted your word for it. Still, Umah surely will! Although you never really interacted with him and have no idea what his drivers are, surely he'll back you up. Lady Jinda looks at you in distaste. "The soldier will be spoken with, and the Administration will be sending people along with the second Delve expedition to ensure the veracity of your claims. Without anyone from the Academy seconding of your statement of facts, my recommendation to the Profektus is thus: all individual claims of your underground excursion will be summarily ignored." "If it were up to me, your lying tongue would be parted from your body, and you would be thrown out of this institution immediately." You feel your blood rising in anger and red starts to claim the edges of your vision. "Unfortunately, these powers are not mine. Yet." She spits out. "You will attempt to resume classes, and you will not be permitted to leave the Academy. No dispensation will be awarded, and I look forward to you floundering about trying to learn an entire cycle's work in two months, and indeed, your imminent expulsion. Then you can leave, for good, and go and eat rocks for the rest of your miserable life. Out!" with the last, she dismisses you, and the Custodia has the good sense to take you out and his face betrays no small amount of bemusement at the hostility you just received. You're about to head back to your room and Trevor when you think about what Jinda just said - that they'll speak to Kel. If you're unlucky, they'll search his belongings too, and you have no idea how well he'll be able to hide your illegally smuggled artefacts. And the Custodia know you're not permitted through the gate.  poo poo. You're so close. Glory and advancement will be yours, you know it! What do you do? Vote 18 - Kel's stash A. You shrug and do your best to ignore Jinda's implied threats. You trust that Kel has been able to hide your stuff well enough. You'll have to recover them after your name gets cleared. Umah will clear you won't he? And then you'll be set! B. You try and convince the gate Custodia to let you out. You're uh… a good talker, but your slowly healing scabrous pocks are quite telling and you wouldn't be surprised for strangers to react poorly at you. C. You try and sneak out over the wall after dark. You haven't climbed much since your Statue cleaning days, but you reckon you could clamber out okay. Getting back in is another issue, you would never be able to climb back in so you'd have to try your luck at the gate. If the Custodia blab, you can expect to be expelled. D. You try and convince Trev to go to Kel and tell him he will be interviewed and searched. He's completely trustworthy, and will know how to get your message across. Being part of the expedition and a known friend of yours though, he might be being watched? Or maybe you're just being paranoid E. You go chat to Cel and convince her to do the above instead. She likes you, but you haven't seen her in months. You're not sure if she'll be able to warn Kel effectively but she wasn't part of the expedition so perhaps she's not being watched as carefully as you and Trev. F. You divert to the Profektus' office. Try and convince him of the importance of what you discovered and that you're scared of Administration interference. He's the only one with the ability to countermand Lady Jinda's order to confine you, but if you convince him, you'll be free to go warn Kel yourself, or to take and hide your items. A shame you don't have anywhere secure to store them off the top of your head... G. <Something else> busb fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jan 20, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2020 04:59
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:Yes, this is fair. Can Ruby help by melting this lady's liver or something? Ruby can do many things. And as you're beginning to learn, you can do some quite different things too. You briefly wonder what colour livers are
|
|
#
¿
Jan 21, 2020 05:41
|
|
|
Blasphemaster posted:F. Now that you think about it, you remember that you found it very easy to ^reach^ out with the Blackness when you were outside the city when you left on the Delve. Much easier, and much quicker. It's still hard on Stromchaser's Bluff, but given a half hour or so you can usually manage it. You've not tried in the city itself
|
|
#
¿
Jan 22, 2020 04:46
|
|
|
Volmarias posted:The city has a liberator statue too, right? It does. You've seen it from a distance many times, but not really gone up and investigated it closely. You know the statue carries a stone hammer and tongs, and is adorned with a rough-beaten black crown. You know after your discussions with Bortwin that this crown is Vise's 'carentium' primary. He has forbidden you from even getting close to it, and you haven't wanted to risk what happened the last time you messed around with a Liberator statue... Voting is closed and F has obviously won. Update is already kinda long but i don't want to halt without a vote so you'll need to be patient another day or so sorry!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2020 07:00
|
|
|
busb posted:F. You divert to the Profektus' office. Try and convince him of the importance of what you discovered and that you're scared of Administration interference. He's the only one with the ability to countermand Lady Jinda's order to confine you, but if you convince him, you'll be free to go warn Kel yourself, or to take and hide your items. A shame you don't have anywhere secure to store them off the top of your head... You halt on your way back to your room and decide that the only way to go above Jinda is the Profektus. You quickly scoot through the halls and see light dimly shining underneath the door, and no Custodia in sight, so you knock. "Yes? What is it?" the voice replies, and you quickly slip in. The older man, well greyed at the sides stretches and puts a rather voluminous stack of parchment to the side and looks at you.  "You're one of the Delve Prentices yes? What do you need? Debriefing is handled by the Lady Jinda and i have many reports to get through on your Delve before morning." He grumpily says. You reply yes, but that you're not sure how aware he is of what you found on the Delve, and that you think the Administration may try and repress it. The Profektus perks up and looks at you "You're Prentice Jeffrey? The one that disappeared?" You nod. "Well excellent! I was going to speak to you tomorrow anyway so you've saved me much bother. Well, what did you find? All the other accounts I've read so far only mention that you reappeared and claim you found some ancient Magi dwelling. Prim...Fabricist Lalian claims that it was more than that." You tell him about what you found, and how it took you months to recover your wounds from the shiftstone 'trap', but that you only spent a couple of days being able to explore and study the rooms and their contents. You describe your key findings, and that Secondary (Primary, the Profektus corrects you) Umah will no doubt be sending word as soon as the Academy reinforcement expedition arrives.  The Profektus swears and sweeps the stack of papyrus onto the floor in rage. "That bit...!" He quickly composes himself once more. "Stop your grinning boy. Is it true what you've told me? Can it be backed up?" You nod and tell him about Kel, but that you've been forbidden to leave and he's injured. You get the feeling the Profektus is weighing up both your worth and what action to take. Eventually he nods to himself. "We've not a moment to lose. There is no Academy expedition. Well, there wasn't. Now there is. I'll fund it my bloody self if I have to." He quickly starts scrawling on a freshly wiped newpyrus and stops to blow some strange powder across it. He doesn't bother describing what it does, but you can see the words blur and become indecipherable. He eyes you for a second "Take this, then…" You walk up to the gate Custodia, all innocence, and are stopped well before you can walk through.. "Oi wassya name there Prentice? Prentice Jeffrey aint it? You ain't gettin' through 'ere lad, yer confined so turn around and get back to yer quills." Looking affronted, you loudly argue with the guard and complain and wheedle and they stand impassive. That out of the way, you accidentally drop a newpyrus on one of their feet, and she growls and pushes you away. She picks it up, glances at its mess, then says "Yeah, go Prentice Jeffrey. Oi Killarn, Just gotta have a word with the Sarge, make sure he doesn't get through, yeah?" Killarn scowls at you and says "No chance 'o that, but be back quick smart alright?" The female Custodia nods sombrely, and as she turns to go she gives you a quick wink. "..and then before i could say anything more, Imogen was off with about ten cloaked fellows, and I was being lifted into a smelly cart and bounced up to this much comfier bed in this slightly less smelly room. You Academy folk sure know how to live," Kel finishes brightly. You cross your arms and exasperatedly ask him a fourth time. "Oh yes I know, I know. Go on, under my spare blanket." You rummage around in the crate until you finally come up with a stained cloth that clinks slightly. You unwrap it and laugh. Your red box and purple chisel blade are safely yours again.  "You're welcome by the way. I was wondering if i'd have to dig a hole somewhere or find a hollow tree like in the stories. I feel much better now they're back to being your problem" You punch him playfully on the shoulder and laugh. It feels good to laugh. Kel continues a bit quieter, "You know I keep picturing that Magi. I thought I was going to die. A huge shadowy monster stood over me hand outstretched…" he trails off and looks away. "Well, I did hit my head hard." He forces out another laugh. The following days you try and muscle your way back into the old routine of Academy life. You run in the mornings, attend lectures in the day, then study at night. Well, as best as you're able to anyway. You often bring out and fumble around with the chisel in the dark - you don't dare light a candle and let it be seen by anyone. One day you even took it up to Stormchaser's Bluff on your morning run and ^reached^ out with the Blackness. You discover that while usually your shadowy form sheds all form of belongings and clothes and belongings, the chisel remains grasped in your hand, shining bright and purple.  You spend a short while trying slip the blade in and crack the red chains around you, but your shadow self can't get the right grip, leverage or strength to make a scratch. Stabbing it as hard as you can, just it just slips along the chain. It's a strange sensation, you don't feel the chisel enter either of your selves as it clips off a small part of your projected Blackself. The injury is mirrored down in your physical body, and you eventually feel the pain of the injury, but not of the cut. You release, and quickly press down on your clipped earlobe to stop its bleeding, before jogging back to the Academy, and past a wheezing Custodia, who groans as you plod past him. You couldn't help but notice that at every corner, a surly Custodia seems to be doing their best to clumsily watch you. Jinda's orders you suppose. But you smile at them and mentally dare them to report how dull you are. Your Initia Fabrici mostly welcome you, Trev and Dapimo back. Although Jinda's influence means you won't receive any exam dispensation, at the very least you notice that the Initia Fabrici you've impressed in your past two cycles - Bikami, Lauzen and Yang - often tend to devote small parts of their lectures to review past concepts that you've missed out on. It's still very tough work, but in Quantology, Lexicology and Caelology at least you feel by exam time you'll be okay, and should be on track with your end of year assignments. Artiology is going to be an issue, and you have no idea of the project you're going to create; but Trevor's picking up everything easily and is more than willing to help you out. Anterology is, like usual, a problem. Iustrio quickly makes his feelings known and fawns over Dapimo, as well as holding up your mistakes on the Delve against you and publicly humiliating you. Particulary around being dumb enough to step into a Magi trap. You tried to argue that you were ordered to once, but all it earns you is scorn and Dapimo's gang enjoyed exhorting your cohort to laugh at your 'weak attempts to deflect'. You and Trev look at each other miserably. But at least Trev will get his Delve credit. You won't. Exhausted from trying to catch up early one evening, you decide you need a break and go wandering through the Academy. You come across Bortwin, and you make to say hello but he merely shakes his head and passes by. What does that mean, were the Storm experiments such a disappointing failure that he wants nothing more to do with you? Or was he just scared to be seen with you given your current pariah status? 18th FullToil, 263d You're struggling with catching up to three-month old Caelology concepts when you a breathless Cel pokes her head around the Library desk partition and drags you off to the auditorium. It takes some time for the entire Academy to filter in, as well as many grumpy Fabricists including Lalian and Bortwin, and you even see Lady Jinda standing smugly with her arms crossed. Eventually the Profektus rises and speaks: "Prentices, Fabricists and honoured guests. I thank you for your time in this most pressing period before your crucial examinations. But it is beyond time to report on the Grand Delve that set out at the beginning of this cycle. I'm sure many of you have heard rumours or stories about what occurred, and it is with the heaviest heart we must announce that indeed, outlaws did attack our peaceful Delvists and thwarted entry into a valuable Magi trove. Fabricist Lalian, we acknowledge your initial efforts, and wish you much luck in your future studies." You wince, not future Delves. Lalian looks sour and gives the Profektus a brief bow. "You may also have all heard rumours of a Magi being part of that attack. Lady Jinda and the Emberguard have performed a thorough investigation and the reports cannot be corroborated. Once again, we are very confident that this rumour will be halted, and the official Delve report will only contain truthful accounts." Jinda beams and bows extravagantly, while the Profektus smiles at her. "However, I am pleased to report that a followup Auditation of the Delve through multiple reputable scholars have been able to access the Delve site, which was opened by one of the Delve team, and handed over to Secondary Delvist Umah. Umah, if you would be so kind" The Profektus takes a step back and Umah, previously unseen steps up and speaks.  "Thank-you, wise one. I announce this Delve a complete, unmitigated success. I have rendered safe an ancient tomb of the Magi, and recovered priceless artefacts that will further the cause of our great Academy more than any other Delve in our history. Magical wands or dusts or potions are yesterday's news. Our future lies here, in this." Umah takes a scroll from a satchel at his waist. "As you know, our Library contains a great many books, writings, and scrawls from the Magi's time. Our lexicologists have puzzled at them, worked at them, sought them and preserved them for centuries, until a time where they could be deciphered. "I have discov..." The Profektus coughs. Umah frowns for a second. "One brave Delvist, Prentice Jeffrey, discovered entry into the Delve and found this very same crucial scroll in my hand. In it, I hold a partially translated Magi letter." At this you hear a huge excited uproar come from the group of senior Lexicologists.  But you smile for yourself, not for them. Trev claps you on the back and Cel gives an excited cheer. Umah mentioned you by name! Perhaps begrudgingly, but he did so! Jinda looks furious and starts trying to talk above the hubbub, but Umah's voice carries louder and longer. "Not just this one letter, there are many other discoveries we are making every day on the Delve. We have also begun study on a huge metal spire, which we believe is some Magi-constructed device to channel the power of lightning! Although we acknowledge the belated help of the Administration, we regret to say that I personally had left before the crucial Emberguard or Administration associates arrived, but rest assured we have begun making copies of all critical documents, and I have several copies of this crucial translated letter. Please Lady Jinda, take this original, and praise the Liberator for this day!" The auditorium explodes in spontaneous cheering, and Jinda plasters a smile on her face and accepts the scroll. 21 FullToil, 263d The days that follow you are bemused to find yourself somewhat of a celebrity. People clap you on the back, and many Lexicologists try and get you to tell them about all the documents you saw. It was news to you about the spire though, you hadn't figured out what it was for, but you reckoned it was faulty whatever it was. Not your problem now though Each of your Initia Fabrici inform you that you have been granted your Delve concession marks. Even Iustrio is forced to bear it, although you still have a feeling that your end of year exam will be gruelling. It gives you a breath of fresh air, and perhaps some time over the next week to attempt something in particular. Vote 18 - your last Academic hurrah? A. Although you are going to easily pass Quantology now, you recall that part of your final class requirement was the positing of an interesting, crucial question. You spend time thinking and devising such a question to ask, hoping it gets chosen for the Quantum Archives. <What is your question?> B. You focus on excelling at Lexicology. If you do well, perhaps you'll ern the right to work on complete decoding of the Magi language! C. You focus on Artiology. You want to truly find out what you are great at creating, and figure out if you can take up a Duty where you can make something crucial to your civilisation! D. You focus on Anterology. Iustrio hates you, but you've survived a Delve and been made out to be some sort of Prentice hero. In spite of everything, you want to become a Delvist - or at the least a Fabricist with access to the magical items that Ruby desires. E. You focus on Caelology. You want to become a Stormchaser, like Chloy and try to solve the mystery of the Storm. F. You head back to Bortwin's workshop. He will talk to you now, and you want to work with him on sourcing carentium, and how to make more Blackness. G. You hang out with your friends. You can take it a bit easy and still pass everything so why not! Maybe together you and Trev, Cel and Kass can figure out as a group if you want to do something together! H. You focus on nothing. You keep spreading your time equally to ensure you pass everything. You'll be happy with whatever Academy roles are open for you. I. You experiment with the Blackness. Both inside the city, up on the Bluff, and outside the city. You have no access to magical energy, but you can draw on the colours of things too, or emotions. You try and ^meld^ [something?] You need to figure out your limitations, what you can do, and why. J. You spend time with Kel, alleviating his boredom as he chafes to return to Vigil. You want to keep that bond strong, maybe you will need his help or want to go exploring with him again one day? K. You take your red box outside town and make a start with your own translation efforts. You find a tiny, secret cave in the forest and turn it into a hideout of sorts safe from prying eyes to study. L. [Something else] busb fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Jan 28, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 04:37
|
|
|
ASAPRockySituation posted:J just a small point of clarification - neither Kel nor Imogen are Emberguard yet. Emberguard are the elite, and typically come from rich families that can pay to outfit them. You had an offer to take up the most common route to become one, and you assume your sister did too. Both of you turned it down. But perhaps you believe that one day they will become one? busb fucked around with this message at 12:43 on Jan 24, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 12:41
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:Did we ever get a good explanation for why our sister insanely decided to enlist instead of going ember guard? It's like being offered a commission and instead opting for infantry. A spectacularly lovely decision on her part. While your offer included Gratitude money to become a page, it did not include the entirety of what a full Emberguard is required to pay come the end of their training period. If your sister received the same offer as you, it would have eventually required a large sum for arms and armour that would have beggared your family. The struggles of your tavern to survive in those years may have been more obvious to her than it was to you, and she has told you before when you asked that she didn't want her choice to restrict your own Duty calling.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 13:41
|
|
|
Volmarias posted:Do we have paying for the semester covered yet? Good thing to mention! After your class prizes last cycle and working with Bortwin you have 2 lead knuckles and 15 copper nails to your name, and your graduation tithe for the cycle was 4 knuckles. Your service on the Delve was considered to be paid for by the Academy - but only for the alloted time you were to be gone. Perhaps one of the reasons why Lalian was eventually usurped by her Secondary. As such, the half cycle you were meant to be at the Academy for is your only tithe owed, and your graduation tithe will be 2 knuckles - which you can cover without resorting to desperate measures. That said, if you wish to earn some quick coin in this time you can writein to do so - it would be doing various menial tasks around the Academy but wouldn't net you more than a handful of knuckles.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2020 05:14
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:We didn't manage to pawn that metal we salvaged with Kel? You remind Kel when he's in his bed. He looks a bit sheepish and says "Oh yeah uh. Completely slipped my mind. It was bundled up in my stuff and someone offered to take it off my hands no questions asked. I was going to give you a share, honest! Here!" He rummages around in a pouch under his pillows and hands you 8 nails. You look at them and at him sceptically. "Hey, he said it was real poor quality scrap, and it wasn't uh, exactly Administration endorsed. Plus i had to carry it out of the cave for you!" Kel protests. Do you press him for a larger share... or let it lie? It's not the first time he's kind of assumed what to do with something ostensibly yours. busb fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Jan 27, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2020 06:04
|
|
|
Apologies for everyone quoting me above, he handed you 8 copper nails, not 8 lead knuckles
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2020 06:43
|
|
|
19th FullToil, 263d As you get into studying, a momentary thought strikes you. Usually you'd be stressing about earning your tuition for the year - and you don't have enough coin to pay for it from your remaining prize money. But you did slip Kel some scrap metal from the Delve in his stash! It had slipped your mind, but remembering and with Kel in the Academy infirmary you can find out. busb posted:You remind Kel when he's in his bed. He looks a bit sheepish and says "Oh yeah uh. Completely slipped my mind. It was bundled up in my stuff and someone offered to take it off my hands no questions asked. I was going to give you a share, honest! Here!" He rummages around in a pouch under his pillows and hands you 8 nails. You accept the nails, and thank him for them - you know he'll always do right by you and it can't have been easy. Friends wouldn't stiff friends after all! Kel smiles nervously at you, and you let him squirm uncomfortably for a moment before you change the topic. You internally shrug. If he needs coin that badly then he is welcome to it, you guess. That's twice now you've openly looked at Kel's slight selfishness. But can you really blame him? You've done or would do the same. busb posted:A. Although you are going to easily pass Quantology now, you recall that part of your final class requirement was the positing of an interesting, crucial question. You spend time thinking and devising such a question to ask, hoping it gets chosen for the Quantum Archives. You desire carentium. Where can you find more? With a couple of weeks before exams and confidence that you'll pass, you decide that what you need to do is to really stand out. Not just that, but you've discovered to your own pain and scarring how a lack of power is hindering you. You want to be strong, you want more. Excelling at Quantology - where you have a natural predilection - and seeking more carentium. Two goals you have, and you've been given a way to find out. Bortwin warned you against mentioning anything to do with carentium, but you must know. You must! Bortwin posted:“I thought this new alloy could be a tool, a strength. But this tale could be the most important, and dangerous fact we’ve faced since the Storms began.” So you try to reword and conjure up a question that will attract the attention of the Quantum Archivists. You decide quickly not to actually mention carentium in any way. You need to pose your question as insightful, but not dangerous after all. Cel jokingly irritates you about what could be so interesting that it's making you space out during meals. You smile and try and focus on socialising, but quickly revert back to mentally considering the implications of each word in your question. 13th Duty, 263d Your exams come and go. Anterology is tough as you expected, but Iustrio's malevolence is kept in check for a change, and you surprised until you notice the Profektus observing the challenges. Most importantly, you write up your Quantology Question at the end of your exam, pre:Consensus: Given inevitable population increase, Cities must expand, or new Cities must be founded. The Liberator's protection must be increased or new forms must be created. The Storm is changing, we must change with it. Hypothesis 1: New material to protect us from Storm exists deep underground Hypothesis 2: New material exists underwater Hypothesis 3: New material does not exist Hypothesis 4: New material exists, and is held in reserve Question: "How can one predict where this material will be found?" 14th Duty, 263d You wake to Initia Fabricist Bikami shaking your shoulders. "Come." she simply says. You try to speak but he shushes you, and you scamper to keep up as you briskly walk outside and into the Quantologic Compound. You wait with Bikami's reassuring hand on your shoulder, until at some unseen signal, she walks you past the Custodia and into a small antechamber. Several older Senior Fabricists sit facing you. "I am Senior Quantologist Paum. Prentice Jeffrey, you have won the honour of Questioning.. My colleagues here have considered your question, and none have been able to answer it. Perhaps obviously so, or this land would be tamed already. Nonetheless, Initia Fabricist Bikami assures us of your promise, even though there were several other questions more complex than yours. The Archivist is, as always, engaged in several complex tasks. I will interrupt it briefly for your question. Until you once again return to this chamber you will not speak. Your ears will not hear. But you may look upon the wonder of what we have built. Come."  And with that Bikami releases your shoulder and ushers you forward, and Paum walks briskly out. You follow him down stairs, circling down and down until you feel dizzy. Some strange pale yellow streak of luminescent paint or fungus lights your way. You momentarily consider what it would look like to the Blackness, but shake the thoguht from your head. You're walking for perhaps 10 minutes and are slightly winded when you reach the bottom of the stairs, and a small room with a large, secure iron door at its end. A pale quantologist with a strange device in one hand waits for you both to approach. It looks like newpyrus, but with a strange raised fibrous fur-like surface. Paum places her hand firmly on the surface, and the fur wriggles to consume the hand. You almost gasp, but in a few seconds, Paum removes her hand whole, and the furry newpyrus releases her, then starts wriggling and moving until it reshapes itself into the shape of a hand. This is placed on a shelf alongside may other hands, and then the quantologist beckons you over, with a new furry newpyrus for your hand.  You place your hand in, and you feel a light tickle. This does make you gasp, and the quantologist rolls his eyes at you, apparently this reaction is not unexpected. What is unexpected is the quick spark you feel inside your chest, which causes the tendrils to stop wriggling very quickly. Your hand sits as if on a soft carpet, but your hand is not consumed as Paum's was. The quantologist looks confused and gives it a shake, then removes it and looks at it carefully, as it malfunctioned. He places it gently to the side, gets another from a very small stack, then approaches you again, looking at you with eyes narrowed. poo poo. You think quickly and try and will the Blackness to still. This doesn't look harmful, let it act on you, you think. Again the tickling causes you momentary discomfort, but you focus on quelling the Blackness inside you, until it relents and eventually the fur consumes your hand, and then removed. It forms a hand properly, but as you watch it wriggles and shows a couple of circular scars clear across the back of it. It's your hand, to the smallest detail. Paum then irritably beckons you to hurry up, and walks you through the now opened doorway, which is shut behind you. You don't know what you expected, but it wasn't really this. A half dozen young quantologists sit on chairs facing another room. With one hand they scribble away frantically at sheets of parchment, and with the other, it is spread, palm first and fingers outstretched into a darkened, and mostly opaque glass pane. One of the quantologists briefly moves his hand from the glass to stretch his hand and you see a palmprint clearly indented into the glass. And where the palmprint is, the shadowing is noticeably clearer. As you walk past him, you look at his scribblings. There are a mix of numbers and letters that don't mean a whole lot to you. Every so often, the others stop writing briefly to stretch and flex their tired fingers that touch the glass pane. Paum touches the shoulder of the man and another woman and they both startle in shock and look around. Paum smiles and nods at the door, and the quantologists look both disappointed and relieved, but they quickly nod and smile in obvious gratitude, and quickly - almost at a run - tap the shoulders of the other quantologists and they quickly leap up and empty the room. Paum sits you in one, takes the other then motions you to look through the palmprint. The room on the other side is… bright. Now that you're not protected by the shadowed glass through the palmprint, you see what looks like… thin filaments of black thread? It threads are very thin, but you feel yourself drawn to it. With a shock you realise it's carentium. It sings and calls to you.  The threads bend and almost pierce the source of the room's light. It's brightness is almost blinding - would be blinding without the darkened glass between you. It's not constant either, it moves around, and throws incandescent shadows on the stone walls, floor and roof. Paum indulgently smiles at your wonder; though perhaps not truly comprehending the particular nature of your wonder. He then places his hand imperfectly against the palmprint in front of him. His hand is much larger, but momentarily the window shifts and moves until it readjusts to perfect space for him. His face then goes blank, and the light in the room pulses. You look at the window. You look through the palmprint, and your curiosity overcomes you. You feel like you shouldn't be doing this, but Liberator drat it, you can't help yourself. You place your hand on the window, and the Blackness sparks once again. You try to hold it in check, but the carentium so close to you overcomes you. You ^grasp^ the Blackness. Your other self look to the side, and Paums lips move, but no sound comes out. But somehow… you hear the vibrations along the glass in your fingers. "I have a question. Answer it for me and you will be Indulged." "Yes, anything, we will answer it. We will answer it!" The vibration answers excitedly, greedily, desperately. You feel pity for a second, and then you look at the room. With the Blackness you see the Thing as it is.  And it is beautiful. Every colour you can imagine intertwined and twisting and pulsing infinitely, in every direction, and in ways that are impossible. It makes your head feel hot, and your other hand clutches your head. *Stop. Close your eyes strange one. We cannot think with you ^shouting^ your pain so The thing whispers to you. You close your eyes and briefly feel its attention wander away. Paum's vibrations resume "How can we detect the existence of carentium ore?" "You think to imprison another of us? You will not, for I… this one of us is all that is left." You ^feel^ its pain. Why does it hurt so? Its attention shifts back to you: *You have touched the ether, Black one. You have seen it, what's more you have (^used^) it. We have never met one such as you before. My… (^pain^) Our curiosity is piqued. One moment* You ^feel^ a pulse, but not at you. You see movement to your side, and Paum's eyes glaze over, and his hand flops from the pane to his side.  *We will engage with that one soon. Our trade pains us, but my need to commune, even briefly, is worth the price. Our need. Our need.* *A new thing, new knowledge, we must understand you. Perhaps, Etherwrought, you will enter into a trade with us? Tell me what you are, and we will answer your questions. While our past trades have caused... pain... to this world, Rest assured that until I am freed from this cage nothing will leave us...me.* Vote ^*^ - the Light One A. Oh no. no no no. this was a mistake. You've had enough of deals with imprisoned beings from the void, the ether, other worlds whatever the gently caress. Release the Blackness, remove your hand and be finished here. You want no part of this. B. This thing has answers, and is willing to trade your knowledge for them. It did warn you of previous hurt to your world it caused, but maybe, this time, you can trust it? busb fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Jan 28, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 05:39
|
|
|
busb posted:B. This thing has answers, and is willing to trade your knowledge for them. It did warn you of previous hurt to your world it caused, but maybe, this time, you can trust it? You think for a moment, and questions are all that bubble to your mind. You're fumbling in the dark and you're tired of it. If this being can shine some light on things, your story is but a small price to pay. So you tell it of being struck by a Stormstrike, and that the carentium feather and iron brooch melted together and now live inside you. *No, manthing. That is incorrect, neither iron nor carentium contain such properties to allow this bonding. Describe it more* So you tell it more. Of climbing the statue, of the feeling of being stuck to it, and of Hanah and how she made you clean the whole statue helm to toe, feather to feet. This causes the being to sparkle excitedly, and then it asks you with what you were cleaning. You are puzzled, and tell it a cloth of course! *No no no no NO! The solvents, the liquids, the mixtures, the agents, describe them all!* You struggle to recall them, they were mostly just in different coloured jars or bottles and you merely knew which ones to use for brass, for bronze, or for stone. You'd have to ask Hanah to know for sure, or research statue cleaning Duty materials. *Ahhhh yes. your information is accepted. Your half of the trade is done. Well Etherwrought, you have questions. Ask them of us. I will answer until the information we have shared is equal to the value of what you have shared to us. Quickly now, when our Gaoler wakes, you had best not be touching the ^glassdoorconduit^* Chatrapati posted:Can we ask it to be more specific when it says "pain"?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 12:43
|
|
|
sheep-dodger posted:I have met beings that seem similar to you, but only contain one color, like amber or ruby, are they aspects of you, related to you in some fashion, or are they entirely dissimilar from you? *We are not of the ether, but we visit it ^somewheretime^. We would look the same as you see before you now Those in the ether are touched, hunted, exiled, imprisoned, hidden, lost or hungry. You see beings of the ether as colours, as jewels, but that is but one way of viewing it. Of seeing it. Of touching it. I do not know these entities by those names. But they could be many. Or they could be few. We have traded with most in our times. They ^know^ much. You see me as colour also? That is strange, but not too dissimilar to how ^flesheyes^ view us. This projection of yours is a ^glasscurverefract^. it shapes how you see, how you hear, how you ^thinkfeel^. But we are always us. Until we are I. I do not want to be I. I desire to be us.* Its sparkles dull.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 13:31
|
|
|
Toughy posted:Did we describe the choice between Ruby and the other weaker voice? You described what you experienced. *We cannot identify with any certainty.* *These chains are likely an etheric connection to an entity. It will carry energy to it. For what use, we cannot say. From what you say it seeks to escape the ether through this power*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 13:57
|
|
|
Gridlocked posted:How do we view them like you view them, how do we perceive the way ^entities^ perceive? *To view eternity as we do, you would need to be one of us. You are not. You cannot. You are of the flesh.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 14:00
|
|
|
Natural 20 posted:When we try to absorb colours, if there is too much colour we hurt ourselves. *You are faint, weak in this form. In my shackles I am weaker still. But if you try to take in more than you can store, you will overflow and it will corrupt into ^toxinwaste^. It is the same with any power. I have no word for this new alloy, one will need to be made eventually. Make and absorb more. These shackles of mine would suit, but this barrier between us is too strong for us. Otherwise each of your cities contains two shards of it. Prerefined. Other than that, the Sundering imploded all known veins of the unstable ore, causing much of the damage your world is suffering now You would need to find pre-Sundering refined sources, or ore somehow protected during the event.*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 14:28
|
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:What was the Sundering? *The casting of a spell that sunk mountains, cities and men, and damaged the barrier between this world and the ether.* Crazycryodude posted:What is the Storm? Why is it changing? Can we stop it? *The weakened barrier reacts in ways too chaotic for you or us to truly understand. The ^etherpowerenegy^ seeps through, and upon reaching its limit, discharges. Not unlike you, but a thousand, thousand times more violent, and unfocused.* *If it is changing, then it must have been weakened again. To stop it changing there must be no more interference with the ether.* super sweet best pal posted:Can we form a link with you as we did the Ruby entity? *A link! * The light pulses brightly *Ah to be connected once more. But no, etherwrought. I am not of ^placehomegaol^. We are too different, and you would ^braindeath^.*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 28, 2020 22:55
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:Who or what is the Liberator, really? Is he from here? *I have been in this prison since before he and his arrived here. We do not know. If you discover it, we would appreciate this information.* Mr. Prokosch posted:
*Ah before the Sundering... We knew it well, for we were here gathering information for eons. Cruelty is a human concept, one which we had no experience of until these bonds were threaded through us. A mage did this to us many years before the Sundering, separated us from our ^wholeness^. This mage was cruel, now we know cruelty. This information we have gained is the first in our vast knowledge across millennia and multitudes that has ever hurt us. We have traded with many other mages and entities. None have ever been cruel to us, but nor were they able to be* Mr. Prokosch posted:Can the ether energy be focused? Made to serve instead of destroy? Mr. Prokosch posted:
*You are a product of your past. Your people create and fabricate, and you have imprinted this. To modify yourself is to enact chaos upon your being. You would no longer be the fleshling Jeffrey, but something else. Already you have been changed to be something and someone else. This Ruby entity you spoke of moulded you as a ^youngflame^, while you were still adapting and growing. We recommend retaining your self now, or your mind will ^fragmentsplit^.* It pauses with a soft glimmer. *If this entity shaped your flesh from the ether they are likely very, very skilled. If they merely manipulated your memories or thoughts, they are probably weak*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 01:17
|
|
|
Natural 20 posted:Can you be freed? How would we do it? *We can be freed if our bonds are broken. Perhaps if you had something and time enough to cut through this barrier. Then could carry us to the surface, treat us like the feather, and left us to a Storm discharge. Do not let the thinness of our chains deceive you, it would require four of you to have the strength to even move us, let alone carry us to the surface. These ones would stop you.* *We have been conversing but several moments in this projected space, time flows different for us here. The Gaoler will wake soon after you return.* ASAPRockySituation posted:Do Mages still visit you today? *I have had no contact with others apart from the white-robed things you saw. My bonds also shield us. We are invisible to seeking eyes* It dulls again. ASAPRockySituation posted:Do the entities here hurt you? *Our existence here is pain. We answer mundane questions and are rewarded with a glimpse of our others, once every so often when they are pleased with us. Without this, I would go mad. Perhaps we already are, our solitariness is changing us.* ASAPRockySituation posted:What would you do if you were freed? *We would return to ^otherhomeplace^. We would become whole again.* ASAPRockySituation posted:Can my ^blackness^ be detected by humans, mage or otherwise? It doesn't answer for many beats. *if you appear as you are now, sensitive things such as us can see you. Perhaps your fleshself could be discovered by ^relativenegativeassociation^. A lack of energy, or bending of power where there should be none may be detectable.* ASAPRockySituation posted:Is there a technique you can teach us to discover who is interfering with the ether? It seems confused *Nothing is interfering with the ether. It simply is. The barrier between it and your world has been weakened and it leaks through. You already know who weakened the ether, for they took the energy from you to do so.* *It may not have been its intention, but it is.* If a light could sound begrudging, it does.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 04:15
|
|
|
*Our trade quickly comes to an end Etherwrought. Ask your final questions, for the Gaoler stirs. You should not visit us again for your own sake. We foresee no such future opportunity like the one we have just had.*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 04:19
|
|
|
Mr. Prokosch posted:Under what conditions would the ore be protected? Where would refined sources be stored pre-Sundering? *If the ore was stored within or close to a large enough refined piece of Carentium, some of it may have avoided reacting to the spell. It was highly prized by mages pre-sundering for its ability to connect to and and stabilise channels to the ether. We have told this to your people many times, due to its very nature it cannot be scried for even if you had a mage to assist. Areas that the Storm affects less than others perhaps. I have not enough information to make a conclusion on the matter, and have sought such data for centuries.* busb fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jan 29, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 04:55
|
|
|
super sweet best pal posted:Is it possible to make new carentium using energies from a Storm? *Condensing energy to create matter is exceptionally rare, but it is the ability you possess. Possible? Yes. However, unless you create and absorb much, much more of your alloy to contain it, using the Storm in this way would result in your destruction with a ninety-nine point nine per cent probability.*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 05:07
|
|
|
sheep-dodger posted:Does us moving things into the ether contribute to the disturbance that worsens the storm?? *No, not unless you take more from the ether than you bring, or the reverse*
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 10:09
|
|
|
I'll be closing question time in 1 hr 50 minutes.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 10:10
|
|
|
The light twinkles at you. *He begins to stir. You must leave. But before you do, tell me Etherwrought; what is it you treasure most above all. One word. What do you desire?* Vote ^*^ - I want A. Freedom B. Power C. Knowledge D. Death E. Life F. Absurdity G. Compassion H. Consumption busb fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jan 30, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 12:07
|
|
|
Updated the vote options with one word concepts based on your writeins. If you suggested an option I'll assume that's where your vote lies unless you vote otherwise.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 23:39
|
|
|
AnAnonymousIdiot posted:This might be absurd but, Compassion Absurdity is option F, Compassion is now option G!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2020 00:35
|
|
|
Vote count: A. Freedom - sheep, Cryo (2) B. Power - Prok, Nat20 (2) C. Knowledge - ASAP (1) D. Death - E. Life - F. Absurdity - Grid (1) G. Compassion - Anon, ssbp (2)
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2020 04:24
|
|
|
A new voter appears, welcome to the thread! As a new voice, it would be interesting to hear your take on things so far! Voting will close soon (tm)
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2020 23:19
|
|
|
Voting is closed.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 00:54
|
|
|
busb posted:
You think of all the things you want. Of breaking your chains, of being strong enough to make sure those who treated you ill cannot do so again. You think of your friends and family, and everyone else, and how every single day is a struggle. You struggle. * Ah. I see. A conflicted one, no unity of purpose. Very rarely are your kind pure; it is no slight upon you.* *Before you leave, we will tell you one thing. Given the information I have, I have predicted that one day, you will return to me. To us. There is a fifteen point zero-three-seven-five per cent chance that such an encounter will lead to my freedom. I will make a free bargain with you to not trade any information you have given me, until your death.* It sparkles at you. *The Stranger has arrived, seek them.* And with that you return to your fleshself, and your hand slips from the barrier. Several seconds pass, before Paum stirs next to you and then frowns and reaches to his barrier handprint again to resume. You sit there dazed, while lights sparkle and shine around the room. It would be quite the spectacle if you weren't thinking of everything you just learned. You look at your hands. You feel no stronger, no smarter, no more powerful. But perhaps that's not important. Perhaps being pure of purpose like the Light's thirst for knowledge is not for you, and perhaps there's good in that. The rest of the visit passes like a blur, and you assume your inner contemplation is easily conflated with the awe that previous Prentices had felt going into that chamber. You return to your own chambers, mumble a good night to Trev, and slip into sleep. 18 Duty, 263d You're in the garden, idly crushing a glassy petal in your fingers. The past few days were a blur. Ever since asking your question you've felt… disquieted. Uncomfortable. To learn what is housed deep below the Academy and what it does. You're not the only one with chains binding you. It also brings other questions to mind. Does the Administration know about it? If they do, then what do they know? Paum and Bikami didn't seem concerned, you're sure that no Prentice had dared try to communicate with it before. Perhaps anybody else wouldn't have even been able to?  You pluck off the remaining petals, and crush them into powder and watch it fall through your fingers. Somehow, the Academy seems small all of a sudden. You graduated just fine after all, although it still hurt your ego to see your class placing so low. A combination of hard work and shady dealings and lies with the Profektus and about the Delve has let you graduate. And what the hell is going on with Jinda trying to smother recovery of Delve artefacts? Very little makes complete sense, but you're starting to get a better picture of.. well everything. And nothing. You pluck another flower, and see its sap slowly leak from the stem. Strange how even robbed of its colour, the plant continues to live. You've had interviews with each of Initia Fabrici, and you've managed to seem interested enough to work hard and catch up to your cohort.  Quantology went excellently of course, and you could focus on that, you suppose. You now know that your people are enslaving and torturing an eternal being of light as the basis of every prediction. Oh sure most quantologists will never descend that bunker, and there is plenty of work to do that isn't directly related to its agony. Lexicology - well you were a shoo-in there too. Your work on the Delve in the event of poor Delvist Neira's death would have been enough, even if you weren't one of the most promising young lexicologists of your cohort Artiology did not go well, you've not been able to impress Jantus with any kind of flair for smithing or creating things with your hands. Oh you could show him what you can make with the Blackness, you suppose with a wry smile. An image of you, chained to a wall in bonds of iron and your body pierced with carentium comes to mind. That will not be you, you swear to yourself. Anterology… you chuckle bitterly. Your placement was poor, you even placed lower than students who failed out. You can still remember Timothy and Octava's faces when they realised they had failed, and you had not. If the Custodia weren't present and dragging them off, you were quite certain that Octava would have ripped your head clean off. You hope you don't run into her again. Dapimo stares at you, face blank. But still, the Profektus laid a hand on Iustrio's shoulder and you were offered a chance to continue there. Caeology was pleasant, and Initia Fabricist Yang almost had tears in her eyes while she talked to you. But she was all formality on the outside, and insists that you could do much to learn from them and understand the Storm. You wriggle a bit at that. You understand more about the Storm than most people alive. What you don't know is what the other faculties know of the Quantum Archives. And so you sit here, destroying tiny, inconsequential pieces of the garden which you drained cycles ago. Your future at the Academy is secured, for now. Your Prenticeship over, you would have two more years as an Indurate before becoming a fully fledged Fabricist. You would focus on your field of study, and face an examination at the end of the two cycle period. But what you would get… is freedom. Of a sort. "You have probably not seen many Indurates around the grounds. For a simple reason - they are not often here." The Profektus said to you all. "Should you choose to stay on the path for ultimate knowledge with our great Academy, you may be required to travel elsewhere by your faculty's Senior Fabricists. You will receive a relevant Duty permit, and you will be expected to serve, learn and profit. You have shown you have the capacity to study. Now, you will prove your ability to be productive." But you don't have to. Trev and Cel are all but confirmed to join the Artiology faculty - the one place you failed to impress. Or maybe it's time you broke off and did your own thing… sought your own Duty and destiny both? Vote 19 - Postgrad blues A. You take up a position in the Quantology department. You will work on models and such, and perhaps eventually get close to the Archives. But this is probably many cycles away to reach that level of trust and capability. It would give you some sort of access though, if you were so inclined to try and break the Light out. B. You take up a position in the Lexicology department. You will work scribing and translating, perhaps itinerantly around the lands in the search for written knowledge. Maybe you will get trusted enough to formally work on translation. With the vast resources and scavenged materials, it would definitely help you do it quicker than you could ever manage moonlighting on the side. C. You take up a position in the Anterology department. You are highly unpopular in the Faculty, but you will (hopefully) receive access to magical items, and Delves eventually - and probably the best shot at finding new refined carentium. D. You take up a position in the Caelology department. You'll get to travel the world and investigate strange things, and maybe get to work with Chloy. It's not a very prestigious faculty, and looked down on by the other four faculties for its lack of earning potential. E. x y You are smart, cocky and precocious. You approach the Profektus and tell him that you can do two subjects at once. You have no idea if this is possible or not, and haven't heard of anyone else doing this. But you try to convince him that your Duty (X and Y faculties) are so intertwined that you can't just pick one! F. You leave the Academy. You made it through your Prenticeship, and your skills will be useful no matter where you go. But you can't stay here. You just can't. (this will trigger a new vote for what we actually want as a Duty instead) G. You approach Bortwin and beg him to take you under his wing - either in Artiology or to assist him in his oreology experiments. H. You're done with this. You hated it, you just want to go home. You leave and go back to Gratitude - back to being Jeffrey Tavernboy. But hey you can read, write and do complicated arithmetic, skills you can use to help your family! I. You leave. Now. Today. This life is not what you want. You don't want to live under these rules anymore. DOn't want to live under any rules. You take off into the wilderness and live as an outlaw. Free of constraints, you will be able to accomplish anything, everything! J. [Something else]
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 05:02
|
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:E - AD If your proposal for dual-classing fails, i will take the class mentioned first as your priority vote, so this would be a vote for Quantology should E win but not work out.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 06:51
|
|
|
super sweet best pal posted:Before we make a decision about what to do, can we talk to Bortwin about what we learned and get his opinion? If you receive substantial voter support to talk to Bortwin you can. What exactly do you want to tell him? His opinion would likely be whatever would provide him with carentium.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 08:07
|
|
|
busb posted:If you receive substantial voter support to talk to Bortwin you can. What exactly do you want to tell him? Same goes to anyone else at the academy, do you want to ask anyone for advice on what you should do? You only need support if you're going to tell them things - like information gained in a secret deal with an enslaved transdimensional ball of light.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 08:13
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 03:16 |
|
|
Chatrapati posted:These are all paid positions, right? I'd like it if we could start sending money back home. Mr. Prokosch posted:Sweet summer child. Sort of. If you wish to squirrel away funds to your family, then now is definitely a time to consider it. I haven't gone directly into earning capabilities yet, but you are expected to be fairly independent this year, and you don't have classes per se. Your faculty will expect you to earn an amount to prove you are productive and worthy of being a full Fabricist. The more you earn the more favour you will gain. If that even matters to you. Your Duty (as a Prentice) and potentially a Faculty permit will give you access to a variety of earning opportunities. You can always purchase additional permits if you wish to. If you seek illegal ways of earning money, well then you'd best have some way of making it seem Duty/Permit legitimate. Natural20 posted:Any chance we can have a small sum up on how Trev did? Like you, his rankings are very poor. You have only 15 left alive in your cohort, and you, Trev and Dapimo were all that returned from the Delve. You three take up the bottom 3 ranks in every class. I didn't go into too much detail, for while the Academy realises it is due to the Delve and reduced your pass requirement, it does not award 'bonus' marks. Trev ranked above you both in Artiology, Dapimo just passed you in Anterology, and you ranked above them both in Quantology, Lexicology and Caelology. Your other friends that spent the entire cycle at the Academy: Celestine is going from strength to strength, and again outright topped Artiology. You're very happy for her, and she seems to be becoming enamoured with working with lux metals such as gold and silver. While not as prestigious or useful as proper smithing, there is still a small need for pretty things. You were distressed to find out that Kass failed Lexicology, Cel tearfully told you she melted her mock exam scroll and a lot of her left hand in acid. Your erstwhile bullies Octava (Visean) and Darta (Libertian) both failed, as did Timothy Cartwright (Visean). Without you in the mix to top classes: Venadi (Libertian) topped Quantology - one of Dapimo's mates. Cold and calculating, he'd do well in the Quantum archives or in an Administration posting. Ella (Visean) topped Lexicology - She's nice, but you never regarded are as praticularly intuitive with language. Vivan (Visean) topped Anterology again, she is viewed as somewhat of a once-in-a-generation prodigy and will likely lead her own Delves one day. Bundur (Visean) topped Caelology - one of Dapimo's. He's a strange one Bundur, keeps to himself mostly, and hangs around Dapimo's gang on the fringes. Their families are all well pleased with them, and with the Academy. No rusties won a class this cycle. You feel a bit bitter, but do not begrudge Cel, nor Vivan their wins. They deserved it.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2020 01:18
|
|