The torturer turns only to be confronted with the blazing white form of Tissa, freed from her bonds and slowly sitting upright on the table. Her bracer is once more upon her (though you didn’t see fit to provide her other gear) and her righteous fury is in full force.

“Guards!” Jarvis cries, reaching down and flinging a handful of powder into Tissa’s face as she charges him. She stumbles back, choking and coughing, as he and the three acolytes flee out the sole door to the room. Scant seconds later several guards rush in, but by then Tissa has not only recovered but retrieved her sword from the chests of her gear lining the far wall.

The exchange is short, not because of a lack of skill on the part of the guards (the are actually quite good... for dungeon guards) but more the lack of ability to inflict any sort of damage. Over the past few months it seems Tissa has practiced a new form of combat that eschews any form of defense. Suicidal for most, but considering her shielding bracer -- well, it’s very effective for her.

The foes dispatched, she quickly clothes, arms herself in her standard white plate, and retrieves the rest of her personal belongings, praying her thanks to Loris the entire time. When she finally steps into the hall she cuts a menacing figure indeed, a steel-clad avatar of justice wreathed in burning white flames and holding an illuminated brand in the shape of a sword.

By this time, of course, the guards have prepared. She is met not with a wall of steel but a wall of wood. Arrows, to be precise. Poisoned ones. Dozens of them fly down the hall and bombard her with every step, and though they are harmless thanks to her impenetrable armor you can’t help but concede they would serve for almost all normal threats. Still, though they can not penetrate or harm she breaks from the hall... perhaps not wishing to test the limits of her armor? You can not be sure, but whatever the reason she ducks into the nearest doorway. Quorin’s room.

After a quick check to ensure he is alive and an even quicker one that verifies he will not be waking any time soon (oh Tissa, trying to slap a torture victim awake...) she ducks back into the hall and rain of arrows, quickly dispatching and routing the guards. A trip back and she now has the wizard slung over her left shoulder, a weighty burden but well within her ability it seems.

At least, until reinforcements arrive.

You see them, dozens of tough men flooding the underground and closing in on Tissa. Invincible she may be, but if they should figure out she can be borne down and captured despite that by sheer weight of numbers then you don’t fancy her chances... especially as she is currently wandering aimlessly through the maze-like underground labyrinth, ignorant of the exit.

>Sorry about no OmniQuest last week, I can't claim finals did it but there was other end-of-semester stuff to take care of. Plus another quest I follow was running both of the days I planned to do it. Should now resume normal schedule.

nice omniQuest is back, and curses I seem to have missed a session.

>especially as she is currently wandering aimlessly through the maze-like underground labyrinth, ignorant of the exit.
update the bracer so that is can project a small 3-d map of the building it is in, or just the parts the wearer has been.

Wait, did you combine suggestions from the end of the last thread? This sequence of events only sort of matches...

>Wait, did you combine suggestions from the end of the last thread?
Yeah. You just finished checking Quorin's state and then flipped back into where Tissa was to see this.

Part 1: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14304400/
Part 2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14309655/
Part 3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14330103/
Part 4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14365301/
Part 5: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14397582/
Part 6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14420843/
Part 7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14452357/
Part 8: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14474488/
Part 9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14498610/
Part 10: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14536106/
Part 11: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14605848/
Part 12: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14638251/
Part 13: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14683694/
Part 14: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14728319/
Part 15: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14757126/
Part 16: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14802429/
Part 17: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14859567/>>14949535

Tissa needs to know which way to run.

>>14949525 has a good suggestion, but I think it'd be more effective if she just heard whispered suggestions about which way she should turn to get to the nearest exit. That way she's not messing around with trying to learn a new function of the bracer, and she already thinks her deity intervened on her behalf.

>maze-like underground labyrinth

I don't recall this being mentioned before...

>reinforcements

To take a suggestion from the previous thread, give the opposing forces a subtle curse of ill fortune.

>>14949735
Yeah, sure. As long as you stay subtle with it and don't go for a direct manifestation.

>>14949735
Honestly, I think the whispered, almost subconscious suggestions on where to go, would be best. Of course, that's if we have the subtlety for that.
Regular whispered suggestions, "Go right" "Second door on the left" kind of stuff, if we can't get anything more subtle.

>>14949525
I support this one

>>14949525
>>14950027
will take her a bit to figure out the exit for herself, but it is now more a matter of time than pure luck

>>14950036
>>14950027
>>14949525
While we are on that topic, I think we should make the armor from the baracer burn her enemies if they touch it.


they won't be able to just tackle her down at leat, but a cleaver enemy could use nets or somthing still so she won't be completely impervious

>>14950051
A cleaver enemy? Run! Flee the animate cutlery!

No, there’s no way the paladin will emerge on her own you decide. Steps need to be taken.

With this in mind you lay a subtle, temporary blanket of minor misfortune across the guards. Intuition fails, miscommunications occur, and long experience is questioned. Still, though the search is slowed and weaknesses begin to appear in their ranks you know it will not be enough. Not with Tissa still wandering aimlessly in search of an exit.

You dip down alongside the divinely-fueled warrior and look her over. A determined set of features, the long braid of red hair running down her back, and clad in her white plate and invincible armor of flames over that, she strikes an imposing figure. In her right hand she holds her sword, blazing with a incandescent white power that leaves afterimages in the eyes. In her left or, rather, over her left shoulder lies the limp and insensate Kamada mage Quorin. At present her determined pace is simply leading her deeper into the underground complex. This will not do.

Softly, and with only the slightest touch to her senses, you give direction. Slight pressure changes to her inner ear. Barely-perceptible whispers on the edge of hearing. Gentle guiding pushes that could be mistaken for breaths of air. Hardly noticible, but to a paladin who has just been rescued from horrific tortures by her ‘goddess’... significant. For nearly five minutes you guide her swiftly and surely toward the nearest exit, but eventually the inevitable happens. Hexed they may be, but the sheer numbers and original training do not fail them completely; eventually they round a corner to come face to face with the paladin of Loris.

Tissa is first to act, unceremoniously dumping her wizardly burden to the floor and springing into action. Her blazing form is enough to shock the five guards into a brief retreat filled with shouts and pain as one is cut down, but quickly enough they regroup and surround her. Steel rings against steel as the blades clash, and the two in front are dispatched with precise efficient strikes. They are, after all, mere soldiers and guards. No match for a master swordswoman and lifelong-trained warrior such as Tissa, enhanced even further by the blessings of her goddess.

Still, one of the two behind her does manage to land a thrust into her left armpit where there would usually be a gap in the armor. Admirable, but it of course deals no damage at all to the flame-clad fighter. He quickly pays for the blow with his life and his compatriot follows, cut down under a merciless rain of glowing, brutally powerful strikes that shatter blade and rend armor asunder.

As she stoops to collect her friend after the battle, however, an ominous sign makes itself known. The cries and ring of battle were far from silent and others have quickly come to investigate. Even worse, you feel the presence of a scrying mage searching the corridors around this location. Not terribly powerful, assigned to guard duty rather than combat... but precise, quick, and efficient in his search nonetheless. It is only a matter of time before he finds the paladin, despite her renewed sprint toward the exit just ahead.

>>14950313
It seems Quorin would be useful here. She needs some mage support. Perhaps give the bracer's aura a slight, passive restoration effect. Enough to perhaps rouse him?

>>14950313
Would an anti-scrying field be advisable in this situation? Not one that prevents scrying in a bubble, but one that hides the target from scrying altogether?
I'm sure that while Laressa's guards would have had time to catalogue Tissa's equipment, it's doubtful they would have been able to list all of the magical properties of her gear.
Becoming hidden from scrying might be chalked up to a power of her equipment, rather than outside interference.

>>14950313
Find the strongest wall-type spell that Quorin knows. Move his body so that it looks like he's struggling for consciousness and gasping out a spell, then generate that effect to block off the bulk of the guards. After that let him "fall unconscious" again.

He won't remember waking up briefly and just barely casting it, but given his condition I imagine that no one will find his lack of memory unusual. If anything, Tissa will probably praise him later for his extraordinary- in fact, nigh-impossible- apparent efforts.

>>14950416
Specifically, not enough to fully heal him, but at least soothe.

>>14950425
This could work as well.

>>14950425
i'll go for this one.


Still do these so she doesn't get lost in during future escapades.
>>14950051
>>14949525

>>14950698
A 3D map of her surroundings, really? That's just ridiculous.

I would not be opposed to making it harder to remove after this, though- I would simply fuse whatever joints and clips normally let it be taken off into place and make the whole thing extremely difficult to destroy (i.e. need archmage-level magic or artifact-level enchanted weaponry). Tissa doesn't get to take off her bracer anymore; as payment for the goddess saving her life, she bears the reminder of her duty at all times.

>>14950764
I must concurr

>>14950764
this sounds good to me

anyone alive in here? or should go back to baking cookies?

The searching mage’s sight dances closer even as the guards close the net. You can feel it, a choking noose tightening slowly around Tissa’s neck. The power of a state and scores of soldiers and guards compared to a lone individual. Overwhelming.

But perhaps not overwhelming /enough/, you muse. Flitting around the jostled and senseless Quorin you move his form, even producing a thematically appropriate sound resembling a groan for Tissa to hear. She immediately slows, “Quorin? Be you waking? Can you walk? We are in dire peril at the present time and I shall be needing all that I might muster in our defense.”

In reply you jostle Quorin’s head back and forth while elevating his hands and buffeting them back and forth in strange jolting patterns. A few arcane fires and lights, some sounds that could have been him speaking arcane symbols and you cut your invisible strings, returning the mage to the state of a wet dishrag once more. Not all that different from his personality before the torture, you note amusedly to yourself.

As Tissa continues to try to revive the “just awakened” mage you weave a net of wards around the pair. Not very powerful, all said, but at the limit of Quorin’s prowess and likely enough to defeat the majority of moderately skilled guard mages. Enough to shield against the one searching presently at least you note with satisfaction, watching his scrying gaze pass over the two without slowing. Good.

>>14950764
I agree that the 3-D mapping feature is a bit much.
I'm a little iffy on making the bracer unremovable, though. It might be a little too overt, and might get a little touchy if she asks her goddess about it.

Eventually she gives up and resumes the last leg of her journey to the exit. It doesn’t take long to reach it and even less time to engage the pair of guards assigned to secure it. As you observe, you conclude that the battle will be over long before aid arrives. Not due to their lack of skill, mind. No, their prowess is evident. Excellent teamwork combined with a solid grounding in one of the better swordsmanship schools found in the north allows them to fight nearly on par with the paladin despite her exceptional prowess. No, it is the determination and resolve of Tissa, her divine patronage, and the invulnerability granted to her by the bracer that lets her triumph once more.

As she shrugs off the third blow of the fight (all minor, but still...) you muse over the situation. Had she been /forced/ to wear the bracer at all times then you would likely have not needed to take such drastic steps in rescuing her. Perhaps even not needed to intervene at all. Hmmm.

Tissa whips her blade around and severs the achilles tendon of one of the guards, and as she does so you reach out to the object you created, oh, perhaps a year and a half ago now. It was already strong, but you enhance that. Now not even normal methods of shattering magical objects will destroy it; only an archmage or another artifact of exceeding potency will accomplish such a feat. Furthermore, you fuse the joins together and render the item unable to be removed normally. There. Perhaps that will keep her from being so easily defeated in the future.

>>14951360
Shit, man, I could really use some cookies right now.

I'm mostly just waiting for OP to write. If he's going to.

You conclude your work just as Tissa concludes her fight, running her divinely-charged blade through the heart of the second guard. You feel the probing (and honestly somewhat perplexed, by the uncertain way it hovers) gaze of the mage zipping around the area even as you hear the sound of running guards from below. The pair managed to activate some kind of signal, you suppose. Too late. The paladin hefts Quorin and, though her breaths are coming heavy and hard at this point, once more sprints forward and outward.

Into the Spire compound. One of the most heavily guarded places on the island. Along the walls surrounding the towering edifice you see few dozen elite soldiers pointing toward the recently emerged paladin even as the runed portcullis of the gatehouse slams down.

Well, you suppose that you did know “The Pit” was beneath the Spire. And that the Spire was formerly the fortress-tower of the most powerful Archlord, as well as the main center of the government, Inquisition, army, and navy of the new order Laressa imposed. Not to mention your elf’s personal residence when she is on the island.

As Tissa freezes in indecision and you begin to wonder how she will fight free of this situation, your attention is suddenly drawn by an enormous explosion emanating from, you presume, the Inn the twins are staying at. Almost as soon as it occurs you also feel a sudden drop of the titanic magical energies that have been swirling about Kaza for the past few hours. It seems the battle has begun.

Tsk. How inconvenient. What to do?

>>14951445
Damnit, we're missing the show!
I want to see those twins writhe in pain and agony to at least make up for the efforts we've expended on them.

I don't know if we can remain subtle with Tissa's situation; buffs will only go so far, especially since the portcullis is closed. Should we try staying subtle with strength and speed boosts for Tissa?

>>14951445
Let the twins fend for themselves for a moment, perhaps checking up on them once we've ensured Tissa and Quorin's situation is tenable.

>>14951558

YES. How is that even a question?

Though I must admit, I'm a little at loss for what to do right now. Need a moment to think.

>>14951612
I'm asking if we should stick with strength, speed, and stamina boosts for Tissa so she can fight her way out.
Of course, if you can come up with a better plan, I'm all open to suggestions.

>>14951445

Let's stick with Tissa, and keep being subtle.

HOWEVER, if the Twins call for help using the emblem we left them, we'll just fetch them, and Tissa and Quorin altogether, and drop them in our office.

Since the twins were utter dicks last time though, we're going to teleport them into the office without any of their gear. Everyone's stuff can be kept in holding until they learn how to behave around us.

It might be necessary to have Quorin "wake" again. We need to know what spells he knows: We could potentially have him cast a flight spell on Tissa or something similar. That would be perfect. He's a goddamn professional mage, he has to have something worthwhile. Magical Flexibility is supremely important when you lack raw power.

>>14951689
It's too bad we can't create pocket planes that have a rate of time 50x to 100x times faster than normal, so that we could get Quorin fixed up and get him to agree to that offer from a hypercube for the raw power of an arch-mage.

Wouldn't 2 partial returns to consciousness be a little suspicious? There's also the good chance that there may be enemy mages ready here to dispel spells such as Fly.

Maybe have Quorin "wake" for long enough to teleport them into the twins' room? But teleport spells probably take time... Cast a healing spell on him, but make it look like he awoke naturally?

Do we have a name yet?

>>14951445
Tissa's a big girl with invincibility. She'll probably take a while to lose.

The twins, on the other hand, might die fast. Let's go watch their fight.

>>14951684
>HOWEVER, if the Twins call for help using the emblem we left them, we'll just fetch them, and Tissa and Quorin altogether, and drop them in our office.
If the twins use our token we can extract them, but not Tissa and Quorin. I think this is about the time to split the party.

>>14951797
Laressa named you Valerian, you seemed to approve.

>>14951841
We approve in the sense that we're letting her call us that because it's as good a label as any and we don't really give a crap.

>>14951797
>Cast a healing spell on him, but make it look like he awoke naturally?
He's taken mental damage. We can't heal mental damage because we're not omnipotent enough to fly blind.

>>14951785
Yeah, they'd dispel it and it'd be too suspicious. At this point I think our options basically come down to powering up Tissa/her gauntlet, bringing in external help, or extracting them with some level of blatancy.

So.... uh, decision? Or is all you can decide "Watch Tissa, make her fast and tough."?

>>14952193
Let's go watch the twins. Throw up an undetectable recorder to stream us a picture-in-picture of what's going on with Tissa in case she gets in serious trouble, and give her a blessing of luck to help her out.

But really, watching the twins get taken down is not to be missed.

>>14952193
I think the consensus for right now, is to give Tissa boosted strength, stamina, and speed to get herself and Quorin out of danger.

I want to watch the twins, though. They're much more likely to die within this time period, and I don't want to miss any of their suffering.

>>14952261
>is to give Tissa boosted strength, stamina, and speed
Not a ton of it, and make it fade with time so that she doesn't stay boosted. She gets this one seemingly-divinely-empowered moment, not permanent buffs all over the place.

>>14952295
Right, I forgot that detail.
It should last just long enough for her to be able to get to safety.

Couldn't we create angels or whatever to appear upon a certain condition and help her? that way we can babysit the twins while those buy her time to flee

>>14952295
Just make the buff last the day, or until she's out of immediate danger. We don't want her keeping the buff permanently nor having it run out during a possibly long and drawn out escape.

>>14952193
Okay, I'd like to know what kind of magical protections the gate and walls have. Also, are there any barriers to divine intervention up?

>>14952403
Considering that it took us annihilating two-thirds of the population of a city to come up with a mere handful of NPCs, I shudder to think at how many outsiders we'd have to mutilate in order to create some angels.

Also, as was pointed out, this is the center of Laressa's power in Kaza. The only thing that's letting Tissa do this is her literal invulnerability. Unless we made the guardians stupidly powerful they'd just get killed, and if we made them stupidly powerful then Tissa wouldn't be doing much heroing.

>>14952422
>Okay, I'd like to know what kind of magical protections the gate and walls have.
Yes.

>Also, are there any barriers to divine intervention up?
Some. Archmages don't really like pissing off the gods and only the most powerful ones can expect to hold their own. That said, they also value their privacy. There aren't specific anti-divine wards around here, but the ones that exist are universal enough that they apply to divine magics too. A mid-powered god (like Loris, for example) could rip through them with some moderate effort and painful backlash. It wouldn't be subtle at all, however.

Also, in case you hadn't guessed, it takes a /lot/ of power for a god to directly intervene in the mortal world at all. Even lifting an apple would cost them, and tearing through wards is way above that. That tends to be why they work through servants.

It's a fair bet that if you can think of it, there are some protections against it. At least enough to hold off a strike team of mages long enough for the Archlord who used to live her to assess the threat and respond accordingly. They aren't invincible, but this /was/ created to be a place of safety and leisure for a highly paranoid archmage with four rivals of nearly equal power living next door.

That's before whatever Laressa felt like doing to ensure her own safety when here.

>>14952596
>It's a fair bet that if you can think of it, there are some protections against it. At least enough to hold off a strike team of mages long enough for the Archlord who used to live her to assess the threat and respond accordingly. They aren't invincible, but this /was/ created to be a place of safety and leisure for a highly paranoid archmage with four rivals of nearly equal power living next door.

>That's before whatever Laressa felt like doing to ensure her own safety when here.
Errr, this applies to the wardings and shit on the compound, tower, walls, gates, ect.

At the very least, lets restore her stamina to maximum levels. That should buy us some more time.

>>14952596
>>14952624
Assuming Tissa does fight her way through the gate house guards, how long would it take her to raise the portcullis?

Also, are there any other exits?

>>14952819
Alone? Barring divine intervention she couldn't. Even then she would probably need another person unless it's enough divine intervention to just straight up lift the multi-ton gate itself. It's normally raised by two winches, one on either end of the gatehouse, each taking ~five strong men to turn.

Yes, there are other exits. The one under discussion is the southern main game. There is another (also closed) main gate to the east and a much smaller postern gate to the northwest. It's still large enough for a man to ride through on horseback though, and stays closed most of the time.

>>14952915

Let's temporarily give her, her artifact, and Quorin the ability to phase through that gate. Just them, no other things.

>>14952963
Or we could just give her a quiet intuition as to where the easiest exit that she could feasibly use without crazy magical bullshit prowess being thrown at her is. I prefer that option. The postern gate might be openable by one woman- or, if all else fails, her gauntlet should make her (and possibly Quorin; I don't think she's had cause to carry an injured man before and see if he gets the shielding) immune to the physical damage of simply throwing herself off the top of the outer wall.

Make her armor grow brighter. For a couple seconds it glows as bright as the sun and blinds everyone but Tissa, for say a good 10 minutes. Afterwards it glows dimmer for a while, to display this ability can't be used often.

Afterward zip over to the twins and see wtf they're up to.

>>14952991
Seconding this. We don't want to go overboard and be too obvious.

>>14952991
>>14953353
I wouldn't mind giving her a minor "get out of trouble" type of sense. It would work sort of like a Spiderman's spidersense, and would give her the feeling of a general direction toward safety.

The titianic wash of power and barrage of explosions works to Tissa’s benefit. While the guards who had previously been preparing to stop her are forced to turn to meet the new “possible threat” that the detonations and flux implies, she instead once more breaks into a sprint. This time she heads toward the wall, and as you glide effortlessly alongside you can hear her breaths coming in ragged gasps. Running at full speed through an underground dungeon while, fighting multiple times, and doing so while both wearing full plate and carrying a grown man’s dead weight... well, you’re somewhat surprised she can move at all at this point, much less sprint.

Still, you can clearly see her strength flagging. Her ragged breaths, the slowing pace, her shaking limbs and wobbling gait. Perhaps you can fix that.

Slowly you reach out and gradually purge the toxins of fatigue from her body. Even as she runs her step becomes surer and she regains her wind, picking up the pace once more. None too soon, as the guards have determined the noise to be a far less immediate threat than the escaped prisoner wreathed in fire.

She makes it to the base of one of the walls’s towers just as three guards burst forth from the door. The sword battle is fierce and prolonged, for while they are far from the master swordsman Tissa is they have an iron-clad discipline the guards on dungeon duty did not. They do not fight to slay her, merely to delay her until reinforcements arrive... forcing her to defend her helpless companion and giving ground when she attempts to press the attack.

Eventually, though, their caution proves to be their undoing. With a lightning fast flurry she drives all three back and swiftly turns, scooping up Quorin and running through the still-open doorway to the tower. Their blades strike true into her back, but their cries of astonishment as she merely continues to run unharmed show the price they paid for not landing a strike on her before that point.

This of course leads to a running battle up the spiraling stairways of the tower, the valiant paladin besieged both above and below by guards. Eventually the inevitable happens, her flashing blade falters and a blow strikes true... Quorin’s head is split asunder, Tissa crying out in dismay. Now, her fury redoubled and unburdened by either dead weight or vulnerability to blades, she scythes through the guards and quickly emerges onto the top of the wall.

Three elves are there, waiting for her.

“Well, that certainly doesn’t look promising.” Fane comments to Koria before looking back over his shoulder “Ithrin, would you be so good as to tell us what... /that/ is, that she’s wearing?”

The dour elf squints at Tissa as she begins to advance warily, sword up. “No idea. Doesn’t look like it’s easy to cut through, though. Be careful.” he says with a grimace, drawing a hand from his robe pockets and lifting it palm-out toward at the paladin, a sphere of fire forming within it as he does so. With a cry Tissa charges, only to be met by a blurringly fast sweep of Fane’s blade, making her instinctively dive to the side despite her armor.

“Now, now.” the black-haired elf says with a cold smile, lifting his blade in a mock salute, “I’m afraid I won’t allow you do that. Can’t have you cutting at my unarmored friend, there. How about we dance first? I’m a much better match.” As he speaks he flourishes the dagger in his left hand at himself, indicating his own mirror-like mithril chainmail and gleaming halfhelm.

Oh shit. Is Laressa here? This is far far too early a time for a confrontation.

>>14953509
No, she's still up in the tower. It's just Fane, Ithrin, and Koria in full battle gear.

There are also about a dozen guards standing back behind them and more coming up the tower staircase.

>>14953468
A shame that we've lost Quorin, truly. Ah well, it will serve to motivate Tissa.

A pity for Fane. He may be a master swordsman, but she...can't really be hurt by him. She can't be disarmed, really, as he can't snap her hands, provoke spasms, or exert more force on her weapon than she can.

That said...once she thinks, she can easily just walk forward and stab/throttle the mage to death.

>>14953509
Laressa isn't crazy-bold enough to come out personally and fight someone like this when she doesn't have to.

Really wanted to see what's going on with the twins, but honestly it's probably been resolved one way or the other by now. Following that titantic burst of power, the inquisition would have moved as fast as humanly possible.

So just keep watching here, I suppose. It's extremely unlikely that Tissa will die, seeing as she's now atop the wall and can just jump off it to escape if necessary. Getting herself out of the city will doubtless be a bitch and a half- but if we keep boosting her fatigue, she might manage it. And it should be an entertaining sequence to watch.

Alternatively...She can just jump off the wall.

Grab up Quorin's soul. You never know, there could be a use for it. And try not to LOBOTOMIZE it like you did the Half Orc's.

>>14953560
Hah, nice call. It should be early enough to get it without any significant damage.

>>14953560
Oh, right. If we go and scoop it up now, there shouldn't be too much damage. We can put it in a jar in our office until we can think of something to do with him.

I'd really like to see what's going on with the twins, though. Let's give Tissa one more boost to her stamina, then set our ScryVo to record her fight with Fane while we watch the twins get hurt. Remember, we need to make sure that they either escape or die. Tissa should be able to survive long enough that we can make sure of that for the twins.

>>14953560
The death probably ended the loyalty enchantments on him. Still do it, but be aware


>>14953545
>>14953542
Good idea.

make an illusion only Tissa can see of an image of her go jumping off the wall. (assuming her armor would protect her from the fall).

>>14953577

Grab his soul, put it in a body that's identical to his old one (or is his old one, rebuilt, while a meat-decoy is left in its place) and drop him off in a holding area so we can deal with him once Tissa is either captured or clear.

>>14953611
image of her god*

... or her in a way that indicates it is a sign

>>14953560
You are fully aware you can't just hold onto it perpetually without degradation, right? If you grab it you need to have a course of action planned out.

>>14953623

I suggested one in >>14953613

>>14953623
Go with the plan from >>14953613
We can keep him in a magical sleep until we find a use for him or time to mold him to our purpose.

>>14953636
Oh, for crying out loud, we don't need that second rate wizard. There are thousands of wizards throughout this world we could make deals with.

>>14953670
We can dispose of him later if we decide that's true. For the moment, might as well keep our options open.

>>14953689
You haven't forgotten that since we didn't catch him before he entered the river of souls he's likely to have had his mind altered, right?

>>14953720
Well, I haven't, at least.
Maybe the new personality will be more malleable and open to our suggestions? And if it turns out that he's of no use? We'll just dispose of him and have lost only a few paragraphs.

>>14953467
>>14953468
Hey Vedi? Can Tissa feel the impacts of the attacks that strike her or does the armor block any outside force that encounters it?

As long as we're talking about catching souls, if any of the elves die, snag them, snatch their bodies while leaving copies behind, put the souls into them safely in another dimension. Depending upon how much Laressa cares about them, we might be able to use them for something useful re: her later.

>>14953789
Blocks it. It would hardly be invulnerable armor if it was vulnerable to the entire set of weapons designed to destroy vitals through armor like maces and clubs.

>>14953919
>>14953668
>>14953689
Essence decay will occur unless they are fully resurrected. That means you can't just stick them in perpetual cold storage, body or not.

>>14953619
>>14953611
once that is done we can direct her to go help out the twins, provided they are not COMPLETELY fucked yet

>>14954029
fully ressurect in our office then

>>14954029
>no cold storage
Alright, resurrect Quorin, put him in our office and make sure that there is some food and water, and plenty of air available for him. We'll deal with him later.

>>14954030
Remember that we need to make sure that the twins die if they're about to be captured. Also, I don't think Tissa will have time to be able to help them.

Let's just give Tissa the boost she needs to stay alive, and then go and watch the twins die.

>>14954043
>>14954029
Look, just resurrect them, throw a powerful sleep spell on them, and put them in a demiplane where they won't suffocate or starve or otherwise be harmed until we need them. This doesn't seem overly difficult. Obviously we're resurrecting them, or we wouldn't need their bodies in the first place.

And not our bloody "office" demiplane; we use that way too much.

>>14954086

Let's use a demiplane that is a deserted island. Fresh water source, fish to catch and eat, shade trees, sand, rocks, and not much else.

Make it have a carrying capacity of ten people.

>>14954069
Couldn't we put him in a container (of sorts) and send it hurtling through space at near-lightspeed, so very little time passed for him while we go about our business, or do physics work differently here?

>>14954069
>Alright, resurrect Quorin, put him in our office and make sure that there is some food and water, and plenty of air available for him.
You fish through the River real fast and find his soul. You aren't sure if it was due to the enchantment or the man's skills, but... well, let's just say that you might not want to let Jarvis get his hands on anyone you want to resurrect, or at the very least least no Kamada members.

Assessment: Unrecoverable except as a vegetable.

>>14954029
>Blocks it.

So, Tissa should be completely capable of leaping off the wall and landing with no harm done then.

Alright then. We just need to guide Tissa to make a "leap of faith"

>>14954104
...

Look, we can just keep them unconscious the whole time, with magically provided sustenance. We can even use magic to keep them from suffering muscle degradation and shit, and make sure they wake up with a fresh minty taste in their mouths.

There is no reason to let anyone that we have in cold storage, as it were, wake up, experience anything new, or otherwise be given awareness that they did not just die.

>>14954119

Damn. Well we should be prepared anyway, and have that little deserted island demiplane waiting.

That'll be a holding zone where we can dump special people.

>>14954134

We can use it for people who want to have time to reflect on things. Sure, cold storage is the least messy way, but sometimes you need to give a stubborn guy a chance to reflect on all the dumb shit he's done lately.

regardless of what we do I think we should at least skit over to the twins for a quck assesment at some point in the next post.

Well, since Quorin's a lost cause, let's just get on with buffing Tissa and watching the twins get their asses handed to them.

Also seconding the creation of a prison demiplane where people we don't want to kill but want to reflect on their stupidity get put.

>>14954029
How common IS true resurrection, anyway? Like, is it D&D-mode, where any schmuck with a cleric pal and some spare change can get brought back, or something only deities are capable of? Or even something completely impossible by realistic standards, that we can do by virtue of just being that damn good?

(As far as actual suggestions, we should probably figure out a way to get Fane and Tissa's fight to a standstill so that she actually has incentive to get the hell out of there rather than just trying to steamroll her way through all the mooks to look for answers. Laressa failing to recapture her and Tissa failing to actually exact justice for said capture should help with pitting them against each other in the long run anyway.)

>That means you can't just stick them in perpetual cold storage, body or not.
I'm not sure you're getting this.

At first I wasn't even going to have resurrections, but you guys wanted it so, eh, sure. You're omnipotent, go for it. But by the same token: You're omnipotent, not some two-bit god who pinches soul-pennies for a rainy day. Quorin was already fucked regardless, but even if he hadn't been I wouldn't have said you can just keep him on ice "in case."

If you want to continue to try and rules lawyer I'll make new rules, but this is an overarching theme issue and not going to change.

>>14954197

Is Reflection Island ok?

>>14954197
Personally I don't even care about Q and have just been trying to give a final solution so we can move on.

It is actually annoying how hung up on this people are getting.

>>14954209
No, it's cold storage with them able to move around.

Mind you: I have no problem with you resurrecting characters you don't want to see die. It could be for story purposes, plot purposes, or hell just because you like them or want to give them a second chance on a whim.

But cold storage in any form? No.

>>14954189
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14802429/

Afterlife cosmology deal is covered at the end of this thread.

>>14954229
So basically all resurrections must be immediate? Why?

I don't mean in terms of the bullshit mechanics limitations you keep throwing up, I mean narratively. If, twenty threads from now, we decide that it would be fun to bring back Quorin to haunt Tissa for her past failures or some such similar tripe, why stop us? Time-delayed resurrection or hauntings of the distant past are a narrative thing that goes back thousands of years. It's classic. And the way you've set it up, unless we pick out a soul WAY in advance, we will never, ever be able to pull it off.

It just seems like a pointless limitation. Like saying that we can never create anything red, then calling us rules lawyers when we tweak the wavelength of green.

>>14954229
Alright then.
Can we buff Tissa so she'll keep fighting Fane, and then switch over to see what's happening with the twins?
We need to make sure that they either escape or die.

I'm late to the party but I have a suggestion for tissa that'll resolve all this quickly enough. So our paladin is a glowing white fire avatar of vengeance why not just go all the way and give her some luminescent wings and just let her fly the fuck out of there. It fits with her theme and everything.
pic related.

Also holy shit, why is everyone obsessed with resurrection? its been coming up nearly every other thread.

>>14954300
>Like saying that we can never create anything red, then calling us rules lawyers when we tweak the wavelength of green.
I'm... not entirely sure you understand the concept of cheating the rules if you think that's a good example of /not/ doing it.

Look, I'm not going to get into an argument about my narrative theme choices with you in thread. It is what it is. If you want to come to IRC and question, sling mud, or whatever then fine, but move on.

Decision is? Try to nudge Laressa to jump over the wall? Watch them fight it out? Wat do?

Encourage her to jump ship on this crazy scene.

rolled 34 = 34

>yankey sax
>this thread

>>14954472
If she jumps what will she land on? Also, will she be somewhere she can escape from?

Why am I the only one who asks questions like these?

Whatever we decide it has to be something that we can do and then switch focus because the twins really need our attention right now. So it has to be something we can be sure will work without any further involvement from us.
I think it'd be a shame to lose any of the elves at this point, they are destined to be killed certainly but its a little early for the miniboss squad. I say we just get Tissa out of there as fast as possible.

>>14954472
>I'm... not entirely sure you understand the concept of cheating the rules if you think that's a good example of /not/ doing it.
That's wasn't an example of not cheating, it was an example of an arbitrary rule being skirted in a logical but obviously spirit-violating fashion, because bullshit rules lead to bullshit workarounds lead to shitstorms in general.

I am no more trying to argue about your narrative themes than you are. I'm sure (well, willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that) they're valid and make perfect sense. What I am trying to do is -understand- them, because at the moment they're utterly baffling. If I could at get where you're coming from instead of periodically running into apparently nonsensically blocked off actions, playing this game would be a lot less frustrating and I'm reasonably certain that running it would be, too.


>Wat do?
Watching is fine. Tissa, the twins, whoever. Tissa should probably be able to at least make strong strides towards escape at this point without being led around, and if she doesn't it's her own fault.

>>14954542
Aha! Someone who thinks ahead!

Unfortunately for you (or fortunately, perhaps?) the fortress is only a true "fortress" in name. Due to being in the middle of a city it was made more to keep enemies such as rival mages, mercenary companies, or assassins out, not withstand a siege. Therefore the only thing Tissa will hit if she jumps off are the granite flagstones that have been laid over the entire island.

Might I suggest that we, erm, suggest to Tissa the quickest way out, in the same whispery way we've been trying, and suggest urgency? A vague sense of direction to the horse gate, and a sense that she needs to move quickly, should be enough to keep her motivated for a while, since it seems unlikely she'd be able to get there for a while without some work.

As for the twins, unless we intervene in some way I'm pretty sure they're fucked. So, we should definitely check in there, unless you think the Wonder Twins aren't worth keeping around anymore.

>>14954676
>As for the twins, unless we intervene in some way I'm pretty sure they're fucked. So, we should definitely check in there, unless you think the Wonder Twins aren't worth keeping around anymore.
I'd like their demise on tape if possible, but aside from that they can go. Laressa getting their massive store of loot might even be useful in helping her take on the entire world at once.

Tissa isn't going to get away from there without help, any route we can tell her to take her pursuers can also take. She can jump off the wall but she will eventually just hit the next one. She is glowing too and in the open. Her pursuers outnumber her, are much more organized, and so on.
I think the best bet right now is to have her meet the twins as soon as she can.
Only way I can see that happening is through our intervention. I can't see a way out without giving her another boon whatever that may be

>>14954771
Get her to jump off the wall and then push her towards the twins.

that was my overall plan when I fiurst suggested getting her to jump off anyway

>>14954782
I agree, but she needs to get there faster than just running and she still has to deal with the outer wall before she can reach the inn. I'm willing to say it'll at least take her a minute or two to reach that. Say we switch over now and switch back in a minute?
Either way I agree with you. whisper her towards the twins and switch views.

>>14954815
Shame the twins aren't likely to use that token we gave them.

>>14954646

So? She has armor that blocks out impact damage, otherwise momentum from maces and such would shred her internals whatever the mechanism of her invulnerable shield.

She jumps, then assuming the invuln bracelet works as advertised, she should absorb the impact no worse for the wear.

>>14954646
Unless you meant that in the other way, and were in fact saying its just fine for her to jump? I might be misinterpreting this.

>>14954942
I think Vedi was just clarifying. The issue is more that jumping off doesn't quite solve much as she will, at the very least, hit the other walls around the spire which are no doubt now closed.

>>14954942
Except that the walls are one set of walls, and there are several walls between her and the edge of town. Besides, it's easier to run down than up. Why tire her out by having her climb to the top and then jump down, instead of running down in the first place?

As for the twins, I think they're still interesting enough to keep around - it's mostly a matter of their motivations. If we can convince them that their best interests are best served by, say, establishing some force against Tissa - who will likely now be hunting them down - then we've got an interesting plot element.

Basically, I think they have too much potential to just die in an inn - though it surely won't help their paranoia. :V

>>14954970

Ok then. Jumping is still the best option she could potentially take, as nothing she can do from this wall is going to get her past the other walls anyway.

>>14954979

Because she's already at the top of the first set of walls, and jumping is the easiest and fastest way to the next set she has to bypass?

Ok so we tell her to jump and point her toward the twins and switch views. Any objections?

>>14954970
>>14954988
Jumping also has the advantage of getting her out of time consuming combat, as most of her enemies likely do not have the ability to follow her safely.

>>14955006
Works for me.

Battle sings along the Spire wall, Fane’s expert swordsmanship against that of the Lady Tissa Voldire. Elven grace and speed embodied in Fane’s Dar’anian forms clash against Tissa’s plainer but no less effective use of strength and hammering blows to wear down her foes.

Their blades kiss and scissor, Fane’s thin elvish longsword darting into a smal gap to strike what would be a painful -- possibly crippling or lethal against a normal human -- blow. Tissa, unaffected, rushes forward and slams the pommel of her sword into his face... or at least where she thought his face was. Blurring illusory magic fades as he delivers another lancing strike to her still-invulnerable throat before pulling back from her return sweep with a frown.

“This is not going at all the way I planned. Do tell me you have some solution?” Fane calls over his shoulder, parrying another blow and then giving a twist while bringing his dagger across to join the two other blades, finishing the locking maneuver. “Quickly would be preferable.”

His words are only underscored as Tissa slams her free armored hand into his sternum, drawing a grunt from the elf as he falls and somersaults backward. She flicks her blade free of the other two and looks up...

“Finally. Thought you would never get out of the way.” A deafening explosion blasts the wall, a gigantic ball of roiling liquid flame detonating and streaming across paladin, wall, and guard alike. The horrific screams of the wounded do not seem to concern the casting mage, however. No, the only object Ithrin gives any attention is the still-standing form of the paladin, coughing lightly from the smoke before stepping forward once more.

Fane peeks over the mage’s shoulder and raises an eyebrow, “Oh my, look at that. Your spell didn’t work either. Problem, friend?”

Ithrin purses his lips and gives the grinning black haired elf a truly venomous look before light begins swirling around his hands once more. This time stones rip themselves free and slam into the charging paladin, driving her back several steps but once again doing no damage. Ithrin frowns and lets out a soft hiss through his teeth before nodding to Koria... who has positioned herself on the slate roof of the tower and unslung a short composite bow from across her back. Huh.

“Need time. Pin her.” the mage says curtly before closing his eyes, knitting his brows, and lightly massaging his temples. The response is instantaneous, the female elf lacing several arrows into the stonework around Tissa as well as around her arms and legs. Undeterred, Tissa charges the mage once more... until Koria speaks a few soft words in elvish. Immediately bright yellow lines materialize at the rear end of each arrow, snaking together and weaving around and over Tissa, binding her fast.

The paladin is quick to react, hewing at the threads, but even as her sword slices them away more flash across her, binding her once again tighter and tighter... growing more lines faster than she can cut them away.

Enough. It is time to intervene. You manifest a burning image of Tissa in front of the paladin herself, unable to be seen by any but the holy warrior. Just as she is, the image is bound... but suddenly the threads fall away, and the image leaps over the wall, crashing down unharmed to the stones below. And with that you allow the image to fade... and slice apart the binding lines of force around Lady Voldire.

She needs no further encouragement.

The paladin immediately turns and leaps from the wall, eliciting cries of dismay from both Fane and Koria. Ithrin, however, snaps his eyes open and strides to the crenulations, a smile slowly forming across his face even as she strikes the stone below and rises unharmed, sprinting away. He raises his hands and claps, uttering arcane syllables... and you see he has hit upon the solution.

Tissa, running at a full sprint, slams into an invisible field of force a mere ten meters away from the base of the Spire wall. Falling backward, she immediately rolls to her feet and tries another direction... only to find the same force opposing her. And again. And again. Trapped. Below her feet a flame ignites, and while she seems worried at first she quickly ignores it when she finds it does no damage to her through her blazing armor.

Oh, Tissa. Even as she attempts to hack at the invisible barrier you can see smoke filling the magical ‘chamber’, beginning to obscure vision and displace the all-important air the paladin is consuming at a great rate as she relentlessly hacks at the impermeable wall.

“If you would be so kind, you two?” Ithrin asks, smugness dripping from his tone. “I admit, this is not the easiest of feats but I also believe our dear leader would prefer this one alive for /personal/ interrogation rather than denied to her by suffocation?”

Neither of the two answer, both simply rolling their eyes or shaking their heads before affixing some sort of drag-line to the wall, rapidly rappelling down even as Tissa clutches at her throat, collapsing first to her knees and then spiraling into bleak unconsciousness.

Boy, it sure was clever of us to not really do anything to help or extricate Tissa until it would be impossible not to tip our hand, wasn't it? Especially when Vedi was hinting that things were getting worse and worse.

There aren't any hiding places on a sheer wall, fuck. Well. At this point it'd be REALLY obvious if we tipped our hand to help Tissa again, but at least she's oblivious to our meddling. We should figure out what we're going to do with her, but we ALSO really have to make a decision about the twins.

They might be Tissa's only hope. A bit ironic, isn't it?

Hmmm. Thread seems to have died off.

Welp, next thread Friday at 18:00. Vote for focus, blah blah, you know the drill.

1. Laressa
2. Tissa
3. Twins
4. Mardana-Fel

3

3, Twins. This should be good.

seems like we are pretty much ignoring Mardana-Fel

I still vote for 3.


Question though: with the gauntlet pemanently on now, does that mean that they won't be able to get at her for torture anymore?

>>14955326
Oh, and what were your suggestions, that might possibly have averted our current situation?

As it is, they have contained Tissa, but I don't see any mention of anything interdicting teleportation. If all else fails, we can simply teleport Tissa out.

>>14955385
3.
I want to see those twins die.

Crap I missed Omnipotence quest.

... So obviously this would have ended better if we had made Tissa jump right away before the elves had had a chance to scope her defenses. Ah, well. Laressa will probably dagger her. And no doubt she'll also be quite irritated at how little Tissa actually knows.

>>14955669
Enough time hasn't passed for anything to happen in Mardana-Fel.


Couldn't we just make the focus for the next session Kaza since Laressa, Tissa and the twins are all still in the same general area and there's not really any need for a time skip?

>>14955851
>>14955669
Actually, If Tissa gets mindslaved maybe we should make the bracer inoperable. You know since it's supposed to be a religious artifact and someone under the influence of Laressas' dagger can't really be faithful to anyone other than Laressa?

Guys. We haven't gotten Tissa out of this situation yet. It's actually a pretty spectacular failure at this point.

Also, why did we do nothing until it was too late to do jack shit?

>>14955825

Given that we had no way of knowing what would happen, given that it ALL happened in the span of one update, shove your sarcasm. He has a point. No opportunity was given until she was already completely unconscious.

>>14955825

At the very least, Tissa can't currently be mind-slaved since the bracer is still active.

>>14955933
But does the bracer stay active when Tissa isn't conscious?

>>14956028
that is the question

If it doesn't make it so at the start of the next one

>>14955911
Because we were trying to be subtle with our aid, rather than hamfisting something.

>>14955924
If you would re-read the post I was responding to( >>14955326 ), his point was that we should have given Tissa far more overt and conclusive aid, rather than trying to go subtle.
My post was responding to that, that only 2 suggestions for overt aid (the creation of angel/minions to help, and allowing Tissa to phase through walls) were made, and neither were seriously considered or argued for.

>>14955278
If Tissa is currently in a force box filled with so much smoke that she's going unconscious from inability to breathe, then they no longer have line of sight to her.

We can just teleport her away to wherever we please, leaving the elves clueless as to what happened. And Tissa will be unconscious, of course, so she needs no explanation.

We should make sure that our power does not resonate or "sense" other instances of our power. It would be revealing if Laressa were to personally examine the bracer and feel her mark heat up.

That said, Tissa will be fine as long as the bracer stays active. And as long as they don't use inhalant poisons...

I think the bracer is doctored up enough as-is. Next time, we need to get her some different items.

The twins are worthless. They don't want to do anything but grab loot and dress themselves up in it. I'm perfectly fine if they die.

Essentially, our original party has been gutted. The only person worth saving, IMO, is Tissa. Previous threads have shown that Laressa's place is impenetrable to everything but a fucking invasion force, so getting her out of there will be really tough.

Maybe we could drop a hint to her order that she's being held unjustly, and they can go petition for her release? I mean, what crime EXACTLY has she committed against Laressa's empire?

>>14955825
There are times and places to be subtle. In the middle of a fucking dungeon at the heart of Laressa's empire is probably not one of those times, and a FLAMING INVINCIBLE PALADIN is not exactly subtle in the first place.

>>14957459
has a point though; Tissa hasn't actually done anything actively against Laressa except, perhaps, resisting being tortured - but I honestly doubt that Laressa will respond well to that regardless. At best we might persuade Laressa to let her go - she was on a quest, is a paladin, kingdom is far away, yadda yadda. I don't think this is especially LIKELY to work, but it would be BLATANTLY obvious in a bad way that Things Are Being Interfered With.

Failing that, we have the ability to simply rouse the ire of not only all of Tissa's order, but the tradeluminati as well - since in the first case they tortured and imprisoned one of their members on no grounds, and in the second they know of their existence and can interfere with the loyalty crests of their members - so we should pass that information on to them, along (perhaps) with the cure-all and something of Tissa's, just so they can pass the message to the Order of Loris.

As for the twins... we obviously need to be less subtle with them if they're in a tight spot. Having the token do some oogly-boogly magical shit - glowing, floating in the air, teleporting the twins out of town - would probably work in a pinch, if we can't make it look like they just used their own artifacts.

We really should have looked into Tissa's past, but we never did. We needed to know her motivation, what made her tick, and use that to push her towards being useful to us. The bracer we gave her - while cool - was never going to help her to form an army against Laressa; she's underpowered, if anything, except as a solo combat fighter. Same with the twins - we were thinking big when we gave Laressa her boons; we weren't thinking big enough with the heroes.

Anyway. Either we get Tissa out now, try and get her out later - which will be more difficult the more we wait - or we let her die.


>>14957077
has a point that I honestly didn't think of - though we should be careful to leave some sort of frame-up to make it look less like us, like some token of Loris. Otherwise, we can consider Tissa a lost cause.