>>38498447

Matthias throws up a hand to welcome you as you enter through the fence gate. Aya clings to him more closely to him than his shadow.

He nods at Laurent. “I see you listened to my advice, Soph.”

You plant your hands on your hips. “This time you used some measure of thought before giving it. You two didn’t want to go inside?”

Matthias turns back to look at Aya, but only manages to tug her along with his back. He sighs. “We went inside briefly to introduce ourselves. I didn’t want to force her to stay in there and I didn’t want to be responsible for this tinderbox going up in flames” He points back at the house.

You cross your arms.” I take offense to that.”

He shakes his head. “Well it’s true, and unless you have an idea, we’ll have to finish our deal out here.”

He does make a point, any introductions will come in the way of what you really invited him here for, and you sure as hell don't want your house to burn down.

You try to think of a solution, if only there was a way for Aya to control her fear.

>Have Aya and Matthias wait here, come back with the journal.

>Have Ellie and Marissa come outside with Laurent. Bring the others inside.

>Write in.

>>38498501
>>Have Ellie and Marissa come outside with Laurent. Bring the others inside.

>>38498501
>Have Aya and Matthias wait here, come back with the journal.

>>38498501
>Have Aya and Matthias wait here, come back with the journal.

>Write in
Give Aya your new cloak to wear for now it should work

Hello everyone!

>>38498825
>>38498836

>Writing.

>>38498921

Best to be safe when it comes to where you live.

You walk to your front door. “I’ll return with the tome, no sense in forcing Aya inside just yet.” You turn around. “Keep her away from the plants.” You warn and head inside with Laurent.

“The weeds will be fine.” You hear Matthias call back after you.

Damn him, at least you have legitimate claim to where you live.

Your apprentices quickly stand at the sight of your large companion walking behind you. No one in the room decides to say anything, only choosing to stare at each other.

You sigh at the sudden awkwardness. “He’s with me. Actually…” You scratch your cheek. “He’s going to be living here now as my guardian, so…” You gesture to your apprentices. “The younger one is Ellie, and the one staring at your body is Marissa.”

Marissa snaps back to reality at the mention of her name.

You point back to your guardian. “His name is Laurent and well you three start getting to know each other, because I have business to attend to.” You head up the stairs leaving your three companions in awkward tension.

“Start talking!” You shout your order as you go to pick up the Necromantic tome.

As you walk back down the stairs, you see Laurent making his best effort to start a conversation with your two apprentices, but his words fall on distracted ears.

This is certainly going to make for interesting living, but you don’t truly care how well they get along with each other, so long as they don’t get in your way.

[1/2]

>>38499784

You toss the small tome to Matthias as soon as you get outside. “There. Now hurry up and copy what you need so we can get to you teaching me.”

Matthias eagerly pulls out a large amount of parchment and begins copying the first few pages.

“I’m only going to copy the beginning because Aya is getting anxious to go home.” He comments while hastily copying the words.

You’re honestly surprised at his consideration, you always thought Matthias to be as hungry for knowledge as you are, or at least close.

“So long as you hold up you’re end of the bargain, I’m fine with you coming back to get the rest.” You impatiently tap your foot and watch his work.

“That won’t be a problem.” He looks up and nods toward Aya.

She hesitantly pulls away from him and walks toward you while looking down at your body.

“Left hand or right?” Matthias asks without looking up from his work.

You’re not quite certain what’s going on, but you assume it has something to do with which hand will invoke the flames.

“Does it matter?” You ask.

“It's just a personal preference, probably…” Matthias casually answers.

A cool breeze suddenly blows by causing Aya to shiver in an exaggerated way.

Well you are right handed, so maybe it would be best to choose your left hand in case something happens. Or maybe your dominant hand would make for an easier time learning.

>Left hand.

>Right hand.

>Write in.

>>38499808
>Right hand.
but question
Could I breath it our like certain monsters of old?

>>38499808
>Right

>>38499808
>Right hand.
Could we have it on both?

>>38499841
For now you'll have to deal with simply invoking any flame at all, but given enough practice and research, I'm sure you all will find very creative ways to use it.

>>38499880
Not at present.

>>38499808
>Left hand.
Just so I can say I told you guys in case something bad happens.

>>38499841
>>38499879
>>38499880
Writing.

File: L-1.png (83 KB, 239x194)

83 KB PNG

>>38500048

You hold out your right hand to Aya who promptly takes into her own.

Her amber eyes study your hand intensely, or perhaps they’re looking at something more fundamental, something only visible to them.
Her thumbs land lightly in the center of your palm and stay there without moving.

A small, almost imperceptible tingling comes to life in your hand, it grows to a pleasant warmth, then suddenly transforms into a searing heat.

Only your knowledge ravening mind keeps your hand from flinching away in pain, but soon your endurance is awarded.

Aya swiftly pulls her hands away from your own and the object of your current desire is given life just above your hand.

The small concentrated flame swirls violently and occasionally laps out with a fiery red tongue, but it doesn’t burn you at all. It shines brilliantly like the sun, but you can’t help staring into its depths. A familiar hunger is reflected in your eyes for the slightest moment before everything before you is extinguished.

“It’s not coming back any time soon, Soph.” Matthias clamps his journal shut and points to your hand. “You’ll be lucky if you can get some paper to catch for now.” He places the Necromancy tome into your hand, snapping you out of your daze.

“I’ll get it back.” You stare into Aya’s eyes, trying to catch again what you saw in your flame, but she quickly rushes to Matthias side.

[1/2]

>>38501066

“We’re heading back now, but we’ll be by tomorrow to finish our deal.” He tugs along Aya as he walks away from you. “I know my words are falling on deaf ears, but try not to force it too much." He pauses for a moment to think. "You’ll regret it.”

With that, the pair walks through your gate, to return to their own home.

Just another thing for you to master. You walk back inside to satisfy your more literal hunger.

The four of you sit down for an early dinner and to discuss the logistical matters of yet another housemate.

“So will you be bringing all your belongings back here?” Ellie asks Laurent.

Laurent sheepishly looks to you and then quickly shakes his head. Looks like he already did.

“Where will he be sleeping?” Ellie brings up a legitimate concern.

Laurent looks up quickly. “I’m fine anywhe-“

“I’m fine with sharing a room…” Marissa suggests quietly.

You snort in laughter as she turns a bright red.

All four rooms of your house are taken up by yourself, delving equipment, Ellie, and Marissa. You think it’d be impolite to suggest the delving room, so downstairs would probably be the best bet. Or since Marissa didn’t specify, maybe she can share a room with Ellie, that’s bound to get an entertaining response from the two of them.

>Have him sleep downstairs.

>Give him the delving room.

>Move Ellie in with Marissa.

>Write in.

>>38501100
>Move Ellie in with Marissa.

>>38501100
>Move Ellie in with Marissa.

>>38501100
>Move Ellie in with Marissa.

>>38501157
>>38501168
>>38501263
Roommate time for the two of them.
>Writing

>>38501342

“How kind of you, Marissa.” You turn to Ellie. “Move all your stuff into her room.”

“But!” Ellie protests like a child to her mother. Marissa opens her mouth to say something as well, but sullenly decides not to.

You go back to eating without addressing it further, even making sure to give Laurent a sharp look when it looked like he was going to speak up on the matter.

“I guess it won’t be so bad.” Ellie pokes her food with her fork. “I had to share a room with three other girls when I was back at the guild. That was bad.”

They’re both careful not to ruin their chances of future delving. They’re practically addicted to it, and you’re in control of the source, for now.
A polite but firm knocking comes the front door.

The four of you freeze at the sound

The only person you know to knock on your door is Matthias and ever since you two were children he never missed an opportunity to bang on your door.

You put down your utensils and stand up.

Unfortunately as the one in charge of the house, it falls to you to deal with this sort of thing. You hold out a hand to stop Laurent as he rushed to get up with you.

With a look of pain on his face, he sits back down, but he’s sure to keep an eye on you.
[1/2]

>>38502400

You open the door to see two hooded men standing in front of you, behind them some creature mills around in the dark of dusk, sniffing the air heavily.

“Good evening.” The young man on the left says with a slight accent.

“Hello…” You reply waiting for them to state why they came to your door.

“¿Es ella?” The much older man on the right speaks in a harsh whisper.

“Todavía no lo sé.” The young man on the right responds while holding up a hand.

“My name is Manolo and my pleasant companion here prefers not be named. Miss…” The young man continues in a very sweet voice. “We here because our…pet” He shrugs as if not sure what term to use. “Is smelling something very interesting coming from your house.”

Their cloaks are a giveaway of who they are, but luckily for you, you took yours off beforehand.

“Maybe he smelled our dinner? We just finished cooking it actually.” You suggest with an innocent voice. “I think I’d like to get back to it.” You start to close the door.

Manolo catches the door and chuckles slightly. “No miss, I’m afraid that’s not it. Let me ask you something first. Are you familiar with the term Occultist?”

These guys aren’t going to leave so easily. You remember what Matthias said about the other Occultist group, but they came to your house because their pet smelled something interesting.

You take a quick look behind them and given the way it crawls, it’s no normal household pet, but it's too dark to see exactly what it is.

How do you respond?

>Only say that you’ve heard of them.

>Confirm that you are an Occultist.

>Tell them that it’s time for them to leave.

>Write in.

>>38502442
>Confirm you are one.
Not like it's a secret, pretty much everyone we know knows.

>>38502442
>Only say that you’ve heard of them.

>>38502442
>Tell them that it's time for them to leave.
That shit with the door wasn't a good sign.

>>38502442
>Tell them that it’s time for them to leave.
Such people are not to be talked about around these areas.

>>38502545
>>38502573
>Writing

Oh shoot.

File: eb2.jpg (264 KB, 962x592)

264 KB JPG

>>38502654

You’re stopping this game before it can really begin.

You take a firm stance in front of them. “We don’t talk about such people around here, so it’s time for you two to get going.” You announce loudly.

Laurent immediately appears behind you wielding his barbed spear. The effect he has is quite clear from the way your two visitors step back.

“Pardon our intrusion, Miss.” Manolo gracefully bows as he backs away from you. “We’ll be in the area, so hopefully we’ll all be getting to know each other soon.” His smile is the last thing to disappear from the light of the door.

The creature they came with continues to sniff the air around your house, and without the two hooded men blocking your way, you finally get a good look at it.

Its torso is as black as night. It crawls on the ground with thin dark human-like limbs, fluidly pulling itself forward one limb at a time. The face of the creature is shrouded in bloody bandages, and from under them comes a beastly snuffling.

Manolo calls for it to follow, and soon all your visitors are gone into the darkness of the night.

“I don’t like them.” Laurent searches through the darkness for any lingering traces of them.

“I didn’t either.” You look up at him and smile. “I told you that you’d be busy. Didn’t I?”

He pulls his eyes away from the darkness and is surprised to find you looking back at him. “I suppose you did.” He answers rubbing the back of his head.

You head back inside. “Come on.” You call back to him impatiently. “Dinner is getting cold.”

[1/2]

>>38503447

~
A small tingling sensation in the palm of your right hand teases you as you try for a long time to invoke the same flame that you saw this afternoon.

You sigh and fall back on your bed. You wrap yourself in the warmth of your cloak in frustration and roll around your bed.

You just want to be able to see your control over the flame. Hell, at this point you’re not even sure if you’re just imagining the tingling sensation anymore.

“You -are- in control.”

The voice causes you to sit up in panic. The voice was your own, but at the same time the words were not.

“What do you mean?” You look around after asking.

“Your experiences in the other realms has expanded your knowledge…” The voice continues. “You now have control over where you want to expand that knowledge. One choice is available to you right now.”

If you weren’t already used to hearing strange voices, you’d just think that maybe stress or something of the like is getting to you. But you quickly catch on to the meaning of the voice’s words.

“So if I choose pyromancy….?” You ask.

“Then those small flames will be given some kindling.” The voice responds.

This kind of control is simultaneously fanciful and grotesque at the same time, but you don’t care in the slightest. Your hunger grows, and now perhaps you have a way to feed it.

Increase your knowledge in:

>Pyromancy

>Delving

>Necromancy.

>Write in

>>38503485
>Delving
We have a guard right now so physically we should be fine enough if we can get him to trap the place as well.

>>38503485
>Pyromancy
Need some protection in this world, even with Laurent.

>>38503485
>Necromancy
I want my spooky skeletons and I want them now.

>>38503485
>Pyromancy

>>38503577
>>38503665
Ask and you shall receive.
>Writing

File: pyr1.jpg (319 KB, 850x705)

319 KB JPG

>>38503728

You extend your right hand out again. “Then show me.”

Your mind is suddenly ablaze with a myriad of sensations. The subtleties of how to conjure the flame, how to maintain it, and how to manipulate sear into your mind until it is branded with the rest of your knowledge.

You don’t know when, but you’ve collapsed to the ground. More importantly, is what your eyes feast on in front of you.

Orange flames snake around your hand, ravenously drinking the air around them. The fire has a pleasant warmth and is about the same size as the one Matthias conjured.

A nearby piece of parchment serves to test the flames heat, it ignites before actually touching the fire.

A large grin forms on your face as you simply watch the flames dance around your hand, enjoying the comfort of their heat for many minutes before finally letting them go out.

You practically fly to record all of this in your journal. You don’t care for the vague threats made by those hooded men, whatever schemes that are in place for you all fall to the side as you write and write.

When you finally finish, you retreat to the comfort of your bed. If delving is what spurs this choice of control, then tomorrow is when you shall delve next.
It’s late when you finally calm down enough to sleep. You’re in such a good mood, you think about simply spending some time with one of your housemates in the morning, without any Occult business.

Your eyes finally close shut and you drift off to sleep, oblivious to the sound of heavy sniffing coming from outside your window.

~

>>38504286
>Your eyes finally close shut and you drift off to sleep, oblivious to the sound of heavy sniffing coming from outside your window.
WORRY

>>38504286
Okay, that's where I'm ending it for tonight since it seemed like a good place to stop. I want to thank everyone very much for playing tonight! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them in the thread, and I will do my best to respond to them all. (I'm really sorry to the person I missed last thread.)

If not then I wish you a good day/night, and I hope to see you again next time.

>(Twitter)
https://twitter.com/QM_Auri

>>38504323
Thank's for the thread Auri!

>>38504323
thx 4 runin budi gud thred

>>38504323
Thanks for running Auri! Do we get to choose what we grow our knowledge in everytime after we delve now. Cause if that's true then this cloak kicks ass.

>>38504361
You're very welcome!
>>38504369
You're also very welcome and thank you for the compliment!
>>38504435
You're very welcome! That's almost the case, it depends on how much you learn through that particular delve itself, and also on how much knowledge you have in that skill already. But for now, one delve should serve to be enough for another upgrade in any category.