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File: #AltStarter4.png (206 KB, 1131x800)
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Welcome to Banished Quest!
You take the role of a young mage labeled a criminal by his people and cast out into the wider world. In the last thread you finally left Nazir, went looking for supplies in a sand-gypsy market, and got repeatedly flaked out on.

It is currently the 4th of Yuddha, in the year 936 NH.

Character Sheet:
http://pastebin.com/8wLGz3HQ
Inventory:
http://pastebin.com/9mxDQn7N
Companions:
http://pastebin.com/tWc3Zjje
Spellbook:
http://pastebin.com/Tu1sVEnQ
Runic Library:
http://pastebin.com/7zQt9XLy
Current Missions:
http://pastebin.com/rzD5PPsU

Dice:
http://pastebin.com/nhswziq6
Magic:
http://pastebin.com/aYPzn0aU
http://pastebin.com/2iHKTQTS
http://pastebin.com/Hu8SUUyL
Combat:
http://pastebin.com/e1peu2ih
http://pastebin.com/1niidZEa
Enchanting:
http://pastebin.com/jUQKQLLx
Fluff:
http://pastebin.com/ydKwNLba
http://pastebin.com/sijmZSSf
http://pastebin.com/UygnkCBe
http://pastebin.com/gR0sgiFu
http://pastebin.com/ibi8j7Md
http://pastebin.com/q8rQUjzS

Archives:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Banished%20Quest
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Quidam_Asinus
Ask Page:
http://ask.fm/Quidam_Asinus
Tumblr:
http://somaqm.tumblr.com/
IRC Channel:
#BanishedDiscussion on Rizon

Notes:
Using names or trips in this quest is heavily discouraged. While it is impossible for me to prevent you from doing so, I ask that you not. I will also not count any votes made while using names or trips.
>>
In the end, you decide to browse the market stalls and their more valuable wares. Whatever it is that draws men into the heavily trafficked tent can surely wait until after you've had the opportunity to look around, and buy the monster in your cloak a few well deserved snacks. It's been too long since you've really interacted with Ricky on any significant level.

However, you face a few significant challenges in getting from the expanse of worn cobbles cutting through the Bhataki camp to the densely packed collections of wood and fabric which surrounds the wagon. Most significant among these challenges is how you could possibly get Zahak through the narrow alleys formed by tents and stalls. He could probably just trample his way through, though that carries the risk of causing serious injury to whatever unfortunate souls happens to be inside the ruined structures at the time.

One alternative is to just have Zahak take flight, and circle the area until such a time as you finish shopping. However, that seems rather unfair to Zahak. He'd probably like a goat just as much as Ricky, and he's been well behaved lately. Chryssa might also be able to somehow clear a path, but knowing Chryssa she would be neither subtle nor gentle in clearing away the tents which stand between your party and the market.

You've been staring at the wagon for quite some time when an idea finally occurs to you. It's enormous, and more importantly it's well built. A solid wooden frame built up around dozens of supports, the leather covering its roof thick and well maintained. Each wagon is built such that the entire tribe could fit inside it should the need arise, and intended as an easily fortified structure in the event of attack by bandits or beast of any sort.

So you'll just have Zahak land on the roof. What could go wrong?

It doesn't take long for you to communicate your plan to your son. He'll take flight, and circle the camp so that he can approach from the wagon's front. He'll need to be careful in landing, because if he misses his mark he could very well tear through the leather covering and crash into the hall below. You're relatively certain that would constitute some sort of insult to the chieftain. If all goes well, and he lands on the small tower at the very peak of the structure, they shouldn't have to worry about Zahak feeling at all excluded. Plus, there's a doorway there which would allow you to feed him his goat.

(1/4)
>>
File: Majhaya - Bhataki Camp.jpg (1.08 MB, 3000x1984)
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The only issue with your plan, that you're able to discern, is that some among the Bhataki might be upset by the fact that a dragon has just landed on the roof of what is essentially their only permanent 'home'. The tents and stalls are impermanent structures erected only when the tribe stops for some extended period of time. The wagon serves as the center around which their entire community is organized.

Plus, you don't think the news that there's a dragon in their midst has quite filtered into the interior of the camp quite yet. Those nearest you are certainly aware, a significant crowd has formed at the sides of the road over the last few minutes. There are probably fifty people or more either openly gawking at you or peeking out from behind tent flaps. Nobody seems openly hostile, you assume that someone from the temple was sent to inform them you'd have a dragon with you, but that may change if they think Zahak poses some danger to their chief. Hopefully you can explain it all away before anyone gets hurt.

With one mighty leap, Zahak takes to the air and quickly gains altitude. The sight of your son taking flight draws gasps and screams from the onlookers, but you pay them no mind. Instead you reach out through the brooches to your companions, belatedly realizing you haven't filled them in on your plan. {Zahak is going to circle the camp a few times while we do our shopping, then land atop the wagon once we've finished up in the market.}

Darzi is the only one to voice protest. {I don't know if that's a good idea, Mikhael. Bhataki tend to be rather protective of the Vegana. I mean, how would you feel if a dragon came and landed on the roof of your estate?}

{Well, assuming it wasn't Zahak I'd probably be mildly confused and curious to find out its intentions.} You respond, already beginning to pick your way through the crowded collection of tents. The crowd parts to allow you and yours to pass unmolested, a group of younger woman casting a curious gesture in your direction. Their middle and ring fingers are pinched with the tips of their thumbs, while the little and index finger extend straight upwards, like horns. {Admittedly, I'm probably not the best person to ask that question of. I tend to be a bit more comfortable around dragons than most.}

You see more people making that strange hand gesture as you, with many variations. Some use both hands, others touch the tips of their three pinched fingers to their chest or forehead. One man runs through an elaborate series of gestures, his fingers contorting in ways which to you just seem painful before finally ending with the horned hand. Are they making fun of you? You're not sure if you should be offended, or honored, or how to feel really. Then you recall that Darzi lived with these people for most of her life. {What is that gesture they keep making at us?}
(2/4)
>>
Jungle literally never
>>
File: Zahak 3.jpg (135 KB, 1046x800)
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You catch hints of reluctance and discomfort simmering beneath the substance of her thoughts. {It's supposed to ward off the baleful gaze of Surya. My mother used to say it summons the attention of the the Vast One, Vishdava, who's endless twirling dance distracts Surya from his wrath in favor of his lust. I don't know why they use that symbol specifically.}

A symbol to summon the interference of some forgotten god, or at least a powerful spirit. Horns bring to mind Prthvi, who's statue you encountered within the realm of that aborted godling so long ago. It wouldn't really strike you as surprising if certain elements of the Earth god's worship survived amongst the Bhataki. The word they use for themselves translates to something like 'People of the Soil', though you can't seem to recall the word itself at the moment. Their entire language is frustrating, if you're being honest. They use a different alphabet, and so far as you recall each tribe is slightly different from every other tribe.

You ignore a crowd of children, boys and girls both, with cups and hats outstretched as though to receive alms. You hear a slap ring through the air behind you, and glancing back see Mortia sternly glaring at a boy on the edge of tears, the other children quickly scattering to the four corners. One boy shoves himself between you and Profectus, his hand diving into your cloak only to be arrested in mid-step and thrown to the ground. Ricky's tentacle slides forth from your cloak to wrap around the panicked child's arm, his eyes flying wide at the site of the ethereal appendage.

At your urging, Ricky releases the boy, and he sets off at a mad sprint into the cloth jungle which surrounds you. No doubt there will be rumors abound about you possessing six limbs or some similar nonsense. With the help of Darzi, you manage to get your party moving again before order can break down entirely. However, at the end of the day you are only a mortal. A very talented mortal, but certain task are beyond you. Apparently keeping Profectus focused in a crowded market is among those task. One minute he stands right behind you, the next he's vanished. Even Darzi seems at a loss as to where exactly he's gone.

Down one party member, you proceed through the far more orderly collection of stalls towards the wagon just ahead. The cries of merchants follow you wherever you go as men, women, and children all compete for your attention and the attention of your friends. It's horribly disorienting, as you're forced to sidestep a fabric seller offering you a deal on silk only to run straight into a man selling sandwiches composed of fried lamb and coriander on a bun drizzled with honey.

(3/4)
>>
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Unfortunately, Mortia seems quite taken with this latter merchant and his wares. He ask for a gold piece for a single sandwich, but fortunately after a string of what you can really only assume were expletives Darzi manages to lower the price to two silver per sandwich. You pay the man six silver for Mortia, Chryssa, and Darzi, drawing from their respective pools of wealth. Honestly, they smell pretty good but you're still full from the breakfast you ate earlier.

Keeping an eye out for goats, mounts, or just general supplies doesn't initially yield many results. Most of these stalls seem to be selling finished goods and crafts. Jewelry features prominently, as does clothing. Truthfully the elaborately decorated veils many of the women wear are rather fetching, many are adorned with strings of bronze disk and woven into elaborately patterned collections of red, yellow, and blue.

Giving up on any chance of finding supplies in the market, you focus on finding goats or other livestock. Finally, on the side of the wagon opposite the road, you find a series of pens containing the tribe's herds. You're surprised to find that in addition to the usual assembly of goats, they have hairy black pigs and what you think are enormous sheep with extremely long, straight hair. One of them stands taller than Mortia.

You're shortly approached by a man who you can only assume keeps the tribe's animals. He bows three times, lower with each successive iteration, as he steps out of the small crowd of onlookers you've accumulated. “You do not look like you are from the temple, friend! The tribe is not visited by many asudha during the summer months. What may this one do for his guest?”

Asudha, that at least is a word you recognize. It's what all Bhataki use to refer to those who live a settled life, and translates to something like 'Impure', you think. That's another thing you dislike about Bhataki, they're so self-righteous.

>Just ask for a few goats, two for Ricky and one for Zahak.
>You'll get Ricky his goats, but maybe Zahak wouldn't mind the taste of pork?
>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>Write-in
>>
>>356984
>Write-in
Buy the whole herd.
>>
>>356984
>>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
Our son deserves a treat, make sure we get something nice for Ricky though
>>
>>356984
>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>>
>>356984
>>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>>
http://somaqm.tumblr.com/post/147200682072/due-to-the-recent-change-to-contain-wouldnt-our
How about that?
TATTOOS MAYBE GETTING NERFED
>>
>>357015
God fucking damn it enchanting fags.
>>
>>356984
>>You'll get Ricky his goats, but maybe Zahak wouldn't mind the taste of pork?
>>
>>356984
>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>>
>>357019
That reminds me. Soma hasn't answered my question about whether we get traits for practicing enchanting.
>>
>>356984
>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>>
>>357015
>retcons
Soma proving himself a hack yet again
>>
>>356984
>You'll get Ricky his goats, but maybe Zahak wouldn't mind the taste of pork?
>>
>>357015
Why not just have it be intent and context based like the soul rune and just leave it as is rather than retconning our trait?
>>
>>357015
YEAH BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED A NERF RIGHT NOW WHEN WE ARE HEADING TO ELAUDIA
>>
>>357067
While having the Maligned trait.
>>
>>356984
>>Just ask for a few goats, two for Ricky and one for Zahak.
>>
>>356984
>You'll get Ricky his goats, but maybe Zahak wouldn't mind the taste of pork?
>>
>>356984
>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
>>
>>357015
We should tattoo ourself with reinforce soul, modified by a bunch of large runes. Maybe throw in sustain on our soul as well.
>>
>>356990
>>356996
>>357002
>>357030
>>357047
>>357092
>Get Zahak some mutton.

>>356987
>Buy everything

>>357024
>>357088
>>357063
>#BlueLivesMatter

>>357084
>Goats4Lyfe

>>357015
Hoooly shit, I had already forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder.
>*Mark of a Dragon Slayer (Contain+Soul): +6 to Metal Magic, +4 to Healing rolls, +2 to Resisting Outside Influence.

Writin'
>>
>>357094
The soul has a limit to the number of enchantments it can sustain so adding more with the same base rune is a bad idea.
Also you do realize we can just change the enchantment with Shaping Arts right?
>>
>>356984
>>Zahak has grown an awful lot recently, go for the sheep instead. That's a more significant meal.
Pig for Ricky
>>
Hey I think we don't actually need that ink for magical tattoos. The point of that ink is that it automatically finalizes whatever you use it for so we simply need to use the ritual with normal ink.
>>
>>357104
>Hoooly shit, I had already forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder.
>Literally retconning our tatoos
I hope that they count less towards our body/soul's limit on the number of enchantments it can handle before breaking down, since they do less now.
>>
>>357104
>Thanks for the reminder.
I don't need your thanks I need you to answer this.
>>357042
>>
>>357104
>#BlueLivesMatter
hummm?
>>
>>357120
Think it's a cop joke
>>
>>357114
That would make sense based on what we know about dragon blood. Dragon blood contains traces of soul in it as per the Paramatma, so we can infer that normal tattoos finalized and permanencied would probably have the same effect as dragon blood tattoos.
>>
>>357115
>I hope that they count less towards our body/soul's limit on the number of enchantments it can handle before breaking down, since they do less now.
Nope.
>>
>>357015
>>357104
I think we all need to have a serious discussion pertaining to the fact that our gracious quest master known as Soma. He is not the proficient writer we once thought him to be, in all actuality he is a hack and a fraud peddling low quality goods, he is equatable to the snake oil salesmen of yore. We have seen him throw out worthless and petty drama time and time again yet accepted his skill as a writer nonetheless, we suck in his scenes of mindless violence like a starving calf does his mothers teat, we do this even though it is obscenely obvious to even the lowest of the common plebes that violence could be written by a third grader. For far too long have we debased ourselves reveling in simple adrenaline evoking scenes and suffering through mindless drivel between. I say it is high time that we demand of Soma a higher quality quest and that he should be held accountable for his poorly thought out setting and plot lines that are so blatantly come up with on the spot. I personally have spent several weeks deep within the bowels of the beast known as the ircabal and in my times there I have gathered evidence which leads me to believe there is a origin point for all the flaws which our quest master has. I propose that soma is a autisitc pedophile lacking in the common moral fiber that binds upstanding society, I assert this to have been the driving factor in his early leave from home as he had made unwelcome sexual advances upon his underage sister possibly even raping her. The resulting social backlash and banishment from his normal everyday life would be an extreme stress factor to someone with autism, leading to him seeking a way to vent his frustrations in some way. That way is Banished Quest; Banished Quest is an autisitc pedophiles emotional vent enabled and allowed to continue for far too long. I thank you for your time reading all of this my fellow questing individuals and I welcome all constructive criticism.
>>
>>357126
Oh. okay, thanks anon
>>
Reminder that we can leave our companions in our magical realm to train and read while we go ahead with Zahak to the border of the jungle to save a day of travelling.
>>
>>357104
Pardon, boss? Are the things we discussed Friday night set in stone enough to be posted? Also, I've some additional queries after preliminary research.
>>
> Inspire Confidence - You have the ability to rally your allies around you, giving them a +4 bonus to attack rolls and a +2 bonus to blocking. May be used at any range, but requires Mikhael be able to communicate with his companions.
Does Prof have this too?
>>
>>357156
I'd say go ahead and post it. I don't know if I'd call it set in stone, but enough to post I suppose.

>>357175
Probably not, actually. Mik got officer's training, Profectus got your average infantryman's training.
>>
>>357181
I got em in a pastebin
>>
>>357181
>>357185
http://pastebin.com/XjwrjXpP
>>
>>357191
edits incoming
>>
For anons who just want the important bits:

Here's just the paste with the relevant bits. http://pastebin.com/yucUTCgf
>>
ayyy
deres bq
>>
>>357140
That's a nice idea. Too bad I won't be around to vote for it unless the last vote of the night is for method of travel.
>>
>>357207
[23:49] <~Soma_QM> +32, since Darzi has a -2 to Nature magic right now.
[23:49] <~Soma_QM> Or +30

[00:12] <~Soma_QM> Darzi scores a good hit on its chest with the spear as described and all her bonuses, and a successful piercing thrust.
[00:12] <~Soma_QM> That would basically just flash cook the entire thing.

Jesus christ.
>>
>>357191

Since it's a dragon shouldn't ice and water work better?
>>
>>357227
Oh my, I'm a retard.

[00:12] <~Soma_QM> Well, Darzi would pretty easily be able to one shot most constructs, and probably most monsters like... say you run into a Not!T-Rex in the jungle.
[00:12] <Gob> Well, that's why I'm trying really hard to see if we can take Combat Manuevers with magic.
[00:12] <Gob> Because if we can...
[00:12] <~Soma_QM> Darzi scores a good hit on its chest with the spear as described and all her bonuses, and a successful piercing thrust.
[00:12] <~Soma_QM> That would basically just flash cook the entire thing.
>>
>>357230
>Well, that's why I'm trying really hard to see if we can take Combat Manuevers with magic.
Well Air Burst technique could easy be modified into an attack.
>>
>>357181
So anyway, here comes the queries. You mentioned that Battle Meditation is just a meditative development on Meditation on Forms, what we currently have. I assume what you mean by this is that while it'll give more meditative bonuses, it's not exactly better for combat. Thusly, we need a combative development on Meditation on Forms. Is that correct?
>>
>>357247
Just to clarify some stuff, you already have battle meditation. It simply allows you to meditate on forms in combat, without being immediately killed because you're dancing around with your eyes closed in a fight. The only good example I can think of for Battle Meditation was in that fight against the big ass corpse golem thing. You meditated in combat to figure out elemental fusion after Fulvia doused it in napalm.

That was a good, valid use of battle meditation. Another possible use of battle meditation would be disenchanting an enemy's artifact in the middle of a fight, or closing a tear in the fabric of reality while still fighting off the monsters spilling out of it. An invalid use of battle meditation would be something like "I wanna really focus on fighting this guy", because battle meditation basically puts Mik on autopilot mode in combat. You're no longer rolling to fight someone, you're rolling to meditate on something else.

All that being said, the technique, which just to be clear is separate from Battle Meditation, could be a development from battle mediation and meditation on forms. So I guess, the answer to your overall question is yes, that's the gist of it. There were just some details I wanted to stress.
>>
>>357269
>All that being said, the technique, which just to be clear is separate from Battle Meditation, could be a development from battle mediation and meditation on forms.
Just gonna point this out.
>>
>>357269
Thanks for clarifying. Here's my next query. The thing that makes the Avatar technique so singularly deadly is the ability to channel Fire Magic into combat maneuvers. We have an example of magical and martial fusion with our Way of Metal martial art technique Iron Body. A Martial technique that allows us to channel magic at the same time, a sort of fusion action. By post http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/34739479/#34740939 I assume Marsala Ve can do the same. Would trying to accomplish fusion actions in Marsala Ve be more or less effective in a trance? On one hand, we do not get nature bonuses. On the other hand, there is a substantial threshold for being able to benefit with nature bonuses. Would preforming these fusion actions in Marsala Ve even be possible without the aid of the trance/technique?
>>
>>357269
What the fuck. I can't see this post >>357282 on new tabs. You saw this post, right?
>>
>>357282
We can use magic along martial technique without avatar technique as long as it naturally flows together.
>>
http://pastebin.com/UygnkCBe
I updated this pastebin with the birthdates and the ages of most of your companions.
>>
>an hour and a half after he starts writing
>"hey guys I updated a pastebin!"
>>
Oh, and ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL ME 3d10+You gesture towards one of the largest of the straight-haired sheep. “How much for one of those and two goats? I promised a friend of mine a feast, and I figure I ought to get my son a gift while I'm at it.”

“The goats, for you, ten silver for each animal.” That's actually a fair price, you're genuinely shocked. “As for the ghetam, that is a matter of greater issue. I could not part with one of the prized herd for less than six pieces of gold, it would shame my family to do otherwise.”

Admittedly, you're not familiar with the price of sheep. It's not something you've kept track of. However, in El-Amin you think they usually sold for somewhere in the neighborhood of a gold piece. However, these sheep are much, much larger than the ones you're familiar with, and their wool looks far less course as well. Perhaps they're simply more valuable? You convey your confusion to Darzi via the brooches, but she seems to be at a loss.

{My tribe didn't really raise sheep, we relied on camels and sarada for the most part.} There's a note of disappointment, or perhaps discomfort in the tone of her thoughts. It's subtle enough that you can't really focus on the sensation clearly. {Though, when the tribes met at the Great Barane I think these went for somewhere around three or four gold, rather than six. The last time I actually attended one was seventeen years ago, so my information might not up to date.}

The connection is severed, and you turn your attention once more to the merchant. He was probably banking on the idea that you wouldn't know what a fair price was, and so you would assume that since he didn't cheat on the goats, he wasn't cheating you on the sheep either. Not a bad plan, all told. It might've even worked if you didn't have Darzi here to offer advice of some sort.
>ROOOOOOOOOOLL ME 3d10+6 (+6 from Orator) vs DC (Base 27, +6 from Orator, +6 from Circumstances)
>>
>>357406
He answered a question on tumblr too
>>
Rolled 9, 9, 5 + 6 = 29 (3d10 + 6)

>>357411
No nature?
>>
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>>357411
>Oh, and ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOLL ME 3d10+You gesture towards one of the largest of the str
Welp, this is what I get for changing my mind halfway through the execution.
>>
Rolled 3, 1, 3 + 6 = 13 (3d10 + 6)

>>357411
>>
Rolled 5, 9, 1 + 6 = 21 (3d10 + 6)

>>357411
>>
Rolled 2, 2, 2 + 6 = 12 (3d10 + 6)

>>357411
nature bonus?
>>
>>357419
tripfags are gay and rubyquest was shit
>>
>>357419
Oi. No names mate. We're all Anon here. 'cept for Soma.

>>357424
Really?
>>
>>357415
Son of a bitch, you're right. I need to start getting used to that. With nature, that's another +8 to the roll, meaning your total bonus is +14 rather than +6.

That in mind

>>357415
>>357419
>>357420
>37, 21, 29 vs DC 27
>Regular Success!

>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>Don't Spend
>>
>>357435
>Don't Spend
>>
>>357435
>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>>
>>357435
>Don't Spend
>>
>>357435
>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>>
>>357435
>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>>
>>357435
>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>>
>>357435
>Don't Spend
>>
>>357435
>don't spend
>>
>>357435
>>Spend 6 for a Great Success
>>
>>357435
>spend 6 for great sucess
>>
>>357439
>>357445
>>357454
>>357458
>Don't Spend

>>357444
>>357447
>>357450
>>357451
>>357462
>>357465
>Spend

Writin' for spend.
>>
>>357472
we still have that weird ass ruby that grows with vys right?
>>
>>357481
The necklace thing, yeah.
>>
>>357483
good just checkin
>>
>>357481
create vys
>>
>>357491
What? That doesn't work.
>>
>>357499
Well, it doesn't work by itself, alone. Take for example, our Warlock armor. It creates Vys and pumps it directly into our spine. No void generator or miniaturized black holes like in Rhynian lanterns. The thing is, this Vys becomes a part of us immediately.

Vys unattached to a spell or entity rapidly decays, as does Husk. The most obvious solution to go around it is to hunt for a Husk to imprison and collate Husk or Vys.
>>
>>357512
The armor doesn't create vys, it gathers it passively and pumps it into us.
>>
>>357512
Soma said there is a reason nobody uses (Create + Vys).
>>
>>357512
I thought that was merely an expression of the various physical boosts it gives the wearer, not actual pure vys created and pumped into the vatis for its own sake. In fact I'm pretty sure most worn artifacts cause a vys flow through your body, with your vys pool effectively setting the limit on how much shit you can wear without getting vys blockage, flesh meltage, and eventually straight up disintgration.
>>
>>357518
We should still experiment and see what we can do with it. Worth experimenting.
>>
>>357517
If it passively gather Vys, then the Vys flow would change depending on our locale. It has a steady 2 per hour, doesn't it?
>>
>>357521
Jesus do you actually follow this quest?
>>
>>357530
Well i think in a few instances Soma has affected our armors Vys regen based upon location.

But Soma has always said that the armors passively gather Vys.
>>
>>357518
Well we could just as easily use attract+vys to grab vys from the surrounding area much faster than create vys, for one. There's also transmute X to vys, which would probably be even better. And we could even try to figure out rhynian generators which create a tear in reality and somehow harness the energies that that creates.
>>
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>>357531
Fuck off, just because I forgot it helps vys regeneration doesn't mean everything else I said isn't completely right.
>>
>>357534
>rhynian generators which create a tear in reality
>somehow harness the energies that that creates
That's not how it works. The tear in reality only attracts vys it doesn't create any.
>>
>>357530
Light is 2, heavy is 10.

As for, changing the amount gathered, I have no idea. I never paid excessive attention to the use of our vys.

>>357535
Yeah. I'd like to stay away from void tears.

>>357540
From what we've seen, our vys pool has nothing to do with how many enchanted items we can equip, and the amount has nothing to do with vys clogs, and flesh damage. Both times we had a clog, it was due to either just that herb drug tincture shit, or it combined with the Warlock armor.
>>
>>357411

Hey Soma, can you have Mik see if his companions can use his teleportation coin to get to his magical realm so we can try >>357140
>>
>>357546
nigger what.

I'm talking about [Create + Vys] Soma has said it will work. But there is a reason why the Rhynians didn't use it. We do not know what that reason is.
>>
>>357546
Was meant for >>357535
>>
>>357550
Create + Vys is not a void tear
>>
>>357560
Do you mean if they can activate the artifact without Mik?
>>
>>357550
The first time we got it, Varvar said it was due to a low vys pool. Sure, the tincture helps with it, but it's not necessary. And the whole thing where the heavy armor turns our neck into bacon is probably not something purposefully designed into the armor.

Reminder that we still haven't talked to the stooges.

>>357560
That's boring as shit. Why not travel together?
>>
>>357567
I didn't say Create+Vys was. I just said that I'd like to stay away from making more tears in reality, Void Tears.
>>
>>357578
That's a given.
>>
>It also mentions an effect you're unfamiliar with, shield. Apparently when cast normally shield creates a visible, physical bubble of vys around whatever the target is. However, a hidden shield spell remove the visible aspect of the spell and instead has it cling to the body almost like a second skin. Apparently, the spell can also be used to immobilize or protect others, though why someone would use it to immobilize someone else when Paralysis would function far better is a mystery to the author.

>At one point you do manage to create some sort of strange chain reaction. You tried creating an empty space in the center of the cloud of vys to separate it into two easily manageable chunks. What you ended up doing was creating some sort of strange internal environment where the vys began to rotate rapidly around the empty point at the center. You released it before it resulted in anything, but it might be worth looking into at some point.

>You also note that, despite not being actual runes, the focus runes you carved into the walls are able to readily absorb vys and even glow much like actual runes do when you channel vys into them. You wonder if you'd find any similarities between focus runes and actual runes if you compared them side by side. Of course, your knowledge of the runic language is limited so you wouldn't be able to get a complete picture.
>>
For a time, you just stare at the man unflinchingly. It's a fairly simple, if somewhat costly, task to insinuate your thoughts amidst his own. Voices whisper promise of pain and torment at your hand, of his soul being slowly dissected layer by layer until that which provides him with life is laid bare to the world and trapped, to serve as little more than a supply of power for you to draw from. Illusory fire licks across the surface of your horns, and dances between your fingers, as though ready at any moment to leap forward and consume his flesh.

“Is that really your best offer?”

Sweat beads on the man's brow. He once stood eye to eye with you, but now he hunches forward as though cowering in the presence of the Shah himself. “Maybe... for you, two gold. For all of it. That's all I ask.”

You cut the flow of vys, and the flames subside. The voices in his head fade into little more than faint memory. Reaching into your cloak you extract two golden coins stamped with the head of some forgotten emperor and drop them summarily into the merchant's outstretched hands. He quickly stuffs them into a pocket before beating a hasty retreat, bowing every step of the way as though you'd done him some great service.

It's only a short while later that the man returns with two goats and one of those enormous sheep in tow. The former are lead by a single piece of rope knotted around both of their necks, while the latter follows the shepherd docilely, its head outstretched towards a length of carrot held in the trader's hand. The very moment he gets within a few feet of you three of Ricky's tentacles lash out, one slicing through the rope while the other two wrap around the abdomens of both goats. They kick and bleat as they're dragged forward, struggling against the translucent limbs, but inevitably they're pulled beyond the event horizon so that Ricky may feast upon their still-living flesh.

In his shock, the merchant doesn't notice the sheep nabbing the carrot from his hand, chewing on the purple vegetable passively while he stands, mouth agape, staring at you. Chryssa steps forward, bypassing the shepherd and resting a gentle hand on the sheep's neck. It follows her willingly as she guides it forward, coming once more to stand with you and your companions. Well, minus Profecuts, who remains lost amidst the crowded confines of the market.

(1/2)
>>
>>357574
Er. He said it was because of the armor, and the tincture, combined with our low vys pool that caused the clog. Which is exactly what happened when our vys got clogged from Metal GM.
>>
It's in this moment that you hear the sharp whistle of Zahak's wings slicing through air. He lands with a thunderous crash upon the roof of the wagon, the entire structure rocking wildly on its twelve wheels. For an instant you think it may tip over, but your son digs the claws upon his feet into the wood and with a few powerful beats of his metal-clad wings he manages to pull it back from the edge. No doubt there's been some minor damage, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. Zahak finally settles there atop the wagon with his clawed 'hands' grasping two of the wooden supports, achieving some stability even though his position is still slightly precarious.

Panic erupts throughout the market, a chorus of screams rising form the maze of wooden stalls and cloth tents. Right, maybe you didn't think this through as much as you should have. Granted, Zahak shooting a jet of fire straight up into the air probably isn't helping matters.

>If you can find the chief, you should be able to explain this away. Head inside the wagon.
>It's more important that you keep the crowds from panicking, stay out here and try to calm everyone down.
>Write-in

Apologies for the delay, got a phone call from the family.
>>
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>>357653
>In his shock, the merchant doesn't notice the sheep nabbing the carrot from his hand, chewing on the purple vegetable passively while he stands, mouth agape, staring at you.
>carrot
>purple
>>
>>357664
>It's more important that you keep the crowds from panicking, stay out here and try to calm everyone down.

It cool, he is with me.
>>
>>357664
>>It's more important that you keep the crowds from panicking, stay out here and try to calm everyone down.

>>357680
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/04/carrots-used-to-be-purple-before-the-17th-century/
>>
>>357664
>Write-in
Let it be. Things will sort themselves out. Continue shopping.
>>
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>>357680
Carrots were originally purple.
>>
>>357664
>>>If you can find the chief, you should be able to explain this away. Head inside the wagon.
All the screaming from outside should make a great backdrop to thisconversation.
>>
>>357653
That sheep is cute and docile.
>>
>>357664
>>If you can find the chief, you should be able to explain this away. Head inside the wagon.
>>
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>>357691
>>357691
Huh.

Oh hey, doesn't it take your brain like 5-7 seconds to die after it's cut off from your body? That's more than enough for a water GM to fix a severed spine. I demand a retcon.
>>
>>357703
But you'd be cut off from most of your vys reserves.
Also, you probably won't be able to function from the shock.
>>
>>357713
Not really. Mik has cast while being paralyzed before, and a clean separation causes no trauma to the brain itself, which is why decapitated heads may remain conscious for a short while.


Crashing into a wall does cause a lot of trauma though. Also the specific way Chrys snapped Mik's neck could destroy the brain stem. I'm just shitposting, anon, you don't have to provide any arguments.
>>
>>357664
>>It's more important that you keep the crowds from panicking, stay out here and try to calm everyone down.
>>
>>357785
>>357688
>>357682
>It's chill niggas, he's cool.

>>357692
>>357695
>Find the man in charge.

>>357689
>This is fine. Everything is fine.

Writin for keeping the crowd calm. Lemme figure out bonuses and such.
Also, NOW I'm off the phone.
>>
ROOOOOOOLL ME 3d10+18 (+6 from Orator, +8 from Nature Magic, +4 from Adhikari) vs DC 38 (Base 20, +8 Panicked Mob, +4 Language Barrier, +6 Circumstances)
>>
Rolled 10, 10, 1 + 18 = 39 (3d10 + 18)

>>357836
>>
Rolled 6, 4, 8 + 18 = 36 (3d10 + 18)

>>357836
Yeesh
>>
Rolled 2, 7, 8 + 18 = 35 (3d10 + 18)

>>357836
ROLLLLLLL THEM DICE
>>
Rolled 2, 4, 6 + 18 = 30 (3d6 + 18)

>>357836
>>
>>357836
>Spend 5
>>
>>357839

So close.
>>
>>357836
How long until we get an upgrade to Orator?
>>
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>>357839
>>
>>357850
Maybe right now if we don't spend.
>>
>>357836
>The word adhikari comes from the Sanskrit word adhikari अधिकार meaning right as in right to rule.
Have we always had that?
>>
>>357282
To belatedly answer this question, you can currently already fuse fire magic and Marsala Ve. This would probably be common knowledge if Mik ever really engaged in magical melee, as it is he usually tends to stay at range rather than closing with his opponents. But doing something like, stabbing a guy in the chest with a spear while channeling Fire magic at the same time, thus shooting a jet of flame into his chest cavity. That'd be entirely legitimate, and it would also be a fusion of Marsala Ve and Fire Magic.

Admittedly, you couldn't do this with Earth magic, or Water magic, or anything of that sort. Like, you couldn't attack someone and heal yourself or hurl spears of ice at the same time. Nor could you charge your spear up with the power of pure entropy to pierce through their armor. Not with Marsala Ve, at least.

However, as powerful as this is a dedicated technique focused upon the use of Fire and Nature Magic in conjunction with martial forms would provide bonuses which would stack on top of all your other martial bonuses.

>>357839
>>357841
>>357842
>38, 35, 30 vs DC 38
>Regular Failure!

>Spend 3 for a Regular Success
>Spend 11 for a Great Success

You're at 51/72 right now, just as a heads up. I know I didn't update y'all in the last post.
>>
>>357864
And no, you started off with Senapati, I believe.
http://pastebin.com/1niidZEa
The tiers of the commander trait can be found here.
>>
>>357874
>Spend 3 for a Regular Success
>>
>>357874
>Spend 11 for a Great Success
damn uncultured morons panicking over every little thing.
>>
>>357874
spend 11
>>
>>357874
>>Spend 11 for a Great Success
Soma can you confirm that meditation on forms allow you to meditate on an element or meta and increase one insight of a martial art at the same time?
>>
>>357874
>Don't spend
>>
>>357874
That was a weird mistake. You rolled 39, 36, 35. Not 38, 35, 30

So you'll spend either 2 vys for a Regular Success, or 5 vys for a Great Success.
>>
>>357874
>spend 5 for great success
>>
>>357874
>Spend 11 for a Great Success
>>
>>357894
Spend 5
>>
>>357874
>Spend 5 for a great success
>>
>>357894
>>Spend 5 for a Great Success
>>
>>357895
>>357889
>>357888
>>357886
>>357899
>>357908
>>357909
>SPend for Great

>>357884
>Spend for Regular

>>357891
>Don't spend

Also, some folks have brought up the possibility of storing your companions away in MIkhael's private realm while he flies ahead on Zahak's back to reach Elaudia. This would indeed save quite a bit of time. I figure, mounted on Camels or Sarada, it will take 2 or 3 days to reach Elaudia. On foot, it will probably take 4 or 5. On Zahak, it will only take you one.

Use this information as you will.
>>
>>357919
Nah, have them travel with us. Would be kinda shitty to just stuff them away and travel on our own.
>>
>>357925
We will tell to git gud while they stay there.
>>
>>357925
It'll greatly reduce the amount of time just riding on animals. We're in for some deep shit with being Maligned and heading into Elaudia. We can use the extra days to git gud and get them to git gud.
>>
>>357925
We can still shape and Ben the world to our will do why not have private quarters for them to their liking while we save shit tons of time? We are on a time schedule for the skelies anyway.
>>
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>>357925
Its only for a day. We're on a time limit for the Stooges, and we don't have too many days left to waste. If we just toss our party into the pokeball we'd save 1-2 days. Plus, they'd probably rather chill and by chill I mean have an orgy and wreck our house inside our nice magical realm than ride camels for 3 days.
>>
>>357932
It also means no extra eyes and ears to cover us and a delay before they can aid us if something happens. It's also kind of a dickish thing to say, just going "Alright, I don't see a need for you lot right now so off to the realm with you. I'll call if I need something." Like, fuck man, at least pretend to enjoy their company.
Plus if we get fucked up, they're sealed away forever or some shit, to be the quirky backup of some other quest protagonist.
>>
>>357919
Did Profectus ever learn our sith lightening?
>>
>>357963
I don't believe so, but he's one meditation away from being able to actually do proper sith lightning, instead of the little bypass that Mik uses.
>>
>mik forgets to let his friends out
>>
>>357967
In the worst case scenario they can open a hole to the void to get out.
>>
>>357967
>>357953

If we are unable/forget to let them out, then they are forced to git gud until they are able to break back into reality on their own. Really, its for their own good.
>>
>>357953
We're flying on a dragon. Unless there's another dragon out to get us, we'll be fine. Furthermore, that's a day that they can use to improve their own martial and magical talents. Half of them were taken out of action by a minor, child spirit. If we travel for 5 or 4 days, that'll eat up precious amounts of time they can invest in getting good, either by using learning how to preform the Avatar technique or donating husk.

Oh, speaking of which, I've thought of a measure to allow us to enchant more freely. We were able to siphon husk from the Sarv's disciple and Chryssa in order to increase our own supply. Permanency requires us to spend Husk. We ourselves only have the Husk to create 7 artifacts, pushing ourselves to the brink of exhaustion. Splitting the cost of permanency across the party is the best way to arm them with artifacts.
>>
>>357967

Feels almost like cheating.
>>
>>357966
Here's a query boss. How long would it take Chryssa to craft us a spear of Spirit Ivory that have the same proto-runes as our current mundane spear? About how many pounds would each spear cost?
>>
>>358068
>wasting spirit ivory like that
>>
>>358068
Shut up Rob
>>
>>358081
Fuck off Analwolf.
>>
>>358080
A spear is 1 kg to 2.5 kg, 7 pounds at the very most. Creating a spear of pure Ivory would proof it from normal Earth erosion, as opposed to a spirit Ivory infused spear that still has mundane parts. Furthermore, we would not need to involve favors from the Cat, as Chryssa can inscribe a Large Refine Fire array. Erosion and sculpting is Chryssa's forte. She has not demonstrated nor do we know of any ability of her's to combine materials. It is the most efficient allocation of time and resources, as Cat favor artifacts can be much more intricate.
>>
>another thread where nothing significant happens
>>
>>358093
Why the fuck would we make the entire spear out of spirit ivory, and not just the spear head?

You're just wasteful.

> Not making arrows for Chryssa that transport anyone they hit into our spirit realm for detainment and experimentation and lock them there.

You're also uncreative, dull, boring etc. Especially if we make a runic array so that it bonds with their soul/shell/husk/whatever. Ideally maybe even devours and stores a copy of their husk so they're left "alive" but we can still sift through their memories, re-integrating them if necessary.
>>
>>358093
So is it proofed against earth or not? If it is Chryssa is unable to do anything with it or it isn't and it can be made.
besides we already have plenty of spears that have more interesting enchantments.
>>
>>358108
It wouldn't be BQ if we didn't have 10-30 threads between important or interesting things occurring.
>>
>>358116
That is what I mean by "normal" Earth magic. We're completely unable to affect it. Chryssa, as a GM earth vatis focusing on Erosion can. Now, if just the spearhead was ivory, we'd be able to erode the very mundane wooden shaft, wouldn't we >>358115 ? Just a spear head isn't very useful, is it?

>>358115
The thinking behind focusing this spear's offensive capabilities on fire is how Marsala Ve martial maneuvers are able to synergize with Fire magic. For example, a Piercing strike will reduce enemy soak by a half. Channeling a bolt of thunder from the spear while we perform the strike will reduce soak by another half. I'm sure there are other opportunities for collating bonuses and maneuvers.
>>
>>358135
Why not just enchant the shaft to be erosion resistant?
>>
>>358143
Because it'll cost husk, time, and we can skip that by having Chryssa simply make the thing out of an already existing magical material we have plenty of?
>>
>>358135
do you remember how we got that boar tusk? We eroded it ourself in battle. the only reason we didn't do it to make the ring was because we didn't channel noticable amounts of vys into it.
>>
>>358150
You mean instead of using a cheap and easy alternative, we should waste a non-renewable resource on a vanity project that will sit unused like most of our artifacts?

Because it's not like that shit has value we can trade it for to other spirits or their disciples and whatnot.

But no, let's do your useless shit so you can feel like McBigDick Munchkin.
>>
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>>358193
>>358150

Is it inconceivable that, with our new difficulty level, we could possibly run into maybe another Earth grandmaster? Noooooooo.

Nooooooooooooooooo.

That couldn't possibly happen.
>>
>>358193
And it took us a full offensive action to do so. When someone else takes an offensive action against us, we get to counter. Trying to destroy the enchantment, trying to erode Spirit Ivory, it takes time, and we can happily use this time to stab them in the face.

>>358196
>>358214

Why so salty anon?

You realize what we don't have is time, correct? We're on the very verge of entering Elaudia right now, where Spirits easily Mahana's age and easily his power reside. While the cosmic bureaucracy tries to murder us. What can't you get basic math through your thick skull? We're entering Elaudia in a day. Enchanting a basic spear is half a day's work. We have 120 pounds of Ivory, a spear is just 7 pounds. It's not the end of the fucking world. It's less than 6% of our current supply. Instead of consuming half a companion's available time before entering Elaudia, it'll consume a quarter, maybe less.
>>
>>358224
We already have a good enough spear though, we should portion it off to chrys to make arrows and reinforce her bow.
>>
>>358224
You're the one that comes off as salty.
>>
>>358237
Profectus and Darzi are still sorely lacking for weapons. Chryssa's bow is already reinforced.

>>358241
>I know you are, what am I?
kek
>>
>>358237
We could easily make a spear with godly stats for both us and Darzi. Darzi's current spear is shit.
>>
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>it's another "soma shits out an update every 2.5 hours" episode

why do I even bother catching live threads if it'll just lead to disappointment?
>>
>>358247
Masochism
>>
>>358247
Because soma is a good writer and considering some points in argument could lead to better more creative decisions in actually relevant situations
>>
>>358247

If you dont attend live threads, the Dharzi shills win.
>>
>>358247
Just remember if you're not here bad decisions will get samefagged through.
>>
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>>358262
haven't they already?
>>
>>358262
The get gud shills need to take over if anything.
>>
>>358193
And we used the gauntlet which gives a bonus greater than a GM.
>>
>>358336
huh so we did.
>>
>>358336
Yes I really think we aught to give using it a few more tries, while in battle or meditating. Not enough to let it just grow over us, but I think we could get out of that problem either way at this point.
>>
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>>358247
>why do I even bother
>>
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Master Karim used to tell you that in a crisis, you should always just keep moving forward from one task to the next until you've accomplished whatever goal you've set out to accomplish. That even if the burden placed upon you seems insurmountable, you can overcome it if you just keep plugging away at each individual barrier to your success. It's at times like this you value that little tidbit of advice, because otherwise you'd probably be incapacitated by the immensity of the challenge you face. Calming a crowd on the cusp of breaking out into riotous panic is not simply difficult, for the average man or woman, it may well be downright suicidal.

Fortunately, you are not the average man or woman. {I'm going to try and get the crowd's attention, to see if I can calm them down before anyone does anything excessively stupid. Follow me and keep an eye on the crowd in case things turn violent. Oh, and Chryssa, I'll be trusting you to keep Zahak's sheep safe until such a time as he can enjoy it.}

{Shouldn't we send someone out to find Profectus?} Darzi ask, as you turn sharply and begin to march towards the ladder leading up to the raised platform serving as the entrance to the wagon. {I mean, he's just out there among the crowd, and I'm sure there are people out there who remember seeing him with us and with Zahak. He would be on his own if this turned into a riot.}

Much as you hate to admit, Dariz brings up a good point. You are sort of abandoning Profectus, though it's his own fault for wandering off. Focusing upon the connections afforded to you by the network of brooches, you cannot detect Profectus' thoughts. Either he's removed his brooch for some reason, or he's fallen asleep. Neither bodes well. {Much as I'd like to find Profectus, time is of the essence. I hope that once I get the crowd's attention, he'll notice and join us. If that doesn't happen, well, we can only try our best to prevent an outbreak of violence. He's a grown man, and a competent enough combatant. I trust he'll be fine.}

Hopefully that trust isn't misplaced. Upon reaching the ladder, you quickly scale the rungs up to the platform providing entrance to the main chamber of the wagon. Darzi joins you, taking up position between you and the entrance, while Chryssa, Mortia, and Fulvia stay below, guarding the ladders up. Holding up your hands, you shout out for the crowd's attention, only for your voice to be drowned out by the chaos below.

(1/3)
>>
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Fortunately, you have at your disposal a plethora of methods by which to draw the attention of a crowd. Drawing your Rhynian pistol from the confines of your cloak, you channel a few vys into the cracked barrel. Steam begins to billow from the muzzle, a baleful light gleaming through the fractures in the steel. Raising the pistol to the air, you're more than a little worried that it's going to explode in your hand, but when you squeeze down both triggers the thunderous roar which emits from the twin barrels does not also carry with it the shards of shrapnel which would have surely resulted from the pistol malfunctioning.
>Vys Pool: (49/72)

A deathly silence settles over the assembled crowd, broken only moments later by scattered sobs and confused muttering. Some few continue to run for the edge of the camp, but before the panic can truly resume you channel vys, amplifying your voice far beyond its natural volume. “You have nothing to fear, and this overreaction will lead to nothing but pain and hardship should it persist. Let I, a man who has traveled the wide reaches of the world and seen things which no mortal has laid eyes on for thousands of years, assure you of this.”
>Vys Pool: (47/72)

“Yes, to you I am a foreigner and a strange one at that. You have no reason to believe that I speak the truth, but I ask only that you look now to the dragon upon your roof.” You throw an arm upwards, to the point at which Zahak has perched himself. Your son remains passive, his thoughts emitting curiosity and some small amount of fear, but he does not flare the scales upon his neck or breath flame down upon a quickly assembling crowd. “Does this look to you as a beast set upon your destruction? Does it burn raise your homes, kill your loved ones, and ravage your herds?”
>Vys Pool: (46/72)

A few tense moments pass as you note many men and women among the crowd wielding bows with arrows nocked, but ultimately the atmosphere is shattered the moment a man steps through the curtains obscuring the mobile fortress' grand hall. He wears relatively little except loose trousers and a dark blue sash. It's only the golden plate strapped to his turban that marks him as the chieftain of this particular tribe of Bhataki. A dagger rest upon his hip, but your eye is drawn instead to the necklace around his neck, which even the slightest exertion of nature magic reveals to be enchanted.

(2/3)
>>
The man shoots Darzi a glare as she moves to stand between you and him. You can feel her confidence waver even though she appears resolute. To be fair he is rather intimidating. Taller even than your are, with the horns, at what must surely be well over seven feet tall. Plus he's far more muscular than you are. Of course you could probably beat him like a street urchin, if you wanted to. Such is the benefit of magical power. That knowledge does little to negate his commanding presence. Be it the way he carries himself, or the detachment with which he examines you and yours, he just exudes confidence.

The chieftain babbles something in that abominable language of theirs, you catch the gist of it, he's asking what right you have to tear up his home and address his people. There's something else in there about a forbidden one, but it went over your head.

>Impress upon him that you wish to speak in private.
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>Fuck this guy, you were keeping his people form rioting. Maybe he should try getting off his ass more often.
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
>Write-in
>>
>>358356
Can't we use Nature magic to find Profectus? Ring + Crown should help us enough to do it.
>>
>>358365
>>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358366
Shieeet, I forgot about the ring. I'll need to take that into account going forward.
>>
>>358365
>>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
>>
>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358365
>Impress upon him that you wish to speak in private.
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
I know it won't win but I enjoy the joke.
>>
>>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358366
Can't we just use the brooches to talk to him?
>>
>>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358365
>Call him a nigger
>>
>>358365
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
>Fuck this guy, you were keeping his people form rioting. Maybe he should try getting off his ass more often.
>Impress upon him that you wish to speak in private.
>>
>>358394
> you cannot detect Profectus' thoughts. Either he's removed his brooch for some reason, or he's fallen asleep. Neither bodes well.
>>
>>358394
Did you read the post mate?
>Focusing upon the connections afforded to you by the network of brooches, you cannot detect Profectus' thoughts. Either he's removed his brooch for some reason, or he's fallen asleep. Neither bodes well.
>>
>>358365
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
>>
>>358365
>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>>
>>358400
>>358403
I missed that bit.
>>
>>358395
>>358392
>>358382
>>358381
>>358370
>>358369
>>358412
>Ayo sorry nigga

>>358410
>>358399
>>358386
>>358376
>Speak English y'gosh darn shirtless mexican!

>>358399
>>358386
>Hol up, let's speak inside

>>358399
>Fuck you, I just did your job.

Writin'
>>
>>358365
>>Apologize for your presumptuous interference, but stress the necessity of it.
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
Does he not even know Slamjam?
>>
>>358365
>Tell him to quit speakin' that ooga booga language of his.
>>
>>358434
SOMA! I need your 'I'm not giving you any~' pic if you can post it.
>>
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>>358497
You got it famalam.
>>
>>358502
Thanks senpai!
>>
>>358497
that almost seems like a paradox.
>>
>>358516
It really does. I was hoping he'd give him some other "not giving ou any" image.
>>
{Do you think you could run me through that?} Your thoughts intrude upon Darzi's own, whatever fear she might have felt quickly suppressed. {I caught the gist of it, what right do I have so on and so forth, but that last bit about a forbidden one was absolutely lost on me. Something about bringing into the community?}

Her response is immediately proceeded by a wave of discomfort, and to a far lesser degree guilt. {I may have misconstrued the events surrounding my decision to settle permanently in El-Amin. It's generally considered despicable for one of the Retiloko to adopt the ways of the asudha, and my parents were prominent figures at the time. They forbade me to ever return to the tribe of my birth, and those related tribes. This particular band is numbered among the latter.}

Retiloko, that's the word they use for themselves. It had slipped your mind completely. Regardless, with that little issue cleared up you step away from the edge of the platform, boots thudding rhythmically against the wood as you come to stand next to Darzi. The man is not so large that you're forced to crane your neck to look him in the eye, but it is still an unusual experience being forced to look up at someone.

“My apologies if I overstepped my bounds as a guest, but you must understand they threatened the life of my son.” Confusion flashes briefly across the chieftain's face, replaced in the next instant by realization. “I've raised him since he was an egg, and though I consider myself a patient, reasonable man I cannot speak for what actions I might have taken if he'd been harmed.”

He speaks once again, barely intelligible as genuine language. It's evidently clear that he understands the common tongue of your people, yet he refuses to speak it. Is he just being an ass, or is he trying to make some sort of point? Fortunately you have Darzi here to translate. {He asked what it is you want from his tribe. He will do business with us, but we must leave afterw-}

Darzi is interrupted by a triumphant Profectus, his thoughts ringing through your skull. {Finally! Gods above and below, I've been running all over this forsaken tent city looking for those little bastards who stole my brooch. What did I miss? You lot finished shopping?}

The vastness of Fulvia's mind intrudes upon the conversation. {Zahak landed upon the tower of the wagon and the tribesman perceived it as an attack. Mikhael momentarily diffused the situation, but is now engaged in negotiations with their chieftain. It is likely that we will be forced to pay damages, or at the very least be expelled from the settlement. You should join us promptly.}

>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
>You were interested in buying a few mounts which could carry you to the jungle's edge.
>Write-in
>>
>>358628
>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
>>
>>358628
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
>>
>>358628
>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
JUNGLE NOW FUCK THIS GAY SHIT
>>
>>358628
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
>>
>>358628
>Tell the chief to stop speaking ooga booga
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
If we're gonna get gyped on the prices he can stop being a monkey at us
>>
>>358628
>>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
I didn't even want any of your gypsy bullshit
>>
>>358628
>>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
>Tell the chief to stop speaking ooga booga
Might as well insult him as we leave.
>>
>>358628
>we need supplies and shit nigger
>>
>>358628
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
Also stop being a faggot and speak a civilized language you massive faggot
>>
>>358628
>>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
Why did we even bother with this gypsy filth
>>
>>358628
>>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
>>
>>358628
>They're sure to jack the prices up on you to an exorbitant degree, best to just leave.
>>
>>358628
>Explain that you're really only looking for supplies necessary for a trip through Elaudia.
>>
>>358631
>>358640
>>358645
>>358649
>>358665
>>358671
>Fuck this shit I'm out.

>>358676
>>358667
>>358659
>>358652
>>358644
>>358643
>>358637
>I just need supplies nigga

Writin' for needing supplies.
You don't need to roll for this.
>>
>>358684
Can you make Mik call him a nigger?
>>
Rolled 2, 7, 4 = 13 (3d10)

>>358684
>don't need to roll

blasphemy
>>
>>358686
Sandkike, dude.
>>
>>358707
They're more like Sandgypsys desu.
We're Sandjews
>>
>>358684
>Go into gypsie camp so we can buy supplies
>Fuck it up almost immediately

10/10.
>>
>>358767
We got goats for Ricky and a giant sheep for Zahak so we already got the most important things.
>>
Leave it to Fulvia to quickly and efficiently summarize a difficult situation. Ignoring for a moment Profectus' questions regarding just how exactly all this came about in the time it took him to chase down a street rat, you turn your attention once more to the chieftain. “We need supplies for a journey into Elaudia and were hoping you might offer some advice as to what we need exactly. We have plenty of food and water, rope, lanterns, and alchemical regents but none of us have experienced the jungle first hand before.”

The chief considers your request carefully, eyebrows drawing together in thought. Finally, he reaches to the gilded hilt of a dagger upon his hip and draws it from the ivory sheath. You half expect him to drive it into your abdomen or something to that effect. Instead he flips it up, catching it easily by the blade and offering you the handle. More than a little confused, you take the weapon. It's not enchanted, you can tell that at a glance, so you're not sure what his goal is here.

“You want my advice?” At long last he speaks a language you can understand. He barely even has an accent. “Drag that across your throat, spare yourself the trouble of walking all that way.”

This man met you not more than a few minutes ago and in the short time you've been forced to interact with him he has disrespected at every turn. You are patient man, but that patience is not infinite. You see only one true recourse, and that is to follow his advice.

You drag the knife across your throat in one smooth motion, blood spurting from the gaping wound which results and spattering not only your robes, but one particularly powerful stream of crimson slashes across the chieftain's chest. You heal yourself only enough to allow yourself speech, letting your blood drain freely from the wound otherwise. “Gee, I really don't feel any more prepared for Elaudia than I was before. Nor do I seem to have saved any time.”

Taking careful aim, you fling the blade over the man's shoulder, missing his ear by only a hair's width. Using a bit of Metal magic to ensure it embeds itself firmly in the wooden frame marking the entrance to the grand hall. “Thanks for wasting my time. I realize I probably interrupted your busy schedule of stealing and sheep fucking, but what can I say?”

(1/3)
>>
The fury roiling off the man is palpable, but you simply turn sharply and walk away content in the knowledge that you said your piece. Darzi follows swiftly at your back, pausing at the stairs. However, you merely step off the edge of the wooden platform, onto the first step of a stairwell carved from ice. The rest of it forms as you walk, the entire structure anchored to the platform's own supports.
>Vys Pool: (44/72)

{We're leaving.} The announcement comes perhaps a little more forcefully than you'd intended, but you're more than tired of these people and their debased way of life. {Zahak, meet us at the edge of the camp. We'll decide our course of action from there.}

You hear the sudden groaning of wood, and then something splinters just as your son's wings beat against the air. He soars easily ahead of you, flying low over the collections of tents and market stalls. Profectus must have found your party at some point while you were speaking with the chieftain. He falls into step right beside Darzi. Fulvia and Mortia follow them, while Chryssa and the sheep you bought for Zahak bringing up the rear.

It takes you no more than a few minutes to reach the edge of the settlement, the gaping wound in your neck yet unhealed though it has stopped bleeding and you've taken the liberty of extracting the blood from your robes. It closes itself with barely any expenditure of energy on your part, and you soon join your son where he rest atop a small hill at the boundary of the camp. Chryssa brings the sheep around, which seems remarkably unconcerned by the fact it stands before a dragon. Elated by your gift, his head shoots forward. The crunch of the sheep's skull shattering between Zahak's jaws rings through the air, and as he rips his head away the animal's body falls limp.

“So, I suppose we're walking to Elaudia?” It's Profectus who finally ask the obvious question, against the background of your son carefully moderating a jet of flame which he's using to cook the sheep's entrails after ripping open its abdomen. The scent of blood, burning hair, and cooking meat is overpowering.

>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>There's surely another town further up the road. You'll walk there and buy a few camels. Shouldn't add more than a day to your travel time.
>Maybe you can hitch a ride with a caravan or something? For now, just start walking. You can figure out the rest as you go.
>Write-in
>>
>>358801
>Maybe you can hitch a ride with a caravan or something? For now, just start walking. You can figure out the rest as you go.
See the sights nigga.
>>
>>358801
Nigger fucking make a cart with magic, we're a team of vatis for a fucking reason
>>
>>358797
>“Gee, I really don't feel any more prepared for Elaudia than I was before. Nor do I seem to have saved any time.”
That's why I love Mik.
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
Obviously. If possible though I'd line for Darzi to ride with us
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
It's a lot faster and they can train while we travel.
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358801
>I'll make rooms for you in my realm senpai, sit tight and I'll get you if anything notice happens
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
kek
>>
>>358801

>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358797
>saying gee
>in a setting where jesus never existed
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.

time for the party to get good.

also see if the broaches can cross the layers of reality
>>
>>358801
>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
Let's try to be swift, at least until we fufill our obligation to the stooges.
>>
>>358801
>>You'll have your companions spend a few hours in your realm, while you fly with Zahak to Elaudia. Once you reach a logging camp or something, you'll extract them from your realm.
>>
>>358809
>>358810
>>358812
>>358813
>>358814
>>358815
>>358816
>>358821
>>358825
>>358826
>>358851
>>358855
>>358862
>>358822
>Y'all can chill, I'mma fly there and call you.

>>358835
>Implying it's not based on the Rhynian Emperor Georgios, who's role in the Rape of Azash earned him the disdain of the entire nation and made his name a byword for the most vile of crimes.

>>358806
>MAGIC CART

>>358803
>Hitch hike across country.

Looks like I finally get to use the new map. Writin'
>>
>>358872
We'll be assigning our companions tasks to perform while in our realm, right? Meditations, crafting, etc.
>>
>>358872
>>Implying it's not based on the Rhynian Emperor Georgios, who's role in the Rape of Azash earned him the disdain of the entire nation and made his name a byword for the most vile of crimes.
What a shit excuse
>>
>>358877
They are grown ups they can find out by themselves what to do. Just remember to teach weapon chanelling
>>
>>358872
>Rape of Azash
Fucking sandgook propaganda. wwww
THE RAPES NEVER HAPPENED, and the "slaughter" was purely military in nature. All of the "innocent unarmed victims" were fully armed vatis combatants. Stop slandering Georgios and stop believing in the lies of the uncivilized sand eating freaks.
>>
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>>358872
>Implying it's not based on the Rhynian Emperor Georgios, who's role in the Rape of Azash earned him the disdain of the entire nation and made his name a byword for the most vile of crimes.

So if we rape enough people we can get a curse word named after us? Time to tatoo Grow+Reinforce on the Mik Dik
>>
>>358872
If anyone has any ideas, please chime in.

the Avatar Technique has been compared to Point Defense and Point Offense by the boss. They work because of the nature of Water. It flows to and from without resistance, allowing us to solidify it where we need to and liquefy for movement to where it needs to be.

The principle nature of Fire in the Avatar technique is destruction. Fire burns everything in it's way. It doesn't stop. In the same fashion, Marsala Ve is the martial art that's focused on an unending, unerring crushing forward attack. The way you described the result of successfully performing this technique is a roiling force of fire, and you stated that Fire magic needs to play a part. It can't stand in the wings until it's time to strike. Nature Magic's job in this technique, as it is in Point Defense and Point Offense is grant the user maximum control over their Vys and magic. It expands our awareness enough for us to react to threats with either an icy shield or attack weak points with water spikes.

Incorporating Fire Magic would mean using it like an extension of our body and mind. How exactly to do so, I have no idea.
>>
>>358904
Your Rhynian wars of aggression can go on no longer. Return the rightful Hiacian clay, you degenerate sodomite.
>>
>>358982
The only ways I have even heard of how to do so are in these posts: http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/34739479/#34740939 and
http://somaqm.tumblr.com/post/139141537677/im-actually-more-interested-in-post-34740939
>>
“This plan might sound a little out there, but here's what I've been considering for the last few hours.” Really more like few minutes, but you want your companions to think you put at least a little bit of thought into the ideas you propose. “This artifact I got from Mahana lets me freely enter and leave my realm, right? With as many guest as I want, so long as we're all in contact with one another in the instant I activate the necklace.”

Using a bit of Fire magic, you quickly manifest a quick diagram showing the tower situated above you and your companions standing amidst a sea of dunes. “What I'm thinking is, only I need to enter the realm from, and return to the mortal coil in, the same location.” The group of you and your companions vanishes, only to reappear moments standing in front of your tower. You and Zahak disappear, and reappear standing where you were before in the desert.

“If I leave you to relax in my private realm for a time, while Zahak and I fly to Elaudia, I should be able to reenter my realm from the edge of the jungle and bring you back with me, thus allowing us to quickly cross rather vast distances.” The vague representations of you and your son cross the stretch of desert and then return to the tower, only to reappear a moment later with your entire party gathered together. “Zahak can move far faster than any carriage or wagon, so I estimate the entire trip will take only a few hours rather than several days.”

You're met with vague nods of approval, though you note that Fulvia is slightly more enthusiastic than your other companions. {I could not have suggested a better abuse of the rules by which your artifact operates. Skillfully executed, Dux Mikhael.}

Darzi seems a little put off by Fulvia's eagerness to praise you. “I agree, in principle I suppose. That ought to save us quite a lot of time, though I hope you don't mind us relaxing while you do all the work.”

“Why would I mind?” The question genuinely confuses you. “It's not as if I'll be fighting spirits or tearing down a rivals' villa. Compared to some of the things I've gotten myself into lately, relaxing with a book with my son seems like a rare opportunity to be well and truly at ease.” That brings up another issue with that question. “Besides, don't you have some reading of your own to be doing? This goes, for everyone really. I know many of you have books of your own stashed away, be sure to trade the ones you've finished among yourselves, make sure everyone has an opportunity to see them. If not that, at least meditate.”

(1/2)
>>
Profectus sighs, but offers no real complaint. The rest of your companions seem to be more or less in agreement that the best use of the time would be meditating or reading. That out of the way, you have everyone join hands, or in Zahak's case grab hold of a claw. Channeling vys into the pendant dangling from your neck sees a sudden and drastic change in your surroundings. No longer do you stand atop a rocky hill adjacent a sea of tents. Instead a tower of black iron threaded with gold rises from the sea before you, its highest reaches seeming to join with the night sky above.

“The constellations and nebulae are a nice touch.” Mortia offers, to which Darzi quickly agrees. Even Profectus seems pleased, a fact you're proud of. You know he responded rather negatively to your last collective representation of the party. Only Chryssa seems less than thrilled to return to your private realm, remaining locked in place at the water's edge even as you lead the rest of your companions towards the tower's main gates. It is only belatedly that she joins you, walking quickly to catch up.

Mortia soon finds the alchemical lab and ensconces herself there, while Fulvia returns to the workshop where your enchanting equipment lies. Profectus spotted a tray of flatbread and hummus which he attacks with a fervor, an activity in which he's eventually joined by Chryssa. Darzi seems interested in the sparring room, but does not yet abandon you to your own devices.

>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
>She was hardly in a healthy state of mind at the time, stricken as she was by your death at her hands. Just hit the road.
>Maybe you can intensify that phenomenon for the length of their stay? You won't notice it, of course.
>Write-in
>>
>>358995
>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
>>
>>358995
>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
>>
I'll be back shortly, gonna run out for food and maybe some coffee.
>>
>>358995
>>Write-in
Tell them how to do weapon channeling
>>
>>359002
>>358995
I'll support this.
>>
>>358995
>teach them vys channeling in everyday use like spending vys for meditating success
>>
>>358995
>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
>>359002
>Tell them how to do weapon channeling
>>
>>358995
>>359002
support
>>
>>358995

Make Butler Monkeys to attend your friends.

Complete with suits and language skills.
>>
>>359010
Unnaturally fast and immune to magic gypsy monkeys would be a better idea.
>>
>>358982
You're definitely on the right track so far, liking what I'm seeing. Just gotta crystallize and supplement some of those ideas.
Anyway, NOW I'm runnin' out for food.
>>
>>359010
>>359013
yas
>>
>>358995
>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
>>
>>358995
>>Chryssa mentioned last time that the doors and hallways seemed to change, put in some basic signs to help guide them around.
make the signs meeseeks just standing around for a few days
>>
>>359010

And a massive Silverback butler named Chongo who serves as the head butler.
>>
>>359044
I also support this
>>
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>>359010
>>359044
And they all have to be wearing fezes like this
>>
>>359014

Wait, soma....

Can we....Uplift species? Is that even a thing, or even possible?
>>
>>358995
>>359010
>>359044
>>
>>359061
that would be really hard
>>
>>358982
If Grandmastery in fire is having precise control in the rate of destruction, why not use that in Point Defense and Point Offense? IIRC, Surya's vice is a way of channeling Fire Magic.
Incorporating Fire magic to Point Offense/Defense can be done by casting Surya's vice at those precise points in Mik's Field, turning Mik into a walking Tesla coil. If Nature Magic expands our awareness and allows us to react to threats, then Fire Magic would allow us to precisely channel the right amount of power to ward it off or destroy said threat (going by the ritual method entailed in Fire Grandmastery).
>>
>>359077
Suryas Vice is actually really shitty compared to normal lightning. So no.

But really. Soma said that once we reach GM in Fire and we have the Suryan firebrand we can pretty much have Point Offense/Defense around wit with lightning. A ring of pure lightning hovering around us ready to disintegrate anything in our way.
>>
So hey, I just found this shit called Vivarin, that's apparently a caffeine pill. Hopefully this bodes well for my productivity.
>>
>>359010
>>359018
>>359051
>>359056
>>359064
>Go full Wizard of Oz.

>>358998
>>359000
>>359006
>>359023
>>359035
>Put in some signs.

I'll go with both, I suppose.
>>
>>359080
I'm a pleb who doesn't listen into IRC. I'm just spitballing to see what helps with incorporating fire magic into Point-Offense/Defense because I thought Lighting = Surya's Vice and thought Surya's Vice + Point-Offense/Defense = Tesla Coil.
>>
>>359090
Well Soma described Suryas Vice as like ghetto lightning. Still lightning but not really nearly as strong as regular lightning. So the Suryan Firebrands produce this for us to channel in attacks and spells. Though it actually is pretty easy to just channel the lightning in a general sense because you dont actually have to create it and it's just kind of raw fire magic. Still manipulating vast amounts in complex actions (As Point O/D does) that requires a sustained hold over the fire magic requires GM level.

I am fucking hype for when we try this as a Fire GM. Like the first time we really chimp out on someone while we're in this state will be the most glorious thread BQ has ever had.
>>
>>359102
>>359090
Also in addition to the lightning we get this
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/45547069/#p45548385
<~Soma_QM> You'd likely want to make sure Darzi reached Legendary first, and you'd want her to be in her armor. Maybe up her Fire Magic to Master level first, if not Grandmaster. But yeah, she could become a whirlwind of death very easily. Especially since the armor makes her nearly invincible.
[21:51] <~Soma_QM> I imagine since Fire Magic also controls illusions, and since mortals can tap into something of the divine when they reach the deepest depths of a meditative trance, she'd also start to appear to take on aspects of Surya as she fought.
[21:52] <~Soma_QM> So, head replaced by a flaming maw. Arms sprouting off of her left and right striking at opponents in every direction, becoming a formless mass of fire one moment and a four-armed monstrosity the next.
[21:53] <~Soma_QM> The aspect of psychological warfare would probably end up being just as valuable as the sheer physical might.
>>
>>359103
>[21:52] <~Soma_QM> So, head replaced by a flaming maw. Arms sprouting off of her left and right striking at opponents in every direction, becoming a formless mass of fire one moment and a four-armed monstrosity the next.
>4 arms
Come on Soma. Surya could do better than 2 pairs of arms. Why not 1000 arms?
>>
>>359113
>1000 arms
>wanting !Hekatonkheires
Filthy Rhynian lover.
>>
>>359115
I was thinking Chakravartin, not Hekatonkheires
>>
Well the obvious solution would be to just make signs at certain intersections leading to various portions of your tower. You do so, it doesn't actually require much effort on your part. Ideating the signs is sufficient to create them as well, such is your control over the strings which define this realm. However, the obvious solution is not always the best solution. The signs don't really help your companions if they, too are constantly shifting around and changing direction. You need some sort of guide.

Deliberating long and hard on the issue at hand yields few initial results. You don't want to go through the effort of making actual people, and indeed to create anything real would be impossible. They'll essentially be interactive elements of your realm, sort of constructs with a very primitive mind is the way you imagine them. You want them to be small but agile, and sort of vaguely humanoid. Then it strikes you, a memory from your youth. Much of your time, as it is now, was spent reading.

While reading, especially in old illuminated manuscripts, you'd often find little marginalia featuring little chimps engaged in all sorts of nonsensical activities, fighting one another or drinking heavily or any number of other things. Only rarely did these have anything at all to do with the contents of the book itself. Your Master also had quite a number of bestiaries in his library which you spent a significant amount of time reading. They were interesting and not really related to magic, so they afforded a break from your studies.

Summoning these memories from your apprenticeship is relatively easy, especially considering what you know of memory and how it's referenced by the mind. Except, you know what? Why not give it a few extra arms. That should make it far more efficient in its roll as a servant. This idea finalized, a squat little creature appears standing comfortably on two legs in front of you. It wears a red loincloth bound by a beaded belt, and a stiff felt cap. The structure of it shoulders is a bit odd, you had to make some compromises to get the whole four arms thing to work, but other than that it looks more or less like you remember in the pictures.

Profectus mumbles something through a mouthful of food, swallows, and then presumably repeats whatever his question was. “What's the weird ape for?”

“It's not an ape, it has a tail.” You correct him. You don't remember much about the various primates which dwell in Elaudia and parts of the Samrajya, but you remember apes not having tails. “It's a monkey, and I've designed it to act as a servant of sorts. It should guide you around the tower, and help you should you ever get lost. I've created a few others as well, scattered around the tower. They're not proper monkeys, they don't have souls, but they do have a very primitive mind. Remember that when giving them orders, stick to the simple stuff.”
(1/2)
>>
Profectus apparently accepts this statement at face value and returns to eating what you think is largely illusory food. You can't imagine it actually fills you up at all, it's just pure vys fabricated to resemble food. Chryssa, however, is a little more cautious. “It cannot actually think for itself, correct?”

You glance at the monkey, which is still just staring at you. “I don't think so, but I admit to being no expert. I just based their minds upon the animate spell, and applied it on a mass scale. Maybe they're all some sort of hive mind creature and I've doomed my realm to be taken over by a race of sentient monkey creatures, but I highly doubt that's the case.”

Your horned companion nods, sipping her tea. Their concerns apparently answered, you dismiss the primitive servant with a wave and turn your attention to Zahak. Resting a hand on Zahak's neck, you once again channel vys into the necklace Mahana granted you. Immediately you stand atop the hill, staring out at an endless plain of rolling hills and rocky stretches of soil. The ground here is not good for growing much, except for squat, bulbous cacti and the occasional patch of wildflowers.

>Set off for Elaudia
>Wait no, there's one last thing you want to do... (Write-in)
>Write-in
>>
>>359131
>>Wait no, there's one last thing you want to do... (Write-in)
TEACH OUR PEOPLE WEAPON CHANNELING, THE BASICS OF IT AND HOW TO DO IT, AND THEN ASSIGN THEM TO LEARN IT.
>>
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>>359132
God damn it, I intended to include that in this post.
>>
>>359131
>>359132
Sounds good to me fa-senpai
>>
>>359132
>>359131
You have to be doing this on purpose Soma
>>
>>359132
>>359135
>>359136
Lemme just right a quick little addendum here. A few paragraphs at most.

ETA: 46 hours.
>>
>>359131
>>Set off for Elaudia
>>
>>359131
>check if you can contact your companions by channeling nature to the teleport key
>>
You're preparing to mount up on Zahak's back, when an idea strikes you. You've been sort of playing with the creation of some kind of technique lately. Specifics are a bit hazy, it's in its early phases. You haven't set down and started putting quill to parchment, as it were. However, an aspect you think is going to be important to the technique is the combination of martial and magical talent, specifically Fire and Nature, probably. Thus, it would be prudent to make sure your friends and companions understand how to channel through weapons as though they were mere extension of their reserves.

Focusing on the connections afforded you by the brooches, you find that... well, you can't feel any of your companions at all. They may as well not be wearing their brooches. Urging Zahak to remain calm, you vanish. Your son should be fine for a few minutes while you quickly explain this to your companions. Once you stand within your realm, your connections with your companions once again open while those with Master Karim, Demetrios, and the various others whom you associate with in the mortal coil are served.

{Real quick, I've realized I don't actually have a scroll to explain this metamagic or else I'd just hand that off to you.} You learned it from a scroll in your Master's library at his behest, sadly you didn't get to keep it. {There's a form of channeling vys which allows you to treat a weapon as an extension of your body. I'm sure you've all realized that many spells can be cast at range, but require the proper understanding of vys and its properties. This is a similar but not identical metamagic.}

{The Ranged meta relies on a vatis' connection to their own vys, even when it lies outside of their physical body. The weapon channeling metamagic relies upon the flexibility of what constitutes the mortal form to expand one's reserves beyond what most would consider natural. I learned this aspect of magic by meditating on the flow of magic through my limbs and essentially just stretching the outside edge of that flow a little further, and a little further, until it came to encompass the whole of a dagger which I'd grasped in my hands.}

{Maybe I should mention that vys sort of naturally circulates through your body. You can think of the core sort of as a beating heart except vys isn't not confined by veins or arteries. It flows outward forming its own currents and its own pathways. Now, many of these pathways tend to be more or less identical between individuals, because vys has the same baseline properties regardless of within whom it resides. However, everyone is at least subtly different so focus on yourself, and not other people when trying to perfect this form of channeling.}

(1/2)
>>
You try to think of anything you might have left out, but nothing occurs to you off the top of your head. {I'd like everyone, except Fulvia of course since I know you can't learn new aspects of magic without tinkering, but everyone else should have this mastered by the time I return. It's a fairly simple metamagic, I think. However, if you have trouble with it I'd be happy to help you once I get back. Any questions? Did everyone more or less get all of that?}

You get vague senses of confirmation from Darzi and Profectus, as well as from Chryssa. Mortia seems a little overwhelmed, but she claims to have understood at least. Hopefully the others can help her figure things out before your return. Satisfied that your message is delivered, you once again vanish in an instant only to reappear standing beside your son.

At long last you climb into Zahak's saddle and make yourself comfortable, urging him into the sky. He takes flight with one mighty leap, the heaving of his wings carrying you ever higher on the warm currents drifting up from the barren foothills. The sun has only just begun its descent in earnest, the heat of the afternoon still at its worst, though once above ground the temperature is at least tolerable. All that stands between you and Elaudia now is a few hundred miles of sand and rock.

>EEEEEEEEEEEND THREAD
>>
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Banished%20Quest
Archive here.
NEXT THREAD Wednesday the 13th, wanna get back on schedule.
>>
>>359150
Is it possible to give the monkeys a soul or something similar through meditation? I know if it's possible it'll take a long time and a lot of further understanding of magic.
I'm thinking of eventually making them our disciples.
>>
>>359151
THANKS FOR RUNNING SOMA
>>
>>359152
Well, maybe you could plant like a human or elven of samjan soul into one of the monkey bodies, but then you'd have a four-armed monkey with human-levels of intelligence.
>>
>>359155
and the wrath of the gods
>>
>>359148
I think you contradicted yourself here, our communication brooches have worked before in the spirit realm and on another world, why the change?
>>
>>359158
+Endless amusement of the stooges.
>>
>>359151
>Wednesday the 13th
See you Saturday in a new thread. Maybe we'll get to Elaudia on the 4th try.
>>
"It is degenerate", says the National Socialist
"It is misogynistic", says the landwhale
"It cuts into my whoring profits", says the kike
Smuggle dakimakura everyday
You shouldn't have to pay the customs for love
>>
>>359150
We coulda replicated the metamagic scroll Mik read from perfectly by taking advantage of our mastery of the realm and Shaping Arts memory bullshit.

We could just burry them in reading material!
>>
dicks out for the monkey servants

after chryssa inevitable kills them for some reason of course
>>
>>359243
I wonder if Darzi is going to check how big their dicks are.
>>
Monkey gangbang when?
>>
i was just memeing, i didn't want people talking fucking a goddamn monkey you HIV craving sluts
>>
>>359273
You will forever be remembered as the guy who introduced HIV to Samjan society.
>>
>>359283
Master Kareem did wayyy before us
>>
>>359155
So is Mik a pokemon master now? With our realm/pendant being our pseudo pokeballs? Charizard/Zahak, use Fly!!!
>>
>>359163
So . . . . /pol/ is right again?

Mik is totally /pol/, right down to fetishizing the lesser races and wanting to stick his dick in Mortia's Ass.
>>
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Holy buttfucking Christ, Marco Polo is the tightest fucking show.
Titties and violence galore, and historically accurate for the most part. At least, that's based on what I know of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Which, y'know. It's not my area of expertise but I've spent a fair amount of time writing about and reading about them.

This is only tangentially quest related insofar as I'll be drawing inspiration from this shit, but I haven't slept yet and I don't know. Felt like rambling. Should probably answer tumblr questions or some shit.
>>
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Turns out the best (read: only) way to enjoy BQ nowadays is to stop giving a shit, not participate and read from the archives instead. Which is sad, because that was definitely not the case a few months ago.

>>363493
Write the Aylin pastebin you reverse nigger, it's going to hit its first anniversary of remaining incomplete in like 11 days.
>>
>>363493
Great now that means we're gonna get dozens of NOT! China plot lines forced down our throats.

Be prepared for us to ignore all of them Soma.
>>
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>>363504
Who knows~ whether you're actually even heading towards Not!China. Elaudia is more like India and South East Asia with a touch of Mesoamerica.

>>363495
It'll happen eventually. Maybe today. Every day brings new possibilities, Anon.
>>
>>363515
Yee that was kinda obvious with the whole jungle theme and shit. But i could easily see you sticking Not! China right on the eastern side of Elaudia. It was rumored that there was a massive empire over there once.
>>
>>363515
Wait, I thought Samjan were pretty Indian too. You legit just jacked an aspect of Kali for Pani, you shameless thief.
>>
>>363623
I've been associating Pani with Parvati from almost the get-go desu, with Dhatu possibly being Lakshmi and Srsti definitely being Saraswati.

Pani worship also has a ton of parallels with Shaktism, and now that I think about it, pretty much any religious figure from any of the various sandnigger practices over there could be assigned to a BQ deity as an aspect.
>>
>>363656
BQ is the Ur-Sandnigger. The Persians of the setting, I guess. Best of all worlds.

Elves are filthy degenerate A-rabs.

Humans are just kind of there, it seems.
>>
>>363744
>Elves are filthy degenerate A-rabs.
>Humans are just kind of there, it seems.
Those are both wrong.

Polopp seems like early Greek or Turkish, while they were fairly brutal pagans.

Aleamond seems to be West Euro or maybe it's supposed to be a Holy Roman expy or a Louis Quatorze type of deal, but I know too little about both those things or about Aleamond to tell.

Dunno about Anthus. Rhynia should be obvious enough.

Elves were stated to be Greeks and Celts, I think, but we never actually encountered an elven "civilization" so far.

Reminder that Fulvia views non-humans, including herself, the same way Samjan view non-Samjan.
>>
>>363515
Wait one fuckin' second. You're totally gonna involve us in some more prophecy bullshit, aren't you? I bet those fucking Nature spirits mucking about have got us figured six ways to Sunday with some cryptic, appropriately vague bullshit. Probably have nothing better to do than ritual human sacrifice, sectarian violence, and doing that weird Nature magic fortune telling bullshit.
>>
>>363908
It's okay anon, if the spirits decide to fuck with us by speaking in riddles we beat them down and bind them into a gem to wear on our belt.
>>
>>364022
Regular gems can't bind greater spirits.
>>
>>364022
We should stick those spirit gems in Prof's ass.
>>
>>364456
could you just shut
>>
>>364454
Good thing we've got a quick travel to Anthus. After we open the Stooges gate, we ought to go see if they havehave another Catch 22 booby trapped artifact with unnecessarily complex drawbacks. They seem to hand them out like candy. Has anyone noticed that for a lot of their shit, the negative enchantment is way more complex than the positive effect enchantment? The fuck is up with those guys?
>>
>>364471
They didn't make the artifacts. Also we can't port out of Elaudia, go to Anthus, then port back without fucking over Mahana.
>>
>>364469
You can leave if you don't like what you're seeing.
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>>364490
We don't tolerate faggots here. After all they are haram
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>>364490
or you could just not speak
>>
>>364486
The teleportation effect places us exactly where we left base reality. So here's what we do. We teleport from base reality to Mahana's realm, and then exit to the Shrine in Anthus. We then hit up the Stooges and grab crystals. Or grab crystals now and git the Stooges up later after we've opened their portal. Then we re enter Mahana's realm from his Shrine and use the coin's teleportation ability to exit where we entered.
>>
>>364499
When did I ever say to do it for sexual pleasure?
Humiliation is a type of punishment and we should test if putting spirits inside somebody's ass would make them feel humiliated.

>>364504
(you)
>>
>>364510
It most likely resets itself every time we return to base reality but if it works the way you think it does it would be able to teleport us while we're on base reality.
>>
>>364525
A resetting effect seems way more complex than just a simple mark and go. For one, there'd have to be a conditional branch. Anyway, boss is right there. Let's ask him.

>>363515
Yo, weigh in on this.
>>
>>364454
Just gotta cut em down to size first. That is something we can do. The only thing we can do is "truely" kill them what we can do is something similar to what was done to the little Fire Spirit we helped. That will reduce their size enough to be dealt with.

If that dosen't work we start Husk powered surgery on the fucker to cut em in half and bind em separately.
>>
>>364515
the spirits or the person?
>>
>>364541
A resetting effect would a would actually be pretty simple. It would only require one rune added in
>>364550
Even Varvar would struggle against a greater spirit and was better at huskcasting than us due to having a massively larger vys pool. The size of the caster's vys pool gives a bonus based on it's size when huskcasting.
>>
>>364589
Varvar didn't have Hax Op enchanting

And Varvar didn't have our Cos like ascended form.

And he was much more focused on the physical side of the elements than the ones having to do with extreemly complex soul manipulation.
>>
>>364629
Enchanting part would be an argument if we made regular use of it as for the ascended part our vys pool bonus gave us +6 when it was in the 60s Varvar was in the 1000s so that would most likely mean a +100 bonus. Not to mention spirits are allowed to spend against like a vatis can so the last spirit fight will likely be one of the easier ones we ever have.
>>
Ricky can fuck any spirit
>>
>>364666
You do realize we have several "kill everything" buttons at our disposal, right? Soul fire, void tear, Ricky, Ascension, the Handgonne... And since Mik is a mortal, any husk casting he does is dominant over any spirit casting, since his shard is closer to that of a God. Spirits and lesser Servants are pretty much fodder, and even if he gets tired, he can always just teleport the hell out of there and take Zahak with him.

I'm only worried for our other party members at this point.
>>
>>364666
U do know that channeling into metal(i think?) magic into our Shell it literally becomes anathema to them.

Like that was what the entire Crown incident ended with.
>>
>>364666
And Enchanting is literally able to do this shit.
>>
>>364711
Well, that's why I'm pushing very hard to develop the Avatar technique. As Soma said, successfully developing it would put Darzi a little above Elder Dragon tier. With Prof's magma arm and it's spell amplification effects, and a possible Fire GM in Ascension for him, he'll probably be far and above if shit hits the fan. Lastly, Chryssa is pretty fucking lethal at close range, and the Avatar technique would make her even more so. The only problem is meshing elements with Nature to develop that technique. The book, "Breaking the Ninth barrier," seems to be about channeling Fire magic internally, and should prove to be the last piece in this puzzle, as well as being able to grant Prof Fire grandmastery. I would recommend reading it immediately.

The thing we really need to be concerned with is Mental manipulation. Our companions have very little in mental resistances and defensive measures. Due to Soma's DC system, any mental attacks on them will be treated as an autosuccess, even though it's quite hard for us to cast meta and effects ourselves since we only get Vatis bonuses. We're looking at DC's of 20-25, not accounting for the caster's bonuses, that they can also spend on. As we saw with Prof, just one companion going haywire can wreck everything. This is why I think we should siphon their husk for the purposes of creating Mental defense artifacts and permancying them.
>>
>>364777
>I would recommend reading it immediately.
Nah, metas and effects are more important, both for Mik and Zahak. If someone gets through Zahak's SR, he's fucked, and he can't even read or flip the pages of a book by himself. Prof can still advance on his own in earth, metal, etc.

>The thing we really need to be concerned with is Mental manipulation
As long as we're there, we should be able to reinforce their minds. I don't think it was ever set as a self-only spell, and I see no reason it would be.
>>
>>364777
Rob Soma already said we can use metal magic to protect them.
>>
>>364803
In conflicts, we want to leverage the greatest amouts of advantages and force multipliers against opposing forces as possible. Letting the Husk regeneration and Husk pools of our companions go to waste instead of using them is a mistake. Furthermore, with the level of foes we are going to face, every point of vys and action in a fight counts. There is also the fact that our companions may be seperated from us or we may be in a position where we can not help them. We should not assume anything going into the Elaudia.

Learning Metas and effects will increase Zahak and our Vys pools by two or three points. Developing Prof's Fire GM and the Avatar technique will make our three front line fighters the equivalent of half a dozen manpower units. It is the more efficient allocation of resources.
>>
>>364764
Too bad we suck at enchanting.
>>364753
For a moment before we die.
Aren't you just full of good ideas? ;^)
>>364711
You think I don't know that? The fucker I'm talking thinks Mik is invicible against spirits which is very wrong especially with the buff Soma gave our enemies.
>>
>>364843
Learning metas and effects will increase the vys pool by two or three each. The avatar technique will give one, and will take time to develop. Prof's GM even longer.

We honestly don't need more firepower. What are you even suggesting, harvesting the memories of our friends for more dakka? Teaching their irresponsible asses husk casting? I vote no on all counts listed above.
>>
>>365144
Just to clarify, the point I'm trying to make is: We have lots of pure destructive power. What we lack is the vys to keep it up, and versatility in how we can use it. If you look at the descriptions of the slow and fast metas, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.
>>
>>365144
Effects is 1 and metas are 2 unless we develop it as a experiment instead of reading how to do it from a book.
>>
>>365159
There is also the bonus from finishing books, which gives 1 vys every 3-5 effects, and the experimentation we have tons of bonuses for and many ideas as well, like mind, invert, soul, air, etc.
>>
>>365154
>>365144
>>365170

Our massive destructive power is available in our Ascended form only and by Husk spending. The Ascended form and husk spending consumes Husk, our total Vys pool, and our Vys pool need not be filled with Vys in order to be spent as Husk in our Ascended form or in Husk casting. What this means is that by increasing our Husk without coming up with methods to use our Vys beforehand we throw Husk around, we are wasting the Vys. The Avatar technique is the best way of using this Vys, and increasing the lethality of our companions. Furthermore, Metas and Effects are situational, and difficult to use in combat as they net us very little bonuses in their use. Our familiarity with the elements, our gear that boosts attack actions, those bonuses don't apply to a straight application of pure magic.

This makes the Avatar technique tremendously more useful for our allies and ourselves than learning scattered Metas and Effects, as it will allow them to perform inhuman feats. Again, look here: http://pastebin.com/yucUTCgf

Bonuses of more than 40 in a single action? Offensive actions that combine Magic and Martial arts that able to, for instance, quarter your foes' soak? That's just with Darzi. Mik in the Avatar state is whole nother story. Lastly, the boss has said I have already established a suitable foundation for the Avatar technique, here >>358982 and here >>359014

The only element we lack is how to invest or channel Fire magic internally so that we are able to synergize Marsala Ve maneuvers. Breaking the Ninth Barrier, from what Profectus has told us, will teach us how to channel Fire magic internally.
>>
>>365206
Not to talk shit about avatar technique but one big reason effects weren't very useful is because we don't close in melee to use a spear attack+effect+weapon channeling
>>
>>365206
Metas and Effects are a good way to spend vys. Better than Avatar. Also? We have massive firepower outside ascension. As I've listed earlier this thread. We don't need more right now. Even if it looks cool. I want it too, eventually, but it's not really a priority.

>>365302
It becomes effective with other metas at range. Slow can be used to give companions metal reinforcement that remains active for a longer time, fast makes leeching twice as good, mind lets you directly affect your own or your enemies' mind, etc.
>>
>>365144
In regards to your concern about enchanting and siphoning Husk, the process of Enchanting goes: Conceptualization, Design, Inscription, Finalization, and then Permanency. Permanency requires us to spend Husk. We can only create so many artifacts with our Husk before our ability to advance our magical knowledge and power slows and we lose combat effectiveness.

Furthermore and again, our companions are massively vulnerable to Mental attacks as they simply lack traits, equipment, and magical expertise in resisting mental attacks. To fortify their minds against manipulation is a top priority. If we were to create four rings for Chryssa, Mortia, Darzi, and Prof to protect their minds from intrusion, we are left at less than half power for the rest of the day until we rest, precious time we could instead be using to meditate or read or experiment. If instead we siphon 10 husk from each of them for their rings, it is merely them operating at 75% capacity until they rest, something they do much more frequently than we do, being the insomniac maniac we are.

>>365318
What is the massive amounts of firepower we have outside of Ascension and Husk spending, and how does it stack up against the Avatar state capable of one shotting T-Rexes, collating +40 bonuses towards our actions, and allowing us to essentially combine two actions into one?
>>
>>365318
>t becomes effective with other metas at range.
Yes but with weapon channeling we can attack and use effect at same time unlike ranged meta
>>
>>365326
Again, keep in mind this is a technique that will be used to not only turn us, but Darzi, Prof, and Chryssa into walking engines of pure destruction, as the boss has termed it. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/45547069/#p45548385
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/191342/#p191375

That's three immense powerboosts for one technique.
>>
>>365338
>>365318
This was meant for you.
>>
>>365326
Are you autistic or something? Ascension is a last resort sort thing since it costs husk to use and can kill us and huskcasting is stupidly inefficient as well as dangerous. So relying on it is stupid.
>>
>>365351
All the more reason to develop measures to cause extreme destruction without it then.
>>
>>365362
You do realize you're not very persuasive right? You're pet project isn't the only thing we can do since we have Shaping Arts which is more versatile.
>>
>>365327
Meh, you don't need to stab something when you can fry it and its friends with chain lightning from afar.

>>365326
>we siphon 10 husk from each of them
Fuck no. Why do that when you can use slow+metal to give them long-time mental protection? Why not cast mark on each of them to know where they are at all times and be able to buff and heal them even when we can't see them? And yes, it is as OP as it sounds. Making everyone be weaker and feeling like shit is completely unnecessary and frankly retarded in comparison.

We're already an engine of pure destruction. Ricky can kill any spirit, the cloak can eat any directional spell, an easily-created tear into the void can destabilize any spirit realm, a blast from the handgonne can turn the tide of any battle, etc. None of these require ascension or husk. Not to mention being able to teleport away at any time if things go even more wrong.

Prof and Chrys don't know Marsala Ve. We're not wasting my time teaching them. Besides, Chrys is already OP and Prof is prone to insanity. Darzi doesn't need much more help to enter avatar mode on her own. We don't need it, modifiers and all. It's not like we can't already kill a T-Rex instantly, and that +40 is going to turn into much less when you're fighting horrorterrors that eat fire and lightning. It's not versatile, and we have stuff that can do the same.

It's just not something we need.
>>
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>>365386
>We're not wasting my time teaching them
Shit, that's a hell of a slip there.
>>
>>365386
Slow+Metal doesn't work like that. Reinforcement is a sort of on/off sort of thing and since Slow Reinforcement would try to take the middle ground it would default to "off".
>>
>>365386
>my
The truth comes out at last.
>>
>>365374
Which we are an Apprentice in. With a 1.5 multiplier, making anything more than a cosmetic change will take several meditations. Something that would give us an advantage is literally a 75 DC. We've seen GM meditations that were easier. And that advantage Shaping would give us mechanically much less advantage than the Avatar Technique.

>>365386

>>365386
First off, the -10 Vys is for a day. Until they sleep. Which they do with disgusting frequency as they are normies and not insane. Secondarily, doing this does not preclude those measures whatsoever. It will add to its efficacy in proofing our companion's minds. We want the most advantages possible in a conflict, and we don't want to leave anything to chance.

The handgun. Which took multiple shots to take down a literal Larval spirit, and has, let's see: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/45015886/#p45016350
12 bonus. Compared to the bonus of an Avatar action, which has just about 40. And allows us to take a combat maneuver at the same time we channel magic. Are you capable of doing Math anon? Furthermore, Prof has already demonstrated the ability to enter a Martial Trance. We literally taught him that in preparation for this technique.
>>
>>365386
Also, that's us. Our cloak is capable of eating magic. Secondarily, destabilizing a Spirit Realm kills everyone inside it. Ricky has not nor has he ever demonstrated any willingness to intercede in combat. You're straight up pulling shit out of your ass.

Lastly, Prof is not "prone to insanity." He was hit by a Mental effect and then exposed to Spice. By fortifying our companions minds as much as we are able to, we can immune them to further mental manipulation.
>>
>>365421
Every you say "Avatar state" my interest in doing wanes some more. Not to mention Soma did say it won't work the way you think does. It would require technique which combine Fire and martial which we don't have. What you are expecting is a bunch of dedicated shitposter to be dedicated to your project instead of shitposting. Got it?
>>
>>365448
*techniques
As in more than one is what I mean.
>>
>>365448
On the contrary, all who read this argument can see that the Avatar technique is the only way forward. Everything else either gives us a fraction of its potential might or requires Husk. And these things will not be able to benefit out companions.

Lastly, that comment was in regards to our previous thinking of developing it along the lines of Battle Meditation, which itself only improves meditative ability while in combat, rather than combat ability itself. The specifics are located here >>357269 and here >>357247

We have adjusted our mindset accordingly, and the boss has stated we are track to developing the technique properly, as seen here >>358982
and here >>359014
>>
Look you dirty niggers.

Soma said he's gonna start scaling shit up, the encounters are going to get harder in what is literally jungle vietnam.

So we definitly should teach our companions this. Or we broach the idea with each of them. Chryssa might not want it and she's probably fine. Mortia too. Prof we should force to do it and Darzi will definitely do it.

Yea it'd probably be Mik+Prof+Darzi
>>
>>365475
In addition to that. Husk casting is VERY valueable.

It is more than worth it to teach everyone the basis of channeling their Husk into a spell, that probably the best fallback plan anyone has for when shit is just not going your way. Plus the basics are easy and from there if they want to explore it that's their perogitive
>>
>>365475
>>365480
Yea seeing how the only element we've really found out how to make it OP with is Fire with the Suryan Firebrand then It probably will stick to just the party members who know Fire magic. It might even push darzi to want to GM Fire, she's not to far.
>>
>>365411
Not according to the scroll detailing Slow.

>>365421
Martial trance is not the only prerequisite to avatar mode. It's only possible because Marsala Ve is pretty much based on the concept of fire, being developed by the Suryan priesthood and all. He won't become an avatar with a form based on being one part of a whole army unit.

Also, enchanting with husk should never be done lightly. You know how reality-bending the gun became. Mind-shielding trinkets warrant no more than vys enchanting. In fact, any enchantment that directly alters a mind should be kept at a low strength by default.

The reason it does preclude those measures is because you want to skip learning those measures and waste time on pointless flashy techniques and a trivial use of enchanting. Nah, metas and effects are still way better.

PS: That's the gun before we reenchanted it. It leveled up since we imprisoned the larva. And it shoots twice per round. And it can be boosted further with vys expenditure, effects and metamagic. Beam, leaping, paralyze, regular spending, etc.

>>365428
>Ricky has not nor has he ever demonstrated any willingness to intercede in combat
You cannot be this retarded. He literally does whatever we tell him all the time, both in and out of combat. Choke bitches, put on our armor, do vaguely scary things, and yes, destabilize realms, with but a thought. And neither he nor the cloak are leaving us anytime soon, so take your "technically not a part of Mik" 'argument' and eat it with a side of dick.

Prof is totally prone to insanity. He is weak-minded, his sanity is less than even Mik's and he has a giant pile of personality disorders weighing him down at all times, including amnesia and hints of involvement with the void, his soul is under the influence of his arm at all times, and he's currently in a vulnerable state on top of that.

>>365462
>all who read this argument can see that the Avatar technique is the only way forward
So you're saying you are autistic literally as well as figuratively, then. Good to know.
>>
>>365462
>Avatar
This retarded name hasn't gotten any less unbearable.
Also has the fact that the players won't vote for it not gotten through you're head? There is no guarantee we'll get it in a timely manner anyway and Shaping arts is vastly better for self improvement. We also have several other experiments to do which we could be doing instead of your autistic pet project.
>>
>>365502
Not only are you a pussy, you're a retarded pussy.

Nice job.
>>
>>365502
Slow +Metal has no effect according to the scroll.
>>
>>365521
That's some argument you got there.
>>
>>365502
>PS: That's the gun before we reenchanted it. It leveled up since we imprisoned the larva. And it shoots twice per round. And it can be boosted further with vys expenditure, effects and metamagic. Beam, leaping, paralyze, regular spending, etc.

We haven't done jack shit to the gun. If we did, Soma would've updated it. Nothing has changed.

>Also, enchanting with husk should never be done lightly. You know how reality-bending the gun became. Mind-shielding trinkets warrant no more than vys enchanting. In fact, any enchantment that directly alters a mind should be kept at a low strength by default.

Karim literally spent Husk to enchant his opium pipe. Permanency makes the enchantment last forever. By default, enchantments fade after a few weeks. Furthermore, we won't necessarily be boosting the mind, we can prevent outside forces from doing so with "Contain."

>You cannot be this retarded. He literally does whatever we tell him all the time, both in and out of combat. Choke bitches, put on our armor, do vaguely scary things, and yes, destabilize realms, with but a thought. And neither he nor the cloak are leaving us anytime soon, so take your "technically not a part of Mik" 'argument' and eat it with a side of dick.

When has he ever, ever, EVER taken a combat action at our behest?

>Prof is totally prone to insanity. He is weak-minded, his sanity is less than even Mik's and he has a giant pile of personality disorders weighing him down at all times, including amnesia and hints of involvement with the void, his soul is under the influence of his arm at all times, and he's currently in a vulnerable state on top of that.

You don't even know what Insanity is. That's how stupid you are. Literally dumber than a rock. Insanity is a Game Ending effect. It's when you've gone totally loony. Prof isn't a cackling madman. He just has no bonuses to resist Mental effects and his sanity level low enough to give him a penalty, which we can negate with the correct artifacts.

You're special, aren't you?
>>
>>365502
This nigga. This Nigga jumped the shark on retarded. Holy shit you're dumb.
>>
>>365499
>He seriously thinks it's hard to counter
Funny guy.
>>
>>365502
Also, shit nigga. Adding effects and metas increases the DC of the action. Not the bonuses. You one stupid motherfucker.
>>
>>365502
The course of this conversation has steered it right into pointlessness. Not only are you making random bullshit up about the effects of our Metas and our weapons, you literally don't understand the Combat or Sanity system as well. I'm not going to waste anymore time with you.
>>
>>365565
Considering soma has said it is yes. I do.
>>
>>365411
Reinforcement actually lasts a while.
>>
>>364777
> Chryssa is pretty lethal at close range

Sorry, you mean our Sniper of Mass Destruction?

Rob, you're a faggot. Read the quest at least for fucks sake instead of sucking dick on the IRC.
>>
>>366065
Dude. She's an Earth Gm with an earth exponential increasing maul and super strength. Like fuck man that's terrifying.
>>
>>366113
Yeah, but that's like using artillery as a battering ram.

Yeah, it would be terrifying to have a self-propelled gun run you down, but its real power is blowing shit the fuck up over the horizon.

Really we should be enchanting her bow to fire arrows of explosive vys and whatnot. Or focus a delayed effect onto the arrows she's shooting.

Or maybe even teach her to carve runic arrays onto the arrows as she's firing so she can be like a ridiculously over-powered green arrow.
>>
>>366065
Huh. I said close range. That's fucking weird. I was pretty sure I said long range. They're not easy words to mix up.

>>366134
It's a good idea but enchantments need finalization to take effect. Chryssa carved runes onto the tusk she carved out for us but the ring had no effect until we hopped in our isolaton orb and finalized it. I think that's a part of the reason why combat enchanting isn't a thing mortals can do.
>>
>>366227
Soma has fucking said that if you want to be able to do combat enchanting you have to practice enchanting first. HE NEVER ONCE SAID IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.
>>365825
The attacks done with it are actually easy to counter and virtually everyone in Elaudia will have a counter to the psychological aspects of it. I still don't understand why you wouldn't go for skill/ability gains that are only possible with Shaping Arts.
>>
Soma won't run today
>>
>>367950
>full sentences

thats not proper shitposting protocol, youre supposed to say 'thread never'
>>
>>367678
nigger yes he did

We will never be able to enchant on the fly like a spirit can. The process of Finalization for us is too difficult to be able to just do instantly. Maybe if we were in our realm or maybe in ascended form. But mortals cannot insta enchant like you seem to think they can.
>>
>>367678
>The attacks done with it are actually easy to counter
>attacks that can 1v1 an Elder dragon
>easy to counter
kkeep b8ing m8
>>
>>368218
Where did he say it?
>>368223
That would be assuming the dragon did nothing to counter it. Most dragons would not make the artifact required to protect against it which would be pretty simple but the artifact to protect the psychological aspects would be above our level though they should be common in Elaudia. Essentially any place but the Elaudian jungle you'd be right because most normal enemies would not have or use such artifacts.
>>
>>368456
>That would be assuming the dragon did nothing to counter it.
No. Soma said someone in avatar state could 1 versus 1 fight an Elder dragon and come out on top. That means it is a fight where both parties are trying their best to win. Soma isn't retarded.

Fight means attempting to counter it.
>>
No thread 2day I got homework 2 do
>>
No thread today, writer's block. Next thread next Wednesday.
>>
>>368519
>>368509
>not cracking somas trip and actually canceling it
step up kouhai
>>
>>368532
I don't know enough latin for that
>>
>>368487
That was also before the buff anon. The buff that let's them spend vys to kick our ass.
>>
>>368487
Also counter includes use of artifacts and dragons generally don't rely on artifacts do they?
>>
>>368626
>>368607
Jesus you're retarded
>>
>>368607
The vys spending is negligible they can only spend on one of the three rolls so all it will do is change some of our Great success into Normal success. We'll still be able to spend for a Normal success like we always do.

and no saying "they have weapons" does not count as an argument.
>>
Soma you absolute poopsmith
>>
>>368805

Which ability bonus you use for that? Dexterity or constitution.
>>
>>368789
Who said anything about weapons? And why do you forge
t that the only reason the we be able to kill the elder dragon is because of artifacts.
>>
>>368825
>Also counter includes use of artifacts
>artifacts
Which means weapons

Saying "they have weapons" is not a valid argument.
>>
>>359159
Nah, in the past I've had it so that when trying to contact someone from, say, the void you get interference and it's real spotty, to the point that you can't really carry on a conversation but you can at least get some words through.

I think this is the first time you've tried to contact someone in a spirit realm/from a spirit realm though, and I have a pretty clear idea in my head of why that wouldn't work which I'd rather not elucidate upon because spoilers. If I am contradicting myself though, I'd probably revert to sticking with whatever I did originally.

>>363493
What I've watched of the second season, incidentally, has been a pretty sharp decline in quality. I mean, it's still okay. I'll probably still round out the season. However, I think they might have dramatized the death of the last Song Emperor just for the hell of it, even though it didn't really need dramatizing. The last Song Emperor was a little kid who was thrown into the sea to drown by his regent in order to avoid capture by the Mongols after the final defeat of the Song army in a land/naval battle. That shit's way more badass than him being strangled to death by a fat man.

Anyway, I stayed up all night on Monday/Tuesday, then went to bed at 4PM on Tuesday to wake up at 3 AM this morning. So I've been up for sixteen hours at this point, this is about when I'd probably be going to sleep on a normal day. I mean, I'm gonna stay up until midnight or so to get back on a normal schedule but I'm dog tired.

What I will do is run on Thursday, that is to say tomorrow, and then on Saturday, then I should be able to get back on the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule or more likely Wednesday/Friday. Maybe I should just switch to a twice a week schedule..

>>368538
Just wait a few more threads, I'll accidentally reveal it eventually as part of some gag which backfires on me.

>>368821
Constitution, of course. A poopsmith would obviously have some healthy dumps, and I've never heard of a particularly dexterous anus.

You can find the OP for next time here: http://pastebin.com/1xfzBWBQ
I should really start writing these before the starts of threads, need to stop being such a lazy shit.
>>
On second thought, I'm going to do the read a book/meditate vote real quick so I can write a more substantive OP for next time.

So, just the poll questions:
>Meditate on something.
>Read a book.
>Just nap for a time.
>Remain watchful, the Varistha mentioned dragons in the area.
>Write-in
>>
>>368901
>>Read a book.
>>
>>368901
>Meditate on something.
>>
>>368901
>Remain watchful, the Varistha mentioned dragons in the area.
>Meditate on something.

Nature so we can do both at the same time.
>>
>>368901
>>Read a book.
>>
>>368901
>Remain watchful, the Varistha mentioned dragons in the area.
>>
>>368901
>Meditate on something.
Nature
>>
>>368901
>Just nap for a time.
>>
>>368901
>Meditate on something.
Nature preferably
>>
>>368901
>>Read a book.
>>
>>368901
>Read a book.
>>
>>368901
>Read a book.
>>
>>368901
>Remain watchful, the Varistha mentioned dragons in the area.

Bond with our son
>>
>>368907
>>368909
>>368915
>>368917
>Meditate

>>368913
>>368909
>>368929
>Keep an eye out

>>368916
>Naptime

>>368904
>>368910
>>368919
>>368921
>>368924
>Read

>Excidium (11/13 Chapters Read)
> On Empire: The Rise of Civilization (Unread)
>A History of Pidjata (Unread)
> Devotional Booklet to Pani (Unread)
> The Fall: A Hiacian Perspective (Unread)
>Metamagic Instructions: Beam (Unread)
> Metamagic Instructions: Delay (Unread)
> Cradle of Hiacia (Unread)
>The Forms of Gods in Nature (Unread)
>Manual on the Art of Vital Points (Unread)
>Alchemical Treatise (Unread)
>Journal of a Hiacian Enchanter (Unread)
>On the Forbidden Arts (Unread)
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>Utility Effects (3/15 Chapters Read)
{Mark, (Animate), (Create), [Confuse], Sleep}
>Enhanced Interrogation (Unread)
{Pain, (Poison), Hallucinate}
> The Varistha's Notes (56/67 Pages Read)
> The Varistha's Memoirs (Unread)
>>
>>368945
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You
>>
>>368945
>Excidium (11/13 Chapters Read)

Lets take it down once and for all.
>>
>>368945
> Devotional Booklet to Pani (Unread)
>>
>>368945
> Devotional Booklet to Pani (Unread)
>>
>>368945
Either the prof book or the excidium
>>
>>368945
>Excidium (11/13 Chapters Read)
>>
>>368945
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>>
>>368945
>>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>>
>>368945
>Excidium (11/13 Chapters Read)
>>
>>368945
> The Varistha's Memoirs (Unread)
it's pretty retarded that we haven't touched this yet desu fampai
>>
>>368945
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>>
>>368945
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>>
>>368945
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You (Unread)
>>
>>368954
>>368960
>Devotional Booklet

>>368950
>>368961
>>368962
>>368966
>Excidium

>>368949
>>368961
>>368964
>>368965
>>368969
>>368973
>>368977
>Breaking the Ninth

>>368968
>Memoirs

Calling it for Breaking the Ninth.
>>
>>368980
does the ring make us read faster?
>>
>>369030
fuck

it fucking better
>>
>>368877
Didn't we talk to Chrys via the brooches the first time we were in our realm? And on Namek too right? I get that communicating ''accross'' different planes of existence might not work well/at all, but we should try it so we know. I do remember the Void causing interference though.
>>
>>369847
isn't the interference from namek due to sheer distance

I figured the planets are within the same reality but 1000000+ km apart since bits and pieces came through

otherwise it would have to travel through 216 layers into gods' realm then 216 layers again into namek's reality which seems unlikely
>>
>>369860
The brooches are probably like cell phones, but they use vys to carry the info. Theres normally enough vys in the area between us and our companions to carry our words easily, but too little or too much vys and we get shitty reception. Different ''frequencies'' of vys, or something else affecting the vys in some way, might corrupt/degrade/eliminate any signal we try to send through it.
>>
the implications of there being no delay are way more interesting than your half-baked theories on how the brooches work
>>
>>369890
Half-baked is a little strong considering how many assumptions you're making. Namek could be the distant future, an alternate reality/dimension, a poorly thought out plot device we'd all rather forget, etc.

I just think it's more likely soma based the brooches on something simple and easily researched like radiowaves, rather than comming up with new laws of physics to explain walkie talkies. It seems more his style considering a lot of his inspiration for stuff seems to come from real world analogues.
>>
>>369890
Or we could both be wrong and soma could have not thought about it too deeply (yet). Maybe he's making it all up as he goes. This is, after all, a work of fiction featuring magic, elves and dragons...
>>
>>369886
This is just wrong
>>
>>369922
Add something to the conversation or shut up

>>369890
>>369860
This anon doesn't agree with me, but he's actually bringing something to the table.
>>
>>369941
I did. I told you your theory is wrong. The brooches have absolutely nothing to do with ambient vys. Nothing we have ever found points to ambient Vys affecting the brooch network, infact with the way we examined the strings and how the brooches connect and imitate sections of one persons mind in another points to it having nothing at all to do with ambient vys.
>>
>>369905
>rather than comming up with new laws of physics to explain walkie talkies
Nigger that is what he as been doing this entire quest. It's the best part of this quest.
>>
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>tfw shitposting flake QM
>>
>>370112
I don't remember examining the brooches at all, you might be right. Have we ever tried to figure out how the information gets from one mind to another? Or examining the way vys reacts when we use them? Could be that nothing points to ambient vys because we haven't looked there, ''can't see the forest for the trees'' type deal... Can we still observe vys while deep enough to see the strings? I'm curious to know how the information representing the section of our mind gets from us to our companions for it to be imitated there.

If you happen to remember the thread number where we examined the brooches, I'd be interested in rereading it.
>>
The brooches have been explained in some minor detail. They operate by twisting the strings which composes the mind such that they exactly mimic the mind of another. They do this by manipulating the husk to likewise mimic the soul of another.

This is always a purely temporary alteration that quickly fades once the maintaining influence of the brooches is severed.

Thus, Mik would likely reason, anything which interferes with the strings being able to reshape themselves according to the artifact's will would likewise interfere with one's ability to communicate.
>>
>>370228
Does that mean, when we talk to prof, we're dumber for the duration of the conversation? Even if it's just when he talks... Talking to prof literally makes us an idiot!
>>
>>370228
>>370228
And I'm assuming Fulvia is loud because her new body amplifies her mind to be more powerful/dense than ours and we can't process the difference in any way so we percieve it as an increase in volume?

We should look into her new body and it's capabilities.
>>
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the lizard men in the jungle are supposedly loaded right?

Do you think we can outjew the jews?
>>
>>370286
Fulvia doesn't use a brooch, instead she's connected artificially to the network. That's why she feels loud. It's been that way since we hooked her up.
>>
>>370300
Na anon, she got loud and grating after she got her new body. She was everpresent and presumably always eavesdropping before, but not loud and unpleasant sounding.
>>
>>370327
I wonder if she would be able to explain how the brooches work if we ever asked her about it.
>>
>>370352
We should bring it up when we ask about the new body
>>
>>370327
She was always a little grating in the brooch network. But not Loud like she is now.

And we examined the brooches when we were with Zahak. We meditated on the difference between the brooch connection and the dragon connection.

Please do research before theorizing. Or at least have a strong grasp on the Laws of Physics that soma has set up.
>>
She's not all Loud over the brooch network still, only when using her new body's inbuilt telepathic communication.
>>
>>370252
This is actually a good question. We know everything including the mind is composed of strings. We know fuck all about how numerous they are. Is a mind a thousand strings? A hundred thousand? Billions?

What about a chair, or a lump of coal? How many strings is a whole person made of? Where are the strings concentrated? Are there any "visual" identifiers other than "it's nature magic, I ain't gotta explain shit?"

Are they all parallel when no souls are present? Can you ever see where they begin or end, other than when it originates from a soul? Is string vision supposed to be analogous to that retarded Matrix effect in which everyone looks like outlines made of really fake code?

My point is that the whole strings thing is not very well-developed compared to other metaphysics stuff so it sticks out like a sore thumb.

>>370503
That's how it came across to me as well. Also, she's good enough at nature to be quieter if she wants at Master, she just doesn't know she's loud and Mik just uses metal to quiet her instead of pointing this out.

The sole reason for this being Soma never put it in as an option, just like with the Stooges thing.
>>
Surely Soma will run today, he would never flake out on us.
>>
>>370588
>Are they all parallel when no souls are present? Can you ever see where they begin or end, other than when it originates from a soul? Is string vision supposed to be analogous to that retarded Matrix effect in which everyone looks like outlines made of really fake code?

I've always pictured strings like this infinite grid of lines that bend seemingly arbitrarily. The grid is fractally complex, so if you zoom in on a single part of the grid that looks relatively simple it just ends up being another grid with the same complexity as the further out grid.
>>
>>370588
>My point is that the whole strings thing is not very well-developed compared to other metaphysics stuff so it sticks out like a sore thumb.
It's probably the most developed portion or the setting's mechanics famalam.
>>
>>370739
ETA on thread boss?
>>
>>370748
Never Ever.
>>
>>369847
You can freely communicate within a spirit's subjective reality and within your own realm with other creatures in that subjective reality or realm. In fact, the brooches aren't really necessary when you're inside your realm. You could communicate with anyone who's there at the time simply because... well, I'll leave that for you to figure out.

>>369030
Very slightly.

>>369886
That's pretty far off from how the brooches work, they're more like some sort of theoretical communication device taking advantage of quantum entanglement than they are radio waves. Though, that isn't to say that you couldn't use vys to convey information over large distances.

>>370748
Soon, now that I'm finally back on my computer I'm gonna start doctoring up the OP post to include y'all beginning to read the Ninth Barrier book. Apologies for the delay, there was a wreck on my route home and I ended up delayed while they cleared the intersection.
>>
>>370761
>Soon, now that I'm finally back on my computer
So 4 to 6 hours?
>>
>>370761
>there was a wreck on my route home
Do you live in France?
>>
>>370739
Bullshit, you haven't even given us enough to properly visualize it
>>
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Take note of the golden dot over Tel Lakud, that golden dot represents Mik.

You've never really taken much time to document the method by which Zahak achieves and sustains flight. You've watched him of course, ridden atop him, but it never really occurred to you just how he managed it. The wings are locked into position, used only really to steer once he's gained enough altitude. Nor does he really seem to need to beat them very often once he's achieved the necessary elevation. You suppose that can be attributed in part to the warm updrafts of air.

Zahak generally dips just below or just above what little cloud cover exist in Pidjata, though you've noticed that in the foothills there tends to be more than there is in the sea of sand that blankets the western coastal region south of El-Amin. Plus, his proficiency in Fire magic probably allows him to manufacture his own updrafts if needed. However, he also flies in a curious sort of pattern you hadn't noticed until really paying attention to the process. It's subtle, Zahak seems to take great pains to avoid jarring you in your saddle, but on these long distance flights he sort of rolls back and forth through the sky, gaining altitude and dropping suddenly. You're not sure what to make of it, but it seems to be working quite well.

{Do you recall ever learning to fly as you do, or was it just something you started doing?} Perhaps if you understood how it is he learned to fly, you might also understand how Zahak was able to so rapidly and easily advance in the magical arts. You're relatively certain he could rival you in terms of raw power and skill, and he's only a few months old.

A wave of confusion washes over you immediately preceding your son's response. {You and Chryssa and Darzi taught me, Papa. Don't you remember?}

You remember. {I taught you how to jump off sand dunes and wave your arms in the air, I wouldn't call that flying I'd call that embarrassing myself for an hour. Yet here you are, soaring gracefully through the air.} You'd also note that it required no more than a day of effort on your son's part to practically master the art, but that hardly seems surprising compared to some of other things he's accomplished. {Do you ever recall needing to think about it, or did you just take the air and feel everything fall into place?}

Zahak ruminates on your question for a long while, turning it over in his head. It's interesting being able to feel the process playing out in your own mind, to feel him drawing forth memories that aren't your own and which you can't recall. {It's like magic.} He finally decides, evidently confident in his answer. {I just do it. I never thought to ask why or how I do it, it's just magic. It's just flying. They're not really much different.}

(1/5)
>>
shieeeeeeet it's here
>>
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If only that were the case. For all your magical power you're not aware of any method by which a man might take flight. Perhaps with some sort of mechanical aid and a bit of fire magic, it could be done. Enchanting almost certainly has a method by which one might achieve personal flight, but it's presently unknown to you. Perhaps an array designed to repel stone, or something of that sort? Enchanting seems to be on your mind more and more often lately. Probably because now you have a place to perform it in relative peace and comfort, with the necessary tools to make interesting artifacts.

Once your son achieves something resembling stable flight and stops gaining significant altitude, you turn your attention to how exactly you plan on spending these next two, three, or four hours. You could probably make some pretty significant progress on a book, and thanks to this saddle Mahana created for Zahak you could meditate if you wished. There's that book you told Profectus you would read languishing in your cloak, and that other book titled On the Forbidden Arts which seemed to be about creating golems from flesh. Then of course there are plenty of other codices you've yet to begin investigating, you couldn't name them all off the top of your head.

Obligation wins out in the end, and you retrieve Breaking the Ninth Barrier: Fire Magic and You. From the confines of your cloak. It's bound in canvas and leather, the title imprinted in faded gold lettering along the spine. Opening the book reveals a page absolutely full of notes written in a language you can't claim to be familiar with. It's not Rhynian, nor is it Samjan. The letters are blocky and foreign, each one separate from the others as in the Rhynian script. The writing is only very recent, so perhaps Profectus took notes here in the first few pages of the book?

You flip through to the first page of actual writing, the neatly ordered Rhynian letters a welcome change from the sprawling, incomprehensible strings of Elven script. It starts with a few brief paragraphs about the author. He was a Grandmaster of the Fourth Degree in attendance to the court of Imperator Marcellus. You can't recall who that is off the top of your head, but it seems safe to assume that this is a copy of the original text. It's in far better condition than any book that old ought to be in.

The author explains that he spent much of the last few decades in what he calls the 'barren southern wastelands', hosted by a tribe he calls the Malufids in Ascius. If you recall correctly, Ascius is what the Rhynians called Azash while it was under their occupation, so you suppose the author would have been living in what is now El-Amin around fifteen or so hundred years ago. Regardless, the author states that many of the techniques recounted in this book are based upon the practices of your own ancestors.

(2/5)
>>
After that first introductory chapter the book launches into a detailing of the first eight barriers, each one apparently representing a step on the road to magical competence. You allow yourself to skim over this portion of the text, since you doubt there's much to learn from what the author admits is purely a review. In order he names the barriers one must overcome as:

First, awareness of one's own vys pool.
Second, awareness of ambient vys.
Third, the ability to channel into physical actions.
Fourth, the ability to channel into mental actions.
Fifth, the ability to externalize vys in its most basic form.
Sixth, the ability to strip away elements of vys in order to employ elemental magic.
Seventh, the ability to isolate aspects of vys for the casting of effects and metamagic.
Eighth, the ability to draw from the outer layer of the soul to fuel one's magical efforts.

You can proudly claim to have broken all eight of those barriers, though now you wonder if Profectus has also mastered the art of channeling from the husk and simply failed to mention it to you. If he has, you certainly haven't ever seen him take advantage of that ability.

Finally the text begins to discuss what exactly the ninth barrier actually is. According to the author the ninth and final barrier to perfecting one's magical ability is to draw upon the essence of divinity itself to manipulate the fabric which binds reality. Here is the first reference to that curious word which Profectus mentioned, daemotita. According to the book, in order to harness the power of the soul directly one must ascend beyond their mortal confines by achieving daemotita, which he claims is a sort of temporary, localized godhood akin to the sort that a minor spirit might enjoy.

Unfortunately, the text does not launch immediately into the process of actually attaining daemotita. Instead the next chapter begins with a long rant on the nature and uses of Fire magic. You bear with it, as you're operating under the assumption that the author is building to some grand point at the end of it all. According to the text Fire magic is not merely a destructive force in the universe, destruction is just that which mortals most frequently turn those aspects of vys deemed Fire magic towards.

To explain his view of the art, the author employs a story of his time as an apprentice. You scan through the text for those most relevant portions, skipping the six paragraphs he spends recounting his childhood and how one of his chosen academy's Grandmasters used to make him sit on a bed of smoldering coals in the nude while he meditated. Apparently, the author once encountered a spirit whilst meditating at the lip of one of the volcanoes which populate the islands rising from the Great Rift which separates Rhynia from Provincalis. It sought to recruit the author, and though he ultimately refused he managed to learn much from the spirit's demonstrations of its power.

(3/5)
>>
THERE HE IS.
>>
He says that since he'd been deep within a meditative trance, he was able to perceive the effect which the spirit had as it moved through the fabric of the mortal realm. The strings bent and warped, twisted themselves away from the spirit at all cost for the spirit was not defined by the threads which gave definition and form to so much of reality. It extended its will and tongues of flame leapt from its fingers, but they did not burn the fabric as he expected. They flowed readily into the threads until the strings of golden light had grown blindingly bright, and then it was with great fervor that the spirit seized them and shaped them according to its will. The result was an artifact, crafted for his benefit, which allowed him to better withstand extreme temperatures such as those that existed at the volcano's edge.

The author puzzled over this experience for much of his life, wondering just how it was that fire might be channeled into an object without setting it aflame. He experimented throughout the rest of his apprenticeship, often with the help of his professors. However, he had made little progress on the issue prior to his graduation from the academy. As a robed Fire Vatis, he was sent to fight on the front lines and served honorably for a time, participating in the capture of Azash and retaining a post there keeping the peace.

Again he delves into a long and somewhat tedious recounting of his time stay amidst your people which spans several chapters and explains the working relationship he developed with one of the city's prominent tribes. It was through no small effort on his part that he was eventually permitted insight into the magical practices of your people, which he claims offered the missing piece which had prevented him from making any progress on the questions which vexed him.

Fire magic can only be properly controlled by those who have perfected themselves, or at least that's what the author claims. The process of perfecting one's self is long and arduous, but once perfection is achieved one might accomplish task which even Grandmasters of Fire can only dream of. The first step on the road to perfection is to meditate deeply on just what Fire magic truly is, to strip away all those supplementary aspects of vys and truly pay attention to the process. So concludes the fifth chapter of the book.

(4/5)
>>
You lay a strip of cloth between the pages and gently close the book, slipping it back inside the confines of your cloak. No longer do you soar above sand and rock, but vast fields of greenery marred with the occasional noble estate or farmer's shack. Many of the fields are inundated with water, and indeed the area below looks quite swampy. However, your attention is quickly drawn to the structure rising from the swamp some few miles ahead. It is an enormous collection of wooden slats and arched supports, firelight spilling from its innumerable windows. Tel Lakud, the last outpost of civilization before one enters the jungles of Elaudia.

Originally it was an Elaudian trading post, from what you understand. The wooden slats from which it's constructed are unnaturally strong, and attempts over the years to burn the structure down have failed. However, surrounding the central fortress is a stretch of tents, huts, walkways, and platforms sitting atop the stagnant waters of the swamp, all connected to Tel Lakud by make-shift bridges. There's clearly been no effort made to plan out how the city has expanded, and it's renowned as a hive of scum and villainy. Not surprising considering many bands of Aghtaki make use of the city as a base of operations, taking advantage of its status as a semi-autonomous tributary to the Shahdom to escape punishment for their raids.

>Land somewhere on the outskirts of town and retrieve your companions.
>Direct Zahak towards the roof of Tel Lakud proper, where the city's elites live.
>Land well outside the city and find someplace for Zahak to safely hide, enter the city with your companions on foot.
>Write-in
>>
>>371151
>>Land well outside the city and find someplace for Zahak to safely hide, enter the city with your companions on foot.
Can we please not be ran out of this place too?
>>
>>371151
>Land somewhere on the outskirts of town and retrieve your companions.
>>
>>371151
>Direct Zahak towards the roof of Tel Lakud proper, where the city's elites live.
>>
>>371151
>>Land somewhere on the outskirts of town and retrieve your companions.
>>
>>371151
>Land well outside the city and find someplace for Zahak to safely hide, enter the city with your companions on foot.
>>
>>371151
>>Land well outside the city and find someplace for Zahak to safely hide, enter the city with your companions on foot.
>>
Also, for the record:
>Breaking the Ninth Barrier (5/18 Chapters Read)

>>371166
>>371193
>>371215
>Land well outside the city.

>>371185
>>371174
>Land on the outskirts.

Writin'
>>
>>371151
So it's just about how to abtain divine magic. We could have figured that out by using shaping arts to remember what happened in the gate.
>>
baka senpai desu
>>
>>371298
Why haven't we?
>>
>>371427
Where do you think you are?
>>
>>371460
you're right, too many vicitras to think about...
>>
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You keep your eye out for anything that might serve as a good place to hide Zahak away from sight. You don't want to just have him set down in a field somewhere. For one, that would probably destroy a swathe of... well, whatever it is they're growing here. You can't get a good look from this altitude. Plus it would put your son at risk of some commoner stumbling across him laid out in the field. You wouldn't want to return from the city to find your son chased by a mob, or worse to find him feasting on the flesh of your countrymen.

There are numerous patches of dense vegetation, and quite a few of what you think might be tree farms, but neither particularly entice you. Then you see it, buried amidst an untamed patch of swamp. It seems as though a portion of the jungle collapsed into a sink hole to reveal a darkened cave entrance below, and though water has formed a pond at one end much of the resulting basin is given over to sand and rock. It's large enough for Zahak to land in and move about comfortably, and he could probably even make some progress into the cave itself.

He dips his wings the moment you point out the clearing. Your son carries you plummeting to the Earth, only to snap out his wings at the last second. Your descent slows just enough that he's able to land without shattering his legs or your spine, though it's still jarring. He's also left quite the little crater in the sand, and sent a plethora of unfamiliar creatures fleeing at the sight of him.

You dismount carefully, summoning a block of ice to sweep aside the snake which emerges from the sand to protest your invasion of its home. There are dozens upon dozens of snakes emerging from the opening to the cave, slithering towards you and Zahak like ants come to defend their mound. It worries you, but you don't hear nor see anything else moving in the cave. Channeling a bit of nature magic, the world is suddenly bathed in green. Life is everywhere, it surrounds you on all sides in such abundance that it's difficult to distinguish one creature from another. However, your talents as a Vatis reassure you that some enormous serpent does not lurk within the confines of the cave.

{I'm going to retrieve my companions and head into the city to do some exploring, buy some supplies.} Your thoughts are carried effortlessly across the connection you share with your son. “Until I send for you, you should hide here. As much as I hate to make you hide in some damp cave, it seems most people react negatively to your presence. I wouldn't want to repeat what happened in the Bhataki camp.}

Zahak shrinks in upon himself, his response timid and ashamed. {Are you mad at me for scaring those people, Papa?}
(1/2)
>>
{Of course I'm not mad at you!} Your thoughts carry with them a weight of affection and reassurance. How could you ever get mad at Zahak for doing nothing more than what you'd instructed? {This is merely an unfortunate reality we're forced to accept. People dislike dragons, and until such a time as we can prove that you and I do not carry any malice towards them it's likely to remain that way. I'll be back soon, you don't have to be scared.}

Zahak bobs his head, and takes great lumbering steps towards the cave entrance. He seems to be growing more comfortable walking upon four legs, probably because the muscles in his shoulders and wings seem to grow larger by the day. His firey breath incinerates a wave of the caves apparent native inhabitants, his feet crushing others. Even those that try to bite him seem only to break a tooth, so thick are your sons scales. It's this fact more than any other that alleviates your worry. Zahak is going to be just fine.

Then you're standing upon the edge of an iron platform in the middle of an ocean which stretches to the horizon. Your tower reaches ever upwards, its highest reaches vanishing into the night sky. You become immediately aware of where each of your five companions are and what it is they're presently doing. Darzi and Chryssa are exchanging blows on the sands of your sparring grounds, the latter currently chewing on sand after the former threw her halfway across the room. Fulvia and Mortia are discussing something in your workshop, and Profectus seems to have retreated into one of the bedrooms to meditate.

>Just transport them to you, no need to wander around collecting them all.
>Round everyone up, no need to be rude about it but you've got to get going.
>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>Find Profectus so you can discuss what you've read so far of the Ninth Barrier.
>Watch Chryssa and Darzi spar, you've been curious to see which of the two is a better combatant.
>Write-in
>>
>>371483
>>Watch Chryssa and Darzi spar, you've been curious to see which of the two is a better combatant.
>>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>>Find Profectus so you can discuss what you've read so far of the Ninth Barrier.

in that order
>>
>>371483
>Making Zahak stay in a shitty cave when he could be relaxing in his comfy room in the magical realm.
Soma please.
>>
>>371483
daww
>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>Round everyone up, no need to be rude about it but you've got to get going.
>>
>>371483
>>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>>Find Profectus so you can discuss what you've read so far of the Ninth Barrier.
>>Watch Chryssa and Darzi spar, you've been curious to see which of the two is a better combatant.
>>
>>371496
This nigga right here raises a good point, Soma.
>>
>>371496
>>371483
Fix this you hack
>>
>>371483
>>Watch Chryssa and Darzi spar, you've been curious to see which of the two is a better combatant.
>>
>>371483
>Round everyone up, no need to be rude about it but you've got to get going.
But first teleport back and
>Transport Zahak to the magical realm with the intent of picking him back up when we plan to get moving again
>>
>>371496
>>371523
>>371483
do it ya cunt
>>
>>371483
>Go back and get Zahak
>Find Profectus so you can discuss what you've read so far of the Ninth Barrier.
>Wait for Profectus to finish
>>
>>371483
>>371537
This'll do
>>
>>371483
>Watch Chryssa and Darzi scissor, you've been curious to see which of the two is a louder screamer.
>>
>>371483
>Put Charizard in the pokeball
>>
this is fucking domestic abuse

>>371523
>>371537
>>371483
voting for these
>>
>>371491
>>371483
We should do it in exactly that order desu
>>
>>371483

>>371537
I'll go with this.
>>
>>371537
I'll vote for this
>>
>>371483
>>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>Investigate what it is Mortia and Fulvia are up to while you wait for Profectus to finish.
>>
>>371483
>>371496
this you fucking hack
>>
>>371496
Why the fuck would he stay in the cave when he can stay at home? The fuck are you doing Soma?
>>
>>371589
At least he has various swamp creatures to eat .
>>
>>371589
>The fuck are you doing Soma?
He presumably had some plot point planned for the cave, or is still getting used to the fact that we can store our party members as well as our items.
>>
>>371496
>>371483
Soma, I'm gonna call CPS on you for making Mik abuse his son
>>
>>371491
>>371503
>>371517
>>371546
>>371555
>Watch Chrys and Darzi spar

>>371578
>>371555
>>371503
>>371491
>>371498
>Whaddafug are Mortia and Fulvia doing?

>>371568
>>371555
>>371551
>>371541
>>371537
>>371577
>>371503
>>371491
>Find Profectus

>>371498
>>371523
>>371532
>>371551
>Round everyone up into the camps.

Letting Zahak relax in your realm seems pretty unanimous, I'll go with that instead of sending him to hang out in a damp cave full of snakes. Didn't occur to me frankly, haven't gotten used to the fact Mik has a realm yet.

After that, I'll get writin' for:
>Pop in on Mortia and Fulvia
>Watch Chryssa and Darzi spar.
>Find Profectus and chat about the Ninth Barrier
>Return to the base reality and head into town.

Shaping up to be a long post.
>>
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>>371603
Soma's favorite phrase is "Who Knows~."
Knows
Nose

I'm fucking onto you.
>>
Just want yall to know this will be the last post of the night.
>>
>>371669
You're wrong. It'll be the first post of the next thread.
>>
You start to walk towards the main gates when a thought occurs. You set aside a little corner of your realm solely for Zahak's use, and now you're going to make him languish inside some damp cave in the middle of nowhere? What kind of father are you?

You reappear standing in the sands of the sinkhole, Zahak still walking towards the cave unaware that you've returned, but he stops the moment your thoughts brush against his own. {On second thought, I'll just let you rest in your palace while I head into town. That way I won't have to walk all the way back here to fetch you once I've finished there and you can be comfortable without being swarmed by snakes and whatever else lives in that cave.}

Zahak twist himself around inelegantly, you probably shouldn't be surprised he has a little difficulty turning all the way around considering his size and the structure of his forelimbs. He manages it though, tail whipping out to knock aside a veritable horde of serpents as he starts to trot towards you. It's an interesting gait, like he's half hopping and half running. You can hear the guttural purring well before he stops next to you, head pushing forward to bump against your chest.

{Alright! That way I can take a bath and work on decorating more.} It's clear he much prefers this solution, you feel a little bad that you almost made him wander into that cave by himself. {I hate it when sand gets under my neck scales but it's really hard to get it out by myself so being able to soak in the water will really help!}

Grabbing hold of Zahak's horn, you channel a bit of vys into the amulet around your neck and appear once more standing at the entrance to your tower. Zahak is quick to lumber off towards the bridge connecting your portion of the realm to his. You can already tell that your son has turned his thoughts to how he wants to reshape his little territory, what he wants to add and what he wants to remove. He seems to be considering a mural of some sort, but isn't sure what he would make it about. It seems he has quite the well developed sense of architecture and interior design, though. Perhaps that's a result of spending so much time within the confines of noble estates and lavish palaces?

Regardless, you leave all that for your son to figure out. It's his decision to make, after all. Your attention turns instead to Mortia and Fulvia, deep in conversation as they are. Fulvia in particular seems to have been curious about her new body as of late, and you admit some mild curiosity regarding its structure as well. You pass quickly through the main doors and the hallway beyond, emerging into the well-appointed sitting room where a four armed monkey hands you a cup of coffee in the Eastern style. That is to say, it's flavored with spiced butter rather than honey or sugar, as is traditional in the west.

(1/2)
>>
You're a little wary drinking something composed solely of vys, but give it a try regardless. The drink is rich and creamy, but more than that it's incredibly flavorful. You catch hints of cardamom, cinnamon, and just enough cumin to warm the palette without being overpowering. You're surprisingly pleased with how it all taste, even if it fails to actually satisfy your thirst. You carry it with you as you enter your workshop.

Mortia has Fulvia's arm stretched out on the table and is peeling away a thin strip of blue skin with a sharp knife. Fulvia seems more or less unconcerned, greeting you with a wave as you enter. Mortia on the other hand is too focused on her task to notice you've entered.

Seeing no reason to interrupt her work, you come to stand beside Fulvia as she gets her arm carved up. She gestures to the magnifying lenses and shifts herself aside so you can see just what it is her arm is made of, an opportunity you take full advantage of. Peering through the glass is disorienting at first, the most minuscule details become blown up to an enormous level of detail. You can see that Fulvia's flesh is composed of innumerable small, interlocking threads of what you think might be some kind of crystalline substance. The end of each piece looks sort of like a hook, which in turns binds itself to the one next to it.

The deeper Mortia's knife digs into Fulvia's arm, the faster the wound heals. You're able to see each individual little fragment of crystal form and link up with its brethren, stitching the gash closed in the wake of the knife. It's a fascinating sight to watch, but you're soon distracted as Mortia finishes cutting away the chunk she'd been working on. It begins to fall apart almost immediately, and though she rushes to store it inside a glass vial she doesn't even manage to get it in the glass before it's decomposed entirely.

“Niki's cock!” Mortia shouts, her frustration evident. “Am I just going to have to saw your arm off to get a look at this crap? Is that where we're headed? Because with all the gods as my fucking witness, I'll-!” She cuts herself off when she realizes you've joined the two of them, cheeks coloring in what you assume is embarassment. “When did you get here?”

Shrugging your shoulders, you gesture vaguely towards the door. “Just a short while ago, I was wondering just what it is you're trying to determine. Fulvia's new body seems to have been quite the fascination lately.”

(2/3)
>>
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{My body has very strange properties, and I wish to determine the extent of its capabilities.} Fulvia seems to have gotten better recently at moderating the force behind her thoughts, a fact you're grateful for. {We have determined that it is able to heal itself without my intervention and that it seems to be crystalline in nature. It is fed by hollow passages which carry vys-infused quicksilver throughout my body. I am unsure how this quicksilver is produced, but we have confirmed through testing that it does not run out and assume enchanting to be responsible. We have been discussing the possibility of cutting open my chest to further investigate.}

"This carries significant risk." Mortia adds, having composed herself since her earlier bout of profanity. "We're not certain that the body can heal damage that extensive, and we're even less certain regarding whether or not it can be healed through other means. So far Metal and Water magic both seem capable of manipulating the flesh, but we want to perform more experiments before committing to anything."

>They seem to have things well in hand, you'll leave them to it.
>Encourage them to dissect Fulvia's body, you're curious to find out more about it yourself.
>Discourage them from taking any drastic measures solely for the sake of curiosity, you need Fulvia is good working condition.
>Write-in

Decided to break up the post into a few smaller scenes, I'll write for Chryssa vs Darzi next.
>>
>>371802
>>They seem to have things well in hand, you'll leave them to it.
Have fun
>>
>>371802
>They seem to have things well in hand, you'll leave them to it.
>>
>>371802
>>They seem to have things well in hand, you'll leave them to it.
but let them know that if they do decide to do a full dissection we would like to be there, to provide help if necessary and just to watch if not. And let them know we're interested in any results they find.
>>
>>371802
>Use your god hacks to shit out another copy of her body
No risk
Maybe take out core first so we don't make two of her
>>
>>371810
Supporting this.
>>
>>371810
>>371802
this could work, but we'll have to be in spend 10 husk and 1 round in god-mode in order to do that.
>>
>>371810
support
>>
>>371810
>>371817
>>371812
Her body is an Artifact. Creating a copy won't copy over Finalization, and Finalization is only possible if we know every rune.
>>
>>371810
Yeah, offer to do this but later.
>>
>>371810
>>371817
>>371822
These two Anons are correct. You would need to ascend to make a copy, and that copy would not retain whatever enchantments hold Fulvia's body together.
>>
>>371825
Chrys's body sure as fuck worked and from what we know people are the most elaborate golems ever. Don't you try and jew me you cuckold
>>
>>371829
we don't have complete knowledge of the runic library. Even spending time to analyze all the runic circuits on Fulvia's body would take days, which is time we don't have.
>>
>>371809
Seconding this.
>>
>>371802
>Take out that Talking Bust and show it to Fulvia and Mortia.
>>
>>371834
>>371802
Seconding for great justice.
>>
>>371831
We didn't study chrys's body
>>
>>371834
>>371802
Supporting
>>
>>371834
supporting
>>
>>371829
>Chrys's body sure as fuck worked
It worked in that the portions defined by the strings remained functional, but you didn't truly copy her soul. The husk is more like... well, I won't discuss the husk in this context. That'd be spoilers.

Suffice to say that Fulvia's body is rather different than the husk, and thus without the enchantments placed upon it would quickly fall apart.

Anyway, writin' for leaving the talking bust with Mortia and Fulvia, but otherwise leaving them alone.
>>
>>371855
>comparing the body to the husk instead of the body to the body
I can feel the shekels being sucked out of my pocket you dirty jew
>>
>>371862
that's what you get for trying to play an amatuer's game of jewing you goyim
>>
Jungle literally never.
>>
Upon finally pulling yourself away from the magnifying lenses, you decide to leave them to their work. “Well, you seem to have the situation well in hand. I do have a gift for you, though.” Reaching into your cloak, you extract the broken porcelain statue bound together with gold. However, the talking statue is not the only artifact extracted from your cloak. Clinging to its head is the minuscule form of the little imp you'd found in the Satrap's Library.

It leaps from the statue's head and lands heavily upon the workbench, making a run for the door. You ignore it for now, confident in the knowledge that you'll be able to transport it back to you from anywhere so long as it remains in your realm. Instead you quickly manifest a stand upon which to place the bust, designed such that it supports the statues shattered neck rather than being inserted inside. “From what I understand, this artifact was created by a Rhynian enchantress to serve as an assistant.”

The porcelain woman blinks her milky white eyes, dipping her head slightly in greeting. She speaks with the same high pitched, lilting voice she used when you first pulled her from Sadik's junk pile. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances. You may call me Korrina, if you wish. Do you have need of my aid?”

Mortia seems a little uncomfortable talking to a statue, while Fulvia is entirely nonplussed. {We were hoping that you might be able to aid us in our efforts to find out more about the nature of my body.}

The statue nods once more in acknowledgment, a fact which has some interesting implications. The statue must have a mind then, and a somewhat complex mind at that. This would also imply that the statue has a soul of some sort, or at least has been very carefully enchanted. You decide not to think about it too hard. “I'll leave you three to it, then. Good luck, and do keep in mind that we'll be leaving soon.”

“Wait! Real quick before you leave, can I have my stuff back?” Mortia sounds almost frantic, a certain look in her eye which sets you ill at ease. “I sorta need some of it for what I have in mind.”

Reaching into your cloak you retrieve Mortia's satchel, offering it to the woman only to pull it back at the last moment. “Don't hurt yourself if you don't have to.” That warning delivered, you hand it over and take your leave of them. Returning to the sitting room you briefly cast about for the little imp creature, but it's already managed to sneak its way downstairs. How it got there so quickly, you're not sure.
(1/3)
>>
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Still, it's probably harmless. You'll let it enjoy itself for a while. Instead, sipping your coffee, you pass into the sparring ground to watch Darzi driving her fist into Chryssa's abdomen, sending the much stronger woman stumbling away gasping for air. Darzi tries to follow it by swinging her back leg forward to drive the ball of her foot into Chryssa's jaw, but finds her momentum arrested by her opponent's callused hand.

She's thrown off her feet, but as Chryssa charges forward she's forced to flinch away from a powerful kick. It ends up being a feint, because in the next moment Darzi has her legs wrapped around Chryssa's neck and by twisting her lower body she's able to bring the other woman to the ground.

However, rather than stick around to wrestle in the sand Darzi kicks Chryssa in the jaw and quickly scrambles away. She's caught by the leg, and with the inexhaustible strength you've come to know her for the horned woman drags her struggling opponent back across the sand. She grabs Darzi's arm and quickly twist it into a position which makes you wince just looking at it, all while raining blows into Darzi's side. You find it a little hard to watch, mainly because of the sound. It seems like she breaks something with each blow she lands.

Darzi presses her fingers into a spot on Chryssa's hip which elicits a pained cry. It's just the opportunity Darzi needs to escape out from underneath her opponent, even though she's really struggling to get to her feet. She manages, listing heavily to one side. You'd honestly be surprised if she wasn't suffering a few broken bones after the punishment Chryssa just delt her.

Judging by the amount of swollen, discolored bruises covering your horned companion she's probably gotten the worst of the fighting overall. Darzi sports more than a few bruises herself, and each one far more serious than any of Chryssa's, but they're fare fewer in number.

They're just staring at one another for the moment, both of them obviously exhausted. You don't really have any way of knowing just how long they've been sparing but it's probably been quite some time already judging by how beat up they both are.

It's when Darzi finally notices your presence, her eyes flicking only momentarily in your direction, that the fight is brought finally to an end. Chryssa seizes upon the opportunity to launch herself forward, but Darzi's foot snaps up to meet with your horned companion's nose. It cracks loudly, blood streaming readily from the wound as she limply falls to the sands of the sparing ground. That looks like a knockout.

The strength drains from Darzi's body in an instant, and she slumps to the floor alongside her friend. At least, you assume they're still friends. Hopefully this wasn't a fight about some feud between them. Healing their shattered bodies actually requires some effort on your part despite your immense talent, and even after being healed neither seems particularly eager to get up.
>Vys Pool: (42/72)
>>
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Rousing them is simple enough. You need only to manifest two swirling balls of cold water just above their heads and release your control over both. It splashes over both women in nearly the same moment and they come spluttering back to life. Not only did it serve to wake them, but it also washed some of the caked blood off their faces. There's a moment where they both just stare at one another, and then at you, before Darzi breaks out into what you might politely describe as a shit eating grin and Chryssa merely sighs.

You're a little lost as to what's just gone on here.

>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
>Discourage them from fighting so brutally when you're not here to patch them up at the end of it all.
>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>Write-in
>>
>>371995
>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
>Ask them how their channeling studies went without being a condescending prick.
>>
>>371995
>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>>
>>371998
>Mik
>Not a condescending prick.
>>
>>371995
>>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
We really aren't one to lecture on brutal fighting.
>>
>>371995
>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>Channel Vys to be as much of a condescending prick as possible.
>>
>>371998
>without being a condescending prick
Thats just not in character, really you need to leave questing if you can't stay in character, or whatever stupid bullshit you said before that I'm too lazy to get an exact quote of
>>371995
>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>>
>>371995
>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
>"I'm surprised Darzi fared better than I did."
>>
>>371995
>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>Write-in

I hope this is merely enthusiastic training and not a physical argument between you two.
>>
>>371995
>>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked while being as condescending as you can
>>
>>371995
>>Ask for an explanation before passing any sort of judgment.
>>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
be extra condescending
>>
>>371995
>>Ask them if they've spent the entire time fighting or if they actually meditated upon Weapon Channeling as you asked.
>>
>>371998
>>372003
>>372006
>>372009
>>372025
>>372012
>Yo niggas, you got beef?

>>372025
>>372015
>>372012
>>372040
>>372006
>>372005
>>371999
>>371998
>Did you learn Weapon Channeling?

Writin' for both.
>>
>>372042
Smack them both over the head with the mik hammer.
>>
>>372164
And risk Mickle's Pickle on Chryssa's horns? Veto.
>>
>>372165
just use metal magic bruh
>>
>>372165
We can reinforce it with Metal.
>>
Updated the companions pastebin. Folks gained new Metamagic, and some advanced in their understanding of elemental magic. Profectus also got some reading in.
>>
>>372171
Finally getting started on that post, then?
>>
>>372174
He needs to take a break after editing pastebins. Writing post starts in an hour.
>>
>>372174
I don't think you understand how physically demanding writing really is. I'm winded just from telling you about it.
>>
Post literally never ever.
>>
“Well I'm pleased to see you two getting along so well.” You dry out their clothes with a wave of your hand, an act of courtesy more than anything else. They're still going to need to wash the blood off themselves after what they just put themselves through. “Did you two decide to just have a friendly spar, or should I be concerned?”

“Darzi believed that she would be able to beat me in a fight, forbidding the use of magic but permitting me the full use of my strength.” Chryssa calmly explains, her tone passionless. “Had I not been restraining myself to avoid killing her, she would have been wrong. However, because I did not wish for a second friend to die by my hand I pulled my punches. This leads now to my present embarrassment.”

“I'll play you a dirge as soon as I find my esraj, Chryssa.” Darzi remarks, finally pushing herself to her feet and offering a hand to help up her opponent as well. “Suffice to say we made a bet, and I've won. I don't think anything more than that needs to be said. Certainly nothing for you to worry your pretty little head over Mikhael, especially considering everything else you're forced to deal with on a regular basis.”

You're curious, but you'll let it slide for now. “Well I certainly hope you weren't too busy resolving this little bet of yours to perfect the technique of channeling spells through a weapon. I'd be most disappointed if you prioritized something trivial like this over magical advancement.” You probably came off as a little more condescending than you'd intended, but you truly would be annoyed if they hadn't done as you asked.

“On the contrary, we have been most productive.” Chryssa doesn't seem to mind the tone you'd used at least, but then again she might not have noticed. She wanders over to join you standing by the door now that she's regained her feet. “We started off by gathering together here and pairing off to practice Weapon channeling. That method proved ineffective in Mortia's case, but we discovered an alternative which allowed her to advance alongside the rest of us. I believe Profectus then retired to read, while Darzi and I tried out your weights and Mortia and Fulvia took advantage of your facilities.”

Whilst Chryssa was busy explaining Darzi had wandered over to a pitcher of water and poured them each a cup. Now she returns, handing off one cup to Chryssa before she launches into an explanation of her own. “Profectus came down a half hour or so later and asked if I could help him with Nature magic, so we roped Mortia into teaching us since we'd helped her with the metamagic. I think both of us learned a lot from the experience, and now Profectus is off meditating by himself. Not sure on what.”

(1/2)
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“So to summarize, no. We advanced significantly within the magical arts before dedicating ourselves to 'something trivial' like sparring.” Darzi pinches the fat around your abdomen, there isn't much but it's enough to illustrate just how soft you still are and make you flinch. “Maybe if you dedicated a little more time to physical activities instead of meditating you wouldn't be so flabby.”

Maybe it's just your wounded pride, but you draw yourself up a little taller. “I'm hardly flabby, I'm thin as a reed. It's just that I'm still in the process of building muscle is all.”

“That process would be much faster if you tried actually exercising.” Chryssa calmly remarks. “I am sure that either I or Darzi could help you, if you wished to learn how. Form is important if you wish to work the correct muscle groups in isolation, and it also ensures you avoid injury.”

You hold up your hands in mock surrender. “Fine, fine. I understand the point your making, I need to actually put in some sort of effort. Unfortunately that will have to wait, because we'll soon be returning to the base reality. We've arrived in Tel Lakud. Why don't you two go take a bath while I go speak with Profectus? There's something I wish to discuss with him.”

They both nod, and walk away discussing eachother's techniques in combat. Darzi is particularly interested in some manner of grapple which Chryssa apparently performed, while Chryssa wants to know more about how Darzi is able to inspire such pain with no more than the press of a finger. You admit to being curious about that yourself, and wonder passively on your way to the stairs if it has anything to do with that book you have on the art of 'vital points'.

Still writing the conversation with Profectus. Probably the last post of the night, incidentally.
>>
>>372208
Oh good, I can go to sleep finally.

Thanks for running, Soma.
>>
>>372208
>exercising
Nope, use shaping arts to get some muscles.
>>
>>372208
So they're gonna lez out in the baths right?
>>
>>372213
This. Working out is for plebs that cannot into magic.
>>
>>372208
>if it has anything to do with that book you have on the art of 'vital points'.
Did she figure that out by herself? We didn't give her the Manual on the Art of Vital Points
>>
>>372213
This. Why waste time exercising when you can become more fit as a side effect of your magical advancement?
>>
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>>372213
>>372215
>>372217
I'm sure you'll pass that DC 60-75 eventually.
>>
>>372220
We'll get a +5 bonus for each failure, so it would only take us like 8 meditations to get the the point where we could succeed pretty easily.
>>
>>372220
>use the crown, ring and warlock armor (not heavy)
Ez. It should take 2 meditations at most thanks to the +5/+10 cumulative bonus for failing. Speaking of that would those muscles count as Average or Routine DC? It might be a good way to get insight.
>>
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>>372220
We'll force you to sit there and write each meditation as we slowly accrue bonuses from our failures.

I hope you enjoy writing six updates (three threads) straight of us dicking around.
>>
>>372220
So do metal and nature magic give bonuses to shaping?
>>
We better use the Shaping Arts to mold our dick into new and exciting forms, Triangle dick anyone?
>>
Should we tell them or surprise them by suddenly appearing /fit/ one day?
>>
>>372229
The latter.

No mention of Shaping, though. We'll explain it as the result of simple exercise.
>>
>>372220
well. Martial Trance will help us get /fit/, and while Mik uses Marsele Vie, he analyzes his own self image and slowly makes incremental changes via metal magic to reinforce his image of staying /fit/
>>
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To be fair, the best method taking into account shaping arts, to load on muscle would be to well... I better not spoil it.
>>
>>372241
Answer this question >>372223
>>
>>372208
>Darzi yet again doesn't offer Mik a drink
>Can you believe this shit, Ice Golem?
>>
>>372229
Isn't Shaping a gradual processes and not instant?
>>
>>372256
Depends on how good you are but yes, at our current level it'd be gradual. We'd take around 4 or 5 meditations to pass, assuming it's 75 DC
>>
You find Profectus in one of your bedrooms seated upon the soft mattress with his legs folded underneath him and his hands rested upon his knees. He looks calm and content, but channeling a little Nature magic reveals that his vys is not nearly so placid. It coils itself into a ball in his chest, visible even through the haze of ambient vys due to its immense concentration in comparison to the void that is the rest of his body. Even his arm seems lacking in comparison.

It requires no more than a glance to determine that Profectus isn't going to make any progress, so you shake him gently by the shoulder to draw him back into the waking world. His eyes snap open and immediately his expression sours. “Gods damn it, Mik! I was on the cusp of a major breakthrough, I could feel it!”

“I'm afraid not, Profectus. You vys was so knotted that you weren't going to accomplish anything of note.” You pat him on the shoulder briefly before retreating to sit in one of the room's comfortable chairs. “Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I can't tell you how many times I've spent hours, days even, feeling as though if I just meditate a little longer I'll discover something grand. It's just a trick of the mind.”

Your friend sighs, rubbing wearily at bloodshot eyes. He's really been pushing himself lately, a fact you appreciate, but there is such a thing as overdoing it. He hasn't reached that point yet but he's certainly approaching it. “So I started reading the Ninth Barrier book, and it features quite a few interesting little tidbits of information in the first few chapters I've read. Plenty of irrelevant filler as well, but it's an interesting book. Have you 'broken the eight barrier' as the book terms it?”

“Channeling the outer layer of the soul in order to fuel my spells?” You offer a nod of confirmation, and Profectus continues. “I've managed it, yeah. I don't know if I'd say that I've mastered it yet. It's like tearing off chunks of myself and forcing it into a spell. Hardly as elegant as channeling vys.”

It sounds like he's just as good at it now as you were prior to achieving your grandmastery of Metal magic. “No, I think that's the closest you can get to mastering the art of channeling husk prior to breaking the ninth barrier, as it were. Incidentally I think I've already managed to accomplish what the book describes. That is to say, I've already broken through. I did it when I channeled Metal magic fueled by the husk of my soul into the shell of my soul. The method involving Fire magic might be different, and I'm still interested in trying it out, but I may not be capable of it.”

(1/2)
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Profectus seems confused, and understandably so. “How would that even work with Metal magic, though? The reason the book says Fire magic works is because Fire magic is essentially the manipulation of potential energy. When you create a bolt of flame you're not just creating a fire in your fingers or something, unless you're me of course. You're igniting the air in front of you by charging the molecules it's composed of with vast amounts of energy. They give off heat, as is their wont, and a fire is started as a result.”

“Anyway, when you take that and apply it to the husk of the soul it charges your divine shard with immense amounts of power, it starts to release enough of its own divine essence to seize control of the strings in the surrounding area. Thus you achieve the same level of control over a small, localized area of the base reality as a spirit. Thus the word daemotita. He said it also changes how you perceive yourself, but claimed that everyone experiences a different change. I couldn't really make heads or tails of that part.”

How funny, you couldn't make heads or tails of what it is he just said. “That doesn't quite sound right. Fire magic creates fire the same way anything starts a fire. The vys acts as a fuel and catalyst for the flame, nothing more and nothing less.”

“You're partially right insofar as the vys is acting as a catalyst and a fuel, but this wouldn't be enough because you'd still need to increase the temperature to the autoignition temperature.” Since when did Profectus get so wordy? Is all this in the book and you just haven't gotten to this point yet? “You can sort of think as vys as like this volatile vapor, when it's in the guise of fire magic. If you just let it stew it might be well beyond its flash point, but there would be no source of ignition. So you also need to raise the temperature to about ninety degrees in order to actually create the flame. You only need to do it in a very small area, because then the rest of the vys will be ignited by the initially small area.”

That does serve to describe the way in which fire spreads when you create it. It starts off usually at the palm and rapidly expands beyond that point. Still, something bothers you. “I don't really know what you mean by ninety degrees, that's a meaningless description to me. That being said, if you were physically raising the temperature rather than just letting the vys catalyze and fuel a flame why doesn't the fire burn you as well as what you target it towards?”

“That would still be a problem even in the system as you described it, Mik.” Profectus shrugs his shoulders. “Our best guess is that there's a layer of raw vys between the caster and the flame which doesn't exist around the target. Raw vys, you understand, isn't nearly as volatile as vys channeled into Fire magic.”
(2/1)
>>
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Maybe you should have paid more attention when your Master tried to explain the mathematical elements of magic. You'd probably be following this conversation a lot easier. “Where did you learn all this? It was my understanding that you weren't a soldier in your life prior to waking up in that metal tube.”

Profectus scratches his chin contemplatively, thinking over your question for some time. “Well, I was taught the basics of how vys functions when I was just a kid. Six, seven, around that time. We learned the more complex stuff when we entered grammar school. Then Vatis went on to the Academy while others entered the working world either as an apprentice to a trade or in the army, as I did. I was fourteen years old when I joined the army, though all they really had me do was run messages until I was old enough to fight.”

“Why go through all the trouble of educating commoners on the mechanics of magic if most of them weren't even able to cast?” The idea seems absolutely idiotic to you. A waste of time and effort with no real benefit.

Profectus grins a little, apparently enjoying his brief stint as your teacher. “Well, you never know who has magical power and who doesn't until they discover it. This is usually an accident, so the best way to weed out the Vatis from the regular folk is to teach magic to everyone and the ones that discover a talent for get cultivated while the others leave from the experience more comfortable and familiar with magic. That's important in a society which wasn't always absolutely inundated with it.”

“Well, putting aside for a moment the educational system of ancient Rhynia, we should probably get going. I'd be willing to bet that the others are either waiting for us or will soon be ready to leave.” You rise from your seat, as does Profectus, and walk together into the hall. “I will say it sounds like this method is different enough from the method I currently employ to offer some sort of benefit.” What might happen if you master two methods of ascending beyond the confines of your mortal body? You puzzle over this question on the brief walk back to the foyer.

You find Mortia and Fulvia waiting for you, and Chryssa joins you some short while later. Darzi takes her sweet time in the baths, but eventually emerges from the hall garbed in her armor with hair still wet. Linking hands with your companions, you channel a touch of vys into the pendant around your neck. It's almost disorienting how instantaneous the transfer is.

Instead of the comfortably appointed foyer of your tower, you and your friends stand now at the center of a pit full of hundreds, if not thousands of writhing snakes with no way out except to climb the sheer faces of the sinkhole in which you find yourself.

>EEEEEEEEEEEEEEND THREAD
>Next thread Saturday
>>
>>372281
>implying Mortia can't mind control all the snakes
>implying Chryssa can't turn the 'sheer faces of the sinkhole' into uniform staircases
If you tried to leave us with suspense you failed Soma.
>>
>>372285
I'm mostly setting it up for a few of your companions to flip out.
And then for Mortia to make fun of them for being scared of snakes, which she thinks are adorable.
>>
>>372281
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClwIj3x24Q4
>>
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>>372287
>which she thinks are adorable.
Because they are.
>>
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>We left the golem in our realm
>>
>>372292
Whats the worst that could happen?
>>
>>372296
"Who knows~"
>>
>>372287
Can we wrap a pair around our horns?
>>
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>>372281
>What might happen if you master two methods of ascending beyond the confines of your mortal body

>mfw Metal ascension was but one part of the larger scheme of Ascension, requiring the other forms to evolve into a perfect being

how long have you been planing this soma?!
>>
>>372292
>golem is intelligent
>Soma mentioned the monkey servants might take over
>golem begins organizing the monkey servants
>launches invasion of Mahana's realm using the Meeseeks box and flying monkeys
>come back to the tower covered in feces
>'ape lives matter' written in shit on the doors
>Prof "I told you they were apes."
>>
>>372309
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH_CcJ-uBWI
>>
>>372309
>Mik figures out how to ascend using every element
>Mik becomes a new member of the Pantheon, and is recognized by the others as a peer
>Pani the Blessed
>Surya the Destroyer
>Dhatu the Dreaming
>Mik'hael the Pickle
>>
>>371855
Did you mean shell here or am I slowly becoming retarded?
>>
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>>372220
Wow, that sounds almost as hard as closing a massive nightmare tear in a hostile spirit's realm while a void centipede drains everyone of vys and charges its way out of the spacegina. How will we ever jew together the modifier we'd need for it?
>>
>>372253
Ah, the nostalgia.
>>
Breaking the tenth barrier when?
>>
>>372936
When we find a way to get in and out of the 216 layers without getting buttfucked by Surya and his kids.
>>
>>372936
Once we ascend with all 5 elements.
>>
Wouldn't getting /fit/ through the shaping arts be easiest if we reshaped our body after getting a post-exercise pump? Mik's self image would be at its highest, so that should lower the DC
>>
>>373029
We could try to do it after meditating on forms
>>
>>372281
>>Next thread Saturday
Monday then.
>>
>>372279
Nice, Prof learned more about physics in elementary school than Mik knows as an adult.
>>
>>373036
>>373029
Work ourself to the bone. Fuck the shit outta Darzi. Ascend for a minute or two. THEN reshape our self image.
>>
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God, I hate being a sandnigger.

If this coup kills me, let it be known that my last words were "Soma is a faggot."
>>
>>374246
You're a Turk. You probably deserve it.
>>
>>374266
fuck off, those Armenians totally had it coming
>>
>>374272
Alright. I'll give you that one. They are armenians.

Fukin slavs.
>>
>>374246
It could be worse you could be a full nigger.
>>
So propertyless vys seem to act like antimagic to an extent. I wonder how propertyless husk work?
>>
Thread never
>>
Profectus and Darzi screech almost simultaneously and in nearly the same ear-splitting pitch. You admit some minor discomfort but that's primarily because you're unarmored. They're both so completely encased in metal that it would be virtually impossible for a snake to actually bite them. Which is fortunate, because Profectus has begun to wade through the heaving mass of reptilians and Darzi is trying to scare them away with burst of flame which only seem to inspire their wrath.

“Mortia,” You eye your companion, currently seated amidst the tide of serpents with a self-satisfied smirk playing across her lips. “Do you think you could do something about this before either of those two hurt themselves?”

A pulse of vys washes over you, and the snakes cease their endless writhing as though seized by some manner of paralysis. In unison they retreat from your party, a single mind in many bodies. It's like watching the die roll out as they crawl over and under one another to get back inside the immense cave before you. All save one, which remains coiled contentedly around Mortia's arm. It rest with its head reared back and its neck flattened out into a curious hood of sorts, the first instance of such behavior you've ever seen in a snake.

Profectus doesn't relax once the immediate threat is gone, rather he just breaks out into a run instead of wading through seething reptiles. In a rather impressive feat of strength and agility he manages to leap off a rock, grab hold of a tangle of vines, and scramble up to the rim of the sinkhole. Darzi at least seems to keep her head on a little straighter. She doesn't bolt, instead opting to rest her hands on her knees and take deep, heaving breathes. No doubt an attempt to calm herself. You never pictured her as one to be scared of... well, much anything really.

Mortia's thoughts brush gently against your own, and presumably the rest of the party's as well. {Why would you volunteer to journey into a jungle if you were scared of snakes? Are you scared of spiders and rats as well? Because if so I can tell you right now, you're going to have a very bad time.}

Profectus, standing upon the lip of the sinkhole, cups his hands around his mouth and shouts his reply. “Hey, fuck you too!” The sound reaches you only distantly, but the sound of his voice inspires a flock of bright red birds to take to the air.

{I was just surprised.} Darzi seems at least slightly more composed, but the embarrassment she feels overwhelmingly colors her thoughts. {Maybe you'd be less dismissive of the threat snakes pose if you weren't immune to their venom.}

(1/2)
>>
“Perhaps you're right, I may well screech like a virgin bride on her wedding night if I hadn't trained my body to resist their poison.” You wonder passively if she even completely understands what she just referenced as Mortia reaches into her satchel to extract that little jewelry box she carries with her. “I would think that being clad in armor which up to this point has been impervious to any all harm would eliminate whatever fear I might have felt.”

From within the jewelry box she pulls one of her little blue beads and taps it lightly against the back of the snake's head. There's a flash of light, and when the spots clear from your vision the snake does not appear as it once did. It was perhaps five or so feet long just a moment ago, but now it's at the very least ten feet long. Its scales, once dappled green and yellow, are now solid black and thicker than they were before. Save for a design in white upon the back of its hood, that is. Its tail is wrapped around Mortia's neck, while the rest of its body coils around her right arm like a living sleeve.

Your companion drops the little glowing bead back into her chest and snaps it shut, the latch falling into place of its own accord. She tucks the chest back into her satchel and rises to her feet. The snake is quick to transfer itself from her arm to her abdomen, circling her waist four times before clamping its jaws around its tail. “I will name him Draculus.” She announces proudly, stroking the back of her new sash. “Little dragon.”

“He doesn't look very much like a dragon.” Chryssa remarks, half of her attention dedicated to carving the walls of the sinkhole into an orderly stairwell leading into the jungle above. “No wings, no horns, no limbs. A pale imitation of a true dragon.”

>Corral everyone towards the stairs, you're on a schedule damn it.
>Well hold on, maybe it would be worthwhile to poke around that cave?
>What was all that with the beads and the flashing lights?
>Write-in
>>
>>377961
>What was all that with the beads and the flashing lights?
>Well hold on, maybe it would be worthwhile to poke around that cave?
>>
>>377961

>We've got a schedule to keep. Father time waits for no man and is a harsh taskmaster.
>>
>>377961
>Corral everyone towards the stairs, you're on a schedule damn it.
>>
>>377961
>Corral everyone towards the stairs, you're on a schedule damn it.
>>
>>377961
>Well hold on, maybe it would be worthwhile to poke around that cave?

We use Nature magic and the snakes to do a quick search of the cave right?
>>
>>377961
>Corral everyone towards the stairs, you're on a schedule damn it.
>What was all that with the beads and the flashing lights?

>baiting us with even more plot hooks
It's like you don't even want us to reach Elaudia in the next 5 threads.
>>
>>377961
>Corral everyone towards the stairs, you're on a schedule damn it.
>>
>>377990
>We use Nature magic and the snakes to do a quick search of the cave right?
>Implying Mikhael is anywhere near good enough at Nature magic to pull that off.
Mortia could probably do something like it though. I mean, it would be incomplete and obviously they couldn't bring back anything excessively large, but it would be a pretty efficient way to look around for little trinkets or coins and stuff like that.
>>
>>378005

We did something similar with plants back at the temple. Nothing so thorough as this I admit.
>>
>>378005
can we assist her as a meditation?
>>
>>377961
>Well hold on, maybe it would be worthwhile to poke around that cave?
>What was all that with the beads and the flashing lights?
>>
>>378005
What about with the ring and the crown?
>>
>>378013
Ehh, yeah. I'd let it be a meditation method. You'd get a +4 bonus to the meditation for assisting her. I guess a +4 based on getting tutored by a Grandmaster. So a +8 bonus in addition to your usual meditation bonuses.

>>378022
You could probably do it with the ring and the crown in conjunction, but why use your artifacts just so you can barely be capable of it when you could give them to Mortia instead and be assured of a thorough sweep?
>>
>>378035
>but why use your artifacts just so you can barely be capable of it when you could give them to Mortia instead and be assured of a thorough sweep?
Just do that then. Have her take a good look around and see if there's anything worthwhile in this cave. If not, off we go.
>>
>>377980
>>377998
>>378020
>Oi mate, the fuck did you do to that snake?

>>377980
>>377990
>Poke around the cave.

>>377982
>>377981
>>377986
>>377998
>>377999
>You've only got eight days left, time to get movin'.
>>
snek
>>
How do you do it soma, how do you keep having all these poor anons come back to you time after time?
>>
>>378089
>implying I'm here for Soma
>implying I'm not here for Zahak
>>
>>378089

His sister keeps flashing her tits on skype. That's why I keep coming back.
>>
>>378089
soma drives to Dahllas just to suck my dick
>>
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>>378089
It's the irresistible allure of a train wreck, I'm sure.
>>
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>>378089
Crusty a dead and ShadowMaster is writing irl books now, Soma is all i have left.
>>
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>>378142
>diarca came back then disappeared again
>same with sylvetican
>barely any new stuff on qst worth reading
>>
>>378165
>implying diarca and sylvetican aren't secretly the same person
>>
>>378208
Well he did run a not!Totemist quest once.
>>
Broken Sky never ever
>>
>>378142
We still have Gobble. For now.
>>
>>378142
>irl books
>second one supposed to have been released a year ago
>implying
>>
>>378224
>second one supposed to have been released a year ago

Wut? Do you have the names of the books?
>>
>>378232
Just check his twitter
>>
>>378232
First ones named Contractor. I really loved it. Forgot the sequel is gonna be named.

He also has a story on Literotica called Dream Drive. That story is fucking amazing.
>>
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“Mortia's taste in names aside, we are on a schedule.” You look up, trying to get a gauge on how many hours are left in the day. The sun has begun to dip beyond the horizon, casting the clouds in shades of red and orange. “The way I figure it, we have about eight days until the Triarchs come to collect upon the debt I owe them in whatever horrible manner they see fit.”

Darzi grabs you by the arm as you step past, pulling you back. “Wait wait, what's this about a debt you owe? Who are the Triarchs? I don't remember you ever taking the time to explain this aspect of our little journey. I was under the impression we were searching for remnants of some ancient civilization to learn from them the recipe for Elaudian steel.”

“Have I not mentioned them?” Surely you've spoken of the Triarchs at some point. You may be negligent when it comes to keeping your companions in the loop, but they've played a fairly major role in your adventure thus far. “Three skeletal figures who have been spectating my life since I was child, they dwell somewhere outside of the Gods' creation, I think. That's mostly speculation. Apparently they made some ancient compact with our people to help them identify powerful Vatis, so now we all get tested before a doorway to determine whether we're worthy of being apprenticed.”

Blank looks all around. “Chryssa, I know I've mentioned this to you at least once. They dwell in that vault beneath the Academy of Anthus, or at least that's one passage into their little realm. They're the ones who gave me the cloak, and a couple artifacts I can't really remember off the top of my head.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “It brings to mind a vague memory, though I cannot profess to clearly recall you ever referring to them as 'the Triarchs'. That is a new title, I believe.”

This is really making you question the sanctity of your memory. You would've sworn that you explained this to your companions at some point. “Yeah, I suppose 'Triarchs' is just what I remember the Paramatma telling me they were called. One of their many titles. There's always three of them, so I guess it makes sense. Sounds a little nicer than 'the Three'. Anyway, they prevented my mind from being subverted by an ancient draconic lich in the caves beneath Longia so I owe them a life debt they've decided to collect upon. I don't know what they'll do if I don't accomplish this task within the set time limit, but I'd also rather not find out.”

(1/2)
>>
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“Have I really not told you any of this?” You gently extricate yourself from Darzi's grasp, motioning them to follow as you walk towards the stairs. Profectus starts to loop around towards them, following the rim of the sinkhole. Presumably following your lead. “I mean, I never professed to tell you everything. I don't think you'd wish to know everything. I thought that at the very least I told you that.”

Chryssa pats you comfortingly upon the shoulder as the five of you ascend the wide stairwell she'd carved earlier. “It's okay, Mikhael. We understand that your mind is somewhat perforated. It is to be expected after the hardships you have put yourself through.”

{Indeed, it is the curse of the mortal mind to degrade with time and the trials it brings.} Fulvia's voice drifts through your thoughts, the immensity of her own consciousness imposing but the words themselves surprisingly gentle. {We would not judge you for this failing.}

Darzi seems less willing to forgive and forget, but apparently doesn't think it's worth it to complain. She threads an arm around yours, standing with you while you wait for Profectus to finish his circuit of the sinkhole's rim. You weren't really asking for pity, but at least they're not yelling at you.

Mortia wanders off almost immediately to inspect a bulbous flower blooming from a shrub. It stands upon an immense stalk and drips a viscous substance from a spiked tube extending from the center of the flower. You watch her warily as she pokes the tube, only for it to launch forward and try to wrap around her finger. She jerks back, giggling, and then draws a dagger from her satchel. Cutting the stalk elicits what sounds like a pained screech from the flower, this causing you far more concern than anything else about the interaction.

Profectus joins you just as she finishes packing it into a little silk bag and tucking it into her satchel. Presumably she's saving it for later experimentation. Regardless, with your party gathered around you at long last you begin the long walk towards the distant city. Mortia takes the lead, if only because she keeps rushing ahead to poke something else or cut another sample. She's also clearing away the vegetation for you though so you can't really complain. Still, she's like a child shopping for sweets.

You break through the curtains of greenery and find yourself in an endless field of orderly green stalks. The fields are flooded, so either the farmers have made a terrible mistake, or they're growing a crop you're unfamiliar with. Judging by the fact raised platforms cut through the fields, you're opting for the latter. Perhaps they're cultivating rice? You've heard it's grown in a flooded field, but it's not really a crop you've ever encountered in the west. Regardless you seem to have quite the trek ahead of you, so you draw the spear you bought from Sadik and take advantage of its spiked haft as a walking stick.

(2/3)
>>
There's not really any definite point at which the city begins and the fields end. Rather, the huts grow more and more frequent and the fields farther and farther between until eventually you're plodding along wooden walkways stretching over stagnant black waters. A thick layer of mold seems to cover everything here, and much like in Marqash the primary method of getting around seems to be by boat. You could probably just hire one of the ferrymen to take you to a market and do your shopping, but you profess some mild curiosity regarding the tower at the center of this rotting city.

>There's an inn up ahead, maybe you can find some loggers there to give you advice?
>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>Rent a boat to take you to a market.
>Write-in
>>
>>378355
>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
Also put those horn caps on already.
>>
>>378359
Anon, you're already wearing them. I'm pretty sure. You could make them crackle with lightning if you wanted to.
>>
>>378355
>>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>>
>>378355
>turn right around and go get our own pet snake, wrap him around our horns
Name him something fruity meaning crown or the like
>>
>>378355
>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>>
>>378355
>There's an inn up ahead, maybe you can find some loggers there to give you advice?
>>
>>378364
>you're already wearing them
Alright, I couldn't remember whether we'd put them on and the inventory page didn't indicate anything.
Good to know you won't jew us out of that fire bonus.
>>
>>378355
>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>>
>>378355
>There's an inn up ahead, maybe you can find some loggers there to give you advice?
>>
>>378355
>>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>>
>>378355
>Make your way towards Tel Lakud proper.
>>
>>378351
Yea so maybe we should tell our companions more of the shit we do/discover.

I mean shit we didn't even tell them the reason for The Fall. Both Rhynia and Hicaia.
>>
>>378403
>>378355
Might as well tell them now.
>>
>>378355
>Boats are for squares, head towards the market by walking across the water
>>
>>378403
I can imagine mik casually explaining stuff that has been thought to been lost for generations.
>>
>>378403
>>378408
We should also elaborate on metaphysics while we're at it.
>>
>>378403
I forgot, it was religious infighting right?
>>
If we gave the cat one of the guns and asked him to bling that shit out with enchantments, would we ever even use the thing? An ammo generating magazine would be easy for the fucker to make. Stack some general killyness enhancements on top of that and it'd probably be a nice weapon.
>>
>>378383
>>378381
>>378375
>>378369
>>378365
>>378359
>Check out the tower.

>>378380
>>378371
>Check out the inn.

>>378367
>Succumb to your jealousy.

>>378410
>Pull a Hey, Zeus.

>>378403
>>378408
>>378419
>>378420
>Ey yo btw this is why shit went down.
I don't think Mik quite knows the exact reason that Rhynia fell. He has vague notions of a plague and some sorta nonsense with a war breaking out between the cults of major spirits.

Writin' for checking out the tower and ayo hol' up so u b sayin we wuz meddlin' with gods n' shiet?
>>
>>378433
>would we ever even use the thing
Once or twice, probably.

We use magic far more than our weapons.
>>
>>378438
>not telling them about metaphysics too
Stop being lazy
>>
>>378438
>no horn lizard
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
>>
>>378442
I'm not quite sur, but I believe "ayo hol' up so u b sayin we wuz meddlin' with gods n' shiet" is Ebonics for "explain to them the general metaphysics of the universe".
>>
>>378446
That sounds more like "explain to them how the empires fell"
>>
>>378457
Just trust our resident pedophile incest sister molester to do it right ;)
>>
>>378438
No no no no.

It was clearly explained as the two most powerful spirits in the region, who were backing Rhynia/worshipped by its people, as breaking out into a war. Mainland rhynia fell and everything else toppled with it.
>>
Post never
>>
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You eye a tavern sign hanging above one of the many huts lining this elevated walkway, but in the end decide it's probably not worth the trouble. A bloodied dagger hanging above a cup and a bottle of wine doesn't exactly scream welcoming and happy to help. Instead your attention shifts towards Tel Lakud proper, the immense collection of wooden salts piling on top of one another like some sort of bulbous, overgrown tumor on the landscape.

You're forced to navigate narrow pathways, cross swampy soil bridging disconnected wooden walkways, and more than once double back after hitting a dead end. Fortunately though none of the various and manifold unsavory characters which seem to dwell at every corner and within every shoddily constructed hut give you any trouble. Perhaps it's simply the horns, or the fact you're traveling with a group of heavily armed and armored men and women. Mostly women, now that you think about it. Whatever the case, the walk remains peaceful and allows you plenty of time to think.

Invariably, your thoughts turn towards what else you might have neglected to tell your companions. Did you tell them that in order to allow the Varistha the power to close the tear you created in the fabric of reality, you bargained away the phylactery of the dragon which tried to possess you? A dragon which, as you understand it, has regained mortal form as a result. Have you told them about the siege of Anthus? Did you inform them that reality is composed of two hundred and sixteen layers, and that the void is merely the first? Do they know that the gods are not only real, but apparently take a somewhat active role in defending creation?

“Hey, this is going to really bother me if I don't get around to asking.” You're a little at a loss as to how one goes about starting this conversation. You've sort of been withholding the answers to life's greatest questions from your dearest friends for months now. “Did I ever tell you how Hiacia and Rhynia collapsed?”

The answer to that question seems to be no, your answer comes in the way of shaking heads and muttered denials. You feel a little bad, Fulvia, Profectus, and Mortia have probably been agonizing over why it is their great empire fell. Chryssa as well, maybe. You suppose she too was a Rhynian experiment, although she seems to have readily adopted the culture of her surrogate father.

“I suppose I should do that, then.” Where to begin? You suppose from what you understand it all started with a war between spirits. “Do the names Alea and Elea ring any bells to you? The children of Deus, I believe. These aren't actual gods of course, there are but three true gods in existence, two of which are the gods of my people while the third is more or less forgotten. Suffice to say, you humans mostly worship spirits, rather than gods. A practical choice, considering the gods don't actually interfere in mortal affairs whereas spirits do so on a regular basis.”
(1/4)
>>
Profectus scratches passively along his jawline, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, I remember Alea and Elea being two of the major figures in the Rhynian pantheon. Never heard of Deus though. That's just the generic term for any god, or at least any male god. Dea would be the equivalent female term.”

“From what I understand Deus is a formless, genderless, ever-changing entity from which Alea and Elea were born.” Now that you think about it, he kinda sounds like Dhatu when you describe him that way. Then again, your ascription of gender and form to gods is likely artificial. They're probably all formless. “Anyway, Alea and Elea were notorious rivals, and the various factions within the Rhynian pantheon became increasingly aligned with one of those two, since they were among the most powerful. This rivalry came to a head and broke out into a war. Some sort of plague was probably released by one said which ravaged the empire. It was this and sectarian violence which tore everything apart. The death knell of Rhnia was the destruction of the capital city, the Empire fell to pieces without a central authority to answer to.”

“Just to emphasize, this is only what I've heard so far. I don't claim that this is absolutely what happened, but it's probably what happened. My sources are fairly reliable. I've yet to find out what actually destroyed the city of Rhynia, I assume it was an artifact of some sort but I'm unclear as to the specifics.” You should really get around to finishing that Excidium book. You've only got a few chapters left.

“As for Hiacia, well. That was largely our own fault rather than the result of warring spirits. Originally there were four gods, the creators of the universe, of dragons, of a race called the Dwoveth, and of the mortal soul. My people called these gods Pani, Surya, Prthvi, and I believe the fourth god was called Srsti. I may be wrong, she's often simply referred to as 'She Who Was Banished', but I'm fairly certain her name was once Srsti. Following the enslavement of Surya by Pani, Prthvi seems to have been absorbed by Srsti in an attempt to seize absolute power over creation. She was too powerful for Pani and Surya alone to defeat, so they brought in a fifth god in the form of Dhatu from the realm in which the gods originated.”

“Oh yeah, that's another thing.” You should probably explain at least a little bit about the structure of creation. “The gods aren't native to this reality, I suppose. They came from a different universe, and from what I can tell created this one mostly as a hobby. There are creatures native to this area which dwell outside of creation, but I could not honestly tell you what they are like except that the Triarchs are likely examples of this universe's native inhabitants. Whether they're indicative of the average native, I can't really say. They apparently struck a deal of some sort with the gods. It's all very unclear.”

(2/4)
>>
“And, to clarify what I mean by creation. The gods made a series of nested realms when they created what we call reality. There are two hundred sixteen layers, of which the Void is the first. You can think of this realm-” You gesture around you, to the world at large. “-as the zeroth layer. The mortal coil, I suppose. It's not counted within the two hundred sixteen, I don't think. From what I understand the nested structure is intended to guard creation against intrusion by native entities which would see it destroyed if thy had the opportunity.”

“Right, so back to the fall of Hiacia. Prthvi's cult survived his 'death' at the hands of Srsti, and wanted to bring him back. I'm not quite sure how such a thing is possible, but apparently they began to tap into the divine shards of mortals and filter this power into an artifact of some sort. On what was supposed to be the eve of their triumph, their ritual to bring back the god went awry. A little girl became the receptacle for all of that divine power, which led naturally to her...” You trail off, trying to think of how best to phrase this. “When I saw her, because she's still sort of trapped between being alive and dead I think, and I was linked to her by that mask I put on. Anyway, she was an enormous mutated creature covered in tumors and cyst. She exuded corrupted vys and apparently lived essentially as a parasite.”

“She wasn't always like that though. Apparently she annihilated the city of Hiacia and much of the heartland with her mere presence. She proceeded to wander across the Empire laying waist to everything in her path. It was entirely our fault, and by 'our fault', I mean the fault of Vatis with more power than sense.” You hold up your hands to beg pause. “Yes, I realize I'd be counted among the number of Vatis with more power than sense. You don't need to point that out.”

Glancing around, you realize you've acquired a small following outside of your immediate companions, perhaps a dozen or so men and women staring at you wide eyed and mystified. You're not sure why, if they could make anything out of your incoherent rambling, you'd be impressed. “Did any of that make sense? I mean, it's a lot to compress into a single conversation but I feel like more or less that's the gist of it.”

You stand now just within the entrance of Tel Lakud. It's is not the collection of wood and dirt you were expecting. It's actually appears almost organic. Like the city is alive, and a brief exertion of will confirms that in fact it is. The walls, the floors, the walkways spanning the inner and outer layers of the tower, they all pulse with veins of flowing vys. At the very peak of the tower there is a massive confluence of energy, the city's literal heart in all likelihood.

(3/4)
>>
A man you don't recognize is the first to muster a response to your question. “What do the gods wish of us? Have you seen them? Does Pani truly welcome us into her arms after death?” His voice is so heavily drenched in awe, you half expect him to fall to his knees and start praying.

>What? No, that wasn't the point of this conversation at all. The gods don't care.
>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
>Who are all these people? Why are they following you? Get rid of them. They shouldn't quote you, you ain't said shit.
>Write-in
>>
>>378790
>>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
>>
>>378790
>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
>yes, you will be drawn into her embrace when you die.
>>
>>378790
>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.


We know that the gods don't really give a shit, but there's no point in pissing off these peasants
>>
>>378790
The gods don't wish anything of you and Pani to Miks knowledge most directly affects base reality by maintaining the eternal rebirth by washing souls of mortal corruption.
>>
>>378790
> Well, they certainly get pissed if you don't die, or if you bring someone else back from the dead. Turns out everyone has a shard of the divine in them, and your "self" is like a shell that covers that so it doesn't dissipate. So, that part dies. The shard of divinity at your core goes back to them though.

Let's continue to casually scar these people with absent minded clinical and simplified explanations in the hope that they'll go away.
>>
>>378790
>>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
Ham it up, throw up some illusions to make ourself more divinish, tell them of the origins of man, tell them of the dragon wars, tell them of how the dark elves became samjan and war were declared. Act like we were there for all of it.
>>
>>378815
>>378818
>>378790
Supporting
>>
>>378790
> The gods wish for you to give me a discount on any equipment I might need for my journey in the jungle, as I'm currently on a mission for . . . well, a couple different ones.

> I highly recommend not getting involved, it's probably not worth it unless you're willing to die at least once, maybe more times.
>>
>>378790
>What? No, that wasn't the point of this conversation at all. The gods don't care.
>>
>>378790
>Write-in

I know in good authority from someone in the celestial bureaucracy, that souls make the journey to Pani's embrace after the death of the body. Who are you again?
>>
>>378824
This is a joke post by the way. We shouldn't abuse our position to get discounts.

We should really be pushing for straight up free shit.

Or offering to do some enchanting for it, which should solidify our position as a bad ass motherfucker who knows the mysteries hidden from men.
>>
>>378790
>>What? No, that wasn't the point of this conversation at all. The gods don't care.
>>
>>378790
>>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
>>
>>378790
>silently ask our companions through the brooch who the hell are the people following us and why are they tagging along. Mik's merely trying to get some stuff off of his chest because of guilt from leaving his friends in the dark.
>>
>>378859
>>378790
Supporting this too.
>>
>>378790
>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
And supporting >>378829, mention that souls who die in large scale combat sometimes go to Surya instead.
>>
>>378790
>>Tell him the gods wish him to live a fulfilling life in the world they've created, and nothing more.
>>
>>378790
We should be healing the wounds of everyone we pass by now that we've noticed them. There's no downside really.
>>
>>378874
>mention that souls who die in large scale combat sometimes go to Surya instead.

Oh yeah, this too. We should at least reassure them that the afterlife is pretty much as advertise. If you die, you go to either Pani or Surya until you are apparently ready for resurrection or something.
>>
>>378790
>What? No, that wasn't the point of this conversation at all. The gods don't care.
>>
>>378259
I enjoyed contractor but I didn't think it was particularly great. Was as bit disappointed because I thought a huge part of Shadow Quest was phenomenally written (even after SM shit the bed) and had some of the tightest, tensest action scenes along with a super diverse and interesting cast of side characters. The intricate plot lines and backstory and twist were all fairly engaging (though the retcon/railroads and waifushit took it from a 9/10 to a ~6/10)

Contractor had a comparatively boring, fairly linear and predictable plot, and overall cardboard tropes for characters. Granted, the RPG nature of quests obv allows for more interesting skills/ability development, but "I gets stronger and faster the more I kills" was just meh in his book.

Have noticed that a lot of QMs who are outstanding at second person quest type writing aren't actually that impressive with normal styles of prose though
>>
>>378795
>>378808
>>378809
>>378818
>>378823
>>378842
>>378874
>>378875
>The gods want only for you to enjoy the world they've created.

>>378859
>>378862
>Who the fuck are these people?

>>378841
>>378826
>>378812
>>378887
>What are you talking about? The gods don't care.

>>378815
>>378823
>The gods really just want you to die eventually so they can perpetuate the cycle.

I'll get writing for:
>Pani does embrace you at the point of your death, unless you die in battle.
>The gods want only for you to enjoy your time in this world.
>Heal the wounds and illnesses of any who need it.
>>
>>378894
This is everything I want from a BQ post.
>>
Mik is an attention whore
>>
>>378889
Have you read Dream Drive. It was a fair bit better on that type of shit.
>>
>>378936
Most gods are, we just need to figure out how to feed off their worship
>>
>>378939
Just gotta figure out how to keep DE from killing us. That or how to take other peoples Shards and add them to our own.
>>
>>378894
We may not be walking on water, but I love that we're still going full Jesus
>>
>>378936
>Mik is a whore

Let's be accurate. He fucked a Human for crying out loud.
>>
>>378939
What? No, the gods don't care. Spirits are attention whores.
>>
>>378962
He's just spreading the good word of God to the lesser races.
>>
>>378964
Well spirits do actually get stronger from worshippers.
>>
>>378938
Man, saw when he first linked it but was leery of inconsistent updates. Might do if it's good though. Different genre?
>>
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>Session started 4.5 hrs ago
>only 2 fucking updates, not counting the session starter post

How is this acceptable? What a fucking hack.

>mfw watching you shitters try and defend this QM
>>
>>378980
*nah
Goddamn autocorrect
>>
>>378980
Actually a bit similarish. I can't explain or it'll give some of it away.

But I very much recommend it.
>>
>>378984
I think we all need to have a serious discussion pertaining to the fact that our gracious quest master known as Soma. He is not the proficient writer we once thought him to be, in all actuality he is a hack and a fraud peddling low quality goods, he is equatable to the snake oil salesmen of yore. We have seen him throw out worthless and petty drama time and time again yet accepted his skill as a writer nonetheless, we suck in his scenes of mindless violence like a starving calf does his mothers teat, we do this even though it is obscenely obvious to even the lowest of the common plebes that violence could be written by a third grader. For far too long have we debased ourselves reveling in simple adrenaline evoking scenes and suffering through mindless drivel between. I say it is high time that we demand of Soma a higher quality quest and that he should be held accountable for his poorly thought out setting and plot lines that are so blatantly come up with on the spot. I personally have spent several weeks deep within the bowels of the beast known as the ircabal and in my times there I have gathered evidence which leads me to believe there is a origin point for all the flaws which our quest master has. I propose that soma is a autisitc pedophile lacking in the common moral fiber that binds upstanding society, I assert this to have been the driving factor in his early leave from home as he had made unwelcome sexual advances upon his underage sister possibly even raping her. The resulting social backlash and banishment from his normal everyday life would be an extreme stress factor to someone with autism, leading to him seeking a way to vent his frustrations in some way. That way is Banished Quest; Banished Quest is an autisitc pedophiles emotional vent enabled and allowed to continue for far too long. I thank you for your time reading all of this my fellow questing individuals and I welcome all constructive criticism.
>>
>>378984
when have we ever defended Soma's shit writing speed?
>>
>>378984
Still better than Decu & MGNQ.

Still not as good as Planefag.
>>
>>378984
he had to jerk off to completion while writing his fucking long winded lore posts
>>
>>378984
>3 updates in <5hrs
nigga, soma usually takes 3hr/update. This is good for him

Plus we know he's a hack, nobody denying that. The lurkers check every couple hours, shitposters shitpost between updates, the autists theorycraft or get into pointlessly angry arguments with each other

Nobody here actually likes soma or thinks he isn't a faggot. You're preaching to the choir, really.
>>
>>378992
Planefag?
>>
>>378992
planefag detected
>>
>>379022
Look, go back to #SWQ.

I know you IRCfags go into other quests and pretend to hate your beloved Planefag just to start shit, and it's a known fact that you all hate Soma for being more successful than that idiot you spend your days fellating.
>>
>>379022
I'm actually shitposting in DLQ RIGHT NOW.

> Vox will never switch to /qst/ so samefagging is rampant.
>>
>>379045
Dungeon Life?
>>
>>378989
GTFO Rob.
>>
>>379059
Rob is the only one that defends Soma
>>
>>379035
>someone talking shit on planefag can only be falseflagging
>>
>>379066
Go back to the fucking IRC, you smug little fuck.

Which one are you? Feelthy? I bet it's you.
Leave.
>>
>>379048
Ayooooooooooop.

MFW I've just stopped voting. It's a good read, a shit quest.
>>
Well, you don't really know who these people are but you're more than willing to field questions. “The gods don't really wish anything specific of you. They have created this grand experiment we call reality and I get the impression they really just wish to observe what we make of the opportunity they've granted us. They want you, and I, and indeed all living creatures to live fulfilling lives doing what they deem to be important and of worth.”

“And no, I have not met the gods face to face, only their proxies.” You seem to have caught the interest of others, pedestrians wandering past who pause to listen. “I have treated with emissaries from the cosmic bureaucracy, I have tread in the path of the Gods' children, and I have made deals with the spirits and entities which serve them. The gods themselves though dwell outside of creation with one exception. Dhatu slumbers deep within the void.”

“I could travel to his palace if I wished, I'm aware of its location. I could perhaps even guide others there, though most would certainly perish on the journey. However... the presence of a god is not something which most mortals are capable of surviving. I speak from experience when I describe the overwhelming power of divinity. The mere sight of a God's child nearly drove me to carve out my eyes and drive a dagger into my chest. Previous attempts to meet with Dhatu invariably led to mass suicide and disappointment, for he rest within his realm observing the world. Perhaps one day he will awaken and make his mark upon reality, but that time has not yet come.”

You note that one woman among the crowd wears a bandage around her swollen leg, the flesh discolored a sickly yellow. Resting a hand upon her shoulder, you're able to quickly ascertain that she suffered a compound fracture which is now rotting. She would certainly leg if it was left to fester much longer. You channel vys, and the swelling quickly recedes. The bones knit, and the wounds close.

“As for what happens after death.” You peer through the crowd, spotting a man with a pus-stained cloth wrap covering his right eye. “You will see either Pani or Surya upon the hour of your death, depending upon circumstances. Should you pass on to the next life peacefully in your sleep, surrounded by family and friends, Pani will welcome you into her open arms and purge that fragment of divinity which grants you the capacity for thought and will of any mortal corruption.” You gesture for the man with the bandaged eye to step forward, and he falls to his knees before you. Resting a hand upon his head, you carve out the damaged flesh and grow him a new eye where the ruined mass of his old one once lie. “Should you die in a pitched battle, or where the fabric of reality is threadbare, you will be joined with Surya after your death. You will become a part of our wrathful protector.”

(1/2)
>>
The crowd has grown from a dozen to many. They crowd the walkways, some few muttering among themselves but most standing in awed silence. Your companions seem uncomfortable with the attention, but truthfully you thrive upon it. Still, you shouldn't ignore them. {Sorry about this, everyone. How long have they been following us? I didn't notice at first, and now I suppose I'm in a little too deep to back out.}

Your will extends through the crowd, seeking out the sick, the wounded, and the dying. Wounds knit, flesh is restored, and the ravages of fever abated. You're surprised to realize just how common disease is here. It is rarity in the west, but here many struggle with lungs ruined by pneumonia, failing kidneys, and bones eaten away by all manner of ailments. It actually proves draining to mend their ruined bodies, but only slightly.
>Vys Pool: (38/72)

{An old man started following us a few minutes ago and then a young woman shortly after. They've been growing in number ever since, wherever we went through the city.} Darzi's thoughts are tinged with a level of respect and affection you're more than a little surprised by.

However, Profectus is not nearly so delighted with this turn of events. He's cautious, worried, and more than a little distraught. {Is all that true, or are you just putting on a show? Do we truly worship false gods?}

{Spirits are just as worthy of worship as anything else, if I'm being honest.} You consider that statement, while eroding away portions of a rib which healed improperly. {Which is to say, not very. I suppose you may worship them if you wish, and they're more likely to respond positively to your obeisance than the gods, but I would not personally subordinate myself to one of them. I think the Gods and their descendants are worthy of respect, and perhaps even deference on certain issues in the case of the latter, but not worship.}

You're drawn out of the silent conversation with your companions by the sound of a man sobbing. He cradles his daughter, whom you recall was left incapacitated by an infection in her spine who can now walk again. Many have fallen to their knees and press their clasped hands to their foreheads, muttering prayers to Pani, thanking her for sending aid. Some lay completely prone, their faces pressed to the ground and arms outstretched. It is the most significant sign of respect anyone may offer another.

>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>Just wander off in search of a shop or something. You don't have all day.
>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>Write-in
>>
>>379108
>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
>>379108
>>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
>>379108
>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>>
>>379108
>Just wander off in search of a shop or something. You don't have all day.
It's the only possible answer.
>>
>>379076
>It's a good read, a shit quest.
You've described p much every quest that has a well fleshed out universe/mechanics and isn't derivative weebshit/fan fiction though

I like how intricate snakecatcher quest is, and how fleshed out the setting/magic/divine hierarchy is, and i like ouro's writing style, but I can't play because of how cringe inducing the playerbase is. Usually lurk any quest I follow, but I can't even do that because of how much I utterly loathe the people who vote/post in that quest and have dropped it.
the pants on head retarded waifushit is just..just...I don't understand how even without a waifuwar a potential waifu can ruin a quest. Wtf?
>>
>>379108
Make sure they all heard the entire story. Gotta explain the Divine situation properly. Misinformation is unacceptable.
>>
>>379108
>>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>>
>>379108
>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>Just wander off in search of a shop or something. You don't have all day.
>>
>>379108
>>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
This is where we get a cult isn't it?
>>
>>379108
>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
>>379102
>She would certainly leg if it was left to fester much longer
Hmm.

>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand.
>>
>>379149
>She would certainly leg if it was left to fester much longer
Should read "lose the leg".
>>
>>379126
we're all glad you're gone
>>
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>>379141
>Instead of joining up with that prophet woman we're going to form a rival cult
>>
>>379108
>Just wander off in search of a shop or something. You don't have all day.

Mik just gets bored and leaves
>>
>>379108
>Tell them to go out and do good works, or something. This is getting out of hand
But I really enjoyed playing Slamjam Jesus.
>>
>>379108
>>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
>>379126
So, what got you to quit? I was around for the first two arcs and a half; exited left during the part where Cennen was taken as a slave by that one snake lady and Anons led by the namefag Tiger went full retard murderhobo.
>>
>>379108
>Ask if any of them might take you to meet with the leader of this place.
>>
>>379137
>>379115
>>379112
>>379145
>>379168
>>379185
>Take me to your leader.

>>379122
>>379135
>>379162
>Just wander off.

>>379149
>>379145
>>379135
>>379134
>>379117
>>379163
>Go help the poor and love thy neighbor or some shit.

I'll write for
>Ey yo where's the bossman?
and
>To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
>>
>child of surya spreading some peace and love pani bullshit
This will start some rumors.
>>
>>379195
Coming back from Elaudia as a proper Child will start some even more interesting rumours.
>>
>>379108
>. He cradles his daughter, whom you recall was left incapacitated by an infection in her spine who can now walk again.
Literally Jesus
>>
>>379207
Jesus being a Water GM explains a lot.
>>
We should be careful now so everyone doesn't tell a different version of the story so you get like 12 accounts of the same event which are all conflicting.
>>
>>379172
Prob not any one thing in particular, though I guess like you, inconsistent character choices was a pretty big factor

Couldn't really reconcile why we'd stick with Hiss overall. Her being a bbeg in the making was a really cool concept to start with; us pushing for waifuing and romantic stuff with a character who had no hesitation mindraping/physically injuring us/being a petulant cunt for no reason (aside from being an inexperienced child) was weird, though ouro made it work by characterizing us as a well meaning guy who couldn't do anything it follow his heart, but yeah, the schizophrenic flopping between murderhobo and empathic moral leash was probably a major part of it

Ultimayely just didn't like how every part of the plot advancement and our characterization hinged on Hiss, who I found both boring and unlikeable. Props to Our for streamlining the story as much as he has though.

I think that if that quest had a playerbase the size of this one and as many casual shitposters, it would be a very very different quest
>>
>>379227
Better start publishing Magic Mik Monthly and fill it with articles about all the crazy shit he does and learns on a regular basis.
>>
>>379230
To be honest I think BQ has one of the best playerbases.
>>
I really enjoyed that last update. We should have uploaded ourself when we had the chance. The next chance won't be for a while and by then our personality will have changed a lot. It would have been cool to see the different stages of Miks maturity, and by the time we get back from elaudia I am 95% sure we will be a Plant GM
>>
>>379265
Probably fire as well, though I wouldn't be opposed to passing it over in effort to become a GM of nature. Not saying that we shouldn't help our elf homie out though.
>>
>>379265
The idea was to come back after we're a proper Child. If we did it right away and abused fast travel we could then have pre-Elaudia Mik and post-Elaudia Mik.
>>
>>379265
true, but then that copy of mik would still be in debt
>>
>>379284
>>379265
I think it'd be better for us to do one copy before Gate and knowledge of shaping arts (just in case we don't come back) and one after the gate since it's something they've never seen before.
>>
>>379261
It's taken a while to get to this point though. BQ had a less than stellar playerbase for a fair bit
>>
>>379287
Hmm.. Wouldn't put it past the Triarch's. But then technically we already have a copy in debt to them, the terms to pay them back just weren't known yet.
>>
>>379304
True, I think the turning point that improved the playerbase was Chryssa getting cucked.
>>
>>379313
There was still a lot of shitposting after that, but I'd more or less agree.
Once the waifu wars were over people began to relax.
>>
>>379313
Playerbase still has issues. IRC is literal cancer to the quest
>>
I still dont understand waifu wars, since we have a harem culture.
>>
>>379322
Takes one to know one.
>>
>>379327
Not in this case
>>
>>379325
The issue was Miks and Samjan racism, and chryssas issues w polygamy. Chryssa couldn't accept plural marriage, society would have banished Mik again for boning Chryssa
>>
>>379339
I'll laugh if the hivemind tells the Shah we fucked a human.

Also, I hope we mock him from within the hivemind too.
>>
>>379339
>society would have banished Mik again for boning Chryssa
Funny that we only found out about shaping arts now. I wonder how the vote would've gone if we knew back them.
>>
>>379322
>>379339
The Chryssa Nat3 was a result of IRC fuckery you know. There was no requests in thread for the roll. Being there that night, all of it came from the IRC channel. And in fact, it was an IRC member named Moogle who rolled the Nat3. He posted (you)s.
>>
>Most Vatis would probably charge a gold piece for the minor stuff, anywhere from 5-10 for the major stuff.
Just in case someone is wondering how much a vatis would charge for healing
>>
>>379358
The roll was a result of Soma's rampant alcoholism.
>>
>>379284
>thinking we'll become a Child of Surya while the Gods are pissed at us
>>
>>379368
An important point to make
>>
>>379368
Gods don't actually give a shit desu
>>
>>379230
It's gotten better now that people have realized we're playing an evil quest.

Wait no, I just enjoy the suffering of anon getting what they vote for.
>>
>>379380
>an evil quest
Mikhael has never done anything wrong in his life.
>>
>>379376
They actually do. All actions the servant take originate from the Gods. This one is no exception.
>>
>>379261
no disagreement there
BQ playerbase is weirdly balanced though.

there's the autismos and newfags who care so much they're willing to shamelessly samefag. Then there's the theorycrafting autists/ircabal who take what soma throws out and run with it and come up with to-do lists or ways to break the game. And then (probably the largest population) the lurkers and shitposters who I'm pretty sure are invested enough to keep following (or archive dive to save time) but not enough to get involved (outside of pointlessly shitposting) most of the time because they've hit the "just fuck me up senpai" fatigue point and don't care what happens as long as Mik doesn't die.

it's this strange equilibrium of players who've been around long enough that mask/bar/oud/whatever memeing isn't enough to rustle their jimmies, players who have an agenda that they want Mik to get done, and soma being a versatile / well-enough prepared QM that he can throw out plot hooks or take write ins all day long and seamlessly incorporate them into the narrative so that shit works out one way or another, not always in the best way it could, but always in interesting ways

I think that's the same reason HMQ was so successful desu. Good numbers, varied players, and a flexible/prepared QM
>>
>>379380
>evil quest
I get that Mik's not exactly a moral MC, but actual evil quests are nothing like BQ
>>
>>379386
Going against is technically evil.
>>
>>379396
Watching that guy defend himself in one of the threads was painful.
>>
>>379391
We don't know 100% what's up with 'Surya's Realm' desu. Since it's in the void and not the material world, we can PROBABLY safely assume that the denizens therein will not be impressed by the frowny guy following us around with his harem frowning at us.

But we really just don't know.
>>
>>379397
He's talking about Snakecatcher.
>>
>>379396
>HMQ
Abbreviation explanation please.
>>
>>379396
Sounds right. I miss the oud
>>
>>379429
Homeless Mutant Quest.
>>
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>>379412
>>
Shouled we improve Marsala Ve or Way of Metal at the next meditation?
>>
>>379468
marsala ve
>>
>>379402
I remain convinced that half the reason crusty doesn't come back is that he doesn't want to deal with that thirsty faggot
I remember that time crusty's friends got ahold of his ask while he was away and just endlessly ridiculed the guy and his million questions

>>379429
Homeless Mutant Quest
marvel crustyverse, rampant powersperging, endless shitposting about which powers/skillsets to take after threads end, yet somehow players are 100% in agreement on how to play the MC as a white knight, and crusty is beloved by the playerbase. I've never seen any other QM so unequivocally loved by his players desu
>>
>>379468
We should ask our companions for advice on how to get fit
>>
>>379484
we get /fit/ through shaping arts.
>>
>>379484
No.
>>
>>379484
>He wants to get /fit/ the boring way.
Look at this faggot and laugh.
>>
>>379488
I feel like exercise will help us reinforce the idea of a superjacked Mik. Make it easier for us to use shaping arts to get ripped
>>
>>379493
>rocky training montage
>boring
You're the reason Isis hates us.
>>
>>379499
It's better to meditate on forms and improve something else. Shaping Arts is the kind of thing that would only be useful on the way back thanks to how hard it is to improve.
>>
>>379396
I've been with us since the decision of what we were branded with, and I have the same goals for mik as I have for myself, to GIT GOOD
>>
>>379499
we can meditate on forms for that
>>
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Alright, you need to disperse this crowd before this gets any more out of hand. You're already a little worried about what you'll find upon returning from Elaudia. “I do not ask for payment for the service I've done you. In fact, I was happy to heal your ailments and provide some small measure of joy where I was able.” This actually feels really good, you have to admit. Helping people, and more importantly being worshiped for it. “If you wish to offer me some sort of repayment, you may do thus: Go out into the world and help others. It need not be to the extent that I've helped you, every small act of kindness betters the world immeasurably.”

“However, I will ask one small favor.” The crowd continues to grow, but now those that stand at the edge seem more curious, confused, and irritated than awe inspired. They're a sharp contrast to those nearest you, who seem as if in the passionate grip of revelation. “If any of you have the necessary clout to do so, I'd like to meet with the leader of this place. I have need to speak with him regarding a journey I undertake into Elaudia.”

From the crowd stands an exceedingly curious sight. A pale skinned human dressed in what you might mistake for the garb of a slave, but his robes are far too fine. Silken, layered with grey, and trimmed with gold. No, this is no slave but a man of some significant wealth. A dagger sits within a jeweled sheath upon his belt, and a sword is draped across his back, atop a fine woven cloak. You can tell at a glance that he wears a steel breastplate beneath his robes, and at a glance you'd say he likely possesses some skill with it.

“If you find me worthy, I may guide you to the Sheikh.” He presses a fist against his chest and bows low. “I have been in his service for many years now, and I'm certain he would permit you an audience at my request.” A mercenary then, not surprising considering you stand upon the border of not only Elaudia, but the Samrajya as well. There are likely many humans in service to this Sheikh, a title bestowed upon those who swear service but not fealty to the Shahdom.

You part the crowds with a gesture, and beckon the man forward. A hushed whisper runs through the crowd as you clap him affectionately upon the shoulder. “By all means, lead the way. What is your name, human?”

“Heliodoro Sauvage.” He sounds almost breathless. How strange for a human to defer to Samjan religious customs. It's clear he wasn't raised in your tradition. Perhaps a convert? He did say that he's spent many years in service to this city's ruler, perhaps he began to privately worship your gods. He would not be the first, though he would be among the few.

(1/2)
>>
You urge your companions to follow you as you step through the slowly parting crowd of enthralled peasantry. It's as you're beginning to climb a ramp up to the next level that a woman cries out from below. “Maharishi! What may we call you?”

You glance back, staring down at the assembled crowd of hundreds and applying some minor amplification to your voice. “I am Mikhael, of the noble house Abdul-Hakim.” You briefly entertain the idea of listing some of your manifold accomplishments, but that would be improper. Titles are for others to assign, granting them to yourself is merely presumption.

Many among the crowd begin to disperse as you climb up the ramp, others remain to chat with those who saw you but did not hear of what you said. In fact, many gather together as though convening a meeting of some sort, a young girl at the center of it all standing beside an old man. Perhaps they're trying to clarify all that you've said? Of course, it's not really any of you concern, you merely wanted to inform your closest friends of the things you've learned on your journey.

Heliodoro leads you up winding ramps and through narrow hallways until eventually you reach what you assume to be the entrance to the noble quarter. There a pair of guards stop you, but stand aside at your guide's command. You're led into a grand chamber where the living flesh of the city has been crafted into elaborately patterned and intricately decorated opulence. Fresh fruits, some of which you can't name, sit upon a table at the center of the room, silks and cushions adorn every surface. It is truly an example of gross decadence, made all the more striking by the contrast between this room and the slums you just passed through.

Heliodoro turns and bows, gesturing to the room at large. “You may wait here and take advantage of whatever pleasures you wish, I will return with the Sheikh momentarily, Maharishi.” He certainly seems to have picked up on the terminology quickly.

>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
>Insist upon coming with him to meet the Sheikh in his quarters.
>Write-in
>>
>>379468
Here's something for you to chew on Anon. Fire Magic is at it's most basic level, the manipulation of Potential Force to shape the universe. Think about how Profectus explained it.

>>372279
The reason the book says Fire magic works is because Fire magic is essentially the manipulation of potential energy. When you create a bolt of flame you're not just creating a fire in your fingers or something, unless you're me of course. You're igniting the air in front of you by charging the molecules it's composed of with vast amounts of energy.

Marsala Ve is supposed to be able to Synergize with Fire Magic in its combat manuevers. What happens when a pracitioner of Marsala Ve and Master of Fire, Vatis of Nature enters a trance similar to the Martial Trance and Point Defense mindsets, with Nature to control their internal Vys, and channels Fire Magic's Potential Energy aspect into their bodies?

According to Soma, this has many interesting combat possibilities. It might be the breakthrough that turns Profectus and Darzi into the towering Avatars of Fire and Wrath promised upon successful completion of the Avatar Technique.

Isn't that right boss? >>379533
>>
>>379533
>Insist upon coming with him to meet the Sheikh in his quarters.
>>
>>379533
>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
>>
>>379533
>>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
Why not, maybe discuss a little more about the gods and spirits in general with them over the meal.
>>
>>379533
>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
more food porn
>>
>>379533
>>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
Our companions should have had enough time to digest what we said. Let's see what they think while we wait.
>>
>>379533
>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
>>
>>379527
>being a skilled breastplate user
kek
>>
>>379533
>>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
What does Maharishi mean?
>>
>>379553
he leveled up his armor skill just like in morrowind.
>>
>>379538
>The reason the book says Fire magic works is because Fire magic is essentially the manipulation of potential energy.
>Marsala Ve is supposed to be able to Synergize with Fire Magic in its combat maneuvers.
These are correct.
I leave the rest to who knows~
>>
>>379533
>Write-in
Dismiss him, and MEDITATE ON NATURE
>>
>>379554
Great teacher
>>
>>379557
Not all armor, just his breastplate.
>>
>>379553
>>379557
>>379564
Wow, how did I fuck that up? Meant to write that bit after the swords shit, rather than the breastplate bit.
>>
>>379533
>>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
Foreign cuisine wooooooooooooo
>>
>>379533
>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
>>
I'm kind of wishing we would have gone the prophet route now desu senpai
>>
>>379560
But Soma. Didn't you say that channeling Fire's Potential Energy aspect in our bodies has interesting combat potential in the other room? It'd be unfair to Rob anons of insight.
>>
For a second I was wondering why all these people gave a shit about what Mik was saying, why they were taking him seriously, but then I remembered the horns and the tattoos.
>>
I really hope theyre dumb enough to try to poison us.
>>
>>379568
Can't wait for all the flowery descriptions of the food Soma is going to write.
>>
>>379583
The horns were one of the greatest additions to this quest. It's on the same level as Zahak
>>
>>379527
>You can tell at a glance that he wears a steel breastplate beneath his robes, and at a glance you'd say he likely possesses some skill with it.

>>379533
>Dismiss him, and enjoy a bit of dinner with your companions.
>>
>>379568
>>379554
>>379552
>>379551
>>379550
>>379547
>>379546
>>379574
>Dismiss him and enjoy a bit of dinner.

>>379562
>Dismiss him and enjoy a bit of GIT GUD

>>379545
>Ayo nigga nah, I'm meetin' this Sheikh nigga.

>>379578
Yes, channeling potential energy into your body yields interesting results, but y'gotta try 'em to find out more man. Gotta try.

>>379583
Yeah, I mean. If Mik was just some nigga wanderin' in from the swamp, probably not that impactful. When he's got enormous fucking horns and golden tattoos covering his arms, pretty impressive. I'd listen to that guy.
>>
>>379575
It's not as impressive as being the prophet of a god, but at least we're going to have some form of cult.

Especially since we seem to be going for something vaguely Buddhist.
>>
>>379583
We're also coal black. Something very rare to Samjans. And very sought after. Seen as better.
>>
>>379597
I can dig that. I'd support a Muslim/Buddhist philosophic blend. Submission to the will of the Gods, when relevant, but attaining mastery of self otherwise, since the gods very rarely get involved.
>>
>>379597
we are probably going to be a prophet of dhatu anyways,
>>
>>379592
Your writing speed seems to be pretty good today Soma, feeling particularly inspired?
>>
>>379592
I'll be disappointed if our party doesn't comment about what we just said and did
>>
>>379624
I can't wait for Darzi cuddles
>>
>>379644
>not saving ourselves for snek
Shameful.
>>
Why haven't we used Fulvia to read our historical books?
>>
> The Rhynian Empire fell in an event called the Excidium, nobody is quite sure why their empire collapsed, but most blame rampant disease and civil unrest.
> Excidium (11/13 Chapters Read)
>>
>>379725
Lol, short attention span.
>>
>>379479

There's Soma. You either love him, or hate to love him. Also Vox from DQ, but a lot of people outside his quest hate him because he refuses to learn board culture.
>>
“By all means, take your leave.” You bow your head only slightly to the human mercenary. “My companions and I will surely be grateful for the opportunity to eat and relax after a long journey from the west.” Not as long as it could have been of course, especially not for your companions, but long in coming nonetheless. Plus, you're pretty sure everyone has technically skipped lunch since the food served in your private realm doesn't actually offer any substantive nutritional benefit.

Heliodoro quickly retreats through a door at the other side of the room, and once he's gone you're drawn immediately to a bowl full of a strange, striated sort of green fruit. It's like a dozen little fingers all pressed together. You peel one away from the mass, there must be fifty of the little things if not more, and find within a deep red fruit which gradually turns more towards yellow near the white pod at the center.

You take an experimental nibble, and find that though a little stringy but pleasantly sweet, even if you do have to gnaw on it a little to get the taste. You split off another little finger of fruit and turn your attention instead to a ceramic bowl absolutely filled with little pieces of fried flatbread covered in some sort of thick batter, or perhaps just a layer of spice. They're arrayed around a heavy dolop of yogurt, and popping one into your mouth immediately reveals why that is. You're quite used to spices, but this makes even your eyes water.

You manifest a little water to cool your tongue. Wine has been provided, but alcohol has never been particularly good for alleviating the sort of fire which scorches your tongue. Plucking up another, you scoop up a generous helping of yogurt and pop it into your mouth. The yogurt certainly soothes the burn, but still. You think you'll be avoiding these for now. It's a little too intense for you.

Darzi seems to love them though, and after gradually moving through the room sampling the many strange dishes on offer you eventually settle down together in an array of cushions, all save Fulvia of course. She remains standing, hands folded patiently behind her back and glowing eye focused intensely upon the door through which the human passed. A diligent sentry ready to inform you should anyone approach the room.

The main event, as it were, is an enormous platter filled with some manner of stew, you think. It's a very thick paste of tomato and various other fruits and perhaps vegetables you can't identify. There's definitely some carrot in there, and perhaps some spinach, but the rest is a mystery. The chicken within is delicious, sweet and so tender it practically falls apart in your mouth. It's all served atop a sort of enormous baked rice cracker which you snap off and use to scoop up bits of stew. A rather involved and somewhat messy process, but delicious nonetheless.
(1/2)
>>
A pitcher of white wine, undiluted and remarkably strong, is passed around the group so that everyone may fill their cups. Darzi rest with her head in your lap, taking up far more space than she probably needs to. Profectus meanwhile sits to you right, and Mortia beside him, while Chryssa occupies the space next to Darzi. It's a comfortable arrangement, and for a time nobody speaks in favor of sating their hunger.

Of course, the obvious topic could only be avoided for so long. “So do you have a plan or are you just sort of throwing caution to the wind here?”

It's Mortia who finally breaks the silence, and in response you can only really offer a shrug. “I'd be lying if I said I had any idea what I was doing. I'm sort of just going with the flow and seeing where this whole Maharishi thing takes me. Not to say that I've been dishonest, I've merely been conveying what I've learned in my travels. I just didn't really intend for everyone to hear that.”

“Do you really not revere the gods?” Darzi ask. She's closed her eyes, apparently content to rest while you run your fingers through her hair. There's no accusation in her tone, merely curiosity. “It just seems odd, I've spent my whole life being told they'll grant favors to the worthy and protect our people, our way of life.”

Well, that's a bit harder to answer. “No, I don't particularly revere them. Respect them, certainly. Being honest though, they're sort of a pain in my ass lately. They've taken issue with my coming back from the dead, and that emissary I spoke of treating with wants me dead. I think they perform a necessary function in defending and maintaining creation, but do I actively worship them? No. That's not to say I don't recognize the value of the temples and the Amatya, and the role they play in society.”

“Wait, wait-” Profectus struggles to speak around a mouthful of chicken, which he quickly swallows. “What was that bit you said about an emissary wanting you dead? What does that mean? Like, did it attack you?”

>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>Dismiss it as full of bluster and threats without real substance. No need to worry your friends just yet.
>Write-in
>>
>>379862
>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>>
>>379862
>>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>>
>>379862
I expected a greater reaction from them
>>
>>379862
>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.

Use the brooches we don't know who is listening.
>>
>>379862
>>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>Explain the situation with vicitra and the bounty
So our companions can calm out the players for being stupid and not killing him
>>
>>379862
>darzi in full on elaudian heavy armor getting headpats while we give her a lap pillow
wot

Do none of our companions have anything to say wrt our accidental proselytizing? Or the massive loredump we gave them? Or our jesus "be good to each other in this life" spiel?
>>
>>379886
>>379862
This. Soma what the fuck are you doing?
>>
>>379886
Elaudian armor can actually become pretty compact. Like, she could hide it under a robe pretty easily if she needed to. Granted, it would really bunch up around the torso if she did that, but yeah. It's possible. Benefit of wearing liquid metal.

>>379886
>>379874
>>379893
Anyway, give it time. They've still got questions to ask. Hasn't quite sunk in yet that Mik might have founded a religious movement.
>>
>>379862
>fuck darzi with our horns
>>
>>379895
Hey Soma is the fall of Rhynian Empire still called the Excidium?
>>
>>379895
>Mik might have founded a religious movement.
>keeping a low profile before his official unbanishing, Mik-style
>>
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>>379866
>>379869
>>379879
>>379883
>It's gonna be a bitch, not gonna lie.

>>379910
Yeah it is.

>>379913
This is why the Stooges love him.
>>
>>379862
>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>>
>>379862
Cozy.
>>
>>379922
I hope the Stooges are enjoying MikTV.
>>
>>379913
>Save the daughter of the Emir(was that his title?)
>Lead an army, first against bandits then against the Void
>Close a hole in reality
>Stop an assassination attempt
>Fly into a major city on the back of a dragon and meet with various officials
>Fly that same dragon into the home of a major noble house
>Change appearance to stand out even more than before
>Walk through a town explaining metaphysics and healing dozens of people
""""""""""""""""""""""Low profile""""""""""""""""""""""
>>
>>379922
How much would they rate the newest episodes of MikTV?
>>
>>379935
What would a high profile Mik do?
>>
>>379862
>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
But reassure them how invested we are in keeping them alive and safe, even maybe before ourselves. Their our best friends! Slamjam Jesus needs disciples.
>>
>>379940
the same thing but we would have ridden Zahak out of the capital.
>>
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>>379940
Vatis civil war.
>>
>>379862
>>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>>
>>379940
Burn down Elaudia, conquer Aelmond, destroy reality, awaken Dhatu, assemble a nuclear arsenal, paint a giant picture of himself on the moon, play the oud while using enchantment and magic to make it loud enough for the entire world to hear
>>
>>379862
>>Explain that well, it's going to make your life, and their lives, difficult once you reach Elaudia proper.
>>
>>379950
I'm sad to say that I know the origin of this picture
>>
I still think we should cut a road through Elaudia when we travel.
>>
>>380006
Unless we figure out some way with enchanting to protect it and prevent overgrowth, it would be overgrown within a week
>>
>>380006
*burn
>>
>>380011
That's not the point.
>>
>>380006
Didn't the Parmatma tell us that swathes of the jungle are possessed by spirits? As in, the plants there are all part of one spirit.
>>
>>380016
So?
>>
>>380006
We should store the trees into our cloak. Lumber is worth a lot back home and they need it to rebuild the fleet
>>
>>380018
So trying to cut through them would probably be a bad idea.
>>
>>380006
That'll just piss off the spirits living there.
>>
>>380006
Elaudian Highway project is the only way to travel Elaudia.
>>
>>380021
>>380023
>>380027
Fuck the trees and fuck the spirits.
>>
>>380035
>Fuck the trees
Oh that's a good idea, if we want to fuck with the Paramatma.
>>
>>379935
We also saved his sister's life and blew up the pirates that killed his dad.
>>
>>380038
That was before unbanishment.
>>
>>380021
Seconded.
>>380016
>>380023
Fight and store the spirits in gems for posterity.
>>
>>380039
I thought anon was talking about the assassination at the temple for some reason, my bad.

Kind of weird there's been enough assassination attempts foiled that some are forgettable.
>>
Post never
>>
>>380049
Soma posted too fast for too long. He's burnt out.
>>
>>380021
>>380044

Thirding this. Also, clearly the solution is to build a road OVER the trees and have it touch down into villages.

That's a project for another time though.
>>
>>380060
Make a big, metal road as a tribute to Dhatu?
>>
>>380064
Prof burns down the forest, Chryssa and Fulvia make it into a cobbled road with milestones and Mik reinforces it with metal to withstand the test of time.
>>
Sighing deeply, you debate for a moment whether it's worth it to tell them. You could string them along for a while, possibly even get away with never telling them at all, but it's their lives at risk too. It sits ill with you to leave them in the dark when they've already been with you through so much. Maybe it's just this atmosphere of openness and honesty which is getting to you, but your negligence in keeping the party informed has probably led to more problems than it's prevented.

“It didn't attack me, no.” You allow yourself a sip of wine, to gather your thoughts. “However, it did promise certain things and made certain demands. It asked me to kill Vicitra, because bringing him back from the dead was my first crime against the natural order. Reviving myself was the second crime, though I'd argue that I hadn't truly died even though my soul dwelled outside my mortal body.”

Chryssa speaks up the moment you pause for another sip of wine. “Did you kill him as the messenger asked, or did you refuse?”

“I didn't outright refuse, but nor did I carry out the task. The boy lives so far as I'm aware.” It's impossible to glean anything regarding Chryssa's opinion on the matter from her blank facial expression, but knowing her she probably disagrees with that decision. “Suffice to say, the forces that be probably aren't happy with this fact, they'll certainly be conspiring to make our journey into Elaudia very difficult. They've only been assigned to take my life but I'm sure the implication here is obvious. By remaining with me you risk your own lives as well.”

Darzi pokes you lightly in the ribs, her armor having receded to her elbow while she was eating. “How is that any different than usual? You've always been drawn to ancient evils and forgotten beast, monsters from ages past. What more could this emissary possibly steer us towards?”

“I don't know, but I can only assume going forward that whatever dangers we face entering Elaudia will be more severe now than they would have been had I killed the boy.” The atmosphere seems decidedly more somber now that you discuss serious matters. “The other task they assigned me was hunting down another man dwelling in Elaudia who has offended the gods. I'm uncertain what he did, and equally uncertain regarding whether or not I'll carry out the task as assigned. It depends entirely upon my target, but the emissary assured me we would cross paths with him eventually no matter what efforts we took to avoid the confrontation.”

You beg for patience with a raised palm. “I know what this sounds like, I've doomed us all to an early grave. I didn't really intend for that to be the case, but nor am I willing to compromise my principles. I would not begrudge you if you wanted to leave now, return to El-Amin, or Nazir, or Anthus. Though, Anthus might be ill-advised. It's currently besieged by a draconic host.”
(1/4)
>>
You wait a moment, and much as you'd expected nobody voices a desire to turn back or to leave your company. Still, it draws from you a relieved sigh. “I'm glad to have that out in the open, then. I apologize for telling you so little as of late. It just tends to slip my mind as we run from one crisis to the next.”

The party lapses into silence for a time, enjoying the wine and the meal, until Profectus finally runs a hand across his face and mutters what you can only assume is a curse. “Gods above and below, I can't believe the mightiest empire to ever grace Mundus collapsed because of religious infighting. I fought my entire life to to preserve the Imperator's throne! I trod across foreign lands and abandoned my family, subjected myself to all manner of trials, and it falls to pieces because of the machinations of spirits.”

Chryssa rest a hand upon his shoulder, adopting what might be her attempt at a comforting tone, though it misses the mark. “It could be worse. You could have been there to see it collapse and your life's work destroyed in the space of a few months. You were spared that torture by the experimentation you underwent.”

Profectus at least seems to appreciate the sentiment, though he finishes off the rest of his cup anyway. “You're right, I suppose. Though I'd almost rather have been there to stand stalwart while the world around me went to shit. Then again, I wouldn't have met you all if that had been the case. Nor would I have met Tertia.”

“I'm still in shock about how casually everyone is treating what just happened.” Mortia shakes her head, plucking up one of those terribly spicy pieces of fried flatbread and popping it into her mouth. You suppose her immunity to poison extends to whatever spice lit your tongue aflame. “I mean, Mikhael just wandered through town revealing the secrets of the univese like it was the most normal thing in the world. You might just founded a movement. We're going to return from Elaudia and be known as the Five Disciples of the Prophet or something.”

You're about to ask about Zahak, but then you realize that he is currently enjoying a nice boiling bath of saltwater in your realm. You feel a little bad that your son won't be included in your legend, you'll need to make the return trip on dragonback.

“I'm pretty okay with being a disciple, being honest.” Profectus shrugs. “Profectus the Apostle has a nice little ring to it, I'd say. I bet I could bring in all sorts of cash preaching that love your neighbor and give to charity nonsense.”

(2/4)
>>
Darzi scoffs, popping a rice cracker loaded with whatever strange stew you've been enjoying into her mouth. “As if anyone would believe you, you'd give yourself away as conman the moment you set foot in town talking about giving to the faithful so that others may be told of life's mysteries. Mikhael made it work precisely because he treated it so casually.” She finishes chewing and swallows, chasing with a bit of wine. “That and the horns probably had something to do with it. I admit, they're growing on me.”

“No, but really.” Mortia interrupts, clearly confused. “Does he just do this all the time? Like, wander into a place and change everything on a whim? Because, I don't think this is going to be a minor little blip on the radar here.”

Profectus shrugs, pouring himself another cup of wine. “Yeah, I mean. Mik, didn't you get those tattoos because the tribals heard about you killing a dragon and declared you a hero?”

“That's more or less it, yeah. They called me Parbau, and the tattoos are supposed to mark that. I was the first one in a few thousand years or something like that.” You shrug your shoulders. “But anyway, to answer your question Mortia. Yes, I do this on a somewhat regular basis. Maybe not to this extent, because I'll be honest. Healing all those people probably really hammered it home. I'm also slated to meet with a woman who's resurrected the worship of Surya as an organized religion in the Pa'vala after we return. Supposedly I fit within the context of a prophecy, and I think they might want me to take their leader for a wife. I don't know, we'll see how it all plays out.”

Darzi jabs you a little harder this time in the ribs. “Hey, I get to meet her. I was here first, I get a say in this sort of thing. Don't go just running off into the desert by yourself when the time comes.”

Technically, Aisha was here first. Although, you definitely favor Darzi over her. You're just not gonna bring that up. Probably bad for your health. You're about to reassure Darzi that she has nothing to worry about, but then Fulvia's voice invades your thoughts. {Two men approach, one of them is the human and the other is one of your people. A man, most likely the Sheikh.}

Sure enough, a few moments later the door at the opposite end of the ornate hall swings open to permit Heliodoro and a man you can only assume is the Sheikh entry. The man is roughly the same height as you are, with skin so dark it almost appears blue. He's got a light dusting of a goatee across his chin, you'd guess his age is somewhere over one hundred, but probably not by too much. Still, he looks to have lived a hard life judging by the lines on his face. You're also surprised by how well he fits his robes. You were expecting a fat man considering the decadence which surrounds you.

(3/4)
>>
He bows his head in greeting, but holds out a hand when you move as if to rise. “No need to stand, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mikhael. I've heard of you already, a man banished yet whom the Shah forgave. Now you enter my city and in the space of a few minutes have convinced the captain of my personal guard that you're a man of unrivaled wisdom.” He comes to a stop standing just next to Fulvia. “I am Sheikh Kalidas of the house Gadhavi, and I am... curious to hear what you've called me here for.”

You probably should have thought this out a little more. Still, Gadhavi? You've met a Gadhavi once before in your travels. That adventurer you encountered fighting the guardian of one of Pani's temples. You'd thought their seat to be at the city of Media. You'd never heard of the house Gadhavi controlling Tel Lakud.

>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
>Profess that you wished to reveal to him the secrets of the universe.
>Write-in
>>
>>380079
Wow, not even Mortia decided to fuck off?
>>
>>380064
CHAIN THE EARTH.

Might as well make it one giant enchantment while we're at it.
>>
>>380085
Where would she go?
>>
>>380083
>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
>>
>>380083
>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Profess that you wished to reveal to him the secrets of the universe.
>>
>>380087
Not into the jaws of death alongside a madman? I didn't think she really gave much of a shit about Mik or the party one way or the other desu senpai.
>>
>>380083
>>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.

We are intensely self absorbed. Quickly brush off discussing this though and proceed to

>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.

and

> Ask about the dude the Spirits want you to gank.
>>
>>380094
She's fond of the party, but she's also really, really looking forward to exploring the jungle.
Like, she's absolutely giddy. As a school girl. Plants are her shit.
>>
>>380083
>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
As to the secrets of the universe just say that it was completely unintentional.
>>
>>380098
Ah yes, that explains it. Kinda slipped my mind a little she was a mad botanist.
>>
>>380098
And snakes.

We should tell her we have a snake. In our trousers. For her butt.

I don't know why but I am convinced Mortia, while admittedly suffering the malus of being a lesser race, nevertheless has the most divine posterior out of our companions.
>>
>>380104
H I G H T E S T
I
G
H
T
E
S
T
>>
>>380083
>>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
>>Profess that you wished to reveal to him the secrets of the universe.
>>
>>380104
she's certainly the only one without mad muscles so she could have that bubble butt
>>
>>380083
>Ask if he has any family who makes a habit of fighting giant enchanted guardian constructs alongside impossibly handsome horned vatis.
>>
>>380083

>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.

We could probably reframe our journey as a pilgrimage (technically true on multiple accounts), to get his help a little easier.
>>
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>>380108
I miss all the art that HQR generated. Mostly focused on butts.
>>
>>380083
>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
>>
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>>380113
Kind of works, Darzi is pretty muscly.
>>
>>380083
>>Tell him you seek his advice on Elaudia, and how best to prepare for the threats you face there.
>>Ask if he has any relation to the Gadhavis of Media, to satisfy your curiosity.
>>
>>380108
glutes for the sloots breh

man, I love our companions though. Some of them may not have had as much spotlight shined on them, but I'm impressed at how different their characterization is, all without falling into boring cliches or tropes.
>>
>>380112
>>380107
>>380099
>>380097
>>380092
>>380090
>>380114
>>380118
>What should I look out for in Elaudia?

>>380114
>>380118
>>380112
>>380109
>>380107
>>380099
>>380097
>>380090
>Any relation to this asshole I know?

>>380092
>>380107
>I come to teach you.

Writin'
>>
Probably the last post desu.
We got side tracked, but at least I can say it's on you this time.
>>
>>380141
>We got side tracked
It was fun.
>>
>>380141
At least it got you to post more than three updates in a thread desu
>>
>>380141
You have to admit that being sidetracked this time was worth writing.
>>
>>380141
Okay soma, fair enough damn you. But now that I think about it this would be a amazing place for a religious multi-cultural movement to begin, this town being at the center of a crossroads. I remember what effect we had on Namek, healing people until our vys ran dry and getting a insight into Water magic. I'm keen to do something similar here, considering the health of the people and our abilitys. But I assume this will need to wait for the next thread.
>>
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>>380150
Oh hell yeah, this was way better than what I'd had planned previously.
>>
>>380151
>I'm keen to do something similar here
We could do something with their crops, maybe. Could give us a Nature insight.
>>
I wonder if worship han heal insanity?
>>
>>380158
We could meditate on the giant beating heart of an apparently living city for our Nature insight.
>>
>>380159
can*
>>
>>380161
Good point, I forgot this was a Telvanni town.
>>
>>380163
Worshipping Han Solo is the only way to repair sanity.
>>
>>380165
Hay, we could learn how to shoot from him too :^D
>>
>>380168
>:^)
really

Also, exnay on taking lessons about raising sons.
>>
>>380158
Whoa that's a great idea anon! Maybe we can meditate before we leave to accelerate the growth of their rice fields. I'm not sure we can do that at our current level, but then again we have the crown of the first king to help out with that. I'm sure we'd cut quite a image with it on to our already half-worshippers, that is if we can get it on with the horns.
>>
>>380171
Just have it hang off one of our horns. That way we can wear two things at the same time!
>>
>>380176
>>380171
We don't need to wear the crown, the enchantment works just by making skin contact with it.
>>
>>380171
Seconded.
Or just slip our companions into our realm at the same time we bring zahak out, making onlookers think we've turned them into a dragon and proceed to fly off.
>>
We've got 8 days to do what the 3 stooges asked of us so we should spend the next 3 days training in our magical realm.
>>
curious query
elaudian steel recipe earn compass
compass show what heart most desires
mik would want not to be maligned
where does compass will lead?
>>
>>380212
"Who Knows~"
>>
>>380214
Desu~
>>
>>380212
>>380214
It will point to whatever Mik desires at the moment.
>>
>>380221
>points to himself
>>
You raise an eyebrow, curiosity getting the better of you. “Any relation to the Gadhavis of Media? I met a young man recently in my travels who also named himself a member of the house Gadhavi. He was just to the south of Nirasa, and the east of Dombruk. There he fought a tremendous golem which I can only assume was assigned to guard the abandoned temple he and his friends were attempting to loot. I and my son aided them in their efforts to defeat the creature.”

The Sheikh crosses his arms over his chest, raising a hand to slowly stroke his scraggly goatee. “You speak of Rahim, yes? Skilled with a bow, tends towards arrogance. He is my...” Your host waves a hand searchingly through the air, as though trying to pluck the term for his relation from the aether. “Second cousin, once removed? I'll be honest, I've never quite looked into our family tree. Despite our distant blood relation, I'm actually quite fond of the boy. You have my thanks.”

“Anyway, I was granted the title of Sheikh for my services in the wars against the Samrajya. The house Bhattacharya which originally ruled this city perished some decades ago after Aghtaki seized the tower and killed all legitimate male heirs to the title. I'll spare you the fate of the women. Suffice to say, I was welcomed with open arms when I marched alongside the armies of Media into the city.”

He plucks one of the fingers of that strange fruit you'd enjoyed earlier, gnawing on it passively as he speaks. “Until very recently we had the Aghtaki's bones hanging in cages as you entered the city, but we took them down since at that point there was hardly anything left of them that hadn't been stolen by the animals or the rot.”

The city clearly harbors your former kin to some degree. Reports of bandits raiding caravans around the city of Tel Lakud persist to this day. Still, if nothing else you can respect his desire to clean up the city's reputation. “It seems for every Aghtaki worthy of respect I meet in my travels, there are a dozen more for whom the reputation as bandits and scoundrels is well deserved.” You finish off the last of your wine, setting the cup aside for now. “I am glad to no longer be counted among their number.” Even if one of them is carrying your child. That's another thing you might want to tell Darzi about at some point.

“You asked as to my reason for requesting your presence, and I'll not delay you any further. I seek advice regarding a journey I undertake to the eastern edge of Elaudia.” The Sheikh's eyes fly wide, but he does not interrupt. “I've never been in the jungle myself. I understand it's populated by many disparate tribes all of them at war with one another. They worship snakes and revere spirits of the land. However, they also possess somewhere in that vast jungle secrets which I've long desired. Thus, my course is set.”

(1/2)
>>
Kalidas chooses his words carefully as he proceeds. “You do realize that none have returned from any journey which caries them more than a week beyond this city, yes? What you propose is akin to suicide.”

“I'm well aware of the jungle's reputation, but I have no choice. I am under obligation.” That's not entirely true, you agreed to get the recipe but there was no real time limit to the task. Still, you've got to maintain that air of mystery and preferably without outright lying. “Do you have any wisdom you might offer that might help me survive longer than those who have come before?”

The Sheikh takes a seat upon a spare cushion, making himself comfortable and leaning forward conspiratorially. “I can offer you some advice, yes. First, don't trust the natives. Our contact with them has been limited but universally hostile. Second, be aware of what fruits you can and cannot eat. This will save your life on any extended trip through the jungle. Either that, or carry with you plenty of food and water. Third, avoid anything large. Large plants, excessively large trees, giant flowers, animals, et cetera. Just avoid it. More often than not, these things are poisonous or carnivorous or just otherwise undesirable.”

“Fourth, and this one is perhaps stranger than the first three.” The Sheikh almost seems uncomfortable mentioning it. “You may encounter yourself in the jungle. Many loggers have reported seeing copies of themselves at night, sitting at the edge of camp and watching them. We don't have any reports of these replicas attacking, but we also lose many good men to the jungle every week. We can't rule out the replicas being responsible.”

“And fifth, don't trust anyone wearing yellow. These are the heralds of misfortune, wherever they go men die and often in horrible ways.”

>EEEEEEEEEND THREAD
Next thread on Monday.
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>>380233
THANKS FOR RUNNING NIGGA.
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>>380233
Thanks for running, Soma. Good thread.
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>>380233
Huh. Actually helpful advice. I can't remember anyone besides the late varistha being this helpful and non-cryptic about something concrete.
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>>380233
Thanks for your time mang
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>>380233
>don't trust anyone wearing yellow.
The fuck is this even supposed to mean.
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>>380263
Don't trust anyone in yellow, Anon.
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>>380233
And that yellow comment has me thoroughly creeped.
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>>380263
Y E L L O W
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>>380271

Really Soma I thought you were better than that.
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>>380281
I'm not better than anything.
Here's a picture that isn't for ants though.
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>>380271
Fucking kikes man.
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Testing.
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>>379616
Seconded he/she sounds like the god mik would most likely agree with.
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>>380396
His ideals are " " because dhautu doesn't fucking care
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>>380113
What is HQR?
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so have we checked in on skullkid lately?
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>>380426
Shit
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Why did we want the Elaudian steel recipe again? I remember wanting to trade it for something but I can't remember what.
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>>380426
Hollow Quest Redux.

It was hilarious and fun until the main character stops rhyming at which point it became waifu wars and our MC slowly fucking everyone up because Anon kept trying to be "lol chaotic randumb" yet also maintain actual relationships.

The QM AzureEarth had to do several retcons after Anon died due to exceptionally retarded decisions. The first one was having a rap battle with a Shinigami boss that was significantly stronger than us, after killing a bunch of his students. Like, level 2 AD&D party meets a dragon, steals from it, then challenges it to a riddle contest after throwing it's treasure in a volcano so it can never be recovered.

The next death I believe was caused by constant neglect and occasional torment of a child whose parents we murdered and then infected with madness. Who we then ignored for 17 years, and then casually dropped this bomb on, and then was just kind of a dick to. Yeah, turns out he was much better at plotting than us.

Honestly, AE is a very good writer. He planned shit out, there was constant foreshadowing and honestly AMAZING continuity. Anon was just fucking retarded though, and when the power levels jumped up and we stopped being a random trolling murderspirit that had no friends and it started to get political and shit, people were completely unable to transition.

Also the waifu wars. God they were hilarious. Like, Joker level of "Well, she hates you because you're an ass what did you expect" and "You're an undead spirit, roll to remember what sex is again exactly . . . and that's a crit-fail".

Then we had to ret-con because dumbasses came in and voted to screw our bestest friend and truest ally, the incarnation of Lust, because they suddenly moral fagged - TOTALLY NOT BECAUSE OF FAGGOTS FROM RYUUZUKA QUEST - and people came in the next day and were like "What the fuck did you retards fucking do, those were our Snazzy Azzy's"

At some point it became more interesting to watch Anons have constant meltdowns in-thread when faced with the consequences of their actions.

And then the end-game came. AE was pretty burnt out from all the waifu wars and people being unable to NOT act like a retarded schizophrenic, and while we were fighting the Outer God that ate Yahweh he offered us an option to eat all of our waifu's to gain their power in a cutscene, referencing the "BAD END" that he had foreshadowed several times as a possibility and once in a direct fucking prophecy.

The butthurt was glorious. Amazing. I fucking came buckets. And he finally refused to give Anon a re-write.

The lesson is, never retcon shit for your players just because they're fucking retards.
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>>380527
>And then the end-game came. AE was pretty burnt out from all the waifu wars and people being unable to NOT act like a retarded schizophrenic, and while we were fighting the Outer God that ate Yahweh he offered us an option to eat all of our waifu's to gain their power in a cutscene, referencing the "BAD END" that he had foreshadowed several times as a possibility and once in a direct fucking prophecy.

>The butthurt was glorious. Amazing. I fucking came buckets. And he finally refused to give Anon a re-write.

noice

Thank God the only quest with severe retardation I follow is this one.
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>>380527
Is it really a retcon if the mc's main power is literally to retcon shit they don't like? I mean, yeah it totally was because it extended beyond the limitations the power normally had (short term, nonfatal situations only), but it still feels like you're misrepresenting the matter however slightly.

Everything else was pretty spot on tho famalam.

But you did forget the time one dude came in and samefagged the "Lobotomize your vest friend" option and then immediately spazzed out because he didn't realize what he was samefagging for. That one was pretty hilarious and so was the totally-not-a-retcon-undo-that-shit-copout that followed.
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>>380537
>>380527
Make Banished Quest Great again Anons
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>>380546
Oh yeah, that one too.

God the samefagging was rampant. Like, what the fuck are some QMs problems with final destination votes, or throwing up a survey quick at least if they have the quest up for a couple days.

I'm looking at you, Vox, we all know there's rampant samefagging in your quest. "Three votes for (x) in a row right before the vote is called" Totally not suspicious.

Besides, Risa's main power wasn't to retcon shit, it was getting re-rolls. Those were right out Acts of God re-writes.

We never should have gotten distracted from our one true plant waifu, but turns out weeb quests are full of fucking faggots that ruin everything good.

Faggots can't ruin Banished Quest, for Soma is the alpha faggot and is far too strong.

Faggots can't ruin House and Dominion, because they can't into spreadsheets and we have a financial and literal space Empire to run.

Faggots can't ruin DLQ because Vox loves to eat dicks. Also he just gives anon all the waifus anyways, the degeneracy is so pervasive nobody notices it even. Hell, we don't even roll in that quest.

Hellborne Quest is dead. But faggotry was alright at being kept out of that, mostly by crippling emotional insecurity being part of the MC.

Valen Quest (posting later today) is pretty alright. We don't roll often, but it's mostly politic and rock-paper-scissors combat anyways where you have to balance risk vs. reward and certain actions have different costs (lose men, loss time, lose power/prestige etc.). And it has the "what are you forgetting" mechanic at least, so there's a clear benefit/relation to past plot points.

But every weeb quest is absolute shit, no matter how good the writer is. There was the fabled Zeonquest of yore, but those days are gone and even then it was an exception. Responsible Weebs don't let other Weebs waifu, it ruins everything.
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>>380625
>Faggots can't ruin House and Dominion, because they can't into spreadsheets and we have a financial and literal space Empire to run.
Based TSTG and his particular brand of autism. He runs what is literally the longest running quest on /tg/, AND creates an entire wiki albeit outdated for us to sperg over, all while keeping the quality pretty fucking good.

There was that starshadow namefag trying to insert every single creation of his into the quest, and then overdesigning it to shit once it makes it in. The Reynard Rifle wasn't too bad, but the HAG arguments were pretty shitty.
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Stooges, Mik and Zahak are Soma's favorite characters to write in that order.
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>>380426
Hallow Quest Redux. its a finished quest i think, never got around to finishing it. the QM now runs world of lewdness on Akun
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=hollow%20quest
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>>380625
>>380689

What even is house and dominion about? ive seen it lots of times but every time i look into it i have no idea whats happening
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>>380828
Space opera in the future, its pretty difficult to understand everything by dipping your toes in and not starting from the beginning.

Simply however MC has slowly worked her way up the dominion (her factions) nobility ranks and fleet, whiles also becoming really rich. There is a fair chunk of complexity to battles and the management.

Kind of think of it as being the eve online of quests. Interesting but not for everybody.
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>>380860
Is it yurishit?
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>>380902
Thusfar the MC (woman) has had little interest in men or women other than potential arrange marriage, so if your referring to that no, as for the rest? I'm a weeb peice of trash so my opinion could be entirley invalid when I say no.

We do seem to have avoided waifu wars for the most part though.
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>>380922
Longest quest running on /tg/ and it avoided waifu/husbando wars? I find it hard to believe
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>>380928
Never really thought about it. They probably are there, just in a differant form.
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>>380625
>Besides, Risa's main power wasn't to retcon shit, it was getting re-rolls.
Which manifested as retconning shit when you looked beyond the mechanical. Risa always got a paragraph about bears or some bullshit because she was a psychotic retard and it gave AE an excuse to be lazy and not have to put much effort into writing the majority of the fatebreaker spam, but literally every time the power got used by someone else, or someone else saw Risa do it and was able to remember it, it was written as everything glitching out super hard and a combination of rewinding time and deleting&copy-pasting chunks of reality until the results are something the user liked.
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>Banished Quest talking about quest generally
>/qtg/ is advertising but otherwise empty.
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>>381442
When you've been around as long as the /qtg/ and your threads stay up this long it kinda becomes a free for all of conversation.
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Will Mik ever husk cast with Nature the best element for manipulating the strings of reality just to see what happens?
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>>381711
What did you think the GM was gonna be about, anon? It's probably going to be either the complete domination of a sapient mind or the ability to read reality like an operator from the Matrix. I can't really think of much else that'd be as useful as the metal GM.
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>>380527
Wew, thanks lad
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>>381123
Salvagefus
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>>382487
>Salvagefus
So literally every enemy ship, station and planet we disable/capture?

>Sonia
>Not salvaging everything
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>>383005
>>382487
Just like Mik barters everything.
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>>383005
I kinda want to get into House and Dominion simply because it's in-depth enough to keep the retards away

Where would i start?
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>>383011
http://houseanddominion.wikia.com/wiki/Getting_started

A shitload of people have asked that in the past, so a wiki page was put together for newcomers. I'd advise against reading the summaries, as you lose most of the intricacies and small details of the plot, not to mention you'll probably still get lost in the details. Just read the archives on the page over a few months, H&D isn't going to stop any time soon.
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Rolled 14 (1d100)

What are the odds of Soma running today?
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Rolled 91 (1d100)

We having a thread this week?
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

Will the thread be tomorrow?
>>
Rolled 10 (1d100)

Will the cuck keep his word and run wednesday?
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>>380902
Sexual relationships are considered too distracting for active military members. Everyone gets some of their sperm/eggs frozen and then has their sex drive suppressed for the duration of service.

Not that (over the years) this didn’t stop some acquaintances to beget offspring, though. Not Sonia, though. She is only attracted to coolness (mostly sharks).

Looking back, the only thing I dislike was how fast and unrealistically Sonia got rich. I’m glad TSTG stopped letting us go best of three for loot rolls, at least.
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>>380081
>Technically, Aisha was here first.
First, except for the whores in his youth and the light-skinned round-eared "Samjan" girl... No lesser races here, move along.
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So I think channeling husk using each of the elements into the shell allows for ascension. If this is true what do you guys think a five element ascension would be like?
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>>384448
Nope, channeling Earth would invariably kill you.
>>
Thread never
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>>384840



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