The voice in your head, which you are becoming increasingly accustomed to speaks icily: <Time is short. He has revealed himself to be an enemy and should be disposed of. Act quickly before he becomes desperate.>
This was not the plan, you didn't want to kill anyone. You only wanted to make him forget what he saw. Your simple life has gone to hell so quickly in the past two hours.

[[Attached is part 2. Part 1 will be on next post.]]

rolled 85 = 85

Drop it like it's hot and lay down some phat beats. Straight outta Stygia, bad-ass motherfucker named Ice Cube.

rolled 64 = 64

Slaughter him, and hide the body on the roof.
If we can afford to drag the information out of him, get whatever text he used to make the pact.

rolled 81 = 81

Is gourmander still there?

If not, kill him and dispose of the body in a way that doesn't incriminate us. He's obviously been making pacts for far longer than us and wants our book, so he is a threat.

Aw, sweet, BinderQuest!

Shame we forgot to archive the previous thread

anyway reading....

>>14855370
>>14855429
Wait, no.

Lets try to erase his memories first dammit

rolled 49 = 49

>>14855465

We must proceed as we planned before.
Subdue him and do the memory extraction thingmajing

>>14855465
He just attempted to make a pact with another (for lack of a better word) demon, and we have no idea how much of a threat he poses right now. Killing him is the safest option since he now knows we have the book.

rolled 39 = 39

>>14855497
Well, I meant taking all the memory associated with demons and pacts including recent memory.

Reduce him to ass-kissing monk that everyone perceives him to be

>>14855519
Remember the whole 'we'd be getting told how to do it' part? If we fuck up he could still remember, or he could get his memory back lager. Killing him is safer, we'll rely on memory.erasing later aftr se have had practice.

>>14855538
Sorry about the spelling, touch keyboards are a bitch.

rolled 43 = 43

>>14855538
Still... doesn't hurt to start practicing now.
If we suck up .... then I guess we'll have only one option left.

[[I'm going to assume most of you haven't read that you can alter memories yet so I'll just go with the highest roll so far then. Laying down beats on the phat man.]]

You hate being forced into such a decision but your pact is almost over so you lash out with a closed fist into the darkness. Your arm stretches and the blow strikes Arnold in the back of the head, his corpulent form falling to the ground with a small shocked gasp. He lays very still, not moving at all. You quickly approach him and roll him on his back with quite a bit of effort and check his breathing. He seems to be alive but he is unconscious and his breaths are very shallow. You aren't sure if he'll stay dazed for long.
<Good, now finish the job.> says the voice with the passionless tone of an experience killer.

rolled 99 = 99

>>14855571
The impression you gave was that we'd be getting walked through the erasing memory part, and that would mean we might screw up. I was advocating killing him, and maybe we could practice the memory erasing on others first, so if we mess up it's not potentially life threatening. Rolling to kill and dispose still.

rolled 31 = 31

>>14855571
>I'm going to assume most of you haven't read that you can alter memories

Alter his damn memories.
ALL OF THEM. I mean, memories involving binding, demons, pacts, etc..

Actually, extract them and absorb them. He might have known interesting shit about binding and demons. That will be useful.

rolled 24 = 24

>>14855631 ,
>>14855617 here, we don't have much time left with the pact and he could wake up still.

<Why do you hesitate? We have a mere 20 minutes left to dispose of the body. End this now.>
"You said something about extracting memories. How do I that?"
<You would need to cut into his unconscious mind and sever the pieces you want to remove then suture the remains back together. It is undetectable if you make the seams right, but some memories are more tightly bound than others. It could take hours to seek out all of the connections and break them, and even then removing such a large piece of his consciousness could damage his mind forever. Something as simple as the last 2 hours might be easy enough to remove.>
You look at your claws and at Arnold's motionless head. The whole idea seems very vague and you're not sure how comfortable you are with cutting into his mind.
<But I digress, if you were to do this he would still be an enemy ours. He merely would forget that we are his.>

rolled 90 = 90

>>14855704
Aw shit,
we could remove last 2 hours. Sure.

And later come back to remove the rest of his experience with the binding.


But the shit he had summoned could still alert him, no?

rolled 27 = 27

>>14855571
As I said yesterday, we need to rip the knowledge of binding demons from his mind and reduce him to the porcine kiss-ass he's always pretended to be. We can't afford to have _CHURCH INQUISITORS_ snooping around, can we? That means making as few changes to the Status Quo as possible. That means NO MURDERS. Shit like that draws attention.

>>14855754
Then just break his neck and make it look like the fat bastard tripped on something in the dark buttery. No church inquisitor will be that suspicious.

"Alright, let's just do that then the last two hours. No more than that."
<As you wish. Insert your claws into his temples slowly and carefully. It will be as putting a key into a lock. When you feel it in place pull them apart slowly.>
You do just that moving your claws carefully along the side of Arnold's head. You cringe as you see some blood slowly seep from where your claws glide across his face. But then something suddenly feels different, like his skull has just dropped away. You quickly plunge into your claws then pull back. Before you hovers a long wiry rope flowing from one temple to a halo about his head and back into the other. You see images flashing in the lights across the stream of consciousness. As you look closer you see that it is not a chord so much as a tightly wrapped web. And the near the string entering leaving his ear you can see gentle dreams of Arnold as a king easting a great feast set before him. following the string back you see a constant thread leading up to the halo of the events of the night in revers order: Arnold summoning the demon, talking to the chaplain, searching the tower for you, being awoken by a knock on his door, talking to the chaplain again, and sleeping in bed. Each of these events has two or three chords leaving it off to connect to other memories strongly associated with them. You remember something.
"What of that other vestige? Won't he just tell Arnold what happened tonight?"
<The avatar of Gourmander he knew is dead, gone when the seal of the pact was broken. Even if he were to create a new seal and rebind him it would not be the same Gourmander he once knew.>
"I see..." you say, considering the implications of what this means about your own vestige and the book your hold. "So where do I cut?"
<That is up to you. Be sure you completely sever whatever line you wish to remove. Then connect the loose ends back into a whole.>
You look at the ever lengthening stream, and begin to pick your mark.

rolled 57 = 57

>>14855810
Maybe if we clean up the ritual crap, spill more wine around, and take his pants off, make it look like he got wasted.

rolled 83 = 83

>>14855754
>>14855810
don't forget that we will need to remove memories from the chaplain also.

Whatever we ultimately do with Arnold, a practice on memory extraction is a must so that we don't mess up when doing it to chaplain.

>>14855842

>OP says highest rolls will decide
>suggest something, roll a 99
>others roll nowhere near it
>mfw completely ignored by OP

rolled 12 = 12

>Arnold summoning the demon, talking to the chaplain, searching the tower for you, being awoken by a knock on his door, talking to the chaplain again, and sleeping in bed

Wait. Are these memories in reverse? They are all from todays events, right? They make no sense.
>sleeping
>talking to chaplain
>being woken up by a knock to the door

how did he talk to chaplain before waking up?

Also, what was his conversation with chaplain which we did not listen in?

Obviously, you should cut to where he was sleeping and get him to his bed.

rolled 44 = 44

leave the chaplain talking parts, just take out the parts with us and the demon summoning. When we're done, we pour plenty of wine down his throat. He'll wake up with a hangover, headache, and fuzzy memories anyway. When we go speak to the chaplain, complain about him being drunk. Done, problem solved.

rolled 31 = 31

>>14855872
Hey, we can always kill him later.

rolled 27 = 27

>>14855899
Fukken lold.

Yeah, lets do this.

>>14855872
[[I only passed it up because it was slightly out of character for Gregory, at least for now, and I didn't want to do it unless someone else also agreed. Don't worry, you can still kill him if you botch them memory thing.]]

You carefully sever all of the links to them memory of searching the tower, but you find that you cannot sever the link between the search and the conversation with the chaplain in the library. Each time you cut it the link quickly grows back into place, too persistent to remove. It seems that as long as the library memory remains it allows him to retrace the events in the tower. You now have the dangling ends between the tower and Arnold leaving his bedroom, waiting to be reattached somewhere. You pull open the memory of the conversation with the chaplain. Perhaps you can cut the memory in half and extract a piece together with the tower search?

>>14855924
The whole problem here is that he just went 'lolno' and ignored it, which means us saying what we want is pointless since he'll do what he wants anyway.

rolled 91 = 91

>>14855984
Aw fuck
this is too complicated.

Lets remove them memories altogether, then move to chaplain to remove his conversation with Arnold.

We might have to redo the pact though.

In frustration you simply slice the whole of the last two hours out, from before Arnold was awoken by the knock up to his current dreaming. You sever all the links to past memories and they slowly retract back into his subconscious. The thread of thought extracted, you gently connect the two loose ends together, connecting one dream into another. The stray thread slowly disperses, falling apart back into whatever particles created this stream. Hopefully it will be to him as though he had never awoken and slept through the night. You stand up and look around. As soon as your hands leave his head, the halo of his mind flows back into his temples. There is still the circle of wine on the floor although it has mostly dried now, the two broken halves of the seal of the pact and the deer corpse. Arnold snores loudly.
<We only have 10 minutes. Whatever you intend to do, I suggest you do it quickly.>

rolled 49 = 49

>>14856127
Messily remove the wine circle with your foot.
Dispose of the deer carcass. Throw it out of the window or put it in the cellar.
Claim the halves of the seal.

Take Arnold to his bedroom.

Pour some wine down his throat and leave a couple broken/empty bottles strewn about him on the floor.

rolled 44 = 44

>>14856196
derp, forgot a roll

rolled 10 = 10

>>14856196
Or that.

That could work too...

unless we drown him or something, so be careful with that

You quickly smear the circle of wine so that it looks strewn about randomly. Satisfied by this, you drag the deer carcass into the next room and hang it up with all of the other salted meats where it was probably strung up before hand.
You return and pocket the several broken pieces of the shattered talisman that Arnold held. Then you fetch the discarded decanter and find a small amount remaining within. You tilt Arnold's head back and gently administer a small amount of the fluid and he gulps it down greedily. You repeat this until the decanter is empty.
Then you try to move Arnold, with the intention of returning him to his bed. He's very heavy and despite all of the fantastic things your form allows your strength does not seem to be increased any. You may be able to drag him through the hall but discovery would be disastrous.

rolled 20 = 20

>>14856286
Well shit,

pour wine over him and seat him in front of the table.
Have his upper body lie on the table as if he passed out, put a bottle of wine in his hand and a couple empty ones on the floor and the table.

Leave.
Go back to the room where you were studying the book. Tidy the shit up.
Go to your quarters.

rolled 40 = 40

>>14856346
Supporting this course of action.

rolled 55 = 55

>>14856346

Thirding. This sounds good.

You nudge the unconscious form of Arnold across the floor until he is against the cabinet holding the goblets. You pull one out and gently lay it on the floor beside him. Then, swiping the keys from Arnold's pocket, you descend into the cellar and enter the Buttery, returning with two bottles of wine. You pour the contents of one into the goblet, adding the rest to the mess about the floor, and place the other gently underneath Arnold's arm.
Your partner in crime startles you with his sudden speech, <Farewell, pact maker.>
"What? Time is up already?" you say, realizing that the words came from your own mouth that has returned.
You feel as though an oppressive darkness has left your mind, but an equally oppressive darkness descends upon the room as your vision returns to normal. You are left standing alone in the dark kitchen with the mess all around you and only the kitchen keys in one hand and the book in the other.

rolled 60 = 60

>>14856446
Fucking hope he wont wake up.

Leave the kitchen and quietly go to your room.
Hide the book somewhere safe.

rolled 48 = 48

>>14856446
We should always keep it hidden but as close as possible just in case we need help. (in my opinion)
Head back to our room and rest

rolled 7 = 7

>>14856543
Seconded.

You pocket the keys and hold tightly to your book. You carefully make your way to the door, feeling your way along the walls. You kick something but it's probably just a table leg or the spare bottle you left lying on the ground. You find the door and open it into the hallway. Thankfully there is some moonlight flowing in through the open door of the library. You dart past the open door, glancing to make sure no one sees you. Your footsteps seem to echo incredibly clearly in the silent hall now that you are back to normal, and you slow down so as to reduce the sound as much as possible. You count the doors as you pass them, stopping at the second to last one on the south side and enter. You grab the lantern from the wall and strike it with a sulfur sparker to light up the room. You are blinded by the first direct light you've seen in hours but after a moment your vision returns and you hang it upon the wall.
You quietly move the bed aside and pull up the loose floorboard. You set aside the letter from your heretical half-brother and the elvish flute he sent you and place the book and the seal below it. After replacing the floorboard you move the bed back into place and sit down at your tiny desk to stare out the window. Sleep seems impossible now as you are overwhelmed by all that just happened.

rolled 95 = 95

>>14856446
Wait, he still remembers his amulet thing that he used to summon gourmander right? Put that underneath him as if he sat on it and broke it, then go and rest. We don't want him wondering where it got to.

rolled 2 = 2

>heretical half-brother and the elvish flute he sent you
this needs more information

think about this till you fall to sleep

>>14856637
How much light is in our room? Is it still around midnight? If we can see well enough we could try to learn about the other spirits whose named are contained within the book. Be especially careful not to read any summoning incantations.

You wonder where your half-brother could be now? Born of the union of your father and a savage elf he was taken by his mother ahead of the inquisition's arrival. When your father stood firmly in his belief that he had done nothing wrong he was struck down and you were taken away to the monastery. To corrupt the purity of human blood is one of the greatest sins against the teachings of Zarus, the Savior of Humanity. You still receive letters from your brother occasionally, carried by small birds to your window.
Growing restless, you pull the book out and flip open the front cover. You leaf through the pages checking each name in turn. The pages seem to be grouped into sections, with a name and summoning ritual covering the first three pages in the dead language of Samoya, a poorly drawn image of a spirit, a symbol or seal, and then a great deal of text in a language you do not recognize even though you are well learned in all the many languages of humankind.

rolled 22 = 22

>>14856804
We must use our new book to seek out our half brother and have a teary family reunion. And to also fuck up the inquisition that killed our father.

rolled 67 = 67

How strong is our belief in the church and its teachings?

You close the book and set beneath the boards once more. Finally feeling exhaustion overtaking you again you extinguish the lamp and roll over into your bed, eyes open, your mind still awash with thought.
You feel a profound emptiness that you haven't felt in so very long. You did not know your father very well, but have always thought of him as a great man. After all, before the Inquisition and Zaria annexed the land of Nordrime he was considered a legendary hero and protector.
But the teachings of Zarus call him a blood-traitor to the sanctity of humanity. And all of your closest friends are here in the monastery. The chaplain, who has been like a father to you, has always been close and understanding of you, especially about your family.
Even though your brother is the one with blood half way between man and beast you feel as though you are always adrift between two worlds, your future uncertain. For now, you only do the work of the Monastery, compiling all the great teachings of the world and preserving wisdom for for the future and learning yourself.

rolled 92 = 92

>>14856979
Think about leaving the monastery one day and visiting our brother to find out what life is truly right for us before going to sleep.

Your awaken suddenly to the sound of the bells ringing in the cathedral. You sit upright, deathly tired but still tense from the night before. You aren't due for the morning service for another hour's time but there are some things you might need to take care of first.
The chaplain still wants to see you for some reason and he still remembers the conversation in the library though nothing too incriminating was said and he seemed to not care for anything Arnold was saying anyways.
The southern tower where you were working last night is probably still in the disheveled state that you left it in, though you don't recall exactly how bad it was and you might be forgiven for leaving it as it was.
The cooks will be arriving in the kitchen shortly and if Arnold is still there he is sure to be discovered soon. It might be best not to be around when that particular drama begins and who exactly Arnold is still eludes you.
You also have the book and the talisman fragments below you, which you have not finished studying yet and might find something more there.

rolled 24 = 24

>>14857130
Continue studying the book and talisman until the Arnold thing starts to blow over.

rolled 69 = 69

>>14857341

Agreed. Let's keep a low profile until we can tell the consequences of what happened. I don't want to make another potentially dangerous move while still trying to clean up our old mess.

Throwing off your light clothing from the night before you quickly dress in your robes for the morning service and pull the book out from beneath the floor boards. You set it on the desk again and this time you check the names one by one. Flipping five pages at a time your read the headings of each section.
-Xepoc, the Harbinger of Eternity’s Repose
-Seno and Eno, the Dichotomous Serpent
-Tenebrotep, the Lurker in the Night
-Asam’Ano Mora, the Architect of Misery
-Kuzo, the Storm Warder
-Gourmander, the Hungering One
You pause as your read the last name. You try to recall but you aren't certain that Gourmander's name was in the book the night before. You flip past it but the rest of the pages are blank. What could this mean?

rolled 91 = 91

>>14857475

Maybe new ones are added as we learn about them?

Is this thing a Binder's Pokedex? Well obviously this means that our next goal is to CATCH 'EM ALL.

>>14857489
God help me I lol'd.

>>14857489
Glabrezu, I choose you!

You check back to the front of the book, perhaps to find some insight, but there is nothing to aide you. There is a brief introduction but it is written in that same language as the other entries that you do not recognize. Only the cryptic title, "Veritalignicon: The Book of True Binds" even hints at its purpose. You aren't sure what exactly it was that Arnold was seeking this book out for. Perhaps one of the vestiges contained within holds some great secret or power? Or perhaps the book itself is the secret. Either way, it would definitely be wise not to let it fall into his hands. At least not until you know what he is capable of and why he seeks it.
You listen for the sounds of anything coming from the hall, but for now all seems quiet. Most of the other monk will still be preparing for the morning service or heading off to the cathedral.

>>14857647
What is our usual daily routine?

rolled 24 = 24

>>14857647

What I'm still wondering is if Arnold was working alone or if there's a larger conspiracy going on in the monastery. We should definitely research it further, but I also agree with above posters to not draw any undue attention towards us with it.

>>14857734
Ordinarily you would skip the morning service and go straight to the kitchens to steal an early breakfast from the cooks. Usually you like to recline in your room or the library with a book or go for a walk through the gardens. Then you usually set about your work, either scribing writs in town for the bankers, translating the archaic tomes of the library into the common Zarian tongue, or altering the confiscated heretical texts. Of course, the chaplain has been nagging you to attend more services and only doesn't force you because you devote so much time to your studies and are so skilled in your work. He usually tracks you down sometime mid-day to speak with you of your disrespect in missing morning service while having a relaxing friendly chat over tea before supper.
Afterwards, you always attending the evening service before returning to your work or to your studies. Though sometimes you sneak out into the town to play dice with the soldiers. You have collected quite a few debts from them and most of them know of you as a quick talker and an even better gambler.

rolled 31 = 31

>>14857734
>>14857747

Continue to go about our daily routine as normal, but also keep researching the book when we can.

>>14857809
This works

You decide to leave the book in it's hiding place and proceed out of your room, falling in line behind the other monks heading off to the morning service. As you enter the inner courtyard you turn and follow the wall north towards the dining hall and cut through to the kitchens as you usually do. The servants are all hard at work and all of them are used to you stealing an early snack from the morning meal. Most of them don't even look up at your entering anymore. The mess of last night is gone and Arnold is nowhere to be seen. You snag some fruit, imported from the south, and grab a fresh loaf of bread. Remembering last night, you decide to pass on the venison stew cooking in the rear. With your spoils in tow you head back into the dining room to make your way back around to your room. As you enter the courtyard you see Arnold and the chaplain standing of to the side talking. The chaplain seems furious. You are curious as to what they are talking about but it may be wise to avoid confrontation for now...

rolled 33 = 33

>>14857953

Aha, I bet the chaplain is in on it too. We'll need more proof before moving against them though.

>>14857968
That is possible, but it could also be the whole drunken man passed out in the kitchen thing... Either way, not much we can do about it right now since we aren't sure.

You quickly dart back into the halls and walk to your room without interruption as most of the others have made their way to the Cathedral if they aren't still in their rooms. You close your door behind yourself and eat greedily before you pull out the book yet again for scrutiny.
You could try to call upon another spirit, but you might risk discovery again especially with the chaplain seeking you for unknown reasons. You could seek somewhere more secure to try another binding as well.
You could try to determine the nature of the strange script of the book through research in the libraries, though there may be no hope as even with your extensive studies you wouldn't be sure where to start. Magics are something the church is very strongly against the study of, though a human of pure blood cannot use magic anyways.
Perhaps you could seek out the chaplain your self to see what it is he has been seeking you for. But he will be in the morning service for the next hour at the least giving you some much needed time to yourself.
Of course, you could always forget about the tome for now and go back to reading your current study material on fauna of the southern coastlines of the Zarian empire. But the secrets of the book and it's impossible nature fascinate you incredibly.

rolled 27 = 27

>>14858116

I don't like the idea of going to the chaplain, we're not sure if more people other than Arnold are in on this, and even if he WAS acting alone, we still want this knowledge secret since it'd get us run out of the monastery.

Is there another binding we could perform that could help us get more information, maybe do some spying? I'm a little wary to attempt it again so soon after our last adventure, but we can't really do much without gaining more information on what exactly we have stumbled into.

You figure it would be best to wait for the chaplain to come to you. No sense looking for trouble, after all. Looking at the names before you, you consider what might be of the most use to try a binding of. You have little space in your room and the door has no lock, but you may be able to attempt the ritual anyways. If you wanted more space or more privacy you could always go back to the tower or go rent a room at the inn in town. You flip to the names again reminding yourself of your options.

[[The six names in the book are
>>14857475
as listed here.]]

rolled 91 = 91

You know, instead of performing another binding, we could just go and see why the chaplain wants us to meet with him. We're trying to act like we have nothing to hide, so continuing to avoid him might not be like a good idea. And we could get some more info that way rather than trying another binding again.

>>14858444
If we're really suspicious about it we could have a binding with Gourmander first to try to find out about his history with Arnold.

You close the book, deciding against making another pact just yet with things you don't understand. After storing the book away again you decide that you'll only raise suspicion if you continue to avoid the chaplain. You decide to go to the dining hall and wait for the chaplain to arrive after the service is over. You gather your wits and your dishes and make for the courtyard. The service is still underway and no one can be seen. You head into the hall where the dishes are being set out for the after-service breakfast and hand your trays to the scullery maid. You sit down in your usual spot and await the arrival of the others. It doesn't take long for the first few to arrive and soon after the rest of the monks pour forth into the hall. Near the end of the procession the chaplain walks forth into the hall and looks about with purpose. His eyes meet yours and a smile crosses his face. He makes his way to you, stopping only briefly to speak to a few others on the way over. When he arrives he walks around the table behind you and places a hand on your shoulder. "Brother Gregory, how does this morning find you? I didn't see you at the morning service. Are you aware I have been seeking you since last night?"

rolled 9 = 9

>>14858639
Smile.

Tell him that no, you weren't aware of that. And ask him what the matter is.

"I'm sorry father, I did not know."
You smile to the chaplain. It comes so naturally, as the elderly man is so kind hearted and good natured and you just feel at ease around him and in his presence.
"I have a very important matter to discuss with you that requires some discretion. I sent someone to fetch you late last night but my trust seems to have been misplaced. If you would be so kind, could you join me in my quarters after breakfast and before your morning duties?"

rolled 90 = 90

>>14858801
Agree... I don't think there is anything else we can do.

[[Post incoming. Busy with something.]]

rolled 63 = 63

alright

"Of course father. I shall see you shortly."
"Thank you my son. I must depart for now. Zarus shines upon you."
"And you, father"
He turns and walks about to see the other brothers and leaves you to your empty plate. You decide not to waste any time and set off for the chaplains chambers at once to wait for him. On the way out you run into Arnold in the halls. He looks visibly uncomfortable, as though ill, and there is sweat upon his brow.
"Ah, there you are Greg. I've been looking everywhere for you. Got a minute? It's very important."

rolled 85 = 85

>>14859070
Just tell me the quick version, Arnold, I don't have the time. Chaplain has ordered me to meet him and I don't like to keep him waiting.

rolled 41 = 41

>>14859149

Go with this.

"Just tell me the quick version, Arnold, I don't have the time." you say without pausing. "The chaplain has ordered me to meet him and I don't like to keep him waiting."
Arnold turns as you pass him by, "Ah, well, so long as you know then. I guess he'll fill you in."
You proceed down the corridor until you come to the chaplain's chambers. You press on the door and find it open. Before entering into the Chaplain's office you gain a strange feeling like you did when you first opened the Veritalignicon of something unnatural. You open the door and find the office vacant. The chaplain's keys are sitting on his desk and the room smell faintly of incense. The two tapestries on the wall bear the twin symbols of Zarus and the royal house of Sol. A chair is waiting for you in front of the desk. You likely have a few minutes before the Chaplain arrives. The strange feeling is stronger as you approach the center of the room.

rolled 24 = 24

>>14859574
Aw shit,

there isn't a summoning circle under the rug, is there?

rolled 89 = 89

I knew he was a binder. After all, he gave Arnold buttery privileges, so he must know about the summoning, otherwise he would be suspicious of Arnold eating an entire deer once a week.

Try to think back: did any of the entries in the tome mention the use of incense?

rolled 45 = 45

>>14859615
HERECY EVERYWHERE

WHAT THE HELL

rolled 74 = 74

>>14859615
Good catch, dude.
I was about to say that it could just be the guy doing regular church business, because that might physically upset you now due to a tainted soul.

While I still believe this to be the case, you make a damn fine point.

I say: do as this guy says, but with one additional bit. Visually inspect the room as closely as we can, without moving. The dude might have a ward against binders. Is anything out of place?

>>14859649
What I do?

rolled 91 = 91

>>14859668
Not you man.

this whole gorshdamn monastery

Everyone is a heretic... INCLUDING US!

Remembering back to the brief scanning of the pages of the tome you recall a couple of the summoning rituals for the vestiges did require incense, though not which ones in particular. Checking the room for a summoning circle you see nothing of the sort... Although there is Zarus' insignia on the wall, a stylized sun with symbols around it's face. You hear footsteps approaching the room and sit down.
The chaplain enters the room with his characteristic smile. "Ah, Gregory, good of you to be so punctual. You might try to make a habit of that sometime for a change. Now then, this business is very sensitive and you must not speak a word of it to anyone."
He grabs the keys from his desk and unlocks his drawer. "Last night I received a message and a package from the King of Zaria. You can read the letter for yourself, but the long and short of it is that he wants a report compiled on a particularly dangerous subject. How humans can be made to use magic."

>>14859705
Ok, whoo.
Someone yells HERESY and I become convinced I fucked up.

rolled 66 = 66

>>14859714
examine the letter and what was in the package?

rolled 61 = 61

>>14859714
Let him continue.

Maybe what we are feeling is supernatural but the good kind, you know, the divine

rolled 38 = 38

>>14859714

I bet this is going to involve binding. Play dumb if it comes up.

"But...that's impossible, what could he mean by this?"

rolled 14 = 14

>>14859776
Seconding playing dumb for now.

rolled 85 = 85

>>14859823
Don't forget that this is almost certainly heresy being requested, and we should take that in mind. Not too strenuously, we were likely tagged for this partially due to our slightly less cleaving to the rules, but this is still dangerous. Are we going to have inquisitors studying us while we study for the king? What does the chaplain have to say about what cares we must take with this task?

>>14859861
We've already adopted the Book of Heresy, why not find out what its all about?

You try to show a mask of shock at this implication as best you can, "But magic is taboo, father. Everyone knows that magic is a sign of racial impurity"
"Yes my son, what you say is very true. But according to the King's advisors a very interesting find was discovered in the aftermath of an expedition across the sea. It seems that there is evidence that once in the ancient past man, in his purest form, did indeed possess a spell craft of his own unique from those of the fallen savages. According to the letter, this package contains proof of it. Our lord seeks to learn of these forgotten secrets and to use them to further the greatness of the Solar Dynasty. He has asked me to assemble a small team and to keep this absolutely secret. These are dangerous affairs we are meddling in."
He sit's back in his chair. Your focus is locked in upon the package. The aura is mistakenly centered on it.
"I have chosen brother Arnold to assist you in this task, though I have already come to regret this decision. But he is already informed of this task and to involve any more would be unwise, so I cannot undo what is done. If you truly object to this I shall leave you to the task by yourself, but this is quite an undertaking to accomplish alone. Is this agreeable to you?"

rolled 16 = 16

>>14859907
But .... why me father?

Accept the task, I guess. Maybe we will learn to do magic ourself somehow.


As for Arnold ... eeehhh, I dunno.
It is clear that he is searching for more power. And maybe our fears that chaplain knows of his dealings are just.

>>14859907
"Well. (pause)
If it is for the greater good of the Kingdom, I accept."

rolled 37 = 37

>>14859975

>>14859971
Not entirely sure but it seems like the magic is the bindings.

rolled 92 = 92

>>14859907
o shitttt. we should consult Tenebrotep at night

>>14859971
Ask "what has Arnold done to make you regret choosing him?"

"If it is for the good of the Kingdom... I accept" you say, trying to hide your enthusiasm as best you can. "But what has Brother Arnold done to lose your trust? How am I to trust a man even you cannot? I must know before I risk my life on such a task."
"It is nothing of great import. He was tasked with bringing you to me last night so that we could all discuss the matter in privacy under cover of dark. But he decided his time was more valuable than my own and partook in a great excess of drink after hours. Also, the buttery key which he was entrusted with has been lost and so now the locks must be changed because of his carelessness. He is merely a man with a weakness for drink. I only fear his involvement that his tongue might be loosened too easily. You understand that there are enemies of the throne within our very nation that could use this as blackmail or, heaven forbid, as a weapon. And I would not wish you to come to danger because of your involvement. It is not too late to back out of this. Are you certain you wish to accept this task?"

rolled 71 = 71

>>14860118

Ha ha, it seems our little gambit paid off in more ways than one.

Yes, we will accept it. Feign reluctance though.

rolled 4 = 4

>>14860118
>are you certain you wish to accept this task?
You wouldn't have chosen me father if you didn't think I was capable.

Clearly, a man who cannot do a simple task but instead spends time by drinking in excess cannot be trusted.
If I am to work with someone, I would like people who I can rely on, who have willpower to refrain from such decadence.

I would like to see how much I can manage by myself, if I find it too hard, I will let you know, father.

rolled 43 = 43

So, everyone is practicing, apparently.

But here is something important. We don't know if Arnold was actually communing with Gourmand, last night.
The chaplain could have been binding, and if so, whoever he contacted would know that there is another Binder, and maybe tell him.

We cannot, under any circumstances, bind anywhere near either of these two people. Also, if we feel unsettled by the presence of the binding 'sacrifices' or 'tools', it is safe to say that these men have the same ability. If they were to so much as walk into our quarters, they may feel the presence of the Tome.

We need to wrap this up, take our stuff, rent out a really shitty room at a really shitty inn, preferably one on the highest floor. We will tell no one where this is. This is to ensure that if we are indeed spotted, it will not matter, because no one will believe some beggar when he insists he saw a monster.

Next, we need to rent out a better room, one fitting with our standing. This room must be on the ground floor, preferably with access to a road or alleyway that is not frequented by the public. We will inform everyone that this is where we are staying. Every night, we will enter this room, and climb out the window into the alleyway. We will do our binding in the Shitty Room, having approached the Shitty Inn while disguised.

"If you think I am truly the best one for the job... then I am still willing to devote myself to the cause," you say, feigning reluctance while trying to hide your impatience. The aura emanating from the package only makes you more curious as you sit before it. The chaplain seems to be unaware of anything special about it, turning his glance more towards the letter itself.
"Very well then. I entrust this to you," he says, and he hands you both the letter and the package. "I have already told Arnold that I would not have him involved in this any further unless you chose him to be. Should you find him needed, you may contact him yourself. But know this, once you have read the letter, burn it. Once you leave this room we will never speak of this again. If you make any progress or any discoveries, the letter will explain who to contact so that the King himself may know. Now then, good day my son. I hope you'll understand that we cannot be seen associating so casually any more, at least for a time. Please, guard yourself well."
You rise to your feet and bow before the chaplain. "Thank you father. I will not disappoint you." You take the package in hand and fold the letter back into its scroll case. Then you depart with the both back to your room to decide what to do next.

rolled 14 = 14

>>14860298
Enter your room.
Lock it.

Examine the package.
Read the letter. Memorize it.

If anyone come knocking, ignore them.

>>14860427
No lock on the door, bro

rolled 53 = 53

>>14860296
good plan for later tonight

>>14860427
seconding

You hurry to your room and shut the door. Sadly the monastery does not have locks for personal chambers, but you push your bed over against the door just to ensure you are not disturbed. Then you turn to your desk and read the letter over several times to ensure you remember every word of it.

From the desk of His Majesty King Linus Sol,
Almont, my dear mentor and friend. I have come upon a most incredible discovery. As you may have heard I recently lead an expedition across the Hallowed Sea to the kingdom of Samoya. Our victory was complete and bloodless as they were sympathetic to our cause. We have reached a treaty with the Chieftains of their tribes and negotiations have been promising, but this is not why I write. There are legends here of horrible and wondrous things from ages long before our kingdom ever rose. There is a fallen kingdom here and a ruined tower that supposedly once climbed beyond the sky. My men and I searched this strange land and found this strange object which I have enclosed. The shamans here say it is a way for a man to carry the might of all of his ancestors within him. This is a way for man to ascend, to become more than man. I firmly believe that this is the first step on the path to progress, and to find it we must uncover the footsteps of those that have come before us.

[[Continuing in next post.]]

>>14860590
>There is a fallen kingdom here and a ruined tower that supposedly once climbed beyond the sky.

Well, it seems we've discovered Tenebrotep's old stomping grounds.

>>14860624
I guess we won't be using tenebrotep's binding for a while. We don't need to fuck around with his agenda until we get our ducks in a row

>>14860642
Next time we do bind him though we should ask when he was last summoned prior to our first contract.

I ask you to task your most brilliant minds upon this object. I must know what it is, how it is used, and what it is capable of. If it is broken, I must know how to repair it. And beyond that, I must know if it can be recreated. I have sent a message to the Inquisitor stationed in Nordrime that he is to relay any message on your progress in this matter to me by pigeon, though he does not know the particulars of the matter. If you have need of any funds please inform me and I shall provide all that you require. I have written this message by hand and sealed it myself. Once you have read this letter dispose of it so that no other may see it's contents. You must understand the risk I am taking upon myself and all of House Sol. I have chosen you, Almont, for you are one of the few I can trust in this matter and you are far enough away from the machinations of the throne chasers. May the eternal light of Zarus shine upon you all.
Your dear friend and king,
Linus

>>14860642
Also, remember cutting Arnold's face while we took his memories? Did we notice if that cut was still there when we talked to him?

Also, I think that Arnold had some strange tincture in that glass of 'mead'. You don't try Binding while drinking, unless you have to. But it could be regular mead.

So, why was Arnold trying to summon Gourmand? He was just tasked to find us by the chaplain when he made the attempt. Perhaps Gourmand is a glutton for knowledge, or something. Maybe Gourmand could have aided him in his hunt for us.

They may know that his memories were removed forcefully, rather than by liquor. He has a telltale mark on his face, now, which they may be familiar with.

If one of these entities can aid a person in finding another person, we need to figure out if there is an entity that can hide us from people trying to scry.

>>14860720
Examine the back of the letter, then destroy it.
>>14860759
I don't think that we physically cut him I assumed we were cutting the threads of his memory.

>>14860720

This whole thing sounds pretty damn important. Is there any other reason why he gave it to us to study rather than doing it himself? Does he really have that much faith in our abilities as a scholar and researcher, or is there something about this that... scares him? Makes him want to defer the responsibility to us to protect himself?

EIther way, we are going to have a nice long look at this book, but if we do find something REALLY important, keep it to ourselves. Lie and obfuscate for the time being, say we're having difficulty translating the script or understanding what is written. I don't know how long we can keep that up, but by the time they all catch on, we should have enough knowledge of our own to fend for ourselves. Let them underestimate us for the time being.

>>14860759
Also, the last person that was bound to Tenebrotep was close to the spire. The king and some of his men were just at the spire.

It might be one of these guys that was last bound to Tenebrotep, but it could also have been hundreds of years ago.

On another note, we should ask one of the entities if they have knowledge of the books, spacially speaking. How many copies are there? Are they carved into some ancient stones, somewhere?

>>14860786
>You cringe as you see some blood slowly seep from where your claws glide across his face.
>>14855842

rolled 76 = 76

>>14860792
>This whole thing sounds pretty damn important. Is there any other reason why he gave it to us to study rather than doing it himself? Does he really have that much faith in our abilities as a scholar and researcher, or is there something about this that... scares him?

Yeah, this is kind of weird

rolled 66 = 66

>>14860759
let's get a couple things straight

Arnold wasn't trying to make a pact with Gourmand like we did with Tenebrotep. He just wanted 2 min. to find out where the book that we summoned Tenebrotep was. He thought we had found it. He might have realized we were in danger and tried to help. He could easily be on our side...

It could be worth probing what he knows about binding some more

rolled 56 = 56

Let's ask Arnold how much he knows about this. Nothing too direct, just ask him how much information he's been let in on by the chaplain, just to see his reaction.

We also have to remember that he may be aware of the loss of memory, tonight, if he tries to Bind and an entity tells him his mind has been mucked about in.

You check the back of the letter but it only has the watermark of the symbol of the House of Sol. You set your letter down and turn to the package.
You carefully remove the twine and unwrap the leathers to find a smooth disc of cold steel emblazoned on it is an image of an angel with wings stretched in a circle around it. She holds a sword with both hands in front of her face. There are runes inscribed on the circle around the disc but they are characters you do not recognize. You flip the insignia over, and on the back is a stylized dragon with it's head pointed up and a burst of fire emerging. You set it down on the table. There is a lot to do. You don't feel safe continuing your research here. Though you can use the vestiges themselves for research, you also need access to the extensive texts of the library. But the lack of privacy is a definite danger. And being anywhere near Arnold is also worrisome, since as far as you know he may again have a contract with Gourmand and be able to detect bindings. You consider your options. You have a small stipend left in your name by your father kept by the bankers and plenty of townsfolk and soldiers that owe you favors. There are several empty houses left over in the city from the inquisition's workings and plenty of room in the inn as most of the merchants are leaving with the coming of the cold season.

rolled 66 = 66

>>14860904
He had Gourmand's symbol, and he was carving up a deer in the middle of the night. I submit that he was attempting to establish contact.

rolled 91 = 91

>>14860945
seconding this. depending on what happens we can consider going to the library or another location

rolled 65 = 65

>>14860904
gourmander said he had searched for the book for a long time though, so that tells me he knows more than he's letting on, and may be a long-term plant in the monastery.

>>14860720
examine the object. Also, if the KING is promising carte blanche funding, ask the chaplain if there is a small, securable room anywhere in the monastery, preferably somewhere far from everyone else, that we may use for our research in secret, so as not to be mistaken for a heretic or singled out by those who should not know of the King's mission. Such a small thing should be easily accessible to the Chaplain, and perfectly reasonable.

Also: Find out how to contact the king directly if we need to, since we need to break connections with the Chaplain for now.

>You don't try Binding while drinking, unless you have to
Friends don't let friends summon drunk.

rolled 67 = 67

>>14860969
Ah, working outside the monastry might be even more dangerous.

we could ask chaplain for access to secured rooms to do the research.

Also, after being sure you memorized the letter. Burn it.

>>14861028
I don't think the chaplain can do this for us, because it would raise suspicion.

Maybe we should become 'ill', so ill, that we must be secluded from the others, lest they suffer the same fate. Secluded, perhaps, far away from everyone. But, damn it, we are a good little soldier, and we will continue our studies in solitude.

We may need Arnold. We might need help. He hasn't done anything bad to us, yet. We should set something up, something deadly. Make it obvious we know his secret. If he comes clean, he may be an ally. If he flips his shit, WHAM. Hammer down the nail that sticks up.

>>14861134
Hmm.... if there is a Charnel wing or other area for quarantining the ill, we could use that, and send Arnold on fool's errands to the library for us.

What's the tech level of this planet? The environment?

>>14861134
also, no reason to raise suspicion. All he needs to do is tell us where the unused chamber is and give us the key. We'll only go there late at night, after everyone else has gone to bed. Nobody else even needs to know. It could be just a key to the catacombs.

You consider your options carefully. You could contact Arnold, despite his secrets, and see if his knowledge is of any use. You could ask that you be sequestered away into one of the other wings of the castle, perhaps one with a lock. Although you now recall you have the key to the Buttery that you stole, though the lock may be changed within a few days. You could try to secure some quarters outside the castle, but constantly coming and going might raise suspicion without reason. The only reason you've ever left before is for commissions by the townsfolk during market days. You've only ever been able to sneak out through the waterways under cover at night to gamble, but even that would be risky to do constantly.

rolled 17 = 17

>>14861205
we need to stay here, where it's relatively safe. either find an unused storage closet somewhere with a lock on it we can sneak to late at night, or get ourselves sequestered to an unused portion of the facility.

rolled 59 = 59

>>14861205
Aw shit

we need to dispose of the keys

rolled 57 = 57

>>14861300
just drop it in a latrine and take a dump on it. They'll assume whoever lost it did so there. Seriously, most of a medieval person's problems can be resolved with a carefully planned trip to the bathroom.

rolled 14 = 14

>>14861300
Dump the keys

rolled 25 = 25

>>14861320
seconded

rolled 18 = 18

Also: If there are any spies within the monastery, they will have to notice a change in anyone's behavior so soon after an anomalous message is received from the king. We should continue with our daily routine for at least three, if not nine, days, meeting regularly with the Chaplain as we usually do, before breaking ties and sequestering ourself. Defer suspicion.

I think that if Arnold could sense the presence of the book, he'd have found it long before now, and wouldn't have needed Gourmander to tell him we were right outside the door. I think our senses for the unnatural are something that only we have.

You decide to dispose of the Buttery key before anyone can link you to its disappearance. You gather yourself, hide your things and make your way to the latrine. Once there, you try to formulate your next course of action, being sure to toss the key out of sight into the dark recesses of the latrine.
You decide that, for now, it would be best to remain here in the Monastery where you will raise the least suspicion and all will appear as it was. But a place of solitude is absolutely necessary where you can do your work behind locked doors. So you decide to return to the chaplain for a brief request. You find him in his office where you left him a short while ago. With little explanation on your part he quickly agrees to your request and hands you the key to the Eastern tower. "The upper quarters are reserved for visiting dignitaries but we won't be having anyone of importance here for the next few months with the cold fast approaching." With your key secured, a fine work of bronze, you are much more comfortable in your security. You consider whether or not you should move all of your belongings there and take up temporary residence or just work there whenever you need the sanctity and privacy.

rolled 1 = 1

>>14861484
Or that Arnold at least did not have. Then again, if he just recently got that talisman, and didn't gain such perception until then...
Some way of getting information from him about whatever other options available, like summoning for a question instead of a full contract, would be incredibly beneficial if we could trust him. Or if we could add/copy those memories from him. We did mention doing that before, when we didn't have enough time to get away with it.

rolled 77 = 77

>>14861517
Make a residence there.

We could then haul relevant materials there.

And if we need to summon something, it will be much easier there

rolled 97 = 97

>>14861517
I think we should only go there late at night and leave most of our stuff where it is, to maintain the illusion of normalcy. Also mention to the Chaplain that we do not wish to alert anyone to anything unusual in our routine and that we will continue to see him for the next week or so as we have for so long. Changing a long-held routine could alert prying eyes and darker minds to our new task.

Also, examine the symbols around the edge of Zarus's symbol on the tapestry, record them for later to see if they match any on that old amulet.

Thirdly: see if we still sense anything unnatural in the room, now that the amulet is hidden away in our quarters.

rolled 26 = 26

>>14861598
agreed. that tapestry seemed very important

Before returning to your room you tell the chaplain that you will be seeing him for tea again as you regularly do, at least for the next couple of weeks to keep up appearances. He tells you that he will try when he is able to but that he is very busy with tasks of late and may need to delay a few meetings.
Before you leave you glance again at the symbol of Zarus, the Saviour of Humanity, and it's strange similarity to the seal of steel you have now. But nothing about it seems particularly striking.
You return to your room to think. It would be best to remain here, at least for now, and use the guest tower only for binding or sensitive research. The rest of the day is yours, as there is no market until tomorrow and your usual duties were all completed last night.

rolled 6 = 6

>>14861763
we commonly spend all day reading in our room anyway, right? Or studying? Go to the library and get any and all books of obscure languages. We can at least browse through them looking for a match to what was in our Book.

rolled 6 = 6

>>14861763
Play it cool. The eyes of spies are among us

>>14861864
Oh you've gotta be kidding me.

>>14861864
Paranoia Ensues.

rolled 81 = 81

>>14861763
We could search for relevant books and texts in the library.

Are we the only one who is working on this.

Also, after memorizing the letter, BURN IT

rolled 34 = 34

>>14861896
"Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't really out to get you." Paranoia is a perfectly reasonable response to this situation. The hard part is in not letting anyone else know we're paranoid.

I'd rather keep the letter around somewhere for blackmail but that's just me...

You walk to the library and quickly and deftly seek out a few resources on some choice materials. You grab several books on the strange eastern lands and the several voyages made across the Hallowed Seas. Resources on dead languages are few and far between, but you grab the few that you have not already memorized the contents of. You also return to the southern tower and scan the confiscated books for anything you can find pertaining to ancient magics or rituals. Sadly, the inquisition has been very thorough in their collection and the mountains of books make this task all but futile. After gathering your assembled volumes you traipse back to your room and spread them out upon the table, covering it entirely. You withdraw the Veritalignicon as well and drop it upon the pile. You then pick up the letter, light your lantern, and burn it until nothing of it remains but ashes. Sitting down at the table, you look over your options and try decide where to begin.

rolled 33 = 33

>>14862064
copy down some of the script from the book and the symbols from the amulet, then hide them both. (No sense in revealing too much if someone 'accidentally' barges in on us), then go through each book looking for anything with similar alphabets, symbols, or syntax, weeding out the books/languages that are radically different. Process of elimination to narrow our search.

rolled 67 = 67

>>14862064
>you look over your options and try decide where to begin.

I dunno,

start where it seems the best....

rolled 86 = 86

>>14862064
let's make some shit happen

I say we do this
>>14860945

or bind with Tenebrotep at night and ask him a fuckton of questions/get help reading the Veritalignicon. We could also spy on Arnold or snoop around in the chaplain's room

rolled 17 = 17

>>14862202
i take it back >>14862166 first. then we make shit happen

rolled 32 = 32

>>14862166

This sounds like a good idea. No need to go to supernatural help first, let's just try some old-fashioned scholarly research.

rolled 52 = 52

>>14862202
Might be a good idea to keep in mind the weaknesses Tenebrotep mentioned as well. Having a few sources for that nearby when we next attempt to bind could turn the terms of our compact in our favor. Then again, when Arnold wanted something from Gourmander he played to the vestiges strengths.

>>14862295
Agreed. Once we do bind again, make sure we know what we're calling up, and what it likes/dislikes. Carrot and the stick. if it doesn't like the carrot, we can hit it with the stick.

>>14862295

Yeah, I don't think pissing them off would exactly help our end of the negotiations.

You quickly jot down the 36 characters you find within the pages of the Veritalignicon and compare them to the ones on the steel disk. But they're all repetitions of ones you've already seen. Well that's good, you think to yourself. At least it's a phonetic language then. This will make things a lot easier. You hide away the book and the disk and set about searching through the books of dead languages one by one. You see similarities between many symbols of many different languages. In fact, there's hardly a language that DOESN'T share a symbol somewhere with this language. You are reminded of the story of the original master tongue of humanity from which all languages are derived, but there's never been a conclusive example of a language that held up to such scrutiny. After four hours of searching through the dead languages and even the other references you find little help in the translation, finding at best one language from the far east that used five of the characters, but the language is logographic and the characters are used only as symbols for the names of gods. You sigh at the lack of progress. This is going to take a lot longer than you expected. You wonder if perhaps you might seek aid from elsewhere as your thoughts turn towards supper and the evening service fast approaching.

>>14862349
Not so much that we should have lots of sound and light, but that we should be able to trigger such.
Given how Gourmander and Arnold acted, we may well be on better terms than others in general, perhaps something to do with our uncanny senses. Or just with Tenebrotep. Don't know.

>>14862367

We're still trying to keep up pretenses by going about our normal schedule for the time being, so take a break to go to supper and services, we can continue this later when everyone else is sleeping.

Looks like we're not going to be making much headway on our own though, so we'll probably have to perform a binding tonight. The only question is who in our Pokedex would make the best contact? We've already dealt with Tenebrotep, and he has connections to where the book was found, so I think he might be a good place to start.

>>14862367
we can seek.... Outside help once everyone else has gone to bed. Until then.... Look at the symbols that do match other languages. Find the commonalities. Find any symbols that mean the same or similar things in multiple languages and use those to begin building a translation guide. If we don't have a Rosetta Stone, then we shall build one ourselves.

[Maybe our name should have been Daniel, son of Jack]

rolled 99 = 99

>>14862367
let's talk to Arnold now. We can ask him how much he knows about the king's mission, without revealing what we know

rolled 79 = 79

>>14862438
rolling.

>>14862427
agreed, we can continue translations later.

rolled 90 = 90

>>14862442

I still don't like this idea. We've only just scratched the surface of this conspiracy, and I don't want to bumble around trying to bluff people that have more experience with the whole deal than we do. It's far too easy to accidentally give something important away.

rolled 91 = 91

>>14862495
agreed

rolled 41 = 41

>>14862442
it would be less dangerous than binding and an easy thing to do before nightfall. it wouldn't alert Arnold to anything and it seems pretty inconspicuous in case we are being watched

rolled 62 = 62

I say we should ask Arnold. As far as he knows, we both know our mission, and nothing else. But he may have information that could be very useful to us.

No bluffing. Just ask him how much he knows, in private.

rolled 61 = 61

>>14862495
>>14862509

we just started.

We could talk with Arnold after few days of work and no progress..

rolled 88 = 88

>>14862554
as long as we do more asking than telling, and are careful not to let slip that we know anything. In fact, we should act slightly skeptical of the idea of humans using magic, and treat this as if we are dutifully fulfilling a fool's errand. If his intentions towards us are truly non-hostile, he may well reveal his own abilities. If he keeps quiet about his own binding, then we know we can't trust him.

>>14862577

Agreed.

There is something waaaayy deeper at work here in this monastery. It's still bugging me WHY we got the book to study in the first place. Run across the Book of True Bindings not two nights ago, and now this? It's too much of a coincidence.

rolled 97 = 97

>>14862605
exactly

rolled 53 = 53

>>14862577
Well, I'm not saying that we should ask for help translating, but just his knowledge on the mission.

also,
>>14862605
yes

I vote that we do not bind at all, for a period of a week, and keep a careful eye on Arnold, the chaplain, and anyone else. Just study the tablet at night, go about our business during the day

Deciding to put aside suspicions and old grudges you get up from your table and decide to have a chat with Arnold and see what he has to contribute to your task. You leave the room, pocketing your notes on the strange symbols and closing up the books, and head towards his room. You knock twice on the door.
You hear a loud shuffling sound like something quickly being moved. "Enter," you hear from within.
You open the door and step inside. Arnold is sitting at his desk with some books shut to the side and papers inserted in between some pages. There is a small bag beneath the desk and his bedding untroubled, but other than that the room is bare. "Ah, Greg, I was just about to head off for supper. What can I do for you?"

rolled 42 = 42

>>14862610
IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlmIeEPFik
video version

rolled 93 = 93

>>14862632
MOST DEFINITELY!

rolled 24 = 24

>>14862630

"Have you heard about the new...assignment I was given? It's honestly a little overwhelming and I was seeking the counsel of someone a little more experienced than I. "

rolled 73 = 73

>>14862630
"The Chaplain said that you know of the task he has passed to me. I was wondering if you had any opinions on it."

rolled 16 = 16

>>14862671
No way, dude. That insinuates that we know he knows what he's doing.

Remember he's undercover as a bungler, and we've hated him for years.

I say that we dejectedly ask him what the chancellor told him, as if we'd rather not have to work with him, but we know that it is for the greater good.

rolled 31 = 31

>>14862687

I second this.

rolled 44 = 44

Also, guys, I just noticed something.

Arnold wasn't put off by the form we took when we were Bound to an entity. He seemed to take it in stride, and knew that despite the fact we had just seen him consorting with a monster, that we were dealing with an evil presence. That seems to say he is familiar with Tenebrotep, and suggesting that Gourmander is a lesser evil than 'brotep. Perhaps he's seen a picture, or read a description, of that entity before?

You step inside the room and close the door behind you. "The Chaplain said that you know of the task he has passed to me. I was wondering if you had any opinions on it."
"Ah yes..." says Arnold as he exhales deeply. "Dangerous stuff. If I had it my way I'd say we should send it right back to the King and tell him we'll have nothing to do with it. We're men of peace and learning. Our work is to help and teach the people, not find new toys for their wars. We're not soldiers." He spits the last word with a bit of distaste.
"Anyways, I'm going to head off to the kitchen before supper. I seem to have made trouble for them all last night and I'd like to make amends. Can we continue this discussion later?"

rolled 85 = 85

>>14862791

Or he could've been lying, trying to get us to back down because he knew that he was cornered with no other way past us. I would not take what he said in that encounter at face value.

rolled 30 = 30

>>14862822

He is lying through his teeth. Judging from what we overheard last night, he probably has some ambitions of his own and probably resents a young upstart muscling in on this tremendous find that he wanted to claim himself.

Either way, go to dinner and services like normal, we can continue our studies later tonight.

rolled 61 = 61

>>14862822
Just nod.
Walk down to dinner.

rolled 78 = 78

>>14862858
>>14862862
I agree

rolled 81 = 81

Ha

he probably wants to look for the seal

rolled 47 = 47

>>14862822
Sigh wearily. "I suppose you're right. Still, we have a duty to do as we're instructed, even if he wants us to chase some ancient fairy-tale."

rolled 28 = 28

>>14862822
I wonder how long Arnold has been looking for the book. Gourmander seemed to suggest a lengthy period.

DM, how long has Arnold been at the convent?

rolled 21 = 21

>>14862939
remove "ancient"

we can't let him know even the barest of details

rolled 54 = 54

>>14862964
agreed

You nod in response to Arnold and step out of the room. You watch him leave and head off towards the kitchens, then turn and cut across the courtyard to the dining hall where a few of the other monks are already feasting. Among them is the chaplain sitting with a merchant from town, probably discussing how many scribes will be needed for the market tomorrow. Despite your busy schedule with your new assignment you doubt you'll be able to get out working tomorrow. The last few markets before the cold month are always packed with merchants trying to sell the last of their stock before heading south to warmer climes. You sit quietly along with a few others who's names you don't recall and chat idly about politics, the weather, and the market and make a few off hand remarks about the young ladies in town. You fall in with them on the way to the evening service and sit quietly among them near the back. Though most say on the way out that the service was especially good this evening you didn't notice, your thoughts far away on the strange symbols in your pocket. On your way to your room you catch a glimpse of Arnold leaving the kitchen and heading back to his room with a knife in hand. You pause at your doorway before realizing you had best enter your room before anyone catches you staring. You look at your room and everything seems to still be in place. You consider what to do next.

rolled 4 = 4

>>14862995
Seems to still be in place... check the floorboard, make sure the book is still there. Then make preparations to move it and the amulet to the tower tonight while nobody is awake.

You ponder about Arnold and his curious past and try to recall what you do know of him. You don't remember when exactly Arnold arrived at the convent. Shortly after you gained your position as a scribe, granted to you on your thirteenth birthday. He was a traveler along with a battalion of soldiers brought to reinforce the recently captured colony of Nordrime, serving as their bookkeeper before becoming a permanent member of the monastery. He has always been quite rotund, but healthy and not far past his prime years.

rolled 45 = 45

>>14862995

Looks like we're not making much headway using mundane means. I mentioned earlier than since this was found around the area of the tower that Tenebrotep mentioned, he might be a good source of information on this book. Not necessarily a binding, just counsel on how to read it.

The only thing that concerns me still is that I bet Arnold is trying to spy on us. We need to be really careful if we try to summon anything else and make sure no one else is around to see it.

rolled 100 = 100

>>14863023

This would should start moving stuff up to the room where we're studying the book, but do it a little at a time to make sure we don't attract too many questions.

>>14863063

Er, that should read "We should start."

I must be more tired than I thought.

rolled 45 = 45

>>14863047
If we summon Tenebrotep while in the convent, Arnold will know. Last time we summoned, Arnold made a beeline straight for us.

What was the gourmander symbol made out of?

He may be using the knife to make another, somehow.

I'm not sure what we should do. If he speaks to Gourmander, he may know that he lost some memories.

You walk to your hiding place and take the book and the disk from within it. But that's odd... The broken amulet seems to have crumbled into a fine powder, identifiable still only because of it's bone yellow coloration. You carefully wrap both within the leathers and twine of the packaging and hope that their shape is well enough concealed by them. Hopefully now you can transport them without anyone seeing exactly what you have. With your notes and the key to the tower in your pocket you are prepared for taking anything you might need. You look around the room wondering if you've forgotten anything or if there is anything else to accomplish here.

>>14863087
>Last time we summoned, Arnold made a beeline straight for us.

Dammit, I forgot about that. Ok, nix the summoning for now.

rolled 100 = 100

>>14863126
Fuck.

I donno.

On another note, he's been at the convent for some time. Perhaps he has been waiting for the book to be taken in by the Inquisition?

rolled 69 = 69

>>14863126
Our notes on translating languages. in fact, the book that has the closest language, the one that matches 5 symbols. we'll need that. A quill and inkwell. Some blank parchment. A light source and a way to shield it (we want to avoid casting any light out any windows in the tower, so as not to arouse suspicions.) The letter(s) from our half brother. So long as we're hiding heresies, might as well cover our ass there. And we may need to send him a letter asking if he has any knowledge of ancient languages.

rolled 48 = 48

Wonder what he's doing with the knife. He might just be cutting cheese, because he's a fat bastard that eats in bed.

Let's take our shit up.

You add the book containing the language closest to the symbols you have been researching, a documentary of the earliest voyage to the east, and add it to your pile of things. Then you take your letters from your brother and fold them into your pocket, leaving only the elfish flute behind. You gather up all of your things under one arm and grab your lantern, pocketing the sulfur sparker to light it later. You set off quickly to the tower, passing only a few maids cleaning the halls and a couple of monks, but no one pays you much attention, just another researching walking the halls. With a glance to make sure you weren't followed an no one sees you, you turn quickly into the stairwell. You quickly climb the tower and come to the locked door of the guest chambers, fumbling for the key in your cluttered pocket. The door slides open with a slight creak and you see an extremely well furnished room with a bed and even a tub for bathing on a stone pedestal. You step inside and quickly lock the door, feeling more at ease than you have in quite some time now. You look around for a desk but find only a small one like the ones in the cloistered rooms below and drop your many things there. You look to the bed, soft and covered in furs and silky pillows. Only now do you realize how exhausted you still are.

rolled 42 = 42

>>14863334
no tie for rest. make sure the windows are closed and shuddered. And, because we know how to unlock a shudder from the outside, like last night, let's go ahead and find something to permanently jam it closed with. And put a heavy blanket up in front of it. We want absolute zero visibility from outside in. Don't want anyone getting curious about a light in an unused tower.

Then, we need to hide the book so that even if the room is looked into casually, they won't find it. Maybe inside the bed or in the rafters. Then we need to go back to our regular room and sleep. For the next few days we can just do comparisons of the other, less-related languages and establish similarities. We need to play this slow and cautious.

rolled 100 = 100

>>14863334
Hide your important shit

then set up somekind of alarm if anyone tries to sneak in


go to sleep then, I guess

rolled 39 = 39

>>14863334
Now, I feel like we should stay up, because either Arnold or the chaplain will try to contact an entity.

It seems like Arnold knows that the book is in the convent, and is willing to give an avatar of Gourmand free reign for its location, albeit for a short time period. He may get the idea to give it 20 minutes rather than 2, for the book.

In that case, there will be a monster on the loose, and he will know where the book is. We should stay up, and wait for the telltale sign of a sinking feeling when one of these things gets summoned. Then, we can investigate.

rolled 50 = 50

>>14863300

He could also be preparing to summon something. Fucking find out what

Shaking off the daze of your weariness you walk to the windows and close the cloth draperies in front of them plunging the room into near total darkness. You light your lantern and then search the room for somewhere to hide your things out of sight. You consider your options carefully, not wanting any casual visitors to spot your treasures easily. You could place them below the bed where they would be easily accessible, or perhaps in the coffer beside it at the foot of the bed. You could place them up on the rafters with a little effort but they would be immediately obvious uf anyone were to look up. There is also a wardrobe that seems to lock and has the key waiting in the lock but it's absence could be noticeable. Or perhaps you should return your valuables back with you to your own room.

rolled 25 = 25

>>14863476
No, if he knew it was in the monastery, he'd have found it long ago, long before we found it. I think he's playing a different strategy. Not sure what, though.

rolled 40 = 40

>>14863498
Well, he told Gourmander that he knew that we had the book, before he lost his memory. So if he knew that we had the book back then, he must have known that the book was close.

I'm sure that there are other ways that these rituals have been recorded. He wouldn't just assume immediately that the specific book he required was being used unless he knew it was near.

[[Fucking 100's everywhere. If this keeps up I'm going to have to ignore them if they are noko'd.]]

[[Also, I may wrap up this session soon and call it a night. Might continue again tomorrow, might not.]]

rolled 99 = 99

>>14863495
Examine inside the wardrobe. See if we can make a false bottom to hide things in. Also, see if there's anything we can use to secure the shudders and drapes. Spike them closed, bend the latch so they can't open, anything.

>>14863524
But what is it that makes our particular book so special? It has already been demonstrated that binding is possible even without the book as evidenced by Arnold calling Gourmander. Is there a specific being that he is looking to call for some reason who's name could be found within the book?

>>14863554

Pokedex, bro

rolled 14 = 14

>>14863554
So much pokedex, bro

rolled 69 = 69

wait a minute..... Check the book. see if there's a new entry, and if the new entry's symbol matches that on the now-destroyed amulet.

>>14863568
You're late. Gourmander is in the book now, and we "can't recall" if he was there before. Pokedex.

>>14863540
Do this

rolled 19 = 19

>>14863610
Not Gourmander. the other amulet, the one the chaplain gave us that is now dust. See if THAT one was added.

>>14863633
that one isn't destroyed though

You open the cabinet and find it to be very sturdily built. You might be able to alter it with the proper tools, but you doubt you could find them within the monastery. Of course, the market is tomorrow... Anyways, for now you stash the contents of the leather package into the wardrobe along with your letters and notes and the research document. Before you lock it, you take another look at the strange book, flipping through its pages. You flip to the last entry, still Gourmander, and check for any new writing. There is nothing new, but now that you recall it does seem like the exact symbols on the now crumbled talisman are what is shown on the fifth page where it depicts the seal. Still perplexed as to what this means, you close the book and lock it into the cabinet, carrying the key with you. You grab your lantern and leave the room, locking it behind you and quickly make your way to your room. When you enter you check again to make sure nothing has been moved but everything is as it was. You hang the lantern and extinguish it before lying down in bed with your head awash in the mysteries all around you. You can't decide whether you should go to the market tomorrow or stay behind in the vacant monastery and use the much needed privacy for research or experimentation. More importantly, it's the difference between seven and nine hours of sleep, since the market opens at first bell's toll.

>>14863665
thought he said it was. Regardless, check to see if the Book has a new entry BESIDES gourmander

[[As a note, the already broken amulet/talisman/seal that Arnold had made of ivory bone is what crumbled to dust. The steel disk is still intact and stored with the book.]]

rolled 64 = 64

>>14863696
Let's go to the market.
Regardless of this crazy bullshit, the monks gotta eat. And it would look weird if our normal - awesome self started to not get shit done with flying colors.

>>14863696
OK..... we have duties to attend to in the market. We can study later. For now we must maintain the illusion that everything is as it was.

But before we go to sleep, close our eyes and face towards Arnold's room, see if we 'feel' anything unusual.

rolled 57 = 57

>>14863728
agreed. and 7 hours of sleep is plenty

rolled 75 = 75

>>14863747
rolling

>>14863722
>>14863696
>>14863539
>>14863495
Not sure when I lost my trip but these are all me.

Reluctantly, as the sound of the bell pounds in your ears, you get out of bed. Today is your day to bathe so you head off to the bath house along with the small group of others who share your misfortune. After a few minutes of uncomfortably rubbing the grime from your face and body you pour the cold water over yourself and try to avoid as much of the perfume being spread about by other monks as possible. You dry yourself as best you can and replace your itchy woolen clothes to wear into town. You fall into line with the procession heading out into town and wander towards the marketplace. You are quickly called upon by a banker to write up notes for him as people come to trade their stocks. You don't mind the labor, as you often work as an accountant and the bankers always give you a healthy tip despite your protests. As you sit waiting for customers you glance around the bustling streets. Something catches your eye. You see Arnold, purchasing something from the wine seller just up the road, but a passing group of young ladies catches your eye and drags it in the opposite direction. When you glance back Arnold is nowhere to be seen.

>>14863870

Damn our hormones!

rolled 67 = 67

Go to the merchant and ask him what Arnold bought, claim its because he has a drinking problem and that we are helping him kick the addiction, and we're makin sure he isnt drinking on the side.

rolled 39 = 39

>>14863974
This, so much. I wonder if it is mead, specifically, that Gourmander demands, or if it requires booze in general.

rolled 69 = 69

>>14863870
Three guesses what the wine will be for, since he sees to have lost his kitchen privileges.

I'm going to have to echo >>14861200. I'm assuming our environment is pseudo-European, but how advanced is technology. At there such things as metal screws yet? If so, get some. If not, nails will suffice. Several handfuls at least. Also, we'll need a mirror, probably two. Small ones will do perfectly (Might want to inspect ourselves after future bindings to see what physical changes the vestiges cause). Also, some extra ink. And several dozen pieces of chalk. We can pick all this up later, after we're done playing banker for the day.

Just popping in to say, fuckyea binders!

in accordance with that, i don't trust our rotund friend, he knows to much and is in this for his own goals that look to be mutually exclusive to ours

You continue on writing notes for the banker and reading them for the illiterate for several hours before the banker decides to close for a lunch. He gives you a small tip and tells you to get yourself something to eat. You are quite hungry so you quickly comply, searching for something to eat among the many stalls.
You stop by the wine maker's display and ask him what your close fellow monk Arnold just purchased, feigning worry over his drinking habits. He assures you that he only gave him two fifths of bramble berry wine, and nothing too potent so that you should have nothing to worry about.
You decide on some wine and cheese yourself, feeling you need something pungent to replace your flowery odor, and purchase a small helping each from some traders in an open air bazaar. Eating the cheese you wander around searching for a familiar face in the crowd but there are few to be seen in the bustling streets.
You feel a gloved hand on your shoulder and spin around. "If it isn't high-rollin' Gregory, the monk with a debt to collect every soldier in town. How ya' been champ?" bellows a powerful voice belonging to Ranta, the captain of the day watch. "Haven't seen much of you around these parts lately. They keeping you bottled up in that stone prison of yours writing poetry? Shouldn't you be doing something more productive like robbing my men of their ale money? That's as noble a cause as I ever seen."

rolled 60 = 60

>>14864064
Smile broadly. "Sorry, my friend. I've been under the weather lately. Can't bluff worth a damn when sneezing. I'll be back to parting the poor sods from their hard-lost money soon enough, well, as soon as I catch up with my work in the monastery. Tell me, how have things been in town lately?"

rolled 13 = 13

>>14864118
This

You smile broadly, genuinely glad to see a welcome face. "Sorry, my friend. I'm afraid I've been under the weather of late. Can't bluff worth a damn when sneezing, you know, and I certainly can't have them learning my tells. I'll be back to parting the poor sods from their hard-lost money soon enough, well, as soon as I catch up with my work in the monastery. Tell me, how have things been in town lately?"
"Quiet as a whorehouse on Zarus' Mass. Haven't had so much a domestic dispute of late. Everyone's too busy preparing for the cold months, same as every year this time. Now I've got streets to patrol but don't let me catch you out here in the day without at least a hearty hello from ya', you hear?"
"Always a pleasure, Ranta."
"Always a pain, Gerg."
You wander off, spirits lifted, to search the stall for anything you might find use for in your evening's activities.

rolled 82 = 82

>>14864180
gonna have to repeat this suggestion:
>At there such things as metal screws yet? If so, get some. If not, nails will suffice. Several handfuls at least. Also, we'll need a mirror, probably two. Small ones will do perfectly (Might want to inspect ourselves after future bindings to see what physical changes the vestiges cause). Also, some extra ink. And several dozen pieces of chalk. We can pick all this up later, after we're done playing banker for the day.

rolled 2 = 2

>>14864238
So, I think that we should fuck with the wine.

If we alter it, he won't be able to contact Gourmander. We need time.

rolled 86 = 86

>>14864262
I think the fact that it is ingestible is enough. We'd have to either swap it for something non-alcoholic or make it thoroughly undrinkable.

You quickly acquire with the rest of your pocket change a small bundle of nails ("Need to fix that leaky roof, after all. Even monks have standards of living."), a small hand mirror ("For a lady whom I admire greatly. Oh stop, it's nothing of the sort."), extra quills and inkwells ("I know we have our own supplies but none of the quality of yours."), and a couple of pieces of chalk ("Never know when you'll need to mark something with no parchment around."). You wrap up your goods in a small wicker bag and return to your job for the afternoon. The banker doesn't keep you too much longer and thanks you for all of your help today before gathering up all the notes and bags for the day and loading them into a wagon and trotting off. You decide not to delay and make haste back to the monastery, pausing at the entrance hall. Ordinarily, you would probably go for a walk in the gardens if you weren't still about town, but you might be excused for returning to your studies. After all, the chaplain did say not to expect him to call on you today. But where should you head off to first?

rolled 57 = 57

>>14864277
Hm, yeah, I guess if the dude requires booze, it would just have to be alcoholic.

We need to get rid of this guy, somehow. Maybe not now, but eventually he's going to find out that we have the book from one of his creepy friends.

We either need to slap his shit or send him away.

rolled 27 = 27

>>14864304
Should we look for places to rent? Eventually, we'll need a place to Bind, and it has to be further away from the chapel if we don't want to alert Arnold.

rolled 98 = 98

>>14864310
Well, we coat the nails in ink to make them pitch-black, and arrange them in spike strips around the window in the tower's room. should punish any attempted wall-crawlers. Also, we can use the nails to secure the room's shudders closed for now. We take some of the chalk, place it in a small sack and grind it into powder, then pour in the ink to stain it black-ish gray. Mix in plenty of regular dust and spread it around under out bed, over the loose board (so we can tell if someone tampers with the board) and a bit in the tower room, on the inside floor in front of the door (again, to tell if anyone has been snooping). Paranoia may be annoying, but it pays off in the long run. We can set these defenses tonight. for now, a nice, but brief, walk in the gardens to clear our head, then we can retire to our quarters fro some translation work before dinner.

You decide to discreetly check up on what Arnold may be doing. His purchasing wine worries you greatly and you fear what portents it belies. You quietly walk down the hall towards your room and, upon reaching Arnold's door and seeing no one else is around, you stop and put your ear up against it while holding your breath. Listening closely you hear quiet scraping sounds, like nails on metal, but nothing else. You lean away just as you hear a page in a book turn, quietly taking another breath and controlling your beating heart pounding in your ears.

rolled 8 = 8

>>14864420
Nigga's got a book.

Tomorrow, we raid his room, while he's busy. Or the next time he's in town.

But it might be too late. How do we slow him down?

rolled 12 = 12

>>14864420
well, crap-in-a-hat. Might need to take the initiative here. We did say we'd talk more about the task later. Now's as good a time as any. We don't sense anything unnatural at the moment, so he probably isn't bound to anything or about to be. I say we knock on the door and ask to speak with him some more, play it innocent for the moment.

rolled 68 = 68

>>14864511
OOH! Lets distract him for the afternoon

"We need some books on blahdeblah for research, and then we'll need to compile a list of names and dates for soandso of the whatever empire. I'll be [something even more boring, so he doesn't ask to switch jobs] "

In the meantime, raid his shit.

Make it last forever.

[[You don't hold authority over Brother Arnold. In fact, he is your senior.]]

You knock quietly on the door. Again, the sound of rustling about can be heard. "Who is it?"
"It's me again, Greg."
"Yeah, come in."
You enter the room seeing a similar scene to the last time you were here.
"I don't suppose you've seen the Chronicler's Diary of the 1st Eastern Expedition of the Empire, by chance? I've been looking everywhere for it and can't seem to find it. I thought you might have it since you were looking into, um... you know what, too."
Arnold looks at you blankly. "No, I can't say that I have. I haven't actually looked into the matter at all myself. I'm actually quite busy with other things of late anyways that I've been occupied by. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
He seems intent on not leaving the room, not rising from his seat as though he expects you to leave at any moment.

rolled 64 = 64

>>14864667
Close his door and sit down on his bed. "Do you really think it's possible? I mean, at first I thought it was just a fairy tale. Do they have us chasing half-legends and peasant superstition, or do you think there could really be something? All we have to go on is.... what? Some old stories? What do you think?"

rolled 57 = 57

Oh shit, abort! Abort! Get the hell out of there before we do anything more awkward. Go to the gardens like we planned or something. We'll have to try again another time.

You step inside and close the door. Sitting down on his bed you say, "So what do you think about all of this. Is it really possible? I mean all we've got is a few local legends and some old ruins. Couldn't it all just be folk tales or something?"
Arnold sits with his back turned to you. "The thing about legends..." he says slowly, relaxing a bit, "Is that they all originate somewhere. Hidden beneath the lies and half truths there's always a root to these superstitions. But finding out what's truth and what's myth is always a task. And sometimes you can't believe it or don't want to believe it even when you find it."
Seeming to realize he's said something he shouldn't have Arnold tenses up again. "But as I said before, I'm really busy." He grabs a book on the laws of the kingdom and a fresh sheet of parchment and begins scrawling tiny illegible notes. "I know I said we'd talk later but it will have to wait for some other time. I'll come see you some time tomorrow." And without getting up he reaches over and opens the door for you before returning to his work.

rolled 69 = 69

>>14864828
[lost your trip again.]

Alright then. I think we've piqued his curiosity, and pumped him for as much info as we're going to get out of him today.

"Thank you for your time. I'll see you tomorrow."

Head back to our room, prep the chalk like i mentioned above, and work on translating what we have on hand (commonalities, etc).

Once everyone is asleep for the night, we head up to the tower and set those paranoia traps, then try our hand at translating some of Tenebrotep's entry in the book.

[[Running out of steam here. Two more posts and I'm calling it a night. If anyone cares enough can you see that this is archived? Otherwise I'll just screen cap it again for next time.]]

You hop off the bed and head for the door. "Thanks for your time again. I'll see you tomorrow." you say, and you leave down the hall. Glancing back you see his door is still open so maybe you've distracted him from whatever he was doing, at least for a little while.
Entering your room you pull out your items from your earlier purchase and assemble them on the table. You dip the nails into the ink one at a time and wait for the to dry before bundling them up again. Then you place the chalk in the bag and grind it up by hand, adding some ink to it to create distinctive dark grey powder. You sprinkle a small amount evenly across the floor boards beneath your bed, then tie up the bag and pocket the rest.
You still have several hours before nightfall, and you debate how you should spend it. A nice walk in the gardens might be pleasant and would be your usual routine. But you could also try to find out more from your collected books.

rolled 25 = 25

>>14864967
hmmm..... best stick with Usual Routine. No sense in drawing more attention than necessary

>>14864987

Usual Schmoosual. Let's nap 'til midnight and call tenebrotep for info. This "do a you normally do" shit is boring as fuck

Deciding that keeping with the routine would best, you quietly walk out of your room. You pocket your bag of powder and the nails and head back out towards the gardens on the northwestern side of the monastery. You grab a pail as you enter and carry it with you to the bottom of the garden path, slowly walking and smelling the odors of the blooming flowers, the ripe fruit, and the fresh herbs. The birds are many, heading on their way south, and they compete with the insects for the greater chorus. Once you reach the bottom of the winding path you fill the pail in the cold waters of the Rime. Glancing up you can see a figure at the top of the path looking down. You quickly forget about it as you return to your afternoon ritual and walk back up, pausing at each pace to sprinkle some water upon the flowers. When you reach the top you return the pail. Waiting for you there is Curwen, the Grounds Keeper. You usually pass each other in silence with few words, him not being to fond of you. He still accuses you of lusting after his daughter, a young maiden working laundry, though he accuses all the monks of that.
But this time he speaks to you, looking off to the west across the garden. "Beautiful today aren't they? Get a good look while they're here. Storms are a coming. I know it. Can feel it in my bones. This'll be the last week of fair weather. And then it'll be hard times for all of us."
You look at the clouds gathering beneath the setting sun and a sense of dread fills you that you can't explain.

[[And here we shall break our quest for the evening. Hope you all had fun despite the relative lack of actual action. Tomorrow there should be less development and more action. Hoping to continue around 11:00 server time, at least for a few hours.]]

rolled 86 = 86

>>14865066
"Aye. Shame too. But storms can be weathered. And I'm sure everything will grow back stronger than before, once it's over. Anything I can do to help prepare?"

rolled 61 = 61

>>14865088
Thanks for everything. Solid quest so far. And just because you spend a session building suspense doesn't mean it's a wasted session.

[[Bumping just long enough to archive this before it vanishes.]]

rolled 84 = 84

herbump

So is anyone actually about at this hour interested in continuing the quest? If so I'll start a new thread, but otherwise I may just skip today's session.

I hope you guys don't mind the more cautious and slow moving plot progression, but this has been mostly just my reactions to your choices.

>>14867291
Being a fan of the binder class, and having just found this thread, I would like to see where it goes.

>>14867356
Ah, well, if you've already read up to date on everything that's happened I'll probably resume in another hour with a new thread. It won't be nearly as long a session as this last one was, though. Hopefully we can still make some good progression anyways.

Binders have always been an interesting concept to me as well. A pretty classic supernatural magic style but one that seems to be shunted aside for easier magics in most high fantasy settings. So I thought I'd make a low fantasy world for one to have some fun in. But the mystery and intrigue behind the binding itself seem to have taken on the focus of this quest more than the actual practice of it. But I have no doubt it will come around full circle. Curiosity can only be ignored for so long.

I do kind of regret making Tenebrotep so useful though, at least in the current situation. There are quite a few other vestiges all with their own personalities and agenda's to meet (original creations to avoid people just referencing the binder source material). But they will have their turn in time.

rolled 37 = 37

>>14867291
Dammit, man
do you even sleep!?


I would like the new thread to start and it be played ... but I'm not sure if I'll be participating.
I think I need a nap, I almost didn't sleep last night.

rolled 86 = 86

>>14867411
I just noticed

>Tenebrotep
>TeneBROtep

heh

I can sleep when I'm dead... Or in 5 hour periods throughout the day. Today's session will probably be a short one anyways (4 hours or so and then more in the evening). Regardless, if I do have another quest thread beyond todays it will probably be tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10:00 server time. I'm archiving the threads myself now so you can always catch up on what happened there.

rolled 52 = 52

>>14867482
>I'm archiving the threads myself now so you can always catch up on what happened there.

That's great.
Most of the times I don't even mind if I can't participate, I still love reading the Quest threads. But they need at least couple of players to be written and I'm afraid that at this time there aren't many people who participate in Quests (hopefully I'm wrong).

>>14867531
Well, we got a good number yesterday at about the same time. But, admittedly, it WAS Sunday so that might have had something to do with it.

>14867881
New thread is live.

>>14867881
Derp. Relinked.