Slowly, almost much too slowly, Jormungandr slowly starts to settle at the airship tower, connected to the castle just outside of Triune's Gift- the heart of New Arcturus. Marigold looks up to the airship, and a grin spreads across her face as she runs toward the tower.
Kaliel put the red robe on top of her living armor, to your left, and Ell called something to Kiyara in elven, over to Sparrow. She nodded, and Sparrow started going around the tower, to the other airship dock on the opposite side of the tower.

Finally, Jormungandr slows to a stop, and Marigold runs onboard, giving you the biggest hug.
"Ishelda!" She said, grinning.

>>20634995
"Hi Mar!"

>>20634995
"Marigold! It's so good to see you! How's Kell? Did he learn to say something other than 'graw' yet? Maybe have another growth spurt? Is The Rose doing alright?"

>>20634995
"Marigold! I am so glad to be back. How are you?"

"Marigold! It's so good to see you! How's Kell? Did he learn to say anything other than 'graw' yet? Maybe have another growth spurt? Is the Rose doing alright?"
"No, yes, and yes!" She said, grinning. "He grew thorns, but somehow he can put them away when he doesn't want them. And the flowers on his back all turned white, for some reason."
"I'm so glad to be back. How are you?"
"I'm the same." She said. "I thought a lot more people would come to me to ask for help with things now that I'm regent, but nobody new seemed to come- it was just the normal people who wanted healing."

>>20635060
"Well, I brought new people." Hug her back. A bear hug, like we've been taught by Grayson.

>>20635060
"Good. Better to be bored for lack of troubles than to be plagued with them."

>>20635060
"Well I wasn't gone for long, and Gehenarock does most of the boring stuff.
Come on, you have to meet all the new people!"

"Well, I wasn't gone for long, and Gehenna does most of the boring stuff." You say, and return her hug with your own, hugging her tightly. "Come on, you have to meet all the new people!"
"Okay, introduce me." She said.
"This is Prince Belethor, second son of Sosaria." You say, brandishing your hand toward him. Simultaniously, Marigold curtseys while Belethor bows.
"This is Kaliel." You say.
". . Hello." Kaliel said. There was a strangely awkward moment, and then the two of them started laughing.
"And this is-"
"You?!" Marigold asked, pointing at Leon. "Why are you here?"

>>20635125
"Erm... what?"

>>20635125
Uh, good point. Shouldn't we have taken the loaned Cerulean knights back before we went home?

>>20635125
"You know Sir Leon? He's a member of my retinue. Stalwart soul, a competent swordsman and magician, clever and true."

"Erm... what?"
Leon backed away, raising his hands.
"You know Sir Leon?"
"Back in Ursae Province, before you showed up, he was following this. . filthy little man who came to meet the High Lord." Marigold said.
" . .That was most likely Sir Darius." Kristoph mentioned, behind you. "Filthy little man. That's a good description of him." He chuckled.

>>20635163
We're on good enough terms with Cerulean, and she never specified when they should be returned, so we'll just go with "When Leon returns to Cerulean"

>>20635202
"That's definitely not a description you can extend to him. Mar, he's alright. Otherwise I wouldn't have kept him around."

>>20635202
"I see... I'm sure he's not as bad as you thought he was. And Sir Leon is certainly not cut of the same cloth."

"That's definitely not a description you can extend to him. Mar, he's alright. Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept him around."
Marigold nodded. "Erm, sorry for my reaction, Sir Leon."
"No worries, Lady." He responded. "Anyone would do the same, after an encounter with Darius."

"Your majesty." One of Jormungandr's archers asked, bowing low to you. "By your leave, our men should go report to Commander Nahzit."

>>20635311
"Of course."

>>20635311
"Of course."
Should we have tea with them, later on? They did very well in battle.

>>20635311
"Of course. Take your leave, for the time being. Make sure to tell Nahzit that I'll be commending all of you for your bravery in facing down those minotaurs. I do believe a party is in order, or maybe a military parade!"

File: 1347042677379.jpg-(33 KB, 273x135, heresy.jpg)

>>20635311
>Nahzit
>Nazit
>Nazi

"Of course." You say. "Take your leave, for the time being. Make sure to tell Nahzit that I'll be commending all of you, for your bravery in facing down those minotaurs. I do believe a party is in order, or maybe a military parade!"
"Thank you, your majesty. We look forward to it." He said, and the soldiers made their way off of Jormungandr, and down to the castle's barracks. Soon enough, the everpresent pages and retainers slowly arrived, fading into the background as they do so well. They're rather convenient, that way.

As you spoke to the soldier, Marigold and Leon were speaking earnestly.
"I actually thought you were High Lord Ursae's daughter at the time." Leon said. "I heard he had one. ."
"He did." She said. "She... died, a few months before I arrived there. Fell into the lake."

>>20635443
"You never told me, Mar." More hugs.

>>20635443
"I didn't know he had a daughter. That's very sad."

"I didn't know he had a daughter. that's very sad."
"I never knew her." She responded. "But nobody quite knew where she came from. Back when the High Lord's father was ruling, Ursae went up to the mountains. When the high lord died three years later, he came down with a baby girl in hand."
Leon looked away, out toward the city.

>>20635524
"Strange... I'm going to give everyone the tour."

>>20635524
>Graysooooooon! Did you drown the daughter of Ursae because she smelled like Eidolon?
>Harrumph!

"That sounds like something straight out of the old fairy tales. I wish I had got the chance to know her."
Offer the newcomers a tour of the city. See how the ambassador and his son are doing.

"That sounds like something straight out of old fairy tales." You say. "I wish I had got the chance to know her." You say, and turn back to the newcomers. "Would you like a tour of the city?"
"Thanks," Ell said. "But me and Kee are going to stay up here. She feels uncomfortable close to the ground."
"I'd like a tour, Ishelda." Belethor said, with a slight grin. "After all, I did give you a tour of Sosaria."

You, Belethor, Leon, Kaliel, and Marigold make your way down out of the tower, and to the castle proper. With six towers and a thick, heavy wall, the castle was built exactly to your specifications, designed to hold against anything you could think of- Demons, primarily, taking as much knowledge from the siege of Arcturus as you could. It was complete with barracks, pantry, the cistern and water supply for the city, even extended underground chambers to hold citizens in case of attack.
"You got all of this done in two years?" Belethor asked.
"Raziel helped." Marigold added. "Skeletons. So many skeletons. They didn't need to sleep."
"Ah, right." He said. "I hadn't actually considered that- which is funny, because one of my ancestors did the same thing with stone golems."

>>20635658
"Hmmm, it's kinda funny how people get the same ideas again and again, and always think they're the first to have done it."

>>20635658
Raziel's been vital. We don't have enough people yet.

>>20635692
this

File: 1347045843634.png-(4 KB, 313x313, In Which Exabyte fails at(...).png)

"Hmmm, it's kinda funny how people get the same ideas again and again, and always think they're the first to have done it." You say, continuing the tour. "Raziel's been vital. We don't have enough people yet."
"I believe I've also been vital, your majesty." Gehenna said, bowing low. His wings twitched. "Welcome back. In your absence, I've made steps toward making New Arcturus self-dependent, so that we no longer need to purchase food. With the princess' help, we've made a small patch of land south of Triune's gift fertile enough to grow crops."

>>20635740
"Oh, yes. You've been absolutely vital as well. This is Gehenna, my steward."

>>20635740
Indeed you have, Gehenna.
Belethor, this is Gehenna. He is the one who makes everything work. Somehow. You need to teach me that some day.

>>20635740
"Everybody around here is vital to the success of the kingdom, but I have to admit, Gehenna is especially important."

File: 1347046451676.jpg-(1.4 MB, 2013x1520, palmanova.jpg)

>>20635740
"Fantastic! If we can get subsistence farming going, we can start properly expanding the fledgeling economy. Thank you, Gehenna. I was worried if we'd ever manage to get from habitable to outright farmable."

We should really redesign the walls at some point. I mean, really! Straight walls and round towers? That's absolutely archaic, and ineffective. Staring at those twinkling stars the other day makes me think that we need a STAR FORT.

>>20635814
Star forts are a really late development in castle technology. What we should do is have cannon on the walls. We already have cannon on the ship, so it should be easy to install some on the castle.

>>20635814
Is that a moat, a pit, or gravel around the walls?

>>20635814
Don't diss round towers, plebian. Round towers are objectively the best type of tower. You even have one in the middle of that star fort.

>>20635814
>I can retroactively retcon the design of the castle, if you guys want. You guys never made much demand for the design of the castle itself.

"Oh, yes, you've been absolutely vital as well. This is Gehenna, my steward." You say. "He's the one who makes everything work. Somehow."
"It involves delegating and math, mostly." He said, with a chuckle.
"Pleased to meet you, sir." Belethor said, bowing.
"Prince Belethor, I believe." Gehenna said. "A pleasure."
"Indeed." Belethor added.
There was a moment of silence, and then Gehenna rubbed his talons together. "Well, your majesty, I'd best get back to work. Come speak with me if you need anything done."
He bowed again, and went back to his small room, where he no doubt kept more parchment than even Kaliel.

You lead the group out of the castle, and down toward the slowly slanting Triune's Gift, which was covered in great, ogrish domes, with cobblestone roads. Lizardmen guards leapt from dome to dome, glaives in hand, putting their tremendous lower body strength to good use. Far to the south, you see small wooden cabins, with great fenced in areas, covered in freshly tilled dirt.

>>20635836
Not like it's a hard one to come up with though. You make it that way so that attackers are funneled into the inner points, where they can be attacked by two sides at once.

>>20635859
Point to the fenced areas.
"Are those the new fertile areas you cleansed, Mar? They're enormous!"
Hug.

>>20635859
RETCON MODE ACTIVATE.
STAR FORT (How many points? I say 6.)
CANNON EMPLACEMENTS (At least one per point and two per wall face)
TIERS (At least 2 tiers, both star shaped, both with cannon)
KEEP (Probably fine as is)
TOWERS (Cannons? cannons.)
CISTERN/CELLARS/UNDERGROUND AREAS (thick walls, as if they were above ground)

We need ravelins and redoubts, bonnettes and lunettes, tenailles and tenaillons, counterguards and crownworks and hornworks and curvettes and fausse brayes and scarps and cordons and banquettes and counterscarps! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HALF THOSE THINGS ARE BUT I WANT THEM.

>>20635836
Cannons are good. They're better with enfilade fire.

>>20635838
Potentially all three? A deathtrap of choking mud, shrapnel and certain death for storming troops to get trapped in and cut to ribbons by defending fire from multiple angles.

>>20635845
>round towers best
>massive dead zones where you can't fire at wall-huggers without exposing yourself
>not diamond towers with crossfires
>laughingmilitaryrevolution.jpeg

>>20635859
If you want, sure. But isn't a retcon already retroactive?

>>20635887
This guy seems to have the right idea.

>>20635887
Agreed with all but the keep, which should be moved to the center of the walls.

>Jormungandr's magic cannons are something special, and gunpowder technology doesn't exist yet. Tiers, moats, and basic castle design can be retconned, while major magical upgrades and cannons cannot.

"Are those the new fertile areas you cleansed, Mar? They're enormous!"
"Well. . " She said. "Kell's started... giving me energy. I don't know how, but during the day, my talents are a lot better."
She shrugged. "I asked the kobolds to plant whatever they want there, and then let it sit fallow before they tear them out and till it again. . and then it should be ready for planting crops. Ursae did this sort of thing all the time."
"Impressive." Belethor said. Leon just looked at the lizardmen, as they leapt from dome to dome. It almost looked like they could get anywhere in the city that way, faster than you could if you'd ran.

>>20635887
Don't forget Galadriel's light all over the everything to power the cannons. Maybe even internal/underground hydroponic rooms for them.

>>20635893
>Putting vulnerable corners on your towers that can easily be broken off
>Letting people reach your walls without having meteors dropped on them
>Ignoring the fact that people can just fly over your walls and not implementing any AA defences
>Using forts designed to be effective against gunpowder when gunpowder hasn't been invented

>>20635922
No cannons... Ballistae where cannons would otherwise go, and trebuchet in the secondary courtyard then.
AA defenses... I guess up-angled ballistae can do it.

>>20635922
"It must be those flowers on his back. Maybe the Rose recovered some of its powers to manipulate magic after all this time, and the Galadriel's Light implanted in Kell has been made hyper-efficient as a result. Hence, Kell is a walking, grawing battery of magic."

>>20635929
We've got to be ahead of the curve, maaan. First we brought tea. Now we bring the renaissance.

>>20635922
"They're very good at that. It lets them move around the city very fast."

>>20635929
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/7106332/

>>20635976
...what?

"It must be those flowers on his back." You say. 'Maybe the Rose recovered some of its powers to manipulate magic after all this time, and the Galadriel's Light implanted in Kell has been made hyper-efficient." You say.
"You also made him." She added. "He's never been a normal troll."

Leon continued watching the lizardmen.
"They're very good at that." You say. "It lets them move around the city very fast."

You suddenly hear a loud roar, and whirl back.
Redglare's standing there, axes in hand. His armor looks much newer, but still bolted together. Same design, with better material.
"Let's see how you've improved." He said, flipping one of the axes in his hand. Without any delay, or waiting for you to concede, he charged.
>OH GOD ROLL 1d100 FOR SWORDSMANSHIP.
>Taking highest of first two rolls

>>20635929
They were cannon resistant because of the materials used to build them, not because of the shape. The shape is smart no matter what era you're in because there are no deadzones, no places where the enemy can just run up to and then have some respite. Even having just plain old archers on the walls would be plenty effective with a star shape.

rolled 76 = 76

>>20636048

rolled 16 = 16

>>20636048
Rolling

In a setting where you can have airborne troops, large open courtyards on top pf high places are screaming "fly up and shoot into here."

Is this on a hill? I recommend using switchback trails with a gate at every turn, leading to a barbican. Small courtyard where the towers can cover each other from aerial attack, round towers with steep conical caps to prevent easy landings. Round towers also have the benefit of not having corners which are easily mined.

Also, a neat drawbridge trick is to extend the inside edge far into the gatehouse and over a pit, with the pivot and the center of the bridge. When raised, the outside presents the usual iron-shod barrier over the gate while the inside lowers. When breached the enemy is presented with another pit to cross, only this time under the view of the barbicans interior arrow slits and murder holes.

Hold on, I'm getting my book on medieval warfare out...

>>20636054
YES!

>>20636054
So, Ishelda only loses fights against potential love interests?
Leon.
Belethor.
Void Queen (by extension).

>>20636076
>In a setting where you can have airborne troops,

The only people who have airborne troops are ourselves, elves, and certain lesser demons. Not that we shouldn't prepare for the eventuality, just sayin' it's not like everyone and their grandmother can just jump the walls.

Both axes came down on you as Belethor and Leon dived to the sides, their own weapons already in hand. Marigold and Kaliel backing away slowly.
"Be careful, you two." Marigold said. Rikar was already in your hand and you parried one of the axes, leaning away from the arc of the other.

"This looks rather unfair." Leon said, as Redglare tore toward you with both axes- it felt as if you were being attacked by two hobs at once, having to parry or dodge each blow. You try the disarming trick Kristoph had taught you, but redglare's long since gotten wise to the trick.
"It is." Belethor said. With a grin, he threw something toward you.
You caught it.
A second shortsword.

Still parrying his attacks quickly with Rikar, you don't think you can parry with the non-magical weapon. It won't stop the blows, or at worst, could shatter completely, so you continue using Rikar as your protection. You bring the shortsword up under one of his axes, and then get close, knocking away his other axe. Kicking off of the hobgoblin's chest, you tear the axe out of his hand.

Strangely, you note that Belethor's shortsword has a much longer, weighted hilt. Experimentally, you twirl it in your hand.
Redglare takes his axe in both hands, and raised it-
So you threw the shortsword at him, which he parried away reflexively. While distracted, you tore into him with Rikar, piercing through his armor, slashing half of his throat open.
He gurgled as Marigold ran by, pumping healing magic into the hobgoblin.

Belethor picked up the shortsword again. . and then sighed at the thick gash in the edge.

>yfw when Extrabut doesn't know anything about castles and no matter how well you design it it will still be the same strength as it was before (plot-strength)
And come on, is Ishelda really going to come up with this stuff? She's hardly a military engineer. It'll be a strong Arcturan-style castle with shoddy air defences consisting of whatever the Arcturan engineers could scrape together once they realised the demons had flyers.

>>20636138
bitch please we studied under the best military leaders and engineers in Arcturus

>>20636138
We should figure out what those air defenses are.
Considering the tech available, I'm thinking either balistae at a high angle, or grapeshot catapult.

>>20636131
"Ouch. Sorry about that, Redglare. I think we're roughly even on mutilations at the moment, after the last two arms you took off."

"There's assuredly a fine smith around town or in the castle's smithy to fix that up, Belethor. Don't fret."

>>20636125
The Ogres have flyers. Wizards have multiple ways to fly. But your general point is true.
However, everyone and their grandmother won't be invading us. I don't foresee peasant rabbles or Cerulean knights at our gates any time soon. The people who we're most likely to fight (demons, the Void Queen...) can all muster up flyers.

>>20636131
"Oh my!" See if Redglare's doing okay.

Air defenses probably consists of archers and/or crossbowmen.

>>20636076
Also! make sure the switchback gates are tall enough to fire not only down the road, but down onto the lower roads as well. Archers and artillery on the main wall should have a field of fire here as well.

If we don't have a hill we'll need a moat. Line the base of the castle wall (right up against the moat) with hedges or rosebushes. These can be animated to attack ladders and pull apart towers.

Another trick is to have the ground inside the castle wall HIGHER than on the outside. It give the walls a stronger foundation, and if the wall is breached the attackers would now have to dig up through the ground to get inside!

Covering the walls with sloped wooden roofs would also make aerial landing on the wall difficult, flying troops would have to go over and inside the castle to land on the wall, and doing so would expose them to archers from ALL the walls.

OMW to work now, but I'll be thinking about this all day.

>>20636131
"Sorry, Belethor. Our training can be... quite heated, at times."

>>20636131
Btw. why didn't we bring Fellwind and Jeanne?

Since we had the castle built to spec, I think we should sink the walls very deep into the earth. This thing should be nigh impossible to dig under. In fact, we could even have extended the wall so it literally goes under the castle, like a dome on the wrong side.

"Ouch. Sorry about that, Redglare. I think we're roughly even on mutilations at the moment, after the last two arms you took off."
Redglare gurgled some more, with a grin, as white light enveloped Marigold's arms.

"There's assuredly a fine smith in the castle's smithy who can take care of that, Belethor. Don't fret."
"I can fix her up." Redglare said, chuckling. "Had the elves teach me some alchemy to supplement my blacksmithing. 'S why I'm armsmaster. I make weapons for the entire Arcturian army."
". . Right." Belethor said, giving Redglare the shortsword.
"Our training can be... quite heated, at times."
"Remember the time he attacked you in your sleep?" Marigold asked.
You remember that. . . And not very fondly. You had a broken leg before you even knew what was going on.

>>20636227
They were "busy".

>>20636233
"I remember that. Waking up to a broken leg isn't very pleasant."

>>20636233
"Yes...
Ah well, it's all a learning experience. Even if I'm still not good enough to win a single fight on that whole adventure."

>>20636233
"Oh, I remember. I still maintain that just wasn't fair. Stomping my knee so it bent the wrong way, and clubbing me about the head and shoulders with a blackjack, all right before teatime! I thought I was about to be assassinated, Redglare. Until I noted the assassin was the size of a coal-black steel carriage. A very smug one."

>>20636262
We beat Jeanne

"Yes... Ah well, it's all a learning experience. Even if I'm still not good enough to win a single fight on that whole adventure."
"Not true." Kaliel said. "You took down a minotaur three times your size, when you were concussed and couldn't reach your magic."
"And you beat up Jeanne." Belethor said.
"You know, now that we're on solid ground, we could spar." Leon said. "With magic."

>>20636278
That was a brawl, not a sword fight. And she's not even a fighter.

>>20636288
"Just after I had a fight? Do you think you're chances are so bad?"

>>20636293
>she's not even a fighter

Nigga do you wanna get us punched in the nose?

>>20636288
I suppose we can Leon.

Simple rule, don't cause too much damage to new Arcturus, other than that anything goes, the problem for you is that anything is a much broader range than for me.

>>20636288
Grin
"We could."

>>20636288
"You sure? You realise the first thing I'm going to do is take away your magic and then you won't even have a sword any more."

rolled 11 = 11

>>20636288
"I'm ready when you are." Rolling for a resist magic effects spell.

rolled 36 = 36

>>20636288
For the fight set up a spell that activates when Leon tries to teleport. Instead of him getting to his location he ends up upside down, facing the wrong way, and without his armor.

>>20636288
"A bit later, perhaps."

>>20636311
Don't start doing stuff before the duel's started, that's dishonourable.

You grin.
"We could." You say. "Simple rule. Don't cause too much damage to New Arcturus."
"Understood." he says. He takes a step back, and with the sound of something shattering, a sword appeared in his palm.
"I'm ready when you are." You say. Quickly, you bring forth your magic, and try to create a ward around yourself, trying to protect yourself from his magic. The energy is lost, and you're dizzy for a moment.
Leon slammed his forearms together, the sprawling runes meshing with one another, and a strange series of them glowed. . and you suddenly feel a strong Abjuration spell emanate from him. .

And he vanished.

You hear something whistling- you quickly bring up Rikar, and sparks fly as his invisible blade clashes with it. You can still faintly feel the abjuration spell surrounding him, so you know his general location. You don't even need eyes.

rolled 33 = 33

>>20636333
Summon a small rainstorm over our heads to either make him visible, or wash the spells off of him.

rolled 26 = 26

>>20636333
Illusionary Isheldas. Move around with them so he can't tell which one is real.

rolled 45 = 45

>>20636333
Do as we planned, and while seeing him with stonesense, have the pavement eat him.

rolled 5 = 5

>>20636333
>Trying a defensive ward instead of taking away his magic with Control Magic or washing off his tatoos
>Letting him get a spell off and do the opening strike
The fuck is this. Grab him and strip his magic, now.

rolled 52 = 52

>>20636333
MAGIC!

Summon up piles of earth elementals, have them clamp on to him and drag his legs underground, breaking them in the process.

rolled 64 = 64

>>20636333
Why not create golems? It's one of our signature spells, after all.

rolled 7 = 7

>What's up with the rolls lately, goddamn
Let's do something that can't fail. Which means elementals, elementals errywhere.

>>20636368
Dice God x Leon is a thing. Put it on the shipping chart.

rolled 64 = 64

>>20636333
ELEMENTALS! GOLEMS! He is not facing Ishelda, he is facing the environment itself.

>>20636363
>>20636365
>>20636397
The dice seem to favour that idea as well.

rolled 62 = 62

>>20636363
Hey. Don't break his legs. That's just nasty. He caught us like a gentleman, after all, humiliating as it was. So once the pavement eats him, we'll repay him on both counts by having him forcibly waltz with a very large earth elemental leading.

You raise a hand and try to coalesce a raincloud to make him visible. . and then a strong plume of flame shoots into the air, disturbing your spell. A bolt of red flame tears toward you, and you parry the attack with Rikar, making the evocation spell spark away. With your empty hand, you touch the ground- you can still sense his general location, so you open up a large cavern underneath him.

The ground below him groans, and he rolled out of the way, sending up dust behind him.

You clench your fist. . and bring the air to life. A series of six wind elementals burst into being, and tear towards Leon. He parries the first two blows, dodges a third spear, and then a fourth gets him in the shoulder. Lightning crackles over his body as he becomes visible, twitching in pain-

And then he teleported away, as you feel a translocation spell come into play. He landed on a nearby dome, holding his shoulder. His sword was nowhere to be seen. Panting, he raised his hand, and spears of metal tore down through the elementals, causing lightning to arc from one to the other, feeding into themselves. Your wind elementals fall apart as he pants, slamming a healing spell into his shoulder.
He wiped his brow, and started chanting.

rolled 75 = 75

>>20636426
"Silence"

rolled 93 = 93

>>20636426
A focused, tight beam of lightning right at him.

rolled 16 = 16

>>20636426
Magic with long casting times? In a duel? Not a chance.

Silence him, make him unable to speak.

>>20636440
Finally

>>20636440
Nothing to add to that.

rolled 33 = 33

>>20636426
Well we should probably disrupt that. Teleport behind him. The instant we touch him we can just drain all his magic and he can't do shit.

rolled 51 = 51

>>20636426
Teleport behind him in turn and kick him in the bum, sending him careening ass-over-head toward the street below.

"Silence." You say, and clamp down on his magic. He chokes, and coughs on his spell. He mouthed something at you, and then some runes on his arm started to glow. .

In response, you hold up your hand, angry, orange sparks dancing along the lines covering your arm. A blast of lightning shoots out of your palm, and tears into him. He falls off of the dome, twitching and spasming, and finally, he's still.

Marigold runs over to him, and her arms glow as she puts them on his shoulder.
Leon's eyes flickered open a minute later, and he mouthed something else. His eyebrows met in frustration.
"You win, he says." Belethor said. "I can read lips."

>>20636503
undo the spell.
"That's one of my specialties."

rolled 23 = 23

>>20636503
"Uh... opposite of silence? Speak? I've never undone this spell... I think it just wares off after a while."

>>20636503
"I didn't mean to hit you that hard, Leon. I'm terribly sorry. Are you alright? I'm glad. Time to dance the waltz of embarrassment. I owe you as much for catching me the last time we did this."

Elemental-lead dance, go!

>>20636503
Well, we should probably remove that silence spell then.
And help him up.

>>20636533
No to dancing, that's incredibly silly.

"Uh. . opposite of silence?" You ask. "Speak? I've never undone this spell... I think it just wears off after a while."
Leon frowns. You put your hand on his forehead, and slowly tear the spell off- it's as easy to remove as it was to put on- probably because it was your own spell.
"I didn't mean to hit you that hard, Leon. I'm terribly sorry." You say, and pull him to his feet. "Are you alright?"
"Other than my pride, yes, I'm unharmed." He said, and eyed Marigold. "Thank you, your highness, for healing me."
"It's what I'm here for." She responded, and gave him a smile.

>>20636549
"Your highness? Isn't that kind of impersonal? She did just save your life. . ."
hooking leon up with mar y/n?

>>20636549
Stick tongue out at him. "Now we're even."
>>20636560
Yes.

>>20636549
"Mar's an angel. There's nothing she can't do. What spell did you try at the end, by the way?"

>>20636560
Keep your shipping crap to yourself. One thread where it's not all about waifuing and you bring it up again, ffs.

>>20636560
With Leon? Nah, let's hook her up with Belethor.

>>20636560
>hooking leon up with mar y/n?
No. Mar's perfectly capable of getting with him on her own if she wants, unlike a certain Queen who is not nearly experienced enough to be meddling with these things.

>>20636567
>"Now we're even."
Yes.

"Now we're even." You say, sticking your tongue out at him. He frowns. . but Belethor starts chuckling. "Mar's an angel. There's nothing she can't do. What spell did you try at the end, by the way?"
"It was something I haven't even been able to accomplish on the best of days. A spell mirror. Really complicated abjuration spell. It's supposed to bounce spells off of it, and I don't even know if it'd work with sorcery."
"And. . feel free to call me Marigold." Mar said.
"As you wish." He added, and bowed to her.
"That was interesting." Belethor said.

>>20636626
"'It was a pleasure sparring with you, Sir Leon." Fuck yeah, revenge!

>>20636626
"It might work, I could try making a spell mirror but I have no idea if it'd be at all similar to yours.

Did you enjoy watching that Belethor?"

>>20636626
"It was."

rolled 93 = 93

>>20636626
"Oh? Do you want a turn at being zapped?"
Try and cast a spell mirror.

File: 1347052242504.png-(24 KB, 344x358, in which Exabyte is a pre(...).png)

How's this you guys? I know it's a pretty rudimentary drawing, but it's not squares.

>>20636626
"Hm? What was? The magic? It was just a few parlor tricks, really."

"It was a pleasure sparring with you, Sir Leon."
"It was painful sparring with you, Ishelda." He responded, and chuckled.
"I could try making a spell mirror, but I have no idea if it'd be at all similar to yours." You say. Closing your eyes, you raise both hands, and bring forth your magic. A strange, dark green mist starts falling from your hands, as the silver lines turn emerald, your magic building . . .

A perfectly transparent teardrop appears in your hands, and the light around it seems to bend and warp, in your palms.

". . Hmm." Leon said, and took a step back. He clenched his fist, and then threw something small and glowing at it.

The teardrop flashed, and the small glowing object slammed back into Leon's forehead, knocking him to the ground.

"Well." He said, lying there. "That is indeed a spell mirror."

>>20636735
"Do you want to study it? I know sorcery is different but... the principle is probably still the same."

>>20636735
"I can effortlessly replicate highly-advanced wizardry for a pittance of magical strength, and yet a rudimentary ball of light somehow drains me completely. Sometimes I truly do not understand the chaotic nature of sorcery."

>>20636735
Resist the urge to laugh and instead just giggle politely.

"Mar, I think he has another injury for you to tend to."

>>20636701
Round keep > Hexagonal keep
And the barracks should be square, to pack in the beds. Interior design is important as well and barracks don't really need to be defended. Have them separate like in Exabyte's design so they're not a vulnerability for the keep.

>>20636735
"Oh good, it works."

>>20636735
Giggle, then help him back up.
"Brave Sir Leon, struck down by his own magic... are you trying to get my dear cousin to spend more time on you?"

"Do you want to study it? I know sorcery is different, but ... the principle is probably still the same." You say, resisting the urge to laugh.
"No thank you." He said. "I have the spell already, I just can't cast it. My talent isn't easy to use if a spell has multiple runes."

You giggle, and pull him to his feet. "Brave Sir Leon, struck down by his own magic... are you trying to get my dear cousin to spend more time with you?"
". . Perhaps." He said, giving Marigold a grin.

Kaliel climbed up one of the domes with her living armor, and sat there, looking over the rest of the city. Her bladed, savage tail swung this way and that.

File: 1347052954453.png-(23 KB, 344x358, in which Exabyte is a pre(...).png)

>>20636777
Done. Anyone have anything else?

>>20636805
Leave Marigold and Leon to their flirting.

Get up to there Kaliel is "So, do you like New Arcturus?"

>>20636805
"Well, I am sure she can handle you." Giggle.
"So, Belethor any insights from that fight you'd be willing to share?"

File: 1347053448302.png-(25 KB, 344x358, castle.png)

>>20636818
I was thinking more like this.

You decide to leave her and Leon to get more acquinted, and walk up to Belethor.
"So, Belethor, any insights from that fight you'd be willing to share?"
"Be prepared to fight more than one being if one's fighting you, because of those evocations." He said. "Leon relies on mobility and trickery. I have more than that. . "
He chuckled. "But I like to keep some of my thoughts private."

You nod, and make your way up to the uninhabited ogrish dome that Kaliel's sitting on. You scrabble up the side of the dome- It's rather difficult, until Kaliel leans down and pulls you up. You sit down next to her, looking out over Triune's gift. Here, on one of the domes closest to the castle, and thus highest on the hill, you have a wonderful view.
"So, do you like New Arcturus?" You ask.
"I'm. . not sure." She said. "It's different than the tower, and it's different than Carved Fortress. I'm. . I'm just not sure."

>>20636929
"Well perhaps you'd enjoy the view from my bedroom window a bit more?"

>>20636929
It might not be the prettiest or the grandest city in the world. But it's mind so I can overlook any flaws it has. In my eyes it's the most beautiful city in the world because its mine. This is my home.

>>20636948
I think this is good. A little sex joke/reference here or there is fine as long as it doesn't happen too often.

>>20636929
"Well it's still very much under construction."

>>20636929
"If you're not entirely comfortable with spending all your time here, we can easily construct a retreat for you. In case you need to get away from all the people."

File: 1347054233910.png-(51 KB, 500x500, in which Exabyte is a pre(...).png)

>>20636903

"Well, perhaps you'd enjoy the view from my bedroom window a bit more?"
"Perhaps." She responded. She seemed to miss the implication you made, so you sigh.
"It might not be the prettiest, or grandest city in the world." You say. "But I can overlook any flaws it has. In my eyes, it's the most beautiful city in the world, because it's mine."
"No. . It's beautiful." She responded. "Prettier than Sosaria. I remember the last time I saw this place. It was all packed dirt and dust storms. And now look at it. Grass is growing, water is springing forth from underground, these domes are all repaired and made of smooth white stone. . It looks like it's blooming, I suppose."

>>20637072
Chuckle a bit
"Considering how hard Mar has been working, that's an apt description."

>>20637072
"A lot of people have worked on that. The city would be nothing without them."

>>20637072
"That's Mar at work, I do what I can, I build things, coordinate things, I do a lot. But making it really grow, making the land live again, that's Marigold.

It isn't anywhere near done yet, there's still a lot to do, and I'm not sure I will ever stop expanding it unless I run out of room."

"That's Mar at work." You say. "I do what I can. I build things, coordinate things. . I do a lot. But making it really grow, making the land live again. . That's Marigold." You say, and the two of you look down at Mar, who waves up at you, before going back to talking with Leon.

Kaliel looked lost in thought, for a moment, staring at the patrolling lizardman guards as they leap from dome to dome. You feel mild divination magic from her, as the crystal around her neck glows.

"You look like you're happy to be home." She said, meeting your eyes.

>>20637184
"I am. Travelling the world is nice, but what's it worth if you don't have a place to return to. Look what it did to Fellwind. He and Lewin helped many people, but in all those years he was never happy."

>>20637184
"I am Kal, it's really good to be home. I do sometimes have to leave and wander the world, but if I didn't have some place like this, somewhere I called home, I might not be able to stop."

Give her a hug and watch the city together for a bit.

>>20637184
"Every time I look out at this city, I see two versions of it. How it is, and how it could be. There's so much potential here - if I work hard at it, this could be the greatest city in the world!
I see beautifully carved buildings, flowers and trees and grass on every corner, lazy streams that wind their way alongside the streets, airships dotting the skies like birds."

hug her, "I'm happy because I get to share that with you."

>>20637184
"That's what a home is; a place you're happy to return to."

"I am, Kal." You say. "Travelling the world is nice. . but what's it worth if you don't have a place to return to. Look at what it did to Fellwind. He and Lewin helped many people. . but in all those years he was never happy."

"I've never thought much of having a home. . but I always had the tower. . " She said.

"Every time I look at this city, I see two versions of it." You say, and wrap an arm around her shoulder. "How it is, and how it could be. There's so much potential here. I see beautifully carved buildings, flowers and trees and grass on every corner. . lazy streams that wind their way alongside the streets. . airships dotting the sky like birds."

You give her a hug. "And I'm happy because I get to share that with you."

". . I'm going north." She said, suddenly. "After everybody gets settled down from the travel."
She didn't meet your eyes.

>>20637288
Oh. Where? Why?

>>20637288
"Your breaking up with me?!" pout.

>>20637288
North is towards the tower right?

"Going to visit Azariel?"

>>20637288
"Why?"

>>20637288
"...I love you, Kal. Just promise me you'll come back some day."

Not as big a deal as it seems you guys, we just have to work out a teleportation spell that uses the rings as a directional focus. That way Ishy and Kal can still meet up for red hot dickings every day.

"Oh." You say. "Where? Why? Going to visit Azariel?"
"No, but I might stop there for a night to talk with him. I'm going further north."
"To meet Neiriel, Dariel, and Sardriel?"
"Further north." She said. "I'm going to the flower island. The one that's warm all year, despite how far north it is. Seeing those serpents last night. . made me think about those. . oddities. The dire goats in elven lands, the ethereal spiders beneath Carved Fortress, The speaking crystals in the lizardman ruins. . "


"That last serpent, last night. It looked at me, and I told it to sleep well. It. .responded." She said, and shook her head. ". . I need to find out what Grayson's cycle is."

>>20637394
"I understand. I'll miss you, but I understand. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help you."

>>20637394
"You're coming back right? And you're going to call everyday? And if you need me you just let me know and I'll be there, fast as can be."

Give her a hug and a kiss.

>>20637394
"You'll have to take Grayson along, he wants to know too. And Grayson doesn't go anywhere without me, so it looks like I'm coming."

>>20637443
Dunno if we really can, what with everything going on.

>>20637451
Probably not. Like that's going to stop us from offering.

>>20637394
"I can't really say I'm happy about that..."

>>20637394
"I... I see. Even Grayson isn't sure. I and him have discussed it, and we think that the cycle is the status quo of all magic, but... We just don't know. Are you sure, Kaliel? I'm not sure you or I are even meant to know, and it seems like you are aligned opposite with that Cycle, with that sanguinary new school of yours. It'll be fraught with peril, your journey. I don't want you to get hurt chasing after something mortals might not even be able to comprehend... So I'm almost assuredly going to have to come with you. There's still a cult to worry about in the East, and dwarves to meet, and the Gearworks to find, but if you're going to brave the obstacles before universal secrets, I can't well let you go it alone."

"You'll have to take Grayson along. He wants to know too. And Grayson doesn't go anywhere without me, so-"
"I think this is something I have to do on my own." She said.
"You're coming back, right? And you're going to call every day? And if you need me, you just let me know, and I'll be there, fast as can be."
"I will." She said. "But I'll need to prepare, first, so I won't leave for a few days, and I'll be back in a few more. I promise."

>>20637528
"I doubt this is something you accomplish in a few days."

>>20637528
"I'll miss you. You better come back safe."

Give her a hug and a kiss.

>>20637528
Can you even get that far in a few days without a magic flying airship? I'd imagine solving the world's mysteries would take a bit longer than that.

"I doubt this is something you accomplish in a few days." You say.
"Well, I'm going to have to." She said, and gave you a grin. "I promised, and I don't break those."
"Can you even get that far in a few days without a magic flying airship?" You ask. "I'd imagine solving the world's mysteries would take a bit longer than that."
"Sgragol can." She said. "And I don't think I'm going to solve them. I just think I'm going to . .witness them. The important thing isn't. . .Isn't knowing, but seeing." She shook her head. "I don't know. Divination was my second worst school, after healing. But. . I need to ask Gehenna about the Fell, and design a fast travel form for myself, and. . all sorts of things. So I'm not leaving for a while."

>>20637623
"We'll have to make the while count then."

>>20637623
"That's good." Give her a kiss on the cheek.

>>20637623
"I'll make sure to show you as many wonderful things before you go as I can to make sure you hurry back."

Kiss the girl.

"We'll have to make the while count, then." You say. "And make sure to show you as many wonderful things before you go, to make sure you hurry back."
You kiss the girl.

Marigold, below, suddenly squees, and Leon takes a step back from the audibly exploding princess, as she grins wildly up at you and Kaliel. Leon starts to say something, but Marigold shushes him and drags him off somewhere to give the two of you privacy.

>>20637705
Just hold her a bit. "I think we shouldn't leave the others waiting for too long."

>>20637705
"Oh my. She's going to want the details later."

>>20637705
"Now that that's care of why don't we find Raziel and give her the mirror we bought for her as a gift. I think she'll like it."

Give her another kiss before we go to find Raz.

You continue hugging her, the two of you sitting there, overlooking the city.
"Oh my. She's going to want the details later." You say, and give her another kiss. "Now that that's taken care of, why don't we find Raziel and give her the mirror we bought for her as a gift. I think she'll like it."
"Yeah, let's." She said. "But you were the one that bought it. I just. . stuck by you. That Scholar guy. . he was unnerving."
The two of you slide down one of the domes, and a lizardman lands there, saluting you, before he moves on.
You make your way up to Jormungandr, but Raziel's already moved on. As you give Kaliel a personal tour of the castle, you seek out all of her normal hiding places- the lower tunnels, the dungeon. . and the cistern.

You find Raziel there, in the cistern, sleeping.

>>20637839
Give her the dick.

Well guys, how do we play this?

Wake her up? she's not gonna mind given what it's for.
Leave it for her to find along with a note?
Leave her to sleep and give it to her later?
Put one hand in warm water and fill the other with whipped cream?

>>20637865
>[x] Put one hand in warm water and fill the other with whipped cream

>>20637875
NO. BAD. Funny, BUT BAD!

>>20637875
No.

>>20637865
Get her a blanket and give her the present a bit later.

>>20637875
Definitely.

>>20637839
"She must be really tired."

"Well, we can give her the present a bit later." You say. "She must be really tired."
"No, now I want to show her what it's like to be woken up rudely." Kaliel responded. She sucked on her finger a moment, and then jammed it into Raziel's ear. She snapped awake, gasping. "Now you know how it feels!" She said, grinning.
". . Ishelda was the one who did that to you." Raziel said, groaning and rubbing at her eyes.
". . .Oh. Oops."

>>20637940
Giggle.
"I brought you something worth waking up for."

>>20637940
"Still I think you'll like what we found for you.

It was at an antique shop in Sosaria, it belonged to your mother."

>>20637991
If you're going to ruin the surprise like that what was the point of wrapping it up?

You giggle. "I brought you something worth waking up for."
"Really?" Raziel asked.
"It was at an antique shop in sosaria." You say, and hand her the wrapped gift. Slowly, she opens it. . and realization dawns in her eyes.
". . It. . It did. How did you find this?" She asked, staring down at the cracked mirror. She turned it around, and examined the back. "Where did you find this? I-I-I thought it- I-"

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then tackled you in a hug, her wings flailing wildly as the two of you went clattering to the ground
"Thank you!" She cried.

>>20638031
"It's alright. I'm glad I could make you happy." Just enjoy the Raz hug.

>>20638031
"A rather mysterious shopkeep who called himself the Scholar. I'm glad you like it Raz."

Enjoy the hug, hug her back.

>>20638031
Pretty incoherent there Raziel.
"You're welcome."

>>20638031
"You're welcom Raz. You should thank Kali and Zeke too. I wouldn't have been able to read it without Kali, and wouldn't know it's significance without Zeke."

>>20638031
"It's origins are shrouded in mystery! So it should be fun to solve."

"You're welcome, Raz." You say, hugging her back. "I'm glad I could make you happy. It's origins are shrouded in mystery! So it should be fun to solve."
"No, no, I know it's origins." She said, grinning. "My mother made it. I watched it happen. And. . the thing is. . I can find out what happened to it. It's a. . divination device. To see into the past. The perfect fusion of necromancy and divination. I can use it to look back, and see how it got here."

>>20638093
"Amazing. The shopkeep who sold it to me was VERY mysterious. If you find you anything about him, be sure to tell me.

"Apparently the mirror was in this realm since before Azariel arrived."

>>20638093
"Oh. Ok. It's origins are all clearly recorded and you get to watch a dusty shelf for hundreds of years."

>>20638093
"I was thinking about fixing the mirror, what would have happened if I had done that?"

"Oh. Okay. It's origins are all clearly recorded and you get to watch a dusty shelf for hundreds of years."
"Exactly! It's wonderful!" She said. "Divination is like wine- gets better with age. This is just a tool, not an artifact, but it's almost as powerful as an artifact, by now."
"Amazing. The shopkeeper who sold it to me was very mysterious. If you find out anything about him, be sure to tell me."
"I will." She responded. She closed her eyes, whispered a word. . and the mirror fogged up even more, somehow. She grinned. "I can see the first night I stayed here, if I wanted. I think it's limited to location, though. . but I can see hundreds of years into the past. With enough power, I could even see the way the ogres lived, and maybe even meet the dragons."
"I was thinking about fixing the mirror. What would have happened if I had done that?"
". . It was made by breaking the mirror." She said. "It would just be a normal divination device, I suppose."

>>20638205
"Good I didn't do it, then." More hugs. Group hugs, even.

>>20638205
"Huh. Well, I suppose it'll just have to stay broken." Grin "I'm sure it's devastating to receive such a broken gift."

>>20638205
"Well then it's good that I didn't fix it.

What do you want it to tell you? If you need raw magic power I can probably give you more."

>>20638205
"How strange. I should try breaking more magic items to make artifacts."

Can you use it to show me things? I'd like to see Marigold when she was working the farmlands.

>>20638205
So... it's an undead mirror? That's kind of insane.

"So... it's an undead mirror? That's kind of insane."
"That's magic! Necromancy is all about the past, and about 'what has been'. And enchanted mirrors are often used for scrying, so if you take an enchanted mirror and break it. . it becomes necromantic divination." She said. "One of the ideas I got from the bloodline rituals was to make one of these. . but now I don't need to."
She pulled you and Kal into another hug.

>>20638285
Don't say anything. Just enjoy it.

>>20638285
"Hey yeah, when's the next time we can do that? I still need to do my father's side."

You stand there, and just enjoy the hug.

Suddenly, your ring buzzed.
<Hey, Ishelda!> Lewin's voice said. <Our quest is complete. And we have a friend for you to meet. We're at the gates, right now. Boy, do we have a story for you!>

>End of thread!
>I'll come back in a bit to answer questions in a bit.

>>20638359
Is there a way to set ourselves to 'busy' so we don't get interrupted by the rings during important things?

>>20638397
Mostly, by not reacting or answering. People assume you always have the ring, but you usually respond almost immediately. If you don't respond, they assume you're not wearing it.

Would it be possible to get Silence as a signature spell, but instead of always working with a set drain and a random effect, it'd have a set effect and random drain?

Yeah, come to think of it, how would we get additional signature spells if we wanted to? Or maybe it would be better to ask, how did we get our previous signature spells?

>>20638727
Rolling really, really, really well.

>>20638739
also plot points.

>>20638680
Most likely, no. Silence is essentially a long range, specialized version of Control Magic, so you can use that instead- you've become a close range powerhouse during the timeskip, though, so the close range shouldn't be an issue.

>>20638727
You'll gain a signature spell or an equivalent upgrade each 'arc' you do- The silver lines on your arms, what I've been calling the Catalyst in my notes, is one such upgrade that wasn't exactly a signature spell- it makes your sorcery more powerful, and makes it impossible to fail at wizardry. I figure that's better than a signature spell, when it comes down to it. But you can most likely get one later.

>>20638749
Oh okay, so there isn't like a set in stone system you're using for the magic. I assumed there was.

>>20638759
Something significant about the setting and about the magic is that, although split into talents, powers, wizardry schools, sorcery, and dire magic, each flavour has their own intuitions, instincts, and preferences. It's why Kaliel can't heal but can shapeshift, and it's why Zeke can't abjure, and it's everything behind Grayson. So even if there was a set in stone system, I couldn't use it, because it wouldn't have that intuitive 'wild' magic that hides behind everything.

>>20638776
Wild Magic is the Key.

It seems to me that nobody has realized that the scholar is most likely The Scholar. As in the god Marigold worships. Since I miss these threads so much I would like to cast my voet for triggering that realization in the next thread. It seems like an interesting situation to me.

>>20642652
Possibly, but Gareth wasn't the thief, he was just pretending to be him to get Marigold over here.

>>20642652
Worshipped. She stopped, after Gareth used the image of the Rogue to fuck with her.

But yes, the old shop keep probably has ties to The Scholar.