You are Osyki, newly promoted Totemist and first line of defense for your village against the rabid Behemoths wandering the land. Your master, the previous Totemist, fell in a battle against a terrible Behemoth, leaving the duty of defending your settlement to you. You have just finished a pitched battle against a pack of ferocious Raptors, resulting in a new Focus for you and your assistant's first successful Feral Binding. Now you have unwittingly empowered one of your spirits with raw, elemental earth, and intend to see just how far the limits of her new power can stretch.

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[[Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=totem

The Cast Thus Far: http://pastebin.com/uwRsEHcX ]]
(Cont)

Woo!

>>20936485
Life is good, got great food and Totemist Quest just started, a recipe for success

Rolled 74

>>20936485
last time i was wondering if we could order from the blacksmith/Fletcher arrows/spikes with the runes to feral bind on them so when we hit something with it one rune is good to go or must we use the ritual knife for that?

You pull the Focus from your gauntlets, wincing slightly at the feeling of hard, unyielding steel replacing the cool liquid embrace of your spirit's gloves. Your bow is next in line for an experiment, but you turn to see how your apprentice is fairing.

Apparently, Quinn has been stockpiling weapons from his Slayer days. You see a snaking chain of bone erupt from his hand, the flexible spear topped with an unmistakably raptor skull that snaps and gnashes its teeth with every thrust. He spins and the weapon twirls outward, letting out a long echoing cry as its fangs scythe through the air.

Turning back to your own efforts you press the sphere into the surface of your hand-mirror. You feel the dimensions of the small wood-handled grip change and vanish, and when you open your eyes a small disc floats before you, polished silver with small quartz and opal gems installed in its surface in spiraling patterns.

You turn, and the floating disc turns with you. As you raise a hand it moves with your direction, and when you lower your hand it stays floating where you've bid it to.

"Quinn!" you call. "Come test that thing out on this!"

He turns, raptor-spear in hand, and jumps toward you without preamble. His arm surges forward to send the spear hurtling toward you, links of flaring tan energy connecting the vertebrae of the shaft as they stretch and separate.

You move your hand to impose the disc in front of the raptor's snapping fangs. The crystals shine and shudder, and the disc expands slightly. As the raptor's fangs make contact with it there is a ripple of force in the air, a small sonic disruption visible with the naked eye. Then, with an earth-shaking boom, the spear is driver back in a wave of raw force. The head of the weapon bites dirt before Quinn retracts with with a flick of his wrist.

>[[Binding Complete: Gnome Guard. An orbiting sheet of metal to deflect attacks. Further properties unknown.]]

-Boots

>>20936711

[[Whoops, disregard the errant boots there. My bad.]]

>>20936711
"Isn't this fun Quinn, we get to experiment and mess around with bindings, and can still call it work.

Make sure not to tell Terra about this yet, I'm still trying to convince her that this is hard, serious, and usually dull, work."

>>20936820
This is good.

>>20936820

You let out a hearty laugh as you move the hovering discus to your side, clearing your view to Quinn.

"Isn't this fun Quinn? We get to experiment and mess around with bindings, and can still call it work." You pause, quirking an eyebrow and managing not to smirk. "Make sure not to tell Terra about this yet. I'm still trying to convince her that this is hard, serious, and usually dull, work!"

Quinn chuckles at that, shaking his head. "This is pretty incredible, Osyki. I never thought I'd be able to make, or do, anything like this," he says, nodding his head to his raptor-headed spear. "Any tips on what kind of thing binds better? I've got a good idea of what this tail does with weapons, but I'm a little lost past that."

>>20936974
"Well think of what the spine or vertebrae means.

To me it means flexibility, the core of the skeletal structure, and it's the medium that is used to have the rest of your body do things so it could have to do with communication. So try to think of things along those lines. Bind it to something that exemplifies such properties."

>>20936974
"It's hard to tell really.
For example, in Cordia's original form, she was a mirror that enabled me to see the true form of things. But as she is now, combining her with the mirror resulted in a mobile shield.
The easist way would be to summon the spirit from the focus, and ask it, although there's a chance that it would be unable or unwilling to answer."

>>20936974
"You want to bind it to things that would make sense. For instance, I bound the raptor's thigh bone to my pants. Leg to something you wear on your legs. Things that look like legs, or anything cylindrical would make good bindings as well.

As fun as this is, we'd better hurry before those raptors are picked clean.
How close is it to nightfall?

>>20937073 >>20937088 >>20937108

You offer Quinn your best advice, instructing him on the symbolic properties of Focus Binding and the sympathetic power of binding like objects. He seems to absorb all of this fairly readily, chanting the words of unbinding a little haltingly and wincing as the spear in his hands fades back to its ordinary wood and steel construction. He hefts the spine, staring at it with a furrowed brow.

"Hmm. I've got an idea. I'll be back shortly, Osyki." he says, moving in the direction of the Slayer's training house. "Let the Slayers know about the raptor meat out there!" you call after him, to which he responds with a thumbs-up. You watch him go for a moment before Cordia materializes in a whirl of dust, tugging at your arm.

"Hey, try binding me into your boots!" she says with unexpected enthusiasm. "I want to see what that'll do."

"You're feeling chipper about this," you observe with a wry smile. "Enjoying yourself?"

She nods enthusiastically. "Every shape is a new feeling, Osyki! The last one was a safe, solid sort of sensation, and when I blocked that spear I felt the most tremendous sense of satisfaction."

> Cordia wants to try riding in your shoes for a while. What else would you like to try binding her to?

>>20937215
I think we have experienced enough after the boots, so we might want to inform ourselves about any protector of the village, then ask Cordia and the Elders about the possibility of her being the village protector.
(By the way, how well did your birthday go?)

>>20937215
"That's wonderful Cordia, and you did good.

I can't remember the last time I unbound these boots."

Bind her into the boots. I'd also like try attaching her to a hammer, preferably a big one, and maybe a shovel, having something that can dig the river ditch could be nice.

>>20937284
Eh, I still don't think that's a priority.
I'd wager that's even more complicated than using the map properly.

>>20937378
Like at minimum we should look through Ayren's notes to see if it's even possible.

Bump

You pull the Crystal Spear focus from its home in your boots, feeling a strange sense of deflation as the air energy separates itself from your boots. You press Cordia's gem into the sside of your right shoe, focusing your energy into the combination.

Your shoes warp and grow, creeping up until they stop just below your knees. Heavy plates of stone cover your shins, and you can feel spikes jut from the bottoms of your soles. You feel as though nothing could knock you down.

You lean forward and the earth beneath you shifts in response. You pause, considering this, then throw your full weight forward, lunging forward on one knee. The dirt beneath you rolls forward, carrying you with it, a rising wave of earth that ferries you forward until, in your surprise, you step back. As you do the carpet of rolling dirt beneath you crumples, depositing you stumbling back on level earth.

>[[Binding Complete: Golem Rising. Grants stability of stance. Ferries the user on waves of rolling earth.]]

>>20937787
We should roll around town with these boots, giving no explanation, just for shits and giggles.

>>20937787
Try using them to make a channel or ditch for the river.

Just go running through the village, without an explanation, making a riverbed.

>>20937787
Lets go outside and test these bad-boys out. Try to figure out if we can pillar into the air and how fast we can go.

>>20937938
>>20937881
Let's not.

>>20937942
Testing the capabilities of these new boots, on the other hand, let's do that.

After, bind Cordia to a shovel.

What in the name of--oh, different image. No wonder I didn't see it.

>>20936606
Wholly impractical. Arrowheads tend to shatter or crack on impact with anything solid, like rock If one part of the binding circle is off, away goes the spell and I don't care to test the side effects of a failed binding. But it might be possible to carve the runes of binding into stakes or pitons, and plant them during a feral binding, as long as we're not hasty.

You grin like a child, leaning forward again. The freshly churned trail of earth behind you marks your progress as you make two laps around your workshop, then head toward the wall. You focus as the wood and metal barrier comes into view, crouching low (which you note increases your speed) and jumping as best you can in the heavy rock boots.

A sharp -crack- fills the air as a pillar of solid stone punches through the earth beneath you, turning your forward momentum into a flying leap. The height of the pillar aids your jump, and you find yourself hurtling over the walls at a height previously only reachable through Cloudwalker's Stride. You flail your legs as the ground rushes up to meet you and a pillar of soft, loamy earth rises, rushing around you up to the midsection and slowing your meteoric descent. You land in the grasslands outside the northern walls, slowing to a halt in a pile of freshly churned dirt.

"Okay, this is cool." you hear from your boots. "What a rush!"

>>20938140
I suppose I know how we're digging that river now. Might be a good idea to talk with the elders and see where they want to put it. We can probably finish it in a day.

Also, ask them about the village protector, since that seems to be a popular topic right now.

>>20938140
I still like lightning kicking things better, but we should definitely have this when we go to the swamp again.
But yeah, lets try a shovel.
...Do we even own a shovel?

>>20938140
"Isn't it?

Hey Cordia, do you think you can make a tunnel or a permanent ditch or channel in the earth with these boots?"

>>20938236 >>20938182 >>20938174

"Isn't it?" you respond with a grin, turning to glide toward the northern gate. "Hey Cordia, do you think you can make a tunnel or a permanent ditch or channel in the earth with these boots?"

"Hmm," you hear, her response slightly muffled by the rolling dirt around her. "If we zoomed back and forth a lot, we might be able to grind a path down, but it would take a while. I feel like there must be a more convenient way to do it."

You nod, tapping your chin. The sentry at the north gate gives you the all-clear, and you stop gliding in favor of walking, if only so that you don't tear up the well-worn streets of the village. "Do you think a shovel would work?"

"I bet it would!" she responds, prompting several startled looks from villagers around you as you walk back toward your workshop. "Let's give it a try."

You make your way back to the workshop where you see Quinn puzzling over the tracks of disturbed earth you've left in your wake, spine in hand. You pull Cordia from your boots and take a shovel from the small shed that sits at the workshop's side, pressing the stone into the handle.

The blade of the shovel warps and depresses, becoming more a scoop than a blade proper. Long lines of runic script in glowing green text carve themselves into the handle, a handle which quickly colors the shade of slate, then textures itself to match. You dig the scoop into the ground and lift. As you do, a large boulder of earth rips itself free from the ground a few meters in front of you, nearly knocking Quinn prone.

>[[Binding Complete: Terra Disruptor. Capable of lifting and hurling massive spheres of earth from the ground.]]

>>20938372
Hahahaha, oh we are going to have fun with this. Does it only work on dirt, or can we use it to fling wood and rock too? What's the upper limit on the spheres?

>>20938372
Excellent. But we'd need to be careful with it, otherwise it could do some serious damage.

>>20938372
Be very careful with this, no throwing boulders around for fun, at least not within city limits.

Let's find whoever does city planning and ask where he wants the river.

>>20938372
Well well.
If we bind Cordia to the map again, have a copy made that includes all the ore deposits, and use this?
Hahahahaha.
...Probably have to finish the Mountain Quest and get permission for whoever we decide to be the guardian, the mole guy still or the metal newcomer.

I just realized, we can use this for defensive fortifications. Trenches and earthenworks made easy.

What is Cordia now? Some kind of elemental, I assume? Do Tryd or Amal have any thoughts on her transformation?

>>20938514
We really ought to get that map copied. First thing tomorrow, maybe?

>>20938458 >>20938431 >>20938426

You carefully lower the scoop back into the earth, pouring out the clump of dirt it dislodged. Simultaneously the floating chunk of earth lowers itself into the depression its absence has created, slowly losing coherency until it is little more than a mound of earth.

"...Well, that solves one problem." Quinn says incredulously. You nod, placing the Disruptor over your shoulder.

"I'm going to take a trip to the Elder's House, see what I can do about some river building. Care to join?"

He shakes his head. "I'm going to stay here and experiment with this a little more. Let me know how it goes!"

You nod, strolling away toward the center of town. In your head, you begin composing the questions you want to ask the most respected minds in your village.

>What questions will you ask the elders? If you're making requests of them, roll me 1d10 for each. Proper argument and reasoning will add bonuses.

>>20938530
We should ask.
Ask Boa for good measure.
Hopefully we didn't accidentally break some big spirit taboo.

Rolled 4

>>20938545
Have we told them about the humans the Mother of the Swamp saw?
If we haven't, now's a good time to tell them.
Also show them the map.
...As for requests...
Ask Haine specifically is he knows anything about the city, or who the humans might be, seeing as he wasn't born in the village right?
Like as much information as possible would be preferred, but we'd be fine with anything he's willing to tell us.

Rolled 1

>>20938545
We should tell the Elders about digging the river near the village as part of an agreement with an air spirit, but also because it might make the nearby lands more fertile, and ask for the best emplacement for it might be

Rolled 9

>>20938545
If anyone deserves to know about the people that the Mother of the Swamp saw it would be the Elders. I would request that they don't spread the knowledge of this yet as we don't want to panic people and we have no clue if they're friendly or not. Request that we be the ones to deal with the issue for the time being because it's not like anyone else is going to walk through the swamp and we have ways of keeping an eye on them without being noticed.

Also let them know we're building a river for the prosperity of the town, to show the respect to the Rain spirits, and that it will lead to the spring of an allied spirit who has done good for us and the town on multiple occasions.

Rolled 9

>>20938614
I could have sworn we already told them that.
At least I hope we did, because with that roll, they just declared war on all spirits.

>>20938654
>>20938658
Alright, I'm pretty sure we just used up this session's amount of good luck.

Rolled 22

>>20938545
Going to ask them who to talk to for river digging, or where it should go through the village.

Going to ask them about local spirits, particularly one that embodies or protects the village.

We've never asked the elders what totems Arden made for them. Best do that now.

As for requests, there's nothing we actually need from them at the moment. We might however ask to be allowed to make first contact with the strangers, as the strongest combatant in the village. Not only that, our training as the Totemist means that we have practice in negotiating with strangers who have different wants and needs than those from our village.

Rolled 9

>>20938680
Extra zero in the e-mail field, ignore the roll.

>>20938690
>>20938654
>>20938658
would you look at that

You rap sharply on the door to the Meeting House. The door opens a crack, and elder Ilysta smiles at you.

"Ah, Osyki," she says in a warm voice. "Come in, come in."

She swings the door open wide for you with a slight creak. You see elder Haine seated inside, scratching out notes from a well-worn book. Elder Mayhew is nowhere to be found.

You step inside and seat yourself in one of the cushioned chairs, giving elder Haine a nod, which he returns. Ilysta seats herself on your right, and Haine places the book on the table. "What do you need, Osyki?"

You lean the Terra Disruptor against the table, producing the map from the scroll case buckled to your belt. "I have some important business to discuss." you tell them. "I've made a number of interesting discoveries as of late. First, spirits have spotted another group of people to the south of the swamp. They are armed, armored, and appear to be organized."

Elder Haine's eyes grow wide, and Ilysta gives a gasp of surprise. "Another group of people?" she asks softly.

You nod. "The Mother of the Swamp tells me that while they are few, they seem to bear the markings of those raised in civilization. More likely than not they are a scouting party of some sort, though for exploration or war we're unsure."

Haine's lips press into a thin line. You remember Ayren telling you once of this man's decorated service as a general in a vast army to the south. You wonder if he doesn't know more about this than he lets on.s

"Obviously, I wanted to speak with you before I went to make contact with them. If we could set up a trade route with another settlement, we could begin to expand and flourish, rather than subsisting like we do now. On the other hand, if they're scouts for a war party, I'd rather head them off before they make any unfortunate discoveries."
(Cont)

You unroll the map, laying it flat on the table.

"That leads to my secondary discovery: A map, locked away in Ayren's workshop, of the area surrounding the village. It seems he held knowledge of a settlement far to the southwest of here, as well as the regions beyond the Ikrin peaks. He's never shared this knowledge with me; I don't know if he'd seen fit to share it with you before his passing. Regardless, I feel that it's knowledge that should be shared. Using this map in conjunction with my spirits, I can reveal various interesting pieces of information, such as large mineral deposits nearby."

Ilysta leans back. "The miners will be glad to hear of that. The less exploratory mining we have to do, the less the risk of angering the mountain spirits or losing men to cave-ins."

You nod. "Third, I've made contact with the spirits of the rains in the past few days. They have asked that we build a river through the town as a sign of respect to nature and the forces of air and water. I have a tool with me," you say, tapping the handle of the Disruptor, "which could easily accomplish the task of digging a trench for the river to flow through. The spirit of the mountain has promised to divert the run-off and snowmelt from his peak into the river, and I already have a suitable draining point in mind. What I need from you, aside from your permission, of course, is a set of instructions detailing where the best course would be for the river to run through the town. Elder Ilysta, I know you're well acquainted with the geography and layout of the town. I defer to your advice."
(Cont)

The elders look to one another, and Haine sighs. "This is quite the burden of information you have unloaded onto our shoulders, Osyki, and I will not make decisions that so powerfully affect the fate of our settlement with Mayhew missing. Give us a day to deliberate in private over these matters, if you will, and tomorrow we will provide you with our decisions and advice."

You nod. "Thank you, honored elder. If I may, there is one more thing I would ask you to consider. Recently, one of my spirits has become a powerful force of elemental earth. She was a human spirit, once, and holds a great deal of compassion and understanding for the human condition and the lives of those around her. I do not know if this village has a protector spirit. If it does not, however, I would ask your permission to install this spirit as the guardian of the village, to watch over it when I cannot."

The elders look baffled at this. "A protector spirit? What an interesting idea." Ilysta says, rubbing her chin. "I'd like to speak with this spirit, of course, but if you can find a way to install such a protector I'd think that it would lend those who live here a great sense of ease and comfort."

>>20939170
Ask if Ayren gave any of them totems that have broken for whatever reason.
Maybe unbind Cordia and have them talk to her.
Aside from that, I think we're done here.

>>20939170
Tell them you have the spirit with you and they may speak with it now if they wish. If they want to, warn them to cover their eyes and then unbind Cordia from the shovel, allow her to speak with them. If they don't want to, tell them they may speak with her whenever they are ready, they merely need to send a messenger our way.

Rolled 3

>>20939170
We still wanted to ask Cordia before it, but I guess asking her along the Elders would be good. go for it

>>20939170
"It is currently merely an idea, I would have to research quite a bit to even get an inkling of how to do this. But it is something I would like to think of for the future.

As for speaking to the spirit this can be done easily, right now if you wish or later should that be to your preference.

Oh, and do any of you have any totems of importance that were broken when Ayren passed away?"

>>20939170
I thought we were going to ask Cordia first, sound out with the elders whether there was already a protector spirit and then bring up the possibility of installing our own? Probably just my selfishness talking, but I'd like to keep Cordia for as long as possible since she's so powerful now.

Of course, if we go through with this, she'll be a nature spirit, which means we can contract with her and still have the foci. On second thought I'm okay with doing this.

Let's ask about totems and retreat.

>>20939170
Would installing Cordia as the protector spirit prevent us from using her as a bound spirit?

>>20939403
We don't know if protector spirits are even a thing.
We need additional research.

[[Popping out to get some dinner. Back in ~45 minutes.]]

We still haven't tested the limits of binding the raptor to things if I am not mistaken. So far we have tested the leggings, why not try testing a necklace or a ring.

>>20940063
We've tried sword, pants, and various other things. Check last thread for all of them, but if I remember correctly pants seemed the most useful.

>>20940063
I'm not sure how tough it is for Diarca to come up with different combinations, like they've been really creative thus far, but might be draining?
Plus if we spend all day binding things, we won't have time to get anything done.
Like in-game, I'm pretty sure it's been less than a fortnight since Ayren died.

>>20940204

[[Back!

As far as the combinations, it's never -too- difficult. If I didn't like coming up with the combinations I'd have put a limit on it aside from Osyki's personal stamina. Some are more difficult than others, but overall it's one of the things I enjoy most about running this. Speaking of which--]]

"If you like, you can speak to her now," you offer to the elders. "She's bound within this artifact currently, but I can bring her out to speak with you if that's what you'd like. Also, do you have any totems in need of repair?"

Haine shakes his head. "Tomorrow, when we have Mayhew with us, we will speak with her. For now, return to your work. You may not be aware of it, but a number of the villagers enjoy watching your experimentation. Myself included," he says a with grin and a small shrug. "Your lightning bow was quite an impressive sight."

"As for the totems," Ilysta cuts in with slight rolling of the eyes, "We will make up a list for you. Most of my personal totems seem to have survived, but I'll do a more thorough check of them this evening."

>>20940446
Bow and say a polite farewell.
...So now what?

Rolled 55

>>20940446
WAIT
WAIT
WAIT
BIND THE ROCK TURTLE
TO A STRINGED INSTRUMENT
PREFERABLY A GUITAR

>>20940527
THIS MAN IS GENIUS!

>>20940446
Excellent timing, just got back myself.

>>20940491
Anyone have the to do list? We can put some time in at Boand's pond or collect some more broken totems. Maybe the Matrons need some totems fixed?

Hell, we should be keeping track of all the totems in the village. Go to the papermakers and ask for a village map, then we make a list of who has what totems. Should make replacing them much easier in the future, and let us check if anyone's down some.

Rolled 3

Obligations:
* Divert a River through the town - from the snowmelt, to Lady Boand's pond
* Provide Thane with a cup of your blood boiled and reduced to a paste at the new moon.
* Make more useful totems for the village
* Spend about 24 hours at Lady Boand's pond

To Do:
>Spend time with Elana, Aurora, Quinn, Terra.
>Make a log/journal of shit a Totemist needs to know
>Make more totems with personal benefit
>Pick up Totem materials
(not the guy, just pasted stuff from his last post)

>>20940550
As far as "make a log/journal of shit a totemist needs to know", I'd say that Ayren already wrote a bunch of stuff down.
...I kind of feel like we should take his books and copy them, like make a backup in case of a worst-case scenario.
Maybe have Quinn/Terra actually transcribe them as a form of studying?

>>20940542
Let's stay in town for a bit and continue to shovel through our backlog of totems that need to be replaced. We could still make more for the walls and the like, make them stronger, invigorate the defenders, maybe look into personal ones that can be used by the Slayers, they'd like that.

You stand, giving the Elders a bow. "I'll look forward to hearing from you tomorrow, then. Have a good evening."

"You as well, Osyki." Ilstya says with a small smile. Haine nods, picking up his book again. You roll up the map, grab the Disruptor, and head on your way.

For the time being, you feel as though you should continue to work on totems for the village. The more you can create an distribute, the better off the village will be. You'd be improving both safety and quality of life.

You step into your workshop to find Quinn grinding a handful of Angel's Trumpet into a fine white powder. He flashes you a grin, gesturing to a trio of half-complete totems on one of the benches. "Figured I'd get to work on a few Totems, test out if I could lash a poison totem to a bound weapon. What are you up to?"

>[ ]"I thought I'd get to work on some defensive totems for the village."
>[ ]"I have some totems to make for the healer."
>[ ]"I was going to look into some combat totems."
>[ ]"I was going to experiment with binding some more."
>[ ]Other

>>20940779
Did we fix the healer's totems? I don't believe we did, so I think we should do that

>>20940779
We still have totems to make for the healer?
I thought we took care of that.
Well I'd say that the health of our fellow villagers is paramount.
Also it'd give us an excuse to flirt with Elana more.

>>20940799

[[These are just extra totems for the healer. You've already repaired her broken sets.]]

>>20940779
Healer's totems. Gives us an excuse to hit on... I mean see Elana again.

Also, I think it'd be worth itemizing the totems we've already made, so that future replacements will be easier.

>>20940779
Paperwork. I should catalog all of the totems in the village, their current state, what I've made, what needs to be replaced and what priority it is.

If I don't start now I'll be overwhelmed later.

>>20940829
...Maybe we should search through Ayren's books to see if he made a list?
I doubt it, since the dude seemed to never really make any plans on dying.

>>20940806
>>20940794
Change this vote to continue filling the journal/log of Totemist stuff

>>20940779
Yeah,we should definitely stop by the village proper and see what kind of totems we should be making.

And see if there are any guitars to be bought. For research.

>>20940874
Shouldn't people come to us?
Like I'm a bit hazy on how this should work.

>>20940903
It's a bit of both: villagers should come to make mundane totems, but people like Elders, Healer, Blacksmith and other important people should have our eye so we ask them most of the time

We need to buy a guitar or a lute, just keep an eye out.

>>20940924
Harp, eventually we're going to get around to learning it from Sylvia.

>>20940779
Try to work on the villages defensive totems, then log all our research progress.

One thing we should look towards is seeing if pacts can be broken by an outside party (namely, us).
I'd like to destroy the contract made between the Magus, the Mountain Guardian, and Ayren if at all possible.

You shrug. "I've got some paperwork to do. Totems to keep track of. I'd like to see if Ayren had a list of totems he made in the village somewhere around here so I know just how large the body of work I'm approaching is."

Quinn chuckles. "Paperwork? You weren't kidding when you told Terra that this was a tough job."

You roll your eyes, settling into a chair across the workbench from Quinn. "Har har." you say flatly. "You'll be glad for it if I ever kick the bucket and you have to pick up where I left off, you know."

He looks at your strangely for a moment before turning back to his totems.

>Gimmie 1d100 to search for notes.

Rolled 25

>>20941079
Can we get Amal and Tryd to help out?

Rolled 6

>>20941079
FOR SCIENCE!

Rolled 99

>>20941079
Paperwork!

Rolled 59

>>20941079
>>20941115
Well then...

>>20941115
I'm smarter than to roll after this.

>>20941115

You begin to sift through the notes in the main workshop, but you don't expect that to bear much fruit. When that fails to yield any results you move into the library, pulling books and flipping through unlabeled journals in an effort to find something useful. You even summon Amal to help you in your search while Tryd moves back into the workroom to assist Quinn with boiling a cup of herb paste.

It's your nature spirit who finally finds it. Nestled in the pages of "Advanced Ley Line Theory", Amal finds a folded scrap of well-worn paper. He hands it to you, and your eyes light up.

Ayren -did- mark his totems down, at least for a time. You don't know how recent this map is, but even if it's woefully out of date you have a decent idea of where to start looking. You pull the map into the main room, copying down the locations of totems to check on and repair. Your list quickly grows several pages in length. Hopefully, you'll be able to delegate some of this to your assistants.

Satisfied, you put aside the map for a moment and begin flipping through the pages of "Totems for Healing and Preventative Care".

>Make the healer...
>[ ]A totem to induce an air of calm.
>[ ]A totem to ward off pests and insects.
>[ ]A totem to extend the freshness of herbs.
>[ ]A totem to keep the home a steady temperature year round.
>[ ]Other

>>20941281
Steady Temperature would be helpful to keep patients comfortable, but a pest and insect prevention might be a bit more helpful.

>>20941281
Freshness of herbs would be good, since it seems they seem to replenish their reserve every so often, and we don't know how many of them were to herbs losing their effectiveness

>>20941281
For a healer, a totem that slows the spread of rot and infectious disease would be MOST helpful (unless they're making penicillin, but that's a few centuries from now). Try that, and if we can't find it a calming totem might be good.

The calming totem could lead to other discoveries, like a totem to prevent aggression.

>>20941307
Yeah I'd say that's the most useful.
Like the climate of the village appears to be pretty moderate, and herbs seem relatively plentiful.

>>20941281
[X]A totem to ward off pests and insects.

Keeping pests and insects away is of utmost priority for sick people. They often carry diseases of their own and for people who are already sick and infected adding more into the mix will kill them. It also removes a potential transmission vector so that sick people are less likely to infect the rest of the village.

Actually pacifying people would probably be the best totem we can make that could lead to interesting results. Let's go with that.

>>20941339
This should take priority.

>>20941342
I'm voting with this one second.

After that, I say we write copies of the ritual to make the masking totems and assign them to Quinn and Terra. 1 each per day, more if they think they can. We can use it to gauge their potential power, how many totems they can bind, and teach them their own limits in a hard and inarguable, but non-dangerous way.

You put together a simple list of ingredients; oil of witch hazel, rose geranium, and a pinch of spices are mixed into a small vial. A smoking coil, courtesy of Amal, is wrapped in a clean white cord. You dip one end of the cord in the oil, then cork the mixture with the cord still firmly wedged inside.

You hold the vial close to the smoking ember, until its sides are coated black from the soot, then begin to chant.

>1d00

Rolled 47

>>20941509
Crafting!

Rolled 49

>>20941509
We totally used up all our luck on those three 9s and that 99.

Rolled 41

>>20941509
Let's do this

Rolled 83

>>20941509
FOR THE INSECT AND PEST WARD EMPEROR!

>>20941519
We're probably not going to do better than this.

>>20941519

You utter a chant to the effect of warding the home from pest and vermin, channeling the latent power of your aura into the symbolic engine formed by the gathered ingredients. The sooty vial glows a dull red, the ash coating its side bonding with the glass to form a deep black shell. A spark of red leaps into the coal, lighting it from within and forming an orbiting ring of smoke around the now-cooled coal.

>[[Totem Discovered: Pestward Veil. Creates an unpleasant sensation and smell to any rats, mice, or insects who attempt to enter the building housing this totem.]]

>>20941642
You know, I wonder if we'd be able to make a totem that crushes pest as soon as they enter. It would be less useful than the pest ward, but might be interesting to try it.

>>20941642
Time to bring it over, and do some more flirting.
It's been like... an entire day since we last did that hasn't it?

>>20941642
Excellent. If we're still fresh and good to make more totems we could try to make one to lessen rot, inhibit bacteria and virus growth, all that nice medical stuff that we don't understand.

>>20941642
we should also make these for any building like a granary or other central food-storage. The farmers will love it.

>>20941708
An excellent point.

>>20941708
Let's do this before we even leave to make deliveries.

>>20941708 >>20941730 >>20941751

As you're packing up to head out, you glance at the map of totems. You realize that the grain storage and the matron's kitchen stores could probably use one of these. You shrug your pack from your shoulder, mixing up another batch of oils and laying your hands across both totems simultaneously.

Across the room, you see Quinn heft a strange totem. It is a deep black shell of wood, runic designs smeared in beladonna and datura paste across its surface. He draws a sword from the wall, affixes the hollow sphere to its pommel, and inspects the blade carefully.

>2d100

Rolled 65, 40 = 105

>>20941812
Ask him what he's doing once we're done, but for now CRAFTING

Rolled 98

>>20941812

Rolled 85, 45 = 130

>>20941812
So, what'd you make Quinn?

Rolled 18

>>20941828
guess I roll my second roll.

>>20941812
We know that Quinn was born and raised in this village right? Because he seems almost too fast a learner sometimes.
Maybe we're just a really good teacher?

Rolled 43

MASTERWORK DWARF TOTEM.
IT MENACES WITH SPIKES!

>>20941854

As you pack away your two freshly completed warding totems, you glance across the room. Quinn is giving the blade a few clipped practice swings, watching as the silvery steel cuts through the air.

"What'd you make?" you ask, quirking an eyebrow. He halts mid-swing, flipping the sword in his hand and presenting the pommel for your inspection.

"It's a poison totem. It's ordinarily used to lay traps for insects and pests, but I figured that I'd see if I could figure out how to apply it to a weapon. I don't think I've hit paydirt just yet, but once I get this figured out I can start making us totems to give us an edge in combat."

You nod appreciatively, inspecting his work. The runes are of a slightly modified design from the standard totem. It seems as though he's attempted to nudge the runes toward expelling poison, rather than simply attracting things to the poison already present on the totem itself. Apparently he hasn't -quite- succeeded, though you do see beads of moisture beginning to well up on the surface of the black wood shell.

>>20941938
Good idea Quinn, it'll take some fiddling to get it to work right but you're on the right track. Though I think that the harder part might be getting it past Walther.

>>20941938
"I'd recommend wearing gloves, and maybe goggles. Definitely don't touch your eyes or mouth until you give yourself a thorough wash. Great idea though."

>>20941938
Tell him to safely dispose of the totem if he isn't going to be actively working on it. Something like that could be dangerous if it was lost or misplaced. Also scold him a bit for not making the village a priority. Still good idea and good thing to see him take initiative. Try to discern if it's almost there with spirit vision and how we could fix it.

>>20941938
"Just remember that giving us poison doesn't make us immune to the poison, so be careful with that"

>>20941981
That's actually a good thing for the village, it lets the Slayers have enhanced weaponry and maybe even armor. It means that the level of the threats the village can deal with while we're out is increased, once we get enough produced.

>>20941938
Remind him that poison only works well if you don't intend to eat the prey later. If you have to use it against a rock spirit or something that has no flesh, or something that you need the meat, flesh, and blood intact from, poison might get in the way and spoil the resources. It's a great idea, but it's not something we can always use.

>>20941882
I think it has to do with his youth. He has a fresh perspective on things. Even Osyki had a modicum of indoctrination from his training under Ayren. Quinn doesn't have even that. All he has is what he's seen us do, and nobody ever told him what can't be done, so as far as he knows, nothing is impossible. Which means he's liable to try just about anything. Great for creating new totems and helping advance the universal knowledge of totemic-business, but not entirely safe. As long as we can rein him in away from endangering himself, he should be fine.

You raise an eyebrow. "That's some good work you've got going on there. Still, poison? I hope you're not intending to use these on our hunting trips, or against any sort of spirit without blood. More than that, just because we can wield poison, doesn't mean we're immune to it. Go ahead and get some gloves while you're working on this. When you're done, make sure you dispose of it safely, too. Don't want someone happening across it."

He nods, looking a little sheepish. "Poison totems are pretty simple to make, so I thought I'd start from there and move up. I'll take care of it Osyki. Sorry."

You shake your head. "No, no need for apologies. Just remember to be careful. Now go wash your hands and get some thick gloves. I'm off to the healer's. Should I pick up some anti-paralytic just in case you're seizing when I get back?"

He laughs a bit at your gallows humor. "Get out of here, man." he says, a good natured smile working its way over his features.

You head out toward the healer's. It's getting dark, and by the time you get to the town square you can see the residents of the homes around it lighting their candles and lamps. You take a moment to appreciate your little settlement. Sure, it may not be a city, and you may struggle to keep yourselves on your feet some years, but it's a good group of people. You hope contact with the outside world wont change that.

Elana opens the door when you knock. She looks surprised for a moment, then steps out to wrap you in a hug.

"Evening, Osy." she says affectionately. "What's up?"

>>20942122
"Just decided to do a round of totem giving tonight, as well as visiting my favorite healer around here"

>>20942122
"Oh nothing, just wanted to see your beautiful face before I went to bed tonight." Make of her lightly when she reacts and then go through and give the totem to the Healer.

>>20942122
"Well I made some totems that ought to be of use here. It was some hard working making a quality excuse to see you."

>>20942194 >>20942154 >>20942144

"Oh, you know," you say with a shrug, your voice taking on an airy tone. "Just out for a walk, giving out some totems, seeing your beautiful face before I went to bed. I have some here for you. It was some hard working making a quality excuse to see you." you finish with a sly smile.

Elana turns colors ordinarily reserved for raspberries and glances behind her for a moment, her face a mixture of embarrassment, fury, and affection. "You doofus," she whispers, practically glowing with the heat of her face. She bops you lightly on the head. "You hardly need to make excuses to see me, you know. One of these days you're just going to ask me out and about without preamble or ulterior motive, honestly."

Her words seem to catch up to her the instant they leave her mouth and the color leaks from her cheeks to color her entire face. She turns abruptly, walking inside and calling loudly for her master.

You follow her with a grin. The healer pokes her head around the corner, an eyebrow raised.

"Osyki," she says, wiping her hands on a cloth. "How can I help you?"

>>20942278
I made this for you. It ought to keep various pests, insects, vermin and so on, away from your patients and medicinal stores.

>>20942278
"I came to ask your apprentice out, and decided I ought to drop off a totem for you. It should help keep pests out."

Turn the tables on her!

>>20942278
"Decided to make some totems to help get rid of pests such as rats and insects, as well as poking fun at Elena."

>>20942326
I dunno about asking her out right now, but that's quite the daring move

>>20942317
>>20942326
A combination of these two. Make it slightly on the joking side, but if she pokes or prods make sure you follow through.

You produce the insect-ward totem from your pack, offering it to the healer by the string. "I made this for you. It ought to keep out the various pests and vermin that come around in the rainy season. I thought it might be helpful to keep it in the room with your patients. Also, I thought I might come poke a little fun at your apprentice. Keep her on her toes. You know, the usual."

The healer struggles to contain a smile, accepting the totem with a nod. "Thank you, Osyki. This is a wonderful gift. It seems no matter how often I pitch the outside of the building, the mosquitoes always seem to find a way in. Hopefully, this will ameliorate that problem."

She doesn't seem to address your secondary mission, but she does turn and walk into the other room. A few moments later Elana stumbles out into the main room, glaring behind her for a moment before waving you toward the door. You follow her out onto the building's porch, where she sits on the railing.

"What are you up to tomorrow?" she finally asks.

>>20942481
"I guess whatever it is you're planning to do, though I am due for a talk with the elders once Mayhew returns."

>>20942481
"I'm going to visit the elders to get news on stuff we talked today, most likely going to dig up a river, y'know, the usual, but after that I'm most likely free to do anything. If you want to do anything i'm going to be up for it, though I ought to talk to Terra and aurora since it's been a couple of days since I visited them"

>>20942511
This. Then add something along the lines of whatever you want to do.

>>20942481
"Oh, you know, nothing special. Dig a river from the mountain, through town, down to Boand's pool in a single day, create totems that make everyone in the village better at their job, bleed myself a little so that only those I truly trust can remember or even hear my true name. Meet with the Elders to discuss a different settlement on the far side of the swamp. Same old same old. Still not sure what I'll do after lunch, though. Did you have any ideas?"

>>20942574
Is tomorrow the new moon?

>>20942612
No idea, we never got the lunar calendar we asked for. But I slipped it in there as a way of letting Elana know that no matter what, we trust her completely. The proof? She remembers who we are.

"Oh, you know, nothing special," you say with a shrug. "Dig a river from the mountain, through town, down to Boand's pool in a single day, create totems that make everyone in the village better at their job, bleed myself a little so that only those I truly trust can remember or even hear my true name. Meet with the Elders to discuss a different settlement on the far side of the swamp. Visit the little sister. Same old same old. Still not sure what I'll do after lunch, though. Did you have any ideas?"

Elana just shakes her head. "I was going to see if you wanted to take a hike with me, but now I think I might need you here tomorrow. It seems you're suffering from critical overinflation of the ego." she says, sticking her tongue out a little. "It's a serious condition, Osyki. Gotta catch it early, or it can be fatal."

>>20942680
"Luckily I have the best apprentice healer in the village to look after me as I suffer from such a debilitating ailment. Who else could possibly have the expertise to cure me of my ego?

There is nothing I would like to do more tomorrow than take a hike with you.

Oh, I forgot to mention, Cordia is doing much better, less skeletal, more rocky."

>>20942680
"Fortunately I know an excellent doctor; as long as I have her I'll never have to worry. A hike sounds fine, but we will have to take some small precautions to keep a certain magus from noticing you."

>>20942680
"I'll just have to push on with the help of the most beautiful doctor in all the land. Somehow I think I'll make it."

Then, while she's still distracted by the compliment, kiss her on the cheek for a x2 Flustered Combo Multiplier.

>>20942680
"Really? Oh, my! This is serious. I suppose I should get plenty of bed rest. Know anyone who would check in on my regularly to make sure my... ego... doesn't get too swollen?"
--Say this with a sly smirk and a suggestive raise of the eyebrows.

I don't think she realizes that that may well be our literal schedule, not a boast.

>>20942741
I think if we did this, her head might just pop from all the blood going to her face.

...let's try it.

>>20942792
"Oh god we killed her!" And then we followed in the footsteps of Aryen Overwake, a reclusive, unpleasant man.

File: 1349073732315.jpg-(119 KB, 731x1000, Osyki.jpg)

You widen your eyes, doing your best to pull off a concerned, worried face.

"Oh.. oh my. Really? This is serious. I'll just have to push on with the help of the most beautiful doctor in all the land. Somehow I think I'll make it."

You see her smile turn into a smirk, and she is no doubt brewing up some sarcastic retort or other when you lean toward her. It's clear from the way her eyes widen that she only realizes what it is you're doing precisely when you press your lips to her cheek. You can feel the blush still dwelling there, radiant crimson, as you withdraw.

The sound she makes is somewhere between a squeak and an echolocation wave, a noise that borders the upper pitch of human hearing. She raises a hand to her cheek, staring at you with wide eyes.

She doesn't look particularly unhappy, though.

[[And that's all for this evening, folks. Catch you on thursday. Mailing list email in this post, etc. etc.]]

>>20942839
Great times Diarca, Hope you had a great birthday and all that.

>>20942839
Thanks for the great thread, as always. Have a great week!

>>20942839
See you Thursday. Thanks for running it.

>>20942839
Night Diarca, have a good one.

>>20936444
Oh hey, Totem quest ongoing.