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And I was cutoff by the character limit, but let's not forget Mari, the mortal curiousity you picked up a couple of months ago. She's a mortal who can use daemon Talents naturally, like a daemon, instead of spending years of study to learn them like most mortal sorcerers. She seems to be of great interest to the Red Queen, whose minions have attempted to capture her alive in the past. You're not entirely sure why the Red Queen wants her, or what exactly Mari is, but you know she's valuable.

Also have a slightly outdated map.

>wat do?

>>25834994
Last we ended the Chapter, we were filling Jack in on Mari's story I believe. What's his thoughts on that? And is he taking us back to his base? I think we were fleeing for fear of Mortil showing up.

>>25834994
Whoo, TM posted my map! I'll try to have an updated one ready for... tomorrow, maybe? Yea that sounds good.

ANYWAY, what were we doing? Last I remember we just rescued Mari from hitsquad #3.

>>25835094
Mortil, right, the peer that we think may be around here somewhere, maybe, and who seemingly was not the (no longer?) Decay daemon in Shorefall who set us up at the cove. That's kind of a loose end by the way, he's probably going to fuck over Shorefall badly once the war starts. Hell, he's fucking it over already, but more.
There's also Sholta still unresolved. We could attempt to persuade them once again, which I would like to try using a more aggressive form of diplomacy, or we can have Jack attack them outright to "recruit" them.
That's longer term though. Proceed with whatever was going on right now.

>>25835094

Yeah, that too. You're headed back to Whisper City to camp there in case Mortil shows up to ruin your day. And just in case we have new readers along for the ride, Mortil is a powerful ghost daemon answering to the Red Queen.

In any case, yes, you inform Thin Jack of the story with Mari on the way back to Whisper City. He is interested, full of questions you can't answer. Why does the Red Queen want her? What exactly is she? Are the similarities between her appearance and the Red Queen's a coincidence (they are fairly fleeting; still, they're both blonde pale-skinned females)? If there's one, could there be more?

Since Mari herself doesn't have half a clue, Jack resolves to find the Red Queen and beat it out of her.

>>25835373
Sidenote: Jack should at some point be pulled aside and informed that he really doesn't need to boast about our past heroics. Since you know, that might make certain people less cooperative.

>>25835373
Ask him how long he's gonna need to recover enough that we can go out and "recruit" Sholta into his army, since I doubt Mortil can muster another force of Daemons fast.

Also take a little bit to tell Mari we're heading into zombie filled territory and try not to scream and faint if they look at her funny. Might as well ask her if she remembers anything about the ambush on her and Girdin.

>>25835420
Consideration: Does Jack's army require, well, maintenance? We saw some of them being fed with living humans, but we don't really know if that was out of necessity or just for fun. If it does, it may not even be feasible to "recruit" Sholta AND still have that army running long enough to be useful in the war.

>>25835464
is there a way to test if Mari is the RedQueen's
progeny?
also should i hold up on asking meta questions till i read the archives?

>>25835538
It doesn't hurt to ever ask questions, and the archives a pretty long read so I'd feel bad for sending you off to catch up.

Welcome to the quest by the way!

>>25835538
Daemons aren't supposed to be able to have children. RQ and her band of merry dictators do like to use fleshshaping to make mortals more, well, interesting. But Mari isn't fleshshaped as far as we know, she was born in Dorrik, presumably the normal way. So whatever is going on there is really... well we just don't know.
My personal favorite theory is that her ability to use Talents is the result of some weird experimentation by one or more daemons from the Court of Knowledge that the rest of the Dominion alliance severely disapprove of and now they're trying to kill the result. But you know, that's just based on almost nothing, so take it as nothing more than my personal speculation.

>>25835420

Jack's got shattered ribs. It'll take about a week for those to heal up, but he can give his ghouls general direction from here and they'll continue to follow it until he shows up to contradict them. Undead are conveniently immune to most mind-altering Talents, even if they (like ghouls) aren't completely mindless. Ghouls do require a diet of live or recently dead humans (technically any sentient mortal) to maintain their population, and Jack is quickly running out. That said, ghouls don't require nearly as much food as the laws of physics would suggest. An uncooperative Sholta could be converted into ghoul and ghoul-food.

Upon arrival in Whisper City, Mari is only slightly freaked out by the ghouls crawling across one another and shrieking at her from the bars of their pens. Their hunger for the live mortal flesh walking ten feet from them drives them into a frenzy, but their fear of Jack is stronger. They retreat and cower with a single menacing glare from him. Mari sticks her tongue out at the ghouls as you pass.

Jack's ghosts report no sign of Mortil. Since Mortil doesn't have Obfuscation, he can't turn himself invisible (unlike actual ghosts). But what else could Mortil be doing? What's more important than a hostile daemon peer waiting to wreck your invasion as soon as he can get free of your sieging forces, forces which are a threat to him only because you may reinforce them at a moment's notice?

In any case, he hasn't shown up.

>wat do?

>>25835569
it has some high ratings so looks like it will be a good read.

how does the rolling work? example
Thin jack is asked to do a recon in the direct area between us and the whisper city. roll d20?
is the roll his response to me or the success of his action?

>>25835538

The archive is big, so feel free to ask questions in-thread. It really doesn't take much time or space to answer a question so it won't really slow the quest down.

As anon has mentioned, though, daemons are incapable of biological reproduction.

>>25835674
>Upon arrival in Whisper City, Mari is only slightly freaked out by the ghouls crawling across one another and shrieking at her from the bars of their pens. Their hunger for the live mortal flesh walking ten feet from them drives them into a frenzy, but their fear of Jack is stronger. They retreat and cower with a single menacing glare from him. Mari sticks her tongue out at the ghouls as you pass.

I'm not even sure what to do to freak her out anymore.
Have we mentioned our encounter with not-Mortil back in Shorefall? It's possible that he himself is doing something similar, wrecking cities somewhere with disease. Also, do we know if it's possible that it COULD have been Mortil after all, even if the statues didn't look like him, and that he was always somewhere else and simply possessing the statues from afar?

>>25835674
Ask Jack if he can have some of his ghosts search the general area Mari was ambushed in (If she can figure out where that was relative to here) to look for Girdin. Tell him Girdin could look like a vaguely rhino shaped pile of rocks that's dead or alive. There should also be a Nature Daemon corpse with him hopefully.

In the meantime we wait for Jack to heal up a bit.

>>25835689

If I feel like something needs to be left up to random chance, I'll do the rolls myself (mostly because the /tg/ roller hates players, but also partly because many situations that call for one roll call for lots). When we do roll, it's only to select a course of action when the votes are tied and discussion is going nowhere.

>>25835728
Hell, I'd enjoy answering question, especially ones that get my speculation train rolling.

>>25835689
If there's rolling, it happens behind the screen. I'd like to think it happens as little as possible. Though we do roll 1d100 to resolve any tied votes regarding what to do.

>>25835755
Didn't he already search the area way back before we even engaged hitsquad #3?

>>25835774
He may have, but its worth clarifying.

>>25835733

The statue had only vague similarities to Mortil, but it is possible that Mortil was possessing it somehow. Jack has only scarce knowledge about Mortil's capabilities, but he knows that most of Mortil's Talents are from Dominion and their allies. He has Celerity, Fortitude, Arcana, and Necromancy for sure. Jack also suspects he has Alchemy or Thaumaturgy because he buffs his cannon fodder a lot. Since Mortil is a peer, though, it's also possible that his special peer-level power is some kind of buff. Jack's reasonably certain that Necromancy is the only Talent he has that's not part of the usual Dominion set.

Jack sends his ghosts to check out the campsite. "Corpse of a Nature daemon?" he says, "dam Dominion. First they irritate my friends, and now they steal my kills. I think I'll have to set aside some especially painful fate for them."

In any case, it'll be a bit before the ghosts report back if you plan on doing anything while Jack is recovering.

>>25835774

No. Your campsite was outside the range of Jack's usual search radius, because if you spread your ghosts out too thin people can slip past them more easily. The jester and knight headed north out of the range of his scouts, which is usually so that they can re-enter the area undetected for a bit. In this case, though, it looks like they were heading out to snag Mari.

>>25835859
Ask Jack if he knows what the situation is with any local Peers from Sky's alliance, since we've never really dealt with them and it would be nice to know where they are if we plan on recruiting any more Night Daemons or otherwise to our side.

Also asking because learning more about the setting is fun.

>>25835875
Unless of course Girdin decided he'd had enough of this shit, ditched Mari, hit squad #3 randomly stumbled upon her and Jester decided "Imma keep that" without any actual knowledge of who that is.

Yea that doesn't seem likely.

>>25835859
"Maybe you could just relocate some of that "painful fate" (saying that part with an ironic spooky voice would be cool) you had planned for my allies in Nature over to Dominion. That'd be nice."

>>25835907

"The region is nearly clean for Sky-alliance daemons," Jack says, "Sun had already established near-hegemony in the region when Dominion arrived. When I asked my allies if there was any word about the situation here five years ago, they informed me only that the high-ranking daemons had been imprisoned or abandoned the region, and they had heard little of it for the past several centuries. I hear little of the debates of Kings and Lords, but rumor is that Sky plans on abandoning this world entirely to let Sun and Dominion weaken one another fighting for it, and that we should concentrate our efforts on other worlds...I hope the rumors are wrong. We still have many valuable strongholds on this world, places worth fighting for."

>>25836073
"And what are those places Jack? Forgive me, for my memory is still a mess."

>>25836087
Probably NOWHERE NEAR THIS CONTINENT.

>>25836100
Speaking of which, does it have a name yet?

>>25836100

Indeed, I could pull some names out of my ass but basically "elsewhere." Jack is musing about the situation of the battle for this entire world, which is really about as relevant to your situation as middle managers musing about Washington politics at the water cooler. The battle for the world affects you, but you can't do much to affect it.

The continent still doesn't have a name. It badly needs one.

>>25836178
Well then we'll ask him about what is actually relevant to our immediate situation. What Peers does Dominion have on loose here other than Mortil and the Daemon of Golgoth (Who is thus far unnamed).

>>25836178
I'll give you a one hour deadline, starting at the time of this post, before I give it a random name and keep using it until it sticks.

So, practically nobody from Sky in the region. That's pretty bad, since we could badly use some more daemons on our side. I guess we're stuck with Olberek (eurgh( and his Nature cronies.

>>25836239
Really, anything he may know about the current situation of the continent, seeing as ours is centuries old.

>>25836239

The first few sentences of Jack's answer refer to the region: It's basically cleaned out for Sky-alliance daemons and has been for centuries. The last bit talks about how this is a general trend across the world, so much so that the higher-ups are considering abandoning the world entirely.

>>25836178
can ghouls eat ghouls?can ghouls be put into a dormant state kind of like land mines?

i propose "hopes last horizon" as a name

Can we dissect Mari? also can we use her are breeding stock for better magicians?

>>25836292
I asked what Peer Dominion had loose, not Sky on that question.

>>25836299
>Ghouls do require a diet of live or recently dead humans

We could dissect her, but that would obviously kill her and we only have one. If the ability is passed on genetically, we could also breed her, though that takes a lot more time than we have available in our current situation. I'd recommend we try to keep her alive and keep using her as the asset she is. Plus, I like her. She's resourceful and has a sense of humor.

>>25836343
Likewise.

Also TM can Mari use Fleshshaping on undead? Does it kill them when she does since they don't really require quite the same vital functions that normal targets do?

If they can be affected but aren't easily damaged by it we could convince Jack to let Mari use some of his as target practice and see if she can start improving her precision since that's been a lingering issue.

>>25836299

Ghouls can eat ghouls, although this obviously reduces the number of ghouls you have. They can't be put into a dormant state.

There's nothing stopping you from dissecting her beyond the idea that, as mentioned, you've only got one and she wouldn't survive the process. As for breeding, maybe, but that's obviously a longterm idea.

>>25836328

And Jack hasn't got a clue because Sky pulled out centuries ago, around the same time you were stuck in an oubliette. He's been pinned down by Mortil in this city for pretty much his entire stay, so he doesn't know much beyond what could be tortured out of the locals, which is mostly local information.

>>25836343
>>25836343
right i read that part sry forgot
i don't want to kill Mari so i dissection is off the table, i still say some sort of breeding plan might be wise but prob just result in her fleeing.

What magic is she expert in and can me teach her some more shit?

can flesh shapeing make clones(like little mari mini me's who are feral and wise cracking)?

>>25836375

Mari can Fleshshape undead, but it does basically nothing to them since they aren't using any of their organs in particular. Punch bones through the lungs? They don't breathe. Grow them through the brain? They are animated by Jack's will and don't need the brain to operate. Crush their heart? It wasn't beating anyway. The only thing that really matters is bones and muscle, because that's all that's still in use.

Jack doesn't mind giving up a few ghouls to target practice, but he's not going to promise a steady stream. His army is relatively small compared to the forces being thrown around south, and he doesn't want to sacrifice any significant number.

>>25836459
I think the idea was to try to get her some experience with, you know, non-lethal things. Precision work that might not kill the target, had it been alive.

>>25836432
She knows fleshshaping, which is basically just altering the flesh of a living target, and she recently also acquired some thaumaturgy after we fed her with a slain enemy daemon. That involves using her own blood to draw signs that can heal, harm, cancel talents, and one other thing I think, but I can't remember which.

>>25836459
Then sure, let's let Mari practice on some to see if she can manage some precise fleshshaping like growing claws on a target, thickening the skin or improving the integrity of bone structure, stuff like that.

>>25836497
Oh, and teaching others to use talents takes AGES. With daemons it isn't a big problem since they're immortal, with mortals you're looking to use up a huge chunk of their lifetime hoping that they'll be useful in what little they have left when you're done.

>>25836273
WARNING: Only 30 minutes remaining.

>>25836513

To expand on this, mortals can typically learn things much faster than daemons, but daemons are usually better than mortals at whatever it is they do because practically all of them have had a minimum of several thousand years to get good at it. Mari could hypothetically teach you Fleshshaping once she gets good at it herself...If she were willing to set aside about a century of time to do so. Even with Fleshshaping holding her aging body together for as long as possible, that'll still chew up about a quarter of her lifespan. Although it is worth remembering that as a Fleshshaper, Mari is going to live for a very long time compared to most mortals (if she isn't killed violently).

>>25836632
>if she isn't killed violently

With how DARK SOULS this world seems to be at times, this is a more frighteningly possible ending to her life than I'd like to imagine.

>>25836584
10 minutes.

>>25836632
can we forma seige engine and lauch ghouls into a fortified city? I vote we attack the mortal allies of the golgothian. Also could we flesh shape the ghouls so that their muscles are weaved into a large godzilla/akira monster that will smash down any fortifications?
also on the name front "ether"

>>25836799
5 minutes.

>>25836851
2 minutes.

>>25836844
There is a Necromancy power that lets you stitch together flesh/creatures and reanimate them, but I'm pretty sure that if Jack had it he would've had some of them running around his home base that we'd see.

>>25836881
And time's up. From now on I will refer to this continent as Darum. If you don't like it, you'd better come up with something before it sticks.

>>25836844
I suspect that ghouls would break if you threw them that far. Perhaps if they could be reinforced it might work.

>>25836844
>I vote we attack the mortal allies of the golgothian

Well, yes, that has generally been the plan. Mari is incapable of precision Fleshshaping. As a general rule, she can mostly just cause a bone to grow someplace fatal. In any case, when Fleshshaping minions simple reinforcement is almost never the most optimal route. Typically, Fleshshapers reshape their minions into abominations and behemoths that look very different from the original creature.

Ghouls can be used for labor and thus can be used to create siege engines, however they'll splatter as readily as any other mortals, and are thus unlikely to survive being lobbed over a wall.

In any case, Mari begins practicing on the ghouls while Jack's ghosts run out and fetch a report of what's going on with the camp. They've found a pile of rocks that have been scorched and blackened by fire, so it sounds like they tried and failed to burn Girdin's corpse to keep him dead longer. It appears as though his head has been knocked off, so it'll be a solid two or three months before he's back. No sign of Lark, and since he was completely incapacitated last time you checked, his having escaped can be safely ruled out as a possibility. Most likely they burned him in the firepit, and it'll be about a year before he regenerates. Both of them are out of the picture for the crucial autumn months of the Margellian conflict, certainly.

Also, Jack is pretty much healed by now.

>wat do?

>>25836975
RIP Girdin.
Try to remember the location for later.

As for right now, since we can't find Mortil, I guess the most immediate concern is Sholta. I still think we should try to intimidate them into doing what we want, and if that fails, Jack can have it.

>>25836975
Let's set off to turn Sholta in ghoul food, and let Jack figure out the details of how exactly he wants to assimilate the city. We're just along for the ride when it comes to terrorizing them and saying "It's happening" and "You should have listened" to the panicking leaders within the city when appropriate.

>>25837039
If we want to attack Sholta (I don't), why warn them? Why not try to get them to lower their guard and make them an easy target for Jack?

>>25837057
Well sure, that really goes without saying. The point is though to rub it into their dying faces that they only have themselves to blame for pissing us off and offending the shadow spirits.

Seems like a very Anomaly thing to do.

We should also figure out if Ivan is still skulking around.

>>25836975
How long would it take for use to march on Ommus and flank the attackers?

are ghouls made from corpses? also are insects acceptable food for ghouls? can they be feed off the insects that could be farmed off our refuse(poop&garbage) and corpses.

>>25837079
If his intention was to disrupt our efforts in Sholta, he could have very well left after our first attempt. If it was something else (such as working on persuading Sholta to surrender peacefully), he'd still be there.

>>25837032
SO, since this is standing still, arguments in favor of NOT eating Sholta.

1) A living army is intelligent (though it IS Sholta, they still have some) and requires less micromanagement.
2) Whisper had already fallen before we showed up in Margell so we can't be as easily blamed for that, but if after we announced we were heading to Whisper, Sholta mysteriously vanished as well and we show with an army of undead, that's going to be OBVIOUS we were involved. And that would likely harm our relations with Kestis (and eventually Gigan) quite a bit. Not good.
3) Living soldiers are probably straight up better fighters, even before considering the management issue mentioned above.

>>25837338
So how would you go about intimidating them into submission then?

>>25837120

Ghouls need to feed off of the corpses of sentients. Insects don't count. Ghouls are indeed made of corpses, although magic keeps them fresh enough to still count as "recently living" for purposes of interacting with magic (which mostly means they're vulnerable to Fleshshaping but can't be used to fuel Thaumaturgy).

Concerning Ommos, marching on them will take about a week. Armies move slow, though, you could make much better time on your own if you went with a smaller group (and it's about the same distance back to Sholta).

>>25837338

There's no need to go with a "probably" on the number 3. Jack is a necromancy and can tell you. Zombies and skeletons are quick and easy to make minions who are pretty shitty fighters compared to your standard mortal soldiers. Ghouls take more time to create, but Jack's had plenty, so he went ahead and made his army from them. They're just as effective as mortal soldiers, except they know no fear and are incapable of disloyalty (barring magical interference).

In any case, if we can't agree whether or not to attack Sholta, let's just roll for it. d100, highest wins, though as usual consensus trumps high rolls.

>>25837485
By making it very clear that, after attacking us in the area near Sholta, they've severely pissed off what was previous just a somewhat annoyed but can't be arsed to deal with you anymore spirit. As a result, our terms have changed and we now demand complete obedience of Sholta or it'll be the next Whisper City.

>>25837570
Eh, I suppose we can give it a shot and barring that failing we can mulch them.

>>25837570
>>25837641

Okay. So how specifically do you plan to actually do that?

>>25837713
Alone. Mari can stay here where it's somewhat safer. Get into that throne room and appear in the center of the room before him, corporeal if there's no guard too close and they don't have anything they could throw or shoot reasonably well, lock eyes with him. If we have to stay in shadow form that's okay too.
"It's time, little count. You've overstepped your mortal bounds completely. You first insult me, you try to attack me with your feeble weapons. You give roof and cooperate openly with a daemon of Golgoth. Forgivable in the grand scheme I suppose, given your glaring ignorance. But sending your soldiers to attack my allies, my friends, merely for trying to pass safely through the land near your city? Under the leadership of yet another Golgothan daemon, even. This is I cannot possibly forgive. No other daemon would take me seriously again if I let you go unpunished.
Now, there are two ways I could rectify your horrible mistakes. First, you and your city swear complete loyalty to me, second only to the future king of Margell. Not loyalty to Kestis, to Gigan, to Ommos, or to Golgoth. To me. Do so, and your city will be spared.
Otherwise... You will learn first hand the fate of Whisper. You have two hours."
If at any point he tries to interrupt us doing that, or if he takes on an offensive tone, angrily demand "SILENCE" at the top of our lungs the first time, second time simply use a delusion to shut him up.

>>25838098
I like your style. Let's do it.

>>25838098

Alright, what about Jack and the army? They just going to camp in Whisper while you do this? Are they going to come along to Sholta?

>>25838561
I'm thinking don't bring them. If we don't need to show our army, we don't. Leave the actual threat unknown. Unknown is scary.

>>25838703
Yeah, we don't want to be all "damned if you do damned if you dont" on them with the army around.

>>25838820
>>25838703
>>25838098

You return to Sholta. The woods nearby are still thronging with Sholtan hunters and search parties, but there's nothing left for them to find, and your shadow form is easily able to slip back into the city again.

The Count is alone with his spymaster when you enter and, stretching from the shadows, make your demands. His response is immediate. "Don't waste your breath with threats, spirit," he says, "I am given a sacred duty handed down from the gods to rule and protect this city, and I will not see it despoiled by allegiance to a demon like you. My allegiance and that of my people is to my king and to my gods, in life and in death! I would sooner throw myself from this tower than betray them."

>wat do?

>>25839006
"If you're so adamant about protecting your people, then prove it."

"Throwing yourself from this tower is the only way to save your citizens from brutal and painful deaths."

Delusion time, motherfucker.

>>25839043
I was thinking exactly this, though I recall something about Delusion being overwritten by will to survive? Perhaps reinforce it with "Your gods will protect you" or something akin to that?

>>25839043
>>25839088
Also, take exactly two medium sized steps to the right before using delusion, just in case the center has wards. It totally might. Not likely, but it might.

>>25839043

It only takes a moment for the Count to run out the door, head for the nearest window, and splatter himself across the pavement below. The spymaster runs after, but says nothing as he flings himself off the side. You think you see him shrug a little.

>wat do?

>>25839375
>lol whatever I didn't like him anyway

"So who's in charge now?"

>>25839375
That was comedy gold, we are so telling Jack about this.

Also seconding >>25839445

>>25839445
>>25839467

The spymaster turns about. "Oh, are you still here?" he asks. And then shrugs again. "The Count has heirs. The eldest of them will inherit his throne."

>>25839586
"Great, go find him. I gave the count two hours to make a decision, and I'm still counting"

>>25839753

"Wait here," the spymaster says, and then leaves, presumably to go and grab the newly appointed Count. Upon finding him, a young lad of about twenty-two, he tells him to head to the corridor where the spymaster had left you, and then departs.

>wat do?

>>25839995
Wait for him there, explain the situation again. Really, just about the same as before except adjusted because he's a different person. Stress the fact that he still has only two hours to make a decision.

>>25839995
Fill him in on what has happened briefly, tell him our demand, and see what his has to say.

>>25840211
>>25840223

"What do you want with this city?" is his first question, "what need would a spirit of shadow have of mortal allegiance in war?"

>wat do?

>>25840348
"My goal is the unification of Margell, so that it may stand against the onslaught of Golgoth. Until now, Sholta has not only decided to work with Golgothan daemons, knowing or not, but also decided to attack my own forces. So you see, either I have to remove this city, or it follows my orders from now on. I stress the fact that I am being unusually forgiving with this city by offering you this compromise at all."

Running into all kinds of computer problems. Getting kind of late anyway. TDQ will be back tomorrow at 14.00 server time or maybe a bit early or maybe a bit late. In any case, I'll post to the twitter feed @MCJohnnyQuest when a new thread starts so subscribe to the RSS feed for that and you'll be good.

>see you then