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Welcome to Shadowquest!

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Recent Events Summary:

You are on Xile, the ancient kingdom of Aeolus surrounded by the core of the world-spanning Skysever spell.

You have defeated Lucifer and recovered the staff of winds. Unfortunately, it seems that you can't get it to work, as you have no wind magic to catalyze its functions. You remain hopeful that, with time, Sir Flint can figure something out.

Abigail was gravely injured in the battle for the staff. You stabilized her with your healing magic, but the damage was such that she lost her left hand. At first, you were guilt-ridden; your overconfidence led directly to her near-death, and Adavan is still nowhere to be found. In the end, the intense experience seems to have brought you closer together. You have promised that you will look for a way to restore the full function of her arm.

Unfortunately, Flint couldn't use the staff to calm the Skysever; for the moment, you are still isolated on the island. While Abigail recovers, you decided to scout Xile's control tower with Sir Flint, hoping to find information on the spell or some means of controlling Xile's systems.

In-between you and your destination is an enclave of Xile's natives, and they aren't a friendly bunch.

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Ability Tree

GREEN abilities have been unlocked and learned.

BLUE abilties are unlocked, but are not yet purchased.

RED abilities are revealed, but locked due to prerequisites.

UNDERLINED abilities are active-use, as opposed to passive. Not all active abilities require mana.

All Revealed Ability Descriptions:

http://pastebin.com/a0C51kfe

Books the Main Character has read:

http://pastebin.com/dAXR00gP

Character Sheet including learned abilities and other important information:

http://pastebin.com/URCiWrYp

----------
----------

Current Statistics:

HP: 54/81
Mana: 25/58
EXP: 7

Shards of Erebus:
(Isolation) - Normal
(Silence) - Empowered
{Temerity} - Normal

New Shards:
(Ardor) - Weak
{Humanity} - Resonant

--Summoned--

Wisp - 1 mana to order

--Automatons--

Earthen Construct (currently in Haven)

--Equipment--

Utility belt with purse

--Inventory--

Moonsong Shards x 4
Sun-Moon Key
Lightning Key

--Teleport Anchor--

Xile - Treasure Room

--Current Location--

Xile

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You and Flint walk along the crumbled rooftops, weaving between planters filled with more berry bushes. There seems to be an intricate system of makeshift gutters and barrels scattered along the roofs, likely to catch and channel rainwater. So far, it's been totally calm in Xile, so there must be a drought. You wonder why they don't just go to the lake - but then, a fortified holdout like this so separated from the dangers of the island would be intentionally self-sufficient.

Another courtyard spreads beneath you, nearly three times as large as the last. You and Flint go prone and crawl to the edge of a thin rock.

At least a hundred leaf-wearing natives are gathered in the courtyard, circled around one man in the middle. Many of them are shouting with their hands cupped to their mouths, pointing. A few are jeering or take a definite mocking tone. His hands are bound behind his back, and he is stripped naked. There is a large rope gathered in the middle of the clearing.

Flint prods you, then indicates his mouth. He tilts his head questioningly.

<A lot of things,> you translate. <They're making fun of him. I think he's a criminal.>

Another man steps from the crowd. He's wearing less leaves and roped hemp and actual robes. He holds a wooden staff. Your senses tell you it's imbued with substantial amounts of wind magic.

You place a hand on Flint's back, clearly indicating to him to stay down. He gives you just a slight nod, and hunkers down closer to the edge of the roof.

The man raises two palms. The crowd quiets. He holds his staff before himself with two hands, then plants it firmly into the ground.

The large pile of rope begins to rise. It uncoils rapidly, wavering slowly like a brown snake responding to the call of a charmer. It rises higher, higher, up, up. The crowd is silent as they watch. A few minutes later, you see it turn about the bottom of the floating control tower and tie itself off tightly.

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The mage lowers the staff. He produces a knife, cuts the man's bonds, and shouts one word. "Climb!"

The man grips the rope. He works it in his hands, and swallows. The silence is deafening.

"CLIMB!"

"Climb!"
"Climb the rope!"
"Climb it!"
"Climb! Climb! Climb!"

Sweat pours off the criminal as he grips the rope and begins to ascend. He uses his arms and legs together, moving as fast as possible. The crowd chants in the background, their voices rising with his progress. "Climb! Climb! Climb! Climb!"

The man hasn't even made it a tenth of the way up when you feel the winds begin to churn. The crowd chants. The wind rises. Faces appear in the air, ugly, twisted shapes that remind you of the shadow abomination. They converge on the man in an instant.

His screams echo over the chanting courtyard as the winds tear him to shreds.

His blood and innards rain down over the people. The natives raise their hands and open their mouths. They look distinctly happy as the blood and guts fly down onto them, spraying them in a shower of human remains.

You turn to look at Flint. He stares back at you, horrified.

What do you do?

>retreat for the time being; these people are insane, and most of them have wind magic. This is a bit dangerous for Flint.
>There has to be a way up there. See if there's a point you can Blink to; you could pull Flint up with the rope.
>Sneak about, keep hidden. See if you can learn more about these people, or find something interesting.
>some other strategy

>>27338173
>retreat for the time being; these people are insane, and most of them have wind magic. This is a bit dangerous for Flint.
And us.

>>27338173
So. That firmly establishes that the natives are not to be diplomanced. At least not ethically.

And I'm pretty sure pulling flint into the sky with a rope is a no-no, especially when it was front & centre to the execution... that's one silly option.

Let's sneak.

>>27338231
>>27338206
Actually, y'know what? Because the thread is slow I'm changing my opinion from sneaking to retreating. Because seriously, they're crazy people.

>retreating

<Flint,> you say, <we need to get out of here, now.>

The knight couldn't agree with you more. You both scoot your way back along the roof, staying as low as possible, and then you climb to your feet, run across the rooftops, down the stairs, through the complex, and back down the slope to the front of the palace. By the time you reach the giant stone doors that mark the entrance, Flint is out of breath from the long sprint.

"Elements...that was disturbing," Flint says. He leans on his knees, still recovering. "Are we safe in the palace? I guess I should keep the doors shut. What if they come in through the windows?"

You glance up at the building's many small entrances. <If they were going to come in the windows, they would have already. Perhaps they were frightened of the construct? Or of violating Aeolus's territory?>

"Who knows," Flint says. He stands straight. "Speaking of, what happened to that thing?"

<The construct? I'm not sure. I assumed it was destroyed.>

Flint's eyes flick to the stone doors at the very far end of the grand hall. "...maybe...we should check?"

What do you do?

>go check
>head back to the treasure room
>some other strategy

>>27338423
>go check
Czeching about can't get us killed after all.

>>27338448
>>27338423

Er, the staff is still in the pocket, right?

>>27338423
>head back to the treasure room.
<If it wasn't dead, we wouldn't have been able to get the Staff.>

>>27338480

It's in the pocket.

Also,

>mana: 29/58

>>27338423
>go check
dungeon senses tingling

>>27338484
Not necessarily.

>>27338423
>Go check

<...just to be sure,> you said.

You walk with Flint down the main hallway. It's as brightly lit and as florescent teal as ever. You would not have chosen this color scheme. Less lights. Less color, in general.

Flint approaches the door leading into the throne room and presses his hand against it. The great stone portal grinds inward. You both wait, anxious for a clear view into the room beyond.

The skeletons that lined the space before are gone. Gaping holes have been torn in the thick stone, up across the walls and the ceiling, exposing the room to long streams of sunlight. Most of the pillars are shattered piles of rubble.

The construct lays in the center of the room. It is ripped in half. The metal of its construction looks bent and warped where it was destroyed. Lucifer must have gotten in one last good hit...

What do you do?

>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.
>approach alone, consume the construct. There might be a bit of energy left
>leave the room; you checked, it's dead
>some other strategy

>>27338664
>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.

>>27338664
>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.

>>27338664
>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.

>>27338664
>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.

>use Focus. Make sure it's down for the count.

>>27338664
Maybe even use deep focus too?
Just in case there's anything else hidden in this room that might get our attention if the Golem is dead.

Roll 1d100 to Focus

Rolled 3

>>27338664

Rolled 27

>>27338759

>>27338762

>linked to the wrong post

I guess you got lucky.

Rolled 56

>>27338759

>>27338779
But what is luck after all? If not merely another accountable probability!

Rolled 93

>>27338759

>>27338777
Or maybe not.

Rolled 61

>>27338759
Shitty rolls.

Hey guys, the teal lights seem to be repeatedly mentioned quite a bit.

Maybe we should try to consume them?

<Hold there,> you tell Flint. <I'm going to investigate.>

You Focus on the construct.

You feel a rising burst of Shadow!

Your Focus tells you where it's aimed. You leap in front of Flint, and a shockwave of black-purple energy rolls across the ground and splits across your form. The pieces of the offensive spell ricochet away and slam into the walls, carving deep gouges in the stone. Flint is unharmed.

The construct's raised hand, pulsing with the remnants of Shadow, collapses to the ground. The fingers twitch slightly, scrabble across the smooth floor, as if trying to pull it forward - and then it stops. You feel the last of its energy seep away.

"...is that it?"

You nod. <It's dead.>

"...what the hell." Flint steps around you, eyeing the construct. "Shadow. What the fuck is this? That thing just used Shadow magic!" He points a finger at the construct, half in accusation, half in disbelief. "Aeolus's construct just used Shadow! How is that possible?!"

<I don't know.>

Flint folds his hands tight behind his back and begins pacing. "...the wind in this place hates shadow. It's ingrained in the spell. I can feel it. And you know, I feel like you haven't been surprising me as much since we've been here. I can sort of feel you a bit easier than usual." He looks at you. "So why was that thing guarding the staff of winds in the middle of Xile? How can a thing of Shadow be holding the Staff of Winds itself? Why didn't we realize this earlier?!" He turns toward you. "Wait. Wait. The staff would naturally repel any of the lesser elements with tremendous force. How did you touch it without getting hurt?"

<I don't know. I just did. It's in my Pocket, at the moment...>

Flint glances around. "This is as good a testing ground as any. Pull it out."

What do you do?

>go along with it, see what Flint has in mind
>some other strategy

>>27338927
NO

ALL PARANOIA

ALL THE TIME

>>27338932
>go along with it, see what Flint has in mind

>>27338932
>go along with it, see what Flint has in mind

>>27338932
>Go with it

>>27338947
...Fiiine.

>>27338932
>go along with it, see what Flint has in mind

>mana: 28/58

You retrieve the Staff of Winds from your pocket.

You hand the delicate-seeming rod to Flint. He holds it in his hands, eyeing it up and down, glances at you, then back to the staff. He focuses, and white Light glows around the curves of the staff. Nothing else happens.

"...maybe..." He lightly tosses the staff to you. You form a hand and catch it. "Try your magic. See if you can get a reaction out of it. It should hate anything you can throw at it." He backs away through the door, all the way to the intersection in front of the throne room itself. "Go ahead!" he calls. "Maybe Earth, first? That should get it going!"

What do you do?

>try Earth
>try Water
>try Spirit
>try Shadow
>don't waste the magic, this is going nowhere (each 'test' spell costs 2 mana)
>suggest an alternative strategy

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>>27339047

>>27339047
...Try Shadow first...

>>27339047
Try shadow, since that's what the construct used?

>>27339047
>try Shadow
Come on Flint, why would we try Earth first?

>>27339047
>try Earth

Try shadow

>>27339047
>Try Shadow

>mana: 26/58

You attempt to use Shadow magic on the staff.

It glows black. Flickers of darkness wrap and twist around it. The staff doesn't react, but the shadow rolls off it. In a word, it's...slippery?

"How did that feel?"

<I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to be working.

"Come on, use Earth!" Flint says. He's practically hopping up and down on his toes.

What do you do?

>Earth
>Water
>Spirit
>another strategy

>>27339143
>Earth

>>27339143
>Earth
Good god, Flint, contain yourself.

>>27339143
>Use earth
Staff, we are going to rock your world.

>>27339143
>Earth
Let's explode!

Eh guys did we ever watch the last diary we found? The one in the room with the orb.

>>27339176
It broke.

>>27339176

It broke after taking a little trip through the sky.

>>27339201

Too bad, we should have used it before taking the orb.

<Alright, alright,> you say. You sigh and turn to the staff. You are Shadow, after all. What did he expect you to try first?

You try Earth magic.

It rolls right off just like before. The staff itself doesn't react in any way. It just feels like wind. Looks like wind.

"What happened?!"

<Absolutely nothing.>

Flint's anticipation pops. He rocks back on his heels. "...well...shit. Might as well give it a go with the other two!"

What do you do?

>try Water
>try Spirit
>some other strategy

>mana: 24/58

>>27339238
>some other strategy

Wave it around in the air back and forth really really fast.

>>27339238
Noone in our group knows wind magic, huh? Hmm, shit out of luck I say. [sarcasm] let's take it to the natives, they'll know what to do with it [/sarcasm]

>>27339238
>try Spirit.
C'mon, do SOMETHING.

>>27339238

Eh...deep focus on the staff follow by Analyze.

>>27339238

Nah, let's get some wind magic first. Someone else already tried spirit magic and I SUPPOSE water is actually involved with moving air around and such but.. ehhh...

>>27339238
Try all four at once.

I sure hope all this different magic on the staff isn't inadvertently triggering silent alarms to various traps throughout the palace guuuuuiiiiiize.

>>27339238
It's not the staff of winds!

The real one is in the hands of that native!

>>27339258
Holy shit, this could actually work. It could be wind powered!

>>27339277
>Someone else already tried spirit magic

When did that happen?

------------
------------

Deep Focus?

Y/N

Rolled 78

>>27339333

>>27339333

Y

>>27339333
Y

>>27339336
Lol red, you're so enthusiastic it's cute.

>>27339333
Y

>>27339333
Y

Alrighty, roll 1d100 for Deep Focus

Rolled 23

>>27339358
I have a strange, but not good feeling about this particular roll.

Rolled 81

>>27339358
roll

Rolled 2

>>27339358

Rolled 75

>>27339358

Rolled 7

>>27339358
C'mon crits

Rolled 32

>>27339358

>>27339238

For some reason I thought we let someone else try that (like Flint). My mistake, perhaps. anyway...

We COULD ambush one of the natives. Or eat their mage for wind magic.

Considering what he just did he seems kind of a dick anyway.

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>>27339387

Rolled 88

>>27339358

>>27339414
Ahhahah...

We could have flint walk in on the natives while holding the staff to convince them to worship his majesty!

this is sarcasm

>>27339370
>>27339380
>>27339387

You use Deep Focus on the staff.

You sense nothing. The staff is as it was to all your senses.

"Nothing, huh?"

<...nothing.>

But why do you have the feeling that something is off?

Why did the construct use Shadow magic?

...something isn't right. You're sure of it. But what that is, exactly...you don't know.

What do you do?

>Water?
>Spirit?
>some other strategy
>give up, Flint must be barking up the wrong tree

>>27339477
...

Try to fly while holding the staff.

>>27339489
This. Just shortly, of course, if the Skysever attacks.

>>27339477

Aeolus confirm for master troll. He put a super golem guarding a fake staff. That motherfucker.

>>27339509
Well I expect it to attack, which is why. Put the staff of winds in the path of the sky-sever.

>>27339477
>Wave the staff in the air while supersonic

Everything points towards this being the correct answer.

(Also I'm pretty sure the staff we have is fake)

>>27339524
Well he didn't REALLY want anyone getting the staff anyways after all.

Confirm:

Briefly hover in the air with the Staff to intentionally bait the Skysever.

Y/N

>>27339585
Y

>>27339585
Y

>>27339585
Y

Tell flint to stand back.

Use all the elements at the same time.

Areola you cheeky cunt, we're onto you.

Eh makes sense, put the fake were everyone can see it and kill themselves trying to get it and hide the real deal somewhere else. If someone manages to beat the guardian they still get nothing.

THOUGHT

Use a shard with the staff. What about Isolation? Maybe Silence to silence the storms and all that jazz.

>>27339671
That's what I'm thinking.

Y'know the staff of winds legend is mighty suspicious now that I take a second look at it. Almost everyone knows that it's a mighty and powerful artifact, and it's hidden in plain sight with a powerful defender that would use lesser elements (likely out of paranoia Aeolus had for those closest to him), and when it winds up in someones hands, it doesn't react at all, and when scanned, it only gives off a feeling of "wind," not really any tremendous level of power. Just wind.

Unless it's specifically an amplifier artifact it's probably a fake.

>>27339671
>>27339737
Those who inherit the staff
inherit the wind!

What if we made a shadow power core using our construct ability and channeled its energy through the staff?

ABBY LOST HER HAND FOR A FUCKING FAKE?!

>>27339737

I wonder...couldn't the Staff of the Winds be the focus used to cast the Skysever?

>>27339785
I dunno. I figured we would feel something from it like we did with the focus of the shadow monstrosity.
But then again, our rolls were terribad.

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>>27339585
[worry intensifies]

>>27339737
Then what about the fuck-huge cyclone from before?

How was that made? Adavan even said that that was what the Sky Sever being used looked like.

>>27339775
You mean
>we made abby lose her hand for a fake
>we got adavan squelched for a fake

But then still where did all the power for that tornado come from? If it truly just reacted with the dynamo to do that, well, I hope it did.
Because if it was in the air and reacted with the sky-sever to form that tornado...

>>27339811
I dunno. It is a mystery.

<Flint, get some distance. I'm going to try and use the Skysever.>

"Uh...ok!" Flint takes off down the hall toward the treasure room, descending the huge dragon-sized staircase. When you're satisfied he's gone far enough, you firmly grasp the staff and spread your wings.

It feels like it's been a while.

You flap once, twice, and you're several feet in the air, hovering in the middle of the throne room.

A thousand shrieking winds dive at you with furious bloody vengeance 700 years in the making. You try to land, and the winds keep you in the air just to attack you further. You dissolve your wings, then thrust a limb downward, stretching. You pierce the stone and drag yourself bodily back to the ground.

>you've taken 10 damage (44/81)

The staff. You glance up.

It's broken in half.

The pieces fall. They clatter to the floor. Something changes.

The image of the staff shatters into bits of orange spirit and black shadow. The staff itself...was shadow? That's impossible!

And then the magic changes. Black and purple letters form from the dusty magic light. They hang in the air, and you quickly scan it. They begin to fade away even as you read them.

-----------------
Hello, Yi. I hope you're not surprised I got here first. You always were slower than me.
I thought about bringing it back to you, but why should I enable your idiocy?
You're better than him, you know. But I figured he'd drive you at least this far.
If you want the staff, you'll have to find me. I'll be expecting you.

- Melody
-----------------

...what?

...WHAT?!

"Hey, Shadow!" Flint says. He peers around the edge of the throne room entrance. "What happened? Did it work?"

<...it was a fake.>

"Huh?"

<ABIGAIL LOST HER HAND FOR A FAKE!> you roar. You slam a hand into the stone, carving through it as if it were paper.

"...a fake? That can't...but what about the winds...how...what?!"

You glance back at the construct. It still lies there, immobile. It may be your only lead.

What do you do?

>>27339864
Drag that thing back to the base. Ask Auriel if she knows who the fuck Melody is.

>>27339864
Analyze like the fist of the north star

>>27339864
Analyze/Deep focus that construct.

Also, fuck this Melody bitch.

>>27339897
Only thing I can think of now, yea.

Well, my Wheaties have been thoroughly shit in.

Not only were our actions in trying to retrieve the staff a bit overkill, they were completely unnecessary because it was a fake.

>>27339864
>Melody

With a name like that I already want to fucking consume them from the inside out by piercing needley shadow tendrils into their nipples and ripping their chest open and thrusting those needles into their esophagus, up their nasal cavity, and into through frontal lobe, and then shattenkrieg the corpse at hypersonic speeds while unleashing shadow beams and cones of destruction at the resulting debris.

FUCK MELODY

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>>27339864

>>27339864
>SM really driving home the "fuck you guys for being retards"
You're putting with a sledgehammer...

>analyze construct more closely

Y/N

>>27339968
Y

>>27339968
Deep focus

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Alright guys. Keep cool. We've made enough stupid decisions already, no need to add stupid emotional decisions to the pile of mistakes that is Xile.

The cyclone obviously wasn't an illusion. It's possible that this Melody only recently bait and switched us and is still on the island with the thing.

>>27339864
>Yi

Wait...wait a fucking moment! That staff was shadow...the golem was shadow....they knew fang was going to want the staff when he was desperate....

....Why do I have the feeling that the Dark lady just pulled a fast one on Fang?

So melody must be some kind of shadow/spirit mage, given what we saw.
Man, I'm just so angry I don't know what to do with myself.

I'm gonna take a nap and catch your thread later SM, it's been a jarring night.

>>27340004
Yeah, duh.

>>27339993
Sweet Shadow Jesus I'm frothy right now.

>>27340004
It could be the Black Lady, yeah.

Now that I think about it. Lucifer and City 002 knew something was up with the Staff when they probably didn't know about Yi Fang's plan. It must've been something Melody did that clued them off. She may have slipped in in the confusion of it all like >>27339993 says.

We should ask Flint what the first name of the Black Lady is.

>>27340004
Because that's what everyone's first feeling was.

Congratulations, you're not retarded.

>>27339993
>no need to add stupid emotional decisions to the pile of mistakes that is Xile.

You know it's kind of interesting that the place where we're fucking up genuinely the most is the place that remains of the biggest historical fuckup, the elementomachy.

Almost like karma from our past anti-chaos.

>>27340057
Do this.
Considering it's odd... we don't have a real name.

>>27340050
The Black Lady is the strongest Shadow mage in the setting. I wouldn't be surprised if her stealth hell of outclasses ours.

That is if Melody is the Black Lady.

>>27339864
Fucking vampire fuck. Oh well, I suppose we'll get to see a new country!

>>27340117
Yeah. I don't know if I'm mad as fuck because of this bullshit or if I'm happy that we finally get to see Vampiria like I wanted.

I wonder who "him" refers to in Melody's message.

I'm thinking it might be his father, but it could really be anyone. Sandalphon, possibly too. Since the threat of the angels is what pushed him to go after the staff in the first place.

But he hasn't even said anything about the black lady

>>27340183
People are suspecting her because it's all powerful Shadow magic shit and she's the only mage we know of powerful enough to pull something like getting to Xile and retrieving the staff off.

>>27340200
SM did say before that vampire + mage = crazy bullshit.

...A looong time ago.

>>27339968
Y

Everyone ignored confirming to speculate.

You walk up to the construct.

This thing...if the staff was a fake, how did it generate those winds?

You bend closer.

Shadow hums at you suddenly, immediately. Something wavers in your sight.

The shards of the sword resonate.

You touch the construct. It shatters into a hundred points of black light. They float in the air, spinning slightly...and then they shoot down into the ground, merging into a single point.

A black crystal rests before you, a deep purple jewel that seems to absorb the light around it. The shards from your sword don't hesitate any longer. They fly out of your pack, arranging themselves in the completed form of the blade. The jewel hovers at the hilt-end, a distance away from the blade itself. It looks exactly where it would be if the pommel had a jewel set into its base.

>Moonsong Shards x 5

Flint approaches you. "Shadow, what happened? Where's the staff? It was a fake?"

You tersely explain your observations to Flint. The discovery of a shard of the Moonsong blunts your anger somewhat...but still.

Still.

"...Melody?" Flint asks. "And...Yi. Yi Fang?"

<I don't know any other Yi that would want the Staff of Winds.>

"Yeah," Flint says. "It must be someone he knows. At least we have that." His head drops. He stares at the stone. "...fuck. How are we going to tell the others?"

<I guess we'll just have to do it.>

"...do you think Fang will still help with the parasite?"

<He'd better,> you growl. <Let's go.>

Flint trails behind you, lost in thought. You march into the treasure room.

Ila has been watching over Abigail, keeping her company, and she maintains a positive attitude when you tell them the news. Abigail seems to draw from her strength. You're more thankful for your loyal follower for that, perhaps more than anything else.

>con't

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Auriel takes it stoically. But Flint doesn't - you can see it on his face. Too many disappointments. Too many shattered dreams. His homeland is a wreck, and his inheritance is cursed as much as he is. He wanders off on his own, stuck in a dark mood.

Auriel gives you a look. "I've no idea who this Melody is. You need to get in touch with Fang."

<We'll have to get out of here to do that.>

Auriel nods. "...indeed." She gives you a pointed look, then follows after Flint.

Vonnegut just shakes his head. "I knew it was more trouble than it was worth. I told you we should have focused on getting out of here. And who listened? No one." He cocks an eyebrow at you. "Now your little girlfriend is down a hand, the skeleton was churned to dust, and you're no closer to the staff than when you started this mess." He raises a hand when he sees your expression. "Oh, please. You did this to yourself. Don't get angry at me.

"You see, Shadow, this is why I disdain your little entourage. Your little happy things like 'love' and 'friendship'. What do they do? Drag you down. You're not in control of your own fate. You're just constantly reacting. You're constantly dealing with other people's shit. You could easily make a profitable living, or just disappear altogether. Leave the world behind. This is none of your business. But here you are, right in the middle of it. And who's fault is that?" Vonnegut snorts. "Let me know when you get tired of it. You'd make a good partner - once you abandon the mess for greener pastures."

He turns away from you, apparently finished with his little lecture. You have half a mind to snap back at him, but that would only prove his point. You bite back on the frustration and turn away.

Completing the sword seems like your only option at this point, barring some other discovery. The bottom of the island is sure to be extremely dangerous.

What do you do now?

>talk to someone
>rest/recover/meditate
>explore another point of interest
>write-in

>>27340271
>talk to someone

Ask Auriel about the chances of Xile dropping onto the Great Forest and therefore Haven should it's enchantment fail.

Please just fucking ask this already.

Rolled 1

>>27340271
Tell em about the tribals

>>27340271
Where else haven't we looked yet? Can we get a list of points of interests?

I'd rather rest and get ready, but having a portal anchor here makes it pretty easy to just warp back whenever we hit a dead end or find something useful so it may be worthwhile to check things out.

>>27340271
First do >>27340313

We need to find either a manapool or more Moonsong shards.

>>27340328

>city docks
>further down past the treasure room
>the control tower proper

>>27340309

You ask Auriel about this. She thinks your idea that the Skysever is the one variable still holding together Xile is quite plausible. She believes that it could just as well crash into the Great Forest as any other place, or perhaps be destroyed entirely if the Skysever failed.

Your allies are informed about the natives.

>>27340309
>>27340313
I guess both would be nice, to get them informed about how crazy the natives really are.

>the control tower proper
Maybe it will have sensors or something.

>>27340392
>further down past the treasure room

We have to go deeper.

OK, Melody go here before us. that means there most be a way she go in and them out. Lets try to find out how.

>>27338037
Woot i came last thread 404 before i could finish up catching up from the archives.

>>27340420
We were just there. We bailed because hundreds of insane wind mages.

>>27340392
>city docks
Deeper down probably leads to the heart of the island. Let's see what's left of the docks.

Vote 1:
>docks

Vote 2:
>past the treasure room

Vote 3:
>try to sneak back to the control tower

>>27340463
Maybe she just had some anchor/teleport that would allow her to bypass the sky-sever altogether.

>>27340392
Let's just rest up and reach max health, regen cap of mana, and power our shards.

We can explore or continue with the objective from there.

>>27340525
3

>>27340525
2

>>27340525
1

>>27340525
2

>>27340541

Don't you need to know the place where you are going? Also How long could a person lasts in the pocket?

>>27340271
>You see, Shadow, this is why I disdain your little entourage. Your little happy things like 'love' and 'friendship'. What do they do? Drag you down. You're not in control of your own fate. You're just constantly reacting. You're constantly dealing with other people's shit.
What Vonnegut doesn't know is that this is all basically a chain of events that lead up to us freeing Hecate, or at least talking to her, which'll answer a few questions of ours.

So basically we're dealing with other peoples shit so they'll help us deal with our own shit.

>>27340555
>>27340560

past the treasure room we go

Do you take anyone with you, or scout alone for the time being?

>>27340570
She may have did it by messing with the shards somehow. The construct was using one, after all. If she's the Black Lady then it's possible that she has some strong ties to the Black Hand since that Shadow Dragon from the first thread was apparently her pet or something according to Velik.

>>27340592
He also doesn't know that Shadow literally has to find a way to keep the world from blowing up to get anything he wants in a long-term basis. Shadow pretty much -has- to deal with the world's problems.

>>27340570
For escaping is what I intended to mean. If she got in and could teleport out via some spiritual anchor, no prob. Don't know why you're asking me about pocket.

>>27340617
Maybe Ila? She hasn't had any screentime and is stealthy

>>27340617
Alone.

I'd say Flint again but he needs some time and let's face it, if we encounter anything dangerous we'll just turn back if we have someone with us.

>>27340617
ALONE MOTHERFUCKER ALONE

>>27340617
Scout alone.

>>27340631
Samefagvoting this. It could be fun guys.

>>27340617
alone

>>27340648
I don't really want to have fun right now.

exploring alone has the majority

writing

>>27340617
Alone. No worrying about squishies this time around.

>>27340715
MmmMmmMm I detect some spite. Well if your ideas aren't chosen you just have to deal with it anon.

Hmmm, hey remember the "holes" the shadow abomination thing made while attacking? And how they could stay empty because the water didn't move back inside of them again. What if the sky-sever doesn't move back inside of them as well?

Just thinking little outside the box.

>>27340715
>Dealing with the bullshit of allies around us when we need to cut loose and do dangerous retarded things
>fun

>>27340648
Screentime isn't a valid reason as it's entirely meta and we're also stealthy as well as more powerful.

Also less people = less chance for detection. Being stealthy too is helpful but doesn't negate that fact.

>>27340739
myyyy brraaaain

>>27340735
You sound like a grandmother

Are you a grandmother?

>>27340782
And what if I am? Just play the quest young man.

>>27340796
Sorry grams. Don't tell papa ok?

You inform the party of your plans.

Auriel agrees that getting more information about a part of the palace so close to where you're set up would be a good idea, and the rest of the party needs some good, solid recovery time, especially Abigail. And Flint hasn't come out of his mood, yet.

You decide a trip to the lake is probably an excellent idea for your continued health. It only takes you about an hour to run down, heal, and run back.

>HP: 81/81
>mana: 29/58

You head down the other end of the hall, opposite the treasure room doors. You walk past the stairs that lead down from the main hall, and turn a corner. More stairs lie in front of you, bending down and to the right in a great curve. You lope your way down there, stretching your legs to step over the oversized pathway. The ambient sense of darkness increases as you go deeper.

After a substantial descent, you come to another pair of doors. These are made of solid adamantium. Aeolus's symbol is engraved upon them. Heavy bolts of the metal are driven deep into the rock on all sides of the door. Smashing it open would take quite an effort.

Flint isn't with you, but you don't have to worry about other people, now. You could probably Ink through the doors.

What do you do?

>forward
>something else

So like

Why aren't we taking people along in our Pocket?

Our allies don't even NEED to be stealthy anymore.

>>27340821
>Forward

Not having to worry about squishies is refreshing. Onwards, to shiny!

>>27340821
>forward

Don't even bother deep focusing through that Adamantine.

>>27340821
We should learn how to open these.

>>27340821
ink forward

>>27340821
Analyze/Focus the doorfirst. Inking is probably what we'll do, but traps might need some nightflaing to get through and knowing where they are ahead of time should help with that.

>>27340821
>forward

>>27340838
I second this question.

>>27340838
Mana cost/limited time.

Honestly I wanna leave it for emergencies so Flint can spagooti himself when he sees us throw Auriel into the nether.

We coulda taken some of Flint's blood to open the doors.

>>27340838
They can't survive in it very long periods of time. Stealth is not the problem anyway, it's dangerous shit. I don't want them running out of air while we deal with it.

>>27340838
It's full of gold right now.

Well I have some work to get to you knob chewers.

So try your hardest
to not be your natural selves. Be alert.

Because by god the sperge I will rain upon you if you've all fucked up again for no real reason whatsoever. And no, blaming the QM won't help.

File: 1379740697604.jpg-(85 KB, 1032x774, 1372452079248.jpg)

85 KB JPG

You Ink through the doors. It's a tight fit, even for you. It takes you about a minute to slide your mass all the way through.

On the other side of the door rests another world.

A black, grey fog hangs over everything. It's distinctly similar to the one that chased you during that first night on the island. No - it's the same.

You can see the faces floating within it. They stretch, twist, warp. Every mouth is open in a silent scream. The silence is unnerving. Fortunately, you have no problem with vision. You can peer right through the fog with little effort.

Dark purple lights drift in the distance. A creature moves in the fog - the strange, masked, multi-limbed thing you remember. It looks at you - but not quite at you. Through you. And then it moves on, seemingly uninterested.

You take a closer look at the walls. It's all solid adamanium. You see lights up on the ceiling, nestled in steel crossbeams, but they're totally smothered by the darkness. You doubt anyone but you would even notice they were there.

What do you do?

>use stealth abilities
>move forward

>>27340979
>move forward

>>27340979
Move forward, no stealth

>>27340979
Deep focus.

>>27340979
>use stealth abilities

Just because we're alone doesn't mean we need to throw caution to the wind.

>>27341017
I am being cautious in saying no stealth. This thing doesn't seem to give a fuck about us, and I'm paranoid that using the stealth abilities will somehow provoke it.

>>27340979
Deep Focus sounds good to me.

>use stealth abilities
compress. lets not use mana as we have so little of it. We probably will need to Fast Blink if we are caught.

>>27341045
I agree, but I'm more worried about using mana when we don't need to.

>>27341045
That seems like really weird logic to me. But I won't be upset over whatever option wins.

The way I see it, SM is testing to see just how reckless we'll be without our allies around.

>>27340979
Thirding a Deep Focus.

>>27341086
Ah, so you're going by meta knowledge and trying to read the QM while I'm trying to play this from Shadow's perspective.

>>27341106
I just said that it was weird logic. Meaning I disagree with it.

The mention of SM was more an aside.

I disagree with no stealth because I disagree with your logic. Sorry for the confusion.

Vote 1:
>deep focus; get your bearings, try to find points of interest

Vote 2:
>go stealthy. There's probably worse things down here than that odd lantern creature

Vote 3:
>no stealth, no focus. Just move ahead cautiously.

>>27341176
3

>>27341176
3

>>27341176
1

>>27341176
2

>>27341176
1

>>27341176
1

>>27341176
1

>>27341176

Roll 1d100 for Deep Focus

Rolled 76

>>27341255

Rolled 14

>>27341255
I just rolled a nat 1 in another thread here is hoping i don't do it in here.

Rolled 60

>>27341255
Oh god why.

Rolled 46

>>27341255

Rolled 83

>>27341255
nat 100

Rolled 97

>>27341255

Kinda funny how there is only five or six people participating.

>>27341435
It's later than usual.

>>27341435
I'm here. Just lurking.

I'll step in more if you guys start going full retard.

>>27341469
I'm also lurking. Just didn't really have any opinion on that last poll.

Your senses expand outward rapidly.

Immediately, the lantern creature flashes in your senses, a strong point of darkness. And then another. And more, some different, some the same, dozens, hundreds. Dark aberrations fill every nook and cranny of the tunnels.

You get a sense of the lower reaches of the island. It's a series of interconnected, maze-like passages. There are several entrances back up to the island itself that you can pick out immediately.

A point of rotating wind grabs at you from far away. It's down, still lower than your current position, and out. Vaguely, in the same direction of the city.

Something else also nips at you. Shadow - different from the fog that pervades everything in the tunnels. A different, more pure, flavor of darkness. It seems concentrated in a random location, a small, seemingly isolated room located off one of the entrances back up to the island.

In the core of the bottom of the island lies a strong point of darkness, and a fierce, rotating sphere of wind. That wind dwarfs its distant cousin. The core of the Skysever.

That last point of darkness turns on you with sharp awareness. You can feel it probing back at you. It begins to move through the maze in your direction.

It is strong. Strong enough to make you worried. You'd probably be better off if you didn't encounter it...

The nearby monster had begun to wander off, but now it turns toward you. It begins to shuffle forward, waving its lanterns in a sort of pattern. A bolt of darkness forms before it and shoots forward.

>con't

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1ZydcSgacM

You dodge without much difficulty, then continue moving, circling it, readying to attack. Oddly, it doesn't follow your movements. It keeps moving toward where you were - where you used your Focus. It fires another bolt, but that just dissipates on the adamantium walls.

There are sounds close by - shuffling. Moans. More of the creatures are headed your way.

What do you do?

>kill and consume the creature
>head for the distant point of air
>head for the small room that feels like purer darkness
>confront the mobile point of strong darkness directly
>head for the core of the Skysever

>>27341505
>confront the mobile point of strong darkness directly

>>27341505
>head for the small room that feels like purer darkness

Using magic = bad. I'm taking.

Rolled 64

>>27341505
>>head for the small room that feels like purer darkness
>>27341529
Looks like it attracts everything down there and they see with magic, so it is safe to assume anything that uses mana gets their attention.

>>27341525
>head for the distant point of air
>head for the small room that feels like purer darkness

One of these two.

>>27341583
Woops. Messed up my link.

>>27341505

Looks like we're heading for the puredark room. Writing.

>confront the mobile point of strong darkness directly
This might be something intelligent.

Rolled 2

>>27341679
>Strong enough to make you worried
Because of that line
We will only confront it after we consume the fuckers which is after going into the room.

>>27341679
I'd rather not confront something that the narrative literally said we'd be better off avoiding on the hunch that it might be intelligent. We should stick to investigating other things first and try to gather more info.

>inb4 Erebus shard

You head down through the tunnels. As your deep focus fades, your sense of the precise layout does as well, but you remember enough of the main sections to get by. You keep your senses firmly tuned to your destination, a little star to follow.

You also pay close attention to the strong creature. At one point, it seems to be closing in on you. You take a detour, trying to shake it off.

At its closest point, it's only ten yards distant. A tunnel wall separates it from you, but you can still feel a cold chill in the air. Not cold like Vonnegut's ice - but a stark, bare emptiness, as if the life had been sucked out of the world itself.

You shiver.

It passes you by, heading for the point at which you used Deep Focus. You feel a certain sense of relief, and continue on to your chosen destination. At least you seem to be able to outpace it by a good margin...

>con't

You aren't alone in your trip through the tunnels. Monsters of all shapes and sizes line the passages, slink around corners, and linger in the crossbeams that support the tunnel roofs. Some seem to be almost like people, turned to ashen zombies. Others are more twisted; you meet multiple figures that are like bodies merged together. Copies and mimics of demonic creatures like minotaurs, satyrs, and constructs like golems merge with humanoid figures - souls that have been warped beyond recognition. You skirt them; they don't seem to notice you.

You're glad you decided to come alone. Down here, Auriel and Flint would be like beacons, but your Shadow blends in, black on black.

In the middle of the tunnels, you reach a chasm - a tear in the rock and steal. You are quick to surmise this is the same canyon you encountered earlier, and probably why the fog breeches the rest of the island every night. You manage to cross it without a problem, taking advantage of a makeshift bridge of broken rock and steel. Below, through the fog, you see the grey banks of the skysever swirling under the island. It's a long way down.

You reach the source of the pure darkness. This part of the tunnels isn't meant for a dragon; the hall is about two men across, and ten feet high. It ends at a dead end; there is a ladder leading upward. The fog seems to thin up in that direction the ladder leads.

There is a small door to your right, made of steel. There is a complex rune etched into it in purple mana. It pulses slightly. A film of black-purple darkness shields the door in a sort of bubble. The fog does not breach the barrier. A simple sign above the door reads "cleaning supplies". It seems oddly mundane for such strange magic.

What do you do?

>nightflare the barrier, enter the room
>see if you can pass through the barrier; Ink through the door
>use Focus to try and discern more about the barrier
>some other strategy

>>27341811
>see if you can pass through the barrier; Ink through the door

Using magic will give away our location. So Focus and nightflare seem like a bad idea.

>see if you can pass through the barrier; Ink through the door

Rolled 19

>>27341811
>see if you can pass through the barrier; Ink through the door
We found out using mana/magic is like a dinner bell so nope.

>writing

>last update tonight, I'll make it long

>>27341920
I'm expecting a huge cliffhangar that'll get us really riled up now.

Rolled 43

>>27341920
Well i guess its time for some revelations.
Here is hoping to see the thread again in a week trying to figure out what just happened.

>inb4 Shard of Obliteration

>>27341992
>inb4 Melody

>>27341995
>inb4 Shard of Song

You approach the barrier. Using magic attracts the attention of those things...so a more mundane approach might be a good primary strategy.

You slip through the barrier as if it isn't even there. Your vision and senses clear up significantly on the other side. The fog cannot penetrate it at all. Unfortunately, you can't well sense past the barrier, either.

Confident that you're safe for the moment, you Ink under the door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNzU4wHAROQ

The room is filled with magic. Shadow magic. You've never seen anything like it. Symbols and sigils coat the walls, the stone floor, and even the ceiling. It was as if someone spent a month carefully, cautiously etching the most complicated spell you've ever seen.

You sense why the magic is so complicated. It is subtle. It separates darkness from darkness. It's like trying to stop water from pouring through a sieve, but the mage responsible for this made it happen. This room is a shelter from the fog within the tunnels.

But that's not all to the spell. Unfortunately, you can't tell much else through analysis. At a certain level, human magic is foreign to you.

But there's plenty more to see in this room.

Wood shelves line a far wall - custom made. They obviously don't fit with the aesthetic of the ancient steel-stone passages. A desk, also built by hand, sits nears the shelves. A barrel in one corner holds a large amount of water, though it's stagnant and filled with mold. A wood bed with a withered mattress completes the spartan living space. You're surprised any of the furniture has lasted 700 years. You'd expect the barrel, especially, to have rotted to pieces -

- unless it isn't 700 years old.

>con't

File: 1379746691516.jpg-(146 KB, 600x848, ....jpg)

146 KB JPG

Shadow Magic. Powerful, powerful enough to fool even you with a fake Staff of Winds.

Melody was here. This was her room. Her refuge. Did she really know Fang? You're not sure.

The desk and shelves are bare. If she was here, she cleaned out before she left. But no. Not entirely!

Sitting on the desk is a familiar object - a video diary. Alone. On the desk.

Left intentionally, perhaps?

You pick up the diary and hit the button to play it.

A stern face appears on the screen - a woman. Her skin is pale; she has dark, short-cut hair. She wears a purple tabard over plate steel; an orange cape clashes somewhat with the tabard, but she doesn't seem to care much. Both the hairstyle and the combination of colors wouldn't be out of place in Archon.

Melody.

The camera suddenly pulls in close to the woman's face. It rotates. She's examining it, obviously unfamiliar with the object. You can see the room you're currently occupying in the background.

The video cuts out. There's a strange static whoosing sound, and black and white flecks cover the screen. And then the woman appears again.

Her voice is soft and lilted. She smirks. "I hope you've found this, Yi. Second place taste good? It's your natural state of being, I think." You note the spell is now etched into the ground behind her - the beginnings of it. Most of the furniture is in place inside the room. "I'm finally in the place I've studied for half my life. Xile. I've got a lot to do. The natives don't make it any easier. Watch out for them, they're beyond reasoning." Her smirk widens into a toothy grin. "But don't worry. I'll make sure the silver trophy is nice and polished for you when you finally show up."

The video cuts out, and fizzles for a while. And then it cuts back in.

>con't

Melody's hair has grown significantly. It dangles far behind her neck; her eyes are tired. Her armor is dented in several places, scratched, even punctured. Blood and muck covers the joints. The spell behind her is in its completed form as you see it.

"Leaving the skysever involved more work than getting into it. You'll have to make your own version, this one is calibrated for me. You should be able to figure it out from the sigils. You always did better on theory." She glances down at the spell. "...you sure are slow, this time, Yi. You'd better catch up."

The video cuts out. Nothing more is on the camera.

Perhaps Auriel can make sense of the spell? Does it represent a way out? The 'calibration' aspect of it worries you. If it took this Melody person a number of months, at the least, to teleport past the skysever...and then, after studying it for some time, apparently...you don't hold much hope of a large version for your allies as a whole.

But who is Melody, exactly? And where is she now? One thing is for sure: she knows Yi Fang quite personally. From your experience, the Archmage of Archon did not keep close company with anyone. An old friend? Maybe more?

Something grabs at your attention. The dark presence is closing in! You can feel it moving along the path you took to get here...did it track your progress?

It isn't at the last intersection before this hallway. You might have a shot at circumventing it again. But the spell you reside within is quite powerful - perhaps you'd be better off trying to hole up?

--------
--------

TO BE CONTINUED

>>27342343
Great thread, SM. I haven't hated a character this quickly since Magnock and Michael. Though if she hates Fang she may not be all bad.

Was Melody always planned or were you twisting the knife? Maybe both?

>>27342388

This has been planned for a looooooooonnnnnngggggggg time.

It conveniently allowed me to twist the knife.

To all a good night.

I'm surprised we haven't met the bump limit. Good for us. If the thread's still around I'll pick it up rather than start a new one.

Rolled 8

>>27342343
>>27342317
>>27342304
Well shit, Great thread Shaw Master.

Rolled 81

>>27342413
So is there anyway for Abigails banshee linage helping her out find a solution to her stump?

>>27342304
>A barrel in one corner holds a large amount of water, though it's stagnant and filled with mold. A wood bed with a withered mattress completes the spartan living space.

I'm getting the impression that this all happened fucking decades ago. Fang was way too slow. Kind of weird that someone with that powerful of an artifact would not make any waves though.

>>27342469
I think he already said no. I'd assume a certain level of malleability to her form since she's half-summon, AKA half-formed out of imagination, but I don't think she can just make something that isn't there grow back.

Then again. he couldn't even change herself with her reality warping powers back in the Archonium, but that could have just been part of the vision. I remember the Banshee Abby growing back limbs then too.

Rolled 12

>>27342528
>I remember the Banshee Abby growing back limbs then too.
This is why i asked since it seems like a possibility.and also a way to backfire by letting evil abby out.

Rolled 61

>>27342528
Maybe she already did and everyone knows her as the black lady.

>>27342554
It could have just as easily have been crazy Archonium shit though and not a power she actually has. Have to wait for SM's confirmation.

>>27342577
Even if she is the Black Lady it still seems weird that no rumors of Sky-Sever fucking have been brought up about her. That kind of advantage would have been huge and I don't see her not using it just to stay under a radar when she's already considered, like, the biggest threat to everyone not in Vampira.

Then again, maybe she plans on busting it out while everyone is distracted with this Demon Army thing.

>>27342619
>It could have just as easily have been crazy Archonium shit though and not a power she actually has. Have to wait for SM's confirmation.
He said that they couldn't use archonium reality warp on themselves.

>>27342665
I'm saying that she may have been able to regrow her limbs because she was just a freaky vision aspect of a person created by the Archonium's power.

We died embracing our Humanity and then got better. I have doubts of being able to do that in real life.

>>27342703
The archonium was also designed for humans.

Abby is 50%. We are 0%.

Yes, we have a shard of humanity, but we're still not human.

>>27342721
I don't see what that's supposed to mean in relation to my argument, care to clarify?

Are you saying we died but then didn't only because we weren't human or something? And that's also why the non-human aspect of her could regrow limbs?

I don't think that makes a bunch of sense, because if you took that logic to mean that Abby could regrow limbs with her Banshee part then that also means we won't die if we're killed.

>>27342766
I'm saying that using Shadow's capabilities in the archonium as a point of comparison for determining what is or isn't weird archonium shit is a bad idea.

>>27342785
Ah, that makes more sense. A fair point.

Anyway. dug up SM's post:

http://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/27284836/#27288417

I'm thinking she can't regrow it.

We should try messing around with the video diary so we can record all the parts of the spell sigils.

That way our party can study them without having to trek down here.

>>27342837

I was just coming in here, after catching up on the archived last thread....

we know shadow can break the rules of magic.

The way I see it, we have two options when it comes to abby's hand.
1) Earth-magic powered automaton replacement, luke skywalker style.
2) use Shadow Eater and slowly regrow it with shadowstuff
3) Some combination of funky Banshee powers. Like, she has an alternate form, and they are creators of IMAGINATION - isn't it theoretically possible to remake it with spiritstuff? If so, wouldn't a major block in the way of doing that be psychological trauma? If we resolve that, and give her a dose of spiritual power, she may be able to banshee up a new hand.

We could also try long-term regeneration, via earth tree sorcery. Treat it less like a wound to be treated, and more like a plant that can be grown over many seasons.

This is something we can't fix instantly, but if we dedicate ourselves to addressing the issue, SM may open the door to it later. (at a critically bad moment where we have to make hard decisions, of course)

>>27343288
>1) Earth-magic powered automaton replacement, luke skywalker style.

I'm thinking we'll need to talk to Steward(and thus also deal with fucking City 002) to do something like that. Might also need to invest in the Earth tree more.

>2) use Shadow Eater and slowly regrow it with shadowstuff

I have serious doubts that it works that way. Abby may have shadow powers like ours but she isn't a formless blob like us. When we get hurt we don't have to worry about muscle tissue, nervous systems, vital organs, or really anything like that. We regenerate so easily because we're just a blob of shadow with sentience. Abby's got more complex stuff going on with her.
>3) Some combination of funky Banshee powers. Like, she has an alternate form, and they are creators of IMAGINATION - isn't it theoretically possible to remake it with spiritstuff? If so, wouldn't a major block in the way of doing that be psychological trauma? If we resolve that, and give her a dose of spiritual power, she may be able to banshee up a new hand.

The link I posted that you linked to had SM saying no to the Banshee regrowing limbs thing. I'm not sure if that's a flat no or if there is something we need to do to make it possible and it's just a no for now, though.

>We could also try long-term regeneration, via earth tree sorcery. Treat it less like a wound to be treated, and more like a plant that can be grown over many seasons.

I think that's sort of the same problem that you encounter with the Shadow Eater plan. I don't think we're capable of a spell so intricate because we don't need something that intricate to heal ourselves. I'm thinking we're going to have to look outside our own abilities for this and consult someone else.

>>27343433
>I'm thinking we'll need to talk to Steward(and thus also deal with fucking City 002) to do something like that. Might also need to invest in the Earth tree more.

This is not a bad thing to do. We've let it sit a while.

Also, if we pick up Machina Loqui and Disguise, its plausable for us to entirely hijack the remaining robots.
We can engage them on their own social level, and they're hardcoded to obey dwarves.

Or at least some of them were.

great thread ty sm

>>27342413
>This has been planned for a looooooooonnnnnngggggggg time.

>It conveniently allowed me to twist the knife.

>that DM VS players attitude slowly growing stronger

you showed signs of this early on and I hoped it wouldn't be so, but SM you are traveling down a dark path and just lost yourself another reader

also, fuck you and your love of PLOTBERG full of empty nothingness

>>27346540
What? Dude, he was responding to a post that used those exact words and it doesn't even have to do with any kind of Player vs. DM shit. It had to do with a series of incredibly stupid decisions that the players made that he was enabling by being way too soft.

>>27346602
>enabling by being way too soft.
I agree, but with the length of time he let it fester, it was more like baiting, and just when we had begun to feel the consequences and begin to change, he renders it all meaningless and throws the goalposts off a fucking cliff

>>27346647
The stuff with Melody was planned from the beginning. It's just a very terrible coincidence, not some nefarious plan.

He didn't render our trying to change meaningless at all, either. The point was that we were making dumb mistakes by not paying attention to our allies needs and we got some good character development as we also explored that pulling away and doing it all on our own could lead to straying back to being like Erebus. None of this has anything to do with the staff being real or not at all. It's just a sucky thing that happened.

I'm not getting why people are disliking Melody. It seems like she took the staff of Winds out of Fang's grasp because she knew the type of person he was. Honestly I could see her becoming a good ally.

>>27346815
They're just understandably pissed that the staff is fake after all that shit we went through to get it.

It's not the best reason to hate someone but I don't see how you could not get that.

I also doubt it has much to do what type of person Fang is. I think she just personally hates him as she apparently makes it a point to one up him all the time.

>>27346904
Melody's actions don't bother me nearly as much as the fact that we just got /another/ godlike mage added to the list.

And this one's stronger than Fang. Who Adavan said is closer in power to the Elemental Lords than than he is a mage from the Elementomachy.

This shit is getting ridiculous. Even if he was a massive dick about it, I think Erebus' plan to destroy as much chaos as possible and keep what survives firmly underfoot is not without merit.

This magic growth is not sustainable, and it's only a matter of time until something pops up that blasts magic nukes as easily as we draw breath.

>>27347140
We don't know if she's stronger than Fang, she just got here first. Hell, some people think she's the Black Lady so she may not even be an addition at all.

Also, yes Erebus' plan has merit, or at least a good reason behind why he wanted to do it. That's kind of why we kept Temerity around instead of going full Humanity when we had the chance.

>>27347251
>Constantly 1ups Fang
>Pulled off this shit
>Not stronger, at least in some areas
I just don't see that as being possible.

>>27347295
>Not stronger, at least in some areas

That I can agree on. I just highly doubt we'd have a second Black Lady tier shadow mage running around.

Then again, she may have passed away. It's obviously been a long time since she was here.

Can we all stop getting pissed off at Shadow Master please?

This happens every fucking time and the answer is always the same:

We do something retarded, Shadow Master reacts to it, we don't like his reaction, he apologizes for it but says he's in charge and it's his quest, we get a little sulky and the quest moves on.

It's so fucking juvenile.

>yes I'm still here, it's just the time difference is killing me.

Anyway, keep on writing SM and don't let the petty arguments get you down. I'll be lurking the archives.

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>>27348170
Ok, Scruffy.