File: Circle Interior 2.jpg (144 KB, 926x520)

144 KB JPG

“Quissonce has it?” you ask dumbstruck.

Ed nods. “Yeah.”

“Are you sure it's the only copy?”

“Pretty sure. I've looked at practically every book's title in this library and skimmed most of them. It's the only demon-related one. At least in the non-restricted section. For all I know there are dozens of books about demon summoning on the 8th floor.”

“And she hasn't given it to anyone or returned it?”

Ed thinks and shrugs. “I don't think so. I saw it in her room a few days ago. Bookmarked and everything.” He notices the pensive look on your face. “Is there some sort of problem?”

>Nope, no problem
>Explain the situation to Ed

AND

>What's the next step? (write-in)

>>44972342
>>Nope, no problem
>What's the next step? (write-in)
grab Dolah, and confront Quissonce about it

>>44972342
>Explain the situation to Ed
>What's the next step? (write-in)
Confront Quissonce

>>44972342
>Explain the situation to Ed
Most likely she accidentally summoned it.
>What's the next step?
Find Quissonce, secure the book.

Writing.

Get Dolah before finding Quissonce? Y/N

>>44972852
y

>>44972852
N

>>44972852
N. We are already in the tower.

“Well, yes. That hell creature tried to kill me and Gabby. So if Quissonce summoned it . . .” you trail off.

Ed seems taken aback. “Oh. Well, it's possible somebody read the book before her or maybe it got loose somehow. I don't even know if the thing works.”

You give Ed a curt nod before excusing yourself. If Quissonce has really been reading the thing you doubt it's poppycock or nonsense. And while you can imagine there being an accident, the books you read at Calloway's chapel made it seem like demons only did things as an express order. You're trying to work out a way Quissonce may have accidentally ordered a demon to kill you and are not surprised when you draw a mental blank.

You knock on the door to her room a little more tensely than usual. Eve answers the door.

“Hello Alan!” she greets you with enthusiasm.

“Hey Eve, is Quissonce in there.” You peer over the gnome to look for her, but she isn't in sight.

“Nope. Haven't seen her since I woke up this morning.” Eve says plainly.

Oh. This is starting to look worse.

>Search the room for the book
>Go look for Quissonce elsewhere
>Something else? (write-in)

AND

>Explain the situation to Eve
>Do not

>>44973460
>Search the room for the book
>Explain the situation to Eve
Have Eve help search.

>>44973460
>>Search the room for the book
>Explain the situation to Eve

Writing!

>>44973460
>Search the room for the book
>Explain the situation to Eve

File: Drawing in the Book.jpg (34 KB, 400x382)

34 KB JPG

“Remember that evil monster Muffin told you about Eve?” She nods. “That thing was most likely summoned by a person. The only person with a book on how to summon it was Quissonce.”

Eve sighs. “This is why reading sucks.” She lets you in and even helps you search Quissonce's book stacks for the thing. Eve confirms that she's seen Quissonce reading from a rather 'Look at me I'm so dark and evil!' type book every once in a while.

The search doesn't take you long. After looking at all the books on Quissonce's desk, you find the one you're looking for in the top drawer of her desk.

You fish it out. “Diabolical Acts” by H. Stephen. Around the title and author the cover is designed to look like a snarling demon face. Quissonce has four bookmarks placed throughout the book.

The first bookmark you flip to seems to describe what devils are and what typical traits they possess.

The next bookmark you skip to details what the author believes Hell to be and how society functions in that plane of existence where deceased evildoers go.

The third bookmark is on a page with an illustration of the ritual to summon and bind devils here on the 'material' plane.

The fourth bookmark is . . . oh. It's a drawing of a creature that looks very similar to the thing that tried to kill you today. Barbazu – The Bearded Devil. The text next to this picture recommends to offer a restrained victim as a sacrifice to draw the creature to this world. The drawing is circled in ink with a written-in note from Quissonce. 'So cool!'

You sigh out. Eve is still searching through the piles of book, oblivious to the fact you've already found what you were looking for.

>Read the book
>Put it back
>Burn it
>Keep it
>Return it to the library
>Something else? (write-in)

And

>What's the next step? (write-in)

>>44974695

>Read the book

>>44974695
>Keep it
Hang on to it personally just in case.
>What's the next step? (write-in)
We need to find Quissonce. Get her story on what the hell is going on.

>>44974695
>>What's the next step? (write-in)
ask around and find quissonce

>>44974695
>Keep it
>What's the next step?
Take a piece of Quissonce's clothing, have our new dog track her down by scent.
Or have Rowe's wolf do it.

Writing!

File: Mirror Mirror on the Wall.jpg (7 KB, 300x300)

7 KB JPG

You put the book in your backpack and decide you'll deal with that later. You turn to Eve and inform her that you already found what you were looking for. Eve nods and goes back to what she was doing before you came in, which is juggling.

You go to Quissonce's chest of drawers and prepare to open the top drawer when Eve stops you.

“WAIT!” She drops the beanbags she was juggling. “What are you doing?”

You look back at her. “I'm going to let my dog sniff an article of Quissonce's clothing to see if I can track her down by scent.”

Eve nods. “Ohhhh. In that case, open the third drawer from the top.” Eve advises. You take that advice and open the third drawer. You stare at its contents perplexed before responding.

“Eve, this drawer is filled with Quissonce's undergarments.” you inform her.

She snickers. “Yeah, I know.” You close the drawer shut and open the top one again. You grab a scarf of Quissonce's and exit the room. You whistle for Pascala and bend down to let her smell the scarf. She seems to pick up the scent and understand your direction. She bounds down the hall of the fourth floor.

The journey she takes you on is a rather short one. She stops and lies down, panting in front of a large mirror. When you lock eyes with Pascala and let her sniff the scarf once more she merely walks in a circle and whines at you, before lying back down.

>Alright, what do you want to do? (write-in)

>>44975755
Poke it.

>>44975755
Check the mirror for traces of magic.
Also see if it hides a secret door or there's some kind of hidden switch.

>>44975755
do a bit of research on magic mirrors and portals to mirror realities?

Writing!

You slowly approach the mirror and stick your hand out. A quick Detect Magic informs you that the mirror indeed possesses a magical aura. Transmutation.

You stick your finger out to press against it. You halt in apprehension. Should you really touch this thing? You have no idea what it may do. Perhaps you should look for a secret switch or do some research on mirrors before doing something as risky as –

Quissonce's hand reaches out from the mirror and her index finger taps you on the nose. Her head sticks out right afterwards.

“Boop!” She recedes back into the mirror, the glass rippling like water at her disturbance.

Well then. You walk through, Pascala following you. You are standing in a vastly, infinite white void. You turn around and everywhere you look is pure white. The only piece of scenery breaking up the monotony is what you assume is the mirror back into the real world. Seems like it functions as a 1-way mirror from this side. Or just a window.

You turn to look at Quissonce who has her arms outstretched.

“Welcome to my Wizardly domain!” She laughs. “What's up, Alan?”

Hmmmm.

>What do you say/ask? (write-in)

>>44976803
"Quissonce did you summon a demon? It kinda tried to kill us."

>>44976803
Have you been using this book recently?

>>44976803
"Quissonce, were you experimenting with demon summoning? Did it get loose from you? Because a demon tried to kill me, Gabby, and Dolah."

Writing!

"Quissonce, were you experimenting with demon summoning?” you ask her bluntly.

She looks at you funny. “No.”

You pull out the book. “Really? Because Eve and Ed both say they've seen you reading this. And it has notes similar to your hand-writing in it.”

Her face softens. “Ohhhh. Yeah, I've been reading that. But that's a book about devil summoning.”

You give her a look. “Is there a difference?”

She nods emphatically. “Yes, actually. In the second chapter Stephen mentions how demons are actually –”

You wave your hands to stop her from going on a tangent. You open the book to the picture Quissonce circled. “You see this thing.”

“The Barbazu, yes?”

“One of these things tried to kill me, Gabby and Dolah today. Did you summon one recently?”

“No.”

“Did you summon one not so recently?”

“I haven't summoned a single devil yet.”

Yet?

>Take her word for it
>Ban Quissonce from summoning demons or devils
>Inquire further (write-in)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>44977770
>Take her word for it

>>44977770
"Have you been here all day?"

In comparison, how long ago was it since we were attacked?

>>44977770
>Take her word for it
"Alright. If it wasn't you, then who was it? And when you summon one in the future, you're going to need either Dolah or me to put it down when it inevitably gets out of your control, and we will be very cross with you."

Writing!

“Have you been here all day?” you ask.

“Uhhhhhh” she takes a second. “I've really lost track of time. Let's see I've casted this spell three times now. So I've been in here . . . for the last sixteen hours or around there?”

Well that means she's been in here since four in the morning if she's telling you the truth. The demon, sorry, Devil, attacked you at around seven or eight in the morning.

“Well then if you didn't summon this thing who did?”

She shrugs and gives you a look. “I don't fucking know. Probably someone who wanted to kill you and frame me.” You look at her puzzled. “Think about it. Why wouldn't I warn you if I accidentally unleashed this thing? And if it was on purpose, regardless of motive, why would I try to kill you with the one devil in that book I circled? This was clearly a set up and a poor one at that. Narrows your list of suspects down to Circle wizards I suppose.”

She makes a good point. “Well, when you summon one in the future, you're going to need either Dolah or me to put it down when it inevitably gets out of your control, and we will be very cross with you."

She looks at you smugly. “I'm fairly certain I'll be able to control or annihilate anything I choose to bring into this world.”

>Well, what's the plan now? (write-in)

>>44978688
"Help us investigate the Circle."

>>44978688
Begin creating a list of suspects in the Circle.
Maybe ask Eve if anyone else had come into their room.

Too bad we can just have a dog sniff the room and tell us how many people were in there given the number of unique scent trails.

Writing!

“Well, help us investigate the Circle.”

She looks at you like you're crazy. “How?”

“I don't know, maybe ask Eve if anyone's been in the room?”

“If the perpetrator spied on me using magic they wouldn't need to even come near me.”

“Alright, let's compile a list of suspects.”

Quissonce sighs. “That will most likely include anybody powerful enough to perform the ritual and anybody who could have possibly read that book. Which includes all the Circle Magisters who are going to be pissed if we start hassling them like they're criminals.”

“So should we do nothing?” You don't know if its Quissonce's attitude or this situation in general that has you so exasperated.

Quissonce shakes her head. “No. We should ask the one person who would know for sure who gave the order to kill you.”

“And who's that?”

“The assassin himself.” You give her a long hard stare. “We should summon that demon.”

>Nooooooooooooooope!
>What could possibly go wrong?
>Something else? (write-in)

>>44979395
>demon
Devil, Quissonce would have said devil, not demon.

>>44979395
>>Nooooooooooooooope!

>>44979395
>Something else? (write-in)
If we are doing this we are doing this right. Research ways to bind it, making it talk, etc. We aren't doing this half cocked.

>>44979395
>Something else?
"If we do this, we do this right. We should involve Blackburn and the Arch-Magister just so that we're covered on the proprietary and legal angle, and we should bring in Dolah at the very least, since we'll need someone who can smite a devil.
"We do this right, Quissonce, and no shortcuts. We're risking our very souls with this."

>>44979431
>>Something else? (write-in)
This also call in Dolah. I would also call the priest but i'm afraid the man would have a heart attack if he saw all this bullshit. And after we summon it we burn the book, gather the ashes into a box, send it into another dimension, through a black hole so it can come back and be burned again in the same fire!

Writing!

“You're serious.” you say deadpan.

Quissonce breathes out. “We can't start a witch hunt, especially since I'm at the top of the list there Alan. I have no alibi and I'm the only person I know has read that book. There's one person who can clear my name and thankfully I know how to get in touch with him. Fire with fire!” she shrugs.

You have to mull it over in your mind for a bit before voicing your support for the 'summon a devil to figure out who summoned the devil' plan

“Alright.” Before Quissonce can squee in delight too enthusiastically you hold up your hand. “If we are doing this we are doing this right. Research ways to bind it, make it talk, NOT KILL US. We aren't doing this half cocked. No shortcuts”

She flourishes a grandiose gesture. “My dear Alan, I assure you every spell I cast is prepared with care and the touch of an artist. It will take some time to prepare, a few weeks at least, but everything will be to ensure our safety and success.”

“And we need to tell the Archmage and Blackburn about this. And we'll need Dolah on side in case this goes sideways.”

Quissonce gives you an apprehensive look. “I'll handle the Archmage and Blackburn. I . . . don't think Dolah would agree with this morally, so I'll leave convincing her to you!” She smiles wide.

Well, with that handled you have some choices with what you want to do with the rest of your late evening.

>Introduce Pascala to Rowe
>Go tell Dolah about your awesome plan
>Something else? (write-in)

>>44980018
>Introduce Pascala to Rowe

>>44980018
>>Go tell Dolah about your awesome plan

>>44980018
>Introduce Pascala to Rowe

Writing!

>>44980018

>Introduce Pascala to Rowe

>Something else? (write-in)
-grab your shield

Then:
>Go tell Dolah about your awesome plan

>>44980276
God dammit i'm late....

>>44980341
>grab your shield
you have your shield. The buckler. Which is better than the wooden one you keep in your room.

File: Pascala.jpg (1.09 MB, 2560x1600)

1.09 MB JPG

You decide to introduce your new furry friend to Rowe. You exit Quissonce's magical realm with Pascala in tow and make your way to Room 9. A quick knock gets you an entrance for the small fee of one kiss. Rowe bends down once she sees your dog and begins to ruffle her fur.

“Well aren't you a pretty girl.” Pascala seems to enjoy the attention as her tail sets to wagging. “I've always loved Muller Shepherds. Very nurturing animals.”

“Yeah, one of the few good memories I have of that place were all the stray dogs that would beg for scraps. Our company took on a few as pets. I missed having one.”

Rowe looks up at you. “So, is she just a pet or are you thinking you're cultivating the type of bond that Sif and I share?”

>She's just a pet
>She's going to be my hunting companion

>>44980657
>>She's going to be my hunting companion

>>44980657
>She's going to be my hunting companion

>>44980657
>She's going to be my hunting companion
"I've already worked it out with Muffin and Tornado. They understand that I can't be tied down to a single companion, and I need many to fulfill my needs. I simply want to fill their needs in return."

File: Pascala.jpg (181 KB, 764x1280)

181 KB JPG

Writing!

Also, roll me 1d100 + 40, best of 3.

Rolled 64 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>44980866

Rolled 40 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>44980866

Rolled 29 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>44980866

Rolled 22 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>44980866

“She's going to be my hunting companion, like Sif is with you.”

Rowe sighs. (Copycat.) she thinks to you in the most sing song tone she can imagine.

“It's my specialty. Now help me out here. I've already managed a slight bond already, but I need your help to make this official. What do I do to solidify this?”

(What do you want? Give her some treats and teach her some tricks and you'll be alright.)

“There has to be some magical component to this. Give me some pointers and I'll see if it helps.”

(Fine. I'll walk you through the basics to dog handling.)

Rowe and yourself spend the rest of the night talking about how to properly command your animal companion. Rowe has a lot of insight into animal behavior and tips to interpreting their attitude and desires from slight physical cues. While much of your conversation centers on dogs and more precisely, Pascala, you also talk about basic animal handling tips that cover a wider variety of species.

Learning things from Rowe is so easy at this point it's like breathing. The information is transmitted directly to your brain and you absorb it like a sponge absorbing water. When all the tactics and animal training techniques are discussed and topics of conversation exhausted, you try putting your lessons into practice. Pascala listens to you and takes to your commands like you had owned her your whole life as opposed to the sixteen hours you've actually spent with her.

You decide to finish off your bonding with a touch of your own skillset. You channel a bit of your touch of destiny, the same procedure you performed with Muffin, and grant it to your dog. Almost instantaneously you feel the bond deepen and set. You barely have to move or gesture to get Pascala to do what you want now.

As you and Rowe settle in for bed, you notice Pascala go and cuddle up next to where Sif is lying down. When you point the behavior out to Rowe she makes an 'awwww' sound. (They're like us.)

The two of you relax in bed while watching your animals act cute together. Until the moment you see Sif get up and approach Pascala from behind, placing his forearms on her haunches and beginning to –

“Bad Sif! Bad!” Rowe springs into action from where she was lying down while you laugh hysterically from the bed. Rowe bops him on the nose as he whines.

You feel the need to comment. “They are just like us.”

>End of Thread
I will most likely run this next Friday. https://twitter.com/TrickQM