>>834492
>Your talents lie in animating constructs built in various shapes and sizes to fulfill almost any given task

>>834492

>Your talents lie in animating constructs built in various shapes and sizes to fulfill almost any given task.

>>834499
>>834500
Third.
This talent is also unconventional. While most wizards gather vast, natural arcane magic, our interest lies in elaborate, small magical systems. Tiny, designed currents, as you will, which sets material mechanically in motion.

>>834503
Mechanical magic? So we're going steampunk with this? Nice.

Forgot to say. I'm writing.

>>834512
We are a revolutionary. Let's hope others will also see it that way...

As you stop walking at the crossroads outside your hometown, you hear the skittering of the small, wooden limbs of your only remaining construct come to a halt beside you. You assembled and animated several golems out of household objects like pots and brooms, but the people who owned those pots and brooms failed to appreciate your talents, and you had to return them to their previous state. But this one pet of yours, the first one you assembled, you were allowed to keep. It is essentially a broken down rake, a pitchfork and some of the fencing around the farmhouse you grew up in around a crude stone core. Perhaps your parents didn't have the heart to take him away. He is a cute little wooden spider thing, and you're glad to have him, but you doubt he will be very helpful to you.

You have a look around. The continent is an extremely varied place, but it is not vast. By hitching rides on various wagons, you should be get to your chosen destination within a week or two. There are several locations you could go to that aren't too close or too far from civilization, and have a sufficient ley lines that converge around it. You are a wizard after all, and you would greatly benefit from living above a such arcane nexus, providing you with the energy to use as you wish.

You decide to journey to...

>A mountaintop, isolated, harsh and cold, with several mines nearby, abandoned for some unknown reason.
>A forest, littered with overgrown ruins, with plenty of wood, animals and forgotten knowledge to at your disposal.
>A volcano, one in a row of several formed by some arcane aberrance, as evident from the strange fauna lurking in the ash.
>A desert, with lots of sand and... more sand.
>Write-in (I'll probably alter it a bit, though.)

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jesus god damn fuck those errors

>>834521
Combine the mountain and forest ideas.
As in the foot of the mountain near a forest. Or if their isn't a forest nearby, just the foot of the mountain. A bit more practical than the top of one.

>>834521
Desert

>>834521
>A forest, littered with overgrown ruins, with plenty of wood, animals and forgotten knowledge to at your disposal.
Seems like a comfy and easy place to live.
Can even use various object in ruin to assemble a new construct or two.

>>834525
I like this best of 2 worlds aproach. A mountaintop would be a bit harsh, but we do need it's metal if are gonna go steampunk.

Got some lunch. Writing for foot of a mountain.

Oh, and sorry about the slow pace, but I figured to go it anyways since this board is slow as fuck too.

>>834547
Genius takes time.

>>834547
chill quests are best quests

>>834547
>So what magic do we know anyway?

Basically animating constructs is the only thing we know of right now.

You spend the next nine days traveling with various caravans on your way to Mount Mardale, posing as a lesser mage and using your modest geokinetic abilities to guard them against potential attackers. Truthfully, there are no bandits or marauders on this route; it is more a matter of impressing the caravaneers sufficiently by making some stones and your unnamed pet dance around, convincing them that your company is worth the food and coin they hand you, for seeing a strange wooden spider jump through hoops of levitating stone.

You hope never to see these people again, or be seen by anyone else as a cheap parlor trickster.

Early in the morning, you part ways with the last group of wagons a day's travel away from Mardale. You note that a ways towards the opposite direction, there are the woods you considered settling in. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to travel there, should you require some wood or wish to visit some old ruins in your spare time. You also note that the caravan you just left is headed towards a riverside town, the closest one to your destination as far as you know.

Chewing on a piece of jerky, you make your way across the plains and a short way up the mountain, before the terrain becomes actually treacherous, and find a small clearing near a ledge. You are low enough that there are still a few trees and bushes around, and the ground is still covered in grass. Since it's already late enough that you can't see the sun setting on this side of the mountain, you decide to erect your tent here and rest. Tomorrow, you'll start building your tower.

During your time on the caravan, you had enough spare time to prepare some very basic cores for the golems you're going to assemble and build your tower. Lumpy stones, about as large as your fist, covered in runes you carved on their surface that will act as a primitive brain for your creations, until you acquire some more suitable materials and hone your craft. What kind of golems did you prepare, exactly?

>Three rough humanoid figures made out of boulders, held together by arcane tethers.
>Seven short clay figurines, with proper fingers to manipulate things with, but little strength or resilience.
>A wooden colossus that can really heft, which will take you a lot of time to put together.
>Write-in (Keep in mind that you have little in the way of tools and materials right now.)

>>834582
Eh, you can do some other stuff. You're just not great at it.

>>834547
>>834582
Is there an energy requirement to keep our constructs alive? That can have a pretty big impact on the effectiveness of the magic.

>>834592
>A wooden colossus

It gives us some defenses as well as far more effective worker force.

So we can utilise some earth magic as well?
If so we should make it our secondary focus of study since it's fairly versatile and usefull for gathering resources.

>>834595
Yes, but it's lower than you'd think. Especially since you specialize in golemetry.

This may also change once you start building some decent stuff that doesn't rely on your magic to keep itself together and/or stuff that has ways to recharge itself without your intervention.

>>834592
>>Seven short clay figurines, with proper fingers to manipulate things with, but little strength or resilience.
Crafters, crafters are good.

>>834592
>Three rough humanoid figures made out of boulders, held together by arcane tethers.

Would've gone with the colossus, but I wouldn't want to put in so much time using a primitive core

>>834606
The stone ones def. The colosus will take to long, and the crafters are gonna only be useful later on when we have a basic base already set up. Right now we need an actual work force to start on gathering stone and lumber for our tower.

>>834592
>>Write-in (Keep in mind that you have little in the way of tools and materials right now.)

A dwarf sized worker drone with 4 apendages, 2 stronger limbs with less ability to manipulate objects , 2 with dexterous hands that can do finer labour and moves on top of a set of 3 orbs for stability.

>>834592
>>834606
>Sorry about all of the questions

Do the materials used for the core effect how many orders a construct can follow at once?

>>834592
>>Seven short clay figurines reinforced with wooden 'bones', with proper fingers to manipulate things with.

>>834603

Changing to this >>834612

Sorry for the messy writing.

>>834607
This

>>834615
You can telepathically control golems to do basic stuff while you attend them. Automated work is a different matter. It does require making better cores. Better materials does help. Especially gemstones, crystals and certain magical metals, though you can't really smelt ore right now.

Stone is pretty shit at containing energy, but with golems, you only really need the core to contain the energy and it can animate the rest of its body. And if you manage to construct a body that's mechanically made to move, it'll be even stronger than it should be. (Basically magepunk instead of steampunk.)

>clay
>>834605
>>834617

>stone
>>834606
>>834607
>>834625

>jazz hands
>>834612
>>834619

Writing for stone unless I fucked up. Tallying votes is apparently hard when you're excited.

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>>834632
>Writing for stone unless I fucked up. Tallying votes is apparently hard when you're excited.
You can finish, we'll wait.

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Was bored, bad at drawing too, but enjoy. 3 posts in and you already have fanart

The next day, after waking up and munching on the bland, preserved food you have on you, you set about finding rocks and boulders suitable for the golems you have in mind. The task turns out to be a lot harder than you anticipated. You end up locating three large boulders that will serve as suitable torsos, and haul the stones that will become the limbs to them, and while stones aren't exactly difficult to find, they are very hard to carry. It takes you an hour to fill your backpack with smaller rocks that will serve as the joints, and carrying them up the mountain turns out to be as hard as, well, carrying a backpack full of stones. You take a few minutes to catch your breath after depositing them by the main body and start to think about how the hell you're going to get a bunch of even bigger rocks up here. After several minutes of pondering, you conclude that it would be easiest to make use of your magic to have them float behind you.

Wait, you could have done that with the smaller stones too.

After you're done cursing, you gather the rest of the stones. Drawing the power from your reserves, you focus your will upon the points at which the stones will join together, and command the stone to melt. Tiny matching runes carve themselves into their surfaces, and when you pour a fraction of your reserves into these runes, they become active. The stones begin to rumble and pull themselves together, joining each other like an ugly skeleton. You pull the core out of a separate pocket on your pack, and you place it where the head should be. It is, of course, far too small for a head, and the overall figure ends up looking like an elephant man with the head of a toddler, lying prone on the ground. As you pour your magic into the core, you find yourself wishing for better materials to work with, and soon.

A short moment later, you feel the core carving the arcane channels as you programmed it to, going from one rune, through the stone, into the next, until it settles down. And then, the stones rise up, clumsily, and still somehow intimidating. The whole thing is a head taller than yourself. Its legs are mismatched pegs. Two stones, each bigger than your head, form its shoulders, from which its ape-like arms descend. It doesn't have any hands, only three elongated rocks to let it grip and carry objects, presumably stones. It stands tall and resolute, with no expression or feeling. It may be humanoid, but this great beast is but an extension of your will made manifest.

You and your new servant spend the next hour hauling rocks, and soon, you have two more brutes of stone standing at attention; the thing is really good at hauling heavy things, especially with you there to help coordinate its clumsy movement. You are already tired, but it is only the afternoon, and you still have much work to do.

>Order your golems to gather stones that will serve as suitable bricks.
>Have the golems fell trees. You need lumber.
>Take your golems into one of those mineshafts you saw earlier (you totally saw a mineshaft earlier, I just didn't tell you.)
>Write-in

If you have your golems work on their own, you can also do something yourself. You can lie back and read the one book you have with you, or you can hunt or forage if you're tired of eating jerky. Or you can sleep, practice with some magic, or something else.

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>>834685
My god.

It's beautiful.

Thank you for this, anon.

>>834692
Gather bricks while we practice our magic.

>>834692
>>Order your golems to gather stones that will serve as suitable bricks.
>practice magic

>>834703
Seconding

>>834692
>>Order your golems to gather stones that will serve as suitable bricks.

Tommorow we build a small house while having two of the golems fell wood.

Also how much food rations do we have?

>>834692
Order golems to gather stones while we experiment on our rock-rake-pitchfork spider thingy.

>>834706
If you're willing to sustain yourself with jerky, nuts and dried fruit, you'll have three more days after today until you run out.

>>834708
>>834706
>>834703
>>834700

Calling it for brick gathering. If we're practicing magic, what would you like to focus on? You're half-decent at geomancy and you obviously know plenty of golemetry, so you can try to practice those.

You're also proficient in runic, the language of enchanting. Normal people need to study it, but you're a wizard, so most of the words you know just sort of... manifested themselves in your mind as you focused. Golemetry is derived from this, so your advancement in it will plateau if you don't expand your library.

Finally, you know the bare minimum of telepathy, with which you direct your golems, though that might be hard to practice without people around. And since you're a wizard, you can just pick whatever basic aspect of magic and try to get better at that.

I will be asking for rolls for this.

>>834720
Practice geomancy. Can't hurt. Work on flattening a foundation out for our tower maybe.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>834724
Derp

>>834720
Geomancy does sound good
>>834727
Especially with that roll.

>>834730
Okay, but I'm not pairing rolls with votes. We're doing 1d100, best of three.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>834733
Well, I'll put in a roll then, hoping for that 100.

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>834720
Geamancy is fine for now, we can start learning plant magic later. Do we know that you can trade meat products with beans to keep healthy?

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>834733

>>834739
*Geomancy

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>834720
I kinda want to practice golemetry.
But I guess geomancy works too.

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>834720

Geomancy.
Use it for construction and to make a small herb garden for botanical materials and vegetables.
Helps with farmwork as well.

>>834685
CUTE

>>834720
>Calling it for brick gathering. If we're practicing magic, what would you like to focus on? You're half-decent at geomancy and you obviously know plenty of golemetry, so you can try to practice those.
>Jewel magic!

Writing for geomancy.

>>834744
Forgot to add.
We use it to reshape the rocks the golems brougt into propper bricks or even giant legos so we are safe from gians and need no binding matter.

You vaguely think at your golems, and sure enough, the three of them carry off to gather some stones. All three of them stop after a few steps, homing in on the same flat piece of rock right by your campsite, and try to lift it together, provoking a sigh and a facepalm from you. This would be a problem for a lesser golemeter, but you've constructed the arrays on their cores with greater flexibility than that. You focus your thoughts in their direction, giving them a series of instructions that should prevent them from interfering with each other. Satisfied after seeing them head off towards three separate objectives, you focus your attention to honing your newfound talents.

At the middle of the clearing where your tower will eventually stand, you sit down, cross-legged, and put your fingertips to the ground. The trick to controlling the earth seems to be to assume the same attitude as stone. You must be steady, stubborn, unmoving. You have to center your soul, and the energy in your body with it, to be one uniform mass. So you close your eyes, form the image in your mind into a perfect circle, and focus.

Then you remember, you actually need the earth to do something if you want to practice with it.

You will the ground to move upwards, and slowly, with a rumble, you begin to rise up with the earth. Looking around, it seems like you've managed to raise a considerable area of terrain beneath you. In fact, it seems to be perfectly circular. But it isn't much more than you can usually do. Somewhat disappointed, you lower the ground back down. At least it seems to have marked the foundation area for the tower.

You think about what you did wrong. Was your entire approach a faulty one? You don't think so; you're as good at shaping the earth as most people are after years of study, so you must have the basics down correctly. Not to mention that earth mages and stubbornness almost always come hand-in-hand. So it must be something you did just now. What was it? You sat down, assumed the right attitude, and you... You focused on a perfectly circular shape. Of course.

You stand up, and choose a much smaller piece of ground to test your theory on. You repeat most of the process, but instead of a circle, you focus your mind into a square. And sure enough, a perfectly rectangular column rises. This explains why you've been having so much trouble shaping the earth, as opposed to merely flinging chunks of it around. Earthshaping, or perhaps shaping things in general, seems to be less about throwing magic at the object to alter it, and more about attuning yourself to it and making it mirror the image within you.

Excited about this new discovery, you head over to where your golems are piling the stones. In your absence, they seem to have gathered far more than you'd expected; at this rate, you'll have enough for one floor by tomorrow morning. Although, if you make the best of this lesson, that might not even matter. You pick out a few of the larger bricks and have them float in front of you. Focusing, you bring them together, and make the image of to in one. Sure enough, the stones join together seamlessly. Deciding to go a step further, you try to think of something more complex this time. You look down at your leg, and back at the stone, and you- you twist. Sure enough, slowly but surely, it warps itself into the general shape of a foot and lower leg. This will be useful.

You go back to where you decided the base of the tower will be, and this time, you focus on all of the earth below you. You need this ground to be one solid whole, and you will it to be so. This time, the results are less than satisfactory. Some parts of it try their best to obey, while others remain inert or simply tremble in place without doing much else. You cease your efforts before you accidentally bring down the ledge. It seems earth, unlike stone, contains too many things to be shaped en masse. Worms, mulch, roots, and whatever else. Only the tiny bits of stone in it seems to have fused together, tiny masses of stone that flowed together and froze in the middle of an unnaturally fluid-like motion. It seems you'll need more practice.

Still, what you learned here today will be invaluable in shaping stone for your tower, your golems, and anything else. And you're sure you'll be doing a lot of it soon. For now, though, it is time to rest as the sun has already gone down. You munch on some of the food left in your bag and prepare to go to sleep. Tomorrow, you'll be...

>Having your golems gather clay for your tower.
>Rebuilding the bodies of your golems into a more efficient shape.
>Re-tasking your golems to gather wood.
>Taking a golem with you to explore the area, or a mineshaft.

>Creating more cores so you have more golems.
>Laying back and reading a book.
>Exploring your surroundings on your own.
>Hunting and gathering food.

>Write-in

>>834837
Rebuild one, have one gather clay and one gather wood. If we have time practice shaping wood.

>>834850
This + if the rebuilding is fast, we can send that one to gather food, while we practice.

>>834837
>>Laying back and reading a book.
Come oooon, this is our first vacation in like, ever. It's okay to kick back a bit!

>>834854
True

About reshaping: The first one will take the longest as you figure things out, replicating the task will then be easier.

I don't even know why I didn't write in an option to split up your manpower though, that seems like a reasonable thing to do.

>>834837
>>Rebuilding the bodies of your golems into a more efficient shape.

Full on copy our own body with shaped stone.

But only make one for now.
This is an exercise for our earth magic and golem construction.

Have the other two gather wood.
We need it for construction, firewood and simple enchanted tools we can sell to nearby vilages.

Look for a water source after finishing the golem and redirect a small part of the stream to be near your tower for water supply.

>>834854
>>834879
Wait a second.... Golems don't need to sleep... HAVE THEM COLECT FOOD WHILE WE SLEEP!

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>>834869
I think we want a some walls, a roof and a fireplace before relaxing

>>834899
They were collecting rocks while you were sleeping.

Writing for gathering clay and wood while you reshape a third golem, unless there are any objections.

>>834899
We need to order them telepatically.

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>>834900
We have a nice clearing, we have sun, we have fresh air... We're good!

Plus, building the tower is going to take a while.

The next day, after you have your little breakfast, you command your golems to halt as they arrive by the pile of stones one by one. The first one you send off into a wooded area to knock down some trees and bring them to the campsite. You make a mental note to reorder it later during the day to debranch the logs and cut them into a generally useful shape. It shouldn't take much of your time to give it some sort of bladed appendage to help it achieve this task. For now, it will do to simply bash the trees down near the roots with its giant trunks of stone.

The second golem you want to task to gather some clay, though you aren't entirely sure where you would find a deposit. You do recall passing by a stream further down the mountain where you last refilled your waterskin, and decide to try your luck there. You locate a shorter path down there and notice that it doesn't take you very long to reach it, which you note is quite convenient for you. Certainly, this was a much better location to pick then the dry, volcanic wastes you considered to go to. You and your golem then follow it upstream in the hopes of locating a clay deposit, and sure enough, you come across a point where it flows right past a muddy slope beneath a fallen tree. You have your golem dig through the mud while you help with your magic. You notice that manipulating mud is quite different than working with earth or stone, as it quivers strangely in your arcane grasp when you try to hold it afloat... Perhaps because of the water? Regardless, you soon hit paydirt. You have your golem remove mud for another minute to reveal the slimy brown substance, and then order it to pile on as much of it as possible by cupping it between its arms and its torso. Chunks of it slide off onto the ground on your way back, and you think about ways to equip it with some sort of tool to carry the clay properly, but decide it isn't worth your time. Your golems are big enough that you should have more than enough clay gathered by the end of the day. You only hope the clay is workable enough for your purposes.

As the golem leaves to gather more, you are left alone with your third golem, lying prone on the ground. You look at its body; it is crooked, lopsided, clumsy in its movements, and generally aesthetically displeasing. Really unrepresentative of your talents, to the point of being a minor point of embarrassment. You decide to fix this problem. Fetching the stone leg you shaped yesterday, you model your own golem's lower leg into a larger copy of it. Minus the foot. You wave your hand, and a stone brick lifts itself up from the pile and floats towards you. You shape it into a suitable, balanced sole for your servant to stand on, somewhat larger than a real foot would be, as you think it would help its balance. You carve the appropriate runes where the two pieces would meet, and pour your energy into them. Sure enough, they pull each other like magnets, the foot socketing right into the leg, and when you have it rotate around, you confirm that they fit each other quite perfectly.

You move on to its other leg, replicating much of the process with ease, but the rest of its body proves to take a bit longer. It's not very difficult to shape the stone itself, but you keep altering its design as one thing or another displeases you about it. First you make the upper legs longer because they look too short to you compared to their lower halves, then you keep altering the position of the core within the torso, not sure if it should be at the center, more towards the back which would make it protected from frontal harm but vulnerable from behind, or lodged at the front of its chest, where it just looks better. You end up leaving it at the center, giving the golem a false core on its chest and a pronounced, rectangular spinal column, both of which make the body thicker just around the core, and give it an artistic flair.

You move on to the shoulders and the arms, leaving them disproportionately long and thick, but giving it actual hands with actual fingers, crafting each individual section of its fingers and attaching them with the runes of arcane tethering. Now it can hold objects and make gestures. And finally, you fetch another two bricks to give it a head, for no reason other than to make it look more human. It takes you some time to mold it into a proper human shape; you find it hard to visualize the entirety of a face in your mind, down to its every detail. Every little thing you get wrong ends up making the entire face look... wrong, in a creepy way. At the end, you give up on molding it as a whole and simply carve away at the stone magically until it looks like a proper face. You note with some concern that it looks a bit like your own, perhaps a bit more cylindrical and elongated.

You activate the golem. It begins to stand up, in a much more human fashion than it did before, which pleases you, but then begins to wobble and adjust its stance to remain balanced. You mutter a curse under your breath. It seems that while you got carried away making its body so prim and proper, you caused its balance to be a bit off. You suddenly feel very tired, almost dejected. With a downwards wave of your hand, you twist the shape of its body and shift its center of mass somewhat inelegantly, and it loses plenty of the detailing you did on it in the process. Unfortunately, you are past caring about that. You are too exhausted, both mentally and magically. This will do the work it needs to do.

It is late afternoon. You have a bunch of rocks, some clay and some wood. What do you do?

>Write in (Too sleepy for listing options right now. Look above for ideas.)

>>835005
1 golem goes for food, 1 goes looking for ore in the mines, while we start on the tower and have the last one asist. Retrieving some materials that we realize we lack, or just doing some heavy lifting.

>>834999
>Add a tail for balance reasons to the modified golem..

>Start with an outer wall, have the golems place the stone and you merge it with magic.

>Shape the clay into utensils like knives, forks, platters and pots and bake it in fire.

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>>835015
Your golems don't really have the intelligence to identify things and report to you about it. You'll have to do scouting yourself.

You could send it to hunt, but, uh, well, I guess that's a thing that's doable.

Two golems to help build tower before nightfall, fashion a stone blade or something for the other golem to help taking the branches and twigs off trees

>>835005
>start by having the new golem help us build a wooden fram to the house, and magically fill it with rocks.

>>835005
>RELAX

I seem to be running out of juice. I'm sorry to say that I'll be taking a break now.

Please feel free to keep voting, ask questions, throw out ideas, accuse me of faggotry, or provide suggestions and criticism.

Thanks for participating! I'll be back before this time tomorrow.

>>835060
Think through your magic system and have us manage our resources.

This isn't a civ so we shouldn't get skills beyond the beginner ones as easily.

>>835022

Seconding this

>>835074
Thirding

Have the golems work the wood as support pillars (at least the biggest of the logs so you aren't using all of it), then proceed to have then construct the walls with stones, and connecting the pillars. The clay could be used as the glue of the tower, used to keep everything together. Whatever left over materials that were too small for the tower construct is up for debate

>>835005
>Instead of giving the golems well sculpted faces, draw really silly ones on them using charcoal
>Test a theory in the back of our head; that maybe having our first creation (familiar, hint hint) will increase our power somehow.

>>835022
Don't need a tail, we already rebalanced it. Utensils and plates aren't really required right now either. Most of our food is eaten out of a pouch.

I think most a unanimous on starting the tower up. A roof over our heads for the night would be nice. The stars are nice to look at, but the bugs are hell

>>835119
Although instead of a tail we could make the clay hauler a quadruped and give is a trough to fill with clay to keep it from spilling so much each time.

>>835119
We're almost out of food so reshaping at least 1 golem into something that could hunt would be pretty good. Lighter with longer legs. At least enough to chase down a dear. If nothing else it wont get tired so the golem can start chasing, the dear runs away. The golem catches up when the dear rests, the dear runs away again, but a shorter distance, since its still tired. Rince, repeat until we have food. That or make a hand cannon for one of them that pistons out a bolt at a target.

>>835217
Or we could use hunting as an opportunity to practice our telepathy on the wild animals. Magic progression, and that could potentially make getting food a lot easier if we succeed

>>835222
Also, progressing in telepathy may allow us to give our golems a more complicated string of commands since we already use basic telepathy to control them

I like this quest.

>>835271

I like this quest too

I just thought something... Why not build a giant golem that act as mobile tower?

>>835318
I'd imagine we aren't nearly proficient enough at magic to do that, but I do like the idea

>>835318

Magnum Opus project, we need to work out shaping and design on something that large while also figuring out how to suspend the internal rooms in a gyroscope so that the movements of the golem don't fuck up our work and research materials.

Calling it now, entry and exit is done through a slowly extending ramp placed suspiciously close to the groin area, no one has the heart to bring it up to the obviously crazy wizard and the wizard only wants one person to bring it up so he can finally make the perfect pun

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>>835329
Oh my God! Our end goal is to live inside pic related.

>>835414

Perfect, now how to fit everything around the nuclear superweapon

>>835421
The core inside the head, and a hollow torso for us to live in. We don't really NEED nuclear superweapons... for now.

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>>835318
>>835325
>>835329
>>835414
>>835421
>>835455
We need the dick ramp

>>835553
This will be our Manum Opus. Our Eiffel tower. Our Pieta. Our ninth symphony.
Our Legacy.

>>835553

Almost absolute perfection, needs a hover platform

Honestly we could probably recreate a crude computer, if we somehow managed to make hundreds of thousands of tiny constructs.

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>>835553

what if we modify each golem for their tasks? Ideas for specialized designs for each role?

Lumberjack
>Humanoid design
>Long arms with massive stone ax head for one hand
>Large claw for the other
>Two rings on back in a line
>Plate at base of torso
Main idea is to have the golem chop down trees and place them in the "quiver", then move like a gorilla for balance to walk back with the load.

Pack Mule/Clay digger
>Quadruped base body
>Two scoop shaped hands on arms extending from front shoulders
>Hollow body to store stuff in
>Legs based on (heavily reinforced) deer

Personal Assistant
>Human body
>Four arms
>Custom made hands for different applications
>Better core for better AI

I'd like to make a Defender too, once we get the right materials. Little crossbow golems would be nice, to act like autoturrets for our tower, or ones made to function like staff slings. If we can get the weapon golems to have a good AI, we can have them shoot any wildlife they see to provide us with a steady supply of fresh meat

>>836557
That's a nice idea.
I think it would be a good use of our time.

Morning, guys. I'm not writing quite yet. Just here to say I'm not bailing on you. The quest will continue later today, when I'm awake and myself again.

So if I'm getting this right, the consensus is somewhere around having one guy start laying bricks, and one guy to rework the wood you have, while you remain here to help with building the tower. I guess the third golem will help too.

There is some push towards specializing the golems, but I do need some consensus. You'll also need to lay a foundation first, which you'll get started on now. It shouldn't take too long; brute force is something you can do well due to being a true wizard and not just a regular old mage.

>>835708
I think we can wait on the personal assistant until we have better materials to work with. No use making him outta stone or wood when we'll have access to metals and more soon enough.
The clay one is a good idea, but I don't know is he's necessary. If we need a bunch more clay, I'm down for it.
Supporting the lumberjack golem.

>>837451
>Supporting lumberjack golem

>>837450
This quest looks cool. I'll back the lumberjack golem.

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I uh. I've already began writing slowly. I'm already done with the part where you modify a golem to cut wood and it's not quite to the specs as described in >>836557 but it's halfway there. What I can do is lock-in one action for the next day to properly upgrade it into a quivered, clawed form. I hope that's okay.

I'm really glad at least some people like this quest! I hope I won't disappoint you all. The post count is already way higher than I'd anticipated based on how quests generally start out around here.

One thing I didn't mention before is that you also have the absolute basics of telekinesis down, telekinesis being generating pure kinetic force to do whatever. You're pretty clumsy, but you pack a lot of power, so you could probably cave in a ribcage or two if a bunch of goblins decided you're easy prey, should you feel merciful enough to not make them sink into the ground and suffocate.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. I'll get back to writing now.

>>837501
When somebody comes up with a semi-original idea and has decent writing skills to back it up, people will flock to you. /qst/ is absolutely starved for good quests. I'm just thankful it isn't another fanfiction anime one

>>837510
It's not that original. I just wanted to run a quest about an individual person who can, if the players ever feel like, work on the scale of a civ, while still technically remaining a quest.

the "decent writing" part of that sentence totally made me blush though

You remember the note you made to yourself earlier, to modify your woodcutting golem to work the trees it felled into workable lumber. As it arrives to the construction site to deposit another tree, you think vaguely in its direction, and it stops, standing at attention to receive your next orders. It leans a bit to the left in this state, as this is one of the cruder servants you made earlier, lacking in any grace or human semblance. You correct this just a bit by having its left leg grow taller and thinner to match its right counterpart in length, while its arm-chunks do the same. You also have the core sink into the boulder that serves as its torso- no point in leaving it out and exposed. It's still ugly, but not to the point of embarrassing you. This is the best you can accomplish within a single minute. It'll have to do.

You wave two stone bricks over to your position, and as they float your way, they slowly melt together, growing thinner on one side until most of its weight is deposited along its spine. The edge you decided as the blade keeps thinning and elongating, until finally it resembles an oversized axe head, much longer and straighter in shape than the hatchets you used to fell trees with your uncle a few times. After all, this tool also needs to serve as a blade or a saw of sorts, to strip bark and free workable planks from the raw logs. You deactivate your golem at this point, and to your delight, it remains standing even without the power of the core to actively keep it balanced. Now you're getting somewhere with these.

Without even actively thinking about it, you've carved the appropriate runes onto the axe and the golem's "palm." At this point, it hits you just how absurdly routine this feels to you already. A mere few weeks ago, you didn't know anything about runes or golems. And one day, for no apparent reason, the runes corresponding to the shapes and substances of objects you looked at simply pushed themselves forward into your consciousness, as though you had always known about them, somewhere in the back of your mind. By now, these runes are as natural to you as it is to know how to eat and breathe. Perhaps... Perhaps you shouldn't really blame people for being afraid of you.

You push these idle musings aside for now; you have work to do. A transfer of power from some runes to another, and the three lumps of stone that served as its fingers fall to the ground, the magic keeping them together gone. In their place, the axe-blade is lifted afloat as if held by an invisible hand, dragged by the point you carved the tether rune. It fastens itself to the golem's arm, and you finally activate your new lumberjack. It nearly falls to one side immediately, the commands you stored in its core still unadjusted to its new form, but you correct this in a short moment, and it stops itself from falling. It was a more literal kind of "fast thinking" you did there just now, mostly instinctual, piecemeal thoughts far more vague and alien than, say, a coherent internal monologue would be. Like the runes, they come to you naturally.

With the appropriate commands in place, the headless lumberjack heads over to the the trees it piled a few steps from your position and begins to cut off the bottom part of a trunk, where it bashed the free from its roots, rendering a small portion splintered apart and unusable. Afterwards, it'll remove the branches, cut it on the other side neatly, remove the bark and so on. You make a small adjustment to its parameters to keep the branches in a pile since you'll need some sticks later, for the campfire if nothing else. The discarded wood bits also have some promising clusters of tinder and kindling among them. You note this, but the subject already bores you and makes you wish you could just conjure any damn flame you need already, instead of wasting precious minutes building a bonfire like a... Well, like a little farmer boy on a camping trip.

You move on to the next task at hand: clearing the ground from dirt and weeds and turning the bedrock into a proper flat foundation for your tower. You're sure there's a proper way to lay a foundation, but frankly you don't know anything about construction or architecture at all. Well, if the townsfolk are to be believed, you aren't a human, but a wizard. So you opt to do things the wizard way, and not the human way.

You order your two idle golems to start digging into the ground with their sizable hands. The crude one is understandably terrible at this job, but the proper stone golem you spent the time to improve proves far more adept at it than you expected, with its oversized palms and the proportionally absurd strength it moves them with. Soon enough, you have a pretty deep trench in the dirt, marking a small part of the circular border where the walls of your tower will stand. But despite taking over a quarter-hour to dig out this much, you've only achieved to reveal the tiniest fraction of the bedrock; you need to expose the entire surface of the circle and you don't even have its borders yet. This is just as well. You were only beginning, after all.

You descend into the meager trench and face the ledge, where the other side of your tower will stand, the space your tower would occupy between you and it. A bit precarious, perhaps, but the idea of your tower being mostly unapproachable from one side appeals to you, and you think it will look rather striking. You also think you can fortify the ground below you with your magic to prevent any rock slides. Then, before you descend into even more musings about the future, you assume a wide, rigid stance, your feet in line with your shoulders, and you pull your arms back, palms facing forward. And then, slowly, you push.

There is a mild rumble as the ground before you shifts and begins to move. No, the rumble isn't mild, but it is deep. You'd describe it as moderate. Actually, now, it is somewhat loud, and it is joined by the sound of birds flying away and critters hopping out and away from nearby underbrush. But you aren't worried. This is your power. You keep pushing, this time making sure to really flex all of those metaphorical muscles you haven't been using much lately. You muster all the power you can, and take a step forward while slowly moving your palms forward. The sound of earth rolling off the edge of the cliff, a sound you hadn't noticed before, rises steadily until it is louder than the rumbling of the stones grinding against each other. As the earth retreats from you, you take one more step forward, and then another. The sound is nearly deafening now, but you ignore it and extend your hands, both physically and metaphysically, fully forward. The earth in front of you responds by nearly exploding in a wave away from you, rolling off the cliff in a fearsome sight, the sound of trees being crushed below echoing throughout the mountain with the rest. And now that you think about it, probably killing a large number of animals somewhere down there. But as the ledge itself is fully revealed to you, now nearly free of loose soil down to the solid mass of rough stone, you can't even feel the slightest bit of remorse about a bunch of rabbits and squirrels who never would have done a single important thing in their entire lifetimes. All you can feel now is the great rush of satisfaction from a job well done, and from finally having had the chance to exert some real power over your surroundings.

You walk down towards the ledge. Somewhat to your disappointment, nearly half of it was made of soil, the solid ground too low compared to the rest of the revealed stone to be a proper foundation. You suppose not everything in life will fall perfectly into your lap. Looking back at your golems to make sure they were unharmed by your recent feat, you confirm that both your raw materials and your golems are fine and still carrying on with the task of reworking trees and shoveling away what little soil you left behind. The crude, unmodified golem you retask to gather stone as it wasn't helping much with what it was doing and you can always use more stone. You then sit down near the edge, and as you did yesterday while practicing geomancy, you will the ground to rise up, with the proper mental images this time. The rumbling resumes, much to your chagrin, and your ears start hurting again. You hadn't even noticed they were doing that before. Just how loud were you?

It takes you more than a few hours, but soon, you have a perfectly flat, roughly circular piece of ground, with only a minor amount of dirt on it, reinforced with even more stone you pulled from below to pack tighter into the foundation. You also have quite the ache in your legs from sitting cross-legged and unmoving for such a long time, so you stand up somewhat wobblingly and try to shake off the pins and needles with a few squats and thrusts. It occurs to you that you don't much mind working your body physically. Perhaps you're used to it from working on the farm. It clashes somewhat with the image every young adult has in their mind, of that stereotypically old and hunched over wizard, but you suppose you never received a manual of wizardry that said you had to grow old and decrepit. Hell, you wonder if you even have to grow old at all.

The sun has already set. You aren't really sure how late exactly it is in the night, but you're feeling a bit pumped up from what you just did. Dirty, too, as almost everything near you is covered in an earthy coating from what you kicked up earlier. Your woodcutter is already done with its task, standing idly near a neat stack of readied lumber, a triangular pile of branches and a complete mess of discarded plant matter off to the side. A bird stands atop its torso, where its head would be if it had one, and shits a white liquid on your handiwork. Meanwhile, our last remaining unmodified stone golem is still busy gathering rocks from the surroundings, by now taking much longer as it has to travel further and further to find anything that meets your specifications. And finally, your more refined servant has been re-tasked after it finished hauling away the dirt it dug up, now stacking the brick-like rocks neatly on top of each other in a perimeter around the solid ground you shaped, as a basis for a wall.

You suppose you could try to turn in for now and continue tomorrow.

>You may not feel tired, but you've been at it a while. Go to bed anyway.
>Sleep is for the weak. You are the opposite of that. You'll keep working.
>>That lumber golem could use improvements.
>>Stay awake and do something else. (Write-in)

>While you do that, your golems can keep doing what they're doing.
>Or you can retask them. (Write-in)

Phew.

>>837564
>That lumber golem could use improvements.
>While you do that, your golems can keep doing what they're doing.

General improvements, I'd say. Power, balance, and capacity.

>>837564
>>Do some exercise, get some endurance
>>While you do that, your golems can keep doing what they're doing.
lets start our musclewizardom early

>>837564
Well that was something else. How are we on food? Also I'd say it's the golem hauling stone that could use some work.

>>837564
How long would it take to make more cores?

>>837585
It'll be midnight soon. You're set for the day after that, and one more day.

>>837587
They take several hours each, on average. It depends on the complexity and scale of the core, and the body that will be controlled by it. For example, your three stone golems are simple enough that they can't grow much bigger, have more arms, or be non-humanoid, and they each took around three hours of concentrated, mentally intense work.

>>837592
Then maybe we should
>>835217
>>835222
Also I think we should set the golems to work, go to sleep and explore the mine tomorw. We probably should start gathering metal.

>>837600
Maybe we'll find gems for cores... or goblins we could practice telepathy on.

>>837570
>lumber golem upgrade

>>837583
>work it baby

>>837585
>stone golem upgrade

>>837600
>sleep

We're tied for what you'll do, though most seem to want the remaining golems to continue as they were.

>>837620
TIE BREAKER. Stone golem upgrade then sleep while the golems work.

Like it was said, our golem cores are kinda simple right now. I'd prefer to not get to carried away. I'm down for exploring the mine tomorrow, but not too deep right yet.

Also:
>Name thyself (and spidergolem)

>>837688
a proper, wizard name, not our old farm boy name.

>>837688
You can name your golems if you wish. I had a bit planned for your own name that'll come up a bit later, if that's okay.

>>837633
Forgot to say that I was away eating for a while and now I'm writing for upgrading the crude stone golem. You'll have to be quick if anyone wants to suggest anything more specific.

>>837700
I'm fine with waiting to learn our own name.
Voting on our spidergolem to be named:
>Virgil
>Reginald
>Some kind of cringeworthy rock/spider pun

>>837707
Give him claws and name him Ricky Wilson.

You decide you can work some more. The state of that last golem is still a sorry sight. Before you begin, you order your lumberjack golem to resume woodcutting, making the proper alterations to the flexible portion of its core to make use of its axe to do the felling, and the one with the face you have gather rocks in place of the one you're about to do modifications to. You also change its commands a bit, allowing it to haul larger and less strictly-shaped stone. It was getting a bit inefficient to haul only small chunks when it can carry bigger things easily, especially since a lot of those bigger boulders are much closer to your present location.

Getting back to the task at hand, you deactivate the golem after having it sit down so it doesn't tumble over as you work on it. You have to, as this one is exceptionally misshapen, even in comparison to how the other two were before. As usual, you begin to alter the form of each section of stone individually, the solid chunks seemingly melting into their new forms under your power, flowing as readily as the wax atop a lit candle. As you've already done this exact type of work before, you find yourself slipping into that familiar feeling of performing a mindless, routine task, freeing the majority of your consciousness to work on something else. As the left shoulder shifts its shape and sheds off some of the unnecessary mass on it, you focus your attention to the right shoulder, and begin to work on that one simultaneously. The image on your mind you had for the one shoulder remains intact, preserved somewhere out of your immediate attention as the stone changes its form to imitate it, and you form a separate, mirror image of it and concentrate on the right shoulder. Sure enough, it works, and you watch yourself do two separate tasks with no real loss in efficiency.

This isn't a real surprise to you. During your previous life as the son of a farmer, you and the other lowborn children would trade stories, especially scary ones during nighttime. One such story you've been told was about an infamous wizard by the name of Lywyn, sometimes called the patron saint of murder. It was a long time ago, and you don't remember the entire story, but the part that really suck with you was the act of him walking in a crowded square in civilian clothing, where he used his dark, necromantic powers to instantly slay half the people in his immediate surroundings, and then, without anyone noticing, reanimating their empty husks as his undead servants in the blink of an eye. They then proceeded to attack and murder most of the people in the other half of that crowd, but that part isn't really relevant. The relevant part is, if your instincts about it are correct, that reanimating a corpse is something you'd have to really focus on to achieve, and yet, Lywyn did it to dozens of people before their corpses even began to fall to the ground. Thus, as a fellow wizard, you should easily be able to multitask the way you're doing right now, and to a much greater degree. You decide to test this theory, while noting that you've indeed moved on from the golem's shoulders to its upper arms with little conscious effort.

As a pair of proper biceps begin to emerge from the rough stone, you focus on some of the stone slabs on the pile a few steps away from where you are, and they begin to float your way. Four of them, you count. You'll need this many for what you're planning. You take care not to interrupt your ongoing work on the golem, and have the slabs pull themselves together into one continuous shape, and they start turning into one long, thin stick. You need the lower half to have more mass for this, so the stone obeys your will, and begins to thin at one end as its mass shifts away. Now, you thin that end as well, into a cylindrical form, depositing the excess mass more towards the middle, until it becomes a proper grip the size of your golem's big, good, strong hands. Moving further up, you fashion a short crossguard, mostly for show as your golems are far from being able to engage in any real swordplay, and you keep moving upwards from there, strengthening the spine of the blade as the edges sharpen, and finally, the top of it forms a point. You're left with unused stone which flows from the point into a separate, round mass, and you're left with a mostly classical sword, just short of being a zweihander. You golem is easily strong enough to wield it, of course, and you think this gives it a good advantage in reach and heft.

That makes you suddenly remember the golem you're simultaneously working on, and you look at the arms you'd been shaping. Well, you messed up. The mental image for the sword you were making seems to have melded somewhat with the image of the arms you were keeping in a corner of your mind, and they ended up having two bumps sticking out of them, and being flatter and thinner towards the lower end. You quickly work on fixing that, turning them back into proper upper arms while you ponder what went wrong. It doesn't take you too long to realize that you concentrated too much on the sword. It seems you can do several tasks at once as long as it is something you've done before, simple enough that it won't occupy your full attention. Though you're sure you can do better than this if you tried harder, you can't really tell how much you'll eventually be able to accomplish at once. After all, that tale about Lywyn surely must be a gross exaggeration. Such a thing wouldn't really be possible... Would it?

After a while, you've finished modifiying your golem. Like the first one you modified, it has a pointless head, an overall human shape, and stands nearly two meters tall. Its torso had a lot of extra mass, so you combined that with what was left over from "forging" the sword to grow a stone sheath attached to its back. You reactivate its tethers, and then its core, and as it stands, you command it to pick up the sword and sheathe it on its back. And as it does so, you once again take a minute to marvel at the imposing figure of your creation. If you were to guess, the sight of this hulk pulling out its humongous blade and approaching its quarry menacingly would cause any man but the most foolish ones to back right off.

You shiver. It is definitely past midnight by now, the crescent moon is out and in clear view, and the air is quite cold. You are a bit sleepy, but you're also somewhat giddy. You imagine you could lie in your bedroll and rest quite contently, or continue the work that gives you so much fulfillment, like nothing before ever did. Both of those things would be fine with you.

>It's late, go to sleep already.
>You're not my mom! I'm staying up and...
>>Exploring the mountain or the mine.
>>Crafting more cores.
>>Working on the tower.
>>Upgrading the lumberjack golem.
>>Practicing with magic.
>>Something else. (Write-in)

>>837779
Craft a core and go to sleep. In the morning use the core to make a fourth golem and go to the mine with all 4. If all goes well we can leave our new golem there to gather ore and other goodies.

>>837779
>>It's late, go to sleep already.

>>837779
>It's late, go to sleep already.

>>837779
>It's late, go to sleep already.

>>837779
>It's late, go to sleep already.

What are your guys' thoughts on redirecting the stream to closer to our tower?

>>837835
Wait on second thought, I'm starting to get the impresion that we might no longer need sleep. We only need it when we actually work ourselves out. Or am misreading this.

>>837844
You're definitely somewhat sleepy. You're mostly kept awake by excitement. That is not to say you can't do away with the need to sleep eventually, but you aren't even close to it yet.

>>837779
>Practicing with magic.

>>837851
Well then we should turn in for the night. I just got the impresion that us not really needing to sleep yet was you hinting at us no longer needing sleep at all. Completely misread that one.

>>837779
>Sleep.
>Tommorrow use the golems to herd some rabits into a stone pen and keep them as livestock.

>>837870
Herding rabbits sounds like a bitch of a task for three huge stone golems.

>>837871
You can say with 100% confidence that your golems don't even have half the speed and dexterity they'd need to herd rabbits. You'd probably have a much easier time having the ground do it for you.

>>837871
Just use them to make noise in the direction zou dont want the rabbits to run to.

Actually scratch that.
Try to find mountain goats or wild boars.

>>837877
Do you think the river side town would be willing to buy excess lumber in exchange for food?

>>837888
That's something you should ask them. It's possible. You don't know how they'd react to hearing a wizard's moved in a few days' walk away, but you suppose you can make up a different story if you want to hide it from them.

As you fail to stifle a yawn, you decide to go to sleep already. It is sure to be past midnight by now, and you can tell that your sleeplessness is having an effect on your mind and your body, so it'll definitely impact your performance if you did any more wizarding. You check to see if your golems are doing as ordered, and after assigning the one you just worked to gather more stone, you walk back over to your tent and backpack and grab a handful from one of your remaining pouches of food. You don't much pay attention to what exactly it is you're stuffing in your face, because you've stopped trying to taste anything that comes out of your bag some time ago. It sustains you, and you suppose that's all you need them to do, even if you severely doubt its nutritional value.

As you lie down to sleep, you give off a satisfied sigh. It is quite peaceful up here. The air is crisp, but not unbearably so, and you're surrounded by nature around you in all directions. The view from the cliff isn't half bad either, and you think it'll look even better from further up, when your tower actually starts being a tower. You do miss human interaction somewhat, but what you got in exchange for it seems to more than fill its absence. Even the during the most routine tasks you carry out, you've found a way to make it more fun. Lighting a campfire now pulls your mind towards the workings of the fire within, and lets you concentrate on wondering about how you would go about generating it with your own magical power. The moon makes you wonder if it really is a living thing to be worshipped like the Gamberrans believe, or an orb of silvery liquid as claimed by the academy of Tinkerton. It makes you ponder the metaphysical implications of these things, and theorize about its origins endlessly. Even the clouds make you wonder how you would go about controlling them, and through them, the weather itself, and what it would be like to control water in all three of its forms. All these things, and more, are possibilities for you now, and the focus of your potential, the ability to enchant a mass of material in a three dimensional, impossibly complex fashion to form the core of an automaton, a self-operating being that looks and operates as you wish it to be, perhaps eventually performing some of those wondrous magical tasks you were thinking about before, in your name and design.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We should finish a tower and explore the land before we alert the nearby village. We don't need to redirect the stream and doing so might be hard on the ecosystem.
I'm in favor of sleeping and exploring the mines tomorrow

You don't notice that you've fallen asleep, as is usually the case, and your train of thought turns into a series of non-visual images. This time, your dreams resemble a memory. You are sitting in the spacious living room of your house, on the floor. The rug beneath you is blue and round, and a fireplace crackles before you. A sword, old and chipped, hangs above it, and you note that it looks a bit like the one you made for your golem earlier today. There are some books before you, and you pick them up and look at their covers one by one, trying to decide what to read. Suddenly, you are gripped with horror as you realize that all of the words on them are gibberish, and you can't read anything inside them either. You throw them away, and now, the only thing before you is the fireplace. Through your teary eyes, you look at the dancing flames. And the flames, they look right back at you, through your eyes, and right into your mind. And they pull out a word that burns its way out of your skull and rests in front of you. It is fire. Not written in letters, but in one symbol, flowing gracefully, and yet somehow with sharpness and violence, and what it represents is clearer to you than anything you've ever seen before.

Distraught, you stand up decide to look at something else. The walls, made from treated wood, are similarly talking to you, a single letter with a clear meaning telling you what they are made of, how many individual trees went into their making, their size and shape. Strange, curved lines surround the letters, touching none of them, but still connecting them together, every little nuance in their curves spelling out the relationships between them, to make up for the lack of a syntax in this language of devils. You look away. The letters don't go away, only multiplying in number the more things you look at; the sword, the rug, the chair your father is sitting on all silently shouting the nature of their existence to you. You make a sound. Your father turns to look at you.

Countless lines and letters explode out from every inch of his exposed skin, too numerous to even fit within your field of vision, and yet they do. You can see each individual character, telling you how many hairs there are on any given area of his skin, the number of layers his flesh is composed of, the structure of his eyes and how it is made to capture the light, and what that light is. Symbols within symbols within symbols to tell you what it sees, and the runes that make up you and the things around you, overwhelming and being overwhelmed by thousands upon thousands of... Runes. They are runes.

You failed to comprehend much of anything you saw, then. Your father asked you what was wrong, and you blinked. The world returned to normal. And as scared as you were but a moment ago, the absence of the runes left you feeling worse than that, somehow. You wake up.

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you peer outside and see that the shadows are much shorter than usual. You seem to have overslept a bit, likely because you slept quite late yesterday. You crawl out of your tent and stretch your limbs free of that strange, relaxed feeling that leaves you sluggish and numb. Over to the side, you see one of your golems leaving to gather some stones, walking away from a pile of stones much taller than you by now. You probably have more of it than you can work with in a day. The same could be said about your piles of sticks and lumber, and the clay from earlier is also sitting, now dried out by the sun. Thinking about what to do next, you look at your surroundings a bit.

Somewhere up the mountain, a large shadow moves. You hearts skips a beat as you freeze where you are, panicking for a brief moment. You turn and look up. There is a giant lizard there, with great wings on its back, and a frill on its head like a mohawk, standing on four legs, its head raised high, and definitely looking down at you. The silver gleam of its scales get in your eyes as its tail sways lazily from one side to the other. Its stance is rather feline, like a massive mountain lion ready to pounce at an elephant and break its spine with a single swipe of its claw. And its magical presence is... significant. You're not very good at sensing things yet, but you're still surprised that you didn't notice it just from the weight of its reserves alone. Sloppy, you think to yourself.

This could be a very old drake, a magical beast possessing formidable power and even more formidable greed. Or it could be a fairly young dragon, something much, much worse than that. You haven't really seen either of those things before, so you can't be sure.

There is a voice... No, a thought, that radiates from the creature in your direction.

"So, you are awake."

>PANIC PANIC RUN AWAY
>This is your goddamn territory, crush its face with a rock.
>"Um... Hello, Mr. Lizard, Sir. How are you doing today?"
>Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.
>Write-in

>>838005
>>Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.
"So I am. Good morning."

>>838005
>Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.

>>838005
>The only sensible option on the list.

>>838026
It's also one that requires a roll, if (or when) it ends up what most anons vote for.

>>838005
>Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.

A very good morning to you too

>>838005
> Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.
OP wouldn't just kill us off after all this... would he?

>>838054
... would he?
The dragon is actually the real protagonist of the quest, the wizard was a decoy

>>838005
>>838032
>Try to keep your wits and parlay in an intelligent manner.
>requires a roll
Well we're screwed

I guess I'll call it here. Roll me 1d100, best of 3.

DC 65 to remain fully dignified. I think I'll have varying degrees of success, in increments of 15.

>>838061
Good luck :^)

>>838061
One hell of a prologue

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>838067
I'm scared of everyone being mad at me if I fail.. Bur I'm doing it anyway.

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>838067
>Inb4 8 is our highest roll

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10 KB JPG

>>838070
SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>838067

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>838067
Roll to seduce silver dragon

>>838075
Oh mercy. Saved by the bell.

>>838076
Shame you were just a tad late. Our dragon waifu was not meant to be

>>838075
Average success. Writing.

>>838084

I feel like average is our best bet actually, shows that we're more composed than the average human he runs into but he probably knows we're a young wizard and would expect us to be made of sterner stuff.

Let me guess we woke him up with our earth moving projects

You remind yourself to remain calm, now. The dragon, and you believe it is indeed a young dragon, spoke to you in a fairly cordial manner. That probably means it doesn't want to eat you, because you don't usually talk to the things you eat before you do so... Right? Sure, you can't really say you're familiar with the workings of the draconic mind, but it doesn't make sense for it to have stood there, waiting who know how long for you to awaken, to greet you from afar. So you decide to respond in kind.

"Yes, I am awake. Good morning."

That probably would have been a lot more impressive if you responded telepathically like the dragon did, but you've never really done that before and you've kind of been put on the spot here. You just wish your voice came out somewhat less... High-pitched, to put it one way. You really hope dragons aren't like dogs and can't smell fear. And you really hope its ability to speak in thoughts doesn't also mean it can read your mind, because you just compared it to a dog and have been referring to it as an "it" due to not being able to tell its gender.

"Oh, so you are one of the few of your kind capable of holding polite conversation. I am glad you did not flee from me like so many others, young one."

With that statement, the dragon takes flight. After pushing itself in the air, it pulls its muscular legs back towards its underside, and spreads its considerable wings. If you thought they were large before, you think you should really run now. Its wingspan is easily as wide as it is long, from the tip of its snout to its tail, and connected to truly massive chest muscles that ripple beneath its scales as it keeps them spread to glide down towards your location. At this point, it casts a shadow over you, and you fail to stop yourself from taking a few steps back. Rapidly growing larger in your vision, the dragon reaches you within seconds and lands in front of you with a great thump. You shield your eyes from the dust it whips up as it folds its wings behind it and assumes a much less predatory stance than it did before. It lowers its head towards you.

"I am Eomatra the Silver. I come because I felt your magic yesterday. You are one the humans call a 'wizard,' if I am correct?"

You affirm, and you hope you aren't doing so in a meek manner. You're doing your best to appear unshaken, but Eomatra's presence, not just physically, but also the oppressive aura that surrounds its (His? Her?) bulk is truly immense, perhaps even overwhelmingly so to the average man.

"Good. I am here to inform you that the opposite side of this mountain your kind calls 'Mardale' is my chosen territory. I ask that you keep the majority of your activities confined to your side, or somewhere else. There is little of interest for you there. Nothing that would be of value to a magic user, and none of those tunnels your kind sometimes digs into the mountainside. There are only trees, and animals, which you may not poach. And there is also my home, and my hoard within."

"If you approach my home without permission, I will kill you."

That's probably not a problem for you if the creature is indeed telling you the truth. You agree that you won't go hunting there, and neither will your servants. Eomatra responds to you with a slow nod and a slower blink of its blue eye, the one you can see as it has turned its face to the side, presumably to take a good look at you. It may be an intelligent being, but these gestures, the way its body moves, and the occasional sound of its loud breathing and nearly imperceptible growls that accompany its telepathic speech definitely mark it as a bestial creature. You've no doubt it isn't nearly as gentle with its prey as it is with you. A flattering thought, perhaps, but one immediately followed by the image of you trapped in its maw as it shakes its head from one side to another, making its row of giant, pointed teeth tear your flesh apart.

You should probably choose your responses carefully.

>Wish it a good day and end the conversation immediately so there are less chances for things to go very, very wrong.
>Ask why it came to you, even though you didn't set foot in its territory so far.
>Ask if it's a boy or a girl.
>Propose an exchange of goods and/or services. (Write-in)
>Aha! It fell into your trap! Have the ground swallow its feet so you can have a stone spike impale it by the throat.
>Ask for the location of its lair, in case you need to contact each other.
>Soil your pants.
>Ask about something else (Write-in)

>>838185
.ask why it came to you
>propose to exchange goods and or services

asking where its lairs is is a bad ideas as is asking its gender because it might become suspicious and or angered at us

>>838185
>How will I recognize the borders of their territory and how would I go about contacting them should there be a need?

>>838196
+1

>>838196

Seconding this, also

>Propose an exchange of goods and/or services. (Write-in)

But more of a casual: "If you ever need some remodeling done at very competitive rates you know where to find me, we could turn your lair into a palace fit for your magnificence."

>>838196
Backing

Are we sure >>838209 won't insult it? As in insinuating that the dragon is living in someplace less than worthy?

>>838209
agreed but let ask why it came to us as well

On another note we should make a farming golem, something smaller with more articulate hands to care for plants, maybe give it a "quiver" built into its back with various tools and seeds Maybe even a water jug its chest that has a hose appendage on its arm

>>838209
I mean we are curently living in a tent. I don't think it would take kindly to us offering ourselves to remodel it's home when we ourselves have nothing to show as of yet. Thats ignoring the fact that we would have to enter it's lair to do the remodeling, wich it just said it will kill us for.

>>838185
>May I know how to contact you when necessary um miss or mister?
I am sory to be so ignorant of your magnificent species biology so please do not take offense.
I am a wizard who focuses on the art of artifice so if you wish to trade with me in the future I'd be delighted.

>>838185
>Secretly have your golems prepare to deliver a fruit basket and/or freshly baked pie to the dragon's lair.
We're new neighbors, it's only polite.

>>838238
>>838223

Hence why I would keep it casual, we're not solidifying an agreement just saying there are services over here that they might be interested in. I'm sure she will keep an eye on what we're doing anyways and our progress with our living situation

>>838185
>Ask for the location of its lair, in case you need to contact each other.

>>838196
Backing this. Agreeing that asking or talking about it's lair at all is a bad idea though. Don't offer anything as of now, but ask about the borders

10/10 Quest.

Is it ded?

>>838794
He went to sleep about that time yesterday. He probably fell asleep

>>839439
I did.

It wasn't even that late.

I'm so sorry, guys.

>>840090
Nah man is cool. Here is a question for you m8. What days do you have "off" or free where you can run for a period of like 5-8 hours at a time? Cuz i fully believe that you can do it mang, this one has actualy potential, at least IMHO.

>>840102
My schedule is a primordial mass of exotic matter that never remains in the same state for more than a minute. My relationship with sleep is best described as oedipal. I'm afraid this is going to be one of those quests that blink in an out of existence on the whims of a cruel god.

That said, I'll run as often and for as long as possible. It's oodles and kaboodles of fun.

It's 5:51 in the morning where I am, and I have no work to do today. Give me a [insert period of time] to wake up, I'll start writing.

>>840152
Yay!

>>840152
ohhhhh snap! exciting news.

>>840152

Yeah, I can live by the whims of a capricious God for this

You find yourself calming down in spite of the dozens of giant teeth so close to your face. It may be beastly in appearance, but it seems like Eomatra here is little more than a neighbor paying a courtesy visit after seeing a new face around. And the fact that this powerful being (a true, real life dragon!) decided that you're worth its time to acknowledge does stroke your ego in a good way. You compose yourself a bit, straightening up, and respond.

"I'm glad we've come to an agreement, Eomatra the Silver. But I must ask, how exactly will I know where the borders of your territory are?"

Eomatra's head rises up in that slow, deliberate manner you're quickly coming to associate with it. The larger movements, like pouncing up to glide to your location are swift and powerful, but the way this dragon emotes is very, very slow. It's almost as though Eomatra likes keeping you in suspense as it looks to one side, as though mulling your question in its head. Or maybe a dragon operates on a much slower scale than a human. You think it's relatively young, but you've no doubt that it's been around since your grandparents were born, perhaps even their parents.

"When the sun sets this evening, the western slope of this mountain will be bathed in shadow, while the eastern side remains in the sun. That side, I will consider to be my own," the telepathic voice in your head declares. "We will split the mountain half-by-half. That is my claim. That, and a small portion of the flatlands below to my side." The dragon doesn't ask you. It merely assumes you will agree with its statement. It grates a little, if you're honest, but you don't voice any misgivings as none of it really impacts your plans. Mardale's west slope is much gentler, suitable for travel by someone who hasn't acquired the power of flight. Yet. You assent by nodding slowly with your whole upper body, sn an attempt to mimic Eomatra's own manner of gesturing.

"And should I wish to contact you, how would I do so, without knowing the location of your lair?"

This prompts another slow gesture from the dragon, similar to the ponderous one that came after your previous question. As it moves even slightly, its silvery hide reflects the morning sun, occasionally getting in your eye. That, and the way it takes its time before it answers you, is really beginning to grate on your nerves now. It's almost as though Eomatra is making a show of considering your words, making you wait for an answer even if the answer is already in its head.

"From this location, head directly to the north and east, circling the mountain. You will go through a denser patch of trees, and emerge onto a patch of uneven ground. Continuing from there, the path should form a narrow, cliffside trail, which you will be able to navigate with your size." The tone of that last part gives it away. Eomatra is definitely talking down on you. You take care not to show your annoyance, since you suspect that the dragon is currently more powerful than you. "It will lead you to a cliff much narrower than this one, with a tall stone standing near its point. I believe it will be hard for you to miss, as it stands taller than any nearby trees. When you're at that stone, you may summon me by announcing my name, and your intent."

With that statement, Eomatra turns around. "I believe our exchange here is concluded, young one. I wish you success in your endeavors." You respond in kind, wishing it a pleasant day or something along those lines, but by the time you come to the end of your statement, Eomatra is already flapping its wings to take off. You take a step back to avoid its tail as it turns away from you and launches itself in the air.

As the shadow of the dragon leaves you and your surroundings, you begin to come to your senses. You let out a breath, and your stance resumes a natural form as your limbs relax reflexively. It frustrates you that a being can make you this afraid by merely existing in your proximity... But then again, that being was a godsdamned dragon, and you kept your wits about you, at least relatively speaking.

Your most recently remodeled golem, the one with a sword, arrives now to deposit another rock by your location. That snaps you back to reality somewhat. You have things to get done, and again, none of Eomatra's demands impact any of them. You ready yourself mentally, and decide on a course of action for the day.

>Your three golems can continue to gather wood and stone while stacking rocks for the walls of your tower.
>Or you can reassign them. (Write-in)


>You'll practice on your magic.
>You'll start erecting your tower.
>You'll begin working on a new golem core, or one of your existing golems.
>You'll explore the wilderness or the mineshaft, with one or more golems or on your own.
>You'll search for some real food.
>You'll do something else. (Write-in)

>>840933
>You'll start erecting your tower

Want to get some walls up for us

>>840933
Gather the golems, make a few quick changes that makes the more battle worthy and go to the mines.

>>840933
>You'll start erecting your tower.
>You'll begin working on a new golem core, or one of your existing golems.
Throw like fifty arms on our house and make me all move.

>>840933
>You'll explore the wilderness or the mineshaft, with one or more golems or on your own.
>You'll search for some real food.

No srsly gais we need to examine our materials and our surroundings.

>>841114
we need food.
>get food
>make better golem cores?

Since you can't really be in two places at once, please pick only one option for what you're going to do. It (probably) won't take entirety of your day or anything, so we'll have another vote for what you'll do afterwards.

>>841000
Trips mean mines

>>841136
Mean as a series of actions but sure.
>You'll explore the wilderness or the mineshaft, with one or more golems or on your own.

It's long past time for me to start writing, so unless there's any objections, you're going into the mines.

>>841281
sounds G.

You decide to explore the mines next. Wood and stone is are necessary materials, but you've already amassed a sizable amount of both, thanks to your golems not needing to sleep. The pile of rocks and boulders is already large enough that it would take you a moment to walk around it, and the planks of wood are stacked high enough that your golem has begun a new stack, being too short to raise it any higher without risking toppling it over. You didn't want to have it risk breaking any planks by climbing on top of them. Your servants are heavy enough that the ground around your tower is pockmarked with their deep footprints. Come to think of it, the entire are must be full tracks leading to your location. They are immensely useful, but versed in the ways of a ranger they are not.

The axed golem arrives first, and the swordsgolem follows soon after, and you command each of them to cease their actions, finally calling over your last, unarmed minion. Actually, calling it unarmed may be a misnomer, as its hands are big enough to grasp your head in its entirety and strong enough to pop it as easily as you would a grape. Satisfied that they're all sufficiently prepared for a hostile encounter, you march around the mountain to where you spotted an empty mineshaft. You believe there are others, but you haven't really surveyed your surroundings... at all, actually, so you can't be sure.

It takes you nearly half an hour of walking in the opposite direction of the standing stone Eomatra described to you earlier this morning. The encounter still feels somewhat unreal to you. Even after you became a wizard, you never really saw yourself holding polite conversations about the neighborhood with a fucking dragon, of all things. You distract yourself from the thought by altering the form of your lumberjack golem ever so slightly, smoothing its limbs and shifting some of the mass from its oversized sections to its undersized ones. You don't get much done, as you're distracted by walking, and taking care not to disrupt its balance as it proceeds in front of you, but you'll have to change its appearance to something more proper like the two golems walking with you to your either side, and any work you get done now means work you won't have to do later.

When you arrive at the entrance of the tunnel, you take a moment to examine it. Here, at the point it begins, it is wide enough that two of your golems could comfortably walk shoulder to shoulder; you hope that it doesn't narrow much further in. The ceiling is secured by old wooden supports. The arches they form are crooked, but you note with some relief that they're thick and fastened with rather large nails, and even though you can't see that far into the mine, seem to occur periodically. You dismiss these thoughts as you remember that you could probably hold up and fortify any portion of this tunnel if you think it might cave in. There's a lantern hanging by a hook hammered into one of the beams inside the mine, by a ring to let anyone remove it and hold it by. You do so, but note that the oil within has run out. With a "bah," you throw it aside, and startle yourself as the glassy bulb in its center shatters against the ground. Dammit.

Hoping to find a working source of light soon, you have your golems get in formation and take point. Your sword-wielding minion is already brandishing its blade, as it could be hard for it pull it out of its sheath if the tunnel gets much smaller. Even with you commanding them directly, their movements are rough, and their coordination is limited to what you can spare each of them, and they are tall enough that they have to duck when passing under a wooden beam. You suppose those purely decorative heads of theirs do come at a minor price, and start considering ways to make them look good even without a head. Maybe a face on their torso?

You shake free of these thoughts and concentrate on your surroundings. You've already passed by a few discarded pickaxes, which you could use, but your golems could not, as their hands and arms are too big for them. It'd be easier if they just punched any ore free with their bare hands. There are a few small forks as well, but so far, they all end very shortly after deviating from the main tunnel or lead back to the main shaft somewhere further in. They might have been where the miners hit veins of ore. You haven't found any so far. A few broken crates are scattered here and there, but are all filled with a few discarded rocks or broken bits of wood that made up the rest of the crate. After several minutes of increasing worry that you might be wasting your time here, you finally come across something worth your attention.

There is a corpse here. It seems to have been human, though you can't tell for sure. Most of its skin has rotted away entirely, what little of it remaining having dried and desiccated a long time ago. The man lies against the wall, wearing a crude iron hardhat. It seems to have sunk as the flesh on his head decayed away, and now obscures the top half of its empty eye sockets. Its clothes are reduced to a useless state, and a pickaxe lies discarded by its boots. You notice now that you had been smelling a sweet, sickly smell for a moment, and now you can tell with certainty that it is the stench of decay. You examine the corpse a for another moment, but find no obvious clues that tell you how it might have died. There are no claw marks, no trace of dark magic, and no arrows sticking out of its chest. Hopefully, this is a good thing.

You find another lantern near the dead man, and it takes you a bit, but you get it working. There isn't much fuel left in it, but it should be sufficient for now. You lift it up to shed some light on the path ahead of you, and find no further signs of foul play. So you decide to continue walking further in. This time, though, you have the golem with the sword walk in front of you. Just in case. You're not worried. You're a mighty wizard.

Another minute of walking, and you find something at least resembling good news. A number of crates, mostly intact this time, lie open with their lids stacked against the wall. You see that there are a few handfuls of nails and a hammer, probably to nail those lids shut, and when you excitedly walk forward to shine your light into the open boxes, you are delighted to see that two of the crates are half-full of ore. Looking closer, you determine the gray-brown lumps of stone to be iron ore, waiting to be purified into steel and shaped to your specifications! Well, at least when you figure out how you'd go about processing the ore.

With an extra spring in your step, you continue to descend further into the mine, taking care to adjust your golems' steps to account for the steepening ground. There wasn't that much ore back there, certainly not nearly enough to forge an entire golem out of, but that doesn't mean there won't be more of it in there for you to claim for yourself. After all, whoever owned these mines decided to abandon it to the wilds, along with some tools and unused material. If you think about it, by claiming the ore and using it, you're actually causing the hard work these people did mining it to not go entirely to waste. Why, it's almost heroic, the way you're honoring that dead guy.

Your mood is once again dampened when you realize that the smell of death doesn't fade. In fact, it's gotten slightly stronger now. You arrive at another fork, and this time, the two paths go in entirely separate directions, and seem to continue on for a while. You decide to cast some light down each of them to see where they lead. First, the right path is very low and narrow. If you wanted to walk further in, you'd have to leave your golems behind, as their shoulders are somewhat wider than the opening allows. You see that there are three more crates down there, in worse shape than the ones you came across earlier. One of them seems to have been dropped abruptly, causing its to shatter by the corner. You think there's more ore in it, and maybe inside the other crates as well, but you'd have to go in there alone to check if the lumps that have rolled out of the crate contain iron. The other two crates are sealed, so there's no telling what's inside them.

You move on to the left branch, which continues in a straight path deeper underground, until it's too dark for you to see. The rotten smell seems to waft off of this tunnel in waves, by now strong enough to draw a complaint from your stomach, and you see why. There are three corpses down there. They appear to be much fresher than the one you found earlier. Flies buzz about, numerous enough for you to see from here, and the walls have been discolored by dried blood. These people, dressed differently than the dead miner, have been slaughtered in a decidedly violent manner, probably with the primitive spears made out of scrap metal fastened to long sticks you see from there. There is one sticking out of a man's back, and another that lies on the ground.

A faint echo reaches your ears, but you can't make out anything other than that whatever made it was clearly not human.

>Fuck. This. Turn back, grab the meager scraps of ore further up and go home.
>Go down the right path, which has no corpses but also no space for your golems.
>Go down the left path, which widens enough for your golems to fight properly, which they probably will have to.
>Do something else. (Write-in)

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Sorry about the pace. I had to do a little helping out, and then wrote a pretty long post describing less than an hour in-story.

>>841476
I love your quest and your writing, but it's 3:20am here soooo I'll catch up tomorrow.

I'm voting left path, tho. Thanks :)

>Left path, let the golems tank and frontline, while you fling rocks and repair any damage they take. Prepare for combat.

>>841467
Leave one golem at the fork to make sure we arent flanked and continue down the wider path with the other 2

>>841467
>>Fuck. This. Turn back, grab the meager scraps of ore further up and go home.
We should make human sized multi-task golems, do iron cores make better golems?

>>841563
I still vote for continuing on, but if this gets voted in take the picaxes left around as well. Its already refinned metal, so it might be even more important to take them then the ore.

>>841563
You can't tell with certainty, but your gut tells you it'd be at least somewhat better than rock. Unlike with silver or mythril, there's no guarantee the difference would be significant.

If you decide to do the cores out of iron, you should think about how you'd go about engraving runes not just on its surface, but through its body as well. Unlike stone, you can't directly manipulate iron, you can't perceive its innards through touch, and you can't really carve it up accurately or efficiently using pure telekinetic force.

>>841580
The body must mach the core?
>>841569
>take the picaxes left around as well. Its already refinned metal, so it might be even more important to take them then the ore.
is smart

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>>841596
No. You're prodigal enough at golemetry that every core you've created after the first one was enchanted to be flexible with their "loadout."

The cores you create right now are relatively stuck in their overall form: humanoid, with a head, torso, pelvis, two upper and lower legs and arms, feet, and hands with up to five fingers, which they can have as moving parts. What these parts are made of are irrelevant for any golem except your farmspider.

To clarify, if you took one of your stone golems and attached a crossbow in place of a hand, it wouldn't be able to animate that crossbow like the rest of its body. It would need to crank it with its other hand unless you took out the core and modified it manually. But it would be able to swivel the crossbow to aim, much like it would move an actual hand.

The internal logic of your golems will be revealed as you ask questions like this, or as you have the protagonist do something with cores and he goes off on a metaphysical tangent like he tends to do. The same is true for any magic you learn or advance.

I like to make shit up on the fly and awkwardly insert it into the story because muh lore.

>>841467
Send Virgil the Farmspider (whom totally came with us) down the right path. If nothing happens, go check it out.
We aren't really battle ready yet. Left path sounds dangerous. but then again, so does the right path

>>841619
I was thinking about using iron/steel cores for non-metal golems

>>841561
vote

Also question. I understand that we have some basic earthbender capabilities. What about other elements? Are we curently able to, say, heat up a metal rod to red hot? Or produce a strong, steady stream of air?

>>841669
Nope. But maybe you could. You'd have to sit down and really try. Probably also roll high enough to avoid !!fun!!

>>841672
I don't think we have te same definition of "fun".

>>841485
>>841561
>>841669
>actively chase after threats you don't know about

>>841625
>solo the dungeon with the squishy spellcaster

>>841563
>turn tail and flee at the first sight of danger

I guess you're going down the trail of miasma.

First thing first: Very nice and interesting quest thanks AI!

Now then down to business:
Golem AI... how advanced can we make it? Can we make golems that create other lesser golems? Not yet probably but the self-replication would be pretty sick.

Geomancy: I am assuming we can sense different ores? and as such we should definitely "scan" the mines for more ore after clearing it out.

Telekinesis: how far does it go? can we rip things apart at the molecular or atomic level? can we control a persons blood/flesh/armour etc...

Also given our skill set we should probably try to set up a factory to produce items we can barter with to get food and other, more exotic, items

>>841690
oh and an we upgrade our golems and make them magical? i was thinking giving them the ability to see different ores and the like, as well as the ability to spew fire from their fingertips

>>841690
>can we rip things apart at the molecular or atomic level?
it might be possible after some heavy training

>>841690
It's Al. Not AI. And the pleasure's all mine.

Golems that make other golems are definitely something you'd be able to do down the line. By the time you have a system in place for getting raw materials, processing, assembling, shaping, carving runes, etc. without your direct intervention, you'd probably have had enough practice to come up with a design. Hopefully, you won't fuck up and create gray goo or Skynet.

You can sense something you're holding in your hands, or what's inside the ground you're stepping on if you really concentrate, but large-scale earthsense is beyond you. You'd have to practice to get the hang of it. Also, metals aren't earth, so if you want to know what the ores actually are, you'll have to get into a whole new school of magic.

Like your geomancy, your telekinesis has a lot of raw power behind it, and not much fine control. There's a ton of cool shit you could do with practice, but right now, you can just pull or push things really hard.

>>841693
That's enchantment. Golemetry is a subset of enchantment. You know many runes, but you have very little practice enchanting inanimate objects to produce magical effects, and you don't even know where to begin with golems that know how to produce magical effects.

>Have a golem guard our retreat route on the crossroads.
>Send spider golem in front of us and go check out the corpses and stuff
>Order the axe golem to pick up and store any metal tools/weapons in his ''quiver'' along with any ore we find
>Use our earth magic to prepare traps we may spring on our enemies

Also can we shape our selves some armour or an exoskeleton golem?

>>841708
Just to ask you a question.
Are you basing your magic system on the daoist magic as its done in many xianxia novels i.e. gain ''enlightenement'' by concentratin and meditating on it?

>>841706
Agreed stuff like that should be grand master tier so to speak...

>>841708
Good to know! A very nice system you have here by the look of it and would creating skynet really be so bad if we can then take over the role of skynet? The risks involved are substantial though so it should be something we only screw around with much later.

>>841714
Nope.

We're so fucked. Ready to die to goblins

>>841732
If they're weak willed maybe we could mind control one or two and have them turn on themselves. Maybe even be left over with a couple goblin slaves

>>841752
Let's not forget that the extent of our telepathy is pushing and pulling. We're a Golemancer with alot of raw power, not a ESPer god

>>841757
We have some minimal telepathy so maybe it would be enough. I mean goblis are pretty weak willed, right?

>>841764
Even so, it's a magical? creature with a mind foreign to us. I don't think we'd get very far without a nat100

>>841732
Wait a second. There's a dragon nearby, so maybe it's not goblins. Maybe it's kobolds?

>>841757
>>841764
>>841752
>>841766
Telepathy and telekinesis are different things. I hope I didn't confuse the terms somewhere and the readers with it. I do that sometimes. They sound similar, but aren't really related much.

That said, you're equally shitty at both of them. You couldn't even respond to Eomatra by broadcasting your thoughts like it did and had to use your mouth hole instead.

So it's safe to say that mind control is far, far beyond your grasp for now.

"You are a young human male. Well, you were one a few days ago" you start the Quest with that and is not a transformation? Shame on you!

>>841844
What?

>>841844
Sorry, but if you want to become something... less biologically human in this quest, you're going to have to put in the damn work.

>>841873
are you writing or waiting for more input?

>>841887

Oh, I'm nearly done.

I decided to take my time and rework the post after finishing this time around. Takes a bit longer, but the last few updates had a few portions that made me cringe, and you seem to be very (very) patient people anyways.

>>841892
/qst/ is a slow board. I check in while at work.

The narrow path to the right seems peaceful enough to you. No stench of death wafts off of it, and as far as you can tell, there isn't anything in there making suspicious sounds. It has a bend not too far from where you are, so you don't know how far it goes, but it appears to be a regular old section inside a regular old abandoned mine. So naturally, you opt to go down the other path instead, where there are clear signs of murderous beings waiting to present you with a special housewarming gift.

You're not acting out of some kind of foolish, adventurous whim, truth be told, and you don't think you're being overly brave either. You're flanked on three sides by untiring, unfeeling warriors of stone, ready to kill for you and die for you. Your back is exposed, but every step you take on the gravelled ground makes an audible sound, so you keep an ear out for anything that isn't you or one of your golems, especially behind you, and hope that will be enough. The real danger will be ahead of you, and you need to address it as soon as you can. After all, what is to say that whatever that killed these people won't come out of the mines tonight, sneak into your tent and slit your throat while you're too busy dreaming to tear them to bits? No, you're being entirely pragmatic when you decide that this issue needs to be decided right here and now.

It sure would've been nice of that dragon to mention that there were murderous, spear-chucking varmints in these mountains though. You bet it knew about this all along, and just didn't care to mention any of it. Well, maybe whatever these things are don't really enjoy getting sunlight and Eomatra genuinely didn't know about them, but for some reason, your mind seems insistent upon presenting any reasons to begrudge the dragon. It's mystifying, really.

Irrelevant, too. You can't afford to be distracted by idle thoughts like you usually do, not while you're this close to danger. You make sure, once again, that your golems assume a battle-ready stance, your own body ready to dodge a spear flying your way at a moment's notice. You move forward, this time quietly, so you'll hopefully hear them before they hear you. You reach the three corpses soon and take a moment to examine them.

You'd already known at least two of them had been killed with spears, and turning over the third corpse facing away from you, you see that it has been stabbed through the eye by something that could be a spearhead. At least you think the wounds indicate that. You aren't exactly an experienced warrior or a surgeon, so you can't be sure. Still, as crude as these spears are, witnessing their capability to poke holes through people really has a way to make you appreciate their value, especially since you're feeling decidedly unarmed about now, so you opt to pick up the one spear that isn't sticking out of a former person and grip it tightly with both of your hands. You may be a wizard, with dozens of deadlier forms of attack built right into your being, but having a weapon in your hands makes you feel safer. So you grip the crude thing tightly, your left hand gripping the spear and the lantern simultaneously, and head into the darkness.

There are voices that sound like they're gibbering angrily at each other. A rough, perhaps reptilian voice, spits out sharp sounds disdainfully, and you think they're words from some kind of primitive language. A similar voice responds, muttering a much longer sentence in response. You turn down your light. Fortunately, the path ahead of you has a sharp turn in it, and the voices that are coming from somewhere past it don't seem to be talking about you. You think you're still unseen. The exchange continues, and you try to listen in, trying to determine what kind of creatures they are. Their tone is difficult to discern. You thought they were arguing, but at one point they descend into what are unmistakably cackles. Perhaps they only sound like they're angry to you? It's definitely hard to tell without seeing their expressions. You decide to take a few steps forward, slowly and carefully, until you can maybe hear them more clearly. As you step forward, so do your golems.

Shit. You completely forgot to account for the golems you'd commanded to remain in formation with you. The two voices cut out instantly, and you freeze in place, your golems doing so with you.

After a moment of deafening silence that seems to last forever, one of the voices quietly hiss-whispers some words at the other, to the other one if you're guessing. It is shushed rather promptly (and in your opinion, rather rudely). You think the one that whispered thought you wouldn't hear it. Which was stupid of it, so you suppose you don't necessarily disagree with its buddy. It's fairly clear to you now that they know you're there. There is another uncomfortable moment of silence, while both you and they remain in what you can only hope is mutual fear. Soon, the voice says something to the other, any you hear footsteps, probably carrying the same weight as yours, approaching your location in a hurry.

The turn is right in front of you. If you wait for the creature to emerge, you will be immediately within the range of its spear, if it wields one like the spear you're holding yourself. So instead of freezing up like... like prey, you and the adrenaline roaring through your veins decide to take the initiative, and you emerge around the corner.

The creature in front of you is half a head taller than you are. Its legs are digitigrade, and its body is tall and lean, a trait that extends to its neck. Its elongated head sits almost comically high, but there is nothing funny about its dozens of crooked fangs, its lack of lips completely failing to cover them. The darkness fails to conceal the yellow, serpentine eyes that bulge out at you balefully. A tail trails behind the rest of its body, and for a moment, you can't tell the tail apart from the crooked, overly long limbs you suppose would be its arms. Sure enough, it grasps a spear much like your own in its clawed hands, which is already pointed towards you.

It lets out a loud, hissing word, announcing you to its friend... No, friends, as you see there are not two, but three of them here. The harsh sound helps you solidify your grasp on the realness of the situation. As the lizard-thing lunges forward at you, ready to impale you on its spear, you react by throwing your own spear at it... Sideways, and it clatters to the ground uselessly, as you can't help but flinch, letting out a pathetic yelp and closing your eyes shut.

The real way in which you reacted, however, is somewhat less of an embarrassing display. Without entirely realizing it, you've unleashed an invisible punch at the creature, the pure kinetic force having launched it all the way back to its friends. When you open your eyes to see what you just did, the creature already lies on the ground, its body bent unnaturally, the blood pooling around the feet of its former comrades as its leg twitches pathetically. You make a note to focus more on this last part when you're telling the story of your first real fight.

The shorter one of the remaining reptiles turns right around at that display and begins to flee, saying some words you don't understand, but you do recognize it as one of the voices from earlier. The taller one adjusts its stance, assuming a position you think is a proper one for fighting, but you can't tell for sure, as you're neither a warrior nor able to see very well in the dark. You don't pay it that much attention just yet, however, because you've just now realized that behind them, there is a light source coming from around yet another corner. You feel free to assume that the shadows dancing in that light probably belong to more of these creatures, and that the cowardly one is probably going to get more of its friends, and they're probably not going to be giving you mere handshakes. Fortunately, it makes the mistake of walking under a visibly loose piece of the ceiling, which you command to come down. As the heavy stone obliges, the lizard-thing produces a wet sound that upsets your stomach even more that it already is, and it doubles over, leaving only one of them remaining to challenge you.

The tall, silent one turns back to you after witnessing the death of the coward. Its skull-like, reptilian face, as alien as it is to you, clearly belongs to someone who realizes that he is cornered. Between two individuals who have no choice but to fight or flee, that much at least remains crystal clear. And as you see its eyes narrow and its jaws tighten, you see that it has made its choice. Without saying a word or releasing a screech, the last survivor of the merry trio charges at you, occasionally zigging or zagging when it thinks you might throw something its way. You don't cast any spells as it closes in on you, and you make no efforts to back off or dodge the incoming spear. You remain standing impassively as it moves into range to poke a hole through your neck.

Instead of that, however, what happens next is an oversized length of stone coming down on its head, splashing you with foul liquids you don't care to identify. You faithful servant, now standing to your right, didn't so much cut the thing with its sword as it smashed it. The corpse that falls onto the ground before you can't be called a lizard-thing any longer, as it looks more like four limbs and a tail coming out of a gooey mass of scales and gore. A vile smell wafts out of the meat pile and hits you, and you retch.

You double over and begin to vomit violently. Do dead things really smell this badly? No, you've hunted and killed before, you've cleaned and skinned animals, you've been to the butcher plenty times, and you just walked past a bunch of rotting human carcasses. It takes you a minute or two of intense vomiting to stop as two more waves of putrid stench hit your location, until you aren't even throwing anything up anymore, merely attempting to purge a stomach that has been empty for a while now. The muscles in your belly finally stop torturing you, and you wipe the tears from the corners of your eyes and the bile from the corners of your mouth.

Nobody ever told you adventuring was going to involve kneeling beside a puddle of vomit, guts, bone shards and more things you don't want to think about, before you start going at it again.

You're finally on your feet, and you panic for a short moment, thinking more of these things might be upon you to turn you into a pin cushion just as you were ready to defend yourself. But nobody comes, and now that you're a bit calmer, you can see that the shadows in the flames are from what you guess to be a pair of totems of sorts. You leave the immediate vicinity of the mess you've made to look a bit more closely at one of the more intact corpses you've just created. Your golems, of course, come with you.

There isn't much more to the thing than you already saw. It has a grayish coloration as far as you can tell in the dark, and a scaled hide that is relatively thick and marked by darker spots. Its nose seems to be naturally absent, being the same kind of triangular hole you'd see on a naked skull, and there is a bony crest atop its head that rises and falls, going down its spine down to its waist. And sure enough, its hands and feet are tipped with claws sharp enough that the spears they wield are almost definitely optional, even if all of them so far did. They aren't clothed, though they have some ropes with teeth, claws and other bony bits attached to them, the largest of the trio having fastened a skull to its shoulder. Not a human one, but one belonging to its own kind. And their skin is slick with some kind of oil, beads of it forming and flowing out of several points on... Oh.

You just realized what happened there. These lizard-things, which secrete an oil when frightened, angered or killed, are actually known to most people, even if nobody really ever sees them roaming the surface. They are troglodytes, creatures that live in caves and tunnels, who only sometimes come out to raid small settlements during the night, are practically notorious for being barely sapient, reptilian skunks on two legs. In fact, during your childhood, a mischievous acquaintance of yours claimed to have stolen a jar of trog-oil from a passing snake oil salesman, and invited you to join him as he pranked a bunch of kids who bullied him. You refused, and now that you've experienced first-hand what you might have involved yourself in, you're glad you did. That kid probably earned himself a good spanking.

You let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding, probably for multiple reasons, and calm down. You need to decide what to do next.

>Move further in, slowly, sneakily, carefully.
>Charge right in there like a boss, these scrubs don't stand a chance.
>Get the fuck out, and take those dead trogs with you.
>Get the fuck out, and leave the trogs and their vile stench behind. You've got ore and pickaxes to haul.
>Write-in

>>841932
>Get the fuck out, and leave the trogs and their vile stench behind. You've got ore and pickaxes to haul.


We need to prepare for this... I wonder if we could enslave them to do labour for us..?

>>841936
Supporting minus the enslavement. We create golems with no minds, no fear, and no will to rebel against us. Why would we take stinky, murderous, possibly cowardly and traitorous slaves?. We should either eliminate all of them or (somehow) make peace.

The problem is that they might want to take revenge. We don't really want a surprise raid while we sleep.
I think we must finish it now.

>charge right in there like a boss

But with the golems upfront, so we have the element of surprise and less chance to be instakilled by a lucky spear trow.

>>841949
I'll say this much: I won't instakill you unless you do something really stupid, like punch an angry dracolich or something. Sure, you may get into a deadly encounter with a required roll, and a nat1 there would result in a severe catastrophe, but unless it's the kind of situation that makes half of the participants go "Well of course we died, duh!" I won't be ending the quest like some sort of autistic pedophile.

>>841932
>Move further in, slowly, sneakily, carefully.
No self respecting wizard would flee from a bunch of weaklings like these. Clear out the cave. Leave no stone unturned. Kill them all. This is our mine now. Have a golem take pont. These barbaric creatures wont be able to even put a scratch on its stone form. And while wer're at it, check the other tunel on the way out. modify a golem to fit in there along with us for safety.

>>841963
>>841949
Couldn't really call ourselves a powerfull wizard if we run now, could we?

>>841960
A nat 1 on a d100 with a best of 3 roll? We would deserve death if we got that unlucky.

>>841949 changing my vote to this
I guess we should move the quest along. It probably won't be too hard to rout these rats. And it would be nice to have our own mine. And we ain't a pussy. Times up, let's do this

>Move further in, slowly, sneakily, carefully.
take it easy, we just puked our guts out

>>841968
Crits take priority. I'm not that merciful. If you're in a situation where luck is a factor, there's always a chance for luck to kick you in the nuts and piss in your face while you're down. In this quest, that chance is about 3%.

The severity of the failure depends on the situation, so a nat1 shouldn't result in a quest-derailing shitstorm every time it happens. And I don't ask for rolls too frequently either. But when I do, be prepared.

>>841980 how long would it take us to build another golem or two?

>>841932
>Charge right in there like a boss, these scrubs don't stand a chance.

or optionally, and if it doesnt take too long: make another golem then attack

>>841936
>GTFO

>>841949
>>841970
>>841985
>be a hero

>>841963
>>841976
>be sneaky hobbitses

>>841967
>generally don't run away

The tie is broken! I'll get started now.

>>841983
New cores take you over an hour at the barest minimum. Three hours for something like the ones you have with you now. The body depends on scale, substance and complexity.

>>841993
ahhh ok... i was thinking of making a very clunky one barely able to move to be used as an expendable shock troop... value of shock troop is less than that of seizing the advantage now and crushing them before they can dig in

>>841980
>Consequences
I actually like this better then the alternative. Makes it a bit more exiting. Also since the choise is locked in, mind if I post the monster manual page on troglodytes? To give a bit of a kick to the imagination of everyone in regards to what we are facing off against (with diviation of course since your version might be diferent)

>>841998
Not at all. Feel free to dump your sticky art all over my thread. I'd enjoy seeing that.

Oh, and I forgot to add my favorite part!

Three rolls of 1d100, please.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>842004
My body is ready. Super critical if I call the right number.
>Rolled an 84

File: Spoiler Image (2.39 MB, 1049x1481)

2.39 MB PNG

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>842004
Not my art really. Page from the 5e monster manual book.
Also roll against this stinky mother......

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>842004
Rolling for glory.

You didn't super crit (which is not a thing), but you did pass with that roll.

I'll go back to writing now.

>>842010
>Smells like an orc's loincloth in here!

>>842031
RIP Arlax Hammermantle

These feral beasts... No, these disgusting vermin are right on your doorstep. It'd definitely be wiser of you to get rid of them now, while you have the advantage. You could leave now to come back with more manpower (golempower?) behind you, but they'd discover the corpses, or at least some stray corpse-pieces, and prepare themselves for another attack. Worse, they could come out at night, when you're at your most vulnerable, and follow the rather conspicuous trail left by your servants to your new home. Clearly, attacking them now is the right thing to do for the kind person who likes being alive.

Feeling empowered, you march forward, tall and proud, without bothering to pick up the spear you dropped on the ground. With each passing day, it becomes clearer to you why you aren't considered human anymore, and you're all too glad to embrace your new role, discarding that decidedly human comfort. It does nothing to enhance your capabilities, as evidenced by that first troglodyte you flattened. Your golems, too, stand taller than they normally do now, your state of mind influencing their movements. Perhaps this is a result of the intimate connection you have as their creator, or perhaps you merely have poor control over your telepathic ability, unconsciously broadcasting an emotion that elicits makes their cores react to it. It matters little to you, as your golems' proud strides only serves to bolster your confidence. You believe you are at your best when you're confident in yourself, magically speaking.

A turn later, and the source of the light is revealed to you. There is a crude brazier standing there, built out of bones tied together, bearing hot coals. You make sure to remeber that the troglodytes have obtained some coal somehow. Or perhaps it is merely charcoal, something you may be able to create on your own. Near the brazier stand two pairs of wooden stakes, each adorned with hoops of bronze, various trophies, with a piece of leather streched between each pair. It is painted with a white substance, forming a crude emblem you don't care to examine any closer. You suppose these would be the totems you saw casting shadows in the light earlier, mistaking them for more trogs in the heat of battle. And finally, there is a solitary stake, bearing several skulls. Human skulls, this time. It only serves to deepen your resolve to remove the scaly vermin from your mine.

Oh, you've decided that these mines are yours now, by the way. Nobody else is using them, and they clearly bear iron at the very least. The service you'll do the world by ridding it of this tribe will have to do as payment for it. If you're lucky, the trogs are the reason these mines were abandoned, and they did not merely move in after the diggers picked it clean and left it somewhat messily. Even if that's the case, you're sure you can use your capabilities as an earth mage to somehow uncover more veins. You have a few ideas emerging in your head already, which you ignore for now as you move further inward to make war.

The wooden support beams have stopped occurring regularly now, and the tunnel widens drastically after this point. There are multiple branches in the path, some so short that they only serve to create squat, rough pillars of untouched terrain, others leading further away from the main path, which remains the widest, most straightforward tunnel. Echoing sounds of troglodyte chatter come from multiple directions, the echoing making it impossible to pinpoint their source. There are torches or braziers down most paths, as you can see their light even if you can't see their source, and as you move forward, you hear a drum and several of the tribals singing very unpleasantly.

From the corner of your eye, you see a shadow move on your left. A troglodyte emerges from one of the side passages, facing back where it came from to say something to someone back there. It is garbed in ropes and skulls like the ones you saw guarding the entrance to their lair, and clutches a spear in its claws. So when it turns its head and sees you, you don't wait for it to attack you. You don't wait for it to react to your presence in any way. The stones in front of its feet move, and it trips, falling face-first onto the ground, which you also command to greet it with a spike. The lizard is impaled through the eye, like one of the dead miners you saw a ways back. You suppose that makes this an eye for an eye.

It does make a macabre sound as it dies a fairly quick death, and you see the shadows of its tribesfellows moving to get up where they were sitting, grabbing their spears as they come your way to see if anything went wrong. You're ready for them, however, as two of your golems move in to intercept them. Unfortunately, they are too loud to keep the element of surprise. Well, you shouldn't quite say that. They're too loud to keep the initiative, and the first lizard strikes your empty-handed golem with its spear, and does impressively well, leaving a very shallow scratch on its lower torso. In response, your golem grabs it by the throat and squeezes mildly, eliciting a crunch before allowing the trog to fall onto the ground lifelessly. Your axed golem strikes at another one, which manages to dodge its slow movement, while you move forward to get into a better angle for directing the fight. Your sword-wielder follows you, guarding your back diligently. It would be stupid to die here now, to these ridiculous things.

The short passage leads to a circular room, a strange mix between primitive housing and a poorly-designed mine, with seats of leather and decorations of bone laid around a brazier. The walls and ceilings on the other hand bear the remnants of wooden beams, and a crate lies in the corner, filled with some strange white powder. Pipes, crude figurines and other knick-knacks are strewn about the ground by the fight, a few already pulverized by a giant stone boot.

Your golem keeps swinging at a trog with its axe, which keeps dodging and trying to find a spot to stab at effectively and failing miserably. Another trog is being cornered by your other golem, jabbing halfheartedly in its general direction while moving backwards towards a wall. Eventually its tail brushes the wall, and having no more options, it lets go of its spear, drops on all fours and tries to charge past the golem, towards your direction. Almost makes it past, too, but without the need to turn around, your golem grabs its tail, swinging it over its head. You'd intended to bash it against the wall, but the force of the swing ends up splattering its face against the ceiling, and your golem's swing falls short as the trog's lack of a face fails to connect with the wall. Now, you're not one to take pleasure in dishing out death, but that, to you, was pretty damn funny.

The axeman has still failed to land a blow on the remaining troglodyte as it successfully maneuvers around your clumsiest creation, which had quite a few scratches on it now. With a somewhat frustrated gesture, you command the ground to keep its feet in place. And then, before your golem kills it, you make a point to smoothen the body of your golem, rendering the trog's efforts futile. Its eyes somehow bulge out even further at that, and it yells out some words. You decide to kill it, now. And before the stench can hit you, you've already tied a piece of cloth over your mouth and nose, taking care to breathe as little as possible. You're still fairly sickened, probably enough that it impacts your concentration, but not enough that it will save any of your foes.

You turn around to leave the room, the sword golem in front of you now, and see that the cries of that last trog, or maybe the sounds of battle in general, have been heard. The drums continue to beat, but no shrill voices accompany it now, and it assumes a more intense tempo now. Several more troglodytes, perhaps a full dozen, have emerged from the surrounding tunnels to meet you, and most of them are naked and wield crudely scavenged spears, but you see one or two clad in partial armor, what few bits that fit their inhuman form fastened with makeshift straps, and hold proper weapons in their hands. One has a cleaver, too big to have belonged to a butcher, and the other has a flail, even holding a buckler in its other hand. Like it will make a difference.

Your golems charge them as you will it, the one in front of you soon followed by the more bloodied pair emerging from behind you. The resulting clash is not a true battle. You golems swing wide and don't let up for even a moment, the unarmed one punching and kicking mercilessly. You get the few who manage to slip past, as well as a couple who abandon the fight to run towards the sound of the drum. The cleaver becomes lodged in the forearm of your bare-handed golem at one point, which doesn't impact its performance even slightly while unarming what you think is a ring-leader of sorts. Troglodytes are broken and battered all over the place by stone and force, and the tunnels are so covered with their vile fluids that you quickly flee further into the hive before you begin to retch again.

You are greeted by the sight of a large chamber, the ceiling too hight and the walls too wide to be an artificial passage. You had wondered if some of the paths back there were dug or uncovered, and you suppose this answers it. It looks much like the other rooms you've seen a glimpse of as you passed them, but on a grander scale. Four troglodytes continue to work a pair of leather drums each, flanking a throne of wood, bone and hide behind a fire much larger than any of the others you've seen so far. Between the fire and your golems are even more of the lizard-skunks, nearing two dozen armed individuals this time. You this there are all that remain, as the rooms you glanced in were empty, though you didn't take the time to really search for any hidden passages or hiding individuals. There are two more side rooms to this chamber, as well as another, more noteworthy tunnel to your opposite, tall and wide and shaped like a fairly uniform arch. It is clearly neither artificial nor made by human miners, and leads even deeper underground.

The troglodyte chieftain, or at least you assume that's who the individual sitting on the throne is, stand up to greet you. He wields no weapons and wears no armor, but plenty of skins and skulls from various animals, with fur draped over its back and a thick leather skirt that bears parallel, horizontal femurs sewn onto it. It holds a staff, with more of the stereotypical tribesman stuff you've grown used to by now, made out of skulls and bones and teeth bount together. It's quite kitschy, if you're being honest. You hope you'll decorate your tower more creatively than this.

The trog chief speaks, making you realize you were distracted by an idle thought again. You suppose troglodytes are nonthreatening enough for you to do so while facing them in battle.

"You. Human. No kill. We all tribe. Make... Peace? Go away."

Oh, this is just marvelous.

>Kill them all like you killed all the others. It's all they deserve.
>Get creative with your murdering! Have rocks fall and everyone die, or something. (Write-in)
>Try to parlay with the thing for a bit. You'll make some demands in exchange for their lives. (Write-in)
>You think they learned their lesson now. Leave.
>Do something entirely different. (Write-in)