Im Ace, im a magician.

>>865861
Trorhan

>>865861
....the last thread hasn't even hit the 3day autosage. why?

>>865861
Ralis, sir.

Rolled 3 (1d3)

Rolling for name

"Ralis, sir."
He spins back to the man in ragged garb, his fat bouncing slightly, "so there you have it three of our finest." You know a show smile when you see one and hope you look the part.

"Well very good then." Says the clergyman, the other novices disperse, along with the circus master, the man walks up to you.

"I certainly hope he's right about you three."

"He's certainly right about me," Astrid chimes in with a wicked smile.
Dhiwyannshu gives a wide, gap-toothed, smile.

Before you can respond he pushes on, pulling a wrinkled map from his dirt stained pocket. It's certainly crude but it is a simple thing to determine where he wants you to go.
"You are looking for a young lady by the name of Agatha, it’s very important to both myself and the crown that she is returned safely. I’m certain if she is returned unharmed the crown would be willing to reward you. I would myself but-” he gestures at his tattered clothes, “-I fear I am in not position to do any such thing.”
He blinks for a moment then gasps, “I’m so very sorry, I haven’t yet introduced myself. I am Gorn, follower of Lu.” He bows slightly, “but please gather whatever you must and go, time is of the essence.”

You didn’t recognize the god even if it was a god. Then again, if it wasn’t a god of travelers, sailors, fish, or tricksters you probably would not have heard of them.

As you pack up a few belongings you see the one person who's ever really been a friend to you since joining the troupe.

Who is it?
>Astrid
>Dhiwyannshu

>>866844
>Dhiwyannshu

>Astrid

>>866844
>Dhiwyannshu

>writing

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Dhiwyannshu is standing with an older animal handler, as it is slowly explained to him what it was he agreed to do. You see realization dawn on his face as he learns that he just agreed to go and find a kidnapped person in some ruins, he looks funny when he frowns like that, worry etched onto his face when he easily hulks over most of the men there.


“Dhi!” you call, having given up trying to pronounce his name long ago, he looks over at you and gives a nod, holding up a bag and his long leather whip.


“Ralis! Why we save this A-gah-ta?” He struggles with the unfamiliar word, “Is she not being important enough for hero? Dhiwyannshu be big but no warrior!” Though he stands nearly a full head taller than you and is covered in muscle, you know that Dhi is actually quite timid, enjoying the company of the animals he cares for more than people, besides you of course. You became friends when he accidentally called you, your mother, and your entire family whores, which led to him admitting his grasp of the local language to be quite lacking, and after learning that his abs were hard enough to bruise your knuckles, you agreed to teach him how to speak properly.


“I have whip and rope, but am not knowing what will be in roons”
“I’ve got some things that might help” you say holding up a tiny bag,
“If you’re done fussing let's go, I’d like to leave now” Astrid walks by the both of you, and even with the huge height difference between herself and Dhi, she seems to tower over him. She's holding a long quarterstaff she uses for her act, as well as some rope wrapped around her body, she has a hatchet hooked in her belt.
“Well?” She tapps her foot, unlike you and Dhi, Astrid has lived with the troupe her whole life, trained in many acts before finally settling on acrobatics recently. She doesn’t like Dhi because he's so tall, and she’s not exactly fond of you either.


>Dhiwyannshu has a 15 ft Bullwhip and 20 ft of rope + a waterskin
>Astrid has a 6 ft Quarterstaff, 30 ft of rope and a hatchet
>Ralis has a fake but genuine looking wand, tools for hypnosis(coin on a string, etc…), a large knife and a small empty journal + pencil

>>867344
Noice

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You and Dhi exchange looks, Dhi looking more than a little nervous at the prospect of going into someplace that sounds dangerous with Astrid, you’re pretty sure the idea of saving some girl from some kidnappers sounds good in theory, but then there’s that whole kidnapper part.
“Yeah let's go” you say as you shoulder your bag, patting down your coat and making sure you hat is where you left it. Thankfully the tools of your trade all seem to be in the right pockets, and your hat has yet to escape. Astrid turns from you and walks back to the strange man who is now sitting on a stone by the road, his head covered by his hood. He looks up as you approach and stands up. He pulls back his hood, and even though you should have expected it from someone holding the Royal Seal, you are still somewhat taken aback by his appearance. He stands taller than you and Astrid but comes short of Dhi, he may seem old but his violet eyes are young, his most striking feature being his ears, which stretch out to points on either side of his head. All three of you look down, not wanting to meet the elf's eyes as he looks down on you.
“Before you leave know that I have contacted the local fort to send some warriors down, I would not send you if there was any time, but I need that girl safe and in my haste to find her have tired myself, I would simply be a burden if I were to continue” He reaches into his robe, pulling out a small medallion, upon which is a weird figure, with another torso and head where the legs should be, one side is dark and green, the other is light and red.
“Take this, very few follow Lu but we all belong to him, he may yet guide you, and if the one who has taken my charge is who I think he is then you will have need of his help, for he hates all forms of false life” He holds it out to the three of you, and Astrid reaches for it and holds it carefully before turning towards you and Dhi, holding out the medallion questioningly.


>Who takes the medallion?

>>867481
>Astrid

>>867481
>Astrid
It's fine.
We all know I'm not that kind of magician, I trust you about as far as Dhi can throw you, and Dhi trusts my judgement for some reason.
>Gotta lighten that mood son.
Besides. You seem like you might try something crazy like wandering off on your own at some point. I'm entirely too cowardly for that unless I decide I'm not.

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“You hang onto it, I’m not into that kind of magic, and I don’t think Dhi caught half of what that priest just said. Besides you seem the heroic type, I’m much too self-aware to run into something I don’t understand, well, unless I decide I am.” You give her a small as she raises an eyebrow, not sure how to take that, while Dhi is sounding out “heroic” but only coming up with ‘hee-oic’. Astrid shrugs and puts the medallion around her neck and tucks it into her shirt. She turns back to the priest and bows her head “Thank you sir, we will go to save your charge now” The priest smiles and shows you again where to go on his crude map, and points to a small deer trail that just breaks the forest,
“I put my trust in you, young ones, return Agatha and I will see to it that you are rewarded, now go, but be warned, even though I was able to destroy some of this kidnapper’s servants on my journey here, he undoubtedly has more waiting. Be quick and smart and trust in Lu, do not rush into peril” He sighs and sits back down onto his rock as the three of you make your way through the brush, Astrid in front, followed by you, then Dhi.

You cautiously make your way through the forest in the direction the priest pointed you in. It's quiet, with only the rustle of the leaves on your clothes, and Dhi’s curses as he walks into some low hanging branches. You see what appears to be a clearing up ahead, Astrid stops at the edge of the clearing and crouches down, she looks back and motions to you. You crouch next to her, resisting the urge to tell Dhi that his hair has what appears to be a small bird nesting in it, you do know he's good with animals. Looking into the clearing you see what may have once been a temple or a fort, cut into the stone of the hill. It looms above the forest, overgrown and forgotten, its murals faded and meaningless, its significance lost on you, though the significance of the guard you understand. You’re not quite sure whether or not they’re a man or a woman since they're covered in full plate, with only a small slit where the eyes would be. They’re standing directly in doorway to the ruin, and as far as you can tell it seems to be the only entrance, and they’re holding what looks to be a spear in one hand and a small shield strapped to their other arm.


Oh no, Ralis and Co. have encountered their first real obstacle, whatever shall they do?
>talk to guard
>attack guard
>try to find another entrance
>have someone distract the guard while you run in
>You might have some trick up your sleeve
>write in

>>869947
>Talk to the guard yourself
>Distract the guard yourself while Dhi and Astrid kick their ribs in.
After subduing maybe interrogation.

>>870093
Seconding this.

>>869947
>Talk to the guard yourself
>Distract the guard yourself while Dhi and Astrid kick their ribs in.

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Now that you finally see what you’re against, you think it may not be as straightforward as charging in. You turn to Astrid and explain to her your plan, she raises an eyebrow, but still moves through the brush until she's on the left side of the clearing. It takes a minute for Dhi to understand what it is exactly you want him to do, but he eventually gets it and makes his way to the right side of the clearing. Seeing that they’re in place, you stand up and walk towards the guard, putting on your best showman’s smile and some swagger in your step. The guard completely ignores, even when you stop a few feet in front of them. Now that you’re closer you can see small pricks of light in the slit where the eyes should be, and another thing you notice now that you’re so close, the guard isn't moving at all, they’re completely still.
“Hello?” maybe you should stick to the plan and try talking.
“Hello.” the voice echoes out of the armor, sounding metallic and small.
“Well hi there, I’m Ralis and I have some business to take care of inside the building behind you, may I go in please?” maybe this will work, it's got its attention at least.
“ Wh-” It seems Astrid took that as the signal, because the moment you stop talking she sprints out of the forest from your left, her staff held in front of her. You then hear Dhi charge out, unsure of what to do but following Astrid’s example.
“Wha-” the guard tries to speak again, its head spinning left to right as two people rush towards it. You step back as Astrid swipes her staff across its legs, just as Dhi tackles the upper body, its helmet pitching forward off its head towards you. The guard gives a strange yelp of surprise as they fall and… Fall apart? What the blazes? On the ground in front of you Dhi is hugging the torso, its arms flailing around, though the spear was dropped. Astrid is watching in bewilderment as the legs kick about, trying to lever themselves up. You look down at the helmet at your feet, picking it up you can still see the lights where its eyes should be, but when you look inside the helmet, it’s empty.
“Wh-What happened, why am I everywhere?” The voice cries, seemingly coming from the helmet in your hands. You definitely did not expect this.


Ralis and Co. have subdued the Guard! What shall they do?
>Leave it and keep going
>Interrogate it and continue
>Put it back together
>Use the medallion of Lu on it (Lu hates all forms of false life)
>write in

>>871203
>Interrogate it and continue

>>871203
>Interrogate it and continue

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You hold up the its… Head? Yeah let's go with that, look into its eyes? Whatever this is really weird, like something out of a story.
“Alright, Astrid, Dhi, lets see what we can learn from… whatever this is.” Astrid walks over to you, glancing back at the legs still trying to get up. Dhi drops the torso and moves next to you, looking down at the head(?) in your hands, he seems unhurt, which considering how hard he ran into the armor is a incredible. Astrid starts,
“What is this?” She says as she takes the head from your hands and starts to examine it.
“I am Tool 16 of Master's, and stop tou- AHIHIHIHIHIHI!” The head’s voice had seemed smaller, with less echo, until Astrid stuck her hand inside, which made it start make a weird giggling noise, like glass tinkling. Astrid drops it, jumping back and shivering, its laughter muffled by the ground.
“It felt like there was something inside, something heavy and warm” She nervously wipes her hand on her pants and looks around,
“I’m not touching that thing again” Before you can grab it, Dhi reaches down and picks it up, its voice no longer muffled,
“I cannot do as I’m ordered if you keep knocking me around! I demand you put me back together so that I may return to my duties!” Dhi looks inside, and he smiles as he sees whatever he was looking for,
“Aha, I know these things from home, they do many things for us, but Dhiwyannshu has only heard stories of talking ones, very rare” He keeps examining the head and feeling along the edges of it with his fingers. You knew that he was from the Lands of Men from far to West across the sea, being a human yourself you also draw your lineage from there, but he is one of the rare few to actually come to the Eastern lands, and he rarely talks about his home, though you’ve always chalked that up to having trouble with the language.
“What is it then, can you tell us what it does?” you ask him, drawing his attention away from the angry helmet to you. He twists his face in thought, translating his next words, he speaks haltingly.
“It is suit, with no body, it listens to maker, never say no, no lazy, stories say talking ones can say no, silent ones are empty, stories say talking ones have soul, like us.” You gesture for the head. And he hands it to you,
“What is inside the building?” You ask the head, which stopped talking when you were speaking with Dhi.
“My Master is inside the building, and he said that no one may enter, and that I must stand in the door to stop bad people from hurting him. Now put me back together!”
“Is there anything else in there? Anything dangerous? More guards?”
“As if I would tell you, you just want to hurt Master and be mean to me, you are bad people!” You almost imagine it sticking its tongue out at you. It doesn't seem too conversational, what to do...


>Bribe it(with what?)
>Threaten it(how)
>Try more questions
>Continue on
>Write in

>>871664
>Try more questions
"Honestly I thought you were a person. I didn't know you could come apart. I am just trying to find something and since most people don't answer questions unless you have some power over them...

>>875315
>>871664
+1

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You roll the head around in your hands, trying to think of some other things to ask it when Astrid speaks up.
“What is it? How do you make something like that?” Astrid was over by the legs, poking them with her quarterstaff.
“Back home they take little mind from dead, then put in suit, not very smart, but do job. Smart ones you take whole soul, but not many, very cruel, soul never pass Veil.” Dhi was looking at it sadly, and you can’t help but feel a twinge of emotion, whatever this thing once was, it had its soul torn out and placed in some armor. As the awkward pause lengthens longer the head spoke up
“What do you want? If you don’t want anything then put me back together!” You can see the torsos arms waving around on the ground as the head speaks.
"Honestly I thought you were a person. I didn't know you could come apart. I am just trying to find something and since most people don't answer questions unless you have some power over them…” You say holding up the head until it’s eye to eye with you.
“All we need is to make sure someone's safe, and to do that we need to go in, will you help us? The better we know what's inside the faster we find them and leave.” The eyes are really strange, they don’t move but they change shape and size, and the color changes slightly too, going from a red to a blue.
“If you leave Master alone I’ll help you find that person.”
“Sure” you say, definitely not crossing your fingers behind your back.
“What else is inside? Any more guards?” Astrid is standing with you again, having lost interest in the legs, which also seem to have given up on standing.
“Master said he needs more materials for more Tools, I am Master’s only Tool, but he likes drawing on the walls and ground, but tells me I’m not allowed to touch them.” Thats kind of helpful you guess, at least there are no more guards to look out for.
“Is there anyone else in the temple besides your master?” You ask
“There was a broken one, but Master said not to worry because he’d fix it and make it better, it was there when I awoke.” Broken… that doesn’t sound good.
“How many rooms are there?” Astrid asks.
“Three, the first room my Master drew all over the ground, the second room is where the broken one is and where i woke up, and the last one is where Master is working, he said he doesn’t want to be disturbed, so don’t go there!” hmm, there's not much you could really ask for now, and you doubt this thing has much more to tell, since from the sounds of it, it was… made? A little while ago.


What to do…
>continue on
>have the head guide you
>rebuild it using its armor and rope then make it guide you
>ask more questions(specify)
>write in

>>875836
>rebuild it using its armor and rope then make it guide you

>>875836
>rebuild it using its armor and rope then make it guide you

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Welp, you guess it’ll be helpful if you had someone to guide you, and the armor seems it will help you unless you try to harm its master, who from the sound of it you should probably avoid.
“Alright, why don’t we get it to show us around inside?” Astrid looks at you like you just told her that your favorite pastime is wearing a dress and hanging out in bars, while Dhi nods,
“Yes, trap maybe inside, no hurt master, no problem” he goes over to the torso and legs that are still on the ground and after a few tries at putting it together he gives up and convinces Astrid to help, which she does by using the rope she brought to secure the torso and legs together, as well as hold its arms to its sides. You place the head back on, and it spins a bit until it’s secured, the armor stands just a little taller than you, with broad shoulders and a wide chest. A length of rope comes off a knot in the back which Astrid hands to Dhi, seeing that he's the largest and probably the strongest of you all. The spear is still on the ground where it fell, and Dhi placed the shield next to it when he was trying to put it together.
What do you do with them?
Reminder- Astrid has her hatchet and quarterstaff, Dhi has a whip and is HUEG, you have your tricks, magic, and a large knife


>who gets the spear?
>who gets the shield?
>leave spear/shield or both and continue


>what order do you enter the temple?

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oops forgot write in option

>write in for anything else you want to do

>>877166
>Astrid-Spear
>Dhi-hug
>Us-Sheild
Go in that order

Dhi also has the living armor on a rope, he can hand it off to someone else but if it's not specifically stated then the living armor will be in front of Dhi.

>starting new thread

>>880461
Link it here please. Thank you!

>>880540
We shall