>>4093028
>from previous thread

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry began releasing multiple strands of blue mana directly into the wind rune, the controls may have been junk but the rune itself worked perfectly. He had to directly control the thing. It would likely fry the rune when they stopped but that would be Sophie’s problem. If they survived, she’d be getting off easy.

The boat lurched to life and began racing off, nearly throwing Henry overboard. He maneuvered the boat past a couple of skiffs, past a series of run-down docks, and then out into the marsh itself. He chanced a look back and saw that the Demon host was pursuing them, practically glowing with black mana. Behind him three boats with troops in them. Although their boat seemed to be rapidly outpacing them.

Overclocking the rune had done the trick on that count.

Henry ducked as a lance of black mana impacted the water to their left and sent up a plume of fresh water. They needed to move.

====================(Bossfight: Holmes Squire, the Dark Lance)=====================

Decisions:
1. *order the others* (write in)
2. *break for open water and pray that you can hide in the mist*
3. *head further into the marsh to prevent the boats from following you. You’ll only have to deal with the demon*
4. *fire off the angelic flare rune and hope there is a flight nearby. Or at the very least hope that your pursuer is intimidated*
5. *try to find a place with a lot of dead bodies, you know the Van Grafs carry out executions deeper in the swamp.* (will make it harder to escape from your pursuers outright but will potentially give you a better chance to fight them off)
6. (write in)

>>4093030
>I was asked by multiple people in the prior thread to provide character information about the current party members, so I decided to do so. Don't take these as anything more than a guide however, they are not meant to represent permanent information nor are they a complete list

>also here is the boss theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKFcP2Bi_54


Coliq: (Mono-red)

Spell List: (6 red mana remaining)
1. flame lash (spreads a thin whip of flame in an arc from the hand of the caster) (1.5 mana to cast)
2. bolt (1 mana to cast)
3. balefire (a continuous stream of flame emitted from the hands, can be further directed depending on the skill of the caster) (2.5 mana to cast, lasts several seconds and can sweep a range of targets)’
4. internal combustion (allows the caster to destroy inanimate objects with relative ease, requires the caster to be in contact with the object for a few moments for it to be effective) (1 red mana per cast)
5. Flare armor (enchantment)(creates a couple of bolts of flame which circle the caster and provide some manner of defense, targets that hit the bolts will take flame damage and may catch on fire, the bolts can be shot off at targets after casting, terminating the enchantment) (2 red mana to cast)
6. Blast Blocker (passive) – due to Coliq’s familiarity with bomb runes, bomb runes he tosses have a much lower chance of inflicting friendly fire. In addition, he can render any explosive runes completely inert if he maintains line of sight on them.
7. (you may write in ideas for additional spells that would make sense)

>>4093042
Equipment:
Stash of bomb runes – allows Coliq to lob two bomb runes a turn, the man keeps far more bomb runes on his person than any normal man would (rolls can be made to allow for even more bomb runes to be thrown, however each additional bomb rune will increase the chance for failure and critical failure)
Explosion Rune (4) – like a bomb rune, but bigger, warmer, and more killy
Flak Rune (7) – a bomb rune chiseled away to create less blast damage, and more shrapnel damage. Perfect for use against unarmored targets. However the explosive force is far less than a regular bomb rune
Mine runes (6) – proximity activated bomb runes, will only activate in the presence of a living target or a ghiest. Though the things are only effective on living targets.
Frostbomb rune (3) – causes the affected area/target to be coated in frost. Affected surfaces become slippery and affected targets take movement penalties. Multiple hits will be needed to completely freeze a target.
Flashbang Rune (4) – the light rune’s older, crazier brother. Will release all of its light energy in one big burst, blinding any targets who are unlucky enough to look at it
Boomerang rune (1) – the most complex rune Coliq owns, requires 0.5 red mana to power – will create a boomerange made of flame which will deal flame and cutting damage to anything it impacts. If unable to make contact with anything it will harmlessly return to the caster.
Small steel dagger (modified)(2) – the things have built in bomb runes which only Coliq knows about. Stabby stabby then boom boom. (due to the fact its built in and thus out of sight, opponents won’t be able to trigger it)
(write in)
Madison: (mono-red)

Spell List: (He’s tapped out in terms of mana)
1. Short Temper (passive) – upon seeing an allied downed (either killed or incapacitated) Madison will fly into a rage, and will seek out the guilty party. After either killing them or three turns have passed, he will go back to normal. (He will gain Rage and Quickened statuses)
2. (due to the fact he’s out of mana, no spell list needed)

Equipment:
Steel dagger
Enchanted war axe: 2 enchantments, first is a basic strength enchantment and the other is molten metal, allowed red mana to be pumped into the axe for a more powerful flame attack
Tempered Steel Long Sword: good condition, the steel has been treated to be rust and weather resistant, and incredibly sharp.
Steel net (reinforced) – a bit of a dirty trick, but its good in a pinch to bog an opponent down
(you may write in other equipment if you desire, but no additional weapons)

>>4093045
Sophie: (blue/black)

Spell List: (8 blue mana, 9 black mana remaining)
1. Minor Illusion (upgraded) – Sophie is a master at sowing confusion in her opponents. Using this spell, she can create a minor illusion to confuse the opponent (i.e. make a copy of herself to rush the opponent) (Upgraded: makes it much harder for the opponent to tell it’s a fake, unless they have the means to pierce the illusion)(1.5 blue mana to cast)
2. Cloak (upgraded) – Exactly what it sounds like, except it can also be applied to larger objects due to the fact it’s been upgraded (1 blue mana to cast, 2 blue mana for a large target)
3. Silence – exactly what it says on the tin (1 blue mana to cast)
4. Illusionary wall – allows Sophie to conjure an illusionary wall, preventing targets from walking through it or destroying it via regular means, however the second it is targeted by a spell it dissipates. (1 blue mana to cast)
5. Howling Whispers – creates a horrifying cacophony in the targeted person’s mind. Nonliving targets are unaffected (costs 1 blue mana, 2 black mana to cast, will render normal targets unable to act for one turn, and can potentially render them insane.)
6. Cold Feet – creates a small coating of ice on a surface, makes it more difficult to traverse and on a low roll target will slip and fall (costs 2 blue mana to cast)
7. Spell Theft – allows the caster to steal the opponents spell away from them and cast it as if they had done so, will interrupt target opponent’s action if it’s a spell cast – (costs 3 black mana, 2 blue mana to cast)
8. Darken – creates an area of pitch black for two turns – (costs 2 black mana + x mana to cast, the higher X is, the more bonus area is darkened)
9. Ghiest trap – allows the caster to take control of a ghiest for the duration of a fight, or until the ghiest is either dissipated or exorcised, costs 2 blue mana to cast
10. Nowhere to be Found (passive) – due to the afflication that has been placed on Sophie, she has been given a permanent cloak spell, and any spells cast against her will instantly fail, however, spells cast by her have a larger than usual chance to fail due to the mana disruption surrounding her (rolling a 15 or lower will cause her to crit fail when spellcasting)

11. Fear – causes all sentient entities to become terrified of the target. The target can be the caster. (costs 1.5 black mana to cast)(grants fear status to those within line of sight for one turn)
12. Terrify – causes all targets in an area to become utterly terrified. They will make all attempts to escape and leave an area if at all possible. This can lead to less than ideal, to suicidal behavior. (costs 3 black mana to cast, lasts three turns)
13. Read Intent – a simple mind reading spell that allows Sophie to determine the actions of an opponent (costs 1 blue mana to use, allows Sophie to see what the next IMMEDIATE action of the target will be)
14. Manipulate – allows sophie to dig deeper into a targets mind and rearrange some short term memories – (costs 3 blue mana to cast, although your opponent has quite a bit of resistance to mind based attacks)
15. Memory scatter (same as Henry)
16. (write in additional spells if you desire)

Equipment:
Onyx Amulet – a mana protection charm, protects the wearer from up to two black mana normally, and up to a third at the cost of the amulet
Steel Dagger (blunt) – the woman’s kept her bad habit of not killing people it seems
Gas Rune (knockout)(1) – filled with fairly potent vapors designed to knock out an opponent, ineffective outdoors
Smoke Rune (5)(Cherry Wood Scented) – releases a massive amount of smoke and can disrupt line of sight, and smell.

>>4093030
>3. *head further into the marsh to prevent the boats from following you. You’ll only have to deal with the demon*
Have Coliq Launch some bomb runes at the flying shithead, as we're fleeing to give us a little breathing space.

>>4093522
each active party member can perform an action. I assume Henry is going to continue to pilot the boat but do you wish for Johnny/Madison/Sophie to do anything?

>>4093550
Can Johnny be the shield from the blackmana bolts?
13. Read Intent – a simple mind reading spell that allows Sophie to determine the actions of an opponent (costs 1 blue mana to use, allows Sophie to see what the next IMMEDIATE action of the target will be)
Can she do this but to a lesser of a degree to determine what the target of sperlls are?
If yes, have sophie direct Johnny to the places the spells are gonna hit, cause he's effectively immune to black mana.

>>4093557
Read intent tells the next action which includes targets if it is an attack.

Johnny can block bolts of black mana if they impact him

>>4093522
I agree with this Anon.

After losing the reinforcements, it might be a good idea to start heading to the swamp in order to raise all of the undead/meatshields we can get our hands on

>>4093606
If Sophir can, can she use her millusion magic to muddle our signatures so he can't pinpoint us in the swamp?

>>4095265
roll 1d100 to see how effective this is

>>4093522
>>4094682
alright, I'll write tomorrow.

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>4095717

>>4096472
>>4095717
>>4095265
>>4094682
>>4093606
>>4093557
>>4093550
>>4093522
writing

>>4093050
Henry veered the craft left on an almost hairpin turn, barely avoiding a cluster of mangrove trees which would’ve either caused their boat to splinter or get stuck. He needed to take some risks to give themselves some breathing room. He led the demonhost on a chase for a couple minutes, dodging a couple bolts of black mana which came a bit too close for comfort.

“Sophie! See if you can do something about him seeing us!” Henry said.

The woman nodded, based on the way her hat moved. She’d put her clothing on as they’d moved through the mangroves.

Henry watched as their pursuer broke off momentarily and went in on a winding path away from. He knew the demon would eventually notice they were chasing gheists but for the moment they weren’t in a life threatening situation.

“Henry, if we head into an area with better tree coverage, we could use Coliq’s bomb runes.” Madison said.

“And get trapped.” Coliq added. “We do that and we’re sitting ducks.

“There is a well known dumping bog the van graf’s use, probably full of corpses.” Sophie said. “You could use your talents there, give us a shot, but its wide open to the sky.” Sophie explained.

“Great.” Henry muttered. “Anyone have any ice spells?”

“I don’t have anything strong enough to ground him.” Sophie said. “Only learned them to allow myself to escape trouble better.”

“Still have that stupid no killing rule?” Henry asked.

“I’m not a murderer, Henry.” Sophie said. “If I can help it I don’t plan on becoming one.”

“Oh fuck off with that.” Henry replied, suddenly angry.

“Both of you stop bickering like children.” Johnny said, finally speaking up. “If we can wound the host’s wings we could ground it for a while. We should do that then utilize the undead. I believe he’s been pursuing us like this due to the fact that we made a fool of him tonight.”

“What?” Coliq asked.

“We go into his castle, kill some of his guards, and none of us have even died in the process, and furthermore-“ Johnny said.

A large explosion echoed through the night. Henry managed to spot the castle through a patch of trees and watched as one of the towers and part of its wall collapsed. He hoped the fuckers choked on the mortar, and he hoped the vault had been crushed.

Decisions:
1. *try to break for open water to lose the host in the ghiest tide*
2. *head for an area with dense tree coverage, then have Sophie drop the illusion*
3. *try to score a lucky shot on the demonhost with a bomb rune* (requires a roll of 70 or higher to even land a hit)
4. *head for the corpse dumping grounds*
5. (write in)

>>4097034
>5. (write in)
Slightly chuckle at the destruction of a part of the castle.
Then
>3. *try to score a lucky shot on the demonhost with a bomb rune* (requires a roll of 70 or higher to even land a hit)
As we
>1. *try to break for open water to lose the host in the ghiest tide*
Forgot that demon host has MORE black mana than us, and can probably raise the dead as we approach them, causing us more problems than him.

>>4097199
roll 1d100 for the "Lucky shot", its gonna be fired via sling by Coliq.

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>4097625

>>4097708
Not bad anon, let's hope it is enough

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>4097625

>>4098048
holy shit you guys actually hit em

Henry felt a bit more than a little satisfaction from the fact he helped bring part of the Van Graf castle crashing down. He hoped the entire structure was ruined, or some swamp monstrosity walked through the newly made hole and dragged all the Van Grafs into the muck.

Henry watched as a small stone was launched over his head at the demon host. He was even more impressed as the thing went off midair scoring a glancing blow against the man. He managed to shield his body with his wings in time but this caused him to lose altitude and he nearly crashed into the muck below. The whole thing allowed them to put a good deal of distance between them, which was rather nice.

>no wounds suffered by Holmes (only a 72 when the roll was 70 or higher), additional time allocated to set up.

Henry took the chance and began heading for open water. Making a beeline for the coast. They stood a chance of making it, and an even better chance of losing the fuck in the ghiest tide. Though that would of course be incredibly dangerous, and stupid. Under regular circumstances, going into the ghiest tide in a nonshielded boat would be considered by many to be suicidal or at the very least retard reckless. However, in light of the fact they had an honest to god demonhost after them, it was the best of bad options. Henry handed the controls to Johnny and began scanning the muck for something to raise. The issue was that they would quickly outpace it if he did manage to find anything. They’d need to find somewhere to stay and fight if he decided to do that.

Decisions:
1. *continue to head for the coast*
2. *break right towards a rather large bit of dirt, you think you saw something over there through the darkness*
3. *kill the engine and try to avoid the demonhost.*
4. (write in)

>>4098908
>no votes

Holms can't attack nor impede your actions this turn, due to the lucky shot scored on him.

>>4098908
>4. (write in)
If coliq has more bomb runes, then it's his job is to keep the demonhost distracted.
>1. *continue to head for the coast*
We'll keep heading towards the coast, and hope demonhost doesn't try to agitate the gheist tide.
We'll try to use blue mana, in junction with sophie's disruption to pass through the ghiest tide "safely" as safely as a bunch of people being hounded by a demonhost that is

>>4100534
Hm, let's try

>>4100930
>>4100534
roll 2d100 (first for Coliq's bomb attempt, then for Sophie and Henry's cloak)

Rolled 88, 40 = 128 (2d100)

>>4101013

Rolled 57, 67 = 124 (2d100)

>>4101013

>>4101543
>>4101286
88, 67

god damn the bomb rune's gonna leave a mark

>>4098908
Henry turned around when Coliq start shrilly screaming that the demon hadn’t been killed yet and that it was gaining on them. Henry wasn’t entirely surprised, demon hosts tended to be incredibly tough. A glancing blow from a bomb rune wouldn’t do much of anything against one.

Johnny on the other hand had had quite enough of the panic and with a fairly authoritative voice ordered Coliq to toss another rune at their pursuer. Coliq stared dumbfounded for a split second, before realizing he had a lot more bomb runes and functioning arms.

Thus, a second bomb rune flew from the back of the boat. Holms barely had enough time to react, taking a direct impact from the blast and splashing down into the water nearby, skidding until rolling ashore on a nearby island.

> Holms Squire receives one wound

The boat erupted in cheers, and they quickly broke for open water. Henry was utterly pleased when he saw no searchlights behind them. It seemed like they’d given their pursuers the slip.

The evening fog had properly rolled in as the temperature had dropped. Not to mention the howls, shrieks, and murmurs coming from within it. Sophie checked her compass and motioned towards their left. Mallory’s rune shielded boat was waiting for them. Sophie cast a cloaking spell and a silence spell as the group moved through the open water, with gentle waves lapping at their boat. Henry turned back towards the swamp but it had already been obscured by fog.

He didn’t stop looking until they were safely aboard Mallory’s ship, and even the captain’s demands to know what had happened to Lily and Sophie weren’t enough to break him out of his dread. He had remembered something that demons could perform.

“You’re thinking the same thing?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, I suspect we’re going to hide from the demon’s tutoring.” Henry replied. “We ain’t out of the woods yet.”

“What?” Madison asked.

>>4103609

“It’s a kind of black mana scrying. I suspect our pursuer might try it.” Henry said. “You need to have a pact with a demon to do it… its hard to explain properly.”

“Oy how the hell do you even know that?” Coliq asked, suspiciously.

“Because I’m paid to know things.” Henry replied.

“Its started.” Johnny said, glancing out into the dark.

The shrieks of ghiests and fog surrounding the boat weren’t able to completely disguise what was lurking in the mist. Black tendrils searching out in all directions, looking for their boat.

“Fucker might’ve even used some of his vis to find us.” Henry said.

“Shush!” Mallory said, clearly terrified. “Are ya leadin a bloody demon back here?”

“Do you want us to answer that?” Johnny asked.

“Besides as long as it doesn’t touch the boat or any of us we should be golden.” Henry said. “Its not that effective without a sacrifice, it ain’t a blue mana scry after all.”

“But it’s range and ability to track is far greater, the caster does not even need to know our general direction even.” Johnny said.

Decisions:
1. *try to wait the spell out*
2. *head into deeper water, you’ve never really believed the stories of sea monsters anyway.*
3. *try to work something out with Sophie to block, redirect, or dispel the spell*
4. (write in)

>>4103757
>3. *try to work something out with Sophie to block, redirect, or dispel the spell*
Also have the ship go as close to the city port so we can disembark using the small boat. while having sophie... Would going to a church block it?
Or they can hide in the church long enough to wait out the tracking spells effectiveness then sneak out

>>4103782
they're unlikely to cross over into church territory

>>4104372
So we don't even need to get to a church, just the city. Nice

>>4103782
This sounds good to me then

>>4104806
>>4104770
not even to the city, you just need to get to a point where there are angelic patrols. The city port is a couple days journey from this position so I'll simply have you roll an attempt to slip out of range of the tutoring spell.

*roll 3d100*

>>4104909
this is potentially the final combat roll. If there are three successful rolls (of like, 50 or higher) than combat ends and the mission is over

Rolled 92, 67, 95 = 254 (3d100)

>>4104909

>>4105144
that ends combat, mission complete!

>>4105144
>>4105163
will be writing tonight

>I've been dealing with tests/real life stuff for the past week so I've had little time to write. Hopefully after tomorrow that should clear up

>>4103757
Mallory carefully guided the boat along the coastline, being careful to stay well out of range of the black mana tendrils that seemed to go for as far as the eye could see. Henry held his breath as the managed to slip through cordon after cordon. Mallory didn’t say a word the entire time, he could tell she was concentrating harder than seemed possible.

Johnny and Henry stopped to check on Sophie and Lily. Lily seemed like her wound might get infected, so they’d likely need to stop into the nearest port to get her a healer. Sophie was far more worrying. From what Henry could see her wound was already festering badly. He wished he hadn’t drank all of his alcohol, but even still it seemed to be acting up far quicker than it should have.

Everyone living soul on the boat felt their hearts clench when a horrifying shriek ripped across the moors. It was coming from inland and rilied the ghiests up something fierce. The ghiests began to whip around the boat, occasionally bumping into the angelic rune dome and sending it shimmers down the structure. The tendrils of black mana instantly vanished and all that was left were the howls and moans of a sea of ghiests

“Oh fuck did he find us!?” Madison asked, letting panic seep into his voice.

“No, actually its incredibly good news.” Johnny said. “It seems his spell attracted a banshee, based on the shriek and the distance. I’d imagine he has his hands rather full dealing with it, and with any luck we will never have to worry about him again.

“Oh thank fuck.” Henry said, sliding down the side of the boat onto the deck, utterly exhausted. “What a god damned clusterfuck.”

>END OF COMBAT

Henry took the time to further inspect Lily and Sophie. Lily’s wounds had stayed shut, thank god, and the woman was still out cold. Henry knew for a fact his little stunt would leave her a nasty scar unless she paid some good money to a healer. Red mana wounds were not simple things to fix. As for Sophie… he was concerned. The woman’s breathing was heavy and she complained about dizziness. He worried she’d been poisoned.

He ordered Johnny to grab some supplies from below deck, luckily he’d planned for this and had stashed some alchemical tools, though he’d have to work quick. He really didn’t want to lose Sophie after all the trouble she’d given him.

========================(END OF CHAPTER)=============================

>>4106693
What a wild ride

>>4106693
Where are banshees on the power scale? Are they rare gheists?

How did humans create civilization in this world...

So, to recap: FUCK demons, FUCK demonhosts, FUCK magic artifacts, FUCK the cult of progress, FUCK inquisitors, FUCK abraxas and his cult, FUCK vampires and most of all, FUCK Granny. What a bitch. Not gonna let Venser forget about this for even a second.

This was a good mission, some good rolls, some great rolls and one terrible roll but it was a good ride from start to finish

>>4107114
banshees are about on par with a run of the mill demonhost, not due to being all that beefy but more do to their damage potential.

>ONE terrible roll

uh, you mean 3, you fucking got locked inside the fucking vault. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect that shit to happen.

>how did humans create civilization
LORE

Banshees are considered by the church to be the hollow shell of woman consumed by negative emotions. They shriek and drain the vis and vitality out of people.

>>4106693

"With those pylons going up, what do we even need the church for? Hell the cult doesn't even demand we tithe." ~ Barris Holg, Fisherman

========================(Chapter Start)=======================

Henry wiped his forehead to get the sweat off of it. Even with the cool sea breeze and cold water he was sweating from exertion. He was desperately trying to figure out what had poisoned Sophie. The woman had explained she was having trouble breathing, sweating profusely and said she felt dizzy, but didn’t complain a bit. For the time being she was still lucid, and the two talked about things of little importance. Henry turned to Johnny. Johnny handed him a couple of glass vials and Henry continued his work without delay.

Madison was doing what he could to make Lily comfortable. The woman hadn’t woken up, but it hadn’t been even thirty minutes since they’d lost sight of the castle. So Henry wasn’t worried. She’d most likely wake up before the end of the night, maybe a little into the morning. He’d given her a once over and concluded she was perfectly stable, though she’d sure as shit require actual healing due to the fact her insides were all messed up. Henry prided himself on his stichwork but only on corpses. He wasn’t nearly talented enough to stich someone’s organs up and keep them from bleeding out. Those healers had it easy.


Coliq was pestering Mallory about every little thing, all the while trying to hit on the woman. It wasn’t exactly going well for him, and eventually resulted in him being punted away from the ships wheel.


“God, we’re a mess.” Sophie said.

“Yeah, no thanks to you.” Henry replied.

“We’re all alive, right? Well, you’re working on it.” Sophie said, cheerfully.

“God why the fuck are you like this.” Henry said. “We almost died.”

“And I know you enjoyed it Henry.” Sophie said.

“I didn’t…” Henry said. Maybe at one point he had enjoyed the idea, nearly dying for no good reason. But he had actual reasons to live now.

“Henry… remember the night we both lost everything?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah, I do, its one of those things that sticks with you.” Henry said. “What, are you going to tell me it isn’t my fault? Own up for it?”

“You lied to me about everything.” Sophie said.

“And you proved that I was right to do it.” Henry said.

“Really?” Sophie asked.

Henry nodded firmly. He was still right to do it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>>4107965
5 Years ago

Henry Fisher, Age 17

The Sewers of Celeste, Sol Province

Henry smiled as he finished up the plans he was drafting. He knew the others would be back soon, and hoped that they’d appreciate all the work he’d performed. He’d been working on his people skills over the last couple of years and it had really been paying off. Duncan had introduced him to a dozen or so different people, and from there Henry had expanded his network greatly. So the information he was bringing in was of much higher quality. He took a step outside of his sewer hovel and checked down the hall. The illusionary runes were holding up on the other rooms. Five in all, for the five of them. He figured Wilson was still working on his runes. The man was a skittish sort but incredibly reliable, not exactly unusual for a runecrafter. Henry knew enough about the man’s past to know why he was so skittish, man had enemies. Had to run from his past.

“Sir?” Johnny asked. “Aren’t you still planning your daring heist?”

“For the last fucking time I don’t go on the robbery jobs.” Henry said.

“Sure, but you fence the ‘merch’ as you call it.” Johnny retorted. “Living a life of petty theft is no way to live.”

“Fuck off.” Henry said. “Least I have a life.”

“Speaking of, how did your date last night go?” Johnny asked.

“The fuck?” Henry asked, ducking back into his home with a reddened face. “How the fu-“

“Do you really think I’m that oblivious. Everyone knows already, Henry.”

“Son of a who-“

“If you’re going to fool around with that woman at least be ready to-“

>>4108003
“I asked her to marry me, Johnny.” Henry said.

“What?!” Johnny said. For once expressing genuine shock. Henry savored it.

“Yeah, we’re working out plans but for once I’m god damned happy. So buzz off alright?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll be needing a best man.” Johnny asked.

“Well, I think Carter would do… no of course I’d let you do it, you’ve earned that much.”

“Thank you.”

Henry sighed and got back to his work. He had a big job to plan. He knew the gemstone would be on display in the Cardinal’s home, where it was, who was guarding, even the staff on hand and floor plans of every building on the surrounding three blocks. He had planned for every contingency, every possible detail.

“Right, its ready.” Henry said.

“Oy we’re back!” Sophie said, rushing into Henry’s home and jumping past him, skidding to a stop and dropping her bag on the table next to the floor plans.

“Heh, miss me?” Henry asked.

“Oh, less than you’d think.” Sophie said, twirling one of Henry’s throwing dagger’s in her hand. Her ability to pickpocket had stopped surprising Henry years ago.

“The others?” Henry asked.

“Bothering Wilson.” Sophie said. “Just me, you, and that bag of bones.”

“Ha.” Henry said.

Decisions:
1. *go say hello to the others*
2. *tell Johnny to stand watch at the door so you can have some ‘alone time’*
3. *go over the plan with Sophie*
4. *Check the woman’s bag to see if she’s stolen anything recently*
5. (write in)

>>4108006
>1. *go say hello to the others*

>>4108006
>1. *go say hello to the others*

>>4108321
>>4108026
writing

>>4108006
“Gonna go say hello to the others, want to join me?” Henry asked.

Sophie threw her arms over Henry’s shoulders and leaned into his back. “I suppose. Was hoping to ‘talk’ to you for a bit.”

“We can do that later. I haven’t seen the others in a few days and I’d like to catch up. Get stir crazy down here otherwise.” Henry said.

“We can’t have that, your paranoia might act up.” Sophie said, giggling.

“Come on then, lovebirds.” Johnny said, heading towards the door.

The trio walked down the familiar sewer passage and turned left into Wilson’s room, where the usually jolly communications were taking place.

“So it seems to be in perfect working order!” Wilson said, removing the eyeglass apparatus he was wearing.

The thing was essentially a runemaker’s tool that allowed him to more closely examine the inner workings of runes. The one he was inspecting was a disarming rune, specifically made to help breach the Cardinals mansion. Otherwise the magical locks the place had would be near impossible to penetrate quietly. Henry had paid good money for that intel, and hoped it would pay off. The gemstone they’d be stealing was one of a kind, not to mention the gold bars.

“Glad you two could join us!” Page said cheerfully. The woman was a master acrobat and all-around fun person. Henry didn’t quite enjoy the continual stream of joy she emanated but knew it kept everyone else’s spirits up. He also knew that she had a thing for Wilson, though he couldn’t figure out why.

“Hey Page, how was the trip to Avignon?”

“Boring, didn’t even get to sightsee. Second biggest city in the world and we were barely there for two days.”

“That Mallory girl was a sight though.” Carter said.

Henry chuckled, the man’s merc nature never changed, willing to chase anything even mildly attractive.

“We got stopped by an angelic patrol on the way there, but obviously they didn’t find anything.” Sophie said.

Henry glanced over at the woman slightly worried but Sophie shrugged it off.

“This is going to go great, we might even need to leave Celeste for a bit.” Wilson said.

“Hell you can come to my home town up north, countryside is beautiful when it isn’t just farmland.” Carter said.

Decisions:
1. *play cards with the others then go to bed, big day tomorrow*
2. *Help Wilson with the runes, might as well try to learn a bit.*
3. *Help Sophie get settled back in*
4. (write in)

>>4108680
>2. *Help Wilson with the runes, might as well try to learn a bit.*

>>4108797
roll 1d100 to see if you gain a talent

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>4108853

>>4108855
Nice

>>4108680
gonna give a bit of lore explaination on Cardinals, Bishops, and Archbishops.

Archbishops are in charge of the affairs of a single province (or a bishop if its a small or unimportant province).

Cardinals are sent by each province to the capital to act as that province's representative.

>>4108680
Henry spent his time helping Wilson with the runes, mainly doing last minute prep. Henry was never much good with actually making the things but had a bit of talent when it came to using them. Duncan had taught him a couple of tricks and Henry had learned the rest on his own. Henry had even learned how to interfere with another mage trying to use a rune, something that had saved his life on two occasions.

By the time they were done it was around seven, based on the clock hanging from the wall. The group had food and went to bed, they needed the sleep for the job the next day.

Henry dreamt of fishing with Sophie, a rare happy dream.

>Henry has jogged several rune related memories, gains passive, Runic Impressions: +5 to all rolls involving usage of runes

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry woke up to find Johnny standing in his usual corner of the room where a bookshelf had been pressed up against the wall. The skeleton had continually pestered Henry about it until he’d relented. Henry honestly liked the round chamber and hated how the bookcase broke it up.

“They left an hour ago.” Johnny said.

“Right.” Henry said. “Didn’t even bother saying goodbye eh?”

“I don’t know how you can think things will always go so well, back when I was among the living we always wrote goodbye letters as a matter of course, usually before each undertaking.” Johnny said.

“Well aren’t you being glum. They’ll be fine, Sophie’s leading em.”

“Yes, you’re probably right, just can’t help being pessimistic sometimes Henry.” Johnny said.

“What’s gotten into you?” Henry asked.
“Old age and the perspective that brings.” Johnny replied. Henry got the sense he’d smile sadly if he’d been capable.

Decisions:
1. *wait till the group gets back* (will proceed the scene)
2. *speak with Johnny* (Write in)

>>4109344
>2. *speak with Johnny* (Write in)
Maybe we should do some sword training.

>>4109469
will write tomorrow, unable to even think due to a splitting headache.

>>4109469
Good idea anon, supporting.

>>4111249
Hope you get well soon, Lorekeeper. Are you drinking enough water?

>>4112016
I just had this vitamin C concoction and it made me feel much better

“Johnny, I’d like to do some sword practice with you, calm my nerves.” Henry said.

“Would you like me to take this seriously or-“ Johnny began.

“To calm my nerves Johnny.” Henry said. “So please don’t go too hard on me.”

Johnny chuckled and proceeded outside into the sewer. Henry took one good look around his workshop and followed him. Crazy to think he had a group of people he could trust and rely on. He had done most of this on Johnny’s suggestion, and even though the skeleton hadn’t exactly approved of all the theft, the fact that nobody had ever gotten hurt on one of these jobs was something he hadn’t overlooked either. Henry figured the old guy put up with it since it kept his charge out of even more trouble.

The two practiced for a couple of hours, Henry occasionally almost scoring a hit on the incredibly talented swordsman. Henry envied the man’s skill, he’d spent the last few hundred years doing little else and it showed.

By the end of second hour Henry was tired, not quite exhausted but visibly sweaty. He took some time to wash up back in his home and then sat down for lunch. He’d barely finished up when he heard the group return. From what he could tell they were loaded down with quite a lot of loot, a bit too much…

Henry sighed. He’d told them to only steal the items he’d carefully selected. The stuff that’d be easy to sell or the items he’d already found buyers for. Nothing that they’d have to hold onto for a long period like artwork or jewelry, nothing that could trace things back to them.

He sighed, unsure if he wanted to make a big deal out of it.

Decisions:
1. *make a big deal out of it*
2. *congratulate them for a job well done, you’re all much richer now*
3. (write in)

>>4113367
>3. (write in)
Sigh loudly at them, and
"Alright, lets go."
But look a little dejected.
And we might need to look at them for enchantments before we return to base

>>4113393
you're at base

>>4113367
Henry sighed loudly while looking each of them in the eyes. The only person who could manage to return his gaze was Sophie. That was something both charming and annoying.

“Alright, lets go see what you brought home.” Henry said.

“Oh, you’ll love this! We’ve got it made now!” Page said. “We can live off this stuff for the rest of our lives!”

“Assuming I can pawn it all.” Henry replied.

Johnny rested a hand on Henry’s shoulder.

“No need to feel dejected just yet.” Johnny said. “They mean well, for thieves.”

“I assume you’ve inspected them for enchantments?” Henry asked.

“And we used precautions, these bags are working wonderfully.” Sophie said. “Completely hides the mana signatures of the enchanted items.”

“But if they’re cursed then-“

“Then we deal with it. Doubt a Cardinal would have anything too nasty.” Carter said.

“Right…”

Henry sighed as he watched the group lay out the items on a table Wilson had prepared, the man was whizzing around and inspection each item carefully, occasionally setting one aside. The ‘winnings’ were impressive, Henry had to admit. Gemstones, gold bars and coins, a couple enchanted artifacts, a few pieces of jeweled armor, and a dagger… wait…


The dagger was made of high quality bronze inlaid with a few gems and most importantly a laughing skull. Henry could almost here the laughs the thing would have emitted if it would’ve been able to. Compared to the other items on the table, the dagger wasn’t all that noteworthy, to an outside observer.

Henry felt his heart race as a memory raced to the surface. Of sacrifices and of screams. Quietly walked over to the dagger and held it in his trembling hands. He glanced over at Johnny and saw that the skeleton was very, very still, hyperfocused on the item in Henry’s hands. That was all the confirmation he could’ve ever needed. He knew exactly what this blade was, he’d used ones like it before, countless times.

It was a Lic’toron sacrificial dagger, and his group had just stolen it.

Decisions:
1. *head back to your home and panic quietly*
2. “We need to return this now!”
3. “What have you done!?”
4. “Johnny we need to talk.”
5. *Play it off, maybe you’re wrong… maybe it’s a replica. Besides you didn’t steal it, you didn’t break the deal!*

>>4114418
"Fuck.
Fuck.
FUCK
FUCK FUCKFUCKFUCK!"
3. “What have you done!?”
"DO you know what THIS is?!?!?"
"FUCK"

>>4114418
>3. “What have you done!?”
Uh oh...

>>4116209
>>4115048
writing

>>4114418
“Fuck.” Henry muttered.

“What?” Carter asked.

“Oh fuck…” Henry said, dropping the dagger as if it was red hot, then stumbling backwards into the wall.

“Henry?” Sophie asked.

“FUCK FUCK FUCK.” Henry said, spooking the others.

Johnny continued to focus on the knife but said nothing, everyone else was focused on Henry’s panic.

“Henry?!” Sophie asked, clutching Henry’s arms and trying to calm the man, to no avail.

“What have you done!?” Henry asked.

“We robbed a cardinal?” Page asked. “We weren’t seen Henry, there’s no way they’ll ever know who did it.”

“Do you know what THIS IS?!” Henry asked, pointing at the knife.

“A fancy knife?” Carter asked.

Henry tried to respond but nothing came out of his mouth. Of course they didn’t know what the fucking knife was, what it meant, who owned it. A god damned Cardinal, probably someone high ranking, not a demonhost, but those granted demons would never operate openly like that. They would know, they’d already tracked them down, oh god.

“Henry?!” Sophie said.

“We need to return this…” Henry muttered.

“Like hell we will.” Carter said, beginning to get annoyed.

“I’ve never seen Henry like this.” Wilson said.

“No you don’t understand, we’re all dead if we don’t return this!” Henry said.

“The fuck? Who the fuck does the knife belong to?” Carter asked.

“I… I can’t say…” Henry said, silently cursing the deal he’d made, to never say anything. He didn’t know if that deal was still in effect, maybe he could save them… no it was too late… he …. He couldn’t say anything…

“Henry this isn’t like you.” Sophie said, worried. “Come on you should get some rest.”

“No!” Henry said, wretching himself free from Sophie and accidentally knocking her to the ground. The woman groaned in pain.

“Johnny, help me pack this back up, we need to…. We need to return it.” Henry said.

Johnny continued to stand stock still.

“That’s a direct order, Johnny!” Henry said, panic creeping into his voice.

Henry began to grasp at the valuables laid out on the table, but was stopped by two pairs of arms, Carter and Wilson, yanking him to the ground. As the three began to fight Henry was placed into a chokehold by Carter. If Henry had been in his right frame of mind he might’ve had a chance to escape, but he was like a cornered animal. He fought like a man possessed, almost managing to stand back up before running out of air and collapsing like a stack of bricks. The last thing his mind registered was Page making sure Sophie was okay, and Sophie looking directly at him, terrified.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry startled awake, falling onto a heap on the floor.

“Sir?!” Johnny said, immediately rushing over to the man.

Henry knocked the skeleton away, and began to glance around the room, half expecting to find shades already waiting for him.

“Why didn’t you listen to me!?” Henry asked.

“I… I didn’t even hear you… I was… I couldn’t even speak.” Johnny said. “I’m sorry.”

“FUCK!” Henry screamed. “Where are the others?!”

“Out, gone to Undertown to celebrate, Page managed to convince Sophie to join them, I was so out of it I hardly even managed to noti-“

“YOU LET HER GO?!” Henry screamed, beginning to break down into panicked sobbing.

“They haven’t come back yet… I imagine they’ll never make it, sir.” Johnny said.

“YOU LET HER GO!” Henry screamed.

He jumped off the ground, and began beating on the skeleton. Screaming and crying. It wasn’t until he saw that Johnny was shuddering, desperately trying to maintain his own composure, doing the closest analog to crying a skeleton could, that he relented.

“I suppose we’ll wait… then.” Henry said, slowly resigning himself to fate.

“We just need to pray that we’re given a chance to speak. That you’re given a chance.” Johnny said.

“What?” Henry asked.

“He’s going to give you a chance to plead, Henry. He always liked watching people squirm.” Johnny replied.

“Fuck…” Henry muttered. “I was so god damned happy, finally something to protect… and the others… they didn’t deserve this, Johnny, they didn’t know… I couldn’t fucking tell them. I had the chance, I… I could’ve warned them, maybe we could’ve stood some small chance, made it out to the frontier, or somewhere he couldn’t reach…”

“I’m sorry I failed you.” Johnny said, “I… suppose I haven’t changed much.”

“No, it’s my fault, don’t you dare fucking blame yourself for this shit.” Henry said. “We need to think up a plan… I need a fucking drink.” Henry continued.

“Didn’t you quit?” Johnny asked.

“Fuck off.” Henry replied. “Maybe I do blame you, a little bit.”

Decisions:
1. *scream at Johnny, if only he’d listened and did his damned job, maybe he could’ve fended off the others*
2. *hug the stupid fucking skeleton, he’s the only one that’ll journey back into hell with you.*
3. *have your drink, and wait, shouldn’t be long till a messenger arrives.*
4. (write in)

>>4117179
>4. (write in)
Go find sophie, I'll wait here.

>>4117179
Maybe we can save Sophie, hide her somewhere... Panic out of the room. Fuck

>>4117266
>>4117690
writing

>>4117179
“Go find her, go find Sophie.” Henry said, but his heart wasn’t in it, he knew it wouldn’t matter, as much as he hated it. Once Johnny had left, Henry filled his flask with whiskey and sagged into his chair. He knew there wasn’t much time now.

It had barely been three hours before a shade appeared on his doorstep, humanoid and partially intangible. Henry knew immediately what it meant, what it portended. The others were captured. He wrote a note to Johnny and stood up. He waited for the skeleton to return, then set out with the shade. He knew it wasn’t the only one. He could practically feel a million sets of shadow eyes drilling into his back, the damned things covered the walls and ceiling of the sewer passage, constantly flickering and shifting about. Henry wanted to murder all of them, but knew better, the damned things had died a long time ago, they were just echos now. Not even able to die, trapped between worlds, if Abraxas was to be believed.

Henry hardly cared. He didn’t feel anger, the want for revenge, anymore. He’d lost that years ago, he just wanted to survive, to flee, to live. He chuckled. What weird feelings, when had he started desiring life so much? The others were likely going to die. He figured he’d probably be killed as well. That was his starting point, if he could do better he figured it’d count as a victory.

Johnny said, nothing, not even bothering to do more than notice the shades. Henry wondered what inner turmoil was gripping the skeleton. Beyond a few things, the skeleton had divulged little about his past. Focusing more on the present and future. Yet, his admission that he ‘hadn’t changed’ had revealed quite a bit.

The descent into hell was a slow one. Henry still remembered the way, it was burned into his brain, even though he’d never walked this exact route. That’s just how it was, the path was burned into his soul. A damnable brand. He could always find his way back to the pit.

When the two arrived, he could already hear the laughing. A deep, dark, and all-powerful laugh. Not the insane kind, but the kind given by an individual who was in complete control and knew it.

Henry felt numb, his emotions were just not there. He acted like a simple machine, marching to his own internal workings.


“I remember saying you would come crawling back, but I didn’t expect you to return so soon, Henry. Funny how fate can have funny tricks to it.” Abraxas said, his voice booming down the tunnel.

Henry gritted his teeth and marched into the throne room, passing by cloaked cultists, devils, and a couple of demonhosts. The central chamber was near exactly how Henry remembered it. Abraxas on that fucking throne, a few more demons powerful enough to manifest without a host, and his group, bound and gagged. Tied together on the sacrificial circle. The one Henry had used countless times.

Why were they still alive? God damn it all.

“No Henry, I’m not asking you to kill them, our deal is still in effect, based on the exact terms we made.” Abraxas said, as a cultist untwirled a piece of parchment and handed it to the demon.

It was almost comical how small the parchment was in his massive talons. The care he managed to give it even though Henry knew he could easily rip a man in half.

“I’ve decided to give you a gift, Henry. It seems on this occasion, one of my predictions was incorrect. I expected us to meet again in the future, yet here you are. I’ll let you choose one of them to live. The rest… well, you’ve seen it yourself enough times.” Abraxas said, then he laughed.

How Henry hated that fucking laugh.

He glanced at his friends, his former friends really. How their eyes pleaded with him. He’d thought of the way a cow looked at market as its throat was cut. The panic, the desperation as life slipped from it. God he hated how he thought, but it was the only way to remain sane. He already knew who he had to save. Without any hesitation, he pointed at Sophie.

The circle activated. Henry stood stock still as in a moment three souls rocketed out of their bodies, spraying blood and viscera all about. Leaving a traumatized Sophie shuddering and sobbing in the middle.

>Carter, Page, Wilson take 999 wounds, their souls are forfeit

“I’m happy you remember our techniques.” Abraxas said. “Being able to think rationally even when undergoing immense turmoil. I’m happy your vacation hasn’t dulled your senses. Yet still so weak magically, I suppose its to be expected, you have no reason to improve…”

>>4117930
Henry wanted to tell the bastard to shut up, to kill all of them. He was barely able to move through the terror. Abraxas smiled, bastard already knew. Henry was still under his control, even now. He shuddered and lifted Sophie off the ground. Henry wrapped his cloak around her, the cloak she’d given him on his birthday two years ago. The woman looked at him, betrayed. He bit his lip until he bled. He should’ve told them.

A single bolt of magic flung out from Abraxas’ hand, striking Sophie in the chest, knocking her from Henry’s grasp. Henry screamed and flung a bolt spell at the demon. Finally able to act.

The demon caught the bolt in his outstretched palm and crushed it. The spell didn’t even leave a mark. Of course it wouldn’t, Henry knew that too.

“You… you said…” Henry said, collapsing to his knees.

“I said I’d you choose one to live, Henry. I didn’t say they would not be punished for their transgressions.”

Henry turned around to see what had happened, and realized the demon had done something terrible.

>Sophie gains passive: Nowhere to be Found

“What have you done?!” Henry asked.

“Given her an affliction, a curse, bound to her soul, for all time. Now the thief will, how did she put it… remain completely unseen. What a glorious boon, wouldn’t you say?”

The Demon’s laugh’s echoed as Henry left the chamber.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry Fisher
Age: 22
Present Day
Location: Outskirts of Haversam Province, border between Church and Van Graff territory.


Henry sighed and shuddered as the buried memories came to the fore. He stared down at Sophie, who was finally stable, the poison rendered inert. She rubbed her bandaged arm occasionally while trying to think of what to say.

“I always wondered why you abandoned me, but I can’t blame you.” Henry said. “I lied to you, to the others. Got them all killed…”

“Henry… no that wasn’t….” Sophie said.

Decisions:
1. “Funny isn’t it, if I’d never left, never formed our little group, you’d all be alive. You’d be normal, Sophie, not like this.”
2. “Do you think they’ll end up like that too?” (referencing Henry’s new group)
3. “One mistake cost us everything, we have to enjoy life while we can before it ends suddenly.”
4. “The reason I dislike seeing you now Sophie, is because it reminds me of when I was happy, and thought things would get better.”
5. *say nothing*
6. “I’m sorry, Sophie.”
7. (write in)

>>4117932
>5. *say nothing*
That alcohol is looking mighty good right now.
Might just have to
Sip

>>4117932
Henry said nothing, instead reaching for his flask and attempting to drain it into his stomach, except he’d already drank it all on the trip up, fucking figured.

“Here.” Sophie said, handing Henry a nicely embroidered flask of her own.

“Really?” Henry asked.

“I keep gin handy to clean wounds, I know it isn’t your ‘usual’ but it should get the job done.”

“Right.” Henry said, downing half of it in one go and coughing unexpectedly.

“Strong innit?” Sophie asked.

“I guess.” Henry said, already feeling the stupor coming on.

“I don’t hate you Henry, I forgave you years ago, truth be told.” Sophie said.

“Then why didn’t you come back?” Henry asked.

Sophie sighed. “Because more than three people died that night, four did.” Sophie explained.

“What?” Henry asked, rubbing his forehead. “Don’t give me horseshit that you died down there, cause then I’d say five people did.”

“That’s not what I meant, Henry. You’re a smart person, always were good at solving problems, you’ll figure it out.” Sophie said, burying her head into her knees.

Decisions:
1. “No…”
2. “Why did you even fucking tell me that? Here of all places.”
3. “Well I guess I understand why you left, then.”
4. “I don’t hate you either, I guess things just didn’t work out, huh?”
5. *write in*

>>4118211
>5. *write in*
"Wut"
Brain.exe has encountered a problem
Mentally shut down for a bit.

>>4118216
this will end the case, is there anything else you'd like Henry to do?

>>4118216
>>4118211
This. Combine with
>No...
If possible, as realization slowly sets in(if it does)

>>4118211
Henry stared at the passing shoreline, slowly trying to piece together what Sophie had meant. There’d been nobody else in that chamber that Henry had cared about, besides Johnny and he couldn’t exactly die again. What could she… oh… ooooh

“No…” Henry murmured, slowly bringing a trembling hand up to his face.

Sure they’d been ‘together’ a couple of times before that night, but he’d never thought that…

Henry turned back towards Sophie, and the woman simply stared at him, best he could tell based on which way her hat pointed.

Henry decided that he didn’t want to think anymore, downed the rest of the flask, and allowed the waves to lull himself to sleep.

He had a horrifying nightmare, one which he didn’t bother remembering. The entire thing was punctuated with the screams of an infant.

=========================== (END OF CHAPTER) ==========================
============================( END OF CASE ) ==========================

>>4118267
Right in the feels... roof

Very well written Lorekeeper, as always.

>>4118267
>You gain 2 special points to utilize as you see fit

==============(Mana Amounts)=================
RED (CURRENTLY 7)


BLACK (CURRENTLY 9)


BLUE (CURRENTLY 5)

This is a per day basis, these will reset after a long enough period of rest


>(You have 3 upgrade points, so 3 additional points of mana to allocate any way you see fit)

====================(Spells)================================


Black Mana Spells:


Undead Rush: Will cause any undead DIRECTLY under your control to break out in a run, allowing them to quickly close distance and overwhelm opponents. They will also be able to leap onto opponents as well. Effect lasts several minutes. (Costs 1 bar of black mana to cast)(can be snapcasted for 1.5 bars of black mana)

Dark touch: will kill an opponent dead, assuming the spell connects and the opponent is alive, unlike a bolt spell does not damage the body (uses 1.5 black mana, can be snapcast for 3 black mana)

Undead Vision: Lets you move your sight into one of the undead you control. You need to have a general idea of their location, and the undead needs to be under your control for this to work (costs 1 black mana per cast, can be snapcast for 2 black mana)

Corpse Walk: Temporarily moves your consciousness into an undead host. However, you are left outside your body, and your soul is vulnerable while inside the undead. There is a maximum range of two miles, and going outside that range can and will kill you if you’re not careful. You are unable to cast regular magic while using this spell, due to the fact you’re soul temporarily inhabits a corpse. (Costs 4.5 black mana to use)

Blight: An old favorite. Creates an area of blight in which opponents will have to fight off your will, can take out a swath of opponents if used correctly (uses 1 black mana + X black mana. The higher the ‘x’ amount of mana is, the greater the area of effect and the overall killing power is)

Shadow Crawl: Allows the user to manipulate shadows to increase their movement range. Will open the way to greater manipulation of shadow

>>4118293
Blue Mana Spells:


Minor Scry (May be changed a bit if it makes it more fun to use): Will let you scope out a room or a small area of space and will allow you to detect both living and magical beings. Those who are using cloaking magics will of course be out of your sight, and you will not be able to control exactly where the spell will end up (costs 1 bar of blue mana to cast)(can be snapcasted for 2 bars of blue mana)

Minor Telepathy: Seems that Alice is able to teach you a fairly useful technique, allowing you to maintain contact with other members of your party for small amounts of time, further research into this upgrade will allow for longer lasting effects and greater range. As it stands you must have contact with the member you wish to maintain a connection to and their consent. The effects last for one hour. (Costs 2 blue mana per use, Alice must teach you the trick)

Icy Grip: A basic ice magic spell, allows Henry to coat a medium sized area in a coat of frost, penalizing anyone who attempts to cross it, also opens up the ice magic skill tree
Illusionary mist: Basic illusion spell, allows the caster to create a wall of mist cheaply that will dissipate once targeted by a spell. Obstructs regular vision in its area of affect. (Range varies based on blue mana skill level / roll)(costs 1 blue mana to use)
Hover: A stepping stone to flight magic, allows the caster to hover in midair or slow his descent. (costs 2 blue mana, will be replaced with full flight spell once learned)

>>4118296
Red Mana Spells:
Internal Combustion: Destruction of a different sort. Dislike buildings? Weapon or armor getting in the way of a killing blow? Gargoyle getting you down? Not anymore! With this little spell any unliving material can be blasted from the inside, assuming you can get close enough to give it a little love tap. The effect can be instant or delayed, allowing you to set traps in certain areas! (Costs 1 red mana to cast)(costs 1.5 red mana to snapcast)(EFFECTS MAY VARY)
Lighting Rod: With your further mastery of red mana sorcery, you’ve gained the passive ability to dissipate red mana attacks, red mana attacks against you will have reduced potency

Fireblast: a basic bolt of fire that deals splash damage, with Henry’s abilities with red mana, it will have increased potency

Chain Lightning: allows the caster to inflict death on a score of opponents in an area of effect. Bolts of lightning will arc uncontrollably between targets, which means friendly fire might be and issue. (Costs 1+x mana to cast, the higher X is, the great its range and chaining effect grow)(additional upgrades can be applied via special points)

Lightning explosion: Target a living creature or an nonliving target and make them explode into chunks, damaging anything nearby. The spell isn’t fast or slow, but can be countered by a reasonably competent mage (costs 3 red mana to use, makes things go boom real good)

Arcing Response: Counter target spell as long as it’s blue, must be cast at beginning of turn, cannot be a response spell. (costs 0.5 red mana to cast)

Rage: causes target to go into a rage, attacking friend and enemy alike.

Mana barbs (enchantment) – creates a reflecting enchantment on the caster, causing spells targeted at them to have a chance to inflict wounds upon the caster. (costs 2 red, 1 of any color to cast)

>>4118298
Multi Color Spells:

Mind Rot: Can temporarily (or permanently if powerful enough) cause an opponent to lose their concentration for a period of time and be left slightly insane. Effects can vary WIDELY, ALSO CAN CAUSE PERMANENT MENTAL DAMAGE TO THE TARGET, USE WITH CAUTION. (Costs 1 bar of black mana, 1 bar of blue mana, and one bar of any mana to cast)

Swerve: Pesky spells aimed at you constantly? With this little spell, you can grab those spells out of the air and make choose a new target for them for each spell affected! (Costs 0.5 red mana, 0.5 blue mana)


Think Fast: Sometimes thinking normally isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, with this spell you can increase the amount of actions you can perform per round. Ups spellcasting actions to 2 for 3 rounds, allowing you to lay on the damage or provide more support. Can only be casted on yourself. (Requires Ophelia to teach you.)(Costs 1 red and 2 blue mana, lasts 3 turns)

Grapeshot: Like bolt spells? Have a lot more of them! Allows you to fire off up to 4 bolts at once if you have the mana for it. (Initial spell costs 2 red mana, every additional bolt spell costs 1 red mana, for a total of up to four shots.) (All grapeshot bolts count as an single action, giving you a heck of a lot more damage potential than a normal bolt spell)

Trick Bolt: Something Ophelia managed to cook up. Mask your bolt spell as a relatively harmless blue mana spell, once it comes into contact with something solid it will shed its blue mana covering and launch a normal bolt spell at the opponent. (requires Ophelia’s help to learn, costs 1 red and 1 blue mana)

Custom: (create a custom skill or spell, the Lorekeeper will edit it if needed for balance)

>choose 2 spells to learn

>>4118303
Right, as always the upgrade votes will work as follows:

1. special points: no voting required, these are used as needed
2. Mana, talk it out amongst yourselves, the most popular option will be selected. At this point Henry has quite a bit of mana so running out won’t be a problem as much going forwards.
3. Spells: Pick out your top three spells that you’d like to see. Each spell voted for will be given points accordingly. Your first choice gets 3 points, your second gets 2 points, and your third gets 1 point. The two top voted spells are selected.

(feel free to ask questions if needed, I’ll respond as quickly as I am able.)

One mana to each color
And we'll need to practice the spells that we haven't used yet.
I want to upgrade dark healing, see if we can heal others with it. But we'll still need to practice it.
And I want think fast so we can be a little quicker on our feet.
And we seriously need to get ophelia to teach us some more spells.

>>4118473
black mana is not suited to healing at all I'm afraid. Only green and white mana is good for healing others, black is not suited to it.

>ignore any "snap cast" costs, I've decided to remove that mechanic because it wasn't working well and was dissuading players from using certain spells.

>>4118473
And
Shadow Crawl: Allows the user to manipulate shadows to increase their movement range. Will open the way to greater manipulation of shadow

>>4118986
>three
Man my mind is gone
Swerve: Pesky spells aimed at you constantly? With this little spell, you can grab those spells out of the air and make choose a new target for them for each spell affected! (Costs 0.5 red mana, 0.5 blue mana)
Swerve, miss me with that gay shit

>>4119039
>>4118986
>>4118473
voting period is now closed, I can't say I'm surprised only one person decided to vote but it does make me sad

Anywho:

1 of each mana is added

Due to the fact Henry now has 10 black mana, he gains a passive:

Passive: Hard to Kill - Henry's gained quite the reputation for being difficult to kill. Once per case, he automatically succeeds with one death saving throw, bypassing the need to roll.

Spells Learned:

Think fast + Shadow Crawl, I'll update the pastebin soon.

I'll be making a new thread after we start back up. I'll post the link in the quest discord and start right back up.

>>4122703
>>4122777

new thread