>>4122777
AH HA!!!

>>4122781

"The Holy High Seraph has been laid low by the eternal adversary, but fear not, she shall recover and rise once more as our defender! Maintain faith! Hold fast! The shadows will grow long but we must hold strong!" ~ Solarch Gamora - Address three days before the Two Sun Festival


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


Henry groaned and awoke to a couple rays of light poking into his bedroom. He’d made it back the prior night and the entire group had more or less broken apart. Him and Johnny had worked their way back home, where Henry then ignored all of the questions aimed at him and collapsed into his comfortable bed in his little lighthouse home. He wanted nothing more than to have a single day to collect his thoughts, but knew such luxuries would be far beyond his reach.

Firstly, he had to figure out if anything stupid had happened while he’d been gone. He’d only been gone for a week but the atmosphere in the city had been tense. Things hadn’t been going well with whatever was going on in Magica. Henry added worrying about Rosa to his growing list of worries. The woman had gone there last week to help with containing whatever new plague had broken out. Apparently, it was much worse than initially thought and now multiple churches had begun to assist. The angels had even been asked to help maintain order. The angel of midnight had personally assigned a few flocks to the task, as the local church was all to keen to say. Really just theatrics to keep the population calm.

Charles… well the boy was troubled and had been causing problems while Henry had been gone. Mark and Nina were now scared of his apprentice, and Henry might need to figure out why. Honestly being afraid of a necromancer wasn’t out of place, but Larry had asked Him to intervene, though Henry had been half asleep at that point and hadn’t picked up on the details

Then there was the matter of reporting to Ludvig. Of course Henry had sent off a coded letter the moment he’d arrived back in the city, but now Ludvig had requested an in person meeting at the Cult of Progress’ headquarters, likely another job. Henry had been told to come in some time that day, but had been given leeway when it came to when. How nice of them to give him options.

Lastly, Ophelia had made some kind of magical breakthrough. She hadn’t been able to shut up about it, apparently. She’d wanted to discuss with Henry as nobody else could even maintain much of a conversation on magical theory. Henry wondered why Alice couldn’t but then remembered that girl probably didn’t want anything to do with Ophelia outside a professional context.

>>4122819

So, what to do?

Decisions: (choose one)
1. *see what’s going on with Charles*
2. *say hello to Larry*
3. *Head over to Xavier’s ‘chapel’, you can’t believe you allowed him to construct that damned thing in your warehouse*
4. *Head over to the Cult of Progress HQ with Johnny, you want the added protection*
5. *see how Mark and Nina are holding up, even if they do creep you out a bit*
6. *head over to the local infobroker to see what’s happening in magica, it has to be serious since they closed the bridges over there*
7. (write in)

>>4122822
Welcome back everyone! We approach the final case and the big conclusion to Summer

>>4122822
>in the interests of saving time, ignore "choose one"
>if multiple are chosen, I'll do a short write up for each

>>4122822
>2. *say hello to Larry*
Get the run down on charles,
Then
>1. *see what’s going on with Charles*
Followed by either talk with ophelia, or just heading to the cult with johnny of course

>>4122843
Talk with ophelia if we have time before going to the cult, is what I meant

>>4122822
Larry, the kids then Charles

>>4123108
>>4122845
>>4122843
writing

>>4122822
Henry found Larry fishing outside on the dock. Interestingly, he didn’t have his sword with him. Maybe all those comments that Xavier had given him about how the salt air would rust it had actually been effective.

“Hey.” Henry said, sitting down next to the man, throwing his legs off the side of the stone pier.

“Happy you made it back in one piece, Johnny told me it was a cluster. Why wasn’t I invited again?”

“You wouldn’t have wanted to be there, Larry, trust me. Sides the ringleader and me had history. I think its finally settled, now.” Henry explained.

“Well, can I talk about Charles or is this just a friendly visit?” Larry asked.

“What’s up with him?”

“He’s gotten a real stick up his ass, Henry. Only gotten worse since you left last week. He’s been getting a hell of a lot bossier, real full of himself. Tried talking to him but none of it stuck. Ophelia’s getting real ancy about it, worried she’ll do something stupid in response. He’s tried to get Mark and Nina to help him with some project as he calls it. They want nothing to do with it of course, poor kids are terrified of him though so they are having trouble saying no. Its kinda fucked.”

“Good lord.” Henry muttered. “Yeah that is serious. He hasn’t been doing any activity that’d have the church coming down on our heads, right?” Henry asked.

“Don’t think so. Ophelia wasn’t able to see anything the last few nights and she has better eyes than me for that sorta stuff.” Larry explained

“Right, has anyone else gotten involved?” Henry asked.

“Xavier tried to minister to the kid. Give him some advice y’know. But Charles wouldn’t listen, just blew him off. I worry about that kid, Henry. I dunno but I think he takes after you a bit too much, but with none of the… what’s the word? He doesn’t hold back at all.” Larry said.

“Restraint.” Henry answered.

“Yeah that’s the one.” Larry said.

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

Henry found Mark and Nina in their room, they’d created a sort of fort out of sandbags. The only reason they’d even kept the things around was in case they had needed to fortify the outer wall of the compound. The wall had proven to be in near perfect condition, so the bags had just been left in storage. Now the two kids had constructed some sort of nest. Henry had asked Alice about it, but the woman had just said he wouldn’t understand. Henry figured it was something to do with their affliction and left it at that.

The room was fairly clean except for a pile of sand flowing out of a burst sandbag. Inside the fort Mark and Nina were doing… something. He couldn’t really get a good look inside due to the blanket that had been draped over it.

“Kids?” Henry asked.

There was a flurry of movement from inside the fort, then the blanket was carefully removed and Mark poked his head above, antenna and all.

“Yeah?” Mark asked, defensive.

“I just wanted to talk, I heard my apprentice was giving you trouble.

“Like you’d care. You left him with us.” Mark angrily responded.

“I wanted to apologize. He’s been vastly overstepping his bounds and I wanted to know if there was a way, I could make it right.”

“I… we want to go outside, not just in the walls, out into the countryside. I miss it, we miss it. I haven’t seen the countryside in forever… and I think my family is still there and I … I want to make sure they’re okay.”

“You know that you can’t go back Mark. They’d probably react badly.” Henry tried to explain.

>>4123640
“I… I know. I was so mad at first. But you… I think you’re right. When the neighbor’s kid turned into a werewolf. The church, well, they gave him peace, and he was only like that once a month, I’m like this all the time. They’d…” Mark said, rambling along, unable to stop talking.

“They’d hang you, Mark. I’ve spoken with the others, and well, if you decide to go to the church it none of us will stop you.” Henry said.

“I… I want to live.” Mark said.

“I do too.” Nina said. “You’re letting us live right? The church wouldn’t, I don't understand why this happened to us.”

Henry nodded. “Do you want to see your home, Nina?”

“Yeah…” Nina said. “I dunno…. That thing… it took my momma and papa. But our house is still there… I… I want to see it.”

Henry gritted his teeth. God damn it.

Decisions:
1. “Yeah, I can arrange a visit today.”
2. “I can do it but it’ll have to wait so I can prepare, need to make sure you two aren’t spotted like that.”
3. “If you want to talk about it more, I’m here. I know what it’s like to lose people you care about.”
4. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save them.”
5. “I’m sure they’d be happy to know you’re alive, Mark.”
6. (write in)

>>4123644
>4. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save them.”
"Well try to get out there in a couple days or so."

>>4123644
>4. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save them.”
Can't we give them a glamour?

>You still need to tell me what Charles have said and done

>>4124047
>>4123720
writing

>>4123644
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save them.” Henry replied, trying his best to remain vaguely sympathetic.

“No, they weren’t normal anymore. You put them to rest, gave them a chance to move on, so they wouldn’t be twisted by that… thing.” Nina said. “Don’t blame yourself, please, not for me.”

“That’s awfully mature of you.” Henry said.

“Its what the priest in our church said, putting beasts down is heroic. They’d become beasts and you… you put them down, so they couldn’t hurt anyone.” Nina explained.

“They were still people Nina.” Henry said.

“No, they stopped being people when that big bug changed them, they didn’t even talk anymore.” Mark explained.

Henry decided to drop it there. Even though he knew full well that there were plenty of monsters that could still talk, as long as the pair could sleep at night he’d be happy.

“Can you explain what my apprentice did, exactly?”

“Said we were taking advantage of you.” Mark said.

“And ungrateful.” Nina said. “He’s a big meanie.”

“Well what have you been doing to help around here?” Henry asked.

“Well, I… I dunno.” Mark said. “All I know how to do is some chores, some farm work. I dunno how to hold a blade, or swing it. Dunno what else I could do.”

“I know a bit about cooking, my mum taught me, Alice has been teaching me more!” Nina explained.
“Right. So Charles is just mad that he has to do a lot of work?” Henry asked.

“He just seems angry. I dunno about what. But he’s been working on something in a pipe around back.” Mark explained. “He thinks nobody sees em, but nobody seems to care.”

“Right...” Henry said.

Decisions:
1. *confront Charles*
2. *wait till you can catch him red handed doing whatever he’s doing. You figure the kids are talking about that unused piece of piping that’s just laying around behind the warehouse. It’s a big concrete construction that provides some much needed shade.
3. *ignore the issue for the time being, you need to go see what the cult of progress wants, hopefully to give you a reward or something. You realize that you weren’t exactly paid for the job with Sophie.*
4. (write in)

>>4124621
>4. (write in)
Follow charles into Pipe?
"Hey, wanted to talk to you and saw you sneaking off. Whatcha doin?""

>>4124626
roll for sneak

1d100+15

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>4124703

>>4124704

38+15 = 53, pass

>>4124621
Henry checked around for Charles, and upon realizing he wasn’t inside the warehouse or visible anywhere in the inner courtyard, began suspecting he was in his little pipe hideaway. So Henry carefully crept around back, using skills that Sophie had taught him years ago. He wasn’t nearly as quiet as her, of course, but it was more than enough to trick a child. Even his apprentice.

Henry crept past the dumpster he’d purchased and noticed that there was a bit of trash spilled out on the ground. Henry was a bit annoyed at that and made a mental note to yell at someone for being sloppy.

Continuing onwards, Henry could hear a voice coming out of the pipe. Charles seemed to be speaking to someone, which greatly worried Henry. He poked his head around the corner so he could peer into the large pipe section and found that Charles had set up decently inside. The other half of the pipe was facing the wall so Charles had brought in a light rune to provide a bit more light. There were various documents and materials inside. Charles had his back turned to the entrance and was conversing with a raggedy looking boy who was cradling a puppy in his lap. The other child looked like he’d never heard of a bath, or a barber. Henry figured it was a stray Charles had picked up, but he’d explained to Charles that they couldn’t afford to become an orphanage… what was he doing with the kid?

Henry used his mage sight and found something odd. The kid had a mana tether to the dog, in fact he had a lot more leading outside the wall. Someone that young shouldn’t have been able to do that, and Henry briefly considered that the kid might be a werewolf. He’d remembered dealing with what’s her face back in New Haven, those damned wolfs of her’s had been a massive pain in the ass.

Then there was whatever Charles was doing, some sort of necromancy, based on the materials, but Henry couldn’t really determine what exactly he was trying to do without a closer look, which would be impossible without alerting him.

Decisions:
1. “Alright what’s going on here?” (show yourself plainly)
2. *you’ll confront Charles’ with this later, honestly you expected something worse or more stupid. It can wait.* (delay the confrontation)
3. *seem’s he’s just practicing necromancy and is looking into an interesting person. Other than the fact he’s on “company grounds” and has the necromantic materials partially in the open, you don’t really see a problem.* (ignore it for now)
4. “Oh good, you made a friend.” (reveal yourself but have a more positive attitude)
5. (write in)

>>4125797
I am tied between
>1
And
>4
Both seems appropriate, 1 more online with what I imagine Henry would say, but with a more positive feeling to it. Mabye said with a wry smile?

>>4125889
so annoyed but impressed?

>>4125797
I want Henry to analyze the magic more in depth if he can first. If Charles really is doing something he shouldn't he'll shut it off and lie to us and then it will be impossible to find out

>>4126016
do you want him to aggressively seize it or continue to observe? Seizing the documents requires no roll, continuing to hide requires 1 roll

>>4125889
I like 4

>>4125797
“Oh good, you made a friend.” Henry said, standing out in the open.

Charles shuddered and flipped around, surprised and then slightly terrified. Henry half expected the behavior, but it was kind of funny when the kid tried to hide his notes. He should’ve known it just made him look worse.

“So are you going to explain what you were doing or do I need to come in there and look?” Henry asked as he ducked down a bit more so he’d fit.

“N-no I can e-explain!” Charles said.

“Alright, I’m not mad Charles, well maybe a little because of that stray you picked up.” Henry said.

Henry waited as Charles slowly emerged from the pipe. The feral child growled at him until he was stared down by Henry, who was much more imposing.

Henry waited for Charles to hand over the research notes he’d been working on, and was quite surprised with what he found. A good deal of research on how the soul functioned when placed into another body, with some interesting notes on the feral child’s soul. Charles had found it was incredibly strange, and allowed for the child to instantly connect with any dogs.

“Just dogs?” Henry asked.

“He doesn’t really trust anything else.” Charles explained, looking back into the pipe “Except me, I think.”

“Charles… why do these notes include the Ticky project?”

“I… well, you’ve been delaying it for so long now, we spent all this time, and all those resources on it yet you won’t pull the trigger. Someone has to! Ophelia isn’t going to wait forever, and neither am I!”

Henry stared down at the boy for a moment. Henry wondered just how far he would’ve gone behind his back had he allowed it.

“So you were thinking of placing that child’s soul inside the machine, right?!” Henry said, growing angry.

“It’d be perfect! Nobody would miss him, he hardly even understands language, and his soul would allow us to create more constructs connected to it if Ophelia is right! We could give Ticky a pack of dogs!” Charles said, excitedly.

“And she’s the only one who knows besides you?”

“Y-yes.”

Decisions:
1. *smack Charles across the head, you don’t intend to hurt him but this has almost gone too far*
2. “I make the decisions with this project, we’re using the Tulpa, not a soul”
3. “Is your friend there even capable of agreeing to this? Understanding what it means?!”
4. “Fine, I’ll allow you to go forwards with this, but just report to me from now on, and do it inside the warehouse, too exposed out here.
5. (Write in)

>>4126775
just as a clarification, a souls is not a person's entire being. If Charles had gone through with this completely the feral kid would've died.

Some memories could've attached to the soul itself, but quite a lot would've been lost.

>>4126775
>3. “Is your friend there even capable of agreeing to this? Understanding what it means?!”
>>4126780
Then we should tell him this. And we should show him up close what occurs during something like this. A trial run so he can see directly the feeling of shit like this.
Go grab a criminal rapist or something, sneak off somewhere and show charles what it *really* means.

>>4126786
you could call up your contacts in the Cult of Progress, Ludvig has said before they do keep a 'supply'

>>4126789
HMM
Sounds like a good thing to do.
He needs some lessons in "shit ain't nice"

>>4126775
“Is your friend there even capable of agreeing to this? Understanding what it means?”

“T-that… Henry, are we going to sit on our hands forever-“

“Answer my question, Charles.”

“No… no I don’t think he is. I didn’t consider it important that he understood, probably better he doesn’t.”

“Do you understand what pulling a person’s soul out entails, boy?” Henry asked.

“N-no…” Charles said.

“I’d say I’m not angry with you but to be frank I’m furious. You don’t understand the implications of what you were thinking about… fine. I’m going to contact a few people and we’ll be doing the ritual far outside of town in a few days. I want you to learn exactly what our jobs entail. Why I don’t want you to ever take another person’s life lightly.”

“I w-wasn’t I just wanted to help.” Charles said.

“I know god damnit, that’s why I need to make sure you understand.” Henry said.

He wanted to slap the boy across the head, yell at him. But Henry couldn’t bring himself to. Instead he hugged the child. Charles hugged him back, crying, apologizing. Henry sighed, and pulled away after a few seconds.

“Charles, where you bullying Nina and Mark?” Henry asked.

“They’ve been living off us for a couple weeks now. Yet they don’t do anything around here! I don’t want them to get too comfortable.”

“Yet you acted without my authority and nearly poisoned them against us.” Henry explained.

“I…I want to be able to do things without bothering you… seems I’m never going to be able to.”

Henry narrowed his eyes. Was that the truth or just manipulation?

Decisions:
1. “Just run things by me, please?”
2. “Fair enough, I suppose I am a bit too controlling. Just leave the kids alone for now, not everyone hates their parents Charles. Some people are greatly affected by losing family.”
3. “Fine.”
4. “I want you to stop acting without my permission when it comes to other people, you’re not my second in command, you are my apprentice. While that doesn’t put you at the bottom of the flagpole you aren’t sitting at the top.”
5. (write in)

>>4126835
>2. “Fair enough, I suppose I am a bit too controlling. Just leave the kids alone for now, not everyone hates their parents Charles. Some people are greatly affected by losing family.”
But
you’re not my second in command, you are my apprentice. While that doesn’t put you at the bottom of the flagpole you aren’t sitting at the top.
Sigh deeply
Lets get some lunch okay

>>4126856
writing

>>4126835
“Fair enough, I suppose I am a bit too controlling at times. Just, leave the kids alone for now, not everyone hates their parents Charles. Some people are greatly affected by losing their entire families.”

“Mark’s family isn’t even dead!” Charles said, emotionally.

“He can’t go back to them, that’s even worse.” Henry explained. “Charles, not everyone feels that burning rage you do. I nearly got consumed by my own once, don’t go down that path.”

“What would you know?!” Charles asked.

“I know I hurt people who did nothing to me or anyone else, who just got in the way by accident. I have memories burned into my brain because nobody could stop me. I don’t want to see the same happen to you.” Henry said.

Charles bit his lip and shuddered. “Its not fair, I just want revenge, but I don’t want to hurt anyone else to get it…”

“You’re a better person than I was. But you’re not my second in command, you’re my apprentice. That doesn’t put you at the bottom of the flagpole, but you are a long way from the top.” Henry said, sighing deeply.

“T-thank you.” Charles said.

“Lets grab some lunch, alright?” Henry said.

“Thank you, Henry.” Charles said, holding back tears.

“Yeah, yeah lets not make this a bigger scene than it is… seems your friend already ran off.” Henry said, pointing inside the pipe.

“Yeah he does that.” Charles explained. “I don’t know how but he’s real quiet.”

Decisions: (done after lunch)
1. *head over to the cult of progress, you’ve been keeping them waiting a bit*
2. *get some magic practice in, Ophelia’s managed to cobble together a practice room using one of the warehouse’s office areas. It’s cramped but it gets the job done. As long as you don’t use anything too destructive.*
3. *go fishing with Charles and Johnny, keep an eye on your apprentice*
4. *go see what Ophelia’s breakthrough was.*
5. (write in)

>>4127754
If we have spells we need to practice to learn let's do that, otherwise head to the cult before they get pissy

>>4127996
you have like, 4-5 spells. might as well pick one or two to practice.

>>4128113
Shadow Crawl aaaand
Dark healing

>>4128283
roll 2d100 for shadow crawl
roll 2d100 for dark healing

Rolled 7, 23, 29, 13 = 72 (4d100)

>>4128352

Rolled 87, 47, 13, 69 = 216 (4d100)

>>4128401
That was a trial roll, here's the real one.

Rolled 70, 78, 47, 11 = 206 (4d100)

>>4128352

>>4128855
>>4128401
70, 78, 47, 69

pass on shadow crawl

near pass on dark healing. I'll allow 1 reroll for the first roll.

>>4128926
>you're rerolling the first roll for dark healing, the third roll overall

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>4128926
Ok, rollan

>>4129020
YAY

>>4129020
oh fuck

>>4127754
Henry and Charles had a nice lunch together on the roof, then Henry was shown the new mage room by Charles. It was adequate, nothing fancy, but not decrepit. The walls had been covered in sandbags as a sort of poor man’s reinforcement. Ophelia had, in her own words, lightly enchanted the walls to strengthen them. The walls were a good deal stronger than they had been before, and even Alice had been impressed with the workmanship. Regardless, Henry knew that anything stronger than a bolt spell would chew through the walls like cheese.

Luckily the spells he wanted to practice were a good deal less explosive.

The first spell, shadow crawl, was the easier one. Henry managed to figure it out fairly quickly, surprising both himself and his apprentice when shadowy hands emerged out of his own shadow and pulled him along. He found he could hang off the ceiling utilizing the hands, and that they had a decent amount of strength. The issue was that Charles could dispel them with but a touch. The shadows weren’t durable in the slightest. So this spell would be for movement purposes only, it seemed. Still, being able to close the gap or manipulate objects at a distance had its uses. From what Henry could tell the spell could be utilized like an enchantment if he put the effort in to learn.

Then there was dark healing. Henry was a bit more cautious with this spell, and had Charles observe from a safe distance as Henry aimed at a few of Xavier’s rats. Henry had of course gotten permission. In fact the group had been getting ready to buy some livestock to supplement their food budget, and the rats would not even be needed at that point.

Henry leashed the spell and found it overwhelmingly potent. He watched as the spell easily drained the Vis out of several rats before dissipating. Henry didn’t feel all that different but that was likely due to the fact he was in perfect health.

>crit roll, upgrade granted…

Henry put one more practice shot in, but this time he added a twist to it, chaining raise dead into the spell. He watched as the rat died and was instantly raised as a minion. Henry clapped, jumping up and down with glee.

>Upgrade: You can chain Raise Dead into Dark Healing at will. Further upgrades may reduce additional mana cost to zero (so you only pay for the dark healing spell)

“Wow!” Charles said, mesmerized by the mid level spell casting. It was more than the boy had ever seen from anyone besides Ophelia.


Decisions:
1. *say something cool* (write in)
2. *head out to the cult of progress with Johnny.*
3. (write in)

>>4129909
the way chaining works is as follows.

You cast spell 1, then spell 2 immediately after for a specified cost.

In the example above, you cast dark healing for 2 black mana, then raise dead in the same action for 0.5 additional when the opponent is near death (so essentially it acts as a single 2.5 mana spell. However, a single counter can only impact one part of this spell, not that it'd matter since the thing wouldn't work properly if the dark healing was countered).

Furthermore, the newly raised undead has an open action which will allow them to launch a surprise attack against a target. Since the black mana doesn't actually harm the corpse, their body will be in the exact condition it was in upon death. (assuming you don't blow them up with bomb runes or red mana spells)

this is an example of intermediate level spellcasting. Henry's moving up in the world.

>>4129927
That is really cool, awesome!

I think now is a good time for us to head over to the cult of progress

>>4129927
Excellent

>>4130591
Seconding

>>4129909
Henry stretched as he headed out of the training room, the undead rat he’d brought back in tow. He quickly handed control of the thing over to Charles. It seemed the boy had a real knack for utilizing undead puppets, far more than Henry did. Puppeteering made his skin crawl and his head swim too much. Xavier seemed a bit miffed that his rats were newly undead, but after a couple assurances from Henry that they’d remain well outside of his chapel, he begrudgingly accepted it.

Henry wondered if the irony of a vampire preacher was lost on him. Technically he had been considered dead by the church, instead of a vampire, and thus hadn’t been stripped of his rank as a Cathar, but that wasn’t really the point.

Larry was paling around with Ophelia, who was testing out the transference runes some more. Alice was working on a helmet while Larry pretended to supervise. He’d had come up with the idea to shove the rune into a helmet for easier usage, in the same way miners put light runes into their helmets. The thing was a bit too clunky for Henry’s own tastes, he couldn’t see himself wearing one.

Ophelia had managed to make four more copies of the rune and had been slowly improving the prototypes by making them more durable and less mana intensive. They’d soon have something to present to the cult of progress, if they went in that direction. Henry knew full well the amount of money they could make on it if they could get it working between cities. Hell it he might even get him knighted, if he cared for it.

Not like royal titles meant jack shit these days. Merchants and church members had far more pull in the central cities.

He grabbed Johnny from his midday stroll and the two departed towards the Cult of Progress’ fancy fortress. Or perhaps it was more like a palace, as Johnny had pointed out the thing was fairly indefensible what with its large windows and large amounts of flair along the structure’s walls. The thing was a good seven stories tall and was by far one of the largest buildings in Avignon. It also sat smack dab on four leylines, the second highest interlinkage in the city. The place was abuzz with activity, from commons all the way up to noblemen, and everything in between.

Henry and Johnny ventured through a large gate and found themselves in a large open courtyard. Henry found the openness strange after being in cramped city streets. He’d felt the same way on his last visit. At the door he noticed that access was restricted. It hadn’t been like that before… Henry wondered just who he was going to meet.

>>4131730
He presented his letter from Ludvig and was ushered inside, through a lobby, and into a grand library containing more books than Henry had ever seen in one place, and considering he’d seen the Lic’toron archives that was saying something. Sitting down at a table, casually reading a book on complex magical theory involving leyline utilization, was Marquis Ludvic Von Braun, and another man that Henry didn’t recognize, but based on his clothing and the way in which he was reading, treating each page as if it was a delicate flower, indicated he was someone important, maybe the head librarian?

Ah, Henry, this is the Index, head archivist and head of operations, Duke Marcellus Von Rulls.

Marcellus stood up and offered his hand out to Henry. Henry cautiously shook it while glancing over at Ludvig, uncertain.

“Oh pay no heed to social standing in these walls, although neither of us much care for it in general, just useless titles granted by useless men.” Ludvig said, casually dismissing Henry’s caution.

“I’ve heard quite a bit about you Henry, seems you’ve performed admirably on every task you’ve been given, you were a great help to Moldov during the boom town fiasco.” Marcellus explained.

“Y-yes.” Henry said, he knew better than to get mad about that clusterfuck here, or to mention the recent clusterfuck.

“You performed your last job down to the letter Henry, it’s a shame the contractor we hired couldn’t do the same. I daresay we won’t be utilizing her services in the future. I would’ve even been alright with her destroying the tideshaper but it seemed she couldn’t even do that correctly.” Ludvig said.

“So that’s what that staff was.” Henry said. “I figured it was important but-“

“Yes, well, it does put us in a great deal of trouble. I believe I’ve figured out what Venser and his group intend to do with it. The Two Sun festival will be upon us very soon. At that point the leylines and the ghiest tide will be at their maximum. The leylines will allow for very powerful spells to be cast, while the ghiests… well we’ve had quite a great deal of trouble with the order of lanterns.” Marcellus explained.

>>4131734
“So what exactly do you think they’re going to do with it?” Henry asked.

Marcellus turned to Ludvig, waiting for a response.

“Marcellus, he’s proven himself repeatedly, even if he doesn’t quite share our vision yet, I can tell you for an almost certain fact he’s not working for any other group, he needs to know.”

“I apologize Henry, I’m not used to sharing so much information with what is technically an outsider… regardless, we believe he’s going to utilize the staff to seal off the river to Celeste, which would cripple our operations and cause massive amounts of instability from trade being cut off.” Marcellus explained.

“We rely on the upstream cities for quite a bit of our trade, it wouldn’t stop us completely but it’d put a great deal of strain on us, we figure he’ll do this to get the Celeste officials to intervene as even they couldn’t miss something of that magnitude occuring. We can handle the church in Avignon but not Celeste too.” Ludvig explained. “I’d rather not be in the position of answer uncomfortable questions, especially when the Lunarch has become so twitchy as of late.” Ludvig added.

“So where do I come in?” Henry asked.

“As of now, we aren’t sure. We have a better understanding of the people Venser is working with now, and we’ll be having a meeting later on to discuss with you, that isn’t why you’re here at this mment, actually.” Ludvig explained. “To tell you the truth I wanted to ask you to get to the bottom of what’s going on in Magica. Right now the situation is barely being contained and the Archbishop believes it will soon spill into Avignon if we don’t do something about it. If we can contain this with our own methods… well, it’ll put us into a fantastic position at the bargaining table.” Ludvig explained.

“And you trust me to do this?” Henry asked.

“Certainly, I know you’re capable of it, though it’ll require quite a bit of investigation. However, you know the underside of this world of ours better than either of us, there’s only so much a couple of noblemen can accomplish. It’s the reason the hand saves the position of Pinky for a commoner, its good to have multiple perspectives on the world. We can’t afford to become insular. We can’t say we’re

>>4131734


looking out for the commons if we’re all members of nobility, goldfingers, or clergymen.” He explained, chuckling a bit at the end.

“Wait…”

“Speaking of which, he’d requested to speak with you personally, Henry.” Ludvig explained.

“Is that a demand or a request?“

“Henry, in this building we are equals, none of us, most certainly not the hand, will not force your hand on this matter. Getting at each other’s throats does nothing for us. If you wish to continue working as… a contractor, then I will allow it, but I’d consider the chance you have today, it’s not something you receive often.” Ludvig continued.”

“Not only that, but if you do take us up on our offer and join our table, well, I’d be willing to give you the full backing of our the club.” Marcellus explained.

“Club, really? He means the Cult of Progress Henry. I know you have your own research your conducting. If you take us up on this offer at a minimum you’ll have full access to the resources of the Cult.” Ludvig said. “Marcellus, I really wish you would stop calling it a club, really.”

“It’s always been like that hasn’t it? I never liked the term cult, it implies we worship something. We’ve always been a group of friends trying to make the world a better place for as many people as possible. That’s how I always saw it, and how I see it now.” Marcellus explained.

“Perhaps this isn’t the time or place for that particular discussion my old friend.” Ludvig said, turning back to Henry.

INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DECISION:
1. “I’m in.”
2. “I’m happy remaining a contractor.”
3. “I… to be honest I want out.”
4. (write in) (ask questions if you need to)

>>4131747
this is the single most important decision Henry has had to make during this quest, I'd argue.

>>4131753
I want to politely decline the offer of joining
But I don't want to completely leave
I want us to stay as is, a mercenary group lightly connected to the cult.
Not that we distrust them, but, we don't like being tethered as it were.

>>4131880
you could say you want to put it to a vote within your own group, might be a more palatable way of delaying the choice.

>>4131747
Wow.... that is a tough choice.

So either we go all in or we stay where we are(trapped in the bed with them)

We cant leave without making an enemy of them.

Honestly, I think we are already in too deep, and they have not really tried to screw us over. So it is probably best for us to go all in at this point. We cannot stay on the fence forever.

Plus, I really want an army of ticky's to fight the lictoren. I get a feeling that they are going to come out of the woodwork soon, and we know very well how OP demonhosts are

>>4131747
Do we have to be public about our identity, besides to the other members.

>>4132925
with your affiliation to the cult of progress? Not at all. In fact you can even hide it from your own group.

Anywho, currently we have one vote to keep things as they are and one vote to go in full bore.

I'd personally recommend going in full bore, the resources the cult offers are second to none, and with a position in the inner circle you'd have a far better chance of getting Henry's projects mass produced.

You'd off course be making quite a lot of money too.

Not to mention the spells the cult keeps information about. You'd have access to far more complex spells.

>>4133680
I'll leave this till tomorrow afternoon, then I'll add a vote based on my opinion if there is still a tie.

>>4133682
This would be a lowkey position right?
Not one that's blabbed about to others
Like, it wouldn't be the talk of the town we joined the cult People'd just think we're still mercenaries,

>>4133691

>This would be a lowkey position right?
> Not one that's blabbed about to others

correct, this isn't something that'll be announced. Unless you slip up and tell someone you shouldn't.

>Like, it wouldn't be the talk of the town we joined the cult People'd just think we're still mercenaries,

correct

>>4133697
Aight, that was my main concern.
Since that's dealt with, I have no objections to joining.

>>4133701
>>4132404
right then, 2 votes for, will be writing tomorrow.

>>4131747
Henry sat down and thought harder than he had in years. He really only had two options, as leaving outright would get him killed real fast. He either dawdled and delayed or went in full bore, and based on how much Ludvig wanted him to join, the deal was likely to sour as time went on. If he accepted now, he’d get a good amount of goodwill from Ludvig and likely the other members too, not the mention the amount of resources…

Henry continued to think about how his team would react. Charles had wanted it from the start, and he’d convinced Ophelia who’d convinced Alice and Larry. Johnny and Xavier would oppose, but Johnny didn’t have a say so that just left Xavier… Henry thought about it and figured he could afford to lose Xavier in the worst case if it came down to it, what he was gaining still outweighed it.

Johnny didn’t really have a say, nor would he get too emotional, though Henry expected he would have a talk with him. He didn’t look forwards to it.

“I’m in.” Henry said, after a much longer amount of time had passed then he’d been expecting.

“Marvelous, I knew you’d come around my boy!” Ludvig said, jumping up with more joy than someone his age should’ve been able to muster. He was almost like a boy waking up to go to the Two Sun festival.

“Excellent, I’ll prepare the internal paperwork. We will of course keep things confidential, but having a record will be useful in case you need to present proof.” Marcellus explained. “We’ve had issues in the past where people wouldn’t believe the Pinky was who he said he was.

“Though that likely won’t be a problem, I’m going to present you with a badge that will designate you as a Nail. You can use it to get anything you’d need from the Cult within reason or get assistance from those affiliated with us.” Ludvig explained.

“Right, thank you.” Henry said.

“You’ll essentially be registered as a Nail under Ludvig, he was the one who sponsored you to the council after all. However, this won’t be made common knowledge, your ability to conduct your work requires that the outside world doesn’t know your affiliation.” Marcellus explained.

>>4135198
“Essentially what you’ve been doing for me.” Ludvig cheerfully explained. “Oh I haven’t been this excited in a long time.”

Henry smiled but internally he was conflicted, it felt like he’d sold his soul away. He sighed, hopefully the rewards would more than make up for it.

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

Henry descended deeper and deeper into the headquarters. He wondered why the sea hadn’t flooded in, they were already so deep below ground. There were massive amounts of enchantments lining every single wall, and from what he could tell there were even more built into each and every chunk of stone. The chambers down this deep contained all sorts of secret projects, necromantic, enchantment projects, secret prototypes and more. But Ludvig had explained they weren’t here for any of that. They where here to speak with the Hand.

Henry had always thought the man was just a myth, few actually believed the so called leader of the Cult of Progress even existed. Then again nobody believed in the Lic’toron either.

Henry continued down the passage and began to shiver. There was a massive amount of mana gathered in the next room. If not for the various enchantments lining the walls, ceiling and floor, the mana signature would likely be visible for miles. He pressed on, which seemed to impress Marcellus. Ludvig already knew full well how capable Henry was, and didn’t reveal any further emotion.

At the end of the hallway, through a nicely made sea metal door, was a room with a large round table. Sitting at the far side, was a figure dressed in fine silks and sitting on a finely made chair. Flanking him were two very powerful looking undead dressed in full plate mail, each of which had casting ports for premade spells. Henry marveled at the two of them, the expense must have been massive. Creating premade spells for undead to use was rarely done due to the cost, and the fact that the spells could malfunction if the casting matrix was damaged. Yet nobody argued the effectiveness of an undead that could essentially cast magic.

However they paled in comparison to the seated figure. At first Henry thought it was a skeleton, but when Henry became aware of just how much mana it had, he realized exactly what he was.

>>4135201

A Lich. The hand of the Cult was a Lich, and a very old one based on just how much mana he had. In addition the Lich had a whole host of artifacts implanted into itself. Henry was at first panicked, then confused, the aura the Lich gave off was not what he’d been expecting. It wasn’t overwhelming in the same way that Abraxas’ was. It was more like… a kindly old man? There was some warmth in the room, which Henry couldn’t fathom.

“Ah, Henry, have a seat.” The figure said, “We have so much to discuss.”

“Who-“ Henry asked.

“Names for later, for the time being, we need to do something about your aura enchantment.” The figure explained. “We need to alter it so he can’t listen in.”

Decisions:
1. “Can someone explain what the fuck is going on?”
2. “What?!”
3. “You… you can remove it!?”
4. “I wasn’t expecting this…”
5. “Should’ve known.”
6. (write in)

>>4135205
wonder if you can guess the hand's colors, I'll be a bit spoilery and say he has 3, just like Henry, although his are a different mix

File: Spoiler Image (27 KB, 480x353)

27 KB JPG

>>4135205
>2. “What?!”
Wut

>>4135205
>2. “What?!”

And some flavour:
>What!? How do you know....

>>4135208
Interesting, I would assume he has black because undead, white because of the aura.... not sure of the third, mabye blue?

>>4135205
>Thank God

>>4135653
you actually got it correct

>>4135205
“What?!” Henry asked, backing until he banged his head against the door frame.

The Hand laughed, not a ghastly mocking tone, but a simple amused one.

“Never gets old seeing people do that, you know.” He explained.

Ludvig chuckled as well while Marcellus stayed quiet, observing Henry’s actions.

“What… how do you know…” Henry asked.

“Oh you’re smart enough to connect the dots I’m certain. Though I wonder how many dots?” The Hand said.

“You… you’re the leader… were you a member of…” Henry asked.

“The Lic’toron, yes. When I was still among the living. I left under similar circumstances as you, but I intend to get the last laugh.” The Hand explained. “From what I’ve seen of that curse around you, Abraxas’ learned his lesson, put a nasty curse on you in case you died, quite the incentive to make sure you don’t use undeath to escape the curse.”

“You.. ah…” Henry said.

The Hand had gotten free of his contract by dying. He must’ve made a contract with Abraxas, then died during the Lich process, and that would have nullified the contract.

“Oh you could believe he was furious. Still is. Demons will hold grudges longer than they can remember why. But its honestly ancient history, and as much as I enjoy talking about History… we need to discuss the present.”

“And that would be?”

“I can’t remove the curse on you, not without a lot of preparation… and I’d need to make sure we’d be able to handle the backlash. A spell from that demon would be very, very powerful. It’d probably take months of work to remove, maybe even years. However what I can do is make small alterations… change the fine print, essentially. Make it so he can’t track you or listen in.” The Hand explained.

“Really?” Henry asked.

“I actually designed the spell for that purpose.” Ludvig explained. “Always was good with that sort of stuff, probably why he keeps me around.”

“Oh Ludvig please, if that was the only reason then we wouldn’t have ever spoken.” The Hand said.

Decisions:
1. *go through with the curse altering*
2. *don’t go through with it.*
3. (write in)

>>4136970
>3. (write in)
Cry a little?

>>4136980
Stop it before it starts.
Then ask what alterations are they going to do?

>>4137008
Like what senses are he gonna block, and is it going to block them gradually, and would it also block the thoughts and feelings? What difference would we be expecting in the curse, hell, can they tell us about it anyway?

>>4137096
the ability of Abraxas to overhear your conversations, and his ability to know where you are. Basically it makes him unable to listen in or track you.

>>4137351
But what about our little tag-a-long?

>>4138850
... who?

> :^)

>>4136980
>>4137008
WRITIN

>>4138933
FIEND

>>4136970
The process went quicker than Henry could’ve expected. The Hand did exactly as he promised, a show of good faith as he called it. Henry couldn’t believe it but the mana essence of his curse was materialized and slightly changed, but that was like writing your name on the moon. Henry hadn’t even thought editing it was within anyone’s power. He’d been proven wrong, and that really did change everything.

> Henry’s curse has been edited, the curse remains in effect and thus the deal struck remains in effect. Regardless, someone isn’t happy.

Henry sighed after it was done, the process had taken about four hours, from what he could tell. Johnny had stayed close by the entire time, not saying a word, simply watching as the Hand worked. From what the Hand had said, he was even older than Johnny was, by a good deal. He’d seen Avignon when it was much younger and smaller. Henry asked some questions, got some answers, but nothing earth shattering.

The Hand had fostered the cities’ growth into a manufacturing powerhouse, all of his work finally bearing fruit in the last fifty years. Henry had the opportunity to be part of it, in the most key time. That was why he was being called on to stop the outbreak.

“The outbreak is not a normal one, or I’d leave it to the church to handle, it has a magical cause. Demonic in some way.” The hand explained. “It isn’t Abraxas, might be the Demonic Prince Hy’dri’ix, the Van Graf’s have gotten uppity since the angels lost their guiding light.” The Hand said.

“So you want me to figure out the source of the infection?” Henry asked.

“Correct, from what we can tell it’s causing madness in the population. Blindness, nightmares, and eventual death. So far the church has been containing it but I suspect its only a week or two from spiraling out of control. If that happens the city is crippled and our plans at best will be severely held back, and at worst may even be discovered by the church. They have been useful but they have no appreciation for the work we perform. They only see the negatives.”

“If only everyone could adopt a utilitarian approach.” Marcellus mused.

“Dogmatic beliefs are incredibly powerful; they motivate far more people than reason.” Ludvig added.

“So Henry, do you have anything you wish to ask me, before setting out on your task? I’ll answer a question, not about the plague, but about what I know. Another show of good faith.” The Hand explained.

Decisions: (choose one)
1. “I’ve heard Abraxas talk about the angel’s great betrayal, what did he mean?”
2. “Who are you, exactly?”
3. “What do you plan to do about the church?”
4. “What’s happening to the angels?”
5. “How can you avoid spies?”
6. “What is with all the sea metal in the construction of this place? I’ve never seen so much of it in one place.”
7. “Who made the tideshaper?”
8. (write in)

>>4139075
>1. “I’ve heard Abraxas talk about the angel’s great betrayal, what did he mean?”

>>4139075

>>4139356
Agreed, supporting

>>4139075
>Can you teach me triple mana spells or how to design my own?

This lich is cool and I'm no longer mad we became their lapdog.

>>4140403
Agreed

>>4139075
“I’ve heard Abraxas talk about the angel’s great betrayal, what did he mean?” Henry asked.

The Hand’s joviality was replaced with a blank feeling for a single moment before he shifted gears. He waved his hands and blue mana emerged, creating what looked to be a scene from a fairy tale, an illustration on a written page.

“Long ago, before my time even, there were five gods in this world, Henry. One for each color of mana, the demon’s god, their patron, was the god of black mana. His name was already lost by the time I came of age, but there were still remnants before the black desert. Then, suddenly, there was only one god, the god of the angels and the church. That damned eye, staring down at us all.

The storybook page shifted, revealing a much different world than the one Henry was familiar with. To the northeast, massive spires rose out of the ground, spewing super heated rock into the sky, dragon’s circled around and hooded figures mingled in massive stone cities. To the south of Avignon, a large chain of islands extended out of the sea, where four armed humanoids tended to a massive timepiece, surrounded by creatures that head the face of men but the bodies of lions, and the wings of birds. To the North, in the great jungle, an utterly massive tree extended from the canopy into the heavens. Every beast flocked around it, and Henry realized he was looking at the fae. To the east, the black desert, and at the end of it, a host of obsidian citadels, where demons held court.

“Yet, one day, for some reason even I do not know, this all ended. The islands sank, and the cursed place called the sea of eyes was born, where time flows strangely. Myths emerged from that place, where days flow backwards and the sun rises twice, the echo’s in the waves, perhaps the remain of the sphinxes. In the great jungle, the tree fell, and out of the rot the new fae emerged, all scared, and the roots became the hydra. The dragons still fly, but their cities have crumbled, and their minds have been lost. They’re little more than beasts, their god’s voice gone. The demons were the worst affected of all, their connection to this world has been severed, most require constant sacrifice to remain anchored, or a human host to reside in. They are all destabilizing the current world, which the church supports.”

The scene changed to a world Henry was much more familiar with.

“Now the Angel came out of this time, unscathed. I do not know what deal they went back on, history was already being erased at that time. But I know that this betrayal must have had something to do with it. The kingdom of man survived, and the angels asserted themselves at the top of it. The church… the church came later, after the last High Seraph disappeared.”

“What?!” Henry asked.

>>4140541
“Didn’t know that, did you. The current high Seraph was the old Seraph of dawn. After the last one vanished… she took her place. If you ask me, that wasn’t a coincidence.” The Hand explained.

“That…” Henry muttered.

“Demons are foul creatures Henry, at first, perhaps they only sacrificed for mere survival, but those days have long past. They’ve become twisted creatures, who enjoy tormenting humans, who they view as the angel’s puppets. I wish for a world in which man rules himself, no more gods or their attendants, and no more kings or rulers chosen by their hands.

Decisions:
1. (Write in)
2. (move on)
>the triple mana spell question shall be asked here regardless

>>4140543
>1. (Write in)
Look dumbfounded
Then
2. (move on)

>>4140549
will wait a bit longer then write

>>4140614
writing

>>4140541
Henry really didn’t know how to respond to the tale. It explained a few things but left a lot of things unexplained. From what the Hand was saying, the angels, dragons, fae, sphinxes, and demons had formed some sort of pact for some reason, which was then broken by the angels, and then their civilizations had collapsed.

“The only other information I know is that the angel of dusk was the one abstaining voice when the decision was made, its little wonder she was struck down, and her position remains empty.” The Hand said. “Though her absence makes our work go smoother, she’d be a hassle were the position filled once more. Sometimes the arrogance of those angels plays to our favor.”

Henry noticed as Johnny stepped away from the table, had something about what the Hand had said upset him? Johnny’d never really told Henry about his past, and it was one of those things Henry couldn’t force the skeleton to reveal, since it had to do with the underlying tenants of Johnny’s contract in the first place.

“So that is that, onto business. I want you and your team to go to magica to figure out what the source of this infection is, and if at all possible, to either find a way to stop it, or limit its spread. We cannot allow it to reach Avignon. In the meantime, be careful that Venser’s group doesn’t impede your movements. I have no doubt they’d utilize this plague to the fullest extent they can. They’ve already wreaked havoc in the past couple of weeks with the Del Mar fiasco. I’d spit on his entire family if I could.” The Hand explained.

“Venser is using the plague? That doesn’t really sound like the man.” Henry said.

“Ha, whatever you believe about that paladin, I’d recommend rethinking it. He’s shown over the last couple of years that he has hate for us all the way down to the bone. I think he’s been planning this whole affair for quite a while. I’ve actually asked Marcellus to look into this matter but as of yet little has turned up. Its like the man appeared of the ether with knowledge of our operations.” The Hand explained. “His backstory is a forgery too. I imagine there has never been an actual Venser. Though why a man of his talent has never appeared before is odd.”

“What?” Henry muttered.

“You heard right, I’ve personally looked at the census reports from Magica with a fine toothed comb, he was never born there. In fact, I’ve looked at every relevant document from every town in the Avignon, Durkip, Glensung, Hapnor, and Ebainsheen provinces, it’s like the man never existed. I have no idea how he managed to join the paladins, but they’ve repeatedly refused to share their records. Had our contractor’s job gone adequately we would’ve handed her the task of acquiring those records. We’ll have to find someone else.” Marcellus explained.

>>4140896
“Regardless, I suspect that Venser’s group will continue to harass you during this upcoming task, and they may even be the reason the plague started, though I doubt they’d have the resources or the knowledge of the demonic arts to be able to.” Ludvig explained.

“One last thing, Henry. If you manage to kill Venser, I want his corpse.” The Hand explained. “I want to make an example of him, to one day show to the entire world. If you do that for me, you will have a very bright future.” The Hand explained. “Just be cautious, your predecessor certaintly wasn’t.”

Henry nodded.

“You have full support from the Cult of Progress, and our affiliates.” Ludvig explained, sliding Henry a golden badge with the Cult’s logo on it. “That there is a Nails’ badge, nobody except for a Nail, or one of us, can refuse an order from you. Don’t make me regret giving it to you.” Ludvig continued.

>Acquired, Cult of Progress: Nail’s Authority Badge(allows you to command cult of progress members ranking below a Nail)

“Of course, if you prefer you do not need to use it, or even keep contact with the local offices. Results are all we care about here.” The Hand continued.

>time to ask questions, I’d recommend asking a lot
(write in)

>>4140901
>(write in)
Should we tell him that he's escaped similarly to something like us?
We told him a code word and he flipped thinking it was a group from his past that has came after him?

>>4142213
you can

Huh, did Johnny kill the angel of dusk? No wonder he hates himself if he's partly responsible for the state of the world.

I'll think of some questions to ask when I get home

due to the lack of relevant case related questions, i'll be having Henry ask a couple and any additional will need to be asked later on.

>>4142688
Sorry buddy, can't post from work.

>>4140901
I'd like to have a list of cult members considered vital and/or relevant to our mission, and recommendations of who to seek out for what information and services. Who supplies corpses, who's the best smuggler, who's the guy with all the illegal toys and who is handling expendable recruits? Who can disappear people and who's the go-to guy to cover up activity? They can't expect Henry to be their pet criminal and expect him to build up a network that should already be in place... right?

Tell the Lich about that fae creature we didn't kill, the lady something. Is it known to him and if not, can the cult spare personnel to investigate it? What's his take on the fae's disposition in this upcoming conflict?

He wants us to locate the vectors and stop the infection (honestly I've forgotten what it is... a disease?) with "our" (the cult's) methods. Which methods are these? Is the cult providing us with anything in particular or is Henry just supposed to sneak in, fix everything then take credit and tell everyone that he works for the cult?

They want Henry to make use of criminal avenues but does he have contacts in Magica? They must provide us with at least a foot in. We'll need information of the known bad guys and their disposition towards the cult should they find out, or if Henry tells them who he works for. Is any criminal person or organisation profiting from the situation and are they likely to hinder his efforts?

Is the inquisition involved in Magica, how heavily and do they have dossiers on the inquisitors that are present, if any? Any notable priests or cathars?

You didn't bring up the triple mana question by the way.

>>4142885
>>4142571
writing

>>4140901
“I’d like to have a list of cult members who are vital and relevant to the mission, and recommendation on who to seek out if I need something.” Henry inquired.

“That would probably be Marko Rire.” Ludvig explained. “He’s the head of our Magica branch and oversees operations there. If you need something, chances are he’d know who to ask.”

“And as for Corpse suppliers… since Nirdec was taken out the market’s cratered. The small regional markets aren’t cutting it.” Henry said.

“We can supply you, though we’d need to ensure they weren’t wasted. We have de facto control of the corpse trade in Avignon province, now that the church cleaned the caverns out.”

“Nasty bit of work, but it did show how useful scar gas was. The undead are completely unaffected by it. I’d imagine the cavern is still swarming with them.” Ludvig mused.

“Don’t actually set foot inside, you’d be dead in minutes if you hit a gas pocket.” Marcellus explained. “We are working on masks to prevent immediate death but the filters have been slow going. I would’ve had field trials begun in Magica if the disease was nonmagical in origin.”

“So it would prevent infection of the lungs?” Henry asked.

“We believe so, no way to know for sure unless we tested it. Unlike the church we don’t offer guarantees until we can prove something. Not exactly what the public wants to hear though.” Marcellus responded.

“As for smuggling of goods. I can recommend you several suppliers but if you get caught by the church we can’t offer you support on that avenue. The corpse trade is hard enough to keep secret, even with our friends in the church.” The Hand explained. “I’ve tried to change the church’s doctrine on corpses but some things stay the same. Although we’ve managed to utilize the last couple of plagues to make mass graves more prevalent.” The Hand explained.

“The bodies are cleaned of course.” Ludvig continued.

Henry considered telling the Hand about his fae contact, but decided to hold off, it wasn’t relevant, and it was better to keep some cards close to his chest for the time being.

“The infection is not person to person, which has made containing it a nightmare. From what we can tell it affects the less magically inclined far more. Which has led to rumors that we of all people have caused it. The Ring is attempting to suppress such rumors and we’ve begun offering aid to do the same. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if riots break out targeting our members if things get much worse, so be careful. Lot of frightened sheep in Magica right now.” Marcellus said.

“Like we said before we have reason to believe that it’s demonic in origin. Affected persons suffer from blindness, horrid nightmares that prevent them from sleeping, are liable to self harm, and can even suffer from psychotic visions once their sanity has run down enough. No reports of mage’s being affected which also leads us to believe its spellborne. Based on this we felt it was safe sending you out to handle this. Are any members of your team at risk?”

“No, shouldn’t be an issue.” Henry said. Everyone had quite a bit of talent with spellcasting, Johnny was immune, Xavier and Alice might be immune, and Ophelia wouldn’t have any issues. Larry had a good six or seven red mana and that was the lowest mana amount of anyone.

Decisions: (ask further questions)
1. (write in)
2. *continue*

>>4143727
>1. (write in)
Since the disease is magical in nature, what's it main mana?

>>4143727
>>4143806
>there were 3 posts with this, but one got deleted somehow, I don’t know why. I’ll try my best to post all the lost stuff.

“What kind of mana is the disease comprised of?” Henry asked.

“Best we can tell its mainly black with some red mana admixture. This is odd because this isn’t the sort of mana you’d expect those allied with Venser to utilize. It’s what made us think it was Van Graf activity, although their magic generally uses green mana instead of red.” Ludvig explained.

“I can utilize my black market and underground info contacts for this but I don’t want them to know I’m working with you. It’d be bad for my life expectancy.” Henry explained

“Again, results matter more than methods here.” The Hand said.

“Currently the town of Magica is locked down, no foot travel in or out until the Two Sun festival. We’re trying to get that shut down as well, but the Ring can only do so much. We don’t believe that the disease is spread from person to person, but we haven’t proved it yet. You’ll be traveling through the one remaining entrance, the ports. You’ll be on an relief barge with Church healers and Cathars sent to maintain order, we tried to send in our own ship but were blocked by red tape. No inquisitors on board of course. In fact, the order is still treating this as a regular infection, meaning you should be able to operate free from their presence.” Ludvig explained.

“Not entirely true, there have been reported sightings of one inquisitor, an older woman. The Inquistion has told the church she isn’t one of theirs but I’m not so certain, they might think we’re behind this, the population certainly does.” Marcellus explained.

“You have the full support of all Cult of Progress branches, and that badge Ludvig handed to you will ensure they make good on it. Marko will be made aware of the important of your task but not your position, and I’d ensure you take specific requests to him. We can supply personnel, equipment, and expertise to you, though due to the scrutiny we’ve been placed under we can only provide legal services and corpse trading, nothing too illegal.” The Hand explained. “Hopefully soon that won’t be an issue anymore in this city.”

“Where did this even start?” Henry asked.

>>4143852
“Magica General Hospital recorded the first case, a factory worker suffering from nightmares and visions. He died three days later from lack of sleep. The church has managed to break the curse on several people, who’ve fully recovered, but breaking the curse takes time we don’t have. We’re approaching the point where the church won’t be able to successfully contain the crisis on its own. Hence why they’re desperately shipping in personnel.” Marcellus explained.

“That hospital has given us so much trouble over the years, its kind of funny.” The Hand added.

“The Marlow black market has remained open by the way. Not really something I frequent but it might be of some use to you. I’m sure you know the way.” Ludvig cheerfully explained.

“If I was in charge Magica would’ve been locked down three days ago.” Marcellus grumbled.

“Not with the mayoral election, the commons have gotten so rowdy that the candidates think they can strong arm us.” Ludvig rumbled. “

Decisions:
1. “Alright, I’ll head home and prepare, I believe we can be ready by tonight at the earliest.”
2. (ask final questions)

>>4143853
>2. (ask final questions)
Do you know how the church broke the curse disease?

>>4143853
“How did the church break the curse in the cured patients?” Henry asked.

“Unsure, apparently an unusually talented healer managed to crack it. The issue is it takes a good deal of resources and prep time to accomplish. The church is attempting to make a magic circle for mass casting, but the complexity of the procedure is proving too great a hindrance. We’ve supplied our own mages to try and help but it seems there is some bad blood between us and the healers. We’re trying to work things out but its eating up valuable time.” Ludvig explained.

“I believe that is everything.” Henry said, sitting up in his chair.

“Of course, I expect you to report back to us as things progress, you can send the reports to Marko and he’ll forward them to us. Use leven wax to make sure nobody takes a peek at the contents of the reports, please.” Ludvig explained.

“Of course, I’m not an ametuer.” Henry explained.

“Exactly, its why we brought you on board. You can see yourself out.” The Hand said. “I have a few things I need to discuss with your fellow council members.” He continued.

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

Henry checked the supplies once more, he’d gotten the group together to pack food, paper, medical supplies, and everything else they’d need for the evening. It had been hectic and there had been a good deal of complaining, but things had finally gotten together.

Henry knew he was going to bring along Charles, Johnny, and Larry. But the remainder of the group was less certain. Of course he wouldn’t bring Mark or Nina along for the time being, as they’d be of little use. This left Xavier, Ophelia, and Alice. Each of whom had their own quirks.

Decisions:
1. bring Xavier
2. Bring Ophelia
3. Bring Alice
4. final prep? (write in)

>>4143891
>1. bring Xavier
>2. Bring Ophelia
4. final prep? (write in)
We need some bomb runes, rope, extra daggers, extra alcohol, some magical wards, too bad we can't bring tocky, and some MORE bomb runes.

>>4143904
you could bring Ticky along if you disassembled him. He's not animated yet so he's just a hunk of metal to the church.

>>4142885
> You didn't bring up the triple mana question by the way.

Assume the Ludvig offered to tutor you, sorry about that.

>>4143912
aSSUME WE TOOK HIM UP ON THE OFFER.

>>4144893
done

writing

>>4143891
Henry looked over the disassembled Ticky parts, the mk2 was built to be more easily repaired and refurnished, and even upgraded if they could manage it, that meant Ophelia had to design every part to be broken down. It had seriously delayed the construction but the ease at which they were able to take it apart was frankly frightening. If they could make it so they could do that without the bound soul escaping, then they’d have something very very powerful. If they could make a lot then they’d have a bound army. Henry wondered if Ophelia even realized what they were making.

The group convened and decided to leave Alice behind to hold down the fort and watch over the children. Henry wasn’t sure if he could trust her yet, but knew that she cared about the children even if she hid it, and would stay put since the church would hang her. They had enough food for two weeks, and more could be bought if they needed it. Alice had decided to work on some more illusionary runes for Mark and Nina, as both had wanted to travel to their families to at least look at them again.

The trip down to the boat was uneventful. Henry had procured an ox from the Cult of progress and a couple of carts which rode far smoother than anything Henry had used before. Ophelia had gone off about the “shock absorbers” which Larry translated to “things that make the ride less bumpy.”. Charles had finally enjoyed a cart ride for once. The boy had explained he hated them normally.

The boat was a massive vessel, far larger than the boat Grandpa Fisher commanded. All along the deck were tons of priests, cathar’s, and healers. The Healers seemed to be in command of it all, with a couple old woman wearing very pointy hats ordering around their youngers. Henry flashed his badge and with an annoyed grunt the two Cathar’s standing guard waved him through. He got the sense they weren’t exactly welcome there.

The wait on the boat passed uneventfully. The only bit of excitement was when Ophelia threatened to stab a healer who tried to peak into the crates containing Ticky. Ophelia did not want ANYONE from the church to so much as touch her greatest work. Henry wondered if she’d start treating the damned thing as a child and poked fun at her for a bit. The woman responded by fuming about it to Larry, who only half payed attention.

Decisions:
1. *talk to someone* (write in and pick a character to speak to)
2. *read one of the books you looted from the castle* (write in)
3. *take a nap*
4. *go fishing while the boat is anchored*
5. (write in)

>>4145026
>>>>>>>>>>too bad we can't bring tocky
Cause it's A STUPID IDEA
>2. *read one of the books you looted from the castle* (write in)
“Increasing the potency of undead via black mana crafts.” But BUT NOT WHERE THE HEALERS AND PRIESTS CAN CATCH US

>>4145035
should've said that.

roll 1d100 to read the book (crit fail will not alert the church)

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>4145067
>should've said that.
Yeah, I should have

>>4145071
will begin writing soon.

>>4145026
Henry found a quiet spot on the boat and sat down to read. He’d managed to pilfer several books from the Van Graf library and hadn’t found the time to read them, what with having to manage his gaggle of morons. Still, he had to be careful. Most Cathars could read, and the Healers were required to know how. Not to mention the priests. So he kept his back towards the ocean as he read. By the time he’d finished the boat had already left port, and Henry had been given plenty of new ideas on how to better utilize undead.

>NEW SPELL ACQUIRED

Haze of Undeath (enchantment): All undead creatures under your command become far more aggressive and benefit from increased attack power until the end of combat, or the enchantment is broken or removed. (costs 3 black mana to cast, will be applied to caster.)


The trip over to Magica took around thirty minutes, as it was just across the bay. Henry watched as smoke rose from the city itself. Asking some of the Priests revealed that devil activity had started to increase due to the panic and fear beginning to flow through the city. Which made sense, the things were attracted to bad emotion like flies to shit.

A devil was like taking a demon, removing most of their intelligence, and all of their long term thinking. The little gremlins cause a ton of property damage and exploded into fire when they died, a nasty combination for a city with a lot to burn in it. The Gold Hand mage guild had been called in to provide hydromancers to combat fires, and they’d so far managed to suppress the activity. Henry sighed, he really hoped there wasn’t a demon causing this.

The ship sailed into port without incident and Henry and his group unloaded the cargo and pooled around the docks.

Decisions:
1. *head with your group to the cult of progress branch, that will be your headquarters for the time being*
2. *head to the Magica General Hospital to see if you can get any questions answered.*
3. *head to the black market*
4. *head to the central guard station for Magica, to ask questions and get a handle on how the quarantine is going.*
5. (write in)

>>4145795
>1. *head with your group to the cult of progress branch, that will be your headquarters for the time being*
Set up our base of operations first.

>>4146339
rodger

>>4143891
The trip to the cult of progress Magica branch was a lot more unsettling than Henry had expected. The streets were nearly emptied due to the quarantine and many different roadblocks had been set up that they had to deal with. There weren’t people dying in the streets, yet, but things were fairly tense. The doom and gloom continued when they reached the cult of progress headquarters, with a small group of protesters chanting slogans about how the cult was behind this, and a smaller group of Cathar’s breaking them up.

The inside was much calmer, though no less in disarray. Once’ Henry had got them through the gates they were presented with a grand stone building overlooking a large walled in courtyard, surrounded with smaller buildings made of timber and brick, and swarming with all sorts of workers. Henry found the man in charge of the area and was guided to an empty building had a warehouse connected to it. In all honesty the place was far nicer than their own warehouse, and far better furnished, going off of the alcohol selection alone. He wondered how they’d known.

Larry, Johnny, and Xavier began to unpack, Xavier taking off the heavy clothing he’d had to wear to avoid the sun. Inside the warehouse was quite dark, which suited the vampire fine. It was kind of odd to say he was uncomfortable; Henry knew the man didn’t sweat in there and wasn’t going to be harmed by such low heat.

Charles followed Henry around, seeing to it that their reagents and other magical components had survived the short trip, then set about setting up and organizing them. During this time Henry considered what he would need to do. He’d already had a message run to Marko when they’d gotten through the gate, so the man in charge knew they were here. He didn’t really need to bother the man unless he needed something, whether it be information or supplies. Henry glanced over at Ophelia happily reassembling Ticky in their workshop and sighed. He’d probably have to get the damned thing up and running at some point.

>HQ established, this building contains enough sleeping quarters for everyone, a functional kitchen and laundry area, fully functional bathrooms, a large amount of storage space, and work areas for both magical and tech work.

Decisions:
1. *talk to Marko to get more on the ground info, if needed*
2. *head to Magica’ General Hospital*
3. *head to the factory where the patient zero fell ill*
4. (write in)

>>4146527
>1. *talk to Marko to get more on the ground info, if needed*
Should ask how it's spread, and do we need any documentation to wander around.

>>4146527
Henry stretched for a couple moments, rolling his shoulders to get the kinks out of it, before heading off to Marko’s office with Charles in tow. He wanted another pair of eyes and ears, and Johnny was busy with the unpacking. So, for the time being, it’d just be the two of them solving a case in a town. He felt oddly nostalgic.

Marko’s office was located at the top floor of the main building, which had a lift that the receptionist had called an elevator. Henry was more than a little bit spooked by the thing, but Charles was enthralled. The sensation of careful ascent was an odd one.

The fifth floor was where the duo found themselves, speaking with Marko in his lavishly decorated office. Fine wood and a fancy star chart set on a marble podium. Henry wondered if he used the observatory located on the roof of the building.

“So you wanted to speak with me, Henry?” Marko asked. “I had received word from Marcellus that’d you’d be working on this matter, I’m happy to see such a fast response from the Fingers on this matter.”

“Yes, I wanted to know exactly how this virus has been spreading.”

“Right, it doesn’t seem to be from person to person. In fact it seems to be affecting certain industrial areas in the city. We of course suspected poison or industrial waste but we ruled poison out and we haven’t changed our production methods in any of our factories. We’re still communicating with independent owners, but all signs point to no on that end so far. The word from the church has been much the same. What we do know is that magic users so far have been unaffected, those with even moderate amounts of mana ability seem to be safe. Which has allowed the church to maintain control for this long. As of now we still have no idea how the affliction is being spread amongst people, or if there is some caster causing this. If so I’d imagine there would be nexus distribution points, where he’d set up circles or something similar, yet we haven’t found anything of the sort, and both the Cult and the Church have looked extensively. Whoever, or whatever, is doing this has a good understanding of how the church handles a plague, and is keeping things slow burning enough to prevent the inquisition from getting involved, not that we really mind.”

“So you’re saying this was created by someone?” Henry asked.

“Exactly, there is no way this was natural, or gheist caused.” Marko replied. “I imagine a demon or fae creature could’ve caused this, but it seems to haphazard and the curse is rough, which ironically enough makes its harder to cure as it affects everyone a bit differently. I imagine whoever made it isn’t exactly sane, based on what some of our own researchers have observed. Thus, due to lack of any other evidence, we’ve concluded that it is some sort of spellborne curse spread by a central source, rather than from person to person.” Marko explained.

>>4146640
“So it’s not even a real plague then.” Henry said.

“No, but it gives the church a reason to enact quarantine and keep the city under control. Which they have been using.” Marko explained. “I say we have another week and a half before things begin to spiral out of control. We need to find the source of this Henry, or we’re all in a great deal of trouble.”

“Will I have any trouble getting around the city?” Henry asked.

“Only the worst affected workers residential areas. Otherwise the city is more or less functioning as normal, for now. There have been a few cases outside of those areas, which again leads us to believe this is sabotage. Be careful to keep your magical ability private from the citizens as they will panic if you aren’t with the church. I don’t think they’ll stoop to violence yet but they may become less cooperative if they discover you’re a mage. Honestly it’s a bit baffling, any of them could learn magic if they put the time in, but fearful people don’t always behave rationally.” Marko said, sighing and rubbing his temples.

“Will I need any documentation?” Henry asked.

“Your badge will be enough, more than enough, to get around the city. You’ll need permission from the church to get into the quarantined areas though, or into any of the holy grounds. I believe Magica General Hospital is still open to the public, so you might be able to meet with administration there, I don’t really know anyone in that place, its church run mainly, has been since this city was founded.” Marko explained.

Decisions:
1. *thank the man and head out*
2. *ask Charles what he thinks*
3. “Do you have mage rooms located on site?”
4. “How have operations here been impacted so far?”
5. (write in)

>>4146644
>5. (write in)
If there's no other choice, would destroying the district be something that's up for discussion?

>>4146646
And
>"Can it spread via animals?"

>>4146694
>>4146646
writing

>>4146644
“Can this affliction spread via animals?” Henry asked.

“Uncertain as of now, but the church has already begun purging excess livestock and bringing in more rat catchers, out of towners and those affiliated with the church and with our group. We’re fairly certain it isn’t spreading through the animals though, would’ve been nice to know that a week ago before all of that money was squandered. We’ve been affected too. The only group that hasn’t is the Rider’s guild, bastards get to keep their damned horses.

“If there’s no other choice, would destroying the affected districts be something that’s up for discussion.” Henry asked.

Marko stopped what he was doing for a bit and looked Henry in the eye, when Henry didn’t falter, he nervously fidgeted. “I… I hope not. This hasn’t even been up for discussion yet Henry. We’re not nearly that far along and I really don’t want to consider what would have to happen.” Marko explained. “I may be a bit out of line by saying this but they do have families god damn it. Purging the district would mean the workers AND their families would die. The thing has already begun spreading to other parts of Magica, we’d probably have to… to purge a good deal of the city if it came down to it. We’d likely hand it over to the inquisition. God forbid.” Marko explained.

“You aren’t willing to do what’s necessary then.” Charles said, more than a bit annoyed.

“That’s why you pray, son, you pray so that it doesn’t become necessary.” Marko explained. “It won’t be my decision to make, either, it will be the Church’s. Sometimes I feel they’re lucky that they know god is on their side, right?” Marko explained. “N-not to say I don’t believe in our own mission, of course.” He explained.

“Charles, it’s our job to make sure that a purge doesn’t become necessary.” Henry explained.

Decisions:
1. *thank the man and head out*
2. (write in)

>>4146713
>1. *thank the man and head out*
>2. (write in)
"I'll be heading to the factory where it started, is there anything I need to know about the area?"

>>4146713
“Thanks for the help. I did have one final question, how safe is this headquarters?” Henry asked.

“Well, the boy’s in engineering got the pylons set up so we won’t have to worry about gheists as long as the whale oil keeps flowing in. As for daytime threats, I guess you didn’t notice the gargoyles.” Marko said.

“Ah, right.” Henry said, noticing a large stone gargoyle sitting outside Marko’s window.

Things were real nasty to fight if you didn’t have any red mana magic. Though they were far more expensive to produce than Ticky had been. Far, far more expensive.

“I’m going to be heading to the factory where this started, is anything I should know about the area?” Henry asked.

“Yes, the factory is shut down, only a couple guards left to make sure nobody breaks in and tries to steal or vandalize anything, show them your badge and they’ll let you right in. As for the surrounding worker’s areas, it’s a ghost town now. Lot of people have gotten sick and have either died or ended up in Magica General Hospital or one of the aid camps set up in Gerrymander’s and Louquet’s squares. You’ll need church permission and a church escort to be able to go into those areas. We’ve tried to have that waived for our people, but the bishop wouldn’t have it. Only those who are repairing critical infrastructure are allowed in, none of our other affiliates are. I know that the Ratcatcher’s guild has been able to get the restriction waived, so you might be able to, eh, grease the wheels, as it were. Just don’t tell them I said that.” Marko explained, rubbing his fingers together at the last part to indicate coin.

So his choices were either the church or bribing someone, Ratcatcher’s guild or otherwise.

As they left the office Charles piped up. “Why would they have a guild for just catching rats? You’d think it wouldn’t be able to find enough members.”

“They’re established in a bunch of key cities, they handle pest control in general, beasties the church wouldn’t really care about.” Henry explained.

Decisions:
1. *Head back to headquarters for more planning*
2. *head to the factory where patient zero worked*
3. *head to the Ratcatcher’s guild HQ*
4. *head to the mayor’s office.*
5. *head to the central church administration building for Magica, which is right across the street from the mayor’s office*
6. *Head to Magica General Hospital*

Optional Decisions:
1. *pick party members to bring with you, assign party members other tasks, or allow them to take a rest* (write in)

>>4148381
>1. *Head back to headquarters for more planning*

>>4148481
Can you list what you'd like to plan for?

>>4148494
Wish to grab Ophelia so she can try scrying the source of the disease, then we can go to the sickhouse and try directly scrying the disease as it's affecting someone, then we're gonna go to the frickin "library" and see if there's any catacombes near where the primary infection area.

>>4149418
what do you mean by library? The Cult's hq?

>>4149603
Looking for old building plans and city plans or anything that lets us know if there's an underground area there.

>>4150488
where exactly? the town hall?

>>4150941
Trying to find out if there's any forgotten underground area near where the disease first appeared. Just seeing if it's something seeping from under ground.

>>4148381
Henry swung by the hq one last time to get everyone up to speed and to lay out roles for everyone for the first day. Xavier and Larry would hold down the fort and get and idea of how things were in town, and around the city. Xavier was specifically tasked with figuring out whether the affliction was affecting vampires. Vampires, being undead, were usually not affected by plague, but this wasn’t a common sort of thing. Xavier was technically a sire of House Skalitz and thus he’d be able to speak to lower ranking rank and file, and the cast off dregs. Xavier repeatedly told Henry he hated the idea, but Henry insisted, saying that it would give them a picture of the issue the church couldn’t get and that it was possible the disease was caused by vampires. Xavier agreed upon hearing that last part, though he still didn’t like it.

Ophelia was given the task of sticking by Henry and journeying out to the factory where the affliction initially took place. Johnny would escort them as a “hired guard” covered in plate armor he’d been given by the cult of progress; he certainly looked the part. Henry on the other hand would stick to civilian clothing, marking him as middle class, nothing more. He didn’t want to draw too much attention, and dressing as a clerk, a man investigating deaths on behalf of a third party, would be the best sort of cover. Ophelia didn’t really care what she wore, so she’d play the part of Henry’s ‘wife’ as their cover. For some reason this made Larry a bit annoyed. Henry wondered just how much closer the two of them had gotten in recent weeks.

Charles would come along as backup, raising and controlling a couple of dead birds to give them support. The conveyance runes had finally gone past the prototyping phase and they had working units. Ophelia had been teaching both of them a sort of language she’d cobbled together, beeps and dashes for long and short pulses. Henry and Charles weren’t able to memorize it on first sight, so they’d have to stick to short words or phrases. Luckily, codewords were something Henry had a LOT of familiarity with.

They had two places they needed to go to, then. First of all, town hall, to look at city plans to see what sort of underground structures may have existed under the factory to allow for infection. They’d have to figure out a way to get the records, whether merely setting up an appointment, sneaking in, or smashing and grabbing. Henry would figure that out as he went.

Then there was the factory to investigate. Mainly, exploring the factory for clues, and interrogating colleagues and perhaps the workers family. Again, they’d have to play it by ear.

Decisions: (current party: Ophelia, Charles, Johnny)
1. *head to town hall to check the blueprints it keeps on file*
2. *head to the factory to investigate it*
3. (write in)

>>4152277
>2. *head to the factory to investigate it*

>>4152319
writing

>>4152277
Henry and co. headed over to the Malton Tinnery and inspected the surrounding area. Henry managed to find Charles a nice roof to perch on, and after shoving a crowbar into a door handle, ensured that nobody would be bothering him. Charles began his watch, raising two undead crows, one of which sat nearby idly while the other flew overhead. Henry was near certain that the crows wouldn’t be spotted by any angel, and even so they likely had more important things to do than to track someone down for petty necromancy. Not like they’d actually find Charles in such a large city. He’d given the kid instructions to book it if an angel spotted him, of course.

The factory gate had a small guard outpost where a bored looking man in a gray company uniform, wearing a small gray cap sat. He was thumbing through a newspaper that was dated two days ago, and he looked like he hadn’t slept well in a while.

The factory was a rather large building, three stories high and with quite the footprint on the city. Its smokestacks no longer belching out smoke, and it was no longer producing tinned goods. Henry idly wondered if Yorkshire Proper iron was used in its cans.

Ophelia wondered out loud about what the factory’s layout would be, but Henry told her to can it. Johnny chuckled at the unintentional joke, which earned him a mean glare from Henry.

The place was surrounded by a brick wall, topped by a wrought iron fence with pointy bits. Henry figured he could leap over it, if he absolutely needed to, but worried he’d end up spilling more blood than he intended.

Decisions:
1. *head up front and use your badge to gain entrance to the building* (use item: Nail badge, cult of progress)
2. *try to talk your way into the building, the guard doesn’t look like too much of a challenge.*
3. *have Ophelia cast a sleep spell on the guard*
4. (write in)

>>4152348
>2. *try to talk your way into the building, the guard doesn’t look like too much of a challenge.*

>>4152351
roll 1d100, you need to roll a 20 or higher.

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>4152366

>>4152368
pass, writing

>>4152348
Henry walked up to the guard booth and tapped on the glass a couple of times. The guard looked up after the fourth or fifth tap with a slightly glazed over expression. Henry wondered if he’d been indulging in opium or something similar before getting on shift.

“Yes hello?” Henry asked.

“What do you want?” The guard asked.

“I was asked on behalf of the widow of a worker to retrieve an item he left behind here. May I proceed?” Henry asked.

“So she couldn’t come out hereself?” The guard asked. “Cause I’d have to have you sign a sheet to show you were here, and show some sort of proof you are who you say.”

“Look mate, the poor woman is on her death bed, she came down with whatever the hell affected her poor husband and she just wants to have the locket she gave him before she passes, okay?” Henry asked.

“Right, fine, not like I fucking care.” The guard said. “Just don’t break anything or I’ll fucking clobber yer head in, alright? Who is the broad?”

“My wife.” Henry said, lying.

“And the armored bloke?” The guard asked.

“Well, we hired a bit of protection. What with the city being how it is.” Henry explained.

“Hrm, city’s going to fucking pot already is it? Fuck if I know being stuck in this damned booth all day, alright head inside, but really, don’t break anything or I will actually murder you.” The guard continued.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Henry said. He wished he could break the man’s nose.

>>4152413
Henry and co. strolled inside. Henry flashed a thumbs up to the undead crow circling overhead, and the trio entered into the factory. The inside was dim, with the light runes in the ceiling being turned off. Henry attempted to find a light switch to no avail, when Ophelia of all people pulled a couple light runes out of a bag she’d brought along and handed them out. Johnny thanked her while Henry was too baffled by the woman actually coming in handy during an excursion.

“Well I always carry these around now, for reading. So much more practical than an oil lamp.” Ophelia explained.

Henry took his time to have a look around. The factory was too close to the ocean to actually have a basement floors, and the upper floors were mainly a mess of catwalks that overlooked machinery and allowed access to the roof and the smokestacks. The only prominent “rooms” if they could be described as such, were a small locker room for the workers, and a foreman’s office. The outside contained a few picnic tables arranged around a dead tree, likely where the workers ate during their break.

There were several factory lines containing empty cans, Henry had a look and noticed the things had even been labeled using some sort of etching machine. Ophelia explained, rather gleefully, that the machine would heat up and then press into the cans to brand their lids. There was another machine that would add labels to the cans as well, although it seemed a tad extravagant to Henry.

Decisions:
1. *inspect the worker’s lockers for evidence*
2. *inspect the machinery for signs of sabotage*
3. *have Ophelia cast a spell* (write in)
4. *check the foreman’s office*
5. (write in)

>>4152432
>4. *check the foreman’s office*
Then
3. *have Ophelia cast a spell* (write in)
Scry

>>4152434
alright, I assume you want her to scry for traces of a curse spell

roll 1d100 for Ophelia

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>4152487
Here we go

>>4152940
purdy low, anyone else wanna give it a shot?

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>4152487

>>4153518
right, well, expect something good

>>4153916
Nice

>>4153922
>>4153916
>>4152940
writing

>>4152432
“Ophelia, scry around, see if you can detect any aetheric residue for curses. Anything you can find, really.” Henry instructed.

“On it.” Ophelia said, laying out some powder on the ground and setting up shop.

“Make sure you sweep that up when we’re done.” Johnny said. “Can’t go about leaving a mess.”

Henry tried to enter the foreman’s office, only to find the place locked. Luckily, he’d thought ahead, and pulled out a pair of lockpicking tools and set to work while Ophelia toiled away. Johnny stood watch as Henry popped the lock and casually strolled into the office. He began leafing over the various papers left on the desk and noticed that the factory had been shut down a week prior. Seems they’d burned through their workers.

An unsealed letter was left on the desk as well, leafing through it, Henry discovered it was written to a wife of one of the workers.

“Dear Mrs. Branstead, I’d like to offer my condolences for the injury your husband sustained during the course of work. However, I needn’t remind you that it was determined to be due to his own fault and lack of care that his arm was caught inside the canning machine. His later bouts of insanity only further compound the nature of his injury as due to mental infirmity. However, the company will issue you a severance check of…”

Henry turned down the letter and sighed, at least he had a name now. Henry opened the door and noticed several more letters, all unsealed. Seems they’d had a spate of workplaces injuries as the disease picked up. Of all of them, the one to Mrs. Branstead was dated earliest, two weeks prior.

Henry had a lead, now.

He continued to rifle over the remaining papers and didn’t find much else of interest, except for a invoices for a new canning machine.

Ophelia on the other hand leapt up and began inspecting a few of the machines, rifling through their internals and pulling out several runes from one of them, while tracing her hands around the upper floors and murmuring to herself about prototypes and shoddy work.

>>4154063
“What’s gotten into her now?” Henry asked, annoyed.

“She’s found something or other, give her a minute.” Johnny replied.

“This location has been cursed.” Ophelia said. “The perpetrator didn’t use a circle to do it, they used these runes to link it together slapdash. Nobody figured to look because I don’t think they’d suspect such a thing. Had to be a half decent mage.”

“Half decent?” Henry asked.

“Work’s shoddy, rushed. Like he wasn’t sure what he was doing.” Ophelia said.

“So you’re saying that it was sabotage?” Henry asked.

“No, if he wanted to destroy the factory there are far better spells or runes to use. Whoever did this wanted to curse a lot of people, the whole rune network is a tangled mess, I can’t believe any of the healers were able to pull it apart after it had set in.” Ophelia said.

“Are we at any risk?” Johnny asked.

“No, the runes are all dry. Bunch of illusion and affliction runes mainly. Honestly it seems more like a prototype than anything else, whoever did this probably used this as a dry run before setting up bigger curse rune networks.” Ophelia said.

“Brazen.” Johnny muttered.

“Yeah, how the fuck hasn’t the church cottoned on yet?” Henry asked.

“Maybe the owner tried to downplay it. Wouldn’t be the first time a factory owner cared more for coin than for flesh and blood.” Johnny said.

Decisions:
1. *search the upper levels*
2. *ask Ophelia to see if she can land a trace spell*
3. *head back to the guard booth to ask more questions*
4. *write in*

>>4154066
>4. *write in*
Take copies of the runes, destroy what's there.
Make sketch of the setup.
Ensure the rune remnants aren't find able again.
Report to the Cult.
Then lets examine how it affects the individuals.

>>4154137
so you're going to grab samples of each rune type and the smash the rest? Then clean up the area? Correct?

>>4154180
Or carve the runes flat, so that not only are they inoperable, they can not be identified by others.
Wait, how obvious are the runes?

>>4154208
one good way to do it would be to make a rubbing. Another would be to make an impression using clay. Henry or Ophelia could carry such tools on them due to the nature of this mission so you can do that then destroy the originals

>>4154208
since they're inert shattering them would be safe, thus, make rubbings/impressions, shatter them, then dump the remains somewhere safe

>>4154223
Lets do this, we don't want them to be reactivated.
We'll take this info to the cult, then we'll use this knowledge and see if we can break the curse on some of the patients in the ward.

>>4154225
We might even broach the prospect of helping the church so we can try to make them not so antagonistic all the time, but that'll need way more.

>>4154257
>>4154225
roger, I'll write tomorrow.

“Right, Ophelia make copies of the rune imprints, they’re one sided right?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, simple things, just formed in a more complex way.” Ophelia said, pulling some putty out from a jar she carried around.

Henry pulled out a couple pieces of paper and a single piece of charcoal and set to work with the simpler patterns, smashing each with a small hammer he’d brought as he did so, then scooping the pieces up into a leather bag. It took a bit of time but not an extreme amount, the guard out front likely wouldn’t even notice.

More importantly, Henry made a detailed illustration of the runic set up. Making sure to note things like height, relation to both the ocean and nearest leyline intersection, the type of rune used in each cluster, and even the kind of stone used for each rune. Hopefully it would be of some use to the Cult. He considered tossing the shards of the rune out but decided to hold onto them for the time being. After Ophelia confirmed they weren’t enchanted, anyhow. After the things were smashed, they were unusable so there was no risk of them being turned into weapons. Henry carefully placed everything into bags and pouches.

>Gained: evidence of runic layout, impressions and sketchs of runes used

Content with the evidence gathered, Henry turned around only to be stopped by the sight of an uncertain looking guard near the entrance. It wasn’t the same man as before either, he was someone else. Much older, with a graying beard and a balding head. Likely the superior to the person out front.

“Can I ask what you folks are doing here?” The guard asked.

Decisions:
1. “We were looking for a Mr. Branstead, do you know where we might find him?”
2. “Just leaving, sorry.”
3. “We were told it was okay to look around by the man out front.”
4. “We’re with the Cult of Progress, conducting an investigation.” *show badge*
5. *Cast memory scatter*
6. *tell Ophelia to cast a spell* (write in what you want her to do)
7. (write in)

>>4154629
>7. (write in)
Confront guard and question him but be prepared to spell him.
Prepare to cast memory scatter.

>>4155386
maybe I was confusing but you gained access to the place without real permission, the guard is supposed to be there and is guarding the factory, and rightfully wants to know what you are doing.

Your option reads like the situations are reversed.

>>4155386
alright, after some discussion in discord I realize that he meant to use it as a way to throw the guard off balance conversationally

>>4154629
roll 1d100

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>4155476

>>4154629
“Do you have any idea what we found in here?!” Henry asked. Startling both Ophelia and Johnny.

“What?” The guard asked, taken aback.

“We found a whole bunch of runes forming a god damned curse right under your noses. Do you even inspect this place for tampering once a month as per the city’s inspection requirements?!” Henry asked, holding out his bag full of smashed runes.

“I uh… I wouldn’t rightly know sir-“

“That’s MR. Pendleworth to you. Now I am here conducting a legal investigation into this factory and oh boy have I found it to be unsatisfactory. Not just the runes but the railings on the second level look like they’re about to cave in!” Henry continued.

“I uh…” The guard said, trying to think of the right thing to say.

“Not only that, but the foreman’s office was left unlocked, anyone could just stroll right on in!” Henry finished.

“Unbelievable. Not to mention the guard at the front let us stroll right on through!”

“Goddamn it Frank…” The guard muttered. “Look fellas, I’m just the guard on duty here, I don’t know anything about runes or magic babble. I just know a few spells is all, to keep the place safe.”

“I gathered that.” Henry said. “Look, fine, I’ll keep the bit where your buddy let me stroll through the gate out of my report. I understand how it can feel to work with dead weight.” Henry said.

“Well that’s mighty kind of you sir.” The guard said, surprised by the sudden reversal.

Decisions:
1. *make an exit, you got what you came here for*
2. *ask for the location of the Branstead residence.*
3. *have Ophelia cast memory scatter on the guard*

>>4155498
>2. *ask for the location of the Branstead residence.*
And
"Now that there's a somewhat competent guard here, I need to ask you a few questions about the factory, nothing too difficult, just some routine questions."

>>4155510
>>4155536
Ask him about a person why was wronged by the factory who used to show up all the time, but stopped around the time this shit started

>>4155542
And when was the last time there was enough down time that someone could come in and set up something like this.

>>4155545
>>4155542
writing

>>4155498
“Well, now that I have someone competent to speak with, do you mind answering some general questions?” Henry asked.

“I suppose so, factory owner won’t like it but he ain’t paying us overtime for this so I figure he’s earned it.” The guard said.

“Do you know anyone on staff who’d feel the need to do this sorta thing? More importantly someone with the ability to do so.”

“No, can’t say that I do. Hardly anyone knows any magic in here, even me and Frank barely know anything beyond a few small spells. Just enough to make do. Nothing like whatever you got in that bag there.” The man explained.

“Nobody got fired recently?” Henry asked.

“Nope, people got laid off on account of injuries or being sick, but nobody before that for at least six months back. Place was finally running smoothly.” The guard explained.

“Right, any repair men or the like come in, specialist types?” Henry continued.

“Well, I figure that’d be recorded in the logbook in that open office over there. Which I could’ve sworn I told Frank to keep locked up. Gonna have a talk with that boy once you’ve left, I can assure you.” The guard explained.

“When was the last period of downtime when someone could’ve slipped in and did this sorta thing.”

“One of us would’ve noticed it. We had four people before the shutdown and the other two were far better guards. We would’ve noticed it if someone had come in improperly.”

“And if they were cloaked?” Ophelia asked.

“Wha?” The guard asked.

>>4155592

“Invisible. A spell so you can’t see them.” Henry explained.

“I… we wouldn’t noticed the doors open, the damned things creak like hell. Unless you knew about it ahead of time it would make a helluva lotta noise. I’d remember something like one of them heavy iron doors swinging open and I figure the others would’ve too. I’m telling you nobody snuck in.”

“Wouldn’t match what we expect either, no blue in the curse.” Johnny said, whispering into Henry’s ear.

“Could be more than one.” Henry whispered back.

“Do you know where the Bransteads live? If I understand correctly they were the first ones to come down with… whatever the hell is going on.” Henry said.

“Well, I know where his widow lives. Mr. Branstead ain’t doing much living these days I’m afraid.” The guard explained. “Helluva thing, having a man stick his arm into one of them machines. Heard he thought there were birds stuck in there, and they were talking to him.”

“That a common thing around here?” Henry asked.

“No sir, lotta the others started seeing and hearing things too, drove some of em mad, the rest wound up in the hospital. Now its spread all over. Dunno how none of the guards didn’t get it. Apparently mages are immune, lucky me.” He continued.

“Right. So the address?” Henry asked.

“In the workers quarter bout a half mile up the road. 105 Winnow Street. Man borrowed a hammer once and I had to walk to his house to get it from the misses.” He explained.

“Alright, thank you, you’ve been a great help.” Henry explained.


Decisions:
1. *get out while the gettings good*
2. *ask final questions* (write in)

>>4155593
>2. *ask final questions* (write in)
"What kinds of things are they seeing?"
Then we leave after memory scattering him.

>>4146713
>1. *thank the man and head out*
Need to talk to Charles about going for the extreme measures right off the bat. Our responsibility and obligations s fellow humans means you've got to do your best and no shortcuts.

His talk about doing what's necessary is laziness with a good dose of lack of empathy

We're here to save a city not kill half of it they're people and have a right to live as much as he (arguably more but let's not get into that). Plus it's evil and amoral and people will kill you for it and be wholly justified

>>4155966
Weird I refreshed twice but the thread didn't update until I posted

>>4155966
>Need to talk to Charles about going for the extreme measures right off the bat. Our responsibility and obligations s fellow humans means you've got to do your best and no shortcuts.
I can dig this
But lets memory scatter the guard so he can't report the runes to anyone

>>4155593
“What exactly were they seeing?” Henry asked.

“All sorts of things, the images varied. Lotta em complained about smelling something sweet now that I think about it. Maybe the fumes from the sugar warehouse down the road were wafting over. Never really thought to tell anyone, not like anyone would’ve listened.” The guard explained.

“Yeah, by that point the panic had probably set in. No way to know how people would’ve reacted.” Johnny said, rolling his shoulders.

“Yeah, was worried the folks would go down the road and raise hell. But apparently by that point people outside the factory started getting it. I count my lucky stars I didn’t.”

“Right, I believe we’re done. Ophelia could you make it so this didn’t happen?” Henry asked.

A second after he finished the second Ophelia struck the guard with a bolt of blue mana. The guard looked dazed as Henry walked over to him.

“You went to investigate the inside of the factory because you heard some noise. When you went to look it was just a few rats that were scraping around inside. You chased em off and now you’re going back to your patrol.” Henry said, smiling when the man nodded dumbly.

“Right let’s get the hell outta here before he comes to.” Henry said.

Henry and crew passed out of the factory, back through the gate, and didn’t slow down. The guard at the front didn’t even bother looking up from his paper.

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

Back on the road, Henry watched as Charles fiddled around with a lockpick that Henry had leant him, and a small pocket lock. The kid was trying to play around with the mechanism to learn more about it, and Henry figured it’d be a good skill to know, if a bit dangerous.

“So I’ve been thinking about what you were saying earlier, Charles, bout extreme measures sometimes being necessary.” Henry explained.

“I still mean it.” Charles said. “We can’t dawdle or be too merciful if we want to solve this.”

“That’s just laziness, we can’t just going around doing whatever is easy. We gotta think about how it’ll circle back, we go around hurting people and sooner or later they’ll hurt us. We ain’t gonna save this city by killing half of it.” Henry explained

“I’m more worried we’re going to lose all of it because we didn’t kill half.” Charles replied. “I… what I’m suggesting isn’t easy, the easiest thing to do is nothing. You taught me that, Henry.”

“Yeah, I suppose I did. But doing something because its for the greater good is one of them reasons I don’t get along with the church. You can’t sort people like that. Least you can’t do that and stay human. I can’t force ya but I can make you think on it a bit more then I figure that’ll be enough.”

Decisions:
1. *head to the sugar refinery down the road*
2. *head back to HQ*
3. *Head to town hall*
4. *head to the general hospital*
5. *head to another location* (write in)

>>4157519
>1. *head to the sugar refinery down the road*

>>4157519
>1. *head to the sugar refinery down the road*

>>4157763
>>4157525
writing

>>4157519
Henry and co. walked down the road, eventually ending up at a burnt out building which looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The roof had partially caved in and the place was a mess but there was still a sweet scent about it, like the sugar it had once harvested was baked into the place. From what Henry could gather the place had been the Glen Mills Sugar Refinery at one point in time, now it was clearly abandoned, which made entering it easier. Henry searched around the outside for a bit before finding a gap in the decaying chain link fency. Johnny crawled through first and held it open for the others. Charles sent an reanimated cat in and confirmed that while the place was an utter mess, nobody was squatting there at the moment, and the actual structure itself didn’t seem too bad besides the caved in roof. Still Henry didn’t want the place falling down on top of them. The doors and windows were boarded up, and Henry didn’t want to be seen chopping away, or prying at them. The road behind them was still somewhat active with church Cathars and the like patrolling. Explaining why he was trying to break into an empty building was the last thing he needed to do.


Decisions:
1. *have Ophelia scry for traces of spells*
2. *try to find a way inside, the place.*
3. *make a note of the place and come back later with permission to enter, you figure you can have it granted after a word with the people at city hall.* (will cost time)
4. *head to another location* (write in)
5. *have a party member perform an action* (write in)

>>4158976
>3. *make a note of the place and come back later with permission to enter, you figure you can have it granted after a word with the people at city hall.* (will cost time)
In the mean time, lets take the runes back to the cult.

>>4158979
writing

>>4158976
Henry considered breaking and entering but thought better of it as a flight of angels passed overhead. He knew the angels wouldn’t care about it, but that was hardly the point. So, he shook his head at both Ophelia and Charles, and told them they were heading back to base. Charles raised a couple objections which Henry shot down. Getting caught as intruders would not be keeping a low profile, nor would it reflect very well on the cult if he did end up flashing his badge. Besides it was at most a gut feeling that there was something in that building. He explained it’d be pretty easy to get permission with a greased palm or two.

Henry told Ophelia to take some notes, both because she was good at it and because he didn’t really want to write anything right now.

So, while Ophelia wrote, Henry spoke with Johnny and Charles about what they’d do next. They had a few leads now but they had no suspects. He’d also heard that there was an inquisitor in town, perhaps that woman would be a resources… or perhaps not. She sounded like someone he might like, bucking orders and all that. If he could convince her he was trying to stop the plague, then she’d potentially be a big help.

The trip back to the cult was tense, with the empty streets and high amount of suspicious looking Cathars, Henry had to repeatedly duck into alleys with his groups to avoid notice, and the angels overhead didn’t really help his feelings about things.

Not like the angels would care about mortal matters, the damned things never even got sick.


Henry quickly entered into the cult’s headquarter building and was quickly shuffled away to a set of labs near the back. He was greeted by a frazzled and bespeckled man who seemed to realize right away who Ophelia was.

“I refuse to set foot in your lab, you thief.” Ophelia said, actual anger in her voice.

“Thief? What?” The man asked.

“Ignore her, she’s a bit special.” Henry said, using air quotes.

>>4159136
“Yeah, a special pain in the butt.” Charles added.

Henry sighed, this was likely the lab her father had worked it.

“Really now?” Johnny asked, grabbing Ophelia’s shoulder and escorting the woman away from the lab.

“Well, sorry about that. Name’s Henry, I was given the assignment of tracking down whatever the hell is going on in this city. Charles here is my apprentice.” Henry said.

“Right, pleasure to meet you, names Morgan Longfellow, chief of the research lab here and pioneer in the field of forensics.”

“Forensics?” Henry asked.

“Solving crimes using science, basically.” Morgan explained.

Decisions:
1. “We found a grouping of runes in the Malton Tinnery, where the outbreak started, seems this whole thing really was spellborne, but we’d like to be able to prove it before going to the church. Figure it’ll save a bunch of lives.”
2. “Do you have any fancy tricks we could use?”
3. “Really, do you not even bother using scry spells here?”
4. “Do you have any equipment I could purchase? Things like that might be very helpful.”
5. (write in)

>>4159139
>1. “We found a grouping of runes in the Malton Tinnery, where the outbreak started, seems this whole thing really was spellborne, but we’d like to be able to prove it before going to the church. Figure it’ll save a bunch of lives.”

>>4159139
>1. “We found a grouping of runes in the Malton Tinnery, where the outbreak started, seems this whole thing really was spellborne, but we’d like to be able to prove it before going to the church. Figure it’ll save a bunch of lives.”

>>4159525
>>4159180
writin

>>4159139
“We found a grouping of runes in the Malton Tinney, where the first outbreak of this thing took place. They were hidden in a bunch of the machines.” Henry said, taking out the diagram he’d drawn and handing it over to Morgan.

The man scanned the image before placing it down and heading back into the storage area. He returned with a few pencils and a sheet of thin, near see through paper. He placed the paper down over the sheet Henry had used and quickly copied the illustration, though not quite as well. It still got down everything it needed to, but lost was the artist’s touch Henry gave it.

Henry handed over the individually wrapped rune shards to the man next.

“Why’d you smash them?” Morgan asked. “These will take forever to piece back together!”

“Don’t want you to. I was worried they might’ve been trapped or something. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make this look like a regular disease and I figure it ain’t accidental that the Cult is taking a lot of heat from all of this.”

“You think someone has it out for us?” Morgan asked.

“Call it a hunch. The works too good for it to be a pagan I figure, and they wouldn’t use polished stone like this. They’d use wood or some shit.” Henry explained.

“They’d use whatever they could get their hands on, but I see your point. They’d just bring the factory down if they were going to.” Morgan agreed.

“Well is there anything you can do with these?” Charles asked.

“Dust them for prints, I figure, but I’d need yours too.” Morgan said.

“Prints? Like what, handprints?” Henry asked.

“Fingerprints, we can tell who touched something based on the print marks they left. Its fairly new so it hasn’t’ been widely adopted outside of this lab yet. But give it a few years and I can guarantee every city will have a forensics division.” Morgan said.

“Right, so you could tell who the prints belonged to?”

“Well, not on their own, you’d need a matching pair, or the person they belonged to, assuming I can pull anything from these.” Morgan explained.

“Alright, sure.” Henry said.

Henry and Charles both gave their prints to the man, Ophelia had been wearing gloves at the time, and Morgan explained that they wouldn’t leave any marks. That suited everyone fine, Ophelia wasn’t in any sort of mood to be here.

Morgan explained that the process would take around a day, and to come back tomorrow. Henry noticed that the lab wasn’t all that busy, with only a couple assistants. But Morgan explained that it’d take some time to get all the materials together given the quarantine.

Decisions:
1. *ask additional questions* (write in)
2. *head to another location* (write in)
3. *switch out party members* (will bring up another menu)
4. (write in)

>>4160361
>2. *head to another location* (write in)
Lets get permission to search the sweets factory.

>>4160405
one vote for head to the mayor's office. Current party will be maintained.

>>4160361
Henry opened up a map of the city he’d been provided and scanned over it. The lobby was a fairly spacious room, with a couple glass chandeliers and some rather grand designs on both the floor and ceiling. What looked to be a painting of the harbor sat above the secretary’s desk, and the whole place exuded a charm of class.

Ophelia tapped her foot against the ground, grumbling about how this office had been built on her dads work. The microscope had been her father’s invention, yada yada yada. It was quite boring to Henry at this point. No sense holding a grudge with the people you were working with and would possibly be getting funding from. He’d tried explaining to her multiple times, but the damned woman had no business sense.

Johnny idly stood around, waiting for the show to get started, while Charles took note of everyone entering and leaving, trying to keep track of their faces. Henry had taught the boy the trick and he’d taken to it. Was always good to know who normally frequented a place, as people who stood out as outsiders tended to be worth paying attention to.

The mayors office was located right down the main stretch of the city. The place, having the highest concentration of both upper class and mages, was the least affected bit of the city and it almost felt like there wasn’t an epidemic ravaging the city. Inside was a small lobby, with a bored looking clerk and a few other workings shuffling about moving papers.

“Can I help you?” The clerk asked, not even looking up from his large stack of papers.

Decisions:
>if selecting one, you pick 1 and then a letter, so for instance, 1b
1. “Yeah, we’re looking to gain permission to investigate the Glen Mill’s Sugar Refinery and…”
a. “I’m with the cult of progress” (show badge)
b. “I’d like to keep things quiet” (slide coins across the table, roll required)
c. “It’s a very important matter you see.”
d. “Are you really a secretary?”

2. *have Ophelia cast a spell on the man* (write in what effect)
3. “No sorry, we have the wrong building” (lie)(ends conversation, opens up other options)
4. “Yes I was looking to apply for a job…”

>>4160508
>1. “Yeah, we’re looking to gain permission to investigate the Glen Mill’s Sugar Refinery and…”
c. “It’s a very important matter you see.”

>>4160511
new thread tomorrow

also roll 1d100 if you can.

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>4160527