File: Bobbit monster.jpg (251 KB, 1100x730)

251 KB JPG

(where we left off)

With even this dull light you can navigate the maze like system of tunnels. Soon you are rising, passing from cramped caves to spacious caverns one by one. But your light serves as a beacon, drawing in entities from the dark. Different from the slithering of your own caves, this sound is one clicking nails. You see it in the glimpses of your vision darting in and out of side tunnels, tracing back around to you. It's far larger than you, and clearly used to this dark place.
[TIMETOFIGHT!]

Hermann the biomorph
HP 100 + Fleshshaping(100HP) + regen(25/turn)
DR 5
ACTIONS
>Attack
>Flesh shape
>Magic
>Item
>Write in.

Bobbit monster
HP 150
DR 15

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>4445985
>Attack
>Flesh shape attack form

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>4445985
>Attack
>Flesh shape

Rolled 85, 34 = 119 (2d100)

>>4446013
Hermann reactively grows a layer of grey keratin scales over his thin skin, protecting the exposed red muscles and vulnerable organs. The creature circles around the back you hold ground, growing a spear of bone from the wrist.
+5DMG
+5 DR
-50 Fleshshaping HP
>>4446020
46+10-15=41
As the spear punctures the skin, blood slides down your arm to drip off the elbow. The iron stench invigorates the monster, which launches its head forwards from the body, neck doubling in length like a striking eel.
The spears length allows you to parry the head and slide into a wall, scoring a shallow gouge along the softer under neck of this thing.

Hermann the biomorph
HP 100 + Fleshshaping(50HP) + regen(25/turn)
DR 10
ACTIONS
>Attack
>Flesh shape
>Magic
>Item
>Write in

Bobbit monster
HP 109
DR 15
>Jaws and Claws
>>Jaws: 1d100+10, misses below a 50
>>Claws: 1d100

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>4446125
>Attack

Rolled 38 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>4446125
>Attack

>>4446125
Forgot to roll last post.
Also, here's the actual stat sheet. From now on I'll preconvert abilities so that there in game effects are included.

Hermann the Prime-Biotic
Body: Your body is exceptionally thin, coated in a layer of mean muscle and taught tendon. This makes you exceptionally agile+5 checks but means less internal fat, leaving you with vulnerable organs+5 to crit you. Your natural biology means that you have thin skin-5DR and fragile muscles-5DR, but your stronger+5DMG and heal faster1.1Xregen.
Prime-Biotic Unique: Multiply mutation

Mutations-Physical Ability: 1+5 checks/DR/DMG
Shapeshifting
Regeneration+10regen
Flesh Shapingflesh shaping pool=HP
Undying^^3Xregen

Magic Circuitry-Magic Skill: 2+10 checks/magic DMG
Level 1 Creation Circuity(Clone)
-Auxiliary circuit(True Clone)
Level 1 Negation Circuitry^^(Stasis)
-Auxiliary circuit(Reaction): parameters for activation not set
-Auxiliary circuit(Range-Volume)

Curses/Immortality
Curse of Slumber
-8 hour deficit.

General Skills
Basic Circuitry +5 checks
Shadneel Scavenging

Gear
Backpack
Waterlogged Wood
Axe
Camping gear

Rolled 16, 7 = 23 (2d100)

>>4446125
85+10+34=129
The monster swings it head wide, catching with its jaws in a powerful bite, tearing of chunks of musculature. Immediately following its necks spines rake your stomach, spraying out viscous body fluids. Drawing on your reserve biomass knits the flesh in a second, but the cost is unpleasant and the blood still red.
>>4446135
67+10=77
The creature stalks between side tunnels, but your agility lets you move with this stealthy foe. When it next snaps out your spear closes past the neck, goring the beast's surprisingly pliant chest. The retreat is fast, but further strikes bleed it further.
+33HP Your abdomen seals, and your blood refills. You are reinvigorated.

Hermann the biomorph
HP 33 + Fleshshaping(21HP) + regen(33/turn)
DR -5(0)
ACTIONS
>Attack: 1d00+10(15) BO3
XFlesh shape(not enough fleshshaping pool)
>Magic
>Item
>Write in

Bobbit monster
HP 32
DR 15
>Jaws and Claws
>>Jaws: 1d100+10, misses below a 50
>>Claws: 1d100

Rolled 2 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4446196
>Attack
Let's finish this

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>4446196
>Attack: 1d00+10(15) BO3

>>4446245
52+10=62
WIN!
As your enemy fails to stalk out of range after its next, much weaker assault, your spear catches a group of holes in its stomach. Already wounded and pouring a small waterfall of blood, this attack proves fatal. As you grunt to push deeper, this punctures an empty chamber, which quickly fills with the aforementioned liquid, suffocating the monster. There's also a pool of… water? Yes, a salty stream is coming out from the lungs.
Unfortunately there is no time to marvel. Like with the alien fish, you start to see double vision, revealing another world, again flooded in black water. In your own reality your fresh kill is becoming harder and harder to focus on, your eyes slipping off of it whenever your focus wanes. You’ll have to act fast if you do anything from the body.
How to benefit? taking the first three responses
>Salt water. This strange water is leaking from everything these days. Your waterskin can hold some.
>Flesh. Take a chunk of the alien meat. Your Prime-Biotic biology craves meat, and this can be cooked into a feast.
>Study. You’ll have to move fast, but maybe there's insight into new shapeshifting potential. It won't be easy, of course.
>Write in. There's many more options, and a good hunter knows how to use every piece of a kill.

I gotta sleep. Goodnight, and don't dream of tunnels.

>>4446270
>Study. You’ll have to move fast, but maybe there's insight into new shapeshifting potential. It won't be easy, of course.

>>4446270
>Study. You’ll have to move fast, but maybe there's insight into new shapeshifting potential. It won't be easy, of course.

>>4446270
>Study. You’ll have to move fast, but maybe there's insight into new shapeshifting potential. It won't be easy, of course.

improving ourselves is our only way

Sorry for lack of posting, I am kind of fucked up for the next week.
>>4446271
>>4446275
>>4446634
Studying this alien biology is the most important.
roll 1d100 best of 3

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>4447258

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>4447258

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>4447258

Phone posting, also medicated, please forgive any errors.
>>4447268
82
The biology is too alien to perfectly mimic, but this beings thick spines are similar to your own keratin. By repurposing the internal structure, you can increase strength several fold.
+5 DR from flesh shaped defenses
The next time you blink, the corpse is gone, not a trace of blood to be found. save your own of course. As for those tunnels and caves. Your Ascent goes unmolested, and within an hour you clamber out of a rocky crevice, the sun blinding you. After a moment of reorientation you check your bearings. The silt flats lie in all directions, but this monolith stands well above it. Strangely, despite being out of the depths, this place still lacks any plant life.
The top is like a Mesa, with a stone pillar in the middle. An abandoned villages lies to the northern edge. To the southeastern side is a lake full of clear water.
what to investigate?
>what to investigate?

>>4447489
The village, probably the best place to look for journals or other records of what may have happened here

>>4447489
Investigate the abandoned villages

>>4447493
>>4447494
All that remains in this place is burnt, or made of stone. Unlike the Kin hive, this architecture is mostly above ground, currently sitting on a layer of dead dirt. The air is dusty, and exploring the houses is a pain, but you find some important clues. There are no bodies here, the ground an surrounding area is unburnt, and most importantly, there are messages scrawled on some stone walls.
“What you can’t see, kills. What you can see, you forget.”
“There used to be people here, I’m sure, but I have no memories.”
“The silt is cold, but has its own dangers.”
This is written in your own language. A lucky break.
Sunset is probably an hour or two away.
should you seek shelter here, or colored further

>>4447519
>Seek shelter here

>>4447519
>seek shelter here

Still phone posting, still drugged
>>4447658
>>4447775
Even if your above the depths, this place is way to suspicious. You’ll at least wait out sunset, just in case. Even the houses that have roofs are too ashy, you can’t stand inhaling that much particulate. Thankfully one of the More disintegrated houses stands at the edge of town, and has a intact cellar. It’s carved right out of the rough stone, and should be a defensible place for sundown.
Sunset goes by without a hitch. Piling your head out from the cellar entrance reveals nothing out of the ordinary. However, your newfound otherworldly sight occasionally flashes painfully, but only when looking into the depths.
It seems that sunset isn’t what’s damaged this island. Then what did?
Should you explore?
>walk along the edge. It hurts, but maybe you can gain insight into the depths by staring into the them. Is it safe for your psyche?
>Lake. Water seems to be recurring theme here. Maybe it’s wet secrets will be of help?
>The spire. It’s awfully conspicuous to have a giant stone tower in the middle of the island. It’s obviously important.

>>4448400
>The spire. It’s awfully conspicuous to have a giant stone tower in the middle of the island. It’s obviously important.

>>4448400
>the spire

>>4448400
>spire

>>4448422
>>4448507
>>4448526
Sorry for not posting. I’ll get it tommrow
Sleep well

>>4448507
>>4448526
The spire is an interesting piece of architecture. It’s built out of granite blocks, which in the darkness gives the tower a look of solid ink. It’s hexagonal in shape, about 35 feet across, and at least 4 times that tall. You cant make out much, but the stone reacts to your Shadneel bioluminescence, outlining cracks in the stone as they emit there own glow.
This must have been built by them, some time ago. Likely the village as well.
The doors are closed, and the cracks highlighting them don’t reveal anything. [i]You’ll need to find a way in[/i]
>break in. Suitable for someone with a lot of strength. For you, might take some time, but should eventually work.
>Crack open. Try and figure out a mechanism. A wash up in terms of probable succes.
>Write in. Maybe you have something else to get you inside?
>Later. Check it out later, your burning light. Or darkness, in this case.

>>4450298
>break in. Suitable for someone with a lot of strength. For you, might take some time, but should eventually work.

>>4450298
>Crack open. Try and figure out a mechanism. A wash up in terms of probable succes.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4450408
>>4450414

>>4450408
>>4450414
Best of 1d100 +10 (+5 from extra strength)

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>4450560

Rolled 8 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4450560

Rolled 40 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4450560

Forgot the bonus 5

>>4450819
40+10=50. 6 hours to open the door.
Breaking through the door takes a long time, but you already expected that. It’s solid granite surface can’t be damaged beyond the superficial, at least with your current tools. However, the cracks at the side can be widened, and behind them are hinges.
It takes 6 hours striking with your axe and prying looses rubble. Considering you started a bit after midnight, that places you right at sunrise. Normally the soft glow relaxes you, but your trip to the burned village sparked some kind of paranoia.
Your well above the depths though, so nothing should get to here, right? Something is wrong.
The burnt village gave you...
>A distracting phobia. Fight it. You already know that the things here effect memory, this is a psychic attack.
>A reasonable fear. Whatever was left at the village imprinted your mind. It’s trying to help.
>Writw in. Maybe a binary response isn’t the best way to deal with foreign thoughts invading your mind?

>>4451090
>A reasonable fear. Whatever was left at the village imprinted your mind. It’s trying to help.
bruh

>>4451090
>A reasonable fear. Whatever was left at the village imprinted your mind. It’s trying to help.

Back on the computer. Still fucked up though.
>>4451127
>>4451128
Stuck between an unknown threat and a psychic breach, you decide to side with the breach. Slowing your breathing and looking into the sunrise brings memories. A forest island burning alive in invisible fire, bodies being consumed by flame until not even bones are left, survivors retreating into a familiar stone tower. The morning air feels warm, far too warm.
These memories are not your own, but they are strong enough to override a sense of self, forcing you to move. The air is painfully scorching your body now you need to get somewhere cold, NOW. Dashing into the tower, you move without thinking, slamming the recently opened slab of granite back in place.
Breathing does not come easy, but after a minute your frantic mouthfuls of air slow as you regain composure. A quick check reveals that your near transparent skin is not charred, and the muscles visible underneath keep a healthy, meaty tone. Whatever the pain is, its all in your head. You'll have to grit your teeth and bear it for now. Your head swivels around scanning the dark interior if the spire. Its the same stone inside as out, but far smoother and bearing thin grooves that dimly glow when touched by your own light. Cursory examination shows the tower possessing several levels and some desiccated corpses of its blue skinned creators. Apparently whatever took the bodies can't trough the black stone. More importantly, the whole place is inscribed with magical circuitry and interspersed with access points. Each access point is little more than a pair of wrist deep holes, but they seem to interact with your own internal circuitry. This place was made for something big, but you cant tell what.
What to do now?

>>4451234
Investigate the circuitry

>>4451264
+1

File: Tron circuit.png (360 KB, 900x900)

360 KB PNG

>>4451264
>>4451268
You prop open your "beginners guide to circuitry" begin fiddling with the access points and following the connections between individual circuits. Every now and then you consider going outside, but when you do the burning flares up again. This thing in your head seems intent on trapping you here.
"Here's hoping that its safer than out there." You mumble as you work, the circuits glowing black-light colors and giving soft static shocks as you work.
Best 1 of 3, 1d100 +15(magical skill+5 from "beginners guide to circuitry")

Rolled 16 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>4451391

Rolled 41 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>4451391

>>4451391

Rolled 92 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>4451454

>>4451455
hot damn m'dude, good roll.

>>4451455
92+15=107. You don't just know the type of circuitry, you know how to use it.
Within minutes you've discovered the type of circuitry this spire has. Its a advanced system of destruction type circuitry wound throughout the whole structure. When activated it destroys light within a pre-set set radius, darkening the surrounding lands. Its original purpose was terraforming, darkening light sources to be more comfortable for the shadow loving Shadneel. In its heyday it probably dimmed the local islands to a perpetual twilight.
Within the hour, you've figured out how to activate it. Normal activation would cover the whole island in twilight. But if you wanted to the whole archipelago could be covered, or instead the local area bathed in near total darkness. It's uses aren't immediately helpful, but you bet some creative use could turn it to your side.
Is there a way to use this device?
>Pull the lever! Who knows what effect it could have? only one way to find out.
>Tinker/write in. Try to modify the device in some way. Its probably impossible to change the circuit type, but with the right item you could alter the spires function.
>Leave. Try and get out of here. Your still fighting that burning in your mind, but you've already beaten one psychic threat. How bad could his one be?

>>4451511
>Pull the lever! Who knows what effect it could have? only one way to find out.
let's get rid of that thing in our mind

>>4451454
+1

>>4451584
was meant for

>>4451528

File: Heat Haze.jpg (29 KB, 960x540)

29 KB JPG

>>4451528
>>4451616
Its not like you have anything to lose. Setting the spire to default power is easy, turning it on, not so much. Lacking destruction circuitry of your own its not possible to directly interface, but since the device is technically active you can improvise. It takes some elbow grease, but you manually reroute some of the connecting circuits, enough to drag this magical hulk out of dormancy.

From the spires interior theirs no change, but you feel the burning in your mind shift around. It's not gone, but at least your skin is no longer hurting.

When you open the door to outside its turned almost monochrome. There's no visible smog, but everything has become significantly darker, even the sun shines as bright as a... well you can't think of anything but those pale sky dots from your dreams. More importantly, the gloom illuminates a new threat. The whole island has roaming Haze, the burning kind. And more worryingly, visible fire though it seems to travel erratically, sometimes even hovering a few feet above the ground. The darkness also brings back your hallucinations. This time you see flashes of fire wherever the haze travels, and the other world seems to have also darkened.

When some Haze starts to approach the spire you slam the door shut. You seem safe enough in here, if the preserved bodies are any indication. So slow down, and think. Whats the next move?
>Stay. Stick it out in the tower, at least until sunset. Maybe you can get some sleep?
>Lake. There's only one place left to explore. You'll have to decide whether to run or sneak, but that can come later.
>Confront. Now that you have somewhere safe to retreat to go see whats going on with the Haze and fire.
>Write in. You've got time, think of something clever.

>>4451684
>Confront. Now that you have somewhere safe to retreat to go see whats going on with the Haze and fire.

>>4451684
>Confront

>>4451686
>>4451688
You've yet to truly see anything about this invisible menace. All you have is delusional ramblings from your clones, half information from the Kin, and the devastation you see on this island.

Immediately after walking out your confronted by the aforementioned Haze. Instantly your body begins to burn, and that thing in your mind starts tearing you apart from the inside. You see flashes of fire in your mind, as your eyes melt out of there sockets, just to be regenerated. Within seconds your thin skin is charred off, revealing the muscle beneath, which starts to cook on your bones. The clones delusions don't seem so incorrect now.

Despite your own immolation, your bag remains unburnt. As a matter of fact, it seems almost wet. You dont have time to consider, a fresh wave of heat burns your lips off and the hot air scorches your lungs.
Your regeneration can keep your body alive, but once the temperature gets critical your organs will bake inside you.

Hermann the biomorph
HP 100 + Fleshshaping(100HP) + regen(25/turn)
DR -5
ACTIONS
>Run back to safety
>Search your bag
>Magic(Say what kind)
>Write in.

Haze
HP ???
DR ??

>>4451729
>Search your bag

>>4451729
>Search your bag

Rolled 64, 54 = 118 (2d100)

>>4451734
>>4452264
You don't waste time. As you tear through your backpack its actually getting soggier, the animal skin now dripping with moisture. You know you've found the source of this protection when the heat dies on your hand. You yank it out, grasping that waterlogged wood from your dream fight. Its barely wet, but your hallucinations show it to be a literal waterfall of seawater. Everywhere this water flows in the other world it puts out he fire, and with it, the haze.
+Waterlogged wood! When wielded Haze does half damage. Can be used to effect objects in the other world, does double damage to fire.

Hermann the biomorph
HP 100 + Fleshshaping(100HP) + regen(25/turn)
DR -5
ACTIONS
>Attack! best 1 of 3, 1d100.
>Run back to safety
>Magic(Say what kind)
>Write in.

Haze
HP 200
DR 0
>Burn: best 1 of 2d100

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>4452448
Attack! (does this count our bonus of 5?)

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>4452448
rawlin'

>>4452448
(64/2)+5=37
The Haze burns hot against your fragile body, but the heat is now so little that even your regeneration+33HP outpaces it.

Hermann the biomorph
HP 96 + Fleshshaping(100HP) + regen(33/turn)
DR -5
ACTIONS
>Attack! best 1 of 3, 1d100.
>Run back to safety
>Magic(Say what kind)
>Write in.

>>4452467
I would count it as magic damage.
(77+10)*2=174
The fire in the other world is quickly snuffed, and as the blaze dies down the Haze in the real world fades. Its still burning, but not enough to be a threat to you, unless you stood in place for an hour, or something stupid like that. With the darkness enabling you to see into the other world you soon notice a layer of soot where the flames crept. It should be easy to track the Haze to it source should you choose. Or you could explore the island, now that you have relative protection against the Haze. The village appears to be burning, in both worlds. The lake seems to have the least amount of danger, at least that you can see.
Where to go?
>Track. See where this particular fire started.
>Village. Sometimes going backwards is the way forward.
>Lake. The only major landmark you haven't visited yet.
>Stay. Tinker some more with the spire.
>Write in. There's something to do first.

>>4452618
>Track. See where this particular fire started.

>>4452618
track, but i wouldn't be too aggressive. who knows what cacophony of fire these wisps come from.

>>4452618
>Track. See where this particular fire started.

>>4452630
>>4452638
>>4452722
Lets see where this leads back to... The ashy trail initially leads to the village but quickly turns and starts twisting around the island. Considering the amount of haze here and this meandering path, it's probably going to take some time navigate.

DC 55, Best 1 of 3, 1d100+10(magical skill)

Rolled 69 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4452768

Rolled 34 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4452768

>>4452772
69+10=79
Following the trail proves easy. Avoiding the memory erasing fires and burning haze, not so much. You make good time regardless, ending up several miles from where you started. The building here are sparse, and many are constructed if stone and metal, rather than the more aesthetically pleasing hardwoods of the village. Nothing seems special about them, but the soot trail doesn't like.

The Haze is strong here, and focused around a central point, one which has several soot trails around it. The already dry earth is practically vaporized here, leaving nothing but scorched stone. And in the middle of it all stands grey brick warehouse, the wall scratched and the ceiling packed with holes, each letting in beams of twilight.

Just looking at it hurts your head and inspires more of that hallucinatory burn. But whatever is in there is the source of this islands destruction, your sure of it. Or more correctly, the thing in your head is sure of it.
But what can you do?
>Fight through. Attempt to overpower the mental intruder and enter the warehouse.
>Throw the Waterlogged Wood. It's a huge risk, but if you can get it into the warehouse it might flood it.
>Leave. The brain pain is punishing you just for being here. It already saved your life once.
>Write in. On second thought, that's stupid. A better approach would be...

(OOC: Whats the general opinion on running multiple quests? I'm not able to now, but I'll have lots of free time in the upcoming months.)

>>4452890
>Fight through

>>4452890
>fight through


ooc; I would never attempt it, but I'm thinking about starting up a quest tho, it'd be the third I run, idk if school will get in the way tho.

>>4452890
>Throw the Waterlogged Wood. It's a huge risk, but if you can get it into the warehouse it might flood it.

>>4452954
>>4453354
Sometimes the direct approach is the best one. The pain is horrendous, but force your legs to move, reminding yourself that this pain inst real. But dear lord is it hard, every other step you take falters as the psychic intruder seizes control. At the doors of the warehouse each foot is a mile and your vision is blurring from the pain. You don't think you can stay conscious.

DC 75, best 1 of 3, 1d100+10(Magical skill)

Rolled 53 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4453574

Rolled 37 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4453574

Rolled 7 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4453574
don't worry I don't got this

>>4453886
oh :( i was hoping that would negate my usual bad luck.

>>4453575
53+10=63
The pain is too much, the ground rises fast and smacks your jaw hard. Everything goes black, but your legs keep moving. Where, you don't know.

You feel your eyes fly open, but it takes time for the worlds colors to stop slurring together. Your rested against a pile of rubble, some distance from the warehouse. Guess you'll need to find either a way to deal with this brain pain, or find another way to access the warehouse. And probably soon, sunset looks to only be two hours away. It might have been safe last night, but the fact your hallucinations are visible means something has changed.
How to get it?
>Send a clone. Maybe one can scout for you? Hopefully it won't have the same psychic troubles as you.
>Sleep/Hibernate. Maybe you can fix things in your dream space. Your lagging behind 12 hours of sleep anyway.
>Leave. This is not working, theirs better things to do.
>Write in

>>4454071
>Sleep/Hibernate. Maybe you can fix things in your dream space. Your lagging behind 12 hours of sleep anyway.

>>4454071
>sleep/hibernate

this is assuming we are somewhere semi-safe at least.

>>4454093
>>4454551
The buildings are sparse here, but there is a broken down building only a minutes walk from here. No idea what it used to be, but its small and has an underground storage compartment. Its small, but it's a good enough space to wait out sunset.

One of the benefits to your curse, you fall asleep easily. You dream of a stepped temple deep in the tropics. It's filled with Prime-Biotics like you, there transparent skin revealing vastly different musculature as each shapeshifts into a personally pleasing form. Like most dreams time is meaningless, so you don't know how long your stay is, but its ending is abrupt. A flame sparks somewhere in the jungle and red soot fill the sky. Your guessing that sunset just sunset just occurred in the real world, since your dream is rapidly shifting and you find the waterlogged wood clutched in your off hand. The fire burns through the temple and soon surrounds you, and it hurts, just like when you tried to approach the warehouse, or open the spire door. The people scream as they're skin blisters and and blood boils out of pores, pussy fluid falling from there glassy eyes. The frail skin of the prime-biotic can do nothing against this heat, and the metalic stench of burnt, bloody, rancid steak fills your sinuses, just before those too crisp into charcoal.

Your head hurts, and it feels like your memory is fading. In the flames you can see the vague outline of a person at a huts door, but your eyes burn before long. If you can just see...

DC 75, best 1 of 3, 1d100+20(Magical skill*2(waterlogged wood))

Rolled 23 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>4454986

Rolled 73 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4454986

>>4455045
73+20=93
This is your dream, in your mind. You are in control. The piece of wood is smooth in your hands, and when thrust forward the embers light is banished with dark waters. The figure in the flame is you walking into a building engulfed in fake fire. The same kind of fire that seemed to ignore gravity and other physics, that erratically traveled the island.

you see clearly now. The village was on fire, long ago and when you arrived. One of the huts had a spark in it, and the red light of the fake fire engulfed you. But instead of the Haze which burned your skin, the fake fire ate your memories like kindling. Your not sure what was lost, but at least this much remains. You managed to escape, but an ember was smoldering in your mind ever since, and your own unconscious mind was desperately trying to protect you. The darkness of the spire smothered the ember, but only now has it been extinguished.

At least you've learned from this. The fake fire cannot survive without light, and you suspected the Haze does as well. Opposite of the otherworldly water which fill the depths and weaken in the sunlight. The same kind, you realize now, that your piece of wood has been soaked in.

You crawl out of your hiding spot. Fresh light warms your skin, dulled as it is by the spires magic. The sun can't have risen more than an hour ago, judging by its low height. Haze is flaring off the warehouse with such intensity its almost opaque. Your ready now.
>Into the warehouse. It's daytime, right after sunrise, but you've been delayed to much.
>Explore. A good way to waste time, at least until its further from sunrise, when the Haze is strongest.
>Leave. There's more to do here, and maybe better solutions with your new found knowledge.
>Write in. Creative solutions to absurd problems.

>>4455298
>Explore. A good way to waste time, at least until its further from sunrise, when the Haze is strongest.

>>4455298
>Explore. A good way to waste time, at least until its further from sunrise, when the Haze is strongest.

>>4455320
>>4455329
The local area is scorched, as expected. Most things have been devoured by the Haze, but some scattered caches of tools, hammers, picks, weighing scales, chains, and similar things. Seems these people are, were more advanced than the local Kin. You look around for records, but anything remotely flammable is long gone. Even clay tablets are cracked from the intense heat. All you gather is this place use to have a lot of material shipped in and out. It does raise the question, was this home port, or just an outpost for the Shadneel? And why did no one come here for so long? Surely the Kin would have noticed.

Its later in the day, a bit past noon, when you head back to the warehouse. There's plenty of haze here, but for now the warehouse is free of that invisible killer. Now's the best time to act, far from both sunset and sunrise. Whats the plan?
>Headfirst. Go straight through, relying on your abilities and the waterlogged wood to protect you.
>Clonefirst. Send in a single clone. They don't have your tools, but they have less to lose.
>Careful. There are some chain hooks still attached to the warehouse. Using chain from a tool cache, you could climb up and look through the ceiling holes.
>Write in. You've got tools now, and magic. You can do better.

>>4455387
>Careful. There are some chain hooks still attached to the warehouse. Using chain from a tool cache, you could climb up and look through the ceiling holes.

>>4455387
>Clonefirst. Send in a single clone. They don't have your tools, but they have less to lose.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4455402
>>4455417

>>4456222
>>4455402
A quick trip to a tool cache provides some relatively undamaged lengths of chains. Swinging them up to the chain hooks isn't a one man job, but a bit of sweat and time see's it done. You take a few breathes and wipe of perspiration from yourself. You easily climb the chain and end up on the stone roof. It must have been shingled at some point, but the ages have stripped this place bare, and even collapsed parts of the roof. It's through one of these holes you spot your quarry.

A beam of dim light shines onto a ordinary chunk of rock, but this piece distinguishes itself from the regular rubble. Its stands 5 feet tall, its surface is a dull grey with black scorch marks all over it, and its surface distorts faintly as you stare at it. All the ground around it is heavily burnt, but it seems inert for now. How to deal with it?

>>4456265
Throw the wetstick at it

>>4456278
I'll go with this response, since everyone has disappeared.

You drop the waterlogged wood onto the rock. Upon impact the stony surfaces begins to smoke slightly. The wood bounces off and lands a foot away. Your otherworld sight flashes, showing dark waters flowing from the stick to the rock, which burns a dull red. The two seem at a stalemate, the dark water being absorbed into the rock, but the glow fades until its barely visible.

You can feel the temperature drop from your rooftop perch. It still hot, but you can get inside without burning burning alive at least. You do feel woozy though, it seems the reaction between the two opposing elements isn't the most healthy thing to stay near. The nausea is under control for now, but you wouldn't sleep in this warehouse. Where to go now?
>Leave. You'll lose a magical item, but the islands safe now.
>Go inside. A few minutes and a closer look wont kill you.
>Stay put. Stay here for a while, and see if anything else happens.
>Write in. There's definitely a better option here.

>>4456557
>Go inside. A few minutes and a closer look wont kill you.

>>4456557
>go inside

>>4456566
>>4457925
You retreat back the way you came, sliding down the chain and wrapping back around to the warehouses front. The doors missing, but stacks of stone block visibility in here. Almost perfectly in the middle of this place sits the scorched rock. From up close you can tell its grey basalt, and while its had pieces chipped off it retains a round, pillow-esque look. It feels warm, but the waterlogged wood has stopped the worst of its heat. Also, the reaction between the dark water and the scorched rock is starting to smell like a burning swamp, and it makes you want to vomit.

Some broken clay tablets show that this thing was brought up from the depths a day before all the other records stop. Strange, other stones here are from the depths, but none show such weird properties. Did the rock get changed once on the island, or was it always like this?

A few minutes of tests does reveal some important information. Pouring from your waterskin produces steam and removes scorching from the rock, but none of that terrible smell is produces. So the otherwold water from the wood must be different somehow. As you circle around the object you notice something interesting, wherever the sunlight touches the rock it burns much hotter. Finally, shards of basalt that have broken of the main rock over the years have much weaker effects than the large piece. How to stop this thing?
>Break it apart. The smaller pieces burn a lot colder, you bet that breaking it down will make the Haze negligible.
>Cover it. Push the scorched rock away from that broken roof and into a shaded part of the Warehouse.
>Drag it. There's a lake to dump it in. Or you could just push it over the edge of island. Either way, its probably a smart way to be rid of it.
>Write in. Best not to act without full knowledge of this things properties. There's still some experiments you'd like to try.

>>4458163
>Cover it. Push the scorched rock away from that broken roof and into a shaded part of the Warehouse.
We don't know enough to safely throw it somewhere so let's make sure it doesn't get the sun boost for the time being

>>4458180
also I think it's erosion that makes it reduce the heat not really being separated

>>4458180
Creating 3 lesser clones and lifting with the legs, you push the scorched rock into a portion of roof that still mostly intact. The rock begins cooling rapidly, so you stash the waterlogged wood into your backpack, seeing as its no longer needed. After a few minutes the basalt is only uncomfortably warm, but one spot is still hazy with heat mirage. Its where some of the stone cracked away, revealing a ragged interior. You could probably extract that piece from the larger rock if you desired. Do you?
>Pull it out. Its burning hot, but your hand regenerates faster than it scars. And its probably magic.
>Leave it. You don't need a piece of this thing, especially not from the heated interior.
>Write in. Binary choices seem restrictive.

>>4458333
>Pull it out. Its burning hot, but your hand regenerates faster than it scars. And its probably magic.
Sure let's study it

File: tegaki.png (50 KB, 400x400)

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>>4458476
You reach into the crack, wriggling the loose piece of stone. The chunk of grey basalt breaks of easily, but immediately heats up. You drop it in surprise, and its surface rapidly burns, mixing black scorch marks with the slate grey coloring. this last no more than a few seconds. There's still a faint haze around it, but it doesn't seem to be damaging anything now. Strange.
+Scorched rock! Seems similar to the waterlogged wood, magical in some weird way, but doesn't rely on any kind of internal circuitry.

The larger chunk of basalt is still hot, seems that your troubles aren't over yet. You rub your chin in thought, this might be a good thing. If you test the haze here, using the stone, maybe you can find a solution to the haze all across the isles. But should you?
>To water. Submerge the scorched rock into the lake.
>To silt. See what happens when the silt flats touch the Haze.
>To darkness. Turn the spire to max power, see if the Haze functions in the dark.
>No/Later. You should look around some more or find something else to try before fiddling with dangerous things.
>Write in. There's a lot more than just water, silt, and dark.

(OOC when is it considered kosher to start a new thread? I'm still getting used to /qst if its not obvious.)

>>4458542
>To silt. See what happens when the silt flats touch the Haze.
When you hover the mouse on the thread in the catalog there's a page number, which also appears both at the top and bottom of the thread (it's the fourth number, it's gonna say page when you hover the pointer over it). A thread that's on page 10 will soon be archived so take that as a reference.

>>4458542
how far is the silt? I want to know, but else we could try the lake, as the big rock could easily be moved using three clones and cover over the rock.

>the silt
but if it's far,
>the lake

>>4458552
You think back to your trek here. The Haze couldn't pass through the silt flats, maybe its effects can smother the Haze up here. Plus, the stuff is plentiful, if a little spooky.
>>4458685
Also, you should check out the lake. It's close enough to the island's cliffs that you won't waste time.
You use a pack of lesser clones to drag and push the basalt rock. A sheet of steel works as a sled, and some chains let you pull it. Any kind of cloth is long since burnt to ash, but another sheet of metal shields the rock from the sun. You move out a few hours before sunset, hoping you can find shelter on the way. Unfortunately theirs still Haze and fake fire roaming the island. It seems that this rock only acts as a conduit or channel, not the source. But that does explain how the Haze can appear outside the depths.

Its takes two days to move the heavy stone to the lake's shore, but you hid every sunset and avoided any Haze. Once there you start experimenting. Fresh water from the lake weakens Haze, but doesn't stop it. When the rock is submerged the islands Haze move slower and burns colder, but it still burns. The only thing that fully stops the Haze is darkness. The silt is more interesting. You send some clones through the islands tunnels to the depths, and task them with gathering silt. The substance is initially dry, but upon contact with the rock or Haze it transmutes into a wet muddy sludge. Some wisp of memory calls it calcareous ooze. The Haze can't burn anything covered in this stuff, and if enough is spread out in line it repels the Haze. Finally, covering the basalt rock in this ooze decreases the amount of Haze on the island.

The only downside is that the silt seems to weaken the barrier between the otherworld. When holding the stuff you occasionally catch glimpse of that alien ocean at the islands shores, even in broad daylight. But that doesn't matter now, you've got everything you need to complete your quest. what to do with this knowledge?
>Drop the rock. Throw it off the cliff. Your done studying it, and this should make the island safe again.
>Cover the rock. Make some trips to the silt flats yourself. You can fill up your backpack each time, and soon have enough silt to cover the rock, neutralizing it.
>Leave the rock. You have a way to stop the Haze and help the Kin. Multiple actually. You don't even need the island for any off those methods. Maybe keep the island for yourself, or just make sure no one else can go here.
>Write in. This weird island bounds with opportunity. And you know how to use it.

>>4458685
I'll draw up a map sometime. The silt is surrounding the island, and the lake is near the southeastern edge.

>>4458552
I guess, but the 3 day autosage made me think it should be done before that. I guess I can just ask in the general if I have to.

>>4459360
>cover the rock. Have your clones do it, instead, however.

>>4459360
>Cover the rock. Make some trips to the silt flats with clones. You can fill up your backpack each time, and soon have enough silt to cover the rock, neutralizing it.

>>4459554
>>4459585
You decide to gather up silt for the rock. You bring some clones of course, even without backpacks they can still fill up a pot from your camping gear, along with an oiled cloak wrapped around the dry mud. Its going to take some time, but you still have 4 days of rations left. Lets see how quickly you can work.
no DC best 1 of 3, 2d100. First best of 3 is for Hermann(you), second is for the clones.

I'll get the island the map next post.

Rolled 69, 15 = 84 (2d100)

>>4459680

File: Silt island map.png (256 KB, 1927x1798)

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>>4459680
Here's the map.

>>4459742

>>4460306
roll 2d100 my dude

Rolled 89, 13 = 102 (2d100)

>>4459680

Rolled 79, 21 = 100 (2d100)

>>4459680

>>4459742
>>4460741
>>4460868
Your 3 clones are only half as strong as you, so they can't carry a huge amount. They're still a big help of course. You lead the way down the caves while avoiding any threats, and the clones pack up piles of silt. Thanks to your spelunking skills and familiarity here, what would have been a days work takes only 7 hours.

You use that extra time to dig a shallow hole and line it in silt. With the rock half buried its easy to cover the rest of it. You get an uneasy feeling from the clay like silt turning to mud as it touches the grey basalt, but carry on regardless. As your doing so, the Haze over the islands starts to disappear, and the fake fire turns translucent before fading to nothing. As a final touch you hammer a sheet of steel over the hole, protecting it from any rains.

The horizon is dark thanks to the spire, but the sun is still dimly lit in the cloudless sky, hanging like a dying lantern. The earth here is barren, and decades of Haze has scorched areas to the bedrock, but some areas have fertile ash in the soil, and there plenty of water from the lake. Life will return here, eventually. You shake your head, thought returning to the present. How do you finish this?
You can choose multiple options here
>Expand the spires influence. The spires got enough raw magic to cover the whole island chain in shade. This will both weaken the Haze, and reduce it's presence. The agrarian Kin might have difficulty with such a dim world.
>Bring back silt. Show the Kin how to use the silt, controlling where the Haze can spread and using it as a heat shield. But what effect will the otherworld have through all that silt?
>Show the artifacts. Maybe if the Kin study the Scorched Rock and Waterlogged Wood they can reproduce it's anti Haze effects. Or it might not work at all.
>Write in. There's still other things you can do, like modifying the Spire, or testing the Scorched rock.

>>4460977
>Bring back silt. Show the Kin how to use the silt, controlling where the Haze can spread and using it as a heat shield. But what effect will the otherworld have through all that silt?
>Show the artifacts. Maybe if the Kin study the Scorched Rock and Waterlogged Wood they can reproduce it's anti Haze effects. Or it might not work at all.

>>4461015
+1 to this.

>>4461015
+1

File: Kin priest.png (988 KB, 764x1345)

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>>4461015
>>4461633
>>4461819
You trek back to the spire, gather everything you'll need for the trip back and sleep for sunset. You leave just before dawn, and look out at the barren grey landscape one more time before descending into the caves. You considered falling down the cliff and regenerating, but you don't wan't to break anything in your pack.

You jog the way back to the the Kin island. Tracing backwards along your previous path makes good time, and you arrive well before sunset. The Kin greet you with a large feast and you regale them with tales of your adventure. Well, technically the priest, Bzarzara, is the one telling the tales since she's the translator, but they all love it. They really love it. You wonder if she's embellishing a bit? The food's pretty boring, being almost entirely plant based, but Bzarzara slides you some cuts rabbit and small deer, which sate your carnivorous diet.

The next day you give a live demonstration of the silt, and some brave Kin practice it themselves. You don't have enough silt to show off a firebreak, but the Kin can use the provided silt to protector them as they gather more. You also get to see what mutation the Kin have. Apparently there race is incredibly fit physically, but also use those grasshopper legs to move super fast. Each Kin is 4 times faster than you, and about 1 in 16 has wings, which lets them fly 9 times faster than you can run. You guess that speed was a detriment though, since they often ran straight into the invisible Haze. Thanks to you, that's not a problem now.

You also hand over the Scorched Rock and Waterlogged Wood, hoping that you and the Kin can learn from them. The initial study of them them helps you correlate you experiences on the Silt island. The weird magics of the depths is nothing like rigid dynamics of magical circuitry. You'd describe it as almost like poetry, relying on instinctual nuance and metaphor. You now understand both magics.
+Magic Skill! You can now talk with your clones via a psychic link, and tell how far they are from you. Your negation circuity has doubled in range, out to 8 meters, and can freeze discontinuous objects, such as a sword and the person holding it, or a vehicle and all its cargo.

The Kin seem to disagree with you on whether these count as "artifacts." Still, with your help, the Kin think that they could mimic there effects with holy magic. The priests split time between studying with you, and praying to Anaphora. Except Bzarzara, who seems to spend most of her time with you and the items. Is that suspicious?
Doesn't matter right now, you have work to do. Your nose is on the grindstone for weeks, and your notes are piling up. Lets review with the Kin, and see whats possible.
DC 80, Best 1 of 3, 2d100. First is for Herman(I'll add the +15 post roll), second is for the priests.

>>4462190
Hermann the Prime-Biotic
Body: Your body is exceptionally thin, coated in a layer of lean muscle and taught tendon. This makes you exceptionally agile+5 checks but means less internal fat, leaving you with vulnerable organs+5 to crit you. Your natural biology means that you have thin skin-5DR and fragile muscles-5DR, but your stronger+5DMG and heal faster1.1Xregen.
Prime-Biotic Unique: Multiply mutation-60minutes

Mutations-Physical Ability: 1(+5 checks/DR/DMG)
Shapeshifting
Regeneration+10regen
Flesh Shapingflesh shaping pool=HP
-Flesh shape armor+10DR
Undying^^3Xregen

Magic Circuitry-Magic Skill: 3(+15 checks/magic DMG)
Level 1 Creation Circuity(Clone)
-Auxiliary circuit(True Clone)
Level 1 Negation Circuitry^^(Stasis)
-Auxiliary circuit(Reaction): parameters for activation not set
-Auxiliary circuit(Range-Volume)

Curses/Immortality
Curse of Slumber
-0 hour deficit.
Curse of Sight

General Skills
Basic Circuitry +5 checks
Shadneel Scavenging

Gear
Backpack
Waterlogged Wood(Magic)
Axe
Camping gear
Scorched Rock(Magic)

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>4462190

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>4462190
good start as always

Rolled 30, 59 = 89 (2d100)

>>4462190
with our luck we just gonna get owned

Rolled 84, 72 = 156 (2d100)

>>4462190
fug me i rolled wrong

>>4462212
>>4462266
I'll count this as one roll.

>>4462282
84+15=99
You've got a solid grasp on how these work. Part of the Waterlogged Wood exists inside the otherworld ocean, and when confronted with adversarial elements it siphons the black waters of that alien place. By connecting significant objects in a similar way you can recreate those effects.

>>4462282
72.
Unfortunately, the Kin's god holds no domain over that dark place, and the priests have stopped trying ever since one of them woke up with spiracles full of salt water. Thankfully, the caped warrior Kin you met before devises a solution. If they can't replicate the Waterlogged Wood with holy grace, why not collect more? Several Kin die following in your footsteps, but there sacrifice proves worth it. By going to your island, they can sleep in the caves. They can travel those tunnels in there dreams, and occasionally find similar pieces of wood. None are quite so potent as your's, presumably because they don't come from a "living" thing, but by working together they can provide protection from the Haze. Only warriors can do this however, since the wood only works in the claws of its finder, and the priests become seasick when holding them.

Efforts to replicate the Scorched Rock are met with middling success. By pouring divine light into the basalt they can mimic the effects of the Haze, but with only one piece the uses are limited. Thankfully you can use it as well, though it burns whatever hand holds the rock.

Bzarzara want's to thank you and the other priests agree. They can bring you into one of there meetings, and perform a ritual usually reserved for Kin leaders and elderly priests. It will let you feel the essence of Anaphora, and imbue with with its knowledge. As well, depending on specifics of the ritual, different attributes may be manifested. What do you ask of the priests?
>Soil. Fertile soil, lets you view your own mind and grows the inner self. And for some, it brings out dormant Mutations.
>Chitin. Shows the memories of dead Kin, warrior, priest, and commoner alike. When used with Fleshshaping you suspect you could gain the speed mutation the Kin have.
>Incense. Fungal incense relaxes the mind, and allows Anaphora to directly bless the recipient. The divine energy can kickstart inactive circuitry.
>Refuse. The Kin insist on rewarding you. They don't have much, but there are a few items they could give to you.
>Write in. A boon or favor of your own choice isn't out of the question.

>>4462326
>Soil. Fertile soil, lets you view your own mind and grows the inner self. And for some, it brings out dormant Mutations.
I'm divided between this and incense

>>4462326
>Soil. Fertile soil, lets you view your own mind and grows the inner self. And for some, it brings out dormant Mutations.

>>4462346
+1

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>>4462346
>>4462616
>>4462625
There's no way you can turn up the possibility to grow your Mutations. Or at least bring back forward one your currently unaware of. You agree to the ritual, and the Kin priests lead you to the depths of the hive, into a room of ornate stone. The whole room has been scrubbed with white ash, divine lights making the walls gleam silver. Your clothes are removed, and you are guided to sit facing away from a mural of gold filament, where the priests gather in a half circle around you. Clay vessels are brought in, each carefully painted with a different scene, and all filled with holy loam. Four are brought before you, and your hands are guided into the soft soil. The priests hesitate for a second, only now realizing that you only posses two arms. You ease there worries but forming two lesser limbs below the main pair, and the sacrament swiftly resumes.

With your four arms in place the priests begin a quite humming, sounding like cicadas and crickets. A rich earthy smell flows into your lungs as you breathe deeply. The buzzing prayers of the the Kin fade, and your vision goes black.

Sunset to sunrise, earth to sky, a field of glittering gold grass spreads out across the horizon tall as a child. Wind blows across it like waves, an illusion of a molten metal sea. This wind pushes you to look upwards, towards the sun. Or so it appears initially. As you eyes become blind in the light, you behold a terrifying entity. What can only be described as a golden sphere of chitin and limbs illuminates the landscape, and when it speaks your legs tremble. With a single word it gives a books worth of meaning, and with a single statement your skull is full of yellow thoughts. Everything from the importance of neighbors, to the language of Kin, to visions of vast hive complexes under fields of crop.

Before you can be overwhelmed, the dream collapses, and you fall downward into your own psyche. The visions here are far more pleasant, and you find yourself playing and partying at great festivals. You are surrounded by Prime-Biotics, an in the end of the festival, you are led to the top of a stepped temple for some grand act...

1/2

>>4462992
"Wake up! Wake up!" Your being violently shaken by something. A smell like piss and acid burns your nostrils, and forces you to consciousness. Bzarzara is standing above you, surrounded by concerned looking Kin. Wait, how do you know there concerned? The previously inscrutable insects seem almost... empathetic. More importantly, you can read there expressions, the subtle twitches of mandibles, the angle of the lower arms, even the circular waving of antennae.
"Please, say something!" Bzarzara is yelling now, though her words no longer have that sharp buzzing and sawing sound sound. It almost sounds like she is crying.
"Could you be little less loud? My head is pounding." You manage to squeak out, before everything goes black again.
+Grascrit! The language of the Kin. This not only has vocabulary and grammar, but also the teachings of Anaphora. All Kin are born with this knowledge, but you got it the hard way.

When you wake up again, you are informed by a caretaker of the ritual. Only the priests know exactly what happened, but the caretaker is a gossip, and exited to share with you. Apparently you fell into a trance, as expected, but soon started thrashing and gibbering nonsense. After that you had a seizure and became catatonic. No one could wake you for a whole day, and only when you had a another seizure did you finally come too, though that only lasted a few seconds. It's been a week now, with you fading in and out of dreams, both pleasant, and nightmarish. The most fascinating thing however, is several new structures you shapeshifted in your sleep.
+Ultimate-Survivor! You can breathe water as easily as air via a small set of gills, specialized lungs, and diffusion through wet skin. You have organs have become redundant, each organ can now serve multiple functions. You don't bleed out either, your veins are capable of circulating blood on there own, as well as closing off when they are damaged. Your skin can reflexively harden and close off all pores, allowing you to survive a vacuum, and making your skin about 2X as hard. You can go weeks without food or water due to the ability to close pores, an incredibly efficient urinary system capable of solidifying uric acid in a condensed form, and high calorie fat stores. Finally, you can digest almost any biological material, up to and including keratin, though you can still get sick or poisoned, and not all material is an efficient food source. With Flesh Shaping you can form new structures from material not present in your body, like a gland secreting paralytic venom, prehensile tails, and ink sprays. You can also form stores of dense biomatter in your body, allowing you to store an extra bodies worth of biomass in your body. This also makes you better at resisting elemental and physical attacks. Prime-Biotic unique: your skin is 2X as hard, and you shapeshift 2X as fast.
+5DR, +100HP, shapeshift non native biology.
2/3

>>4463014
Neat

>>4463014
While you where in a coma, the Kin have been busy. They've been gathering silt, that weird wood, and building fire breaks, but the whole hive was waiting for you awaking before moving forward. Several groups are asking for your counsel.

The caped warrior returns, now proudly displaying a piece of driftwood on a belt. "The warriors of the hive are anxious. Many of us believe the gathering of this wood should be a right of passage, but some of our caste are unwilling to go. Of the 16 who tried, 12 failed, and 2 died. I believe that all of the warrior caste should undergo this trial, but the crop tenders are worried about being undefended. So I have come for your blessing, will you grant it?"
>Yes. Each warrior need to succeed in this endeavor. It's risky, but the driftwood gives strange powers, and the warriors who succeed will make up for the failures.
>Try. Each warrior should try. Just risking there lives is enough to prove themselves. And for the few who do succeed, all the better.
>No. It's to much of a risk. Perhaps some Kin can go, but the number must be limited.
>Write in. Perhaps some rule, such as volunteering, or criminal punishment?

The priests are next and come for advice. They wish to explore the silt island, but the dangers are many. They could learn some history of the islands, and maybe retrieve advanced tools, or even get some of that burning basalt rock! But your the only one who knows the dangers, is it worth it?
>Absolutely. Send a large mission team. Some will surely die, but they'll be able to retrieve a lot from the old supply caches. This team can also bring tools to crack of parts of the burning rock.
>Partly. It is dangerous. Send a small team of Kin to move quickly. There mission will be mostly information retrieval, but they can probably bring back a few important items. No burning rock though.
>No. The silt will kill whoever gets sent there. Even in the day it can be dangerous, let alone at sunset.
>Write in.

The chatty caretaker also has a question. With a new defense against the depths, at least for the sunrise, will the Kin start expanding? "I mean, there's all those islands, and maybe we can send scouts past them! The old priests say there's a whole world rising out of the Depths, can you imagine? of course, it's up to the priests, I would never doubt them... but maybe you have your own ideas, huh, huh?" The caretaker has curios grin plastered across its bug eyes, and doesn't seem the smartest, but it does have a point. What should the Kin be doing?
>Scout. Expand to local islands, and send scouts as far as they can go. It will hurt when they don't come back, and there might be dangers past the horizon, but the future is bright.
>Take. Secure the local islands before anything else. You'll have soldiers patrolling every wall, walls on every hive, and hives on every island. Eventually.
>Nothing. You don't want to give your opinion yet. The hive will stay alone for now.

>>4463097
>Try. Each warrior should try. Just risking there lives is enough to prove themselves. And for the few who do succeed, all the better.
>Partly. It is dangerous. Send a small team of Kin to move quickly. There mission will be mostly information retrieval, but they can probably bring back a few important items. No burning rock though.
>Scout. Expand to local islands, and send scouts as far as they can go. It will hurt when they don't come back, and there might be dangers past the horizon, but the future is bright.

>>4463097
What's the rate of replacement of the hive members? Are they genuinely individualistic or is the loss and replacement of a soldier Kin fairly whatever? I'm guessing not. Therefore:
For the warriors, Try. It's a challenge, those who succeed will be advantageous.

For the priests: Not without an escort. We might be willing to provide one, but the likelihood is they'll just disappear in the silt and that's that.

For the Hive: Take. Strong, deliberate expansion, well guarded.

>>4463112
They have a lifespan of about 50 years, though divine magic can extend the life's of the higher ups or specialists. They're physical mature around 15, but because of there innate knowledge they're considered adults at age 9.
They all have there own personality and mind, but there belief system has a intensely collectivist view. So they don't want to die, but its easy to pressure them into it. The only real fear for the people is so many dying that jobs go unfilled, and the Hive starts to collapse.

>>4463097
>Try. Each warrior should try. Just risking there lives is enough to prove themselves. And for the few who do succeed, all the better.

>Partly. It is dangerous. Send a small team of Kin to move quickly. There mission will be mostly information retrieval, but they can probably bring back a few important items. No burning rock though.

>Take. Secure the local islands before anything else. You'll have soldiers patrolling every wall, walls on every hive, and hives on every island. Eventually.

>>4463109
>>4463112
>>4463212
You tell the caped warrior that you can't allow potential soldiers to be wasted. Those caves are dangerous, at sunset they become lethal. In your eyes anyone who survives a night there is proven enough. He begrudgingly accepts your words, and makes no comment on you use of the word "soldier."

The priests listen to you silently before saying "thank you" and parting. Apparently the were fighting over what to do, but no one was willing to act while you were out. Whatever internal politics happens with the holy folk, its doesn't satisfy many of them. About half wanted to stay back, and the rest were split on what size of mission should be sent. Your details about the state of the island changes some minds, and its agreed that a team of 5 with the flying Mutations will be sent, with 5 more hanging back at the silt border.

The caretaker is glad to here your opinion, and your sure that he will gossip it all over the hive. But only time will tell how much influence you really have over the people. Bugs? Your still not sure what to call them.

In the meantime, you still need to rest, and a week off sounds nice. You head back to your own island, but Kin flyers regularly visit to keep you updated, and Bzarzara makes sure theirs no lasting damage from the botched ritual.

Best 1 of 3, 3d100. First is the warriors no DC, second is the mission DC 65, and third is the peoples ideas DC 50.

Rolled 69, 34, 61 = 164 (3d100)

>>4463282

Rolled 95, 23, 67 = 185 (3d100)

>>4463282

Rolled 27, 69, 67 = 163 (3d100)

>>4463282

Hm. Soldiers. Hm. :/

>>4463321
95 Critical success!
The Hive has 90 fully fledged warriors. Each sleeps in the caves, and each undergoes the trial. But whether they succeed or fail, each Warrior shares its experiences and provides advice for other who take this challenge. As well, its discovered that by having multiple Kin sleep in separate caves at the same time, the mortality rate halves. Of the 90, 36 succeed, and only 5 die. Calculating that, there is a success rate of 40%, and a lethality of only 6%. Whats more, those who succeed begin to wear the pieces of driftwood as status symbols, and enjoy a place above there peers. And they have you to thank for it.

>>4463475
69(no funny business here)
The mission is a success, but at a high cost. of the 10 sent, only 2 come back alive, only one of which is a flyer. Something in the silt killed most of the ground squad, and the 4 flyers died on the first sunset. They recovered only a few rusted tools, pieces of glass and some clay tablets. The steel is of higher quality than any Kin metal, even rusted, and the glass is completely transparent. The Kin will try to learn from these items, but they can't be used at this point in time. The tablets and the missions observations reveal little, other than that this place was some kind of outpost which the main Shadneel governance couldn't, or wouldn't, recover.

>>4463321
>>4463475
67
Word spreads slowly, and most people know its from your own opinion. But the majority, and some of the priesthood, agree that they should retake the local islands. Already some warriors are talking about how to defeat there ancestral foe. You were unaware there was an ancestral foe. Apparently the crescent island has its own inhabitants, a "kingdom" of porcelain skinned beings called Shapely. The land they control is actually quite small, but they regularly come in conflict with the Kin over the east side of the island. There are several smaller groups on the other islands as well.
Is this your problem?
>Yes, war. Your help would be crucial for the Kin winning any war against these people.
>Yes, peace. No, stop the fighting! You'll need to find a way to resolve these tensions.
>No. Let them resolve this. Your safe here on your own island.
>Write in. You know way to little about the situation, a hasty decision won't help anyone.

Rolled 41 (1d69)

>>4463574
>War were declared.
>Us and the kin are GOING PLACES.

File: local islands map update1.png (168 KB, 1872x1290)

168 KB PNG

>>4463574

>>4463574
>Write in. You know way to little about the situation, a hasty decision won't help anyone.
Let's research how this conflict started, this will help us decide either a diplomatic or offensive approach

>>4463589
>>4463617

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4463589
>>4463617

>>4464499
Fucked up that roll

File: Shapely Noble.png (809 KB, 741x1368)

809 KB PNG

>>4463589
You've thrown your lot in with the Kin, you'll see this through. Not to mention, you remember your goal here(>>4435054). The warriors of the Hive are appreciative of you and willing to follow your guidance. elevating the conflict will raise their bargaining power in the hive, and you'll be leading them. Not to mention the acquisition of land.

>>4463617
Of course your not stupid, information has to be gathered before soldiers start fighting. You ask around the hive, learning about the Shapely. The warriors are happy to talk with you, and provide a plethora of stories. The Shapely are a caste based society, but unlike the Kin there is no mobility between groups. Shapely are born and raised into different jobs, and develop physical attributes based on there tasks. This leads to a powerful soldier types, lithe scout types, and sharp eyed archer types. There tech is better than the Kin, but nowhere near as good as the Shadneel. They use iron compared to frail bronze, and while the Kins strong arms are perfect for launching spears, they are nearsighted and can't match the range of a longbow. Finally, While the Kin are physically superior, there pacifistic nature makes few capable warriors compared to the Shapely soldiers, who are born to fight.

The priests provide a little more info on the Shapely's culture and biology. They are primarily female, about 7 to 5, and the males are weaker, but much faster. They're castes also lead to a feudal structure, with different kingdoms having royalty of different bloodlines. This is why despite there being so many Shapely on the islands, they don't work together. As a matter of fact, they fight other kingdoms as much as the Kin. No one here knows there exact numbers, but they definitely outnumber the Kin,

They lack a unique species ability, but are more likely to exhibit magic and mutations. For example, they all posses the Enhance mutation, making them temporarily faster and stronger. Whats more, about 1 in 10 posses the Flight mutation. While the Kin wings are made for long distance flight, the Shapely wings allow for fast movements and hovering.

Your soldiers
49 warriors
36 driftwood warriors
45 priests

With the given information, whats the plan of attack?
>Full assault. You'll break defense with the elites like Bzarzara and the caped warrior, followed by a rush of soldiers.
>Probing strikes. Launch several fast strikes before retreating, wearing down the enemy.
>SiegeXsiege. Start moving Kin into Shapely territory, bunkering down as you go.
>Write in. There's a stratagem you'd like to try. Or maybe you'd like to do something before going to war?

(tried to contain the autism when describing the differences in biology.)

>>4464607
>Probing strikes. Launch several fast strikes before retreating, wearing down the enemy.
Let's try some victory in detail first

>>4464607
>Probing strikes. Launch several fast strikes before retreating, wearing down the enemy.

>>4464634
>>4465060
I'm going to be a bit late today, sorry.

>>4464634
>>4465060
The Shapely are experts in medieval warfare. The best chance at victory will be plying the extreme speed of the Kin to outmaneuver the enemy. Unfortunately you can't keep up with the strike teams, but your supreme defensive abilities let you hold a launch zone on the northeast side of the island. You and a team of driftwood warriors can release dark water into the otherworld, which temporary and partial blindness in the weak willed. The especially vulnerable even begin to suffocate on nonexistent fluids.

Best 1 of 3, 2d100. First is the strike squads DC 60. Second is for your team DC 80.

Rolled 18, 45 = 63 (2d100)

>>4466077
Damn those dcs

Rolled 55, 42 = 97 (2d100)

>>4466077

Rolled 64, 90 = 154 (2d100)

>>4466077

>>4466109
Hot damn

>>4466109
64
The strike teams encounter stiff competition. The Shapely are used to surprise attacks, though usually from there own kind. The Strike teams moved out at night and struck in the morning, using driftwood to protect from any passing Haze. The initial attack was easy, but Shapely reinforcements arrived from northern barracks and quickly set up defenses. Their army did not expect an attack from the Kin, but where prepared all the same. The battle lost you 10 warriors, 4 driftwood warriors, 7 priests, and half that number injured. But the priests report at least 45 Shapely soldiers dead.

>>4466109
The returning strike teams had you worried about an incoming counterattack, but there worries proved unfounded. The Shapely sent a 50 strong battalion of soldiers, and even magic users, but your driftwood warrior intercepted them in the depths. The warriors held there ground until some errant Haze consumed the mass of soldiers, killing all but 10 of the Shapely. Thanks to some nearby priests providing healing and a cycling of injure soldiers, there were only 2 causalities, but 8 badly injured. You didn't even need to fight.

While the attack wasn't nearly as successful as you'd like, the strong defense of the driftwood warriors meant that causalities were light. You didn't get much info from the initial attack, but the strike teams estimate that the Shapely army is around 200 strong(less now you think), and posses mages equal in power to Kin priests. Future attacks will be more difficult without the element of surprise, but the Shapely will fear engaging your forces when Haze is present, of that your sure.

Your soldiers
39 warriors-5 injured
30 driftwood warriors-10 injured
38 priests-3 injured

No counterattack has come yet. The Shapely are either busy, or confused by the aggression of such a typically peaceful species. In the meantime you have become the general of this campaign in all but name. The soldiers are listening whats your next command?
>Carry the attack. By your estimates both armies are evenly matched in numbers. With tactics and superior units, you can obtain total victory.
>Secure the front. Start building defenses and digging in at the eastern edge. That place is heavily contested, and up till now neither side could settle there. Lets change that.
>Wait. Rest and lick your wounds. Your injured recover quickly thanks to divine healing. The Shapely don't have that luxury.
>Write in. You've taken away the Shapely advantage, but you can't rest on your laurels yet.

>>4466087
OOC, that was checking if you needed to get directly involved.

>>4466188
>Secure the front. Start building defenses and digging in at the eastern edge. That place is heavily contested, and up till now neither side could settle there. Lets change that.
So failure would be bigger casualties and our intervention, got it. Glad that anon pulled it off

>>4466200
Your out of the fire, but still in the frying pan. Your on even grounds with the Shapely, but that just means they have a 50/50 shot at wining this war. You need to secure a defensive position, both to push your recent success, and to secure land from this conflict. The warriors stand guard as workers swarm the landscape, cutting trees, digging dirt walls, and burrowing into the earth. At the eastern cliffs wooden palisades are set up, serving to slow any climbers. It's a week before the next counterattack.

As the defenses go up, so do the enemies soldiers. Flying Shapely have begun flying over your palisades, shooting down with longbows. Several workers have been killed, and it's making work all but impossible. Kin spears can't hit the flyers, and they are agile enough to dodge bolts of holy fire. A particularly dangerous mage has also been spotted. She flies over burrows and summons rainstorms, forcing the workers out for fear of drowning. How do you defend the new territory?
>Sacrifice. Keep sending in workers. Many will die, but the soldiers will be fine. Most don't even mind.
>Flyers. Send in your own flyers. It will be dangerous, but they can distract the enemy long enough to finish the defenses.
>Draw back. While more agile than the Kin, winged Shapely are slower and tire after long distances. You'll lose the cliff, and thus the high ground, but save lives.
>Write in. Have your cake and eat it to. You have an idea.

>>4467662
>Flyers. Send in your own flyers. It will be dangerous, but they can distract the enemy long enough to finish the defenses.

>>4467662
>Flyers. Send in your own flyers. It will be dangerous, but they can distract the enemy long enough to finish the defenses.

>>4467672
>>4467679
Hopefully a patrol of winged Kin can block the worst of these attacks. Your flying soldiers ride thermals across the stretch of depths between the two islands, launching spears from above. You watch from below, impotent in these flying battles. The Kin are tough and fast, but they cant hope to match there enemies speed. The two groups spiral together and separate in pulses, occasionally dropping bodies from the sky. You can't see any clear victor, or even advantaged side. Only time will tell if this gambit pays off.

DC 55, Best 1 of 3, 1d100.

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>4467951
Late night doot here we go

File: Shapely Diplomat.jpg (356 KB, 1318x1992)

356 KB JPG

>>4467960
After a few days the fighting dies down. Your soldiers have performed above and beyond there duties, patrolling the depths in day, and guarding the cliffs at night. Some have taken to carrying burning oil, and the priests light up the sky with beams of golden light. There have a few injuries, but few causalities on your side. The Shapely stopped sending there own troops after the 3rd dead fell from the sky. Still, your soldiers never falter, and drive off any enemy that gets within eyesight of the island. Well, Kin eyesight, which isn't far, but the sentiment stands true.

Your Curse forces you to sleep for half the day, and as such you miss most of the construction. Instead you'll begin hibernating on a bed of moist earth, and come to surrounded by trenches, and the occasional ramada built around you. At one point you even slept through a tidal surge of Haze. The silt firebreaks did there job and no workers were harmed, but you did pause when waking up covered in ash. Otherwise, the Kin are extremely happy to have gained new land, even if only as a defensive garrison. The workers respect you for defending them.

The Shapely's next attack is... unconventional. They have sent only a single mage, clad in some kind of ceremonial robe and wielding blue flame, who demands to speak with the woman in control of this invasion. They are also demanding a formal reason for these "unwarranted and violent and violent assaults on the "Kingdom of Telly." She's either powerful, or confident(perhaps stupid?) enough to think this is a good idea. How do yo respond?
>Speak then. You've been leading the charge, soldier and worker alike look to you for guidance. You and an honor guard of soldiers will confront this woman.
>Bzarzara. She has authority to speak for the priests, and can convene before meeting. You will accompany her, of course.
>Caped warrior. He's been the one leading the actual attacks. You've heard heard him speak actually, so you'll have to talk on his behalf. This will look less like you taking control of the Kin, but the warrior might have his own ideas.
>Write in.

On another note, How do you respond to these accusation of unwarranted violence?
>Write in.

>>4468110
>Bzarzara. She has authority to speak for the priests, and can convene before meeting. You will accompany her, of course.
Let's not give her the impression we are controlling the kin. btw OP how much until we reach our quota of sleep of this year ?

>>4468114
Your curse requires and extra 60 days of sleep each year. That either sleeping a whole day each week, or sleeping an extra 4 hours each day. You can hibernate for extended periods of time so you don't need to sleep later.

>>4468119
oh it's 60 extra ? thought it was only 60. but still with the 8-12 hrs hibernation we've been getting will reach it soon

>>4468110
>Bzarzara. She has authority to speak for the priests, and can convene before meeting. You will accompany her, of course.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=k8+the+8
Btw OP I archived the last thread

Phone posting
>>4468123
>>4468271
While you are technically running this war, it would step on a few insectoid toes to declare yourself in charge. Instead you call the elder priests. After a few hours they send Bzarzara out to meet this challenger. You, the caped warrior, and a few driftwood warriors are sent as an honor guard.

“You’ve finally arrived. I am archmage Rael Cun, sent to find answer to your assault. And you are?” She speaks clearly and concisely in the Shadneel language, though you see no mouth movements and there’s a a faint echo to her voice.
“Amm Bzarzara, spea’k for thezz elder priestsz. Thisz one will transzlat’t. He hasz better (Shadneel language)” She points at you. Ah, so that’s what the Shadeel speak.
You introduce yourself as Herman. If Rael is offput by your transparent skin and different species, it does not show on her mask-face.

“I will be the first to admit that we did not see this coming. Our people have always maintained good relation.”
“You have been attacking us for 3 generations. We have finally struck back, built defenses, and you call it unwarranted?” Bzarzara remains calm despite her retorts, and you attempt to mimic her tone.
“Those were customary conflicts, to ensure we remain on equal ground. And from our perspective it’s only been one generation. But this...” she waves at your palisades and spear bearers “is too far. You have occupied our land, attacked our civilians, and expanded your military.”
“This is not your land. You bult homes over our fields and nests. Then you attacked.”
“We settles on empty land, no buildings for miles in any direction. And when you threatened our people, our land, we’d defended!” Her voice is raising, and her voices echo becomes sharp.
Bzarzara pauses, and for the first time seems concerned. “No, we were only ever neighbors. The Kin are kind to neighbors. Not a threat.”
“You threatened them with religious conversion, and forcibly evicted us from the homes we built.” Rael is visibly panting from her rant. Bzarzara is clearly unnerved, and has lost her words.

>>4469333
The Shapely mage recovers her composure during this stretch of silence, and speaks again, this time much calmer. “It doesn’t matter now. I am here with an ultimatum. Stop this war, and return our land. We will allow you three quarters of this island and ask for no taxes, so long as levy us your soldiers for war.”
It’s the caped warrior who responds, since your own diplomat has lost her voice. He points at Rael and holds up two hands, six fingers each. With a spear, he mimes cutting of 3 fingers.
She understands his message. “You have taken half our army into the depths, that is true. But we can levy peasants. Your people are too gentle for that, aren’t they.” Her mask-face splits open like wasp mandibles. Behind is a smaller mouth, crooked upwards in a cruel smile.

The caped warrior stares at you, pointing a spear at Rael. Bzarzara is deep in thought. [i]How do you respond?[/i]
>Wait. Let Bzarzara speak. She’ll probably capitulate. Maybe it’s for the best?
>Fuck off. You’ll have prove that any further attack is a bad idea.
>Negotiate. Try to reach a better deal. Prove that working together is better.
>War. I’ll see your corpse on the battlefield.
>Write in. Your smarter than than this Rael Cun. And your about to prove it.

>>4469338
>Write in
>You sound desperate. We know that you're only one of the Shadneel kingdoms. Are the other kingdoms sensing weakness after you've lost half your army to us? How long before they invade your land as we did and destroy your entire kingdom? You need to end this war and looks like you need our soldiers. Why should we do either? Instead of demanding things for us, how about you tell us what you can do for us so your kingdom isn't wiped out by both the Kin and various other Shadneel kingdoms.

>>4469333
(Shadneel language) Was supposed to say Gelthic. Forgot to change it.

>>4468659
Thanks. I’ve never actually archived a thread before. Don’t suppose you’d be willing to say how?

>>4468123
You’ll always sleep an extra 4 hours each day unless you sleep extra at some point. Basically you can build up a surplus of hibernation that can be used in place of that extra 4 hours of sleep. I’m not sure if I’m explaining the curse correctly.
My best example is that you could hibernate 60 days in one go, then sleep normally for the rest of the year. I did some math to figure it out, but I don’t want to exceed anybody’s autism tolerance.

>>4469346
These are the Shapely, actually. No idea why they're addressing us in Shadneel. Shadneel are the fishy dudes.

>>4469346
Replace every shadneel for shapely in this. Also *instead of demanding things from us

>>4469346
this, just replace shadneel with shapely
>>4469349
I can OP, do you know suptg ?

>>4469349
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html
in the left side there's an 'Add thread' session with "Click here for request interface'. you click there to archive a thread. Then you fill the fields bellow the Request form. the thread number (#) is the number of the first post of the thread, the one you make when you open it

>>4469346
>>4469382
"You sound desperate. We know that you're only one of the Shapely kingdoms. Are the other kingdoms sensing weakness after you've lost half your army to us? How long before they invade your land as we did and destroy your entire kingdom? You need to end this war and looks like you need our soldiers. Why should we do either? Instead of demanding things for us, how about you tell us what you can do for us so your kingdom isn't wiped out by both the Kin and various other Shapely kingdoms?" It is true that the Kin are far too gentle. But your a Prime-Biotic, your species fight and kill and laugh as they do so. Hell, if your dreams are anything to go by your whole race are the cannibalistic equivalent of sorority girls. If there's going to be peace their armies will take a knee, not yours.
"It is unfortunate that the Kin would allow something as wretched as you to speak for them." Her mandibles close, but you catch a frown before her mask-face seals shut. It would seem that there your lack of action in the fight has paid off. Rael clearly expected to meet mewling pacifists and priests. "...But yes, there are some threats beyond yourselves. We simply want to minimize causalities for all sides. And if we strain our army on two fronts, we may be forced to use, distasteful measures, like flooding out your burrows."
"You realize that doing so would push every worker, caretaker, and crop tender to fight? Right? If you give no option but death, the Kin, and I, will respond in kind. Have you ever seen locusts on a crop field? That will be your kingdom. So answer the question, what you can do for us?" You stare down her emotionless mask with you own over expressive face. Neither flinches.
"Are you willing to die for that statement?" A flowing blue flame surrounds her finger tips.
"No, but I'm willing to kill for it." You freeze fire in time, making a beautiful blue jewel.

File: Prime Biotic 2.png (3.61 MB, 970x1674)

3.61 MB PNG

Sorry for not posting much, I'm spending time at my parents place and I'm hanging out with them.
As an apology: pic related, how I imagine a Prime-Biotic shapeshifted into a male form.

>>4469622
Rael sighs and puts a porcelain hand to her face. "Fine, if you want to be so tough. I thought you'd all break down after learning what those ants did." She sighs again. "We're prepared to give you the whole island and sign a peace treaty for at least a generation. And in return we'd like some of those wood wielding soldiers, and a few of the those mud carriers for a year. The ones who can stop Haze. With safe passage through the depths we could easily defend our territory. If that's not enough, we are open to future trade." You motion for her to continue. If here eyes weren't pitch black you'd swear they were rolling.
"I may not like you or your ilk, but the nobles love the idea of a Kin army. And I live to serve." She adds the last part with a bitter tone. You can't help but smile, your enlarged facial muscles contorting into a rictus grin. Is this enough?
>How about... Offer something, and see what the Telly kingdom can offer. Or ask for something, and see what they want in return.
>Question? There's something you'd like answered.
>It's all yours. Let Bzarzara do her job. Your sure she'll accept here, for fear of losing whats offered.
>Write in. There's something else on your mind.

>>4469355
(Sometime between the past and the future)
You turn to Bzarzara, whispering a question in Grascrit. "Why are you guys talking in Shadneel, err, I mean Gelthic?"
"Really, you don't know? You speak it yourself."
"Call it my second language, I'm used to speaking it. Just tell me." She smirks a little at your ignorance.
"I don't know their language, and they don't speak Grascrit. But we both have old books in Gelthic." That satisfies you. But not her apparently.
"Wait, whats your first language?" She asks a full minute later.
"Really, you don't know?" You smirk at her ignorance. If this weren't high stakes diplomacy your sure she'd smack you with her staff.

>>4469387
Good to know! I used to browse old /tg threads on suptg, but stopped a few years ago. I honestly forgot it existed.

>>4469637
>It's all yours. Let Bzarzara do her job. Your sure she'll accept here, for fear of losing whats offered.
Since those guys were crazy enough to plan warcrimes, let's take it

>>4469637
>It's all yours. Let Bzarzara do her job. Your sure she'll accept here, for fear of losing whats offered.

>>4469804
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that "war crimes" as a concept might not hold much water in this particular hellscape plane of existence.

But I'm with you on
>Let Bzarzara do her job. It's her people, ultimately, not ours. We're just helping out.

>>4469637
>It's all yours. Let Bzarzara do her job. Your sure she'll accept here, for fear of losing whats offered.

I think this should be fine - we represent them well, but they are not our subject by any means.

On the other hand, they are somewhat right. We are a murder machine, made to kill and destroy.

>>4469804
>>4469831
>>4469855
>>4469995
Your step backwards, falling in line with Bzarzara once more. With you at her side her side and with aggressive mage subdued her confidence returns. Again, she speaks and you translate.
"All the Kin desire is friendship with neighbors. The will of Anaphora is such. On behalf of the priests, and on behalf of the hive, I accept the Telly kingdoms offer."
"Very well. I shall inform my superiors, and an official treaty may be signed. Expect more diplomats to arrive in the coming weeks."
The Kin clasp there upper hands while dangling the lower arms there and bow there heads. Rael gives a theatrical bow and with a swish of her arm and a turn of her heels she begins marching back home.
"That went great, I thought we were gonna die." One of the soldier chirps out before getting smacked upside the head.

More diplomats was definitely an overstatement. About two days later a group of three Shapely nobles showed up, presented a piece of velum paper, then signed it. Each of the elder priests alongside the caped warrior, Bzarzara, and some other important Kin go next. The treaty guarantees peace for 50 years. One of the nobles is curious about studying the Kin and yourself, even claiming some familiarity with the Prime-Biotic. A doubtful prospect considering how long this archipelago has been isolated. She doesn't stay long since the other two Shapely are eager to leave. An escort of dritftwood warriors protect them from the Haze on there way back. It's a short distance between your islands, but the kind gesture is still meaningful.

The only remaining question is; did you sign the treaty?
>Yes. You've signed on the side of the Kin. You've cemented yourself as one of there leaders, an stand equal with any elder priest.
>Independent. You signed, but you wrote your name separate from any other. You've guaranteed a position as local power.
>No. You'll keep your current position as a trusted friend to Kin and an enigma to the Shapely. You aren't expected to help maintain the peace but you will be lacking in diplomatic power.
>Write in. There's probably a better place to put your name.

>>4470098
>Independent. You signed, but you wrote your name separate from any other. You've guaranteed a position as local power.
Good to make our name and remain with some freedom in the future

>>4470117
I'm with this.

>>4470117
>>4470123
It's been a busy few weeks, but you've got your footing now. The Kin know about your powers and the Shapely know your dangerous but neither knows about your relationship with aging. You've secured an island to yourself, posses exclusive knowledge about the true nature of the depths, and have diplomatic influence over the local powers. You've done pretty well, not counting the emotional trauma. Your not sure how much more you can do at this point. Maybe it's time for a nap?
>Yes. Enter hibernation for a year, or until someone wakes you up. Time-Skip
>No. You'll find something to occupy your time, at least until something interesting comes up. Time-Skip
>Write in. There's one or two things you'd like to get done first.

>>4470225
Hermann the Prime-Biotic
Body: Your body is exceptionally thin, coated in a layer of lean muscle and taught tendon. This makes you exceptionally agile+5 checks but means less internal fat, leaving you with vulnerable organs+5 to crit you. Your natural biology means that you have thin skin-5DR and fragile muscles-5DR, but your stronger+5DMG and heal faster1.1Xregen.
Prime-Biotic Unique: Multiply mutation-60minutes

Mutations-Physical Ability: 1(+5 checks/DR/DMG)
Shapeshifting
Regeneration+10regen
Flesh Shaping+flesh shaping pool=HP
-Flesh shape armor+10DR
Ultimate-Survivor++5 DR, +100HP
-Flesh shape stats X2
Undying^^3Xregen

Magic Circuitry-Magic Skill: 3(+15 checks/magic DMG)
Level 1 Creation Circuity(Clone)
-Auxiliary circuit(True Clone)
Level 1 Negation Circuitry^^(Stasis)
-Auxiliary circuit(Reaction): parameters for activation not set
-Auxiliary circuit(Range-Volume)

Curses/Immortality
Curse of Slumber
-0 hour deficit.
Curse of Sight

General Skills
Basic Circuitry +5 checks
Shadneel Scavenging

Gear
Backpack
Waterlogged Wood(Magic)
Axe
Camping gear
Scorched Rock(Magic)

>>4470225
>Yes. Enter hibernation for a year, or until someone wakes you up. Time-Skip
Storing time for less sleep it is

>>4470225
Can we put a true clone out while we're hibernating for a year?

Have them pretend to be us. Work on making this place more habitable? Start raising some livestock maybe... Hmmmm...

>timeskip 1 year.

>>4470247
Make a clone too

File: local islands map update2.png (202 KB, 1784x1367)

202 KB PNG

>>4470235
>>4470247
>>4470277
Your curse has been nagging you to sleep for a while now. And seeing as theirs no immediate threat you might as well grab some z's. Of course you won't leave things idle, as your sleeping a true clone can manage everything for you. It can even get some work done. Thankfully your clones have all your memories, so you don't need to do any prep. As the calcified shell covers you eyes you think about how nice it would be to have some real meat in your diet.

Clone POV: Your days are pretty eclectic. One week was spent capturing island deer to bring back to your island. They went extinct on you island, and a lot you bring back disappear during sunset. With some not so gentle herding you get them to stay on the high areas of the island at night, and they come down during the day to graze. The population should remain stable so long as they remember that daily migration.

Another day you spent negotiating with a Shapely "rancher." You use that term very loosely now; The rancher informed you that her species almost exclusively eat rodents and lagomorphs. They do breed some kind of fluffy rat longer than your hand which tastes great fried and is easy to care for. You trade some for a few of those flameless lanterns the Kin make.

Of course, most of the time your clearing trees, fixing up the house, boarding up tunnels, etc. All things to make things a little less dangerous and a little more habitable. It's on such a day halfway through the year that Bzarzara lands on your island. She explains the situation as you put stilts on a rodent coop. The Kin have been expanding over there own island, and to local ones. Already they're digging a new hive on the island north of the submerged hills. But some of the Shapely want outposts on the tidal islands. This would require both help from the Kin, and permission for the Kin to settle your island. They promise that you'll still be in charge of the place though. Is this okay?
>Yes. They can set up a small hive here. Having some Kin workers around to help your work is tempting.
> No. It's your island, and its only 2 miles wide! No one else needs to be here.
>Shapely too. The porcelain people have to set up shop here too. They'll man the outposts on the job, and clock off at your island.
>Write in. You have a better arrangement in mind.

>>4470996
>Yes. They can set up a small hive here. Having some Kin workers around to help your work is tempting.
keep it small my dudes

>>4470996
>Yes. They can set up a small hive here. Having some Kin workers around to help your work is tempting.

yeah, but we should def ensure that we are the "lord" of this island.

>>4470996
>Yes. They can set up a small hive here. Having some Kin workers around to help your work is tempting.

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>>4471001
>>4471476
>>4471483
Well... so long as they keep it small and guarantee that you remain lord of the island. Bzarzara lights up when you agree, quickly pulling you into an incredibly uncomfortable hug. She doesn't seem to realize how soft your skin is compared to her painfully sharp carapace.
"You wont regret this, just wait!" She yells when flying off. You miss the caped warrior. At least he didn't try to hug you.

It only takes a day for a small swarm of the grasshopper people to make landfall on your island. The construction starts on the northeast cliff of the island and moves inward. They start digging a single large entrance at a 45 degree angle, then as the hive expands smaller one person holes are dug. Whats really strange is the planting of grain crops over the surface the edges of those fields marking the boundaries of underground dwellings. When night falls they even light fires that spew smoke out through fist size holes in the dirt.

Your standing up on the islands hill, watching the Kin scurry like ants. Some of the workers can bee seen milling about, having run out of jobs to do. This would be a good opportunity to get your own construction done. Is there anything you want?
Mutliple options can be chosen here
>Cellar. This could double the size of your house, maybe get a root cellar for storage, or a safe room.
>Hive. Get your own miniature Hive around your home. You could have your own subjects, but the religious pestering might get annoying.
>Terraform. There's a lot of trees for such a small bit of land. The Kin could chop down some trees, pack some dirt, and get some paths around the island.
>Write in. With you own team of energetic workers the options are limitless.

>>4472180
I think we should build a keep, or something like that if we got the tools for it a solid, defendable structure is always good to have. if needed, we could unload some of the work on powerless clones as well.

apart from that, ensuring pathways are done is important, but maintaining healthy amount of trees is probably very good in this world where forestry is severely lacking.

apart from that, how does magic work? if it is to some degree ritualistic, the high peak could probably be useful in channeling wind or sun, or possibly used as a foci for powers. it's something to explore, at least.

>>4472180
>Cellar. This could double the size of your house, maybe get a root cellar for storage, or a safe room.

>>4472216
You spend a while fiddling with your magical wood and rock. Magic, at least magic as you know it, follows pretty strict rules as defined by magical circuitry. There are four main elements for these circuits, known as creation, destruction, entropy, and order. There's also meta circuits, known as the negation element. The arrangement of a circuit determines it output when a mote of magic flows through it. This circuitry occur naturally in a lot of people, but usually need surgery to get the magic flowing. There's 3 levels of circuitry, with each level having extra magic and more auxiliary circuits. Your pretty familiar with this considering you posses both creation and negation circuity at level 1.

That's what makes the depths so weird. It's rules are vague, based on external circumstance, and honestly an absolute mess. The only way you can configure an explanation is treating it like poetry, or art. Your test's with them rarely yield results. Today was an exception to that. You've discovered at least one hard rule for the "magic" of the depths. The Waterlogged Wood grows weaker the farther from the depths it is, and the Scorched Rock burns hotter the more sunlight its exposed to. And both of them become much stronger when actually in the depths.

You bet that if you make some conceptual connections you can utilize that power. A structure of focusing mirrors for the sun, or a dark temple filled with dredged up silt perhaps?. Ideas of stone and fire, dark and water, light and magic all pour into your thoughts. Even images of the strange things from the otherworld make an appearance.

You still have no idea how holy magic works. The Kin tried to explain it, but being screamed at by a bug god has made you hesitant to learn.

>>4472245
then perhaps it could be useful to make something on top of our isle. if there is little possibility now, since we lack much of the material needed to make mirrors and lenses, we could at least make a foundation for a structure or a tower?

Wonder how much the Kin are going to expand over the timeskip

>>4472216
>>4472242
>>4472290
>>4472296
I accidentally deleted my post. Give me while to retype it.

File: Home island map update 2.png (456 KB, 1980x1554)

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>>4472216
Right now your island lacks visibility and has no defensible places. A keep would fix both of those problems and build up you island. The Kin don't work with solid stone much, but have expreince with bricks made from clay and dirt. The workers find a flat space on the hill to dig foundations, and after a month they already have a wooden frame. According to the overseer, the final structure will be about 30ft tall, surrounded by a stick wall. The wall will be elevated on a dirt ring, excavated from a trench around said wall. Both the wall has holes spears can be jammed through, and the keep has an open roof which allows attacks from above.

While that's happening, you have the extra Kin go make trails around your land. While normally homebodies, they seem exited to explore the island. Maybe they don't get enough exercise?
You do make sure they know that a minimum of trees should be cut down. Your lord of this place, and you want a healthy forest. Your glad you said so, since the Kin don't seem to realize how much damage they do to the surface. Guess that's what living underground does to a person. Er, bug.

>>4472242
Your homes a sizable thing, two stories, several bedrooms, a living room, etc. But it lacks a lot of storage, both mundane and for food. Seeing as that there specialty, you call over some Kin workers to dig out a cellar. In less than a week they have the dirt removed without comprising the foundation, and a month has the place sealed water tight. It's pretty clever actually , they slather clay onto the walls then start a bonfire underground. By burning in a low oxygen environment over a few days, the whole place gets fired like figurines in a kiln. They even go over all the cracks with some kind of putty.

By the end of it all you have a second living room with a fireplace, a root cellar for food, general storage, and even a safe-room. This way you can wait out bad sunsets in comfort, unlike everyone else who has to run up the hill in the dark. With a bit of bartering you easily furnish the place with rugs and pillows and whatnot.

>>4472290
Ah, the big project. You order the Kin to drag heavy stones up the mountain, so that a tower can be constructed. You lack tools needed replicate the silt island spire, but the power of the depths can bridge some of that gap. A small squat cylinder is constructed, upon which sits a two story tower. The structure itself is built without any special focus, so that it can be modified later. As the final touch you get some things brought up. Jugs of silt, stone from the depths, the white ash Kin use to color there holy places, chunks bronze, iron bars, and similar such items. You don't know what you want out of this shrine yet, but it will stand ready until you do.

>>4472379
Original POV: You shake off a layer of dust and the crumbling's of your own slumbering shell. Based on the fact your now in a basement, things have changed around here. Your clone catches you up to speed via your psychic link. The Kin have expanded quickly, gaining them a lot of ground but spreading the population thin. The Shapely have been beating on there neighbors with the safe passage guaranteed by the borrowed driftwood soldiers. Finally, your island has had several new editions, making it safer, more comfortable, although a fair bit more crowded. When asked about the relationship between the Kin hives and the Shapely kingdom of Telly you receive a painfully long recap of the year. It seems the treaty has...

DC 75+20, best 1 of 3. The situation is tense, but the Kin and Shapely working together on the tidal outposts has helped+10, and your own semi neutral position has eased things+10.

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>4472385

Rolled 50 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>4472385
>>4472388
A close one my friend, 72

Rolled 83 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>4472540
last try, then

>>4472564
Poggers

>>4472385
Just now realized I wrote the +20 to the DC, not the 1d100. I need to stop writing while falling asleep. I won't though.

>>4472564
83+20=103
improved the lives of both peoples. You suspect your presence necessary needed to keep the peace, but it helped nonetheless. While both people are distrustful, they have begun relying on each other. The Telly kingdoms Shapely have started a concentrated campaign of selling there advanced products to the primitive Kin. The endgame is a Kin reliance on the economy of Telly. However the Kin are the only ones who posses driftwood warriors, the knowledge of dredged silt, and divine magic. These exclusive products have become necessary to the Telly's safe travels and outpost system.

The Kin themselves have expanded to every non occupied island, including your own, gaining 2 new hives, and 2 miniature hives. In there expansion it has been discovered that divine light repels darkness and the dangers of sunset alike. This has allowed them traversal of the depths rocky areas. The only danger is the interaction of silt and divine magic, which neutralize each other while spewing toxic aether. Similar to the reaction of the otherworlds water with Haze, but far more dangerous.

The Telly kingdom has subjected the closest Shapely kingdom to its rule, gaining fresh taxes and levies. This new kingdom also has many winged kin, almost one in eight posses the flight mutation, which has greatly aided the Telly. They now send regular patrols between outposts, eyeing there neighboring hives, and your own island. The outposts have also grown, now stretching high above the depths, proving a measure of safety against tidal changes.

Of course the biggest cooperation between the two is a mile long path between two firebreaks of silt. On both sides are giant wood and stone stairs crawling up the islands cliffs. It is safe during the day, and at night Kin priests stand guard at the stairs, holy light repelling the dangers of sunset. There have been remarkably few depths after its construction, when people weren't back by nights arrival.

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>>4473492
As this year closes, so does the borrowing of Kin warriors. The Telly kingdom seeks a new treaty allowing the trade of soldiers. With this they could use Kin driftwood warriors on the offensive, taking over the other kingdoms completely. They are worried about matching the size of the growing Kin hives. Speaking of Kin, many are getting antsy with neighbors so close, but so few staying the night. So to speak. They wish to import Shapely to their hives, where they will live for a year in hive lifestyle and endure conversion attempts at religious conversion. Neither side wants to give in to the other, but noble and priest alike salivate at these opportunities. As a previous signee you are expected to participate in the new treaty's creation. Be careful of offending either group while getting what you want. Where do you stand?
>Expansion. Favor the Telly kingdom and the desire for more land. Surprisingly easy to achieve.
>Conversion. Favor the Kin and there need for neighbors. Will require diplomacy to convince the Shapely, who are very much against this religious attack.
>Both. This should be an even trade, both sides have wants. Easy to do, and it's not you paying the price.
>Neither. Keep the old treaty. Guaranteed peace, but a risk of stagnation.
>Write in. Maybe you want something out of the treaty yourself? Maybe you're just watching the results without intervening.

>>4473505
>Both
>Ask to be taught magic from both the Kin and Shapely for our role in negotiations. Promise to keep it only to ourselves.

>>4473505
>Both. This should be an even trade, both sides have wants. Easy to do, and it's not you paying the price.

>>4473515
>>4473524
They say words are cheap, but yours might fetch a good price. Both sides have something to gain from this and little to lose, supposing they can learn trust. The Kin shouldn't fear fear unified Shapely if they are allies, and have power to defend themselves. And the Shapely won't fear the strange zealotry of Kin if they know it's harmlessness, and there boundaries respected. Of course to facilitate this trust a third party is needed. You already help the Kin, why not the Shapely as well?

The Kin know some of your unique powers, chief among them your inability to die. The Shapely are less sure, but they know of your magical ability and your leadership in the short war, as they have taken to calling it. Your quickly learning of the the porcelain peoples propensity for dramatics. Of course, for you to take this role, compensation is needed in the only currency an immortal knows. Power.

2d100, best 1 of 3. First is for the Shapely DC 60. Second is for the Kin DC50.

Rolled 14, 51 = 65 (2d100)

>>4473674

Rolled 12, 76 = 88 (2d100)

>>4473674

>>4473706
>>4473719
I'll wait around an hour to see if anyone else rolls. If not I'll take these.

>>4474194
Can I just roll again if no one else rolls?

>>4474194

Rolled 37, 4 = 41 (2d100)

>>4474194
caught up. cool quest op...

>>4474293
37
Both sides need peace, which is best achieved through a third party, right? And you already act in that roll, so its logical to assume you should take that place in an official capacity. And of course for you to act as an impartial moderator you'd of course need the power to enforce decisions. So really, if you think about it, it's in everyone's best interest to grant you more power right?

The Shapely are unimpressed by your argument. Not only was it boring, it doesn't make sense. You obviously favor the Kin as past action have shown, and the fact that your even a part of the treaty writing processes means you already wield enough power. They can accept your position as a mediator, but your getting nothing for free.

>>4473719
76
the Kin may be upset with the idea of bringing yet more war, but think of the long term. The Shapely are always warring, If the Telly kingdom can unite them under peaceful rule, then surely you can excuse a few death are acceptable for the greater good? That is after all, a major tenant of Hive philosophy.

The Kin priests take your words in stride, you did participate in one of their rituals after all, so you must understand them. They even offer to try teaching you magic, since the Shapely refused. It would of course be there variety of pious power but beggars can't be choosers

By the end of the week terms are agreed to and accords signed. Like all good deals neither side is truly happy, but they can be satisfied with 49 more years of cooperation. Of course, this has cost you some favor with the Kin troops being sent to fight in foreign battles, and with the common folk of the Shapely, who are generally against being forced to live in the Hives. This little archipelago is in a time of great change, and the eye of the storm surrounds you. How are you taking advantage of this?
Each of these can take anywhere from a week to a year to complete
>Divine magic. You'll spend time in a Kin church. If you want the power of Anaphora you must not only please it, but exhibit true faith it's words. Are you willing to convert to a such a religion?
>To war! As you did with the Kin you will do with the Telly kingdom. whether general or soldier, your showing the Shapely both your worth and your favor to them
>A shrines purpose. That shrine is ready to fulfill it purpose as a conduit of eldritch energies. You just have to decide what kind is wanted.
>Write in. There's something else you'd like to do. Maybe exploring, maybe work around the island? Choices, choices, choices.

>>4474293
Thanks, I'm happy so long as people are enjoying my writing.

>>4474420
>Divine Magic

wanted shapely magic but this do...

>>4474420
>Write in
>Explore

I kind of want to explore more, look into the depth more now that the Kin stuff is taken care of. We can have a true clone take care of stuff here if we really wanted to.

>>4474420
>A shrines purpose. That shrine is ready to fulfill it purpose as a conduit of eldritch energies. You just have to decide what kind is wanted.
>>4474445
and if possible some exploring

>>4474440
>>4474445
>>4474458
>Do all of these

Forgot we can do more than one, let's just do all of these.

>>4474469
You could have a true clone do something else, but you couldn't more than 2 things at a time. Unless you had some plan.

>>4474445
>>4474458
+1 to these then don't really want to worship a god just yet

>>4474491
+1

Rolled 95, 31 = 126 (2d100)

>>4473674
rollin'

>>4474445
>>4474458
>>4474491
>>4474626
Despite the vast appreciation for the religious grasshoppers, you still have nightmares from your last religious experience. Lets not repeat that. Right now the biggest hurdle to any long term goal is the isolation of the archipelago. You can see for about 80 miles from the top of an island, but that's spitting distance when considering the possible size of the depths. Theoretically the immense speed of the Kin should let them move over a hundred miles a day, but the Haze and their own large caloric need has kept them stuck to here. You can change that.

>>4473505 map of the known world
You'll have to pack, find trail buddies, and gather info. The vast changes going on should make all that easy of course. Now then where to go?
>Northeast. Travel along the vast granite planes. Wide and empty, minus a few small hills and divots.
>Northwest. Follow the slope deeper into the depths. It's gentle decline, but goes as far as you can see.
>Southeast. Head far into the silt. Weird things are sure to happen. Or not.
>Write in. You could walk in any straight line for a hundred miles if it please you.

Who should come with you? Stronger people carry and eat proportionally more.
You can choose multiple times in this category
>Kin. They eat half again as much as you, four times if they move at full speed. But that speed is undeniably useful. Priests and driftwood warrior are your first thoughts. 45-75lb carry weight.
>>Priest. Weaker, but have divine magic.
>>Driftwood Warrior. You know how they work.
>Shapely. Far more used to specialization, you could find the right man, or woman more likely, for just about any job. 30 to 50lb carry weight.
>Named. Call a specific person, such and the caped warrior, Bzarzara, or even Rael Cun.
>Write in. Maybe there's another group you can bring?

And of coursewhat to bring? Your healthy, around 200 pounds, and from a strong race, so you can carry right around 50 pounds. You'll need 1.5 pounds of food on average each day.
You can choose multiple times in this category
>Flameless lanterns. Let you see at night without expending fuel.
>Iron tools. Grab some Telly made stuff, like a sword.
>Your own things. Maybe you want to bring a live food rat?
>Write in. Obviously there's other stuff you might want.

>>4474958
>Northeast. Travel along the vast granite planes. Wide and empty, minus a few small hills and divots.

>kin
2 warriors and 1 priest

>Flameless lanterns. Let you see at night without expending fuel.
>Iron tools. Grab some Telly made stuff, like a sword.

>>4474967
+1
but bring 1 shapely warrior along, preferably a flier, we haven't had too many interactions with a shapely personally so that'd be interesting.

>>4474958
>Southeast
>Kin
>> 1 priest 1 warrior
>Flameless Lanterns
>Iron Lanterns
>Your own things

into the unknown...

>>4474978
+1, and we should bring sufficient amounts of food too.

>>4474978
Agreed, add a shapely to the group

>>4474967
The obvious choice for exploration lies to the northeast. It's danger is the least, and traversing the flat terrain lets you move quickly. Your already safe from the Haze, but spending sunset in the depths is worrying. A Kin priests warding lights will provide at least some protection. And some warriors for muscle, two will do. Some flameless lanterns and an iron sword for darkness and stabbing things, respectively,

>>4474978
you also could use a flyer. The Shapely have many, so it's easy to convince a noble to lend one out. This particular soldier is surprisingly short. Most you've met were larger than you, but she matches you in height, only standing four inches above the average Kin. You of course have ulterior motives. Learning about the Shapely and their psychology will be necessary to maneuver the archipelagos burgeoning empire.

>>4475007
An Iron lantern could be useful too. It's only called paranoia if your wrong.

>>4475025
Of course you'll also bring food, an lots of it. Several people high up the metaphrocal food chain are interested in this expedition, having donated a lot of travel rations and gear.
Herman(YOU), 48lb carryweight: Flameless lantern(2), Iron lantern(2), Iron sword(3), Backpack(1), Axe(2), Camping gear(10), 18 Rations(27)
Kin Priest, 45lb carryweight: Flameless lantern(2), Censer(1), Bags(1), Religious paraphernalia(2), Sleeping skins(2), 24 Rations(36)
Driftwood warrior 1, 75lb carryweight: Flameless lantern(2), Bronze sword(2), Sleeping skins(2), Bags(1), 45 Rations(67.5)
Driftwood warrior 2, 75lb carryweight: Flameless lantern(2), Bronze sword(2), Sleeping skins(2), Bags(1), 45 Rations(67.5)
Shapely flyer, 30lb carryweight: Iron lantern(2), Iron Sword(3), Sleeping skins(2), Backback(1), Longbow(2), Shortbow(1), Arrows(5), 9 Rations(13.5)

You have enough food for 3 weeks, and can collect water as you travel. Your gear is mostly Shadneel made, so its considerably more advanced, and thus you carry most of the camping gear. Pots, fire-starter, kindling, and whatnot clink in you bag. Your staring out into the depths as you ponder the secrecy of this expedition. A clone will be left behind of course, but who should know, and how should the clone act?
>Everyone. People will be exited to start exploring the world. You can even relay information with your clone, giving regular reports.
>Some. Let a few people know, such as friends, important figures, and a few others. The clone will talk with them occasionally.
>Strictly necessary. Only the elder priests and high nobles will know about this. The clone will keep its nature a secret, only informing the elites when they request it.
>Write in. Maybe some specific people should be informed.

>>4475203
>Everyone

Why not?

>>4475215
+1

>>4475215
>>4475223
There's no real reason to keep this a secret. You leave at midnight, far enough from sunset, and with plenty of time before the next one. Your send off is relatively small since there was little time to prepare, and everyone is busy with work or war. But all the same people both arrive. There are few cheers, but many stares and measuring glances. All are wondering how many will die. The Kin quietly mutter, but Shapely loudly announce there opinions, sometimes directly to you. Of course, for all there fears, they have one hope. That you will be the first of many.

The first days are easy, but soon the terrain turns harsh. You sleep in small caves and endure freezing rains. Sometimes you run into Haze> at one point it seemed a mile wide, so thick that even the sun distorted in its heat. The driftwood warriors stand by you to fend of this menace. Twice you have woken up with no memory of the day prior, and for the others this is more frequent. It has been a single week, and already you see why so many fear the depths. The Shapely flyer scouts ahead, at one point reporting a single blue corpse. When you arrived there was nothing, and the priest developed mysterious holes in his shell. They bleed in infrequently and cause little damage, but even divine magic will not ease his pain. The priest has informed you all to stay together. Sunset was bad that night.

On the 7th day you have traveled two hundred miles, most recently across ground littered with dropping tunnels to unknown caverns, and finally found fruits of your labors. A small range of hills, each barely above the surface of depths, leads straight eastward. They do lead to the slopes though, which seems to also trace northwest. Each hill isn't even a mile in size, but they can be camped on safely and have some edible plant life. On one of these hills you see a shape to the west. A massive gouge in the granite like the scar of an ancient wound, one that never closed. Where do you go from here?
>Stay on the path. Keep going northwest. The altitude as dropping, but your seeing these hills means your close to something larger.
>Follow the hills. These might be smaller than you'd expect, but this is the first sign of real ground.
>The gouge. It's maybe a days travel from your current position. Looking at it makes you feel empty.
>Write in.

(I only now realized I mixed up east and west. Sorry. Also goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the religious man sized bugs bite.)

>>4475343
>Follow the hills. These might be smaller than you'd expect, but this is the first sign of real ground.

>>4475343
>Follow the hills. These might be smaller than you'd expect, but this is the first sign of real ground.

>>4475343
>follow the hills

File: Ancient structure.png (3.77 MB, 1147x1680)

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>>4475345
>>4475347
>>4475491
They might be small but at least your not using rations, though foraging does take some time. After two days the hills start curling north, following the ridge of of a canyon. The Shapely reports movement in the canyon, hunched scuttering things with bright red skin. While initially skeptical, you too start seeing these beings. Are they real, hallucinations, or perhaps exist in the otherworld? The Kin's eyesight is too poor at such a range to identify this.

Your refilling your waterskins at one hills pond when the Shapely alerts you again. She says that while flying she saw a massive tree in the canyon, though it had been cut down. She fidgets, clearly nervous around you. Sure enough, within hours you come across a massive canyon gap, and within it sits a colossal stump. It's bright in the day, so you have a clear view of this anomaly, and all that surrounds it. All around you see scurrying rat like creatures, all with red skin, and birds with no legs or feathers flying to the stump. You see some of them swarming a rat thing corpse, each as large as you are. A straight path will lead you through a pack of rat things, but going around leaves you open on all side within the canyon. Something in your memory is tugging you to climb that stump, and it's strong. How to approach?
>Confidence. Walk right up the rat things. Perhaps they are peaceful?
>Other way. Go around around, trying to avoid any swarms of the weird birds.
>Wait. Hide until night, then sneak in.
>write in. You have a better idea. Or maybe you just want to leave.

>>4476478
>Confidence. Walk right up the rat things. Perhaps they are peaceful?
>Have the kin and shapely fly a good distance above us while we speak to them, they can dive bomb if needed.