Jakob Absol, Swamp Lord

Unspent Exp: 1
Total Exp: 38

BODY: 2
COORDINATION: 2
SENSE: 3
Eerie: +1
Empathy: +2
KNOWLEDGE: 4
Counterspell: +2MD
Language (Vartynen): +MD
Sorcery: +3MD
Strategy: +2
Tactics: +2
COMMAND: 4
Haggle: +1
Inspire: +3
Intimidate: +1
CHARM: 2
Graces: +1
Fascinate: +1

ADVANTAGES:
Lucky 1 (one reroll per session on a roll where NO sets turn up)
Thick Headed 1 (one extra wound box in the head)
Status 3 (Lord of the Absol Swamp, FREE for plot reasons)
Followers 5 (10 Threat 4 Unworthy Opponents, the Last Loyal, FREE for picking Swamp)
Possession ? (Castle Briarfast, FREE for plot reasons)
Possession 3 (Well-Made Plate Armor)
Literate in Vartynen 1 (FREE for plot reasons)
Greater Literacy in Vartynen 2 (FREE for plot reasons)
Wealth 3
Spells (1)
Spells (1)
Spells (3)
Spells (3)
Spells (5)
Spells (1)
Spells (2)

PROBLEMS:
Hated Enemy (+1 xp whenever the Hated Enemy harms or inconveniences you)

PASSIONS:
Mission: Solidify your hold on the Absol Swamp
Duty: Be a lord your people and ancestors would be proud of
Craving: Find a worthy and powerful wife


ESOTERIC DISCIPLINES:
Spiritual Escutcheon: My Power Is My Own, Defense Before Thought, Rank 3 placeholder
The General's Visage: Words of Iron, Heart-Hardening Rhetoric

SPELLS:
Aqueous Divination (Sense): Weather Wisdom, Froth, Clearwater Oracle
Eldritch Visioning (Sense): Mind's Eye Clarified, The Gaze That Splits the Stones
Mirror Magic (Command): Grifter's Gold
Smoke Sculpting (Knowledge): Bore Gaze, Minor Smoke Form, Smoke Arrow, Minor Smoke Structure, Smoke Armor
The Night Hunter's Art (Sense): Whiff of the Blood
The Way of the Wood (Knowledge): Blossom Freshness
Wings of Words (Knowledge): Spark, Soar, Words of Lesser Attunement, Minor Lightning Stroke

ABSOL SWAMP: Might 3, Treasure 2, Influence 2, Territory 2, Sovereignty 3

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You are standing outside a sky-blue pavilion, having opted not to just barge in. Inside, you can hear indignant sniffling and the sounds of her moving around loudly. Perhaps intentionally loudly.

With some girls, you would have just let them cry it out and explained later that just because she caught you in the arms of an eight-foot-tall warrior maiden that doesn't mean anything, but you aren't sure you have time on your side here. After all, Doloranna is one of Grandmama's brood, and Grandmama is a vengeful, petty terror. A young, pretty woman raised and taught by her is capable of awful things.

Is it just your imagination, or are the shadows of perfectly static objects in the nearby vicinity starting to waver and dance? It could be a trick of the firelight.

>[Butter her up with sweet words and flattery, a tried and true method of dealing with witches]
>[Reason with her using facts and logic, you are in the right here and surely she will have to admit it]
>[Scold her, she's being a sulky brat over nothing and if this keeps up she's going to end up over your knee before she hurts someone]

Also yes, this thread is quite early, I'm going to deal with votes and as much of this girl stuff as I can from work, if possible, so that tonight can be about dealing with the tower.

>>4682050
>[Reason with her using facts and logic, you are in the right here and surely she will have to admit it]
Because that always works, right?

>>4682050
>[Butter her up with sweet words and flattery, a tried and true method of dealing with witches]
So by not barging into her trap we've placed ourselves in a situation where we must use one of our worst stats and skill sets, being charming and social....
Poetry.

>>4682050
>[Butter her up with sweet words and flattery, a tried and true method of dealing with witches]

We can put her over our knee after (to scold her, of course).

>>4682050
>[Butter her up with sweet words and flattery, a tried and true method of dealing with witches]
Prepared for spaghetti but hoping not

>>4682050
>[Scold her, she's being a sulky brat over nothing and if this keeps up she's going to end up over your knee before she hurts someone]

Just seems like what she would react to this best/worst given previous interactions. She likes the feisty, but might not be the best time. Still wanna roll the dice though.

>>4682050

>[Butter her up with sweet words and flattery, a tried and true method of dealing with witches]

Tempted to try and go full logical on her, but that's begging to be knee-capped by emotion. Even if she thinks it's a damned lie, at least we're trying to spare her feelings about it instead of going full Nuncle Arad and not understanding matters of the heart in the slightest. There's a time for autistic Vulcan-grade logic, and this isn't it.

Roll a few dice for me, just to see how close to home Jakob can hit here.

Actually, one more vote too. I'm at the store but will be home in about twenty minutes.

Did Jakob feel bad when he saw she'd been crying? Think your answer through before you vote.
>[Yes]
>[No]

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4682651

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4682651
>>4682668
>[Yes]
I flipped a coin for this, does that count as thinking?

>>4682668
Wasn't loaded when I rolled
>[No]

>>4682685

No. I actually discard any vote that indicates it was picked at random or for the purpose of sabotage when I count them. There is no shame in saying "I have no opinion on this vote." There is also no shame in not being swayed by tears when you're a lord.

I am home. As usual, remember that you can roll the dice as many times as you like! Even if only one or two people are here, I can run with sufficient dice.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4682651
>>4682668
>[No]

That's not the short stack that kidnaped and fed us cheese.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682651
Also, I may be busy tonight, so I'm trusting you lads to be the chads here, alright?

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4682651
Dice Boiz, assemble!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682651

>>4682668
>[Yes]

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682716
I do hope my absence won't muck things up too much, and I'll try and get back here later, barring Murphy's Law of course.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4682651
Another die

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682651
Now, one final die before I hit the road! Cheers lads!

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You sit down by the tent flap, with your back to it. Something is clearly wrong, the eyes you saw when she fled were angry. She may be crying too, but this is Doloranna, not some shy and shrinking maiden. You can't rely on some logical argument that she may have already thought of, and hope she just changes her mind, “Do you remember when we first met?” You ask her.

“Y-yes.” She sniffles, “It wasn't that long ago, I-I'm not stupid.”

“I never thought you were. Just rather terrifying.” You tell her with a smile, reaching up and flicking the fabric. “Imposing, even. So it's a mystery to me why you're in there crying, now. I have to imagine it's some trick to lure me into your clutches. Or you're trying to distract me from whatever awful curse you're laying on Hannah.”

You feel arms wrap around your shoulders from behind, and the distinctive squish of breasts against your back. Soft breasts. Large breasts. Utterly bare breasts. Tactician that you are, you have to admire the audacious skill with which she employs the trick known as the feigned retreat, a most devilish feint that. No wonder she only poked her head out. “Yes, but it's not just a trick.” She whispers in your ear, audibly sulking. “Don't want some...some foreign girl to just lure you off, to live in her cold lands, with only her to keep you warm. 'Poor little me', she'll croon, and that big heart of yours will thump-thump-thump. Maybe I'm just Doloranna from the marshes, not some fancy lady with a magic sword, but I won't take you away from your home.” She pouts, interlocking her hands.

How do you always end up grappled? One of these days you will learn to slip out of these holds, you swear. “'Just' Doloranna is a lot more than most women. Dry your tears.” You can't help but be slightly unsympathetic for the crying, this isn't like her. Everyone needs a good shake now and then, and you give it to her. “You're not acting like the woman who kidnapped me and hand-fed me cheese. Which she has never done, I'll point out.” How did it come to this? You're still not good at these one-on-one interactions. “Wait, hang on. Hannah...”

“Oh she's 'Hannah' now, is she? Not Lady Gall...Gallben...Gadden...fire...Gadflyfirebug?” Doloranna's attempt to be catty ends in an exasperated sigh, “Never mind, Jakey, that one makes sense. I don't wanna choke on that word either. Look, of course I'm upset, I can't tell you NOT to go and crush your enemies! Things are easy when I can just solve them and when they aren't, well, they're hard!”

[Continue]

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“...Yes, well, she's not foreign, is she? She's Vartynen, same as we are.” You have to admit that has been puzzling you.

She chuckles softly, “Oh you. You don't get it yet, do you?” She smiles against your ear, “You are the swamp. Vartyne's just...a word.”

“Hang on now. Don't repeat that.” You struggle against her grip, alarmed, “We are subjects of...”

“...Oh I know, your oaths to the crown. Oaths you never swore before any king, did you? The ceremony where you became lord, you took no oaths to him either, did you? That ceremony is old. Older than you. Older than the Absols. Recognizing one to look out over all the swamps, that was rare until the day of the hero Amadeus, who took a witch of the high blood to his bed and claimed the hill of thorns to build upon.” She chuckles, “But it is not an oath to Vartyne, to distant kings. It is our pledge to...you. Did the king lead my cousins to Cheil? No. That war of vengeance was led by our master, by the mailed fist of magic itself. To most of us, she is a foreigner. An ally, perhaps, but Jakey you should know by now that we hold those closest to us the closest.”

>[Attempt to convince her to release you]
>[Use your superior height to stand up and walk forward. If she continues to dangle the entire camp will see her naked]
>[Remain sitting]

>>4682748
>[Remain sitting]
Well what if we convert then entirety of Vartyne into swamp? Is she still a foreigner then?

>>4682748
>[Attempt to convince her to release you]

have to go to bed early, so I'll have to miss most of the thread.

>>4682748
>[Remain sitting]
Idk why we would just walk away on her

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You remain sitting, “What if we made the whole kingdom into the swamp, then? Would she still be a foreigner?” You reach back and pat her head.

She hesitates, then a huge smile crosses her face, “What an interesting idea. Conquest, from my Jakey? Oh yes. Oh yes oh yes oh yes yes yes, this I like.” She pouts again, “But not every girl would. What if some soft-heart who would rather you kneel than fight takes your heart? How can I protect you?”

“Doll, I'm not choosing a wife yet. You're being...” You hesitate before calling her crazy, “Impetuous. Calm down, dry your tears, stop whatever you're plotting to do to Hannah. I need you focused.” You lean back into her.

She sighs, huffy.

“That's an order.” You reaffirm.

She continues to grumble, then pipes up hopefully, “May I stand next to you tomorrow in front of everyone?”

You sigh, and nod. She releases you at last. “I'll put my clothes on. You hurt a girl's feelings by not looking, but I guess you're polite.” She kisses your cheek and darts back into her tent before you can reprimand her, her tears replaced by peals of laughter.

You are in terrible, awful danger. Yet the night passes, and after every night comes morning.

[Continue]

>>4682748
>[Remain sitting]

I'm back, and earlier than expected!

>>4682781
Besides that one anon phoneposting from work, I don't know Wong. We could discuss it later if you want to.

>>4682800
>She was planning a naked ambush
Called it

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The morning dawns, pale and misty. The camp is subdued, every motion stifled, the men nervously aware that something great and terrible lurks beneath the mossy waters of Kidney Lake and that you mean to lure it right to them. However, most of the work has already been done during the night. The net has been secured to the ground at one end by a stake made from sharpening an entire sapling and pounded into place by Hannah with a maul. She waits now at the place where, when the trap is sprung, the other end will be secured.

Overnight, the corpses of dozens of pigs, deer, crocodiles, birds, fish, rabbits, and beavers have been dumped into the water, as far out as a man can wade without needing to swim. Many were killed on-site, stabbed with billhooks and long knives so that their blood would flow out with the current. A half-dozen wild pigs, caught by a squad of ambitious young Stormtongues with the same spell you've repeatedly used to knock enemies unconscious, have been tied to stakes, grunting nervously and daubed in blood but still alive. Now, the waiting begins.

Small fish arrive first to nibble at the corpses, but soon larger ones follow, to prey upon the small fish. Then larger predators, bass and stripeheads, then larger predators still. Predators like gar, pike, and flathead catfish. Soon, crocodiles, notorious cannibals that they are, are swimming in towards the corpse pile, but abruptly they scatter and as they do, you see the multiple sharklike fins of the giant breaching the water. A great, blunt head bursts from the water and seizes on a massive gator, biting down so hard you can hear the spine crunch. Eyes that look more reptilian than piscine roll in delight as its mouth opens again, shifting its grip on its prey and beginning to feed.

The fog is not entirely natural, in several places it's been tactically placed by your Stormtongues, and as they dismiss it the mist flows away and dissipates from rank after rank of men holding crossbows, cords creaking as scorpions are sighted in on the creature. Mages open their mouths to speak words that crackle, or weave arrows from campfire smoke. You among them.

For a moment, there is a pause, but just before you can feel bad for the monster you notice it's slowly creeping forward on its front fins, which are massively overmuscled and practically legs. Its gaze turns towards you, and you can see in the thin flesh of its cheeks as its jaws shift. It snaps them open wide in the blink of an eye and surges forward, but being indecisive with its targets dooms it. Its sheer mass plows through the corpse pile like a battering ram, but rather than attempt the spiked barrier shields guarding your siege weapons and lines of mages, it seizes the live pigs in its jaws and attempts to shimmy backwards with a serpentine motion of its long tail, gulping the animals down before surging forward again.

[Continue]

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A trumpet blast goes up, and the net is dragged across the waters. It isn't very tense as Hannah pounds it into the ground at the other end, it's designed to dangle loosely, meant to entangle rather than try to stop that monstrosity cold. After all, at its size it could easily just rip the stakes from the ground.

Lightning crackles, and smoke missiles leave grey streaks through the air, spells peppering the inside of its mouth. The crossbow quarrels pepper harmlessly off its armor plating, as do any of the spears hurled by the scorpions at a less than ideal angle...but some do find their mark and dig deep beneath the scales. The massive fish recoils, turning its body in a great C shape and darting back into the water, only for its progress to immediately halt as the net catches its fins. It thrashes, its massive, finned tail rising high and smacking down with enough force to crush the corpsepile and send the bodies of dead animals whipping through the air, hitting your smoke mantlets like catapult stones, but you were prepared for this, “Mages, forward!” You instruct, stepping forth yourself. You inhale a mouthful of smoke through the breathing holes in your armet, your tongue passing through, the smoke as it begins to congeal in your mouth. What you spit out is called a smoke arrow, but it resembles nothing so much as a slender, grey needle, trailing smokemass behind it as it hurtles through the air and into the eye of the massive bichir. Lightning hammers its flanks, breaking the scales and charring the meat beneath, and the Shadowbinders unleash their own offensive magic. Doloranna is first forward, hurling a fistful of powdered obsidian that creates a cloud of darkness beneath the water. The leviathan thrashes as she begins conjuring her beasts from the blackness, their teeth and claws ripping into its flesh, while other Shadowbinders throw crude felt dolls that explode into clouds of biting black sprites.

You aren't quite sure when the fish goes stiff in its confines, and tilts over in the water, mouth open...but it does, before the lower edge of the sun has quite crested the horizon. Your army cheers, but there is little time for celebration. Immediately, boats are pushed into the water, and your Smoke Sculptors begin constructing more using the bonfires. By noon, your army has disembarked on one of the great, flat rotundas around the tower shaft.

>[Remain in camp and await reports]
>[Inspire the men by taking your bodyguards and being the first inside]

>>4682826
>[Inspire the men by taking your bodyguards and being the first inside]

We are the Chad Lord after all.

>>4682826
>[Inspire the men by taking your bodyguards and being the first inside]
It's not like we are going in solo, and besides we are more heavily armoured than anyone else here.

>>4682736
>>4682741

Nice activation roll on your see-through-matter spell.

>>4682855
Gonna make me blush here, Wong.

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You announce that you will lead the first party inside, and enter the tower. You approach the wall, and focus your senses. Why should solid matter impede those who have mastered the inner workings of their acane leylines? Who can see with sight beyond sight? Slowly, in your vision, the stone before you turns to mist, and vanishes. At first, all beyond is dark, but slowly it comes into view as if lit by bright, neutral-tinted light. Beyond the wall, there is a stone landing. No, a STAIR. A stair as wide across in all directions as a peasant's hut, though the height difference between it and the next stair is a normal, comfortable stepping distance. Slowly, leisurely, the staircase traverses the inside of the tower wall, with a second wall on the other side. Peering through that, you see that the central shaft is divided into chambers, although with naught remaining but walls and archways, their purpose is impossible to discern. Lead-colored crystals hang at regular intervals from the ceiling, though their purpose is unclear. What is clear, though, is that the whole thing is positively caked with cobwebs, and that you can see the remnants of a campfire inside...and moreover, footprints in the dust.

Several pairs of them.

Gazing down through the floor, you see more steps, continuing down into the dark, these considerably more cobwebbed, and above, more steps, less cobwebbed. A trail through the dust seems to indicate traffic in both directions. Motioning to your bodyguards, you make your way into the tower.

>[Go up the steps]
>[Go down the steps]

>>4682932
>[Go up the steps]

I'd say we go for the most well-traveled path, though the dungeon diving visa down stair is very tempting, I must say.

>>4682932
>[Go down the steps]

>>4682932
Changing my vote here >>4682945, going down stairs!

>[Go down the steps]

>>4682932
>[Go down the steps]
ONCE MORE INTO THE DARKNESS

>>4682961
It's strangely quiet tonight.

>>4682977
Indeed.

I will actually need a few more dice rolls.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4682987
You got it, boss!

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4682987
Rollin

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4682987
Another die

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4682987
Mice and dice? You know, because of the Fleshsculpter?

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4682987
Dicy dice dice dice

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987
For the SWAMP.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4682987
Remember to dice the meat for a hearty stew!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682987
I don't know what we're rolling dor but it's not looking great so far >_<

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987
Dice dice baby!

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
The Dice Duo! The Dynamic Dice? The Dynamic Duo just sound corny...

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4682987
Don't lose faith, we got dice to spare!

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4682987
Dice for the Dice Gods

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4682987
Spice the dice, chief!

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
Sets for the Set Throne!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682987
Rollin, rollin, rollin, gotta keep on rollin

>>4682987
We need more Dunkin'Dice around these parts.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
Rollin rollin rollin,
Roll high!

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
To die, or not to die.
That, is the question...

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
Roll da dice, man!

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4682987
You got the rolls you were looking for, Wong?

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987

>>4683006
>>4683011
>>4683018
>>4683020
>>4683022
Damn, I'm a 1 magnet tonight!

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4682987
Die diddly di Dieghberino

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4682987
Keep on rollin till the sun don't shine!

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4682987
Dice the rice? Nah, doesn't have the right ring to it...

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4682987
Rice'n'dice? Nah, doesn't work either...

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987
We are rollers, duh duh da duh da duh da!

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4682987
Rice-a-Roni?
More like
Dice-a-Roni

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682987
Gotta keep on dicing!

>>4683000
>>4683004

That Lucky Advantage I thought you'd never use has saved the day AGAIN.

>>4683046
Wooooo

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987

>>4683041
Absolutely inspired, anon!

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4682987

>>4683046
Wooooo!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4682987
>>4683046
Do we keep on rolling, Wong?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4682987
Come on dice, papa needs a secure swamp!

>>4683049
That's not inspiration anon, it's my slowly fading sobriety!

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>4682987
I wonder what some swamp dice would look like, actually.

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987

>>4683056
Wooooo good4u, mate!

>>4683058
Looking at Google search results....
Mostly just various shades of green.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4682987
We're not going to use all this dice, are we lads?

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4682987
>>4683062
Noice! Shrekdice!

>>4683065
>inb4 Wong only needed 6 rolls for the rest of the evening.

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4682987
>>4683070
;_;

I'll stop now.

>>4683071
I mean, 38 of 88 posts are just us rolling right now.
So we should probably be good for a bit.

>>4683072
I hope so. What kind of situation would require so many dice? Hypothetically.

>>4683079
Lots and lots of combat

>>4683082
Not charm? Oh boy.

>>4683082
Or the constant rolls to survive the physical rigors of smashing Hannah or the constant rolls to keep counterspelling Doloranna's attempts to summon her shadow friends to make our cheese play an orgy

>>4683085
Oh boy

>>4683085
Not whispering sweet nothings in Lilly's ear?

>>4683094
>Implying it's not The reverse of that and Jacob has to role to endure Lilly's prolonged combo attack

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You take your bodyguards and head down the steps. Although with your magic, you do not absolutely need light to see by, the subtle glitter of a particular strand of cobweb, slanting shallowly from wall to wall at around neck height, is made more apparent by the movement of the lanterns they carry. The ones in front have billhooks drawn, and those behind them have crossbows readied. In the event of an atttack, an adversary will find men crouched and braced, ready to hook their limbs and stab them with the points, while those behind them pepper the foe with arrows.

Yet this trap cares not for formations. It is simple, although the exact form of spellcraft eludes you, this particular cobweb strand is as hard and unyielding as stone as you examine it, its sheer narrowness making it sharp enough to take off a limb or slice open a neck. Yet stone can be cracked, and once you point out the garotte it does not take long for your soldiers to shatter it with the butts of their weapons, and forewarrned as you are you spot all of the subsequent iterations of said trap, at different heights and angles, shrouded within clusters of normal cobwebs, as you gradually wind your way down into the tower.

Eventually, though, you come to something entirely different. Ropes, actual ropes, not cobwebs, have been strung back and forth across the corridor to form a grid or a grate, and all enchanted in the same fashion, turned into rock. Spearbutts prove insufficient for breaking through, and as you stare at it in puzzlement, peering with your arcane vision as deep as it will reach into the darkness beyond, further down the stares, you hear something.

“Please feed Eshtei. Eshtei is hungry.” Whines the piteous voice of a little girl.

Deep in the darkness, you hear the scrape of something massive, moving across stone.

>>4683082

No, that is soon, enough that it was frustrating getting through all this stuff BEFORE it.

>>4683103
Oh god it's gonna be drider isn't it...

>>4683103
Stress levels slowly increasing.
Certainly hope it’s something we can kill with smoke and steel and not some Eldritch being that twists minds

>>4683301
>Whines the piteous voice of a little girl
>kill it with smoke and lightning

Maybe the true monster was inside us all along.

>>4683104
Do we panic now, then?

>>4684724
If you aren't constantly in a state of Shadowruns then something has gone terribly, terribly wrong anon.

>>4683109
Wait, are there dark elves in this setting?

>>4685953
I'm 99% sure this world doesn't have any nonhuman races.
Mainly because Reign doesn't have them, and Wong dislikes minorities.

>>4691095
The fleshcrafters can make whatever demi-human abominations they can think of.

Dog slipped her collar and ran off into the neighborhood, found her at a neighbor's house and got invited for a beer, starting soon.

>>4692691
Time to assemble!

It is a bit late, truthfully. I'll shoot for tomorrow night.

>>4692751
Alright, I can pass out in peace

>>4692751
'Tis life.

>>4692751
Well I've got tomorrow night off too, so that works for me.
Glad to hear you found your pupper Wong!

Begin rolling dice. This is a Sense+Empathy roll.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4694130

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4694130

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4694130

Remember as always that you can roll multiple times.

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>4694130

Dice away.

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4694130

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4694154

Whoops, added an extra zero.

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4694130

>>4694135
>>4694138
>>4694139
>>4694154
>>4694156
>>4694158

2x7!

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4694130

Idk if you need more but here

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4694130
Dice!

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4694130
Last one for the road!

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In the darkness, something massive moves, and although your sight can pierce a little ways into the black, all you see is at the very end of your vision. Something fuzzy, and long, like a fingertip pressed against the ground, but massive, as thick around as your waist.

“Please. Eshtei is hungry. Eshtei will die. Eshtei was good! Eshtei made the cuddle-monkey for the masked woman!” The little girl's voice has a terrified tremor in it, and it sounds weak, threadbare, “Eshtei made so many things for you, please, Eshtei does not want to die. Eshtei is too big, and cannot go so long without eating. It is dark, and wet, and the masked lady's magic stops Eshtei from hunting for a piggy or a tasty croccy. Eshtei is frightened. Eshtei does not want to be alone, in the dark. If Eshtei has been bad...if Eshtei needs to die...please do not kill Eshtei this slow and hurtful way.” With a quiet, chittering sob the fingertip-thing withdraws, and in the darkness the torchlight gleams off many large, bright eyes.

Whatever Eshtei is, it is clear that it had some part in the making of the creature sent to assassinate you, and moreover, that is not some form of natural person there in the dark. In fact, judging from the eyes, from the tip of an arachnid leg you saw, and the cobwebs all over this tower, you have a very good idea of what Eshtei is. The how of it is another matter, supposedly only humans can utilize sorcery. Is Eshtei somehow a person?

>[Can't take the risk, instruct your crossbowmen to take aim and fire until their quivers are empty]
>[Walk away and leave this abomination to starve]
>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]

>>4694191
>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]

Gotta have some compassion for the little one, even if she's bigger than us.

>>4694191
>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]

So, if this doesn't backfire horrifically, we are on our way to having an abomination zoo.

>>4694191

>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]

The masked woman is almost certainly Shell. If we can trust this thing's manner of speaking, Shell might not be here anymore. Maybe ask Eshtei how long it's been since they've eaten? It might help give an idea of how long ago Shell fled the tower if she did leave.

>>4694191

>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]

We haven't been met with hostility, so I see no reason to employ violence.

We want to consolidate power in the Swamp, not eliminate all sources of it outside ourselves.

>>4694191
>[Instruct your soldiers to capture yet more game and feed it to Eshtei while you work out how to get this grate off, if you end up choosing to get the grate off]
I feel like the Ancestor from darkest dungeon going yes, we can USE this.
Not sure we wish to pry the grate off immediately tho.

And next time we go diving we want to cast that Gaze spell. No more of this Thing-that-hides-in-shadow getting the drop on us.

>>4694191
>>[Can't take the risk, instruct your crossbowmen to take aim and fire until their quivers are empty]
kill it with fire

>>4694252
Pretty sure we already have it cast, it just has a limited range and this SpooderGirl has scuttled all the way to the back of its dark room

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You step forward.

“My lord, it isn't safe!” One of the Last Loyal protests, but when you raise your hand all voices are silenced.

You put your hand through the grate, “You are not alone, Eshtei. I am here.”

“But when you leave, Eshtei will be alone.” The little girl's voice echoes from deeper down.

“I will not leave. I am right here. Reach out to me.” You keep your hand out, and you hear the massive scrape of something vast and hairy scuttling uncertainly towards you. Something fills your hand, the tip of one massive arachnid leg, pressing against your palm. You can see her now. As you guessed, she is a spider vast beyond what nature should support. Her body is covered with sleek russet hair, and her fangs are as long as a mammoth's tusks.

“Who are you?” Eight shining eyes peer nervously down at you from the shadows near the ceiling.

“I am Jakob. Lord Jakob Absol. I will not hurt you.” You keep your voice soothing, as if talking to a child.

“Absol.” She says, sounding terrified, but she waggles her abdomen and musters up her courage, “May Eshtei have something to eat? Eshtei is sorry, but it must be alive. Eshtei cannot eat that which rots.”

You turn to your bodyguards, “Send out the Stormtongues. Bring me live crocodiles, trussed up, and wild pigs. Have them go north, we hunted out so much of the south already. Live meat only.”

“Are you sure, my lord? We cannot leave you alone with...” The Loyalman's masked helm turns towards the darkness beyond the grate, “What if it's a trap?”

“A tyrant lives in fear of his subjects. A ruler knows that they have cause to celebrate his continued existence. One of my subjects has been unlawfully imprisoned by the Pentacle and starved, this is injustice and when caught the perpetrator will be charged with these crimes. Yes, I am sure.” You reply, evenly. You're a little more frightened than you let on, Eshtei is hungry and you're the only one who can see how massive her venomous fangs are.

Then you turn your attention to the stone ropes.

>[Do you have any ideas on how to remove this obstacle?]

>>4694296
>That Picture
That's rough...
I can't help but recall Wong in an earlier thread stating that there were two wife candidates that we haven't interacted with yet, and I'm pretty confident one is supposed to be the princess of Vartyne.
I was going to make a joke about the spider Chimera was the other, but damn if she's physically all giant spider with the brain/soul of a human girl that's a really hard sell.....
As for an actual plan to remove/deal with the trap threads I've got nothing atm.

>>4694296
If father was here he would have been through this in an instant, unbending the spells upon the ropes. Seeing as we don’t have his skill, there must be some trick to it. They wouldn’t make a dungeon without a key, or without some way to get smaller creatures through. If this IS the flesh crafter, they would need a way to feed her, and retieve whatever she created.

Breaking the walls where the ropes are fixed to is probably a harder task than breaking the ropes, considering what little we know about the tower.

Ask how long she has been down here. Who came before us, how Eshtei came to be down there.

>>4694296
If the "ropes" are not as strong as the super ancient and enchanted tower use smoke sculpting to make some really big scissors/branch loppers and have the men and/or Hanna use them? Or have Hanna try her sword on the stone ropes, just tell her not to hurt our subject.

Side note: we are the nicest Sauron I have ever heard of.

>>4694296
Find the weak points with our Stonegaze and use Spark to weaken them further. Then, Smoke-arrow said weak points to break the cage.

>>4694296

If they're ropes that are as hard as stone but flex like rope, it's simple. Get the sappers from our army to cut away the stone that the ropes are anchored to with pickaxes. A mundane solution to a magical problem. It might take a while compared to trying to disenchant them, but it's guaranteed to work, so long as the walls surrounding them are stiff enough to cut away. There's probably other magical means to deal with it, but this one will work if the other anons ideas fizzle out.

>>4694296

Aside from attempting to nullify the enchantment using Spiritual Escutcheon, we could ask among our more seasoned troops if this has been seen before.

If that isn't an option due to proximity issues, then we could just try making super high torque shadow-mass vice grips to break the ropes. Some lever action that extends far behind us might be able to create the kind of force necessary to break them.

Some ancient greek said that with a long enough lever, they could lift the earth. That's true, assuming the lever itself doesn't break. I dont remember the exact strength of the smoke mass we can make, but it might be possible to create a mechanically strong enough "long crowbar" to break this obstacle.

Alright, plan A is then just hammering at the rope with picks, plan B is cutting the places where the wall is secured to the ropes.

Plan C is smokemass lever to try and break into parts of it.

Plan D is getting her to wait until we can learn the spellbreaking from Escutcheon

Sound good?

>>4694330
>the magical solution are the last solutions
>doesn't even dignify my suggestion with a footnote

What am I, chopped liver?

>>4694330

No point in hammering the ropes themselves with picks. They'll have enough flex to avoid being cut with a pick axe, since pick axes cut via impact rather than sawing or sharpness. Probably go Smokemass lever as Plan A, Picks on the wall as Plan B, and Wait for Spell-breaking from Escutcheon as Plan C.

>>4694330

This seems like a solid combo of the ideas presented thus far.

Also Hannah wacking it might work

>>4694337

Didn't notice your option through the muddle. Probably add it as plan B, moving the picks and wait out later on.

So, as far as I can tell this is my proposed order of plans

>Plan A: Use a Smoke-mass lever with sharp edges to try and break it at junctions.

>Plan B: Use Stonegaze and Spark to potentially find frayed sections, and either weaken them or burn them through. It might be as tough as stone, but it might not be as fireproof.

>Plan C: Brute force it by cutting into the walls with pickaxes from our soldiers. We're bound to have a troop of sappers to do the grunt work.

>Plan D: Wait out until we can disenchant it with higher levels of Spiritual Escutcheon.

>Plan E: Get Hannah to hit it with her sword? Might have consequences from rebounding or collateral damage, but it could work.

Sounds good?

>>4694341
I'll take making Hannah hit the ropes with the biggest sharpest smokemass stick we can muster for 500

>>4694337
Consider using sparks to break stone. Weak points aren’t really gonna be affected by that.
As for smoke arrow, the power of that is its sharpness, not the force it hammers home with, it’s like using a needle to again, chisel stone.

We don’t actually have the tier 5 technique that is used to break lingering enchantments, so directly counter spelling it is out right now, that’s why I put it as the last option.

From what I read earlier, there is no flex, it is just fixed in place, right?

>>4694341
Plan A and B could be merged, but yea, that looks good.

>>4694344
It's more about weakening the stone, then leveraging force against the weak points to break it fully, and smokearrow applies physical damage to the structure. We could just lighting the damn thing off, but I don't want to spook the spider too much.

A point of clarification, I went and dug around looking for the spell that has been used here. It makes the ropes as strong as an equivalent thickness of granite, and ALSO as inflexible, so if it factors into your plans...no, they do not bend.

To add to this, some detail. The ropes appear to be one unbroken rope. There are holes in the walls, ceiling, and floor into which have been placed iron plates with a ring attached to each, similar to the kind of ring you might chain a prisoner to. One unbroken length of rope has been passed through these rings, over and over again, criss-crossing over itself, and then presumably enchanted to form a grate of stone. Each strand is about as thick around as your wrist, it looks like thick hemp rope was used as the base material.

>>4694350
Lightning bolt or Hannah then. Unless we can put smoke in between the ropes and expand its shape to break them apart, that is. Sort of like a smokemass bubble.

>>4694349

Right on, thanks Wong. Since they're inflexible like granite striking them with picks would be one of the most effective means we have. Even if they're three inches around or so, that's only around ten or so strong strikes with a pick. It might glance off a little, but stone's brittle. Without anything acting as a backing, striking at a center-point between two crossovers will be most effective, After the first bit breaks off, the rest should follow along pretty easily. There's a reason why you use iron instead of stone for jail bars after all. So long as they aren't at least four inches around, without anything to absorb the impact from a strike, you'll be through something like this in under 30 minutes with a 6lb pick or 8lb sledgehammer.

>>4694349
Strong as granite... but still just rope?
So flammable? Light the torches!

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A third point. For the sake of your plans, I will let you have the spell Major Smoke Form, which you currently lack, since Minor Smoke Form is insufficient and Minor Smoke Structure is actually generally too big.

>>4694355

You cannot achieve this with smokemass. It's only capable of expanding or moving before it becomes solid, so you cannot, for instance, create a set of smokemass stairs beneath you that lift you up as they grow.

Considering Granite gets brittle at high temperatures, I wonder if shooting a lighting bolt at it will heat it to a significant enough degree.

Than again, it's probably not a good idea to shoot Lightning bolts in the general vicinity of a scared giant spider.

>>4694364
I figured. Repeated Sparks then, and leverage the smokemass to break away the structure. Maybe Spider-chan can help us break her cage with her strength?

I believe there must be another way, but I feel too retarded to see it.

>>4694357

"As inflexible and strong as a piece of granite", it says. Hmm.

>>4694357
>>4694379
Now I just feel retarded.

>>4694341
Alright stick attempting to poke a torch into it somewhere before part C?

>>4694402

Sounds good to be. Revised order of operations is:

>Plan A: Use some Sparks to try and weaken a few of the joints, and use a smokemass lever to snap a few of the weakened junctions.

>Plan B: Light it on fire with a torch. It should burn, and try to keep Eshtei from panicking at naked fire in her presence.

>Plan C: Get a few strong sappers with pickaxes and sledgehammers to break it apart. It should be inflexible enough to shatter under strikes at the right place.

>Plan D: Use Hannah's sword to try and shatter the grates. Might run the risk of backfire and collateral damage given the strong respone it had from us just touching it, stone-like rope splinters flying everywhere is a hazard.

>Plan E: Wait until we have the capacity to disenchant object from Spiritual Escutcheon. Will probably be a long wait, method of last resort.

Anyone have anything else to add in?

>>4694416
Looks good to me!

Oh god I got distracted designing custom Smoke Sculpting spells for when Jakob masters all of the existing spells. Fucking Smoke Lance and Smother.

>>4694437
>Smother
My interest has been peaked
Is it just funneling smoke into an area to displace breathable air?

>>4694437
Oh the humanity!

>>4694437

>Wong's spending a lot of his time designing custom spells for Smoke-o-mancy

No worries mate, we'll be arguing over spending our exp on either more skills, Esoterics, or stat-ups before that becomes a concern. Sense 4 never ever.

>>4694440

And then weaving a fine smokemass mesh around it to keep it there and do Shock damage.

>>4694456
But what if
Niw just hear me out
What if instead of sealing it with a smokemass mesh to seal the smoke in, we Juat solidified the smokemass around the victims head ?

>>4694456
hmm, could you also use that to put out fires? No oxygen, no flame right?

>>4694500

Yes, you could.

>>4694416

Spark, or Minor Lightning Stroke?

>>4694507
Cool, sounds like a possible dancer counter. Might be useful if we end up having to fight more nobles.
Or just more wars in general, fires always a problem, at least for non- Smoke sculpters.

>>4694514
Stroke, but with a warning to not scare the spider.

>>4694437
So, you got other custom spells in mind Wong?

>>4698050

There is an entire custom spell building kit. Mostly I was driven by how weak the upgrade to Smoke Arrow, Smoke Scythe, is. It's weirdly written. It could be strong if given very liberal GM interpretation of the ten-foot-wide AoE it has which is written differently than most AoEs in the game (which are just area effects with actual distance abstracted), and it's one of those spells that needs a full bonfire, not just a torch or something, to cast.

>>4701437
So smoke arrow upgrade into Smoke minigun when?

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"Eshtei, move back as far as you can. This is going to be loud, and a bit violent, but I am going to get you out of there. Be brave." You instruct the massive spider in the dark, watching her cephalothorax bob up and down as she scuttles backwards and hunkers down between her furry legs, covering her eyes with her pedipalps.

You spit a glowing blue spark into your thurible, and the dried herbs within begin to smolder, smoke pouring from its vents. You wave your hand through it idly, feeling the arcane field within you interacting with the smoke, changing it, making it stay in shape as you draw it out into a long, thin rod. Two prongs sprout on one end, and a textured pattern for grip on the other. It solidifies at your will, and you hand the four-foot prybar to the biggest and strongest of your bodyguards, "Here. Pry it up where I weaken it." You instruct him, and then comes the more laborious part.

Again and again, you repeat the process. You speak the words that attune your body to the magics of the wind and sky. You spew lightning onto the petrified ropes. You speak the words again, you spew more lightning. The rope's normal fibrousness is somewhat diminished by its petrified state, but it appears that, yes, it can still burn. It doesn't want to catch easily, but each shot blackens the strands, creating glowing coals that gradually eat into the ropes. You focus on the edges, where the ropes meet the wall and curve at tight angles, and whenever you have eaten away enough at one your bodyguard works the prybar. The first one comes off, and you cheer inwardly. The second comes free, and you exhale in relief. You're doing it, you and your magic are REALLY doing it...

>[Begin rolling dice]

>>4702154

I'd stat that as effectively a damage over time spell, myself. A hovering smoke crossbow that continues to automatically manufacture and fire smoke arrows without necessitating your direct intentions.

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4702224
Operation save the spooder waifu is a go

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4702227
I think that would change the combat rating of the Last Loyal pretty seriously
>>4702224

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4702224
Dice for the spooder saving

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
An entire line of loyal just keeping tabs on a a few autocrosbows each....

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4702224
So far I've got a pair of 2s 9 high
Yeesh dice plz

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
Another die to help save Eshtei

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4702253
>>4702242
Pair 1
>>4702240
>>4702238
Pair 2
>>4702224
..........

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4702224
The dice cometh!

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
Keep on rollin rollin rollin...

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4702224
I really hope this was for something we have a MD for

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4702224
Roll high!

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4702224
Dice dice dice

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4702224
Another Spooder saver die

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4702224
Funnily enough, I didn't expect to start this early.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>4702224
Dice mice ice Christ

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
Never say die not even when you want to...

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
Enough die for whatever you need yet Wong?

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>4702224
It's do or die but I prefer doing the die, if you get my meaning...

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>4702290
>>4702288
>>4702266
>>4702253
>>4702242
So many 1s...
>>4702224

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4702290
Here's to hoping!

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Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4702295

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4702224
Praise the Dice Gods!

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>4702294
Another 1..
>>4702224
Well enough width in 1's at least gives us casting speed....

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>4702224

>>4702297
>>4702307
>>4702308
Damn son.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4702297
>>4702307
>>4702308
I think we're being taunted
>>4702224
I hope all these rolls get used

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4702224
One is the loneliest number that you ever knew...

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>4702224
Two, can be just as bad, it's the loneliest number since the number one...

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4702224
And one last one before I grab a bite to eat. Brb.

>>4702290

Yes, more than enough.

One of these days our bleeding heart is going to get someone killed. Just hope it isn’t today.

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"One of your sorcerers, my lord." One of the Last Loyal glances behind you, and you pause, your lips still tingling from the last lightning bolt you fired.

Down on one knee behind you, some distance up the steps, is indeed a Shadowbinder. A rather unthreatening one, as a matter of fact, a man of average height and build, with brown hair of medium length and a full beard that has been carefully trimmed and cared for. Were it not for his eyes of pitch and the black, hooded cloak worn over clothes that would better fit a leatherworker or other artisan, you would have thought him just another villager.

"My lord, Jakob Absol." He lowers his head still further. His stance betrays no aggression that you can see, he simply appears to be calm, composed, one of your mages kneeling to deliver you a report.

"Rise. What is the matter?" You ask.

He smiles, "Nothing, my lord. All is as it should be. It simply transpires that I am looking for Doloranna, have you seen her?”

“I have, often enough. She would be with the others right now. If you see her, do make sure she isn't causing trouble, won't you?” You turn back to the web of stone ropes, which he respectfully approaches to examine.

“Is the fireworks display intentional, my lord? A clever strategy, if so. Impress whatever is in the dark beyond, so that it will know your might. Although, I would be equally as impressed myself if you simply touched it and the enchantment fell to pieces, as your father would have done.” He remarks, folding his arms across his chest.

>[“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there”]
>[“Eshtei might not understand something so simple, and believe the enchantment simply weak. This way, she will know that I am powerful enough to command the fume and the levinbolt”]

>>4702337
>[“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there”]
Haha great
This Shadowbinder's sas is bordering dangerously close to insult.
He should be careful not to tread into Cailm's territory on our taze list....

>>4702337
>[“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there”]

Such a badass line needs to be said, Clint Eastwood style.

>>4702337
>[“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there”]
>May I know your name, sorcerer?

We need to know the people who doubt us, so we can prove them wrong.
Or put them on our shit list for snarking us.

>>4702412
Actually, I wish to talk a bit more with him before we ask for his name.

Man /qts/ threads have felt pretty empty the last few weeks....

>>4702337
>>[“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there”]

>>4702429
Yea.

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“When we seek to stand upon the shoulders of giants, it takes some time to climb up there.” His sass is a bit more than strictly needed, but he is older than you, after all. You speak the words of attunement again, and spit more lightning over the ropes.

“Ah, humility. Wisely said. The techniques were written over the course of many years in a book your father kept on his person, and brought with him to Cheill. I imagine he brought it home with him, and managed to pass it on to you. Or rather, it was put in his library as a book ought to be, a library you control. Were Albeda a bit older and wiser, she would have put acquiring that book to further her claim of being your father's heir-by-tutelage ahead of the silly games she insisted on playing with you instead. She could have said he gave it to her, and who would gainsay her?” He glances into the darkness beyond the grate, clearly able to see in the blackness, although the color of his eyes makes it impossible to see how swiftly he caught sight of Eshtei, “Does it have a name, my lord?” He asks, “This creature you seek to free?”

“Eshtei.” You glance sidelong at him, “You knew my father well?”

He bows, “I did. I was not with him on his final campaign, and for all the rational reasons I have to be thankful I am still alive...I regret that I was not there. First, to save him and those of my siblings who perished. Second, to learn the nature of what precisely the Cheillans unleashed on him. I have always disliked the idea, so common in some schools, that magic has limits. As the power of your spells rises higher, I believe that the 'how' becomes more obscure, but never truly impossible.”

“Unless said spell is to control any horse I ride. I swear those animals hate me.” You reply, dryly. It is nice to have a senior mage to talk to who isn't as overwhelming as Nuncle Arad or Grandmama.

He chuckles, “The Orruks, my lord, possess magics to that effect. For some reason, what is left of their ancestral ways from before their period of nomadic wandering remembers a time when, perhaps subconsciously, the aspects of magic they saw as most magical were those that transformed the body. Whereas in Galdaea, magic is viewed inherently as communicative, they outstrip Vartynen magi by far in the number and prestige of their diviners, in addition to their rune-mongers, their own caste of Stormtongues, and other, similar magics.”

You pause, “You've been to Galdaea? And the lands of the Orruks?”

[Continue]

>>4702435
Starting to think this is Doloranna's brother.

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He bows his head deeply, “Through books, one can be transported anywhere. Although I must confess that yes, when I was young I did wander far and wide. One cannot deal peacefully with the Orruks, sadly, but I observed much from my encounters. I found their magic less interesting than their strategy, on the whole. Did you know that an Orruk is at his most dangerous when he is running away? The feigned retreat, the Ledo Plainsfolk call it, rather unimaginatively. You see, the Orruks will break, and they will ride away in poor order, and you...tired and frustrated from their raiding...you order your forces to pursue, to catch them and crush them before they can regroup and work themselves up to burn your border villages again. Your men grow overconfident, their formation sloppy, perhaps some of them have lost family to the Orruks and they ignore the orders of their sergeants to keep together, hungry for revenge as they are. Then, you ride past some shallow rise in the ground, a little hill or a copse of trees, unaware that the copse is larger than it looks and the little hill is actually the crest of a large downslope on the other side, and there hide many more Orruks, and they pour out and tear into you when you least expect it. Or they simply turn, and as one fire their arrows into you. Some foes are at their most dangerous in flight.” He sighs. “Some.”

“Are you?” You inquire.

He shrugs nonchalantly, “Possibly, if I had time to prepare, resources to spend, and overall command of the operation to ensure the enemy was not alerted to my intentions before I was ready. In Galdaea, I was able to learn very little precisely because the Galdaean magi were alerted swiftly to the presence of an inquisitive foreign mage, and swiftly formed ranks to lock me out from learning very much of anything. A Bearer of the Star...sorry, my lord, that description pertains to one who is the illegitimate offspring, and thus a potential heir, of the current emperor. Anyway, a Bearer of the Star accused me of being a Vartynen spy, my money and possessions were seized, and I was quite lucky that I was able to barter my magical skills in exchange for passage back to the Dog Kingdoms. All it took was promising a miserly and unscrupulous captain that I could procure for him rowers that would never need rest or sleep. Always be aware of the uses of your magic. I could have simply threatened him with my powers, and for my pains been chucked into the sea in my sleep. Yet through his greed, I made myself wholly safe from betrayal, for at any time I could have unleashed his new oarsmen upon him and had him torn limb from limb. Perhaps when you visit, you will have sufficient forces at your back to make them address you more respectfully. It would satisfy me greatly.”

>[“What is your name?”]
>[“You seem quite content to chat, what do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all.”]

>>4702450
>[“You seem quite content to chat, what do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all.”]

I believe I already know who he is. Bold is quite the understatement.

>>4702450
>[“You seem quite content to chat, what do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all.”]
And here I was thinking Brother Gloam was more in his thirties and not an old man.

>>4702450
>[“You seem quite content to chat, what do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all.”]

Honestly tempted to just try and go for a headshot.
Considering we’re about 90% sure he’s gloam.

>>4702478
Of he wanted to ambush us, he would have already done so. Though another headshot would amuse me greatly.

>>4702482
Fair enough at the same time there’s clearly some sort of goal to coming here. And unless he’s gloating and our men are dying outside to a flame giant or something.

>>4702484
He's either confident in his ruse and doesn't suspect we're on to him and is scoping us out for himself because Albeda's clearly not a reliable info source on us, or long shot, he's here to surrender.
Or he's here to deliver a warning from the remaining Pentical members.

>>4702450
>>[“You seem quite content to chat, what do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all.”]

>>4702484
>>4702492
I think his intentions are more benign. Or maybe he's simply inquisitive, and satisfying his curiosity. It could be a trick, but a gut feeling tells me it isn't.

>>4702498
It is entirely possible he just wants to Know the enemy commander.
Maybe we should just challange him to a game of Regicide.

>>4702504
I'm down for that.

>>4702504
There’s a time for know your enemy and there’s a time for metaphorically punching them in the face and THEN negotiating

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“You seem quite content to chat. What do you really want? Doloranna isn't here, after all. Although perhaps it would be more painful for her if she was.” You pause, then add, “Though not as much as it would be, if Grandmama was here to see this.”

He sighs. He is in his mid thirties, perhaps, though with all the marks of a life lived fully and hard, “Grandmama. No, I fear she would have killed me before I entered speaking range. Her fears would have been misplaced, but she is the creature she is. I am one of the few who knows her true life story, and so I understand her rather more than most. I want multiple things, most importantly to offer my terms of surrender, but first...do you understand what that is before you?” He points into the darkness, straight at Eshtei,

“A person. Kindly cease calling her 'that' and 'it', one of my subjects who has been unjustly starved and imprisoned, and likely had her magic employed against me under duress.” You glance rather sharply at Brother Gloam.

“Eshtei has done nothing to hurt!” The giant spider wails from deep in the darkness, flailing her pedipalps. “Eshtei has done nothing wrong!” She sounds frightened.

“My apologies my lord. My apologies, Eshtei.” Brother Gloam bows low, “My lord, Eshtei is an old, old word, virtually forgotten even here. In the days before words were preserved, an Eshtei was a clan record, a living possessor of its oral history, traditions...and most importantly, its magic. What stands before you is, if what I heard from my former colleagues is correct, a Thorn-Dweller. Or at least, something they created. Certainly, the only known attuned member of...”

“No.” Eshtei corrects him, “Eshtei didn't make this place her true grove. There is only one for Eshtei.” Her childish voice is stubborn, “Where Eshtei was born. Where Eshtei will go again someday. Until so, Eshtei is not attuned. Eshtei knows.”

“I shall have to swallow this crow whole, it seems.” Brother Gloam sighs, “Nonetheless, it is good to learn new things. Eshtei is potentially necessary for my true work. Thus I came here in hopes of absconding with her, only to discover that Sister Shell...I would use her true name, my lord, if I but knew it...had beaten me here and taken steps to forestall me. Thankfully, they do not forestall you. I suspect she had some complicated plan to kill Eshtei without coming within reach of her admittedly impressive fangs, and I hope you have thrown said plan into disarray with your swift arrival.”

“You seem remarkably unafraid that I will simply put you to death.” You remark.

[Continue]

>>4702519
>Metaphorically punching them in the face
But what if i want to punch them in the face literally?

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“Moral clarity. I acted for good reasons, if one does one's best and dies in a good cause, that is enough. As it stood, with the kingdom hostile to our survival, the Absol lands stood upon the edge of a precipice. Young rulers, my lord, are terribly dangerous. History is replete with fine young men and women who were handed power and proceeded to turn into monsters without the threat of challenge. Although my plans made the issue rather moot, when Sister Shell approached me, offering a vial of godsbile, information, and the assurances that Albeda with her superior sorcerous learning was going to rebel and legalize an avenue of magic I was keen to pursue...well, I had been the one who taught Albeda her first Shadowbinding spells. As her teacher, just as I was Doloranna's, I couldn't help but feel an older brother's protectiveness.” He smiles awkwardly.

“Sad, isn't it? All high learning disintegrates in the face of base sentiment. All grand causes are built on it. Both of you had to be strong enough to take the reigns, in the event that I fail in my goal of ressurecting Arnveis Absol and restoring him to his seat, so that he can fulfill the prophecy and wreak vengeance on the King and those who used us...our people...our families...as so much fodder...” His hands tense into fists, his tone growing icy, “My little brothers. My little sisters. Fed to the Cheillans so the parasites in Old Vartyne can grow fat and weak without fearing usurpation by us. Murdered for convenience. My anger bites into my intestines with teeth of ice, and scourges me in my sleep. Oh my lord, I know a terrible fury, one that I think you share.” He spreads his arms wide, “Believe me, my lord, I do not doubt your claim or your legitimacy, and although my proposal to the Pentacle was rewarded with zero votes from the others my obvious solution of crowing up enough support for Albeda to give you complete control of the swamp and any potential naysayers via marrying her nonetheless required you to be ALIVE. My current plans also require you to be alive. Thus it was inevitable things would end this way. Or you would die uselessly, and my belief in the strength of the Absol bloodline would have proven misplaced and Albeda would have had to continue alone. That was also a possibility, or so I told myself to avoid my disdain for their vainglorious assassination attempt. Had I thought it had more possibility of success, perhaps I would have tried harder to sabotage it, I think. I did enough in ensuring both of your strongest archmagi knew as much about the Pentacle, including my part in it, as possible. I imagine they probably told you all I slipped into their hands via my apprentices as soon as they heard it? I expected no less.”

[Continue]

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The words rush over you, and for a moment, are as opaque as sea water. Two things stand out, however, Shell's primary involvement in the plot and what he said about your father. “You mean to bring my father back to life? But how, he was cremated?” Your eyes narrow suddenly, “Or was he?”

Sensing your anger, your bodyguards react, and Brother Gloam, Gorol of Briarfast, is surrounded by a forest of billhook points. He bows his head, “I am a thief and a rebel, my lord. I will not deny my crimes. If at the end, the Wall awaits, I shall not protest it. However, before we continue down this road, I would ask you this. What have you learned from fighting me? No, from fighting the Pentacle?”

>[Write in your answer, which may or may not include punching him or spitting lightning at him]

As this answer is important, I will give you considerable time, and the answer may give you variable rewards based on what it is. Take your time, think hard, read back over past chapters if you like, and feel free to chip in with individual ideas or a coherent whole, however you like. In a way, this IS a boss battle.

>>4702552
Oh Jove

>>4702541
This man is trying to play all the sides so damn hard or he’s just that much of a madman that he actually expects us to go with this.

Like holy shit man there are easier ways to peacefully transfer power and teach lessons. This stinks of a man trying to cover his mistakes by claiming he planned it all.

I’d trust him about as far as I could throw him right now, and that’s not far at all. And if we cannot trust him, he’s useless at our side.

>Knock him out with a lightning bolt. His fate will be decided later, either exile, death, or imprisonment.

I’m in favor of not killing him, as he did surrender, and he could still be of use, but I just cannot trust the man. Lock him up for now, in decent conditions, and finish hunting down the rest of the ringleaders.

I will also, because I'm kind of constrained by having to speak in Gorol's voice and he's not a straightforward person, explain his plan(s) in detail once it's all over.

>>4702572

At least the part he told you. Organize it better. It may not be news, any of it, but it's more of a clarification because there were multiple things he was planning for.

>>4702570
A peace transfer of power was irrelevant to a strong Absol ruling over an undivided Swamp. Cheil was a trap, and Shell the ultimate mastermind of this plot. By the time Shell came to him, the revolt was already in motion. His intention wasn't our death, but the prophetic Absol reigning supreme and getting just vengeance on our enemies, wether it be our father, Albeda, or us is irrelevant so long as the Absol line and the Swamp survives. He may not have helped overtly, but he did not wish us dead.

Also keep in mind, we we a young, untested Absol in the wake of our father's death. We did grow stronger in character, if not in physical strength. We needed to be challenged in the end, to better face our enemies.

>>4702592
...better face our enemies ahead.

>>4702592
I’m glad someone is bigger brain than I am.

Does seem to line up with the shadow binders and Grandmama’s intent to surrender if we fell in battle. Looking through that lens of siding with whoever was on top.

Hell we ourselves somewhat subscribe to this ideology considering our stated reasons for executing Char, I.E. damage to the swamp’s power base.

>>4702552
Btw, I am reading back rn. I only hope my answer would be satisfying when I come to it.

>>4702604
Ye. Better a strong ruler than a weak one.

A bigger brain isn't necessarily better. I may have killed a couple of quests by trying to be clever.

>>4702606
"Fear is an excellent teacher. The weakest minds are those that have never felt it." - Grandmama.

>>4702606
“Cunning is grand, girl, but the time comes when one must exercise strength personally.” - Grandmama, again being based.

>>4702541
"What I cannot use I break Brother Gloam and for you I offer redemption" offer him our hand "Do not mistake this as mercy because I'll make sure of that" then we do an eerie smile.

>>4702606
Good possibility Grey is already dead btw lads, as it seems only his immediate students are his connection to the rest of his pack. Also, ego killed Char and fucked up all their plans.

>>4702606
"What isn't known is the lengths he went to to find the culprit, and how deep his paranoia has become. There is a substance I have only seen once, smuggled out of Magdal by one of our associates...whose confidence I cannot betray...known colloquially as godbile. Apparently, it enhances one's arcane abilities and senses..." - Albeda, durning the trial. Shell is most certainly her associate that smuggled godsbile out of Magdal, as well as the one who facilitated the service of the Mercs at the Well. Question is, was she the killer of the Queen, the diviner, an unrelated third party, or some above combo? Either way, Shell is the CIA spook of our Swamp, what with all this godbile, connections in Magdal, some Thorndwellers in her pocket, and the ability to identify and arm the discontent and rebellious sorcerers in our Swamp.

>>4702541
Fighting you and the Pentagram required me to not only be quick and decisive in actions, but a certain degree a finesse and flexibility as well. The Pentacle's divisions and ego was self-defeating, despite their experience, knowledge, ability, or prowess. They couldn't leverage their advantages to their favor because their differing agendas.

>>4702570
Thinking more on it, it wasn't necessary a plan(s) that Gorol had in mind, just a goal with differing strategies and tactics to achieve his desired ends. He wasn't committing to a solid, ridged plan, he was more like navigating a flowing river, with it's dangers, opportunities, and deviation all flowing toward the same ends.

>>4702541
I may be shadowrunning here but get the feeling he wants to use thorndweller and shadowbinder magic on dad's corpse and Jacob to either merge them, or bring back daddy in Jacobs body. Which I'm pretty sure even if it worked would lead to the result of Anvis swiftly killing Gloam and then either an hero or go mad in anger and grief.
That aside the veil of godbile makes me think he plans to wipe out the capitol with chemical warfare.

>>4702541
"what i learned? you think all this some kind of grand lesson, a tampering of blades in the blood of my subjects? I will not deny that I am stronger now than when my father died, but what you have done and helped others do is not justified. The time and effort I have spent trying to keep my lands together and my subjects safe, safe from some of the very people who should have been marching with me in the first collums, could have been spent building up our swamp, securing alliances with the other frontier lords by helping them out and putting them in our debt. If you thought me weak you could have helped me grow in a thousand ways that did not murder my subjects and weaken an already weakened swamp. I will accept your surrender and I promise you a fair trail and to hear what else you might have to share I'll even protect you from grandmama. But do not delude yourself into thinking that what you have done is just and moral it was what you thought the shortest and easiest way to what you wanted."
If he doesn't go peacefully it's time to spit on the dark man.

>>4702795
I feel like this kind of answer is just telling him "good job, your plan worked and was a gift to me as a new ruler"

>>4702962
>That aside the veil of godbile makes me think he plans to wipe out the capitol with chemical warfare.
Seems I misremembered what godbile is.

Ok so from what I'm seeing, Shell is the actual leader behind this whole uprising, with Albeda at best being a potential puppet figurehead. The others fell in line for their own, sometimes conflicting, reasons. Not excusing the others, but Shell has to die.

As I remember it, Godbile is a magical ability boosting drug.

>>4702983
Shell definitely seems like the inciting figure, collecting all these disparate parties and motivations into a single force aligned against us.

Is anyone else starting to wonder if Sister Shell is some sort of red herring? Not in the sense that she doesn't exist - from the way that Gloam is talking about her, there is obviously a singular person behind the 'Sister Shell' identity - but a few threads ago, didn't Jakob mention that it was strange how little anyone knew about this powerful woman? Could it be possible that she is an operative sent by a third party to undermine the swamp?

In fact, recalling what is going on in neighboring provinces, it seems kind of suspicious that all of the hinterland is dealing with instability at the same time, doesn't it? I think there is some sort of unified conspiracy going on here, possibly going all the way back to the disastrous war that killed Jakob's dad.

>>4702541
>What have I learned? That despite all your grandiose claims otherwise, not one of your lot seems to have known my father at all, Despite Albeda having been raised by him. Arnveis was more than just the arcane fist of Vartyne. He was a man who loved the citizens under his protection, and you all fail to understand that even if you did somehow defy the laws of this world and resurrect him that he would strike all of you down for your shameful and careless disregard for the cost of swamp life in your endeavor to return him to the world of the living.
>All the Pentical has done has reinforced the lesson in lordship that my father taught me, unfortunately the cost has been paid by denizens of the swamp. A crime that will eventually need to be paid in full by all your members.
>Despite Grandmama asking me to ignore you and to end you on sight, you are still a part of the swamp though lost as you are, I accept your surrender you have much to answer for. Unless you'd like to test how much of my Father's magics I've mastered for yourself? Or perhaps you're more privy to a discussion of Zombies as oarmen for warships or to propel siege towers and smokemass walls over a game of Regicide?

Thought about this all night, and this is by no means perfect. Hopefully some of my thoughts here are useable.

>>4703579
>All the Pentical has done has reinforced the lesson in lordship that my father taught me
I suppose we could also add lessons in Tactics and as a military commander here as well.

>>4702980
Recognition isn't a reward in of itself. We're not condoning what he did, just recognizing what we achieved ourselves. For all he knows, he may have damned his plans for revenge by taking arms against the victor here.

>>4702962
That's a good theory there, without the godsbile bit.

>>4702983
>>4703012
>>4703111
CIA spook, like I said. If she's involved in all the provincial disturbances, then I got to say, bravo. How the hell did she get a dragon on side?

>>4703579
Would he even be our father, or just a shadow of a great man?

On a different note, if we died as Jakob, would we have a chance to play whatever monstrosity that Arnveis became? Now that would've been quite the twist.

>>4703654

Dying as Jakob before he has kids triggers the succession crisis arc and Albeda assuming the lord's seat.

>>4702541
Nailing dykes to vines feels better than it should

>>4703862
kek

Ya know I'm surprised Doloranna isn't hiding in our shadow, or if she is she hasn't come flying out to protect us from Gloam.

>>4703111
Isn't the symbol of that one woman that sent a letter to our alredy dead father (the one that talked us like she was our aunt) two golden shells on top of each other? Or maybe it's just that the spider chimera is sister shell and knew we would rescue her and lead her to our castel, or to be mor especifict, to the thorn wall (this seems to be vital for attuning to the chimerism school)

>>4703862
Kek. This answer would probably throw him off by being both sudden, shocking and terrifying.

Gloam: [Tries to use his prodigious intellect to get out of this mess scot free and also continue his research]
Jackob: [Ignores him and spends two hours monologuing about the oddly satisfying experience of nailing retarded traitors into giant magical thornewalls]
Gloam: W-well, fuck

>>4704954
Wouldn't explain the rope rock. Plus, I'm sure Gorol would have said something along the lines of 'oh yea, this little one is Sister Shell' instead of trying to play mind games with us.

>>4704961
Kek.

>>4703654
>CIA spook, like I said. If she's involved in all the provincial disturbances, then I got to say, bravo. How the hell did she get a dragon on side?
She does make monsters for a living, anon. Alternatively, there could be some sort of Skyrim situation, where dragons are locked away somewhere and she let a big one loose.

>>4706256
I don't think she can actually make monsters. Eshtei being chained up down here and wimpering that she made the ape like shell asked indicates that she's the actual source of them.

Gloam also expressing regret over not reaching Eshtei first, seems to indicate he had some sort of plan utilizing her. Perhaps some thorn-dweller magic combined with his own shadowbinding capabilities to bring back our father in a new body?

>>4706482
Well fuck, he gave me Frankenstein vives, but this fit's too well

>>4704990
You know when you are a giant monster spider chimera with the brain of an extremely ancient fleshcrafter mage, and you see this giant army spend all day hunting and then building boats and then they kill your fish pet. And you go all "Well fuck, gotta trap myself with stone ropes and tell them that I was a prisioner so they carry me to theyr castle, which is coincidentally the nexus of my powers"