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cfalcon
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Post subject: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:57 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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The heroes charged through the rainbow area that separated the explored section of the Proditial region from what appeared to be mostly abandoned living quarters. Training areas were found, a mess hall, and a kitchen. Other intruders had been through mere days before, and Rigby, Alenka, Keichi, Ash, and Morgrim scoured the area for not much time before they found a mysterious book on a podium, obviously recently interacted with. Morgrim, without touching the book, began reading- and the PCs appeared before twin altars to Erinth and Fedahar, in a world that they had never been in.
Quickly talking with the three priestesses that were there, Seylendria, Veronilla, and Lexiette, they learn that they are in the "Book of Infinite Souls", part of a story- and that "a third of creation" was written into the book by Fedahar, a long dead Caligan deity. The Nireen have heard of his death, but clearly believe him to be resting or somewhere else- though they worship both him and Erinth now. They report other beings having appeared at the altar in the past- in the distant past, "angelic servants of Fedahar" and "long lived servants of Fedahar" (angels and elves) have come through, but the last "angelic servant" entrusted them with a wand, speaking of betrayal and warning them to keep it safe. That they did, for years- but recently, other Caligans appeared, with demonic minions, and stole both the wand and the services of many of the Nireen men. They discovered that you can only leave the book once every 10 years- and they were unwilling to wait so long to Plane Shift out, the Voriphan sorcerer among them instead devising a plan using "Kro crystals"- the magical crystals that allow magic to be cast near them, a feat otherwise impossible- that could shatter the world by creating a massive magical blast that would empower them temporarily.
The ten year timing, and the two year rain of Narso and his friends, enabled the PCs to guess that every day in Caligo is a year in Sylrena. They evade the magical robot "eyes" and engage Narso and his minions and demons directly- after first using their magical door to reach, not the normal Remlock merchant, but a strange area full of alien creatures, who provide them a pleasant time, meal, and new clothes in exchange for being able to witness it. While at this restaurant, they plumb their bags for something to trade for an energy blaster- and find an item, a technomagical item that is largely useless to them except for barter, long ago looted from mindflayers. This meant that Narso was bringing a sword to a blaster fight, and Alenka proceeded to blast him to death solidly, at which point it became obvious that this Narso was much older than the one they normally fought- and wielded Alenka's sword with a different Tura gem in it.
The PCs finished off the eyes, and it became apparent that they too were trapped for years- around six of them by Caligo standards (about eight Earth years).
What to do over six years? There are many options...
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:03 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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1 day later
Behind the temple
"So, Sthron are we really here?"
Sthron, the leader of the Myram region, the third most populous grouping of the long-at-peace "nations" of Nireen, stood washing his hands in the wellspring, outside the temple that the saviors of his people had arrived at. He paused, and looked at Rigby.
"Pardon, my new friend. What do you mean?"
"I mean, we read a book, or Morgrim did, and then we appeared here, in front of three praying women. Then we kill an older version of Narso, and everyone is very happy. I'm pretty sure we aren't sitting unconscious on the floor of some old living quarters, trapped in a dream- there was that strange dagger Morgrim found, of Voriphan make, that could have been dropped by Narso's friends, and a shared dream would probably involve less of those robotic eyes..."
"We believe everyone is a story somewhere else, but perhaps that is because we know were written into a storybook. I would not despair- everything you described goes along with what our ancestors were told, so very many generations ago, by all the servants of Fedahar. Unless you believe we are not real, merely figments- but if so, why not believe that about your own friends, and all of Caligo?"
"Weeeelll, mostly because I was born into Caligo and raised there, instead of being transported via magic book. Still, that helps."
"Well put. Our histories tell of the same long-lived servants of Fedahar visiting us multiple times throughout our history, so I would not worry about anything except your six lost days back home."
10 minutes walk, South of Bia
Alenka sat at the base of the hill. The warm day was becoming a cool evening. She glanced to her left at the setting sun. The color was almost right, the size was almost right. The smell was pleasant, but so very far from right. Flowers of some sort. When she entered the rogue Proditial region it was winter, and even the warmer areas they had been located at didn't change that fact.
All of Caligo was at least chilly, and some parts were frozen, but here it was suddenly a respite.
What would she do? Since choosing to set off to seek her fortune, she had fallen in with a group of equally dedicated... well, friends. After several months, it was clear that they were her friends, probably for life. They wouldn't betray her. Well, maybe the pixie, but only a little. Together they had killed dragons, made good allies, and made the correct enemies. What started with dodging foreign agents and meddling with plans to help Dulal, a nation she had been in just a few weeks, had so far ended in helping revolutionaries, stabilizing Caelum's proditial region, saving Arcata from an orc possessed by an evil artifact (and in possession of an army), taking on Voriphan agents in a desert far from Voriph, and helping keep order in the Zemnian empire. No, it wasn't done, but it was still a lot. If they had all died a month in, they would have died heroes. So, this forced break was offputting to say the least.
She didn't want to stop. She wanted to fast forward the six years, and then rewind later and take the six years off once all the bad stuff was fixed. She didn't want all this life to happen to her right now, she wanted to keep happening to life!
Her youth would mostly be gone as well. Spent here, on an alien world. It was, at least, pleasant, and the people seemed genuinely nice (though how much was gratitude, she could not tell). In any event, their values seemed mostly straightforward. Maybe too straightforward- even elves didn't have millenia of peace, right? Maybe they had a lot of wars in the past, or maybe Fedahar helped them somehow when he wrote them into a book.
A pleasantly smelling wind picked up. Alenka inhaled deeply. She couldn't place the scent. Hint of jasmine, maybe? Hibiscus? The wind died down, and the mystery scent went away.
It was a lot to learn. She was sure it wasn't at all some melange of scents, all foreign to her host, but one local flower, or tree, and all the scents she considered familiar would be just as foreign to them. The wind picked up again, and so did the smell, but fainter now. She watched as the wind made the grasses around her dance, most a bluer green than she was used to, but still recognizable.
The whole world was like that. Familiar, but different. Like a dream- not the product of another creation, not entirely different, but just different enough. Was it anyone's job to question that?
She had to decide what to do. She could stay in Bia, or go where her friends did. She could live off the foreign land for a bit, and try to keep her focus. She could associate with the locals- of the few she had met, Lexiette wanted to talk about her experiences, Veronilla seemed curious about her swordplay, and Sthron seemed curious about her. If she left, she wouldn't have to worry about any of that.
The fear was, if she didn't leave- that she wouldn't want to. Six years felt ludicrous to think about now, but at the end of it, what if she didn't want to leave? What if she was fat and happy and celebrated and everyone begged her to stay? She'd never been so instantly popular. The male Nireen seemed as taken with her as they could be, much as the female Nireen seemed to swarm Keichi- Unbound, even Morgrim was amazingly popular, instantly. Heroes were rare in Caligo, and they were welcomed and adored, but it was understood that such a lifestyle could be cut short at any time- adventuring was dangerous. Here, heroes were nonexistent, and life was pastoral.
She needed to focus. The next six years seemed unreal now. She needed to make sure that when the time came to return, that going back wouldn't feel as unreal as thinking about the next six years currently did. She could stay here, socialize, improve herself, and still stay focused... right?
Veronilla's kitchen
"So I'm going to say a quantity and a time. I want you to say the unit of time all by itself, and singular." Morgrim smiled at the priestess. She smiled back. "Ok, singular means just one-thing. I can do that." "And then, take the quantity I said, and apply it to, err, Vaxinm. That's the thing that pulled the cart, right?" "I can do that."
Morgrim leaned on the wooden counter. "About 10 minutes" "About 15 Vaxinm, one minute"
"30 minutes exactly" She laughed. "Nearly half a Vaxinm, one hour"
"45 minutes exactly" "Over half a Vaxinm, one hour"
"Seven seconds" "A whisper of a Vaxinm, a minute."
"Half a second" She smiled again at the turn of words she was about to utter. "Breath of a god of a Vaxinm, a minute."
They continued. Morgrim was planning to take notes, but it was just numbers and ranges and he could do it all mentally. Veronilla seemed much more concerned about finding out which drinks and food the dwarf found pleasing.
Seylendria's Bedroom
Seylendria's bedgown was sheer, and held back no mystery from Keichi. They were, however, both quite sated for the night- possibly more than one night- and it shifted as she moved placed yet another white stone onto an intersection in the board.
"This threatens. You have to respond!"
Keichi looked the board over. The pieces were the same, but play was different. He thought he had it.
"This is quite different from Go. I think this is the correct play?" His black piece went down on an intersection, ignoring her threat by creating a more pressing victory that had no apparent answer.
Seylendria scowled, disappointed and pleased at being beaten by such a quick study. "You win in three turns, no matter. Well played. Ok, show me 'Go', and tell me of it."
"It's a game of Voriphan origin, but it swept through all of Pallia hundreds of years ago. Zeugerians are the acknowledged masters of it- Kuromeran grandmasters never win. Or if they do, it is likely because they cheat. The game is simple to learn, but the games take some time to play, and it takes a very long time to master. I am but a novice at it, but I can teach it to you."
"We have plenty of time! I don't feel the least bit tired."
The library at midnight
So many books! I have to learn their language, but I bet they have a lot of nice stories. I'm sure they do Viztria! But we're looking for history books, books that will tell us real stories, or close to it. Those really aren't that exciting, you know. Not worth your time!
Rigby and Viztria browsed through the library while Morgrim and Lithonian sat around a large table with books piled upon it, with some notes scratched out in Elven and Dwarven scattered amidst them.
"Ok, so, what do we know about this place?" Morgim asked. "Besides that their drink is weak." Yes it totally is and can I please have more?
Lithonian, relaxed in a chair that seemed built just perfectly for him, responded. "We know it isn't connected to anywhere else that we've been, except back through the way we came. We don't know if there's a bunch of places just like this that we can plane shift to, or teleport to, or if you have to open the book to their chapter to get there. We know that Caligan gods are worshiped here, but have no power here. We don't know if there are any native gods, as the Nireen worship Fedahar and Erinth. We know that the Nireen believe Fedahar somehow put the Nireen, and probably a lot of others, into this book to keep them safe, somehow. We don't know if there's any other faction that secretly worships Buranon."
"Well, that's quite a bit I guess. A lot of books here, and it's not obvious what's become a myth and what is mostly real. They have plenty of stories- I found Myrensaellia, supposedly Fedahar's three breasted wife, for instance, from a race of three-breasted Caligans."
"Wait, there's three breasted Caligans?" Rigby asked, distracted from mental discussions and book searching.
Morgrim laughed. "Ha! No, you'd think we'd have heard of it. My point is that while the big points of what they know about Fedahar and Erinth line up with our history, to them it is almost absurdly ancient, and much has been embellished. Dragons aren't the size of cities. No race has three breasts, and there's not "sky cities ringing the world", though if they heard of Voriphans, they might write that. Speaking of, Duthcarroun and Saerannouv, which are probably voriphan names, aren't gods, and never were. We don't know who they were, but my guess would be that the current events as relayed by the visitors from Fedahar's proditial region got mangled- probably one or more important enemies or friends, depending."
"Back up. Extra Gods? I know it sounds silly, but... could it be?"
Lithonian took the question. "No, it's impossible. Zem got away with exercising divine powers for not very long before the Gods united to actually intervene- probably just the close Gods, but still. Two humans of godlike power wouldn't be able to keep themselves secret from the close Gods or Latukefu for hundreds of years. Probably not even secret from Zem tower, honestly. It's just an exaggeration... or an allegory."
Morgrim frowned. "If it's allegorical, we'd need more than just this library. We'd need good records of what was going on in Caligo at about that time. The stories involve Umbrans and Voriphans in small measure, but most are centered around Arcata and Pallia. Queris hasn't been mentioned yet, but I'll need more than a few hours to find out about that." He took another drink of the yellow fermented fruit drink that was popular, or at least available, here. "Give it time, we have plenty of that it seems. For a change."
Lithonian thought for several moments, distracted, then responded. "Speaking of time, did you work out how long we'd be here?"
"Yea, I worked it out with Veronilla earlier. They have 364 days in a year, versus our 500. They have a day nearly 30% longer here. It took some time to work out- they have three "hours" at night, and fifteen during the day. I think they count in base fifteen, which is preposterous and entirely needless. Plus, they have longer days in the summer than in the winter, and even that depends on how far north they are. Spheres are a pretty stupid way to build a world- you waste all the middle space, and your seasons are all silly. Maybe I'll check that out later, though. It all boils down to, we're only here a bit more than five and a half Caligan years- no real change for our humans."
Hey, I age too!, Viztria broadcasted. I don't think it matters dear. Pseudodragons live for as long as true dragons, and familiars don't age while they are bonded. I'M SO SMART FOR BONDING A PIXIE Morgrim, instead of responding mentally, leaned back in his chair, craning his head back to make eye contact with Rigby. With that firmly established, he eagerly patted his open lap. "Come on over! I'm sure Monty won't mind."
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:07 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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One week later
Orbit
Morgrim watched the ioun stone move from left to right. Breathing was unecessary- his experiments showed it was possible, but disconcerting. The exhales seemed to be ripped from the tip of his nose, or edges of his lips, the inhales seemed stale and useless. But it allowed casting- likely the only reason the stone was enchanted in such a fashion.
Sylrena stood beneath him, the sun warming his back. The world was a nearly even split between earth and water, and the middle section was in spots obscured by clouds. The areas near the north and south (points on a sphere) were cold, and the ice was visible. It was a beautiful world. He estimated the distance to the other landmasses. He closed his eyes, and kept the image. Opened them, stared. Closed them, kept the image. While gorgeous, there was much risk with this method, but the records in Bia simply didn't have enough information to astrally push himself or his friends to the other areas. Unlike the libraries in Zem tower, they were not written with the intention of informing. The Nireen were deeply religious, and Morgrim had wondered more than once if Fedahar's death could have been some manner of escape or transmigration into this area. He saw no evidence yet, but Ash would be the one to ask. He focussed a bit more, his heartbeat all the more obvious with the absence of breath, and began memorizing the shapes of the visible continents.
Seylendria's living room
"Definitely other pixies. South of the Mia region, probably. The forests are supposed to be dangerous, but that might be more to caution travellers."
Lexiette smiled, pleased to be bearer of welcom news for a change.
"I would probably have time to visit them. What are they like?" Rigby asked. Viztria was already looking through the top book Lexiette had opened for them.
"I don't know. It says some of them have tatoos, and many people who seek them wake up a few minutes outside of a village with no memory of the last week or so, and also some of their parties are mentioned- a strong drink and you lose control of yourself. So, probably not much like you?" The last part may have been added out of politeness.
"For all we know, he's tattooed as well." Seylendria mentioned, smiling at Lexiette.
Keichi confirmed the theory. "He has the tattoo of a scared and crying little girl, directly on his left asscheek. It's to remind him always of his fighting style, lest he otherwise forget momentarily."
"Well, I'll have to give it some thought. we have time, for sure. In the meantime- you mentioned a root that kind of looks like this?" Rigby gestured, hoping to find an analog for feltharoot, one way to gather the magical essence needed for his memory loss arrow.
Lexiette was back on track. "A few, but I don't know if they will work for your rituals."
Deep in the tree of mind
Lithonian's mind lept from recent memory to recent memory. Some could be consolidated, just experiences of the Nireen that added together would lose detail but grant intuition. He touched the branches together. His meditations seemed pointless without the great light of Latukefu to give himself to, and he spent much of his time with pointless mundanities that brought no practical or spiritual benefit. He had thus far refused to reach out, to see if some other god was there. He had likewise refused to try to turn his philosophy simply towards an alignment, such as "pure law".
He had never dealt with a choice between his faith and his powers before. It was not an idle choice- he flew quickly to a brown leaf to see one of the few Nireen from a few days ago who was visibly diseased, a wasting ailment that caused him to be unable to walk and gave him a very pale countenance. If he could reach Latukefu, he could cure him- but he could do neither in a repeatable fashion.
He focused again on the nature of the world he was in. Everything thus far indicated it was a place similar to the one they had left, and though the Nireen considered themselves a story, perhaps that was ok- as long as Ash was here, he was in the same story with them. When he and his friends left in six years, would the Nireen consider them a story? Could both be true at the same time?
Lithonian switched to the branch that stored his time at the library with Morgrim. Maybe here he could begin to find more truths. One thing he was sure of- all the memories past their battle with Narso had been pleasant- a definite improvement. He began touching the more factual ones first. Later he would unite the emotional ones and see if there was a pattern there.
The library, early evening
"I'm sure the Kro crystals can be shaped in some manner. It may even be possible to do so to help us, unlike what happened to that mad barbarian." Morgrim put the crystals from the mine down on the table. He concentrated, and the small crystals each shot a beam of energy to another- and the central one shot one forward a bit, softly striking a rock he had placed in the center of the table. The rock rolled backwards about a foot.
"I don't think evocation is their strength. I think we could make something that might help us a little bit- maybe manipulate magical energy somehow."
Ash was skeptical. "The barbarian was power-mad with them, and the rest accomplished nothing except being driven mad with power from them. If you want to experiment you can, but keep in mind if you go mad, Heal is hard to come by here."
Rigby was a bit less harsh. "It might be worth looking into, as long as you are careful. I could probably lend a hand if you need."
The village square
Keichi and Alenka circled, twin bokken versus a very narrow waster. Village youths, mostly boys, watched in rapt attention. Keichi lept at Alenka, right wooden sword arcing forward and down, left cutting a different path to ensare the overly long opposing wooden blade. Alenka, having adopted a parry-friendly stance she favors in such practice, darts her waster to test the defenses, and upon finding she could not evade the left blade long enough to strike, brings her right hand sharply up and right, throwing her body back to evade the incoming right blade.
A brief stalemate, though enough minor bruises on each of them count the contacts that were made before such a party showed up. This part of the practice was for defensive fighting. The details of the drill had changed over and over again since the two had met, but the order of which method of attack or defense was emphasized during the drill had never faltered, the same order taught, not just to all Stalkers, but to all House of the Blood Moon initiates. Likely other fighting schools were similar- copies, in likelihood. The only difference now was a crowd, most unfamiliar with weapons, who were watching their practice.
"She's fast, but you got two blades. All you gotta do is just push hers to the side with one of them, and hit her with the other!"
Keichi's eyes quickly found the youth, a young woman, her eyes mocking. Not a heckler exactly, but she didn't understand.
"By all means ma'am, demonstrate!"
Alenka eyed her new competitor holding both of Keichi's bokken forward. Her initial form was at least a form, as horrible as it was. She tried exactly what she had said, but failed even at the first part- Alenka's waster was not some branch to be batted away, but was longer and more nimble. Alenka decided to grant her some dignity, and followed with a half speed strike directly towards the girl's heart- enough to bruise if she was terribly slow. She was not- she moved back, and deflected it with her left bokken, lunging forward dangerously with her right. Alenka sidestepped while disrupting the blow. Not terrible for such a novice.
The youth's eyes lit up as her body swelled with breath. She started forward with both swords.
Oh no. Now she thinks I'm really that slow. She doesn't understand I was being nice.
Alenka simply parried or side stepped every last inexpert blow. Perhaps the crowd wouldn't understand how awful she was? She would wait for her to get a bit tired, then make it look like she had to try a bit to get the blow in. At least, that was the plan. Instead, on the sixth predictable strike with the right hand bokken, the sword simply bounced off of thin air.
I won't do it no don't do it no no
Despite her best intentions, it was too late. Alenka's reflexes had already made the decision. The resounding waster strike hit the off balance girl directly beneath her right arm. A real blade would have pierced lung in two places, but instead a nasty bruise would be all she had to show for it. And the lost breath, but she'd regain that fast enough.
Parry Ball is happy to help!
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:34 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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The PCs have some choices to make, and not as much real time to make them as I'd like. Still, it should be adequate.
I'd like to know your general directions. Specifically:
>Veronilla (that's the mousy one that likes technical challenges and also Mogrim) would be up to learn wizardry- as would a few other Nireen. They seem to have no knowledge of the structure of magic, and their sorcerers, such as Sthron, seem to be something like 4-6th level in power. Their wizards might be similarly limited- or it may become A Big Deal. Morgrim, think about if you want to do this or not.
>There are sylvan pixies, probably a bit more feral than on Caligo, on the southern edge of the continent. Will Rigby adventure towards them?
>Alenka's challenges should be well laid out in her introspection on a breezy evening at the foot of a pleasant hill. Will she focus on training? Is she interested in Sthron? What will she do, with whom, and where? Will she teach her rapier skills?
>Keichi hasn't had such a moment yet, but it's clear that Seylendria is super into him. It's also clear that his dual wield fighting style is the nrthulder's shoulders in Bia, an unusual martial interest in such a peaceful people- suddenly, many youths are duelling with poorly constructed dual bokken, and want to know more.
> What spells will Morgrim research? For each year he stays in town, he will trivially be able to research 30 levels of spell- more if he has an item that boosts that (but no more than 100 levels of spell per year- there's still materials that are required). Will Morgrim and Ash work on the Kro crystals at all? It's obvious you can, with some effort, gain some minor and permanent benefits from the Kro crystal.
>What will Ash work on? I have some ideas, but it's honestly the most open ended. Does he want to try really hard to contact Latukefu? See if there is a natural ally-god around? Focus on a different area?
>(all characters) - what do you want to START doing? Say, for the first several months / up to two years? Respond with that, and I can give you better guidance.
Over the course of the six years...
Choose one of these:
(Human only) A free feat and 5 hit points. (Any) Resist 10 (your elemental affinity element) and +1 Init (Any) A combat feat and 8 hit points. (Any caster) A metamagic feat and 5 more 1st level spell slots. [Kro crystal] (Any caster with non-cleric-like spell access) A metamagic feat and 3 more 1st level spells known. [Kro crystal] (Any sorcerer style caster) -3 hit points, and one extra spell known of levels 1,2,3 and 4. [Kro crystal] (Any caster) A "mirror slot" - You fill this slot while memorizing spells. You can expend it to cast any spell you currently have memorized, or that was just cast on you in the last two rounds. It can't duplicate a higher spell level than you can cast, and when you use this slot you lose hitpoints equal to twice the level of the spell you just mirrored. (Human only) +1 to lowest stat, then +1 to lowest stat. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Greater Sight: When Ghost Sight is active (which is anytime you have at least one point of Isai ki), you gain +6 to spot checks. Core Sense grants you 20 feet of blindsight instead of 10 feet of blindsight. You can spend X points of Isai ki to grant Ghost Sight to an ally within 30 feet as a swift action, X >=1. The target ally gains Ghost Sight for X rounds. You can spend X points of Suri ki to grant Core Sense to an ally within 30 feet as a swift action, X >=1. The target ally gains Core Sense for X rounds. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Improved Strikes: Frightful Attack and Smoke Blade only cost 2 Isai and Suri ki points each, respectively. Treat your Stalker class level as 2 higher for all purposes when using Frightful Attack. Smoke Blade allows you to rush forward 20 feet instead of 15 feet, as does Fiery Finish. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Expert Blows: Your Sudden Strike deals d8s instead of d6s. Treat all 1s rolled from Sudden Strike as 2s. Your Disruptive Strike deals d20s instead of d12s. Treat all 1s, 2s, and 3s rolled from Disruptive Strike as 4s. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Master of Ki: When you meditate to gain ki, you also gain 2 points of Suri ki and 2 points of Isai ki. When you have 6 levels of stalker, this increases to 3 points of Suri and 3 points of Isai ki. This is in addition to ki you normally gain with your meditation. When you have 10 levels of stalker, this increases to 4 points of Suri and 4 points of Isai ki.
ALSO choose one of these:
(Any) 10 skill points as class skills, limit 6 per skill. (Human) 12 skill points as class skills, limit 4 per skill. (Any) 20 skill points as class skills from the following list, Profession and Craft as normal, but limit 6 per skill on others. Knowledge (Any), Handle Animal, Profession (Any), Craft (Any), Open Lock, Search, Use Rope. (Any) 10-X skill points as class skills, limit 4 per skill, and something interesting you come up with, with my approval. X goes up the cooler your thing is, but will be a whole number!
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PoorAssRacing
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:03 am |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:45 am Posts: 1065 Location: Taking the fair maiden's....hand
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Love the pixie's ass tattoo. Seems perfect.
I'll definitely be researching some spells. I'll come up with those early on Saturday.
I think spending some time teaching wizardry to the locals should be fine. It will help me keep in practice. I think the safest thing to do would be to start only with Veronilla, so see how things progress. No need to pull in a bunch of would-be wizards, only to find that there's something odd with teaching them wizardry. If all goes well with Veronilla, then we could consider branching out to others.
As far as the Kro crystals....oh hell yes. Morgrim would encourage Ash heavily to help, although his help wouldn't (I don't think) be imperative. Hell, if teaching the locals wizardry works out, we could even enlist their help eventually once their powers ramp up a bit. I think Morgrim is most interested in learning about the crystals....and would sacrifice time researching spells and other wizard-related activities to maximize his knowledge and manipulation of the crystals.
_________________
Zem wrote: "Take 40 points of damage." "Why?" "Because my mother breastfed me until I was 9 and it's having some serious psychological effects on me."
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Zem
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:22 pm |
Site Admin |
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:41 pm Posts: 1807
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I shall definitely investigate the pixies.
A pixie gets lonely, you know?
_________________ Do the asparagus look threatening?
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The Yeti
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:32 pm |
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:38 pm Posts: 771 Location: Zemasia
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Too many choices!!!
_________________ Wouldn’t you say a bow is the same thing as a curtsy?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:53 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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The Yeti wrote: Too many choices!!! Suck ALL the dicks? I don't know, there's a lot of Nireen...
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Zem
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:06 pm |
Site Admin |
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:41 pm Posts: 1807
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(Any caster) A metamagic feat and 5 more 1st level spell slots. [Kro crystal] (Any caster with non-cleric-like spell access) A metamagic feat and 3 more 1st level spells known.
What are talking here with spell slots and spells known? It sounds oriented for a wizard... at least the first one. I'm guessing for me you'd mean "Spells per day" as the bonus spell.
_________________ Do the asparagus look threatening?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:45 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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(Any caster) A metamagic feat and 5 more 1st level spell slots. I refer to "spells per day" as spell slots. Wizards and sorcerers both have "spells per day". For a wizard, this would give him 5 extra 1st level spells per day, which could be memorized with any spell he knows. For a sorcerer, it would increase the same value, but not affect spells known. This would not be that amazing for a sorcerer, who normally is looking for more variety. [Kro crystal] (Any caster with non-cleric-like spell access) A metamagic feat and 3 more 1st level spells known. Similarly, this would not be that amazing for a wizard, who has easier ways to add to his spells-known list. A sorcerer would probably really like this, however.
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Zem
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 9:14 pm |
Site Admin |
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:41 pm Posts: 1807
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Ok, so... what exactly does this mean with regards to a Kro Crystal? I need to have one with me or something?
_________________ Do the asparagus look threatening?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 9:53 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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That detail was kind of left off. No, but it does require you guys research the Kro crystals some (which is already the plan). Hopefully I'll post something about that so it doesn't burn face time.
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:37 am |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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The Yeti wrote: Too many choices!!! With gaming cancelled today, you don't get the copy-paste from you dicking around for six years, and can instead do something you may find cooler. Rigby looks like he's going to help Morgrim investigate the Kro crystals. Ash I suspect is sticking with them. Keichi I'm not sure about. Rigby will, probably after a few months, venture south to the Amstal and search it for pixies.
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2013 12:37 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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I still need direction from Keichi, Lithonian, and Alenka!
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Zem
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:52 pm |
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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:41 pm Posts: 1807
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So, as many of you have noticed, we don't game very often. In the interest of getting some things out of the way BEFORE we game, I think it would be awesome if some of you could work on responding to the inquiries. I don't want to start gaming and hear "Oh, yeah, I meant to do that... let's talk about it now..."
It's just a few minutes a day to respond. If you can't decide what you want to do, pick something at random. Let's just move on.
_________________ Do the asparagus look threatening?
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The Yeti
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:14 pm |
--Level 40 Elderly-- |
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:38 pm Posts: 771 Location: Zemasia
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I did respond and was serious, but ok.
Alenka does not like being “trapped” in Bia for the next six years but hey, may as well make the best of it. It is what she has always done in situations like this one. It was time she should use to prepare for the road ahead! OF COURSE SHE WILL TRAIN but.. Fortunately for the DM, her curiosity will lead her to mingle with the locals! She will talk with Lexiette and share her experiences. She will try to learn more about where she is now. Veronilla will also get some attention. She might take Sthron to a local pub. Perhaps he will share more about Bia, rather than himself, with her. Alenka will talk with the young girl from the square. Perhaps this kid is on her way to greater things? Perhaps the girl has some mad hairdressing skills?
_________________ Wouldn’t you say a bow is the same thing as a curtsy?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:37 am |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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The Yeti wrote: I did respond and was serious, but ok. Oh, I knew you were serious. I just needed a better response, like the one you just made! There's limits to how comfortable I am "playing your characters", hence the input begging. Which continues for the cleric and the stalker 
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The Yeti
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:28 am |
--Level 40 Elderly-- |
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:38 pm Posts: 771 Location: Zemasia
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cfalcon wrote: The Yeti wrote: I did respond and was serious, but ok. Oh, I knew you were serious. I just needed a better response, like the one you just made! There's limits to how comfortable I am "playing your characters", hence the input begging. I am looking forward to whatever you come up with.
_________________ Wouldn’t you say a bow is the same thing as a curtsy?
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Scubynubie
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:00 am |
Superior Master |
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Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:59 pm Posts: 432
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Seylendria's Bedroom
Seylendria's bedgown was sheer, and held back no mystery from Keichi. They were, however, both quite sated for the night- possibly more than one night- and it shifted as she moved placed yet another white stone onto an intersection in the board.
"This threatens. You have to respond!"
Keichi looked the board over. The pieces were the same, but play was different. He thought he had it.
"This is quite different from Go. I think this is the correct play?" His black piece went down on an intersection, ignoring her threat by creating a more pressing victory that had no apparent answer.
Seylendria scowled, disappointed and pleased at being beaten by such a quick study. "You win in three turns, no matter. Well played. Ok, show me 'Go', and tell me of it."
"It's a game of Voriphan origin, but it swept through all of Pallia hundreds of years ago. Zeugerians are the acknowledged masters of it- Kuromeran grandmasters never win. Or if they do, it is likely because they cheat. The game is simple to learn, but the games take some time to play, and it takes a very long time to master. I am but a novice at it, but I can teach it to you."
"We have plenty of time! I don't feel the least bit tired."
Hmmm... I suppose I would pursue some kind of relationship with Seylendria, but I would definitely focus on my training as well. I think I would also try to teach what I know of defense, etc. to anyone that would listen to help these people better defend themselves if invaders come through this world again. And since magic is in short supply here, I would focus on honing my skill set as well, and not rely on my ability as much.
I'll also spend some time scouring the country for awesome weapons. Though I'm guessing that there aren't many magicly amplified options, so that may basically be a quest for antiques, etc...
Need more?
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PoorAssRacing
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 1:34 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:45 am Posts: 1065 Location: Taking the fair maiden's....hand
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Piggybacking onto what Keichi just wrote, is there a way we the pixie and I can research ways to have the crystals support or even enhance Keichi's magical abilities?
_________________
Zem wrote: "Take 40 points of damage." "Why?" "Because my mother breastfed me until I was 9 and it's having some serious psychological effects on me."
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:14 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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PoorAssRacing wrote: Piggybacking onto what Keichi just wrote, is there a way we the pixie and I can research ways to have the crystals support or even enhance Keichi's magical abilities? Yes, of course. That will be an option to take instead of the "feat-type" option. I'll create that soon.
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The Yeti
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:22 am |
--Level 40 Elderly-- |
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Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:38 pm Posts: 771 Location: Zemasia
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Use them to inhance turas maybe?
_________________ Wouldn’t you say a bow is the same thing as a curtsy?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 11:10 am |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiqkclCJsZsI'll think about that. The Turas should be able to be modified, but I just might not have a mechanic for it. It wouldn't be a very strong thing- everything with the Kro crystals so far shows that the really powerful stuff basically requires you to misuse them, and that conservative use grants conservative benefits.
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:22 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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While we wait for Ash to update, I figured I'd post the abilities of the artifact you guys grabbed.
Semla, Wand of Fedahar
This wand was at one point imbued with both overriding intellect and purpose. The death of Fedahar left it with none of the first and little of the second. Many of the abilities are unusable by someone evil, and non-clerics/channellers can't access most of the features of the wand. Note that you can only use one item when casting (and not just because you need the other hand free for somatic components, though that is also true), so Ash won't be able to use the wand AND the bow simultaneously on a cast (this is true for all casters and weapons, but just pointing it out).
The following abilities are usable by anyone who picks up the wand: Reach- Cure Light Wounds (Sp) - At will, as a spell like ability, caster level 20. Cures 1d8+5 hit points. Range: 75 feet. Command Fortress 1 (Su) - At will, as a standard action. This allows Fedahar's modified Proditial Fortress to do any of the following: 1)- Dock on Caligo- This brings the fortress through the astral plane to its docking point in Kuromera. 2)- Dock on Thaless- This brings the fortress through the astral plane to its docking point on the equator of Caligo's moon. 3)- Transport to Yiresten- This brings the fortress to the Yiresten section of the unbound. Once a stauch lawful good region, it disintegrated long ago, its denizens moving to the Meeth section. 4)- Transport to Next Creation- A cyclical command that cycles between a section of far space and the dock on Caligo. The intention of it being iterative is clear, but there just doesn't seem to be anywhere else to go.
The following abilities are usable by any non-evil person who picks up the wand: Detect Evil (Sp) - At will as a spell like action, caster level 20. Create Food and Water (Sp)- Up to 10x day, caster level 20 as a spell like ability. The food this creates is super fucking delicious and totally excellent and not bland at all. Crate Food and Water (Sp)- As above, but to go. The crate disappears after 24 hours. Purify Food and Drink (Sp)- At will as a spell like ability, caster level 20. Create Wine (Sp)- Up to 10x a day, caster level 20. This is some delicious wine. Create Mead (Sp)- Your call bro, if you're into it, Semla can roll like that. Neutralize Poison (Sp)- At will as a spell like action, caster level 20. If cast using the "object" target, it converts the poison into mead or wine.
The following abilities are not usable by evil creatures or outsiders: Spell Enhancement (Su)- At will as part of a cleric or channeler's spellcast. When used while casting, the caster level of the spell increases by +1. The caster retains the spell or spell slot on an 11 or 12 spelldie result. The save DC of the spell increases by +1. Additional, choose ONE of these effects. The spell must meet the prerequisite. >Ranged Healing- If the spell would cure damage to one or more non-evil creatures and has a range of touch, it gains a range of 30 feet. >Lesser Fork- If the spell cures damage to one or more non-evil creatures, a second effect is generated. This Lesser Fork effect is a positive energy effect that can cure a living creature for 1/4 the healing just done by the spellcast. The Lesser Fork has a 30 foot range, and cannot target any creature healed by the original spellcast. >Healing Echo - If the spell does NOT cure damage, it may generate a second effect. Roll a spelldie (1d12). If the result is even, then the healing echo is generated. If the spell is 1st level, this effect is Cure Minor Wounds (1hp). If the spell is 2nd or 3rd level, this effect is Cure Light Wounds (1d8+CL, max 5). If the spell is 4th or 5th level, this effect is Cure Moderate Wounds (2d8+CL, max 10). If the spell is 6th or 7th level, this effect is Cure Serious Wounds (3d8+CL, max 15). If the spell is 8th or 9th level, this effect is Cure Critical Wounds (4d8+CL). Command Fortress 2 (Su or Sp) - At will, as a standard action. This allows Fedahar's modified Proditial Fortress to do any of the following: 5)- Transport to Meeth, the Second Heaven- This brings the fortress to the Meeth section of the unbound. This section is filled with the servants of Erinth. 6)- True Resurrection - Once a day, as a spell like action. This is usable inside the fortress. 7)- Lesser Holy Reconstruction - Once a day, as a spell like action. This is usable inside the fortress This spell can undo some divine curses, and instantly slays undead, evil outsiders or Seryantics, reforming them into pure souls or resurrecting them, as appropriate. When cast on a creature not meeting these conditions, it acts as a restore potion.
There are several more abilities that the wand is no longer capable of, and likely will never be again: Holy Blast, Gate, Miracle, Fade, Mass Heal (Sp)- As spell like abilities Command Fortress 3 (Sp or Su) 8)- Transport Outside- This sends the fortress outside the universe of Caligo entirely. 9)- Choose Reality This acts as plane shift once "Outside", sending the fortress to a known reality. A tuning fork is recommended, though a "close" reality can be selected manually. 10)- Sense Environs This allows the caster to sense the outside of the fortress, to a range of 1000 freethoughts. 11)- Vengeance This allows the fortress's energy to blast an outside object or creature for epic holy siege damage. Probably a lot of it. 12)- Greater Holy Reconstruction Spell Enhancement - Fork Spell Enhancement - Mana Preservation
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:59 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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Also, it should be pointed out that the Light Key you have has the following functions, both with a range of 5 feet:
1)- Unlock Energy Door (Su, at will) 2)- Create Energy Door (Su, full round action, creates up to 30x30 energy door, 2x day)
The create energy door function is interruptable- if you are damaged during it, or pushed out of position, the door won't form and the use won't be expended. The energy door is functionally similar to a visible wall of force- it blocks gaze attacks, and is immune to disintegrate, but otherwise acts as it. Only three energy doors can exist at a time, and each one is permanent unless unlocked or removed via other means.
Doesn't seem very useful, but... who knows!
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 12:35 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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I'd really like to be able to get this done earlier in the week than later. Ash, what are you up to?
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 4:52 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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To answer questions from the other thread:
Zem:
1)- There is obviously plenty of time to make pixie arrows. I would assume that you could spend up to 30 weeks of "enchanted forest" and up to 60 weeks of "normal forest". Keep in mind that this is a lot of time- not your full time, certainly, but if you were angling for a lot more than that it seems silly. For arrow pointns, this would be, in total, 356 + 90*ranks (the number of ranks is a bit funny here- it's the number you have after you are done leveling, but only half of whatever you apply from the bonus skills, if any, as they are assumed to accumulate over the six years). The 356 is from 138d4, which I sadly report rolling electronically.
2)- Lesser Blue is 2nd level, and you guys know that. Blue Magic is 5th level, and costs you that much research time. Greater Blue Magic is 8th level, and costs you that much research time. Because the magic is unique, I would normally assess a research penalty, but you'll both be working on it. Blue Magic removes the level limit on absorbed powers. Greater Blue, you roll 2d4+1 when you cast Greater Blue Magic, and this becomes an energy pool you can draw on when using blue magic powers. Each time you use a power, you can spend from this pool (you cannot spend it to below 0), choosing to spend 1, 2, or 3. If you do, reduce the spell level needed to trigger the blue magic effect.
3)- The Blue Magic is from another reality, traded by your extradimensional buddies. There, is, in fact, a red- and that fact doesn't help you guys very much. From what you can gather, red magic would allow someone trained in its use to be very versatile in magic indeed, but at a cost of total magnitude of the spell. In any event, you don't have the necessary background to actually research a spell duplicating that effect- and Morgrim isn't even sure it would just be a spell. No dice, sorry.
4)- Pixies I'll put in a little blurb a bit later this week. You will be meeting them in the Amstal, a lovely rain forest / jungle.
5)- This seems to be the biggest question, and it was mostly addressed earlier in the thread. "Where the fuck are we" seems to be about where you were presented- you are inside a story book, The Book Of Infinite Souls. It seems likely that Plane Shift would work to take you from Sylrena to somewhere else also in the book, though you don't have any manner of tuning fork (though such a thing could be researched). You can't use it to leave without a blast of some manner of arcane energy either in Caligo or in the book- and without the shit the evil crew you guys splattered were up to, there's no way to generate it locally. Side note: "Creation" may in fact be infinite, and a third of infinity is, I hear, pretty big.
6)- You'll need to spend at least one of the free skillpoints into Craft: Knitting.
7)- The Rigby will obviously be an enduring and endearing part of Sylrena.
8)- Rigby isn't really that well equipped at figuring out what the fuck the story is with Fedahar. A cleric, channeler, or wizard would all have much better success with this. If you want to persue this, I'll need to at least know what spells you plan to cast. Research-wise, the death of Fedahar is recorded (and lines up about with what you know), as is his immediate vengeance by Erinth. There are definitely some lines in their five holy books claiming that Fedahar ALLOWED his own death, with the claim that once Erinth was in power, he could continue to aid the good races of the cosmos as a spiritual force. That claim is almost unfalsifiable without, at least, divine magic or powerful arcane divinations.
9)- Your cheese-making skills are useful. The Yilette's milk, however, has a different flavor, and the native cheeses are pretty great in different ways than the Caligan cheeses. If you have a way to make a fucking cow (and a bull), your presence will be even more permanent than otherwise.
10)- The restaurant remains about as awesome as you'd expect. There doesn't seem to be a limit to how often you guys can go, though the food there is very rich (particularly the ones based on stars and heavy metals). You don't want to get bloated on hydrogen fusion every night, after all. There DOES seem to be a limit to how many of those nifty suits you can get- the limit, with the time you guys have, seems to be about 2 more.
11)- Did you bring any raccoons?
Yeti:
1)- You'll recall that your necklace has a limit of level + number of months you've had it, capping at 2x level. From this point forward, you are definitely at the 2x level limit in terms of total hit dice you can summon at a time. I'm not sure how far above 24 hit dice the elementals go. There is no thematic source of fire here- according to the story you are in, you are on a material plane, and there is also a plane of fire. All the elementals in the plane of fire that you can communicate with (and it takes you about a year to summon one) are just as mindless as the ones you are used to on Caligo, and they also appear to never ignite in variations larger than Large (8 hit dice). There doesn't seem to be a God of Fire or anything, and you never do talk to another elemental that has even been summoned before (despite the fact that Sthron and others of sorcerous blood can, by working together, actually summon a small one)
3)- The skill points can be spent on languages when using either of the top two options. This is in addition to the languages I handed out for free at the end of the last session, if you so desire. Note that only 6 or 4 points can be used to learn languages. Note that "Know Language" is normally a class skill just for bards, so spending skill points on languages normally costs two- but using either of those bonuses, they only cost 1 (the "as class skills" part).
4)- If you want to be able to drink Faywine without passing the fuck out, that will cost you 3 skill points, paid out of that bonus pool when taking options 1 or 2. Between the wine summoning wand Ash has, the wizard, and the pixie, enough is made available that you can, errr... "attune" yourself to it. You will spend a total of about a month asleep, in days here and there.
5)- Barber is a Profession, I think- feel free to spend skill points on ranks in it.
Keichi, the studies of Kro crystals by your friendly wizard and sorcerer make the following feats available. Note that if you don't buy the feat right now, it won't be available in the future, so you can only choose one. Also note that these are available (and are copied into the above post) in the "choose one of these" sections, so you'll be doing this INSTEAD of, say, "a free feat and 5 hit points"
[Kro crystal] (Stalker) Greater Sight: When Ghost Sight is active (which is anytime you have at least one point of Isai ki), you gain +6 to spot checks. Core Sense grants you 20 feet of blindsight instead of 10 feet of blindsight. You can spend X points of Isai ki to grant Ghost Sight to an ally within 30 feet as a swift action, X >=1. The target ally gains Ghost Sight for X rounds. You can spend X points of Suri ki to grant Core Sense to an ally within 30 feet as a swift action, X >=1. The target ally gains Core Sense for X rounds. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Improved Strikes: Frightful Attack and Smoke Blade only cost 2 Isai and Suri ki points each, respectively. Treat your Stalker class level as 2 higher for all purposes when using Frightful Attack. Smoke Blade allows you to rush forward 20 feet instead of 15 feet, as does Fiery Finish. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Expert Blows: Your Sudden Strike deals d8s instead of d6s. Treat all 1s rolled from Sudden Strike as 2s. Your Disruptive Strike deals d20s instead of d12s. Treat all 1s, 2s, and 3s rolled from Disruptive Strike as 4s. [Kro crystal] (Stalker) Master of Ki: When you meditate to gain ki, you also gain 2 points of Suri ki and 2 points of Isai ki. When you have 6 levels of stalker, this increases to 3 points of Suri and 3 points of Isai ki. This is in addition to ki you normally gain with your meditation. When you have 10 levels of stalker, this increases to 4 points of Suri and 4 points of Isai ki.
Edit: I improved the Kro crystal stalker abilities. They should be much more exciting now.
Edit 2: I posted the Pixie Arrows under FID.
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Sweethouse
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:10 pm |
Superior Master |
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Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:00 pm Posts: 318 Location: In your dreams
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Im really sorry Jon, I had no idea this was in here. Mark told me to come do it but I glanced at the "Six Years is a long time for a Mortal thread" and it didn't seem like it was super imperative or there was much going on there. He just told me today to come look in here. Thank you for all that great work you put in on this recap and the fore thought you put into our characters.
I think Ash would definitely do all he could to try to contact Latakefu. I like the idea though of him trying to reach out to someone like his god since he will be out of touch for so long. I definitely think he would also be very interested in learning more of the religions and history of this place especially the stories of elves and angels coming to this place. I hope that gives you enough of an idea.
_________________
PoorAssRacing wrote: I'm going to have a ringmail made entirely from Rings of Protection, so that my AC is Texas.
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:56 pm |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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No prob man! And that was what I needed. I'll have some blurbs up pretty soon like. In the meantime there's 
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cfalcon
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Post subject: Re: Part 23: Prime Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:53 am |
Master of the West Wind |
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Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 1:10 am Posts: 1547 Location: BRB giving magic item to lich 1sec
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1 year later:
Morgrim and the students
"Karth, you have to memorize it. I know it's hard, but it's been written and tweaked and rewritten so you CAN do that." Morgrim pointed at the sigils that encoded Read Magic. "This is the foundation, the cornerstone. It doesn't get any easier, but it's built around it."
"I'll do better. It's just so hard." Karth couldn't look at the dwarf. He'd tried plenty, and it might just be beyond him. He'd keep trying.
Morgrim looked up and around. Ten students. Mralsh, now able to cast the weakest of spells on his own, was helping Thood across the circle. Veronilla and Mralsh were his best students, and could gather herbs, process them, concentrate magic into them, and record both cantrips and the lowest circle of spells. He'd written two books detailing the harder to make inks. He wasn't sure they could hold the most powerful magics yet- the different set of plants and animals here didn't help, and neither did the scarcity of most precious metals. Morgrim know how to make a magical ink out of just silver, gold, and moonlight, but it wasn't practical on Caligo and it sure wasn't here. He was no herbalist, but Veronilla was. Tonight, they needed all the ink they had made.
For tonight, the goal was to ensure that every would be wizard here could record Read Magic, a foundational spell that no one could really be a wizard without. And this meant a lot of badly written sigils, a lot of small magical loops that didn't tie correctly, and a lot of headaches from the students. Also, excuses. Not all of the ten here would be coming back next week, he could tell. Veronilla and Mralsh, well beyond that, were taking turns helping the students.
A soft woosh of fire was heard behind him. Monty wasn't alarmed, so neither was Morgrim as he turned around.
A spongy ball of fire rolled around on the stone meeting ground, with Veronilla focussing intently on it. Morgrim smiled at the Flaming Sphere. This was the most powerful spell yet cast by any Nireen.
In the eastern grove
Ash's eyes were closed. Keichi and Alenka, out of sight, watched over the area. Ash had spent the last year reaching out for divine presences. He had focused his will strongly when seeking Latukefu, but was very gentle when looking for other forces. He had found one, but it seemed dormant- a nature spirit of some sort. He could tell this grove- or rather, one that had been here long ago- was somehow important to it. He prayed softly, not to a god, but to peace and nature. He let his soul stretch towards the entity. On Caligo, the Gods lived in the Unbound- a non-physical area that could feel like a real place if you went there. It was, in some fashion, "outside" the physical universe. The elemental gods normally stayed in their "sources"- the philosophical sources for concepts like fire, earth, air, and water. Those also felt "outside", and together the concepts were needed for Caligo to exist. Here, his companions had found "elemental planes"- physical areas separated magically from the normal world, but not ruled by entities. Different metaphysics, he supposed.
His soul stretched downward, into the soft ground, beneath the roots. He felt a presence- not physical, but definitely a hint of divine. He felt himself draw near to it spiritually, but he did not make contact.
Latukefu, help me see this., he prayed.
And then he could. The nature god was frozen in a kind of stone, petrified. It was a being of hunger, rage, hatred, foulest instinct. Nature at its absolute harshest, mindless fury, wildly powerful.There was a sensation, very vague, of all things are me from the god. It was an implied threat, left floating. And it was held in place, permanently. It couldn't hurt anything here as sure as if it had been frozen in time. It couldn't even think.
The sensation faded.
Ash opened his eyes and stood up. "Keichi, Alenka, we return tonight. What I just felt was an evil god indeed. There was no mention of such a being in the histories."
Alenka's smallest fire elementals came first, flitting between the trees, wanting to ignite things but forbidden to do so. Keichi softly landed from a tree a bit to the north and walked over, and
Alenka followed.
Ash explained his experience.
Keichi began. "Maybe they have evil gods but they all got imprisoned or killed. The Nireen are peaceful- far more peacful than even elves would be, honestly. They have records of millenia here without problems, a church that is as old as Caligo- which is VERY old for them indeed."
Alenka countered "I've been able to sense their plane of fire. There's no fire god, imprisoned or otherwise. The elementals are as peaceful as they could be expected too."
Ash thought for a bit. "Maybe, if this place really did get 'written into a book', placed here in some fashion, that the bad stuff was simply not included. What Fedahar supposedly did is absurdly powerful, especially for a god supposedly felled by an evil god with a bit of magical poison and luck, so why not add to it by assuming that he was able to, for the most part, remove evil?"
Keichi nodded. "That could well be. Another possibility is that there was a conflict between good and evil, and good won. But I would expect you to have found a good god here- not just the worship of ones from our world."
Ash thought for a bit, then added "Lets see if maybe the books have lost something over time. They are very very old indeed."
The library, an hour past midnight
The Kro crystals were arranged pentagonally. Each one was selected for its purity and thinness. Morgrim stood over it, casting Lesser Kro Empowerment, and touching the crystals. "Ok, put your face right there."
Err, don't you mean my hand? Rigby asked.
"Sure, sure. That's what I said." Morgrim smiled at the pixie. "Put your hand there, and look at that whatever-they-call-that-chicken over there", he gestured to the reasonably chicken-like caged fowl 20 feet away.
Rigby put his right hand on the table, touching the area in the middle of the table with three of his fingers, right next to the surrounding small Kro structure. He focused on the bird.
"I'll eat that thing later" Rigby thought.
"Um, I actually got hungry enough to kill and eat meat. I'm STILL that hungry." Rigby reported.
"Ok, hold that for a second. I don't think you are hungry." Morgrim's hands and mouth wove the spell [/i]Kro Empowerment[/i]. The crystals began to exhibit a soft red glow.
"I'll rape that fake chicken, and then throttle it under the light of the moon, devouring its pain and then its meat. It's blood will sustain my body, and its pain my soul." thought Rigby.
"ALL THINGS HOLY" Rigby screamed, lifting his hand from the table. "What did you just do?"
Morgrim spoke quickly. "Ok, calm down. I think we've figured out which configurations of the Kro crystal are the ones abused by that barbarian, and by Narso."
"Dwarf, that thing put horrible thoughts in my head. WE didn't figure anything out, YOU just fucked with ME."
"I had to know if it was just me. When I experimented with this earlier today, I was watching Alenka's students play with their little pointy sticks. The thoughts that went through my head made me physically ill. Just be glad it was some farm beast. In any event, I have other configurations, and I'll explain WHY I think they won't cause murderous thoughts."
The door burst open. Alenka walked in first, her fire elementals knowing they were not permitted in the library. Her face was drawn and tired. Keichi and Ash followed.
Rigby immediately queried the group. "What's wrong? I thought you guys were hours away, near that grove. Ash, what happened?"
"There's an evil god out there. The only thing divine we have any access to, and it's some kind of devouring ragebeast."
Morgrim and Rigby stood still, waiting for the rest.
"The good news is, it's frozen, probably permanently. It's not able to think, so it may as well be dead."
The five sat down. It was late, and this was the first stress they had experienced in some time. They discussed several things, but soon enough, Morgrim brought over a copy of Explanations Of The Esoteric, one of the holy texts. This book had several accounts of Fedahar's magical actions. Ash read aloud.
"And to guide the power, Fedahar charged the Kro crystal. The power was contained therein, and it is for this reason that only those trained in peace and wisdom should touch the Kro crystal, for they can keep safe the people from power."
Rigby commented "And we know that only their leaders- most of whom have sorcerous blood- and other trusted folks- ever wear those Kro crystals. Their clerics. Soon, their wizards, I guess. This is the line in their holy book that they consider responsible for that custom. Obviously the leaders don't abuse anyone with magic, and never have- even the ones powerful enough to do so."
Ash nodded. "And I think, these words are way too old. Replace 'power' with 'evil', for instance. Now its talking about how the Kro crystals keep the people safe from evil, and how that has to be trusted their wisest and most holy members of society."
"So, if that's true, Morgrim needs to be careful, and we need to tell the priestesses and Sthron. Though, you can tell Sthron, he was moping again." Alenka added. "You can tell he has the Arcatan fever." Keichi spoke, but then became serious "If the Kro crystals somehow were set here to imprison an evil god- one that has apparently been stripped from history and memory- we should be careful with that knowledge. We tell the priestesses, they pass it down twenty generations and then some jackass finds a way to wake one up, or something."
"We can simply tell them that the wizards need to be guarded and taught in the same manner that their clerics and sorcerers have been." Ash said. "That's insightful, Keichi. Such knowledge would not be hidden for no reason. It would have been easy enough to tell them of an evil god."
The group thought for several minutes in silence, which Ash eventually broke.
"It could be more than one evil god, technically. I've sensed more than one possible divine presence- that was just the strongest, and the one that seemed most likely to be benign. And what, then, of the other stars? Do they all hold evil gods? Would every page in the book we are in tell the story of a happy race with forgotten gods locked away by timeless divine magic, each several millenia into an eternal spell? Do all these worlds, or pages, hold populations almost entirely free of war and crime, as the Nireen are? We have so little common ground to reason from."
Western forest, experimental Kro crystal area
Rigby had memorized Lesser Kro Empowerment from one of the locally produced spellbooks that Morgrim had. They had all agreed not to share such spells with the locals, or even to speak of them to the Nireen. They still used them in their own experiments, however. As he cast the spell, the octagonally arranged crystals had a soft blue glow to them. Keichi focused, steeling himself with Suri ki. Under Rigby's detect magic, he saw faint wisps of abjuration magic with a hint of conjuration as his skin was buttressed by a layer of invisible protective energy. He then swung the iron bar directly at the stone. It shattered, pieces flying in all direction. One struck Rigby right in the eye. Good thing it's stone, not cold iron Rigby thought, blinking but unharmed.
"That definitely felt stronger. I believe my Isai ki mirror ability would also be stronger. I also liked the twelve-configuration- I simply felt more full of ki. You say only one can be made to work permanently?"
Morgrim answered, walking from behind a tree with stone splinters in it. "Yea. We've set up another two for you to try in a couple days. It'll take some time to make it permanent, but I'm pretty sure one of the four can be part of you. I thought I had a way to do two of them, but the configurations of the stones aren't strictly benign, and we shouldn't risk it."
Keichi answered. "Well, maybe a leeeetle risk."
Rigby replied "Sure thing. I'll bring the wanna-be chicken. You can feast on its soul or whatever. Hey, two for one, you could probably wear that Buranon cloak."
Five years later
Keichi's dojo
Jrarth faced Thwaar. Both drew their bokken simultaneously. Then both put them away, eyes never leaving each other. The draw happened again. Then again.
"Now, the blades are live. Draw and duel."
All four wooden blades swept out. Each blade was deflected, each thrust dodged, for thirty straight seconds until Jrath's left bokken caught Thwaar under the chin.
Keichi was satisfied.
"You two have mastered the elements of the combat style of the House of the Blood Moon." He turned to his other students. "When I am gone, Jrarth and Thwaar will teach in my place. From here, you can learn the rest with experience. As long as you do not forget these basics, then you, and your descendants, will continue to honor our fighting style. Your lives are long and your society is stable. I hope that it guides you in peace, and protects you should war ever befall you."
The other students, kneeling, bowed in unison.
"Lesson is over for today. I still have some time to be here with you, but I wanted to make plain my intentions today, as Jrarth and Thwaar both are ranked as Teachers."
The students stood, and the formality broke down. They laughed and joked, and congratulated the two. Keichi changed out of his training clothes, and adjusted and inspected the training weapons.
There were live blades now in training, though the students didn't use them against each other. The Nireen swordsmiths had yet to make a truly great katana, and his intention was to have at least five masterwork blades produced before he left- Morgrim had helped a bit, but he would likely have more time soon to help enough. The weapons of this world were generally of inferior quality.
His search had found nothing of interest to Caligo. He looked out his window. Seylendria walked slowly, her belly full with child. Keichi's mouth curled into a smile. It was always bittersweet, however- he would know his child as an infant, and then leave. A year of Caligan time later, his child would be infirm or dead, having lived a full life equivalent to two to three human lifespans. It was such a strange path, such divergent lives, so alien. But for now, it was his home. He thought maybe he could come back to see them- but even a week of his time would be a decade here, and how long could he stay? And he didn't know the rules of the book- and Keichi knew, in his heart, that possession of this book would cause nothing but strife, once he was back in Caligo. He would enjoy his time with Seylendria and his yet-unborn child as he had it, and then depart. His body was as hard as the day he had arrived. He had only improved himself in this time, and shared of himself what he could.
Keichi opened the door, and greeted Seylendria with open arms and a light heart.
Alenka's Youth Center
Alenka smiled. She had managed, in her years here, to share the good parts, as she judged them, of Arcatan culture. The stories she had used in her youth to gain the confidence of others, the lines she had used to charm the rich men with and without intent, the things she had used honestly and dishonestly to fit in with women of high and low birth alike- she shared the ones that were appropriate. She had three students who had pestered her enough, including Mayromaya, the youth she had been forced to best five years prior, to whom she had taught the basics of swordsmanship.
The three were competent, but untried, as the Nireens tended to be. She didn't emphasize the wars in Caligo, even as they fascinated the children. They just didn't have those things here."There you are!" Lexiette said, rounding the corner, beaming. "We think we have the stiching down. Come look!" Alenka followed. The patterns for Zemnian dresses and suits had worked out very well. They would likely be in style for awhile. A small part of Caligo, here for Sylrena. And of course, the Nireen's years of fashion, hair styles, dresses, outfits, and stories were almost complete, a year ahead of time. Alenka would take it to Emerald, and the Nireen, a friendly people mostly unreachable, would have their voices recorded in Caligo. The culture would likely change, and maybe they would never have access to it, but it would be there, at least in memory.
Northern Edge of the Amstal
"Goodbye, we will love you for a hundred years!" "We will tell stories of our love for you past that!"
Rigby knew he had to leave, and it made him very sad. It really did feel like he had just arrived. The two lovely pixiesses, Yelo and Mayr, had been the best part of his stay. They were moved to tears by his announcement that it was almost time for him to return, even though he had told them ahead of time.
Rigby had arrived three years earlier, to find rumors of pixies. He had found the Amstal pixies, a group of tribal pixies who lived as primitive humans, complete with taboos and odd practices.
They had ritual hunts, and a very serious story telling time, where the stories that were approved were recited for nearly a day straight, once per month. Originally distrustful of him, he had won them over quickly with wine, song, and the "cheese" technology he had brought with him. Now they raised local animals to milk them. Flying here with bovines may have taken longer than other methods, but it was, he judged, worth it.
Amstal pixies averaged almost an inch taller, and were a bit more muscular than he was used to. They didn't seem to like pranks very much, and generally were very afraid of the Nireen. He had watched them signal a Nireen village over the course of a year, requesting permission to grow a new Agrennoc tree outside of the existing canopy- essentially expanding the Amstal. The Nireen had to give permission, which they did promptly, but the pixies repeated the request seven times- each time the request had to be acknowleged. Like Rigby, these pixies did not age. Unlike Rigby, their memorizes lasted exactly one hundred years- they could remember back exactly that many days, but not one more prior. Things that needed to be remember past that were repeated. Like the story day, in fact, which codified what all the Amstal pixies would remember- for if they would not remember the event, they would remember the story.
Rigby, not nearly as old as most of the pixies, found their history to be worse than the Nireen. He taught several how to write- among them, his two lovers, Yelo and Mayr- and how to preserve writings to a degree. The Amstal pixies declined some of his ideas- they believed it to be "alien" and "forbidden by the Grey Father"- but, to their credit, they didn't hold it against HIM. If Rigby wanted to keep paper bound and put that somewhere water tight, or in an extradimensional space, that was fine for Rigby.
He taught their warriors all the arrows he knew. He was pleased that their innate magic was as strong as his, and it was exciting to spend time with his fellow immortals. In return, they taught him their special techniques as well.
Three male pixies, each full of tattoes of their favorite animals and stories, fluttered to the edge of the Agrennoc tree.
"We have come to say goodbye. We will never lose your teachings."
Rigby had spent almost a year with Brl, Spen, and Rollsen. Brl was remembered by all as the eldest pixie in the tribe- supposedly he had been there when their world was threatened, and there was a story that he cast healing spells on a fallen warrior of good to help him. Certainly, Brl could cast cure spells, and he worshipped the trees. Rigby wondered if these events were true, or if they just decided to tell the story like that and eventually everyone believed it, after a century or so. Spen had taken an immediate liking to Rigby, and was his first friend in the Amstal. He still remembered how he had stolen one of Rigby's sleep arrows, shot it into the air, flew up to meet its return path, and crashed down into the broad river, waking up. Rollsen was the smartest pixie in the tribe- likely smarter than Rigby- and he had quickly picked up everything taught, and was especially enamored of writing.
"Thank you all. You've made this a wonderful home for me. I will remember you always."
Their eyes all went down. This was a power they did not have. But they respected it, and its honesty.
Viztria fluttered over, landing near Rigby. She had been very well received and pampered by the village's children- and had spent almost as much time with them as she had Rigby. Viztria nodded at each of Ribgy's companions. She opened her mental link to Rollsen- the only one who did not distrust it- and told him that she would miss him greatly, and miss his lovely son and the fruits he would bring her even more.
Rigby looked one last time at Yelo and Mayr. His eyes got a bit wet. He turned away, and began flying. Viztria, glad that pseudodragons did not cry, followed him.
The edges of elven consciousness
Twenty. Twenty entities, all evil. Ash floated among the branches, the brown and black leaves filled with the details dark. He yearned for the day he could prune these, likely in a few centuries, and not have to be bothered by them ever again. At least five of them were not evil at some point. Quite probably an additional five were also not evil originally. All were forgotten by the Nireen, or never known by them. He watched as the leaves blew in the wind, the patterns revealing some new truths. Something had made them evil, even the ones that were originally not. And before that evil could act, before they could destroy Sylrena, they were frozen, dead. Maybe to be awoken if their evil could be cured. That, he was sure of. Where could such evil come from? How could an entire pantheon be affected in such a way? Eons ago.
He still wasn't sure what was story, and what was real. He realized, at this point, it was not important. Even if the Nireen weren't real to, say, his family in Cairnwood, they were real to him now, and they would be real to each other once he had left.
They had taken such care to hide the secrets from the Nireen that were likely meant to be hidden. It had been difficult to leave out such details to Veronilla, Seylendria, and Lexiette, but if years of angels, elves, and even Fedahar himself had said nothing, it was likely for a reason. The more he had read the books, the more he had learned to read between the lines. The angels had been sent sporadically by Fedahar before his death, and there were always "long lived servants of Fedahar" - elven clerics of Fedahar- present. Elves were never the majority of Fedahar's clerics, but they would be the race of clerics least likely to be bothered by sacrificing ten- or even a hundred- years teaching the Nireen and instilling a permanent and successful society focused both on law and good.
He still wasn't sure what the weekly power was, but it was definitely related to the "strand of power" that Fedahar and Erinth had in common. The Book of Infinite Souls may, in fact, have been the reason that such a pulse was still aimed at Fedahar's mobile (and strange) Proditial region.
He watched the leaves and their darkness blow. His body inhaled deeply, slowly, and the wind intensified. He saw a brilliant green leaf in the center, reached out, touched it.
Fedahar had given himself to this. In life, he had bought thousands of generations peace, across who knew how many worlds. Ash saw, in the distance of his mind, the scene play out. The minions of evil, retreating, just as in the history books. Sirrax and Fedahar, arguing in the unbound, represented here as above a cloud. Sirrax claiming that this fight, this battle, this war, was too important, the Fedahar had meddled quite too much and that Sirrax could play at that game too. Sirrax, meteoring down to the face of Caligo. Fedahar, persuing.
A fight Sirrax could not win.
The injured Sirrax trying to flee. Fedahar, preventing it. The strike with the poisoned blade. And the poison- the story was, it muddled his mind. That was true. It wasn't confusion though, Ash could see that, FEEL that. Buranon had not instructed his clerics to disable or kill a god with the poison- likely not even possible- but to weaken his boundaries, to find his secrets.
Fedahar, fighting the poison, refusing to allow the curse to affect him, even though it cost him his life.
Refusing.
To acknowlege.
The existence of the book.
And so it was, on Sylrena, meditating in the back of the library, guarded by his truest friends, that Lithonian Eruheran realized that the gods of Caligo either did not know about the Book of Infinite Souls, or did not believe it to still exist. And that Fedahar had died to keep that secret.
Then did Ash gaze towards the center of the tree of his mind. Towards the nexus he knew he could unravel- that any elf could- and forget all that he was. No magic could undo it or compel it. It was a kind of suicide, and he had most certainly never considered it. But perhaps, to keep a secret, a long lived servant of Fedahar might.
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