Shrink your pillar so that they smash into eachother. Maybe you can some infighting going.

1/4 Heretic 2020/11/24(Tue)19:47 No. 982031 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160627602975.png - (423.46KB , 1500x1060 , Bonk.png )

>>982008
>>982004
Ryoka-Shu prepares two crystal combustibles and lowers her pillar just as the worms begin to strike. The annelid's heads collide and with their mouths agape Ryoka tosses the grenades into their throats.

2/4 Heretic 2020/11/24(Tue)19:47 No. 982032 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160627603651.png - (434.83KB , 1500x1060 , Bang.png )

The crystal shrapnel shreds the worms' innards. Both fall to the ground, wriggling and soon to die from their injuries.

3/4 Heretic 2020/11/24(Tue)19:47 No. 982033 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160627604110.png - (275.53KB , 1500x1060 , Scavenging.png )

Ryoka heads straight for the magic smell and Enok follows.

Enok: You've a surprisingly good nose Ryoka. What does magic smell like?
Ryoka-Shu: Sort of like pixie sticks or ozone mixed with something else.
Enok: pixie sticks?
Ryoka-Shu: Y'know that candy that's just colorful sugar in a paper tube.
Enok: Guh! Sounds dreadful...
Ryoka-Shu: Here it is!

4/4 Heretic 2020/11/24(Tue)19:47 No. 982034 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160627605803.png - (532.85KB , 1500x1060 , TV.png )

Ryoka pulls a small squarish item from the pile of rubbish. It has antennae and a screen.

Ryoka-Shu: Okay...What is it?
Enok: Ah! It's an old television! Hard to tell if it was made to be a magic television, or if it was a regular one that soaked up some magic.
Ryoka-Shu: What does it do?
Enok: Normally it would show moving images for shows on the screen for either entertainment or for information, but as a magical item it's purpose is unknown until examined by a expert wizard! Hand it here.

Ryoka hands the television to Enok who turns it around in his hands, smells it, and holds his ear up to it before nodding his head.

Enok: Ah! This item can...

>Heal wounds
>Empower the user
>Weaken enemies

Empower the user. I saw this move on TV once!

>>982034
So how do we use it? Is it a one time use that makes the effect permanent? Or is it a multi-use temporary effect that recharges between each use? Because if it’s that second one, carrying this tv around is going to be a pain.

>what does it do?
Empower the user

Weaken enemies. I hear it ruins eyesight and rots your brain

>>982040
If only it were a helmet...

>empowers the user

>>982034
Empower the user

>>982004
Huh, oops. These was meant for the previous update, just didn't see that the quest updated while I was typing. Well it still seemed to work out so yea?

>>982034
>Weaken enemies
we seem pretty strong as is so maybe something that would let us become more of a team player. I mean if we can weaken the pot hole it would make it easier to deal with for both Ryoka and Enok.

>>982034
yeah I hear TV is bad for you, probably weakens foes.
makes sense considering the circumstances, seems it spontaneously became magic here.

1/4 Heretic 2020/11/26(Thu)10:54 No. 982163 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160641687314.png - (624.56KB , 1500x1060 , Inspection.png )

Enok: This small television set has the ability to empower the one who uses it!
Ryoka-Shu: What? Like once?
Enok: No! It might need a recharge after it does it once but it should be good for a while! This one looks like it was made magic spontaneously down here in the dump!
Ryoka-Shu: And you wanted to get cheese instead of a magic tv! It's gonna suck to have to lug this thing around though.
Enok: Yes, but a small price to pay for a free magically imbued item.
Ryoka-Shu: What do these buttons and dials do?
Enok: They used to operate the tv, but now that it's broken I don't think they do anything.

Ryoka presses the power button on the tv…

2/4 Heretic 2020/11/26(Thu)10:54 No. 982164 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160641688576.png - (270.01KB , 1500x1060 , On.png )

The television shakes and jumps out of Enok's hands, it begins to crackle with electricity.

3/4 Heretic 2020/11/26(Thu)10:54 No. 982165 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160641689010.png - (411.97KB , 1500x1060 , Live Television.png )

The television set morphs
TV: Cha-CHAAA!

4/4 Heretic 2020/11/26(Thu)10:54 No. 982166 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160641689595.png - (459.46KB , 1008x924 , Friend.png )

Ryoka-Shu: OH IT'S CUTE!
Enok: Ah, it looks like the buttons awaken the tv's magic
TV: Cha cha! Cha cha CHA!
Ryoka-Shu: Enok the dump is the best place in the whole Circuit!
Enok: You sure did get lucky with what you found today
TV: Cha cha CHA! Cha cha cha-cha.
Enok: I'm glad this little exposition wasn't for nothing, and we won't even have to carry him.
Ryoka-Shu: But now I WANT to!
Enok: We can leave now right?

Yes.

>>982166
yeah, nothing we'd get after this is going to be as good.

Yeah, let's get out of this dump.

>>982166
I wasn’t expecting Ryoka to be a fan of cute things.

Anyways, what are we gonna name the little guy? How about we name them Bo?

>We can leave now right?
Yes, we can leave. But where are we going next?

unless you can smell other magic items nearby than yeah might as well head out.

Next stop is the pot hole right? What can Enok tell us about it? All he's told us so far is that it's dangerous but never really said what it can do exactly.

Well yeah, the journey continues.

Heretic 2020/11/27(Fri)19:19 No. 982286 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160653359130.png - (460.66KB , 1500x1060 , You are now exiting the dump.png )

Ryoka, Enok, and their new tv friend begin to exit the dump

Ryoka-Shu: Enok, can you tell me more about the Pot Hole? You've seen what it can do right?
Enok: Yes, the Pot Hole is an entity that encapsulates decay and nothingness, within it's influence it can spawn monstrosities to do it's bidding, warp the landscape that surrounds it, and near it's center it can even delete you from existence entirely.
Enok: Worst of all is it's growing slowly, should it go untreated it will consume The Roads and everything they connect
Ryoka-Shu: Do you know where it came from?
Enok: No, we've not seen anything like it before...
TV: Cha cha! Cha cha!
Enok: But I'm fairly confident with the aid of a sorcerer we'll find success. Many wizards believe sorcerer's are born to combat such threats to our existence.
Ryoka-Shu: Yeah...Some hole isn't gonna get the best of me!
TV: Cha cha!
Ryoka-Shu: And the tv agrees
Enok: Are you going to give this thing a name? Or will we simply be referring to it as the tv from now on?

>>982286
Telly.

Vee

Attempt to feed it rock candy.

>>982287
>>982299
Yes to both of these.

ChaChas

Tivo!
You should mess with the buttons some more. What can it... do, exactly?

1/2 Heretic 2020/12/01(Tue)20:14 No. 982646 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160688246325.png - (350.69KB , 1500x1060 , Feeding time.png )

Ryoka-Shu: Telly! That's a good name

Ryoka gives Telly a piece of rock candy, it just clunks off of his screen.

Telly: Cha-cha?

2/2 Heretic 2020/12/01(Tue)20:14 No. 982648 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160688247630.png - (464.59KB , 1500x1060 , On the Roads Again.png )

Ryoka, Enok, and Telly return to the roads

Enok: So glad to be out of that literal dump, even if it does mean getting closer to the Pot Hole
Ryoka: Woah, the pavement's starting to crack
Enok: A sign we're getting closer, soon we'll have to head into the Paste Lagoon, and past that the Pot Hole.
Enok: Be warned, the Paste Lagoon ought to be under heavy influence of the Pot Hole by now, it will be quite a walk before we get there however. I don't suppose Telly can play shows on his screen can he
Telly: Cha cha
Ryoka-Shu: I think that's a no?
Enok: Hmm...Ryoka, I'd almost forgotten but, you're not even a day old yet.
Ryoka-Shu: I guess, how old are you?
Enok: 28 hylic years old and 41 pneumatic years, which roughly evens to about 30 years old. Now that I think about it, it's possible you're actually old when it comes to pneumatic years, I'd wager maybe 20 or 30 pneumatic years, though without any hylic years under your belt it means your knowledge of things is spotty and incomplete.
Enok: The point I'm getting at is do you remember what being in the fruit was like? You can't rightly ask a baby what being born is like but since you're perfectly cognizant I'm curious to know.

>>982648
>do you remember what being in the fruit was like?
Everything was blue and all I could taste was blueberries. It also felt like someone was shoving a bunch of random knowledge in my head and hoping all of it would be enough to help me get by when I was born.

Is it just me or are the organs getting smaller?

The fruit smelled sweet and you saw visions of crystal structures.

I really don't know how to put it but I was aware but... not conscious... no that isn't the right word, uh... unfocused... mindless maybe... thoughtless? Not sure what the right word to use would be but to try and put things simply I was aware of my surrounds to an extent but I didn't really have a mind to make sense of anything. I remember colors, I remember sounds, shapes, and smells but without a reference or mind to make sense of these things it was all kind of... white noise. Static if you will that just sat in my consciousness that I didn't know what to do with or even how to use it or even that I could do something with it.

And all that static is still in my head but, just as a... untitled book or unnamed canvas that I have no idea what it is about but if I were to see it or hear about it now I would be able to instantly put the book to that thing and know everything about that thing that was in that book. Does that make any sense to you?

After answering his question: "You're right that my knowledge is spotty. For instance, I understand the general concept of 'years' as an abstract unit of time. Yet, I have no idea what it means for them to be 'hylic' and 'pneumatic.' Likewise, I understood 'cheese' to be a kind of food, but you spoke of it with such reverence that I was unsure if it actually meant something more that I was unaware of. I picked the dump out of the three because it held no specific product to gain - no expectations based on appraising 'cheese' or whatever just by hearing its name. It's funny; my 'logic' led to picking what you observed to be the least orthodox path. One or both of us still have much to learn."

I dreamt of a spear wielding lizard man along with his his snake and yeti companions as they desperately fought terrible fiends in a deceptively welcoming land.
Sadly, I awoke before the conclusion of the tale.

>>982648
it was yellow and blue, all sensations gave one of those as a response... what does green have to do with anything?

>>982673
ah cheece is made from milk from sweat glands evolved to excrete milk a nutrition liquid made to feed offspring that is filtered blood that was evolved from a sweat gland that sweats blood to feed young

Heretic 2020/12/14(Mon)18:56 No. 983616 ID: 8fb3ba
File 160800097186.png - (262.50KB , 1500x1060 , Bubbley Feeling.png )

Ryoka-Shu: Blue. It was blue and it tasted like blueberries, smelled like sweet blueberries too, everything was blueberries. Occasionally I would see past the blue muck and see crystals, but it wasn't like a real place, it was visions and such.
Ryoka-Shu: It's weird to remember. I was aware but not conscious. In the moment I wasn't really experiencing anything I remember now. I do remember this weird feeling though, like a lot of information was being put into my mind at once. Enough to function and some extra, but small things are missing.
Ryoka-Shu: I knew cheese was food, and I know years are a unit of time. I don't know what "hylic" year and a "pneumatic" year are.
Enok: A hylic year measures the physical age of your body. A pneumatic year is the measure of your astral age, the form that's composed of your mind, soul, and other nonphysical components. Despite being born fully grown you're still barely a day old in hylic years. Pneumatically speaking I think you're in your 30's.
Enok: The average mortal will gain a pneumatic year for every 10 hylic years, though as a wizard my studies involve me undergoing exercises and training that raise my pneumatic level much higher.
Enok: Sorcerer's are born with more due to the immense power of the magic they have naturally

The road begins to twist into a spiral, leading down as pink bubbles float up and around the pavement. It smells like strawberry ice-cream.

Enok: Is there anything else you're curious about? I'm sure I could answer just about any questions you have if you wish to fill the gaps in your knowledge a bit more.

>>983616
What can his magic do?
Are there any groups other than the smiling gourmands that might want to kill you?
How does a sorcerer gain power?
What's the best smell he's ever smelled?

(actually, what does HE smell like?)

You said the Pot Hole learned from your last assault on it. What did you mean by that exactly? Is there any chance bringing in more powerful magic could just make the problem worse?

well could you tell me who are all the big players in this world? I mean you say you are a part of the Road Nomads who seem to be in charge of taking care of these roads, then there is the Happy Gourmands who seem like odd mercenaries for hire. I guess what I'm asking for is a quick list and a short summary of all the important groups of people you can remember off the top of your head that I'm bound to bump into after we deal with the pot hole? You don't need to give me their whole history or anything but it would be nice to know who I can expect to be friendly like you and who I can expect to be a bit more unfriendly like the Happy Gourmands.

>>983616
You say that, but it is kind of hard to know what we don't know. We know there are things we don't know, but we don't know what they are specifically. And that is just what we know we don't know we know. Who knows what we may not know we don't know we don't know, you know?

1/2 Heretic 2021/01/14(Thu)12:40 No. 985665 ID: 8fb3ba
File 161065684008.png - (395.48KB , 1500x1060 , Questions.png )

>What can his magic do?
Enok: Open doors to the roads, create barriers and platforms from magic.

>Are there any groups other than the smiling gourmands that might want to kill you?
Enok: Yes, but there are too many to go through them all and they're unlikely to be an issue. For now anyway.

>How does a sorcerer gain power?
Enok: I assume you just practice, I haven't been in too much contact with sorcerers so I'm not too sure.

>What's the best smell he's ever smelled?
Enok: Roasted mud duck smells excellent

>what does HE smell like?
Enok smells like sweat and plastic, not great but you're sure that's just because he's under a lot of stress.

>You said the Pot Hole learned from your last assault on it. What did you mean by that exactly?
Enok: What we had thought to simply be a hole we learned to be alive. We went in with the same plan of using our magic to fill it as we did the first time but it set traps, ambushes, we were swiftly defeated. I'll guide you as best I can to avoid this happening again, but I'm certain your power as a sorcerer will be sufficient.

2/2 Heretic 2021/01/14(Thu)12:40 No. 985666 ID: 8fb3ba
File 161065685686.png - (824.11KB , 1500x1060 , The Paste Lagoon.png )

The road comes to an end. The strawberry ice cream smell grows into a more chemically stench with hints of artificial strawberry flavoring. Tubes jut out of what appears to be a lake of pink goo.

Enok: The Paste Lagoon…it's oddly untouched. I was sure this place would be over taken by now, but nothing seems too out of the ordinary.
Ryoka-Shu: Seems a bit empty to me
Enok: That's normal. Machines are operating just fine, stirring droids are online…Maybe we should look for a paste farmer to double check?

>>985666
>Maybe we should look for a paste farmer to double check?
Good idea.

How do we get across? Would it be safe for us to create crystal platforms or should we not do that because it'd mess up the paste?

hmm, well after he said the pot hole was smart enough to leave traps and then he said this place looks better then he thought it would... well I'm just going to say keep your guard up.

And maybe make crystal walk ways so you don't step in the goo. It looks like it would be easy to hide something beneath it.

>>985666
The pot hole left traps when it was entered, but could it leave traps further away to prevent us from getting to it?

Both of you should be careful with how empty this place seems to be.

The lagoon must be so pasty it'll just stick around for awhile.

I'd bet the pot hole is directly beneath it.
Time to find a way down.

I want to ride a stirring droid. Do they spin?