6/6 Tanna 2024/04/26(Fri)18:33 No. 1089804 ID: 7625c4
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>See if the two of you can spy any magical strings latched on to his mind with a detect spell.

I’m curious about that too. I let Mina know I want to examine him really quickly, and she agrees. Playing a quick diddy, I cast Detect Magic.

I’m still not used to this view. It’s hard to tell if something is strange or not with all these weird rainbow colored threads and stuff, but I think the detection itself is supposed to help me identify things. Looking at Jacob, I assume Mina was right. As far as I can tell, nothing looks terribly out of place with him.

>Mina being attacked by a spider in the smelly room give her the opportunity to question them if sound from here can be heard where they are and if they didn't care that she was in danger. For the deception we should use half trues. She could ask their help rescuing Jacob from the spider, this way we would separate them since Rod have difficulty dealing with the smell.

That’s not a bad idea, the group still probably considers Mina neutral. Maybe we could have her lure one of them away and surprise them. They all seem to be competent fighters, but with the two of us we should be able to overpower one, especially with all of our tricks. Maybe the archer? Mina’s other spells seem pretty useful for an engagement if things come to that. Her Hideous Laughter in particular would be good at disabling some of them for a time. I still have that Paralysis scroll as well, and my own reservoir of casting.

Do you have any other ideas though? Should we wake Jacob up and test Mina’s protection spell on him? I’m curious to hear what you all have to say!

The reference document has been updated with all spells that have been listed so far.

>>/questdis/141925

>>1089800
Im at a loss over what we could too.
Maybe if enough of us make noise at the same time when you're looking in the mirror we might see a flicker or pulse.
>>1089802
Goid thinking mina.
its worth trying.
Maybe keep him gagged.
Try to get him to open his eyes first.
We can see if theyre like yours.
If not, by process of elimination the yellow eyes are us.

>>1089804
Oh.
Okay.
That's, um.
Well.
The influence is definitely on him.
And it is strong compared to the vestiges we could see on you.
It also means we'll be able to see if minas spell works.

If it does, youll be better set against the others with another ally and one who sounds like a bit of a scoundrel.
Maybe practiced with the use of a blackjack.

>>1089801
By the way.
Im glad you did that.

It may have felt awkward and hurt a bit too, but being able to let go of that... that weight even if only for a moment will bolster her resolve.
Lift despair long enough for her to start seeing hope again.
Thats pretty important.
Despair locks your thoughts on a single path with one end.
Seeing only the inevitable
hope sees many roads and destinations.
It beholds the possible.
So, yeah.
As important as healing any physical wound in some respects.
Good work tanna.

>>1089800
>>1089804

Okay... Let me tell you what we see when you did the two detect magics. I don't personally have training in Arcana, so I will be relying on you to interpret what I'm seeing. Maybe some others can explain this look better? First! The mirror. You are outlined in sort of rainbow hues, as is the lines of the mirror itself. Your eyes are bright yellow. There are what seems to be wisps or steam or something pointing from your eyes and off and to the side. Behind your head there are two ovalish, yellow, rune-looking things that are mostly obstructed by your head being in the way.

The unconscious prisoner: again, things are a psychedelic rainbow sort of look. He's crowned by an ovaloid halo in yellow, with yellow bands encircling him from behind and around his shoulders. The text 'Open the Box' is repeated, in yellow, several times.


Let me guess, under a Detect Magic, yellow is how you all categorize the school of magic that affects the mind?

You forgot to describe what you saw in the mirror. To us your eyes were even crazier yellow and there was a message behind you.

Since you didn't react, does this mean you can't see the written messages around Jacob? I haven't even considered the weird messages you saw earlier were only visible to us.
While I think it's better to ignore most of the things messing with your head, Jacob's influence is so one note and predictable that I doubt thinking about it will cause new problems: he is ordered to open the box.

>You’re going on a date with them?
Not me, the Yellow Honey Water fellow.
>How does that even work?
I have no idea. The proposal mentioned "smooches", so it wouldn't be just talking.

They sound like though cookies... this will be difficult.

First we need to secure a place to leave the incapacitated enemies. They outnumber us so we can't afford to let them rescue each other.
The prison is good if we can lock the cell and if they don't have their own keys. It's also reasonable if we risk they never looking, but with Jacob snoring loudly I don't like the chances.
The other option is to leave them after the place we plan our ambush, so they would need to get past us to get to them. If the smelly room if the ambush place Jacob will sleep tied to the blocked door, if we plan to ambush in the hub room any of the surrounding rooms are fine.

Evel’yee sound like she will be much easier to deal while she is unaware, so we should target her first. She is also the only one we have a chance to physically overpower so we have alternatives to spells.
I'm not sure, but I think a well timed combination of Hideous Laughter and unarmed grab could be enough.

As for using Protection from Evil on Jacob: I think it's a waste. If it work he will still be drugged with sleeping medicine, so he would be an ineffective ally. Save for a more conscious prisoner or for an emergency untested gamble.

Oof, a lot to unpack.

> what kind of fucked up do you have to be to build a hidden underground temple like this?

Judging from the state of decay of the priests, a hidden underground temple worked pretty well for hiding a box like this! That's why it'll be safer here than in your possession while you try to learn what to do with it. But uh...

> I’m honestly afraid if I leave it here, I’ll go insane.

You feel it more than we do. If you feel that merely moving in the opposite direction of the box is enough to drive you mad, then that's not an option.

> I think Geas might be one, but I’ve only been a priest of Cassilda for a bit. I’m hardly capable of something like that.

Someone sure was, since you seem to have a Geas on you, Tanna. It's very similar to being enthralled by an artifact though, so not sure. If you have a Geas you're kinda screwed since you can't remember the wording, so even if you take the box, you could accidentally violate some clause in it you don't remember.

> I didn’t think Cassilda would send an amnesiatic thief as an answer to my prayers,

Cassilda did not send you, Tanna.

> who calls themselves, ‘The Whisper’?

Someone who doesn't want to be very memorable, that's for sure.

> I-It is not a cool name!

Yeah he's a dork. His bumbling put us in your head maybe gave you amnesia even, and all he told us is you need to get to safety.

>>1089821

We saw his eyes already. They're not yellow.

>>1089831

Yellow is the color of... someone.

Strange that we can see the yellow threads only when you cast detect magic Tanna, but you can't see them. If they're not magic, Mina's "Protection from Evil" spell actually might help after all.

So with Mina's friends the choice is
1) Evade
2) Heal
3) Kill

(Mina won't like that third one.)

Protection from Evil on Jacob is yeah... bit of a waste. Vax is probably the best target for that. Evel'yee might be too naturally evil, and Roderick has something in him besides just the box's compulsion. He might be complicit, and no spell can protect him from himself.

OK you need an ambush regardless. We have cells, we have paralytic venom and incapacitating spells, and a wickedly sharp awesome scimitar (repeat: Mina will not like that option.) Hm...

>>1089835
You're right.
They're not.

You hear that tanna? The yellow eyes have got to be us.

Oh.well, thats got implications.
Ingore that, slinky.
Focus on the job at hand.
Capturing one hostile alive for the protection test.
The other wind was right.
Jacob is already debilitated whoevers side hes on.

>>1089846

Eh, it could just be an indicator of activity on the channel we use to communicate

>>1089804
Are you hearing or reading his thoughts with that spell? Looks like all they're hearing or thinking about is "OPEN THE BOX"

I wonder if saying the name of the item is a bad idea?

Luring someone away from the others would be a good opening gambit. If we can disarm them before the others arrive to help them that's a big advantage since we have several casts of disabling spells/scrolls and a 2v2 is basically an instant win (so long as they fail their saving throws).
Once they're disabled you can rush in, grab the cursed item, and then we barricade the door of whatever room combat took place in. That'll buy enough time to escape. The only real issue after escaping is, how will she rescue the others? Maybe she can go to a church for help and bring some clerics or mercs along for the return trip to more easily overpower them if they're still affected? In the meantime you'll have to take the cursed item somewhere where it can be properly sealed away. I expect once you have the container again it will start influencing you to try to open it, but we should be able to fight its influence enough to prevent that.

If Protection from Evil works to block the influence then we have the option of leaving the thing behind...

1/4 Tanna 2024/05/04(Sat)16:57 No. 1090315 ID: d80e0d
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>>1089825

I’ll admit, at first I did it at your behest Winds. I didn’t really want to at all, but I figured it’d make her more effective. I’m not so sure how I feel now though. Kind of good I guess? I’m glad I ended up doing that too.

>You hear that tanna? The yellow eyes have got to be us.
>Eh, it could just be an indicator of activity on the channel we use to communicate

Well… that’s good! Maybe it’s not a hundred percent confirmed, but if all it is is a representation of you all, that’s better than it being something bad!

>Im at a loss over what we could too. Maybe if enough of us make noise at the same time when you're looking in the mirror we might see a flicker or pulse.

Let’s chalk that up on things we can try later to a list. Once we’re out of this pit, we’ll have plenty of time to give 'em a shot.

>Judging from the state of decay of the priests, a hidden underground temple worked pretty well for hiding a box like this! That's why it'll be safer here than in your possession while you try to learn what to do with it. But uh… You feel it more than we do. If you feel that merely moving in the opposite direction of the box is enough to drive you mad, then that's not an option.

Yeah… I’m sorry Winds. I know you all want to protect me and I’m being obstinate about not leaving, but it really is that bad. Trying to even think of leaving it behind does something weird to my head.

>I wonder if saying the name of the item is a bad idea?

Are you talking about the box, Winds? I’m not sure what else you’d be referring to if not. I have no idea what its name is, but I can’t imagine how you all saying it could harm us.

>Cassilda did not send you, Tanna.

Damn right she didn’t. I’m here because I want/need/am being forced to be here! …Bleh, that sounds stupid. I just don’t want to admit that maybe I was probably sent here by something. Frustrating to even think about

>Yeah he's a dork. His bumbling put us in your head maybe gave you amnesia even, and all he told us is you need to get to safety.
*snrk*
Well… I can’t be too mad at him if he’s the reason you all are in my head, even if he might’ve given me amnesia. I don’t know what I would’ve done without your help. At least he probably didn’t send me here. …I wonder why he wanted you all to help me, it can’t just be because he cares.

>Someone sure was, since you seem to have a Geas on you, Tanna. It's very similar to being enthralled by an artifact though, so not sure. If you have a Geas you're kinda screwed since you can't remember the wording, so even if you take the box, you could accidentally violate some clause in it you don't remember.

That sucks! Wouldn’t a Geas be detectable though? I should have seen something when I examined myself, if that is the case. Artifact sure is a scary way of describing the box…

>You forgot to describe what you saw in the mirror.

Speaking of examining myself, sorry again. I didn’t really see anything worth talking about. You all saw what I saw, right?

>Okay... Let me tell you what we see when you did the two detect magics.
>I don't personally have training in Arcana, so I will be relying on you to interpret what I'm seeing.
>First! The mirror. You are outlined in sort of rainbow hues, as is the lines of the mirror itself.
>The unconscious prisoner: again, things are a psychedelic rainbow sort of look.

Yeah, I figured that’s what you all saw. The rainbow colored threads are the Weave, but I’m in the same boat as you are. I’m not sure what they mean. There are some patterns to things, such as Jacob’s clothing having a bit of a spiral shape, and the space around him was far less dense with Weave than he physically was. Same with me. There was also a dense outline that gave us shapes.

>Your eyes are bright yellow. There are what seems to be wisps or steam or something pointing from your eyes and off and to the side. Behind your head there are two ovalish, yellow, rune-looking things that are mostly obstructed by your head being in the way.
>He's crowned by an ovaloid halo in yellow, with yellow bands encircling him from behind and around his shoulders. The text 'Open the Box' is repeated, in yellow, several times.
>To us your eyes were even crazier yellow and there was a message behind you.
>Are you hearing or reading his thoughts with that spell? Looks like all they're hearing or thinking about is "OPEN THE BOX"

Huh? Wait, what? I don’t think… no, I definitely didn’t see anything like that. My eyes were just a rainbowy mess of threads, and I definitely didn’t see any rune looking things behind Jacob or I.

>Since you didn't react, does this mean you can't see the written messages around Jacob? I haven't even considered the weird messages you saw earlier were only visible to us.

Yeah… you got the right of it. That has to be what’s going on. I promise you if I saw something like that, I’d have brought it up. Besides my eye color, you all can see things I can’t.

>The influence is definitely on him. And it is strong compared to the vestiges we could see on you.

Well… at least it’s confirmed that something has a grip on Jacob. Why can’t Mina or I see that, but you all can?

As for the messages behind us, I’ll get a good view for you all. Telling Mina I might’ve seen something strange, I ask her to hold the mirror behind me, and I take a look. Feigning ignorance still, I look behind Jacob as well. I still don’t see anything in either case… so I chalk it up to her as me mistaking something. Hopefully it helps you all though?

2/4 Tanna 2024/05/04(Sat)17:07 No. 1090319 ID: 9048b0
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>Let me guess, under a Detect Magic, yellow is how you all categorize the school of magic that affects the mind?

I really don’t know. Magic is still new to me. My new friend however… “Hey Mina, are certain colors in the Weave associated with certain schools of magic?”

Her eyes light up when she gets another chance to talk about magic. “Sometimes, different colors have certain attributes. Heat tends to have a red and orange Weave, so those tend to be pretty popular colors for Evocation. The spell, Fireball, is a good example. To cast one, you need to craft a small but highly condensed bead of those two colors and send it somewhere to explode outwardly. I’m leaving out a ton of steps and simplifying it a lot, but that’s the general concept.”

“What about spells that affect the mind? Are they yellow? Can you read a person’s thoughts if they’re under an effect like that?”

With a smile, she happily continues to over explain. “Enchantments. Basically you supplant certain ideas in the mind of your target. A Charm Creature creates false positive emotions made out of Weave. The color for that can be whatever though, you’re creating vague feelings and suppressing the target's desire to question them. Sometimes, certain spells have certain colors. Rage for example is primarily red.”

“As far as I know, you can’t read the thoughts of a creature using Detect Magic, even if their mind is being altered. You can determine the effect of the alteration, and what it might be doing to them, but thoughts are odd. Some people think they’re another system of magic entirely…”

Pausing for a breath, Mina begins to hold aloft her hand. Using her amulet, she begins to conjure magic strands of yellow Weave to demonstrate. “As for your other question. The color yellow, when it comes to the Weave, is a strange one. Many consider it ‘divine’, as divine casting primarily uses yellow Weave to create its effects. Even the three moon gods; Lunayin, Io, and Charon; deliver to their clerics a combination of yellow Weave and their associated colors.”

Well, that was an expla- “It tends to integrate into other colored Weave once the divine effect is delivered though, becoming other rainbow colored threads. You can see this happening as I hold the spell. Because of that, it’s very uncommon to see naturally, just slightly less rare than white. Of course, it’s still Weave like any other, and can be interacted with as much as any other color.”

I wait as she stops, but it seems like she’s finished for real this time. “Thanks for the explanation. You sure have a lot to say about magic.”

With a cheeky grin, she says “Anytime! Learning about the Weave is a hobby of mine.”

>Strange that we can see the yellow threads only when you cast detect magic Tanna, but you can't see them. If they're not magic, Mina's "Protection from Evil" spell actually might help after all.

I still don’t know why you Winds can see something that Mina and I can’t. Her explanation would have me believe I should be able to see what you’re all talking about. You can only see all that stuff when I’m using Detect Magic too, right? I would think that whatever you’re seeing is magical in some way just because of that, but I really don’t know.

Still so many unknowns though, as you all said before. I need to stop fretting over them, time to focus on what needs to be done.

3/4 Tanna 2024/05/04(Sat)17:09 No. 1090322 ID: 49cec7
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>As for using Protection from Evil on Jacob: I think it's a waste. If it work he will still be drugged with sleeping medicine, so he would be an ineffective ally. Save for a more conscious prisoner or for an emergency untested gamble.
>Protection from Evil on Jacob is yeah... bit of a waste.
>Jacob is already debilitated whoevers side hes on.

So, figuring out our next course of action, it sounds like Jacob isn’t worth using Protection from Evil on just yet.

>So with Mina's friends the choice is
>1) Evade
>2) Heal
>3) Kill

Evasion isn’t feasible if they have the box, which they probably do. Killing is… I don’t think I’m ever going to convince Mina to follow a plan involving that, and I don’t really want to kill them either. That leaves healing, and if that fails, incapacitating.

>Focus on the job at hand. Capturing one hostile alive for the protection test.
>Evel’yee sound like she will be much easier to deal while she is unaware, so we should target her first. She is also the only one we have a chance to physically overpower so we have alternatives to spells.
>Vax is probably the best target for that. Evel'yee might be too naturally evil, and Roderick has something in him besides just the box's compulsion. He might be complicit, and no spell can protect him from himself.

>OK you need an ambush regardless. We have cells, we have paralytic venom and incapacitating spells, and a wickedly sharp awesome scimitar (repeat: Mina will not like that option.) Hm…
>Luring someone away from the others would be a good opening gambit.

This scimitar is pretty fucking sweet… Hopefully we can remove whatever’s affecting them with Mina’s spell then. And it seems like an ambush is the plan, either getting Evel’yee or Vax alone. Speaking of venom...

“Earlier Mina, you said I brought some poisons… do you still have any of those?”

She purses her lips and nods slowly. “Ah… shoot, I forgot about that. Yes, I still have the rest of your Oloth’arr, you can have it back. Evel’yee claimed the other two vials though. ‘Wevekil’ and ‘Eclipse’. Wevekil is really dangerous Tanna… I can’t imagine what the other one is.”

>MENTALITY CHECK [Wevekil]: 3 + 1[Familiar Field] > 2 = SUCCESS
>MENTALITY CHECK [Eclipse]: 3 + 1[Familiar Field] > 3 = SUCCESS

Yeah… they are dangerous. Wevekil, otherwise known as Magebane, is a Weavetoxin. Made from the blood of some certain monsters, like Dweomercats and Beholders. It makes a person very nauseous and disrupts their ability to associate with the Weave. It’s a popular poison used in assassinations and militaries, as it can severely cripple spellcasters, but you can also use it to treat Weave related curses and disease. It can be fatal if used in large doses.

The other poison, Eclipse, is extremely lethal. It’s a magical poison that, once introduced to your system, you either die immediately or survive. The poison manifests your most primal fear in your mind and stops your heart. It has a very high mortality rate. It’s extremely difficult and dangerous to make, requiring powerful magic and condensed Aforcolsius from the continent of Mortl’krak.

What was I doing with those…? As I’m pondering that, Mina hands me what was once my vial of Oloth’arr. Another non-lethal tool in our kit. “Thanks… and you’re right, Eclipse is horrible. We can’t let Evel’yee strike us with that. As for what I had them… I couldn’t tell you why. I really wish I didn’t.”

Vial of Oloth’arr - A non-lethal poison that can put people under. Requires the target to ingest it, or introducing it to their blood stream.

This prison would be a good place to store them… if we can figure out how to open the cells. I wonder if that key from earlier…

I take it out and try it on one of the cell doors. Agh… nope, this key isn’t for these doors. “We never did find the key for those. Maybe you have a secret lockpicking skill?”

Worth a shot. Taking out Jacob’s lockpicking set, I try to shimmy the lock. I quickly find out I have no idea what I’m doing. I shake my head towards Mina. “Well… maybe we can wake Jacob up and see if the spell works?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Even if it did work, he’d be too drowsy from Oloth’arr to be useful. We should save your spells for someone more conscious and as a last resort.”

“That makes sense. If it doesn’t, we can probably trap someone like Evel’yee in the torturer’s room if we bar the door with something heavy.”

“Not a bad idea, I think with that in mind, I’ve got a plan.”

Mina seems to get a lot more serious, and all of her attention is waiting on what I’ve got to say next. “Evel’yee is a serious danger. Along with those poisons, she’s the one that could surprise us with her gear. I want you to lure her down here, tell the group Jacob needs help with the prisoner, that he thinks he’s close to breaking me. That should hopefully appeal to her darker side. Can you do that?”

A spark of fear crosses her eyes, but she holds fast and nods. “I-I can. Just lead her through the main hall and down this hallway?”

Gods, I hope she can do this. Nodding towards her, I say, “I know this is hard for you, but if all goes well we’ll take her out quick and safe. I’ll be lying in wait in the prison room. She’s small, right? Even if our spells fail, we’re both twice her size. We should be able to overpower her. This tiny hallway should make shooting us difficult too. Try to walk behind her if you can.”

Clasping her amulet, she takes a deep breath and nods back. Determination fills her eyes. “Alright. Are we ready?”

>Jacob snoring loudly

I pull out the scroll of Silence. “Not yet. She’s a Weski, so she’s probably got extremely sharp hearing. I’m gonna silence Jacob’s snoring with this scroll. Should make him impossible to hear.”

She looks at me with a bit of surprise. “That’s actually… I forgot about that. Good catch!”

She narrows her eyes all of sudden though. “You took that scroll from the table, right? We should probably put the coins you stole back. Don’t want her noticing they’re gone when we walk past.”

Ughh… that is a good point. But my money… ahh… it’s only for a little bit. I reluctantly hand it back.

With all that done, I bid Mina good luck. As she begins to make her way towards her friends, I do some cleaning up. Starting off, I move the spider’s corpse into the prison, and clean up the blood with Prestidigitation. Then I close all the doors in the hallway besides the prisoner’s door. Once it looks like nothing’s been tampered with, I begin to cast Silence around Jacob. I’ll make sure to give myself a little room near the exit, just so I can hear them enter.

As the spell finishes… it becomes super quiet. Along with the darkness, it’s… very dissociative. Feels like I could get lost here forever… agh, focus! I leave the silenced zone and post myself up beside the door, waiting for things to begin.

4/4 Tanna 2024/05/04(Sat)17:25 No. 1090325 ID: ee67d7
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It’s about a two minute wait until I start to hear some voices.

That must be Evel’yee. She has that same feminine squeak that I heard earlier. “Figures that moron would need some help. Not sure why a little bitch like you even wanted to get involved, isn’t your whole schtick being a healer? You’re pretty much useless at everything else. Why haven’t you left yet?”

I hear a weak laugh. “I… guess I wanted to be helpful.”

CREAK~

The door opens and I can smell… “Mina. We are being serious. It will be sad to see you go, but you are not being helpful. You should really leave.”

~CREAK

That’s not a part of the plan. Why is Vax here as well? As they close the door behind them, torchlight streams into the hallway. Peering through the crack in the door, I see Mina shivering behind the two of them. “S-sorry… I can’t… leave you behind…”

Taking point, Evel’yee venomously says to Mina, “Dunno how you haven’t figured this out yet dumbass, but no one, not even this scaled shit-for-brains idiot, wants you here.”

Vax emits a deep and low growl before saying, “I often think about how easy it would be to break you in half you little piece of sewer trash.”

Still walking forward, she looks at Vax and twirls her hand at him. “Yeah yeah, big fucking words. Scariest part of all that was you believing you’re capable of thought in the first place. Anyways, where in the hells is Jacob?”

Mina points towards the torturer’s room. “H-he’s over there. Might’ve fallen asleep, you k-know how he is.”

The three of them continue to walk towards the door… “Huh… the fuck is he being so quiet for? Jacob? You in there asshole? …I’m not hearing ‘nuthin.”

Vax draws his sword slowly, though it seems more a precautionary measure. “Strange. This room is noise dampening last I remember, but still…” Raising his voice, he calls out, “Jacob? Are you ok? Surely you are not so foolish as to fall asleep with your prisoner nearby?”

After waiting for a moment, Evel’yee motions the other two back. “I’ll check the door, gimme a sec.”

>2v2 is basically an instant win

Gods I hope you all are right… things are suddenly a lot scarier. Mina is clutching her amulet, and I notice her take a glance my way. I mouth the word ‘wait’ to her. How should we go about this, Winds?

>>1090319
Hmm, strange. Detect magic is allowing us to see the "divine" threads, but not you, which means the magic is hiding itself from mortal eyes, I suppose?

>>1090322
Poisons are common tools for Rogues and other spy-like professions... Oh, since you have the sleeping drug now we can use it to put everyone to sleep if Protection vs Evil doesn't work!
>>1090325
Oh you cast Silence, which means we've only got one spell left... We could try Charm Person on Vax? He's the nicest so he should be most vulnerable to it. Scroll of Paralysis is the other option, which we would want to use on the archer. If you start the fight by using the scroll on Evel’yee, then Vax will be on you and you can just defend until Mina hits him with a disable... but you could use charm person and then duck behind the door so that Evel’yee can't attack immediately, and she would be hindered by Vax anyway.

I dunno if it really matters what we use on whom so long as you don't get shot.

>>1090332
Scrolls don't count for spells cast in a day, Tanna still has two spells left.

>>1090332
Charm Creature only affect their perception of Tanna, not Mina. She need to be alone to use it effectively.
It might be useful on Evel’yee. If Vax is really slow on the uptake he will take longer to realize Tanna betray them, so altering the perception of the person who would notice first could delay any aggression toward Mina. (I say that but I'm not sure it's the right move.)

I believe Grease will be very effective against Vax. Less so on Evel’yee, even so it would still be an extra challenge. It's an area of effect, so could you aim at the two without affecting Mina? (That sound like a reasonable first move.)

One thing we need to consider is the sound you need to make when casting your own spells. It might be better to begin with a scroll to avoid detection.
For this I would suggest Scroll of Paralyze on Vax. If she doesn't escape in time Evel’yee can be subdue with brute force or Charm Creature if we fail to catch her. In case this work without a hitch Mina can try Protection from Evil on Vax after Evel’yee is defeated and before the paralyses worn off. (This is my preferred plan.)

Trying to think of leaving does something weird to your head due to the blatantly visible compulsion to 'Get The Box' that we see on you. At least that's a workable compulsion, LOTS of room for interpretation there! It doesn't say to directly touch the box, it doesn't say what to do with the box once you 'get it', it leaves the specifics of what it means to 'get' open to interpretation, it doesn't have anything to say about what precautions you take, whether you can share with others that you are under a mind affecting compulsion, etc. etc. It's also way weaker than Jacob's compulsions to open the box. Oh! Fun factoid, in my language, the word 'Geas' looks like it is pronounced 'Gee-us' but is actually pronounced "Gesh".

Anyway, there's a BUNCH of types of mental compulsions out there, and not all of them are a full-on Geas, so let's not assume specific and detailed features about the nature of a compulsion based on anything other than what we can actually observe (ie, like how we can observe yours has less of a push than Jacob's).

Hmmm. If we are super unanimous on encouraging you to do something and a lot of us are pushing it, you might find that tricky to resist. I personally promise not to abuse that, and to call out bad actors, preventing harmful consensus scenarios.

Wow, old you knew her poisons! Pity there aren't more nonlethal poisons here, that is really a quite effective use-case, you know, having a debilitating effect, something fundamentally different than the sort of thing one can also achieve with a sword in someone's gut.

Grease is also a useful combat spell. The Paralsis bit is useful too. How confident are you in turning a final lethal blow into a nonlethal one? Like if you think you are getting a last good hit in, you pommel strike instead of edge strike and knock them out? How about coating the edge of a sickle or scimitar with that nonlethal poison and dealing enough damage with the edge to cut and, then knocking them out with the pommel once they're woozy?

> Wouldn’t a Geas be detectable though?

Heck if I know! Might be a good thing to inquire about. Maybe there's a kind of god-magic outside the weave?

> Artifact sure is a scary way of describing the box…

Oh the box probably isn't an artifact. But what's in the box? Does it terrify you what could be in that box, making people kill to release it? Yeah, artifacts are terrifying.

> I definitely didn’t see anything like that.

Then it's a good thing Whisper sent us, because we're detecting Geas-like effects where even seeing the Weave falls short. Oddly, he didn't send us for that purpose. He just sent us because you were going to die, and he wanted to save your life for some wager of his.

> it really is that bad.

Don't worry Tanna, we're going to get the box, and we're going to get you safe. Whatever you have to do, we'll deal with it as it comes.

>>1090322

> What was I doing with those…?

Crippling spellcasters, and killing people, obviously! The real question is why? And why such rare poisons? Scimitars are much cheaper at murder.

>>1090325

> That’s not a part of the plan. Why is Vax here as well?

Uh oh...

OK you have a "double surprise" here, where you can get a surprise attack, and they'll expect Mina to back them up. Then she can get off a surprise attack, which as a healer isn't ideal, but it's still an advantage. Evel’yee should be disabled top priority, as she has your deadly poisons, and some of her own, and knows how to use them.

Vax - tough, surprise doesn't work
Evel'yee - agile, can't target without surprise

So Charm Creature on Evel'yee, which might help avoid combat in the first place, or at least delay it. You're a bard! Who would ever want to hurt you?

Vax might attack you then, but Evel'yee should get in the way. She won't use lethal force because uh, that's not how charm works.

Mina can cast Hideous Laughter on Vax from behind, and you should be able to tie him up, then. That shouldn't break the charm on Evel'yee since you can explain that you're just restraining him so he can't hurt you. If she breaks it though, Mina can attack her (ineffectively) to give you a chance to clock Evel'yee on the back on the head. Tie her up, then flee! Watch out for the grease!

If the charm holds, then tell Evel'yee you need her help, and go with her to confront Roderick, who's carrying the box.

OH AND STAND OUTSIDE OF THE EFFECT OF THE SILENCE SPELL WHEN CASTING YOU ARE A BARD

>>1090325
Agreed with the other winds.

Evalee is the prime target.
Im torn on paralysing her or charm.
If charm, then presuming it takes tell her "help me take down the lizard and we can open the box together."
Charm works best when the requests you make still essentially align with the demeanour and aims of the target. If the idea fits smoothly with them, itll slide right in. If its against their nature, itll be jarring and maybe resisted.
They have a fractious relationship, its a goal she'd approve of and you can then get her to lead the way, giving you a chance to backstrike her with the debilitating poison.

Maybe cast through the crack in the door, if that puts you out of the silence zone.
Buy some seconds of confusion to get the jump on the lizardman.

The good news is if it comes to violence you are well equipped to heal your and their injuries, all the same thats the last and least favorable option.

>>1090363

Casting through doors might not work due to limits of the Weave, there's various reasons why murderholes and arrowslits and the like might need to be a minimum size for the aperture for magic to be cast through them. Something to ask about later.

1/5 Tanna 2024/05/14(Tue)16:34 No. 1090964 ID: daff89
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>Crippling spellcasters, and killing people, obviously!

;A;

2/5 Tanna 2024/05/14(Tue)16:34 No. 1090965 ID: 5c6431
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>Poisons are common tools for Rogues and other spy-like professions...
>The real question is why? And why such rare poisons?

Y-yeah. Maybe I was a spy or something. I wasn’t good at lockpicking though… okay, maybe I was an alchemist instead? Or someone who sold medicine maybe? You said it before, the only difference between medicine and poison is the dosage…

>Don't worry Tanna, we're going to get the box, and we're going to get you safe. Whatever you have to do, we'll deal with it as it comes.

Ah, you’re right, Winds. I told myself earlier I’m not gonna care about what I might’ve been. Gotta deal with the problems as they come now! And thanks… I don’t know how many times I can say that, but I really do appreciate you more than you can know.

>Wow, old you knew her poisons!

Yeah… it sure seems that way. I’m not gonna wish I didn’t, but I really hope I didn’t use all that knowledge as a killer before my amnesia.

>Hmm, strange. Detect magic is allowing us to see the "divine" threads, but not you, which means the magic is hiding itself from mortal eyes, I suppose?

I guess so? It seems to at least be the case so far at least. Have there been any other yellow things you all have seen that I might not have? Something to ask Mina about I suppose.

>Anyway, there's a BUNCH of types of mental compulsions out there, and not all of them are a full-on Geas, so let's not assume specific and detailed features about the nature of a compulsion based on anything other than what we can actually observe
>it's a good thing Whisper sent us, because we're detecting Geas-like effects where even seeing the Weave falls short. Oddly, he didn't send us for that purpose. He just sent us because you were going to die, and he wanted to save your life for some wager of his.

I was going to die… and I’m just part of some wager. I guess… meh? I’m glad I’m not dead, even if it’s for a shitty reason. As for the ‘Geas not Geas’, I can definitely feel it. As I said before, even thinking of abandoning the box does something to me that feels like I just cannot afford to do that. Not even being able to see it sucks, how am I going to get rid of this?
The reason isn’t… well okay it’s a bit crummy.
>Might be a good thing to inquire about. Maybe there's a kind of god-magic outside the weave?
Not too far off!
God magic?! I’m just compelled to get a box, eaugh…! Add another thing to ask Mina. Should probably compile a list at this point and go through it when we’re out of here.

>Trying to think of leaving does something weird to your head due to the blatantly visible compulsion to 'Get The Box' that we see on you. At least that's a workable compulsion, LOTS of room for interpretation there!
>Oh the box probably isn't an artifact. But what's in the box? Does it terrify you what could be in that box, making people kill to release it? Yeah, artifacts are terrifying.

Yes, it does scare me! If I didn’t have to “get” it, then I’d find it a lot less so… but that thing that’s ‘MAKING PEOPLE KILL TO RELEASE IT’ is going to be in my immediate path soon. You’re right though, “get” is a pretty loose term. I have some room to work around how I do that, but it’s still got me a shiverin’!

>Hmmm. If we are super unanimous on encouraging you to do something and a lot of us are pushing it, you might find that tricky to resist. I personally promise not to abuse that, and to call out bad actors, preventing harmful consensus scenarios.

Huh… I guess I haven’t really thought of you all like that. You made it clear from the start, you’re here to offer advice and suggestions. But… ah, no, I’m not going to question that. I trust you, Winds. You aren’t here to make my decisions for me, and I appreciate you promising not going to abuse that.

>One thing we need to consider is the sound you need to make when casting your own spells. It might be better to begin with a scroll to avoid detection.

I can’t really interact with the Weave without an instrument. I’m super reliant on one, even when it comes to activating a scroll, so noise is going to be made either way. There’s something about the music and my manipulation of the Weave that comes naturally when I play.

>How confident are you in turning a final lethal blow into a nonlethal one? Like if you think you are getting a last good hit in, you pommel strike instead of edge strike and knock them out?

I’m fairly confident I could do that, though I’d have to swing with that intent in mind. Might make it a bit harder to land a proper blow, you’re meant to hit people with the edge of swords, y’know. But if I do end up hitting someone, I’ll try to keep my attacks safe.

>Oh, since you have the sleeping drug now we can use it to put everyone to sleep if Protection vs Evil doesn't work!
>How about coating the edge of a sickle or scimitar with that nonlethal poison and dealing enough damage with the edge to cut and, then knocking them out with the pommel once they're woozy?

With this amount of Oloth’arr, I can probably get two uses if I can introduce it to them through ingestion. Otherwise, if I plan on poisoning them through injury, I’d have to use the whole vial to ensure a good cut gets enough in. I wish I could hold it, but my hands are full, and I need my mouth to use my harmonica. I’ll leave it in my bag for now.

3/5 Tanna 2024/05/14(Tue)16:36 No. 1090969 ID: e93cf1
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>OK you have a "double surprise" here, where you can get a surprise attack, and they'll expect Mina to back them up. Then she can get off a surprise attack, which as a healer isn't ideal, but it's still an advantage.
>OH AND STAND OUTSIDE OF THE EFFECT OF THE SILENCE SPELL WHEN CASTING YOU ARE A BARD
>Maybe cast through the crack in the door, if that puts you out of the silence zone.

I know I know! I’m not a doofus, I made sure to give myself some space.

As I prepare myself, Evel’yee kneels at the door and begins combing it over. Looking towards Mina, I mouth the words, “Go with it”. Then, I start things off with an eerie fweet of my harmonica.

INITIATIVE:

Evel’yee Trèswillow - 4[Dexterity] + 8[Roll] = 12
Mina Haliasong - 3[Dexterity] + 7[Roll] = 10.3 Surprise
Vax - 2[Dexterity] + 9[Roll] = 10.2
Tanna Sybilant - 4[Dexterity] + 3[Roll] = 7 Surprise

ROUND 1:

Evel’yee Trèswillow’s Turn

Evel’yee turns her head curiously towards the door I’m hiding behind as soon as I start playing my instrument. “What’s that noise…? Ah shit!”

Surprised, she starts to reach for her bow, but she’s completely caught off guard.

Mina Haliasong’s Turn

Mina grips her amulet, seemingly waiting for what I’m going to do. That frail look she had before is replaced with hard determination now, her gaze drilling daggers into Vax’s back.

Vax’s Turn

“Ah…? Fool that I am…” He’s oddly calm about being caught out, but I’ll take it. Vax gets into a defensive position, but there’s no chance he’ll be able to react before I get my spell off.

Tanna Sybilant’s Turn

Swift Action & Standard Action

>Maybe cast through the crack in the door, if that puts you out of the silence zone.
>Casting through doors might not work due to limits of the Weave, there's various reasons why murderholes and arrowslits and the like might need to be a minimum size for the aperture for magic to be cast through them.

I’m not sure how it would work either. I’m pretty confident I ‘could’ do it, but I don’t want to bung it up by being overly cautious. Besides, I’m a godsdamned bard, no more hiding. It’s time to bust this shit wide open!

>We could try Charm Person on Vax?
>It might be useful on Evel’yee.
>Evel’yee should be disabled top priority, as she has your deadly poisons, and some of her own, and knows how to use them.
>So Charm Creature on Evel'yee, which might help avoid combat in the first place, or at least delay it. You're a bard! Who would ever want to hurt you?
>Evalee is the prime target.

She definitely won’t want to be hurting me after this. Flinging open the door, the eerie note I had been playing before turns into something far more bouncy. Ending with a harmonic flourish, I attune myself with the Weave and hit Evel’yee with the spell, Charm Creature.

>CHARM CREATURE: 3[Evel’yee] vs. 3[Tanna] ~ 21[Roll] <= 50 = SUCCESS

I can feel my incantation grip Evel’yee’s mind and alter her perception of me. There was nothing but vicious aggression before, but the spell forces her to look at me in a different light. Now, all she can do is gawk at me confusedly and say, “Wha- Fuckin’... you were our prisoner… but that doesn’t make any sense…”

“Evel’yee? …And she believes me the idiot. Mina, the prisoner…” Vax turns around just in time to see his ‘ally’ throw her torch to the side and cast a spell on him.

“Sorry Vax, but Iguana stop you all from hurting yourselves.” Mina’s magic is released and a swirl of yellow Weave rushes into the Iruxi.

>HIDEOUS LAUGHTER: 2[Vax] vs. 3[Mina] ~ 75[Roll] <= 75 = SUCCESS

Holy moly that joke was bad. Can’t help but chuckle a little. As for Vax though, he falls to his knees, barely able to contain himself from erupting into laughter. Beneath that guffaw is angry betrayal. “Heeahe…! Mina! What are you doing?! Ho ho hoo, hee hee!!!”

Vax has fallen prone.

Vax, can’t take it anymore. He hits the ground and starts ROFLing.

END ROUND 1

4/5 Tanna 2024/05/14(Tue)16:36 No. 1090970 ID: b8477b
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ROUND 2:

Evel’yee Trèswillow’s Turn

Swift Action & Move Action & Standard Action

“Mina! I always knew you’d turn coat!” Evel’yee finally finishes drawing her bow. She posts up closer to me since I’m her very good friend, then aims her weapon at Mina.

“Wait, wait! Don’t shoot!” Just as Evel’yee is about to release, she jolts. Giving me a questioning look, she comes to a rest with her string drawn.

Still trained on Mina, she says, “There better be a damn good reason for this, Mina. You’re lucky my friend’s vouching for you.”

Mina Haliasong’s Turn

Swift Action & Standard Action

“Hey, c-calm down Eve, Vax was planning something bad. Tanna can explain. Right, Tanna?” Gesturing towards me, there’s a pleading look in her eyes. Then she begins to non-threateningly placate Evel'yee with one hand, while the other is still clasped around her amulet. She appears ready to cast another spell should things go awry. Evel’yee looks up at me expectantly.

Vax’s Turn

“HAHAHA!! DON’T LISTEN TO HER EVEL’YEE!! MINA!! YOU!!! IGUANA! HAHAHAHA!!! I TOO AM A REPTILIAN!! IT IS THE FUNNIEST SHIT I HAVE EVER HEARD!!!” Is he gonna be alright?

Hideous Laughter will end at the beginning of Vax’s next turn, and he will be able to act.

5/5 Tanna 2024/05/14(Tue)16:36 No. 1090971 ID: 43c3d3
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Tanna Sybilant’s Intermission

Well, this is chaotic, but it’s in our favor. I know I’m ‘fighting’ for my life here, but it’s kind of fun, in a high on life kind of way. I can feel my heart thumping hard with exhilaration and fear simultaneously.

>Mina can cast Hideous Laughter on Vax from behind, and you should be able to tie him up, then.

Funnily enough, that’s what ended up happening. As for tying him up though… I don’t have anything to do that with actually!

>tell her "help me take down the lizard and we can open the box together."
>They have a fractious relationship, its a goal she'd approve of and you can then get her to lead the way, giving you a chance to backstrike her with the debilitating poison.

That’s what I’m thinking as well. I might be able to talk Evel’yee down and even convince her to even turn against Vax. She might have something to tie him up too, supposedly she has a bunch of gear. Is there anything else I should mention or do, Winds?

>>1090965
Oh does he, now?

>>1090971
Intentionally stab the sword away from Evel'yee, into the bow so you can slice the string. Just to catch her off-guard, sultrily scream the following words:
[Censored to prevent vomiting]

>>1090971
Hmm, what to say? We have to appeal to both the box obsession and her normal personality I think. Tell her you're going to open the box, and you need Mina's help to do it, but Vax is going to get in the way because he's too weak for what needs to be done. Tell her to help you drug him so he falls asleep. After Vax is unconscious then tell her you need her to take the drug too.

Tell her Jacob got drunk and spilled the beans; he and Vax were going to take the box for themselves after they got the answer out of you. So lets knock him out and get back to the box before the other guy steals it.

Well done tanna.

>>1090976
May be possible to just move the bow aside with a finger tip while saying.
"I need your attention on me friend.i have to explain something."
Gentle movements and suggestions that fly parallel to their normal behaviours keep the charm from breaking.

>>1090981
Drugging vax is a sound idea, though have to take into account any physiological resistances he may have.

I doubt shed take the drug.
Shes a trained poisoner too.
Enough so that she may interpret it as a hostile act.

Maybe...

>>1090982
Yes.
Phrase it that he said they were cutting the females out of the deal.
Implicates all active hostiles.

Hmm.
What if we spun the tale that they planned to drug the women and leave them down here.
Let her examine the bottle that jacob drank from if its at hand. As evidence.
Tell her they were using small, accumulating dosage so she wouldnt pick up on it.
...but we may have an effective antidote.

That way she may trust her "friend" enougn to take what we offer her..

Should she smell the presence of the drug in the "medicine", tanna could tell her yes, its present but neutralised by the counteracting agent in the recipe. That she will feel a slight drowsiness then a headache as her body purges the toxin.

It look like Evel’yee can be rely upon for the next hour. Good job convincing her to tolerate Mina betrayal. Good thing she wasn't very loyal to her actual friends to begin with.

>>1090976
>...stab the sword away from Evel'yee, into the bow so you can slice the string.
The spell will end if you harm her, so don't confront her unnecessarily or try to sabotage her bow. The last thing we want is an accidental hit during an altercation.
Persuasion seem very effective in her current state, but if for some reason you still want to disable her after the combat is over just hug her. She is tiny and weak and won't oppose a friendly hug from behind, once you get a good grip she shouldn't be able to escape.

>>1090981
>Tell her you're going to open the box, and you need Mina's help to do it, but Vax is going to get in the way...
That should cover the main points well enough during combat.

>Tell her to help you drug him so he falls asleep
This idea is too dependent on her turning completely against Vax. It would be better than having her try to kill him, but she could refuse to attack him at all.

>>1090982
Save more elaborate explanations for later.

>>1090995
>Phrase it that he said they were cutting the females out of the deal.
You have no idea if Evel'yee have this kind of disposition or if it would be a believable behavior from Jacob. She did turn against Mina as all the others, so I wouldn't bet on any loyalty to her gender.

>it’s kind of fun
It is. You persuaded one of them to become your ally and magically charmed another inverting what to them looked like a three against one. Turning your enemies resources against them is very satisfying.

Next turn Evel'yee will act first, so we will get to see how much she is siding with us.
After that is Mina. She still have four casts left, so she may try the Protection from Evil or stall him for another round. She didn't mention having rope with her, but she could have something to try to immobilize Vax before he recover. She could also distance herself to avoid his retaliation.
If unimpeded Vax will probable try to attack either Mina or Tanna, Evel'yee is unlikely target for now. He knows what Mina can do and would want to recover Evel'yee, so it would make sense for him to focus on Tanna, although it would be a mistake in judgment because that would guaranty Evel'yee would turn against him. If he understand Evel'yee specific condition he may try to use Mina as a hostage and reason with Evel'yee.

Lastly is Tanna turn.
If the conflict is not resolved but is going in your favor just attack him. I doubt a few cuts would be enough to kill him and we can heal him after.
If the situation develop for the worse you may need to use the Scroll of Paralyze. Charm would work well but it would be difficult to persuade Vax to forgive Mina, although not impossible since she didn't hurt him.

>>1091002
>cut out the females.
Its less a call to gender solidarity and more a swift way of saying everyone down here but me mina and you have turned on you.
Any way of conveying that isolation is equally good.
Just conscious of time available during whats still potentially a combat situation.

Vax has been enchanted to steal the box, and you arrived just in time to stop him. You just want to tie him up, while you figure out how to dispel the enchantment.

1/5 Tanna 2024/05/25(Sat)13:23 No. 1091767 ID: 471de7
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>Just to catch her off-guard, sultrily scream the following words: [Censored to prevent vomiting]
You all make me transcribe some weird stuff sometimes.
Y-you can’t just tell me to scream something sultrily and not tell me what to say! Errr… “Oh… can I explain alright~ …have I got something to tell you!~”

Both Mina and Evel’yee look at me. “What…?”

“Why… why’d you say it like that?”

“AHHAHAH!!!”

>May be possible to just move the bow aside with a finger tip while saying. "I need your attention on me friend.i have to explain something."
>Tell her you're going to open the box, and you need Mina's help to do it, but Vax is going to get in the way because he's too weak for what needs to be done.
>That should cover the main points well enough during combat.
>Tell her Jacob got drunk and spilled the beans; he and Vax were going to take the box for themselves after they got the answer out of you. So lets knock him out and get back to the box before the other guy steals it.
>Phrase it that he said they were cutting the females out of the deal. Implicates all active hostiles.
>Any way of conveying that isolation is equally good.

Free Action

Well, that sure made me feel stupid as the hells. The momentary confusion seems to have worked though, as I have Evel’yee’s full attention. Slowly and softly moving her weapon out of Mina’s direction, I push past my embarrassment and explain, “During my interrogation, Jacob said he was going to steal the box with Vax and Roderick. They were planning on cutting you out of everything and leaving us dead down here. Mina realized this and helped free me. We’re gonna take the box and open it ourselves.”

>Tell her to help you drug him so he falls asleep.
>Drugging vax is a sound idea, though have to take into account any physiological resistances he may have.
>Vax has been enchanted to steal the box, and you arrived just in time to stop him. You just want to tie him up, while you figure out how to dispel the enchantment.

“There’s probably some weird enchantment stuff going on, but I’ll explain more later! We need to deal with him now, can you help us drug him?”

>PERSUASION/LYING CHECK: 13(3[Mentality] + 3[Roll] + 2[Charmed] + 2[Effective] + 3[Argument]) > 12[DC] = SUCCESS

Evel’yee’s whiskers scrunch as she evaluates all that. Coming to a conclusion, she exasperatedly says, “Those two-timing backstabbing mother fucking… I should’ve… agh!! Fine! Fine! You’re one of the few I can trust. What do you need me to do?”

“Ahah, Evel’yee!! It is the most obvious deception! *cough* haha!!” Underneath that laugh is a menacing growl, he’s starting to break free from the spell.

Swift Action & Move Action & Standard Action

I move up to Vax and swap my Harmonica for the Oloth’arr. He’s thrashing about a lot, it’s not going to be easy to make him swallow the poison. “Hold him down! I need him to drink this!” With that, I prepare to force-feed Vax the Oloth’arr once Mina and Evel’yee have tried to pin him, and failing that, deliver it to him via an injury.

END ROUND 2

2/5 Tanna 2024/05/25(Sat)13:23 No. 1091768 ID: 471de7
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Evel’yee Trèswillow’s Turn

Swift Action & Move Action & Standard Action

Putting away her bow and drawing a dagger, Evel’yee shuffles up to Vax and prepares to try and pin him. “Why don’t we just cut his throat and be done with it?! Princess here could probably patch him up afterwards!”

Mina Haliasong’s Turn

Swift Action & Move Action & Standard Action

Mina also moves to Vax while drawing her dagger, but her focus seems to be on Evel’yee. “No! We could seriously hurt him that way!”

They both pounce on Vax, attempting to force him to lie still. “Okay?! And he can seriously hurt us!”

>EVEL’YEE GRAPPLE CHECK: 6(2[Strength] + 2[Roll] + 2[Assistance] + 1[Combat Modifier] - 1[Size]) > 8(5[Base] + 4[Strength] + 1[Combat Modifier] - 2[Prone]) = FAILURE

>MINA GRAPPLE CHECK: 8(2[Strength] + 4[Roll] + 2[Assistance]) > 8(5[Base] + 4[Strength] + 1[Combat Modifier] - 2[Prone]) = FAILURE

“This can work-”

“Hahgrrr!!”

“Eeeek!”

Vax, with devastating strength, manages to throw both Mina and Evel’yee away from himself. The Iruxi lets out a few rough wheezes, but there is no mirth. Vicious rage dances in his eyes. I can’t risk making him drink it like this, I’m going to try to cut him instead.

I pop the cork of the Oloth’arr and slather the blade with all of it.

>TANNA’S ATTACK: 9(4[Dexterity] + 3[Roll] + 2[Flanking]) > 10(5[Base] + 3[Breastplate] + 1[Shield] 2[Dexterity] + 1[Natural] - 2[Prone]) = MISS

With strained effort, Vax brings up his sword and narrowly deflects my blow. The sound of steel scraping against steel rings within the hall.

“Just fucking hit him! He’s too strong to mess around with!” Evel’yee yells out. I can’t help but agree, we’re starting to lose control.

“Hah… It is not a bad idea. Despite being a lie, perhaps I should kill you two and steal it for myself… Forgive me Mina, you were likely coerced. Join me or I will slay you as well.” Vax says threateningly.

3/5 Tanna 2024/05/25(Sat)13:23 No. 1091769 ID: 471de7
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Vax’s Turn

Movement Action

Despite being surrounded by the three of us, Vax confidently begins to stand up. It’s as if he’s challenging us to bring him down. His gaze is directed towards me, murderous intent terribly apparent.

>If the conflict is not resolved but is going in your favor just attack him. I doubt a few cuts would be enough to kill him and we can heal him after.

There’s a clear opportunity to attack as Vax rises. Evel’yee lunges forward as well, her blade flashing in the torchlight. It seems Mina is going to hold back as she clutches her dagger with fearful eyes. I hope she isn’t actually considering his offer.

>EVEL’YEE’S ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY: 15(4[Dexterity] + 7[Roll] + 1[Combat Modifier] + 1[Size] + 2[Flanking]) > 10(5[Base] + 3[Breastplate] + 1[Shield] + 2[Dexterity] + 1[Natural] - 2[Prone]) = SUCCESS

>EVEL’YEE’S DAMAGE: 1[Dagger] + 1[Strength] = 2 PAIN

>TANNA’S ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY: 15(4[Dexterity] + 9[Roll] + 2[Flanking]) > 10(5[Base] + 3[Breastplate] + 1[Shield] + 2[Dexterity] + 1[Natural] - 2[Prone]) = SUCCESS

>TANNA’S DAMAGE: 2[Scimitar] + 1[Strength] = 3 PAIN & FATAL WOUND

>VAX FORTITUDE VS. OLOTH’ARR POISON: 10[Roll] + 4[Strength] > 10[DC] = SUCCESS, SECONDARY EFFECT

Oloth’arr on scimitar is expended.

Yes! I managed to strike Vax along his sternum, the edge of my scimitar slicked with his blood. At the same time, Evel’yee manages to shove her dagger into the slit between his pauldron and rerebrace. The poison should’ve definitely got in, he should be falling down any second… w-why is he still getting up?

“Godsdammit Vax! Just die already!” Evel’yee screeches out before Vax swipes at her with his shield, throwing her away.

The Iruxi is no longer laughing as he reaches his full height.

Standard Action

Standing powerfully despite his injuries, Vax growls the words, “Admirable wounds, but I have been through worse. You however…” Vax leans forward and lets out a ferocious roar. I fall back and bring up my scimitar to defend myself, my eyes widening as he swings his sword at me!

>VAX’S ATTACK: 12(4[Strength] + 9[Roll] + 1[Combat Modifier] - 2[Drowsy]) > 9(5[Base] + 4[Dexterity]) = SUCCESS

>VAX’S DAMAGE: 2[Longsword] + 2[Strength] = 4 PAIN & FATAL WOUND

“...seem a bit new to this. Let me introduce you to the cruel teacher that is death.”

4/5 Tanna 2024/05/25(Sat)13:23 No. 1091770 ID: 471de7
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“Tanna! Run child! Get out of here!”

I hear someone call my name from a place that’s far too bright, telling me to run. It’s so cold… despite the flames licking my fur. The shadows that are creeping in all around me are so comfortable… it’d be easy to just lie down… and let things happen… but I don’t want to die yet… not like this… not again. Things were so different this time…
Huh? Why is… how is she remembering something separate?

5/5 Tanna 2024/05/25(Sat)13:23 No. 1091771 ID: 471de7
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Tanna Sybilant’s Intermission

H-help…

Tanna is disabled* for reaching her maximum pain threshold. Any more and she will fall unconscious.

Tanna is in danger! The Winds may choose to use 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵 energy to dramatically enhance her next action or spell. This action may only be performed once per day.

* A disabled creature can only perform either a standard action or a movement action per turn in addition to their swift action.

If in his current condition he can just ignore the sleeping poison I don't know what nonlethal attack will work.
Since Tanna want to be a pacifist I guess it's time for the Scroll of Paralyze. Possible with the 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵 thing to guaranty results, if that's how it works.

Another option is to drink the Potion of Cure Light Wounds and trust our allies for another round.


I get that the way Evel’yee came to your side defensively was very reassuring and flattering, bud did you had to say it like that? Might as well commit: the plan to seduce Evel’yee is on. You have one hour to make her fall for you while doing other things. Good luck.

>>1091769
Look ou-
>>1091770
Shit!
Stay with us tanna, we'll figure out someth-
>>1091775
-ing.
Like this, yes.
Perfect.
Paralyse the sod with that scroll and we'll throw all our primordial oomph into it.
Healing potion after if you can, if not get mina to help keep you upright till you can.

Stay strong, stand firm.
Almost there.
Just hold it together a little longer.

Frikkin one shotted! Why didn't we pick fighter!

Vax is a terrible teacher. No one ever learns anything from death! Where did he get his teaching certification!

Primordial energy... not much choice now. We are going up against Roderick with nothing left. Scroll of Paralysis. You can do this, Tanna. It's the only way to keep him alive, your new "friend" is gonna be murderous after that. Best hope Mina can take care of your wounds; she's sure to recognize the cure potion if she finds it.

Paralysis 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵. This better not be permanent...

another vote for Paralysis 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵.

1/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:31 No. 1092679 ID: 5489a9
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>Since Tanna want to be a pacifist I guess it's time for the Scroll of Paralyze. Possible with the 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵 thing to guaranty results, if that's how it works.
>Paralyse the sod with that scroll and we'll throw all our primordial oomph into it.
>Paralysis 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵. This better not be permanent…
>another vote for Paralysis 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓭𝓲𝓪𝓵.

Tanna Sybilant’s Turn

I don’t… know what p-primordial is. B-but I can try… to paralyze Vax.

Swift Action

I need my harmonica… and the scroll. Agh… f-focus… I let go of my scimitar… it makes a noisy clattering sound as it hits the ground.

Standard Action

Shakily, I get the items out of my bag. Then, I put the harmonica to my lips and hold the scroll out… preparing to cast the spell.

“Here is another lesson!”

>VAX’S ATTACK OF OPPORTUNITY: 6(4[Strength] + 3[Roll] + 1[Combat Modifier] - 2[Drowsy]) > 7(5[Base] + 4[Dexterity] - 2[Pain]) = MISS

>Vax is a terrible teacher. No one ever learns anything from death! Where did he get his teaching certification!

Waah!! Shit!! I hate his lessons! His sword just narrowly misses my throat as I fall backwards! The blood seeping from the gash on my chest smears the floor… things are getting dark…

“Get away from her!”

“Tanna! Run! We’ll cover you!”

V-vax raises his sword again, but Evel’yee and Mina prevent him from advancing… k-keeping him from killing me as I get back up.

This is my chance… I put the harmonica to my lips, and start to play.

2/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:31 No. 1092680 ID: 5489a9
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W-what’s going on…?
Been waiting to do this!

3/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:32 No. 1092681 ID: 5489a9
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This… isn’t the Weave. No, this is something raw… a force millenniums old and devastatingly powerful. Some sort of rhythm bouncing within that’s been carried across an unfathomable distance… ceaselessly deafening and impossibly quiet at the same time.

4/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:32 No. 1092682 ID: 5489a9
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As I play my song, the once confident Vax can only stare in awe. The power being exuded pushes my allies back, Evel’yee is forced against the door of the torturer’s room and Mina hits the wall to my left with a heavy thump. Vax holds his shield up as he braces himself against this unstoppable force, but he misunderstands. I don’t want him going anywhere. In fact, I don’t want him to ever be able to move again…

>This better not be permanent...

…unless I say so. Ending the song, I issue my command.

“𝓑𝓔 𝓢𝓣𝓘𝓛𝓛!!”
𝓑𝓔 𝓢𝓣𝓘𝓛𝓛!!

5/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:32 No. 1092684 ID: 5489a9
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>VAX’S WILL -S PRIMORDIAL PARALYSIS: 4(2[Vax’s M-ntality] + 10[Roll] - 3[Tanna’s Me-ta-i-y] - 5[Prim-rdial Em-ow--m-nt]) > 5[D-] = F--L-RE

EN- -- C-----

6/6 Tanna 2024/06/08(Sat)19:33 No. 1092685 ID: 854d40
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“------ T----! W-k- --!”

“W-at th- f-c- w-- -h-t M-na?!”

I’- be-ng jostl-d by Mina… -id… I bla-k out? Whe-e’s… “I-is Vax…?”

“Yes! Yes, he’s-”

“Whatever in the almighty hells you just did, he’s a statue now. Glad I chose you two.” As I look towards Evel’yee, I see what she means. Vax is still stuck in that pose, holding his shield up against… whatever I just did.

As I’m lying on the ground, I realize that the cut Vax gave me is no longer bleeding. It still hurts really badly, but as I start to push myself up, Mina offers me a green bottle of healing goodness and a helping hand.

>Healing potion after if you can, if not get mina to help keep you upright till you can.
>It's the only way to keep him alive, your new "friend" is gonna be murderous after that.

I take the drink that Mina’s offering me and down it. There’s still a dull ache in my chest, but it doesn’t feel like I’m dying anymore, which is leagues better than before. Taking her hand, she helps me back onto my feet.

Evel’yee seems more focused on me rather than Vax, though who knows what she’s going to want to do to him soon. He’s definitely still alive…

>I get that the way Evel’yee came to your side defensively was very reassuring and flattering, bud did you had to say it like that? Might as well commit: the plan to seduce Evel’yee is on. You have one hour to make her fall for you while doing other things. Good luck.

I didn’t know what to say! You just told me to do it, so I did my best! As for seducing Evel’yee? Er… I don’t know how. The charm still has plenty of time left, is seducing her really how I deal with this little firecracker? I can try giving it a shot I guess.

Once I’m upright, the dreaded question gets asked. “S-sooo… what was that Tanna? What did you just do? And to Vax? I took a look already… he doesn’t seem to have any spell effects on him.” Despite trying to sound casual about it, her voice is laden with trepidation.

What did I just do, Winds? Whatever you all gave me, it let me conjure… something that felt incredibly old. An ancient, powerful force, unbidden to the Weave. I’m certain I’ve cursed Vax… I think I made it so he’s permanently paralyzed, unless I choose to release him.

Hoo boy. That was Eldritch of some sort or other. We, uh, helped. We could describe what we perceived (we perceived a TON of stuff during all of that), but most of the particulars are the sort of thing that is a 'write it down and puzzle through it when there is time' sort of thing. Don't worry, we'll remember. Now, you have to use your own real skills to make Evel’yee not actually care that you used mind affecting magic on her, when she comes out of it and realizes what you did in an hour.

You know there are people that willingly prefer to be under such Charm and similar 'hostile' mind affecting effects for long periods of time? It's totally a thing. There are some weird lifestyles out there!

Oh hey, your eyes are no longer yellow from our perspective. I think I get it now. You are able to use whatever that power was once per day, and I think the yellow you had in your eyes lets us know when your charged up and ready to use that power... that is, if we really want to use that again? seems dubious.

((dear god Vax rolled so many 10s))

>>1092685
We don't see the yellow in your eyes anymore... I don't think we'll be able to do that again for a while, something tells me the yellow was an indicator of our power. Good thing we found out what the side effects are in a situation where you wouldn't die from passing out for a bit!

That was "primordial" magic, by the way. Hmm. Tell them you used a very powerful curse, but one you can end whenever you like, so no need to worry.

>seduce Evel’yee?
Uhm, that seems like kindof an awful thing to do while she's under your influence. I know the charm is a weak influence but still.
Once everyone's ready to go, we need to come up with a plan of taking out the final target(s), nonlethally. Look through Vax's stuff to see if he's got anything that will help. If Evel'yee wants some revenge tell her she can strip him down and put him in an embarrassing pose, but otherwise you want him alive and intact. Say you might need a sacrifice or something for whatever's in the box.
Is the scroll of paralyze expended?

Divine favor. You only get that once a day, so don't depend on it.

>>1092685

OK so... you're out of spells, you're at death's door, whatever power was vested in us is gone, one of your two allies is going to kill you once the charm wears off, and Roderick has the box.

Your eyes are... very pretty!

Keep the explanation vague. You still don't know the details, speculations could include incorrect assumptions and it may not be desirable for one of your two allies to understand your limitations. Tell her that it's still a form of magic, even if it's not in the same category, and it's durable but not permanent.

Now that you are less colorful and we got a moment of respire let's assess the situation. Inspect yourself, your allies and the prisoners with the magical detection specifically so we can look for anything that you can't see yourself. We shall compare observations.
Once that's done we can consider testing Mina's Protection from Evil. There are a few considerations to be discussed, so don't do it before talking with your allies. One of those considerations is the best candidate: there are pros and cons for each.

While I recommend not letting them know any of yours specific weakness, sharing your emotional vulnerability could help making them less worried about you being dangerous to them. You were scared, with good reason since you almost died, and you should let them know that the experience shook you and that you are grateful for their help.
Emphasis on their appreciation, that's important for moral. Explain how you thought you were alone is happy to have the support of others.

Next is Evel’yee. We need to know what we are dealing with and maybe work on some kind of emotional connection that isn't a temporary compulsion. What we want to understand is her motivations and the way she deal with problems. Those questions should be presented sparsely in the middle of a pleasant conversation, not an interview.
Wanting to know her better should be a sufficient explanation for the the conversation. You know how to butter someone up, don't you? Pay attention to what she say, show interest in the things she seem to enjoy and make follow up questions to keep her talking. If those attitudes don't come genuinely to you or you don't care pretend you do.
Also given sparsely in the middle of the conversation should be the compliments: tell her she is pretty, that her eyes are beautiful and her fur color is cute.

Combining the second and fourth topics:
You will need to explain to Evel’yee your theory about everyone here (with the possible exception of Mina), including yourself, being under the influence of a mental compulsion magic with a similar nature to what you did to Vax. Mina's spell should be harmless even if it doesn't work, so maybe the idea of being the test subject will be acceptable to Evel’yee.
Don't mention it have something to do with the box. If she realize I suspect she will be less cooperative.

Hopefully Mina will tolerate your weirdness with Evel’yee. You will only be able to explain your rational to her if you are absolutely certain Evel’yee can't hear.

>>1092685
...
Thank goodness your ok.
Had me worried for a moment there slinky.

Theyre right uou know.
Your eyes are grey to us now.

Hmm.
A quick question.
Help with something ive been pondering...
Do you still feel the need to retrive yhe box as strongly as before?
Think on it a moment as you recover.

As to their question of what you did.
I presume the scroll is consumed?
If so thats good cover.
Pass off blame.
Say there was something weird about it but you didnt have a choice seeing as youre so low on resources.
May have interacted with your own magics.

Im not sure you could seduce anyone in a way thatd take in the time you have left on the charm.
Nothing against your wiles tanna, but even under charm she strikes me as the sort to prioritise goals over love.

>>1092697
Hm.
Yes.
Take stock of yourself and your resources while you revover.

Building an emotional bond of a non romantic sort is a good idea.
Explaining and using the protection too...
But im not sure itd be a good idea to mention a strange influence when weve just displayed one infront of her.
May raise her suspicions.

Perhaps using the example of what happened with your magic and alluding to the very clear strangeness of this place you could be vague about potential magical threats.
Then argue that as casters you and mina are trained to offer some resistance so youd like mina to use a protective spell on your best armed group member to for safety.

Im hoping it works, but still thinking on contingencies if it doesnt.

1/4 Tanna 2024/06/20(Thu)16:32 No. 1093194 ID: 2727e8
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>OK so... you're out of spells, you're at death's door, whatever power was vested in us is gone, one of your two allies is going to kill you once the charm wears off, and Roderick has the box.

Yeaaaahhh, woooooo!!! I’d say this is the worst day of my life, but I can’t even be sure about that. At this moment though, everything does suck!

>Oh hey, your eyes are no longer yellow from our perspective.
>We don't see the yellow in your eyes anymore...
>Your eyes are grey to us now.
>Your eyes are... very pretty!

Th-thanks… but why do you all see my eyes as gray now?

>I think I get it now. You are able to use whatever that power was once per day, and I think the yellow you had in your eyes lets us know when your charged up and ready to use that power... that is, if we really want to use that again? seems dubious.
>I don't think we'll be able to do that again for a while, something tells me the yellow was an indicator of our power.
>That was Eldritch of some sort or other.
>That was "primordial" magic, by the way.
>Divine favor. You only get that once a day, so don't depend on it.

So… the color you all saw in my eyes, that was the primordial thingy? And since they’re gray now… that makes sense.

Wait… t-that wasn’t a once in a lifetime deal? You all really think I’ll be able to do it again tomorrow? That’s terrifying. I felt like I could’ve so much more with that power… thoughts were racing through my head when I was deciding Vax’s fate. I know I could’ve entombed him in the earth, or broken all the bones in his body. The original spell was more like a loose guideline at that point. Depending on something that powerful seems dangerous.

Judging by Mina and Evel’yee’s reactions to it, they seem to agree. I wonder what I looked like to them, I couldn’t really see anything past all the colors.

>Inspect yourself
>Take stock of yourself and your resources while you revover.
>Is the scroll of paralyze expended?

Yeah… I need to gather myself. Okay. Starting off… I did use the scroll during that exchange. The magic within was expended and the paper destroyed. After waking up and drinking that potion, I’m feeling alright, if a little dull.

The cut along my chest had been knitted over when I woke up, so Mina must have expended a spell on healing me while I was unconscious. Assuming I’ve kept track of things properly, she should be able to cast three more spells. As for my own reservoir, I’m feeling very drained. I think I’ve got one good incantation left.

2/4 Tanna 2024/06/20(Thu)16:32 No. 1093195 ID: 2727e8
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>You know there are people that willingly prefer to be under such Charm and similar 'hostile' mind affecting effects for long periods of time? It's totally a thing. There are some weird lifestyles out there!

Huh… y’know, as someone who has something affecting their mind, I don’t think that’s my jam. I guess I could see that sort of side to things depending... just letting go and letting it happen. But that ain’t for me!

>A quick question. Help with something ive been pondering… Do you still feel the need to retrive yhe box as strongly as before?

Yeah, I still do. Whatever happened doesn’t seem tied to that compulsion, that damn box is still an awful itch that needs to be scratched. At least there’s only one person left that’s in my way, and I have two potential friends. I just need to… assuage whatever doubts they have.

>As to their question of what you did. I presume the scroll is consumed? If so thats good cover. Pass off blame. Say there was something weird about it but you didnt have a choice seeing as youre so low on resources. May have interacted with your own magics.

“You okay, Tanna?” Ah. I might’ve spent a little too long conversing with you all in my head. Mina and Evel’yee are giving me odd looks.

“S-sorry, I’m a bit dazed, was just trying to understand what happened. I think the scroll had a Paralysis spell on it, but it must’ve been supercharged or something. I have no idea otherwise…” Other than that it was something “primordial”.

>LYING CHECK AGAINST MINA: 9(3[Mentality] + 6[Roll] + 2[Effective] + 1[Argument] - 3[Magical Knowledge]) > 9[DC] = FAILURE
>LYING CHECK AGAINST EVEL’YEE: 14(3[Mentality] + 6[Roll] + 2[Effective] + 2[Charmed] + 1[Argument] + 2[Magical Knowledge]) > 9[DC] = SUCCESS

Mina seems confused as she says, “That’s… the Weave shouldn’t work that way… is there anything you might be forge-”

Seemingly unconvinced, my mind races for an explanation before Evel’yee raises her voice. “For fucks…” She seems to catch herself before shouting though, and taking a breath, more calmly says, “Mina, we’ll worry about it later, she just got gutted and was scared. There’s been some weird shit in this place, wouldn’t be surprised if that scroll was just another bit of it.”

I feel kinda bad for ganging up on her like this, but I really don’t want to discuss the details. I look at her apologetically and say nothing more.

With that, she seems to relent with a sigh. Looking back at Evel’yee and then to me though, there’s a look in her eyes that says this isn’t over.

Breaking the silence, “Well, what’re we doing about this backstabbing scaley piece of shit? My votes to kill him before he breaks out,” Evel’yee says with a bit too much enthusiasm.

>Tell them you used a very powerful curse, but one you can end whenever you like, so no need to worry.

A fearful look crosses Mina’s face as she suddenly stiffens. Gods, this mouse is giving me whiplash. With a calm but firm tone, I say, “No, we’re not killing him Evel’yee. Whatever freak magic happened a moment ago gave me the feeling that I laid a curse on Vax. I’m confident he won’t be able to break free… unless I release him.”

“What… like forever? You got him just like that?” Huh. Yeah, I guess I do. At least, it felt that way when I cast the ‘spell’. I give her a nod.

“Well knock on wood.” the Weski says. Spinning her dagger and sheathing it she continues, “Still think we oughta do something to the bastard.”

>Look through Vax's stuff to see if he's got anything that will help. If Evel'yee wants some revenge tell her she can strip him down and put him in an embarrassing pose, but otherwise you want him alive and intact.

Hah, I like that idea, Winds. Honestly, I want some revenge too. “Well… we could put him in a humiliating pose with Jacob. Strip him of any useful gear, so that if he does somehow break free, he doesn’t have anything on hand. He can still hear and see everything too, so hopefully that makes the revenge a little sweeter.”

Evel’yee gives off a devious little smile at that, and surprisingly, so does Mina. “Oh, is that so? Hehe… sorry Vax, but I quite like that idea myself. Would make up for the past few days. We’ll get Tanna to let you go when we’re far away.”

“A lotta people would consider this worse than dying. Sure, I’m down.”

With that, the three of us sidle up to Vax. A strange camaraderie is formed as Mina and I hook him under the shoulders while Evel’yee lifts his legs from behind. This is silly, but I feel a little lighter. It’s nice to do something other than fight and scheme.

3/4 Tanna 2024/06/20(Thu)16:32 No. 1093196 ID: 2727e8
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As we move Vax into the jail room and begin putting him in a… pose with Jacob, Evel’yee quietly says, “Hey Mina, sorry for being a thin furred little shit towards you as of late. I shoulda seen through their lies earlier, but something got into me.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it Eve. What do you mean about something getting into you?”

“Ah… you’ve been a friend, right? I don’t know why I forgot that, but I swear, whenever I was around Roderick and them, I couldn’t help but think bad of you. I… really shouldn’t have done the things I did, but I thought you were against us, we all did. Turns out you were always on my side.”

Mina sniffles and her voice cracks slightly as she says, “That’s… y-yes, I am on your side. I can’t tell you how much it means to hear you say that, these past few days I’ve felt so… alone.”

“I get what you mean. Thought the crew were friends, but shit’s been so chilly. Felt good to at least agree with them on something, but I shouldn’t have done that to you. I’m really fucking sorry about… everything.”

Shaking her head, Mina clenches her fists. “It’s… not ok. I’m sorry myself Eve, but I’m going to need some time. You said some awful stuff, and did some… even awfuler things. Even now, everything is still sort of broken.” Releasing some sort of darkness as she opens her hands again, she’ll take a deep breath and say. “But we’ll fix it, alright? With everyone. Don’t give up on our friends just yet.”

With a wide eyed expression, Evel’yee will bite her lip and look away after she’s unable to find her voice. She seems genuinely conflicted, some inner turmoil seemingly eating away at her, and once Mina resumes her work on Vax, she gives soft grunt before also doing so.

>You will need to explain to Evel’yee your theory about everyone here (with the possible exception of Mina), including yourself, being under the influence of a mental compulsion magic with a similar nature to what you did to Vax. Mina's spell should be harmless even if it doesn't work, so maybe the idea of being the test subject will be acceptable to Evel’yee. Don't mention it have something to do with the box. If she realize I suspect she will be less cooperative.
>Perhaps using the example of what happened with your magic and alluding to the very clear strangeness of this place you could be vague about potential magical threats. Then argue that as casters you and mina are trained to offer some resistance so youd like mina to use a protective spell on your best armed group member to for safety.

This seems like an alright moment to segue into that conversation. “So, there might actually be something to those dark thoughts of yours, Evel'yee. This place is messed up. I think there might be some weird effect that’s altering people’s perceptions of things.”

“Hmm, yeah? Different from the charm you put on me, right?”

I freeze in shock, and I can hear Mina gasp. As I turn towards Evel’yee expecting anger, I instead see a warm look and friendly smile still. She genuinely isn’t mad about this revelation. “How did you… are you not angry?”

“Ain’t my first rodeo, Tanna. I know fuck all about the Weave, but anyone could’ve told you cast a spell on me earlier. Combined with the weird questions I suddenly couldn’t answer, it’s not hard to figure it out. But it’s fine. You’re my friend, and I trust my friends. I’m sure you had a good reason.”

Hahaaaa… wow… enchantments sure are something. Works for now I suppose. “Well… yes. Far different from the charm I put on you. It might even have to do with my spike of power earlier, although far more subtle. We were wondering if Mina could try a protection spell on you.”

“Actually… do you mind if I have a private word with Tanna, Evel’yee?”

With a wave of her hand, Evel’yee says, “Go for it, I’ll gather his shit in the meantime. What do ya’ think Jacob, you gonna enjoy waking on Vax’s lap?”

I give a small laugh and nod towards Mina. I’ll be long gone when he does, but I wish I could see his face when he wakes up.

4/4 Tanna 2024/06/20(Thu)16:34 No. 1093198 ID: e436f0
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Motioning me to follow her, Mina takes me into the torturer’s room and closes the door. “Hey, so how confident are you that you’re not evil?”

What kind of question is that? “I feel like I’ve been going out of my way to not be an asshole, why? Do you think I seem evil?”

“No, you don’t. It’s just… not that simple. Good and evil is sort of an accumulated energy in the Weave. It’s something that can take an actual form, such as devils and angels, and can rarely become so dense within mortals that they register as such under specialized detection spells. When it gets that far along, it can take a very long time to overcome that accumulated energy in the cases where a person does seek redemption or descends into wickedness. Just because you seem well natured now doesn’t mean that whatever residual karma you may have had isn’t still there.”

Okay, but where is she going with this? “How is that determined exactly, what is good and evil? And why does this matter?”

“People don’t exactly know how or why it gets distributed, but it usually takes context and intent into account. Some actions are obviously evil, while others are obviously good, and that will gets generated into a type of energy that accumulates within a person’s soul. It’s actually fairly extraordinary for a standard mortal to register as “good” or “evil” though, most people go through life in-between these axi, and we’re not even getting into the whole “law” and “chaos” element of it either. As for why I’m bringing this up, I wanted to ask the question because you can’t really remember your past, which seems a little suspect, and you currently have a charm on Evel’yee. This protection spell could break that if… well if you’re ‘evil’.”

Oh… dang. That’s actually a very valid concern. “Huh… I gotta think about that for a second.”

What should I say to that, Winds? Given all the little clues about my past self… I’m actually not confident about whether I’m ‘evil’ or not in Mina’s context. There’s a chance her Protection from Evil spell could break Evel’yee free of my Charm Creature. There’s still so much to go over, such as potentially befriending Evel’yee, coming up with a plan, getting you all a look at them via Detect Magic, and looking through Vax’s gear. I plan on doing all that, but this is a bit of a critical juncture.

Let her know you have major concerns about your pre-amnesia self possibly being an evil cultist poisoner sort of person. There's evidence to that effect.

>>1093196
Oh interesting. The Charm seems to have overridden the cruelty aspect of the box compulsion. My guess is that it's a similar spell effect, but weaker. Or maybe the box itself exudes a sort of cruelty aura, separate from the compulsion? (like a shift in alignment...)

>>1093198
I think you're Neutral. Yes, your gear implies your occupation was dark, but your personality doesn't match. Also, remember your actions before the amnesia-- you were friendly, then stole the box and didn't try to fight or use your poisons. You certainly could have poisoned the party in secret if you had wanted to, that would have enabled you to steal the box without being followed. Yet you didn't, so the evil karma you got was limited.

I don't know about evil, but I bet you were dutiful. You stole the box under great risk for a reason. It's possible you were already under the influence of your mind compulsion, but since your command is slightly different from the others who touched the box it might precede contact with it.

A strong point against past you being evil is how you went out of your way to keep your enemies alive. You went armed with deadly poisons but only used non-lethal methods. That by itself strongly suggest you were not evil. You went prepared to kill them if necessary but apparently miscalculated that it wouldn't be, so you took extra risks (presumably for the sake of morality) that lead you to failure.

While you are alone with Mina explain that you don't want Evel'yee to know things she can use against you if she turns, so you would like Mina to forgive your vagueness and go with the flow. You will explain everything once you got the opportunity.
Also ask is she think it's weird that you are enjoying Evel'yee friendliness, even though she is charmed.

Well, you were under a magical compulsion to slit a guy's throat, and it would have been completely reasonable to kill and eat him, even if you weren't, then you just sorta decided not to, because you didn't wanna. You don't have a violent streak, remember? Good and evil can be measured by your propensity for performing acts that others consider good or evil. You made friends with a butterfly worshipper, and you really care about that friendship. Evil people don't do that. Your charm was cast to save Evel'yee, not to exploit her in any malicious way. You might be a follower of an evil god, or an evil organization, but there is no way in heck your weave is evil. You are terrible at being evil.

>>1093198
Dammit.
That is a valid concern.

Need to think a moment...

>>1093222

...or maybe not.
This wind is onto something.
All correct.

When stripped down to your core you were faced with a choice.
A person who tortured you, preparing to do worse was infront of you and impeding your escape.
They were without remorse.
Many voices spoke in favor of his death.
I was one of them.
You felt the urge to, but chose differently.
And you were right.

You offered mercy at personal risk over very justified and rational violence.
Whatever you were before, that is the nature of your heart.
So, whatever answers come regarding residual karmic energies, remember that.

As to the concern, if she cannot tell then its probably best to hold off on the protection for now.
You can explain to her that blank slate as you were you chose mercy, and you would expect that stripped to the core as you were if you were carrying an evil karmic load, youd have been nudged towards a darker act.

By the way, when i say stripped, i dont mean your brief stint as a nudist.
Its more metaphorical slinky.
I mean, you were starkers, but thats just a coincidence.

Guys, she's saying evilness is sticky. It doesn't go away immediately. There is a delay! If the previous self was really evil, for purposes of magical interactions, the current person may interact with the Weave as an evil person, REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY NOW THINK, FEEL OR ACT. For at least a little while as the reset eventually propagates! This is a dramatically relevant and appropriate concern!

>>1093227

Alright, so we know she was kind of bad at being evil before, (probably sent b/c she was disposable), but any connection to her evil cult might stick as a lingering evil according to the Weave. So it's safe to cast the protection spell, she just has to discard all cult paraphernalia, lethal toxins, robes, sacrificial dagger, etc.

>>1093227
So the karmic load is a stain that can progressively be cleaned rather than a weight that has momentum?
Yeah.
That makes sense.
Hell, it could be both.
Harder to turn away from and clense yourself if you do.

It seems the weave is a tricky thing to define precisely as metaphors are one of the only ways to convey it amongst practitioners, compounded by it seeming to be a realm of metaphor and sympathetic magics.

>she just has to discard all cult paraphernalia, lethal toxins, robes, sacrificial dagger, etc.

Dang, guess you gotta be a nudist again, Tanna.

>>1093234

Does it more readily stick to items, people, people's metaphysical parts, their brains, magical items, what? What's the decay rate, and what causes it to vary? We don't know if separating from creepy items would be helpful.

What? Karma doesn't stick to items, guys.

It's about her latent emotional attachment to them. You can never be too careful!

You all might want to stop perving so openly over sapient mustelid people? One can take pleasure in the smile and happiness of this individual who is a PERSON not an object to sexually objectify! And also not creepily try to get her to take her clothes off out of fear! Yes I *know* whatever half-existence some of us have kind of is REALLY FRUSTRATING on lots of levels, but this isn't the way! When things are safe, after we have lots of long conversations that aren't life and death like we promised to have, we can ASK her permission to live vicariously through her --and respect her stated wishes in response!-- like DECENT, MORAL VESTIGE WINDS THINGS!

Weve done the nudist thing anyway.
Very liberating but kinda chilly.

If this karmic toxic waste clings to tanna then we deal with it and adapt.
I know thats not who she is.
It may not be who she was either.
Participation certainly causes it, but even proximity to negatively karmic actions may have a corruptive property.

I still hew to the idea that what she was is significantly less important than what she now is, but magical stank of evil doesnt care about philosophy so...

Just cause were advising holding off on the protection spell now doesnt mean we think you're a bad person slinky, only you may have got a bit of karmic shmutz on you from forgotten events.

another thing to think about, what will Protection from Evil to to us winds? I think we're good winds, if a little weird, but I'm wondering if we came to Tanna through good, neutral, or evil means.

>>1093198
Well, there's this dumb theory floating around the multiverse called 'The Shwartz'. Some kind of cosmic energy entangling all things.
But really, I think Sif Lord Kree explained it best; social networking turned into a psychic monster-god.
You help others, they think good thoughts about you in turn. You hurt others, they start to hate your guts. Them having feelings - empathy, or hatred - for beings that could be miles, lightyears, or even entire alternate dimensions apart, builds up a psychic network of interests and fears that weaves into itself. Enough power, and it can rewrite reality.
In short, ya done made a lot of people hate you for some reason. But maybe they don't know the full story, or what drove you to perform such acts. Maybe you just need to build up a legacy of good with a foundation of 'misunderstood baddyness'.
The fact that you've been cosmically chosen despite your bad karma shows your story probably isn't cut-and-dry.

>>1093261
Honestly, ive been wondering for a while too.

One of the reasons I asked if the impulse to find the box had diminished after we tapped our reserves is for a time now ive been concerned we are a component of the compulsion or a contingency of it.

Im only mentioning it openly as by now shes probably trying to ignore us what with the other stuff happening, general mental noise from us winds and nudity discussions.

Suffice to say, even if we are, what counts for tanna counts for us.
Where we came from is less important than what we do now were here.
And we're here to get her to safety.

>whenever I was around Roderick and them, I couldn’t help but think bad of you.

That's very interesting. Presumable she is still under the same mental compulsion about the box Jacob is, meaning her altered behavior towards Mina was a different influence that was disturbed by her change of allegiance. This and the way he put them all in contact with the box intentionally seem to point toward Roderick being the source of the phenomenon.
A counterargument is the similarity between their aggression and the murderous impulse Tanna felt towards Jacob. This hypothesis fail to explain why Evel’yee feel less animosity. Either unrelated violence is a side effect of the simple mental order or Tanna's case was also a different influence.


>most people go through life in-between these axi

That kind of surprise me, I would expect most people to be on the good side. The demands for recognition must be hard on the good side or maybe the population of this world is a bit dysfunctional.


>What should I say to that, Winds?

All we know is that past you came prepared to kill all of them but chose not to.
It's still a risk to use the spell on Evel’yee. We have to consider if Jacob or Vax are better candidates.


>>1093243
A lot of assumptions there. Those arguments were mostly utilitarian. And don't give Tanna weird ideas about us.


>>1093261
That's a concerning thought. If we got an alignment we could potentially be silenced by the appropriate "protect from" spell.

Why yes, I concur that BWOOH BWOBWOOH BWO BWOBWOBWOOH
(trombone noises)

Might be best to hold off on casting protect from evil for now.

I guess she could just test it on the third guy.

1/7 Tanna 2024/07/13(Sat)10:09 No. 1094220 ID: c2b3ce
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>Alright, so we know she was kind of bad at being evil before, (probably sent b/c she was disposable), but any connection to her evil cult might stick as a lingering evil according to the Weave. So it's safe to cast the protection spell, she just has to discard all cult paraphernalia, lethal toxins, robes, sacrificial dagger, etc.
>Dang, guess you gotta be a nudist again, Tanna.

Disposable?! Come on! If I was part of an evil cult, I would not be disposable! You say some hurtful things sometimes, Winds! And I refuse to take off my clothes, I am not a nudist!

Bleh… you really think my paraphernalia might contribute to this karma? I wasn’t really getting that impression, but… “Can things change one’s ‘alignment’, Mina? My robes for instance. Let’s HYPOTHETICALLY say they were the regalia of an evil god.”

“In general, no. Any old set of clothes or robes aren’t going to make you any more evil than you might already be. That isn’t to say material items can’t be imbued with this karmic energy however. As an example, armor or weapons stained with the blood of countless innocents could become objects of great evil power. If any ol’ person were to pick an item like that up, that evil would malign onto them. I don’t think you have anything like that though, items like that are incredibly rare and tend to make their presence known.”

>Does it more readily stick to items, people, people's metaphysical parts, their brains, magical items, what?

“So items can retain this karma, but not nearly as well as people?”

“You got it, and that has to do with the soul that resides within creatures. Souls accept ‘good’ and ‘evil’ a lot more readily than physical Weave does. When an item becomes so seeped with good or evil that it would register under a detection spell, you can usually feel it. As for why items typically don’t exude this energy, objects don’t have intent. Therefore, to gain such energies, they need a person to wield them. Even then, when a person wielding an item commits evil or good, most of the energy goes to the person, and whatever residual that passes through the object doesn’t stick very well.”

>Karma doesn't stick to items, guys.
>What's the decay rate, and what causes it to vary? We don't know if separating from creepy items would be helpful.

Seems like it can, albeit rarely. I don’t think I have to worry about that aspect of the karmic system, but those are good questions. “So when a person does good or bad, is it permanent or does it decay? And can it vary?”

“We’re getting into more advanced topics that have to do with the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation, but good and evil tends to ‘decay’ within most souls,” Mina says with exaggerated quotation mark fingers. “Souls seem to prefer being clean. Given enough time, a soul will naturally push the karmic energy out, leading a person back to neutrality. That’s why most people go through their lives without hitting the high spectrums of good or evil.”

Taking a quick breath, Mina will continue. “However, karmic energy works similarly to how water attracts more water. A soul heavily stained with evil will find it incredibly hard to redeem themselves, and vice versa. Evil repels good, and attracts more evil, and every selfish little action becomes far more difficult to wipe away. And as for varying?”

Reaching for her amulet, Mina will say, “Some actions, such as worship, are considered far more good or evil than others. Practicing a good or evil Theotian’s ideologies in their name is a good way to fill your soul with certain energies quickly. I’ve only been practicing for a little over a year now, but I'd be surprised if I didn’t show up as good.”

>Let her know you have major concerns about your pre-amnesia self possibly being an evil cultist poisoner sort of person. There's evidence to that effect.

That last point has suddenly got me a bit more worried. “So… I was probably… a worshiper of some evil god.”

“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

“A worshiper of some evil god that made poisons that probably killed people!”

“Ah… well hey, it’s fine Tanna, people have their reasons. If it means anything, you seem like a good person to me. It’s just unfortunate that the circumstances make this matter, and some actions are disproportionately more ‘evil’ than others.” Mina says consolingly. “You helped me out of a dark place and seem to have a knack for making decisions, so I’ll go with whatever you choose. What do you think?”

2/7 Tanna 2024/07/13(Sat)10:09 No. 1094221 ID: 94cec2
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TW: Self-Loathing and Suicidal Thoughts

>I think you're Neutral. Yes, your gear implies your occupation was dark, but your personality doesn't match. Also, remember your actions before the amnesia-- you were friendly, then stole the box and didn't try to fight or use your poisons. You certainly could have poisoned the party in secret if you had wanted to, that would have enabled you to steal the box without being followed. Yet you didn't, so the evil karma you got was limited.
>A strong point against past you being evil is how you went out of your way to keep your enemies alive. You went armed with deadly poisons but only used non-lethal methods. That by itself strongly suggest you were not evil. You went prepared to kill them if necessary but apparently miscalculated that it wouldn't be, so you took extra risks (presumably for the sake of morality) that lead you to failure.

I think so too! Why wouldn’t I have just killed them and gotten the box that way. I must’ve had some moral objections because I’m not actually bad!

>Well, you were under a magical compulsion to slit a guy's throat, and it would have been completely reasonable to kill and eat him, even if you weren't, then you just sorta decided not to, because you didn't wanna. You don't have a violent streak, remember? Good and evil can be measured by your propensity for performing acts that others consider good or evil.

And killing Jacob would have been completely fair! He had hurt me and implied worse. Whatever influence the box had on me too was definitely egging me on, but I managed to stop myself with you all’s help.

>You made friends with a butterfly worshipper, and you really care about that friendship. Evil people don't do that. Your charm was cast to save Evel'yee, not to exploit her in any malicious way. You might be a follower of an evil god, or an evil organization, but there is no way in heck your weave is evil. You are terrible at being evil.
>When stripped down to your core you were faced with a choice. A person who tortured you, preparing to do worse was infront of you and impeding your escape.They were without remorse. Many voices spoke in favor of his death. I was one of them. You felt the urge to, but chose differently. And you were right.

I saved Mina too. I don’t think I did that for purely altruistic means, but I could’ve just let her die. And despite being a filthy Cassildanite, I’d rather she not get hurt. I dunno if I can say I didn’t cast the charm to not exploit Evel’yee, Mina and I are lying to her about are intentions for the box, but that’s as far I want to abuse this falsified trust she’s giving me.

>Guys, she's saying evilness is sticky. It doesn't go away immediately. There is a delay! If the previous self was really evil, for purposes of magical interactions, the current person may interact with the Weave as an evil person, REGARDLESS OF HOW THEY NOW THINK, FEEL OR ACT. For at least a little while as the reset eventually propagates! This is a dramatically relevant and appropriate concern!

Ah… ugh, that’s still true. I wish I could remember… I even admitted to myself earlier that I was probably a bad person, and that I wasn’t going to care anymore. But I can’t do that, not when it matters like this. Even if I’m being good now, whatever evils I may have committed don’t just disappear, at least in the way Mina’s explaining it.

>Well, there's this dumb theory floating around the multiverse called 'The Shwartz'. Some kind of cosmic energy entangling all things. But really, I think Sif Lord Kree explained it best; social networking turned into a psychic monster-god.
I hate it when my Shwartz gets twisted with other magic systems.
I don’t… who the heck is Sif Lord Kree. What?

>You help others, they think good thoughts about you in turn. You hurt others, they start to hate your guts. Them having feelings - empathy, or hatred - for beings that could be miles, lightyears, or even entire alternate dimensions apart, builds up a psychic network of interests and fears that weaves into itself. Enough power, and it can rewrite reality.
Depends on the world really. It seems like the owner’s made it very personal here.
I… uh… hmm. There’s something about all that… it feels familiar.

>In short, ya done made a lot of people hate you for some reason. But maybe they don't know the full story, or what drove you to perform such acts. Maybe you just need to build up a legacy of good with a foundation of 'misunderstood baddyness'.
She really has. Few know the whole story, least of all the actors. I was even made not to know everything. But I do know that no amount of goodwill will clear her soul.
And that too… I… I remember that. I did make a lot of people hate me… Those of the Eye. They did… something to me. Something terrible, I don’t really remember what exactly… but it made me hate them back. Why? What did I do to earn their hate?

>The fact that you've been cosmically chosen despite your bad karma shows your story probably isn't cut-and-dry.
She’ll likely never be forgiven. It’s very petty.
It feels more like cosmically marked… something I’ll never escape from. It hurts… to even think about.

>If this karmic toxic waste clings to tanna then we deal with it and adapt. I know thats not who she is. It may not be who she was either. Participation certainly causes it, but even proximity to negatively karmic actions may have a corruptive property. I still hew to the idea that what she was is significantly less important than what she now is, but magical stank of evil doesnt care about philosophy so…
>Might be best to hold off on casting protect from evil for now.

...

>Just cause were advising holding off on the protection spell now doesnt mean we think you're a bad person slinky, only you may have got a bit of karmic shmutz on you from forgotten events.

“Tanna? Hello?”

...

3/7 Tanna 2024/07/13(Sat)10:09 No. 1094222 ID: c40947
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>Why yes, I concur that BWOOH BWOBWOOH BWO BWOBWOBWOOH (trombone noises)

AHH!!! HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?!

“Tanna?!” Mina exclaims, surprised by my sudden reaction.

“...What’s going on?! Why do you keep doing… what… are you crying?” Mina says. She isn’t wrong, the fur around my eyes is dampened.

“Y-yeah… I mean no. Sorry.” I stammer out unconvincingly. Wiping my eyes and shaking my head I say, “W-what’s your recommendation?”

I already know the answer, why am I even bothering. “Er, well… if you think you were worshiping an evil deity, then I’d really recommend not. Things are precarious right now, and… I really don’t want to risk breaking the charm on Evel’yee. Not yet. Gosh… I don’t know how we’re going to deal with her.”

>It's still a risk to use the spell on Evel’yee.

Whatever. Shove the feelings down, breath, eye contact, keep calm, and deal with it later. “Makes sense then. We should save your spells, it isn’t worth the risk to use them on her right now.”

>seduce Evel’yee? Uhm, that seems like kindof an awful thing to do while she's under your influence. I know the charm is a weak influence but still.
>We need to know what we are dealing with and maybe work on some kind of emotional connection that isn't a temporary compulsion
>Building an emotional bond of a non romantic sort is a good idea.
>Also ask is she think it's weird that you are enjoying Evel'yee friendliness, even though she is charmed.

“Speaking of dealing with Evel’yee, what’s her deal? Even though she knows she’s charmed, she isn’t really questioning our ‘friendship’. And beyond even that, she seems… abnormally nice? Like throwing herself in harm’s way nice. I want to try and build a rapport with her so when the spell ends she doesn’t get as mad. Is that weird?”

“It’s not weird to want to make friends, though maybe trying to do so while she’s like this is… morally questionable. Given the circumstances though… ah, I’m about to share something that I don’t have the right to, so please please please don’t abuse this.” Mina says with trepidation. Looking a bit guilty, she continues, “Evel’yee has really bad trust issues. Even before coming here, she was a very difficult person to anyone she didn’t consider a friend. Rude, cold, distant.”

Mina lets that hang before moving forward. “We picked her up from some… unfortunate circumstance, and for the few months she’s been with us, we’ve tried our best to make her feel welcome. It took a long time, but she eventually opened up to Roderick and I. Once you get to know her, she really is a sweet and beautiful person that values her friendships like treasure. Perhaps even recklessly so.”

“So basically, my charm’s temporarily skipped those months of effort, huh.”

Mina puffs out her cheeks and nods before letting the air out. “She’s gone through some terrible stuff… everything that’s happened here is just another bullet on that list. I was thinking we could knock her out and cause her as little pain as possible, but we got her to turn on Vax. If we leave her here with them, they won’t take too kindly to that.”

Ugh, I don’t regret saving Mina or charming Evel’yee, but I wish it didn’t come with all this annoying baggage. “Alright. She cares about the box, so as long as we keep up the façade that we want to open it, hopefully she’ll continue to play along even after the charm ends. For now, I’m going to genuinely try to be her friend. It helps that she considers you her friend without the charm, and she seemed genuinely sad about how she treated you. We can make this work.”

Mina lips will form a soft smile as she says, “Thanks Tanna, I appreciate everything you’re doing.”

>While you are alone with Mina explain that you don't want Evel'yee to know things she can use against you if she turns, so you would like Mina to forgive your vagueness and go with the flow. You will explain everything once you got the opportunity.

You’re right, Winds. I’ve probably done some odd things from her perspective. “No problem. Hey, really quickly? I know I’ve had some strange moments, but I’ve got to ask for your trust. It’s partly because of the amnesia messing with me, but there’s also been some other things that I’ve kept hidden because I don’t want Evel’yee to use them on us, just in case she turns. I promise to explain once we get a good opportunity to do so.”

“I guess that’s fair. But did you really not know anything about what happened back there with Vax? I felt like I would’ve sensed something that powerful on you earlier.”

She’s making it pretty obvious she’s testing me here. “It… wasn’t the scroll, alright? But a proper explanation would take way too long. For now, can you just drop it?”

“Okay, fine, fine.” After an awkward pause, she’ll clap her hands together and say, “Well, I guess we should head back and see what horrors Evel’yee’s inflicted on Vax and Jacob?”

Hah, I snicker a bit and nod. The two of us begin to head back into the jail room to do just that.

4/7 Tanna 2024/07/13(Sat)10:10 No. 1094223 ID: 12779a
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However, as we enter the hallway, something happens that makes me pause. That weird smell from earlier… >>1086617 “Wait.”

Mina stops in her place, suddenly alert. She doesn’t say anything.

>SNEAKING CHECK AGAINST TANNA: 14(6[Roll] + 4[Dexterity] + 2[Size] + 2[Effective]) > 14(10[Roll] + 3[Mentality] + 1[Scent]) = FAILURE
>SNEAKING CHECK AGAINST MINA: 14(6[Roll] + 4[Dexterity] + 2[Size] + 2[Effective]) > 9(6[Roll] + 3[Mentality]) = SUCCESS

Following the smell, I barely spot a strangely patterned rat scurrying away into the cave-in besides the torturer’s room door. I let out of a sigh of relief. “Just a rat. Sorry for the scare.”

“Oh, you saw it? That creepy thing’s been skulking around here for a while now. Knowing there was a spider the whole time, I’m surprised it never got eaten.”

It’s been here for a while? “Are you sure it isn’t some weird magic rat or monster? It had a really strange coat.”

Mina gives a shrug. “It could be… but even if it was, it hasn’t done anything besides run away whenever we see it. I’d love to check, but the dang thing’s so sneaky. It’s definitely given me a few scares.”

Weird. Why is this place so weird? I hate it here.

5/7 Tanna 2024/07/13(Sat)10:10 No. 1094224 ID: 2926d6
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Ah well, not much to be done about the strange rat. Opening the door to the jail room I see an organized placement of gear on the floor, and a dressed down Vax with Jacob sitting on his lap. Both of them are in their skivvies and provocatively posed in a moment of passion with each other.

Mina doubles over, tears in her eyes from laughing. “Goodness, ahaha! I have to say Vax, you look good! You’ll have to share Jacob though!”

Going completely unsaid, I can feel intense embarrassment and anger radiating from Vax. We’re definitely poking a bear. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Mina begins to cast a spell, I think it’s Prestidigitation?

Giving Vax a few thumps on the back, Evel’yee says, “Doesn’t he? Who knew this dumbass could feel such passion. Maybe we should wake Jacob up, see what he thinks.”

“As much fun as that sounds, it’s probably best for him to stay asleep for now.” Evel’yee pouts at me, but I’m still wondering… “Say, Mina, why’d you cast Prestidigitate just now?”

“Oh, it’s just a small magic trick. I’m copying the Weave arrangement. If we stop by a town, I might be able to find someone to transcribe it onto some parchment. I’d like to have something physical to remember this by.” Oh wow, you can do that? I’m going to have to remember that for myself.

As Evel’yee smooshes their faces together, I realize that I’m going to have to be the voice of responsibility. “Alright alright, that’s enough teasing. There’s a few things we need to do. Did Vax have anything useful, Evel’yee?”

“Ain’t sure… but probably! Have a look!”Evel’yee says as she begins to list out his gear.

Longsword - A well made sharp piece of steel attached to a hit, it’s a deadly weapon that can be held with two-hands to increase deadliness.
Coin Pouch - Formerly Vax’s money, but seeing how he is, he won’t be needing them anymore. In total there’s 9 gold and 12 silver pieces. Easy split. (Taking 3 gold and 4 silver.)
Flame Resin - A sticky resin that ignites extremely easily and burns for some time. Some have taken to slathering it upon their blades, and it’s actually quite effective. (Taking)
Vax’s Diary - I get that he’s a backstabber and he tried to kill us, but there are boundaries. (Taking)
Breastplate - A set of metal armor that is both protective and somewhat agile. It’s fairly heavy though, and takes some training to use properly.
Spiked Steel Shield - A circular steel shield that takes training to use properly. Has a spike in the center you can ram people with.
Potion of CLW - You know em’, you love em’. (Taking)
Pouch of Chalk - If we’re having trouble climbing the ropes out of here or you need to create an eye irritant.
Chakram x2 - Sharp circular disks that you can throw to inflict some serious damage. (Taking)
Rope, 50ft. - A long and pretty heavy coil of rope. (Taking)
Backpack - Where Vax kept all of his stuff. It can hold a lot. (Taking)

There is some neat stuff in here. The backpack will help with carrying some of it. I’m definitely taking those chakrams, and the rope could prove useful too. I also take his diary under the judging gaze of Mina and Evel’yee. It goes unsaid, it isn’t exactly a great thing to do, but they won’t stop me.

Well, with all of that out of the way, I look towards my new ally. “Good stuff, thanks for doing that Evel’yee. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a conversation with you.”

“I’ll move Vax into a better position and refresh his bandages in the meantime, shouldn’t leave him like this. You can get hurt if you stay in an uncomfortable position for too long!”

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Letting her know that’s good with some head movement, I pull Evel’yee into the hallway. “So, what’s up? What happened to Mina casting a spell on me?”

>What we want to understand is her motivations and the way she deal with problems. Those questions should be presented sparsely in the middle of a pleasant conversation, not an interview. Wanting to know her better should be a sufficient explanation for the the conversation. You know how to butter someone up, don't you? Pay attention to what she say, show interest in the things she seem to enjoy and make follow up questions to keep her talking. If those attitudes don't come genuinely to you or you don't care pretend you do. Also given sparsely in the middle of the conversation should be the compliments

Time for my second post-amnesiac conversation with another person. I’ll do my best, Winds! “Ah, figured it wasn’t necessary. We might need her spells. As for why I brought you to the side, just want to talk. Get to know you a little better.”

Leaning against the wall, she’ll say, “Well, okay. Guess I should introduce myself, name’s Evel’yee.”

“Tanna, nice to formally know your name. How do you feel about… being charmed?”

“Eh! I thought about it a bit, but it doesn’t mean much. Might even prefer it? Past few days have sucked, and this is the first time I’ve felt happy in a while.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard things weren’t great from Mina. Y’know, my short time here has been pretty awful too, but I’m glad to have met you two.”

“Likewise, glad to meet you too! You helped me realize how stupid I was being. If I had known Mina was looking to open the box too… I’ve been such a piece of shit. I don’t know what I was thinking…”

“What were you thinking?”

She hugs herself and looks towards the floor as she says, “A lotta bad things. Dumb shit like, ‘she’s just pretending to care’, ‘I’m going to get betrayed again’, and ‘every mistake she made was on purpose’. Stupid blinding thoughts that were hiding everyone else's knives on my neck.”

“Hey, we’ll get the box and get out of here, alright?” Evel’yee nods without looking towards me. Why is she so down? Well, this worked before so… I’ll try again? Moving up to her, I start to lean down to hug her and… she suddenly jerks away defensively!

“H-hey, back off! The fuck are you doing?!”

“Oh sorry! I thought that… well, it just seemed like you were feeling down.”

There’s a wild look in her eye and her fur bristles. I start to worry that I might have broken the charm, but she must’ve realized my intentions as she starts to calm down. As if she’s shaking something bad off, she apologetically says, “Agh… it’s no problem. Shouldn’t have gotten so aggressive. All the same, I’d rather not.”

“Of course, I made a mistake. Won’t happen again.” What did I do wrong there Winds? Attempting to move past that, I say, “So Evel’yee, when the charm ends, what are you going to think?”

“I dunno Tanna? Am I going to think something different?”

I don’t think trying to keep a lie up like this is going to work out in the long run, so I’m going to try a different angle. “It’s possible. I want you to know beforehand that I want to get the box from Roderick and escape this place, but also that I truly and genuinely want to be your friend. Can you please remember that when the charm does end?”

A flash of suspicion dances across her eyes as she looks at me for what feels like for way too long, but it breaks away as she gives me a smile and nods. “I can do that. I promise that if my perception does change, I’ll hear you out. Thanks for being honest with me.”

Can only hope she follows through on that promise. “So, getting the box. Anything you know that might help us do that? Got a plan or preference on how?”

Putting a hand on her chin, she says, “Well… he’s been pretty shifty lately, probably because he was planning on cutting Mina and I out. He’s convinced there’s something in that gods damned ritual room, even though we’ve combed the place thoroughly. Personally, I don’t think anything’s in there, and that he’s biding his time for something.”

“As for a plan? I’d prefer to just stroll up and beat his shit in, though we’d have to be careful about how we did it. If you thought Vax’s little slice from before hurt, Roderick’s will destroy you.”

“He wields a big ol’ sword and has some armor on, right? Nothing else special?”

“He’s experienced and knows how to use that sword of his, don’t underestimate him. But yes, besides that, he plays it pretty straight. He’s no caster like you or Mina. Speaking of spells, what are you capable of casting?”

“Charm Creature, Invisibility, Silent Image, and Grease.”

“Oh you can grease things? Roderick’s good, but he’s old. His reflexes aren’t that good, so that’d probably be pretty effective against him. Might even be able to cast it on his sword? Hell, if you really wanted to, could grease the floor under him, and I could light it with one of my arrows. I also got the Eclipse poison you brought.”

“Mina doesn’t want to kill him, so we’re not going to light him on fire or poison him, but using Grease on his sword is a good idea! Also, about those poisons… can I have them back?”

“Only if you tell me where you got em!”

“Haha! I can’t! Because I don’t know!”

Giving me a skeptical look, Evel’yee asks, “How do you not know?”

“This is going to sound stupid, but please believe me, it’s the truth. I don’t remember where I got them.”

“You weren’t kidding, that does sound pretty stupid. Damn. I was hoping to get a supply of this sick ass death poison. This sort of shit goes for premiums on some markets. Ah well,” She says with a shrug. Tossing the poisons my way, I stuff them into my bag. “You’ll tell me if you do remember, right?”

Absolutely not. “Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks for the talk Evel’yee. Let’s meet back up with Mina and figure out what we’re going to do.”

Vial of Wevekil - A Weavetoxin that is very crippling. While a dose this size isn’t lethal, it can make a person very nauseous. Its main use is crippling spellcasters, making it extremely difficult to cast spells for a time. Can be introduced via ingestion or injury.

Vial of Eclipse - A very lethal magical poison that visualizes a person’s most primal fear and attempts to kill them of fright. The target either survives the scare or dies immediately. Must be introduced via injury.

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>Inspect yourself, your allies and the prisoners with the magical detection specifically so we can look for anything that you can't see yourself. We shall compare observations.

Right, before I forget. “You all mind if I take a sweep with Detect Magic?

“Go for it!”

I go through and get a good look at everyone, making sure to look behind them as well. I’ll organize a list for you all based on what I see.

Me: Gray eyes, nothing behind me, completely normal looking.
Mina: Light Blue eyes, nothing behind her, completely normal looking.
Evel’yee: Dark Green eyes, nothing behind her, has a charm on her (from me).
Vax: Green eyes, nothing behind him, completely normal looking.
Jacob: Dark Blue eyes, nothing behind him, completely normal looking.

>Im only mentioning it openly as by now shes probably trying to ignore us what with the other stuff happening, general mental noise from us winds and nudity discussions.

It’s actually really hard for me to ignore stuff. I can kind of ‘hear’ everything you all say. As I’m doing things, sometimes certain messages get louder. Those trombones really surprised me earlier, I didn’t know you could actually make sounds like that. Scared the shit out of me, but I was having some thoughts that were making me feel terrible, so thanks for breaking me out of that.

As an example of something quiet though, I do hear the discussion about things that might potentially silence the Winds. It sort of felt as though it was a conversation amongst you all, so I didn’t really respond. Sorry if I don’t get to everything.

>>1093243

O-oh. I didn’t… do some of you think of me like that? I really thought the arguments were utilitarian as one of you said, but if not and you’re actually lusting over me, why? Not trying to be mean or dismissive or anything like that, but aren’t you all humans? I appreciate you all finding me attractive, but I personally don’t find humans so, and I think most beastfolk would think similarly. I had figured the feeling would be mutual for you all as well.

Ah! And also, yes, once things are safe, I really am looking forward to those long conversations!

>Where we came from is less important than what we do now were here. And we're here to get her to safety.

And I want you to know that I will never stop saying thank you for this. If I might impose once more… what do you think about everything, Winds? Should I read Vax’s diary and tarnish my soul forever? And what about my current plan to deal with Roderick? The idea is to go in there and beat him up with Mina and Evel’yee after greasing his sword. It’s dumb, but we can probably get away with brute forcing it. Got any other ideas?

Regarding humans finding you attractive... Yes. Unambiguously, so. Human instincts are to, by default, appreciate 'mildly exotic healthy adult humans of the appropriate gender', but that instinct is suuuuper easy to enhance to places that -- well, let's just say that humans are randy, and have a LOT of variety in how, when, where, and why they get titillated. Is it any wonder we find you attractive, when you share the *exact same body language* as humans? Also as Winds some of us may not have had much interaction with anyone at all, depending on our circumstances.

AND outside of the sex stuff, your personality is very attractive as well, your demeanor is very kind, and your story of choosing to be a good person from a probably evil start is very compelling as well, and I personally felt really bad when we made you cry!

Also, I'm sure others will describe some of the magic compulsion stuff, but as many of you all have huuuge compulsions to open the box, you should maybe generally broach the subject of how to safely open the box with appropriate precautions? And what those precautions might look like? You know, do some divinations, different sorts of careful inspections, opening it from a distance with some sort of apparatus, not open it in a place of power of something horrible, have some magical fields set up to contain whatever bad things might be in there, do it at a place where you can react appropriately to whatever might happen, etc. etc. etc.

First of, the detection:
Your command seem to be the same as before and Mina doesn't have any command. Evel’yee, Jacob and Vax have the same command we saw on Jacob earlier. Evel’yee also have a small white command that I presume it's the same you mentioned: "trust" and "friend". Vax have an enormous white command: "BE STILL".
The eyes seem to be like you described except when distorted by the application of the multicolored effect of detection. Your eyes are still not yellow.
The rat (not Evel’yee) had red eyes. If you can, try detection on it sometime.

Since our influence is white it's safe to say the yellow command on you is not our fault.

>she eventually opened up to Roderick and I.
But not Vax or Jacob...

>what horrors Evel’yee’s inflicted on Vax and Jacob
That's way beyond what I was expecting...

>You’ll have to share Jacob though!
What does she mean? Is Mina in a relationship with Jacob? Is she implying an open relation?

Personally I prefer a Longsword, but if you feel more comfortable with the Scimitar it makes no difference.
I'm surprise the shield need training. Sure you would be better if you knew the proper way to use it, but it seem to me it should still be very effective if you just hold it between you and the danger.

We should take a quick look at the diary, specially the latest entries. Vax had a better relation with Roderick than Evel’yee recently so he may know more about the current plan than her.
Maybe offer the girls if they want to read with you, but since they are his friend it could be a potentially awkward experience. Better to read alone, but if you feel too guilty read next to Vax explaining your rational to show some amount of respect.

I would prefer to use grease on the floor than the sword. Roderick may have a backup weapon or be a dangerous puncher, but falling will waste his time regardless. The only problem will be for you, the current melee combatant of the trio.

>Got any other ideas?
Not much... our options are very limited.
The most effective way would be a charm spell, but the relation with Mina and Evel’yee make this more complicated to pull off if successful. You would need to go alone and later bring the two, even so some persuasion would be necessary.
We could prepare a trap in a corridor using the grease in a corridor and waiting as bait. This could be safer with a sanctuary spell.
Ask Mina and Evel’yee what they have to disable him. Even if we can face him in combat we better have something beside hoping he doesn't die if we beat him unconscious. From what I've seen so far the best option seem to be hideous laughter or cause fear followed immediately with a coordinated binding using the rope.

>I can kind of ‘hear’ everything you all say.
No you can't. We talk to each other much more than what you hear.

>I do hear the discussion about things that might potentially silence the Winds. It sort of felt as though it was a conversation amongst you all, so I didn’t really respond
Please share your opinion on the topic. Would you like to get rid of us?

>I am not a nudist!
Yes you are, and so is Evel’yee. You are the pantless duo.

>aren’t you all humans?
Don't make such assumption.
Why would you presume we can speak for each other in the first place?

>I think most beastfolk would think similarly.
I have my doubts about that claim.

>I appreciate you all finding me attractive
Not that I want to diminish your ego, pretty girl, but you are assuming too much with the word "all". You don't know if everyone agree with Spirit Candy.

>I really am looking forward to those long conversations!
Sure, we can have our weird disembodied date. We can talk a lot more about biology trivia, since it seem to be a common interest. I hope yours isn't limited to spiders.

>>1094232
Worth noting: the white command that says "trust" and "friend" on Evel’yee is pretty blurry, maybe vanishing. I think the charm is wearing off soonish. Worrysome cause she still has the command open the box on her.

Also, the three that has the command "Open the Box" is written multiple times on them, like a lot. The command placed on you only says "GET THE BOX" not multiple times, but they are pretty big letters. (Not as big as the BE STILL command that we placed on Vax.) All of them, including the command on you all have the same symbol you saw. The BE STILL command has a different symbol and is white and gray instead of yellow like the others

and yeah, that rat had red eyes. Though I do know that some rats naturally have red eyes. Still, with all this eldritch stuff going on, it's best to be better safe than sorry

That gives me a thought, if BE STILL and the friend command was able to override those box commands, what if we can find a way to charm yourself so that those commands don't force you to open the box if it comes to it?

But yeah, whatever is compelling you to get the box is confirmed evil. Mina might be the best bet to get rid of the box so you don't get compelled to open it, unless the box influences her if she touches it. Though her friends didn't seem to want her to touch it for some reason, so she's probably our best bet.

>>1094225
Daww.
She IS cute.

Though, maybe has personal space issues given how she reacted to that attempted hugging.
Stick to encouraging friendliness in smile and thumbs up form for now.
She seems like a good friend to have-
>>1094224
Uh. Well. Dont get drunk with her unless you want to wake up with lewd shapes shaved into your fur.
But she seems fun.

>>1094226
Hm.
The compulsin on you shares a shape with that on the others who are box foxused, but its subdued in your case.
Less omnipresent.
Im still thinking whatever hit you with amnesia blunted the effect of the compulsion on you.
Theres less for the compulsion to latch on to, perhaps.
Bah, im getting lost in the theory again.
.
Normally I wouldnt say read a journal, but this time...
Read it surrepticiously from the most recent entry backwards.
You arent fishing for saucy gossip or embarrassing revelations.
Youre looking for any clues regarding events prior to their arrival here. See if theres any mention of someone like your good self in there. Also see if he wrote down anything after the compulsion hit. I doubt it but, worth checking.
Make it clear to the others if they notice you reading, its to see if theres anything you can use againt the last.

As to him,
Greasy sword or floor beneath his feet. Hes a veteran and a wiley sounding one by evelees words.

>>1094221
>They did… something to me
I can see more words behind you, there is a sort of curse on you. Something that's making you feel like nothing you do matters and you are doomed to die. Maybe an implied time loop? Maybe it's forced you to experience all timelines or something like that... oh. That sounds awful. Put into a false time loop where your Fate is also cursed into irrelevance, so you can't use knowledge gained between loops to make an impact on events? That's like getting trapped in Limbo. Well, it seems like Whisper decided you've suffered enough. We're an outside influence which means we have our own Fate, which means WE are relevant and are dragging you along with us because we share the same body.
Hmm, some of these words relate to the box. "Box is the answer"? "Box will kill him"? Could just be lingering compulsions, but I wonder if some of these words relate to your memories of earlier lives. Is "him" referring to Roderick?

>>1094223
A strange rat? That's probably someone's Familiar, or maybe even someone who's polymorphed. We could try to set a trap for it, I guess, but I think in either case they'd be too smart to fall for it.

>>1094225
>What did I do wrong there Winds?
She looked like she was feeling down because she was thinking about her trauma. Approaching someone in that state without warning is a bad idea. Next time, ask. Though, there might not be a next time, unless we have to loop.

>>1094226
Everyone has their own sexual tastes, and in humans those tastes can include nonhuman races-- even nonhumanoid ones.

>>1094226
Its a good thing you dont respond to everything.
The amount we talk you spend you whole life tuned out, blank eyed and drooling while trying to keep up.

Our numbers and diversity of thought is our strength.
Many minds coming up with a variety of solutions.
Many eyes watching your back.
...
..
Admittedly, some are staring at your arse, but i assure you slinky, even the horny ones are helping.

Oh, and yeah if you can grease Roderick's sword then... wait, shouldn't he have a backup weapon? Greasing the floor is a more standard technique and would be much better if he's got a dagger or something.

>>1094222

Sorry, I was going to go on a lengthy diatribe, but I inadvertently started channeling the power of Peanuts.

>>1094226

Great... so there's a second kind of magic only we can see. Be sure to let us know any time you're detecting magic. Interestingly, the geas on you to get the box is the same as the geas on the other two, except for them it's to open the box. So whatever you're feeling about the box, that's kind of how they feel right now. You should tell Mina that, so she knows it really is some sort of hidden spell, not anything she did to make her friends hate her.

I really hope your geas doesn't require you to touch the box. You might have been set up, so that once you get the box, the second geas will hit you and you'll have to open it. More likely you're protected, so that... whoever sent you could get you to fetch the box without opening it. But try to be safe and wrap it in cloth, or something, instead of touching it.

Oh I'm so sorry for calling you disposable. I meant that I feared the ones who sent you thought you were disposable, not that you actualy were.

> what about my current plan to deal with Roderick?

If you grease his sword, be sure to grease the hilt. If you grease the blade, he'll just set it on fire and now you're fighting Roderick with a flaming sword.

don't metaphorically grease his sword that is literal not a metaphor

> Should I read Vax’s diary

The more dignity you give Vax, the better. He's having a hard enough time, though thankfully his geas was uh... replaced, so he's not itching to open the box anymore. Leave his diary alone.

> if not and you’re actually lusting over me, why?

I'm surprised you didn't know, it's like the main characteristic of human beings. We'll get horny at anything! Creatures like us are basically constantly in estrus. In life, I was a bit past my prime though, and even humans aren't as lustful beyond the age that they have children, so my motivation wasn't lust per se.

I just think you're a beautiful creature, and it's a shame you have to cover yourself with a robe. I hope you can feel better about it, because in my opinion, the more you can show off that gorgeous fur, the better. I bet the hobs were head over heels for you before the whole amnesia thing. By all means wear clothing to protect yourself and look your best, but I'll tell you right now that you'll never have a bigger smile on your face, when you know people who love your whole body, and don't make you hide it away.

>>1094221
Ugh, there's a higher spirit debasing themselves by bullying your subconscious. HEY ASSHOLE, CUT IT OUT! She's got enough on her plate!

>>1094223
That's totally a magical spy, catch it!

>>1094226
We have an unhealthy obsession with disproportionately large sexual organs, but you don't have those.
But maybe it's your disproportionately large anime-style eyes. Those two traits are usually linked together for artistic purposes, you see.
So at the end of the day, you have one major magical compulsion, to obtain the box, but none of it involves opening the box. Meanwhile, everyone else is obsessed with opening the box by magnitudes more, but there is no compulsion to actually get the box.
Hm. I think there's a solution here. Can you create a long-term mental curse that deludes the target into believing they are holding the box? That way, their compulsion will make them open the box, but it won't push them to look for anything else, like the actual box.

>>1094255

Oh, by the way, 'anime-style' is an art style, one of may, that has overly large eyes on the face, useful for showing expressions on certain styles of rapidly drawn visual art. Now, since it is probably highly unlikely that your eyes are any shape OTHER than spheres that actually fit in your skull AND which also leave room for your brain and nasal cavity and such, I figure this is merely one of the many ways our perception of you and those around you is distorted; not to be *wrong* but rather to emphasize certain realities to our perception.

Though you probably DO have eyes that we would perceive as adorable regardless; undistorted non-sapient mustelids do, after all. And I would contradict the previous Wind; while it is true that art that is distorted in one way is often distorted in others, one does not imply or cause the other! Art is made for a specific context and a specific audience, and those factors matter MUCH more than a bit of correlation to one style or another.

My guess? The entity that brought us here wanted us to be able to read emotions on faces that might look a bit odd to some of us, like those of us NOT familiar with all of your all's species.

>>1094257
I don't think the art style of the artist is plot relevant to the quest. Her eyes aren't that much larger than a feral ferret's anyway.

>>1094281

Well it was mentioned so I responded. It could be a thing that exists in setting, or it could be a thing that doesn't. Who can say? The author is free to ignore both if it doesn't make sense or fit their worldbuilding, as always!