>>261805
[EVENT TRIGGER]

>>261762
[14]
>>261768
[7]
>>261770
[21]
>>261776
[17]
>>261780
[29]
>[14+7+21+17+29=88]

>>261760
[rolled 20, 71, 62, 88, 22]
>[Sum of five poster rolls meets one highest encounter roll, is less than one third of collective value of encounter rolls]
>OHBOYHEREWEGO.jpg

There is a sound. I know this objectively, from the vibrations racking my form, from Keddic and Bang both reacting so sharply, Dulu and Figment the only ones to stay unresponsive. It is a weight on the air, something so pervasive I could make no effort at triangulating its source... but I know where it came from. Broggamek, that massive dragon so many miles overhead, still watching us from the cold beyond the planet's surface.

"How persistent is Broggamek?"

BASED ON WHAT WAS WITNESSED OF SPACE PIRACY, BROGGAMEK'S CHARACTER IS COMPLETELY IMPLACABLE AND UNABLE TO BE DETERRED FROM GOALS. THIS IS ALL BASED ON HIS TENDENCIES AT HORDING ITEMS IMBUED WITH BELIEF, IT IS UNKNOWN HOW WELL IT TRANSLATES TO LIVING BEINGS.

I am about to speak again as the cry passes-when I hear the answer. From hundreds, thousands of throats, I hear the keening roars of obedient followers, hungry voices taking flight. In five seconds, the air fills with dragons as they pour from their every perch, nook and cranny, all taking to the sky-

All focusing on Nidhogg. Keddic, now down to only his own blood and that on the Blood Toga, looks conflicted about how he could help, while Bang, his scarf only partway recharged, seems more reserved than he normally does when faced with an impending fight. Dulu, still not cool enough to safely seat on Nidhogg, shifts again, body becoming swoops and curves, arms flying to strum strings, barrages of arrows flying from his arbalest-themed body. Nidhogg looks to me, as Bang and Keddic, both cursing their own current state, likewise turn my way. Keddic and Bang at best will be of nominal help... by my own and Dulu's hands alone, we are to be saved? ...What of Figment?

"I don't suppose you feel like interfering?"

THE STORY YOU PLAN TO CHANGE IS A GRAND ONE. IF THE CHARACTER MORDRE CANNOT NAVIGATE THIS, HOW COULD CENTRAL CHARACTER LUBU'S TALE BE ALTERED?

...So, on my own, then.

Well, I have that soul mass prepared, 412 of my stored souls, as much as it took to match my own form. I try to feed more lives into the mass, but it seems to threaten rupture. ...Now I consider just how complex what I make shall be, even as I speak, twisting words in the hope of finding a way to live openly.

"...I have something I can try, A function of this Soul Grave to tap...."

>>261768
>>261769
>>261771
>>261783
>>261821
>>261842
[-412 SOULS-----TOTAL SOULS REMAINING:-----14,543]
[-3 PRISTINE SOULS-----TOTAL PRISTINE SOULS REMAINING:-----02]
[-15 DEEP SPAWN CORES-----TOTAL UNSPENT DEEP SPAWN CORES:-----20]

I come to a grim determination: Of my thirty five remaining Deep Spawn cores, a full fifteen will go towards building my soul. I hope the collection of Deep Spawn souls will grant me the depth of power it seems I must have to operate on a global scale. With them, I send a trio of Pristine Souls, keeping them at bay for a moment as the fifteen Deep Spawn cores meet the four hundred and twelve souls. I feel the Deep Spawn eggs eroding the few glimmers of identity left to the souls around them-even as their own Names are being stripped away in their contest. It takes Keddic calling to me to make me pay attention to the outside world again, and not just carefully monitoring the slow wiping of any quirks from the building Soul Mass. ...It is at this point I note my body is LEAKING magic, Bang is staring at me with an unreadable look, and Keddic looks concerned. I note the air about me is crackling and warping even as the scion of the Harksburton house speaks.
>"...Are you alright?"

"...I can keep going. No escape vector, Not enough munitions- I need a magical solution, And I'm... almost...."

The air hums and sings, a dull throb rocking wildly out from my body, a hollow parody of my own artificial heartbeat as the Soul Mass loses its last semblances of identity, and the Pristine Souls I held at bay are let loose as the encircling net of thousands of ravenous dragons continues to close, the frontrunners already whipping back their necks as they ready for acidic discharge. Light goes wild around me, paths of blazing light and murky shadow rippling and writhing as if tangible about me, just as Dulu puts a bolt through the eye of his fifth Dragon so far. I feel those three working in concert, binding together the disparate elements, fusing soul to soul, weaving it all together, until where once there was nothing but a writhing mass of turbulence, there is but one massive, the would-be lives of the Deep Spawn not so much ended as homogenized, a quiet soul-to-be, not a whit of life experience or character imprinted on it, ripe for the taking. I feel the richness of power, the full scope of Mortal Magic open to this, as well as Deep Spawn workings.... I say my next bit before I take the plunge.

"...Nearly....THERE!-"

I dive into the mass waiting all around me, extending my will, my ownership, my essence into its open embrace.

The sky shakes, wild winds race and whip about without warning as my whole body vibrates so harshly it acts like a massive tuning fork. I feel power fantastic flow into my grasp in a manner far more intimate than any power of my Soul Grave has yet felt. I see the reaction to this not just in my allies, but in the narrowing eyes of approaching dragons.

>>261850
>>261857
>>261867
[LYRICAL TRIPLE BONUS: KNOWLEDGE]
In my rush of new sensation, feeling a soul of my own, even as the ripples of warping reality begin to fade with my working complete, I gain an innate sense of just what I can do.

>-Mordre can learn any magic that a mortal could learn in equivalent circumstances.
>-This does not mean Mordre's soul innately knows all the magics it casts through the Soul Grave, even though they are still fully usable. It just has the means to tap them freely.
>-Mordre can learn any and all Deep Spawn magic, including Administrator magic.
>-Mordre's soul is currently of a well-established Hero level, benefiting from having Deep Spawn regeneration inbuilt. This passes on in some form to anything Mordre possesses (Currently can only be Soul Grave).
>-Mordre can directly dominate and command the souls of the dead so long as they are not Hero level or above, or otherwise warded from influence. This allows normal souls to be used as fuel for basic Soul Magic.

My gaze sweeps out in one fell rotation- Three thousand, two hundred seventy eight dragons. At least I see none of the Elder dragon class amongst them-does Broggamek not command the Elder dragons? This thought seems too large in my mind as I reach into my soul furnace, and hardly knowing what I do cast what I grasped out, hurling it away like a metaphysical spear.

The Soulfire about my floating skull flares to white, suffusing so heavily with Chaos I scoff at myself for ever thinking its default form chaotic, as a rain of souls rocket forth in every direction.

[-3,278 SOULS-----TOTAL SOULS REMAINING:-----11,265]

The air roiling in their passing, my blazing stars, each as hot as an Inferno Golem, scream across the gap in an instant. Where they touch dragon flesh, those wild, white flames spread in seconds, burning everything to ash. I sense nothing, no Blood Iron, no carbon, nothing of value descending in those clouds of ash, the dragons wholly consumed in a handful of seconds. For a brief moment we are within a blazing sun as our would be attackers burn and scream. As the last of them falls, nothing is said for a moment. I dare not even move, until-

"...Uh, Mordre? Dude? ...What did you just do?"

This is it. This is where I make or break my attempt to finally find a way to live openly without being defamed for being Anathema. These are to be the witnesses to my 'accident'....






What should I say or do?
>[Please give me actual dialogue, leaving it up to me will not guarantee success.]
Should this be navigated safely, what should I do?

Have the Soul Grave fall to the ground, emit some random magical pulses and sounds for about twenty seconds.

“Uuuugh… I think… Keddic, Bang, I can hear…. Dear god I think im blinded, and all that magic felt like…”

Begin standing up as saying this, fall down again, more pulses for about five seconds.

“My body felt like it was going to tear apart…. My eyes were already bad, but dear god all that light burned. I promised not to try such a spell again, but I guess… wait… why…. Why can I feel my legs?!? OhDEEP!, BANG! KEDDIC! DULU! I thought I heard, I think I can see…. Are you all really there? Your so… clear. My body though… It feels insanely heavy. And my legs, I haven’t… its impossib… let me just find the alpha control…”

Jerk the body to the right, grasping with the sable hand at the air.

“What the, that’s not…. ILLIA! ILLIA! I need help!?! Illia…. My bed!? Why can’t I feel the bed… where, where is my home? Why do I only.. so much ash…. A dream? Is this…. Figment? Are you doing something to my mind?…. Bang, Keddic? A dream… now?.. why.. why, I need to save them!”

Soul Grave flails a bit and crawls forward. Do not allow interruption from others for this monologue.

“Did… did we all die? OH Bang, Keddic, Dulu! Are you to be my specters, my punishment for forbidden lores of magic!?! Did I truly die before I could save you all! Forgive me my friends, forgive me! I tried everything I could I swear! I was willing to risk it all to save you… I didn’t want to fail anyone again! I didn’t! I DIDN’T! forgive me…. No… no… forgive me….”

(let them a chance to respond, assuming attempt to state they are not dead)

“not dead? But… how can I feel my legs? How does it feel so cold… so dark? And yet it burns… its… indescribable. I haven’t had my legs in years… that’s part of why I developed this golem system, I guess you never knew. But where… where am I now? How do I see… no, please, hold a moment, I guess if I can feel legs again, let me stand.”

Attempt to stand up clumsily, nearly fall a few times, but succeed, look forward the whole time.

“Im… impossible…. How…. There were soul and world mechanics… but this should…. Across the ley? But no… my friends? Is this… is this an old man in front of you? Is this a bodied…. No… no… I can’t feel it, I can’t feel the wind. I can’t feel anything but the burning and the cold and odd silence…. Is it…. Dulu, is this how every moment feels for you? Am… am I? oh please tell an old man some truth! Let a truth seeker in his folly know! Am I? am I really… here?”

Allow time for them to respond, move sable and fist slightly, flex leg parts, spin revolve and move in surprise, then gasp in surprise.

“I… really am… is this how it… it is every day for you Dulu? How… strange. I don’t know if I can ever apologize enough for… putting you through the same…. I suppose what comes around… “

A feeble sounding, hollow, laugh

“never to taste again…. Every moment like in that teahouse? Every… what is it like Dulu? What is it? What… oh gods, what have I done? What have I? is this punishment? Is this a reward? ANSWER ME! Lenryt!” IS THIS HOW YOU DAMN ME AFTER REFUSING THE COIL! IS THIS WHY YOU SENT ME!~”

Silence for a bit

“Forgive me…. I think… I think I need a moment.”

>>261898
Story as follows:

We attempted a risky gambit, to supercharge and expell some of the Soul Graves fuel and soulfire in a forced burst. We, however, did not consider the ramifications of PURGING souls from the Golem...while maintaining the sort of quasi-Possession we use to in conjunction with more conventional methods to fine tune reaction and control of the golem.

End result - that forced purge caught up the possession and tried to purge it as well. However, since it was 'tethered' to Mordre at manor, it ended up pulling some of Mage Mordre's soul through the connection as well.

Now a portion of Mordre's potent soul (unknown how much, this just happened, very traumatizing, trying to get our bearings and all that) seems to be locked into the golem, and we can't feel our mortal body anymore.

Communications seem to be up...but Illia's going to need to be manning the Sending unit to fully communicate, so they'll be limited while they take care of his Comatose body.

We can cite Heol as a similar corollary.

Will post some dialogue to go with this shortly.

>>261913
Excellent, I like the sound of that.

Bonus is, it leaves us options: Perhaps there's a bleed effect, pulling more of "Mage Mordre's" soul into the golem, or vice versa, and he's going to make a recovery!

how about this?

we tried to take direct control useing the tiny bit of soul magic we learnt when it was still legal. we attempted this to increase the power of our enhancements to the soul grave. It was intenended to be a last resort but we only finnished working out how to take control of the Golem and things seem to have gone a good deal further than we had intended.

ALTERNATIVE COVERUP (Preferable, in my opinion):

Same idea as before regarding what we tried, only instead of Mage Mordre being pulled through the golem, instead the DEEPSPAWN CORES THAT WE SUDDENLY LOST were, instead, and they are now forming an ethereal mass within the golem that our good Mage Mordre finds MOST CURIOUS, INDEED. Will require further studying on Mordre's part, but he has a number of suspicions as to what effects could be taking place, and is eager to test these budding theories.

Professor Mordre, away.

LIken it to

This calls for presentation, not explanation.

Stare at your hand as though seeing it for the first time.
Cuss quietly.

"I knew there would be side effects, but this..."
Move your fingers. Hang your head.
"Illia.. I suppose I won't be needing that tea after all..."
Sulk for a while. Let that statement percolate for a bit. Ignore questions, just stare at your hand. Your friends have been filling in blanks about you for a while now, they can do it a bit more.

Perk your head up, heave your shoulders as though you were giving a resigned sigh but had no lungs.
"I am a soul grave then. Fully and completely. Better than the alternative I suppose... Um... you fellows can still hear me, right? I haven't kerfluffed my ENTIRE spell matrix, have I?"

*inevitable questions do deserve SOME explanation, so here we go*

"The soul-based abilities of this golem have always been a bit of a mystery to me. Because of the ban on research materials, I have had to feel my way through them myself. So I have to say, I am not completely sure what happened myself. But I can make some good guesses. As you have probably surmised, I have been... erm... possessing... this golem rather directly for some time. I am afraid it is rather technical, and... No, if I am being honest, I never fully understood it myself. I have only theories which have been close enough to work with, and flashes of inspiration. Deep..."

In a singsong melancholy voice: "And now I have tried something probably ill considered in a moment of desperation, and though it seems to have worked, as a result my soul is housed in this shell. I only hope I understand the shell enough to ensure it does not consume me. I suppose we shall find out."

Once again, as with all my fabrications, zero lies.

Speak as if speaking to yourself

Stay silent for a few seconds
"...I've done it, I've really done it now. Bound myself to this stupid golem.
Dammit, Leia is gonna have a fit when she finds my body, I'm gonna have to break all those wards and run the connection backwards so I can talk to her.
Blast it all.
This certainly puts a stopper in my plans for the long range control system, blasted thing took too many resources anyway, still need to figure out a way to make that smaller.
That damn cat is gonna wreck the lab while I'm gone.
Well I suppose that I can't die anymore, and I can finally walk again, though I don't have my 'tea drinking hand' anymore, not that it matters as I can no longer drink.
And I just got that package of Jasmine Dragon Lilly too dammit all.
How am I going to explain this to Rob, he's gonna be miffed *chuckle* he might want to do it too actually, the crazy bastard.
Well at least I managed to remain in control, would have been most unfortunate if I just ended up as fuel, good show old man, good show.
Bah, but now I have to manage all this non stop.
Hmm, gonna have to get back to the castle and install the new upgrades.
Wait what was the path again?
Blast it all, I'll just re-fabricate them.
Hey, I might just get to attend my own burial, HAH."

^all done in one long flowing speech reminiscent of Arkus', though lacking the breathless part since you do not breathe.

Whilst speaking, you rotate your head, look at your hands, all that jazz, 'get a feel for your new body'.

Then you notice remember the others.

Well at least we get the chance to live in freedom now, sort of, we still have the MoS to deal with.

We better become LEGENDARY soul mages before he shows up again.

Suggestion 2010/12/04(Sat)23:28 No. 261922 ID: 445c48
File 129153408622.png - (72.76KB , 700x700 , Scarf.png )

Have a really shitty picture of Bang's scarf, in that it only has a sort of reddish color and a lucha mask, none of the faces or yetihide because holy dicks that would be a pain to draw.

Anyways, for the story: Fuck possession, double fuck getting trapped. Too restrictive. To easy to poke holes into. Our cover's got to be Rock Solid. We'd have to be very careful about our behavior, especially during fights, if we use the "Stuck" story. Would someone who has been, up until recently, an old research mage in a tower be so ruthless, so killy in combat, for one?

Instead, the story is as follows: Seeing that you were totally boned, you decided to activate a function, some button, some ability that you didn't know what the fuck it did. Almost completely redacted in most of the scraps of what manuals you could find while salvaging the golem, the only details being that it would Get Shit Done with whatever you have. Press the button, and BOOM. Explosions at the tower, the machinery, the equipment is damaged from the feedback, crystals shattered or whatever. Connection to the Golem is severed, and it remains on auto-pilot. Your large staff gets to action fixing it, putting out fires, tossing in spare parts, redrawing magic bits, whathave you.


Anyways, you should say, with a mechanical timbre in your voice, "Response: Protocol 412 has been engaged. Status Check: Auto-Pilot: Engaged; Combat Routines - Suspended: No hostiles in sight; Awaiting external connection."

Hopefully you've got some time after this. Be still for a bit, unless a threat pops into view, in which case shoot it, and return to a more passive state.

In a couple minutes, chime in as Mage Mordre. Have static throughout your speech, with the sound of fires, panicking animals, breaking glass, machines clunking or being fixed going on the the background, something suitably chaotic. Say something along the lines of "Hello? Hello? Is this thing on? Can anyone hear me? [Make a noise like you're thumping some equipment, glass shatters] Damnit! Guys? What the hell happened on that end? I really wasn't sure what that would do, but what little documentation I had said it was 'dead killy'. Nothing mentioned the massive feedback we got back on this end, though! I've only got audio here, it might be a little bit until I've got everything up and running again, bear with me."

In ten or so minutes, regain full "control".


Also, get Burduko to you. A good a time as any to get Mordreport to not take thirty seconds.

>>261912
Agree with the sentiment, just seems a bit melodramatic

>>261917
Hmm, you do bring up a point, an explanation for the deep spawn cores might be in order, I'm not sure. The others have even less clue about how they work than we do.

>>261919
There is much here which could be combined with what I said. Including some stuff I meant to say but left out.

In other news, time for a new thread yet?

>>261922
>>261917
Actually, I'm all for a merger between these two ideas, for three reasons:

1. Covers most bases.
2. Going the Soul Trapped in Soul Grave route ruins alot of the rep we've made up as being a wise old mage, and provides a brand new pile of questions we'd need to answer.
3. It uses the term "Dead Killy" in total seriousness. I laughed.

>>261922
No
Horrible idea
Horrible horrible idea that is eaiser to poke holes in than us getting trapped

>Would someone who has been, up until recently, an old research mage in a tower be so ruthless, so killy in combat, for one?

Man has slain thousands, golem or not. Also, I think that 'yourger mordre' would have to have been a golem controller to even have the basic knowledge to get the golem running properly when he found it. That being said, he would have been present on several occasions when his previous golem had to kill a man, and by his orders, so yea, I don't think he's queasy.


>some button, some ability that you didn't know what the fuck it did. Almost completely redacted in most of the scraps of what manuals you could find

No, we made our own system, it would be absurd to think we did not understand what the 'button' did and even so, that the button could work with our system.


In any case, our behavior would not change except acting out of sorts for a bit (few days, maybe a week) and acting scared in fight for a while (maybe the first two).
More like wary that scared, since I think having the attacks coming directly at 'us' would be more threatening than coming at a golem controlled from miles away, even if it was a significant investment.

Reason why it would be a brief lapse is because I don't think 'Mordre' got his golem by sitting down and being a lilly-livered, spineless coward.
Also we alluded to the fact that when we were 'younger' we traveled.

Also, we can't return to our old life without some SERIOUS findangling. If nothing else, Bang could see the change with his own eyes and though he may be confused, he might be able to figure out what went on (even if not in it's entirety).

It can be done, but not with a half assed excuse like that.

>>261917
This can work because it alludes to us trying something never mapped before, simply hacking something together on the fly, and getting a completely unexpected by-product.

Though this could work with some dressing (needs the dressing because Bang saw the whole process, even if he didn't understand all of it, and might be able to see if there is anything inherently wrong with our statement, especially with Wifey's help), but it strips us of this opportunity to 'exist' as non-anathema.

We must decide which is more important.
And quickly.

Fuck Yeah "Man Trapped In the Armor" story! Let the SOAP rain from the Heavens!

>Man has slain thousands, golem or not. Also, I think that 'yourger mordre' would have to have been a golem controller to even have the basic knowledge to get the golem running properly when he found it. That being said, he would have been present on several occasions when his previous golem had to kill a man, and by his orders, so yea, I don't think he's queasy.

I think the idea he was trying to espouse is that there is a disconnect between doing something through a medium and doing something as though you're actually there.

Also, I think we has a story written up a while back for our background, didn't we? Seemed pretty solid.

>>261939

Bangs vision allows him to see soulglow, but not interpret it, and even if it could, all it could possibly tell him is that the Deep Spawn cores merged with something within the Soul Grave...which is exactly what the cover story states. Suspicion would only serve to reinforce our story.

>>261931

>Man ... queasy.

Difference between going "Go kill that guy" and seeing it done, or stabbing a man with a sword, and whipping your crazy bladed ribbon tentacle arm about and slicing a man open, and then eating their soul, and the souls of the wounded near them.

And, depending how one envisions our "Remote Control Golem" setup, a difference between actually being in the fight and using the machine. My image of it seems to be a bit different than most, but that doesn't really matter!

>No ... system

Giving an order with the right pass-phrase could be the activation method for this ability. Easily done with whatever setup one cares to envision.


But yeah Emba's Hybrid cover is best. +1 to Emba's story.

My vote is for Emba's first story, with something about the deep spawn cores added in.

The biggest reason I see for going Emba#1/me/falcon scenario is that this is our best and likely only chance to put an end to the far away mage tower story with our closest friends without pissing them off. People have seen minor holes in it, but mostly dismissed them. It's only a matter of time before someone really decides to get suspicious. This option also gives us more long term freedom in what we can do without breaking character. We can still do the remote control mage story with the general public if we want for now. I think that would be dandy, and should be discussed with the others after we have had some time to let things soak in.

>>261922
I also agree with falcon on why this is a horrible idea. I am slightly concerned that he and I are in such close agreement today.

-------
And while we are thinking about it, lets talk about what the control scheme was like, alright? We never had to make a decision on that tidbit. I was envisioning a hybrid system where the golem's physical actions were controlled via a complicated mechanical contraption, levers and buttons of brass re-arranging runes tied to each limb and weapon system, as well as communications, while delicate and dynamic magical control was handled through an inadequately tested partial-possession system as Eisenhardt(I think?)
proposed. The physical control devices had been developed and tested for a long time, and were finely crafted in their current form. The possession controls on the other hand, were cobbled together in a bit of a hurry after receiving the soul grave and figuring out what we had to work with. I was considering making a picture, but it never seemed like the right moment to bring up the matter. >_<

>>261953
Hopefully we never have to say a word about the remote control stuff, and even then we should strive to be as vague as possible. Concision is the enemy here.

Anyways, I saw it as a sort of magitech VR thing for walkan around, and a mic for issuing the verbal commands that comprise the bulk of combat. Shouting "Kill that guy!" or "Touch him, invert, and crush him" and letting the golem go through the motions itself.

>HORDING ITEMS IMBUED WITH BELIEF
Oh...can Broggamek see the Belief that imbues the metal from Gelug we consumed? I think he might want to hoard us, though that may just the late night talking. He did try to melt us; I'm pretty sure the Belief won't imbue metal melted together... Though, I won't be surprised if, instead of melting us, the sea of burning acid would atomized us.

Also, Bob, which Names have been taken off the list? Or are you going to let us make twenty more Deep Spawn, using the full available Name pool, before closing off that option?

As for what should be done if the conversation goes well, maybe have Nidhogg fly low to hoppefully avoid Broggamek and his dragon followers and manifest spawn for Keddic, Bang, Dulu once he's cool enough, and perhaps Figment is he wants to ride and fly around, allowing them time to contemplate the revelation(s)/shock(s) we've gave them and to pick off a few dragons while they're at it. Hopefully that would give Keddic blood to replenish his blood supply, Bang enough insight to create replicas of some, at least, dragon abilities in him, Dulu inspiration to use his staff in new and innovative ways (speaking of Dulu and his staff, were the turtle-like Dulu and the bow Dulu applications of the same thing, or different abilities - I remember there were eight available forms beyond the default staff to Dulu's staff, with four being as yet unknown; i.e. does the staff have three more unknown forms it can take assuming the merge-with-staff is itself a form, or one more again assuming the merge-with-staff is a form?), and maybe building something of a rapport with Figment through giving the experience of riding and commanding dragons (even if they are clones of a dragon-host of Nidhogg).

Will magic sensing types see our new massive soul?

Anyway, I don't fully understand the new possibilities that Mordre gained. Someone explain them to me.
Why were we able to send soul soldiers as strong as IG but using only one soul each? What magic was that?

Also, Figment said that Broggamek will not back down, so we need to get the hell out of here fast.

>>261957
!!!- An idea just popped into my head, what if we throw our Golden Axe (we STILL need to name it) toward Broggamek? He would be distracted by the Golden Belief Axe while we fly away and as I recall the Axe has homing teleportation runes (call Gelug and ask how to do it).

Whatever we do or say keep silent for a minute and do not move (observe the reactions of our allies meanwhile).

I am sure that Figment would appreciate this dramatic effect.


Also, I am for keeping our facade of Mordre the Mage just for the fact if we do (partially)reveal our existence then we will lose a lot of chances to use HAM and SOAP for future bonuses (maybe even all of them)
I don't have a good reaction or dialog, I'm sure other participants will come up with something good).

Hey, guys!
Hey, guys!

Now that we can learn and improve our magic abilities the same way that everyone can what do you think we should focus on training/learning?

I suggest we start learning tracktomancy. The ability to spontaneously teleport around like a rabbit on crack seems a very sweet thing to do (just remember the crazy shit The Golden Axe did).

The other thing we could do.
We retreat to every night to keep the ruse that we are human, right? The last time we spend our night in the Metal Box.
So... we retreat in there everytime, take some equipment (or just reshape our cannon rounds into solid plates) and spend all that time writing the most intricate runes we can manage. Of course we take Bobobo with us, he'll not only have runes we can use but also texts on the most optimal way to learn rune-craft (or any other disciplines for that matter)

I also had an idea how we can train magnetomancy and geomancy further.
Remember Eisenhardt told Arkus that to train effectively one needs to cast the most powerful spell he can manage and keep casting it? Also, he dragged huge balls of metal underground with him?
Well.... Whenever we travel, we should drag along a huge metal ball few dozen feet underground and keep making it bigger as we go (aslo re-shaping it for more training).
This will train magnetomancy and geomancy at the same time as for dragging giant metal ball underground we need to shift ground.

Learning souls magic would be also a good idea but I don't know how we should go around doing it. We might need to ask Bobobo, Mordreden Shamans or Kyorto.


The reason why I write it here and not in Discussion thread is because we need start doing this on automatic effectively starting from now.
Just like we don't need to tell every time to retreat for the night, we shouldn't remind these actions either.... we could call this Passive Training.
Sometimes we could spend days or weeks on Active Training when we need to learn something faster/better.

>>261962

Oh, we should use our newfound abilities (or just our old magic sensing and Soul Magic) to see if we can help Bangs mask.
Or at least see what is wrong with it and how we can help with our available resources.

We might need to as Bobobo about that or bring Bang to Mordreden since all our Soul Magic specialists are situated there.

>>261972
Runecraft. Also ask Bobobo about more obscure variants of magic, since our current list of magical disciplines comes from Arkus, I believe, who wasn't sure of things.

I always thought of it as a circular, stone room with a raised section in the center.

The would be a chair there that, while comfortable enough to hold us for a long time without endangering our 'circulation', was sturdy and rigid so that it could hold a simple interface for our magic (a trackball in the handle[That our cat messed with once], extended arms to hold our tea tray, that sort of stuff).

Surrounding the platform would be a vast array of golem constructs that act like computers for our complicated maneuvers and allow for autopilot (this is to cover that 'an old man can't think that quickly' scenario.)

A ramp for our wheelchair, some coloumbs surrounding the platform, either as decoration or to hold a magical veiwscreen between them (depending on how we controlled the golem)

That sort of stuff.

Also

GET GOLEMCRAFT :V

It is more pertinent than ever now.
regardless of outcome.

>>261918
>>261919

these two look ok if were going with traped in the golem.

>>261990
Also for learning magic, soul is highest priority followed by golem crafting and then runes. As runes are the only one we can practice (from memorizing the runes for idiots book) lets grab a bit of metal maybe a anti golem shell and use that to start practicing rune magic.

Of course we wont do this until an hour or two after whatever explanation we decide to go with. We act like we just realized something then start playing with runes because we have discovered we can now use our own golem boosted magic to do stuff instead of working through complicated doodads we clumsily stuck on the golem. As for why we are fooling around with the kiddy stuff its because we need to carefully test this unexpected ability to see if we can use all of our mage powers through the golem. This should plug a few holes in our mage story, if we cant do a bit of magic any mage worth the name could do we can just say its because we have not properly adjusted to the golem or that the golem seems to be interrupting the magic.

>>261912
(Because I promised, to be said immediately after Naive's)
Breathe heavily with a sob in our throat, our siege fist weakly thumping to Nidhogg’s side. “Damn it it’s not fair. It’s not fair.” We will say as, in the background, Illia’s voice saying “Sir? Sir! Mordre, sir where are you.” gets louder and louder.
As it gets louder, we need to get louder too. “No! No! I will not allow this! I will never allow this! Deep and Damned, I will never ah-“
“SIR!” Illia says, very annoyed and upset.
“Never allow Illia catch me trying to calm myself down by indulging in a little acting and a little of what that ‘Senth’ fellow called ‘trolling’.” We will sigh, a weak laugh as Illia splutters angrily in the background “Good. Ba. Sir. You, and ah! This! We just fire put out! Egah!”
“Sorry Illia, sorry! I know I should have waited until you all were sure the fire was out, but I simply needed to make sure Mauser was ok. I have yet to find him, worrying. And…and much of my work is now ash and dust. And, well, I remembered the play that we are doing next week and I must say getting into the role of Tsar, with an Eye of Turquoise and the Zoisite Medallion, who was most naïve, is quite a challenge, if close to my heart. The curse of being trapped within magical armor of your own making? Hah, yes that is a curse I am well aware of, even if it would never happen. Now, my friends and allies, I am terribly sorry-ah! Illia! Stop hitting!”
*Wack, thud, biff, thunk*
“I am so sorry, sirs!” Illia says and pauses as she curtsies, the sound of fabric rustling coming through the golem. “And Hello Bang,” a girlish giggle, now, before a cough and a soft ‘yes, details’ whispered by the golem “There was a minor explosion that we maids needed to deal with. Master Mordre was usurer out and we were making sure no other rooms were on fire and he must have snuck back in. It seems like he has been a horrible cad rather than telling you what actually happened!”
“Yes, shall I do that, Illia, or will you continue to beat me with an empty bucket? Deepness, woman, I am old. I mean, I am almost thinking you shouldn’t be head maid but the way you’re holding that bucket over your head makes me thing that you will always be head maid, heh? Whoo. Ha, nothing, nothing, just breathing out Illia. Nothing to hit me about.” Cough.
“Yes, I’m sorry everyone, just needed to vent, and the theater is such a lovely way to express one’s self, isn’t it? You see, I..well…there are a few things that Castiliathen has kept me from legally studying, Keddic old boy, but as long as I don’t use it, I can, well, read to my heart’s content and I golems were crafted before the ban, weren’t they? Eh?” Cough, and glance around worryingly. “I hope that wasn’t too much an admission of guilt, Keddic. I would hate to have to come in because I was helping Bang and defeat these ghastly dragons.” Clap our hands, rubbing vigorously.
“But! This golem is quiet special – as is my set up here, too, I’ll have you know! – And there are a few limiters I fiddled with, and the soul-tether that I – Haha, no, no, I shalln’t say that. This golem possesses a very power soul, as well as a few other handy secrets I have yet to ferret out. What I did was over-charge the controls on my end, allowing me to over-power my connection with the golem. What you must have seen was part of the feedback loop – can someone explain what happened, by the way? It would appear that all the dragons are now, well, dead. And that would be a most useful skill, wouldn’t it? – but thankfully the apparatus is made of sterner stuff and the explosion did only limited damage to it…my books, less so. Blast it all, I’ll need to rebuild my thesis from the ground up! DAMN! Oh, woe, this metal foe- *twack*”
“Yes, sorry Illia. Continuing with EXPLINATION.” Grump, whispering ‘Conniving devil woman’. “Ah! Don’t look at me like that! Fine, Fine!”
“Geeze. Well, you see, now that I over powered that connection I can,” There is a scrape of a chair, dragging it closer. Sitting, a sigh. There’s a few equations – many being read aloud by Illia, as a few slow ticks and clicks come from the golem.
“ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL.” The golem cackles, eyes glowing wide. Pause, lifting our siege fist. “Deep and thunder, this is bloody worse than Tsar’s speech! Goodness, I can’t feel a blessed thing…and I think that’s my…direct control burning. Well, let’s have a look at that Wife of yours. I should have finer control like this. And a bit more power, too.” Have our soul flare, if possible as we ‘Assume Control’.

[For the explanation to Bob: Mage Mordre strengthen his 'soul tether' - that is the cancer-lump that actually is Mordre - so he could operate the soul grave directly, like a long-distance mecha. That will make his magic stronger, and be able to learn, but may mean that he'll be a little sluggish, until he gets straightened out. There, we are actually using 'Cancer-soul' as our explanation, which is just what we're doing.]

Can't we just tell that we used highly experimental shit that needed consuming 15 cores and a lot of souls.

We didn't do it before because we were still working out the details but the situation forced us to make the procedure without thoroughly testing it.

I kind of like our Mage front and wouldn't want to leave it yet.

rolled 3, 8, 6 = 17

---

[Rolling for: Bang/Keddic/Dulu Incredulity Levels, low is good for you, high is bad for you.]

>>261912
>>261917
>>261922
>>261971

My first thought is to use Phohn to command Nidhogg to keep flying no matter what as I keep my body perfectly still, and speak in an uninflected voice, flat and neutral.

"PROTOCOL 4-1-2 ENGAGED. STATUS CHECK: AUTO-PILOT:-----ACTIVE COMBAT ROUTINES:-----ASSESSING NO FOES LEFT IN SENSOR RANGE COMBAT ROUTINES:-----INACTIVE AWAITING EXTERNAL CONNECTION"

>"Bang?"
"I don't want to comment, not yet."
"It seems his connection was broken-what did he do? I saw several of those monster cores vanish in that thundering light."
>"And what did he even do? ...That was a trick that could wipe out armies all at once, I'd not suspected his golem so capable of mass slaughter on such a scale. What about it do you think caused this break in connection-and kept him from ever playing such a card before."
"It seems a weapon of price. Perhaps the Soulfire shifts during the attack disrupted the Soul Furnace? My understanding is the Soul Furnace is the source of all Soul Grave power, and that Soulfire is emitted from it, yes? So would not passive flames like those have a direct path back to the golem's core?"
>"It seems possible... Bang, you've granted yourself wondrous eyes, what did you see?"
"...I'm not sure. Something happened with that shadowy hand enchantment, that much I am clear on, but beyond that... I think I saw a section of souls from within the Soul Furnace sectioned off, shunted out of the inferno, but I have no reference to work against. As it moved, some... things, like masses of Chaos shaped into souls, jumped out, and it seemed they pulled the Deep Spawn seeds in with them... "
"And then?"
"...I THINK that the Deep Spawn cores messed with the regular souls, damaged parts of each other, and the Chaos souls sank in right before Mordre did... whatever that was, that Chaosfire or whatever."
>"A mass of souls, composite in nature as a power source-do you suppose the Deep Spawn cores were intentional? I could hardly expect he is all that knowledgable about them, I know there isn't any reference data he could use, what with being the first to make contact and SURVIVE-"
"Hey come on we totally have first contact rights!"
>"We aren't the ones that negotiated a treaty and came back bearing gifts from them, we just survived fighting them."
"So, Deep Spawn cores causing an errant spell? I had wondered at how such a paltry golem could be a Soul Grave-"
"Paltry that golem can kick out some MAJOR devastation-"
"It can now, yes. But understand I ran into it when it was far less altered, more basic. I presume it was one of the first encounters Mordre experienced, as at the time it seemed merely an overgrown Small Tomb. Where was the fabled abilities of the Soul Graves, each one different? ...Here it is."

I let them continue musing for a while, ten minutes of them going farther from their initial theories as I carefully choose me next words.

"......ello?........an anyo........ar me?"
"Mordre, I can barely hear you!"
"..old on, I'm do......at I can, there's in.....nce, hard to work thr...."
>"Out with it man, what happened?"
"Well, I tried using th.....built-sorry, the inbuilt soul ma...ic. Something happened, I do.....ow what exactly, but that can't be how it's supp....ed to work. Why, I felt like I was having a heart attack, with a... the bedlam stirred up in my lab. Needed Illia to get me a tincture or two, not m.... of a healer myself. ....Well, I don't see any dragons-did it work?"
>"...The dragons were dealt with, yes-"
"Are you aware you are missing monster cores?"
"Monster, what are-oh, Deep Spawn, right... ...? Why am I short fifteen seeds? What happened?"
"Ah... they got sucked into your hand, man. As did some wierd Chaos-soul things from your Soul Furnace. Things got in right before you triggered that magic... you did say soul magic, right?"
"Well yes but it's pre--isting algorithms and equations, Inbuilt to the Soul Grave prior to the war. Technically its not in violation of the ban- All the same, this is the first time I used it... was not expecting that, The few documents recovered with this Soul Grave made no mention of... THIS..."

I take the momentary pause in questions to glance about, making something of a show of the act itself, before I speak.

"...Maybe its just me, but the connection seems better than usual right now- Maybe it's just because I started to feel better-funny that happens only now, eh? ...Well, the connection errors seem to be gone..."
"Mordre, got another question, actually."
"Yes?"
"Do you know much about Chaos and Order?"
"Some, why?"
"Do you know if that working had an inclination one way or another?"
"I believe it was Chaos based, but I couldn't verify it mid-use, -Sorry, not too knowledgeable on the intricacies of Soul Magic... So that is still theory as far as I am concerned. Why do you ask?"
"..Welp, lets say you can go ahead and just assume it is Chaos based, because I guarantee you, I feel a whole mess of Chaos in that golem now-though it could be those chaos souls and their influence-do you know what those are?"

So far, so good. I have lain solid basework, referencing health issues upon the incident, an improved connection, and health returning on manipulating the golem: It would seem good building material to one day claim I discovered part of my soul was torn away in the 'accident' and glued to the golem. Then, with some 'Soul Grave Soul Magic', I formed a soul power source that in an accident claimed my Dee Spawn cores, as well as part of myself. If I play this as a gradual thing, I can 'set my affairs' in order with my wasting body before I leave it behind, so no one questions why I do not seek out my old home post-soul migration. It will leave as few questions unanswered as possible. ...But I am not out of the woods yet. So far I do not seem to have drawn any notable suspicion from my explanations, but I need to keep that up. ...I also do not like the look Figment is giving me, like one watching the climax of a play. ...At least I note we are just about to finish exiting the True Mountains, Broggamek finally having wheeled away and leaving us to depart in peace.




What explanation should I give for the detected Pristine Soul use?
What else should I say or do?
What kind of time-frame should I work with concerning my planned 'soul migration'?
Once I have finished setting down my story, where should I go?

>>262025
>do you know what those are?

I am not entirely sure, I think they are a result of the soul furnace. So many souls in such a unnatural state are certain to have side effects. I wish I could give a better explenation but I dont know enough about soul magic.
-practice a bit of rune magic if possible see if we can enchant a skyfall shell
-go to the capitol, drop off figment
-find that traveling library learn as mage mordre what happened with the soul grave
-think for a few days before "starting" preperations for the 'soul migration' let bang and keddik know about it

>What explanation should I give for the detected Pristine Soul use?
Talk to Bang about it. "I'm not sure what you mean, Bang. What is it you see?"
>What else should I say or do?
"I'm sorry Keddic, I know this all strikes of, well, opposition to the Soul Ban. How could I make it up to you?"
>Once I have finished setting down my story, where should I go?
Capital. Find out what happened while we were away, have Oz, Fuu and Figment bro together, make some more deep spawn. Create new Spawn. Check in with Lu, see what he needs. Talk to Arkus and Carkiano. See how the war goes, and possibly hop back.

Spend some time assessing our new soul/upgrade.
Try to poke around our soul and abilities.
Use all of our magic sensors.
Maybe we'll find some shit about us.

What explanation should I give for the detected Pristine Soul use?

>Well, to be perfectly honest, I do not know everything about what some of this soul mass is and how it behaves. However, I have noted that when some currently not fully determined conditions are met, I have speculated that time is involved, that this odd form of soul energy is produced by the golem. From this end I find that when it is allocated towards use, instead of the more mundane power sources of this Golem, strange things, but always so far beneficial have occurred. Most notably, my apprentice was able to inform me that the Runes used upon my eyes beam were changed when this resource was allocated. I have not had full time to investigate the ramifications and causes, but I suspect it may part of what makes either this Soul Grave unique, or maybe its a more common feature? unable to determine sadly. However, I am almost certain that use of so much of that resource was in part to blame for what just occurred with the change in the Golem we both now sense. I wish I knew what exactly happened, but this is just the matter of such things... ha! I appear to have gone into an old professor like mode. Excuse the rambling.. besides! its these unknowns that makes research so much more worth the living!

What else should I say or do?
>I do believe however this presents a unique opportunity. Using this golem as a conduit has been arduous for casting most anything but Magnetomancy, and has left me without much of my skills at my disposal. Some recent improvements to my equipment have also given me much of my geomancy via world connection from this location, along with some minor scruples unfortunately. I do suspect this new connection, combined with material I'm working on will soon allow me to show you more of my Word and other talents! oh ho, you will all be in for much of a sight then! Ah, Arkus reminds me of when I was a lad, one of the best at Word when growing up, being unable to use it has been such a bore.

>Oh also Bang, I do believe you had asked me something prior to this yes? Remind me of the specifics again, I suspect those same opportunities may aid us now.

>Dear Figment? would you be willing to speak with the rather large dragon that has been hounding us? Here I am trying to enjoy the mountainside with my friends! Instead, I have to risk my soul grave every few moments, and truely, im not that fond of all the nature killing.

What kind of time-frame should I work with concerning my planned 'soul migration'?
>Unfortunately, as I've never tried such a thing previously, and this recent field experiment has yielded... odd results. I do not think Ill be able to say anything about the timeframe of such things at this moment. However, it does pose such a thrilling challenge!

Once I have finished setting down my story, where should I go?

>Capital, Figment and Oz need a brofist moment.

I would finally like to know all about Keddics and Dompaggios adventure and how Dompaggios solo search is doing.

Also, would like to gain the information about soul increase of our all Spawn like we had from Burduko.

Also
>-Mordre can learn any and all Deep Spawn magic, including Administrator magic.

What does that mean?
If we can use all of Deep Spawn magic, does that mean we can do the same stuff like our Spawn?
I mean, teleporting like Burduko? Speaking at great distances like Phohn? Shooting hot magma like Aggocrag? Time magics that Velada has? etc...

Or something else?
And how fast will our body regenerate? Would be magnificently awesome if it did at the same rate as an Ancient Dragon (under one second)

>>262025

>What explanation should I give for the detected Pristine Soul use?

"I'm uncertain, my attempts to delve into the subject have yielded poor results. What I have learned is that their creation involves time and some sort of Soul magic inbuilt within the Soul Grave. When used they also provide an incredible boost in power to whatever they are applied to. The function was inbuilt when I discovered the Soul Grave, much like the one I activated just now."

>What else should I say or do?

"From what you've told me I can surmise that this Soul Grave's unique function seems to have taken in both the Deep Spawn cores AND the chaos souls during it's activation. Perhaps it requires a massive intake of power prior to firing? That may account for why it absorbed the two materials, seeing as they are both incredibly potent and under my ownership. Hm, regardless this is a troubling event. I'll need time to study this, time to research. This could have far reaching and disastrous consequences."

>What kind of time-frame should I work with concerning my planned 'soul migration'?

Symptoms start in a couple days and build up until the finalization of the migration in a couple weeks to months seems reasonable. This is just a rough outline though, if anything we should keep our plan fluid, and do the big transfer when it best suits us.

>Once I have finished setting down my story, where should I go?

Off to the capitol. We need to drop off Figgy-Mints and report our progress. It's not going to be good when we have to tell Lubu we didn't get to find Goujar, but what can you do when a giant dragon bear space pirate is chasing after you with ill intent?

Emba 2010/12/05(Sun)14:20 No. 262106 ID: f4e4f9
File 129158764837.jpg - (121.56KB , 782x1213 , IncredulousKeddic.jpg )

Heres hoping Skeptical Keddic can dissuade Keddic from being...skeptical.

Figment approves!

>>262083
I wouldn't state that 'mage' Mordre has ever been casting magic THROUGH the golem because the golem has pretty obviously been gaining magic talents at a rather rapid pace.

First give a rough explanation of the Pristine Souls: "I know a little of what you call chaos souls. They're a rare product created in this golem's soul furnace, raw potential if you like. They seem to be intended to be a way for this particular Soul Grave to evolve and adapt."

It's probably best to make the migration a bit more tragic. Stay silent during most of the trip back and stop to deliver some bad news news.

"I've been reviewing the outcome of the incident earlier and I believe the situation is clear. I am dying. In trying to create a new Soul Grave power source this golem greedily consumed a bit of everything it had at hand, including a large part of my own soul. I strongly suspect it's a one-way process as I am in fact losing Ownership of my own body and I.... weaken.... when not controlling the golem entity.

I am going to have to put my affairs in order. Break the news to Illia - she'll be distraught I imagine - and figure out what to do with the cats."

>>262108
Oh and make the transition fast. A week at MOST. It'll be hard to play out for more than 2-4 days.

We can spread our findings out over several weeks or so as we examine the "effects". A gradual 'bleed' effect.

Playing it out over time won't be that hard if we act slightly more introverted. Perhaps mutter to ourselves now and again and muse on supposed "examinations" and investigations and their findings.

>>262042
>>262060
>>262083
>>262099
"I'm not sure what you mean, Bang. What is it that you see?"
"Uh, masses of Chaos, shaped like souls, but way more refined and restricted than Chaos normally is, coming from the golem's Soul Furnace. What... what are those?"
"I think I know what you speak of. This Soul Grave seems to have been a testbed for Chaos based Soul magic- Please keep in mind this is conjecture, based on incomplete nature, Both of the golem when I gained it, and the documents with it."
>"...Continue."
"Well, as of yet I have not nailed down all the particular triggers, But it seems when certain conditions are met, those chaos-inclined souls- I've been calling them Pristine Souls-are produced. Thus far their use was safe, And having given me a rough idea of what they do."
>"That being?"
"They seem to assess the desires of the golem operator, And fuse with the Soul Grave in some form or other, Always something to fulfill user desires. ...It is more nebulous than I expected, as I had not anticipated... THAT."

[KEDDIC: SUSPICION 7+]
>"Yet you were able to precisely weaponize that recent usage just fine."
"...Again, it is not so much my expertise, But that the Pristine Souls took such an action. I knew soul manipulation was the purpose of this golem, But I have not studied it all that much, It is rather close to banned material."
>"So someone as cautious as you uses such a risky magical implement?"

[BANG: SUSPICION 3-]
"Oh take the stick out your ass Keddic-hey Mordre, what exactly is that Soul Mass doing there, anyway?"
"I am not yet certain. Running my sensors on the golem itself, It is far different from environmental analysis. It's still underway."
"Still, any guesses as to what it is?"
"..It feels... familiar to me, but I could not say why. It is a strange sensation, but beyond that, I could not comment. It just sits there, a soul blob. ...I still have many tests to run yet."
"Well let me know what that is, because it seems pretty interesting."
"You said you felt ill before, was that right?"
"Yes,, I must admit I felt quite terrible when the system glitch hit my apparatus- I had something of heart troubles, possibly from the stress. They seem cleared up now."
"You started feeling better when you started using the Soul Grave again, correct?"
"....Yes?"
"I see, that was all I wished to know."

Keddic is distracted still, and both Bang and Dulu seem done questioning me for the moment-I use the time to turn towards Figment, and speak to the thus-far silent master of Dream.

"Would you be willing to speak with that dragon Broggamek? I'd rather not have to worry about him coming back to play."

BROGGAMEK DOES NOT HEED THE MOTIVATIONS OF OTHER CHARACTERS, HE VIEWS THE PLAY AS HIS OWN, EVERY STAGE HIS TO PLUNDER.

"And you mentioned something about hording items, Things imbued with Belief?"

UNFETTERED BY THE STAGE AS ALL OTHER DRAGON CHARACTERS ARE, BROGGAMEK STILL NEEDS A MEANS OF SUSTENANCE. BELIEF HAS TAKEN THE PLACE OF THE STAGE.

"Broggamek... consumes Belief? Interesting...."

I lapse into fitful consideration, doing what I can to act distracted, withdrawn. Keddic does not seem to fully accept my explanation, but he is not so overtly suspicious he is demanding answers of me anymore. Dulu seems content to ride in silence, and Bang is conversing with Figment. Our group exits the True Mountains as the sun begins to set behind us, en-route back to the capital.

I wonder what fate has in store for us before the day has ended?

[GOLEM QUEST ARC 10 COMPLETE]
[NEXT ARC: DOMINTUS, TO DOMINATE OR BE DOMINATED?]

Sweet.

I wonder what would have happened if you had rolled three 10s on suspicion rolls.
Would we have been found out here immediately?

>>262167
Yup.