A monkey 2013/11/19(Tue)13:34 No. 549155 ID: b3ca75
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Creating “The shaman”…

Oh, great spirits of old, please accept my humble sacrifice… oh please, wise spirits, guide us in the coming times of turmoil…
Oh, great daemon… we’ve found more survivors!
Burn them… burn them all!
…and have mercy on our sinful souls… know, what we do is for the future… for a better tomorrow…

Insert Utopia justifies shit_

woah, you got two of the orbs. nice job.

>>549155
Excuse me but what the fuck are you doing? Burning an entire city is not nice. You better have a good explanation for this.

Oh boy, sacrifices! Is it a goat heart? Goat hearts are my favorite!

>what we do is for the future… for a better tomorrow…
Funny, that sounds like something a slaver would say. What's your excuse?

>>549155
If that city you're about to burn is your sacrifice, sacrifice not accepted. Quit it.

Hmmm, Shaman. You must be the one we've heard of from the Serath.

Greetings, we are the spirits of Many, we will be your guides. We cannot grant forgiveness, but we grant guidance.

Sup, spirits of old, here to advise you or insult you arbitrarily as we deem necessary.

...you heard about your son, yet?

You want advice?

The "Peace through Power" strategy never works out in the end.

The ends don't always justify the means there, witch doctor.

Nice skull helm by the way.

well... this will get awkward soon. don't worry about it you'll probably figure it out later as we suck with subtlety.

So what can we do for you?

A monkey 2013/11/20(Wed)05:29 No. 549239 ID: b3ca75
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>Sup, spirits of old, here to advise you or insult you arbitrarily as we deem necessary.
Wha- err… is this some kind of joke? …is there someone hiding behind the tent, pretending to be… or did I just insult you because I thought you were fake!? Oh gods, have mercy on me, spirits!
>Oh boy, sacrifices! Is it a goat heart? Goat hearts are my favorite!
…err… no? It’s some fresh fruit and nuts… err… do you want a goat heart? It’s kind of hard to come by around here…
>You must be the one we've heard of from the Serath.
I am? Um… I don’t think so… I’m not really… you know… the face of the horde, so to speak… I think you mean Mor’kay. You know, “The daemon of the north”-
>...you heard about your son, yet?
Which one? Um… does that include the dead ones or… wait, can you even talk to the dead ones!?

>Excuse me but what the fuck are you doing? Burning an entire city is not nice. You better have a good explanation for this.
War is never nice… and we had our reasons. We tried diplomacy first and we did give them ample time to escape… but most stayed to fight… they even gave their children weapons…
>The "Peace through Power" strategy never works out in the end.
Good thing we aren’t fighting for peace… or power… well, some of us think they are fighting for power but… um… yea, let’s just say we aren’t going for the whole peace through power thingy.
>woah, you got two of the orbs. nice job.
Orbs? Oh, you mean the key stones! Then you must know about our plan right? You if anyone must know their real purpose!

Father? They need you in the warlords tent.
I’ll be there in a minute, son…

…we just need three more stones… then then heavens will fall to us! Some might call it a weapon… but it’s a blessing…

Insert Symbolic metaphors hinting that everyone is Jesus in purgatory_

yes a dead one, he isn't dead anymore.

so what, you call on spirits regularly and never once thought they'd answer back? then why even try?

But yeah this call the heavens thing, is it some sort of giant death beam that falls from the sky or something else? Oh and if at any time we are doing things or asking for things we should know about, it's because we are quite insane, just a heads up.

>does that include the dead ones or… wait, can you even talk to the dead ones!?
One of them, if you are who I think you are. Have you heard from Horus, yet?

>Then you must know about our plan right? You if anyone must know their real purpose!
Naturally. How much of their purpose have you divined? How does the plan progress?

*yawns* Hey shaman, if you don't mind me asking, do you have any tips on how to teach someone ice magic?

You do not need to sacrifice to us, we will be with you regularly now that we have noticed you.

Though our eyes might not be with you always, we have several we watch over now, each with a divine purpose that will guide the conflict that will come.

A monkey 2013/11/20(Wed)07:38 No. 549256 ID: b3ca75
File 138496190929.png - (39.75KB , 900x450 , 4.png )

>Yes a dead one, he isn't dead anymore.
…what? How? I mean, none of them should even have corpses to raise any longer…
>Do you have any tips on how to teach someone ice magic?
Um… well… focus on the slowness, not the cold…
>So what, you call on spirits regularly and never once thought they'd answer back? Then why even try?
Um… I thought you guys were like the gods. You never answers by you always listen.

>we have several we watch over now, each with a divine purpose that will guide the conflict that will come.
Oh… let’s hope you direct the coming conflict to an end that’s good for everyone.
>Naturally. How much of their purpose have you divined? How does the plan progress?
I’ve already seen them in action before… and know full well what they do and how to find them… we only need to reach the capital and-
>But yeah this call the heavens thing, is it some sort of giant death beam that falls from the sky or something else?
…wait, you guys doesn’t know what they do at all, do you!? …but yea, sure, death beam… if you want to believe that, sure.
>Have you heard from Horus, yet?
Oh yes, he brought me the second keystone. Why? What’s so special about him? Do you want to talk to him? Because he’s probably going to be in the warlords tent when we get there…

YOU LOST HIM!? HOW CAN YOU LOSE HIM!!?
*Gnt* T-they were a-ambushed by s-slavers… how would I have k-known-
WHY DIDN’T YOU BRING HIM WITH YOU!?
*Cough* B-but you sa-
I TOLD YOU TO HIDE HIM! NOT CAST HIM OUT TO THE SKRANGS! …you’re lucky I still need you alive, old man, or your head would have joined those outside…

Insert He’s huge! That means he got huge guts! Rip and tear!_

>…wait, you guys doesn’t know what they do at all, do you!?
Damnit, I had him talking. Way to spill the beans.

>Horus
He's not so special as the news he brings. About the dead son.

We don't always know what's going on, our attentions usually are on mortals that we need to guide, that we know will end up affecting the balance in some way. So no we don't actually know what the current plan is.

Also we know Horus, one of our current followers was apart of his group before they were ambushed and raised.

That is the biggest Lizard we have ever truly seen, we've never seen one reach beyond the tallest mantis!

well he's a big one isn't he?

Man oh man what a dick, a penis, a literal huge shlong he is. Seriously, do you guys think he kinda looks like a big black di- okay let's change the subject.

So i'm gonna tell you straight out from here, doing all this war stuff really is not in our plan. Using blue orbs of ultimate destruction? Nada, don't know jack about how to even really use them.

Now i don't believ- no i certainly know that both you and the slavers we're lazy shits when it came to diplomacy. And to be fair while you got our magical asses now bumping about i'm not so sure if it's past the passing point of "You dun goofd". But i must ask, if all fails what are your... y'know, plan B?

Also that lizard guy is rude, get him to calm down or something.

Lizard guy is also big angry warlord guy-I'd like to NOT piss him off because I'll wager there's a reason he's like twice the size of normal people AND looks like he's actually that size, instead of say, being on stilts or having a second guy who's shoulders he's standing on. Look at his arms and teh size of his head. That guy is legit huge.
Now, we don't know YOUR plans, and we're still in the phase of figuring out what's what, which makes things problematic with your high expectations of us-we're a bit slow out the gate. That said, what's the current situation? We DO know something roasted one of the villiages of the other side-we THINK that was you but let's check to be sure-there's signs of a third player in the form of gaurdians of the ancient ruins, and there's nothing to say that there isn't some sort of 'ruler' to them that's sentient and angry at the collapse of that original civilization.

I dunno what you guys are talking about, he's smaller than my pinky finger.


Anyway, yeah, here's the thing. You're not our only host. Fail to satisfy us that you don't have any horrible apocalyptic plans and we skedaddle, inform our other hosts, and they wipe their asses with your little tribe.

>>549256
That guy's proportioned like a beanstalk. Seriously his torso looks like a noodle.

>>549258
You don't get it do you? The shaman isn't Jericho's father.

>>549256
So this is the "demon". Looks like a lizard on stilts with special armor to hide the fact that he's just a lizard. And I guess arm extensions. Has anyone seen him out of that armor?

I'll let you in on a little secret. If your group winds up using the keys, bad shit will happen. Jericho is currently gathering the keys himself, in a way. I strongly suggest that if Jericho shows up you listen to what he has to say.

>>549256
>Um… well… focus on the slowness, not the cold…
Sooooo... 'ice' magic saps energy, 'fire' emits energy?

>>549280
..if I were to hazard a guess, the warlord might. The markings are similar and chances are this warlord who's probably very good at ice is why our pebble can do so.

>>549330
You're missing the obvious method.

Durach. Shaman. Dude with the skull. We're looking for the father of a lizard named Jericho (you know, the guy the warlord's probably yelling about right now). He'd have to be at least around 40 years old, and an ice mage. Before he was captured, Horus mentioned something about him going on a pilgrimage, and his wife (who was apparently a slaver fire mage) either dying or disappearing.

Do you know of anybody who fits this description?

A monkey 2013/11/22(Fri)08:52 No. 549476 ID: b3ca75
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>Sooooo... 'ice' magic saps energy, 'fire' emits energy?
Um… I think? I don’t know, I just kind of use it on instinct.
>That guy's proportioned like a beanstalk. Seriously his torso looks like a noodle.
Well, Mr. Noodlelord Mor’kay over there isn’t really sporting a normal body. It’s all magic and stuff.
>That lizard guy is rude, get him to calm down or something.
I’ve never seen him this angry… something really bad must have happened.
>Do you know of anybody who fits this description?
Hmm… let’s see… I think I know which pilgrimage you mean. We were ten who ventured out the lands in the south… to find a future for our people. There were only two lizard males with us, me and Mor’kay, the warlord…. Master of all beanstalks!

>But i must ask, if all fails what are your... y'know, plan B?
Plan B already failed. This is like… um… what, plan K?
>If your group winds up using the keys, bad shit will happen.
…really? You truly know nothing of what they do… and I won’t tell you. You might be talking to someone who might misuse their power. Actually… you aren’t really the spirits I had hoped would answer…

Horus, go and wake up Eliros and tell him to start making some golems, well need them for the next step.
Y-yes, warlord!
I’ve gotten some new intel from the capital, and it seems the slavers have a mine not far from here, filled with warriors ready to be freed. Akena, take two groups of warrior and Eliros’ golems and free those people. They will be expect an attack after what we did to the city here, but they won’t expect us to know the about the backdoor to the mines. Here’s the documents and maps you need.
At once, my lord!
Durash, I need you and your son to accompany me to city of Der’ankh. We’re going to have a bit of a talk to the people there.
Do you think they will listen this time?
The slavers aren’t suicidal. We’ve sent them a clear message what we will do if they don’t give in to our demands. At least, I hope they are smart enough, because too much blood has already been spilled for this quest.
Yet more will be spilled before it’s over…

Insert Clean up on aisle four_

>I’ve never seen him this angry… something really bad must have happened.
I'm pretty sure the estranged son he left in Horus' care was killed.

>You might be talking to someone who might misuse their power
...and how do we know you won't misuse their power? Desperate people in a military confrontation and ancient powers tend to combine in dangerous ways.

>too much blood has already been spilled
>Yet more will be
Well, there's something we can certainly agree with.

>>549476
Only Jericho can use those things properly, that's why you getting all of them is bad. Of course, Jericho getting them all right now would be bad too, since he is a bit of a slave at the moment. I don't exactly trust his masters to make the right choice of how to use the tears.

What are your demands, anyway? We might be able to convince the slavers to meet them and avoid further bloodshed.

well since you asked if you truly want to know about us I'll give you the cliff notes. We're older then the dirt you're walking on, we helped your gods back when they were still just normal folk... ok I wouldn't really say normal but before they became gods, and we only show up when some kind of great change is about to happen (usually on where lots of people die / end of the world stuff) and we try to steer this change towards something a little more happy for everyone, or at least steer it away from whatever cliff it's trying to do a swan dive off of. That and we tend to "sleep" for thousands if not millions of years between events with no clue to what has happened since the last time we woke so we just kinda bumble around until we get an idea on what to do then try and fix it.

But yeah, Der’ankh is there capital right? they believe the city to be impenetrable so I don't think they'd surrender even if you burned the rest of the country to the ground so nothing but glass remained. Just saying.

A monkey 2013/11/26(Tue)09:33 No. 549931 ID: b3ca75
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>I'm pretty sure the estranged son he left in Horus' care was killed.
…wait, he had a son? Since when!?
>...and how do we know you won't misuse their power? Desperate people in a military confrontation and ancient powers tend to combine in dangerous ways.
Because I know that this is bigger than my life… bigger than my family… even bigger than my people and the Serath. What we seek to achieve will make the future so much brighter, no matter who is actually in control of tomorrow.
>Only Jericho can use those things properly, that's why you getting all of them is bad.
…who’s Jericho? And why would only he be able to use them? I mean, I’ve already seen them in action once and there wasn’t a Jericho there.

>Der’ankh is there capital right?
What? No. It’s just a minor city… even smaller then Necranest, the city we just burned to the ground. Their capital is called Sidus’bis, which I believe means city of the starts or something.
>They believe the capital to be impenetrable.
Well, good thing we aren’t going to impregnate it, just kind of… well, err… I’m not really good with metaphors but… hmm… take the backdoor into the final resting place?
>What are your demands, anyway? We might be able to convince the slavers to meet them and avoid further bloodshed.
Food, water, weapons and no bloodshed. Just enough so both sides can go away sated.

>Well since you asked if you truly want to know about us I'll give you the cliff notes. We're older then the dirt you're walking on, we helped your gods back when they were still just normal folk...
Um... can you repeat that? You’re kind of getting quieter… and disappearing… um… hello?
Shaman? Who are you talking to-

[Player Blue(Hard) has blocked your signal to “The Shaman” for the time being. Please select another character to play:]
[Current pawns: “The Pebble”, “The acolyte”, “The scholar”, “The warrior”]

Insert also known as: Disgusting d, lazy eyes, midget and… err… Jason? Michael? That splatter house guy?_

let's head back to the pebble

>>549931
Huh, looks like Morkay interferes with our signal. Also, he's player Blue. So there's Gray(Shadow), Teal(us), and Blue(Morkay).

Also the demon's demands are reasonable? Who are we actually fighting against...?

Let's connect to the scholar, we haven't talked to him in a while.

To the sane one! The Scholar.

The acolyte.

Acolyte.

Acolyte. Pebble might be the guy we got killed in character creation, but she's Important in her own way as well I think...

Acolyte.

>>549982
Well, yeah, she has a POV, of course she's important.

A monkey 2013/11/27(Wed)07:28 No. 550040 ID: b3ca75
File 138556608268.png - (19.23KB , 900x450 , 7.png )

>The Acolyte.
…so let’s make sure you don’t do the same mistake Ilbir’s last servant made. If you saw a skrang, what would you do?
…Run toward solid ground crying, hoping it eat someone else while pissing myself? …err… metaphorical, of course… I can’t really… well… being a mummy and all…
…no wonder you guys keep getting eaten by those things! You’re supposed to stay still! It can’t see, so it locates its prey by hearing you move. Stand still and it will just pass you by.
…wait, so it’s like you?
…It’s nothing like me.
…oh, you’re right! Their breath doesn’t smell half as bad as yours! Of course!
Well, excuse me for not being a self-cleaning magical being wrapped in cloth!
All I’m saying is even we “savages” use a toothbrush from time to time.
Gee, I didn’t have time to brush my teeth before we headed out, sooorryyy… Geez, the things I have to put up with…
Well, at least you don’t have to put up with your bad breath.
Alright, alright, I’ll brush my teeth… jerk…
Please, I prefer the term douche.
Well then, sir douche, can you please guide me to my bag so I can get my toothbrush?
At once, lady bad breath!

>Why do those moons look off.
Wha- oh, it’s you guys… what do you mean, looks off? I… err… I can’t really see what’s you mean by “looks off” but… there are two, right? And they got a bunch of rings on them, right? …or is something wrong with them?
>That's an awful odd arrangement of stars...
…Oh! You mean Aerathin’s belt? That circle of stars in the sky? It is supposedly located right over the center of the world, the place where you are the furthest away from the world wall in all directions… I think the gods put them there in the ancient era because… um… they were gods?
>Oh hell people still can use space travel can't they?
The what travel? What’s space? …you mean the place where the stars are? That’s just silly… I mean, how are you supposed to even get up there!? A ladder?

Insert Snake eater!_

Extremely powerful magic that even the old commoners could use in their day to day lives.

But I digress, we shouldn't speak of that. Also you need to learn some tact!

>>550040
>It is supposedly located right over the center of the world, the place where you are the furthest away from the world wall in all directions
Hang about, what shape is your world. Spherical? Hemispherical? Flat? A toroid?

glad to see you two are still hitting it off, anything of interest happen since we've been gone or more or less nothing

>>550040
To reach the void beyond the sky, people usually make little sealed houses and put them on top of giant tanks of fuel that are burned to launch themselves upwards with great force. Well, it's not always fuel. A more advanced method is to use some other stranger form of propulsion.

What the fuck is a world wall? Also, that belt formation looks very much like an eye. I think the tears CAME FROM whatever that is. Hmm. I wonder if those are spaceships in formation, observing the civilization's development?

Oh, and Tera, we just spoke to someone in the demon's army. Their demands are pretty reasonable. "Food, water, weapons and no bloodshed. Just enough so both sides can go away sated." It would essentially mean equality. Which would also require even stricter rationing of water unfortunately. Of course, considering this, I no longer know what the crisis is going to be. Unless the person we spoke to was lied to? Maybe we're just here to prevent an outbreak of full scale war, which, I might add, the demon's army seems quite capable of doing.

Also, apparently the tears have been used once before... the person we spoke to said she had witnessed it. This makes me wonder what they do, exactly.

>>550057
He was teasing her. He's not lacking tact: that playfulness worked quite well for him, did it not?

>>550062
Yeah, from what we heard from when we were with shaman Durach it very much seems like he and warlord Mor'kay didn't want to go this far; That what they're doing is closer to "plan K," not "plan B." They hate the bloodshed, but the tribes are backed into a corner as far as they can see and drastic measures are the only possible way out they know of.

I missed asking this earlier, but when Jericho was made a mummy was anything stuffed back in in the place of his brain and organs and such when they were pulled out? 'Cause I was thinking that if there was hollow space in there it could be made into hidden compartments with a bit of work. How feasible does that sound to you, Tera?

Oh, I just noticed that Aerathin's Belt is shaped kinda like an eye, just without an iris. Hmmm... Hey, do you know if one or both of the moons ever align right in front of Aerathin's Belt so it looks like a complete eye? And if they do, how long it is until they do? Or should ask I Ilbir instead, since he's the scholar and all?

Also, I forgot to ask earlier, but where does the water for the Serath's cities come from? I'm assuming it's pumped up from deep aquifer wells, since that's about the only source in this desert I can think of, but there could be other means, possibly magical. Fire magic to boil and desalinate seawater, for one. Uh, should this be something I ask Ilbir as well?

A monkey 2013/11/27(Wed)13:15 No. 550073 ID: b3ca75
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>You need to learn some tact!
(I need to learn tact!? I think you mean that the little pebble needs to learn some tact. I’m as tactful as a raptor in an urn shop, you mean meanie… err… that’s mean?)
>Hang about, what shape is your world. Spherical? Hemispherical? Flat? A toroid?
(…err… you think we live on a ball? Wouldn’t we fall off? …and where would you put the world wall that holds up the sky? You’re just silly, you know that? Everyone knows that the world is a cylinder, encased by the world wall, with the sky as roof and the ground as the floor.)
>What the fuck is a world wall?
(It a giant wall, taller than the eye can see, made of a mysterious material that cannot even be scratched by the hardest of diamonds. It encircles the world and holds up the sky… also, don’t use that kind of language when you talk to a lady, you fucking… err… shit… um… other swearword?)
>To reach the void beyond the sky, people usually make little sealed houses and put them on top of giant tanks of fuel that are burned to launch themselves upwards with great force.
(…either you’re crazy, or that’s supposed to be some weird joke, right?)
>Anything of interest happen since we've been gone or more or less nothing.
(Well… we arrived where the ruins would be, found some old stone tablet thingy, set up camp and now the servant is digging after the entrance… thought we’re probably going to explore after we’ve got some shut eyes.)

Ow… my head hurts…
Hmmm? What, like a pounding?
…no… it’s more like… just hurting...
Oh, it’s sounds like you’re about to fail to do something you was ordered to do. Did you forget to do some- wait, no… you can’t forget your orders… hmm…
Can’t it just be a normal headache?
Pebble, sweetie, you’re dead. A bit late to get a hangover.
…can I even get drunk?
I don’t think so…
…well, nuts, there goes my favorite hobby…

Insert To be fair, a zombie and someone with a hangover is hard to differentiate_

oh I just figured it out, tell the pebble you know how he said he'd make sure the shadow didn't sleep with anyone... well if you tell him to look behind him he can see that's about to go down the drain.

...Just a thought, but Shadow's behind him talking to one of the mercenaries and the conversation took a turn towards love-making.
Miiiight be he's supposed to intervene in that.
He's the far 'life' signal above and 'roughly' in front of you, Tera.

>>550073
Point out that the Shadow is flirting with that mercenary. Hey, what's the tablet say?

Also, your world is obviously artificial. Gravity is not just a downwards force- all objects with mass attract eachother to some degree via gravity. Large objects have more gravity, and thus you would be attracted to the surface of a massive sphere enough that you could stand upon it. Natural worlds form spheres, because they are made over billions of years, when rocks floating in space clump together due to gravity and fuse. I'm guessing that the moons are more like power stations or monitoring stations or something. Hey, has the world always been a desert? If not, then we're dealing with a failing machine. Maybe our foe this time is entropy itself.

>Why do those moons look off.
Because that's no moon, obviously.

>the furthest away from the world wall in all directions
...wait. You mean the world is a flat disk, with walls around the edge to keep the air from falling off?

Geeze, how does gravity work. You can't just spin it like a ring or cylinder. Spin it around always facing the sun and rely on centrifugal force? But then what's keeping it facing radially inward. And you need a mechanism to simulate the day night cycle.

I need more information! Tell us what you know about global geography.

>the very next post
Okay, cylinder then. It can work like Rama, without the staircases up the 'walls' at each end. Although how they're faking a sun-cycle is still tricky.

...wait, which part of the cylinder is inhabited? The inner curve (gravity by rotating along the axis). Or the disks? (Spinning end over end).

End over end is the less typical arrangement, but you could stick a star (or pseduo star) in the middle, arrange a series of baffles between the star and the surface for day / night cycles, and thee would be a 'center' of the world of the ring of stars to float over (there isn't a central pole to the curved face, just a middle line).

>>550073
Cockblock mode engage. We must prevent Shadow from getting laid at all costs.

Try telling Theen that Shadow's actually a dude in disguise. I don't think he's gay.

>>550087
It's a cylinder, but they're living on the inside of one of the flat sides. The sky is the flat side above them, and the walls are the curved surface.

Hmm, I wonder. With the rust every it could be possible we are in a worldship of some kind.

A monkey 2013/11/28(Thu)08:14 No. 550149 ID: b3ca75
File 138565527072.png - (20.22KB , 900x450 , 9.png )

>when Jericho was made a mummy was anything stuffed back in in the place of his brain and organs and such when they were pulled out? 'Cause I was thinking that if there was hollow space in there it could be made into hidden compartments with a bit of work. How feasible does that sound to you, Tera?
(Sure, it’s possible to use it as storage space, it just needs some work. In fact, I know someone who made her undead servant into a walking drinking cabinet… a bit degrading, sure, but at least he keeps the drinks cold…)
>I just noticed that Aerathin's Belt is shaped kinda like an eye, just without an iris. Hmmm... Hey, do you know if one or both of the moons ever align right in front of Aerathin's Belt so it looks like a complete eye?
(Um… wouldn’t that depend on where you were standing? I mean, if you’re right under it just an perfect circle… and the moons are a lot further away then those stars…)
>Where does the water for the Serath's cities come from?
(Water pumps, mostly. Some of the bigger ones are even old enough to be from the ancient times… of course, the tribals keeps wrecking them, claiming they are a disgrace to their gods or some such, but we’re trying to protect them as well as we can.)

>Hey, what's the tablet say?
(No idea, you have to ask Ilbir about that… though, he didn’t seem to interested in it either.)
>Also, your world is obviously artificial.
(Of course it is! The gods created it in the beginning!)
>Hey, has the world always been a desert?
(The world? You mean this country? Well, Ilbir said something about it being a jungle in ancient times but… um…)
>Tell us what you know about global geography.
(Well, geography isn’t my strong suit but… hmm… let’s see… to the east are the great jungles of Kuranday, to the west there’s mostly plains and tundra, to the south lies the Geranmol marches… witch I believe is where our mercenary friends are from… oh, and to the north are the four kingdoms… I’ve heard that frozen water falls from the sky there under the wet season, but that’s just bullshit, right?)
>Horizon.
(Of course we have a horizon. I mean, otherwise we would see forever, right?)
>...wait, which part of the cylinder is inhabited?
(Um… the floor? I think you called it a disk?)

>Cockblock mode engage.
Um… I think shadow is about to get some action over there…
Oh right, I’m supposed to look after him… Hey you! Mercenary person! Stop that! She will just try to hurt you!
Oh Really?~
Err… she will be very mean?
You know, you’re very bad at trying to convince me to not bed her.
That’s a dude!
…what?
She lies because she’s jealous. Come now, let’s have some fun~
That’s a dude, he got a dick. I can’t lie, I’m a servant, remember!?
But… she doesn’t… but she does kind of smell like… wait… make up!? Whoa! You’re a dude!? Err… I don’t swing that way? …and you know, I don’t have anything against you… you know… but trying to trick people into bed by pretending to be a woman!? Not Cool!
B-but I… w-what… but… fine, be that way, sellsword. As for you, slave, here I thought we could be friends, but nooo, you had to side with that wimp! My revenge will be swift and brutal!
Um… I’m pretty sure I’m the one who cock blocked you…
Swift and brutal for both of you! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to plan my revenge! OF DOOM!
…wow, does he love to chew the scenery or what?

Insert Let’s sing the doom song!_

The Aerathin's Belt just disappeared.

Also seems the male mantid merc is on the scene, swoon appropriately.

>but that’s just bullshit, right?
Nope. In places where it's cold enough, rain freezes before it ever comes down. It covers the ground in this white powdery stuff- like shaved ice.

Although I can understand how absurd precipitation, let alone crazy variations on it, would sound to someone who's lived their life in the desert.

>horizon, see forever
Well, actually, there are resolution limits to vision even on an infinite flat plane.

Still, that raises the question of the inhabited disk is flat or curved. (An inwards curve would give a horizon that behaves the same as on an inhabited planet. It would also means the walls connect to the lowest point, meaning there's likely an ocean ring preventing the inhabitants from easily examining it).

>Swift and brutal for both of you!
They're under our protection, Shadow. Cross a line we don't want you crossing and we'll make sure people you don't want to will hear your secret. Kind of hard to stop insubstantial voices from talking.

is everyone watching those two now?

A monkey 2013/11/28(Thu)14:24 No. 550181 ID: b3ca75
File 138567747432.png - (17.01KB , 900x450 , 10.png )

>The Aerathin's Belt just disappeared.
(Well, duh, of course it did. The sun is rising and you usually don’t see the stars in the day. Um… of course, I don’t see them at night either but… yeah… you get the idea…)
>In places where it's cold enough, rain freezes before it ever comes down.
(Rain? …oh, right, I’ve heard about that! It’s when water falls from the sky, right? I’ve heard they have a lot of that down in the Geranmol marches… I’ve always wanted to experience it myself…)
>They're under our protection, Shadow. Cross a line we don't want you crossing and we'll make sure people you don't want to will hear your secret.
(Err… I’m pretty sure she isn’t listening to you guys… in fact, at the moment, it seems like only I can hear you.)

>Also seems the male mantid merc is on the scene, swoon appropriately.
(…swoon? Why would I…? I mean, I barely know the guy… and he called me a bunch of weird names… and he sounds really feminine… err… sorry, I shouldn’t talk like that about people I don’t know…)
Why greetings, graceful little desert blossom, is all well?
…wait, are you talking to me?
Of course, delicate butterfly, who else would I be talking to? In fact, who else would be more important right now than you, my exquisite lady?
Um… well… the sunrise is rather important, right? …not to mention beautiful… at least, so I’ve heard.
Ah, yes, the rising of the sun over the moonlit dunes… it’s truly breathtaking to see a new dawn begin, bathing the worlds beauty in its light… but it’s nothing compared to the awe inspiring… nay, mythical beauty that you hold, my most stunning desert flower! They will write songs and tales about how your splendor changed the course of history, how wars was started and ended by the mere mention of your beautiful name, Tera… but, oh how I babble on… let me offer you a drink… as gratitude for allowing me to enjoy your presence, desert flower…
*Cough*
Oh, and for your servant too, of course!
Err… wha…?

Insert Purple prose is a cool name for a band_

>Err… I’m pretty sure she isn’t listening to you guys… in fact, at the moment, it seems like only I can hear you.
Sorry. That kind of thing is hard for us to keep track of.

>Err… wha…?
He's trying to flatter you.

Tell him he's trying to lay it on too thick, the purple prose is so thick you could likely cut it with a knife .

>>550181
Ask him if he treats all the ladies like this.

A monkey 2013/11/28(Thu)15:55 No. 550190 ID: b3ca75
File 138568292937.png - (17.53KB , 900x450 , 11.png )

>He's trying to flatter you.
(He is? Huh… I’ve never had anyone hit on me before… being a blind necromancer and all… is this the way it’s usually goes? Because I’m not really charmed…)
So… do you treat all the ladies you fancy like this or?
Oh, only the special ones, my dear desert blossom...
So that bar maid down in-
Not now, Theen.
And all that purple prose?
Well…
Drowning everyone you deem special in purple prose isn’t really the best way to make friends, you know.
…sorry if I laid it out a bit think, desert flower, but… well… if you want to have it blunt then… I think you’re beautiful and have an interesting personality, fancy a drink so we can get to know each other better?

Insert It’s like a mace!_

Your call. Trying to meddle less with making this kind of decision for other people.

That said, it really wouldn't hurt, would it?

>>550181
ok sorry I'm late but I noticed something behind the cart here and I'm not sure as to what it is.

as to her, uh, his offer... why not, unless you don't like drinking or something. just have Jericho stick close to you as I have a bad feeling right now.

>>550190
I would be careful. He has some sort of plan to get Ilbir killed.

Speaking of which, where'd Ilbir and his mantis friend go? I think I saw something mantis-related over by that tent by those guards a minute ago.

>>550192
That looked like a mantis arm. Kranhon's, I think. I guess he was crawling into that tent behind the cart.

>>550194
Actually, Ilbir mentioned to us that he's paying Thaark and company off to ignore whoever is paying to have him killed. What Thaark is looking to pull off is some convoluted plan to get paid by all sides and get away with it. Just who dies or not in that plan I have no idea, so we'll have to keep an eye on everyone, but that's what we do anyway.

>>550196
Actually he's not just trying to get paid by everyone, he's trying to complete everyone's contract, because if he doesn't it'll hurt his reputation.

A cool refreshing drink sounds nice.

>>550200
Okay, I must have missed that. Well, either way we must be vigilant.

Tera, go along and have a chat with Thaark, but keep Jericho near you, and stay out in the open. We don't trust him, but calling him out on what he's trying to do will not help. Maybe we'll learn something from talking to him that'll give insight into what he's up to.

Also, don't drink anything he offers; You dunno what's in it, and even if there isn't anything more than alcohol being even slightly inebriated would be bad right now. Make an excuse, like you're a real lightweight and get horribly hungover afterwards, or that you prefer tea, and make sure Jericho is the only one to handle and prepare anything you drink.

A monkey 2013/11/29(Fri)09:41 No. 550260 ID: b3ca75
File 138574689390.png - (18.52KB , 900x450 , 12.png )

>Where'd Ilbir and his mantis friend go?
(I think they crawled into their tent to sleep. We’ve been riding all night and they wanted to get some shut eye before they started exploring the ruins. In fact, I’m pretty tired myself, too…)
>He has some sort of plan to get Ilbir killed.
(What!?)
>Actually he's not just trying to get paid by everyone, he's trying to complete everyone's contract, because if he doesn't it'll hurt his reputation.
(Um… I’m pretty sure Ilbir contract specifies that he must be alive… so… unless you’ve misunderstood something, finishing both contracts and killing Ilbir would be impossible.)

>Don't drink anything he offers.
Actually… I’m not really a drinker…
I can offer you some tea, if you want.
I’m going to bed in a minute… so… you know what?
>A cool refreshing drink sounds nice.
Pebble, get me some water, sweetie.
Right away.
So… got anywhere we can sit down and discuss thi-
Ow…
Pebble?
My head started to hurt again…

Out of my way, slave!
Wait, we weren’t supposed to go down there alo-
I don’t care, I’m going down into the ruins and you’re not stopping me, slave.

Insert Spelunking in the tight dark cave of wonders_

Someone get Shadow and tie him up. And tell Pebble everytime he gets a headache, it's because Shadow's getting up to no good...
Hrrm-that reminds me, have we told you about the 'other' voices? Tera?

Dammit, Shadow! After we catch up with him I swear we're gonna bind, gag, and stuff him into a burlap sack in a locked chest for the rest of this expedition! ...For his safety, of course.

Make a direct order to Adil (the ghoul servant) to restrain Shadow and bring him back to camp. If Adil isn't immediately able to, then ask your mantis admirer if he'd help you out in dealing with Shadow. Perhaps that lizard merc would care to help as well, if it'll mean tying Shadow up.

>>550261
Uh, yeah, we probably should. Tera, you should know there's other spirits similar to us working in the world to their own ends, and Shadow is one of them. She's stuck to Prince Eliraz and can take direct control at times, such as now. Jericho made a promise to the prince earlier to protect him from her antics while on this expedition.

>>550260
When does each contract expire? If Ilbir's expires before the other one, then there's a timeframe he can work in. Also, he said he would make it look like an accident. The exact wording of each contract could be important as well.

As for the Shadow, maybe you should just have Jericho tail her for a while to keep her out of trouble. We can be your eyes instead.

> he's trying to complete everyone's contract, because if he doesn't it'll hurt his reputation.
That's also not right. He has no problem with one party ending up dead. Dead people can't bash his rep, and they can't stop him from collecting his money.

Ideally, we should have been trying to persuade him to side with our party, not pushing him away.

Jericho, maybe you should follow Shadow. You told the prince you'd try and stop her from doing anything crazy.

A monkey 2013/11/29(Fri)14:26 No. 550282 ID: b3ca75
File 138576400308.png - (17.44KB , 900x450 , 13.png )

>Dammit, Shadow! After we catch up with him I swear we're gonna bind, gag, and stuff him into a burlap sack in a locked chest for the rest of this expedition!
(Isn’t that a bit… extreme?)
>Make a direct order to Adil to restrain Shadow and bring him back to camp.
(Err… I can’t order him around. He’s Kranhon’s servant… besides, Shadow is already gone. Too late for Adil to do anything.)
>Prince Eliraz.
(WHAT!? That’s the prince!? Holy shit, what’s he doing out here!?)

>As for the Shadow, maybe you should just have Jericho tail her for a while to keep her out of trouble. We can be your eyes instead.
Pebble, make sure shadow doesn’t hurt himself.
But-
I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.
Alright, I’ll be going then.
>Ask your mantis admirer if he'd help you out in dealing with Shadow.
There’s nothing in the contract about exploring ruins.
No way I’m getting my tail inside that booby trapped deathtrap.
…but for you, desert flower… wait… How big is the hole down to the ruins?
Not big. Don’t think you’ll fit, my lord.
…well, even if I wanted to… sorry, desert blossom.
If I’m not needed… I think I need to help my friend down there…

>When does each contract expire? If Ilbir's expires before the other one, then there's a timeframe he can work in.
Um… actually, speaking of getting to know each other better, about those contracts…
Sorry, gorgeous, but on my honor, I can’t reveal that kind of information.
But how can I trust you?
All I can give is my word, my fair lady… trust me…
…
…alright, fine. Let’s just say one of the contracts was several pages long and very detailed…
Ilbir’s contract…
Maybe… the other, on the other hand, was very… brief… Was that enough information for you to trust me?
Not really…
Pffh… what do I need to do to earn your trust!?

Insert It’s a matter of trust…

>>550282
...oh god I AM DUMB.

He's not planning to backstab Ilbir. He's planning to backstab Aviris, because the contract said Ilbir is supposed to have an "accident" and the artifacts given to the "rightful" parties. Aviris's contract uses vague language and Thaark is taking advantage of that.

It doesn't help that Thaark didn't tell us exactly who he was backstabbing. We just kindof assumed.

But hey, you've got a free request from him. You could get permission to feel his face? Mask's in the way though.

>WHAT!? That’s the prince!?
Oh, whups, that was sorta supposed to be a secret.

Don't let on that you know, if you could. The only way we ever have to control Shadow is threatening to tell people about that. And well, if it's already out... not so good for leverage.

Also, don't hold Shadow's actions against the prince. They're sort of different people.

>what do I need to do to earn your trust?
Well, perhaps know you for more than a few minutes, outside of a mercenary situation.

What would it take to trust him? Behaving in the manner of a trustworthy gentleman, getting to know him better, and time. That's it. But in the immediate he could get you a cup of water and lead you into the shade so you two could chat.

>>550287
...What? Aw, crap, I blew that one. I didn't think it was a secret like that and we could share it with Tera. Sorry, guys. I'll double-check before dropping info next time.

Tera, best keep the fact that Shadow is actually some kind of spirit that occasionally controls Prince Eliraz under your proverbial hat.

There is one thing I'm wondering: Does Ilbir know that Shadow is Prince Eliraz? Tera, next chance you get could you tell Ilbir what happened out here before he falls asleep. If Ilbir does know it's the prince then he'll practically fly out of tent and start barking orders to get after him, since he knows he'll literally lose his head if the prince dies down there.

>>550284
Good call. We'll have to check with Ilbir at some point to confirm how thick that contract was, but that's probably what Thaark is pulling. Hopefully the contract with Aviris is in writing, signed and sealed, so he can't wriggle out of it.

well not much else we could do so might as well ask the big mantis guy to help you back to your tent. If you don't trust him to do that know that we'll... more then likely be there to point out if he's doing anything odd. I say more then likely because as of late we're having a bitch of a time jumping from person to person.

A monkey 2013/11/30(Sat)08:36 No. 550382 ID: b3ca75
File 138582939553.png - (18.49KB , 900x450 , 14.png )

>Tera, best keep the fact that Shadow is actually some kind of spirit that occasionally controls Prince Eliraz under your proverbial hat.
(Yeah, let’s not go around ranting about how the prince is possessed by an evil spirit… don’t want to seem too crazy, right?)
>Does Ilbir know that Shadow is Prince Eliraz? Tera, next chance you get could you tell Ilbir what happened out here before he falls asleep.
(He probably doesn’t know… and even if I tell him, why would he believe me?)

>He could get you a cup of water and lead you into the shade so you two could chat.
Well… to start, can you be dear and get me some water and lead me to the shade? It’s starting to get hot in the sun.
Ah, yes, of course. Right this way.
>But hey, you've got a free request from him. You could get permission to feel his face? Mask's in the way though.
…and another thing… can I feel your face?
…huh?
Feel your face… so I know how you look like? Without the mask…
I… um… I-I… I d-don’t…
…You don’t have to, if you don’t want to...
…no, it’s f-fine… here… f-feel away…
…

Hey, servant, how far down into the ruins can they go?
Not far, my lord, the main entrance is still blocked, so there’s just a few meters of corridor that’s accessible right now.
Well… if the boss is to big…
Stop being stupid, Thuul.

Insert Do you want to know how I got these scars?_

>>550382
Wow. He's a bit of a mess. Why hasn't he gotten that healed? You guys do have healing magic, right?

>He probably doesn’t know… and even if I tell him, why would he believe me?
He doesn't know. But if we had to prove it to him: that's why Shadow had rights to order Jericho around, which he couldn't figure out.

>face
...he's blind in one eye, isn't he. Something in common with you.

That is one long, jagged gash across his face, crossing over his eye and down to his mandibles.

I almost wonder if it's battle related or self-inflicted as part of their training.

Either way, poor guy.

A monkey 2013/11/30(Sat)15:21 No. 550408 ID: b3ca75
File 138585371101.png - (26.31KB , 900x450 , 15.png )

>Wow. He's a bit of a mess. Why hasn't he gotten that healed? You guys do have healing magic, right?
(Um… we do have some magical salves and the like… but wounds like these will leave a scar no matter what you do. Hmm… I can also feel some necromantic magic within him… both of his front legs and his left hand is dead tissue animated with magic… he probably had them reattached and animated after getting them cut off.)
>...he's blind in one eye, isn't he. Something in common with you.
(He’s not so much blind on it as missing it completely, instead he has a piece of metal crafted over his empty socket.)
>I almost wonder if it's battle related or self-inflicted as part of their training.
(All his scars are different ages, so I’m guessing it isn’t self-inflicted.)

>He doesn't know. But if we had to prove it to him: that's why Shadow had rights to order Jericho around, which he couldn't figure out.
(Hmm… I should probably talk to him before he gets to comfy with Kranhon.)
…thank you for letting me feel you… I understand it wasn’t easy to show yourself like that.
Well, that sounded dirty… are you guys rehearsing an adult only theater play, boss?
…thank you for ruining the moment, Thuul…
If you’ll excuse me, I’ll need to go and talk to Ilbir for a second while you deal with your personal cock blocking brigade- I mean, coworkers… yes, coworkers… *cough* err… see you later?
…Did she jus-
I’m starting to like her more and more.

---[Changing Pawn: The Pebble]---

Are you sure there isn’t anything more?
The passage is completely blocked. Unless she can pass through walls she would have been stuck here.
Hmm…

Insert She passed the fourth one and is coming for you… yes, you… the one in a green t-shirt_

>>550408
The floor under the eye is different. I suspect there is a secret passage there. Check the sword stuck in the ground.

More ancient ruins. And I'm sure the two of you have such fond memories of the last one.

There's a small little red something on the plateau of sand right in front of you, Jer.

A monkey 2013/11/30(Sat)16:47 No. 550418 ID: b3ca75
File 138585886843.png - (27.56KB , 900x450 , 16.png )

>More ancient ruins. And I'm sure the two of you have such fond memories of the last one.
Meh, the last one wasn’t deadly enough. This one, on the other hand, is clearly my favorite ruin so far. I hope die horribly somewhere down these dark, pungent corridors… oh, wait, I’m already dead…
>There's a small little red something on the plateau of sand right in front of you, Jer.
It’s… it’s… um… some kind of playing card? It’s made of some really weird material… I can’t really place it… and there’s a symbol on it. I guess it’s the old language?
[You received weird playing card!]
>The floor under the eye is different. I suspect there is a secret passage there. Check the sword stuck in the ground.
Hmm… let’s see what happens if I-

OH GODS, It’s a trap!!
Don’t worry, old friend, I got you!
Whew… remind me to stop being stupid li- BEHIND YOU!
Huh? What ar- hngt!
AAAAA-

A monkey 2013/11/30(Sat)16:48 No. 550419 ID: b3ca75
File 138585888828.png - (2.56KB , 900x450 , 17.png )

-AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaa…. Um… wait… I think I’ve already landed… I guess being dead has its advantages?

Insert Hello darkness, my old friend… I’ve come to talk with you again…_

Well fuck.

Oh geeze, poor Adil. I hope he didn't get killed. Again.

>Hello darkness
...cue mage-light?

>>550419
Can't see shit captain. Use your light if you've got it. If not, uh... fire magic maybe? Also, if Adil just died again and wasn't simply wounded, I'm thinking that masked man is not our friend, and the artifacts should remain buried. Man, we need to talk to the shaman again to find out what they do exactly.

>>550422
I suspect that fire magic would end badly, since we're probably the most flammable object in the room.

Aw, geez. Poor Adil. I hope he isn't dead-dead. Getting run through with a sword normally wouldn't do much to a ghoul, but going by that pale blue flame I suspect that blade was enchanted, and who knows what effect it had.

Okay, first check that your legs are working right. You're a mummy and all but a long fall could still mess them up.

Next look up to see if that trapdoor closed after you; It should be lit up by the lantern. If it's still open then you could yell as hard as you can to get somebody's attention; Adil's, if he was just stunned, or Thaark's since he was next to the hole down last we were up there. Then pull out and activate your glowing crystal. (You still have that, right?)

Yanno, I kinda think Shadow didn't even go this way. If she had there wouldn't have been any sand at all on top of that trapdoor before you triggered it. Though I dunno where else she could have gone.

Oh, and what would you say to having the empty space in your body (and maybe head) converted into extra inventory space at some point? Tera told us it's possible with a bit of work.

did you plan ahead and brings some kind of light or are we going to have to wing it?

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)06:28 No. 550456 ID: b3ca75
File 138590811023.png - (19.72KB , 900x450 , 18.png )

>Well fuck.
My thoughts exactly!
>I'm thinking that masked man is not our friend, and the artifacts should remain buried.
Yeah, he is jerk… but… um… wait, how do we know he really wants to unearth the artifacts? I mean, killing Adil and dropping me down here doesn’t really help us find any of the artifacts, now does it?
>Oh geeze, poor Adil. I hope he didn't get killed. Again.
He was engulfed in the same kind of magical fire as that undead guardian thing I killed. I’m guessing he’s gone for good this time… strangely, I don’t really feel sad about it…

>what would you say to having the empty space in your body (and maybe head) converted into extra inventory space at some point?
My pragmatic side says yes… and my emotional side says that would be really sweet… so let’s do it, I guess? Of course, I don’t really have anything to put inside… err… myself right now. The only stuff I got right now is the light stone, that dagger the princess gave me and the stun rod the prince gave me… and some coins…
>Check that your legs are working right. You're a mummy and all but a long fall could still mess them up.
Fully functional… I think… at least I can stand and move around without problem.
>Look up to see if that trapdoor closed after you; It should be lit up by the lantern.
All I see is darkness.

>Use your light if you've got it.
Let there be light!!
…
…is that water? I’ve never seen this much water…

*Scribble scribble*
“And so it came to past, that the slave fell from the light into the abyss. There the only escape is to reflect upon thyself, and defeat the darkness within.”
…Dammit, book, stop being so cryptic!

Insert Remember, when talking about those that died, remain as cryptic as possible_

...defeat the darkness within?
Hrrm. Sounds like a mirror match against your darkness is coming, somehow?
Maybe try to freeze some of this water, as much as you can-you're going to want to have space to move, even if it is slippery.

>>550457
Maybe darkness within refers to the Shadow?

About darkness/light inside, are your eye sockets hollow? If so you could possibly store your light crystal in your skull to free up your hands while using your own eyes as a light source.

>There the only escape is to reflect upon thyself
Try peering at your reflection in the water. That do anything?

do the eye's look like they do anything because I'm fairly sure there that sitting on your ass looking back on your life wont really help you.

Also to use ice magic just think of slowing the world around you down and the rest should just happen... at least that's how it was told to us.

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)09:58 No. 550476 ID: b3ca75
File 138592070470.png - (22.52KB , 900x450 , 19.png )

>Are your eye sockets hollow? If so you could possibly store your light crystal in your skull to free up your hands while using your own eyes as a light source.
I still got eyes, you know… besides, wouldn’t it just be easier to stick it in my clothes?
>Try peering at your reflection in the water. That do anything?
…It’s too murky to make a good reflection. In fact, now when I’m looking closer, the water is filled with some kind of green stuff…
>Do the eye's look like they do anything?
They are crying on some… um… I’m guessing those are skulls… otherwise, no, they aren’t doing anything this Friday.
>Maybe try to freeze some of this water, to use ice magic just think of slowing the world around you.
Slow… yes… I felt the world slow down last time I casted ice magic… slow… slow the water… its working! I froze it! I think it will support my weight and… wait, I think I see something over there… a hole in the wall…

…

What is this? A room made of metal? What are those things on the wall?

Insert Behind the scenes_

Its the third, and most insidious magic. Technology. Instead of any one person casting a spell it takes generations upon generations building upon each others previous findings to get to that level. You can make wonders with it that begger the mind however.

... lets got inspect that door and the panel beside it.

Yes, it's possible to build out of metal just as one can build out of cloth or wood or stone. Granted, the techniques involved are more advanced.

The thing to the left of the door is likely some kind of control mechanism. Switches and levers and buttons that control the operation of the door (like the kind you normally find in temples and ruins, just smaller and more sophisticated). The wires that connect the panel to the door are what allow them to communicate.

Can you make out anything on the panel? What buttons there are, or if there's any text to read?

oh sweet an electronic door, didn't think we'd see one of those this time around, what with the world seeming to have falling back to mid-evil level of technology instead of the space fairing folk of you ancestors were capable of. look at the thing next to it and see if you can't or more likely we can't figure it out.

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)10:18 No. 550481 ID: b3ca75
File 138592189310.png - (22.55KB , 900x450 , 20.png )

>It’s the third, and most insidious magic. Technology.
I wouldn’t call technology magic… I mean, my spear is a kind of technology, but it isn’t magic, right?
>The thing to the left of the door is likely some kind of control mechanism.
That’s a door? It looks like some weird colored wall…
>Can you make out anything on the panel? What buttons there are, or if there's any text to read?
Hmm… there’s a glowing picture here… It says “Locked” and then there’s a picture of a hand holding a rectangle with a black rectangle within it up to… um… I think it’s this thing. So I’m supposed to hold up a weird rectangle within a rectangle to open the door?

Insert Are you a wizard?_

>>550481
Sufficiently advanced technology is indeed magic, and that looks like it. It needs a passcard. Look around for a small rectangle with someone's identification on it.

Your spear doesn't seem like magic to you, but it would be to someone who had never seen or imagined a spear.

You have more reach! You can puncture or cut things you could never hope to with your hands!

Technology seems unimpressive, if you understand it, or are familiar with it.

wait, didn't you find a weird playing card earlier? use that to swipe the card lock (the thing you are looking at) to try and open the door.

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)11:07 No. 550487 ID: b3ca75
File 138592484179.png - (24.60KB , 900x450 , 21.png )

>Sufficiently advanced technology is indeed magic, and that looks like it.
Right, it’s technological magic, happy now?
>It needs a passcard. Look around for a small rectangle with someone's identification on it.
Hmm… can’t find anything in here…
>Wait, didn't you find a weird playing card earlier?
Oh yeah! It got a small black rectangle on it! Wait, let me…
*Swoosh*
It worked! The door is open!

Insert Protip: Blue pills are for pussies_

huh, it seems some shit went down here, anyways anything of interest on the dead body and what does the plaque say behind the big ass statue? Then we can work on finding out where these doors go to, just be careful with the one in the top left of the room as one of the wires seems to be cut.

Interesting, that skull seems to have some metal parts.
If the body doesn't have anything interesting, check the doors on the right first.

Read the writing on the wall there, and the check the body.

Then we can see about checking the other doors. 4 of them have green lights, and should work. One has a dead control panel and a severed wire, though.

...I suppose you could always try reattaching them. What's a little electricity going to do to a dead body?

>>550487
Yep, this place is broken. Someone detached those wires up there. I wonder how wise it would be to reattach them? We don't know what they do yet.

Check the material of the statue. It doesn't appear to be rusted.

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)13:27 No. 550505 ID: b3ca75
File 138593324899.png - (24.23KB , 900x450 , 22.png )

>Anything of interest on the dead body?
The non-metal parts of the body turn to dust as soon as I touch it. It seems to have been lying here undisturbed for a very long time. Anything of value would have likely been taken by time ages ago.
>That skull seems to have some metal parts.
Indeed it does… I’ve seen others with metal on their body, but never as… integrated like this. It’s almost like they turned the bone into metal.
>Check the material of the statue. It doesn't appear to be rusted.
It’s some kind of stone. I’m not really a stone expert so…

>Read the writing on the wall there.
Hey, it’s a map for this place! Let’s see…
Top right: Exit… Top left: Entertainment…
Middle right: Automatic systems… Middle left: quarters.
Bottom right: Storage… Bottom left: Main control hub.
>Check the doors.
I can’t reach the top left one, the one labeled entertainment, thanks to a rusty ladder. Unless I find some other way up there that door is of limits. All the others except the top right is fully functional.
>One door has a dead control panel and a severed wire, though... I suppose you could always try reattaching them. What's a little electricity going to do to a dead body?
Um… I guess you wanted me to make sure the copper touch the copper on the red wires, right? …of course, nothing seems to happen anyway… maybe it’s missing a cog or something inside?

Insert Glue some cogs to it and call it steam punk_

>copper to copper
Yup, that's right. A signal of the same stuff lightning is made of is supposed to travel along the metal wires. It's how the machines communicate. The outer coating is to protect people and equipment, and prevent the current from going anywhere else.

>maybe it’s missing a cog or something inside?
Might be. That kind of problem is hard to diagnose without the right tools, though.

Let's try going down a level and checking the quarters. Maybe the people who used to live here left something that could help.

>Unless I find some other way up there that door is of limits.
...swing across the gap from the wires on the ceiling? Kind of haphazard, though.

yeah the dead guy was most likely a cyborg, that's what they called them in the old days, man mixed with machine. anyways try the other doors here because if we can't take this door I'm sure they have other exits. I mean what kind of moron makes only one exit.

>>550505
Check Storage.

There are a ton of broken wires right above the intact ladder. Think you can repair those as well?

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)14:32 No. 550512 ID: b3ca75
File 138593716296.png - (24.46KB , 900x450 , 23.png )

>Check Storage.
But that’s where I came from! …wait… oh shit! I think I messed up when I read the map for you guys! Um… just change left to right and vice versa… I can’t believe I’d do something stupid like mixing up left and right…
>There is a ton of broken wires right above the intact ladder. Think you can repair those as well?
No way, they are too short to reach each other. Besides, that rope that’s holding them doesn’t look very stable…
>...swing across the gap from the wires on the ceiling? Kind of haphazard, though.
Well, I can tr- oh, the rope broke even before I started climbing on it… Of course, now I can climb up the wires from the floor below instead so… I win?

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)14:32 No. 550513 ID: b3ca75
File 138593717750.png - (10.37KB , 900x450 , 24.png )

>checking the quarters.
More dead bodies, mold and rust…

Insert A white chamber… luckily it’s pyramid less this time_

>>550513
Yep, this is far into the future, no surprises here. Can you open those lockers? The green tall boxes.

Try opening those lockers next to the doorway and see what's inside them. Look under the bed frames in case anything useful was dropped under them ages ago. Look over (and maybe inside) the mantis corpse to see if it's carrying anything you might want. Try not to get distracted by the semi-lewd Naughty Tail Club poster while you do so.

check room for anything worth looting, then try the next one.

Try opening the lockers and seeing what's inside, then on to the main control hub.

A monkey 2013/12/01(Sun)15:58 No. 550518 ID: b3ca75
File 138594230657.png - (9.00KB , 900x450 , 25.png )

>Try opening those lockers next to the doorway and see what's inside them.
Let’s see… cloth scraps… something I’m guessing was tools once but has now completed its metamorphism into a beautiful rusty scrap heap… books that’s not really books anymore… oh, look! Another one of those weird cards! This one got “Automatic systems” printed on it.
[You received key card “Automatic systems”.]
>Look under the bed frames in case anything useful was dropped under them ages ago.
Oh, look! Dust! …and more dust! Exactly what I was looking for!

>Look over (and maybe inside) the mantis corpse to see if it's carrying anything you might want.
It’s just an empty husk left behind by this place former resident.
>Try not to get distracted by the semi-lewd Naughty Tail Club poster while you do so.
…yeah, you do realize I’m not a virgin, right? I’ve seen far more than some tail bases. Besides, those tails looks undernourished! Didn’t those girls ever eat?

> on to the main control hub.
Alright…
…
…what sorcery is this? Some kind of… wall of light?

Insert I cast magic missile_

>what sorcery is this? Some kind of… wall of light?
It's called a force field. And yeah, it's a wall of light that can be turned on and off. Unfortunately, I think the controls are on the other side.

Can you cast magic on the other side of the wall? If you damage the machinery generating the force field it should go away.

...is that one of the glowing rocks everyone is looking for on the desk?

uhhh, those are things called 'Lazers', and they are bad to touch, if I'm right.
I'd recommend leaving and coming back to this place later after we fool around elsewhere.

>>550518
Hey, don't mess with anything in here yet. Let's check the other rooms first. Like the Automated Systems.

the blue wall is a force field that will stop you from getting to the other side of the room and the red light is just more of a trip wire meant to make that metal thing in the ceiling rain hot death down upon you should you try and pass it, my suggest, freeze everything and and we'll let you know when it safe.

>>550520
To be specific, lasers. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The s does matter.

And I seriously doubt they are. Lasers don't usually create visible beams in the air, just spots of light on whatever they reflect off. Unless the local atmosphere has been fucked with, they're something else.

>>550523
The beams are probably reflecting off all the dust in the air.

Hmmm... While you might be able to brute force your way through with the application of magic, I'd rather try to find a non-destructive way first. I'd rather not destroy irreplaceable artifacts of an ancient age unless it's totally unavoidable. Plus I think Ilbir would be really cross at you if you did.

Head to the Automatic Systems room. There may be a way to cut the power to these defenses from in there.

We'll have to be careful when we eventually collect that key stone. It may be "load bearing" in that its power is the only thing keeping this place from collapsing. I'd rather not find out the hard way it is.

>>550518
That's what technology looks like when it's advanced enough. From left to right:

That transparent blue thing is a force field. It's a machine that can make a wall appear as long as it has energy. I'm not entirely sure what that particular wall does; it might just act like a solid object, or it might disintegrate you on contact. Be careful around it.

Those red things are lasers. They're beams of light that are projected in straight lines. They might be aimed at artificial eyes, so that the machine will notice if something passes through the beam. Or they might be intense enough to disintegrate you on contact. Be very careful around those.

That thing on the ceiling is an automated weapon of some sort. It could be a firearm, which is a weapon that shoots shards of hot metal at speeds so fast that the eye can't perceive them. Some firearms can launch dozens or even hundreds of shots in seconds, so it can basically disintegrate you if you're anywhere in its line of sight. Be extremely careful not to trigger it.

Those boxy things in the back look like a desk with a computer on it. A computer is, basically, a machine that stores and processes information, sort of like an AI, except with no emotions or will of its own. Computers are used a lot in advanced technology. It probably won't disintegrate you, though I'd advise caution regardless, as it could hold extremely valuable information and/or trigger a booby trap that will disintegrate you.

A monkey 2013/12/02(Mon)08:52 No. 550567 ID: b3ca75
File 138600315734.png - (10.51KB , 900x450 , 26.png )

>Force field.
…right, magical wall made with technology… got it.
>lasers.
Red stuff is bad, right…
>automated weapon.
Like a super advanced crossbow that fire by itself?
>Computer.
Hmmm… if it is like you guys, maybe I can talk to it from here? …or does the force field block sound too?

>...is that one of the glowing rocks everyone is looking for on the desk?
You’re right, that’s one of the key stones!
>We'll have to be careful when we eventually collect that key stone.
Of course, we wouldn’t want to hurt it or anything else… especially not myself.
>It may be "load bearing" in that its power is the only thing keeping this place from collapsing.
I… wait, wasn’t those things supposed to be keys or something? I mean, as far as I know its only power is to glow.
>Can you cast magic on the other side of the wall?
Err… not yet. I’m still a bit of a novice so… I need to touch whatever I need to freeze… and set ablaze… and it helps if it’s easy to freeze or burn.

>Head to the Automatic Systems room.
Ah, another one of those “Force fields”… and a “computer”… and… a person?
[Error! This unit is malfunctioning! Unable to perform necessary repairs. Please increase the automatic system authorization requirement to level… four… or higher… to begin the repairs of cleaning station 428 zone 5G. Thank you for your time.]
…err… what?
[Please increase the automatic system authorization requirement to level… four… or higher… to begin the repairs of cleaning station 428 zone 5G. Thank you for your time.]

Insert only half the man he used to be_

>magical wall made with technology
Yup
>Red stuff is bad
Yup
>Like a super advanced crossbow that fire by itself?
Exactly. You're a quick study!

>if it is like you guys, maybe I can talk to it from here?
Depends. Not all computers are smart. Some are more like books than people.

>does the force field block sound too?
...good question. It depends. You could build one that lets sound through, or one that doesn't.

>a person?
A robot. An artificial person, built by technology. Kind of an equivalent to undead, or a construct. Sometimes with a living mind put inside, sometimes a computer. This one seems to be computer-driven, and is stuck reciting the same error message over and over.

Also, you have the card to get past the force field in here, but unfortunately, the card reader looks damaged. I suppose you could try it anyways but I don't think it'll work.

...maybe you could show the robot the card, or tell it that access to the automatic system is cut off? See if it's smart enough to respond or help, or if it just stays stuck in the loop.

hole in ceiling, what can you see up there? also can you read what's on the computer in here or no?

That "person" is a robot; An autonomous machine built and programmed to perform a set of physical tasks that only require limited intelligence. I think the closest analog to what you know of would be a golem.

Ask the robot what it's name or designation is, what "automatic system authorization requirement" is, why the robot needs the level of it increased, and where to go and what to do in order to increase its level. Also ask if this robot is capable of repairing itself, and if not if it can direct you through the steps to repair it.

Could you satisfy my curiosity by asking the robot how long its been since it lost connection to its lower body, since its last order from the facility personnel, since it first started operating in this facility, and how long this facility has been operational. Ask for the length of time in hours, since it may not be using the same calendar year or length of day as you.

The keycard reader for the force field is busted, but perhaps it could be swapped out for the working one attached to the door; They're very likely exactly the same design. You're lacking in the tools, but the robot probably has some built-in tools, so try picking the robot up and carrying it to where you need the work done.

Hold your glowing crystal up to that hole in the ceiling and check if it leads anywhere. We don't want any surprises possibly dropping in from there.

Could you read to us what's on the computer screen from this side of the force field? Our vision isn't good enough to do so ourselves.

A monkey 2013/12/02(Mon)11:26 No. 550580 ID: b3ca75
File 138601237815.png - (10.35KB , 900x450 , 27.png )

>The card reader looks damaged. I suppose you could try it anyways but I don't think it'll work.
It doesn’t react at all.
>Hole in ceiling, what can you see up there?
A lot of stones… there’s no way I’m getting out that way.
>Can you read what's on the computer in here?
Hmm… the only thing I can make out is “Please insert the right Key Card into slot to continue”.

>A robot. An artificial person, built by technology.
So… you’re like a golem, right? Like the ones they used in ancient times… but… you look a lot more… advance? I mean, everything we’ve found is generally made of clay or rock…
[Negative! This unit is an Android helper model B4t3, of the master series. …unable to find query “ancient times”…]
Um… the time the gods walked the world? Great wars and the height of civilization?
[Calculating… ancient times… last game… before the others stopped functioning… gods… players. Scanning… Warning, non-player character detected! You aren’t meant to be here! Please leave immediately!]

>How long it’s been since it lost connection to its lower body, since its last order from the facility personnel…
[Error! Internal clock is malfunctioning!]
>What "automatic system authorization requirement" is, why the robot needs the level of it increased, and where to go and what to do in order to increase its level.
[This station need the proper authorization to start a repair project of this magnitude. Please increase the authorization level to start repairing this facility. To increase the authorization level please insert the correct key card into the terminal in “Automatic systems” and choose a different authorization level.]

>...maybe you could show the robot the card, or tell it that access to the automatic system is cut off?
[Please increase the units authorization level to give this unit permission to open the force field. You can increase this unit authorization level by insert the correct key card into the terminal in “Automatic systems” and choose a different authorization level. Alternative, you can push the green button next to the force field to manually open the force field. Otherwise, please contact support for additional help.]
…of course, the green button is on the other side of the force field!
>The keycard reader for the force field is busted, but perhaps it could be swapped out for the working one attached to the door.
[Negative! This keycard reader require “Automatic systems” access, the door keycard readers require “General access” access. They aren’t interchangeable.]
>Ask if this robot is capable of repairing itself, and if not if it can direct you through the steps to repair it.
[This units body isn’t repairable. Please remove the head of this unit and find another body.]

Insert At least it can still live up to its namesake…_

ask how to remove the head so you don't damage it further and then see if you can't find it another body... maybe in storage.

Ah, an android. That's a robot shaped like a person and generally more intelligent than most other robots.

Well, assuming what this android is saying is correct, then it appears your world is a giant reconfigurable game board. It'd explain why you and the others we can speak too are referred to as "pawns." And I guess the AIs we've encountered were meant to fill the player positions when there wasn't a "god" around to fill them.

Ask it what the last game was that was run here; It's number of players, setup and win conditions. Then ask what the current game is.

That gives me an idea. Ask the android if it can give you the location where the AI players are kept when they're running in a game. Or if it can give you the location of the nearest pawns connect to player Grey, player Blue, and player Teal (Shadow, the with Mor'Kay, and us, respectively.)

Once you're ready to remove its head ask it how to go about that without damaging it, if its head will remain operational separated from its body, and the last known nearest location of another B4t3 model android is, as well as that of android and robot models that are compatible with a B4t3 model head. (That's just in case a proper one isn't reachable.)

His name is B4t3, the flavor text is making a joke about him living up to his name... Is he bait? Be ready to dodge, motherfucker!

A monkey 2013/12/02(Mon)13:19 No. 550587 ID: b3ca75
File 138601918938.png - (10.39KB , 900x450 , 28.png )

>Be ready to dodge, motherfucker!
…from what? There’s nothing here? …and I wish I knew who my mother was… err… not that I would… ignore that.
>maybe in storage.
But I just came from storage! It’s empty, remember?
>Assuming what this android is saying is correct, then it appears your world is a giant reconfigurable game board.
Well, I always knew the gods played dice with our lives, but not that it would be this literal!

>Ask it what the last game was that was run here; It's number of players, setup and win conditions.
[Error, unable to find old files.]
>Then ask what the current game is.
[Current game is: Sims of civilization 14: Civ harder!]
>Ask the android if it can give you the location where the AI players are kept when they're running in a game.
[Unable to find data.]
>Or if it can give you the location of the nearest pawns connect to player Grey, player Blue, and player Teal.
[Unable to find data.]
>Ask how to remove the head so you don't damage it further.
[Place your hands on it. I will- this unit will do the rest.]
>if its head will remain operational separated from its body.
[To a certain extent.]
>The last known nearest location of another B4t3 model android is, as well as that of android and robot models that are compatible with a B4t3 model head.
[Closes unit is the pleasure bot in the entertainment area. its body will function as a replacement.]

Insert It’s not what it sounds li- ah, who am I kidding?_

Ask the android if it can give you the location of the railroad.

Ah, if we're playing Civ 14, then... we have a few ways we can win. Diplomacy, War, and Culture. Diplomacy involves having everyone as your ally. War means wiping out everyone. Culture means being so awesome you build a Wonder of the World first.

Hey Jericho, do you happen to know if there was ever a city named Kevros?

Before you detach the android's head, ask if it knows what the glowing stone in the jar does.

Well, pick up the head. It might not know much, but it could be useful later, as it can probably use computers better than you.

Also, it appears that something just moved outside the door. I've misidentified a book before, so I won't speculate as to what it is, but do be careful.

>>550586
It is possible that B4t3 is a pun-joke, as it can be misread as the more common spelling of B3t4.

4 = A, a.
3 = E, e.

B4t3 = Bate
B3t4 = Beta

There's something through the doorway. I think it's a light. We may have company and I doubt it'll be friendly.

Grab the android's head, flip your glowing gem off, and pull the head loose. Then feel your way over to the doorway and peek through.

Later we can ask the android how many players the game is set to and who they are.

...Wait a second... I just noticed that the 'droid slipped up and used "I will" instead of "this unit." It may be more than its letting on... Lemme try something. [Attempt connection to B4t3 model nearest to pawn "The Pebble."]

that was the room with the broken key lock right?
well check the other rooms first and lets see what we can find first then we'll figure out what the hell we're going to do

A monkey 2013/12/02(Mon)14:18 No. 550594 ID: b3ca75
File 138602271914.png - (27.15KB , 900x450 , 29.png )

>[Attempt connection to B4t3 model nearest to pawn "The Pebble."]
[You cannot connect to golem. Golem isn’t currently functioning.]
>Hey Jericho, do you happen to know if there was ever a city named Kevros?
Kevros? Never heard of it.

>Ask the android how many players the game is set to and who they are.
[…you are trying to break the game! Countermeasures have been initiated!]
>Ask the android if it can give you the location of the railroad.
What’s a railroad?
[You’re already on it, Choo choo, bitch!]
…what?
>Ask if it knows what the glowing stone in the jar does.
[It’s a part of the game… everything is… everyone is… everything is a game… nothing has a meaning… try some summer salt…]
…did you break when you detached your head?
>Well, pick up the head.
[I am scissor… 55555 interstellar… It’s something… in the water… greeeeenn… don’t drink… don’t inhale… toxic…]
Great, you went down the deep end, didn’t you?

>Also, it appears that something just moved outside the door.
Eliraz!?
Hmm? Wrong person, sweetie… completely wrong person. Get used to use my real name, because soon there won’t be an Eliraz left.
W-what!?
Ah… a beautiful rock, isn’t it? …and I’ll make sure Ilbir will never find it… wait, why are you carrying around the head of a statue?
…um… it’s a golem? It needs a new body?
…what? No, that’s clearly… wait… that would explain why you walked around and poked the walls everywhere… you’re nuts, aren’t you?
…I’m nuts? You’re the one that’s nuts!
[…it’s one hell of a drug… even wake the dead…]

Insert Both of them have nuts! …wait, that sounded wrong_

>>550594
Dammit, I said ask BEFORE you detached the head!

Oh well whatever. Hop down and freeze her, take the stone, then go up and get the golem its new body.

...wait a minute, ask Shadow what she's seeing here. Doesn't she see the giant statue, and the metal doors, and ladders?

shadow... what do you see down here? oh and some of the doors are broken so yeeeaahh.

The robot...That actually might have been us. We uhh, can jump at will more or less! But it seems that robot is protected against us.
MORE IMPORTANTLY! Ask the Shadow why is she going to hide the keystone. And then ask where.

Oh, if you want to take the diplomatic route with Shadow, you could tell her she would probably like it better if she had her own body, instead of murdering Eliraz and using what is essentially his living corpse as her body.

...Oh joy. We get to play the damn "who's perception is correct" game. My money's on us, but it's still possible we're the ones seeing things wrong here. And there's also the chance everyone here isn't seeing things the way they really are either. That's always an annoying possibility.

There may be something in that 'droid's babbling. It said something green and toxic is in the water, and you mentioned there was something green in that water you crossed. Might have been a good thing you didn't try swimming through it.

May as well turn your light stone back on, put the head down so you have your hands free and hop down to the bottom level; We can deal with the 'droid later. Then ask Shadow how the FUCK she got the keystone from in there! 'Cause there is no goddamn way she got past those defenses outside of off-camera bullshit shenanigans. And also on the subject of bullshit; How the hell did she tail you in here? You had a damn super-bright light stone on the whole time, there's next to no places to hide, and we're practically eyes in the back of your head. She turn invisible or some shit like that?

Now as far as I know the only way out of there is through the Storage door, so slip back while you're talking to her and yank the wires out of the keycard reader. Then Shadow won't be able to get out of here since she can't perceive how you broke the door... Unless our perception is the one that's wrong. Guess we'll find out from this.

Remember that you have that stun rod the prince gave you specifically to deal with Shadow. It likely can be used through cloth, so using it through your pocket is an option. You get a clear opportunity to jab Eliraz's body with it, take it.

You can also try icing up the underside of his boots and the palms of his hands if you're close enough. That'll put a damper on Shadow's movement.

So does she plan on doing something with the stone, or just keeping it from Ilbir?

>>550603
Well, you know, considering all the evidence that something weird is going on, we could be in an illusion.

Jericho, try to disbelieve it. All indications are that you're not seeing reality.

>Current game is: Sims of civilization 14: Civ harder!
Oh gods. Then when I told Liz to just give up and play Civ...

Whups!

>you’re nuts, aren’t you?
Well at least he's not an alternate personality.

Shadow, humor us. Describe the room you see? If the two of you see different things, it means one or more of you is under the influence of an illusion. This whole area might just be a trap.

Also, Jer, if she ever gets close enough to you to allow it, stun her.

A monkey 2013/12/03(Tue)09:20 No. 550622 ID: b3ca75
File 138609120026.png - (27.18KB , 900x450 , 30.png )

>try to disbelieve it.
…whoa, it felt like I was flying there for a second…
>Ask Shadow what she's seeing here. Doesn't she see the giant statue, and the metal doors, and ladders?
Metal doors? Ladders? I see the statue, sure, but the rest? Are you high or something? Have you been eating strange mushrooms?
>You could tell her she would probably like it better if she had her own body, instead of murdering Eliraz and using what is essentially his living corpse as her body.
What, and give up these awesome powers!? I made this character from scratch, just like you, and I’m not going to give up the powers it has just because prince wuss wants to live!
>Ask the Shadow why is she going to hide the keystone. And then ask where.
So Ilbir will never find it, of course! That asshole deserves it! Thinking that he is better than me! ME!
You’re deranged…

>ask Shadow how the FUCK she got the keystone from in there!
What, you really think a locked door and a few arrow / spear / blade traps would stop me? Peh!
>How the hell did she tail you in here?
You have no idea who you’re dealing with, huh? I’m the best thief that’s ever existed! I walk in the shadows of the world!

>You have that stun rod the prince gave you specifically to deal with Shadow. It likely can be used through cloth, so using it through your pocket is an option. You get a clear opportunity to jab Eliraz's body with it, take it.
…is that a stun rod or are you just very happy to see me? Did you really think I would let you come close to me, slave?
Shadow, please stop this madness! Don’t force me to reveal your secret to the others!
Heh, like I would give you the chance… hehe… you know, I have little bit of information for you. Do you know what happens when a player loses his main pawn? He gets kicked out of the game!
…wai-
And another thing. Did you know…

A monkey 2013/12/03(Tue)09:20 No. 550623 ID: b3ca75
File 138609121442.png - (28.11KB , 900x450 , 31.png )

…that mummies are really flammable?
AAAAAA!!!
Heh, you make a way better fireplace then chair, slave.
IT BURNS!!!

Insert Burn baby burn, disco inferno!_

Ice magic time. On Shadow too, if you can. I don't think we have a choice now.

>>550623
Ice everywhere!

Don't freak out! Only your clothes have caught fire so far. If you move quick you can deal with Shadow before the rest of you starts burning.

Shadow moves in the shadows of the world, but she just turned you into a shadow obliterating torch... Temporarily, I hope.

Grasp your stun rod and immediately lunge forward and give Shadow a big flaming hug with side of zap stick and don't let go. Then apply ice magic to extinguish yourself and Eliraz.

>Shadow saw force field and gun turret differently
Huh. I think the game is the same, but how it's shown is different. We got a sci-fi overlay and Shadow got the one in line with the rest of the game world.

>Disbelieved and was floating
...Oh. Great. Evidence this whole world is an illusion. Wonder how it's gonna work out this time.

>>550622
There's that masked fucker that killed Adil. Looks like he opened the door, then deactivated it so it's stuck open, meaning Shadow can escape easy. I'm suspecting whoever or whatever that is is in league with Shadow.

Main-...Sonnova.
Ok, this isn't good at all.
Wait, Can't we just throw the stun rod at Shadow and take him out that way?
Slow your burning, slow the Shadow,
Speed up the thrown rod as it flies!

A monkey 2013/12/03(Tue)12:56 No. 550636 ID: b3ca75
File 138610420445.png - (28.32KB , 900x450 , 32.png )

>Quickly, ICE MAGIC!
COME ON ICE ICE ICE IC- OH GODS, I THINK I JUST SET MYSELF ON FIRE!
>Ice everywhere!
WHY IS THERE ICE EVERYWHERE BUT ME!? AAAA!!!
>Grasp your stun rod and immediately lunge forward and give Shadow a big flaming hug with side of zap stick and don't let go.
CHARG- WAIT, HE’S HUGGING ME!?
>Don't freak out!
OH GODS, THE PAIN! WHY DO I STILL FEEL PAIN!!!

A monkey 2013/12/03(Tue)12:56 No. 550637 ID: b3ca75
File 138610421463.png - (19.67KB , 900x450 , 33.png )

*Splash!*
*Blub*?

Insert Sonic drowning music_

>>550637
Well, you can't drown thankfully. I wonder if Eliraz took control for a moment there? Pull him out of the water and apply stunstick then restrain him.

Crap! Going by the android's babble and the skulls on the wall the water's really toxic! You gotta get Eliraz out of it NOW!

Grab Eliraz, cover his nostrils and mouth so he doesn't inhale the water, and start trying to swim up as best you can. The fact you're partially hollow and filled with air means you're practically a flotation device, so that'll help. You can also try focusing on the water below you both and turning it into an ice platform; That'll carry you up easy.

Once you got him on dry land check that he's breathing. If he is apply the stun rod and strip him. This is to get the toxic water soaked clothes off of him as well as remove his inventory. No telling how potent the toxins in the water are and I don't want to risk any of it being absorbed through the skin. ...It's not an excuse to get Eliraz naked, I swear. It's a sensible precaution, dammit! Sheesh.

Take a moment to check that you didn't lose any of your gear along the way, then collect the key stone from Eliraz's clothes. Then, if it's small enough, swallow it. That way it won't get lost until Tera cuts it out. And let's see Shadow try to steal it from there.

Wringing out your own clothes so they're not full of toxic water some time soon would be a good idea as well.

Well, now I don't know what to make of the masked specter. If it hadn't opened the door then Eliraz wouldn't have been able to tackle you into the water and save you. ...And was

Note to self-magic does not mix kindly with panic.
Sooo as a mummy, I'm pretty sure you don't need to breathe. Get the shadow's head out of the water, and try to freeze it around him-should stop him from moving...
The ice is to hold him while we find rope or something else to restrain him with, and be sure to search him THUROUGHLY for anything on his person that he could use to cut the rope. Also, get his tail in with his limbs as best you can-no garuntee Shadow hasn't been practicing with that!
...
Hey, something for us to practice later-if Shadow could 'drive' the character like that, could we do the same for you if you're indisposed for some reason?

We should probably get him out of the water, NOW.
inb4 Jericho doesn't know how to swim because desert people

>>550622
sorry I was gone again, but here you can see someone with a mask in the open door on the bottom left side of the screen

also I think you should grab shadow since I think the prince may have just saved your ass.

A monkey 2013/12/04(Wed)09:19 No. 550716 ID: b3ca75
File 138617759718.png - (32.03KB , 900x450 , 34.png )

>Start trying to swim up as best you can.
Swim? What is swim? You mean float? Because I’m floating like a cork.
>Once you got him on dry land check that he's breathing.
*Cough* O-oh gods… *Wheeze* w-why does my eyes b-burn… and my l-lungs? *Cough*
I’m guessing that’s counts as breathing.
>If he is apply the stun rod…
I’m sorry for this.
*Wheeze* Sorry fo- *Rgnt!*
Goodnight, sweet prince.

>and strip him.
Err…
>...It's not an excuse to get Eliraz naked, I swear. It's a sensible precaution, dammit! Sheesh.
If you say so… but I’m not removing his underwear, alright? …even if a part of me wants to…
*Cough*
>Restrain him with ice.
Done and done.
>Wringing out your own clothes so they're not full of toxic water sometime soon would be a good idea as well.
There, now everyone is naked!

>Collect the key stone from Eliraz's clothes.
That’s odd… I can’t find it? It isn’t with the rest of his be-
*Barf!*
…please don’t tell me you just puked blood…
…b-but father… I’m… a man… not… girl… not… b-both… *Cough*

Insert I’m tripping balls, man!_

yeah, well... whatever was in that water probably isn't good for one's health, seeing as we are seeing some weird things right now... what do you know of treating poison effects, cause I'm not real good beyond snakebites.

...*shakes head*
It came down to being alive as the Shadow's puppet or dying to remove it's presense...
I'm guessing that's the choice Shadow presented to the Prince. It could be possible to exise Shadow from him but I doubt it. Though it explains why Shadow could kick us from him-that was the Shadow's main character...
Which, unfortunately, could mean we're VERY attached to you. We lose you, we lose contact with Tera and Illbir...
Bah.
And because we got drugged up, our sight is useless. Not much we can really recommend at this point.
If nothing else...Maybe try and make him comfortable-these may be Eliraz's final moments.

...Oh, gods... The water's much more toxic than I was hoping for. There's... There's nothing you or we can do now. Judging by the bloody puke the toxins quickly break down soft tissue, and they got into his lungs... His lungs are going to dissolve into bloody soup... He's going to drown on dry land and there's not a damn thing we can do about it... Fuck.

I'm guessing Eliraz wanted to kill himself to be rid of Shadow, knowing he would likely be raised as undead, but Shadow held him back. It took seeing you burning to death to push through.

All you can do now is make Eliraz slightly more comfortable in his final moments. Roll him on his side so he isn't puking and coughing blood on himself. Check if there's a canteen in his clothes and if there is use the water from it to wash out his eyes. Then... Hold him. Tell him he'll be free of Shadow soon and you're sorry it was this horrible way and that you'll see that his body gets back to his mother alright.

Once he passes you're going to have to take steps to keep his body as well preserved as possible until he can be raised. Wring out his clothes, lay his body out on them, then freeze his corpse. Go slow and keep going until it's frozen solid. The clothes are to keep him from freezing to the floor. Move quickly, though. The toxins will be dissolving his flesh as long as he's not on ice.

Later on we'll have to get you, Eliraz's body, and both your clothes washed and decontaminated before any of them come in contact with the living. With how potent the toxins were even trace amounts could be hazardous, and it'd be better to be safe than sorry here.

...well, at least we won't have to worry about the Shadow anymore.

Be there for him until the end.

A monkey 2013/12/04(Wed)12:03 No. 550734 ID: b3ca75
File 138618742698.png - (20.13KB , 900x450 , 35.png )

>What do you know of treating poison effects.
I know from experience how to treat most poisons this desert has to offer, but I’ve never even heard about something like this! And it’s a hallucinogen to! The only poisons I know that creates hallucinations like this are bites from some of the less dangerous snakes and bugs… and some cave mushrooms… err… I think it was the spores that did it but… err… nothing as bad as this!

>...Oh, gods... The water's much more toxic than I was hoping for. There's... There's nothing you or we can do now.
…
Ugh… *Cough*
>All you can do now is make Eliraz slightly more comfortable in his final moments. Roll him on his side so he isn't puking and coughing blood on himself. Check if there's a canteen in his clothes and if there is use the water from it to wash out his eyes.
J-Jericho…?
>Then... Hold him. Tell him he'll be free of Shadow soon and you're sorry it was this horrible way and that you'll see that his body gets back to his mother alright.
Don’t worry, Eliraz… you’ll be free from the Shadow soon…
…y-you do realize *cough* that the stun rod t-tends to malfunction when its wet, r-right?
…how the fuck are you talking!? You’re puking blood and bile like a fountain!
…I am? …um… actually… my mouth feels r-rather dry… and I do feel a bit nausea… and I see this really weird sky… it’s all green and blue and yellow and… weee… hehe…
…so, you’re fine?
…w-why am I naked? …why are we b-both naked?

Insert It one hell of a drug_

>>550734
Oh. Well. Awkward.

Clothes back on, I guess. The water's not toxic, it just causes vivid hallucinations.

I think you should move back away from the water, and wait for the hallucinations to wear off. Also tell him that the Shadow retrieved the tear, but it's missing now. It might've fallen in the water, or the Shadow swallowed it, or hid it in some other orifice. Also don't look now but we can see the Shadow in the prince's reflection. Also, us! Hi!

[I SEE YOU, SHADOW. Everyone, attack!]

...Well, I totally feel like a great big overreacting dummy who jumps to the worst possible conclusions right now. I ought to 'cause I totally am. Sorry for all that, Jericho.

Tell Eliraz that at the time you thought the water was extremely toxic and might absorb through the skin and removing his waterlogged clothes was the quickest way to get it off his skin and then you took your wet clothes off... It was a good idea at the time, okay! You were panicking; Grasping at straws! You thought he was going to die.

Okay, that over with, look down at your reflection. That's us connected to you, and that ugly black tentacle blob connected to Eliraz is Shadow. Focus on Shadow and freeze her in the water, then pull Eliraz towards you to try and pull him free. It probably won't work, but in this... place, wherever or whatever it is, it just might.

nudity was to be sure you didn't succumb to the water/get more of it on/in you.
Aaand we know it's a hallocinogin, but aside from that we have no idea of the effects or how to treat it...Part of the hallcinating is that we see you near constantly puking.
Hopefully, you'll be ok, but before we took a drug water bath, we saw what looked like skull warnings in the ruins here, seemingly referring to the water, so we're worried about you.

the fuck is with your reflection dude?

anyways just say there was something in the water, and when we pulled him out he started coughing blood so we thought he might have suffered a wound so we wanted to make sure there we didn't miss it so we removed some clothes to make sure we didn't overlook any wounds... we took ours off to inspect the fire damage to see how bad it was. if you were wondering why we were so close it was because again we were checking for wounds. also if he doesn't believe you just blame us.

A monkey 2013/12/04(Wed)13:43 No. 550748 ID: b3ca75
File 138619341604.png - (22.09KB , 900x450 , 36b.png )

>Oh. Well. Awkward.
…
…
>Clothes back on, I guess.
Yes, of co- wait, where are my clothes?!

>Nudity was necessary!
Um… I thought the water was toxic and… well… I didn’t want you getting any worse… you know, by being drenched in the stuff…
…well, I am feeling a bit under the weather…
I undressed for the same reason… just in case it was harmful to me too… honest!
I trust you… at least, I trust that you didn’t mean any harm by it…
>Tell him that the Shadow retrieved the tear, but it's missing now.
She swallowed it… she usually does it with things she deems important… I haven’t eaten any real food in... um… years? …I haven’t slept either… I… I miss dreaming…
>Reflection.
Hmm…
What?
Oh, nothing, I just had a thought…
S-speaking of thoughts… I feel her taking control again… I… I won’t be able to keep her away for much longer…
>Focus on Shadow and freeze her in the water
Don’t worry, I- Ha!!
*Splash!*
Dammit! She moves to fast!
Ha! Did you really believe I wouldn’t see that coming!? You’re dead, mummy!!
Argh!!
JERICHO!?

Insert I’ve seen enough hentai_

>>550748
Quick set the Shadow on fire!

Out of our player Black Ink Abomination! *Purge the shadow!

Magic offense for Jericho, I'm going to try some defense.
[fly up& form armor for Jericho]
Here's hoping it isn't a mass crowd action thing we need to do to have impressive effects.

OK, it's possible you're just tripping and your clothes are still behind you, so i'm going to suggest ice rather than fire in this case.

Call out to Eliraz to try and help you by pulling at Shadow's tentacles.

Set the tree on fire above the water. The flames will be reflected below, where Shadow is.

Oh, and this might help: [Ban Player Grey from pawn "The Pebble"] We probably should have done that anyway.

>>550752
Worth a shot. We can also try pushing Shadow's tentacles away with our own. Oh, and she left Eliraz wide open, so throw some tentacles around him as well. Maybe she'll think we're going to attack him.

A monkey 2013/12/04(Wed)15:00 No. 550757 ID: b3ca75
File 138619803845.png - (23.48KB , 900x450 , 37.png )

>[Ban Player Grey from pawn "The Pebble"]
[Player grey isn’t inside “The Pebble”.]
>OK, it's possible you're just tripping…
It ripped my arm off! I’M NOT FREAKING TRIPPING!
>[fly up & form armor for Jericho].
Ha… You think that tiny shield will have any effe-
>Out of our player Black Ink Abomination!
Hey! STOP IT, YOU LITTLE TWERP! I’LL RIP YOU A-

>Quick set the Shadow on fire!
…I don’t think I can set her on fire… but there is something else…
AAAARGH!!! HOW DARE YOU!!!
Urgh… I think I overdid it... I don’t think I can do anymore magic for a while…
DIE MAGGOT!! YOU WILL FEAR ME!!!

Insert Let’s party like it’s 999_

*Move tiny shield to protect Jericho Core Runes* Better defense then you inky! Want to get burned away here and now all you needed to do was ask!

*Attempt to possess Shadow*

CONSUME player grey\the shadow.

Dodge to the side, let Eliraz do some attacking.

Jerry's outta magic? Guess it's our turn to do some damage!
[swipe sword from Eliraz, stab at Shadow's head]
EN-GARDE!

A monkey 2013/12/04(Wed)16:58 No. 550774 ID: b3ca75
File 138620510124.png - (9.18KB , 900x450 , 38.png )

>[swipe sword from Eliraz, stab at Shadow's head]
…
>*Move tiny shield to protect Jericho Core Runes* Better defense then you inky! Want to get burned away here and now all you needed to do was ask!
DIE!!
>CONSUME player grey\the shadow.
OW! Son of a- stop biting me, insect!!
>Dodge to the side, let Eliraz do some attacking.
Die monster! You don’t belong in this world!
How dare you! HOW DARE YOU! I was supposed to make you powerful! MIG- ARG!!
SHUT-
OW!
-THE FUCK-
NO!!
UP!!!
Mercy…
YOU GAINT UGLY OCTOPUS!!
…please… no…
…d-did it work? Is s-she dead!? I’M FREE!!? …I’m free? …thank you…

[Player Teal have defeated Player Gray! Player Teal now have control over “The Thief”!]

Insert A miserably little pile of BULLSHIT!_

Hello Eliraz, we're back again! Yes you'll still have to live with voices, but we can't force you to do anything.

Also we need you to somehow cough up the gem, but I believe that can wait till we're topside. Also after that we can get you some real food, water, and sleep.

>>550776
also clothes, we would like some clothes.

also can we keep trying to eat player grey? I find it amusing for reasons I really can't fathom

Good job Eliraz!
Now grab that mummified lizard and kiss him dramatically like they do in action films after the climactic fight~

No thanks needed, Eliraz. [Reach up and hug Eliraz] We should be the ones thanking you for wresting control from Shadow long enough to save Jericho from burning up. So, thank you.

Now, we've got a key stone to recover. Unless you know of an easier way, Eli, we'll be going in. [Shove tentacles down Shadow's corpse's throat] Gonna reach all the way to the bottom and yank it inside out. That ought to dump out the internal inventory. I wonder what else Shadow deemed important enough to swallow.

And when we're done here we're going to rip Shadow's corpse into itty-bitty pieces and eat them all so she'll never, ever come back. ...I wonder if she tastes like calamari.

At long last, the battle's over. With any luck, I'll be able to get your arm back on Jericho, hold still please!
[fetches Jericho's arm, attempts re-attachment]
As far as you Eliraz, I'm SO VERY GLAD that we could fight Shadow independantly of you. I suspect that's how battles really are supposed to go- player ghost-thing versus player ghost-thing...Which makes me wonder-what happens if say, we're with Tera and another player encounters us? I'd think we'd be less powerful, BUT we don't get 'killed' if we lose that fight. We'll see.

>>550774
It is. The Shadow is dead. Congratulations, you're a free man, all through the magic of mind-expanding hallucinations. Now, what was that mumbling you were doing about being "both"? You don't have any female bits, do you?

I suggest we grab that arm and be ready. It looks like Mr sad face guardian is back. Far left, can only see a bit of him.

>message text.
Oh gods. We are literally playing Civ. With capture the flag princess mode turned on. Wow.

>Is s-she dead!?
...maybe? She was begging for mercy. The message said she was defeated, not dead. So it's possible you still have to make the choice to spare her or not.

A monkey 2013/12/05(Thu)11:31 No. 550838 ID: b3ca75
File 138627187734.png - (8.45KB , 900x450 , 39.png )

>Also can we keep trying to eat player grey?
[New recipe discovered! Squid sushi with “soy” sauce!]
>[Shove tentacles down Shadow's corpse's throat]
[Unable to find “Throat”! Shadow is a metaphorical being and thus doesn’t have a throat!]
>Hello Eliraz, we're back again! Yes you'll still have to live with voices, but we can't force you to do anything.
…have your voice ever... um…
You don’t need to listen to them if you don’t want to. They are harmless, believe me.
>Also clothes, we would like some clothes.
Um… can you find our clothes?
I… the only thing I see is flying pink elephants…

>She was begging for mercy. The message said she was defeated, not dead. So it's possible you still have to make the choice to spare her or not.
…
…
Kick it just to be sure it’s dead.
It didn’t even react. It’s dead, jer.
>Now, we've got a key stone to recover.
Err… I can recover it later, alright?
>No thanks needed, Eliraz.
Please, I owe you my life, let me repay you!
Um… You did save my life when you forced me into the water…
…well… um… That doesn’t count? …let me just repay you, alright?

>Now grab that mummified lizard and kiss him dramatically like they do in action films after the climactic fight~
(*Sigh* Oh, how I wish to give this shining knight his just reward… but… wait, did I think that out loud!? Um… forget I thought about that, please?)
>Now, what was that mumbling you were doing about being "both"? You don't have any female bits, do you?
(Err… i-it was j-just the… um… h-hallucinations talking… n-nothing more… h-honest!)
>we can get you some real food, water, and sleep.
…mmm… sleep sounds… good…
…Eliraz?
*Snore*

>It looks like Mr sad face guardian is back.
Oh, it’s you… let me guess, you’re going to disappear right when I’m looking at you, right?
Not really…
I kne- wait, what? You spoke?
*Snore*

Insert It’s a team effort, guys!_

Lemme guess you are another player.

my god we're everywhere, so why's he talking to us this time instead of trying to gut us or push us down really big fucking holes in the floor?

(Wow, this Shadow sushi is surprisingly delicious! Pardon me while I talk with my metaphorical mouth full of metaphorical sushi.)

Okay, I'm glad he stuck around. Maybe he'll answer our questions, and if we're really lucky the answers won't be so cryptic as to be worthless.

Alright, for starters ask him who he is, what he is, what's his role in all this, if he's the same masked man we've seen all those times before, and why he's been taking actions that led you down here to defeat Shadow. That covers the biggest questions I have right now.

I'm betting he's an ancient powerful Guardian of the Heaven's Tears, since he wears their mask, and his recent actions appear to have been to get you down here to intercept Shadow before she could leave with the key stone. He may also be an agent of the prophecy, working to see it play out roughly how it is written.

>>550839
I dunno. With what little we know he could be an NPC or a player with a different set of objectives and agenda than the ones we've met so far.

>>550838
Alright, ask who he is and what he wants you to collect the tears for. Also, what do they do?

Ask if he's alone, or if he's working with others on this. It'd be a good thing to know if he's got a group of same faced beings or if he's been the same one this entire time.

A monkey 2013/12/05(Thu)16:07 No. 550862 ID: b3ca75
File 138628842919.png - (7.88KB , 900x450 , 40.png )

>Lemme guess you are another player.
Not currently…
>Alright, for starters ask him who he is, what he is…
Who… and what I am is irrelevant.
…It’s relevant because I want to know!
What you want and what I want is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is what happen.
…you like using the word irrelevant, don’t you?
How many times I use the word irrelevant is irrelevant.
>what's his role in all this.
…it depends.
…on what?
That also depends…

>if he's the same masked man we've seen all those times before?
Yes.
Finally a straight answer!
>why he's been taking actions that led you down here to defeat Shadow.
Did you know, that the AI’s can’t actually defeat each other? Oh, sure, they wage war, but they can’t actually win or lose. You, on the other hand, just won over an AI, which means that you aren’t an AI, are you? Quite interesting, right?
>I'm betting he's an ancient powerful Guardian of the Heaven's Tears.
Wearing a mask doesn’t change who’s underneath.
>He may also be an agent of the prophecy, working to see it play out roughly how it is written.
In a sense, yes, writing it does help, doesn’t it… if anything, I do want to see what I’ll write in the end.
>Why he wants you to collect the tears for. Also, what do they do?
They change the world. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse. It all depends on who’s in control in the end. But… I can’t really go into more details then that…
Why?
Because you’re about to wake up from your hallucination filled dream. Oh, and give B4t3 my regards… he’s choice was quite interesting, wasn’t it? …and please don’t break the game…
…what ar-

A monkey 2013/12/05(Thu)16:07 No. 550863 ID: b3ca75
File 138628844289.png - (7.11KB , 900x450 , 41.png )

-Ngt huh?
Oh, you’re awake! Please hold still, pebble, your arm is still a bit lose.
…what happened?
According to Ilbir, you and the prince fell down a pit trap straight down into a chamber filled with hallucinating inducing mushrooms. With all that water and it being completely undisturbed for the gods knows how long that place was filled with spores form those mushrooms.
…wait, if I was hallucinating, how did I lose my arm?
Oh, you walked right into a blade trap. You’re lucky you had this statue head in your arms or you would have probably only been half the man you’re now. Ilbir thinks it’s a golems head and it’s still working, but I don’t know… seems pretty dead to me.
…right… tha- wait, Eliraz? Is he okay!?
The prince? Oh, he’s fine… a bit under the weather and hungry, but fine. Poor kid doesn’t seem to have eaten in ages… but he did find one of those weird blue stones down there. So that’s some good news, I guess?

Insert Damn you, Beta! Stop stealing all my time!_

...Well.
That's very important to know.
Well Jericho. From what I understand of what happened...
AI's like us or Shadow can fight, but we cannot win.
Therefore, it's up to the characters we bring in, like you 'the Pebble' or Tera 'the acolyte' to help us fight our opponents...If we choose to fight. We might be able to cut a deal with them maybe? Who knows...At any rate, important facts-
-we advise you, but you can turn on us, as Eliraz demonstrated on Shadow.
-the battles are a mixture of both us, the AI, and our characters fighting, presumably.
-Something important to note is that while killing you IS the fastest way to 'kill' us, we can be killed seperate from you...
Now, since characters are given to the winner, don't feel like you MUST fight for us. You can if you want to, and I'm sure we will do what we can to help you as well, but it's not necessarily a battle you have to fight, if I understand this right.

>>550863
We should go back down there with some sort of protection from the mushrooms. We need to get beta a body. And check out what's actually down there.

Who found us down there without hallucinating as well?

ask beta if he's up yet or not... and if he is if he's talking normal again or still in that weird kinda high way? also it seems we're back to seeing the game world now as beta's head does look stone now so it would probably be best if we keep the metal doors and force fields to ourselves for now.

>>550874
and to add to this how does a mummy hallucinate anyways, I don't think they have any lungs... or a freaking brain for that matter, how does that work?

I'm kinda wondering how a mummy was infected by spores? Being undead kinda protects against mind effects usually.

Where are we?

Also, ask what happened to Adil.

>>550866
Side note on that. Weather you fight for us or not, there is a storm coming; not of our making. And unless you rise to the challenge, it will ruin you and everyone else in its path. Our general goal is to turn that coming tragedy around. That means saving you and your friends. So our goals are very much in line with what you most likely want.

The bad news (if that wasn't grim enough.) The other players will not necessarily leave you alone as a non issue if you don't want to go along with us. This isn't a threat. Just an observation of past cycles. So avoidance is not a path of safety. (most likely)

But the bottom line is our victory conditions are so to speak, pretty much as close to a happily ever after that a person in your condition can get. Not sure how that will come out, but we did a pretty good job of making a lich girl find love acceptance and family. So our track record is pretty good.

One last thing. This meta concept stuff will make most people think your crazy... no I don't think we need to tell you that, you have a bit more common sense than some off our previous charges. Whom, by the way we have gotten all out alive to date.

One last, last thing before I forget. The System, game, or what ever it is... even we are certain, love illusions, hallucination and generally is whats happening really happening twist you mind scenarios. I've seen like 7 or 8 illusionary adventures nested in each other as our hero tried to find their way back to QUOTE Reality UNQUOTE. So be careful and we will watch you back.

Check with Tera how long you're going to have to remain still. I'd like to get things done out there soon, but not if your arm is going to fall off if you get up. And ask about getting modded with internal storage and if Tera can do the work here. If you're going to be stuck laying here then you may as well get it now. See if she can make it hidden as well, so we can hide our inventory from searches.

Definitely ask Tera how the heck, as a mummy, you went trippin' on mushroom spores. Then ask if you could have some of those mushrooms collected for your personal use later. As an undead your options for mind-altering experiences are rather low, so get this one while you can.

Ask Tera what happened to Adil, then tell her what happened in the ruins entrance with the Masked Man. Also, to check if it was a hallucination, ask her if you had any burn damage as well, then tell her that down there Eliraz, under the control of Shadow, set you on fire with a torch.

Tell her that you're nearly certain that that's a golem's head, since it spoke to you earlier. It's body was broken and you were bringing it to a replacement one when you ran into Shadow. Then tell her it told you there should be a compatible body through the third door up on the right in the statue room. Unless that was all a hallucination, but it's as good a place as any for Ilbir to check first.

Oh, also tell Tera that Shadow is dead. You, we and Eliraz killed her while on that hallucinatory trip to the "spirit realm" or "mental plane" or wherever... Well, whatever it was she's dead and Eliraz is free and can finally eat, drink and sleep again. We ought to tell Ilbir this ASAP as well. We don't want him thinking Shadow is still in control of the prince, since he might take actions against him.

Hmmm... So if the hallucinatory mushroom spores were trapped below, then supposedly what we saw in the entranceway wasn't a hallucination. That means the keycard was a keycard and not a key or something else with a hallucination over it, and that implies the keycard readers and everything else that goes with that. Better collect your clothes and inventory ASAP to check the keycards you got.

Guys, you forgot to ask Mr. Mask there why he killed Adil.

But yeah, ask what happened to him. He was there with you, and you swear he got stabbed with a glowing blade in your 'hallucination'.

Also yeah Tera, we shouldn't have to worry about the shadow anymore. The Prince should be free.

>I'm kinda wondering how a mummy was infected by spores? Being undead kinda protects against mind effects usually.
Mummies also usually don't breathe. Or have lungs at all, actually.

A monkey 2013/12/07(Sat)16:48 No. 551067 ID: b3ca75
File 138646369709.png - (7.38KB , 900x450 , 42.png )

>Where are we?
In a tent… probably in the camp right above the ruins.

>Who found us down there without hallucinating as well?
Ilbir and Kranhon found you. They made some makeshift mask with some wet cloth.
>Check with Tera how long you're going to have to remain still.
Just a few minutes. It’s almost healed.
>Ask about getting modded with internal storage and if Tera can do the work here.
I kind of need some tools for that… tools that I don’t have. We have to visit the temple when we get back if you want some extra space.

>how the heck, as a mummy, did you star trippin' on mushroom spores?
I mean, aren’t undead immune to mind effecting spells?
You are? I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around; your mind is more fragile than usual. There is a reason why the undead generally goes bonkers after a few years.
But you said I couldn’t get drunk!
Well, you can’t by drinking the stuff. If you cut yourself open and pour the stuff directly into your core… um… the place where your mind is right now, you’d get pretty drunk. Same stuff with the spores, anything that’s airborne will generally affects you just as much as someone that breathes. You aren’t air thigh, you know.
>Ask if you could have some of those mushrooms collected for your personal use later.
…I’m not helping you start a drug habit.
Ah, you’re no fun…
>what happened to Adil
Adil? The other undead slave? Oh, they found his clothes down in a pit trap. The poor basted probably wander right into it while hallucinating, thus killing himself.

>ask her if you had any burn damage.
Your clothes was badly burned, but it seems your body was spared, so you’ll have to borrow some clothes from me until we get back, alright? By the way, how did you…?
The Shadow attacked me with a torch… don’t worry, she’s been dealt with permanently. Trust me.
You better tell Ilbir that.
>Tell her that you're nearly certain that that's a golem's head, since it spoke to you earlier.
It did? It doesn’t seem to work now, thought. You sure you weren’t hallucinating?
>supposedly what we saw in the entranceway wasn't a hallucination. That means the keycard was a keycard…
…where is my stuff?
Right there… what? Are you missing something?
…you haven’t seen a weird looking playing card, have you? …wait, I’m missing the knife too? Where is the knife the princess gave me!?
I dunno, haven’t seen either of those things, sorry… well, I’ve never seen anything, but you get what I mean.

Insert What does your special eyes see?_

Well the supposedly inert statue's eyes are now glowing red. Point for not being insane.

Maybe someone else took the knife off you while you were unconscious? Unless your master says so, you're kind of not supposed to have weapons. If they didn't know where you got it, that makes it contraband.

Hopefully it didn't say, get lost when you were underwater.

>>551068
Yup. Glowy eyes. Is it awake?

Whelp, looks like you'll need to search for your stuff. If you want to keep the fact that you have (or had) a weapon on a need-to-know basis, only refer to it as 'a gift from the Princess' and leave it at that.

>undead generally goes bonkers after a few years.

Well crap. Is that an inevitability, or just something that happens to undead locked in crypts?

>>551074
...I wonder if there are mental exercises or meditation or anything that would help with the slowly going mad problem.

Well the reason for the Golems inactivity was because it was apart of its body, but it was asking for it to be attached to a new power source, so we kinda grabbed it, and it fell off from its body and went inert.

>>551067
Wait, you're gonna go mad in a few years? Is there any way to prevent that maybe?

Regardless, we do need to get down there and get Beta connected to their new body. Let's do that as soon as your arm heals and you find your missing stuff.

Dangit. You kinda implicitly promised to bring that dagger back to the princess and now it's either been dropped in the ruins or stolen. We'd best get on this quick, before it has a chance to wander off.

You may have to head down into the ruins again, so ask Tera what to do to protect yourself from the spores. Do you just have to cover your mouth with a damp cloth, wad it up and plug your throat, or are there other ways the air can get to your core and you're going to have to block those up as well? Also, can we get air filters installed so this crap doesn't happen again?

And they only found Adil's clothes? No bodily remains at all? Odd. Ask Tera if they found his clothes at the bottom of the pit trap you fell down and what happens to a ghoul if its core is pierced (like Adil's was.) It may just be that ghoul bodies completely burn up when their core is broken.

Oh, and ask where Adil's clothes are. No sense in wearing Tera's spares for the duration of the expedition if you can wear Adil's instead. Still have to wear hers to get his, unless you're fine with walking through camp naked.

Check if anything else has gone missing besides the dagger, throw on Tera's spare clothes, snap up B4t3's head and step out of the tent. Whisper "The Masked Man sends his regards, B4t3. Got anything to say about that?" to it once you're outside to see if you get a response.

Next go see Ilbir, first to tell him that Shadow is gone for good (he can order you to tell the truth on that to confirm,) and second to ask where the dagger the princess lent you is. We'd also like you to be on the team that goes down into the ruins to retrieve the golem's body (partly to check what the place looks like when you're not under the influence.)

We also ought to see about getting you some torso armor soon. From what we've seen your most vulnerable spot is your core; Everything else can be cut or ripped off and put back on, but a piercing hit to the core and you're done for. You'd probably be able to get Ilbir to pay for it by framing it as protecting his 1000 crown purchase from dropping dead from a (un)lucky hit.

>>551070
>>551074
If I remember correctly, Jericho isn't prohibited from possessing weapons. He's just prohibited from using them against certain targets.

And undead going crazy after only a few years isn't inevitable. Take the sultan, for example. She's been undead for more than twenty years and hasn't lost her marbles. Yet. It'd still be a good idea to ask Tera about what to do to push back the undead insanity, but probably not now.

oh think beta just woke up, anyways does this mean you can still get drunk if you could just find a way to pour the alcohol to your core then? Good news Jericho, you can still do your favorite hobby. Oh and is there a way for us to go back down without getting high again so we can try and look for our stuff? we did kinda promise the princess we'd bring her dagger back and it seems bad things happen to undead who don't keep there promises soooooo yeah... we kinda need to find that damn thing now.

A monkey 2013/12/08(Sun)08:37 No. 551147 ID: b3ca75
File 138652064334.png - (17.62KB , 900x450 , 43.png )

>Ask Tera what to do to protect yourself from the spores.
Well, the only solution we have right now is staying away from the water filled catacombs. There wasn’t anything down there anyway so… um… anyway, if you want a more permanent solution it would be… um… quite expensive… and unconformable… I don’t actually know if it will work or not either. Even dead people generally want to feel the air, so to speak, so something like this isn’t really sought after.

>They only found Adil's clothes? No bodily remains at all?
The undead generally collapse completely when their core breaks, leaving only dust behind.
>Ask where Adil's clothes are.
Still down there, I guess. I mean, they were mostly just rags and are probably completely unusable by this point, thanks to Adil probably collapsing in them.
>You're gonna go mad in a few years? Is that an inevitability, or just something that happens to undead locked in crypts?
Well, being locked in a crypt probably doesn’t help, but it happens to everyone. Your mind isn’t entirely stable and will drift apart very slowly over time. There’s nothing to be done about that.
But the sultan has been dead for like twenty years and she isn’t crazy?
Well, yeah, they usually decommission undeads after fifty years, because that’s when the mind starts to go bad.
…FIFTY YEARS!? THAT’S NOT A FEW YEARS! AT ALL!! Geez, you scared me!
…it isn’t a few years? What is it then? Tens of years? It’s not a hundreds of years…
You should have said fifty from the start.
Oh, right, I should have… sorry, pebble, didn’t mean to scare you like that.

>looks like you'll need to search for your stuff.
Hmmm, I seem to be missing some things…
Maybe check with the prince. Ilbir took everything he should find down there up with him so maybe he gave it to the wrong person.
>snap up B4t3's head and ste-
What are you doing?
Um… taking the golem head?
Not with that arm, you aren’t! That thing is heavy, so unless you want to lose that arm again leave the head here. It’s not going anywhere, right?
>Whisper "The Masked Man sends his regards, B4t3. Got anything to say about that?"
[Stop trying to break the game or you’ll be permanently banned! This is your last warning!]
…did you hear that?
Hear what?
Never mind…
Um… there can still be some spores left inside you, so if I was you I should ignore anything strange that might happen.

Insert Ban hammer!_

>fifty few
Terra, the generally accepted definition for a 'few' is 'more than three'. The prospect of going in mad in as little as 3 years is pretty scary. In 50, it's more like slowly succumbing to old age like everyone else.

>Stop trying to break the game or you’ll be permanently banned! This is your last warning!
...could we request a formal list of our infractions so we may avoid repeating them in the future? I can't seem to find our copy of the terms of service or user agreement, and we would appreciate some assistance so we may stay in compliance.

Sorry for the trouble.

>still spores inside
Cough! ...outdoors. In this little tent if you get them out, you risk contaminating Terra.

>>551149
Agreeing about the infractions. Plus, our sole duty has been to break the game in past incarnations.

Tiny tents! Anyways we should find Mr Ilbir and tell him about the Shadow's disappearance.

well might as well see how the prince is doing, and get that dagger back so we don't break our word to the princess. Also to beta, is talking to you breaking the rules, or using your name, would finding you a new body still be breaking the rules? just trying to figure out if talking to you alright or not.

I think dealing with anything that is aware of existence being a game that is NOT another player but say, Bata there, is an offense, besides which, it makes us look crazy as all get out to do so anyway, most likely.
We are used to trying to game our way out of a bad situation, I will say that...

A monkey 2013/12/08(Sun)11:40 No. 551171 ID: b3ca75
File 138653161685.png - (7.36KB , 900x450 , 44.png )

>...could we request a formal list of our infractions so we may avoid repeating them in the future?
[Any action that would break, expose or otherwise derail the game. This includes referring to this unit as B4t3. This unit is simply a currently non-functional golem and not a really handsome and/or sexy android. Please try to stay in character at all times.]
…are you whispering to that golem head?
…no?
>Terra, the generally accepted definition for a 'few' is 'more than three'.
I’ve already said I was sorry, geez.
>Cough! ...outdoors.
*Cough*cough*
You probably got some stuck inside your ribcage and stuff. Coughing won’t solve it. Don’t worry, I’ll wash you clean when we get back.
>We should find Mr Ilbir and tell him about the Shadow's disappearance.
He’s down in the ruins. You should probably wait until he gets back.

>We’ll might as well see how the prince is doing, and get that dagger back so we don't break our word to the princess.
Eliraz?
Ah, my knight in shi- err, I mean Jericho. Nice to know that you to is alright.
…you don’t look alright to me, my prince.
Oh, I’m fine, really… it’s just the lack of sleep and proper food that is taking its tool… now that the shadow isn’t keeping me nourished. Don’t worry; I’ll be alright as soon as I get some proper sleep and a nice grand meal.
That’s good to hear… um… listen, I’m missing some of my stuff and-
The knife, right? I’m sorry, but I… um… borrowed it from you when we were fighting down in the ruins… it’s my sisters, right?
Yes, she lent it to me… to bring me luck.
…luck? I’ve never heard that this blade brings luck… but I do know it should be enchanted. It was my fathers, you know. He got it from some ruins and was able to repair it… it’s supposedly very effective against magical creatures, like the undead or golems... hmm… I wonder… maybe that’s why it was so effective against the shadow? Oh sorry, I just keep talking, don’t I… sorry… here, take it… she did lend it to you, after all…

Insert +4 against magical creatures_

well thank him for helping you down there and since you're here might as well ask if he want you to grab him a meal or something, I mean he does look a little out of it, to the point where I'm having a hard time deciding weather or not he's pissed that his sister gave you the blade or just tired.

>Infractions
Oooh, I get it. The 'hallucination' let Jericho see behind the curtain. And now we're being asked to kindly maintain the masquerade.

>for luck
Well, a gift can bring one luck, even if it's not specifically enchanted that way.

Still, useful enchantment.

Thank him.