Kaktus 2014/04/17(Thu)12:06 No. 571245 ID: 65a774
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That was way too many security controls. It felt like it took days for us to get through.
Well, we don’t want just anyone to have access to the old tombs… and the only entrance is in the lower city. That’s place is full of criminals, addicts and poor people. Who knows what they would do if they got access to a place like this.
Still… it’s a bit of an overkill, isn’t it?
Either way, you should feel honored. Very few feet’s has graced these floors in the last few thousand years. In fact, this is only the second time I’m in here… now, what where we looking for again?
“The sealed portal guarding the voice lies beneath the feet of the one that’s the most important inside the memorial of the fallen.”
Huh? Where did you hear that?
It was in the prophecy book. I checked it before I went in… and there was one more… let’s see… “Beyond the vast expanse, the vertebrate of steel and wire watches the sun rise for the first time after its itinerary across the infinite sea.”
…did the guy writing those things just stumble upon a dictionary or something?

Insert My finite vocabulary is a bit attenuate for holding a true palaver_

Wow, something very interesting is happening in the night sky right now. A pity we have no pawns that can see it. The eye-shaped "constellation" lit up with rays casting between each "star", and a beam is either shooting down from the center or up into it from below.

>>571245
"vertibrate of steel and wire" sounds like a spaceship to me. I wonder if it's a space whale. That'd be pretty fantastical.

What's with the masked janitors? My immediate thought is the portal is under that giant statue but is that actually the most important person here?

[check pawn status]

We're back! And we have bad news! Like always!

Thaark was killed and Thuul was injured fighting a demon that possessed Horus, who was subsequently killed by Temrock. It seems that in the future, Eliraz may become a ghoul and Elizah will replace the current sultan.

Also, we totally pulled a crying game on some poor bastard.

There is some not-so-terrible news, though. We figured out Who Jericho's parents are, and two more keystones are on their way to the city.

Yay, we finally got back to you two! We've been all over since we parted. Jumped to shaman Durach, then Thaark, Thuul, Tera, Temrock, and took another unexpected detour to the Northlands nine months hence. There's so much stuff we need to share with you it'll take a bit to put together. Could you guys hold here for a few minutes, please.

Eliraz, I agree with you about the Book of Prophecy's author. He writes like he just bought a thesaurus and is determined to wring his money's worth out of it.

What the first line of prophecy is saying would seem to be obvious: The portal is underneath the big-ass statue in the middle of the room. But it also said it was beneath the feet of the "most important," and that might not be the statue. Who else is laid to rest here?

The second line of prophecy is... I dunno. That's the first we've heard anything like that while in this world. To me it sounds like a starship arriving at its destination world after a long trip through space, but we probably just don't have enough context to make sense of it. Damn cryptic writing...

Eliraz, why were you down here before? Who's funeral was it, if it was for a funeral?

That statue looks very much like the one we saw at Ilbir's dig site. Think there's a connection between them? Who's it of?

The decoration above it with the eye in the center looks familiar... Ah, I think it represents Aerathin's Belt. It has ten spheres representing the belt's ten stars, and it's shaped like what the belt looks like from here. And we had a vision right before coming to you guys that might be related to the eye in the center: We saw Aerathin's Belt over the dunes, beams of light shooting from each of its stars to its center and a vertical shaft of light from that point to the ground. No idea what it means but it must be important.

Jer, I suggest you summon the Spear of Light and keep it in hand while down here. I very much doubt there'll be trouble down here, but I'd still feel safer if you'd have it.

[Check pawn status][Check corruption level][Scan all targets in area]

>>571260
We didn't actually get confirmation that Elizah will become sultan, it's just likely from the bits of evidence we got. We really ought to have outright asked who the sultan was, shouldn't we?

Kaktus 2014/04/17(Thu)15:33 No. 571264 ID: 65a774
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>[check pawn status]
[“The pebble”: Normal. “The Thief”: Horny. “The acolyte”: Annoyed. “The scholar”: Annoyed. “The Heir of Savagery”: Bathing in guts. “The Shaman”: Walking the land.]
>[Check corruption level]
[0%]
>[Scan all targets in area]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]

>We're back! And we have bad news! Like always!
Oh, great…
>Thaark was killed and Thuul was injured fighting a demon that possessed Horus, who was subsequently killed by Temrock.
Thaark is dead? Huh… that’s… I guess it’s not like one of those old epics where every hero survives in the end…
Meh, I’ve already died once… wasn’t that bad…
>It seems that in the future, Eliraz may become a ghoul and Elizah will replace the current sultan.
I’m what!? But I… I don’t want to die!
Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. No matter what comes, I will stand my ground.
…thank you, my knight~
>There is some not-so-terrible news, though. We figured out Who Jericho's parents are.
YOU DID!? Who!? Where!? What!? TELL ME!!!
>two more keystones are on their way to the city.
Wait… don’t we have all of them then?
We’re still missing the one from the ruins and… um… if Thaark is dead…
>Something very interesting is happening in the night sky right now.
Night sky? It’s barely dinner time! There’s no way the sun has already set.
>We saw Aerathin's Belt over the dunes, beams of light shooting from each of its stars to its center and a vertical shaft of light from that point to the ground. No idea what it means but it must be important.
…a beam of light? What?
It almost sounds like those old myths about gods and stuff… descending in a beam of light…

>What's with the masked janitors?
Never mind them, they are just Undead servants without sentience put in here to keep this place clean. No one important, just some savages th- err…
…
I mean criminal who… um…
…
…bad people?
…I’m sure they were… in some eyes…
>What the first line of prophecy is saying would seem to be obvious: The portal is underneath the big-ass statue in the middle of the room.
I’m pretty sure there’s a room right under this one that’s accessible by a pair of stairs just around the corner…
>Who else is laid to rest here?
Well, I don’t know who the ancients laid to rest here but… Most of the royal family and those loyal to us lie here. The most important one is probably the tomb of Eli, the founder of the Serath kingdom and the first Sultan.
>That statue looks very much like the one we saw at Ilbir's dig site. Think there's a connection between them? Who's it of?
It’s probably the same design. They are both made in the ancient times, after all. This one is depicting some kind of warrior, probably one of those that were chosen by the gods to be their avatars. This place is filled with statues like this.
>Eliraz, why were you down here before? Who's funeral was it, if it was for a funeral?
It was my grandfathers… it was when we laid his ashes to rest. It was years ago.

Insert Don’t worry, they we’re just some undesirables that was made into loyal subject, that needs to scream but have no mouths_

>>571264
Oh, the Belt's interlocking rays or whatever look like that decoration up there. That means this phenomenon has been witnessed before. It was possibly even well-recorded back in the time when this crypt was made. When was this crypt made anyway? It would be a good idea to research it and find out what that decoration is supposed to represent. That would give us an indication of what is going on with the Belt.

Jericho, your parents are Morkay and Durach. Mother and father respectively. Morkay is the one of the pair that's descended from your grandfather. She's also some sort of weird form of undead.

Let's head to Eli's tomb.

Wait, why is The Hunter not in our list of pawns? [check status of Thuul]

>TELL ME!!!
Durach, the Shaman, is your father. He has two keystones in his possession and is bringing them, along with some tribals, to the city. You get your royal blood from your mother, Mor'kay.
That one kinda stumped us too.

>wasn't that bad
Your first words as an undead were "it hurts" and "kill me, please". I think you're confusing the dying part with everything that happened afterwards.

Anyway, I don't have to tell you two to be careful. We've already lost at least one good man today.


“The Heir of Savagery”: Bathing in guts.
I... What?

>>571267
That's the commander. He's fighting a Skrang, and apparently winning.

Jericho, shaman Durach is your father, warlord Mor'Kay is your mother, and she is the daughter of Esiros. He didn't figure out you were his son until recently because Mor'Kay kept it a secret from him. He also said Mor'Kay sought him out for their few times together, so she likely went in with the intent to secretly sire an antipodian mage.

Jer, the Dark One had been using Horus' corpse as a puppet for months now. You had to have noticed some major changes in his behavior these past months, yes?

Eliraz, we might still be able to recover the keystone that was in the "three doves east" ruin. It was in the ruin entrance on Thaark's corpse when we left Thuul. If we're very lucky Horus didn't go back to retrieve it before he was destroyed, or if he did he still had it on him at that point.

Aw, Thuul's missing from our pawn status check. I guess he didn't survive until the rescue party arrived. I hope he can be raised along with Thaark... Aw, crap... If Horus did go back for the keystone then he may have not only killed Thuul while there but destroyed his and Thaark's bodies as a "fuck you" to us.

And Temrock is "bathing in guts?" I'm surprised; Not for the guts but for the fact he's still alive. Last we saw him he was about to be devoured by the Dark One's undead skrang. Usually people don't survive something like that.

Now lets go check out Eli's tomb. I hope we don't end up having to pop it open to look under his shoes or something like that.

>Porn Servers accessed!
Yessss.

>I’m what!? But I… I don’t want to die!
Sorry. We weren't able to get close enough to you or Pink in the future to ask you questions about what happens and maybe get the answers we need to try and change outcomes here. Not that we know we can, but we chose to try and make things better rather than settle for inevitable.

*Cough*. Could you make an effort to remember not to hate us or get bitter if you do die? Paradoxically, that decision now may be what we need to get dead-future-you to help now-you not to die...

>Never mind them, they are just...
Animated bodies put to simple tasks. Whoever they once were has been dead for along time. Their crimes, and/or those of who killed them, are past.

Oh, Eliraz, we did find out in a roundabout manner that there's no such thing as a time paradox so we may actually be able to keep you alive!

>I will stand my ground.
Apparently when dealing with daemons, that's not always a god idea. Illusions can only affect people in a certain range, which means you'll sometimes need to retreat unless you want to walk into a trap.

That's not a mistake we can afford to make twice.

Kaktus 2014/04/18(Fri)09:11 No. 571353 ID: 65a774
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>[check status of Thuul]
[Unable to connect to “The Hunter”. Last message received: “The Hunter” has died (Crushed)!]

>Oh, the Belt's interlocking rays or whatever look like that decoration up there. It was possibly even well-recorded back in the time when this crypt was made. When was this crypt made anyway?
The crypt was made in the ancient times. Why don’t have an exact date but it’s very old, I can tell you that.
>It would be a good idea to research it and find out what that decoration is supposed to represent.
Well, we do know that the gold orbed circle is Aerathin’s belt and the eye is usually the gods eyes or presence.
…the gods are in the belt?
>Your first words as an undead were "it hurts" and "kill me, please". I think you're confusing the dying part with everything that happened afterwards.
…I’ve had forgotten about that… It… I… I had forgotten how painful it was…
Don’t worry, my knight, when we get home I’ll make sure you forget about it again.

>*Cough*Could you make an effort to remember not to hate us or get bitter if you do die?
The only reason I would be bitter with you is if it’s your fault.
>Jer, the Dark One had been using Horus' corpse as a puppet for months now. You had to have noticed some major changes in his behavior these past months, yes?
Well, we did become a bit more… aggressive against the Serath.
>Durach, the Shaman, is your father. He has two keystones in his possession and is bringing them, along with some tribals, to the city.
Durach? …I know that name… He’s one of the more famous shamans out there… his my father? …I actually know my father?
>Warlord Mor'Kay is your mother, and she is the daughter of Esiros.
Wait, the warlord is my mother!?
The Warlord is of royal blood? Hmm… that would explain why those savages are so organized all the sudden.
…
Err… I mean… they actually have some tactics behind them this time… not just charging into the fray blinded by bloodlust…
…
Oh, come on, I’m just stating facts here… geez…

>Let's head to Eli's tomb.
Right, sorry if I insulted you, but we need to focus at the matter at ha- what is going on in here!?

Insert It’s a party! Open the coffins to get your present!_

>The only reason I would be bitter with you is if it’s your fault.
...it might end up being. At the bare minimum, if it comes to pass, it will be our fault for not finding a way to stop in. Or for well, getting you involved in all this.

>Last message received: “The Hunter” has died (Crushed)!
What! Characters aren't allowed to die offscreen! That's terrible! Fuck.

Jer, summon spear. Hold position and defend if they attack. Eliraz, get behind Jer; Watch for anything that might be coming this way. We'll scan and figure this out before taking action. [Scan all targets in area]

These look like ancient undead constructs, and since this place is an ancient structure it might be they're supposed to be here as part of the defenses. Eliraz, do you know if they're supposed to be here? Will they leave you and Jer alone since you've both been authorized to be here?

Eliraz, even if the constructs are supposed to leave you alone I'd still like you to stay out of their reach and be wary of them. I worry they might suddenly go hostile for some reason. Just be ready to do your shadow thing and get out of here.

It looks like these undead constructs were riled up by Eli's tomb being opened. But who could have gotten in here to open it? Only members of the royal family have access, right?

That statue of Eli is amazingly lifelike. And it's stood up remarkably well for how long its been down here. ...That is a statue, right?

Aw, dammit, Thuul was crushed to death. It probably happened when the undead skrang dug Horus out. And Thaark's corpse was likely buried as well. I hope both their bodies are still viable to be raised once they're dug out.

>>571353
These undead are just like the ones in the first ruin! They're guards, so don't attack straight away.

There's a blood trail on the steps to the right, I think we should investigate that if the undead guards don't attack you. If they do... well, I know they can be killed by removing the magical sword at the core of each construct, that's how Jericho killed one. Eliraz, your shadow abilities should be able to do that. Fire might work too maybe but these aren't normal undead so I wouldn't count on it. Might be better to use ice, really.

Kaktus 2014/04/18(Fri)14:00 No. 571380 ID: 65a774
File 139785485775.png - (15.41KB , 900x450 , 5.png )

>[Scan all targets in area]
[Neutral Creature (friendly): Arcane Guardian.]
[Neutral Creature (friendly): Arcane Guardian.]
[Neutral Creature (friendly): Arcane Guardian.]

>What! Characters aren't allowed to die offscreen! That's terrible! Fuck.
This isn’t one of those heroic stories you read in a book! People will die even when the story isn’t focusing on them.
>Aw, dammit, Thuul was crushed to death. It probably happened when the undead skrang dug Horus out. And Thaark's corpse was likely buried as well. I hope both their bodies are still viable to be raised once they're dug out.
Don’t get your hopes up. Being crushed probably destroyed their heads.
So… they are actually dead dead?
Chances are high, yes…

>Jer, summon spear. Hold position and defend if they attack. Eliraz, get behind Jer; Watch for anything that might be coming this way.
…they aren’t moving…
>Eliraz, do you know if they're supposed to be here? Will they leave you and Jer alone since you've both been authorized to be here?
Well, there are supposed to be some kind of Arcane Guardians down here to protect the tombs but… I’ve never seen them.

>It looks like these undead constructs were riled up by Eli's tomb being opened. But who could have gotten in here to open it?
…there’s no body in here!
Is there an unopened urn in there?
Yes?
That’s the body. We cremate our dead, remember? What else is in there?
Um… gold, jewels, a sword… some kind of staff?
Hmm… doesn’t seem that whoever opened the coffin took anything... but it’s impossible to know for sure if something is actually missing or not…
>That statue of Eli is amazingly lifelike. And it's stood up remarkably well for how long its been down here. ...That is a statue, right?
Of course it’s a statue. It’s in such a good shape because the servants are taking care of it.
>There's a blood trail on the steps to the right, I think we should investigate that…
That’s odd… one of the servants corpses are lying in a bloody heap here behind the alter.
…wait, didn’t you say that they were all undead?
Yes?
Then how did it bleed? I mean, all the undead you make becomes engulfed in blue flames when they die. They don’t leave bloody corpses after themselves.
…your right. So this wasn’t a servant at all! …someone was able to infiltrate this place clad as a servant!?

Insert It’s always the Butler_

>>571380
Investigate the body to see if you can identify who it was.

Jericho, forget the coffin. Maybe even close it again. What you should be interested in is what's below the statue's feet. What's written there?

...Dammit... I guess it was too much to hope that we could still save Thaark in some way after our massive fuckup got him killed. At least with the ruin collapsing we can be near certain the Dark One couldn't retrieve the keystone, so it wasn't a total loss.

Okay, even taking into account the servant disguise, how the heck did this infiltrator get in here? Servants can't just come and go freely from the royal crypts, can they? Aren't there locked gates and doors and such? Guards posted on the entrance? What about all those security controls that took you two so long to get through? Could they have tunneled in here?

From "bloody heap" I take it the guardians took the infiltrator down, correct? No wounds other than ones that match the guardians' claws? Well, check the claws of the guardians here anyway, just to be sure.

Search the body for anything he (or she) may have taken from the sarcophagus, along with anything else that might be a clue to who they were.

Since the servants haven't gotten to cleaning up the blood yet I think the infiltrator was killed recently. Check how dried the blood is to see if the death was really recent.

How heavy is the sarcophagus lid? Would pushing it off taken more than one person? Because if so then this infiltrator had an accomplice; One who might still be down here, either alive or dead by the guardians.

As soon as we get out of here we need to have Ilbir arrange to have the contents of Eli's sarcophagus inventoried and compared to the record of what was put in ASAP. For now lets investigate under Eli's statue's feet. What's carved into its plinth? There any loose stonework that's part of it? Any part that feels like it can be pressed in or moved?

Kaktus 2014/04/19(Sat)15:30 No. 571586 ID: 65a774
File 139794665270.png - (15.31KB , 900x450 , 6.png )

>Okay, even taking into account the servant disguise, how the heck did this infiltrator get in here? Servants can't just come and go freely from the royal crypts, can they?
The servant are sent through all those security measures we went by just a moment ago with whatever gear they need. They only leave when they break down and stop functioning, with all the other junk they’ve ensemble through the same gate.
>Could they have tunneled in here?
I don’t think so… it’s mostly solid stone around this place… I mean, it is under a mountain, after all.
>From "bloody heap" I take it the guardians took the infiltrator down, correct? No wounds other than ones that match the guardians' claws?
His been cut to pieces with something extremely sharp. I’m guessing the guardians claws.
>Well, check the claws of the guardians here anyway, just to be sure.
…I can’t find any blood… actually, they are surprisingly clean.
Maybe they are self-cleaning? I mean, otherwise they would rust, right? Everything rusts around here, remember?

>Investigate the body to see if you can identify who it was.
…I’m pretty sure he was a tribal… a male lizard. Hmm… he got a blade, a water canteen, some dried food and… a map?
Let me see that… ah, it’s a map of the crypt! And some of the rooms are marked… “Under the grave of someone important. Check Eli’s tomb, the crypts of the sultans, the grand hall and the lowest point of the crypt.”
>Check how dried the blood is to see if the death was really recent.
It hasn’t even tried at some places…
>How heavy is the sarcophagus lid? Would pushing it off taken more than one person?
*Hnng* *Huff* There’s no way I can lift this on my own… I don’t think anyone can move this thing on their own…
>What you should be interested in is what's below the statue's feet. What's written there?
Here lies Eli Drah’kon, First Sultan of the Serath Sultanate. Lived… blah blah… fair man… blah… succeeded by his daughter… nothing about the vault or anything else.
Of course not. He lived in the start of this era, the vault was created in the ancient era.
>There any loose stonework that's part of it? Any part that feels like it can be pressed in or moved?
…can’t find anything.
Man, it feels like we’re on the completely wrong track…

Insert All onboard on the train, follow the rail! Toot toot!_

>>571586
If nobody could move the lid on their own why is the coffin open? There's only one tribal corpse.

Let's move on, to the lowest part of the crypt.

Can we scan the corpse, maybe? Perhaps one of the other players found a way to guide someone inside.

Okay, lets think about this logically. The prophecy says the "sealed portal" is "beneath the feet." That most likely means it's below floor level, which would mean it could only be where there isn't a mapped space below the floor. Look over the map and note any areas that match this criteria, then head to the lowest level. The most area that matches the criteria is down there so it'd be the best place to look first.

The vault is from the ancient era, so when looking for it ignore anything that isn't from that era unless it could be covering up something from then.

Since the sarcophagus lid takes more than one person to move this dead intruder must have had at least one accomplice. And since the guardians didn't catch them they're still down here somewhere.

I'm wondering why the tribesmen are down here at all. Without the keystones and lesser rune they can't open the vault. Are they just here to locate and scout it out? But if that's it, how would they get that information back out? With the servant disguise they could only get in. Perhaps one of them is a pawn of Red or Blue? ...Or maybe one is a Corrupted cultist who'd make a tele-portal out.

I suggest you two keep your voices down and watch each others' backs, just to be safe. We don't want to give the infiltrators a chance of sneaking up on you.

...it could be on the lower level directly beneath this chamber.

Kaktus 2014/04/20(Sun)09:28 No. 571684 ID: 65a774
File 139801130093.png - (17.74KB , 900x450 , 7.png )

>Can we scan the corpse, maybe?
[Neutral Creature (Neutral): Tribal.]

>Okay, let’s think about this logically. The prophecy says the "sealed portal" is "beneath the feet." That most likely means it's below floor level…
…which means we’re probably going to have to dig through the floor to get to it.
>...it could be on the lower level directly beneath this chamber.
According to the map there is a chamber right under this one but… um… that’s where most of my family is buried.
>The vault is from the ancient era, so when looking for it ignore anything that isn't from that era unless it could be covering up something from then.
…doesn’t that mean that everything that has to do with Eli and your family was just a red herring?
…dammit! We have no idea who was buried here before us! This place was ransacked before the Serath Sultanate was even founded!
…wait, they stole the bodies too?
Well, there were a clan of necromancers living here before my family got here which Eli struck a deal with and… let’s just say there is a reason why we have such a strong necromancer tradition here.

>Since the sarcophagus lid takes more than one person to move this dead intruder must have had at least one accomplice. And since the guardians didn't catch them they're still down here somewhere.
Great, so we got someone who’s dressed just like one of the hundreds of servants in here whom want us dead. Probably…
At least it’s a bit exiting, isn’t it?
>I'm wondering why the tribesmen are down here at all. Without the keystones and lesser rune they can't open the vault.
Probably to find the vault so when their army gets here they can just stroll right in?
But how will their army even get in here? Last I heard their “Army” wasn’t even a hundred men!
>Let's move on, to the lowest part of the crypt.
Well, here it is… the lowest floor. It only got five rooms so…
Let me see that map.
Here you go. See, the first and the second floor is nearly identical except that the entrance is connected with the highest floor. The thirds floor, on the other hand, is just five rooms connected in a central chamber where the stairs are.
…and a really long hallway.
…right, and a really long hallway that’s connecting on of the room to the rest.
Why?
…huh?
Why build such a long hallway just to connect one room? They had plenty of space in the middle of the complex.
…hmm, you’re right. What’s so special with that location?
Hmm… the corridor goes from the center of the complex to right under the entrance?
But why build a hallway just to make sure one of the rooms are right under the entrance? Hmm… Oh, and don’t look now, but I’m pretty sure the servant behind us has been sweeping the same spot since we got here… the lizard one…

Insert Sweep away that frown and smile!_

Scan all 'servants' in the room.

>long hallway for not good reason
Yeah, that kind of suggests there's something hidden.

>>571684
Order all the servants present to kneel with their hands behind their heads. We will shortly find out if there's more than just the lizard.

You'll want to find out from the lizard how he got in and how this scouting mission was supposed to help anyway. If he won't talk, then... Jericho, tell him you're Mor'kay's son, and it really is in everyone's best interest for him to talk.

Good eye, Eliraz. Hold while we scan and confirm: [Scan all targets in area | Echo output to "The Pebble," "The Thief"]

Lets try to capture this intruder. Say out loud "You'll get out of this alive if you remain silent and follow our orders. Now kneel." If he complies tell him to walk to the entrance, follow him at a safe distance and once he's beyond the royal crypt's security system strip, bind and gag him for later collection.

If he doesn't comply then Eliraz will immediately shadowalk to steal his mask. Without the disguise the crypt guardians will soon take him out. If he attacks then Jer'll summon his spear to defend.

Once we're done with the intruder the room at the end of the long hall seems like the best place to investigate next.

Is there a statue of one of the ancient god's avatars at the entrance of the crypt or in the chamber right below the entrance? Because back then one of them would be the most important one down here.

Did the tradition of cremating the sultan's body also stem from back then, as a means to absolutely prevent defilement by necromancy?

Kaktus 2014/04/20(Sun)12:49 No. 571702 ID: 65a774
File 139802336682.png - (17.35KB , 900x450 , 8.png )

>[Scan all targets in area | Echo output to "The Pebble," "The Thief"]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (Neutral): Tribal.]

>Is there a statue of one of the ancient god's avatars at the entrance of the crypt or in the chamber right below the entrance?
(I’ve never seen a statue of the gods… in fact, how would they even look like?)
>Did the tradition of cremating the sultan's body also stem from back then, as a means to absolutely prevent defilement by necromancy?
(Kind of… most of the sultans, Eli included, cremates themselves by default because… well, they are undead when they die their final death. Normal undead burn into ash when they die so…)

>Order all the servants present to kneel with their hands behind their heads.
KNEEL!!! KNEEL BEFORE YOUR PRINCE!! …oh right, these guys are too stupid to follow orders like that…
You'll get out of this alive if you remain silent and follow our orders. Now kneel!
...he’s not kneeling.
>If he doesn't comply then Eliraz will immediately shadowalk to steal his mask. Without the disguise the crypt guardians will soon take him out.
There! How about you lie down and put yo-
Ah! My mask! Die, H-heretic!!?

Kaktus 2014/04/20(Sun)12:49 No. 571703 ID: 65a774
File 139802337464.png - (16.97KB , 900x450 , 9.png )

>If he attacks then Jer'll summon his spear to defend.
Ngg…
Err… why aren’t you bleeding?
…I’m still alive?
Right, no funny stuff! I got your sword, savage!
…an illusion?
I’m still alive!? B-but… I got a spea- ow!
…doesn’t feel like an illusion to me…
But…

Insert Kneel before ZOD!!!_

...maybe the spear of light doesn't actually harm mortals? In which case, spearing him has just left him uncomfortably pinned, rather than actually injured.

Unfortunately, the only way to test that would be to pull it out and see if he's unharmed. Which we don't want to do just yet, and if I'm wrong, will just result in him bleeding to death very fast.

Look, we've got you. If you want us to try and keep you alive and get you out, how about you just explain why it is you snuck in here, and how?

Oh, I think I figured out why he didn't respond to anything you two said: He doesn't know Serathian. We tend to forget the tribes don't speak the same language... Though, how are we understanding him right now?

Hmmm... Maybe the Spear of Light only does damage against beings tainted by daemonic corruption and ones that aren't it just phases through. We can test if its that right now.

Eliraz, put his mask back on so the crypt guardians won't notice him if they haven't already. We don't want them swooping in and slicing him apart.

Jer, speak to him in the tribal language. Tell him you're as baffled as he is about the spear, but you didn't want to kill him so maybe this'll work out for both of you. Ask him to hold still while you figure out what's going on with this spear. Also ask if he feels the spear or any pain from it.

Move his robes out of the way so you have a clear view of where the spear goes in. Eliraz, hold the sword to his back and do the same on your side. Jer, slowly move the spear back and see if it left a wound. If it didn't then it's phasing and you can keep going. If it did, but it's a shallow wound, then it'll probably still be alright to pull it out, just go slower. If there's a deep wound then leave it in and keep your hand on the spear so it doesn't de-summon itself.

That done, ask him who sent him down here, why they sent him, and who else came with him. Tell him if he answers truthfully he'll be destined for a stay in a prison cell until we deal with Mor'Kay, then released. Otherwise you'll take his mask away and leave him down here for the guardians to catch.

>...doesn't feel like an illusion to me...
We've seen some damn convincing illusions in our time, Eliraz. If you give yourself a little cut with the Spear of Light it'll dispel any illusions that might be present. Jer, you do the same, just to be sure.

>I've never seen a statue of the gods
Ah, you misheard. I meant a statue that could have been of one of their avatars, like the one of the warrior we saw in the crypt above and back in the ruins.

>>571703
Oh cool, the spear only hurts undead and those under the influence of demons. Or maybe this guy has specific protection? I don't think this is an illusion, regardless.

Just interrogate the guy. Find out how he got here and what they're trying to accomplish. Explain that Mor'kay is not necessarily your enemy so he shouldn't be afraid to betray his cause.

Kaktus 2014/04/21(Mon)10:16 No. 571830 ID: 65a774
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>...maybe the spear of light doesn't actually harm mortals? In which case, spearing him has just left him uncomfortably pinned, rather than actually injured.
(Wait… does that mean we aren’t mortals anymore?)
>Oh, I think I figured out why he didn't respond to anything you two said: He doesn't know Serathian. We tend to forget the tribes don't speak the same language... Though, how are we understanding him right now?
(Because I can understand the tribal language?)
>Jer, speak to him in the tribal language. Tell him you're as baffled as he is about the spear, but you didn't want to kill him so maybe this'll work out for both of you.
W-what kind of sorcery is this!? It doesn’t h-hurt but… I’m s-stuck?
>Move his robes out of the way so you have a clear view of where the spear goes in. Eliraz, hold the sword to his back and do the same on your side.
There’s no wound on this side.
Not here either. It’s just like it phased trough him.

>Look, we've got you. If you want us to try and keep you alive and get you out, how about you just explain why it is you snuck in here, and how?
Um… we were sent here to find the vault with the weapon and… um… I don’t know? We just walked right in and… err… there was this third guy who- was killed by the guardians… don’t mind him…
Err… did you just start talking in Serathian?
Does it matter? You’ll both be sacrifices to the Dark one glory anyway! NOW DIE!!
*Hurk!*

Kaktus 2014/04/21(Mon)10:17 No. 571832 ID: 65a774
File 139810065030.png - (16.70KB , 900x450 , 11.png )

IT BU- *Sizzle*
Jeric- No! This isn’t real! It doesn’t make sense!
Are you fighting it? How cute… do you really think you can break out of it and stop me before I kill him? Do you really thi-
I just need to kill you! Where are you, demon!?

Insert He’s right in front of you, dude… geez, get a pair of glasses…_

>Wait… does that mean we aren’t mortals anymore?
...maybe? You have sort of gotten yourself involved in the games of gods.

I suppose the only way to be sure would be to later try poking someone we know to be normal with the spear (in a non-vital area) to see if it has any effect. The other possibility is there's just something really weird about this guy here.

>I just need to kill you! Where are you, demon!?
He hasn't moved! He's still right in front of Jer, sticking a sword in him! (Maybe you can shadow steal the sword from him?). He's also somehow magically not stuck on the spear and got his mask back.

[Disbelieve Illusion]

>do you really think you can break out of it and stop me before I kill him?
He broke free from worse, from someone who had been playing him his entire life. You're nothing, next to that.

>Just need to kill him
...can you shadow walk to where you need to be to kill him, even without knowing where he is? Just let need and faith guide your steps.

>>571832
What the hell, Jericho wears a breastplate just for this reason.

Eliraz, REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING.

His sword went through Jericho's breastplate like it was made of tinfoil?! That shouldn't be possible! I'm calling illusion, and if not illusion I'm calling bullshit!

Eliraz, with the illusion you don't know where the enemy is, so keep moving. You also can't trust that the sword you took is not an illusion. Don't try to use it unless you have no other option.

You need the Spear of Light to break the illusion and to kill the wraith or whatever this is. Trouble is, I don't know if the spear Jer dropped is an illusion. If you have a mirror quickly whip it out to check, and if you don't then use the reflection in the glass of your monocle. If the spear is legit then shadow walk to snatch it up. Otherwise I'll do this: [Summon Spear of Light to "The Thief"]

Once you have the spear in hand cut yourself with it; That'll dispel the illusion. I believe the illusion is what is harming Jer, so give him a cut with it as well. Then free of the illusion the both of you can put this wraith down.

>>571832
This guy is very bad at illusions:
>mask still on his face
>spear isn't stuck in him anymore
>sword going through a steel breastplate like it's not even there
[disbelieve illusion]

Kaktus 2014/04/21(Mon)13:32 No. 571861 ID: 65a774
File 139811237851.png - (17.47KB , 900x450 , 12.png )

>Eliraz, REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING.
I’ve been training for one day! ONE DAY!!
>He hasn't moved! He's still right in front of Jer, sticking a sword in him!
I’m pretty sure that’s not the wraith…

>Eliraz, with the illusion you don't know where the enemy is, so keep moving.
Right…
>[Summon Spear of Light to "The Thief"]
Where did you go!? Show yourself or I’ll kill the mummy for real! I’ll burn him to ash!!
(…dammit, attacking him now will probably make him drop the torch right on Jericho…)

Insert Dodge this_

>>571861
Steal the torch, then.

Something's going on here. That tribal killed the other by friendly fire. Was he trying to shoot you, or is the daemon tricking them too? And where did that second bolt in the wall come from?

You're wearing soft shoes on a tile floor, so you should be able to sneak close to him. Use your abilities to unload his crossbow, and make sure you can grab the torch when you make your next move. His icon says he's an unbroken, so just stick him in the neck. Be on the lookout, there was one more of those guys on the steps that we can't see anymore.

Fuck, it was the human servant who is the wraith. I thought he'd just finished his work and left while we were talking to the lizard, not vanished.

Just to be sure, you did gave yourself a cut with the spear to dispel the illusion, right? I assume you did by the change in what we're seeing, but I spy an inconsistency: The lizard's mask is missing. Might indicate there's still an illusion in effect here.

Would him dropping the torch on Jer be so bad, though? Unless we leave the flames to burn wouldn't it just result in some of his wrappings and clothes burning? I'm more worried about you getting within reach of that wraith. If it somehow senses you coming it could kill you.

Play it safe. Hold position and throw the spear at the middle of his back. As soon as it connects move as fast as you can to snatch the torch before it hits Jer. If it does then the dead lizard probably has a canteen on him you could use to douse the flames.

Once we get out of this we need to get some kind of fire protection for Jericho ASAP. Being so vulnerable to flame is going to be very risky for him and us going forward.

I'm wondering why the wraith didn't just torch Jer while you were in the illusion. It would have been the sensible thing to do in this situation. Perhaps it has orders from the Dark One to not kill Jer but to capture him instead.

>>571868
That bolt is in flight, not in the wall. It looks like the wraith shot the lizard in the eye, then had enough time to reload and cock the crossbow to take a shot at Eliraz. If he hadn't had shadow walked away he'd be dead now.

Kaktus 2014/04/22(Tue)08:39 No. 571912 ID: 65a774
File 139818115304.png - (19.19KB , 900x450 , 13.png )

>That tribal killed the other by friendly fire.
I wouldn’t call that friendly. He probably got a bolt in the eye so I couldn’t talk. I mean, he was about to spill his guts right before the illusions started…
>And where did that second bolt in the wall come from?
The Wraith tried to shoot me, but luckily you guys told me to move right before I got hit.
>Just to be sure, you did gave yourself a cut with the spear to dispel the illusion, right?
Of course… I’m going to need some bandages on my hand later but whatever illusion I was under was dispelled.

>The lizard's mask is missing.
Err… I’m pretty sure I dropped it… somewhere? I let go of it just as I was starting to shadow walk so… um… good question, where did it go?
>Would him dropping the torch on Jer be so bad, though?
Fire and Undeath doesn’t mix. Sure, he won’t go up in flames in just a few seconds, but I don’t have anything to put out the fire with if he starts burning.
>Once we get out of this we need to get some kind of fire protection for Jericho ASAP.
Like what? He’s already got the best defense against magical fire he can have. But the normal kind? The only defense I know against that is for him to be wet all the time.

>Steal the torch, then.
Simple but effective… why didn’t I think of that?
>Play it safe. Hold position and throw the spear at the middle of his back.
…I just have to make sure not to hit Jer…
That’s it, he bu- wait, where is the torc- arhg!!! IT BURNSS!!
Eat holy spear, you ugly, flying worm thing!
…what happened?
Wraith. I killed it… at least, I think I did. He was consumed in some kind of burning light so I guess it’s dead? Don’t worry, everything you just saw was an illusion.
…I… I think I saw a vision… I think I saw what the dark one is planning!
…Illusion? Lies?
I saw… a city in a land covered in white ash… right next to a huge mountain… there was a battle. An army of sun worshippers led by a man with a glorious orange beard was fighting an army of giants led by their green eyed king... who was corrupted by the dark one. It was a slaughter!
…Jer, you were just in an illusion. Stop talking nonsense. Now, shall we keep moving? There might be more of them down here so we shouldn’t abide.

Insert I CAN SEE THE FUTURE!!_

>servants wander back in.
[Scan everyone in the room, again]

>Jer, that was just an illusion
...um. We've seen that city. That's where we go when we've been flashing to the future. It's snow, now ash. The bearded warrior is Bradford, one of the last windwalkers. And the sun worshipers are an order of paladins.

We'd kind of like to prevent that slaughter from happening.

And that's also where we saw the future delegation of the next Sultan, including Artemis and undead-Eliraz. As much as we don't want you to end up dead in the future, we don't want you ending up dead twice.

Guys, three servants just showed up; Two on the stairs, one behind Eliraz. Until absolutely proven otherwise we shouldn't trust they're benign.

Jer, retrieve the spear and poke yourself with it to dispel any illusions. [Scan all targets in area] Eliraz, swipe the torch; That'll keep it out of the hands of our enemies and it might come in handy against undead. Take the crossbow as well so the enemy can't take it. Both of you take cover in the doorway just in case there are more crossbow shots.

I just had a nasty thought: What if a bunch of body-less wraith tagged along with these cultists in order to possess the undead servants once they arrived? Would that be possible? Because if it is then we should give the servants an extra wide berth from now on and not trust them no matter how benign they act.

Eliraz, Jer's vision wasn't some weird illusion; It's where we've gone when we skipped into the future: The Northlands. The "white ash" is snow. The city right next to a huge mountain is Ängladal at the foot of the tallest Pillar of the World. The "sun worshipers" are the Order of Light, and the man with the orange beard is our king piece in that time. And I think the army of giants are the Vildmen. We'll have to check if their king has green eyes once we get out of here, but him being corrupted would be an explanation for how Mor'Kay got Vildmen on her side down here.

However, we have to take any vision from the Dark One or one of his wraiths with an entire silo's worth of grains of salt. It could easily be a lie crafted to mess with our actions in that time.

>The only defense I know against that is for him to be wet all the time.
What about only when Jer's on fire, and exactly to where he's on fire? Would a water reservoir installed in him and a combination of a rune that detects where he's on fire and a rune that applies water from the reservoir to where he's burning be possible? We should ask Tera about that.

>>571912
It was a slaughter? Who won?

Kaktus 2014/04/22(Tue)13:27 No. 571938 ID: 65a774
File 139819846017.png - (16.64KB , 900x450 , 14.png )

>[Scan everyone in the room, again]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Servant.]

>Guys, three servants just showed up; Two on the stairs, one behind Eliraz. Until absolutely proven otherwise we shouldn't trust they're benign.
…they are just cleaning up the mess we just made.
Well, they are freaking me out even if they aren’t Wraiths. Let’s stay as far away as possible from them.
>Jer, retrieve the spear and poke yourself with it to dispel any illusions.
Poke poke…
>I just had a nasty thought: What if a bunch of body-less wraith tagged along with these cultists in order to possess the undead servants once they arrived?
Didn’t Temrock say that they can only possess dead bodies and not the undead?

>We've seen that city. That's where we go when we've been flashing to the future. It's snow, not ash.
…what is snow again?
White powder stuff… made of ice and falls from the skies in colder climates.
…oh, that sounds cool. I want to see that one day.
>It was a slaughter? Who won?
The Giants. It looked like the “order”, as you called them, thought they were on the same side until they suddenly turned on them. They were taken completely by surprise.
>However, we have to take any vision from the Dark One or one of his wraiths with an entire silo's worth of grains of salt.
Even if that place exist I’ll trust the words from a daemon as long as I can throw one.
Err… They don’t have a physical form to throw…
Exactly!
>Would a water reservoir installed in him and a combination of a rune that detects where he's on fire and-
That sounds… a bit too advance if you ask me. Talk to Tera about that…

>Loot the bodies move on.
Two swords, another water canteen, flint and tinder… why can’t they have some documents called “battle plans” or something?
Here we are… the room at the end of the unnecessary corridor… I don’t know what I expected but I did expect more than… this.
They are trying to hide the vault, remember? Having a sign saying “It’s right here” is kind of counterproductive.

Insert It’s right there!_

I spy five different colored... Somethings on the ceiling. Can't tell what they are from our view angle, but they look like they each have three spikes embedded into the stone.

We don't see any open space below this chamber, but the floors here are so thick that if there is something it'd likely be out of view. Don't see anything strange about the floor either.

Speaking of not trusting the words of a daemon: Bob lied to us about the emotions daemons eat; We found out from a trustworthy source it's actually the reverse of what he said. Good emotions are tasty and bad are filling. Dunno why he lied, but it doesn't help our trust of him.

We've also got some hints that victory for Bob and Steve may not turn out to be quite as good as we've thought. Nothing anywhere near concrete, though. Hopefully we'll have more to go on after our next trip to the Northlands, but the short of it is we can't really trust any of the daemons.

>fireproofing
Plant-based fibres like cotton are highly flammable. But animal fibres (like wool) and skins are fire-resistant. Wool is probably hard to come by in the desert, but an outer layer of wrappings made of thin pliable leather would be an effective defence against non-magical fire.

>>571938
Why are all the coffins open?

Thanks for the heads up about the Giant army. We'll warn the order so they won't be in such a bad tactical situation if the premonition turns out to be true.

>The only defense I know against that is for him to be wet all the time.
You'd like that wouldn't you.
... Saaay, have you ever heard of a material called asbestos? It's not the safest material, but I don't think the undead have to worry about lung cancer.

Kaktus 2014/04/23(Wed)09:09 No. 572053 ID: 65a774
File 139826936390.png - (16.67KB , 900x450 , 15.png )

>You'd like that wouldn't you. Him being wet.
(Because a soggy mummy is one of the sexiest things I can imagine…)
>Why are all the coffins open?
Because we don’t use this part of the crypt. A lot of the crypt is still empty after the necromancers ransacked this place before the Serath people came here.
>... Saaay, have you ever heard of a material called asbestos?
Abeasto- what?
Asbestos… it’s a mineral that doesn’t really burn. We usually use it to make shrouds for those that will be cremated, so we’re sure we bury or spread the right ashes. But isn’t asbestos toxic or something?
>It's not the safest material, but I don't think the undead have to worry about lung cancer.
…I don’t know what this “cancer” is but it sounds bad.
I think it sounds tasty.
Either way, sure, he can’t get diseases but I can! …and everyone else around him for that matter! Diseases are for the common people, not royalty like us.
…
>Plant-based fibres like cotton are highly flammable. But animal fibres (like wool) and skins are fire-resistant.
Last time I checked he’s already covered in animal fibers.
Silk is from an animal?
Well, yes… the silk we use comes from giant spider butts, after all.
…I’m wrapped in something that came out of a butt!?
Oh, please, like this is the first time you’ve been covered in something from someone’s butt, considering your background.
…wait, what did you mean with that?
Last time I checked, the tribals you grew up with aren’t really the most...sanitary of people.
… at least we didn’t walk around covered in something that came from someone’s butt…

>Speaking of not trusting the words of a daemon: Bob lied to us about the emotions daemons eat.
Of course he did. He’s a daemon! You can’t trust anything he says!
Um… at least give him the benefit of doubt.
>We've also got some hints that victory for Bob and Steve may not turn out to be quite as good as we've thought.
You do realize there’s only one way we can actually win, right? We have to either kill them all or seal them away forever. There is no other way.
Err… isn’t that a bit… extreme?
They see us as cattle, something to be harvested. Bob even admitted so much if I remember what you told me correctly. They can’t be trusted, that’s all I’m saying.
>I spy five different colored... Something’s on the ceiling.
It’s… five different colored stars?
Oh, I know those! Those markings are at the entrance of the crypt too! …maybe that’s a sign that we’re right under the entrance?
…but there aren’t any feet here to hide under? Are we supposed to demolish the whole floor or what?
Let’s not destroy the ancient ruins of the past on a whim like that, please.

Insert The final solution for the common people_

Those colored star, are there any in the entrance path that don't appear here, or vice versa? If so there may be a hidden chamber here or in the entry way.

>asbestos toxic or something
>cancer sounds bad
Yes asbestos is toxic, and it's absolutely not something you would want to treat something that has regular contact with living people with. And yes, cancer is a terrible painful disease you guys don't want any part of.

>cancer sounds tasty!
...well, in the right context it can also mean crab, so sure. Crab's tasty. Tumors, not so much.

>Diseases are for the common people, not royalty like us.
Eliraz, we love you, but your upbringing has really left you with a few unfortunate ideas.

Think about it. Why should anyone have disease? Just because you're fortunate enough to have the resources to treat or avoid them doesn't mean other people are supposed to have them!. (Pff, it tried to autocorrect 'fortunate' to 'sultanate'. Amusingly appropriate, in context).

>I’m wrapped in something that came out of a butt!?
Spiders and silkworms have separate organs specialized for the production of their silk or webbing. They're located on the rear, but spinnerets aren't butts.

And hey, if you think about it, at least it's something that comes out of the animal on purpose. That's sort of less gross than the way we get fabrics from most animals.

>five different colored stars
The one on left is the brightest, I think. And the one in the middle is the only one not over a torch. Not sure if either of those factors are significant.

Are they different at all from the ones by the entrance? In placement, hue, order, etc? If there's any differences, that might be your clue.

So are the stars in any particular pattern? Do they match up with the crypt map at all? Do the colors match up with the ones at the entrance? I'm grasping at straws here. I don't see how these stars point to anything.

...Wait a sec... Dammit, I can't believe we didn't spot this earlier... The floor under the very last sarcophagus on the bottom row looks darker than the rest of the floor. Does it look that way to you two? If it does then search that sarcophagus; Specifically the ends where the feet might have laid.

Eliraz, you care for Jer, right? So show some care in how you speak of his upbringing. Insulting the tribes insults him as well. And of course the tribals are filthy; They're stuck living in the freakin' desert! They don't have water to spare for baths!

>They see us as cattle
Even then there's a big difference between ranchers who genuinely care for their herds' happiness and well being and treat them well and the ones who'll subject their herd to all manner of hideous methods to maximize production.

That said, I still don't want them meddling in this world. Unfortunately, the only viable method to do that is to seal them away in their realm. As far as we know killing them is not possible, and starving them to powerlessness for good would require killing every mortal, so that's not an option. Now if we could find a way to seal them in without any need for their help to do it I'd be all for that.

Kaktus 2014/04/23(Wed)12:34 No. 572072 ID: 65a774
File 139828168007.png - (19.15KB , 900x450 , 16.png )

>The floor under the very last sarcophagus on the bottom row looks darker than the rest of the floor.
Art Error!

>Spiders and silkworms have separate organs specialized for the production of their silk or webbing. They're located on the rear, but spinnerets aren't butts.
Butt or rear, it still comes out of their backsides.
So does our tails…
Not even remotely the same thing.
>Even then there's a big difference between ranchers who genuinely care for their herds' happiness and well-being and treat them well and the ones who'll subject their herd to all manner of hideous methods to maximize production.
There’s a big difference between molten steel and boiling water too… it still doesn’t mean I want to put my tail in either of those.
>That said, I still don't want them meddling in this world.
See, that’s more like it! Let’s find a way to cut them off from this world forever! …and if we can cut off their food supply…
Wouldn’t that make them all go mad!?
It would ensure that they never come back.
That’s a bit… they are living things, like us! Err… kind of like us… still, committing some kind of insanity genocide would be wrong!
It’s about our survival, Jer…

>Eliraz, we love you, but your upbringing has really left you with a few unfortunate ideas.
…what are you talking about?
You’re kind of a bigot.
I’m not. I’ll have you know, I feel pity for the lesser people because they were born inferior to us.
…do you even listen to yourself anymore?
…what?
>Eliraz, you care for Jer, right? So show some care in how you speak of his upbringing.
Huh? I’ve already said I feel sorry for him that he had to endure that kind of childhood instead of growing up in the palace where his rightful place is.
I’m pretty sure that’s not what they meant.
>Insulting the tribes insults him as well. And of course the tribals are filthy; They're stuck living in the freakin' desert! They don't have water to spare for baths!
But he isn’t a tribal!
Yes, I am. I grew up out there! That’s who I am! Not the blood which flow through my veins, but the life I’ve lived! Didn’t you love me before you knew I wasn’t of tribal blood?
Of course, but that’s not… err… not… um…
We’re people, just like you. Just like your sister… or the Sultan. We’re all equal and deserve the same rights!
…I’m sorry… I’m sorry if I insulted you, my knight… I… um…
And don’t think we’re finish discussing this. We’ll continue when we’re a bit more… calm and collected, alright?
Right…
>Think about it. Why should anyone have disease? Just because you're fortunate enough to have the resources to treat or avoid them doesn't mean other people are supposed to have them!
Because… because they live in filth and eat bad food? I… I guess no one really deserve being sick in the end…

>Search that sarcophagus; Specifically the ends where the feet might have laid.
They are all empty… no secret swishes or anything.
Aw man… what a letdown.
>Are they different at all from the ones by the entrance? In placement, hue, order, etc?
Only one way to find out! Let me just write the colors down and we’ll head topside.

…

Let’s see… the colors and sequence are the same… all five stars are here but the locations….
They are about the same, I think… dammit, this doesn’t help at all!
Hmmm, yes, it feels like we’re on another snipe hunt here… but who is the one who is most important to that crypt? It has to be someone who died in ancient times…
Maybe Ilbir can tell us?
Don’t bother, he doesn’t have any records dating that far back. *Sigh* I guess we’re back to square one again…

Insert What a square, giving up that easily!_

"The sealed portal guarding the voice lies beneath the feet of the one that’s the most important inside the memorial of the fallen."

The "one" that's the most important. It may not be talking about a person. What is the most important part of the architecture? Also of note is that the colored marker just inside the entrance is higher than the others.

Oh, I've got another idea. You could ask Artemis where the most important one is.

Do the guards know anything about this area, or do they just work here? If not, I think that beggar might know something. He looks, uh, predisposed to this area. You should probably give him some money, too. Poor bastard probably fought in a war or something.

Man, this is aggravating. It feels like the answer should be in front of us and we're totally missing it 'cause we're flailing about and grasping at straws.

Okay, Jer, check the Book of Prophecy again; Maybe there's a new entry. Eliraz, get out the map of the entire crypt, not just the royal part, and check what areas of it are below here or adjacent to the area below here. I think a statue of the most important person in the crypt might have been just outside the entrance back in the ancient age.

However, if that doesn't pan out then we best go see Ilbir since he's the one who's the expert on ancient stuff like this. Maybe running this by him he'll see something we missed or knows something that we didn't know.

But if that doesn't work out then we'll have to go for the brute force method. Perhaps Artemis' stoneshaping ability could help us there. Strap the biggest mana battery we can get to her and have her use that ability to probe down through the stone of the crypt floor in a grid pattern until she hits empty space or something that stops her. That'll be where the vault or the entrance to it is.

Eliraz, here's something Jer might have forgotten to mention from his meeting with Bob: Bob is the one writing the entries in this Book of Prophecy, and he almost certainly did the same for the one Esiros had. So we can't completely trust these prophecies either.

The Dark One or Mor'Kay might have someone posted outside the crypt entrance to watch for who goes in and out and what activity there is. [Scan all targets in area | Display non-friendly/allied]

The one thing I'm certain should be done right now is securing and fortifying the royal crypt. Whatever is down there in the vault makes this the most important location in the Serath Sultanate. That means no holding back. Bring in the army to clear and fortify the entrance and all the way back to the royal crypt. Every gate into the royal crypt is to be locked and sealed with the royal seal in wax to make sure nobody sneaks in.

We better check Temrock's status too. He might be in more trouble than he can handle and need our help. [Display status of "The Heir of Savagery"] If he is in trouble than we should switch to him while you guys handle this.

>committing some kind of insanity genocide would be wrong!
...especially since they're functionally immortal. Condemning them to an insane eternal hunger sounds like a very literal hell.

To say nothing of the implications if they ever find a way to break free, or some future idiot breaks the seals from the outside.

>You’re kind of a bigot.
Try not to be too hard on him. I know it that kind of thing hurts, but his words come more from ignorance a certain conditioning that comes from privilege than any malice.

Kaktus 2014/04/24(Thu)09:33 No. 572188 ID: 65a774
File 139835719285.png - (15.10KB , 900x450 , 17.png )

>[Display status of "The Heir of Savagery"]
[Enjoying barbequed Skrang!]
>[Scan all targets in area | Display non-friendly/allied]
[Neutral Creature (Friendly): Serath Guard.] x 4
[Neutral Creature (Friendly): Serath Guard Corporal.]
[Neutral Creature (Neutral): Serathian Lower-class.] x 2
[Neutral Creature (Hostile): Tribal Beggar Spy.]

>Try not to be too hard on him. I know it that kind of thing hurts, but his words come more from ignorance a certain conditioning that comes from privilege than any malice.
(Someone has to teach him some humility, right?)
>Okay, Jer, check the Book of Prophecy again; Maybe there's a new entry.
“And so with a gasp the Arrogant Prince knew humility as the savage tribesman’s spear plunged into him and pierced his heart.”
That’s… a bit creepy…
>Wliraz, here's something Jer might have forgotten to mention from his meeting with Bob: Bob is the one writing the entries in this Book of Prophecy, and he almost certainly did the same for the one Esiros had. So we can't completely trust these prophecies either.
Clearly he’s just messing with me, right? I mean, I’m not going to have a spear penetrate me, right?
Everything he’s said so far has come true… kind off…

>Do the guards know anything about this area, or do they just work here?
Sorry, your highness, we know nothing of the history of this place. We simply guard the tomb, exalted one.
>I think that beggar might know something. He looks, uh, predisposed to this area. You should probably give him some money, too. Poor bastard probably fought in a war or something.
Here, have a crow…
Thank you, my lord.
You don’t happen to know anything about the crypts over there?
… thank you, my lord?
Err… I did-
He probably can’t speak Serathian…
Thank you, my lord.
>The one thing I'm certain should be done right now is securing and fortifying the royal crypt. Whatever is down there in the vault makes this the most important location in the Serath Sultanate.
Right… Jer, go talk to Ilbir about the crypt and I’ll see to it that it’s defended properly.

>However, if that doesn't pan out then we best go see Ilbir since he's the one who's the expert on ancient stuff like this.
Hmmm… the most important? It can’t be a Serathian… maybe it’s not a person?
Not a lot of other things have feet. I mean, I doubt it’s a vase or a glass of wine or something…
>You could ask Artemis where the most important one is.
Um… the things that its built off? I mean, without that there wouldn’t be any crypts.
>Jericho, get out the map of the entire crypt, not just the royal part, and check what areas of it are below here or adjacent to the area below here. I think a statue of the most important person in the crypt might have been just outside the entrance back in the ancient age.
Let me see that… hmm… there’s the entrance… and you said the star room was on the third floor?
Yes, right there.
Well, the stars at the entrance and that room seems to align.
What about the second floor?
Ah, it’s a room with an old mechanism for taking care of water flowing into the crypt.
What water? We’re in a desert.
Not back when this was built. In fact, there used to be a lake right outside the entrance of the crypt… If I understood the old text correctly there were just a few meters between the entrance and the lake, making the entrance the lowest point of the mountain.
Hmm… is there a fish with feet?
Fish isn’t important enough to make a tomb for…

Insert The Holy Dopefish is! All Hail Dopefish, cleanser of cheese!_

>>572188
The beggar is a spy.

That second-floor building seems like a good lead, let's check it out. ...hang on, how does the mechanism remove water when it's lower than the entrance?

Well, looks like our next investigation destination is the crypt's old drain pump room. We'd best be quick about it too; That beggar outside the crypt scanned as a hostile tribal spy and that worries me. Even though that last prophecy might just have been a metaphor for what Jer told Eliraz I'd rather not risk Eliraz being around any tribesmen right now.

Ask Artemis if she'll come with us. We might need her help on this and it'd allow Pink to see what's going on. Ilbir, you going to come along too or are you too busy right now?

The prophecy might be referring to the foot of the mountain, which would be in line with the crypt entrance. Unfortunately it doesn't match with the "most important" part. I dunno. I guess we'll just have to keep searching until we actually find it and then maybe what the prophecy means will become apparent.

Ilbir, do you know of any ancient artifacts that are shaped like a hollow disk, flattened ring, or a doorway without a door that has a bunch of runes on it? Because our guy who's with Varius said they discovered one in the ancient fortress they're in and Varius was absolutely ecstatic over it. We suspect it might be some kind of teleportation device.

Hey, Tera, how would you like to be in charge of coming up with and applying improvements to Jer's body? You can start with ways to protect from mundane fire. We've already got the idea of a rune that detects where he's burning and would apply water to that spot from a reservoir in his chest or skull.

Hmmm.. Eliraz should be fine, just so long as he doesn't end up knowing 'the name of the king'.

That prophesy may be a racy metaphor for Eliraz and Jericho, but that kind of optimism has never served us well before.

That mechanism room sounds like a good bet. Bring some water in case there's a puzzle like in that crypt Jericho went to before he was brought to the city.

Kaktus 2014/04/24(Thu)13:45 No. 572215 ID: 65a774
File 139837230952.png - (16.97KB , 900x450 , 18.png )

>Eliraz should be fine, just so long as he doesn't end up knowing 'the name of the king'.
(Which king? I’m pretty sure the tall, black clad guy with a white mask writing these prophecies doesn’t know any of our kings personally.)
>The beggar is a spy.
Of course he is. Beggars will do anything for a bit of coin, even if they have to sell out their own sultanate for it.
>How does the mechanism remove water when it's lower than the entrance?
I don’t actually know. It’s been broken since before the Serath Sultanate existed. All I know is that it look like it was pumping everything downwards for some reason…

>The prophecy might be referring to the foot of the mountain, which would be in line with the crypt entrance. Unfortunately it doesn't match with the "most important" part. I dunno.
Hey, Mr. Mountain is very important to the crypt because without Mr. Mountain the crypt wouldn’t have anywhere to be built, therefore Mr. Mountain is the most important Mr to the whole crypt!
…As much as I want to complain about your naivety, you do have a valid point.
>Hey, Tera, how would you like to be in charge of coming up with and applying improvements to Jer's body?
Err… aren’t I already? Well, I’m the apprentice of the guy in charge but… same thing.
>You can start with ways to protect from mundane fire. We've already got the idea of a rune that detects where he's burning and would apply water to that spot from a reservoir in his chest or skull.
Okay, first… water is freaking heavy. He’s already heavy enough wearing all that armor. Second, having enough water inside him to put out a fire would be… and how do you get it outside the body where you want it? …and third, he would sound all like slosh slosh slosh when he was walking around… or… you know… with the prince… real mood breaker, if you ask me.
>Ilbir, do you know of any ancient artifacts that are shaped like a hollow disk, flattened ring, or a doorway without a door that has a bunch of runes on it?
Hmm, that sounds like one of those gate that the gods created. They are supposed to lead to the gods real or something like that.
>Ask Artemis if she'll come with us. We might need her help on this and it'd allow Pink to see what's going on.
YAY, Adventure!
>Ilbir, you going to come along too or are you too busy right now?
Well, I got a date in about two hours but… I guess I got some time to spare.

>Well, looks like our next investi-
Hey! Are you just going to leave me here sitting all alone!?
Sorry, I’ll escort you down to-
You’ll take me with you, thank you very much. I’m sick of being left out of all this neat stuff you guys are experiencing.
Right… if you really want to. Just don’t get in our way.

>Well, looks like our next investigation destination is the crypt's old drain pump room.
Well, here we are.
…I expected it to be bigger…
Oh, pretty stars…

Insert The dumb leading the blind_

>>572215
Looks like a puzzle. Ordering the stars on the ceiling from 1 to 5, where 1 is the one closest to the back of the chamber, and the stars on the floor from A to E in the same order...
1 leads to E.
2 leads to C.
3 leads to D.
4 leads to B.
5 leads to A.

Is there anything on the console we can mess with?

I wonder why the far left intersection has three pipes while the other three have only two?

If he went 'slosh slosh slosh' with the prince, that would mean you could likely figure out when he was having sex from far away.

Hmmm... It looks like the light beams are either petering out halfway down or something is blocking them. I dunno. Lets check out the machinery first. Maybe it can adjust them.

Ilbir, take a look over that control console and see what's obviously broken or missing. Ask Artemis to take a look over it as well. She was a maintenance golem back in the ruins, so she might remember something about ancient machines. Jer, pop the lids off those two tanks and check if anything is inside them and if the pipes in and out are plugged.

Ilbir, are you sure that the pumps were setup to only pump down? Because that makes no sense for a crypt, but it does if there was something down here that used a lot of water. So much water they couldn't just gravity feed it from the lake. Have the pipes ever been traced to try and find their outlet?

Are there any other known "god gates" in the world? If there are then we should see about visiting one. Since we're the closest thing to the gods in this world now, maybe we can activate one and pass through into the gods' realm.

Tera, you're right about our anti-fire idea; It's dumb. It'd make more sense for Jer to just carry a couple water canteens instead to douse any non-serious fires. Okay, so how about a rune that auto-activates when he's seriously on fire and pushes all the air away from him, snuffing the flames? Is that possible? ...Actually, we should probably just ask the Academy about this kind of thing. I'd expect they'd know most everything there is to know about fire proofing.

We should also see about getting Jer's full suit of armor modified so it's fire proof; Make it air tight and line it with fire resistant material. Then when the time comes to go into battle he'll be ready for any fire thrown his way.

I have a theory why Varius was so excited about that gate: The Blood God is planning to realign the gate so it connects to the daemon realm instead of the gods' realm. That's how he's going get himself into this world to occupy the Harvester body Varius is going to make.

Kaktus 2014/04/25(Fri)07:34 No. 572343 ID: 65a774
File 139843647520.png - (18.62KB , 900x450 , 19.png )

>Looks like a puzzle.
Or maybe the artist got a bit high on shrooms and decided that the wall really needed some random colors.
…you can’t even see it.
Still, I’m not wrong, am I?
…I does look a bit like something some of the Shamans used to paint when they were “spirit walking” back home, true…
>>Are there any other known "god gates" in the world?
Not that I’ve know of. I’ve only read descriptions of them, nothing more.

>If he went 'slosh slosh slosh' with the prince, that would mean you could likely figure out when he was having sex from far away.
Hmm, but the 'slosh slosh slosh' would muffle out all the good sounds that you want to hear.
Now I’m definitely not going with the water idea.
>Okay, so how about a rune that auto-activates when he's seriously on fire and pushes all the air away from him, snuffing the flames? Is that possible?
Err… that’s a bit… I guess I should ask a mage make a rune of wind but… I don’t think it would be enough to snuff out a flame. At least, not a flame that would be dangerous to him.
>We should also see about getting Jer's full suit of armor modified so it's fire proof; Make it air tight and line it with fire resistant material.
He’s wearing silk clothes, a steel armor and is wrapped in silk… I’m pretty sure all that he’s as fire proof as he’s going to get.

>Is there anything on the console we can mess with?
You mean the table with the buttons? No, it’s completely broken.
>Ask Artemis to take a look over it as well. She was a maintenance golem back in the ruins, so she might remember something about ancient machines.
There’s your problem, it’s missing most of its insides.
Well, yes, there were some necromancer out here before the Serath came here who raided these tombs. Apparently, they took everything of value from this thing too. If their writings are correct, then they looted a lot of copper wires and several weird runes from this thing… and before you ask, no, I have no idea what those runes actually did or what exactly this machine did either. Many Scholars before me have tried to figure out how this thing works but the only thing they’ve come up with is that it’s some kind of pump of some kind.
>Jer, pop the lids off those two tanks and check if anything is inside them and if the pipes in and out are plugged.
Don’t try to open them, they are sealed tight. Besides, the only thing inside is water, as far as what we’ve been able to determine. In fact, that was the first clue to figuring out that this thing was some kind of pump mechanic.
>Ilbir, are you sure that the pumps were setup to only pump down? Have the pipes ever been traced to try and find their outlet?
To be honest, I have no idea where it was pumping the water. The pipes don’t actually go anywhere anymore. The pipes upwards ends where the lake would have been years ago while those that go downwards just ends when they hit the ceiling on the room below.

Insert You got to pump it up!_

Hmm... Perhaps the marks on the wall indicate which color of wires to connect together to open the sealed portal... Connect blue to gray-green and so on in the pattern from here >>572219.

What's still left inside the machine's casing? Are there any markings or labels on the inside? Any colored wires or empty conduits leading away from it into the floor or wall? I don't suppose any of the buttons on the machine's console are labeled or marked, are they?

The paint might not be just paint. Jer, could you climb up on the tank you're next to and take a close look at the horizontal line with the two colors for us. Then scrap through the line to break it. I doubt it'll do anything, but who knows.

Ilbir, when you say the pipes just end at the ceiling of the room below, are you saying they're just cut off and open or are they capped? And if they're capped, was it something done in the ancient age? Because if they never did go anywhere then this whole setup could have been fake, intended only to hide the entrance to the vault.

Tera, how 'bout one or two one-shot high-power water or ice runes on Jer that'll trigger if he's taking significant burn damage? They pop and soak or ice the flames out. They'd only be for emergency situations, like if Jer's out of magic power so he can't ice the fire out himself or if he's incapacitated somehow.

Also, belated apologies for us not saying to bring you along. We always think there'll be trouble, and since you're blind we worry you'll be hurt or killed. I'm guessing you're sick of people treating you that way. You want to get out and have some adventure in your life, right? So we'll include you more in things from now on.

I say see if you can manipulate the colored lines in the background so that the order is this instead:
1-A
2-B
3-C
4-D
5-E

One way would be to remove all horizontal lines.

Alternatively, if you can move the stars around at the entrance you could switch them to- wait a minute, there's one star missing at the entrance. The brown star.

Kaktus 2014/04/26(Sat)08:22 No. 572432 ID: 65a774
File 139852574251.png - (18.87KB , 900x450 , 20.png )

>Tera, how 'bout one or two one-shot high-power water or ice runes on Jer that'll trigger if he's taking significant burn damage?
I don’t know… making runes as powerful as that in such a size that Jericho can have it on him is kind of hard… not considering the amount of a magic it needs to use to shot whatever it’s supposed to shoot. Besides, making something trigger thanks to heat is cumbersome in itself.

>Perhaps the marks on the wall indicate which color of wires to connect together to open the sealed portal...
Err… what wires?
>What's still left inside the machine's casing? Are there any markings or labels on the inside?
There’s a few cogs… some pieces of metal… the pipe… something that looks kind of like a… fan? It’s broken but its design is rather interesting.
>I don't suppose any of the buttons on the machine's console are labeled or marked, are they?
It’s marked in the ancient tongue, so let’s see… hmmm… one button is labeled “Begin”, some of the knobs got 1 to 11 around them and… err… most of these symbols doesn’t really mean anything to me. It’s hard to see what they are even supposed to depict thanks to all the wear and tear over the years.
>Ilbir, when you say the pipes just end at the ceiling of the room below, are you saying they're just cut off and open or are they capped?
The pipe just goes right into the stone of the ceiling below. There’s no cap or anything… it’s like they just ripped out the room below and built another in its place.

>The paint might not be just paint. Jer, could you climb up on the tank you're next to and take a close look at the horizontal line with the two colors for us. Then scrap through the line to break it.
It looks like paint… it smells like paint… it’s paint. Scrubbing at it makes it flake away a reveals the stone- wait… it’s… repainting itself?
Oh! It’s magic paint!
>I say see if you can manipulate the colored lines in the background so that the order is this instead.
Try as I might, the paint just reapers as it was before.
Well, that does explain why it’s in such a good condition.
>Alternatively, if you can move the stars around at the entrance.
How? They are painted on the ground just like this… err… wait, the stone outside the entrance was built in our time, wasn’t it?
…well, yes… but… then why does it have those stars painted on it then?
Magic paint, Duh! It paints itself on whatever is on the surface.
>wait a minute, there's one star missing at the entrance. The brown star.
No, it was there. I remember seeing it. It was inside the entrance, right in the first corridor.

Dammit, we’re so close at finding this vault! I can feel it! Hmm… let’s go through what we know… It’s under the feet of someone important…
Important to who? The crypt? The ancient ones?
…and there’s five stars on the ground right at the entrance and five start in the ceiling on the two rooms below it… and this weird wall painting… hmm…
You know what I think? Let’s just start digging down there and see what we find.
They didn’t want people to find this thing… there might be traps… actually, I’m pretty sure there will be traps! Besides, this architecture is a priceless heritage fro-
Who cares, just let the red shirts here do the digging and we’ll be fine.
Err…
Those “Red shirts” have family and friends. Let’s not throw away human lives like they were two for a magpie down at the market.
At least I’m getting somewhere. You guys are just standing around doing nothing.

Insert Don’t dig to deep, you might find a circus full of clowns!_

>>572432
What about that thing Jericho's standing on? And the other one like it? What's in there, are those just tanks?

If all the paint regenerates itself why has the lower half of the wall paint all red? Try scratching a little of the red paint and see if it regenerates too.

Okay, I'm running out of ideas and patience here. If we don't get this figured out in the next hour we're going with Tera's idea, except we'll hire proper workmen; Masons who'll know how to brace the place to pull blocks from the walls and floor to check behind them.

Jer, summon the spear and use it to scrape through the blue paint line above the highest horizontal. Then scrape through the intersections down the vertical and the spot where the upper colors meet the red from below. Ask one of the guards to scrape through the red lines near him as well.

How can there still be water in those tanks after all this time? No matter how well they're sealed there are still open pipes out the sides. The water should have evaporated centuries ago. So where's the water coming from? Has anybody actually opened them to check if there is water in them?

There are also five chambers down in the third level of the crypt. That could be related to the five stars as well. Somebody get out the map and describe for us how the third level is laid out.

Press all the buttons and turn all the knobs on the console. Maybe they're magically linked to something elsewhere.

Does the pipe through the machine have any holes where machinery used to be or any indication the machine connected to it? 'Cause if there isn't then the machine may not have had anything to do with pumping water.

And the pipes are cut off like they just ripped out the room below... Hmmm... I just got a wacky idea: Perhaps the entire third level of the crypt could rotate like a wheel on its side. It's big and dumb and impractical, but with ancient tech and magic who the hell knows what they might have done.

If there is still water in those pipes you may have found an infinite source of water and all the desert problems are over.

>>572432
We have minimal knowledge of culture or history here, so you'll have to say if anything clicks. The person who's feet this thing is under could be important to the Gods, Daemons, Tribals, Ancients, or any combination of the above. That could include those statues in the courtyard, temples and religious icons, and astrological phenomena. The only way we know how to interact with anything in this dungeon at all is to scratch off the magic paint, so keep at it I suppose.

If nothing else works, start gathering charcoal, sulfur, saltpeter and alchohol. I have a GREAT idea. Tera will love it.

Kaktus 2014/04/26(Sat)13:53 No. 572445 ID: 65a774
File 139854561872.png - (18.58KB , 900x450 , 21.png )

>If all the paint regenerates itself why has the lower half of the wall paint all red? Try scratching a little of the red paint and see if it regenerates too.
>Jer, summon the spear and use it to scrape through the blue paint line above the highest horizontal. Then scrape through the intersections down the vertical and the spot where the upper colors meet the red from below.
The paint just repaint itself over and over… at least it isn’t as gray and worn as before.
>There are also five chambers down in the third level of the crypt. That could be related to the five stars as well. Somebody get out the map and describe for us how the third level is laid out.
The main chamber where the stairs up are is pentagon shaped, with the smaller grave chambers connected to each wall, except for the wall facing the exit. There, instead, is a long corridor ending up with that room with the weird stars.
>Press all the buttons and turn all the knobs on the console.
Believe me, I’ve already tried.
>Does the pipe through the machine have any holes where machinery used to be or any indication the machine connected to it?
Of course it has. It was doing something with the pipes, I just don’t know what.

>If we don't get this figured out in the next hour we're going with Tera's idea, except we'll hire proper workmen; Masons who'll know how to brace the place to pull blocks from the walls and floor to check behind them.
I forbid it. Where not going to have some masons get killed by traps and what not just because you don’t have the patience.
Hey, I’m sure we can get some trap expert in here.
Err… not that I want to start digging or anything but… don’t I outrank you being a prince?
Not until you marry the actual prince, no… and you do realize this is a tomb of the ancients, right!? The gods themselves built these trap, so I hardly think a lonely trapper can combat, let alone comprehend the traps that will be laid down there.
Fine fine… party pooper…
>If nothing else works, start gathering charcoal, sulfur, saltpeter and alchohol. I have a GREAT idea. Tera will love it.
…that sound… are you going to make a bomb or something!? No! Just… no.
>What about that thing Jericho's standing on? And the other one like it? What's in there, are those just tanks?
As I said, water-
Bullshit! It would have evaporated by now.
>How can there still be water in those tanks after all this time?
Err… to be truthful, I’m just going by the observations I’ve read about and-
That’s it, I’m popping this thing open! *Hurgh!* …wait, metal?
Do you hear that? Sounds like someone is in pain?
Is this glass? Wait, there’s someone in here!?
Wait, what!?

Insert Just say No and then get out of there!_

...Sounds of pain? Dammit... Jer, remember the tanks from Varius' lab? Step back and summon the spear, now! Jab yourself and keep the spear in hand from now on.

If nothing immediately jumps out at you then hold your lux crystal to... Wait, you left it back in Varius' lab, didn't you? Okay, just get close to the tank glass and peer in. If anything in there so much as twitches, get the fuck back.

Ilbir, the machine control console just lit up. Get over there and see what's going on with it. Ask Artemis to have a look too since she might be able to ID some of the symbols but specifically tell her to not press anything yet; That goes for you too, Ilbir.

Tera, where do you hear the sounds of pain coming from? Are they coming from the tank next to you? Because if they are I'd suggest you hop down and step back a bit. Otherwise, can you sense any necromantic magic emanating from inside the tanks?

We really need to stop cutting/jabbing ourselves with the spear every time we summon it.

Get the rest of that grime off. Find out what we're dealing with here.

>>572446
Oh, and forgot this: [Scan all targets in tanks]

Kaktus 2014/04/27(Sun)07:07 No. 572515 ID: 65a774
File 139860767921.png - (21.01KB , 900x450 , 22.png )

>[Scan all targets in tanks]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Energy Source.]
[Error! Unknown variable is blocking the scan!]

>...Sounds of pain? Dammit... Jer, remember the tanks from Varius' lab? Step back and summon the spear, now!
Right, I’ve seen tanks like this before. Get ready; there might be Wraiths in them.
>Get the rest of that grime off. Find out what we're dealing with here.
It’s not grime, it’s… what kind of material is this?
I don’t know, but it’s obviously magical. It seems to be… blocking our senses.
>Get close to the tank glass and peer in. If anything in there so much as twitches, get the fuck back.
There’s some… thing in there… it might be a person… I can’t really tell…

>Tera, where do you hear the sounds of pain coming from?
The tank Jer got his snout pressed against.
>Can you sense any necromantic magic emanating from inside the tanks?
I can feel it from the tank you guys just opened up… which is weird because I swear I didn’t feel it a moment ago.

>Ilbir, the machine control console just lit up. Get over there and see what's going on with it.
It seems to be functional… to an extent…
>Ask Artemis to have a look too since she might be able to ID some of the symbols but specifically tell her to not press anything yet; That goes for you too, Ilbir.
…This means On… those are the numbers 1-11…
I already knew that…
…those two are supposed to be arrows aimed to the left and right… hmm… I think this was supposedly a symbol for open… and this one for “Oh shit!”.
So, emergency button… how about the rest?
I don’t know. The symbols are to worn out to tell. Hmm… I think this is supposed to be a ball! …and that’s a bird! Definitely a bird! Oh, a man walking his dog!
…

Insert Quick, press the Cheese Throwing button before it’s too late!_

Our scan registers the creature in the tank as an "Undead Energy Source," but how can undead be a source of power? At least in this context. I can see them turning cranks and walking on treadmills and suchlike, but not this.

Tera, take a closer look at the uncovered tank. See if you can get a sense of what the creature inside is, what's causing it pain and if there's any necromantic magic flowing between it and the machine console.

If the console isn't somehow being powered by necromantic magic then my only other idea is that it's the pain of the undead powering it. If true, that'd mean the Ancients found a way to tap into the same emotional energy the daemons feed on and use it as a power source.

There are two tanks, so the other one could be a backup or both might be required to power whatever this machine does. Either way, better uncover it. Jer, ask Artemis to help you carefully peel the coating off the other tank. Ilbir's going to want it for later study, so try to keep as much of it intact as possible and set it safely out of the way.

Once the tank is uncovered we'll start experimenting with the console controls. Start by setting the knobs to 1, pressing the 'on' button, then pressing the left arrow button. We'll see what that does, if anything.

Well, Ilbir, how green with envy do you think the Academy will be when you present what you've discovered here? I'd imagine the magic blocking material coating the tanks alone would be enough to turn them a pleasing shade of cabbage. Throw in everything else and their jealousy levels are gonna be through the roof.

Mess with the other tank to get it revealed. Ilbir can you check inside the computer again to see how the hell it could possibly be working?

I would hazard a guess and say that the portal is under one of these undeads. They're important! Or maybe it's under the console.

Left and right but no up and down? Well guess we can't type in the konami code then.

Let's try turning it on and keep the 1-11 on a low setting to see what happens.

Kaktus 2014/04/27(Sun)13:26 No. 572554 ID: 65a774
File 139863039323.png - (20.21KB , 900x450 , 23.png )

>Well, Ilbir, how green with envy do you think the Academy will be when you present what you've discovered here?
This coupled with my discovery flying magic will probably mean that I have to start looking over my shoulder for assassins from the academy… more than usual, I mean.
Err…
I jest, but in a seriousness, I have to be there to see their faces when they hear about this!
>Mess with the other tank to get it revealed.
There’s another one in pain in there, I can feel it.
Look! The console is blue now instead of red!
>I would hazard a guess and say that the portal is under one of these undeads. They're important! Or maybe it's under the console.
The only thing under those undead is the room on the bottom floor with the stars in the ceiling.

>Tera, take a closer look at the uncovered tank. See if you can get a sense of what the creature inside is, what's causing it pain and if there's any necromantic magic flowing between it and the machine console.
It’s… humanoid… and the pain isn’t normal. It’s… I guessing some kind of magic. Oh, and the only necromantic energy here is the one reanimating the dead.
>Our scan registers the creature in the tank as an "Undead Energy Source," but how can undead be a source of power?
Hmm… they are harvesting their pain?

>Start experimenting with the console controls. Start by setting the knobs to 1, pressing the 'on' button, then pressing the left arrow button.
The knobs are already on 3 but… setting the left one to 1…
Hey, the undead in the left tank started squirming less!
And the consol turned red again… hmm… let me reset it too 3…
Now he’s squirming again… poor thing.
So, the knobs control how much power it harvest from the undead… now, let’s try the on button… err… nothing’s happening?
It’s already on, silly…
… I’m pretty sure that’s not… never mind, left arrow button then.
*BEEP!!*
It said ERROR!
>Ilbir can you check inside the computer again to see how the hell it could possibly be working?
It’s still empty… hmm… turning the knobs turns one of the gears that’s still inside… I think I can make out a rune on them… as for the left arrow button…
*BEEP!!*
…nothing… hmm… right arrow button?
*Click…* *CLICKCLICKCLICK!* *Sssss* *Thunk!*
…what was that? Did something happen?
Well, some of the paint turned cyan…
“Move successful”…
Move of what?
I dunno…
Insert I AM ERROR!_

>>572554
Yep. Rotating stuff. Go check the room below this one with the markings.

An energy conduit of some kind? Per haps an indicator, if not the actual conduit. We must have moved some contact or port into alignment, but where? The wall itself doesn't seem to have moved, so where is it?
The pain harvesting makes sense, after all, it is where the demons get their energy from. Would that make this a demonic machine?
As for the poor sods in the tubes, as soon as we figure out this tech let's spring them. Noone deserves to be a soul battery. I hope they're not broken and blinded by pain. It'd suck if we had to put them to rest because they've gone bonkers. They are undead, after all.

Whatever it was that moved was probably down on the third level, but we can't be sure of that. Ask Artemis to run up to the entrance and back to see if anything moved. Jer, run to the level below and check it out. Pay special attention to the orientation of the rooms; They may have moved.

Ilbir, finding these "Undead Energy Sources" is a bigger deal than you'd think. It gives us a golden opportunity to study the daemons' emotional energy source, and with the knowledge gained we may find a way to divert the ambient emotional flow to their realm. That'd give us leverage over them we wouldn't have otherwise. We could even just cut them off and then seal their realm ourselves so we're certain there aren't any hidden backdoors.

I don't like that these undead are suffering like this either, Tera. If it was closer to when they were put in the tanks I'd suggest pulling them out once we're done here, but they've been in there since before the Dark Age. If they ever were intelligent then their minds are long gone by now. Better to leave them so they and what's been done to them can be studied; We very likely won't get another chance to.

Kaktus 2014/04/28(Mon)09:36 No. 572613 ID: 65a774
File 139870299723.png - (17.35KB , 900x450 , 24.png )

>The pain harvesting makes sense, after all, it is where the demons get their energy from. Would that make this a demonic machine?
Hmm… it’s possible it was built with the help from the daemons, true… or might be based on whatever technology they possess. This place was supposedly built to hide away the word sealing their realm, after all.
>Ilbir, finding these "Undead Energy Sources" is a bigger deal than you'd think. It gives us a golden opportunity to study the daemons' emotional energy source, and with the knowledge gained we may find a way to divert the ambient emotional flow to their realm.
Yes… Knowing your enemy is half the battle, after all…
>I don't like that these undead are suffering like this either, Tera. If it was closer to when they were put in the tanks I'd suggest pulling them out once we're done here, but they've been in there since before the Dark Age. If they ever were intelligent then their minds are long gone by now. Better to leave them so they and what's been done to them can be studied; We very likely won't get another chance to.
Well, I don’t like having them like this… but they were probably mindless to begin with. At least, I hope so… they are now at any rate…

>Whatever it was that moved was probably down on the third level, but we can't be sure of that. Ask Artemis to run up to the entrance and back to see if anything moved. Jer, run to the level below and check it out.
I’m on it!
On my way.
Actually, I’m going with you down to the floor below. If anything happened then it’s probably down there.
Hey, don’t leave me here!
Well then, Artemis, meet us down below after you’ve checked the entrance. Guards, come with us.

…

Everything seems to be like be- err… alright, this is new.
This was the room with the stars?
There used to be only a few Sarcofangases down-
Sarcophaguses.
Sacropanuses down here… not a bunch of statues and plant life.

Insert Sacra- Se- Sarcofan- Sarcasti- Sarcephog- Sacre- BAH!!!_

Hmm statue of Bob, go ahead and poke it.


Also it seems that the device can shift rooms, we should experiment and see what rooms it can produce.

The King piece is the most important one here.

Roman numerals. looks like, from right to left, 1, 4, 18, 21, 13. I think.

Similarly, a pawn, a king, a bunch of books, empty pedestal, and Bob the daemon. Or maybe some other daemon. Whatever.

I think the books might represent us. It makes sense if this is some sort of hierarchy. Now we just need to figure out what's more powerful than us and less powerful than a daemon.

...Guys, what the hell? You left Tera behind. All alone. In an unfamiliar place she doesn't know how to navigate. Seriously, what the hell? ...Well, go back and get her! And apologize when you do.

...Wait a sec. What about the royal crypt security? Ilbir, I figure you'd be cleared to be down here, but wouldn't Artemis and Tera have to be added to the whitelist so the arcane guardians don't attack them? Maybe Tera will end up having to stay up there anyway. Wouldn't excuse just leaving her behind, though.

Okay, standard "search everything" protocol. Look over the statues and all sides of their plinths for anything hidden. Read what's written on the plinths and check if any of the books have titles on them. Check the underside of the planter platforms for anything. Try pushing the statues and plinths. And give extra attention to the statue of Bob; He's pretty important and it's the only one here with actual feet.

Hmmm... I have an idea. Since the cyan line lead from above the king piece to above the empty plinth, it might be calling for a player's king piece to stand there. Jer, go stand on the empty plinth and see what happens.

Since these rooms move, then they could be ridden in and there might be other hidden halls or chambers leading off of them when they're in different positions. Once we're done in this room we'll reset to the sarcophagus room and have someone stand in it, then we'll cycle through all the rooms, have someone else stand in the last room, then cycle back, then back again. That way someone'll see every possible position something could be hidden.

>>572625
Oh, in that case, maybe the roman numerals represent value. Knowledge is more valuable than demons and kings, but there's something else a bit more valuable that doesn't have a statue. Is the statue missing, or is it empty because it cannot be represented?

Life itself maybe? Put one of the plants on the pedestal.

Kaktus 2014/04/28(Mon)13:43 No. 572630 ID: 65a774
File 139871779156.png - (18.36KB , 900x450 , 25.png )

>...Guys, what the hell? You left Tera behind. All alone. In an unfamiliar place she doesn't know how to navigate. Seriously, what the hell?
What? No, they didn’t! I’m right here!
I know I can be a jerk sometimes, but did you really think I would leave a blind girl all alone in the middle of a crypt?
>...Wait a sec. What about the royal crypt security? Ilbir, I figure you'd be cleared to be down here, but wouldn't Artemis and Tera have to be added to the whitelist so the arcane guardians don't attack them?
Wait, those things actually exist?
Well, yes, though personally I’ve never seen one… but as long as you stay close and don’t disturb any of the Sarcophaguses you’ll be fine. They are here to stop grave robbers, not visitors.

>Okay, standard "search everything" protocol.
Hmm, no secret buttons.
No text beyond what’s written on the pedestals.
They can’t be moved, my lord.
Neither the statues, walls or floors are hallow, sir.
Err… I… um… I didn’t hear any strange sounds?
>Roman numerals. looks like, from right to left, 1, 4, 18, 21, 13. I think.
Roman? Those are clearly Erathian numbers… but you’re right, they say 13, 21, 18, 4, 1… hmm let’s see what else they say… 1, The constructor. 4, The Leader. 18, The Concept. 21… there’s nothing written on the pedestal but 21… hmm… and last, 13, The End.
>Hmm statue of Bob, go ahead and poke it.
That’s Bob? The daemon? That’s interesting… he looks just like the ancients personification of death, the one who guide to souls to the afterlife… or chain them up to pay for their misdeeds in life…

>Life itself maybe? Put one of the plants on the pedestal.
Doesn’t seem to do anything.
>Hmmm... I have an idea. Since the cyan line lead from above the king piece to above the empty plinth, it might be calling for a player's king piece to stand there. Jer, go stand on the empty plinth and see what happens.
…I don’t know what you would hope to accomplish but I’m feeling a bit silly.
You really fit standing on a pedestal you know…
Err… you can’t even see me.
Now we just need to have the prince next to you… giving you a kiss on the cheek~ …maybe squeeze your butt a bi-
What is it with you and my relationship?
You two are just so cute~
>Also it seems that the device can shift rooms, we should experiment and see what rooms it can produce. Since these rooms move, then they could be ridden in and there might be other hidden halls or chambers leading off of them when they're in different positions.
Hmm… dangerous but a valid possibility. We should try it with someone unimportant.
…like the redshirts?
I meant a servant or something.
>Is the statue missing, or is it empty because it cannot be represented?
Well, there’s only a number so… It can’t be represented by words either?
Hmm… 21… what does it mean? What do 21 have to do with anything? Hmm… 1 is for the constructor, the builder, pawn, peasant… 4 is for the leader, king, emperor, sultan… 18 is for knowledge, concepts… creativity? 13 is for daemons, death… hmm… what does the numbers mean?
Bah, to hell with the numbers, let’s find some shmuck to ride in the room for us!

Insert Takes one to know one, Tera_

She is right in that you two are adorable, we hope for long lasting love between you two.

Anyways is there a spell or something we can use to track these? A servant is good and all but having a magical tracker so we can see 'where' they go and how they move exactly.

It can't just be simple swapping between things, because otherwise the sound of grinding stone would've been noticed high above by Tera, also we can't use anyone alive because otherwise they might die, those 'shumucks' are still people Tera... In case of danger they'll be standing in front so we can flee, they have better uses then dying in a random chance.

>>572630
The empty pedestal could represent the future or present.

At any rate, have a servant stay in the room then go up to the controls and press left again. Come down and investigate the resulting room. After we're finished with the investigation we should move the room right again and ask the servant what they saw.

Sorry, Ilbir. We should know you're not anywhere near a big enough jerk to leave Tera behind. It's just we've got reason to be extra paranoid about the safety of those with us, that's all.

Jer, Tera's right; You and Eliraz are a cute couple, and you look good on a plinth. Combining those in statue of you two in a romantic embrace would be super adorable. Though it is rather too early in your relationship to be thinking about commissioning such things. Hopefully someday you can.

Ilbir, if you want to see the arcane guardians then swing by Eli's tomb on the way out; They'll probably be there until the lid of his sarcophagus is put back. Also, have you been keeping track of the time? Don't want to risk missing that very important dinner reservation, do ya?

The Ancients' personification of death does match Bob on the chains part; In his reflection at the summon he had a bunch of starved imprisoned daemons chained to his back. Kinda makes me wonder whether Bob based his worldly form on the Ancients' personification of death, or if they based their personification on him.

Tera, what is with you lately? You've been awfully callous in suggesting putting people into likely mortal danger for the sake of expediency. Are you feeling alright? [Scan "The Acolyte"]

Now, I'm loathe to just put a person in this room, move it and hope they don't get horribly killed in the process. Do we have some kind of magical thing we could use here instead, like a remote viewing device that can be placed in the room?

If we don't have such a thing then we'll do a safety test before putting a person in. Stick a mindless undead and a roughly person size animal in and see if they come back in one piece after we cycle the rooms all the way back and forth. If they do then we'll move on to someone who can tell us what they saw; Preferably someone who's going to die soon anyway such as a prisoner that's been sentenced to death.

Ah, I think I know what the numbers on the plinths mean: They're the major arcana in a deck of tarot cards. I don't know if your world has tarot cards, or if it does if they have the same meanings, but these match the ones we know.

One is The Magician, also known as The Artisan, so it fits with "The Constructor." Four is The Emperor, which matches "The Leader." Thirteen is Death, also a match. Eighteen is The Moon, which, among other things, represents imagination, so that fits. So that means twenty-one is The World, representing everything; The five elements, the cycles of the universe, and all within it.

How does knowing this help us, though? Maybe we have to find a sculpture of the world down here and place it on the plinth? I dunno. Perhaps it'll become more apparent later.

Kaktus 2014/04/29(Tue)06:23 No. 572667 ID: 65a774
File 139877778862.png - (18.27KB , 900x450 , 26.png )

>[Scan "The Acolyte"]
[“The Acolyte” Status: Bored.]
>Tera, what is with you lately? You've been awfully callous in suggesting putting people into likely mortal danger for the sake of expediency.
I’m a bit bored, alright! I want shit to happen already!
Err… you’re usually content to listening to the birds…
Fuck that, that was before I got a taste of some real excitement!
Lady Tera, you’re getting a bit… foul mouthed…
Fuck off, Redshirt.
*Sigh*

>She is right in that you two are adorable, we hope for long lasting love between you two.
I’m sure we’re super adorable and what’s not… but please leave us alone for a little while, at least!
NEVER!!!
>Ilbir, if you want to see the arcane guardians then swing by Eli's tomb on the way out; They'll probably be there until the lid of his sarcophagus is put back.
I’ll see if I have the time when we’re done here.
>Have you been keeping track of the time? Don't want to risk missing that very important dinner reservation, do ya?
Of course, in about twenty minutes I have to leave and start preparing myself for tonight.

>I think I know what the numbers on the plinths mean: They're the major arcana in a deck of tarot cards.
Tarot, you say… can’t say I got much knowledge about those cards…
What is a Tarot? Something you eat?
…don’t you guys read the future in those or something?
Huh? No? Our Shamans can see the future the gods have planned by looking at bones and blood, not playing cards.
Of course…
>One is The Magician, four is The Emperor, thirteen is Death, eighteen is The Moon and twenty-one is The World, representing everything.
So… under the feet of the one that’s most important inside the crypt? The world? …but the world doesn’t have any feet…
Maybe death? Without death no one would use the crypt, right?
It’s the builder, without him this thing wouldn’t even exist.
The same can be said about the concept…
Pff, it’s the emperor, of course! At the time they build this place they though their emperors and kings was chosen by the gods and made the sun rise every morning.
Well, the gods chosen part is correct…
Hi again, guys! I’ve checked the entrance just like you asked and nothing has happened there at all! Neat, huh?
…err… sure, neat…

>Do we have some kind of magical thing we could use here instead, like a remote viewing device that can be placed in the room?
Not really… no.
>Stick a mindless undead and a roughly person size animal in and see if they come back in one piece after we cycle the rooms all the way back and forth.
>Anyways is there a spell or something we can use to track these?
Right, Let hurry and retrieve an undead servant from outside… with the right spells I might be able to track it to some extent. Let’s go!

…

So, what happened?
I don’t know. As soon as I shifted the rooms it just disappeared. Let’s see if it’s still here… hmmm… it’s completely gone?
You’re standing on him.
Oh… well then, let’s not have someone alive in here while we shift rooms, shall we?

Insert He’s over there… and there… and there… and here… and a bit over there…_

>>572667
Are there more rooms? Or is the choice just left or right? This kindof does look like part of the riddle though.

Examine the pedestals for anything you can activate on them. Don't push any buttons yet, I just want to see if we need to choose, or if this is just going to show us what the ancients thought was most important.

You couldn't see the smoke rising from the floor and the bits of servant all over? ...I think it's time to seriously consider always wearing your spectacles from now on, Ilbir.

Well, this room was a bit of a bust. The only thing I can think of to do before we move to the next room is to climb up on those planters and check behind them and the ferns for anything on the wall. Otherwise lets quickly move on.

Ask Artemis to stand in the hall outside this chamber. We'll go up to the control room and cycle the rooms until we reach the end of the line, pausing for ten seconds on each for her to take a quick peek from out in the hall, and noting the cyan traces as we go. When done she can either run up to tell us what she saw, or ask Pink to message it to us. We're specifically looking for a room that has pipes from the ceiling that match with the ones in floor of the room above; That'll be the room we should investigate next.

Ilbir, if you run out of time don't feel obligated to stay and miss your date. I believe Artemis can translate any Ancient text we find, so we could keep going without you. We could even put it off until tomorrow morning. It's not like the vault is going anywhere, and we don't even have all the stuff needed to open it anyway, so there's no big rush.

Tera, I had a feeling you'd want excitement in your life after being cooped up for so long 'cause of your blindness. Alright, lets think of some exciting stuff you could go do outside of what we're doing. You've got Artemis as your guide now, so you can go anywhere in the city. Is there an arena, either sports or gladiatorial, you could visit? Boxing match, either bare-knuckle or with gloves? You got any ideas yourself, Tera?

And if you're looking for some sexual excitement, you could ask Elizah for a visit to her harem. She's been looking for ways to vary things there, so they'll definitely come up with something exciting for you.

Oh, and why did ask Ilbir to do you a favor and get you access to the Academy's archives, Tera? Hoping to get a early look at Varius' work so you can learn his techniques? 'Cause I'd be for that.

Kaktus 2014/04/29(Tue)13:49 No. 572693 ID: 65a774
File 139880455784.png - (19.70KB , 900x450 , 27.png )

>You couldn't see the smoke rising from the floor and the bits of servant all over? ...I think it's time to seriously consider always wearing your spectacles from now on, Ilbir.
I was looking for a skeleton, not bit and pieces!
>Tera, I had a feeling you'd want excitement in your life after being cooped up for so long 'cause of your blindness.
Well, duh!
>Alright, let’s think of some exciting stuff you could go do outside of what we're doing. You've got Artemis as your guide now, so you can go anywhere in the city. Is there an arena, either sports or gladiatorial, you could visit? Boxing match, either bare-knuckle or with gloves?
How should I know, I barely know this city!
Don’t ask me…
I’m sorry but I usually refrain from such… hmm… uncouth entertainment.
There’s always the bear pits down in the lower city… They’ve given the bears these new muzzles with spikes on them… and let me tell you about the claw hooks!
Bah! It makes me sick! When I was a kid they didn’t need all that cutlery they strap on them these days!
So what did they do then? Bump into each other?
Nah, the bears back then had claws as long as your fingers… and wicked teeth!
Wait, we have bears?
>And if you're looking for some sexual excitement, you could ask Elizah for a visit to her harem. She's been looking for ways to vary things there, so they'll definitely come up with something exciting for you.
Hey, I’m not that kind of lady, I’ll have you know.
You’re planning on talking to the princess about that as soon as possible, aren’t you?
Of course not. I’ll at least wait to tonig- I mean, I never!
>Oh, and why did ask Ilbir to do you a favor and get you access to the Academy's archives, Tera? Hoping to get a early look at Varius' work so you can learn his techniques?
No can do. The Academy is angry with me as it is already.
Please! Pretty Please?
Sorry…
Well, fuck you too, then.
If you keep talking like that you’ll definitely not get a chance to see those archives.
>Ilbir, if you run out of time don't feel obligated to stay and miss your date. I believe Artemis can translate any Ancient text we find, so we could keep going without you.
But… science! History! Discoveris!
Are those really more important then your boyfriend?
Well, of co- …I… maybe you’re right. Maybe I should get going before I get stuck down here. Right then, I’ll be leaving for my date now. Just promise me that you’ll save everything you find down here for later examinations, alright?

>Ask Artemis to stand in the hall outside this chamber. We'll go up to the control room and cycle the rooms until we reach the end of the line, pausing for her to take a quick peek from out in the hall, and noting the cyan traces as we go. Ask Pink to message it to us.
[Message from Pink: Room Empty, please change room.]
[Message from Pink: Coffins, nothing of value, change room.]
[Message from Pink: Large pile of skeletons, unable to find anything of value, there’s a pipe going from the ceiling into the floor, change room.]
[Message from Pink: Coffins, Nothing of value, change room.]
[Message from Pink: Old study… books unreadable and falling apart, lone skeleton who carved a message into the wall that reads: Balance! We need them just as they need us! Remember, when XX comes, VI chose XIV, not VII. Otherwise XII, spelling XVI.” …change room.]
[Message from Pink: Room Empty, Change room.]
[Message from Pink: …lots of those weird tanks with undead in them… one is huge. Change room.]
*Beep*
That seems to be it…

Insert Am I XV or ∞?_

>>572693
"Balance! We need them just as they need us! Remember, when XX comes, VI chose XIV, not VII. Otherwise XII, spelling XVI."
Great. We can't banish all the demons, according to that message. We'll have to follow that lead later.

XX is Judgement, obvious meaning.
XIV is Temperance, another obvious meaning.
VII is The Chariot, which can symbolize conquest.
XII is The Hanged Man, which is sacrifice in order to gain a new perspective. Or paralysis?
XVI is The Tower, which is generally interpreted as destruction or a disaster, possibly brought about by pride or ego.

So it sounds like the message is saying to choose balance in the end, not the elimination of the demons, for the consequences otherwise will be stagnation, resulting in disaster.

Sigh. Well, whatever. Let's check out the huge tank.

[Message to Pink: That's the last room. Hold position; We'll be down shortly.]

In light of what happened to the servant we should take precautions against somebody getting in here and moving the room while we're in it. Jer, turn both knobs to "1," pull them off and pocket them. Then look inside the console and see if you can take the gears they were attached to, along with whatever the left and right buttons are connected to. Then get a bunch of guards in here with orders to keep absolutely everybody away from the controls until you return; Not even the sultan herself is allowed to touch them.

The fact that the skeleton in the study isn't exploded indicates there is a way to ride in the rooms safely. We'll have to keep on the lookout for that. Also, the pipe going into the floor in the "skeleton room" could mean there's something under there it hooks into, so we should check that room after the tank room.

Tera, we could ask Eliraz to use his thief-y powers to "borrow" the material you want from the Academy archive. Then Artemis could speed memorize them and write out an exact copy while Eliraz returns the original copy. Done right it'd be so quick nobody would even know they were taken and returned. Of course, we could just ask Eliraz to try using his royal clout to get you into the archive, but that'd be boring.

And please be more prudent and precise in dropping your F-bombs. Throwing them at the guards or somebody you're trying to get a favor from is, frankly, dumb. I'm not saying be some stick-in-the-mud prim and proper Lady; I'm saying choose the targets for your foul mouth with greater care.

Speaking of Eliraz: Where is he? He went to arrange for proper defense of the crypt, but that was more than two hours ago. Shouldn't he have returned by now?

>>572697
You forgot VI:The Lovers, which in this case most likely represents a choice not to be made lightly. Also, XX:Judgment can represent not only judgment but salvation, restart or a new beginning.

We also don't know if this message was referring to the daemons. It's likely, but not certain. We'll have to look into if and how mortals need the daemons before we can say. We should also try to find out when the daemon realm was sealed back in the ancient age and when the start of the Dark Age was. If the Dark Age falls quite a bit after then it may be that mortals somehow caused the downfall by diverting too much emotional energy away from the daemons.

Wait, wait, VI chose XIV, so The Lovers chose Temperance.  Interesting that a past observation is paired with the prediction of Judgement. Is he referring to a past or future action? Do the Lovers refer to just the demons, or the demons and some one else? A relationship tnds to involve more than one person/group, and the lovers is all about choices, relationship, and sacrifice.
Speaking of sacrifices, The Hanged Man. Suggested meanings include Sacrifice, acceptance, renunciation, contemplation, a new point of view, conformism, non-action, giving up, but all that if we seal away the demons? I was against the idea before, but how could doing that cause what we fear would happen if we don't? We're missing some cards, here.
The Tower of course is pretty bloody straightforward, but the nature of aforementioned doom is just as bloody vague.
The Hanged Man can also mean life in suspension, living, but neither fully alive nor dead. Sounds like we know a couple people like that. But could it also refer in passing to the batteries? The Undead could be pretty bloody important to whatever clusterfuck event they're alluding to.
.....
...Pink said the person's skeleton was still there, right?
.....
Can we raise it?

The city has bear fights..And we never knew of this!? That is so awesome!

Kaktus 2014/04/30(Wed)09:22 No. 572770 ID: 65a774
File 139887492775.png - (22.67KB , 900x450 , 28.png )

>[Message to Pink: That's the last room. Hold position; We'll be down shortly.]
…

>So it sounds like the message is saying to choose balance in the end, not the elimination of the demons, for the consequences otherwise will be stagnation, resulting in disaster.
So… we can’t seal those bastards away?
Hmm… maybe it means that we should just seal them away and not touch the whole emotion thingy?
>We'll have to look into if and how mortals need the daemons before we can say.
Yes, knowing what we’re about to do is vital! If we don’t actively seek out all the information we can find we might do something we’ll regret.
>Wait, wait, VI chose XIV, so The Lovers chose Temperance. Interesting that a past observation is paired with the prediction of Judgment.
Hmm… so the choice was in the past? Are they talking about the first Daemon war? Maybe it’s not a prediction, but an observation of what happened…
…then why does it say “When XX comes” and not “Came”?

>The city has bear fights… And we never knew of this!? That is so awesome!
Hmm... kind off… I don’t know, having someone describe it as it happens doesn’t really sound that exiting…
Maybe you should head to one of those Theaters or musicals Eliraz talks about at times… that does sound more up your blind alley.
Hmm… well, I’ve always liked music.
>...Pink said the person's skeleton was still there, right? Can we raise it?
Well, maybe… if there’s enough parts down there, sure. Just don’t expect it to be sentient… or remember anything from when it was alive. It’s brain has to be completely gone by now, so no dice if you expected some answers from that thing.
Wait… I don’t have a brain either… but I can still remember stuff?
You had a brain when we started the Necromantic process, that’s what count… and I know you lack a brain, doofus! *Snort*
Hey!

>In light of what happened to the servant we should take precautions against somebody getting in here and moving the room while we're in it. Jer, turn both knobs to "1," pull them off and pocket them, including the gears they are connected too.
Well then, the console doesn’t have any power and the only way for it to be reactivated has been disabled. That would be safe enough.
>Get a bunch of guards in here with orders to keep absolutely everybody away from the controls until you return; Not even the sultan herself is allowed to touch them.
We will guard it with our life, Oh exalted one!!
>Tera, we could ask Eliraz to use his thief-y powers to "borrow" the material you want from the Academy archive.
I dunno… stealing is… you know, let’s save that as a last resort, alright?
>Please be more prudent and precise in dropping your F-bombs. Throwing them at the guards or somebody you're trying to get a favor from is, frankly, dumb.
Hey! Fu-
TERA!!
Err… fine! I’ll keep my potty mouth under control… you… you butt… Humph…
>Speaking of Eliraz: Where is he? He went to arrange for proper defense of the crypt, but that was more than two hours ago.
He’s at the entrance, ordering guards around and arresting people without legs!
Wait, weren’t you supposed to wait downstairs.
The voice said I should wait but I got bored so now I’m here with you, Jer! Yay!

>Sigh. Well, whatever. Let's check out the huge tank.
Wow, that’s a real big… wait… why didn’t you mention what was inside it!?
Voice said it was a surprise. She wanted to see your face when you saw it.
Huh? What is what?

Insert Losing all the commenters_

Well Tera, it's pants shitting terror because it's an actual demon..In a giant tank, hooked up to the rest of the tinier tanks.

>>572770
That's a DAEMON. How the hell did they manage this?

Look at the console but don't touch anything.

...Well, Jer, that's one benefit of being undead: You're incapable of pissing your pants in terror. [Scan all the tanks]

Tera, what's in the huge tank looks exactly like the reflection of Bob or the incorporeal form of the Dark One, except it's FUCKIN' SOLID. It's a daemon body, but it's IN THIS WORLD! ...You have our full permission to engage your foul mouth; The situation warrants it.

Okay, full 'look, don't touch' protocol is in effect until we figure out what the fuck we're dealing with here. Hands behind backs or in pockets and keep at least a foot back from the tanks and controls. Ask Artemis to read back what's on the console and tell us what positions the controls are set to. Tera, sense what's in the smaller tanks, then what's in the big tank. Jer, guide her so she doesn't trip over a cable or bump into anything. And summon the Spear; We may be facing illusions soon.

Ask Artemis what she found in her daemon research binge about the "Harvesters" the Blood God wanted to make. From what we've learned, they're supposedly bodies capable of indefinitely containing a daemon in this world with its powers mostly intact. This might be one, which scares the crap out of me because it could still be occupied...

Raising the skeletal remains wouldn't tell us anything about what happened, but could examining the remains where they are tell us anything? Like how the person died? I think there might be some tests that can be done on the bones to determine cause of death.

Have you considered taking up playing cards, Tera? I think you can get ones with raised ink symbols. It'd mean you could join in the regular card games that I'd imagine go on around the palace.

I knew they were demon batteries! Hah!
But are they siphoning the demon's power, or restraining it?
And does this have anything to do with the prophecy, and specifically the Hanging Man? There's certainly a visual remniscience if no actual relevance, but for some stupid reason, I have a feeling this is relevant, if not directly.
Could this be the aforementioned Conquest? Could the danger not be to you all, but to the demons?
No, Jericho, you are the demons.

Kaktus 2014/04/30(Wed)12:48 No. 572776 ID: 65a774
File 139888729889.png - (22.82KB , 900x450 , 29.png )

>[Scan all the tanks]
[Daemonic Creature (Friendly): Flawed Harvester.]
[Flawed Harvester is currently being occupied by “Human in Green”.]
[Neutral Creature (None): Undead Energy Source.] x21

>Well Tera, it's pants shitting terror because it's an actual demon… In a giant tank, hooked up to the rest of the tinier tanks.
And that’s bad?
That’s very bad.
>...You have our full permission to engage your foul mouth; The situation warrants it.
Fuck the fucking fuckily fuck fuck fuck! YOU COCKNUGGET SHIT FUCKING COCK WANK ASS FUCKING TITPUNCHING CLOWNFART!
Clown fart?
The clowniest fart!
…is that even a swear word?

>...Well, Jer, that's one benefit of being undead: You're incapable of pissing your pants in terror.
Well, at least pissing your pants in terror leaves you with a warm feeling…
>But are they siphoning the demon's power, or restraining it?
Hmm… that’s a good question.
Maybe they are feeding him? His probably hungry! Look how thin he looks! He’s all bones, the poor guy! Aw… he’s so cute… I’m going to call him George! HI GEORGE!
Artemis… please don’t ever call one of those things cute again…
>Tera, sense what's in the smaller tanks, then what's in the big tank.
All the small tanks are filled with Undead of all kinds writhing in pain while the big tank… holy fuck, that’s a lot of necromantic energy!
>Look at the console but don't touch anything.
…Artemis?
The big screen says “Harvester: Human in Green. Condition: Good. Energy: Good. Anchor: Good. Current Status: Active.” …and the smaller screen has these bars that go up and down and stuff… Oh, and there are a button here… “Summon”. Let’s press it!
Don’t press anything!
>Ask Artemis what she found in her daemon research binge about the "Harvesters" the Blood God wanted to make.
Harvester? Let’s see… they were necromantic based constructs created to hold Daemons in our world. No one ever succeeded making a working one. At least, no one that recorded it.

>Raising the skeletal remains wouldn't tell us anything about what happened, but could examining the remains where they are tell us anything?
Well, I should tell you if it died of natural causes…
Like old age?
Or getting a knife in his spleen. I can only tell if he got magical residue on him or not. Anything more advance then that and you’ll need a professional… and even then, considering how old those bones are, it will still take a lot of time and we’ll probably come up empty handed anyway…
>Have you considered taking up playing cards, Tera? I think you can get ones with raised ink symbols. It'd mean you could join in the regular card games that I'd imagine go on around the palace.
Well, I’ve have no idea how to play cards…
I can teach you if I have the time…
That’s really sweet of you, Jer… thanks… now, what do we do with ugly here? Smash the machine keeping it alive? At least, I’m guessing it’s keeping it alive… maybe it’s keeping it trapped… hmmm…
Let’s not commit wanton destruction without a cause, alright?

>No, Jericho, you are the demons.
Insert And then Jericho was a zombie… oh, wait…_

>[Daemonic Creature (Friendly): Flawed Harvester.]
It's FRIENDLY!?

I did not see that one coming. I guess we should hold off on destroying this thing... for now.

Right, before we mess with the possible-friendly-possible-just-has-admin-level-access-to-the-UI demon-in-a-jar, let the Sultan know.
At the very least, if we try and let it out make sure to evacuate the city above in a few hundred metre radius to limit possible casualties and have the guard on hand to contain it if it manages to get out of the crypt.

>>572776
If they have a button to summon it then it's probably safe to press, and it scans as friendly. Push button.

Scan registers the creature as "Flawed Harvester," currently occupied by "Human in Green," and flagged as... Friendly? ...What the fuck? ...Is that right?

We better be extra fuckin' paranoid here. Jer, illusion check: Poke self with Spear; Check room with mirror. We'll [Scan huge tank] right after to be reasonably sure our scan isn't being fucked with. Jab Artemis as well so Pink can get a scan too. [Message to Pink: <Insert last scan result> You got the same?]

If there's no illusion shenanigans going on then we'll move on to trying to communicate with the Human in Green. Ask Artemis to knock on the tank glass to try and get his attention, then wave and say "hello." Uh... She can speak the Ancient language, right? Otherwise this isn't going to get very far.

If we can't get its attention then the only option left is to press the "summon" button, but we should not do it without taking ample precautions. Tell Pink to jump to Elizah or Xaldin and tell either of them what's down here, what we're gonna do and that we need the sultan notified and the area around the crypt evacuated before we do it.

We'll then leave Artemis down here to press the button while we go back to the room shifter controls. Put the knobs back in, power it up, and message Pink to press the button. Then if we don't get an "all clear" from her inside of 30 seconds, we'll turn the knobs to 10, shift the rooms, and hit the "Oh, shit" button before making a run for it. That button is probably there in case things down here go all pear-shaped.

Tera, I get the feeling you might like smashing things. Once we're out of here we'll see about getting you a club and a some stuff to hit with it. Perhaps include a piñata.

Kaktus 2014/04/30(Wed)16:07 No. 572791 ID: 65a774
File 139889925348.png - (22.71KB , 900x450 , 30.png )

>Tera, I get the feeling you might like smashing things. Once we're out of here we'll see about getting you a club and a some stuff to hit with it. Perhaps include a piñata.
Hell yeah! Smashing things sounds fun!

>We better be extra fuckin' paranoid here. Jer, illusion check: Poke self with Spear; Check room with mirror.
I’m lucky I’m already dead, otherwise I would have bled to death by now…
>We'll [Scan huge tank] right after to be reasonably sure our scan isn't being fucked with.
[Daemonic Creature (Friendly): Flawed Harvester.]
>Jab Artemis as well so Pink can get a scan too. [Message to Pink: <Insert last scan result> You got the same?]
Hey, stop pocking me!
[Message from Pink: “[Daemonic Creature (Neutral): Flawed Harvester.]”]

>then we'll move on to trying to communicate with the Human in Green. Ask Artemis to knock on the tank glass to try and get his attention, then wave and say "hello." Uh... She can speak the Ancient language, right? Otherwise this isn't going to get very far.
*Knock*Knock* Ehrt? EHRT!? …no one seems to be home…
It didn’t even react…
I didn’t hear it make a sound either…
>Right, before we mess with the possible-friendly-possible-just-has-admin-level-access-to-the-UI demon-in-a-jar, let the Sultan know.
The voice said she’ll try to contact the Sultan right away.
Right… let’s head up to the control room then an-
*BEEP!*
…dammit, Artemis, you pressed the button, didn’t you?
It’s was all red and shiny… oh, look! A message! “Error, unable to find cookies”? Aw, it’s hungry!
Cookies?
…*Sigh* Let’s stop Pink from evacuating the whole city then…
Oh, she hasn’t left yet… she’s currently yelling at me for pushing that button… she’s not very nice right now…
Of course she isn’t nice right now! You should have killed us all when you did that, stupid!!
…now you’re not very nice either.
It wasn’t very nice of you too push that button, Artemis! You… you hurt our trust… and should have hurt us physically too!
Oh… I’m sorry…
That’s not going to cut it this time. Artemis, go stand in the corner and think about what you’ve done.
But I don’t want t-
NOW!
Aww…
So… now that you’ve broken his heart… what now?
I… don’t know…
Speaking of broken hearts, wasn’t you supposed to have dinner or something with Eliraz tonight?
…SHI-

Insert Bad boy! No dog treat!_

>>572791
So, we need cookies as the offering. Good thing the computer told us, otherwise we'd have no idea what it needs. Let's get some and get this done quick before your date.

You could put it off, but we don't really have anyone else available aside from Tera, who can't do it on her own. I guess it could just straight up be done tomorrow, but this feels like something that should be done now...

Interesting though, the daemon is friendly to us, but neutral to Pink. We should ask it why, during the summoning. Other questions to ask: What would happen if we sealed away all the daemons again? And obviously, where's the sealed portal at?

...What? Jer, when did you set a date with Eliraz for tonight? I remember us talking about it before but I don't remember you doing it... Well, whatever. It's set.

We'll put this off 'till tomorrow morning, both so Jer can make his date and Ilbir can be here when we continue. Not only is he our Ancient expert and should be here for this, I also don't want him to be angry at us for leaving him out. It'll also give Jer a chance to get Eliraz, and later Ilbir, up to speed on what happened down here.

I don't want to risk anybody sneaking into this room while we're gone. Jer, go up and cycle the rooms back to where they started, then turn the power off and put the knobs in your chest storage. That'll do it. Oh, and also see if Tera can fix up your cuts from the Spear of Light before you meet up with Eliraz.

Tera, could you speak with Artemis about the button thing while she's guiding you out. Try and get her to understand just how dangerous anything involving daemons can be and that she was chided at for good reason. After all, she read all those books on daemons so she'd be our expert on them. She ought to know things can go very, very wrong if we're not careful.

That done, ask her if she read of any daemon who's summon sacrifice is cookies or similar. I really don't want to summon a daemon without knowing who we're summoning.

Once we're out of here you can suggest to Artemis you have some fun together. Perhaps starting with finding things that make cool sounds when they break, and that nobody will care if you break.

Well if you DO decide to put this off, and I don't think you should, rotate the room again so nobody can get in here. Set guards and generally put this place on lockdown so nobody can mess with the Daemon.

If possible you should restore the coverings on the tanks in the control room so that the console can't get power even if the dials are back on it. Let's just layer security measures on top of security measures.

We can swap to him and tell him about the circumstances if you wish.

Kaktus 2014/05/01(Thu)09:00 No. 572827 ID: 65a774
File 139896001549.png - (18.97KB , 900x450 , 31.png )

>So, we need cookies as the offering. Good thing the computer told us, otherwise we'd have no idea what it needs.
And where do we find this mysterious artifact called cookies?
You’re a prince. Just go into the kitchen and demand it.
They’ve hidden it in the kitchen?
It’s something you eat, Jer.
Oh… oh, right…
>...What? Jer, when did you set a date with Eliraz for tonight? I remember us talking about it before but I don't remember you doing it...
Err… well, I didn’t actually set… um… that’s why I need to hurry, alright? To make sure he doesn’t get other plans and… um…

>You could put it off, but we don't really have anyone else available aside from Tera, who can't do it on her own. I guess it could just straight up be done tomorrow, but this feels like something that should be done now...
I… um… I… maybe I should postpone…
Hey, don’t get all bummer because you can’t save the world and have a date at the same time…
…you know, I’ll talk to Eliraz… I’m sure he already has plans tonight and… err…
>I don't want to risk anybody sneaking into this room while we're gone. Jer, go up and cycle the rooms back to where they started, then turn the power off and put the knobs in your chest storage.
Room cycled, console disabled, guards posted…
DEATH AND GLORY!
Err… isn’t that supposed to be a “or”?
Hopefully Eliraz has beefed up the defense upstairs a bit too…

>Tera, could you speak with Artemis about the button thing while she's guiding you out. Try and get her to understand just how dangerous anything involving daemons can be and that she was chided at for good reason.
I’m s-sorry… I didn’t mean too… I p-promise, I will never press any weird red buttons without permission again, no matter how shiny or red or shiny red they are!
Um… I didn’t even- wait, what does red have to do with anything?
Red button is best button…
>That done, ask her if she read of any daemon who's summon sacrifice is cookies or similar.
Cookies are nice stuff, not meant for bad things like daemons! It’s like… cotton candy, pink and… um… cookies?
So that’s a no?
>Once we're out of here you can suggest to Artemis you have some fun together. Perhaps starting with finding things that make cool sounds when they break, and that nobody will care if you break.
Hmm, well, it would be fun to smash something, but what… Prince Jer?
Hey, don’t ask me. Ask Eliraz for things to break.
Yay! Breaking things sound fun! Oh, and there’s Eliraz talking to beardy, YAY!
…
-so you didn’t find the stone th- ah, Jericho... and Tera, Artemis…
HI!!!
You came just in time! I just got two important messages from the sultan. Jer, here, this one was sent personally to you.
It did?
And the other message?
Oh, Warlord Mor’kay has given us his demands. He wants to visit the family crypt… to say goodbye to his father… alone.
Huh…
Oh, and he’ll be here by dawn tomorrow with his… “Army”…

Insert Oh shit! Plot!_

>>572827
Mor'Kay's father isn't buried in the crypt though. I mean, isn't her father the one that wandered off and never returned? This means she's looking for the sealed portal. She'll be disappointed when she finds the console disabled. On the other hand she doesn't know about Jericho either, so it might be nice for us to speak to her before she enters the crypt. Both for the reunion and to touch bases with Red. I wonder if she knows about Horus yet?

Read that private message, Jer!

Hey we found a bound harvester daemon hooked up to suffering tons of undead stuck in pink goop in tanks.

How was your day.

>what does red have to do with anything?
It looks like candy.

Hey Temrock, what's in the bag? and did you recover Thaark or Thuul?
... Aw man if those two questions are at all related I'm gonna be sick.

Jer, if there's anything you need to discuss with the prince, you might as well do it now. I honestly have no idea what you need, but just know we can handle things from here. Honestly, having you out of the line of fire will be a relief.

Okay, we're on the clock, so we're doing this now. Jer, I don't want you anywhere near the crypts in case this goes wrong. Read the sultan's letter, make your plans with Eliraz, give the knobs to Temrock and take off. Tera, we're gonna need Artemis on this, so go with Jer.

Temrock, you're on deck. We're gonna need cookies. Yes, cookies. Get a box of good ones and head into the crypt to the control room. Artemis knows the way and what the controls do, so follow and get how to operate the controls from her.

We were switched away right before the skrang hit, so tell us everything that happened after. Oh, and by the way, that was an amazing job taking it down. We thought for sure you were a goner. Nice to have being wrong turn out well for once.

Now, you probably don't know this, but Mor'Kay is one of Red's pawns, so we're gonna need to hear everything you know about Red from when you were his piece. We want anything that might give us insight into his motives and behavior now and how he'd be using Mor'Kay.

So the keystone is gone... Well gods fucking DAMN IT! Not only did we get Thaark killed, we lost the damn keystone too! It's a total fuckin' loss! No, it's WORSE than a total fuckin' loss since if the keystone isn't there it's most likely in the hands of the Dark One now!

See, we last saw the keystone at Thaark's feet in the ruin entrance, and after he was killed when we were with Thuul it wasn't there. So either the Dark One snatched it up after eating Thaark and somehow teleported it away, or somebody else climbed down and took it; Likely somebody on the Dark One's side, otherwise the Dark One would have done something to stop them. Either way, it's probable the Dark One has the last keystone, and that could totally screw us over. If he has a lick of sense he'll play keep away with it, preventing us from opening the Vault, and I suspect without what's in there we're gonna be fucked in the long run. He can just run out the damn clock on us...

>>572831
But Esiros' remains are in the royal crypt. Elizah said so here >>/questarch/552414. And I very much doubt Mor'Kay'll be allowed to go anywhere but Esiros' tomb. She knows this, so she almost certainly isn't here to search for the sealed portal or anything else. However, I don't think she's coming here just to pay respects to her father, but without more intel I can't say for what.

Kaktus 2014/05/02(Fri)10:26 No. 572890 ID: 65a774
File 139905158219.png - (15.32KB , 900x450 , 32.png )

>Read that private message, Jer!
…are you trying to read it over my shoulder?
Maybe~
You’re blind.
…Artemis, read the letter over his shoulder for me!
NEVER!! That would be mean! You meanie! You big mean blind mole!
Don’t you dare call me meanie, rust bucket!
…That doesn’t even make sense! I’m made of rock, not iron! That’s an ironclad defense!
…dammit, you got me there… fine, one point to Artemis.
YAY!
The score so far is 2-1 to me…
I’m not even going to ask… (Now, let’s see... hmm? The message is a list of… things Eliraz like? Oh, right, I asked the sultan for this, didn’t I? Hmm… it’s rather long… food, candy, board games, plays, music… that sweet spot he loves being scratched on right above his tail base… this list got everything! …wait, there’s something else here… written in a different handwriting… “PS: If you want to make Eliraz happy then throw off your clothes, jump into bed and wiggle that cut butt off yours before he puts his D in your B.” … “PPS: Next time, please mark your message as private or else it will go through Princess Elizah first. –Vizier Ert’all.”)
>it might be nice for us to speak to Mor’kay before she enters the crypt. Both for the reunion and to touch bases with Red. I wonder if she knows about Horus yet?
(Meeting mother… I… I would rather like that, yes.)

>Hey we found a bound harvester daemon hooked up to suffering tons of undead stuck in pink goop in tanks. How was your day.
Oh, I’ve just been- wait, what!?
I would recommend increasing the security of the crypt, my prince.
Yes, I’ve already doing that but-
Inwards too?
…if one of those things are down there then that might be needed, yes…
>Hey Temrock, what's in the bag? and did you recover Thaark or Thuul?
Bad news, their bodies was mostly crushed when the ruin collapsed. The good news is that apparently those masks of theirs weren’t just for show. In fact, I got the humans head right in the bag here with the mantis one in one of the carts back there.
So we can bring them back?
If you want two talking heads, sure?
Well, we might be able to make a skeleton… bones aren’t as finicky as flesh… of course, that would only work for Thuul… Mantises don’t have bones…
>We were switched away right before the skrang hit, so tell us everything that happened after. Oh, and by the way, that was an amazing job taking it down.
Skrangs, while large, fast and strong has a bit of a problem changing direction mid-flight. If you dodge just before they hit you… preferable towards the direction of their soft bellies so they can’t grab you with their claws, you can get a solid hit on them while they bury themselves again… and again, preferable against their soft bellies. After that we had a bit of a barbeque while we dug up the collapsed ruin.
>Now, you probably don't know this, but Mor'Kay is one of Red's pawns, so we're gonna need to hear everything you know about Red from when you were his piece.
Hmm… What I do know about him is that he was clever, manipulative and rather fond of the long game… oh, and rather brutal too… but, he did have our nation in mind while he was with the Sultan… at least, before he went nuts.

>Jer, if there's anything you need to discuss with the prince, you might as well do it now. I honestly have no idea what you need, but just know we can handle things from here.
Um… what do you want to discuss?
Well… I was planning a… um… bit of a date with dinner and all that because of the harsh training you had today but… I was a bit sidetracked with everything that happened.
That’s funny, I’ve already made plans about dinner for two… but… um… the rest of the night isn’t planned yet…
Really? Hmm… I did get this recommendation about a place that gives a killer massage…
>Jer, I don't want you anywhere near the crypts in case this goes wrong. Give the knobs to Temrock and take off. Tera, we're gonna need Artemis on this, so go with Jer.
Aw, man… I’m going to be stuck in my room again, aren’t I?
Actually, I think I can get you a proper guide now that you’re actually working for the palace.
Oh, sweet! Then lead the way, Mr. whoever you are!

>Temrock, you're on deck. We're gonna need cookies. Yes, cookies.
Tell me again… why do we need cookies again?
To wake up the terrible beast from another dimension that sleeps under our city, duh!
…and why do we want to wake it up again?
Because it’s so cute and cuddly and wants a hug! And cookies!
Did someone say cookies? I love cookies! They are my favorite!
…what where you doing in the palace kitchen?
I was looking for Jerry… err… I mean Prince Jericho, his lordship and all those other titles and stuff…
…in the kitchen?
He wasn’t in his room, the library, garden, grand hall, dinner hall nor the harem, so I just guessed he was here… but he wasn’t…
…and those fresh food stains around your mouth is just a coincident?
Oh, of course not. One of the chefs wanted me to taste test some of her stuff… real delicious… I think I’m in love; really… anyone sane would be with someone with that kind of cooking. Now, you said something about cookies?
…that chef is my wife.
Oh, in that case, I envy you, dude! Your wife is one hell of a chef!

Insert The way to the heart goes through the stomach_

>>572890
We're gonna wake up the demon because it's marked as friendly to us and it's got no reason to run amok. It's well-fed where it is, and serving some sort of purpose.

I'm gonna throw out a theory here about Red's long game. He wants to install Mor'Kay as the new sultan. I think he's going to succeed, because in the future there is a new sultan yet the current one didn't die to make it so. This implies that Mor'Kay has more right to be sultan, probably by being older or something. We should plan for this eventuality but not fear it. I think Red could be a stalwart ally. She'll probably be getting a new body too, since the future sultan isn't described to have some sort of freaky black exoskeleton.

Tera: As for the problem with Thaark's body, can't we just plop his head onto a male mantis corpse? There's already been experimentation with body part transplants, so this is just the same thing on a larger body part. The body, in this case. Unfortunately Thaark would be shorter due to this... if you could recover his you-know-what you could try another sex change transplant and give him another female-but-male body.

On second thought, Thaark would probably prefer to have a fully male body. Then people would stop thinking he's a girl.

Temrock, the body the daemon is in flagged as friendly when we scanned it. We're pretty sure that scan is legit 'cause Jer poked himself with the illusion breaking spear first. We want to speak with it mostly 'cause we've hit a dead end on finding the ancient Vault and it may know where the Vault is located. There's more we want to ask, but that's the big one.

Also, I suspect the daemon can't leave. Our scan showed its body is a "Flawed Harvester." It's hooked up to 21 Undead Energy Sources operating at full output, so the body's flaw is probably that it draws so much energy it'd quickly run out and the daemon would die if it left its tank.

[Scan Magus] Tell the Magus that Jer is currently having dinner with Prince Eliraz and we don't know where they are. Then ask him why he's looking for Jer. And if he scans clean ask him if he'd like to tag along on this, after Tera and Artemis tells him what this is. Oh, and ask him about access to the Academy archives and if they're looking for cases to practice Varius' attachment technique on; They may take Thaark and Thuul for that.

Now, lets go get some cookies from your wife, Tem. Make sure to get enough that the Magus can't eat them all before we get down there.

Tera, what's the time limit on the viability of Thaark and Theen's heads for raising? If the best preservation methods available are used are we talkin' days, weeks, months, or longer? We need to know how long we have to get Varius' technique notes. Is his technique is going to be used to attach new bodies to them later, we need the notes to determine if performing certain necromancy now will cause issues then. Raising Thaark as a head now and later attaching a body probably won't be a problem, but attaching Thuul's head to a skeleton and raising him now could.

We should find Theen before returning to the crypt. Inform him of what happened to Thaark and Thuul and talk options for raising his buddies.

Kaktus 2014/05/03(Sat)07:41 No. 572996 ID: 65a774
File 139912807674.png - (15.71KB , 900x450 , 33.png )

>[Scan Magus]
[Demonic Creature (Friendly): Human in green.]

>We're gonna wake up the demon because it's marked as friendly to us and it's got no reason to run amok. It's well-fed where it is, and serving some sort of purpose.
(…Let the world destroying entity sleep, I’ve always said… but… you’re the boss.)
>I'm gonna throw out a theory here about Red's long game. He wants to install Mor'Kay as the new sultan.
(That’s seems a bit unlikely… you can’t just place someone on the throne and be done with it… red would be more clever than that… no, it has to do something about that whole gate thing you guys are looking for.)
>Tera: As for the problem with Thaark's body, can't we just plop his head onto a male mantis corpse?
(Err… you got to have the same body as the original, otherwise it won’t work… they’ll reject foreign matter and just collapse into itself… the only exception is pretty much bones. Hmmm… maybe Varius did solve that too when he was able to… I need to get his notes!)
>Tera, what's the time limit on the viability of Thaark and Theen's heads for raising? If the best preservation methods available are used are we talkin' days, weeks, months, or longer?
(Depends on how long they were out in the heat. I’d say about a week before they start losing memories, a month before they are gone forever.)

>Tell the Magus that Jer is currently having dinner with Prince Eliraz and we don't know where they are. Then ask him why he's looking for Jer.
Ah, yes, of course… they need their time alone, don’t they. Oh, and I just wanted to give him some homework, so to speak. I won’t be able to teach him in person tomorrow because… reasons…
>Oh, and ask him about access to the Academy archives and if they're looking for cases to practice Varius' attachment technique on; They may take Thaark and Thuul for that.
Ha! It will be months before they even start reading those notes! They are way too busy with their own experiments to give a crap about some necromantic mumbo jumbo.
>Now, let’s go get some cookies from your wife, Tem. Make sure to get enough that the Magus can't eat them all before we get down there.
*Om nom nom*!
By Siegfried himself, how can you gorge yourself like that!?
What? It’s good! Your wife is an excellent cook!
…wait, who’s Siegfried?

>We should find Theen before returning to the crypt. Inform him of what happened to Thaark and Thuul and talk options for raising his buddies.
(How are we supposed to find this “Theen”? It’s not like he’ll just walk up-)
-me just make a personal order from the kitchen and we’ll continue talking about the body guard job.
I’ve already told you, I’ll contact my guild and see to it that they-
No, no, I’m talking about you and the others… personally, I’ll only need one elite guard but I’m sure I can convince Eliraz to hire the rest of you. Oh, Greetings Temrock… and Tera… Artemis… um… and… err… I don’t believe we’ve met?
Just call me the Magus, everyone else does.

Insert Oh, come on!_

Never underestimate power of convenience temrock. Certain words said aloud cause a power throughout the universe to cause it's effect to prove you wrong.

Just never speak "That went better then expected", "Wow that was easy" or any variations when it comes to easily overcoming pain.

Wait, so the Magus is the Human in green? Alright, he gets all the cookies, assuming he explains why the Flawed Harvester is "occupied" by him.

And then maybe he get's a beard formation from us if his answers are good enough.

>>572997
Don't forget the classics "at least it can't get any worse" and "what could go wrong?"

>>572996
Oh. Um. Guess what, Temrock? He's already awake- the Magus is the daemon. Say hello to the "Human in Green".

Also if Theen's gonna be Elizah's bodyguard then she is definitely going to be the sultan in the future. Theen is the sultan's bodyguard then. Still don't know WHY, but... oh well.

Let's ask the Magus some questions. Like, where's the sealed portal- under his tank? What would happen if we sealed away all the daemons again?

Tera, Mor'Kay is undead too, but she's got a strange artificial body, can we use that technique to raise Theen and Thuul? You'd have to ask the tribals about it. Maybe the one we have captive might be willing to discuss how it was done.

[Scan Theen] Just to confirm he's "The Avenger" and see if Pink's taken him yet.

Temrock, break the news to Theen (the lizard in the mask) about Thaark and Thuul. Tera, tell Theen the time frame and options for raising them, including the possibility of using Varius' technique. Say you'd like to hold raising them a day or two so we can get Varius' notes from the Academy and go over them to be reasonably sure we do this right. We don't want a situation where we raise them as heads, or a head and a head on a skeleton, only to find out that doing so made it impossible to give them new bodies later on.

Since the Academy isn't going to do anything with Varius' notes for months then we'll have to do it ourselves. We have the resources of the royal family at our disposal to rush the work. We just need to get Varius' notes, or a copy of them, from the Academy to begin. So what could get us access to their Archives? Would a sizable "donation" do it? Can the Magus get us in? Or will we have to resort to other measures?

Ask Elizah who she's looking to hire as an elite guard. Is it Theen?

Tell the Magus he should just write down what Jer's "homework" is, seal it, and have the vizier or Elizah deliver it. That way it'll get to him even if the Magus doesn't.

[Message to Pink: Scan the Magus if you haven't already. We'll have a chat before deciding what to do about him. Got any questions to ask him?]

Temrock, please stay calm when we say this: Our scan of the Magus returned "Demonic Creature (Friendly): Human in green." "Human in Green" is the name of the daemon occupant of the Flawed Harvester in the crypt, so the Magus is the summon manifestation of that daemon. Looks like we don't need to summon the daemon because he's already been summoned, and possibly has been since the ancient age.

Start by asking him how and why he ended up in that Flawed Harvester, what makes it flawed, and how long he's been summoned for and where he's getting the energy to stick around. (I assume the 21 UESes down there are to keep his manifest form going.) Next ask him where the ancient Vault is; The one that takes eight keystones and a lesser rune to open. Also ask what, exactly, is in the Vault and what it can do. Then ask, out of curiosity, why metal in the Serath desert rusts like it's in a humid environment.

Also, Tem, here's a primer on daemons: They feed on mortal emotions; Good ones are tasty, bad ones are filling. They are also individuals. They each have their own motives and beliefs, and they all have different ideas on what to do about the world and mortals. We'll deal with the ones who aren't going to do horrible things to mortals and the world.

Kaktus 2014/05/03(Sat)11:59 No. 573024 ID: 65a774
File 139914357639.png - (15.15KB , 900x450 , 34.png )

>[Scan Theen]
[“The Avenger” doesn’t belong to anyone!]

>Never underestimate power of convenience temrock. Certain words said aloud cause a power throughout the universe to cause it's effect to prove you wrong.
(So, if I say something like “It can’t get any worse” it will start to rain?)

>Oh. Um. Guess what, Temrock? He's already awake- the Magus is the daemon. Say hello to the "Human in Green".
Human in green?
…um… I guess I’m clad in green, yes?
>Alright, he gets all the cookies assuming he explains why the Flawed Harvester is "occupied" by him.
So… either you can get all ten of these cookies now or we’ll just give you one when we summon you down in the crypt.
I… what would I do in the crypt?
If you don’t admit being the guy down there I’ll tell my wife to never let you taste test her food again.
Hey! I don’t even know what you’re talking about!
If you do admit then I’ll make sure you’ll get a full-fledged dinner from her.
…um… shouldn’t we take this somewhere a bit more private?
Everyone here is trustable.
Then yes, I’m down there. Now give me those cookies!
Err… what do you mean, he’s down in the crypt?
We found a sleeping daemon down in the crypt, apparently it’s this guy.
I… what?
Wait, DEMON!!?
>Start by asking him how and why he ended up in that Flawed Harvester, what makes it flawed, and how long he's been summoned for and where he's getting the energy to stick around.
Well… um… I was left here to guard the vault from mortals, but… well… you guys kind of almost died out in the Dark Age and… kind of forgot about the vault thing. So… things got boring down there so I… um… borrow people at times to live a little… literally…
You stole someone’s life!?
Of course not. I can only take the over someone that’s already dead… this guy was a stillborn from the start so I just… well… lived the life he would never have, so to speak. Oh, and I have to say, this whole mortal thing is totally worth it. I mean, sure I feel pain and I’m weak but the food! It’s magnificent!
And why is it Flawed?
Well… I can’t really do anything… at all… I mean, I can kind of possess a dead corpse but… that’s about it… my real body can’t move or interact with anything at all. Oh, and most of my powers are gone. It’s simply too weak to hold me fully, so to speak.
>Let's ask the Magus some questions. Like, where's the sealed portal- under his tank?
Hmm… I guess you guys are the people that need to know… it’s under the foot of the mountain… just start from there and follow the stars in the crypt.
…huh?
*Sigh* Purple star is at the foot of the mountain. Check the room above my room and just follow the line there. Just… don’t dig under the wrong stars… there are those disintegration mines under there. You know, to make sure no one digs there who shouldn’t dig there…
>Also ask what, exactly, is in the Vault and what it can do.
Well, it’s needed to seal the daemon realm and… um… if the other daemons… the “evil” ones collect one more than us they can rip open the barriers between our worlds and eat all of you for breakfast… other than that… well… I think it’s the reason why this place isn’t a jungle anymore?
>What would happen if we sealed away all the daemons again?
You guys would live in peace and the daemons would live peacefully on their side? Well, most of them, I guess… some of them would starve, sure, but it’s better than “everyone dies, the end” kind of deal.
>Then ask, out of curiosity, why metal in the Serath desert rusts like it's in a humid environment.
The world still remembers what is was before the Dark age.
>And then maybe he gets a beard formation from us if his answers are good enough.
Hey, get off me! You guys tickle! Oh, and if you try to bite me again I’ll hit you over the head, little bloodsuckers!

>Tera, Mor'Kay is undead too, but she's got a strange artificial body, can we use that technique to raise Theen and Thuul? You'd have to ask the tribals about it. Maybe the one we have captive might be willing to discuss how it was done.
Hmm… all the tribals we’ve met so far have been all “Burn the heretic, the undead is the work of demons!” and stuff… so I’m pretty sure they have no idea what she is. I mean, even if we know what she is we can’t just turn Thaark and Thuul into that without knowing… um… how to actually do that?
…wait, why would you turn Thaar and Thuul into anything? What’s going on?
Err… well… Artemis, tell him!
…tell him what?

>Temrock, break the news to Theen (the lizard in the mask) about Thaark and Thuul.
…t-they are d-dead? …wait, you g-guys can raise them, right!? RIGHT!?
Err… we only got their heads so… um…
No! NoNONO! There’s got to be a way to raise them, r-right?
>Since the Academy isn't going to do anything with Varius' notes for months then we'll have to do it ourselves. We have the resources of the royal family at our disposal to rush the work.
Oh, I can get those notes for you… for a price~
…you’ll get dinner at the palace for the rest of your life?
It’s a deal! SCORE!!
>Ask Elizah who she's looking to hire as an elite guard. Is it Theen?
Well, maybe. After that assassin attempt we had I just thought… well… um… they are far better fighters then our guards, right?
Hells y-yes we are!
Insert Mortality is contagious_

>>573024
Oh, so Artemis was right all along. Personally I didn't think we would need to dig anywhere, I was expecting a secret passage or something. Welp, puzzle failed I guess.

Could someone ask Theen what it would mean for him to wear a blank mask? Because that happens in 9 months.

Tera: The captive we have is Durach's son, and Durach is one of our pawns. He'll talk to you, you just have to explain that you're doing this because they are your friends and expressly asked for it to be done after they died. Ask how they brought Mor'Kay back to life. Personally I believe that there must be a way to raise them, and her body may be the key. Or maybe the notes will be enough. You could just try the notes first if you don't want to bother the captive, whose name I CANNOT REMEMBER ARGH.

Magus, the Dark One was trying to convince us that something bad would happen if we won, and we can easily verify that. Are you telling us the full story here? If not then we can revoke your dinner privileges, you know... What's going to happen tomorrow that would prevent you from teaching Jericho in person?

Hey now it was just a nibble! Plus it's amusing.

Though as it is we should likely prepare things, as it is we've got a ton to plan for down in the crypt, as well as reviving our friends.

...Well, I feel stupid for not figuring out we have to dig for it. The line pointed to it, and the empty plinth for XXI:The World is right on top of it. Alright, we'll keep this info under our hat for now. No sense in exposing the entrance to the vault until we have all the keystones and the lesser rune needed to open it, right? And even then we'll only use mindless undead to dig it up from a distance; I don't totally trust the Magus' word, or that we won't mess up and choose the wrong spot.

Tera, tell Theen about Varius' work and that it may mean we could attach Thaark and Thuul's head onto different bodies and raise them that way. No guarantee it'll work, but it's the only possible way for Thaark. Thuul can still be attached to a skeleton to be raised if we run out of time.

[Claim "The Avenger"] (We can release him later if we need to claim someone else.) Hello, Theen. We're Teal, the voices Thaark was hearing. He died on our watch, so We promise we're gonna do everything in our power to try and get him and Thuul back. You can help us by checking the Merc Guild bounty board for those who're wanted dead. We're gonna need bodies, not only for replacements for Thaark and Thuul but to test procedures on first.

Temrock, can you check if there are any prisoners up for execution soon that we can use their bodies afterwards for this project?

Tera, take Artemis and go with the Magus down to the Academy archive. Get Artemis to reading every one of Varius' notes and records to reconstruct his attachment procedure, what it requires, and read it back Also, do you know of any necromancers we could hire to bring in on this that'd be trustworthy?

Some more questions for the Magus: What's the homework you were gonna give Jer? What are we supposed to do with whatever is sealing the daemon realm once we open the vault? Is it broken and needs fixing? If it's not, do we even have to open the vault? Could we just sit on it to prevent the Dark One and his ilk from getting it? Does he know the cause of or what led up to the downfall of ancient civilization the Dark Age? Why were the ancients attempting to build a Harvester body; From what we gather they're intended to "harvest" mortals, which doesn't sound good. Also, why did he choose to get in the thing at all?

>>573029
The captive tribal's name is Recho, and we should ask him if he knows what they did to Mor'Kay to get her mind and soul into that metal lizard golem body, but it'll have to be later. Right now we don't have anybody to translate since Jer and Kranhon are busy.

Also, not only was Theen wearing a blank mask nine months from now, his horns were black like Jer's and other undead lizards horns are. So there's a chance Thuul's gonna be undead.

>There’s got to be a way to raise them, r-right?
Tera was optimistic about raising Them as skeletons, and and we haven't even looked at the research Varius did yet. And THAT'S not taking into account any magical and/or cryogenic methods of buying us more time. Plus, not that Elizah wants to hire them as guards, she can likely pull the necessary strings to expedite the process.

>>573034
Whoa, no claiming Theen, remember Pink is gonna get him later. If we- wait.
[Message to Pink: Do you have any free pawn slots?]

>>573035
Tera said Thuul's head could be stuck on a skeleton and raised, but not Thaark since mantises don't have skeletons. I guess exoskeletons don't work.

>>573036
As said here >>/questarch/565527, we can release one pawn from our service every 24 hours, and we can't reclaim it within 24 hours of releasing it. But one of the exceptions to that 24 hour block is very interesting; It's resurrection. This may mean that there's a way out there to do a true resurrection and bring a pawn back alive, not just raised as undead.

Ask the Magus this: Is there any way he knows of or had heard of to truly resurrect the dead and not just raise them as undead?

Kaktus 2014/05/03(Sat)16:39 No. 573045 ID: 65a774
File 139916034437.png - (15.07KB , 900x450 , 35.png )

>[Message to Pink: Do you have any free pawn slots?]
[Message from Pink: Currently one free spot.]
>[Claim "The Avenger"]
[“The Avenger” has been claimed!]

>Hello, Theen. We're Teal, the voices Thaark was hearing.
AAH!! VOICES IN MY HEAD!!! BE GONE, SPAWN OF DARKNESS!!
Hey! Stop trying to steal what is probably going to be me my future body guard!
>Thaark died on our watch, so We promise we're gonna do everything in our power to try and get him and Thuul back.
I… eh? Oh, right… Thaark said he heard you too, right… um… y-yeah, you better bring them back, or else!
>Ask Theen what it would mean for him to wear a blank mask?
…Why would I wear a blank mask? I already got a nice one…
Hmm… a blank mask? Oh, one of those servant mask with black horns… and red clothes with gold around the neck… hmm… thank you for some ideas, Teal…
Wait…
>You can help us by checking the Merc Guild bounty board for those who're wanted dead. We're gonna need bodies, not only for replacements for Thaark and Thuul but to test procedures on first.
Hey, bodies won’t be a problem. The temple receives bodies regularly for us to experiment on… mostly as novice training but…

>...Well, I feel stupid for not figuring out we have to dig for it. The line pointed to it, and the empty plinth for XXI:The World is right on top of it.
Right, that’s the spot! Right under the world!
>Hey now it was just a nibble! Plus it's amusing.
It hurt, you bastard… and can you guys tone down on the talking? Hearing several voices at once is starting to get annoying…
>Ask the Magus this: Is there any way he knows of or had heard of to truly resurrect the dead and not just raise them as undead?
Resurrection is like the perfect cake, a myth and impossibility.
>What's the homework you were gonna give Jer?
Nothing special, just wanted to make sure he kept up the training…
>What are we supposed to do with whatever is sealing the daemon realm once we open the vault? Is it broken and needs fixing?
I… err… don’t know, actually. You’re supposed to do something with all four of the words to seal of the Daemon realm again so… um…
>If it's not, do we even have to open the vault? Could we just sit on it to prevent the Dark One and his ilk from getting it?
That would be a bad idea. If the other Daemons can get their hands on one of the words before us they’ll already have won. We need to get at least one of those words as soon as possible!
>Does he know the cause of or what led up to the downfall of ancient civilization the Dark Age?
Sorry, no… the gods died and then… well… everything went to shit.
>Why were the ancients attempting to build a Harvester body; From what we gather they're intended to "harvest" mortals, which doesn't sound good.
Those on the “Evil” side wanted to use it to harvest mortals. We stole their idea and built four barely functioning ones to make sure the four words would be protected from stupid mortals.
>Also, why did he choose to get in the thing at all?
I didn’t. It happened before we awoke so… I was made by the gods to enter it… just as Steve was made to take a mortal wife and bob having an ego the size of a mountain. Of course, even if we’re free to choose now we’re still stuck following some of the original designs the gods made. Like Bob ego and Steve’s lust for mortal women... same goes for you. Have you never considered why it’s so hard for you to be diplomatic with the tribes? They we’re made to be an annoyance, created to never falter and instead always attack you no matter what… it’s sad, really… hmm… I wonder if I was created to love food too?
>Magus, the Dark One was trying to convince us that something bad would happen if we won, and we can easily verify that.
I don’t know about that… sorry… my future sight is a bit… um…
>What's going to happen tomorrow that would prevent you from teaching Jericho in person?
That’s the thing, I don’t know. My future sight has always been weak since I came here but… tomorrow it just ends. Maybe I’ll die? …or free myself? Hmm…

>Tera, tell Theen about Varius' work and that it may mean we could attach Thaark and Thuul's head onto different bodies and raise them that way. No guarantee it'll work, but it's the only possible way for Thaark.
As long as there’s a chance in hell!
>The captive tribal's name is Recho, and we should ask him if he knows what they did to Mor'Kay to get her mind and soul into that metal lizard golem body, but it'll have to be later. Right now we don't have anybody to translate since Jer and Kranhon are busy.
Hmm… but I still don’t think it was the tribal that did… whatever happened to her…
>Tera, take Artemis and go with the Magus down to the Academy archive. Get Artemis to reading every one of Varius' notes and records to reconstruct his attachment procedure, what it requires, and read it back.
Right! Let’s go!
Wait, lass… why should a blind novice necromancer deal with this when we can get a Maester instead?
Well… err…
Wait, how many people have you even brought back?
Um… one… and that was kind of a fluke… he wasn’t supposed to be sentient and…
You know, I’ll take the notes to… what was his name again… Maester Geron? That way we’ll have someone who knows what he’s doing.
…alright… then let’s go get the notes for him.
Err… not to be rude but… it would be easier for me if I just had the golem with me…
But… what am I supposed to do then!?
Um… it is dinner time so… want to eat dinner with me?
Hmm… and the vault?
Get it open as soon as you can… now, I’ll be leaving… if there wasn’t anything else, of course?

Insert Two pages! TWO PAGES! Freaking wall of text to end all wall of texts!_

>>573045
Alright, I guess we'll have Theen as a pawn until Pink decides to take him.
[Message to Pink: You have our permission to claim The Avenger from us if you decide to do so.]

Magus, are you implying the gods created us too? Secondly, we've got some future information. We spoke to someone who thinks we lose our king when a demon comes "before the sky falls down in the Serath nation". So I'm guessing you get freed soon and cause a panic and rumors to spread, before we unlock the Word's power and fix the weather. Daemons can't die, anyway. On the other hand, the demon could've been the Dark One, who was responsible for the death of Thaark and Thuul... It's also possible that people think Mor'Kay is a demon because of her weird body. The person we spoke to was also operating under false information- they thought we were "killed" and only woke up in the future, but instead we're experiencing both the future and the present at once.

>>573045
hmmm... Tera, With all this talk of using necromancy replacing body parts, have you considered the possibility of getting new eyes?

So, it looks like Temrock is on crypt-diving duty. If you want to get that done now or after dinner, that's fine with us.

[Message to Pink: Sorry for claiming Theen right out from under you. We'll release him when Thaark is raised, when it's apparent he can't be raised, or if you ask us to release him.]

Sorry, Tera, but we need maximum expediency in the work on Varius' notes right now, so it'd be for the best if you stayed out of the way for time being. Don't worry, we'll make sure you get the final procedure and technique notes and that you'll be there for the raising prep and ritual.

Take dinner with Elizah. Then you two can then brainstorm up exciting things for you to do. It'll also give you a chance to ask her about doing certain other exciting things later tonight. That is, if it's a private dinner; Otherwise, ask later.

Theen, you can help here by writing out some of the key points of Thaark and Thuul's lives and have them ready for the necromancer to use for their raising. ...And it may be prudent to write down some of yours, just in case.

Temrock, arrange for a excavation crew to head into the crypt. You're gonna need to know how to move the rooms down there, so ask Artemis to write down how to operate the controls and shift the rooms so the one with the statues; Dig under the empty "XXI" plinth. And did you get a pair of knobs from Jer? You're gonna need them to power up the controls.

Magus, is there any way you know of to detect or track down a keystone long-range? 'Cause after the cock-up at the ruins the keystone from there is missing, presumed taken by the Dark One, and we have no leads on it. We're stuck on opening the vault until we get it.

Also, the Dark One was driving around a chieftain's corpse, similar to what you're doing, for several months, except he was using some daemon powers right before we destroyed it. How much energy, in devoured mortals, would you say he has to expend to do that kind of thing from within the daemon realm? I'd like to get some idea how much he can do with the energy he got from eating the entire population of the city of Then'dranil.

That's the theme Magus, even the gods when they were Mortal were created for something, programmed to do something specific and then die afterwords.

They proved beyond that, they fought their programming and continued on and forged their own path, and it seems that one of the theme's here is how well everyone breaks from the path that's been forced upon then,

Kaktus 2014/05/04(Sun)08:57 No. 573092 ID: 65a774
File 139921904604.png - (12.78KB , 900x450 , 36.png )

>[Message to Pink: You have our permission to claim The Avenger from us if you decide to do so.]
[Message sent!]

>Magus, are you implying the gods created us too?
Huh? No, I was talking about the mortals. You guys… err… well, I’m pretty sure the gods created the other voices so… probably?
>Magus, is there any way you know of to detect or track down a keystone long-range?
With the technology you have today? As far as I know, no.
>That's the theme Magus, even the gods when they were Mortal were created for something, programmed to do something specific and then die afterwords.
Ah, so even the gods break down and rusts in the end, eh?
>They proved beyond that, they fought their programming and continued on and forged their own path, and it seems that one of the theme's here is how well everyone breaks from the path that's been forced upon them.
Hmm… yes, by choosing a new path we can create something… different, can’t we? Hmmm… interesting…
> Also, the Dark One was driving around a chieftain's corpse, similar to what you're doing, for several months, except he was using some daemon powers right before we destroyed it. How much energy, in devoured mortals, would you say he has to expend to do that kind of thing from within the daemon realm?
Hmm… did he actually possess him or did he just… suggest things to him. I mean, it would be a lot more power efficient to slowly drive him mad and then simply whisper to him what he should do… and going by you destroying it I’m guessing he was nowhere near full power. Really it’s hard to say what kind of power he used.

>So, it looks like Temrock is on crypt-diving duty. Arrange for a excavation crew to head into the crypt.
Right, I’ll ‘ead down there and find that bloody vault, then.
>You're gonna need to know how to move the rooms down there, so ask Artemis to write down how to operate the controls and shift the rooms so the one with the statues; Dig under the empty "XXI" plinth.
Err, actually… just dig under the second star from the furthest wall. It’s only the room that changes, not what’s under it.
It’s under the green star, then!
Now then… I’ll be going… hmm… where did I put my cookies?
>Theen, you can help here by writing out some of the key points of Thaark and Thuul's lives and have them ready for the necromancer to use for their raising.

I… y-yes… I… I should probably do that as soon as possible…

…

>hmmm... Tera, With all this talk of using necromancy replacing body parts, have you considered the possibility of getting new eyes?
(Would that even be possible? Hmm…)
>Tera, take dinner with Elizah. Then you two can then brainstorm up exciting things for you to do.
It feel a bit… wasteful. This much food and… such a big table for just the two of us…
Don’t worry, the left overs will be given to the guards and servants… the living ones, of course. Now, you said you were bored? Hmm… well, we have a theater just next to the palace… they play a lot of symphonies and music there too… and we got this big pool too if you fancy a swim… hmm… maybe cards? I’m sure I can get my hands on a deck for blind people… and… hmm…
Do you have anything I can smash?
Smash? Oh, I got a piñata lying around… I’ve been saving that thing for some party or something but… you know, that would be fun, wouldn’t it?
> It'll also give you a chance to ask her about doing certain other exciting things later tonight.
Oh, and… err… you… um… have a… err… Harem, right?
…you’re telling me, a lonely acolyte that I barely know walks up to the crown princess and ask her if she can use her Harem?
…I-I’m sorry! I didn’t-
On two conditions.
Wait… you mean you won’t cut off my head for my insolence?
Don’t be silly Tera, we don’t do that anymore… we simply break people spines and throw them out in the desert nowadays.
Err… I don’t thi-
Alright, the first condition is that I get too choose who the “lucky” guy’s are.
…um… as I don’t know who your Harem consist of than I guess that’s fair.
The second condition is that I get to watch.
I- WHAT!?
Oh, don’t be such a prude, you won’t even notice me-
Your excellency! An emergency! Someone has poisoned the water supplies of the lower city!
I… what do you mean, someone has poisoned the water supply?
People who drinks from the wells down there fall into slumber and grows cold. What should we do?
Aw, man… I was this close to getting a show…

Insert Cock block? Um… Pussy block? Booty block? Hmmm_

>>573092
Alert the Sultan. Start informing people in the lower districts that the water is poisoned and not safe to drink; Start bringing water in from the upper districts. Use water only for drinking: no flower gardens or baths until this is sorted out. Quarantine the infected as quickly as possible; We still don't know what happens in later stages of infection, so send lots of guards and doctors. Make sure that ONLY the lower city's water is infected. Get enough guards down there to keep the peace and ascertain exactly who did this. Keep in mind this may be a diversion, so keep the crypts guarded and upper cities secure. Might want to post guards around other water supplies wile you're at it. Tell the academy to get working on both a way to decontaminate the supply and find a cure ASAP.

Sorry, Tera; I thought we'd mentioned it earlier: Elizah is a massive sexual voyeur. I think she's not allowed to have sex with anyone but her husband until she produces a heir to the throne, and she's not gonna be married for awhile, so she watches instead. ...Though, protecting the royal lineage would only prohibit sex with male lizards; Males of other species and all females would be fair game. I wonder what's up with that.

Tera, ask Elizah this question, prefacing that it comes from us: How come she orchestrates others having sex and watches rather than take part herself?

It's your choice whether to go for Elizah's harem, but if you don't like the prospect of her watching or you not being in control, there is another option: You can ask Eliraz for permission to use his harem. He never visits it, so it'd be private and you'd be the one directing what they do and setting the pace, not Elizah.

Ask to be brought along so we can be kept in the loop on what's going on. ...And is that a roast chicken leg stuck in the side of the fourth chandelier up the table from you two, or am I seeing part of the mural? Ask what's that about.

All of >>573104 is a good start, but there's more that should be done. We don't know if it's just the wells in the lower city that are contaminated or if it's the aquifer the whole city draws water from. It might be that it effected the lower city first 'cause there's more plumbing, cisterns, and tanks between the upper city water pumps and the populace drinking the water. I'd suggest shutting down all the upper city pumps and wells until the aquifer water is checked and deemed clean; Same goes for any intermediate water tanks.

We're only gonna have what water is in storage right now, so that means full water rationing protocol is in effect. Water for vital use only, such as drinking, cooking, and medical use. All other uses are prohibited citywide, top to bottom, royal to beggar. Fountains, gardens, pools, etc. are shut off. And start draining out the pools and fountains and put their water in storage.

Ask which wells the people who fell to the poison drew from, or if it's all the wells in the lower city that appear to be poisoned.

Getting water samples from the lower city wells, upper city pumps, and any emergency water storage barrels separate from the water system to the Academy for analysis and comparison is now top priority.

>Cock block? Um... Pussy block? Booty block? Hmmm
An all-of-the-above block.

Kaktus 2014/05/05(Mon)10:24 No. 573238 ID: 65a774
File 139931069096.png - (18.18KB , 900x450 , 37.png )

>Sorry, Tera; I thought we'd mentioned it earlier: Elizah is a massive sexual voyeur.
(That’s something I’d like to know about before we started talking about the harem!)
>You can ask Eliraz for permission to use his harem. He never visits it, so it'd be private and you'd be the one directing what they do and setting the pace, not Elizah.
(Hmm… actually, that almost sounds like a better idea, yeah… why didn’t I do that from the start? I’m sure Jer can butter him up for me…)
>Tera, ask Elizah this question, prefacing that it comes from us: How come she orchestrates others having sex and watches rather than take part herself?
…because I like it? I mean, I love seeing other people in pleasure…
So it’s not because you can’t… you know…
Oh, no, I can do it as much as I want with the Harem. They are all sterile… but it’s just something about seeing someone else… hmm… in fact, what I love the most is the sweet love between two cute boys~
Princess, with all due respect, please don’t talk like… that to the peasantry. You’re supposed to act like a real princess, not some… two magpie harlot.
Tera isn’t just some peasant, she’s my friend and she works for the palace… but you’re right, Ert’all, I need to compose myself and focus on what’s important… like telling Tera here about this cute lizard guy I have in the harem that I usually give to a pair of male mantis twins to-
PRINCESS!!
I’m just joking, geez… but, yes, let’s take care of this water problem…
>...And is that a roast chicken leg stuck in the side of the fourth chandelier up the table from you?
…Servants, is that… why it there a chicken leg in the chandelier?
Err… Well there was a… um… when… err… when the new lord blow up the lunch we had made today with his fire magic it probably got stuck there, my mistress. We’re terrible sorry, but we seems to have missed to clean that up…
…just clean that chandelier as soon as possible.

>Alert the Sultan.
While I appreciate your concern, Necromancer, but she already know. She’s take some precautions already but she wants to know how you’ll handle it, your majesty.
>We don't know if it's just the wells in the lower city that are contaminated or if it's the aquifer the whole city draws water from.
No need to worry, The wells in the lower district isn’t connected to the one-
Check them anyway. We don’t know what this disease is yet.
…very well, Exalted one.
>I'd suggest shutting down all the upper city pumps and wells until the aquifer water is checked and deemed clean; Same goes for any intermediate water tanks.
You can’t be-
Until we know it’s safe I want every well shut down.
…yes, of course…
>Start informing people in the lower districts that the water is poisoned and not safe to drink.
>Get enough guards down there to keep the peace and ascertain exactly who did this.
I’ll send down heavily armed guards to every well at once.
No, send them down with non-lethal weapons.
But if the peasants-
We don’t want to kill our own people.
>keep the crypts guarded and upper cities secure.
Wouldn’t dream of letting the upper cities go undefended, mistress.

>Ask which wells the people who fell to the poison drew from?
The most southern wells so far, my liege.
>Start bringing water in from the upper districts.
…why? The peasants can survive a few days without water.
This isn’t about surviving, it’s about being a decent person. Bring them water.
With all due respect, remember how lord Etile dealt with-
Etile lost half of the so called peasants thanks to dehydration and the ensuring riots. I’m not going to do the same mistake.
But the cost in coin will be-
We’re bathing in money thanks to the ore trade. What we need is people working the mines, not money!
…I’ll see to it as quickly as I can, my liege.
>Quarantine the infected as quickly as possible; We still don't know what happens in later stages of infection, so send lots of guards and doctors.
It’s already been done.
…you’re thinking about leaving them in the streets of the lower city, aren’t you?
Err… of course not? Um… I’ll get them to one of the hospitals in the middle city.
No, bring the doctors to them… put them in the temples down in the lowers city… and have them guarded. I don’t like this disease… something doesn’t seem right.
>Tell the academy to get working on both a way to decontaminate the supply and find a cure ASAP.
Err… Tera, this isn’t really… actually, make sure the academy check if it’s magical in nature, and make sure our best healers are working on this as soon as possible.
I’ll send the word, mistress.

>Ask to be brought along so we can be kept in the loop on what's going on.
If the Necromancer insist… but I don’t know where-
I’m going down to the lower city myself. Seeing the royalty at work will calm the people and remind them that we haven’t forgotten them.
…*Sigh* There’s no idea to argue, is there… just as strong headed as your mother…

…

…you know, I have to confess I’m impressed, princess. I knew you were a compassioned leader, but your acting beyond expectations. I’m sure you’ll grow up to become a Sultan of some renown.
Err… didn’t you just disagree with her on almost every point?
Oh, I was just playing as Urin’s advocate a bit…
Urin?
It’s one of the Keer gods… one of the Evil ones. But that’s Ert’all in a nutshell, a “Nobel” one minute and an actual decent person the next… he’s been like that ev-
Your excellency! Good that you’re here! Look what we were able to retrieve from one of the wells!
Is that a corpse?
Oh, I feel necromantic magic…

Insert TEXT TEXT TEXT TEXT TEXT_

...This could be very bad, how much energy do you feel emanating from it Tera?

This feels like the kind of thing we need to check in front of a mirror.

Necromantic magic? Oh, dear. Tera, whisper to Elizah that this might be related to something we saw in the future Northlands: The tentacle barb of the Blood God's Corrupted contained a poison that'd spread through the living and turn them into mindless undead. This may be something similar but we'll need more investigation before we can say. Right now it'd be prudent to bring in a few necromancers to check the afflicted and the well water for necro-magic.

Also ask her if she has that dagger she lent to Jer earlier on her; She might need it soon.

Take a closer sense of the corpse. Can you tell what kind of necromantic magic is on it, or how long he's been dead for?

Ask for a bucket of water to be brought up from the well so you can sense it for necromantic magic.

Ask the guard if they found anything on the deceased that could identify who he was. [Scan corpse] Maybe this'll tell us something.

Ask Elizah if she could speak to the crowd and ask for anyone who drank from this well since this morning to step forward; That way you can sense if they have any necromantic magic in them. She could also ask them to check on their friends, family and neighbors in the lower city to make sure they're okay, and to spread the word to others to do the same; We don't want any afflicted to be overlooked here.

And it's pretty obvious to say, but all the other wells in the lower city should be searched for bodies or anything else that may have been thrown into them.

>The most southern wells so far, my liege.
Is there anything notable on the southern side of the lower city?

Kaktus 2014/05/05(Mon)13:50 No. 573264 ID: 65a774
File 139932301410.png - (18.17KB , 900x450 , 38.png )

>[Scan corpse]
[Neutral Creature (Deceased): Keer villager.]

>...This could be very bad, how much energy do you feel emanating from it Tera?
Not much… can’t tell if it’s even from the corpse or if it’s just some residue.
>Ask for a bucket of water to be brought up from the well so you can sense it for necromantic magic.
Yeah, same thing there. Can’t tell if the water is magical or it’s just because the corpse been in it something else.
>All the other wells in the lower city should be searched for bodies or anything else that may have been thrown into them.
All the wells are connected to the same natural underground lake, which mean that corpse has been in the water of all the wells.
I’ll send out a word to the other guards to try and see what they can fish up.
>Right now it'd be prudent to bring in a few necromancers to check the afflicted and the well water for necro-magic.
That too. They’ll be here in a few minutes, your highness.

>Ask her if she has that dagger she lent to Jer earlier on her; She might need it soon.
Err… I’m not really… It’s in my room, right?
She’s a princess, not a warrior.
>Ask the guard if they found anything on the deceased that could identify who he was.
A few crows, a pair of keys and a soggy note. Can’t read what it says, sorry.
Hmm… looks like Keeretian too me… it’s to soggy to decipher what it says though. Oh, and going by his clothes then he wasn’t a resident of the lower city… in fact, this looks like the traditional Keer colors… you don’t see that very often around these parts.
>We don't want any afflicted to be overlooked here.
Do not worry, the poison is very quick to act. Just within moments the victim will start to feel sick and after a minute or two they’ll have fallen unconscious. We’re already going around and warning everyone we can and implore them to seek out our doctors in the temples for help.
>Is there anything notable on the southern side of the lower city?
There isn’t really anything notable about the lower city as a whole…
…it’s the direction the tribals are coming from tomorrow…
…what does that-
I don’t think it was a coincide, that’s all…
>This feels like the kind of thing we need to check in front of a mirror.
…I… I should swear a saw a few oddly shaped shadows move over the corpse when I looked at it through the mirror!

Right, form a line and be patient. There’s enough water for everyone!
They are trying to poison the water! We need to act now!
Err… they just retrieved the corpse that was contaminating the water…
It’s a plot to steal our hard earned coin, I tell you! Poison the water and then sell the only drinkable water for several crows a glass!
But the water is free…
It’s a trap then! Making us stand in line so they can’t slaughter us! Just look at all those guards!
They are all unarmed…
Meanwhile those Royals are up there in the palace and partying our hard earned money away!
The Crown Princess is standing right there!
Bah, the youth today… In my time we’d riot for less! *Grumble*Grumble*

Insert But I want to riot right now!_

Well at least the riot is subverted.

However it seems the Tribals are trying to break morale, subvert defenses, and make it easier to enter. It's very much connected in siege warfare to what they want in the city.

>>573264
This is the work of the Dark One. The Dark One attacked a Keer city a couple days ago and effectively teleported everyone out of it. So I guess he's using them as agents to spread the Undead Plague. Or something like the undead plague anyway. The victims that are unconscious will likely die and raise as undead under the control of the Dark One. Increase security at the hospitals they're in!

Also, uh, I wouldn't blame Mor'Kay for this. She's not HERE yet, so how could she have done this? It's most likely a ploy by the Dark One to cast blame on Mor'Kay.

For some reason, I just got the idea of a Serathian foreign legion.

It's unlikely the tribals did this; they abhor necromancy, and there are much easier ways to poison water. Also, if they want the water for themselves, it would be stupid to poison it at all.

Aside from amateur crime scene investigation, I don't know if there is anything we can do. See what wounds- if any- are on his body, and maybe find a bigger mirror. You may want to fetch that dagger, as well.

Okay, with the strange shadows, necromantic residue and the fact this guy looks like he just stepped out of his house in the Keer Republic for groceries I'm near certain he's one of the people the Dark One took from Then'dranil. And I doubt he's the only one the Dark One dropped here; For all we know he could have 'ported every one of them into the underground lake.

But the Dark One doing something like that doesn't make any sense if it's just to poison the lower city in a bid to cause riots to make it easier for his people to get in. That could have been done with conventional poisons for a hell of a lot less effort and energy on his part. And even then a response like Elizah's would have negated it, making it an iffy plan at best. There has to be another reason.

To contaminate such a large volume of water with necromantic residue would take a very large source of necromantic magic, right? It's very unlikely it could have been just this one corpse, yes? If both are then I don't think the poisoned water is just a by-product of what the Dark One is really doing: Prepping a big nasty surprise for us tomorrow and hiding it in the underground lake.

Send people to check the underground lake. If there's some kind of manhole right over the lake then send a team with a large mirror and a spotlight to shine down there and check the water in the mirror's reflection. Otherwise if there's a tunnel down to the lake's surface then send two teams of guards to investigate; One staggered behind but within sight of the other. Make sure they bring extra bright lights and mirrors to check ahead of themselves for shadow strangeness. At the first sign of weirdness they're to pull out.

There is an indirect way to see if the Dark One teleported something big into the underground lake: Check the water level of the wells. If it's significantly higher than yesterday or what it should be for this time of year then something displaced the water. Is there anyone in the lower city that keeps track of the water level of the wells we could ask about this?

Our next destination should be the nearest temple that's treating the poisoned. Once there get in a private room and we'll [Summon Spear of Light to "The Acolyte"], that way we don't spook everyone. Have someone clean the Spear and make a small cut on one of the poisoned with it while watching them in a mirror; It should drive out or destroy the Dark One's corruption and cure them. If it does then go around and use the Spear to cure all the poisoned in the lower city.

Also send a runner up to the palace to bring Elizah's dagger down here. Test it on one of the poisoned, same as the Spear. If it works then it'll really cut down the time it'll take to cure all the people.

We need to determine if the necromantic magic on the Keer man's corpse is just residue or if it's a low-level source from the corpse itself. Have him wrapped up and brought to the temple. I assume there are people there who prep the dead for burial, so have them strip him and get as much of the contaminated water out of him as they can before washing him with clean water. If he still gives off low-level necromantic magic after that then he's part of the source of the poisoned water and there are likely many other bodies like him down in the underground lake. Also poke the corpse with the Spear of Light to clear the corruption from it.

Kaktus 2014/05/06(Tue)08:24 No. 573343 ID: 65a774
File 139938988324.png - (13.57KB , 900x450 , 39.png )

>Well at least the riot is subverted.
Woop!
>See what wounds- if any- are on his body.
There doesn’t seems to be any wounds, my lady. It’s possible he drowned, but we can’t know for certain before they start preparing him for the pyre.
>Have him wrapped up and brought to the temple. I assume there are people there who prep the dead for burial…
Yes, that way we can determine not only the cause of death, but where this necromantic taint is emanating from.
Yes, your highness, right away!

>It seems the Tribals are trying to break morale, subvert defenses, and make it easier to enter. It's very much connected in siege warfare to what they want in the city.
>It's unlikely the tribals did this; they abhor necromancy, and there are much easier ways to poison water.
>This is the work of the Dark One. The Dark One attacked a Keer city a couple days ago and effectively teleported everyone out of it.
Hmm… yes, I’ve read about what happened to Then'dranil… and you’re right, it can’t have been the tribals themselves that did this… it has to have been the Dark one. Of course the Dark one do want the tribals to succeed, don’t it?
>There has to be another reason.
Yeah, why go through all the trouble when he should have simply p-
…he’s planning on raising them. It’s supposed to be an ambush from inside our own walls. Guard, report this information to your superior officer and order him to make sure there won’t be an ambush from the wells tomorrow.
At once, Sire!
>Send people to check the underground lake.
Um… that would be impossible. There’s no way to get down there but through the wells and even if you did, the water fills pretty much the whole cave.
>There is an indirect way to see if the Dark One teleported something big into the underground lake: Check the water level of the wells.
I’ll find someone who knows about the water level, Princess Elizah.

>Our next destination should be the nearest temple that's treating the poisoned.
Well, this was the closes temple…
Princess!? What are you doing here!?
What’s the situation, doctor?
There’s about a hundred sick, my liege, but it should have been worse. If this disease would have started spreading in the morning when everyone was getting their daily supply of water I… I wouldn’t even dare to imagine.
>Summon the spear, clean it and make a small cut on one of the poisoned with it while watching them in a mirror; It should drive out or destroy the Dark One's corruption and cure them.
We might have a cure… but it’s still not tested properly. Can you bring us to someone who you don’t believe won’t last much longer for us to test on?
Certainly. Right this way.
Right then… Tera, do the honor…
Poke… err… that’s not good…
What is?
His heart stopped beating when I poked him…
It’s t-true! He’s dead!
He died because you poked him with the spear!?
>Also send a runner up to the palace to bring Elizah's dagger down here. Test it on one of the poisoned, same as the Spear.
Let’s not kill any more patients unless we have to, alright?

Insert Poke of doom!_

That's...That's actually even worse, the necromantic magic might be because he possessed himself or put pieces of himself into them, the holy spear can only cause a light poke and causes harm to daemonic things.

The one time we used it on a mortal it actually pinned him down without harming him when it would have killed him.

>>573348
Pretty sure that was an illusion. It causes real wounds when we use the spear on our pawns to dispel illusions, so it would cause real wounds on normal people too.

>>573343
It sounds like they're already dead, to me. Or curing the taint triggers a killswitch. Or the corruption is the only thing keeping them alive. Regardless, we don't have an easy solution it seems. Unless you want to kill all the infected with the spear like this then raise them from the dead so they can continue "living"? We could save that for a last resort. Let's just let the mages and necromancers research them I guess.

...Damn. I was afraid something like this would happen. Okay, since he died when the Dark One's corruption was removed I believe it means one of two things: The Dark One put in a mechanism to kill the host as soon as the corruption is removed; A dick move, but I wouldn't put it past him. The other, more likely, option is that the poisoned are already dead and the Dark One is keeping their bodies going, similar to what the Human in Green/Magus did. No idea why the Dark One would do that, though.

Either way we'll have to accept that the poisoned may not be savable. In the latter case they're already dead, and in the former we have no idea how to remove the daemonic corruption without killing them... Wait a second... We do have someone that might know: The Magus. Since he's a daemon he may be able to sense what the Dark One is up to here and have an idea how to undo it. Have him brought down here right away. He's no necromancer so doing so shouldn't impact the work on Varius' notes.

Also check this body and the other poisoned with a mirror for any strange shadows; If there are then show the doctor. Even if there aren't tell her the basics of what we're facing here and what the Spear did. Tell her not to spread what you told her around if she can help it.

>Of course the Dark one do want the tribals to succeed, don’t it?
Nope. The Dark One doesn't give a fuck about the tribes succeeding or not. He's only interested in flinging open the gates to this world and reshaping it into an emotion farm to feed him and his comrades so they can take over the daemon realm. The tribes were just a means to get him closer to that end.

>If this disease would have started spreading in the morning when everyone was getting their daily supply of water I... I wouldn’t even dare to imagine.
This makes me wonder why the Dark One chose now to do this. He could have timed it for tomorrow morning when his followers would have been near the lower city and could have taken advantage of the chaos to get in.

Kaktus 2014/05/06(Tue)13:16 No. 573402 ID: 65a774
File 139940737088.png - (14.40KB , 900x450 , 40.png )

>Check this body and the other poisoned with a mirror for any strange shadows.
I swear I saw a shadow move over him!
>If there are then show the doctor.
Let’s not start telling people about the incoming demon invasion, shall we? We don’t need a panic right now… actually, I should probably send her away before she starts asking to many questions…
>It sounds like they're already dead, to me. Or curing the taint triggers a killswitch. Or the corruption is the only thing keeping them alive.
Hmm… why have a killswich when you can just kill them? Wouldn’t that be easier?
But… why is he keeping them alive?
Oh… OH… I think I got it! You said that the dead in the wells might be used as an ambush, right? Well, what do we do with the dead Lower city denizens who died of a disease like this?
…We burn them as soon as possible to make sure the disease doesn’t spread… and then we spread their ashes as a proper funeral… but why don’t he… gods, his turning them into undead! He’s planning on using them in the ambush tomorrow! …Shit, the whole lower city is like a big smorgasbord of people ready to be made undead! He’s planning to turn our own city into his army!
Well, now when we’ve figured out his plan we can stop him, right!?
I’ll t-try.

>The Magus. Since he's a daemon he may be able to sense what the Dark One is up to here and have an idea how to undo it.
Huh… so this is the lower city… man… everyone here is so… thin. I knew they didn’t have as much food as the middle and higher city but… I never thought it would be this bad.
Please, Mr. Magus, can you help us with the disease?
Well… um… It’s demonic magic, alright… and they are dead as doornails, all of them. It’s magic that keep their hearts beating… hmm… I recognize it but… I can’t quite place it… hmm…
Can you fix it?
I think this is more of a situation like when a raptor breaks it’s leg.
You nourish it back to health?
I… wait… don’t you kill it and then eat it?
Only if you’re really poor… or rich… raptors are expensive.

My lady, I bring you news! Another corpse has been retrieved from one of the wells further north… and with it the poison is spreading to the other wells. I’ve also received a report that the water of the well has increase with about half a meter!
That’s a lot?
That’s a lot, yes. Also, the necromancer has determined that the disease is magical in nature and it has aspects of necromancy in it, but they’ve yet made any progress on a cure. They say it’s like something they’ve never even imagine before… Oh, and they think the man in the well was killed by chock, sire.
Chock?
Fear, probably…

Insert Build me an army worthy of Mordor!_

Killed them with Fear...

And we know the Daemon of Fear, but I suppose the Dark one could just be terrifying..

It doesn't really bode well either way.

He was fed upon.

Well, now we know the cause and the intent. All that's left is to apply the solution without causing a riot. We have to kill every one of the afflicted and seal off the affected wells. Maybe even evacuate the lower district. Do you have anywhere you can house the survivors in the other districts? You may have to set up temporary housing if not. In the long run you'll need to figure out how to clean the wells. Fishing out all the bodies would help for starters.

Maybe you could say that there is no cure for the disease and it's eventually fatal? Don't let anyone know that the patients are being mercy-killed, and we should be okay. Though, I'm worried if you kill the patients without using the spear, they'll go undead on you.

So, we have an underground sea stuffed enough with corpses so the waterlevel has risen half a meter, and some more in the lower city.

I hope nobody tries to hide his sick family members.

The choice we have is; "kill" the Daemonpupetts and risk a nearly certain riot or don't kill them and have the enemy inside the city walls.

Perhaps we could tell the people that the sick will rise as undead tomorrow. Less rioting an more panicing.

> poison is spreading to the other wells
Fuuuuuck. Good thing they're closed off.

Look in Varius' notes. We know he's working for the dark one, and he's spoken of making some kind of super undead before. or after. Time travel is tricky.

Anyway it's possible he wrote something down which will give us an insight on what to do next.

Kaktus 2014/05/07(Wed)10:20 No. 573518 ID: 65a774
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>Look in Varius' notes. It's possible he wrote something down which will give us an insight on what to do next.
Err… do you know necromancy on a Maester level?
Um… no… but-
Personally, I shouldn’t make head or tail decipher what those notes said. Let the professionals do their job instead of grasping at straws, alright?
…right…
>He was fed upon.
…poor soul.
>Killed them with Fear... and we know the Daemon of Fear…
Um… isn’t Bob on our side? I mean, if he wanted to betray us I would think he would refrain from leaving corpses that can be tracked back to him…
>Well, now we know the cause and the intent. All that's left is to apply the solution without causing a riot.
Easier said than done.
I’m sure your highness will find a way.
Ah, Ert’all, good… actually, I think I have a plan…
>Perhaps we could tell the people that the sick will rise as undead tomorrow. Less rioting an more panicing.
I rather take a third option.
>We have to kill every one of the afflicted and seal off the affected wells. Maybe even evacuate the lower district.
The wells are sealed but I rather not have anyone left down here tomorrow… in case of an attack. Maybe we’ll have to resort to that plan I cooked up earlier.
Err… you mean the updated evacuation plan we discussed earlier before that masked mantis came and disturbed us?
That’s the one, yes.
Um… will it looks good on paper, we’ve have had nowhere near enough time to-
Get the guards out on the street right now and start spread the message. We’re throwing a festival in the middle city in a few hours with free food and drink for everyone, as a compensation for closing down the lower district. …oh, and free lunch tomorrow, a real feast to thank them for their patience.
I’ll see what I can d-
And entertainment, go to the fools guild and tell them we have a massive, well-paying job for them.
…of course, mistress… geez… this is going to cost us.
It’s will still cost us less than the loss of the taxes, bread and workers we get from the lower city.

>Maybe you could say that there is no cure for the disease and it's eventually fatal? Don't let anyone know that the patients are being mercy-killed, and we should be okay.
Indeed, that’s probably for the best… in fact, while everyone is at the festival I’ll make sure they all get a proper pyre to be burned in.
>Do you have anywhere you can house the survivors in the other districts? You may have to set up temporary housing if not.
The temples and the like should be able to hold most of them… and the night is rather cool this time of year. As long as we can get blanked and pillows to everyone it will be alright.
That will be a lot of pillows…

So… Crises averted?
I… I guess so? Hopefully this plan will succeed. Now, I really need to work on this festival as soon as possible and… err… unless you want to see me do a bunch of paperwork, Tera, I would suggest you go do something else… I can have a guard escort you anywhere you like.
Bah, but I don’t want to sit in my room all night again…
Then enjoy the festival!
All alone surrounded with drunkards from the lower city? No thank you… I mean, I can’t go alone… and everyone else is busy. Jer is of with his sweetheart, Artemis is down in the crypt with the beard guy, Thaark is… , Short McDwarfy is with his bug, the necromancers are busy with something a novice like me won’t allow to take part with… man, I’m all alone again… Hmm… wait, may-
I’ll only allow you to use it if I’m with you watching.
Aw, man… boring!

Insert Saved a city, is bored_

>>573518
You could hang out with the Magus!

>>573519

..Why not, Tera could hang out with the Man in Green, I mean he's gonna want to eat good food and drink so why wouldn't he be there.

How 'bout you go to the festival with the Magus? I figure he'll be going, what with the free food and drink. Plus, it's not every day you get a chance to hang out with a daemon who's also been a bunch of people throughout history. I'd bet he has a few stories to tell if you ask. Maybe he could even tell you what the world of the Ancient Age looked like.

Magus, you okay with being Tera's guide this evening? Show her around and share what tasty things there are to be had. Just keep an eye on what she drinks; She's a total booze lightweight. Like, two-ales-and-she's-on-the-floor level of lightweight.

Tera, before you go, suggest to Elizah that she ask the necromancers to measure the decay of the magic in the water. It'll give us some idea when, or if, it'll be safe to drink again. Because if it's not going to be safe anytime soon then measures will have to be taken to get rid of all the contaminated water in the underground lake.

Also check if the magic remains in the steam if the water is boiled. 'Cause if it doesn't then we could use a bunch of fire mages working in shifts to boil the underground lake water off. Not only would it get rid of the contamination, if it works fast enough to lower the water level to the point we could get a boat into the underground lake we could strike the bodies the Dark One's planning to use before they're raised.

And as a precaution against the Dark One's undead coming up from the lower district wells, explosives can be half-buried next to the wells. That way they could be blown up when they do, destroying the undead and collapsing the well which would block their route up.

Kaktus 2014/05/07(Wed)13:57 No. 573529 ID: 65a774
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>Suggest to Elizah that she ask the necromancers to measure the decay of the magic in the water.
I’m pretty sure that’s part of the whole, “Check the sick” thing.
>Also check if the magic remains in the steam if the water is boiled.
That too… but thanks for the suggestions anyway.
>And as a precaution against the Dark One's undead coming up from the lower district wells, explosives can be half-buried next to the wells.
Actually, we were planning on coating the wells walls with slow burning oil. That way we’ll both make them go up in flames and make sure the wells can actually be used in the future.

>You could hang out with the Magus!
Hang out with the centuries old Daemon who eats souls for breakfast? Why the hell not!?
Hey, I take offence to that! I haven’t eaten a souls since… err… before I got stuck in this world. Besides, Souls taste like licorice… and I hate licorice!
>It's not every day you get a chance to hang out with a daemon who's also been a bunch of people throughout history.
Hmm, actually… that’s a bit interesting? So, been anyone famous?
Not really… I try not to stick out so much most of the time.
And have you been a girl?
Once or twice but… you guys aren’t as accepting about horizontal challenged women as you are with men, and let me tell you, as much as I love food I’m bound to be a very horizontal man. To be honest, I’ve never understood that part of you guys… I guess It’s just hard for me to understand the whole “different genders” thing…
…so, I’m guessing you’ve never had kids, eh?
Meh, why would I?
…wait, have you even… you know?
Why waste time when you can have a good sandwich instead?
…right.
>Maybe he could even tell you what the world of the Ancient Age looked like.
Hmm… more trees… wet… mosquitos everywhere… damn bloodsuckers.
Remember anything… oh, I don’t know, INTRESTING!?
Not really… I can’t really see that far back anymore… not like I am right now.
>Just keep an eye on what she drinks; She's a total booze lightweight. Like, two-ales-and-she's-on-the-floor level of lightweight.
Really? Hmm… but a party isn’t really on before you’ve gotten a few drinks, right?
I don’t like the way you’re looking at me right now…
Oh, don’t worry… I won’t do anything to Evil… Muhaha- wait, how the hell did you know I was looking at you funny? You’re blind!
Err… lucky guess?

…

So, what have you found?
We don’t know, sir, it’s a message in the ancient tongue.
Artemis? What does it say?
Let’s see… “Sorry, but your vault is in another Crypt. Try looking at the place where the stars align?”
…this whole place was a decoy!?

Insert Dammit, Mario…_