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Castle Brush
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>>756184
> Garaile will sit down with Marijke and teach her to be able to interpret the map, such that it becomes a device she can also use. Rolling for that.
>rolled 6, 3, 6 = 15
Marijke's eyes glaze over midway through the explanation and she mutters "The danger consists of... three bodies?... a threefold emanation of energy. If it began to dream, it might wake. It cannot die, only kill." Then she asks Garaile to slow down, or maybe start over, or just leave the explanation for another time since she's suddenly got a nasty headache.
>>756218
>"I have in my possession a once-jade amulet attuned to magics of the mind, that caught an arrow fired by a spiritual bow. Creatures slain by that weapon now appear deep inside, and I have since seen that same arrow in my dreams, and woken to a perforated mattress stained with my own blood.
>"I ask to know the secrets contained within this item. What its changed nature means, if that arrow still flies towards my breast, if that flight can be arrested."
"Transmutation of jade into crystalline yasal is no great feat, though it's a bit impressive someone managed to do so accidentally, while retaining the original shape. The arrow must have been fired from a bow strung with a thread of Time. A skilled archer, thus armed, can angle the shot into the future so it strikes the target when it's least expected, but always within the next week or so. If more than two months have come and gone, it probably just missed, as hastily-fired arrows tend to do. You'll be fine."
Assuming Than admits to having fired the arrow in question, Marty immediately inquires about the status of her soul, and any afterlife plans, in the manner of an insurance agent sizing up competition before making an offer.
>If Eadric counts as an independent creature to receive a reward (he'll ask somewhat shyly, intimidated by the coven, after Marijke has received her answer) he'll ask about Marty and shapeshifting. Being able to turn into a small stone is great for hiding or defending himself, he guesses, but it's not very pleasant, and Marty's a lot better at this changing thing. How does he get better?
Normally they'd count caster and familiar together as one, but this is so easy it's not an issue. Marty provides an extended metaphor involving a burlap sack being woven out of raw fibers and being filled with various items. Long story short, Eadric's powers are a nearly direct result of Marijke's stored spells. The three members of the coven are powerful as individuals, and Marty is familiar to all of them, so he's got considerable power stacked up inside. Of course, such a situation is not to be entered into lightly! Consider one of those comedies about two rivals fleeing through the wilderness while shackled together at the wrist, and imagine how unpleasantly the situation might evolve if those shackles were... deeper, rather than being severable by any rural blacksmith.
>...I'm not sure if Rixil is here?
Yep.
>It might be useful for telling the Coven anything they wanted to know about the aliens, but Marijke can question him remotely if needed.
They have lots of questions about "great old masters," and it's generally easier not to work through an intermediary.
>And arguably it's actions helped in our efforts, but saying as much and then offering payment (crediting incompetence so bad as could be considered treachery) is pretty insulting.
From Rixxil Kas's perspective, it's a matter of having a really bad day, then working one's way back up from "bushwhacked chump," through "livestock," or "boss's science project," and now finally being back up to the level of performing tasks which are valuable and sensitive enough that the incentive package consists primarily of rewards rather than punishments. Neogi don't generally believe in an inherent, inalienable right to survival or security or dignity or anything like that, but they'll grab an armload off the free sample tray if you're offering, and gladly forgive almost any misbehavior provided it ultimately turns a profit.
>Not sure what he would ask for either.
(Rixxil Kas is not male.) It whispers a request, out of earshot of the rest of the crew. Rylshna abruptly steps back, with a look of disgust. Marmtroth bursts out laughing. Shralynn chews her lower lip contemplatively, then hesitantly nods. "Sure. Haven't ever done something like that before, but it's easy enough in theory. Nothing above the fourth circle. Come back in a year, most of the setup should be ready by then." Rixxil politely acknowledges this as acceptable, then telepathically petitions Marijke with a formal request for three days of shore leave, on this specific shore, starting exactly a year from now.
>Not sure if other nearly accidental turncoats like the octopus or Gunderbag are here.
The coven's counting those two as 'plunder' rather than 'teammates.'
>>756151
>Stone examined Marjikes amulet
>Roll is to use a combination of spirit guidance, mage sight, postcognician and sensitivity to the dead to see if he can add insite to what happened
>rolled 2, 5, 2 = 9
In conjunction with what the coven said (or is reported to have said, because apart from not being invited, no way is somebody with a phobia of drowning going to jump overboard feet-first into the waiting maw of a sapient shark they're just now meeting for the first time), Stone theorizes that the arrow may be moving along nearly parallel to Marijke's 3+1 dimensional existence, occasionally intersecting at very shallow angles like a pebble skipped across calm water. Great-Uncle Petros had quite a bit to say on the subject of 'angles of time,' some of which was very nearly comprehensible, but he died during the war. Not, it should be noted, in the war; he was found naked, covered in slime and appalling lacerations, inside his apartment, far from the front lines. Doors and windows were locked from the inside, walls were covered with plaster in swirls vaguely reminiscent of elven architecture. Since bizarre and initially inexplicable deaths were fairly common for both that particular family and that time period, no assassin ever stepped forward to take credit, and Petros personally lacked obvious political or symbolic significance, the incident mostly got lost in background noise. His spirit is not among Stone's available advisors. Unclear whether this is because he somehow escaped the curse without breaking it's hold on others and is now at peace, or stumbled across some other horror and is bound to still greater torments, or simply isn't a lineal ancestor.
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