>>299486
Question time, since there's not a whole lot to do other than say "do it!" and I'm not inclined to start off the plot without some backstory first.

What exactly do your powers do- just make people spontaneously die? Anything more complex or subtle than that?

Who are the five heroes? What can they do, and how did they defeat you before?

What are sparks, and why were you gathering them?

Hated 2011/04/26(Tue)19:29 No. 299518 ID: 3beb66
File 130387134932.jpg - (126.46KB , 585x600 , Fate_RootGolem.jpg )

Oh? That's new. Either I've gone insane, or there's someone else in my head... perhaps... nah, you don't even know what a spark is, you couldn't have... might have hitched a ride though.

Well, Mister Voice, or Miss Voice if you prefer(kinda hard to tell), since beasty here won't do anything as long as I be a good boy, I have all the time in the world to answer your questions. Quite literally.

Beginning with your first... actually, I'll start with the last. First relies on the last. "Sparks" are little bits and pieces of magic. Called sparks cause when you use them, the leave behind little trails of sparks, more of them you use, more powerful the magic, more sparks they leave behind. I was gathering them because I, as a pseudo-demonic being, can't make them in my own body. Have to steal them from someone else. Namely the more fleshy mortals, since they were so common when I wasn't chained to the floor. Hopefully there's still a bunch around once I get back up there.

Since it's also relevant, I'll say I can... how to explain it... I suppose it's something akin to "smelling" sparks. Yes, that seems to fit. Works like a dog I suppose.

Powers come in three flavors. The first is direct application to the body, for the purposes of physical enhancement. Strength, stamina, speed, anything to do with making physical abilities better. It's what I prefer, always nice to feel the crunch of bone, but I can do the other two as well.

Second, application to the mind. Reaction times, processing speed, telepathy, mind stuff. Enhancing talking is in this category as well, although I never understood why. I'm weakest in this application though.

Then its the warp reality magic. The thing most people actually view as magic. The whole summon fire and brimstone and all that fun stuff. Its the one that most mages use, especially the mortal ones. I'm decent with this sort of thing.

And yes, I could cause people to just die, but I don't have enough sparks for that. About five I think, which is more than enough for these restraints and the beasty here if I use them wisely. Which reminds me to mention this beasty has some sparks in him.

As for the five heroes. Let's see, where to begin. Well, to start off, I have to say that I'm not... good. There's a reason I'm called Hated by the mortals. Things ticked me off, they generally died. I also tended to kill mages on a regular basis, but how else was I supposed to get sparks? Anyway, eventually these heroes got together and decided I needed to be dealt with.

They were the most powerful mortals of the time, each from one of the five races. After fighting with me a few times, and almost losing each, they decided to petition the gods for aid. And gods, being oh so supportive of mortals, gave them an artifact that ripped the sparks from my body and left me weakened. Easy win for them after that. They decided I deserved eternal imprisonment instead of the release of death, and chained me up here. End of back story.

As for what each can do(maybe could do, they were still mortals and I have no idea how long I've been down here) I'll explain that when it's actually necessary. For now, let's get out of here...

Although, I suppose I should have a plan first, shouldn't I?

Well Voice, got any bright ideas?

I should probably give you what the beasty looks like, give you an idea of what I'm up against.

First off: there are an indefinate amount of voices here with you.

Second off: hi, nice to meet you.

Thirdly: That monster looks to be made almost entirely out of plants, use some of that fancy magic stuff to light it on fire and I think it'll go down pretty quickly.

Another one? So there are more of you... I don't understand how this is possible, to be truthful. Usually sticking multiple minds in a body ends very badly, but I've yet to experience any fractures in my personality... heh, of course, you could already be fractures due to me going stir crazy.

Whatever the case, setting fire does seem a sound strategy, assuming of course the thing doesn't kill as its burning. Perhaps I should set it on fire, than brute force my way out of these chains. That seems the easiest method, although depending on how fast beasty burns, I might have to miss the chance to get at its sparks.

A good plan, bu perhaps there's a way for me to kill it or restrain it without destroying the body? That would ensure I get the sparks out of it at least, although it might be risky restraining it.

>>299540
>Another one? So there are more of you... I don't understand how this is possible, to be truthful.
Every explanation for our existence is shitty and contrived anyway. Ignore the why and just flow with it.

My personal suggestion would be to invest some of your sparks in a disease-spreading magic which could slowly rot away the wood forming its body. Wait a week or two, then bust loose when it's so weakened as to be trivially easy to overwhelm. No rush, after all, and that would get it under your control.

The first voice again. The one with the questions. I hope I answered them well enough for you. If you have anything else to ask, go ahead, since it seems we might be sticking around another week or two. Since it seems two plans are available, I shall go over both once again, this time with the spark costs for both, and allow you to voice(heh) your opinions once again. Perhaps any new voices will give input as well, since it was implied there might be more of you coming along soon.

Plan 1: Set fire to the thing, and with any luck it will be too busy dying to deal with me. Even if it isn't, using a spark to strengthen myself would easily allow me to break the chains binding me. This would cost me 4 sparks of the five I currently possess, 2 to create the fire, 1 to project it, and 1 to strengthen myself. I would likely be able to leave right now using this plan.

Plan 2: Use a plant consuming disease. This could be done one of two ways. Since it would be slow acting, it wouldn't cost me much, about the same as the fireball alone, but if I choose to make it airborne, I would have to spend more. Still assuming I have to break out in a similar fashion as the first, there are two costs.
The first variation, making the disease touched based and getting the beasty to touch me, would cost me only 3 sparks.
The second airborne version would cost me all 5 sparks I have in my possession.

Your judgment, voices?

>>299548
Given that our objective is to depart here with as much power as possible, I would ask a few more questions before making this call.

If we invest sparks in something, do we keep that power? That is, if we spend sparks on making an airborne disease which slowly kills plants, will we be able to spread that plague wherever we go forever? If we spend sparks on fire, will we be able to throw fire whenever we want? If we strengthen ourselves, will we stay strong?

Sparks are expended when used, correct? That is, if we spend some strengthening ourselves, we can't later undo that and use them to learn how to shoot lightning or what have you.

How likely is it that some of the sparks in the guardian would be destroyed or otherwise rendered unavailable for your consumption if you take the first, more forceful option? It seems cheaper and quicker, if somewhat more risky, but if it would destroy the guardian's sparks than it's actually the more expensive option and should be avoided, since we'd leave this situation in a weaker position overall.

First, what do you look like?

Second, you need it's body intact? Dehydrate it. it's a plant, wither it to a husk, draw the water from it's body...slowly. A little bit at a time, so it doesn't notice. If it takes a day, or a week, who cares? Whats a little more time?

>>299570
I look like a mortal at the moment. It was the form I was in when I got shoved down here, thanks to the fact that I was traveling through mortal lands and didn't feel like dealing with all the arrows in my back. One of the human ones I think. My original form, if you wish to call it that, I've forgotten. Perhaps I'll endeavor to rediscover it. If I want to change what I look like at any time... well, I'd need sparks first, a lot more than I have on me at this time. Rearranging the entirety of your existence is understandably expensive. Why humans don't attempt to leave behind their squishy bodies is a mystery to me however.

>>299561
For permanent effects, more sparks would be needed. Once applied, they would show up as physical representations on my body, depending on what spell or ability I apply. Recycling already used sparks is impossible(at least to my knowledge), but I can overwrite things already made permanent on my body if necessary.
That is, if I applied a permanent strengthening to my body, and wanted to replace it later with something else, I could write over the strengthening, destroying the effect in favor of whatever else I wanted on me.
Making an effect permanent will cost 30 sparks, but after that sparks can be poured into the ability to slowly make it stronger. An example would be making the disease mention eat faster or eat more things, like metals.

In the case of making me able to permanently shoot fireballs, I'm fairly certain that the beasty here has enough sparks in it to make something permanent on me, perhaps a few things, depending on what we want to apply. Just need to get them from the thing. I feel I should mention though, that things applied onto me are generally weaker than one offs, until I pour more sparks into them. Something like gradually increasing power instead of going for a single shot of destruction.

I think that covers all of that. I may have forgotten something, but if I did I'm sure I'll remember it eventually, or is just insignificant and doesn't apply to me.

Now, the water plan. It would work, if I had the ability to do that without consuming sparks each time I did it. With only five, its currently impossible. I'll have to save the idea though. Wonder what would happen if you did it to a mortal..... hilarity, I'm sure. Plus lots of screaming.

As for the question regarding the first plan(I am assuming that the question is regarding the first plan). If I set the beasty on fire and act fast enough after that, I could most likely get to it in time to reap the reward, assuming it isn't moving when I do. I'm perfectly fine with burning myself to get those sparks, so if the body is still on fire it wouldn't matter. What I'm concerned with on this plan, however, is whether the thing will ignore me when its on fire. If it doesn't ignore me for at least a few seconds, I'm dead, or at least severely injured.

>>299606
Well, if the fire plan has a large chance to result in your injury you should go with the disease plan.

Getting injured is bad.

I should be able to set fire to the beasty with little danger to myself. Well, other than it deciding the action was hostile, came from me, and that I thus deserve to die. While you voices mull over the plans some more(I assume that's what your doing) I'm going to figure out where the beasty is. I'll need that information to do anything to it anyway. Over the years, I've noticed even moving seems to attract its attention, so here we go.

I shift a little, the chains around me rattling as they shift as well, and within seconds I can see four yellow orbs of glowing amber glaring back at me from across the room. They provide a decent amount of light, and for the first time in a long while I get a good look at where I am.

The crypt is fairly standard, two coffins sit to either side of me, and the beasty lays across from me, far enough away so that I can't reach out and touch it. Probably to prevent me from trying to get at its sparks. I can't see behind me, the chains positions won't really let me, but its probably only a wall. After staring back at me for awhile, the beast settles down, the light disappearing as it goes dormant again.

Well, at least I know hitting it won't be a problem.

Fire plan sounds the best. You'll have the benefit of strength to go with it, which will come in handy after your escape. Plus the extra spark.
Disease doesn't sound like something we want right now. We won't be able to kill things fast enough.

>>299675
Go with disease. Less risk of getting yourself hurt, and it sounds like the beast has enough sparks that one more or less won't make any significant difference whereas being injured could seriously cramp our escape plans. You don't get to keep any of the powers anyway, so might as well take the low-risk route. You'll have to go with the airborne version since it won't touch you, but as long as you have enough power left to burst out of your chains you'll be able to get it.

Once you have its sparks, we can get a permanent version of some power or other, probably a strength or speed boost, which we'll be able to use in gathering more sparks.

Seems the general conclusion is to follow whatever plan puts me in the least amount of danger. As the disease seems to do this, we shall go with that. Airborne as well. I close my eyes, reaching for the sparks nestled within me, and shaping it into what I desire. I feel rather than see the guardian rouse itself again, but pay it no mind. With a little more effort, I have the disease ready, and open my eyes once more.

The beasty is staring at me, apparently sensing that something was happening. I wait for it to lie dormant once again, memorizing its location before the light from its eyes disappears. After the room grows dark, I silently release the magic towards its target, leaving myself a single spark within my body for the final part of the plan. Now all I can do is wait.

--------------------

Weeks have passed, and I have whittled away the hours day-dreaming about the things I could do once I return to the land of the living. Something new wakes me from my fantasies however. For a second, I though I could hear something creaking. Silence reigns for a moment, than the guardian wakes again, and the light from its eyes fills the room.

Thus I get to taste my triumph. The beasty no longer has large portions of its limbs, likely because my spell hit it there first, and I can almost see the magic eating away at the rest of it.

With a simple flexing of my will, the last spark within me surges into my limbs, and I rip my way free of my bonds. The beasty pitifully tries to pull itself to its feet, desperate to complete its task, but it no longer has the strength it did. With a kick I send it to the ground, and with a smile I shove my hand into the things "chest". There I find and extract my prize. Sparks cascade into my form, and the beasty shrieks as it dies. Standing once again, I glance around, the room dark once again.

The only difference is, I'm free.
Spark Count: 55

With the vestiges of my strength enhancement, I pull the door to the crypt open, and blink back tears as the harsh light of day meets my eyes. After a moment to adjust, I turn back to look over the room that was my home for countless years, and I wonder. Voices, is there anything else that needs doing here, or shall I take my first steps into world?

>>299752
I doubt there's anything in the coffins, but you might as well check them. Aside from that, let's just leave; it's tempting to leave a taunting message, but your enemies don't deserve the effort.

I'm also tempted to immediately invest some of those sparks in a permanent boost of some kind that would be of aid in the outside world. I'd like to know how hard it will be to get more before doing that, though; thirty sparks is a very large investment.

Hated 2011/04/27(Wed)19:28 No. 299764 ID: 3beb66
File 130395769984.jpg - (32.23KB , 350x262 , 3e98d45b-7adf-4216-9f42-28ca529662fd.jpg )

From what I remember before my imprisonment, there was usually at least one mage of decent power to safeguard a town, at least among the races that could use magic. It was a sound system of protection, so unless something changed drastically during the time I was trapped, the same practice should still be in affect. After I finish with the coffins, I'll see if I can't smell any sparks around.

I reenter the crypt, opening up both coffins with relative ease. Searching both, I find the expected skeleton within each, however the first has a gold ring on its finger, and the second a silver one. Both probably aren't worth a great deal, but the money would still come in handy, or we could apply spells to them first and then sell them. Magic items tend to be coveted by those incapable of casting.

Both skeletons clothes also seem to be intact, like my own. The pair were most likely mages, as only a mage would have the time and sparks to spare to ward their clothing against the effects of time. I take the clothing as well, although I should probably wash the stench of the dead from them before doing anything else with them.

With that out of the way, I return outside, and venture further out into the wilds. Closing my eyes again, I reach out, feeling for the tell-tale mark of what I seek. A few seconds pass, and I open my eyes once again, having found sources at least somewhat nearby.

Seven to be exact. Five are to the west, perhaps a mile or so. The last two are south. I can't get anymore specific without first getting closer to any of the sources. If I recall the location of the crypt correctly, than the town of Rivercross lies west, while south will lead me into the territory of barbarians tribes.

How easily detected are you as a... hunter of sparks? Your first order of business is to avoid notice of those who imprisoned you before, their allies, and anybody who may be capable of using similarly effective means against you. Avoiding notice should be your primary responsibility in all situations where you don't specifically need it to pursue a short-term goal.
It seems that what was wrong with how you went about gathering sparks the last time is that it gained you enough enemies that the gods were moved to assault you. Taking sparks in a way that gets you friends amongst the lesser beings equivalent to or greater than the enemies generated through your actions seems required.

Can you harvest sparks in a renewable way--taking a portion from a mage as payment for a service rendered leaving them disposed to make a similar bargain later?
If you cannot take sparks non-destructively consider finding a sponsor who provides you with safe haven and support for your feeding from their list of enemies.
Pick your direction according to whether you could find better odds of allies and stealth in the barbarian territories or in the urban areas.

>>299773
We're primarily driven by hate. I don't think that's particularly conducive to gaining allies; at most, we'd end up working with people that we hate slightly less against those we hate slightly more.

Not that it's a bad idea, I just don't know how realistic or sustainable it is.

Perhaps we could get a power that would help with hunting and evasion- some kind of invisibility magic? Or one which lets us move through a spirit/ethereal/shadow plane, if there is one here? Are those feasible? Hopefully we could use those to get the drop on those walking snacks and chow down.

If we can take on five mages one at a time and pass for normal enough in a crowd, I'm inclined to go west. Barbarians tend to be stronger and less sheeplike than townspeople anyway.

>>299773
Making FRIENDS with the mortals? Are you out of your mind? Why would I ever lower myself to being nice to them? I would rather drill holes through my own eyes... thinking back, I've done that, very unpleasant, wouldn't suggest it.

And to answer your question regarding taking simply a portion of sparks... its possible, I vaguely recall doing it way back in the beginning, when I first awoke. But I think it requires someone willingly giving it up, and I doubt any mortal mages would willingly give sparks to someone else, even one of their own.

As for being detected as a hunter of sparks, well, that's a rather unique ability that I've only seen in three other people, two of which were semi-immortals like myself. The most that could be detected about me is that I'm carrying sparks in me, but mages rarely use spells to check for that, as it is assumed all mages adhere to the worthless law regarding registration to their guild.

>>299786
There are a number of possible spells for evasion. I shall list those within my abilities.

-Ethereal(Body): I effectively become a ghost, only not dead. It lowers my visibility to the naked eye, and allows passage through thin barriers. It is easily warded against and detected by a mage however.
Costs 4 sparks to pop for 5 seconds, plus one per 5 seconds extra. 34 sparks total to apply to myself as an activate at will ability at weakest level.

-Shadow-Stepping(Warp Reality): Effectively, I could step between shadows that I am able to see. Like stepping across from one alley to the next without going through the street in between. That's mostly evasive.
8 sparks per 10ft jump, plus 4 sparks per 5ft extra. 38 sparks total to apply to myself as an at will ability at weakest level.

-Invisibility(Body-Magic): This is barely within my abilities, and I would consume large amounts of my sparks if I tried to apply this permanently. It would, however, make me impossible to see to the naked eye. Weak wards wouldn't affect me, although detections spells likely still would.
14 sparks per 10 seconds, plus 4 per 5 seconds extra. 44 sparks to apply to myself as the above.

Perhaps due to my appetite more than my desire for stealth or any sense of caution, I begin heading west. If I remember the distance correctly, it should take me about an hour to reach my destination, plenty of time to deliberate over potential powers to use. Personally, I'd prefer to brute force my way through the entire town, but I'm forced to acknowledge that it was that sort of thinking that got me chained down to begin with. It seems I will be relying largely on your help, voices, until I figure out how to be subtle.

>>299793
I'm not a big fan of befriending people, but having patsies could be very useful. One key concept of stealth is the ability to blend in with the terrain- that often means crowds, which means learning a little social engineering, how to manipulate rather than murder. It's a good thing to know.

Anyway. Invisibility seems the best of those options; it's slightly more costly than the others but would still leave you a fair number of sparks for spot-burning, and even a few seconds of going unseen should be more than enough to let you escape from or get the drop on someone as necessary. We can upgrade that and maybe pick up ethereality and some kind of ability to punch through wards and hide from detection spells later to become a fearsome stealth killer. Plus physical enhancements, of course... so much growth to do, so few sparks...

Anyway, I'm thinking you should invest in invisibility. Unless someone else has significant objection...?

Also, if you find a stream or what have you on the way to town, stop and wash those clothes. You probably don't look terribly good; disguises are good and clothes are part of them.

I say go for permanent shadow-step and hunt only during the night. It will give you exellelent dodging and evasive abilities, you will be able to make better ambushes and during battles it will serve you well even at weakest power level.

One thing you should do is to capture a mortal (preferably a mage of sorts) then bisect him and learn his anatomy, you might need to use some sparks for enchancing your mind: intelligence and perception. You need to do this so that you can learn what exactly in mortals body produces Sparks. Asfter you learn what it is, you could permanently apply it to yourself, as in craft an organ in yourself which generates sparks.
Sure, it will make little sparks at first (lets say 1/day) but it will be worthy.

Anyway, that beast... are there places in this world where you can find that manner of magical beasts?

Very important question!

Are you a male or female?

This is critical stuff which will affect everything
I know that you said
>"So, I decided I'd be a good boy, not cause any trouble"
but maybe many years of solitude made your mind slip.

Having a permanent ability from the start has great benefits, more so if we specialize.

Ethereal? Will leave us plenty of sparks to upgrade it or other things. Being able to shift through walls is a great ability. We could get the jump on a mortal through a wall. But it doesn't decrease our visibility well enough.

Shadow Step? This would be most effective at night, which only aids our sneakiness. This does a great deal for transportation and quick evasion if there are shadows nearby. You might need to do something in the day which worries me about this ability. A clever mage could make this useless.

Invisibility? A powerful but taxing spell. We will not be able to go invisible for long periods of time until we put many sparks into it, so buying its permanence would require specialization. If you don't want to use invisibility all the time, it might be better just to avoid using it.

My personal choice is invisibility. Being able to go invisible is such a useful thing, and not having to spend sparks to use it every time is great. Combined with strength and speed you will be an undetectable killing machine. You will always have the jump and will be invisible while attacking, until it runs out. But then what are they going to do? They will probably already be dead.
Shadow Step is a good choice too, we could travel very fast in the night. But if our enemy is in the light this ability won't do much.

>>299841
Physically I'm male at the moment. My original gender I don't remember, and with enough sparks I can change it whenever I want anyway. I've been told I think like a male though, so I tend towards male forms.

>>299834
...What's a bisect?

Whatever, moving on, the beasty was a construct, created by one of the heroes. You don't just find them. Well, not around here anyway. The various magic institutes have lots of them.

Seems we have a vote for shadow stepping and a vote for invisibility. I think I'll just let you folks argue it out a little while, and I'll just keep walking. I'll keep a look out for a stream or river as well.

>>299834
>One thing you should do is to capture a mortal (preferably a mage of sorts) then bisect him and learn his anatomy
...I think the word you're looking for is "vivisect", and given that magic is involved here that strikes me as unlikely to work unless we've invested in more magical sensory abilities. Not a bad thought overall, just not something that we can use right now in my opinion. After we've become an efficient hunter we can revisit the concept.

Anyway, while I do think that both ethereality and shadow-stepping would be useful, both of them are useful primarily in limited situations whereas invisibility is useful almost all the time- in any combat situation or ambush, it would be a huge help. That means to me that we should buy invisibility first, and fill in our breaking/entering and teleportation abilities later.

Also, as invisibility is the most expensive of the three, it would be a total waste to ever use it if we haven't bought it permanently; 14 sparks is a ridiculously high cost for ten seconds of power. But I could see us burning four sparks to jump through a wall if we really need to.

Yes, I already voted, just sharing my logic here.

>>299843
Looks like you missed my vote at >>299842
Score appears to be 2 for invisibility, 1 for shadow step.

>>299846
I completely agree.

>>299843
>...What's a bisect?
>...I think the word you're looking for is "vivisect"
Yes... yes, that's what I meant.
Basically that means thoroughly examining the body by opening it up. Not gutting it with a rusted scythe or gruesomely shearing it into pieces with hands.
But carefully opening it with appropriate tools and such.

>Not a bad thought overall, just not something that we can use right now in my opinion. After we've become an efficient hunter we can revisit the concept.
Yeah, I thought about that too.
I'm pretty sure it will cost a lot. But still, food for thought.
Why can't Hated make his own sparks? Must be something missing in his biology. Hopefully it is not connected with soul or gods.


Shadow-stepping lets us instantly move around but invisibility is also cool.... but what would be the limitations of invisibility at the lowest level?

Anyway, I think we should postpone the upgrade till we get to the source of sparks.

>>299848
Ah, like torture.

While mulling over your advice voices, I have come to the conclusion that waiting a little before deciding should be best. Humans can't tell I'm a threat just by looking, so identifying each of the prey before doing anything won't harm us any. My vote goes neither way, as I've already given my preference for open destruction.

After another while of traveling, I spot Rivercross, one of the first towns humans set up after they gained the thought processes to do so. Or so they say anyway. A river runs directly through the center of the town, and it seems to be bustling with activity. A far cry from when I last saw it, up in flames from my last rampage through the place.

I make sure to head to the river outside of town first, washing the clothing I'd obtained as best I can. After a moment of thought, I also wash myself, as being stuck in a crypt does nothing for personal hygiene. Once that's done, I dress and make my way into town.

Upon arrival, the guards greet me cheerfully, as if I was nothing more than another mortal traveler. I ignore them, which does nothing to curb their joy, and enter the town, arriving swiftly at the town square. From here, I can smell the sparks strongly, and quickly close my eyes to get more exact locations and power levels.

The first lies not far from here, and seems weak. Likely little more than an apprentice, or someone who is just very unskilled.

Two more are almost overlapping, and it seems likely the two are together. From what I can tell, the both of them are at least full mages, trained to use the power they have as effectively as they can. But little more than apprentice level.

The fourth source lies... below me, and a little way off, perhaps a dungeon or jail of some sort. Its strong enough to be classified as a mid-power mage, likely in for crimes of some sort.

The final source is easily identified, and flairs almost enough to make my mouth water. Its strong, very strong, and I feel twinges of hunger at the thought of devouring the sheer amount of-

"Sir? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?"

I turn to find a young female human staring at me, concern written on her face. I glare back, hoping she'll just go away, but that just seems to encourage the mortal.

"Well, you seem alright. If there's anything you need help with, you can ask me. Your new in town after all, aren't you?" This seems more a statement of fact then a question. "I'm Lacy by the way. The local inn keepers daughter."

Humans: The last race to discover its own ability to wield magic, they have the smallest lifespans of the five races, but breed like rabbits to make up for this. They come in nearly every shape and size, and of the three races able to use magic, are the weakest.

"Very nice! Very nice to meet you Lacy" Shake her hand vigorously "Thank you for your concern but, really, I am alright. I just haven't been in Rivercross for such a long time.
Anyway, I wont waste your time much longer."

Questions:
Do only mages have Sparks in them? Regular people don't have any?
How many Sparks do they usually have?
If we use permanent augmentations what is the range of the Shadow-step, how often in can be used in succession? How long will the invisibility last, can it be restarted immediately?

Anyway, I suggest going for the BIG prey. We are HUNGRY, if we plan this right, we will catch that fucker unawares and he wont be able to use any of his powers against us.


>Ah, like torture.
No
Not really, they have to be dead.... Unless you think you can learn more from vivisecting the person alive.

Whatever you must do to dismiss this girl, go ahead. But don't be too impolite and try not to identify yourself.

Going after the strongest one is tempting.. but with our current level of power there is no chance of defeating him, unless we surprise him. Even if we surprise him, we might still lose. Losing to him would mean death, imprisonment, or alert of our escape. None of this must happen. The safer option would be to target the weaker prey, spend the sparks, and then eliminate this threat. Make sure nobody sees you kill anyone, whatever order you choose. In any case, spend the sparks you have before attacking the strongest. And good luck. Is luck something you can upgrade? That would be cool.

>>299938
Mages are not technically the only things that have sparks in them. The beasty we killed back at the crypt was a good example. But among the five humanoid races, yes, mages are the only ones to have sparks. Otherwise I'd be hunting everything that walked on two legs.

A rough power range for mages is as follows:
Weak mages will have anywhere between 10-20 sparks.
Mid-level mages will have 50-80 sparks.
High powered mages will tend to have anywhere between 150-200 sparks.

The reason for the rather sharp increases is that mortals tend to take longer to understand things, but once they have the basics down, they tend to be very innovative, and for some reason, sparks are attracted to such things.
Coming up with inventive ways to deal with situations will result in rewards.

Consider the basic range of any spell applied to my body to be that of its weakest level. For shadow-step, that would be a 10ft range. The speed of movement for shadowstepping is how quickly I can step, after all that's really all it relies on. For invisibility, a small cooldown(half the time invisibility lasts, unless upgrading is specifically targeted towards cooldown) is necessary between each use.

>>299949
Increasing luck isn't so much increasing luck, as calculating and increasing the chance certain things will happen. I, unfortunately, can't do it at all, even when I was at full strength. Calculating that quickly is out of my mental capacity.

Now, to the girl. Since I've apparently been restrained from actually harming her(it would get her to go away), I resort to the first suggestion to see how that goes.

"Very nice! Very nice to meet you Lacy. Thank you for your concern but, really, I am alright. I just haven't been in Rivercross for such a long time. Anyway, I wont waste your time much longer." I make my voice sound cheerful, although it rasps slightly from disuse, as I grab the woman's hand. I pump said appendage in a handshake, likely harder than is normal, as the woman retracts her hand quickly after I let go.

"Um. Alright then... no, wait! You need a place to stay, right? I could help with that!" The girl seems extremely determined to help me, no matter what I say. Probably because...

"Look," I start, my voice shifting back to my normal voice, which by the fact that I wanted it the way is by nature low and menacing. "we both know you just want me to stay at your inn. I'll tell you what. You give me the name of this inn of yours, and leave me alone, than I'll sleep there for the night, alright?"

The mortal looks extremely confused, apparently not used to people being that blunt about what's really going on. But after a moment she nods, give me the name(The River Rest Inn) and leaves, throwing a thoughtful glance over her shoulder as she goes.

Right,

now lets go and learn more about our preys.
I say we look into the most powerful one, if not him then at least the mid-ranged one.

We could get a look on them, ask around.

Also, try to figure out about the figure in the dungeons.

It seems to me that shadow-step could be great if we try to take out the guy in the dungeon (it is full of shadows).


Also, pawn off your rings...
wait
before you do that
You said something about infusing magic into them. How does that exactly work? How much sparks do we need to use? How powerful will the rings become and what kind of effects.


Also, word to the wise, do not shift your character so bluntly in future. It attracts unwanted attention. Not saying not to be unfriendly, if you started grumpy and ended grumpy then there would be nothing suspicious. But when you start conversation friendly and go total polar opposite in 10 seconds ... well, the worst is that people will assume you are insane.

>>299938
>Not really, they have to be dead.... Unless you think you can learn more from vivisecting the person alive.
The word 'vivisect' implies that they are alive when you do it. If they're dead, it's 'dissect'. An important distinction!

But we'd have to use vivisection in this case since magic probably goes away if they're dead.

>>299935
>A river runs directly through the center of the town, and it seems to be bustling with activity.
How large is this town? Settlement size determines the amount of alarm that will result from killing people. A death in a population of a hundred will cause panic and chaos; a death in a population of a hundred thousand will cause a few minutes of gossip. This is an important consideration when hunting.

>The final source is easily identified, and flairs almost enough to make my mouth water. Its strong, very strong, and I feel twinges of hunger at the thought of devouring the sheer amount of-
Back to this. What did you easily identify this source of sparks as? Where is it?

>>299990
I would be inclined to target the mid-range mage first, but if they're imprisoned then they aren't going anywhere. Let's scout out the area, then start at the bottom and work our way up.

>my voice shifting back to my normal voice
As a general rule, try to maintain one persona at a time when interacting with others. Switching attitudes in mid-conversation is sometimes disconcerting enough to be a hostility trigger- bad for stealth. Making other people like you should generally be taken as a secondary objective in any conversation you're not planning to end with blood; people who like you (however foolishly) are more likely to bring you or be convinced to give you useful information or assistance. Cloak yourself in smiles and lies so that others remain helpful and unwary. Hide your power level and burning hate.

>>299998
>We could get a look on them, ask around.
Asking around strikes me as a bad idea given our current social skills. Better to do our initial recon in person, seeing as we can already sense our targets. Just play it cool and don't do anything overly suspicious or hostile. Will mages be able to sense the sparks inside you? What about any sparks you've sunk into permanent abilities?

>Also, pawn off your rings...
Good call. I'd say pawn one now for some immediate cash and keep one for potential enchanting later.

>>300025
>The word 'vivisect' implies that they are alive when you do it. If they're dead, it's 'dissect'. An important distinction!

Ah, sorry. You're right.
English is not my first language.

I find a shop willing to take a ring off my hands, and sell the gold one for 30 gold. A substantial amount, given the prices I saw within the shop, and it should keep me for awhile. The other will be kept for later enchantment.

Actually enchanting will take time to perform anyway, so I'll explain it once we've settled for the night.

Any mage specifically searching for sparks(activated the required spells) would be able to sense my sparks. Those applied into permanent affects are not included in this unless an ability is active. As to the powerful source, it's either a very weak demigod or a powerful mage. We are NOT taking him in a head-on fight anytime soon.

Judging from simply looking at the town, there seems to be about fifty thousand within its walls. I'll also make sure to at least feign friendliness from now on. Honestly, it seems tiresome and pointless, but you haven't been wrong yet. Not that we've done much.

Following the advice to at least look around, I spend a few minutes wandering. For the most part, its the usual human way of building a town. Namely, they construct buildings with no sense of purpose or reason whatsoever, just deciding on day a building should go somewhere. Alleyways snake off into the spaces between buildings, and as I draw near to the weakest source, I feel a flicker, as it dims a little. It moment later a bunch of grimy human spawn come screaming out of the nearest alleyway, obviously frightened, a small ball of fire rocketing after them, the slowest just barely evading the bolt of fire.

I smile to myself. If the mage is weakened by such a small fireball, I could defeat it without any spells at all. I quickly slip down the alley, eager to claim even the smallest of snacks.

What I find is almost laughable. Another human child, leaning against a wall, glances up at me in fear as I stare down at him. It appears the first source isn't even an apprentice mage, but someone who has literally no training at all. The fireball, in light of this information, speaks volumes of the boy's magical talent. If he lived, he would likely become very powerful. Too bad, I've no plans to let him live.

>>300035
You have no qualm for the murder of children? A good trait for a demon to have. On an odd thought, we might actually better the people by killing this boy. He seems somewhat violent. But the other mages would have their way with him no doubt. Make sure nobody is nearby, and the murder does not seem suspicious in a way that a non human did it. Instant death magic would come in handy here.

>>300035
>As to the powerful source, it's either a very weak demigod or a powerful mage. We are NOT taking him in a head-on fight anytime soon.
Given the presence of something like that in the city, my inclination is to lay low for a short while gathering information, then harvest the other four sources as rapidly as possible in quick succession and skip town.

>about fifty thousand within its walls
I'm going to call that "you can kill people, but not often and hide the bodies" numbers. But I'm a cautious guy.

>Honestly, it seems tiresome and pointless, but you haven't been wrong yet. Not that we've done much.
Not going to lie, it's a pain in the ass. All the more so if you end up in a situation where you need to keep it up for extended periods of time when what you really want is to tear the still-beating hearts from the people you're smiling at and laugh at the shocked look on their faces. Eventually we'll be able to drop the facade, but for now I just don't think that we have the power for it- and trying to be friendly is the safe path to having at least some social success, which can lead to power by proxy. Tell us if you're losing your patience with it, though.

>It appears the first source isn't even an apprentice mage, but someone who has literally no training at all. The fireball, in light of this information, speaks volumes of the boy's magical talent. If he lived, he would likely become very powerful. Too bad, I've no plans to let him live.
To be honest, my mind here immediately turns to the possibility of keeping this kid around and feeding off him in the long term as his talent develops- you mentioned that mages can willingly give up sparks, right? If this child is just that talented, you could potentially keep him around and harvest a hell of a lot of sparks out of him as he generates more. Most children are relatively easy to manipulate; you could probably get him to follow you with a few words taking advantage of his fear and snag a minion out of the deal. He's hardly more than a snack right now anyway; tell him that you sensed his talent and it brought you to him, then order him to stop looking like he's about to piss himself and come with you to get some food because he looks half starved. If he doesn't obey, just kill him; if he does, you can start working on him as a long term project to make him into a slave who you can regularly feed on and who will be useful in helping you snag more impressive meals.

But hey, if you don't have the patience for that and want his meager sparks THAT badly, not like I'm going to stop you. Just make sure you're not killing him with a dozen people who might see and call the guard/that archmage watching.

>>300045
Seconding child-minion idea.

>>300045
Your sarcasm doesn't endear you to me at all, voice. Your logic, on the other hand, does. Raising the boy so that I could feed from him regularly seems worthwhile, although the act of raising him itself is likely going to be boring and annoying at the same time. Just so you know, I reserve the right to consume him if he gets on my nerves too much.

"Boy, you have potential, and that potential has attracted my attention. You'll follow me now, and do as I say. In exchange, I'll teach you some of what I know, give you food, and keep you safe from harm. Is this agreeable?"

The boy grows wide eyed at the mention of food, and he begins nodding like mad before I even finish. His lack of talking seems odd, so without any pretext I force his mouth open, even as the boy's eyes grow wide and he whimpers, probably thinking I'll harm him in some way.

It seems someones cut this boy's tongue out. A shame really, one less place to apply magic. Ah well, it shouldn't hinder him too much.

Turning away, I gesture for the boy to follow me, and I exit the alleyway. I'm rewarded with the sound of the boy's footsteps behind me. It seems he has chosen to obey for now. I purchase some food for my new follower, and as he consumes it I close my eyes again, confirming the location of the remaining spark sources. All are in almost exactly the same places, the larger sources having moved a little since last I checked.

Shall I hunt the next sources down, or is there something left to do with my new apprentice before I head out?

>>300055
>Your sarcasm doesn't endear you to me at all, voice.
I actually wasn't being sarcastic. Your not having the patience for dealing with a child following you around strikes me as a perfectly reasonable possibility; children can be annoying as hell and you've been under a lot of stress recently. Not to mention that not everyone is fond of long-term planning in general.

But as you say, you can always eat him if he gets too annoying.

>Shall I hunt the next sources down, or is there something left to do with my new apprentice before I head out?
He probably looks like a grubby street urchin. That might make him somewhat conspicuous in certain areas of the city. Keep an eye on that if you're planning to go somewhere and look innocent; he'd need a quick wash and some clean and possibly repaired clothes before blending into most areas.

You should also tell him that what you're doing is dangerous, and that you expect his unhesitating obedience no matter what he sees you do, or you might as well throw him back onto the streets for a frightened mob to kill. Say that you've seen what happens to others like him without someone looking after them, and it's not pretty; that should hopefully bind him to you somewhat. Have him nod if he understands. The point of this is to make sure that he doesn't run away the first time he sees you rip out someone's throat or tear out a mage's sparks; he'll probably be terrified, but needs to keep working for you right through it.

Unless the next weakest sparks are in a very nice area of the city, you can head out for them after that.

>>300053
Try to be gentle with the boy, he has obviously had a rough childhood so far.

Ask if the boy can read and write. If he can, tell him to write out his name so you don't have to keep referring to him as 'Boy'.
See if he can cast any other spell besides Fireball. Maybe give him a brief magic lesson, teach him about Sparks and etc.
Inform him that both of you will be staying at The River Rest Inn in case he gets lost or you wish to send him away while you hunt.

For our next course of action let's scout out the location of the two low-level mages. Try to get a layout of the surrounding streets before you enter the building/location they are in.

How much would it cost to cast or permanently gain regenerative healing powers? Or do you already posses that as an immortal being? 

>>300061
I reopen my eyes and glance down at the boy next to me. He's finished eating, and a content smile is plastered across his face. That's not going to last long.

"Boy, I'll say it now that what I do is dangerous, and not exactly legal. There will be things that frighten you, especially when we meet other mages like ourselves. No matter what happens, I expect you to do as I say. No hesitation. If you don't you can end up dead, or worse. Is this understood?"

The boy stares at me for a few minutes, obviously silent, than determination seems to enter his eyes, and he nods. I don't know if that will keep him with me through the more vicious things I tend to do, but for now it seems he's chosen to continue on his path no matter what. Let's hope he sticks to his dedication.

Any magic lessons will have to wait for later however. If it's discovered I'm an unregistered mage, or worse, that there are two of us, we could be killed or jailed on the spot. We'll hold on to those thoughts for when we return to the inn. AS to the question of regeneration, I naturally heal faster than a mortal, but not on the level of regeneration. I can activate a spell to do simulate such however, by increasing my metabolism. Or I could just outright heal myself.

"Hm. Good. You know where the River Rest Inn is?" Another nod from the boy. "Go there if we get separated. Wait outside if you have to. We'll be staying there till we leave the city." Again, another nod from the boy. "You got a name, boy?"

The boy frowns, then gets up and skips off towards a stall vendor. Almost instantly, he's shouted at and told to get lost, with said boy being referred to as "Tongues". Well, can't fault the boy for his ability to improvise.

Feeling like I've been nice enough for now, and the next two sources not far off anyway, I head off, Tongues in tow, making sure to amble about the area and memorize the layout so I can run if I need to. It seems this area is the poorer district, and nobody pays me or the boy much attention. After that's done, I make my way to the pair, and find what appears to be a warehouse of some sort. Upon going to the door, I smell one of the spark sources come up and open it slightly.

"Yoush comesh looking for shom... entshertaishnment? A littlesh femalesh companionship perhapsh?" The speaker smells of alcohol, and his responses are liking dulled because of it. It also slightly amazes me the man screws up nearly every other word except companionship. You'd think he would have screwed that one up as well.

It seems these two are involved in crime, so killing them shouldn't be a problem. In fact, judging from the way the road is completely clear for about a block, I would hazard a guess that I've wandered into the territory of some low level street gang. Shouldn't be any problems with me killing everyone I want inside.

So, voices, do I get to cut loose for once, or shall I try talking them to death as you all seem so fond of?

Go for the talking. Specifically, get him to open up the likely locked door before you kill him so you don't have to waste any sparks busting it down.

>>300064
>So, voices, do I get to cut loose for once, or shall I try talking them to death as you all seem so fond of?
That hurts, man. Really, it does. It's definitely killin' time.

I'd say something in affirmation and move forward into the building. He seems drunk enough that it's unlikely he'll stop you. You want to get inside and locate the second source of sparks; it would be rather annoying if the second mage burned away a bunch of power trying to save themselves from you. Once you know where they both are, strike hard and fast; you may not need to burn any sparks on physical boosting for speed and strength here, but if you think it would be better to play it safe, go ahead. Take all their sparks and make sure that no witnesses escape to tell the tale.

We should probably get a weapon at some point. If they're involved in crime, you'll probably be able to grab one here, preferably something deadly but concealable.

Tongues might freak upon watching you slaughter everyone; if he does, tell him to calm down; remind him that you warned him and he said he'd be with you, so there's no backing out.

When all the sparks are yours, see about cleaning any blood off yourself (can't go wandering the streets with blood on you) and see if you can locate the final spark more precisely.

>So, voices, do I get to cut loose for once, or shall I try talking them to death as you all seem so fond of?

I am always fond of talking people to death, but since you seem tense cut loose! But first make sure there are no witnesses inside the warehouse before killing both sources.

"Entertainment, yes. Companionship, no."

Tell Tongues to wait for you by the inn, you have 'business' to take care of. He doesn't need to see the dark deeds you do yet, perhaps when he has traveled with you a bit longer.

As to how you murder the Spark Sources, try using only your enhanced physique to handle them. Quickly
snapping  necks, breaking  spines, or smashing in heads are pretty quick and effective means, unless you wish for a more brutal approach. Also, if you wish to maximize the chance of them not wasting any sparks on defensive-spells, I would suggest you go along with their offer at first, then murder one of them when you are alone and then proceed to execute the remaining one.

Would it be possible to return Tongues' tongue with a healing spell? That would probably ensure his loyalty for life. Also, if you're in the mood for continuing a murderous rampage, ask Tongues who cut out his tongue and 'appropriately' handle them.

Hated 2011/04/29(Fri)05:44 No. 300111 ID: b96349
File 130408108403.gif - (9.84KB , 114x160 , th_1280723869291.gif )

Talk to get in, than kill them all. Right, let's get on that, shall we?

"Entertainment is one way to put it, yes."

"Heh. Letsh me opensh thish door."

The door slams shut, then I hear locks being undone from the other side of it. I glance back over at my shoulder at the boy, and gesture for him to wait outside. No need for him to get caught in the crossfire. If there even is a crossfire to be caught in.

The door opens, and I enter, scanning the room for my prey. The first is literally a guy in a cloak and funny hat, as if he really didn't understand that the sterotype didn't need to be followed. A few room in however, the other seemed to get the picture.

The other man appears to be going for the dashing rogue look, but also seems to be failing horribly at it. He has a really nice hat though, one that I resolve to make mine as soon as possible. Four more thugs are also scattered about the building. Two are at the table with the rogue, the last two seem to be guarding a door near the back, probably where the "companionship" is kept.

The not-so-dashing rogue looks up from what he is doing(counting out a stack of money) and glares at the other mage next to me.

"Did you even check to see if he had any money?"

"Oh! Right... sho, yoush gotsh money?"

"Yes, I have money."

The man nods sagely, then nearly falls over and instead stumbles into a few crates in the corner. I pause for a moment, taking one last look around to make sure I'm not missing anything, and finding I haven't, I smile.

"But none of it's for you."

All the men in the building frown, right up until I slam my fist into the drunk mans face. He crumples to the floor, out before he reaches his destination. The other mage blinks, clearly confused as to what just happened. His hesitation ends him.

I shadow-step behind him, confusing everyone further, then grab him by the head, pump my strength and snap his head around, the crack as the movement is complete seeming to echo off the walls of the warehouse. As the mage falls, his hat flutters down in front of me, and I snatch it from the air and place it on my head, an almost child-like grin of joy spreading across my face. I really do like this hat.
Spark Count: 46

Then the supposed guards get their act together, and the two nearest the table charge me, drawing short-swords. Since the strength enhancement is still active a little longer, I simply pick up the table and us it to smash them into a wall, dropping them both but leaving them alive. One kindly dropped his sword for me, so I pick that up as I turn to the final pair.

The one to the right seems too scared to do anything, but the left one comes charging at me, roaring in rage and swinging a club. I find myself insulted by this, as how can his rage possibly match mine. I side-step his badly aimed attack, and then use my newly acquired shortsword to end his life, ramming the blade into his chest. The thug stumbles back, and just for good measure I kick him into the door he was just guarding. He slams into it, then slides comically to the floor, eyes staring at the blade in him, hands grasping feebly at the hilt.

The last thug starts panicking, rambling something about taking what I want, whatever I want. The gold, the women, whatever, just to please not kill him. I decide I find his groveling annoying, and pick up the club his friend dropped. The man starts crying and collapses to his knees, but I pay it no mind. Walking over, I pump another spark for increasing strength, than I use the club on the man's head twice, hearing the satisfying crunch of the man's skull breaking.
Spark Count: 45

Humming, I grab the short-sword still on the floor, make sure the two other guards are dead, then drain my targets of their sparks, yielding a rather decent haul from both.
Spark Count:80

I set about gathering the gold on the table, continuing with my happy humming, that is until I hear a voice coming from behind that door the thugs were guarding.

"Hello? Um, is everything alright out there?"

The voice is distinctly feminine, and listening more closely I can hear faint whispers coming from behind the door as well. I had forgotten about the supposed companionship. What shall I do, voices?

Ask them if they know where the gold is kept, take as much as you can, let the boy carry some. Then tell the ladies they are free(i am guessing they are slaves),give them some coin, and "Do try not to trip on any corpses on your way out." Hide the rogue hat and try for a new identity. You don't have anything against a dead man's clothes, do you?

As for the boy's tongue, will you ever let it be healed? Having a loyal apprentice who cannot be easily interrogated is cool, but having one that can actually speak to you sounds useful.

>>300111
All right, burned ten sparks there, which isn't so great, but net +25 so it's all good. Still, that emphasizes the need for permanent powers to lessen expenditures in the long term. We should definitely invest in some after this.

Anyway, finish gathering the gold and check yourself for significant amounts of blood; things got pretty messy there and wandering the streets with obviously bloodstained clothing is usually a bad idea. You might need to swap out for some of the cleaner clothes on the dead men if you have significant amounts of residue on you, at least until you can wash out your magic shirt. You'll probably also want to take a scabbard from those thugs and clean off your sword; unless weapons laws are very strict in this city, there's little reason not to be armed now that you have the option and carrying around a naked sword is inconvenient.

Unless you really feel like killing a bunch of whores, should probably say something to keep them on the other side of that door. "Yes, everything's fine, now that everyone else out here is dead. Stay over there until I'm gone" ought to do it. Nice and straightforward. If they're dumb enough to open the door after that, kill them all unless there's some kind of apparent reason not to. Avoid using sparks unless necessary if it comes to that.

>>300126
>talk to ladies
>be nice to them
There's a stack of money right out here and we don't need cash so badly as to require a thorough looting of this building. We also don't need to be kind to a bunch of whores, particularly as it would leave a bunch of people behind us who can give a description of us as the one who killed these mages. As long as they don't open that door and see us, we don't need to change anything about our appearance or actions.

If you really want to thoroughly loot the place, we can, but in that case I'd say kill everyone who saw us afterward. There's no benefit to leaving them alive unless we're trying to turn them into minions, and I don't think they would be terribly useful minions. Though that would admittedly be heavily dependent upon their individual personalities.

>the boy's tongue
He doesn't need a tongue that badly and healing it would take a whole bunch of sparks. He stays mute, at least until we have so much power that magnanimity seems easy. Which will probably be never.

>>300111
Nothing to be gained from them. Take the rogues cloak as well, I don't imagine your clothes look too nice themselves.

Also, nice hat.

Regarding the women...there's not really much to be gained from them, is there? Just break whatever locks there, and leave. No need for them to see you, after all, that would put you on some folk's radar, which we don't want until we've harvested what we can from this city/town whatever.

>The not-so-dashing rogue looks up from what he is doing(counting out a stack of money)

DOSH!
grab it while you can, lads!

Okay, so we need to use up 1 spark for temporary attribute boosts, right? And we still have the strength boost.
So I suggest boosting our speed and looting everything of value from our hosts and this building.

Hmm... maybe there is no need to be so fast.
See if the door is locked or if it can be locked or barred. Do that, and then spend your time leisurely looting the place.
We need not make our face seen. I don't want to make unnecessary victims of those girls, so the best option is just not to be seen by them.

After this, I suggest we seek out the source of the sparks in the dungeon, reap it and then skip town. No need to go after the very powerful target just yet and if we stay here to kill more magic users, we will attract unwanted attention.


3rd plan. Loot everything and burn the warehouse down with everyone in it. Then it will be very hard to investigate what happened here. Though I suggest heavily against this.

I take the now deceased rogue's clothing, this time staying silent, hoping to keep the mortals in the next room in a state of confusion. The clothing seems a little brightly colored for my tastes, but it looks a lot more like something a normal traveler would wear. Might make me more likable as well. I grab the money on the table as well, making sure to avoid clinking the coins together too much.

Suddenly, I hear a gasp behind me, and without thinking I spin and dart forward, grabbing the female by the throat and slamming her into a wall. She is obviously in pain after that, but she remains awake. On the downside, she starts sobbing and pleading for her own miserable existence. Within seconds of me acting, another female enters.

"Hey! Put her down, right now! She hasn't done anything to you!"

I remain silent, not bothering to look at the other woman. Then an idea strikes me. Females among the mortals care for the young, don't they? And these women are used to enslavement. What's to stop me taking one of them and having her deal with Tongues for the most part? Or shall I kill them all, now that they know I'm here? Or maybe there's another alternative altogether?

>>300224
Your new appearance may make you easy to spot. And these females will spread the rumor of your murders surely. But killing the ladies will seem especially violent and attract the attention from the law and maybe that mage/mages. Simply killing these obvious criminals may not. Leave them safely, maybe even apologize, and ditch the disguise soon. It was nice to have but we can't just walk around like that with blood on our hands. You can buy different clothing with the gold you have just earned.

>What's to stop me taking one of them and having her deal with Tongues for the most part?
Nothing is to stop you. This has the pro of disposing of a lot of annoyance resulting from the kid. It has the con, however, of providing Tongues with an adult around other than you. It will give him someone else to bond to emotionally, weakening your hold on him and potentially dividing his loyalties if the woman is ever killed or betrays you. As you're the primary authority figure and the one with magic, making you the nominal role model, the effect shouldn't be too drastic, though.

Really, I think Tongues is capable of mostly staying quiet and taking care of himself. He seems like the sort who will at least try to keep up and not disappoint you as things stand right now.

If you want a slave, choose which- the one you're currently grabbing seems to have curiosity (since she opened the door) and malleability. The one giving you orders seems to have courage (quite a bit, in fact) and loyalty. The former would probably be easier to make an obedient slave- the shock of watching you kill everyone else alone should keep her fearful enough to stay obediently in line- while the latter would likely be more difficult to enslave, take a little persuasion, but if you can actually get her working for you she'd almost certainly be more useful.

To get the whimpering one, drop her and tell her not to move or you'll kill her, then take your sword and kill all the rest of the whores quickly and brutally. Then tell her that she'll do exactly as you say, or you will make certain that she regrets her disobedience before she dies screaming.

To get the defiant one, tell her that you have no reason to leave anyone who has seen you alive. Then smile, and say that you'll kill everyone who has glimpsed you- unless she cares to guarantee their silence. She'll likely ask how, or say something horrified; you tell her that she comes with you and tells everyone else to keep quiet. If she serves you well, and no rumors of what you look like spread, then everyone stays alive. If she betrays you or you hear your description on the streets as the killer of these men, you'll first kill her and then hunt down everyone else here. This is because based upon my (rash and potentially inaccurate) judgment of her personality, simply killing everyone else and declaring her your slave would probably result in resistance, escape and/or murder attempts, and other such annoyances; offering her a way to protect them (from you, since you're already obviously very dangerous) will likely be more successful in making her serve you loyally. If it doesn't work, you can still kill her and get the other woman as a slave.


I would appreciate reviews of the above from others. It may contain flaws or points which I haven't thought through fully.

>>300230
>And these females will spread the rumor of your murders surely. But killing the ladies will seem especially violent and attract the attention from the law and maybe that mage/mages.
Considering that we won't be in town for more than another day or two and that killing everyone leaves no one who can give a description of us, I find myself entirely unconcerned about trouble with the law. As for the super-powerful spark, I daresay it likely has better things to worry about than a few slaughtered whores.

tilt you bitching hat so that they don't see your face.

We could ask them what they are doing here, if they are slaves or just working girls.

Don't really see why we need a woman to care for Tongues. He can generally take care of himself, and we wouldn't want him to be attached to anyone else.
Nah, don't do it.

If we leave them alive, we will pretty much have to dump the hat and the robes.
So the choice is: keep these ladies alive or keep pimping hat?

>>300238
The choice is easy. The hat of course, its far too stylish to simply toss away, especially after just having retrieved it. The woman if front of me is sill sobbing, and since it seems the general consensus is that the boy can fend for himself, killing the woman remains my only task here.

"Now why would I listen to some whore from the street?" I tilt the hat on my head with my freehand, blocking my eyes from their view. A menacing smirk creeps across my face, and I can feel rather than see the woman in my grasp grow cold, fear putting an end to her sobbing. "I don't take orders from anyone, and since your annoying me, I feel its time for you to die."

The shortsword is put to work quickly, and I deftly sidestepped the spurt of blood coming from the woman's now slit throat. The other stumbles back in surprise, likely expecting a different response. Just goes to show how slow-witted humans can be after all.

Within minutes, the task is done. Twenty-two deaths in all within the building, and after searching everyone, I come up with more money. Not a bad hour of work, if I do say so myself. I even got a new hat out of it.

I return outside to find Tongues curled into a ball against the wall. Once he notices my presence, he's quick to rise to his feet, although he looks a little pale. The screaming from the woman probably didn't help his fear of me any, but he still seems determined to stick with me. Good.

I find an alleyway and change into my acquired set of clothing, the red and white colors making me feel exposed and not quite as menacing as I'd like to be. But I suppose that is the point. I suppose we'll also have to shift my appearance and voice to match as soon as we're able, but the act is still a little out of our reach, assuming we don't spend any more sparks. Doubtful, but still an objective.

For now, I feel getting into a dungeon will probably be easier at night, without so many people. Tongues trailing behind me, I head to the River Rest, where I purchase a room and some food for my apprentice and retire upstairs as soon as possible. Once there, I give Tongues the explanation of where his powers come from, the nature of sparks, and some mental exercises to perform whenever he has the time.

Once I've made sure the boy is performing the task I've set him correctly, I seat myself on the edge of the bed. Now then voices. Within the relative safety of the room, I can practice my own magics in peace, as well as answer any questions you might have.

So, ask away.

>>300254
>Once he notices my presence, he's quick to rise to his feet, although he looks a little pale.
I like this kid. He'll turn out well. Feed and care for him while ignoring him most of the time, demand unquestioning obedience, and give occasional positive reinforcement when he displays competence or obedience in the face of difficulty, and based upon my (admittedly imperfect) understanding of child psychology he should become quite devoted over a matter of months.

>So, ask away.
Right.

-Enchanted items. How do they work? What can they do, in absolute terms and as compared to spells? How valuable/common are they? What is the crafting process, with an eye towards what would be required for you to make things?

-You. What are you overall goals here, aside from getting ever more sparks? Do you want to be a hunter-killer type in the long term, as we've been assuming- or do you have some kind of different vision or endgame? Empire, genocide, whatever? How easily can you be differentiated from a mortal mage by someone who knows what they're about?

-Mages. You mentioned that they mostly use reality warping- can they also use body and mind powers? Is there a reason that they generally do not, if they can? Can they get permanent powers, and do they? Is the apparent 1:50,000 ratio amongst the population that we're seeing here pretty much the standard? What about the power curve- how many apprentices are there as compared to mid-level mages as compared to powerful types? What are the organizations they make, the laws about them, and the public's view of them? How fast do they generally acquire sparks (presumably they use magic on a semi-regular basis, which would logically deplete their stock if they didn't have a fairly quick refresh rate, so I assume fairly quickly)?

That's all I've got for now. Maybe more later.

I am really liking your total disregard for human life. Killing everyone in sight makes for great entertainment.

So, how much gold do we have, exactly? Was there anything you told him but not us? That we would be interested in. And now is the best time for the discussion of spark investment.

Earlier, when you used shadow step, a significant amount of sparks were spent. If you keep using abilities without specializing, the inefficiency will become obvious. I strongly suggest we buy a permanent ability. Invisibility would have allowed us to escape those whores with ease, your identity a secret still. Murdering them all was fun though. And it would oh so certainly help with combat. And shadow step would have made us a terrifying close quarters opponent, without the fear of spark usage. Ethereal would not be as useful for killing all of them and stealing the gold, but if you knew exactly where the weak spark was you could assassinate him quick and clean.

>>300285
It would also be reasonable to get a permanent strength boost, I think. We're going to be burning small numbers of sparks on that all the damn time if we don't.

Honestly, with 80 sparks I'm tempted to invest in two permanent abilities- but the second should really probably wait until after we've taken out the fourth snack and have its power to use.

Shadow step is very tempting to me because not only would it be a combat ability, it would also let us bypass obstacles AND travel extremely quickly overland- if we pour a few extra sparks into it, we could move at a dozen times the pace of a swift horse, as long as we're moving at night or in a shadowed area. (I hope we have some kind of darkvision.) It's very flexible. That would be my first choice, I think, then buying a strength boost second and invisibility third.

I think you should make Shadow Step and a Strength boost permanent, since those two seem to be the skills you are experienced with using in combat.

Especially the strength boost.

>>300284
Think of them as similar to directly applying things to my body, accept cheaper and impossible to redo. You also can't strengthen them after applying so decide how much power you want before deciding.

As for my goals. I want the heroes dead. Failing that due to them already being dead, I want any descendants they might have dead. I won't rest until the direct blood line of those heroes is wiped from existence. No exceptions, I am willing to take as long as it takes.

As to your last barrage of questions. I have no clue. I have just rejoined the world, as you should remember, and basically have no clue. I know that among humans, the general chance for a powerful mage is about 1 in every 1,000,000 people, at least before my imprisonment. The public view was generally good, at least for the registered ones. Registration with the Mage Guild(and attached Academy) was required, although I never joined myself, as it was a waste of time. Mages can generally replenish themselves to full power in one to two hours.

>>300285
I have about 67 gold, most of that in gold, but a few in silver coins. From what I can tell, silver is the generally used standard currency.

>>300320
>similar to directly applying things to my body, accept cheaper and impossible to redo
How much cheaper? Let's say that we wanted to enchant that ring with a 5-spark strength boost right now. How long would it take you, and what would be the total spark cost?

>As to your last barrage of questions. I have no clue.
This applies to your knowledge of standard mages' magical mechanics re: non-warp reality and permanent spells as well as recent social dynamics? Just so we're clear.

>Mages can generally replenish themselves to full power in one to two hours.
Wow. We'll be able to get a very nice amount of sparks out of this kid, if he's generating even one spark on an hourly basis.

>I have about 67 gold, most of that in gold, but a few in silver coins.
Any idea how expensive things generally are? Horses, clothing, meals, weapons, what have you. I know you've been out of it for a while, but wild guess based upon what you can remember from before adjusted for the cost of the food and inn, please?


And unrelated queries. What are the five races and their major features, both physically/magically and socially (from what you last recall)? How large an area are they spread over, and do they normally associate with one another much? This will be important for planning how we're going to go about hunting down the heroes, I think.

>>300330
Hmmm... using your example, about 15 sparks, and maybe an hour of work, if that. Silver is highly receptive to magic after all(most precious metals are, to some degree), so this should be fairly easy to enchant. The ring I mean.

Ah, they can use the other two, its just rare. Permanent spells are almost non-existent among human mages, elves use them sometimes, and orcs use them almost exclusively. As to current social standings, yeah, that I have no clue about.

The boy is weak, and has no knowledge at all of magic. It will be awhile before we can use him as a food source. If we want an immediate one, we'll have to find someone with some actual knowledge.

As for the cost of things, again, I have little to go off of. Inns and such seem cheap enough(a silver for a decent bed and food), so I would assume the amount of money I have is enough for awhile. Assuming I don't try to buy bridges or something equally stupid.

I will abstain from talking about the five races social norms for the moment, as I have ever known what the norms were for any of them other than the fact that they don't like me killing people, and the usual rules of don't steal bla bla bla. I'm assuming you know that sort of thing.

The humans... I'm assuming you know what a human is by now. Stand 5-6 feet tall on average. Generally multicolored. Pretty squishy. The usual stuff.

The elves. They are probably the most annoying things to walk this planet. The only reason they are still alive is that they have an aptitude for magic that probably outstrips the other races. They all care about two things only. That highly burnable forest of theirs, and their own appearance. I'm dead serious. Damn squeakers can't spend enough time doing their hair or some other such nonsense. I have met a few that break from the norm, and they were far less annoying. They ended up dead just the same. Oh yes, they are much weaker than humans physically(you can break one's nose by twisting it a little to hard), and are slim as heck. Magically, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM can use magic. The problem being that forest of theirs is so enchanted that getting in just doesn't happen. So I've had to wait till they come out, then hunt them down.

Orcs are hilariously warlike. I enjoy my spending my time among them the most, mostly because they really didn't care if I kill a bunch of them. Bulky, large, and perfect for close combat. I only left because I ended up eating all their mages at the time. Hope they have more when I go back.

Dwarves live in mountains. Their short, drunk, and have no mages. I ignored them for the most part, and as such, that's all I got.

I have less on goblins. They don't have mages either, and basically just charge towns until they all die or the village stops fighting back. Hated them, cause they usually made me waste sparks killing them.

Dwarves hate Goblins. Elves hate Orcs. Orcs just like killing things. Goblins hate everyone. And humans just like taking everyone elses stuff.

As for territory, I don't know. We should probably add finding a map to our list of goals.

Is there any way you could hide the fact that you contain sparks from a mage casting the spells to look for them? Because if so, making that a permanent spell on yourself should be a priority. Even in a direct confrontation that would be useful, because anyone who has cast those spells will think you are normal, right up until you do something magical.

If all elves have magic, and a greater aptitude for it than humans, they are obviously the best source of sparks. Which means we will have to find some way into that forest. Getting in by force obviously didn't work when you tried it, so next time try deception. Don't eat the next elf you run into, because you want to convince them to let you visit their forest, although right now you aren't powerful enough to attempt it.

>>300342
>As for territory, I don't know. We should probably add finding a map to our list of goals.
Ask the innkeep or his daughter in the morning. They'll know where to get a good one; there should be at least one decent cartographer in a city this size.

>enchanting the ring
That seems quite cheap- what, 10+spark cost or thereabouts? It might be worth enchanting an item instead of buying a permanent ability, even; I doubt we'll ever need to use ethereality for more than a few seconds at a time, for example, so the inability to upgrade it wouldn't really matter and we'd save a whole pile on sparks. A ring that lets us walk through walls and be less noticed for a few seconds at a time could be very useful. Then we buy a permanent shadow step, and keep the rest of our sparks on hand for now.

Anyone object to this plan?

>>300378
For permanent buying with sparks, I will agree with shadow step or invisibility. They are both very useful. As for the strength, do we really need to enchant a ring? If it costs more to enchant a ring than grant ourselves with permanent strength then I fully object, otherwise I agree. The only advantage would be that we could sell it, and we don't need money right now. There is also the possibility of losing the ring.

>>300407
Rings cost fewer sparks than permanent spells.

>>300351
The spell to block the spotting of my magic completely would register as magical. It essentially means I'm blocking magic by trying shove magic in front of it. I should explain that better. Because the spell your suggesting would need to be active to hide my sparks, it would radiate magic, since it's active. It defeats the purpose of hiding magic. At most, it would hide my power level from the senses of others.

With the ring plan not receiving any objections, I set to work, closing my eyes to keep my attention where I need it. I shape the magic in my body, first, the spell taking form like a ball within my gut. Then, I let the magic seep into the ring, visualizing a funnel that directs the magic into the ring. I open my eyes to check my progress, and am satisfied to see the ring with glowing lines of power on it, as if something had burned those lines into the ring's surface. Taking a deep breath, I draw out the ten sparks necessary for finalizing the process, shaping them like a shell around the rings that contain and suspend the power within. This step is entirely visible, as a glowing shell literally forms around the ring, lighting up the room, before it slowly fades from visibility. The process takes me about a half-hour, and once done, I have myself a magic ring, containing a very weak ethereal spell inside it.
Spark Count: 69
Ring of Ethereal: Lasts 5 seconds, 2 second cooldown.

It's then I notice Tongues. He's stopped his exercises, staring at the ring laying on my palm, eyes filled with wonder. From what I can tell, he seems in awe at what just occurred, and I can see the desire to do what I just did in his eyes. I smirk at his interest, which seems to snap his attention back to reality. Tongues suddenly realizes he isn't doing what he should be doing, and he immediately closes his eyes again, throwing himself back into his task.

Well, voices, we now have our ring. Before I permanent something though, I want to make sure of what spell I'm doing it with. So far I've seen Shadow Step mentioned most often, but I just want to be certain.

I have a non-standard idea that may be worth it, if it could work: A massive increase to intelligence actually, which you can put on the boy to speed up his training when you aren't making use of it yourself. This massive increase in intelligence would be very useful for helping you derive more worthwhile general information from simple observations.
If sharing the magic like that wouldn't work then just go with a speed and strength improvement which would allow you to throw battering rams and be quick and deft enough to physically catch and throw back arrows in flight. This should be sufficient physical empowerment for most purposes and those rare cases where it isn't you can spend temporary sparks I suppose.

Shadow step and invisibility are both great abilities. They each serve certain things better however. Shadow step with instant teleportation, allowing us to instantly flank or escape. Invisibility with total concealment, allowing us to kill many in an area with ease and hiding completely. Either one is acceptable.

So wait,

a low-level magic user has about 20 sparks, right?
A mortal can regenerate their sparks in about 2 hours (or does that apply to powerful mages?)... either way, even a low-level should be able to regenerate their supply in about 12 hours.
For Hated to gain Sparks, he needs to collect them from a dead host ... or he can get them from a willing person.

So why don't we set up some kind of a symbiotic deal with Tongues? We teach him shit, make him better (meaning he'll get more sparks) and he willing provides us with... lets say, half of his Sparks?

Shouldn't this work?


About the mage in the dungeon.
Could we extract Sparks without killing him? Could we, say, use a sleep spell on him and drain his Sparks while he sleeps then come back later to repeat the process?

Infiltrating the dungeon should not be too hard.
First, we need to have permanent shadow-step (or invisibility, though I'm more in favour for the former).
Using that and Etheral spell would let us enter the dungeon unnoticed fairly easy.

>>300416
((Oh, close! Your close to some bonus sparks here, but its impossible to increase intelligence like that. One can not suddenly gain knowledge of things they had no clue about before. The closest you can get is increasing a persons mental speed, meaning they could think through a process that would normally take them hours in minutes. Keep going with the line of thinking though, you might get rewarded for it.))

>>300425
The person or being I'm extracting from does not necessarily have to be dead. They can, in fact, be alive. They just die after I'm done, because forcibly ripping magical sparks of energy out of people chests tends to do that. I actually prefer them alive, they tend to scream more. I can also retrieve them from someone who willingly gives them to me as well, which is why I'm even bothering with this kid in the first place. As for the source in the dungeon question, no, he would die after I'm done with him. Mostly because that's the way my "eating" works.

I second the question about asking if there is magic that lets you drain sparks from mages. Also, are there ways to siphon the magic out of enchantments? That would be very useful for both eating and countering the mages you are bound to fight eventually.

Also, can you deactivate/reactivate permanent invisibility at will? (In case you want to gather information from people, for example)

Thirdly, how many enchanted rings can you wear at once without them interfering with either your finger movement or with each other?

>>300437
Enchantments, as with the spells applied to my body, are stuck that way. They are technically free-floating sparks anymore(which is what I hunt down and take), so I can't consume them, steal them, recycle them, however you want to put it. The difference between enchanting objects and people however, is that objects won't let you overwrite the spell once you apply it, while on people, you can overwrite as much as you want. I believe I explained this a little somewhere back when I first started hearing you lovely voices.

For invisibility, the simplest version(what I have to apply first) only lasts so long once I activate the ability. After that, it shuts off, goes through a little wait period as it recharges, then its ready for use again. I believe it's 10 seconds for the basic invisibility, with a 5 second wait in between uses.

As for the rings, I actually tested this once, by making someone else do it for me, with the promise they would live if they did it. They didn't live, mostly because they had 5 magical rings suddenly explode violently, removing most of his hands and sending shards of metal into his face. It was hilariously funny, so I think started forcing people I found to do it whenever I got my hands on enough magic rings. Anyway, based off of that experiment, I would say 4 rings is the max one wants to put on their fingers.

>>300443
That is just hilarious. I love your style.

Let us make this permanent ability decision soon, I agree with what appears to be the most desired choice, shadow step. Can't wait to teleport huge distances to stab somebody in the back.

If having any more than four rings results in disaster, if we have exactly four rings are we vulnerable to being overloaded by something adding a bit more magic to our hands?

Say… What magical abilities do you know of that are related to observing/analyzing magical and/or biological systems? It occurs to me that we have a mage right here, and we should consider a spell to look at the workings of his brain or track the flow of sparks in him. The boy is too valuable an investment to do something lastingly nasty to, but if there are ways that won’t ruin him we should look into those. In the medium term, we may get a hint to what part of him we can enhance to improve his magic, and in the (probably very) long term studying how these mortals create sparks seems like a very good goal.

>>300444
Our first permanent ability should be either shadow step or a strength boost. I would be content with either, and agree that we should take one now. In either case, I would be willing to apply up to 50 of our 69 current sparks to it, resulting in a 25-foot shadow step or a very substantial strength boost. No need to hold ourselves to the minimum.

>>300458
I agree completely.

>>300449
We shouldn't be especially vulnerable, as long as we don't decide to activate all four rings at once. As for the analyzing magic, that would fall under Mind magics, but as I've said, I'm weak in that... not much better than an apprentice to be truthful. I mean, why investigate things when I could demolish towns with impunity? Anyway, I think any such observation spells would be out of my capabilities, at least for now.

Now, since the general consensus has been reached, let's get to applying some spells to myself. While going all out has its perks, I'd prefer a little less on the range and more on the continued use. Especially since I don't think I'll be needing to jump 25ft anytime soon.

I interrupt Tongues practice, setting about on another lesson I'm sure you'd all be interested in as well.

"Alright then, I'm going to explain how permanent spells work. It's out of your range for the moment, Tongues, but it helps to be aware for when you are. Now, the basics are pretty simple. To make something permanent on your own body, 30 sparks are required. That's just for the permanent. The cost for the spell still needs to paid as well, just as if you were casting."

"Now, there are a few rules to the process, and you'd do well to memorize them at some point, although now I just want you to hear them.
1) The body can only handle a certain number of permanent effects before it begins to get overcharged. Overcharging is bad, and usually ends in bloody explosions.
2) For us humanoids, there are exactly eight places spells can be applied. They are as follows: Right Hand, Left Hand, Arms, Torso, Legs, Head, Eyes, Tongue."

"Spells are generally associated with certain body parts. That fireball you threw, for example, is associated with the hands. Doesn't matter which, but if you wanted to apply it, it would be placed on the hands. Other body areas would reject the magic."

"Now I'm going to apply magic to myself. You can watch if you want, but after this I want you to go to sleep. We'll likely have to leave in the morning."

Tongues nods, then grows silent as I begin. I focus, my long practice with application made more difficult by the relatively unfamiliar nuances of the spell area I'm trying to perform. As always, sparks are shaped to fit my desire, taking the form of the desired spell, then I imagine the spell forming tattoos along my legs, black tattoos, like shadows that seem to both connect and never touch. My legs tingle, and I glance down, black sparks suddenly exploding along my legs. The boy jumps back a little, surprised at event, but his fascination quickly overcomes his fear, and he leans forward to get a better view of what's occurring.

Within minutes, the work is done, and I know from experience that underneath my pants lie the magical runes plastered to my skin like ebon tattoos in the form I imagined.

Permanent Ability Gained:
Shadow-Step: Hated has applied the spell, but modified it slightly to his own tastes. The spell has a 15ft range, but has the chain tag applied once to it(as explained below).

Spark Count: 22

((An extra post, to help explain some of the rules that you should be aware of. Keep in mind, I'm refining the rules for magic almost daily at this point, and while some things may change, if they do I will inform you all the next chance I get, in big bold easily identified letters. The first of these revision is going in this post.

TAGS
Consider tags the labels that can be applied to spells. Things like chaining shadow-steps together instantly would require a tag, as shadow-step normally has a small cooldown time before reuse. I'll list out the tags that are you have all discovered, but feel free to come up with any number of things that can be applied to spells. I'll simply add them to the list as they come.

If anyone ever wants to see the entire list, inform me in a post and I'll have it up as soon as possible.

The two you've established at the moment, along with the costs to apply them to a spell, are:
Project: Allows spells to be hurled, like an arrow or a stone. Costs 2 sparks.
Chain: Allows multiple of the spell to be chained together. Costs 5 sparks.

That's all for now. If anyone has any suggestions for refining the magic system, don't hesitate to tell me. I enjoy constructive criticism.))

>>300476
Classy, very classy. That should be extremely useful as you move around. How much will you be able to take with you when you use it- whatever you can carry?

How are you doing physically? Time for some rest, or feeling like heading out and hunting down that last spark tonight?

((Maybe an [area] tag that makes the spell affect a larger area of effect than normal?))

I would suggest that we look into working on the mental powers, as things are easier to destroy if you know more about them.

Now that we can shadow step, do we know a spell that makes an effect like a smoke bomb? I think a ring that casts that would be handy for when there are few shadows. (Do you need a preexisting shadow as an entry point, or would the darkness under your feet work?)

With the ETHEREAL spell,
1. Can you chose to go through a floor, or just walls?
2. Can you grab someone else when using it to make them ethereal as well?
3. Does someone suffer a bloody fate if ethereal runs out while they are still in a solid object? (And if you hold an item [presumably your stuff goes ethereal when you do] in the same space as someone's body, what happens when you re-materialize)?

>>300487
((Area tag added: Increases area of effect for spells, or makes them area of effect spells if they aren't already. Costs 5 sparks per 1ft increase in radius. Also, thanks to your question regarding a smoke bomb, I've changed another thing. Basic spells are spells that can't be produced using another spell and tags together. This would be something like making fire, water, or smoke. I'm cataloging those as well, so if there isn't a spell already made that can produce the desired affect, whether alone or using tags, I'll add it into the basic spell list. An example would be your question about a smoke spell. Currently have no way to do that, so I'll add that as a basic spell for use.))

Spell Discovered!
Smoke: Produces a cloud of smoke around the caster, which obscures vision. Costs 1 spark to cast.

As for your question about using our own shadow as the starting point. As the shadow won't be there if I'm not there, and weird paradoxes happen, it's not suggested I or anyone else attempt it. So simply put, no I can't.

Ethereal makes me as close to a spirit/ghost as a living thing can get. I can freely decide if I want to travel through something or not, be it floor, wall, ceiling, other people.

As for including other people in the spell, that is possible, but costs more. Including other people in spell affects is difficult, since often times they themselves aren't magically inclined, and thus you have to force magic into their bodies.

Tag Discovered!
Buddy: Allows other people to be included in a friendly spells affects. Cost 10 sparks per person.

When ethereal ends, if anything is connected to me(like I'm going through a wall and I'm halfway through when it ends) I'll fuse with the wall. It's... not pleasant, and I'd rather not talk about why I know that... yeah.

>>300482
I believe it does include whatever I'm carrying, excepting other people and particularly heavy or large objects. As to the final source of energy this town has to offer that wouldn't get me completely killed, well, I'm still hungry after all. Let's be off.

I make sure the boy is properly in bed(with the threat of punishment should I found out he's left the room), and head back down stairs. Halfway to the exit, I'm accosted once again by the annoying mortal woman, an easy smile on her face.

"Didn't know you had a son, stranger. You don't look all that old. Hey, it skipped my mind earlier, but what's your name anyway? After all, I gave you my name, so its polite to offer yours in return."

The woman is eying me, and I once again get the strong urge to kill her. I allow myself the small fantasy of ripping her head off and putting it on a spike outside town, but quickly banish the thought. Well voices, what do I do now?

>>300513
Sadly, killing in the very inn where you're staying the night would be unwise. A fake name and a reasonably friendly demeanor should let you give her the brush-off without any trouble as long as you keep moving.

"Gregor. Excuse me, I've people to see."

Then head off to get our hunt on.

I think Harald would be a good name for us to take.

When making a magic item, can you put more sparks into it to improve the recharge? The item I am thinking about (for when we have the sparks to spare after our next meal) is a ring that can launch projectile smoke clouds quickly enough that there can be more than one cloud present at a given time, so we may shadow step between them. Any estimate on how many sparks that would take?

For your actual name, I think Hated suits you. But for the purpose of dealing with mortals, I suggest a powerful name. Like Vincent. Sounds like the name of a conqueror.

"Vincent. Excuse me, I have people to see."

I try pushing past her, but she steps in front of me again, this time an angry look on her face.

"Your going to leave your son alone in some inn filled with complete strangers like it's nothing? Dirty, I might add? Doesn't seem like your a good parent."

Now, I've never taken criticism well. Why I don't mind so much from you voices is odd, but I'm fine with that... which is also odd. But other people, mortals in particular, I can't stand ordering me around. Or even suggesting I do things the wrong way. So I snap a little at her comments.

"If your so knowledgeable in how to care for children, why don't you go take care of him. As I've said, I have people to see, and I don't have time to stand here talking to some girl who thinks she can criticize me just because she met me a few hours ago in a town square. NOW MOVE!"

The woman steps back in surprise, the volume of my command loud enough to silence everyone in the room. The quiet settles awkwardly, everyone waiting, expecting someone to do something. I settle the matter easily. I slip by the girl, who by now seems to be searching for something to say, and exit into the night air.

I head quietly towards my destination, and eventually find myself standing above a patch of the road. No way to get in here. A quick search of the area, however, reveals the entrance to the jails, where I assume the source to be. Now then, lets see how we're going to do this.

The front door is open, and two guards flank it, torches set up next to them providing light for them to see. Their shadows are casting back towards me, but the room beyond is dark. I don't even need advice for this one. I step across, one moment walking along the street, the next within the room, with the guards outside none the wiser.

This room seems to be a check in area for people visiting someone. A quick look around reveals the stairs down, and I quietly work my way down. I pause as I reach a corner, straining to hear any sounds. For a moment, nothing, but before I start forward, the sound of boots against stone starts to make its way closer from down the corridor. I hear similar coming from behind me.

Shadows are literally everywhere, including a jail cell across from me with a man in it who appears to be asleep. The source is, judging from the size of the cell I can see, four cells down. With two guards coming from either direction, I must ask.

What's my course of action, voices?

>>300525
Keep unseen if you can. If you can't, kill those who see you rapidly, before they can sound any alarms.

I would suggest that you might be able to stay out of sight by shadow stepping into the cells and then back and forth between them, letting you move quickly while remaining outside the main corridor. Move fast, and hopefully even if the guards see you, it'll be as something uncertainly half-glimpsed in a cell and easily dismissed as nothing since you'll be gone by the time they get a good look. Get down to the target cell and tear out those sparks before the mage has the time to react or use any magic- although presumably they can't, or they'd be doing so already to escape.

Actually, I really wonder what the hell a mage is doing locked up and if we could somehow exploit their situation for more power than merely killing them and taking their sparks will give us, but whatever, it's easy just to rip and run.

Heh, I like that girl, she's bold.

Shadow-step insode the cell with the man sleeping and stand still in the corner.
Wait till the guards pass (if they, for some reason, stop and start looking inside your cell, either activate your etheral ring or shadow-step into another cell)

Make your way down to the source.
If he is not heavily guarded (so that our specific attention is required) or doesn't have any magical wards you know what you must do.
Now, here's the important part, make sure that there is no sign of foul play. Make it seem like that man had a heart attack in his sleep and died quietly. We do not want to attract attention after all.

After this, I say we skip town (no more sparks left besides powerful mages, right?) and head towards next smell of sparks.

Be cautious for anti-magic effects or traps in the cell where the source is. There is SOMETHING keeping him from breaking out with magic (and he still has his sparks in him). It might just be something harmless (to you) like magical shackles, but it might not be.

With your chain-shadowstep, is there enough time between steps to grab an item or attack once with a drawn weapon?

Hated 2011/04/30(Sat)18:56 No. 300540 ID: b96349
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There is about a fourth of a second between jumps. I'd need to get faster before I could do something like jump, attack, then jump again. I'm assuming that was your plan.

I hop over into the other cell, just ahead of the footsteps coming from behind me. Even as I arrive on the other side, I crouch, willing the guard to keep walking. The mortal man pauses at the cell, staring into it, then, apparently satisfied all is well, continued on. I heave a small sigh, it doesn't look like I'd get to kill anyone on this little jaunt. Well, other than the target.

I use the ethereal ring to slip into the next cell, which is empty, and move quietly towards the opposite wall as the ring recharges itself.

"Hey Bill, how's teh imputant prisoner?"

Uneducated ass. It's important, important. Damn, humans are annoying. Our we sure we can't just kill them?

"She's fine, hasn't done anything but go on about how much pain we're gonna be in when she gets out. Long as they keep her all drugged up though, she won't be going anywhere."


Oh. Well, that explains why the mage hasn't done anything yet. Can't cast when your minds literally drowning, and is being forcibly unfocused. Wait, she?

"Hehe, she's a purty one though. Whatcha think ol' Marfolsa wants wit her?"

Marfolsa? The powerful mage perhaps. It seems he runs things around here. I slip into the next cell over, nearly running into its occupant, who startles awake and almost screams before I cover his mouth and snap his neck. Seems like I did get to kill someone.

"Why should I know, you uneducated buffoon?"

Here, here.

"We aren't paid to ask questions. We're paid to shut up, and put anyone the Marfolsa wants in here in here. Now get back to your rounds!"

I slip into the my targets cell, prepared to strike without mercy, when I pause, staring at the one imprisoned within. That can't be right. There's just... no, that can't be right.

"Righ, righ..."

The guard lumbers off, but the noise has woken the occupant of my cell, and her melodic voice immediately sets to groggily insulting the guards.

"Bashtardsh! I'sa gonna kills you! I'sa gonna kills you! Minute I'sa gets outta here, I'sa gonna kills yooooouuuuuu......."

"Yeah yeah, sweet thing. Shut up and go back to sleep."

The ELF slips back into unconsciousness, and I allow myself to lean against the wall. An elf. Why would a human mage capture an elf? From what I remember, elves and humans generally got along pretty well. Unless things had changed that drastically since my time... somehow I doubt it. I get back up again, moving to kill her quickly, when I suddenly recall one you voices having said I shouldn't do that. Something about using one to get into the forest. What shall I do then?

>>300540
Well, as I see it, we currently have two options.

-Kill her, drain her delicious sparks, and leave pleased with a night's work.

-Kill the guards, take her away, and gamble that we'll get more out of talking to her than we would out of killing her.

The second option is more dangerous and gives us no immediate power, but has much greater potential rewards. I'd be wary about the super-powerful mage, apparently this "Marfolsa", tracking her magically, though. So we'd want to move quickly.

>>300542
Well. I think at this juncture it would be best if you just killed her. You can probably hide your tracks by making it look like the guards overdosed the elf. Also, we need more information about this "Marfolsa" guy, but getting that information from one of his enemies will likely give you half-lies and propaganda.

The mage will see her sparks leaving his dungeon one way or another. An issue to consider is what chances the two of you would have against this super mage. Letting her live runs a huge risk of her attacking and/or leaving, but if you can get her to help take down this Marfolsa that would be quite the net profit. If you do end up bringing her out of the prison, you might do so by lending her the ring (some risk of her running off, but you could probably track her down), having her walk through the wall of the jail, and then shadowstepping outside. Or you could just kill the guards.

>>300544
That could work, yes. Allow me to list out the possible courses of action so far.

1) We kill her and take her sparks. We might attract the notice of our mage friend running this place. Eventually, we will anyway.

2) We kill the guards and drag the elf out as she is. She might help us. Marfolsa will almost certainly notice this, and we'll be on the run.

3) We come up with some plan to get her out without bloodshed, and assume she'll follow the plan. We then get caught, I kill all the guards anyway, and I'll kill the elf simply because she got us caught, and that annoyed me.

My contribution. I think I like the idea of having another... what's the word you used... patsy, yes that was it. I like the idea of having another patsy around, especially one that could, quite possibly, do exactly what we're trying to train that kid to do, only she could do it right now.

As for our chances. We'd still lose against him most likely, but give me a few days of the above action(this elf giving me sparks, assuming she'll do that for us) and I could take him without any real problems.

I'd also like to point out, perhaps because you all missed or I didn't point it out clearly enough... I'm a body-user. I specialize in all things physical. Mostly beating things to death with my fists, but still.

>>300546
If you want her, let's take her. Option two is go. Wait until the guards are out of one anothers' field of view, then shadow step right up in front of one and sword him to death before he has a chance to react. Repeat on the other, and on any other guards you see inside- leave none alive to quickly discover this and sound the alarm. Also kill any other prisoners who might have seen you, retrieve keys to the cell, and get the elf out. The guards outside should be taken out and their bodies put inside, then the building locked from the inside if possible- we want to have as much time as we can before anyone discovers that something has gone horribly wrong.

And try to avoid getting much blood on you. As has been previously observed, blood is conspicuous.

Once you're out, keep the elf to the alleys and otherwise largely out of sight- she'll be damned conspicuous in a human town. Hopefully she'll be coherent sooner rather than later; I don't know how easily we'll be able to get her into the inn, or if that's even wise to attempt.

>>300546
Feed off of her sparks willingly? That is what you have the boy for. Flatter yourself an entrance into homosexual fairy land? Too tedious, and I am sure the option will present itself later. Any choice that does not involve killing her now and stealing her sparks seems like a waste of time. Do try and be silent, however. Unwanted attention is still worth avoiding. Especially from the law.

>>300554
Tongues can't feed my anything. If what I smell on him is anything to go by, he barely has enough sparks to hurl a fireball, much less hand some off to me. It would take years feeding off of him at this level to actually do anything worthwhile. Besides, multiple feeding sources means that once can die and I'll still be fed, yes? Plus its an easy way to get into the elvish forest when I need to.

As for homosexual fairy land, I have no idea why you assume I'm remotely attracted to mortals, male or otherwise. That would be fruitless and gets me nothing. I've tried having children before, for the novelty of it, and I'm about as infertile as a rock. That and lasting relationships are impossible do to the mortal tendency to die of old age. And disease. And hitting them too hard. And various other easily identifiable ways to kill them. I'd be better off finding another immortal being if I wanted that, except that I killed all the ones remotely in my age group except for two, who are married to each other, last I checked.

Besides, unwanted attention will still be drawn anyway. It's just a matter if whether or not I want to go out with a bang or a whisper. I prefer the bang. It's what you people have praised me for last time I slaughtered random mooks.

First things first, however. I feel it necessary to introduce the little elven girl into the joys of detoxification, the hard way. I jab my forefinger into her stomach, then shift my magic into her, and shape it into my least used body spell.
Spell Discovered!
Purge: Purges the targets body of all harmful substances. The process, however, is very unpleasant. Costs 2 sparks.
Spark Count: 20

The elf starts awake, eyes wide for a moment. A look of confusion crosses her face as she spots me, than quite suddenly she's doubling over and hurling the contents of her stomach all over the floor. That'll take a few minutes to finish, so while she's doing that, let's just...

"Hey, elf, you all right? Hold on, I'm coming in." I hear the jingle of keys, and activate the ethereal ring just as the smarter guard opens the gate and steps inside. The combination of me being see through and the darkness of the cell manage to keep me out of sight. Not that the guard is looking for me anyway. "Hey, um, you all ri- hurk!" And now the guard is dead. Ooo! He has armor! Shall we steal that on our way out?

"Bill? Oy! Bill, you thar?"

I hear the other guard start coming back down the corridor. Well, have to see about grabbing the armor later. For now, I slip back into the 3 cell I'd passed through, it's occupants next broken thanks to my efforts, and I arrive just in time to see the guard pass by. A step later I'm behind the guard, following him step for step.

"Bill! Quit messin round! Bill!"

"Bill indisposed at the moment. Don't worry though, you'll be joining him soon." The guard spins to face me, already reaching for his blade, but he never makes it as I slam my hand into his throat. He drops to his knees, eyes watering as he chokes, while I go retrieve his friends sword(elf girl still retching all over the floor). I start humming again, a happy little tune as I swing the longsword in my hands in slow circles. The man is still on his knees when I return to him, and I pause before I kill him.

"Let me ask you a question. Can human heads really continue seeing a few seconds after their heads are lopped off? I'd like your help in answering this puzzle. If you can, blink after I kill you, if you would be so inclined." The man's eyes widen, then I send his head rolling to the floor. Sadly, nothing happens after that. Too bad.

I then go about enacting the shadow-step/stab to death plan, clearing the facility pretty quickly. It's wasn't too big, and the guards were half asleep anyways. I drag all the bodies in front of the elf's cell, pleased with my handiwork.

"Your a fucking bastard." That melodic voice again. Gods above, I hope she doesn't like to sing. Elves voices are way to high pitched for my tastes. Well, at least she isn't going on about her hair. I turn, and can only say that far from being anything remotely beautiful, the elf looks like... shit. There's really no polite way to put it. The smell of puke and grime don't help her image much either.

"Why do you say that?"

"You killed those people." Oh, she's one of those self-righteous ones. Well, I guess that means I am killing her. "I wanted to kill the fuckers." Never mind. "Now who the hell are you and why shouldn't I shatter your mind and leave you crying on the floor?"

"Oh... um..."

Little help, voices. I didn't think this far ahead.