Turn 138
"Well. I didn't know you were that good at digging... perhaps we'll be able to put that skill to good use, yes?"
Old King Coal twitched slightly, then frowned.
"... accurse it, Blake. Bloody incompetent allies... okay Beast... we've got a demon summoner ally of mine to rescue. As much as I hate that word, it's the only one that works right now."
Old King Coal and Beast head to south of the magic castle, north of the southernmost lake. Old King Coal will make 2 bone essences in the process.
SPD [(4-1)/2+1=2.5]
SPD [(5-1)/2+1=3]
CMP [5+1=6]
POT [1+1=2]
CMP [5]
POT [3]
Old King Coal moved off southwards, passing the Tower and reaching the edge of area still frozen by the long dead dragon. Old king never saw the beast, and just took the frozen grassland as just one more curiosity of the battlefield. Old King saw Seva flying high above, which meant that Blake should be somewhere here too. Had he missed him?
Reach my magic into the earth and try to sense if there is a path that can be successfully dug to the meteorite.
Bob reached downwards with his magic, seeking through layers of dirt to see if there was any alternative method of getting the meteor. But the ground was rather fresh compared to what Bob usually worked with, it had barely spent centuries here, compared to millions of years that stone had. Blood of the worm in the lake however, was old enough. It rushed into the ground beneath Bob, and as he released the spell after finding nothing, he found himself waist deep in crimson mud.
((Hmm that means demon is still alive.))
continue running towards the castle I've almost reached safety.
Fly after the demon Mage,use both essences to summon a large peregrine falcon(about 50-100% larger)
To dive at him
All birds +velociraptors follow me,try to attack him
SPD [(4)/2+2=4]
CMP [4+2+1-1-1=5]
POT [1+2+1=4]
END [3]
DEX [2]
END [5-1=4]
Blake rushed towards the Tower shining so very close, and yet the burn wounds made it feel so far away. Blake knew he shouldn't look back, but he did. Seva was flying over the southern lake, and Blake smiled. He was here. He was safe. His arm pushed on the gates of the Tower. The gates were locked. Demonologist was stunned in confusion for a moment, and then began franticly pushing and pulling the gates, yet they stood still. A cry of a bird stopped Blake from pounding on the door and he turned his head just fast enough to see a massive falcon fly by, followed immediately by stripes of pain on his back, as eagle flew off, it's claws bloodied.
Shias the Druid
Mildly frustrated Shias crafts four essences and then continues searching for the other mage who is certainly around somewhere. Perhaps he has fallen into holes too?
CMP [3+1=4]
POT [1+1=2]
CMP [6]
POT [3]
CMP [5+1-2=4]
POT [5+1-2=4]
CMP [3+1-3=1]
POT [5+1-3=3]
LUCK [1]
END [3+2=5]
Shias began wandering through the thicket again. Trees were still as silent. Animals were still nowhere to be found. Same was true for the mage that was stuck somewhere here. The silence was eerie, but before Shias became truly worried, he felt now familiar sensation, as ground gave in under him and he fell. This time, the bottom was even, and there was an exit visible further on. However, what he had fallen in was more akin to a cave rather than a pit, and there were two rather large wolves in here.
Try the enchantment again.
Henry rubbed his hands for luck and sent magic into his shirt again. The spell fizzled and dissipated before reaching the cloth. Henry spared a sideways look at giant all-magic-proof portal that brought him here. It shouldn't be doing anything, but since his shirt was still unenhanced and he could have no bearing on any lack of success, that only left the giant mcguffin.
((Sorry for that. I'll try to be more clear next time. Btw, you forgot to add crafted essences.))
"Ranged attack? Perfect. Now mages would concentrate their spells on me, forfeiting their lives in the process. Hm... About that, do you hear something?"
Walk around the Tower, seeking mages to hunt. ((Triad, Jiksap, Viznor & newest arrivals excluded.))
If found: Concentrate on one mage, using demon as a sharpshooter while I close for the kill.
If not: Slowly walk south around the lake. There must be some mages on the shore! Craft four essences to prepare.
SPD [6] vs [1]
[spoiler]DEX [6+1=7]
END [2]
STR [4]
DEX [4]
SPD [(5)/2+2=4.5]
DEX [4]
Kahel thought about who to target next. Strongest mages were right out. If he began hunting newcomers, those with mild amount of power would be able to become powerful enough to challenge him. By those criteria, there was one target that was particularly suitable. Dest Eterna was sitting on a floating golden throne not too far away. Xazoliomuhr raised his hand, and an icicle shot out towards Eterna, catching him unaware and piercing through his stomach, a wound not immediately lethal, but it would kill him eventually, he'd bleed out once ice melted. Satisfied by the distraction, Kahel charged at Destra, however, electricity mage improvised his weaponry. Kahel barely managed to roll away as several ton throne whizzed by him faster than he could run. The icicle that failed to serve as distraction, still managed to cloud Destras mind somewhat. His plans were replaced by immediate need to escape.
A heap of scrap indeed! A more... undamaged machine would've been better, but as I always say (and them too!) there is no such thing as useless!
Pollute the water by emptying my tankful of liquid into it. Make a makeshift scuba gear using the tank as an air tank (and some scrap parts for the rest).
It was time for another test of what he had conjured before. Jiksap pulled out the tank full of unknown liquid, popped the cap and flipped it over the lake. Orange liquid flowed into the water, sunk beneath the bloody water and disappeared. Jiksap waited for a while, but nothing interesting happened and he turned towards his scuba project. It was not too difficult to clear the tank of liquid, but reconstructing it into an air tank proved harder. Air would need to be compressed to avoid airflow problems, which required a pump. Jiksap managed to construct an air pump from some scrap and a rubber band and some magic, and turned it on. It began whirring, and he could feel a current of air going in the makeshift tank. Then there was a loud *pop* and a large gash appeared on the side of the pump, leaking all the air that was pumped into it.
Skelliborn
So it looks like most of us are here so before we go farther I'd like to invite you to a guild I'm creating called TOAM, or The Order of Arcane Magics. The goal of the guild is to provide a deterrent to would be serial killers and other criminals. In addition it will serve to assist each other with complex spells and difficult quests. In short, a guild that works to empower the forces of good.
Back to the matter at hand, I'm going to go through the Eldritch portal and I will use Vortex bane to close it behind me. I intend to re-enter this world by the use of a dimensional blade.
"TOAM eh? You can count on my support for that. Good luck in the portal, guess this is a one man expidition after all?"
James takes the saw, the book, and three acorns. He starts reading the book while crafting 4 healing essences.
CMP [5+2=7]
POT [6+1+1=8]
CMP [5+2-1=6]
POT [5+1+1-1=6]
CMP [3]
POT [3]
CMP [1+2-3=0]
LUCK [2+1=3]
James gathered up newly conjured, definitely psychologically unrelated objects and flopped open the book. To no surprise at all, it was full of various craft recipes and advice. How to build a birdhouse. How to construct a kite. How to sew a sweater. How to carve a spoon. How to craft paper ornaments. How to decorate with salt crystals. Amusing and not very useful for someone who can just conjure things from thin air. Then again, everyone needs a hobby. James pondered the usefulness of the book as he conjured extra essences. The very last one collapsed, and once again, the power loosed moved towards the flesh fields. Large fleshy growths akin to Venus flytraps sprouted, if the flytrap in question was large enough to bite a head off and filled with bony spikes.
Well the goal of the expedition is still to close the Eldritch Portal. I just have a habit of going through strange portals. And no one is stopping you from joining me.
Anyway if you are staying on this side I'd like to ask you a favor. At some point I will likely try to get back to this world by telaporting to a blade. Assuming it works, I may end of getting stabbed. So could you keep my swiss army knife with you and enchant it with a regenerative ability.
Action:
If James excepts, give him the Swiss army knife.
Summon the Spiked Cleats of Flight
using no essences. If the result is overall an upgrade from whatever the assumed starting clothing is, wear the cleats.
Finally, go through the eldritch portal, with Vortex bane at the ready. (so I get the skill bonuses. I am going into a potentially hostile place afterall)
CMP [5+1-1-1=4]
POT [5+1=6]
Skeliborn looked at the fields of flesh before him. Somewhere in the center there was a portal that could bring him to the place where his quest goal laid. He attempted to summon a pair of shoes to help on the journey, however, the spell could not bend his magic quite that much. What appeared before Skeliborn was a set of five throwing knives, each with a meter long leather strip attached to the handle, and both knives and leather seemed to be entirely immune to effects of gravity. Skeliborn sighed and ventured forth towards the center of the flesh fields. What awaited there was a portal set in something akin to a tree, if tree had been constructed from bone, with branches of red, blood covered tentacles and leaves of quite possibly poison filled stingers. There were two options here. One was to simply dash to the portal and hope for the best. The alternative was to deal with the "tree" first and then enter the portal unmolested by it.
Make a couple of essences.
CMP [5+1=6]
POT [6+1+1=8]
CMP [3]
POT [2+1+1-1=3]
Gambler just stood at the edge of the flesh field and wondered how did this go so wrong so fast. Skeliborn was going off alone in the heart of where all this nonsense originated, to go through the portal rather than destroy it. James was just standing there, conjuring acorns and improvements to the field of leather tongues, which now included man eating plants and spears of bones. This was not the way he had imagined this going. Not one bit.
Using one +1+1 knowledge essence, enchant my clothes so that they make anyone trying to aim at me "know" I am slightly to the left or right of my actual position.
Four knowledge essences afterwards. As always, keep my luck ring and the fortress' luck field in mind should one fail.
CMP [2+1+1+1-1=4]
POT [3+1+1+1=6]
CMP [3+1+1-1=4]
POT [6+1+1-1=7]
CMP [1]
POT [1]
CMP [3+1+1-3=2]
POT [6+1+1-3=5]
CMP [6+1+1-4=4]
POT [5+1+1-4=3]
Viznor forced a conjuration of inaccuracy into his clothes, and they became light teal in color, as if all red color was suddenly washed out of them. But the spell was not perfect and it was leaking. It would hold for a bit, but would fail eventually. And that was going to happen sooner rather than later, Viznor thought with a frown.
{-1DEX to those aiming at you, 3 turns}
The Portal came to life once more and two new magicians entered the battlegrounds.
First of the pair was
Chorkinaan, nicknamed Cornucopia by some for his ability to conjure any object of his desires. Others were not quite as happy for him, which left a large scar on his right hand as a permanent reminder that power makes you important for all kinds of people.
CMP [3+1=4]
POT [4]
CMP [1]
POT [6-1=5]
CMP [5+1-2=4]
POT [2-2=0]
CMP [6+1-3=4]
POT [3-3=0]
He made a small test of conjuring a cube with no properties, which dissipated as soon as he affirmed his magic was still working well and forgot about it. Chorkinaan moved away from the portal ass to not obstruct any new arrivals and began focusing power.
The next one to enter through the portal was known as
Bernardo and bore the title of Sheriff Magician. There were numerous mages who thought that since they had power they were free from any kind of law, and Bernardo was there to show them just how wrong they were. He pulled out his official one time use space-time fracture detector and turned it on. Both scales moved to yellow. Bernardo frowned as device dissipated into nothing. Yellow meant no immediate danger, but seeing as it took him about four seconds to find out that some major law breaking was going on around here, he'd have his work cut out for him.