Tick 13: A Bit Beastly
Yeah, still don't have those income up. Lot of work still getting over the sick thing.
Nilva investigates Nothing! Several mortals tell them that the worship of "Nothing" is simply an interpretation of not worshiping anything. Others are more tight-lipped about this. Izgamlo helps.
Lovecraft seems to have written a large amount of anachronistic babbling that may or may not have anything to do with the Nothing. Some interesting samples:
“Nov. 5—My name is Daniel Morris. Around here they call me ‘Mad Dan’ because I believe in powers that nobody else believes in nowadays. When I go up on Thunder Hill to keep the Feast of the Foxes they think I am crazy—all except the back country folks that are afraid of me. They try to stop me from sacrificing the Black Goat at Hallow Eve, and always prevent my doing the Great Rite that would open the gate. They ought to know better, for they know I am a Van Kauran on my mother’s side, and anybody this side of the Hudson can tell what the Van Kaurans have handed down. We come from Nicholas Van Kauran, the wizard, who was hanged in Wijtgaart in 1587, and everybody knows he had made the bargain with the Black Man.
“The soldiers never got his Book of Eibon when they burned his house, and his grandson, William Van Kauran, brought it over when he came to Rensselaerwyck and later crossed the river to Esopus. Ask anybody in Kingston or Hurley about what the William Van Kauran line could do to people that got in their way. Also, ask them if my Uncle Hendrik didn’t manage to keep hold of the Book of Eibon when they ran him out of town and he went up the river to this place with his family.
“I am writing this—and am going to keep writing this—because I want people to know the truth after I am gone. Also, I am afraid I shall really go mad if I don’t set things down in plain black and white. Everything is going against me, and if it keeps up I shall have to use the secrets in the Book and call in certain Powers. Three months ago that sculptor Arthur Wheeler came to Mountain Top, and they sent him up to me because I am the only man in the place who knows anything except farming, hunting, and fleecing summer boarders. The fellow seemed to be interested in what I had to say, and made a deal to stop here for $13.00 a week with meals. I gave him the back room beside the kitchen for his lumps of stone and his chiselling, and arranged with Nate Williams to tend to his rock blasting and haul his big pieces with a drag and yoke of oxen.
...
“After a while he nerved himself up to go into the cave—and there he got a still bigger jolt. Only a little way in there was another stone figure—or what looked like it—but this time it was a man’s. It lay on the floor, on its side, wore clothes, and had a peculiar smile on its face. This time Henry didn’t stop to do any touching, but beat it straight for the village, Mountain Top, you know. Of course he asked questions—but they did not get him very far. He found he was on a ticklish subject, for the natives only shook their heads, crossed their fingers, and muttered something about a ‘Mad Dan’—whoever he was.
How bizarre, and no doubt plot irrelevant!
Maag Architect: Well....Thanks for the advice, I guess. The question kind of got outdated.
Interested Teeththeif: Doesn't that describe most life on the fragments?
Frightened Teeththief: He seems to have been attacked by some form of spirit while in the Dreams of another, which had driven him out.
Infatuated Shadow Kabold: Flowers? Shiny things? Well, I can't change who I am by joining those freaks, but I will try with the rest. Thank you so much!
The New Kingdom indeed seems to be spreading into the edge of the unnamed Maag desert, taking over several several small settlements near the edge that have not yet been able to alert the Maag as a whole.
Lithus/Luthus appears before the New Kingdom's King! He seems to be a strong young Human who wants to further build his kingdom. No divine meddling can be found in anything near the kingdom, though a small amount of Mortal activity is obviose.
Worried Maag: If the Gods fight, does it matter how far we are? I would not trust something like distance in such a battle!
Worried dwarf: I will be sure to do that! Hiding time!
Beta Ant: I can wait. We will focus on magic, as we had decided with your assistance, in the meantime.
Maag Architect: His works seem to be primarily large public buildings, utilizing stone from the mountain. Most are impressive and ornate, with vaulted ceilings and in-built anti-air conditioning to make them as hot as possible. The most popular seem to be a large Drink Hall, a local Forum for the leadership to meet in, and several temples to numerous Gods.
The Transmutation seems to have failed! The metals returned to stone, releasing a significant amount of radiation into the surrounding area as they do so. Fortunately, no Mortal seems to have been harmed by this.
The Aag begin to, once again, prepare for war! Many volunteers begin training for combat as the nation puts its research efforts into warfare. The largest supplier of high-tech weapons before, the Dwarves, are still recreating their own armory. However, the Aag nation seems to manage to purchase several weapons that appear to have been taken from the Dwarves, though at a large price, in various black markets. Huan the Clothier does his part, and is currently going over ideas for military uniforms and banners to help group cohesion.
A new caste of space Dwarves is created! Many of of the Dwarves lacking the willpower for the intense regime offered to them join this caste, helping the Clan as a whole by doing the necessary jobs such as farming and brewery.
Writhe: Huh. That explains a little big I guess.
Maag: Ah.....I am now confused. What does this mean?
The Space Dwarf is taught how to make paper, and take measurements. He does little to these immediately, preferring to meditate on them during his long required activities.
Hemp fields are planted around the village! Somehow, many of the FC Dwarves find out that for some odd reason, this material has hallucinogenic properties that where unintended by the God who planted them there! Its starts to be used recreationaly among the Free Caste Dwarves, as its main use.
Maag Obelisk Watcher: He has pleasant and insightful dreams for the first five days, and is thankful for the gift. The next five days he is assaulted by numerous and constant nightmares. As he awakes, he begins to meditate on the meaning of this.
Nightmaring Ant: The Wolves themselves seem to be causing the nightmare, and they flee as you appear. At that point, it is Trivial to give him pleasant nightmares for the rest of the dream.
Iliseth, apparently unconcerned with the multiple conquests of the race she created, attempts to raise a mountain using the mysterious Art! Nothing obviose happens, and the attempt seems to fail. The Dwarves' bodies seem to have long ago vanished.
The Tower continues to jut upwards, now surrounded by a virtual city dedicated to growing it more and more. The materials near the base glow slightly, being blessed to hold the massive weight above them. More work is being done on the inside now, with plans being made to move the city into the tower completely. (Izgamlo, -1P, -1E)
Izgamlo continues to teach more random mortals a variety of magics. Nine seem to be ecstatic with a lesson from the God of Magic himself, with the tenth being slightly dissapointed and only interested in the "True Magic".
The earth wolves have their curse lessened momentarily! They seem to take the orders to "teach them a lesson" differently. Several go into the Nations and Towns of Mortals directly, explaining the powers of their Kin and how they can help lower their pain. Others take it to mean assaulting the Mortals until they stop, and begin forming a coherent Pack with the intent of invading Mortal settlements. They seek out the Immortal Wolf, hoping he would lead them in this. (Skolld -1E)
Skolld then offers to transform many of the Earth Wolves into Jaguars. The majority agree to this change, happily taking their new forms. A few, mostly those living in naturally colder climates, reject the change to keep their long fur. (Skolld -2E)
Next, Skolld begins wandering the lands as the possessed Wolf. The Mortals seem to see him as an elemental Wolf due to his strange nature. Some Mortals seem to fear him, either running at the sight or trying pathetically to attack him. Others are reverent and respectful, leaving out a plate full of raw meats for him to eat. He runs into a bizarre group of Nomads that seems to really like the wolves, who take turns petting him before moving along.
Illyria reports that the CR Dwarves have indeed attempted to use livestock. The have also experimented with using plant life, enemy combatants, captured enemies, and sharing the burden between groups. None are particularly successful, and this is only the beginning of the list of their attempts. She reports that it seems almost impossible for the average Portabanii to borrow energy from an unwilling being, the limited success they have was when the Portabani had raised the livestock themselves. Never the less, they follow your orders and begin raising livestock as demanded.
The CRDs are then given a new Doctrine called Military Professionalism. They seem to know many of the basics, but are grateful for the knew knowledge. They continue to use this ability to expand their Kingdom further.
All clans of Dwarves seem to be well antiquated with Masonry. The CRDs do as ordered, creating more fortifications around particularly vulnerable or valuable areas.
Illyria begins inventing new weaponry for the Clan, taking some of her more interesting designs in the past and what the normal Dwarves have already created. But first, she starts observing the Clan, noting its society and physiology to see what designs will work best with them.
The CRD forces seem to use several designs based off of other race's equipment, made to make use of their limited metal supply. The main infantry weapon seems to be a long spear, based off the hunting Weapons of the Human Tribes they absorbed. This only takes a small amount of metal to create, while allowing for easy formations and avoiding close combat where the Dwarves would be at a reach disadvantage. They have some artillery in the form of simple catapults and trebuchets, but generally only use them to attack fortified positions. The main ranged weapon seems to be bows, which are favored by the Portabanii in particular. They are used for many of the same reasons that the spears are.
The Ritual Stone Squad reports what it knows. It seems they picked up scatterings of different techniques, technology, and other knowledge from all over the Fragments. Many of the details are still vague and will require research, but they feel confident in their ability to copy anything mortal since they went on this mission.
The Adventurers are sent on a Holy mission! Several prominent Revolutionaries seem to have partaken of the fountain as well, and warn the others of this event. Many Adventurers leave the Dungeons or world in hopes of taking this reward, though so far none are particularly successful.
Lorash considers creating 1g of antimatter to destroy the beast! He may or may not realize how expensive it is to create a 43 kiloton explosion, 3 Hiroshima equivalents, and just how far that would go. He may or may not want to price check this city destroying blast before considering something so drastic.
Patronius saves the endangered leaders by teleporting them away from the angry beast! The Beast itself seems dissapointed, though the leaders feel a mixture of gratitude and confusion (those that can feel, at least.) (Patronius -3P)
The Human Leader is dubbed Frederick, and is granted the Ring of Protection! He continues to lead conquests of the Great Tribe, now leaving only a few scattered Human settlements not under his control. He seems to want to expand into other races, though seems to prefer doing it more peacefully to avoid all out warfare. (Patronius-2P)
Patronius creates the High Church! The Ringbearers all agree to join, fearing that if they don't they will loose their precious rings. They don't, however, agree to go to a single location together. They seem to be paranoid about the other Ringbearers attempting to steal their rings away, as many Mortals have before. He dedicates 2P a tick to blessings of this Church, which seems to immediately help it spread.
Most Ringbearers seem to take other actions above spreading your faith, with the exception of Frederick who is much more serious about worshiping you.
Patronius prayers:
Human Tribal Leader: Ah, there is no way I can face the Great Tribe, but I don't want to give up my position of Leadership! What should I do?
Maag Trader: My Countries' economy is totally stupid! Patronius, what is the best way of getting more Things then everyone else in my nation without having to share?
Dreamborn Engineer: That Dwarf Sankis thinks he is the world's greatest engineer, eh? I will challenge him to an engineer off! Winner gets the Ring!
Luthus summons a Plasma Rifle, appearing before the Beast! He swiftly aims and pulls the trigger, hitting it in the side with an explosion like an extremely small spherical sun. A quarter of the beast is removed! It begins regenerating the damage! In addition, while Luthus attempts to leave to give the rifle away assuming his mission is done, the Beasts attempts to steal the rifle! (Lithus/Luthus -3E)
Lorash prayers:
CRD: My Husband was a Portabanii who forgot I even existed...can you try to revive some of his memories!?
Ant Mage: Is it a sin to use memories for Portal Magic?
Saag Miner: If you are the God of Metals, why have you not spread metals to the races yet!?
Verruckt takes a look at the monsters and adventurers, presumably before they are teleported away. The Beast seems to have been created in the dungeon, recently at that. He can easily tell that the adventurers stand no chance, the Beast seems to be Angel or even Archangel quality in terms of raw strength. Alone, it would be able to kill all adventurers on the floor without trouble.
Verruckt teleports the Beast to somewhere where it would be much more fair to fight, far, far into the Dungeon. It seems to have kept the Plasma Rifle despite scarily managing to touch it, with the artifact teleporting with it! No doubt this weapon will only make it more powerful. (Verruckt -2P)
((Ah. So much happening at once with the Beast thing I wasn't sure how to handle everything
.))
The Aag are told that the cultural exchange thing will be approved or disapprove later, which they inform the CRDs. They accept this outcome, hoping to never have to go to war, not knowing that it is apparently already declared...
Lithus/Luthus creates a mortal body to inhabit and experiment with! Unfortunately, before he can get past the lobby, the Beast, Crown bearers, and Ant King are teleported back to the places they where before all the teleporting happened! There is no sign of the Plasma Rifle. (Lithus/Luthus -0E)
Lauxal bans his worshipers from talking with Nilva! They seem to listen to this, thus are unable to hear the counters from Nilva.
The counter-war seems to be nothing useful.
((AAAAH THEY DON'T STOP! THEY NEVER STOP!))
Frederick, the Human Leader, seems to be a passionate follower of Patronius and Patronius alone. He is incredibly grateful for all the gifts Patronius has given him, including the Nation he rules, Immortality, and a powerful Artifact. In contrast, he feels Iliseth has given him nothing.
Iliseth prayers:
Human Revolutionary: Why have you let these off-brand Dwarves conquer my hometown? Are we not better then this!?
Human Toaster: Where would we be without this wonderful Great Tribe? Praise Iliseth for giving it to us!
Human Tribe Member: AAAAAH! MY CITY IS FLYING INTO THE AIR OH ILISETH WHAT IS GOING ON!!!!
Space Clan Dwarf: Do all these rituals help me with the Art, and if so, can I use it to teleport?
Musling Minstrel: Is it true that Music is good for your soul?
The Gods all seem to be in the location of the Gods, except the ones who are not. Such as Utther, who was sealed into a mortal.
Lauxal Prayers:
Shadow Kabolds: All these new adventurers seem harder to scare in nightmares! How can I still effect them?
Teeththief: Should Cursed Wolf-teeth be worth more then human teeth? Should we value them by size, or how much the being needed them?
Human Totem Magic Practitioner: So many of my Friends cause nightmares! It is fun when there is only one or two, but if I want to talk to several of my Friends at once not even I can take it! How can I resist nightmares longer?
Iliseth:7/11/10
Mavnon:10/10/5
Ra Ha Sahaka:10/10/10
Aurosseu:3/10/9
Teburshe:9/10/4
Izgamlo:4/11/4
Uztot:7/10/10 (OVERFLOW)
Alicia:3/7/10
Gai-gen:9/10/10
Moi'aaty:10/10/10
Lithus/Luthus:9/7/7
Lauxal:9/10/10
Lorash:8/10/6
Nilva:3/10/10
Liram:10/10/10
Patronius:10/5/8 (High Church Blessings)
'Sevron: 8/10/4
Skolld:5/10/9
Stellarion:10/10/9
Utther:?/?/? (Mortal Sealed)
Char:10/10/10
Verruckt:6/10/9
Author
Topic: Litany of the Void: A God Game (24/⊕∵↯):IC Tick ?:Who art thou? (Read 183049 times)