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Author Topic: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-36 Decisions, Decisions  (Read 656722 times)

NoahTophatz

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1395 on: December 18, 2012, 06:57:39 am »

It is doubtful that it will do any more to the children then it already has...
Unless it was saving them for later
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joemoben

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1396 on: December 19, 2012, 10:10:48 am »

Make sure to notify Omo that there is something big, bad, and coming at us real fast. Start moving as fast as we can without dropping the kid as well. I would suggest against attempting to command it as it is apparently rather large and fast, and thus may be either under a necromancers direct control, or it may be simply a very complicated, or strong monster that we might not be able to directly control. If we get the chance we can impair it, but that's only if it catches up to us. Kids safety first though.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1398 on: December 20, 2012, 12:29:24 pm »

We won't have much energy to waste. Tell Omo to Run - keep it short and quick. And then MOVE. If it looks like it is going to catch up, steal vitality - we'll probably have to wait until it gets closer to succeed anyway. But be ready to do so. Although I honestly have my doubts as to whether or not that will work in this case - this forest obviously does strange things to necromantic energy. It's quite possible that there may be bad, bad results from using that sort of spell here.
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Felius

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1399 on: December 20, 2012, 01:21:00 pm »

We won't have much energy to waste. Tell Omo to Run - keep it short and quick. And then MOVE. If it looks like it is going to catch up, steal vitality - we'll probably have to wait until it gets closer to succeed anyway. But be ready to do so. Although I honestly have my doubts as to whether or not that will work in this case - this forest obviously does strange things to necromantic energy. It's quite possible that there may be bad, bad results from using that sort of spell here.

Don't know, it looked more like a ward in the forest borders. But yeah, agreed on tell Omo short and quick, keep moving and if it gets too close, steal vitality on it. It's probably safer than trying to fight it normally.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1400 on: December 20, 2012, 01:36:34 pm »

In other news, if we get out of this alive, I strongly suggest we actually rely on the goodwill of the thankful village and actually stay here a while. A big part of accomplishing our ultimate goal is learning things that will be used to us, and since this forest is ACTUALLY haunted, and clearly by something the other Necromancers don't seem to hold much truck with, its secrets may be incredibly useful to our ultimate goal of restoring our land... or at least of opposing the other necromancers.

Being able to duplicate the shielding wards and avoiding detection from the other necromancers for us and our creations?

We really can't ask for a better tool than that.
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Felius

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1401 on: December 20, 2012, 01:53:37 pm »

In other news, if we get out of this alive, I strongly suggest we actually rely on the goodwill of the thankful village and actually stay here a while. A big part of accomplishing our ultimate goal is learning things that will be used to us, and since this forest is ACTUALLY haunted, and clearly by something the other Necromancers don't seem to hold much truck with, its secrets may be incredibly useful to our ultimate goal of restoring our land... or at least of opposing the other necromancers.

Being able to duplicate the shielding wards and avoiding detection from the other necromancers for us and our creations?

We really can't ask for a better tool than that.

Aye. Staying for a while should be nice, and ingratiating ourselves to the villagers is a very good idea. It's one thing to believe that weird hermit living in a cave and meeting no one is a necromancer. It is another to believe that that cute and friendly elven girl is one, even if she has some weird powers. Those are probably weird elven magic anyway.

Or if we help them enough, save them enough times, it might even be possible to reveal ourselves to them and have them not form a mob. Don't count on it though, it's only realistically possible in villages where necromancy is but a remote story, not one plagued by zombies.
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"Why? We're the Good Guys, aren't we?"
"Yes, but that rather hinges on doing certain things and not doing others." - Paraphrased from Discworld.

GlyphGryph

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1402 on: December 20, 2012, 03:54:21 pm »

We could recast and relabel ourselves. There are different sort of life mages, right?

If we come out, don't come out as a Necromancer, come out as an AntiNecromancer or something. Some sort of special... Elven.. plot... well, we pull power from the same source, but put it towards different ends, basically. Our magic is developed specifically to fight necromancers!

Something like that... it could use some work, admittedly. Might not work against decently educated folk, but those are the ones we might be able to convince we can help. It's the commoners it would work against, and those are the ones who would be most hard pressed to accept us.

Still, that's all a bit early - for now we are merely a scholar mage and warrior of no particular allegiance.
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LordBucket

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1403 on: December 20, 2012, 04:41:15 pm »

We could recast and relabel ourselves. There are different sort of life mages, right?

If we come out, don't come out as a Necromancer, come out as an AntiNecromancer or something. Some sort of special... Elven

We can probably get away with simply claiming to do "elf magic." Odds are good the vast majority of humans won't know the difference, and even other magic users won't have seen necromantic magic up close enough to really be able to tell the difference.

Observers are more likely to pay attention what is done than any esoteric form of "I do magic X." If the priest uses divine magic to keep zombies out, or we use necromancy to order them away...the result is pretty similar. If a fire mage blows up a zombie or we unweave its magic and cause it to fall apart, who's going to argue the difference?

Our exact spellschool is unlikely to be an issue unless we make an issue of it.





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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1404 on: December 20, 2012, 04:49:42 pm »

^This is good thinking, assuming it holds up in-universe.  (I assume it does.)
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monk12

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-11
« Reply #1405 on: December 20, 2012, 08:50:22 pm »

Just keep running for the forest's edge.  If it looks like it'll overtake us before we get there, steal vitality.  Maybe heal a kid with it after, if the vitality seems okay.
The children are the first priority, get to safety outside of the forest first before trying to confront the thing, if necessary give the girl to Omo and delay the thing (if we can't get rid of it) until he can help. 

Either way, confirm that it's hostile and cast Steal Vitality on the thing and then Impair Undead if it isn't finished off for some reason.
We won't have much energy to waste. Tell Omo to Run - keep it short and quick. And then MOVE. If it looks like it is going to catch up, steal vitality - we'll probably have to wait until it gets closer to succeed anyway. But be ready to do so. Although I honestly have my doubts as to whether or not that will work in this case - this forest obviously does strange things to necromantic energy. It's quite possible that there may be bad, bad results from using that sort of spell here.

You start running toward the edge of the forest, shouting at Omo. "Move it! There's something behind us!"
"Where? I don't see anything."
"I can see it, now RUN!"

Although clearly somewhat confused by what's happening, Omo wastes no time in running after you, quickly overtaking you with his long stride. As you duck between the trees and jump over shadowy roots, you glance over your shoulder, trying to get a better idea of what exactly you're fleeing from. Unlike the zombies, your pursuer sheds no light on its surroundings- you catch glimpses of purple only because of your Necromantic Sight. It doesn't seem to be very large, whatever it is- about as big as a dog, rumbling easily along the forest floor.

... A long, rotted log suddenly looms in the darkness, but you easily climb over while Omo hurdles it without even breaking stride. As you rush through the trees, you see that your pursuer has a much more difficult time of it, taking the long way around the obstacle.

A few strides later, you burst out into the open grass, putting a safe distance between yourselves and the forest. You anxiously eye the treeline, looking for sign of your pursuer- as before, however, your Necromantic sight does not seem to extend into the forest, and the darkness beneath the trees is too thick to see very far. Tensely, you and Omo watch the forest for several long moments, but nothing emerges into the moonlight. The only sound is the wind rustling the grass around you.

Carry the kids outside of this strange magic zone we're in. And do it fast. It's possible whatever rendered them unconscious could affect us too if we stay here too long.

Once out of the zone, siphon a point of vitality from both Omo and ourselves and feed it to the kids. Then get them back to the village.
Dang it, I  forgot about this!  And I missed five updates!

Anyways, Omo can cast the minor stuff like detect magic, right?  If so, we should have him cast that and sense vitality.  Our mana is far more important than his.  If anything is wrong with the kids, we should steal vitality from ourself and try to heal the kids a bit.  Ourself because altruism is important if we're trying to be the "good" necromancer.

I wonder if we can turn living people into golems.

Omo sighs. "I think we're safe, Nym. Whatever stopped the zombies must have stopped whatever was chasing us, unless it's invisible. You did see it, right?"
"Well, only with my Necromantic Sight, but I don't see it now. How are the kids?"
Omo carefully examines his charge, frowning. "The boy is unchanged- I had really hoped that getting out of the forest would snap him out of his coma." He groans softly when he leans over to check the girl in your arms. "She's slipping, Nym- down to one Vitality. She might make it back to village, but..."
"But I'll feel better if she isn't on death's door the entire trip back. Let me try something."

Crouching down, you lay the girl out on the ground, her eyes flashing in reflected moonlight. You quickly rule out stealing Vitality from a tree in the forest- quite apart from potential monsters lurking there, you aren't sure how far you can carry Vitality, or what effect the odd barrier around the forest might have on the spell. You briefly consider trying to harvest Vitality from the grass around you, but decide that there's one source of Vitality you should test first, a source that is always nearby, a source that hurts nobody else. Yourself, of course.

Taking a quick breath, you cast the spell before you really think about how much this experiment will hurt. The good news is that the spell resolves, and you begin Stealing Vitality out of yourself- slowly, attempting to draw only what is needed. To your surprise, in the time it takes you to extract a little ball of One Vitality you find you've only spent One Mana!

The bad news is that it does hurt, about as much as your Undead Oak mishap. You shudder as you let out your breath. You feel like you did a bellyflop in the Great River back home, with the stinging spread all across your body. Tired muscles complain of new aches as a fresh layer of fatigue settles in. It's not the worst you've ever been injured (that time you broke an arm falling out of a tree as a child comes to mind,) but it's certainly not a terribly pleasant experience.

Taking another breath, you set aside your discomfort and focus on directing the floating glowing blob of Vitality. Carefully, you touch it to the girl, and it soaks into her body like water into a sponge. You glance up at Omo as he leans over the girl.

"Two Vitality." Omo nods, sighing. "Whatever you did worked, Nym."
"Good. I gave her some of my own Vitality. It sucked, but if she makes it then it was worth it."
"Huh." Omo's mouth twists distastefully, then he shrugs. "Well, no point in waiting around here. Let's go back to the village."

Omo leads the way back to the west, and soon you hit the road a little south of the farm. The walk back is long and tiring, but uneventful- if there are any zombies wandering in the night, you don't encounter them. Judging by the height of the moon, it's nearly midnight by the time the lights in the village of Bedscaled wink in the distance.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure lurches out of the darkness. "Oy! Who are you, coming from the East in the night!?!"
"Do you think we're zombies, carrying torches around?" Omo scoffs at the pitchfork-wielding villager. "We found those kids who were missing. Rismal and Nelti. They aren't well- go get the priest!"

The villager starts, peering closer at your burden, then wordlessly turns around and runs to the village. He isn't wordless for long- as you trudge after him, you hear him calling out to other villagers. Soon, you are met by villagers armed with farming implements and old, rusty weapons, watchmen who had been guarding against another zombie attack. The clamor they raise is a peculiar blend of happiness to see the children alive, and worry over their catatonic state. The few houses with candles still lit disgorge sleepy men and women who had stayed up late to listen for news, or perhaps because they were unable to sleep in the first place. All in all, it's a small crowd that accompanies you to the Temple.

As you approach the stairs to the Temple, the wooden double doors crash open, disgorging Eko Cleanvise. Moving surprisingly quickly for such a large man, the priest hurries over to you and Omo, examining the children tensely. He sighs, seeming to deflate as he takes in their appearance. "You found them in Aloclesno, didn't you?"
You blink in surprise. "Yes. It seems they fled there to escape the zombies. How did you know? Have you seen... this, before?" You say, indicating the sightless children.
Eko runs a hand through his thinning hair. "No, nobody has been foolish enough to venture into the forest in years. In my lifetime, none who have have ever returned. The histories are clear about what happens to those who trespass there, though. Bring them inside, I will do what I can."
"Will they be alright, Eko?" A voice in the crowd calls out, followed by a worried murmur.
"I said I'd do what I can!" Eko says, raising his voice. "Go back to your homes! Go back to the watch- a fine thing if the zombies came while you were all gossiping on my steps!"

The crowd disperses quietly as you follow Eko inside the Temple. The Temple of Atal is not so large as the Temple in Larathor, nor is it decorated as lavishly, but it follows the same general format. The main doors lead to an atrium that resembles a broad hallway more than the open space you knew from Larathor, but it is similarly decorated with simple patterns and religious depictions. Eko leads the way into the inner chamber, a broad, perfectly square room filled with wooden benches surrounding an open square in the middle. The benches have been shoved aside to make room for a half dozen cots on the other side of the room- one of them is occupied by a snoring man whose body is obscured by the heavy blanket covering him. The opposite wall has another set of doors in it, identical to the ones you entered through.

Omo follows Eko over to one of the empty cots, laying the small boy down. Relieved of his burden, Omo stretches and sighs, resting himself on another cot.

"Thank you for rescuing the children, though I do not know if they will recover. I'll get you some food and blankets as soon as I see to the children- you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like."
"That sounds good." Omo says, knuckling his back. "I'm starved, and I just might sleep until noon if I get the chance. I hope you're not planning to wake me up at the crack of dawn again, Nym. Nym?"

Omo looks curiously to where you've stopped, still holding the girl just inside the outer door. Your thoughts whirl as you stare at the floor- the simple wooden planks are uninteresting, but somewhere below them is a source of Necromantic Energy. Three Vitality strong, maybe a dozen feet away, and you only became aware of it just as you crossed the threshold of the Temple.

Spoiler: You (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Spells (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Omo Thunderjaw (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Notable Figures (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Planned Experiments (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Maps (click to show/hide)

Angle

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-12
« Reply #1406 on: December 20, 2012, 09:11:18 pm »

The plot thickens! Well, now this is interesting. Watch and wait, watch everything, the priest, the temple, the necromantic source, see what he does with the girl, and when possible, bring Omo in on this little secret. When you're outside the temple, of course.
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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-12
« Reply #1407 on: December 20, 2012, 09:18:09 pm »

The plot thickens! Well, now this is interesting. Watch and wait, watch everything, the priest, the temple, the necromantic source, see what he does with the girl, and when possible, bring Omo in on this little secret. When you're outside the temple, of course.

+1

We need to investigate, but not obviously.
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
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gman8181

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-12
« Reply #1408 on: December 20, 2012, 09:25:22 pm »

Just saw this for the first time.  Great story, not done reading through it though.
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Phantom of The Library

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Re: You are a Necromancer! Chapter 2-12
« Reply #1409 on: December 20, 2012, 09:44:44 pm »

The plot thickens! Well, now this is interesting. Watch and wait, watch everything, the priest, the temple, the necromantic source, see what he does with the girl, and when possible, bring Omo in on this little secret. When you're outside the temple, of course.

+1
+1 again.
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