Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Baltika9]

Which one of them is the fastest and safest method?

 

[Fangshi]

Which one of them is the fastest and safest method?

You don't know.

To do a proper comparison you would need absolute mastery of both fey healing disciplines as well as traditional healing magic.

Once you achieve that, I could give you Derry's professional opinion.

At the moment you have a decent grasp of Greater Heal but you do not know how far you could push the principles behind it, you may be able to further improve and refine it or branch out into other healing effects if you can find the right resources. You may want to make a list of all the spell books you have collected so far, some of them may be helpful when it comes to learning more about general human healing magic.

As for the two methods used by Finn's people, well, just pick one of them and you will find out.

 

[Baltika9]

How long, on average, does it take a student to reach a level where he can regenerate lost limbs?

 

[Fangshi]

Finn does not know... Not helpful I know.

The honest answer is that your average student never learns how to regenerate limbs. They learn how to cure disease, they learn how to tend to wounds, heal them and the like but regenerating an entire limb is serious magic and only the masters of the art are going to be able to do that.

Hell, the only reason you can do it with traditional magic is because you took the knowledge from Nine and then worked it out from there, and she is probably the third, fourth or fifth most powerful being in the world...

If Finn had to guess, and he insists this is just an estimate. If you really committed to learning the magic, you could probably do it within a decade.

 

[Absinthe]

Fangshi, would you be willing to make such a list of our spellbooks? For instance what is in the spellbooks that we have recently obtained?

Also, can we start negotiating with Cropper for the secrets of shapeshifting right now?

And did the fey curse the Watcher's generals? It seems like a good idea.

 

[Fangshi]

Fangshi, would you be willing to make such a list? For instance what is in the spellbooks that we have recently obtained?

I suppose,. It should not be too difficult.

I would just need to grab all the spellbooks off the character sheet and compare them to the list I have around here somewhere.

Derryth is not sure what is in all of them though. Most spellbooks do not include any sort of index and it can be very dangerous to simply flip through them (some mages like to put explosive pages in their books or spell wards that drive the reader mad, just basic security precautions in addition to sealing and warding the cover or locking it up with an enchanted lock).

It may take me while to get it typed up but I will see what I can do.

Also, can we start negotiating with Cropper for the secrets of shapeshifting right now?

Sure, whenever you want. As long as a majority wishes to try I can not think of a reason why you can't.

 

[Absinthe]

Derryth is not sure what is in all of them though. Most spellbooks do not include any sort of index

Would the Sort spell do anything? I notice you have it categorized as Mental under Derryth but Movement under Spells.

and it can be very dangerous to simply flip through them (some mages like to put explosive pages in their books or spell wards that drive the reader mad, just basic security precautions in addition to sealing and warding the cover or locking it up with an enchanted lock).

Right but Derryth appears to be somewhat of an expert on safely navigating and lifting the myriad protections of paranoid mages.

Sure, whenever you want. As long as a majority wishes to try I can not think of a reason why you can't.

As you wish. In that case, I vote for negotiation. I'd rather like to learn shapeshifting.

 

[Fangshi]

Would the Sort spell do anything? I notice you have it categorized as Mental under Derryth but Movement under Spells.

Edit, forgot to answer the first (and more important) question:

No, Sort would not be of much use. It separates out objects based on their physical characteristics and moves them into piles. It would not be able to pull the spellbooks apart to separate out the spells and the books themselves are often warded against such minor spells.

It should be under movement since that is what it deals with primarily, the character sheet is wrong. I will fix that.

Right but Derryth appears to be somewhat of an expert on safely navigating and lifting the myriad protections of paranoid mages.

Yes, she is. At least for most of the books, something like Gullveig's tome might be a bit more dangerous as it is in a language Derry does not know.

Generally it is more a question of time than skill in her case. She needs a few weeks to a few months of quiet to sort through the tomes, disarm them, decipher them, and read them. Then she will know exactly what she has.

Until then she has to settle for snatching up any quick scraps she can get so she has largely ignored the spellbooks.



Anyway, here is what you know about your spellbooks so far:

Compendium of the Dreaming - This is your gift from Taide. The spells it contains are of two kinds. The first are her spells that you don't know, things like Enthralling Laughter or Delightful Conversationalist. They would help you perform better in social situations. A large chunk of the text also has to do with general tips on how to be less abrasive and how to get your way without resorting to violence. The second part of the book contains a smattering of spells taken from the Brothers Deitfried. They seem to be mostly mentalist spells with names like, 'Withering Slight', 'Enraging Jab', 'Contagious Joke', 'Maddening Smile', 'Serene Presence' and the like. Most of them deal with bringing about specific emotional states in the target and they are all quite elegantly crafted. The structures involved have been pared down to the bare minimum needed to get the spell to work, this should make these spells a bit quicker than even your normal mental spells and you think if you study these spells long enough and really master the text you will be able to apply these same principles to make your own spells sleeker and faster. The seeds are there to create another mode of casting.

Purple Sun scroll - Nanshe's scroll detailing the opening steps of the Purple Sun spell. You can not read it so you do not know what it is actual about beyond your first hand experience of the spell.

Vermilion Spellbook - It is in Bruig, a bit archaic but nothing you can't handle. If you had to date it, you would say it is likely from the height of the Old Cath Bruig, maybe around the time of Connacht. It seems it is the property of a mage calling himself the 'Last of the Never Were'. You take a moment to reflect on the seeming need of mages to choose such odd titles for themselves and then you press on. From what you can figure out in the few hours you spend on the text it is a collection of offensive oriented spells. A few seem to be area based while others are for single targets. The theory behind them is a bit convoluted and quite outdated and yet you notice a few principles that seem to be absent from your own attack spells that might be useful. It would take a lot of study though to isolate and apply them. The running theme of the text seems to be the marriage of fire and earth elemental magic to create caustic flames and pastes that burn like fire. There is also a ritual at the end that claims to extend the users life, it seems to involve human sacrifice and a great deal of cinnabar, you are not sure what side effects it might have or how exactly it would work though it too seems to draw on aspects associated with earth and fire.

Amber Spellbook - It is written in the runic script of the Northmen. You can not read it.

Green Spellbook - It is written in some sort of demonic script, you can not read it.

The Thin White Mage's tome - on loan to Nephila, you did not have a chance to read it so you do not know what is in it

An Elemental Tome - given to Mayer as a security on your loan. This seemed like a fairly straight forward, general purpose primer on the use of elemental magic. It contained two or three example spells for each sub school and ways to achieve the necessary state of mind to strengthen them. You did not spend enough time studying it to figure out what exactly it contained aside from a number of direct damage spells.

A Worn Book: Golems for dummies - given to Mayer as a security on your loan. This book might be a joke or it may be something more. You don't know.

Half a dozen unsorted spell pages - given to Mayer as a security on your loan. These seemed to be related to the weather, lightning and storms but you did not spend any significant time looking at them.

Gullveig's tome - given to Mayer as a security on your loan. This was in a language you don't understand so you do not know.

Five Spellbooks written in the language of the Spider Goddess - given to Mayer as a security on your loan. Again, you do not know.

Mystery Box - There could be anything in here, it might be a spellbook.

The Heron Scrolls - These radiated a aura of peace and serenity. If you had to guess they dealt with healing magic though you did not study them in depth.

The Ancient Tablet - You are not sure what this is.

The Gate Tablet - This contained the theory behind the Gate spell you worked for Eris.

One large Unsorted Collection of Scavenged Spellbooks - Lots of these are in language you do not understand at all or do not understand in part. A lot of them are in the Spider Goddess' language. And many of the others are in demonic. Of the ones that are in Bruig, they are all in Old Bruig, and that slowed your progress a fair bit. You spent most of your time simply determining that they were, in fact, spellbooks. Then you filed them in the vault for safe keeping and left. They could be just about anything. If you had to guess you would say most of them belong to the popular schools of magic though you can't guarantee that.

Musical Puzzle Box - Derry's gift to Taide. It contains scrolls for a number of spells Derryth thinks will be useful. Most of the are either physical spells or mental spells and they are split between spells that improve the caster's perception/senses and spells that can be used to misdirect or confuse a target.

Scroll of the Warrior's Mask - The first scroll produced by your puzzle box was the Warrior's Mask, you had the Deitfrieds make a permanent copy rather than a single use scroll since Morpheus was paying anyway.

 

[Nevill]

A definitive no for shapeshifting negotiations for now, at least not until we know Cropper a bit better.

If you want to strike a separate bargain with Cropper for magical knowledge, that is really none of Finn's business and he wishes you, 'the best of luck with that.'

There is such a thing as 'asking for it'.

Sure, it would be nice to learn shapeshifting, but magic isn't a toy. It would be good to know what you are getting into, first.

Yes, there were other kings and queens, leaders of his folk. At their height they numbered ten and each ruled over a court. They fought the fir'Bolg and before them they fought the old horrors of the world, in each war his people were victorious.

Do they still hold a grudge against fir'Bolg? Do fir'Bolg hold a grudge against them?

No, Dagda has not sworn service to Mazzarin.

Wait, Dagda? We happen to know a person who is calling himself 'the Dagda' and who has a daughter by the name of Brigit. He is hardly the King of the Fairies, though, he is just a crook running some illegal organization. I wonder, though, if they are/were connected to the fey in any way. Does Finn know of them?

If she wants to, he cautions her to be polite and bring a bit of meat for them if she wants to get a warm greeting though.

Do it. See if she can talk to them through her spells or artefacts. Also check out the collars they are wearing. Are they magical in nature?

But how would they understand if she is polite if they do not speak our tongue?

No, they do not know Bruig or Dwarven. They speak Fey and that is it.

It almost sounded like they do understand our speech.

“A shame, dear cousins,” Cropper calls to you, swinging his club back a forth, “It would be an absolute shame if your dog bites, then we might have to put him down!”

The other hunters cheer and the hounds laugh mightily.

No? Otherwise what were they laughing about?

The last time Finn was out this way he met a family of giants living about six days ride into the mountains to the east, they were no friends of the Dark though they were quite temperamental.

How temperamental are we talking about? Are they like Forest Giants who have 'death to tresspassers' as their motto?

Also, since Finn is the King of the Dead

That is not something our characters knew before.

So... what are his duties as the King of the Dead? Is he in charge of all souls, or only of the believers/chosen ones? What determines if one becomes a Slaugh? What happens to the ones that don't?

What happens to you when you die? Is it true that there is a cycle of reincarnation for the souls of the dead and that necromancy interferes with it? Well, if anyone should know of these things...

they might even be able to turn some of the more powerful souls into proper Mahir.

We thought no one knows how to create Mahirs, not even the Watcher. Is it not true?

Cropper (or one of the other hunt masters) sounds the horns and Finn's people will answer depending on the message conveyed.

Is there a system in place to let one convey any message he wants through the horns, or is it just several different signals?

Basically, what can you communicate through horns?

The Merrows are the nymphs of the sea. They live off the coast of the Province, in the south west, in and around the Strait of Leix.

What is their attitude to strangers if we do not get a recomendation from Finn? They aren't like sirens or something, luring the ships of unsuspecting travelers to their deaths? Or is it that we just won't find them otherwise?

He had hoped that he could avoid revealing his connection to his mother's family. It is not really something he likes to talk about.

His curiosity may have gotten the best of him there and he blames his mother's influence. A more curious woman you would never meet he assure you!

I am getting mixed signals here. Does he want to talk about his family, or doesn't he?

Also, Finn spoke of 'being even', as though he owed Berty some kind of favor. Is there a story behind it that he would not mind sharing, or did we misread the situation?

The one type of agent that won't be caught this way is the agent motivated by purely mundane means.

The Spider Cultists - are they motivated 'magically', or by mundane means, as far as the hounds are concerned? The rituals of the Seekers caught some. Do the hounds pick up the scent?

Is there a difference between someone who is a member of a pleasure cult connected to the Spider Goddess, a spider demon, and someone who is a true believer, yet not a demon (Hallr/Rand/Janine, for lack of better examples)?

Scroll of the Warrior's Mask - The first scroll produced by your puzzle box was the Warrior's Mask, you had the Deitfrieds make a permanent copy rather than a single use scroll since Morpheus was paying anyway.

What is a 'permanent copy' and how does it work?

It was said - when we first dealt with thee scroll of Firebolt - that a spell scroll would allow to cast the spell at a level of a master, while learning the spell yourself would have you use it at 60% effectiveness and then work your way up.

So this 'permanent copy', does it allow, say, Lyssa to cast Warrior's Mask and be equally effective at it as us who have mastered the spell?

 

[Nevill]

No, Dagda has not sworn service to Mazzarin.

Also, there is this bit.

“And who is this 'master',” the Old Man presses, “Which Dark God do you serve fiend!”

“Why,” the Hare Hunter shrugs, “Not a one, I serve my Lord and he serves his Lord and we are all swore to the service of the Greatest Mage to ever walk this world. We serve the Mazzarin.”

To hear Cropper tell it, his Lord (which I assume to be Finn) and his Lord (which I assume to be Dagda) are sworn to Maz' services.

Unless Cropper has another lord in-between him and Finn, or unless this is just a case of Cropper being Cropper.

 

[Fangshi]

Do they still hold a grudge against fir'Bolg? Do fir'Bolg hold a grudge against them?

Finn doesn't but he can only speak for himself.

Wait, Dagda? We happen to know a person who is calling himself 'the Dagda' and who has a daughter by the name of Brigit. He is hardly the King of the Fairies, though, he is just a crook running some illegal organization. I wonder, though, if they are/were connected to the fey in any way. Does Finn know of them?

He was not aware of that fact...

As far as he knows this 'the Dagda' has no relation to him or his father. Finn will have to investigate...

Derryth hopes she has not sent more trouble Brigit's way.

Do it. See if she can talk to them through her spells or artefacts. Also check out the collars they are wearing. Are they magical in nature?

When she returns this is what she tells you:

Their collars are enchanted but she is not sure with what and they did not tell her.

They did not tell her much of anything actually and they did not respond to either Bruig or Dwarven when she spoke to them.

Their handler acted as a translator and Lyssa found them to be polite if a little condescending.

Lys is also fairly certain that they did understand at least a bit of the Bruig and Dwarven she spoke around them. Your witch is convinced that they are playing some sort of game with everyone, she just has to figure out how to catch them out.

But how would they understand if she is polite if they do not speak our tongue?

The same way people that don't speak a shared language can tell. A lot of communication is body language.

It almost sounded like they do understand our speech.

Finn is certain that they don't.

Lys insists that they do (at least to a degree).

No? Otherwise what were they laughing about?

Their translator insisted that they were telling rather ribald jokes. One of them was about a cavalry officer and his horse...

Supposedly they were quite funny.

How temperamental are we talking about? Are they like Forest Giants who have 'death to tresspassers' as their motto?

Ah, he can not rule out them attacking any visitors. The first time he met them the patriarch of the household tried to crush him with a boulder. He had to fight the giant for four hours before he could persuade him to stop attacking and talk about things.

The funny thing is that Finn is fairly certain that the giant was not even trying to kill him after the first half hour. Finn is fairly certain it was some sort of test.

So... what are his duties as the King of the Dead?

Nothing much. He rules over the spirits of those that seek shelter at his court, same as he does over the fairies.

Is he in charge of all souls, or only of the believers/chosen ones?

Only those that ask for his protection and swear fealty to him for all time.

...

Berty whispers to you that is not completely true. Finn also lords over those that have wronged his people, he keeps those poor souls in the world as punishment for their misdeeds.

What determines if one becomes a Slaugh?

Commit a crime against Finn or his people and he may trap your soul. You will join the host of the dead, hunting through the night sky.

Also, if you are caught and dragged off by the host you may become one of them. They will run you till you die and take your spirit with them.

What happens to the ones that don't?

Finn does not know. If he does not grab the soul at their time of death they disappear to somewhere else. He does not know where.

What happens to you when you die? Is it true that there is a cycle of reincarnation for the souls of the dead and that necromancy interferes with it? Well, if anyone should know of these things...

He has no clue.

We thought no one knows how to create Mahirs, not even the Watcher. Is it not true?

He is hesitant to answer.

He says he is fairly certain that no mage knows how to create one on purpose.

However, if you were to take thousands of already angry and bitter souls, souls that have been punished (rightfully) for their misdeeds and then you cut the chains on them to use them as fuel for your necromancy. If you did that, inflicted unimaginable, mind-shattering pain on them, well, Finn thinks that might be a good way to create one or two.

Is there a system in place to make one convey any message he wants through the horns, or is it just several different signals?

Basically, what can you communicate through horns?

Just signals for the most part.

Come. Stay. Follow.

Also basic troop numbers, directions, distances, that sort of thing.

You won't be able to have a conversation but Cropper can relay basic information to Finn with the horn.

If you wanted something more complicated you could always give Finn one of your dice I suppose, don't know if you would get it back though. Fariries can be like magpies and anything he is not constantly watching has a tendency to disappear...

What is their attitude to strangers if we do not get a recomendation from Finn? They aren't like sirens or something, luring the ships of unsuspecting travelers to their deaths? Or is it that we just won't find them otherwise?

Depends on their moods. They are not generally that hostile to humans but they can be dangerous.

The biggest obstacle would be finding them in all likelihood. Again, that would largely depend on their mood.

I am getting mixed signals here. Does he want to talk about his family, or doesn't he?

Also, Finn spoke of 'being even', as though he owed Berty some kind of favor. Is there a story behind it that he would not mind to share, or did we misread the situation?

Yes, there is a story about that. Get him sufficiently drunk some time and he might even tell you.

The Spider Cultists - are they motivated 'magically', or by mundane means, as far as the hounds are concerned? The rituals of the Seekers caught some. Do the hounds pick up the scent?

Yes, the hounds picked up the scents on those scouts. They have been magically compromised by the Goddess or her agents. The hounds would need something with the signature of the Goddess on it to figue out if she is directly involved or acting through others.

Is there a difference between someone who is a member of a pleasure cult connected to the Spider Goddess, a spider demon, and someone who is a true believer, yet not a demon (Hallr/Rand/Janine, for lack of better examples)?

Yes, no magical influence would mean that the hounds would have nothing to sniff out.

So Rand would definitely fail the sniff test since he is not even fully human, he would have the signature of the Goddess on him directly.

Janine might have failed the sniff test if the Goddess or her agents have been in Janine's mind at all. If they have not or if Janine did a good job cleaning up after then she would pass the test.

Hallr would pass the test if they were checking for the Goddess since he has not been compromised by her.

The hounds can not detect thoughts simply magical 'fingerprints'/influences.

What is a 'permanent copy' and how does it work?

It was said - when we first dealt with thee scroll of Firebolt - that a spell scroll would allow to cast the spell at a level of a Master, while learning the spell yourself would have you use it at 60% effectiveness and then work your way up.

So this 'permanent copy', does it allow, say, Lyssa to cast Warrior's Mask and be equally effective with us at it?

A permanent copy just means a copy like you would find in a spellbook. One suitable for learning from or teaching from but not really built for direct casting.

Single use scrolls are built differently with different materials (the ink or paper is often infused with energon dust, blood or even mandrake paste) and exhaust themselves when used.

If you ever meet a proper scribe you could ask them to tell you the basics. You would likely have to buy them dinner first though.

To hear Cropper tell it, his Lord (which I assume to be Finn) and his Lord (which I assume to be Dagda) are sworn to Maz' services.

Strictly speaking Cropper serves a lord who in turn serves Finn but Cropper, being Cropper, often forgets that and says that he is a servant of the great King Finnbheara!

It sounds a lot more impressive that way...

It also does not help that Finn is a bit indulgent when it comes to Cropper. He likes the kid and lets him get away with a bit more than he really should.

 

[Nevill]

As far as he knows this 'the Dagda' has no relation to him or his father. Finn will have to investigate...

Well, there is nothing to investigate then. The world is a big place, there are bound to be a lot of namesakes.

(It's not like we told him where to find them or what the organization even is, so unless Finn is up to checking half of the world... )

Their collars are enchanted but she is not sure with what and they did not tell her.

...Care to clarify, Finn?

Lys is also fairly certain that they did understand at least a bit of the Bruig and Dwarven she spoke around them. Your witch is convinced that they are playing some sort of game with everyone, she just has to figure out how to catch them out.

Oh, smart guys. I like it. But we are smarter.

I have an idea of how to trick them into a confession, but that will probably require a bit of time and a proper setup.

Their handler acted as a translator and Lyssa found them to be polite if a little condescending.

What about the spells? Or this:
String of Wolf Teeth (When worn around the neck allows the user to communicate with wolves and dogs as if they had mastered the spell Bestial Tongue.)

My concern is, can we communicate with them without a handler, or the use of Dwarven/Bruig (even though they seem to understand it).

The hounds would need something with the signature of the Goddess on it to figue out if she is directly involved or acting through others.

Hmm. We have a Melted Spinner. Does it bear a signature of the Goddess, though? It is a replica of an artefact created by her kin, not exactly the closest thing one can get.

Commit a crime against Finn or his people and he may trap your soul. You will join the host of the dead, hunting through the night sky.

Which brings us back to the topic of the table, if we can broach this subject once again, unpleasant though it may be.

What did these people do? This is going to bother us if we don't know if their fates were well-deserved. (Well, they obviously are from Finn's perspective, but it is essentially a matter of how his perspective corresponds with that of a normal human. His Laignach Faelad are bad enough)

The fairies seem to be freedom-loving and from what we've seen they share a disdain for those who enslave others. We wonder what could even warrant such a punishment.

Also, ask Berty about it when Finn is gone.

 

[Fangshi]

Well, there is nothing to investigate then. The world is a big place, there are bound to be a lot of namesakes.

(It's not like we told him where to find them or what the organization even is, so unless Finn is up to checking half of the world... )

Of course, dividing up the continent and systemically searching it for this blasphemer, er, man would be a waste of time and resources.

He will naturally drop the issue...

...Care to clarify, Finn?

Nope.

No reason to give you the operator's manual if you are just going to kick the tires.

What about the spells? Or this:
String of Wolf Teeth (When worn around the neck allows the user to communicate with wolves and dogs as if they had mastered the spell Bestial Tongue.)

My concern is, can we communicate with them without a handler, or the use of Dwarven/Bruig (even though they seem to understand it).

The spells work, the hounds have an odd accent that can make it a bit tough to understand them but the spells do work.

The hounds insisted on speaking through their handler though. They wanted to speak a 'civilized' tongue.

Hmm. We have a Melted Spinner. Does it bear a signature of the Goddess, though? It is a replica of an artefact created by her kin, not exactly the closest thing one can get.

It just smells like dwarf, magic and lightning, sorry.

Which brings us back to the topic of the table, if we can broach this subject once again, unpleasant though it may be.

What did these people do? This is going to bother us if we don't know if their fates were well-deserved. (Well, they obviously are from Finn's perspective, but it is essentially a matter of how his perspective corresponds with that of a normal human. His Laignach Faelad are bad enough)

The prisoners betrayed their word.

They broke their oaths.

They betrayed the trust Finn put in them and for that they received their fate.

He will provide no further explanation as it is a matter between Finn and them.

...

Berty informs you that the men on the table broke their oaths to the King and betrayed his trust. That is true.

The details of their cases vary but that is what they all have in common. Most tried to rob the King and in a fitting turn they became his property.

 

[Azira]

Good thing we're not of the sort who is in it for the treasure then.

I really like the fairy hounds. But I also really like the idea of strengthening our healing magics. I'm torn.

I'd love to get both, unlikely as it seems. Must ponder options.

 

[Absinthe]

Flopping to 1Fvii>Fi then. Shapeshifting magic simply tops, Nevill. And I don't see why you're leery of starting negotiations now. Surely we can offer something that Cropper would like.

It doesn't seem like we'll get these dogs working for the dwarven king in time (we would have to win them over, and so would Albrecht) and I'd rather not keep increasing the amount of things we need to take care of.

 

[Nevill]

The problem I see with healing magic, shapeshifting, or any other shinies is that they require an immense investment of time to produce a desired effect.

The most compelling argument I've seen for healing magic is the one that concerns regenerative powers and allows to regrow limbs, and we won't see any of this before a decade of dedicaded studying.

We already have committed ourselves to Metal that would take decades to get good at. Not to mention all the spellbooks that would reqquire several months to simply catalogue and decipher.

Shapeshifting, while useful and probably less demanding, is a prospect that will also pay off well down the road. And I am opposed to doing it without Finn's blessing because I can't consider Cropper a teacher without some kind of safety guarantee. I mean, this is a guy who can probably forget his name if he isn't yelled at by his superiors for his mischief. Do you really trust him to teach you, a human, something that comes naturally to a fey creature? It is like asking a fish to teach you how to swim. All it takes is for him to forget some core principle or differences between you, and you can turn yourself into something you would not want to be. Maybe permanently.

It is not that he is an evil guy who is out to screw us, it is that Pucas have been so far portrayed as extremely unreliable, and magic was consistently portrayed as something extremely dangerous. It is simply not something I would risk.

It doesn't seem like we'll get these dogs working for the dwarven king in time (we would have to win them over, and so would Albrecht)

Well, I have an idea about that.

If we are telling Maz about the spearhead, he is going to see Al about it at one point or the other. We could ask the boy to bring a pair of them with him.

Alternatively, we could send a pair of them by air, Al is still due to send us the Energon Cubes once we tell him where to ship them. We have some options here.

As for winning them over, well, we can talk to them, I guess. The alliance we struck is between Al and Finn, so if we convey that helping Al weed out Watcher's agents helps Finn (it does), that would be quite a good reason for them to go with it. We just have to tell Al to treat them like he would treat one of our kind and don't trust them to anyone else.

I would also assume that the royal hounds would find the living conditions in the Palace to their liking, so there is that as well. As long as we do not ask them to do what they don't want to do, we should be fine.

I'd rather not keep increasing the amount of things we need to take care of.

Well, we can't help it. The complexity and the high danger level of the situation demands that it is tackled from all possible sides.

 

[Absinthe]

The most compelling argument I've seen for healing magic is the one that concerns regenerative powers and allows to regrow limbs, and we won't see any of this before a decade of dedicaded studying.

We already have our own method of regrowing limbs. Something tells me we'll be making much better progress than that, since our end goal isn't simply to learn two different ways of regrowing limbs but to syncretize them into an improved regrowth.

I can't consider Cropper a teacher without some kind of safety guarantee.

Hm, Fangshi, does Cropper take his oaths seriously?

 

[Jester]

Oh, smart guys. I like it. But we are smarter.

arf arf. (I am sure you believe that cousin).

What did these people do? This is going to bother us if we don't know if their fates were well-deserved. (Well, they obviously are from Finn's perspective, but it is essentially a matter of how his perspective corresponds with that of a normal human. His Laignach Faelad are bad enough)

Unimportant either way imo we got enough prolems as it is and telling a king what to do after just meting him is bad idea. Better to not try cross this guy.

 

[Nevill]

Where did we tell him what to do?

RE: Cropper. The guy is sworn to Maz' service and yet he constantly forgets what it is that he is supposed to be doing and have to be reminded by beatings. You tell me how serious he is about oaths.

He will abide by them if he manages to remember.

 

[Absinthe]

As for winning them over, well, we can talk to them, I guess. The alliance we struck is between Al and Finn, so if we convey that helping Al weed out Watcher's agents helps Finn (it does), that would be quite a good reason for them to go with it. We just have to tell Al to treat them like he would treat one of our kind and don't trust them to anyone else.

They've already indicated that they prefer to speak in a "civilized" tongue so if you want to win them over, it seems you will also need to speak Fey (perhaps Fangshi can confirm that this is the language in question), and then you still have to put in the effort to win them over and put up with their fey moods. I reckon by the time that's handled, it's too late for our pressing concerns.

I would also assume that the royal hounds would find the living conditions in the Palace to their liking, so there is that as well. As long as we do not ask them to do what they don't want to do, we should be fine.

These fey dogs are far more intelligent and capricious than the royal hounds. I wouldn't be surprised if they have more exotic tastes and needs.

What we could do is ask the king to lend some of his more dutiful dogs into King Albrecht's service for a month or so, so that instead of the dogs doing what we want because we've won them over and they respect us, they would do it because it's their duty to their king (Finnbheara) so they'll loyally stomach whatever discomforts it requires, like following Albrecht's orders and speaking Bruig. We wouldn't get to keep them, but it would take care of immediate problems. Fangshi, would this work?

RE: Cropper. The guy is sworn to Maz' service and yet he constantly forgets what it is that he is supposed to be doing and have to be reminded by beatings. You tell me how serious he is about oaths.

He will abide by them if he manages to remember.

I'm sure we'll remind him. Considering how much Cropper prides himself on being a loyal servant of King Finnbheara, and considering how seriously the king takes oaths, I imagine Cropper would take oaths rather seriously himself. Besides, he seems to like us. But I'd sooner just wait for confirmation from Fangshi than digress into speculations. If his oaths are dependable, we can negotiate for an oath.

Also, Fangshi, how many hours until sundown? And how long would it take to reach the ghols and the cultists? Which parts of our forces could get there faster? Is it possible to perform the Strengthen Will ritual ourselves (we still have the preparations from Blackrock, iirc) while we are approaching the enemies?

 

[Nevill]

Alright. A draft of the battle plan.

1) If we manage to drag Mazzarin into helping the dwarves personally, this is going to be easy.

The bigger army is the cultist one, they are also more dangerous to engage by far. This is a job that an archmage is fit to do better.

Try to convince Mazzarin of the importance of not only recapturing, but holding Stoneheim, which would require an army. Therefore, before doing anything about the undead sieging the city it would be a wise idea to free up the army and have as many of the soldiers survive as possible. After all, if nothing remains of the royal forces, the city may fall to the first counter-attack and then we'll have to do the same job twice. That would not be very desireable, would it? (again, play to Maz' general lazyness when it comes to 'trivial' matters)

Find a diplomatic way to ask him to be mindful of, ah, friendly fire and collateral damage, without implying anytring, of course. That probably wouldn't be out of place considering the firepower he can bring to the table. We would very much like to have most of the army intact.

While Maz engages the cultists, concentrate on the ghols. They shouldn't pose too big of a problem. The goal is to trap them between our forces and Seinsheim's. They should be mostly fast melee fighters with maybe a few suicide bombers armed with wight chunks.

We should contact Seinsheim via an eagle and let him know about our arrival. We would advise him to relocate his forces so that the ghols would be positioned between us. Then we will try to get a surround on them. Getting caught between the two forces would severely limit their mobility and allow us to pick them from afar using mortars, the Seekers, and - if we come close enough, the grenadiers. If it comes to close combat, we can also attempt a proper elephant charge while protecting them with the Warrior's Mask (so they wouldn't get hurt) and in turn using them as an impenetrable living shield. Derryth&Thais should protect the two leading elephants, and the cavalry should take care of the enemies that would be forced to break the line in order to escape being trampled over.

It would be, in a way, similar to what happened in the Drowned Dead update, where our forces attacked under the cover of maul shields.

We should be mindful of any ghols carrying explosives. We can either mindhack some of the ghols to learn what they are packing and attempt to detonate those prematurely (through mortars and spells, much like we did during the Palace assault), or if it fails and something gets thrown at us, bounce it back with the Strong Wind spell (since Lys would not be occupied by the Warrior's Mask).

Stay a bit behind the elephants and do not fall for the same trap that the Watcher's hounds did by accidentally engaging in melee with the bombers. Our goal is not to inflict maximum casualties, but to break the enemy force.

Try to not get too close to the cultist enemy lines. If the ghols decide to flee to where the dwarves are, it is their business. Rather than pursue them, grab some popcorn and watch the show.

And have someone to watch your back, always. There is no telling who is in the Seinsheim's army, and we already have the Seekers to watch out for.

The secondary goal would be to capture any of the leaders and/or representatives of the Tusks clan. We are still searching for the information about Lilly's whereabouts.

Spoiler

2) If Maz is unavailable for some reason.

While Reinhard's forces are facing a more difficult opponent, he also has a more advantageous position and fortifications. We will have to hope that they will hold out.

Since we would be fighting while being outnumbered, I would prefer to get some of our enemies do our jobs for us.

We should provoke the ghols into colliding with the cultist forces. How we do it is less important, though an illusion of a slaver caravan picking up the stragglers while the ghols do the dirty work seems to me like a fun idea. Something for Berty&Cropper, perhaps? We have a few arrows with a distracting riddle to have them try and get out of the way once the job is done.

A few suggestions and mind tricks to convince the doubters would not hurt, either.

The production should be targeted at the ghols, since they are the more 'stupid' and bloodthirsty ones, and therefore easier to trick. Then we should hope that racial tensions will take care of both of our enemies.

Break into the mind of one of the cultist scouts, see if you can find anything useful pertaining to the situation. Find out about the weapons the cultists use. Someone should probably stay and guard them so that they wouldn't get loose and stab us in the back.

Meanwhile we should reunite with Seinsheim and try to push on to Reinhard's army. We should approach carefully, mindful of the buried threats. If possible, we should try to sniff them out, either by using our rats, or by employing the services of Cú Sídh. Failing that, mindrape the enemy cultists to find out where their line starts. Failing that, just use the scorched earth tactics where you lob grenades at the ground and only then pass through. Or ask the Seekers to raise the ground and force the spiders out. Or use the elephants to stomp on the ground if that can get them. We have a few options on how to deal with those without heading into a surprise ambush.

Remember that the spider demons feel sluggish when exposed to a bright light, and try to use it to your advantage. Notify Reinhard about it, too, in case he does not know it yet. Fangshi, do we have flash grenades or some special ammunition for our mortars? Maybe the Seekers have the means to produce light?

Again, the plan is to trap the enemy between the two forces and pick them apart. Coordination with both Seinsheim and Reinhard (via eagles, and the latter can be trusted with our entangled dice as well) would probably be essential. We have obscene amount of ranged firepower with 40 grenadiers, 20 battlemages and 2 mortars, not counting the weapons of the Royal Army. We might want to make use of that.

As always, try to neutralize the mages first. A few aphids assisted by a Strong Wind or a Light Breeze to make contact faster could be one of the ways to do that.

Other that these brief notes I do not have much to offer. If in a pinch, use what you have - aphids, vomit disks, etc. These are just general directions of how to approach the situation, not precise instructions.

I'll call it Aiv and vote for it. As always, corrections and improvements are welcome.

What we could do is ask the king to lend some of his more dutiful dogs into King Albrecht's service for a month or so, so that instead of the dogs doing what we want because we've won them over and they respect us, they would do it because it's their duty to their king (Finnbheara) so they'll loyally stomach whatever discomforts it requires, like following Albrecht's orders and speaking Bruig.

I thought it was pretty clear that the dogs will follow us - at least initially - out of duty to Finn. Why would they leave their beloved master if that wasn't the will of the master himself?

 

[Absinthe]

Ask Fangshi.

 

[Fangshi]

Hm, Fangshi, does Cropper take his oaths seriously?

Yes he does, when he remembers them.

it seems you will also need to speak Fey (perhaps Fangshi can confirm that this is the language in question),

Yes, they meant Fey when they spoke of a 'civilized' language.

Also, Fangshi, how many hours until sundown? And how long would it take to reach the ghols and the cultists?

It is about midday and you are a couple hours away from the armies. It is winter so the days are shorter but you do have a good six or seven hours of daylight left.

You could reach the Seinsheim army by about two in the afternoon and you could reach the main body of the army by about three, provided you met no resistance, of course.

Which parts of our forces could get there faster?

Your chariots are fastest.

Your entire force is mobile but the elephants are the slowest part. If you let the chariots run ahead they could get there in half to two thirds the time.

Is it possible to perform the Strengthen Will ritual ourselves (we still have the preparations from Blackrock, iirc) while we are approaching the enemies?

Yes, provided you used one of the wagons to perform the ritual in and your driver kept the wagon steady.

There is not enough room to do it in your chariots.

The best choice to do it in probably would have been the carriage since it was more stable but Finn has that now.

Fangshi, do we have flash grenades or some special ammunition for our mortars? Maybe the Seekers have the means to produce light?

No to the flash grenades I am afraid.

The Seekers could probably create light if they had to, conjure fire or something...

I thought it was pretty clear that the dogs will follow us - at least initially - out of duty to Finn. Why would they leave their beloved master if that wasn't the will of the master himself?

If Finn orders them to go they will go out of loyalty to him. Loyalty to their King will be the motivating factor to do most things really but keep in mind they are still fairies with all that, that brings.

 

[Nevill]

Can we finally talk to our elephants when their handlers aren't looking? Perhaps distract them, or summon them to a briefing or something.

I want to know about them - their names, where are they from, how did they end in the hands of the Hounds, are there other herds of elephants around, what do they think about our expedition, what do they think about our companions, and if they would be interested in working with us directly.

Is there a leader/spokesman among them?

What they like and what they dislike?

What exactly is going on between them and their handlers?

What do they want - in short term, and in a long one? Freedom? To return to their herds? To take vengeance on the Hounds?

Ideally I want to struck a deal with them, and I have an idea what kind of a deal it would be, but I would like to know what makes them tick, first.

 

[Absinthe]

Well, for now, I say we negotiate with Cropper for an oath to teach us shapeshifting and not leave us form-locked or shit. What do you think, Nevill?