**About this time the third figure, having been momentarily distracted by just the cutest passing cat, turned back towards the others to discover she had completely missed the result of the looming prank! Well, she hadn't heard anything so maybe it had been a flop.**
Tanya - "What kind of fantasy?"
**... and she missed the chance to make a big introduction. Shoot. Maybe next time.**
**The looming presence likewise felt a smaller, eager presence hop into the stables behind it. This latter presence suddenly grew still after that, however.**
Arl - "That's a good point! I guess we should head towards the nearest swamp?"
Cee - "Is this lady going to be able to tell the difference between a lizard heart and, like, any other large creature's heart? Do lizards even have special hearts?"
Dr.Smalls - "As soon as we finish dawing these costumes. Which..appears to be.." **Finishes slipping on his own disguise** "Right now!"
And so the group sets off into the tunnels, Smalls creating a small light to guide their path. The first several minutes prove uneventful, but the group soon notices a small cavern off to the side with some carvings on the wall. The language is understandable enough – for some reason Notawhere’s common lounge is very similar to the Bakaran standard – and the message goes as follows:
Sam.
Charsi.
You existed.
I -------
You know.
I wish I was more
than I am.
The angle of the writing is strange, as though someone was writing it at an angle; the easiest explanation would be that the writer couldn’t fit through the roughly 3’x3’ opening, although that would beg the additional question of how they managed to write on the wall 6’ in.
Dr.Smalls – “Hrm.. I wonder how recent this inscription was...
Javert – “Do you think someone is living in these tunnels?
Dr.Smalls – “Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it! The Book didn’t mention anything that would imply it, although it did note that we should avoid entering the city through the large iron door that’s somewhere in these tunnels.”
Javert – “Wonderful.”
Further investigation revealed little of use, and soon enough the group found themselves going ever deeper into the earth as they pass under the mountains. It starts getting hotter as well, although the suits that kept them from freezing to death earlier keep them cool now.
Anyone who didn't note their costume, please do so in your next post on thread.
If Parjev become a thing, she is specifically that kind of elf. Otherwise, another of the deceptively named dark elves. Also, this appears to be female adventurer month. But I suppose any month Quo makes a bunch of characters is female adventurer month, heh.
Name – Tanya Race – “Elf” Age – 18 Height – 5'4” Affiliations – Mages Appearance – Black hair mostly kept braided and out of the way, the few stragglers managing to frame her face without hindering her sight. Skin suitable for disguising herself as snowman (a common ploy during her years among children unfamiliar with her tribe). Amber eyes that are probably too honest. A body that clearly exercises at least twice a week but probably not three times and maybe only once if there’s a holiday. A small frame, no hips to speak of, and an upper torso that single handily kills any chance of her being an acrobat. An energetic, good spirited sort that seems well aware that it is easier to smile than to frown. Apparel– Her clothes are usually some combination of blues and whites, the young woman having yet to fall into the adventurer standard of wearing one expensive battle suit 24/7. A belt as deeply black as her hair supports the maiden's similarly colored leather quiver and void pouch. Boots that used to be white. A second strap slung diagonally over her shoulder bears the empty water canister on her back, the woman's other shoulder tasked with bearing the bow sling that in turn carries her unusual weapon. This arrangement will likely change the very moment she figures out a way to carry her all of her stuff without looking like she recently escaped from some kind of belt cult.
Adventures! –
Tanya was bored. Very, very bored. She was beginning to think that waiting to surprise mother, father, and uncle once they left the lowest tunnel (where she wasn’t allowed) hadn’t been a very good plan. She probably should have just listened to them and gone back near the surface to play with her sister. Or maybe she could have gotten her sister in on this too; she clearly would have had the time for it! Oh well. It was what it was.
The young elf returned once more to studying the thick wooden door in front of her, lit by one of the many lights whose design uniquely distinguished her family’s area. The other families probably didn’t have doors this pretty either, although she wasn’t really one to brag about such things. She could silently admire it though. The little curves, the smoke rising through the – smoke? Tanya placed her hand on the door. It was warm. Very warm. And soon after that, it was very red as well.
The little girl ran through the tunnels, gasping for breath but unwilling to stop or even open her eyes out of fear of being swallowed by the flames. She knew the tunnels well, turning at the right spots despite her lack of vision. Which only furthered the young elf’s surprise when she smashed into a pile of rock. The tunnel to the surface had collapsed! Tanya cried out for an answer that would not come, glancing back just long enough to learn her fear was more than justified.
She ducked into the nearest door she could find; a room filled with old antiques. This room, more than any other, represented the great wealth and pride of her family relative to the others that lived in the caverns. Maybe her bones would someday be kept here as an example for others – “here lies Tanya, she should have listened to mother”. ..She hoped mother was okay. Maybe there was another way out of the tunnels, it wouldn’t make sense for there to only be one way! Uncle always said you should always have more than one escape route, and father listened to him a lot! They were probably okay. The girl shakes the thought from her head. She wasn’t dead yet. The elf begins grabbing the antiques within her reach, shaking each one in hopes of finding some kind of ancient magic before hurriedly moving to the next. She slows down for a moment after accidentally breaking a glass bunny – she really hoped that wasn’t important – but quickly stops caring as flames began to flicker at the edges of her vision.
Desperate, the girl moves to the very back to the room where two large chests lay. One of steel and the other of.. ice? It was made of ice! The girl flung open the chest, pulled out a pile of very fancy looking clothes, and got in before closing the lid behind her. This could work!
The magic ice did indeed appear to be impervious to the flame, remaining cool even as the air inside the container began to heat up. Tanya felt like her insides were burning as well, the pain prompting her to begin meekly feeling through the other objects in the chest in search of magic. She must have found some, but she didn’t want to feel like she was spiiinning anymore… was someone crying? She… what was she thinking about again? The magic! The-the ma-
-----
The room was a wreck. Fergus sighed as he stepped over the burnt shards of some glass animal or another. The shelves had collapsed in the flames, of course. The only thing that really surprised the old elf was that the tunnels had stayed up at all; is son was probably already throwing a fit at the idea of him sifting around down here but the loaf should know better than to pass up a chance to turn a quick bit of gold. His earth magic was more than enough for some tunnel delving, anyhow. Shame about the kids though; he’d never cared for the elders but it was always sad when- well hello there! A nevermelt ice chest! That’d show his son the value of taking a risk now and then, yesserie. Not even locked, must be his lucky day. Maybe the stuff inside would be ice too, that’d be a find!
Oh. Oh. The elf stepped back. Maybe he should just.. leave. Nothing good came of messing with the dead. On the other hand, she’d probably want to have a proper funeral. Yeah, he could do her a favor and walk away with a little payment besides. “Let’s get you out of there little one.”
Hrrph! Heavier than she looked. Warmer than she looked, too. Never felt a warm corpse before, was this some sick result of dying in a heated nevermelt ice chest? The air coming out of her was warm too. Fergus leapt back as he suddenly realized what was going on, only barely managing to stop himself from dropping the child in fright. How in the great council’s name wasn’t she dead?! Right, treasure hunt over. He’d have a story to tell his boy, at least.
----
A week later Fergus found himself back in the antique room. The little girl, Tanya, shifted through the remains. He honestly couldn’t afford to care for her, but this stuff belonged to her. The healer had taken the contents of the ice chest as payment – thieving curr – and no one else wanted to deal with the mysterious not-dead girl. Which was stupid; he’d been scared at first as well but anyone with half a brain could figure out there must have been something magical in the chest. Simple as that. Healer probably knew what it was too, probably laughing it up right now. Gods, he hated that man. He couldn’t be too angry with the others though – anyone with half a brain would also know that no one else wanted to take her in, either. It hadn’t been a good year for anyone and being superstitious was preferable to feeling like an ass. He looked up to see the girl trying to open a partially melted steel chest in the back of the room. He called out for her to stop and let him handle it – all it took was a bit of his magic to forcefully break the thing open.
Nothing in the chest had survived the fire, although the warping of the metal had unveiled a hidden lower compartment. A little more destruction revealed some kind of wheeled bow made of silver, glass, and various smattering of other materials that had no right being in a bow. Magic. Definitely magic.
”Well kid, I- actually, keep the bow.” The girl gave him a curious look. ”But don’t I need to sell it to-“ Fergus cuts her off with a wave of his hand. ”No one’s going to pay you for whatever it’s really worth. I think you should just keep it as a memento and sell this broken stuff for scrap. There’s this human trader I know back at Greevan, I was thinking of having him set you up with a family somewhere anyhow. And don’t go telling me your family is still alive! If they are they haven’t shown themselves and if that ever changes I can send word through the trader, alright?” The girl nods. ”Fegus, can I check something in the woods before we go?”
”..sure.“
---
Tanya had left Fergus behind. He had been really nice to her, but her family had told her to never reveal the secret entrance. If there had been – since there was another escape it had surely led to the secret entrance. Plus, her sister hadn’t been down in the tunnels with her the others! Fergus had checked the collapsed sections himself, her sister’s body hadn’t been found. She was still alive and.. yes! Footprints! It hadn’t rained for awhile, and nothing else had disturbed the mud since the day of the fire. Plants didn’t grow here either, not since uncle tried to “improve” them. The smaller footprints were definitely her sisters but.. the big ones looked weird. Those definitely weren’t her parent’s boots.. and uncle’s feet weren’t that big.
---
The trader’s boots weren’t that big either. She’d begged Fergus and the others to look for her sister, even reveled the secret entrance, but most folk claimed she was making it up and even the ones that believed her hadn’t been able to find anything. Fergus promised to send word if he learned anything about it, at least. Did big boots start the fire? Or was he just in the area when her sister escaped? Maybe she got it wrong, and big boots had walked through the mud at a different time.. but then why hadn’t anyone seen her sister?
Tanya pondered this issue as deeply as she could, occasionally incorporating those that passed by the wagon on the journey to Epicrin. The feather lady a great bird, the eyepatch man a terrible bandit (that turned out to not be that bad after all; Tanya’s imagination would come up with countless ways to explain why her missing sister was actually happy in the years to come), the little fancy creature a king of midgets.
The trader announced they’d be arriving in a few hours, and told her to get some sleep. That sounded like a good idea. The “Finest Elexian Silks” next to her in the cramped vehicle were very soft, and quite warm as well.
---
The trader had tried to sell her bow while she was sleeping. She’d only barely woke in time to contest the deal, a horrid shouting match that had lead to her grabbing the device and running off. She thought the trader would chase after her and they’d talk it out but he.. hadn’t. He wasn’t there when she got back either. She decided she should just wait for him to return. Maybe he had business to attend. The girl nods at the thought.
She never saw the trader again.
----
Days turned into weeks as Tanya tried to make a living on the streets of Epicrin. She got pretty good at panhandling, which was fortunate as the only other thing she could do with a pan was create mangled foodstuffs that were probably illegal. Or at least unholy. The last time she tried to cook something crazy Madge, one of the friendlier street people, had honestly demanded she be given the whole thing so she could try using it to summon the demons in her head.
Living on the streets hadn’t been easy at first – she was very lucky crazy Madge had warned her to hide the bow in a ripped sack (the tear allowing her to wear the bow around her waist at night) on her first night and the even greater importance of sticking near the peacekeeper building. Her stuff still got stolen, of course, but at least no one took enough time to steal her family’s bow in fear of the constant patrols. Sometimes she thought about asking the night peacekeepers to help her, but Madge was convinced they’d beat you or something. “Stay close but don’t interact long ear” she’d often say. The others didn’t like them much either, but it was until much later that Tanya learned that most of them were thieves.
At the end of her seventh week in the city Tanya awoke to the realization that hadn’t seen Madge in awhile. She had never seemed very good at following her own advice... The girl decided she should go out and look for the old woman. She’d lost enough people, she didn’t want to lose Madge too.
And that’s how Tanya found herself walking through the city asking if anyone had seen her friend. She even managed to recruit a stuffy old mage into helping her look around! Her good fortune ended there, however; Madge was nowhere to be found (and in fact wouldn’t be found until she turned up outside the city gates a good four months later, blabbering about “Adventures”). Mr. Cain had been good company , though, and he had likewise been pretty impressed with the little spell she had been working on to help wow people into giving her a little more bread. It wasn’t much, really, she’d just drawn inspiration from the way her little water-wheel like bow created light. He offered to try teaching her a few basic spells while they continued their search – if she’d like. Her squeal could probably be heard across the city.
By the time Madge was finally found Tanya had started living at the mages guild. Despite her early success with the basic scrolls her advancement proved slow. Mr. Cain said that wasn’t uncommon in children, and that she’d surely be able to master higher arts after she matured a bit. Which – he would often add – was for the best. Children that acquired powerful magic too early tended to go out and make fools of themselves (or worse) anyhow. Months, and then years passed as Tanya performed various duties for the mage guild. She managed to get back into contact with Fergus as well, although no more information on her sister was ever found – a fact that began to trouble her more and more as she grew older.
So much so, in fact, that upon graduating from her school she successfully convinced Mr. Cain to let her going on some “Adventures” of her own instead of taking one of the more academic jobs. She was sure she’d be able to progress her work with the Solar Tide spell faster with the additional funds anyhow.
Also, that’s how things usually get done in all of the really fun books (Tanya kept that bit of inspiration to herself, of course).
Tanya lost her parents in a fire, the fate of her sister unknown. She was found in an ice chest by a scavenger, along with a magic bow she still holds. A series of misadventures on the way to and within Epicrin taught her to be wary and eventually led her to the mages.
8 years has passed since then, and Tanya still doesn’t know what happened to her sister. Clearly, the thing to do is go adventuring. That’s what works in all the really fun books and waiting for others to figure it out clearly isn’t working!
Skills/Abilities
Solar Tide – Draw in the surrounding moisture, infusing it with light before releasing it back into the world.(Dualmagery, Dehydrate+Gleam) Lvl 1. Pull the moisture in the area into yourself, drying the air and surrounding objects, and then release it as a wave of liquid light from your hand. The wave is a pint of liquid light that diffuses back into the environment at the end of the encounter. Liquid light waves hit with the strength of a punch, and the liquid itself counts as both light and water for spells and effects. Lvl 2. You may harden some/all of your wave of liquid light into glowing glass while it is airborne.
Lvl 3. You may draw in ambient light in addition to moisture, darkening the surrounding area to double the volume of your wave. Lvl 4. You may, instead of creating a wave, use this spell to convert non-living water into liquid light or harden preexisting liquid light, that is not touching another living creature, into glass. The amount of liquid converted/hardened can be up to four times what the wave’s volume would have been. The liquid light diffuses at the end of encounter as normal. (8 pints equals 1 gallon). Lvl 5. Your hardened liquid light can be become crystal instead of glass. Lvl 6. You can draw in and consume the light or water from any light or water spells cast by yourself or others, doubling the wave’s volume. The consumed spells’ level cannot exceed your mastery of Solar Tide – 1. This effect is only usable once every three posts. Lvl 7. You may create gallons of liquid light instead of pints, and can sheath yourself/your possessions in liquid light instead of releasing it as a wave. Lvl 8. You can increase the pull of this spell, your touch draining the moisture from creatures and dimming light sources. This effect also increases the force of the generated wave, even if not touching a target, to that of a strong punch. Lvl 9. You may, instead of this spell’s other effects, modify any preexisting or simultaneously cast water/light magical effects to utilize liquid light instead of water/light. Light transformed into liquid light is slowed down, hitting with the force of strong punch. Modification lasts as long as the effect. Lvl 10. You can, in place of this spell’s other effects, shape any amount of liquid light created by your spells this encounter into a summon of your own design. Design can incorporate glass/crystal parts, and it must include a fist-sized “core” made of fragile glass to function properly. Design can otherwise vary by casting. Your spells that manipulate light and water, but not those of others, can manipulate the summon.
Spells Light Lvl 1. (Dualmagery) Lvl 2. Window
Water Lvl 1. (Dualmagery) Lvl 2. Flow
Weapons
Sun’s Wheel – A strange, unusually stiff bow of silver, hardened glass, and various other materials that utilizes a combination of pulleys and silver-coated dragongut strings to fire arrows without need of great strength. Tanya grew up with the bow, and is more than a little familiar with firing it. Effectively Modifier 2. (Both minors, yes it is basically a compound bow)
> The bow can create an arrow of light when drawn. This arrow, once fired, harmlessly enters and illuminates a 3” radius circle of whatever it hits. The lit area, which lasts for three posts, can be treated as the archer’s hand/fingers for the purpose of casting spells. The exact distribution and strength of the glow can be controlled to mimic hand/arm/finger motion.
> The bow can infuse any glass, ice, or crystalline projectiles it is used to fire with a single one of its enchantments.
Watermage Dagger - A kujang dagger with a silver blade and smooth coral hilt. Can generate ice around its teardrop blade to turn itself into an ice-sword. (Void)
Various Items of Note
> Belt Quiver (Worn)
>> Wooden Arrows with Stone Tips.
> Silk Bow Sling (Worn)
> A bone and leather canister capable of holding a gallon of liquid (Worn, strapped to her back).
>> Currently holds about a quarter gallon of water.
> Void pouch (Worn)
Misc.
Leather Bound Journal (Void)
Feather Quill (Void)
Bottle of Black Ink (Void)
Net (void)
Pan (void)
Flask of Water (void)
Various empty flasks, eating implements, etc (void)
So, we forgot to actually replace Crystal Cultivation with Quakelord. Anyone that already had it could keep it as normal, but no one ever picked Crystal Cultivation in nEW so that's that.
QUAKELORD - Your mastery of earthen materials (dirt, stone, metal, crystal) causes them to calm and quake at your command, allowing you to perform feats that others cannot. Lvl 1. You may command the earthen materials beneath your feet to either soften or magnify your footfalls, allowing for a stealthy or intimidating approach. Lvl 2. You may cause any earthen object you alone are holding to vibrate at a specific frequency, effectively increasing its modifier by one in clashes with other materials. Lvl 3. Your sense of touch and hearing are merged together. This allows you to discern things about your environment that others would not, especially when it comes to movement or vibration. This sense allows you to tell what materials are in an area or item by tuning them with a light tap. Lvl 4. You can control the vibrations in unattended, non-magical earthen materials and any such materials created or manipulated by your spells. This allows you to treat up to 5 cubic feet of such material as a held object for the purposes of your Quakelord abilities. You may use a spell per post to instead effect up to 10 cubic feet of material. Lvl 5. You may temporarily extend your vibration ability to larger areas of earthen material in the environment, causing them to match your own personal frequency. Twice per encounter you may use this ability to phase quickly through 10 feet of solid stone or 5 feet of solid metal. When this effect ends you ejected from the material at the nearest possible exit. Lvl 6. Your ability to manipulate vibrations improves, allowing you to increase the effective modifier of earthen objects by another level and/or cause them to crack and/or explode into a cloud of dust and shrapnel on impact. Using this ability counts against your spells per post, larger items are less likely to explode. Lvl 7. You may choose one additional solid material to consider earthen for the purposes of Quakelord abilities (e.g., wood, bone or glass). Lvl 8. You may harmonize earthen objects with any others, allowing you to increase their modifier by another level and/or grant them the ability to pass through up to 3' worth of other non-magical earthen material. Items that would get stuck are shunted to the nearest available space. Using this ability counts against your spells per post. Lvl 9. The power of your spells echo into the world around you. Whenever you cast a spell you may use one of your lower-level Quakelord abilities without it counting against your spells per post. Lvl 10. You develop a custom WM-approved vibration-based technique/ability.
There are many reward options. I'd even be willing to chip in for some kind of physical reward, like buying a box or something (that might make the community event far too competitive for our liking, however). But we'd still need to design a fun event that gets people in and thinking about maybe playing in a forum WP in general.
Whatever we think up, it should be:
> Fun!
> Take a decent amount of time, perhaps a month or two, as we want to them to develop the habit of checking the Colo.
> Easy to join/participate in.
I also think it would need to be something that doesn't give people who can post several times a day a massive advantage against people that only post once every 1-2 days.
I'd like it to actually involve RPing in some fashion.
----
The moderator game appears to be quite successful, but is does not appear to be spilling out into the rest of the colo.
Dr.Smalls - "Hrm.. You remember Acair? He was a Belmaestrocucito. You'll need to be humanoid to pull off the disguise, but aside from that I suggest pretending to be around fifty years old. A lower-rung hunter that doesn't stay in town much. Personality-wise I'd suggest being proud and unkind; like you have a chip on his shoulder that won't go away."
Esyllt - "You should act refined as well. I think acting like a lesser noble who feels he has been slighted - but does not yet have the power to rise above the others - would cover it pretty well. You should probably make sure to learn and remember the power structure within the city as soon as possible, since a Belmaestrocucito would be expected to keep up with all of his rivals."
Javert - "Hrmph. Everyone, then?"
Dr.Smalls - "I'd think knowing the biggest names along with some made-up immediate rivals would cover most conversational needs."
Cee - "Couldn't he just be a surly, prissy jerk and let people think he's in a particularly bad mood?"
Dr.Smalls - "That could also work! Although he's not likely to have many conversations acting like that."
Arl - "Right, let's start head out of town to get a lizard then." **Starts doing just that** "I guess I don't really have much use for the notes, although I'd be very interested with speaking with whoever knows enough about the subject to actually use them."
**The fog grew thicker along the sides of the road but not upon it, the path eventually becoming a sort of foggy tunnel. At one point the duo had heard beautiful music coming from beyond the wall of fog, but assuming they pressed on they would have eventually found themselves back on a busy road to Sylvan.**
Tanya - "How did they die?"
**She walks towards the others, taking a curious glance into the mirror in the process. Would they be able to see people too?**
Tanya - "What kind of fantasy?"
**... and she missed the chance to make a big introduction. Shoot. Maybe next time.**
**Cassie accidentally bumps into the orb while looking at the twin.**
Cee - "Is this lady going to be able to tell the difference between a lizard heart and, like, any other large creature's heart? Do lizards even have special hearts?"
And so the group sets off into the tunnels, Smalls creating a small light to guide their path. The first several minutes prove uneventful, but the group soon notices a small cavern off to the side with some carvings on the wall. The language is understandable enough – for some reason Notawhere’s common lounge is very similar to the Bakaran standard – and the message goes as follows:
Charsi.
You existed.
I -------
You know.
I wish I was more
than I am.
The angle of the writing is strange, as though someone was writing it at an angle; the easiest explanation would be that the writer couldn’t fit through the roughly 3’x3’ opening, although that would beg the additional question of how they managed to write on the wall 6’ in.
Dr.Smalls – “Hrm.. I wonder how recent this inscription was...
Javert – “Do you think someone is living in these tunnels?
Dr.Smalls – “Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it! The Book didn’t mention anything that would imply it, although it did note that we should avoid entering the city through the large iron door that’s somewhere in these tunnels.”
Javert – “Wonderful.”
Further investigation revealed little of use, and soon enough the group found themselves going ever deeper into the earth as they pass under the mountains. It starts getting hotter as well, although the suits that kept them from freezing to death earlier keep them cool now.
Anyone who didn't note their costume, please do so in your next post on thread.
Name – Tanya
Race – “Elf”
Age – 18
Height – 5'4”
Affiliations – Mages
Appearance – Black hair mostly kept braided and out of the way, the few stragglers managing to frame her face without hindering her sight. Skin suitable for disguising herself as snowman (a common ploy during her years among children unfamiliar with her tribe). Amber eyes that are probably too honest. A body that clearly exercises at least twice a week but probably not three times and maybe only once if there’s a holiday. A small frame, no hips to speak of, and an upper torso that single handily kills any chance of her being an acrobat. An energetic, good spirited sort that seems well aware that it is easier to smile than to frown.
Apparel– Her clothes are usually some combination of blues and whites, the young woman having yet to fall into the adventurer standard of wearing one expensive battle suit 24/7. A belt as deeply black as her hair supports the maiden's similarly colored leather quiver and void pouch. Boots that used to be white. A second strap slung diagonally over her shoulder bears the empty water canister on her back, the woman's other shoulder tasked with bearing the bow sling that in turn carries her unusual weapon. This arrangement will likely change the very moment she figures out a way to carry her all of her stuff without looking like she recently escaped from some kind of belt cult.
Adventures! –
Tanya was bored. Very, very bored. She was beginning to think that waiting to surprise mother, father, and uncle once they left the lowest tunnel (where she wasn’t allowed) hadn’t been a very good plan. She probably should have just listened to them and gone back near the surface to play with her sister. Or maybe she could have gotten her sister in on this too; she clearly would have had the time for it! Oh well. It was what it was.
The young elf returned once more to studying the thick wooden door in front of her, lit by one of the many lights whose design uniquely distinguished her family’s area. The other families probably didn’t have doors this pretty either, although she wasn’t really one to brag about such things. She could silently admire it though. The little curves, the smoke rising through the – smoke? Tanya placed her hand on the door. It was warm. Very warm. And soon after that, it was very red as well.
The little girl ran through the tunnels, gasping for breath but unwilling to stop or even open her eyes out of fear of being swallowed by the flames. She knew the tunnels well, turning at the right spots despite her lack of vision. Which only furthered the young elf’s surprise when she smashed into a pile of rock. The tunnel to the surface had collapsed! Tanya cried out for an answer that would not come, glancing back just long enough to learn her fear was more than justified.
She ducked into the nearest door she could find; a room filled with old antiques. This room, more than any other, represented the great wealth and pride of her family relative to the others that lived in the caverns. Maybe her bones would someday be kept here as an example for others – “here lies Tanya, she should have listened to mother”. ..She hoped mother was okay. Maybe there was another way out of the tunnels, it wouldn’t make sense for there to only be one way! Uncle always said you should always have more than one escape route, and father listened to him a lot! They were probably okay. The girl shakes the thought from her head. She wasn’t dead yet. The elf begins grabbing the antiques within her reach, shaking each one in hopes of finding some kind of ancient magic before hurriedly moving to the next. She slows down for a moment after accidentally breaking a glass bunny – she really hoped that wasn’t important – but quickly stops caring as flames began to flicker at the edges of her vision.
Desperate, the girl moves to the very back to the room where two large chests lay. One of steel and the other of.. ice? It was made of ice! The girl flung open the chest, pulled out a pile of very fancy looking clothes, and got in before closing the lid behind her. This could work!
The magic ice did indeed appear to be impervious to the flame, remaining cool even as the air inside the container began to heat up. Tanya felt like her insides were burning as well, the pain prompting her to begin meekly feeling through the other objects in the chest in search of magic. She must have found some, but she didn’t want to feel like she was spiiinning anymore… was someone crying? She… what was she thinking about again? The magic! The-the ma-
-----
The room was a wreck. Fergus sighed as he stepped over the burnt shards of some glass animal or another. The shelves had collapsed in the flames, of course. The only thing that really surprised the old elf was that the tunnels had stayed up at all; is son was probably already throwing a fit at the idea of him sifting around down here but the loaf should know better than to pass up a chance to turn a quick bit of gold. His earth magic was more than enough for some tunnel delving, anyhow. Shame about the kids though; he’d never cared for the elders but it was always sad when- well hello there! A nevermelt ice chest! That’d show his son the value of taking a risk now and then, yesserie. Not even locked, must be his lucky day. Maybe the stuff inside would be ice too, that’d be a find!
Oh. Oh. The elf stepped back. Maybe he should just.. leave. Nothing good came of messing with the dead. On the other hand, she’d probably want to have a proper funeral. Yeah, he could do her a favor and walk away with a little payment besides. “Let’s get you out of there little one.”
Hrrph! Heavier than she looked. Warmer than she looked, too. Never felt a warm corpse before, was this some sick result of dying in a heated nevermelt ice chest? The air coming out of her was warm too. Fergus leapt back as he suddenly realized what was going on, only barely managing to stop himself from dropping the child in fright. How in the great council’s name wasn’t she dead?! Right, treasure hunt over. He’d have a story to tell his boy, at least.
----
A week later Fergus found himself back in the antique room. The little girl, Tanya, shifted through the remains. He honestly couldn’t afford to care for her, but this stuff belonged to her. The healer had taken the contents of the ice chest as payment – thieving curr – and no one else wanted to deal with the mysterious not-dead girl. Which was stupid; he’d been scared at first as well but anyone with half a brain could figure out there must have been something magical in the chest. Simple as that. Healer probably knew what it was too, probably laughing it up right now. Gods, he hated that man. He couldn’t be too angry with the others though – anyone with half a brain would also know that no one else wanted to take her in, either. It hadn’t been a good year for anyone and being superstitious was preferable to feeling like an ass. He looked up to see the girl trying to open a partially melted steel chest in the back of the room. He called out for her to stop and let him handle it – all it took was a bit of his magic to forcefully break the thing open.
Nothing in the chest had survived the fire, although the warping of the metal had unveiled a hidden lower compartment. A little more destruction revealed some kind of wheeled bow made of silver, glass, and various smattering of other materials that had no right being in a bow. Magic. Definitely magic.
”Well kid, I- actually, keep the bow.” The girl gave him a curious look. ”But don’t I need to sell it to-“ Fergus cuts her off with a wave of his hand. ”No one’s going to pay you for whatever it’s really worth. I think you should just keep it as a memento and sell this broken stuff for scrap. There’s this human trader I know back at Greevan, I was thinking of having him set you up with a family somewhere anyhow. And don’t go telling me your family is still alive! If they are they haven’t shown themselves and if that ever changes I can send word through the trader, alright?” The girl nods. ”Fegus, can I check something in the woods before we go?”
”..sure.“
---
Tanya had left Fergus behind. He had been really nice to her, but her family had told her to never reveal the secret entrance. If there had been – since there was another escape it had surely led to the secret entrance. Plus, her sister hadn’t been down in the tunnels with her the others! Fergus had checked the collapsed sections himself, her sister’s body hadn’t been found. She was still alive and.. yes! Footprints! It hadn’t rained for awhile, and nothing else had disturbed the mud since the day of the fire. Plants didn’t grow here either, not since uncle tried to “improve” them. The smaller footprints were definitely her sisters but.. the big ones looked weird. Those definitely weren’t her parent’s boots.. and uncle’s feet weren’t that big.
---
The trader’s boots weren’t that big either. She’d begged Fergus and the others to look for her sister, even reveled the secret entrance, but most folk claimed she was making it up and even the ones that believed her hadn’t been able to find anything. Fergus promised to send word if he learned anything about it, at least. Did big boots start the fire? Or was he just in the area when her sister escaped? Maybe she got it wrong, and big boots had walked through the mud at a different time.. but then why hadn’t anyone seen her sister?
Tanya pondered this issue as deeply as she could, occasionally incorporating those that passed by the wagon on the journey to Epicrin. The feather lady a great bird, the eyepatch man a terrible bandit (that turned out to not be that bad after all; Tanya’s imagination would come up with countless ways to explain why her missing sister was actually happy in the years to come), the little fancy creature a king of midgets.
The trader announced they’d be arriving in a few hours, and told her to get some sleep. That sounded like a good idea. The “Finest Elexian Silks” next to her in the cramped vehicle were very soft, and quite warm as well.
---
The trader had tried to sell her bow while she was sleeping. She’d only barely woke in time to contest the deal, a horrid shouting match that had lead to her grabbing the device and running off. She thought the trader would chase after her and they’d talk it out but he.. hadn’t. He wasn’t there when she got back either. She decided she should just wait for him to return. Maybe he had business to attend. The girl nods at the thought.
She never saw the trader again.
----
Days turned into weeks as Tanya tried to make a living on the streets of Epicrin. She got pretty good at panhandling, which was fortunate as the only other thing she could do with a pan was create mangled foodstuffs that were probably illegal. Or at least unholy. The last time she tried to cook something crazy Madge, one of the friendlier street people, had honestly demanded she be given the whole thing so she could try using it to summon the demons in her head.
Living on the streets hadn’t been easy at first – she was very lucky crazy Madge had warned her to hide the bow in a ripped sack (the tear allowing her to wear the bow around her waist at night) on her first night and the even greater importance of sticking near the peacekeeper building. Her stuff still got stolen, of course, but at least no one took enough time to steal her family’s bow in fear of the constant patrols. Sometimes she thought about asking the night peacekeepers to help her, but Madge was convinced they’d beat you or something. “Stay close but don’t interact long ear” she’d often say. The others didn’t like them much either, but it was until much later that Tanya learned that most of them were thieves.
At the end of her seventh week in the city Tanya awoke to the realization that hadn’t seen Madge in awhile. She had never seemed very good at following her own advice... The girl decided she should go out and look for the old woman. She’d lost enough people, she didn’t want to lose Madge too.
And that’s how Tanya found herself walking through the city asking if anyone had seen her friend. She even managed to recruit a stuffy old mage into helping her look around! Her good fortune ended there, however; Madge was nowhere to be found (and in fact wouldn’t be found until she turned up outside the city gates a good four months later, blabbering about “Adventures”). Mr. Cain had been good company , though, and he had likewise been pretty impressed with the little spell she had been working on to help wow people into giving her a little more bread. It wasn’t much, really, she’d just drawn inspiration from the way her little water-wheel like bow created light. He offered to try teaching her a few basic spells while they continued their search – if she’d like. Her squeal could probably be heard across the city.
By the time Madge was finally found Tanya had started living at the mages guild. Despite her early success with the basic scrolls her advancement proved slow. Mr. Cain said that wasn’t uncommon in children, and that she’d surely be able to master higher arts after she matured a bit. Which – he would often add – was for the best. Children that acquired powerful magic too early tended to go out and make fools of themselves (or worse) anyhow. Months, and then years passed as Tanya performed various duties for the mage guild. She managed to get back into contact with Fergus as well, although no more information on her sister was ever found – a fact that began to trouble her more and more as she grew older.
So much so, in fact, that upon graduating from her school she successfully convinced Mr. Cain to let her going on some “Adventures” of her own instead of taking one of the more academic jobs. She was sure she’d be able to progress her work with the Solar Tide spell faster with the additional funds anyhow.
Also, that’s how things usually get done in all of the really fun books (Tanya kept that bit of inspiration to herself, of course).
8 years has passed since then, and Tanya still doesn’t know what happened to her sister. Clearly, the thing to do is go adventuring. That’s what works in all the really fun books and waiting for others to figure it out clearly isn’t working!
Skills/Abilities
Solar Tide – Draw in the surrounding moisture, infusing it with light before releasing it back into the world.(Dualmagery, Dehydrate+Gleam)
Lvl 1. Pull the moisture in the area into yourself, drying the air and surrounding objects, and then release it as a wave of liquid light from your hand. The wave is a pint of liquid light that diffuses back into the environment at the end of the encounter. Liquid light waves hit with the strength of a punch, and the liquid itself counts as both light and water for spells and effects.
Lvl 2. You may harden some/all of your wave of liquid light into glowing glass while it is airborne.
Lvl 3. You may draw in ambient light in addition to moisture, darkening the surrounding area to double the volume of your wave.
Lvl 4. You may, instead of creating a wave, use this spell to convert non-living water into liquid light or harden preexisting liquid light, that is not touching another living creature, into glass. The amount of liquid converted/hardened can be up to four times what the wave’s volume would have been. The liquid light diffuses at the end of encounter as normal. (8 pints equals 1 gallon).
Lvl 5. Your hardened liquid light can be become crystal instead of glass.
Lvl 6. You can draw in and consume the light or water from any light or water spells cast by yourself or others, doubling the wave’s volume. The consumed spells’ level cannot exceed your mastery of Solar Tide – 1. This effect is only usable once every three posts.
Lvl 7. You may create gallons of liquid light instead of pints, and can sheath yourself/your possessions in liquid light instead of releasing it as a wave.
Lvl 8. You can increase the pull of this spell, your touch draining the moisture from creatures and dimming light sources. This effect also increases the force of the generated wave, even if not touching a target, to that of a strong punch.
Lvl 9. You may, instead of this spell’s other effects, modify any preexisting or simultaneously cast water/light magical effects to utilize liquid light instead of water/light. Light transformed into liquid light is slowed down, hitting with the force of strong punch. Modification lasts as long as the effect.
Lvl 10. You can, in place of this spell’s other effects, shape any amount of liquid light created by your spells this encounter into a summon of your own design. Design can incorporate glass/crystal parts, and it must include a fist-sized “core” made of fragile glass to function properly. Design can otherwise vary by casting. Your spells that manipulate light and water, but not those of others, can manipulate the summon.
Spells
Light
Lvl 1. (Dualmagery)
Lvl 2. Window
Water
Lvl 1. (Dualmagery)
Lvl 2. Flow
Weapons
Sun’s Wheel – A strange, unusually stiff bow of silver, hardened glass, and various other materials that utilizes a combination of pulleys and silver-coated dragongut strings to fire arrows without need of great strength. Tanya grew up with the bow, and is more than a little familiar with firing it. Effectively Modifier 2. (Both minors, yes it is basically a compound bow)
> The bow can create an arrow of light when drawn. This arrow, once fired, harmlessly enters and illuminates a 3” radius circle of whatever it hits. The lit area, which lasts for three posts, can be treated as the archer’s hand/fingers for the purpose of casting spells. The exact distribution and strength of the glow can be controlled to mimic hand/arm/finger motion.
> The bow can infuse any glass, ice, or crystalline projectiles it is used to fire with a single one of its enchantments.
Watermage Dagger - A kujang dagger with a silver blade and smooth coral hilt. Can generate ice around its teardrop blade to turn itself into an ice-sword. (Void)
Various Items of Note
> Belt Quiver (Worn)
>> Wooden Arrows with Stone Tips.
> Silk Bow Sling (Worn)
> A bone and leather canister capable of holding a gallon of liquid (Worn, strapped to her back).
>> Currently holds about a quarter gallon of water.
> Void pouch (Worn)
Misc.
Leather Bound Journal (Void)
Feather Quill (Void)
Bottle of Black Ink (Void)
Net (void)
Pan (void)
Flask of Water (void)
Various empty flasks, eating implements, etc (void)
Currency
15 gp
Miko tosses on a few dazes to keep the insect off balance while she readies her crossbow.**
Lvl 1. You may command the earthen materials beneath your feet to either soften or magnify your footfalls, allowing for a stealthy or intimidating approach.
Lvl 2. You may cause any earthen object you alone are holding to vibrate at a specific frequency, effectively increasing its modifier by one in clashes with other materials.
Lvl 3. Your sense of touch and hearing are merged together. This allows you to discern things about your environment that others would not, especially when it comes to movement or vibration. This sense allows you to tell what materials are in an area or item by tuning them with a light tap.
Lvl 4. You can control the vibrations in unattended, non-magical earthen materials and any such materials created or manipulated by your spells. This allows you to treat up to 5 cubic feet of such material as a held object for the purposes of your Quakelord abilities. You may use a spell per post to instead effect up to 10 cubic feet of material.
Lvl 5. You may temporarily extend your vibration ability to larger areas of earthen material in the environment, causing them to match your own personal frequency. Twice per encounter you may use this ability to phase quickly through 10 feet of solid stone or 5 feet of solid metal. When this effect ends you ejected from the material at the nearest possible exit.
Lvl 6. Your ability to manipulate vibrations improves, allowing you to increase the effective modifier of earthen objects by another level and/or cause them to crack and/or explode into a cloud of dust and shrapnel on impact. Using this ability counts against your spells per post, larger items are less likely to explode.
Lvl 7. You may choose one additional solid material to consider earthen for the purposes of Quakelord abilities (e.g., wood, bone or glass).
Lvl 8. You may harmonize earthen objects with any others, allowing you to increase their modifier by another level and/or grant them the ability to pass through up to 3' worth of other non-magical earthen material. Items that would get stuck are shunted to the nearest available space. Using this ability counts against your spells per post.
Lvl 9. The power of your spells echo into the world around you. Whenever you cast a spell you may use one of your lower-level Quakelord abilities without it counting against your spells per post.
Lvl 10. You develop a custom WM-approved vibration-based technique/ability.
Whatever we think up, it should be:
> Fun!
> Take a decent amount of time, perhaps a month or two, as we want to them to develop the habit of checking the Colo.
> Easy to join/participate in.
I also think it would need to be something that doesn't give people who can post several times a day a massive advantage against people that only post once every 1-2 days.
I'd like it to actually involve RPing in some fashion.
----
The moderator game appears to be quite successful, but is does not appear to be spilling out into the rest of the colo.
Esyllt - "You should act refined as well. I think acting like a lesser noble who feels he has been slighted - but does not yet have the power to rise above the others - would cover it pretty well. You should probably make sure to learn and remember the power structure within the city as soon as possible, since a Belmaestrocucito would be expected to keep up with all of his rivals."
Javert - "Hrmph. Everyone, then?"
Dr.Smalls - "I'd think knowing the biggest names along with some made-up immediate rivals would cover most conversational needs."
Cee - "Couldn't he just be a surly, prissy jerk and let people think he's in a particularly bad mood?"
Dr.Smalls - "That could also work! Although he's not likely to have many conversations acting like that."
**The harpy pauses for a moment before turning back towards Yack.**
Cassie - "I can't eat shadows, right papa?"
No, it isn't/wasn't the rare item shop.
Not a soul shares the duo's path and even the animals appear to have forsaken the foggy road...**