Looks like the Ashvent tower is going to win but I'm putting out one last plea for sanity, and heavily armored minions.
Let's not cower behind smoke. Fearing and scrabbling in ash to keep our secrets from the other wizards.
Let those other bastards have a good look at the lava armored monstrosities we forge, and let them know fear.
I'm also editing my original vote. It occurs to me that there may very well be treasure on those boats.
I figure the knife can wait a bit, if there's treasure to be had.
Its base is wrought from the bedrock. An unfinished craggy stone surface broken only by the four lava falls that constantly flow down the sides in the cardinal directions until they reach the boiling sea.
As the eye progresses up, what was once clearly a natural formation begins to slowly become more ordered, less rough, until a square tower of smooth unbroken obsidian emerges. The graduation between the styles is so subtle that an observer could not pinpoint any kind of join between the two.
Near the top, four enormous leering faces appear, a fire elemental, a dragon, a demonic horned face and a skull, so large as to fill the width of one entire side of the tower each. From their mouths flow the constant lava torrent that runs down the centre of each side of the tower.
Above that is lost to the swirling ash clouds. The smoke filled air keeping Cinder's secrets hidden from prying eyes.
Its base is wrought from the bedrock. An unfinished craggy stone surface broken only by the four lava falls that constantly flow down the sides in the cardinal directions until they reach the boiling sea.
As the eye progresses up, what was once clearly a natural formation begins to slowly become more ordered, less rough, until a square tower of smooth unbroken obsidian emerges. The graduation between the styles is so subtle that an observer could not pinpoint any kind of join between the two.
Near the top, four enormous leering faces appear, a fire elemental, a dragon, a demonic horned face and a skull, so large as to fill the width of one entire side of the tower each. From their mouths flow the constant lava torrent that runs down the centre of each side of the tower.
Above that is lost to the swirling ash clouds. The smoke filled air keeping Cinder's secrets hidden from prying eyes.
As the constant flow cascades into the sea, a dark cloud arises from the surface. The shroud is spreading quickly and encasing the tower in a deep fog.
Generalísimo de Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
edited December 2015
Turn 3
Decision C-3: Investigate Vulcanus and have a protective ash cloud (this was quite close) Bonuses: +8 mana, +7 fortune
Cinders' Stats
The Foreseen Lavashaper Mana: 23 [+5/turn] Fortune: 21/25 [+0/turn] Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength, Lucky, Wizard, Ranged(short) Equipment: Vulcanus Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
The Obsidian Tower
Ashvent - Prevents scrying in the region.
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
The lavashaper raised her arms into the air and the molten rock at the heart of the world answered.
After hours of intense work, Cinders' work was finished. The glass pillar had been replaced by something far more suitable. Its base is wrought from the bedrock. An unfinished craggy stone surface broken only by the four lava falls that constantly flow down the sides in the cardinal directions until they reach the boiling sea.
As the eye progresses up, what was once clearly a natural formation begins to slowly become more ordered, less rough, until a square tower of smooth unbroken obsidian emerges. The graduation between the styles is so subtle that an observer could not pinpoint any kind of join between the two.
Near the top, four enormous leering faces appear: a roaring dragon, a tri-horned demon, a not quite human skull, and a confused mass of tentacles that could only be called a face by the loosest of definitions. Each was so large as to fill the width of one entire side of the tower. From their mouths flow the constant lava torrent that runs down the centre of each side of the tower.
Above that is lost to the swirling ash clouds. The smoke filled air keeping Cinders' secrets hidden from prying eyes.
[Mana income from the shard increases from +1 to +5. Ashvent special prevents scrying]
Within the tower, Cinders sat on her obsidian throne and confronted her next task: Vulcanus. Outside, the the rain pattered down on the ocean - the new ashcloud was having unforeseen effects on the local weather, and now the winds were rising to make it a real storm. The curved, five-fingered star flitted this way and that but always its flaming eye was trained upon its master. Again, the lavashaper asked the question: What was Vulcanus.
"COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED. VULCANUS BORN FROM COAL. COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED BY FIRE MOTHER. VULCANUS ONLY VULCANUS. SIBLINGS OF COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED. NO OTHERS BORN OF SIBLINGS"
Cinders sighed loudly, the pointed chakram had said some variant on this a dozen times now. Clearly the creature, if it could be called that at all, had some intimate link with the crystal shard (the "coal") but she knew that already. The shard itself now took pride of place in the lower depths of the fortress. Since those visions she'd tried again to catch of a glimpse of her five co-conspirators and the damned idiot who'd interrupted the ritual at the worst possible time. The shard had been unresponsive in repeating the same trick. For now it seemed to be little more than a well of magical energy far in excess of anything that Cinders had encountered before. Using its power to construct her ashen fortress seemed to somehow deepen her connection to it, the energy flowed more easily now, but there was no width to the ability. No leverage. It was base and raw for the moment. With time and study, perhaps she could bend it to her will more fully, but of course she would not be alone in that while the other apprentices lived.
Her attention turned back to Vulcanus, and to the thin lines of liquid destiny that moved below the waters and beneath the rock. Objects could have some measure of fate bound to them, of course, she'd seen that often enough in the past. Old relics around the Institute had a certain pattern, but it was static and spoke only of the past. Vulcanus lived, despite having been forged around a tiny splinter of The Weir, and this was reflected in its fortune. A fortune that was tied all too closely with Cinders' own. The depth of the connection was beyond that of even the closest of blood ties. She'd read stories long ago of Magi who bound small parcels of their own soul into various forms - often called a familiar, and usually in the form of an animal such as a cat or an owl. To her knowledge, nobody had bound a familiar for centuries and yet she appeared to have done just that without any study in the field at all.
If Vulcanus really was her familiar, and Cinders had more or less now decided that it was, then she should be able to use it as a magic focus. An origin point for any spells that she crafted. Experimentally she had tried to conjure a few cantrips, but this action at a distance was not forthcoming yet. Every investigation seemed to turn up yet more questions; She pined for the libraries within the Institute that she'd never really made much use of. Back there there had many hundreds of old tomes that laid claim to all manner of spellcraft that seemed far outside the realm of possibility. Until she'd awoken on the beach that was when all of those old tales seemed to have started coming true.
She tried a new tactic and asked Vulcanus whether he knew where any of these "siblings" might be. The artifact simply rotated busily around its axis in lieu of a verbal response. After waiting for a few seconds, she asked again about the All-Seed, which she presumed was how Vulcanus had labelled The Weir.
"ALL-SEED BROKEN. ALL-SEED OUT-IN. OUT-IN BROKEN. SIBLINGS ONLY OUT. SIBLINGS TOGETHER MAKE ALL-SEED ONLY OUT."
It flared as it spoke, each of the five blades sending out sparks of excitement. Or possibly confusion. Outside the winds continued to howl and the rain lashed down. Perhaps things would be clearer in the morning.
Things were not substantially clearly in the morning it turned out. Aside from the literal - the rains that had most likely been precipitated by the new ashcloud had ceased. Cinders' vision penetrated her own volcanic dust around the tower and found the skies beyond clear. Looking out to sea there was no sign of the three ships that had been watching her the night before though. At least until she turned to look over the mainland, when their fate became abundantly clear. The wreckage of at least one of the ships drifted lazily towards where one of the four great lava falls struck the sea. A larger collection of splintered wood was strewn across the beach along with several colourful shapes that Cinders presumed were survivors. Clearly they'd been shipwrecked in the previous nights' storm. It was time to consider greeting the locals.
Decision Time
(A letter and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
1 - Attack the semi-drowned sailors and take any survivors captive (Costs 2 mana)
2 - The tower's giant skull is pointing roughly in the right direction. Use it to demand the surrender of the castaways (Costs 2 mana)
3 - Send your apparently ever-faithful familiar, Vulcanus, to go and investigate (No cost)
4 - Head down yourself and see if you can help the injured (No cost, except dignity)
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
2 +Fortune
I hope we can kill the survivors later if they don't surrender peaceably. I'm guessing that 1 or 3 results in a fair amount of casualties, which we want to avoid if we plan on sacrificing peasants in the future.
And 4, well, all we've got is Mana and very little to spend it on at the moment. No reason to talk to these castaways directly, not when we've got a giant lava spitting skull pointed directly at them.
I think a little diplomacy can't hurt, and likely more knowledge can be gained without putting them beneath our spiked boot. But we can easily apply the boot the moment they act as anything but good servants.
Sending Vulcanus alone will just lead to confused dialogue and probably fire-based hi-jinks. Which can be fun, but I'd like to hold off for now.
Also, choose mana instead of fortune, as we've nearly hit the fortune cap but mana is forever.
So clearly the other acolytes and coal siblings threaten our complete power, but what are our plans for this power anyhow?
Is this planet of fire our dominion to shape as we will?
Are we to take this power and feed it until we become as a god?
Or do we simply want to become as a law to the other beings on this planet, overseeing them and unifying them?
(For any future voters: we're at the Fortune cap now, but like Celebrim suspected, I'd like to see if anything happens at 26)
Lavashaper we may be, but clearly none before us have held such power. Are we the all-consuming inferno found in the heart of the sun, or the tended, nurtured blaze that creates warmth, light, and civilization? Fire brings both comfort and exquisite pain; the only difference being in the amount applied.
GNU Terry Pratchett
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
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AnialosCollies are love, Collies are life!Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered Userregular
3 +Mana
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
So clearly the other acolytes and coal siblings threaten our complete power, but what are our plans for this power anyhow?
Is this planet of fire our dominion to shape as we will?
Are we to take this power and feed it until we become as a god?
Or do we simply want to become as a law to the other beings on this planet, overseeing them and unifying them?
I vote "I am like unto a GOD" myself. but a god should still come down from the clouds every so often to bring jubilation to the people.
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
So clearly the other acolytes and coal siblings threaten our complete power, but what are our plans for this power anyhow?
Is this planet of fire our dominion to shape as we will?
Are we to take this power and feed it until we become as a god?
Or do we simply want to become as a law to the other beings on this planet, overseeing them and unifying them?
I vote "I am like unto a GOD" myself. but a god should still come down from the clouds every so often to bring jubilation to the people.
Sure, but first a god has to be established to her followers as a god. Maybe by a giant lava spewing stone skull singing our praises and demanding obedience.
Just saying, you don't god by showing up looking like a normal person and smelling of smoke and ash when all you've got is a flying knife buddy to prove your godhood.
We walk down on that beach and say "Hey, I'm your new god, time to get to work..." we're likely to get jumped by a bunch of moderately armed seamen (I assume they've got a collection of knives, or make shift clubs from the wreckage) who've had an extraordinarily bad night (good nights don't end in shipwrecks) and are in no mood to receive orders from a stranger, flying knife thing or not.
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
Mana: 35 [+5/turn] Fortune: 2/25 [+0/turn] Peasants: 12/0 [+2 next turn] [+0/turn due to lack of food] Food: None, 14 needed Resources: 0 [+1/turn]
Ashvent - Prevents scrying in the region.
Cinders' Stats
The Foreseen Lavashaper
Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength, Lucky, Wizard, Ranged(short) Equipment: Vulcanus Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
Cinders' throne room was largely open, the four pillars at the corners supported the vast vaulted ceiling and allowed for the bulk of each of the edges to be open space rather than walls. She stood before the stark drop above the fortress' skull face and looked down at the wrecked sailors. It was hard to raise any kind of argument that they might be a threat, unless it was a particularly elaborate trap that was relying on the lavashaper's good nature. Cinders smiled at the thought. Good nature indeed. She stepped over the edge.
A fist sized blob of lava ejected itself from the lavafall below and raced upwards towards Cinders. The flow of air around it quickly turned it from a red hot liquid into a brownish rather porous stone. It struck her foot just as she shifted her entire body weight into what would have been free space. The pumice chunk struck her foot with the same force as that produced by the tug of gravity against her. It exploded dramatically shortly afterwards as different pieces of the loose structure decided to try and change direction at different times. A second step was met with a second perfectly weighted lavarock moving at the ideal speed.
It was a slow and deliberate walk with every step supported by an instantaneous lump of cooled lava from the skullfalls. Soon she had left the opaque haven of the ever swirling ash clouds and was walking openly in the air on a staircase which only existed for the moment she set each foot down. It did't take long for the shipwrecked to spot her and start pointing up at her. Oh, they'd spied on her before with their looking glasses. Now she was giving them something real to look at.
It took a few minutes for her to close the distance to the beach. As she gradually descended the lava blobs started to originate from lower and lower in the falls but this could only go on so far. The last fifty feet or so caused a much larger gout of lava to leap from the falls and gather before her into a roughly-shaped ramp of stone. It tumbled sideways and shattered into rubble as Cinders set foot on the sand.
A suitably impressive entrance she thought as she clapped her hands together and addressed the assembled cowering sailors,
"Welcome. Bring the injured forward. Quickly now. I've not got all day."
It took a few seconds for the dozen rather bedraggled looking people to actually do anything, but when they moved they were efficient. There were another five who were had survived the storm but could no longer move under their own power. Three of them had no fates. To die here on that beach at the foot of the ashen tower was their destiny. She ignored them to focus on the other two. One was still semi-conscious, which boded well, the other was not and made an irritating rasping noise with each breath. Unfortunately she was no barber or surgeon and the tools of molten earth were too coarse for such treatment.
One of the gathered sailors stood ahead of his companions. Cinder asked him the obvious question,
"Are you the captain?"
"No, ma'am. Ship's galley master, ma'am."
He diverted his eyes down the sand as he spoke. Cinders liked that, it was endearing. She'd call him Cook. It was a good name. Maybe she would let him work in the tower's kitchen. Except that the tower didn't have a kitchen and she hadn't eaten since arriving. Strange that she hadn't even felt a twinge of hunger.
A pile of broken timbers from a ship burst into flames as the sand at her feet coalesced into a crude glass bowl. She gestured at the bowl and spoke to Cook,
"Boil some water and clean their wounds. After that have their broken limbs splinted and they will survive."
Cook himself retrieved the bowl, cautiously, and handed it to one of the others who rushed to the sea to gather water. Now that he did that Cinders wasn't sure that seawater was really the best thing to use on wounds. Probably best not to mention it though, it would make her appear less than omnipotent. And the destiny of both the patients seem to be growing stronger with every passing moment.
"Now then, Cook. I think it is time for you to share your tale."
His eyes widened and at first the words tumbled out all too rapidly, but gradually he found his centre and was able to make more sense. The three ships had been a whaling expedition from across the strait, just over a day's voyage away. A city-state called Drome headed by an aged King and ruled over by a senate drawn by civic lottery. A pod of Speckled Whales had lured the ships in circles for a week before vanishing and so the sailors had resorted to casting nets so to have something to sell when they returned. From afar they'd seen a meteor fall from the heavens and decided to come and investigate. Meteoric metals fetched high prices and could make the journey worthwhile after all. Instead, they'd come across Cinders and the glass tower before being caught in a storm and well... now they were washed up without any way to return to Drome.
He sketched out a map in the sand as he spoke
It also became very clear that the sailors had never seen a lavashaper before. Or any kind of wizard. This world had until very recently apparently been almost devoid of any such powers. They knew of wizards though, Cook said they were just stories after one of the others finally chipped in to add that his grandfather had once met a man who had wings and could speak to lizards over in Al-Jaz'eb. There was an awkward pause with the tale now finished. Eventually, the Cook plucked up some courage and asked a question of his own,
"Was... was the meteor you, ma'am?"
Cinders steepled her fingers, they were stained grey-white with ash, pale against her skin. Pale like the one who had lured her into to all of this. But no, she relented. Yes, Cook had asked a question but perhaps he deserved an answer,
"My dear Cook, what an odd sense of humour you have. I think we can both clearly see that I am not a piece of stone and iron fallen from heaven."
Although, she thought privately, perhaps that had been something to do with her arrival.
"Now then, enough of this idle chatter. You will need to make yourselves some sand-hovels and so on, I expect. I shall return shortly with work for you."
[Cinders has acquired 12 loyal peasants, and 2 more injured peasants. They are currently foraging for food, preventing population growth. Growth will still be reduced due to a lack of housing even if fed (they need 14 food per turn). Having peasants leads to production 1 resource/turn]
She strode away from the confused sailors, walking along the beach to better admire the tower she'd created. And because she had had a sudden sense of deja-vu. Her foot struck something in the sand as she walked, as she'd foreseen a moment ago. Stooping down she pulled the scroll-case out of the sand. Unscrewing the end she found several pages of hand-written parchment. They were covered in magical formulae which were much too dense to consider at this exact moment but would no doubt prove useful later on.
[Fortune event: Cinders finds Wizarding Texts. Required a Scholar's Hall to use: +25 study on her next research topic.]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
What will Cinders direct her new subjects to do:
A: Salvage the remains of their ship (gain resources)
B: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources 30 mana) C: Add a Scholar's Hall to the tower (allows research, +1 study/turn) (costs 50 resources) Scout the mainland [specify south or east]
E: Raise militia (produces a [Militia] unit, costs 5 resources 10 mana and 5 peasants)
And what will Cinders do:
1: Help the sailors (mandatory if B or E are selected as you are using mana in lieu of resources)
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shard (difficulty 14: Success gains 2d6 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Go fishing (costs 2 mana, and produces 3d6 food)
4: Burn (some) of the forest to ashes (costs 4 mana)
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
edited December 2015
A4 Mana
Burning the forest produces resources?
wilting on
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
B1 +Mana
Sand hovels are terrible houses and will require constant maintenance. Instead, much better to use lava and sand to build them some glass hovels, so they can devote themselves to being productive instead of digging holes in the sand to sleep in.
While we're making houses, can we ask our peasants nicely to salvage the remains of their ship? I'd assume that it would result in less resources being gathered, but they'd be doing something and we wouldn't lose all of those resources to the tides.
If the glass houses win, hopefully our peasants will have the good sense to not throw stones.
After all we've done for them already, they can start fending for themselves and build their own houses.
And mojo just said we'd make barbecued squirrel by burning down the forest, so that will produce food for the peasants. Plus we can burn things. win/win.
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
While we're making houses, can we ask our peasants nicely to salvage the remains of their ship? I'd assume that it would result in less resources being gathered, but they'd be doing something and we wouldn't lose all of those resources to the tides.
I don't think that's what Mojo intends, game mechanics wise.
I'm considering changing my vote to glass houses, as much as I loved "You will need to make yourselves some sand-hovels and so on, I expect."
While we're making houses, can we ask our peasants nicely to salvage the remains of their ship? I'd assume that it would result in less resources being gathered, but they'd be doing something and we wouldn't lose all of those resources to the tides.
I don't think that's what Mojo intends, game mechanics wise.
I'm considering changing my vote to glass houses, as much as I loved "You will need to make yourselves some sand-hovels and so on, I expect."
I know, but that's the great thing about these CYOA games. If an idea or option that hadn't been considered is suggested, it's not automatically out of the question like it would be with a less flexible format.
I mean, it never hurts to ask, right?
As she watched Cook organize the rest of the crew to scavenge the remains of the ship for decent hut-making materials, she heard a rustle of leaves. Turing away from the ocean, she noticed the lush green of the forest for the first time. Thick with life and fertility, she could smell damp earth on the gentle breeze.
Burn
She hated the sight. She, who felt the pulse of the planet, who could read the fate of the world within the dancing of the flame, who would not let this insulting patch of kindling continue in mockery of the true power of flame.
The arcane power leapt from her fingers in the form of glorious light and heat, obliterating a large section of the forest. Worthless vegetation transformed into all powerful fire, a beautiful vision of her strength.
Tired from the outburst, her shoulders sagged and she let out a long sigh. She noted the charred remains of a number of forest creatures. A few squirrels, some birds, and at least one roasted deer seemed to be on display. At least a bit of food to keep Cook and the crew working. She muses at her odd reaction, now slightly confused as to why the forest had made her so angry in the first place.
Whatever the reason, this cleared area is likely a better place to build shelter anyway. More solid ground, away from the waves. Yes, that is a good enough reason for burning it all down.
Posts
Let's not cower behind smoke. Fearing and scrabbling in ash to keep our secrets from the other wizards.
Let those other bastards have a good look at the lava armored monstrosities we forge, and let them know fear.
I'm also editing my original vote. It occurs to me that there may very well be treasure on those boats.
I figure the knife can wait a bit, if there's treasure to be had.
Learn what it does by murderhoboing everyone who saw us!
Hey! We have an obsidian tower thing!
We are most definitely above such a tag. :evil:
Giant statue of Cinders?
Some kind of collection of geothermal deep sea vents dragged to the surface
Little 2-up 2-down house atop a column of following lava?
Or something more tasteful?
I'm open to thoughts on this
As the eye progresses up, what was once clearly a natural formation begins to slowly become more ordered, less rough, until a square tower of smooth unbroken obsidian emerges. The graduation between the styles is so subtle that an observer could not pinpoint any kind of join between the two.
Near the top, four enormous leering faces appear, a fire elemental, a dragon, a demonic horned face and a skull, so large as to fill the width of one entire side of the tower each. From their mouths flow the constant lava torrent that runs down the centre of each side of the tower.
Above that is lost to the swirling ash clouds. The smoke filled air keeping Cinder's secrets hidden from prying eyes.
As the constant flow cascades into the sea, a dark cloud arises from the surface. The shroud is spreading quickly and encasing the tower in a deep fog.
Decision
C-3: Investigate Vulcanus and have a protective ash cloud (this was quite close)
Bonuses: +8 mana, +7 fortune
Cinders' Stats
Mana: 23 [+5/turn]
Fortune: 21/25 [+0/turn]
Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength, Lucky, Wizard, Ranged(short)
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
The Obsidian Tower
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
The lavashaper raised her arms into the air and the molten rock at the heart of the world answered.
After hours of intense work, Cinders' work was finished. The glass pillar had been replaced by something far more suitable. Its base is wrought from the bedrock. An unfinished craggy stone surface broken only by the four lava falls that constantly flow down the sides in the cardinal directions until they reach the boiling sea.
As the eye progresses up, what was once clearly a natural formation begins to slowly become more ordered, less rough, until a square tower of smooth unbroken obsidian emerges. The graduation between the styles is so subtle that an observer could not pinpoint any kind of join between the two.
Near the top, four enormous leering faces appear: a roaring dragon, a tri-horned demon, a not quite human skull, and a confused mass of tentacles that could only be called a face by the loosest of definitions. Each was so large as to fill the width of one entire side of the tower. From their mouths flow the constant lava torrent that runs down the centre of each side of the tower.
Above that is lost to the swirling ash clouds. The smoke filled air keeping Cinders' secrets hidden from prying eyes.
[Mana income from the shard increases from +1 to +5. Ashvent special prevents scrying]
Within the tower, Cinders sat on her obsidian throne and confronted her next task: Vulcanus. Outside, the the rain pattered down on the ocean - the new ashcloud was having unforeseen effects on the local weather, and now the winds were rising to make it a real storm. The curved, five-fingered star flitted this way and that but always its flaming eye was trained upon its master. Again, the lavashaper asked the question: What was Vulcanus.
"COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED. VULCANUS BORN FROM COAL. COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED BY FIRE MOTHER. VULCANUS ONLY VULCANUS. SIBLINGS OF COAL BORN FROM ALL-SEED. NO OTHERS BORN OF SIBLINGS"
Cinders sighed loudly, the pointed chakram had said some variant on this a dozen times now. Clearly the creature, if it could be called that at all, had some intimate link with the crystal shard (the "coal") but she knew that already. The shard itself now took pride of place in the lower depths of the fortress. Since those visions she'd tried again to catch of a glimpse of her five co-conspirators and the damned idiot who'd interrupted the ritual at the worst possible time. The shard had been unresponsive in repeating the same trick. For now it seemed to be little more than a well of magical energy far in excess of anything that Cinders had encountered before. Using its power to construct her ashen fortress seemed to somehow deepen her connection to it, the energy flowed more easily now, but there was no width to the ability. No leverage. It was base and raw for the moment. With time and study, perhaps she could bend it to her will more fully, but of course she would not be alone in that while the other apprentices lived.
Her attention turned back to Vulcanus, and to the thin lines of liquid destiny that moved below the waters and beneath the rock. Objects could have some measure of fate bound to them, of course, she'd seen that often enough in the past. Old relics around the Institute had a certain pattern, but it was static and spoke only of the past. Vulcanus lived, despite having been forged around a tiny splinter of The Weir, and this was reflected in its fortune. A fortune that was tied all too closely with Cinders' own. The depth of the connection was beyond that of even the closest of blood ties. She'd read stories long ago of Magi who bound small parcels of their own soul into various forms - often called a familiar, and usually in the form of an animal such as a cat or an owl. To her knowledge, nobody had bound a familiar for centuries and yet she appeared to have done just that without any study in the field at all.
If Vulcanus really was her familiar, and Cinders had more or less now decided that it was, then she should be able to use it as a magic focus. An origin point for any spells that she crafted. Experimentally she had tried to conjure a few cantrips, but this action at a distance was not forthcoming yet. Every investigation seemed to turn up yet more questions; She pined for the libraries within the Institute that she'd never really made much use of. Back there there had many hundreds of old tomes that laid claim to all manner of spellcraft that seemed far outside the realm of possibility. Until she'd awoken on the beach that was when all of those old tales seemed to have started coming true.
She tried a new tactic and asked Vulcanus whether he knew where any of these "siblings" might be. The artifact simply rotated busily around its axis in lieu of a verbal response. After waiting for a few seconds, she asked again about the All-Seed, which she presumed was how Vulcanus had labelled The Weir.
"ALL-SEED BROKEN. ALL-SEED OUT-IN. OUT-IN BROKEN. SIBLINGS ONLY OUT. SIBLINGS TOGETHER MAKE ALL-SEED ONLY OUT."
It flared as it spoke, each of the five blades sending out sparks of excitement. Or possibly confusion. Outside the winds continued to howl and the rain lashed down. Perhaps things would be clearer in the morning.
Things were not substantially clearly in the morning it turned out. Aside from the literal - the rains that had most likely been precipitated by the new ashcloud had ceased. Cinders' vision penetrated her own volcanic dust around the tower and found the skies beyond clear. Looking out to sea there was no sign of the three ships that had been watching her the night before though. At least until she turned to look over the mainland, when their fate became abundantly clear. The wreckage of at least one of the ships drifted lazily towards where one of the four great lava falls struck the sea. A larger collection of splintered wood was strewn across the beach along with several colourful shapes that Cinders presumed were survivors. Clearly they'd been shipwrecked in the previous nights' storm. It was time to consider greeting the locals.
Decision Time
(A letter and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
1 - Attack the semi-drowned sailors and take any survivors captive (Costs 2 mana)
2 - The tower's giant skull is pointing roughly in the right direction. Use it to demand the surrender of the castaways (Costs 2 mana)
3 - Send your apparently ever-faithful familiar, Vulcanus, to go and investigate (No cost)
4 - Head down yourself and see if you can help the injured (No cost, except dignity)
I hope we can kill the survivors later if they don't surrender peaceably. I'm guessing that 1 or 3 results in a fair amount of casualties, which we want to avoid if we plan on sacrificing peasants in the future.
And 4, well, all we've got is Mana and very little to spend it on at the moment. No reason to talk to these castaways directly, not when we've got a giant lava spitting skull pointed directly at them.
Mana
I think a little diplomacy can't hurt, and likely more knowledge can be gained without putting them beneath our spiked boot. But we can easily apply the boot the moment they act as anything but good servants.
Sending Vulcanus alone will just lead to confused dialogue and probably fire-based hi-jinks. Which can be fun, but I'd like to hold off for now.
Also, choose mana instead of fortune, as we've nearly hit the fortune cap but mana is forever.
4 fortune puts us at 25, no reason not to get there before we stop.
And maybe sending vulcanus down will help us practice with him some more.
Let's get some captives to interrogate and experiment on.
My guess on the mechanic would be that once we hit the cap, the beneficial event bonus will trigger and drop us back to 0 to begin accumulating again.
We should probably consider our priorities here.
So clearly the other acolytes and coal siblings threaten our complete power, but what are our plans for this power anyhow?
Is this planet of fire our dominion to shape as we will?
Are we to take this power and feed it until we become as a god?
Or do we simply want to become as a law to the other beings on this planet, overseeing them and unifying them?
(For any future voters: we're at the Fortune cap now, but like Celebrim suspected, I'd like to see if anything happens at 26)
Lavashaper we may be, but clearly none before us have held such power. Are we the all-consuming inferno found in the heart of the sun, or the tended, nurtured blaze that creates warmth, light, and civilization? Fire brings both comfort and exquisite pain; the only difference being in the amount applied.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
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Yes. It's not really a resource to spend, so much as a bar to fill
Edit: I just spotted I had a mana cost associated with sending Vulcanus. That was an error. It's free to send him/her/it down there
4 +Mana
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They need to see who's in charge now but there's no need to be vindictive.
I vote "I am like unto a GOD" myself. but a god should still come down from the clouds every so often to bring jubilation to the people.
Sure, but first a god has to be established to her followers as a god. Maybe by a giant lava spewing stone skull singing our praises and demanding obedience.
Just saying, you don't god by showing up looking like a normal person and smelling of smoke and ash when all you've got is a flying knife buddy to prove your godhood.
We walk down on that beach and say "Hey, I'm your new god, time to get to work..." we're likely to get jumped by a bunch of moderately armed seamen (I assume they've got a collection of knives, or make shift clubs from the wreckage) who've had an extraordinarily bad night (good nights don't end in shipwrecks) and are in no mood to receive orders from a stranger, flying knife thing or not.
Decision
4: Diplomacy. Diplomacy never changes.
Bonuses: +7 mana, +6 fortune
The Obsidian Tower
Fortune: 2/25 [+0/turn]
Peasants: 12/0 [+2 next turn] [+0/turn due to lack of food]
Food: None, 14 needed
Resources: 0 [+1/turn]
Ashvent - Prevents scrying in the region.
Cinders' Stats
Combat: 4 dice, 4+ strength, Lucky, Wizard, Ranged(short)
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana per round or lose 3 dice
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
Summary
Cinders' throne room was largely open, the four pillars at the corners supported the vast vaulted ceiling and allowed for the bulk of each of the edges to be open space rather than walls. She stood before the stark drop above the fortress' skull face and looked down at the wrecked sailors. It was hard to raise any kind of argument that they might be a threat, unless it was a particularly elaborate trap that was relying on the lavashaper's good nature. Cinders smiled at the thought. Good nature indeed. She stepped over the edge.
A fist sized blob of lava ejected itself from the lavafall below and raced upwards towards Cinders. The flow of air around it quickly turned it from a red hot liquid into a brownish rather porous stone. It struck her foot just as she shifted her entire body weight into what would have been free space. The pumice chunk struck her foot with the same force as that produced by the tug of gravity against her. It exploded dramatically shortly afterwards as different pieces of the loose structure decided to try and change direction at different times. A second step was met with a second perfectly weighted lavarock moving at the ideal speed.
It was a slow and deliberate walk with every step supported by an instantaneous lump of cooled lava from the skullfalls. Soon she had left the opaque haven of the ever swirling ash clouds and was walking openly in the air on a staircase which only existed for the moment she set each foot down. It did't take long for the shipwrecked to spot her and start pointing up at her. Oh, they'd spied on her before with their looking glasses. Now she was giving them something real to look at.
It took a few minutes for her to close the distance to the beach. As she gradually descended the lava blobs started to originate from lower and lower in the falls but this could only go on so far. The last fifty feet or so caused a much larger gout of lava to leap from the falls and gather before her into a roughly-shaped ramp of stone. It tumbled sideways and shattered into rubble as Cinders set foot on the sand.
A suitably impressive entrance she thought as she clapped her hands together and addressed the assembled cowering sailors,
"Welcome. Bring the injured forward. Quickly now. I've not got all day."
It took a few seconds for the dozen rather bedraggled looking people to actually do anything, but when they moved they were efficient. There were another five who were had survived the storm but could no longer move under their own power. Three of them had no fates. To die here on that beach at the foot of the ashen tower was their destiny. She ignored them to focus on the other two. One was still semi-conscious, which boded well, the other was not and made an irritating rasping noise with each breath. Unfortunately she was no barber or surgeon and the tools of molten earth were too coarse for such treatment.
One of the gathered sailors stood ahead of his companions. Cinder asked him the obvious question,
"Are you the captain?"
"No, ma'am. Ship's galley master, ma'am."
He diverted his eyes down the sand as he spoke. Cinders liked that, it was endearing. She'd call him Cook. It was a good name. Maybe she would let him work in the tower's kitchen. Except that the tower didn't have a kitchen and she hadn't eaten since arriving. Strange that she hadn't even felt a twinge of hunger.
A pile of broken timbers from a ship burst into flames as the sand at her feet coalesced into a crude glass bowl. She gestured at the bowl and spoke to Cook,
"Boil some water and clean their wounds. After that have their broken limbs splinted and they will survive."
Cook himself retrieved the bowl, cautiously, and handed it to one of the others who rushed to the sea to gather water. Now that he did that Cinders wasn't sure that seawater was really the best thing to use on wounds. Probably best not to mention it though, it would make her appear less than omnipotent. And the destiny of both the patients seem to be growing stronger with every passing moment.
"Now then, Cook. I think it is time for you to share your tale."
His eyes widened and at first the words tumbled out all too rapidly, but gradually he found his centre and was able to make more sense. The three ships had been a whaling expedition from across the strait, just over a day's voyage away. A city-state called Drome headed by an aged King and ruled over by a senate drawn by civic lottery. A pod of Speckled Whales had lured the ships in circles for a week before vanishing and so the sailors had resorted to casting nets so to have something to sell when they returned. From afar they'd seen a meteor fall from the heavens and decided to come and investigate. Meteoric metals fetched high prices and could make the journey worthwhile after all. Instead, they'd come across Cinders and the glass tower before being caught in a storm and well... now they were washed up without any way to return to Drome.
He sketched out a map in the sand as he spoke
It also became very clear that the sailors had never seen a lavashaper before. Or any kind of wizard. This world had until very recently apparently been almost devoid of any such powers. They knew of wizards though, Cook said they were just stories after one of the others finally chipped in to add that his grandfather had once met a man who had wings and could speak to lizards over in Al-Jaz'eb. There was an awkward pause with the tale now finished. Eventually, the Cook plucked up some courage and asked a question of his own,
"Was... was the meteor you, ma'am?"
Cinders steepled her fingers, they were stained grey-white with ash, pale against her skin. Pale like the one who had lured her into to all of this. But no, she relented. Yes, Cook had asked a question but perhaps he deserved an answer,
"My dear Cook, what an odd sense of humour you have. I think we can both clearly see that I am not a piece of stone and iron fallen from heaven."
Although, she thought privately, perhaps that had been something to do with her arrival.
"Now then, enough of this idle chatter. You will need to make yourselves some sand-hovels and so on, I expect. I shall return shortly with work for you."
[Cinders has acquired 12 loyal peasants, and 2 more injured peasants. They are currently foraging for food, preventing population growth. Growth will still be reduced due to a lack of housing even if fed (they need 14 food per turn). Having peasants leads to production 1 resource/turn]
She strode away from the confused sailors, walking along the beach to better admire the tower she'd created. And because she had had a sudden sense of deja-vu. Her foot struck something in the sand as she walked, as she'd foreseen a moment ago. Stooping down she pulled the scroll-case out of the sand. Unscrewing the end she found several pages of hand-written parchment. They were covered in magical formulae which were much too dense to consider at this exact moment but would no doubt prove useful later on.
[Fortune event: Cinders finds Wizarding Texts. Required a Scholar's Hall to use: +25 study on her next research topic.]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number and specify Mana/Fortune for your vote bonus)
What will Cinders direct her new subjects to do:
A: Salvage the remains of their ship (gain resources)
B: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources 30 mana)
C: Add a Scholar's Hall to the tower (allows research, +1 study/turn) (costs 50 resources)
E: Raise militia (produces a [Militia] unit, costs 5 resources 10 mana and 5 peasants)
And what will Cinders do:
1: Help the sailors (mandatory if B or E are selected as you are using mana in lieu of resources)
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shard (difficulty 14: Success gains 2d6 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Go fishing (costs 2 mana, and produces 3d6 food)
4: Burn (some) of the forest to ashes (costs 4 mana)
Burning the forest produces resources?
Charred squirrels aren't as useful as planks and nails, but who knows what it might achieve!
Let's get these peons self sufficient and producing for us ASAP
Sand hovels are terrible houses and will require constant maintenance. Instead, much better to use lava and sand to build them some glass hovels, so they can devote themselves to being productive instead of digging holes in the sand to sleep in.
While we're making houses, can we ask our peasants nicely to salvage the remains of their ship? I'd assume that it would result in less resources being gathered, but they'd be doing something and we wouldn't lose all of those resources to the tides.
If the glass houses win, hopefully our peasants will have the good sense to not throw stones.
4
Mana
After all we've done for them already, they can start fending for themselves and build their own houses.
And mojo just said we'd make barbecued squirrel by burning down the forest, so that will produce food for the peasants. Plus we can burn things. win/win.
I don't think that's what Mojo intends, game mechanics wise.
I'm considering changing my vote to glass houses, as much as I loved "You will need to make yourselves some sand-hovels and so on, I expect."
I am intrigued by the idea of just burning some of the forest down.
I don't know why it would be smart to do that, but I'm intrigued.
Maybe we can have the villagers settle there instead of on the beach?
I mean, it never hurts to ask, right?
Burn
She hated the sight. She, who felt the pulse of the planet, who could read the fate of the world within the dancing of the flame, who would not let this insulting patch of kindling continue in mockery of the true power of flame.
The arcane power leapt from her fingers in the form of glorious light and heat, obliterating a large section of the forest. Worthless vegetation transformed into all powerful fire, a beautiful vision of her strength.
Tired from the outburst, her shoulders sagged and she let out a long sigh. She noted the charred remains of a number of forest creatures. A few squirrels, some birds, and at least one roasted deer seemed to be on display. At least a bit of food to keep Cook and the crew working. She muses at her odd reaction, now slightly confused as to why the forest had made her so angry in the first place.
Whatever the reason, this cleared area is likely a better place to build shelter anyway. More solid ground, away from the waves. Yes, that is a good enough reason for burning it all down.