The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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This quest began on Feb 22, 2017.

The Nottest of Daves wrote:Celestine returns to the Gate to Sesamara!

The Nottest of Daves wrote:Cartographer Celestine

Celestine Von Reuter, the Clockwork Fairy (The Nottest of Daves)
Level 39
Clockwork, Technology
HP: 9,750
MP: 14,625
STR: 700 (10)
AGI: 390 (10)
CON: 390 (10)
MIN: 585 (15)
SPI: 665 (15)
XP- 35,492,935
XP Required- 820,000, Holy Imperial Seal of Power
Fame- 16

Abilities-
Melee Attack
Magical Attack
Ranged Attack
Elemental Attack
Defend
Counter
Guard Back Rank
Use an Item
Cast a Spell
Switch Rows
Unequip
Re-equip
Trade
Transform
Overdrive

Blessing:
Aldriel’s Blessing- (Passive Ability, Blessing) Possessor is immune to Fatigued: Sleep
Blessed with Djorgammon's Fortitude- (Passive Ability, Blessing) Possessor gains +5,000 HP, +120 Defense against Stat Damage, and 15% Resilience
Murlakro's Blessing- (Passive Ability, Blessing) Possessor gains +5,000 Max MP and +50 Uncapped MIN

Clearance:
Has a Basic Permit to Battle Desert Corsair Warship- (Passive Ability, Clearance) Possessor may fight the monster 'Desert Corsair Warship' for drops, This ability cannot be used in combos



Architect:
Apprentice Tool Training- (Passive Ability, Architect) Possessor gains +50 Melee Attack if possessor has a Tool equipped, Possessor gains +20 to all stats if possessor has a Tool equipped
Basic Tool Training- (Passive Ability, Architect) This character gains +6 Melee Attack when a Tool is equipped.
Combat Drill-Wielding- (Passive Ability, Architect) Possessor gains +200 Melee Attack if possessor has a Tool with 'Drill' in its name equipped, Possessor's attacks Pierce 150 Defense if possessor has a Tool with 'Drill' in its name equipped
Drill Usage- (Passive Ability, Architect) Possessor gains +20 Melee Attack if possessor has a Tool with 'Drill' in its name equipped, Possessor's attacks Pierce 20 Defense if possessor has a Tool with 'Drill' in its name equipped
Dual Tool-Wielding- (Passive Ability, Architect) Possessor gains +50 Melee Attack if possessor has two Tools or a Tool that is a Weaponx2 equipped
Knowledge of Architectural Techniques- (Passive Ability, Architect) Possessor's Large Structure pets and summons gain +200 Defense
Tool Wielding I- (Passive Ability, Architect) +5 to all stats when a Tool is equipped
Tool Wielding II- (Passive Ability, Architect) +25 to all stats when a Tool is equipped, +50 Melee Attack when a Tool is equipped

Auramancer:
Warded Core Essence- (Passive Ability, Auramancer) Possessor gains +30,000 Defense, Possessor gains +5,000 CON, Possessor gains +5,000 MIN, Possessor gains +100,000 HP, Possessor's Defense may not be pierced by sources below Level 20, Individuals below Level 20 may not inflict negative status effects on possessor

Captain:
Apprentice Vessel User- (Passive Ability, Captain) All of possessor's Vessel transformations gain +100 to all stats, +500 to the Damage values of their abilities, +5,000 HP, +2,500 MP, and have their abilities cost 50 less MP
Basic Airplane Piloting- (Passive Ability, Captain) Possessor's Vessel transformations gain 10% Dodge while the Terrain or Phantom Terrain is Sky
Basic Boat Sailing- (Passive Ability, Captain) Possessor's Vessel transformations gain 10% Dodge while the Terrain or Phantom Terrain is Ocean
Basic Spaceship Combat Training- (Passive Ability, Captain) Possessor's Vessel Transformations gain 120% To Hit and 20% Dodge while the Terrain or Phantom Terrain is Space
Basic Spaceship Piloting- (Passive Ability, Captain) Possessor's Vessel transformations gain 10% Dodge while the Terrain or Phantom Terrain is Space
Basic Vessel User- (Passive Ability, Captain) All Vessel transformations equipped by possessor gain +25 to all stats, +100 damage to all damaging attacks, +500 HP, +250 MP, and have attacks that cost 5 less MP to a minimum of 0
Can Navigate Via the Stars- (Passive Ability, Captain) Possessor and possessor's allies gain 105% To Hit if possessor is in a Chronogeomantic Zone of Night or in both a Zone of Light and a Zone of Darkness

Chef:
Grill Fish- (Ability, Chef) 50 additional HP is restored for each Food element consumable possessor uses that restores HP, Possessor may skip a turn deal 500 Fire damage per possessor level to an Aquatic that is judged by a mod to be a fish in an RP thread, or 250 Fire damage per possessor level to an Aquatic judged to not be a fish in an RP thread, out of RP-based threads, this functions on the principle that all Aquatics count as fish

Clothier:
Basic Clothier Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Clothier) Possessor gains +3 to all stats for each Shoes, Boots, Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Cloak, or Belt possessor has equipped

Commander:
Basic Leadership Attunement- (Passive Ability, Commander) All Leadership spells cast by possessor affect one more target if they already affect multiple targets, and all Leadership spells cost possessor 10 less MP to cast

Counselor of Faerie:
Apprentice Counselor of Faerie Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's Fae pets and summons gain +500 HP, +500 MP, +100 to damage dealt, and +50 to all stats
Assumption of the Essence of the Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor may, at the beginning of a thread, choose to become the subtype Fae
Basic Counselor of Faerie Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's Fae pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Counselor of Faerie- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor may forfeit one Accessory slot or Spell slot at the start of a thread to gain a Pet slot that may contain a Fae pet only, This ability provides +50 HP and +10 to all stats of possessor's Fae pets and summons per Level of possessor
Diminutive Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +800 AGI, +1% Dodge, -800 STR, and -800 CON
Fae Traits- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor gains +1 to all stats so long as possessor is a Fae
Fine Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +2,000 AGI, +2% Dodge, -2,000 STR, and -2,000 CON
Formshift: Fae- (Stance Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's subtype becomes Fae
Minute Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +1,600 AGI, +2% Dodge, -1,600 STR, and -1,600 CON
Small Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +500 AGI, +1% Dodge, -500 STR, and -500 CON
Little Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +600 AGI, +1% Dodge, -600 STR, and -600 CON
Small-Yet-Mighty Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's 'Small Fae', 'Little Fae', 'Tiny Fae', 'Diminutive Fae', 'Minute Fae', and 'Fine Fae' abilites do not give possessor an Strength or Constitution penalty
Tiny Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread of when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +700 AGI, +1% Dodge, -700 STR, and -700 CON

Crafter:
Apprentice Crafter Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Consumables (not including Permanent Consumables) possessor uses have a 4% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use, Consumables possessor uses that deal Flat HP Damage, Flat MP Damage, Flat HP Healing, or Flat MP Healing deal an additional 2,000 points
Artisan- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Items possessor creates are worth 5,000 additional Gold as a buff, Possessor's half-price per-item sell cap is increased by 2,000 Gold
Artist- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Possessor's consumables that buff the stats of possessor's allies do so by an additional 20 points as an effect that stacks a max of 50 times across all effects
Basic Crafter Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Consumables (not including Permanent Consumables) possessor uses have a 1% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Basic Lethal Item Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Lethal Item Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Basic Medicine Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Medicine Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Basic Potion Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Potion Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Basic Summoning Stone Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Summoning Stone Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Basic Trap Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Trap Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Crafter- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Consumables possessor uses that deal Flat HP Damage, Flat MP Damage, Flat HP Healing, or Flat MP Healing deal an additional (1,000 * Possessor Level) points
Makeup Artist- (Passive Ability, Crafter) Disguises equipped by possessor and possessor's allies that provide a Defense or stat bonus provide an additional +5 points as an effect that does not stack across multiple instances of this ability and that does stack across 200 Disguises on the same wearer

Crusher:
Apprentice Hammer Training- (Ability, Crusher) +500 damage for all attacks involving Hammers, possessor gains +20 to all stats when a Hammer is equipped
Basic Hammer Training- (Passive Ability, Crusher) This character gains +6 Melee Attack when a Hammer is equipped.
Hammer Wielding I- (Passive Ability, Crusher) +5 to all stats when a Hammer is equipped
Hammer Wielding II- (Passive Ability, Crusher) +25 to all stats when a Hammer is equipped, +50 Melee Attack when a Hammer is equipped
Impact Smash- (Technique Ability, Crusher) Possessor may use 'Impact Smash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has an Hammer equipped. Said attack gains +100 Melee Attack and becomes solely Physical element.
Impairing Smash- (Technique Ability, Crusher) Possessor may use 'Impairing Smash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Hammer equipped. Said attack gains a 20% chance of inflicting Impaired.
Improved Paralytic Smash- (Passive Ability, Crusher) Possessor's 'Paralytic Smash' technique has its chance of inflicting Paralyzed increased to 30%
Paralytic Smash- (Technique Ability, Crusher) Possessor may use 'Paralytic Smash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Hammer equipped. Said attack gains a 20% chance of inflicting Paralyzed.

Diplomat:
Apprentice Clothing Mastery- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor gains +25 Defense and +25 to all stats if possessor has a Clothing equipped
Basic Clothing Mastery- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) All Clothes worn by possessor provide +5 additional Defense and +5 to all stats
Clothing Wearer I- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor gains +5 to all stats when possessor has a Clothing equipped
Clothing Wearer II- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor gains +25 to all stats when possessor has a Clothing equipped, Possessor gains +50 Defense when possessor has a Clothing equipped
Maid- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor may remove one debuff from a source below Level 10 from any one target at the start of each round
Polite- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor's actions may not be countered by individuals below Level 5
Sexy- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor's actions may gain 15% inflicts Charm
Snappy Dresser- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) +50 Defense for each Clothing equipped

Driver:
Apprentice Vehicle User- (Passive Ability, Driver) All of possessor's Vehicle transformations gain +100 to all stats, +500 to the Damage values of their abilities, +5,000 HP, +2,500 MP, and have their abilities cost 50 less MP
Arms Smuggler- (Passive Ability, Driver) Possessor may, for each Vehicle or Vessel transformation equipped, bring 2 extra Gun weapons that are not equipped into battle, allies of possessor may equip said items as part of an equip action while possessor is in a Vehicle or Vessel transformation, possessor may access them normally as unequipped items, Possessor's equipped Guns provide +75 additional Ranged Attack bonus if they provide a Ranged Attack bonus and possessor has at least 3 Gunner abilities
Basic Vehicle User- (Passive Ability, Driver) All Vehicle transformations equipped by possessor gain +25 to all stats, +100 damage to all damaging attacks, +500 HP, +250 MP, and have attacks that cost 5 less MP to a minimum of 0
Getaway Driver- (Passive Ability, Driver) Possessor's allies have a 5% greater chance of having their spells and active abilities which have a chance of stealing Gold or items succeeding, Possessor's allies have +5% Dodge the turn after they successfully steal Gold or items, Possessor must be in a Vehicle transformation for this ability to take effect, This ability does not stack
Stunt Driver- (Passive Ability, Driver) All Vehicle transformations equipped by possessor gain +5% Dodge
Vehicle-Based Smuggler- (Passive Ability, Driver) Possessor may, for each Vehicle transformation equipped, bring 5 extra consumables that are not equipped into battle, allies of possessor may equip said items as part of an equip action while possessor is in a Vehicle transformation, possessor may access them normally as unequipped items

Elementalist:
Knowledge of Esoteric Elements- (Passive Ability, Elementalist) Possessor gains +100 MIN if possessor has any item equipped that is a nonbase element

Engineer:
Apprentice Engineer Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Upgrade, Bioaugmentation, or Gadget possessor has equipped
Basic Engineer Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor gains +3 to all stats for each Upgrade, Bioaugmentation, or Gadget possessor has equipped
Basic Invention Charge Preservation- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Invention Consumables possessor uses have a 5% chance of not expending the first charge that they would expend for said use
Gadget Designer- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor gains +20 to all stats for each Gadget possessor has equipped
Mechanical Engineer- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +200 to all stats
Mechanical Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Engineer) All Mechs used by user gain 200 HP and 10 to all stats
Vehicular Engineer- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor's Vehicle transformations gain +200 to all stats
Vessel Engineer- (Passive Ability, Engineer) Possessor's Vessel transformations gain +200 to all stats

Gearwright:
Baroque Ornamentation- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) If possessor is a Golem or a Clockwork, possessor's Charm infliction chances are increased by 10%
Basic Gearwright Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) Possessor's Clockwork pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Built with Steampunk Tech- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) Possessor gains +200 to all stats if possessor is a Clockwork
Clockwork Traits- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) Possessor gains Pain Immunity, Confusion Immunity (Exception- System Overload), Impaired Immunity, Poison Immunity, and Diseased Immunity (Exception- Diseased: Computer Virus) so long as possessor is a Clockwork
Stained-Glass Mechanized Dragonfly Wings- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) If possessor is a Clockwork, possessor gains +600 AGI, possessor gains +600 SPI, and possessor's chances of inflicting Charm are increased by 10%
Well-Oiled- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) Possessor obtains +1% Dodge and +1% To Hit if possessor is a Clockwork or a Machine

Gentleman Assassin:
Basic Bladecane Training- (Passive Ability, Gentleman Assassin) This character gains +6 Magical Attack when a Bladecane is equipped.
Basic Disguised Weaponry Training- (Passive Ability, Gentleman Assassin) The attack bonuses of each Shoes, Boots, Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Cloak, or Belt equipped increase by 45
Temporal Assassin- (Passive Ability, Gentleman Assassin) Possessor deals 60,000 additional Damage to individuals who count the current round's number as a different number than possessor does

Gunner:
Basic Gun Training- (Passive Ability, Gunner) This character gains +6 Ranged Attack when a Gun is equipped.

Heir to the Future:
Apprentice Defenses Against Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains +500 Defense against Technology
Apprentice Technology Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Technology element item equipped, Possessor's Technology element pets and summons gain +250 to all stats
Basic Affinity to Healing Via Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Whenever possessor obtains Technology element HP Healing or MP Healing, said amount is increased by 500 points
Basic Command of Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor's Technology element pets and summons gain +50 to all stats
Basic Defenses Against Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Technology
Basic Technology Resistance- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains 1% Technology Resistance
Basic Technology Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Technology element
Basic Understanding of the Heart of Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor's Technology element allies gain +10 to all stats
Basic Weaponization of Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Quantities of Technology element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Basic Zonal Acclimation of Technology- (Passive Ability, Heir to the Future) Possessor gains +50 to all stats while in a Zone of Technology

Illusionist:
Basic Illusion Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Illusionist) All Illusion Magic summons have 200 more HP, 10 more of each stat, last 1 turn longer if they last over 1 turn already, and require 25 more of the relevant stats to dispel
Can Pretend to Be Knowledgeable and Multitalented- (Passive Ability, Illusionist) Possessor may choose to count as possessing one more ability in each class that possessor posssesses at least 1 ability in; This ability works for prerequisite purposes if it is permanently possessed by its possessor
Convincing Liar- (Passive Ability, Illusionist) Possessor counts as being 1 Level higher for purposes of resisting stat-scanning attempts, with said bonus not being able to overcome 'Immune to below Level X' effects

Jeweler:
Basic Jewelcrafting Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Jeweler) Character gains +2 to all stats for each Ring, Crown, Broach, Eyewear, Crystal, Wristwear, or Amulet equipped
Ring-Maker- (Passive Ability, Jeweler) Possessor gains +20 to all stats for each Ring possessor has equipped

Kinetic Emperor:
Apprentice Defenses Against Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains +500 Defense against Physical
Apprentice Physical Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Physical element item equipped, Possessor's Physical element pets and summons gain +250 to all stats
Apprentice Weaponization of Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Quantities of Physical element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 500 points
Basic Command of Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor's Physical element pets and summons gain +50 to all sftats
Basic Defenses Against Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Physical
Basic Physical Resistance- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains 1% Physical Resistance
Basic Physical Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Physical element
Basic Weaponization of Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Quantities of Physical element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Improved Defenses Against Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Possessor gains +5,000 Defense against Physical
Improved Weaponization of Physical- (Passive Ability, Kinetic Emperor) Quantities of Physical element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 5,000 points

Mad Scientist:
Basic Mad Scientist Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Mad Scientist) Possessor's Bio-Horror pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Electrical Invigoration- (Active Ability, Mad Scientist) Possessor's may use Electrical Invigoration in conjunction with a Melee, Ranged, or Magical Attack so long as no other technique is used. Said attack only includes attack bonuses from Electrical element sources, cannot inflict status effects, and only affects allies. Said attack first deals an amount of HP damage multiplied by a value between .05 and 3.25, with all increments of .05 being equally possible. Said attack then deals an amount of HP healing multiplied by a value between .45 and 2.15, with all increments of .05 being equally possible. Said HP healing is doubled against Bio-Horrors. Amounts of damage and healing inflicted by this technique may be increased by a maximum of 100,000 points due to this technique's multipliers
Mad Design- (Passive Ability, Mad Scientist) Possessor's Bio-Horror pets and summons gain +50 to all stats

Mechanist:
Apprentice Mechanist Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +500 HP, +500 MP, +100 to damage dealt, and +50 to all stats
Basic Mechanist Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Defensive Machine Programming I- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +50 Defense
Machine Programming I- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +20 to all stats
Machine Programming II- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons gain +100 to all stats
Offensive Machine Programming I- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons have the Damage values of their abilities increased by 50 points
Offensive Machine Programming II- (Passive Ability, Mechanist) Possessor's Machine pets and summons have the Damage values of their abilities increased by 500 points

Merchant:
Basic Merchant Proficiency- (Passive Ability, Merchant) Character's half-price sales cap increases by 5,000 Gold.

Monk:
Basic Gymnastics Skills- (Passive Ability, Monk) Possessor gains +20 AGI
Basic Unarmed Technique Attunement- (Passive Ability, Monk) Possessor gains +30 Melee Attack if possessor has no weapon equipped. Possessor gains +30 Defense if possessor has no armor equipped.
Has Undergone Harsh Training- (Passive Ability, Monk) +400 HP

Mountain King:
Apprentice Defenses Against Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains +500 Defense against Earth
Apprentice Earth Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Earth element item equipped, Possessor's Earth element pets and summons gain +250 to all stats
Apprentice Weaponization of Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Quantities of Earth element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 500 points
Basic Command of Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor's Earth element pets and summons gain +50 to all stats
Basic Defenses Against Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Earth
Basic Earth Resistance- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains 1% Earth Resistance
Basic Earth Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Earth element
Basic Weaponization of Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Quantities of Earth element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Improved Defenses Against Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Possessor gains +5,000 Defense against Earth
Improved Weaponization of Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Quantities of Earth element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 5,000 points

Scholar:
Apprentice Book Training- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor gains +50 Magical Attack when a Book is equipped.
Basic Book Training- (Passive Ability, Scholar) This character gains +6 Magical Attack when a Book is equipped.
Basic Understanding of Mana Patterns- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor gains +50 MIN.
Has Engaged in Lengthy Studies- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor obtains +300 MIN
Has Read About Watchmaking- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor obtains +25 MIN if possessor has a Trinket, Gadget, or Magic Item equipped whose name includes 'Watch', 'Clock', or 'Timepiece' equipped
Speed Reading- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor may equip or unequip a Book or Tome at the start of each round
Student of Histories- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor obtains +50 MIN if at least 15 rounds have passed in battle and possessor has a Book equipped
Studious- (Passive Ability, Scholar) Possessor gains +200 MIN

Scientist
Analytical- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor counts as 1 Level higher for stat-scanning purposes, to a max of Level 99
Apprentice Hypertech Attunement- (Passive Ability, Scientist) All Hypertech spells possessor castst that possess a Magical Attack bonus gain +50 additional Magical Attack, and all Hypertech spells cost possessor 50 less MP to cast
Basic Hypertech Attunement- (Passive Ability, Scientist) All Hypertech spells gain +10 Magical Attack and cost 10 less MP
Basic Research Skills- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor counts as 1 Level higher for stat-scanning purposes, to a max of Level 20
Knowledge of Basic Scientific Theory- (Passive Ability, Scientist) +5 Magical Attack, +30 MIN, Spells cost possessor 20 less MP to cast
Mathematician- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor gains +500 MIN
Psychologist- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor gains +200 MIN
Understanding of Common Practices of Theoretical Science- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor gains +180 MIN, Possessor gains an additional +70 MIN if possessor has at least two spells, one of which is a Hypertech spell and one of which is a non-'Hypertech' spell equipped
Utilize Researched Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Scientist) Possessor deals 110% Damage to targets below Level 20 whose stats possessor has scanned, to a max of 1,000,000 additional damage

Thief:
Apprentice Thief Arts Attunement- (Passive Ability, Thief) All Thief Arts spells cast by possessor that possess a Melee Attack bonus gain +50 additional Melee Attack, All Thief Arts spells cost possessor 40 less MP to cast, Possessor gains +200 AGI on the first round of battle
Basic Lock Picking- (Passive Ability, Thief) +20 AGI, Possessor's lower-levelled foes' abilities that have a chance of reducing the odds of said foes dropping treasure or Gold have a 30% chance of failing, providing said foes are non-unique and under level 20
Basic Item Thievery- (Passive Ability, Thief) Possessor's Thief Arts spells and Thief abilities that have a percent chance of stealing any item from a target under Level 20 have said chance increased by 5%
Basic Thief Arts Attunement- (Passive Ability, Thief) All Thief Arts spells cast by possessor that possess a Melee Attack bonus gain +10 additional Melee Attack, All Thief Arts spells cost possessor 10 less MP to cast, Possessor gains +20 AGI on the first round of battle
Hide in Shadows- (Stance Ability, Thief) +15% Dodge, you must be in the back row and cannot make offensive actions
Sneaky- (Passive Ability, Thief) Possessor treats foes as not having acted if it is one of the first five turns of battle, said foes are of lower level, said foes have all of their stats as being lower than possessor's AGI, and said foes have not yet acted twice, +200 AGI
Steal- (Active Ability, Thief) Possessor may spend an action and select a target. Possessor has a percent chance equal to (Poessessor's Level - Target's Level) of stealing a random item from said target's list of drops if said target would normally be able to provide drops, with said target no longer providing drops as it otherwise would. This ability may only steal one item per target per thread. This ability may not steal items from targets that are not normally fightable for drops on the enemy list. This ability may not steal items from targets that are higher level than its possessor or user. This ability may not steal items from targets that are Level 20 or greater.
Sticky Fingers- (Passive Ability, Thief) Thief Arts abilities that steal Gold steal 10% more than they would without this ability
Sudden Attack- (Passive Ability, Thief) Possessor gains +100 AGI on the first turn of battle, Possessor gains +60 Melee Attack against targets that have not yet acted on the first turn of battle
Tricky- (Passive Ability, Thief) Possessor's foes of equal or lower level with a lower Mind than possessor have their resistances to minor status effects caused by possessor reduced by 5%, to a minimum of 0%

Vermin Master:
Apprentice Vermin Master Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Vermin Master) Possessor's Insect pets and summons gain +500 HP, +500 MP, +100 to damage dealt, and +50 to all stats
Basic Vermin Master Knowledge- (Passive Ability, Vermin Master) Possessor's Insect pets and summons gain +100 HP, +100 MP, +10 to damage dealt, and +10 to all stats
Insect Training I- (Passive Ability, Vermin Master) Possessor's Insect pets and summons gain +20 to all stats
Insect Training II- (Passive Ability, Vermin Master) Possessor's Insect pets and summons gain +100 to all stats

Wizard:
Infused Casting- (Active Ability, Wizard) This character may use Infused Casting in conjunction with a Magical Attack involving a Wizard Magic spell, so long as no other technique is used and a Wizard Magic Spell is equipped. +50 Magical Attack, this attack's element becomes any one base element
Poessesses a Sliver of Veurmel's Magic- (Passive Ability, Wizard) Possessor gains +5,000 MP

Misc:
Doctor- (Passive Ability, Healer) Possessor's actions that heal may gain +200 Ranged, Melee or Magical Attack if they already possess such a bonus, Once per round after an enemy attacks one of possessor's allies, possessor may choose to have a 5% chance of countering said attack with a positive action targeting said ally and no other targets.
Friend of Chandar and Suratman, Ace Cartographers- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor gains +200 to all stats if one of possessor's allies is named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman', Whenever possessor heals an individual named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman', possessor deals an additional 5,000 points of HP Healing or MP Healing, Possessor suffers -200 to all stats if one of possessor's opponents is named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman'
Knowledge of the Yamaduta's First Syllable- (Passive Ability, Deathless One) Possessor gains Entombed Immunity against sources below level 60
Knowledge of Weapons- (Passive Ability, Warrior) At the start of each thread, possessor chooses a type of weapon, Possessor gains +200 Melee, Magical, and Ranged Attack while said type of weapon is equipped
Practiced Swordsman- (Passive Ability, Kensei) +500 Melee Attack while a Sword is equipped
Sometimes-Problematically Tall- (Passive Ability, Warlord) Possessor deals full Damage to targets in the back row and half Damage to targets in the front row

Weapons-
Earth-Shaking Trowel- (Weapon, Tool, Earth, 75,000 Gold) +15 Melee Attack, +75 Magical Attack, 15% Critical against Earth element targets
Triumphant- This item's wielder becomes Immune to individuals below Level 20 if at least level 20, This item's wielder gains +20,000 to all stats, this item provides +20,000 additional Melee Attack, +20,000 additional Ranged Attack, and +20,000 additional Magical Attack, Enchantment
Unbreakable- This item cannot be Broken or destroyed except by the most exceptional measures, This treatment does not prevent pets or summons it is applied to from being killed, This item cannot be stolen outside of Official Quests and Player Quests, This does not count as a Mystic Treatment for number of Mystic Treatments that can be applied to this item if this item is unique, Affects any type of possession, Mystic Treatment

Moon Whip-Sickle- (Weapon, Scythe, Magic & Physical, 195,000 Gold) +250 Melee Attack, +195 Magical Attack, 12% Critical, +440 additional Melee Attack against Plants, +200 STR if any foes are Plants
Crimson Nova- This wielder's attacks may gain '1 hit against 60,000' and gain the elements Fire and Magic, This item's wielder gains +30,000 to all stats, this item provides +30,000 additional Melee Attack, +30,000 additional Ranged Attack, and +30,000 additional Magical Attack, Enchantment
Unbreakable- This item cannot be Broken or destroyed except by the most exceptional measures, This treatment does not prevent pets or summons it is applied to from being killed, This item cannot be stolen outside of Official Quests and Player Quests, This does not count as a Mystic Treatment for number of Mystic Treatments that can be applied to this item if this item is unique, Affects any type of possession, Mystic Treatment

Armor-
Dress of the Queen of Seasons- (Armor, Clothing, Electrical & Energy & Acid & Ice, 60,000,000 Gold) +60,000 Defense, +60,000 CON, +60,000 MIN, +60,000 SPI, +300,000 HP as a non-stacking bonus, +600,000 MP as a non-stacking bonus, 40% Electrical Resistance, 40% Energy Resistance, 30% Acid Resistance, 40% Ice Resistance, 15% Elemental Magic Resistance, 5% Spirit Resistance, 5% Elemental Resistance

Accessories-
Blackclad Order Force Commander’s Mask- (Accessory, Mask, Magic & Physical & Darkness, 3,500,000 Gold) +3,450 Magical Attack, +3,450 Defense, +1,200 to all stats, 20% Magic Resistance, 20% Darkness Resistance, 20% Acid Resistance, +35,000 MP, 45% Resilience against Magic element attacks and effects, 20% Resilience, 135% To Hit, Wearer’s Wizard Magic spells cost 5,000 less MP to cast, Wearer’s summons have a 4% lower chance of being uncontrolled
Greater Armband of Purity- (Accessory, Wristwear, Light, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Magical Attack, +24,000 Defense, 40% Resilience, Individuals below Level 40 cannot inflict status effects on possessor
Kaleidoscopic Casting Bracelet- (Accessory, Wristwear, Magic & Earth & Air & Fire & Water & Light & Darkness & Physical & Psychic & Ice & Energy & Electrical & Acid, 30,100,000 Gold) Whenever wielder casts a spell, wielder may choose to either give it +30,000 Magical Attack if it already possesses at least one type of attack bonus, to have it inflict any one chosen minor or moderate negative status effect if the action said spell is involved in would not otherwise possesses a chance of inflicting any negative status effects, to pierce 15,000 Defense against Magic, to gain 30% Critical, to gain 130% To Hit, to cost 30,000 less MP, to become solely any one base element, or to cure any one minor or moderate negative status effect
Star of Ruin- (Accessory, Crystal, Darkness & Destruction, 15,500,000 Gold) +15,000 Magical Attack, +15,000 to all stats, 10% Destruction Resistance, Wearer's per-item Magical Attack bonus cap becomes 2x the relevant stat
Vampiric Dragon Mantle- (Accessory, Cloak, Blood & Darkness, 14,000,000 Gold) +14,400 Magical Attack, +14,900 SPI, +13,550 MIN, 30% Darkness Resistance, 15% Blood Resistance, Wearer's 'Magical Attack' and 'Ranged Attack' actions deal HP Drain

Consumables-
None

Items-
None

Spells-
Banishing Echo- (Spell, Ethereal Magic, Sonic, 7,000 MP, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,000 Magical Attack, Target obtains a non-stacking debuff that causes its possessor to be dealt 70,000 Flat Sonic element Damage and be unsummoned (with said unsummoning only being able to unsummon individuals below Level 40) at the start of the next round
Greater Angelic Healing- (Spell, Holy Magic, Light, 1,300 MP, 1,541,000 Gold) +1,540 Magical Attack, Heals, May cure 2 debuffs or minor negative status effect from a source below Level 60 if caster is at least Level 20
Mass Confuse- (Spell, Wizard Magic, Magic, 70 MP, 20,000 Gold) +2 Magical Attack, 15% Confusion, 1 hit against 19
Totemic Magic: Flame Cloak- (Spell, Shaman Magic, Fire & Magic, 11,000 MP, 6,500,000 Gold) Places a buff on caster that deals 80,000 Flat Fire element damage to up to 30 targets at the start of each round, does not stack
Wizard’s Void- (Spell, Wizard Magic, Darkness, 7,500 MP, 2,600,000 Gold) +2,750 Magical Attack, 30% inflicts Voidstruck, 1 hit against 30, deals 1/2 damage

Pets-
Futuristic Mercenary who Likes Going by the Name 'Mad Dog'- (Pet, Human, Technology & Fire, Lv. 1, 79,000 Gold)
HP- 320
MP- 180
STR- 23
AGI- 23
CON- 20
MIN- 14
SPI- 14
XP- 0
XP Needed- 1,000 (Standard Multiplier x1)
Minimum Level- 1
Defense- 18
Defense against Stat Damage- 1
Critical Chance- 1%
Resilience- 1%
To Hit- 101%
Dodge- 1%
Resistances and Immunities- 20% Fatigued Resistance
Prime Attribute- Strength or Agility
Constant Effects-
Call me 'Mad Dog'- Possessor may respond to effects as though possessor's name were 'Mad Dog', Constant Effect
Terrain Affinity: City- Possessor gains +11 to all stats if the terrain or phantom terrain is City, Constant Effect
Terrain Affinity: Ruins- Possessor gains +11 to all stats if the terrain or phantom terrain is Ruins, Constant Effect
Terrain Affinity: Wasteland- Possessor gains +11 to all stats if the terrain or phantom terrain is Wasteland, Constant Effect
Terrain Affinity: Road- Possessor gains +11 to all stats if the terrain or phantom terrain is Road, Constant Effect
Abilities-
Rough Punch- 35 Damage, Physical, 0 MP
Cyberblade- 42 Damage, Physical or Technology or Electrical or Physical & Technology or Physical & Electrical or Electrical & Technology or Physical & Technology & Electrical, 0 MP
'Dog's Jaw' Handcannon- 48 Damage, 15% inflicts Fatigued: Stun, Technology & Physical, 18 MP
Scavenge- +15 to a random stat, stacks 3 times, Technology, 22 MP

Transformations-
None

Permanent Consumables-
None

Artifacts-
None

Awards-
Has Saved Imbelsberg from the Bluewar Ministry
Defeated Talitha, The Least of the Unbroken Circle, on Indrasena-un-Sesamsara.
Has Several Features in the Hope Islands Named After Her on Indrasena-un-Sesamsara.

Has Consumed 5 Attunement Book: Heir to the Future
Has Consumed 5 Attunement Book: Kinetic Emperor
Has Consumed 5 Attunement Book: Mountain King
Has Consumed 5 Attunement Book: Scientist
Has Consumed 5 Attunement Book: Thief
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Architect
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Architect
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Architect
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Captain
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Captain
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Captain
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Counselor of Faerie
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Counselor of Faerie
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Counselor of Faerie
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Crafter
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Crafter
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Crafter
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Crusher
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Crusher
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Crusher
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Diplomat
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Diplomat
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Diplomat
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Driver
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Driver
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Driver
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Engineer
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Engineer
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Engineer
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Gearwright
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Gearwright
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Gearwright
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Heir to the Future
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Heir to the Future
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Heir to the Future
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Kinetic Emperor
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Kinetic Emperor
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Kinetic Emperor
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Mechanist
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Mechanist
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Mechanist
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Mountain King
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Mountain King
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Mountain King
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Scholar
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Scholar
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Scholar
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Scientist
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Scientist
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Scientist
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Thief
Has Consumed 5 Improved Essence Sphere: Thief
Has Consumed 5 Greater Essence Sphere: Thief
Has Consumed 2 Essence Sphere: Commander
Has Consumed 2 Essence Sphere: Gunner
Has Consumed 5 Essence Sphere: Jeweler
Has used 10 Manual of A Thousand Arts
Has Won the "Adventurers!" Event Match
Has Won the "Drakespawn of the Caverns" Event Match
Has Won the 'Seizing the Center' Event Match
Has Won the "First Test Against The Adversary's Forces" Event Match
Has Won the "First of the Arcane Spirits" Event Match
Has Won the "Winter's Grasp" Event Match" Event Match
Has Won the "You'll Never Get Me Pot o' Gold!" Event Match
Has Won the "The Rehanging" Event Match
Has Won the "In Search of Ore Where the Undead Lurk" Event Match
Has Won the "Four Elementals" Event Match
Has Beaten 39 Bosses in Boss Rush Mode
Has Reached Round 21 in an Endurance Match
Has Completed the Task "First Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Fortune"
Has Completed the Task "Second Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Skill"
Has Completed the Task "Third Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of War"
Has Completed the Task "Fourth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Seeking"
Has Completed the Task "Fifth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Mastery"
Has Completed the Task "Sixth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Stamina"
Has Completed the Task "Seventh Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Echoes"
Has Completed the Task "Eighth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Time"
Has Completed the Task "Ninth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Collecting"
Has Completed the Task "Tenth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Combat"
Has Completed the Task "Eleventh Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Remembrance"
Has Completed the Task "Twelfth Holy Imperial Challenge of Worth: Test of Choices"

Celestine Von Reuter, the Clockwork Fairy (The Nottest of Daves)
Level 39
Clockwork, Technology
HP: 502,500
MP: 787,500
STR: 7,000
AGI: 3,900
CON: 3,900
MIN: 5,900
SPI: 6,650
XP- 35,492,935
XP Required- 820,000, Holy Imperial Seal of Power
Fame- 16

Critical: 12% (15% vs Earth-element targets)
Resilience: 40% (45% vs Magic)
To Hit: 136%
Dodge: 2%

ATTACK
+70,150 Magical Attack (Earth & Magic & Physical & Darkness & Light & Destruction & Blood)
+14,306 Melee Attack
+200 Ranged Attack

+5,550 additional Earth-element damage
+5,550 additional Physical-element damage
+50 additional Technology-element damage

Status Effects:
Possessor's actions may gain 15% inflicts Charm

Utility Effects:
--Possessor's Charm infliction chances are increased by 20% if possessor is a Clockwork
--This wielder's attacks may gain '1 hit against 60,000' and gain the elements Fire and Magic
--Wearer's per-item Magical Attack bonus cap becomes 2x the relevant stat
--Wearer's 'Magical Attack' and 'Ranged Attack' actions deal HP Drain
--Wearer’s Wizard Magic spells cost 5,000 less MP to cast
--Wearer’s summons have a 4% lower chance of being uncontrolled

DEFENSE
+26,980 Defense

+5,550 Defense against Earth
+5,550 Defense against Physical
+550 Defense against Technology

Resistances and Immunities:
40% Electrical Resistance
40% Energy Resistance
40% Ice Resistance
30% Acid Resistance
30% Darkness Resistance
20% Magic Resistance
15% Blood Resistance
15% Elemental Magic Resistance
10% Destruction Resistance
5% Spirit Resistance
5% Elemental Resistance
Possessor gains Pain Immunity, Confusion Immunity (Exception- System Overload), Impaired Immunity, Poison Immunity, and Diseased Immunity (Exception- Diseased: Computer Virus) so long as possessor is a Clockwork
Possessor is immune to Fatigued: Sleep
Possessor gains Entombed Immunity against sources below level 60

Utility Effects:
--Possessor's Defense may not be pierced by sources below Level 20
--Individuals below Level 20 may not inflict negative status effects on possessor
--Individuals below Level 40 cannot inflict status effects on possessor
--This item's wielder becomes Immune to individuals below Level 20 if at least level 20




Additionally, she brings along the following:

Insurrection Baton- (Weapon, Wand, Darkness & Psychic, 7,100,000 Gold) +1 Magical Attack, At the beginning of each round, as an effect that does not stack across multiple copies of this item with which version works being determined randomly in thecase that multiple instances of this item are present, wielder may cause each opponent below Level 20 to perform an action of wielder's choice

Bag of Holding (2)- (Accessory, Container, Magic, 6,000,000 Gold) Wielder may bring 30 additional unequipped items into battle

---
In the bag:

20,000,000 Gold

Elder Symbol of Unbound Life- (Accessory, Other: Elder Symbol, Life, 36,000,000 Gold) +36,000 CON, +36,000 SPI, +360,000 HP as an effect that stacks twice, Wielder regenerates 360,000 HP at the start of every round as an effect that stacks twice, 10% Life Resistance
Suncrow Banner- (Accessory, Enchanted Item, Fire & Light & Air, 45,000,000 Gold) +45,000 SPI, Wielder's allies gain +4,500 to all stats as a non-stacking bonus, 30% Fire Resistance, 30% Light Resistance, 30% Air Resistance, 25% Atomic Resistance, Wielder must be Level 20 or greater
Volcano Dragon's Gem- (Accessory, Crystal, Fire, 9,000,000 Gold) +9,000 Magical Attack, +8,500 to all stats, +50,000 Damage to all of possessor's damage-dealing actions that are Fire element as a non-stacking effect

Celestial Wind- (Spell, Celestial Magic, Air, 12,000 MP, 3,000,000 Gold) +3,000 Magical Attack, Heals allies, 30% inflicts suffocation on opponents, 1 hit against 30, deals 1/3 Damage
Detect Traps- (Spell, Divining, Magic, 70 MP, 65,000 Gold) Caster and up to 5 targets gain +500 Defense against Traps, has RP effects, stacks 5 times

Basic Gunsmith's Tools- (Item, Antiquity, Technology, 21,000 Gold)
Basic Jeweler's Tools- (Item, Antiquity, Technology & Earth, 18,000 Gold)
Basic Tailor's Tools- (Item, Antiquity, Technology & Air, 6,000 Gold)
Gearwright's Tools- (Item, Antiquity, Technology, 20,000 Gold)

The following are borrowed from Dulcinea:
Geologist's Tools- (Item, Antiquity, Earth, 7,000 Gold)
Geography Textbook- (Item, Antiquity, Earth & Water, 2,900 Gold)
Nature Sciences Textbook- (Item, Antiquity, Water & Earth, 2,900 Gold)

Armocida wrote:Along with Celestine at the gates is Orkanith!

Orkanith Morthos (Armocida)
Level 39
Angel, Darkness
HP: 13,125
MP: 10,250
STR: 925 (20) 145 Bonus
AGI: 210 (5) 15 Bonus
CON: 525 (10) 135 Bonus
MIN: 410 (10) 20 Bonus
SPI: 650 (15) 65 Bonus
XP- 106,609,160
XP Required- 30,000
Fame- 14
Gold- 288,154,383
Bonus Weeks: 27 (ADDITIONAL WEEKS: 1 Defender Week, 1 Guardian Week)
Weeks: 0


Abilities-
Melee Attack
Magical Attack
Ranged Attack
Elemental Attack
Defend
Counter
Guard Back Rank
Use an Item
Cast a Spell
Switch Rows
Unequip
Re-equip
Trade
Transform
Overdrive or Mental Overdrive or Physical Overdrive

-Blazing Sultan-
Apprentice Defenses Against Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +500 Defense against Fire
Apprentice Fire Resistance- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains 5% Fire Resistance
Apprentice Fire Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Fire element item equipped, Possessor's Fire element pets and summons gain +250 to all stats
Apprentice Weaponization of Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Quantities of Fire element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 500 points
Basic Defenses Against Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Fire
Basic Fire Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Fire element
Basic Fire Resistance- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains 1% Fire Resistance
Basic Weaponization of Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Quantities of Fire element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Blazing Sultan- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor ignores (1 * (Possessor Level/5), rounded down)% Fire Resistance, Possessor ignores Fire Immunity of targets below (Possessor Level / 5, rounded down) Level, to a max of Level 80
Defenses that Utilize Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +500 Defense if possessor has any Fire-element items equipped that provide a Defense bonus
Improved Defenses Against Fire- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains +5,000 Defense against Fire
Improved Fire Resistance- (Passive Ability, Blazing Sultan) Possessor gains 10% Fire Resistance

-Controller-
Apprentice Force Training- (Passive Ability, Controller) Possessor gains +50 Melee Attack, +50 Ranged Attack, or +50 Magical Attack (chosen at the beginning of battle) if possessor has a Soul equipped, Possessor gains +50 to any one stat (chosen at the beginning of battle) if possessor has a Force equipped
Basic Force Training- (Passive Ability, Controller) This character gains +6 Magical Attack, Melee Attack, or Ranged Attack (possessor's choice at the start of each quest or battle) when a Force is equipped.
Controller- (Passive Ability, Controller) Possessor gains +(100 * Possessor Level) Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, or Magical Attack (chosen at the beginning of battle) if possessor has a Force equipped, Possessor gains +(100 * Possessor Level) to one stat (chosen at the beginning of battle) stats if possessor has a Force equipped
Explosive Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Explosive Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +300 Melee Attack, +300 Magical Attack, and +300 Ranged Attack, becomes solely Fire element, and gains '15% inflicts Burning', deals 1/4 Damage, and gains '1 hit against 10'.
Flame Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Flame Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +100 Melee Attack, +100 Magical Attack, and +100 Ranged Attack and becomes solely Fire element.
Force Wielding I- (Passive Ability, Controller) +5 to all stats when a Force is equipped
Force Wielding II- (Passive Ability, Controller) +25 to all stats when a Force is equipped, +25 Magical Attack, Melee Attack, and Ranged Attack when a Force is equipped
Force Wielding III- (Passive Ability, Controller) Possessor gains +200 to all stats when a Force is equipped and +200 Melee Attack, Magical Attack, and Ranged Attack when a Force is equipped
Ignition Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Ignition Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +200 Melee Attack, +200 Magical Attack, and +200 Ranged Attack, becomes solely Fire element, and gains '15% inflicts Burning'.
Night Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Night Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +300 Melee Attack, +300 Magical Attack, and +300 Ranged Attack, becomes solely Darkness element, and gains '15% inflicts Voidstruck', deals 1/4 Damage, and gains '1 hit against 10'.
Shadow Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Shadow Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +100 Melee Attack, +100 Magical Attack, and +100 Ranged Attack and becomes solely Darkness element.
Umbral Impulse- (Technique Ability, Controller) Possessor may use 'Umbral Impulse' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack', 'Magical Attack', or 'Ranged Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Force equipped. Said attack gains +200 Melee Attack, +200 Magical Attack, and +200 Ranged Attack, becomes solely Darkness element, and gains '15% inflicts Voidstruck'.

-Defender-
Apprentice Shield Training- (Passive Ability, Defender) This character gains +50 Defense and +500 HP when a Shield is equipped.
Aqua Shield Stance- (Stance Ability, Defender) +50 Defense against Water if a non-Water element Shield is equipped or +500 Defense against Water if a Water element Shield is equipped, 10% Water Resistance, 20% Electrical Weakness
Basic Shield Training- (Passive Ability, Defender) This character gains +6 Defense when a Shield is equipped.
Defensive Stance- (Stance Ability, Defender) +50 Defense
Defensive Stance II- (Stance Ability, Defender) +200 Defense
Flame Shield Stance- (Stance Ability, Defender) +50 Defense against Fire if a non-Fire element Shield is equipped or +500 Defense against Fire if a Fire element Shield is equipped, 10% Fire Resistance, 20% Water Weakness
Host a Block Party- (Technique Ability, Defender) Possessor may use Host a Block Party in conjunction with a Defend action, so long as no other technique is used and a Shield is equipped. Up to 5 allies of user may immediate perform a Defend action provided that they have not already performed a Defend action this round. The benefits of all such Defend actions last until either the end of the round or until their performer performs another Defend action.

-Ebon Chancellor-
Apprentice Darkness Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +50 to all stats for each Darkness element item equipped, Possessor's Darkness element pets and summons gain +250 to all stats
Apprentice Defenses Against Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +500 Defense against Darkness
Basic Darkness Resistance- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains 1% Darkness Resistance
Basic Darkness Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Darkness element
Basic Defenses Against Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Darkness
Basic Weaponization of Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Quantities of Darkness element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Defenses that Utilize Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +500 Defense if possessor has any Darkness-element items equipped that provide a Defense bonus
Ebon Chancellor- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor ignores (1 * (Possessor Level/5), rounded down)% Darkness Resistance, Possessor ignores Darkness Immunity of targets below (Possessor Level / 5, rounded down) Level, to a max of Level 80
Improved Darkness Resistance- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains 10% Darkness Resistance
Improved Defenses Against Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +5,000 Defense against Darkness
Improved Defenses that Utilize Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Possessor gains +2,000 Defense if possessor has any Darkness-element items equipped that provide a Defense bonus
Improved Weaponization of Darkness- (Passive Ability, Ebon Chancellor) Quantities of Darkness element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 5,000 points

-Elementalist-
Knowledge of Esoteric Elements- (Passive Ability, Elementalist) Possessor gains +100 MIN if possessor has any item equipped that is a nonbase element

-Friendship-
Best Buds with Tengus- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor may, once per thread, summon 5 Tengu from the Enemy List, Max 5 summoned, Possessor's allies whose name includes Tengu gain +3,000 to all stats and gain Impaired: Mute Immunity

-Guardian-
Adept of the Brass Fortress- (Passive Ability, Guardian) Each equipped Heavy Armor provides +25 additional Defense
Apprentice Heavy Armor Mastery- (Passive Ability, Guardian) Possessor gains +50 Defense if possessor has a Heavy Armor equipped
Basic Heavy Armor Mastery- (Passive Ability, Guardian) All Heavy Armors worn by possessor provide +10 additional Defense
Hard to Push Around- (Passive Ability, Guardian) Possessor gains +450 STR and +450 CON per 5 levels (rounded up) to a max of +12,000 STR and +12,000 CON for purposes of resisting attempts to forcibly change possessor's row
Heavy Armor Wearer I- (Passive Ability, Guardian) Possessor gains +5 to all stats when possessor has a Heavy Armor equipped
Paid Bodyguard- (Passive Ability, Guardian) Possessor's allies may use an amount of Gold up to a max of 100,000 to give possessor a Defense bonus and the provider of the Gold equal to the amount of Gold divided by 1,000, rounded down, this counts as a buff that does not stack which disappears when possessor is killed or otherwise rendered unable to continue battle
Well-Paid Bodyguard- (Passive Ability, Guardian) The Gold cap on Bodyguard is increased by 100,000 and possessor gains 15% of the money spent on said ability

-Kensei-
Apprentice Sword Arts Attunement- (Passive Ability, Kensei) Possessor gains +500 Melee Attack if possessor has a Sword equipped, Sword Arts spells cost possessor 50 less MP to cast, Sword Arts spells that possess a Magical Attack or Melee Attack bonus have said bonus increased by +50 when cast by possessor
Basic Sword Arts Attunement- (Passive Ability, Kensei) All Sword Arts spells gain +10 Melee Attack and cost 10 less MP
Sword Arts Casting I- (Passive Ability, Kensei) Sword Arts spells cost possessor 20 less MP to cast
Sword Arts Casting II- (Passive Ability, Kensei) Sword Arts spells cost possessor 200 less MP to cast
Weapon of the Blademagus- (Active Ability, Kensei) Possessor may spend an action to exchange 20 points of Melee Attack bonus on a single Sword that character is wielding for 10 points of Magical Attack bonus, with said change being a buff on said weapon that stacks 200 times

-Paladin-
Apprentice Holy Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Paladin) All Holy Magic spells possessor casts that possess a Magical Attack bonus gain +50 additional Magical Attack, and all Holy Magic spells that buff stats do so by 50 more points per such stat
Basic Holy Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Paladin) All Holy Magic spells possessor casts that possess a Magical Attack bonus gain +10 additional Magical Attack, and all Holy Magic spells that buff stats do so by 5 more points per such stat
Holy Sword- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor gains +50 Melee Attack with Light element Weapons against Demons, Daemons, and Devils, Possessor gains -200 Melee Attack with all weapons against Angels, Devas, Celestials, and Holy Ones
I Am The Just Blade- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor may, with regards to the elements of opponents' actions targeting possessor and Damage being dealt to possessor, treat the element Law as the element Chaos or Darkness, treat the element Good as the element Evil or Darkness, and treat the element Light as the element Darkness
I Am The Righteous Force- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor may treat opposing individuals whose subtype is Celestial, Angel, or Aisurii as though their subtype were Demon for purposes of Paladin abilities and equipped items that require abilities from the Paladin tree to be equipped
Lay on Hands- (Active Ability, Paladin) Possessor may spend an action to heal a target for 50 HP per possessor Level a number of times per thread equal to possessor's Level
Paladin's Grace- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor gains +50 AGI, 15% Paralysis Resistance, and 5% Dodge if possessor has at least 3 Holy Magic spells equipped, this AGI bonus is increased to +150 if any foes are Demons, Daemons, Devils, Darkspawn, or Undead
Pure Self- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor has a 5% chance at the start of every round per minor status effect possessor is afflicted with to have said minor status effect cured immediately
Purifying Art- (Passive Ability, Paladin) Possessor's Lay on Hands ability has a 5% chance of curing any one minor status effect on use, Possessor's Holy Magic spells that have a chance of curing minor status effects have a 10% greater chance of doing so
Redeeming Touch- (Passive Ability, Paladin) 15% Hexed Resistance, +20 SPI, Possessor's Lay on Hands ability cures Hexed
Restorative Touch- (Passive Ability, Paladin) 15% Stat Drain Resistance, Possessor's Lay on Hands ability cures Stat Drain and heals 50 points of stat damage from any combination of stats
Shielded by Spiritual Purity- (Passive Ability, Paladin) +50 Defense, Possessor gains +50 additional Defense when possessor has not taken any SPI Damage and is not afflicted with Stat Drain: SPI Drain

-Summoner-
Apprentice Summoner Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's Summoner Magic Summons gain +250 to all stats, and all Summoner Magic spells cost possessor 50 less MP to cast
Basic Summoner Magic Attunement- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All creatures summoned through Summoner Magic spells gain +10 to all stats, and all Summoner Magic spells cost 10 less MP
Basic Summon HP Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +1,000 HP
Basic Summon Mind Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +100 MIN
Basic Summon MP Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +1,000 MP
Basic Summon MP Conservation Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons' abilities cost them 100 less MP to cast
Basic Summon Resilience Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +1% Resilience
Basic Summon Spirit Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +100 SPI
Basic Summon Strength Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +100 STR
Basic Summon To Hit Augmentation- (Passive Ability, Summoner) All of possessor's summons gain +1% To Hit

-Swordsman-
Apprentice Sword Training- (Passive Ability, Swordsman) This character gains +50 Melee Attack when a Sword is equipped.
Basic Sword Training- (Passive Ability, Swordsman) This character gains +6 Melee Attack when a Sword is equipped.
Blade of the Radiance- (Passive Ability, Swordsman) Sword Weapons equipped by possessor gain +(100 * Possessor Level) additional Melee Attack, Possessor may choose to add Light to the elements of any Damage possessor deals while wielding a Sword and may choose for any Sword weapons that possessor is wielding to count as possessing the element Light
Powerful Slash- (Active Ability, Swordsman) This character may use Powerful Slash in conjunction with a Melee Attack, so long as no other technique is used and a Sword is equipped. This character gains +50 Melee Attack for purposes of this attack.
Shadow Slash- (Technique Ability, Swordsman) Possessor may use 'Shadow Slash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Sword equipped. Said attack gains +100 Melee Attack and becomes solely Darkness element.
Sweeping Slash- (Technique Ability, Swordsman) Possessor may use 'Sweeping Slash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Sword equipped. Said attack gains '1 hit against 3' and deals 2/3 Damage.

-Other: Radiant Hierophant-
Apprentice Weaponization of Light- (Passive Ability, Radiant Hierophant) Quantities of Light element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 500 points
Basic Defenses Against Light- (Passive Ability, Radiant Hierophant) Possessor gains +50 Defense against Light
Basic Light Synchronization- (Passive Ability, Other: Radiant Hierophant) Possessor gains +25 to all stats if Light element
Basic Weaponization of Light- (Passive Ability, Radiant Hierophant) Quantities of Light element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 50 points
Defenses that Utilize Light- (Passive Ability, Radiant Hierophant) Possessor gains +500 Defense if possessor has any Light-element items equipped that provide a Defense bonus
Improved Weaponization of Light- (Passive Ability, Radiant Hierophant) Quantities of Light element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 5,000 points

-Other: Radiant Templar-
Champion of the New Radiant Order- (Passive Ability, Other: Radiant Templar) Possessor obtains +1 to all base stats if all individuals in the same thread that have at any point been Darkness element are currently Dead or unsummoned, provided that at least 1 such non-summon individual exists, Possessor obtains -1 to all base stats if possessor has any non-Dead allies who have at any point in the same thread been Darkness element, Possessor and all other individuals of equal or lower Level in the same thread treat Light as a base element

-Misc-
Friend of Chandar and Suratman, Ace Cartographers- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor gains +200 to all stats if one of possessor's allies is named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman', Whenever possessor heals an individual named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman', possessor deals an additional 5,000 points of HP Healing or MP Healing, Possessor suffers -200 to all stats if one of possessor's opponents is named 'Chandar' or 'Suratman'
Knowledge of the Yamaduta's First Syllable- (Passive Ability, Deathless One) Possessor gains Entombed Immunity against sources below level 60

Devout Worshipper of The Veil Render-
Base Benefit- Power Overwhelming- Possessor gains +(25*Possessor Level) to its highest unmodified stat as a bonus to said unmodified stat (choosing which stat in case of ties), Worshipper Benefit

Touch the Untouchable- If possessor is Level 20 or greater, possessor may ignore up to (Possessor Level / 20, rounded up) separate Dodge-increases that come from buffs on each of its opponents, Worshipper Benefit


Weapons-
Drauger's Axe- (Weapon, Axe, Darkness & Ice & Physical & Water, 45,000,000 Gold) +45,000 Melee Attack, +45,000 STR, +45,000 CON, +45,000 SPI, +450,000 HP as a non-stacking bonus, 60% inflicts Wounded, 60% inflicts Voidstruck, 50% may inflict Frozen or Drowning
White Waveblade- (Weapon, Sword, Light & Energy, 55,000,000 Gold) +55,000 Melee Attack, +55,000 SPI, Wielder's 'Melee Attack' actions may use Spirit as their Prime Attribute, Wielder's 'Melee Attack' actions may gain '1 hit against 50,000' and deal 1/3 Damage

Armor-
New Radiant Order's Champion's Armor- (Armor, Heavy Armor, Light, 30,000,000 Gold) +30,000 Defense, +30,000 Defense against Darkness, +30,000 Melee Attack, 30% Darkness Resistance, 30% Physical Resistance, 30% Light Resistance, 5% Devil Resistance, Radiant Magic spells cast by wearer that provide a Melee Attack Bonus gain +25,000 additional Melee Attack, Buffs on wearer from Radiant Magic spells that boost wielder's stats do so by an additional 1,200 points, to a max of 10 such buffs, with this effect not stacking across multiple copies of this item, Whenever a Devil below Level 60 would inflict a minor or moderate negative status effect on wearer, it is instead dealt 300,000 Flat Light element Damage by wearer, Wearer is Immune to individuals below Level 20, Wearer must be Level 20 or greater and must possess the ability 'Radiant Templar' or the ability 'Champion of the New Radiant Order'

Accessories-
Greater Armband of Purity- (Accessory, Wristwear, Light, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Magical Attack, +24,000 Defense, 40% Resilience, Individuals below Level 40 cannot inflict status effects on possessor
Blood Emblem- (Accessory, Broach, Darkness & Blood, 15,500,000 Gold) +15,000 Melee Attack, +15,000 to all stats, 10% Blood Resistance, Wearer's per-item Melee Attack bonus cap becomes 2x the relevant stat
Mouthy Abstract Antlers- (Accessory, Bioaugmentation, Nobility & Beast & Chaos, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Melee Attack, +24,000 Ranged Attack, 30% inflicts Confusion, Confusion: Fear, Stat Drain: CON Drain, Stat Drain: SPI Drain, Voidstruck, Hexed, Pain: Stomachache, and Impaired: Blind: Constant Glare
Radiant Inquisitor's Codex- (Accessory, Tome, Light, 15,500,000 Gold) +15,000 Melee Attack, +15,000 Ranged Attack, +15,000 Magical Attack, +15,000 SPI, Wielder's minor negative status effect infliction chances coming from Radiant Magic spells or Radiant Templar abilities are increased by 30% as a non-stacking effect, Wielder's moderate negative status effect infliction chances coming from Radiant Magic spells or Radiant Templar abilities are increased by 15% as a non-stacking effect, Wielder treats Radiant Magic as a base Spell subtype

Consumables-
8 Book of the Blade- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Physical & Magic, 1 Charge, 10,000,000 Gold) Teaches user "Practiced Swordsman"
12 Book of Mystic Infusion- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Physical & Magic, 1 Charge, 10,000,000 Gold) Teaches user "Infused Casting"
5 Book of 1,000 Treatments- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Physical & Light, 1 Charge, 10,000,000 Gold) Teaches user "Doctor"
8 Book of Covert Techniques- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Darkness & Air, 1 Charge, 10,000,000 Gold) Teaches user "Sneaky"
10 Manual of A Thousand Arts- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Magic, 1 Charge, 500,000 Gold) Gives user 2 bonus weeks and the award ‘Has used X Manual of A Thousand Arts’, cannot be used if X would become greater than 10


Items-
297 Golden Trophy- (Item, Antiquity, Physical, 40,000 Gold)
188 Dragon's Hoarded Treasures- (Item, Antiquity, Physical & Magic & Earth, 870,000 Gold)
55 Light Dragon Mantle- (Accessory, Cloak, Light, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,400 Magical Attack, +6,900 SPI, +5,550 MIN, 30% Light Resistance, 30% Critical for Magical Attacks
13 Day Dragon's Gem- (Accessory, Crystal, Light, 9,000,000 Gold) +9,000 Magical Attack, +8,500 to all stats, +50,000 Damage to all of possessor's damage-dealing actions that are Light element as a non-stacking effect


Spells-
Atomic Wave-Slash- (Spell, Sword Arts, Atomic, 170,000 HP, 70,000,000 Gold) +70,000 Melee Attack, 70% inflicts Poison: Irradiated, 1 hit against 600,000, Caster must have a Sword equipped
12 Blade of the Radiance: Proof of the Shining Soul- (Spell, Other: Radiant Magic, Light, 92 MP OR 92 HP, 92,000 Gold) All weapons wielded by caster gain +100 Melee Attack, gain the element Light, lose the element Darkness, and gain a 5% chance of inflicting Awestruck as a buff that does not stack on the same item and stacks 10 times across all items per wielder
Execution Strike- (Spell, Sword Arts, Darkness & Physical, 40,000 MP, 20,000,000 Gold) +20,000 Melee Attack, 60% inflicts Wounded, Inflicts Instant Death on targets below Level 20, Caster must be Level 20 or greater and must be wielding a Sword worth 20,000,000 Gold or more

Pets-
None

Transformations-
None

Permanent Consumables-
None

Artifacts-
None

Awards-
None

Orkanith Morthos (Armocida)
Level 39
Angel, Darkness
HP: 581,250
MP: 162,500
STR: 19,000 (20)
AGI: 2,100 (5)
CON: 5,250 (10)
MIN: 4,100 (10)
SPI: 6,500 (15)

ATTACK-
+182,000 Melee Attack
60% inflicts Wounded, 60% inflicts Voidstruck, 50% may inflict Frozen or Drowning, 30% inflicts Confusion, Stat Drain: CON Drain, Stat Drain: SPI Drain, Voidstruck, Hexed, Pain: Stomachache, and Impaired: Blind: Constant Glare 130% To Hit

DEFENSE-
+21,000 Defense
+10,500 Defense Against Darkness, 40% resilience, 30% Darkness Resistance, 30% Physical Resistance, 30% Light Resistance, 5% Devil Resistance
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Modrageball »

Pathaky wrote: The portal opens into a high-ceilinged hall of pale yellow stone, rows of golden statues draped with red sashes are posed welcomingly, guiding the visitor through a broad vaulted hall toward a massive set of stone doors. The floor is a checkerboard of the same dusty stone as the walls and a darker stone, while the high ceiling above sparkles with patterns of inlaid gold. A pair of tall, well built deva flank the door, dressed in multicolored robes and turbans. Naked scimitars hang conspicuously at their belts, and the astute observer can see the very edges of a series of extensive tattoos on the devas’ necks, extending out of sight beneath their robes. A smaller deva, similarly dressed scurries into view from a smaller door beside the portal. He stops in front of the portal, clears his through three times, each time sounding like a coal popping in a fireplace, and bows deeply, the top of his pointed turban touching the ground.

"Welcome, esteemed visitors, to Indrasena. I am Janma, The Greeter, The Welcomer of Guests, The Most Esteemed Officer of Immigration, and Master of the Portal. May I be of service to you in your visit today?"

He looks up and his eyes widen a hair.

"Oho, Master Orkanith, Mistress Celestine. How wonderful to see you again." Janma says with such a slick coating of obsequiousness that it's impossible to not think he's being a little sarcastic.


Armocida wrote: "Watch your tone with me, we are here to see Suratman and Chandar again."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine quirks her eyebrow at Janma, then sighs at Orkanith's short temper.

"We're here to assist them with continuing to map the Hope Islands. I hope that's not too much of an imposition?"


Pathaky wrote: Janma straightens the collars on his silk robe and sniffs, eyeing the duo down his aquiline nose.

"Not at all, not at all. As you've been previously processed as Guests of Great Auspice, I'll let you be on your way. I trust you remember how to reach the Trainyard?"


Armocida wrote: Orkanith turns and walks away "miserable rat."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "We do indeed." Celestine nods at him, and takes to the air, using her

Stained-Glass Mechanized Dragonfly Wings- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) If possessor is a Clockwork, possessor gains +600 AGI, possessor gains +600 SPI, and possessor's chances of inflicting Charm are increased by 10%



to take to the air much more smoothly than her prior adventures in flight.

She flies out the door and away, to the Trainyard!


Armocida wrote: Orkanith takes to the air as well following Celestine.


Pathaky wrote: The tattooed guards at the end of the hall step aside as Celestine and Orkanith sweep past them in a shimmering dazzle of light, metal, and shadow.

They ascend out over the city of Aham-Sphurhana, watching as the roofs, streets, rivers, warehouses, palaces, temples, alleys, wharfs, and marketplaces shrink and finally vanish as the duo fly south, then southwest, across acres of rolling farmland, punctuated by small clusters of houses and waystations for more conventionally terrestrial travelers.

Their flight is pretty uneventful. At one point they cross paths with a flock of graceful swan-like birds with beautiful white plumage, but the flock veers its course to avoid any awkward mid-air collisions.

The farmlands give way to rough hills, scrubland scattered with groves of live oak. Swatantra Station comes into view, a complex of red-brick buildings with slate-gray roofs. Train tracks spread like a web in all directions. Orkanith and Celestine can hear criers announcing departures and arrivals as they stride across the stops.

"5 Minutes until the Green Lady leaves for Swatantra!"

"All headed to the Fire Islands, the next train is coming in in 10 minutes, I tell you, 10 minutes!"

And many other similar messages.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Being both Analytical and Studious, Celestine does her best to separate the various cries and calls in her mind, listening for a call for the Hope Islands, First Hope, or the Beachhead, while looking for a train schedule and/or the ticket counter.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith just relaxes until Celestine says its time to move.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine flits around, listening to the bustle of activity. After a few minutes and a few suspicious looks from the deva, humans, and elementals rushing to and fro, she spots a harried-looking human hefting a box of supplies far to big for them. The woman is struggling to walk alongside a robed figure made of indistinct green and white light. They stand out when a snippet of their conversation cuts through the crowd to the studious Celestine.

"...and I hear she's been in ch-charge of the whole operation. At least up until now."

"Indeed. I had been briefed with as much. Well, once I'm in charge they'll all be able to get some real work done. Did you know she had the gall to appoint her graveborn liability as her second-in-command? I still BOGGLE that the Cartographers allowed that monster in at all."

"...S-Sir! There's the train for First Hope!"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine silently signals for Orkanith to close in and follow her. She'll follow the two figures to the train to First Hope, making use of her Thiefly skills to be less noticeable.

Hide in Shadows- (Stance Ability, Thief) +15% Dodge, you must be in the back row and cannot make offensive actions

Sneaky- (Passive Ability, Thief) Possessor treats foes as not having acted if it is one of the first five turns of battle, said foes are of lower level, said foes have all of their stats as being lower than possessor's AGI, and said foes have not yet acted twice, +200 AGI


Armocida wrote: Orkanith boards the train and takes his place on the back outside until Celestine is ready for him.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine flits from shadow to shadow, keeping close to the pair. Meanwhile, Orkanith follows the woman's pointing figure, spots the familiar salt-pitted train they rode across the ocean on last time, and swoops over to it. The same wizened driver is outside, a cigarette hanging from his lip as he gives the train a last-minute look over. He spots Orkanith and nods briefly, hooking a thumb toward the top of the train.

"Ah rememberz ya. The Lil' Lady told me you and the metal lady don't need no ticketz. Climb aboard."

Celestine follows the pair, listening to their continued conversation.

"A-According to reports, she's been focusing on mapping the coast-line. When the higher-ups asked about her r-reticence to explore the interior, she said it was t-too dangerous."

"Hm. That's the first amount of sense I've heard from her. Ah, here we are."

The pair have reached the train now, with Celestine hiding semi-successfully around the corner of a nearby warehouse. The woman with the huge bag staggers toward the train, spots Orkanith, a vision of gold and radiance, sitting atop of it.

"I di-didn't think we were sharing the train with anyone, sir."


Armocida wrote: Orkanith heas the comment, " Well you have a problem with that, sir?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine enters the Formshift: Fae stance, and invokes the following

Fae Traits- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor gains +1 to all stats so long as possessor is a Fae

Formshift: Fae- (Stance Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's subtype becomes Fae

Fine Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) If possessor is an Fae, possessor may choose at the beginning of a thread or when possessor's subtype has just changed from not being Fae to being Fae to have this ability provide possessor with +2,000 AGI, +2% Dodge, -2,000 STR, and -2,000 CON

Small-Yet-Mighty Fae- (Passive Ability, Counselor of Faerie) Possessor's 'Small Fae', 'Little Fae', 'Tiny Fae', 'Diminutive Fae', 'Minute Fae', and 'Fine Fae' abilities do not give possessor an Strength or Constitution penalty



to become extremely small!

She'll sneak into the pile of equipment (remaining Sneaky and Hidden in Shadows) as it gets loaded to keep a careful eye on this strange glowing man and his assistant.


Pathaky wrote: The woman glances from the engineer to Orkanith and back. The engineer nods slowly.

"Small change of plans. Nothing t'worry about."

She smiles nervously back at Orkanith.

"W-well, no problems here then."

The green/white figure peers up at him, expression decidedly unimpressed. Beady black eyes blink out of the lava-lamp glow of his face. He turns back to the woman.

"Let's get on board, Padma. GEN-tly now, I have delicate instruments in there."

The woman, apparently Padma, hustles on-board, oblivious to the tiny flash of brass light that zipped between the tiny space between the lid of the box and it's interiors.

She can't see much in the dark box. She can make out the edges of what seem to be a number of smaller boxes, cases, containers, and codices.

The Engineer folds up his chair and takes his place aboard the engine.

"Final call for First Hope. Final call." He's not even yelling. It seems perfunctory.

The green/white figure climbs aboard behind Padma, settling next to her on a cracked leather bench, the box of supplies sitting on the bench opposite.

"Do brace yourself, Padma. This has the looks of one of our Special Trains."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will see to bracing herself in such a way that she can still see out of the box. If necessary, she'll try to rearrange the contents of the box using Analytical, Crafter, and Apprentice Engineer to make a safe place to brace herself within.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Modrageball »

Armocida wrote: Orkanith keeps his spot as before.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine braces herself between a container that she can see is dimly labeled "Lenses" and a a box of compasses.

Orkanith sits serenely atop the train.

The train lurches to life as the engineer turns dials, flips switches, and tosses a tightly wrapped bundle labeled "Toxic/Explosive/Dangerous/Do Not Touch" into the boiler.

Defying expectation, the train puff-puff-puffs serenely out of the station. Orkanith watches as the trains, buildings, and crowds of people shrink into the distance. On his left, on the horizon, he can see the high walls and spires of Swatantra, The Shared City.

Padma and her associate chatter about various geological oddities that Chandar has reportedly found on First Hope with various degrees of skepticism. Celestine listens, and manages to construct a quick sketch of their characters from her eavesdropping

The green/white figure, soon discovered to be an Elemental hailing from the Technology Island, and a semi-prestigious member of the Cartographers. His name is Designaya. He's very confident in his abilities, and proud of the advances that the Technology Islands share with the rest of the Archipelago League. In much the same way, he's a bit dismissive of the abilities and competencies of others. He's apparently being sent to First Hope to oversee and verify Chandar's progress, a position that he's interpreted as "being put in charge."

Padma, a dark-skinned human with a pair of circular glasses perched atop a generous nose, has a heckuva stutter, as Celestine has already noticed. She's a more junior member of the Cartographers, and she's excited to be paired with someone like Designaya. She's a bit shy, but doesn't seem to let it get in the way of her job. She has a number of pouches and bags on a bandoleer.

There's a jerk as the train changes tracks, veering away from Swatantra and heading up along the coast in the opposite direction.

Orkanith is ready for the speed this time. The tracks head directly into the ocean ahead of the train. The Fallen Angel holds on tightly as the Engineer straps himself in and pulls The Big Lever. There's a jerk, a hurk, and the train launches across the water, skimming the waves and breakers, humming and vibrating and sending up jets of spray on either side.

After 15 minutes or so of crazy-high speed travel, they spot the familiar sight of the Hope Islands, tree-dusted teeth of rock rising from the ocean. As they slide up to the beach, Orkanith notices that where there was once only Chandar's white-washed hut, there are now a whole assembly of houses, tents, and other signs of temporary, but comfortable, habitation.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks around..."well this is new"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine is going to try to flit out of the box and behind one of the buildings while the other two are busy with unloading. She'll then drop her stances and step back out as a proper Clockwork, and greet everyone to the island, as though she had been awaiting them.

"Ah, Orkanith! I see you've returned! Welcome back to First Hope! And you've brought more associates from the cartographers, excellent! This will greatly increase the speed at which we'll be able to map these islands! We must find Chandar and Suratman at once, it wouldn't be proper for them to miss your arrival."

Can Pretend to Be Knowledgeable and Multitalented- (Passive Ability, Illusionist) Possessor may choose to count as possessing one more ability in each class that possessor posssesses at least 1 ability in; This ability works for prerequisite purposes if it is permanently possessed by its possessor

Convincing Liar- (Passive Ability, Illusionist) Possessor counts as being 1 Level higher for purposes of resisting stat-scanning attempts, with said bonus not being able to overcome 'Immune to below Level X' effects

---

Polite- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor's actions may not be countered by individuals below Level 5

Sexy- (Passive Ability, Diplomat) Possessor's actions may gain 15% inflicts Charm

Baroque Ornamentation- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) If possessor is a Golem or a Clockwork, possessor's Charm infliction chances are increased by 10%

Stained-Glass Mechanized Dragonfly Wings- (Passive Ability, Gearwright) If possessor is a Clockwork, possessor gains +600 AGI, possessor gains +600 SPI, and possessor's chances of inflicting Charm are increased by 10%


Armocida wrote: "Actually these two lapdogs are not with me. Although i do not know what but something seems off about them. Alas i do agree with you Ms. Von Reuter we must find Suratman and Chandar at once."


Pathaky wrote: Celestine competes her prestidigitation, zwipping out of the box and appearing from around one of the huts, much to the surprise of Padma and Designaya.

Designaya bristles at Orkanith's name-calling. Padma looks slightly hurt and confused. The elemental steps toward Orkanith, aura bristling.

"Excuse me? LAP-dogs? Who do you think you are? What is your connection to this expedition?"

Padma carefully sets the Box O' Supplies down and sighs.

"Y-you're very rude. W-we haven't even been introduced and you're calling us names? You d-don't even know us." She turns to Celestine.

"M-Miss Von Reuter, was it? Are you with Miss Ch-chandar Hepti's team? We're from the Cartographers. W-we've been sent to help v-verify her findings, and o-oversee the f-future of the expedition. P-please, if you'd be so k-kind as to lead us to her?"


Armocida wrote: "You should really stop your studdering it is hard to take your words with any credibility if you have no confidence in yourself...as for my involvment with this expedition i am one of the ones who previously helped Chandar and Suratman on this island. You should also know do not anger me or cross me...are we clear?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Ah, don't mind Orkanith. He's foul-mouthed and insulting at the best of times; you'll learn to ignore it soon enough. Anyway, I'm Celestine von Reuter, one of the security staff here, and I'm quite sure your presence will be helpful for advancing further inland. The symbiotic lifeforms of these isles are surprisingly subtle and dangerous; not to mention the strange ruins that have been discovered. Our work has dated their ages to older than these islands themselves..."

Celestine drifts off into a lengthy chatter about the islands, explicitly avoiding any mention of the Unbroken Circle or the Yamaduta encountered during their last visit, while leading them off in the direction of Chandar and Suratman's bungalow.


Pathaky wrote: Padma bristles, eyes widening. "C-Confidence? Th-this stutter is a c-condition, you h-horse's a-ass!"

Designaya shakes his head at Orkanith. "REST assured, I'm going to make a note of your conduct for future review, you scoundrel. Miss Von Reuter, after you.

Celestine attempts to smooth their first impressions over and lead them to Chandar and Suratman's shack! Unfortunately, with the new additions to the camp, their habitation seems to have moved! There's a tense moment of craning necks and searching eyes as Celestine attempts to find a way to keep her cover as someone who has already been there for a while.

Luckily they find a beastman with the head of a floppy-eared dog who recognizes Designaya and directs the party toward "The Sanctum."

"The Sanctum" turns out to be a set of the smaller prefabricated shacks shoved together, with a large tarp tied over the whole complex. Orkanith and Celestine can hear shouts from inside. They sound VERY excited.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine continues her passive charm offensive against the new folks, while stepping up to the door. She'll open it, and rush inside calling out to the two.

"Chandar! Suratman! Orkanith's come back to the island! And he's brought some friends from the Cartographers... Padma and... Designaya, was it?"

If she can bustle ahead of everyone else, she'll try to signal Chandar and Suratman to play along with her to keep those two off balance.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith swallows his pride and steps infront of the duo and tries to talk to them. "Hey I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you earlier. I was out of line. If we are going to be working together then we should probably do this on good terms."


Pathaky wrote: Celestine rushes into "The Sanctum".

It's a brightly lit disaster area of boxes, furniture, books, charts, sheafs of drafting paper, and racks of what look like art supplies.

At it's center is a long wooden table that's absolutely plastered with layer after layer of maps and charts. On either side of it, gesticulating wildly and shouting at the tops of their lungs, are a pair of deva. Chandar, standing on her tip-toes, is slamming a fist on the table and yelling at the other deva, who is waving his arms in the air and screaming back at her.

"Look!! The coastline CLEARLY extends out past this point!"

Chandar is much the same as she was the last time Celestine saw her: short, nearly vibrating out of her dark-skin with energy, and dressed in an embroidered barong over simple trousers.

"Are you blind? Are you deficient?? The coastline. turns. inward. here!"

The other deva is taller, with pale purple skin and a slicked back pompadour. A pair of drafting pens are tucked behind his ears. His fingers and hands are conspicuously ink-stained.

Both freeze when Celestine bursts in. The taller deva raises his eyebrows in confusion, and Chandar explodes toward her, tackling her with a high-speed collision-hug before the fairy can give the signal to play along.

"Celestine! Celestine von Reuter~!! You made it back! It's wonderful to see you again! What brings you back to this little corner of the world, eh? Ah, never mind that, of course you're here to help us out! Which is good! Suratman will be so pleased!!"

---------------

Orkanith pauses in front of the building and apologizes to Designaya and Padma.

Designaya snorts, which is curious to see from a figure with no nose to speak of. "It's ALways such. Threaten a reprimand and suddenly ruffians are all apologies."

Padma nods. "A-apology accepted. S-Sorry about my p-partner. It looks like y-you're both pretty prickly. I-if you're honestly here to help, I hope that w-we can work together well."


Armocida wrote: "So what buissiness do you have here with Suratman and Chandar?" Orkanith asks in hopes to stall them a little longer.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Yes, yes, I'm back, and not a moment too soon! With Orkanith too, but he's still outside distracting them! There's another pair from the Cartographers: Designaya, and his assistant Padma!" She blurts out, only making it all out at once from the fact that clockworks only need to respire to speak. "They intend to take over the expedition, and I've only been managing to keep them off balance by pretending to have been here the whole time!"

"Also, we're going to need to have a talk with Orkanith about how freely he goes around insulting people, but that's neither here or there."


Pathaky wrote: Designaya raises an eyebrow. Or the impression of one, because again, no eyebrows.

"..Didn't you hear Padma earlier, Mr. Morthos? We've been sent by the Cartographers to review Miss Hepti's findings and oversee the future of this expedition. And I have no business with "Suratman". The less we have to deal with him, the safer we all are, as far as I'm concerned."

--------------

The taller deva groans.

"Leave it to the brass to butt in where they're not needed." he strides over and holds out his hand to Celestine. "I'm Manesh Kuuvo. Chadar hasn't stopped telling us about you and Orkanith since we arrived."

Chandar puts a hand to her chin in thought. "I did expect them to send someone once we started seeing *real* progress... Well! I knew it would happen. We planned for this. I'll just have to give them the ol' Hepti-Blend Razzle-Dazzle. Flatter and soothe, flatter. and. soothe. And send a volumetric ton of letters back to HQ about their butting in."

She smiles at Celestine again, like a ray of caffeinated sunshine. "Clever thinking on your part, Cel, but I've been telling stories about you two pretty much non-stop since you both left. I think the ruse is up. And it's good to hear that Orkanith is still the prickly pear I remember."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine smiles widely. "Well, then. Shall we go greet the new arrivals?"


Armocida wrote: Orkanith shows a look of extreme displeasure when the two cartographers talk ill about Suratman. "Do not talk ill of Suratman you miserable lowlife." Orkanith punches Designaya and turns and walks away into the hut.


Pathaky wrote: The explorer nods happily, and Celestine, Manesh, and Chandar all exit The Sanctum. Just in time to see Orkanith deck Designaya.

---------

Orkanith's blow is softened by an aura of static electricity that flares into life around the Tech-elemental, singing the fallen angel's arm.

There's a moment of stasis, where Orkanith and Designaya strive against eachother, but Orkanith's Beyond-The-Veil strength pushes past Designaya's defenses, and he is thrown off his feet, landing on the ground in a heap a few feet away, clutching his face. Wisps of what might be considered blood to elementals float from his face.

Padma gasps and opens a few of the pouches hanging from her bandoleer. Ribbons of colored sand flow out of them, settling in complext geometric patterns on the ground around both Padma and Designaya, radiating menace and magical potential.

"W-what is WRONG with you?" she stammers.

Chandar swoops in then, all manic smiles. "Why! Padma! It's been so long! You were headed out to do that ethnological trip to the Ice Islands last time I saw you? How was that? And you must be Designaya! I've seen your reports in the newsletters! So thorough! So precise! And why, if it isn't Mr. Morthos? How ya been, ya big galoot? Keeping busy offworld, I'd imagine."

She laughs nervously. Manesh has made a swift retreat back into The Sanctum, where he's peeking out from a small window.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks at the duo, "you insolent swine, LEARN SOME RESPECT!" Orkanith turns to Chandar "Chandar pleasure to see you again! Sorry for my display here, he just insulted Suratman."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Orkanith, please! I'm hardly happy to hear that he's been insulting Suratman, but was fisticuffs really required? Answer words with words and violence with violence, and try not to be the one to start the fighting; that's the principles that I think most civilized folk follow, and something you may want to consider more in the future."

She gives a Orkanith a dour look, and turns her gaze against Designaya as well if he looks to be spoiling to fight.

"Now, let's all calm down and have a pleasant discussion between colleagues, eh?"
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Armocida wrote: "Yea, fine Celestine." Orkanith glowers at the two cartographers. "shall we get down to business?"


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith backs down, and there's a tense moment as Designaya finds his way upright. Padma watches carefully, eyes darting between Designaya and Orkanith as Designaya brushes his robe off and runs a hand across his leaking face, which firms up nearly immediately.

"...You have NOT made a stellar first impression, Miss Hepti. Nor has your associate. But I am here to ADvance the cause of knowledge, not squabble like a sick dog. A discussion then, as Miss Von Reuter suggests. Padma, please."

Padma nods and, with a gesture, whisks the sand back into their pouches and vials.

Chandar claps her hands. "There! That's better! Manesh, come out and introduce yourself, you turnip!"

Manesh ducks nervously out of The Sanctum and bobs his head in greeting. "Manesh Kuuvo. Chandar brought me on as draftsman and assistant."

Chandar nods and straightens up, marching back and forth with the mien of a field commander.

"After our initial foray into what we've been calling the Trapped Jungle, I realized we were going to need additional manpower! So I took the liberty of hiring a team of junior Cartographers to assist me! With Manesh, Suratman, and the others, there are about 10 of us here at First Hope."

Padma frowns slightly. "Y-yes, we've seen y-your expense reports. Th-they're one of the reasons we've b-been sent, you see. T-to review your findings and pr-provide official oversight for further expenses."

"Home Office has placed us in probationary command as well, until such time as our duties have been FULfilled and we find your leadership saTISfactory. Please, I'd rather not waste any more time. Let us begin our briefing." Designaya motions toward The Sanctum. "Am I to assume that these two Outlanders will be joining us?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine quirks her brow (such as it is) at Designaya's assumption that they wouldn't be involved. "Considering the circumstances, Orkanith and I know far more than you do about the conditions and environment that obtain within the jungles of this island. You would deny yourself this vital input simply because we aren't native to this realm?"


Pathaky wrote: Designaya turns his beetle-black gaze to her.

"No. I would deny your involvement because you are not members of our organization. You have not been trained like we have. You have no oversight. You're loose variables, dangling participles, rogue actors. And if Miss Hepti has been scrupulous, anything you know about the island, she knows. BUT, I am feeling generous." He casts a rueful gaze at Orkanith. "...And I leave the question of your involvement to Miss Hepti."

Chandar swallows a frown and nods. "These two saved my life, Designaya. As far as I'm concerned, they're honorary Cartographers. And more importantly, they're my friends. If they're here to help, they're gonna help."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I certainly recognize the primacy of the Cartographers in matters related to constructing the proper maps and records of these islands. However, I have not been given reason to believe that the Cartographers are an organization with an abundance of martial expertise, and the major barriers to the prior expedition, well... that's a problem that calls for a different sort of expert."


Armocida wrote: Orkanith chimes in "experts like us, believe me when i say that if i so chose this island would be nothing but a smouldering pile of ash with little effort by my hand." Orkanith glances at Chandar " honestly shall we get started? Im not here to justify my presence to this swine."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar shoots a sharp glance at Orkanith. "Please don't. I'm enjoying exploring these islands and it would be significantly less exciting if it were a plateau of barren rock. But yes! Let's get started!"

She swoops back into The Sanctum and begins pushing stacks of paper off the main table.

"Since you two left, we've been focusing on mapping the coastline, so we can have a clearer idea of the geography of the island before we push inward."

Manesh nods. "Suratman's led a few teams back into what we're unofficially calling the Synergy Jungle, but we haven't been able to penetrate much further than you did on your first expedition. It seems like the closer that we push toward the mountain, the more dangerous the wildlife and environment gets."

Chandar spreads their current most current map out over the table. "We have the shape of the island, and we know there's the volcanic mountain at the center, but not much further than that."

Designaya and Padma carefully peruse the map.

"Y-you mentioned f-finding proof of habitation, after a f-fashion." Padma says.

"Just so. We've roped off the clearing surrounding Talitha's Pit, but we found clear evidence of mortal remains, seemingly dating from before the islands were raised." Chandar says.

Manesh bites his lip. "There's always the possibility of black magic creating the impression of age, but that's inconclusive. And I did get reports from Earth Island that they spotted some Light Refugee boats heading for the Hope Islands before even we made it out here. The Light Island Crisis has made it nearly impossible to keep track of everyone who's been trying to get help."

Designaya bubbles curiously. "Have you found any proof of their landing here?"

"Not yet," Manesh admits. "But we have found wreckage among the flotsam on the the coasts. Could be detritus from the the Light Islands sinking, could be our refugees."

Padma nods. "T-there's been s-serious w-wreckage pretty everywhere. L-less now that the Church Authorities and our b-boys from Swatantra have q-quarantined the area f-for their investigation."

"As far as we've been able to determine from our coastal mapping," Chandar cuts in, "The island is flatter on it's east side, with less tree-cover and more brush. There are a pair of bays on the northern side that transition into mangrove marshes. The western side of the island is elevated, and at least from what we've been able to see, seems to support a freshwater lake. Which is really quite remarkable, given we're out at sea. And there's no way there's been enough rainfall to fill a reservoir of that size. BUT! My current theory is..." she unrolls a new set of scrolls, "That it's fed by a deep-underground reservoir by a volcanic tube! It's just a theory, but imagine! It'd be incredible!"

Designaya absorbs her tirade implacably. "Your organizational system causes me great pain. Padma and I intend to start by properly cataloging this.....mess. If you have tasks you can complete elsewhere, please, see to them."

------------

Everyone but Padma and Designaya are unceremoniously shooed from The Sanctum.

Chandar smiles sheepishly at Orkanith and Celestine. "So uh, you two up for some exploring?"
Hope Island 1 Unexplored 12-21-2016.png
Hope Island 1 Unexplored 12-21-2016.png (202.28 KiB) Viewed 5147 times


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Hmmm... The eastern flatlands seem like a decent place to start. There would likely be long sight lines, especially if Orkanith or I were to take to the air, which would allow us, ideally, to spot potential trouble while it was still on its way... Otherwise, we could continue to push for the mountain at the center of the island, now that Orkanith and I have returned to lead the security forces..."

"Orkanith, what say you?"


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks at the map "I think that starting at the Flatter Lands is a good start and work our way around the island before we head to the mountain. What say you all to that idea?"


Pathaky wrote: Chandar nods. "Sure! Sounds like a good plan! As soon as Suratman comes back, we can head ou-"

There's a happy yell from across camp, and Suratman, long legs pumping, comes striding toward the crew.

"Orkanith! Celestine! When did you get here?"

He gathers both Celestine and Orkanith in a spine-stressing hug.

The yamaduta man looks..better. his beard and hair have been trimmed back from a terrifying matted mass to a more restrained hedge of hair. His makeshift wooden arm has been replaced with an oversized forearm of white metal banded with fine leather. He's still wearing his goat-skin vest and loin-cloth.

"Surry, the Cartographers sent their people. They just arrived with our friends here. Remember Padma?"

Suratman smiles. "Sure do! Happy to have her here with us!"

"She's here with Designaya. THAT Designaya."

Suratman's smile dissolves. "Hrmph. How long do they plan on staying?"

"Indefinitely, for now. But weeeee're gonna worry about that as we go~! Now that we have our favorite Outlander muscle, we're getting ready to make a push toward the eastern plains. How long do you need to get ready?"

"I'm practically set as it is. But you two!" Suratman gently puts down Celestine and Orkanith. "..Tell me how you've been! Get into any interesting scraps recently?"

Chandar and Manesh run from hut to hut, packing a pair of Bags of Holding with various knickknacks.

Soon, everyone's ready to go. Any last correspondence/conversation/preparation before you head out?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I'm not certain we've spoken much of the Battle Arena with you before, but Orkanith and I have recently gone through a set of trials designed to measure our mettle as adventurers and warriors, to determine if we were fit for a higher tier of power. We both managed to succeed, if only by the skin of our teeth and the aid of our friends among the Arena. We shall certainly be able to combat a higher grade of foe with skill and aplomb!"

If they seem particularly interested, Celestine will continue telling the stories of the Holy Imperial Test of Worth, and what she did to get through them, leaving openings for Orkanith to jump in and discuss things should he wish.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith leans over to Suratman ans whispers "i can take care of Designaya once and for all if youd like." And then he jumps in with Celestine talking about the trials and what he did to get through them with Levana.


Pathaky wrote: Suratman laughs, sounding like someone shouting through a barrel. "Tempting, Morthos, tempting. But murdering our superiors is *not* a great way to advance our careers."

Chandar and Manesh listen intently as Celestine explains the trials (hah) involved in Seal-Breaking. Manesh in particular takes notes, explaining that the universal mechanics of this Battle Arena fascinate him, especially as he compares and contrasts them to the rules of Indrasena.

The party sets out, cutting north-east through the "Syngergy Jungle", down trails that, Suratman explains, have been worn both by wild-life and by his teams of explorers. They skirt the triangular clearing where Orkanith fired off his Waveblade before, the stumps and undergrowth already showing signs of rapid recovery.

The corrupted jungle is avoided as much a possible, mostly a smear of twisted trees barely visible through the closer growth. Change has been slow in that part of the jungle, even with Talitha defeated and her Focii destroyed, Chandar exposits.

The sun filters down through the lush vegetation in green-tinted curtains of luminescence. The sounds of birdsong and, further away, the yips and howls of other wildlife fill the air. Chandar chatters happily with them all, telling the party about Manesh's talents as a draftsman, their earlier argument over coastlines apparently forgotten. Suratman spends time showing Celestine the workings of his new arm, which is apparently works through a mix of magic and clockwork engineers that connects it to the nerves in his arm. It's oversized to allow him a bit more flexibility in his size-shifting, but it apparently hurts like the blazes when he does it, so he's been cutting back on the Huge-Making.

It takes several hours of brisk travel to pass through the jungle completely. The party exists the balmy green-canopied jungle and takes in the view ahead of them.

Low hills roll out ahead of them, the jungle growth slowly dwindling into a mess of scrubby groundcover and tall grasses. The wind sets the grasses waving, ribbons of movement through the otherwise serene vista.

The party is facing north-east. Some ways away to the north are some more pronounced hills topped with copses of trees. Gentle blue streams run out of the jungle, emptying into pockets of wet marshland, or small ponds. A larger river can be seen further to the north-east, obscured by thick growths of reeds, tall grasses, and other riverside plant life.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine takes to the air to get a higher-level view of the terrain, then heads off toward the river.

"I think we should track the river out to its mouth, then follow it back inland to the headwaters!" She shouts back to the group. "If it's safe for boat travel, we can use it as a highway to the interior of the island!"


Armocida wrote: "Sounds like a plan to me."


Pathaky wrote: Celestine conveys her plan and takes to the air to survey the territory further. From her position in the sky, she can see things a little more clearly.

The river stretches out below her, winding gently toward the ocean in one direction, and up toward the hills to the north in the other.

Speaking of, she can see over some of the copses of trees from up here. It's still quite a ways away, so she can't see it super clearly, but she spots a jumble of angular shapes in a clearing between the hills. Combined with the distant sight of stumps and other signs of woodcutting, it creates an impression of possible habitation.

With your newfound aerial sights seen, are you sticking with the previous plan?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine rushes back to the group. "There's something that appears to be structures in the hills! Should we head that direction instead? I wonder if it's related to the Circle..."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar's ears twitch in excitement. "Oh MAN, what??? Do you think those rumors about refugees making it here were TRUE? If they're have been people living on the island, why haven't they made contact? We haven't exactly been subtle, you know."

Suratman shrugs. "If we haven't heard from them yet, I don't think we're going to. Remember the things in Talitha's pit? Those were people's bodies. It sounds like bad news to me."

Manesh jots down a note in a small yellow pad. "It's also not going anywhere. I say we stick to the plan, map the river to the mouth, and then investigate."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Fair enough, Manesh. Let's map the river first, then head over to the structures."


Armocida wrote: "Then let us move out its better that we dont stay in one place too long."
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: The crew sets off toward the river, Celestine acting as aerial scout to prevent any unwanted surprises.

Manesh and Chandar are thick as thieves, comparing notes, charts, and maps as they catalog. Suratman continues to ask Morthos about his trials, and about his shiny new armor.

They push across the low hills, through patches of tall grass topped with burrs that stick onto shirts and pants, past undergrowth that looks more like miniature trees than bushes or scrub-brush.

As they pass through a particularly thick patch of grass, those on the ground begin to hear a quiet whining sound, barely loud enough to register as anything but their imaginations.

Celestine notices the grasses around the crew below begin to flatten outward, revealing clumps of bright orange flowerbuds emerging from the ground.

The flowerbuds peel open, revealing beautifully vibrant petals of orange, red, and yellow. They also reveal swarms of fat, bulbous flies that come pouring out into the sky, toward Celestine and the grounded explorers.

There are 3 clumps of the flowers, and 3 swarms of the insects.

Celestine and Orkanith! What are your actions?


Armocida wrote: Orkanith is going to use to avoid destroying the island more than he already has.

Sweeping Slash- (Technique Ability, Swordsman) Possessor may use 'Sweeping Slash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Sword equipped. Said attack gains '1 hit against 3' and deals 2/3 Damage.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine casts

Totemic Magic: Flame Cloak- (Spell, Shaman Magic, Fire & Magic, 11,000 MP, 6,500,000 Gold) Places a buff on caster that deals 80,000 Flat Fire element damage to up to 30 targets at the start of each round, does not stack



for free with the Kaleidoscopic casting bracelets, and notes that she is immune to sub-20 due to

Earth-Shaking Trowel- (Weapon, Tool, Earth, 75,000 Gold) +15 Melee Attack, +75 Magical Attack, 15% Critical against Earth element targets
Triumphant- This item's wielder becomes Immune to individuals below Level 20 if at least level 20, This item's wielder gains +20,000 to all stats, this item provides +20,000 additional Melee Attack, +20,000 additional Ranged Attack, and +20,000 additional Magical Attack, Enchantment
Unbreakable- This item cannot be Broken or destroyed except by the most exceptional measures, This treatment does not prevent pets or summons it is applied to from being killed, This item cannot be stolen outside of Official Quests and Player Quests, This does not count as a Mystic Treatment for number of Mystic Treatments that can be applied to this item if this item is unique, Affects any type of possession, Mystic Treatment


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith swings the waveblade in a wide arc, clipping the swarms of flies but failing to make meaningful contact as they buzz around the blade. of course, not making meaningful contact with a Veil-Render boosted Orkanith still hurts. All three swarms take moderate damage and set to buzzing even more angrily.

Celestine bursts into flames as the Totemic Flame cloak activates!

The first swarm of flies buzz up toward Celestine, a contingent of them breaking off to Harry her, buzzing closely enough to make movements more awkward, if not more difficult.

The second swarm froths toward Orkanith, Stinging his face, his neck, his ears, dealing light damage, and light healing.

The third swarm rushes toward the weakest looking noncombatant so far, Chandar, Harrying her as well.

Suratman swats a group of the flies off from around Chandar, dealing moderate damage as his suddenly-huge mitt crushes them onto the ground.

Manesh licks the tip of one of his brushes and draws a magnifying glass in the air. The flowerpods and flies shimmer with green light, and the scan is shared among the group.

x3 Swarm of Bloated Flowerflies, Level 35, Insect, Air
x3 Symbiotic Alraunettes, Level 37, Plant, Earth



Chandar reaches into her bag for one of her trusty wands, but the flies swarming her buzz, bite, and otherwise seek to eat the tasty Deva, dealing moderate damage and light healing. She manages to pull out the wand and flourishes, sending an electric current through the swarm buzzing around her, dealing moderate damage.

The first flowerpod belches out a column of sickly yellow pollen that begins to rain down over everyone present.

The second belches a cloud of orange pollen, adding to the haze.

The third flowerpod releases a fine mist of purple pollen. Visibility is beginning to suffer.

How are people's resistances to Minor Status Effects? Specifically, to Paralyzed, Confusion, and Stat Drain?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: The monsters are too low level!

Greater Armband of Purity- (Accessory, Wristwear, Light, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Magical Attack, +24,000 Defense, 40% Resilience, Individuals below Level 40 cannot inflict status effects on possessor



Celestine prepares her response. She casts

Banishing Echo- (Spell, Ethereal Magic, Sonic, 7,000 MP, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,000 Magical Attack, Target obtains a non-stacking debuff that causes its possessor to be dealt 70,000 Flat Sonic element Damage and be unsummoned (with said unsummoning only being able to unsummon individuals below Level 40) at the start of the next round



made free by the power of the Kaleidoscopic Casting Bracelet, and activates Crimson Nova to target all of the bugs and flowers.
Celestine also does HP Drain with Magic Attacks, due to

Vampiric Dragon Mantle- (Accessory, Cloak, Blood & Darkness, 14,000,000 Gold) +14,400 Magical Attack, +14,900 SPI, +13,550 MIN, 30% Darkness Resistance, 15% Blood Resistance, Wearer's 'Magical Attack' and 'Ranged Attack' actions deal HP Drain


Armocida wrote: Monsters are still too low level!!

Greater Armband of Purity- (Accessory, Wristwear, Light, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Magical Attack, +24,000 Defense, 40% Resilience, Individuals below Level 40 cannot inflict status effects on possessor

Orkanith's attacks also deal Stat Drain

Mouthy Abstract Antlers- (Accessory, Bioaugmentation, Nobility & Beast & Chaos, 24,000,000 Gold) +24,000 Melee Attack, +24,000 Ranged Attack, 30% inflicts Confusion, Confusion: Fear, Stat Drain: CON Drain, Stat Drain: SPI Drain, Voidstruck, Hexed, Pain: Stomachache, and Impaired: Blind: Constant Glare

Orkanith uses another but adds on the plants infront of him

Sweeping Slash- (Technique Ability, Swordsman) Possessor may use 'Sweeping Slash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Sword equipped. Said attack gains '1 hit against 3' and deals 2/3 Damage.

Execution Strike- (Spell, Sword Arts, Darkness & Physical, 40,000 MP, 20,000,000 Gold) +20,000 Melee Attack, 60% inflicts Wounded, Inflicts Instant Death on targets below Level 20, Caster must be Level 20 or greater and must be wielding a Sword worth 20,000,000 Gold or more


Pathaky wrote: The Totem-Cloak flares, sending a nova of heat and energy washing across the battlefield, dealing light damage to the flies, and moderate damage to the flowers.

Orkanith whispers a word of execution to his Waveblade before swinging it in another looping arc, slicing for the flower pods for moderate-to-heavy damage. Flowerpod #3 wilts slightly.

Celestine flourishes magically as the files buzz and swarm around her, dealing light damage to her, and healing themselves lightly. Undeterred, she releases a wave of red-tinted magical force that batters the plants and flies, dealing moderate damage to the flies and heavy damage to the flowers. She receives moderate healing from the HP Drain.

The swarm of flies around Celestine doubles down on Harrying her, buzzing with singed malice.

The second swarm continues to bite Orkanith, dealing light damage and light healing.

The third swarm breaks off from Chandar, Harrying Suratman in addition to the small deva.

Suratman claps two oversized hands together, dealing heavy damage to the swarm caught between the huge mitts. Swarm #3 ain't looking good. The swarm harrying him deals light damage, and light healing.

Manesh is laying on his back, gasping. He seems to be having trouble moving.

Chandar swings her bug-zapping wand, shocking the swarm for moderate damage. She's harried for moderate damage, and the swarm receives light healing.

The first flowerpod begins to uproot itself on thick corded vines. In the mean-time, it shoots a slim seed at Orkanith that begins to grow as it impacts him, blooming into a beautiful sickly red flower, dealing moderate damage and leeching Orkanith's life back to the flowerpod for moderate healing.

The second flower launches a seed up into the air at Celestine, where it impacts as a beautiful yellow flower, dealing minor damage to her Agility, due to her special defenses against Earth.

The third flower uproots itself, revealing a vaguely human torso surrounded by roots and vines. It begins crawling across the clearing toward Manesh's prone form.

Manesh's scan gives you an idea of the health of your enemies:

Swarm 1: ~80%
Swarm 2: ~85%
Swarm 3: ~30%

Flowers 1:~60%
Flowers 2:~50%
Flowers 3: ~50%


Armocida wrote: Orkanith knowing the general health range that his enemies are at thanks to Manesh sees that they are moving nowhere with this fight. "Chandar forgive me I shall minimize the damage as much as possible." Orkanith starts to channel an eerie green light into his waveblade. He however does not actually use the waveblade's ability. Orkanith uses

Atomic Wave-Slash- (Spell, Sword Arts, Atomic, 170,000 HP, 70,000,000 Gold) +70,000 Melee Attack, 70% inflicts Poison: Irradiated, 1 hit against 600,000, Caster must have a Sword equipped

He will have it hit the swarms and plants and not his allies.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: The Flame cloak bursts forth, scorching the bugs and plants for 80,000 Flat Fire Damage!
The debuff strikes, hitting all the bugs and plants for 70,000 Flat Sonic Damage!
Celestine Kaleidoscopes up another free cast of Banishing Echoes, with the added power of the Crimson Nova!


Pathaky wrote: The Totem-Cloak flares, sending a nova of heat and energy washing across the battlefield, dealing light damage to the flies, and moderate damage to the flowers.

Orkanith focuses, releasing a ribbon of neon-green energy that snakes across the clearing in a series of explosions, venting excess energy into the sky safely. The swarms and flowerbuds take heavy damage. The swarm around Chandar and Suratman are depleted to a few fly-away bugs that scatter and disperse, vanishing without further harm.

Celestine flourishes, and the Banishing Echo Triggers, dealing light damage to the two swarms and the flowers as the magic lying dormant around them explodes before recasting the same spell! As she does, the stacked harrying swarms bite and drain her for two instances of light damage, and the swarm heals for two instances of light healing.

The Crimson Nova washes over the clearing, flaming across the swarms for moderate damage, and the flowers for heavy damage. The three Symbiotic Alraunettes let out a high-pitched scream, withering and charring and finally running still. She receives moderate healing from the HP drain.

The swarm of Bloated Flies around the fairy continues to bite and swarm Celestine, dealing light damage and recieving light healing.

The second swarm continues to feast upon angel, dealing light damage and receiving light healing.

Suratman bounds over to Orkanith, grabbing a fistful of flies out of the around him, dealing moderate damage to the swarm.

Manesh isn't doing much better, but he's managed to clamber to his knees, and is currently vomiting.

Chandar shouts in victory and spins her wand, sending a wave of static electricity up toward Celestine, dealing moderate damage to the swarm. Fried flies drop like well, flies, leaving the swarm diminished, but still angry and biting.

The scan-date blips! The flies are on the ropes!

Swarm 1: ~30%
Swarm 2: ~25%


The Nottest of Daves wrote: The cloak flares again against the remaining enemies!
The banishment echoes forth against them as well!

"Time for some healing on this battlefield!"

Celestine will free-cast

Greater Angelic Healing- (Spell, Holy Magic, Light, 1,300 MP, 1,541,000 Gold) +1,540 Magical Attack, Heals, May cure 2 debuffs or minor negative status effect from a source below Level 60 if caster is at least Level 20


boosted with Crimson Nova in order to hit herself and her allies.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith will use on the remaining swarms:

Execution Strike- (Spell, Sword Arts, Darkness & Physical, 40,000 MP, 20,000,000 Gold) +20,000 Melee Attack, 60% inflicts Wounded, Inflicts Instant Death on targets below Level 20, Caster must be Level 20 or greater and must be wielding a Sword worth 20,000,000 Gold or more

Sweeping Slash- (Technique Ability, Swordsman) Possessor may use 'Sweeping Slash' in conjunction with a 'Melee Attack' action, so long as no other technique is used and possessor has a Sword equipped. Said attack gains '1 hit against 3' and deals 2/3 Damage.


Pathaky wrote: The Totemic Flame Cloak singes across the clearing, dealing light damage. The Banishing Echo crashes around the swarms, dealing light damage as well.

Orkanith darts across the battlefield, sweeping his sword through the swarms for moderate damage!

Celestine casts a spell of angelic healing, soft light exploding out of her with the power of the Crimson Nova. The crew receives moderate healing. Manesh relaxes, quickly covering his mouth with a handkerchief and struggling to his knees.

Suratman swats the swarm around Orkanith into smithereens.

Celestine twirls her wand again and sends another wave of electricity up toward Celestine, frying the remaining flies.

Orkanith and Celestine receive:

XP for 3 Level 35 Enemies
XP for 3 Level 37 Enemies


Armocida wrote: "Sorry about the massive spell i used Chandar. I just had to see to the deaths of those irritating creatures. Anyways that was entertaining. Shall we press on?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Is everyone alright? Does anyone need more healing?"


Pathaky wrote: "One more of those ought to do it, if it's not too much trouble." Chandar says, rubbing the painful welts covering her face.

Manesh kicks one of the shriveled flowerbuds. "Don't be sorry, Morthos. You didn't hurt anything but these things, anyways."

Suratman spends some time making some clippings from the flowerbuds. "Here, you might be able to find a use for them." he says, tossing them to Celestine.

Celestine and Orkanith get:

Red Alraunette Flower- (Item, Antiquity, Earth & Fire, 260,000 Gold)
Blue Alraunette Flower- (Item, Antiquity, Earth & Water, 260,000 Gold)
Yellow Alraunette Flower- (Item, Antiquity, Earth & Electricity, 260,000 Gold)



After healing up and brushing the worst of the coating of pollen from themselves, the mini-expedition continues, reaching the river without further interruption.

The river is of moderate width, surrounded on both banks by lush growths of grasses and reeds and the occasional mangrove tree. The whine of dragonflies and other water bugs fills the air, along with the quiet blebs of frogs. It's thick going, and Chandar asks Orkanith to serve as point man, chopping a path through the thick grasses for them to push through.

Finally, after a humid, sticky march through silty ground, thick undergrowth, and incessant insect attention, they reach the delta, where the river flows out into the ocean.

The beach here is less sand than silt, and the greenery diminishes slowly, it at all.

Manesh and Chandar set up a rapidly-expanding folding draftsman's table to adjust their charts so far.

Celestine and Orkanith, in a stroke of luck you BOTH spot the tip of what looks like a boat protruding from under a carefully arranged pile of greenery by the river.


Armocida wrote: "Shall we go inspect the boat?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine nods firmly. "Of course! I'll watch from above, while you approach."

Celestine reactivates Tiniest Fae Mode, and sneakily watches from the skies!


Pathaky wrote: Celestine shrinks into a spot of brass light and zips into the sky, watching carefully as Orkanith pushes the reeds and leaves aside to reveal a small, rather beat-up rowboat. It's loaded with what look to be home-made nets, ragged rope, and a number of sharpened wooden spears.

As Orkanith shifts the pile of leaves and reeds around the boat, he dislodges a long, man-shaped figure that flops onto the ground.

It's a withered, twisted figure, completely devoid of moisture, with pinched devic features and skin that's already cracking like cheap parchment across it's form. Its face is twisted in a silent scream, its arms clutching it's torso, its legs twisted and bone-thin.

It goes without saying that it is very dead.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith pulls the body onto the shore and calls for Chandar: "Uhh...I think I found something!" Orkanith will also pull the boat onto the shore once he sets the body down.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine flits down near the corpse (once Orkanith stops dragging it) and attempts to determine the cause of death using her skills as a doctor.

Doctor- (Passive Ability, Healer) Possessor's actions that heal may gain +200 Ranged, Melee or Magical Attack if they already possess such a bonus, Once per round after an enemy attacks one of possessor's allies, possessor may choose to have a 5% chance of countering said attack with a positive action targeting said ally and no other targets.


Pathaky wrote: The crew gather around the body, faces grim. Well, most faces grim. Chandar is visibly torn between horror and EXCITEMENT at the new discovery.

Celestine's examination of the body, aided by Manesh, reveal several likely culprits for the cause of death. Severe dehydration is one. A very nearly complete lack of blood is the other. There are no signs of violent struggle on the body, nor any obvious wounds.

Suratman sniffs, and recoils. "Bad news, guys. This reeks of bad magic."

Manesh examines the scraps of clothing sticking to the mummy, emptying it's pockets and checking for any identifying baubles.

"Looks like at least *some* refugees made it here." he says, frowning.


Armocida wrote: "Yeesh i would love to meet the thing that did this to him...could maybe pick this trick up. What should we do?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "This bodes ill indeed. I suspect the hand of the Circle in this man's death. They may be the ones behind the lack of surviving refugees being found amongst the Isles of Hope in general as well... Their magics are weak against the power of Light; perhaps that may have something to with it..."

Celestine frowns, crosses her arms, and considers further.

"We must be cautious as we approach the structures in the hills. Even if they were constructed by the refugees, the Circle may have hidden something among them; if they were not..."

She trails off meaningfully, drifting around to stare in the direction of the structures.


Armocida wrote: "Then it is a good thing I am here." Orkanith draws his weapons and wills light energy into them making them shine bright with a radiant light. "I still want to learn how to do what they did to this person." Orkanith grins eerily as he says that.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine furiously takes notes.

"...wait until Designaya hears about THIS! PROOF of refugee movement from the (former) Light Islands to the Islands of Hope! Think of what this...could...mean.." she slows her note-taking and pales. "All of those people. That we completely missed. Indrasena above."

Suratman eyes Morthos' radiant blades cautiously. "Just keep those pointed away from me. I don't need another fancy arm."

Manesh shows off what he's found in the mummy's pockets:

-A piece of brittle parchment, covered with notes and drawings about a planned settlement for the refugees that, by hook or by crook, managed to make it to the new Islands.

-A small notebook, filled with more personal reflections.

-A torn polaroid-style family photograph, showing a large deva family seated around a smiling matriarch.

The deva gulps, voice tight. "Yeah. Looks like they were planning to build something upriver. Saints and Scum, I hope they're safe." He looks to Celestine. "Do you think we should head there next then?"


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks at Suratman "yea my apologies about that. But! on the bright side I killed that snot nosed little brat.....or at least I hope I did ya never can tell anymore..." He turns his gaze to the Deva, "Personally I believe that we should go investigate upriver." looking at Celestine "what say you Ms. Von Reuter?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Yes, we should head there quickly, I think. If they survived, we need to get there as soon as possible, and if they didn't... well, we need to get there for a different reason."


Pathaky wrote: The crew set out back up the river, swatting away biting flies, stumbling through areas of thick knotted mangrove roots, and pushing through what feel like miles of reeds and grasses.

A hot, sticky hike later, they're at the foot of the series of craggy hills that Celestine spotted earlier. Copses of swarthy, tough-looking trees dot the hillside, casting dappled shadows and swaying gently in the breeze.

You mentioned approaching the structures in the hills cautiously. What measures are you all taking?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine transforms into a Fine Fae once more, and cloaks herself in shadows (Hide in Shadows, Sneaky, Tricky) as she approaches.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith will walk with the others and will try to stay as quiet as possible.


Pathaky wrote: Up, around and through the hills, the party proceeds carefully, every eye peeled, every ear straining for an out-of-place sound. Celestine flits from shadow to shadow. Orkanith steps carefully along with the others, taking care to avoid twigs, loose stones, or other noisemakers.

They come across a section of recently-cut trees, seemingly in the process of being broken down for timber, stacked neatly next to the small clearing they were removed from. Draped over the logs is another desiccated husk, timber-axe lodged in the dirt next to the wood.

Manesh lets out a shaky breath. "Saints, here too?"

He rushes forward and gently places the body onto the ground, checking it's pockets and gently closing it's withered eyes.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine twitches and frowns when the next desiccated corpse is discovered. She signals everyone to keep quiet and stay alert, while she approaches the village on her own.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith with gestures signals to everyone to stay down and stay quiet. He quickly reads and learns

Book of Covert Techniques- (Permanent Consumable, Grimoire, Darkness & Air, 1 Charge, 10,000,000 Gold) Teaches user "Sneak."

Using the ability he then wraps himself in darkness slips into the shadows with Celestine hopefully unnoticed.


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith quick-studies, learning the basics of keeping oneself hidden when skulking. He and Celestine continue ahead of the rest of the crew, the fairy flitting from shadow to shadow among the treetops, and the fallen angel following suit below.

It's not long before the sneaky pair reach the structures that Celestine saw earlier.

The trees thin out into a wide clearing, surrounded on three sides by steep hillsides topped with gnarled trees. Nearly two-dozen structures in various states of construction, longhouses and huts mainly, fill the clearing. Piles of wood, rough-hewn stone, and dried reeds are stacked against the half-completed homes. A crude well lies in the center of the clearing.

The whole place is silent, aside from the faint chirrup of birdsong in the distance and the sound of wind in the trees.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will start her search by sneaking up to the well, hiding amongst shadows and piles of construction materials as long as she can get away with it.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith will stay in the shadows as much as possible to check out the buildings in the settlement.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine zips from shadow to shadow as she approaches the well, encountering no spooky surprises. The well is made from stones stacked together around a deep, dark, hole. Deep enough that Celestine can't see any water in it. Or a bottom to it at all, frankly. A bucket and rope sit next to the well.

Orkanith heads to the nearest building, a hut made from rough planks, grasses, and mud. Inside, a pair of dehydrated corpses sit leaning against each other in front of a fire pit. The fire has banked, but a few coals are still smoldering. The fire's light casts a pallid red glow on the corpses, which stare out at Orkanith, expressions inscrutable. One holds a ladle loosely in it's withered hands. The other, a book.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith grabs the book and opens it to see what he can make of it.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine takes the bucket on the rope and lowers it down until it hits water or stops, or until she runs out of rope.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: Orkanith creeps across the floor of the hut, where he has to struggle to dislodge the book from the desiccated hand of the corpse.

It's...a few things. A rather dry textbook on Light Island history for the first half, and a repurposed journal for the second. Skimming it, it seems to largely relate to it's owners struggles as they dealt with the grief of losing her ancestral home and so many of her loved ones. The most recent entries seem the most elucidating, talking about the movers and shakers of their new little settlement. Special attention is spent on Pitamaha, who seems to have slid into the role of leader rather reluctantly.

----------------------------------------------

Celestine lowers the bucket! It goes down, down, down, down, down.

She's seriously worried about running out of rope until she heads a wet *thuck* echo up from the depths.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith takes the book and goes to look around the other buildings.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will duck into the well, fly down about five feet, then free-cast the Flame Cloak to provide light as she goes deeper into the well.


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith takes the book and leaves the hut, walking a few paces to the next building, a wooden longhouse.

It's dark inside, the sides shored up with more piles of wood and clay bricks. Strings of vegetables and herbs hang from the shadowed ceiling.

Poking out from behind a tarp-covered pile of wood near the back of the longhouse are a pair of dried, desiccated legs.

The body is stretched out behind a collapsed pile of firewood, apparently having died in the process of carrying it.

Orkanith's search continues. The other buildings are a mix of huts and warehouses, with more than a few of them unfinished. He finds a few more corpses, each mummified in positions of domesticity.

Finally, he comes across a small corner of the village, near the treeline, where a pile of worked earth and a plank seem to mark a simple grave. Pitmaha, our Hope, taken too soon. is written on the plank.

----------------------------------------------------------

Celestine descends a bit, lighting up like a torch and casting the inside of the well into well-lit relief. She continues her descent, following the cool, damp walls of the well down, down down, down.

The walls open up around her, the well falling away to reveal a mostly-depleted reservoir. The bucket bobs in a few inches of water that stretch out of sight in all directions.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith digs up the graves to see if the person inside has anything of value.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine heads back up to the surface, to let the rest of the crew know that there's a vast, mostly empty reservoir accessible through the well. She also grabs the bucket and takes it back up with her.


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith has to search a bit to find a shovel, but manages, and begins his uh, excavation.

He soon hits a cloth bundle that's been torn open, seemingly from the inside. Under the cloth bundle, a scrabbling, barely-big-enough-to-fit-inside tunnel winds down and out of sight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestine grabs the bucket and returns to the surface, where sees Orkanith at the grave before zooming back to the crew to inform them of her discovery.

A sense of gloom surrounds the expedition as they make their way into the village, even Chandar's irrepressible enthusiasm tempered with nervous grief. Still, she has her drafting paper in hand, and with Manesh's help, they begin to map the village as it stands.

Suratman begins touring the houses, making notes of the bodies so that he can come by and collect them later. "Maybe they've got relatives somewhere." he rumbles.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith tells tjem about the tunnel he found and takes them to it.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine agrees and heads back to the gravesite with the others.


Pathaky wrote: The whole crew make their way to the gravesite, where they spend a few minutes examining it.

"You saw a grave and your first instinct was to dig it up?" Suratman says dryly.

Chandar is jotting down notes while she and Manesh compare bits from the journals they found on the corpses.

With both documents, they're able to piece together that Pitmaha, the unwilling leader of the settlement, had used his innate magical talent (something most deva have, to one degree or another), to help with construction around the village, most notably with digging the well into the reservoir, which he had located using Dowsing magic.

The journals continue, talking about the pressure Pitmaha was under, but that they all looked up to him as a model of dutifulness and perseverance.

Then he got sick, and, over the course of several days, died. He was, due in no small part to his leadership, the only casualty they'd suffered since making land. They buried him in a temporary grave, intending to honor his remains in a more permanent fashion once they'd finished the settlement.

The tunnel itself is small, barely big enough for a medium-sized humanoid to squeeze through. It twists out of sight, making it impossible to see where the tunnel leads.

"Dug out from the inside.... Do you think this could be related to what happened to all of these poor people?" Manesh says, frowning.

Chandar glances around nervously.

"Could be. Orkanith, Celestine, what do you think we should do? If the reservoir is beneath us, and is as big as you say, there's a good chance that this tunnel leads down there."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Aye, indeed it could. Hmm... I think, if we use some of the rope, we can set up a pulley system to get the larger members of this expedition down into the reservoir system (it's only a few inches deep, where I saw it), then Chandar and I could scout down the tunnel here, being the smallest. We wouldn't want to send anyone alone down either path, for sure, that's just asking for an ambush..."


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks at suratman "dont judge me sir, and Chandar i can either widen the hole with the power of my sword or Celestine can shrink and check it out, but its riskey to send her alone."


Pathaky wrote: Suratman nods to Manesh and Orkanith.

"We'll see about collecting what we need to get down into the well. Celestine, you have the most mechanical know-how, so direct us."

Chandar strokes her chin.

"That'd be a tight fit for me, Celestine. I'd have to crawl behind you, and I wouldn't be able to reach into my bag. But maybe I could just...HAMFIST a bunch of these wands. It could work!"

Suratman coughs. "Might be better to just come down the well with us then.

They set to work! Soon, there's a pile of scavenged bricks, wood, rope, and pretty much anything that Suratman and Manesh thought might be handy.

Set up your pulley system! You can list mechanist abilities or just toss ideas.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith is a complete idiot when it comes to these things he hopes that Celestine will be able to do more than him.


Pathaky wrote: Between Celestine's know-how, and Orkanith and Suratman's muscle, you're able to construct a passable rope-and-pully system to get the whole crew to The Bottom of The Well.

Heading down?


Armocida wrote: "Ya know I could have flown us all down I am strong enough to do it" Orkanith floats his way down the well mockingly while he stares at the others.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Down the well we go! Ropes and pulleys shall take us forth!

"We could certainly make it down the well that way, but what would happen if we needed to get out and you were... indisposed?" Celestine arches her eyebrow.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith shouts from down the well "well then I guess we are all screwed unless you got the kahones to carry us all out!!"


Pathaky wrote: Chandar raises an eyebrow.

"Kahones? Is that some Outlander slang that I don't know about?"

Manesh, a little red, leans in and whispers to her. Chandar stifles a guffaw. "Well, learn a new word every day!"

----

The bottom of the well is reached! As Celestine saw before, it is a mostly-depleted reservoir, with a few inches of water remaining at the bottom that stretches out of sight in all directions. What's your plan of advancement here?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Hmmm... I suggest we remain together for now. Spiral out from the well in a search pattern... Chandar, do you have anything for light, that we could hang here at the well to make sure we don't lose sight or positioning on our exit?"
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Armocida wrote: Orkanith chimes in with a creepy grin on his face "or we could split up and risk certain death...nah celestines plan is better."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar rummages through her bag. "Sure do!" she says, pulling forth a lightbulb. She flicks it several times, and it erupts into a beacon of scintillating white light. She carefully affixes it to the ropes.

The crew spirals out from the beacon, sloshing through the water, boots schlopping against the mud that covers the reservoir floor. Soon, the crew manages to find a damp cavern wall. Following the wall reveals the reservoir as a rough bell-shape, with two smaller tunnels, above the water level, one along the north-east wall, the other along the western wall of the cavern.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Given that the western route is closer to the well, I suggest we start there."


Armocida wrote: "What are we waiting for lets get this started?"


Pathaky wrote: The crew sally forth into the western tunnel. Suratman has to bend nearly double to fit, but it doesn't seem to bother him much.

The tunnel twists and turns ahead of them, a collection of blind corners. The expedition proceeds carefully and uneventfully until the tunnel opens up into a stalactite-choked chamber.

In the center of the chamber are two figures, deep in conversation. One is dressed in mud-stained finery, the other in opulent robes of red, green, and yellow.

They turn as the expedition enter.

The mud-stained figure seems devic in origin, with long, tapered ears and a twinkle in his eye. The robed figure looks *considerably* different, with a papery layer of skin wrapped tight around a feline face.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time until they found their way down here, friend." The cat-faced figure hisses.

The mud-stained figure nods, giving the newcomers a tight-lipped smile. "Yes, I suppose you're right. The question now is, what do we do with them?"

"You couldn't be persuaded just to leave, could you?" he asks.


Armocida wrote: "well that all depends on what you are doing down here...also are you the ones who killed the village folk if so can you teach me how to do that? Because that would be awesome to learn how to do."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: The flames of Celestine's cloak grow dim, as she shrinks and crouches in the flickering shadows, positioning herself as best she can for an attack from an unexpected direction, assuming the conversation goes the way she expects.

She also notes that she'll need to have a serious discussion with Orkanith after this is all over about what sorts of words and actions are appropriate for an upstanding member of Adventuring society.


Pathaky wrote: Mud-Stains smiles, his face brightening. "I'm so glad you can be reasonable! And yes. I'm afraid I am. Although I'm not proud of that."

Cat-Face narrows it's eyes. "A pair of meddling outlanders playing nanny for some chattel and a laughably penitent graveborn. Hah, could you be the ones Talitha mentioned?"


Armocida wrote: "So shes still alive is she? I do apologize for nearly killing her it was nothing personal she brainwashed my friend after all...say would it be possible for me to join up with you?" Orkanith shoots a look at the group and tries to hint to them that he is not betraying them.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: The conversation has not gone the way she expected, but she is somewhat curious about what Orkanith might have planned here...

Celestine will remain hidden in the shadows, unless it is obvious that they have noticed her sneaking around, in which case she will return to Chandar, Manesh, and Suratman.


Pathaky wrote: Cat-Face looses a dry gurgle of a laugh. "Why the change of heart, o radiant one?" It motions expansively. "Becoming one of us is not as easy as an empty oath. Much is required of those who seek to walk the paths of power."

Mud-stains shifts nervously.


Armocida wrote: "Oh believe me i have lost much in my quest for power, the requirements of such a path are no strangers to me, and i don't have much else to lose. So what say you?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: *Celestine lurks*


Pathaky wrote: Cat-face points a gnarled finger at Orkanith, a cracked smile revealing tiny needle-like teeth.

"Then heed the first lesson of I, Elder Kabanha. Transaction is the truth of this existence. Blood is paid for in Blood. Life is paid for in Death. But." It wags it's finger, "Death can pay for life."

Kabanha shifts it's finger from Orkanith to Chandar and Manesh.

"Let your baptism be in blood. Kill them, and I shall mark you as my pupil, to be taught the buried secrets of the Circle."

Celestine notices Mud-Stains staring at her curiously, a faint smile playing across his lips.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith draws his weapons and turns to the expidition group, he looks at them and whispers "flee, send for Levana of Nexus to aid you. To beat these guys i must go with them...he says loudly a sacrifice must be made he apologetically looks at manesh it must be you. Kabanha there are certain things in place that keep me from harming some of my party so allow me to do this."

Orkanith summons tengu using

Best Buds with Tengus- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor may, once per thread, summon 5 Tengu from the Enemy List, Max 5 summoned, Possessor's allies whose name includes Tengu gain +3,000 to all stats and gain Impaired: Mute Immunity

"So in the place of those few allow me to use them" he points to the tengu

Orkanith whispers to the remaining tengu "get them out of here, Kabanha hows about i use mud-stains over there as my payment if i can best him, and if i can then i take his place."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine is skeptical of how successful this gambit will turn out, but willing to allow Orkanith his games.

She returns to the side of Manesh, Chandar, and Suratman, and while out of view moves the mouth of her Bag of Holding to make it more accessible. She'll land on Suratman's shoulder, and whisper into his ear, "I suspect his offer will be declined... be ready to fight, or flee should their power be too great."


Pathaky wrote: Kabanha wheezes in what seems to be laughter. "So there are shreds of nobility in you yet, o radiant one. Your ambiguity amuses me greatly."

It taps it's chin with a claw. "I have devised another trial for you. Take my hand, and we will begin your tutelage."

It holds out a sinewy hand toward the fallen angel.

Celestine zips back to the rest of the crew. Suratman nods perceptibly, and the fairy can feel his muscles sliding and bunching under his skin.


Armocida wrote: Orkanith looks at the group "get out of here, and send for Levana of Nexus she may be able to aid us soon." He turns to the tengu "see to their escape, ill reward you when this is all over."

Orkanith finally turns back to Elder Kabanha and steps forward going with him.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine nods and whispers to Suratman, "Grab the other two and RUN."


Pathaky wrote: Orkanith takes Kabanha's hand. The fallen angel feels a pulse of cold numbness sweep through him and his vision falters momentarily.

When it clears, he is somewhere else. He's removed from this thread and sent here: viewtopic.php?p=153085#p153085

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The cavern is now absent one wizened cat-face and an Orkanith.

Mud-stains sighs and shrugs. "Can't trust anyone can you?" he says, smiling a little sadly at them. "I'm afraid he's given me orders to tie up any loose ends here. That means you fellows."

He begins walking toward the crew.

Suratman picks up Manesh and Chandar and takes off, long loping strides back down the tunnel.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Modrageball »

The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine, riding on Suratman's shoulder, pulls off her Vampiric Dragon mantle, stuffs it into her Bag of Holding, and pulls out

Suncrow Banner- (Accessory, Enchanted Item, Fire & Light & Air, 45,000,000 Gold) +45,000 SPI, Wielder's allies gain +4,500 to all stats as a non-stacking bonus, 30% Fire Resistance, 30% Light Resistance, 30% Air Resistance, 25% Atomic Resistance, Wielder must be Level 20 or greater



"To the light, good Suratman! We shall face down this foe under the burning glare of the sun!"


Pathaky wrote: Suratman, carrying the rest of the crew, lopes down the tunnel, his already-long legs extending with each step to cover huge amounts of ground without seeming to be running at all. Celestine notices water trickling down the tunnels now, and then Suratman is splashing along out into the reservoir. Celestine replaces her cloak with a Crow-emblazoned banner, vitalizing all of them and suffusing them in warm light.

Mud-Stains is running now, jagged teeth bared in a rictus grin, body rippling as things unseen writhe under his skin.


"You're making this much harder than it needs to be, you know!" he says calmly.

The water doesn't seem to be slowing him down at all. He's gaining on you.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Manesh, grab this!" Celestine shoves the banner into his arms, then reaches into her bag again for her Volcano Dragon Gem

Volcano Dragon's Gem- (Accessory, Crystal, Fire, 9,000,000 Gold) +9,000 Magical Attack, +8,500 to all stats, +50,000 Damage to all of possessor's damage-dealing actions that are Fire element as a non-stacking effect



The flamecloak then reaches out and strikes Mudface with an angry THWAP (or would it be SIZZLE?).


Armocida wrote: What are the tengu doing at this point?


Pathaky wrote: Tengu vanished as part of Kabanha's translocationary spell.


Armocida wrote: Ok...


Pathaky wrote: Celestine tosses the Banner to Manesh, who clumsily grabs it and tries his best to hoist it without getting it wet.

"Love your bag of tricks!" Chandar yells, reaching elbow-deep into her own satchel and pulling out a black-wood wand topped with a stylized snowflake. With a swish, she flourishes it down the tunnel at Mudstains. It releases nothing but a despondent puff of smoke. Chandar curses and begins slapping it against her hand. "C'mon, you stupid thing!"

Celestine swaps her equipment from Banner to Volcano-Gem. Her Totemic Cloak flares, sending a sheet of flame back down the tunnel at Mudstains, who crosses his arms and leaps through the conflagration suffering minor damage and continuing onward. Puckered seams cover his body now, running down his chest, arms, and across his head, seeping filthy water.

Mud-stains spots the rope in the center of the reservoir, lit up as it is by Chandar's lightbulb. With a wet gasp he plunges both hands into the water alongside him, and the rapidly rising water in the reservoir begins flowing around and behind him, back down the tunnel. The sudden current slows Suratman further. With a growled "Hang on now," he compresses his legs and leaps out of the water toward the well, snagging the rope with one oversized mitt.

"Nearly there!" he crows. "Keep him off of us while I get up this!"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Let's see if you've ever heard about a little concept called explosive overpressure!"

Celestine channels the power of her flame cloak through the Volcano Dragon's Gem, and further adds to its power with the Crimson Nova hidden within her otherwise unexceptional scythe. She holds the gathering flames before her, and forms the magics required to bring forth a Banishing Echo, driving the fireball before it.

"BEGONE!"


Pathaky wrote: Celestine focuses her Totem-Magic together with the power of the Crimson Nova, firing a rippling wave of fire followed by a wall of banishing force!

Mudstains brings his hands up, raising a swell of the fetid water of the reservoir up and around him, absorbing most of the fire-wave and suffering minor damage. The blast-wave that follows knocks him cleanly out of his protective sphere of stillwater, dealing slightly higher damage and setting the whole reservoir shaking.

This buys enough time for Suratman to hoist the crew up the rope, lengthening his body to provide more room for Manesh and Chandar.

Speaking of, Chandar flourishes her snowflake wand again, releasing a curtain of cold down the well after them, freezing the slick sides of the well in beautiful rime-patterns. Mudstains is out of sight, but a dull roar of pain echoes out of the well!

With a heave, Suratman pulls the crew out into the dusk of the dead village.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: An echo rumbles out of the well, though Mudstains' response is too muffled to make out.

Celestine rushes off of Suratman's shoulder, shouting back, "Keep a hold of those two! I'm going to try something potentially quite foolish, and I'm going to need to grab you all into the air if it goes off the way I think!"

Swirling the mana pattern of the Banishing Echo through her Kaleidoscopic Casting Bracelet, she transforms the sonic vibrations into seismic ones, then brandishes forth the Earth-Shaking Trowel. She strikes it hard against the ground, releasing the power of the spell, augmenting the destructive force with her Star of Ruin.

As soon as she feels the vibrations shudder the earth, she will hop back into the air and grab Suratman (while he holds the others), heading up into the sky to watch the results.

Relevant Abilities:
Improved Weaponization of Earth- (Passive Ability, Mountain King) Quantities of Earth element Damage dealt by possessor are increased by 5,000 points

Relevant Items:
Earth-Shaking Trowel- (Weapon, Tool, Earth, 75,000 Gold) +15 Melee Attack, +75 Magical Attack, 15% Critical against Earth element targets
Triumphant- This item's wielder becomes Immune to individuals below Level 20 if at least level 20, This item's wielder gains +20,000 to all stats, this item provides +20,000 additional Melee Attack, +20,000 additional Ranged Attack, and +20,000 additional Magical Attack, Enchantment
Unbreakable- This item cannot be Broken or destroyed except by the most exceptional measures, This treatment does not prevent pets or summons it is applied to from being killed, This item cannot be stolen outside of Official Quests and Player Quests, This does not count as a Mystic Treatment for number of Mystic Treatments that can be applied to this item if this item is unique, Affects any type of possession, Mystic Treatment

Kaleidoscopic Casting Bracelet- (Accessory, Wristwear, Magic & Earth & Air & Fire & Water & Light & Darkness & Physical & Psychic & Ice & Energy & Electrical & Acid, 30,100,000 Gold) Whenever wielder casts a spell, wielder may choose to either give it +30,000 Magical Attack if it already possesses at least one type of attack bonus, to have it inflict any one chosen minor or moderate negative status effect if the action said spell is involved in would not otherwise possesses a chance of inflicting any negative status effects, to pierce 15,000 Defense against Magic, to gain 30% Critical, to gain 130% To Hit, to cost 30,000 less MP, to become solely any one base element, or to cure any one minor or moderate negative status effect

Star of Ruin- (Accessory, Crystal, Darkness & Destruction, 15,500,000 Gold) +15,000 Magical Attack, +15,000 to all stats, 10% Destruction Resistance, Wearer's per-item Magical Attack bonus cap becomes 2x the relevant stat

Banishing Echo- (Spell, Ethereal Magic, Sonic, 7,000 MP, 7,000,000 Gold) +7,000 Magical Attack, Target obtains a non-stacking debuff that causes its possessor to be dealt 70,000 Flat Sonic element Damage and be unsummoned (with said unsummoning only being able to unsummon individuals below Level 40) at the start of the next round


Pathaky wrote: Suratman nods and readjusts his grip on Chandar and Manesh, of whom the latter is looking very pale and more than a bit jostled.

Celestine attempts to facilitate an Earthquake, striking the ground with an on-theme (if very under-par for level/power) trowel and imbuing the strike with the destructive power of Ruin.

The spell/attack combo impacts the earth near the well with a solid, resonant *THUNK*. There's no immediate effect.

Mudstains geysers out of the well in a spray of foul-smelling water and ooze, his now-bloated and seamed form weeping dark corruption.

Mudstains lets out choked gurgle and raises both arms, radiating waves of malice. Celestine, Chandar, Manesh, and Suratman all feel the moisture in their bodies being wicked away toward Mudstains. All take minor damage and are afflicted with a stackable instance of Fatigued: Dehydrated.

Actions?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: With a noted lack of earthquake coming from her attempts, it has come time to flee the premises and perhaps strike from above, if the opportunity presents itself.

"MANESH! SCAN HIM AS WE GO!" Celestine shouts as she flies toward Suratman, grabs him under the shoulders, and shoots into the sky to increase the range between the group and Mudstains.

An echo of her attack rumbles across the earth, and the Flame cloak once more strikes at Mudstains, aiming for the seams of his form. Perhaps they are weaker than the rest of his skin?


Pathaky wrote: Manesh nods and fumbles for his inks, sketching a rapidly-fading magnifying glass in the air.

The shared-scan reads:

*Pithama Hope-Drowned, Level 40, Undead & Monster, Water & Darkness
General Concentrations of Power/Abilities include synergy with Fatigued: Dehydration, limited reflexive water-shielding, Zone of Water shenanigans that play into a Disease subspec.

Weaknesses: Light
Resistances: Darkness Immunity, Water Immunity, Hope Resistance, Earth Resistance



The flame cloak flares! Without his protective sphere of stillwater, the flames sear Pithama/Mudstains, disrupting his balance atop his gross geyser!

Celestine uses her more-than-expected strength to hoist the crew into the air, zipping upward as below her, the ground begins to shake.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "YOU FIEND!!!" Celestine shouts, as Manesh's scan-result is revealed. "Betrayer! Traitor! Villainous wretch unfit to scrape scum from the bottom of a beggar's sandals! Truly you are deserving of this award, and I shall make sure you receive payment in full!"

Her flamecloak pulls in tightly around her as it swirls about her face, then her arm down to her trowel, then swirls through her bracelet, along with the mana necessary to materialize a Banishing Echo, the disparate mana types are filtered into pure fire, which is channeled through her scythe and enhanced with the power of the Crimson Nova.

"BURN."


Pathaky wrote: Celestine shrieks invective, sending a torpedo of fire-and-force down at Pithama, knocking him cleanly off of his geyser and onto the ground behind the well, dealing moderate damage!

When Pithama speaks, his voice echoes from the village itself, a chorus of dry speech made of dozens of dead voices.

"I won't have you judge me, clockmaker's toy."

Pithama whips a bloated arm upward in a rush of muscle and fluid, lassoing Suratman. Taking advantage of Celestine's current one-handed grasp, he yanks the three free from Celestine and slams them groundward

Suratman shifts his weight (and mass) to spare Chandar and Manesh the worst of the impact, suffering moderate damage, while C and M suffer minor damage.

The ground around the well fractures with a booming crack, and pieces of the well start to collapse inward into the reservoir.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I need not judge you, for it is by your own actions that you have already been condemned! You use the voices of the slain to speak the lies you have wrapped around yourself, but I shall tear away the veil with the flames of righteous vengeance!"

She hangs in the air a moment, becoming a flaming beacon in the sky as she joins together the power of the Flame Cloak, the Volcano Dragon's Gem, and the Crimson Nova, then flips in the air and becomes a burning meteor, tearing through the air toward the target of her ire.

"I SHALL DROWN YOU IN FIRE!"

After unleashing the cataclysmic force of her fiery assault, she will adjust her course to grab hold of Suratman and the others, and push herself hard to remove them from the crumbling area around the well.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine hams it up and imbues herself with magical fire before hurtling down at Pithama like a righteous meteor, releasing waves of fire that wash across the rapidly collapsing ground.

She impacts the bloated monster with confligratory force, sending up clouds of steam where her fiery magic impacts Pithama's suddenly-present stillwater shielding.

Pithama, already on the ground behind the well, skids back from the impact, taking moderate damage and losing quite a bit of his bloated moisture as he vents it to shield himself.

Celestine's plan to flit away from Pithama and pull Chandar, Manesh, and Suratman away from the crumbling ground is stymied by Pithama reaching out with a goopy fist and snagging her diminutive form, drawing more moisture from her and inflicting a second stack of Fatigued: Dehydrated.

Suratman shifts to his feet amidst the fracturing ground, shifting his mass in a roiling wave and tossing Chandar and Manesh toward the treeline. With a whoop, Chandar hooks her elbow around Manesh's and the two crash into the foliage of a tree some yards away.

That done, the yamaduta charges Pithama, winding back to deliver a crushing, mass-shifted blow with his good arm.

The ground surrounding the well finally collapses, and Suratman, Pithama, and the still-grappled Celestine are suddenly at the whims of gravity as the village begins to collapse into the reservoir. All three take moderate damage as they are pelted with earth and rocks during the fall into the collapsed reservoir.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Pithama gets a smack from the Flame Cloak while Celestine hits Suratman and herself with a Crimson Nova-boosted, earth-flavored

Greater Angelic Healing- (Spell, Holy Magic, Light, 1,300 MP, 1,541,000 Gold) +1,540 Magical Attack, Heals, May cure 2 debuffs or minor negative status effect from a source below Level 60 if caster is at least Level 20



which she also uses to remove those stacking instances of Fatigued: Dehydrated.


Pathaky wrote: The three of you impact the now-significantly muddied and-shallowed reservoir with a series of splashes.

The flamecloak roils, scorching Pithama's hand and forcing him to release Celestine as he takes light damage.

Celestine incants a word of celestial magic, soothing both her own wounds and those of Suratman, removing their stacks of Dehydrated and providing moderate healing.

Suratman leaps to his feet and clenches his mechanical arm, which begins whirring dangerously and venting pearlescent smoke.

Pithama lets out another croaking laugh, reinflating from contact with the tainted reservoir, the muddy water roiling around his feet and legs.

There are shouts from outside the sinkhole.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine rushes forward at Pithama, attempting to boil away the waters around his feet with her flame cloak, then diving for his legs and swinging him around into a throw toward Suratman and his supercharging arm.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Modrageball »

Pathaky wrote: Celestine rushes at Pithama, using her Totemic Magic to flash-scald the water around the monster's feet in a sudden sheet of steam. She grabs his suddenly-considerably-drier feet and hurls him toward Suratman, who winds up and delivers an incredible blow, his smoking mechanical arm impacting Pithama with a choral accompaniment and punching directly through his torso for severe damage.

Ichor, chunks of bloated flesh, and a far greater volume of befouled water than should have been contained within the monster spray out across the reservoir and over Celestine.

Pithama laughs.

The undead monster, withering even as the water flows out of him, locks its fingers around Suratman's throat, seamed fingers slipping almost effortlessly past the yamaduta's skin. Suratman is inflicted with 5 stacks of Fatigued: Dehydrated and takes heavy damage as the moisture of his body is siphoned out en masse. Pithama, who would normally have received massive healing from this, is stopped by the rather large hole in his torso.

Actions?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine sends her flames of vengeance to burn Pithama's insides, while taking a trained Doctor's glance over Suratman, and casting a Greater Angelic Healing to both restore his lost blood and revoke Pithama's pitiful attempt to dehydrate him.


Pathaky wrote: The flame cloak sends waves of heat and fire to scorch the drying Pithama, dealing moderate damage as he begins to crisp up.

She trains her Doctor's eyes on Suratman. He's in a bad way, and each turn that Pithama is latched on, it's only going to get acceleratingly worse.

To ameliorate this, she casts another Angelic Healing, suffusing Suratman with a warm, refreshing aura. He receives moderate healing and loses 2 stacks of Fatigued: Dehydrated.

Suratman fails to act, gasping and choking. He takes light damage from his status effects.

Pithama tightens his grip, and Suratman drops to one knee as he sustains heavy damage and receives 5 more stacks of Fatigued: Dehydrated.

Pithama is little more than a withered corpse now, nearly as dried out as the blood he's draining from Suratman sprays out of his many wounds and burns.

Actions?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine is able to become tiny! She does so, and attempts to burninate Pithama from within, utilizing the power of the Flame Cloak, enhanced with the strength of the Volcano Dragon and the power of the Crimson Nova, to evaporate the water within and burn his flesh from the inside.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine dynamic-shrinks and zips into one of Pithama's many wounds. The smell is just *awful*, lemme tell you.

She releases her Crimson-Nova-fueled flamecloak in a startling violent explosion of fire and force. She hits her head on something hard. She's sometimes very problematically tall, you dig?

Pithama bursts like a partially-filled waterballoon, scraps of jerky-like flesh splattering into the mud around them as the dark energies that revived the Deva cascade out into the open air, where they dissolve in the evening sunlight. Celeria is left wearing what's left of him, having rather inadvertently retained her more usual size.

Celestine gains:

"Attack from Within" as per the spell in the shop as an ability, wording to be hashed out later.

XP for a level 40 enemy and the award

"Defeated Pithama Hope-Drowned, Thrall of the Unbroken Circle on Indrasena Un-Sesamara"



Suratman makes a series of soft choking sounds.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine quickly applies more free-casted Greater Angelic Healing boosted with Volcanos and Crimson Novas to her wounded friend, while pulling him out of the pit onto the surface. Once he appears to be stable, she'll dart back down to see if Pithama's corpse is doing any weird undead-things post-explosion.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine layers angelic healings onto Suratman, who stabilizes and sheds the worst of his dehydration. He's still looking pretty roughed up, but no longer in danger of dying.

She pulls him out of the sinkhole and deposits him under a rubber tree nearby. The village is in shambles, with the destruction of the reservoir having caused more than half of the structures to collapse and slide inward. She can see Chandar and Manesh, looking scratched up and sporting more than a few errant branches and leaves in their hair and clothes, picking their way toward Suratman.

The clockwork faerie darts back down into the slurry to see if there's any shenanigans with Pithama's corpse.

Pieces of Pithama are strewn across the water, sinking slowing into the opaque muck. Motes of azure magic, striated with spiky darkness flicker in and out of existence. With her BA-Member status, she's able to deduce that this is the physical manifestation of a spell-item she could acquire.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: She thoroughly searches the corpse, beginning her investigation with the mysterious spell item supposedly carried by Pithama. Once she has found everything of note, or been down here for more than 10 minutes or so, she'll head back up to the surface to make sure Chandar, Manesh, and Suratman are all in good shape.


Pathaky wrote: (I don't have the the numbers down for this yet, but in the interest of keeping the momentum going, I'll go ahead and post the bones, and Gad and I can put flesh on them later)

The spell item is:

Incantation of Reflexive Water Shielding- (Spell, Geomancy, Water, ??? MP, ??? Gold) Caster gains a non-stacking buff that allows them to, once per action as a counter to an offensive action that targets them, destroy a Zone of Water and gain +??? Defense and +??? Resilience until the end of the turn.
w/ Darkened and Dimmed- This item and any actions it is involved in become solely Darkness Element, this item, if a spell, counts solely as Dark Magic, Enchantment.

She searches the corpse thoroughly, sifting through the scraps of mud-stained rags and jerky-like flesh. She finds several mundane amulets showing multi-armed figures and a number of tattered notes smudged to illegibility, small keepsakes of Pithama's time among the living, and the Hope his people poured into him.

She thinks she might be able to take a bit of his corpse and fashion it into a Dehydration-Boosting item, but it'll require some tools and a station to actually process, and results are very much up in the air on how it'll turn out.

That done, she heads back up to the surface, where Chandar is helping Suratman drink from a flask, and Manesh is running his hands through his hair nervously, surveying the wrecked sinkhole that was the village. He meets Celestine's eyes as she appears above the lip of the cavity.

"I-is that thing finally dead?" he says haltingly.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: She'll try to wrap up all the bits of corpse, then stuff them into her bag of holding for future investigation before flying back up.

-----

"As best I've been able to determine, he's dead; unfortunately, I'm not any kind of necromancer or spiritualist to make sure nothing exotic has happened with his soul. The corpse is certainly dead, and I've taken the time to collect it in order to further our future investigations." She sighs and sets down on the ground, growing to a more normal size as she does so. "Now, does anyone else need more healing or more specific treatment before we report back to the camp?"


Pathaky wrote: She attempts to gather all of the corpse-pieces, but most of them seem to be deteriorating very quickly, dissolving into sludgy mush as she picks them up. All she manages to preserve is a withered ear.

(Rolled to see how much of the corpse you collected, and you rolled lowwwwwww)

"I'll be okay." Suratman grunts. "Ms. von Reuter, if I didn't know any better I'd say hanging around with you is bad for my health."

Chandar smiles ruefully. "I'm a-okay myself. If you could fly me around to see if we can collect any documents or remembrances from the village that I can present to Designaya and Padma. I don't think we've helped our reputation as professional cartographers much here."

Manesh mainly looks frazzled.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine chuckles ruefully at Suratman's comment, then replies to Chandar, "Of course I shall; it's the least I can do for ruining the site by trying to trap that horrid monster underground..."


Pathaky wrote: "Can't fault yourself for that." Suratman grunts.

Chandar and Celestine fly across the sinkhole, gathering any unruined diaries and physical evidences of the site, while Manesh finalizes a set of "before-and-after" sketches of the sinkhole-nee-village.

With that, the crew is ready to return to basecamp and attempt an explanation to Designaya.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "It is vital that we impress upon Designaya the danger of the Unbroken Circle, and the threats facing those survivors of the Light Islands therefrom..." Celestine shakes her head, "... and let him know that Orkanith is no longer to be trusted, having gone over to them, even if he seems to bear some small loyalty to us still."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar and Suratman agree wholeheartedly.

The flight/trek combo back extends well into the night. The air is redolent with the sounds of insects, amphibians, and choruses of night birds. Occasionally a predatory scream echoes from the jungle. Chandar assures Celestine that that it's likely just a tiger or other jungle cat, which are apparently common both on the Isles and the Continent.

The stars above, Celestine notices, shine in every color of the rainbow, giving the night sky a breath-taking coruscating beauty. The moon, a rose-colored orb, rises across the vault of the heavens as they continue.

Finally, they reach the Base Camp, with it's ramshackle mess of tents and prefab shelters. The "Sanctum" remains lit from within, while most of the other laborers seem to have retired for the evening.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine leads the way into the Sanctum, keeping an eye out for Designaya. "We return from our charting mission with dire news."


Pathaky wrote: The first thing Celestine notices is that the Sanctum is *considerably* more organized than when she saw it last. The horrible piling messes of maps, charts, and files has all but vanished, replaced by a series of filing cabinets with large, helpful labels pasted on each compartment.

Designaya sits at the head of the central table, hands outstretched as a rapidly dwindling stack of maps swirls across the table in front of him, filing themselves into neat stacks to his right, where a very tired looking Padma is quickly and efficiently slotting them into an open cabinet. Designaya snaps out of his reverie as they enter, maps and charts settling onto the table.

"I was Be-ginning to worry that you'd gotten lost."

Padma adjusts her glasses.

"W-w-what's this dire news?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "We found one of the sites where refugees from the Light Islands had landed and formed a village. Alas, by the time we arrived they had all been slain. During our investigation of the events, we had determined that the village leader, Pithama, had died in the early days of the settlement. At some point, his body was removed from his grave by tunneling from below, which led into a reservoir beneath the village. Upon investigating the reservoir, we discovered two individuals, one with the face of a cat and the other appearing stitched together.

The cat-faced man enticed Orkanith from our group with promises of power, while the other was directed to kill the rest of the team. During the course of the battle, we discovered the man attempting to kill us was the resurrected form of Pithama, the former village leader, and had been necromantically empowered with the ability to rapidly dehydrate his foes, which explained the state of the corpses in the surrounding village. A running battle ensued, where we eventually proved victorious over Pithama. Alas, we have no further indication as to where the other forces of the Unbroken Circle are working from at present."


Pathaky wrote: Designaya listens, his already pale-green "skin" blanching.

"You found proof of Refugee habitation then? I do hope you have eviden-"

The elemental is interrupted as Chandar spills her collection of documents, charts, and remembrances onto the table.

"We wouldn't lie about something like this." she says.

Designaya beckons and the evidence slides across the table, where he gives it a cursory examination.

"Even so, this is your second mention of the Unbroken Circle, a group that was purported destroyed nearly half a century ago. You need to tread carefully here."

The elemental rubs his temples. "Some of the Church agents in Swatantra are already questioning Archipelago League sovereignty over the Hope Islands. Since the Islands didn't exist when the Peace was negotiated, they're making a case that they're not covered by it's conditions. COMplete rubbish, of course. But it's enough to inflame the always-tender relationship we have with those continental nincompoops. If they could claim that one of their old blights, in this case the Circle, has been hiding here, it would give them more than enough of a justification to...escalate things."

Padma nods. "That w-was the real reason we were assigned here. T-to investigate your claims about the pit in the Jungle, and to make sure t-that the wrong people didn't find out. W-we apologize for the deception."

"Mmm. I CANnot say that I'm sorry to see the last of that churl of an Outlander, though," Designaya smirks.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine frowns at his smirk, then shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "Hmm... I apologize for inadvertently increasing the tensions between the League and the Church. If this needs to remain quiet, I believe I can locate further assistance from Nexus to support the League and the Cartographers in their efforts to track down the Circle. Specifically, several of my associates are well skilled in the manipulation of Elemental Light, which those Circle members we have come into contact with in the past were quite weak to."
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Modrageball »

Pathaky wrote: Padma nods.

"G-g-good. That sounds l-like the best course here. We've looked through all of the reports of the p-pit in the jungle. D-do you have any hard p-proof of the Unbroken Circle's involvement in thi-this incident?"

Chandar prods Celestine to produce the ear, which to the magically inclined still stinks of residual bad mojo.

"T-that'll work. I-I should do this formally." Padma says, standing, reaching into her coat and flipping open a small sliver badge emblazoned with a mosaic snake made up of many small island shapes.

"O-on behalf of the A.S.P., I-i'm deputizing all of you for service in a matter of na-national security."

Suratman's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait, WHAT?"

Chandar and Manesh seem similarly agog. Designaya chuckles.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine makes a clanking, interrogative sound, "Ah, sorry, but what is the A.S.P?"


Pathaky wrote: "The Archipelago Secret Police." Designaya intones. "ONly the covert intelligence agency responsible for keeping the Archipelago League sovereign and secure from threats internal and external."

Padma nods seriously. "I-I was approached to join the A.S.P. a f-few years ago as an operative. The Cartographer's c-continue to be essential i-in documenting and ma-mapping the limits of Archipelago h-holdings, n-never moreso than now, i-in the wake of the Light Island C-crisis."

Manesh glances toward the door nervously. "What does being deputized entail, exactly?"

"You'll b-be given a briefing on the s-salient information to the c-current case, and are expected to c-cooperate and aid the A.S.P. within reason. In addition, you'll be trusted to act with limited a-autonomy i-in pursuance of our g-goal." Padma stammers.

"And that goal is..?" Chandar asks, voice small.

"T-to discover the extent of the Unbroken Circle's p-presence on the Hope Islands a-and utilize b-both Archipelago resources and Outlander assistance to o-oust them from the islands e-entirely. To ensure th-that no word of this gets out to the Churchies. T-to prevent a geopolitical cr-crisis. D-do you accept?"

"DO remember that now that you've been offered the position, we," Designaya nods at Padma, who shakes her head at him. "...Or rather she, can charge you with treasonous malfeasance if you tell anyone else about this."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "If we tell anyone about the Unbroken Circle, or if we tell anyone that the Archipelago Secret Police are involved, or both? It would be rather difficult to recruit additional assistance if I couldn't tell them what I was recruiting them for..."


Pathaky wrote: Padma gives Designaya a look.

"W-while that is technically true, y-you have the authority to seek help f-from Outlanders you d-deem trustworthy, sharing i-information about both the Unbroken Circle and, i-if necessary, the involvement of the A.S.P."

"So if Celestine is going to go try and get more backup from Offworld, what are we going to do?" Chandar asks.

"You're going to do your jobs, if you can manage it without getting yourselves killed. The island still needs exploring and charting, after all, and you are Cartographers."

"Y-yes. It's integral t-that any Churchies that may b-be watching s-see nothing more than a dangerous, but fr-fruitful Cartographer operation. A-any other questions?" Padma asks.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I have no further questions, thank you, Padma."


Pathaky wrote: Padma sits back down, suddenly looking very tired.

"T-thank you for your cooperation." She rubs her eyes. "I-I'm still processing all of this, t-to be honest. Y-you're welcome to stay at the base-camp a-and assist here as l-long as you like, w-with Miss Hepti's approval. "

Designaya snorts and returns to sorting papers.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Yes, I think that some relaxing, normal cartography is just the thing... probably after we all get a good night's rest. It will take some time for my other guild members to sufficiently free themselves from their current commitments, so heading back to Nexus immediately would accomplish little. Chandar, is there someplace I can use as private quarters around here?"


Pathaky wrote: Chandar nods brightly. "Of course!"

She leads Celestine out of the Sanctum, rummaging in her bag as they approach an empty patch of beach. With a flourish, she withdraws a small cube of wood, which she scrunches in her hand and tosses at the ground, where it unfolds (rather magically) into a cozy, if nondescript shed.

"The wonders of Archipelago magitech." she sighs. "It comes complete with a cot and a small shelf, so feel free to make yourself at home!"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Impressive!" Celestine grins at the display. "One of the friends I plan to bring back here will be excited to see things like this; it might be wise to save magitech displays for after we've finished, otherwise she'll get distracted and want to take them all apart!"

She chuckles a few times, then heads over toward the door. "Well, I think we could all use a good night's rest, I suppose. I'll get settled in for the night, you'll send someone for me in the morning when you wish to start preparations?"


Pathaky wrote: Chandar nods. "Yep, I'll hassle Manesh into waking you up BRIGHT and EARLY. And I think we're gonna have to keep a lid on any further Circle talk around the other laborers, yeah? Gosh," she says, "I'm still feeling a bit in over my head about this whole thing. I don't have to tell you how grateful I am for your help. And...until today, Orkanith's."

Celestine gains:

छGood Friend of Chandar Hepti, Ace Cartographer- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor may, at the start of each round, unequip a single item and equip a single unequipped item if they possess an ally named Chandar Hepti in their same Row-Formation.



"...seriously, I am going to DECK him when we see him again." she scowls. "But that'll have to wait until later. Until tomorrow!"

Chandar smiles, salutes, and scurries off back toward the Sanctum.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Good night!" Celestine calls out, waving to them both.

She then heads into the shed, sets out her equipment, and starts her nightly maintenance routine. She tightens loose screws and bolts, cleans brushes, oils joints, and polishes her ornamentation, all the while meditating over thoughts of the day, and the map they'd gone over earlier. With such heavy pondering, she falls into an unhappy slumber, only to be awakened on the morrow.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine performs her nightly maintenance, using the time to meditate on the eventful day, Orkanith's seeming betrayal, and her new position as a deputized agent of the A.S.P.

She sleeps fitfully.

The next morning, she's woken up by a bleary-eyed Manesh. Poor guy's hair is sticking out at every angle, and he's managed to put on his shirt backwards.

"G'mrng." he mutters. "Boss wants to see you in th' Sanctum."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "A fair morning to you also, Manesh. I shall be there shortly."

She finishes acquiring all of her gear, and heads out to the Sanctum.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine finishes getting ready and heads toward the Sanctum, Manesh in tow.

The Sanctum is barely recognizable. Designaya seems not to have slept, if the neatly stacked rows of filing cabinets, boxes of cartographical implements, and generally hyperorganized contents of the headquarters is any indication.

Speaking of, the Tech elemental is still seated at the head of the table, where he's unpacked the unwieldy boxes that he and Padma brought to the base camp. His end of the table is covered with (neatly organized) banks of sensors, an antenna, and a small whisper-quiet generator.

Chandar is poring over a map of the Island at the other end of the table, occasionally throwing an annoyed glance toward Designaya.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Greetings, all. How goes the morning?"

As she listens for any responses, she walks over to the map and has a look over it with Chandar.


Pathaky wrote: Designaya holds up a silencing finger, cocking his head as if listening to an invisible melody as he continues to fiddle with the dials on his machinery. Chandar rolls her eyes at Celestine. After several minutes, the elemental nods, seemingly satisfied.

"VEry well, thank you, Miss von Reuter. VEry well indeed." he hums. "What you see before you is a cartographical device of my OWN design. I can tune it to the frequencies of various mana patterns, when I then relay to my assistant," Chandar harrumphs here, "...as I said, to my assistant, who then codes a map, allowing us a fuller understanding of the makeup of whatever locale we are exploring!"

Chandar sidles over to allow Celestine a view of the map. it's a copy of the one she was shown previously, with notable additions being grasslands and river to the east, along with the rolling hills containing the former-village-current sinkhole.

The map has been shaded with cross-hatching of various colors, from a light brown, through several prismatic shades, to a few angry dark spots.

"He dragged Manesh and I out of bed before sunrise to help him out," Chandar complains. "Helping him out consists mainly of watching him wiggle a dial back and forth for the better part of an hour before berating us for not coloring fast enough."

"It has been giving us pretty interesting data, though.." Manesh whispers to Celestine. "Just don't tell Designaya. He's got a big enough head as it is."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "So, what do the colors and intensities mean, here? I don't see a legend..."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar whoops and moves her hand off of the legend, which she was obscuring. "Sorry about that!"

"The colors correspond to different varieties of mana pattern. Broadly, this can be translated into 'what kind of entities exist here'." Manesh explains.

Chandar points at the Jungle, their first visit. It's shaded in greens and browns, with faint purple around Talitha's Pit.

"Greens are for plants. And growth. The patterns have more of a conceptual meaning than a 1-to-1 translation. We're using brown to represent areas that are likely to support local fauna, from pretty harmless stuff at the edges of the jungle," She motions to the edges of the forest, which are hatched lightly. "..to intense concentrations of mana that are likely to represent the territory of some pretty serious beasts." Here she points to a spot further in, shaded in darker hatches of both green and brown. "That's about where we nearly got squished by that Trap-Flower."

Manesh points out a few other locations on the western and northern sides of the island. "We've been using red to indicate mana patterns infused with more spirit than elsewhere, which may contain things like apsaras, agniras, and yaksha. Natural spirits, you dig?"

"Gray is for manufactured and created things, like our little beach-head, which has begun to seep into the mana patterns already," Chandar exclaims cheerily. "And the ruined village, although that's already fading."

"AND blacks and purples are spots that are too dangerous to currently consider." Designaya says archly. "I DO hope you understand."

So! The map is nearly completely covered with different hatchings, mostly in greens and browns, representing the local flora and fauna. Low-level red, indicating spiritual influence, is present on most of the island as well. Curious splotches of intensity litter the map in all present shades, including a few dark/purple spots.

The map is yours to peruse! Anything in particular you're looking for, or should I go ahead and generate the whole list?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine is curious to meet some of the natural spirits of Indrasena! Are there any light-to-moderate concentrations along the unexplored coastline (or only mildly inland)?
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: Indeed there are! With a cursory search she two that pop out at her.

They are:

1. A sporadic sprinkle of light red along the northwest coast of the island.

2. A slightly darker red weaving through the northeast coast and slightly inland. Celestine recalls the coastal survey describing that portion of coast as "giving way to mangrove swamps".


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I suggest we next survey this portion of the mangrove swamps. I'm curious to see examples of the native Spirit life of this world, and how it compares to other examples of the type I've seen in other locales... I hope they're quieter than Ryuutarou..."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar claps her hands together.

"Splendid! Give me just a moment then, and I'll be ready to go!"

She points toward the still-bleary Manesh. "Manesh, you stay here and help Designaya!" Manesh's eyes go wide. "But I-" he starts to sputter, "Fantastic! Great! So good of you, Manesh, dear."

Chandar bustles out of the Sanctum, shouting back to Celestine.

"I'll be ready when you are, Celestine! Let me know when you want to leave and we can commandeer a vessel to sail around the island!"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine glances at Manesh, arching her eyebrow questioningly. If he doesn't appear to respond, she'll head for the door while reviewing her current equipment set.

She considers her standard gear loadout, then swaps Celestial Wind for Wizard's Void, putting the latter into her bag of holding. She also re-equips her Vampiric Dragon Mantle, returning the Volcanic Dragon's Gem to her bag of holding as well.

Now, to figure out where Chandar has disappeared to in this mess of a tent-city... and where has Suratman been?

She takes to the air to begin her pursuit!


Pathaky wrote: Celestine gets the impression that Manesh just doesn't want to be stuck with Designaya any longer than he has to, but Chandar is his superior. Manesh shuffles back to his seat and picks up the ink set resignedly.

Celestine swaps equipment around and takes to the air above the tent-city!

Chandar, only a handful of yards ahead of Celestine, is bustling toward her shack to similarly swap out equipment! From her bird's eye-view, she spots Suratman in a lounge-chair with a stack of paperback books and scrolls, flanked by a pair of barrels of water and holding a rather large straw. He notices Celestine and waves a trash-lid sized hand.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine waves back cheerily, then lands outside the shack and waits for Chandar to emerge.


Pathaky wrote: After several minutes, Chandar re-emerges, wearing a barong made of thicker, khaki-like fabric and a netted mosquito hat. She slings her bag over her shoulder and claps her hands together.

"Righto! Let's go commandeer a vessel! Follow me!"

Chandar strides (on her little legs) down toward the beach, where she whistles, summoning several sleepy humans scampering from their own shacks.

"Prepare a boat for us, gentlemen!"

The sleepy cartographers slowly spring into action, preparing the rigging and checking the mechanisms of a small sailboat (with an onboard motor, Celestine notes). Chandar taps her foot impatiently.

"Quickest way there is going to be sailing east and then north, skirting the eastern coast of the island before cutting into the mangrove swamp. We'll see how far we can take the boat in, but I'm not optimistic about that." she says.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine has Basic Boat Sailing and Apprentice Vessel User, so she will attempt to observe the crew as they sail, to learn more of the complex arts of sailboats and making them move upon the waves.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine and Chandar board the prepared vessel and the men push the boat away from the prefab dock. Chandar engages the motor, put-put-putting the boat away from shore as the humans stumble back to bed.

Chandar notes Celestine's naval competence. "Good! It'll be much easier with the two of us who know what we're doing!" she says.

Chandar delegates "Engine Duty" to Celestine, and takes up a position by the ship's sail, letting it out when the winds are favorable, and pulling it in when they need to tack against them, letting the motor (and Celestine) pick up the slack.

The camp fades in the distance as they push east, keeping the silver sliver of beach in sight as they skirt the coast. The sun, fully and thoroughly up now, beats down on them as they sail, and the sound of the little engine, the slap of the waves, the calls of miscellaneous sea-birds, and the rushing whisper of the wind surround them.

After a few hours, they begin tacking north, watching as the jungle thins into the hills of the eastern regions of the island.

Celestine watches and studies, and finally feels like she's gotten her sea-legs!

she gains:

Sea Legs- (Passive Ability, Captain) 15% Confusion Resistance while transformed into a Vessel while in a Zone of Water, 10% Confusion Resistance while transformed into a Vessel or in a Zone of Water



They sail for several more hours. At one point Celestine thinks she sees, outlined and defined by the splash of ocean spray, a translucent figure of a beautiful woman dancing alongside the ship with long, graceful movements. Chandar whoops and scrambles over, but the figure vanishes as quickly as it appeared, dissolving into spray as if it were never there.

"Hey, did you see that?! An Apsara! They say that's rather good luck, you know!"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Indeed! Wonderful! This expedition could use a little good luck, haha!"

Celestine keeps a sharp eye out for more entities appearing upon (or below) the waves, eager to see more wonders of Indrasena!


Pathaky wrote: The sailing continues, with Celestine switching between working the engine and scanning the surroundings for any more wonders of Indrasena. The sun rises in the sky, beating down on their little ship. She spots several flocks of sea-birds, mostly terns and gulls. Quite a few, actually, and all concentrated on a relatively small patch of ocean, where, through a curtain of flapping feathers, a small gray ovoid bobs in the surf.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Chandar, over there! There's something floating in the water under all the birds!"


Pathaky wrote: With a tack of the sails, Chandar pulls the ship up to the crowd of angrily squawking seabirds.

Upon closer inspection, the gray ovoid turns out to be a large clam, it's seemingly drap shell actually adorned with a complex pattern of striated grooves. The clam's mouth opens slightly, and the sun glints off of a sliver of pearl visible between it's 'lips'. Celestine can feel magic radiating from the pearl.

With a panicked *clomp*, the clam shuts itself and squirts down beneath the waves, spiraling away from the boat in a flurry of bubbles!


The Nottest of Daves wrote: In a burst of piratey inspiration, Celestine shouts, "Ye shan't escape me now, matey! FOLLOW THAT CLAM!"

She free-casts Celestial Wind with the Kaleidoscopic Casting Bracelet, directing the wind to cut through the waves under the clam, then swing around to push it out of the water, where it is more accessible to normal attacks.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine cleaves the waters with a spell of celestial wind, filling the air with mist as the sudden rush of wind sluices under the clam, which, suddenly lacking water to jet through, clacks nervously and lurches into a rapid spin, skipping across the surface of the water away from Celestine and Chandar. With something close to a cackle, Chandar adjusts sail and follows the clam.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Now that it's on the surface, it's time to roast that little bugger!

Celestine invokes the wrath of the Crimson Nova, boosted with her (still present from yesterday) Flame Cloak, and further boosted by the Banishing Echo, as she tried several times last night.


Pathaky wrote: [These rolls! Celestine is on a bit of a streak!]

Celestine twirls her scythe, and a twister of fiery magic whirls out across the water, raising clouds of stinging steam as it whips toward the retreating clam. With a hiss of pain, the clam is swept up into the Crimson Nova, which carries it up, up, up, nearly out of sight, depositing it, seared and steamed, onto the deck of the ship with a heavy *thunk*.

Celestine gets the XP for a Level 33 Enemy.

Her tinkering with the Crimson Nova has paid off! She has a moment of revelation as she considers ways of refining her implementation of the enchantment.

She gains:

Enchantment Implementation: Crimson Echo- (Technique Ability, Enchanter) Possessor may use 'Enchantment Implementation: Crimson Echo' in conjunction with a Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, or Magical Attack action so long as no other technique is used and a weapon enchanted with the permanent enchantment 'Crimson Nova' is equipped. Said attack repeats itself at the start of the next round if none of possessor's other actions have repeated on that round.



The clam is laying on the deck of the ship, steaming, it's magic pearl glinting from inside it's thick shell.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Ohohoho! Let's take a look inside here..."

Celestine heads over to the smoking clam, braces the scythe against one side, and tries to wedge her trowel in to open up the clam.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine wedges her trowel and pries the clam open!

She gains:

Triton's Pearl- (Accessory, Magic Item, Water, 6,000,000 Gold) +3,000 Defense, 30% Water Resistance, 50% Drowning Resistance, Wielder gains +1,000 to all stats, +100,000 HP, and +100,000 MP as a nonstacking buff when in a Zone of Water, Wielder is inflicted with Elevated at the start of each round when in a Zone of Water, Wielder's Aquatic allies gain +2,000 to all stats.

And it looks like while their detour has taken them further east than planned, Celestine can still spot, in the distance, the snakey roots of mangrove trees extending out past the shoreline like grasping fingers.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of the pearl, showing it off to Chandar before putting it into her Bag of Holding.

She'll then return to the rudder and engine, and set the course back toward the mangrove swamp.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: Celestine ogles her loot!

The boat is soon set back on course and reaches the edges of the mangrove swamp without difficulty.

"This looks like pretty thick going from here on out," Chandar says. "We might be better off tying the boat up here and clambering across the vines."

Indeed, the mangrove roots snarl and tangle together, choking most channels into the swamp's interior. Above, the sunlight filters through the snarl of leaves and vines in green dappled patterns across the boat. The air is suffused with the sound of frogs, insects, and birdsong. The swamp sings with life.

Chandar then consults her map. "Looks like Designaya's Device shows the spiritual activity being at least a little ways into this mess. I'm excited! I hope we meet some Yaksha! Wouldn't that be a treat?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Indeed, Chandar! Though... what's a Yaksha?"

Celestine will help tie the boat up along one of the more convenient chunks of roots, then shrink herself down and fly low up ahead of Chandar a short ways (close enough to stay in sight).


Pathaky wrote: "Sort of tutelary spirits! Lotta stories about them giving nuggets of wisdom to a Rajah in need, or to a poor artisan who owes money to his landlord, that kind of thing." Chandar chatters as she helps tie the boat up. "Most of their advice is uh, hard to parse to say the least, though. They're said to live in the hollows of banyan trees."

Celestine shrinks and engages reconnaissance, keeping Chandar in sight behind her.

The mangrove roots make for thick going, but with Celestine's help, she's able to suss out which paths Chandar can clamber over as they continue inland.

Celestine manages to spots a large, gnarled crocodile lurking beneath a tangle of branches and stems, and she and Chandar carefully keep their distance from the bobbing, log-looka-like reptile.

The pair continue, with Celestine ahead of Chandar, hovering on and above branches while she waits for Chandar to keep up, climbing over and under and through the labyrinth of vines and roots.

Celestine hears a *clicker click* of hard feet on wood, and turns to see a large (to her relative size) centipede creeping along the branch toward her, it's carapace shifting from a matte-brown to a gloss-orange as it approaches, hissing and flexing it's mandibles.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will respond by increasing her size (though remaining small enough to stand upon the branch of confrontation) and brandishing her weapons. Should the centipede be looking to make some sort of fire at her, she is ready to respond with a Crimson Echoed Crimson-nova-boosted Banishing Echo aimed at Mr. Centipede's fire-extruding orifice.

"Hey, Chandar? You know anything about angry orange-glowing centipedes?"


Pathaky wrote: Celestine grows in size, startling the rearing centipede through the colors of the rainbow, swaying cautiously

"I'm a cartographer, not a zoolo-Augh!" Chandar whoops.

Behind Celestine, Chandar is face to face with her own iridescent centipede, which rears back and sprays an aerosol cloud of pungent liquid over her. With a flick of a wand, Chandar melts the centipede into a pile of gooey residue. "Yeuch, what is this stuff?"

The marsh is, Celestine notices, quieting down, birdsong trailing off, insect choruses abruptly halting. It's as if the swamp is holding it's breath. Or watching them.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine is pretty sure that this would be an excellent time for another Celestial Wind to carry away her iridescent foe and the noisome cloud its previously-living companion made (and also top off Chandar's health, should it have taken a hit from the cloud).

"Shoo!"


Pathaky wrote: Celestine unleashes a magical wind that whips the centipede (and the rapidly fading cloud) away toward the ocean. Chandar pulls a face. "That stuff tastes awful!" She rummages in her bag and pulls out a small spritzer, spraying herself with a few floral puffs of fragrance.

"Much better!" she says. "Let's keep going! Keep your eyes open for a spirit roughly the size of a big bird. They usually have coats made of dried leaves and discarded feathers, so they might be tricky to spot at first."

The marsh is still quiet as they continue, scrambing over and under sinuous trunks as thick as a man's torso, parting irregular curtains of hanging vines and occasionally slopping along marshy-wet fingers of ground.

The quiet is broken by the sound of several twigs snapping at once, somewhere overhead. Celestine spot the glint of sunlight on dark brown eyes behind glossy green leaves.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine floats closer towards Chandar and attempts to point out the position of the eyes on the branches up above.

"I believe I've found one," she whispers.


Pathaky wrote: Chandar peers upward.

"Oh! Let's get a closer loo-" she whispers, cut off by being forced to dodge out of the way of a chunk of rock aimed at her devic noggin.

With a chorus of screeches, the clutch of baboons reveal themselves, holding sticks, rocks, and handfuls of unidentified nastiness above their heads as they howl.

Several more of them prime themselves to hurl their missiles downward, but Celestine has the initiative after their surprise assault.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Well, if they're going to be like that, it's time for them to take a trip on the Celestine Express!

She charges up a Crimson-Nova-boosted Celestial Wind, invoking Enchantment Implementation: Crimson Echo before letting it loose to scour the branches above them. She's got a plan to follow this up, too, if it proves insufficient to dislodge these impolite little monkeys.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine launches a singing Celestial Wind, a crimson blast of wind that more than easily dislodges the offending monkeys, sending them flying up and over the treeline, juggling them along in the air with the Crimson Echo out of sight.

Celestine gains XP for a dozen level 4 enemies.

Then the gnarled crocodile from earlier launches itself out of it's hiding place beneath the water, locking it's jaws around Chandar's legs and pulling her, with a whoop, into the water.

The marsh continues it's silent observance.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Well!"

Time for Celestine to exercise the power of being Tiny and Angry! She dives low over the water, looking for any sign of the crocodile's motion, taking the occasional dip underwater to see if she can see a clearer sign of the crocodile from within the drink rather than above it. Once she locates the foul beast, she'll go for Pithama's Reprise, making a Crimson Echo-boosted attack from the inside (as its mouth will presumably still be busy chewing on the unfortunate Chandar, and thus open enough to enter).


Pathaky wrote: Celestine, quick as a flash, shrinks down to a more spritely size and skims across the water, having absolutely no problem finding the large root-like reptile darting away down a tributary, trailing pink ribbons of blood as Chandar flails around, attempting to free herself.

Celestine easily catches up to the croc, sploomping down into the water and between several hedges of thick teeth before bursting in a nova of heat and force, quite violently popping the reptile in the process and sending Chandar tumbling into a tree branch, several teeth still lodged in her leg.

"I'm beginning to think that centipede didn't just spray me with some stinkjuice." Chandar gasps, gingerly touching her gnawed-up leg. "Did you notice? Those monkeys and," she wipes a chunk of leathery tissue from her shoulder, "this brute pretty much ignored you and went straight for me."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Hmm, indeed... I suspect that it's another example of the symbiotic relationship within the ecosystems of the Hope Islands..."

Celestine pulls out Greater Angelic Healing, healing Chandar's injuries and using it's debuff-removing powers to clean off the remains of the centipede-chemical.


Pathaky wrote: Chandar smiles, despite herself. "Fascinating, isn't it? If we're right, then those bugs act like an immune system!"

The healing washes over her, restoring her mangled leg. The marsh seems to sigh, letting out a held breath as, slowly, birdsong and insect chorus fill the air once more.

Chandar leans back against the tree branch, sighing. She idly tugs on a leaf, then peers at it. With a smile she shows the leaf to Celestine.

"What luck!" she says quietly. "This is a banyan tree! Favorite haunt of spirits! Let's check it carefully."

The tree is large, both in height and breath, with a large knotted collection of trunks rather than one main body, striated with shade-filled gaps. "Ones this big are usually hollow..." Chandar comments. "They start life as epiphytes, growing out of the trunk of a host tree until they smother it, so they usually have a nice hidden sanctum where their host tree used to be. Yaksha are supposed to be crazy about 'em."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine's brows raise. "Excellent! I shall search from above, while you peruse the lower branches. Let's find a Yaksha!"

Celestine shrinks to her minimum size, and flits into the upper reaches of the tree, searching for an entrance into the center chamber of the tree.


Pathaky wrote: With a whoop, Chandar begins scrambling across the sinious linking trunks of the banyan, probing for an entrance.

Celestine shrinks and ascends, diving from above and zipping through a labyrinth of dead ends and creases where branches have grown together. After several false starts, she breaks through a patch of leafy growth into the Banyan Hollow. Which is, to her surprise, rather larger on the inside.

The Hollow is a basin of roots, running together, over and under each other in a thick weave, flowing together to form a raised seat in the center of the hollow. Vines, mosses, and hanging fruit dangle from the walls and ceiling of the hollow, and several rivulets of cool, sweet water drip into rough-carved stone basins.

In the center, sitting on the raised seat, is a small creature, about the size of a large parrot, wearing a coat (or is that it's pelt?) of leaves from all seasons. Overlarge humanish features, owl-like, heavily lidded eyes, long, drooping earlobes, and a thicket of crooked teeth, stare out from a wizened head.

The Yaksha smiles dreamily at the tiny metal faerie. Outside, Celestine can barely hear Chandar pushing around.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will smile back and make a tiny wave.

"Hello there, I'm Celestine. Who are you?"


Pathaky wrote: The Yaksha rustles it's leaves. "I am a Yaksha," it says, voice creaking like old wood, "Names, transient. What are you?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I'm a Clockwork Fairy! You probably haven't seen one of those before, though. Hmmmm..."
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: The Yaksha nods slowly, it's wrinkly face stretching and shrinking like a raisin. It narrows it's eyes and considers her further.

"And what do you love, Clockwork Fairy?" it croaks.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I love the energy and wonder of discovering new places, meeting new people, and learning new things about this enormous realm in which we all exist."


Pathaky wrote: The Yaksha smiles and slowly nods again, seemingly pleased by this answer.

"Clockwork Fairy has chosen abstractly. Mmm. Good."

It ruffles it's feather-leaf-coat, releasing a cloud of pollen-like spores that hang in the air around them.

"And the Clockwork Fairy has answered truly. Mm. Even more good. This Yaksha's lesson will be a seed of a secret, that may yet bloom into something greater."

Wind suddenly fills the banyan hollow, sending the pollen spinning around the two of them and filling the air with the heady scent of crushed flowers and sodden leaves.

"I am the highest of all hidden holds." the wind whispers. "I am veiled between breezes and within winds. I am behind the storm, above the clouds, past the horizon. I am the Palace of Everywhere, and yet, I cannot be found. I am Castle Nowhere. "

The Yaksha grins. "A challenge. But here is this Yaska's lesson, to set feet walking. Seek the vale where my sisters took flight, the site of a long-ago challenge. Where bitter loss became ineffable, eternal beauty."

The banyan hollow swims before Celestine's eyes, pollen growing thicker in the air as the edges of her vision fade.

Then, the banyan hollow is just that. A damp wooden space set between the close-knit branches of a banyan tree. A small crab scuttles away from Celestine, squeezing between the trunks.

Chandar's face pushes it's way through a patch of branches, spotting the tiny Celestine.

"Hey! There you are! Any luck?" she says.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I found a Yaksha in this tree..."

She blinks a few times at Chandar, then tells her the rest of the confusing story, in hopes that Chandar has some kind of idea of what it meant.


Pathaky wrote: Chandar scoops the tiny Celestine out of the hollow. She listens to her tale with a mixture of wonder, curiosity, and consternation.

"What a mix of nonsense and folktales!" She says wistfully. "I'm SO jealous! Why do Outlanders get all the luck??"

She rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Just about the only part of that rings a bell is Castle Nowhere... How much do you know about genies, Celestine?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Very little, I'm afraid. Could you tell me as we travel?"


Pathaky wrote: "Right." Chandar says. "Let's see what I can remember."

She checks her half-sketched maps. "We're in the thick of it here, Celestine. We meandered a bit following that Yaksha. How do you want to play this? Drive further in, or pivot out and see if we can chart out of the surrounding biomes?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Well, we found what we were looking for in here: confirmation that native Indrasenan spirits were indeed present. Let's pivot out and see what we can discover about the other nearby biomes."


Pathaky wrote: Chandar rubs her hands together greedily. "Excellent! Double or nothing!"

She whips out her map-in-progress, and Celestine can see the mangrove swamp rendered in cartographic shorthand, the margins packed with elevations, humidities, and short descriptions of wild-life.

She leads you back to the boat handily, eyes carefully trained on the placid waters to avoid any more reptilian mishaps.

"As far as I've been taught, genies are some of the oldest living things on Indrasena. Even the earliest historical records we've dug up mention them, usually as gift-givers whose boons bear hidden prices that ruin the people who rely on them. Anyways, while they're not organized into nations in the way that most of us mortals are, each of the four main er, varieties, I guess, of genies, has a Palace. They're supposed to be paradises, stuffed with unimaginable pleasures fit for kings, and kings of kings. SUPER hard to find, though," she says. "In fact, it's impossible to reach one, even if you have tracked it down, if you don't approach it the right way. All the stories talk about how you can't get into one unless you've observed the proper rituals, and spoken the secret words at the secret locations, and, y'know, that kind of stuff. Maybe Mr. Yaksha was giving you a hint on how to find Castle Nowhere?"

The boat is reached! You'd been sailing up the eastern coast to the swamp. Along the northern coast the swamp peters out into sandy coves as the coast rises into sheer, stony cliffs around them. Chandar's eyes glint. "Think you could lift me up there?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Of course!"

Tiny Flying Celestine is much stronger than her size would suggest, and she easily carries both parties up along the cliff face, keeping a careful eye out for any potential surprises along the way (like angry grabby-vines or cliff-dwelling eels popping out of their caves of residence).


Pathaky wrote: Chandar rapidly secures the boat before Tiny Flying Celestine hoists her into the air!

The pair zip up the cliffside, adroitly guessing the inclement danger posed by Creeping Vines and Cliff Crabs, avoiding both crustacean clutches and botanical brushes.

Chandar and Celestine crest the cliff-face, and are granted an elevated view of the entire northern coast of the island.

The rocky cliffside extends across much of the northern coast, wrapping around to the west, out of view, and protecting a gently rolling basin, lush with rich greenery and peppered with a web of babbling streams flowing south, toward the swamp. Toward the center of the island the elevation begins to rise once more, the greenery growing sparser and sparser as the central volcano's slopes grow steeper and steeper.

The air here is redolent with the perfume of ripe fruit, salt air, and rich earth. Toward the center of the basin the trees grow thicker and taller, and Celestine's sharp eyes can detect a diffuse cloud of either pollen or some manner of spore clouding the air around them.

Chandar whistles appreciatively before filling two pages of her folio with sketches and cartographic information.

"Anything stand out as worth investigating?" she says.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "The taller trees, closer to the center of the basin, appear to be emitting some kind of pollen- or spore-cloud. Are you aware of any extant plant or fungal life in other regions of Indrasena that produce such clouds in amounts sufficient to be visible from such a distance?"


Pathaky wrote: Chandar considers this.

"None that do well with sunlight. Let's take a careful look!"

Chandar sets off across down the gentle slope of the basin, picking her way between the thicker patches of vegetation and making furious notes as she goes.

As she does, a bit of movement from about halfway down the basin's slope causes her pause. A figure, roughly deva-sized and colored in variegated greens and whites, emerges *briefly* from a long patch of undergrowth before diving into the thick plants and out of sight. Chandar, eyes glinting, points excitedly at where it vanished.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine makes a whimsical salute, and dashes forth on her tiny wings to chase the prospective plant-deva through the undergrowth, eyes peeled for danger and opportunity!


Pathaky wrote: Celestine takes pursuit, dipping and diving into the underbrush, twirling between fronds, grasses, and branches as she zips after the verdant figure! The figure that is leaving a rather calculated trail of spores, Celestine notices. Her Armband of Purity grows warm on her tiny arm as it defends her from an instance of Charm and Poisoned. Still ahead, a porous-looking white head pokes itself out from a bush ahead, eyes wide with surprise and confusion.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Hello!" Celestine greets the surprised head staring at her. "Who are you?"

She attempts to use very open and friendly body language, while still ready to maintain the pursuit if the creature bolts again.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine's Battle-Arena-Granted Universal Translator interfaces with the next blast of spores, which filter into an impression of:

"It speaks without speaking and yet I comprehend, O headmother preserve me from the alien menace and I must assume it can understand all of this and O, headmother!"

It shakes its porous face briefly.

"I am Calvatina and you are an alien and yet you have not struck me down where I stand and you are not using the language of predation, O, headmother preserve me!"

Chandar lurches into the bushes behind Celestine, eyes a bit glossy, a queasy smile pasted across her face.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Greetings, Calvatina. We greet you and the headmother in the name of the Cartographers. We seek to understand this land and how it has come to be, and so we also wish to know more about how you came to be. Though I am gravely concerned to hear of this 'language of predation'; can you describe what you have seen that speaks it?"


Pathaky wrote: "O alien, the language of predation is held within the body, within the shrieks and guttural utterances of all of the enemies of our headmother."

Celestine gets an impression that Calvatina may be referring to the speech of animals, rather than the complex pheromone-based spore-speech you exchange with her now.

Calvatina takes a cautious step out of her hiding place. She's white-and-green mottled, porous from her white roughly-humanoid-kind-of-fungoid head to her tapered, delicate, cilia-coated feet.

"We live in the grove with the headmother, our headmother, where we have lived since the beginning of creation. Tell me true, alien, do you not mean to harm us? Your friend seems to have fallen prey to our defenses."

Chandar foams at the mouth gently, the same queasy smile plastered across her face.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I came here with no intentions to harm anyone, as did my friend Chandar! Please, stop whatever you are doing to her, it looks most unhealthy..."
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: Calvatina panics, wisping over to Chandar and releasing a puff of spores that settle over the dazed and poisoned Deva. Chandar's bubbling slows, and then stops, and her eyes clear. She still looks a little out of it, though.

"Oh gosh, what even *was* that..." she murmurs. Calvatina leaps backward in fear, shaking like a leaf.

"I-I-I am not to trust an organism that speaks the language of predation! Headmother! What should I do???"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Would you mind if Chandar stayed right here, while you and I go to speak with the Headmother regarding this?"


Pathaky wrote: Calvatina steeples her pseudofingers nervously. "Y-yes. I think so. You may accompany me to the headmother. Please, follow me..." she says.

Chandar is more than happy to take a breather and try to sort out that crazy mushroom-induced drug trip.

Calvatina leads Celestine deeper into the basin, down sloping hills covered in thick, lush grasses, wet with the mist kicked up by numerous natural culverts. The spores are thicker here, a haze in the air, softening the edges of distant objects. Calvatina can be heard hum-singing nervously, a hymn to the headmother. Celestine notices the bodies of various animals, their carcasses split open at seams with fungal growth, lying hither and yon among the thick grass.

The grove itself is made of tall, thick, ashoka trees, their deep green leaves clustering overhead in a vast mingled canopy. The trees are absolutely covered with bracket funguses forming stair-step structures up and down the trunks and into the lower branches. The ground is littered with mushrooms and toadstools of all kinds, in all states from freshly sprouted to old, withered, and blackened. The air is thick with sporethought, and Celestine wades through the muddled soup of day-old conversations, entreaties, prayers, and personal panics.

Calvatina releases a new cloud of spores that Celestine translates as "I have brought a newcomer, but do not fear, O sisters, for it is not a predator, but an alien. Headmother, it seeks your august presence!"

Other fungal humanoids creep out from behind cover, identical to Calvatina but for their markings, mottled earth-tones in various patterns. Celestine hear/smells small exclamations of "o headmother" from several of them.

From the inner grove comes a thick wave of thought/spore. The fungal creatures shake like leaves in the wind as it washes past them toward Celestine.

"O Alien, why have you come to our grove? From whence do you come? And what business do you have with us?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine observes the surroundings carefully as she and Calvatina proceed through the rampacious fungosity, certain that Dulcinea would enjoy hearing about such botanical marvels.

Once she stands before the inner grove, she will make a formal bow, and begin her self-introduction.

"Greetings, Headmother, my name is Celestine von Reuter. I come from a faraway city, sitting at the center of a network that allows travel to and from many realms, of which this land is but one. It is akin to the mycorrhizal network that connects the fungi of this forest together, but rather than spreading chemical signals and transferring nutrients, it allows the transfer of independent beings, such as myself!

I am here to explore this island, as it has recently appeared above the ocean, at least from the perspective of other residents of this realm. I come in peace, and wish merely to catalog the new terrain and the many species which reside herein."


Pathaky wrote: The Headmother's spores rumble out in a wave.

"Our nascence is known to us, despite the island's appearance of maturity. But our knowledge of the water beyond, and the lands that lie beyond the water, is grossly limited. If you truly come in peace, we would be most interested in an exchange of information. We possess intimate knowledge of our grove and the basin beyond. If the lands beyond the waters are truly filled with other intelligences, we must take steps to ensure the safety of our grove from those who would wish to enact predation upon us. Would you, and your companion beyond, in the basin, teach us of these lands?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Indeed! It is in both our interests and yours to share our knowledge with each other, that we may live together in peace and prosperity, a magnificent mutualism of meat, metal, and mycelium!"


Pathaky wrote: The Headmother lets out another wave of thoughtspores.

"I foresee communications between we civilized intelligences and those akin to your friend, who speaks only a language of predation, to be difficult. Do you, or your associates, possess some way to facilitate the exchange of thought/feel/spore/voice between us?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Hmmmmm... that certainly would be an issue. I can act as translator for present, and I have some ideas for a device or growth that could be used to translate between sporethought and the language of predation, but at the moment I lack the skills and resources necessary to construct such a thing. I may be able to work with several other of our associates back at our study site to obtain the resources I currently lack, however, should you be willing to accept a delay before we can begin full communication."


Pathaky wrote: The sporewave rumbles cautious assent.

"This is acceptable. As a show of good faith, let us, as beings capable of communicating across the gulf of our species, perform a preliminary exchange of information."

The Headmother is preparing to send over a wave of information. What does Celestine want to share/feel comfortable expounding on?

(No need for high-detail exposition of settings unless you want to put a particular spin or flair on it.)


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine has no particularly deep details on the wider world beyond those she has discovered in her Lengthy Studies, so she focuses on describing the base creature types that she is aware of, making clear to subdivide the creatures according to the Headmother's understanding of language. Following that discussion, she will move on to the base elements of the greater universe, and how they are tied to the Archipelago League and the new islands that they inhabit. Finally, she will go into a discussion of the Battle Arena, and explain how its particular magics are working to permit her to communicate with them, but that other members of the Arena could prove dangerous foes, so care must be taken.


Pathaky wrote: The headmother accepts the information, murmuring assent and small questions as Celestine relays what she knows about the outer world.

In return, Celestine is blasted with a wave of information regarding the Hope Island. Some of it, she already knows, like the general geography of the southern and eastern areas of the island (with the thick previously-blighted jungle, the rolling fields and rivers, the ruined village, the marsh, the cliffs, etc,.

Some of it is new! This northern basin is bounded by cliffs on one side, the central volcano on another, with the gentle slope of the basin leading in the southwest to a ridge of rocky promontories before falling away into another, smaller, basin dominated by a large central lake. The Headmother explains that they hoped to find similar intelligences to their own in the lake, but found only terrible predators with gnashing teeth and razor-sharp whiskers.

The central volcano is highly dangerous, at least according to the Headmother. Celestine can reckon, due to previous explorations, that it's the highest-level zone on the island. None of the family sent to explore the volcano have returned, and the sporemessages that have drifted back speak of blackglass tubes, and a deep white fire.

The western coast past the lake-basin transitions into the easy-to-navigate sandy beaches that correlate to what you and Chandar have seen near the beach head and settlement.

Out past the western coast is a vibrant reef full of small lives and communities that the Headmother thinks she may be able to make contact with, with the help of an initial intermediary such as yourself.

"Good. Yes. We have learned much, and our understanding has increased. Thank you, Celestine Von Reuter. We anticipate working more closely with you and yours with no small amount of pleasure." the Headmother rumbles. "What else can we do for you here, before you leave to construct your device?"


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Let us trade tokens of our esteem for each other, that we may present them to others to show our accord, should they not know of our agreement!"

Taking advantage of her skill as a Crafter and Ring-Maker, she carves a ring out of a moderately-sized piece of rock, etching it with welcoming symbols and a short greeting in the common tongue of Sesamara. Bowing, she presents it to the headmother.

"May you live long and prosper, Headmother."


Pathaky wrote: With deceptive strength and delicacy, Celestine takes a nearby stone and chisels it into a rough ring-shape, smoothing it in a cloud of dust and inscribing it with diplomatic symbols and messages.

Bowing, she presents it to the headmother. The assembled fungal-family hold their breath. Out from the deepest part of the grove, a long spongy tentacle slithers out across the ground with a gentle sussuration. The mushrooms all tremble as it passes them and approaches Celestine, proffering it's delicate, dirt-stained tip for the fairy to place the ring upon.

Another shaded appendage approaches through the undergrowth, bearing a badge of hardened, leathery mushroom flesh, redolent with layers of sporethought marking the bearer as a friend to the collectives.

Celestine gets:

छ Badge Marking The Bearer as a Friend to the Fruiting Body Family- (Accessory, Broach, Earth & Psychic, 200,000 Gold) 25% Inflicts Charm against Plants, RP effects.

"And may you, Celestine. Bear a swift return, and be careful."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine will bow again in farewell, then make for where she last saw Chandar, hopefully in a better state than when she departed. Provided she is healthy enough to depart, Celestine will use her tiny might to fly her back to the boat (to avoid ground-based encounters), then sail back to First Hope.


Pathaky wrote: Celestine bows once more, receiving fungal genuflections from the assembled mushrooms before zipping out of the grove, past the thick trees choked with their symbiotic fungal growths, through the heady clouds of sporethought slowly settling to the ground, and out into the verdant basin. She finds Chandar set up on top of a rocky outcropping above the thick grasses, sketching the basin's features on her incredible foldout easel. She tosses a jaunty salute to the tiny faerie.

"Hello again!"

Chandar is filled in about the grove's inhabitants, their desire for contact, and their next step.

Now used to faerie-based flight, Chandar packs up her supplies and the two of them fly up over the lip of the basin, down the crab-and-land-eel infested cliffs, and to the moored boat.

One uneventful sail later and they're back to First Hope.

It's late evening by now, and the sun is sitting semihemispherical on the horizon, bathing the encampment in a gold-red glow.

Chandar hops out of the boat, stretching stiffy.

"Whew! Tidy bit of cartography today. Almost makes up for yesterday's trauma! We charted the inland regions of the entire eastern and northern coasts, found an honest-to-gods Yaksha (and got a weird cryptic sort of treasure map?), and established communication with true natives! Urgh, as much as he's a pain in the ass, I bet Designaya would be pretty helpful in designing a communicator for the mushrooms... I'm gonna let you take point on talking to him about that, Celestine..."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "I will, Chandar. In fact, I'll head over now to file our report, so you can take a rest and make sure you have no lingering ill-effects from breathing in those spores!"

She then flits over to the command cabin, intent on locating Designaya and Padma to pass on the fruits of their labors!


Pathaky wrote: Chandar waves stiffly and wanders off, mentioning seeing how Suratman is holding up.

The command center is much as Celestine left it- transformed from it's initial jumbled heap of boxes, canvas, and miscellaneous supplies into the picture of administrative order. Designaya is at the far end of the large central table, operating a small archipelegian orrery, a complicated-looking sextant, and a folio of charts simultaneously, his green surface flickering with planes of data as he internalizes, externalizes, and synchronizes.

Padma is multi-tasking as well, working at correspondence with several other Cartographer cells across the archipelago. She's humming to herself contendly.

Manesh is running back and forth, sorting charts and journals, occasionally glancing nervously at Padma.

In short, they're busy as bees! Upon Celestine's arrival, Designaya looks up from his work, beetle-black eyes swiveling in her direction.

"AH, you're back. Please, REport posthaste." he says.

Padma puts down her synchroquill to listen as Celestine relates their adventures in cartography and receive Chandar's preliminary charts. After she's finished, Designaya taps the table with a pseudofinger thoughtfully.

"A device to enable communication between two differing modalities of thought? Between a physical, pheremone-based 'sporethought' and vocal communication? ... Yes. I think SOMEthing of that sort is possible. PERhaps a directional cone..." he gestures, and a blank sheaf of paper slides across the drafting table. Designs begin to appear across it in a green-ink overlay, cast by the glow of his Technology-Element Body. "...or possibly a speaker, into which vibrations are converted into magichemical scent markers...."

Padma smiles. "Y-you've got him g-going now. That's going t-to be all he worries at f-for some time. G-good work out there w-with Miss Hepti. I th-think we're f-finally starting to get a h-handle on the island, a-and it's in no small part th-thanks t-to you." Her expression grows serious here. "N-now. Y-you mentioned obtaining b-backup from other Outlanders i-in the matter of t-tackling this U-Unbroken C-circle business. L-let me emphasize th-that keeping this o-out of the eye of the E-e-ecclesiarchy a-and other continental au-authorities i-is vital for the c-continued security of the Archipelago L-league."

She motions to the archipelagian orrery. "A-and a heads up. Th-the Elements are shifting. S-something is c-coming. Something b-big. T-the last time we saw r-readings like this in the l-leadup to the Light Island Cr-crisis. And if th-these readings are c-correct, w-whatever's coming is going to dwarf it. I-if you can find out anything about this b-back in Nexus, b-being able to prepare for a p-possible Universal Element Shift c-could make all the difference."


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "When I make that journey, I shall do my best to determine what is changes will be coming to this land. For now, though, I should help Designaya with assembling the prototype communicator before I depart."


Pathaky wrote: Padma nods returns to fidgeting with her papers before drawing out an envelope and handing it over to Celestine.

The envelope contains a small metal badge emblazoned with a two compasses- navigational and drafting, a pair of certificates (radiating, to Celestine's BA-Member eyes, ability-granting potential) and a certificate of membership within the Cartographer's Guild.

"T-this is overdue, frankly. W-welcome aboard." she says with a smile.

Celestine gets:

Zonal Perception- (Passive Ability, Diviner) Possessor gains +100 MIN for each Zone, Terrain, or Phantom Terrain present, to a max of +500, Possessor may, in RP threads, generally know the name of the area possessor is in

Auto Zonescan- (Passive Ability, Diviner) At the start of each round, possessor may choose to be provided with the base entity encounter table of the current area of any random quest that possessor is in provided no enemies on said table are above Level 40 or more than double caster's Level

छ Member of Indrasena's Cartographer's Guild- (Passive Ability, Friendship) Possessor gains +200 to all stats if one of possessor's allies possesses an ability or Constant Effect including the words 'Member of Indrasena's Cartographer's Guild'', Whenever possessor heals such an ally, possessor deals an additional 5,000 points of HP.



So, onto helping our resident favorite pain-in-the-ass with a translation device! What skills, abilities, and items are Celestine bringing to the drafting table?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Crafter, Gadget Designer, Studious, Analytical, Mathematician, Apprentice Technology Synch, Apprentice Scientist, Apprentice Engineer, Apprentice Gearwright, Apprentice Mechanist.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Pathaky wrote: (wew that rollstreak lawdy)

Celestine and Designaya set to work, comparing sketches of blueprints, collating schematics, and requisitioning materials (politely, in Celestine's case and imperiously in Designaya's).

Soon, the command center is as messy as it was when Celestine first arrived, with boxes of steel parts, bales of wire, fine gearworks, and technomagic motherboards piled precariously as the duo work feverishly on the translation device. Celestine's badge is an essential piece of testing equipment as the two banter back and forth for hours, refining their designs and prototypes. Heck, some of this is even pinging as potentially integratable with Celestine herself! With a touch of help from the Technology Elemental, Celestine gains...

Auto-Translate- (Passive Ability, Diviner) Possessor gains +200 MIN if any individual of a different subtype is present, Translates to and from common languages (both orally and in written form) as an RP effect



They finish the device later that evening. It's small enough to be carried in both hands. One side is adorned with a directional cone for gathering directed sporethought and an emitter for releasing synthetic sporethought. On the other is a microphone and a speaker. Designaya leans back, glowing contently and casting a warm green-white light across the drafting table. He gives Celestine a nod of approval. This'll work.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Excellent! Celestine thanks Designaya for the equipment and skills he was able to supply to this venture, and prepares to pack up the translator for delivery to the Collective.

"Ah! Before I depart to deliver this, do you have someone among the staff here you would like to serve as a dedicated point-of-contact between the Guild and the Collective? It would probably smooth things along if I were able to introduce them and the translation device at the same time..."


Pathaky wrote: Designaya looks nearly mischievous as he glances across the tent to Manesh, who has been doing his best to keep out of the way as he inks maps of the island. Manesh freezes.

"YES, I rather think I CAN think of someone." Manesh stands up very slowly and begins to [very] nonchalantly make his way toward the door.

"Manesh, you're promoted! Congratulations. You're to represent the Cartographers to this Collective."

Manesh freezes again, and turns around. A bead of sweat drops down his neck.

"This is uh, an honor and all, but shouldn't I be here working on the ma-" he starts, but Designaya cuts him off. "NONsense, can't think of anyone better suited, Manesh. And if you pack your easel, I'm sure you can work on your copying there JUST as well. Pack your things, DON'T leave Miss Clockwork Fairy waiting. Now SNAP to it!" the elemental commands.

Manesh yelps assent and begins stuffing paints into his satchel. He's (perhaps reluctantly) ready when you are! Anything you want to do before flying back across the island?


The Nottest of Daves wrote: "Well, we should probably bring one of the tents and attendant supplies along as well, in case Manesh should need to stay overnight at some point. Travel in the dark through lightly explored terrain is probably quite a poor plan, after all..." Celestine pauses to examine the map of the island, trying to estimate how long it would take to make the crossing between the camp and the collective on foot through safe territory.


Pathaky wrote: With Celestine's flight, she thinks they could probably dodge most of the damage by tacking west across the coast before cutting back east across the lake basin, taking care to steer clear of the lake itself, which the Collective warned was 'full of teeth'. BA-Member speed would make it quite zippy too.

Alternatively, taking the boat around to the sheer cliffs and climbing straight to the basin's lip could work. It'd probably take about half a day of sailing, and however long the climb takes.

On foot, sticking to places that are confirmed more or less safe, that would mean tracking up the eastern grassland, across the thinnest part of the mangrove swamp, and up the side of the basin. That'd take a day and some change, with the far side of the grassland offering the safest campsite and launching point for the short-but-more-intense trek the next morning.


The Nottest of Daves wrote: Celestine looks over Manesh, attempting to gauge his likelihood of being able to traverse the safest path alone, to determine whether she would need to ask Designaya to assign him guards on future travel attempts should she not be present.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Quest-porting complete.
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

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Celestine eyes Manesh, gauging his ability to peform this solo mission. He's not terrible, and his paint-magic is handy in a pinch, but he is, by her estimation, best utilized as a support piece, providing scans and other buffs through his paintcraft.

Designaya shorts out. "SOMEthing is WrOnG" he buzzes. "It'zzzz HapPenNinG AgAiN"

Padma braces herself.

"Get down!"

Manesh scrambles to do the same when the world heaves, a ripple of force passing through the universe like a blast wave.

Celestine is plucked from existence.
Pathaky
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by Pathaky »

And achieves consciousness somewhere entirely different.

She's floating several feet above a road (a scaled road?)that stretches out beyond and behind her into the horizon. The sky (is it the sky?) is entirely obscured by similar coils. Celestine can see stars- the order of the cosmos- held in the scales of this living sky.

A shape sidles out from between two of the coils below her, filling out into a semi humanoid figure- lower body a tangled ball of snakes, upper body that of a stooped, old woman- as it emerges.

"I'm sorry, dearie. It's rare that a devaloka goes through such changes so suddenly, but it's the fool's own damn fault for their ambition in seeking to emulate the foundation and the Sources. Makes them especially vulnerable to these kinds of things. Not that any of us thought these 'kinds of things' would be nearly as common as they've been, mind you."

She pulls herself a bit closer to Celestine, looking up at her with keen, canny eyes. "Still, we thought it best to pluck Outsiders like you Nexusdwellers out from it. Especially considering what that other pair just got up to." The snake-crone smiles at Celestine wryly. "Your involvement is, generally speaking, good for Indrasena and their development, but we can't risk another debacle like what happened to Viparita."

Celestine, you suddenly feel a splitting headachey feeling--like your mechanism aren't meshed entirely correctly- entire assemblies hitching. The crone grins again, not unkindly.

"That'd be the subjectivity tension. Don't worry, it won't last long. So, to get to heart of my being here- you have a choice. Return to your Nexus now, or be sent back into the devaloka we plucked you from. Can't guarantee you'll be exactly where or when, mind- but you'll be as your are in your Nexus, not how you were when you initially came here. If you have unfinished business, you'll be able to at least pursue it."

She pauses. The serpent-vaulted sky rumbles in the background. The stars wheel behind them, constellations forming a divine tableau of battle, deed, and tragedy.
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The Nottest of Daves
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Re: The Cartography Duo Return to the Hope Islands

Post by The Nottest of Daves »

Celestine ponders a moment, then addresses the snake-crone, "I do so hate leaving work unfinished. Please send me back."
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