The Primeval Dark (IC)

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-06-17, 04:54 PM (ISO 8601)

Erik followed the Librarian's gaze up to the higher platform.

"You're right, but we'll give them another moment. The Teller seems interested in my companion, and interrupting and sidetracking him with negotiations before they've had a chance to speak will likely irritate him. We won't leave them for much longer, but I don't want the start of the negotiations to be worse than they already are."

Erik shrugged his pack onto the table, then set about unwinding the blanket from his arm.

"The concept of making promises for future Passages raises an issue. Returning the 'drop' to the Teller will weaken me. How severe this will be, or how much the severity will depend on the repayment I make today, I don't know. I'm certain, however, that the Teller is aware of this. Which means that any offers I make regarding future Passages may ring hollow, as I may seem less capable of Reclaiming more in my weakened state."

His arm freed from the blanket, Erik digs through his bag momentarily to pull a cloth from one of his medical kits, using it to clean up any remaining traces of the black bile on his face and armor.

"Which means that most of our deal will likely either have to rely primarily on offerings from Ashurbanipal, with smaller promises from future Passages, or the promises I do make will have to be disproportionate - high risk, high reward. Tell me - is the Dark Teller the gambling type?"

Erik places the cloth back down and begins adjusting his armor, straightening various pieces that had been twisted or misplaced by the rough transportation.

"I'm tempted to simply make it quick and cut him a good deal. Negotiating with only a crash course in this economy will be difficult, and making a fool of myself during my first negotiations may be more harmful in the long run than letting him walk away with the better side of the agreement. Though I suppose that giving it to him so easily may be damaging as well."

Having cleaned himself up as well as he could, Erik leans against the edge of the table, examining his arm once more. His eyes followed the thin black line as he spoke.

"Were it not for the personal and cosmological consequences, I might've kept this. I feel sturdier of both mind and body, more stable. And this black line is... interesting, though I'm not sure what it points to."

**Mornings** · 2020-06-21, 07:17 PM (ISO 8601)

Main Quest: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Ladder To The Sky
The future was bleak. Awakening from the dream, Kazik and Erik woke to find a tragic broken world. With countless memories and years lost between them, the realization of the cruelty delivered by the magics employed against them finally begins to sink in. It was a malice beyond words, and loss beyond comprehension, where not even the awareness of it was allowed to persist... Only the emptiness. The depravity of the void which had slain every passion, every dream, every inspiration and moment that could be treasured by a mortal heart. The men they had been were dead now, in perhaps a far truer sense than any corpse could know. In some men's hearts burned the vengeance of the crippled and the wronged. In others rose the courage to let go. There were no easily won truths reclaimed from this blighted and wild dark. Here there were no words and no thoughts which escaped its thieving hand.
Difficulty: Moderate | Status: On-going | Profit: Unknown | Time: None
Primary Objective: Return to Ashurbanipal (Complete)
Alternate Objective: ~~Return to the Veil~~
Primary Objective: ~~Find the Librarian~~ (Complete)
Primary Objective: Speak with The Dark Teller

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:29 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

The definition of the unreal blotted entity seemed to become more real, more figured, despite appearing identical from every angle. It was as if light bent around the voidspace which formed the thing's body... Or perhaps his perception of the thing simply rotated with the world as he did. Maybe there was no answer in matters concerning these unnatural creatures. Still, the Teller seemed to gesture with an impossibly long gangling limb towards the masked man, "That would be you, my friend. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say, you are an Aspirant of the Oculus. A creature whom has displayed the aptitude to inherit that legendary Fate."

The void-thing seemed to pause before giving what Kazik could only interpret as some manner of apologetic bow, "Ah, but you are a mortal of the First World. You would be unfamiliar with such things... The Mados has always held a deep respect and long friendship with the Oculus, so allow me to explain... Free of charge, of course." The dark entity gestured to the side, creating three gleaming orbs of light within a much larger bubble of shimmering force. Each miniature sphere held a color, gray, white and red. "Look upon the red sphere. This is your home... All of it. Every plane. Every realm. The whirling Maelstrom. The mighty realms throughout the Outer Sphere, the lost planes of the Inner Sphere, and all between. The assembly of the multitude of dimensions and universes mapped across the Worldscape. All of it is here. This is known as the First World. It is the lowest state of existence, where most mortal creatures dwell. In a sense, it might be considered the most 'elevated' in a physical manner of speaking, as only the ripples of influence from the creative forces make their way unto this place."

The Teller gestured at the gray orb, "Here, this is the Second World. The origin of the most ancient of the physical worlds and home to the paramortal races. Civilizations created long before the first sparks of the First World were brought to life. Unfettered by age and natural disease, they are forever... until slain. It is the oldest and most well-developed between the two Lesser Worlds." The spheres rotated, coming to rest upon the white orb. "...And finally, the Third World. This is the realm of the Great Ones. Beings above the Lesser Worlds, and home to one of the Three Houses. It would not do to imagine them as 'gods', as your understanding of the divine is tainted by self-made man-gods and insignificant agents representing some axis or domain. Those forces whom dwell here define the axis, define the domain and the very expressions of existence for all existence within the Three Worlds. The mightiest of all races are the divine L'Dalharen, the Children. Those born of the Three Mothers whom rule the Three Houses, the supreme existences within the Garden. A Child whom merely chooses to forget can unravel time and the Fates, removing entire civilizations from ever having been."

Turning the sphere, the blotted shadow gestured again but this time towards the entire massive sphere of force which contained the glinting orbs. "The larger mass within which the Three Worlds reside is the Greater World, the housing for the universes to be anchored, the whole of defined existence here is known as the Garden... The youngest House, the House of the Mother of the First exists in the Third World. It is this House whom devotes the utmost of its attention toward ruling the Garden. The Children of the Mother of the First are pure-blooded L'Dalharen manufactured from Her own substance, those whom are deemed 'flawed' or 'imperfect' and quickly discarded. The House of the Mother of the Black Veil, more commonly referred to as 'the House of Black', resides not in any of the Three Worlds, but in the space between, within the confounding abyss which fills the near-empty space of the Garden called the Black. The House of Black often has very little direct intervention in matters relating to the Three Worlds, but the Mother of the Black Veil's Children vary between pure L'Dalharen, and those paramortal souls she favors and lifts up into the divine fold. The House of Black favors paramortals, as their creation was largely due to Her influence. The most ancient House, and oldest of the Three Mothers, the House of the Blessed Mother... does not dwell in the Garden at all."

After a moment the Teller gestured to everything outside the sphere of force, all which was not within that small confined space. "She dwells beyond the spans of existence which creatures may persist. Outside the Garden. Unlike her younger sisters, the Blessed Mother holds virtually no direct influence within the Garden, that we know of. Further more, her Children are not created of her own essence. Instead, they are chosen by the Fates and their actions, rising to become the Three; her L'Dalharen. These three chosen can hail from any race in any of the Three Worlds, without limitations, though Aspirants are more frequently created from young adults and adolescents in the mortal races. They are the Alucinor, the Memoria and the Oculus... That being yourself, currently. Together they are jointly known as the Swallowfeld Children."

With those final words the blotted thing waved the display away, the lights seemingly devoured into the void-substance of the Teller's body. "Since time immemorial the Oculus has held a special relationship with the Mados, even among the Three. He whom holds the power of the Oculus sees what others cannot, can venture where others cannot, and can command cosmic forces others cannot fathom. Energy created within the heart of the Elghin'Mados. Thus, the Oculus naturally falls into the position of becoming what is perhaps the mightiest magical being in existence over time. The Oculus has an inherent role in stimulating the movement of stagnant cosmic forces throughout the Garden, enabling the Mados to efficiently renew the stale essence throughout the Three Worlds. It is a vital responsibility."

⯎

"I would be more concerned with your friend accepting a deal with the Teller, rather than his irritation with your intervention." The old bookkeeper paused, as Erik continued, seeming to fall back into his contemplation. "Damn... You're right. We cannot begin to guess the ramifications. I imagine the Teller will make it a point to be remarkably strict and leverage that against us. He may not even accept what would be a normal offering if he's crippled you so. He may demand more under the pretense of proper compensation, though you wouldn't be the first soul to suffer such a fate. We may require more thought to this...."

The Librarian looked up at Erik, squinting with an uncertain frown plastered across his face. "What... 'black line'?"

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-06-21, 08:25 PM (ISO 8601)

"If you think that's the bigger concern here, we can head back up. This does need more thought, but it doesn't seem we have the time. I don't like it, but we'll have to play this one loose - I'll return the drop and recalculate from there. If it isn't too bad we might be able to negotiate as normal; if I can barely stand, your suggested fallback may be our starting point. If we've got anymore options, or you have anymore information, now's the time to mention it while still being out of earshot."

There was an edge to Erik's voice as he spoke the last sentence. The price of his blasted arm was only climbing, and he didn't know enough to stop it. Not knowing was always one of his greatest annoyances.

At the Librarian's question, Erik glanced over to him and then down at the line again.

"So only I can see it... a thin black line, points from this hole in my hand, like some kind of compass. Pointed to the black door in the... Stasis, you called it. When we arrived in Ashurbanipal, I looked again and my mind almost got carried up to watch it run over the horizon. Let's see if I can find the end now..."

Erik slowly followed the line with his eyes, trying to concentrate on that sensation he'd had before, attempting to hold onto it until the line's terminus.

Spoiler: OoC

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Attempting to follow the spooky hand compass:

Perception: (1d20+12)[30]

**Mornings** · 2020-06-22, 09:56 PM (ISO 8601)

Faux Paw

The White Woman seemed to nod absently as they continued their trek, as the fox man spoke she seemed to become less attentive. "I see. This is title than, or a manner of name. You are a First World creature..." The guide didn't speak again as they trudged forward for many minutes, or perhaps hours. With each passing moment they braved forward, the dunes of frost grew smaller and the knee-deep snowbanks diminished to a manageable level. The peaks of various structures begun to rise in the distance. A curving stone face of a cliff overlooking a well tended graveyard rolled out to greet them as they marched through the unnatural fog.

The Guidewoman gestured off into the distance towards other humanoid shapes at the foot of an natural stone alcove barely visible from the edge of the graveyard's grounds. A well forged wrought iron fence gated the property with a large open arching entrance into the dead fields. "This is as far as I can take you, Faux Paw the Magnificent...." The Witch grabbed his arm to ensure she had his attention. "Ware the Reaches. Do not let me catch you there again, for we may not meet as friend." With that she released him, turning away she took three paces before simply blinking out of existence yet her voice echoed back out from somewhere very far away. "The dead cannot die again. Far more tragic fate waits those whom fall here."

⯎

Regina

Father Mortfield snorted in surprise waving a hand frantically as if to dismiss a notion, "You are not incorrect, Ms. Artel... At least, were this the proper Nightmare Worlds... but this isn't. This is the Far Place. You must absolutely... never venture near a gathering. There are no towns, cities or any permanent places of social gathering here, ma'am. Those creature's with enough sentience to even think of such things would simply leave this realm and acquire services in more civil Worlds. This is an evil and primordial realm, a chaotic crushing cesspool without definition. There is only my graveyard, everything which fills it... and the Reaches. Imagine it like a basin of putrid water filled with all manner of things being spun about. It is an insubstantial chaos. A place of myriad thought and encompassing countless dreaming minds, ever expanding, seeking diversity in all things it takes. This is a realm of thought and refuse in the Nightmare Worlds. A literal realm of the disposed or discarded, a place to cast aside those broken and unwanted things. Here such unnecessary waste is eliminated. A trove for those horrid things which pray upon those entities whom dwell in dreams, and a literal hell for the discarded."

The priest sighed settling back down to sit on a gravestone, "There are a great many ways to earn dust. Yes, you could just as well go hunting and pray you are not preyed upon yourself. Galic preferred Contracts. Leaving would require the intervention of one of the entities which traverse this realm and the one you wish to venture... A dangerous preposition. Most will likely not even hear you, though those which do may simply ignore you. In the wizard's case, he needed very minimal assistance as he still possessed the benefits of numerous previous completed Contracts, which allowed him to interface with his past Patrons himself. An unimaginably frightful endeavor for the inexperienced, as each holds their own form of etiquette, tricks or particulars to manipulate or harm those whom might beckon them and steal their essence forcefully. The dust you've gathered means nothing if your spoils are lost from ignorance. The nature of their power comes from this intentional complexity to 'gate-keep' all dealings within the realm. I'm unsure how Mr. Penfrist was so intimate with such confounding things, but I imagine he has frequented the less savory corners of the Nightmare Worlds far more than most. Fortunately, I do arrange numerous services for those stranded here, including arranging Contracts on a requester's behalf. Though, those contractual options are limited to those entities I have a long standing relation with. I've no interest braving new relations with more austere patrons."

Spoiler: Critical Note: Forbidden Knowledge

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Knowledge (Forbidden) is one of the most useful unique skills in the game, but also the absolute most dangerous ability a player character can utilize when performed outside of a very specific set of conditions, including the aid of numerous Potentials. Each time a PC attempts to utilize this skill without the protective features of other Potentials, they run a chance of acquiring a 'Corrupted Fate'. These conditions are a form of Curse which can potentially bestow numerous profane and crippling effects, but will in addition alter all quests and objectives the character possesses and can receive - permanently. The effects of a Corrupted Fate can be resolved by discovering and accomplishing the unique conditions associated with it. These conditions are always extremely severe, and may require an entire campaign-length undertaking to complete; stealing precious time which could be spent on other objectives.

Regardless of the result of the %dice in determining if such a status is received, the character receives a number of points of Spite, and possesses a very high chance of incurring a Divergence or critical alteration, which may impose its own unique consequences, depending on the circumstances. The percent of such events occurring caps at 100% upon the third use. A character may only utilize Knowledge (Forbidden) unprotected three times throughout the entity of the game. Upon exceeding this number of uses, the current character is immediately slain after the skill's resolution. This ability kills all iterations of a character simultaneously, but is specific to the identity which activated the ability and does not extend past Reflected Personas. This effect cannot be prevented by any source. Slain character's cannot be returned to life, including from such Potentials as Lesser Immortality.

Spoiler: Status - Faux

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֍ Faux +300 (11,800xp)
HP 33/33
AC 19
⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Freedom Influence Gained
⯎ Tactics Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Doom Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Dreams Influence Gained
⯎ Intrigue Influence Gained
⯎ Nightmare Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Night Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Insight Influence Gained
⯎ Paths Influence Gained
⯎ Sickness Influence Gained
⯎ Slaughter Influence Gained
⯎ Agility Influence Gained
⯎ Travel Influence Gained
⯎ Cold Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Grit Influence Gained
⯎ Fortitude Influence Gained
⯎ Determination Influence Gained
⯎ Regret Influence Gained
⯎ Stranded Influence Gained
⯎ Wandering Influence Gained
⯎ Guided Influence Gained
⯌ Acquired [Clear Dagger] - Unidentified

Spoiler: Status - Regina

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֍ Regina +800 (29,900xp)
HP 52/53 (1 divine cold dmg)
AC 19
⯎ Nobility Influence Gained
⯎ Deception Influence Gained
⯎ Trickery Influence Gained
⯎ Discovery Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Tapestry Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Dimensions Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Vision Influence Gained
⯎ Light Influence Gained
⯎ Stability Influence Gained
⯎ Cold Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Red Influence Gained
⯎ Reflections Influence Gained
⯎ Darkness Influence Gained
⯎ Stars Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Nuisance Influence Gained
⯎ Seeker Influence Gained
⯎ Forbidden Influence Gained
⯎ Planes Influence Gained
⯎ Delusion Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Wandering Influence Gained
⯎ Stranded Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Real Influence Gained
⯎ Stranded Influence Gained
⯎ Ghosts Influence Gained
⯎ Entities Influence Gained
⯎ Passage Influence Gained
⯎ Realms Influence Gained
⯎ Essence Influence Gained
⯎ Existence Influence Gained

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-06-23, 12:25 PM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

Kazik stared, wordlessly, as the Teller gave his explanation. He was not unclever by any means, so far as it went, but he was certainly uneducated (particularly in matters of the philosophies), and with his psyche weakened as it was much of this abstract cosmology flew well beyond his head. Still, he heard the one thing that was most important. He stared down at his open palms, contemplating: Not just powerful, but most powerful? How could he not be intrigued?

He looked back up at the formless mass, considering its words as carefully as he could, mind racing through the endless possibilities, before asking further, simply,

"So what do I need to do?"

Spoiler: OOC

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oops

Spoiler: Stats

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Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 [2] CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) [5 (-3)]Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

* post roll count doesn't match database

**Mornings** · 2020-06-27, 11:11 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:33 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

"Perhaps first with your senses..." The unreal thing seemed to reach out an impossibly long pointed finger, brushing the masked man's mask. It felt like something was drawn away, and in its place something came rushing into his mind. A sense of awareness. Cognitive functions begun to once again spring to life within his skull, but as they did so too did the world appear to change. The light dimmed and the sight of the Teller faded, becoming far less real. The blot sunk into a blurred space, like a fogy piece of glass hanging before him. A shapeless distortion. [Kazik | Ability Damage Sacrificed - Wisdom Damage Removed]

While Kazik could no longer see the exact place where 'the thing without form' was, there was a strange sense of mental awareness. Like imagining the movements of a shadow. It was akin to the perception of alarm which told a man when someone was lurking behind. He could feel the movements he couldn't see somewhere in the back of his mind. "The Oculus can learn to move any force in existence, but this requires much time to refine. It would be best to learn to first gain a measure of control over your affinity with Origin magics. You can pay the Mados to strengthen your command, or find entities whom venture the realms whom might teach you, though this service would not be free. Anything can be traded through me for appropriate appropriate compensation, items, memories, life, years, magic, talents or skills. All things which can be perceived and represented throughout existence carry some value. It is my duty to coordinate such exchanges for the energy which is traded between the Worlds. There is nothing which cannot be bought, for the right price. The Mados does not care from where you harvest your bounty. Cut down the helpless, bleed the wicked, it is all the same. Thus, I would purchase things which would empower you, then open the Pass back to your own World where your new might will shine above many mortals. Power begets power. As long as you avoid those things foreign to your World, you will largely be free to harvest resources which you might exchange here and grow further."

⯎

The Librarian sighed as he slowly stood from his seat, making paces in either direction trying to think of a solution. "If we could circumvent the Teller completely then that would be for the best. The drop itself just needs to be returned to the Mados, it doesn't particularly matter how that's done. If we rely on the Teller, he'll just twist the circumstances to benefit him as much as possible. I imagine that he'd at least try to cripple you to some degree. It's much easier to negotiate with a broken man when you're the only one at the table selling the cure. No... We should discard the notion of trying to deal with him at all for now. There are unfortunately very little entities whom could function as a substitute however. There's any L'Dalharen, but most would probably smite you rather than sharing words... A handful of Relicuum could, but only Lalaphra holds a Fate still tied to the Mados from those I know. Adessa, the Whispering Witch could, but as a human she's more likely to throw your soul into the Black than accept trade. Cas'Haphel is much like Adessa, but twice as mad. Pau'Lialtilna would humor you, but would demand a steep price."

After a moment the old man shrugged seemingly at a loss, "There is simply Ghlas herself, but no one can know just when or where she might come into being until she already has. Our best bet would be trying to create an agreement with Hexe Cross Lialtilna, what other possibilities might exist are either too dangerous or too much of a gamble. Even if the Hexe demands an unfair sum, it's better than suffering a physical loss from the Teller, and you are a Lord of a Passage. There's very little you cannot amass with enough time and effort." With little else left to add, arriving at his own conclusion, the bookkeeper's gaze drifted to Erik's twisted hand. There was a measure of concern etched into his dark feature's as the mercenary begun to examine his hand.

"There are very few Black Fates left. They are things which are not tied to any of the Three Worlds, some may not even come from the Garden at all. It is impossible to know unless the Fate is fulfilled. As such they are incredibly dangerous things, even more-so within the Passages where doors to unknown realms may be opened." The old Librarian shook a finger at the man as if in warning, "The nature of such a thing cannot be known. Who knows what tied itself to you during your venture in the Black. Best to let it be." The grizzled fighter begun to teeter before collapsing with a dull thud upon the stone, his armor ringing on the hard stone as he fell. Erik was already drifting upwards, detached from himself as the old man rambled on. He was far higher than ever before, the veranda where he had been already was a hundred feet below and the dais which the large open air study sat quickly passed by.

Faster. He was moving faster now, quickly accelerating with each passing second. There was no resistance of wind, it was as if he were an astral body caught by some dark tether reeling him across the realm and up into the sky. From here he could see the edges of the great library and its sprawling expanse. In awe he could see the unusual shape. It was a book! A massive book from which all of the world rose up from the pages, a tome floating in the glimmering dark. He was so far now, accelerating still. The light passed by like flickers which came and went, a trail of white frosty energy burst out from him leaving contrails through the sky like the tail of a comet.

⯎

The distortion twitched. "Oh no..." The mental shadow of the thing seemed to bend backwards lifting its gaze skyward. Kazik's eyes followed suit, watching as the whirling comet of frothy white light bloomed into existence far above in the patchwork ceiling of stars. The great celestial body cut a line across the glittering sky with incredible speed, hurtling out into the deep reaches of space.

Hurtling out across the infinite expanse, he was caught within a whirling maelstrom of white light and fire fastly accelerating still. The motions had begun to blur and compress, seeming to flatten and loose its sense of three-dimensional depth as he cut across the darkness. Briefly, in flickers. Something spanned out before him. White. A frame too fast to comprehend, banishing the dark then vanishing before he could understand it. White. An endless realm without form. White. A ring. A black churning ring of night. It was colossal. Size unfathomable to his mortal consciousness. The space between the ends of the rings could only be measured only in increments defined by the size of a billion stars. White. A whirling impossible thing. Faster. Faster still, until he finally crossed that unexplained frame. That Circle of Black.

Erik crashed through the cosmic churn of reality and across the sky. A broken and still world drained of all color. A monochrome frame without time or motion. His white flaming body of energy burned through the colorless exterior of a metal shell, cutting through the fuselage of the jetliner. Screaming faces, frozen, half shattered like black glass. His descent quickly propelled him through the floor and out the other side, but the horrific sight of broken children crumbling into nothingness was burned into his mind. Careening off in a rocking uncontrolled descent he melted through the glass and steel dividers of the upper half of a massive falling building. It's upper mass blown off from its lower half with such force, it was held in place mid-flip as the structure was now fully inverted. It's topmost flagstaff now facing its detached base and the earth below. It was a suspended moment. A ruinous blender of smoke, fire and steel. Nothing akin to the skyscraper's thousands of glass windows and halls existed in all the world he knew. It was a testament to a height of mankind's potential he wouldn't have even been able to imagine had he not seen it, and now it had seemingly become some horrid artifact to immortalize the death of humanity.

There was no air. It was all he could do to hold his breath as he burned a path though the bloody scenes frozen in place before him. Crashing through the office space, he melted his way though desks and cubicles, cleaving a way out of the doomed structure as he was caught in a weightless arcing descent he couldn't control. There was no sky, only a ruined blighted dark. No atmosphere. No sounds. The eerie choking quiet was a unique horror in its own way. The view of the shattered city came into view, sprawling out into his vision. The great structures of steel were twisted, massive roads and bridges lay broken and dark fractures raced across the very earth creating unimaginable chasms of supernatural void. There was only death here. A dead city stretching off further than he could see. Unmoving. Forever.

After a time his speed begun to slow, then slowed further still, until he stopped above a great spread of woodland garden in the destroyed city. A figure drifted motionless, suspended above the trees and unsoiled flowerbeds. Floating in the weightless space, the woman rotated around as if directed by some exterior force. Erik could feel himself recoil. It was a face he knew. Kaslin.

The shock only lasted for a moment as reason set in. It couldn't be her, not here. Not really. His eyes took in the whole sight before him. Above them was the slightly grayed figure of something he couldn't understand. It was massive, expanding further and further the higher he looked up, as if it were the very expanse of space funneled into a single narrowing thread unto this point. His mind couldn't comprehend the entity, and thus the gray spaces simply appeared as a constantly whirling and overlapping series of shapes of all sizes. Circles, triangles, squares, rectangles, ovals and many he couldn't name. Transparent but present. Kaslin softly smiled at him from across the span of where they floated above the garden. A sudden bolt of understanding entered his thoughts. Whatever this thing was, this 'doll' was simply a familiar face to act as interface between them, something his mind could interpret. The young woman extended a hand toward his direction as if beckoning him. Though wordless. Though there was no air to even speak, he understood. It was time to return what he had taken.

Main Quest: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Ladder To The Sky
The future was bleak. Awakening from the dream, Kazik and Erik woke to find a tragic broken world. With countless memories and years lost between them, the realization of the cruelty delivered by the magics employed against them finally begins to sink in. It was a malice beyond words, and loss beyond comprehension, where not even the awareness of it was allowed to persist... Only the emptiness. The depravity of the void which had slain every passion, every dream, every inspiration and moment that could be treasured by a mortal heart. The men they had been were dead now, in perhaps a far truer sense than any corpse could know. In some men's hearts burned the vengeance of the crippled and the wronged. In others rose the courage to let go. There were no easily won truths reclaimed from this blighted and wild dark. Here there were no words and no thoughts which escaped its thieving hand.
Difficulty: Unknown| Status: On-going | Profit: Unknown | Time: None
Primary Objective: Return to Ashurbanipal (Complete)
Alternate Objective: ~~Return to the Veil~~
Primary Objective: ~~Find the Librarian~~ (Complete)
Primary Objective: ~~Speak with The Dark Teller~~ (Lost)
Primary Objective: Unknown

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-06-28, 01:33 AM (ISO 8601)

Erik looked around at the endless landscape of broken concrete and glass. Ruined though it may be, it was magnificent - each of these buildings could hold entire villages or towns. This one colossal metropolis could've held more people than the entirety of Golarion.

And each and every one of them was dead.

What sort of catastrophe could bring this kind of destruction was beyond his grasp. A tragedy that fractured the earth, tore away the atmosphere, and froze the world as it died. Perhaps this was Death's masterpiece. A macabre work, awesome in its horror.

But his surroundings were not the most disturbing part. That lay in front of him, in this facsimile of Kaslin. Why it had chosen her, he could only guess. Perhaps it was because she was a fellow warrior, someone he could inherently understand. Whatever the reason may be, to see the fearsome soldier he had seen at Willowbrook now gently smile at him was unsettling in the extreme. It rose the hairs on the back of his neck, screamed for him to get out.

But it seemed the only way out was forward. He glanced down at his destroyed arm again.

Well, Librarian - I guess we've found our substitute.

He wasn't sure how to close the gap, eventually settling on simply trying to will himself forward. He reached out his arm toward the Kaslin-doll, and mentally braced himself.

This is going to hurt.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

In case it's relevant:
Holding Breath: 41/42 rounds remaining

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-06-28, 11:28 AM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

Kazik was taken somewhat aback. He'd have to admit that he had not expected the accretion of power to be quite so... literal. From killing to extract a medium of exchange, to exchange power, to kill further, to accrue yet more power. All to his own ends. However, with his mental state returned, so returned his mistrust. He knew that there must be some complication, some true purpose that this thing wished for him. Would it be so willing to tell him if he demanded it? Or would it feed him a lie?

He thought back to the arena on the lake, to the elf that had treated him tenderly. He had not thought of her, nor the woman Kaslin, nor any of the still remaining company now holding audience with the witch. Even with his sense returned he still had trouble remembering what had happened in the years since, of the strange elf, of his older companion, of the glassy chain now bound to him. And yes, of the polished die that he had recovered from the horrid nightmare! There were so many things that he wished to know, but as the sky above was split asunder, all he could think to ask in that moment was:

What is that?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Sense Motive: (1d20+17)[31]
Perception (1d20+17)[26]

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 [2] CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) [5 (-3)]Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

**Mornings** · 2020-06-28, 01:13 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:36 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

"That would be your companion..." The massive white comet-like flame cut a path across the stars, crashing off into the black canvas of space. The celestial thing seemed to pulse to life, growing vastly in size and speed like a pale puffy star being born while racing across the glimmering heavens. It was an awesome sight, a source of magical flame beyond any spell Kazik had seen or heard of. After a time it became far too distant, it's light pulsing like some cosmic light so far away it wouldn't even fit beneath the face of a coin.

While the distorted blob of bending light might have possessed an unnatural appearance, it appeared to be the easiest thing to understand by leaps and bounds thus far. Whatever circumstances existed behind the chain he carried, or that curious elf, it was now things lost to him. Time and moments from a life stolen from a version of himself which had failed, fallen and scattered. A Kazik who was now less than nothing. He would find no answers which would satisfy that hollow realization or the sense of loss in the wake of that last figment of rage from across the spans of existence. The Teller was simple. He was an existence which issued and processed transactions on a cosmic scale, a thing who measured a life's worth by a metric value. It had no moral tendencies, nor inclinations of good or evil. It was already plain that this thing did not even commune with its patrons in its native manner in a fashion such as this. Did it even speak? He doubted it. What Kazik understood of the thing was likely only what he could understand as a creature of bone and sinew, and this encounter was arranged in a manner which would allow him to interface with the entity. This 'Oculus' was apparently one of the Tellers three best customers, and now he was potentially that. To the Teller he was no doubt a fine investment, though he felt there was something more which he could not even begin to fathom.

The Teller was without a doubt the mightiest otherworldly thing he'd ever faced, and it was merely an unmanifest smudge floating before him. Thinking about it clearly, he doubted it had any reason to lie. In fact, the entity was likely so far beyond him, it could have spoke lies into reality, or forced him to believe anything it wanted unconditionally. Yet, it hadn't. That he could even still question the nature of their exchange was proof enough of that. It scratched at the back of his skull. The thing he didn't know. The 'third-factor', something he'd missed, or perhaps something he didn't understand. He didn't know. [Kazik | Sense Motive - Failure]

**Mornings** · 2020-06-28, 04:25 PM (ISO 8601)

Main Quest: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Ladder To The Sky (Complete)
The future was bleak. Awakening from the dream, Kazik and Erik woke to find a tragic broken world. With countless memories and years lost between them, the realization of the cruelty delivered by the magics employed against them finally begins to sink in. It was a malice beyond words, and loss beyond comprehension, where not even the awareness of it was allowed to persist... Only the emptiness. The depravity of the void which had slain every passion, every dream, every inspiration and moment that could be treasured by a mortal heart. The men they had been were dead now, in perhaps a far truer sense than any corpse could know. In some men's hearts burned the vengeance of the crippled and the wronged. In others rose the courage to let go. There were no easily won truths reclaimed from this blighted and wild dark. Here there were no words and no thoughts which escaped its thieving hand.
Difficulty: Unknown | Status: On-going | Profit: Unknown | Time: None
Primary Objective: Return to Ashurbanipal (Complete)
Alternate Objective: ~~Return to the Veil~~
Primary Objective: ~~Find the Librarian~~ (Complete)
Primary Objective: ~~Speak with The Dark Teller~~ (Lost)
Primary Objective: Unknown (Complete)

Motionless in the still vacuum, Erik extended his twisted hand out from above the garden. Immediately, he watched as the black skin peeled away like a scab. Flakes of darkness flickered away like falling leaves from his arm, with each one that fell, a piece of the shattered world seemed to snap back in place. The fires sharply vanished. The buildings jerkily twisted and found their way back into place. The great tower flipped back onto its base. The crags and chasms of the sundered world eerily shuttered closer until they closed. A whirl of blue and white painted itself across the barren sky. Clouds spun to life far above and begun a familiar dance. The twisting wreckage of a ruined world contorted and awkwardly begun to move in reverse, like a tape played backwards, reassembling itself and the mangled bodies of those whom had been caught in the tragic fall. With the last flake his arm was left bare, without armor or cover, though a scar remained in the palm of his hand. It was only then that he understood the destruction that arm had wrought. The world sprung into motion. Alive. Black. [Status | Erik - Lost Potential - Blackening: The Black Hand]

It was warm. The first rays of light from a noon-day sun filtered through the half-parted linen shades covering the window. They were white and simple, but held an almost subtle elegance in the complexity and care in their manufacture. The warmth cut through the room and kissed his cheek with a brightness he had long forgotten. It felt as if he'd opened his eyes for the first time in very long while. His eyelids strained and struggled, refusing to fully part, simply falling back closed. A woman's humming close by, accompanied by the scent of fresh coffee and hazel created a comforting air. He could feel the soft freshly laundered sheets beneath his hand which seemed to have its own unique aroma with a delicate sweetness, like almond.

He couldn't move his arm. As the strength slowly returned to his eyes he could see he was absent his armor and weapon. Medical gauze was neatly bound around numerous wounds to his chiseled chest, and his arm was broken but expertly splinted against a piece of curly maple and slung from his neck. From his place upon the large plush bed, propped up by numerous pillows, he could see one of his legs was elevated as well. Numerous supports braced it where it had likely been broken in multiple places. It was him... but he was so young. Perhaps a close to a decade of difference between the man he was and the man he remembered. There was a deep ache, the kind of ache he felt in his bones from a rattling blow. Whatever it had been, he'd weathered it well enough to only come back half broken, but alive. That was more than any man could say that braved the darkness.

At his bedside a woman softly hummed while reading from a very large and elaborate tome. It looked more like a grimoire than a light evening read, but the lady seemed immersed in its contents. The girl's face was obscured by the volume, but her long brown hair and frilled simple dress identified her well enough as a humble noblewoman. Far across the room at the mantle, his armor stood hung upon an armorer's rack in better repair than he'd seen it in some time, obviously fresh from the mend by how well it was polished. Above the fireplace the white blade lay seated in a sword rest made of highly polished ebony. Again, his eyes were drawn back to the woman with the book, but he didn't know why. He knew her. The memory escaped him, he couldn't recall just where they had met. He squinted to force his eyes to come into focus and see the large golden letters inlaid into the spine of the hefty book. It was called the 'Novella Orsus'. A strange name for a strange book.

"She can't hear you." A voice sounded out, breaking stillness of the woman's soothing song which had filled the small room. It was like a fist crashing through the mirror of his world. His eyes darted about searching for the source, until finally finding it. Another figure, seated back next to the old leather chair directly adjacent from his armor. It hadn't been there before, but there it was now. Haunting in the extreme, the feminine specter appeared as a taller lady clad in a long flowing black dress made of a wreathing miasma and funeral veil. The faceless wraith sat back in the large chair weaving together strands of infinite hovering crimson light being drawn out from floating void-like recesses in the space around here. "Can you imagine my surprise? The Lord of Ashurbanipal visiting my humble domain..." The dark spirit seemed to be speaking offhandedly, but it's faceless gaze unerringly remained focus on only him as its hands idly knitted the crimson light together. "Pray tell, my Lord. What brings you to L'Tu'Lantha?"

(Erik) Reclaimer of Jun'athal - Ashurbanipal
You are a Reclaimer of Jun'athal, one of the few who have unlocked a Passage within the Wild Dark and lived. The forces which released the key so too bound you to the Keeper of the realm, and into existence by extension. Regardless of how you might be slain you do not stay dead for long, as the creative forces of the Passage usher you back into reality.

Benefit: Upon your death you may choose to sacrifice 1d4/HD x 1000 in experience points, in addition to 1d10 points of a randomly selected ability score, to return to Ashurbanipal. If this would reduce your constitution score to 0, you gain the undead subtype. This ability does not function for Severance effects and other abilities which would remove you from the game. However, while in the realm of Jun'athal you are immune to all effects which would remove you from the campaign and damage inflicted by cursed wounds may be healed normally at a rate of 10 points of healing for each health point or ability point lost. While in Ashurbanipal checks to recover from cursed wounds may be succeeded with a substitute Heal check equal to 5 times the normal DC.

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +35,500 (52,100xp)
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-06-28, 06:36 PM (ISO 8601)

As he came to, and the aching of his body set in, Erik could only think one thing.

Well. That hurt alright.

His surroundings were alien, but not only because he didn't recognize them. As a mercenary, he'd become accustomed to rough accommodations. Camping the night in the wilderness, cheap inns or bunkhouses, those were his normal lodging. Cushy bedding, scented sheets and calm quiet were almost more uncomfortable - his body wouldn't let him relax. And without his armor or the weight of his weapon at his hip, Erik felt damn near naked.

Being so on edge from his surroundings, it was of little surprise when he jumped at the haunting woman's voice, good arm instinctively reaching to his opposite hip even as he looked at the sword above the mantle. This was promptly repaid with a burst of pain from his aching body, provoking a short, sharp grunt. The sudden shock having passed, he relaxed as much as he could back into the bed.

Listening to her voice, Erik tried to gauge her reaction to him. Did she think him an intruder? A potential business interest, given the nature of his new domain? When she was finished speaking, he mused for a moment

'Her domain'. She owns the place. Better play nice then.

Polite was not something Erik did well, but he could manage. When he spoke he used the tone he normally did with people of import, one that sanded off the rough edges and tempered the volume so as to not break the eardrums of the 'more civilized'.

"Your guess is as good as mine, ma'am. I returned the 'drop' I accidentally took from the Mados, blacked out and woke up here. Speaking of which, where is 'here'? I was in Ashurbanipal just a moment ago, then... somewhere else."

Even as he asked, he was already searching those fragments of his mind for the 'face' - or lack thereof - of the strange woman, as well as any mention of this 'L'Tu'Lantha'. As he worked through his mind, he could feel it was a bit slower after the removal of the drop. He would miss it, but that was fine. He saw what he'd done. He didn't want it. Not for that price.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Knowledge(Nobility) on the woman: (1d20+3)[23]

Knowledge(Abstract) on the woman: (1d20+8)[15]

Knowledge(History) on L'Tu'Lantha: (1d20+7)[11]

Knowledge(Abstract) on L'Tu'Lantha: (1d20+8)[26]

Sense Motive on woman: (1d20+9)[26]

And the all important instinctual stability check: (1d20+10)[12]

[-2,050 XP]

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-06-30, 09:10 AM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

"Curious..."

Kazik muttered to himself as the comet arced beyond the great black sky, though not without some pang of foreign emotion underlying it. He was the last of their group now, but that was not strange. He was a survivor at his core: This was not the first time that he had been the last man standing, and, he supposed, it would not be the last time. Still, as the heavenly body vanished long over the horizon, Kazik had come to realize that he had never learned the man's name. He supposed he must have at some point, during his lost years, but as he racked through his brain, he could not conjure it up. What was this feeling?

Weakness.

Yes, Kazik had to agree. He was a survivor, to linger on this, to feel regret, this could not be his way. This is not how he was taught. Still, as it revolved in his mind, it kept coming back to him. He felt it tug at his throat.

Bury it.

Yes, he mustn't linger. The man looked back upon the Teller, or where he assumed the Teller to be, and asked:

"My memories, how can I get them back?"

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

**Mornings** · 2020-07-03, 06:22 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:44 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

"Curious indeed..." There was a long pause of silence from the distorted patch before him.
After a moment it flickered, briefly vanishing before coming back into being. "...Memories, was it?" Kazik was keen enough to notice the change in the thing's words, or perhaps it would have been more correct to say it's tone. There was a
certain contemplative reservation in those simple words that spoke measures far beyond what he heard. Again, there was something he was missing.

"Such a fleeting, subjective thing. Unfortunately, to recieve an answer to your
question, you must first understand the problem to some degree..." 'Understanding' was the one thing he'd been the most short of throughout the entire venture through the dark and burning halls of the sanitarium, and beyond. Even then, what he had heard, was often too much to fully grasp. A truth as elusive as it was vast.

"Prior, I mentioned the Nightmare King. His people, the race of the Ros'wussrun, belong to his emptied Empire. A race of paramortal peoples which do not exist... in the traditional sense. They are not beings of flesh and bone. They are not beings of the physical, or real at all. Rather, they are creatures whom exist in the planes of woven from tumultuous consciousness. Entities whom are only assembled,
by not blood and sinew, but thought and memories, perpetuated by the great dreaming minds of the Dreamworlds. They can shed and inhabit physical bodies of their choosing like a man might try various sized hats. If they choose to walk in flesh, it means nothing to them at all. Thus, it is natural that their understanding and definition of 'the self' is far different.... far more alien, than your own. To the Ros'wussrun, the 'self', or rather, the true existence of any being is the culmination of their memories, experiences and mind. This is perhaps more literal for their race, but true for more mundane creatures as well."

The blurred space seemed to flicker out briefly once again, as if Kazik's ability to perceive it was beginning to wane. "It is only natural that battle and warfare between Ros'wussrun have also developed based around this core belief. What you refer to as 'Tainted Land' is a corruption of the divisions between the Three Worlds. Places not entirely mended from damages wrought upon reality. Here things from any of the Three Worlds and the spaces between are randomly drawn. Ensnared within these broken places. As chance would have it, these blighted areas tend to most often arise in places of significance or power, collapsing down upon one another. The Ros'wussrun you came upon prior to this 'life's beginning', razed the corruption and all within it with the Kulsula'Rei. The Prison Without Walls. An annihilating and forbidden spell known only to the King's Nightmare Witches. Even the mere utterance of its name beyond this Passage would condemn the speaker back to its depths. It is a magic so feared, it has not been seen since the great war between the Dreamworlds and the First King of Magic in the Old World... The World before the Three Worlds. All caught within the Kulsula'Rei are threatened by a terrible fate, as the spell fabricates a lifetime lived, far different from what is true. It slowly erases, erodes and replaces the consciousness and mind, until the spell completes ushering the lie into reality and re-writing the very Fates. To Ros'wussrun, this is true death. The person you were ceases to be. You become something, someone else..."

The distortion seemed to gesture matter-of-fact'ly in the masked man's mind, as if it were now moving onto the point. "This is why I cannot grant your request. No one can. While fragments remain, now banished to the Midnight Between - the realm of all things which cannot be. Those memories never belonged to you. That man is dead." The Teller seemed to gesture around itself to the massive array of tomes scattered about them, like a shadow he couldn't see. "Just as you could read the pages of a book. Knowing the words doesn't make you the author. It's an echo of some expression left behind in his words, but you can never become him. You can witness these words, but even then, they are only the fragments which remain. Distorted, colored and expressed by another man's mind. Incomplete, broken things. Far from the truth. Only moments of one man's perception, bereft of context or the meaning they might have once held. It is a lie not worth the price it would demand of you. Regardless of the lifetime lost, the end of the old has given you this beginning. Has let you, the man you are, live." Despite the strange thing's attempt at encouragement, he could feel a profound and unexplainable sting with it's last words. Somewhere, sometime, not here... A woman was smiling.

"It would be better to simply let those moments go."

(Kazik) Reclaimer of Jun'athal - Ashurbanipal
You are a Reclaimer of Jun'athal, one of the few who have unlocked a Passage within the Wild Dark and lived. The forces which released the key so too bound you to the Keeper of the realm, and into existence by extension. Regardless of how you might be slain you do not stay dead for long, as the creative forces of the Passage usher you back into reality.

Benefit: Upon your death you may choose to sacrifice 1d4/HD x 1000 in experience points, in addition to 1d10 points of a randomly selected ability score, to return to Ashurbanipal. If this would reduce your constitution score to 0, you gain the undead subtype. This ability does not function for Severance effects and other abilities which would remove you from the game. However, while in the realm of Jun'athal you are immune to all effects which would remove you from the campaign and damage inflicted by cursed wounds may be healed normally at a rate of 10 points of healing for each health point or ability point lost. While in Ashurbanipal checks to recover from cursed wounds may be succeeded with a substitute Heal check equal to 5 times the normal DC.

Spoiler: Kazik Status

Show

֍ Kazik +28,900 (47,100xp)
Attunement EXP 100 ^{(Attunment is the measure of a creature's sensitivity and ability to tap into the Fates)}
Weaving EXP 100 ^{(Weaving is the measure of a creature's ability to interact and alter the Fates)}
HP 92/92
AC 22
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Travel Influence Gained
⯎ Madness Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Darkness Influence Gained
⯎ Evil Influence Gained
⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Agility Influence Gained
⯎ Wisdom Influence Gained
⯎ History Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Doom Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Attunement Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Lore Influence Gained
⯎ Despair Influence Gained
⯎ Terror Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Persistence Influence Gained
⯎ Insight Influence Gained
⯎ Senses Influence Gained
⯎ Instinct Influence Gained
⯎ Vision Influence Gained
⯎ Sight Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Awareness Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Answers Influence Gained
⯎ Forgotten Influence Gained
⯎ Weakness Influence Gained
⯎ Strength Influence Gained
⯎ Chains Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Ancients Influence Gained
⯎ Power Influence Gained
⯎ Trade Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired [Black Dice x1]

**Deadguy** · 2020-07-06, 01:22 PM (ISO 8601)

Regina
Ghost in the Machine

Contacts. There was a price for such assistance, no doubt. She studied the man for a moment. He had said that all things within this realm were evil and untrustworthy. ALL. He hadn't bothered to exclude himself from the statement.

She wondered if she had made such a contact herself. Had she not met a manner of divine being when she had aspected. Would taking a chance to attempt to reach her be any worse than owing a favor to the priest and his unknown god-beings?

The blonde-haired girl was seared into Regina's memory banks. The image captured, the voice recorded. To be reborn, escape the world. Hadn't she done that. By dying. She closed her eyes and focused, attempting to recall her exact synapse sequence when she first made contact with She Who Lights the Way. Lapalila Khalakivos.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Sense Motive vs priest (1d20+8)[28]

Aspect - Concentration (1d20+13)[22]

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-07-07, 08:44 AM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

Kazik stared blankly at the Teller, his visage unchanging, both outer and inner. What was the thing telling him? That he was dead? Really and truly. But he was standing here, was he not? He could think and feel and breathe. Something couldn't add up no matter how much he thought about it, and it made him burn hot under his leather collar. He grunted:

"I don't die."

If he'd have to figure it out himself, then so be it. He was to return from whence he came? So be it. He had tasks left to perform there, a man to find, a woman to punish. A word crept into his mind: Nidal. He needed to return there. He would go back. But, he had one last question, as he produced the two items of darkly glass, the die and chain. Staring into the void, he questioned:

"These instruments, what is their purpose?"

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

**Mornings** · 2020-07-12, 10:30 PM (ISO 8601)

There were a few things Erik was absolutely certain of as he contemplated his unexpected predicament beneath the bed-sheets of the stranger's home. One. There was no so place as 'L'Tu'Lantha', or whatever she had called it. At least not by the definition of what he understood as 'real' or anything he'd heard of. Of course, at this point he was undeniably beyond the known realms of the Great Beyond. He'd left that behind a long time ago. Two. He had no idea who the strange woman was woman was who sat across from him... And finally. Three. He wasn't much for gambling or fruitless entertainment, but he'd never seen a more impenetrable poker face. Even behind the thin film of the funeral veil, his strange host was absolutely impossible to read. [Erik | Knowledge (Nobility) / (History) / Sense Motive - Failure]

The woman chuckled, as if she had heard something amusing. "My Lord, wishes to know who I am, and L'Tu'Lantha? This is 'the Midnight Between', an Otherworld, and like all Otherworlds, it does not reside within the Three Worlds. It is the place of all things impossible, all things which cannot be, and all which is unknown. The realm of the primal, forbidden and abstract..." A gleam of budding white light was ripped out from Erik's chest and flashed across the room into the crimson gleaming threads of energy the eerie woman knitted endlessly. She grinned devilishly. "...All who pay and hope to garner all knowledge, impossible and abstract, pay that price to me. Perhaps I tell those who beckon... perhaps not. Your Librarian would call me, 'a wicked, and necessary existence.' His bitterness dwells long, for he has never bested me in wit. But you, My Lord. May call me Lalaphra, Who Lay In Earth. Primarch of L'Tu'Lantha. Keeper of Byss. Consort of the Elghin'Mados. Guide to She Who Spoke of Endings. The Weaver of the World's Veil. Vassal to The Black. Do not speak my name lightly." [Erik | Knowledge (Abstract) - Partial]

"Introductions aside, my Lord. What can I do for you? "

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +1,200 (51,250xp) | [Abstract -2,050]
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-07-13, 09:38 PM (ISO 8601)

Erik's eyes attentively followed the white light as it zipped across the room. His mind clicked through each time he'd used his newfound power.

"So you're where that comes from... never had the chance to give it much thought."

Something tells me it's not a coincidence I ended up here, then... I can take advantage of this, at least.

Some part of Erik picked up on her phrasing, "all things which cannot be", and linked it to his uncomfortably-comfortable surroundings. He brushed the thought away - it was a reality he'd accepted long ago.

It seemed that nobility was the same all across the universe. So many titles, with so little meaning to one outside of the noble circle. He simply had to pick a title and hope he wasn't committing some faux pas by using the wrong one.

"If you could tell me how I got here, Primarch, it'd be appreciated. I don't know where I was taken to return the drop, or what happened after I fell unconscious. Only that it seemed to be quite far from Ashurbanipal. And second... I suppose you're the one to ask about that... ability to 'recall' information - is there anything more I can do with it? Any limitations to what I can 'ask?'"

Felt like damn near every sentence out of his mouth was just more questions. To be expected, given that he had been thrust into a whole world beyond Golarion, but all the same, it felt as though he was constantly on his back foot, every new entity holding bits of power over him just by virtue of knowing.

Damned questions asked once more, he looked back to himself. Returning the drop itself hadn't seemed to injure him, so they must've occurred after he'd blacked out. He looked closer, to see if there were any indications of their origin. Perhaps he'd merely fallen from the height he'd been floating at...

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Heal check to attempt to determine where his injuries came from: (1d20+8)[12]

**Mornings** · 2020-07-25, 11:24 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:44 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

The distortion seemed to twitch and flicker. Though no such thing existed, Kazik could imagine a towering creature covering its mouth as if to suppress an evil cackle; amused by the feeble mortal before it. "Perhaps with enough offerings to the Mados, your words might be true. Even the boons of Ashurbanipal have their limitations in sustaining you..." As Kazik fished out the old blackened die he had retrieved from Balin's final moments, he found a strange item had made it into his personal effects. The coins was pitch black, perfectly rounded and featureless. A subtle churning of a deeper darkness within its center behind its transparent surface. The twisted shape of the Teller loomed over to examine the items.

"Elsa's Cast. She does so love to play her cruel games. Despite the sadism of her gambits, few can resist the temptations. After all, for a game to be interesting, adequate incentive is necessary. I recommend you discard the thing and not play her games, least you surrender to temptation and leave your fate to chance. None have walked away after the die is cast, ensnared within her web, playing until they can play no more." Kazik could feel something shift in his mind, somewhere not here, some place displaced beyond a measure of time and distance he could not understand. An imaginary finger gestured to the coin-like device, a measure of surprise in the Teller's words. "This... How unexpected. L'Neau are tokens of power left in collapsed worlds. They are often wasted by mortals fashioning tools, but they can be used to prepare various suitable weapons by a skilled hand. However, their true use lies in the memories they contain. When scarified to the Mados, new powers may be acquired from those moments contained within... That is to say, if you bring these to me, I can unlock the various powers these devices contain and provide them to you for an appropriate cost. The abilities you recover will not be offered to others, even if you request it, so do keep that in mind. Only the Mados can determine who, other than the bearer, is worthy to receive such a boon. Additionally, there are rewards for recovering such tokens as well. The value of which varies per device."

The distorted thing seemed rather pleased with the discovery, pausing before dismissing the clear glassy chain. "A relic from your extinguished life. Somethings remain when a soul emerges from the Kulsula'Rei. It is like fierce water dissolving dirt. The grains of sand will be washed away, but the stones... The things which hold the strongest emotional ties, or parts of a soul's identity... Those take some time to dissolve completely. Not a true weapon, but a tool you've once imbued with magics from the Second World. Perhaps when you've recalled how you once used it, it will become a helpful tool once again, but you know what it is. Don't you?" Looking down at the spiked length of clear metal, so light and familiar in his hand, he could feel something burning in the back of his mind as the strange intricate sigils sprung to life across its every surface. Of course he knew... Somewhere deep down in his gut, he could feel a familiar fire burning. Flashes of moments he couldn't recall. A screaming. A terrible wretched hatred brimming unto a zealous madness unlike anything he'd known before. Insanity.

How could he forget that miserable broken tower, and the dismal irons of Glamden's Hallow?

(Kazik) Memory Weapon - The Irons Of Glamden's Hollow
The brief moments were faded and distorted except when the wretched chains were grasped in-hand;
Memories of the wretched tower which rose from the corruption far blow Blanchard Manor. Ensnared within that sinister prison. Captured and flayed from the burning stepel for days. The warmth from those links still burned with his hate and bitterness. Their rasp and ring, his laughter when Sparrow had freed him. Their chime and jangle, his own darksome smile when he hung him from the bell. Their sharp prongs, the delicious sting of embers and curdling screams.

Benefit: A Memory Weapon is an minor Veil-Woven artifact which functions as a Persistent Potential for the purpose of determining its availability. This Potential is possessed by all Aspects, Divergents, Reflections and Reincarnations of the original owner at no cost and cannot be suppressed unless specifically targeted by an effect which would disable it. The Irons of Glamden's Hollow can be dismissed as a free action and summoned as a move action a number of times per day equal to 3 + the user's total hit dice. If the weapon is destroyed, it may be summoned again with no detrimental effects. Each summon creates a separate instance of the weapon, but multiple instances of the weapon cannot exist at one time for a single Aspect. Multiple Aspects can create their own instances of the weapon normally. A Memory Weapon grows and unlocks its other features as it is used, but this growth is finite resulting in a 'completed' form of the weapon once all memories of the item are recalled by its wielder.

The Irons Of Glamden's Hollow
(Reinforced Layered Glassteel Spiked Chain +1)

Spoiler: Kazik Status

Show

֍ Kazik +3,000 (50,100xp)
Attunement EXP 100 ^{(Attunment is the measure of a creature's sensitivity and ability to tap into the Fates)}
Weaving EXP 100 ^{(Weaving is the measure of a creature's ability to interact and alter the Fates)}
HP 92/92
AC 22
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Travel Influence Gained
⯎ Madness Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Darkness Influence Gained
⯎ Evil Influence Gained
⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Agility Influence Gained
⯎ Wisdom Influence Gained
⯎ History Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Doom Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Attunement Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Lore Influence Gained
⯎ Despair Influence Gained
⯎ Terror Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Persistence Influence Gained
⯎ Insight Influence Gained
⯎ Senses Influence Gained
⯎ Instinct Influence Gained
⯎ Vision Influence Gained
⯎ Sight Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Awareness Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Answers Influence Gained
⯎ Forgotten Influence Gained
⯎ Weakness Influence Gained
⯎ Strength Influence Gained
⯎ Chains Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Ancients Influence Gained
⯎ Power Influence Gained
⯎ Trade Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired [Black Dice x1]
⯎ L'Neau'U'Jool - Black Coin
⯎ Memory Weapon - The Irons of Glamden's Hallow

**Mornings** · 2020-07-26, 01:01 AM (ISO 8601)

Erik examined himself more closely. It was true he felt the ache and pain of mending wounds, just as it was true those pains were treated and splinted. Yet... He flexed his arm, then his leg. He could move. He couldn't see it, the physical harm itself upon his body. Ripping off a split from his arm he held up the limb before his face. Unscathed. It hurt, yes, but there was no wound. The mysterious Keeper snickered at the bedridden man. "Oh, did you think you were actually wounded, my Lord? Heavens, no. Of course not. It's a pain of the mind. The closer you come to your severed ego, the further it will impact your consciousness and perception of what you know is real. You were like this once. Well, not you. Him. But this is how you envision yourself now. The remnants which linger can be such fickle things." [Erik | Heal Check - Partial]

The eerie woman paused at his questions. "How you arrived here? I cannot simply tell you. You haven't paid me, my Lord. Why don't we just ask?" Lalaphra turned her veiled gaze about the room, as if she were now upon a stage looking out across to an audience. "Well? Which one of you brought him?" The woman at his bedside shook her head, her face still masked by some compulsion, he couldn't look upon her. "It wasn't I, my lady." A grunt drew Erik's attention to the fireplace, crackling in with a soft blaze. The room was dark now. Even in the dim light of the hearth, he could see the man standing before the flames, a small girl no more than a year of age held in his arms with her resting head upon his shoulder. He didn't need to see his face. He could recognize his own back. "Quiet... I didn't call you here."

It was noon. The afternoon sun blazed through the open windows lighting up the room with a brilliance. The woman gathered about the table preparing tea and those finding their seats paused. A middle aged woman with a pale face and clean porcelain features looked up, shaking her head. "No... Not me." The young girl at her side looked down in silence before being swatted by the woman who had just spoke. "Alicia! Answer the Keeper's question." The young Witch shook her head fervently, sliding her hat from her head. "No, It was not me." The mercenary recognized the eerie figure hovering at the entrance to the room, standing in the doorway but refusing to enter the room. The Whispering Witch. "I did not bring you to this place." Her harsh rasping whisper cut through the air in a familiar way he'd never forget.

The older man, silvered with age but handsome and well groomed adjusted his garish cravat after finding his seat at the head of the table. He couldn't see his face. His vision could only rise up to see below the tip of the senior man's nose and strong jaw line. His voice was warm but powerful with an air of confidence that couldn't be feigned, "No Erik, I didn't bring you here... But we'll meet again, before the end." Another young woman, perhaps younger than the age as the youthful Witch sat at the end of Erik's bed, staring at him blankly, without blinking. "Ghlas, was it you?" The girl continued on unblinkingly, staring holes in the mercenary. "I don't need to humor your curiosity, child. I will not answer you question." The sound of the small girl's voice was massive and thundering, as if some titan spoke through some diminutive doll. Had this been the material world, Erik was positive the force would have ravaged the manor like a cacophonous explosion. Lalaphra paused her knitting of the crimson light, pondering for a moment as if in contemplation. "Would you like to summon him?" The small girl showed no emotion, but her great voice spoke out matter-of-factly, "I have no use for the Lord of Ashurbanipal here." That was good enough to gather the strange girl's intent.

"Then..." A soft voice chirped out from somewhere unseen, a girl's voice. "It was me..." Though there wasn't anyone there, a young woman poked out her head from behind Lalaphra's rocking chair. Her hair was a stark shimmering white and her round eyes were dark and full of worry. "Uma? I believe you owe the Lord an explanation." The girl rubbed her hands together nervously, looking down at the ground. The vision of all the various souls who once occupied the room vanished like mounds of salt being blown down by a sharp gust, leaving no trace of their existence. "I just... Didn't want you to forget. At least, not everything... As thanks.... So... I'm Sorry."

Lalaphra sharply clapped her hands as if to conclude something. "There mystery solved. As far as your awakening to the abstract, my Lord. I don't particularly care what you ask, though I can answer most things related to the Second World and the Third. At least those parts you are capable of comprehending... If the price is appropriate. Knowledge has unlimited application, my Lord. Some use it for great magics, others to create, or even circumnavigate the worlds. I'm sure you'll find suitable applications for the wisdom you gain, it's just a question of imagination and means. Many things will be useless to you, and even more foes will be unconquerable without the knowing."

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +1,550 (52,800xp) | [Abstract -2,050]
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained

LOOT
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3
⯎ Blue crystal with quicksilver veins
⯎ Black glass fragment

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-07-26, 09:58 AM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

"Hm."

Kazik stared at implement a moment longer, still digesting the churning emotions deep within his gut. Rage? Happiness? Pleasure? Or was there even a difference anymore? It was yet another incomplete memory, of torture without end, and the waiting in between. But for what reason had he been there? He was reminded of that elf again, but, further, was reminded of another task he yet needed to fulfill... but later. He had more pressing issues now, though he knew, if he kept putting it off, it would not be long before he could think of nothing else. The die; Despite the presence's warning, Kazik had now grown all the more curious to its nature. The man was strange, in that way, that a threat that would make most balk was enough to make him near salivate. He stowed it, as it might prove useful yet. Kazik looked back up to the looming shadow, and held the coin aloft. It was power that he was wanted, after all, and so who would he be to turn it down?

"This token. What can it offer? What will it cost?"

Spoiler

Show

K: History on Glamdren's Hollow (1d20+4)[23]

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

**Mornings** · 2020-07-26, 05:49 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:44 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

After the Long Night, the face of the world has been broken and changed. Some things which had once been had vanished, while other strange structures rose up where there had been none. All the maps were worthless. The world they had known was caught in a state of upheaval. Rumors of strangers, and Offworlders drawn in from the passing Night, and tales of dead cities haunted those left behind. Venturing too far was certain death without great numbers. The cloister, known as Glamden's Spire, was one such place. A great structure which emerged from the waters off the coast of the Hinterlands south of Bleaklow Moor near where the Foxglove River emptied out into the ocean. The cowled priests which dwelt there were mysterious and feared. They did not leave the grounds of their holy spire, and none trespassed upon their land. The enigma of the Spire was never solved. For the priests and their strange tower were consumed with the rest of the coast when the tainted land beneath the coastline outlet Collapsed, ripping a black void in the material plane. It was known as Point# 32, Glamden's Hallow. [Kazik | Knowledge (History) - Success]

The Teller's distortion flickered, "I'm afraid I cannot know the contents of your token until after it's been offered to the Mados, and its hold has been revealed. There is no simple way to know what is sealed within while the seal remains intact. As I have said, when it is offered, then these services may be provided. Not before."

Spoiler: Kazik Status

Show

֍ Kazik +700 (50,800xp)
Attunement EXP 100 ^{(Attunment is the measure of a creature's sensitivity and ability to tap into the Fates)}
Weaving EXP 100 ^{(Weaving is the measure of a creature's ability to interact and alter the Fates)}
HP 92/92
AC 22
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Travel Influence Gained
⯎ Madness Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Darkness Influence Gained
⯎ Evil Influence Gained
⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Agility Influence Gained
⯎ Wisdom Influence Gained
⯎ History Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Doom Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Attunement Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Lore Influence Gained
⯎ Despair Influence Gained
⯎ Terror Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Persistence Influence Gained
⯎ Insight Influence Gained
⯎ Senses Influence Gained
⯎ Instinct Influence Gained
⯎ Vision Influence Gained
⯎ Sight Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Awareness Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Answers Influence Gained
⯎ Forgotten Influence Gained
⯎ Weakness Influence Gained
⯎ Strength Influence Gained
⯎ Chains Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Ancients Influence Gained
⯎ Power Influence Gained
⯎ Trade Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired [Black Dice x1]
⯎ L'Neau'U'Jool - Black Coin
⯎ Memory Weapon - The Irons of Glamden's Hallow

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-07-26, 06:16 PM (ISO 8601)

As the visions disintegrated and the Primarch finished speaking on the knowledge she could provide, Erik sat in silence. He had really only subconsciously registered the Primarch's words, still attempting to process what he'd seen. Still trying to decide whether to stare blankly at where "he" had been standing or at the space behind the Primarch's chair where the girl who supposedly called him here had been.

None of them were real. These were the memories of a dead man. And yet, at least one of them was substantial enough to pull him here. Or so it appeared. Once again, he just didn't know.

The silence carried on, broken only by the ambient noise which seemed all the louder. Erik spoke again, almost as much to fill the void left by the myriad of voices as anything else.

"You won't - or can't - answer questions unless I pay you. Makes sense."

Erik began trying to move toward sitting up, attempting to push aside the pain with the knowledge that it wasn't really his.

"Then I'll pay your price - who was she? And thanking me for what? I'm not him, the man she knew. How can another man's memory bring me here?"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Uh, I don't know how exactly to pay her. I'll roll an Abstract I guess:

(1d20+8)[16][-800xp]

**Mornings** · 2020-07-26, 06:56 PM (ISO 8601)

The Keeper tilted her veiled head to the side. A familiar flicker of white light darting out from his chest and across the room. "A dead man's memory, you mean. Don't be so vain, my Lord. L'Tu'Lantha is not a world created for you. Fragments remain from your previous life, yes. But so too do they for others... For any who have suffered so, or suffered with you." The faceless woman continued on knitting while she spoke. "The influences of the remnants can be vast, even... insurmountable for some. For those who cannot let go. Not all remnants come in pieces. This is the world for all which cannot be. All which is not. There is great power in that, even moreso upon those whom linger in the places between the folds of existence where the Veil draws thin between our worlds."

The Primarch gestured with her occupied hands towards the mercenary. "Look at yourself. Do you think you are real? Tangible? Physical? No, of course not. You're body lays discarded wherever you have left it. As you are, you're merely a consciousness displaced, stranded far from what is real, and true, and whole. A thought can influence a thought, my Lord. It is not so grand a thing." Despite the pain and how real it all felt, he himself couldn't forget the sight of his own body falling in Ashurbanipal before he had been swept away. If what she said was true, it was likely his physical form was still back 'there', somewhere in the Library. "Ms. Oparz was also in Willowbrook. Not the real place, but ensnared within the dream, like you... But that's all the information you'll know for what you've paid." [Erik | Knowledge (Abstract) - Failure]

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +1,100 (53,100xp) ^{[Abstract -2,850]}
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained

LOOT
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3
⯎ Blue crystal with quicksilver veins
⯎ Black glass fragment

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-07-26, 09:16 PM (ISO 8601)

Now sat upright, Erik thought for a moment.

Right. So I'm still in Ashurbanipal, it's only my mind that's here. Not sure whether that's better or worse. Either way, it might be best not to stay much longer. Whatever constitutes 'letting go', lingering in dead memories doesn't seem to fit...

Erik imagined his body lying motionless on the floor of Ashurbanipal. He wondered if the Librarian was frantically trying to wake him, or cursing him for throwing his consciousness to who-knows-where. He leaned forward, addressing the Primarch again.

"Then I'm willing to pay more. You imply that this woman isn't just a broken memory, that she's real... or at least more real than... the rest of this."

With the last few words, Erik gestures vaguely at their surroundings. Waiting for the small white light to flash across the room, he ponders what it could be. Some memory that he didn't know he was losing? A portion of the training and expertise he had built up over his life? He couldn't even begin to guess what she did with such things. Though as bizarre as this world was, perhaps it was merely some form of currency, or she simply added it to her reservoir of knowledge to boast over others.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Another Abstract roll it is:
(1d20+8)[15]
Uuugh, tried to reroll in the OOC and got a friggin 12
[-600xp]

**Chromascope3D** · 2020-07-27, 07:59 AM (ISO 8601)

Kazik
The Hanging Men

Kazik chuckled, in a low, strained grunt. Of course it would not be so easy. But, what else would he use it for? Until a few mere moments ago, he had no idea that the token was even in his possession, let alone whatever it did. Even if it was wasted, what attachment should he have for it? He continued to hold the coin aloft.

"Take it."

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Kazik
Human Sentinel (Darkness Defender) LN
Scorn 14
Focus Points: 6/10
Deathsense: 9/10
Reserve Points 5/5
Martial Focus Yes
HP 92 / 92 [13 nonlethal] Speed ft Init 8 AC 22 Fort 10 Ref 9 Will 8 CMB +10 BAB 5 +1 Chain Whip +13 (+11) (1d3+8 (1d3+12) {+10}, x2)
Throwing Knives +12 (1d4+2, x2)
Dagger +12 (+10) (1d4+2, 19-20/x2) Str 20 (5) Dex 24 (7) Con 16 (3) Wis 16 (3) Int 14 (2) Cha 9 (-1)
Boons
Martial Focus

Conditions

**Mornings** · 2020-07-28, 12:42 AM (ISO 8601)

There was a moment of silence after Erik spoke. A long drawn out moment where neither one of them spoke. Only the occasional clatter from when the Keeper's knitting needles met. The words retorted back with a sigh, another flicker of light was ripped out from the mercenary's chest. "Nothing is 'more real' than anything else can be, my Lord. The 'Real' is a fluid and lucid state. It either is... or isn't. Regardless, that has no significance here in L'Tu'Lantha for the purpose of determining an objects state, or completeness. Fragments. Pieces... A whole. It doesn't matter, for they are all just remains in the end. Things cast off from the real all the same. How much is left doesn't change that truth." The woman shook a telling finger at him warningly, "That is all you'll learn for what you've paid, but hark. These feeble offerings are but a pittance now, but give too much and you will draw closer to this world. Closer than you'd care to be. That which is taken from those spaces between, has a way of returning in folds. If you wish to purchase knowledge, it would behoove you to do so conventionally... Like everyone else. With fragments."

The eerie woman paused her kitting, reaching into the breach of her dress and producing a key from between her breast. It was a strange thing, a pulsing distortion of bent light and passing moments flickering through its formless surface. "When you've gathered enough energy sufficient for payment, you might return and purchase what you seek. But ware. There are many keys, just as there may one day be many Lords, once again. The Key To Midnight is unlike any other. This key will not grant you a Passage, only unlock a door. Recover the second hidden key after, and L'Tu'Lantha will be yours. But know well... Should you unseal what this key secures. It can never be undone. The Three Worlds... The Garden, will be forever changed. The very balance between the Real and the Betwixt will shift. There is no right. No wrong. As a Lord, you've the right to choose... but if you were wise, you would let go of these foolish questions and abandon this key. If you were wise, you would not return here and never speak of me again." [Erik | Knowledge (Abstract) - Failure]

(Global Quest) Her Key To Midnight
Somewhere beyond the spans of the material and existential, in a realm which did not exist. Somewhere between. The Lord of Ashurbanipal met with the Keeper of L'Tu'Lantha, the Relicuum Lalaphra, Who Lay In Earth. There he was offered a choice, in the form of a key which could forever change the fate of all that was or could be. A choice which would echo forever through time.
Difficulty: Lethal | Status: On-going | Profit: Unknown | Time: Unknown
[Consequence] - Upon use of the key the Prologue will end. All quest's difficulty will significantly increase. After a set period of time, if the Primeval Dark is not stopped, the game will end.
Primary Objective: Accept The Key. Open The First Door To Midnight
Alternate Objective: Refuse To Accept The Key

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +3,000 (55,500xp) ^{[Abstract -3,450]}
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained
⯎ Seals Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained

LOOT
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3
⯎ Blue crystal with quicksilver veins
⯎ Black glass fragment

**forg99rules** · 2020-08-02, 12:13 AM (ISO 8601)

As the Hexe stood staring, she felt a cold pit forming in her stomach. She knew something she had said, something she had done, was causing even more problems for the Hexe now. When the Hexe finally spoke, she understood how bad she had messed up. The knowledge that she had spurned her ancestral patron was not something she had known, nor was it something that she had expected to hear. Sitting down in the chair that the Hexe had pushed her into, she listened intently to the woman's words. The pit in her stomach grew; the reality of her situation was being laid out before her. Her mind spun searching through the various beings that she had encountered. It was challenging to decide who was an enemy and who could be considered an ally. Looking up at the Hexe, "Figuring out exactly who is an enemy would be difficult, me being the Black Magister would bring more enemies if most of Duvan knew. As well I don't know what sort of changes were caused by me now residing in the Inverse. If my standing with others has not changed much due to the Inverse. I could come up with a few names of beings who aren't good standing with me. As for allies, that also becomes difficult to figure out. There are some out there that have helped me or that have shown respect to me. Of those, I am not sure who could be considered an ally." Running her hand through her hair, "There are a few names that stick out for Enemies and Allies. The Frozen Eternal Drejan'sila, she would be an enemy. She still has my Veil and has been actively trying to kill me. Lapalila Khalakivos could be counted as an ally; she helped me out when I was in Duvan both before and after the Inverse transfer. Gran Hexe Gehlaava as well could be considered an ally, though she might be more loyal to Tenebris than to me. Tenebris, of course, I would deem to be my ally as well, though I am not able to converse with her or seek her aid in my current form." She thinks over what the Hexe has said before once again speaking her mind. "Feels like I've just been following in my own footsteps. Causing even more problems and not having the power or allies to deal with them. I should have focused more on making allies than on gaining back my power. Of course, in the second world, having more power helps in gaining allies. I do wonder how one would gain Allies without having a good amount of strength."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

**** my Life... I got so few allies...

**Mornings** · 2020-08-03, 09:16 PM (ISO 8601)

22nd of Neth, Sunday | Time: 11:44 pm | AR 4713 (Winter)
Otherworld; L'Zho-Kenna, The Betwixt
L'Izz'tssa, The Passages; Ashurbanipal - The Towers

The distortion seemed to pause before the token was plucked from Kazik's hand. He could imagine terribly long lithe black claws lifting the coin away, vanishing in the Teller's unimaginable grasp. It sounded as if the creature took a long breath before producing a sigh. "Ahh.... There you are." There was a crack. Something Kazik couldn't see, much like the entity manifest before him, but he could feel it. "This token carries with it a reward of four-thousand fragments, and an additional fifteen-hundred for its fair condition. For your own measure, two-hundred-and-fifty fragments is enough to manufacture a significant spell, or spellweave. Enough force to kill numerous mortals if utilized skillfully. This reward is roughly equivalent to twenty-two perfect spells..."

Flickers of whirling white light, like streams of glittering silver washed over him filling his chest with a subtle yet immense force he'd never felt before. It shattered. That thing which have been splintered somewhere beyond his vision. A whirling darkness contained beneath its surface was released washing over him. The thundering fury of a dozen lives unhinged and howling in rage, was both familiar and overwhelming. It hammered into him, with flashes of moments from lives lifetimes apart. Despair. He could smell the stink of burning flesh. Hatred. There was an inescapable disgust and contempt which permeated everything and nothing spiraling out of control. Black. The formless bolt of nothingness reached out and struck him down from across the undefinable expanse, casting him down to the floor. His skin was shattered with mending black fissures as pieces of his flesh broke off and fell to the floor. [Kazik | Mana Break - 51 Points of Nonlethal Damage]

"Hm. Exchanging a token typically impacts a trait to the recipient, but if there is a significant disparity between the memory and the trait-bearer it can become quite.... burdensome." Of course that was an understatement, Kazik's mind was rocked by the blow as he watched his body desperately attempting to hold itself together, yet the fissures only seemed to be spreading. "When creatures tied to the Mados fully expend all of their internal reserves of energy, it causes this phenomenon. Most would suffer immense pain or be knocked unconscious before reaching this point, but the foolish few who ignore such warnings and deplete their internal force completely will continue to fragment and shatter until they are reduced to nothing more than dust..." After a moment watching the masked man break apart further, the Teller's form seemed to shift and Kazik could feel something inside solidify, halting his crumbling state. "...But we can't have that, can we?" Somewhere inside, he knew for certain, if his condition had persisted for much longer he would have simply broke apart like a figure made of salt. [Kazik | Trait: Improved Mana Conduit - Gain a starting MP Pool with a number of points equal to your current HD. This trait does not scale with future HD acquired, but this pool may be effected normally by other Potentials, traits or class abilities normally. If you already possess an MP Pool, it increases by this amount instead. You begin with 0 MP in this Pool.] [Kazik | Status - MP 1/7]

He could feel the Teller gesturing at him, "You can feel it, no? A mortal with an aptitude for Perfect Spells is rare in any universe, but you are an Aspirant of the Oculus so it's no surprise that this particular token bares more synergy with your undeveloped talents. While it might not be much now, it is further proof of your potential." Though faint, and while he had no way of testing it, Kazik could feel a difference. A sense that he could strike out with his very thoughts; that his will alone was enough to usher change into the world about him. [Kazik | Aspirant Trait (Oculus): Perfect Automatic Still Spell (Ex): Kazik can cast all the spells he knows without gestures.]

The eerie distortion shifted, moving back towards the large desk the Librarian had been seated. A sheet of paper begun to populate itself with text, burned into its surface at a remarkable pace, incomparable to both magic or deft quill-hand. "When a recipient offers a token, a number of Graces... Blessings from the Mados, become available. These Divine Traits are based upon the memories contained within the device you've sacrificed. Fortunately, Navarro left you quite the number of options. You may purchase any Grace from me at any time, both now or in the future. As you gather more tokens, your list of available options will increase."

Spoiler: Graces Unlocked - Navarro's Divine Traits I

Show

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Indomitable | (Cost: 1,500 Fragments)
You are not knocked unconscious via negative hit points or while dying.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Fight After Death I | (Cost: 6,000 Fgmts)
If you have died, you gain one attack as a free action which may be taken during any creature's turn. As long as you successfully deal damage to the creature that has killed you, your death is delayed to the end of the following round. If the condition which caused your death no longer exists (eg: negative hit points) you instead fall unconscious for 1 hour per round your death was delayed. This ability only functions for a number of rounds equal to half your HD + 2. This ability allows you to persist even from death effects and spells which would leave no remains, but not abilities which would erase you from existence or remove you from the game.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Improved Aptitude | (Cost: 4,000 Fgmts)
Increase your Arcane Aptitude score by 2.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Improved Focus | (Cost: 5,500 Fgmts)
Increase the size of your focus pool by 4.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Improved Spellfocus | (Cost: 2,000 Fgmts)
Gain a +4 untyped bonus to Spellfocus checks.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Grant Spellfocus | (Cost: 10,000 Fgmts)
Gain the Spellfocus unique skill

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Grant Arborization | (Cost: 55,500 Fgmts)
Gain the Arborization unique skill

⯏ Blessed trait, Minor - Corruption Resist I | (Cost: 5,000 Fgmts)
Reduce the DCs of corruption effects influencing you by 2

⯏ Blessed trait, Minor - Gravitational Distortion, Minor | (Cost: 5,000 Fgmts - Scaling)
float up to 5ft above the ground for up to 5 rounds per day. Duration is increased each time this trait is gained.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Soldify Ego I | (Cost: 15,000 Fgmts)
You may always attempt stability checks. You only risk Stability Break after a number of failures equal to your HD + 4. You receive a +4 circumstance
bonus to all stability checks.

⯏ Blessed Trait, Minor - Resistance I | (Cost: 4,000 Fgmts)
You gain a +4 bonus to all saves.

⯏ Learned Spell Immunity (Su) | (Cost: 550,000 Fgmts)
If Navarro is affected by a spell cast by a spellcaster, he thereafter becomes immune to that spell when cast by that particular spellcaster

⯏ The Eerie Cold (Su) | (Cost: 25,000 Fgmets)
A hit from any of Navarro's melee attacks induces numbing cold. The opponent must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 58) or be affected as though by a slow spell for 10 rounds. The DC is Charisma-based.

⯏ Maddening Rage (Ex) | (Cost: 15,000 Fgmts)
During his turn, Navarro can enter a rage at will, as a free action. While under the effects of a rage, Navarro receives a +14 untyped bonus to his Strength and Constitution scores, a +6 untyped bonus to Will saves and a –2 circumstance penalty to Armour Class. While in this state Navarro treats all creatures as hostile, and must attack creatures whenever he is able. This state of rage lasts until Navarro dies or there is no living creature in his sight. Navarro cannot end this rage voluntarily and the hit points he gains from increased Constitution are not lost first. Navarro may continue to use his skills and spells normally while enraged.

⯏ Furious Howling (Su) | (Cost: 45,000 Fgmts)
Navarro can unleash a bellowing roar as a move action, crushing his enemies with a wave of rage-filled corruption. All creatures, except corrupt entities, within a 20-foot burst must succeed on a DC 28 Will save or be stunned for 1d2 rounds. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by Navarro's howling for 24-hours.

⯏ Sudden Intensify Spell [Epic, Metamagic] | (Cost: 20,000 Fgmts)
You can cast a spell of extreme power without special preparation. Once per day when you are not flatfooted, you can apply the effect of the Intensify Spell feat to any spell you cast without increasing the level of the spell or specially preparing it ahead of time. You can still use Intensify Spell normally if you have it.

⯏ Perfect Arcane Evolution (Ex) | (Cost: 15,000 Fgmts - Scales)
Increase your caster level by a number of levels equal to half your HD. This ability does not grant additional levels for HD acquired after it's acquisition, but it's effects stack.

Spoiler: Spell: Damnation (Navarro) - Cost: 250,000 Fgmts

Show

Damnation (Navarro)
School: | transmutation (blackened) [forbidden]; Level: Sun'jathla 6, Ros'wussrun 4
Casting: Time 1 standard action
Mana: 15
Components: | V, S
Spite Points: 4
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: one creature
Duration: instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates and Will partial (see text);
Spell Resistance: yes
Navarro's blighted research produced many terrible spells. His
fondness for words of damnation led him to perfect numerous
forbidden spells, creating a magic far more potent and malignant
than any other.

You utter a word of pure loathing not meant for mortal ears,
which turns the target’s body and soul to ashes.
Unless the target succeeds on a Fortitude save, his body is
converted to ash, dealing 8d10 points of damage per caster
level you possess. If the target fails his Fortitude save and the
damage would be sufficient to kill him, his body is utterly
destroyed. If this happens, he must succeed on a Will save, or
his soul will also be reduced to ash, making it impossible to
bring him back to life without first restoring his soul (such as
through the use of a miracle spell).

Spoiler: Spell: Navarro's Cannibal Compulsion's | Cost: 450,000 Fgmts

Show

NAVARRO'S CANNIBAL COMPULSION'S
School: enchantment (necrophagy, compulsion) [evil, mind-affecting]; Level: Sun'jathla 7, Ros'wussrun 5
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Mana: 20
Components: V, S
Range: touch
Target: one living creature and his allies (see below)
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (see below)
Spell Resistance: yes
One of Navarro's earliest known spells. Developed solely for the
purpose of extracting his revenge from those whom had murdered
his family. He quickly discovered the horrid spell was most effective
when cast upon a target's allies instead...

With a successful touch attack, the target must do
nothing but start to consume its own flesh in the most
sickening manner. If it lacks exposed flesh (because the
target is wearing armor), it must first strip itself of any
impediments to its gruesome compulsion. It does this in
the most violent fashion possible.

It takes one full-round action to strip out of light or
medium armor and two-full round actions to strip out
of heavy armor. Once any armor is discarded, the target
gnaws and rips at its flesh, shoving pieces in its mouth.
When eating its own flesh, the target gains a +4 morale
bonus to Strength, and it must spend a full-round
action each turn to start gnawing on exposed pieces of
its own flesh. This deals hp damage equal to 4d4 + 2×
its Strength modifier for each full-round action spent
consuming flesh.

Each round, allies within 50 ft. that can see and hear this
activity must succeed on a Will save or become sickened
for the duration of the spell. When a creature is slain by
this spell, allies sickened by this effect become shaken
and nauseated for 1d4 rounds. If an ally successfully saves,
they are immune to this effect for the duration of
the spell’s effect.

Each round, the spell’s target can attempt a Will saving
throw to end this effect, with a penalty equal to twice the
number of rounds it has already been affected by the spell.

Spoiler: Kazik Status

Show

֍ Kazik +3,000 (53,800xp)
Attunement EXP 100 ^{(Attunment is the measure of a creature's sensitivity and ability to tap into the Fates)}
Weaving EXP 100 ^{(Weaving is the measure of a creature's ability to interact and alter the Fates)}
HP 92/92 (64 Nonlethal)
MP 1/7
AC 22
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Knowledge Influence Gained
⯎ Travel Influence Gained
⯎ Madness Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Darkness Influence Gained
⯎ Evil Influence Gained
⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Agility Influence Gained
⯎ Wisdom Influence Gained
⯎ History Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained
⯎ Magic Influence Gained
⯎ Doom Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Attunement Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Lore Influence Gained
⯎ Despair Influence Gained
⯎ Terror Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Persistence Influence Gained
⯎ Insight Influence Gained
⯎ Senses Influence Gained
⯎ Instinct Influence Gained
⯎ Vision Influence Gained
⯎ Sight Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Awareness Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Answers Influence Gained
⯎ Forgotten Influence Gained
⯎ Weakness Influence Gained
⯎ Strength Influence Gained
⯎ Chains Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Ancients Influence Gained
⯎ Power Influence Gained
⯎ Trade Influence Gained
⯎ Mysticism Influence Gained
⯎ Broken Influence Gained
⯎ Arcane Influence Gained
⯎ Exchange Influence Gained
⯎ Hate Influence Gained

⯎ Acquired [Black Dice x1]
⯎ L'Neau'U'Jool - Black Coin
⯎ Memory Weapon - The Irons of Glamden's Hallow

**Stevesciguy** · 2020-08-03, 11:23 PM (ISO 8601)

For a long moment of silence, Erik's attention fixated on key. Minutes felt like hours as he contemplated just what he had stumbled upon from the domino effect of merely trying to read the Witch. Arguing back and forth over whether accepting the key truly was foolish, or if the Primarch were merely afraid of what he wasn't. It was almost an impossible choice - accepting it offered the chance to dig deeper, but to do so before he'd even gotten the chance to familiarize himself with the alien world - worlds, even - outside Golarion...

When he finally spoke, his voice was low and measured, attempting to push aside the uncertainty for another moment.

"If I chose to accept the key... would it be safe with me until I used it, or is there the danger that it could be taken from me and used by another?"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

I'm not sure if I need this roll since I'm asking Lalaphra and not her body of magical Abstract knowledge, but just in case:
Abstract: (1d20+8)[18]

**Mornings** · 2020-08-05, 12:56 AM (ISO 8601)

The veiled woman paused. Though there was no outward difference in her expression, Erik could feel the intangible change in demeanor. The question didn't seen that odd, but that sensation had become all too keen and familiar. Once again, there was something he missed. "As the Lord of Ashurbanipal, I had assumed you above all others would understand the answer to that question better than any. After all, you are without peers." The Primarch closed her fingers, lowering her hand, reclaiming the device. "I should be the one asking you. Will it? 'Will my key be safe with you?' "

For the first time, the Keeper stood from her chair. The red lights of the threads she had woven vanished in a hazy powdery burst of glittering sparkles before being dismissed completely. "Perhaps you are merely the product of luck and circumstance. I will explain it to you clearly, as your incompetent Librarian evidently has not." She sharply lifted the device in front of the mercenary's face, "There is only one 'Lord'. The one whom carries the key and unlocks the door. Any challenger with the right may contest the key-bearer. If no such trail exists to determine a supplicant's worthiness, then no such judgement is made to deny or allow any would-be challenger. A key left openly in the Three Worlds may be contested by all. Every ruined and dreaming Seeker. Every man, woman, child and bastard with enough cause. Anything and anyone with enough knowledge to know what it is; they will all come for it." Once again she offered the device to him, holding it out in an open palm. "Planets. Entire planes. Realities, even. They have all burned as tribute in the War of Lords. No defense, no expense, no preparation should be spared in keeping it. That is the burden on a Lord, but far more is there to fear from the Peerage than those who would contest unclaimed rewards. For only a Lord can usurp the realms of another Lord. When a second crown rises, the War will resume, and Ashurbanipal will fall. So make your choice. Will you defend it. Can you? Or will you wait for it to be claimed by another? It will not remain in L'Tu'Lantha forever, of that you may be sure."

(Global Quest) Her Key To Midnight
Somewhere beyond the spans of the material and existential, in a realm which did not exist. Somewhere between. The Lord of Ashurbanipal met with the Keeper of L'Tu'Lantha, the Relicuum Lalaphra, Who Lay In Earth. There he was offered a choice, in the form of a key which could forever change the fate of all that was or could be. A choice which would echo forever through time.
Difficulty: Lethal | Status: On-going | Profit: Unknown | Time: Unknown
[Consequence] - Upon use of the key the Prologue will end. All quest's difficulty will significantly increase. After a set period of time, if the Primeval Dark is not stopped, the game will end.
Primary Objective: Accept The Key. Open The First Door To Midnight
Alternate Objective: Refuse To Accept The Key

Spoiler: Status

Show

֍ Erik +2,000 (57,500xp) ^{[Abstract -3,450]}
HP 53/53
AC 23
Spite: 2

Spoiler: Influences

Show

⯎ Survival Influence Gained
⯎ Exploration Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Secrets Influence Gained
⯎ Battle Influence Gained
⯎ Caution Influence Gained
⯎ Death Influence Gained
⯎ Omens Influence Gained
⯎ Curse Influence Gained
⯎ Defense Influence Gained
⯎ Fear Influence Gained
⯎ Spirits Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Pain Influence Gained
⯎ Life Influence Gained
⯎ Struggle Influence Gained
⯎ Teamwork Influence Gained
⯎ Perception Influence Gained
⯎ Investigation Influence Gained
⯎ Mystery Influence Gained
⯎ Reality Influence Gained
⯎ Martial Influence Gained
⯎ Time Influence Gained
⯎ Black Influence Gained
⯎ Void Influence Gained
⯎ Loyalty Influence Gained
⯎ Courage Influence Gained
⯎ Bravery Influence Gained
⯎ Guardian Influence Gained
⯎ Warden Influence Gained
⯎ Heroism Influence Gained
⯎ Truth Influence Gained
⯎ Memory Influence Gained
⯎ Destiny Influence Gained
⯎ Fate Influence Gained
⯎ Lord Influence Gained
⯎ Reclaimer Influence Gained
⯎ Traveler Influence Gained
⯎ Otherworld Influence Gained
⯎ Salvation Influence Gained
⯎ Annihilation Influence Gained
⯎ Balance Influence Gained
⯎ Penance Influence Gained
⯎ Astray Influence Gained
⯎ Seals Influence Gained
⯎ Worlds Influence Gained

LOOT
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Alloy Lancet
⯎ Acquired - ????: Unidentified Glass Rod Restraint x3
⯎ Blue crystal with quicksilver veins
⯎ Black glass fragment

Thread: The Primeval Dark (IC)

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