>>6410250
>Search the room for clues or useful items

>>6410250
>Take a crystal shard and explore the left tunnel that is shrouded in darkness

>>6410250
>Search the room for clues or useful items

>>6410263
>>6410769
Locked in and writing!

You look around the thrashed room, trying to find anything useful or anything that could explain how you came to be. You pick up one of the torn up books and the shiny crystal shard in an attempt to decipher their contents. You recognise the symbols inside. The book is describing the magical process of transmuting copper into iron, but is missing a lot of pages and you cannot gleam any insight out of it. Most of the books are like this, treateses on magical transmutations, enchantment or alchemy in many languages or scripts, singed, torn apart or sliced up. After sifting through interesting, but incomplete books, you notice one of the bookcases had a secret compartment in the back. It used to be protected by magic and likely made invisible, but any charge the spell had was long gone. You reach in carefully with your fat clay fingers, but the items inside remain beyond your grasp. After fiddling with the hole and what remained of the mechanism for a few minutes, you have enough. You forcefully tear the wooden and metallic compartment and find a vial, full of opalescent green liquid and an untitled book . You open the book, but cannot understand a word. It is written in a spidery, loopy handwriting, with no pictures. While you are examining the book, you hear an echoing hissing sound that is coming out of both tunnels. The sound is accompanied by scraping steps and quiet thuds, like wood hitting stone. Whoever is making the sound is slowly coming closer. The noisemaker might be friendly, or might not.

>Hide in the dark tunnel to the left and wait for the noisemaker to pass
>Wait for the noisemaker in the ruined room
>Ambush the noisemaker by playing dead
>Try to outrun the noisemaker by running through the dimly lit tunnel
>Write-in

I will also need you to roll 3 hundred sided die to determine how successful you are in your actions.

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>Hide in the dark tunnel to the left and wait for the noisemaker to pass
Let's do our best statue impression

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>6410899
>Hide in the dark tunnel to the left and wait for the noisemaker to pass

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>6410899
>>Hide in the dark tunnel to the left and wait for the noisemaker to pass

File: dnd-character-lizardfolk-(...).jpg (118 KB, 600x900)

118 KB JPG

(One failure, one success, one great success)

You decide to avoid the unexpected clawed visitor and just wait them out in the shadows. Stepping lightly into darkness, you make sure you do not make any noise despite your bulky frame. You hold the journal and the vial tighter, concealing them. While you make your way through the tunnel, you miraculously avoid all the fragile junk in your way and take your place next to a rectangular shape, doing your best to resemble a decorative sentry. The sound becomes louder and a small blue floating light soon emerges from around the corner, followed by a large, thin silhuette. After it comes closer, you see a large bipedal reptilian, holding a huge wooden staff, fitted with gleaming metal. They are wearing light leather armor with a short sword in their belt. The style is entierly practical, worn, but well maintained, without decoration. The replite uses the staff to hit various objects in its way while hissing under its breath. Their feet are bare and finished with sharp claws, which are making the scraping noises each time they hit the floor. The lizard quickly inspects the room, moving some of the broken items out of the way, seemingly searching for something. After a minute, they start checking the only closet left, which is the one near you. You feel a strange sensation, a need to get the hell away from them, but you suppress it. They start taking a few flasks out of the closet. The flasks are filled with viscous liquids, but none of them seem to be what the lizard is searching for because it tosses them back into the closet hissing:

Ussselesss!

Before turning to you and observing you for a minute. The feeling intensifies and you can barely control yourself. If you were not made of clay, you would be trembling. The lizard is marked by straight red lines on their gray, scaled face. Their face is long and their teeth are sharp and yellow teeth of a carnivore. They start to wave their stuff around, but seem to change its mind after the floating light comes closer, giving them an opportunity to observe you under stronger light. Its eyes are dark silts and contempt is dripping out of their voice as they repeat:

Ussselesss!

before leaving, joining another scraping, hissing lizard and leaving the room in near darkness. You slump in relief after you cannot hear them anymore. Just as you want to leave, you notice a faint blue glow. It is coming out of the closet, where the lizard smashed the vials. You hear quiet knocking, like wasp was hitting a window repetedly.


>Follow the lizards and try to find out more about them
>The lizards seem bad news. Try the opposite direction
>Check the wasp in the closet
>Write-in

>>6411338
>>Check the wasp in the closet

>>6411338
>Check the wasp in the closet

>>6411338
>>Check the wasp in the closet

File: Falero_Luis_Ricardo_Lily_(...).jpg (326 KB, 1072x2145)

326 KB JPG

>>6411367
>>6411369
>>6411624
Locked -in and writing.

With the lizards gone your curiosity gets the best of you and you slowly peak into the closet. The smashed vials are everywhere on the upper shelf, obscuring your vision of the glowing object. You clear the glass out to get a closer look and you find a small humanoid, trapped in a glass jar. You realize it is a faerie woman. She has shiny, blue and green butterfly wings as big as its lithe body and is otherwise stark naked. The bottom of the jar is filled with glowing blue dust which had to be the light source. She freezes when she sees you, but starts banging on the glass with renewed fury:

Oi, golem! Let me out right now or I'll pry those stones you call eyes right out of your skull!

Her high pitched screeching sounds like a flute made by an incompetent and untalented shepherd. You remember fairies are impulsive, mischevious and hate captivity. This is a shame because they have many magical and alchemical properties amd are frequently kept in cages. The knowledge floods into your mind, almost overwhelming you.

Faerie wings are used in flying magic.
Their dust is a powerful stimulant when snorted or ingested.
Their blood is a strong magic booster.
Their hair can be used to increase the power of enchanted items.

Let me out you lumbering oaf!

Her deafening scream brings you back to reality. You try to respond, opening your mouth, but you are unable to form words. Of course. A golem is supposed to listen, and obey. It has no need to speak. You are a tool to perform your masters bidding. But why are you plagued with these thoughts? Why were you created like this if you are unable to communicate with the outside world? The fairie starts banging both of her fists on the glass, waking you out of your rumination. Can she be trusted to remain friendly to you if you let her go? But she is small, unlikely to seriously threaten you despite her loud mouth. If you had lungs, you would sigh. If only she could lend you her voice...

>Let her out of the jar. She might be grateful and lend you assistance.
>Take the faerie with you in her cage. She might prove valuable in the future.
>Crush the faerie and use her blood to enhance your magical powers.
>Leave the faerie be. She is of no use to you.
>Try to communicate with the faerie in writing (write-in)
>Write-in

[Spoiler] Not putting naked faerie due to SFW. Sorry for AI [/spoiler]

>>6411848
>Let her out of the jar. She might be grateful and lend you assistance.
Only if she promises to be NICE though!

>>6411848
>>Take the faerie with you in her cage. She might prove valuable in the future.

>>6411848
>Try to communicate with the faerie in writing (write-in)
Agree to let her out if she promises not to attack you

>>6411852
>>6411922
>>6412179
Hmm, three-way tie. Much worse than a threesome. I'll wait this out a bit to get more votes.

Also, I seem to have gotten the spoilers wrong. Can anyone help me get them right?

>>6411852
I'll change this to
>>6412179
since my vote's pretty much the same thing

>>6412427
For spoilers you don't capitalize the first one. If you want an easier way to do it you should be able to just highlight the text you wanna spoil and press Ctrl+s.

If that doesn't work it's
[s poiler]text[/spoiler] without that space between s and p. Hope that helps!

>>6412435
>>6412179
Ok, then I'll need you to roll 3 d100, to see how well can you communicate.

Thanks.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>6412609
Here's hoping we roll 'fairy' well

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>6412609

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>6412609

>>6412610
Oh you.
>>6412846
>>6412867
Damn bros, these are some really rough dice, two failures and one critical failure.

Locked-in and writing.

You eye the fairies little tantrum. This will not do. You need to make sure she will be on your side if you let her out. But how to communicate? Aah, you could try to write her a message! You rack your mind for a suitable from of writing and where to write. You look around and your eyes rest on the leaked potion. You could use it as ink, and the strange implements (You mind whispers: Pipette!) could be used as a pen! You start writing on the back of the closet door in the most common tongue you know:

I will let you go, if you promise to help me and not attack me.

The faerie did not even notice your writing, but has started pushing the lid off while frantically fluttering her wings and grunting in high pitched screams:

MOVE! MOVE!

You tap the glass to try and get her attention which startles her, causing her to fall down into the three finger deep layer of faerie dust on the bottom of the jar. She pull herself up, sneezing and causing an entire duststorm in the jar. You impatiently tap on the glass again and on the closet door, trying to get her to look there. She sniffles and wipes her face, and angrily growls:

You big hunk of clay, stop scaring me and let me out!

You desperately grab the jar and shove it next to your writing, tapping on it again. She starts to sob and yells:

All right, I will help you with your problem, just let me go!

You are ecstatic! She will help you find a voice and in the mean time act as your interpreter! You will be able to do what you want and achieve your goals! You quickly unclasp the lid. She looks up and uncertainly flies out, still sobbing. She slowly flies out to your face and you pull back a bit, but she dows not seem aggressive. Is she going for a hug? You let her do her thing and she suddenly shoves two handfulls of faerie dust into your nose. You step back, shocked. Fearie dust does not work on golems, there is nothing in your memories to suggest it could. You don't even have a real nasal cavity, this should do nothing to you. Your head starts spinning and you are SPEED! You can do anything if you put your mind to it! You are sure you can just find something to use as you voice box here in this room! You can dig your way to the surface, find your creator and make him spill all his secrets!

In the next half an hour, you smash all the furniture in this room while searching for useful items, tearing, breaking, shattering. After destroying everything that was still standing and finding nothing useful, you start digging yourself out of here. You manage to tear a few pieces of stone out of the wall before the effects of the drug wear off, chipping your hands in the process. The faerie quietly sobs in the corner while you are riding your high.

>>6413074
You slowly regain your senses, look around at the destruction you have wrought. You feel like a fool. You approach the faerie. She cowers when you move close to her.

Please, don't hurt me! I promise I will make more dust for you.

You drop down and start qriting with the potion:

I will not hurt you. I want to know why you gave me the dust.

She read the words and starts stammering:

W-w-ell, master always wanted me to give him his treats and I thought you wanted to-o.

You nod and start writing again:

I do not want to have the dust ever again. I want to get out of here and gain my voice. Do you know a way to get it?

She looks at you, confused.

I'm sorry, mister. I don't know a way out or how to get you a voice. But if you want, we can try to get out together. The world is big. I'm sure we can find something to be your voice. I can speak on your behalf. What is your name? Mine is Belle.

Your head spins. A name? A companion speaking for you? You have never thought about this.

Fearie dust addiction stage 1: Mild. You do not have difficulty stopping snorting faerie dust. You have difficulty refusing it if it is offered to you or if you could snort it easily. You do not have any withdrawal simptoms.

Your hands are damaged in your binge. Your health drops by 1. Current health: 7. Max health: 11.

You have three choices to make here:
1.
>Pick a name for our golem

2.
>Accept her request
>accept her request, deny the need for an interpreter
>Reject her

3.
>Explore further into the dimly lit tunnel
>Try to pry off more of the rocks and make your own tunnel
>write-in

The next update will be next week because I will be drinking and eating heavily during the weekend. Family stuff, sorry.

>>6413075
>Name: Brick
>Accept her request
sweet, sweet DRUGS
>Write-In: Ask the fairy to scout ahead. Also what's their name?

>spoiler
No problem, QM. Enjoy! Thanks for running so far

>>6413075
>Name: Mordre
like old times.
>Accept her request
>Explore further into the dimly lit tunnel

>>6415197
>Observe the statue
We're kind of a statue so
also qm for italics you do [i]text[/i]

>>6413215
>>6413076
Still alive, guys. Thanks for your patience

You have never had a name beyond golem, or servant. No need, you suppose, your former master just needed you to do their dirty work and nothing else. While you rack your brain for an answer, you have a brilliant idea, perhaps a remnant of the dust. You will just name yourself! You push some rubbish away to gain some space and write:

I am Mordre the Brick. And who are you?

I have already told you, you silly statue! I am Belle, daughter of Aisling. I was trapped by a witch who obsessively sniffed my dust. She couldn't get enough of me, shaking me day and night, lending me to her friends. I can't remember how long I was in her captivity, but I soon felt drained...

Her voice trailed off.

After a while some people grabbed me in the middle of the night and the next thing I remember is your clay face.
Don't like it here though. Can we go somewhere else?

You are surprised by her sudden chattiness. She was crying just a minute ago. You suppose faeries are mercurial creatures, with temperamants as volatile as sand oil. You are not interested in staying, so you pick yourself up and point to the room where you sprang to life. You take a long stride, walking through the dark hallway and the first room towards the dimly lit hallway. Belle is riding on your sholder and hanging tight. The hallway is comparatively short, but its walls are oranately carved with flowery patterns. The walls have numerous holes in the patterns, where you assume used to be imbedded gems, before robbers scraped them out. When Belle noticed, she whistled:

Fjoo, pretty rich for a cavern in the middle of nowhere. I wonder who took them.


She sniffed and almost gagged before you could answer.

What is that smell?! It smells like a whole bunch of cows died and were left to rot in the midday sun! You go on ahead, I'll wait here for a bit and catch up later.

She was hunched over and seemed ready to lose her lunch. You went on ahead towards the huge chamber. You couldn't smell a thing, which you were grateful for when you entered the large archway. The floor was littered with corpses in various state of decay. Human, lizard, others you could not recognise due to their advanced decomposition. The celing has caved in, but the massive arches were still four times as high as you. The walls were cracked as if shattered in a massive earthquake, but the gemstones were intact, complementing the floral patterns. On the other side of the chamber there was a singed device whose purpose you could not understand. Next to it stood an obsidian black statue of a strange insect. You could not recognise it, but the amount of appendages seems... off.

>Check the corpses for cause of death
>Investigate the device and try figuring it out
>Observe the statue
>Call Belle to help you with your search
>Try prying the valuables out of the walls
>Write-in

>>6415207
Thanks bro, I deleted the original post when I noticed. I will that your vote into account.

>>6415209
>>Check the corpses for cause of death

>>6415209
>Check the corpses for cause of death

>>6415465
>>6415465
Locked-in, but I will take >>6415207
Into consideration. I need you to roll 3 d100 and 2 d6 to proceed.

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>>6415793

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>6415793

Rolled 1, 4 = 5 (2d6)

>>6415793
If it's okay I'll also roll those 2d6's

>>6415848
It's cool. If no one else rolls the third d100 in the next 12 hours, people who have already rolled can roll again.

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>6415793

>>6415805
>>6415832
>>6415848
>>6416068
Good rolls bros. One critical success, one great success and one success. Locked in and writing.

You walk to the nearest intact corpse and bend down to observe. It is a middle aged man, drapped in an expensive dark blue satin robe. His face is an image of pain, body twisted and bent. Whatever killed him had to be swift, brutal and relentless. All of the corpses seem to be littered in the same direction, like trying to escape from the statue or the machine. You see that the corpses are not decomposing further and notice the dead insects that are lying around the corpses. Your mind rings Cloud of death. Images of dying people flash before your eyes, of inscribed spells on obsidian and of dark twisting energies draining all living things in vicinity. You realize the entire chamber is under a strong necrotic spell, killing all living things in range. Because you are mostly clay, the spell does not affect you immediately, but will need to penetrate your natural defenses. You have time to look around. You observe the statue and try to find the source of the spell. You trace you finger along its long, hard legs, touch the spidery torso and knock on its claws and eyes. The spell is anchored there, but such strong magic needs a power source. You trace your fingers along the walls touching the gemstones. The gemstones are loose and you unconsciously pick them up as you search for the source. The search brings you next to the device. It is sending pulses of unrestricted energy into the room, discharging the bleeding, overloading power core and accidentally synchronizing with the death spell in the statue. You check the machine again. It is larger than you and just as imposing. The marble command deck is in front, leading to the long bronze pipes pointing straight to the celing. On top of the pipes there is a huge brass globe, hinged on top and bottom. It appears like it should be spinning, but the globe is dead as a golem. Broken glass is lying everywhere, the power lines on the bottom are torn but the command deck is clear, if dusty. On the command deck there are three dials marked X, Y and Z. There is a note on the deck:

Home X149 Y362 Z372
Lab X54 Y462 Z254
Storage X10 Y473 Z132

You stare at the note and then it hits you: This is a teleportation device. The platform next to the deck is the landing platform and the broken glass was the entrance waygate. If you could repair it, you could operate it and get the hell out of here! There are even basic repair tools under the rubble, a magical welding rod, a hammer and some conduction nails. You could hide Belle under a large piece of protective glass to protect her from the spell... A hiss forms on your skin and you realize you have to get out quickly and decontaminate before the spell hits YOU. Stepping with alacrity, you move along the other side of the chamber, grabbing a few of the gems off the wall along the way, getting more than a fistful.

>>6416290
When you exit the chamber, Belle is already waiting for you several steps away, pale, but determined. She squeeks:

What's inside? Is it safe?

You shrug. You explain in a few words and wonder if it is worth repairing the device. The danger is great, but the opportunity... You have some time to think while you are decontaminating. What do you do while waiting?

>Jam the diamonds into your mouth. A golem needs a winning smile. (Stat increase)
>Get to know Belle more in depth. Maybe she has an idea
>Read the looted book. Maybe there is a useful secret inside.
>write-in

Where to go?
>Repair the device and go:
>1. Home
>2. Storage
>3. Lab
>The risk is too great. Go back to the lizard territory
>write-in

>>6416291
>Jam the diamonds into your mouth. A golem needs a winning smile. (Stat increase)
>Repair the device and go:
>3. Lab

>>6416291
>>6416470
+1 to this! To the LAB!

>>6416291
>>Jam the diamonds into your mouth. A golem needs a winning smile. (Stat increase)
>1. Home

>>6416470
>>6416474
>>6416476
Locked in and writing.

When you observe your reflection in a puddle on the ground, you realize you look shabby and worn out, like a statue someone has tossed out and forgotten about. This will simply not do! How can you walk among the people looking like that?! They would assume you are a slave of some third rate alchemist. You look at the precious stones you have pried out of the walls and pick all the diamonds out. Each is as large as a quails egg. You take one and jam it directly in front of your jaw, damaging the fired clay surface of your mouth and forcefully fitting the diamond in. The process should be excruciatingly painful, but you feel nothing, which makes you uneasy and Belle's yelling into your ear:

Yeah! Jam the bastards in! You'll be the most expensive golem in the history of golems!

Only makes it stranger. Still, you press on and are soon a proud owner of shiny, brilliant dentures that could crush bones, granite pillars or steel plate, in whichever order you prefered. You forge a binding spell on your new teeth, fixing them firmly in place. You smile at Belle and and she giggles back, a sound not unlike a tiny, out of tune tit bird.

Your Charisma increases from 1 to 3

Now please, gentleman, roll me 3 d100 and 2 d6 to see how well you repair the teleporter.

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>6416600
Watch THIS

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>6416600

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>6416600

Rolled 3, 4 = 7 (2d6)

>>6416617 #
>>6416756 #
>>6416885 #
Alright, I'm rolling the d6, then I'm writing.

Two failures and one great success.

You write to Belle:

We are getting out of here. I can fix the teleporter and we can leave this forsaken place. I will bring you protecton from the necrosis spell, then we sprint to the teleporter and blink out of here.

Alrighty mr. Mordre, I'm game. Anywhere has to be better than here.

She answers, the determination drawn on her face clashing with her squeaky voice. You go back into the death chamber and examine the device. The power lines are partially torn, the resonation chimes are twisted and what is the biggest problem, the direction sphere is completely missaligned. The power lines supply the power to the spell, the chimes provide a conduit to the ether, through which you travel and the direction sphere ensures you arrive at the coordinates you specify. All of them need to be in working order if you wish to teleport. You take the hammer and start working on the resonation chimes. You slowly straighten them out, hammering in the right shape. Your fingers are too large for the tool and you manage to fix roughly two third of the chimes before you break the hammer handle. It will have to be enough. You take a break, decontaminating yourself for a bit before you return to work.

You check the cables and follow where they lead with your finger. You understand where each cable has been torn, take the welding rod, provide the starting jolt of mana yourself and start welding the copper nails to the torn cables. Your work is not professional, but considering the shabby quality of the tools and the materials it is adequate, even good.

After another break, you come back and climb up the pillar next to the teleporter. You reach the direction sphere and start twisting and turning it into the correct direction. After solid 10 minutes of fiddling the sphere buzzes and starts turning. You flash your brilliant in a bright mockery of a smile. You've done it! You only need to grab Belle and that's it!

You slide down the pillar but before you reach the ground you hear scraping along the walls, like a hundred lizards are coming this way. Have they sensed that the teleporter has turned back on?! You panic and grab the biggest piece of bent protective glass you can reach and sprint towards Belle. She chirps:

Mordre, monsters! Lets bail!

You stuff her under the glass and sprint back. Fireballs start raining behind you, deafening you with their explosions. Belle starts unintelligibly screaming when you reach the corpses, but you have no time to react, you run to the console, set the coordinates to "Lab" and start the teleporter. The entire machine brims with energy. The chimes starts shaking and singing like a xylophone. You ignore them and pray to whichever gods that can hear you for the chimes to hold until you finish teleporting. Belle starts wheezing when the lizards appear at the entrance. A large hissing, staff wielding lizard points his staff at you and a bolt of energy wooshes out. You jump into the machine, barely making it before the bolt turns into a gigantic fireball that engulfs the teleporter, shattering the chimes. You don't have any time to care however because you are already flying through the aether towards your destination. Lights fly in unrecognisable patterns through the aether, wind, that is not wind, howls with the voice of a thousand dying hamsters. For one eternal second you float through the aether but are soon cruelly ejected into a pristine, dark space 3 paces in the air. You fall down, flipping over a table covered with crystal instruments. They fly in an elegant arc and shatter in a cacophony of broken glass and metallic clanging. Belle is lying on the floor next to the table, skin an unnatural pallor, groaning. The room seems silent as a grave, except for strange steps that seem to come from far away.

Your front clay plate has broken along your chest, exposing a bit of your insides. Your health drops from 7 to 5 (max=11).

Belle was not protected during your sprint towards the teleporter and has taken the full damage from the death cloud. Her health drops to 1. (Max=8)

>explore the room
>check yourself
>check on Belle
>check the strange noise that is coming from outside

Thanks for your patiance guys. Do you wish to see the full stats of our characters in the future or do you prefer these mechanics obscured?

>>6417130
>check on Belle

>>6417130
>check on Belle
I wouldn't mind seeing stats at least once so we know what we're dealing with

>>6417130
>>check on Belle

Sure

>>6417391
>>6417392
>>6417397
Alright, locked in and writing.

Here are the stats:

Mordre the Brick
Strenght 6
Body 5
Dexterity 2
Intelligence 4
Charisma 3
Willpower 2
Health 11 (current=5)
Move 8
Defense 7
Perception 6
Initiative 6
Stun 5

Skills:
Change magic 2
Brawl 4
Alchemy 2
Craft - Blacksmithing 2
Language 3
Magical devices 2

Talents:
Made of clay
Photographic memory

Flaw:
Mute

Belle
Strenght 1
Body 2
Dexterity 5
Intelligence 3
Charisma 3
Willpower 4
Health 8 (current=1)
Move 7
Defense 7
Perception 7
Initiative 8
Stun 2

Skills:
Illusion magic 2
Animal handling 2
Acrobatics 4
Performance 2
Larceny 2
Stealth 3

Talents:
Magic dust
Flight


I'm using a modified ubiquity system from hollow earth expeditions that includes magic and resolves using d100 to better fit the board culture. I was thinking to include style points, but they are awarded for good roleplaying and it seems silly to pat myself on the back and give you a style point for my "great writing".

>>6417450
I've forgotten:

Belle
Mana 14

Mordre
Mana 13

>>6417391
>>6417392
>>6417397
You pick yourself up carefully off the table, trying to minimize the damage to your front plate. Your eyes immediately go to Belle who is lying in front of the table, completely immobile. You walk to her, bend down and observe her. She is pale, with her long blonde hair disheveled and sprawled all around her. Her dust is sprinkled around her and you have to fight the urge to sniff it. With an extraordinary effort of will you tear your eyeballs away from the shiny narcotic and check her breathing. It is shallow, but steady. She's just unconscious. You gently lift her and place her in her jar, leaving it unscrewed and hide it behind the table leg. A bit of sleep will do her some good. After taking care of Belle, you look around the room. A dim magical light reveals a cramped storage and travelling room. The table you crashed on has one alembic still intact, the rest is, you presume, broken laboratory glassware. In the back there are dusty shelves full of strange jars filled with unknown liquids, assorted animal body parts including a large reptile skeleton and trinkets, odds and ends. On the other side there are large shapes, some as tall as you, covered with thick woolen blankets. In the back, there is the teleporter, dead silent, dusty. Like it has been never used. When you turn away from the teleporter, you see one closed door, reinforced woth metal, that seems to be locked. The steps are certainly coming from behind it and are getting closer.

>Check the hidden shapes
>Try to open the door
>Find some useful loot from the alchemical ingredients or trinkets
>Observe the teleporter
>Write-in

>>6417542
>>Check the hidden shapes

>>6417542
>Check the hidden shapes
Shape up!

File: ariel_s_voice_by_minika_r(...).jpg (76 KB, 1329x601)

76 KB JPG

>>6417653
>>6417658
You decide to ignore the ingredients and the teleporter and leave the steps outside the as a problem for future Mordre. The strange shapes have caught your attention so you step closer and feel up the nearest hidden object. It is hard and unyielding, with elegant contours. You grab the woolen blanket and dramatically pull it off revealling an large purple bench with torn cushions and golden handles that are peeling off. You pull off the rest of the blankets and you reveal a garish scarlet couch that has white stains all over cushions, three rickety tables and four chair with missing legs. When you pull the blanket off the largest piece you reveal a large black piano. The piano is clearly worn, but well taken care off. You do not dare pressing any of the ivory or ebony keys but you assume it is still perfectly tuned. The note holder is empty, but on the piano there is a bright shell about the size of your thumb, encased in solid glass. It immediately draws your eyes, your memory whispers mermaid . It couldn't be! A mermaid's voice could be grafted and moulded into your throat and provide you with a voice, provided you could manage the correct spells. Your hands shake when you pick the glass pearl and place it next to your ear. It's gentle murmur, like a whisper of the waves is all the conformation you need. But how to get it out of the glass? It would be almost impossible to use it in this state. You could try smashing or melting it, but you risk damaging the shell. You could also try finding an abrasive material to grind the glass down, but this would require patience and a steady hand.

>Melt the glass with a calcinator
>grind the glass down with an abrasive that you can find here
>Try finding the ingredients for the binding spell first
>Stash it for later and go explore something else:
>1. Door
>2. Shelves
>3. Teleporter
>write-in

>>6417918
>Try finding the ingredients for the binding spell first

>>6417918
>>6418307
+1 this!

>>6417918
>>Try finding the ingredients for the binding spell first

>>6418307
>>6418308
>>6418324
Allrighty, locked-in. Please give me 3 rolls of d100.

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>6418403

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>6418403
Here goes!!!

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>6418403

>>6418421
>>6418441
>>6418654
Two successes (one by a hair) and one critical failure.

You place the seashell bead inside your bag and start rummaging through the shelves at the other end of the storage room. You discard the strange horns, claws and teeth. They are of no use to you. You observe a few jars for anything useful and see a few that capture your interest. One is full of rocky centipedes that seem to crawl all over each other in a frenzy of legs and torsos. Their juice can be used to regrow limbs, but only if its fresh and in enormous quantities. Unfortunately the centipedes feed exclusively on living flesh and one accident could leave a person dead or crippled. More than one alchemist has met an ignoble death at their jaws and some were not accidents. The other interesting jar contains floating imp eyes which seem to follow you whereever you go. They are used in potions of invisibility and sight enhancement, but spontaniously combust when exposed to air. The rest are uninteresting or spoiled. Moving to the next shelf, you find a wide variety of powders, most are used in enchanting physical, non-living items. They are in pretty bad shape like someone tried to ransack them, but was disrupted and had to leave in a hurry. After searching for a while you still find crushed bluebird beak powder and distilled banshee ectoplasm. The ingredients are a bit dusty, but just what you needed for the binding spell. The rest are pretty standard strenght and elemental enhancement powders, but could only be used on metallic materials. Useful for a smith, but not without a smithy. Curiosity leads you to the next shelf, where different talismans, trinkets and odds and ends are stored. Most are made of precious metals, gold, silver, platinum, but you see nothing that isn't broken, damaged or twisted. Most might even be magical, but the shelves look more like an attic of an old goldsmith.

>>6418829
One bracelet in particular grabs you attention. It is made of gold, big enough for a golems hand and still gleaming and lustrous. The bracelet captures your mind and you simply cannot stop yourself. You have to have it! You reach out and the bracelet springs to life like a venomous desert snake and coils around your hand. You can feel it suppressing your mind and horror clouds your judgement. You have donned a golem control bracelet. It links you to the mind of anyone with a golem control rod and it forces you to obey their mental commands like you were an extension of their body. There is no escape, only servitude. Your mind swims in panic and you grab the bracelet and desperately try to pry it off you wrist. The thing sees baked in your clay and you grab the biggest animal bone you can find and ram it inbetween the bracelet and your hand, using it as leverage. It creaks and you feel a glimmer of hope as you try to twist it in the slit, but the loud crack of the bone dashes it and black despair fills you to the last clay grain. You will never make it out of here. You will be a servant forever. It is enough to make stone weep and rocks whimper. You don't know for how long you have been lying on the floor, but you remember that you can still move as you wish and this means you are still free. For now. You can unclasp the bracelet if you find a control rod and cast the unbinding charms, freeing yourself from this accursed object.

DAMN ALL HUMANS AND LIZARDS, WHO HAVE INVENTED SUCH EVIL OBJECTS! DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!

Your thoughts buzz with rage and you are ready to find a control rod and get the thing off. It has to be near. This hope is the only thing keeping you from losing your mind.

Gained bluebird beak powder and banshee ectoplasm. Inventory: potion in a glass vial, small book, mermaid voice in a glass bead, 20 gems (no diamonds) golem control bracelet.

You lose 2 points of willpower. Willpower=0. Consequently, you also lose 2 points of mana and health. Mana=11, current health=3 (max=9).


>Get through the door by force
>Wake up Belle and ask her for help (with what?)
>Write-in

>>6418834
>Get through the door by force

>>6418834
>>Get through the door by force

>>6418834
>Get through the door by force
HULK SMASH

>>6419139
>>6419207
>>6419295
You approach the door with furious abbaddon and grab the metallic hinges and start pulling, twisting and rattling them. They resist as best as they can but after a solid minute of wrangling them they start to rattle, pop and crack. You twist them off, one by one. On the last, sixth one, you just use the door as leverage and the hinge gives in like a bone in a rabid dog's muzzle. The door hits the floor with a loud thud and you see an old, brick hallway, well lit with magical lamps. The lamps are made out of glowglass, shaped like a torchfire and they lit the hallway with warm yellow light. At the end of the hallway there is a twisted wooden staircase, still well lit amd made of dark, rich oak. You advance into the hallway and the steps you heard outside the door start squeeking down the stairs. You go into a boxer stance, ready to pounce on anything that would come down. The steps are steady and you move closer at the edge of the stairs, ready to sucker punch the thing as soon as it get in range. The stair just above you squeeks and a clay leg appears on the next step. You are so surprised you for get to grab or hit them and a moment later a clay torso and head walk right into your face. It is a basic face, much like yours but even less distinct. Its mouth is a sliced hole and eyes dull granites. It takes a second to get a good look at you, then it turns back and lumbers up the stairs, judging you as one of their own. Or perhaps not a threat. You are not sure which. You follow him up and soon arrive in a more comfortable hallway. There are three doors in here.

>>6419484
You decide to check them out, carefully, one by one. You open the first one and see a basic golem inside, equipped with steel gauntlets, guarding the lab, filled with alchemical equipment. It activates when you look in, but after a long stare from its dark granite eyes it. Assumes prevoius position. There are several cabinets behind the tables filled with familiar equipment. Opening the cabinets or using the equipment could turn the golem hostile, so you decide the check the other rooms first. The second room is a basic bedroom with a old, unwashed bed, a washstand amd a closet. There is also a smaller golem inside clothed in a maid's outfit, but otherwise as featureless as the previous ones. It silently observes you when you enter, but makes no other moves. You move on and explore the third room. It is a smithy, with three large golems guarding an ashy fireplace, an anvil and a wide assortment of smith tools. In the corner there is also a strange altar-workplace with clay, stones, sculptor and magical tools surrounding it. The golems pay no more attention to you than the rest of them. No control rod anywhere in sight. You will need to conduct a deeper search, but the golems seem like they wouldn't appreciate you browsing the rooms.

>Search the alchemical room, there is only one golem here and you can use alchemical substances to overpower it
>Search the bedroom, the maid looks weak and easy to overpower
>Search the smithy, the sculptor's tools are rousing your curiosity and you can pretend you are on patrol.
>Wake up Belle and use her stealthiness to search for the control rod upstairs
>write-in

>>6419486
>>Search the smithy, the sculptor's tools are rousing your curiosity and you can pretend you are on patrol.

>>6419486
>Search the smithy, the sculptor's tools are rousing your curiosity and you can pretend you are on patrol.

>>6419496
>>6419679
The smithy calls to you, especially the sculptor's tools. You are certain they could be useful, perhaps even point you to the control rod. You assume your best patrolling pose and hope for the best as you march through the smithy. The shiny, beady eyes of the golems are following your every step of the way, but they do not make a move. The unmoving oculars, so similar to yours, unnerve and worry you, but you wear your best confidance mask. You are meant to be here, you say in your mind, while you are examining the sooted fireplace. The smithy has extensive runic coverage, suitable for complex and powerful enchantments but the runes are worn out and would need to be rewritten with ink made out of salamander eyes to be useful for enchanting again. The weapons and tools scattered around the forge are not remarkable. They are rusted and dull. They might have been well crafted once, but time has worn them out. You move forward and see a massive battle axe hung on the wall that was hidden behind a pair of pillars. The handle has gilded boars cravings and the edge is bright and sharp as a razor. You feel magical energy radiating from the weapon like a warm light of summer sun. Next to the pillar there is the sculpting atelier, filled with tools that are in considerably better shape than the smithing ones. The mallet and the chisel are brimming with magic, despite looking ordinary. The worked stone in the middle was granite with dark red occlusions which makes it look like a piece of ember. The clay is placed in the four buckets, coveted with water . It still looks malleable, despite staying here for who knows how long. A memory stirrs in your mind. Use the gray one to fix the smaller golem! A stern looking pale woman commands you and you gently fill the cracks in the smaller golem's skin. The memory fades, but you find yourself directly in front of the bucket with the gray clay. You press forward and observe the back of the smithy. There is a book, splattered with blood on a small stone table. The table looks like a sacrificial stone, with runes you recognise. They assist with essence transfer and are usually used in necromantic rituals. Not something you are interested in, but they might be of some use. There is only a stone wall beyond the table. You have to turn back to convincingly embody a patrol. The question is: do you wish to use any of the useful objects in the smithy or do you judge this too risky?

>Refurbish the runic smithy using salamander eyes from below
>Use the grey clay to repair yourself
>Read the necromantic book
>Use the sacrificial stone to graft mermaid's voice into your throat
>This is too dangerous. Leave (where to?)
>write-in

>>6419933
>Use the sacrificial stone to graft mermaid's voice into your throat

>>6419933
>Use the sacrificial stone to graft mermaid's voice into your throat

>>6419933
>>Use the grey clay to repair yourself

>>6420094
>>6420110
>>6420184
Alright, locked in. Please give me 3 roll of d100. I will count the highest one only for success rate due to good ingredients and suitable transformation conduit.

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>6420427

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>6420427
HEH

>>6420725
>>6420728
Oh man, I hope the third one comes in with a win.

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>6420427

The last roll saves the day.

You turn back to the sacrificial stone, ready to get your voice and connection to the outside world. While walking there you feel excitement, fear, joy. Emotions swirl inside you and you feel like you might burst. You step to the stone, ignoring the stony stares of the golems and wipe the blood off and start tracing the runic patterns. Blood is a good conduit for magic, that is why amateurs use it in so many rituals, but you could also use salty water and its effect would be the same. You take the ingredients out of the bag and place them on the altar. You mix the blood with the crushed bluebird beak and channel some magic into the runes you trace, once, twice, three times. Then you take the banshee ectoplasm and smear it all over the crystal bead, containing the mermaid voice and infuse it with magic again. The golems start to move toward you and you know you have to act fast before they reach you. You ram the infused bead down your throat and a burst of magic shoots through your mouth when the voice fuses with you. The golems are nearly upon you, fists up and ready to beat you down when you gain command of you new vocal cords:

HALT!

Your voice is an average sounding baritone, a bit raspy, like a elderly taskmaster who is used to yelling at their people. The golems stop in the positions they are in and they look like a deranged sculptor depicted a lively brawl. You try your voice again, breaking the scene:

Return to your posts!

They obey without pause and take their place next to the walls. You feel like singing and dancing. You open your mouth, but you do not know any songs to sing, so you close them again. Still, you feel elated! The world seems brimming with possibilities until you accidentally bump the altar with the command bracelet. This brings you back to reality. There is work to be done.

Flaw: Mute removed

>Leave the room to search any of the remaining ones (Bedroom or Lab)
>Refurbish the runic smithy using salamander eyes from below
>Use the grey clay to repair yourself
>Read the necromantic book or the book you have brought with you
>Check on Belle
>write-in

>>6421027
>Use the grey clay to repair yourself
Just before we get banged up by another trap

>>6421027
>>Use the grey clay to repair yourself

>>6421027
>Use the grey clay to repair yourself

>>6421029
>>6421202
>>6421354
Locked-in and writing. Please roll me 2d6 to see how well you have performed the repairs.

Rolled 6, 4 = 10 (2d6)

>>6421456
Rollin

>>6421644
Because the golems obey your commands, you decide to use the clay to undo some damage you have suffered in your recent misadventures. You step towards the clay in the atelier, grab the masons trowel and start applying the grey clay to your wounds, taking special care to fill all the cracks you can reach. You pay special attention to your fingers and carefully repair the damage you have suffered in the underground tunnels. There are no mirrors here, but you use the stagnant water pools to check your back and the back of your legs to find any additonal cracks as best as you can. After filling the cracks with clay you take a cloth rag off the ground. It is dirty and worn, but still good enough to wipe the excess material off of you. Then, you cast a series of heating, changing and connecting spells on yourself, drying the clay and integrating the filled cracks into you skin. You feel ready to take on any challenge after the ordeal and actively plan what to do next, when a tiny voice whispers in your ear:

"Oi, big guy, there are three golems just waiting to pounce if we make a wrong move. Lets get out of here!"

You recognise the voice as Belle and you turn around, trying to see where the hell she is.

"Stop trying to see me. It looks suspicious. I'm invisible."

You reply:

"Allright Belle, but there is nothing to fear. They obey me."

There is a pointed short pause, then she screams:

"You can talk!? Why didn't you say something sooner?! And the golems obey you?! Is this some sort of trick?! I will never go back into the jar, you hear me, wizard!"

She seems to fly away from you and you assume is making an attack pose.

"Calm down."

You reply, with amusement in your voice.

"I used a spell and mermaid's voice to give myself the ability of speech. I am not a wizard and you don't need to go into the jar, if you don't want to."

She hisses, still suspicious.

"Look, if were a wizard, would I ever free you from the jar?"

"No, I suppose not. Oh, this is amazing Mordre! You can speak! Tell the golems to do a headstand!"

The sudden change in her voice from hissing suspicion to shrill excitement is almost too much for your sensitive ears. You endulge her, making the golems flail around like a jester trio. Belles laughter sounds like an out of tune piccolo. It is as hilarious in its own right as the clumsy golem dance, but every dance ends and you need to think ahead and figure out, what to do next.

Mordre gained 10 health. Current health=11=max health. Belle gained 3 health from sleeping. Current health=4. Max health=8

Mordre uses 4 mana for repair. Current mana=7. Belle uses 4 mana for the invisibility spell. Mana=9

>Leave the room to search any of the remaining ones (Bedroom or Lab)
>Refurbish the runic smithy using salamander eyes from below
>Read the necromantic book or the book you have brought with you
>write-in

>>6421647
>>Read the necromantic book

>>6421647
>Read the necromantic book

>>6421686
>>6421901
"Hey Belle, I'll just read this book over here to try to find what is this place and who was the owner."

"Eww, it is so bloody. I'll just play with golems over there."

You leave Belle to mess around with the golems, which she is smearing with the differnet clays, pick up the necromantic book and start reading it. The pages are covered with blood, but most of it is still legible. The rituals and spells described inside are various life force stealing and corpse reanimation spells which are not of great interest to you, so you skim through them. All of them require a victim or a reciever of the benefits and that cannot be you. Undead servants just seem too much work and are a bit too similar to you for comfort. Just as you wanted to put down the useless book, you encounter a page, covered with scribbles. It contains a spell that is supposed to bind a thinking spirit in a corpse. The scribbles describe using a construct, one that has never lived instead. A golem. Your head spins in vertigo as you realize the implications. You tremble, but force yourself to read on. The spell is supposed to forcefully bind a spirit to animate the remains and do the casters bidding. The scribbles describe forcing the spirit into a golem, with some small modification of the spell amd using rare ingredients, such as basilisk teeth and fearie dust. The use of a construct increases the durability and the magical potential of the spirit, enabling them to be modified as their creator sees fit. Both of them together paint a picture of an insane mage, one who is creating a thinking armada of nonliving beings for their own nefarious purposes. Are the golems thinking beings here? You look at them, covered with different color clay. You cannot be certain. One thing is certain though. You need get the control bracelet off and get the hell out of here.

>Search the bedroom
>Search the lab
>Use the teleporter in the basement (where to?)
>write-in

>>6422038
>Search the lab

>>6422038
>Search the lab

>>6422038
>>Search the lab

>>6422460
>>6422461
>>6422466
You decide to search the lab. You are certain to find some tips and answers there.

"Belle, come, lets search the lab."

"Really? Oh well, these statues were getting rather boring."

She flies over your shoulder in a neat piruette and you meet the hallway guard at the door. He does not pay attention to you at all and turns around, taking you for granite. This suits you just fine, but Belle whispers:

"Rude."

You reach the lab, walk through the door and Belle sighs:

"Oh boy Mordre, I smell dead people again. Why don't we ever go somewhere nice, where is smells like honey and flowers, where people would worship us."

"We can go somewhere nice as soon as we get out of here. And I'll settle for not getting killed over worship. Living people dissapoint their worshippers and then they get destroyed."

You reply, unsurprised there are more corpses in this forsaken place.

"Aren't we cheerful today. Tell me again how we are going to die."

Belle murmurs, clearly annoyed. You do not reply and start checking the lab. The three tables are clearly three experimantal set ups. On the other side of the table there are three cabinets. One is locked, one unlocked and one is opened and a dim blue light shines out. Of the set ups, only one is still standing. It has a water destillation flask with three openings plugged in a magical glass chiller and another flask plugged on the other end of the chiller. The destillation flask has a small fireplace under, but the fireplace has long burned out. The other two openings are closed with a cork. The rest of the glassware is partially smashed, but it was clearly high quality. When you step to the other side of the tables, you see what has likely smashed them. There are two decomposing corpses on the other side of the table, dressed in dark, drab and plain clothes of a footpad. Both are clearly women, with small bodies, suited for sneaking, climbing and gwtting through partially opened windows. Next to their bodies there is the prize they have died for. There are piles of fearie dust on the floor, mixed with glass shards and small bones that must have belonged to fearies. Belle moans when she sees them, a small, sorrowful sound. You are not able to soothe her though. The dust calls to you and it is taking all of you willpower not to drop down and start snorting the shiny luxury. The closet is full of broken jars and bright fearie dust as well.

Please give me two rolls of d100. I will take the average and check how well you resist your addiction. You need to roll 55 to pass. You can pick multiple choices here after the check is resolved.

>Take the contaminated fearie dust. You can sell it to addicts since it comes pre-cut with glass shards
>Open and search the unlocked cabinet
>Have Belle pick the lock of the locked cabinet
>Soothe Belle
>Leave the lab (where to?)
>write-in

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>6422571
I would hope we could do multiple actions here...
>Open and search the unlocked cabinet
>Have Belle pick the lock of the locked cabinet
>Take the contaminated fearie dust. You can sell it to addicts since it comes pre-cut with glass shards

>>6422591
Correct, multiple choices are possible, as long they are not contradictory.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>6422571
>Open and search the unlocked cabinet
>Have Belle pick the lock of the locked cabinet

>>6422571
>>Open and search the unlocked cabinet
>Have Belle pick the lock of the locked cabinet

>>6422591
>>6422960
>>6423008
Throw failed.

The urge to snort the faerie dust is overwhelming. It calls to you, shiny and crystalline, promising power and insight. You bend down, ignoring Belles whimpering and SNIFF. You head spins in a kaleidroscope of color and you are full of energy, ready to take on anything. The effect is milder than you remember though. Might be the glass shards inside. They do not bother you, but they would impact dose.

"Belle, open the locked cabinet, I will search the unlocked one!"

She looks at you clearly worried and upset, but complies. You open the cabinet and find it full of lab equipment. You toss some of the less useful pieces out, not bothering if they shatter or hit the ground with a loud clang. They are of no use to you. After you reach the bottom of the cabinet, you find sturdy jars, similar to Belles jar. They are empty, but you could fill them with fearie dust and save most of it for later. Use it, sell it, the possibilities are endless. You take all five of them out and start filling them with the shiny energy powder when Belle squeeks:

"Mordre, I have opened the cabinet. Wow, shiny!"

When she says shiny, you immediately drop the jar and check the newly opened cabinet. Could there be more dust!? You disappointment is immeasurable when you find the top shelf of the cabinet is full of golden flasks, closed with a cork and sealed with wax. You turn around, back to the fearie dust, when a surprisingly sober thought hits you: which liquid would need a golden flask to remain stable? And the seal? This is likely highly valuable. You need to check. There are 7 flasks, so you can afford to waste one. You take one out, break the seal and open the cork. Belle immediately reacts:

"Sniff sniff. Mmm, what is this sweet smell? Give me a taste! Now!"

You wanted to block her, but even with your enhanced reflexes she is too fast for you and dunks head on into the flask. After a second she springs out, spraying a golden liquid all around, splashing you, the corpses, the ground, the dust and the cabinets. Where ever she sprayed liquid on the cabinet, wood comes back to life and springs branches, filled with leaves. Belle positively glows with health, sighing:

"That was amazing."

Belle health=max

>>6423605

You realize what is in the flasks. It is ambrosia! It is supposed to be a myth, but the powerful concoction can make a living being immortal for as long as they keep drinking it. It can heal practically any injury and in sufficient quantities revive the dead.

You look down at the corpses. You could become a master of life and death. All is in your grasp. Besides, if you do not use the opened flask, it will spoil in a couple of days. You are already unliving, so the ambrosia has no use for you, but you could revive one dead person lying on the floor.

Addiction level stable.

>Resurrect the smaller women with a dagger in her hand
> Resurrect the bigger women with a crossbow on her back
>Resurrect a girl fearie
>Resurrect a boy fearie
>Resurrect no one and leave the room with your loot (search the bedroom or go to the teleporter)

>>6423606
>> Resurrect the bigger women with a crossbow on her back

>>6423847
I feel like interest in the quest is waning. Kinda wanted to wait for at least one more reply before writing. Do you guys find the direction of the quest boring or did I introduce elements you dislike?

>>6423606
> Resurrect the bigger women with a crossbow on her back
>>6424753
I wouldn't worry about it, OP. Sometimes quests just start off slow. One thing I can say as a reader is that a lot of these options feel kind of blind? Like I don't really know what the outcome will be so sometimes I feel like I'm just throwing stuff at a dartboard. Can't speak for other players but that's how I feel at least. Still enjoying it!

Also probably couldn't hurt to post a link or something in the qtg so that people might check it out.

>>6424753
No not boring to me, maybe underdeveloped? but that doesn't matter to me. Then again this is a SLOW board, and you have to build a dedicated player/fan base overtime.

>>6424780
I suppose I did not write enough background information regarding some choices, Mordre just didn't know them at the time. I can expand the explanations so the choices are clearer. There is also the thing of low rolls=bad stuff and you roll even worse than my last dnd group. When they rolled higher than 10 twice in a row it was almost a cause for celebration.
>>6425131
I understand. It does feel kinda strange to start writing off just one reply though. Ok, then locked in and writing. You have chosen a human, who is prejudiced against golems and sees them as property and status symbols of wealthy and the army. You having diamond grills and a golden control bracelet makes you a servant of a rich patron in their eyes.

>>6425216
You decide to use the ambrosia to revive the bigger women witht the crossbow. She is certain to know another way how to get out of here and may prove useful if you need a human face to present to the world. She is certain to be grateful to you for her resurrection. After a more careful observation you see both women have been beaten to death, not cut down. You check out the guardian golem and see small specks of dried blood all over his steel gauntlets. The fact that the golem was the killer complicates things. You grab the women and drag her behind a lab table, out of the golems sight. This might be tricky to pull off, bzt you see no other choice.

"Belle, when I revive her, make sure you cast an invisibility spell on her immediately after she agrees to help us. The guard will jump us otherwise.

"And if she doesn't agree to help us?"

She narrows her eyes and asks the obvious question, her dead brethren forgotten.

"Then we let the guard to do its job."

You coldly reply. She simply nods and prepares the spell. You reopen the ambrosia bottle and start covering the womans face, chest and limbs with the viscous liquid, careful not to miss a spot. It would be a terrible idea to revive her, only to leave her crippled. Ambrosia has an immediate effect on her. Necrosis stops, skin starts to return to its normal, pale color, lips lose its waxy glaze and soon her eyelids start to flutter. Before she can groan, you cover her mouth with your stony fist and whisper:

"You are in grave danger. Your killer is standing a few steps behind you and we are the only ones who can get you out of this room. Agree to help us and we will help you."

The woman is startled but nods quickly and Belle cast an invisibility spell on her.

Belle uses 4 mana. mana=5
You pull her up and try to drag her towards the exit of the room, but she resists you guidance, stumbling and almost hitting the labware on the table. She is still weak from death's touch and cannot resist you. You make it to the hallway and you whisper:

"We're going to the basement. Golems do not go there. I am going to carry you down the stairs."

"No, I can walk by myself!"

She replies in a furious whisper, but powerless to stop you. You carry her down and do not stop until you reach the basement. Belle immediatelly removes the invisibility spell when you close the door and squeeks:

"Who are you?! Why are you here?! Why were you in a cloud of dead fearies?!"

>>6425798
The women blinks in surprise. You have time to get a better look at her now. She seems to be in her early thirties, raven haired and green eyed, with callused hands and beak nose which made her look like bird of prey. She replies in a shaky voice:

"We came here to get some stuff the old witch has left here. She didn't mention her golems would be hostile to all who enter. Where is Lily? Have you gotten my sister as well?"

She starts looking around, as if you hid her in your pocket.

"You still haven't told us who are you and about the faeries!"

She shrieks and pokes her in her nose, clearly enjoying the role of an interrogator. The woman shakes her head like trying to get rid of an annoying fly and angrily replies:

"I am Lori Hart, an aquisition specialist. Me and my sister Lily came here to get some special items for our employer, but she... has a fearie dust problem and just couldn't help herself when she found the huge stash upstairs. She broke the glass and started sniffing, which alerted the golem guard and gotten us both killed. I was supposed to protect her but couldn't..."

A haunted look twists her features into a mask of despair. You both wait for her to continue. She looks up at both of you and asks:

"How am I alive? I remember the bitter taste of failure and then death .. Until you two came along."

"We used ambrosia on you, bringing you back from the dead."

You reply and feel a swift kick in your nose and Belle yelling:

"Why did you tell her that, you fool?!"

"What? It's the truth."

You reply, rubbing your nose in confusion. Ambrosia is a potion of almost mythical reputation. It needs very rare imgredients, prepared in a highly specialised way over a very long time. Screw it up and it becomes absolutely cancerlicious and slow and painful death is assured. Nothing else could heal any wound, revive a dead person or extend life at the same time. This will assuredly impress her to want to cooperate with you. She glances at the golden braclet on your wrist and smiles with recognition:

"Oh, you are a rival wizard, using a mind controlled golem to rob this abandoned lab. Please revive Lily as well. We will follow you whereever you please, give you our service so you can make mountains of coin with the sale of the artifacts you find and become an important man I mean woman. Please save my sister. Please!"

Lori's eyes shine bright with mad hope of a woman hanging off a cliff, who just grabbed a saving rope.

"Mordre, you cannot be seriously considering trusting a stranger. Ambrosias are practically priceless!"

Belle hisses in your ear. There is also a problem of her thinking you are a wizard, controlling a golem's body. Removing the bracelet in her presence will disabuse her of the notion and you have no idea what will she do.

>>6425799
>Save her sister and make mountains of coin (trust a stranger)
>(lie, you aint sharing the faerie dust with a dead addict) There was only one ambrosia left and I used it to revive you. You can repay me by helping me leave and still make mountains of gold (no trust, roll me 3 d100 for deception)
>write-in

That was a fat update. Hope it was worth the wait

>>6425800
>>Save her sister and make mountains of coin (trust a stranger)

>>6425800
>Save her sister and make mountains of coin (trust a stranger)
What could possibly go wroooooong?

>>6425800
>Save her sister and make mountains of coin (trust a stranger)

>>6425908
>>6425912
>>6425980
You look into Lori's pleading eyes and can't stop yourself from feeling sympathy. Besides, how much fearie dust could one little girl try to sniff? You decide to risk it.

"Alright, alright, stop crying, I will revive your little sister."

"Really?!"

Lori and Belle scream simuntaniously, one ectatic, the other distraught.

"Yeah, yeah. But you need to wait here."

You leave throught the door quickly, leaving her pleas of gratitude behind. Belle follows right behind you and is growling like a small blonde dog:

"She better gets us giant piles of money with solid gold skywagons for this!"

"They will get us all we will ask of them. Besides, we will need a face for the human world outside. None of us would be taken seriously before we build a modicum of power. I don't plan to wear this bracelet for much longer."

You reply, your thoughts deep in the future. You decide to do this simpler than before, away from witnesses. You pick the smaller girl up right in front of the guard's face and carry her out of the room and down the stairs. When you open the door, you find Lori anxiously pacing the storeroom, waiting for you to get back. She rushes towards you yelling:

"Lily!"

But you hold her back, opening another vial of ambrosia and pouring it all over the small woman's body. The change is similar to the one her sister went through, her skin loses the deathly pallor and in a moment she takes her first breath. Lori cannot contain herself and she pushes through you and hugs her sister tightly.

"Lori..."

The woman weakly gasps.

"Everything will be allright.

Lori replies while rocking her like a babe.

"Lori, you're choking me."

She whispers again, clearly gasping for air.

"Oh, sorry lil sis."

She releases her hug, embarrased by her response.

"What happened? All I remember is the rush of dust, the pain of broken bones and then... nothing."

Lily asks, curiously looking around despite her weakness. You see her nose is as sharp as her sisters and her complexion is similarly pale, but her hair is curly brown and eyes sky blue. Those eyes are studying you intently. Lori looks back at you and explains:

"This wizard was kind enough to revive us with ambrosia he was carrying. We owe our lives to him. I promised him to help him sell the rest of ambrosia and fearie dust and help him with any endevour he wishes."

Lily's face darkens with each passing word.

"You signed away our freedom to a wizard? After all we've been through?"

"There was no other choice! I couldn't leave you for dead in this godsforsaken place!"

Lori screams the last words and they echo in the storeroom. Too loud.

"Be quiet you fools, unless you want golems to pummel you to deaths door once again!"

Belle barks, sapphire eyes shooting lightning at the pair.

"And who might you be, little spark?"

Lily replies disdainfully. You jump in, preventing further escalation of the conflict:

>>6426214

> (truth) I am Mordre the Brick and this is my friend Belle. Who might you be?
> (lie) I am Rincewind Braveheart, a wizard, and this is my familiar Belle. At your service. And who might you be?
>write-in

>>6426214
>> (truth) I am Mordre the Brick and this is my friend Belle. Who might you be?

>>6426214
>(Truth) I am Mordre the Brick and this is my friend Belle. Who might you be?

>>6426337
>>6426416
"I am Mordre the Brick, a golem and this is my friend Belle, a faerie."

You reply, staring the defiant women down intently. She furrows her brow, mirroring her sister.

"So you are not a wizard? You are a walking, thinking golem? Bloody hell!"

She quizzes you suprisedly and her sister echoes her:

"Bloody hell! How are you not a wizard? Why do you have a control braclet on your hand then?"

"I just like gold. It goes well with my clay color."

You lie through your teeth and try steering the conversation into a different direction:

"Tell me a bit about this place, where did you come in? What have you found inside?"

They pause and exchange a long, strange look. Lori breaks the silence first:

"We came in through an escape hatch that leeds into the bedroom. We would need the keystone to access it though. The fit is tight and I don't think you could squeeze through. We slipped through the bedroom very stealthily and had an only cursory look around. The maid golem that protects the bedroom looked like a powerful, top notch model. We didn't risk a confrontation. The rest... You already know the rest."

Belle whispers in your ear:

"Lets go into the bedroom and steal everything that isn't nailed down! Think of the loot Mordre! We can take care of the stupid golem no problemo!"

Tempting, but a more cautious approach might be prudent. Still, Belle doesn't have enough mana for more than one invisibility spell and you are clumsier than an cow in a glassware workshop. You could send one of your new allies to check out the bedroom and report to you, but if they found a control rod there and used it on you it would make you helpless and trapped, maybe forever. The thought of being someone's puppet chills you to the bone.

> Storm the bedroom
> Sneak in the bedroom with Belle's invisibilty spell on you
> Sneak in there without a spell
> Send one of your allies to sneak in (Belle, Lori or Lily)
>write-in

Regardless what you choose, please give me 3 rolls of d100.

>>6426625
> Send one of your allies to sneak in (Belle, Lori or Lily)
>Belle
I know she's tiny, but not only can she survey the situation but also pick up tiny stuff if she finds it

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>6426625
and the roll I forgot

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>6426625
>> Sneak in the bedroom with Belle's invisibilty spell on you

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>6426625
>>6426633 +1

>>6426642
>>6426880
>>6426963
Two successes, one critical success.

You whisper back to Belle:

"You could be in, survey the place and get out in a blink of an eye."

"Mordre nooo, I can't carry enough loot to be worth it!"

She whines back, annoyance clear on her face.

"Just check if it's worth storming the place. It makes no sense fighting a tough bastard if there is no loot to be gained."

Belle pouts, but reluctantly agrees:

"Allright, I'll do it. Shouldn't be too difficult anyway!"

The sisters watch the exchange, Lori looks doubtful and Lily downright despairing, waiting until Belle leaves and murmuring:

"She'll bring the golem right upon us."

"No, she won't. She's skilled, sneaky and has an ace up her sleeve."

You reply, sit down and patiently wait for her to get back.

==============================

Belle quickly flied directly under the celing before the door frame to the wizard bedroom. She cautiously looked in all directions, ready to hide behind the torch lamps at the first sign of a guard. They seemed to be preoccupied with guarding some other places, which suited Belle just fine. She sneaks through the corner of the door frame and and hides on top of the closet. The maid golem moves with unnatural speed to the door and peers outside for a second. It seems to find nothing interesting so it patrols the whole room looking for an intruder that it could crush amd turn to mush. Belle holds her breath on top of the closet. The dust she has raised tickles her nose. She tries to hold the sneeze in, but it is too late amd the sneeze is so strong, it causes her to hit the wall. A small pebble falls out of the wall and crashes directly a hallway lamp, which shatters in a small explosion. The maid rushes outside and starts running all over the hallway, giving Belle ample opportunity to rummage through the drawers and the closet. She opens the drawers and finds books, a sharp looking knife with a gem encrusted handle and a corked pint bottle with a golden liquid inside, but she thinks: (Too big.)

She then rummages thorugh the closet, finding only coats and shirts inside. She jumps from pocket to pocket and finds a sizable amount of electrum coins, along with useless items like buttons, crumpled lab papers and half eaten rye bread. Just when she thought she would need to leave empty handed before the maid comes back, she finds a loose plank on the back of the closet, leading into a tunnel. The tunnel was proped open by a golden rod. It was as big as her arm, and shining with magic.

(Bullseye!) Thinks Belle, ecstatic about the find. She pulls the rod out and to her great relief she finds it as light as a twig. She picks it up and flies as the wind out of the danger zone with her find, down the stairs.

>>6427229
You hear an explosion, but no screams.

"Damn, they got her!"

Lori swears, looking grim.

"No, I hear no screaming. She would surely scream for help if she needed it. Her voice carries. Believe me, I know."

You reply, somewhat uncertain. She has to be ok. But even if she isn't, you could help her with ambrosia.

"It is taking her quite a long time though."

You say after a few minutes, stand up prepare to save your friend, but right at that moment, Belle flies in, carrying a control rod.

"Look Mordre what I found!"

She screams at the top of her lung amd drops the small object of salvation right into your hand, like a priest, blessing the homeless.

"Thank you Belle, that is just what I needed!"

You exclaim and use the small twig like a key, remembering to jolt it open with mana. With a click it falls down freeing you from its burden.

Will increases by 2. Will=2. Health increases by 2. Health=11. Mana increases by 2. Mana=10.

You bow to Belle and thank her:

"Thank you little one. I guess we are even not. I saved you from the jar and you saved me from the bracelet. You may go now whereever you wish."

Belle blushes and replies:

"You won't get rid of me that easily you big dolt! We still need to find the wizard who imprisoned us and give him a sixth hole through his head!"

Lori gulps:

"You wanna fight wizards? Oh Gods, what have I gotten us into?"

Lily looks upon Belle with newfound respect:

"You wanna kill wizards? I'm looking for a little payback myself. We can start with Willhelmina von Strudel, my former employer, who got us killed!

"Two's a party, but three's an even bigger party! Come on raven, join us us in a sinister square!"

Belle wiggles her eyebrows seductively at Lori, who looks scared out of her mind. You think what do you want to do with your time here. You could chase revenge, live for the thrill of the hunt, or you forget the past and choose a different future.

>Stop them. Revenge is not what you seek.
>Oh yeah, it's wizard killing time!

Take your time with this one. I have stuff to do this weekend and won't be able to update until monday.

>>6427230
>Oh yeah, it's wizard killing time!

>>6427230
>Oh yeah, it's wizard killing time!
Fuck these wizards, man

>>6427230
>>Stop them. Revenge is not what you seek.

>>6427369
>>6427375
>>6427417
Your body burns with fury of a thousand suns when you think of the wizards. No one will ever control you again! You shall be free until the end of time and if all wizards need to be thought a lesson, so be it. You clench your fist and punch the air:

"The wizards shall rue the day they have crossed us!"

Belle and Lily's grins are almost identical in their satisfaction, but Lori looks even greener in the face when she looks at you with abject horror. Is it fear of one specific wizard that haunts her?

"Tell me about this Wilhelmina. What has she done for you to fear her so?"

Lori stiffens and averts her eyes and Lily barges info the conversation, voice dripping with hatred:

"She has sent our father and Lori's husband to their doom. They were seeking treasure for her vile, twisted experiments and once they just didn't return home from an expedition to lizard infested woods."

She pauses and blinks fast a few times, like she was holding back tears and continues:

"Our family has a debt of serfdom towards her. As long as she lives, members of our family have to serve her and her descendants. We had to take up the yoke. She ordered us on this job and look what it got us!"

Her voice takes on a harsher edge:

"She is holding my mother, my two nephews and my niece captive, supposedly to teach them a valuable trade, but in reality they are forced to do backbreaking labor and ensure we obey her every order. Every year is worse than the last. She is respected in society and powerful in her magic. Wizards are seen as untouchable because they provide the bulk of defense against the lizards. She uses the power to belittle her servants and jockey for prestige with fellow wizards with no regard for anyone but herself!"

She spits the last words out venomously, like a desert snake. This explains their reactions. Lori fears for her children and Lily chafes against her chains. You symphatise, they went through a lot.

"This does not surprise me. Anyone who is willing to enslave a thinking being wont treat anyone beneath them well."

Belle nods in approval.

"We will need to scout her lair when we get closer, save your family, learn her weaknesses and exploit them to destroy her! But first, we need to choose where to go from here. Where does the secret exit lead?"

Lori seem heartened by your words, sniffs a bit, wiping a few tears off her long lashes and answers:

"It leads to a town that was abandoned to the lizards a while ago. There was a strange fire, some say alchemical, some magical which destroyed most of it. The lizards simply had to climb the walls afterwards and the town folded like a wet origami ornament. Barely anyone made it out alive which meant the there was much abandoned treasure for the bold and the desperate. But the lizards are numerous and stealth is key for survival if you don't want to end up on a spit and eaten alive. You're not really... inconspicious."

She eyes you doubtfully.

>>6429916

"Besides, we would need to go through the maid golem."

That might prove a challenge, but also an opportunity. You might salvage the maid golem for parts after you dissassemble it and gain some useful powers. But a path through the teleporter be safer.

>Go through the teleporter (Home or Storage)
>Assault the maid golem (By yourself or with help from your team. Also indicate if you wish to use magic enhancement or pure might)
>Write-in

Hi guys, thanks for yoir patience. This week has been murderous at work and I just didn't have time for an update. Thanks for your patience.

>>6429917
>Assault the maid golem (By yourself or with help from your team. Also indicate if you wish to use magic enhancement or pure might)
The whole team and with magic enhancement

>>6429917
>>6430205
+1 this!

>>6430205
>>6430209
Alrighty, then please give me 3 rolls of d100.
The success critera has been lowered twice due to your choices.

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>6430313

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>6430313

Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>6430313

>>6430421
>>6430432
>>6430623
Ok, one failure, one critical failure and one critical success. Locked in and writing.

>>6430644
You give the women your best 24 carat smile and say:

"We should go up, through the maid and loot the burned up town. You three are small and sneaky and the lizards will mistake me for a statue if they see me. They have done so before."

Lily's eyebrows climb up her forehead almost to her hairline and Lori eyes you confusingly:

"How long were you down here? Golems are one of our main weapons of war against the lizards. But ok, if the faerie queen here can cast as good illusion magic as you say, we should be fine."

Bellle sticks her tongue at her:

"I'm better than good, barmaid! The question is what good are you with this crossbow against the maid? And what does the little princess expect to do with that kitchen knife against stone skin?"

Lori stiffened and a thundercloud darkened her face. Lily looked ready to turn Belle into finely minced meat. You intervened, before the cats went beyond howling:

"We have plenty of lead here and can easily give Loris crossbow bolts more blunt force. If this doesn't shatter her hide, I am willing to eat stew. Lily can use one of these tarps to entangle her and I can enhance my fists with metallic gloves for more toughness. How much juice do you still have Belle?"

She shaked her head.

"Zilch. Saving them tapped me out."

Hmm, so no escape route if things go south.

"Allright, then keep at the back. I don't want you getting squashed. You all in?"

They all nod, but none of them look enthusiastic. You start taking the tarp off and folding it in a thin line, allowing for easy unfolding. Lily takes the tarp off your hands. You then take the pieces of lead you found on a shelf and squeeze them into a rough approximation of a ball. Lori hands you ten of the bolts and you firmly push the lead on top of the steel tip. After equipping your team you take an old plate armor that is lying on the floor and start shaping it with magic onto your fists, penetrating them and turning them into hardened steel. A gleaming sheen forms on top, and your fists are ready to pound.

You use 2 mana. Current mana=9. You gain 2 attack and 2 passive defense.

After preparation you lead the way, ready to warn the women sneaking behind you. You are lucky, you evade all patrols and step into the bedroom unopposed, your entourage close behind you. The maid golem goes into battle pose immedately after noticing you, palms front and one leg up, like a ballerina. You take another step towards her, unafraid and certain in you victory. She lunges at you before you can react and pommels your chest and arms hard, chipping the enamel while you attempt to block her strikes. Lily screams:

"Lights out!"

and unrolls the tarp and throws it over the maids head.

>>6431738
The maid dodges effortlessly amd charges at Lily, planning to flatten her. Lori shoots her crossbow and misses, the bolt bouncing uselessly off the wall. She curses violently and starts cocking the crossbow again. You step in and take the blows that were meant for her. The maid smashes a hole through your protective plate and cracks it into 3 pieces in one crushing blow. You stagger back, hitting the closet. Belle screams:

"Mordre!"

And she flies to you, but she is too slow as the maid changes her hand into a pincer and shatters your left arm, leaving it a stump. In your surprise she pins your right arm to the cabinet. She is too strong and agile to wiggle out of her grip. She rips one piece off your cracked chest armor, exposing your inner core. It pulses and shines irregulary, illuminating the room in a rainbow colored light.

(This is the end.)

You think, as the maid prepares to rip your core out and end your existence.

(At least I die free.)

Your existential musings are cut short as Lori's bolt strikes true and crushes the maid's right eyesocket, dislodging her shiny, bead like eye. She jumps off you immediately and lifts the smaller washstand and lobs it at Lori before she even has a chance to start cocking her crossbow. It hits her in the chest with a sickening crunch and she flies into the wall with it, crumpling down in unconsiousness, her crossbow falls on the floor uselessly. Both you and Lily roar and attack the golem. Lily jumps on her back jamming her knife in her last functioning eye, distracting her long enough for you to grab her chest with your last good arm. She attempts the same manouver and you feel her hands closing around your core, you essence. But she is too late, you are already flooding your arm with mana, turning your fingers into tendrils amd ripping out her core in a violent pull, fit for a fresco. You all fall down in a pile. Death has sniffed you, but has found you unappetizing.

Lori is a whole other matter. Lily runs at her as soon as she can and she whispers while craddling her:

"No big sis, you cannot die, mom's waiting for you back home! Franz, Clara and little Leopold are waiting for you! You cannot die!"

Big tears are wetting her cheeks while she hugs her sister's limp body.

After you amd Belle check her, you see that Lori is in pretty bad shape. Her skull is cracked, most of her ribs are broken, her breathing is terribly laboured and she is coughing blood. Belle whispers in your ear:

"Even if she survives the night, she is unlikely to survive the rest of the journey. What will we do?"

>Heal her with ambrosia.
>Attempt to apply first aid. (requires a roll-high DC)
>Leave her. She knew the risks. Everyone gets one revival.

You lose 9 health. Current=2. You lose 2 mana. Current= 7. Your left arm cannot be used. Your core is exposed. You are Vulnerable.

>>6431739
>Heal her with ambrosia.

>>6431739
>>Heal her with ambrosia.
Sure, why not

>>6431905
>>6431906
You take one ambrosia potion out of your pocket and tap Lily on her shoulder:

"Give her this. Apply it to all wounds and they should heal."

You are very generous with these, but it's not like you could use them. You have 3 left.

Lily pours the content of the bottle on Lori's scalp and her chest, gently petting and hugging her. In a short minute Lori's breathing stabilizes and her cheeks gain more color. Lily hugs her tightly and Lori wheezes at her:

"Sis.. can't breathe..."

You leave the sisters to celebrate and take a look at what have your and Lori's injuries bought. The maid is mostly intact, save for the gaping chest and the ruined eye. The other eye stares at you accusingly. You ignore the guilt you feel at killing another golem and focus on the spoils. The core is fully functional and brimming with energy. It would certainly fetch a good price from an arcanist. You could also install it inside your chest, gaining a power boost.

The hands have a malleble form with three confugurations. Claw form, fist form and a form you could only describe as soft. You are not sure of what use is the soft form, but the other two work extremely well. If you pry them off, you could replace the one you have lost and sell the other.

The skin is made out of strangely arranged porcelain. Light, but tougher than steel. Now it makes sense how they could move like a leopard and strike like a puma. You could tear it off and apply it over your chest wound, gaining a mighty plate on your most vulnerable spot.

The only question is how many of the maid's parts will you take to sell and how many will you use to enhance yourself?

(Pick as many as you wish. You can still repair either your hand or your chest plate with standard parts at the sculptor's atelier. There isn't enough clay for both.)

>Take their hand. Gain +1 STR and +1 DEX. +3 health, -2 mana, gain functional hand.
>Graft their core. Gain +1 to all stats. +1 health, -4 mana.
>Take their skin. Gain +1 BODY, +5 health, -2 mana, remove Vulnerable.

>>6432167
>Take their hand. Gain +1 STR and +1 DEX. +3 health, -2 mana, gain functional hand.
>Graft their core. Gain +1 to all stats. +1 health, -4 mana.
>Take their skin. Gain +1 BODY, +5 health, -2 mana, remove Vulnerable.
I mean... all of the above, I guess? Seems like they're all useful.

>>6432167
>>6432172 +1