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Stitia, Plane of 13 Deaths (RPG Style Saga/My First Saga)
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Wosy agreed to help you as you set up the device. The contracting firm supposed to fix the balcony has been AWOL. He helps create a glamour for you. You’ll disguise as a demon, posing as part of the construction team fixing the balcony. He also manages to gather two strangers, also demons, who would be willing to help you.
“So, good friend. This is one of those glamour things I was talking about.” He slides to you a tiny black bottle. “Best put it in something strong. That stuff is disgusting. Once that enters your system, you’ll have to make sure to keep this on you at all times.” He then gives you a small, hexagonal ring. “If this thing falls off, the glamour won’t have its full effect. Put it on before you drink it, drink the puke shot, and you’ll be lookin’ like a winged demon in no time. Didn’t say it’d be pretty though.”
“Um... Pathos. Are you sure about this?” Chertraum is in the room beside you. “Are you sure that isn’t just going to turn you into a demon? Forever?”
You reassure her that this won’t do any harm to you. You’ve actually seen them in use. It’s so sly. Someone you know could actually be a demon in disguise, using a glamour. This lasts 24 hours, or until you drink the purging solution, in a small white bottle in your pocket. So, wincing, you ask Wosy to top off your cup of coffee, and put the ring on your finger.
“Please don’t puke. Then it won’t work. Those things are exceptionally hard to come by, you know.” Steeling your stomach, you take the glamour, chasing it down with a full cup of joe. Wosy throws a shade over the front door and locks it to ensure no one comes in during the transformation. You feel the coffee run down into your stomach, bringing the glamour with it, and your belly cramps. You slam down your fist and fall into the floor in excruciating pain. It feels like every vein in your body is on fire. Your mouth is filled with the tastes of... oil, sulfur, bleach, and glue. Is he sure this isn’t poison?
“Pathos! Wosy, what did you do to him-“
“I didn’t do nothin’. Wait patiently, Chertraum. This is all song and dance.”
You feel incredibly sick as your nails turn into claws. You skin becomes rough and snake-like. A very unfavorable sensation runs over you as a tail sprouts from your backside and you feel your wings lose their vibrance. You feel horns emerging, and you begin to gag a little. Chertraum rushes over.
“Leave him be, will you? He’ll be fine, trust me.” You tell him off in probably the foulest tongue you’ve used, at least in years. What did you let yourself get talked into? You finally get the strength to stand up. And the transformation seems to have finished. You find a piece of glass to look in. Although this new being’s face still looks somewhat familiar, there are major differences in your appearance that should deter any suspicion away from you.
“There you go! Now all you need is clothes to look the part.” You really feel like vomiting right about now. Thankfully, Wosy is able to find a drink for that. You take a sip, and you feel a lot better. Wosy comes out with clothes to help you further obscure your identity. “I’m afraid there’s no fixing that baby face of yours, but we can keep people from seeing it.” You give him a dirty look. This was his idea after all. “Anyways, congrats. For the time being, you’re now a bonafide demon. Guess I should get a stronger one next time? I haven’t seen a demon with a face as handsome as yours in a while... erm- don’t- take that the wrong way.”
Chertraum holds her hand to her face in disgust. “Conse almighty. What have you gotten us into Pathos-“
“Right now you ain’t talkin’ to Pathos. We need some kind of codename here. What can you think of, Prince Charming?”
Patrick? “No. Too obvious. How about Darius?” {Sorry I couldn’t help it} Whatever works, you guess. “Alright Chertraum, it’s your turn.” Uh oh... you almost forgot she’s coming along...
As if it were a sick joke, it turns out Wosy got the most potent glamour he could for Chertraum. Her skin literally changes colors as transforms, and her catlike features disappear completely. It looks like she had always been a demon. It takes two glamours to transform her, as she throws up the first, but she eventually plays the part. The transformation is potent enough that it forms a demonic emblem upon her head.
“Ah! You son of a-“
“Now now... Where did you learn language like that?” Chertraum really is taking this new life rough, but not as rough as you did initially.
“How does anyone stomach that on a regular basis?!”
“When you’re a demon, you could probably drink your own urine and enjoy it with some of the things we taste.” Chertraum gags at this notion, even after drinking half a bottle of Wosy’s nausea potion.
// To be continued
After getting dressed, you head to the governor’s building to play construction worker. The demons following you can’t hide their glee. They’re basically getting paid to watch someone die, and all they have to do is pretend they’re part of a work crew for 15 minutes.
“So, uh, Darius. You’re gonna be planting a bomb?” The first demon, Carver, asks.
“Yes I am, Carver. Yes I am.” You pretend to be happy and enthusiastic. Like you’re going to enjoy this. But you don’t really. One of your own kind could die here, as well as several innocent people, all because of one man’s slippery tongue.
“That’s hardcore!” The second demon, Knifefoot, applauds you. “There’s been a lot of work done destroying the government around here. With the governor out of the way, there’ll be no chain left on Etsane! We can go nuts!”
Chertraum leans in to whisper to you. Her voice is made a lot more seductive and evil sounding by the glamour, but she still sounds concerned. “How can you be so content with this, Pa- er- Darius?!”
“When I talked to Wosy yesterday, and when I slept on his advice, I was reminded of the harsh realities of this world. We’re nothing special anymore. No high and mighty beings with a strict moral code. We’re exiled from the Beyond, and we probably have an express ticket to damnation. Right and wrong mean nothing anymore.”
"I don't like any of this."
"I know you don't, but mortal life is about compromise. Think about all the good this man will stop if we let him live." You check your toolbox to ensure you brought the device. A strange contraption, rigged to your stopwatch. Your last reminder of the life you used to live. How fitting to dispose of it. Today marks your final step. There’s no turning back once the charge is set. This is the life you live now.
20 minutes later
The lie worked. You use a false work document to ensure everyone knows that construction is going on, and your crew begins to “repair” the balcony. You place the charge inside of a crevice and set it. Your crew continues working, pretending to build supports, when in reality you’re just setting up the most ideal way for the balcony to collapse. It’s five minutes until the charge goes off, and the governor steps onto the balcony with the target. The governor is accompanied by an angel along with the target. Now there’s two divine beings on the balcony, but it’s too late to turn back.
“Excuse any ruckus down below. They decided to choose today, of all days, to finally start fixing the supports on the balcony. I sent the order out months ago, and all we get are four demons having a field day!”
“Are things really that bad around here, Mister Lys?”
“They are absolutely terrible! I’ve tried to fix things, but as a governor, I only have the power to say ‘do this’ and ‘do that’. I’m actually in a very messed up position here.” A maid comes over with tea for the two. A-nother angel... This isn’t looking good at all. How many are there? “Thank you.”
“I’ve got to say, this tea is delicious though.”
“Grown in Hitcherald and brewed by angels. It’s no wonder why it tastes like heaven. Anyways, you came here today to speak to me about something. What was it?”
Here goes. Your crew abandons the balcony as the bomb could go off at any moment.
“See, there’s this bar in town. It’s called-“
*B O O M*
The bomb explodes just in time, but also at the wrong time. The meeting is at the epicenter of the blast, as the balcony collapses. The table they are sitting at is blasted to pieces, impaling the governor and the target, and sending them and the angels flying.
“Oh gods, what have you done?! I didn’t know there’d be angels here!” Chertraum’s outburst attracted the attention of Carver and Knifefoot.
“What’s the matter with you?” Knifefoot gives Chertraum a strange look. “That’s a bonus in my eyes!”
“Gods? What are you, a priest?” Carver lightly hits Chertraum in the back with his toolbox.
“Erith. Grow up.” You don’t want to talk to her like this, but Chertraum could blow your cover at any minute if she keeps this up.
The target and the governor have landed. The angels managed to get to them, but not in time to catch or save them. You need to make sure the target is dead, so you walk over to him, and the demons are in tow.
“You people... I knew you were evil! What have you done to these people?!” The angel that was protecting the governor is clearly enraged.
“Don’t cry about it. You’ll see them both again real soon.” Suddenly, Knifefoot displays to everyone how he got his nickname; he kicks the angel in the chin with a bladed foot, killing it. Chertraum screams. Carver then pulls out an axe to deal with the other two angels as people in the street panic. All you are worried about is confirming the kill, so you quickly fly over to the target, dragging Chertraum with you. She is crying at this point. You use a subtle bit of magic to feel for the man’s life essence. While it’s nearby, it isn’t in the body. This means that the kill is confirmed, but the man is still very much alive. As you feel a dark shadow pass you, his essence is dragged back to his body, and Chertraum is forced to bear witness as he comes back to life.
“This is the worst day of my life! Why did you force me to come here?!”
You can see in on her back. A small symbol etched into her skin. A 1 and 3, intersected. This is why you brought her here. With the target coming back to life, you tell her she can leave, which she gladly obliges to.
"Alright, I thank you for this information, I must go, but I can't do that with the possibility of you getting killed yet again, so I recommend you follow me to Aranis's dwelling."
"Are you sure? Won't we be a nuisance?" Asked Jessica
"I assure you, the Coven of Aranis is not exclusionary, I am sure they would love to have other people around for once, now please, if you want to continue to be safe, I recommend you follow with me back to the coven headquarters."
"I...I don't want to, I don't trust him!"
"Danny, quiet! Why can't you just trust him!" Jessica yelled
"Demons do n-nothing but trick people!"
"Although you can not trust me, Danny, I can not in my conscience leave you here in this forest." Draundr summoned up roots from the ground, decaying a nearby tree to the point of causing a branch to fall off.
The roots detained Danny while the group travelled back to the headquarters, with Danny and the spider in tow, while he got the group situated in Aranis, he brought the spider to Schoren and discussed Draundr's quest.
"Schoren, I have to be honest with you, I must leave the coven for a quest."
"Is this about Darna? I can't say even I would be brave enough to go on that journey, why are you deciding to go on it?"
"Darna is the reason why I am here and why I now have these abilities, his study on the Living Amulet is the reason why we know so much on how life essence and the soul works, to forget him after he died is a massive disservice to his legacy, and I must avenge him, I ask that you take care of these travelers and make them feel at home while I go on my quest to find Darna's killer."
"Wait! Before you go."
Schoren started up his alchemy table, took out a tooth of the spider, and distilled the venom, after putting it into a vial he handed it to Draundr. "Just in case." he said, "Just in case." Draundr replied, he went back to the group.
"I will have my friend Schoren take care of you while I am gone, if you wish to go back home, he will oblige and accompany you, but I suggest you stay here with him if you want to finish your map and learn more about Aranis."
"Will you be ok?" asked Scarf
"I do not know, but what you just witnessed provided a great deal of service to me and the Coven of Aranis, but you will not yet understand what it is you witnessed, if you wish to understand, I recommend you talk to Schoren, you will learn from him, he can even teach you alchemy if you want." And with that, Draundr turned and started venturing off to where Scarf pointed toward, but not before releasing Danny from his bindings, the group and Schoren waved at him, and he waved back.
It will take a long time to find Drana or his killer, as the killer could of gone anywhere, and Drana’s new vessel could be anywhere in the west. You think back to that voice’s vision. “A human...” “The Cursed Rebirth”. If only the voice could of explained what they looked like or where they were. This won’t be easy...
- Action Phase -
Which do you seek to find first? If you find Drana, he may have clues to his killer, but if you don’t find the killer, they could strike again.
With the true Arne’s spell wiping out the Bloodwood population, the Bloodwood clan is no more.
I decide to seek the killer.
Major Announcement!
With the coming of Friday the 13th, consequences will occur with actions. So, it’s time to discuss how the health system works.
Health and Dying
This is the biggest thing I need to mention. Now, encounters will carry consequences. All challenges will be scored from 0-15, and a miss will result in damage taken, depending on the severity of the miss. Each player has 10 HP. If they run out, they will die. For some strange reason, Triskaidians have become unable to heal their own wounds, so you may have to choose between an important task and getting to a healer. You could also be cursed, poisoned, etc., so your time could be spent finding a cleric if you make a mistake.
If you die, you will have options to continue in the Saga! You could be reborn as a lower being, take control of a NPC, or create a new character from scratch. The choice is yours!
In addition, your allies have HP as well. If you would be injured with an NPC ally around, they’ll take the hit first. They have set HP equal to their CMC.
Anyways, good luck. Try not to die...
Your first step is giving a bone from Drana’s skeleton to a Bone Reader. Few in number, they can analyze the bone’s essence to find out what sort of spell was used to kill them, and in turn, what you should be on the lookout for. There’s just one small problem; the Coven doesn’t have one, so you’ll need to search for one.
Which adjacent territory do you choose?
- Ritesmov (Not the domain of a well known demon or person. You may not have as good of a chance of finding a bone reader, but there will be less of a risk of an encounter, let alone with a player.)
- Jedama (Domain of the Demon of Deals Xataxji. He may be able to read bones.)
- Klee (Domain of the Demon of Servitude Mastiffa. One of her servants may be able to read bones.)
"Now, where should I go to find a bone reader, Ritesmov won't be a good place to go to, I don't know where I could possibly find a bone reader in that place, Jedama won't be good either, I am of use to anyone or my quest if I have to make a deal with Xataxji, so I guess I have to go to Klee, Mastiffa may be of use."
By the way, which is closest to me?
Also, another side question, do some races have different resistances to stuff like poison or frost?
Will we also have an inventory system?
Also, distance is insignificant in this case.
So question, would that mean Draundr is resistant to pacts?
Then I choose Mastiffa in Klee,
I think we should also set up an inventory system, because I would like to have a system that shows a bunch of cards including items, spells, techniques, in-fact let me make mine right now...
Too late, already made different set symbols for different areas of the inventory, gonna start posting some additional items that I got (The poison vial) and the snare spell, by the way, do our base weapons count as items, and if so do we have to share them with you?
Triple Encounter
Draundr walks for hours to make it through the Aranis-Klee border. Along the way they encounter random creatures, but none of them seem to pose a threat as their life is sucked away by Draundr’s Amulet. He continues down a makeshift path, using a map as a guide to Oklein Manor, where Mastiffa and her minions reside.
As Draundr approaches the outskirts of the manor, he sees a large formation of undead guards at the door, led by a serpentine demon. Xataxji... What is he doing here? The door opens, and he is invited inside. Draundr guesses it was a good thing he came here, but he did not want to interrupt the gathering of the demons.
However Draundr wanted to avoid disturbing the people, his appearance made him stand out. It was night. One of Xataxji’s minions notice Draundr, and so does one of the manor guards. The guard and minion both inform their masters.
*Will post tomorrow, I have a paper to do, or maybe today if I am able to*
Also, I know pretty much everyone who wasn’t in school is back in school now, so there’s that
You notice a group of hyenas prowling in the distance. They look rather strong. You think about engaging them, but decide against the act... until you notice they’re feasting on an adventurer. Kia may be able to sling spells well, but it’s time for some practical combat experience. You signal for her to follow you as you fly towards the pack. They notice you, and begin to make signals...
Suddenly, the entire area is swarmed with hyenas. The one in front hisses at you. You tell Kia to watch and learn. Holding a finger to your head, you decide it’s time to test your new power. See if Kia can follow this...
You close your eyes, and you radiate with white mana. A gentle hum resonates around you as you prepare to cast a spell not even you have used before. You plan to stop them in their tracks with your sheer willpower alone. With a motion of your hand, you open your eyes, and white mana rains down upon the pack. They stop. They lose all energy. Some of them even seem to fade away as though they never existed. You feel an exertion. You are not tired yet, but that played a significant toll on your system. You don’t expect Kia to be able to pull the spell off, but as more hyenas emerge and lunge forward, she tries it herself...
Her eyes close, and she is learning to channel mana from the plane without having to gather it manually. She’s really trying, you can tell that. A significant amount of time has passed, and she has yet to gather enough power. The hyenas are about to attack you and Kia, and you decide now might be the time to intervene. You cast a purifying bolt of light, and-
The bolt curves around Kia and dissipates as her body is engulfed in light. You can’t believe it... how did she absorb your attack? She may of needed your power in order to do it, but she casts the spell. The remaining hyenas collapse or disintegrate as they fall over. Very well... it certainly seems as though you’ve found a student that’s well worth your tuition.
Draundr decides to stay put, as it is imperative he finds a bone reader
Also, here you go, just so you can see a visual representation of my inventory.
https://mtg.design/set/INV
Talk to Kia, the battle is over