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Stitia, Plane of 13 Deaths (RPG Style Saga/My First Saga)
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“Sir! Sorry to interrupt.” You demand this being to make their presence quick. “I know you were about to start the meeting, but I have an artifact... something... tells me to give it to you.”
In his hand is a coin that looks incredibly similar to a 500G coin. However, something feels off about it. Will you take it?
As you make your way into the Changing Arcanum, you notice that the city is still empty. Perfect. You slip through markets and houses, swiftly gathering what you can. You’re sure they won’t miss it if they come back. You fly through the streets, wearing a cloak that covers every part of your body except your wings. They are much more grand than usual, but it’s just an illusion. A remnant of that run in with the two Arnes.
Ysa’s fortune rang in your head as you went through the completely silent streets. Not even the wind graced your ears. Only the flap of your wings and your occasional footsteps.
“Have faith in the Six, lest your gossamer wings burn in the fires of damnation.”
You have failed, haven’t you? Fate had your fall from grace plotted for you, and your own foolishness brought it to a swift head.
”Is it really worth the price to stay on your current paths?”
Ishka, the other who received this fortune... you watched her embrace it. She rose to the status of Archangel. She became a Divine Scholar. And moments later, you turned away from the Six, and fell to the ground. Weeks ago, you were her commander. She was more than you now...
Midnight...
*grrrrr*
And so it begins. Your night search is bearing nothing, and as you fly above the Great Library, your power fades. You plummet to the ground as your wings turn back to normal. You feel everything. The pain as your shoulder impacts the brickwork. The scuffing of your arm as you slide. Hunger... thirst... it all hits you at once like a wave. You try to heal you wound, but then you remember... you look down at your side, and remember what Arne said. Healing magic doesn’t work on Triskaidians. You gather some medical supplies from a nearby church and check your wound with what experience you have. You’re bleeding, but is your shoulder okay? You eat an apple you got from a fruit cart. How ironic. Many superstitions plague Stitia, but supposedly, those that love the taste of apples love the taste of sin. Crisp as you bite into it, you actually find it to be desirable, which is good, because it’s most of what you could find.
You enter the Great Library. Rumors... only rumors, but this supposedly contains a perfect copy of the Stargazium, a book said to hold the future for all mankind. If such a thing does exist, why hasn’t it been given to all? And yet, Ysa referenced it in his fortune. ‘He shall make himself known as the god of all men, killing all who oppose him, and the ones you hold true will only weep.’ It was said in the Great Stargazium...”
The blue light of the library is dim, mainly emerging from a pool of Seer’s Tears. These Divining Circles are used for less skilled diviners to give less powerful fortunes. To answer simple questions such as “What is the weather going to be like tomorrow?” How you wish you had another fortune now, but the city is completely empty. You feel a brush across your mind. Arne is reading your thoughts, isn’t he? You could tell he only abandoned you because it was his duty. He is probably still concerned about you...
You search the entire library for hours, and it never seems to end. Why can’t they just simply mark it... maybe... they can’t? You feel eyes watching over you as you look from book to book, and eventually, you find a scroll in the employee catalogue that might help. “Library Procedures 13 - Protecting the Stargazium”.
These secrets were not meant to be seen by your eyes, were they? As you unroll the scroll, you find it to be completely empty. No words. Nothing. But you feel it... this scroll is likely protected by a spell...
Challenge
Make a card that reveals something an enemy knows, such as cards from their library, without using fateseal like abilities. Points will given based on uniqueness, as well as the realism of the card and how it suits your character’s colors and ideals.
You entry will be scored from 0-15. Any score below a ten will count as a miss; however, this is non-combat scenario, so you will not suffer damage.
Criteria:
• 5 points for overall effect and balancing.
• 4 points for realism, following color pie, and proper rarity. You may lose a point if the effect of the card is unclear.
• 3 points for uniqueness
• 2 points for fitting the colors and themes of your character (UW Ojutai; you may splash in a third color, but this would be a permanent change.)
• 1 point for flavor (text not required; mainly checking if overall feel of the card fits its art, name, etc.).
• You will lose three points if the entry is not new.
• You cannot submit any card you’ve submitted so far for this contest.
//My first thought. Ice=Christmas...Fairies=Tinkerbell...Christmas+Tinkerbell=Jingle Bells. Also, this is my sister's artwork, especially for this card.
So as the waves of icy magic wash over Enerew, he casts a single spell.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/piercing-growth
Each branch stabs one of the faeries, killing them.
As your hands impact the icy floor of the arena, you channel green mana into what water remains underneath. Roots take form as you grow weaker and weaker, and they rapidly erupt from the ice, knocking you over. You feel hair after hair snap as your back hits the cold, icy floor, and a tree rapidly grows. Its branches stem out, catching faerie after faerie, and they are ensnared as they become the tree’s sustenance. While the coldness of their magic starts to eat away at the tree, they are too late to stop their death...
The entire arena starts to thaw. You are finally able to move again, and it feels like you just broke out of a stone prison, like some kind of macabre statue. You regain feeling, which so swiftly left you, and you feel reinvigorated as the ice melts, and the water warms you as the arena begins to rise again. Onto the final phase!
- "The day will finally be interesting! Shooting team, arm the two central canoons with canoonballs and the two next to grapples for both sides! Now!" said Alyssa, not without concealing her joy.
The crew was busy arming the equipment of the Red Sail. This pirate ship is currently equipped with 4 guns per side, which can be independently equipped with grapples to harpoon enemy ships, or even balls to hit the enemy hull.
The Red Sail took off and ran on the ship, identified as a merchant ship. Alyssa rubbed her hands, this was not to be taken lightly, but this victory will cheer up her troops.
- Cannonballs, fire! Summing fire!
Two iron bullets burst into the heavens. They should not touch the boat. But one got lost in the ocean while the other hit the center of the ship by mistake. The response was immediate but not precise, fortunately for Alyssa.
- "Idiots! Helmsman! Cape 32 degrees west."
The boat got closer and Alyssa then said a brief order.
- "Grapples! Fire!"
Two ropes with pliers at the end of the Red Veil cannons and pierce the merchant ship, which was inexorably attracted to the pirate ship.
- "We hold them!"
The merchants were attacked and the pirates then took explosive barrels and sent them on the pirate ship to set it on fire. That did not fail, and their crew went fighting afterwards, but Alyssa defeated their leader. The battle had been rough and on a ship on fire, but the pirates had won.
The pirate woman raised her sword and pistol.
- To us the money guys!
Cries of joy rose from the crew ....
Nohel’s Trial - Phase Three
You can see it. The arena is almost level with the staircase which you used to enter. However, the arena stops rising before it can get close enough to reach, and it’s blocked off anyways. Suddenly, the rim that had formed around the arena shrinks down towards the center. The water drains into the center, and begins to boil. The rim then transforms into a dome to surround the arena, and a new rims surrounds the center as the water boils off into steam, filling the arena with a haze. Your cold skin is easily burned by the steam, so you back away as far as you can.
”You have managed to escape the first two trials unharmed, mortal... I would commend you, but I do not know how well you fare. Your tactics for combat are adept, but let’s see how capable you are of deeper thought in the heat of battle.”
A circle of blue mana forms, summoning three beings, but the steam is filling the dome so quickly that you have a hard time seeing. They’re wizards, with staves. That’s all you can make out as you feel your mind begin to falter. They are trying to suppress you ability to analyze them, and use it to their advantage.
Make a monoblue card to deal with three Adepts of the Cryptic. Points will given based on how well your response works against the enemy, as well as the realism of the card and how it suits your character’s colors and ideals.
You are restricted. You can only submit a monoblue card. You are limited to a cost of six converted mana total for this card, which includes its casting cost (and its equip cost if it’s an equipment.) If your card does not meet these restrictions, the card will fail, and you will take 3 damage.
You entry will be scored from 0-15. Any score below a ten will count as a miss, and you will take one hit for each point below 10 your score is. Your current HP is 10. All HP will be restored once you clear or fail this dungeon. You cannot escape, however.
Criteria:
• 5 points for overall effect and balancing.
• 4 points for realism, following color pie, and proper rarity. You may lose a point if the effect of the card is unclear.
• 3 points for fitting the colors and themes of your character (Temur)
• 2 points for if the card would realistically do anything against the target cards in an actual game of Magic.
• 1 point for flavor (text not required; mainly checking if overall fell of the card fits its art, name, etc.).
• You will lose three points if the entry is not new.
• You cannot submit any card you’ve submitted so far for this contest.
As you go into port, you find a man willing to overpay for the pearl you acquired. It is quite legendary, the only of its kind, and bears a black and blue swirling pattern, It glows and glistens in your hand, but it’s of no use to you.
// Your next message contains private information. You will be PM’d shortly.
“Hello hello, madame!”
A male elf greets you as you walk in. He is setting up the register. Your slaves have managed to procure a small fortune to make this place possible. You look back to the kitchen, and there is a small lady preparing a dish. A leonin, clothed so that no hairs will get in the food. She comes out to the elf, slips him the dish, and kisses him. “I made it just for you.”
A devil laughs as she approaches you. “Welp, you wanted a couple in love, and I think we found the best couple we could. Mr. and Mrs. Rosemary. Wedded as of yesterday. They had been together for some time, sharing their skills in the kitchen at a restaurant in Ystheria. But... through some means, we managed to tie the knot on their relationship and convince them to work here.”
Perfect. Everything is coming together. No one will suspect a thing when they come into this place. It’s immaculate, and everyone here is friendly. Custodians are making sure the clean, wooden floors are polished. You can see your reflection in the table beside you. This feels a lot less like an inn and more like a luxury attraction. And alas, the prices are reasonable, so that even a peasant could at least grab a bowl of soup and a room for the night. The location is also perfect; it is right next to a common port, meaning you’ll get a lot of customers fresh off the sea and willing to settle in.
“Everything’s in place, Madame Mastiffa. There’s... just one small problem.”
A problem? That’s unacceptable! The devil explains that the shipment of alcoholic beverages... went missing. The ship they were on was destroyed by a pirate vessel, and the ale on board was procured by the pirates.
Here are your options for getting the beverages:
- Find the ship that stole them
- Steal them from a shop in Yrntrn
- Go to the Changing Arcanum and procure them. The city is supposedly abandoned.
“So.. we are looking for the shop of an angel named Pathos, and a presence of a demon named Wosy...”
K’Trinop and Otaimo glide over the city, looking for the angel. They pass by an inn, which is opening soon.
“Such glamour, yet I sense it is an illusion. A ruse. I feel an air of sin from it.”
They continue on through the sky, when they finally come across a demon, speaking to an angel.
“You’re doin’ some mighty fine work with my people, Chertraum.” The demon, quite humanoid, remarks. “They may be ready for this in no time.”
“It’s the least I can do...” Chertraum looks down at the ground. “I still feel bad about all of this, Wosy. Just a week or so ago, I was watching over Stitia, yet today, here I am helping an angel and a demon plan a heist on the place I was born.”
“It is him.” Otaimo stops, keeping K’Trinop from going any further. “Let us be quiet. We do not know how they may respond.”
Otaimo guides K’Trinop to a corner by the shop, where they can get a clear view, but they cannot be seen.
“You’ll get over it.” Wosy pours a drink for Chertraum. “This world is screwed up, you know. If you’ve made it this far, I think you’ll be fine.” Their glasses meet, and they begin to drink the night away. “I made sure it was the weak stuff. We don’t need you to screw up your magic.”
A dog trots down the street, apparently lost. It looks around, and it notices the two spirits and barks at them.
“Can it, you hound! Wait... what’s it barkin’ at?” Wosy looks over to where the spirits are. He can’t see them though, as they are hidden from view. “Eh. Dogs are weird.”
The dog comes down the alley where Otaimo is at and barks at him some more.
“Silence, domestic beast.” Otaimo continues to look. The dogs growls, and then it latches onto Otaimo’s clothes, pulling him out from the alley. “Cease you insolent-“
“Well I’ll be.” Wosy notices as Otaimo is ripped from cover. He cracks his knuckles and prepares on of his coins. “Let’s make a deal. If you forget every word you just heard, I’ll let you off with a knuckle sandwich.”
“Do not resort to violence before you know who you are speaking with. I am Otaimo, the God of Vengeance. I have come here with my ally to speak with a man named Pathos.”
“Good luck. He’s asleep.” K’Trinop comes from around the corner. “And anyways, I’m pretty sure there’s only six gods on the chart, so what makes you think you’re a god?”
“I came here not to chat, but to talk. Do not test me. My friend here, K’Trinop, showed an interest in helping you with your plans.”
“Wait- how did you find out about the heist?!”
“We found your hideaway. See, we have made enemies with the Six.”
Suddenly, the door to the shop opens, and Pathos comes out, drowsy. He couldn’t sleep.
“Mornin’ sunshine. By the way, we’ve got company.”
“Sir... are you Pathos? We caught wind of your plans to invade the Beyond. We have plans of our own. If you could aid us, and provide us transit to the Beyond, we can help you in your journey as we make our way to dethrone these unrightful rulers.”
@KorandAngels as Ishka, @ThatOneCat as Gistix, @Pepperoni as Teegar
Triple Encounter
“Ishka! Do something!”
Kia is scared senseless as one of the slugs rips a man clean in half with his chain. Another notices, and uses magic to grow his chain to incredible lengths. A dark aura surrounds it, and Ishka has to save her from the wicked blow.
“INCOMING VESSEL! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!”
A giant demon is commandeering a small vessel towards the port. Upon it is a great plethora of werewolf corpses. He pulls out a horn to respond.
“Teegar... You know who I am.”
“COME AROUND.”
Teegar turns the ship to go around the conflict, when he notices a third, much larger vessel coming in.
“THIRD VESSEL! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!”
“What’s going on?!” Kia can’t focus with everything that’s going on. The third vessel is littered with the bodies of the dead. The captain, zombified, is unable to speak. On board is a small cat with wings, drinking deep from a small container.
“THIRD VESSEL! IDENTIFY OR WE WILL ENGAGE!”
The cat on board flies onto the port. He is completely surrounded by potential victims. A bloodbath! The stars truly have aligned today. He turns to see Teegar’s vessel, full of werewolf corpses, and The Glory of Padetra, full of the dead and dying, but the souls on board are being sucked dry. He also sees the angels, with very powerful souls...
Everyone! This could be a potential free-for-all. PM me with your plan of action, and I’ll tell you what to do.
Teegar’s Potential Actions (Pepperoni)
- Continue to go around. With your cargo in tow, you need to get it secure.
- Attack the cat (ThatOneCat). You can sense it drinking in souls, and it could be a threat to your vessel.
- Attack the soul chainers aboard the Glory of Padetra. They could be a threat to your vessel as well.
- While they are not immediate threats, you could also attack Kia or Ishka (KorandAngels). Choose one of them.
Ishka’s Potential Actions (KorandAngels)
- Focus on the fight at hand, completing your challenge from earlier.
- This newfound threat (ThatOneCat) has its eyes on your soul. You can feel it.
- You can also feel a sense of evil coming from the demon (Pepperoni). He plans to bring these werewolves back to life, doesn’t he?
Gistix’s Potential Actions (ThatOneCat)
- Spirit chainers have a lot of souls to their name. An entire ship full of spirits to take, but if you don’t stop these chainers, they will claim them as their own.
- Those werewolves have powerful souls embraced by eldritch magic. You’ll have to deal with that pesky demon (Pepperoni) though.
- Those angels are very powerful. You could choose one (Kia or KorandAngels) to try to claim.
- Find the ship that stole them
Look after that ship, we will need to have a long chat with the captain...
Encounter
As Mastiffa’s demons look through the waterways for suspicious vehicles, they find a vehicle at port, which contains multiple crates of alcoholic beverages and a tapped keg of ale, all emblazoned with the emblem of the seller. For sure, this is the vessel that stole the beverages.
As the sun rises, Mastiffa and her demons carry away the stolen beverages, but the crew of The Red Sail notices...
You may attempt to talk and settle on an agreement. Either of you may escalate this into a duel at any time.
"This isn't really a charity organisation, but gold is gold... from whom, exactly ?" asks Xataxji, whithout making a move to take the coin. He knows firsthand that an object as small as a pinhead could very well be enchanted to blow up a square kilometer into rubble, and the shimmering gold is indeed suspicious.
“We found it during a raid in a town. It seems... strange. You remember that bauble we gave you? It’s... something like that.” (Referring to Xataxji’s favorite bauble)
I will try to crunch out your bit before I leave!
You have a few options when it comes to ways to identify this stone. Choose a route to pursue first.
- Hitcherald: Scholars are trained to identify divine relics.
- Descour: While few people go through Descour, there are rumors that an archaeologist lives there.
- Delvad: There is supposedly an Artificer deep in Duskwood Territory that has experience with divine artifacts and blessings.
- Racrion: The Dawnwood know much about the divine. You may be able to seek their aid.
- The Changing Arcanum: This city is an epicenter of knowledge. Perhaps, research alone may prove to be the key.
- Yrntrn: With the sheer number of alchemists here, you would likely be able to get a thorough reading of what element this is, or at least, where you might be able
Now Xataxji is interested. If the coin gives off the same signature as his most treasured trinket... With a quick swipe, he grabs the coin, startling the courrier. "Leave now." Dismissing everyone, he returned to his personal chambers, flipping the coin through his fingers, carefully watching how the light reflects on the engravings. It does feel strange. Locking the door behind him, he quickly unlocked his safe, dispelling the destructive wards around it. Inside, amongst other priceless artifacts, rests his bauble, a small silver disk, slightly thicker in the center than on the edges, covered in small undecipherable scriptures. He picks it up gingerly, knowing what to expect.
As soon as he picked it up, the room seemed to darken, shadows start spiralling around Xataxji, and the whispers start. Hundreds of voices in as many languages, coming, the demon knows, from hundreds of different eras. By listening to them, he could learn an incredible amount of secrets, about almost everyone and everything. When he had first found it two hundred years ago in an uncharted ruin in the merciless desert of Desour, it had taken him a decade to correctly decipher what they said. Since then, it had been his most valuable asset, allowing him to be steps ahead of competition. He would not be in his current position if not for the bauble's power.
He held both items in his hands, scrutinizing them both side by side. What could they possibly have in common ?
"Lovely chat, but I'm busy right now fellas, just passing through, nothing to see here. I'll change my course around if my presence worries you. Thank you." I communicate with my horn as I divert my boat, these people obviously have issues, if they try comming for me they better be ready to take a good fight, and I better think of a plan to get rid of them myself.
Suddenly, the weird dreams Pathos was having shot to the back of his mind. "Please come in," Pathos said. "We've already had some... complications discussing this in the open."
Pathos started making himself some coffee. Once the assembled party were all inside and he was sure of privacy, he spoke. "You clearly know much more about me than I do about you. Business is predicated upon trust. So why don't you tell me precisely who you are, and what it is you hope to achieve.
//My character was made as a mercenary. He is available for hire in game. Figured I //would put that out since it isn't exactly the most obvious thing.
"Indeed. To put it bluntly, we are of the many gods that dictate the Blind Eternities and beyond," Otaimo said sternly. "It is our duty that none of the planes fall too far to ruin.
"Although this plane has not reached the point where multiplanar intervention is necessary, your gods have decided to actively hunt one of our kin—K'Trinop," Otaimo continued on. "This plane has many interesting phenomenons, one of them preventing beings like K'Trinop and I from leaving. Perhaps this plane's gods are at fault, or it is merely a natural part of this world. Either way, we wish to have assistance in bypassing this phenomenon in exchange for aiding with your grand heist."
"Wait... That Cursed Rebirth... This plane suffers from a tortuous immortality... The gods have let this plane fall too far!" K'Trinop exclaimed with a burning rage in their core. "They've grown compliant, even embracing this atrocity. This cannot stand!"
"This plane has proven to be far worse than I thought," Otaimo grimly stated. "If we help you with your noble heist, will you help us remove this blasted curse off of this land as well?"
It’s time to drink some angel juice.