Now, that things have calmed down a bit, everyone who is in that tomb carefully starts talking to each other and after some conversation it turns out that Uliyana and Johanas, though they find it very cruel what happened to pearl, prefer to search the catacombs for more survivors, who fell down, and help the survivors and lead them back into daylight.
Blather, always trying to prove his value and how useful he is, offers to help them search for survivors, and reluctant at first, Uliyana and Johanas agree that BLather could be a big help.
Kaelen, the shard mage, has other plans. With a smile he reveals, that, whoever did this to Pearl, surely is inside "pearls" tower and enjoying victory now. And as it happens, he, Kaelen, has heard of a hidden magical path that leads into the upper tower and for a small price, he would share that knowledge. The small price is to allow him to research and analyse what is left of the sarcophagus. He even offers pearl a small communication crystal that would allow them to communicate over distance, should Kaelen find out anything special about the sarcophagus.
Meanwhile Dr. Orion is inside his "labority", some crumbling old rooms deep inside the catacombs, where he thinks about new experiments. As of late he found out, that pain, especially magical pain, can stimulate the mind! Some of his research subjects went mad, but the surviving ones showed signs of improved intelligence. But after he had exposed himself to magical pain, He WaS qUiTe SuRe ThE eFfeCt WaS oNlY tEmPoRaRy AnD tHaT iT wOuLdNt AfFeCt HiS mInD iN a NeGaTiVe WaY! hA! HaHa! HaHaHaHaHa!!!
But what should Pearl and Desmodius do now?
New Quest: Desmodius and Pearl must decide what to do now! Create a card that represents their choice. This Quest can only be done if both agree on the same choice. Otherwise they will discuss forever what to do until they both agree on the same:
- Kaelens plan sounds good. Getting undetected back into the tower is a great advantage! And letting him analyse the broken sarcophagus wont harm anyone, especially if he shares his knowledge.
- That Kaelen cant be trusted. We should destroy the sarcophagus' remains and then find a regular way through the catacombs back to the surface, if there is any.
New Quest for Dr. Orion:
- Create a card for an unneccessary dangerous unethical experiment that harms creatures and/or players health and/or mind/abilities.
Desmodius, Bloodbound Investigator, and Pearl on the Ocean Floor exchange knowing glances, weighing their options in silence. Trust is a rare currency in the catacombs, and both have seen enough betrayal to question Kaelen's motives.
Destroy target artifact. If you do, scry 2 and investigate.
Counter target spell or ability that targets a creature or artifact you control.
Exile all cards from target player's graveyard.
“Knowledge is power. But some secrets are better buried.”
Decision:
“Kaelen’s thirst for knowledge is too dangerous. We’ll destroy what remains of the sarcophagus. Some truths should stay buried, Pearl. Let’s find our own way out.”
As Desmodius explains his line of thinking to Pearl, she quickly agrees. The Casket needs to be destroyed.
After a while of magical and physical means, the Casket finally fully shatters, stone fragments landing on the ground of the small cave with thuds. Pearl looks towards Desmodius. "Vampire, lead the way. I do not know the Catacombs well, and I assume that this is your home, and that you would have the most knowledge of a path upwards." Pearl, is of course, lying. The portal she originally went through to come here had dropped her in the Catacombs, and she knows the most efficient way up. But she must bide her time a little longer until her stores of oil replenish.
After sucessfully destroying the sarcophagus you notice that Kaelen is gone. While you focussed on destroying that vile casket, Kaelen must have vanished into the darkness of the catacombs. And since you didnt agree to his suggestion, you probably made a dangerous enemy today.
Uliyana, Johanas and Blather are gone too, but you dont think that they are a threat, since they are looking for survivors they can help, good-hearted as they are.
And since inside the tomb/cave you are actually in, there isnt much left to do for you, you decide to look for a way out of the catacombs. As you leave the cave, Desmodius immediately notices that the catacombs have changed. The little "earthquake" and the tear/rift to the surface made parts of the catacombs collapse, but also revealed other parts that were buried before. Old paths are closed now but new ones have opened.
As Desmodius looks around with his vampire vision, a great advantage down here, he notices two promising looking corridors that must have recently been revealed. One corridor is covered in spider webs, while the other has slime on the ground and on the walls.
Meanwhile Dr. Orion notices in his lab, that one of his experimental creatures has escaped! And it was one of those nasty and really dangerous creatures you dont want to have running around free!
New Quest for Desmodius and Pearl.
Chose a corridor and create a land card representing that corridor!
- Spiderwebs dont scare us! Webbed corridor it is!
- Slime doesnt scare us! Slimed corridor it is!
New Quest for Dr. Orion:
- Create a dangerous escaped experimental creature!
@jpastor what path would you like to take? Pearl is content in letting Desmodius take the lead on this one, not wanting to make it seem like she has other intentions.
Desmodius narrows his eyes, his vampire vision cutting through the darkness. The webbed corridor hints at giant spiders—dangerous, but predictable. The slime-covered path, however, suggests something far more unusual... and perhaps an escape route with fewer eyes watching.
Card: Slimed Passageway Land — Rare {T}: Add {B} or {G}. {3}, {T}: Create a 1/1 green Ooze creature token with “This creature can’t be blocked except by Oozes.” Corrosion Trap — If a creature attacks you and you control no creatures, you may pay {B}{G}. If you do, destroy that creature at end of combat.
“Beware what slithers unseen beneath the slime.”
Desmodius Speaks:
“Let’s go through the slimed corridor. The unknown might be dangerous, but it holds fewer webs to trap us… and more shadows to hide within.”
As you move through the slimed corridor, you have the feeling that something is watching you! Sometimes slimy orbs on the ground and the walls are moving in your direction, only to stand completely still once you look at them and focus your attention on them. Careful you move through the corridor until you arrive at a door. Slowly you open the door and inside is ...
As soon as you open the door you see something that shouldnt be allowed to exist, but it is still there! And even worse, it is seeing you too and slowly moving in your direction! And if that wasnt the worst, it has turned most of the ground of this room into lava!
It seems to be a fire creature that somehow merged with a slime! And it looks very unstable!
Meanwhile Dr. Orion decided that it would maybe be a good idea to search for the things and creatures that somehow always escape from his laboratory. But first, he had to prepare! So Dr. Orion used his scientist skills to create an equipment that would help him!
New Quest for Desmodius and Pearl:
Teamwork! You must work as a team to beat this creature. How does this work? Simple. - Both of you create a spell card and together those two spells make a combo that will safely remove the Rogue Infernal Slime without exploding it. Should the Rogue Infernal Slimes ability trigger it will set the slimed corridor on fire and even more rogue infernal slimes will spawn. Oh, and since THE GROUND IS LAVA, you cannot simply attack the Rogue Infernal Slime.
New Quest for Dr. Orion:
- Create an Equipment Card that is beneficial for Dr. Orion but dangerous to everyone else.
{2}{U}{U} Instant — Rare Tap target creature. That creature loses all abilities until end of turn. If it is an Elemental or Ooze, exile it instead. “Let’s cool you down before you destabilize the whole corridor.”
Desmodius’s Spell: Nightshade Channel
{1}{B}{R} Instant — Rare Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of cards in your graveyard. If that creature would be destroyed this turn, exile it instead. “Darkness seeps into the cracks. Let's siphon that energy into oblivion.”
The Combo:
Tidal Suppression from Pearl targets the Rogue Infernal Slime, tapping it and removing its dangerous ability.
Nightshade Channel from Desmodius reduces the Slime’s toughness to 0, ensuring it dies instantly and is exiled, avoiding its explosive death trigger.
Desmodius:
“Hit it with that wave, Pearl. I’ll ensure its power is snuffed out entirely.”
Pearl raised her hands into the air, her eyes and hands glowing blue. Even though her powers had been drained by her time in the sarcophagus, she was still a powerful wizard. A wave rose behind her, corkscrewing around her and desmodius be for slapping down on the unsuspecting slime, snuffing out its light and causing steam to cloud the room. Desmodius raises his hands as well as steam clouds the room, darkness cascading from his hands and entering into the slime‘s body, ripping it from the inside out.
While Dr. Orion is still working on his new equipment card in his laboratory, Pearl and Desmodius resume their journey through the catacombs.
After a while they arrive at a large iron door, and as they carefully open it, they see a fox-like creature sitting at a table in a room filled with scientific stuff. And he seems to be constructing something.
"Oh, Visitors!" he says as he turns towards you. "What brings you here?"
New Quest: You just met Dr.Orion.
- That creature seems friendly. We should tell him everything that brought us here.
- We cant trust strangers. Only tell him that we are looking for a way out of the catacombs.
Create a double-sided card that represents "Trust/Distrust"
Trust {2}{U}{B} Enchant Creature When you enchant a creature with Trust, you may reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a creature card, draw a card and gain control of the enchanted creature. “We’ve come seeking knowledge. Let’s see if we can trust him to provide it.”
Distrust {1}{B}{R} Enchant Creature When you enchant a creature with Distrust, that creature gains deathtouch and menace until end of turn. As long as it’s enchanted by Distrust, it can’t block creatures you control. “Something feels off here. I trust no one in these catacombs.”
Flavor Text (Trust): "Sometimes, knowledge comes from unexpected places. Let’s see where this path leads."
Flavor Text (Distrust): "In a place like this, trust is a luxury. We proceed with caution."
Desmodius: “We can’t afford to trust blindly. Let’s not give him too much to work with. We’re only here to find a way out.”
School is very important, because there you learn, to sit still for an hour, to shut up and be quiet and that assholes can get away with almost anything. A very important lesson for life. And you learn something about social behaviour and how to get along with others, that is really useful. The lessons the teachers teach, thats garbage, cause you wont need 99% of it after school.
Optional Quest for everyone unlocked: Create a card named "CYNICISM"
Ahem, but anyway, the adventure continues:
Curious, as all foxes are, Dr. Orion said "Oh, then you have come to the right place! For in my scientific research i learned about a way back into the city! I can even show you!" He rummages around on his Labdesk and then grabs a strange fractured cube that is moving by itself. "Ah, there it is. I call it the MAP-O-MATIC! It projects a map of the surroundings when activated. But to be sure it isnt used for vile purposes i fractally inverted the projection and randomized it, so no one except myself would understand it! Brilliant, i know!"
To your eyes the Map-O-Matic only randomly projects light in all directions and the projections dont make sense at all.
Optional Quest for everyone: Create the Map-O-Matic, an artifact that creates map tokens.
"That Fox is crazy", whispered Desmodius to Pearl, while Pearl only shrugged "All Foxes are crazy, everyone knows that". "Hey, i heard that!", Dr. Orion says from the other side of the room "And youre totally right, all foxes are crazy, but all foxes have very good ears too! But, as one my newest scientific thesis says, all creatures are crazy! Some dont know about it and some are more crazy than others, but all are crazy, interesting, hmm?"
Then, he activates the Map-O-Matic and wanders off into a labyrinth of corridoors and rooms filled with rotten remains of whatever was stored there once.
After a while you come to a well and Dr. Orion points directly at it: "We must dive into that well and then, after about a mile we should be at our destination. Now where is my Aqua-Breather?!? I assume you have some way to breathe under water as well?"
Quest for Dr. Orion: Create Dr. Orions Aqua-Breather (equipment card).
Quest for everyone else: Create a card that allows your character to breathe under water.
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Comments
I'd say The Catacomb, give me a few minutes to find right art for this. (I am kinda against AI art, so I prefer a free, human-made art)
I'd say that's normal 😁
@LvB
Here's another card;
I never grow bored of creating a full art cards. It's the best.
Desmodius and Pearl's Decision:
Desmodius, Bloodbound Investigator, and Pearl on the Ocean Floor exchange knowing glances, weighing their options in silence. Trust is a rare currency in the catacombs, and both have seen enough betrayal to question Kaelen's motives.
Card: Sealed Secrets
Instant — {2}{U}{B}
Choose one:
“Knowledge is power. But some secrets are better buried.”
Decision:
“Kaelen’s thirst for knowledge is too dangerous. We’ll destroy what remains of the sarcophagus. Some truths should stay buried, Pearl. Let’s find our own way out.”
Will this do?
After a while of magical and physical means, the Casket finally fully shatters, stone fragments landing on the ground of the small cave with thuds. Pearl looks towards Desmodius.
"Vampire, lead the way. I do not know the Catacombs well, and I assume that this is your home, and that you would have the most knowledge of a path upwards." Pearl, is of course, lying. The portal she originally went through to come here had dropped her in the Catacombs, and she knows the most efficient way up. But she must bide her time a little longer until her stores of oil replenish.
Here's dangerous creature!
Desmodius’s Choice: Slimed Corridor
Desmodius narrows his eyes, his vampire vision cutting through the darkness. The webbed corridor hints at giant spiders—dangerous, but predictable. The slime-covered path, however, suggests something far more unusual... and perhaps an escape route with fewer eyes watching.
Card: Slimed Passageway
Land — Rare
{T}: Add {B} or {G}.
{3}, {T}: Create a 1/1 green Ooze creature token with “This creature can’t be blocked except by Oozes.”
Corrosion Trap — If a creature attacks you and you control no creatures, you may pay {B}{G}. If you do, destroy that creature at end of combat.
“Beware what slithers unseen beneath the slime.”
Desmodius Speaks:
“Let’s go through the slimed corridor. The unknown might be dangerous, but it holds fewer webs to trap us… and more shadows to hide within.”
Pearl’s Spell: Tidal Suppression
{2}{U}{U}
Instant — Rare
Tap target creature. That creature loses all abilities until end of turn. If it is an Elemental or Ooze, exile it instead.
“Let’s cool you down before you destabilize the whole corridor.”
Desmodius’s Spell: Nightshade Channel
{1}{B}{R}
Instant — Rare
Target creature gets -X/-X until end of turn, where X is the number of cards in your graveyard. If that creature would be destroyed this turn, exile it instead.
“Darkness seeps into the cracks. Let's siphon that energy into oblivion.”
The Combo:
Desmodius:
“Hit it with that wave, Pearl. I’ll ensure its power is snuffed out entirely.”
Here's it;
Trust / Distrust
Double-Sided Legendary Enchantment - Aura (Rare)
Trust
{2}{U}{B}
Enchant Creature
When you enchant a creature with Trust, you may reveal the top card of your library. If it’s a creature card, draw a card and gain control of the enchanted creature.
“We’ve come seeking knowledge. Let’s see if we can trust him to provide it.”
Distrust
{1}{B}{R}
Enchant Creature
When you enchant a creature with Distrust, that creature gains deathtouch and menace until end of turn. As long as it’s enchanted by Distrust, it can’t block creatures you control.
“Something feels off here. I trust no one in these catacombs.”
Flavor Text (Trust):
"Sometimes, knowledge comes from unexpected places. Let’s see where this path leads."
Flavor Text (Distrust):
"In a place like this, trust is a luxury. We proceed with caution."
Desmodius:
“We can’t afford to trust blindly. Let’s not give him too much to work with. We’re only here to find a way out.”