Seeking An Island (Sallin_Kari)

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

We could do the Shinji and WH40k route where a 40k set washes up on shore / is found in the market and this inspires her. I'm leaning toward making the catgirl a crafter type as backstory, so she can actually make guns in addition to using them.

The commander pulls a flap on her belt forward, seeing that of the two spots on it, only one of them is left usable. The swirls of elemental magic around it imply that she can select the element of the grenades, but going from 'two' to 'one' is a serious issue. It'll recharge tomorrow, as most magic does. But, you still haven't run across whatever the hell it is down below that's throwing out all of that raw magic. Hopefully, nothing more dangerous than this is present, but the simple fact that there was a guard this monstrous is not good. And you still haven't found the necromancer responsible for all of this.

"So far, I'm seeing a great deal of undead magic. Any casters with elementals, switch to fire or life magic as your first draw if you can. Seekers. Analyze that crown, is it the source of whatever is powering the undead, or just a tool? Recommendations on whether we take it or break it." Looking at the crown, without touching it or the stairs, the raw magic clinging to it doesn't seem to be connected anywhere to the castle, it's just radiating raw undeath magic. It's 'probably' just a magic tool to increase power or store it.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

That's... a weird way of doing it.

"Seems to be a focus or a mana storage rather than a proper magical tool," I access, with a displeased look. After all we went through to get it, I'd like it to be something useful rather then just junk to feed to the furnace.

[porne]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Hm, maybe best to find an actual Sister of Battle in uniform. Should have 'faith' and fire magic stick to it like glue.

Also, you were a furry, yes? Anything interesting here: https://exhentai.org/g/1615332/1eabde4efb/

The commander approaches the crown, before eventually picking it up with her spear and sticking it in one of the bags of holding that are quite popular for loot. Once it crosses the thresh hold, you feel the building around you... sigh and begin to slowly bleed out magic. There's still plenty of lines of magic, but some of them are definitely weaker. No loud alarms sound, no trembling rocks, so you're probably safe. There doesn't appear to be much else in the throne room that you can find, which still leaves whatever storage room was back in the hallway and whatever is downstares throwing off so much raw power.

[Sallin_Kari]

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Wouldn't go so far as to say I am a furry but I don't instantly recoil at the sight of furry characters. I generally prefer a notch less then this but I don't mind this level.

This area is cleared... and considering how the structure reacted... perhaps it could be used to interface with it? A key perhaps? Way to dangerous to try and put it on with no idea what is going on but... perhaps we might find a key hole? Regardless with this area cleared I suggest we clear the remaining side rooms and see if the big doors can be opened or not.

[porne]

It's hard to tell what it could be used for, just that it's storing a large amount of power. A search of the room reveals a few smaller alcoves, one of which has several viewing crystals within it, setup across differing levels if you had to guess. One of them shows nothing but rock, likely the 'exterior' of whatever this dungeon is before it had a chunk of island or whatever dropped on top of it. Looking at them, you spot various intersections, including the area just back down the hallway. The crystals seem to have been cast directly into the wall with mortar, so breaking them loose is possible, but would be time consuming to avoid damaging them. The small hidden alcove the monster was slumbering in has numerous runes carved into the walls, but otherwise seems devoid of anything of value.

Returning back towards the primary entrance to this floor, the large doors don't seem to have changed much. Moving closer to them, you sense... potential magic? It feels like it's a reagent store room or possibly a library.

[Sallin_Kari]

Sensing the possibility of magic on the other side, "Probably good stuff on the other side door. We should see if we can open it before we leave... Anything else on this floor or are we ready to go deeper?"

[porne]

The doors are exceptionally heavy, but they do move when you apply enough force to them. Or, when the amazons apply enough force. You're not exactly as big as they are. And your guess was correct, the room is filled with books, magic clinging to almost all of them, but only a few have strong magic. Either age, or incompatibility with the local magical rules has hobbled the others. The room is dark and foreboding without the same amount of magical light giving crystals present. There's also a fairly large chair there, something that makes the amazons look a little on the petite size, which... does not leave you with warm fuzzy feelings about what might be controlling this area.

[Sallin_Kari]

Good stuff, good stuff. Still the size of the chair is intimidating... Combined with the giant humanoid 'guard dog' I'm thinking the masters of this place are giants. "Well, time to find out what that overwhelming magical source actually is," I mention, "Hopefully it doesn't have as vicious guardian."

[porne]

Only a small number of the books in the library have any magic clinging to them, most of the others just have the background ethereal glow you associate with general books of knowledge. Opening one shows a few diagrams of anatomy, confirming your suspicion. Anatomy books have a wisp of magical power to them, but nothing like books based on the explanation of fundamental forces, like you expect the intense glowing ones do. Of course, considering what you've run across so far, it's likely they're focused on necromancy.

The commander gives the area a once over and seeing that you've confirmed that most of the books have a low level of magic, and their comparative weight to magic ratio, decides to pick up a few choice ones but leaves most of them behind. Heading down the stairs, the intense magical energy seems to throb in your head as you reach the next level. This one is much larger than before, the central hallway continuing significantly further than the upper level. Several glowing runes label the doors, although you can't read them. Unlike above, which had no labels, it seems this floor of the dungeon has multiple uses.

Magical energy radiates from the far chamber, heavy doors isolating it from the hallway. (Luck:2) A small group of skeletons at the forward section of the hallway perk up when somebodies foot slips and they skid down several steps. Further down, there's another group, this on a side passage, or possibly another stairway, it's hard to tell. There's six more skeleton soldiers, with a pair of crossbowmen now backing away as they try to take up position. The group further down doesn't seem to react, possibly some kind of limit on their intelligence?

[Sallin_Kari]

As the wave of magic washes over me I steady myself on the wall. Luckily the adrenaline from spotting more skeletons seems to counter act the dizziness in a hurry. I fire off a shot at one of the crossbowmen, hoping to cripple its arm.

[porne]

(Dex:23)(Gen:Nat20)

Whether the practice with the crossbow is helping or not, you manage to pin one of their arms by firing the bolt through the joint and seeming to lodge itself in the bone joint itself. The arm... doesn't go limp, but freezes up and seems to be stuck as the creature turns toward you and struggles to bring the heavy crossbow to bare. The others, for all that they got caught flat footed last time begin their charge and rapidly begin to push the first group back and twist around, forcing their backs up against the wall where they can't maneuver. While there's still cleanup, at least half of the first group of skeletons is rapidly chewed up and sent back to the grave. It doesn't take much time before you notice that the other skeletons seem to be at least looking over at you, but it's hard to tell what with the lack of eyes and such.

[Sallin_Kari]

I can't help but nod as the bolt lands true. Loading up another one I continue to provide supporting fire until I notice the other skeletons shifting attention. Shifting my aim to them I prepare to fire a bolt. If they begin to move I'll open fire, intending to pierce the spine.

[porne]

The battle itself is short but exceptionally violent as the skeletons finally go down. Pushing past the next batch as well, you take a moment to survey the hallway. Being a bit more cautious, you poke around, sensing very tiny amounts of magic behind each of the doors, although that might just be the massive wad of it at the end chamber across from the stairs. Taking a peak in one, you find numerous bottles and jars, likely filled with some kind of magical ingredients. Some have completely lost their magic, assuming they had some to begin with, but it's hard to tell if they're new materials gathered recently, or something from before the drop.

Turning around, you find a couple spots of blood drippings, leading up from the stairwell in the middle of the hallway leading down further. You're not a professional tracker, but it does look like the blood splatter is leading up. The trail leads to the heavy, shut door at the end of the hallway, the one all of the magic is wafting from. As you approach, you hear a dim mad cackling laughter. "-ork! It actually works! Oh, my pitiful little sample, I'm sorry, but you've become too corrupted to use anymore. I will gift you with knowledge before I extract your soul. Fear not, the next one looks like she's a tough one!" Well. That's delightful, a mad necromancer that likes to talk and experiment.

[Sallin_Kari]

"-orks?" I mutter not sure what the hell he was going on about. He doesn't seem friendly though and the general rule is to not suffer the necromancer to live. I immediately fire off my bolt at him before switching to my bow. Being more fleshy and not covered in armor, the rate of fire from the bow should prove more useful.

[porne]

(Dex:16)

Your shot lands in the middle of his... probably a his, back with a wet and gooshy 'splut'. "Hm?" It mentions before turning its head a full 180° to spot you. "Ah, new test subjects! You two, finish the enhancements on the next subject, the rest of you take them while I finish my meal." He mentions, even as the amazons charge in. Several more skeletons, although these are much smaller and more... precise looking in their assembly, many seeming to have four arms, turn towards you, leaping across the room. Two of them are still busy with a wolf eared woman, carving or tattooing, it's hard to tell in this light, various magically active glyphs onto her. Chitinous armor seems to grow from her skin in the process.

The amazon commander lets out a string of expletives and pulls you aside. "Fucking Liches. They have a remote weak point. Take this. Find it. Destroy it." She hisses and hands you a wicked curved dagger, radiating menace. A Soul Drinker Blade! Planting this in a magically active item, the blade will rapidly attack and harvest whatever magic it's used on, ripping it completely loose and sealing it within. They picked up their name for the occasional use on 'immortal' monsters in that they tend to actually kill them by ripping all of the magic loose even if most of it is lost on the way.

Even as you stare at the blade thrust into your hands, you hear a death shriek from whoever came before the wolfgirl, and looking you see a man with a swollen head, eyes sprouting from the bubbling mass before his head finally pops. A proboscis from the lich comes out, slurping up the swollen brains as it clicks its finger bones together. "Ah, such delicious knowledge. Hopefully the next one will last longer before it gives out." With that the lich begins to turn towards the amazons and looks to be ready to join the fray as you search the room. In the center, with the various sacrificial alters arranged around it, there is a mound of crystals, bones, and whatever the green metal that tech worlds favor, the contraption being what's gathering the massive amount of magic you've been sensing. It seems to be flowing into the poor woman being carved on, forming some kind of circuit. The lich itself doesn't seem to be linked to anything directly besides the various undead around it. If there's some kind of low level magical link, it's likely being drowned out by the monster contraption in the center of the room. The commander hasn't given you a lot to go on, but she's still close enough if you think it's worth telling her to destroy or attack the thing in the middle so you can see what's going on. Assuming it doesn't explode in a fiery mess as magical stuff is wont to do.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

[Sallin_Kari]

Taking the dagger in my hand I flip it around getting a feel for its weight as I search the room for the lich's link. Letting out a long click I announce to the commander, "Well keep him busy. There is a lot of interference so it's going to take me some time." With that said the only plan I have is to deal with the massive source in the middle. Not sure if it's something I should stab or not yet, and I don't want to leave it to the magic blind amazons and risk us all going up in magical flames. Maybe I'll figure out something when I get there, but for now I need to navigate through the mess of undead to it.

[porne]

The blade isn't really designed for any serious combat, it's designed as a finishing weapon but you should be able to use at least a little bit.

(Wis:11)(Dex:13)
Sorting through the mess of magical circuits flying about isn't easy, but you begin to make out a few different linkages. Moving through the area, you're eventually pushed toward the magical hodgepodge and make out a bit more about it. It's definitely linked to the poor wolf woman, but there's linkage to the lich as well, but it seems to be using the strange device as the locus of whatever spell it has. Most of the undead seem to be linked to the 'floor' or at least part of the dungeon, and using the blade on one of these would likely shut the thing down instantly, but it'd certainly be a waste on anything less than the lich or the guardian that's already been defeated. The amazons are outnumbered by the skeletons and zombies, but these seem to be constructed more for using tools than combat, which is giving the amazons some play. The lich finishes its meal, and seems to be turning towards the battle, magical energy gathering to its fingers.

[Sallin_Kari]

I try to see if I can decipher this magic to figure out what exactly it does, but the lich is readying to attack. I need to find his phylactery now! It's not going to be here in all likelihood. He'd have it hidden away protected by all kinds of dangerous undead monstrosit- The undead 'dog' flashes through my mind. THE CROWN! It was utterly soaked in necromantic magic. Pulling it out I press the knife into it, hoping that it would work, because I'm fresh out of ideas otherwise.

[porne]

When you pull the crown out, the circuit between the lich, the experiment and the woman ripples, a thin line connecting everything to the crown which confirms your suspicion. The lich immediately zeroes in on you, unleashing a monstrous howl before you apply the Soul Drinker blade to the crown to test it. The lich shudders when the blade contacts and you get a positive signal from the blade that you've touched a viable object with it. Triggering the blade makes all hell break loose, the magic in the crown it self quickly swallowed up before the linkage connects to the Lich, the experiment and the woman and starts to drain them. The blade becomes hot in your hand, burning hot as the Lich slows down, both from magical damage and a sudden growth in Amazonian weight. You catch a whiff of fire magic on its back before flames erupt from the Liches mouth and eyes. You're almost ready to dance a jig before the heat in your hand suddenly stops and you smell burning pork and a flash of light and chaotic magic that renders you blind before blissful unconsciousness takes you.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

The light burns when you regain consciousness. Your eyes aren't even open, and whatever magical explosion triggered your mana sensitivity is brutal. Cracking open an eye, you look up to see the gentle, if mind searing, light of healing magic radiating down onto you. The first thing you see is the commander across from your bed, meditating. Seeing your grunts of pain, she opens her eyes and gives you a slight smile. "Well, if it isn't the hero of last week. Got yourself right fucked up even after I told you not to, huh? Torched all our loot as well, well the stuff that isn't jammed into your chest. And apparently, it'll kill you beyond dead to remove it." Looking down, you sense a few magical items softly glowing under your skin, much of tightly woven around the light you think of as your soul. Not something that's ever going to be removed, not without all of it tumbling loose and shredding your soul to bits. There's also a line leading over to your side, which you can't really make out through the privacy wall.

"Anyway, onto the debriefing since you're my problem until that's done. After the disaster that was that last fight, we completely retreated thinking we'd gotten our asses beat right good with little beyond a few books to show for it. A day later, news comes in from a half dozen other teams that were being attacked by undead that a bunch of them suddenly dropped, exploded, or suddenly had a problem staying a... unalive? Since we had the approximate time of result, even us muscle heads can but two and two together so you got some credit from every fucking team out there who ran across surprise undead even though the slab that fell was a tech world. Seems the tech world landed on top of the Liches keep, who was more than happy to invade the tech world for fresh meat, up until we bypassed all of its fucking defenses and jammed a Soul Drinker blade into its phylactery and a fire grenade through his back and into his guts." The fact that she gestures with a heavily bandaged arm, oozing burn gel answers who did that.

"Your portion of said reward, including the reward from the second trip into the redeaded Liches keep by someone a bit more properly armed puts you well over the break even point, even with the two healer bills. We got lucky. You got lucky. I don't think I ever want to work with you again." She gets up, stretching and getting ready to leave. "Fortunately, I get that choice, and I'll revisit it at a later date," she mutters before walking out, leaving a good sized sack of coins. Your mind is spinning, struggling to process all of that.

[Sallin_Kari]

Okay... I can do this. He might want to kill me but all I have to do is kill him first. I chant to myself, attempting to steady my nerves As the blade starts to burn, my hands grip tighter for dear life, as I'm quite certain if I let go I'm dead. As the the lich succumbs to the flames, a thought crosses my mind, Hey, everything turned out fine. And as the blinding flash happens, it is quickly followed by Oh shi-!

I let out a long groan as the pain wracks my body. After a long moment the words of the commander sinks into me, "Wait! WHAT?!" I shoot up, before flinching from the pain. Pushing through it, I examine my chest. As she continued her debrief, I let out a sigh, "Thanks for that. Probably wouldn't have survived long enough if it wasn't for that."

At her snide comments, I shoot back one of my own, "Why not? We got to be big damn heroes, got paid for our troubles, and we even survived. What's not to love?" After she leaves, I go back to groaning to myself, trying to sleep off the pain.