Modern Necromancy Quest # 3

Well we are already on our way out arn't we? It would be awkward to go back and talk to her. I say we just carry on to where we are supposed to be and task skunk bro with occasionally checking in on the girl and bringing us information. We need to know everything about every magic user we can find.

>>262492
Last Time on Modern Necromancy Quest, You, Michael Remic-
Went to a tiny, secluded graveyard to find more information about a mysterious (deceased) JACOB that your summoned shade (incorporeal animal spirit), SKUNKBRO, mentioned. While there, you met the OLD CEMETERY LADY, a kindly witch who agreed to trade you some ACONITE if you fetched her a RECIPE from a local bakery. The RECIPE was heavily guarded, and you were forced to hide from an ENCHANTRESS who magically hypnotized the manager of the bakery. You were victorious in the end, and gave the RECIPE to the OLD CEMETERY LADY who happily handed over the ACONITE. Further search of the cemetery revealed a small wooden box near JACOB'S grave, unopenable so far. You used the ACONITE in a ritual to summon the LESSER PHYSICAL FORMS (intelligent skeletons) of a bird, ROBIN, and a male deer, BUCK. Your sister MIA caught you up late and believes you were sneaking out for a PARTY, withholding this information from your PARENTS in return for a FAVOR, redeemable any time.
You are now at your HIGH SCHOOL for a SUMMER ORIENTATION at the behest of your MOTHER and despite your sister MIA'S protests.
A GIRL had just given you a funny look, and you decided to send SKUNKBRO, the incorporeal shade, to take a look.

>>262492
>say something to her
pickup-lines.net/?s=bone
pick your poison

>>262492
>other
Let's wait for this chick to be alone, then confront her. We can play it cool and drop subtle hints that we know she was drawing us. Something like "Is my pocket really that dark?", it'll freak the fuck out of her.

>>262492
I second >>262520 , but we should make some type of contact with her. Perhaps we could leave a note to tell her that we would be happy to explain what she's seeing, if she would like to come talk to us later?

>>262520
thirding like if it were 1930's

>>262550
>>262551
>>262535
I'd like some consensus before I start rolling d10s to decide
Should you say something to her before you leave the room, or just drop a note? Or track her down later when she's alone?

>>262592
Switching my vote to >>262551

>>262592
My vote is to write her a note, have Skunkbro get her attention again so that she sees us leave it on the front desk for her, and then leave. Rather than try to guess when she'll be free so we can come to her, she can just come to us when she's ready.

>>262592
Personally, I think we should wait to see what the picture is before we commence shadowruns.

>>262592
I personally think it would be best to track her down later. We can go with the "is my pocket really that dark" line. I think it's clever and effective.

>>262610
We can still use that line if we have her come to us.

>>262610
This. We can have Skunkbro watch over her and let us know if anything weird happens or call him over if we suddenly need him.

>>262630
We don't have a way to call him from a distance.

Rolled 1, 9 = 10 (2d10)

>>262609
It's us, with weird shading that suggests she sees magical shit, but not skunkbro

>>262604
>>262606
First d10
>>262610
>>262630
Second d10
Highest number is our choice

>>262649
hot damn! I have never lost a single roll in this quest!

>>262649
>It's us, with weird shading that suggests she sees magical shit, but not skunkbro
Oh... Well shit. Here I was thinking it was introductory bullshit.

>>262693
read the previous thread, friendo.

>>262693
It's all in the original post, my guy. It helps to read that one first.
>>262667
congrats, my man

You definitely want to talk to that girl later, but going up to her in a crowded classroom and asking her if she can see the spirit of the skunk floating around is asking for trouble. You'll track her down at the end of the day, when she's alone, and try to figure something out then.
You write out instructions for Skunkbro to stay with the girl and come get you at the end of the day, or in case anything clearly supernatural happens, on your phone. He floats over at a subtle gesture from you, reads it, and nods. Assuming a watchful position in the corner, he sits down to wait.
At this point, best just to get over to the Art wing before the ickle freshies start dispersing or one of the administrative ladies gets mad at you. You head over at a quick walk, trusting Skunkbro to do his duty and keep you informed of any weird goings-on.
The main room of the Art wing is just as packed as the Chem and Bio labs were, and with a sigh, you begin dealing with the massive mob of entirely incompetent kids.
You field questions about the most inane questions (NO you are not allowed to bring your broadsword to school for Culture Day, regardless of its historical significance. YES you must stick to your schedule as printed. NO, you don't have to sell your soul to pass Calc, slip some cash to the TA and you'll be fine) for what feels like days. Fortunately, after three hours of this nonsense, a member of the PTA sticks her head in to inform you that it's time for lunch, refreshments available in the cafeteria. Thank God.
>head to cafeteria with all the other students and parents to eat
>go somewhere else for food
>skip lunch, do something else nearby

>>262712
find the girl in the cafeteria and sit next to her for lunch act real friendly and mention how you saw her looking at you probably admiring this work of art *flex*give a good little chuckle to win her over with your overwhelming charisma and then nonchalantly slip in the sketch

>>262712
>head to cafeteria with all the other students and parents to eat

Keep an eye out for the girl, wouldn't be a bad time to ask her what she's up to

>>262712
May as well hit the cafeteria and see if we can find the girl and try to strike up some conversation.

>>262729
>>262740
>>262755
You follow the main group of students as they filter into the cafeteria. It's a large room with tall ceilings, large windows, and terrible acoustics. It is funny watching all the parents try to sit at the awful linoleum tables with attached benches, though.
You wait patiently in line to get some subpar food, scanning the room for the girl. She blends into the crowd fairly well, but Skunkbro hasn't lapsed in his job, and it's not exactly easy for anybody to hide with a skunk apparition floating above their head. She brought her lunch, apparently, and sits at a normal table, with separate folding chairs, near one of the larger windows. She eats quickly, then pulls out her sketchbook again, staring out the window and doodling in it from time to time.
You get your tray and manage to coax the lunchlady into giving you an extra scoop of sad mashed potatoes with your dry turkey and mushy corn before grabbing the flimsiest spork the school district can get away with providing and heading over to join the mystery girl at her table.
You plonk your tray down at the seat across from her and sit. She looks up immediately and gains an interesting colour somewhere between a deep red and baby-puke green, then just goes pale.
"So, I have to ask, is my pocket really that dark?" you say, turning up the charm and giving her a lopsided grin. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, staring at you, then drops her head back down, giving the tabletop her utmost attention.
"Well, it looks that way. All of you looks pretty dark." She mumbles, scootching her chair back as if preparing to flee.
>Conversation? What should you say?
>Have skunkbro do something
>other

>>262840
"Well, y'know, it's kind of a new thing for me, if I'm being perfectly honest. Michael Remic. Nice to meet you."

"Anyway, how're you enjoying freshman orientation?"

>>262876
>"So, I have to ask, is my pocket really that dark?"
Uh, we just did.
>>262840

>>262840

Hey now, I'm not going to do anything and you've got nothing to worry about from me. I'm just wondering how you came to see what you saw. Might be I could help with it.

>>262877
seconding this

>>262840
>waiting in line
Did we not listen to our mother and fail to bring a lunch?

Anyway, let's try to put her at ease. Let's introduce ourselves, tell her that we don't bite, that she's free to ask us any questions she might have as long as she doesn't mind us asking about her (like how her orientation is going), and that if she would rather not talk to us that we'll be happy to let her be.

>>262901
You are a foolish boy and frequently ignore your mother's perfectly good advice.
>>262885
>>262840
"Well, y'know, it's kind of a new thing for me, if I'm being perfectly honest. I'm Michael Remic. For the record, you've got nothing to worry about from me, okay? I'm just wondering how you came to see what you saw. Might be I could help with it." She seems much less impressed now.
"Well, Michael Remic, I've had the Sight my whole life, apparently longer than you've been doing...whatever it is you do." She hesitates a moment. "Liana Stroud."
"Nice name. The Sight? Something in the way you say it makes it sound like a capital 'S'"
"Thanks. The Sight is my gift. I can see energies, all kinds. And I don't need help with it, at least not from you. Though I guess from your comment you can see things too."
"Yeah, that's part of what I can do." You intentionally stay vague about your necromancy. You have no idea what the protocols here are, and from what the old lady in the cemetery said, you get the feeling that necromancers aren't exactly the top caste in magical society. "So, how's your orientation been going?" Liana gives you a weird look.
"Pretty fine. It's kind of boring, honestly. I wouldn't have come if my big sister hadn't insisted."
"Ah, yeah, sisters are kind of a pain. I came because of mine as well, but she's a bit younger. Does your sister go here as well?" Liana thinks for a second before answering, almost as if she's not sure whether or not to tell the truth.
"How about this; I answer your questions, and you answer mine? For every question you ask, I ask one as well, and we trade off. That way, I know you're not just pumping me for information without reciprocating, and we both get to learn whatever it is we want from the other."
>Accept the Deal
>Decline the Deal
>other (negotiate, etc.)

>>262975
>Accept the Deal

I'll tell the truth either way but just to be sure, this isn't some kind of geas is it?

>>262975
>You are a foolish boy and frequently ignore your mother's perfectly good advice.
Stop making me regret my life choices, Dad.

And what the hell are you doing on 4chan anyway?

>>262975
>Accept the Deal
Oh! Someone who knows what they're doing!

>>262975
Accept the deal, definitely. Hell, that's what I was pitching before, anyway.

>>262996
Jacking it to loli futa porn son, what else?

>>262993
You give her a small sideways look.
"I'm gonna be honest no matter what, but this isn't gonna be some kind of magical compulsion, right? Like I shake your hand and suddenly I'm telling you about the time I sprayed fake vomit down from the balcony of a movie theater?" Liana snorts and shakes her head.
"As if I'm either powerful or dumb enough to do something like that with no prep. No, it's just trust." Fair enough.
"Okay, do you want to go first?"
"Fine, I'll go first and you go last. Exactly how long ago did you get your abilities?"
"In a manner of speaking, two days." You're actually a little surprised. Only two days ago, and you've already come so far. Seems like a lifetime ago you opened up the grimoire for the first time. "What exactly do you see when you look at me?"
"Well...it's complicated. Your aura looks pretty normal, maybe a little more vibrant than usual, but that's not too strange. But then, sort of outside of that, on top of your aura, that's where things get weird. It's like a black mist, or a cloud or something. If you've ever dropped dry ice in water, it looks a little like that. Some of it's sort of pooling near your backpack pocket. So I'm guessing there's something powerful in there? Wait, that's not my-"
"Yes, there is something pretty powerful and useful in there." You answer, smiling. "Poor use of a question, but who am I to judge? Now, does your sister go to school here?" She sighs, but answers all the same.
"No, she's much older." Liana pauses for a minute, thinking of a good question. "Currently, what is the most powerful magic you're capable of performing?"
>How do you answer?
>other questions you want to ask?
>other

>>263050
Lets just say I'm capable of acquiring some very unsafe beings if its a powerfull one you're asking about.

>>263050
"Actually, you went first, so you start the turn, and I choose to end the game on this turn. I will not respond to that."

I can bring forth something to fight for me, or someone to spy for me.

>>263066
Too blunt man, half truths.
>>263064
>>263082
These fuckers get it.
>>263050

>>263082
I like this one too.
Our actual magic power is cleverness.

>>263050
Welp that seems like a good place to stop since we're two for two. I can't think of anything else to ask either so maybe we can call it a day.
I just can't see anything good come from answering this question, even if we answer if subtly and with half truths.

>>263050
>How do you answer?
I'll go with >>263082 here.

>other questions you want to ask?
How did you learn about the existance of, well, magic?

>>263082

Seconding This

Something to fight with could be constructs or golams something that can spy may be a thought form.

>>263106
They would both be constructs, one with an aether shell and one with a physical shell. Creating life is obviously a related school of magic to necromancy. I think we should do lots of experimentation and eventually learn how to make artificial shades and golems, it might be possible to do that by understanding the runes we make and altering them.

>>263050
"The most powerful magic I'm capable of performing would be... I can create a great warrior. I have not done it and I see no reason to, and frankly I'd much rather not because it seems like it would be a lot of trouble to go through for something I don't have any use for, but I can work the magic if I have to."

"If I said that I was using dark magic, but that I was using it for purely private things and not using it against or for anyone, would you frown still frown upon it?"

>>263082
>>263064
>>263084
"I'm capable of...acquiring some very unsafe beings, if it's just power you're talking about. Beings to fight for me or spy for me." Liana rolls her eyes and lets out a groan
"Way to be totally obscure. So you're probably some kind of warlock or wright, then..." she mumbles, thinking things through.
"How did you learn about the existence of, well, magic?" You ask, leaning in a bit.
"Like I said, I was born with the Sight, but for a long time I figured I was just hallucinating, got a bunch of drugs. Some of them worked. Then, when I got older, my big sister sort of came into some magic as well. She was the one who finally figured out what was going on, met some people in the community, and told me what was happening. It was a relief, I admit. Now-"
"Nope, sorry. You said it yourself, I go last. That was me, going last." Liana groans again, and leans back in her chair.
"Man you're a pain. Just when I was figuring stuff out. I'm sure Rachel will be able to tell me what you are if I describe you anyway, but it would have been nice to figure things out on my own." You assume Rachel is her big sister, but put a pin in it in case you're wrong.
"Can I meet her? Maybe we can talk after school. I haven't met many people in the...community, as you put it, so I'd like to be friendly."
"Maybe. I'll text her, and if she's cool with it, I'll wait in the lobby after everything finishes up, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan." Things start to get louder in the cafeteria as the bell rings, signaling the end of the lunch break. Both of you file out with the rest of the crowd after a final goodbye. Back to another few hours of the same bullshit, but with overprotective parents this time.
As you field more asinine questions in the Art wing, you can't help but wonder; was it a good idea to set up a meeting with Rachel? Should you just duck and clear out, or risk her not being terribly friendly? The school is a pretty public place, so you don't try anything, but you kind of wish you had more in the way of protection than Skunkbro, reliable as he is.
The hours pass more quickly now that you have something to look forward to, and soon another bell sounds, releasing a torrent of freshmen and parents into the halls to leave the building until the fall. You leave the Art wing, and start towards the lobby
>meet up with Rachel and Liana (assuming they're both there)
>do something else in the school first
>ditch them, it's too uncertain, slip out the back
>other

>>263140
Have Skunkbro scout the meeting first, and tell what he can of Liana and Rachel before we step into it. With a second pair of eyes watching our back, we'll be alright.

>>263140
>meet up with Rachel and Liana (assuming they're both there)
First have skunkbro check if there their to make sure its just them with no shenanigans.

>>263161
seconded.

>>263140
Did Skunkbro see the enchantress? I want to send him ahead in case something seems off. It might be a good idea to bail if they're related. Sure meeting other magic people would be neat but Enchantress seemed like she was definitely against us.

>>263140
>meet up with Rachel and Liana (assuming they're both there)
Have Skunkbro scout out the meeting place first, though.

>>263174
>Enchantress seemed like she was definitely against us.
I feel like she was more against our witch friend or someone getting the "recipe"

Second-to-last post here anons, I need sleep
>>263174
Oh shit, somebody read ahead.
>>263161
>>263163
>>263167
>>263188
You check the hallway to make sure it's empty, then call Skunkbro over.
"Hey, I need you to go scout out the lobby. There should only be two girls there, the one you stayed with earlier and I talked to at lunch, and another older one. Make sure there's nobody dangerous there, okay? Tell me if there's anything weird, and see if you know what the older one can do."
"Will do." Skunkbro replies, dissolving into his more mist-like form and passing through the floor to take a look. It's a long wait, and more than one unpleasant thought pops up. Did he get captured somehow? Can be be captured? Is Rachel a necromancer too? Was he spotted? Could the whole thing be an elaborate trap? Thankfully, after several minutes, Skunkbro floats back up through the floor.
"There are only two of them. I was very thorough. Liana, the younger girl, is there, and she addressed the woman next to her as Rachel." That's a good sign, at least. "Rachel is an Enchantress."
"Wait, I didn't know you could tell what kind of magic a person uses just by looking?"
"I cannot. I recognized her from yesterday. She was in the manager's office. She was the enchantress who warned him about you and enchanted him."
Fuuuuuuck.
Okay, let's go through this logically. She didn't give him a description of you to the manager at the time, right? You can only assume she would have, if she knew what you looked like. It would have made it a lot easier to nab you, no question. So she probably won't recognize you. Probably.
>take the chance, there's no way she'll know you from a hole in the wall. Her beef was with the Old Cemetery Lady
>don't take the chance. She's gonna fucking recognize you and shit will go down horribly
>other

>>263216
>>take the chance, there's no way she'll know you from a hole in the wall. Her beef was with the Old Cemetery Lady
No risk, no reward.

Hell, worst case scenario, we can play off the "I'm new to the community and didn't know she was going to bilk me" thing.

>>263216
>take a chance
Magic fight! MAGIC FIGHT!
pls

>>263225
This. We either bang some cuties and learn how to enchant things, or we die a coward and get resurrected by some other necromancer.

>>263216
>don't take the chance. She's gonna fucking recognize you and shit will go down horribly
Time to bail! I'd like to think it was fairly obvious they were related but somehow no one brought it up so I didn't either. Didn't want to spoil something if it ended up being true.

>>263216
>take the chance, there's no way she'll know you from a hole in the wall. Her beef was with the Old Cemetery Lady
Let's mix things up a bit. It's time to gather dirt on the Enchantress, for the benefit of the Witch.

>>263237
yes it was obvious, but there is a reason why people do not point out obvious things.

>>263246
I actually like this idea. If we play them against each other, we can learn magic from both.

>>263216
Take the chance, fampai. If she was enchanting people, I very much doubt she looks down on necromancy. Mind control is shady type of magic, too, after all.

>>263270
she may mind control us, but I find that very erotic in fact, I hope it happens. Maybe she will force us to be her sex toy.

>>263237
>>263258
Great minds think alike, anons. Don't be afraid to share theories in the future though.
>>263232
>>263229
>>263225
You swallow the lump in your throat and head for the lobby, reminding Skunkbro to warn you in case anything happens that looks like it might be dangerous to your soft, fleshy bits.
When you enter the lobby, the two girls are waiting for you, but neither looks hostile or angry. Rachel is, to say the very least, a total stunner. Short, her brown hair in a messy bun, wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top that must be illegal in 30 states. You give Liana a smile and she returns it (very) briefly.
You extend your hand to Rachel, turning on your brightest 'I-swear-I'm-cool' grin. "Rachel, I presume?" She keeps her arms crossed, and you drop your hand after a moment, feeling like you've just been on the wrong end of a power-play.
"You presume correctly, though it was wrong of my sister to share my name without asking. She says you're new to this, but I'm not so sure. It wouldn't be beyond certain parties to use well-trained magic-users to get to me."
"Well, I don't know how to prove to you that I'm honestly new to this in any way that isn't either too painful or too personal for me to consider."
"Oh? I could check, you know. Look into your head and know for sure if you're telling the truth, or if you're seeking to harm us somehow...wouldn't it be nice, just the two of us, together?" She leans forward just a little, locking eyes with you. Suddenly the idea of her sticking some part of her anatomy into your brain seems like a really fun idea.
"Michael." Skunkbro's gravelly voice, tinged with worry, managed to penetrate the fog wrapped around your head. "I cannot be sure, but it seems she may be influencing you. This seems dangerous."
>resist (roll 1d20) Only first three are counted. Clever ways to improve your chances will be factored in.
>don't resist. It's all cool, she's just checking to make sure you're not a dick/assassin
>other
Last post of the night. We'll see how you fair in the morning

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>263290
>>resist (roll 1d20) Only first three are counted. Clever ways to improve your chances will be factored in.
Really, now? On the first meeting? Jeez, you move fast, lady.

>>263290
AVERT THE EYES FROM HER FORM
>>263298

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>resist (roll 1d20) Only first three are counted. Clever ways to improve your chances will be factored in.
"We won't be alone. I keep my friends close, Rachel."

Rolled 15 (1d20)

We know she is an enchantress and that she does this so we are prepared. As a matter of fact, we're gonna try to counter her enchantment with our own charisma and psionic powers. I suggest we use >>263298 to charm her.

>>263298
Oh, yeah, forgot to add.
If she succeeds in enchanting us, SkunkBro, give her a bath.

>>263310
forgot to mention, let's behave as seductively as possible while saying that. We gotta flip the table on her. She will fall for us.

>>263313
Somehow I don't think he can effectively skunk spray her, but that does give me an idea...

>>263304
Lemme rephrase that a little bit.
"We won't be alone, Rachel. If you knew how close I keep my friends, it would send chills down your spine."

>>263298
We should go for this.
>>263301
I think it might just be her eyes. Notice how she made a point of locking eyes with us. I say we just look down at her tits.
It A) Provides a distraction, so she might not be able to get as good a hold
B) Might throw off her game a bit

>>263322
I suggest this. Let's just behave as lewdly as possible. Say this >>263298 , bite our lip, try to probe her mind psionically, etc

>>263320
>Somehow I don't think he can effectively skunk spray her

We'll never know until we try, though, so why not?

>but that does give me an idea...

Actually, I've got one too, involving banishing spirits with ghost skunk spray.

we should only have skunkbro spray her if we can't flip the tables on her.

>>263320
In case I didn't make it obvious enough, that's intended to be an instruction for Skunkbro to run down her spine to break her concentration.

>>263337
>>263322
>>263298
Are you sure it's a good idea to act like a pervert in front of Liana? She seems to be warming up to us; if we act like a freak to Rachel, Liana probably won't be very keen on talking to us anymore.

If we have Skunkbro run down her back or spray her, it'll break her concentration and she probably won't try any more stunts until she figures out how the hell we did that.

>>263355
okay you have a point. We must apply logic. If we can't fuck the enchantress, we can atleast fuck the psychic girl. Hell, but pulling a stunt like breaking her concentration, we might even earn enough respect to fuck her as well.

let's say "We won't be alone, Rachel. If you knew how close I keep my friends, it would send chills down your spine." Which should make skunkbro send shivers down her spine, and while this goes on we'll remember she is an enchantress and does this kind of thing, averting her eyes and imagining something that will block her penetration, such as a brick wall pushing against her force. If everything goes to shit and we start losing control, just say "skunk bro, gas it!"

y'know, with the combined intellect of a /qst/ board, our protagonist here is something of a super genius.

Another thought comes to mind about the perv defense: it just plain won't work. Rachel dives into peoples' minds, and she's obviously rather seasoned at it. How often do you think it is that she sees perverted shit involving her? If we try to throw her off her game by throwing lewd thoughts at her, she's probably just gonna laugh at us and keep going, and that's if she doesn't either feed on it or get pissed off by it.

>>263290
>>263388
Seconding this.

>>263410
but think about the potential! We have the option right now of becoming her sex slave.

>>263355
Ok, that's fair enough. We could always just go the opposite route and pretend we're bashful at being propositioned like that by an attractive lady.

>"A-ah, um yeah, well, um, er, listen, I, urr, my mom's, um, with me, and ah, yeah, so...

>>263421
That would certainly be fun and all, but it's not going to happen if she sees that we stole the recipe. She'll hurt us, and then she'll hurt the Witch, and we'll lose all chances at anything with The Witch, the Enchantress, and the Seer.

If we can make Rachel like us, however, the option may yet have life. Before we do anything else toward this, we need to make Rachel not want to hurt us. Once we've broken the mousetrap so that it cannot snap anymore, we'll be free to grab the cheese.

>>263452
You make a strong case, anon. I think we should add fucking one of the two girls to our quest list, but for now resistance is key.

>>263469
I wholeheartedly agree with every word of this. We should make it a priority to get in bed with either Rachel, Liana, or both.
Also Mia.

Perhaps all three?

>>263481
We will learn enchanting, and use it to win the heart of our precious imouto.

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>>263505
Perhaps we are just a smidge evil?
Not that there's anything wrong with that.

>>263542
Dude, we are a necromancer turning warlock. We are evil, and that's good.

File: IT BEGINS.png (138KB, 349x415px) Image search: [Google]

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>>263576
This quest is going places. One of those places is probably Hell, but still.

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>>263576
This raises an interesting question. Can we learn magics besides Necromancy? We might be able to become the strongest magic user of all time, friends.

>>263672
I really want our protagonist to be like I said, a warlock, not just a necromancer. We must practice all dark magics.

>>263695
>>263672
world domination?
world domination.

Since I'm busy being unable to sleep, I figure I may as well come drop an idea that just popped into my head.

Being that necromancy is frowned upon, we're gonna be in close quarters with people that we don't want to know what we do at night, and we may wind up having to do more high-risk stunts like stealing more items, we might want to consider working out a disguise and possibly an over-the-top alter-ego.

>>263576
Seriously why does being a necromancer have to make us evil?
That said I wouldn't mind turning into a magnificent bastard type.

Glance down at her tits. "Yeah, you're hot, but you're not quite that hot, darling." Jazz hands until you leave the school.

>>264342
buy a guy faux mask and a too big black hoodie and black jeans become anonymous and expose the hacker 4chan

anyone know when op's gonna be back?

>>263290
>>263298

This, but we should also hurt ourselves in some way and focus on the pain. Pinch ourselves really hard, clench a fist behind our backs hard enough to almost draw blood from our nails poking into our own flesh, anything as long as it's a subconscious distraction from her. Pain signals have a tendency to take priority over other mental input, after all.

>>264736
See >>263355 and >>263410

I do commend your idea to use pain, however.

>>262492
Finally I caught up with the story! Great writing, OP.

>>264881

Yeah, I didn't take it as the comment itself was the defense, just icing on the cake of willful mental resistance. Besides, it's not an overly perverted comment, and she was the first one to go in a sort of flirtatious direction with a line like "wouldn't it be nice, just the two of us, together?" A denial given in the same vein is hardly perverted, and it'd be pretty messed up for Liana to think bad of us for a situation Rachel put us into right in front of her.

>>264720
op seems to get back around 6 est everyday

I think it'd be a good idea to have Skunkbro distract her and then attempt at act as if we didnt even notice her mind-control attempt

>>264916
Fair enough. We could definitely add that into our response somewhere.

I feel we should have skunkbro distract her and then just pull some intimidation shit like
>Don't try to charm me again or it'll be more than minor discomfort you feel
or
>Can we not have a mage battle I came to talk and we should stand on fair grounds. I don't use magic and you don't either, deal?

Gonna be later. Work ran late.

>>266154
how *much* later

>>266154
We didn't pay for this quest, sir. Feel free to take your time.

It gives us more opportunities to overanalyze our decisions and sweat possible punichments we might blunder into

op is kill

>>267074
n-no he's just a little late, right?

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I humbly offer these chocolate mint cookies to summon OP

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>>266154
O great literary master of the realm of adventures, return now to the realm of the clover and regale us further with your story of the magicks of old! We offer chocolate and mint to sate your sweet tooth, and crisp biscuits to sate your hunger for desserts! Come to us, and spin spin your tale that we may make fools of ourselves before the great Seer and the almighty Enchantress!

>>267123
>>267174
you know you gotta burn that shit right?

>>267074
>>267088
Jeeze, I skip a day and you're ready to sign my death certificate. Remind me never to take a nap around you guys.
>>267123
>>267174
>>267189
The siren call of your offering echoes across voids within voids, abysses deeper and older than time itself, summoning me from the edges of wild Erebus' domain. I come, but my time must be brief, for my energies are small and my powers weak with the waxing of the moon.
Writing.

>>267284
You rock OP.

>>267284
>Jeeze, I skip a day and you're ready to sign my death certificate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTtgVSxfr5M

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>>267189
I've burned the offering. Do we need to redo the incantation?

>>267321
nah he here now

>>267284
>The siren call of your offering echoes across voids within voids,
well we know what to do when we want you now

>>267284
Ah, forgot trip. (It really is me tho)
>>263695
>>263576
Warlock here has a different meaning than traditional folklore. I'd ask the Cemetery Lady
>>263298
What a roll. +1 for using pain, averting gaze is also good. Don't feel like linking all the other replies.
You focus on the sound of skunkbro's voice. Thinking is like swimming through syrup; everything moves slowly and it's almost hard to breathe. It's like the weight of a heavy object on your chest, keeping you from inhaling fully, but mental rather than physical.
One thing. Focus on one thing, and one thing only. Behind your back, you clench your fist as hard as you can. Your knuckles turn red, then white as you strain, filling your mind with the feeling of your fingernails biting through your skin, piercing red crescent moons into your palm. Somehow it helps, changes what your mind focuses on, undoes some of the strange soporific effect of Rachel's gaze. Her gaze...
Once, you tried to deadlift a 200 pound weight, on a dare. You got two hours worth of coaching from a powerlifter friend on form, technique and the like, to avoid giving yourself a hernia. When the time came, you felt ready.
Now, your eyes are still locked with Rachel's.
You dipped your hands in chalk, stepped up, and grabbed the bar.
You stare deeply into those eyes, deep dark holes with more than a few skeletons at the bottom.
You took your stance, legs bent.
You breathe deeply.
You tensed, and heaved.
Your gaze shifts, almost imperceptibly. You have moved from her pupils to her irises. Almost as seductive, those webs of undulating blue like false-color galaxies in a telescope...
The weights clanked. Your friend, looking on, held his breath. You did not.
Your eyes flicker, milimeters of change in direction.
The bar rose. It was at your knees.
Your eyes move again. You've found the whites of her eyes now. Beautiful. Like water and flour, incompletely mixed. Tiny streaks of blood or wine throughout, gradations of colour...
You heaved once more. The bar was at your chest. You were too close to lose now.
You grit your teeth, fingers digging deeper into your palm. Focus.
With a final scream of effort, you hoisted the bar above your head, arms trembling with the effort. You held it, then let it fall. Success.
A single drop of blood drips from your fingers. Your eyes move. Farther. Farther. Forehead. Safety.
Perhaps four seconds have elapsed. You release a breath, struggling to keep from shaking.
"We won't be alone, Rachel. If you knew how close I keep my friends, it would send chills down your spine." You hear yourself speaking the words, hardly even realizing what you're saying. Skunkbro, in one of his finest moments, takes the message, and floats slowly down her back. You can see her shiver involuntarily, and though you're careful to avoid looking at her face, it's clear she's rattled. Badly.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't realize."
It seems she spent her trumpcard early.
>what now?

>>267383
Now we build a mental fortress to make sure she can't pull that stunt again and then tell her we know she is an enchantress and that we know she has enchanted a bakery owner. We demand that she spill the beans, or else.

>>267383
"Let me reintroduce myself."
>Do a spin, put out your bloodied hand.
"Michael Remic, track star and necromancer. I assume you must be Rachael."

>>267383
https://youtu.be/v-9GbnbagXY
"I came here for a civil discussion. I did not come here to test magic against magic, and I certainly didn't come here for whatever the hell that was. I'll be around, Rachel; let's try this again when you're feeling a little more civil. Liana, I'll talk to you later, hopefully with less hostile company."

>>267434
Jesus christ no. The last thing she needs to know is that we know about her control over the bakery owner, and especially not in front of Liana.

>>267445
let's not just miss out on an opportunity to make an impression! If you don't like mine, let's roll with this one: >>267440
I like our character being a hotshot. Though, I don't want to tell them we are a necromancer. Is there a way to be hot stuff and secretive at the same time?

>>267383
>>what now?

Plan to give Skunkbro another offering later, or at least one twice as large next time we summon him.

"Well, I'm still new, but does that mean you'll take my word now, instead of trying that again? I'd prefer it if we could be friends and actually trust each other instead of bending one another to our will."

>>267455
I like this approach. I want us to be allies with her so we can learn her magic or maybe something more arcane if you catch my drift

>>267451
Fair enough. Lemme try again, then...

>>267383
"Now if we're done with the hostilities and testing magic against magic, can we have a civil discussion please, and take one another on their words instead assuming that the horse at the gates is Trojan?"

"Let's try starting with proper introductions. I already have your names, so I suppose I shall give you mine. I'm Micheal Remic: track star by day, enthusiast of dark arts by night."

>>267440
do this one pls

>>267383
Now, can we please stop comparing who better at being mystical and shit, and get on with the whole "Yer a wizard, Harry." part?

>>267482
that's some real awkward phrasing there, pal.

>>267493
oooh I like this one. Proves we are a hotshot, and gets to the point. Introductions are the point.

>>267492
also throw on a cruel grin for intimidation

>>267493
I can get behind this one.

How about this

>>267383
"Now if we're done with the hostilities and testing magic against magic, can we have a civil discussion please, and take one another on their words instead assuming that the horse at the gates is Trojan?"

"I already have your names, and I've seen what you are both capable of. I suppose I shall give you my credentials. I am Micheal Remic: senior classman, track star, and summoner of the dearly departed."

>>267525
Why exactly are we set on telling her we
re a necromancer? Pretty sure we kept it a secret for a reason.

>>267547
Everyone else seems set on it. I figure they're gonna make it happen eventually anyway by means of popular vote, so let's just hurry up and rip the fucking band-aid off.

>>267547
let's not tell her we are a necromancer.
please let's go with this: >>267493
just introduce ourselves as magic users.

>>267455
Tossing in a vote for this.

Hate to be a cocktease, but I'm already up later than I should be. Last post.
>>267307
Ngl, chuckled.
>>267455
Taking a deep breath in, you try to put up some kind of mental defenses. If it wasn't for Skunkbro, you would have been toast right there--no reason to let Liana and Rachel know that though.
"Let me reintroduce myself." You give your best villain-smile and extend your bloody hand. "Michael Remic, track star." Rachel looks quite pale, almost the same greenish color that Liana took on earlier when you surprised her in the cafeteria, and reaches out feebly to take your hand for just a moment before letting it drop.
"Now, can we please stop comparing who's better at being mystical and skip ahead to the 'yer a wizard, Harry' phase of the conversation? I'd prefer if we could actually be friends and trust each other, have a civil conversation and all that."
Rachel still seems pretty freaked by how "easily" you threw off her enchantment. Guess that poker face of yours really came in handy. Liana doesn't seem nearly as impressed.
"Well, you're not a wizard, that's the point. I asked Rachel and she's not totally sure either." Skunkbro shakes his head in disappointment. These people might be more street-smart than you when it comes to magic, but they are really lacking in the intel department. Not too surprising when you take into account you have access to a recon-ghost, but still.
"Okay, so whatever I may or may not be, I need some background. What's the hierarchy of magic users? Is there a set list, or does everybody get different stuff based on personality or something?" Rachel groans, and finally opens her mouth.
"God, you're like a toddler with a battleship." Liana rolls her eyes, and launches into an explanation.
"Look, there are six main classes of magic. There are Sorcerers. They're the type of person that you'd normally call a wizard. Lots of arm waving and incantations to take advantages of shortcuts in the universe. Minor teleportation, conjuring fire, that sort of stuff. There are Enchanters, like Rachel. They hypnotise people." Rachel starts to say something, but quickly gets shushed by her younger sister, and doesn't seem to be in a fit state for argument. "Some enchanters also do glamours, illusion magic. Next are Seers, that's me. We see stuff. Could be magic or energy or visions of the future. Pretty broad range. Warlocks are pretty popular, but rare. They summon demons, other entities from far-off planes, stuff that never was on earth and has no business being here. I figure that's what you are, Mr. Secretive. Next are the Wrights. They're mostly builders, make golems and constructs and magic items. Last, and least, are Witches. They make potions, cast minor charms or hexes, but can't do much directly." You notice a distinct lack of necromancy on that list.
"So, Michael Remic, which one are you?"
>answer?

>>267584
Fellas, I think we are a wight.

>>267584
"Well, I'll be honest with you, but, well, I don't really want to be taken to the Azkaban equivalent. Can I get a promise that you're not going to the Dementors set on me and my family?"

If it's an ok:
"Alright, well, you know how you mentioned Warlocks, right? Well, think of their creepier cousins, the dudes who hang out in graveyards and wear black because it's the color of their souls."

"Yep. I'm a Necromancer"

>>267597
Well we give life to shells of things, but we do summon spirits. I think necromancy is actually mostly warlock territory with elements of wright stuff. I see no reason to put up with the class system though. We should learn to make golems and magic items too.

>>267584
"Odd, I think your list is incomplete. What I am doesn't seem to be on it. I can't really tell you what I am unless I have some type of guarantee of confidentiality."

>>267584
this>>267607
then proceed to flip skunkbro's bone between our fingers

>>267584
Warlock sounds like a perfect fit so I guess that's what I am.

>>267613
this seems like a pretty fun answer.

>>267613
>>267640
Voting this

>>267613
Voting for this.

>>267613
Hoping for some like minded people to show up I'll just mention that Warlock perfectly describes us. There's literally no reason to be specific and say we're summoning dead things as opposed to normal demons. Sure, telling them we're a necromancer sounds like good fun right now but maybe it'll screw us over later.

>>267939
Agreed let's not reveal that just yet.

>>267939
And lying is supposed to be our way around that? If these two become allies, they're not gonna stay that way when it comes to light that we're keeping secrets from them.

We had Skunkbro accompany us here because we want -someone- to know that we're here so we can get some fucking directions. It would be a waste of our day to not tell them, if they can prove that they won't endanger us specifically because of what magic we choose to grab for.

>>267973
There's also the possibility of them doing a 180 and tossing us under a bus the instant they learn we're a necromancer. The Witch lady made it pretty clear we don't have a good reputation. Better to tell a tiny lie and stay on their good side till we can be sure it's safe or if it becomes necessary to tell them.
What? That's totally wrong right? Did we seriously bring Skunkbro to announce that we're a necromancer? I was under the assumption we brought him in case of an emergency like Liana giving us a weird look.

>>267992
Necromancers aren't enemies of the world. They're frowned upon, meaning that Rachel and Liana's reaction will probably be something like "Ew gross, he touches dead things! And I shook his hand! Ew!"

And we summoned Skunkbro to check Robin for us, then had him accompany us to the school to watch our back as well as act as a beacon in case any other necromancers were present, since it wasn't likely that we would find someone wanting to kill necromancers at a school function.

>>268008
But there's no reason to take the risk unless we're a total idiot that just wants to show off that he's a necromancer. Warlock is a perfect fit and Liana already thinks that's what we are, better to just make it easy on everybody and just go with that.

>>268033
What I suggested is not to outright tell them that we're a necromancer unless they can provide a guarantee that they're not gonna go passing the news on to others. By a guarantee, I don't mean a promise; I mean that we want quantifiable proof that they will keep it to themselves. Somehow I doubt that they can give that right this second, so we won't be telling them anything.

>>268041
This plus frankly the fact that she jumped straight to mindrape is rude at best and not really conducive to building trust.

>>268045
This is precisely why I was making rather indignant suggestions earlier and trying to get us to leave. My idea was to step away from them and have Skunkbro continue to remotely spy for us.

let's say this

"Hmm, well, Warlock describes me pretty well so I guess im that."

>>268211
Yeah, I don't see the point in telling them that we're a necromancer yet. We do not know who they are. What they do, etc.

Better to just fit into one of their accepted categories with a slight lie and then tell them later if they become our friends or we need to.

That's why op gave us the out with the six classes that don't include our school of magic. It might mean that they're so evil or bad that they're not socially accepted, or so rare that they're not worth mentioning as a "class" at all.

Would be cool to also dip into wight and warlock stuff as well though. It's not like we were born with necromancy, we just opened a book and followed the instructions lol.

>>268235
I personally dont think we should dip into Wight and maybe not even Warlock

We have a School of Magic that is either so evil its not thought of or so rare that it isnt either

We have a WHOLE school to investigate, Necromancy usually isnt just summoning Dead Spirits. Life Sapping, Disease, Chill Touch, Soul rape.

I think Necromancy should be our #1, I dont like Wight personally and Warlock is slightly related to our current school

I just think Necromancy should be our bread winner and try not to 1/2 ourselves

Maybe like 99% in favour of Necromancy with that 1% being us dabbling

Just my thoughts tho senpai desu

>>268242
I dunno while I agree we should make necromancy our focus there's no point in discounting other powers out of hand.
I thoroughly recommend experimenting, who knows we may find things that synergies with necromancy.

>>268306
This. Wasn't there something about creating a golem or a similar shell and summoning a soul into it in on of the last threads? That, and golems alone sound pretty cool.

Maybe I just dont like Golems as much as the other Anons in this thread

But surely if the ones she named are all normal school then what power could forbidden schools give us? Blood Magic, Necromancy, The Black Arts

Another thing we could do is say we're a Warlock and then casually bring up what they know about necromancers. Like we had heard about them from some third party like a friend or the internet or something. That would put us in the clear by being a Warlock and get some sweet info about where we stand.

>>268465
We also dont know how certain types get their powers, some could be born with them and some like ours can be taugh or read about. We don't necessarily know if warlocks are born with their powers or if they also just open a warlock 101 book

>>268211
I actually second this, as well, because it sounds uncertain. If we're accused of lying later, we can pin the blame on Liana, saying that we took her at her word on the authority of "the great and powerful Seer" that there are indeed only 6 types of magic-user, so evidently Necromancer must be a sub-type of one of the above. I might not even be wrong, which would mean that we actually -wouldn't- be lying.

>>268841
I agree. We shouldn't tell her much anyway, considering she did try to enchant us

>>268841
perhaps the class system only denotes an area of expertice, but there are underlying elemental types. For instance, a pyromancer might mostly be sorcerer, but perhaps they dabble in one area of warlock by being able to summon flame elementals. Similiarly, a necromancer can be thought of as dark-alligned which allows them to do wigth stuff such as give life to inanimate objects, warlock stuff like summon beings, and sorcerer stuff such as drain life or cast beams of negative energy.

She said those were the main classes not the only classes so....

Just to be sure, we're going with >>268211 right? >>268841 makes a pretty good point that we could just play it off as not knowing any better.

Gonna be running pretty late tonight, so strap in lads.
Current themesong is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_DVS_303kQ
Writing now.

>>269890
the absolute madman!

>>269890
Wow, fucked trip up. (it is still me, I promise)
>>268211
You do some quick thinking. Maybe there are sort of subclasses, and necromancy is one of those? Or it's a mix between several, like a half-warlock half-wright or something? Maybe those are just the six main classes of magic, and necromancy is just too rare to list? There's just too many possibilities for you to figure out if you ought to be truthful or not, and too many opportunities to lose with one careless answer. Besides, who says they even deserve the truth after trying to mindrape you less than a minute ago? Fuck that.
"Well, Warlock seems to describe me pretty well. I summon things that should, by all rights, be in other worlds." Liana nods decisively.
"Knew it. You're not mad-scientist enough to be a Wright, and I've seen enough of the other four classes to recognize them by their auras."
"Yup, you really picked me out of the lineup there." You reply, feeling a little bad about lying to her. Not too bad though; she kind of tricked herself into it, anyway.
"So what kind of things can you summon?" Liana asks suddenly, giving you a sideways glance.
"Oh, it really depends on the situation. Not too many, but I'm still learning."
"What school are you at?"
"I'm sort of self-taught at the moment."
"Huh. That's pretty impressive."
"Thanks, I suppose. So, I'm curious, what kind of 'community' is there in the area? Is there some oddly large magic population in the area?" She appears not to hear you for a second, as if still thinking about something you'd said. You glance at Rachel, who looks to be sulking, leaning against the wall not too far away and ignoring the occasional freshman who couldn't keep his eyes off her.
"Not really; the magical population is pretty much the same as the normal one. Mostly if we're looking for somebody we go to Providence, or even all the way to Boston. There's probably only five magic-users in this town, if that." Liana still seems distant, almost confused at something. You go to ask another question, but she ignores you and starts talking again, asking a question of her own.
"Wait a minute... how did you manage to see my notebook? I'm pretty sure I would have seen an imp sneaking up to peek over my shoulder." Her eyes narrow "Is it something to do with the dark spot in your bag?"
>How do you respond?

>>269976
"Look, I've told you what I wanted to tell you for now. Trust is a two way street. One hand shakes the other and all that. What I want to know is if I can trust you guys, or more importantly, if you would be willing to help me get my bearings in this whole magic biz."

>>269976
>"Let's just say I've quite the third eye"

>>270029
but the actual seer will see right past this

>>270029
This but with something else that shows we're not gonna spill all the beans just yet. We should stay mysterious or something.

>>270007
>>270029
Let's go with these

>"I have my ways. Anyway whats this 'Providence'? is it a magic guild or mage police or something?

>>270090
This this this this
we gotta learn something useful from these guys

or

>*with a smug grin "I have my ways. Anyway I'll see you around, my sisters waiting for me".

for a quick getaway

>>270096
why do you want to leave?
dont you want to eventually become friends with them so we can learn more magic? At the very least, we can get some more info out of them that will allow us to get more magic

I think they will quickly find out we are no warlock so maybe it's best to book it.

>>270117
I'm in favor of milking them for info and if they're friendly, then there is no harm. If they're not, then we can always book it.

>>270131
This. Booking it is a last resort kind of thing. No risk no reward.

>>270090
Sounds pretty good. Gets the point that we aren't telling and changes the subject.

>>270090

I am fairly sure they're referring to Providence, Rhode Island

>>270090
>>270095
Sorry I wasn't clear, it's a largeish city in Rhode Island (in real life as well as the quest) that apparently has a sizeable magic population. It was mentioned in the first thread that you are in Goffston, Connecticut. When we make a new thread, I'll link the pastebin.
>>270029
"Let's just say I've got quite the third eye." Liana purses her lips.
"Come on, it doesn't make any sense!"
"Sorry, trade secret. Can't give everything away right from the start, you'll get tired of me otherwise." She looks helplessly at Rachel, who is currently too interested in the pattern of ceiling tiles to say even a word.
"Okay, but still-" She starts, only to be cut off by your phone, blaring the opening notes of "Staying Alive" by the Beegees: your favourite. You hold up a finger and whip it out, sliding the little green circle and answering cheerily.
"Hellooo, Michael Remic speaking."
"Michael, come get your ass in the car! Did you get lost or something? Mom's been waiting for like 15 minutes!" You wince. What with all the miraculous escape from psychic attacks, you'd missed the fact that you'd gotten about a dozen texts from Mia already. Liana looks curious.
"Sorry, be there in a second. Got caught up with something. See you in a minute."
You hang up before she can yell at you more, and give Liana a long-suffering look. "Look, I've gotta go. Keep in touch, okay?" Liana grabs at your arm, but you really do have to go. Mia sounded even more pissed than usual; you surmised the day had not gone too well. With a friendly wink and a wave, you jog toward the door to the parking lot, ignoring Liana's demands that you "wait just a minute I had something to say dammit"
>do something else (quickly) before we leave the school
>head straight to the car ( what excuse for our lateness?)
>other

>>270178
>head straight to the car ( what excuse for our lateness?)

Simple enough to tell the truth, just tell Mom "Sorry, I got caught up talking to a girl I met."

>>270178
>do something else (quickly)
give them our number :3

>>270192
> I'm with this

>>270178
Head straight for the car

Maybe something about being asked to stay behind to help clear up a little and lost track of time?

Be pretty vague

>>270192
>>270199
can we do both of these?

>>270192
This. We might get hit with another difficult question if we stick around.

>>270228
Need to get their number(s)

>>270255
yeah that's an even better idea. That way we can call them when we are ready, and make sure we can get in touch with them again, the other way around there might be risks.

I say we crank up the charm factor on liana, who is grabbing our arm, and say something like "look, I really do have to go, but since I got my phone our already, why not just give me your number so we can talk again sometime?"

>>270280
I second this

Guise. We're more popular than a far superior quest by like 10 people. I'm amazed
As you start to move toward the parking lot, a thought pops into your head. You really do need to be able to contact these people again, and Skunkbro can't exactly say anything to them, even if he followed them to the ends of the earth. So you need to get a number. You turn on your heel and almost collide with Liana, who was following behind you. She takes a step back and starts to speak at the same time you do.
"I need a way to contact you." You say in unison, blinking at the unintended chorus.
Liana shakes her head and holds up her phone, seven digits displayed on the screen. You check to make sure the area code's right (no use taking a fake phone number) and quickly tap it into your phone, saving her as a contact. She looks at you expectantly, nodding at your phone.
"Okay, your turn. What's your number?"
"Sorry, my number? I'm afraid I've totally forgotten. Like I said, I really have to go. Talk later!" Again, you run off, but this time you make it to the car without anything else important coming up, and slide into the back seat. You have hereditary rights to Shotgun as firstborn, and you even went to the trouble of calling "shotgun infinity" a couple of times for her benefit, but Mia always seems to forget, and you don't want to press the matter right now. You think about telling a half-truth and mentioning getting caught up talking to a girl, but decide they might take it wrong when most of the girls there were at least four years younger than you.
"During the day somebody spilled a tube of paint and I got stuck cleaning it up. Sorry, I should have texted you to let you know I was gonna be late." Mia gives a huff, but your Mom seems pleased, somehow.
"Well I'm glad you took responsibility and took the time to help clean it up, Michael, even if we had to wait a bit. I was worried about you though, so do remember to text next time." You give her a nod and smile in the rearview mirror, and she returns the smile. There's not much traffic pulling out of the high school, so you get home in a part of an hour.
Mia immediately stomps up to her room, to blog about how today totally sucked, you're sure. Your mom putters around the house for a while before going out to prune the tomatoes. You have the house to yourself.
>What do you do?

>>270399
Visit the basement to check on Robin.

Text Liana our number so she can keep contact with us.

>>270415
mom's outside pruning the tomatoes.
let's play with the box in our room. Inspect it for any runes. See if we can find any runes on the box in our book.

>>270424
but shouldnt we keep in touch with them on our time to make sure we are prepared for any questions?

>>270439
what I mean is, if we give them the opportunity to contact us whenever they want first, they may get the leg up.

>>270431
Ah, I read that line too fast. Nevermind then. Let's check out that box then.

>>270445
>>

I guess you are right.

>>270448
Let's see what Jacob left us

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14KB, 400x400px

>>270431
>>270415
The garden (including tomatoes) is on the southeast side of the house, where it achieves optimum sun exposure. The bulkhead door that leads to the basement is on the far (west_ side of the house. The front door is on the north side of the house.

>>270486
it would probably still be a small risk to check on the bird, but it should definitely be possible. Still, I see no reason not to do that later and check the box now.

>>270495
yep, box then byrd

>>270399
Get Robin: reanimate and send her scouting for racoon remains. While she does this go and buy a bunch of butcher paper and art supplies it's time we started mass producing circles.

Alternatively do the circles have to be drawn? Could we make a wire-frame circle and stick it on a flashlight so we could project it as shadows in any sort of dim/dark environment?

>>270511
Gotta hear the burds report first though

>>270486
Let's get back to Robin and summon her again, and hear her report on last night. When she's done, let's send her out scouting the forest for herbs that we can gather later.

After that, let's text Liana so she has our number.

lets hold off in giving them our number

Sorry, site not letting me post and eating words. One sec.

>>270749
Doooo beeee doooo

>>270749
While you're waiting for 4chin to let you get your message in, you should go start a Discord server for this quest

>>270917
or just use irc like someone that isn't a redditor

Well this died pretty quickly

>>271078
It's shit like this that makes me glad we're playing a necromancer.

somebody get the grasshoppers

File: Grasshoppers-children.jpg (489KB, 1680x1050px) Image search: [Google]

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Hear me now, o great one, as I call to you through voids within voids, beckoning you to the land of clover for more high adventure!

>>271838
wrong kind

>>271901
Nonsense, I'm sure Skelly will love them.

>>271908
a strong skellyton will need lots of protien, which grasshoppers happen to have quite a lot of!

>>271911
but a sp00k1e skellyman doesn't need protein for gains he needs calcium for strong bones which is in the milk in the cookies ya silly goose

come back skelly

We miss you

File: grasshoppercooks.jpg (13KB, 236x177px) Image search: [Google]

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look what I haaaave~

>>274174
...okay, gimme a sec.

File: Grasshoppers-for-Skelly.jpg (386KB, 1680x1050px) Image search: [Google]

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No wonder my offering didn't work. I forgot something!

>>275026
do I need a better incantation orrrrrr?

>>275108
Nah I'm just a slow writer, and I wasn't at home when I saw that.
>>270399
You head upstairs, Skunkbro following close behind, to your bedroom. It's time to take a closer look at that box you dug up by Jacob's grave the other day. Could be really helpful, after all. Once you're inside, you lock the door. It really wouldn't do to have anybody barging in on you fumbling around with a possibly-occult definitely-weird wooden box.
You pull the thing out from under your bed and take another look at it, Skunkbro watching intently from on top of your bureau. It's cube-shaped and small, only about four inches tall, wide, and deep. It's made out of a light-coloured wood, and is a lot heavier than you'd expect from a box that small. The wood is stained in places from being underground for who knows how long, but surprisingly isn't rotted or damaged despite not being painted or varnished in any way. You turn it over several times, even grabbing a magnifying glass, to look as closely as possible for any possible symbols, runes, or diagrams carved into it. No luck. The only intentional marking of any kind is the crossed-through letter 'O' on what you assume is the lid. It appears to have been burned in, all at once by some kind of branding iron, leaving behind a smooth and slightly charred surface. You go over this thoroughly, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of hidden mechanism on or under the brand.
Previously you'd been unable to find any sort of lock or hinge anywhere on it...and that remains the case. The only sign that it's a box at all, rather than a solid cube of wood, is the almost invisible seam halfway along the side, bisecting it. You can't fit so much as a fingernail into it, it's so thin. Pulling, yanking, twisting--every type of motion you can think of fails to open it.
After an hour or so of trouble trying to get the damned thing to open up already, you're at a loss. You've tried everything you can think of, most of them twice, and still no luck. Discouraged, you decide to head down to the basement to check on Robin. It'll probably be worthwhile to hear what she had to say; it might help you get a better picture of the Stroud sisters, figure out what their agenda is, if they have one.
You check out the back window and Mom is still in the garden, pruning a tomato with the utmost care. You wonder if that's the special one.
In every thing she does, your mother picks a special one. Everyone in the family knows that there's one tomato plant that'll be just a bit bigger than the others at the end of the season, one scrawny stray whose ribs will poke out just a hair less before it gets sent to the pound. That's the one she chose. The one she dotes on, after making sure all the rest have their fill, that one gets a bit extra. Who knows why? Just one of those quirks a shrink would have a field day with.
Anyway, you head out the door and into the basement as quietly as possible, not wanting to attract her attention. (1/2)

Before leaving your room, you had tucked the box into your pocket, figuring you might get an idea of some sort while in the basement and it wouldn't hurt to have the thing on hand.
Once down there, you go over to Robin's bones and remember her preferred offering. Human blood. What a pain.
You pick up her skull and, after thanking your past-self for making such a big batch of libation, prick your thumb and smear the droplet of blood onto it. It, and all the other bones, start to glow that dull blue and knit themselves together into a skeleton.
It's not as wild a show as last night, but they still move around quite a bit more than bones are usually supposed to. After a few seconds, they settle down and Robin is standing there in front of you. She looks inordinately pleased with herself, and if she had feathers, she'd definitely be preening.
"The hunt went well, my Lord."
"Oh? What are your results?" You can't pretend you're not curious, and Robin picks up on it.
"I happened upon the Enchantress in a public place. I could not follow her home due to wards, but I did learn something of her family. She has-"
"A sister, yeah, I know. Where was the public place?" Robin grumbles a little at being interrupted, and mutters something under her breath about getting my facts straight.
"The public place was the open square near the bakery, but I wasn't finished. She has sisters" The bird-form puts extra emphasis on the s, until she sounds more like a snake than a bird. Still, that's very interesting information...
"How many? Two? Three?"
"Seven. All can see things they should not, from what I understand. I feared one saw me, but she said nothing to the others, so I may have been mistaken."
Seven sisters? What the fuck? You were pretty sure that you only met one today, so where were the other six at?
"What did they look like?"
"All the same, physically." Shit. Seven identical twins...or septuplets, or whatever the hell the word was.
"Where did you see them?"
"At a clothing store." Robin answers, and you breathe a sigh of relief, seeing what had happened. Clearly, Robin wasn't that good at telling people apart.
"Did you see them all at once, or one at a time?" She cocks her head to the side, but answers all the same.
"One at a time. She would disappear briefly, then come back." You almost can't help but laugh.
"Robin, she just put on different clothes. She was only one girl." Robin seems terribly offended, and you can hear it in her next words.
"I am not so easily fooled, my Lord. They wore the same clothes. The auras were different. That is how I knew. You cannot change such a thing, not seven times in the space of an hour." Wait...what the fuck? Seven identical twins, all wearing the same thing, and no two of them seen together at the same time? That almost makes less sense than before...
>what else do you ask Robin before sending her to scout the woods for carcasses and herbs?
>other?

>>275161
take your time man, I gotta go to sleep, Gnight

>>275232
Sweet dreams, anon.

>>275214
>>what else do you ask Robin before sending her to scout the woods for carcasses and herbs?
Could something like a different personality have a different aura? Maybe she has super split personality disorder. Another guess would be demons or other creatures possessing her.

>>275214
>>275244
support

>>275161
>>275214
Could she tell what the wards were that barred her progress? Where did the wards stop her at? Can she identify the clothing store that the Enchantress her sister(s) visited? Did they have a vehicle, or did they walk? Were there other people with them (E.G.: their parents)? Do these pants make me look fat? Did they do anything peculiar while they were out (E.G.: stop and look at empty space for no apparent reason)?

Woooo! Back from the dead!!

>>275244
>>275297
You try to think. It's hard, because you don't know much about auras other than what you've picked up from documentaries on psychics, that sort of thing.
"Could something like a different personality or identity have that effect? Something like dissociative identity disorder?" Robin pauses thoughtfully before she answers.
" If that is an illness of the mind...it is possible. I have never seen something like that before. Different moods could not have caused the change I saw, however."
"Then again, it's unlikely that she'd have seven different personalities in an hour and then give no sign of it while I was talking to her...or did she?" At this point, you're just thinking aloud, trying to put form to your jumbled theories and uncertain hunches. "At lunch she did seem to suddenly go from meek and scared of me to rather unimpressed. At the time I thought it was just because I admitted I was new to things and promised I wouldn't hurt her, but maybe it was something else. Look, demons are real, right? Maybe it was one of those, or a ghost or something, possessing her?" Robin looks extremely troubled by this possibility, to say the least.
"Possessed by seven entities in an hour? That is a very troubling thought. I have heard of such things, desperate men trying to strike a bargain in the face of certain death, but never so many so quickly. It would no doubt be a painful process. Why would anyone do such a thing if not in mortal peril?" You shake your head ruefully.
"I wish I knew. I know she and her sister are moving against the old lady from the cemetery, but she didn't seem too powerful to me. Scary, yeah, but not worth losing your soul over. Besides, I didn't get the sense that this was an immediate war, more of a long-term thing. Augh, none of this is making sense! Let's move on to something else for now. What can you tell me about the wards that stopped you?" Though lacking shoulders, Robin makes a movement approximating a shrug.
"It was a run-of-the-mill protection ward, most likely put up by a sorcerer or a powerful witch...or perhaps a wright's. It stopped me outside a series of many-family dwellings on the edge of town. It was very difficult to see within it." Apartments, then? Or perhaps some sort of duplex/motel setup...
"What was the name of the store? Did they have a vehicle, or walk? Anybody with them?"
"Cavalier's Clothing was its name, I believe. It was small, poorly lit, mannequins in the front window. They had a car, a large black SUV with darkened windows. They were alone." Hmm. Might be worth looking at that clothing shop, but you'd want backup for sure. No way of knowing what it was that went on in there, or how the owner might feel about you snooping around.
"Did they do anything peculiar or notable while out? Looking at empty spaces, performing rituals?" Robin shakes her head
"No. Besides the peculiarity with the younger sister's auras, it was all normal."
>any other questions/orders?
>other actions?

>>275438
How did our friend react to her knocking on the window?
How will Mia react to Robin knocking on her window right before she flies off to go scouting?

>>275438
All this stuff about wards. We really need some of our own before we start drawing too much attention.

>>275576
The lady from the cemetery did recommend that, if you recall. She was, however, at least somewhat unwilling to teach you herself, and there's almost nothing in the grimoire about them.
>>275468
You remember the other order of the night, and despite the serious topic you were discussing, chuckle to yourself.
"What was Charlie's reaction when you knocked on his window last night?" Robin cocks her head to the side, opens her mouth, and emits an eerily perfect impression of your buddy Charlie's voice (as heard through a window) cussing up a storm and falling out of his chair. You laugh a bit more, impressed by Robin's mimicry.
"Before you go, any suggestions on how to open this thing up?" you ask, pulling out the box. Robin flutters up and settles on your arm. She's lighter than you would have thought. She pecks at the box a few times, pulling at bits of it, then just stares for a few moments before firing off a series of rapid-fire questions.
"Have you tried twisting it? Any hidden levers or marks on the underside? Where was it found? Do you know what's inside?"
"Yes, no, right above the grave of a man named Jacob Rawlins who was likely a magic user, and no." You reply to her questions in the same staccato fashion she gave them, and she thinks for another few seconds.
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I can think of no way to undo whatever lock might be holding it shut. Is there anything else you require of me?"
"Yes, please scout the forest within a...5 mile radius of the house. Look for the herbs in your libation as well as cedar and pennyroyal. Also let me know if there are any remains there." She nods, and takes off out the same window as before, thankfully on the north side of the house away from where your mother might be.
You lean against the wall a while longer, Skunkbro sitting patiently near the stairs for you, still fixated on the box.
>other suggestions for how to open it?
>other actions to take?

>>275576
Agreed. The sisters seem to know about them. I say charm the pants off them, literally if possible, make them think we are harmless, and say that we would like them for our own safety.

>>275594
We ARE harmless, when the Witch isn't having us do errands.
Speaking of, we need to go fill her in on our situation, tell her to copy the recipe thing down, and give us the original copy to return to the bakery somehow.

>>275590
Oh we should get skunkbro to try and open the box. I don't know why this hasn't been suggested before.

>>275590
I recommend feeling like a dumbass for ignoring Skunkbro for this long, followed immediately by asking him about the box. If we can't do anything to open it right now, we should jump on our bike and ride to the cemetery to speak with the Witch.

>>275609
Right....harmless.

>>275614
I think he would have spoken up if he had any ideas, but it would be neat if he could go through the box and see inside it. Let's talk to him about it.

>>275632
He's probably being a polite servant and not speaking because he's not being spoken to (and not endangering us by waiting to be addressed)

>>275628
I mean all we've done is summon some shit for fun and friends

>>275656
Ha.....hahahahahaha. I'm fairly sure this will end up with the kid trying for more power

>>275665
probably but hey Necromancy isn't evil in itself it's just usually used for evil which we won't do right guys, guys?

>>275655
If he is we should let him know it's cool to speak whenever as long as he isn't butting in all the time

>>275678
Define evil. I'd be pretty down with becoming a big bad since that's not something that happens often.

File: TheRingintheBox.jpg (107KB, 700x516px) Image search: [Google]

107KB, 700x516px

>>275614
Suddenly, a thought strikes you. Why didn't you try getting Skunkbro to take a look at it before? You feel like smacking yourself, but settle for calling him over.
"Hey, Skunkbro, mind taking a look at this? Try to go inside, unlock anything you see keeping it close?"
"Of course. As before, I will likely be drained by the experience." He answers in his gravelly voice, before taking on his more mist-like form and sinking into the box. You'd been afraid it would be like the chest at the bakery, made of elder wood or blessed or warded or something, but apparently not. After a tense minute of uncertainty wondering if Skunkbro had somehow gotten trapped, if he could even get trapped, what would happen if he had been trapped, there's a faint click. You look down and the seam has widened, barely noticeably. Skunkbro's mist pours out, but it looks off, almost transparent. When he reforms, he looks even worse than the first time, totally worn out.
"It was much more difficult than I expected. I believe it may have been intentionally designed only to be openable by a shade." That would certainly make sense, given the little you know about the mysterious Jacob Rawlins. You start to turn your attention to the box, but...Skunkbro really looks like shit, and he did do some truly good work today.
So you quickly unsummon him after some words of thanks and the promise of some really choice offerings next time, and return to the box. You're almost salivating as you reach down and slowly pull it open. It turns out there were no hinges, just a complicated series of latches and pins holding the two halves together. No wonder Skunkbro was so tired out, it looks like it would have taken incredible precision and delicacy to pull all them down at the same time and unlock the box. What a guy.
The box is mostly empty, except for a crushed velvet pouch tied with a silk ribbon lying in the center, and a piece of paper underneath. You decide to read the paper first, just in case there's some unearthly evil waiting inside the pouch to devour the opener, unlikely as it may sound. It's a note, folded in quarters. It reads
Dear Necromancer,
I carried this for years. It always helped me to see the situation more clearly.
Good luck,
J.R.
Well, that's unnecessarily cryptic, isn't it? Filled with trepidation, you slowly open the velvet pouch, peering into it to see what's inside, almost invisible in the dim light.
It's a ring.
Or something like a ring, anyway. You pick it up and feel the surface. It's got the texture of a smooth river stone, but it's been roughly carved to resemble a normal ring, but with no jewel set in the surface as you'd expect.
A little underwhelmed, you put the ring back in the pouch, and, after making sure it won't re-lock, close the pouch up back in the box and leave the basement. You should probably go talk to the Witch, let her know everything that's gone on.
>anything else before you leave the house?
>other actions?

>>275678
I say we lean more neutral. Enough power to live comfortably and have some fun but no going out of our way to hurt anyone either.

>>275722
>It always helped me to see the situation more clearly.
Dude try looking at stuff through the ring this probably is some sort of seeing stone.

>>275722
it's either this>>275743
or what allows us to see other shades when we wear it

>>275722
Surely we're not going to tell the Witch about the box and ring right? We're not that stupid right?

>>275743
We could always just put it on, how suspicious is a ring anyway? Or we could carry it around with the grimoire for when we need it.

>>275757
yeah let's not let the (b)witch bamboozle us out of the artifacts we found. Let's try looking through the ring and putting it on in the grave yard though, it may let us see spirits. I also think that we should talk to the witch about the 6 schools of magic, about the 7 personality seer, and what school of magic she supposes we fall under.

>>275743
>>275755
>>275757
You decide to try putting the ring on, and maybe looking through it. That note seemed pretty suggestive.
You fish it out of the box and the pouch, and slip it onto your left-hand ring finger. It fits like it was made for you, neither too loose nor too tight. You look around. Nothing...seems any different? You didn't get a weird sensation, or hear any voices either. On to step two, then.
You take the ring off and hold it up to your eye. Still noth--wait. What's that out the window? You quickly crawl across your bed to get a better look, still holding the stone ring to your eye. There, in the distance, you can see just the faint outline of something. You move the ring and it disappears. Ring, it's there. No ring, not there. Seems pretty conclusive.
Whatever it is, it certainly looks important, like a huge, glowing wall of light, gradually growing fainter towards the top. Down in the street, someone passes by in a car, and you get a glimpse of color. What was that? You spot a jogger and focus on them. It takes a few seconds, and it feels like trying to look at a window screen when your nose is pressed up against it, but you start to see something. It's like a warm glow, a sort of peach-colored fire that clings to his arms and legs, warmer in color where it touches his chest. It seems to expand and contract with the heaving of his chest as he breathes. Is that what an aura looks like?
It seems like the ring is some kind of seeing-stone, left to whoever could find it (and open the box) by Jacob. That is definitely what you'd call useful.
You return the ring to the pouch, and tie it around your neck, under your shirt. After all, you're headed to talk to the Witch, and as much as you like her, it's probably a bad idea to let her know what you've got. Best to keep people surprised.
You head out the front door and hop on your bike. Looks like you've got a few hours of daylight left; best to make good use of it. You make pretty decent time to the cemetery, but the Witch is nowhere to be seen.
>look for her first, maybe knock on the door to her hut
>look around the graveyard first (specify where, what you're looking for)
>other

>>275857
>>look around the graveyard first (specify where, what you're looking for)
Let look for anything out of place or look through the ring and see if we spot something interesting. Sneakily of course, and after making sure no one is around or watching.

>>275875
let's look at jacob's grave through the ring, then at the witch's hut. Maybe we'll be able to find some special markings on the grave, and perhaps we can find the witch by seeing her aura. Or maybe we'll see spooky cemetery spirits.

>>275857
Do what the other anons suggested, just have a general look around with the ring too.

>>275882
this one

>>275882
>>275857
A this one

>>275678
Is gathering a following of faithful bedfellows evil?
Is counting your sister among them evil?

>>275857
Probably what everyone else is suggesting is a good idea. Let's have a brief look around to be sure nobody sees us, and then a brief look around through the ring.

After that, if we don't spot the witch outside, let's put the ring away and go knock on her door.

>>275875
>>275882
You glance around a few times, carefully making sure there's nobody around before reaching into the pouch and pulling out the ring. You peer through it and look around the graveyard, expecting to see ghosts or spirits of some kind. No luck. Absolutely contrary to what you'd first expect, the graveyard is totally clear of any kind of restless spirit. Maybe the Witch has something to do with that? You suppose that the type of spirit whose body got buried in a proper cemetery wouldn't have too much to be upset about, anyway. Might be worth checking out the local haunted houses with this thing, see if there's anything to the stories.
You wander around, looking for anything else out of place, other patches of disturbed ground, occasionally peeking through the ring to double-check for anything occult. Nothing really pops up until you get to Jacob's grave. The second you look through the stone, it's as though you've gone from a movie theater into the summer sun, and you blink reflexively. His entire grave, his tombstone, and all the ground around it is lit up with signs and sigils, all in a paler version of the same light blueish color that always seems to pop up whenever you perform a summoning. It's as though someone laid out the most complicated neon signs they could, then half-buried them and left them that way. You recognize a few shapes from the grimoire, but the vast majority are totally foreign to you, and some even look like a totally different style than what you've seen so far.
You try to understand it but without much success. You suspect that you'll need to spend a lot longer looking at this if you want to get anything out of it, and really put the effort in. You look around for the witch outside first without, and then with the ring, but don't see much of anything. The sun is sinking lower on the horizon, and you don't like cycling on these narrow, winding roads at night, so you figure you'd best get going, and approach the Witch's hut. You give three sharp raps on the door, and wait. After another few minutes, you give another three raps, and wait some more. Nothing.
>keep knocking/calling
>try to go in (roll 1d20)
>go back to figure out the markings on Jacob's grave (roll 1d20)
>other

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>275968
>go back to figure out the markings on Jacob's grave (roll 1d20)
dice gods be with me

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>275968
>>try to go in (roll 1d20)
Being a thief necromancer might be fun. I'm not sure if it's too early to be making an enemy of the Witch though. Might be a bad idea.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>275968
>go back to figure out the markings on Jacob's grave (roll 1d20)
The witch probably has traps or something inside her hut. Maybe we could animate a shade later on and have see if anyone comes past.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>275983
we might still need her if the book requires something rare.
Also, contributing my roll to the investigate Jacob's grave effort.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>275968
We're damn well not trespassing into a Witch's hut. She could probably do horrible things to us if she found out, and she says that just being inside is fuck all dangerous anyway, so we might die even BEFORE she find out what we did.

Let's leave her a note and go back to studying the sigils and signs of the grave of the late Necromancer.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>275988
That's true. I'm trying to weigh which is worse, getting caught inside her house or getting caught with the ring. Guess I'll switch over to the grave side then.

Try photographing the runes through the ring. If that works, it will be much easier to compare them to the book. Hell, with so many sigils, we might even be able to get an idea of what represents what, and could possibly make useful alterations to our runes or invent our own.

>>275968
Seconding >>276007

>>275988
>>276007
You decide it's a really bad idea to try to get inside the Witch's hut without her leading you in. Best to just wait and maybe go take another look at Jacob's grave. Unfortunately, you didn't think to bring the grimoire with you, but maybe if you could take a picture...
You try every combination you can think of with your phone and the ring, but no matter if you take the photo with the ring up to the lens, or with the ring down and then look at the photo itself through the ring, it's no good. At best, you get a fuzzy blur with no sort of clear image whatsoever, similar to when you tried to photograph the glamoured recipe paper. You wonder if there's any time of camera that can successfully capture that sort of thing; surely there must be? You remember reading about some kind of ghost camera, but not giving it much thought at the time. Now, you wish you'd read more deeply about it. You do find a sharpie in your pocket , so if all else fails you can write some on your arm...preferably where Mom, Mia, or Dad won't see it and ask for an explanation of the eldritch symbols. That makes you wonder; could they do anything if you just scribbled them on? Could it hurt you somehow?
You leave that line of thinking behind for now, and try really focusing on the markings. It's starting to get darker, but the markings stay bright, maybe even increasing in intensity as the sun sinks lower in the sky. You take note of all the sigils and symbols you recognize, or think you recognize. They're primarily related to the ones you remember being used for raising shades...but there's a lot more to it than that. You suddenly recognize a few more symbols from the same ritual, but they're inverted, either turned upside down or mirrored, but only in certain places. The general "look" of the markings also seems to have something in common with the one you made to summon Skunkbro, albeit only tangentially. It's that same pseudo-spiral, but hidden behind a huge number of other markings, so much so that you almost didn't see it.
So it's definitely something to do with raising shades, probably Jacob's shade given the location, but it's been twisted somehow, changed to fit a particular meaning. It's certainly more complicated than the dinky little circle you used two night previous; the size of it and the sheer number of interwoven symbols definitely attest to that. The inverted and mirrored symbols definitely have some sort of significance, but you can't imagine what. It might be worth taking a look at the human section of the grimoire, trying to see if those circles bear a greater or lesser similarity to this one than do the animal ones you're already familiar with.
It's now starting to get really dark.
>keep poring over Jacob's grave (1d20)
>go knock on the witch's hut again
>go home
>other

>>276078
if we try something it will probably get too late.
Let's go home and check out the human shade section of the grimoire.

>>276078
>>go home
Probably shouldn't get home too late and we gotta study up on those symbols.

>>276078
Let's knock on the Witch's door again to see if maybe she got back home while we were busy with Jacob's grave. If she doesn't answer, let's just go back home and get ready to do necromancer stuff after everyone else goes to sleep.

I still wanna tell Mia about what we do and try to get her to jump into the game with us.

>>276078
>>276100
Do what this anon suggested, I bet some other bastard has already raised jacob as a shade.

>>276116
Maybe if we had a better relationship with her, but it seems like we're the generic feuding siblings. Maybe a good enough roll would pull it off though.

>>276078
Have we tried using the ring to find the witch?

>>276127
If she does necromantic stuff with us, it'll give us something to bond over. That might help us get closer with her and generate a friendlier relationship with our sibling.

>>276145
But if we get a bad roll, it could be an instant dead end. She says no and spills the beans and we get taken away.

>>276145
she doesn't even need necromancy to raise our bone

File: hhhehehe.jpg (134KB, 500x333px) Image search: [Google]

134KB, 500x333px

>>276153
That's the risk right there, ain't it?

>>276154
hhhehehe

>>276127
>maybe a good enough roll would pull it off though
Combine it with a good strategy and try it out. Only way to see if it'll work...
>>276154
If I write incest smut, it certainly won't be on a blue board.
>>276100
>>276116
>>276144
You stand up and stretch your legs a little. You'd been crouching down, studying the markings so intently you hadn't noticed the passage of time or how sore you were getting. Time to get home, before the parents start worrying too much.
You decide to knock on the witch's door before heading out in case she got back while you were studying Jacob's grave. Another three sharp raps and a few minutes' wait, but still no reply. Looking at the hut through the ring just hurts your eyes; it looks like a bad 3-D movie or superimposed Warhol pictures, dozens of almost identical images layered on top of each other. It's impossible to see inside for auras, and it doesn't look like there are any nearby either. You start to get a bad feeling about this, but it's too late to do anything about it now.
You hop back on your bike and peddle like the wind, making it home in record time. Your mom had just been about to call to ask where you were, and, happy that you're home, tells you to come in for supper.
It's a bit late for it, but you're certainly hungry enough. It goes about as well as could be expected, with Mia outlining every aspect of the orientation and explaining in great detail everything that went wrong and why it was not her fault. You go into considerably less detail, explaining that if you tried to recount every question you answered, you'd lower the IQ of the whole room in the process. Dad talks about this great new yoga place in Bridgeport he's been going to recently, and invites anyone who wants to come along. As usual, you're all happy he's enthusiastic but not terribly interested in trying it for yourselves.
After dinner, you head upstairs and go to your room, pulling out the grimoire. Time to look into human shades, and see if you can't dig up anything more on the sort of markings you saw on Rawlin's grave.
>Do you want to talk to Mia first? General consensus preferred.

>>276192
no

>>276192
I want to find a selling point we can use to get her on our side before we try talking to her. We just got into necromancy on a whim type thing but she might not be all that into it. I say we hold off on talking to her.
I'd be pleasantly surprised if she was already involved in the magic world, especially if she was a fellow necromancer.

>>276192
Not unless we come up with a plan for how to bring it up. Revealing it to her the other night in the cellar would have been perfect.

I mean I wanna talk with her about it and invite her to come see, but I don't want the conversation to be *knock* *knock* "I play with roadkill!"

>>276243
We could send Robin to knock on her window and see her reaction. If she brings it up the next day like a normal person, it's could be a bad sign. If she keeps quiet it could mean that she's already related to magic and has a general idea of what it was about or something.

Y'know if we ever become friends with the younger sister of the enchantress, we could have her sneak a peak of our sister and find out if she is magical. Alternatively, we could somehow sneak a peak at her through our seeing stone.

>>276335
That won't tell us if she would be interested in necromancy or not. The idea that's coming to my mind is that we want her to come to us in a way that makes us the authority.

>>276192
You open up the grimoire to the section titled "Simple Shade (Human)", noting that there's also a section called "True Shade (Human)". A few moments of reading reveals the difference.
The human simple shade has little advantage over his animal counterpart. Offerings tend to be less exotic, procured a little more easily, and some report their human shades have more energy. These small benefits are outweighed significantly by the additional complexity of the circle and the fact that any human body used for this purpose cannot be used for the (more useful) physical summons. In addition, the human simple shade will be no more intelligent, and have no more awareness of its past life than any other. For those wishing to gain the knowledge of their forefathers, the true human shade must be used.
Well that's disappointing. Still, you scan through the rest of it, none of it terribly interesting, until you get to the section with a diagram of the circle. You study it intently, going over each sigil used. You notice some of them that you hadn't known before, but that were almost definitely there on Jacob's grave. Comparing it to the animal circle, you notice certain differences, and note them down carefully. A symbol here, a curve of a line there--could the difference between human and animal spirits really be so insignificant?
The majority of the symbols inverted or otherwise altered on Jacob's grave seem to be somehow indicative of time. A note scrawled in the margin in blue ink notes that a particular wonky double-cross has something to do with the time of day. On Jacob's grave the thing was upside-down, and enclosed in a separate circle. What the hell could that mean? The grimoire, unfortunately, doesn't go much into the theory behind these things, just that this works, and what good it is. You'd need to be a history buff with a library just to figure out one of these smaller circles, much less the huge sprawling one at the cemetery.
(1/2)

>>276349
You skip ahead to the bit about the true human shade, figuring that'll be more of what you're looking for, and start to read.
The True Human Shade is one of the earliest known examples of necromancy, with an account clearly describing it in Homer's Odyssey. In order to contact the shade of the prophet Tiresias, certain rituals were performed, offerings were burned, and libations poured. These are the same steps we must follow. The true human shade is far above the simple human shade, and is more often summoned despite its difficulty (remains must be procured, names must be known, offerings are difficult to prepare, etc.) due to its usefulness. Unlike the simple human shade, the true shade recalls all memories of its life on earth. All its skills, observations and intelligence are at the command of its summoner, so long as he follows the correct steps in summoning it. It is incredibly useful in performing research, or even acting as a temporary teacher for the novice should no living instructor present himself. It is even visible to those who do not practice necromancy, so long as they are in physical contact with the summoner, direct or indirect. The length of time for which they may be summoned is limited, but can be prolonged with sufficient offerings. Any amount of time is useful to the skilled and clever necromancer, however, who will take full advantage of the resources he has access to. A victrola may be procured, or a fast typist brought, so as not to miss a word of what transpires..." it continues, mostly in a similar vein, suggesting outdated methods of not forgetting anything that the spirit says while it's still around. There's also a bit about battles won by use of dead generals from the other side and similar tactics, though this is complicated by acquiring their remains and complete names. You skip ahead to the bit about the ritual and look closely at the diagram of the circle. It's even more similar to the markings found on Jacob's grave, and even more complicated than the last one you looked at. It could take an hour or more to draw correctly, even on a nice smooth surface, nevermind a gravesite.
>look for something specific in the book
>do something else before you go to bed

>>276354
Let's look at the most complicated one (true ressurection), our man jacob probably has grand plans.

What if we were to invite Mia to come summon Skunkbro and see him first-hand?

>>276354
Skim the book for advice on having multiple people summoning the same spirit, and maybe for instructions pertaining to how diagrams may be drawn, whether it must be chalk on a hard surface or if a necromancer can craft the circle in other ways (E.G.: the blue light already surrounding the grave, or graphite on paper).

Thread's autosaging, making new one.

>>276381
Remember to cross-link the new thread here and vice-versa!

>>276344
Couldn't we just look through the ring in our room and look around the house? I'm pretty sure auras and stuff show up through walls.

>>276380
We could also ask Skunkbro what he thinks about talking to her.

>>276407
worth a shot!

>>276407
We'd have to burn up some libation for that, and then just immediately dismiss him again. I support the idea of using the ring to look around the house, though.

New thread. Thanks for the reminder to cross-post.
>>276449

Rolled 1 (1d1)

test 1

Rolled 1 (1d1)

test 2