Modern Necromancy Quest Redux: Thread Nine

Continuing from >>967455
There’s another necromancer at the Unseelie Court! You’re sure of it! You only saw the shade for a moment or two, but you’re sure of it. Then again, are necromancers the only ones who can summon spirits like that? Maybe he was...what was it Argus had called you? A warlock? Hmm...the odds seem too far on that. Why would it look identical to your raised animal spirits? It was a necromancer for sure.

The only question now is how to contact them. Would they even be interested in seeing you? Surely they would; why wouldn’t you look for allies in a place like this? From what you’ve gathered, necromancers are hardly looked up to, even in the Unseelie Court. Maybe you could wait for them to come out, and signal them with Cat somehow? They should be able to see your shade, if you can see theirs.

You’re walking forward slowly, trying not to draw attention from the members of the Court sitting around in the sunken pits, talking around braziers or just passing around food and drinks. Some of them look kind enough, but others are horrid things of horns and tentacles that seem positively Lovecraftian. You keep your eye on the door, waiting for it to open and your fellow necromancer to come walking out.

In your focus, you don’t notice much of what’s going on in the Court. Particularly you don’t notice the smaller man who had been standing next to the throne break off his conversation with the massive armored man you assume is Oberon and walk up to you, scroll in hand.
“And who are you, miss? Do you desire an audience with the great Lord Oberon, first of his name, King of the Winter Court, Emperor of the Forests Beyond and Ruler over all of the Fae?”
His voice is so nasal and whining that at first, you think he’s faking it. But he shows no sign of laughing, or anything other than a sort of contemptuous impatience usually encountered only at the DMV and the tax office.
>Be Straightforward, give actual name. (I am Liz Shepherd, and I’m here to see if the Unseelie Court is a better fit than its opposite number.)
>Be Guarded, give pseudonym. (I am Sabrina. As for my visit, I’m sure Lady Titania informed your master of my reasons.)
>Be Hostile. (Don’t speak, just glare at the assistant. If they sent a car for you, they know who you are. This is just playacting.)
>other

>>988524
>>Be Guarded, give pseudonym. (I am Sabrina. As for my visit, I’m sure Lady Titania informed your master of my reasons.)

Go by the same name in both Courts, definitely dont want to give the fey our real name for goodness sake, what kind of stupid lala froofroo do people think we are!

Hopefully those tentacle monster come in to-go sizes.

>>988545
Writing.

>>988588
Skelly got dubs, this is a good sign! Praise be the dubs, may they bring many new skeletons to our ranks!

“I’m Sabrina.” You reply evenly, your eyes not leaving the assistant’s face. “And I’m sure the good Lady Titania informed your Court of my reasons for being here. Had she not, I doubt you would have received me.”
The man returns a wry smile, tucking the scroll into one of his low-hanging sleeves.

“Perhaps she did inform us of a young...warlock come to join the Court,” he replies, glancing at your arm, then down to your wrist. “but we had no idea you were injured, or we would not have pressed you to come, miss Sabrina.”

You almost take a step back. In a single condescending sentence, he’s just made it clear that neither glamour nor secrecy is enough to hide something from him. Argus did warn you that the glamour would only work on people weaker than the magic he used, but you’d expected it to at least work on a clerk, of all people. Oh well, nothing to do but move forward now.

“My injuries are not so great as to merit a delay, mister…?”
The assistant turns to make eye contact with the figure on the throne, then turns back to you.

“Alium.” he answers, after a pause. “Though-”

“--and I don’t intend to join your court.” You interrupt “Unless you can do more for me than the Seelie, of course.”
Alium smiles briefly, a terribly tooth-filled expression.

“You may fit better than you think, miss Sabrina.”
He turns on his heel and approaches the throne, with you behind him, stopping in front of the stair leading up to it. The man on the throne stands, forcing you to crane your neck up to look at him as he stares down, a pair of pale-blue eyes staring into yours. You get a chill, feeling for perhaps the first time exactly how inhuman the fae could be.

“How were you injured?” he asks. His voice is...strange. It seems both a creeping whisper, something half-heard in a forgotten dream, and the rumbling baritone you’d expect from a feudal lord. The combination is unsettling, to say the least.
>Truth. This guy is clearly nothing to mess with. Best to be straightforward here. (Attacked by rogue spirit, at the behest of a mad bookshop owner.)
>Half-Lie. He might do something for you if he believes his own men were the ones who hurt you, and it’s nearly true. (I was ambushed by three men when out looking for a grimoire.)
>Lie. This is not the place for weakness. Best to make something up so as to sound fearsome. (I was attacked by a number of men, before I destroyed them.)

>>988686
>>Truth. This guy is clearly nothing to mess with. Best to be straightforward here. (Attacked by rogue spirit, at the behest of a mad bookshop owner.)


We scared the shit out of his guys, no reason to throw them under the bus, and a lie may turn out badly for us, the Fey always seem to value honesty in those they deal with, even if they twist that.

>>988686
>Truth. This guy is clearly nothing to mess with. Best to be straightforward here. (Attacked by rogue spirit, at the behest of a mad bookshop owner.)

>>988722
Whew new person! Also, more DUBS!

>>988686
>Truth. This guy is clearly nothing to mess with. Best to be straightforward here. (Attacked by rogue spirit, at the behest of a mad bookshop owner.)
He may well already know. Let's not fuck around here.

>>988718
>>988722
>>988745
Writing.

>>988745
>Turns out the Shopkeeper was Oberon pulling a ruse with a Scooby-doo type super-realistic-till-you-take-it-off rubber mask and his goons from the alley as the spirits and stufff.
>yfw you beat an innocent fairy prankster to death with a cast iron door knob they forgot to remove then chucked a cat at his soul.

I doubt that is even close to true, but I got a feeling she might get a bunch of trouble her way from one of the courts, if she isn't in pretty good standing with one of them at least.

“I was attacked.” Out of the corner of your eye, you notice a few of the closer members of the Court looking up from their pipes and plates, turning to watch or listen to this new arrival. “I was searching for a particular book, and found myself directed to Arachnis Books, in Portland. The proprietress was mad, obsessed with necromancy, and lured me into the basement. One of her creations, a ghost bound to a corpse, attacked me. In the end, I destroyed it and bound her. She escaped, but I retrieved the book I was looking for.”

The towering man doesn’t react, but the assistant next to you lets out a disappointed sigh. You can’t tell if he was waiting for a more interesting story, or if he wanted you to lie the whole time. Neither is a particularly pleasant option.

“I know of this woman. She is a wright, previously married to the sorcerer Brutus. She had broken the ancient law of the Fae, and will be punished.”
You swallow, and nod. You’re not exactly sympathetic to the crazy old bag who nearly had her pet ghost murder you, but you can’t imagine what kind of punishment they have in mind for her.

“Now, to business. You will be better received here than at the Summer Court, you must know this.”
You do know this, or at least, you’ve been told it more than once. Titania herself admitted it, and Argus’ outburst about necromancers yesterday hardly contradicted her. Sure, the members of this Court might be a bit less human, but if you’re going to be treated like an outcast anyway…

“We are far from miserly, as you might have realized.” The pale, armored fae continues “Name your deepest desires, and we will fulfill them. What do you desire, young Sabrina?”
The way your name rolls off his tongue is more than a little chilling, but you answer with certainty.

>Money. I don’t want to ever go without something I desire. Money is the lubricant of life, making everything go smoother.
>Power. I’m tired of not being in control, of not having a voice. I want to be able to do what I want, when I want, and have people to make it happen.
>Knowledge. I’ve been held back in using my magic, in learning all that I could. I want to be able to do research, to study my magic without restrictions.
>write-ins encouraged

>>988883
>Knowledge. I’ve been held back in using my magic, in learning all that I could. I want to be able to do research, to study my magic without restrictions.

>>988883
>Knowledge. I’ve been held back in using my magic, in learning all that I could. I want to be able to do research, to study my magic without restrictions.
I mean shit, we almost killed ourselves to get a book from a crazy old lady, I'd say we're pretty knowledge-focused.

>>988883
>Understanding, I want to understand how my magic works. To build true knowledge of the subject and understand it from its simplest form to all the interwoven complexities. Not to just repeat a spell from a book and call it my own.
>But I don't wish to incur any great hidden debts or things I might be unable to pay back.

>>988914
>>988926
>>988932
Do we even know how old our Grimoire is and when it was originally printed or Illuminated, it might be out of date compared to some more modern necromantic tomes.

I also wonder what law the crazy book lady broke. Is attacking someone with a corpse a crime, was it binding Brutus's soul to a rotting body with shitty magic, was it pursuing Necromancy without a calling to it, or was her job at Necromancy just so fucking insulting to Oberon on a deeply personal level he feels like he has to handle it in case she shits out something equally as horribly constructed again.

>Look, look, you can have Brutus's soul, but just let a professional do it this time...
>NO! I am a GREAT Necromancer! First I kill the chicken! Then I stitch the heart into the eye sockets or the skull and use zipties to re-attach the bones
>....Stop... please just... stop
>Now I draw this circle thingy I saw on one of my grandkids Japanese Cartoons about Alchemy!
>No... just...
>Now I pour in a SHITTON of salt and fertilizer!
>For the love of.. that isn't even part of it! Just use one of the court Necromancers! We have like 8!
>NO MY SPECIAL RECIPE IS THE BEST!
>Prehinsile dicks
>....What?
>Some of the Necromancers could revive him as a creature with a prehensile dick, just for the love of all that is sacred, promise you will stop doing Necromancy, or at least read a book about it before you try again, your spell physically hurts me to look at.
>Okay fine, but I have read a book on the subject (Teenage Witch Mage Nature Walk For-realzies Magic Necromancy Ghost Talk, by Author John Raven Shadow Cloud the 3rd)

Perhaps the knowledge of the great John Raven Shadow Cloud the 3rd is forbidden in the Unseelie court?

>>988932
>>988926
>>988914
Writing for knowledge and understanding.

>>988960
>"She had broken the ancient law of the Fae, and will be punished."
Her actions the other day probably didn't do anything to anger the fae. Whether it was Oberon or Alium who said that, the wording suggests that her transgression occurred before you ran into her.

Unless "had" was a typo.

“Knowledge. True knowledge.” It’s hard, but you stare straight into those inhuman blue eyes, unblinking, as you speak. “I’ve been held back in my practice by lack of materials, lack of space. I want to grow to understand what I can do, research every part of it from the simplest cantrips to the most esoteric of invocations. I want to reach an understanding deep enough that I know what I’m doing, not than just copying what I’ve read in a book. I desire understanding”
You stop, not realizing until you’ve finished how passionate you sounded, how desperate for this knowledge you truly were.

The armored figure on the throne seems unmoved, but Alium, standing beside you, seems quite impressed. Oberon’s head moves slowly towards the assistant, and you get a strong feeling that something is passing between them. After a moment, the pale man’s head turns back towards you, and he speaks.

“A noble desire, and one we can help you achieve. You desire a place to research? There are rooms upon rooms that could be yours. Chests of materials piled taller than I stand here. Secrets that others before you have uncovered, stored in libraries vaster than the city you stood in an hour ago. These things could all belong to you...but for them you would have to join us. Work for us. Earn these things you claim to desire. So. What do you say? Will you stand with the Unseelie? Or scamper back to Lady Titania and her kin?”

Something seems off. Besides Oberon’s rather hard sell, which you expected from the start, something about his speech, what he’s saying, is wrong. You can’t quite put your finger on it though…
>Try to figure out what it is that’s bothering you. (Roll 1d20 for perception, best of three, crits take precedence.)
>Ask about the work he mentioned. It seems like a good deal, but if he’s gonna have you butchering orphans or something...
>Ask why you should pick him over the Seelie. Titania didn’t seem exactly stingy either, so why join the court with the tentacle monsters all over the place if you could get the same deal elsewhere?
>>989012
It was not a typo

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>989054
>Try to figure out what it is that’s bothering you. (Roll 1d20 for perception, best of three, crits take precedence.)
I'm not about to sit here and let a nagging feeling go unaddressed.

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>989078
>Try to figure out what it is that’s bothering you. (Roll 1d20 for perception, best of three, crits take precedence.)

>>989054
>>Try to figure out what it is that’s bothering you. (Roll 1d20 for perception, best of three, crits take precedence.)
>Ask why you should pick him over the Seelie. Titania didn’t seem exactly stingy either, so why join the court with the tentacle monsters all over the place if you could get the same deal elsewhere?

I mean we are an innocent schoolgirl after all, ofcourse we would be wary around tentacle monsters. We have seen those Japanese Cartoons too!


Hmm this could be good or bad, What was Titania's deal anyway? Unless we discover something weird going on right now, it seems like Oberon is the best bet here. Just so long as we don't have to dress entirely in black leather or go emo or quit brushing our teeth or something.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>989106
>>989054
Forgot my roll

Maybe more use my second pick as stalling while we try to figure out what is bugging us.

>>989078
>>989095
>>989106
>>989113
Writing.

>>989113
Man it should have stayed forgotten.

“U-um, why should I join you instead of the Seelie? Titania doesn’t exactly seem like the stingy type either. What do you have that she doesn’t?” You really don’t care much one way or the other, but you can’t shake that nagging feeling that something is off.

“The Lady Titania cannot offer what we can.” You notice the hatred, barely concealed in his voice when he speaks her name, and notice an unhappy twist to Alium’s mouth for just a second. It’s gone almost right away, but you wonder why. Sure, it makes sense for Oberon to hate someone he’s at war with, but why conceal it? Unless…

Titania never called her husband Lord Oberon. It was always ‘my husband’ this, or just his name without a title. She never seemed upset about him either...and from what you’ve learned, there isn’t really much of a war in the first place, and not much bad feeling between the leaders of the two courts. That, and Oberon keeps glancing toward his ‘assistant’. He did it right before he made you an offer, and the way they were talking when you came in didn’t seem like a servant talking to his master, not by a long shot. The twist of his lips wasn’t anger, either! It was displeasure, like someone hearing a friend insulted.

The huge armored man’s been talking this whole time, something about the Seelie having issues with ‘your arts’ that won’t allow you freedom, but you’ve missed most of it. Still, you think you’ve figured out something much more important. They’ve pulled the switch on you—you’re almost certain Oberon is the ‘assistant’ standing beside you! Now the only question is what to do.

>Reveal it immediately. Turn to “Alium” and address him as Oberon, make it clear that you saw through their deception at once and gain the advantage in the conversation.
>Don’t say anything. You may have figured this out, but best to play along, or act as though you knew it the whole time later. Play the long game.
>Write-in

>>989198
>Don’t say anything. You may have figured this out, but best to play along, or act as though you knew it the whole time later. Play the long game.

>>989198
>Don’t say anything. You may have figured this out, but best to play along, or act as though you knew it the whole time later. Play the long game.
Best to not start acting unexpectedly in the middle of the den of hostility.

>>989198
>Don’t say anything. You may have figured this out, but best to play along, or act as though you knew it the whole time later. Play the long game.

>>989211
>>989217
>>989258
Writing for silence

>>989198
>Don’t say anything. You may have figured this out, but best to play along, or act as though you knew it the whole time later. Play the long game.

Yeah, I will go with this, there is no guarantee that anyone else in the court knows, or that it isn't something unspoken that you don't bring up. Don't want to act too clever for our own good, but hmmm it might also be a test. But considering how high we rolled on this, there is a good possibility that he keeps it a secret, since I don't think Alium is as imposing as "Oberon" and this way real Oberon can sneak back to the Seelie court for some nookie once and a while.

>>989272
Bastard is a fae, they change shapes as foreplay

You clear your throat nervously, and look back at “Oberon”, listening as he finishes up his tirade against the intolerance of the Seelie for freshly-procured corpses and their variable uses in magic. That does seem like something that would keep you from being too productive, since you pretty much rely on corpses for everything you can currently do. Then again, his emphasis on the freshness of these corpses is kind of a red flag.

“Yes, I see. And the Unseelie are more open to such practices?”
You try to stay non-commital, barely listening as not-Oberon takes the opportunity to go on a similarly unimportant diatribe. Meanwhile, you’re mentally going through everything you’ve said in the Court, trying to remember if you ever actually addressed the guy as “Lord Oberon”. If you did, your devious plan to act like you’d known all along would start to fall apart somewhat. You’re pretty sure you haven’t…

You’re distracted from your musings by the door to Oberon’s right opening, and a teenaged boy of about your age stepping out. He looks normal enough and is followed out by one of the more humanoid fae, though the gills flapping slowly at his neck and the webbing between his fingers are rather tell-tale signs. Behind them floats the skunk shade you saw earlier—it must belong to the teenager.

His eyes lock on you for a second, then flick to your shade, and back to you. He doesn’t seem to react other than a slight pause in his step, before continuing on behind you. You can’t tell if he’s still in the Court or if he’s on his way to the door, but you’d certainly like the chance to talk to the only other necromancer you’ve seen so far. Oberon seems to have finished, and is looking at you expectantly.

>Ask to walk around for a moment. You need to talk to that guy if he’s still around, and it’s a good chance to see what the place is like.
>Ask about the work you’d be doing for him, assuming you do choose the Unseelie. Again, you’re a little hung up on what you’d be expected to partake in, especially with the talk of bodies...
>Ask something else (specify what)

For the record, two more posts before I must vamoose

>>989337
>>Ask about the work you’d be doing for him, assuming you do choose the Unseelie. Again, you’re a little hung up on what you’d be expected to partake in, especially with the talk of bodies...

>>989337
>I'd like the oportunity to meet my would-be "collegues" within the court first, to see how much my own views align with theirs

Or something, make it sound like he has us convinced but still need that liiiiitle push to say it

>>989337
>Ask to walk around for a moment. You need to talk to that guy if he’s still around, and it’s a good chance to see what the place is like.
The people we will be working with are just as important as the work that we will be doing.

>>989363
This>>989337
Honestly seem pretty interested but also want to catch Skunkbro and co before we go.

>>989363
>>989367
>>989375
Writing
Also skunkbro? What a charming and unusual epithet for the skunk shade totally, unrelated to any previous quests!

“I admit, this seems like a good place.” You say, doing your best to seem convinced. “Good for what I’m looking to do, and willing to help me do them. Thing is, though, sometimes the people you’re working with are just as important as the work you’re doing. I’d like a chance to talk to some of my ‘colleagues’, so to speak. Is that alright with you?”

Again, the quick glance between the man on the throne and the real Oberon, and then the answer. The fae who introduced himself as Alium gives a queer kind of smile, as if holding back a laugh, but not-Oberon seems as serious as ever. A one-note actor, that guy. Still, he gives you permission to walk around a bit.

You turn around and spot the other necromancer, sitting in an alcove near the back of the court. He seems to be waiting for you, and you don’t plan to disappoint. So, trying not to be too obvious, you work your way down the hall, eventually ducking into the alcove after him. It’s a little cramped, but enough light gets in to see his face. Your guess about his age seems accurate...his face is fine-boned and thin, though a little pale. You could even call him handsome, though he’s not really your type. He has a runner’s build, and a confident smirk on his face.

He extends one hand, and you shake it briefly, his smirk growing wider.

“I’m Enkidu, at least while we’re in the Court. Good to meet another one, isn’t it? Last one of us I saw tried to kill me.” He chuckles at this last bit, a little wilder than would be normal. “So, you thinking of throwing in with these goons?”
You’re a little thrown off by his easy nature, how he acts like you’re friends after about a sentence of conversation. How do you answer?
>Yes. They seem like they’ve got what I need and they’re not too bad.
>No. They’re convenient, sure, but I don’t like what might be lurking in the closet, if you know what I mean.
>Lie (specify which you claim to be joining)

>>989424
Eh, the LIZ is not so keen on being tied down, you get me, soul brotha?. Say, you probably got stained with the local colouuuurrrr already, knowhatimsaying?
What's in store for the LIZ if she settles down with the 'Ron?

Just ask him his opinion before you give yours

>>989424
>No. They’re convenient, sure, but I don’t like what might be lurking in the closet, if you know what I mean.
Learning the craft is fine and all, but apparently we're putting our life at risk simply by gaining this knowledge; we shouldn't have to be mindful not to look away from our benefactor too long for fear of the knife they hold.

>>989424
>Yes. They seem like they’ve got what I need and they’re not too bad.

Also, before that, say "Hi! My name is Sabrina and I like kitties and flowers, and do you want to see my Fortress of Wholesome Christianity?! What are your interests?" In our best smiley good girl super peppy voice. I mean, downed a cocktail of percocet and adderall levels of happy energy.Also I can't be the only one that remembers the Fortress of Wholesome Christianity being what the treehouse was named unnofficially in one picture can I?

>>989448
Argus has helped us a bit, but he has also flat out stated he despises Necromancers and it is possible that we may be in a bit of danger from him to begin with. I mean, the Oberon crew seems cool is all, Titania didn't really sell us on her resources when it came to Necromancy, possibly because she really doesn't want us.

Do we want to have to deal with a boss that is looking to get rid of us, especially a fey, just because our magic leaves a bad taste in her mouth?

Oberon and them may be a bit creepy, but the worst we have seen from them is a couple easily cowwed street thugs who are obviously low as fuck on the tier list since they dont seem to be here.

Versus Argus who has blown up a library to find a book, kidnapped us, and forcibly press ganged us into being a soldier for one of two sides whom he believes will soon go to war.

If we didn't look like the most adorable little broken puppy after getting beaten up by Brutus, he might not have helped us at all or even talked to us. I mean, we have interacted with him sure, but what has he done for us besides kidnap us and turn us into a teenage soldier stuck between choosing two ancient entities, oh and helped us lie to our mom about getting our shit kicked in.

>>989487
Also, I may be entirely biased because I want these fuckers to hurry up and put the magic in the bag, or I swear to God I will Necromance every single one of them.

>Yes. They seem like they’ve got what I need and they’re not too bad.

>>989494
>>989464
>>989447
Writing for asking his opinion, then stating you're probably in with the Unseelie. Last post of the night.
For the record, this decision may not be as permanent as it appears. No route-lock yet.

“Are you? You don’t seem to have too high an opinion of them.”
He shrugs, and answers.

“They’re okay I guess. Less judgemental than the crowd at the Summer Court and honestly, I like the color palette better.” Another one of those laughs. “No, no, jokes aside I’ll probably join them in name only. I’ve got hold of some decent resources at home, so I’ll probably just pay my tithe, so to speak, and avoid them otherwise.”
You think for a moment. That seems like a pretty good way to go about things, if you’ve got the chance. Do the work you have to, and avoid everything else.

“I’m probably going to stick with them. They’re convenient, and they’ve got what I need.” You shrug, a little embarassed by your own blunt practicality. Enkidu, whatever his real name is, seems to like it though.

“Makes sense. Look out for number one and all that.” He seems to pause for a second, weighing you before he continues. “I heard part of your speech, about knowledge and all that. I started out with a grimoire too...I’ve still got it. Syke’s grimoire. Do you have a different one? I haven’t been able to find many others since that one came in the mail. It might be worth comparing notes, is all.”

****
And that’s all for tonight. See you soon! I might be running tomorrow, depending, but I’ll let you all know. Thanks, and if you’re not already on the discord server, come say hi.

>>989585
Thanks for running, Skelly!

>>989585
gracias mi amigo

File: frankenstein.jpg (71KB, 300x400px) Image search: [Google]

71KB, 300x400px

>>989585
Thank you for running
But now we face a great question
A question that will change how we percieve the world itself once we find out the answer

What IS Liz' type? Is she into Chads? Will we build our very own Frankenchad?(pic related)

>>989708
>Frankenstein's monster
That seems more like wright territory, to me.

Running tonight 7:00-7:30pm EST, depending on how everything goes. See you then!

Will be running in about an hour and a half.

Test post

>>1005832
Test reply

>>1005841
I was just checking to see if the thread was autosaging or not. No such luck, so new thread on its way

New Thread!
>>1005957
>>1005957
>>1005957