Harold James 2011/10/13(Thu)23:31 No. 358077 ID: 801747
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Blam!

"Barkeep! Get me a... Niles! You owe me a drink!"

>>358077
Who's this joker that owes you a drink?

What's yer poison of choice?

There seems to be an unattended drink on the bar. Finders keepers...

>>358077
More information on niles, please!

Harold James 2011/10/18(Tue)00:12 No. 359119 ID: 801747
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Oh, hey there! You're back. I thought you all had vanished just as I was starting to get used to you. Niles is part of the acting troupe I travel with. Leading man, and the closest thing I have to a best friend. He always bets me a drink that I won't come back.

Niles: "What's this? Harold James collecting on a... Blessed Shit, man! What happened to you? You've never come back with so much as a scratch!"

Harold: "Let's just say that place lived up to its reputation... and then some."

My poison? Well, as I've mentioned, I like a good wine, but right now I don't particularly care... and that drink is looking pretty lonely.

Harold: "Could I get one of these, for whoever used to be drinking it? My friend here is paying."

like i said before, it's about interest. heading back to town isn't interesting so we fade out. now, if you are traveling a long distance and we DON'T leave, then that means something interesting is going to happen during the trip. some kind of vague future reading power.

Any idea what the ring does yet?

>>359120
It is about interest and having situations where clear decision can be made or plans need to be formed, most of the time.

If it is rather cut and dry, we do not really do much, other than ask the random question about past events or something.

Anyway, you travel with an acting troupe? Do they go near ruins and sites of interest enough to make a living off of "archaeology"?

an... acting troupe.

>>359119
Those Dwarves were petty trapgrubbing assholes. Let's leave it at that.

Harold James 2011/10/20(Thu)23:10 No. 359744 ID: 801747
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Harold: "Heh."

Trapgrubbing. That's good. Not something I'm gonna say in this town, though.

Niles: "Well, was it worth it? Get anything interesting? Oh..."

Harold: "Interesting. Yeah, you might say that..."

Interesting, huh? You only show up when something's going on? Oh, yeah, the right. I'll have to go see Az after-

*cough*

Harold: "Woah, what in the name - er - what is this?"

Stronger drink than you expected?

is it poison?

Bet it is a potion that leads to wacky consequences, like a shrinking potion or gender bending potion or something.

Also yeah there's a shadow behind you.

I figure it's a remedy for the barkeeper's friend's genital sores.

>Not something I'm gonna say in this town, though.


Plenty of of 'the wee folk' in residence may I presume?

Harold James 2011/10/24(Mon)22:24 No. 360883 ID: 801747
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This town is on old dwarven border territory, hence the fort. Things are a bit more cosmopolitan now, but they still make a significant portion of the population. Especially in bars.

All alcohol is poison, and this isn't so much strong as... shit, orcish!

Klopf

"That was my drink Harold."

Harold: "Jeer's, go easy on me T'kuli! My day was plenty rough with two head wounds, and Niles is already buying you another drink. Aren't you niles?"

T'kuli: "Alright, fine. But don't just go grabbing other people's drinks. That's just rude."

>>360883
She's right. Especially downing UNKNOWN drinks. All drink is poison, but some can be more poison than others.

Anyways, grab her ass.

>>360895
That sounds like it would result in his death. Unless they're already a couple; jeez I have no idea.

ARE you a couple?

>>360883
Someone you know I presume? Regardless, it sure looks like she wears the pants in any relationship she's in.

so, uh... what's your opinion on, uh, people of orcish ancestry?

Harold James 2011/10/27(Thu)01:21 No. 361402 ID: 801747
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T'kuli: "Now what's this about headwounds? Woah! C'mere. Barkeep, get me a water and a whiskey!"

Grab what? T'kuli? No, she wouldn't kill me. Probably. But she's Niles's girl, so there are at least two people that would disapprove. Not my type anyway. Bit too -ow- buff. Orcs are fine, and generally -Ow- pretty honest. Some people think they're being rude, but -OW- that's generally not the case.

Harold: "Hey. Ow! Cut that out!"

Niles: "Can it, Harold. It needs to be looked at and you know it. I'll get you another round."

T'kuli: "Just let me do my job, will you?

...

T: "There. Done."

H: "Yeah. Thanks. It's been a rough day."

T: "I can see that. Even the great Harold James can't seem to get out of that old dwarven heap intact."

H: "Hey, I'm intact. I'm just bleeding a bit is all."

T: "Right. What got you anyway? And was it worth it?"

N: "Yeah, you never did answer me."

H: "Sorry, I was busy defending myself."

T: "Well, it was my drink."

H: "Yeah yeah. Well, y'know, plenty of the usual. Hell of a haul, really. There were two odd bits though. There was a vase in a shrine that was pretty obviously not dwarven, and a ring that some dwarf apparently stuck in the ceiling. I'll have Az take a look at the ring in a bit.

N: "What about the vase? You think it's beyond him?"

H: "Hmm? Oh, well, the ring might well be more than he can help with. The vase, uh, didn't make it out. The place was well guarded."

T: "Wait, you lost a piece? Sounds like it was an important one, too!"

H: "Hey, have you ever seen a dwarven stonefall trap? Drops the whole bleeding ceiling on your head. That's where I found the ring."

>>361402
Exaggeration!

Didn't you get the gems off the vase? And who's this Az fellow?

>>361402
The vase didn't have anything useful in it, but we got some pieces, was probably someone's little 'madness project' if you know what I mean, probably worth more in components anyhow. Some people value the weirdest shit, especially if they made it I suppose.

Anyhow, I assume you fellows are mutually familiar due to working in the same field 'archeological architecture access and acquisitions' as some may call it?

is it just me or is Niles girlier than his girl?

You two make an adorable couple. You'll have lots of little kids that are ugly as sin.

Harold James 2011/10/28(Fri)23:03 No. 361933 ID: 801747
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Oh, right. The gems. I wonder if there's anything useful we can learn from them.

Harold: Actually, I should head over to Az now. I'll see you guys in a bit. Thanks for the fix T'kuli. Can we use something a bit more sanitary than whiskey next time?

T'kuli: Whiskey is sanitary. That's why it hurts.

Azaion travels with the acting troupe, but nobody uses his full name. We all call him Az, which he hates.. He's their effects man. A wizard of some skill. He's behind all their best stage effects, and he's got a decent amount of knowledge. I bring everything I think might be magical to him first. I don't expect him do be able to get anything off of the gems, but I might as well check. If I'm lucky he won't get anything from the ring either.

>>361933
Lucky? Don't you want some cool magic shit?

yeah man, what if it shoots fireballs or something?

You don't like to share, do you.

Harold James 2011/11/02(Wed)21:46 No. 363376 ID: 801747
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Of course I want some cool magic… stuff. It's just that his magical knowledge does have limits. Magic that's too complex or obscure is a bit beyond him… which is usually the best stuff, such as my bracer. So though I'd like to know what the ring does, I'd be happier to know that it's powerful enough I need to take it to someone better.

And no, as a matter of fact, I don't like to share.

Harold: "Hey Az, I've got some loot for you to take a look at."

Azaion: "I am busy, cleaning up after seven hours of rabble and clamor… but I suspect that will not discourage you, so let us have a look."

Harold: "Great. I've got an axe, two shields, a helm, three boots, a handful of gems, a stein, two rings-"

Azaion: "Slow down, Harold. This sounds much more copious than your usual spoils."

Harold: "Yeah, you have to expect a deathtrap like that to have tons of good stuff nobody pulled before. I may even have to go back for more… though later. Ugh... much later..."

Wait what? How are you carrying all that?

Bag of holding? Those are very fun indeed.

Harold James 2011/11/04(Fri)23:01 No. 363713 ID: 801747
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Bag of... holding? Don't all bags hold things? I'm using a Sir Luther's Portable Saddlebag. Allows me to put things directly on or retrieve things from my mule.

...

Azaion: "Well, these gems have some residual power, but nothing actually useful so far as I can tell. You would be better served taking them to a jeweler."

Harold: "Yeah, well, I recovered them from a broken vase. Nothing else there?"

Azaion: "Nothing discernible, but I am sure you can hock them for a decent profit. A shame, I would have liked to inspect the vase itself."

...

Well, this doesn't really go quickly. Bigger haul than usual, too, so I think he'll be at it for-

Azaion: "This ring is very complex, and still reasonably powerful as well. It must have been a wonder to behold in its time. My apologies, but its intricacies are beyond me."

Harold: "Alright, fair enough. I'll take those for now and leave you to it."

Like I was saying, he'll be at it for a while and there are better things I could be doing with my time... and really, I'm tired, so I don't know what I should be prioritizing. I need to try to find someone who can actually identify the stuff Az can't. I need to arrange my next auction and get prepared for it. I need to...

I don't know, actually... do you think I should ask somebody about you guys, or should I keep you under wraps? You seem pretty used to this whole thing, how does that usually turn out? I'm sure there's other important stuff I'm forgetting...

>>363713
That's a handy saddlebag. If we had known you had that, maybe we would've actually grabbed the whole vase... Oh well! You can, of course, go back and get it, if you want to know more about us. I'm sure the enchantment on it would be identifiable to some degree. At least now we know the vase DID have something to do with us. If you decide you want to go grab the vase again, don't sell the gems before you get it examined. They might be relevant to the overlying enchantment.

I'd say first priority right now is getting that identification done on the ring... assuming the person you go to for that isn't far off?

It's probably best to keep us secret. People don't really react well when you tell them that you hear voices in your head.

And, yeah, whoever we "assist" usually comes out better than they were before. The only time something HAS gone terribly wrong (that I can remember) was when these two guys we were helping got murdered by some crazy bitch who added their skulls to a pile. Wait, no, one guy got his hand rotted off during a fight, that was pretty bad. We also somehow convinced a bard that it was perfectly acceptable to repeatedly sleep with his sister. Oh, and not too long ago we almost got a girl electrocuted to death on an Ill-advised medical procedure. And don't get me started on the time we helped a wizard accidentally end the world, but it's okay because it turned out okay in the end.

Okay, now that I think about it, we actually have a pretty shitty track record. But that's okay! We'll try our hardest to not let any of that stuff happen to you.

>>363723
...Are you trying to make him uncomfortable on purpose dude? I mean, no offense... There have been times we've done good, too.

Anyway, I dunno, I can't help but lean towards 'keep us secret', but that might just be paranoia.

...Also, why are there a pair of boots tied to the rafters above you?

>>363723

You forgot about the lesbians and the inventor we taught universal computing principles to, so they could save the world with love and stolen guns.

Oh and the cross-dressing guy that wants to bang his sister. I think we talked him into cross-dressing in the first place though, so is he a transvestite if we talked him into it?

And don't forget the guy that took over his country, the spymaster. He did ok, until, uh, he got blown up.

>>363723
>added their skulls to a pile
Hey now, we don't know that for certain. Also I have no idea what electrocution you're talking about.

>>363723
1. the fuck, when was that?
2. he lost that hand protecting a fair damsel
3. that was a common medical procedure that just failed to work and backfired, just because you think it was stupid doesn't mean it was.
4. what?

Look, I'll just give it to you straight. There's a lot of us in here, and, well, it's bored. It's not like we can touch stuff or do anything, so it's gets kind of pent up and we end up messing with people for our own amusement.

At the same time, we've guided some people through things with invaluable advice, shaped kings, and brouht armies to their knees.

Keep us entertained and you won't have to put up with the bad suggestions. Since that's unlikely, if I were you, I'd just get used to figuring out what's good advice and what's total bullshit.

>>363742
Well, considering they were both tired, wounded, and terrified, and the woman really wanted them dead? And we never heard from them again? Sounds pretty obvious what happened.

>>363744
1: It was a long time ago. You don't remember? Both of the guys were tall and had pointy faces, and the bitch had the creepiest eyes I've ever seen.
2: I think our definitions of "fair damsel" differ, friend.
3: It may have been a common thing, but SOMEONE fucked up hard enough to put a industrial-power part into her.
4: It was a woman, I think. Happened pretty recently, uh, relatively speaking. Pretty sure she/it was a small mammalian creature.

Ah, shit, Harold. I'm sorry for clogging up your thoughts like that.

A portal bag? That is possibly even better than a bag of holding (which is similar, but opens to an artificial space made of magic rather than to another location)! If you make a hole in the saddle bag, can you use it as an actual portable portal?

>>363787
The near-electrocution wasn't a mistake, it was sabotage by her enemies. Yes, we do sometimes forget to check things for traps and sometimes even forget to check the ceiling.

>We also somehow convinced a bard that it was perfectly acceptable to repeatedly sleep with his sister
Love knows not culture nor gender nor species, why should that change just because you share a parent?

>>363797
Because of the genetic risks. Though that is only a problem if they plan on having children.

>>363713
You should keep us secret for the time being. You could tell people you interact with frequently about us if you want to, and might want to bring us up if you think it'll help find out more about us, but otherwise it'll be generally easier to just not mention us.

>>363723
Which wizard was that? If it's the one I'm thinking of, it most certainly was not accidental and the world was going to end anyway. We just did it on our terms, took out the wind fish jerkass god that created it, and had everything recreated in a much more stable world. Now can we stop breaking the seventh wall? There's a reason we generally don't talk about other universes with our hosts, you know.

>>363804
Umm... there are only major genetic risks in the long term, ie if there's numerous generations of inbreeding. In the short term, the worst you have to worry about is the kids getting multiple copies of defective genes.

Keep us secret for now, I'd say.

>>363723

In our defense, it was a pretty crappy world.

Harold James 2011/11/05(Sat)23:00 No. 363891 ID: 801747
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Yeah, the bag set me back a fair bit, but- Huh? Oh, right the ring. Well I know a guy but- Wha- electro- Thanks, I- Boots? How can you see-

Harold: "Nngh..."

Azaion: "Is something the matter?"

Harold: "No, it's just a lesb- er, a headache."

Right, I forgot how many of you there are. Ok, uh, right. So we- er, I'll just continue to avoid talking about you. Should be easy enough. That Bag of Holding seems, uh, very powerful. Creating a new space sounds much more complex than just bending space a bit. I guess something like the Saddlebag could be used as a portal, but I think trying to enlarge the opening would damage the enchantment...

No, that's not important. Uh, yeah, the ring. I do have a guy I like to go to that could read it almost guaranteed, but he moves around almost as much as I do. If possible I'd like to find him. Should I start tracking him down?

>>363891
Extending the bag opening would have been useful, but was actually not what I had in mind. What I was thinking of was opening the bottom of the linked saddlebag to have a (arm sized) tube leading from one place to another.
That would allow you to do things like:
Have a friend waiting at the other end with a ballista (or crossbow if you don't have a ballista). When you see somebody who needs a hole put in them, you open your end of the bag and give the signal. (If you can get multiple ballistae/crossbows, you can use more than one by having your ally move the bag over to the next ballista/crossbow after firing the previous one.) If you are using a crossbow, an extra fun trick you can do is to wear the bag under your shirt (facing outwards of course). Your enemies would not even be able to see it coming until a bolt shoots out of your chest into theirs.

>>363894
... why does that require adding a hole? both bags have an opening already. rupturing the bag's surface would most likely cause it to dump out all it's stuff.

go find the ring dude.

>>363899
Are both bags already open? I thought he meant that one opening was the top half of the bag and the other opening was the bottom half of the bag.

Harold James 2011/11/09(Wed)22:34 No. 364814 ID: 801747
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Oh, that's a possibility I hadn't considered before... and an intriguing one. But the containment bag doesn't have any opening aside from the one I keep on me, but cutting a whole in either might cause some damage. Again, I don't know much about that, but my specialist might. I've yet to ask him a question he couldn't answer. Well, a question about magic anyway. I know a couple of his aliases, so I'll drop them at a local mage guild. From there-

"Harold! Where were you today? I was accosted again, and you were nowhere to be found!"

Harold: "Oh man."

"Hey, don't ignore me! You walked out on a job. Take responsibility!"

Harold: "No, Erazieldia, I didn't. My contract only applies on the road. When we're in town it's up to the town guards to keep things under control. We've been over this."

Erazieldia: "And I've explained that doesn't make any sense! You're a bodyguard, and there are far more people in town to protect me from. What am I even paying you for?"

Harold: "I'm a freelance archeologist, and you aren't paying me at all. I'm employed by The Crimson Carnival Traveling Thespians part time as a caravan guard for protection during travel. In town you're on your own. Now if you'll excuse me..."

Erazieldia: "James!"

She doesn't look like a happy gal. Tell her to stop walking around like she's got some sort of guardian angel who'll swoop in and save her whenever something happens.

>>364814
Well, how were you 'accosted'? I mean, if someone says some unkind words it's hardly in my contact to beat them up for you.

Besides, shouldn't the town guard be able to settle an in-town matter? I mean, we do pay import/export taxes for a reason, no?

>>364814
Jeez, this lady is delusional. Best lose her as soon as possible.

good! now you can proceed to make out with her furiously.

Based on some of what posters say this clearly is based on a previous quest, but which one? The name is "chapter 1" so it is a new quest based on an old one? basically where do I find the previous quest people keep on mentioning

Here it is: >>/questarch/346477

Harold James 2011/11/14(Mon)21:32 No. 365723 ID: 801747
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Yeah, that's something to try.

Harold: "Princess, you can't keep acting like you have a guardian angel to watch over you all the time. You don't even have a bodyguard. Lay off me."

Erazieldia: "What then, am I simply supposed to hide in my trailer the entire time we're in town? Is that the only recourse left to someone of my renown?"

Harold: "You could try making some friends, maybe."

Ugh, why did you remind me... we did lock lips once. We were both very drunk and very angry. I think there was some sort of challenge involved, but it's difficult to remember when I've worked so hard not to.

Erazieldia: "You're telling me that, antisocial bastard?"

Harold: "Sure am. Go hang out with T'kuli or something, no-one harasses her."

Erazieldia: "Because she's a... boor!"

Harold: "Yeah, well so am I. More so, even. And I have more important things to do than babysit."

If we have successfully gotten rid of her for now, we should go get that ring looked at.

Harold James 2011/11/15(Tue)01:41 No. 365752 ID: 801747
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Of course, I'm done putting up with her for today. Hopefully. Anyway, here's the mage guild now.

You know, thinking of it, I could just get the ring identified here... however, that's likely to cut into my profits quite a bit. It's pretty expensive to get things looked at by a professional artiscriptor, but if you guys think it's important enough I have cash on me.

On the other hand, I'd be a bit leery about showing the gems to anyone who I don't trust. If they can get anything out of them, it'll probably point them to you guys, and I don't know what consequences that might have.

Harold James 2011/11/15(Tue)01:43 No. 365753 ID: 801747
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But first things first...

Harold: "Excuse me, I have some associates I'm trying to contact. Could you tell me if they've been by?"

"Yeah, sure. Names?"

Harold: "Kathirus Voss... Ignatz of Ead, and... Garbel the Black."

...

Harold: "Ringing any bells?"

"If I'd met any of them, I'd have let you know."

Harold: "Ok, then... could I hire a telegraph to... the three nearest guild houses, letting them know I'm looking for them?"

"Four pieces per word per send. What's the message?"

Harold: "'Kathirus, Ignatz and Garbel, Harold waits in...' actually crap, I'll have to send the message later."

I just realized, I'm not sure when the troupe is heading out or what's the next city in the tour, so I don't know where to have him meet me... especially if I don't know when he'll get this.

Well, let's go find someone who does!

Goddamn backtracking...

well then let's skip the messages for now.

Is there someone other the the mages who might identify the ring for you? An unidentified magic ring is a fairly useless and occasionally dangerous thing to carry around.

Harold James 2011/11/28(Mon)23:04 No. 368662 ID: 801747
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So I should go back? Doesn't sound like you're happy about it. I mean, I know we're heading south, but I'm at a bit of a loss otherwise. It generally takes a full day for them to pack up, so we'll be here at least through tomorrow I think. Well, I'll toss an innkeeper a coin and ask how long the show's in town for.

But before I do that, you do seem pretty interested in this ring... I guess I can afford to get it checked here. If it's powerful enough that Az has trouble with it then it'll be valuable one way or another. Y'know, it's probably just my curiosity getting the better of me, but I'm gonna get it looked at now.

Harold: "So, a hold on the send for the moment, but I'd like to get an artiscriptor to have a look at something for me. What's the fee on that here?"

"50 crowns to check for magic and determine relative power or 300 for a full analyzation. Price is per piece. We guarantee our readings are 100% accurate or your money back. How many and what are they?"

Harold: "Just one, a ring, and I'd like a full read."

"One moment."

300 isn't bad. A little steep for a standard piece, but that's a hell of a guarantee. I guess you can only collect if you survive having a misread piece of magic, but still.

>>368662

I hope it's a Ring of Gyges! That guy was a total jerk, I'm sure you can put it to better use than he did.

Pay it.

go go go

Bet the ring will have some awesome effects, but will also come with some sort of curse that wont be detected. I mean, with a 100% guarantee, something has to go wrong, it simply has to.

Harold James 2011/12/19(Mon)22:25 No. 373649 ID: 801747
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"Hey, you there?"

Harold: "Huh? Yeah. Sorry. I guess I lost my train of thought."

"Great. Head up those stairs, one of our mages will be waiting for you."

Harold: "Right, thanks."

Gyges? Doesn't sound familiar, and my ancient history's pretty good. Someone you knew?

...

What the hell?

Harold James 2011/12/19(Mon)22:27 No. 373653 ID: 801747
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Huff. Huff.

That was entirely too many stairs.

Harold James 2011/12/19(Mon)22:31 No. 373658 ID: 801747
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"So, you have a ring for me to look at, do you?"

Harold: "Uh, yeah. Recent acquisition. Full read. You'll get your coin after."

"We have a guarantee, good sir. I would not accept payment until after the read regardless. Hand the ring here, if you would."

Hmm, well, alright. Didn't expect that. They usually fight the payment after service thing. This is either a hell of a scam or a real class act.

...

"Well, quite a find, I would say. Old, but it still has power. Impressive. It appears quite similar to a True Sight enchantment, but broader. It seems to encompass more. How that manifests I'm afraid is a bit beyond me. I feel now would be a good time to inform you of one of our disclaimers. Fine print on our policy, we can not guarantee complete accuracy on identification of items more than 200 years old or those that have been exposed to any form of anti-magic. This would fall into the first category. I'd say around 540 years old."

Harold: "Fair enough. Is that the only enchantment?"

"It appears to be. It is quite intricate, but I don't find any additional enchantments."

>>373658
Cool. Try it on!

>>373649

Gyges was from another world entirely. He was a shepherd who stumbled on an ancient tomb, and decided to rob it. In the tomb he found a ring, a magical artifact of impressive power, which rendered him apparently invisible.

He promptly abandoned his post, hiked to the capitol of his homeland, and infiltrated the palace. He then seduced the queen, killed the king, and took power as the new king. His line reigned for centuries before the entire country was wiped out by a warlike neighbor. The ring was lost, destroyed or hidden, but other rings like it appeared from time to time. The Ring of Gyges was the most famous of them simply because its owner was the most ambitious and lucky person to acquire one.

Whoever made them took the secret of manufacture with him, since the rings were all slowly lost to various misfortunes, culminating in the destruction of an entire urban region, a multiplicity of cities all washed out to sea in a tsunami some 130 ft at its crest. The the last known surviving ring was taken with it, and tens of thousands of unfortunate people.

Presumably the ring was carried to a plate subduction zone, though it may be somewhere in the sea for all I know.

>>373663
what? legends only you have heard of don't count dude.

try it on.

>>373666

The legend is fairly famous, and was referenced by many philosophers as a case study of how consequence shapes morality.

The other rings of invisibility are not nearly as well known, and I'm not surprised you didn't know about the last one being lost.

Ask first to make sure that it is alright to try it on now (and to make sure that doing so will not have any effect on the fee).
I am curious what he means by broader than true sight, as I think true sight is already pretty broad.

Huh, the most famous legend I heard about a ring of invisibility was that one which an evil mage-king forged in a volcano to store his soul in.

>>373666

Gyges of Lydia, dude. look it up.

using stairs made for a bunch of scrawny wizards tires you? you gotta toughen up, dude.

put it on. I hope we can see what you see.

>>373770
not too obscure, but then I LIKE philosophy.

Succumb to the temptation, put the ring on!

Harold James 2012/01/04(Wed)22:34 No. 377648 ID: 801747
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Harold: "So, there's no fine print saying I can't try this on while I'm here, right?"

"Well, uh, we... We expressly prohibit the use of dangerous or potentially dangerous magic on the premises for uses other than self defense. Magic qualifies as 'potentially dangerous' if the supervising mage deems it, and-"

Harold: "Well, that would be you, wouldn't it? You're supervising? And you just said it wasn't dangerous. Great. Thanks for clearing that up."

"Ah, yes, I suppose..."

A bit of a push-over, this guy. Good thing too. No better place to try out something like this than in a mage tower, right?

Harold James 2012/01/04(Wed)22:37 No. 377651 ID: 801747
File 132574546847.jpg - (54.70KB , 733x502 , image.jpg )

Well, here goes.

>>377651
Ah man, I can practically taste the shenanigans that are about to follow this most simple act!

Oh crap, what if this gives him double headvoices?

==>

>>377656
Double the fun.

Note to self: if we wake up surrounded by a pile of brutally dismembered corpses in an alternate geigeresque hellscape or somesuch after playing host for some undetermined time to a terrible being from another plane of existence... erh... well I can't think of an appropriate response to such, but at least we can say were thought of the possibility.

Harold James 2012/01/06(Fri)00:08 No. 377851 ID: 801747
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Harold: "Hey, nice going. And I'm not even dead. Didn't need that disclaimer after all."

That must be a ring of True Sight or something since we can see through the wizards illusions since he's fat and there's cracks everywhere ,also, an assassin is on the cupboard, might want to react to that

The place suddenly looks a lot worse, heh. If you have something to throw, casually chuck it just above the bookcase with out look that way.

holy shit. that wizard... he's beardless! CLEARLY HE MUST BE NOT AS POWERFUL AS HE CLAIMS HE IS.

oh, and also ask why there's a ghost on his shelf.

>>377851
That could just be a bodyguard. Don't attack unless he does.

explains why he didn't want you to put it on, shows you how he really looks. and say hello to the book shelf stalker.

>>377851
So, a Stars and Moons robe? Seriously.. that went out of style centuries ago.

Hmm, so, he's got a glamour on making him seem more respectable and fit than he actually is. Also, of note is that some of the books on the shelf are not there now. Ask if they were illusions. If all the differences we see now are simply breaking through illusions then we have a very, very strong anti-illusion ring. I wonder what else it does?

Hmm... if the cracks and grime were covered by illusions that also fits, but if they're simply painted over, then this ring also reveals HIDDEN things, rather than only breaking illusions.

We should make sure that the ring is indeed showing us what is actually there rather than some sort of metaphor. A good test for this would be to place our hand on one of the cracks to see if we can feel it.

First, though, we should whisper to the wizard asking whether he knows about the armed man on his shelf. We shouldn't stare at the shelf man, but we should keep him in our field of vision.

Harold James 2012/01/11(Wed)18:36 No. 379301 ID: 801747
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Assassin? He's not actually in my field of vision, but... Ok, don't draw attention. I can do that.

Harold: Looks like you were right on there. Nice going. Hey, can I ask you something in confidence? Lean in for a moment? That guy over by the bookcase. He a friend of yours?

"Guy? What? What?

Harold James 2012/01/11(Wed)18:37 No. 379302 ID: 801747
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"What? How did you get in here?"

kill the book shelf guy.

Battle stance!

Err. Wait, is this guy part ogre or something? His face is HUGE now!

But yeah be ready to defend yourself. Or run away, that could work.

Well he may be skilled with enchanted items, but he certainly doesn't seem very wise for a wizard. Really, announcing your awareness to a likely assassin?
Methinks you are about to need to act fast to intercept Shelfman's sword before it meets with Wizard's face.

>>379333

I think he's just fat.

enter combat mode.

the assasin is in a good position to leap upon us, or the wizard. It seems to me that flipping the table at him would put a nice obstacle in the way of that while we get ready to stab the fucker.

then you stab the fucker.

Harold James 2012/12/16(Sun)18:42 No. 479276 ID: f0a931
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Sigh


>>/questdis/64946

Harold James 2012/12/16(Sun)18:47 No. 479278 ID: f0a931
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Harold: Hup.

Harold James 2012/12/16(Sun)18:51 No. 479283 ID: f0a931
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Hey, pretty good.

Harold James 2012/12/16(Sun)18:55 No. 479285 ID: f0a931
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How's this then?

HYURK!

Good, good. He's totally off balance so I suggest getting that sword away from him and pinning him under the table. Finding out who sent him could be useful information.

Pretty good. If you get the sword away from him keep watching his hands; types like him often have knives as backups.

aim for his sword-arm.

Harold James 2012/12/19(Wed)22:50 No. 479970 ID: f0a931
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Hmm, seems like I can't reach - uh - Anita from here. Oh well. Seems like we're almost done here anyway.

Harold James 2012/12/19(Wed)22:52 No. 479972 ID: f0a931
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Harold: Alright then, let's start with something simple. Who sent you?

If he doesn't answer, menace him with your sword. Also, Anita? Is he a she?

>>479972
Might want to check their mouth too, assassins tend to come complete with poison suicide capsules these days I hear.

Or a missing tongue, that's always a classic.

>>479972
I wonder if we could get some help with interrogation from the wizards.

>>480000
Anita is the sword; we were going to come up with a backstory and make it into a storied weapon.

Definitely check for a suicide pill, those are hella annoying.

Harold James 2012/12/21(Fri)23:54 No. 480241 ID: f0a931
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Harold: "None of that now."

"Grmmph hrmph..."

Harold James 2012/12/21(Fri)23:56 No. 480242 ID: f0a931
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Yeah, sounds like he's got something in his mouth... Suicide pill, huh? And I thought my job sucked...

...Nah, I didn't, but you know what I mean. Ah, my head...

Harold James 2012/12/21(Fri)23:57 No. 480243 ID: f0a931
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[animated]

Harold James 2012/12/21(Fri)23:59 No. 480244 ID: f0a931
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"Hmrph."

Artist Comment: Hahaha that face

okay that one is new. ask the wizard if he knows a spell that can counteract poison.

"....Good...shot...."

Well fuck. Get your wizard friend to help.

>>480244
Stab his shit and get help.

Also, that is some fucking ninja shit right there, having a blowpipe behind your goddamn mask.

>>480244
Go ahead and put a knife in his throat in response. Then get some antidotes up in here. Darts are normally poisoned and it could still be that way even in a ninja's mouth.

chop his right hand off.

That mask bit is an excellent trick. I will have to remember that one.

Pull out the dart, stab him with it, and see what he does.

Harold James 2013/01/01(Tue)17:47 No. 481739 ID: f0a931
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Damn, I did want some answers from him...

Harold James 2013/01/01(Tue)17:48 No. 481741 ID: f0a931
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Oh well...

Harold James 2013/01/01(Tue)17:54 No. 481743 ID: f0a931
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Harold: "Hey, do you have any-"

Damn, looks like he took off.

Harold: "Hey! Do ya hab emmyfmg... det dbfg hmg..."

Welp, you're probably about to go unconscious. Hope that wizard went to get some help already, otherwise the poison'll probably kill you.
At least the assassin is dead, you won't have to worry about him finishing you off if it's a 'sleepy time' poison (unlikely as that is).

stumble downstairs. maybe you'll need urgent help.

Say goodbye to your corporeal body pal. Do you know any gods, devils, or eldritch abominations you can ask for help getting a new body?

>>481829
Head for the exit, but don't go near the actual stairs though. Poison is bad enough without also having a broken neck.

Harold James 2013/01/04(Fri)23:34 No. 482530 ID: f0a931
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I sure hope my time's not up yet, and this might just be wishful thinking but it just feels like a paralytic. And my whole face is numb, so I'm going to stop yelling for help before I bite my tongue.

And my legs feel fine, so I feel safer braving the stairs than just waiting around and seeing what happens whenever this reaches my heart...

...huh, that's a lot less stairs than I remembered on the way up.

Harold James 2013/01/04(Fri)23:41 No. 482533 ID: f0a931
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"What's going on? There was a crash upstairs, and then Magnus just runs through without a word."

Ah, and I'm already tasting blood, so now I need to ask for help without the use of my mouth... or my left arm, it seems.

And quick, too. This is moving fast.

Lurch over to the desk and find a writing utensil. Failing that try to point to your wound with your soon to be paralyzed right arm.

Collapse dramatically? Seems to be the best idea. I'd tell you to keep the wound elevated except that only works on extremities, and your head doesn't count as an extremity.

cough blood on their desk.

Don't die, dude!

>>482565
If there is only one of our suggestions you ever follow, follow this one.

>>482565
Sound advice for a great many occasions.

Harold James 2013/01/11(Fri)22:34 No. 484685 ID: f0a931
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Just so you guys know, I'm not dead, and I'm not planning on dying, it's just... I don't think I can move right now.

"Sir, are you alright?"

No.

...

"I'll be right back. Just... stay here."

Sure thing. I'm sure I'll be fine by myself.

Harold James 2013/01/11(Fri)22:54 No. 484689 ID: f0a931
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So yeah, while I don't have anything else to do...

Assuming this gets resolved, since... we might as well, what should I be doing next? There's a dead body upstairs that'll need to be dealt with, as well as a mound of questions that still need answers. Since I can't get answers out of the assassin himself, where else should I look?

If someone wants me dead, maybe I should ditch town, troupe or no. Contracts be damned.

Nah, it wasn't you they wanted dead. It was the wizard.

The wizards did not seemed allied to him, (the wizard could have just said nothing and let the guy back-stab you), and a non-allied wizards' tower would be a bizarre place to ambush you when you regularly walk around the streets alone.
That wizard in particular didn't really seem competent enough to make the sort of enemies who send invisible assassins, so my theory is that the assassin was interrupted while pursuing some other objective in the tower.

Harold James 2013/01/11(Fri)23:19 No. 484698 ID: f0a931
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"...something, then pointed at his neck and fell over. Never said a word."

Oh good, it sounds like she's coming back.

"That is... odd. I wonder what that could have meant."

Oh come on, it was a needle. Small, sharp, excellent delivery vector... This guy's a city doctor. If he hasn't seen enough poisonings to figure this out, I'll tell Niles and T'kuli to settle down here when they get around to having kids.

Deleted post, because I misread something that Harold wouldn't have misheard... fixing.

That wizard? He wouldn't have anyone after him. He's too much of a wimp to intentionally piss someone off that badly, yet he's not incompetent enough to do it on accident. He was after me... or the ring. Or... yeah, I guess he could also have been after something else in the tower, but he did come straight at me, not the wizard.

In that case, probably the ring. We haven't seen you piss off anyone in this town yet, and having done so in the past is something we should Probably Know About sometime soon if you did.

Unless they found out that you're our host?

you may get answers from the corpse, markings or something. like a tattoo of a gang.

Harold James 2013/01/11(Fri)23:34 No. 484702 ID: f0a931
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If only that assassin hadn't been so professional we could've figured more of this out. Checking the body could be worthwhile though.

"Allow me a moment to divine what ails him."

Yeah, sure man. Go right ahead.

"Oh my... I've rarely had a divination so... clear. He's been poisoned with devil's root, shutting down the body while leaving the mind intact. This should reverse the process."

...

Oh nice, I can feel my toes again. I'd forgotten about those guys.

And if I've pissed off anyone in the past... I've pissed off tons of people in the past, but I haven't pissed off anyone that badly, to my knowledge. If anything, it could be related to the man who killed my father? But if so, I don't know what he'd be after by killing me. He already took the title and sold the land, what else is there?

Sweet. If it's reversing the process it should only take as long healing as it did falling ill.

He is gonna want you to pay him for this. probably.

well the wizard doesn't have to know that he was after you. say that there was an assassin hiding invisibly in the wizard's room, you did battle and while you got poisoned he got dead.

>>484702
Well, safety first. Tell your friends what just happened so you can maybe have them watch your back a bit.

Also, the ring appears to be strengthening divinations targeted at you. Or perhaps, only friendly divinations? You can see everything, and everything can see you, perhaps?

>>484726
harold was was wanting the guy to figure out what was wrong with him, the guy wanted to know what was wrong. sounds like a case of assistance to me.

>>484702
Strange, why would an "assassin" use a poison that shuts down the body while keeping the mind intact? If he truly was after Harold, perhaps his purpose wasn't to murder, but to capture and bring him in for interrogation.

>>484700
Harold, did you kill the assailant by stabbing him in the face or neck? Might be easier to identify and describe him to people if he still has intact facial features.

As soon as you have control over your voice, say thank you.

>>484726
Perhaps it strengthens magic in general.

Harold James 2013/02/05(Tue)00:36 No. 490507 ID: f0a931
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The assassin? I went for the throat. I think I left the knife in him, actually. I'll definitely check him over for clues.... once I can stand again. Eugh.

...So, you think the ring helped the priest over there with his diagnosis? Nice. Let's avoid breaking this one then. Speaking of our bald friend there...

Harold James 2013/02/05(Tue)00:37 No. 490508 ID: f0a931
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Harold: "Thanks for the fix, Doc. How much do I owe ya?"

"Er.. you're quite welcome. It is our duty to aid the injured. I would accept a donation, of course, but I would not ask payment for such a service. Instead, may I inquire as to how you came to such a state?"

Harold: "Sure, I suppose. Well, there was a man, uh, hiding out in the room upstairs. He jumped out at us as we entered the room. We fought for a while, and in the midst of it he got a dart in me. That's basically all there is to it."

>>490508
Ah, there is another magical effect. The ring can tell when people are lying. I wonder if the healer noticed, or only us? I can't gauge his reaction just yet.

In case it does let others know when you're lying, a simple correction to "AFTER we entered the room" should suffice, as it is technically completely accurate.

A donation for his service is appropriate.

Quite an informative little artifact, isn't it? It seems to have a major truth theme going on.