Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:11 No. 613884 ID: 337362
File 141923947941.png - (8.78KB , 960x560 , return.png )

"YES!" the figure crows, over the screaming wind and collective gasp. "YOUR MASTER HAS DEFIED DEATH AND SHATTERED THE CHAINS OF HELL! HE HAS USURPED THE DEVIL AND IS TEARING HIS WAY THROUGH THE PLAINS BACK TO EARTH! SOON HE WILL DETHRONE GOD!"

"neat," observes imogen, youngest of the wizards.

"I AM SENT BEFORE TO TELL YOU THAT HE HAS NOT FORGOTTEN YOU, O DISCPILES AND CULTISTS! HE HEARD YOUR INCANTATIONS IN HIS PRISON! HE IS COMING TO REWARD YOU WITH RULERSHIP OVER THIS ENTIRE PLANE OF EXISTENCE!"

the wizards cheer.

"ONE OF YOU!"

the wizards stop cheering.

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:12 No. 613885 ID: 337362
File 141923957832.png - (9.97KB , 960x560 , Grocel.png )

"GROCEL!

WIZARD OF FIRE AND BLOOD!"

"well it's a specialty of mine but really I'm enamored with the whole craft."

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:13 No. 613886 ID: 337362
File 141923958756.png - (8.41KB , 960x560 , imogen.png )

"IMOGEN!

WIZARD OF LIGHT AND RADIATION!"

"I'd like to propose we change light and radiation to simply radiation, on account of light is radiation? Could I motion for that?"

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:13 No. 613887 ID: 337362
File 141923961258.png - (8.68KB , 960x560 , Ferrafina.png )

"FERRAFINA!

WIZARD OF COLD IRON!"

"Oui."

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:14 No. 613888 ID: 337362
File 141923966619.png - (13.61KB , 960x560 , Dulcette.png )

"DULCETTE!

WIZARD OF DIMENSION AND DEMENTIA!"

"..."

Choose your Wizard Council 2014/12/22(Mon)01:15 No. 613889 ID: 337362
File 141923974506.png - (16.04KB , 960x560 , Weirwood.png )

"WEIRWOOD!

WIZARD OF NATURE AND DECAY!"

"i'm always last. always i'm last. just noticing. not kvetching."

"ONE OF YOU SHALL BE LORD OF THIS WORLD!

BUT ONLY ONE!"

>Choose your wizard

Grocel, obviously.
Burn the heretics

I'd be happy with Imogen or Dulcette.

IMOGEN!

I uh
oh fuck I can't decide

Grocel Imogen or Dulcette can I just vote for all three

Dulcette actually, love me insane wizards

>there are people in this thread right now NOT picking Grocel

GROCEL

Weirwood is clearly the best there is.

Who is more metal than Ferrafina?
Who is cooler than Ferrafina?
Who could be finer than Ferrafina?
No one.

Ferrafina has my vote

Imogen.
Because light IS radiation.

Grocel

IM-O IM-O IM-O GEEEEEEEENNNNN!!!!
IMOGEN!

Weirdwood

Dulcette. Let's break physics and fuck with some heads.

Imogen

Dulcette. I wanna see a show.

Ferrafina

>>613886
Imogen gets my vote

IMOGEN

GROCEL

GROCEL

Imogen

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)15:40 No. 614071 ID: 337362
File 141929165429.png - (9.97KB , 960x560 , 2.png )

Imogen adjusts her glasses nervously.

obviously she had hopes the Great Master would come back.
she just hoped he might do it with a little more warning.
Imogen doesn't like doing things unplanned...

"which of us?" cries Grocel. "how will it be determined?"

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)15:41 No. 614072 ID: 337362
File 141929166095.png - (10.65KB , 960x560 , 3.png )

"OH," says the figure. it shrugs.

"I DUNNO"

"I'M JUST THE GUY WITH THE STONE TABLET"

"I GUESS HE JUST WANTS YOU TO PICK"

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)15:41 No. 614073 ID: 337362
File 141929167641.png - (4.13KB , 960x560 , 4.png )

"WELL GOODBYE"

So, wizardry contest? Wizardry contest.

reflect all light in a dome around you and the others, creating a zone of pure darkness. and beat a quick retreat.

Well I guess we could vote. We can prevent the obvious deadlock in which each wizard votes for themselves by specifying that each wizard much vote for someone else.

Wait how are we sure this guy was legit and not just trying to get you to murder eachother?

>>614081
Don't question the tablet, mang.

So... anyone got a five sided die?

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)16:41 No. 614092 ID: 337362
File 141929529975.png - (10.31KB , 960x560 , 6.png )

"now this could easily be a trick, kids," Weirwood says.

"absolutely," Grocel says. "absolutely. you all received the dream? to draw you here?"

"Oui," ferrafina says.

"it could still be a trick," Weirwood says.

"that it could." Grocel clicks his tongue. "that it could."

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)16:41 No. 614093 ID: 337362
File 141929530846.png - (332.26KB , 960x560 , 7.png )

but the council of wizards have all tried to murder each other over much less.

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)16:42 No. 614095 ID: 337362
File 141929535311.png - (166.81KB , 960x560 , 8.png )

Imogen's darkness spell covers her retreat as she beats feet away from everyone else, across the purple wastes.

she adjusts her glasses again. good cardio is essential for proper wizard health and survival.

they're all equally matched enough that there shouldn't be any fatalities, especially since every wizard has memorized how to recall to their tower instantly by the time they're out of diapers.

Imogen starts gathering energy for her teleport spell. where should she go?

-Her tower to recoup, review, and prepare.
-Any of the other wizards' towers. maybe not a great idea just yet, although Weirwood is a good friend. or was, maybe.
-To the spellgrounds in order to start testing new spells quick.
-To the Magic City where the lesser mages all live. she could start looking for useful allies or artifacts.
-To the Throneroom to let the King know all this shit is popping off.

Teleport takes a lot out of you. there's about a half hour cooldown she needs between jumps.

>To the Magic City
Might as well gain allies before the others get the same idea, that you can can pick from the cream of the crop instead of just the leftovers

>>614095

Back to the wizard tower! We need to make a plan of action, gather supplies, and get ready for one (possibly) long journey

>>614095
TELEPORT is different then recall. Shopping in the magic city first, then go home.

Yeah, tower. You need a plan of action. Don't want to run off unprepared.

Tower is no go. If we're trying to off each other, your home is a target.

I'd say the town. Hide yourself in plain sight among lesser mages while preparing.

Council 2014/12/22(Mon)23:20 No. 614231 ID: 337362
File 141931925631.png - (89.52KB , 960x560 , 9.png )

imogen's nuclear cannons and refraction hexes ensure that her tower is one of the safest places possible.

but the city calls first!!

before the teleport wisps even clear and her feet hit the ensorcelled cobblestone of the Magic City, Imogen is swarmed by a sweaty mass of mages. ew crowds ew.

"Imogen!" they cry.

"It's Imogen!"

"Imogen the wizard of light and radiation!"

"What does the Master say? What is his will?"

"What is to become of us?"

"Imogen could you sign my cleavage?"

"Is it true? Is the end time upon us?"

"Imogen!"

"Imogen!"

ack ack

The master says it's Imogen the wizard of radiation now, on account of light is radiation.

>>614116
Tower is probably pretty safe/guarded.

>>614231

Gotta try and find some of the better mages to see if they'd be of any help to you. Just tell the crowd not to worry, that you've got important business to attend to right now.

>>614231
It's time to find an elevated area then, wouldn't want your proclamation of a title change and the return of your master to not carry far.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)00:13 No. 614252 ID: 337362
File 141932239065.png - (14.51KB , 960x560 , 9a.png )

"um um" squeaks Imogen. she magically enhances her voice to booming levels. "I am gathering acolytes."

"ACOLYTES" the crowd gasps.
"I will be holding petitions for magic users to serve me inside the mages' tavern. um also the master says now it's just the wizard of radiation, on account of light is radiation."

these mages need to read something other than spellbooks, thinks imogen as the crowd parts for her.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)00:13 No. 614253 ID: 337362
File 141932240740.png - (12.45KB , 960x560 , 10.png )

predictably 90% of the people who show up are crap.

well not CRAP but not good enough to help her battle the council.

Imogen detects 2 mages good enough for use to support her. she would be wise to just choose one.

mages under a roof are like cats in a sack. eventually you just want to toss them into a river.

the two mages are named SIBIX and NASTAR.

"I, Nastar, have frozen myself into this large slab of crystal this year for tax purposes. my summoned rope-imp shall transport me. I am proficient with stewardship, landholding, lightning magic, geomagic, strategic warfare, and the foxtrot altho i suppose my foxtrot is a little limited at the moment."

"Kish kish this one is named Sibix. Kish kish kish! Sibix leads a cult of blood worshippers within a fault of the Gracken mountains. Sibix is skilled in ritual magery, scrying, divination, sacrifice magic, occult research, and archaeologics. Kish kish!"

>>614253
Oh yes. Nastar is absolutely a priority. Those foxtrot skills will be CRITICAL.

The strategic warfare thing may also be useful.

Why choose, dual wield. Have a one up on lesser wizards.

>>614253

All my money on Sibix. Divination and scrying are going to be insanely useful. The perfect tools for planning the perfect attack. Plus you'd have a cult at your disposal.

one knows his way around a battlefield and the other has a bunch of crazy willing and ready to serve you at a moments notice.

Going to have to go with the living ice cube here cause the other guy is giving me a strong "I will serve under you to learn all that you know then kill you take over your life's work and claim it as my own" vibe.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)01:01 No. 614269 ID: 337362
File 141932529664.png - (35.22KB , 960x560 , 11.png )

"Nastar you're up. Umm sorry Sibix."

"Kish kish kish. It is no offense Sibix takes. Perhaps Sibix will find employment with one of your adversaries.

Kish kish."

"I kind of also didn't hire him because he gives me insane willies," Imogen whispers as they walk away. She adjusts her glasses again.

"I, Nastar, agree," says Nastar.

Imogen's teleport is ready once again.

where should she go?

-Her tower to recoup, review, and prepare.
-Any of the other wizards' towers. again, not a fantastic plan maybe.
-To the spellgrounds in order to start testing new spells quick.
-To the Throneroom to let the King know all this shit is popping off. If someone hasn't already told him by now.
-To the Mesa of Meeting, to try to treat with or duel a rival wizard.

Tower. Need to know what resources we got. Maybe build a giant death laser.

Well if the people in town knew about the end of days coming up The king probably heard himself as well. So I say hit your tower first just to set things up and then we can decide what to do next.

your tower. gather materials /spell components so you can use all your big spells/use more spells.

You need a little more info first I think. Go see the king.

Hmm. Interesting possible synergies with radiation and crystals. With correctly applied lightning or geomagic he could be a useful tool towards enhancing your own spells (could be used as a kind of lens, or amplifier, or capacitor?).

>Perhaps Sibix will find employment with one of your adversaries
Hmm. Makes me wonder if we should kill him.

Or even better, if we could set some kind of trap on him unawares, so when he approaches one of your rivals it blows up in their faces.

>where go
Spellgrounds. We should work out how you can make use of your new backup.

>>614269

To the throne room and notify the king. Maybe he'd be willing to lend you a hand as well?

>>614269
Tower it is! Besides, you can tell gem dude to start on the scrying and then you can go off and do other things while he's busy.

I'm thinking tower, because we probably need components and such. We're very vulnerable out here.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)12:51 No. 614519 ID: 337362
File 141936787854.png - (19.03KB , 960x560 , 12.png )

They go to the TOWER. All Imogen's nuclear cannons zero in on her, then read her as friendly and turn off.

Imogen's tower is in the SOUTH POLE. It's November right now so the sun never sets.
In the summer Imogen goes to her summer tower on the NORTH POLE so she always has lots of light to work with.
Imogen likes this one better though because she thinks penguins are much cuter than polar bears.

Turn 1 Council 2014/12/23(Tue)12:51 No. 614520 ID: 337362
File 141936789587.png - (46.65KB , 960x560 , 13.png )

Imogen rushes to her Telepathic Screen and calls her mom.

"Mom mom mom mom!"

"Hold your horses Imogen gosh I'm coming hold on. You caught me in the middle of Trophy Husbands."

"Mom ew."

"It's off it's off. What can I do you for, honey?"

"Mom the Master is coming back. I have to fight the rest of the council for global supremacy."

"Oooo!" says Imogen's mom (her name is Polydora) "It's finally happening! Plan Firetalon!"

"It's Plan 6," Imogen says. "Mom we've been over this."

"Plan Firetalon sounds neater," Polydora says.

TURN 1 ::: MANA 200

It is now Turn One of the Council of Wizards War.
You may take one action per turn and cast as many spells as you want. Speaking with anyone (including rival wizards, if they'll hear you) is possible through your Telepathic Screen.

ACTIONS AVAILABLE:
+Meditate! Gather 100 mana!
+Seek for adventure in the world for reward or renown! An adventure is guaranteed. Wizards lead exciting lives. You might gain mana, artifacts, or allies!
+Go to the spellgrounds and formulate a new spell! (Cost: 50 mana. One new spell per turn)
+Mingle with the Mortals! Curry favor, purchase things with mana, or find new allies!
+Attack any of your rival mages!
+Go to the Mesa of Meeting and pray to the incoming Master for support!

Spell list Council 2014/12/23(Tue)12:52 No. 614522 ID: 337362
File 141936795902.png - (0B , 960x560 )

A list of Imogen's current spells is here:

http://pastebin.com/t2ifPENB

>>614520
hmm, we need to prepare because sooner or later we're going to have to deal with the other wizards. I say start with some adventuring. It sounds like a good way to gain strength while also seeing what we could improve upon.

I feel for now we should focus on building an army, trying to save as much power, and building up power so when the real fighting starts we'll be ready.

- What do we already have planned for this sort of situation?
- Does Nastar get actions each turn as well? It might be hard for him to travel with us but could he gather mana or something?
- Is our south pole tower still available if we need a backup fortress? Would it be viable contingency plan to hide explosive spells around this tower beforehand so if someone attacks us here we can teleport to the other and blow them up?
- Since light is electromagnetism, would we be able to derive electrical/magnetic spells or exchange spells to/from Nastar (who has both lightning and earth)? Electricity would be a great trick to have up our sleeves when we fight Ferrafina.

At the moment Advanture is looking like a good idea, as getting artifacts or allies would be uncertain but possibly a good long-term investment.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)13:40 No. 614557 ID: 337362
File 141937081942.png - (495.38KB , 960x560 , 14.png )

>>614547
>What is planned?
Imogen has the entire magical defense network around her tower powered up and the anti-teleportation hexes are in place. Her liquid arcane assets have just been turned into combat-ready mana and her mom is making her whole-grain banana muffins which really get her energy up.
>Does Nastar get actions?
Imogen can ask Nastar what he (she?) can do to support her per turn. Nastar will probably want mana as payment. Since she's not sure what Nastar can do yet she'll just take him (her?) along this time and see.
>Is the south pole an option?
Kind of but a bad one. It's in the middle of a 6 month long night. It would hamper Imogen's mana gathering like nobody's business to do it in the dark. Also penguins are cute.
>Derive new spells with Nastar?
For that she'll need to take a turn in the spellgrounds, but it should be very possible. Imogen's excited to experiment.

She goes ADVENTURING this turn!

In the Gracken mountains, high on a windswept, rainy peak, she encounters a mage sitting on a lump of soggy stone, reading a book. The mage turns a page and sighs.

The mage is sat at the top of a slope leading down to a dingy cave. Around its entrance are strewn pale, splintering bones.

Imogen's not sure what's going on here but it's definitely something adventury.

if i had to guess... there is something horrible in the cave and this fellow is trying to figure out a way past it. meaning it is probably the guard of something amazing.

>>614557
might as well talk to him, see what he knows

I'm going to say just try asking the mage what the deal is? If it comes to a fight we can fight with the best of them but it doesn't seem necessary yet.

Say hi, ask if he is hunting something in that cave. (Mental note: Make an illusion or image displacement spell so we can talk to people without worrying about them being an ambusher with physical projectiles.)
On general strategy, do mages get anything from defeating a rival other than a removal of a threat and a chance to loot any artifacts the rival might have? It is important to know whether a mage who just beat a rival is stronger, weaker, or about the same as before.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)14:57 No. 614586 ID: 337362
File 141937542530.png - (10.39KB , 960x560 , 15.png )

>>614568
If you defeat an enemy mage you get all the mana they had. Most mages have like 20 on them tops at any time. Imogen has 200, because she is a wizard on the council. she sometimes forgets she's one of the 5 most powerful beings on the planet, especially when her sleeve of thin mints rolls in between the couch cushions during Blades of the Dragon.

The mage turns to look at her as she approaches.
"Oh, hello," she says. It's a girl mage.
"Hi," Imogen says. "Whatcha reading?"
"Um." The mage shrugs. "Caribor's On Subjectivity in a Magical Age."
"Neat," Imogen says. "I'm Imogen."
"I hearda you," the mage says. "I'm Quibuj."
"That's a spooky cave, Quibuj."
"It is," Quibuj sighs. "And it's chock fulla Grenadoblins. I went in there lookin' along a leyline of power for the Staff of Ishaad, and they attacked me. Ate my mule. And all the grimoires and books I had on it. Nothin' I could do because they blow up when you kill em and I'm a punchmage."
"A punchmage?"
"I punch stuff." She shrugs. "No range. Anyway now I'm just sittin' here reading the only book that wasn't on the mule, waiting to see if they'll spit any of my stuff out." She gestures toward the bone pile. "They spit out what they can't digest."

ask if any of her stuff can survive them exploding. if so then you promise to return those items. this looks like a perfect adventure for you. you got plenty of ranged spells to blast them from range. and have nastar support you with like, making mirrors to shine light down into the cave so you have power deeper inside.

Let's go kill some doblins. Light up the place then lazer em.

We should probably try to use death rays more than fission blasts but don't get yourself injured.

>>614586
Let's send the crystal guy first he's probably pretty durable

>>614604
He would not be that durable himself, but maybe he can use earth magic to slow the grenoblins' progress when they move to attack us or funnel them into a small space so we can get them to explode each other.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)16:03 No. 614608 ID: 337362
File 141937941353.png - (120.20KB , 960x560 , 16.png )

"If any of your stuff won't blow up when I blow them up," Imogen says, "then I'll get it back to you."

"Hey thanks," Quibuj says. "If ya find the staff too I'd be real grateful."

"Nastar, what can you do for me here?" Imogen asks, as they near the cave entrance.
Inside she hears the Grenadoblins feasting on their kill.

"I, Nastar, have several spells for this situation," Nastar says. "My stoneshaping abilities will allow me to create a funneling & deadly chokepoint. Alternatively I, Nastar could take advantage of the natural pillar within view in the cave to create a high stone battle platform that we may then direct across the ground at will, giving us a mobile high ground. Or perhaps a cave-in. To do this service I, Nastar, humbly request 10 mana for casting purposes. A final option is my offense lighting magic, which I, Nastar, shall supply free of charge."

>>614608
Battle platform sounds like a good idea, let's go with that. Can he do that and lightning both?

open with a FISSION BLAST centered on the fresh corpse.

The 10 mana don't need to be spent immediately, right? Most of them seem fairly clumped up, so I think we should give 10 mana to Nastar so he can make a chokepoint if we need it, but open by each shooting (death ray and lighting) one of the tow clusters. Depending on how many of them the resulting explosion gets, we can then decide to cast chokepoint or save the mana for later.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)18:50 No. 614650 ID: 337362
File 141938943092.png - (360.42KB , 960x560 , 17.png )

"Be ready to cast your stuff if I need it," Imogen says.

"By your command, Wizard of Radiation and its multiple subcategories including light," intones Nastar.

Imogen takes a short breath and Fission Blasts the Grenadoblins circling the corpse. Most of them just melt without exploding, but one of them takes a chunk of shrapnel and pops in a rosy, wet explosion.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)18:50 No. 614651 ID: 337362
File 141938944192.png - (93.76KB , 960x560 , 18.png )

The rest of the grenadoblins shriek and charge her.

A bolt of lightning snaps from Nastar and explodes another one. They're down to 14.

>>614651
Let's try some DEATH RAY just to see how it works. Can you hit more than one thing with it?

Ok yeah, looks like we need the choke point unless death ray is continuous fire or otherwise faster casting than the description implies.

>>614651
Bathe the cave in nuclear radiation. Duh.
Let the die of sudden onset cancer in their everything

>>614681
That's what FISSION BLAST already is: a very small nuke. If you want to use a larger spell, the next stronger option is Imogen's URANIUM LANCE, which can be used both as a close combat weapon or launched from range, but that has a five minute cooldown after use. Anything bigger than that is very expensive in terms of mana.

well those things are still pretty much bunched up, a few more fission blast would probably down most of them and then you can use some of your more one on one spells on them.

Nastar, deploy a choke point. Imogen, cast fission blast at the mooks until they surrender or die. Demand their immediate surrender after the choke point forms.

If they do surrender, conscript them into your armies or factories. You may want to loot the remaining grenadoblins for unstable chemicals.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)22:32 No. 614772 ID: 337362
File 141940274650.png - (97.50KB , 960x560 , 19.png )

Imogen vaporizes another 5 of them and Nastar's lightning cracks one open, but they're coming too quick.

"Nastar chokepoint chokepoint chokepoint!" yells Imogen.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)22:32 No. 614773 ID: 337362
File 141940275652.png - (8.44KB , 960x560 , 20.png )

"As you will it," Nastar declares, and shunts the walls of the cave closed. The pathway is so narrow that only one Grenadoblin could squeeze through at a time, and their momentum makes them cram and squabble at the entrance, screeching furiously.

Fire off a powerful light based attack at the choke-point, and enact a macro-scale single slit diffraction experiment.

>>614774
Yes. MAXIMUM NERD BEAM

Wire 2014/12/23(Tue)23:26 No. 614787 ID: 337362
File 141940596997.png - (7.37KB , 960x560 , 21.png )

"More! Narrow it more!" Imogen starts charging up a humdinger of a death ray.

"How narrow?"

"Hella!"

"As you vaguely command," Nastar intones. The walls crush together even more, until there's only a slit in the rock.

Imogen fires.

Council 2014/12/23(Tue)23:26 No. 614788 ID: 337362
File 141940597365.png - (56.80KB , 960x560 , 22.png )

There is a brilliant flash through the rock as the beam diffracts and fans out.

Evidently Imogen's death ray gains a great deal of potency through diffraction. Most intriguing! She makes a mental note of it.

Scratch all remaining Grenadoblins, blasted into vapor.

>>614788
Pay dat piper, he wants his manas. Then let's loot the place.

>Wizard of Radiation and its multiple subcategories including light
Ooh! I like this crystal guy (or gal). They're precise.

>what do
Thank you aide and pay his mana. And then illuminate and explore the cavern. Any loot you can find? Belonging to the punch-mage or otherwise?

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)00:47 No. 614819 ID: 337362
File 141941083596.png - (52.96KB , 960x560 , 23.png )

"Wonderful, Nastar!" Imogen says, psionically transferring 10 mana to him.
"I, Nastar, thank you for your complement," Nastar says, pushing the walls back out.

Looting the place Imogen finds
+50 mana from the ensorcelled remains of the Grenadoblins!
+A bunch of books!
+The staff of Ishaad!!!!!! Imogen has no idea what this does and won't unless she properly appraises it at her tower. Quibuj was looking for this.

Go talk to Quibuj. Adventures are one part killing monsters, one part completing quests for people. Obviously the loot is tempting, but there's power in completing the pattern.

We should probably return the staff to the punchmage. I feel like an ally is more potentially valuable right now than whatever the staff does, especially an ally whose specialty is kinda one of our weaknesses. But uh maybe see if they want to come hang out at your tower for a while? They don't have a mule to carry all those books anymore.

Also the staff is not our color.

Well, ask what the staff does first is probably a good idea.

well might as well give Quibuj, maybe see if she would be willing to join our side or at least owe us a solid to be called in later. Never know when having a punch mage will be handy.

I am curious how a punch mage uses a staff in battle. Wouldn't her hands be occupied with, well, punching?

A bit late, but: potential combination attack!
Imogen fires a very tight beam (UV or shorter wavelength) to ionise the air, creating a conductive path for Nastar to fire lightning through. Pinpoint accuracy and a range increase!

>>614819
Ensure it's not radioactive and that it won't give the punchmage cancer.

>>614819
Assess Quibuj's capabilities. Could she make a decent ally? You could trade the staff to her for her services.

Otherwise just say you want to analyze it before handing it over. That way we can determine just how valuable it is. No reason to hand over a valuable artifact for free, hmm?

How does inventing new spells at the spellgrounds work? Can we invent a combo spell with Quibuj for NUCLEAR FISTS or something? Obviously we need mana to invent spells, so we probably need to find a good source of it before we head to do that, but I'm curious. Would be good if we could develop some options between our URANIUM LANCE and spending 200 mana to summon backup. 500 mana for BIGBY'S CRUSHING TACTICAL NUKE is kinda out of the question right now, unless we decide to hole up in the tower for a while.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)16:32 No. 615138 ID: 337362
File 141946754184.png - (10.82KB , 960x560 , 24.png )

"I got your staff back!" Imogen says.

"Oh, radicous," Quibuj says.

"What does it do?" Imogen asks.

"I have no clue," Quibuj says. "It just called to me, you know? Leylines."

"I do," Imogen says. Mages feel leylines. It's the little threads of destiny pulling them around. It's how they find adventures. "We can test it at my tower, if you want to hang out for a while."

"You're inviting me to your tower?"

"Sure!"

"I'd love to," Quibuj says. "You're only like on the friggin Council of Wizards."

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)16:32 No. 615139 ID: 337362
File 141946754972.png - (49.96KB , 960x560 , 25.png )

The sun's setting back at the tower (Or it WOULD be, if it ever did.) Imogen and Quibuj agree to test the staff in the morning. Nastar gives an eloquent good evening to the ladies then allows the imp to pull it off to its chambers.

Imogen puts on her jammies. Should she try to contact any of the other wizards before turning in? Just earlier today they were all friends.
Kind of.

Check in with Weirwood first maybe? He seems like a nice old chap.

>Should she try to contact any of the other wizards before turning in?
None of them have memetic spells or attacks that could be transmitted to you through a means of remote communication? Or viruses that could send over the magical link to your tower defense network? Don't want to compromise yourself.

...although, given that remote communication is usually preformed by means of transmission of radiation, coms security should be right in your bailiwick. You can probably handle it.

Try Weirdwood. You said he was your friend, right? See how he's doing.

>>615139
We could talk to Weirwood. Maybe Grocel too. Dulcette doesn't seem very...talkative? And I don't know about Ferrafina.

>>615139
yeeess, time to form an ALLIANCE

>>615139
First things first, you need a new wardrobe.
Hair matching the color of your shirt is not a good look.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)17:13 No. 615153 ID: 337362
File 141946999018.png - (62.48KB , 960x560 , 26.png )

Imogen calls Weirwood.

He picks up. "How do, bubeleh?"
"Hi, Weirwood."
"Oy. Hold on a second. I need to feed my screen a carrot or it won't stay still."
Weirwood doesn't have a tower; he has a swamp. It's just as dangerous if not more than anyone else's, though.
Every living creature in it was created by his hand.

"So," Imogen says, when Weirwood sits down on a stump. "Wizard war."
"Looks like."
"Alliance?"
" Weirwood sighs. "Look, Imogen. I can't call myself a council member and not try to be number one and I know the same's true for you, girlie."
"I guess," Imogen says. She takes a pensive bite of one of her mom's muffins. "But ceasefire, maybe?"
"Ceasefire I can give you," Weirwood says. "And maybe we can band together when it comes time to beat up, say, that Dulcette jerkoff. If I may blow some smoke. But full-on alliance?" He shakes his head-tray. "I don't know. You're a mensch but we both know there can be only one, as they say. Hey. If I'm lucky enough it's me you got a place in the new world, you know?"

yeah, can agree to try to win as hard as possible, and if they are still alive then putting them up as a governor would be cool.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)17:29 No. 615157 ID: 337362
File 141947094779.png - (26.16KB , 960x560 , 27.png )

"Sounds good, Weirwood," Imogen says. "I'll make you a cool governor or something."
"So presumptuous, the young girlchick is! Just give me an island and a nice wine cellar. If I'm not world ruler I'm retiring." "Night night."
"Good night, bubeleh," Weirwood says. "May the best wizard win."
"Yep!"
"Your line coulda been something like I intend to," Weirwood says. "Backbone, bubeleh. Backbone. We're at war."
"Oh. Sorry. I intend to!"
"Much better," Weirwood says, and disconnects.

That's sad. Imogen liked hanging out in the swamp.

Should she call anyone else?
Dulcette is just scary.
Ferrafina is a big asshole.
Grocel........ makes Imogen nervous.

>>615157
Yes, we saw the poster on your wall. You could try using your womanly willies on him, but I think that would backfire.

i say no, there is nothing good that can come of this.

well we got one cease fire up at least, I say that's good for one night and what Weirwood said was true, everyone is gunning for the top so we should hit the hay so we can get up early tomorrow and keep building our strength.

Do have a reason to think anything will come of talking to them? I mean, I don't think any of the others are likely to agree to an alliance or ceasefire (or that you know them well enough to trust them to one), and if you show weakness you might make yourself a target.

>>615157
You could call Ferrafina up just to tell her you're gonna kick her ass.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)18:39 No. 615169 ID: 337362
File 141947517078.png - (20.22KB , 960x560 , 28.png )

>>615159
You're probably right.
>>615158
Eeeee isn't he sexy? The poster's signed. DON'T ever tell him.
Imogen went over to his tower once to talk trade and he made her sushi. Like hand-made it. He chopped the cucumbers and everything!
And he's so dashing and well-spoken and well he has an ego but of course he does. Every self-respecting mage has an ego and a Wizard doubly besides.
She scried on him once because she thought he was plotting to burn her tower down and accidentally caught him working out. He wasn't wearing a shirt. Oh my god.

Of course he has to be head-over-heels with that icy bitch Ferrafina.
What has she got that Imogen hasn't got? Besides curves. And sophistication. She probably also doesn't sleep on a big giant silver bean bag chair with a stuffed Mr. Tesla either, but Imogen is an adult and also the most powerful wizard alive so nobody can tell her what to do.

Obviously she's not trying to rule the world just so Grocel will freaking notice she exists.
But it would be a nice bonus.

Good night, Grocel.
Good night, Mr. Tesla.

TURN 2 Council 2014/12/24(Wed)18:39 No. 615170 ID: 337362
File 141947518042.png - (20.52KB , 960x560 , 29.png )

Imogen wakes up bright and refreshed.
She offers Nastar a muffin at breakfast but apparently Nastar doesn't eat. Quibuj takes Nastar's muffin.

TURN 2 ::: MANA 240
Quibuj is a temporary disciple today!

You may take one action per turn and cast as many spells as you want. Speaking with anyone (including rival wizards, if they'll hear you) is possible through your Telepathic Screen.

ACTIONS AVAILABLE:
+Meditate! Gather 100 mana!
+Seek for adventure in the world for reward or renown! An adventure is guaranteed. Wizards lead exciting lives. You might gain mana, artifacts, or allies!
+Go to the spellgrounds and formulate a new spell! (Cost: 50 mana. One new spell per turn)
+Mingle with the Mortals! Curry favor, purchase things with mana, or find new allies!
+Attack any of your rival mages!
+Go to the Mesa of Meeting and pray to the incoming Master for support!

ACTIONS YOUR DISCIPLES CAN TAKE:
+Meditate on your behalf! Each mage gathers different amounts of mana!
+Seek for adventure on their own (they'll be okay. probably.)
+Accompany you on an adventure!
+Accompany you to the spellgrounds to work on a tandem spell!

Spell list Council 2014/12/24(Wed)18:39 No. 615171 ID: 337362
File 141947519108.png - (8.21KB , 960x560 , ledgermann.png )

Imogen has a new spell she can use: Identify!

Updated spell list: http://pastebin.com/HUEXYMBN

Identify the staff. (And was there anything useful among the books?).

Take Nastar to the spellgrounds for research and experimentation.

>Nastar doesn't eat
If they're solar powered, they sure picked the right mage to work for.

well we might as well see what the staff does since we went through all that yesterday. Then I guess we can try to find new spells but we're defently going to want to meditate soon. I just think it would be wise to always have enough mana to use our super just incase we're attacked or come across something that calls for it.

>>615170
Meditate. We need to at least have access to our big nuke just in case.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)19:11 No. 615177 ID: 337362
File 141947708177.png - (14.71KB , 960x560 , 30.png )

Imogen IDENTIFIES the staff for 10 mana!

The staff of Ishaad allows its wielder to CAST FIST; any spell that has a melee range can now be used at long range!
In addition, the staff is LEYLINE BOUND to Quibuj! She now gains 15 extra mana whenever she meditates.

Imogen could recycle the staff for 130 mana.

"Wow," Quibuj says, munching on her muffin. "That thing looks sick. Um obviously you've already given me my books and a muffin, but..." she shrugs. "I mean, if you're feeling generous?"

"I, Nastar, believe 130 mana would go most far in your machinations, O Radiant One," Nastar says.
"Says the big piece of rock candy," Quibuj says.
"I, Nastar, have a shell consisting of Blue Crystal Amaranthistone," Nastar says. "Rock candy would be an inefficient arcane conductor, and would melt at warm temperatures."

The staff isn't inherently useful to Imogen. All radiation is, by definition, a ranged effect. We have no spells that would benefit.

130 mana would be more useful, but that's only 1.3 turns of charging. It seems a shame to spend a unique artifact on that, when it is perfectly suited to enhance a caster's capabilities.

Could we come to an arrangement with Quibuj in exchange for the staff? A medium or long term ally would be even more useful than a short term mana boost. And ranged physical magic fills a hole in our repertoire, since radiation attacks are energy based. (Well, until you figure out how to properly exploit wave / partical duality, anyways). And many magical shields aren't attuned for fist-damage.

tl;dr - recruit with the staff.

Well, in that case, seems like she owes you like 130 mana or equivalent in help or meditation. Wanna stick around a bit Quibuj? :-)

>>615177
Oh man that thing seems incredibly useful for Quibuj. Don't recycle it. I want to see a demonstration of it being used!

Give staff in return for loyalty

neat staff but completely useless to us with our powers. But still useful in that it might be able to give us a useful ally. I say give her the staff but say she owes you a favor or two. Don't worry I won't throw anything that I'm not sure you can handle and if you're not comfortable with the favor I ask you can deny it. I mean we're not jerks.

But yeah, if she's going to leave your tower make sure you get her contact info so we can call her up if we need her help.

That's pretty useful to a punchmage! I'd say give her the staff. But expecting one favor for it is kind of low given how valuable it could be to her you'd think she could at least hang with us for a while.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)21:54 No. 615253 ID: 337362
File 141948686371.png - (11.83KB , 960x560 , 31.png )

"Take it on credit," Imogen says. "Just owe me a favor or something."

"Dude," Quibuj says. "Thanks so much."
"Are you looking to get involved with the end of days?" Imogen asks. "I can always use some help if you want to stick around."
"You want me to join you here?" Quibuj is startled. "Um totally. Yes. Oh my god ground floor on future queen of the world."
"Hopeful queen of the world," Imogen says. "With your help."
"I read existentialist literature, make sweet buns, and punch stuff," Quibuj says.
"I can totally work with that," Imogen says.

Disciple acquired: Quibuj!
What next? Imogen's still got a full day ahead of her and 230 mana.

Spell grounds. Experiment with new spell / spell synergies with one of your allies.

Probably should experiment with Nastar, and let Quibuj meditate.

Council 2014/12/24(Wed)22:44 No. 615268 ID: 337362
File 141948987908.png - (13.26KB , 960x560 , 32.png )

Imogen's spellground of choice is the Amethyst Sea.

A long time ago, the Master had a great battle here that turned the whole sea into solid purple stone. There's plenty of open ground, and you can use the spiraling waves for neat targets.

"What are you doing?" Nastar asks, as Imogen warms up.

"Stretching," Imogen says. "We're gonna be doing a lot of magic up here, Nastar. Lotsa experimentation and spells flying all over. Gotta be ready to move!" She jogs in place a little.

"I, Nastar, am warming up with you in spirit," Nastar says.

What kind of new spells should Imogen and Nastar try out? Anything's on the table! Magic rules!
Try out whatever you want then vote on which one Imogen adds to her grimoire! 1 new spell per spellground visit.

Imogen's favored elements/flavor:
Radiation
Light
Explosions
Lasers
Uranium
Science!!!
Nastar's favored elements/flavor:
Lightning
Earth
Crystal

We already know that earth can be combined with light and/or radiation for diffraction, and can probably produce constructive or destructive interference with the right patterns.

Can we combine light or radiation with crystal for some kind of lensing amplification? Or possibly capacitor-like storage via crystal refraction (which could potentially be overloaded to combine with explosions).

There's probably a really obvious connection between uranium and earth.

Spacetime is curved based on gravitational pull, right? Why not create a spell that uses radiation to sense the gravitational pull of objects on realspace?

Dimensional Sense - While this spell is active, radiation of multiple frequencies bounces around you and comes back, allowing you to understand the dimensional pull of gravity allowing you to faintly understand the madness of eldritch locations. This should help against Dulcette.

Oh and this is going to be good:

Combine crystals with light to create a supercomputer! Create crystal fiber optics and precision lasers to develop a processor that exceeds anything you've ever seen! Or just create a bunch of crystal fiber optics and design a system for fast-communication.

Things to try out:
- A self-diffracting beam (travel x distance then diffract for a fan-shaped cutting blast)
- Continual beam (Probably not the best in mage battles, but possibly an inexpensive way to take out groups of monsters/minions)
- Invisibility
- Illusions as decoys
- Illusions with real lasers
- Darkness we can see in (if we couldn't already)
- Invisible attacks (such as lasers outside the visible spectrum, with magic glow manually removed if necessary)
- Laser cooling (surprisingly actually a thing with regular physics)
- Electricity derived from light (electromagnetic radiation)
- Radiation poisoning (though we will need to try that at a later point with living targets like trees or something)
- Ultra-long-range lasers
- Wizard-telescope to actually be able to target effectively from ultra-long-range
- Combo with Nashtar to have him summon crystal lenses to bounce your lasers around obstacles or defenses

I like the capacitor idea too. It is more of an artifact than a spell, but a device we could load beforehand with barrages of death rays would be nice.

Thoughts so far on strategies for fighting the other Wizards (since it effects what spells we will need in the long run:
- Grocel: Laser cooling for fire, maybe radiation poisoning for any blood-based constructs
- Ferrafina: Lasers as heat to counter ice, electricity (without revealing beforehand we can do that if possible) to counter metallic defenses.
- Dulcette: Maybe non-visible lasers or something? She will be a pain with redirecting lasers and such, but she might have a harder time redirecting what she can't see.
- Wierwood: His swamp sounds like a super death trap, so instead of actually going there we should keep the fight as long-ranged as possible. (Now that I think about it, ultra-long ranged combat works in our favor against nearly anyone aside from maybe Dulcette.)

can Nastar dig up uranium for us

also definitely try some things with Nastar doing crystal lensing for lasers

>>615268
Fractal Crystalline Conversion Enervation
Turns things into crystals, then turns the crystals into energy, then uses the energy to make MORE crystals. Destroys any unprotected part of the current plane of existence. Will go horribly wrong.

Earth-Cracking Irradiation
Breaks open a new uranium mine for use! In case you.. need that sort of thing. Or feel like converting someone's useless gold mine into valuable URANIUM.

Gamma Beam Blast
Congratulations, you now have cancer. Isn't necessarily immediately lethal, but gives nasty burns and penetrates most materials. Unlimited range.

Enervation
Primarily used for 'charging' artifacts or other arcane devices. Can clean up useful ores, crystals, and concentrates radioactives into possibly more useful ones.

Summon Helpful Robots
Summons helpful robots. Not an army; they can build, construct, repair, or mine. Can be perpetuated with !LIGHTNING! Batteries not included.

Council 2014/12/26(Fri)00:10 No. 615516 ID: 337362
File 141958144267.png - (331.05KB , 960x560 , 33.png )

>>615276
Pfff, supercomputers are old news. What do you think Imogen's tower is?

Imogen tries out a BUNCH of stuff, and comes up with 4 ideas that seem to bear useful fruit. This turn, she can learn one of them by paying 50 mana. If she wants to pay more mana and use more turns she can learn more.

GROUND CRACK: A combination attack with NASTAR. They open up a fault in the ground and irradiated Uranium fires through. Very destructive. Requires 20 mana to cast.

DIFFRACTION LENS: Nastar teaches Imogen a thing or two about crystal magic, until she can reliably summon uranium crystal lenses at close to medium range on the battlefield that allow her to bend or widen her beam attacks. It takes time but you can do some neat tricks with it. Free cast.

LASER COOLING: Imogen will be able to snap-freeze her enemies with this one. She can target limbs to try and freeze them in place. Free cast.

DIMENSIONAL SENSE: Imogen can can see through walls, darkness, invisibility, and illusions for about a minute. She can't be ambushed and has a preternatural sense of where everyone is on the battlefield, improving her accuracy. Requires 5 mana to cast.

...diffraction lens sounds really cool, but dimensional sense seems like it's going to be absolutely necessary to survive the other wizard's inevitable ambush attempts.

what this guy said >>615517
plus laser cooling might be useful against Grocel. that's for later though.

>>615516
It seems silly to spend the time to drag our follower out here and then buy spells that he didn't need to help us with. If we want one of the others, let's come back for them later.

Get either GROUND CRACK or DIFFRACTION LENS.

Diffraction lens has got my vote.

Diffraction Lens while we have Nastar here.
Dimensional Sense is something we should get at some point, so maybe after getting Lens we should spend another turn here getting that while Nastar heads back to the tower to meditate.

Suggestion 2014/12/26(Fri)08:48 No. 615581 ID: 951416

Diffraction lens

Dimensional Sense - your rival wizards are going to constantly plot, deceive, and otherwise perform acts of deception and treachery. You need a scanning spell that can help detect this at any time for any reason.

DIMENSIONAL SENSE, doesn't mater how strong we are if we don't know where to point our spells.

>>615516
Diffraction lens.

>>615569
Do this, getting both with Nastar going to meditate while we get the second one we don't need him for.

>>615656
I agree with this, let's get Lens first.

Council 2014/12/26(Fri)16:18 No. 615661 ID: 337362
File 141963948595.png - (121.20KB , 960x560 , 34.png )

Imogen gets Diffraction Lens. Either she or Nastar can use this spell, and it comes in two flavors: A mirror to redirect a beam, and a lens to widen and empower it. It can be summoned anywhere in middle range on the field, but she can't move them around after she's summoned them without recasting. There's no limit on how many of these puppies she can have at once.

Who's that cutie in the mirror? Is it maybe the future queen of the world? Maybe!

"An excellent spell," Nastar says. "I, Nastar, thank you for inviting me."

Council 2014/12/26(Fri)16:18 No. 615662 ID: 337362
File 141963951462.png - (20.49KB , 960x560 , 35.png )

Total mana gain and use last turn:
+30 (Quibuj Meditaton)
-10 (Identify spell)
-50 (New Spell learned)
New total: 210

Imogen gets back to the tower by afternoon. Quibuj is in her quarters, meditating to some oldschool gangster rap. She baked sweet buns while they were gone!! Imogen thinks of how much she probably needs to go to the gym, then decides that a wizard war is probably a good way to burn calories.

TURN 3 ::: MANA 210

FREE ACTIONS:
+Cast a spell, have a conversation with a disciple or over your Screen

ACTIONS AVAILABLE:
+Meditate! Gather 100 mana!
+Seek for adventure in the world for reward or renown! An adventure is guaranteed. Wizards lead exciting lives. You might gain mana, artifacts, or allies!
+Go to the spellgrounds and formulate a new spell, or commit to memory a spell you've already tried! (Cost: 50 mana. One new spell per turn)
+Mingle with the Mortals! Curry favor, purchase things with mana, or find new allies!
+Attack any of your rival mages!
+Go to the Mesa of Meeting and pray to the incoming Master for support!

ACTIONS YOUR DISCIPLES CAN TAKE:
+Meditate on your behalf! Each mage gathers different amounts of mana!
+Seek for adventure on their own (they'll be okay. probably.)
+Accompany you on an adventure!
+Accompany you to the spellgrounds to work on a tandem spell!

Spell List (Turn 3) Council 2014/12/26(Fri)16:21 No. 615664 ID: 337362
File 141963967990.png - (8.21KB , 960x560 , ledgermann.png )

Imogen has a new spell she can use: Diffraction Lens!

Updated spell list:
http://pastebin.com/F5jaV4A3

I feel like we're getting a little low on mana so I'm going to have to suggest we meditate ourselves and have Nastar and Imogen go on an adventure themselves to see what they can find. I mean at this point we trust Nastar right? and we still have yet to see what Imogen can do. Plus they'll be together I'm guessing and the two of them combined should be able to handle anything that isn't a council wizard.

>>615662
Oh man I kinda want to go adventuring now. We might find a cool amulet or ring or robe or staff or a bunch of mana or a magic hat lets go adventuring forget planning

>>615666
I think you mean Quibuj and Nastar adventure? Keep in mind that if someone goes on an adventure any artifacts they get will be attuned to them.

>>615666
Adventures can get us mana too, we don't just have to meditate! And Quibuj has a bonus to her meditation and Nastar we haven't even found out how much mana he can produce yet. I kinda want US to go on an adventure and them to meditate for some mana, so we can build up to being able to throw our biggest spell if we need it.

We meditate for 100 mana per turn. WAY more than anyone else.

>>615679
if we had chosen to recycle the staff we would have made 170 mana from that adventure.

I say we go on an adventure with Quibuj. I want to see her in action.

Mingle with the local civilians. You want your populace to be happy about your upcoming rulership, or they're going to be a very serious opening for the other wizards to exploit. Take Quibuj with you, get the people to realize that you have a lot of power but also a lot of humanity.

Regardless of whether or not that humanity is in their self-interest.

Next, work with Quibuj to form a new spell. Have Nastar do some of his own experiments and see if he can come up with a new edge.

Finally, do some experiments yourself. See if the signs really do point to your master coming back. You need to be smart, make sure that you aren't just obediently playing along in this game, just like all those self-righteous paladins worship their god unquestioningly. If you take the time to figure out whether or not the master is coming back, you might catch a glimpse of his current adventures, maybe even acquire something powerful in the process!

I vote for adventure with Quibuj while Nastar meditates, so we can get a good idea of what she can do.

Also, since we gain mana generation from the sunlight around our tower, would it be viable to spend a turn setting up a mirror array directing more light at it?

Council 2014/12/26(Fri)19:58 No. 615738 ID: 337362
File 141965270968.png - (585.78KB , 960x560 , 36.png )

>>615687
Don't worry: That's already been done. Imogen has squeezed out every drop of efficiency she can in mana gathering. For now, anyway.

Imogen and Quibuj go on an ADVENTURE!!

In a shimmering field of golden grain, they come across a large building made of sun-colored stone. A huge metal hoop is above it, and the wind whistles as it passes through.

From inside, Imogen and Quibuj hear the sound of music and celebration. The door has been left ajar. Imogen can feel her leylines tugging at her from within.

"This is weird," Quibuj says.

>>615738
This is obviously the SUNDANCE FESTIVAL. Go in!

Loot what you can from the party, steal from them if they aren't willing to support your cause!

Well, um, is there any reason not to just walk up?

Or if you're going to be cautious, summon up some lenses and mirrors so you can see what's going on in there.

The fact that the leylines pointed here means that this is probably not just an ordinary party. Approach with caution.

Council 2014/12/26(Fri)21:08 No. 615760 ID: 337362
File 141965693957.png - (24.04KB , 960x560 , 37.png )

The door is ajar.

On the other side is an opulent feast. Dozens of laughing, merrymaking lords and ladies eat from off of a hardwood table.

At the far end, a man sitting on a golden throne cries, "It is a Council Wizard!!!!"

"Enter, O August One! I am APHOGAS, Mage of Frivolity! Eat at our abundant table and tell us how goes the wageries of wizardly war!!"

>Mage of Frivolity
...so he's here to waste our time.

Really wish we'd taken Dimensional Sense now, the entire party here is probably a hollow illusion.

>Eat at our abundant table and tell us how goes the wageries of wizardly war!
Um, not much has really happened yet, certainly not worthy of a feast, sorry.

>>615760
...can Adventures even go this way?

Sit at the table, recount the initial outbreak of violence and how you decided to let all your new enemies shoot eachother and not you. Then just lie a lot about fending off attacks and going on incursions into enemy territory under cover of magical darkness. If you spoke the truth about your activities that information could spread to your enemies.

Also you should try to make sure this place is legit. Like, you could conjure up a mirror and check the place out with it? I hear a lot of illusions don't show up in mirrors.

>>615760
NOPE

This just screams "trap". Parley with the wizards but do NOT accept anything that they offer you. Just steal what you need and offer an alliance. Do not acquire followers from this circle unless they seem extremely trustworthy.

>>615760
Imogen felt the leylines tugging for a reason. This is probably important! Stay awhile, and tell your tale.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)11:23 No. 615910 ID: 337362
File 141970823079.png - (7.42KB , 960x560 , 38.png )

"Um not much has happened yet," Imogen says. "Nothing worthy of a feast."

"Nonsense!" trills Aphogas. "EVERYTHING is worthy of a feast!!!"
"No offense," Imogen says. "But your feast totally looks like a magical trap."
"Why does everyone always say that?" Aphogas asks the knight sitting next to him, who shrugs.

Suddenly a loud cry sounds from the doorway. "UNCLE!"

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)11:24 No. 615911 ID: 337362
File 141970824020.png - (7.30KB , 960x560 , 39.png )

"Um, hold on, actually," the figure in the doorway says.

He waves his hand and a grand wooden door appears in the vacant arch.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)11:24 No. 615912 ID: 337362
File 141970824648.png - (9.13KB , 960x560 , 40.png )

The door crashes open dramatically.

"UNCLE!!!!" cries the figure.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)11:24 No. 615913 ID: 337362
File 141970826660.png - (12.89KB , 960x560 , 41.png )

"Uncle! I demand the Key of Kraddock!"

"Samael," Aphogas says. "Can you not join my table? Can you not set aside your mad quest?"

"Your table is gross and gluttonous," Samael says. "Like your SOUL, uncle!"
"Now Samael," Aphogas says, looking very hurt. "What have I told you about tasting your words before you spit them out?"

"I am ready, Uncle," Samael says. "I have been ready four seasons now. I demand the Key!"

"Your father said much the same thing," Aphogas says. "I will not let two deaths be on my watch, my boy!"

"Ooo this is juicy," whispers Quibuj.

So... what's this key for? Or this mad quest I'm hearing about?

This looks more like an adventure you can appropriately irradiate and lase into oblivion for loot.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)12:03 No. 615919 ID: 337362
File 141971059676.png - (14.69KB , 960x560 , 42.png )

"Key?" Imogen asks. "Quest?"

"Who is this?" Samael asks. "One of your festival trollops?"

"She is Council Wizard Imogen," Aphogas says. "Can't you recognize her?"

"The justice I pursue shines so bright that it blinds me to everything else, Uncle!"

"You could try taking the helmet off," Aphogas says.

"Greetings, Council Wizard Imogen." Samael turns to her. "I am Samael, Mage of Doors. I am here seeking the Key of Kraddock! When it is mine I shall unlock this door upon my back and enter the DIMENSION OF DESTRUCTION where my mother has been held prisoner for ten years! I will defeat the Destructive Duke, avenge the death of my father, and bring her back! Aphogas holds the key. He refuses to give it to me!"

Imogen has never heard of the Destructive Duke. This is interesting.

"Aye, I have the key," Aphogas says. "The Duke will kill you with a wave of his hand. My brother is dead. My sister-in-law is gone. I will not allow the destruction of his family to complete itself! Imogen! Perhaps he'll listen to you!"

"I will listen to nothing but my raging fervor and the occasional chamber composition!" Samael says.

say you will join them, if you are defeated with but a wave of someone's hand you would be unfit to be a council mage in the first place.

Part of me wants to ask how he intends to not be destroyed like his father before him.
If he doesn't have an answer, that should be his next step.

>>615919
This sounds like the ADVENTURE your leyline was tugging you towards. Tell him you will lend him your aid. Quibuj too.

Who is this Destructive Duke, what powers does he posses, and how did he come to imprison Samael's mother?

Right, he's too hot-blooded to just gallivant into Destructive Duke's territory without getting himself killed. On the plus side, he seems so stupid that it's almost trustworthy!

Almost. This seems like a classic two-man con: have two opposing sides conflict each other, and when you turn your interest in one side the other stabs you in the back; if you blindly think that Samael is trustworthy because he appears to loathe his suspicious uncle, you're not using logic.

It's pretty obvious that the Duke of Destruction is allied or will ally with Dulcette, so dealing with him should be high on your agenda. Not to mention, Samael is able to summon double-doors on a whim (free mana cost?), so that will be REALLY useful for diffracting.

Propose that you take Samael as a pupil, and when you are all fully ready, you will take your legion of wizards and servants and completely destroy the Duke together, as you are planning on doing so anyway. If he does not improve enough within ten turns, you will defeat the Duke of Destruction yourself and allow Samael the pleasure of delivering the execution/torture.

Please note that after ten years, Samael may have a little half-brother or half-sister. If he lets his hot-blood get the better of him, he might do something that Aphogas is going to seriously regret - what with wanting a different heir, after all. Use this as a negotiating edge; if you beat the Duke of Destruction, he might have a son or daughter with Aphogas' sister, who can then inherit the riches of BOTH families!

(And then you screw both their families over anyway since they're both fat bastards. I think Samael will agree with this.)

...would you give him the key if he possessed sufficiently strong comrades in arms?

If we can't take out some measly duke, we're never gonna be Wizard King. Wizard Queen. However the heck this works.

A door mage strikes me as someone very useful to owe us a favor. Could be invaluable for bypassing security on another wizard's tower for a surprise attack.

>>615919
So, what's the plan then? Hypothetically, of course. Say you get into the dimension of destruction, what's the next step?

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)13:29 No. 615940 ID: 337362
File 141971579295.png - (6.10KB , 960x560 , 43.png )

"I'll help!" Imogen says.
"...You will?" Samael asks.
"I wouldn't be much of a queen of the world if I couldn't beat up some duke, right?"
"If a wizard is accompanying you, I will give you the key," Aphogas says. "I beg you, Imogen: bring him back in one piece. There is already too much family blood on my hands."

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)13:29 No. 615941 ID: 337362
File 141971579780.png - (576.58KB , 960x560 , 44.png )

"Um," Imogen says. "That key is bigger than I thought."

"Fear not," Samael says.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)13:30 No. 615942 ID: 337362
File 141971580904.png - (72.40KB , 960x560 , 45.png )

"The power of my door is to take any key and open unto any destination!"

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)13:30 No. 615943 ID: 337362
File 141971581508.png - (799.61KB , 960x560 , 46.png )

The key disappears into the door. Samael unstraps it and drops it on the ground.

It swings open to a view of the exact same field, with massive cracks running across its surface and the sky. It's like a broken mirror held up to reality.

"Behold:" Samael says. "The destructive dimension!"
"So where exactly is the duke?" Imogen asks.
"He is--" Samael pokes his head through the door. "Um-- Good question."

>The power of my door is to take any key and open unto any destination!
Sweet. So if we ever steal a key that goes to anywhere in our opponent's strongholds, we could sequence break inside for a surprise attack.

>what do
Try sending some mirrors in to expand our field of view. Or making lenses for a magical spyglass. (See if we can see anything, or if the destruction dimension responds with destruction).

>>615943
Let's go in!

Out of curiosity, what is on the other side of the doorway (other side as in walking around without going through)?
Aside from that, try the thing with summoning a mirror on the other side.

Yeah, I was hoping you would wait a few turns before you opened the gateway. Would have given you a tactical nuke to negotiate with.

Aphogas, do you have an army to spare? Or 200 mana?

Imogen, use Diffraction Lens to scan the area, see if there are traps nearby. If you're spotted, use Darkness as a smokescreen.

>>615976
most mages have like 20 on them tops at any one time, non-council mages are not very likely to have 100 mana, let alone 200.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)18:46 No. 616033 ID: 337362
File 141973480517.png - (494.16KB , 960x560 , 47.png )

Imogen takes a hesitant step into the broken world through the doorway.

Quibuj and Samael follow.

"Thank you, Wizard," Samael says. "I'm sorry I called you a trollop."

"It's ok," Imogen says.

"You are in fact a very fair maiden," Samael says.

"Was it that obvious?" Imogen hops over a crack in reality to another floating shard of plain.

"I would be honored to accept your favor," Samael says.

"Favor?"

"A handkerchief, perhaps, to spur me to heroics?"

"Um, all my handkerchiefs are kind of used," Imogen says. "Sorry."

From the void behind the pieces of the world, a huge, black and red creature with three arms swings its way into view.

"SSSSSAMAEL," it says.

"FIEND," cries Samael.

"Is that the Duke?" Imogen asks.

"No," Samael says. "It is one of his servants. The DRAFTSMAN of Destruction."

"None other," says the creature. "You sssshould have remained home, Samael son of Sachiel."

No talking
No stalling
You're on enemy territory and they have protocol for your intrusion

Lazer to the eye!

Defeat the draftsman, THEN negotiate if he's still alive.

Diffraction lenses and death rays!

And maybe punches too.

Manipulate reality-mirrors to cut the enemy to pieces.

Or alternatively, use reality-mirrors and the gaps between mirrors for ridiculously overcharged reflection and diffraction attacks. (We can use fist-powers to move / manipulate / position mirrors as needed).

This battlefield kind of ridiculously suits you.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)19:30 No. 616064 ID: 337362
File 141973741666.png - (8.44KB , 960x560 , 48.png )

>>616046
Those aren't reality mirrors, unfortunately. They're chunks of place floating in a big sea of not-place.

The Draftsman of Destruction crawls out onto a spit of land.
"Draftsman!" says Samuel. "I demand you bring me before your lord the Duke! He and I have business to attend to!"

"The Duke knew you would come, Sssssamael," hisses the Draftsman. "And of your businesssss with him."

"Then lead me to him! Or be struck down!"

The draftsman laughs. "Your lives will be extinguishhhed before you are within a mile's sight of his casssstle, little mage."

"If you would fight, then let us fight!" Samael cries. "I shall

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)19:30 No. 616065 ID: 337362
File 141973743218.png - (22.62KB , 960x560 , 49.png )

hey"

"Sorry!" Imogen says

"I was counting on him to lead us to the duke," Samael says. "Now where do we go?"

>>616065
Well, look around. A mage of light should be able to make a telescope, right? Or some method of seeing things that are far away?

Any chance you're within 1+ miles' sight of the Duke's castle?

check his corpse for leylines. he may have a link to his master.

Can... we manipulate pieces of not place at all? One easy way to get a good look around would be to fly a piece above the plane of pieces.

Does door mage guy still have any keys? Any keys at all?

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)19:55 No. 616083 ID: 337362
File 141973895676.png - (9.73KB , 960x560 , 50a.png )

>>616071
"I could use my lenses to fashion a telescope and get a better look," Imogen says. "But a vantage point would be nice. Um, do you have other keys?"
Samael shakes his head.

"I got something for this," Quibuj says. "Cmere. I gotta pick you up."

"Ok," Imogen says. "What's the spell?"

"It's called throwing you up in the air over and over," Quibuj says.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)19:56 No. 616084 ID: 337362
File 141973896683.png - (267.21KB , 960x560 , 50.png )

"aaaAAAAAaaaaa" Imogen says.

"See anything?" Quibuj calls.

"aaaAAAAAAAaaaooooh maybe," says Imogen. "Throw me again"
"OK"
"on thraaAAAAAaaa i was going to say on three," says Imogen.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)19:56 No. 616085 ID: 337362
File 141973897895.png - (791.64KB , 960x560 , 51.png )

She takes another look.

There, nestled in a distant tear, is a red spire, poking up from the sea of desolation.

>>616085
Excellent, go thataways.

we have our heading.

Make a laser arrow pointing the way.

Council 2014/12/27(Sat)23:05 No. 616133 ID: 337362
File 141975030896.png - (8.93KB , 960x560 , 52.png )

Imogen leads the group to the tower in the distance.

They disembark from the world and tread through the void to reach it. Broken flecks of being float and tumble around them.

At the red gate, a man pokes his head out of a window, higher in the tower.

"Hi," he says.

"Identify yourself!!!" cries Samael.

"Wow," the man says, then "Chattery. I'm a mage." He looks at Imogen. "Who're you? Who's this bundle of joy? Is that Samael?"

Introduce yourself and your group. Don't zap the mage!

We're Imogen, wizard of radiation and its multiple subcategories including light, that's Samael, and that's Quibuj. Hi!

Request an audience with the duke. If this guy is the duke, attempt to negotiate for the release of Samael's mother. If he refuses, cast a mirror behind him and fire a lazer to push him out of the window. Then have Quibuj punch him until he stops twitching. If it turns out that he isn't the duke and you've kicked his ass, please barge in now.

Don't react hostility, yet. We don't know this mage's specialty, and we don't know that everything in this plane serves the Duke.

Council 2014/12/28(Sun)20:06 No. 616349 ID: 337362
File 141982600406.png - (7.58KB , 960x560 , 53.png )

"I'm Imogen, this is Quibuj, and yeah that's Samael," Imogen says. "Could we talk to the duke? Is this his tower?

"So that's Samael." Chattery squints at him. "I thought he'd be a big guy. We keep getting his letters. He talks big."
"I demand an audience with the duke!!" Samael cries.

"Chill," Chattery says. "The duke's out right now. And even if he wasn't, you want to kill him. You said as much. He'd totally ice you, dude. He's the duke of destruction. Like, as a concept. I'm sorry. You should go home."
"If you refuse me you shall be destroyed!" announces Samael.
"Look, if you don't go away I probably have to fight you anyway," Chattery says. "Since you want to kill my master and everything. Could we just not?"

"are you officially stating you wish to engage in combat?" when they say yes blow their face up.

>>616349
Ask what a vaguely reasonable mage like him is doing working for the duke of DESTRUCTION.

See if he'll tell you anything about Samael's mother and what happened to the father first.

>>616349
"can he at least talk to his mother? if not for the whole wanting to murder business, this could just be a simply family housecall."

Listen the duke apparently kidnapped his mom so what do you expect?

Honestly the duke probably would like to have the satisfaction of finishing him off himself. I mean if you go and do it will deprive him of valuable destruction time.

If you're so confident your boss would win, why is it necessary you defend him by fighting now?

Imogen: "Bring out Samael's mother. THEN we can negotiate."

Prepare a spell or five, this guy is probably jumpstarting the castle's defenses as you speak.

Council 2014/12/29(Mon)01:33 No. 616419 ID: 337362
File 141984560233.png - (6.52KB , 960x560 , 54.png )

>>616353
"What happened to Samael's mother?" Imogen asks.

"The duke took a fancy to her and carried her off," Chattery says. "Standard demigodly activity. Then the husband showed up, things got messy, there was a duel... you know. And now I guess Samael's here for revenge?"

"I am here for my mother," cries Samael. "AND for revenge!"
"Well sorry, chief," Chattery says. "But I'm not allowed to let you in to see her."

"Does that mean you want to fight?" Imogen asks.

Chattery sighs. "God. Fine. Is that what we're doing now? I guess I have to, if you won't go away and the Duke's not around. Give me a sec, I'll be right down."

Set up some diffraction lenses.

I don't think we're very good at being fair, maybe.

>>616420
Fairness doesn't really matter so much when your friends are dead. Protect Samael, even if you have to fight dirty.

Like I said earlier, cast a mirror behind him, then fire. Have Quibuj punch him until he surrenders and/or stops twitching.

Well, let the dude come down before we blow him up. Maybe there's evidence in the tower and we don't want to wreck it.

Also, he's kind of halfhearted about fighting. We might not even need to kill him all the way to death!

Ask Sam if he'd be willing to just leave instead of trying to kill the duke when he gets his mother back. Murder only begets murder and all of that.

I'm tempted to zap him in the face right here and now, then have Quibuj punch in the doors. He seems so reasonable though. Maybe you should try to win the fight without killing him.

Also give him a fair fight and try not to kill him. He's actually being pretty nice.
One final thing you *may* be able to do is to convince him that if you can beat the duke in a fight that you are a better leader and that he should join you.(dont expect him to follow you right now, but if he agrees then he should avoid helping either side until the battle is over)

Council 2014/12/29(Mon)16:16 No. 616566 ID: 337362
File 141989856870.png - (85.41KB , 960x560 , 55.png )

Chattery disappears from the window.

A few seconds later the door opens up and he stands before the group. A corona of light flickers and bursts into life behind him.

"Three of you, huh?" he says. "All right. I'm ready."

>>616566
Toss a Fission Blast at him.

You heard the man, he's "ready"

OPEN FIRE!!!

Deploy a lens in front of you and fire a lazer to blind him! Then have Quibuj flip the lens and concentrate the beam while he's stunned!

>>616566
irradiate his nuts.

Disperse his corona of light. Whatever effect it gives him, you can deny, hopefully leaving him open to a fist to the nuts or being slammed in the door or whatever.

Maybe dont alpa strike this guy off the planet this time.

Council 2015/01/02(Fri)01:58 No. 617450 ID: 337362
File 142019271905.png - (192.86KB , 960x560 , 56.png )

Fission blast away!!!!
Unfortunately Chattery rockets up into the air as soon as it nears him.

Quibuj leaps into the air with an empowered fist and Chattery shimmers and swaps places with her, leaving her swinging at nothing.

Samael swings his door around to his front and opens it. Dark, grasping tentacles burst forth and catch Chattery by his ankle in midair.

Imogen, cast darkness to blind Chattery and let the (naturally blind) tentacles do the work for you!

Does that empty blue swirl mean he's about to jump there? Instead of shooting at where he is, shoot at where he is going to be!

Hrrm, this guy's plenty good at dodging, but he hasn't attacked yet.
Seems to me he's the type to use friendly fire to his advantage, but he ALSO seems to be have light as a part of his spells... First off, shoot him with a laser. If that fails, set up a lens and reflect attacks into him with it to throw him off, timing-wise. Also, maybe stick to standard lasers since we have that punch Mage swinging about-no friendly fire!

Darkness on Chattery isn't a bad idea, really. It might stifle his corona of light, and whatever effect it offers. It could strengthen or add to the tentacles if they're 'made' of darkness. And it's generally a bad idea to teleport to where you can't see.

>>617450
Yell at him to put some pants on.

Darkness could work in this situation if we were alone, but this is a team battle. It would wind up blinding our allies too!

If he keeps swapping with our allies there's a chance for friendly fire to happen. I say put up a Refraction Shield, that'll help with the friendly fire problem.

Council 2015/02/19(Thu)10:22 No. 625635 ID: 186341
File 142437013233.png - (57.49KB , 960x560 , 57.png )

Darkness was absolutely the right call. A little localied blob of it makes Chattery's corona of light flicker and blink out, leaving him helpless in the air. Samael's tentacles wrench their way around his arms and slam him to the ground.

He goes "Waark" as the air is knocked out of him.

>>625635
threaten to let the tentacles do what tentacles do best

Suggest to Chattery that he surrender.

If he doesn't, the punch mage can knock him out before he can try anything else. If he does try something before she can, just blast him.

Either he surrenders or we can shove him through the door to somewhere he won't be getting back from any time soon.

Stop. Hammer time.

Council 2015/02/19(Thu)12:59 No. 625654 ID: 186341
File 142437955451.png - (18.84KB , 960x560 , 58.png )

"Quibuj! Punch!" Imogen yells.

"Quibuj punch," says Quibuj, and casts fist.

Chattery is soundly unconscious. Since Quibuj is a punch mage and not just a puncher period, she can keep him under for as long as she has to and resuscitate him whenever she pleases.

Council 2015/02/19(Thu)12:59 No. 625655 ID: 186341
File 142437956442.png - (10.78KB , 960x560 , 59.png )

There is a low, percussive rumbling crash from far off, and then another.
It's footsteps.

"Here he comes!" Samael cries. "We have lured him out!"

A shadow falls across the mages.

"At last!" Samael cries.

Imogen looks up.
Way way way up.

Council 2015/02/19(Thu)12:59 No. 625656 ID: 186341
File 142437959588.png - (14.78KB , 960x560 , 60.png )

"DESTRUCTIVE DUKE!" Samael cries. "We come face-to-face at last!"

"Samael, you doot," Imogen says.

The destructive duke it turns out is an ARCHON. The only other one Imogen has ever seen is her Lord, the Great Master of Magic. He is the embodiment of all Magic.
This guy is most likely the embodiment of all Destruction.
The Great Master would probably be a pretty good match for this guy.
Imogen would be more like an ant under an elephant.

Hello
says the duke.
Who are you again?

"I am SAMAEL!" says Samael. "Your NEMESIS! Son of Sachiel! I have come to defeat you and free my mother!"

Oh. Right. You're Annabell's kid.
Who are your friends?

"Um Imogen," says Imogen. "This is Quibuj."
"They are my comrades!" Samael cries. "Imogen is a great wizard! Together we shall DEFEAT YOU!"

Oh.
Well, here I am. Is that Chattery?

"Your MINION!" cries Samael.

Is he all right?

"He's unconscious," Imogen says. "He'll be OK."

Good,
says the duke.
Well, you got my attention, kids.
Here I am.

>>625656
when Samael said his door can lead to any door, d-did that mean he could maybe open it to that thing's eye? that's a shortcut to its brain, you see. radiation does weird things to brains. to proteins in general, really.

>>625656
Be polite. Ask after Samael's mother. We are absolutely not fighting this guy, and I doubt he would even notice our attempts if we did.

If Samael looks like he's about to attack without you call him a fucking idiot, this guy is obviously an Archon and way above even your combined power.

Tell him that the kid is worried about his mom and you know how teenagers are. All going on quests and shouting all the time about revenge and honor and such.

I have a feeling the story is more complicated than it looks so find out what happened before going any farther.

>This guy is most likely the embodiment of all Destruction.
So wait, does that mean if you kill him, you destroy the concept of destruction? That seems like a paradox. We might have a problem here.

Nevermind the fact we're hopelessly outgunned.

>what do
If the Duke doesn't mind, could he tell us why he took Samuel's mom, Annabell that is, is the first place?

We need to arrange some kind of non-combat challenge. Riddles. A puzzle. A board game. The oldest game. Something without destruction. It's the only way we can complete the mission and give Samuel any kind of victory.

Absolutely do not attack the duke, do not challenge him to combat, and prevent Samuel if he tries either.

>>625663
Yep. Mr. Destruction is talking nicely instead of just... you know... destroying us (or even being actively menacing for that matter), so we should at least hear what his side of the story is.

>>625658
I think he needs a key to the target location.

>>625656
Actually we're here to uh, wossaname, meet with Annabell. It's not very nice to keep her family from visiting even if they are annoying.

Request Annabell, rescue her (and/or any of her kids), and LEAVE.

You do not know what will happen if you do manage to turn this Archon into bacon. Best you get permission from your lord before you destroy he who may be the lynchpin of entropy himself.

Plus, he's being nice. You are supposed to act nice around a polite guy with ten thousand tons of optimized war ordinance. Namely, his fat foot.

If he attacks, warn him twice and then blind him violently (You have organ regeneration spells, right?). Find and kidnap all residents, including Chattery, to negotiate a hostage exchange.

Council 2015/02/20(Fri)00:28 No. 625741 ID: 186341
File 142442089937.png - (6.46KB , 960x560 , 61.png )

"We're just uhh we're just here to meet with Annabell," Imogen says.

"We are here to DESTROY yommmfmm," Samael says before Quibuj covers his mouth with one fist.

"Just for his sake," Imogen says.

You're Imogen. One of the Great Master's?

"Yes, sir. That's right. Have you heard of him?"

Heard of him? He's my boss! Or he is now. Conquered this realm just as he did all the others.
The duke grins.
That was a hell of a fight. Lasted a month and a half give or take. I'm his vassal, little wizard, but I'm not yours. Annabell is busy right now. I don't want to bug her. It's time for you to leave.
"But if the Great Master asked you to you'd let us talk to her?"
Sure would.
"Thank you," Imogen says.

Imogen could probably PRAY to the Great Master for his aid in this matter if she took a turn.

"Duke! One of us must die by the other's hand!" Samael cries. "If not today then in the future!"

The duke laughs.
I'll find a time to pencil it in.
You'll find the way out the way you came through.

Wow, your boss has been BUSY.

Alright, see if you can find a way to contact him. If that doesn't work, you still have authority as one of the boss' vassals, so look for Annabell anyway.

>>625741
Well you should probably PRAY eventually anyway, to grovel a bit and congratulate your boss and also maybe ask for a little guidance. Why not do so with a dual purpose?

we should try and recruit the door mage, for our pitch i'm thinking something like

"bad news, your dukes whats known as an Archon. That means that killing him is going to take very powerful and very specialized magic. The good news is that my Boss is also an Archon, and recently became his Boss, so I can probably ask my boss to get him to let your mom go. If you agree to assist me in the Wizard war I will petition my master to secure your mother release, and assist you in your quest for vengeance once this world is mine."