>>685737
Just, "I hope he lives." Or better, tell him "I hope you live."

>But we are only human; there is only so much we can do
You're not. Too bad healing others isn't a skill you've mastered, though.

...you might be able to kill off infectious disease with heat or cold, but it would be tricky doing that with precision and not freezing or burning the patient.

Can you feel the infection? Lots of very very small living things inside his body? Things smaller than flecks of dirt or dust?

>Or is there anything else I should say first?
It's not fair. He only trying to keep the people here safe, but he hurt himself and someone else instead.

Before you leave ask the doctor about that strange jar he gave to the child.

Pariah: Outside TheGrayAngel 2015/11/26(Thu)22:08 No. 685918 ID: ac1424
File 144860449070.jpg - (85.39KB , 900x900 , Rough map.jpg )

“I hope he lives. He didn’t deserve this.”

“They usually don’t.”

He continues unwrapping the wound until I can see the bare flesh.
It doesn’t look.
His chest is ragged and torn. Pieces are missing and scabs cover much of his skin.

“I can’t see anything weird. Just a really bad wound.”

I look away, feeling a little dizzy.
I walk back around, next to the doctor.

“I wanted to ask you a question. I saw you give someone a bottle of something a little earlier. What was it?”

He talks as he continues inspecting Molen’s chest.

“Oh, that. That was my own mixture of medical herbs, meant to sooth the body in case of pain. The girl’s mother has been feeling pain in her head recently, as have many people here. I thought it best to give her a small supply.”

“Thank you, I hope I see you again soon.”

“I feel the same child. Do be careful out there.”

I make my way back outside and over to the gate.
I walk up the big person by the gate.

“Can I go outside?”

“Oh, it’s you. The captain said you can pass.”

He walks over to some kind of circle with sticks running through it next to the gate and slowly spins it.
The gates open and I step through, back outside for the first time in days.
The gates close quickly behind me.

“Alright, should we head straight to the Saukiogs?”
“Or is there anything else we should do first?’

Very rough “map” of the area to orient yourselves.

>The girl’s mother has been feeling pain in her head recently, as have many people here.
Hmm. I wonder if something is affecting them.

>outside the fort
Might want to make sure we come back in daylight the next time. On the path. Maybe we an improvised white flag or such. Just to minimize the chance of getting shot by accident.

>Alright, should we head straight to the Saukiogs?
I think so. They're our next lead, after all.

Well, before that, we could scout a little to the northeast, see if that thing the captain was talking about is close. We might want to take it out before it can get to the fort.

>>685978
There's nothing to disagree with here except the contradictory part where we suggest a detour and getting back early. Let me amend the contradiction: We could visit the Sauklogs first, scout after if we still have time, or we can scout first, which maximizes our chances of finding it before it's reached the fort. All else being equal, I like the second better just because of the whole witchcraft issue.

I'm thinking their headaches are related to what we experienced in the basement.

I think we should scout out that area the scouts were talking about to try and find whatevers out there before it becomes an issue

Pariah: Bear TheGrayAngel 2015/11/30(Mon)01:36 No. 686325 ID: 8cc774
File 144887618683.jpg - (57.64KB , 382x400 , Stifflegged-bear.jpg )

“Alright, let’s go check out whatever’s coming from the west forest.”

I make my way North West, towards the southern edge of the Western Forest.
After awhile I arrive at the West Forest.

“It’s so much darker here. Even during the day.”

The forest stretches on before me, unnaturally dim even though it is not even noon.
I move on, looking all around me as I go deeper and deeper.

“I don’t see anything yet. Maybe I can feel something.”

I close my eyes and concentrate on the forest around me.
There’s something big out there. It’s not very far away.
I keep going, getting closer to whatever it is.
As I climb over a jagged hill, I see it.

It’s enormous.
What was once a bear is now twisted by the plague.
Its body is mangled and ragged; muscles and wood tangle together under matted fur.
It turns its head towards me, locking its eyes with mine.
There’s rage in its eyes.

I am afraid.

Do I stand and fight it?
Or should I run? And where?

If it's large enough to frighten you, you should run East and try to get some support

Gauge the beast's intelligence. Retreat to safety and try to capture it alive.

Use the environment and squad tactics to your advantage. Trap it with soldiers attacking where it cannot fly. Turn simple objects into devastating traps. Tear its skin until it can no longer move.

Prepare a live autopsy, if it spread a disease you will need to prepare a vaccine and quickly.

Those are both bad choices, you use your distant-cooling and heating powers to cripple it and keep out of its reach, staying out of its sight as much as possible.

I feel like you should use the environment against it. I doubt we can freeze or burn it to death without it closing. We need to trick it into falling into the river, or down into the ruins (or drop some ruins on it).

Bait and lure it with and attacks and running, and then use the environment to set a trap and pummel it.

Pariah: Evasion TheGrayAngel 2015/12/02(Wed)10:57 No. 686582 ID: 123067
File 144908265463.jpg - (184.62KB , 1600x900 , explosions in forest.jpg )

“It hasn’t started moving toward me yet, it’s just staring me down; waiting.”
I take the opportunity to set an ice trap.

I move up to a tree on the left and place one hand on the side. The other I put on the ground between the bad thing and the tree.
I concentrate and start cooling both. Going until the tree is frozen through and a thin sheet of ice covers the ground.

When I’m done I feel a small wave of tiredness wash over me.
“It’s not that bad, but I probably can’t do too many of those.”

I look up and see the bad thing charging towards me.

RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

I quickly run to the side, putting distance between us.
It looks like it has trouble following very fast when there are lots of trees.
Once in a while I turn around and start hitting it with heat.

It doesn’t do much to the body but the legs are thinner and start to crack a little with each hit.
Hitting the head only seems to make it angrier.
I can’t keep it up though.
Out running and heating it is wearing me out.

“The trap isn’t too far; I can loop back around and try to use it.”

“If I do that, how do I get the bad thing to fall for it?”
“Or should I try something else?”

We apparently have a reliable way to make it angry by attacking its head, would that work to make it blunder into the trap?

Note for later: If we do something like this again we need a sling and some good bullets to use. Magic is too suspicious to use in many cases even if we had limitless ability to use it.

You lure it over the trap by baiting it. Be on the other side of the trap and snipe it so it tries to come after you.

Pariah: Broken TheGrayAngel 2015/12/04(Fri)23:01 No. 687069 ID: 8cc774
File 144929891383.jpg - (717.17KB , 1304x1940 , broken tree.jpg )

“Alright, let’s make it mad.

I run forward as fast as I can, getting well out of its reach.
After getting some distance I jump forward and spin around in the air, smashing the bad thing with two blasts straight to the face.

RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

“Well, it’s mad.”

The bad thing charges after me, knocking trees over in its path.
I can outrun it but I don’t think for very long.

“Better make my way to the trap fast.”

I make a straight shot for the tree, with the bad thing close behind.
Just before I get to the frozen ground I throw myself forward, landing just past the tree.

I spin back around, just in time to see the bad thing about to reach the trap.
Two more blasts of heat to its feet and it falls forward onto the ice.
It was going so fast that it keeps sliding, slamming into the tree.
The tree buckles and cracks, slowly tipping towards the bad thing.
It tries to get up but I blast it with force along with the tree.
The tree comes crashing down, smashing the bad things back.

Its back left leg is snapped off and the left side of the body is split open.
But it’s not dead yet.

It’s limping away from the tree, spilling black goo out of its side and onto the ground.
Slowly it makes its way towards me.

I need to finish it off, it’s too dangerous to let go.

If I can pin it down, I can try to burn it from the inside.
Should I try that or do you have a different idea?

It's injured and dismembered already, we should have a mobility upper hand. If so, I'd beat it with sticks and use a little more cold to snap more pieces off. Don't pin something dangerous if we can finish rendering it harmless first, eh?

Drop some trees on it, until it's pinned. Then we can freeze in place and/or light it on fire to finish it off.

Pariah: Victory TheGrayAngel 2015/12/14(Mon)10:44 No. 688720 ID: 8cc774
File 145011866047.jpg - (128.52KB , 800x533 , bear fire.jpg )

“Alright, we’ll go slow and careful.”

I look around to see what I can use.
There are some bigger rocks on the ground, I can use those.

I move back, far out of the bad things reach.
Then I turn towards it and concentrate.

Rocks fly towards the bad thing, most bouncing off without hurting it.
If I could lift things better with my power, I might be able to do more.

“Let’s try something else.”

I breathe deeply, calming myself as much as I can once again.
I reach my hands out towards the bad thing and begin.

Slowly, ice starts crawling up its legs, cracking the wood underneath.
The farther the ice goes and the thicker it gets, the slower the bad thing becomes.
Eventually it becomes stuck.

But not for long.

rrrraaaaAAAaGGGHHHHHHH

It shakes and bucks with all its might, splitting the ice and its own flesh.

“It’s a monster of rage.”

The bad thing is free from the ice, but its body is falling apart.

Cracks spread all across its body, black goo pours form its wound.
Its eyes are full of hate.

“I am afraid.”

I run back to the nearest tree; the bad thing crawling after me.
I’m about to set up another trap when I see something on the ground.

It’s gray and it looks like metal.
I kneel down and pick it up.
It’s a smooth, round ball about the size of an acorn.

I look back up.
The bad thing is still crawling towards me.

I go back to making the trap.
The ice spreads through the tree freezing it to the core; once again I feel more strength empty out of me.


“This time I have to break the tree myself.”

I move back a little and focus as hard as I can.
The tree explodes in heat, wood flying everywhere.
The tree slowly creaks forwards, finally slamming down on the bad thing.
It lands on the bad things side, nearly splitting it in half.

“It can’t move anymore, now I can finfish it.”

I send blasts of heat, lighting the tree and the bad thing on fire.
The flames eventually eat its body.

I sit down and catch my breath.
“That took a lot. I’m tired.”

“I should leave the west forest now; something else will probably come soon.”

“Should I make my way to the Saukiogs now?”
“Or is there anything else I should do?”

Only you can prevent forest fires? I'd really wanna clean up this mess so that it isn't obvious what we did here, but that'll probably take more out of you than you have to give.

If that's Victory, I don't want to see Defeat...

Chop all the trees surrounding the fire, put them somewhere else.

If that fire's not under control, you might need to make a firebreak to stop it from spreading. (Which is a fancy way of staying using smaller, controlled fires to eat up the fuel ahead of a blaze so it's cut off).

Short of any damage control, yes, I think it's time to visit the Saukiogs. Preferably before the fort people decide it's worth investigating the big plume of smoke they see.

Can you describe the metal ball you found? Is it just a musket-ball, like you were shot with?

Pariah: Scout TheGrayAngel 2015/12/14(Mon)23:26 No. 688850 ID: 8cc774
File 145016438404.jpg - (17.79KB , 200x206 , metal ball.jpg )

“Ya, I should probably make sure the fire doesn’t spread.”

I get up and walk around the fire, moving anything that might start to burn.
I stay until it begins to die down.

“I’m tired but I can still move the burnt pieces around.”

I pull pieces off the pile, spreading it around the clearing and scooping some dirt on them.

“It still looks like something happened here, but at least there’s not a huge pile anymore.”

>>688780
I look at the ball in my hand.
“It’s round, very smooth, and cool to the touch. I think its metal.”
“What’s a musket……wait, is that what a fire stick is called?”

I begin making my way back east, towards the Saukiogs.
Eventually I end up at what looks like just south of the crossroads.
I start to go on my way but I hear something coming from the right.
I turn to see a woman coming from the forest.
It’s the same scout from a few days ago.

“Its you.

She walks over and begins inspecting me

“When you disappeared we became worried.”
“We feared that the fort people had done something to you.”
“We sent someone to look for you, but we are not welcome there.”
“Are you alright?” “What happened?”

Seduce strange woman

>“What’s a musket……wait, is that what a fire stick is called?”
Yep. More generally they're guns or firearms, but the specific type they're using should be muskets.

>what happened
You had a misunderstanding with the fort people. They were so jumpy and afraid with all the bad things around they thought I was one! But after that they were nice to me and gave me a bed and food and a dress even if I had to make it better. And I helped them when the bad things came but made sure they didn't see me do it. And then I dealt with a big one in the woods.

>>688868
No pedo, you sicko.

Tell her it's a bit of a long story that you would be happy to share, but that you're tired after taking care of one of the monsters in the woods and you were originally trying to come here for advice about evil spirits. The short version is that it's a bad idea to show up in the middle of the night to visit someone armed and frightened, but we seem to be welcome there so far.

Pariah: Story TheGrayAngel 2015/12/15(Tue)15:48 No. 688992 ID: 8cc774
File 145022333453.jpg - (200.15KB , 600x900 , late evening.jpg )

“I went to go see the fort people; I wanted to make sure they were ok.”
“But they accidentally hurt me when I got there. They helped me get better though.”
“They were attacked by the bad things and didn’t know I wasn’t one of them.”

“But I’ll tell you more when we get back to the village.”
“I just beat a really big bad thing in the west forest, and it really tired me out.”

“Let’s go then. The elders will want to hear your story.

We make our way back to the village, getting there in the afternoon.
I follow the scout through the village, back to the place where I saw the elders a few days ago.
When we arrive the elder who told me about my nightmare greets us.

“Thank the spirits, you’re alright little one. We feared the worst.”
“Come I will gather the others and we shall hear what you have to say.”

I follow him back into the largest tent and sit by the fire pit.
After a few moments he comes back with the other two elders.
They sit across from me; the scout stands at the opening of the tent.

“Tell us little one, what has happened to you these past few days?”

I tell them everything, from the night I left to how the people of the fort treated me, the attack after I woke up and how I helped without letting anyone see me, the dream I had, and finally the bad thing I destroyed in the forest.

The whole time they wait patiently, listening to everything I have to say.
When I tell them about the dream they all seem to be visibly alarmed, but still wait for me to finish.

This time the center elder speaks, he looks like he’s the oldest.
“You seem quite adept at finding trouble little one. The life you live; I don’t anyone here could handle.”
“But you say you were visited by aashaa in your dreams.”
“That is…….astounding.”
“The great spirit has not spoken in many years. That she would show herself to you means we were right to assume you had some connection to this land.”
“Is there anything else she told you?”

“She told me you could take me to the ‘grave of the spirirts’.”

The elders all pull back in shock, looking at one another in confusion.

The oldest elder leans forward.
“The ‘grave of the spirits’ is our most sacred place, few are even allowed there.”
“If she wishes you to go there, it must be even worse than we imagined.”

The elder on the right raises her hand, she looks the youngest.
“I shall take you; the others can no longer make the journey.”
“But not tonight, one should never go there at night.”
“Rest here today, and we shall go early in the morning.”
The elders all get up and leave; the scout enters the tent after they are gone.

“In that case you should come with me; you’ll need a place to rest.”

I follow the scout to her tent and spend the next few hours eating, cleaning myself, and resting.

It’s starting to get late; the sun hangs low in the sky. It won’t be long until the sun sets.

“I feel a bit better now. If I want I can do something before I go to sleep.”
“I still don’t know what the ball I found is, and I think I remember one of the little voices talking about a weapon, I can try to find one.”
“Or I can just go to sleep early, and deal with it in the morning.”

>>688947
I WAS TRYING TO MAKE HER FEEL SOCIALLY AWKWARD, YOU PARANOID TWITCH (Also known as: sorry)

>>688992
Find a weapon. Zombie skeletons have big skulls to shoot at.

>>688994
Worst case, considering the respect / esteem they hold us in, and their belief we're needed to save this land, that might have put her in the awkward position where she couldn't really say no.

>I still don’t know what the ball I found is, and I think I remember one of the little voices talking about a weapon, I can try to find one.
How big is the ball?

I'm not sure how much use a gun to put it in would be. Unless it's really special, what good is one bullet? Especially since it takes training and practice to load a musket, and to shoot well. And your own innate abilities are much more dangerous to the bad things.

I suppose if the Saukiogs took any, you could compare to one and see if it matches, at least.

>“The ‘grave of the spirits’ is our most sacred place, few are even allowed there.”
>“If she wishes you to go there, it must be even worse than we imagined.”
One obvious course of action would be to ask what they can tell you about this place, but that can probably be handled en route tomorrow.

Could you ask the scout about the metal ball and if she could help you get a weapon for general defense or hunting, we don't know what exactly is happening tomorrow

Pariah: Sling TheGrayAngel 2015/12/16(Wed)00:52 No. 689089 ID: 8cc774
File 145025592066.jpg - (6.48KB , 400x300 , end chapter 2.jpg )

>>689056
“The ball is about the size of an acorn.”

I stand up and exit the tent I was sitting in.

The scout is standing near a fire just outside, next to a few more people.

“I was hoping you could tell me if you know what this is.”

I hand her the ball and she inspects it closely.

“It looks like a musket-shot. The fort people load them into their guns and fire them faster than an arrow.”

She hands the ball back to me.

“Could you also help me find some kind of weapon? For defense or hunting.”

“A weapon?”
“Well for you a sling would probably be best. In fact you could probably use a musket-shot like that with a sling. It might even work better than a stone anyways.”
“Here, I’ll go find you one.”

She walks away from the fire and out of site, but returns in a few minutes.

“This should be good. Just pull back on the little pouch after you load it with something. Then when you want to fire, just let go.”

I take the sling and tie it around my waterskin.
“Thank you.”

“It’s getting late and I need to get up early tomorrow.”
“Time for bed.”

I head back inside the tent and lay down on an animal skin.
In a few moments I fall asleep.

*End of Chapter Two*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Three Prologue

You sleep deeply.
Deeper than you have in days.
You are rested down to your very core.
In this sleep, something stirs within.

A new strength is blossoming in your rested body.

Where will this new power grow?

*Explosive will that moves the world by your command.*
*Strength and speed that puts beasts to shame.*
*Flesh that ignores the call of pain and death.*

We are small and lack leverage to make full use of enhanced strength, although we could really use extra speed and endurance.
I'm thinking that all things begin with will however, so unless I've misinterpreted just how useful it is, *Explosive will that moves the world by your command.* seems like the best choice.

>>689089
That's a slingshot, not a sling. Which, I believe, is easier to use but less effective. So probably a good choice at this point.

> new power
I think it's time for healing. Unless I'm misinterpreting that and it's just ability to push yourself when injured, in which case go for strength and agility instead.

Higher endurance will allow her to survive the ensuing horrors without stopping. One scratch from a zombie is all it takes to kill her, so let's fix that.

Explosive will

Explosive will that moves the world by your command. This should give you the upper hand in combat if I'm interpreting this corretly

Pariah: Chapter 3 TheGrayAngel 2015/12/16(Wed)19:22 No. 689238 ID: 8cc774
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You feel a prickly sensation spread across your mind and down to the very core of your being.

You feel a new strength in your ability to manipulate the world around you.
You feel as if you could rip a tree from the earth or launch a boulder into the sky.
Your mind can send your enemies asunder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I open my eyes to an early morning; the sun barely rising.

The tent I slept in is empty. The scout probably left already.
I gather my stuff and head outside.
“It looks like most people are already awake, so the elders should be waiting.”

I walk back to the center tent and see the younger elder standing just in front of the opening.
As I approach she turns and greets me.

“Good morning little one, I trust you slept well?”
“I am ready to depart whenever you are prepared.”
“Do you have any questions before we leave?”

>greater telekinesis
Hmm. That seems intended to throw large masses around and generally rip things apart. But I wonder how well it would work if you focused all it on say, your little metal ball. Hyper-fast, hyper-accurate, and returning. Especially if it's something more than an ordinary musket ball.

>Do you have any questions before we leave?
Tell me about this place. What is it is? Why are you afraid of it?

We seem to be gaining more ability to affect the world in ways that seem different from normal people as time goes on. Do they know why, and is it a good thing?
It's also not an immediate need but we do need to know more about the whispers from the earth in the fort's storage room.

Where is the sacred place and is there anything else we should know about it

Pariah: Paths TheGrayAngel 2015/12/17(Thu)12:18 No. 689355 ID: 8cc774
File 145038352879.jpg - (281.52KB , 1000x630 , cliff.jpg )

“This place we’re going, the ‘grave of the spirits’, where and what is it?”

The elder waves me into the tent; talking as she gathers two packs.

“It is to the northeast, hidden in the hills; should take about a half day to reach.”
“As for what it is……”
“Years ago it was a sacred site, where elders came to speak with the spirits.”
“It was there that we learned the truths of the world, and took the lessons we taught to our people.”
“And eventually it is where all elders are buried; that our spirits may aid those that lead when we are gone.”
“But now it is a place of silence, as if the spirits have fled in fear.”

“Are you afraid of it?”

The elder stops and looks up at me; for a moment she looks like she’s thinking.

“It is not entirely fear that we feel………it is also a feeling of respect.”
“You must understand, it is not a place many tread. Even we have not journeyed there in several years.”
“But if the Aashaa says we must go there, then something must have changed.”
“With all that has happened, we do fear that something might have happened there.”
“We do not know what we will find there, but we hope it will help you.”

“Do you know anything about why I have these powers?’

“We believe you were given your power by the will of this land, to help save it from the beasts of the west. Though we do not know how.”

We each take a pack and leave the tent.
We head northeast into an area I’ve never seen before and soon leave the village behind.

The ground is rough and uneven.
It takes a long time for the elder to get very far.
After few hours walking we come across a path leading up to a cracked cliff face with another wooden path built into its side that goes up to the top.

[i] “We can take this path to reach our destination quickly, but we will have to be careful. The wood has grown old.”
“Or we can go around the hills. It will take longer, but it should be safer.

We should cut through the woods and go the shorter way, but do so with extreme caution. We shouldn't waste a bunch of time going the long way because i dont wanna be there at night. We don't want to risk it after what she said earlier

I tend to think since we have an elder guide to look out for, we should take the safer route.

If we go for the less safe route, I suggest gently feeling out the path ahead of you with your telekinesis, to test if it will hold, before setting foot on it. Possibly we could use the same power to reinforce or support the weak areas, if we're careful.

Although I'm not sure from the description if you have that degree of precision over it, or if it's more gross force.

Shorter path. Time to practice those new powers.

Ask the elder which way they prefer.

Pariah: Valley TheGrayAngel 2015/12/17(Thu)23:47 No. 689457 ID: 8cc774
File 145042485020.jpg - (74.32KB , 610x480 , bridge.jpg )

“I think we should take the quicker path.”
“But what do you think?”

The elder stares out towards the wooden path.

“I agree, although it might be safer to go around, the shorter path will get us there much faster.”
“We just need to be careful as we ascend.”

We make or way to the beginning of the wooden path, at the bottom of the cliff face.
I look up and trace the bridge-like path, snaking up the cliff face.
The wood is old and cracked but doesn’t seem to be very weak.
I step onto a lower plank and bounce on it.
It only creaks a little.

I test the planks in front of me with my power but it doesn’t seem to cause them to break.
I try harder and accidentally rip a few out of the wall.
“I guess I’m still getting use to the new strength.”

“We should be fine as long as we go slowly.”


We begin climbing the steps, making good progress without anything really happening.
We’re most of the way there when I hear a load snapping sound and a gasp.
I turn quickly in time to see the elder falling away from the path, arms outstretched.
I reach out and lift her with my power, stopping her in mid air.

“This is easier than I remember.”
“I think I’ll just hold you like this the rest of the way.”

The elder snaps out of her shock and looks towards me.
“I…..I think that is a good idea.”

I make my way up the rest of the path and set her down on top of the cliff.
She seems a little shaky and out of breath.

“We should not go back that way.”

With the path behind us we make the rest of the trip without any more dangers.
After a few more hours of walking the ground and surrounding area starts to change, becoming more hilly and bare.

“We’re almost there. It’s just past this ridge.”

As we climb the ridge, I begin to feel something, small at first but growing slightly the closer we get.
“I can’t tell what it is but I know I feel something.”

At the top of ridge we stop and look down at the side.
At the bottom of the hill in a valley, barren except for lines of uneven stone slabs.
All leading towards a large cave in the side of the opposite hill.

“This is the ‘grave of the spirits’, the sacred place of our ancestors.”
“You may search wherever you wish and I will help however I can.”

Where should we search first?

>where search
Where did they normally go here to speak with the spirits? (I assume there was some kind of ritual and/or meditative site).

If there's something to be found here, or that will speak to us, it makes sense to start in the place they used for that.

Let your feelings guide you! Go in the direction of the "something".

I think we should check out the uneven slabs but focus on this cave

Pariah: Cave TheGrayAngel 2015/12/18(Fri)14:29 No. 689497 ID: 8cc774
File 145047776437.jpg - (395.23KB , 1200x1600 , cave.jpg )

“Where do you think we should go?”

“I don’t believe we’ll find anything among the graves.”
“The cave is probably where we need to be.”
“That is where we would go to speak with the spirits.”

We make our way down the hill and into the valley, passing the stone slabs as we walk towards the cave.
Each slab has markings that I don’t understand but it’s probably in the Saukiogs language.
The cave is deep and dark; I can only see a little inside.
As we approach the opening, the feeling grows.

“It’s definitely coming from there.”

At the opening the elder stops and pulls a torch from under a blanket, behind a boulder.

“Would you mind lighting this?”

I reach out and the torch bursts into flames, lighting up the cave opening.

The cave slowly descends into the ground twisting and turning the farther we go.
Along the walls are drawings, showing little people, animals, and tents.

“This is the history of our people; from our rise from the earth to the coming of the white man.”
“It is here that we recorded our past and looked to our future.”

Eventually we arrive at a split in the path.
The right continues on straight and level.
The left goes deeper into the ground and curves out of sight.

The elder steps towards the right path.

“This is the tunnel we should follow; it leads to the ceremony room.”
“The left tunnel leads to a dead end.”

I begin following her down the right path but stop after a few steps.
The feeling I’ve been sensing was steadily growing the farther I went into the cave, but now it feels like it’s coming from the left path.

“Which path should I follow?”

Go check out the left first. Whats the harm in that?

We should inform the elder of what we feel, because it's likely that either what we're looking for has changed places or there's a problem down the lower branch we need to take care of. She knows this area better than us, and may have an idea of what we might be feeling if we tell her where it is.

>>689497
I say you should tell her you feel something coming from the left. Maybe it's not just a dead end, anymore.

Pariah: Darkness TheGrayAngel 2015/12/18(Fri)21:16 No. 689533 ID: 8cc774
File 145050221277.jpg - (121.48KB , 3264x2176 , cavern.jpg )

I call out to the elder.

“Wait.”
“I think there’s something down the left path, are you sure there’s nothing that way?”

The elder stops and turns back towards me.

“The left path?”
“I’m sure there’s nothing that way.”
“I was told by my mother; the elder before me.”
“Though I must say I have never been there myself.”

“I feel like there’s…….something, down there.”
“I think we should check.”
“Just to make sure.”

The elder follows me down the left path, deeper underground.
The walls begin to change, becoming oddly neat and smooth.
The air becomes colder and the feeling grows, as if crawling across my skin.

Eventually I reach a dead-end, the path widening at a cavern before ending with a wall.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything here.”

I walk up the opposite wall, and place my hand against it.
My hand tingles, a prickly feelings spreading across my hand.

“I think this is it.”

I press my ear to the wall and concentrate.

Whispers.

“I hear whispers in the wall.”

I place my whole body against the wall and feel into the wall as deep as I can.
I push deep into the stone until I find something.
Whatever it is, it feels like it’s asleep.

Suddenly it wakes.
I pull back in surprise.

The stone slowly collapses in like a door.

A rush of wind blows through the passage, blowing out the torch.
The room is pitch black.

I hear something fall to the ground.

There are whispers all around me and a voice behind me.

Break the earth, craft pillars to hold the ground. Right now, the most dangerous thing nearby is the earth itself. Don't let it squash you.

>>689533
Hold your hand out, palm up, and create a ball of flame above it. Let's see what we're dealing with.

Listen to the voice. See what it has to tell you. When it's done use you're fire power to look around.

Find the torch and re-light it. Where's the elder, we need to find her and make sure she's safe so we can figure out this voice and what fell

Pariah: Shadows TheGrayAngel 2015/12/19(Sat)01:09 No. 689551 ID: 8cc774
File 145051617963.jpg - (31.01KB , 640x297 , shadow_people.jpg )

“I can’t just make fire, I need something to burn.”

I drop to the floor, feeling around for the torch.

“The whispers are all blending together, I can’t understand what their saying.”

My hand brushes against something on the ground; I think it’s the torch.
I grab it and stand up.
As I light it the room fills with light.

People

Everywhere

Shadows dance along the cavern walls.

But no one is there to cast them.

I’m surrounded by silhouettes, pushing in on all sides.

I see the elder.
She’s standing in the corner shaking.
Her eyes are pointed at the ground and she’s chanting something I can’t understand.
“I think she was the voice I could hear.”

“What’s going on? Are you alright?”

She doesn’t respond.

The shadows don’t seem to be doing anything.
They just shuffle around the room, whispering to themselves.

“Who are you?”
“What are you doing?”

The shadows all stop in unison.
The room falls into deafly silence.

Suddenly they all turn at the same time and point to the new opening.
I walk to the opening to see what’s inside.
The room is roughly circular but the far end dips into a pool of water.
The feeling is incredibly strong now, almost like its pulling me towards the water.

“Should I go in?”
“If I do, should I bring the elder or tell her to leave?”

Anasazi.

It's luring you in, don't go in just yet. However, try to use your powers to make the pool come to you.

>should I go in?
I think you should, but we should check on the elder, first. Gotta be responsible in how we look after people around us.

Hold up a finger and tell the shadows to wait a moment, and then walk over to her. Are you okay? Do you need to go back outside?

Lets make sure the elders okay and see how shes doing. If she can handle it have her come in with you, but be gentle she has had a pretty traumatic day so far. We should go into the opening but for the love of god don't go into the mystery water until we know what it is

Pariah: Pool TheGrayAngel 2015/12/19(Sat)18:11 No. 689595 ID: 8cc774
File 145057750384.jpg - (369.18KB , 1600x1200 , pool.jpg )

I pull myself away from the opening and go back to the elder.
The shadows don’t move; still pointing at the opening.

I wrap my hands around the elders.
“Are you ok?”
“Can you talk?”

The elder stops shaking and looks up slowly.
“Spirits…….”
“All around us…….”
“I’ve never seen so many…….”

“Do you know what’s going on?”

She looks around the room, fear in her eyes.
“No”
“I must confess that I have nearly no experience with spirits.”
“After the first time, when I became an elder; I only journeyed here once on my own.”
“But when I came, the spirits were already silent.”
“I am so sorry, but I do not know if I can help you.”

“Do you need to leave?”

She thinks for a moment, staring at the ground.

“No”
“I cannot leave you.”
“If I cannot help one child, I am not fit to lead my people.”
“I do not know how, but I will help.

“She seems a little conflicted, but I think she’ll be ok.”

We both walk forward, past the shadows and into the room.

I walk up to the very edge of the water and look into it.

The water is calm and crystal clear.
I can feel the pool trying to pull me in.
I almost have to fight against the urge.

“Do you know what this is?”

There is no response.

I turn around and see the elder staring at the ground again, this time making no sound.
Standing perfectly still; torch in hand.

She looks up slowly again, expressionless and pale.
She points to the water, like the shadows behind her.

This is the life-blood of this land. Drink deeply and you shall see truth.

She sounds like a hundred tiny voices are speaking at once, echoing across the room.

“What do I do?”

>>689595
Inform the spirits it's very rude to make the elder talk for them, especially since you're pretty sure they didn't bother to ask permission first!

Then drink the water anyways. Let's see this truth vision. Rude or not, they have something to show us.

Ask the spirits if they're willing to accept a test run.

Water. Old lady's mouth. Make it happen.

>>689601
Um, that sounds like a bad idea. Ix-nay on forcing our mortal companion to drink the dangerous magic water.

Drink some of that trippy ass blood water.

I kinda wish you had better health, drinking this makes me nervous, but it seems like our best bet to figure out whats going on right now

Ask why we need to concentrate the life-blood of the land in ourself instead of putting it back in the land where it belongs: There had better be a good damn reason for this.

Pariah: Water TheGrayAngel 2015/12/19(Sat)20:54 No. 689631 ID: 8cc774
File 145058724929.jpg - (166.43KB , 1280x720 , forest.jpg )

“What are you doing to her?”
“Are you hurting her?”

The elder will be fine. She is speaking for her people.

“But why do I have to drink it?”
“Isn’t it important to the land?”

The land is dying; it matters not what you do. Drink, while it still lives.

I turn back to the water.
It shimmers in the torch light.

I kneel down and dip my hand in the water.
It’s cold, and tingles across my hand.
I bring a handful of water to my mouth and drink.
It’s cold but somehow burns as it goes down.

It suddenly hits me.
Pain shoots through my body.
I fall forward into the water.

The water is deeper than it should be.
I’m falling deeper and deeper; the burning spreading across my body.

“I can’t breathe.”
“Everything’s going dark.”

The water presses in on all sides.
The world fades to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A cool breeze blows across your face; the sun shines through the treetops.
It is the early evening.
You are lying on the forest floor.

You sit up and look around you.
You are in a forest clearing.

Past the trees before you a procession of people are walking, one after the other, heading west through the forest.
They look like Saukiogs.
At the front of the procession four people carry a body wrapped in cloth.

What will you do?

Begin panicking.

You may be dead.

>>689632
Yeah you might be or maybe it's a warning.
Either way join in the procession and figure out what is happening.

Looks like we're watching some kind of funeral procession?

Follow, and watch. Get close enough to listen, if they say something.

Pariah: Funeral TheGrayAngel 2015/12/20(Sun)22:16 No. 689757 ID: 8cc774
File 145067861133.jpg - (127.71KB , 800x500 , rise.jpg )

You stand up and join the procession.
The line of people continues on, without reacting to your appearance.
Eventually you arrive at a forest clearing, where more people are waiting in silence.

There is a shallow hole in the ground directly in the middle of the crowd.

The procession joins the crowd as the four carrying the body approach the hole.
They come to a stop, standing two on each side; holding the body above the hole.

An old man steps forward from the crowd and stands in front of the body.
He raises his hands above his head and begins talking.
You cannot understand what he is saying.

You turn to a man standing on your right.
“What is this?”
“Who are they carrying?”

The man does not respond, staring forward.

After speaking for awhile the old man lowers his hand and the body is lowered into the hole.

Suddenly the crowd disappears, the sun streaks through the sky again and again.
The grave becomes overgrown with vegetation.
Time flows by like a river.

Eventually time slows again, but the forest has changed.
The sky is dark, and the trees are gnarled.
The air is cold and still.

There are whispers; coming from the grave.

The whispers go silent.

“Something is here.”

The earth begins churning and cracking.

Black liquid bubbles up from the cracks, as if the earth itself is bleeding.
A dark fog spreads across the ground.

A hand breaks through the ground, followed by a warped body.
Its flesh is twisted and black; it stands twice as tall as a man.

The fog wraps around its body like a cloak

rrrrrraaaaaaaaagGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
A scream rises from its throat, growing louder and louder, echoing throughout your mind.
It steps forwards, slowly moving towards you.
The sound continues to grow; you can hear nothing else.
The world distorts and shakes around you.
You feel as if a knife is carving through your mind.

You fall to the ground.

Everything is dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I burst through the water, gasping for air.
Its feels like my chest was being crushed.

I crawl out of the water and lay on the cave floor.
It’s dark; the torch is nearly dead.
Only the dying embers are making light.

I see a body lying on the ground a few feet away.

Eat its leg.

There was a pronoun change. I think we just saw the host of the Enemy presence. Doesn't seem like a mere avatar.

See if that's the elder. If not, decapitate and burn.

So... that vision suggests the bad things (or at least one of them) comes from the Saukiogs' own dead?

>I see a body lying on the ground a few feet away.
That's probably the elder. Go check on her.

Examine surroundings, note any changes from what was here before, examine body. If that's the elder it's time to get worried. If she's dead as well it's time to do more than get annoyed.

Light to torch again and check on the body. It's probably the elder, let's make sure she's alright.

Pariah: Air TheGrayAngel 2015/12/22(Tue)11:52 No. 689929 ID: 8cc774
File 145081395946.jpg - (54.72KB , 550x412 , cave-walls.jpg )

After gasping on the floor for awhile I get up and crawl over to the body.
I grab the torch on the way and light it just before I get there.

“It’s the elder.”
“She’s breathing, and it doesn’t look like she’s hurt.”
“She probably just fainted.”

Something around me has changed.
The shadows are all gone.
The torch is lit but only our shadows remain.

“The whispers are still here, but their so quite I can barely hear them.”
“I wonder where they went.”

I look back behind me.
The water looks the same.
It still feels like it’s still calling out to me, but it’s not so strong of a pull anymore.

I turn back to the elder and try to wake her up.
But she doesn’t wake up, no matter how much I shake her.

“Hopefully she’s just really tired.”

“I can carry her out of here; at least out of the cave.”
“Should we go back outside or should I take her to that other room she talked about?”

“Oh, Wait.”

I pull the water skin off and hold it in my hands.

“Should I take any water with me?”

YES. DUH.

You'll want to get that analyzed for tiny, tiny water bugs and curses and stuff.

Is that her water skin? If you empty it and fill it with the hallucinogenic water, then she's not gonna have anything to drink. Which could be bad, depending on how far you are from a good water source.

If the skin is already empty, or we have another, I suppose it couldn't hurt to take some for later.

>what do with elder
I think we should move her to the other chamber where it's ostensibly safer.

Then go outside yourself and check what hour it is, and if it's safe outside.

Drink any water that's in the waterskin and then fill it with spooky water. Take her to the other room, there might be something useful in there to wake her up.

Pariah: Ceremony Room TheGrayAngel 2016/01/08(Fri)00:05 No. 692156 ID: 8cc774
File 145224033216.jpg - (66.37KB , 500x375 , ceremony room.jpg )

“This is my water skin. The captain gave it to me before I left the fort.”
“And I already drank all the water in it.”
“I guess I forgot to fill it back up.”

I stand back up and walk over to the water.
I make sure not to let the water touch me while I fill the water skin.

“Don’t want anything to happen again.”

With the water skin full I put the top back on and sling it on my shoulder.

I pick the elder up with my power and make my way back up the cave.
After a few minutes I get back to the split in the cave, this time turning left towards the ceremony room.

A few more minutes of walking and we reach an enormous room in the cave.
Weird lights dance across the walls; the sound of running water is coming from the other side of the room.
The air feels different here, but I can’t tell why.

The whispers are here as well, but they sound different.
They sound farther away and calmer.

At the far end of the room is some kind of stone slab, directly in front of what looks like a small water fall.
Water gushes from a crack near the ceiling and runs down the walls before disappearing into another crack in the slab.

I carry the elder over to the slab and sit her against it.

“She should be fine here, I think we’re alone.”

I head back out the way we came until I arrive at the entrance to the cave.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything else in the cave or the area outside of it.”
“It looks like it’s about evening; another hour or two and it’ll be sunset.”
“How long was I in the water?”

I enter the cave again and make my way back to the ceremony room.
When I get there I see that the elder is leaning against the slab, holding her head.

“Are you alright?”

She tenses up suddenly before relaxing after she turns to see me.

“Oh, child. It’s you.”
“I believe so, though my head does hurt.”
“What happened?”
“How did we get here?”

>>692156
Be honest.

The spirits talked through you and told me to drink the water. Which is probably why your head hurts, I *told* them that was rude.

When I drank from the water, I had a vision. (Describe it).

I woke up later and brought us here. It's evening outside. I kept some of the vision water, in case I need it later.

Are you okay?

Options- rest here, travel (bad idea after dark, probably), try to do the normal spirit stuff they used to do in this chamber?

Let her know what happened and what you saw. Tell her what time it is, she was worried about being here after dark and it's getting near that time. Ask her more about this room and it's significance. Would she be up for telling us about what kind of ceremonies they did here?

Just explain everything that happen

This is our chance to tell if either this elder or the spirits have been lying to us, give full details progressively. If you think you can do it well it'd be nice if we could tease out what this elder knows and expects about what happened and who/what we've seen here, but we probably don't have the crafty guile to do that without making a mistake.

Pariah: Recap TheGrayAngel 2016/02/03(Wed)15:44 No. 698787 ID: 36681b
File 145454309080.jpg - (271.15KB , 900x1350 , waterfall.jpg )

I walk over, and help her sit on the slab.

“When we were in that other room the torch went out and by the time I relit it the spirits had taken over you.”
“They told me that they weren’t hurting you and that I needed to drink the water, so I did.”
“But it did something to me and I fell in the water.”
“When I woke up I was in a forest and there was a group of people walking by with a body.”
“It looked like some kind of funeral for a Saukiog so I followed them.”
“But something bad happened after they buried the body.”
“One of the bad things crawled out of the grave, but it was different from the others.”
“It looked like a person, like the one in my nightmare.”
“Then I woke up and you were asleep; so I brought you here.”
“I also brought some of the water with me, just in case we need it.”
“I checked outside and it looks like it’ll be evening soon.”

She listens to all I say; a look of confusion on her face.
Until I talk about the bad thing from the grave.
Her face turns pale, she looks afraid.

“One of us, became one of those things?”
“This is…… very bad.”
“When we get back I’ll talk to the other elders about this.”
“Maybe they can help us understand what this means.”

“Should we leave now then? Will you even be able to make it back?”
“It won’t be much longer until it’s sunset.”

“I don’t know if I can leave yet.”
“I don’t want to be here after dark, but it can’t get much worse than it already has.”

She rubs here head. Her skin is pale and her hands shake slightly.
I walk around the slab and over to the waterfall.

“What about this room? What happens in here?”

She turns her head towards me.
“This is our most sacred place. Where the elders drink the blessed water and speak the will of the earth and the spirits.”
“It is said that the water gives us guidance, revealing knowledge that is important for the people to know.”

“So the water in the other room; is that the same water here?”

“Perhaps; though I’ve never heard of such a powerful vision from the water.”
“Maybe the water you drank was different somehow.”

I look around the room, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else in here.

What should we do now?
We can leave now, but we would be very slow because the elder is still weak.
We could wait for her to feel better, but then it’ll probably be dark when we’re traveling.
Or should one of us drink some of the water from the waterfall?

>Her skin is pale and her hands shake slightly.
Is she cold? You could help with that. (Unfortunate that your powers haven't leaned towards healing others yet, at this moment).

>We can leave now, but we would be very slow because the elder is still weak.
Well, we could work around that if you carried her back with your power. Assuming you can keep it up that long without tiring yourself out, and that she'd be okay with that.

>what do
I'd think you should either use your power to compensate for her weakness so we can leave quickly, or we should stay the night. Attempt to beat the darkness, or wait it out. Traveling at night seems like a bad idea. It's practically inviting the dark things, and we'd have a hard time fighting and keeping her safe simultaneously.

I don't think either of you is ready for another hit of that water / the spirits right now.

We should leave now, we need answers from the other elders asap. We could definitely use our powers to lift her and hurry back. We already have a sample of the other water, so I don't we need to bother with any of this water.

Pariah: Path Home TheGrayAngel 2016/02/18(Thu)10:55 No. 703051 ID: 36681b
File 145582173931.jpg - (11.65KB , 236x354 , birds.jpg )

I walk back to the elder and grasp her hands.

“Are you cold?”
“You’re shaking.”

“I’m … fine. It should stop soon.”

“I think we should leave now; that way we won’t be stuck here at night.”
“I’ll help you move, so we should make it back alright.”

“If you think that’s for the best.”

She takes a deep breath and gets off of the slab.
She’s still a little shaky but it looks like she can at least stand on her own.

I help the elder as she climbs onto my back.
Thankfully she’s short, so she can fit.
After she climbs on, I concentrate and lift her slightly so I don’t have to carry all of her weight.

It takes a while but we make our way out of the cave and back up the hill.
It doesn’t take too much out of me and I think I can keep it up the whole way.
But it is a little distracting since I have to concentrate on keeping part of her up.

“Now we just need to decide on which way we should take back.”

“We could go back down the wood path on the cliff face.”
“I’m pretty sure I can handle it but I’m a little worried about carrying the elder as well.

“Or we could go around and through the woods this time. It’ll take longer but it’s probably safer.”

While we’re standing on the top of the hill thinking, I notice a group of large birds in the distance.
They’re flying this way from the direction of the cliff path.
I can’t tell why, but for some reason I don’t think I like those birds.

Let's go longer and safer. Trust your feelings, we don't want to deal with hostile birds on a cliff.

Lets go the safer route, as long as we're out of the sacred grounds before night comes it doesn't matter how long it takes us to get home

Pariah: Vulture TheGrayAngel 2016/02/20(Sat)15:51 No. 703916 ID: cd886c
File 145601229456.jpg - (97.53KB , 1167x720 , vulture.jpg )

I turn back to the elder.
“I think we should go through the forest this time.”

“I agree”
“I don’t know if I could handle another trip down the cliff.”

She climbs back on and we make our way towards the forest.
It’s slow going but we eventually get to the tree line.

“I think we’ll make it back by nightfall.”

I look back and notice that the birds have gotten a lot closer.
“It looks like they’re still heading right for us.”

Finally, we enter the forest.

The trees here are much closer together than in the other parts of the forest.
It’s much darker in here and it feels like the trees are pushing in on all sides.
Unexplained noises come from just out of sight.

We walk for a while, going deeper and deeper into the woods, getting more anxious as we go.
“I think there’s something else in here.”

Suddenly, something flies through the air; landing on a branch just up ahead with a thud.
The branch creaks under its weight.
It scans the area, looking for something.

I quickly dash behind a tree, staying out of the creature’s sight.

I peek out from behind the tree to a get a good look at it.

It looks like a twisted, rotting vulture.
Where its head should be sits a skull, stripped of flesh.
With only two sunken, red eyes deep in its skull.
Muscles and wood twist together across the body, the chests creaking and heaving with effort.
Most of the feathers are missing; those remaining are fused with leathery flesh.
It twitches and jerks around as it searches, occasionally letting out a pained groan.

I hear a quiet whimper behind me.
“That’s what they look like?

“What should I do?”
“Do I try to fight?”
“Should I run?”
“Can I hide?”

Fighting seems like a bad idea, just because there's a whole flock of them. Even if it turns out each one is weak enough to defeat easily, you might have a hard time making sure you're not overwhelmed, or that they don't get to the elder.

I would favor stealth / hiding.

We try to hide and take this one out quietly from our cover using your power

>>703916
fight the twisted vulture the other birds are closing in anyways. Better to clear a path forward than to be cornered.

Is this still going?

>>753495
If it was, someone would have posted more recently than seven months ago. Don't be a thread necromancer.