>>584979
Ah okay so the police are between her and the objective, am I right? So what's stopping her from going "Nope", turning around and walking away to another location?

>Ah okay so the police are between her and the objective, am I right?
I don't think so? If we're near the loading dock, that puts us close the the building. If they just pulled up, they're near the road. That would put us closer to the objective than them. (Even if the objective ain't worth much since we aren't sensing mana).

I'm still mostly feeling my initial plan (wait and see), but the clarification makes me less leery about the possibility of approaching them. We're not doing anything wrong, we could make a reasonable story about passing just passing through, the knight has a certain respect for other enforcers of absolutes, and there's a small chance if we end up at a cop shop, it might be useable as land?

I kind of don't want to just duck out though. We're not on assignment, but we have our code. And if someone here breaks it, we have the power to do something about it. (If we're smart with our one spell).

I second waiting to see what happens. We might be interested in intervening, and I am curious whether any death that might occur would interact with out magic.

>there's a small chance if we end up at a cop shop, it might be useable as land?
Under most circumstances I think a cop place would be white mana, aside from arguably prisons.

>>584991
I was thinking that if they dealt in enough death, or in the right circumstances, you might end up with cops who ended up thinking along they black knight model (doing what has to be done, servants of authority or power or law rather than what is just). But yeah, in general, a most police stations would probably be white.

And come to think of it, I'm not sure we'd want to deal with one that was black.

We are a necromancer, there is little we can't do if we pay the price. A Dark Ritual would increase our available energy.
But for very little dark mana we could cast Darkness and just leave.

>>585065
Casting in front of a bunch of cops? Really? Also we don't have any mana.

>>584988
>>584991
I think a wait and see approach would be a good idea. Keep confident, don't panic and try to look like you're going to work. Hopefully you are able to go through the hospital so you can leave using the main exit.

Hmm. It says we could maybe cast one spell, not that we had one dark mana to use. I mean, in the later case, using a dark ritual to triple our mana isn't a bad idea (well, if we assume the spell won't draw any attention), but in the former, it's not strictly necessary.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/21(Mon)13:29 No. 585158 ID: d604bf
File 140597454688.jpg - (91.66KB , 312x445 , 19.jpg )

>>584988
>>584991
>>585102
Alright, I'll wait and see what happens. I really don't want to stick around longer than I have to, so if they give me a clear way out I'm taking it.

...

Okay. The cops have all gone into the building, and more importantly no one has guns pointed in this general direction.

Screw trying to get mana from this place, I'm bugging out. Walk calmly, don't attract attention to yourself, just an ordinary person walking here, nothing to get suspicious about.

...Okay. The coast is toast, I'm fucking OUT of here.

>Time to grab some air freshener and head to the local water treatment plant...
>I should try a lunch date with the local actuary - or maybe not a date, I'm not really looking or anything...
>Maaaybe I should go home for today. Not worth testing my luck any farther.
>Other (Write-In)

Almost disappointed there wasn't a monster for us to blow up.

Let's try something easy, this time. You know someone at the actuarial place, so you'll have a reason to be there. Worst case, no mana, but you can start the groundwork for a normal 'cover' job.

>>585188
I don't know if we want to actually get a job, but considering getting one is a legitimate excuse to be there.

>>585226
Nah, I didn't think we actually want to take a full on job, either. We already have one. But long term, we might want something we can pretend is our job. Like, some kind of limited contracting work, or part time stuff, that we can make look like more than it is.

Might be unnecessary, but I figured it's an option to consider.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/22(Tue)05:24 No. 585298 ID: 86cf84
File 140603188162.jpg - (84.38KB , 312x445 , 113.jpg )

>>585188
>>585226
>>585244

Right. I have a friend the next city over who has her own office, it can't hurt to see if I can work something out.

...

Yeah, I'm liking my chances here. The office is right next to a check cashing agency - if there's any scummier profession than loan shark, I probably don't want to meet them.

"Oh! Hey Veronica, what's up?"
Margaret Pelbot, CPA. Probably the best thing that happened to be in my four years of college. I guess she had an over-achieving streak in high school and that got her picked on, but she's prolly pulling down high six-figures now. At the very least she can rub that in her classmates' faces at the reunion.
...Then again, she almost still could pass for a high schooler. I do envy her a little on account of that.

And...yep. I can sense the flow of mana here - it's at least more stable than the hospital. There's plenty here as well.

>Make idle conversation while connecting the mana
>Excuse yourself for a second to focus on the connection
>Ask about a temp job/on-call consultant
>"You might want to sit down, this is kinda big..." (Explain everything)
>Other (Write-In)

>>585298
Explain to Margaret that you've lost your job and ask about how things are here. some time later say five to ten minutes, excuse yourself for a second to focus on the connection.

Like in Harry Potter, try your best to keep the Muggles out of magic business.

>mana~
Huh. Interesting that it worked here but not the hospital morgue. Not enough death there? Or does the way the character sees / interprets the significance of her color outweigh classical or more literal associations?

>Explain everything
We've been at this a day? Seems a little soon to go breaking the masquerade. I mean, there are risks involved in all of this, and if we bring anyone else into this world, it's not like we have the knowledge or power to protect them, or to give them the means to protect themselves.

And then more selfishly, there's the danger in exposing yourself. Losing friends / family if the truth gets out and scares them (or if they want to you to use your power for them, or give them power, etc), uncharitable conclusions being drawn from the color of your magic, getting committed or branded as a crazy, possibly attracting the attention of magic threats you can't deal with yet if your identity ends up public...

The only thing that could swing things the other way is how good a friend she is. Is she a really good friend? How close are you? Would you consider hurting / betraying her if she finds out you didn't trust her (or realizes you're using her as a power source) worse than the alternative? Can you trust her not to run scared, or betray your trust, or go grasping to use you or her power for herself?

...actually, if she's pulling 6 figures and has kept friends who aren't, that means she has to have some experience keeping friends despite the power imbalance, if from the other end. And really, there are other advantages to having her on your side (be a lot easier for her to provide you convincing cover, if she understood the nature of what she was covering. And there has to be an advantage to an alliance with the administrator of claimed land).

Still, that kind of depends on an evaluation of her character I don't have. If 'Roni isn't close enough to Maggie to think not bringing her in is worse than the other risks, >>585314
is reasonable.

>>585298
Tell her that you're between jobs, but have gotten an interesting offer in a different field that you can't currently discuss.

Oh, and if we're going to bring her in, we should at least draft an NDA.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/23(Wed)07:30 No. 585478 ID: 86cf84
File 140612583954.jpg - (72.41KB , 312x445 , 42.jpg )

>>585314
>>585317
>>585378
Right - she's a good friend. No need to be offputting without at least shooting the breeze.

"I'm doing okay - been better. Asshole boss fired me yesterday though, and wouldn't tell me why." I take a seat as Margaret comes around the counter to sit across from me.
"Ouch...word of advice though, don't open your own shop. It's not worth it." Didn't you do exactly that, though?
"Yeah - and it took me 3 years of hell before I got to where I am. I might wish it on my worst enemy, but no one else."

...good to know.
"Anyway, I am exploring a job offer I picked up, it's a bit out of my field of expertise but...if it pays the bills, why not?"

"Good for you Roni! So what's the job for?"
"...Not really sure I should talk about it. It's...kinda out there."

...I think I said something I shouldn't have. Maggie narrows her eyes at me, as if daring me to spill.
"Veronica, I have delved into the craziest shit humanly possible, and some that goes even beyond that. If you told me that you suddenly got a talking stick that turned you into a 15-year old pop idol, I wouldn't be that shocked. So come on, don't leave me hanging here."

...I'm not sure how to come back from that. It's one of her weaknesses though - if she really wants an answer, she'll get it. It's part of why she's such a good accountant. Then again, if she was just exaggerating then this could get awkward.

>"Funny you should mention it..." (Confess)
>"Come on, I couldn't possibly pass as a teenager anymore no matter how much makeup I wore." (Deflect)
>"I...Igottagodosomething!" (Flee)
>Other (Write-In)

>a talking stick that turned you into a 15-year old pop idol
I'm almost certain we can find cards for talking stick artifacts, or at least disembodied voices, and anti-aging / transformative / illusory effects. We could totally fulfill her hyperbole, if we were bonkers enough.

>if she really wants an answer, she'll get it
You overplayed your hand, then. An unconvincing denial or insufficient deflection would be disastrous. Instead of bringing someone into your trust, or keeping her out of it, you'd have a friend (with resources) snooping on you, trying to find out what's what. Almost certainly going to lead to trouble with us, or someone getting hurt at some point.

Let's hope she was serious then, because honestly looks like the best play.

>Confess
...not a talking stick, no. *Sword, appear*

>Then again, if she was just exaggerating then this could get awkward.
If this backfires terribly, can we cheat our way around the consequences? A short term memory erase or undo of some kind? We do have access to mana, here. (Fade from Memory, maybe?)

Not a stick, I got something much cooler, and rather sharper.

*show Doom Blade*

Kinda screwed that up, Veronica. You piqued her interest.

How about this, then. Lie and deflect. Say that you're worried about the job being illegal. Say that you think that they might have a hand in you being fired. Say you need to use the toilet, tap that mana source and get out of there. Do not reveal that you have magic.

I don't know about you guys but I don't want to have to use mental magic against Margaret. Black mental magic is bad, bad stuff.

"The stick is a sword actually, a necromancer instead of a teen popstar, and it's not the sword that does the talking. I wish I were kidding: I'm out of my depths in Anime magical heroine land except the cute talking critter might be out to eat my soul and everything's creepy instead of cute.
"Laugh and change the subject to job hunting if you value your sanity Maggie."

On the plus side, if we can pull out the sword and she can see it too, then at least we have some confirmation that we merely haven't gone bat-shit insane.

Just... make sure we're pulling the sword out of the time-space effect. Don't draw it. We're not looking to kill anyone, or destroy the building. (Although if the institution is black, it might be safe. Actually, Mags might be black by association too (unless she's business enough to be blue?) but best not to risk it).

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/24(Thu)05:13 No. 585602 ID: 86cf84
File 140620400371.jpg - (69.48KB , 312x445 , 29.jpg )

>>585482
>>585494
>>585500
>>585507

Yeah...it always was tricky working with Margaret. You never know what little thing she'll hang on to like a bulldog, and what she'll just take for granted.

"You're a lot closer than you think, you know." I hear myself saying. Slowly I reach behind me to pull out my sword, focusing to make sure I don't use it on something I shouldn't.
To her credit, Margaret doesn't freak out, even though she looks a bit bug-eyed now.

"Well shit...didn't actually expect you to have gotten that deep..." There's a nervous chuckle as she recomposes. "I kinda dabbled a bit, when things were really tough. It made ends meet when this didn't work out, but I've been out of the game since I started turning profits."

I'll admit, I didn't see that coming. But hell, if she's in on it already, so much the better.
"So, I was kinda wondering if you could help with a cover of some kind, so it at least looks like I'm doing something with my life?"
[color=0000ff]"Don't gimme that bullshit Roni, you're here because the complex is built on a freaking leyline and you want to tap that like I want to tap Leo DiCaprio."[/color] okay, THAT was a mental image I didn't need. "Look, you were good to me in a time where everyone else wasn't. I'm willing to help how I can, on the condition that you keep level with me. I still remember a couple tricks from back then, don't make me use 'em."

...Oh. I wasn't really paying attention to it before, since I was more worried about Maggie, but there's this sort of veil around her, like an invisible shield warding off anything dangerous.

Not that it'd be good to test that shield, but that it's there is comforting - if something does come after her, I trust she'll be able to handle it. Hopefully I don't have to find out.

>Yeah, I'm here for the mana. D'you mind?
>Any information you can give me about ___? (What?)
>You sure I can't bring you back in? Might be fun, traveling all over, just the two of us...
>Other (Write-In)

say "Yeah, I'm here for the mana. D'you mind? Oh and what colour were you?" should be interesting! i really wanna know. though i'm guessing black because of the mana comment.

...Did you ever see a rabbit thing of some sort with magic powers? Right after I got fired, I saw one and it offered me magic, more or less. Turns out I'm a black, I'm...Not really sure what your thing is?

First ask about the mana. Then share the story about how you got into magic, and ash how she got in, and more importantly what caused her to get out.
Also, you can put the sword away now.

First of all, put the sword away. It's an implied threat as long as you keep it out, and it already served it's purposes as a demonstration. (Even if that cloak should protect her from the effect, it's still rude to leave a threat hanging).

I'm not going to pull anything, Maggie. Honest.

If anything, I'm relieved I didn't put you in the position of helpless Buffy-friend.

...and yes, I was looking for sources of mana, if you don't mind. Didn't really anticipate a prior claim. Though I wasn't lying about thinking I might need a cover of some kind.

>questions
You're... blue? (It's her speech text and the color of every card since she showed up).

Obvious follow up question if she confirms: funny, this place feels black. You built it, you'd think it would follow suit.

Leylines? You can feel the power, but honestly, you tried this place on a guess.

And yeah, trading stories of how you stumbled into this seems reasonable.

"Honestly, it's a huge relief to have anybody to talk to about this, and I think I need expert help. It all started with my boss telling me I was fired completely out of the blue. That very same morning I got a weird and creepy mercenary-wizard job offer from some cute but creepy bunny thing that was talking about a binding contract.
"Maybe that's the world's most convenient coincidence, but maybe it isn't. It's plausible that these people are pulling some kind of long-con on me. Who do I talk to for help to make sure they're not trying to suck out my soul or scam me?"

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/25(Fri)11:22 No. 585754 ID: 86cf84
File 140631254010.jpg - (60.12KB , 312x445 , 45.jpg )

>>585603
>>585604
>>585607
>>585609
>>585664

Putting the sword away, I sigh and relay what's happened to me the last 24 hours. Margaret seems to follow along pretty well, a bit concerned at what happened this morning, but otherwise okay.

...I have to admit, I'm REALLY glad I found someone I can talk to about all this crap. It probably would've driven me crazy.

"Wow. Talk about getting thrown into the thick of things. I spent almost a full week just trying to figure out what the hell to do. You always were a quick learner though Roni."
"So, did you use the same kind of magic I do? Know any spells I should learn?"
"No, I was attuned to blue mana - it's the magic of saying 'no' to anything I don't like. So unless you keep with this long enough to master a second color I'm not much help there."

That does bring up an interesting question, though. "So, how can you draw mana from the same place I can?"
"It's really rare for mana to only be aligned to one color. Normally when you find mana there's some of everything, you just only notice what you can use."That makes sense I guess.

"So, do you mind if I...?"
[color=0000ff]"..."[/color]

That's not a good sign.

"Veronica, I appreciate what you did for me, but you're asking for a lot more than you realize. Getting out wasn't exactly the easiest thing -- sure if you're adamant about leaving they won't stop you, but damn it's tempting to do just one more job for them.
I...I don't want to get dragged back into this, and I don't want to see you get too deep into it either."

...I can respect that, I guess.

>"Is there anything I can give you or do for you that'd change your mind?"
>"If I wanted to find my own mana source, where should I be looking?"
>"Well, I'll keep your number if I need to talk. We're still good, right?"

>>585754
Oh, hey, this is actually a kinda important relevation. Ask her why she decided she had to get out/why it's not good to get in too deep.

Ah, so a good source makes more than one kind of mana. Makes sense. So this place has at least a blue business attunement, and a black accounting attunement, and who knows what else.

>>585756
Yeah, this is an important question. Not to force a bad issue, but if there's something that drove her away, maybe we should know about it? I mean, right now, we kind of want to get into it.

Actually, a point. If she's sitting on a powerhouse, how out of it can she be? Isn't she kind of stuck in a position where she has to rebuke less polite and friendly mana grubbing types? (Not to strongarm her or anything, but maybe letting us in means we could deal with some of the riff raff for her).

Ultimately though, we're not going to force anything. It would help if she lets us tap in here, but only if she's comfortable letting us. If not, maybe she has advice as to where else we could look? And if nothing else, just having someone we can talk to about this stuff from time to time is more than we had this morning, and good to have.

>>585768
Or to maybe phrase the fending off riff raff bit better:

We're apparently a knight, right? Power in exchange for land and protection is kind of the standard deal.

She's experienced, I don't think she has many problems with fending off managetters. Make sure to underline that this is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL AND THAT HER WORD IS FINAL THOUGH.
The last thing we want to do is piss her off.
The literal last.
Ask where to look!

>"If I wanted to find my own mana source, where should I be looking?"
>"Well, I'll keep your number if I need to talk. We're still good, right?"

I doubt anything you can say would make her change her mind but keeping her friendship is important. She can be a sounding board and a source of advice that you might need.

However if you can, try to get her to accompany you in looking for a mana source for yourself. That way you can ask about any experiences she had, and perhaps later on you can have a practice battle with her.

>She's experienced, I don't think she has many problems with fending off managetters
My thinking wasn't necessarily that she couldn't cope, just that it allowed her more of an out, while maybe getting us what we want.

But yes, I'd agree that keeping a friend (and someone not trying to use us we can turn to with questions) comes as the first priority.

Laugh it off if she's offended at all by our own mana-grubbingm before backing down. Come on, you can't blame me for trying.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/27(Sun)13:59 No. 586197 ID: 86cf84
File 140649477216.jpg - (84.08KB , 312x445 , 73a.jpg )

>>585756
>>585768
>>585775
>>585797
>>585801
>>585854

Yeah, this is worth asking more about, I really should know why Maggie isn't in the game anymore. It might be enough reason to stay out.
"So what exactly made you want to leave it all behind?" Margaret pinches her nose as she lets out a long sigh.

"The deeper in you go, the more magic you have access to, the feeling of power you get when you get something five times your size to obey your every whim...the only reason I'm not saying it's more addictive than crack is because I haven't tried it -- but I imagine it's true."
Okay, that's a really bad sign. "Is it really that hard to quit using magic?"
"Not really, and that's not the dangerous part either. The addictive part is the power - you sling spells long enough and you think you're invincible, that entire worlds could rise up and you could take them with one arm behind your back." Margaret lifts up her blouse to reveal a small scar across her abdomen. "Got sliced open like a tuna can here, I was almost completely cut in two. Didn't die, didn't feel most of it. But knowing that something like that could happen, despite everything I had, made me think long and hard on what was best for me in the long run."

...That...yeah, I can see why she decided to focus more on the mundane.
"You sure we can't work out a deal with the mana well?" I ask. She shakes her head and I sigh. "Alright...know a place that I could tap in to?"
"Roni, there are some things you have to find out for yourself. This is going to be one of them. I don't want to sound like a bitch, but as the owner I'm going to have to ask you to leave." I can see her mouth "sorry" as she returns to her desk.

That...could have gone better. At the very least I can sense she doesn't like throwing me out.

>Contact Added: Margaret Pelbot, former blue magic user, tentative ally

>Well, I guess I need to get my mana elsewhere...
>What she doesn't know won't hurt her - connect from the other side of the wall.
>Maybe I should go home and gather myself
>Wasn't that demonic furball supposed to get me a written contract?
>Other (Write-In)

>Well, I guess I need to get my mana elsewhere...
>Wasn't that demonic furball supposed to get me a written contract?

maggie was a boss ass bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch back in the day, lets not pull any managrabbing stunts.

>hubris and way too much power fuck you over
Honestly, something I think we were expecting. We've done a pretty good job of being cautious so far, maybe we can handle this.

>That...could have gone better.
Could have gone worse, too. If you'd tried taking power without admitting what you were up to first she might have taken it as an insult, or attack, or betrayal.

>What she doesn't know won't hurt her - connect from the other side of the wall.
Bad form. We're the knight, not the thief. If we're gonna take something, we take it, had on, no sneaking about.

Besides, this is her place. I suspect she might know if you do tap in. Long term, keeping on good terms with her is probably more valuable than filling your tank now.

>Wasn't that demonic furball supposed to get me a written contract?
Sure, but he'll manage than in his own time, I'm sure. All that means is we can't do any jobs for him until he shows up with it, and I'm comfortable exploring our options and learning in the meantime.

>Well, I guess I need to get my mana elsewhere...
Idea. She said this place was build on a leyline. Maybe we can follow it somewhere else. Or at least, if you can try following it a little ways, so we know the heading, you can draw the line on a map. See if the line intersects anywhere else that might work as a good place to tap into mana.

>follow leyline
I'm going to laugh if we can use the sword as a dowsing rod.

>>586197
>Well, I guess I need to get my mana elsewhere...

I wouldn't worry about the furball. The contract can wait until you get some mana to fuel your efforts. And now you have someone to talk to about your magic adventures and problems. A listening ear is a valuable resource.

>>586197
>Well, I guess I need to get my mana elsewhere...
Hey are there any funeral homes in town? that might be a good place for mana.

We could always go the traditional route of finding a cemetery, or depending on out location see if there is a historical battleground we could visit.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/28(Mon)11:50 No. 586418 ID: d604bf
File 140657343220.png - (12.17KB , 750x750 , map.png )

>>586206
>>586226
>>586364
>>586381
>>586388

Alright. I'll wait for the furball to get back to me when it wants. It did say it'd have a contract by end of business today, so time's running out.

In the meantime, I probably should try and find a mana source of some kind.

knowing that leyline exists is something that ought to help, and I know it's not in line with that hospital - there was no mana there.

I'd assume that this leyline is in a straight line, but there's no assurance of that. At the very least it ought to give me a place to look.

...

Right. Turns out I don't actually have a map of the town, so I'll have to make one on the computer. It's a really rough sketch, but it's better than nothing right?

>Blue areas are residential areas - the dark blue diamond is my place.
>Orange areas are commercial zones. Margaret's office is at the gold star, the green pentagon is the hospital I tried.
>The red area is the warehouse district - the gray 4-point star is where I was working until yesterday.

>Where should I try looking? Any ideas?

Zaealix 2014/07/28(Mon)13:18 No. 586436 ID: e6e228
File 140657870108.png - (14.36KB , 750x750 , Tracing Leyline.png )

Hrrm. Well first thing that comes to mind is tracing the path from Margaret's office to the hospital and seeing if you can tap into it somewhere down that line. The other thought is find a manhole, and carefully climb down and sense for mana in the sewers...Not pleasant but still an option, as long as we stay away from the Office area.

It seems as though we're trying to avoid implicating Margaret with all this magic crap so maybe avoiding the leyline for now might be a good idea since it's connected to her mana source. Before you even start poking your head inside a sewer you should look up the location of the city's water treatment plant. The symbolism of a civic institute that cleans up dirty water might work with the orderly side of your black mana.

Try walking in a circle around the outside of Margaret's place, senses open. Maybe you can tell when you cross the line? (Or we can dowse for it, maybe).

Or look at the construction. Is the building a borring regular rectangle in line with the street? Or is it at an angle to the street, or an odd shape? If she built the place there on purpose, it's probably built at a shape or angle that better connects to the line. So we might be able to infer from the construction the way the leyline goes.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/28(Mon)22:24 No. 586539 ID: 86cf84
File 140661145197.jpg - (68.53KB , 312x445 , 201.jpg )

>>586442
The building doesn't appear to be built haphazardly or off-center. That would have been a good idea though.

>>586436
You're tracing to where I used to work, and that almost certainly doesn't have mana - and even if it did, it's not worth being around. But now that you mention it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuH3aYAr6NM

For the mana to be that weak in a place that ought to be rife with death and decay, there really wasn't much. That tells me that if mana runs on leylines, that the nearest leyline was really far away.

...I'm going to take some liberties here, but right now I don't have any better thoughts. So let's see where this takes us.
If we assume that the closest point to the leyline was touching Margaret's office building, we can draw a line of shortest distance between the two. This would mean...yeah, that the actual leyline has to be perpendicular to the line I just made. Let's open that map back up and see what I can draw.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/28(Mon)22:31 No. 586540 ID: 86cf84
File 140661188963.png - (25.65KB , 2200x750 , mapextend.png )

>>586539
I remember from math class that if two lines are perpendicular, the product of their slopes will be -1. Based on this first line I just drew, it looks like it has a slope of 2, so the leyline itself ought to have a slope of...-0.5. Yeah, that'd be right. So all I have to do is extend that line as far as I can, then extend the big roads to see where it'd intersect. That'll at least get me something to look for.

...

Alright, this is really rough, but assuming the magical leyline is working the way I think it is, there are two points that should be readily accessible by a fairly short drive.

And who says you'll never use algebra in real life? :p

>The Green circle is about halfway between here and the Big City, there's no shortage of latino immigrants in the area, but it's not exactly a barrio quite yet.
>The light brown circle is the next town over to the east - It's been a long while since I've had need to head that way so I'm not entirely sure what's there.

>Green circle
>Brown circle
>Other Ideas? (Write-In)

I was going to suggest finding someplace discreetly out of sight to draw your sword, set in on the ground, and spin it. See if maybe a magic item would line up along the leyline like iron fillings along magnetic lines. But we've already got a heading, looks like? Perpendicular to know dry spots (apartment, hospital, office) isn't a bad idea.

I'd suggest starting at the green just because it's closer. If it's more rural, I suppose that makes it easier to find places like swamps and actual graveyards. And if it's a latino community... maybe there's day of the dead stuff to tap into? Although I've got some incredulous feelings that would be stretching it for the black theme.

The green circle. I wonder does it have a cheap hourly rate hotel that we could use to tap the leyline?

Explanation is this. The hotel would probably be used for and by prostitutes and that kind of thing is black in M:TG. It's man exploiting man, or women in this case and it's not like there's no precedence in this kind of thing. Just look at the Cabal from Odyssey block or Orzhov in Ravnica

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/07/30(Wed)21:41 No. 587025 ID: 86cf84
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>>586550
>>586621
Green dot it is. I tried the sword thing, for the sake of completeness. it didn't seem to want to point a particular way.

...

okay, I know if this locus of mana is comparable to what I felt in Margaret's office, it'll be noticeable from a fair distance and instantly recognizable. Now all I have to do is pinpoint the exact loca-!!!!
...jackpot.
The mana flow right here...it'd be oppressive if it didn't flow through me. It's an old K-mart that probably went out of business several years ago. The lights are out, the actual building is empty, and there's this general gloom about this place. Just being close to this thing makes me...giddy? Like a kid in a candy store? something like that.

That said, let's be smart about this. Park the car in the parking lot of the next building over and walk - less chance of people thinking I'm up to something.
...they'd be right though. I'm going to be up to something. Hell, with this I could be up to multiple somethings. Maybe I'll be up to everything?
Part of me really doesn't care anymore. I can see why Mags said it was hard to get out, this shit feels better than the drugs I got when they ripped out my wisdom teeth last year. Those were some really good drugs too. I wonder if a drug dealer nearby would have some. How do you even find someone to buy from anyway, just ask random people on the street? seems kinda risky.

Whatever. This place is Mine. In the long honored tradition of Dibs-calling, this belongs to me now. and anyone without magic who dares say otherwise better think twice.

>Mana Link Established - Shadow of Capitalism: This now defunct supermarket chain was swallowed up by the retail oligopoly, leaving behind shades of profits past and the darkness that enables Veronica to use this space.

I...could go home or something, I guess. Or I could take advantage of the locked doors and tinted windows and constant source of black mana and see what other tricks I have.

>Summon a creature (One you know? A new one?)
>Cast a spell (targets include a rusty oil drum and what was probably once a checkout counter)
>Head back home
>Explore this location further
>Other (Write-In)

>>587025
>Summon a creature (One you know? A new one?)
Go ahead and summon one.
so that you can explore this location further. Better to have a bit of protection in an unexplored place. Besides, two pairs of eyes are better than one in looking out for stuff.

A later goal would be to buy this piece of land. You need to claim it legally too but I doubt you have enough money now.

(OOC: Charm, want me to bump your old questdis or would you prefer to make yourself a new one?)

>Shadow of Capitalism
...definitely influenced by your perspective, I think, ebony accountant-sorceress. The second place we've found that resonates both with death and finance.

Advantageous, I suppose. We're less likely to have to fight for resources if every mage is going to be drawn to slightly different place. The leyline may be near, but different people might see different places where they can access it. Easier for a new practitioner to set up shop.

>I wonder if a drug dealer nearby would have some.
Yes, there's definitely an illegal market for hospital-grade painkillers. Realistically though, you can't afford to indulge in hedonism. You're going to need your mind sharp and will strong in the early days of your practice.

Also, I think you're being affected a little by all the mana. Like Maggie said. False confidence, giddiness. We've been cautious so far. Keep being cautious and we'll reap the rewards.

>what do
I think exploring the location is a good first. We want to know our domain, and that it's secure, before we settle into a wizard's lab mode and start experimenting.

Maybe set up some kind of wards of protections? Simple warnings to know if our turf is being invaded, or our power source tapped would be a good start. Maybe later we could buff up to actual defense- spells ready, a summoned guardian or watchdog, etc. Not sure we know enough to set that up tonight, though.

Once we've explored though, I'd be open to experimentation, though. Maybe some more spells, first. Like something that works on black creatures. So we have options if we summon something and it's not willing to play ball.

(Any chance we could get a dis thread?).

You mentioned there were tinted windows.

How do we know there's not already some hobo-mage hiding inside?

First few gold payments? Buy up this plot of land. The Mana seems tied to the state of the site, not merely the location, so we can't just bulldoze the place and set up a front company, but making sure nobody ELSE is going to do the same would be beneficial.

Purely for the record: algebra is not optimal for use in 2D coordinate systems - it tends to break down when confronting, say, vertical lines. If you're ever bored, look into vector math.

Also seconding "buy the plot", though it might be a problem if the place is "associated" with you or if you have to give a reason why you're not developing it. Does your ownership of it imply that it's not, technically, no longer "in use", or is mana flow not a kind of use for purposes of mana flow? General note: if you're dependent on legal status or developmental status of places, it's really important to diversify. No good to be in a battle and suddenly discover the city council just decided to build a new hotel on your land.

Long-term idea: if there's an oil spill somewhere, that might be potentially interesting for a medium-term boost. Oil is rather immediately associated with both money and death, not just due to oil wars etc but also due to the fact that it's made basically out of decayed life. Might be worth checking out if an oil tanker sinks somewhere, later on.

Retail real estate tends to be... pretty expensive. Even if we pulling in a few thousand a week in gold it might be a while before we can afford a developed plot of land this size. Especially if we have living costs.

I'd think if we wanted to protect it, mana is a lot cheaper than money, at the moment. There have to be magical means we could use to divert development, if we needed to. (Scare tactics, sabotage an important negotiation or loan, make the property appear more of a fixer-upper than it actually is, etc). Well, provided we were forewarned, at all.

>>587116
This raises some good questions about how, exactly, this works. This might be something we want to talk about with Maggie, later. Provided she's willing to share, she has experience developing a claim on a piece of turf into something more. We'll probably have the opportunity to chat again sooner than there's a serious challenge to our claim. (Development is kind of a slow process, luckily for us).

>>587026
>>587028
>>>/questdis/51740
(I think I did that right. whatever!)


>>587028
>>587103
>>587116
>>587146

I don't have any proof, but I'm fairly sure that since this is on the leyline I should be able to pull mana from it even if it loses the properties that made it what attracted me here. Plus I'm hoping to get more than one mana source active in the near future so I'll have a failsafe should something go wrong.

And no, I probably wouldn't want to go buying drugs. They're expensive and frowned on and I have this which is so much better it feels like my brain is melting no stop that get your mind out of the gutter not like that it's more a peaceful calm that's filling me up gah stop with the innuendos I'm trying to be productive here okay wow I'm really starting to ramble on maybe you're right about the mana getting to me but I'm still aware of everything going on even if my thoughts are being strung out it might just be that the font of black mana puts me in my element so as long as I don't drown in the stuff I should be fine I think now that I think about it actually drowning would be bad too.

Focus. Get a hold of yourself Roni. Deep breath, just one, because holy shit this place is saturated with mana. I can't sense anyone inside, and I can't see anyone in there either (and I can see really well with as little light as there is. maybe a benefit of having magic tied to darkness? whatever.)

It's certainly quite expansive in here - it was a supermarket after all. I don't exactly plan on living here, but there appear to be a few places I could set up a cot and some other stuff and no one would be the wiser. Then again it's plenty spacious and with the right magic people would just ignore it and I could have a huge mansion and a laboratory and good grief it's happening again stupid mana flood stop it come on stop!

...Right. I need to do something with this mana NOW before it makes me go even more loopy. As good as it feels, letting my mind just run rampant isn't in anyone's best interests.

>Pump as much mana you can into a summon
>Throw all your mana at a spell
>Try doing one of each
>Other (Write-In)

>>587221
Try to summon a lot of small creatures like rats and/or bats. Hopefully they can guard this place when we're not around.

Call me greedy, but we're in an abandoned centre of commerce, this suggests to me the invocation of a Black Market.

Man, how does Maggie work in these kinds of conditions? Especially if she's trying not to use. Major distraction.

>>587239
Not a bad idea. Some kind of basic swarm minion. Would serve as disposable sentries or an alarm system, and will help flush out what's here, if there's anything here.

I still think we should prioritize exploring, once we've burned off enough juice to think. Then we can try more serious experimentation.

>>587268
I kind of have to question what the effect of that would have right now, outside the more strict confines of a formal match. The effect is kind of abstract or non-applicable, isn't it? Or would we actually be summoning a phantom market?

I think setting up an *actual* market could be an idea, particularly as we become more powerful. Acting as an honourable intermediare/contract broker is reputable, lucrative, and provides a measure of protection above absolute power.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/02(Sat)14:11 No. 587643 ID: 86cf84
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>>587398
That might be something to look into later. Like, when I'm not at risk of a magic induced acid trip.

>>587239
>>587301
Yeah, let's dump this in to something quickly. Maybe several somethings if that'll help. Ideally it'll be something (or somethings) that won't seem too out of place but will keep people from wanting to poke their heads in. Hang on I'm not going on another of those again am I?
...okay, still sane. I hope.

There's a chittering sound echoing off the walls as I appear to assembled a small rat army. Well, maybe it's closer to a platoon, I really don't know much about military and this shit needs to stop RIGHT fucking now.

...good. I don't really know how to strike a deal with a bunch of rats, but clanging my sword around seems to make them realize who's in charge here.
>Ravenous Rats added to your summons list.

I'm also going to take a guess that whatever is causing this doesn't do the same thing to Margaret as it's doing to me. I mean shit, she built her office on that leyline - if I was working there I'd go crazy in a day from the flood.

Speaking of floods of mana...no. not happening again. I need to stay in contr-actually, I don't think I really lose control, I just get distracted way too easily.

...

>This seems like a great time to get the fuck out of here!
>I've got all this mana, might as well pump it into a big spell.
>Screw the mind wandering bullshit, I can explore this place more.
>Other (Write-In)

>set up an actual black market
Maybe once we had creatures we could delegate to. Keeping the peace and being the guarantor and organizer would be a lot to keep us busy. ...also, it might be hard to operate in those roles if we'd be suffering from mana flood while we were there.

>can't talk to rats, but clanging sword works.
Yeah, there's not much negotiating with dumb animals. A display of power probably is enough authority to command.

>probably doesn't affect Margret the same way
A reasonable hypothesis. You don't know if that's due to your magics being different colors, or due to your being different people, though.

...might want to downplay or not discuss this when next you talk. It'll only fuel her worries about you getting into something without control.

Still, I think this rules out any plans of setting up shop on top of a place like this. Nice to visit, better to tap into, but you can't live like this.

>Screw the mind wandering bullshit, I can explore this place more.
Actually, maybe you can cheat around the bullshit. You want the place explored, but you can't keep your head strait inside? You need a scout. Something you can summon and delegate the task to, who can report back. Or... maybe if we summoned a magic eye equivalent of a drone, or a crystal ball or something, or we cast magic mapping it could show you.

If you back off to say, the parking lot, or behind the store, does the effect die down enough that you can think strait? A compromise between easy access to power and being clear headed? Maybe then we'd have room to experiment. Blow some stuff up, try to bring up a few creatures for contract negotiations. Assuming no one is watching.

Taffer 2014/08/02(Sat)22:19 No. 587692 ID: ebc77d
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>>587643
Ah Ravenous Rats, quite a nice summon. Also it's good we have that for the time being. No one would really notice that an abandoned building has an infestation of rats.

>>587647
About setting up the black market, I figure a local human we can trust to do the day to day operations would be a better idea. I'm hoping we might want to be like pic related. We bring nice stuff in, we auction it off, we take a large cut. But this, this is a major long term investment. We have to be very careful.


>Screw the mind wandering bullshit, I can explore this place more.
However to counteract the mana flood, we need a creature that we can pump mana into. How about that annoying little glowfly that Bob summoned?

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/07(Thu)14:33 No. 588602 ID: 86cf84
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>>587647
>>587692
(Was really hoping to get another reply or two, but it's been more than long enough.)

Okay, time to shut this off. I don't care if I go crazy from this, it's more important to figure out how to proceed. I need to stop this thing from flowing, at least for a bit, because apparently when my mind wanders it goes farther than I could even hope of throwing it okay Roni try and concentrate don't wonder about how far you could throw your brain what I need is some kind of off switch no that's probably not something I can conjure up what other things can stop flows of things well maybe a dam no that isn't likely to work what about a tourniquet actually that might be something now what kind of thing could represent sucking all the mana out of this place well if we're going with the tourniquet metaphor then leeches might be the answer plus they're ugly enough to not get noticed in a run down shack because have I mentioned how badly run down this place is okay magical mana-sucking leeches hopefully this does something.

...

W-well. I didn't expect that to work so quickly. Or that well. I still have plenty of mana to work with, so having the connection clamped off isn't something I need to worry about right now. Worse comes to worse I can always dismiss the rotten thing when I'm done here.

Anyway, let's get around to exploring. I'm not exactly sure where I should be looking, or what I ought to be looking for. Signs of life? Signs of unlife?

>What should Veronica look for?
>Maybe I should try learning more spells than just the one sword thing. (suggestions?)
>Another summon or two couldn't hurt. (Suggestions?)
>Other (Write-In)

Lets try more summons, starting with something small so we can learn the specifics of how unsummoning one of our creatures works when if want it gone.

Let's take a look around. Be ready to have that leech stop doing the thing it's doing should it occur that you need the juice to fry something.

Too bad we don't have a mana storage system to put it all into: Saving it up to use it.... Like a Mana Battery or something better.

Oh, hey, a creature that disables land. A clever quick fix, so long as we rember to remove it when we're done.

>what do
Explore the place for any sign of habitation. People might be squatting here, and you don't want to cause undo harm or collateral damage. And things might have been attracted to the mana source. Things you either bring to heel or put down.

We could also try summoning other intelligent creatures, negotiating contracts. We'll need more than one knight in future battles, I think. (The black knight, maybe?).

>>588622

I agree. Look for any thing like bedrolls, bunch of opened cans lying around.

>Maybe I should try learning more spells than just the one sword thing. (suggestions?)
And perhaps think about spells that can stregthen or weaken others and yourself. You have a sword, now you gotta make yourself strong. And if you do think of a spell that weakens another, you can test it on the leeches, to try and kill them.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/09(Sat)08:16 No. 588819 ID: 86cf84
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>>588608
>>588635
Right. Now that the mana flood isn't driving me up a goddamned wall, now would be a good time to ensure there's no one lurking here. I don't want to have to do something, but I will.

...

Alright. I'm reasonably certain that I'm the only non-summoned living thing here. The place is oddly devoid of detritus - maybe there were some squatters that got chased out?

Eh. If they come back the rats ought to be enough of a deterrent, and it's not like I'm going to need to be here to use the mana. But for now I've got this place to myself.

>>588622
>>588603
Yeah, one or two more summons might be good. I will want to look into some spells, but summons are bound to be important too! Just center myself and spend a bit of mana...
There's a clash of sparks as something metal slams into my sword, raised just above my head a split second before...I don't even know what it was, but had I not...
like I was saying, had I not blocked the blow, and that one just there, I'd be in real trouble.

"Hey! Stop trying to ventilate me, whatever you are! Don't mak-" Another block. "Stop, dammit!"

There's a lilting giggle as my would-be assailant reveals hi-herself. A small curved dagger rests in her hands and her red hair barely shows any evidence of being involved in that little combat dance.

"You're not bad! No form whatsoever, and your guard was really open, but good reaction time, that's a start!" I'm not sure how to take that, honestly. [color=990033]"So what's up?"[/color]
"Well...I kinda wanted to know if we could work out a deal for your service. I think that's how it works." The redhead thinks for a bit before nodding shortly.

"Hmm...okay! Just so long as you get less shitty with that lumbering hunka metal." That was...a lit easier than I expected, honestly.
>Vampire Nighthawk added to your summons list.
"And is getting to use this blade better something you could help with?"
"I dunno...mostly I work with knives, since they're so much lighter. But I suppose there's at least a few things that'd help. Like, when you're blocking something like that, don't hold the blade in one spot and brace for the hit - see where the other thing would make contact and swing into it. Force them to commit to an attack before you start blocking." I...guess that makes sense.

>Ask about your sword in particular - Didn't Bob say it was magical or something?
>Ask for more combat advice (Specifics?)
>Try casting other spells (Specifics?)
>Work on dismissing summons
>Other (Write-In)

Ask her what's fun and useful to do at the same time: Vampires are a major class of summons and affected creatures for black magic, so we should learn how to be on good terms with them.
Also, sword practice and instruction *is* a valid reason to call up that knight again, and probably one they'd respect too.

Can't be blocked by non-flyers, insta-gibs anything she injures, and drains life. Nice.

Now we've got an amputation-fetish knight and a bubbly vampire assassin for intelligent allies.

>That was...a lit easier than I expected, honestly.
If the bar is really this low for getting cooperation, maybe that's why the fuzzball was frustrated with your taking as long as you did to tentatively agree to anything? I suppose there's no real risk in it for them. This is all fucking around, having fun, killing people.

Seems like basic competency tests with a threat of violence, so far. Although we might be in trouble if we summon something that pushes harder, or if and when we actually fail one...

>Ask about your sword in particular - Didn't Bob say it was magical or something?
Not the worst idea, actually. She is a shaman, and one who apparently turned her arts towards melee blade combat. Magical properties of blades might fall under her domain.

>sword practice and instruction *is* a valid reason to call up that knight again, and probably one they'd respect too
...I'm a little leery about that idea. It could work, but at the same time, I have this nagging feeling that she'd be more than happy to casually maim us if and when we make a mistake practicing.

We agreed that if we summoned her without reason, she could take a swing at us. She expects that reason to be violence, but Roni cleverly left it open ended. I doubt she'll like that, but she's probably bound to it. So if we summon her to train us... she'll be looking for a way to still get her pound of flesh within the rules, and to test our authority. And it would be all too easy for the better swordswoman to land a blow as a 'lesson'.

Although, flip side, if we overcame that, we might net some actual respect.

We've got four summons now, I'm thinking we should be good for the time being. Let's ask more about combat, for now, since I get the impression we're going to want to be skilled with that Doom Blade with the way it's our signature attack.

Okay, we might want to stop with the summoning now. We got a good bunch of creatures.

>Ask about your sword in particular - Didn't Bob say it was magical or something?
well, we do wanna get less shitty with our hunk of metal. A spar with the our knight would be good but should be for later. We want to at least be sure that we can beat her.

>Try casting other spells (Specifics?)
Spells that make your summons stronger or weaker, maybe spells that allow you to revive your dead creatures (although I think you might need a dead body to experiment with before that happens)

One thing we need to do is get back so we can look over the contract. Wonder if our vampire wants to hang out for the contract signing? Or else we'll unsummon the leeches and her and head home.

One thing I noticed: the leech was never added to our list of summons. Does that mean it didn't acknowledge our authority? There's a chance it might not go quietly when we go to dismiss it and unclamp the mana source when we leave.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/12(Tue)22:15 No. 589250 ID: 86cf84
File 140790695560.jpg - (67.60KB , 312x445 , 135.jpg )

>>588944
>>588834
"So...I have to admit, I'm pretty sure this sword is magic-based or something. You must know more about it than I do, so...do you think you could give it a once-over?"

"Eh, Can't hurt." The assassin girl drops down to the floor and examines the blade as I hand it to her.

"Huh...that's...huh." I don't know if that's good or bad. "This sword...has a lot of history behind it. I don't know how you came across it, but it's incredibly dangerous in the right hands. Doubly so when you have an ally who has given their true name - using this and one's true name, you'll have a powerhouse on your hands."

Well. That...should be very useful. The redhead returns the blade and I put it away before thinking up my next question.

"So...spells that don't summon creatures. All I have is making things dead with the sword, and apparently black summons don't get hurt by it. Anything there that you can help me with?"

The girl thinks and bobs her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, I think I've got some ideas."

>Killing things is always fun!
>Making my own summons stronger seems like a good idea.
>What's some weird shit that black magic can do?
>Other (Write-In)

>[the sword is] incredibly dangerous in the right hands
Huh. Hopefully those are our hands. ...and hopefully we figure out how to control that before doing something incredibly dangerous inadvertently.

>Doubly so when you have an ally who has given their true name
Interesting that it depends on knowing an ally's true name. I wouldn't expect a black weapon to be about teamwork, or trust. Do you draw on (or sacrifice?) an ally to power it for yourself? Do you bestow it on a trusted ally (a knighting?) sworn by their true name?

More stuff to research, later. Maybe ask Bob how true names work at your next lesson. Or something to discuss with Maggie, maybe. Names and histories seem like Blue-scholar stuff.

>Making my own summons stronger seems like a good idea.
Longer term, yes. Reinforcing creatures to make them better is good. But I'd like to have something a little more direct just in case we summon something and really regret it. Something that won't back down, and/or rebukes our attempt to dismiss it.

Between killing things and weird shit: I figure we can come up with basic ways to kill things pretty easily on our own. And there are plenty of things we can ask about the direct approach. We're talking to a freaky magic assassin- weird or excepted stuff sounds right up her alley.

Well looks like we have to be really careful with the sword. It's more than a stabity stab affair if we can find out what it can really do.

And yes,
>Making my own summons stronger seems like a good idea.

I'm more interested in learning about weird shit.

Here's one for learnign weird crap black can do!

I was going to suggest learning to make our creatures stronger, but a quick glance shows me no (pure) black enchantments for first strike (the only thing Nighthawk needs to be better), and the only instant return is Midnight Charm, which I would think, as a "Pick one of three" choice card, also falls under weird stuff.

So yeah, let's see some weird stuff.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/14(Thu)14:14 No. 589427 ID: 86cf84
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>>589285
>>589297
>>589320
"Alright, how 'bout something a bit more exotic?" Having something out of the ordinary is sure to come in handy one of these days.

"Yeah, I can think of one -- you a good singer?" That's...not a question I expected to be asked. I've no chance of winning American Idol but I can carry a tune decently enough. "That should work. It's not a hard piece to learn, I don't think, just have to understand the magic behind it."

Whoever this girl is, she's got a nice voice - a clear mezzo-soprano, giving life to a haunting melody that fills the air. It's as if the music itself is charged with power, wrapping itself around...well, around me, now that I notice it. Anything that would try going after her...

...oh. Oh that could be very useful. It does take some time to match her pitch (my voice is a bit lower than hers, so the higher notes get a little squeaky) but I can feel the spell taking shape as I continue to sing.
>Kor Dirge added to your Spells list.

The sun is starting to set, has it really been that long? No matter. I probably have enough time-and spare mana-to get one more spell before that fuzzball bastard comes knocking with its precious contract.

>Let's try a spell that can give me insight.
>Let's try a spell that destroys stuff.
>Let's try a spell that brings dead things back.
>Let's go home, I'm beat.
>Other (Write-In)

>>589427
Bringing dead things back is a cool trick that'd be nice to learn, but I think I'd prioritize Insight in part because of how little we currently know and in part because of how generally useful it is.

Yeah, insight.

Before you dismiss her and head home, make a point of thanking her for the help. Actually, could we ask her name? Not uh, true-name magicing stuff, I just assume she might go by something other than 'nighthawk' (assuming there's more than one, that's her role, or title).

Also, remember to dismiss the leech when you leave. If you leave your mana supply clamped you may regret it later.

Insight is the best as you are still in the dark about all of this.

>>589441
Agreed about the leeches. They've served their purpose

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/18(Mon)13:04 No. 590050 ID: 86cf84
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>>589428
>>589441
>>589529

"I'll be honest, uh...sorry, don't think I got a name for you."
"Elana."
"Right. Elana. Honestly, I'm really in over my head here. I mean, sure I know how to do this magic, but I don't quite know why I'm involved, or what I'm supposed to be doing. So anything that could give me insight would be great." The vampire rocks a bit on the balls of her feet before responding.
"Well, knowledge isn't free. Blue mages can fart out ideas every now and again, but that's not the same as understanding something on a primal level. That's what black magic is good at, and it almost always requires payment in blood."
Yeah, that's not going to work. No knowledge is worth draining myself dry...but wait a minute. Does it have to be my blood?
"Well...no, no it doesn't. You can offer up a summoned creature in place of your own blood, but slaying the thing is just as important to casting the spell as using the mana. And before you ask, the second you use me as your altar girl, we're over."

That's fine. I had a better target in mind. "So how do I go about this?"
...For some reason I'd expected ritual sacrifice to be more...ceremonial? Elaborate? Something. All I really did was gather up some mana and stab that leech locking this place down.

...

"Elana? You...might wanna make yourself scarce. We're being watched."

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/18(Mon)13:31 No. 590054 ID: 86cf84
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"Fufufu...do not feel it necessary to dismiss your friend on my account, young ebon sorceress." I really should have expected this, but here we are. Fuzzy bastard has come to collect and I'm caught with my pants down. (metaphorically, don't get any smart ideas)

Wait a minute. I have some insight into this. Calm down Veronica, think through what you know, take into account what I just learned from that spell. The mana flood actually should help, just from the sheer volume of stuff I can process. Deep breaths, let's see what we have.

This...thing, its job is to recruit people for its employers and use whatever it can to meet its quota of potential candidates. Jobless twenty-something with ambition, should have been too easy, which is why I bet it's pissed about having to do things the proper way. Sucks to be him. (it? not important.) In any case, I'm essentially dealing with a mid-level manager - high enough on the food chain to play fast and loose with the rules, but not high enough to call the shots.

As for the magic...yeah, there's no good way around this. It knows I'm not giving this up, and it knows I know that - he's at least playing level 3, and I don't think I can make a level 6 play if he's operating any higher than that. So it's got power. On the other hand, I know that there are other players in this game, and would gladly work for them if not given a good enough deal. Means I've got some leverage. So it boils down to what it's been told to offer, and what I'm willing to accept.

...

Right. "You have the paperwork?"

"I do, ebon sorceress. But let us talk about your role in this for a moment." the beast hops on to a countertop and locks its eyes with me. "Management has a time-sensitive assignment I am to give you. The sooner you accept the contract as is, the easier your assignment will be."

That doesn't sound trustworthy at all.

>Skim the contract, make sure there's nothing signing over your soul or similarly damning passages, then sign and go.
>Read every passage and every line, force this thing to make it on your terms (specifics?)
>Call someone to double check the contract (Who?)
>Refuse the contract outright (this will leave you still unemployed with very low funds.)
>Other (Write-In)

DONT SKIM. what a lil shit he's doing this to trip you up. go over the thing to make sure you aren't getting fucked with a cactus.

Right. He's leveraging us to accept the contract without going through it. That's a pretty strong confirmation there's something we wouldn't like hidden inside.

Tell the creature that its master's deadlines aren't yours until a deal is signed.

>summon help
...I'm kind of tempted by this option, although we haven't won the loyalty of a demon lawyer or the like.

Hey, um, crazy idea. Could we summon a peer? Annother caster, from the same plane? It might be impossing on Maggie to ask for her help, but she's kind of perfect for this. She knows where she screwed up, she's seen their contracts as an ex employee, as a business woman and a blue scholar this kind of thing should be right up her alley, and she's motivated to keep you from getting dragged too deep.


...plus I'm sure her presence would annoy the fuzzball.

Standard rate would be a favor for a favor. If she's willing to help, she can call on us in the future.

Let's not call in Maggie.
This guy would LOVE to recruit more, and she only got away when she was all but cut in half, and then it was very very hard to say no.
But definitely look through this carefully. He's pressuring you, and probably will carry out his threat... But going early means being bound unpleasantly to him...
But if it's clean? Apologize, because that was a waste of everyone's time, and get going.

Uh, relevant concerns to check:

Exit criteria. What did that bit about paying back equivalent magic qualify as? Does that give them a claim on our awakening, our land, our contracts, our sword? Would we have to surrender or pay for those? And larger than that, to what extent we own our own powers or what we learn matters.

Right of refusal. We want the right to turn down jobs under certain conditions. If we feel their completion would be unreasonable or impossible, or in the case of a personal or professional conflict of interest (I'm talking preventative measures against being sent after Maggie for breach of contract, or because she controls mana they migt want).

Education. See how much or how long they're providing from Bob.

In case of death stuff. Where you benefit payouts go, and what they can and cannot do should you become deceased. (Black is a color that might keep going after death- we're not signing on to serve in this life and the next). At the same time, it's reasonable we agree not to use our affinity to cheat a till death to us part clause.

Arbitration, settling of possible future disputes. How that works out, a neutral third party to be agreed to, etc.

>No mags
I doubt he'd pull her in. The biggest risk would be her getting mad we might be. (Maybe call or ask instead of dumping her in?).

Short of that, we could sacrfice rates for insight. Or summon annother beast for it. Maybe time or space manipulation if we wanted time to drag this out? Or slip into a plane where time passes differently?

If he can wait until now to tell us about this 'time sensitive' job, he can wait a bit longer for us to read the contract in full.

>we could [sacrifice] [rats] for insight
Excuse me while I curse out my phone's auto-correct.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/19(Tue)11:43 No. 590190 ID: 86cf84
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>>590110
>>590063
Did I mention I thought the timing of this was sketchy as hell? because it really is.
"Listen up you mangey git, I don't give two shits about an important errand you want me to run. I don't work for you yet, and if it was so urgent you coulda brought this too me earlier. If I decide I want a week to pore over every word of this, then that's what I'll do and you can just deal."

"...I understand. Do not, however, try to waste your time -- or mine."

Right. Before I get into anything, lemme shoot a text to Margaret and see if she's willing to help double check this. It's not long before I get a reply.
"Stuck w/ a client. can't be there but my contract was fair and simple. just 2x check for yourself, k?" That's somewhat disappointing, but if she didn't have to make a huge fuss, that's a good sign.

Anyway, let's read this over and see what needs to be worked on.

>Using the disc thread ( >>/questdis/51740 ) to answer specific questions about the contract.
>We're over 200 posts in this thread (holy crap people actually like this shit) so when the contract is ironed out I think I'll start a second thread.

Well, if the person who doesn't want us getting in too deep isn't worried, that's a good sign.

Barring dis stuff, I guess that just leaves any issues Roni might find on her own, reading through. Trying to get us to skip over this implies there's something, unless the hairball is just fucking with us.

>>590211
Alternatively, fluffy's in a huffy because he has to actually do this by the book and wants to get it over and done with ASAP so he can get back to scamming actual innocent naive little girls.

>>590221
These aren't mutually-exclusive possibilities.

Charm!!p1AwZ0BJMz 2014/08/20(Wed)10:20 No. 590291 ID: 86cf84
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One more thing, because I realized it wasn't made official and it'd suck to get blindsided by this I guess.

>Altar's Reap added to Spells list.