[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


Right now the two ghouls are sitting almost with their backs to you and seem content to gnaw on what they have in their hands.

Checking about yourself, you find that you have your Foci.  You had considered the summoning, but based on Sian's words had decided against trying it at this time.

[Ennui]

I activate my foci and cast a spell upon the ghouls.  I command them to stand up and bare their necks to me.

[spoiler]mob control force 5; drain: 10d6t5 2 10d6t5 3 going to edge reoll on both those
edge reroll x2: 8d6t5 1 7d6t5 2 pfft
so 3 hits for the spell 4 hits for drain I take 3 stun, barring the "magic strangeness"[/spoiler]

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where

The ghouls jerkily stand up and stand still with their heads cocked over just a bit to show you their necks.  From somewhere behind you, you hear the wind blow.  "Do you want their blood, Isla? Do you want to taste it?"

Sian steps up next to you.  "There is power in you, Isla.  Just like there is power in everything.  You can so far only see one form of magic.  Would you like a hint of another form?"

[Ennui]

Eww, no I do not want to taste their blood but I do want to spill it.  I nod to Sian, Sure, show me this magic.

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


Sian nods. "It is dangerous and difficult to control for the uninitiated, but you have some experience with power already."  She reaches out to touch your shoulder and you feel........................something.  Something very different and not entirely pleasant as it roils a bit in the pit of your stomach, bringing a taste of bile to your throat.  Everything but you and Sian seems to stop moving, and Sian steps slightly ahead of you and points to a small droplet of water hanging in the air in front of you.  "This is a very small bit of power, Isla.  It is not the power of your astral plane that you are used to.  This is a bit of the power that exists in all things and can allow you to do much more than you have thought possible before.  Very few people can see this power and even fewer can use it; to bend it to their needs.  There is a great risk here, Isla.  Some mages find the allure too great and become fail to understand the risk, eventually destroying themselves.  But I think that you can control this.  When you are more proficient, you will be able to draw the power to you but for now, simply reach out and touch this droplet and imagine what you want to happen to these unfortunate creatures.  Be as precise as possible, Isla, as an unchecked spell can have more impact than you want.  If you are ready, touch the power and feel its essence flow through you."

[Ennui]

Disgusting creatures, I spit.  I picture the ghouls begin to gnaw on each others bodies consuming their extremities starting with the fingers of one arm then proceeding to the shoulder.  The horror of what they do begins to dawn on their faces but neither resists the other.  Next it's the toes, feet and legs to the thigh of each leg and finally if there is any  life left in them they dig out the others bowels.  This image plays in my mind over and over and I reach out and grasp the droplet in my clenched fist and bend the power to make my will reality.

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


Sian takes her hand from your shoulder and you rejoin time.  The people in the cages are mewling for mercy even as the ghouls remain locked in place.  Thin blue streamers reach out from your clenched fist and touch the ghouls.  They seem to wake from their trances and turn on each other with crazed howls, beginning to eat each other as you had desired.  It takes a while but they kill each other before they get to the disemboweling part.  Some of the captives are shrieking in fear and horror while others have passed out from the sight.

[Ennui]

I move to free the people from their bondage and tell them they are safe now.

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


As you approach, those people still conscious flee to the rear of the cages, their eyes wide with fright.  Sian comes up to stand near you.  "So it is.  Power that is obvious can be misinterpreted.  Even though you have saved them from a gruesome death, most of these people are afraid of you.  They fear the unknown and you are clearly an unknown.  If you had used an ax or a club, they would be hailing you as their savior, but you used magic and they fear you.  Remember what I said once about peasants and their pitchforks and torches."

"Now that you used a bit power and saw what it did by thinking of it, do you have any conclusions?"

[Ennui]

Conclusions after a single experiment?  Hardly.  I'm not even sure I see it as being any different than what I was doing before other than it being a more obvious metaphor.  I work to unlatch the cages and leave behind those I rescued once free from their bondage.  I did not do this for their thanks after all.

So, where to next?

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


Sian smiles.  "Then you have missed an important point.  No matter, there will be other opportunities." 

She points to the path ahead of you and the one behind you.  "You still have options, Isla.  You may proceed out of this clearing in the direction you are traveling now, or you may return to the intersection behind you.  Do you have any questions while we walk?  There are some that I may not answer, but some that I may. "

[Ennui]

Oh?  What point did I miss?  Let's continue down this path then. 

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


Sian chuckles in that maddening way that all teachers seem to have. "If I told you, it would not be learned as well.  You will have other opportunities to figure it out."

Leaving the small clearing, you quickly lose sight of it as the passage bends quickly away then back on itself in a seemingly endless and torturous manner.  As you round one particularly narrow corner, you see that the path dips into the ground just ahead of you, leading into darkness.  Sian touches your shoulder again. "The passage ahead of you is full of dangers, Isla.  Those dangers are currently unseen.  Do you wish to proceed?"

[Ennui]

As opposed to what, standing here idly wondering what's ahead?  If the dangers are unseen perhaps we should remain unseen as well.  I cast invisibility on myself and proceed slowly careful of my footing and any noise I might make.

[spoiler]invisibility force 5; drain resist against 4: 12d6t5 6 10d6t5 4[/spoiler]

[Mercy Merchant]

Thursday 13 June 2075 1015 You have No Idea Where


The invisibility works but there is something a bit oppressive about the atmosphere here and you actually take feel a bit woozy after casting the spell.  As you descend into the darkness, you have to feel your way forward.  The sides of the cave are not smooth, nor is the ground you are walking on and the width varies from several feet to barely enough to wiggle through.  Likewise the height changes frequently with little notice and you bump your head a few times in the first hour or so.  It is easy for your foot to comedown on a rock and send it moving, but that is about the only noise you make, besides breathing.  After a while of making it through the shifting tunnel, your foot connects with yet another rock and sends it forward, but it only bounces once before the noise uncharacteristically stops and then you hear the rock bouncing from side to side against the walls of a pit ahead of you.