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Dungeon Delver Quest (Original Fantasy... again)

Reader mode
[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?

Food first priority, people talking and/or monster smashing comes second.
 
[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?
 
[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?
mmm food
 
Xicree said:
~Sigh~
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This isn't really a critical vote here. And both actions are perfectly reasonable and in character.
MC is hungry, thirsty, and suffering from a headach induced due to lack of alcohol. Getting some food is perfectly reasonable.
On the other hand, she is also direct and headstrong, going into the tower and bashing some monsters is also perfectly reasonable.

And neither choice is going to make a significant difference about anything. Not her overall personality, not the world, not her relationships, not her build...
This is seriously not sigh worthy
 
[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?

As said, the MC is hungry (which makes for a non-optimal first forray alone) and it might be good to put her head down and feel better before going. Even something as basic as "Oh hey, there is a starter kit of a few healing potions for free over there" could double the amount of times we can spend in our first jump there. Or, you know, find a nice druid girl to do that.
 
Changing vote to

[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?

Hungry oni loli is hungry.
 
mrttao said:
wait, mc is loli?... i thought she was fully grown. it doesn't really indicate clearly in bio but the picture has her as being a bit young... more of a teen though
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That was more of a joke than a serious evaluation of her age category. Plus 'oni loli' rhymes :p
 
I can't read Darkened mind on the matter, but I'm writing Yuuka as being in her teens, so like 16-17, or the Oni equivalent. That said, can I get a vote count?
 
Vote Tally : Dungeon Delver Quest (Original Fantasy... again) | Page 4 | Questionable Questing
##### NetTally 1.2.1

[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?
No. of Votes: 8
Minion #Q
Arkatekt
Arkeus
Bre Karn
CptTagon
Guile
mrttao
Nohbody

[X] You can eat later, and screw wandering around like a lost puppy. You came here for the tower. You want to check out the tower.
No. of Votes: 4
Xicree
Bailey Matutine
Sirrocco
Tavarokk

[X] No reason to go anywhere. Pick a person nearby and start talking.
No. of Votes: 1
Darkened


Total No. of Voters: 13
 
I have updated both of my Quests, so guess what, it's once again that time! Omake Time!

Murdan Mall'eoch was not one to get discouraged easily, oh no, he was not. However, he must admit that the first results of the training for his chosen path were not exactly as he had anticipated.

It had all started when he had been rummaging through the few chests containing the belongings the Mall'eoch had managed to smuggle out of their holdings, after the Elven Cenacle dispossessed them of their lands and titles; he had found it under a pile of old garments, probably forgotten in the first few months of their exile.

A leather-bound tome, written in classical Elven script, speaking of a 'Hidden Job' – which must have been a mistranslation, but he was stumped as to what the correct modern Elvish might be – called the "Dodekatheon Contractor" or something like that, with cryptic mentions of 'statistics' or 'support skills', or 'shards', 'slabs', as well as other terms which seemed a little more familiar – like 'godsblood' or 'Tower'.

After deciphering as much of the text as he could, he had understood that this was the diary of Taldran Mall'eoch, one of their illustrious ancestors from a bygone era, who supposedly found 'the Truth' at the pinnacle of one of the mythical structures.

Within those lines he had claimed to have succeeded in clearing one of those Towers alone, shaping a perfect party from fragments of primal elemental power, the Twelve Great Spirits, or 'Dodekatheon'. They contained, among numerous columns of numbers and letters which Murdan made little sense of, the instructions for reaching out to the Great Spirits, and make a contract with them in order to receive power.

So he had abandoned his classical magical studies – the fact that his family could no longer afford to pay him his tuition had nothing to do with that – and set out on the lonely path of the 'Dodekatheon Contractor', the path to Ultimate Power!

That was how, on the first full moon after the spring equinox, he was standing on his roof, a summoning circle, with which he would call upon Sylph, the Great Spirit of the Wind!

Focusing his mystical energies in the intricate patterns that would rend asunder the barriers between worlds, he called, and something answered.

Something prodigiously vast and without compare to the petty magics of Elves, Men, or whatever! A towering, evanescent silhouette as vast as his ramshackle – no wait, affordable – house, and then, in the blink of an eye, it collapsed – no wait, contracted, that's right!

Into the shape of a thumb-sized disheveled little girl with diaphanous wings and a gauzy robe. Very short robe, by the by…

"Huuuuuh?" came the melodious – if a bit high-pitched – voice of the goddess from Beyond, "are you peeking up my skirt, Mr. Pervert?" she asked.

What.

"Eek, are you trying to eat me, opening your mouth like that!"

"Wait, no, great divine Spirit, I didn't mean to offend you, I have called you to establish a contract, like you did with my ancestor, Taldran Mall'eoch…"

"Oooh, you know Taldrie? How is he doing?"

"Well, he's been doing fine for himself, but he's been dead for a couple millennia at least…"

"Oooh noooo, Taldrie! Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"What? Wait, don't cry, o divine Spirit! Please let me fetch you a handkerchief…"

***
"I summon thee, Undine, Great Spirit of Water, to enter a pact and gblkghgr-"

"Oops, sorry for drenching you, your circle was a little bit sketchy so my aim was poor!"

"It's nothing, divine Spirit, let me welcome you on the material plane and offer you my pledge of… why are you collapsing into a puddle?"

"Sorry, sleepy… Don't you have something interesting to show me?"

"As I said, I am contacting you on behalf of my ancestor, Taldran Mall'eoch…"

"Oooh Taldrie! How is he doing?"

"Well, hum, fine, except his time was a few millennia ago… Oh please no, don't cry yourself into a puddle!"

***

"Great Spirit of Earth, Gnome, I am named Murdan Mall'eoch, and I am petition you for a contract!"

"…"

"Divine Spirit, why are you not answering?"

"…"

"That's impossible, a divine spirit cannot be shy… Tell me, does the bond my ancestor forged with you matter no more to you?"

"…Taldrie?"

"Well, yes, how do I break this to you… it appears you divine Spirits have quite a different notion of time, for while a mere blink of an eye has elapsed to you, many Elven lifetimes, however long they may be, have passed…"

"…"

"You do understand, right?"

"…"

"Is that oil you are crying?"

"… Yes."

***

"Great Spirit Salamander, I am reaching out to you! May your brazen flame light my path, and incinerate my foes!"

"Oi, you jerk, it's goddamn freezing in here!"

"My humblest apologies, divine Spirit, my heating budget has suffered from some restriction lately…"

"And you are calling on me to spare your expenses? Are you mad, mortal?"

"This indignant attitude would be a lot more threatening if you were not an inch tall… Ahem, no, great Spirit, I am retracing the steps of my ancestor, Taldrin Mall'eoch…"

"What, did Taldrie kick the bucket without telling me? And letting me cremate his remains? What a jerk!"

***

The eight other spirits were not much easier to handle.

Helios, Great Spirit of Light, chastised him for having impure thoughts – but how can it be helped, when the spirits adopt such nubile, scantily clad female forms?

Erebia, Great Spirit of Darkness, outright creeped him out when she told him she was the only Spirit he needed, and that he would always be happy with her.

Astra, Great Spirit of the Stars, barely listened to him as she was gazing at the sky, or peering into that strange scroll of hers – why did it remind him of a spider's web?

Selene, Great Spirit of the Moon, was offended that he mistook her fox ears for mere dog body parts, and turned her tails on him with a huff.

Elsa, Great Spirit of Ice, was about as interactive as Astra, except she did give the impression of noticing his existence – it's just that she gave him the cold shoulder, for some reason. Must have been that proviso against singing that his ancestor's journal advised be included in the summoning?

Volta, Great Spirit of Lightning, was even less attentive than Sylph and Salamander combined, always twitching and leaping around in her summoning circle.

Eisen, Great Spirit of Metal, was adamant in setting up a martial challenge for her would-be contractor – what need did he have of weapons with the power of Magic at his side? Besides, for a thumb-sized figure, she managed to nick him quite a few times. Blood doesn't come easy off clothes, you know?

Sylvie, Great Spirit of Wood, managed to creep him even more than Erebia, with her
strangely… phallic vines swirling about excitedly as she whispered of the 'seeds of our love'…

But finally, he reached the newest Tower, crossing the line of no-return, with his spirits at his metaphorical side, because damn was it tiring to have more than one or two materialized at the same time!

And understanding dawned on him, as the Tower fed him information about godsblood, and the tables and numbers in his ancestor's diary suddenly started to make sense.

And horror dawned on him. Twelve Skills? One per Spirit, to be raised independently, wait, there were twelve Utility Skills as well, and a handful non-Spirit-specific ones? Stringent Presence, Power and Will requirements to have more than one spirit summoned?

Murdan Mall'eoch, heir to a disgraced line he was striving to redeem, sat down in shock. How the heck could his ancestor have managed to accumulate enough godsblood to maximize all Spirit Skills, and have enough statistics to have a handful of them simultaneously conjured? While he knew little of the economics of the Towers – these particular memoirs must have remained in the Mall'eoch holdings or been plundered – he suspected that it would take a lifetime for him to get even half of these unlocked.

He spent a lot of time in prostration, before his stomach noisily recalled him to the base necessities of life. Following another newcomer, a strange, foreign young girl with horns, he started making his way towards a campfire and the smells of food.

'Ha, I will show them the worth of the Mall'eoch,' he thought, pumping his fist. 'I will not let this discourage me, even if it means I have to rely on others to carry me through the floors of this Tower of trials, and when I come back, they will rue the day they made light of my clan!'

The young girl gave him an intrigued glance, shrugged, and muttered something about 'so many weirdoes in one day'. What the heck could she have been meaning? You were not weird, just determined!
 
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[X] You can smell some good food from one of the bigger pavilions nearby, and you really could use a drink. Maybe you can kill two birds and get some information and a meal?
 
It probably cascades. Seeing as due cite is the limiting factor he probably focused on one versatile or advantageous spirit and ground it and a mainline support skill like Yuna white magic then murdered midline mooks easily to grind 100 or so shards to boost wide swaths of his skills up to base line than camped an area with elemental advantage for him with each.
 
Larekko12 said:
It probably cascades. Seeing as due cite is the limiting factor he probably focused on one versatile or advantageous spirit and ground it and a mainline support skill like Yuna white magic then murdered midline mooks easily to grind 100 or so shards to boost wide swaths of his skills up to base line than camped an area with elemental advantage for him with each.
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Or maybe it is the secret arcana mentionned in the margins of Taldrin's diary, the mysterious 'NG+'...
 
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Not fully, since no one came in directly after Yuuka, but I'll probably use some of it for his skill set.
 
yrsillar said:
Not fully, since no one came in directly after Yuuka, but I'll probably use some of it for his skill set.
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Well, he came in before the MC, since he has had the time to review just how fucking expensive his Job is and get apathetically depressed for a moment, he was just getting up when Yuuka started passing him by and going towards the campfire.
 
Day 1: Preparation
You kinda want to go poke around the tower, but your grumbling stomach and aching head really offer a strong argument for at least taking an hour to get something to eat and drink first, and it DOES smell pretty good. Decision made, you turn toward the direction of the smell, your greater height pretty easily allowing you to see over the crowd, and set off for the brightly colored pavilion venting smoke.

A minor incident of almost stepping on a pixie aside, you don't have too much trouble on the way. Most people around here seem to be minding their own business or focuses in their own little groups. The delicious smelling pavilion is pretty big too, and its wide entrance is actually tall enough that you only have to duck a little to enter. You were always self-conscious about being kinda short back home, but out in the wider world it's actually a little convenient. The interior is lit by wrought iron lanterns hanging from the rafters, each containing pretty light blue mage lights. It gives the place a relaxing kind of atmosphere.

There's a fair few people here, but you don't pay them any mind, instead heading toward the source of the delicious smells, a portion of the pavilion cut off from the rest by a heavy wooden counter. You pause for a moment to watch what looks like a human sized doll shaped like a pretty woman in some kind of weird frilly black and white dress walk out of the kitchen area, multiple trays of steaming food and pitchers of drinks held in it's four hands. You shake your head at the oddity. Magicians are weird. Behind the counter and in front of the admittedly impressive array of drinks is an actual person.

Whip thin and dressed like a guy version of one of the dolls outfits, the olive skinned elf offers you a welcoming smile, somehow managing to look you in the eye without giving the appearance of craning his neck. He has a lot of jewelry for a guy you notice, — lots of little glinting bracelets and rings and way too many jeweled piercings dangling from his pointy ears.

"Welcome, welcome," he says brightly as you reach the counter, his smile never shrinking, "I do not recognize your face, so I suppose the wonderful smell of my kitchen must have drawn you in as soon as you arrived."

You give him a slightly suspicious look, recognizing the dig for info for what it is, "Yeah pretty much," you admit. It's not like you're trying to sneak in or something. "After that welcome I figured I could use something to drink."

"Well, you have come to the right place then. You will find no wider selection of fine drinks here," he responds, cheerful tone never wavering. "I admit, the welcome is a bit bracing. At least you were not one of those left smoking in the grass though, yes?"

You nod even as your eyes scan over the selection behind him, eventually alighting on a woefully small bottle you recognize as a Black Mountain vintage; you're surprised a foreigner got a hold of some of that clan's work. "Oh, that weird message said the tower welcomed everyone. Was it lying?" you ask curiously, before pointing out the bottle behind him, "How much for that? Also, you have a menu or something?"

"Not everyone has the fortitude for the welcome," he replies with a shrug. "Since you are new, I assume you have no deucite?"

You frown, tearing your gaze away from the bottle, "Not yet, what's that got to do with anything?"

"I think you will find, young lady, that fewer and fewer shopkeepers accept anything but shards for their wares," he replies. "Of course, in my great kindness, I accept simple coin from newcomers; consider it a friendly warning for the future. The spirits will cost you three silver. Should you take a seat one of my waitresses will see you served a meal shortly."

You grumble at the cost, but if your coins are going to become worthless, you suppose it doesn't matter. As you dig out the coins you also remember your manners, such as they are, "Oh yeah, I'm Yuuka. What's your name? It's weird thinking of you as 'the elf'." As you speak you lay out the coins on the counter.

They are gone almost before you can blink as the smiling elf sets your newly purchased liquor on the counter, "Gemnus. I do hope you become a regular customer, Miss Yuuka."

You roll your eyes. This guy lays on the salesman shtick a little thick, but he doesn't seem bad precisely. "If your food is as good as it smells, I guess I might be," you reply as you turn away, bottle in hand and scan for an empty seat. There are plenty of them though, so you make your way to the closest and have a seat. The bench at the table groans a little under your weight, but holds just fine.

A moment later you've cracked the clay seal and down a nice burning gulp of the Black Mountains finest. You let out a happy sigh; the bottle is even runed to keep it at the perfect temperature. You can already feel your headache slipping away. If only it was a proper oni sized bottle… You spend a few moments savoring mouthfuls of the slightly heated spirits, until one of those weird 'waitresses' comes to your table side to hand out a menu. You watch it go with a little shudder; they're just a little too real looking. What the heck is their skin made of to look so real? It's only the barely visible joints and seams that give them away.

Well that and the dull, empty eyes. More than a few of the customers don't seem to mind ogling them despite that. They serve their purpose though, and your order gets collected and delivered efficiently and without error. You kinda wonder where the heck Gemnus got fresh fish so far inland, but he's pretty clearly some kind of wizard, so you don't put too much thought into the matter. Your order does come with a bonus though, a pair of small crystal vials holding a bright red liquid, and a note from the proprietor.

'For my new customer, this may be a bit forward, but I am sure someone of your clear determination intends to enter the tower at some point. For you I offer these two potions of minor healing. Consider it a bit of advertising, for one who has no head for the art. You can find the maker's tent some three lots to the east of mine. I should warn you, the owner is not as generous as I and will not accept any coin but shards.'

You frown at the potions and then back to Gemnus, who merely smiles back. Your first inclination… it's to be suspicious, frankly. Free stuff is always suspicious. On the other hand, well healing potions, that's pretty useful. In the end you pocket the potions, making you twitch as they seem to vanish and another surge of information washes through your head. That's going to get annoying.

Inventory has been changed since previous iterations. Rather than being based on strength, every character begins with ten slots, which can be modified by equipment or skills.Permanent items fit one to a slot; consumables can be held five to a slot. Deucite can fit an unlimited number in a slot, but only of a single type. So shards take one slot, chunks take another etc.

That is pretty much all there is to inventory this time around.

Your belly rumbles then, reminding you of what your priorities should be. Later, when you've finished your meal, you consider the other reason you came here, namely to get some answers on a few basic questions. The currency one has been answered, but other questions remain. You suppose the obvious one to ask is Gemnus, seeing as you know he won't just blow you off, but business does look to be picking up so he's also kinda busy. Looking around you try to figure out who you should talk to. Obviously you want to ask someone who isn't a total newbie like you, but how do you tell who is and who isn't?

After a few moments of deliberation your eyes settle on a guy sitting alone like you are, grimacing as he counts out a handful of tiny purple shards. He has pretty fancy clothes, but they look oddly worn, and he's an elf, like Gemnus, but paler and with long dark hair, which frankly looks kinda girly to you. Not that you had an easy time figuring out which foreigners were which at first. Especially with elves, the difference is pretty slight compared to what you were used to. Minor gender confusion aside, the little part of you affected by this place recognizes those shards as deucite. If he has some of that, obviously he's been here long enough to go into the tower, right?

Nodding at your own impeccable logic, you stand up, inevitably drawing some eyes as you stand to your full height, and start making your way across the pavilion interior, it doesn't take the guy long to notice you coming, although you guess it's helped along by the tiny female figure you just noticed standing on his shoulder whispering in his ear and pointing your way. His eyes immediately dart up from the shards on the table, to you… or rather your chest, but you suppose that's about face height for an average person, so you'll let it go since after a moment of surprise his gaze continues on up to your face.

…It's not like you're anything special in that regard anyway. You squint at the figure on his shoulder. Maybe a pixie or something? She has the wings for it. No matter though. "Hey, you mind me asking you some stuff?" you ask bluntly, figuring you shouldn't waste time, if he blows you off you can just look for someone else.

He stares at you for a second longer, "…I'm sorry, do I know you Miss…?"

"Real smooth Murdy," the tiny girl giggles, "When a girl asks for help, you're supposed to accept!"

You give the smaller of the two an amused look, that sounds like a policy that would get you taken advantage of a whole lot, "Yuuka," you reply, "And no you don't, but I figure you've been in the tower before, right, uh… Murdy?" What a weird name.

"My name is Murdan. Murdan Mall'eoch," he responds with an aggrieved sigh. "Please do not give strangers odd ideas Great Spirit."

"Murdy is Murdy, and my name is Slyph!" the little girl replies stubbornly.

"So can I ask you something or what?" you ask hastily, before what you suspect is a fruitless conversation can bloom.

"I suppose there is no harm in it," he responds giving the pouting 'spirit' on his shoulder one more aggrieved look. You can see a slightly considering look in his eyes. You don't really get why though.
"Alright," you respond anyway, dragging the bench out a few inches to more easily take a seat and let the poor guy stop craning his neck,"So I'm new here, I need to know the basics. I know shards are money on top of powering you up," you catch him grimacing at that, "But is there anyone in charge around here, anyone we have to talk too to get into the tower?"

"No, there is not really a central authority here," he admits. "I do believe some kingdoms tried, but well, just yesterday I saw a noblewoman arrive with an entire platoon of guards in tow. The only survivors of the welcome were herself and the captain of her guard. I suspect this place prevents any gathering of significant armed forces, though what mechanism it does so by is…"

"So nobody I need permission from, got it," you interrupt. You feel a little bad, but you aren't here for a full course on whatever magic runs the tower. Slyph giggles, but he looks a bit put out, "What stops people from just taking stuff then?"

"Nothing in particular, except fear of the current owners," he admits, "This place is rather lawless, I would warn you to be careful, but you look like you can take care of yourself."

"I guess you must be able to as well since nobody's taken your stuff yet." It's only polite to respond to a compliment with a compliment. Sylph laughs, and Murdan doesn't quite seem to know how to take your words, "Right, so what's it like in the tower? How far along are people on their way to the top?"

"The first floor is still being mapped," he responds with some amusement, "It is larger on the inside than the outside, and as you can see it is quite large on the outside. "As for what it is like…" he grimaces again. "Packed with monsters, it seems the first floor is largely full of undead."

"Murdy didn't get very far," Slyph adds in a stage whisper, "He blew his whole load in the first couple of fights! He doesn't have enough stamina to use us well yet, not like the old boss! Plus the grumpy lady who sells refreshing potions is super expensive!"

You can't help but snicker a bit at the betrayed look he shoots at the tiny girl, "Well if it's just bashing skeletons I suppose I won't have much trouble," you muse confidently.

That considering look returns as he turns away from his companion, "I was actually going to head in for the day soon. I could show you through the cleared area quite quickly."

You grin, "So you can take advantage of me bashing the baddies for you when we get past it?"

"Well, yes," he admits a bit sheepishly, "But I am hardly a pushover in combat, and my… stamina as my spirit puts it, will last much longer with a companion aiding the fight."

"That's not a very good pick up line Murdy," Slyph admonishes.

You consider it. Fighting alone is always a bit dicey, but it's not like you have any reason to trust this guy.

[] Bring him along, if he tries anything funny, you'll just squish him.
[] Nah, you'd rather go solo for now
[] Nah, but you should look for a partner before you head in
-[] What sort of partner are you looking for?
 
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[X] Bring him along, if he tries anything funny, you'll just squish him.
-[X] We don't know if he'll work even mid term, but we have a couple of potions for our own stamina and a guide that's also a nuker for some of the more difficult enemies can be useful.

Also huh, seems my character has made her appearance too! Too bad she came with a Guard Captain, means she probably won't be too tempted to party with a Oni right now.
 
[x] Bring him along, if he tries anything funny, you'll just squish him.

Murdan's useful, and will become moreso over time.
 
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[X] Bring him along, if he tries anything funny, you'll just squish him.

As if I could answer anything else!

Though it's supposed to be Murdan, not Murdoch, unless you are changing things yrsillar?
 
[X] Nah, but you should look for a partner before you head in
-[X] Du Hansard

:V
 
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