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Gramps' quest for a stable family (HP / Overlord/Homm crossover quest)

Discussion in 'Questing' started by Nicaea, May 10, 2018.

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  1. Threadmarks: January 12th 1984
    Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    [X]Yes Costs 10 000 Galleons + 100 / person/creature

    [X]Yes
    -[X]A medium retinue : Middling choice, 1 000 Galleons
    Same as above, with 3 more dragons and another druid



    January 12th 1984




    It was decided that they would go at night, under the cover of darkness, to minimize the chances of being seen. The weather was rather good, even if rather cold, but druid or not, Dace was still a wizard, warming charms existed for a reason. He looked around, Oliver was steering the dragoness expertly while little Scáthach was looking around excitedly? This was the first time she was allowed out of her bed despite it being bedtime, after all. Both Oliver and Elizabeth were dubious about her coming here, however, to the man, it stood to reason for her to be involved, especially since the dreams were very clear about her presence being required.

    If the one who invited them was who he thought they were, he'd really rather avoid annoying them.

    The night advanced and the group travelled quietly, there was a spot of trouble when one of the greenhorn druids threw up in the void below, but other than that, nothing exciting happened. Of course, Oliver had to pipe up at that moment.

    "Nice night huh. Bit boring though."
    Encounter roll : 30
    That was when the dragoness under them growled. It took Dace a bit of time to see what she was looking at, but he finally noticed them too.

    Vampires.

    The cloud of bats was floating on their right, and part of it separated from the rest, revealing a man with greyish white skin, black hair and blood red eyes.

    "A nice night indeed to fly on dragonback." The creature answered in a smooth voice, sneering, before its eyes slid towards the little girl who was looking at them curiously. " Ah, this would be the granddaughter. A delicious looking morsel to be sure, even if the curse lingering upon her would spoil the taste."

    Dace's eyebrow twitched. At least this one didn't try to butcher a Romanian accent like the last one he staked.

    "Is there any reason behind you approaching us?" He spoke up, getting the creature's attention off his granddaughter. "I don't suppose you're here for small talk?"

    It looked at him, then the dragoness, that was snarling, flames coming out of her nostrils, and his sneered twisted into a parody of a cordial smile.

    "As a matter of fact, we were. Well then, we bid you a good night." It bowed, before turning into bats that joined the cloud and quickly disappeared from view.
    Diplomacy failure.
    "He's totally going to try a sneak attack, isn't he?" Oliver asked rhetorically, adjusting his leather gloves while Dace cracked open his book, looking for the spell he really should get around to learning.

    "Yes." Was the simple answer, and the dragoness suddenly twisted, barreling through the air while dark shapes barely missed her, one of them caught by her flames and screeching in pain.
    One side had hero, gain initiative! Dragoness 1 attack: Luck activated, double damage: 66 Damage
    Grabbing his squealing granddaughter under one arm and his other hand opened, Dace clenched his legs and decided to trust in his adhesive charm as he chanted.
    Dace spell: Destroy undead: -15 Mana, Damage: (power (2) x 10) + 10 = 30 to all. 15 Mana left.
    He felt the now familiar luminous winds gather around him, before a powerful gale flew out of his palm, expanding outwards into a sphere, brutally impacting and eroding the vampires. The one already hit by the dragoness was outright disintegrated.
    Vampire 1 dead.
    Feeling weakness from the opponents, the other dragonesses decided to attack too, flying towards them at high speed, burning, biting and clawing anything that got near them, mowing down through the ranks of the undead, causing the rest to flee.
    Dragon attacks. High morale! They attack twice: 6 x 33 Damage, vampire 2 to 7 dead.
    Only one managed to get away.

    However, that one was already too much. As Dace's group was hightailing towards their destination, a terrible cold followed them and they saw that the vampire was back, followed by an army of dark cloth and white bones sailing through the air. It seems that Riddle was intent on eliminating them here. And that he didn't learn about last time. Thought, that could be excused, after all, when he got his hands on the book, he could only use that spell once before becoming useless...

    He sighed.

    "Oliver?" He asked tiredly to his second in command who looked as if the situation was dire.

    "Yeah boss?"

    "It seems that I will have to rest after this. Ask Scáthach for the directions." He then gave him the little girl, who was struggling to get a better view of what was happening around her, lifted his leg and turned around, facing the cloud of enemies following him. There sure were a lot of them. He tilted his head and looked at the vampire in the eye, before a smile of unholy glee spread on his face and he raised his hand, that started to glow again.

    The sheer terror on the beast's face as its death approached was hilarious.
    Not even going to roll for damage, they're all under 30 hp. Dace mana 0/30
    The night sky was illuminated by white light, before regaining its usual darkness, save for the few spots of light from the stars and the lanterns strapped on the dragons. And the glowing, flying silvery animals that were patroni who were following them. Feeling exhausted, he saw the familiar face of Rufus Scrimgeour closing in towards them won his broom.
    Consciousness dice (mana exhausted): 75 – 10 (stressed): 65 needed 50, still conscious.
    Dace waited for the man to catch up to them while waving at him lazily, chin propped up on his saddle's backrest. With a bit of difficulty, the Head auror arrived at his level with an expression stuck between annoyed and unimpressed.

    "Interesting spell you used there, Gwallawg."

    "That's a way to put it" Dace yawned, turning back and relaxing on his seat, his granddaughter pouncing on him and pestering him with questions like an excited puppy. Scrimgeour didn't get the hint however and continued the interrogation.

    "What's going on here? And none of that evasive bull you always use either."
    Diplomacy check: 25. passed by Intrigue.
    "Is this an interrogation?" Dace raised an eyebrow." I have been very obviously attacked by rogue dementors, because, obviously, the ministry wouldn't want my death right now hm? " He didn't let the other answer. " Ah, forgive me, 'have my soul eaten' would be a more appropriate term. Still, dementors out of Azkaban, don't you find it interesting? Why, what would the people say if they learned the Ministry lost control of their wardens?"

    The other man's jaw clenched as he glared wordlessly at Dace, before soldiering on.

    "And those are class XXXXX creatures you're riding on."

    "I have a permit, mister auror."Dace blinked with an innocent face.

    "I know, I was there." Scrimgeour ground out. " How are you riding those?"

    "By saddling them and letting Oliver drive?" Was the fake inquisitive answer as Dace patted the leather contraption.

    "And the way you destroyed dementors? Those are setting several flags off, Gwallawg. Some people at the Ministry are becoming quite worried, considering your origins."

    All expression immediately left Dace's face, and he leaned in towards Scrimgeour, speaking lowly in a whisper barely audible to the man, but that sent chills crawling through his spine all the same because of the sheer darkness it contained.

    "Then you should know what happened to the last one who decided to meddle, hmmm?"

    He suddenly drew back, smile firmly in place, but eyes colder than winter as the Head Auror gaped at the man's audacity.

    "In any case, you're doing your job much more enthusiastically than your predecessor, so I will commend you for that. However, we're on family business here, and really need to get going. We thank you for the concern, but as you can see, your help was unneeded."

    Scrimgeour's scowl deepened, but he relented and finally got the hint that he was unwelcome and retreated towards the rest of the aurors, who were busy gathering the dementor remains. They quickly disappeared from sight as Dace's group progressed towards its destination, and not a minute too late, for the cube hidden in Dace's pouch, hidden within an inner, expanded pocket in his pants began to vibrate, its energy discharging towards the people on the dragon's back. Not only him and Oliver, who jerked in surprise, but also Scáthach who giggled as if somebody tickled her.

    Battle results: Dementors x 60, vampires x8 eliminated
    Scáthach starting exp: 32/1000
    Oliver starting exp: 430 / 1000
    Dace starting exp: 2861 / 3000
    Fight results: Victory!
    Exp gained: 974 Each
    Scáthach current exp: 1006 / 2000 Level up!
    Oliver current exp: 1404 / 2000 Level up!
    Dace current exp: 3835 / 4000 Level up!


    How does Dace choose to improve himself?

    [] Anything can be planned, from supplies, to moves, to types, it's just a matter of taking the good steps... Gain basic logistics.
    [] Clarity struck his mind, he's been doing it wrong all along! Gain Basic estates.
    [] The earth beneath his feet, the leaves in the wind... He could understand that emerald radiance... Gain Basic Earth Magic.
    [] Magic wove itself around him like a protective shield... Gain Basic Resistance

    Dace's current skills: 5/8 Slots taken.
    Advanced Wisdom: allows your hero to learn fourth level spells.
    Basic Intelligence: Basic intelligence increases a hero's normal maximum spell points by 25%.
    Basic Air Magic: allows your hero to cast air spells at reduced cost.
    Basic Diplomacy: allows you to negotiate with monsters in exchange of gold and reduces the cost of surrendering by 20%.
    Basic Luck: increases your hero's luck by 1




    Oliver focused a bit on what happened, and Dace's instructions, before his face scrunched up in concentration and the green energy around him dimmed. Past the rush of energy, the little girl looked confused however.

    "Grandfather, what should I do with it?" She asked, a bit lost about her choice.

    [] "You should heighten your ability to defend yourself " Gain basic combat
    [] "One's value as a leader depends on the people they lead." Gain advanced nobility
    [] "No matter what, as long as there's life, there's hope." Gain basic life magic
    [] "One is never truly alone." Gain Nature magic – Basic Summoning

    The little girl nodded with a serious expression that seemed a bit out of place on her juvenile face and Dace had to remember himself that she was truly a three-year-old, then, he remembered he had no idea on how to behave with children and directed her towards Oliver while he took a nap to try and replenish his (currently empty) wellspring of energy.

    When he woke up, the sun was up, heating his face, yet, he felt himself fall. It seemed the dragoness was losing altitude, and his leg was being shaken. He groaned and opened an eye, so see his granddaughter shake his leg.

    "Wake up grandfather, we're here!"

    And here they were, the dragonrider mused from his driving seat, in a place that didn't appear anywhere on the maps. The ground was dry and crackled, nothing was alive in here, and Oliver really hoped the white shards he could see littering the ground weren't bones. Despite the sun, the land was cold, there was no wind, and the sky itself has an eerie, purplish tint. In front of them, a tall, jagged structure resembling a castle was towering over there, crows perched over the gates with a malicious intent gleaming in their beady black eyes.

    Oliver shuddered, the druids were huddled together, and even the dragons showed some signs of anxiety.

    Meanwhile, Dace didn't know why they were all looking so nervous, those were just a few birds perched on rocks. Interesting effect with the skies though, he'd have to replicate that, though, if he's going for a more Nature themed aesthetic, this may be difficult. Yellow or green would be more jungle-ish than anything else. Little Scáthach looked fascinated with the cloudless sky, nose up in the air and needing Dace to guide her. After a few minutes, he turned around and realized his escort stayed behind, as if paralyzed. A soft, muffled noise could be heard from behind him and he decided to begin the meeting.

    "You know, you could have just told me to come alone, grandmother." Dace turned around, only to feel a violent pain on the top of his head and he blinked, seeing nothing else but stars.

    "Oh my, it looks like the years have taught you to talk big, let's correct that, shall we?"

    Faster than he could even think, something, a pole hit his knees from the side, making him buckle and fall. The noise of feet moving over dirt reached his ears and he just huffed, crossing his arms, back on the ground.

    "Not going to resist?"

    "I've got better ways to use my time." He answered almost sarcastically, having recovered enough from the blow on his head for his eyes to see the one who was talking to him.

    [] Scáthach, the Shadow, the Warrior Maid
    [​IMG]
    [] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits
    [​IMG]





    Word of warning. Yes, as you may have surmised, the latter one is Nasu Scáthach, included due to popularity. She is significantly stronger than the previous one, however, selecting her will make me, for balance's sake, introduce other Nasu elements, as long as they don't enter in direct conflict with the preexisting elements (Saberface bonanza and most things about magecraft and the Mage's association won't be a thing considering we already have the Wizarding World.). This will, of course, cause the emergence of a difficulty spike down the road if you can't leverage shishou's abilities well. Choose at your own peril.

    Also, I gave up. I'll go with animu images. Feel free to post some that you think correspond to this or that character. I'll give a bonus for appropriate ones.
     
  2. Kerfirou

    Kerfirou Cultivating Dantian inside a Star

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    On one hand, increased difficulty. On the other hand, its Shishou.

    I don't know who's to choose.
     
  3. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    You only chance for Nasuverse content in the game too.

    And well, if you want goodies, you have to fight for it yanno?
     
  4. Walkin' Man

    Walkin' Man I trust you know where the happy button is?

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    [X] Scáthach, the Shadow, the Warrior Maid
     
  5. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    Nasu scathach is the best....
     
  6. shanagan

    shanagan Versed in the lewd.

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    [X] Clarity struck his mind, he's been doing it wrong all along! Gain Basic estates.
    [X] "One's value as a leader depends on the people they lead." Gain advanced nobility
    [X] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits
     
  7. Kerfirou

    Kerfirou Cultivating Dantian inside a Star

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    [X] Anything can be planned, from supplies, to moves, to types, it's just a matter of taking the good steps...
    [X] "You should heighten your ability to defend yourself "
    [X] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits
     
  8. Bla

    Bla Not too sore, are you?

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    [X] Scáthach, the Shadow, the Warrior Maid

    Don't care about the rest.
     
  9. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    [X] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits

    Even though it looks like we're losing unfortunately. Can we at least Find a better picture if the other one wins?
     
  10. Bla

    Bla Not too sore, are you?

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    What? The picture is great!
    Not everyone needs to be an animu character mate.
     
  11. Biigoh

    Biigoh Primordial Tanuki Moderator

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    [X] Clarity struck his mind, he's been doing it wrong all along! Gain Basic estates.
    [X] "One's value as a leader depends on the people they lead." Gain advanced nobility
    [X] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits
     
  12. Blonddude42

    Blonddude42 Experienced.

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    Yeah, I'm surprised how few on the SV side want nasu. I personally consider it worth it, but on the other hand I almost always pick the option that gives you more to leverage even if you have to have a higher difficulty

    ...And Nasu Scáthach is a top tier waifu

    I'm a shipper at heart, and my soul cries out for CK2 übermensch breeding tactics
     
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  13. Bla

    Bla Not too sore, are you?

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    She is literally our grandmother.
    NO.
     
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  14. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    Well, you're free to find some, as I said in my AN. I'd rather non animu ones, and none of that battle lingerie business, but otherwise...

    With about 2 000 years worth of separate generations, and Dace only calls her that to get a rise out of her, but still.
     
  15. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    [​IMG]
    Personal preference I do prefer the anime look but this is more what you guys like?
     
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  16. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    More like that :

    [​IMG]

    I think I'll use that instead. She's got muscles after 2 000 years of murderizing magical beasts. Plus, blue eyed redhead, so it's even more accurate. I knew my Civ5 obsession would have a use one day.
     
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  17. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    I like this better then the orginally image for warrior maid, but I can always hope for badass fate scathach winning no? :)
     
  18. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    I'm leaving the votes open until tomorrow since it's rather important, but there have been 8 votes for OG Scath and 0 votes for Nasu Scath on SV, so unless somehow people come here mysteriously to vote for her...
     
  19. Minion #Q

    Minion #Q Well worn.

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    [X] Clarity struck his mind, he's been doing it wrong all along! Gain Basic estates.
    [X] "One's value as a leader depends on the people they lead." Gain advanced nobility
    [X] Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Lord of Spirits
     
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  20. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    Alright, going to end the voting phase here and tally all that. I'll post next either in 2-3 hours, or tomorrow depending on the rolls.
     
  21. Blonddude42

    Blonddude42 Experienced.

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    ...Well, I've seen some of the coming mess and I got to say, I really wish I knew what I knew now as a player -- would have made different plans. And Nasu Scáthach would really have helped.
     
  22. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    N
    Now i'm worried and missing not campaigning for the super badass
     
  23. Blonddude42

    Blonddude42 Experienced.

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    You would have had to do it on SV. I think there wasn't even a single person who voted to have Nasu over there.
     
  24. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    There was precisely one.
     
  25. Threadmarks: January 12th 1984 (2)
    Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    [X] Scáthach, the Shadow, the Warrior Maid


    [X] Clarity struck his mind, he's been doing it wrong all along!


    [X] "One is never truly alone."


    January 12th 1984 (2)




    [​IMG]
    With the tattoos on her hands instead of the face. Image changed since people on QQ asked for a better one than the one proposed.

    The woman passed a tattooed hand through her flaming hair, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, as his granddaughter was looking at them both, hesitating.

    "Speak up girl, I won't bite." The older woman's expression softened a bit, the laugh lines around her eyes and mouth contributing to make her look less dangerous than the bone spear and swords she held may suggest.

    The little girl tried to speak up, only to hiccup loudly, with a wisp of emerald fog coming out of her mouth. The fog moved to her right, coalescing into a humanoid figure.
    It was a small man, about as tall as herself, wearing brown combat boots, yellowish green pants, a sleeveless green vest, and a buckled green top hat.

    "Aye, aye, from the void I come and all of that. You my summoner? You don't look like much..."

    The humanoid creature looked around, their eyes squinting at the little girl inquisitively, before noticing that there were other people around. They looked at Dace first,then, surprised and mildly horrified at the woman who had raised an eyebrow, staring at the scene bemusedly. They opened their mouth, raised a finger, then dropped it.

    "Yah, fuck no." In a flash of emerald, they disappeared, leaving only their hat behind. There was a moment of silence before the red haired woman snorted, then began to laugh madly, holding her sides as she did, while the other two were too confused to make heads or tails of what they just saw.

    It took a while for her to calm down, and when she finally did, she sat on the cracked ground, legs crossed, hands on her knees and elbows up in the air.

    "Alright. I know the brat would rather be punched repeatedly in the face than admit we're related, or even worse, ask for help, but I'm gonna need some information about what's going on there."

    Dace looked at her dubiously.

    "Wouldn't you know? I know for a fact that you're keeping an eye on all of us."

    The older woman smiled at him winningly.

    " 'Course I do. Doesn't mean I keep track of your paperwork though."

    The younger man sighed, sitting on the ground unceremoniously, making it very obvious he didn't enjoy this situation one bit.

    "Long story short, there's a necromancer who acquired unholy amounts of power, a dark lord who actually uses his brains, Dumbledore, and Aife lost in the nature somewhere."

    "Strange order of priorities." She commented lightly.

    "It does look like kinslaying runs in the family." Was the acerbic answer

    Blue eyes confronted green, as she began to loom from her sitting position.

    "Oh? Is there something you want to tell me?" Her voice was dangerously mild.

    "I don't know, how about getting your own ducks in a row before criticizing?" Dace snorted, fingers ever so stealthily inching towards his wand as hers creeped towards her spear.

    "Um..." The baby of the group intervened, flailing around to try and understand the situation, but she ultimately decided to take her grandmother's advice "No fighting!" She crossed her arms in front of her, forming an X , feet apart from each other, expression scrunched into what she thought was a disapproving frown but with her strawberry blond ringlets and rosy cheeks, it was very unintimidating.

    Downright cute, in fact.

    Still, it did the job and got the two of them to back down, at least long enough for the girl's namesake to get up, walk towards her, pick her up and proceed to squeeze the life out of her.

    "How cute, clearly you got that from your grandmother." The woman threw one last jab at Dace before her shoulders relaxed, signaling she had calmed down. " Still, it looks like you're in quite the pinch, so I'll help you, for her sake, if nothing else.”

    Scáthach the Elder joins your group. However, since she's Scáthach the Younger's subordinate, she'll act as a bodyguard/tutor for her as she is the one who actually passed that diplomacy check.

    As they left her territory, castle and deserted landscape disappearing behind them, they heard a feral growl and blood chilling shriek. Hastening their pace, they rejoined the group that remained behind and saw one of the green dragons holding a dementor in their maw, a constant gout of flame steadily disintegrating the creature into a heap of burning black scraps and greenish-black fumes.

    It didn't take much at all to understand that something was off. A lone dementor when it was already clear they stood no chance against his dragons was suspicious, however, if Riddle was half as smart as he liked to advertise, this sacrificial move had a hidden objective. The question was what that objective was.

    Intimidation was useless, spying was a much better explanation. However, it wouldn't have been able to cross the boundary of Scáthach's domain, this was a useless sacrifice, and therefore much too optimistic a hypothesis to Dace's tastes. No. He needed to think....

    After a few minutes of pondering, as he sat on dragonback, he felt a tiny weight on his knee. It was his granddaughter who dozed off due to it being far past bedtime, causing him to remember that he'd need to prepare for her introduction to society when she hits seven. And just like that, pieces finally fell into place.

    He remembered Riddle's inquiries about her when they met a few years ago, the fact that the vampire was unusually interested in her, to the point of risking death to get to her. This on its own wouldn't be particularly enlightening. However, he also remembered the rumors he heard. Back then, he'd dismissed them as the talk of envious people trying to smear the reclusive genius' image. The fact was, three incredibly skilled and prominent young women, all between sixteen and seventeen, disappeared soon after being seen with Riddle. Add to that Riddle seeming more intent on hunting down Aife than squashing down Lily's budding faction, and this painted a rather... disturbing picture.

    Depending on whether or not he could share the senses of his minions, Riddle had concrete confirmation of his granddaughter's existence. Considering his luck, that was most likely the case.

    He felt the need to sigh.

    Dealing with a hypothetically pedophiliac necromancer really wasn't what he had imagined he would be doing. At least not so early. Still, he'd better prepare, since he was sure Riddle wouldn't appreciate him destroying his troops for the third time in a row.

    After all, if he were in his shoes, he'd try to kill him too, before he became a threat.

    New intel! Riddle aware of Chibi's existence and is likely going after her for reasons unknown, save for the fact it's somehow related to Aife. Is very likely to attack you very soon to get rid of you before you become even more of a problem.




    It's a pretty sad state of affairs when it's the 3 year old who's the adult of the group.

    I hope you enjoyed background-roll-chan's vacations, cause she's back and ruining everybody's fun even harder than before. Except the dragon rolls. they're as bullshit as ever. Very bad rolls for you this turn, and Granddaughteru saved the day with her SL3 diplo reroll ability.

    This part didn't want to write itself, so I'm calling it quits and screw subtlety ...
     
  26. Threadmarks: Spring 1984
    Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    March 1st, 1984


    -[X] Trials! Trials everywhere! Don't look at him like that, he's the victim here!



    Dace was sitting in the courtroom as if he owned the place, lounging leisurely and joking with Lucius about their next bit of entertainment. The young man, always happy to help when it comes to annoying people aligned with Dumbledore, was relaxed. It seemed like people finally forgot that Lucius bribed his way out of Azkaban and stopped talking where he could hear. Or they were too scared after he ruined the third business belonging to people who offended him.

    It wasn't very subtle, but Dace supposed it got the job done. He looked with interest as the now one-armed James Potter entered, the very picture of wounded dignity. His green eyes met with the bespectacled man's own hazel, and the looks exchanged were one of pure hatred, and the other, amusement. Potter did a double take before glaring harder, which made Dace smile politely and tilt his head in false incomprehension, which did wonders to needle the other man. Ah, how he missed annoying people by offering them basic courtesy. He felt his tension leave and relaxed in his seat.

    Dace then looked around, ignoring the irate man in favor of looking for a certain somebody who wasn't there. It seemed Dumbledore was true to his words and didn't try to protect them from judgement. What was strange though, was that at the end of the room, near the entrance, Dace could see a black silhouette clad in a black cloak. Nothing of them was visible, save for the unnatural pallor of their skin. There went his good mood. The undead even infiltrated here? He was glad he didn't throw his lot in with the Ministry, if that were the case.

    However, this caused a complication, for if the Ministry was compromised, so was Dumbledore, to a certain extent. Which meant that should something happen, he wouldn't be able to count on reinforcements. After all, it would be trivial to engineer an incident somewhere else and go for the kill in the meantime. Especially if Riddle and the Overlord struck a ceasefire, like the lack of altercations between the both of them this winter may suggest... He hated it when his enemies were competent. More so when they were completely insane in a way that didn't impede their abilities in any way.

    A stout woman, hair graying and big glasses set on her nose walked up towards James Potter and began speaking about him. How he was a respectable young man, a young father to a pair of twins, how him following Aife was a mistake due to youth, how it was truly Aife's fault, and she even began insinuating that the fault lied towards Dace for not being more strict with his daughter, as it was one of the regrets he expressed himself in that interview he had with Rita Skeeter.

    Dace felt his smile become fixed.

    Now now... That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all...


    What does Dace do?


    [] Let it go, he has more things to worry about than a mere trial

    [] Well, he can't very well let them go unscathed after this, right?

    [] Ruin them. He may not be as active as he used to be in the political arena, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.


    Due to having sufficiently taunted and gloated in front of his enemies, Dace loses trait stressed. + 2 SL Lucius.






    March 19th, 1984



    -[X] Train. You hate doing it, and it hates you back, but if it makes Madeye shut up, you'll do it.


    Dace didn't know what possessed him into taking the bait Moody presented, but in his defense, having his agility compared to that of a legless, arthritic goblin would get on anyone's nerves! Which was why he was currently at the feet of Yr Wyddfa, where the grizzled auror was scolding him for everything he had done wrong. Well, trying to.

    "And what's this I hear about you being poisoned in your own house?! You should have known better than to drink something given to you by an enemy!"

    "I had a tooth hollowed out and filled with a generic cure-all."

    A vein on Madeye's forehead was beginning to twitch, expressing his immense annoyance.

    "Here is what I have to say to you Gwallawg." He whipped out his wand, almost faster than what the eye could see and bellowed "CONST- "

    Dace snapped his fingers and curtains of fog blocked out their sight. He then swiftly moved, barely avoiding a scarlet jet of energy, before dropping on his fours, all of Madeye's spells trying to reach for him, herding him towards a position that would have caused his loss had he remained on his feet. Secretly, he was glad this blocked off the ex-auror's eye, because of the indignity. Well, not that he really cared about that above results, but he had an image to maintain. With one last look at Moody's general direction, he steadily advanced on his fours, ignoring the bellows of Madeye calling for him to fight him like a man and, when he reached safe distance, he escaped the fog, got up and threw another vial.

    Normally, the fog would be inert, even if it couldn't be seen through with magical means, but once the vial’s contents is added the fog becomes of a powerful knock out gas. After he heard Moody fall to the ground, he lifted the trap, revealing a snoring Moody.

    Perhaps, before talking about 'constant vigilance', he'd check his surroundings for nonmagical booby traps, next time.

    He felt rather proud of himself and walked back to camp, only to see his ancestor with his granddaughter on her shoulders. The woman grinned at him, white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

    "Well then, what do we have here, cutting out classes, brat?"

    She didn't really let him explain before she proceeded to 'beat the hooligan out of him' as an 'educational example for his granddaughter'.

    Several hours later, he almost crawled into his bed after applying some salve for his bruises and mused that perhaps he preferred training with Moody over that. Still, he had learned an important lesson.

    [] Knowing when to run: Bonuses to escape and dodging

    [] Standing his ground: Bonus to combat

    [] Proper timing: Bonus to opportunity attack​


    April 12th, 1984



    -[X] Ollivander has finished rifling through your mother's wands and now wants to teach you how to make wands because 'so much natural talent wasted is a crime against wizardkind and you should be ashamed not to use it!'. Seriously, what was it about you that made crazy old men nag at you all the time?


    Sitting gingerly to avoid aggravating the results of yet another beating from his grandmother's loving hands, he looked around him. Usually the mountains were only barely covered in grass when it wasn't snow, yet, the Treant's exodus led them to begin developing one there. Through holes in the shrubs, he could see wildlife, like wolves and moon does looking at him stealthily. Unblinking. And unmoving. This was slightly unnerving to be honest. Even more so since some of those wolves were apparently brought into existence by his granddaughter and nobody knew why.

    Still, the most unnerving here was by far Ollivander himself. The man looked nothing like a well put-together shopkeeper, his clothes were instead a simple brown robe, and his silver hair resembled a crow's nest, or at least a bowtruckle's with the odd branch or leaf sticking out. He'd been spending quite a bit of time outside despite the temperature and looked almost manic at times, carrying with him branches of diverse sizes and forms while muttering things nobody could hear.

    Dace was fairly certain, as the older man sat on the ground in front of him, that it was the Nature influencing him. Well that, and the fact that his greatest love always was, and always would be wandmaking. Speaking of which...

    "Wands, are works of art. Each wand I made, I remember in the tiniest details, the size, the grain of the wood, the weight... There is no wand identical to another, each and every one of them is unique, and therefore each and every witch and wizard is the perfect fit to one wand for their whole life. However, the only way to ensure that perfect match, is to create it yourself, young Dace." Ollivander produced Dace's wand, that he hadn't even remarked was absent from the holster in his sleeve and held it to the light.

    "My whole life I strove to find what were the best ingredients to make a perfect wand, and I managed to find three reasonably well supplied. Unicorn hair, phoenix peather and Dragon heartstring. There were more possible cores, but Basilisks and other such creatures were much too rare for me to have access to them. Such a pity..." He gazed into the forest, eyes lost in thought, before he snapped out of it again.

    "In your particular case, you are well attuned to your wand, in no little part due to the fact your mother was its creator. Cedar and Dragon heartstring. Cedar is a wood that responds well to people with strong character and stronger loyalty. If memory serves, you were in Hufflepuff, were you not? " Dace grunted noncommittally and Ollivander continued. " It tends to favor perspicacity and perception and its holders tend to be rather... Frightening opponents if crossed, for loyalty and perception tend to be oft overlooked qualities that greatly surprise one's opponent. " His knowing, cloudy eyes were almost seeing through Dace at this point, who was wondering why exactly he agreed to this.

    "Dragon heartstrings as a general rule produce powerful wands that allow for quick learning of spells. They tend to form strong bonds to their owners, however, they are also the easiest to win over in a fight, for dragons only acknowledge strength and dominance, and this trait carried over to the wands themselves, who also end up being quite temperamental." He chuckled, before waving Dace's wand, to no effect.

    "However, in that case, the Cedar wood counters that effect, amplifying instead the power, to the detriment of the wand's ability to work with anyone else. This was clearly an intended feature I found in several other wands made by Bridget. However, I do not think this is the best match for you. No, no... In fact..." The younger man looked slightly offended now.

    "No, you promise to be my trickiest customer by far. " A light of unholy glee was animating the man, whose body language was beginning to become erratic." Such a walking contradiction, such an inner turmoil. There is anger, so much of it, only held at bay by ironclad determination. A soul that only ever knew darkness and yet refused to answer its siren's call... No, young man, yours will be a wand made with a phoenix feather to serve you as a guide... As for the wood... Perhaps laurel. Or maybe even..." His maniacal grin almost reached his ears as the wind picked up making the living forest whisper." Yew."


    +2 RP With Ollivander, Dace can now craft basic wands, ???/???



    May 6th, 1984


    -[X] Extra action. Use your own free time to do stuff. (May only be taken once, may be used as substitute for AP)
    --[X] Investigate the necklace your wife sent you. It's obviously magical, but you don’t know what it does. 78 Luck activated! Score raised :78+20 = 98


    It took him quite a while to understand what exactly it was. However, he finally found out. This necklace's effects were twofold. On one side, it strengthened any army its holder supported, on the other it reinforced their charm and fertility. The downside is that it could only be worn by women. At least it wasn't cursed. Now, where did her hear about a necklace like that before... He'd need to investigate.


    Gained :

    A mysterious necklace!

    +2 Luck, Morale to army
    +20 attraction roll in spring
    +10 Fertility


    Give the necklace to someone?

    []Yes

    -[]Write-in

    []No


    And now, the choice some of you have been waiting for....

    Choose your Interlude!

    []The Dark Lord
    []The Black Lord
    []The Red Lord
    []The White Lord
    []The Grey Lord
    []The Red Lady
    []The Green Lady
    []The Pink Lady
    []The Blue Lady
    []The Bright Lady



    Dace's dark secret finally revealed: Dude was a Puff.​
     
  27. Soulwave

    Soulwave Unless you're Merlin

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    Yeah I can see that bleeding through his characterization easily, good job
     
  28. Bla

    Bla Not too sore, are you?

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    [X] Ruin them. He may not be as active as he used to be in the political arena, but he was stilla force to be reckoned with.

    This should remind them were not ones to be trifled with.

    [X] Standing his ground: Bonus to combat

    Can't hurt, can it?

    [X]Yes
    -[X] Scáthach the Elder

    Who else? Maybe grangran will like us more!
     
  29. Kerfirou

    Kerfirou Cultivating Dantian inside a Star

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    [X] Ruin them. He may not be as active as he used to be in the political arena, but he was still a force to be reckoned with.

    [X] Knowing when to run: Bonuses to escape and dodging

    This. There's a reason why this is listed as one of Sun Tzu art of War.

    [X]The Grey Lord
     
  30. Nicaea

    Nicaea Monomaniac Penguin

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    Hm. Seems Ruining is the most popular option. as is giving the necklace to chibi, bright lady and opportunity attacks.

    Since 5 votes is a bit low for something that important, I'm giving it 4 hours before calling the votes closed~
     
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