Turn 10
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Time passes, and the shadow on the sundial moves... The influence of Mystic I provokes a roll!
Results: 14 (threshold 5). Nothing so far.
As you tighten the last knot on the life-beaten tarp wrap, you take another look at your work. It's not enough. Not nearly enough. It's not a fact that even a lead-lined safe could contain all the Fascination's emanations. Other occultists must have had problems storing such artifacts, but there wasn't a single suitable method in the materials you studied. One can only hope that the measures taken will be sufficient.
It will take some time to fully recover from the turmoil of last week, but the worst has been avoided: Nothing irreversible has happened. These failures are just unfortunate delays, and you will make an effort to learn the proper lessons from them.
* * *
The usual school routine continues. In the case of Winslow High, it's a seething cauldron of gang kids, informals of all stripes, and generally aggressive, and sometimes intimidated, teenagers in the prime of puberty. According to unofficial statistics, one in two had a knife, knuckles, or other means of harming their neighbors. (-1 mind action per move for the sake of learning, +1 unit of pocket means every 2nd school week)
You have two! body actions (B), three mind actions (M), and three two passion actions (P). You have 20 funds at your disposal (all available savings).
Influences:
- Vitality - The drums in your ears. You can work better. (+5 to Body rolls) 1 Lv.
- Mystique I - provokes checks at the beginning of each turn, and attracts unwanted attention if it fails.
- Psychic Injury: Depletion of the Feelings -1 action of the Feelings until cured.
Healing rolls at the end of each turn.
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Turn 10 Results
Biting your pencil, you glanced at the old-new book. If you're right, it's another source of Knowledge, another rung on the ladder leading to Glory. Although, you can't neglect the other resources you've gained this week.
Changing your status at Winslow alone can do a lot for you, not to mention everything else. So, thanks to the training, the second stage of finding your way to the Abode should be much easier and painless.
On the other hand, you still feel some numbness in your feelings, even though the main symptoms are gone. Perhaps you should refrain from dangerous ventures for a while and take care of your health?
* * *
Influences:
- Vitality - The drums in your ears. You can work better. (+5 to Body rolls) 1 Lv.
- Mystique I - provokes checks at the beginning of each turn, and attracts unwanted attention if it fails.
- Psychic Injury: Depletion of the Feelings -1 action of the Passion until cured.
Healing rolls at the end of each turn.
Work:
[X] (B) This body is mine 2. All these rites and rituals are rather traumatic actions, not to mention sacrifices. Yes, and some knowledge, and much more than some practices injures the one who learns and performs them. You need a much sturdier and stronger body so that you don't have to go to the emergency room after every vein you open. Exercise should do you good, and the dumbbells dug out from under the rubble in your room are already helping in no small way. Requires 1 pass, odds of success70/15%. (On completion +1 body action, increase vitality)
Required: 30/85. Roll: 32 + 10 (Decreasing Growth Burst) + 5 (Vitality) + 10 (Gym Pass) = 57 Pass!
"Dude, what are you eating?" Suddenly Sparky interjected himself into your train of thought.
"What do you mean?" You tried to clarify the situation, catching sight of your friend's eyes hidden behind his bangs. Not very successfully. How can he see at all?
"You've almost doubled in a couple of months. What is that, steroids, or some super-prescription from your books?" He lowered his voice, poking you sensitively in the stomach.
You took a critical look at yourself, just in case. No, that you'd grown significantly taller was obvious from the noticeable shrinkage in your clothes, but the gain in muscle mass, on the other hand, was gradual and much less noticeable. But now that Sparky had brought it to your attention...
"It's not a super prescription, it's just that I have a growth spurt. I also go to the gym and eat right. The secret knowledge will be needed in the final stage, to overcome the human limit a little." You whispered that last sentence, leaning in close to your friend's ear. No need to yell about the world's secrets in the middle of a crowded corridor.
"Aha! So there is a secret after all!" He whispered, jumping up and down so he almost hit you in the forehead.
"There is. But until you get close to the limit - it is of no use." You are in a hurry to break your friend's spirits.
It made Sparky resent the world's injustice and sulked at you for the rest of the day. Also, when you stretched out after a particularly tedious Social Studies lecture, your shirt ripped open, and you were getting strange looks from Winslow students for the rest of the week.
(Gained trait: Stronger Physique (Arms of Bronze) +1 body action each turn, +5 to body rolls, except body development action. +1 HP box (+10 to health). Unlocking new actions is open. The next step action will be available from the next turn).
Dream:
[X] (P) Calming of the nerves. After the incident with the painting, you feel some emotional burnout. Perhaps if you relax well, this feeling will go away faster? Requires 1 pass, 70% chance of success (Opportunity to greatly reduce recovery time after injury)
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Required: 30. Roll: 22 + 10 (Decreasing Growth Burst) + 5 (Vitality) = 37 Pass!
You spend several hours a day relaxing, just lying in bed and trying not to think about anything. It turns out badly, and then you listen to quiet music or watch shows about the animal world. Everything is quiet and peaceful. The grip on your soul loosens a little.
(The probability of curing psychic injury at the end of a turn is higher by 15 points.)
Study:
[X] (M) Attending class. As a minor U.S. citizen, you are obligated to receive a general education. The state doesn't need savages. Well, more than there already are. The usual school routine has set in. Repetitive action, 90% chance of success.
Required: 10. Roll: 100 + 5 ( Scholarship) = 105 Natural Crit!
Last week, noticing your high grades, your math and science teachers asked you to write some extra tests. In a rush to get away from them so you could go home to study the really important Knowledge, you solved everything in about twenty minutes, turning in the worksheets under the skeptical looks of the teachers. You did not pay any attention to this occasion, and as it turned out, in vain.
The following Monday you were unexpectedly called to the principal's office, where a very polite Principal Blackwell asked you to participate in the high school Olympiad. She said something at length about honor protection, preferential treatment, and the like, but in such a vague way that it was almost impossible to get specifics out of the speech. You agreed just to finally get rid of her.
A couple of days later you were taken straight from school to some school on the other side of town, where they gathered a small crowd of similar sufferers from all over the city and put you to write another test. After a lot of headaches over the murky wording, you were done with this bullshit and spent the rest of your time observing the students of other schools, hoping to identify in them an aptitude for some principle.
A day later it was repeated, already with a different set of participants, but with the same result. And on Friday you were again called to the principal's office, from where you and several other school staff members went to the gymnasium, where, after another vague speech, Blackwell ceremoniously presented you with your certificates.
Turns out you somehow managed to get second place in the city's high school Math and Science Olympiad. Quite a prestigious achievement, opening up some opportunities. For example, with this kind of data, it would not be so difficult to transfer to Arcadia next year... And the attitude of the teachers and students towards you has improved noticeably.
(Trait received: Silver Quil (Nat. Crit #2 in the trait roll) - Your academic achievements, and getting second place in two city olympiads at once, have turned you from a representative of the masseurs into a rising star among the students. At least in the eyes of the school administration. This has its perks... (The "Attending class" action always ends in auto-success, thanks to your advanced knowledge of the program (and the goodwill of the school administration), and the mind action with the lowest result in this move adds 5d6 dice, thanks to the time freed up for thinking.)
Trait "Outcast" upgraded to "Weirdo" because of achievements in improving the physique and increasing reputation among students)
[X] (M) Books are immortal memory. Among other things, the Predecessor's possessions contained books. It is unlikely that he kept tabloid journalism along with mystical pigments. The subject matter of the books and the references in the diary suggest the same thing: Whatever the content, these texts are related to Mansus and the Principles. There is much to be gained by reading them... Except, where to begin?
- "Traveling at the Night," by Christopher Illopoli, volume 3. Requires 1 pass, 75%/15% chance of success.
Required: 25/85. Roll: 68 + 5 (Scholarship) + 2 (1d6 from the Watchman's Secret) = 75 Pass!
Illopoli's musings on the flame and the Unburnt Goddess are interspersed with passages of highly sensual poetry addressed to a certain Baldomera.
The passage near the end of the book is the most useful: 'To reach the Stag Door, I believe that all you really need is to want something enough. But I've never wanted anything that much, except of course Baldomera, and I'm very much afraid that the knot in the story is this: what Baldomera wants is the Stag Door. But here's something I learnt in Persia. Perhaps it'll teach you what you want.'
( Acquired Secret Knowledge: A Smith's Secret - The Forge Knowledge)
A Smith's Secret: In five continents, smiths have whispered the same words to the iron. Murderers have been known to whisper these words, too. And adepts, of course. These words are spoken in ritual to inspire an unmerciful Change. (Knowledge 1, Power 2)
In addition, due to the analysis of the author's thoughts on serious topics, from the next turn there will be an effect - Enlightenment (+5 to the rolls of the Study. If failed, it can turn into a Fascination) 1 Lv.
[X] (P) Admiration of Art 2. Your drawing skills have dulled considerably, and at the best of times, they didn't exactly shine. But you can fix that! The Internet is full of films about famous art galleries with the works of great artists of the past and online tutorials on many types of art! With a goal in mind, you can greatly improve your skills.
Requires 2 passes, 60% chance of success. (On completion of +1 Passion action, creativity boost)
Required: 40. Roll: 34 x 0.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 22 (89/4 from Crit to Kindred spirit?) = 39 Minor Failure.
With all the worries of this week and last week, it's no surprise that you've had little time to develop your sensual perception. Nevertheless, you feel some progress, and perhaps you can do better next time.
(On the next roll for this option, a score greater than 60 will allow 2 degrees of success on account of the work done this turn. Otherwise, the bonus disappears).
[X] (M) There is knowledge in words 2. A mind is a useful tool. Especially when the path to greatness involves comprehending the Secret Knowledge. To better understand them, to gather them into a single mosaic, decipher them, and perhaps to find new ones - one should keep this tool sharply honed. There were some of your parents' old school textbooks left in the home library, and the articles found on the Internet are still relevant. Requires 2 passes, 60% chance of success. (On completion of +1 mind action, increase in erudition)
Required: 40. Roll: 29 + 15 (31/2 from Nat. Crit in " Attending Lessons") = 44 Pass!
Because of all these tests, or because of the temporary dulling of your senses, the failures in the development of your mind that have haunted you in recent weeks have finally ceased. Though you can already tell by now that things are going to get a lot harder from here on out. It's time to start preparing for the next stage since the materials you can develop are almost exhausted.
Comversation:
[X] (P) A kindred spirit? You certainly have a penchant for the arcane arts, you remember the Wood, and you've noticed some signs of it. But is such an inclination hereditary? Perhaps a conversation with your mother might help clarify it. Requires 1 pass, 55% chance of success/???
Required: 45/90. Roll: Roll: 72x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 5 (Vivid Imagination) = 113 Crit!
"Oh, and I was hoping it was about the girl." Linda sighed sadly.
"Mom! Don't change the subject!"
"All right, all right. I thought about talking to you about it after I heard about the dream about the Wood, but I didn't think it was important. And after the trauma, I'd forgotten..." She was silent, gathering her thoughts, and the curl on her forefinger, the characteristic curl she usually did on such occasions, came out.
While Linda was gathering her wits, you were fiddling with a pencil, which was also a form of stress control. From the very beginning, as you tried to lead your mother down the right path, she stunned you by saying that she already knew as much about the occult as you did, and she knew almost immediately what you were talking about.
"It all started with a little literary club in Boston, to which I was dragged by an acquaintance. I don't remember her name anymore, was it, Anne? The owner of the bookstore, Mrs. Cat, had Friday night readings with tea and homemade baked goods. I liked the warm atmosphere and became a frequent visitor." Linda paused for a moment as if she were going back in her mind to those early days.
In addition to the usual novels coming out at the time, old books were often mentioned. Strange books. Sometimes all evening we would discuss someone's dreams. People would come and go. One day it was my turn to leave: I met your father, and we moved here to Brockton Bay. Some relative, or acquaintance of your father's family was selling this house for cheap, and we decided this was our chance.
Holding your breath, you listened as the details of your family's biography came to light. Even on the surface, this is very valuable information, especially about the Boston Cult (or its cell), as well as a thread to the Predecessor.
"As a parting gift, Mrs. Cat gave me one of those strange books. For a while, I tried to keep in touch with old acquaintances, but afterward... It became too difficult. The gang wars, the Endbringer, the parahumans everywhere, and when I got pregnant!" Your mother's voice was colored by the fatigue you must have felt in those days. - I even had to go to the emergency room a couple of times because of my nerves.
"A sterile white room, white ceilings, linen, white everything. That's when the dreams came. Dreams about Wood. At first, I thought they were just memories of the stories in the literary club until I woke up and found cobwebs in my hair and dirt under my fingernails."
"For a while, I thought about what it was, was afraid of course, tried to find out more. But I couldn't find anything useful. And then you were born, and I couldn't care less." With a sad smile, Linda shook her head as she looked at your focused face. "I didn't think my son would ever have to deal with this, much less delve into ancient speculation and secrets..."
"If you're interested, I still have that book." She said as she came out of the kitchen. "Just be careful with it, okay?"
Only now you realize that you didn't say a word during the whole story. And your tea is completely cold.
( Acquired 1 initiate of the Secret of the Aspect of the Lantern. The cult must be organized for further action. New book received: The Humours of a Gentleman).
Healing of psychic injury: Requires 75 (-10 per turn, -15 from rest) Roll: 76! Pass! The injury reluctantly fades away.
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