Turn 18
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"Time passes, the shadow on the sundial moves."
Because of reaching the limit of Enlightenment, which the fragile human mind cannot stand, a roll for the consequences is made:
Required: 70 (80-10 (Contentment)). Roll: 95. (I don't get it, are you charmed?! Ffff...)
You woke up, feeling something hard on your face, smelling of fresh ink. A pain shot up your neck as you struggled to get up and open your eyes, trying to understand where you were and what had happened. Your memory, treacherously perverse, retained hints of a revelation ... Oh, right. Most likely, it was the same thing that led to that self-written treatise on the Moth!
... But in that case, where is the manuscript, and what is a map of the city in front of you that exceeds your height in both length and width? And what are these notes with stickers covered with strange explanations? Some streets, alleys, and marked houses, crossed by thin lines at strange angles are accompanied by geometric drawings, poems, and formulas that have no application in the normal sciences.
The growing migraine of trying to make sense of one's notes almost made you regret missing the Shining of the Clear Mind from the depths of consciousness. Despite the possible consequences, making sense of the incomprehensible notes would have been much easier with its help!
Through the oppressive headache, a vague memory of how, in a fit of inspiration, you decided not to take the bus home but to walk a shortcut. You don't know what impulses were guiding your dim (or overly enlightened) mind, but you eventually managed to get home by some alleys, outrunning the bus by almost ten minutes.
This incident, like the strange map, needs to be investigated.
Received:
- Shortcuts map (needs research, opens a new location?).
[https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/10/29/article-1223790-07013122000005DC-358_964x499.jpg]
Opening the box: ??? - 1d3: 1, ??? - 1d6: 4 ...
To be perfectly frank, when you opened the box, you expected something more... powerful. However, the box contained only a strange-looking clock, no, a compass? With a winding mechanism and four, two... three hands? Through a dial divided into twenty-four sections, a moving clockwork is clearly visible, but the parts just don't move right!
Barely taking your eyes off the unnatural thing, you suddenly realize that you haven't even touched the crown, and yet the device works. "Still," or "Already," that is the question. Just as you were finishing that thought, there was a quiet ticking sound that certainly wasn't there before. The hands of the device suddenly began to move in different directions almost independently of their position in space, and the gears broke the laws of geometry a couple of times in a second. Trying not to think too loudly, you return the Compass Clock to the box, deferring the matter to that beautiful moment when the headache subsides.
Received:
- Path to the Horizon! (Expedition outside the town).
* * *
Souvenirs (Requires 95): 56 Nothing.
Faction Interest (???) (Requires 10 (20-10 "Contentment")): 2 Almost a critical failure.
An early graying detective from a once-powerful, and still almost obscure, organization (now operating under the guise of a department of a much better-known and more public institution) picked at random from a stack of cases a report that was already stained with something. He took a sip from his mug of very trashy instant coffee, which had also cooled down to room temperature, grumbled and, after logging on to the ancient office computer, plunged into the depths of the department's database.
It will take some time...
As a result of increased anomalous activity in the city (including the failure to investigate the Cannibal Cult), the Bureau has allocated additional forces to suppress the actions of occultists. Possible events ??? and ???
* * *
Rapid warming is accompanied by winds bringing the smell of rotting algae and rotting seafood from the sea: after the Leviathan attacks most of the ocean fisheries have given up, and the depleted ecosystem has begun to regain its footing. The short spring break is over, and exams are approaching. (-1 mind action per move for study, +1 fund every 2nd school week)
You have four body actions (B), four mind actions (M), and four passion actions (P). Cultists may perform one action from a special section. You have 16 funds at your disposal (all available accumulation).
Influences:
- Visible Vitality - Heartbeats like thunder! (+15 to body rolls) 3 Lv.
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Turn 18 Results
Leaving aside a few minor setbacks, this past week has been extremely rich in pleasant revelations. A generous stream of knowledge came down and through it, the power grew! For once the future looks bright and serene, full only of new achievements and victories. One can only hope that this glimmer of Glory is not a mere mirage...
* * *
Influences:
- Visible Vitality - Heartbeats like thunder! (+15 to body rolls) 3 Lv.
Work:
[X] (B) This body is my 4.
Requires 7 passes, chance of success50%. (On completion +1 body action, increase vitality)
Required: 50. Roll: 93 + 10 (Decreasing Growth Burst.) + 10 (Gym Pass) + 5 (Natural Development) + 10 (Workout Plan) + 15 (Visible Vitality) + 2 (2d6 (1, 1) Words that Walk) = 145 Artificial Crit!
No matter how many approaches you make, and no matter how much you play tricks on your body, it seems to be not enough. At least there is no other way to explain this endurance, this hunger, which can be satisfied only by a new workload, the next bar, one more spurt. And again. And again. And again.
At some moment you realized that that pounding in your ears was not your heart at all.
More precisely, so is it, but not only. The pulsating songs are echoes of the Restless Heart, beating to protect the skin of the world we understand. To the end of the week, the influence of the principle of continuation and preservation pulses in your blood.
Received:
- Influence of Heart - Pulsing Airs. A rising power; a reassuring energy. [Influence of 6 levels: Impossible to mistake. Can be used in some rituals for summoning underlings.](Power 6)
[X] (B) Mastering the Edge. How to Make a Fist.
Requires 3 passes, 60% chance of success. (On completion will receive a trait combat statistics, + open access to the next stage, +variable)
Required: 40. Roll: 34 + 10 (Hardened Physique) + 15 (Visible Vitality) + 8 (2d6 (3, 5) Words that Walk) = 67 Pass.
You seem to be the one who is supposed to be taught how to throw punches, but for some reason, you are the one who has to fly around the room from all kinds of throws, grabs, and just plain slaps. When you subtly hinted this to your mentor, he just laughed and asked: How am I going to learn how to punch properly if I have no idea what effect it will have on my opponent's body?
After watching the intense work of thought on your face, Martin nodded to something and sent you smashing your fists against a brick-crusted pear.
Life is pain. And pain is a good teacher.
[X] (B) Sheltering. During your search, you came across a vacant warehouse in surprisingly decent condition for many years. With some effort, it can be tidied up and arranged to become a proper cult shelter. 2 passes are required, with an 80% chance of success.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Required: 30. Roll: 35 + 10 (Hardened Physique) + 15 (Visible Vitality) + 11 (2d6 (6, 5) Words that Walk) = 71 Pass.
After another week, the cleaning is bearing visible fruit, the amount of dust is not too much higher than usual for your room, and it's time for the next step. All the hinges are thoroughly oiled, the light window above the entry door is covered with a layer of plywood covered with a dark cloth, and both doors are draped with heavy, sound-dampening old curtains.
The outbuildings are also equipped with a couple of old chairs found in the attic and brought into acceptable shape, and the ancient plumbing and electrical systems are cleaned up with cleaning agents, replacement of dried rubber parts and a large skein of duct tape. The hardest part is left: discreetly create a tapping into the network and reconnect the water supply. After that, all that's left is the little things, like screwing in light bulbs and setting up a seating area for meetings with cult members...
[X] (P) The creation of art.
It takes 1 pass, and the chances of success are 80%/60%/40%/20%/5%
Required: 20/40/60/80/95. Roll: 11 x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 10 (Wild Imagination) + 5 (Painter) + 5 (Good Paint Set) = 37 Pass.
Lately your art... to put it mildly, doesn't shine. It seems like it's about to get a lot better. But it's not. It's like there's a little touch missing, a twist, something that would make the work stand out among the others.
You stepped away from the easel, taking another critical look at the layers of dried paint that were forming into an image of an empty, gray city under a blinding, multicolored sun surrounded by halo circles. As you blinked, your eye saw for a moment a different picture-the white wasteland beyond the Door of the Dead, the stairs of the Abode made of blue stone that rise upward, and the almost blinding, bleeding sun whose face crosses Wound
The illusion disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Shaking your head to dispel the vision, you reached for the newspaper and a roll of twine to wrap the painting. And all the way to the familiar store, the obsessive thought did not leave your head: "What nonsense! After all, Glory is not visible from the pale confines..."
Received:
- 4 funds for the sale of the painting "Coastal Reef" (painted in turn 17, but not sold due to certain circumstances) + 1 unit for the sale of "Sol Invictus" painted this turn.
Study:
[X] (M) School attendance. Auto-success.
As spring draws to a close, most students (even in a dump like Winslow) begin to prepare maniacally for their upcoming exams. Just in case, you, too, flip through your textbooks and carefully solve the tests provided. Contrary to your subconscious expectation, each of the tests is 100% correct.
Most of your peers practice the gaze-killing technique on you, but their mortal Dao is nothing compared to the power of a follower of the Forge of Days!
[X] (M) Books are immortal memory.
- On the White by Solomon Husher. He writes, perhaps allegorically, of Winter, and its long slow doomed romance with the Sun. The epigraph is 'Sunset at Noon'.
Requires 1 pass, 80%/10% chance of success.
Required: 20/90. Roll: 95 + 10 ( Notable Scholarship) + 10 ( 3d6 (4, 1, 5) Unmerciful Mantra) = 115 Artificial Crit!
The reader who has carefully studied this work will think it is about aesthetic theory or is a collection of warnings about the dangers of drawing (Which, knowing your work, is quite a hot topic).
Husher writes distractedly of his hatred of colours and his yearning for death. (Is that what ancient emos were like?) He hints at a Great Work he has envisaged or begun, where the 'palest of paintings' will enthrall the world. He returns again and again to certain compelling phrases which he claims are the 'secret words of Winter'.
Under the cover at the end of the book, someone wrote down the necessary conditions for summoning the voiceless dead. There was a brief mention of these creatures in the Predecessor's Diary, but for some reason, the knowledge of any interaction with the dead was rather sketchy. Now that you think about it, there might have been some good reason... Or maybe the man just didn't like the dead.
Received:
- A Sexton's Secret. Certain knowledge, it is said, can be expressed only through the particular quality of a silence. It has been suggested that one can only read such knowledge with one's eyes closed, but only by mischievous commentators. (Knowledge 1, Power 2)
- Conditions for summoning the Voiceless Dead (will be available for summoning when resources of the necessary aspects appear).
- Mind trait: The Occultist Theorist - you've dug through so many books on occult topics that you already feel which text fragments can lead to the full picture of the Knowledge you're looking for (+5 when trying to find Knowledge fragments in written sources).
[X] (M) Decipher notes (Personal). Why trust someone else with something you can do yourself! You dive into the abysses of the Internet and try to compose a tune yourself. Linda is probably exaggerating your lack of musical ear, right? Requires 1 pass, 50% chance of success. (Probably contains something curious.)
Required: 50. Roll: 99 + 10 (Notable Scholarship) + 5 (Initiate) + 8 (3d6 (2, 2, 4) Unmerciful Mantra)= 122 Artificial Crit!
With the help of Internet music enthusiasts, you managed to establish that the messy bale of notes was intended for the viola. It was impossible to find an emulator of the instrument, so you had to judge very roughly how the recorded music should sound. But with some effort, you did manage to put together a few melodies, some of which bore clear signs of the Heart (they are easy enough to identify because once created, the rhythm does not want to leave your head).
The other melodies you tried to play on a junk puffer strangely thinned the space, which immediately reminded you of Knock's power. There, among the remaining mess of notes, which at first glance did not make any sense, was accidentally found a simple cipher, correlating the order of the notes with the serial number of the letters of the alphabet. Apparently, the author tried his best to rework the ritual of sacrificing Knowledge into something that would be able to erase something else. Unfortunately, this work seems to have reached a dead end. Most likely, these sheets of sheet music are all that remain of one E. Zann.
Received:
- The Knowledge of the Heart - Words that Walk: Each syllable of this formula subdues itself. I unconsciously snap my fingers to the rhythm. It doesn't want to stop. (Knowledge 2, Power 4),
- A Consent of Wounds. To open certain Ways, one must first open oneself. This practice outlines that opening, in the name of the Mother of Ants. [Nearly every summoning rite requires Knock influence. This lore will provide it.] (Knowledge 3 Power 6)
- Rite of the Watchman's Sorrow. This rite recalls the loss of the Watchman, who walks the house which has no walls. (Light goes before him and shadow behind. He must not see you.) The instrument of power is used to summon him to take his sacrifice: precious knowledge from the root of your thoughts. The assistant must speak the words that anchor your sanity, so choose someone you trust.
[X] (M) Shortcut. In another mad rush of Enlightenment, you somehow made it home from school earlier than theoretically possible.
Moreover, overnight you created a strange map of the city, nearly four square meters in area, covered entirely with strange markings. Perhaps this strange moving process can be repeated if I can make sense of my notes. Three passes are required, 60% chance of success
Required: 50. Roll: 83 + 10 (Notable Scholarship) + 5 (Inatiate) + 10 (3d6 (6, 1, 3) Unmerciful Mantra)= 108 Artificial Crit!
In a wave of success, you've made some progress on the shortcut map. The part of the map that dealt with the most visited places in the city. Unfortunately, this was also the least densely populated area on the map, with a number of "passages" in which you can count on the fingers of both hands. You don't really see how you could benefit from the ability to get quickly to the Central Library from any residential area, effective only on Thursdays, and exclusively before sunset, but you can't complain have to. Better to know but not apply than not know and need.
As you studied the map, you felt something that reminded you of the Abode. You even dreamed of the crossroads a couple of times, though you didn't feel the sensation of crossing into the vestibule of Mansus. Something stayed with you after you woke up.
Received:
- Influence of Lantern - A Consciousness of Radiance. There is a light behind the world, a light above the Mansus, a light that penetrates both glass and skin. It is present here. .[Second Order Influence: obvious to the susceptible, instantly recognizable to the knowledgeable. Can be used in some rituals to summon underlings; some underlings will retain the influence when destroyed. Unused influence becomes Fascination.] (Power 2)
[X] (P) Oratorical Courses: The Flaming Approach. You've watched politicians talk nonsense on TV many times and everyone believes them, just because they're charismatic. You'll learn to do the same, and to hell with abstruse reasoning! It takes five passes, with a 25% chance of success.
Required: 75. Roll: 57 x 0.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 10 (Wild Imagination) = 38 Fail!
It is surprisingly difficult to find a working manual on how to properly ride a speaker's ears on the global web. There are similar topics in psychology and rhetoric, but they're either highly specialized practices or ancient-era precepts translated from another translation. At this rate, you'll have to look into magicians' manuals on dental juggling, comb through dubious manuals like "Hypnosis for Dummies," or even look for a politician-tutor... In any case, this is a future thing, but for today you have enough Internet.
[X] (B) Mastering of the Craft, Principles of the Forge. You will need more than arcane knowledge alone to make complex items. A high-level craft cannot do without knowledge of metalworking. Of course, you can always send your craft to people who have their hands in the right place... When you have them among your followers. In the meantime, all you have to do is learn the skill yourself. Requires 4 passes, 50% chance of success. (The crafting point will improve on completion.)
Required: 50. Roll: 97 + 5 (Strong Body) + 13 (3d6 (4, 3, 6) Shaping Chant) = 115 Artificial Crit!
Articles about metalworking using ancient techniques and some clips about jewelry casting at home were surprisingly informative, in addition to wonderfully complementing the previously learned methods of working with blacksmithing tools. Doing a few experiments with the stove and pliers, you got a little better at blacksmithing, and after finishing the work, you felt the presence of a strong influence.
Received;
- Influence of Forge - A Trembling Heat. The possibility of sparks. [The influence of the sixth degree: Impossible to mistake. Can be used in some rituals for summoning underlings.](Power 6)
Conversation:
[X] (P) Continued Recruitment. Not long ago you tried to recruit another cultist candidate, but something went wrong. You refuse to admit defeat, and you will continue trying to recruit Taylor! Requires 1-? pass, chance of success 30%/???%.
Required: 70/???. Roll: 26 x 0.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 10 (Wild Imagination) + 10 (Geek) = 33 Fail!
Ignoring your plans to make contact, Taylor has been careful to keep her distance all week, avoiding staying in the same room, except in classes where it was impossible. Trying to analyze the possible reasons for this, you decided not to press and give her some time.
[X] (P) Interesting rumors. Going back to school, you can't help but wonder how many potential followers are within its inhospitable walls. And, of course, it never hurts to know what kind of relationship the factions are arriving in right now. Listen to the chatter here, ask a few leading questions there... there's a chance to learn something interesting. Requires 1 pass, odds of success 65%/???%.
Required: 35/??. Roll: 77 x 0.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 10 (Wild Imagination) + 16 (+ 4d6 (6, 4, 2, 4) Moldywarp Admonitionsn) = 64 Pass.
In the light of the whole exam situation, you managed to find another possible candidate for recruitment, thanks to the rumors. It was one of the teachers, mathematics teacher Howard Wheatley, whom you had only glimpsed before. As it turned out, this dried-up middle-aged man has a great passion for his subject, and could probably find a better job, if not for the bordering obsessive habit of looking for secret meanings in numbers. As well as a love of trying to discover new uses for formulas and equations, or to prove the validity of once-denied mathematical theories. For these strange habits, the teacher gained notoriety as an annoying but generally harmless quiet lunatic. Any other school would probably have quietly dismissed such a cadre, but Winslow has never been known for a significant talent pool, and Mr. Wheatley is more than up to the job. But, anyhow, the man might be useful to you.
Received:
- Candidate for Recruitment.
Cult Affairs:
[X] (Candidate) Initiation. One of the people who have expressed an interest in our activities will now have the honor of becoming a neophyte of your cult. The ceremony will require some preparation, including the processing of the candidate.
- Sparky (Grail) - A teenager whose nickname long ago replaced his name.
Wishes one day to start his own musical band, and most likely many other things, even if he is not ready to admit some of his wishes even to himself.
"So, how does it feel?" You asked Sparky, who was sprawled out on the couch.
"It burns like spilled boiling water! Couldn't you have been gentler or something?!" He groaned defiantly as he groped the bandage.
"Nope." You grunted, settling back in your chair. "The Forge of Days demands pain."
"It was necessary to honor her with a sacrifice. If you want, I can show you my mark, it's bigger..."
"No, thank you! I'll manage somehow!"
Received:
- A new follower, Sparky, a neophyte (Grail 2). Sparky is still passionate about musicianship, no longer limited to the drum set. He has been eating more sweets lately, but it seems to do him nothing but good. His voice and movements are unwittingly eye-catching.
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