Turn 6
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You feel fine, rested, and cured thanks to disgustingly smelly ointments and bed rest. But Linda insists on another week of sick leave, "just in case". Well, so much better for you: More time to think and study the Secret Knowledge.
Father sent a postcard from Philadelphia, and once again you reminded yourself of the need to find (rather decipher) and send him something from the Knowledge of the Knock. Only that would most likely convince him of the truth of your words.
Sparky called a couple of times, to discuss the parahuman skirmishes in town and to chat about the new games, combining both topics in the case of Uber and L33t. He was clearly sympathetic to your involuntary disconnection from the world because of your injury (you lied about your foot being run over by a car, but he didn't really believe it). Also, Sparky was obviously going to drop in on you over the weekend, but you're not sure you're ready to tell him the Truth.
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The room in which you were treated seems cramped and stuffy, but the illness has receded. It's time to get back to work, power doesn't come by itself.
You have one body action (T), three mind actions (R), and three passion actions (P). You have 16 funds at your disposal (all your available savings).
Influences:
- Vitality - The drums in your ears. You can work better. (+5 to Body rolls) 1 Lv.
- Apparent Enlightenment - There is more and more glare on reflective surfaces! I'm not just seeing regular light, and it's noticeable. (Bonus to rolls of Exploration. Can lose 1-2 steps or, in critical failure, degenerate into a Fascination) 4 Lv.
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Turn 6 Results
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You stand hesitantly in front of the easel with the picture of a flock of moths in the night forest. You are immersed in memories of the time that has passed. Not many things have happened this week, but all of them are extremely important to your progress as an Initiate.
For example, for once you're not wobbling by the wind, which in itself is a big plus. All it took for you to get into physical development was the collapse of your whole worldview.
Also, the Path to the Wood. An important milestone for any Initiate, for not everyone, knows how to find their way there.
Finally, another Secret Knowledge can also open the way for the initiate into the depths of the Wood. No longer so useful to you, but even an understanding of the existence of such different approaches has its own value.
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Influences:
- Vitality - The drums in your ears. You can work better. (+5 to Body rolls) 1 Lv.
- Apparent Enlightenment - There is more and more glare on reflective surfaces! I'm not just seeing regular light, and it's noticeable. (Bonus to rolls of Exploration. Can lose 1-2 steps or, in critical failure, degenerate into a Fascination) 4 Lv.
Work:
[X] (B) This body is mine. All of these rites and rituals are quite traumatic, not to mention sacrifices. Yes, and some knowledge, as well as much more than some practices, hurts 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, 80% chance of success. (On completion, +1 body action, increase vitality.)
Required: 20. Roll: 66 + 10 (Decreasing Growth Burst) + 5 (Vitality) = 81 Passes!
From the prescribed light warm-up to weight-bearing exercises on muscle groups unaffected by the nearly healed injury, you do everything you can to get into proper physical shape. By the end of the week, you feel much better, the infirmity receding. It's still not enough to withstand the damage done to a mortal's body by occult practices without loss, but it's much better than what it was before.
(+1 body action each turn, the Trait Runt ( -30 to physical activity rolls, except body improvement exercises + blocking some actions and social relationships) eliminated. Further body improvement actions will be available from the next turn).
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
[X] (P) The creation of art. Your parents and teachers have mentioned more than once that you're not a bad painter. You've indeed been neglecting it lately, but getting an album and paints out of a drawer is a minute's work. And although the painting will take a long time. If you put the picture in a frame you can try to sell it. And you'll need the money and a lot of it. Requires 1 pass, 80%/60%/40%/20%/5% chance of success
Required: 20/40/60/80/95. Roll: 30 x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 5 (Vivid Imagination) + 5 (Painter) = 55 Passage of 2 grade!
Once again, you take up your brushes and paints and stand at your easel to depict the scene clearly imprinted in your mind after your successful hike in the Wood. The dark trunks of trees gradually appear on the surface of the canvas, whose roots hang down by ropes and threads into old egresses and burrows. A flock of motley moths circles above the gloomy backdrop, some of which have taken to resting on nearby trunks and the moss that covers them.
Ignoring the quiet humming in your head, you do not dare to add scissors stuck in the trees to the canvas. It's unnecessary.
It's worth considering whether to sell such a painting. What it depicts may be too clear a hint for the initiated...
Dream:
[X] (P) The Wood grows near the walls of the Abode. Now that you have the knowledge of the Lantern, and the memory of your unfortunate visit to Mansus, the path to the Wood is clear. And if done right, you will reach the anteroom of Mansus. Requires 1 pass, 70% chance of success.
Required: 30. Roll: 23 x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 5 (Initiate) + 1 (1d6 from The Watchman's Secret) + 5 (Vivid Imagination) = 46 Passage!
It's time for radical remedies. According to the Secret, it is necessary to sleep in a room devoid of color: wash the sheets until white, whitewash the walls, and dye the hair and skin. The primitive execution of the first things last time was not enough, which means that today you will have to use chalk.
A path flooded with moonlight. I know this dream. The path at the top of the hill, the air burning silver... The path to the Wood. "The colour exists only where there is light" - and light cannot penetrate the Wood. In the dream I close my eyes and walk forward: I stumble, and my feet and knees are bruised. Finally, the thicket becomes too thick, and I have to stop. I open my eyes. I'm suspended in weightlessness among the black trees. Shadows flutter around me. My feet will remember the way to this wood.
(Way: The Wood. I've learned the path to the Wood, tangled darkness that grows around the walls of the Mansus (thought the Mansus has no walls). I can Dream with this to return to the Wood. The next turn will have a moth effect: a Buzzing in the Brain.)
Study:
[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 1 Requires 1 pass, 75%/15% chance of success.
Required: 25/85. Roll: 5 + 20 ( Apparent Enlightenment ) + 5 ( Scholarship ) + 1 ( 1d6 from "A Watchman's Secret" ) = 31 Passage
Illopoli's style is indeed fascinating, despite some archaic turns, but most importantly, he really knows what he's writing about: "The walls of the Abode are surrounded by the Wood. As anyone who has studied History knows, the Abode has no walls."
Illopoli details how many times he entered the Wood in
This phenomenon he calls a silver dreams. Mentally walking into the Wood is the same as mentally making yourself fall in love, he explains. But I discovered the Secret that helped me.
(Obtained: The Next Stage of Enlightenment, Secret Knowledge: The Barber's Warning - Moth Knowledge 2)
A Barber's Warning - A power of the Wood enjoys the separation of the lock from the scalp. For attention, burn it. For opportunity, bury it. [Read this over a corpse in a ritual with the influence of Winter to bring it back to life] (Knowledge 1, Power 2)
[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 6 passes, 60% chance of success. (On completion of +1 feeling action, creativity boost)
Required: 40. Roll: 27 x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 20 (Apparent Enlightenment) = 61 Passage.
I had to scour quite a few entomology Web sites but in the end, you got an idea of what an ordinary nocturnal moth should look like. They're quite fascinating creatures, and although they're quite different from the version that inhabits the Wood, at first glance the uninitiated would find it hard to tell them apart. Of course, your painting depicts the correct moths of the Wood, because after all, it's just art, isn't it?
[X] (P) 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 4 passes, 60% chance of success. (On completion of +1 mind action, increase in erudition.)
Required: 40. Roll: 47 + 20 (Emotional Fountain) = 67 Passage
With all that deciphering Knowledge from the book, painting, physical training, and trying to master the simple tools for making the various items needed by any self-respecting cult, you don't have as much time left to hone your intellect as you would like. Nevertheless, there's enough time to finish the homework you've been sent and do a little theoretical research on your parents' old textbooks. Just a well-done chore.
[X] (M) Mastering the Craft. You'll need more than a little secret knowledge to make special objects. You can always leave that to the people who have the right hands... when you have them among your followers. In the meantime, it's worthwhile to improve your skills in manual labor. Requires 1 pass, 60% chance of success. (On completion, a crafting option will open.)
Required: 40. Roll: 13 + 5 (Scholarship) + 20 (Apparent Enlightenment) = 38 Minor Failure.
Because of the pile of work, you have almost no time to make something with your own hands, as you intended to do earlier. And you've even found an old piece of wood to practice carving with! However, the matter at hand is urgent, while attempts at craftsmanship may well be postponed for later.
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