Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

[Mamono Assault Force]

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The spread of corruption is a serious issue. Even though Mara-Jade herself isn't without such characteristics, she's fortunate enough to not have transformed into a hideous monster as a result of her unusual nature, or so said her peers. Corruption spreading from otherworldly beings causes unknown things to happen to the victims, thus making it best that they avoid contact whenever possible. Unfortunately, that seems impossible for one village who have reported multiple sightings of mutated beings filled with an unnatural lust. "Handle this issue however you please, Jade." Said the mage giving her this quest. "Just stop the spread of corruption. If all else fails, the best way is to burn the bodies of those corrupted." she was told before being sent on her way.

Making her way out of the academy and into the open world, people such as her always had to be careful of any orc presence. Thankfully though, Jade met with no opposition or surprise attacks. It was a straight journey to this supposedly cursed town. She came upon a dwelling of about thirty buildings or so, which seemed to have a population of about one-hundred or so people who all dressed in an odd fashion for the most part. Cloaks, hats, and lots of figure hiding elements were worn, giving as little detail about the dwellers as possible. Not that it hindered Jade from knowing that they were all corrupted for the most part, mind the few that were normally dressed and seemingly entirely human. The rest of their attire suggested that this town was hit rather heavily by supernatural influence.

A similar robe wearing individual walked by, seemingly with a special interest in Jade. She looked up at Jade, a strand of white hair running down the side of her face as she looked up with violet eyes. "I don't know who you are or why you're here looking like that; However, you had better leave this place, while you still can." the kitsune instructed Jade with a warning, before moving on her way. Moving with a quick step, even if she tried to follow the unknown girl, Jade would lose her in the sea of strangers, all of whom would give very non-discrete stares and glares from their cloaks, hats, or lack thereof. There was no question someone dressed like her from the academy would stand out amidst people who looked heavily suspicious.

The buildings were all made of wood and many had smoke rising from stone chimneys for warmth. While it could be simple to perhaps just try to torch the town and be done with it, Jade also was tasked with finding the source of the corruption as well. The town was a victim and now a part of the problem, but they aren't the source. It was up to her how she'd handle searching for clues.

There was an Inn to get a room if she so desired. There was a tavern where patrons gathered to consume the poison of drink. There was a guard house where men wore distinct hats and coats to signify their station. There was the largest building in the center that seemed to be the chief's (aka the leader's) house for governing the town. Finally, there was the residential area where all the houses were away from the shops and the like. The unknown woman seemed headed towards the residential area, if Jade decided not to chase after the other locations to make her inquiries.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

"I will see to it at once, though hopefully it doesn't come to that." Mara-Jade gave her affirmation and set out shortly after gathering her supplies and saying goodbye to her parents.

The journey was not unbearably long, though it did give her a chance to contemplate the unfortunate nature of the heavily corrupted. It was a matter she empathized with, given her own extensive, if less obvious mutations. Well there was that one matter of the lactation...but she tended to not dwell on that rather embarrassing one. People with the same amount of magic in their body as she had had been driven insane before, the way she understood it, she had her mother's exposure to additional magical energy while pregnant with her to thank for that.

When she arrived at the small, tiny even, town she realized maybe advertising herself as an academy mage wasn't the way to go here. Not even five minutes into the town and she was already receiving the suspicious glares people from small communities reserved for distrusted outsiders. It was a similarly short time frame before her first notable encounter. The kitsune was upon her almost before she realized it, delivering her curt warning and walking away. "I...what?" She tried to follow the fox-woman but quickly lost her in the throng of people. That was...ominous, she thought to herself. Despite the disconcerting nature of the warning, it did clue her in on her first task. She needed a cloak like everyone else. That in mind she went looking for the nearest tailor or general store, prepared to spend a denarii or two on a cheap cloak that fit over her battle mage robes to help make her not stick out like a sore thumb. Then it was off to the tavern to get in some people watching and figure out the lay of the land.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

Walking through town, it seemed the entire town was focused on her. Whispers spread, word reaching even the eyes that can't see her that an unusual visitor has arrived. Walking into what appeared to be a clothing store, Jade went inside of a small building with a single man inside wearing a long sleeve white shirt and a collar that seemed to just barely hide an odd red tint to his olive skin around his neck. It soon turned out that he wasn't alone, chatting with a girl it seemed, who was wearing a wide cloak and also seemed a bit odd. Upon seeing Jade come in, his eyes looked to her and went wide. "No," he shook his head, sounding odd as if he bit his tongue. "Closed. Leave." he instructed her. Despite looking open for all intents and purposes. Panicking, he whispered something to the girl, who also looked panicked, glancing at Jade. While he whispered, Jade could see a serpent-like tongue flick from his lips, revealing his corrupted nature. He was talking to Jade while trying to hide his tongue. "Out. No business." He insisted, seeming to want more than anything else for Jade to leave his store.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Mara-Jade was quickly frustrated in her efforts to buy a simple cloak. The man she assumed to be the shop owner and the girl he was talking to quickly, and with panic told her that they were closed, despite that clearly not being the case. She could see the fear in their eyes. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to get any information out of anyone. She needed a cloak if for no other reason than so she could get close enough to have a conversation with somebody as well as escape all of the thrice-blasted stares. Those were starting to get under her skin. Until she got an idea to hopefully start breaking the ice. At the very least she was going to get her damned cloak before she got angry and started to make a mess of the place.

Mara-Jade gave the shopkeeper the best cheery smile she could manage. "Now now, why so serious? You surely know what I am, yes? And judging by your expression you surely know that I know what you are, yes? So rest easy, I am not here to cause trouble to folk like yourself who suffer from an over-exposure to magic like I do. All I want from you is to buy one of these cloaks that everyone seems so fond of and I will be out of here, no longer causing you any distress." She took a single denarius from a pouch and twirled it around before setting it on the table, indicating the simplest cloak she saw. "A single denarius seems fair to me, are we in agreement?" Her grin remained on her face, she really hoped the guy would go for it, she really needed a cloak and didn't feel like casting an illusion. That and she had more important things to do than waste the day trying to buy a cloak.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The clerk began gesturing for the woman to take a door in the back while taking the front of Jade's attention, his hands held high up in the air as if he was being threatened. "Free. Free. Take it. Please, leave!" he begged her, as what seemed to be a crowd of spectators were forming outside, looking at Jade as if she were a criminal accosting this man.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Mara-Jade gave a frustrated growl as the man reduced himself to acting like a complete fool, acting like she was threatening him or something. "I don't want it for free! Just shut up and take my money!" She slammed her denarius down on the table before she magically fortified herself to aid in casting spells should she need to when she went outside. Then she grabbed the cloak and fastened it about herself, making sure she could still draw her sword easily if needed. Then she looked at the clerk and continued, "And then un-shut up and tell me why you're acting so gods-damned afraid of me and why everyone is staring at me like I'm some sort of demon!"

Unless the man calmed down and started giving her some answers, which she considered unlikely, it was time to head out and face the masses. Unsure what to make of the crowd, she decided that if the lot of them rushed her she would unleash her cyclone spell on them to give herself some breathing room. "What in all the hells are you people looking at? Acting like I'm committing a robbery..." Mara-Jade grumbled to herself as she made her way out of the store. She stood there for a moment, meeting any stares or glares with a hard glare of her own. "Well? What are you looking at?" The mage would growl a little more aggressively if the stares didn't abate before trying to make her way over to the tavern unless the crowd accosted her.

Spoiler

Arcane Focus (Utility) [The character may expend this buff, removing it, to gain a +8 bonus to their next Casting check or attack roll.]

{F} Cyclone (Emanation) [Creatures affected by this spell must win a Resistance check against the caster or be knocked Prone. The caster gets a +4 bonus to this check.]

EP spent: 0, 6
BC: 41

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The man was shocked by her question, not making a move to take the money just yet. "... Because you're from the academy... You're not here to get rid of the corruption?" he inquired, talking normally as his serpent tongue became visible.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

"Oh that..." Mara-Jade pondered for a moment, caught off-guard by the man's showing the second trace of normalcy she'd seen since she'd gotten there. "I'm here to stop the corruption from spreading, not kill the people!" She gave a short laugh before adding, "And besides, if I were I'd have to level this whole town from the looks of it, and I'd rather not have to explain that to my superiors. Not that I could do that to a town anyway. But seriously, these cloaks really don't do that much for you guys. It's pretty obvious, especially to anyone magically attuned that you all are pretty heavily corrupted by magical influence." She paused for a moment, giving the shopkeeper the chance to absorb what she had said, including her little white lie about not being able to destroy the town. Given her considerable talent for earth and fire magic as well as various other destructive schools, she didn't doubt that she could. All it would take was an earthquake. But then she had nothing to gain by trying to intimidate them at this point, and should it come down to it she would rather them underestimate her power.

"Now what I am interested in is finding this source of magic that has corrupted you all so and see what needs to be done. Maybe you know what I'm talking about? It's very rare to see an entire town so heavily corrupted, The Academy just wants me to find out what's going on and make sure there's nothing we need to worry about other than those unfortunate souls who have lost themselves with the corruption."

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The serpent man seemed hesitant to believe that Jade wasn't about to purge their corrupted selves. Though before he could answer, a 'creature' of some description came walking forth from the crowd, also wearing a cloak even though it was brown in color as compared to the usual grey or white. He approached Jade, removing the hood of his cloak to reveal that he had black skin. His flesh looked to be made of scales and his his pupils were wide and dark. He looked like some kind of creature that stalks the night. In addition, it seemed he had something squirming under his cloak. Perhaps tentacles. "So, you are from the Academy. I don't know what horrible plans you might have for us, but we do not want any trouble. We just want to live our lives in peace. The ones who did this to us were demons as you might have expected. They live here, in this very town. If it will stop you from frightening my people, I will take you to them." he offered. "Just your outfit and questions are enough to unsettle us."

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

At last, here was someone offering information. Of course, Mara-Jade was not about to go kill demons based on the word of this one man. "Glad to finally meet someone willing to talk to me. Now I am not about to walk up and knock on some demons' door just at your say so. How about you tell me a little bit about these demons and then I will figure out what, if anything, needs to be done." She thought to herself for a moment. The man had referred to them as 'his people.' That led her to assume that the man speaking to her was some sort of leader, maybe the leader of the village.

"Am I to understand then that you are the leader of the village?" she looked to the shopkeeper for confirmation. "Is he the leader of this village?" After a moment she looked back at the scaled man. "Here's what we'll do. We will stand here and you will tell me what you know about these demons, where I can find them, how they have corrupted you, and why. Once I have those answers I will consider following you to see this place." Now she patiently looked at the leader, waiting to hear what he had to say.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The apparent leader looked at Jade as if he seemed to think she planned on being difficult, before looking at the crowd behind them. "Can we please not do this here? I can answer these questions out of the way, in my house or wherever you damn well want. The worry outside will only get worse the longer we're in here." he tried to negotiate with Jade to get her out of the store and somewhere else that they could talk. "It's bad enough that everyone still thinks you plan to kill us all. We don't need the stress."

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

"Hmph..." Mara-Jade sighed and tapped her fingers against his arm as she thought the man's offer over. She decided that she might as well cooperate, if she showed some trust and tried to de-escalate the situation then maybe she could get more help from the villagers in solving their problem. Or at least not get such bothersome glances.

"Alright, let's get out of here. But I won't be able to help this town if I'm expecting a knife in my back because everyone here is expecting me to smite them or something. Let's have this meeting outdoors. I don't particularly care where, just somewhere visible so they can see us talking and not killing each other." Mara-Jade was willing to follow the man to a place of his choosing, just so long as it was outdoors. Then she would sit and listen to what he had to say.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The elder simply turned and left the building, seemingly expecting Jade to follow. The populace seemed hardly kind towards her, as if she were very much unwanted and many giving whispers that they couldn't wait until she was gone back from where she came.

The elder led Jade through the snow, towards the outskirts of town and away from the hustle and bustle of the citizens. He'd accept no requests to do this in front of everyone. He wanted to give them peace of mind instead of stress. "The demons who came here arrived with the purpose of feeding themselves on the energy of the population here. In return, they protect their 'food'. It was an unfortunate circumstance but had we fought we would have died. The demons protect us from people like you who come from other places, even if they're the ones who earned us this threat to begin with. We keep to ourselves, and so do the demons to avoid attracting supernatural attention, so please leave us alone." The elder requested.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

"I see..." Mara-Jade had given up and followed the man to the outskirts, just wanting the information that he could give her. It was hard not to feel bad for the town. True they had brought trouble on themselves by consorting with demons in such a way, however if they were so unprotected otherwise she could hardly blame them for taking protection where they could get it.

"It is a truly difficult position your town finds itself in. I cannot condone working with the likes of demons, but I can understand why you did it. But I must ask, is your town so ill equipped that together they cannot fight off these demons? How many of them are there?" After a moment's thought, Mara-Jade had an offer for them. "It would be a disservice of me to not help this town, I will have to verify these demons are as responsible for this as you claim. But I assure you I do not wish to hurt your people. It is no crime in my eyes that you are corrupted, so long as you are not driven mad by the energies within you, as can happen to those who are exposed to too much too rapidly. I would also be interested in making sure your town can defend itself. I am a capable enchanter, and so long as your people can give me the resources I need would be happy to provide my services to your people at a reduced fee." She gave the man time to think over her offer before asking, "What can you tell me about the demons in terms of their number, power, and where they live? Also, are there any in your village who would be able to help me fight them? I noticed some guards as I came in." There was also the matter of the kitsune, but Mara-Jade kept that to herself for now.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 58

The elder quickly began to shake his head as Jade took the lead as far as taking care of the demons and becoming the new protector. "Some tried to stop them, girl. A single woman such as you is no match. The demons, they cast a magic on people of interest, make them their slaves. The ruckus you caused has likely already been delivered to the demon's ears. You need to get out of here right now before-" he was cut off as the very guards Jade saw were coming up the hill.

"Visitor!" a woman's voice called out to Jade. "The chieftains of this village would like a moment of your time!" called out a woman wearing thick hide as both armor and warmth, with a wolf's head as a hood and two blond braids going down over her breasts. From there, it was hard to tell what her mutations were.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Talking to the man was proving less helpful than Mara-Jade had hoped. All she had managed to get from him was that she couldn't hope to beat the demons, they would just cast some magic on her to enthrall her to them. He was in the process of warning her to get out, like the kitsune had before he was interrupted by the guards coming up the hill. "I assume that by 'chieftains' she means demons?" She muttered this to the man before the guards got close. Things seemed to be rapidly moving beyond her control, and she was rather tempted to agree with the man. Even one demon would be difficult to take down on her own. Still, The Academy had sent her to find and deal with the source of the corruption, and she wasn't going to shy away from doing her job.

"Of course, I'd be delighted to! Just give me a moment to gather up my escort, if you don't mind!" Sara called out to the approaching guards. It would make sense for the demons to keep the guards under their control, whether by fear, greed, or perhaps their own magical power. She didn't want to end up in a situation where she was alone and had to fight a group of them, and she definitely wanted some backup when she spoke with the demons, so she decided to summon a little help. Without waiting for permission, Mara-Jade focused her energy and summoned up a powerful Earth elemental, followed by a Storm elemental to accompany her and the guards. Once that was done, she figured it was in her best interests to bolster her resistance in case the demons jumped the gun with one of the mind-control spells their kind was known for.

As she was casting her spells, she called out to the guards, "Don't mind them, they're perfectly friendly. Just some personal protection of mine. Can't be too careful, you know?" Once her spells were in place she would accompany the guards, though she would be somewhat on edge, expecting some sort of demonic magic attack, or even succubus magic at some point.

Spoiler

Spells in order (in case interrupted), will come back and add elemental stats:
1.Pay 8 EP Earth Man (Summon) [This creature gains Damage Reduction 1/2, +20 Body, 3x the Pain Resistant Talent, and may throw stones as if it were a Juggernaut.]
-Body: 70 HP: 70 Speed: 26 Dodge: 35 Armor: 15 Resistance: 26 Perception: 26 Stealth: 26 Grapple: 70 attack: d20+70 unarmed damage: 2d4+18 rock throw: attack: 1d100+14 damage: 2d10+14, range 50 feet
2. Pay 8 EP Storm Elemental (Summon) [This creature gets 3x the Hard to Hit Talent, the Unarmed Fighter and the Skill with Unarmed Talents, the Damage Reduction ½ Special Mutation, and can fly at its Speed.]
-Body: 50 HP: 50 Speed: 22 Dodge: 65 Armor: 0 Resistance: 22 Perception: 22 Stealth: 22 Grapple: 50 [Unarmed fighter: +12 to unarmed attack, +10 dodge, improved unarmed damage] Attack: d20+62 improved unarmed damage: 1d8+25
3. Pay 2 EP Arcane Armor (Buff) [increase Resistance.] +14 resistance

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 40/58

The guards seemed to be put on edge, as was the black scaled man who begun backing away from her in fear. "Are you trying to frighten the populace again, traveler? What are you thinking, coming here expecting to see our leaders with such a threatening appearance?" The guard inquired, seeming to believe that all Jade was doing was preparing to fight. As Jade took out her most threatening approach, a line of six guards came out and drew bows, holding their fire but looking ready to finish whatever Jade wanted to start.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

As the situation quickly worsened, the villagers reacting rather poorly to her magical constructs, Mara-Jade reflected on remarks made to her by her instructors. They had often told her that she lacked such qualities as restraint and control, and that this would make her interactions with others needlessly difficult. She had scoffed them off at the time, but she was eating crow now. This left her in a bind. She could release her summons to diffuse the situation quickly and easily, but then she would be dragged off to meet with the demons without any sort of friendly backup. Of course, if she didn't release them, then she might find herself in a situation with the town guard. If pressed, her storm elemental could fly her where she wanted to go, but she'd rather it not come to that. As things stood right now, she willed that the elementals not take any aggressive action unless someone attempted to harm her in which case they were to defend her.

After a moment's consideration, she decided to play at some diplomacy, as she wasn't ready to simply release them and render the energy she put forth to summon the large humanoid constructs wasted. Stepping forward just barely past the elementals, her hands raised in a non-threatening manner, Mara-Jade called out to the apparent leader of the group. "Easy there, guard. I'm not here for a fight. I told you, they're peaceful!" She indicated her elementals, which remained immobile unless provoked. "You're the one treating an emissary of The Academy, sent to help you, like a common criminal. Worse actually."

She paused for a moment and thought of what she might say next. "I don't wish for any trouble while I'm here. These elementals are only here to make sure that the less reasonable among you don't decide to start a fight with me. If I were here to start a fight or threaten your leaders, I wouldn't use an elemental guardian to do it." Another tact occurred to her, hopefully the guard would see reason. "Look, I can cast magic at will, taking the elementals away won't change that. If I wanted to threaten your leaders I wouldn't need these two to do it. I am no more a danger to your village with or without these things, they exist for my protection, nothing more." Again Mara Jade gave the woman a moment to consider her words before continuing. "So why don't you take me to your chieftans? My guards will follow at a respectful distance." She hoped that the guards would accept this.

 

[Mamono Assault Force]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

Status:

Spoiler

Mara-Jade: Fine
HP: 38
PP: 56
EP: 40/58

"Given the context of when the academy is coming to visit us, I think you'll understand if we're a little on edge by your visit." The guard replied. "We're aware of how the world views the corruption, we weren't born in a shed. We're lucky enough to maintain our sanity after the experience. I can tell you this though, those elementals will not enter this town. Not when you're already making the whole town petrified with fright when they're just on our borders." she stated. Indeed, the people of the village were fleeing into their homes, scared seemingly of Jade and afraid she was going to do something.

 

[sturm]

Re: Corrupted Dreams (sturm) ; GM'd by MAF

"Oh make no mistake, I was certainly sent here to deal with the corruption. I'm here to stop it running rampant through the area. But it might also interest you to know that I myself am quite magically tainted. Possibly as much as any one of you, however my corruption manifested itself in less obvious ways." Mara-Jade let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "So believe me, I know a good deal about corruption and its sources. I am probably one of the most sympathetic mages in The Academy to your plight and will do what I can to help you. However I know there is something going on here that shouldn't be happening, towns don't get so corrupted so quickly."

The young mage let the guard mull that over and respond. She noticed, in the meantime, the villagers all running for cover. They did in fact look scared for their lives. "I have no desire to harm this village, and it seems you are right about the elementals... Fine, they will not accompany me within the limits of the village. But understand then the responsibility that places on you. I am here for a peaceful resolution, but if your village makes that impossible my sympathy for you will not interfere with my duty or the duty of the many who will come after me." She met the guard's gaze with a hard stare. "I trust you do not consider the clouds a part of your town? Like you said, my elementals will not walk among you and cause terror, but I can't imagine you would take issue with one of them flying high amongst the clouds and the birds?" Unless the guard's reaction was one of blatant rejection to the idea in which case she wouldn't give the elementals any orders yet, she would gesture to the sky as she looked at her storm elemental. She ordered it to fly and it slowly levitated further off the ground, reaching ten or so feet in the air before taking off at closer to full speed, flying high enough that it was difficult to pick out against the clouds and the bright glare of the sun.

"Well then, let's go see these chieftans of yours and get this mess sorted out."