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A Second Chance (Reincarnation/Crossover)

[X] Yes.
- - [X] Where are you from?

He looks away guiltily. "I'd prefer not to answer that. I'm sorry."

- - [X] What element was the baron... and could you make a map of the areas you explored?

"He's an air mage. Roughly line or triangle class, I think. A map.." he trails off.

"Do you have something to write on?" he asks.

You hand him the opposite side of your region map, not having anything else, and produce a writing utensil from your pack. He gets to work immediately, placing it on the nightstand and scribbling on it. After he's done, he hands it back to you.

"This is the basement. If there's something there, that's where it'll be."

Item obtained: A Rough Sketch of the Mansion's Basement

It's a very rough sketch. The entrance looks to be around where the baron was hanging around the other day. The key item of interest to you is the secret passage marked in one of the rooms. There's apparently a phantom bookcase blocking a corridor. You return your gaze to Jacques after you stash the map back into your pack.

"Anything else?" he prompts.

[ ] Yes.
- [ ] What? (Write-in.)
[ ] No.
 
[X] No.
- [X] Thank him for his help.
[X] Prepare for the next attack.
 
[X] No.
- [X] Thank him for his help.
[X] Prepare for the next attack.
 
[X] No.
- [X] Thank him for his help.
[X] Prepare for the next attack.

You shake your head negatively. "No, that's all." You curtsy politely. "Thank you for the help."

He sighs, but accepts your thanks gratefully with a nod. "I should be thanking you. I wish I could do more to repay you."

His eyes scan the room for a moment and his features light up. He walks over to the corner and bends over to pick something up. "Ah! I was afraid I'd lost it."

"What?" you ask, moving over curiously.

"This." He straightens out, holding out the object in question while smiling genuinely.

It's a feathered wide-brim hat. He relaxes visibly when he throws it on his head. Odd.. but, not that odd. He must really like that hat. You dismiss it from your mind.

He bids goodbye to both of you and leaves the shack with haste. You quickly excuse yourself afterward as well, not having any reason to remain. You make it back to the mansion as night falls, and sequester yourself in your room to think.

--

Your trip has yielded some more information. According to Jacques, the creature is a Rhyme Dragon. Although, he never said that he saw it personally. You didn't come across that rumor when you went to town; it makes you really wonder just where Jacques heard that. If he's right, you have no hope of defeating one in combat. They're creatures of legend, thought to be extinct- dragons who can think and speak for themselves, that wield magic to rival the elves. You'd surely be crushed in a confrontation. On the other hand.. you can reason with an intelligent being- maybe you can resolve this without having to fight the creature.

You still don't know for sure if the baron has anything at all to do with the attacks, but Jacques certainly seemed to think so. If you want to follow up on this, you should be careful, and have some kind of plan going in. The baron is almost certainly going to be extra paranoid about people sneaking into his basement if Jacques has already tried it.

The next attack should occur any day now. You'll have limited chances to lie in wait at the other locations. You're not sure what you can do even if you catch it in the act, but you won't know unless you try. You could also try visiting the creature's lair. If you're lucky and time it right, the creature will be off attacking while you're looking, so you'll be able to search without interruption.

What now?

[ ] Investigate the hidden passage in the mansion's basement.
[ ] Lie in wait for the next attack.
- [ ] At the farm.
- [ ] At the granary.
[ ] Travel to the dragon's lair.
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)
 
Perhaps we should check the basement of the Baron, he might be the cause of all the attacks.

Also, does anyone else think that we just healed Wardes?
 
Jacques Wardes~

Yes... yes you are! We must steal him from Louise~
 
[X] Investigate the hidden passage in the mansion's basement.
 
[X] Investigate the hidden passage in the mansion's basement.
 
[X] Investigate the hidden passage in the mansion's basement.
 
[blockquote]Rolled 1d100+20 : 57 + 20, total 77[/blockquote]
 
[X] Investigate the hidden passage in the mansion's basement.

You get some rest first, turning in early and skipping dinner. Healing Jacques took a lot out of you- you need to replenish your willpower reserves. You time yourself to wake at precisely two in the morning and fall asleep on your comfy bed.

You wake just as planned, and change out of your sleepwear into something a bit more fitting for espionage. You don't feel quite one-hundred percent; maybe more like ninety, but it'll have to do. You don't want to put this off. You creak open the door to your room and shut it behind you quietly.

The mansion is dark; almost pitch black. It makes it hard to navigate. The scant moonlight seeping in through the curtains is all you have to light your way down the hallways. You tread lightly and carefully to avoid attracting notice or bumping into something.

Fortunately, you arrive at the entrance to the basement without incident. You reach out your hand to grab the doorknob, but stop. Your intuition is telling you that you should think before you act here.

You conjure up some light with a candlelight spell and shine it on the doorway. You see a set of runes inscribed on it in flowing red ink. They're not just there for decoration. It's likely either a defense mechanism or an alert system.

Skill improved: Perceptive E

What now?

[ ] Try to find an alternate route.
- [ ] Any ideas? (Write-in.)
[ ] Try doing something to the runes.
- [ ] What? (Write-in.)
[ ] Just go in.
- [ ] Anything to add? (Write-in.)
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)

1-25: Someone gets the jump on you. Everything goes black..
26-50: You're under attack. Make ready!
51-75: You're confronted by the baron. Talk fast.
76-100: There's some kind of spell on this door. What should you do?
 
[X] Try doing something to the runes.
- [X] See if you can use decay on the runes.
 
[X] Try doing something to the runes.
- [X] See if you can use decay on the runes.
 
[X] Try doing something to the runes.
- [X] See if you can use decay on the runes.

You extend your decay toward the runes gently, trying to spark a reaction. Maybe you can reverse it to when it wasn't there? It's worth a shot, you think.

Nothing seems to be happening as you probe the runes. You give up after a few minutes of trying. From your experience, decay only works on living things. Spells must not count.

What now?

[ ] Try to find an alternate route.
- [ ] Any ideas? (Write-in.)
[ ] Try doing something to the runes.
- [ ] What? (Write-in.)
[ ] Just go in.
- [ ] Anything to add? (Write-in.)
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)

1-25: The runes glow ominously. Uh.. that isn't good.
26-100: Nothing happens.
 
[X] Just go in.
- [X] Be ready for something attacking you from inside.
- [X] Be aware for the Baron or someone coming.
 
[X] Go in... but carefully, like using ICE to freeze and break the lock.
- - [X] Be prepared for combat!
 
Could we try to do something to the Runes with Reinforcement?
Maybe reinforce the flaws in them or something weird like that?

Otherwise we should have one of our wire creations go poke at the stuff before touching anything ourselves.
 
[X] Go in... but carefully, like using ICE to freeze and break the lock.
- - [X] Be prepared for combat!
 
[X]try to re reinforce the flaws of the runes
 
[X]try to re reinforce the flaws of the runes

Might as well vote for my own idea.
Shirou has broken enough stuff trying to reinforce it that actively trying to do that should be possible.
Especially, since as an OCP, the runes shouldn't have an inherent way of dealing with hostile reinforcement.
There is after all no prana in them that could interfere with it.
 
If I'm remembering correctly, that only happens when you channel the wrong amount of prana into what you're trying to reinforce. You can't reinforce flaws.

In this case, you'd be reinforcing the ink the runes are written with.
 
[X] Overload the runes with Reinforcement.

You channel prana into the ink forming the runes. You're trying to erase the runes without triggering them. It takes some fine control, as the ink is but a thin layer on top of the wood, but you manage to direct the flow without mistakes.

Skill improved: Reinforcement D-

The ink crumbles and disappears. You're not sure if you were successful in disabling whatever it was, but you won't know until you open the door. You turn the doorknob with trepidation and wait for any kind of reaction.

There isn't one. Either it's a silent alarm, or you succeeded. The way ahead is now clear. You consult the map Jacques drew for you and head toward the phantom bookcase.

From the outside, it looks perfectly solid. There are even titles for all the books on the shelves. It's not real, you tell yourself. You can step through this. You put a foot forward carefully, and almost tip over as it goes straight through the bookshelf. For some reason you hadn't expected it to work. It's hard to doubt the evidence of your eyes.

Now into the secret passage, you proceed slowly. This is where Jacques was foiled, and where your map ends. The hallway is a straight shot forward, lit by the occasional torch alongside the wall. You can tell from the lack of heat that the torches are enchanted- they probably burn forever. It looks like you won't need your candlelight spell anymore. But.. if it's lit down here, does that mean there's somebody down here?

You follow the hallway for a short while until it ends in a T, with separate passages leading both left and right. To the left, there's a wooden door blocking your path, and to the right, the hallway continues on. You open the door on the left first, and find what looks to be a storage room. There are crates and barrels piled everywhere. The contents are nothing interesting- plates, pots, wine, and other household items. You leave the room.

Following down the hallway some more, you come to a dead end. There are three doors- one to the left, one to the right, and one dead ahead. You pick the left door.

It opens up into a bedroom. There's a bed, a dresser, and even a closet. Does someone live down here? You exit the room and try the door originally to your right, now straight in front of you. It turns out to be a bathroom. That affirms that someone could live down here, if they wanted. That storeroom.. it probably had food in it, too. You wouldn't have to leave this basement if you didn't want to.

You open the last door. It's a shrine of some kind, but not a Brimiric one.. is the baron a heretic? You don't recognize the sigils carved into the altar. Your eyes are drawn to the object resting in a basket laid on top of the altar. Resting in a blanket is a light blue egg larger than your head.

You glance around nervously. The heathen shrine, the secret living quarters- it's all very odd. You're not sure what's going on here, but your sixth sense is going haywire. This is really, really dangerous..

What now?

[ ] Grab the egg, get out of here. Finder's keepers.
[ ] Explore/examine something more thoroughly.
- [ ] What? (Write-in.)
[ ] You don't want to be here anymore. Abandon ship.
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)
 
[X] Explore/examine something more thoroughly.
- [X] The Shrine
 
Kind of wondering, if the baron is planning to keep the rhyme dragon living here in human form.
Could we tell, if it seems like someone is already using the place or does it seem like it's merely prepared for eventual usage?
 
[X] Explore/examine something more thoroughly.
- [X] The Shrine
 
I wonder if we should create a wire tiger right now. This is the perfect opportunity to be caught unawares.
 
Pipeman said:
Could we tell, if it seems like someone is already using the place or does it seem like it's merely prepared for eventual usage?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's either cleaned up well or hasn't been used, you can't tell.

[X] Explore/examine something more thoroughly.
- [X] The Shrine

There's a large tapered banner hanging down from the ceiling behind the altar. It has an ornate drawing of a thunderstorm patterned onto it. The altar is at least five feet across and two feet in length, made of marble and melded to the floor. There are a pair of lit candles sitting atop the atlar at opposite ends. The place is impeccably clean- it's been dusted and swept recently.

There's an otherworldly feel permeating the room. You feel like you can hear the wind blowing in the distance. The basket is cushioned with a silk blanket, and the egg is nested comfortably in its folds. The sigils carved into the front of the altar almost look like some kind of alphabet, but it's not one you recognize.

You glance around nervously. Every moment you're down here is a moment you could be discovered. You should decide what you're going to do quickly.

[ ] Grab the egg, get out of here. Finder's keepers.
[ ] Explore/examine something more thoroughly.
- [ ] What? (Write-in.)
[ ] You don't want to be here anymore. Abandon ship.
[ ] Something else. (Write-in.)
 
[X] Grab the egg, get out of here. Finder's keepers.

Having second thoughts now.

How long is it until the next attack?
 
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