Author Topic: Day Three - Fuyuki Shuffle (Read 50656 times)

Agita · « **Reply #40 on:** August 25, 2013, 08:00:41 PM »

Laoise takes the book carefully and pages through it from cover to cover and then back before going back and forth through it again with a concentrated expression. She compares the speculation on True Magic with what little she herself knows, the actual spells with any similar ones she's familiar with. Most importantly, she scans the book for any indication of how a little boy with no training could have used any magecraft at all.

Loreification (4d3-8+4=4)

Bozwevial · « **Reply #41 on:** August 26, 2013, 03:41:47 AM »

The book is, apart from the unorthodox binding and layout, entirely valid as a magecraft primer. What spells Laoise recognizes seem not terribly different from those she's familiar with, and the discrepancies can be attributed to mere differences in technique or the author's idiosyncrasies. The more theoretical chapters are trickier to examine, but as far as her knowledge stretches they range from 'far-fetched, but possible' to 'intriguing and probably true.' In short, this is a valuable book, but as far as the contents go it's not that far off from any magus' research notes.

However, no pocket journal full of scribblings on magecraft, even one as painstakingly thorough as this, would let an untrained boy use magecraft. After her examination, Laoise can only settle on one satisfactory explanation: The book isn't acting as an instruction manual, it's acting as a conduit. Someone, presumably the author, imbued this book with a link to their own Magic Circuits. Essentially, whenever Ren tries to perform one of the spells contained therein, he's drawing on the power and stability of a more experienced magus. It's not perfect - even with that wellspring, Ren wouldn't be any more powerful than someone with a few years of training - but with someone conditioned to draw on dangerous amounts of prana, simple rituals that were performed imperfectly might still go off with only minor flaws.

A link like that...It's certainly possible, but Laoise can think of quite a few reasons tools like this wouldn't see widespread use. One, naturally, is that it would take an expert to construct. Another is that it's limited in application. Two people's Magic Circuit configurations and numbers will be quite different. Connecting them requires intimate knowledge of both systems, and the connector is useless outside of those two. In this case, that means only Ren could use the book. Anyone else would just be drawing on their own skills as a magus. But most importantly, once a 'request' crosses a link like this, there's no way of denying it. Normally, a magus whose spell is going dangerously wrong can take countermeasures, but here the one performing the spell and the one suffering the consequences are two different people. This book is a blank check for some other magus' prana, and putting too much strain on it with a severely botched spell might kill its author.

...All the same, while that explanation is hard to believe, it's still within the realm of the possible. Unfortunately, if that is the case, it's certainly concealed well. Even when holding the book, it's hard for Laoise to tell the lesser magic used to change the pages is there. The link, if it exists, is most likely even harder to find and trace.

(click to show/hide)

Agita · « **Reply #42 on:** August 26, 2013, 05:22:40 PM »

Laoise finishes examining the book and closes it with a sigh before looking curiourly at the boy. He deflected the question about his parents, but someone must have made the book specifically for him, and they should still be alive, if their magic circuits are being used. Furthermore, they would have to be compatible... "...Ren, how did you get this book?"

Bozwevial · « **Reply #43 on:** August 28, 2013, 12:05:35 PM »

"Huh? My parents own a bookstore, and that was one of the books they kept in the back." The chair creaks a little as Ren shifts, uneasily. "I wasn't supposed to read it, but I went looking when they left. Books can't hurt anyone anyway." He tries to look defiant, but it's difficult when he won't meet Laoise's eyes.

Agita · « **Reply #44 on:** August 29, 2013, 10:38:25 AM »

Laoise doesn't know that Ren is right about the last part, but she doesn't disagree. "Um... this book was probably written by someone related to you. If not one of your parents, a grandparent... In any case, I think it couldn't be used properly by anyone but you. That bookstore... it's in the city, isn't it? There might be other valuable books like this in it..."

Bozwevial · « **Reply #45 on:** August 30, 2013, 12:53:25 PM »

"...Someone related to me?" The suggestion seems to take Ren by surprise, and for a moment he doesn't answer her other questions, lost in thought. "Um...well, the bookstore is in the city, but I don't know if there's anything else there. I didn't look around very much, though...Do you want to go there after you're done with the library? It's closed so no one can come in and take things, but I have a key."

Agita · « **Reply #46 on:** August 31, 2013, 10:33:10 AM »

"Yeah... I think that would be good." While it's mostly just indulging her own curiosity, Laoise can't overlook the possibility of finding anything that would help. And the chances of any magus living in Fuyuki having nothing at all to do with any Grail War are nil.

With everything discussed, Laoise tells Ren to make himself at home while she gets changed for going out and has words with Lancer about the delivery. She changes sweaters, puts on long pants, and gathers her hair into a braid, tying it off with a morning glory that winds around and through the hair. Ideally, even if she somehow runs into someone who knows her during school hours, the change in look and the company of a young child would avoid them recognizing her on first sight, though as a foreigner she's resigned to standing out either way.

Speaking of standing out... She pulls her biggest, most comfy muffler out of the closet and gives it to Ren for him to wrap around his neck and lower face, to hide the very obvious command spells.

Lore maneuver (4d3-8+4=4)
Charging mah flower

Bozwevial · « **Reply #47 on:** September 01, 2013, 05:35:58 PM »

Ren doesn't look too pleased about the muffler (which is roughly twice as big as it needs to be on him), but he puts it on all the same before stepping out into the cold.

Under the heavy blanket of snow, Fuyuki is unusually still and quiet. Part of it is that school is in progress, but even beyond that it seems most people would prefer to stay in the warmth of their homes during this bout of heavy weather. Laoise and Ren don't encounter anyone on their way to the library, and not even the noise of distant traffic reaches them through the chilly air. Ren seems much more grateful for the borrowed muffler after a few minutes of trudging through the snow, burrowing even more deeply into it until only his eyes are visible.

The library Laoise finds most likely to be useful is an older building with creaking wooden floors and an elderly couple acting as caretakers. It sits on the edge of one of the older-style neighborhoods, as it used to be a small manor house before the land around it was bought up and the building converted. The caretakers live on the unused fourth floor, and are some of the only foreigners in the city Laoise has met thus far. She vaguely remembers them mentioning that they were Canadian the last time she was in here.

The man at the circulation desk beams at Laoise and Ren as they come through the front door. "First visitors of the day!" he says jovially through a thick cloud of steam from the coffee he's boiling on a portable stove. "I expect this little dusting will keep most people off the roads today, but it doesn't bother us...Coffee? I've heard it's not supposed to be good for children, but I drank it growing up and I'm just fine." He tips Ren a conspiratorial wink.

veekie · « **Reply #48 on:** September 02, 2013, 08:39:06 AM »

Lancer in the meantime, hauls all the stuff into the basement. Slabs of ceramic and brick forms the base of the crucible, and some branches from the garden, pulverized and packed into a sealed box with sulfur and mercury. Wires wrapped tightly around the contraption as a heating element, he plugs the whole mess into a wall socket, then settles down to wait.

"This age sure is convenient. It used to take months to get all the goods."
Create Advantage (4d3-8+3=6)

Agita · « **Reply #49 on:** September 02, 2013, 11:53:32 PM »

Laoise shrugs, volunteering no comment on the health effects of coffee on minors. "I could use a coffee... it's a bit bitter, though. Acquired taste." After some exchange of generic pleasantries that feels awkward for her as always, Laoise lays into the books once more. this time, she searches only for anything that might match the skull-masked minions - the more distinctive of the two things they know about probably-Caster. She shows the mask to Ren as well for reference, explaining what they're looking for: any myths or legends that mention people wearing such masks, or faceless servants, or other similar things.

Lore research: Skull masks (4d3-8+4=5)

Bozwevial · « **Reply #50 on:** September 03, 2013, 02:03:36 PM »

A good deal of research later, Laoise comes across a mention of the skull mask in a book on Persia. As she had suspected the other day, this sort of mask generally would belong to Assassin. Usually the strictures of the Grail War demand that the Heroic Spirit summoned as Assassin be one of the individuals known as Hassan-i-Sabbah. There's not as much information on that Servant's participation in past wars, of course, but from what Laoise knows they would all wear a skull mask. According to the description given in this book, however, the one she's holding doesn't belong to an Assassin. It resembles nothing so much as an imitation crafted to fool someone into thinking that the wearer was Assassin - slightly wrong, but good enough to withstand casual inspection.

Not long afterward, Ren comes over with a book on various African religions, open to an artist's rendition of a Haitian festival. All the revelers are wearing masks, and several of them are near-perfect matches for the one Laoise found outside the temple.

Back in the basement of Laoise's house, Lancer's project is coming along remarkably well given the makeshift nature of his atelier. The dehydration dust is nearly finished when his ears catch a distant knock floating down from upstairs. That wouldn't be unusual, if Lancer hadn't shut the door behind him when he came down here. Whoever it is must be knocking pretty forcefully if they can be heard from the basement.

veekie · « **Reply #51 on:** September 03, 2013, 02:09:05 PM »

Lancer clicks his tongue, then settles in to watch the final heating. He was supposed to be dead. And Laoise would be mad if the house exploded.

Bozwevial · « **Reply #52 on:** September 03, 2013, 02:18:38 PM »

After a minute or so, the knocking stops, and nothing else disturbs Lancer as the heating process finishes.

veekie · « **Reply #53 on:** September 03, 2013, 02:40:18 PM »

Satisfied, Lancer turns down the heat and extracts the still smoking crucible to cool, tipping the crystalline powder onto a square of waxed paper and wrapping it up. Then he starts up the heat again, this time with a thick red oil for a base in the crucible, into which a pale yellow liquid is added slowly. On the other side of the room, a charcoal fire is drying out herbs from the garden.

This one would be a lot more exciting. Oh yes.

Agita · « **Reply #54 on:** September 03, 2013, 04:07:45 PM »

Laoise studies the lore Ren found more thoroughly. A Haitian origin, combined with the awkward and mangy appearance of the minions she saw, puts her in mind of zombies - the kind that are actually living people brainwashed with drugs. An idle thought tells her the drugs should be plant-based, so she might be able to accomplish something similar as well. She pushes the thought away, but not before it gives her a different idea - what if the minions were actually a Master's work? Putting masks on people and brainwashing them into cheap burglars certainly doesn't require Heroic Spirit-level magic. In any case, she thanks Ren for the discovery. If she's right, it should be a useful one.

With that in mind, Laoise looks for information on that kind of living zombie and the actual drugs involved. She also makes a mental note to check the inside of the mask at home - if any of the substances are topical, there's a good chance they were applied over the mask, directly to the face.

(click to show/hide)

Bozwevial · « **Reply #55 on:** September 04, 2013, 05:56:36 PM »

The idea of living zombies is a line of inquiry which is a little easier to follow than that of the masks, and soon enough Laoise finds several books which touch on the subject. The process is accomplished through the aid of an orally ingested, plant-based hallucinogen, usually with a powerful paralytic to induce a death-like coma beforehand (although usually that's only to trick the family of the 'zombie' into thinking the victim is dead and burying them). It's not even remotely close to the sorts of creatures Laoise knows exist as actual undead - unlike the Living Dead or Dead Apostles, 'zombies' made through this process would only think they were dead because of the drug - but it would be enough to provide a cheap, somewhat reliable source of manpower without too much fuss.

However, some time spent with books that go into more depth on the subject, as well as a few chemistry and medical reference texts, are enough to convince her that the skull-masked burglars hadn't taken the hallucinogen. Several of the compounds involved have obvious motor control side effects that simply weren't there, awkward though their movements might have been. Still, the time spent researching isn't a complete waste. Laoise knows enough about the process that she could likely duplicate it herself now.

Agita · « **Reply #56 on:** September 04, 2013, 06:52:27 PM »

Her findings provoke mixed feelings in Laoise. Her idea was a dead end, but on the other hand the drug should be a useful self-defense against Masters. With that line of inquiry exhausted, she turns to researching the presumed Noble Phantasm that washed away the entire hilltop. First, she tries to remember its particulars in detail - a sphere of water, it seemed, that then crashed down on them. A theoretically defensive skill turned to an offensive use, maybe?

Loar (4d3-8+4=5)
Assessing that NP

veekie · « **Reply #57 on:** September 05, 2013, 02:14:01 AM »

Satisfied with the dried herbs, Lancer then proceeds to grind them to a powder, then stirs it into the mix very slowly, after which he moves it to the distillation apparatus, to funnel the distillate into a glass vial. Hopefully it'd explode when it needs to. Rather than say...right now.

Create Advantage (4d3-8+3=-1) Blast Essence

Bozwevial · « **Reply #58 on:** September 05, 2013, 01:46:42 PM »

As the hours pass, Ren, having taken a sip of the coffee the kindly librarian offered him only to cringe and refuse to drink more, sleeps quietly with his head down on a desk while Laoise continues to search for any catastrophe of the sort that might be worthy of becoming a Noble Phantasm.

Her initial thought, that the ability might be some sort of defense, doesn't produce any interesting results. Only when she turns toward the use of events like this as conceptual weapons does she find something similar to what she saw before, and even then only in the last place she expected it. While skimming through an encyclopedia index, one entry in particular catches Laoise's eye, and a short trip to the reference desk later, she has a copy of the apparently helpful publication: Plato's Timaeus. Flipping to the relevant page, Laoise finds mention of the only disaster she's found that fits all the criteria for the Noble Phantasm she witnessed at the temple: The sinking of Atlantis.

Lancer doesn't get much warning before the distillation process goes south. One moment he's transferring the mixture to his makeshift equipment, the next he's been flung into the back wall of the basement hard enough to leave a dent. The high-pitched ringing of his ears drowns out the sound of the scraps of the patchwork atelier raining down around him. A thick haze of black smoke fills the basement from the explosion, and little fires springing up here and there only add to the destruction. It's probably for the best that the basement door is shut...The one small stroke of fortune is that the rest of the chemicals and the powder Lancer had finished earlier, set off in a far corner, had some cover from the blast and are more or less intact. Otherwise the entire house might have gone up, and while it's not likely Laoise will be too happy about this when she gets back home, it'd be even worse if she no longer had a house at all.

(click to show/hide)

veekie · « **Reply #59 on:** September 05, 2013, 01:58:05 PM »

Lancer lies in the corner, cooked medium rare and stunned by the impact. "Ow~"

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Author Topic: Day Three - Fuyuki Shuffle (Read 50656 times)