Dungeon Life Quest (DLQ) 64 - By The Skin Of My Teeth Edition

i was counting the votes...

Armor Fentch and boar (7)
Armor to Bri (13)
Implant the scythes i the boar(12)
Save head for later(1)
Increase Kat's strenght (3)
Enhance Kat's swiftness & cutting power (8)
Give Kat Witchlight core (15)
Ask Lora about the eyes (15)
Install the eyes in Vim & Vigor(1)
Increase a minion's intelligence and perception (Boar) (4)

Remember, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, I CREATED YOU" is a /risk/, not a certainty. It happens a lot with shadows that are made too cunning and independant but recall Bri's repeated statements that a lot of necromancers get into the business for shitty reasons and kinda allow themselves to be shitty people as a result.

Kat is certainly happy with it. She feels a /lot/ better with something to sustain her shape and form.

>"What're you hold - MERCIFUL GODS BRIANNA WHY DO YOU HAVE SEVERED FUCKING EYEBALLS?"

This pleases me.

...Yeah im voting to save the eyeballs and instagib a boss thankyouverymuch

>> What do you do with the eyes? (I'm taking write-ins that follow the thematic ideas presented above, including saving them for later).
> Save them for the time being. Make a final decision once we've taken down the Diviner and can choose to strike down the Daughter through them.

Hm, we might be able to use the threat of using the Diviner's thingies against the Daughter to sow discord among the chain-bearers. How is the Diviner going to react if the Daughter demands that she destroy those things the Diviner worked on so "carefully"? How is the Daughter going to react when the Diviner refuses to destroy something that could see the Daughter dead without her having any chance to have a say in the matter?

And even if the Daughter somehow wins and gets them destroyed: even better! I'm quite happy to blind the Diviner, if it comes to that.

>navigating seaways

So we could potentialy us e the eyes against the living boat?

Anyway i will go the "no fun" route, and keep it, so we can strike the bitch directly.

That's nice, user. Thanks for sharing.

> Sympathetic Magic Time

Fuck fighting someone with a murder cult of Assassin's. Let's fuck her up from afar and use the rest of her corpse for good shit.
Pretty sure the Chain bearers are magically bound from directly interfering with each other. Witholding assistance is one thing, but an actual attack?

If we go with ritual magic, let's be in a position to make sure nobody else gangs her body.

> Most undead have witchlights for eyes; true eyes, preserved properly, tend to make them smarter, more observant, a bit more independant. Probably make such a being helpful in finding water, predicting the weather, navigating seaways

Ain't there a water level coming up? Use one eye to fuck up the Daughter, then afterwards give one to Kat. Deep Sea shadow time.

Which levels are Daughter and Diviner sitting at again?

>hold onto them for later
I don't think a spy would be to good, but fucking with the half angle that's probably going to be VERY dangerous on her own seems like a good idea.

i believe the level were a chain holder is literaly a boat might be a sea level. But the boat could be a air ship.

Diviner is at the broken jaw. The one were he killed the hole level population and created the draug that was swarming in the roost.

Wasn't suggesting an attack.

I'm kind of seeing the Daughter as being haughty and over-sure of herself—or more accurately, having been. Cherry's attack may have shaken her. News that she could very well be destroyed out of the blue and from a distance could shatter her.

Because I think she's in a place where she assumed that the only threats to her plans were gods and angels. When Dick pitched this operation, in the Dungeon where gods and angels don't go, with the notable exception of the angel they were going to bind and torture, well: that eliminates the Daughter's biggest impediments to divinity, and torturing an angel, like her father who cast her down the first time, well that's a bonus. And the plan would make her a real goddess, who could not be cast down a second time.

As far as she was concerned, the plan was all upside. Victory was assured. The risks were all neatly accounted for and nullified. Because the risk of a mortal in the Dungeon being a threat never occurred to her.

Now she not only sees that she may fail to achieve her goals, she also sees her own existence in jeopardy. The Daughter wants to be a real goddess very, very badly, but she has eternity (presumably?) to make that happen. Risk of destruction was not in her plans. It probably never even entered into her head as a possibility. And now it is.

So she turns to her 'allies' to eliminate these risks. But the Diviner won't, and points out it's her own fault she lost her eyes. So she goes to Dick, but he takes the Diviner's side—after all, it's her fault she lost her eyes.

Now the Daughter is furious at her own side, terrified of her own destruction, and probably suspecting a stab in the back, which she probably wrote off originally as inconceivable, or laughable if they tried.

But yes, I am making a fuck ton of assumptions about the Daughter based on very limited intel. I suggest this merely as something to keep in mind as we learn more.

> But yes, I am making a fuck ton of assumptions about the Daughter based on very limited intel.

It's been pointed out several times that they are literally bound to not be able to work against each other to the point where even Brigitte had to do a bullshit showdown with us.

Also, the Daughter is Fucking crazy. You don't negotiate with crazy, you either ignore it or out crazy it

Or you fucking nuke a Bitches soul with magic from a distance. Easily the best option.

> Vox, how do you feel about having given us eyes for sympathetic magic?

Still say we should get Robert in on this. He's a vicious sod.

>Now she not only sees that she may fail to achieve her goals
She's not seeing much of anything at the moment.

This plan only makes me think in a scenario were we fight two chain holders at t he same time.

The daugther wants to stop us form using the diviners gaget against her. The diviner doesn't want to do it. They both unite against us now we hve to fight a person that sees everything that happend and will happend and a half-angel that can't see anything.

kek

I assume you're writing a comedy sketch there.

But if we have to fight 2 chain holders at the same time, then we've fucked up.

Brigitte did not try very hard.

The Daughter may also believe herself to be more capable of flexing, or breaking, her oaths. She is rather full of herself.

But you're probably right, Dick probably has something over on her, too.

What are you saying doubles!!! tell me your secrets!!!

user. user, please. Don't do drugs user.

Look at what you just wrote and take a moment to reconsider the life choices that brought you here.

Unless you're ESL in which case I applaud your effort.

But still that sounds like some seriously high nonsensical rambling. Also, use spell check.

> Vox, how do you feel about having given us eyes for sympathetic magic?

Glad you remembered about it, honestly. Managing to kill the Daughter ahead of time would vastly simplify her Floor and I'm not about to change shit ahead of time just because I wasn't expecting you to logically combine two elements I already installed.

our linch is the best

>MFW it's more effective than I thought when suggesting it.

I mean. I thought we could drive her insane or something with it and torment her relentlessly until she mad mistakes and got erratic. I didn't see outright killing the boss as a feasible thing.

But hey I'm down.

You might say that giving us the eyes is the linchpin of his plan

It's the... eyes of the Daughter, it's our Fetch in the fight
Coming down, just to challenge all our rivals.
And the last known survivor of the marsh-land LaCroix
Is there working her spell on the eyes... of the Daughter.

Called, writing.

You decide to keep the eyes, for now. They'll be handy down the road.

"Thanks," you tell Lora.

"Please warn me next time."

"Yes, I will."

* * * *

Amy's new snakeskin dress is /alluring/. Though the gown Miles made for her has its own sorcerous charm, Amy in scales has an edge of danger that makes you tingle.

"How's it going?" Amy asks, while you ruffle her hair and scritch her head. She chirps delightedly.

"Pretty well," you murmur. "Meadows is confident in his treatment. I'll never be /quite/ the same, but...I'm healing. Been considering what to do with those wing membranes."

"Yeah?" Ames asks, nestled against you. Nate's in the Roost, with River and Lark, helping out. You've been staying in the Atheneum, close to Jewel and Cherry.

Jewel's insisted on continuing her lessons. The girl's never seen without a book.

Amy nuzzles your hand to remind you that you're supposed to be talking right now.

"Oh. Sorry, I...okay," you begin again. "They're formerly living flesh, easy to shape. A bit thin on their own, but I'm thinking of making something to wear with them. Like..." you pluck at your much-abused coat.

"A coat out of just wings?" Amy asks.

"More like a flying coat," you offer, shyly. "I can rebuild the structures that give them shape. If you work with Harry and Isoldt, I bet they could capture some of your flight magic and weave it into runes for the coat. I spend some money with a talor in Glen, have the runes installed as buttons..."

Amy chirps ecstatically. "I could teach you how to fly!"

"Or..." you hesitate. "I dunno, Kat could use them too. Range further from me, move faster..."

"Briiii!"

"I have to be practical!" you protest.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase!"

> Make a flying coat with the wings
> Enhance Kat's range and speed
> Enhance another minion's speed and reflexes (Vim & Vigor/the Boar)
> Save the wings
> Write-in?

>> Make a flying coat with the wings
Oh, fine...

>> Make a flying coat with the wings
If my years of D&D have taught me anything, it's that flying spellcasters are something many enemies are just not equipped to deal with.

>Make a flying coat with the wings
Flying necromancer dropping rot bombs, we carpet bombing Cornucopia now.

But if we're flying, there's nothing in the way of all the bullets and arrows they'll use.

We fly higher then!!!

> Make a flying coat with the wings

Yeah, but there's a lot of air in the way of all the swords and claws. This might not be a great tradeoff if we had to commit to always flying at all times, but we don't. We can choose whichever one is harder for our enemies to deal with at a given time.

So... is anyone cool with us giving Nate wings too? You see the daugther has wings and it would be a waste to just let it root away. Beside what is a hero without wings?

I hate to be /that guy/, but I have to point out the fact that one of our enemies is a motherfucking dragon, an incredible and terrifying monster on land, under the waves, and in this case in the air.

Then there's Seraphina, who can snap her fingers and create a hurricane to destroy anything that dares to take flight.

I'd like to ask Vox if it would be possible to create a kinetic boost enchantment so that Brianna can run and dodge with greater speed and agility without expending too much energy.

WHY NOT!

But seriously, we'd need to get those wings fresh and untainted in order to make something useful from them. Plus, the Hero might not come across as a hero to the commonfolk if he's wearing an angel's wings as a trophy.

And then we'll all go soaring under the skies on our own power. BRILLIANT BONDING TIME!

Also, necroangelic wings. Badass.

We only really need to worry about the dragon though. We're probably gonna geek Serphina from the Broken Jaw. Besides I bet flying will be indispensable in the Sunless Sea.

>A side character ghost severely weakens the second to last boss

>We have a way to just make her explode and die

This is like in Dark Souls and you find out the next boss you're about to fight is a gimmick fight.

Eh, fuck it, why not?
>Make a flying coat with the wings.

We can always say it was a gift from a angel. Lora is a angel after all.

> Make a flying coat with the wings

I am kind of wondering if Amy has a thing for aerial lovemaking.

> Make a flying coat with the wings

Must make the loved ones happy on occasion.

T-that's lewd so user!

I love it.

it's kind of nice how it fits, Nate has an independent shadow and so do we. Amy has wings and can fly and now we can do that too.

> Make a flying coat with the wings

Not even a choice. Flight, fellow humans who walk the earth.

Flight.

Mmmmm. We're gonna need a pic of Best Bird in the slinky new dress, and one of Brianna in her armor. Nate's a lucky man.

Is it okay to be jealous of a fictional character?

>Is it okay to be jealous of a fictional character?

Indeed user, indeed

>Best Bird
>Not Fetch
The term, I believe, is 'fucking pleb.'

Called, writing.

Fetch is no mere bird. He is a valorous knight my good sir, and I would have you address him as such.

Before our time off ends, can we talk to people in Glen to find a work around for our ground hogs day situation?

Your new coat fits wonderfully over your armor - it was made to - though it'll be a bit baggy if you need to wear it without the chitin. Thankfully, it comes with a stylish belt to cinch it around your middle.

The wings buzz eagerly. For the sake of your sanity, and personal safety, the harpy magics built into the coat's clasps, buttons, and lining will only activate if you're honestly attempting to fly.

This does not stop you from promptly crashing into the cieling, about a minute after you put it on for the first time. Your surprised attempt to keep flying results in a series of ricohets up and down the hall before you hit the floor - still mostly weightless - and manage to /stop flying/.

"We need to work on that," you mutter into the stone.

Amy's too busy laughing to answer.

* * * *

You wake up, roll blearily out of bed, and hit one of the Atheneum's bathing areas. Once scrubbed, you dress and plod towards the coffee. You're up before Amy but not, it seems, Nathan.

From the smell, Nate already made coffee. In fact, you find him in the dining area with the Hatchet Man. The older human looks at you and waits, quietly.

"I've got good news and bad news," you tell him. "We've got an avenue to help you out, but we're going to need the Diviner's corpse."

"Then she dies first," Hatchet says simply.

> Hold up. We do this on my time.
> Fuck you say to me?
> Sure, why not? I'll tell John, but we've got things to solve on this end.

* * * *

You have some time to train while still advancing your necromantic experiments. You're at the point where you're learning on your own now, finding spare time here and there to refine your technique.

> Take Nate up on learning swordsmanship (reminder: Nate will be upset if you start and then drop this again)
> Continue your studies with Meadows (begin learning sorcerous healing)
> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching
> Just rest; you need to recover

>> Hold up. We do this on my time.

> Hold up. We do this on my time.
> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching

> Hold up...
> Just recover

> Sure, why not? I'll tell John, but we've got things to solve on this end.
Let's not piss off the world's greatest assassin. It's not like it REALLY matters.

> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching
And maybe leading her a little away from the Demon Army end

> Hold up. We do this on my time.
> We need to go with the plan that's most likely to succeed, not just the plan that's fastest. You want to argue that attacking the Diviner first gives us the best odds of success, you'll have the chance to make that case, but we will not jeopardize my goals or yours just because you're impatient.

> Continue your studies with Meadows (begin learning sorcerous healing)

Vote extended while I work on the character sheet.

> Hold up. We do this on my time.

> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching

>> Hold up. We do this on my time.
We should go for the diviner next so we can use the corpse and the eyes to fuck with the daughter. But we don't need to do it right this second.

> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching

>Hold up. We do this on my time
>Continue your studies with Meadows
Was up till 5:00 AM last night reading the archives. Finally got up to speed. Excited to finally be able to participate.

Welcome to the quest user! Anything stand out on your way here?

> Hold up. We do this on my time.
> We need to go with the plan that's most likely to succeed, not just the plan that's fastest. You want to argue that attacking the Diviner first gives us the best odds of success, you'll have the chance to make that case, but we will not jeopardize my goals or yours just because you're impatient.

> Continue your studies with Meadows (begin learning sorcerous healing)

Obviously I'm backing this fellow . It's important to make things clear!

Besides the fact that you're an incredible author and that DLQ's setting is like nothing I've ever seen?
Well, there's the fact that you've handled "harems" better than most other QMs. That's a plus.

Supporting this user: >Continue your studies with Meadows (begin learning sorcerous healing)

Supporting the first part of this, plus an added line;
>"I'd also prefer to deal with the Diviner /without/ a literal giant breathing down our necks. Shit's just uncomfortable."

And
>Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching.
Maybe she can show us some of the tricks she learned from Robert. We don't need to summon anything or throw around balefire, but some alternative methods of banishment and repelling demons could come in handy later.

Welcome to the family.

Welcome acolyte to the great cult of the linch Vox. Get your dark coffe in the coner and have your feathered hat

Having eight or ten shots of 70% ABV rum during this process was possibly not my most clever plan. Still working on it.

>Sure, why not? I'll tell John, but we've got things to solve on this end.
Yeah. Besides, can't we use her shit to fuck over the daughter?
>Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching
Honestly, with all those puncture wounds maybe we should focus on our magic.

Sounds fun.

>> Sure, why not? I'll tell John, but we've got things to solve on this end.
>> Spend some time teaching River; you can learn by teaching

Nah it was a great idea. It's only a bad idea, if you pass out.

Thank you

Your blood is literally coffee and painkillers; I don see what alcohol could possibly do that hasn't been done.

You're following on the grand tradition of drunkposting set forth by such exemplars as Soma, Papa-n, and... Well nevermind the other one.

We don't talk about him.

OKAY, SO

THE DOC IS HERE: docs.google.com/document/d/1xNX-LUev4oaJmkkGW-UQLp-mwVHGxz27M-J3JyMs9Zk/edit?usp=sharing

IT IS NOT DONE. IT IS NOT EVEN A LITTLE DONE. I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE DAMN MINIONS ON YET.

PLEASE TELL ME IF THE INFORMATION ON BRI THUS FAR IS HELPFUL AND IF IT'S NOT, WHAT'S MISSING/NEEDED/DESIRED

CALLED, WRITING SHORTLY

CAPITAL LETTERS

LOUD NOISES! Also, enjoying the buzz, good lich?

Like swimming in molasses, right?

Who is it?

It's looks good so far, Lord Vox. It'll be good to have a checklist of what we can and can't do.

Also, we should totally train River to use the Shade Form. I would not be surprised if the Diviner or one of the other Chain-Holders sent assassins after the people Brianna cares about.

You don't want to know the answer to that question. We might be in a necromancer quest, but please, let dead things lie.

It might help to be a touch more descriptive in terms of how the abilities work. For example, we know the rot blasts function as projectiles. What about the bone wands? Do we throw them? Shoot a beam from them? Extend them with bone shaping? Or what about the darkness? Does it target creatures, or areas? Or either? These sorts of details would be useful to have, so that we can make intelligent tactical decisions.

I will attend to this when sober. to be quite honest I'm gonna crawl into bed after this update because I had MUCH MORE RUM THAN I THOUGHT and I'm having trouble seeing straight.

Strictly speaking it wasn't a him.
Wasnt a her either, allegedly.

Remember to have water and aspirin on hand for the inevitable hangover, or as I like to call it, 'SWEETMERCIFULGODSTRIKEMEDOWNIBEGOFTHEE!!!'

"Maybe," you tell Hatchet, evenly. "There's a lot of factors to weigh on who we go after first. If - /if/ - going after the Diviner first is the best option, that's what we'll do. But I have more than you to consider."

"You're the client," Hatchet says with a shrug. "Your idiot is paying me well to teach him how to fight."

"He's a Hero, Hatchet."

"I prefer the more accurate term." You open your mouth to snap at the old human, only to see Nathan quietly shake his head at you.

You let it pass without further comment. Nathan nods, and waves you over to sit with him for breakfast.

The rest of the day goes well.

* * * *

"Shadows," you tell River, "are among the most useful of servants."

Your sister shivers. The knife in her hand is small; the silver cupped in her palm is prepared. The woman kneeling before her is one of the Baron's, caught writing down secrets to be passed into the Cornucopia, somehow.

The two co-conspirators that were proven to be working with her have already been executed. River hadn't flinched then, but you can see the fear in her green eyes now.

> "...River, you don't have to do this."
> Say nothing
> Encourage her

* * * *

Getting the hang of flight isn't easy. Thankfully, you can now ascend, descend, and even hover with your new coat. Turning and maneuvering are still a bit of a bitch, but you're getting used to it.

Right now, with Amy perched nearby, you're hovering before one of the components of the Roost's death-funnel. With the sudden dropoff in violence, the area is draining of the reek of death - noticably so. It'll be empty within four months, assuming nothing about the situation changes.

You're almost tempted to leave this thing alone, just for that. It'll improve the feeling of the place, and maybe give the harpies less nightmares.

You set your hand on the massive bronze rune and are surprised to feel /presences/ on the other side. One is old, and tired, and stained and slathered in blood and suffering that is ancient in a way little else you've felt is. The other is bright, hot, and angry; the blood on it sizzles in your mind, spilled in fury and for wrath's indulgence.

> Withdraw your hand
> Contact the older entity
> Speak to the younger entity
> Destroy the rune

> Say nothing
This is something she has to choose herself. We can provide her with the tools but the will to use them has to be on her.