The Mind of Nox

Full Regalia

AJ Hunter — Sat, 19 Jun 1926 00:00:00 +0000

Flaw Buster Mini Quest

Scene Level: 1d10: [7] = 7 (4 Threshold)

What flaw are you trying to overcome?
Overstimulation

What is the item you are trying to gain, and what does it do?

Aether Focus Lenses are a [Aetherium] [pair of glasses] that [calms the Aetheric flows in view].

How are you going to obtain the item? Make it

Task: Track down a Shadowed Astral Stalker

eased by spatial cartographer, bounty hunter, can always find his way, no where to hide
Tracking
DC 9 → 9 » Success
You successfully track your target

Q: Do I know the weakness?
Oracle
DC 15 → 5 » No, but
Mould, Armies, Warrant

There is a trail of creeping mold, the fluttering wings that sounds like an army. I have a warrant for the creatures mortal enemy.

Task: wait out the barbaric fight

ease flows of aether, improvisation, surgical skirmisher x2
Task
DC 9 → 10 » Success

Q: Does the stalker lose?
Oracle
DC 15 → 15 » Yes

Task: Harvest the Stalker's Main Eye

eased by Anatomical precision x2 , disciple of eldritch anatomy, Handle with Care, Fracture points
Harvesting
DC 6 → 14 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

Q: Do I have access to Aetherium?
Oracle
DC 12 → 17 » Yes, and
Common, Thick, Ambition

Task: Craft the lenses

eased eased by handle with care x2, improvisation x2, macgyver x2, aether-bound
Crafting
DC 0 → 15 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

The First Creation

Scene Level: Challenging ← (1d6+2: [3]+2 = 5) (3 Threshold)

Task: Harvest the Haunted Fleshgrinder for its prehensile tail

eased by Anatomical precision x2 , disciple of eldritch anatomy, Handle with Care
Harvesting
DC 3 → 6 » Success
Successfully harvested the item

Task: Harvest the Haunted Fleshgrinder's hide (L7)

eased by Anatomical precision x2 , disciple of eldritch anatomy, Handle with Care
Harvesting
DC 9 → 17 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

Task: Craft the weapon

eased eased by handle with care x2, improvisation x2, macgyver x2
Crafting
DC 0 → 16 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

The Full "Regalia"

Shadow Cloak

Scene Level: Difficult ← (1d4+2: [2]+2 = 4) (2 Threshold)

Task: Harvest membrane from Shadowed Whisperer

eased by handle with care x2, anatomical precision x2
Harvesting
DC 0 → 1 » Fail, and
You failed to harvest the item and destroyed the resource
Add Mastery

Q: Can I find another one?
Oracle
DC 12 → 15 » Yes

Q: Was it close by?
Oracle
DC 15 → 3 » No, but
Noxious, Possession, Invite

I had to leave because of the noxious fumes. But my mentor invited me along on a possession later that month where we found another.

Scene Level: Demanding ← (1d6+2: [1]+2 = 3) (1 Threshold)

Task: Harvest membrane from Shadowed Whisperer

eased by anatomical precision x2
Harvesting
DC 3 → 16 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

Task: Craft Shadow Cloak

eased by macguyver x2
Crafting
DC 3 → 9 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

The Beginning

AJ Hunter — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Full "Regalia"

continued

Trans-dimension Handkerchief/Portable Monster-wright Workshop/Portable Sanctuary/Pockets

Scene Level: Intimidating ← (1d6+2: [4]+2 = 6) (3 threshold)

Q: Can I find old phase spider silk nests?
Oracle
DC 15 → 14 » Yes, but
Invite, Gears, Craft

I was invited by another crafter to who was mechanically inclined to go on a hunt and help them scavenge the Old Spider nests. They wanted all the trapped gear and loot, while I wanted just the old spider silk. I knew how to extract it properly I could make a truly unique item

Task: Harvest Spider Silk

eased by Anatomical precision x2 , disciple of eldritch anatomy, Handle with Care
Harvesting
DC 6 → 10 » Success
Successfully harvested the item

Q: Do I collect enough to make more than 1 square of fabric?
Oracle
DC 15 → 16 » Yes

Q: Do I collect enough to make a pop up tent?
Oracle
DC 15 → 19 » Yes

Q: Is there any left over after making both of them?
Oracle
DC 15 → 19 » Yes

Q: Enough to make at least one garment?
Oracle
DC 15 → 3 » No, but
Shame, Suggestion, Medicine

There wasn't enough to do anything major so I made a simple pocket for the Chorari Ledger, Vessel of Knowledge and Ink set.

Task: Craft Portable square of fabric

eased eased by handle with care x2, improvisation x2, macgyver x2
Crafting
DC 0 → 10 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

Crafted the Portable square of fabric x3 (because it was a DC of 0 we aren't going to roll again)

Q: Do I gather all the equipment I would need for the workshop?
Oracle
DC 15 → 4 » No, but
Government, Daughter, Slime

I couldn't find all the items I needed, but I did a rescued the daughter of a high ranking official of the courts from a slime and she gifted me the remainder as a reward.

Scene Level: Difficult ← (1d4+2: [2]+2 = 4)

Pop Up Tent Affair

Scene Level: Demanding ← (1d4+2: [1]+2 = 3) (2 threshold)

Q: Is my tent populated with everything I'd have in a bunk house?
Oracle
DC 15 → 12 » Yes, but
Silence, Diary, Slime

I was able to acquire everything I needed for my little tent sanctuary, but the first night I spent in it, it was eerily quiet, not even my footsteps carried father than the floor. My voice sounded strange when I spoke to myself — and I did that often as I responded to Alex in my head.

As I lay in my comfortable bedding staring up at the strange new ceiling I also noticed a milky fluid building up. I immediately got up and wiped it off. It seemed that the interior of the fabric was 'leaking' a non-sticky slime. I gathered it for later examination and maybe I could find a use for it.

Each night 1d4 oz of phase-fluid leaks into the interior of the tent.

1d4: [4] = 4 ounces

Task: Research the phase-fluid

eased by improvisation x2, handle with care x2
Task
DC 0 → 12 » Success, and
Damaged, Door, Insight

I realize as I experimented with small doses that it bridge the gap between things. Sometimes Alex was clearer, and other times I felt him stronger.

Q: Have I collected more than 1 flask of phase-fluid before the game starts?
Yes/No
Roll: 4 (1d6) » Yes

Q: More than 5?
Yes/No
Roll: 4 (1d6) » Yes

Q: More than 10?
Yes/No
Roll: 1 (1d6) » No

Q: More than 8?
Yes/No
Roll: 6 (1d6) » Yes

Q: Have I had to get rid of some of it?
Oracle
DC 15 → 20 » Yes, and
Communion, Love, Boisterous

Cast: Temporal Bridge Ritual (Level 10 - 5 Threshold)

hindered by World overpowered x2, MAI by 1, Eased by ritual x2, eased by Macgyver x2, handle with care x2, improvisation x2, rigid routine, aether-bound
Spellcasting
DC 9 → 5 » Success, but
Success, but it backfires and hinders all rolls until the end of your next turn

I had been working on a spell that would allow Alex to cross the boundaries of our mind and share the same physical space at least for a little while. And if it worked it would be wonderful to feel his fingers on my skin for real.

And the spell worked — mostly. Alex stepped into my world but there was a strange distortion. I would move and my body was slow to react.

But what was stranger was hearing Alex's voice outside of my head.

But that was hardly a distraction as we spent the next hour in each others arms for the first time in all of our history — finally one.

Shadow Network Compass

Scene Level: Heroic ← (1d6+2: [6]+2 = 8) (4 Threshold)

Naoise took me on a training mission. The target was a courier carrying a missive we didn't want to get back to the main forces.

Q: Did I need to help Naoise in her mission?
Oracle
DC 18 → 14 » Yes, but
Tedious, Temperature, Woman

Noaise got into a spot of trouble with, she was angry with me in the end. She yelled at me and said she would have figured it out eventually. It was just a tedious job.

We stopped the creature from delivering the message.

Task: Harvest the Withered Spirit for the Shadow Essence.

eased by anatomical precision x2, handles with care x2, fracture points, macguyver x2
Harvesting
DC 6 → 4 » Success, but
Successfully harvested the item but it made harvesting more difficult, your next harvest check is hindered by 1

Task: Craft Shadow Network Compass

eased by improvisation x2, macgyver x2, handle with care x2, Sovereign stitch
Crafting
DC 3 → 11 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

Endless Ledger Parchment

Scene Level: Challenging ← (1d6+2: [3]+2 = 5) (3 threshold)

Q: As a young scavenger can I collect elderwood scraps from the scrap pile of others discardings.
Oracle
DC 12 → 14 » Yes

Q: Did I collect enough for at least 3 pages?
Yes/No
Roll: 2 (1d6) » Yes

Q: Did I collect enough for more than 3 pages?
Yes/No
Roll: 5 (1d6) » No

Task: Track down a Haunted Puca

eased by can always find way, bounty hunter, no where to hide
Tracking
DC 6 → 12 » Success, and
You successfully track your target and find proof of their exact location or recent activity

Q: Did I find the strength?
Oracle
DC 15 → 5 » No, but
Ruined, Shame, Glitter

I didn't find their strength but I found their weakness — also happened to be one that could take me down too. The puca could be ruined by glitter. So could I but not for the same reason. I hated glitter!

Combat Phase 1:

eased by sees the flows
Combat opening
DC 12 → 15 » Success
Ease by 1

Combat Phase 2: Throw glitter in the creatures path

hindered by self issue, eased by weakness used, surgical skirmisher x2, improvisation, sees the flows
Combat maneuver
DC 3 → 6 » Success
Your actions succeed and the tags are applied universally

Combat Phase 3: use blink dagger to attack

hindered by self issue, eased by weakness used, surgical skirmisher x2, improvisation, sees the flows
Combat strike
DC 3 → 7 » Success
Clean strike.
Ease 1 step

Combat Phase 4: Counter

hindered by self issue, eased by weakness used, blinking away, light armor, improvisation x2
Combat counter
DC 3 → 7 » Success
Perfect parry or dodge.
Ease 1 step

Combat Phase 5: Resolution

eased by 2
Combat outcome
DC 9 → 9 » Success
Clear Victory.
Strain

Task: Harvest Time Essence from creature

eased by anatomical precision x2, handles with care x2, macguyver x2
Harvesting
DC 0 → 9 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

Task: Craft Endless Ledger Pages

eased by improvisation x2, macgyver x2, handle with care x2
Crafting
DC 0 → 9 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

Vessel of Knowledge

Scene Level: Formidable ← (1d8+2: [5]+2 = 7) (4 threshold)

Q: Do I know of any means of getting Thorned Drake scales?
Oracle
DC 15 → 11 » Yes, but
Pilgrim, Silver, Decomposed

A pilgrim from far away wants to into a thorned drakes territory and has paid me in silver to go with them. When we get there the thorned drake is already dead.

Q: Can I salvage the scales being one of the hardest parts of the creature?
Oracle
DC 12 → 19 » Yes, and
Alcohol, Medicine, Admission

My employer would also like to harvest the liver and heart for medicine and the fermenting breath sac.

Harvest Order: sac, scales, heart, liver

Task: Harvest Breath Sac

eased by Anatomical Percision x2, handle with care x2, fracture points, Improvisation x2
Harvesting
DC 0 → 15 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

Task: Harvest scales (9)

eased by Anatomical Precision x2, handle with care x2, fracture points, Improvisation x2 and last check
Harvesting
DC 3 → 7 » Success
Successfully harvested the item

Task: Harvest heart (10)

eased by Anatomical Percision x2, handle with care x2, fracture points, Improvisation x2
Harvesting
DC 12 → 6 » Fail, but
You failed to harvest the item but the node is intact

Task: Harvest liver (10)

eased by Anatomical Precision x2, handle with care x2, fracture points, Improvisation x2
Harvesting
DC 12 → 15 » Success
Successfully harvested the item

Successfully harvested the breath sac, scales and liver (also paid in silver)

Task: Craft Vessel out of scales and silver

eased by macgyver x2, handle with care x2, improvisation x2, sees the flows x2
Crafting
DC 0 → 18 » Success, and
Successfully crafted the item and your next craft check is eased by 1

Aether

Raw Aether is hard to come by. But I decide to petition the goddess of aether herself for a small quantity for my Vessel of Knowledge

Scene Level: Immortal ← (1d10+2: [7]+2 = 9) (5 threshold)

Task: Petition The Goddess of Aether for Aether

eased by divine intervention, aether-bound, Catalyst Spark, Loyal Faction, improvisation x2
Task
DC 9 → 13 » Success

I prayed to the Goddess of Aether in Ashtarian. I asked for her favor and a small portion of aether to complete my project. The Goddess of Aether granted my request and sealed the raw magical power inside the small vessel I had made for it.

Chorari Ledger

Scene Level: Challenging ← (1d10+2: [3]+2 = 5)

With a little inspiration from the goddess I use the Chorari binding ritual that is preformed on us as children to bind the ink and quill set my mother gave me with the endless parchment and vessel of knowledge to create a journal that is all mine and bound to me and Alex, and only we can use it.

Cast: Chorari Binding Ritual (Level 8)

hindered by MAI, eased by ritual x2, eased by rigid routine, aether-bound, handle with care x2
Spellcasting
DC 6 → 11 » Success, and
Successfully cast the spell and it eases the next roll by 1

The Beginning

The Wyld had been your home for as long as you can remember. The magic on your skin and the air smelled of sweet pollen. As you stand before the glowing Tangleroot Tree and the portal that would whisk you away to the Iron Veil, your mother, Aura, smiles at you. "Remember this, my little one, you will not feel it again for some time."

She gives you one last hug before you step through the portal to the other side. The transition is gut wrenching, but you know the moment you are on the other side. The gnawning prickly feeling of Iron, Steel and Silver grated at your skin. The air is thick with smog even though there is no sky above you. The dim glow of the Tangleroot Tree is the only reminder that you are as close to home you'll be for a long time — maybe even ever again. Who knows you might die up there where the Iron and Steel are predominant.

You expected to be greeted by someone — but there is no one there when you look around. Only the dim glow of the purification flora in the distance. Flaming Lanterns flicker down a path. Smoke streams high into the cavern you are in. The way back is still a soft glow.

You could still go back. Forfeit your mission — your training. Or you could step forward find your path. Where there is smoke there is people, but the path is the other way.

What do you want to do?

Scene:

Level: Difficult ← (1d4+2: [2]+2 = 4)
TP: 10
Weather: Thunderstorm ← (1d10: [7] = 7)
Season: 1d90: [64] = 64th day of Summer ← (1d6: [2] = 2)
Day of the Week: 1d7: [3] = 3 Wednesday
Phase of the Moon: Full Moon ← (1d8: [5] = 5) (day 1)
Shift: 1d6: [1] = 1

Shifts on the (day):

I peer over the glasses and look for Aetheric flows to follow

Q: Does I see a pattern in which way I should go?
Oracle
DC 15 → 19 » Yes

Q: Towards the smoke?
Yes/No
Roll: 3 (1d6) » No

The flows lead down the path lined with lanterns.

Q: Do the lanterns hold any meaning to me?
Oracle
DC 15 → 3 » No, but
Skin, Priest, Refuse

The lanterns are just lanterns until I draw close and notice that instead of parchment, each panel is stretch skin with the off scent of burning dung and mistbark, a combination often used by priests of the order.

This was definitely the way I wanted to go.

Q: Is there anything noticeable along the path?
Oracle
DC 15 → 14 » Yes, but
Scary, Family, Wealth

The iron and cement and silver prickled against my skin as I walked down the path, even Alex was quietly watching the buildings as we passed the lanterns. Big scary building that ran from ground well into the caverns heights. I didn't see families, and there was no visible wealth — but wealth for the iron veil meant strange monies things I barely knew about. Things my mother had spoken of but I had never experienced.

I was in a strange new land. Everything was weird.

Q: Does anything happen along the path?
Oracle
DC 15 → 8 » No, but
Entice, Erratic, Student

The path let me to a building, an enticing smell escaped the open door, an erratic disciple stood outside it, his hands flailing in the wind as he waved me down.

"You must be him" he said.

"Him?" I asked.

"Yeah. No one else would walk this way. Come on in."

The sign above the door read "The First Breath Ordinarie". The food smelled good if vastly different from what I was used to. I probably should get used to it.

The First Breath Ordinarie

AJ Hunter — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Beginning (part 2)

Scene:

Level: Difficult ← (1d4+2: [2]+2 = 4)
TP: 9
Weather: Thunderstorm ← (1d10: [7] = 7)
Season: 1d90: [64] = 64th day of Summer ← (1d6: [2] = 2)
Day of the Week: 1d7: [3] = 3 Wednesday
Phase of the Moon: Full Moon ← (1d8: [5] = 5) (day 1)
Shift: 1d6: [1] = 1

Shifts on the (day):

The First Breath Ordinarie was an ordinary room, though the furnishing were foreign. Three long family style table with benches instead of chairs filled the room. For a gathering place it was rather quiet, but there were parties sitting at the table passing strange dishes.

I recognized some of the food, but it was mixed with strange fixings.

The boy tugged on my arm. "Come on, follow me."

Q: Does anything catch my eye as I pass through the common room?
Oracle
DC 15 → 6 » No, but
Possession, Obstinate, Beast

I didn't want to take the Lenses off, but I wanted to see how the Iron Veil looked without them so I peered over them again watching as the patrons obstinately shoved their food into their gullets. I watched a small spark of magic tie itself to each person as they consumed the meat from a strange beast. Not that I knew where it had come from, only that I didn't recognize any of the signatures I was seeing.

Eating here might become a problem.
I followed the boy through the common room, up stairs and into a small study.

The room was lined with flora I recognized and a tiny Phoenix Sprite sat atop a perch on the desk.

Q: Is there anything else of note in the room?
Oracle
DC 15 → 9 » No, but
Disguise, Storage, Delusional

The room looked ordinary through the lenses, but their signatures said something else when I removed the tinted spectacles to catch the magic flowing in the room.

Nothing was as it seemed and I would have thought I was delusional had I not seen the flows for myself.

A man stepped out from behind an illusionary wall with a bright smile on his lips. Though his teeth were clearly of the fey, his features spoke of nothing but human. Sometimes it was hard to glamour the simple things like your teeth when you opened your mouth.

"Sit. I am Lachlan Ashglen, High Priest of the Order of the First Breath. Miss Thornheart said you would be joining us in the Iron Veil today. I knew the lanterns would draw you near. I will have Simon fetch them. The denizens find their smell and look ... unsettling." He grinned at me.

I sat down and offered my name. "Ci... Nox Knight." I corrected myself. Ciaran Nightscale was my name, but here to blend in I choose to take a more human name.

Q: Does the priest have more than a 'welcome to the iron veil' reason for luring me here?
Oracle
DC 12 → 20 » Yes, and
Persistent, Impact, Hairpin

Priest Ashglen sat down opposite me and continued to smile as he spoke. "The Mother of All has told me of your coming. You know you are here to fight the forces of evil and free the Iron Veil from the darkness that is The Nether. But what you did not know is that you are the key — the hairpin we will use to unlock the win. You are The Herald of the Darkness demise."

Alex chuckles in my head. "I'd like some of what he's smoking."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'm here to fight — nothing more. If you would be so kind as to point me to Naoise I would appreciate it."

"Wait." He stood and intercepted my path. "Please just listen."
I turned back around and waited for him to sit down, instead he leaned on the desk this side of it and looked up at me.

"I realize that is a lot to take in. We can discuss it later. But the Mother of All sees All and tells me things. You must help us."

I rolled my eyes but helping people was the whole point of being here. "What can I do?"

Q: Does he want me to do his personal quest?
Oracle
DC 15 → 9 » No, but
Noxious, Talk, Incongruous

Priest Ashglen leans forward and his breath is noxious. He speaks in hushed tones, "I need you to hunt a Shadowed Darkling for me. I need its brain — its psyche to cure a terrible plague."

Task: Knowledge Check — Shadowed Darkling

eased by Obsessive recorder, bounty hunter,
Task
DC 6 → 14 » Success, and
Calm, Stale air, Force

I knew what a Shadowed Darkling was — a changeling with toxic breath, they hungered for flesh and granted wishes to unsuspecting victims. The false calm and the stale air gave everything away.

But as he spoke of the terrible plague just inches from me I knew in that moment what he was. He was the darkling and Priest Ashglen was somewhere in this building dying a slow horrible death.

Alex sighed. "It thinks you a dupe."

I smiled, more for Alex than for the darkling before me. "I will kill the Darkling for you." I said, drawing the Blink dagger from its sheath and stabbing the creature in the throat.

Task: Attack with Blink Dagger

eased by surprise, improvisation x2, surgical skirmisher x2
Task
DC 0 → 7 » Success, and
Whoosh, Insight, Surprise

Whoosh. It was a perfect shot, right to the brain — there would be no salvaging that this time. And that was probably a good thing. I always had a problem butchering humanoid things. And while a darkling was an evil creature, it still looked like one of us.

As it died the magic faded and even through the Aetheric Lenses I could follow the path where the actual Priest of The First Breath lay under the floorboards.

If I'd been prepared I could have captured the blood but by the time i found space to lay the workshop down, the blood would be congealed and unusable in anything but necromancy spells. And I didn't do those.

"The Priest is dying." Alex echoed in my ear as I yanked the dagger from the innards of the darkling.

Task: Pry the floorboards up

eased by improvision x2, fracture points
Task
DC 3 → 5 » Success

I pried the floorboards up and pulled the real Priest Ashglen from his bounds. He gasped for air and slumped to the floor exhausted and broken.

Q: Is the Priest okay?
Oracle
DC 15 → 11 » Yes, but
Temporary, Armies, Toss

Ashglen is pale and barely breathing, I tip the lenses from my eyes and put them on top of my head and look at him with my real unhindered sight.

Task: Is there anything I can do?

eased by aether-bound and handle with care x2
Task
DC 3 → 17 » Success, and
Music, Guest, Midnight

Before I can finish my assessment the noise from downstairs echoes in the room. The people down stairs are no longer possessed by their meals — the darkling is dead and its control is gone and now they are reacting poorly to the enchantment.

The priest points to a box on the desk. "Help."

Q: Do I recognize how the box can help?
Oracle
DC 12 → 11 » Yes, but
Unseen, Few, Boisterous

It's a music box — a device that was currently running in reverse. I'd never seen anything like it before. I couldn't just stop it and start it right. But the crowd down stairs was getting louder.

I laid the man down gently and stood up. "Alex, we got this."

"Always, Pretty Boy. I got your back."

And I would need his strength as I let the box use my raw natural power to heal itself and return it to its rightful direction.

Task: Use our raw power to right the music box and begin healing again

eased by We are One, Turns magic awry
Task
DC 6 → 9 » Success

I placed my hands on top of the box and let the power flow through me. Alex's mind inside mine hummed a tune, it was the right tune. Somehow he knew exactly what the box played and the gears inside turned and gnarled to a stop before righting their mechanisms and flowing forwards.

The sound was hauntingly beautiful. And the magic was felt the moment it started. It pulsed out from it in one giant wave and the calm of the people down stairs was heard with a sigh of relief.

And the man on the floor heaved a content sigh as his body relaxed and the color returned.

"Help me up, boy," the priest requested.
I knelt down by him and helped him to the chair the darkling had occupied once.

"How did you know?" he asked, his eyes wide as he sat down and the Phoenix Sprite hopped over to him and perched on his shoulder.

I shrugged. "Just knew." It was more than that but it was hard to explain.

"Naoise said you were talented."

"Did she now?" I rolled my eyes. Naoise never had anything good to say to me. But she was supposed to be a hard ass.

"The Mother of All says good things too."

"So you are going to ask me to take up that mantle too?"

"What mantle is that, son?"

"It's Nox. And the whole herald of darkness' demise bullshit." I scoffed.

"Ah... It said that did it?" Priest Ashglen sighed. "Well, let's just forget that for now. We can revisit the words later. I am just grateful you came when you did."

"So it's true then." I growled.

"Free Will is something the God of Souls gave us all. What the Mother of All wishes and plays her cards does not mean that things will go as she desires. You heed it no mind. You do as you do, and I will be the buffer from the words that seek to push you in one direction or another."

He gave me a tired smile. "I have a request for you, a boon for saving me and my little safe haven, a gift from the mother of all."

"I need you deliver a message for me to my daughter and high priestess on the Surface. It is of no rush, but I can narely leave my flock, 'specially now. Will you do me that favor?"

I nodded. "Yes."

The priest handed me a folded letter. You can find her in The Gate, just outside of the Iron Citadel at the Ordinarie there.

Lachlan Ashglen plucks a tail feather from his friend's tail with little more than a squawk from his companion and hands it to me. "This will save yours or someone else's life one day."

The man tried to stand and sighs, "If you would." He waved for me to present myself to him at his side.

I sighed but did as I was bid tucking the feather in my belt for the moment as he took his hands in mine.

They were warm — much warmer than they had been. His voice was soft as he started chanting. I knew the words, though he spoken them too softly for me to fully register the exact prayer he as offering.

There was a soft white light between our hands as the Goddess of Aether bestowed her gift upon me. Though I didn't know what it was, I felt her presence on me — in me. She would be with me always — not that she was ever far before.

Receives [The Mother's Boon]

Tier 1: Nether Knowledge
Tier 2: Defense Against the Nether
Tier 3: Strategical Attack the Nether
Tier 4: Close the Door

Priest Ashglen pulled away and patted my hands. "The Mother Bless you. I will have Simon take you to the Warden's Watch where Naoise will meet you."

I nodded. "Thank you."

Insights
DC 15 → 15 » Success
Found a Clear Lead. Roll for Subject/Modifier. Mark 2 tallies.

This insight reveals information about a [New] [Faction] regarding its [Leader].

"I'm going to take the body off your hands."

Q: Will Priest Ashglen allow it?
Oracle
DC 15 → 20 » Yes, and
Henchman, Fluttering, Slice

The priest gave me a knowing nod and even had one of the men from down stairs help me carry the corpse out back leaving me alone with the fluttering cape to slice and dice as I saw fit.

Q: Is there room to layout the workshop?
Oracle
DC 12 → 5 » No, but
Sleep, Sleep, Crack

There was no room to layout the workshop, thankfully I didn't need tools to extract the essence. I could do it in my sleep — twice.

Task: Harvest Time Essence

eased by handle with care x2 and anatomical precision x2
Harvesting
DC 0 → 18 » Success, and
Successfully harvested the item and your next harvest check is eased by 1

I used my hands to carefully extract the magical essence of the darkling and placed it in an uncracked flask the man had found lying around. It would do till I could get into the workshop proper and store it right. Time could fetch a good price — well at home it would. Here I wasn't so sure.

After extracting the essence I used what was left of the congealed blood in the body to draw the sigils on the ground around it and ignited it with fire.

Task: Cast Disposal Fire Ritual (free cast)

The Warden's Watch

Shifts on the (day):

I find Simon inside talking with a serving woman. He waves at me and heads over.
"Now that was weird," he exclaims as he leads me out the door and back up the path I traveled down, the lanterns are gone. The path was no longer a walking billboard for any others of the order. It was a lure for me.

"Did Priest Ashglen actually want me to come see him?" I asked.

Alex chuckled. "Always the skeptic."

Q: Does Simon know the answer?
Oracle
DC 15 → 3 » No, but
Message, Fair, Blood

Simon shrugged. "I don't know. But he did have a message for you, and for his daughter so maybe?"

Simon lead me back to the Tangleroot Tree and towards the smoke that lifted towards the trees.

Q: Does the smoke originate from the Warden's Watch?
Oracle
DC 15 → 1 » No, and
Mammoth, Sleep, Reflect

Simon looks up and frowns. "That's not good."

"What's not good?" I asked.

"That smoke. It's coming from The Sleeping Mammoth."

"And?"

"And that means there's a raiding party on the way." Simon looked at me and at the smoke and then down the path the way we'd come. "I better warn the Ordinarie. You go that way." He pointed in the direction of the smoke. "I'm sure Naoise will be wherever the danger is." Simon rushed off the way he came and I was left staring at the same choice I had before. The path, the smoke and the way back home.

There wasn't really a choice — I headed towards the smoke.