In her excitement, Sammy immediately arranged to converse with the frogman, who had been freshly brought into the fold by one of her Resemblants pretending to be a water sylph Servitor. She introduced herself as a projected image of Stillwater hovering over the waters used…
She could see the frogman shaman from a big, round pool of water in a cave, sitting cross-legged at the edge while holding a beautiful, decorated staff like many painstakingly painted totem heads stacked on each other, and some sort of shining magical crystal was encased at the top. His mouth was hung open looking at the apparition in front of him, presumably with an expression of surprise.
He was purple, red, and black spotted, wearing complex, decorative layers of leather and cloth. He seemed old and wizened. At least, Sammy thought of the frogman as a ‘he.’ She couldn’t really be sure. In any case, her vibes were very positive from him.
“Salutations,” the watery form of Stillwater greeted with a smile. “I trust you can understand me well in the common tongue?”
The shaman closed his mouth and nodded, then tapped his staff on the stone and began speaking. It was an alien thing… but from out of the crystal of his staff, a guttural translating voice came. “Yes. Salutations. You are speaking to Gejjok Mikmog, Great Shaman of the Chig-Megeksko. I am honored by your presence, Goddess and Daughter Spirit to the Mother of Nature. Thank you for tending to her.”
“You’re very welcome. I am honored as well to meet you, prestigious elder of the Chig-Megeksko. You are the first of your kind I have met in addition to the first like Follower.”
He bowed his head briefly and blinked his eyes. “I am pleased to be, Goddess, and look forward to a strong alliance in the spirit, pneuma, and bone. I am told yet, to keep close conspiracy between us, barring your systemic engineering. So be it.”
It took her a moment to understand what he meant: being clandestine and secret. “Ah, yes, much appreciated, Great Shaman. So be it.” After a pause and a mutual nod, she continued, “Are more of your people Followers of Redberry, then?”
“All. For all generations of the Chig-Megeksko. As all other gods once known were paid homage to in the ancient days, though we are servants to the Little Ones of Matter, and to all things under and over the sky, equally.”
“Little Ones of Matter… meaning spirits?”
“Yes. They inhabit all things, if coaxed and welcomed, if encouraged and drawn. Too few bother, and so we are rich with them, such as can come in our humble lands.”
Sammy had to consider that. It probably referred to the vast aggregate Limbo of untapped energy. “Hopefully in the future, we will as a whole do better in this regard.”
“This Celestial Horizon for all? Yes. The Little Ones have much to offer, despite the persecution and the mix of bad juices. Far to the north in murderous cold, I hear legends of a place teeming richly and thriving with them.”
“Yes. Valuwei as it’s called. I have a Follower who is from there. Perhaps I will connect you with him.”
The frogman bloated up his throat and gave a croak, in what had to be a sign of approval and pleasure. “I would love to speak of these unknown, mystical lands.”
Stillwater beamed widely and helplessly in glee at the response. “So you will, then.”
“It is said you are the Goddess of Divination, as well. Can you read the fortune of the Chig-Megeksko people?”
Stillwater gazed at him for a spell, internally feeling the pull of the request — prayer — drawing her from her new Follower. “Yes.”
She summoned the tarot to her, cards flashing rapidly into existence and spinning around her, until stacking as a deck into her hand. Meanwhile, the frogman shaman marveled with his wide mouth hanging open.
Stillwater shuffled the cards, then drew three, each flashing out and enlarging to energetically reveal itself to the shaman. An epic voice only vaguely like Stillwater came from her lips. “Queen of Wands reversed in Past, Nine of Wands upright in Present, The World upright in Future. From a time of listlessness, faithlessness, and the dominance of the darkness, your people have climbed to a crossroads born of much hardship, with difficulty trusting any goodness that hints or threatens to come.”
The goddess gestured with hands out wide, and around her, the water appeared to fountain, while above her head a watery semblance of a wreath appeared. “If you will accept great change offered from far beyond your normalcy and comfort you will profit and multiply triple all that you have suffered. You — people of the deep, drowned lands — will obtain a place of great honor in the final struggle for what you venerate above all: life itself. Precisely. Where. You. Belong!”
The goddess formed fists as the water around her turned to steam — and then transmuted and burst into flames.
The shaman hopped up to his feet excitedly, eyes bugging out as he beheld the bursting flames of the goddess around her like an aura. Great, resounding croaks issued from his throat, and he brandished his staff over his head, shaking it. “I must wake the elders! I must share these great words! Praise to you, Goddess Who Foretells! Praise to Stillwater!”
He ran and hopped off, as Stillwater watched him go and blinked repeatedly. Well. Didn’t expect that, but I guess it’s good news? Bringing more of these smaller tribes together into an alliance. Redberry could help with that, no doubt.
She tried to push the imminent quest completion out of her head until it could just surprise her, so she poured herself back into spell research, namely the one Lucky had helped her have a baseline for. In under an hour, it all came together, as meanwhile, her body was coasting out over the sea between the Southlands and the Borderlands of the Dominion, where Caneboro awaited.
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Delicate Touch (9 MP) (Telekinesis) You obtain a 0.5 meter range telekinesis of very fine manipulation, at a ‘hand strength’ equivalent to a level 1 Brute. It is directed with the hands and fingers. Duration is 1 minute per caster level. This force can reach through solid objects or inside of complex mechanisms, but cannot reach inside of living things unless already through an opening. It can perform basic physical actions such as reaching through a door to unlock a latch or safely pick up something that fell into a dangerous substance. If used for fine mechanical manipulation, it is superior to utilizing one’s hands, adding +2 Effective Levels as a circumstantial bonus, to such things as sewing, mechanical repair, surgery, sleight of hand, lock-picking, and various other meticulous crafts. This spell is not very effective as a weapon, acting at best as an attack by a level 1 Brute, though it technically can bypass physical armor and is a physically invisible force. Base caster level is [Wizard]. One additional class may add as normal, providing (level/3, rounded up) to the base class — this includes [Bard] as well as certain special classes (Note: [Goddess] adds). |
Circumstantial bonus, eh? The best kind, stacking even with other circumstantial bonuses. This is a bit like having 2 extra levels of [Rogue] for like half of what it does. Magic rules!
She also considered what she might invent for her ‘custom slots’ of level 0 cantrips allowed after getting Allspell Zero. Perhaps a speed-reading aid… or perhaps something with a delayed effect to stack a small benefit when she had prep time… or something that interacted with her powers…
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The quest “Lesser Deity: Company of the Divine” is complete. 1100 FE gained. +2000 Maximum FE added. 8 exp gained in [Goddess]. 3 free Priestly Ordinations granted. Domain Slot unlocked. Level 6 Goddess obtained. +2000 Maximum FE added. Powers Mirror Control and Sheath of Light added. Create Servitor, Mirror Sense, Mirror Walk, Mirroring Duplicates, Create Illusion, Intuition, Perfect Vision, Purify upgraded. Grant Prayer (Fate), (Illusions), and (Light) upgraded. New Quest unlocked: “Lesser Deity: Becoming a Horde” — Reach 999 total Followers. ● Rewards: +1500 FE, +4000 Maximum FE, +7 exp in [Goddess], 1 free Create Servitor use, Holy Relic Investiture upgraded. |
Yeeeeeees!
The first thing she checked before the new powers was her deity ‘grade’ as well as to verify her new Domain Slot. Well, she was still a Lesser Deity. Hopefully, level 7 was an upgrade to that. It felt like a big one, but then again they all did in different ways.
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Mirror Control Any high-quality actual physical mirror you are interfaced with may be levitated and moved around 3-dimensionally, at will, at 1 meter per second per [Goddess] level. Any mirrors within 33 meters of your interface mirror (that you can also interface with) may also be moved. This may be done simultaneously but is subject to feasible, mental multitasking capabilities, making more than a few at once chaotic or potentially destructive. You may perform crude attacks this way subject to the limitations of the material, at -1 Effective Levels in addition. As soon as a mirror is damaged or marred, it can no longer be levitated. A normal mirror can support weight if used as a platform, but no more than 5 times its own weight. Magical mirrors with load-bearing durability can support weight equivalent to a [Brute] of half your Goddess levels. Speed is reduced, in any case. No ‘incidental’ mirror reflection can be used with this ability. However, ‘dual-purpose’ mirrored items (i.e. a mirror shield) can be, based on their intention and purpose upon manufacture. No ‘shrouded’ or otherwise inaccessible mirror may be moved (you must be able to interface with the mirror). |
Seated at her desk in her home realm as she had been studying and working on Magic Stuff most recently, Sammy leaned back and cackled maniacally. “Haha! I’m a poltergeist now!”
Floofa and Midnight were woken up from their nap sleeping atop each other on her bed. As Midnight stretched and yawned, Floofa hopped up high and laughed with her goddess, crying out psychically, “Haha! Queen of P-po…” Floofa dropped back down, blinking in confusion. “P-polka?”
Sammy laughed even harder. “Yes, Floofa — Queen of Polka!” She hopped up out of her seat and did a dance. It was almost certainly not the polka, but it had the energy.
Floofa hopped and ran over to dance with her in glee. Meanwhile, Midnight flopped back down in the bed and watched them with droopy eyelids before eventually dozing again.
Soon, Sammy was feeding the cabbit a carrot in her lap and checking out the next thing…
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Sheath of Light For 5 (Light) FE or 10 normal FE per minute, you encase yourself in a protective sheath of energy. It is always blindingly bright and cannot be blocked by any covering or illusion, nor will any form of invisibility work on you. Anyone other than your Followers/Servitors are subject to normal blindness and stunning if attempting to look at you. Those able to will see an outline of your form rather than details while the sheath is over you. Sheath of Light acts like an improved Armor of Light spell, giving 2 wound negations, +3/+5 Magical Armor/Magical Armor against supernatural entities or against [Darkness] or [Shadow] effects, and transmutes worn armor into a minimum of Full Plate protection at +3 Physical Armor. If already wearing Full Plate equivalent, add +1 physical armor to the existing armor. However, Sheath of Light cannot be damaged, the transmuted physical armor cannot be bypassed through gaps (it is uniform), the protection is impermeable to non-corrosive liquids and gasses, and the protection lasts as long as you maintain it (aside from spent wound negations). The sheath can be penetrated but each successive attack must (generally) deal with full protection, as if it heals over instantly once a weapon pulls free. In addition, your Light-based and melee attacks are at +1 Effective Levels as a [Body Form] modifier, and any melee attacks have the [Light] tag as they are covered by the Sheath. You move at double speed by whatever personal means you have available (a spell or utilized object is affected by the Sheath for this purpose). This also provides +1 to Dodge as a [Body Form] modifier. Once Sheath of Light is dropped or the duration is allowed to expire, it has a cooldown of 1 hour. |
Defensive and all-around upgrade! If expensive. Gotta love being able to be the true Avatar of Light when the shit hits the fan. It’ll even protect my precious Relic Armor while getting full benefits+ from it. AND it has synergy with that telekinetic flight spell, doesn’t it? Woot woot.
“Well, I’m already digging level 6, Floofa, and I haven’t even looked at the upgrades!”
Floofa paused in her final consumption of the carrot to mutter excitedly, “Upgrades, upgrades, upgrades!”
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Sammy laughed even harder. “Yes, Floofa — Queen of Polka!” She hopped up out of her seat and did a dance. It was almost certainly not the polka, but it had the energy.
At least Floofa seems to have been distracted from naughty words