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WotR Chapter 76: May not Cause Vampirism
🕑 Added 2019-12-30 08:09:25 +0000 UTCHows it hanging Nadia?
Im in the sewers with Baroke. It is absolutely foul down here.
Good, keep him alive unless I tell you otherwise. I dont think Calvins ready for a solo act yet, anyway. Hes got a lot of growing to do, and the right friends help facilitate that.
Why do you keep giving him unsolicited advice, anyway? Nadia asked.
Because its the kind of stuff I wish Id heard when I was his age, obviously.
Its ridiculous. Forcing him to dance? What got you so excited about that?
Listen missy, when you have a dog that could win gold, do you keep it at home its entire life? No! You take it to the park and socialize the shit out of it. Stressors when youre growing up inform your adulthood. Especially how you deal with things when youre a teen. Which he is.
Besides, Elliot continued, he got three levels in his social skills from a single ball. If thats not a tangible result, I dont know what is.
Fair enough, but being so keen on balancing him out is counter to what I want. I want ruthless and cruel. He had the propensity for it when he was younger, you know.
Hes still at the age where he can learn what we need him to. You just have to present him a most vexing problem, and remove every other tool to solve it, save cruelty. Might have to do it a few times. Eventually cruelty will stick in his head as a primary method for solving problems.
Youre so wise.
Bitch, Im a thousand years old, I took Child Psychology in college, Elliot said, leaning back in his chair, clasping his fingers behind his head. And I know this kid like the back of my hand. I was this kid, after all.
***Calvin***
Calvin took a minute to excuse himself from the steadily growing line of dance partners, finding a chair at the edge of the dance floor to rest and inspect his new Ability choices.
Read Expression has reached Level 10!
Read Expression Level 10: Passive bonus to reading expressions. 50% correction.
+1 Intuition
Please choose an ability or mutation from the list of compatible ones.
Abilities:
Poker Face: Give away little by way of facial expression.
Open Book: Gain an intuitive understand of the relationship between two people who are looking at each other.
Princess Detector: Read Expressions correction applies to precisely divining another users social status.
Dont kidnap the scullery maid, kid! No matter how much she begs for it!
^from Your Princess Is In Another Castle.
Universal Language: Large bonus to understanding pantomime and expression regardless of species.
Mob Mentalist: Read the attitude of large groups of people easily.
The Body Talks: read Expressions correction now applies to body language as well.
Mutations:
The Pheonixs (W)right eye- while making eye contact, you can discern if the target believes they are lying. Less useful on sociopaths and the misinformed.
Med Tricorder: At will, determine a persons health and identify anything that might be affecting them merely by looking at their face. Includes wounds, infection, blood loss, poison, food poisoning, drugs, parasites, disease, etc.
No jokes at the end of each description? Calvin thought.
Well, youre growing up quick and I figured you didnt need silly shit at the end of your Ability descriptions.
I suppose. I didnt really understand them either.
And thats what made it funny.
All right, then I better start narrowing these down, Calvin thought as he scanned through the choices.
Poker face doesnt do much for me. Nobody ever accused me of being incredibly easy to read. Thats out.
Open book is interesting as it gives me information about people that they might not want me to know. Ill keep that on the list.
Princess detector is too niche.
Oh, come on!
You want me to spend a whole ability on discerning what someones status is when our entire society is built on flaunting it as much as possible?
Yeah, I guess so. Carry on.
Universal language is pointless when I can steal languages from dead bodies.
Mob mentalist is a maybe. That would make reading them with Feel Intent more accurate, but its low on the list.
Body talks is a possibility. I could see it helping in combat. Karen was always telling me to pay attention to every part of her body at once. As if that were possible.
The eye is redundant with Feel Intent, and Med tricorder is interesting.
Calvin was torn between Med Tricorder and Open Book. Open Book would allow him to know immediately if two people were in league with each other, which would make it very difficult for someone to backstab him or make deals behind his back.
Med tricorder on the other hand would come in handy if his friends were ever poisoned or drugged, or stabbed, and he needed to know which.
Thats probably not gonna be an everyday occurance.
I choose Open Book.
Calvins brain tingled for a good thirty seconds, along with a bit of light nausea, before it retreated.
Why dont Abilities knock me out?
Theyre less invasive, obviously. System certified not to turn you into a monster.
Calvin played with his drink a moment. Did that make him want to stop investing in Mutations? Not if a good one reared its head.
Calvin mentally nudged the other notification to come back.
Acting has reached Level 10!
Acting Level 10: Behave exactly as you intend. Convey emotion naturally. 50% correction.
+1 to Intuition
Please choose an ability or mutation from the list of compatible ones.
Abilities:
A mile in his shoes: 1 Bent to disguise yourself as the target for an hour, including voice and tactile effects. Does not lend supernatural knowledge of the targets mental state.
Infectious emoting: 2 Bent. Act out an emotional state (Anger, Calm, Sadness, Happiness, Defeatism, Courage, etc.) and watch it spread like wildfire!
Confidence: At will, speak with such surety that people want to believe you. Even when they know they shouldnt. Causes victims to build belief and make assumptions based on your statements if they arent paying close attention.
Playing possum: Spend 1 Bent to prevent damage while manifesting visible wounds. User will suffer from non-lethal effects of the wound until time limit expires or User dismisses the ability.
^from Medi-Tate
Master of Disguise: Acting correction now applies to the effectiveness of disguises and props in offsetting suspicion, allowing the User to maintain a cover and blend in with significantly less preparation.
I.E. a hat instead of a full ensemble.
^From One of the Guys
Look, a red herring!, A.K.A. Who,Me?: 1 Bent: A denial or emphatic statement from the user will distract anyone within earshot for *Acting* Seconds. Intuition resisted by Stability.
^From Master-Baiter
Mutations:
Me myself, And I: design up to five alter egos. Each one may be a different race or gender, changing your body when they assume control. Pro: Can fool rigorous magical testing to determine your identity or locate you. Con: stay on good terms and ask nicely for your body back.
Mesmerizing Eyes: capture a targets attention for as long as eye contact is maintained, causing increased suggestibility and memory lapse. Intuition resisted by Will.
Hmmm Calvin thought as he scanned through them. The Acting options were honestly a lot more interesting, and right out of the gate he could see three that appealed to him: Infectious Emoting, Master of Disguise, and Mesmerizing eyes.
Infectious emoting was almost like an entire kit of emotional manipulation spells. He could act hopeless while getting arrested and escape while the guards suffered from ennui, or on the other side of the spectrum, he could act totally berserk and make his men-
The thought of Berserk put a bad taste in Calvins mental mouth. He still distinctly remembered the sheer joy of-
Calvin popped the side of his head with his palm and took a swig of the bubbling wine imported from Boles.
Okay, the other two. Master of Disguise synergizes extremely well with One of the Guys, making me even better at infiltrating places Im not supposed to be, and Mesmerizing Eyes may cause vampirism
Calvin drummed his fingers on the table, sorting through the three abilities.
Elliot, whats vampirism?
Seriously?
Yes, seriously.
Oh, Elliot cleared his throat.
Theyre horrifying monsters that were perverted into womens pornographic literature by MaryAnne Wrice, and then a series of increasingly less capable authors, culminating with Mye Immortale.
But what do they do?
Well, if you wade through the sparkling skin bullshit, they are at their heart, undead creatures of the night that feed on the living. Everything else is fluff.
Are they stupid?
Nope. Theyre the aristocracy of the undead. In theory.
What are the odds I become one?
About one point two-two percent.
I choose Mesmerizing Eye.
Oh, shit, move your drink!
Calvins eyes began to sear with pain, like someone was jabbing hot glass in there.
Gah! Calvin choked back a scream and shoved his incredibly thin fluted glass roughly out of the way of his face, splashing some of the wine on the fine silk of the tablecloths.
The pain began to spread, out from his eyeballs, around the crown of his skull in a band, and down into his jaws.
User will be rendered unconscious while Mutation is taking place.
Sweet, blessed relief came when Calvins eyes rolled up and his forehead slammed into the glass underneath the fancy white silk.
***Ella***
What are you so concerned about? Ella said, waggling the roasted forearm in front of Maya. The little ranger looked like she was going to puke her guts out into the desert sand.
Its not like youll get any diseases from it. Unless you eat the brain. Ella remembered the last time shed seen someone stupid enough to try eating brain on a dare. Ushu had been sent into the forest alone, trembling from the sickness, never to return.
The genosians would not eat someone stricken with Kuru.
Dont eat the brain.
Im happy with my hoppers, thank you. Maya said, looking away as she flipped her hopper over in the fire. Hoppers were round shelled creatures that dug burrows in the sand and would lunge out at smaller animals like shrews and centipedes. Their shell allowed them to cook nicely in the coals of the fire.
Suit yourself. Ella said, cutting off slices of mostly-cooked Uleisian and chewing on them. They were a bit grainier than Gadveran, a bit flavorless.
She said as much.
Probably the lack of moisture and fat. Grant said, cooking his own meal with a set of a dozen floating knives.
Dont worry, Ilethans still taste the best, in my opinion. Ella said.
Im honored.
Why are you putting up with this? Maya demanded, looking at Grant. Shes an abomination!
Rude, Ella said, baring her teeth at the little ingrate. Amusingly enough, Maya was about as low as it was possible to get on the priority of edibility. She was small, meaning she wasnt worth much in food, and didnt consume a lot, either. She was a skilled hunter, meaning she was more valuable alive, and she was female, meaning she could make more of her kind in the future, replacing those they did eat.
Besides, Ella was eating Uleisan so she didnt have to force Maya to share her catch, so why was she so upset?
We should just leave her here. Maya said, eyeing Ella.
Ella felt her eyebrows rise, and a burning anger begin to build in her chest. Shed been more irritable since the Guuya, a result of the blending of minds. She reflexively went still as she tried to wrestle Calvins anger down.
Nope, Grant said, a floating knife bringing a bit of sand-gulper up to his mouth.
Why not?
Ill give you three reasons. First, you never betray a team-member. Ever. Second, Calvin would kill you when you got back, and third Grant eyed Ella. I dont think you would win that fight.
But eating people is abhorrent, Maya said, glancing over at Ella.
It is what it is, Grant said, his gaze going distant. I remember a winter up in Tark. We underestimated those snow-rats. While we were huddled around fires, just trying not to die, they were outmaneuvering us, moving through ten feet of snow, destroying our supply trains, damning us to a starving hell in the middle of the boreal forests.
Grant snapped out of it, glancing between Maya and Ella
Long story short, we ate some of our men who died of the cold, then we got the fuck out of there come spring. The first Tark Offensive was a godsdamned disaster.
But she doesnt need to eat people, shes doing it because its fun. Weve got an entire caravan over there!
Maya pointed at the caravan packed to the brim with Cobalt spines, along with travel supplies, along with food and water. It was surrounded by dark-skinned dead men who worked for Orson. Most of the corpses were sliced to pieces by Grant, but a few of them bore Mayas fletched arrows, and even fewer had signs of Ellas bludgeoning.
She had to get face-to face with them, while the other two could kill from a distance.
Ella glanced over. In her mind, the dead Uleisans were part of the food, but there was plenty of food to keep a couple dozen traders alive as well, packed away on the glass carrier sleds.
I was curious about how they taste.
Could you do our pint-sized archer a favor and refrain from eating people while were on this trip?
Ella eyed Maya, the little ranger giving the two of them irritated glances. She pushed down the indignation and tried to make the civilized decision, rather than beat either of their skulls in.
Alright, but if we run out of meat, Im going back to Uleisans.
Fair enough. Grant said, then glanced at Maya. Fair enough?
Ill make sure you dont run out. Maya said, holding out a petite hand.
Ella tossed aside the forearm and engulfed Mayas hand with her own, grinning. Thank you, Maya.
Just keep your shark-mouth away from me, Maya said, leaning backwards.
Again, Ella stomped down the desire to break the little ones face. They were already at a compromise that favored Ella, so she could afford to be the better woman.
After another hour or so of chatting by the fire, they left the caravan for the sand-pirates to find, hopping on their spare sled and heading for the mountains to the south, where the Storm-Stretch company got their primary export:
Cobalt Spines.
Now how exactly is leaving the spines for other people going to make us money? Ella asked, looking over her shoulder as they sailed away over the ocean-like desert.
You got me, Maya said.
The kids got some kind of scam set up where hell cause a major whiplash in the price of cobalt keratin, and therefore glass, allowing him to profit indirectly from foreknowledge of other peoples panic and misery, the aging general said, lighting a bit of Jush powder in his pipe.
Honestly, I dont know where he gets these ideas Sometimes hes just a horny, no-nothing teenager, and sometimes its like having a jaded seventy-year old whod kill you as soon as look at you as a boss.
The jush smoke was caught in the ever-present desert wind and swept in front of him.
But damn if Im not having a good time.
Here here! Ella said.
We just killed a quarter of a hundred people, Maya said, scowling at them.
Ella ruffled her fuzzy ear-length hair.
Comments
Yannick Scheer
Does Eliot also Minor in Pain? I know a DBZA reference when I see one especially after you used the Boondock Saints one in "The Outer Sphere" :D
Dee
Might wanna make a point of backing up your reference materials, just in case. Patreon has lost people’s posts in the past. :(
Alias
That “down into his jaw” thing makes me think homeboy is going to have fangs when he wakes up.
Its wanting someone to throw something to you VS voicing agreement. Also MB for the extra comment, i suck at phone.
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/here-here-vs-hear-hear/
Macronomicon
I dunno, man, which way is it?
"Here here!" =/= "Hear, hear!" ?
Ryan Naquin
Why would he choose to start a mutation in the middle of a ball now he's going to make a huge scene.
Weeb Dealer
You'd think he'd learn to put himself in a resting posture before choosing mutations by now. He literally just commented on them knocking him unconscious and then slammed his head into a table a few paragraphs later.
A disgruntled nondescript squirrel
couldn't help yourself, or did you just roll the dice on the vampire thing
Macronomicon
ominous foreshadowing! *jazz hands*
Chris
He says he was that kid. Is that supposed to mean he was like him or did the summoning actually summon a baby version of himself?
Macronomicon
Yeeeah, you’re right.
Ford-Thomas Frank Loveland
Also who says a quarter of a hundred people. I've never heard that before. A few dozen sounds a little better
Thanks for the chapter and happy new year!
Macronomicon
sorry it's late, Lots of hem-hawing about where i wanted to go with it today on the discord, and watching Venture bros. while waiting for Ability suggestions. Don't worry if yours didn't get added, the WotR reference tag is there for a reason so I can go back and steal more ideas if I need to.
Ford-Thomas Frank Loveland
Ok, only midnight this time. Hope this means you are enjoying the holidays
