/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>170998 →
Amber groans. "And I don't suppose, with all the time we've had, you've thought about how we're supposed to get there?"

>>171001
"Well, yes. Arrive in Hellquill on the train."

>>171002
Amber pinches her beak with her talons. "Do the tracks go straight to the Ministry of Art?"

>>171003
"No?" He answers, slightly turning his head

>This is the office of Junior Professor of Necromancy Diligent Debride, so says the plaque outside.
Posey takes a long, fake breath as she readies herself for what could turn out to be a very bad idea. She pats Gloomy with the glow of her horn before she glides into the room.

Does Posey see any creatures/ponies in the office?

>>171007
She sees Gloomy

>>171006
Mason leaves the office, saying "Let me find her" and closing the door, leaving Posey alone with Gloomy in the office unattended, for a stretch of time that is most likely about two minutes. There is a clock on the wall, but it's on the side behind Posey. The door opens suddenly, and a mare lopes through the door, stopping suddenly just past posey, to the left of the desk, and turning quickly in place, even as the office does not give much space for this maneuver. Behind, Mason closes the door with himself inside of the office, and the office feels slightly crowded with the four of them inside. The room is dark until Mason flips a switch to an electric light. Under the yellow hued light of the incandescent bulb that sticks out from under a wooden ceiling fan, Posey has a better look at the mare. She is unicorn, with a more or less tan colored coat that is alternatively lighter and pink tinted in places, particularly on the belly and the muzzle. She's a little above average height, and has a lanky appearance with a chestnut mane that is tied in the back with a single pink band, and her tail has the same. Her eyes are a dim green, and she wears large, square shaped spectacles. She smiles, revealing teeth that are just slightly crooked. Her cutie mark, though hard to see, seems to be a black "T" shape with a droplet above it, imposed over a midnight blue blob that fades into the color of her coat. Her appearance suggests neither the vital youth of an ageless immortality, nor the scars and wrinkles that accompany accomplishment and wisdom of decades of experience, but an unhappy medium in between. If posey had any hope that this mare was an assistant, it takes less than a second before she opens her mouth and quickly ends it.

"Hello. Sorry, I was talking to a student after a class. Are you the new student? 'Student' I mean. Come in from 'abroad'? I've never seen one of you before. Well, I have, but I mean, not like this. I'm Dilligent Debride, by the way. I am a professor here at the medical school. I am your liaison with the educational world. There is much we can learn from each other. I have all of your paperwork set up. Oh, you have a foal with you? I didn't know you had a foal. I've always wanted a foal. Is he yours?"

She may continue for a while, if not interrupted

>>171004
"Fine," Amber says tersely. "Next stop, we call for a shift change, get through customs somehow, change out of our uniforms and inconspicuously make our way. Doesn't Hellquill have police on every corner?"

>>171009
"Uh, well, yes. They are very on top of order and security here. And there should be many levies and knights too. We are right by the border with Longsword."

I mean, Amber can get off here and make it to Hellquill. The distance is decent but not vast. Helder just hasn't planned this far ahead.

>>171008
>her
Oh.
There goes plan A...
>I've never seen one of you before
Hmmm
>Is he yours?
"He's mine." Posey replies, a little too sharply as she yoinks Gloomy closer to her barrel beneath her cape possessively, a surge of gold pulsing from her eyes for a fraction of a second... before she catches herself and her demeanor returns to her normally polite and coquettish self.
"Oh, pardon, force of habit." Posey says with a bow of her head and a toss of her mane
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Debride. I am Rosie Ring, certified Necrologist, shadow scholar, and apprentice practitioner in The Art."
She pulls back her cape, once again revealing the smothered colt.
"This is Gloomy, my... son... He's been in my care, as I attend to his unique medical needs and tutor him in The Art to channel his inborn gifts." she continues, as she strokes Gloomy's mane
>There is much we can learn from each other.
"It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow enthusiast. I believe we could have much to learn from one another."

>>171011
>Posey's plans required a stallion
Kek! Let me know if I need to throw stallions at her, because I am happy to do so.

"Yes, yes" she says, smiling. Posey can tell that it's a genuine smile too, as she seems to be actually excited. Her voice sounds odd, and she must have some kind of accent. Perhaps a foreigner. "There is much... So rare! Hehehe... Your son is he?" She looks down at Gloomy, closing her lips for this smile "You look a little young. Or are you? I'm not judging." Raising the pitch of her voice "So you're certified? Well I am one of a very few licensed necromancers in all of Equestria. I'm also a licensed surgeon." Looking up. "What are his medical needs?" She asks

>>171012
>"What are his medical needs?"
"Gloomy has a number of medical conditions that conventional medicine cannot treat... most of them are hereditary and if the supernatural variety. I can fill you in on the details later." Posey says, quietly
She puts on a bit of a grim, hushed expression and mouths to imply that it's a sensitive topic to speak of right in front of the foal.
>Well I am one of a very few licensed necromancers in all of Equestria. I'm also a licensed surgeon
"So I heard. It's hard to find somepony who excels in The Art and practices openly, but with the wars and whatnot ponies still come to us for advice whenever things get spooky."

>>171013
“Oh… I see…”

“Yes, they do, though they’d do it less if they knew what we were up to, hehehe. So… how far along are you? We are going to need to set up your course of study here, after all.”

>>171014
>So… how far along are you?
Posey's ears fold back somewhat
"I... have much to learn. I'm only an apprentice practitioner. I came to Equestria to complete my studies because the conditions to study my trade in my home were... Oppressive. I possess knowledge of the basic fundamentals of arcana, and entry level training in spiritualist channeling. I possess off-hand knowledge no less than thirteen spells of the most basic power levels, although many of them are specialized or redundant. I have some military background that afforded me the opportunity to enter the practice, and for that purpose I specialize in Necromancy in the context of warfare, particularly with blackweave effects that directly effect subjects with negative energy, or dread affects that invoke feelings of fear by influencing the subjects spiritual bodies. I'm particularly proficient in spiritual channeling, and have used it to quel haunts as well as to calm, counsel or chastise restless dead who sporadically spawn on battlefields and mass graves, although I wouldn't consider myself a priest."
Her ears droop even further
"I am unable to raise the dead myself, but I have seen it done before."

(None of this is a lie)

>>171015
(Yes, I did rip off the term "blackweave" from Githyanki lore)

>>171015
“Oh. Good. So you’re not a complete novice. I see you’ve focused on the supernatural, and on stigmatized locations. Here, especially at the medical school, we focus on bodies, living and dead, and the very precise application of specific spells. Your background is… Questionable for a 3rd year of the medical school, but maybe appropriate for the School of Arcane Sciences.” Nodding, “yes, that will do. And don’t worry, we’re not so overbearing here. So long as you stay away from the department head” she says through her teeth, almost growling. “No, you’ll like it here. We have access to the best minds, the best books, and other resources” raising the pitch “that you can hardly find anywhere else. In any city, really.”

>>171017
"That's splendid." Posey replies, taking out her quill to begin signing paperwork
"Where do I begin?"

>>171017
>department head
"... My I ask, what does the department head look like? I'm well aware of the need to be discreet; someponies don't exactly appreciate the nature of our craft."

>>171010
>abandoning her passengers
"We're going to have to risk using the anonymity of crowds. You do have experience coming here, correct?" Amber inquires, unwilling to assume anything more of Helder.

>>171020
He blinks. “Once. Briefly. More so my experience is with the director himself.”

>>171018
“You already have your student visa. But you need your course of study. We will have to be specific… the university will only tolerate so much leniency…”

>>171019
“His name is Ersatz Orgone. He’s genuinely talented and very knowledgeable… but he has his ‘politics’. He has spent much of his life trying to make necromancy ‘respectable’. To ‘separate’ the practice from its ‘darker’ elements, and ‘rehabilitate’ its reputation…” she shakes her head. “There’s no way around it. You will have to deal with him. But you have to be very careful. He can’t know why you are here. Or where you are from. And he will likely inquire. He’s a black unicorn stallion. Dark black. White mane. A bit smaller. Older.”

>>171021
>>171021
>trying to make necromancy ‘respectable’
>‘separate’ the practice from its ‘darker’ elements
>‘rehabilitate’ its reputation
If Posey had eaten breakfast this morning, she would vomit.
Posey gives Diligent a look of genuine sympathy, something uniquely rare for a wicked and ruthless villain such as herself.
>You will have to deal with him. But you have to be very careful. He can’t know why you are here. Or where you are from.
"... Understood."

>>171021
"We will have to play this by ear, then," Amber says, more disappointed or even fearful than angry or hopeful.

>And I thought Magehold was oppressive...
Posey thinks to herself.
>>171022
>>171021
"Without further ado, could I get a brief introduction of the obligations and activities of applicants? Responsibilities? Attendance? Regular classes? Field work? Research requirements?"

>>171022
>>171021
"Might I ask, what exactly does Orgone think that a 'reputable' Necromancer should do? As in, what sort of necromancy spells does he fancy?"

>>171022
>>171024
>>171025
"No... I think some ado is necessary. You need to know where you are, and what we are doing here. This is Equestria. The land of magic and Harmony. The adoptive Homeland of Ponykind. The land that, for a thousand years, was ruled by ageless princesses with the power to move celestial bodies. Whose Paragons yield powers derived directly from the spiritual force of the universe. And this is Jim Haykins University's School of Medicine, the premier medical school in all of Equestria. Do you understand that? This is the top medical school in Equestria. Not Hayward. Not Manhattan University. Not Trottard over in Canterlot. Not any school in the Crystal City, nor anywhere else in Equestria. Right here, in Baltimare. This very building. This is where the most talented students of medicine and medicinal magic come to study - where elite doctors wish to claim a degree.

This Medical School is not where rich ponies send their pampered trust fund colts to study when they are done with preparatory school and need some place to go 'make connections' while they get a pointless degree that lets them go become a bureaucrat, or take a job in the family business, or become an absentee landlord as they lounge around cafes and bordellos in Aquellia. No. When your precious, one and only colt - whom you've poured your heart and soul and riches into - the last of your bloodline, the only heir to your ancient family lands given by Commander Hurricane as a part of the Pegasopolis claim for your knight ancestor's valiant deeds in the fight against the griffins a millennia ago - when he is stabbed through the back by the stinger of a Manticore and is minutes away from death and extinguishing your aristocratic bloodline forever - Jim Haykins University School of Medicine is where you pray to whatever gods may be that the doctor treating your colt learned the necromantic art of life energy drainage, so that he may lower your colt's heartrate just enough to stop the spread of the poison, and prevent him from dying of hemorrhagic shock just long enough for surgeons to stitch him up. Or when you find that the growth in your lung is indeed malign and about to metastasize, and it's too deep to remove surgically, you can take poison, or if you have the money, the power and the luck, you hire a necromancer trained at Jim Haykins to use a death inflicting magic on the cancerous mass. If your trip climbing Mount Everhoof didn't go quite as planned, and you find that your entire right rear hoof from the pastern down is frost bitten and dead, you can amputate, or you can have a Jim Haykins trained surgeon cut the blood veins and reanimate the dead the flesh, stopping decay and infection and letting you keep the hoof, if in a lesser capacity. The medical schools of Stalliongrad, Karthin, Rijekograd and Colthage brag when one of their professors received an education at Jim Haykins. That is who we are.

Your understanding of the life of a necromancer is, I assume, of a life living in decaying ruins in a cold waste beyond the artic circle under endless night, grateful for the ancient wall that keeps you safe from the paladin's blade. Or maybe it's of resurrecting chickens on a secluded hill in the forest, hoping that no mercenary or hunter will discover your secret. Or maybe it's of presenting yourself to the world as an eccentric antiquarian or an erudite mage, while conducting secret experiments in the basement, forever fearful that the inquisition may pry just a little too deeply into your affairs. You've accepted the idea that Necromancy is dark magic. And dark can only exist where the light is not, because any contact with light will always destroy the dark. So you must always hide from the light, lest it destroy you. That is not what we do here. We walk amongst the light with pride. No hiding from the world, and no hiding of the true self. We practice a magic that deals death, and that places in inanimate matter a force that imitates life in a crude mockery. And for that, we are praised. We are paid for by the government, by the nobles, and by the church, and they proud to be our patrons knowing what we do. When we encounter paladins, inquisitors, and yes, the Princesses, we tell them that we are necromancers, we tell them about our magic, and we smile as we accept their money, their kiss on our hooves, and an invitation to the gala. Because they know that our magic can sometimes give them something all of their money, their political power, their fame, and their 'light' magic cannot.

You may see this as slavery. I see it as freedom. And Orgone is as good as any necromancer of the Dread League, but he doesn't want to move to somewhere cold for work. We both prefer mild winters.

Here at the school, we specialize in two broad categories of necromantic magic. The first and most important is magic with a medical purpose. These include inflicting harm, inflicting death, vampirism, draining of the life force, and under certain conditions, reanimation. You may be surprised. The focus is always on precision, not raw power. Being able to reanimate a single dead heart is more valuable than commanding an army of zombies. The second large category is magic with a 'research' purpose. This means anything we want it to mean, though you have to be a very knowledgeable necromancer to persuade the dean your research is on the cutting edge. Sometimes, there is a third category - magic for the sake of security. This includes any help against roaming undead, unlicensed necromancers, haunts, and when the government comes around to the idea that maybe an army of the undead is a good idea.

You can take classes in the Medical School, or the College of Arcane Sciences. As a research assistant, or a third-year medical student. It's about finding the right place for you. You are here because I know who you are. Well I don't. But I know what you are. And I appreciate it. I think you can appreciate the same of us here."

>>171023
Helder can only give a slow nod, as the doors close, and the pistons start to chug as the train proceeds on the last few miles to its final destination: Hellqill City.

>>171026
That's a very long-winded monologue. The poor little poner must be tired.

Posey nods through the ado description, with a stoic, professional expression
"Cutting edge practices, I see." She says, at the end of the description
"My speciality is Arcane Sciences in the field of necromantic security, and blackweave spells. I do, however, practice precision 'medical' necromancy as a sort of pet project." she gestures to Gloomy, who appears to be districted trying to catch his mother's elusive tail.
Posey whispers, very faintly
"With standard medical magic, there's no future for colts like Gloomy. He's a product of the terrors of war: mana poisoning and diabolical mutations caused by being exposed to arcane wastes left by magical battlefields and dysgenics experimentation. His chakras are completely chaotic, oozing with necrocarnum instead of incarnum, and his immune system is severely crippled. Conventional healing spells or treatments would surely kill him. He may appear fine on the outside, but that's only as the result of persistent care and avant garde methods. On the inside, his body is filled with strange growths, bloody puss and even internal limbs. He's prone to seizures and demonic possession, experiencing chronic nightmares of a shadowy goat coming to drag him him to Tartarus. His continued existence has been my longest project, and part of the tail end of my apprenticeship. I regularly heal him with negative energies, kill off gangrenous growths, and address his mental conditions with hypnotherapy. He used to require weekly transfusions from me, but thanks to long term efforts that's come to pass, but he still needs to have magically-tainted fluids drained on the regular."
>pic semi-related
Posey speaks up after again, no longer whispering
"I may not have reared Gloomy myself, but he's my foal just as much as any other parent, possessing just as much if not more shared blood between us. I brought him here today in part to demonstrate my medical investure into the arts. I plan that some day he'll be strong enough to carry the weight of death on his back." Posey concludes, levitating the colt
"So I foresee that you'll find that I'm more than ready to take on any research tasks here."

>>171027
Amber goes to find Federkleid. "You're going to have to discard your 'piece'," she whispers.

>>171030
The scenery outside moves at a slower pace than the train's journey from Soldau to Beakstadt. This makes sense, as the ancient forests and lonely fields are replaced by sprawling fields alternating green, gold, and brown, where potatoes and wheat are harvested and replaced by stubs and fallow fields. The harvest is still underway, as more than once the train passes big red mechanized tractors, combine harvesters, and dull colored ponies under the yoke, pulling potato spinners and carts. But much of the land is not fields. Before, the train passed several ancient villages of thatches rooves, narrow timber walls, and lakeside bathhouses. It still does, on the Lonsword side. But now in Hellquill, such antique constructions are replaced by the familiar half-timber construction of houses with high angled roofs, and whitewashed walls that are so familiar to a Herlander. There are, likewise, many windmills, two fortified castles perched on hills adjacent to the river, and several factories and mills with tall red chimneys and brick walls.

All of this is of course mostly to the left side of the train. To the right, the train more or less follows the Griffking River, still massive this far upstream. On the other side is Longsword, greatly less developed and more often wild or agricultural. More than one field, and even a village, appears burned.

It isn't long before the density of buildings increases, and apartments and mills come to predominate, with a few tracks splitting off to the left or right to serve specific factories or mills, and the tracks move inland to give more space by the river for factories. Many griffins can be seen on either side of teh tracks. They could before, to be sure, but they are more common now that there are regular passersby, and no small number of who seem to be military levies stationed by the border, mostly standing around in uniform talking, or smoking cigarettes. The walls of the great castle complex that forms the capital of all Hellquill is visible through breaks in buildings, sitting atop a low hill in the city.

Hellquill Hauptbahnhof nears, and the engineer collects the baton.

Felderklied responds
"And be unarmed? Are you mad? Why?"

>>171029
scrunch
no u

"So you didn't birth him..." she says, although her low volume suggests it was to herself and not to Posey. She breathes out, then back in, then back out and back in again. She moves next to Posey's side, and turns her head to her, and then to Gloomy. Her positioning seems odd, until Posey can see that she is attempting to place her tail near Gloomy.

"I cannot give a diagnosis or treatment recommendation to your foal without an exam. No doctor can. But to hazard a guess, I think I know at least a part of the problem. Gloomy, like all living ponies, is dependent on Harmony magic as a part of his broader life force. He needs to be exposed to more of it. It will help him heal and recover strength."

>>170986 →
Behind Silver's position, and a bit to the right, is where the Changelings that were shooting at Silver from the second floor were. These were the Changelings that were suppressed by the planes. In a hallway going north and towards the direction Silver was going, but on the right side of the courtyard, by where the changelings were that he just fought, is possible direction these changelings were going, or maybe, where they came from.

>>171032
"I wasn't looking for any diagnosis; I've examined him very many times." Posey replies
"He's also a subject of my research though, which is why I brought him here to disclose that."

Gonna roll a grapple check on Gloomy's part to catch the tail
[1d20-2 = (13-2) = 11]

>>171034
It lands, if barely, catching the end. He know has the edge of her tail.

"I see..." She says, staring at the colt.

"But for his health, it would do him well to be exposed to other foals. That will help to replenish his magic, and in a way that is slow enough to prevent shock."

She adds, after a pause
"It's difficult to secure live subjects for testing... But yes, perhaps the College of Arcane Sciences is best for you... If you wish to keep your focus on security magic."

>>171035
>tfw trying to raise a colt to be evil and insane only to get peer pressured by doctors
"I've been considering what environment to bring him up in. I've been homeschooling him myself, although I'm contemplating what he needs to be exposed to." Posey says, with an indiscernible expression
"The College Of Arcane Sciences is what I was aiming for, yes."

>>171036
"If only I had a playmate for him..." She says, swishing her tail a bit right to left, though likely not with enough force to break-free.

"The College of the Arcane Sciences is not as prestigious as the medical school. It's the best in all of the Southeast, and perhaps tenth in all Equestria, but it doesn't have the same bragging rights as the medical school. In Arcane Sciences, you will attend occassional lectures, study at home, and act as a research-assistant. You will have access to the library. You won't have the same access to dead bodies as if you were a student in the clinic in the medical school. Remember that medical necromancy comes down, more or less, to sucking the life force out of living things. If you wish to learn weaponized necromancy, that may be more your fancy. If your interests are elsewhere... perhaps not."

Then after a pause
"You should consider enrolling him in school."

>>171037
>enroll foal into an institution that has required abuse-reporters
"... I'll consider it."

This is where I'd like to ask ooc if Posey's actual mechanical skills and spell list a relevant to her decisions in this college. Posey doesn't have a lot of skillpoints, access to the heal skill, or very much flexibility with her spell list. Is this going to be a sort of faction affiliation thing?

>>171038
She smiles as she swishes her tail some more.
"Perhaps I can show him around the town. Some fresh air wouldn't hurt. It's much safer outside here, you know."

There is no faction difference, as they are all the same group of "licensed necromancers." There will probably be some difference in NPCs though. The primary differences are in gameplay and in what spells Posey can learn. In terms of gameplay, the College of the Arcane Sciences probably is the best choice, as it requires the least interaction and gives the most freedom.

>>171039
"You mean now?"
Okay

>>171031
"It's a death sentence, knowing them. We will be searched, if not by customs then at random, and if the weapon is found we will be arrested. There's no hope of fighting them off anyway so best not to risk it." Amber's tone and expression evokes absolute certainty.

>>171043
She looks at Amber for several seconds, then lets out a long sigh. She reaches into her jacket pocket, takes out the automatic pistol, unlatches a window next to her, then lets it fall out of the window to the ground below.

The train slows down, until it comes to a stop at Hellquill Hauptbahnhof. Final stop.

>>171041
"Well, I meant later... But I could... The poor little thing. Needs some love."

She moves with her hoof to attempt to ruffle his mane.

>>171044
Amber, for the final time, signals for passengers to depart. Her expression is calm but her heart is racing. She looks around the train station to see where customs is and where the train staff rooms are.

Would've been funny to have a random chance for the gun to go off when it fell

>>171045
[1d20 = 4]

Customs officers are spaced along the tracks, though tending to the center and right side of the platform. Staff rooms tend towards the left. Perhaps most concerningly, there are Reichsbahn uniformed griffins on the platform, nearer the left and towards the staff rooms.

>>171033
Then that's where Silver goes, going as fast as they can without rushing blindly forward. They can't afford either to take too much time or to get ambushed again.

>>171044
Posey does not bite the mare touching her colt yet
Gloomy reflexively shrinks back at the touch of a stranger, but doesn't run off.

Posey requests any paperwork she needs to fill out to start her research.

>>171049
She pets his head, and uses her magic to move his mane above his ears. "Yes of course" she finally stops looking at Gloomy and looks to Posey. She moves back towards her desk, likely stretching her tail to the limits, and possibly pulling it out of Gloomy's grasp.

She takes the book "Quamoon-e-Islamb," with her magic, holds it close to her in her hooves, and then takes a key and opens a lock on her desk, then places the book there, locking it back. She opens another, unlocked drawer, and takes a set of papers out of it, then eyes it.

"Here. Start on these. The hard part has been done already, but you do need to formally sign into the program, get a student card, and of course a library card."

She takes the papers in her magic and offers them to Posey.

"Let me just take him..." She reaches out her hooves, looking to hold Gloomy, trading Gloomy for the papers.

>>171050
>possibly pulling it out of Gloomy's grasp
This provokes an attack of opportunity. Gloomy has been raised to be a ruthless killer, and thus he pounces
[1d20-2 = (5-2) = 3]

Posey signs the forms with her magic, taking out a bright red quill from her purse, the papers whirling around her in a flurry.
>"Let me just take him..."
Posey squints slightly
"...... He's shy." She says, perhaps a bit unconvincingly, as she levitates Gloomy off of the mare's tail and lowers him back to his fortress beneath her cloak, her own tail twitching beneath it, somewhat possessively.
[1d20-2 = (10-2) = 8]

She examines the papers to make sure she's not activating any contingent curses or binding magic as she signs.

>>171051
Posey is flat-footed against an enemy she can't see beneath her, and Gloomy gets a flanking bonus, so that hits.

>>171051
The papers concern primarily mundanities like agreeing to abide by the rules of the university and its code of conduct, not to engage in conduct that would tend to bring infamy to the university by association, a waiver of a right to a hearing if any disciplinary or academic action is taken, a waiver of liability should injury or death occur on campus and in particular, during research, a commitment to serve as a teachers assistant if necessary, a promise not to join a union should an on campus job (including teachers assistant) is taken to compensate for tuition expenses, an agreement to take out a loan to pay for tuition expenses that is not dischargeable at bankruptcy and has a variable interest rate with a floor of 6%... blah blah blah. There's no magic to it at all. There is no curse. It's just a boring legal document, like so much in this oddly low magic world.

Gloomy has unfortunately lost his prior prey. But he has caught new quarry.

"Oh that's alright. The first step to making friends is meeting new ponies." In a baby voice, "Wanna come out, little fellow? Come on. I won't hurt you."

>>171053
>abide by the rules of the university and its code of conduct
>not to engage in conduct that would tend to bring infamy to the university by association
>a commitment to serve as a teachers assistant if necessary
Some details on this would be appreciated, if they are to be relevant, which I think it will.
Posey signs them anyway, with intent to comply as far as it is convenient for her to do so.
>an agreement to take out a loan to pay for tuition expenses that is not dischargeable at bankruptcy
>interest rate with a floor of 6%
Wow, wow, wow! Big red flag there. I thought this was set in an era before student loans and enormous uni tuitions, let alone federally-backed ones.
What kind of tuition are we talking about here? I expected it would be around 25 gp, like Morgrave University in Sharn.
Posey, has already sold her soul and is enslaved for indefinite eternity for her apprenticeship in Magehold, would be super hesitant to do it again just for her cover occupation, especially with any long-term costs that would compete with her tributes to her master.

>>171054
Posey inquires about this personally, if it isn't clear in the documents.

>>171053
I guess wouldn't be roleplaying Posey responsibly if I didn't adequately demonstrate her vain possessiveness. It's not pragmatic, but here goes.

"I said he's shy!" Posey repeats with a stamp of her hoof and a whirl of her cape, as she swiftly yoinks the anemic-looking foal back into her chest fluff and wraps her cape around him like a security blanket, her eyes blazing with a supernatural aura as her horn sparks with sanguine magic

This'll be an Intimidate check
[1d20+11 = (4+11) = 15]

>>171054
>>171055
It’s just a shitpost, because Posey wasn’t concerned about mundane horrors in the legal paperwork she’s signing. Don’t take it too seriously.

“Oh… and Miss Ring, know that the university doesn’t know why you are here. Not the Board, not the Dean, not the Head Librarian, and not Orgone. Only a select few. They believe you are from Bonedrift. Don’t disabuse them of that notion. And be careful what you say about your fictional past. A few ponies here know that area.”

>>171057
[1d20 = 19]

>>171057
>>171058
She scrunches.

“A bit of socializing would do him good.”

>>171058
>It’s just a shitpost
Ah, okay.
>be careful what you say about your fictional past.
"Oh, I will." Posey replies
>>171059
Posey counter-scrunches.
"... Yes, I'll see to it that he makes lots of friends, just at ou- his own speed." Posey replies

I'm going to have to sleep soon.

>>171060
“No no” she takes the paperwork, and stacks it nearly on the desk. “He needs to be exposed to other ponies if he is to overcome his anxiety and… other issues.”

She looks down towards Gloomy, whether or not he is visible behind her cloak.
“I know what could help him now…”

>>171046
One would think that officers would be watching customs more closely. Amber quickly gathers together her three compatriots and describes the plan to them: they would all proceed to the staff rooms together as the group would look more "official" than any one of them, and they would be chatting normally to further the appearance. None of them can make any sudden moves even if questioned. It's a gamble as to whether it would pay off, but getting through customs instead, in Hellquill, without paperwork would be suicidal.

>>171063
Amber's companions have moved towards the front of the train, with the few gathering around the first car's bremerhaus.

Erich is the last among Amber's companions to resign himself to the situation. "Did you not prepare fake IDs? Fake passports?" He asks, directing his line of questions to Helder. But after back and forth, he comes to accept what the others already have. That there wasn't enough time to prepare, and this is the best they could have done. All they have to do is to get in front of the right officers anyways. Then, Helder can drop a few names, and they can enter the castle.

>>171064
It's a gamble, but the closer they get to the right ministry, the better their chances. Amber also regrets not having a fake ID as well, since for years at the palace the writing was on the wall and she had the connections and means to have one prepared in advance. It wasn't the first time lack of intrigue skills had nearly gotten her killed, but she and her viola will go as far as possible for survival's sake.

>>171065
Was it really so obvious that a literally insane princess was going to be deposed? The Empire had only gone through two revolutions and a couple of attempted coups in her lifetime, after all. But that's all in the past now... At least Helder made connections.

The griffins open the car doors to all go outside at once, keeping left. Amber can feel that it's gotten much colder. This must be because a cold front is coming in, and indeed, black clouds hang in the sky, though they do not quite block out the sun, nor is it raining at the moment. A pair of griffins with Reichsbahn uniforms approach Amber and company.

"Would you have a word with us, herr conductor?" The griffin in the front - dark brown and rather big - says to her, with a stern look.

>>171066
Amber glances left and right to her companions, before looking at the griffin. "Of course," she answers.

Amber is still wearing her uniform and is carrying the viol case with the viol inside.

>>171061
Posey does not like where this is going. She hastens her magical scribbling as she keeps her eyes trained on the mare.

>>171070
>>171061
And because I'm bored, I'll have Posey use her Charming Gaze, to test her mettle, even though this mare already looks friendly.
DC 17 Gaze

>>171070
>>171072
Perhaps unfortunately for Posey, Debride's eyes are set on Gloomy

"You can come out, little fella. I know just what you need. You wanna feel better, don't cha?"

>>171067
Speaking firmly
"What is your name?"
And
"Who gave you orders to be on this train?

>>171073
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HE'S MIIIIIIIIIIINE!
Posey screams internally

>>171074
I really should be better at taking notes, I had to go searching for the alias.
"Rudolf Hofstadter," Amber answers, seemingly nonplussed. "I was called in by the Katerinburg office to fill in for the scheduled conductor who felt sick."

>>171075
>>171074
Okay, I'm just going to try to move things along here. I can't spend a third week signing paperwork. I appreciate the interactions with these NPCs, but I do want to get to the next quest.
This is a challenge with Posey's personality, her possessiveness versus her need (and binding) to stay civil in public.
Since Gloomy is not actually a cohort, I, the player, do not have actual agency to dictate all of his decisions, so I'm going to make a d20 loyalty check with a DC of 12 (he's well groomed, but curious and prone to chaotic actions, and Posey hasn't directly told him otherwise; he has also hardly ever been around living creatures that were friendly), to push things along and see what happens. I'm setting the DC at a slight disadvantage for the sake of potential character development.
If I roll 11 or lower, Gloomy comes out from under Posey's cloak to answer the mare. If not, he falls back on his training and stays hidden beneath Posey.

Vid semi-related to illustrate how trained Gloomy has been, and the behavior Posey would normally expect from him:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wnAwR303n-s [Embed]

Based on the consequences of this, and what the mare does, I'll roleplay Posey's response.

Rolling
[1d20 = 3]

>>171078
Gloomy pokes his head out from under Posey's cloak and approaches the mare.
Posey is dumbstruck, he has never left her side without permission before (except the times he's been possessed). Her eyes glass over and she spaces out.

>>171073
>>171075
>>171078
>>171079
Okay, so after the little NTR scene, is Posey able to finish signing the documents? Is there anything else important that she has to address?

Okay, back from Harmony Con

>>171078
>I do want to get to the next quest
Feel free to suggest ideas or preferences

>>171078
>>171079
Debride bends her knees to lean down to the foal.
"It's alright, little feller. Just a tea spoon, you'll feel much better."
Then she extends a hoof, and ruffles his mane.
"You will."

Now, she looks up to Posey with a grin

"Why don't the two of you follow me?"

>>171081
Debride wants to go somewhere, but the paperwork is finished

>>171088
Posey's resists the urge to bite Debride.

"I-It would be our pleasure..." she replies
"Come along now, Gloomy." Posey says, as she telekinetically yoinks the colt off his hoofs and holds him to her barrel, a quite closely.

>Feel free to suggest ideas or preferences
Perhaps the university has a job bulletin or field research opportunities related to haunts or undead problems in the area; like a mage's guild would normally have. It would make this interaction I'm roleplaying here much more meaningful, as Posey's cover job would then have legitimate work. "Investigate haunted mansion", "bring back sample from undead monster nest", "quell restless soldiers", "find new Necromancy spell hidden in tome", "investigate curse", etc.

>>171091
I'm awake now.
Where does Diligent take Posey?

>>171088
>Feel free to suggest ideas or preferences
If I could get a mission from the League, I would be quite interested in that. Acquisition, assassination, reconnaissance, contact establishment, research, investigation, sabotage, weapons procurement, etc. Anything that contributes to the military/political goals of the League would be cool.
The last mission with the ELF was fine, but it also felt like Posey had no clear cut goal aside from finding some money and possibly making an ally, which is why she didn't have very much reason not to take August's offer, aside from her own pride.

>>171095
>>171092
She nods, with a smile that doesn’t exactly imply good intentions. “Good, good. But first, a perfunctory matter. A student ID. Follow me.” Debride moves past Posey, out into the hall, turns her head back to Posey, nods and says “Come on” in a high voice, then proceeds to the right, in an opposite direction from whence Posey came. Mason appears to have left in the meantime, and it’s just Posey, Gloomy, and debride. Down the marble halls, the hall ends at a switch back staircase with a window behind that landing that views onto an adjacent brick building. They go down the stairs to a new marble hallway where Debride selects a door, which enters into another hallway, then into the open door of a small room where a green earth pony stallion with corrective lenses, presumably in his late twenties, is sitting at a desk. Devrode explains that they need an ID, and gives over a set of paperwork as well as Posey’s student ID. The green stallion has Posey pose for a photograph, not bothering to make her put down Gloomy, nor make sure that she’s looking at the camera when he takes the photo. Unless Posey is determined to give a seductive look, or other look of her choice, it’s not the best photo.

The most notable part of this is Debride entertaining herself by leaning down to Gloomy, asking him questions like what he likes to do, what kind of food he likes, or if he seems very young, speaking nonsense baby noises to him. She assures him that she can help him feel better, and attempts to pet him, or rub her nose against his.

When all of this is done, Posey is given a new ID card; green to go along with her yellow student visa. Debride now addresses Posey. “This ID will give you access to parts of the medical school that are not accessible to the public. You’ll need it for where we are going.”

They leave that room, back in the hall towards where they came from, and put a door near the stairs, to the brick building that was visible before. Going outside, the sky is overcast, there’s a minor breeze that is dampened significantly by the surrounding buildings, it’s ~40 F, and the sun is still out, albeit hanging very low in the sky. “A nicer day than in Magehold, isn’t it?” She says as she turns her head back towards Posey, though only after she sees nopony in earshot. It’s not many feet before they go up a minor set of outdoor concrete stairs to enter into the building. It must be four stories tall and rectangular, with red brick nearer the bottom and limestone higher up. It must be decorated from the street view, but that’s not how they are approaching it now. Going through the door, they enter into another hall with white tile floor and white walls - as opposed to shades of tan and beige not dissimilar from Debride’s own coat in the previous building. There are a few ponies here as in the previous building, though these are a bit older, and wearing white coats. The group doesn’t walk far before Debride stops at a white door with a black grate across its window, and opens the door with a key. This leads to simple wooden stairs, down into a basement where they is a secure door and a pony - a yellow unicorn who greets Debride by name - behind a grate, to whom Debride present her and Posey’s ID. “This is my new student, Rosey Ring, and her ward. Can you open the door so I may access 2A? For medical purposes.” The door unlocks, evidently magnetically, and Posey thanks and nods the stallion before going through, and picking up a key given through a slot next to the door. Beyond are rows of shelves with locked doors. Posey can see looking through that these mostly contain brown glasses, and she can tell this area is dark and temperature controlled. Down the second hall on the left, Debride stops, takes the key, and unlocks a black door to pull out a small glass vial with purple jelly inside. She turns back towards Posey with a malign grin.

“Do you know what this is, Posey?” She says, holding up the vial. “I bet you haven’t seen it before. This is the honey of a Changeling. Harmony magic in its purest form, condensed into a semi-solid gel. When consumed, it causes euphoria, cures depression - for a few hours, at least - can stimulate hunger, passion, and libido - and now here’s the important part - help rebuild the immune system and help the body heal itself. Gloomy only needs a little bit, but that small amount will go very far to rebuilding his strength.”

>>171096
>Unless Posey is determined to give a seductive look
I'm going to roll Initiative to see if Posey is quick enough to be photogenic in a pinch.
[1d20+9 = (3+9) = 12]

However....
Posey does have the DS "cast no shadow" undead weakness, like a vampire. Silver-based devices like mirrors and some photograph devices might not capture her image. It's up to your discretion if that applies here.

>>171097
Posey is not quick enough to give the camera fuck-me-eyes (is that something Posey would do? I’m not sure), but she can at least avoid appearing like the nerdy girl in a teen drama.

The photography is monochromatic and uses a more or less standard Silver-halide based chemical reaction. If I were doing this from the beginning I would probably say that the photography would not catch Posey, but Posey has already been photographed for her first ID, and photography is basically a background detail in the world yet would cause actual serious problems for Posey if she didn’t show, so… let’s say she does show?

>>171098
>is that something Posey would do?
Yes. Posey is a tease.
>Posey has already been photographed for her first ID, and photography is basically a background detail in the world yet would cause actual serious problems for Posey if she didn’t show, so… let’s say she does show?
Aye... My mistake... I should have mentioned what amounts to a major roleplay debuff in a modern setting. That intro event would have ended differently.
Maybe it just worked because her face was so caked in makeup.

(something came up; I'll reply again in a bit)

>>171094
Okay, but would you rather have a spoop based quest that involves ghosts and the like, or one that’s directly requested by the League?

>Posey had no clear cut goal aside from finding some money and possibly making an ally, which is why she didn't have very much reason not to take August's offer, aside from her own pride.
I’m not going to apologize for a quest having a goal that doesn’t necessarily require destroying the obstacle.

>>171077
He turns his head, and narrows his eyes. “Katerinburg? We are told you got on in Kronburg, which is under the Grieffenhiem headquarters. Who told you to be here?”

>>171097
Assuming a shitstorm isn't triggered by the "vampire alert" situation...
(I did have a plan for this situation)
>>171096
>Debride entertaining herself by leaning down to Gloomy, asking him questions like what he likes to do, what kind of food he likes, or if he seems very young, speaking nonsense baby noises to him.
Posey grits her fangs in silence
>what he likes to do
Gloomy says he likes to weave flowers, draw, and listen to his mother's nursery rhymes.
>what kind of food he likes
Rose-flavored oatmeal.
>attempts to pet him, or rub her nose against his
At this, Posey lifts him just out of her reach with the glow of her horn.
"Ah, ah, ah... MY poor colt's immune system is very, very fragile. We wouldn't want to expose him to any pathogens."
This probably warrants a Bluff check, to conceal motive
[1d20+12 = (18+12) = 30]

>“This ID will give you access to parts of the medical school that are not accessible to the public. You’ll need it for where we are going.”
Posey stares at the card
"So... It's like an invitation?"

>“A nicer day than in Magehold, isn’t it?”
"I'm rather used to cold, dark, dry conditions, actually..." Posey replies, hiding her discomfort under the sun and wincing.
She puts on her hood and ushers Gloomy beneath her cloak.

>“Do you know what this is, Posey?”
Let's find out with an intelligence check:
[1d20+3 = (5+3) = 8]
>Gloomy only needs a little bit
Posey squints her eyes at this in suspicion.

>>171101
>would you rather
Either, really.
Spoop based quest could test her skills as a Necromancer, which are at this point more suited for fighting undead than she is for creating them.
It would be interesting for the league to give Posey a mission though, since it would mean that she's contributing to her overall goal.
>not going to apologize
You don't have to, lol.

>>171103
>(I did have a plan for this situation)
I actually want to hear that although if this is the standard, it still should have applied when posey was surrounded by stallions with submachine guns at the immigration facility.

>to the immune system thing
Looking over to Posey, she makes a wide grin and says “Oh, we’re going to fix that.” And looking to gloomy “Yes we are! Yes we are! Aren’t you so precious!” And tries to grab his cheeks.

>invitation
“Well… I wouldn’t quite say that. For the controlled substances, you still need a reason, and to get past Sunny Day.”

Posey does not know what the substance is, but surely it’s safe for Gloomy to eat. It’s only behind three locked doors.

>>171105
Truth is I completely forgot at the intro, and did not have a plan. I dropped the ball there.
In this case Posey would have blinded the photographer with a spell while insisting that something went wrong with the camera, then offered to give one of the fabricated portraits of herself that Posey carries as a profile pic.
>but surely it’s safe for Gloomy to eat. It’s only behind three locked doors.
Posey, having been flower slave of the Coven as a filly, is no stranger to the kinds of psychoactive drugs and potions given to slaves to keep them alive and/or dependent on their masters. She narrows her eyes and pauses for a moment.
"...."

>>171103
"... Why are you doing this?" Posey inquires, her voice faint
A magical shimmer glows beneath her cloak, implying Gloomy is touched beneath her, either held in place or simply being petted, or both.

>>171107
Meant for >>171096

>>171096
>>171107
How does Diligent respond?

>>171106
>>171107
>>171109
"Because it will help him." She says, briefly, and after a pause, says, "I swore an oath to help and do no harm, after all" She has a smile that almost seems mischievous. She continues. "You know that living ponies have needs, and Gloomy is indeed a living, breathing pony. Physical needs. Needs such as a temperature within a certain range; food that provides the necessary calories, essential vitamins and nutrients; water; shelter from the elements and physical harm. But never forget that he, like all living ponies, has social needs. Spiritual needs. Ponies, and especially colts need to socialize and make friends with foals of their age. They need role models, parents, and aunts. They need affection. They need love. And they need it in a very physical way. Harmony magic is created off of such interactions, and that magic forms most of the life force of a pony. Without it, a pony is weak and unable to hold off even physical ailments like infection. With it, a pony is both resilient and powerful. Poor little colt..." looking down to him "he must have been so starved from his time in the League... In the long term - I'm talking weeks - he will need a change of environment. But in the short term - here and now - his health can be bolstered by a direct consumption of harmony magic."

She holds the vial of the purple-pink gel a little higher. "And that is what I have here in my aura. The condensed harmony magic of likely several ponies. A half dose will do. It will go far to restoring his strength. Anything more will just make him a little too happy."

>>171110
"We've known each other for less than one hour, and you're already offering me what amounts to a highly restricted potion... Pardon me if I'm surprised." Posey says, with a flat tone
She telekinetically reaches out towards the vial and peers as it, gently rotating it to discern the viscosity of the fluid
"It appears to be not unlike Ambrosia, which is a rare import in Magehold, given to living thralls for a variety of purposes, particularly for the blood banks..."
Her expression sours momentarily, as if remembering something particularly nasty (and not in a good way)
"It appears as though the changelings have figured out a way to produce something similar. It appears they've grown rather innovative."
>his health can be bolstered by a direct consumption of harmony magic
Posey levitates the vial back to Diligent.
"It appears that you've misunderstood my intentions for bringing Gloomy here... I didn't bring him here to be 'cured', I brought him here to showcase his development, and mentor him in the arts. Gloomy is my project, my precious, and he's perfectly healthy, as far as I'm concerned. He's grown strong and hardy in the time I've reared him: strong enough to carry the weight of death on his back. He's learning to conquer the powers in his blood and and channel forces that even I wouldn't dare conjure. Putting something like that in his body would threaten to undo all of the progress he's made."

At this point, Gloomy pokes his head out from beneath her cloak, and Posey levitates him, holding his cheek to hers.

"The Coven didn't see any value in Gloomy, and neither did my master, but if they had he wouldn't be mine today, so I wouldn't want it any other way."

>>171111
"I see value in Gloomy. I may be a professor here, but I am still a doctor. It is my job to reduce suffering by administering medicine when I am able. You have said yourself that he is not perfectly healthy, and have given me an extensive list of treatments he must undergo. I agree with many of them, such as use of negative energies to treat growths. But there are things the Dread League do not understand or appreciate. They would not have sent you here if they thought that you, or they, knew everything they needed to know. Please, trust me on this.

This is not made as a drug. This is, for lack of a better term, honey, produced within a special organ of a changeling worker from love sucked out of a living creature, and regurgitated to feed changeling drones and nymphs, who by nature lack the ability to produce harmony magic themselves. It is not easy for a pony to obtain."

Debride looks at Gloomy
"It will help him. Poor little colt. He's so precious."
She reaches out a hoof to pet him.

>>171112
Posey appears unconvinced, but gives a shrug. She looks at Gloomy, the colt silently staring back with a curious expression as he's floated in mid air, paddling his hoofsies like a dog suspended over water.
"Very well then. I'll consider this treatment option, and administer the doses as I see fit."

>>171113
Debride sits down, takes her forehooves, and tries to bat them against Gloomy's in a kind of patty cake.

"Ha ha! You've been here a few hours, and you think you're qualified to judge doses of drugs you've only just now seen? Do they practice your training the same way in Magehold. No no. They won't let us leave with the whole vial anyways. It's too rare, and they fear it will be resold or used to get high. One half teaspoon is... maybe not enough, but enough, I think, to show effects. Then maybe more over the next few days,"

>>171114
"Oh well, let's get on with it then..."

>>171115
Debride smiles and stands up, walking past Posey and batting at Gloomy's hoof again as she passes. She goes near the entrance, and obtains a spoon, before coming back.

"We can do it right here"

"Open your mouth, little fella. Ms. Debride has some medicine for you. It's not going to taste good, but you'll feel better."

Debride turns to Posey, and in a low voice asks "Does it need to be in ice cream or diluted for him to accept it? It's incredibly sweet, disgustingly so."

>>171116
>right here
"Right here? Okay then" Posey says, with a bit of a quizzical look
>It's incredibly sweet, disgustingly so
Posey gives a gigglesnort
"It can't possibly be worse than blood sugar supplements they crammed down our throats in the Coven's slave pens. I have a preferred method though. Give me the spoon. Gloomy, it's medicine time."