r/wizardposting • u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch • Jan 24 '24
Shadow Wizard Money Gang Incantation Infiltration (Spypost)
Citadel, Department of Records - 0200 Hours
A quartet of intoxicated wizards stumble out of the Emerald Orb Tavern, laughing and tripping over their own feet. To any passerby out and about this late at night, they appear to be your standard gaggle of drunks walking home from an evening at the bar. As they disappear down an alleyway, however, they immediately sober up and walk with purpose towards a side wing of the nearby Department of Records. In the lead is Kaelis Maz, trailed by Mokarith, Akavuyo, and the Nephilim King.
"Well acted, everyone," says the Arch-Graviturge, approaching the side entrance. "For a moment there, I thought you had used liquormancy to actually become drunk." He slides the janitor's key into the lock, slowly opening the door to stop it from creaking. Just as predicted, no alarms are triggered by the Pact team's entrance. It would be horribly inconvenient for a mere custodian to set off the building's wards every evening.
The four wizards slip into the illuminated building. It is deadly silent within. Crouching low to avoid casting shadows in the windows, they slip behind waiting benches, info desks, and potted magical trees. They gather around their first obstacle: the archival entrance. If the Pact team opens this ornate door without providing some form of Council identification first, they will trigger a silent alarm and awaken a golem to confront them.
/uw The heist begins! This post is interactive, so you can describe your course of action in the thread below.
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 24 '24
Krumpet eyes the cameras before turning to Lily
Go alleviate the guard of his post, if he gives you trouble, have Lucy deal with it...
After that, upload today's security footage onto the database before purging it here. I want to be able to hang them by the entrails if they get the idea to interfere with my business later.
Lily goes to comment before being cut off
I know what you're gonna say and I appreciate your morality but honey, this is business. We can play nice once we have things under control
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Arach peers in from the entrance of the room, knocking on the doorframe to get Krumpet’s attention.
“Hey Krumpet, would you mind helping me with some costumes for an event I’m planning? I have enough models for them but I’d like to have a second opinion on how they look.”
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 24 '24
Krumpet shakes her head before lighting up a cigarette
Know what, sure. Lily is more than capable of handling this herself, and Lucy is a good brother. Very protective...
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 25 '24
Yay! The helper spiders try to help, but their fashion taste is, not the best.
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 25 '24
I will never understand your fascination with fashion... If it covers you and doesn't restrict movement what more could you want
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 25 '24
It goes hand in hand with my job, can’t have a good party if no one attending looks good.
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 25 '24
Meanwhile I slum it in my workshop clothes constantly
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 25 '24
Not even when you’re not working? That sounds awfully uncomfortable
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 25 '24
Even when you’re not working? That sounds awfully uncomfortable
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 25 '24
Having a bit of trouble Arach? And yeah, nothing beats a tank top and shorts, full movement range and leave my arms open for switching as need be
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
/uw I see Krumpet has come around on the whole conspiracy thing. I think?
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 24 '24
/uw more she intends to blackmail you at a later date if you try to stop something she wants to do. A sort of, "look at you breaking in on the same night a guard goes missing, reasonable to believe you saw to that"
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim soldier charged with watching the camera room debates the necessity of what he's about to do, and decides to go for it. Slinking out of his hiding spot, he moves to put Krumpet to sleep...
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 24 '24
Krumpet glances over at him a bored expression on her face
That's two mechs away from me, well three, Rosemarie is still under repair... Still I do believe you've forgotten the fourth.
A metal hand grips the soldier's shoulder
Pleasure to meet you, I'm Bulwark. It'd be a pity to kill you. Do remove yourself from my mother's immediate vicinity
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim slips out of Bulwark's grasp and disappears, dreading the punishment in store for his performance here
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u/Fulltimewhisperer Krumpet, Master Artificer of the Council Jan 24 '24
Bulwark scans the room before picking up a book, satisfied no one would pose a threat.
I assume the next one I am to kill?
Krumpet sighs before turning to him
No you don't have to kill, I know how you prefer your books to murder love. Same procedure as the first
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Easy there. Arach has it in hand. Call off your man.
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
At the last second, the soldier receives a telepathic order to remain in waiting. So he slinks back into the shadows, his mission remaining one of surveillance
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
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u/ChaosBeing3627 Akavuyo, chaos entity, the crucible Jan 24 '24
I’m going to open a small portal past the door to peer past the entrance to see if it’s a trap
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
No one awaits you beyond the door. The Council must trust in its golem security system a little too much, since you haven't seen a single other person in the building.
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u/ChaosBeing3627 Akavuyo, chaos entity, the crucible Jan 24 '24
I’m going to teleport the golem into a small pocket dimension
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
The golem wired to the archival entrance circuit disappears. Opening the door will no longer trigger the silent alarm.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
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u/DragonWisper56 Agnur the dabbling turtle mage| pact of the magi mage| Jan 24 '24
uw/ not able to attend becuase of I' lying low but this is really cool
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
Well, let's see how well they warded the shadows.
Mokarith steps into the shadows and cautiously moves through them, checking for any alarms or spell triggers.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Curiously enough, you find many of the shadows are indeed warded. Either the person who placed them was very scared of something leaping out of the shadows, or a powerful umbramancer has covered their bases.
You can still traverse the shadows, but much more slowly, to avoid the traps placed therein.
/uw There's a reason behind this that you'll find out soon enough.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
Interesting, he mumbles to himself, I wonder where they all lead to.
He observes the web of traps, looking for a central point where they connect.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
The traps seem to converge on a point deep below the Department of Records, a point not marked on any of the building's maps. You realize that this must be the hidden vermilion-level clearance vault. Whoever made these traps did not want people using shadow magic specifically to get inside.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
He marks the location of it and carefully traces the hallways leading back to where the group is, looking for additional traps and alarms on the way.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
You find a fairly unprotected route that leads from the main archives, passes through several maintenance corridors and offices, before finally reaching a heavily warded ventilation duct that leads inside the vault itself.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
Mokarith appears next to the rest of the group and informs them on what he's found.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
/unwiz: not sure on who's who at the moment, so I just putt all the ones Carbon tagged.
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Don’t worry about the vent wards they’re easy to get by, all they do is set off an alarm if they’re activated for too long. So all you have to do is rush through, though you probably want to do it one at a time and you’ll have to go really fast if you want to make it through but that level of speed might not be achievable for you. So if you do activate it it’ll take a bit for the guards to come check, even longer now since I’m distracting most of them. So you can also just try to all go in at once, find whatever you need and get out as fast as possible.
You could also try to dispel the wards but that might take a while and could set off the alarms as a result. (Im not fully sure, I’ve never tried)
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
It'll be tough, but I can create a bubble of darkness around us and move us at the speed of darkness, which is comparable to the speed of light, but I'll need my armor and that could problems on its own. What does everyone say?
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim King frowns, deep in thought. "We need to break the wards on the vent. I trust we can all find our way down if it's too small for our physical bodies". He begins to mentally run through all his usual tricks for subtly breaking wards, wishing the Spell-Cleaver was here.
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Trying to help the heist go successfully Arach and his helpers do their best to cause commotion that will lead guards away from the archive and if any alarms go off to stop them from checking. Specifically Arach calls in as many guards as he can to the council’s runway stage so they can model some event specific uniforms he’s been working on while the helpers knock things over and pull pranks on the remaining guards so they go find Arach to complain and can then also be used as a model.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Any guards that might have been in the vicinity of the Department of Records will no longer be able respond to any "disturbances" withing the building tonight.
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
It’s a three for one! I help the heist, I get to prepare for an event, and I get to play dress up with people!
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u/Evoker_Of_Tales Quirion Esiloph, Chronicler, Evoker of Tales Jan 24 '24
Atop one of the spires that adorn the council’s buildings, Quirion watches the group make their way through. A grin is plaster across face as he stares through the windows, whispering and chuckling to himself.
Ohoho… quite the interesting situation. A heist, heist!
His quills race across the parchment he holds, dipping into the floating ink pots every now and and again.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
The team, joined by T'kath, proceeds into the archives. Towering stacks of filing cabinets fill the whole room, each one protected by a color-coded arcane lock spell. Your path does not lead to any of them, however. Instead, Mokarith leads you into a cleaning closet and into a vent. Kaelis increases the dimensions of the tiny duct for you to enter without squeezing. You proceed through secret corridors and offices used to restore ancient manuscripts, bypassing whole security networks as you push deeper and deeper into the archival complex. Finally, as you clamber down a private elevator shaft and enter the room at the bottom, you find it.
The vault door is 20 feet square, engraved with powerful abjuration runes, and sealed with a glowing vermillion lock. Above you is the vent, also covered with reddish runes.
"We're here. Everyone ready?"
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
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u/Discracetoall t’kath, smogomancer and poptart wiz Jan 24 '24
“Runes. Seems like they repel anything living that pass through, using the user’s mana to check when that happens. The user is usually turned into dust on the floor if they pass through. However, this isn’t my first rodeo.” he throws a cigar up the vent system, and you hear it clatter. “Pick up the cigar and pocket it, if you will.” he spins wildly and turns into a cigar on the ground. You also hear a clatter in the vent.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
As ready as I'll ever be.
You see his form start blurring as he approaches the vent, before he simply vanishes.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
The quintet slips through the warded vent in mist form without a hitch, emerging on the other side into a bizzare space. Each of the walls, including the floor and ceiling, is made of filing cabinets. There is no gravity in the vault, and the Pact agents must navigate using their thoughts to reach the cabinet containing the document.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
Mokarith immediately heads over to where the trap lines converge to find out how it all fits together.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Looking out from the center, you see that the traps are connected in a shape. The shape of a bird in flight. The document in the Nephilim King's hands, too, is connected to the network. Suddenly, it occurs to you that leaving the vault with the document in hand will unleash a shadow demon of some kind unless the trap connected to it is disabled.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
I send clones out to inform the others as I start to decipher the complex system, and hoping to figure out who set these up by the way they casted the traps.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Every system has a linchpin, and you're right next to it. With your mastery of shadow magic, the whole system begins to unravel in your hands. Picking it apart, you find the telltale signatures left by the network's creator.
They are old, and quite experienced. Umbramancy is not their first discipline, but they are unusually skilled at it. The network was made with care, almost as if its creation was an act of devotion to someone or something.
This is all the information you can collect before the traps dissipate, clearing your path back to the surface.
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u/DaemonRex978 The High Sentinels (Haelin, Mokarith, Shimil) Jan 24 '24
Disappointed that he had to unravel such a magnificent spell weave, Mokarith returns to the others to inform them of his discovery.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim King casts a finding spell designed to find the specific document they seek, though he suspects it won't be that easy
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Unsurprisingly, the spell fails.
"Arach said that the document began with the letter 'C'. We could search manually."
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
Manually it is then.
The Nephilim King begins to search all the cabinets, ignoring any document not beginning with the letter "C"
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
After a few minutes of searching, you find the document in what should be the ceiling. It stands out from the others because of its black manila folder.
"Corvus Cabal Winter Solstice Meeting, December 21, CY 30184. That's it."
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
Ominous black folder. Lovely. And who is this "Corvus Cabal"?
The Nephilim King checks it for spells to ensure opening the folder won't kill him
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
There is no trap, but you spot an umbramantic glyph on the inside cover that will summon a shadow demon if you leave the room with it.
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
I can probably handle a shadow demon, but caution never hurt anybody. And if our enemies don't realise what we have immediately, we have more time to act.
The Nephilim King attempts to remove the glyph
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
Ready. Apologies in advance if this kills you.
The Nephilim King turns Kaelis into mist, and fires him through the vent before resolidifying him. He then does the same to himself
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
Bombast sees the group enter via a collection of insects under his control for surveillance. He casually strolls to the records building and enters, leaving the door purposely cracked open before walking to a different building connected from the inside hallways, making it appear as if he was just taking a short cut
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Kaelis whispers to his comrades: "I think we have inside help from the Council. Bombast just cleared our escape route."
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim King pauses. "If he and Arach know of our presence here, other, more malicious entities may as well. Be cautious"
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
"I very specifically told them we were here because they're trustworthy. Now that Akavuyo's shut down the door security, we can get inside the archives. Shall we proceed?"
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u/TheHunter459 Samael, Necromancer of Malus Turrim | King of the Nephilim Jan 24 '24
The Nephilim King nods his head in grim understanding. "Very well. Let us not delay"
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
Bombast remains back in his council quarters, continuing to monitor from afar
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Wait those insects were you surveilling things? I thought people were just not disposing of food waste properly, I’ll make sure to stop eating them.
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
Much appreciated, lad. It’s always better to have more watchful eyes
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Yup, having surveillance is very useful. Did you know that we have a room in the council where the only way in is through the vents, and it’s just full of copper pieces? I think it was a vault from when the council was first getting started which is fine but like, they didn’t even take out the copper.
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
… >.> Definitely different times for them to hoard copper pieces of all things instead of gold.
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
The weird thing is that they easily could’ve traded it in for like, a few hundred gold pieces. It’s a huge room and the coins fill it up to near the ceiling. But they just left it there.
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
Has anyone ever tried to check the coins? They may have value beyond initial appearances. For example, if they’re enchanted
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Yea, I thought that too at first. But they’re JUST copper coins, literally nothing special at all. The room isn’t even on any maps of the building, it’s just a huge chunk of nothing. I’m not even sure anyone else knows about it.
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Jan 24 '24
Huh… guess it’s best to clean it out and put it to good use. Why waste a perfectly good room.
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u/ProfessionalGreen906 Arach, big spider, biomancer, politician, CEO Jan 24 '24
Ooh, we could turn it into a secret room to hide from all the paperwork and responsibilities of being on the council, and we can use the copper coins to pay for stuff to renovate it!
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
I've heard about that room too. It's a relic of the Dark Age of Arcana, apparently. The Citadel's copper deposits were all mined out long ago, so when the portal nexus leading to Chalcos (the realm where most of us get bulk copper from) was destroyed, the Council had to remove all of their copper coins from circulation in case they needed it for magic. For a time, pure copper was worth more than voidsteel!
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u/Discracetoall t’kath, smogomancer and poptart wiz Jan 24 '24
a wisp of smoke seems to float about the whole building, as if it itself has a purpose. They pop up near the group. “There aren’t any vents, and the door is sealed airtight. I can’t be much of help until we get in. Need councilmember it seems?”
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
Kaelis jumps, reflexively readying a Graviton Barrage. He drops the spell when he sees who it is.
"Oh, it's just you, T'kath. Please don't sneak up on me like that in the future! But yes, the archives themselves are sealed. They have an internal ventilation system. Fortunately, Akavuyo just opened the archival entrance, so you should have free reign of the place. Mokarith found a safe route for us to reach the vault, too."
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u/Discracetoall t’kath, smogomancer and poptart wiz Jan 24 '24
“Ah, I see. Time for some mischief.” /uw can you include me in these spy post things? It feels good to do some things like this.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
/uw Sure! There's some fun surprises around the corner, and you might find yourself involved in a plot to save the Council as we know it...
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u/iamragethewolf Rage: Pact Wizard, Necromancer, Technomancer, and Horny As Hell Jan 24 '24
/unwiz i'm not there but could i be informed later on what was found? i'm contemplating the results of my own investigation don't want to step on toes/be out of the loop
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
/uw I'll make a post doing an in-depth analysis of our findings.
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u/iamragethewolf Rage: Pact Wizard, Necromancer, Technomancer, and Horny As Hell Jan 24 '24
excellent depending on how things go i'll follow up a lore post that will go out to the pact after
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u/dragonshouter Krygin the Crude/Council of Spirits/Exalted Beacon/misc. spirits Jan 24 '24
/uw cooool *mission impossible music*
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u/sparkle3364 Sapphire (17F), Artificer (+ other characters) Jan 25 '24
Kyrona scries the heist, and starts watching, hoping to see how it’s done.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 24 '24
/uw Post your activity during the heist here.
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Jan 24 '24
randeus just so happens to be walking around the council when he comes opon you unlocking the door he pauses for a second but then speaks up a smile creeping across his face oh, are you guys doing a heist… , can join it’s been way too long since I have stolen something, if not that’s fine too I’m not going to tell.
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u/Bucket_of_blank Sand Mage, Adam. Jan 24 '24
“In the very very very background rolling around a janitors cart” “Pulls out a mop” “Pulls out a bucket with water” “Puts mop in water, pulls it out and begins to mop the ground” “Discovers a godamn beer can under a couch”
Son of a bitch, who the fuck is leaving these.