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Comments
I'm...going to go with [A]. Tentatively.
Don't feel like thinking, [A] seems the cheapest pick.
A.
[Five votes for A; A wins.]
"Okay," you murmur.
You end up helping Lien to lift the arms. Ari stands guard around you, and Rory and Lyara each lift a leg.
It's a long and exhausting walk back to the constabulary's office, and you kind of wish that Rory had called for a cart instead. People gawk at you as you carry the body back, too.
The bustling of the constabulary's office ceases as you all walk in with the body. There's a respectful silence as you all move through. That is probably all people will do to show respect for him until his memorial.
You carry the body downstairs, into a basement. It's chilly down here, deliberately so.
Osten's body is the only body down here. Even the dead merchant from earlier today is not down here.
As Rory and Lyara begin looking over the body, you seat yourself on the floor and begin pulling out your ritualist gear. The strip of cloth with Osten's blood on it is placed in front of you, while your oak board sits on your lap.
You carefully begin drawing your focus symbol on the board with silver flakes from a vial in your pack. You take your time with it, ensuring that the symbol is perfect.
[A] What effect do you wish to achieve with your ritual, keeping in mind the guidelines on rituals you have been told before?
Let's try a ritual that would make points on his body that had been touched violently within the last 24 hours glow, maybe with more recent ones glowing more brightly. That should give us some hints at the chain of events.
What CU said.
But first ask Rory and Lyara to tell you everything they know about Osten.
Let's make him believe he's still alive.
I'm guessing we've got a decent chance of summoning the spirit, actually. Proximity to Fae (Lien. Heh heh heh, *SNORT!*, "as close as possible" begins to sound dirty! Nyuk nyuk. :P ), piece of the departed (actually the whole body), and I'm guessing the room our heroine's in had seen enough bodies to roughly count as "where death hangs heavy". We can also have her gut some chicken or spill some of her own blood. There would remain the problem of controlling the situation, like the last time. Alternatively, I believe that ritual magic can be used to discern the identity of the culprits behind these events, but I'm not sure if our heroine's powerful enough.
We can also get the body examined so we could look for anything useful for tracking.
I was hoping to use some necromantic mechanism by which we could experience the last few memories of the victim. If their brain is intact, the information should still be written in there and it's too early for particularly significant decomposition.
By request, I will be talking about possession a little earlier than I had planned.
Possession works off of the same principles as tying a spectral spirit to a dead body. In fact, they are almost completely similar; the only difference is that a ritualist is not involved with a possessing spirit, requiring the possessing spirit to work off of their own power, but also not tying themselves to the ritualist's will.
In order to possess a living being, a spirit must first kill the person. This is done by 'sliding in' to a person's shell- they push themselves into the less-than-physical spot that makes up a person's life essence, push the person's current life essence out, and slide in, taking its spot. This results in the complete death of the person's spirit- they do not depart for the other side of the veil, they simply cease to exist.
A person of sufficient spiritual fortitude may fight off a possession as it occurs. This is an unconscious state- nobody is even quite sure what makes a spirit hardier. Some posit that it involves living a wholesome life, while others posit that it involves living up to one's own ideals, and others yet posit that it is an inborn trait and cannot be influenced to be stronger or weaker.
Needless to say, possession is one of the trickiest parts of necromancy. Few spirits are reckless enough to attempt to possess a prepared ritualist, who can easily banish them back beyond the veil, but if any spirits escape during the process of a necromantic ritual, they can and often do attempt to possess the closest living beings.
I'm fairly certain brain cells start dying within a few minutes of death, and electrical impulses with them. They're pretty fragile.
^If that's the case, and our magic can't get around it. Then I'm going with Gacek's suggestion and try to summon his spirit.
Since he's recently deceased, would it be easier to do so?
On the other hand, though, magic doesn't really have much to do with brain decomposition.
There is very little your magic can't get around.
It's possible that his spirit might still be lingering around before it departs. Spirits can sometimes linger for days after their deaths, although they usually depart immediately.
Would murder by any chance be a circumstance under which spirits tend to linger for a bit longer? :P
It has to do with the deceased's spiritual fortitude, not the circumstances of their death.
Ah, fair enough.
Worth trying I guess.
Though we could try both?
If you wish to try both, list them in the order you wish to do them, I guess.
I get the impression that my suggestion would take less out of us, but the summoning of a spirit has bad consequences if you screw it up...so let's just summon him.
Very well. Post upcoming then.
You close your eyes and center yourself. You take your time about it- there's no real rush here, and the more time you spend preparing yourself, the easier this will be.
In the background, you are vaguely aware of Rory and Lyara asking something, and Lien shushing them. Ari merely sits down near you.
You open your eyes and stare at your symbol.
This time, you know what you're after.
Necromancy is a very difficult art to describe. Much of it is less than physical; it involves matching wills with many things.
If one was to describe it, it would feel like pushing their hand through a slimy, semi-solid wall. It offers resistance, but it can be overcome- but it's cold, and slimy, and it feels wrong. And the hand isn't really there, and neither is the wall, but the wall is there at the same time it isn't, and the hand is really a manifestation of your will, but it's not really a manifestation, it's more as if your will is giving itself a less-than-physical shape and pushing itself through this cold, slimy wall.
One must then search out the soul they are looking for. This is the purpose of having a part of the person whose spirit you are trying to summon; it gives you a link to the spirit, letting you find them without searching through the trillions of souls on the other side.
Only there's not really trillions of souls on the other side. In fact, there's not even really 'another side', per se. Instead, there's just... something. Like a big ball of liquid, or light, made up of trillions and trillions of shades and flavours. Any given spirit is just one shade, and to find them, you need to figure out which shade it is.
Then, you need to grab that spirit and pull it. Which is easier said than done; like trying to grab a specific drop of water from a lake, it's damn near impossible to do unaided.
Then, you need to pull the spirit back through the barrier. You need to use your will to hold the barrier open as you pull the spirit through, or else the barrier will close, barring the spirit from crossing over.
And, much like if you actually plunged your arm into a lake and withdrew a specific drop of water, spirits have a tendency to 'hang on' to your will and go back through the barrier with you.
That is a very poor interpretation of how it feels to drag Osten's spirit back to the world of the living.
At least this time, you're not knocked unconscious when hundreds of spirits fly through the hole in the barrier before you can repair it.
I knew it.
I really should've said something.
Gods.
The room is quiet for several moments before Rory speaks up.
"What in the shades was that?" he croaks.
You swallow before you answer. "That... was a mistake," you rasp. "I am still not very practiced at necromancy- occasionally, spirits still escape when I summon a spirit."
"You let spirits escape?" This time, it's Lyara speaking. "Are they dangerous?"
"I don't think so," you reply, crouching down on the floor. Beside you, Ari is sitting cross-legged. Her face is pale, but she isn't trembling, which is more than you can say for Lien. "Usually, spirits fade back to the other side of the barrier a few days after they are summoned, without a ritualist to feed off."
Rory coughs. "That is good," he croaks again. "I hope your ritual was a success, at least?"
You look at Osten. Not everybody can see spirits once they are summoned- it takes a certain... finesse of mind, to be able to see something so unnatural as a resurrected spirit.
"Indeed," you reply tiredly. "If you will excuse me, I need to prepare a new ritual."
Beside you, Ari watches as you straighten your board again and begin drawing your symbol once more. She doesn't interrupt you, for which you are thankful.
This ritual is a much simpler ritual. As with any ritual, the effects are not certain, but it should let you see what Osten saw as he died.
You close your eyes for a few seconds, then press your finger to your symbol and concentrate.
"Osten, what did you see as you were killed?" you ask clearly.
Power blankets the room again, and your vision goes black.
---
Your vision comes back a fraction of a second later, but you are not seeing the room and Osten's spirits.
Instead, you are looking down at an arm. Beneath the arm, you see a cobbled street- fairly well-maintained, but not to the standards of one of the merchant's streets. It's the residential area, where Osten was supposed to be patrolling this morning.
Suddenly, something black enters your field of vision. It's a sleeve, you recognize- someone has placed an arm over Osten's chest.
You can't feel anything, but you can certainly hear it as a knife pierces Osten's back. It's a sick sound- metal carving through flesh and organs, and blood beginning to pour out.
Your view shifts as Osten sags against the arm, and the knife tears further, allowing Osten's blood to flow freely out.
"You were warned," a voice murmurs behind you. Osten's view shifts slightly, as if he was trying to get a look behind him, but he can't make it before his head slumps forward, his- and your- vision going black. "You really should have stopped it when you were warned the first time, Osten."
His vision goes black, and so does yours.
---
You are disoriented when your view suddenly shifts back to the morgue, with Osten's spirit standing over you.
[A] What now?
RAISE THE ALARM TELL EVERYONE TO GET OUT
[A] Ask Osten's spirit about the mysterious man, what exactly he'd been warned about, relay back the important bits of the last week of his life etc.
I'd go with fourteenwings' option, if we can hold the necromantic ritual long enough. But magic isn't always stable, so my secondary option would be to begin doing background checks on Osten, beginning with talking to Rory. I'd want to know about friends, family, places he liked to spend time in when he was off duty -- stuff like that.
[That's about as reasonable as it's going to get, so fourteenwings' option it is.]
You take a moment to catch your breath before you speak again.
"Who was it that killed you?" you ask Osten's spirit.
"I don't know," the spirit replies.
You grimace. "What did they mean by 'you were warned'?" you ask again. "Who warned you, and what did they warn you about?"
The spirit moans in distress. "I do not know their names. They were men belonging to a group of criminals who oppose Urghal's rule over the criminal elements of the town. They warned me about continuing on in Urghal's employment."
To your side, Rory sighs and pinches his brow, looking at the floor.
"Why were you working for Urghal?" he asks.
The spirit doesn't answer him, so you repeat the question. The spirit moans again before replying.
"The money was much higher than the guard's wages," he replies. "I liked to visit brothels and gambling houses, but it costs more money than a guard earns."
You grimace.
"What have Urghal and his men been up to in the past week?" you carefully specify. "This includes your actions when you were undertaking action for Urghal."
This time, you can almost feel the spirit's distress. "Urghal and his men have been meeting with many merchants," he states. "Burglaries have been increasing, and Urghal has been receiving a lot of money from someone. Urghal was preparing for something, but I don't know what."
You nod. "Is there anything else you would like to ask him?" you ask Rory.
"Do you know of any other guards in Urghal's employment?" Rory asks, staring at Osten's spirit.
You repeat the question.
"Teir Vallan, Patir Uran and Estit Vrentu were in Urghal's employment along with me," Osten's spirit states.
You nod, and look over at Rory. He shakes his head at you.
[A] You have another question for Osten's spirit. (Please specify the question.)
Thank Osten's spirit, and send him to the afterlife immediately.
[C] Banish Osten's spirit back to the afterlife.
[D] Thank Osten's spirit, but keep him bound to your will. You could use a faithful spectral assistant with all the danger flying around this city, and Osten was immoral enough that you don't mind doing such to him.
[E] Bind Osten's spirit to his body. You could use a physical assistant who is bound to your whims.
[F] Do not dismiss Osten's spirit. You will take some time (and most of the coinage Rory gave you) and prepare a false body for the spirit to inhabit. Golem ahoy!
[G] Something else. (Please specify what.)
I'd ask if he feels he can say anything about that assassination our heroine saw earlier. Unless people come up with more questions, I'd then go for [D] (just don't tell Rory). He can still be banished later after we're done with the criminal business here, right?
A summoned spirit can be banished at any time by their summoner. A spirit tied to another summoner can be banished, but that spirit's summoner can hold their spirit in place if they are aware of the attempted banishing.
A. I'd like to ask Osten if he'd be okay with assisting us until this is all over. If so, D. Whatever Osten did, it didn't exactly earn him the potential horror of being a spirit thrall, but we can release him from our will when this whole guard debacle is over. If he agrees, that is. Binding someone against their will is just all kinds of wrong, so if he's unwilling, then I'll just make my choice B.
As incentive, we can say that we'll be taking down the guys that nabbed him. Which we probably will.