>>1091238
Boss, could focus on the ones Pendle didn't recognize.

Also, the one that was broken, could it be because Red Fang deemed it useless?

>>1091238
None of those sound pleasant at all.
The ashen moth is probably a serial arsonist.

This all feels like the magical equivalent of unearthing an unexploded bomb.
Lets hope nothing starts fizzing.

Good work pendle.
Maybe check where the ladder goes when miss openda turns up to share her knowledge.

which two does he not recognize? they must be either really obscure or really old

>>1091150
You might want to try touching the Seer's symbol and see if you can communicate with him.

You're on good terms and he'd know all about this room assumably.

We should wait for Ona and Pendle's advice first though, before touching even the only idol we know likes us.

Touch everything. Dance wildly in the center of the circle. Call down Ashe and commit debased acts on the idols. Embrace the madness and darkness. Invite the ire of the divine, or maybe their delight, for who knows what profane and blasphemous acts may please them.

Muschio 2024/05/19(Sun)12:37 No. 1091292 ID: 46e818
File 171614743302.png - (13.34KB , 800x600 , 2192.png )

"Which symbols don't you recognize?"
>"The chunky one with the little tail, and the one that looks like a horned man with six limbs."
"The names you've given strike me as a bit macabre."
>"Well, given what we've heard of Red Fang from you and the locals, the man was something of a tyrant, not to mention a sadist. I suppose his shrines would reflect that."
"Is it normal to worship a variety of gods like this?"
>"Enough. Especially with more esoteric figures, and those with specific and smaller dominions, a broad pantheon of worship is not at all uncommon."

I climb with some effort (though surely less than Pendle would have) and try the trapdoor.
"It's stuck fast."

Muschio 2024/05/19(Sun)12:39 No. 1091293 ID: 46e818
File 171614756477.png - (9.65KB , 800x600 , 2193.png )

>"Well, the room above it probably moved. Nothing on the other side now but stone."
>"Miss Openda's correct, I believe. If this room's been static, it probably connected to the room you made into your bedroom. Red Fang's old throne room."
>"So this is a creepy little place, isn't it? Gettin' heebie-jeebies in here."

>>1091293
Hey short stuff, what's the circle do?

>>1091293
You mean the regular "something nasty was taking was place here regularly" heebie-jeebies, or the "bad juju of magical nature" kind of heebie-jeebies?

Am I crazy or did the shape of the entrance change?

>>1091297
[Assuming this isn't an art error or the odds continuing to be at work]
...
Ok. First instinct is to rush out, but knowing spooky stuff that's just going to make the entrance shut close immediately and also deny us access to our orb network outside the room.
Don't panic, say nothing about the entrance's shape changing and continue inspecting things.

Try communicating with the seer from his idol. If nothing else he could provide us guidance on what we can and can't do with this room and it's artifacts.

Maybe more Ona's style, how's the circle make her feel? Gut reaction? Is it dreamstuff?

>>1091292
Those who worship many gods are faithful to none.
It's clear that Red Fang was desperately fishing for any small god willing to favor him.

>>1091292
Muschio, you have a wooden hand and somehow you're making it work like a functioning one. Did Mr. Lollipop enchant it yet?

>>1091304
Chaos Undivided means worshipping the broad system or collective that is formed by the gods working as a whole unit, which does not require reverence or admiration of any particular god.
Which is totally in line with Red Fang's zealous worship of chaos and tyranny, because when these extreme and polarized cult gods try to work together, you get the opposite of harmony.

Speaking of which, our next assignment should be to find the other six gods, get a grip on their concepts and the options we can take. This might be our best shot at stopping Inzare Citta, which only reveres one god at the moment.

>>1091292
At least its a known dead end niw big m.

>>1091293
Good evening miss openda.
Your insight into heebie jeebies is the every reason we requested your presence.

>>1091317
You mean the fake hand hanging limply on the same arm where he's using his elbow to rest on the ladder?

Muschio 2024/05/20(Mon)14:55 No. 1091407 ID: 46e818
File 171624210327.png - (19.25KB , 800x600 , 2194.png )

"Is that your professional opinion? Is there something here we should be wary of?"
>"I don't like, 'sense' a curse or anything if that's what you mean. I just think it's spooky.
>But I guess it just looks like a pretty standard if kinda crude prayer room, other than the ritual circle."
"What can you tell us about it?"

Muschio 2024/05/20(Mon)14:55 No. 1091408 ID: 46e818
File 171624213232.png - (13.18KB , 800x600 , 2195.png )

>"Well, that's definitely dried blood caked in at the center."
"And of the pattern?"
>"Hmm. HMMM."

Muschio 2024/05/20(Mon)14:58 No. 1091409 ID: 46e818
File 171624230390.png - (13.30KB , 800x600 , 2196.png )

>"This circle sucks."
"Is it evil?"
>"No I mean it's super badly made. First it's not even close to a perfect circle, like obvious at a glance. Second, a bunch of the lines here just... they don't do anything. They're meaningless. It's like he was just imitating something he saw, stylistically, without understanding it.
>The center rune is at least partially correct? It's one of a bunch of sacrifice markings, but it's also crossed with a rune of self-sacrifice. I'd bet at least some of this blood is Red Fang's.
>The rest though, it's just... nonsense. Meaningless. Gibberish. I dunno, if this is the guy whose worship the Seer said was so potent, I'd bet it wasn't because of this circle. Not wholly, anyway."

>>1091409
How potent are prayers as magical spells? We’ve uncovered a lot of that mineral that amplifies magic. Could it turn even a poorly made circle like this into something more powerful?

>>1091410
Peregast, that’s the mineral that boosts magic. If we’re working with the logic that prayers and faith in gods can be rewarded in magic and power then it stands to reason that’s why it’s been so powerful despite it being poorly made.

>>1091410
Peregast, that’s the mineral that boosts magic. If we’re working with the logic that prayers and faith in gods can be rewarded in magic and power then it stands to reason that’s why it’s been so powerful despite it being poorly made.

He was a mercenary, not a scholar.
Still, record the circle. The fact that he managed to make this hodgepodge contraption work at all means that the few pieces which worked really well should be studied.

Don't rely on the gods for now. Wait until you have a decent handle on what the hell you're looking at.

...And find out if the demon that possessed Pendle used to be one of these totems.

>>1091409
...ah. I wonder if all these objects were stolen from the Czar? But he couldn't steal the ritual circle, so he tried to copy it... and he did it somehow without the Czar knowing immediately that it was him and hunting him down? Maybe the Czar wants *all* of the amulets, not just the one that we've been focusing on. The idols too. Makes me wonder why that one wasn't in here? Maybe because its matching idol broke there was no point keeping the amulet with it, so it was excluded from the ritual?
Maybe the ritual itself shielded Red Fang from retaliation for stealing the items?

It's either that, or it's a ritual circle created out of a collection of passed-down superstitions?

What does Ona think the ritual would do? Whatever Red Fang wanted it to, perhaps, despite the poor construction?

>>1091409
Ask her if it would be possible to adapt this room into a proper prayer/hex/curse/holy/etc room. Or if there's any risk in attempting to move or dispose of any of the more unsavory idols.

Might as well try to utilize the room since it's here. We do have a worshiper of the seer here, after all.

>>1091409
Thankyou.

Done properly and done well could this room be of utility to someone working with shrines and circles?
Perhaps as a laboratory of the spiritual for miss openda and pendle?

Just going to throw this out there. If the Seer felt a tangible loss of power from Red Fang's lack of prayer coming from this place, would the other totem gods have as well? If so, are repercussions from the more vengeful gods possible against us as the current inhabitants? I'm concerned we may need to start a church as well as a kingdom.

damn if fang was really clutching for the seer and his KD ratio was lopsided, imagine what we could do???
we just need to set some proper shit up, get it cleaned up nice and purdy

Muschio 2024/05/21(Tue)13:28 No. 1091495 ID: 46e818
File 171632330154.png - (19.90KB , 800x600 , 2197.png )

"Could the magic-amplifying crystal of the mountain be amplifying worshipful prayers, too? Do those qualify as magic?"
>"I... hm. I'm not sure. I don't know if there's ever been much research on the idea. I suppose they are both metaphysical, but... how would you even test such a thing?"
>"Red Fang sacrificing his own blood would've been pretty potent, too. Even if the circle was crude it wouldn't have diminished that much. From what you described, the villages of the woods didn't seem the sacrificing type either."
>"Well, sacrifice is potent, but I wouldn't imagine enough to sustain a dwindling god on its own."
>"Well it didn't, the Seer just said he was waning a bit without it. The whole problem was not being strong enough in the moment, not that he was dying."
>"But he did say he could feel the absence, so it must have been quite potent."

Muschio 2024/05/21(Tue)13:28 No. 1091496 ID: 46e818
File 171632333726.png - (11.65KB , 800x600 , 2198.png )

As Ona and Pendle discuss the possibilities of magical prayer, I peer into the small carved alcove in the back of the room.

>>1091496
Poke it.

>>1091496
Oh sweet.

Call the others to have a look at it from afar. It might be the corpse of a previous sacrifice or something of the like.
Don't touch it until the others give you the go ahead.

Man, moving or repurposing this room is going to be a real pain.

>>1091496

Wonder if that's our missing idol.

>>1091496
Could be another idol could be a mummified body. Either way I looks like it’s wrapped up with cloth and string or rope. Get a knife and be ready in case shit goes sideways.

I feel like if it was a dead body you'd be able to at least, like, smell it. Unless it's just bones. You should probably let the other two people present know about it before you mess with it.

>>1091496
Hm.
That looks odd.
At first i thought it was a hunched person.
Be carefu-
>>1091498
-nhhhgg poke it!
Pokeitpokeitpokeit.

You really shouldn't stick your finger in there, however...do it. Poke poke poke away!

if you do poke it, at least do it with the fake hand
we really dont need you losing your only other real hand

Oh boy a mummy! Better call in the archeologists. By which I mean Pendle and Ona.

Muschio 2024/05/23(Thu)11:56 No. 1091630 ID: 46e818
File 171649058093.png - (9.31KB , 810x610 , 2201.png )

seems ok.

>>1091630
Don't get into conclusions yet, inspect the other sides and the "rock" can be carried, shake it but slowly if there's something or hollow inside

Without us completely in your head, you can be pretty impulsive.

Seal the place up with a proper vault door. Time for a group meeting.

>>1091630
Alrighty then
now that we've indulged our intrusive thoughts let's get Pendle and Ona to take a look at it in case it has something to do with the rest of the religious artifacts in the room.

Kindof small huh? Well let's see what's inside.

>>1091630
...thankyou big m.
That was like an itch that had to be scratched.

Hmm.
Looks like an object bound in twine and wrapped in cloth.
Carry it to pendle and oda so they can comment upon it when you open it or interfere if doing so would be incredibly bad?

Can we... pick it up?

>>1091630
The nose knows, smell test time Boss.