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>Last time on Magus Hunter Quest: You pick a team, get to meet them and head to the mansion you are now stationed at.

“We sure are, “ you say, “I got first pick on the bedroom though.”

Your team shares a laugh, and you head inside. Most of the inside has been reworked, being much more modern than the mansion’s exterior would suggest. There’s more bedrooms than you have people, and you quickly claim the master bedroom. For the rest, there’s a small armoury with all the basic weapons and gear, a kitchen, a living room and a dining room. The room that seems the most modern and out of place is the observatory, as Milly calls it, and she immediately barricades herself in it, the only explanation being “Oculus business”.

There’s still several rooms completely empty. There’s immediately some suggestions as to what to use them for.

“I’d say a training room would be highest priority.” Liam says. Meanwhile Blake suggests an R&R room with some computers and board-and-other games.

“I’m fine with anything.“ Katherine says, “And there seem to be enough rooms that we can just make them all.”

You think about it for a moment. From what you can tell from the budget you were given you could probably start making one of the rooms to begin with, but you’ll have to wait for next month before you get another money injection to work on others.

>1. Training room
>2. R&R
>3. Library
>4. Don’t decide just yet.
>5. Write in.

>>38829124
>1. Training room

>>38829216
We seem to be on a pretty low player-count. If it's all the same to you I'm gonna wait 10 more minutes or so before I start writing then.

>>38829124
>1. Training room
Remember that we do have a job to do, and that it does require us to put our lives on the line.

>>38829439
Shit, I actually need to go now, just thought I'd stick in a vote beforehand. I did mention there was a new thread up on Quest Discussion, so maybe there'll be more soon.

Sorry, OP, good luck with the thread.

>>38829090
>1. Training room
Wouldn't this place already have a library or are you implying literature not about monster slaying?

>>38829216
>>38829455
Well, two votes for the same so I'll just go ahead.

>>38829484
Thanks. Have fun, good luck or whatever's applicable then, glad you still stopped by.

>>38829521
You were made to study most of the monster slaying literature in your training, so no, there's no Big Library of Monster Slaying Books.

>>38829124
>1. Training room
Work then pleasure

“Let’s go with a training room.” You say. “Let’s not forget we’re here to keep people safe. We can still make the rest of them once we’re settled in and actually have the budget.”

This is met with general approval. You start making a shopping list for what you’d need for a training room, and leave it in the living room for people to add to if they think of more. You can order it in a day or two.

It’s getting late, and Raphael cooks dinner for you all. He apologises for the simplicity of the meal, but all he had to work with were some standard ration packs in the pantry. It manages to be surprisingly not awful. It takes some coaxing, but eventually you manage to get Milly out of her “observatory” and join you for the meal. She’s being secretive about what it actually is, but from the glimpses you’ve managed to see you suppose it’s just a sort of mission control room with some added things like sensor arrays to sweep the area for suspicious activity.

>Ask Milly about her room?
>Y/N

>Anything you want to ask or talk about during dinner?
>1. Yes, let’s talk about (specify)
>2. Yes, ask someone something (specify)
>3. No. (will prompt second vote for what to do after dinner instantly)

>>38829712
>1. Yes, let’s talk about (specify)
How everyone is settling in. Include asking about Milly's room in this but don't be too overt about it

>>38829712
Y
>1. Yes, let’s talk about (specify)
Ask about the frequency in which we will get missions

>>38829762
>>38829880
Very well, writing.

>>38829762
I return, faster than expected! And seconding this.

How’s everybody settling in?” You ask.

Liam just grunts “fine.”

“Well, it’ll take some getting used to,” Says Katherine. “I mean, we used to just stay at home and come in for duty. It’s all a bit different out here.”

Raphael nods. “Though it’s bad in any way. To be honest I’m glad I’m out of London City. It will take some time for Inariel to realise I left.”

“You don’t like having a guardian angel?” Asks Nathan.

“Oh, it’s not so much guardian as occasional stalker seraphim to be honest. They’ve shown up during a fight once or twice before, but they just stood there watching. Inariel takes the non-interference policy they have very seriously.”

“What about you two?” You ask Blake and Nathan.

“Well, I’m used to living together with my squad mates when I was in the force. It’s not very different.” Says Nathan.

“I’m a bit sad they removed the old interior,” says Blake,” I mean, when I was, well, being studied I had so much time on my hand that I picked up a few hobbies. I read quite a few books about old architecture and styling.”

Milly is just sitting at her little corner of the table, not reacting to anyone until you specifically talk to her. “Milly, is your room up to spec?”

“Hmm? Oh, you mean the observatory. Yes, it is.” She goes back to eating, but you won’t let her get away with that this time. “So what exactly is it?”

“It’s Oculus business.” And with that she finishes the last bit of her food and leaves the dining room.

Once the door behind her closes, you can hear Blake mumble “What a bitch.”

>1. Talk about something else before you leave the table
>2. Yeah Blake. I don’t get why she’s being so high and mighty.
>3. Come on Blake, give it some time.
>4. Leave the table (triggers next vote)
>5. Write in.

>>38830203
>Though it’s bad in any way.
Though it ISN'T

Even missed it on my proofread...

>>38830203
>3. Come on Blake, give it some time.
>Talk about training plans.

>>38829546
Surely you should have access to those for reference.
Although I guess that's what organisation's monsterwiki is for. Speaking of which what sort of connection we have with the central? Or is that all under control of the oculus liaison?

>>38830203
>1. Talk about something else before you leave the table
Ask about previous experience and what their style is beyond the dossier we received. Don't engage blake either way on the comment. If its an issue later we can deal with it, otherwise its taking sides and making an issue from nothing. Besides his feelings are reasonable.

>>38830252
Second

>>38830203
As far as we know are Oculus all like that?
>>38830266
Second

>>38830263
You can directly contact Arbitrator Lilliana, and if a specific mission pops up she will. If it's simply something found by headquarters sensors it'll be passed along through the Oculus liaison.

And yeah, you have access to all unrestricted records of possible threats. Of course, the Order works on a need to know basis so there will be things you don't know about and won't be able to without asking your supervisor.

>>38830295
Nope, not at all. They tend to be a bit more secretive and picky about what information they share with you, but you've never had one of them act like this before.

>>38830386
Seems like we'll need to work on thawing her up a bit or at least figuring what her problem is.

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>>38830252
>>38830293

>>38830266
>>38830295

It's a tie. Hoo boy, it's starting again.

But yeah, the other topics aren't really an issue to combine, it's just the confronting Blake or not. Gonna wait for 3 more minutes before I roll a tiebreaker

>>38830489
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH5oRJKTWuc

>>38830489
Confronting seems kind of strong word to use. It's not like we'd be telling him "nigger don't talk shit about mai waifu", just making a conciliatory remark in the interest of esprit de corps.
After all we'll be relying on each other with our lives, including the intel officer.

>>38830535
Well yeah, I didn't mean it that strongly. As in the linked options, it's just whether or not you say something about it or not.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>38830489
And I seem to have lost track of time a bit. Rolling
>1: say something
>2: don't

>>38830489
What about a "Let it go, Blake. She's a spook in a squad full of soldiers, in her eyes."

>>38830203
"Come on, Blake, give it some time."

Now I need to read the past two threads so I'm caught up.

>>38830203
>"Now Blake, we've only just met. That said, Milly, if you're doing anything that will make the rest of us targets for living with you, we have every right to know."

Sorry, Captcha was being a bitch.

>>38830782
You're going to speak to a closed door, then?
It wouldn't speak well to our mental stability.

>>38830782
Captcha problems for half an hour? I give up voting after like a minute of that

>>38830833
The beginning of our descent into madness.

“So, I know some of you are a bit more experienced in the field than others, but I don’t really know the specifics.”

Katherine immediately takes the word. You can tell why she’s a Face. “I’ve done about three or four years in the field now. I mean, I was only recruited when I was 37, and then a couple of years training. Of course, I haven’t seem a lot of action yet, since I was usually sent on type A’s.”

“I haven’t actually been deployed by the Vindex yet,” Nathan tells you. “But I joined the army the moment I could. Haven’t seen any magical beasties or threats yet outside of training and…” He falls silent, and you can’t help but catch a flash of an image coming from his mind. A ten year old girl. Must be the daughter that was on his file.

Luckily, Blake takes the word before the silence gets awkward. “I’ve been on active duty for about five years. And thanks to my abilities they liked to put me on higher risk stuff than they’d usually do with people with my limited experience. Not that I minded. The faces some of those wild magus had when their magic dissolved against me were pretty funny.” He chuckles a bit. “Of course the best one must have been when that Vostroya vamp tried to turn me into shish kebab with his shadow magic. He just kept throwing everything he had at me until his magic ran dry.”

“Eight years of active duty. Been in the Order since I was a teen.” Liam says.

“As I’ve said before, it’s my first deployment.” says Raphael, “and I’ve been looking forward to it. Out here I’m really making a difference. Well, I don’t mean the Cerebrum and the Oculus don’t do their part, but you know. The Vindex does the actual helping. It’s out here that we make a difference, even if we couldn’t do it without the rest of the Order.”

“Well, that just leaves me,” you say. “I’ve been in the field for four years as a Psychic specialist.” You continue to tell them about about what you’ve done until now. By the time your finished, even Raphael, who seems to be a fairly slow eater, has finished his meal.

“So, one more thing I’d like to discuss with you all. We haven’t got a training room for now, but that doesn’t mean we should slack off.” You discuss some training regiments with the group, but it seems most of them already have a fairly good idea of what they’ll be doing. Only Katherine, as the social specialist, isn’t really on some kind of training program, so you suggest she train with you on firearm and hand to hand basics. You’re not really an expert on those either, but you’d rather be prepared than end up in a situation where you’d regret not having done so.

When you finish talking, it’s getting fairly dark outside, and it seems a few people have already added a few things to your list of training equipment.

Roll me a mind roll for perception. That’s 1d100, and since your mind stat is 3, I’ll take the best of the first 3 results.

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>38831047

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>38831047

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>38831047
Time to put on our shades

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>38831047

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>38831047

We suck.

>>38831076
>>38831089
>>38831093
Failure. Oh well, you'll get other chances to spot this one.

>Choices:
>1. Go to sleep.
>2. Try to talk to milly.
>3. Explore the woods and garden, even though it's already pretty dark.
>4. Write in.

>>38831123
>Check bedroom for bugs, etc before we sleep

>>38831123
>4. Write in.

Late night Jog

>>38831123
>1. Go to sleep.

>>38831123
>1. Go to sleep.

To sleep it is.

>>38831123
>wakeupwakeupwakeup

You bid your team goodnight and retreat to the master bedroom. It’s about four times the size of your previous apartment, though outside of the double bed and two chairs there is very little furnishing. To your delight you do find that you have your own bathroom attached to it. You don’t think the other bedrooms had one of those.

Your unpacking is over soon. You didn’t really have that much to begin with. Even if their pay must be quite a lot, your parents never really gave you much of an allowance or even presents, and you definitely weren’t doing your previous job for the pay either. It’s been increased by a pleasant amount from the promotion though, and you do get a monthly budget to spend on the team logistics and infrastructure. If there’s no other pressing need you can use that to furnish the mansion little by little.

—

You wake up early, as you’re used to, and after your morning shower you head downstairs for breakfast.

You’re not sure what to think of what you find at the dining room though. Liam is holding a handgun and is nervously looking around, and next to him, Nathan is also suspiciously eyeing every corner of the room. The table itself is filled with all kinds of things you could ever want from breakfast. Which is a bit odd, considering the pantry was empty yesterday aside from some ration packs.

>1. Good morning, what’s wrong?
>2. Just go over to the table and start eating.
>3. Who went for an early shopping trip?
>4. Write in.

>>38831476
>3. Who went for an early shopping trip?
>4. Use telepathy to find out what is going on.

>>38831476
>1. Good morning, what’s wrong?

How about a psychic scan of the room?

>>38831476
>1. Good morning, what’s wrong?
Oh boy, a visit from the food fairy!

>>38831476

>detect magic the table

Haunted mansion? Awesome!

>Go over to the table and start eating

>>38831576
I like the cut of your jib, bro.

>>38831476
>>3. Who went for an early shopping trip?
"I need the receipt, you know how the Auditors get with the budget."

>>38831531
>>38831538
>>38831548
>>38831576
>>38831604
>>38831635
Right, I think I've got a good idea on how to get all of this working together.

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>>38831635
those fucking Auditors, man.

>>38831699
I forgot, roll me another mind check, 1d100, best of 3.

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>>38831740
>Right in the feels.
>I was thinking the same tbh.

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>38831756

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>38831756

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>38831781

>>38831786
>>38831806
>>38831836
Success! Writing.

“So, who went on an early shopping trip?” You ask, heading for the table.” Nathan and Liam stare at you for a moment. “I need the receipt, you know how the Auditors get with the budget.”

It takes a moment before either of them manages to reply. “Er, no one sir, and I wouldn’t touch that just yet.” Liam says as you sit down. ”

You use your telepathy to do a scan of the room. Nothing seems too much out of the ordinary. The food seems ok, but there’s some kind of mystical element to it. You’re not sure if it’s magical or psychic, but you do know it’s not harmful. There is something else out there, but now that you take a look through your psychic senses, it seems the whole mansion is slightly mystical. You wonder if it’s an enchantment from the Order or something. Surely they would have told you if that was the case?

“So we got a haunted mansion? Awesome!” You say. Liam looks a bit shocked. Nathan’s face doesn’t betray anything.

“In any case, I checked the food, it should be safe.” You say and start piling up things on your plate. As more people start to join you, you tell them you’ll explain once everyone is there. After about fifteen minutes, everyone but Milly is there, and you tell them about your findings. Halfway through your explanation Milly bursts into the room.

“Sir! My equipment has detected a buildup of mystical energies inside the house! We might be in danger!” She seems slightly panicked.

“Calm down Milly, there’s nothing to worry about. The food is safe.” You start to tell her, but she cuts you off.

“You don’t understand sir, it wasn’t there yesterday before I went to sleep. I’ve double-checked the data, and the energies started appearing around 11:53. and have built up until 6:44 where they stopped increasing. There was a spike of actual activity around 6:30.”

That’s… oddly specific. Still, it’s right before midnight, and from your experience if things are bound to times it’s usually midnight on the dot. Then again, that could be about the time you fell asleep. And your alarm clock did say it was 6:44 when you woke up.

“Sir, that seems about right.” Liam says. “I arrived here around 6:20 and the table was empty. I went for a short walk and when I got back the food was there.”

>1. Well people, it seems we have a mystery on our hands! Let’s get this sorted out as soon as possible.
>2. It gave us food, why is this a problem?
>3. Write in.

>>38832156
>2. It gave us food, why is this a problem? (Straight-face troll)

>>38832156
>Well people, it seems we have a mystery on our hands!
>Our first mission is find our mysterious benefactor and thank him, her or it for the delicious breakfast.

Ask Milly what she was told about the mansion beforehand, because we clearly haven't been told jack shit. And ask the angel boy to check this thing out with his magic - he's our best magic man at the time, right?

>>38832156
>3. Write in.
"Well, let's ask the Order if this is supposed to be a feature of the place. Honestly, if the house just wants to provide a nice breakfast, I'm not going to complain."

>>38832217
Yes, he's the only one who can actually do any kind of magic. For the rest Katherine and Liam have some limited psychic powers but they're pretty limited in what they can and cannot do, unlike you.

>>38832239

>the house was actually a mimic

>>38832361
inb4 we waifu the house

>>38832361
Then it would have eaten you already.

>>38832386
Maybe it has and just fattens us up before digesting. Have we actually tried to leave it?

>>38832156
>1. Well people, it seems we have a mystery on our hands! Let’s get this sorted out as soon as possible.
>3. Keep in mind that just because the house seems haunted, doesn't mean it's specifically dangerous. Lets approach this carefully.

>>38832416
As Liam said, he went out for a short walk earlier.


>>38832217
>>38832239

Anyway, writing.

>>38832438
In the mean time, give me a soul roll. 1d100's, best of the first 2.

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>38832488

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>38832488

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>38832488

>>38832501
>>38832510
Just barely made it. Succes.

It would've been kinda cool if we ended up with our own domovoi. I wonder though, is mansion in Order's ownership for long? If not, the thing must have moved in recently. Perhaps angel boy's ancestor wanted to warm up the relationship?

“Milly, were you given any intel on the house itself before we came here?” You ask her. She seems to be calming down slightly. It seems she eases up a bit if you’re talking to her in the function of her superior officer instead of someone who’s trying to get to know her. She takes comfort from being given orders and asked straight up questions about her work.

“No sir. Only that I would have an observatory available to me and the specs of all the equipment inside it.” She replies.

“Very well. Contact the Order and ask them if they know of anything of this sort.” You turn towards the angel in your team. “Raphael, could you use some spell to find out what’s going on here?”

“Scrying and detection spells aren’t my area of expertise, but I’ll try. Gimme a few minutes.” He replies.

As Milly and Raphael go to work, you address the rest of your team. “Well people, it seems we have a mystery on our hands! Our first mission is find our mysterious benefactor and thank him, her or it for the delicious breakfast.”

Blake and Katherine laugh. You get the feeling Liam isn’t very comfortable with your lighthearted approach of the situation though.

>1. Wait for Raphael and Milly to get results.
>2. Carry on with the day as usual.
>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.
>4. Write in.

>>38832769
>>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.

[splitting the party intensifies]

>>38832769
>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.
Look for lack of dust, etc.

>>38832769
>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.
>4. Don't split up. Groups of twos at a minimum.

>>38832769
>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.

>>38832769
>3. Search the mansion for more suspicious activity with the rest of the team.

>>38832769
>>38832822
This
"If the food appeared I wonder about the house's upkeep in general. Did anyone notice a single spec of dust anywhere, even a new building should have some."

>>38832813
>>38832822
>>38832849
>>38832905
>>38832908
Well, that's a clear win. writing.

>>38832952
>>38832822
The house has been given a makeover by the Order. You don't know when exactly, but from the look of the things in Milly's observatory the equipment was up to date.

>>38833061
I was thinking zero dust, at all.

>>38833061
I meant more about layers of dust or cobwebs that might have built up over the last few days.

“Ok, while they’re busy, let’s not stand around being useless. Liam, you stay with Raphael, Blake, Nathan, you two check the ground floor, Katherine and I will take the top floor. If the food appeared I wonder about the house's upkeep in general. If it is some kind of magical housekeeper, it’ll be fairly easy to find out. Check for dust and cobwebs, even a new building should have some.”

Your team splits up into groups of two as you search the house. You purposely put Nathan, a mundane, alongside Blake so he wouldn’t get interference from his aura. They probably won’t find anything of a mystical nature, but perhaps the disruption of the area might give some clues, even if the food didn’t vanish when Blake ate it.

You and Katherine sweep the top floor, going through the bedrooms. You can’t really spot anything out of the ordinary. The re’s the right amount of dust for but after a while you hear a shout from downstairs.

“Sir, you better take a look at this!”

You hurry down and find Nathan and Blake standing next to a wall. It seems a bit odd though, as you realise it’s a short corridor to end in a blind wall. “What’s the problem?”

“This is.” Says Nathan, and he knocks on the wall. It sounds hollow.

>1. Well then, let’s break it down.
>2. Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.
>3. Write in.


Nathan and Blake both rolled REALLY well on their own perception so they did spot what you missed earlier.

>>38833351
>2. Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.

>>38833351
>>2. Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.

>>38833351
>2. Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.
Do we have a millimeter scanner to see through the wall?

>>38833434
You don't, but you could ask Milly about it. You have no idea what gear she actually has

>>38833498
Voting to ask her when she's back.

>>38833395
>>38833403
>>38833434
>>38833531
Writing.

>>38833351
>2. Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.

It would be nice to find mechanism that opens it before we resort to brute force.

“Let’s go and check on what Raphael and Milly have for us before we tear down the house.”

When you get back to the dining room, you find Raphael just getting up. He was sitting in a ritual circle of some kind, quickly made with chalk on the floor.

“Ah, sir, good timing. I just finished my spell, and I’m sure we’re dealing with some kind of spirit bound to this house. I can’t really tell if it was put here by someone or what intent it has, but judging from the food it made us I’d say it’s friendly.”

“Well, that’s good news at least. Let’s see if Milly has something for us yet.” You lead the group to the entrance of Milly’s observatory and knock on the door. “Have you got anything for us yet?” You ask.

From behind the door, you can hear a lot of shuffling and a few beeps from a computer of some kind. “Wait a moment, sir!” A few minutes later, the door opens, Milly quickly slips out and closes the door behind her.

“Sir, the Oculus doesn’t know anything about any mystical housekeeper. I’ve looked up some files on this kind of occurrence though. At first I was thinking of Domovoi or Brownies or something, but then the timeframe made me think of something. Did you sleep in around 11:53 and wake up at 6:44, sir?”

You nod, and Milly continues. “I thought so. I’ve found a few similar cases, and while it doesn’t seem to be indicating one specific kind of being, it is definitely some kind of non-corporeal entity bound to the house in a subservient manner. The energy buildup started the moment the new owner of the house went to sleep inside the house itself, and stopped when he woke up. These kind of beings use the excess magical and psychic energy generated by those inside of it while they sleep to keep the house in order in various ways depending on the exact being. At first it will only use the master’s energy, but once they grow strong enough they will be able to use the energy of other residents as well as long as they permit it, and it never feeds on guests. The being might be able to take on a form capable of interacting with corporeal beings within two or three weeks.”

You’re taken aback by the flood of words coming from Milly now. It’s the first time you heard her say more than a sentence or two in a row.

“Good job, Milly.”

>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?
>2. I don’t care what it does, I don’t want any spirits around the house. Except maybe vodka.
>3. Write in.

>>38833932
>3: A benevolent spirit... To be expected in a mainsion owned by the order for long-term operations.

Did we eat the food? If not, that takes priority. No investigations without a filled stumach.

>>38833932
>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?
we should figure out a way to say hello and thanks to it

>>38833932
>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?

>>38833932
>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?

>>38833932
>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?
>3. Are there any areas that the spirit would consider off-limits? We found a hollow wall and would prefer not to anger them.

>>38834030
You did.

>>38834051
>>38834043
>>38834032
>>38834031
>>38834030
Well, that's fairly unanimous. I'll start writing, and meanwhile you can roll me another Mind Check for checking out the wall. 1d100, best of first 3.

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>>38833932
>1. So the spirit is definitely friendly to us, so no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall though. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?

I like this house already, but I wonder how many more surprises it has in store for us.

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>38834127

>>38834127

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>38834151

>>38834170
>>38834225
Only two rolls, but the first roll already got you past the upper DC.
Writing.

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>38834127

“Are there any areas that the spirit would consider off-limits? We found a hollow wall and would prefer not to anger them.” You ask.

“From what I’ve read, there shouldn’t be. Though one of the reports mentioned finding the corpse of what was once the spirit on the premises, interacting with the remains didn’t affect the spirit in any way.”

“Ok, good. And if the spirit is definitely friendly to us, there’s no need to worry about it. Let’s focus on that wall then. Milly, do you have a millimeter scanner?

“I think I might, sir. Give me a moment. Don’t wait for me.” She slips back into the observatory, and you take the rest of the team back to the wall. It’s a bit too cramped for all of you so you let the rest of the team check the area around it, and to go outside and see how much space there should be behind it.

Meanwhile, you check for any kind of mechanism you can find. Not long after Blake reporting that it should only be about two meters deep, Milly arrives with a millimeter scanner. You first scan the door, but that doesn’t reveal much. Eventually you find a small piece of the wall next to it that hides a button of some kind. You push it, and with a mechanical groan of a rusty set of gears, the wall swings open.

At least, partially. It seems the mechanism needs some looking after, as Nathan and Blake pull it open further so you can actually enter. Behind the wall is a stone spiral staircase heading down. It’s pitch black there, so Nathan and Liam hurry to the armoury to get some torches.

When they get back, you carefully descend, and end up in what was probably some kind of alchemical laboratory. There’s glasswork all over the place, most of it still intact even, and some unidentifiable remains of plants are hung to the wall. Several tomes detailing mostly snake oil and quack medicine and alchemy are scattered across the room.

“Well, seems like the previous master had a bit of a hobby.” Blake notes.

“Indeed he did.” You reply, as you check the rest of the room. It’s not a big one. It doesn’t even cover half of the width or length of the mansion itself. Except… Something seems odd. You reach out with your mind and you find that indeed, something magical is wrong with a small part of the wall. You approach it and quickly find a sort of illusion in place. It’s very weak, probably almost exhausted its power source, but it still almost managed to hide from you the fact that there’s another door. If this would have been fully powered it’d have taken a strong magus to see through it.

You reach through the illusion and it instantly disappears. Some of your teammates jump back a bit at the unexpected change, but nothing else happens. You open the door and behind it is another room. Much, much bigger than the last one. You suspect this one does indeed take up most of the area under the house. This one is much more interesting. There’s rows and rows of ancient tomes in bookcases and a multitude of crystals and materials lying around which you identify as all kinds of magical tools, and the center.

Finally, the middle ten meters of the room are dedicated to a huge and complex magical circle. You don’t know much about the exact natures of magic circles, only the rough theory behind them and to never ever pass anything directly over it while it’s being powered, but you think it’s safe to say that this is the most complex magical circle you’ve ever seen or heard of.

>What do?
>1. Write in.

>>38834681
>Poke it with magic.

>>38834681
Right then, no one get near the magic circle until we know what it does and whether its safe, Milly and any others of the more bookish persuasions should start cataloging and studying what we have down here, see if we can figure it out or at least inventory it for HQ to figure out.

>>38834681
> Magic guy, your thoughts?

>>38834681
Btw, you can tell that the magic circle isn't being powered.

>>38834681
>1. Write in.

Contact Milly ask for her thoughts
Scan the name of the Tomes

>>38834681
Double check for traps, especially of magical variety but mundane ones might be even more dangerous, and ask the team on thoughts on the circle, especially Blake and Raphael.

>>38834726
>>38834753
>>38834812
>>38834884
Writing. I might have a slight a slight delay.

>>38834935
And I keep forgetting to do this in a single post, but roll me some more mind for perception + psychic radar. 1d100, best of first 3.

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>38835005

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>38835005

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>38835005
We SEE EVERYTHING

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>38835005

Since we're psychic, maybe we could try to communicate with the resident spirit before it manifests?

>>38835033
nice one anon.

“Ok, Raphael, help me out for a moment and see if you can find any traps. The rest of you, stay back for a moment.”

Raphael nods and the two of you extend your senses. You can sort of feel Raphael’s detection spell. It’s much the same as your own psychic energy, but still completely different. You both sweep over the same things, making sure nothing goes unchecked. Eventually, you’ve done everything but the magical circle.

“So, Raphael, do you know anything about that? Is it even safe to try and use our detection on?”

“Oh, it’s not powered, it shouldn’t be any trouble at all. It’s the most complex set of circles I’ve ever seen though.”

“Set?” You ask.

“Oh yes. It’s common practice for mages to make some kind of permanent magical circle in their homes. Since all circles can be used for several things, but not all things can be done by the same circle, they make composite circles. It’s several of their most used circles woven through each other. Each added circle makes the whole set more difficult to make, and often times the planning of magical energy routing is the part that takes the longest. Now this…” Raphael pauses for a moment.

“this is a work of art that far surpasses any Da Vinci or Picasso, to put it in mundane terms. I’d say it’d need a magus around the level of the Arch Magus to make something like this.”

“So, let’s see if there’s any traps on it then?” You ask. He nods, and together you sweep your minds over the circle. It feels strange. Your entire mind seems to easily glide into the geometrical structure, and once inside, it becomes harder to actually get out. You… ‘glide’ through the entirety of the circle, and with some of Raphael’s help you pull your mind back out. It all seems safe, but you can’t say you’ve ever experienced something similar with a magical circle before.

“Ok, it’s all clean. Milly, Raphael, you’re probably best suited to nose through those tomes. The rest of us will sort out the inert magical things and whatever else may be lying around.”

You spend the rest of the morning sorting through. Raphael becomes giddy as he catalogues the tomes, and every now and then you hear a shout of “I thought all of the copies were accounted for!” or “It’s a miracle it’s still in such good shape!” You gather that that’s all good news. Milly is quiet, and a lot more methodical in her approach. You’re not sure if she even has any magical knowledge beyond the basics, but she processes the tomes a lot faster than Raphael.

The rest of you have most of the mess piled up in a few heaps. “Trash”, “Inert magical tool” and “remains of something metallic that exploded” are the largest ones. When you get topside again, the dinner table is set for seven people. It’s not as exuberant as this morning, but all still tasty-looking.

“Looks like the spirit thing wants to prevent you from cooking!” Blake jokes at Raphael.

After a quick shower you all have your meal. It’s really good. Whoever this spirit is can actually cook.

>After lunch, you…
>1. Spend the rest of the day combing through the cellar.
>2. Contact Lilliana to inform her of your find.
>3. Explore the garden and forest.
>4. Try to contact the spirit with your psionics.
>5. Write in.

>>38835532
That was my last post for tonight people. Glad to have you along.

Archiving in a sec.

And as usual, I'm sticking around for a short while longer for any questions you might have. Any criticism is also welcome.

>>38835532
>2
>3

>>38835532
>2. Contact Lilliana to inform her of your find.
>4. Try to contact the spirit with your psionics.

>>38835564
thanks for the thread Sup

>>38835564
Misarchived as a second #2. Oh well. Not the worst that could have happened.

>>38835532

>Try to contact the spirit with your psionics

I wonder if that circle could come in handy should we need to contain something or someone before (other, specially equipped?) ghostbuster arrived.
But that's not for the spirit. Should that one be responsive, we can thank it and ask it about name, age, former master(s)...

>>38835564

Thanks for the thread OP! Sleep well.

>>38835606

Huh? Seems good enough to me.

>>38835671
he typo'd the thread number, it should be 3 but its 2, its no big deal, just means there are two #2's in the archive, but you can tell which is which by the dates

any idea when you'll be running next OP?

>>38835671
On suptg, I archived it under the name Magus Hunter Quest #2 instead of #3.

>>38835727
Oh, good you remind me. Current plan is for Sunday, but I might be home too late for that. If not Sunday then next Wednesday. I'll keep you informed over twitter.

>>38835532
>1. Spend the rest of the day combing through the cellar.

>>38835780
cool, thanks for running and see you in the next thread

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42 KB JPG

>>38835780
Where's the Dragon Waifu?

>>38836125
Extinct. As is written in the setting pastebin, the last known living dragon was slain by Saint George and no dragon has ever been found since.

There are plenty of other races.

>>38836206
>last known

Im on to you

>>38835780
Thanks for running, though I did not participate myself.