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Post by Malcolm on Nov 25, 2021 18:38:45 GMT -6
It was about that time of year again, wasn't it? If Malcolm was being honest, the time had come and gone several months ago. It had gotten to the point where he had begin entertaining thoughts of trying to find a different buyer for his services -- he didn't have much interest in making a node for himself, which was just as well, since he didn't have the resources for it either. But if his usual contact wasn't going to pay up... Whatever trouble that mage had run into, however, the issue seemed to have resolved itself. Malcolm received a package on his doorstep, delivered by arcane means, with a note that simply read, 'You know the arrangement by now, yes?' A little presumptuous; he had never liked the individual he did this business with, truth be told. But he did get straight to the point, and Malcolm did appreciate that.
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Post by Malcolm on Nov 25, 2021 18:38:56 GMT -6
Inside the package, there was the usual: some berries, a round pink crystal, and three dull grey crystal points that thrummed with a faint energy. The same as it had been last year. These were the items that Malcolm carried with him to the altar. He didn't know what he expected... A little more variety, maybe? In the intervening year, the Underground had begun to sell these things, and he had seen a wider variety of crystals in all sorts of colors.
But come to think of it, he had never seen that shop stock these grey ones, so maybe these were actually a rarer sort. That did make him feel a little better, the idea that he was getting to handle the good stuff, even if it wasn't really his, and the final product wasn't meant for him either.
Well, he supposed it didn't really matter, since he got paid the same either way.
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Post by Malcolm on Nov 25, 2021 18:39:07 GMT -6
The process itself was, if unpleasant, not actually all that difficult in its execution. Malcolm, having been walked through it by this same mage when they had first started doing business, had come to the surprising realization that magic's rarity was more for the rarity of the component parts than anything else. He supposed it must have also been difficult to find willing candidates to perform the ritual; people got a little strange about the matter of their immortal souls. But he had been assured that there would be no lasting side effects, and after several years of doing this, as far as he could tell, it was true.
He climbed up the steps to the altar with his little collection of berries and rocks, and steadily ignored the robed figures who stood waiting for him at the top. He never did understand what the point was of having them around.
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Post by Malcolm on Nov 25, 2021 18:39:18 GMT -6
But at this point they may as well be statues, with how much purpose they served. Malcolm put all thoughts of that lot out of his mind as he laid his items down on the altar. It really was such a disgusting thing, with all that old blood on top of it. Didn't anyone clean these things? Or would that remove the magical energies from it? If magical power was predicated in staying filthy, then it was just as well that he had no interest in it. He wasn't unfamiliar with filth, but that was all the more reason not to return to it.
The next step was the berries, which he ate quickly. By the time they got to him, they were invariably dried and mealy, but he had choked down much worse fare than this before. And then, it was time for the knife -- almost his least favorite part.
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Post by Malcolm on Nov 25, 2021 18:39:39 GMT -6
He picked it up and made the incision quickly. He was no coward, to be hesitating over such a small cut like this. Still, it wasn't pleasant to take a knife to your own skin, to have the full control and anticipation of it. Being stabbed by someone else was, in a lot of ways, actually easier.
He knew how best to cut where the blood would flow freely, and he let the droplets touch the stones sitting on the altar now. With that done, there was nothing left but his least favorite part: the prayer.
He knelt, and wished for the ritual's success. That would be enough, wouldn't it? After all the gods here were still unknown to him, and it hardly seemed fitting to pray to the gods of his homeland. Not that that lot had ever done him any good turns, as far as he could tell.
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Post by NPC on Feb 16, 2022 14:52:35 GMT -6
Node creation: success! Cooldown period ends on 25th November 2022
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