It is good to be concsious of the limits of your carrying capacity, Runelearner, but think also on how you might harness that capacity you have more fully: combine the runes, and free space for more metal and crystal.

We have already remarked upon the Swimmer's attractive appearance; in the spirit of giving it a name both honorable and fitting, I suggest "Siren" or "Naiad."

>>1089969
+1 for ghoti

>>1089969

In particular, do not apply the rune to your own island without first inverting it. I don't want to imagine what any rune combo involving a "harm" rune would produce...

...unless you're into that, Silv?

1/3 Silv 2024/05/01(Wed)12:15 No. 1090083 ID: 1effd3
File 171459095501.png - (201.90KB , 900x750 , 050124_FromNothing73_.png )

>DON JUAN SAN-
”No.”
>Harmony, Ghoti (pronounced as fish), Ghoti (pronounced as Ghoti), Spathiwag, Siren, Naiad.
“I like Ghoti and Naiad the most, but I think I’m leaning more towards Naiad. Your name is now Naiad!”

COMPANION RECRUITED

— — —
Name: Naiad

Race: Swimmer Voidling
Natrualborn of the Void, they consume and recycle all that exists. Smaller voidlings can only eat matter that breaks down into the most basic of runes.

Abilities:
Breakdown:Voidlings consume any matter for sustenance, and convert it into runes. It is not a fast or efficient process.
Fluid Efficiency:Can generate runes from fluid matter more efficiently.
— — —

2/3 Silv 2024/05/01(Wed)12:16 No. 1090084 ID: 1effd3
File 171459098595.png - (303.63KB , 900x750 , 050124_FromNothing74_LifeRune.png )

>btw, do invert that rune. Might be nice to have a heal spell.
“Normally I’d wait till we are home to invert runes, but it seems like a good idea if you’re correct Tetsi.”

Life rune obtained! Silv learned Recovery!

“It did give me a healing spell! I’m not hurt, but it’ll be helpful later, I’m sure. Let’s collect some more stuff then head home.”
“Flyff!”

>In particular, do not apply the rune to your own island without first inverting it.
“I don’t plan on it.”

After spending some more time on the Toxcite island, Silv begins to head home with Naiad in tow. The total amount of things Silv collected here is:
x7 Toxifruit.
x10 Metal Scrap.
Pick-Shovel.
x8 runes.

3/3 Silv 2024/05/01(Wed)12:16 No. 1090085 ID: 1effd3
File 171459100741.png - (135.86KB , 900x750 , 050124_FromNothing75_.png )

After an uneventful return trip, Silv arrives home to greet her other voidling companions. Naiad dives into the pond, and Silv investigates any changes to the island.
Voidlings tried to get into Silv’s stash, but were unsuccessful.
Glow Mushroom patch has grown x1 new mushrooms.
x2 runes obtained.

“Ok, I want to make a plan! It’s getting a little crowded here, and I think giving us a bit more to stand on would be helpful. We have 12 runes available to us, and I’d like to use 3 to expand the island, and one to make the pond bigger. I want to keep 4 runes spare, so that leaves us with 4 runes to combine with. So what runes should we combine this time?”

I think Nature + Life is a given!

I'm curious about Eldritch + Nature. Have you combined runes with their direct inverse before?

Maybe Life + Blast could be cool!

Blast + Harm is certainly... The most direct route to violence if you feel you need it, I'd think...

Also, the description of the toxifruit mentioned they were toxic because they absorbed the Poison around them.

If you plant them somewhere clean will they grow as something edible?

If you plant them somewhere with a strong runic influence will they absorb that instead?

>>1090087
>Also, the description of the toxifruit mentioned they were toxic because they absorbed the Poison around them.
>If you plant them somewhere clean will they grow as something edible?
>If you plant them somewhere with a strong runic influence will they absorb that instead?
if we put an area of Life in the island and plant them there, would they grow into Goodberries?

>>1090089
...
You're a genius!

Let's try to turn that pond into some kind of hot spring or healing spring !
If combining Flare and Life gives a result, you could try adding it to the pond. If it doesn't, try to add either Life or Flare to it.

As for what other runes to use for expansion, I'd say Life, Nature and Breeze. But that's playing it very safe, so I'm not against trying Eldritch or Harm instead of Breeze to see what it does.

And for the combinations, I like Eldritch + Fire and Life + Breeze. Eldritch + Life is very tempting too, as is Eldritch + Eldritch. Or Eldritch + Anything, really, it's just such an intriguing rune...
A somewhat less dangerous-sounding option is Life + Blast, although we don't really need a wide area Recovery.
And remember to invert the result when possible !

Unrelated to the task at hand, you should pet your voidlings and tell them they are good voidlings. Maybe play with them.

>>1090085
Good ideas aleeady for combinations.

The lifezone, toxberry seeds to make goodberries is a particular flash of genius.

Id only add, if you have time, see if voidlings are capable of obedience training.
Got to see if theres a better way of keeping them out of the stash.

I'm interested what land we can get from a wind rune. one combined with life or nature might make something that helps spread growth.

A couple of straight forward earth runes to expand around your shack. give yourself some room to build.

>>1090085
I agree life + nature could be very interesting and potentially make for a good island extension

I would think that Tremor is the rune to look at if we wish to expand the land's extent. We need to build out the rock on which we find ourselves floating, and the rune whose purview is stone presents itself as the most viable for that task.

Nature and Temor; Life and Tremor; perhaps once we have established additional lands, we can seed them with Life and Nature, or create weather with Breeze and Nature. But let us learn the runes in their proper order, and see what Tremor can do to expand our island.

>>1090184
I think he's got the right idea. Last time we used a rune other than tremor on the island, it formed a pond from land that already existed. Perhaps certain runes are foundational like tremor being land.

>>1090207

Assuming she has another Tremor rune to expend. I haven't been keeping track, but Silv has been finding a bunch, so surely some of them are Tremor?

>>1090287
Runes can be converted into other known runes.

Uh... are those two playing, or trying to eat each other?

>Life Rune
I recognize that one. That's the symbol for DNA. Most carbon-based life runs on a simple principle: every species has a set of instructions that 'tell' it how to do everything. Life, at its core, simply 'makes' stuff called proteins, and the combinations of proteins become so complex that they can determine pretty much everything about a species.
Here's the thing: most magic-centered civilizations never learn about DNA or its shape. Who could have advanced this much in runecraft to discover this?

>Land
Whatever you decide, concentrate on filling the concave area. We don't want more bits of land to fall off, it's unstable as it is.

1/4 Silv 2024/05/06(Mon)17:03 No. 1090456 ID: 1effd3
File 171504021699.png - (266.44KB , 900x750 , 050624_FromNothing76_NewRunes.png )

Rune combinations attempted:
Stream+Life: Success
Eldritch+Nature: Failure
Stream+Stream: Success
Breeze+Flare: Success
Breeze+Breeze: Success

The combination of Stream and Life created a new rune!
Potion Rune obtained! Inversion creates another rune. Toxin Rune obtained!
“Potion and Toxin? Not sure what Potion does, but Toxin is definitely something harmful.”

Eldritch and Nature did not fuse. No runes wasted.

The combination of Stream and Stream created a new rune!
Ice Rune obtained! Inversion failed.
“Two Stream runes create Ice… So like Blast, combining two runes makes a stronger form of it?”

The combination of Breeze and Flare created a new rune! It is slightly unstable.
Static Rune obtained! Inversion failed. Silv learned Static.
“This rune doesn’t feel as unstable as Blast was.”
Silv tries her new spell. A small amount of electricity gathers around her hand.

The combination of Breeze and Breeze created a new rune!
Gale Rune obtained! Inversion failed.
“I think this confirms it. Two runes of the same type seem to strengthen each other.”

>Life Rune. I recognize that one. That's the symbol for DNA. Most carbon-based life runs on a simple principle: every species has a set of instructions that 'tell' it how to do everything. Life, at its core, simply 'makes' stuff called proteins, and the combinations of proteins become so complex that they can determine pretty much everything about a species.
Here's the thing: most magic-centered civilizations never learn about DNA or its shape. Who could have advanced this much in runecraft to discover this?
You used too many big words, Silv is currently trying to process what you just said. You even see smoke coming from her little noggin.

2/4 Silv 2024/05/06(Mon)17:03 No. 1090457 ID: 1effd3
File 171504023771.png - (170.22KB , 900x750 , 050624_FromNothing77_Playtime.png )

>Unrelated to the task at hand, you should pet your voidlings and tell them they are good voidlings. Maybe play with them.
>Uh... are those two playing, or trying to eat each other?
”They’re playing. Probably.”
”...I don’t know if Flumph even has a mouth to eat with. I should play with them a bit.”
After discovering new runes, Silv plays with her voidlings for a bit as a break. They’re all happy :3

>Id only add, if you have time, see if voidlings are capable of obedience training. Got to see if theres a better way of keeping them out of the stash.
“Training these guys may take a while, since I don’t really know how to train them. What I really need is a box! Currently I just stick them behind a few bricks that I hope they can’t move.”

3/4 Silv 2024/05/06(Mon)17:04 No. 1090458 ID: 1effd3
File 171504026138.png - (201.76KB , 900x750 , 050624_FromNothing78_IslandExpansion.png )

>Also, the description of the toxifruit mentioned they were toxic because they absorbed the Poison around them. If you plant them somewhere clean will they grow as something edible? If you plant them somewhere with a strong runic influence will they absorb that instead?
>if we put an area of Life in the island and plant them there, would they grow into Goodberries?
>You're a genius!
>The lifezone, toxberry seeds to make goodberries is a particular flash of genius.
>I would think that Tremor is the rune to look at if we wish to expand the land's extent. We need to build out the rock on which we find ourselves floating, and the rune whose purview is stone presents itself as the most viable for that task. Nature and Temor; Life and Tremor; perhaps once we have established additional lands, we can seed them with Life and Nature, or create weather with Breeze and Nature. But let us learn the runes in their proper order, and see what Tremor can do to expand our island.
>A couple of straight forward earth runes to expand around your shack. give yourself some room to build.
>I think he's got the right idea. Last time we used a rune other than tremor on the island, it formed a pond from land that already existed. Perhaps certain runes are foundational like tremor being land.
>Whatever you decide, concentrate on filling the concave area. We don't want more bits of land to fall off, it's unstable as it is.

“We don’t have much room to experiment with, so I agree that Tremor to expand is the safest option. Don’t forget these ideas for later though, they’re all good ones! I’ll plant some of the Toxigrowth Fruit after I expand the island and sleep, I’m getting rather tired…”

4/4 Silv 2024/05/06(Mon)17:04 No. 1090459 ID: 1effd3
File 171504027896.png - (142.07KB , 900x750 , 050624_FromNothing79_.png )

Island size increased.

Silv eats the last of the snacks she has in her possession, readies herself for sleep, and a new day(?).

Stay and work on the island, or explore? If explore:
Options for Weak Dowsing:
-Food
-Cloth
-Other
Provide an Environmental keyword

Check on the mushrooms. Harvest a few, cook them, and see if the voidlings can eat the shrooms safely. Then cook a few more and leave them as dinner.

With your Gale rune, you should be able to transport a crate of supplies. Work on building storage packs for harvesting more stuff while we work on dowsing.

Let's dowse fooor... [Tools].

Try a mushroom for food. Also try out the pick, is it any good at cutting shroom wood? Building a shelter you can actually sit up in, as well as a storage box, should be the next goal.

If the pick isn't good at shaping the wood then lets dowse for metal and hope it leads to tools.

keyword: vast

Keyword:Garden

Dowse:[Other]->[Ash]

Seeking ashes could lead us to fertilizers, steel, weapons, bones, ruins, building materials, food, cookware, alchemy tools and ingredients, a variety of strange runes, secrets of entropy both grand and terrible, and possibly even survivors of fallen world's.
To seek ashes is to seek the forgotten embers of the warmest of hearths and hottest of fires. The echos of the most brilliant forges and brutal wars. The violence and power of nature's most awesome mountains and man's most terrible hubris.
Ashes whisper the secrets of times long past; They've so much to teach.

>>1090459
Cloth
Streaming

Not the most ideal land expansion for adding new things, but with more space in the middle you can even build a little house. Not that you know how to build a house!

Let our keyword be "Healing." We seek to make of our island a scab over this shattered world, and encourage it to once again live and grow. As we have restored the divot in the crescent, may this recovered land purify the toxifruit, and recover their original and nourishing form.

With that as our task, let us stay here, and tend our garden. Rapidly, we see that we are building no simple retreat from which we conduct our sorties, but a place that is alive, and that must shelter and husband a growing ecosystem. Add to it the toxifruit, and harvest the mushrooms.

And continue in your office, Runelearner. You have gained much knowledge lately, which shows glimpses of knowledge yet to come. Once our fledgling habitat has begun to flap its own wings, we must set our sights on determining how the Voidlings create the stuff of your power.

>>1090459
Im glad silv got a chance to play, even if it was brief.
Not just for the voidlings.
For her too.

...last of the food.
Oh.

That looks like a priority.
May come with storage too.
Dowse for food.

Keyword: enclosed

I would have go with seconding ash because everything said there is accurate and i hope we go in the future but ash is likely to destroy anything edible despite the other wonderful discoveries to be made.

1/4 Silv 2024/05/11(Sat)18:12 No. 1090746 ID: 1effd3
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>Check on the mushrooms. Harvest a few, cook them, and see if the voidlings can eat the shrooms safely. Then cook a few more and leave them as dinner.
>Try a mushroom for food.
Come morning(?), Silv wakes, and looks over the island. Naiad has produced a rune while she slept, and the mushroom patch has grown. There are now 5 runes in storage, and the mushroom garden contains 17 mushrooms.
Despite not knowing the first thing about cooking or preparing food, Silv manages to perfectly cook them with her Flare spell. They’ve got a spongy texture and taste a bit better than dirt.

>Work on building storage packs for harvesting more stuff
”I don’t have anything to make it though! All I have is some shroomwood and metal bits!”
>Also try out the pick, is it any good at cutting shroom wood? Building a shelter you can actually sit up in, as well as a storage box, should be the next goal.
>Not the most ideal land expansion for adding new things, but with more space in the middle you can even build a little house. Not that you know how to build a house!
“I have a house! It’s just not a good house.”
Silv takes her shovel-pick, and hacks away at one of the shroomlogs. Much more efficient than a rock, but doesn’t mean she’s good at it.
x7 shroomplanks.

>Plant the Toxigrowth Fruit and harvest Glowshrooms.
>As we have restored the divot in the crescent, may this recovered land purify the toxifruit, and recover their original and nourishing form.
Silv digs a spot in the ground to bury two of the Toxigrowth Fruits she got. They probably need a lot of water because it was growing in mud before, right? Afterwards, she harvests some of the mushroom patch, and puts it into storage.
x7 glowshrooms added to stash.
Mushroom patch x10

2/4 Silv 2024/05/11(Sat)18:12 No. 1090747 ID: 1effd3
File 171547634552.png - (62.42KB , 900x750 , 051124_FromNothing81_.png )

>Food: 1
>Cloth: 1
>Other: Tools
>Other: Ash x2

>Seeking ashes could lead us to fertilizers, steel, weapons, bones, ruins, building materials, food, cookware, alchemy tools and ingredients, a variety of strange runes, secrets of entropy both grand and terrible, and possibly even survivors of fallen world's. To seek ashes is to seek the forgotten embers of the warmest of hearths and hottest of fires. The echos of the most brilliant forges and brutal wars. The violence and power of nature's most awesome mountains and man's most terrible hubris. Ashes whisper the secrets of times long past; They've so much to teach.
>I would have go with seconding ash because everything said there is accurate and i hope we go in the future but ash is likely to destroy anything edible despite the other wonderful discoveries to be made.
After hiding the stash behind the large bricks as usual, Silv activates Dowsing for Ash, grabs her shovel-pick, and heads off into the void.

>Im glad silv got a chance to play, even if it was brief. Not just for the voidlings. For her too.
“It was nice to play around with them. I’d like to do it more, but there’s a lot to do to keep going.”

3/4 Silv 2024/05/11(Sat)18:12 No. 1090748 ID: 1effd3
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A strange, domed building sat alongside tall, shattered walls of metal and glass. Metallic tendrils stretch across the landscape to smaller, far more ruined structures. Within the shattered dome, Silv can see smoke rising from within the broken dome.

4/4 Silv 2024/05/11(Sat)18:13 No. 1090749 ID: 1effd3
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“What is this place? And what should we do first?”

Looks like some kind of habitat. Check to see if you can get through that door. You might have to break in somewhere else though.

Smoke means fire, and fire means ash!

Jackpot.
It's still smoking. Interesting; it must have 'died' recently, but the exact criteria needed for reality to accept this chunk of matter is still beyond us.

Use your magic to clear any traps. You need to sprint through this place; there might still be survivors!

Seek the smoke.
Something is still burning, somehow.
Whatever it is will surely surprise us.

What's that box next to the door? If it's a control panel then using static might shock it into unlocking.

This is a good find.
Theres life here despite the fire and ruin.
Fresh growth.

As you pass by the object dug into the ground just spare it a quick glance.
Im wondering whether its a mooring cable of some kind or something more complex.
If its hollow, could be an alternative entrance at the broken points.

The box on the wall seems a promising start though.

There is no doors on the smaller domes, which means the tubes are probably how people entered. Of course, now you can also try climbing, but I don't recommend it.
The structure behind the main dome seems distinct from it, it reminds me of the ones we found on the toxic island yesterday, with lots of girders. From the look of it the domes could have been a greenhouse, and the other ruins may have been some kind of habitat, or maybe simply a place to study or process whatever was growing in the greenhouse.

Anyway, for now you should try the door. There is several all around the dome, so if this one doesn't open maybe another will. And be careful not to step on glass shards once you're inside.

1/4 Silv 2024/05/14(Tue)19:26 No. 1090983 ID: 1effd3
File 171574000230.png - (475.12KB , 900x750 , 051424_FromNothing84_knockknock.png )

>Smoke means fire, and fire means ash!
>Seek the smoke. Something is still burning, somehow. Whatever it is will surely surprise us.
>This is a good find. Theres life here despite the fire and ruin. Fresh growth.
”I mean that makes sense.”

>As you pass by the object dug into the ground just spare it a quick glance. Im wondering whether its a mooring cable of some kind or something more complex. If its hollow, could be an alternative entrance at the broken points.
>There are no doors on the smaller domes, which means the tubes are probably how people entered. Of course, now you can also try climbing, but I don't recommend it. The structure behind the main dome seems distinct from it, it reminds me of the ones we found on the toxic island yesterday, with lots of girders. From the look of it the domes could have been a greenhouse, and the other ruins may have been some kind of habitat, or maybe simply a place to study or process whatever was growing in the greenhouse.
Silv walks up to the large structure reaching over the landscape towards the dome. It appears to be made from very solid metal, with no obvious points of entry. It sounds hollow, but the echo is very dull. The walls behind the large dome have their edges torn and warped, likely by whatever caused this place to reside here. Silv begins walking down the path towards the dome.

2/4 Silv 2024/05/14(Tue)19:27 No. 1090984 ID: 1effd3
File 171574006696.png - (142.85KB , 900x750 , 051424_FromNothing85_BadSecurity.png )

>Looks like some kind of habitat. Check to see if you can get through that door. You might have to break in somewhere else though.
>Anyway, for now you should try the door.
Silv arrives at the dome and examines the door. It’s metal, heavy, and she can’t find a handle anywhere. Who designs a door like this?!

>What's that box next to the door? If it's a control panel then using static might shock it into unlocking.
>The box on the wall seems a promising start though.
“Control panel? This thing?”
She moves to the side of the door, where there's a slab of black glass. On it is a symbol that looks sort of similar to the Static rune, where she places her hand.
“Static!”

Electrical sparks jump from Silvs hand into the glass slab. The door flickers to life, and painfully creaks open.

3/4 Silv 2024/05/14(Tue)19:28 No. 1090985 ID: 1effd3
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The inside of the ruined dome is quite different to its outside. Trees and plants flourish here with an array of colors unlike anywhere you’ve been so far. Streams flow with clean water. The air smells clean, except for the faint scent of smoke and ash.

4/4 Silv 2024/05/14(Tue)19:28 No. 1090986 ID: 1effd3
File 171574012305.png - (350.49KB , 900x750 , 051424_FromNothing87_BetterSecurity.png )

...Oh, and also some plants are pointing spears at you.

YES! Survivors!
Use a gale rune to knock them away, then get to cover! We'll work on communicating with them, just hang tight!
<Attention, unknown entities! We would prefer to stand down from hostilities and enter an alliance! We know the basics of where you have ended up, and the most important thing you need to know is that giant monsters look for big
places with stuff and then eat all the big places! Please respond!>

Just back up out the door, then try talking to them.

>>1090985
My word its beautif-
>>1090986
EEEK!

No sudden movements.
Try to communicate passivity and friendliness.
Theyre plants.
How do you talk to plants?
Quick!
Photosynthasize at them!
.
Scratch that.
Do the first thing with body language.

>>1090986
Those don't look like very effective spears. How tough is your exoskeleton?
Just try talking to the plants for now, and if that doesn't work, you could try... giving them some water? Or have us give the sticks a smack to discourage uppity vegitation.

Chopsticks? Why, you shouldn't have.
Time to eat!

wait, which of the flowers are pointing sticks at you?