Well in a story where necromancy is really central, I feel like true resurrection spells would be really rare. And also Raise Dead is a 5th level spell. I don't think it would be common even if resurrection spells were common in the setting.
While they are rare, they aren't so rare as to be beyond the reach of wealthy, well-connected nobility like the Everhearts. I think I have an idea on how to keep this story making sense though, so don't worry too much about it. I just wanted to make sure you didn't have any explanations in place before I implemented my own.
Also, I wouldn't like teleportation magic to be very avaialble, feel like this would crash with the trains. (And I hate it in Critical Role when they just teleport to palces lol, I love the journey).
Trains would still have their place even with teleportation. Many such spells can only send so many things. And low-end teleportation spells can even be harmful. So you needn't worry about Professor Finch's Arcane Locomotives becoming obsolete when you're thinking about how to get around.
Regarding the noble family the Everhearts are allied with, did you have anything thought up for them or would you have me provide something of my own creation for them?
As he heard the morning procession begin its final approach, Leo's demeanor visibly changed as the actor settled into his role. A phrase that he found himself forced to use a little more loosely with each passing day. The hapless former slave turned warlock vanished. The trepidation Leo felt for the task ahead? Gone. The ever-present discomfort Leo felt as a result of living in the lair of a slimy fish folk cult where the concept of dry didn't seem to exist? Gone. Leo himself? Gone. And in his place sat not a man, but a being. A presence. An divine entity of unspeakable power. In his place sat SHOOGBIMBHALD, a god ready to receive this morning's offerings from His devotees.
As the worshippers made their entrance, SHOOGBIMBHALD regarded the offerings they bore speculatively. There would be a good breakfast this day at the very least, that was certain from the half-dozen cushions baring fish and mushrooms. SHOOGBIMBHALD looked on in satisfaction as His kuo-toa prostrated themselves before Him and reverently chanted His name. He basked in the adoration that served as proof that He was lord and master. Out of the corner of His eye, SHOOGBOMBHALD noticed a purple hue enter His peripheral sight. Nyphl had found the kuo-toa's worship concerning from the day it first began, even in the face of SHOOGBIMBHALD'S assurances that there was no cause for concern. The god reached out and gave a reassuring scritch to a spot behind the base one of the flumph's eyestalks where He knew it enjoyed such attention.
"Great SHOOGBIMBHALD," A voice croaked, causing SHOOGBIMBHALD to return his attention to the ceremony as the high priest commenced the presentation of the offerings. "We bring tribute! We bring glory! We bring..."
...SHOOGBIMBHALD quirked an eyebrow at this unexpected pause. A hint of curiosity entered his expression as he watched the priest squint and lean closer to one of the cushions.
"...a boot?"
The god's face tensed ever so slightly as He bit back a brief flash of mortal mirth at this discovery. As unsettling as they could be, the kuo-toa could also be quite amusing. SHOOGBIMBHALD did not permit himself to show such things on His face though, for that would be most unbecoming of a god.
"The boot was making speeches in the drowned market! Very powerful speeches! When the water moved, the boot said 'squooolsh' and then 'glorple' and we thought... we KNEW... that you might want to eat its power!"
"It spoke with great authority,"
"The finest authority,"
The kuo-toa never failed to do their level best to make that as difficult as possible though. The fact that they did so unintentionally simply made it even funnier.
Thankfully, the high priest was quick to continue the presentation ceremony, allowing SHOOGBIMBHALD to focus His attention on things that didn't threaten to make Him laugh.
He flexed the fingers of His left hand in preparation as He eyed the foodstuffs on offer. Slaves, even valuable ones, weren't exactly given a fine dining experience with every meal. And that was when they weren't being punished or when the mistresses weren't feeling mischievous or cruel. So Leo had long since gotten used to getting what he was given. But SHOOGBIMBHALD was given the best morsels His followers could find, even if the best food a cult of kuo-toa could find was only a small step up from the scraps a dark elf mistress would toss down to her slaves so that they wouldn't starve to death. But that only mattered for the first month, then the kuo-toa's devotion gave him the power of Prestidigitation. After that, everything they brought tasted much better by the time SHOOGBIMBHALD was done with it.
When the crab and the boot were presented, SHOOGBIMBHALD regarded them both with an appraising eye. In all likelihood, they were just a completely ordinary crab and boot. But then again, SHOOGBIMBHALD was just an ordinary escaped slave when the kuo-toa found him. His face tensed once again when the crab pinched one of the kuo-toa hard enough to draw blood. Despite all their faults, He didn't enjoy seeing his followers come to harm.
With all the offerings presented, the kuo-toa fell silent and waited. Waited for their god to speak. And their god let them wait. He let them wait just long enough to have the maximum dramatic effect without letting the silence stretch on for so long as to become awkward. And then He spoke. "The crab of wisdom and the fish of darkness. Bring them closer." SHOOGBIMBHALD commanded.
Both were within arm's reach of Him within seconds.
SHOOGBIMBHALD reached out and took up one of the fish from its waterlogged cushion. He studied it for a moment, then looked to the crab that still had its pincer clamped down on the hand of the kuo-toa holding it. "Be still." SHOOGBIMBHALD said to the kuo-toa holding the crab. He then took the fish in his hand and offered it to the crab in the hopes of befriending the nippy crustacean with food, or at the very least convincing it to release His follower.
Leo rolls a 17 on Animal Handling to coax the crab off the kuo-toa's hand with some fish and befriend it if possible.
Neither Professor Finch nor any of her bridesmaids had had yet to emerge from wherever it was they had gone to make the bride's final preparations. And no indication of just what it was that Flurry has spotted could be seen from where you currently stand.
There was something that you were able to see as you searched though. A young boy of about eight or nine years of age had noticed the rather unique appearance of your canine companion. And it seemed like a distrust of necromancy had yet to be instilled within him. As rather than looking upon it with fear or trepidation, he looked at it like it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. It wasn't long before he ran off into the crowd though, so you didn't really make much not of it before going back to your search.
But now, as you begin to thing about concluding your search, the boy has returned. And he brought other children with him to see flurry as well. They mostly looked to be about the same age as the boy who led them here, and each of them seemed to be just as impressed by the sight of Flurry as well. So much so, in fact, that one of them wasn't content with just looking.
"Dogie!"
The youngest of the assembled children, a little girl who looked to be around three or four broke away from the group and began moving towards Flurry with a slightly unsteady, yet none the less excited gait and both arms extended in front of her. "Pet the dogie!" The girl exclaimed happily. Flurry enjoyed such attention in life and had no strong feelings one way or the other about it in death. But as a result of the reanimation process you used to pull him back from death, petting him in the wrong place could lead to a most unpleasant electric shock. And between the girl's angle of approach putting her squarely in the wrong place to pet zone, as well as the haphazard way in which most small children handle anything that interests them, it is a safe bet that letting the girl do as she pleases will not end well.
If he were to be completely honest, Leo Peterson had not needed the dream to know what his next move had to be. He had known it from the very moment the kuo-toa had declared it off limits. From the moment the divinity inside him howled in fury that his own followers had the audacity to tell him no. From the moment he realized that, deep down, the kuo-toa had actually wanted him to shout down their efforts to stop him and press on regardless. All the dream did was make Leo aware of yet another party that wanted him to enter that chamber. SHOOGBIMBHALD wanted him to go. The kuo-toa wanted him to go, though they'd never admit it out loud. And now, even whoever or whatever it was that awaited him in that chamber wanted him to go it seemed.
And go he would.
He needed to become more powerful if he wanted to free the ones he loved from the clutches of the drow. And to become more powerful, he needed to seem more powerful to his followers. More like the god they already to fervently believed him to be. And for the past few months he had called this cathedral home, a dangerous yet golden opportunity to do just that had been right here.
'That chamber... or whatever is in that chamber... the kuo-toa fear it.' Leo thought to himself. 'And gods, I think, should fear nothing at all.'
But all of that could wait for just a little bit longer. Before anything else, Leo needed breakfast. He also wanted to look over whatever trinkets had been scavenged up for today's tribute to see if there was anything of use to be found... And he'd be lying if he said he did not enjoy the worship and praise his cult would heap upon him every morning. And so Leo rose from the altar he'd been using as a bed, made his way over to the throne that the fish folk had fashioned for him when he first arrived, sat down, and awaited the arrival of his followers.
Member
Angel Vicky
tadcfnaf
xVampire3go
Guardian Angel Haruki
fellsing
D3AD ST4R
Kaithe Dame
Ohm
PrinceAlexus
Aksiram