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getImpersonated().
Error trace : powerBarEx@lib:BS <<< macroLink
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=^v^= has connected.
Riot has connected.
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Riot:
Any
idea if we're gaming tonight?
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=^v^=:
it
hasn't been canceled as of yet but
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Riot:
nm
just saw G's message
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vonel has connected.
Ganaroth has connected.
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Ganaroth:
Heylo.
How are you?
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Riot:
Still
breathing at least, you?
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Ganaroth:
Still
alive in the most technical of senses. Trying to deal with
completely routine stressors without turning inside out with angst
and confusion.
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Ganaroth:
I'm
working my way through Burning Shores now. I gotta say, there are
a couple of things that Horizon does so, so well, and Forbidden
West really leverages them. Specifically, the banality of evil in
its human villains, and the embracing of science as a means of
fixing salvation. It's probably the least technophobic robot
apocalypse I've ever seen, and it fits so, so well with the way
that the antagonists are characterized. I genuinely hope that they
don't misstep and try to make the enemy cool in the third game.
The fact that the villains are intensely dangerous clowns has
served Horizon's thesis pretty well thus far.
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Ganaroth:
(I
accidentally doubled what I what going to say with that "fixing
salvation"bit. Eh, you know what I meant.)
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=^v^=:
I
was going to try to watch the legend of galactic heroes I guess r
emake
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Ganaroth:
AUGH.
Can't stop with typos.
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Ganaroth:
Gosh
darnit. I know that's a classic show, but I honestly can't
remember what it was about.
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Ganaroth:
I
hear Legend of Galactic Heroes, and images from like four or five
different shows streak across my brain.
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=^v^=:
I
have never seen it
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=^v^=:
it
has politics though!
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Ganaroth:
I
don't even know if I have! Like I said, I don't know whether this
is a show I've seen, or if it's a show I've just heard about, or
if it's a show I've seen just clips of, etc...
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Ganaroth:
Some
of these shows I'm getting images of are defininetely just things
that I've seen mentioned in passing.
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Ganaroth:
Hey,
asking because I actually don't know, but is Vonel here? If he is,
we can try to start. I'm sorry about the delay. There were just a
few minutes there where I didn't know what to do.
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=^v^=:
new
gate continues to headfox
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=^v^=:
like
it's probagbly just going to be a
thing
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=^v^=:
"This
is my pet fox, it sits on my head, it's powerlevel is kinda high"
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Ganaroth:
Ok!
I haven't seen The New Gate, so I don't really have the info to
comment, but I do know you like foxes, and presumably headfoxes.
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Ganaroth:
Better
to have a powerful headfox than a weak one, I suppose.
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=^v^=:
I
mean it's sorta an isekai except the protag seems to like, not
actually care to 'try to get back home' so much as be all, "this
is odd, wonder what happened?"
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=^v^=:
so
it's not actually good, but like, it's not bad and it's got a fox
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Ganaroth:
You
know, it's a weird thing, but I've noticed that the proportion of
isekai stories in which the character doesn't really care too much
about going home is really high. Possibly a bit concerning that we
seem to default so easily to "nah, let's not come back here."
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=^v^=:
cause
they are using it as a framing shortcut for their original fantasy
world except videogame tropes so people know what fanatasy is
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Ganaroth:
I
know why the stories exist. But we then consume them, and think
"yeah, that makes sense," as story after story about a character
ending up in another world and promptly telling this one to fuck
off unfolds in front of us. That we accept this as status quo so
easily might be indicative of something problematic.
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Ganaroth:
Or,
yeah, it might just mean that so many people have elided the issue
of return because it's just an origeenal faaaantasy wurld that not
doing so has perversely become the default, and THAT is driving
our feelings about proper narrative direction. Perception of
circumstance.
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Ganaroth:
Sorry,
these are the things that I obsess over. Anyway, lets go.
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Ra'ven keeps nursing an opressivly
sweet fruity alchohol drink!
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Upon returning to the manor, you unexpectedly ran into the mage Orbras,
who had previously threatened you for intruding into his strange
extradimensional experiment. The diminutive wizard now stands before
you, a mightily perturbed expression on his wrinkled face. He casts a
regretful look at the spilled sandwich, and waves a hand, conjuring an
appendage to clean it up for him. "When you last disturbed me, I was put
out. Quite put out, quite put out indeed! I doubted that you had the
slightest concept of what you were meddling it. The gravity of it... the
risk! The reward! Far beyond what most people think of. But then..." He
sighs. "I saw it, on approach. The distortion. And then I understood.
You've unearthed my work, appropriated it. And that makes you not merely
bothersome, but dangerous. So. What are your demands? I'm not foolish
enough to attempt further intimidation on people with that kind of
capability... especially since you've seen me drop a sandwich on your
floor. Nobody is intimidating after spilling a sandwich."
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Ganaroth stands there, arms folded,
foot tapping in agitation, waiting.
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Orbras stands there, arms folded, foot
tapping in agitation, waiting.
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Orbras:
(there)
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Lucky continues drinking her beer,
looking toward Patience to see what she thinks, since Lucky has no
clue what Blood Guy is talking about
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Rai Patience Argent has a vaguely
confused look on her face as well, and her voice is slow and
careful when she speaks. "You arrived sooner than I expected.
You've caught us as off guard with the speed of your visit as we
did you by, apparently, the sophistication of the efforts underway
here. I propose that, as neither of us are now at the height of
our readiness or dignity, we withdraw for fifteen minutes to
recompose ourselves. From there, we can take our surprising
capabilities as read. Agreed?" She throws a quick glance over
toward the rest of you, half of confusion and half of something
difficult to quite pin down.
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Kris:
"Sure,
sounds fine to me."
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Lucky shrugs, "Yeah, why not."
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Orbras produces a small white cloth,
and uses it to fastidiously clean the corners of his mouth, wiping
up the remaining crumbs in an effort to seem more dignified.
"Well, yes. That seems reasonable. I'll stay here and prepare. You
do the same in whatever room you normally use for such things.
Meet me back here then." Patience nods agreeably, though the rest
of you can see a telltale twitch in her shoulders speaking of
intense frustration.
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Very
well. Come, let's allow him some space." She walks just outside
the room, motioning others to follow. Outside of view, she mouths
an incredulous and mildly obscene exclamation, shrugging and
indicating her bewildermint silently. She's silent until the
others have also exited the room.
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Kris follows along
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Perra also follows
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Ra'ven follows after Perra, poking
her, getting slightly frozen and muttering something about Vul
under her breath whilst holding her drink with the other hand
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Perra:
>.>
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Lucky follows along as well
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Riot:
(( (Sera fucked off to find Hector
before Blood Guy showed up) ))
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Rai Patience Argent whispers "What is
this unpleasant little toad talking about? It seems like he has
the wrong idea about something, but it also seems like it's
interrupted him from just threatening us."
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Perra:
"He's
the one that had the blood pool though the basment door."
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Rai Patience Argent:
((Yeah,
I remember. Did you want Sera to be part of this? If so, she can
come back, and we can go over her encounter with Hector after.))
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Riot:
(( Sure ))
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Lucky:
"Not
a clue, he thinks we have some great power and knowledge of his
experiment or something, I guess?"
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Perra shrugs
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Rai Patience Argent:
((In
which case Sera can return whenever you would like. Patience will
give her a quick rundown of what's going on when she does.))
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Ra'ven:
"I
mean I wasn't there I think? Blood pool something icky?"
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Perra:
"Very
icky."
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Sera walks in after everyone else,
"Okay, what the hell is going on? Who's the guy with all the
sandwiches all over the floor?"
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=^v^=:
(( Did vul tag along I think he might
have? ))
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Rai Patience Argent:
((I
don't recall him NOT having done so, so why not? Lets say that
everyone we want to be here is.))
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Vul holding Io sorta pipes in, "I mean
it's a fold of space and all, I somewhat get what it's doing, just
not like... why? or How?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Oh,
it was him? Hm." She ponders for a moment. "Well, whatever it is,
he saw something that makes him think we were researching
something similar. So I actually propose a more fundamental
question, which is this: Should we attempt to play along, or
should we confess our own ignorance? Whatever he thinks he's seen,
it's prompted him to try this with less violence, which is good,
but since we don't know the particulars, it might be risky. On the
other hand, telling him that we aren't what he thinks carries its
own dangers."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Oh,
it was him? Hm." She ponders for a moment. "Well, whatever it is,
he saw something that makes him think we were researching
something similar. So I actually propose a more fundamental
question, which is this: Should we attempt to play along, or
should we confess our own ignorance? Whatever he thinks he's seen,
it's prompted him to try this with less violence, which is good,
but since we don't know the particulars, it might be risky. On the
other hand, telling him that we aren't what he thinks carries its
own dangers."
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Rai Patience Argent:
(....)
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Rai Patience Argent:
(That
was annoying. There was a delay when I hit enter, and I ended up
hitting it twice, and now there are two messages. Boo.)
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Perra:
"He
did threaten to destroy the house to break the conection between
it and his... lab I guess? But what ever it is he thinks he's seen
has him on edge enough to not just do that."
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Sera:
"Who
is this guy? Is he really that powerful?"
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Lucky:
"Blood
Guy. I think he said he was a necromancer? I dunno, I just
remember him floating in a pool of blood and being creepy."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Assuming
he was ever capable of it. If he's reversed position so
completely, either what he saw was very significant, or he
underestimated us badly from the beginning, and now has cold
feet." She turns to Sera. "We don't know. The basement here, the
source of the worst rumor of this place's haunting, connected to
his domain, and he was upset about it. The fact that he HAS such a
domain lends some weight to his claims of power, but it could just
as easily be a bluff."
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Sera throws up her hands, "Everything
in this fucking city is haunted, or covered in creepy magic, so
why not the basement, too?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"To
be completely fair, I knew that this manor was haunted. That's how
I was able to get such a good deal on it."
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Vul:
"I
mean it's more that it has the attention of the Wolf, then that
it's haunted. I mean it's also haunted, but..."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"True."
She sighs. "Actually, Sera, I think I'll add my complaint to
yours. This damned city."
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Ra'ven:
"Litterally
since the Emir sold out to the Devils... Oh I wonder if that guy
knows that?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"...I
would imagine he doesn't know. I can't imagine that it's common
knowledge."
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Lucky:
"Is
it smart to spread that around, though?"
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Kris:
"Probably
not."
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Kris:
"not
that any one would belive you any ways."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"You're
right. It is best not to spread that around... at least not
willy-nilly. But we should be able to leverage the information
surgically. There are always SOME people who would be willing to
hear those claims, and they would often be the same people who
have incentive not to betray us over the issue."
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Lucky:
"Blood
guy might not even give a shit, either."
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Ra'ven:
"I
mean he doesn't want people messing with his thing right? Devils
mess with that sort of thing on principle."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"If
I can't find someone in this city who has incentive to believe
that the Emir is a traitor, I deserve to have my "scheming noble"
card taken away." She nods at Lucky's words. "Possible. But he
says that he saw something on approach, something that gave him
pause. I have my doubts that this distortion, or whatever it was
he saw, could develop at the same time as this strange and
unprecedented alliance without being related in some way. The
coincidence is suspicious otherwise, don't you think?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"...Of
course, I'll admit that I'm estimating with the assumption that
he's being honest about his own capabilities. If he really saw
something, then he saw it where nobody else has, despite the
thousands of magic users and scientists flying about the city
regularly, which means that either he has uncommon capacity or is
delusional.
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Ra'ven:
"There
was that Deer."
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Kris:
"Well
Anand was really heavely implying we should check out the
underside of the lisland here... maybe he saw something there that
wouldn't normally be visabule to non-mage-y types."
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Ra'ven nods, "I mean it's probably a
bit of a plot of hers, but she also was mad at the Emir, so..."
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Sera:
"It's
almost assuredly a plot or a mechanism of hers, but I doubt it's
targeted at us. She made a deal, after all."
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Kris:
"Felt
like more of a 'secrect no one is suposed to know' kind of thing."
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Ra'ven:
"Oh
I wonder if it's whatever plot they are going to attakc the wolf
with?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"You
mean, he might have seen the Elk when it appeared? I suppose." She
frowns. "Though as frightening as the creature was, I don't know
how easy it would have been to see it hapenning at a distance. My
expertise is lacking there, though." She nods at Kris. "That
thought had crossed my mind as well... although now that Ra'ven
mentions the other, I wonder if they might not be related. This
wizard was experimenting with folded reality. The wards at the
palace blink off, and in short order an actual archfey invades the
grounds. We are warned by an entity with a warped sense of fair
play to look beneath the island when traveling next... Perhaps
it's because I'm primed to do so, but I feel... I feel as though
there is something I'm missing. Some way that those things should
all be the same thing."
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Ganaroth:
(Sorry
that it takes a long while to get my sentences out sometimes. I
keep revising what I want to say, and sometimes that doesn't help
me. :/ )
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Lucky:
"You're
saying we should try and find a link? I mean, why don't we start
by checking the thing under the island, then?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"I..."
She actually looks a bit embarrassed. "Looking for a link would
be... vanity. There's no rational reason that these things would
have to be related. But for some reason, I can't shake the
feeling."
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Kris:
"To
many things fried off all at once to not be related, go with yout
gut on this one."
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Ra'ven:
"So
what about the little guy in the Bar?"
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Kris:
"I
think he is unrelated to everything that just happened, he just
happened to walk in to it in the middle of it happening."
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Ra'ven gesture with her drink, "I mean
right now."
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Lucky:
"I
mean all he wanted was to see if we were going to take his wards
down, which as far as I know, we weren't planning on doing? Though
I'm not sure how they went down the first time."
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Perra:
"Could
have been when we kick in his door? Or something happend before we
ever showed up."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Starstorms...
and yes, I worry it might have something to do with their public
position on Garmera. If that isn't part of an enormous farce as
well. I can form any number of dangerous shapes with those
elements as the corners. Things are moving very fast..." She
blinks. "...Wait. Do you think that there could be something to
that? Somehow his reality warp was interfered with from this side.
And over here, we've recently seen creatures of unlikely power
materializing from the air. Before even coming to this city, we
saw demons appear in a place and time when there should have been
no demons. The Emir of Si En Kelar throws in with the Iron Empire,
some unknown event is taking place underneath the city, something
noticed by a person who was conducting experiments ON warped
reality." She looks at the rest of you. "What if what is going on
has to do with teleportation, or something like that? Gateways and
the like? I know that nobody has ever managed to stabilize a
gateway over more than a couple of hundred miles, but what if
there is something we DON'T know?"
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Ra'ven:
"Other
then the Silvefang?"
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Io:
"I was
about to say the same thing, Ra'ven. The cult seems to have made
some progress in this field. Also deployed here, for what it is
worth."
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Ra'ven:
"Oh,
I wonder if it's cause of Her pending cubs?"
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Vul:
"It
stands to reason something that fundimental to our reality
spliting might
also
split reality... Where is Kayleh, she's
smart about that sorta thing....?"
|
=^v^=:
(( ree, ra'ven says taht ))
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Io:
"I
might mention this, as well: Until I listened to your stories, I
did not know that this limitation on teleportation existed in your
world. Teleportation was commonplace in my own, and we could
easily take steps across the myriad permutations of possibility.
If that has changed in a universal way, I would expect Garmera to
be at the root of that. If that is in some way being reversed, I
would expect it to entertwined as well." He nods at Vul. "She
might indeed know something. I can go to retrieve her, if you
wish."
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Lucky:
"Would
that be why I saw... weird shit... when we teleported with the
Silverfang's orb or whatever the hell it was?"
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Ra'ven nods to Io, "Ya, go ask her..."
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Rai Patience Argent shivers. "That
device was highly unpleasant."
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Io runs off to go get Kaylen.
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Ra'ven:
"I
dunno, being able to blink all about really far away seems like
it'd make the world really small."
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Lucky nods at Patience, "Yeah I wasn't
a big fan of seeing memories that didn't belong to me. Or
something. I don't even know what it was. I hated it, either way."
|
It takes only a couple of extra minutes for Io to return with Kaylen,
who arrives with an almost manic look in her eye. She almost begins
launching into questions as soon as she arrives, but Patience holds up
her hand. "Yes, there is a wizard who warps space here in the manor.
Your expertise might be useful. We've been wondering if a number of
phenomena might be related, and you're the one with the most insight."
She gives Kaylen a quick rundown on what you've discussed.
|
Kaylen Fisher listens carefully,
nodding along, to whatever information you elect to give her.
"Huh. Okay, you're asking if this tracks, right? Well, good and
bad news; some of it definitely does track, in that these things
do all influence each other strongly, so them being connected in
this specific way is really possible. The bad part is that I don't
necessarily know how, not without a really robust series of
givens... of new independent measurements. Basically, I'd need to
take a lot of readings, and then do a lot of math to tell you
whether it all holds up or whether it's just a lure in the dark.
If I'm not asking to commit to anything, though, I'd say it's
worth looking into."
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Ra'ven nods, "See, she can probably
baffel that wizard with theory, since Vul is more Spirits and the
like and he doesn't seem to be that direction..."
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Sera:
"To
be fair, like Lucky said, all he claimed to want was a negotiation
that we wouldn't break his wards again."
|
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Sera:
"Though
at this point I'm fairly certain it wasn't us."
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Ra'ven:
"Plus
it's not like Vul doesn't really know how that fold works, also
Ylthira knows what his blood pool was doing, also Kaylen knows the
Wolf influences and aeromystics..."
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Kaylen Fisher:
"Honestly,
I wish we could get more lecturers on primal magic to visit. It's
a sadly neglected area of influence in ethereology..."
|
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Vul perks up, "I could if we don't end
up fleeing the city?"
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Kaylen Fisher:
"Well,
it's not like I can issue the invitation, but I can definitely
mention it."
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Vul mtotally could ace endurance
checks to give long lectures
|
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Kaylen Fisher:
"Anyway,
I don't know anything about how this person's wards were broken,
but if it wasn't you AND you've got a credible idea of what might
have been involved, why not just tell him that? Maybe you can help
each other out."
|
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Vul:
"He
kinda threatened to blow up this place with a horde of ghosts."
|
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Ra'ven:
"Also
stole a sandwitch."
|
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Kaylen Fisher:
"Yeah,
not a good look for him, I'll admit.
|
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Vul:
"Though
you do make a point... I mean did we even find wards?"
|
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Vul:
"I
assume he does know they were broken, I sort assumed the folded
space merely went past them."
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Perra:
"Not
that I can recall."
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Sera:
"I
was thinking the same thing at this point, Kaylen. I figure he
might like to know what's
actually
causing this to happen,
so he doesn't have to keep putting the wards back up."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"I
know that neither I nor Hector were aware of any wards in the
basement before purchase. So we might have been the victims of a
misunderstanding, then? It may be worth it to explain the
situation to him. We might do better than solve an issue; we might
also learn something."
|
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Rai Patience Argent:
(Better
than merely solving an issue. -- That's what I meant to say.)
|
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Ra'ven:
"Plus
the best way to convice someone you aren't their enemy is to show
them someone else is."
|
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Ra'ven nods, "Like whoever ACTUALLY
broke his wards."
|
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Rai Patience Argent genuinely smiles,
with a vicious little glimmer at the edge of her expression.
|
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Rai Patience Argent:
"So,
how do we sell it, then? Simply tell him that we have been
thinking about the problem since our previous meeting, and that we
have a theory as to who may be behind his troubles?"
|
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Rai Patience Argent:
(sorry,
brb)
|
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Vul:
"What's
to sell? We can point to the clear lack of wards on our side."
|
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Sera:
"Seems
as good a place to start as any."
|
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Well,
the best story to sell is the truth, if you can get away with it.
Lead on then."
|
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Vul hops up and leads on!
|
Riot:
(( Sera and Lucky follow ))
Riot:
(( actually ))
|
|
Sera:
"I
trust that you all have this handled. I need to go talk to Hector
about a thing. Yell for me if the house starts being eaten by
ghosts or whatever the hell else can happen around here."
|
vonel:
(( Perra and Kris follow Vul ))
|
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Too
damned much, apparently. But yes, I'll keep you informed."
|
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|
Rai Patience Argent and Kaylen also go
with.
|
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Ra'ven reluctantly follows Kay and
Perra still with her drink.
|
Orbras is seated at one end of the common table in the lounge when you
go back in, and at a quick glance it seems as though some of the
embarrassed discomfort he was previously exhibiting has vanished. He
greets you as you enter, and the floor now appears to be clear of
sandwich. "Now, hopefully we're past that false start. I came here
hoping to keep you from causing problems with my experiments! But now
that I'm here, what do I see? I see that experiments have continued in
my absence that might not only cause me difficulties, but could threaten
many others besides! I may have divorced myself from much of the world,
but I have no desire to see so it scoured by an intemperate use of
dimensional tides either!" With every sentence, his voice seems to be go
higher, and more irate.
|
|
Rai Patience Argent:
(see
it scoured oh look a typo eff me.)
|
|
|
Vul nods, "Alright so you DO see the
issue then? Except you seem to have the
cause
a bit
backwards.." he nods to Kaylen, "We are studing the phenomina
caused by Garmera's pending spawning..."
|
|
|
Kaylen Fisher launches into an
explanation immediately, at first with some lip service towards
rhetoric and getting him on you side, but all of that quickly
disappears as Orbras fires a question at her that she requires the
use of visual aides to answer. Their conversation begins to
snowball from there, and it is only with a visibly heroic effort
that the halfling manages to pull himself back on task.
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Ah.
Ah ah ah." He looks down, a little red dancing at his cheeks. "So
I was a fool, then. I blamed an accident on malice, and I could
have either harmed or been harmed because I couldn't spend the
time confirming. I wish I could put the blame on something else,
but I think it's clear where I went wrong." He puffs out his
cheeks, eyes closed, then nods. "Well, there's nothing to be done,
I suppose. If you were as caught off guard by these events as I
was, it would not be right to blame you. For that matter, if
things like what you describe really are happening, these
accidents would have been almost inevitable! In a way, I'm
actually quite lucky that people as, ah, reasonable as yourselves
are the ones that alerted me to it." He purses his lips together.
"Garmera reproducing. Well, I'm not an ethereologist as such, but
the effects of Garmera's influence on spatial magic is well
documented, if not widely understood. Interesting. I wonder... No,
later. The point is that I think I can see what you're talking
about. In fact, given this information... Well, you may want to
know something that I know. I'll spare you the song and dance, the
pretense that I'm doing you a favor, because the truth is that I
owe you for my.... rudeness. The first thing I owe you is an
apology. Well well well, you have it. I am sorry. The second thing
I owe you is an explanation for what is really going on, but in
order to give you that explanation, I'll need to understand
myself. If something in this city INCIDENTALLY broke my
dimensional wards simply by existing near them, as oppossed to
doing so purposefully, then it must be understood before I begin
again. It must especially be understood because people are not to
be trusted with these kinds of powers!"
|
|
|
Vul hmms, "I mean something broke the
wards on the Emir's pallice, but I think that was intentional."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Yes.
What this young woman described matches a concept for adaptive
wards that was briefly in vogue about a century ago. A way of
increasing effectiveness, at the price of continual monitoring.
Wards like that would be capable of being intentionally lowered,
though under most circumstances there shouldn't be a reason."
|
|
|
Vul:
"No
the wards that keep the Tides at bay, an archfey appeared in the
garden of the pallice."
|
|
|
Vul hmms, "Wait, maybe thta one? There
was the wards that were frozen too."
|
|
|
Orbras:
((OK,
I'm no longer sure I know what you are saying.))
|
|
|
Orbras:
((I
was trying to write up an explanation, but now I'm not sure what
either of us is saying.))
|
=^v^=:
(( Vul doesn't really follow
techincal stuff, the ward on the Emir's office that was stopped ))
vonel:
(( think he's talking about when Vul
and Perra were there and everything was like asleep or frozen in time
some how ))
=^v^=:
(( ya, basically there's been a lot
of ward-related shenans lately and he's getting lost on which one is
being refrenced. ))
|
|
Orbras:
((That's
fair. Okay, well, regardless we're at 10:30, so we'll need to come
back to it later, but I'll try to make it clearer next time.))
|
|
|
Perra:
z.z
|
=^v^=:
(( also meta vull is bringing up
there are LOTS of wards being screwy ))
|
|
Orbras:
I
mean... I can't make it NOT 10:30.
|
|
|
Vul:
time
machine
|
|
|
Vul:
kill
kaiser whillhelm
|
|
|
Orbras:
I
don't have one of those, and those can't make it happen.
|
|
|
Vul:
no
more dst
|
|
|
Orbras:
Thus
can't make it happen.
|
|
|
Orbras:
I
guess that's it then. Sorry. Hopefully I'm not fucking this up
completely. Sigh.
|
|
|
Orbras:
Be
well, all, ok?
|
|
|
Vul:
yes
|
Riot:
(( I don't think you are? I mean I'm
interested in what's going on ))
|
|
Vul:
sleep
is nao
|
|
|
Orbras:
Night.
|
Riot is disconnected.
=^v^= is disconnected.
vonel is disconnected.
=^v^= has connected.
=^v^= is disconnected.
Riot has connected.
Riot is disconnected.
=^v^= has connected.
Riot has connected.
Riot is disconnected.
=^v^= is disconnected.
=^v^= has connected.
Riot has connected.
|
|
Sera:
hi hi
|
|
|
Riot:
Same
as ever, still trying to find a job. You?
|
|
|
=^v^=:
rib
still hurts from when I hurt it like a week and a half ago or
something
|
|
|
=^v^=:
work
wants me to teach classes again
|
|
|
Riot:
And
I forget, you hate teaching those classes, right?
|
|
|
=^v^=:
teaching
is a whole college degree
|
|
|
=^v^=:
one
that I neither posess nor have attempted to obtain
|
|
|
Riot:
I
taught many professional classes in my aircrew job
|
|
|
Riot:
About
like hydraulic systems, maintenance test flight procedures, etc
|
|
|
Riot:
I
don't have a college degree
|
|
|
Riot:
And
I hate talking in front of people
|
|
|
=^v^=:
did
you know those systems etc?
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Do
you not know the systems they're asking you to teach?
|
|
|
=^v^=:
it's
the equilivant of asking Riot to teach a class on using this
particular maptool framework
|
|
|
Riot:
Yes
I did as part of my job
|
|
|
=^v^=:
Riot
obviously knows more about it then someone who knows nothing
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
I
mean, that's a pretty important distinction though, isn't it?
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
We're
naturally going to assume that they are asking you to teach things
that are within your area of expertise.
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
If
that's not the case, it might be better to advertise the insanity
up front.
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
As
oppossed to giving us the wrong impression.
|
|
|
=^v^=:
I'm
being made to teach things within my area of experence, not
expertiese and being told to expert it, quickly
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
I
am now aware of that. But it's not what I immediately thought.
|
|
|
Riot:
Our
community would do that, too. Pick the system or tactics set
you're weakest on and teach a class on it. You have X amount of
time to research and put together a lesson and then teach that
lesson
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
If
you talked about how annoying driving to your parents was, and it
turned out that your car no longer had an engine, I wouldn't have
guessed that either.
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Ok,
apparently I'm the crazy one, then.
|
vonel has connected.
|
|
=^v^=:
I
mean the reason is a bit different for my job
|
|
|
Riot:
lol
nah I didn't understand at first either
|
|
|
=^v^=:
it's
to pretend we are actually masters of everything, even things that
don't exist fully
|
|
|
=^v^=:
so
we can continue to be
value added
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Yo.
Sup, Vonel?
|
|
|
=^v^=:
you
get hoilday off?
|
|
|
vonel:
only
cause I have it's one of my days off
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Ugh,
right. I forgot about memorial day. Trying to drive tomorrow is
going to suuuuuuuck.
|
|
|
Riot:
My
memory is garbo most of the time
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
I
visit my mom most weeks, and I'm supposed to do so on mondays. Not
always, because reasons, but this is the available day this week,
so it's this or cancel.
|
|
|
Riot:
Well
hopefully it won't be too bad!
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Thanks
for reminding me of the holiday, though. I need to leave early to
compensate.
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Anyways,
how y'all and such? Like I said, I think I'm going to have to
check out a bit early, but we can try to get something done, at
least. Fuck. Okay, I need to re-examine the terrible explanation I
gave last time, so that I can figure out where I went wrong.
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
(Okay,
I think I figured it out. Ok, explaining the confusion about wards
OOC: I'm engaging in a bit of equivocation, I think. Sorry about
that. There are a bunch of different wards being discussed here.
There were the FEY wards around the palace, which failed and
allowed the Elk to show up. That one is what he was talking about
just now. He also mentioned his OWN wards failing; those are the
ones meant to keep people out of his labyrinth. He seems to have
been under the impression that you purposefully broke them down,
and only now has realized that they had failed before you even got
involved. And then you also mentioned the nasty, agressive
security system in the palace, which was asleep when you went
there the first time. Though, now that the group has had the fight
inside the building, it seems possible that said security system
and the "Seeker" that the Emir activated during the fight might be
related. That isn't what he was referring to, but it IS as
relevant as anything.)
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
(So,
does that clear up the issue? My bad.)
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
Ok.
A little embarrassing to realize how much the concept of wards is
coming up. I actually does fit together, but I definitely didn't
mean to keep using the same word over and over, lol. Anyways, gosh
darnit, I need to use the restroom, but I'll be right back. Sorry!
|
|
|
Ganaroth:
(And
back. Apologies for that. Anyway, now that I've managed to explain
what I was saying, would you like me to continue, or would one of
you like to just respond? It may be easier to pretend that I
explained it correctly in the first place. Up to you.)
|
=^v^=:
(( I mean Vul was sorta chiming in
that a lot of wards are failing ))
|
|
Ganaroth:
(Oh.
Then I misunderstood on a couple of levels. I thought there was
just confusion about what was being spoken of. Ok, if it's all on
the table, cool.)
|
|
|
Orbras:
"I
can't KNOW that what happened at the Ruby Palace was on purpose...
and more importantly, neither can anyone else. However, I highly
suspect it, considering my own observation. Whatever kind of
dramatic distortion I witnessed really is, harnassing it within
the palace itself would probably require that kind of
modification. Static wards, which are much safer and more
sensible, would interfere with the refraction! Eh... meaning..."
He pauses, as though trying to conjure an explanation. "My...
theory... for long-distance teleportation. It requires multiple
worlds. Realities, at least, which my research indicates is
something that the world may be CAPABLE of, but which it is
somehow being prevented from. Er, more than just pocket dimensions
and such. A true, multiplicitous mirroring of reality! I believe
that Garmera's cycles may form a kind of resonance which
stabilizes our world. Prevents it from splintering in that way, if
you understand. So I was attempting to harnass those same energies
in order to bypass their effects. But from what you said...
something caused my own defenses on this side to fall, and you
gained access. I feel some dread when I say that it is very
possible that what I saw could have done that. And the
implications are potentially serious."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"I'm
likely one of the few independents who would understand what I
saw. Before this, I would have called my knowledge rarer than
that, even, but apparently someone else in this world supassed my
own expertise some time ago. I'm... will, I'm irked."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"....Wait,
what do you understand? Am I making sense, or have I put too much
jam on this bread?"
|
|
|
Vul:
"I
mean it sorta makes sense if Garmera is having other wolves, that
it might allow for other realities?"
|
|
|
Vul:
"it'd
make the sky rather less complicated then the alternative?"
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Teleportation,
reality tearing magic, wolves. I think I'm following. Maybe.
Hopefully."
|
|
|
Vul tilts his head, "Is this
teleportation thing just some 'mirrior' world where the distance
isn't
that far?"
|
|
|
Kris:
"Bit
over my head, but as long as someone else follows I'm good."
|
|
|
Vul:
"instead
of folding an uneasonable amount of space, you go to a space where
it's a reasonable amount?"
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Yes,
yes, more or less. Or, at least the version I'm attempting. There
are a few variations, but none of the others that I've worked with
are functional at that scale. In order to reach beyond a certain
distance, there needs to be LESS DISTANCE!"
|
|
|
Vul nods, "And that being completely
impossible is changing currently then..."
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Should
the kid be in here for this? I feel like some of this might be in
her wheelhouse."
|
|
|
Ra'ven hmphs, "Making more worlds
sounds like a good thing, I wonder why the Emir ordered everyone
to stop it..."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"The...
oh. Right, the little necromancer? I remember her. Wake her up if
you want. Or not; it might actually make more sense to allow her
to catch up with me on her own, if any technical talk is likely to
happen. Otherwise the rest of you will be listening to me forever
as well. As for why he would stop it... I'm afraid you're asking
the wrong question." He sighs. "The correct question is "why
doesn't the Emir want anyone ELSE to be able to do it?" The
question is "why didn't the Emir tell the world that what I was
trying to do had already been accomplished?" Because it has. The
signature I saw was what I've been trying to create for so long,
but more powerful, and far, far more refined. Elegant, as though
made by a superlative master compared to my rank amateurishness.
And somehow old. Far older than my last visit here. I have to
assume that it had already BEEN here, but was previously
concealed."
|
|
|
Ra'ven:
"Oh
that might be how my mo... err.. Jydith gets here quickly? I don't
think the wolf warp goes that far..."
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Isn't
she just puppeting someone else's body?"
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Wasn't
that her whole thing?"
|
|
|
Ra'ven:
"Usually
that has issues with distance too?"
|
|
|
Rai Patience Argent:
"Perhaps.
I do think it's strange that these different discoveries are being
revealed in tandem."
|
|
|
Rai Patience Argent:
"Logic
would suggest that they are related somehow."
|
|
|
Vul nods, "It'd make sense though
right? Since those researchers were killed to hide the
announcement about Garmera in the first place, but it failed so
this announcement..."
|
|
|
Vul:
"And
if
that
is why such things even work, it'd make sense to
make everyone work really hard at something entirely unrelated to
long range teleportation right?"
|
|
|
Orbras:
"I
just dont know anything about what you're talking about. This
sounds like.... politics... to me."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"When
I ask you why the Emir would do this, it's not rhetorical. I can't
imagine his reasons for concealing these discoveries are anything
less than completely tiresome."
|
|
|
Lucky:
"He's
a tiresome person, I'll give you that."
|
|
|
Vul:
"So
others don't study it is my guess..."
|
|
|
Vul:
"I
mean he sorta allied with the Devils, which being on the entirely
opposite side of civilization would stand to gain from that
distance being reachable."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Ugh.
Because... money? This is a guess, from his reputation. I don't
know why that would be anything like enough reason to supress a
truly world-changing discovery."
|
|
|
Kris:
"Makes
sense to me, ships form the empire flying up this far would be a
bit worrying to everyone."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Well,
I admit that I can at least understand that."
|
|
|
Ra'ven:
"I
mean it's sorta still a guess, since we don't even know what the
thing under the island is."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Though
why the Iron Empire effectively needs TWO means of moving its
operatives so far, I can't guess. I do have one small piece of
reasonable news, though. Even with what I saw, I suspect that his
method isn't truly complete. Some of the patterns don't fit models
that I'm quite sure of. It's much further along than mine, but I
don't think it's a functional gate all the way to the Iron Empire."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"I'm
not sure what it IS fully capable of then, though."
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Maybe
they have more gates along the way? Using them like a chain?"
|
|
|
Ra'ven:
"Maybe
we can just go through it and see where it goes?"
|
|
|
Orbras:
"So,
if you dislike the idea of him controlling a power like that, or
of joining Si En Kelar's wealth to the Iron, it might not be
ironclad yet." He perks up. "Why, that actually might make sense!
It would be completely impractical with current methods... but
combined with the refraction method, a gate constructed in series
might work. It would be fragile. Prone to disruption, both from
energies and from opponents. But it might be possible."
|
|
|
Rai Patience Argent:
"And
we could go through it?"
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Potentially.
If you assume you can sneak in, of convince the Emir to let you do
so. Even I guarded my experiments, after all."
|
|
|
Ra'ven hmms, "Yaknow the Sliverfang
people we ran across probably could be persuaded to help...."
|
|
|
Kris:
"With
my head as a gift maybe."
|
|
|
Ra'ven waves him off, "We just don't
show you. I mean they do rather seem to believe in protecting
Garmera and messing up the Emir's plans would fit that, plus they
have that other kinda teleportation expert..."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Fascinating.
I suppose that given my own studies, it makes sense that one of
them might stumble onto some of the same ideas."
|
=^v^=:
(( I suppose it's a bit ironic that
Ra'ven saw the cultist telportation thing but Vul did not, and vice
versa with the blood pool thing ))
|
|
Orbras:
(It
is a little funny, but I don't think this game can afford to use
strict info sharing.)
|
|
|
Orbras:
(I'm
willing to assume that Vul and Ra'ven have talked about what
happened.)
|
|
|
Ra'ven hmms, "Oh, right the blood
thing, I guess that might be similar to the other teleportation
thing but they were going for untracablity supposedly?" a pause,
"Actually does the telportation that far have to be unplesent?"
|
|
|
Vul nods, "Generally speaking space
dislikes being warped and rebounds in unplesent ways."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Eh...
not inherently, though. Any unpleasantness is about specific
techniques and conditions. In theory, if my refraction works
correctly, teleportation in optimal conditions should be identical
to its uncompressed version. My own best efforts have the same
effect currently, but I think that is because the method is
incomplete."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Ah!
Someday, I intend to unveil a method no more upsetting to the
stomach than a glass of warm milk and nutmeg."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Well.
Mr. Orbras... you've brought some very important information to
our notice, and I thank you. I very sorry to learn that the Emir
and the Iron Empire will soon have access to the experiments
you've spent so long building, but at least we are all now warned.
If we can possibly help, please feel free to consult with us.
Unfortunately, given our conflict with the Emir, I'm afraid we
really must clear out. I do realize that this will leave your
secrets unguarded on this end, but with him able to attack us at
any time, It's simply not safe for us here." There is an odd,
satisfied note in her voice, and you realize that, in fact,
Patience is making A POINT to Orbras. The halfling's creased face
gains a very worried look. He tries to say something, but patience
keeps speaking. "If there was something we could do, we wouldn't
want to leave either, but we really can't stop him from getting
inside. We can't hold this place without a way to keep him from
gaining access." Deep down in her tone of voice, you can hear a
viciously satisfied note.
|
|
|
Orbras:
Dammit
|
|
|
Orbras:
(That's
Patience.)
|
|
|
Orbras:
(Obviously.)
|
|
|
Orbras:
"...I'm
not stupid, you know. I hope you don't think that I don't
understand what you're saying. You could have offered, rather than
threatening." Then he flushes. "...though I now recall that I
leapt to threats as well."
|
|
|
Ra'ven:
"You
woudln't need to swipe sandwitches if the wards were outside,
though I guess they were knocked out once before."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Fine.
The rest of you... I don't suppose you might be willing to assist
me? I can...offer some small assurances. I admit that their powers
exceed mine. But I may be able to make getting in here difficult
for anyone that doesn't have permission to get in here. In fact,
depending on how far you want to go, I could potentially make this
place very dangerous for them indeed. As long as there were people
around to ward off more overt forms of invasion, at least."
|
|
|
Orbras:
(AUGH.
Ok, does anyone have something to say? I'm just monopolizing the
conversation on my own, and now I feel like I'm talking about
stuff that only I think is fun. :/ Apologies. In any case, I don't
really have all that much longer. Like I said earlier... my
ability to stick around is a bit truncated.)
|
=^v^=:
(( I haz been talkin ))
|
|
Orbras:
(That
is true. I'm sorry. Nobody is doing anything wrong, except maybe
me. I'm just worried that I'm taking your agency.)
|
|
|
Lucky:
"Assist
you how?"
|
Riot:
(( for some reason I thought I hit
enter and I did not ))
|
|
Vul:
"Well,
making wards is sorta a long hard process usually...." he nods,
"I'd be willing to learn some more about them..."
|
|
|
Orbras sighs. "...a contract to guard
this end of my network... perhaps to even do a few small favors
here, if needed, in return for compensation. If the Emir and the
Iron Empire gain access to my experiments, then at the very least
we will have returned to THEM having a virtually monopoly on this
area of study! They'll take it from me, and place it behind gilded
bars. To prevent that, I need people more closely allied with my
then them to function as a garisson. And, if you are in fact
willing to do that, to keep a presence here which will keep them
from simply walking in, I could be persuaded to teach you how to
build those kinds of wards. Even help to set them up myself."
|
|
|
Kris:
"I
don't mind helping in that reguard, if I'm not out with them of
course."
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Well,
obviously I couldn't require you to ALL stay here at all times. As
long as a few people defend it, the public embarrassment of a
pitched battle over private property in this city is probably more
effective than any number of shields and summoned monsters."
|
|
|
Kris:
"Ture
enough."
|
|
|
Ra'ven gestures to Patience, "It's
your house right? Thta's going to happen right?"
|
|
|
Orbras:
"Aside
from denying others access, I really only have one request, and
that is to keep my experiments a secret. Besides, do you REALLY
want them knowing?"
|
|
|
Lucky:
"I
think that part is easy enough."
|
|
|
Rai Patience Argent:
"It
is my house, but most of you agreed to hitch your stars to mine
own some time ago. It would be discourteous to make the decision
for you." She pauses. "I wished to form this company before I knew
what was happening here. If you want to leave, I would rather
sacrifice this house than the venture entirely. We can set up
elsewhere, if we must. This city is the prime location, true, but
if none of you feel it's worth it than I would rather begin again."
|
|
|
Kris:
"I'm
not an over all fan of sitting around in our enemies backyard, but
knowing the kinds of information network the iron has they'll find
us regardless of were we go eventually."
|
|
|
Kris:
"So
really it kind of comes down to how soon do we want them knocking
on our... your door. Cause it sounded like they were going to send
those "job" requests to use regardless of weither we agreed to
work with them or not."
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Lucky:
"Unless
Sera is right about where she's from, but that sounds like a last
resort, because how would we even get anything accomplished behind
a veil or whatever like that?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
"I'm
inclined to agree with you both. Though at the least, I think we
might wish to look into Sera's matter. A backup plan has never
been a bad idea."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Regardless,
if they do plan to send requests to us, Kris is likely right.
Having a known address will probably just make them less irritable
when we decide to refuse a few of them."
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Kris:
"or
all of them..."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"If
none of them are acceptable to us... and when I say us, I mean us
all, after speaking rationally about them. After all, we might
find ways of taking advantage of Jydith's desire to keep us at
hand." She uses the false name, following suit from earlier.
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Kris:
"Fair."
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Ra'ven:
"I
mean from what you say she'd want to give us some ones that are
actually good for us to get us used to the idea, right?"
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Kris shrugs, "One would assume. She
wants us to be on her side and to think she's doing nothing wrong,
so asking us to go kill someone right off the bat seems a bit of a
strech."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"You're
right of course. Well then, Kris. May I count on you to be the
voice of caution, and to point out all the ways in which our
decisions could proved to harm us? So that we can better
anticipate it?"
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Rai Patience Argent:
could
prove*
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Kris:
"If
I can see it, sure."
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Rai Patience Argent:
"Well,
that's all any of us can ask."
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Sera and Hector pass by the room where
the group is having their discussion, giving a quick nod and
announcing "Be back in an hour!", before leaving without waiting
for a response.
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Rai Patience Argent:
(I
have to beg off now, I'm afraid. But I'm glad we got to hang out.
Hopefully next week I'm feeling a little better. Honestly, I just
hope that in general, but also so that we can play a little
longer.)
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Rai Patience Argent:
(Thanks,
all of you.)
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Riot:
(( no worries! Feel better! ))
vonel:
(( yep, see you later ))
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Rai Patience Argent:
Thanks.
And to you too, Von and Akaiku.
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Riot:
(( Gnight y'all! ))
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Ra'ven:
night
all
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Ra'ven:
also
like
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Ra'ven:
feel
free to like rp with me sometime during the week if you want
|
=^v^= is disconnected.
Riot is disconnected.
vonel is disconnected.