To Cure a Cabbit (Closed PS RP)

[Uncle Pervy]

"The exchange shall be one record for another record," the speaker says. "Food is not easy to spare. I can allow only one day's worth for one record. It will take time for Coal to come. At least thirty days. It will likely take many records to allow this exchange."

[Shinigori V2]

"Well," Paige began, "It looks like someone built it, then enchanted it to move on it's own..." She sounded rather impressed with the idea. "Maybe I could find someone to help me with something like this back home. Do you know anyone who would, Mr. Jak?"

[Uncle Pervy]

The woman at the stall looks Valentia over. "Present you provision record. It will take a mark for what you ask."

[pd Rydia]

"Thank you, miss," Dia replied. "We appreciate your help. Sorry to borrow your time like this."

Bowing slightly, hand still on the excitable lapdragon, Dia began moving on, heading again for the aforementioned stalls alongside the buildings. "Are you feeling alright, Jeridan?" she asked as they moved away from the golem and townsperson. "You seem...out of it."

[Jak Snide]

Jak brushed his feelings aside and squashed the fear down, chiding himself mentally for acting like such a child. He'd allowed himself to overreact, and he always had to be wary of doing that, seeing how in the worst cases an overreaction could prove disastrous.

"I suppose Hakaril would be able to, although you'd be hard pressed to recruit the aid of a Doman General. Then again, the man is utterly eccentric, and such a proposal might intrigue him."

He dearly hoped that, should Paige ever confront the man about such a thing, the archmage would show as much disdain for it as he did himself.

[JasonAB17]

It took him just a moment to register that Dia had spoken to him.

"...Hm? Oh, sorry. I am, really. I've felt strange ever since magic started giving everyone trouble. Since, it's been like I have no energy... and I don't know why."

He then looked down at Ushyu.

"Although... She seems to have perked up since it happened."

[Kelne]

"Then it looks like we shall have to find the coal elsewhere," Kelne said, "I'll have the paintings delivered, and have the quartermaster organise the foodstuffs. As for the maps, I'll take a look through those myself."

[Uncle Pervy]

Dia and Jeridan draw closer to the elongated building. The notice that Valentia is conversing with someone. A few of the other stalls are open and manned.

****

The old man nods, then says, "I will provide you a mark for the map, then." He hands his hand out for something.

Edited by: Uncle Pervy  at: 5/1/05 21:33

[pd Rydia]

"Huh...maybe when we get back, you should see if you can't talk to Aya or Ara about that, or something...or Taiar or someone," she replied, reaching over to scratch Ushyu. "I dunno how all these offworlder races work exactly...though I figure they've got to be more strongly linked to the astral plane than most. I'm reminded of the time Ara ran into some sort of astral predator while she was working at the inn...I'm glad the creature we ran into earlier wasn't that sort of thing..."

The dragonhalf grimaced at the combined memories, looking around the street half-heartedly for a bit of debris to kick while not really expecting to find any. Instead, she spotted the local one-eyed, Flatbeard-obsessed party member.

"Is that Valentia? On her own, for that matter? Perhaps we should head over--the more, the merrier, or whatever they say..."

[FlamingDeth]

"Ah, but what if I don't have a provision record?" responded Valentia. "Is there some sort of barter system to fall back on, perhaps?"

[Uncle Pervy]

"Without a provisional record, I can give you nothing," says the woman running the stall. "All stores must be monitored."

****

Ushyu, for her part, seems rather subdued. Dia may recall days of old, when the Admiral frequently haunted her bar, when the cabbit would eat up attention like any happy kitty or lapdragon.

Still, it's not like she's trying to get anyone to stop.

And thus do the pair (or quartet) draw near Valentia.

[Uncle Pervy]

Our heroes had spent a good deal of time exploring Settlement Seven, splitting up into different groups. Jak and Paige go one way, while Valentia tries to strike off upon her own, before joining Jeridan, Ushyu and Dia. The three then go to meet PR-7, who seems to be the spiritual leader of these people. Kelne, after agreeing to exchange a painting for a day's supply of food, went with AD-7 to obtain provisional records. These records were the medium of exchange, and clearly how the government tracked and controlled commerce. After fetching a map, he met with Paige, whom Jak had left behind to study one of the golems in the streets. Jak spent some time exploring the countryside, coming upon three locals who seemed to have been openly enjoying themselves.

Via observation and questioning, the group has been able to learn many things about these people; who call themselves the Thalsians. They claim to be followers of Shamaya, and supress their emotions as a form of faith. They seem to regard it as a necessity for survive in their Barren homeland. They claim to be decendants of an ancient, and apparently advanced, civilization whose fall is attributed to turning away from the supressive path that they follow. It is also apparent their society is highly organized and regulated, if only due to how government allotment has replaced money.

It seems these people have a fairly thriving civilization, encompassing numerous settlements. They are not the only civilization, for the name of a desert-dwelling people, the Belu, has been mentioned several times, and seems to be about as reviled as possible with their suppressed feelings. Jak, in particular, had found out that the Belu claim to be followers of Shamaya as well, but "do not live their faith," as one of the three he spoke with had said.

****

Jak had carried on, upon hearing about a high-ranking person, a relic-keeper called TO-7, looking into a fallen golem. He finds a young man, TO-7A, investigating it and using a curious form of simple magic that required a great deal of focus and chanting. He learned from the boy that the golem seems to have problems with its mind, which seems to above his skills, a possibly those of TO-7. A bit of sadness could be heard in his voice as he spoke of this. But now he looks at Jak.

"You are very interested in magic, aren't you? Are you a TO in your land?"

****

Dia and Valentia, left behind by Jeridan and Ushyu who went upstairs to visit the Reliquary, speak with the aged PR-7. This man had told them a good deal about the old civilization of Thelahassa, and why the people live without emotions. More recently, he spoke of other Igalans who had come, by ship, to Settlement Ten. These people had apparently robbed the Reliquary there, though PR-7 isn't entirely sure what was taken.

"These men were curious," he says. "They acted with much less restaint than you, only enough that we did not have to eject them to maintain order. Some were unfriendly, others were not. We adapted, but not well enough. The Reliquary was robbed in the middle of the night, and they set to sea before we could organize enough to stop them."

****

Jeridan and Ushyu had gone upstairs to find a magically lit chamber, with a number of lingering enchantments about its contents. For Jeridan, it felt oddly refreshing to be there. The room was filled with odd bits of junk, laid out on sheets. To him, it looks like an airship engine exploded. Some of the junk bears magic about it. Upon shelves are jars full of smaller things, like screws.

The room is inhabited by a thickly built middle-aged woman with a shaven head, TO-7. After reassuring her that they were not Belu, she has become fairly open to them. Ushyu occupies herself with kneeing by the various 'relics', looking closely but not touching after an admonishment from Jeridan.

"I'm not sure if there is magic here that can help you," TO-7 asks. "What is it that is wrong with the child?"

****

For Kelne and Paige, who met each other upon the streets, things have not been well. They overheard a confrontation break out into a brawl. Arriving first, Paige tried and failed to slip between crewman Giles and an unnamed native, who were fighting with some abandon; the native no longer bothering to hold back his emotions.

With some success, Paige tries to interfere with the fight, until Kelne arrives and manages to get the story from Giles, who claims the native slammed into his sore ribs, then refused to offer an apology, and attacked after Giles swore at him. The native had little to say, glaring alternately at Kelne and Giles. Kelne had suggested it was best they all go their seperate ways, while planning to havea 'talk' with Giles later.

The guard have arrived on the scene, and after asking a few questions of the Thalsians who witnessed, approach the quartet. "Take those three," says one of the guards, motioning to Giles, the Native, and Paige, who has just picked herself up off the ground. The other two guards move to seize the fighters, while the speaker moves in on Paige, producing some restraints.

"Ah dammit," Giles says, as he raises his hands.

Edited by: Uncle Pervy  at: 6/19/05 21:15

[Shinigori V2]

"Wait..." Paige mumbles. "Those three? I was only trying to break up the fight! I can't be arrested, I wasn't doing anything!" She knew she sounded panicky. But she didn't care- She was panicking, after all.

[Uncle Pervy]

"You assisted in the disturbance," the guard says. "You will be detained. Please come peacefully."

[Kelne]

"Easy, Paige," Kelne said, directing the majority of his attention to the speaker.

"I would prefer to handle the conduct of my people in my own way," he said, deciding that it would be simpler if he just maintained his assumed position of authority. Unfortunately, he rather doubted that this person had the faintest inclination to exercise leeway in his duties.

"I would, however, appreciate knowing what the typical punishment for such an act is here so that I may factor it into my decision."

[Uncle Pervy]

"They will be placed into correctional cells for a period of one night, and until it has been deemed they are in proper control of themselves." says the Guard. Given the way that this society encourages emotionlessness, it is difficult to tell if he's reciting or not. "The transgressions will be marked against them, future punishment will be more harsh, and crafted to fit their crime."

[Kelne]

Kelne nodded, "A night in the brig would be equivalent, certainly," he said, "And I will be responsible for their behaviour if you release them into my custody."

Paige might note that he had at no time said that either of them would be spending the night in the brig. Then again, she might not.

[Uncle Pervy]

"This would be a break in procedure," the Guard says, as he works. "We cannot allow the process of punishment to be circumvented."

Paige will note the guard is reaching for her arms. She'll have to act fact to avoid being captured.

Giles, to his credit, is taking it all passively. He's probably fairly used to this.

[Shinigori V2]

Paige reels back and tries to back away as best she can, buying as much time as possible. "I was only trying to help! This is completely unfair!"

[Uncle Pervy]

"You were not asked to do our work," the guard says to Paige. There is no reproach in his voice, but this does not keep the words from having any sting. "You have only made the disturbance worse. Now you are perpetuating it by letting yourself remain out of control. It is best for everyone that you comply."

[Kelne]

"Then I will discuss the matter with your superior. I trust they will be available at the courthouse?"

Meanwhile, he sent a telepathic message to Paige, 'Paige, now is not the time. I am well aware that this is unfair. However, these peoples' notions of fairness are a tad skewed from what we are used to.' His mental tone clearly conveyed his irritation at the system. In fact, it went deeper than that. Kelne had no doubt that, were he to live in this society, either he or it would be destroyed. 'In the worst case, you will be spending a night in a cell, although I'll be doing my best to make sure that doesn't happen.'

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kelne>Kelne</A]&nbsp; at: 6/18/05 6:47

[Uncle Pervy]

"AD-7 or AD-7A will take your appeal," says the Guard.

[Shinigori V2]

Paige thought for a minute, then realizing she wasn't helping herself, extended her arms to be shackled.

[Kelne]

"Very well," Kelne said.

He turned towards Marcus, the crewman who'd been standing by all this time, "Marcus, you're with me. I may need someone to carry a message, and you're it."

With that, he waited for the procession to get underway.

[Jak Snide]

"If TO is what you call spell-casters here then yes, I am one. Here, I am somewhat less. This region of the world does not lend itself well to spell craft."

[Uncle Pervy]

The young man nods, "Not everyone who can use magic becomes a TO. It is a great honor to be accepted as one. TO-7 has told me that outlanders say magic is not very strong here. There are stories of such who use magic to move themselves here, and cannot use it to return home."

****

Paige is neatly restrained, and the three are lead on their way. Marcus looks to Kelne and nods. "Just tryin' to keep from makin' it worse, sir."

It becomes clear to Kelne that the guards are not heading for where he met AD-7, and it wouldn't make sense for this place to have a seperate courthouse, given its size.

"Hey," says Giles to Paige quietly, "This gonna be your first time spending a night in the clink?"

[Shinigori V2]

"...Yes." Paige responded after a moment. She was trying her best not to sound too emotional over it, but the thought that she had ruined her life by trying to break up a fight kept flashing in her mind.

[Jak Snide]

"You were told right. Now, explain to me what a TO does, exactly."

[Kelne]

Kelne nodded to Marcus. He could hardly fault him, under the circumstances. At the moment, it didn't look like they would be seeing AD-7 directly, which was going to be rather annoying.

[Uncle Pervy]

"Dun worry," Giles whispers, "Just a part of bein' a sailor sometimes. The boys'll be proud of you."

Soon, Kelne and Paige come to a building that follows the standard Thalsian design. Paige, Giles, and the Native are led inside.

Inside, paige will note it seems rather like an office, but hardly has time to look about before she's led to a staircase leading to a basement.

****

"The TO's task is to understand and restore the relics of the Old World," says the boy. "This task is divided among actual knowledge of restoring and knowledge of what they are and how they worked. The former outweighs the latter, unfortunately. It will be a long time before we will ever be able to make Drones like this one again; their workings are simply beyond us. Truly, much of what we do is to find new ways to replicate the old; I am not sure if they used the same methods have."

[Shinigori V2]

"Proud...Really?" Paige asks, heading down without too much fuss.

[Jak Snide]

Jak nodded calmly, containing his smug satisfaction within. The fact that these people couldn't replicate such constructs pleased him greatly.

"Well, I'd offer my analysis on what's wrong, but it hardly amounts to anything. I'm not a diviner, and the astral is so weak here that I can barely tell what enchantments have been placed upon this thing. Anyway, I'm looking for one of your TO's. TO-7, I believe."

[JasonAB17]

Jeridan took a moment to think about the question. He only himself had a small working knowledge of Ushyu's ailment. But he still might know enough to get a hand from this woman.

"There's something on her called a 'Limiter'. It was meant to stop her from using some ability her species has... but it's making her listless and weak. We're scared for her health."

He paused, thinking whether or not there was anything else that the limiter was doing. In the meantime, the lady might have time to reply.

[Kelne]

"Right. I take it AD-7 is in the usual location?" Kelne said, making sure that he wouldn't be off on a wild goose chase.

[Uncle Pervy]

"He should be," says the guard to Kelne.

****

"Aye, it's somethin' we all go through," says Giles to Paige, before he is led away.

Paige feels the guard slip something around her neck, and do something to lock it in place. Luckily, this collar is fairly loose. She is then led to her cell.

The guard opens the door to reveal a small chamber about the size of a broom closet! Surely she isn't supposed to- the guard begins to push her inside firmly; but without any particular roughness. Giles cries out, somewhere in the darkness, clearly in pain.

Those above, sadly, cannot hear this cry.

****

"Limiter?" says TO-7. "Curious. How was this administered?"

Jeridan, being the sort who an sense a potential meal and a potential poison, can sense that her emotionless resolve is about to crack under curiosity and apprehensiveness.

****

"I can take you to meet TO-7," says the young man to Jak. "I have to go report to her."

[Kelne]

Later, Kelne would no doubt berate himself for making assumptions about these peoples' justice system. He, of all people, should maintain the proper degree of paranoia.

But that would be later. For now, he simply nodded to the guards and made his way out into the street. The sooner he got things sorted out, the sooner he could get back to gathering information, and the sooner they could be on their way. He absently checked that Marcus was still trailing him.

Of course, he didn't actually need him to carry any messages, but there was no reason to advertise the fact that he had telepathy to these people.

It was slightly unusual to be thinking of telepathy as a hole card. In point of fact, practically everything in his arsenal represented a hole card here. Definitely an strange situation in a world where he was forever trying to stay one step ahead of people with a good idea what he was capable of.

It'd probably just promote laziness in him.

Kelne shook his head ruefully as he progressed back towards what he was coming to think of as the administrative building.

[Jak Snide]

"Well then, lead on. If you're done here."

[Uncle Pervy]

The young man leads Jak on. "What is your land like, anyways?"

****

Kelne finds Marcus is still following him; and luckily, it isn't too hard to find his way back.

[Shinigori V2]

Paige reaches up to inspect the collar, trying to figure out what the collar was for. When she heared Giles shout, she shouted herself- "What's going on?!"

[Jak Snide]

"Alot more green that this place. A fair bit is forested, and you can probably find a specimen of every intelligent race in existence living somewhere within it. And a worshiper of every deity, for that matter. It's a real cultural mixing pot, especially in the capital."