RPGWW

by **Uncle Pervy** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:26 pm

*"You may go visit TO-7 if you wish," PR-7 says. Then he regards Jak for a moment. Looking to TO-7A, he asks, "This one is trustworthy?"

The young man nods. "He has done nothing that is particularly offensive."

"Then simply be mindful of the relics."

Valentia yawns a bit. "I'm be staying right here, if it's all the same," she says. "I want to figure out a bit more about this place."

****

As Dia, Jak, Fluffy, and TO-7A ascend, they can her a woman's voice.

"Not to my knowledge. We only had one sample, it was hermetically sealed. We dared not open it; the sample could have been easily corrupted. However, I was not studying it. That fell to the TO-10 and-" Dia comes up, prompting the woman to cut herself off. Looking at them camly, she says,"Yes?"

Looking around, the newcomers note what Jeridan has seen so far. The Reliquary is lit by fairly powerful magical lighting, while odd bits of junk are laid out on white sheets. It looks as though an airship engine were ripped apart and scattered. Those who test it note that there is a fair deal of magic from enhanted items coming from here. Shelves bear smaller objects, and jars filled with random things.

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:01 pm

Jeridan looks over, and then turns back to the portly woman running the reliquary.

"They're friends of mine, don't worry. ... Well, other than him, who I don't know."

He gestured to TO-7A, and then turned to the group.

"We were just discussing Ushyu. We think we know what Flatbeard did to her."

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 4:17 pm

Jak didn't respond immediately. He was still basking in the glory of a magic rich environment, even if it was only the auras of the objects present.

"Well, go on then."

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:07 pm

Jeridan smirked, wondering if he'd looked as gratified when he walked into the room earlier. He'd be loathe to leave it when the time came.

"Well, according to TO-7, five years back someone came here and stole a relic from them. A hermetically sealed vial whose chemical properties it was believed could be used to stunt or dampen a living thing's natural abilities. They called it Relic 9234, or 'The Limiter'. The timeline and symptoms we've been discussing seem to fit, but there's nothing for an antidote that we know of. She was just telling me that TO-10 and someone else were the ones to study the substance when you all walked in."

Here he paused, and looked back to TO-7.

"Who else was in charge of studying the Relic?"

by **Uncle Pervy** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:15 am

"It's always been the responsiblity of the current TO-10 and his or her subordinates." TO-7 says.

"You could find what they're written at the Settlement 1 archives," TO-7A adds. "It might be a better source than TO-10. We usually don't have everything memorized, and sometimes we get very busy."

"TO-10 would likely be very wary of outlanders, as well," TO-7 adds.

****

Kelne returns to the guard station easily enough. The interior is just like those of the other buildings he has seen, hardly a surprise. He sees one of the guards writing something at the desk.

****

Paige find her protests are ignored. As she grows more desperate, the numbing sensation gets stronger. Until...sometime inside her seems to snap. All the fear and panic suddenly seem distant. As does everything else. The world feels far away and numb, and it grows hard to think clearly. No...hard to remember clearly. Bits of academic and engineering minuteia come easily to her, this wouldn't be a bad time to ponder that new release value design...

Edited by: Uncle Pervy 

at: 6/27/05 1:24

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:12 am

Paige stopped shouting as soon as the collar did it's work. She thought for a minute- Why had she been panicking so badly? Infact, why had she been panicking at all? She began to think about it. The cell was small. Right. And?...That was it. No worse than a supply closet of an airship. Granted, she hadn't been locked in one of those before, but it certainly wouldn't be any better than this. Oh well. She thought. Nothing to do but wait, I guess.

by **Kelne** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:12 pm

Kelne walked up to the desk and handed the parchment over to the guard wordlessly. He figured it ought to speak for itself.

by **Jak Snide** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 8:04 pm

Jak could understand the attitude of the mentioned TO, but that didn't change anything.

"I'm sure we can prove ourselves to him in some way. How can we get in contact with him?"

by **Uncle Pervy** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 5:13 am

The letter is taken, and given a quick read by the guard. He then sets it aside and nods to Kelne, then stands and goes toward the stairs.

****

"We could write a letter," TO-7 says, "But we TOs have no authority over the TO of another Settlement. It is very possible he will not listen."

"We could give a letter to AD-10," says TO-7A. "He does have authority."

"Yes, but this does not lead to the best research," TO-7 says, shaking her head.

****

The door opens for Paige, bringing in renewed, if dim, light, and a little breeze. The Guard beckons her out, and removes her collar, whilst Giles; already freed; watches. The two are then led up to the station above.

Kelne will note the two seem rather subdued.

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:12 am

"Oh." Paige says, simply, looking at Kelne. "It's you. Did you get us out? Thank you."

by **Kelne** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:17 am

There was something wrong here. A short stay in a cell shouldn't have such a sobering effect on people. Of course, law enforcement the world over would like it if it did, but that was beside the point.

He'd have the story out of them as soon as they were out of earshot of the guards, he resolved.

"Alright people," he said, in a voice of measured calm, "let's get back to the ship." He waved them through the door, intending to fall in beside them as soon as they were outside.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kelne>Kelne</A] 

at: 6/28/05 6:17

by **Uncle Pervy** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:30 am

"Alright then, mate," Giles says, as he walks out.

by **Jak Snide** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:50 am

"Could you point us towards TO-10's settlement, then? I'm sure we can come to some agreement with him."

by **Shinigori V2** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:01 am

Paige simply walked out, and began heading for the ship.

by **Kelne** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:33 pm

Kelne waited until they had gone some distance from the guard station before speaking, "And how was your stay in prison?" he asked blandly. Inside, however, he was growing increasingly suspicious.

Every instinct he had told him that something was deeply wrong here. And one didn't have to be a genius to recognise those expressions.

by **pd Rydia** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 8:10 pm

Dia stood in the reliquary blinking, feeling out of place. She, too, felt relieved to be surrounded by the presence of magic, but after the initial relief was over, she became uneasy at the awareness of distrust from TO. Having walked in on an ongoing conversation didn't help, and she didn't feel like she had anything to contribute...so she sat down nearby, holding onto Fluffy firmly and waving to Ushyu.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:01 pm

"Take the Seven-Hub road," says TO-7. "It will intersect with the Four-Hub road. Follow the Four-Hub road to Settlement Four, then take the Four-Ten road to Settlement Ten."

****

"They put me in the cell, said I was gonna spend the night there. Tight fit it was, they've got jails like a closet; couldn't hardly breathe at times."

Giles seems to be taking it in stride!

****

Dia's wave is returned, and the cabbit child ambles toward her, looking a bit concerned.

Edited by: Uncle Pervy 

at: 6/28/05 22:06

by **pd Rydia** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 11:36 pm

Dia smiled at Ushyu, holding out a hand for her as she approaches. She concentrated on telepathing the cabbit girl.

'How are you?'

by **Uncle Pervy** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 12:33 am

Dia recieves a mental reply from the cabbit child, but it is hardly one what she expects. Rather than words, Dia recieves a series of random sensations. There is a feeling of beauty, and a sensation that her mind tells her involves her arm in some way. Then there is sensation of normalcy and wellness; as well as feeling of heat and a smell that is strongly of iron. Amidst the whole jumble, there are numbers which seem to correlate to things, but Dia can't quite understand how.

by **Kelne** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:45 pm

"You seem remarkably calm about it," Kelne remarked.

Screw it. He was sure someone had been tampering, and he was going to damned well find out for certain now. With this in mind, he sent a delicate probe into Giles's surface thoughts, checking for any obvious signs of meddling. Depending on what he found, he would go from there.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:42 am

Kelne finds there is an obvious supression on Giles emotional responses. It is not total supression, rather its a dampener effect, making it difficult to get more than a rational response from something. He can feel the effect is starting to fade away, in an hour or so, it should be gone.

by **Kelne** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 2:38 am

There were any number of acts liable to evoke anger in Kelne. Mind control was certainly one of them. Long practice allowed him to throttle it down.

Nevertheless, that anger coloured his thoughts. Not only had these people seen fit to meddle with peoples' heads, but they had lied to him about it. A lie of omission, but a lie nonetheless.

If he knew anything about human nature, the others were going to be equally upset when they recovered their full faculties. And they had a right to be, damnit. Time spent in calm reflection. Hah!

He was tempted to pick apart the block on the spot, but it was best not to meddle with these things if they were going to break down on their own. Which it seemed it would. Though he had no assurances whatsoever that this would be the case after prolonged exposure to the effect.

Kelne moved on to check that Paige's block would be similarly short-lived. Following that, he set about systematically checking the people they were passing on the street for any similar effects. At the moment, he wouldn't put it past the authorities to apply it on a large scale, but that might just be the anger talking.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Thu Jun 30, 2005 4:12 am

Kelne notes that Paige does possess a similiar block, decaying at a similiar rate. As he scans passers by and the like, he finds no others; no signs of unnatural compulsion at all. They must be like this of their own free will.

by **Besyanteo** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:53 pm

Jeridan looked idly about the room while thinking. He didn't see any reason to argue Jak's decision, and honestly after learning a few things from Griff, he respected the man's judgement.

"Well, if that's our plan, maybe it's time we headed back to the ship to tell Hawkins what we've found and what we're doing?"

by **Jak Snide** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:52 am

"Sounds about right. I'll head back now, then. Thanks for your time, TO-7."

And, presuming that nobody stops him, Jak turns to leave.

by **Kelne** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 2:47 am

Thank Gods for that much. Kelne really hadn't been looking forward to doing something about it if his paranoid suspicions had been correct. Of course, he still disliked this society for a variety of reasons, but that didn't mean he was going to set himself to tearing it down.

He sure as hell wouldn't be thanked for it, even in the unlikely event that he succeeded. Besides which, somebody had already pulled apart the preceding society, and look at the results there.

Despite the fact that the others were in no condition to carry on a normal conversation, he decided he might as well fill them in on events. "I've had to agree to confine you two to the brig overnight to get you released," he said, "So you'll have to stay below decks once we get back."

"I expect you've noticed the blocks on your emotions," he continued, "Those should wear off over the next hour or so. Discussing with the authorities whether the guards had any right to put them in place to begin with strikes me as a complete waste of time, since I can hardly convincingly debate Shamaya's will with them."

That was what it all came down to in the end. He didn't have the faintest idea what Shamaya's doctrine was back home, but he very much doubted it bore the slightest resemblance to this. It would hardly be the first time divine word had been twisted beyond recognition.

Or had it been twisted at all? Was this what the ultimate result would be anywhere Shamaya's clergy became dominant?

It was a chilling thought, but Kelne recognised the workings of paranoia in it. Unless one assumed that Shamaya had indeed done some serious smiting because her worshippers had strayed from the straight and narrow, old Thelahasa itself put the lie to that idea.

And in his experience, the gods simply didn't do large-scale smiting. For better or worse, people were in charge of their own destinies.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 5:59 am

TO-7 blinks for a moment, then glances to TO-7A. After a moment, she says, "I have done my function."

Jak descends downstairs with nothing stopping him.

(OOC: IM me if you want to timeskip back to the ship later in the evening.)

by **pd Rydia** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 12:59 am

'Oh. Okay?'

Dia sighed. "I...I think I lost my entire train of thought." She waited, as if for confirmation, blinking, before continuing. "I'm going to go back to the ship and rest...maybe get something to eat. Ushyu, would you like to come back with me?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 1:23 am

"Oh." Paige said. "So that's what that is."

by **Uncle Pervy** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:20 am

Ushyu nods, and offers Dia a hand in getting up.

****

It does not take too very long for everyone to get back to the ship, arriving within minutes of each other. Valentia abstains, taking another crewman with her to explore a bit more.

Paige feels normal again, and thinking back on what happened while under the collar's influence leads to a number of questions pondering what she was thinking. She imagines it must be like waking up from a night of hard drinking, after some of the tales that she's heard from various sailors.

Now, the group are gathered around a table in the empty galley, while the cook works in the back on dinner. Ole Hawkin's sits with them.

"Well now, how'd it all go?"

by **Kelne** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:57 am

"Next time," Kelne said firmly, "Someone else gets to play leader," He sighed. In the end, he had only himself to blame.

"With the exception of a few paintings, they're not the least bit interested in anything in the hold. If we want to replenish our supplies, we're going to need to trade with new and useful knowledge. I figure between all of us we should be able to come up with something."

"This is the best they seem to have in the way of maps," he continued, producing the map from his pocket and spreading it out on the tabletop, "We're here." He placed a finger atop settlement 7.

"As far as Savatra goes, they recognise it as part of Old Thelahasa, but that's about the limit of their knowledge. Then again, given that they haven't even mapped their own coastline, that isn't saying much."

It would be readily apparent to the listeners that Kelne was deeply unimpressed with what he'd seen of the culture so far.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 3:53 pm

"Maybe we could teach them something of magic, despite the weakness of the astral here? Anyway, how long will it take us to get to Settlement Ten?"

He leaned forward, inspecting the map Kelne had presented and trying to find their destination.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:05 pm

Jak finds the map is written in a script that is fairly different than what he is used to.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:56 pm

"You asked which city is which, right?"

by **Kelne** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:08 pm

Kelne shook his head, "Didn't need to." He reached into another pocket and produced a pair of glasses, extending them for Jak to take.

"I'll go over the map later and pencil in the numbers. Should've done it earlier."

"Judging from those golems and a couple of other things I've seen, they seem to have a decent enough grasp of magic within their limitations. Still, I expect that there are gaps."

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:17 pm

Jak took the glasses and put them on, fully expecting them to be some sort of magical trasnlation device.

by **Uncle Pervy** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:48 pm

Jak finds his expectations are quite correct.

by **Besyanteo** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 3:28 am

Jeridan, now significantly more subdued since leaving the reliquary, found it in himself to speak up.

"The local TO person was able to tell us about this relic... 92... something. They call it 'The Limiter'. Someone stole it five years back, and they think that's what was used on Ushyu.

"She also said we could learn more about it in... Settlement..."

Jeridan took a moment, rubbing the side of his head. He felt half drunk now, as though he'd never aclimated to the place to begin with.

"Settlement 10. The TO there was the one who was most in charge of studying the Limiter, so we might be able to get some answers from him."

by **Jak Snide** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 10:52 am

"We don't have enough fuel to fly there, I'm guessing. As for sailing, if the coast is unmapped as you say it is, that won't be an option. Long walk then."

He paused for a moment, thoughts drifting back to a means of securing supplies for themselves. He had an idea. He didn't like it much, but needs must.

"Maybe we could sell them airship technology? Leave Paige and the crew here to teach them while we head up North to Settlement 10."

by **Kelne** » Mon Jul 04, 2005 9:29 pm

Kelne was quite surprised. From the sounds of things, they'd struck the right place by sheer chance. Luck had favoured them. Of course, that just meant that fortune probably had something truly nasty in store for them further down the line...

"No reason to walk when I've got my carpet," he said, "It'll cut down on travel time a fair bit."

"As for giving them airship technology, I've already said no to that idea," he continued, "I don't want to alter the balance of power here. How would we feel if someone appeared out of nowhere and gave, oh, I don't know, Valth airship technology?" Gods knew they kept these ships under pretty tight wraps back home.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kelne>Kelne</A] 

at: 7/4/05 21:34

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