The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

For all RPs taking place in the world Gaera Main.
User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:16 am

"-each you to mess with a bull in a... huh?" Bulworth said, immediately looking around, confused.

"How did... how'd I get down?" the minotaur asked aloud. "Did we win the battle?"


User avatar
Kelne
EXTERMINATE!!!!
 
Posts: 3606
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Kelne » Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:47 am

"Looks like Cerene's basic summoning spell got augmented somehow," Keros said, "Still, getting back home shouldn't pose too much trouble." Famous last words from Keros, who had no way of knowing just how far from home he was.

Upon hearing about this unusual method of healing, he made it a point to observe the process. He was slightly chagrined to realise that the minotaur had needed help for a while now and he simply hadn't noticed, but Jessie seemed to have the matter in hand.

Observing the process via astral sight left him wondering whether he shouldn't have volunteered anyway. From what he knew of time magic, it could be a hazardous school of magic. Speeding the body's natural healing processes was a harmless enough application, but this was something altogether different.

Cerene, meanwhile, had in fact been paying attention. She might be worn out after the fight, but there was nothing wrong with her mind. And if Keros had allowed himself to be distracted from the fact that his questions had been sidestepped, she hadn't. Jessie knew exactly what was going on here. Moreover, she was now certain he had been deceiving them from the start.

Well, that was going to end right now. She was going to have answers, damnit. Drawing strength from her anger, she strode over in Jessie's direction.

"Alright you," she said, in a tone that said she wasn't going to be putting up with any more prevarication, "Just where are we, and what the hell's going on here?"

Never mind that he seemed to be engaged in conversation. Whoever it was could wait.


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Kai » Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:36 pm

Zea threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"You know what? I don't even care. Bring ten thousand strangers here with minimal explanation to an area filled with lifeforms that shouldn't exist. Whatever."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Some of it had fallen in her face in the course of running about an animating things, but now wasn't the time to really fix it.

"So, what. What now? We keep going, I presume, unless Mr. Black would like to have well-prepared employees. In the odd chance of that happening, we should probably wait for him to tell us what the hell is going on and-or where the hell we are."


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Sun Oct 09, 2005 3:04 pm

Bulworth had a confused look on his face.

"So... we beat them?"


Archmage144
 

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:10 pm

James snapped to his senses, realizing that whatever fragmented memories were flitting through his head were hardly the most relevant of things happening right now. Zea brought up a very good point.

"Yeah, whatever we were fighting...those harpies, specifically...is now dead. This is the way it ought to be, especially since they were presumably trying to slay us. Tends to ruin friendships before they get a chance to start. In any case, last I checked, harpies didn't exist in this part of the continent in massive flocks that fly around preying on travelling caravans. You needed to hire bodyguards for a reason, Jessie, and that's because you were expecting something like this, weren't you?" James flashed his teeth, less as a means of threatening his employer and more a means of showing everyone around that he meant business.

"So, is there anyone out to kill you that we ought to know about, or are we going to walk around under the pretense that you just don't like being lonely on long trips to Baron?"


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:04 pm

"... and it would make us even as well, Ambrogino. I fail to see a down side to this plan anyway we look at it. The only thing is if he'll agree to it," Jessie said as the group closed in on him, half of them in an apparently bad mood.

It was apparently time for a bit of show and tell with his hired help. The only real question now was how much he could afford to show and how little he could get away with telling. The prospect of lying was almost immeadiately thrown out the window. While he might not be opposed to misleading people or not disclosing information, Jessie didn't like the idea of lying, especially not to people that he was entrusting his life to.

"Very well then. I'll answer the questions that you've put to me as best I can though I fear that some of them will have to be answered by parties other than myself for a more exact answer. First and foremost, yes, I expected this sort of thing. It was part of the reason that I hired all of you though I hope I can count on you later to help with the ruins survey when we get that far. As for the actual person or persons out to detain me I have a few guesses, though that's all they really are. I'll leave that there since I do not like to point a finger at a possibly innocent party. Secondly, as to where we are. I'll let Ambrogino here handle this one as he is the expert on the matter."

As before the simalarities between Jessie and whoever this Ambrogino person is are uncanny. One could almost swear that they were they same person. They look the same, act the same, talk the same and they even use the same phrases and use the same little gestures. It might be hard to tell the two apart if they weren't dressed in different colors.

"Well, to be perfect candid about the situation you are both not all that far away from and infinitely far from your Doma at the same time. Before you all ask me how this can possibly be the truth allow me to explain a little. You've been transported to a different plane of reality, parallel to your Gaera and three realities over. Although I'm at a loss as to how anyone acomplished this sort of thing. I didn't think Jessie had a Trump for this sort of place."

- Blackwind.


Archmage144
 

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Archmage144 » Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:22 pm

"I see," noted James. "So without noticing, we wound up in some sort of dimensional rift, and now we inhabit a parallel Gaera. How we got here is as much a mystery to you as it is to us. Makes sense, so far." He raised an eyebrow, partly glad to be getting some straight answers and partly frustrated that it took so long to get them. "Alright, so I understand what you're saying about the dimensional travel, but that doesn't really explain why."

James flicked his wings again, scratching the back of his head idly. "It's nice to know what happened, but at this point I'm a little curious who might have a motive to warp you to a parallel universe. That sort of thing is neither a dreadfully common means of revenge nor the most common means of murder. It would've been a lot simpler to just hire thugs in our dimension and order them to hunt you down and kill you. Why go to the trouble of doing it in another plane of existence? And if you know the details, what are the major differences between this Gaera and our own?"

"Plus," James added, frowning a little, "you have to know who's doing this, and I'd like to know, too."


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:38 pm

Jessie looked over at Ambrogino and motioned for him to sit back down. "I can answer these ones though I'm afraid that James is on a compleately wrong track. To be honnest about it Baldesar warped us here so that we could AVOID the situation of hired thugs out to kill us. The fact that a flock of harpies was sent here to ambush us is what troubles me. The reality we inhabit currently is devoid of any sort of animal life. There's trees and plants and whatnot but no humans, elves, minotaurs, sheep, birds or any of that sort of thing. By traveling this way I had hoped to avoid quite a bit of trouble by simply disappearing until we got to where we were going. Any more questions?"

- Blackwind.

Edited by: Blackwind Isao at: 10/11/05 18:55

Archmage144
 

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Archmage144 » Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:52 pm

"That pretty much covers it for me, but hold on a second." James frowned, as if he didn't like something he'd heard. "Completely devoid of animal life? You mean that this Gaera has no living things?"


User avatar
Kelne
EXTERMINATE!!!!
 
Posts: 3606
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: The Valley of Shadows (Closed Second Gen Philsys RP)

Unread postby Kelne » Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:53 pm

Cerene rolled her eyes at James, before continuing with her questioning, "And why, exactly, did you not see fit to tell us all this before dragging us off to a parallel reality?"

So far as she was concerned, Jessie's current willingness to spill the beans in no way made up for lying to them earlier. They might have been lies of omission, but they were lies nonetheless. Come to that, she wouldn't put it past Jessie to still be holding back part of the truth.

She absolutely hated being lied to, particularly by employers. Little ommissions of fact had gotten her into a hell of a lot of trouble in the past.

Meanwhile, Keros had other things on his mind. Like how the heck he was going to get home from here. That and why exactly this version of Gaera had nothing in the way of large animal life.


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kai » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:26 pm

The idea that she was in a separate plane was not terribly jarring to Zea. She was originally from another plane, technically. She hadn't been in Gaera long anyway. It was a little irritating that she would have slim possibility of finding what she was looking for in a place where there were no--

Wait. No animals or humans or.... None?

Needless to say, this was a confusing revelation for Zea. On the one hand, she was a follower of Reshtaha. On the other.... this couldn't be right. On yet another hand, she had been seriously considering killing the local plant life only about half an hour ago. On still one more of the seemingly infinite hands of Zea's current thought process... this couldn't be natural. Something had to be wrong with this. If there was no animal life here as Jessie was telling them, there had to be a reason. What would they eat? Zea wasn't sure if she could summon food from another plane, no matter how much of it she'd marked before she left.

No animal life. Does that mean it's all dead or that it never existed? More importantly, is this an issue of the native ecosystem being horribly out of balance? Reshtaha's influence here is more bizarre than I could have anticipated. Why no sentient life? If there's nothing but plant matter here, then why...

That was the main question that kept jackhammering against the part of her mind that ought to be more concerned with how safe they were with an employer who didn't see a need to tell them why animal life of the humanoid variety couldn't seem to survive here. Everything was "why..."

It was almost certain in her mind that this made sense somehow if she could only find the right perspective. She was also almost certain that due to probability places like this had to exist. But compounded with the unnatural plant life was now an absence of animal life. This place didn't seem real. It didn't conform to any of the standards of natural organization Zea was familiar with. It was as if it was haphazardly constructed to serve some temporary purpose...a world animated beyond its natural capacity in much the same way Zea herself often animated the dead.

If the patterns of survival and death didn't make sense here, then what did? Obviously the harpies could die, and they all (party and harpies included) seemed to be able to subsist well enough here in the absence of violent intervention. But why would a world in which plants were so well-off they could survive where they shouldn't still not harbor any more advanced life than that? What evolutionary force was driving the prevention of animal life?

Yet another question... if for some reason animal life couldn't survive here, did that mean that Reshtaha had some hand in the artificial ecosystem of this place? If that were so, were they interfering in it by being here?

She looked around at her fellow adventurers and their intermittently useful employer. What were they doing here? What the hell did this all mean?


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:10 am

"... but HOW?" Bulworth blurted out.

"I mean, I've only done it the one time, and I was nothing but a little calf, but when I traveled dimensions, I KNEW it. There was no mistaking I'd gone somewhere. How do you put all of us into a new realm of existence without anyone NOTICING?"

This last question was asked half-rhetorically. He was frustrated at his situation. He was displaced from home once, and he did NOT want to be displaced from another one.

He looked at Jesiah. "You better have a way to get us home after this, man. I don't want to be stuck here after this..."


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:43 am

"First, I didn't tell any of you what was going for several reasons. The main one is that it shouldn't make any difference, we'll be back in our own Gaera before this whole thing is over. There are other reasons as well but they all tend to be at least as equally snippy and will probably offend you more than the one I just gave." Jessie replied. "Second, yes. There isn't anything here other than the plant life. Don't ask me how or why or any other questions on the matter. I don't know how this reality works aside from that it is close enough to our own that we have no difficulty surviving here. As to how we got here exactly you'd have to ask Baldesar, and he won't even explain the process to me. I can however tell you that whatever it is isn't magical or at least doesn't register as such when it happens. Last but certainly not least, I am able to get us home with a minimum amount of fuss, though the method for doing so comes from Ignazio over there. I'm as much in the dark as to the theory of the process or even how he manages to make the things that he does. I just know how to use them and where they go to."

Jessie surveyed the party once more, still noting its ragged showing after one battle. "I don't see the need to continue on today as all of you appear to be a bit beat by our recent encounter. We'll set camp here for the night unless anyone has a better idea. Also, Mr. Sonelle if I could have a word with you when you get a chance?"

- Blackwind.


User avatar
Kelne
EXTERMINATE!!!!
 
Posts: 3606
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kelne » Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:26 am

Such a statement wasn't exactly calculated to calm Cerene down. If anything, she looked even angrier.

"So," she said in a voice uncharacteristically laden with sarcasm, "You knew people were out to get you. You decided to bring us to a world which you know next to nothing about. And you didn't think any of us needed to know this. Because it was irrelevant. Is there anything else you don't think we need to know?"

Keros, meanwhile, was only vaguely paying attention. He was considering this particular reality and what he might learn from it. Was this particular reality somehow on a slower evolutionary pathway than his own version of Gaera? Or had some disaster along the lines of an asteroid impact wiped out all the larger animals?

Perhaps a subject of equal interest was that this world potentially had a pristine astral weave, unaffected by the multitude of uses to which the various intelligent races had put magic over the centuries. Observing the natural state of Gaera's astral plane would be a fascinating exercise. Always assuming that this was indeed its natural state.

Yes indeed, Keros could quite happily spend a great deal of time here.


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kai » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:13 pm

So what. We're here. We'll get back. Shit happens. We'll figure something out when the time comes.

Her attention was caught again by Jessie's backhanded generosity at allowing them to camp because they 'appeared to be a bit beat' after the fight with the harpies. Zea, for her part, was fine. There was a reason she used undead to do her fighting for her when she could. It took some energy, but in the long run she much preferred the investment to wasting her own resources and those of her allies.

"Yeah, sure. We'll camp. I have some things to do, anyway. Couple of experiments I've been thinking about. If Bulworth is switching with me, that'll put me at first watch after dinner."

I have a new spell or two I want to try, since I'm going to be travelling with other people. I know that James at least can use shadow magic, since he told me as much. I might have to borrow him for a moment to try out an idea I have.




Archmage144
 

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Archmage144 » Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:59 pm

"Resting is acceptable," noted James, sighing a bit. He figured it would be helpful, even if most of his energy had been restored by his body being replaced with an earlier version for a few minutes prior. Listening to Zea, however, he found himself with a much more intersting proposition than simply sitting on his ass--the girl was in the mood to do something of the arcane variety, research and experimentation, and he was certainly in the mood to assist her. Any chance to show off his wealth of knowledge regarding applied and impractical magical theory was welcomed, especially to a cute girl that had shown some previous interest in, if nothing else, being his friend. And
Zea was definitely more interesting than that absurd brute of a minotaur or the mildly obnoxious phoenix. She, unlike his employer, had never bothered trying to lie to him as far as he knew, and as such Zea made a much better travelling companion than Jessie or any of his numerous subordinates, most of whom James was beginning to get confused with one another. They were all important to Jessie, somehow, but James honestly cared very little about the specifics.

"Hey, what's this about a new spell or two? I'm interested in finding out what your ingenuity is cooking up," James said with a grin, turning his attention toward the female necromancer of the group. "If you're doing 'field research*,' I'd be more than willing to give you a hand. If nothing else, it would be interesting to just watch."

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">*"Field research" is an interesting euphemism used by some Gunnir students and professors to describe magical experimentation that is too dangerous to be performed indoors due to high risk of explosions or other hazards resulting from magic that covers a large area or is not easily contained.</span>


User avatar
Kelne
EXTERMINATE!!!!
 
Posts: 3606
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 2:02 am
Location: New Zealand

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kelne » Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:12 pm

With no response to her question, and no apparent support whatsoever from the others, Cerene turned her back on the group and stalked off in disgust. She wasn't intending to go far from the group, but she needed a bit of space right now.

Keros was a bit conflicted about whether to follow her. In the end, he decided against it. Cerene already knew she had his support if she needed it, and given a bit of time to cool off she'd be alright.

In the meantime, since he wasn't entirely sure how long they'd be spending here, he had a few experiments of his own to conduct. A good overview of the astral plane seemed the place to start. Followed by a few tests to fix the location of this part of reality in relation to his own version of Gaera. He wanted to be able to return when he had the time.

He'd get around to talking to Jessie eventually, of course.


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Fri Oct 14, 2005 9:43 pm

"Mm? Switch shifts?" Bulworth was still in a haze. No one had told him why he'd blacked out yet. ... it was a black out, right?

He decided he must have fallen from the tree after he vanquished the harpy to the ground, and they'd healed him. That was a good enough explanation, whether or not it was the truth.

"Right. Switching shifts. Of course," he responded.

"Uh... what shift did I ask for, again?"


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kai » Fri Oct 14, 2005 9:54 pm

Damn. Even Mr. Black's healing is obnoxious. Not quite as bad as mine, but still kind of inconvenient.

Zea mentally gathered her patience. It wasn't Bulworth's fault Jessie's healing had messed with his head. "You were going to go first. I was going to go third. You seem a little out of it, and you were pretty badly injured before, so I thought you could use some time to recharge before you have to keep us alive while we sleep. As a result, I suggested we switch."

She tapped her index finger against her lower lip for a moment, considering the viability of a few spells she had never had cause to use before. Withdrawing slowly from her thoughtful daze, she turned to address James. "I... have a couple of ideas, at least one of which should be totally viable. Not sure yet. However, if I could get your assistance later on tonight, I'll try something which may or may not be useful. At the very least it'll be kind of interesting."

I wonder if I should go check on Cerene. Probably not the most productive thing in the world to have her sulking over there by herself.


Archmage144
 

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Archmage144 » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:01 pm

"Yeah, sure," replied James, nodding. "I have no idea just what exactly you have in mind, but if it's as interesting as you say, I have no choice but to give you a hand. If nothing else, it's an excellent way to show off my own genius talents." He scratched his knuckles on his chest and blew them off, grinning a little. "There's no one I'd rather have as a partner for doing shadow magic field research than yours truly, after all. It's practically in my blood. In fact, I dare say that it is in my blood. Being half-demon does wonders sometimes."

"Anyway, whatever you have in mind, I'm willing to try. I have a couple things I was considering earlier that I might want to experiment with myself."


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:34 pm

Bulworth nodded to Zea. "It's agreed. then."


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kai » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:33 pm

Zea stared at James for a full three seconds before simply raising her eyebrows at him.

He's apparently feeling much better. James seems to be a very strange mix of flattery and blatant swaggering arrogance. Not sure what to think about that yet. Can't imagine it'll be a problem. He's a mage. It happens.

"Well. Unless someone's hungry and wants a bite to eat, I don't really think there's much else to do this evening but play around with magic for a while. I'd certainly hate to miss an opportunity to witness your genius talents, or to show off my own." She laughed a bit. "I just haven't ever bothered to work with anyone else before, and I thought that testing it out might be an interesting use of time if nothing else." Zea gestured to an empty area a good distance away from the group. "I don't know what you've got in mind, but it's probably better if we move away from the crowd of people."

She picked up her axe and slung it over her shoulder, making sure her everpresent pouch of seeds was still where she'd placed it in the sash of her robes.


Archmage144
 

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:08 am

"I did say we were doing field research, didn't I? Doing it in a crowd of our allies is definitely defeating the point." James nodded, grinning mischeviously. It had been a while since he'd had the chance to blow anything up in the name of scientific experimentation. There was nothing like collaborating with colleagues in the arcane field, especially when they were relatively interesting people.

James was vaguely reminded of his days at Gunnir when he spent time doing mandatory group projects. One of his many interesting research proposals involved a development that he and a friend had discovered while toying with the intra-arcane forces associated with a type of solidified shadow magic that he and his associates had simply referred to as "dark matter." Dark matter disobeyed a lot of the fundamental rules of physics and the laws of the interactions between matter and energy, so James and his research companion were extremely pleased with the majority of the results.

However, an unfortunate mishap occurred during one of the later weeks of their research, and a small sample of rogue, amplified power dark matter escaped from their "test facility" and somehow wound up in the teacher's coffee lounge. Ordinarily, this might not have been a problem, but as it happened, one of the professors in the lounge that day had a very slight cold, and the dark matter mutated a strain of bacteria that rode the high-speed winds of one of the professor's sneezes when the bacteria found their way into the rogue sample. In a spectacular display of arcane unpredictability, the dark matter was absorbed by the bacteria, causing super-accelerated mitosis as the bacteria gained the ability to feed on life energy around them. Four hours later, an entire wing of the Academy was crawling with cocci equipped with flagella capable of bludgeoning a horse to death. Fortunately, the bacteria were too large to further spread infection. Unfortunately, the entire wing had to be quarantined until a group of white mages figured out how to suitably amplify a remove disease spell to affect monera the size of ogres.

James and his partner, fortunately, were never definitively linked to the incident.

"So, let's find a nice spot to get started. Why not explain to me exactly what it is you want to do?"


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Kai » Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:23 am

Zea led them away from the others, but close enough to keep an eye on them for the sake of prudence.

"Well, aside from a couple of possibilities involving dead bodies--which I don't expect you to volunteer for--I have an idea that might let us split the workload a little. At least with shadow magic. If you channel a spell through me, I might be able to take some of the casting burden off you or anyone else who happens to use that particular school. Then there are some things with plants which may or may not be interesting to anyone else."

She dropped her axe to the ground, touching the head down and letting the handle follow it to the grass. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to work with someone else. Death magic wasn't uncommon in her neighborhood. Growing up surrounded by demons did wonders for one's desensitization to unholy power. Nonetheless, she hadn't met quite as many other mages with her specialty who were willing to collaborate. She suspected that most of them were interested in death magic because of various mental issues rather than simple curiosity or reverence of any kind. Necromancy in particular tended to attract a lot of mages whom even their contemporaries considered a little... off.

It was a welcome opportunity to work with someone who appeared to be mentally stable. And whatever ego issues James might have, he certainly didn't seem likely to snap and sacrifice them all to some dark god or another. Zea would have liked to forgo such evaluations of her coworkers, but she'd met enough crazed death mages that it wasn't a risk she'd feel responsible taking.

"But, that's my question of the moment. I don't imagine it'll be a problem. What did you have in mind?"


Archmage144
 

Re: Religious confusion off the port bow....

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:32 am

"Let me try that 'channeling through you' thing. I imagine you know what you're doing. So I just try to cast the spell as normal, and you'll pick up the slack?" James frowned a little, as though trying to decide on the effect that he wanted. After a moment's consideration, he made up his mind. "Let me try something relatively simple."

He raised his hands, murmuring softly in an arcane tongue while he channeled shadow energy through his body. A purplish aura surrounded James, his hair and clothes flapping slightly in a breeze that seemed to exist for sheer dramatic effect. After he had sufficiently focused, he closed the chant to his spell, the volume of his voice rising...

"Energies of the shadow plane, blind mortal eyes with your deceptive force, the antithesis of light! Impenetrable Darkness!"

If all went well, James would be able to create a large "cube" of seemingly free-floating dark space about twenty feet away from his current position--and Zea would have chimed in to help him, lessening the effort on his part...


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

By your powers combined...

Unread postby Kai » Sat Oct 15, 2005 12:59 am

As James began his incantation, Zea raised one of her palms and held it open in front of her. She closed her eyes and silently began to pull the shadow energy of his spell through her hand and into own aura instead of his.

James felt a strange sensation as if the spell were being taken away from him. In fact, by rough estimate, it would seem as though about half of the spell was no longer moving through him but rather being drawn off into Zea. She picked up the rest of her part of the spell and released it with him, creating James' darkness spell with significantly less effort on his part.

She lowered her hand and looked from James to the effects of their spell. "That's interesting. It feels really weird, but it's interesting."

The truth was, it was more than interesting and more than weird. She'd never imagined how different someone else's spells could feel. It made sense in retrospect, but while she'd been on the receiving end of magic before, this was totally different.

On the one hand, not being in control of the spell made her a bit nervous. It was more trust than she was used to placing in somebody else's magic. She had to assume that the other person wouldn't pick a spell that would flood her with too much negative energy, and she also had to assume that whatever spell he picked would be the right one. Sharing spells was also a little bit more of an intimate collaboration than she was used to... at least in the pursuit of her studies.

All in all, though... it could be useful. At some point it might be possible for her to take an active role in the shared spell. That would be a little bit more difficult to figure out, but it offered intriguing possibilities.

She chewed her thumbnail as she mused about the implications of this avenue. "...Interesting."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=kai@rpgww60462>Kai</A]&nbsp; Image at: 10/15/05 1:00

Archmage144
 

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:04 pm

"Weird, eh? Magic does that, but I'm sure you know that by now. The idea of making casting a spell a group effort is something I'm entirely used to, but this is a little different from standard ritual magic. I would argue that it's a little more...personal." James glanced at Zea. "Performing a magical ceremony with a whole group of people is about as intimate as watching a game of brass rackets."

Something caught James' eye off to one side at the tail end of casting his spell. He turned his head to focus his sight better on the unusual disturbance, frowning a little and narrowing his eyes. "Is it just me, or is there some sort of...hole...in the astral plane over there? It's like looking at a very large, mostly stationary bubble in a glass of water."


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Kai » Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:23 pm

Zea moved closer to the area and checked it out herself.

"No, you're right. It's definitely there. It doesn't just fade out, either. It stops and is just kind of... no longer there."

It was kind of an odd astral quirk, really. Didn't seem to correlate with anything nearby. It also didn't seem to be affecting anything adjacent to it.

Apparently she and James weren't the only ones interested in the anomaly. The pseudo-Jessie Ambrogino was coming over to check it out. She gave him a short wave and gestured over to the hole that was the current object of examination.


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:31 pm

Ambrogino returns the wave and heads over for a closer inpection himself. He takes only a minute to look the thing over before he starts muttering to himself.

"This really isn't my area of expertise and I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised with things like the Trumps out there for inter-planar travel but I can't figure out how he managed to do that," he says with a shake of his head. "If he can figure out how to cut off the astral the man is damnably dangerous. I wonder if he understands the implecations of such actions? I wonder if I understand them either."

- Blackwind.

Edited by: Blackwind Isao at: 10/15/05 17:49

Archmage144
 

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sat Oct 15, 2005 5:46 pm

"Hold on a minute," interrupted James, somewhat frustrated and confused by the whole thing. "You mean that the creator of this place, and by extension, this plane, is intentionally excluding the astral plane crossover in specific sections of existence? I realize that the astral is highly mutable, and that's why magic is possible in the first place, but usually blocking its overlap like this requires a great deal of power."

"And furthermore," he continued, obviously agitated by his ability to not know something, "what the hell are these 'trumps' you keep mentioning? I swear, I can hear the capital letters whenever you use that word."


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:01 pm

"To answer your first question in a word, no, that isn't what I mean at all. The person who did that certainly didn't create this place and I doubt if the effect is permanent, though I suppose I could always ask him about it." Ambrgino stated stabbing a finger in the direction of the hole in the astral to indicate exactly what 'that' was in case there was any confusion.

"To answer your second question without going into any great detail, think of a Trump as a teleportation method that can get you from wherever you are to a specific person or place wherever it or they happen to be instantaneously, regaurdless of distance, planes and all that sort of thing. If you have one for a person it also allows for communication between the two of you without having to actually activate the teleportation part of it, which I might note, is compleately up to the person that you want to go to. There is a bit more but I don't see the point in going into everything that a Trump does if I've given you the basics of it. For future reference however, they gennerally look something like a playing card with a picture of a person or place. If you'd like I can even show you a few."

- Blackwind.


Archmage144
 

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Archmage144 » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:22 pm

"Fascinating," noted James. "It's a combination communication and transportation spell focus. That makes a great deal of sense, I suppose."

He shook his head, unable to think of any further questions. "Whatever. This whole thing is still a mess as far as I'm concerned, no matter what you tell me. Wherever we're going and whatever we're supposed to do, let's do it. I'm getting sick of playing games."


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:35 pm

"I would imagine that it appears that way, yes. As I understand it Jessie has left out quite a few details that he probably shouldn't. It isn't my call though, maybe once he thinks he can trust you people he'll tell you a bit more. Jessie is a very close mouthed person after that incident some sixty years ago. In any case things should become quite a bit more clear as you get nearer your destination, not that I'm exactly certain what all is going on here either. I don't think that I'll be staying to figure it out either, though this hole concerns me. I wonder who exactly was meant to notice this."

- Blackwind.


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: By your powers combined...

Unread postby Kai » Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:55 pm

"I don't care who was meant to notice it. The point is that we did. And I'm very glad for your sympathy. It's nice of you to agree that Mr. Black is not fulfilling his obligations as our employer. Makes me feel like my expectations are less unreasonable. I'm also grateful for your explanations. However. You're not staying. This means we're going to need some other way of getting information. We won't be able to grill you for it forever."

She sighed and put one hand on her hip, gesturing with the other. "If he's waiting until he can trust us before he tells us important information, that's his prerogative. Unfortunately, it also means that he is trusting us to protect him and finish this mission when we probably don't have enough information to do so effectively."

She sighed again and rubbed her temples with one hand for a moment before she continued. "James is right. This is a mess. An interesting mess, but still. I'd like to get to the part of the job where I know what's going on and how I can help."


Blackwind Isao
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2003 3:23 am
Location: Satan's Armpit

Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby Blackwind Isao » Sat Oct 15, 2005 7:26 pm

"Oh, I don't know. You all seem to a decent job once the battle starts and I doubt that protecting a guy who can pull off some fairly impressive stunts will be all that hard. Of course, that has very little to do with the end result I'm sure. If I know Jessie though you'll at least get told enough to do whatever it is he hired you for in the first place, even if you don't know what the hell you're doing at the time. As a side note I probably wouldn't expect much of a change in scenery over most of the trip. This sort of terrain makes it damnably hard to ambush you people and I suppose if you keep shifting planes you'll never have to worry about those mountains either. I probably wouldn't expect to be told that you're doing that sort of thing though. Now that Jessie's told you that he has the capability to do that sort of thing he'll expect you to be able to realize when that sort of thing has happened. Perhaps, a bit unreasonable there, but if first impressions of things are any sort of indication that's the way it'll go."

The elf glanced once more at the hole in the astral and muttered something to himself. "I should probably be on my way then. Perhaps we'll see each other again at some point." With that said he removes what looks to be a playing card from his pocket and after a brief moment fades into a prismatic outline of himself before disappearing compleately.

- Blackwind.


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:23 am

Bulworth looked at the disappearing act in a state of unease and wonder.

"Huh. So, he'll be back, right? I mean, he's not abandoning us, right?"

That unease had just turned ever so slightly to fear. This was a poor situation for anyone, and Bulworth even more. Fear of being trapped in an alternate dimension was an uncommon one, but Bulworth had it. Sure, in the end he'd benefited, but being stuck in Doma still laid the frame for this phobia to begin to rise.

Lucky for him it only came around in unique scenarios like the one he was in right now...


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby Kai » Sun Oct 16, 2005 1:04 pm

At this point Zea couldn't continue a conversation with Ambrogino anyway, so she tried very hard not to storm up to Jessie and demand that he elucidate on the matters even Ambrogino had been vague about. She wasn't worried about Jessie's past at this point. If he wanted to talk, he'd talk. Somehow she doubted it was relevant on anything but social terms.

If Zea was going to be concerned about the social health of the group, there were much better ways to spend her time than to worry about Jesiah Black. Cerene was off by herself being pissed, and Bulworth seemed very bothered by recent events. Someone ought to go talk to each of them.

She decided to approach Bulworth and see if he was all right since he was closer anyway. She addressed the minotaur in a low voice to prevent herself from announcing their conversation to the entire plane.

"You worried about him? I don't know when or if he'll be back. At any rate, if we're not going to get any help from Mr. Black, and if his slightly-more-helpful friend won't be here, it's probably going to be up to us to keep an eye on each other. I doubt we're stuck here forever, but as long as we are here we'll probably just have to take things as they come."

She took a look at the darkening horizon and shrugged. "I don't know. Might as well get some dinner and some sleep. Worry about it in the morning. What do you say?"


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:48 pm

"Sounds like an idea to me," Bulworth said. "Let's just see what the local flora's like..."

Bulworth searched for the nearest patch of grass, and from it picked a few small blades. But, before he put them in his mouth, he checked to make sure they didn't look unhealthy, or anything. Didn't want to take watch with an uneasy stomach...


User avatar
Kai
Fighting the Iron Law of Oligarchy Since 2006
 
Posts: 2408
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: Indianapolis

Re: Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby Kai » Sun Oct 16, 2005 3:51 pm

Zea watched him check the local grass population with some curiosity.

Eh. Why not.

"Um... if you want something better to eat than random grass, I could grow you something or try summoning it."


User avatar
KingOfDoma
Guess Who It Is?
 
Posts: 2656
Joined: Tue May 07, 2002 7:21 pm
Location: Calgary

Re: Snide comment, ahoy.

Unread postby KingOfDoma » Sun Oct 16, 2005 4:37 pm

"You can do that? That would be nice," responded Bulworth. "But," still eyeing the native grass, "I'm still not sure about this stuff, so I'll tell you in a moment..."


PreviousNext

Return to Gaera Main RPs

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests

cron

Yalogank