The Planewalkers' Journies

[Jak Snide]

"Additional company is always a welcomed gift. As for our current lack of knowledge, such a thing can be easily remedied by a viable source of information and an able researcher. There is a guild library from what Lux has told me and I am certain we could find someone familiar with the plane of steam. The only thing I might recommend is to cover any exposed flesh, given how steam is rather hot when initially produced."

[Shinigori V2]

"Going to places you don't know the first thing about is a good way to get eaten." Shawn says, taking another bite of her food. "But if that's where you want to go...I guess I'll allow it..Being team leader and all."

[Idran1701]

Guild Kitchen

Chuckling at the interchange between the members, Florence says, "I'm probably going to be heading out myself sometime tomorrow morning. It's been almost five days, I'm starting to get antsy again. I'm thinking about Gehenna, myself. I've never been there, and exploring the Lower Planes is always an exciting time. Definitely tricky, but exciting."

She looks over to Shawn and continues, "I'll probably still be gone when you get back. We'll have to have plenty of stories for each other when we meet back up, though, all right?" With a smile, she adds, "Be careful, okay? I'll try to do the same."

[Shinigori V2]

"Yeah, I'll be okay." Shawn said, finishing off her bread and popping another hard candy into her mouth. "Zant, I'll leave the research to you. I've got stuff I need to do, all right?"

[Jak Snide]

The man nodded to Shawn, keeping his expression as pleasant as always, and resumed his meal. He'd ask around a bit once he was done, see what the more senior guild members had to say on it. He reckoned that Lux would take all too eagerly to delving into the library for similar insights.

[Kai]

Zant caught Joss' interest with a mention of a great tower of ice, standing inexplicably in the middle of a distant plane. Could it be the work of some crazed wizard? Perhaps the advance marker of a conquering army from an icier land, a flag planted on a plane they were claiming for themselves! Or it was just a talented sculptor, in which case at least the tower would be pretty.

Or perhaps it was a crazed conquering sculptor wizard!

...This could be grave indeed.

Joss struggled to chew as quickly as he could to swallow a piece of meat from his stew. He wanted to offer some input but it was rude to talk with his mouth full and that wouldn't do. By the time he'd gotten his mouth free of whatever tasty beast had died to feed him, Joss was stunned into silence by Florence's apparent plans.

Gehenna! I've clearly underestimated her after all. Good for her! His approval noted, his thoughts moved on to the topic at hand. He began wiping the inside of his bowl with his remaining bread and leaned forward to look over at Zant. "Mind if I come with you? I haven't gotten a chance to check around in the library yet."

[Jak Snide]

"By all means, feel free to, though this one" he said, indicating Lux with a gesture, "is our budding scholar. I was planning to make more vocal inquiries concerning our destination."

[Spleen]

"So you were all out together before?" Theller asked. "What was your last contract? I bet Joss wants to be able to tell the whole story later, when someone asks about his allies." He grinned.

[Kai]

"Well," Joss answered somewhat haughtily. "One must always be prepared to give credit to one's allies. After all, that sense of appreciation and cooperation could someday mean the difference between glory and death." He nodded, satisfied at the wisdom he had found room to bestow upon his new friends.

However, one man had stated that the other was their resident scholar. Good to note for future reference. After all, he probably knew all kinds of great things. Those things would be essential and engaging at best, and merely potentially useful at worst. It was good to have that sort around. Joss decided that he approved.

"I don't think I've been introduced to you all, though. Joss Hunter here. Theller and Shawn and Florence I've met, but I don't think I know the rest of you."

[Jak Snide]

"Zant." Sparing his usual verbosity, the man nodded to the newcomers, his hair rippling strangely as he did.

[Justice Augustus]

"Lux Grevran, or 'Captain' if you prefer," Lux says with a smile at Zant. "Scholar, poet, explorer, and much more. It seems for now I fill in the role of the team's encyclopedia, but that suits me, at least for the moment. The plane of steam has never been a concentration of mine, the idea of it always seemed rather monotonously dull compared to places such as Mechanus, or even Gehenna." Here Lux glances at Florence at this point, curiosity peeking out from every one of his features. "So, let us be away to the library to see whether someone has already documented a tower of ice in a land of vapour." Lux stands and quickly strides off in the direction of the library, not looking back to see if anyone follows him.

[Idran1701]

Guild Kitchen

Standing herself, Florence chuckles at Lux's comment. "I'll try to remember to tell you about it next time I see you. I hope you're right, a boring trip's nothing to look forward to."

She continues, turning to the rest of the party as the bard heads off to the library, "Well, it was nice meeting you all and seeing some of you again, but I should probably start getting ready for my own trip. I've got more than a bit of preparation before bed if I want to head out first thing. Shawn, I suppose I'll see you again in a few days if I don't in the morning?"

[Shinigori V2]

"Yeah. See you in a few days, Florence." Shawn said, taking the remainder of her meat all at once.

[Spleen]

Theller grinned at Joss, happy to have the inkling he got of the young man pan out. Being boastful's not a bad thing, the raptoran thought, Just so long as he doesn't let himself get trapped in arrogance. I hope he can live up to his words, even though he's just a kid.

Theller laughed at Lux's assessment of the Plane of Steam. "I'm from the Plane of Air, myself," he commented, "And if there's any plane that can be said to be more empty than the Plane of Steam, it's that. So is anyone going to follow him, or is he just going to come back with what he finds out?"

[Seethe]

"Rosalyn," was Rosalyn's answer to Joss' call for introductions.

She regarded the person who identified himself as Lux with more than a little respect. The gathering of information was the highest of callings in the girl's opinion, though, personally, she greatly preferred direct exploration over research, not really having much of a mind for scholarly pursuits herself.

"So, not to be pushy, but is this group taking any more members?" she asked.

She hadn't really been formally invited into this party as far as she knew, after all, but she thought it would be quicker to go along with them than to wait for another group to form.

[Jak Snide]

"All are welcome as far as I am concerned." Zant nodded towards Shawn "You will have to check with out revered leader, though. As for me, I shall be asking those of experience for their accounts. Excuse me."

And with that said he rose and departed, off to try and gather some information.

[Kai]

Joss watched the others as they stood and began to head off toward the library. He stood and watched them go, but whirled to glance at the table where his empty bowl sat. He wanted to go! He wanted to follow them to research and adventure!

But he'd agreed to help clean up. He wanted to do two things but he was honor-bound only to one. He held in a sigh before he turned and called out to Zant as he left. "I'll be right behind you. I've just gotta help out here for a second."

Then the boy put the others out of his mind for now. He had a job to do and he'd do it as best he could. He grabbed his bowl and the dishes left on the table by his new acquaintances. On his way to the kitchen he cleared one more table that had been abandoned. By the time he got back to the others who were cooking Joss had a full armload of dishes. The least he could do was prevent these fine upstanding men and women from having to hunt for other guildsmen's dishes.

"Hey guys," he said. "I've been asked to go help with a mission, but when I get back is it okay if I come give you guys a hand then?"

Well, perhaps not precisely asked. But they'd agreed to let him come, which was the same thing when it came to these sorts of arrangements.

[Idran1701]

Guild Kitchen

As Joss approaches, the two guild members look over from their own duties, smiling and giving him a wave as they see him carting over the dishes. After his request, they nod, and the closer of the two speaks up.

"Is it okay? Ha, of course it is, son. We'd be glad to have the help. Go ahead, and if there's anything left when you get back, we'll let you pick up with us. If not, we'll find something else for you. Fair deal?"

As he rinses out a bowl, the second of the two speaks up himself.

"Hey, what's your name, anyway? It'd be nice to know what to call you when you get back. I'm Zev, myself, and this here is Darrell."

[Kai]

Once the dishes were out of his hands Joss gave the others a brief bow. "Nice to meet you Zev, Darrell. Joss David Hunter at your service." His eyes swept over the little arrangement they had here, and wondered just how much work there'd be to do later and if he'd even be there. After all, there was always the chance that they'd leave as soon as they learned enough from the library and other members to set out. His muscles protested the idea of getting back out on the road and on those stairs, but that was just weakness talking. Sometimes a man needed the discipline to carry on, and this was one of those times.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back, but anytime I'm around I can help with stuff. Really really excellent stew by the way. Nice to have the good home food sometimes. Anyway, if you guys are okay here I might go see whether my friends need any help, all right?"

[Idran1701]

Guild Kitchen

As he waves Joss off towards the library, Zev says, chuckling, "Glad you liked it. But go on, I'm sure you've got plenty of reading to do. We'll see you later on, eh?"

Darrell continues with a grin, "It's good to see someone so ready to help out, Joss. Nice to know the new blood'll keep living up to the old here."

[Kai]

Joss grinned so widely his muscles ached. He'd apparently made a good impression just... doing what he normally did. And they could tell that he would live up to the more experienced members in the guild!

Could I really do that? he thought. He shook off the moment of doubt. Doubt was for men who lacked conviction, who lacked the courage to make their own luck and their own victory. Of course I can! Dsedh knew what I'm made of. He was so totally right. I should have been here all along. That thought sobered him somewhat as it called to mind just where he had been instead.

No matter. With a wave to the two cooks, Joss headed off after the others toward the library.

[Spleen]

Theller followed the others to the library, not sure of how he would help but confident that he'd find some way to do so.

[Idran1701]

Guild Library

Heading across the landing, Lux makes his way towards the library, Joss and Theller following behind just a few minutes after. Though the tent doesn't look much like anything special from outside, once they step in it's certainly a sight to behold. Actual shelves line the "walls", about half-full of tomes of all ages, from publications in just the last year from the Fraternity of Order to celestial and fiendish works dating back millennia. The scent of history that all these sorts of spots seem to possess wafts over the canvas enclosure, bringing to minds thoughts of days long since gone by. A collection of tables, heavy mahogany affairs that the three of them together probably couldn't even begin to budge, are scattered across the middle, with a small number of guild members doing their own quiet studies themselves.

The shelves themselves appear vaguely sorted by category, saving them at least a small bit of trouble; unfortunately, the categories look to have been chosen almost arbitrarily, with little to know rhyme or reason. Some look to be sorted by plane, others by concept, still others by title or size. It'll be difficult work, but Lux, at least, has dealt with worse. Thus, the three get to their studies, seeing what they can uncover about their future destination.

Zant

Meanwhile, Zant takes his own approach to investigation, asking around and seeking possible first-hand knowledge about the site. He quickly learns that like most travelers, there's a definite bias towards the Outer Planes over the Inner in terms of where even the Guild's members have seen, but thankfully the sheer breadth of exploration found here more than helps to make up for it. Not many have been to Steam itself, but at least a few seem to have heard stories, rumors that they're more than eager to share with Zant after just the slightest of encouragement.


Joss, Lux, Theller:

Spoiler:

Joss has the first bit of luck, finding a nice description of the Quasielemental Plane of Steam in a work on the Inner Planes. The plane seems to be somewhat misnamed, being more like a cold, clammy mist than actual steam. It's located between the planes of Water and Positive Energy, and a person can either fall through it like Air, or swim through it like Water. The mist is so thick that breathing it slows a person down some similarly to trying to breathe in high mountains, but those that can breathe water don't have to worry about that. (Anyone that can't is affected as a slow spell for the duration of their stay, and is generally easily tired out.) He only finds reference to one major city - Adrift - so it looks like that's where they'll have to dig up a path to if they plan on taking the Staircase.

As for the tower itself, Joss doesn't find anything about it in his book, but Lux and Theller both find small references in their works, general accountings of various sites in the Inner Planes. Lux's research shows that it stands in the border region between Steam and Positive, and none have been known to enter; it's thus something of an enigma, as the ice is too thick to see through. Theller's is a bit more heartening, as it mentions a slight few have entered and returned, though how exactly isn't mentioned. According to it, the Tower's filled with alchemical supplies, and something about it acts to improve potioncrafting and other such work done there. It mentions that it also somehow simultaneously exists in the Steam-Positive and Steam-Ice border regions, despite those areas being nowhere near each other.

Zant:

Spoiler:

From what Zant learns, the Tower of Ice is rumored to be the base of an invasion of ice mephits, seeking to expand their plane into Steam and take it over in the name of Cryonax, one of the highest of the high-ups in Ice. It's sealed up tight, but the man he's spoken to heard from a friend of a friend that saw a group of mephits walk right through the tower's walls carrying some sort of crate, and that same person'd seen them doing military maneuvers when they thought no one was around to spot them.

[Jak Snide]

Zant headed back to his tent before attempting to locate the others. What he'd learnt intrigued him and, truth be told, disturbed him a little. He was curious enough to want to investigate, but the tower hardly sounded like some place you'd want to poke your nose into simply out of curiosity.

Once inside he knelt, conjuring water once again, but this time dousing himself in it, taking comfort in the moisture. Once he felt more at ease he knelt down, closed his eyes and began to pray, trying to calm his thoughts and determine the best course of action. Would the Tower receive him as a friendly party, or were relations between his lord and this Cryonax strained? He'd have to think hard on this, he told himself.

[Spleen]

"Apparently," Theller started, looking up from what he was poring over, "There are people who have entered this place, and people who have exited, and I can't seem to find anything about who they are or how they got in or out. I'd say 'I love mysteries' but I don't."

[Justice Augustus]

"Well we have a rough location to head to, and it's possible that information will be easier to find there. The conflict between our sources worries me though, and the scant detail on the method of entry and exit suggests that those reports could be nothing more than rumours. It seems the only way to confirm the properties of this tower will be to journey there ourselves."

[Shinigori V2]

Shawn leaned forward, resting her head on her palm sleepily and looking at Rosalyn. "Well, for one thing, it would be nice to know what sort of skills or experiance you have, unless it's all based around running around and telling people your name..."

[Seethe]

"Oh... of course," Rosalyn said, then gave some thought to what she could bring to the table. "Well, for one thing, I do know a little bit about finding food in the wilderness. And... I don't really like to fight, but I know how to, and I will if something unpleasant gets in our way. I can use any kind of common weapon or armor there is. Especially the longbow."

She paused for a moment, then thought of something else.

"I've got a pretty good composite longbow I could bring along," she continued. "And a breastplate. A longsword too, but I like to keep my distance if I can."

Then, on to the next subject.

"As for experience, I've been out in the wilderness a lot," she said. "Done quite a bit of exploring already before I even joined this guild, really. Dealt with my share of orcs and goblins, too."

[Shinigori V2]

Shawn shifted her head a bit, making a face. Wilderness, huh? Well, that left just one question.

"Wait, wait..Wilderness? Which wilderness?

[Seethe]

"Quite a few different ones, actually," Rosalyn answered. "But mostly the Prime, I'll admit. That's really what I'm most accustomed to, which probably wont' help much on the Plane of Steam. I could help keep us from getting lost on the Stairs, though."

Of course, she was aware that she probably wasn't doing the best job of selling herself here. She needed to try and pull her efforts out of the fire.

"But my forte is making sure nobody gets eaten by anything we run into. That's a skill that applies to any plane we could go to."

[Kai]

Joss nodded to Theller. "Interesting. Which makes me question some of my earlier theories, but confirms others. I mean for one it means this isn't the work of one crazy artist who saw a lot of water vapor and got himself inspired to carve some shit."

Exactly what would inspire an artist to such great flights of fancy on a plane like that was beyond Joss. He thought of himself as a fairly well-grounded and practical young chap, and the whole notion of building something in a place no one would ever see... why bother? Didn't artists like to be recognized for their work? No, the crazed sculptor was out, but crazed wizard and crazed conquering army theories were still in play.

"I'm with you, Lux. I mean, we're not going to learn anything more if we sit and rely on other people's accounts. Maybe we could even add to what's here." That idea struck a chord somewhere. It smacked of making a change, making a mark, making history. "Hopefully I'll still be able to help you guys out some given the whole wacky breathing thing. I kind of need air to do other things. Breathing is good for being conscious, and being conscious is good for casting spells."

[Justice Augustus]

"We should see if anyone around the area sells equipment or items for aquatic environments. There are a number of spells that allow land-based creatures to freely roam underwater, but they can be expensive on occasion. Let us see if we can find a merchant. If nothing else, there'll be someone in that town...Adrift was it? A large place has trade. Trade means foreigners. And foreigners like to breathe as much as anybody else."

Lux replaces the texts on their shelves, and quitely moves towards the exit. "Let us rejoin the others, perhaps they will have some further input."

[Kai]

"Yeah!" Joss agreed. "That sounds like a good plan."

After all, it was Joss' job to review every plan on the table and either approve or disapprove. One could not always count on allies of dazzling intelligence, but at the same time one could not simply dismiss everything another person said. Joss was still young enough that he'd met plenty of people who--even if they weren't as intelligent as he--managed to know more raw things than he did. That counted for something, and until he had pulled together enough life experience Joss was content to take advantage of theirs.

After all! If no one was interested in learning from anyone else who exactly would be around when he was grown to tell great and moving tales about him! Best not to create such an atmosphere now and perhaps attitudes full of rubbish like that wouldn't have had time to take root. Then he'd get the recognition he deserved.

As he followed Lux out, Joss wondered how his thoughts had reached this point. Wasn't he thinking about breathing underwater just a second ago?

Ah well, Joss thought. A truly intelligent man can occasionally outsmart even himself. He wasn't sure if it was true, but it certainly did sound good. Maybe he should write that down.

[Idran1701]

Outside the Library

The trio of researchers heads out and towards the "marketplace", intending to look for any sort of breathing aid they might be able to take advantage of. Making their way across the landing, they see few people out at this late hour, those that are mostly keeping to themselves in their small tent-spaces. The torchkeeper slowly walks the settlement, bringing nightfall to the guild members one light at a time.

Eventually, though, a sudden pair of noises does break the increasing calmness of the latter half of the day. A scrabbling, and a squawking. And before long, the source of these noises make themselves apparent: a chicken, of all things, scrambling about loose and running free across the group's path.


And as for the rest of the party, things are pretty much wrapped up. Those CIing, feel free to keep doing so, and if anything looks to need a GMly intervention, I'll step in. If you're done with that for now, just let me know what your character plans to spend the next bit of time doing, and I'll bring you back in when things come around to it.

[Jak Snide]

Zant noted how much he'd lost track of time when he emerged from his tent, night having crept up on him while he'd been seeking answers. While he hadn't received a bolt of divine wisdom he did feel his usual collected self once again. There was still time before he should sleep, and so he made about tracking down the others and relaying what information he'd uncovered to them.

[Justice Augustus]

"Um..." For someone so verbose, Lux seemed stumped. He looked to his companions for some clue as to how to proceed.

[NebulaQueen]

"Watch out!"

A loud shout came from behind, quickly followed by the bustling figure of a woman running towards them. While she's a bit on the small side, she doesn't seem particularly fragile - then again, the dirt smudges on her face help counteract that, to an extent. These territories of dust and mud extend from her tan skin to patches of a plaid, flannel shirt, a worn pair of denim coveralls, weathered leather boots and gloves, strands of short red hair, and a rather fetching rimmed hat. They mystery woman barrels through the adventurers, brushing past them and shoving as needed, before she practically divebombs and tackles the foul fowl before them.

"Gotcha!" she cries triumphantly, as she stands up, chicken in her arms. "Sorry about that." The woman laughs softly as she turns around, and she has the decency to smile sheepishly at the people she nearly trampled over.

[Justice Augustus]

Unfortunately for Lux, he was mid-step when the woman barged into him, and as such had no way to balance himself. With the silent resignation of one who knows their face is about to come into contact with the floor, he falls almost without bending, and those around can hear a small tinkle. Standing up and dusting himself off, he appears fine, until he reaches into a pocket and withdraws the shards of an ink vial, and some ruined sheets of paper. So much for that treatise on the history of the Gith peoples...not that it was at an acceptable work at any rate. Still, I had some lovely phrasing there.

"Well...congratulations?" Lux seems to be eying the chicken with nervousness, and his body language radiates discomfort. Those eyes! Like gimlets! They just seem to stare into my soul.

[NamagomiMk0]

Meanwhile, Vance had other things to attend to rather than food--while getting the money for the job could be bothered with later, he did notice Zant go off; the Gen--whatever he was could be harassed later for it. He didn't seem like someone who'd withhold someone's share--thank goodness for that.

...Of more immediate concern was getting a replacement boot and a weapon not quite made of metal. Something that those bug-things wouldn't eat...the boot was more of an issue of appearance; after all, nobody would take him seriously were he to walk around everywhere with a boot stained with the guts and...what passes for blood, he would guess, of a large spider native to large iron cubes in some other sphere that was home to large metal-eating bug things... Damnable spider. Damnable bug things.

Well, no use cursing about it now. Might as well see what they have for sale here, and what I can get., he thought as he walked about in search of a shop or two.

[Kai]

Joss watched as the chicken blew by, and by the time it occurred to him that maybe someone needed help, the apparent owner of the bird followed close behind it. At this point he'd only be in the way if he jumped onto the birdpile, so he just tried to stay out of the way. Fortunately Joss was still a small person, and it wasn't too hard.

Lux wasn't quite so lucky, and Joss winced when the poor guy hit the floor. Joss, completely missing Lux's obvious anxiety, took a step closer to the lady who'd apparently had such trouble keeping her livestock contained. "Oh that's okay, miss," he told her, trying to sound at least as reassuring any other boy his age talking to a grown woman. "We were actually hoping to locate some merchandise that'd help with stuff like breathing underwater. Unfortunately I don't know where to start, but you seem more..." he glanced at her livestock and the general earthiness of her appearance. "...well-established here. Got any ideas?" He spread his hands and returned her sheepish smile. "I know it'd help me out a lot."