RPGWW

by **Angelica** » Thu Apr 21, 2011 3:10 pm

"Dreams? What do you mean?"

by **Idran1701** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:32 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li glances back to the well before answering Sunny's question, speaking a bit hastily. "Dreams of the well. Since we returned, our dreams have been filled with events we'd never experienced, each ending with this well. Connected dreams at that, each of the five of us heard the voice of another coming from it." She looks back to the rest of the group. "You experienced the same, I assume?"

Looking back to Sunny, she continues, "But for now you all need to go, Gaath'lir will be returning at any moment to take my place. I will try to speak to you all later and answer your questions. And when it seems safe, I'll try to bring you back here to investigate."

Should I timeskip on? Or is anyone (Kongunvir) going to be stubborn and refuse to leave? :P

by **Shinigori V2** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:52 pm

"I'm made entirely of metal!" Flea says, pounding her chest with a surprisingly meaty thump. "Danger's not in my big book full of stupid words nobody cares about! I can totally keep looking!"

by **Angelica** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:11 pm

In other circumstances, Sunny would have been amused by the small metal creature's bravado, but in this case, she had too little information and too much at stake. She was going to have to play the diplomat.

"Well, hold on a minute. Garick and I only just got here, and I'd like to have a chance to find out what's happening before we get into a fight, not to mention that I don't even know who's on our side. Can we all just go somewhere and introduce ourselves, and then once you and your friends have filled us in, we can come back and settle this?"

Hoping to appeal to the creature's apparent passion for fighting, she added, "If there's going to be a fight I'd like to be able to make myself useful."

by **Shinigori V2** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:14 pm

"I didn't say nothin' about fighting!" Flea says suddenly looking confused. "I am just a tiny Flea in a large, unforgiving world. I'm just sayin' I don't gotta leave because what are they gonna do I'm made out of metal."

by **Idran1701** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:19 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Well

Tonuin'li smiles down to the child-esque Flea. "Maybe nothing to you, but what might they do to the others when they see you here?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:21 pm

Flea just turns her piercing yellow elven-wunderkind-whatever the hell else she is up to Tonuin'li's.

She says nothing.

She doesn't move a muscle. Or whatever she apparently has.

by **Angelica** » Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:15 pm

Sunny was confused. That thing didn't look at all like a flea to her, and it seemed a bit slow. She wondered how attached it was to the rest of the group.

"Suit yourself." Sunny turned away from the small creature, blatantly ignoring it. "Garick, let's round up the others and get out of here. I don't want to be here until we know what's going on. Salix, where should we go?" She smiled sweetly at the elf, "I'm afraid I don't know my way around yet."

by **Idran1701** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:26 am

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc

For the most part, the group departs the well, Salix showing Sunny and Garick away and back to the abandoned building serving as their base of operations in this city. Though the gith are certainly aware of it, they've given them a good deal of privacy here; the two newcomers should be fairly safe.

They're filled in on the details of what's gone on since they themselves arrived; the fight with the sahuagin, the first meeting with the gith, and what little interaction they've had since then.

For those staying at the well, Gaath'lir does eventually arrive to relieve Tonuin'li; after the relief, she heads to the abandoned building herself, to offer what aid she can in their pondering, deductions, and, where possible, their investigations.

Sorry it's a bit light, been having a bit of writer's block. Basically, those definitely staying at the well besides Flea, lemme know about it; otherwise, give me some sense the sort of stuff you're talking about, looking into, or the like over the next few hours. If there's any directions you want to take in investigating the dreams, discussion about the exact nature, anything like that. Sunny and Garick can of course be involved with that as well; though they might not have had dreams themselves, by now you two can assume you know everything that was exchanged about the dreams before you came in. (It's just the page or two before your intro posts where that stuff came up.)

Lorraine:

Spoiler:

Rosalyn:

Spoiler:

Trivale:

Spoiler:

by **darkknight61189** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:15 am

"Sheesh," Garick said, pacing back and forth, "I can't stand all this head crap. Dreams? Exploding heads? It'd all be a lot easier if whoever was doing this just showed his face so we could beat on it a bit." Garick found a place to sit down, sat there for a span of a couple seconds, then got back and paced some more. "And I missed out on fighting? Man, I hope whoever's been doing this shows up soon, otherwise I'm going to just start beating stuff at random to get him to show up."

by **Idran1701** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:43 pm

Oh, also, for the sake of explanation to folks (since it's not really meant to be mysterious in and of itself or anything, even if it is fairly strange): If it matters for what anyone's doing, a bit of quick testing would show that the weird sound stuff that's been happening is because the Astral seems to work on tree-in-the-forest principles. If you're aware someone's there, you can hear them, even if you can't see them right at the moment. If you're unaware someone's there, it's impossible to hear them. This even applies person-by-person in a large group; if only one person in a group is aware someone's there, they're the only one that can hear them, no matter how loud the sound.

Even with this, though, you can't hear someone from further away than normal or anything.

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:05 pm

Lorraine was restless back at the abandoned/not-abandoned building, pacing and looking pensive. She didn't like this feeling and it was driving her to distraction just thinking about it. Something was wrong and she couldn't figure out why it was wrong and she had only the vaguest idea how to respond to it. The dark haired, fair skinned green eyed woman wearing a fine chain shirt over unremarkable clothes and a brand new sky blue cloak had introduced herself to Garick and Sunny readily enough, but her attention wasn't on them when she did. Her manner had been agitated and nervous since they started their walk back and showed no sign of improving soon. She wasn't overtly rude to anyone, but she hardly paid any of the group or the Gith any attention either.

She presently occupied herself by going to sit in a corner with her pack, dig through it for a bit to pull out odds and ends with seemingly no pattern to their order of extraction or potential uses (a bolt of fine fabric, a small jar full of pure white sand, an old snuff box holding powdered graphite, a dried sprig of mint, a curio minus ribbon featuring a stylized image of a woman, a tiny four hole pendant ocarina, a dusty leather backed pocket manuscript with yellowing pages, a taxidermied lizard's foot, a piece of cheese in a wax paper wrapper...) She laid them out in front of her, staring at them for a moment, before harrumphing loudly and jumping to stand again. She paced the room once, twice, and sat back down. She put half of them back, hesitated, and took them back out. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration and stuffed it all back into the pack quickly and without much care. She knew she needed something, but she couldn't begin to place what it was. Sitting here, accomplishing nothing and no new insights into this plague not only made her feel useless, but the other unexplainable... something grew worse the more she didn't act.

This wasn't going to help either, though. She sighed her vexation, and reached into a belt pouch this time. What Lorraine retrieved was a glass flask that contained a shifting liquid, it's shape, color and texture never the same from one moment to the next. It was well sealed, but all the same the lady mage was always careful to never turn it upside down, just in case. She stared at it now, and tried to pull inspiration from the shifting substance. What was going on... and why was it happening to her now?

by **Angelica** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:47 pm

Sunny listened quietly while the other guild members explained the events of the past few days. It was difficult to believe what was happening, but then again, she couldn't deny that something very strange was happening, and that, for better or worse, she had gotten herself involved. When she had some free time, she wanted to get out of sight of the others and experiment with the bizarre physics of this world, but in the meantime, it was more productive to observe and learn what she could.

While she sat and listened, Sunny watched Lorraine's antics, wondering what she was up to. She seemed to have accumulated a very interesting collection of junk, but Sunny was only half-focused on the other woman, until Lorraine produced her flask. Sunny stared as Lorraine examined the flask, her curiosity roused by the swirling liquid.

by **ChristianC** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:09 am

Salix was equally baffled by the events that were transpiring. He felt as if the last day had just passed by him too quickly and a twinge of feeling useless made him boil some tea for those who wanted it. The herbs inside, he explained, weren't very strong, but they helped calm and soothe, not to mention the little touch of maple he'd added made it quite refreshing.

Somewhat like Lorraine, he'd unpacked most of the stuff he'd brought with him (mostly lab equipment, a bunch of charms, herbs and other things) and repacked it, a worried frown on his face. He didn't like not knowing what was going on. His green hair had gotten an even leafier character during the time they'd spent here, 'though you'd still mostly notice if you were close to him, and whenever he was meditating, which he did occasionally to try to clear his mind, his skin became almost like bark, blotchy white and black.

"I don't know what to do." he confessed to them silently, "The melancholy is a curse we can dispell, it's magical, but again... if we can't find the source, I doubt we will ever truly cure the planes of it."

by **Idran1701** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:51 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc - Temporary Base

Rosalyn's goblin sits quietly near Eloise, surprisingly comfortable with her, and watches Salix as he repacks his bags. "Well...there were many other places infected, yes? So...you shouldn't let failure here hurt things. Even if we find nothing here, we can look into the other areas, and have more success. I don't really think there's anything hopeless anymore; there's a source, so it can be found. Especially when it's us looking."

by **Besyanteo** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 10:28 am

Lorraine notices she has something of an audience, and tries to perk up. She puts on a fake smile she's spent a few years practicing now, though it comes out hollow as she continues to worry about what may be happening to her.

"Hey. Did you want a closer look?"

by **Angelica** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:39 pm

Sunny returns Lorraine's smile, looking much more cheerful than the other woman. She walks over to sit near Lorraine, leaning forward to get a closer look at the flask. "What is it?"

by **Besyanteo** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 12:59 pm

She returned her gaze to the substance in the flask.

"It's some of the raw chaos from the plane of Limbo. I don't know what, if anything, it's good for... but it sometimes gives me ideas just looking at it."

She was silent for a moment. Then:

"I have three already, if you'd like one."

by **Angelica** » Sun May 01, 2011 3:15 pm

"That's sweet. Thank you, but no. What would I do with it, anyway?" Sunny grinned at Lorraine, "Last time I let myself get distracted on the job I ended up here. "

by **Jak Snide** » Sun May 01, 2011 7:09 pm

Kongungvir had withdrawn with the others, indignant and still convinced of his rightness at the time. When he'd been informed what Tonuin'li had to say he acknowledged it with a grunt and kept silent. Telling himself that all the talk of mistrust in the ranks was all part of some plot by the cowardly githyanki wasn't working. He still didn't trust them, especially now that he knew they were up to something, but he'd still blustered in flinging accusations of treason around. Not only was it a wrongful accusation, at least as far as Tonuin'li was concerned, but he'd made himself look like an idiot in front of his peers. Worse still, Salix's softer approach had provided them with much needed information.

So he sat silently for now, having greeted the newly arrived Planewalkers with a a mere nod and few words, waiting for the githyanki and the well to be brought up and stewing in his own shame.

by **Seethe** » Tue May 03, 2011 12:12 am

After returning to base, Rosalyn sat thinking to herself for some time. The mission had suddenly become more urgent, and that made the difficulty in actually coming up with any ideas on what to do all the more frustrating. But even so, she was also distracted by another disappointment- Tonuin'li's apparent belief that, even if the whole Gith race were to make peace, it wouldn't be able to destroy the Mind Flayers at this point. It wasn't that she held that against the woman, but she had let herself see a promise in her dream that had been yanked away by that revelation. On reflection, she could see that she had jumped for it too quickly.

Wrestling her mind back to the problem at hand, she decided to enter the conversation.

"I think I've caught this infection," she announced, not taking time for any pleasantries. "And... It was right after we visited that well that I did. It felt... strange to me around there, too. Like some other plane was imposing itself on this one. I say we shouldn't decide we've wasted this trip until we've visited that place one more time."

by **Idran1701** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:51 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

The goblin looks over at Rosalyn's announcement, eyes wide with shock. "...You're sure? How do you feel? You don't sound like...like how you've all described it. What can we do, Rosalyn?"

While she expresses her concern, there's a knock at the door as Tonuin'li steps in. "I don't believe I was followed...it's more and more difficult to get away from the others, but after the events of our last sleep, they're even more focused on the well. I can imagine they will learn how to use it for something within only a few sleeps...whatever that may be." She frowns. "But if it is this influential on us, here, then there is likely to be a great deal of power within it. But I am certain the dreams it grants those nearby are key to whatever mysteries it holds."

She pauses briefly, looking from Kongunvir to Lorraine to Rosalyn, furrowing her brow. "...Is something the matter? Did something happen since the well?"

Well

Flea stands about the well, likely with a good deal of boredom. After everyone else left, there's no one at all here to watch her, or listen to her say stuff! It doesn't take long, though, for one of those other guys here to show up; the angry-looking one in plate mail that keeps acting like he's in charge of everything everywhere. He stops short at the sight of Flea, though the confusion soon breaks way for severe irritation.

"What are you doing here? Where are the others with you? You shouldn't be here, it isn't safe. Strong magics work here that can manipulate the mind, render it malleable. Go, whelpling! Now!"

by **Shinigori V2** » Wed May 04, 2011 8:55 pm

"Uh, I dunno if you noticed, chief!" Flea says throwing her cloak back, "But I'm not a normal person! I've been sittin' here for hours and my head is still hard as a rock!"

by **Jak Snide** » Thu May 05, 2011 5:20 am

Kongunvir met the gith's gaze steadily, though with none of the hostility from when they last met. This time he listened carefully, in silence, and waited for someone else to respond.

by **ChristianC** » Thu May 05, 2011 1:38 pm

Salix looked over at Rosalyn with worry in his eyes, moving up carefully. "Maybe there's something I can do to help? I can undo the curse for now... unless you think we can learn something from it?"

by **Idran1701** » Thu May 05, 2011 8:28 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

Tonuin'li follows Salix's gaze, her face falling. "Curse? The apathy plague? It's befallen you? Oh...my condolences, Rosalyn. "Her expression turns solemn, as she offers her a slight bow. "I...feel I may be suffering the first bits of that myself. I thought of my reactions earlier...I cannot tell if it is the stress of the situation or no, but I fear you may not be alone."

Well

Squinting towards Flea, the gith scowls, obviously not buying what she's saying. "What of your allies? They risk their own well-being should they be nearby. If they are here, you must be careful to ensure they leave now. Are they near? Can you show me to them, so that I may be certain of their safety?" He looks around, and Flea notices he's keeping his hand pretty close to his sword; he hasn't drawn it yet, but it sure doesn't help him look like he's just worried.

by **Shinigori V2** » Fri May 06, 2011 12:09 pm

"They ain't here, brosocks." Flea says flatly. "Relax."

by **Seethe** » Fri May 06, 2011 10:05 pm

"I haven't felt it too strongly yet," Rosalyn said, answering the goblin and Tonuin'li. Then, to the gith, "It's... as you describe. Like the scratch at the back of your throat when you're first catching cold. Easy to brush aside, but it feels like something's wrong all the same."

And next, to Salix.

"I don't know if there would be something to learn from it, but I'd rather accept your help if you can offer it," she answered, speaking quietly. "If you can stave off the effects, I don't want to... end up helpless... any sooner than we can avoid."

by **Besyanteo** » Sat May 07, 2011 12:26 am

Lorraine looks up from Sunny and the Chaos vial. So it wasn't just her, then. Somehow that wasn't particularly comforting.

"I'm feeling the effects as well. It's manageable right now, but..."

She shakes her head and looks back at the vial.

"I don't like to think about it, how it's going to advance. It makes me think about doing things I'd never normally consider to deal with it. ... Seeing as there's several of us infected now, I'm thinking about it more seriously. With supervision of course."

by **Idran1701** » Sat May 07, 2011 11:32 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

Wary, the goblin speaks up to Lorraine. "What...sort of things? Nothing dangerous?"

And Tonuin'li nods to Rosalyn. "I've felt it since two sleeps ago, myself, and I am not yet to that state. Bvin seemed quiet for close to four before he stopped doing much of anything. If that helps you all have a better idea of it."

Well

The gith gives Flea another weird look. One of those looks she usually sees when someone's about to say something about her smarts. But this guy stays quiet, just nodding. "...If you think yourself safe, you can stay. But keep quiet. And if any of your allies approach, warn them off immediately. As loudly as you can. Whatever you can to keep them away." With that, he looks away from Flea, ignoring her entirely as he settles in near the well.

by **darkknight61189** » Sun May 08, 2011 1:15 pm

Garick stopped his pacing and looked at Rosalyn and Lorraine. He began to wonder if perhaps he had the curse too, and just didn't realize. "If it's got to do with the well, why don't we just go down the damn thing, find out what's down there, and kill it!"

by **ChristianC** » Sun May 08, 2011 2:31 pm

Salix noods eagerly. "It should be a simple matter of Dispel Curse... a spell I've learned, but mostly haven't gotten any use of. Well, not until now anyway..." he looks between the people gathered and sights, "I don't have it memorized for all of you unfortunately... and as I said, it won't be a permanent cure, just... a temporary relief."

He looked between the group, wondering which one he should apply his one spell on. "There is a big chance you are suffering psychosomatic effects, however. I'll try to figure out if you're really afflicted before we try to cure you."

by **Idran1701** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:13 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

Tonuin'li turns to Garick, with a slight frown. "I might agree, but that there is nothing in the well. We looked before your group came, there is nothing there now. Before the attack it was sealed, perhaps something was there at some point. But for now it is empty.

"But if something did escape, why would being near the well cause the curse?" She shakes her head. "And what of the other areas you mentioned to be suffering the curse? If the well is the true cause, why would they be suffering too?"

Meanwhile, the goblin replies to Salix. "If they aren't truly suffering, would there be danger from the cure?"

by **Jak Snide** » Sun May 08, 2011 6:06 pm

"Perhaps the well is a portal?" Kongunvir ventured, looking slightly unsure of himself. "They can be virtually invisible if they're inactive, if memory serves." He spoke to Tonuin'li more than his comrades, trying to gauge her disposition towards him.

by **Angelica** » Sun May 08, 2011 6:26 pm

Sunny listened quietly, frowning. She responded quickly to Kongunvir's question, while watching for Toniun'li's reaction, "That seems to make more sense than anything I can think of."

by **darkknight61189** » Mon May 09, 2011 8:12 am

"Yeah," Garick said, hefting his hammer, "Why don't we just break the well? Bury it. Make it so nobody knows where it is?"

by **Angelica** » Mon May 09, 2011 9:41 am

"I doubt that would help. If it was sealed before, then breaking it further would probably do nothing. It might even make it worse. And from what we know so far, it seems we would have to bury an entire region to stop this thing from influencing travelers. Someone could find it accidentally, even if they weren't led to it by dreams. We could try to recreate whatever seal was broken." Sunny's voice trailed off, and she paused momentarily before smiling wryly at Garick, "In any case, things can be fixed without hitting them."

by **ChristianC** » Mon May 09, 2011 1:24 pm

Salix shakes his head, smiling. "There shouldn't be any side-effects, it is a simple dispell... unless the victim has had another spell put on him or her that might be negated. If it is a positive thing, I mean."

by **Seethe** » Mon May 09, 2011 6:11 pm

"If you only have the one spell, I think I can wait," Rosalyn said.

Then she went back to thinking about what was being said about the well.

"It may be a portal," she decided. "Or sort of intersection of planes, from what it felt like. And I do recall that some planes have... adverse effects on travelers exposed to them."

by **Idran1701** » Mon May 09, 2011 8:26 pm

Astral Plane - TorNav'Roc
Temporary Base

At Salix's assurances, the goblin appears relieved, though she makes no response. Tonuin'li, on the other hand, listens to the others thoughtfully. "I suppose it is possible, I did not think to look for one. Portals on the Astral beyond color pools are rare, so the idea did not even occur to me. But still, if this is what is happening, why then would we all dream of the well? And dream of a life none of us have experienced, from individuals seemingly unknown to each of us? Certainly for you, I am sure from what I have seen, and from what all have described, that those we dream of are of the githyanki."

She thinks further, letting a moment pass before continuing. "I've lived here since leaving my hatchery, and I've never heard tell of such a well, not even stories. So long as I can remember it was nothing but a piece of statuary, a sealed pedestal engraved with runes of protection; I did not even realize it hollow until this. It's possible it is an outgrowth of the godcorpse itself; perhaps the power beneath TorNav'Roc once represented dreams, or sleep...though that would not explain why each dream is of a githyanki. And beyond that...each dream was focused around some singular scene, some event or another. That may mean something. Or...you each had some prominent item in your dream, yes? As did we. I've wondered if perhaps the items are meaningful in some way as well.

"The dreams we've had ourselves have repeated, we've dreamt of identical set-pieces each night. Whatever happens today, we should each have further opportunity tonight to see what the dreams themselves can tell us as well. Do you have any suggestions? And I can tell you what we have discovered ourselves, though it is scant little; our only member skilled in any sort of investigation was Bvin, and he has been in no state to help."

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