[SESSION START, BITCHES.] Daytime in Lucia is actually more restful than the evening; the lively melange of colorful characters (read: stone freaks) who wander the streets starting at dusk are conspicuously absent during the morning hours. The Glass Sword is more tavern than inn, so at this hour it's all but deserted. Breakfast is, astonishingly, continental; bread and toasting racks are near the fire, as well as a tureen of porridge and a tray of cold sausage and cheese. For the more prissy... err, less meat and bread inclined customers, there is a rather suspect bowl of what probably was, long ago, fruit. ( Still talking, or can we start? ) ( Guess not. ) ( Go for it. ) * Atom calmly eats his breakfast. * Adam is sitting at a table, just finishing off some toast. * Eroles does that ( Really. ) * Magellan is wolfing down food like it's running away. From his selection, it's obvious the fruit does not count as food in his book. Which is good, since this fruit probably doesn't count as food in ANY book. (Suddenly, a dragon attaks! COMBAT!) (Do something, you lumps c.c;) * Eroles finishes up his breakfast and pats his stomach. "Not bad." ( Again? ) * Magellan finishes off a large chunk of cheese, then grabs a bowl of porridge and drinks it down right out of the bowl. When he's finished, he slams the bowl down and wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his jumpsuit. He fails to catch several specks of porridge caught in his beard. * Adam finishes his toast and sausage. me stands up. "Well. If we are all finished, shall we be off?" ( ... The hell? ) ( I'm type-riffic tonight. ) ( ... Typo. ((_-; ) * Adam stands. "Hmm...I wonder where Abby is." Ah... That was mighty fine. She really didn't seem that interested in coming along. She's probably still asleep. * Adam nods. "In that case, I guess she'll catch up with us if she wishes." "Ye mean the creepy, bad-tempered lass?" the day innkeeper mentions, clearing away bowls from the tables. "She's asleep, and that's a fact, unless she left out a window without payin', which will not please me at all." Ah. Well, thank you. Ah, young ladies and their beauty sleep. The ones that take the most never seem to need it. *** DRGettingTheGrimeOff is now known as Abigail * Magellan stands up, brushing bits of cheese and sausage off his clothes. The innkeeper scoffs. "Perha' she woke up and ran outta daggers ta glare at folk, mebbe." He shuffles off to the kitchen with a tray full of dirty dishes. * Abigail comes down the stairs. * Adam bows. "Ah, good timing." * Magellan chuckles, and grabs his wrench. "Ah, there she is now. A fine morning to you, girl." * Eroles peers over at Abigail. "Mornin' sunshine. Good timing." You are finished? Yep. Then we may be off. * Adam nods. * Magellan adjusts his toolbelt with his free hand, and then grabs his toolbox and slings it over his shoulder. * Adam picks up his backpack. Yep. Though I don't remember which way this forest is from here. Southeast. * Abigail (shrugs. I suppose! ^_^) * Eroles grabs his pack. "Lemme go get Chance. I'll meet you out front." Hmm? * Abigail blinks as Eroles heads away. "Chance?" She looks questionlingly towards Magellan. * Eroles walks outside. Don't look at me. I know less than you. (Erase "southeast". It's actually northwest. ^_^) That... is slightly disturbing. * Magellan heads on out the door, whistling some tube badly. (Jeff has officially fallen off the world.) * Adam shrugs and follows. (southeast, northwest... what's 180 degrees among friends?) * Abigail heads out the door, too. * Eroles shows up once you are all outside. To be precise, he rides up on a lovely snow-white horse. (Many Bothans died to bring us this horse.) Ah. Chance. Very cute. (Cackles) I thought so, yes. * Adam smiles. What a stupid name for a horse. Couldn't come up with something horse-sounding, I suppose? Like White Lightning? Lucia is, during the daytime, somewhat less impressive. The city is built in a half-circle around the ocean harbor to the south, with the city's tall, imposing keep dominating the central portion just south of the north wall. People in peasant clothes are even now doing their daily business, and while it's hard to tell during the day, the colored lamps are still lit. Hey, I like Chance. It is no worse than White Lightning, yes. S'ides. I didn't name him. I won him. Or Bucky or Flicker or Prancer or ... damn, I've forgotten. I take the name Chance as a sign of good luck myself. * Abigail nods absently to Eroles. And you two. Do you also have horses? Ain't got nothin' but my feet. * Adam smiles. "I'm used to walking." (Ooh... info. About how tall is everyone?) 5'9 ( Err. 5'9 ) (5'1') (5'11") (4'10") (Abigail is 4'10" in body and 7'4" in attitude. :P ) Anyway, shall we be off? Sure. * Magellan nods. * Abigail nods, also. (Ha.) (Dammit. Now I'm thinking about taglines for her. >_<) * Magellan starts heading southwest. (Presuming that you actually begin walking) (Magellan falls straight into the sea. ^_^) * Eroles starts off at a slow trot. * Magellan notes the others have gone northwest instead, and turns around to follow them. * Adam waves to Magellan. "This way!" He follows Eroles. (Umm... how are the streets laid out?) * Abigail heads in the direction most towards the foresty regions. It doesn't take too long to reach the northern gate of the city; with the streets almost like the skin of an onion, moving up and out isn't hard. A traveller's city indeed, leaving and reentering are no big deal. Once you leave the gates, you see the expanse of green farmland that surrounds the city to the north and, on the horizon, the thick treeline of the Emerald Forest. * Magellan shields his eyes with his hand. "That is quite definitely a forest." * Adam nods. Yep. (It sure is. Uh-huh.) (...) * Abigail begins heading towards the forest. Well. This should be interesting. * Eroles continues towards the forest. * Adam follows. Gaping won't make it any closer. (Be right back. ^_^;; Keep on going.) * Magellan follows, looking around at the scenery as he goes. Travelling is easy thanks to the trade roads... mostly. Farmers are always handy to say hello and chat a bit as you wander by. They don't have anything to say you couldn't hear in the city: some very attractive and supposedly eldritch priestess has made the Forest her home, along with a cordon of attractive men. Rumors of the legendary soul-stealer, Luca the Wanderer, also abound. It is well past sundown by the time the Forest is more than a distant geographical feature. The trade road has long since branched off to the capital. (Hmm, quite a ways.) A small and mostly grown-over path leads into the large oak forest, but it doesn't look like anyone's travelled into it in days/ The sounds of nature abound. Hm. Dark and foreboding, eh? Quite... Should we rest here for the night before going inside? I'd say yes. Better to go in during the day. Definitely...although it might be a good idea to keep a watch. Unless you brought a lantern or lamp, I'm stickin' it out here till can see again. Of course. (...and if I see a single Blair Witch Project reference, the GM gets STABSTABSTABed.) ( A Starcraft command center miraculously falls only on Adam, killing him instantly. ) (......ow.) ( On the plus side, you now have a legion of INfested Terrans that speak six languages. ) (ORBITAL COWS!) (I digress. Are you making camp?) Very well. I will return shortly. Hm? * Abigail begins to head off a slight ways aiming to step slightly into the forest. ... You know, I've got a bad feeling about this. I have some things to take care of. Privately. * Adam nods. * Eroles raises an eyebrow. "Call of nature, huh." * Magellan plops his toolbox down and takes off his toolbelt. He thunks his wrench down beside him. He cackles. "Women's business." * Abigail turns sharply away and heads off quicker. She is soon out of sight amidst the trees. * Adam sits down and sorts through his notebook. You know.. I wonder if the Soldier without a purpose I saw.. was Luca The Wanderer. What do you mean? The Blank could have had a different meaning there. She should be careful. * Adam blinks. "Good point..." Night begins to fall, and surprisingly nothing comes out of the trees to eat you. Remember the cards? In her future was The Blank and the Knight of Swords. The Blank could be reffering to the mind-blinking that people keep talking about. * Adam nods. * Magellan frowns. "All this wandering I do, and I've never heard of this Luca fellow." Then he chuckles. "But I've most likely just forgotten." I can't say I've heard much about him, other than what we all know... Say, does anyone have something to start a fire? (Presumably, one of you can have flint and tinder. They're mundane items.) (Yeah, but Magellan doesn't.) (Eroles?) 2d6-2 * Atom rolls for Adam (2d6-2) and gets 4. Well, I found this stick... ( I imagine I'd have them... but since I didn't write them down, I guess I don't. ) Sticks aren't hard to find, boy. (Well, none of us wrote it down. But it's not in Magellan's character to have them.) (^_^;;) * Abigail returns after about ten minutes. No fire? By the time Abby returns, it's entirely dark out. The very first calls of owls are beginning to sound. ( GM: Do we need to write Mundane Items down? ) (No. Just write something like "Adventurer's tools" and I'll get the gist.) (If you WANT to write out your minutae, you go.) ( Ok. Can we assume any who it's IC for that to have has it? ) ( I just said so many sentences ago, yes. ) * Eroles is getting around to starting a fire. ( Wilderness Survival roll, or can I do it automatically. ) ( With tinder and flint? And a decent mind score? Yeah, s'automatic. ^_^) * Magellan has cleared away rocks and pointy things for a decent sized area around the theoretical fire. * Eroles starts a fire then. ^_^ (Ooh, pointy things...) It's astonishingly quiet. Mullenwald has never been known to be one of the wild places, but even for right outside a forest it's preternaturally calm. * Atom frowns and looks around. "This can't be good." ( ... I did that. ) ( Damn it. ) * Magellan grabs the bird by its head and yanks it out of his beard. A small metal stalk that looked like it was in his ear is revealed. He starts tinkering with it. ... ... ( I gotta idle for 3 minutes. BRB. ) ( *ding* Pause. ) ([Food.]) ( Back. ) ( Y'all can fraternize a bit while I get this moving. ) * Adam puts his notebook away and sits back, humming to himself. * Magellan pulls a small screwdriver from his belt beside him, inserts it into a slot in the bird, and its back pops open. It doesn't look so bad from the inside of the forest. * Atom plays some Solitaire and waits. ( ... Ok. One second while I move these two windows apart. ) Ah, really? ( ... Done. This shouldn't happen again. ) (I suppose if the dice start talking, does that mean that Fate has decided to intervene?) * Magellan works the screwdriver around in the innards of the bird. * Adam gets a deck of cards out of his backpack. "Hmm, that's an idea. Anyone else up for a game?" * Eroles finishes (and wins) Solitaire. Sure. * Abigail watches Magellan with feigned non-interest. I suppose. *she drags her attention away from the bird and to the cards. * Adam considers for a moment. "Oh. Eroles, shall we use your cards?" Well, since we already have them out.. * Magellan continues wiggling the screwdriver around inside. * Eroles gathers the cards up and shuffles them with expert ease... What game should we play? (No Egyptian Ratscrew, right?) (Why nooooottt? ;_;) Blackjack? Hozzie? Poker? (Someone will get hurt.)\ Rummy? -irc.sandwich.net:@#otherworld- GM invited Scott into channel #otherworld. Or Hearts. Hmm, I haven't played Hearts in a while. Hearts it is. ( So.. what? Mind/Soul - Gambling to see who wins? ) (This... I'm not going to try to simulate with the dice) ( Agreed. Just roleplay. ^_^ I'm getting to the good stuff momentarily. )] *** Scott has joined #otherworld Damn typoes. Who deals first? ( Hark, I hear a mysterious stranger's voice. ) You can. * Abigail sits down opposite Adam, picks up the cards, and does a bad attempt to shuffle before just shifting the cards around as best she can. * Abigail carefully begins to deal out the deck. It takes about three minutes for her to get the cards to everyone. * Magellan smiles, and snaps the back of the bird back down. He puts it back into his ear, and it once again just looks like a very nicely crafted clockwork bird. * Magellan looks up at the players. "Oh, cards? Why didn't someone tell me?" You seemed busy. * Abigail picks up her cards and frowns as she sorts through them. "Three to the left or right?" * Magellan taps the bird/ "Not busy, just deaf. Too many hours pounding on mecha or at the forge." Very unhealthy. It's amazing you've lived this long. The first deal is to the left. (I'm assuming, clockwise, it's Eroles, Adam, Magellan, Abigail.) (Mind checks, please. ^_^ Modified by Heightened Awareness/Senses) Clean living, young lady, clean living. Well, maybe not that clean. 2d6 * Atom rolls for Magellan (2d6) and gets 5. 2d6 * Atom rolls for Abigail (2d6) and gets 9. 2d6-4 * Atom rolls for Adam (2d6-4) and gets 6. (Made it. (Yosh.) (failure) * Abigail is veeeery intently focusing on her cards. 2d6 * Atom rolls for Eroles (2d6) and gets 7. ( Nope. ) * Adam looks up. "Someone's near." * Magellan twists his head and looks into the woods. Really? "I hear them." Wait, it's gone. * Eroles reaches inside his cloak and pulls out a sword. * Abigail blinks and looks away from her cards. Gone? Hmm, they must have heard us. * Magellan reaches for his wrench. The forest doesn't make any threatening moves. * Abigail looks around for a bit, then goes back to studying her cards. * Eroles keeps his sword on his lap and goes back to cards. * Magellan slides his wrench closer, then opens his toolbox. * Adam shrugs and sorts through his. Three. *She pulls out three cards and places them, face down, next to Eroles. ( Probably a bad time to mention I've never played Hearts. ) (http://w3.one.net/~dbarker/cards/hearts.html) (O_o;;) * Eroles is far too tired to understand those rules. Just assume he makes a good move. (Trick taking game. High card in the suit that's led wins. You want to end up with the least points. Hearts are 1 point each. The queen of spades is 13.) * Magellan pulls a small box and several other parts from his toolbox. (the 2 of clubs always leads off the first trick. You must follow suit if you can.) 2d6-4 * Atom rolls for Magellan (2d6-4) and gets 0. (if you can't, you can play any other card... but hearts or the queen cannot be played on the first round, unless you have nothing else. (You do, in fact, succeed, Mags. It does take a little bit to make even with Mech Genius.) * Magellan sets to work with a fierce intensity, picking up and laying down tools at an incredible rate. * Adam blinks. (Everyone but magellan, same mind check as before. +2 penalty. ^_^) 2d6-2 * Atom rolls for Adam (2d6-2) and gets 0. (Woohoo!) 2d6+2 * Atom rolls for Eroles (2d6+2) and gets 7. 2d6+2 * Atom rolls for Abigail (2d6+2) and gets 7. ( ... Again, no. ) (nope) Game, Magellan? * Magellan looks up, startled. "Eh? Wha? Oh!" In a bit. Gotta finish this first. * Magellan goes back to work. * Abigail leans towards Magellan and peers at his handiwork. * Magellan makes no move to block vision, but doesn't exactly aid it, either. It looks small, and electric in nature. (Mechanics check, Abby, if you wanna try and figure it out.) 2d6-3 * Atom rolls for Abigail (2d6-3) and gets 5. (mind check?) (And can you guys say by how much you succeed, when you say success/failure? Please and thanks. And yes.) (Yes, by 1) * Abigail frowns. Spark generation? Hm? 'S a firestarter. If were gonna be camping a lot, I figgered it'd come in handy. Hmm, good idea. Flint and steel does tend to work find, in most cases. But... I can see the utility. * Magellan clicks the case shut, and presses the button. Sparks shoot out the end, and he cackles. Where's the fun in flint and steel? This idyllic scene, unfortunately, can't last; what was once a phantom noise only a few of you heard is now a lithe, armed figure that POUNCES out of the woods and lands in an offensive crouch a few feet behind Adam's exposed back. ... ... This can't be good. * Adam leaps up and spins around. * Eroles jumps up and grabs his sword. Um. Hello? * Abigail blinks a couple of times, puts her cards to the ground, and stands up. * Magellan sets down his firestarter and reaches for his wrench. Good evening. Would you like to share our fire? (We are but simple travellers...) * Abigail smooths out her shirt and brushes dirt off of her pants. The figure is short, probably in his mid-teens. His hair is flame red and short cut, a wild mass that runs everywhere. He wears a fully black bodysuit with a dark grey toreador's vest over it, and dark brown shoes. His eyes are dark crimson and in his hand he holds an ornate dagger, presumably made out of worked obsidian, with a hilt of gold. *** GM is now known as Figure * Figure straightens, keeping his distance, and points his dagger at the briefly-discarded remains of Magellan's firestarter. "Why? Such things... should not come." On 'such things' he swings the knife to indicate Abby as well. I'm guessing he's not a big fan of machines. * Adam blinks. * Abigail nods slowly. I see. What? Afraid of a little electricity? * Figure takes another step toward Magellan and thrusts the dagger forward a little for emphasis. "Such things, not welcome in this forest! Should not come!" * Abigail flexes her hands slowly into and out of fists. Sir, there's no need to threaten us with a dagger. And why is that? *despite the obvious tension in her body, her voice is calm and even.* The Woods and Two of Swords. * Eroles looks curiously at the figure. * Figure looks angrily between Magellan and Abigail. "Man who makes steel walk, they are not welcome! This is sacred ground. Steel that walks, brass that talks, not welcome!" He grins and faces off with Abby. "Should not come. I can make sure of it." A bit literal interpretation of "daggers"?
( Read: Turns to face Abby alone, not 'immediately lashes out at' ) I think I get it. Druid. One of the folks works for that Green Priestess or whatever her name was. * Magellan mutters. "Figures. This is the one time a fortuneteller was right." Sacred ground, you say? Look, boy, we've got no troubles with you. I'll just leave my toolbox here, alright? * Abigail narrows her eyes, sizing up the figure's stance. * Figure is still looking at Abby, but answers Adam. "Sacred ground! Holy place. You're not only ones who defile... silly woman, men in steel... too many to drive away. You four, I can handle." We have no quarrel with you. *through clenched teeth* Listen pal, we're really not in the mood to fight. Why don't you go away, and I'll give you a free Fortune Telling in exchange? You're not with the Earth Priestess, then...
A quarrel you made, when you bring living steel to the sacred ground! *** Scott has quit IRC (Quit: o/~ Your calm... my storm.) "Living steel?" Living steel?
( Break! I want ice cream. ) Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron? (... *facefault*) *** Sidhe has quit IRC (Quit: ) (our spectators are dying off!) (.... I want ice cream. ;_;) (I'm getting some.) ( Me too. ) ( Back. ) ( I don't think I have any, but I haven't finished dinnner yet, either.) * Figure takes a step back, holding the dagger in front of him and looking between the four of you. "Steel that has life. Rocks that have life. This is sacred ground, the birthplace. What is here is only what you bring. Luca tries to warn... but maybe, need to see for yourselves." Luca? Luca Blight?
(...) ( ... )
(*whaps Jeff*) ( I will kill you slowly. ) (ow.) (sorry... that came out. ignore. ^^;) ... Luca the Wanderer you mean? * Figure doesn't wait for more questions. He leaps backwards with the grace of a jungle cat, hitting a tree branch and bounding away, jumping from tree to tree. *** Figure is now known as GM ...well, that was interesting. * Abigail lets out a sigh. Her arms visibly loosen from some tension. Quite. * Magellan lets his wrench rest. You know, this can't possibly end well. Odd boy. Wonder what all that was about? A series of watches would be... advisable. Indeed. ( *pulls out an Ardweden plushie and thwaps Calc. ) (ow.) ( Beware the Lutes of June. ) I'll take first watch then. Okay...I'll take second. I'll take closest to morning. I suppose it's no more game, then. *picks up her cards and drops them into a pile in front of Eroles. I suppose I'm third, then. (Any more RP, or do we wanna FF to morning?) ( FF works for me. ) (FF's fine.) * Magellan drops his firestarter in the box and finds a spot to sleep. (unless something happens during the night) (FF is great.) * Abigail rolls over and is snoring quietly (and somewhat cutely) within minutes. ( Abigail IS Tio. ) * Adam lies down and stares at the sky. (Ironically, I completely came up with Abigail as a character before I got Tio in Grandia 2.) ( I suppose that makes Magellan Marag, Adam Roan and Eroles Ryudo. ) (..) (NOTHING WITHSTANDS MY WRENCH!) Remarkably, the night passes uneventfully. If not for the interruption, it'd be hard to believe you weren't on some sort of cheerful camping trip. During the light of morning, the forest looks... really inviting. Cool and green, the sound of a river or stream is clearly audible once you step a bit inside. (Hi ho. Hi ho. It's off to the forest we go. To fight Luca and find the Priestess. hi ho. Hi ho. Hi ho hi ho.) ( I think Magellan should be singing that. ) * Eroles is back on Chance. * Magellan finishes off a cup of coffee, and stores his pot back in his toolbox. * Adam stretches. * Abigail unrolls from an almost fetal ball and smoothes out her clothes as she gets up. Her hair is, remarkably, hardly disheveled at all. (You wanna go in a bit, or call it for now?) (It'd be a little early, but we got in time yesterday, so.) ( Calling works, as I'm tired, but whatever. ) (I could keep going, but it's a nice place to stop.) (I'm up for either. I can keep doing this, or go do the dishes then settle in for vidgaming.) (Whatever works. ^_^) (Let's stop.) (Okay.) [SESSION END. WORLD END. HULK SMASH.]