Campaign
Campaign, Ike!
Look down at my feet hungrily and slavishly. Avoid eye contact with astute foreigner. Hope mistress rewards me with food eventually. In lieu of reward, consider possibility of eating waterskin after drinking its contents.
Well, you could eat it, but it would not be very filling. Not to mention that it might not be very healthy and cost you a waterskin. You could always try and find out for sure. A small bite can't hurt, right?
You try your best to look like a slave. It's not very hard, considering how you look. A man with a hungry look in his eyes, wearing simple clothes that have been torn in places and a simple wire around your neck, dirty but not as dirty as the man Irene is speaking to, slightly scarred, standing behind a
much younger girl that is almost perfectly clean and wears very expensive and almost pristine clothes, letting her do the talking while avoiding direct eye contact, trying to blend with your surroundings and not attract attention to yourself. All you need now is an oversized luggage bag for you to drag or an umbrella to hold above her or some other stereotypical rich girl thing.
The guard pays no attention to you, since he is busy chatting. Perhaps he's being a bit too chatty, considering the circumstances. A big contrast with the second guard.
"I'm Irine."
I watch him carefully as I say this, to see if he reacts to that name.
if no reaction:
"We're traveling and have run very low on supplies. I was hoping to be able to find a meager meal and some shelter."
if reaction:
"Um, your face... Is my name signifigant somehow?"
if he heard of me but doesn't think I match what he heard, or he denies his reaction:
"Oh. Well, we're traveling and have run very low on supplies. I was hoping to be able to find a meager meal and some shelter."
if he asks me directly:
"That... is me. I have multiple forms. I came here mostly out of curiosity, I'd like to learn more about the people I met before. However, my companion here hasn't had the opportunity to have a good normal human meal in quite some time, and I'm also hoping to get him some food if I may."
if I am barred entry:
"I... Ok. I wish you were more welcoming but I understand your caution. may my companion at least get a normal meal before we go? He hasn't had proper food in a while."
and so on.
general conversational pattern:
will not lie, directly or indirectly.
will not give away details about party members, nor our mission. if asked I will say that it's a personal matter and/or that it's not my right to say and/or that I can't answer that without betraying my friends. aka: directly refuse to answer.
will not volunteer my non-human nature unless asked, but will admit to it if asked.
will not give away the full extent of my abilities, again, directly refusing to answer, this time because answering questions like that would only help someone attack me.
will say that I am unique, the only one of my kind, if asked.
will describe my home (original) if asked, and in detail.
will remain polite no matter my reception.
will not attack unless attacked.
will leave if asked to leave, and will not take anything unless offered.
note that all the above rules of behavior only apply to me, I won't try to restrain Ike if he wants to do something else, but I won't deviate from the above even if he does.
"I'm Irine.""Irine?" he asks and squints his eyes as if trying to look at you more closely, a facial expression not fitting such a young face.
"Um, your face... Is my name significant somehow?""Hm? Oh, no. Just a bit unusual. I think I've heard it before somewhere..." he says slowly, squinting his eyes again and looking slightly to your right.
"Probably someone gossiping about you or your family, I do not pay too much attention to those kinds of things." he adds, shaking his head slightly.
"Oh. Well, we're travelling and have run very low on supplies. I was hoping to be able to find a meagre meal and some shelter.""Hm."
He looks thoughtful for a couple of seconds.
"Not sure if I can help with that. You know how it is with food here. And that was before the disaster. The gruel I get for guard duty is more water than food at this point." he half jokes.
"Not many people would be willing to give up their food for a slave." he adds more sombrely.
He points at somewhere behind him.
"Try going to to the biggest tent you can find, closer to the centre of the camp."
He looks more relaxed now, making small hand gestures as he speaks, although he remains tense and speaks quickly.
"Ask for master Kassiver, our healer and sort of unofficial leader. Well, not exactly a healer, but it's the closest thing we've got for the time being. Tell him his 'favourite student' sent you, he'll know." he adds with a small smile.
"He might have some food for you and somewhere you can rest for the night. But as you've probably seen, we are not-"
"What's going on here? Who are they?" the newly arrived guard asks as he continues approaching.
He looks nothing like the first guard. He's much older, wears darker clothes and no armour and carries a smaller straight short sword, something that looks more like a long knife.
"Travellers. They want to spend the night here. I'm-" the other one responds and turns his head slightly so that he can look at the new arrival. The older guard's eyes however stay focused on you, even when talking to the first one while one of his hands remains on the holt of his sword.
"Alone? No supplies?""They say they have run out."
"Why? No luggage? No means of transportation? Why are they here?""I dunno, I was just about to ask that, actually. Maybe they lost it. Maybe they left. Maybe they're somewhere else nearby."
The older man looks very displeased with the younger one.
"Sounds stretched to me.""Come on, that man is hungry. That's clear enough. And she's a young girl. If they had showed up during the day you wouldn't be giving them such a hard time."
"Because it wouldn't be my shift." the older one interjects.
"And we can't let them out there to fend for themselves, who knows what's lurking around out there."
"Exactly my point.""If you're so worried, then escort them to Kassiver yourself. He can check them, make sure they are not dangerous."
"Why, yes. Why don't I take the two strange people we know nothing of right to the centre of the camp. That way they can assassinate the one guy trying to keep things together and get us out of here. It's not like we don't have enough problems already."The younger guard looks down and sighs before looking at Irine.
"Sorry, but I'll have to agree with him. You look fine to me, but we've seen many strange things happen lately. Just trying to make sure you won't drink anyone's blood while they sleep or something. Uh, no offence. So unless you can tell us a bit more about who you are and why you're here..."
He doesn't finish his sentence, lifting his shoulders instead.
"Isn't there anybody you know from the city? Or whoever you were visiting? Someone who can vouch for you? I know the chances are slim but if they have survived, they are probably in this camp."
Campaign
Zechariah sighs, annoyed by River's insistence on him using his powers. It's been proven already that Zechariah's powers are so unreliable when under favorable conditions; how does River expect him to be able to use his powers in an expected fashion here, when Zechariah was low on energy and didn't have his staff?
"Well, they're sort-of connected to thoughts and feelings. My powers rely on using my willpower and soul to channel and convert physical light and spiritual energy to physical constructs. My staff helps to amplify this power, but I do have a small amount of energy pooled up that I could use if I don't have my staff. I can't guarantee that my powers will last long though, especially since I'm not fully rested. Do you have something planned?"
"Hm... I know what to do. I have to change your thoughts."He turns his back on you and starts walking towards the centre of the crater again.
"I will try to explain. Magic here works with connections. It flows to and from things. It affects the world and is affected by it. The magic of this place flows through you. Very powerful magic. You are not of the same element, but it is still compatible with yours. It will help, granting you more power."As if to punctuate his statement, the air above the crater shimmers, distorting your view of the sky while at the same time the ground rumbles and shakes. A second later, a pillar of light appears from somewhere over the crater, high enough you cannot tell if and where it ends. A couple of seconds pass and the pillar disappears. Many of those floating glowing things approach the place the pillar once stood, floating around it, blending nicely with the afterimage in your eyes.
"Combined with what sunlight remains and the light coming from the environment, it will be enough. It has to be enough."He stops and sits down.
"Sit here." he says, indicating the ground in front of him.
You are close enough now that the heat and scent coming from the lava are getting a bit uncomfortable.
"You will also need control. Endurance."He leans closer to you.
"Most of the times I want to use magic I focus on what I am feeling. What I want. My hate. My anger. My desire to kill or my desire to protect. That is good for combat. For things that need to be quick and powerful. But this body is not as constrained by the Silence. I can use magic much better."
"And I need to use it differently. More focused. More controlled. So that I can do the things I want. Like reviving the others. So I asked her for advice. Asked her for how I can make complicated things. Like the ones she does. She told me that binding your willpower with feelings does not work well. Not for magic that takes a long time. Not for complicated magic. It is because of the..."He looks around, as if trying to spot the word he's looking for.
"Because of the change of your willpower. Your thoughts, your feelings, what you want. That is powerful. But it will change. Become something else. Even for a moment. And what you were attempting will loose its... foundation. You need to be calm and you need to prepare your mind. You need to focus on something stable. A good memory or a poem or something else. Whatever you want, as long as it is something you can repeat. Something you can keep repeating. Something you can keep the same. Stable.""You need to do that. Focus on something that will help, a memory or a story or music. And you need to relax, so that your mind is ready. Do whatever you need. Sit comfortably. Close your eyes. Go for a walk. Imagine something you like. Talk if it would help. Ask me something. Or tell me something about yourself. Something relaxing. Maybe talk to me about the one you have bonded with. That sometimes helps me relax."
"And when you are ready, we will begin."
OOCWas busy. Will do tournament post later.
By the way, with the way things are, there is not much point in rushing either team. Just do whatever you feel like.
Poll
15 (42.9%)
Author
Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1149852 times)