TURN FORTY-ONE: LACKING IN THE RECALL DEPARTMENTFinally, an update that is shorter than the rest!
Lirian
this is bad, I left no identifying marks on this place, only just made it, and I thought I wasn't being observed. Either he has a way to track my past, or I'm being watched at all times... And I mentioned my sisters.
I can't leave him with the initiative, and Ahrian and Maryne are in danger...
But if I'm being observed, then my watcher must still be here, and they probably know what I need to learn.
I close my eyes and hold myself perfectly still, listening to my surroundings for anything even slightly out of place.
where...
no, this won't work, I need to make them react to me, to take action and leave a mark, make a sound, reveal themselves...
Do I set a trap or call them out and hope they respond...
trap first, callout if it fails.
open my eyes and collect myself, checking for my blades and taking Artemis's gifts as well.
he has no need to place a spying tool on me if he has me under observation, and if there was a trap to touching them he'd have simply placed them directly on me. I don't think he knows if I'm a friend or a foe, same as I don't know about him. The gifts are probably real.
then I head towards the compound, not in a rush and being gentle on my injured knee. keeping an ear open for the sounds of someone following me.
my watcher will probably stay outside, his role taken by the people indoors. I can lose him there if I have too, but I probably want to let him keep following me until I can catch him at it.
or maybe Cromwell simply told him, and I'm just being paranoid again?
upon reaching the compound, I knock on the door and see who answers, forming questions in my mind about the events of last night.
LirianWith your sisters on your mind, you collect your stuff along with what Artemis left for you. Though you cannot discern his motives right now, you must be proactive and find out what you can about Artemis and his connections, especially with what Danielle told you about her own experience with Artemis. There's still a lot to be learned when it comes to the circumstances of Artemis' arrival and his connections between different times and ages. You can't spend too much time worrying about that, however; you need to insure the futures of you and your sisters are safe.
Cautiously, you begin your walk through the forest to the Kito Complex. Once you're there, you will be able to check up on the Kito family as well as Cromwell Jackson. You take extra care to not put so much pressure on your right leg while walking along. You also pay special attention to your surroundings, using your eyes and ears to sense for the slightest disturbance in the woods. Any rustle, step, or brush could indicate that you do indeed have company somewhere around these lonely trees. However, you don't seem to come across anything major, just a few animals or the whistling of the wind through the tree branches. Soon enough, you see the white walls of the Complex coming into view, complete with glass for the greenhouse and some of the personal rooms in the building.
You tentatively circle the perimeter of the Complex, sticking to the shadows and hiding between the trees. So far, you cannot see anyone standing outside of the Complex, though that doesn't change your level of security. Deciding that you might as well stick to your plan of action and greet them before they become suspicious of you, you half-limp to the door and give it a couple solid knocks. A few moments pass before you hear the unlocking of the door from the inside; finally, one of the two doors opens, and a familiar, shy girl greets you with a warm smile.
"Oh, you're back! We couldn't find you in the morning. Did something happen last ni- oh my goodness, what happened?" She speaks in reference to your knee brace and your
dirtied appearance overall. In the hallway across the room, you can see Cromwell Jackson, with a confused look on his face.
Alex would wait. He knew that if these people had any common decency and care for their prisoners to live, they would provide him drinking water or bathing water.
Alex RamanWith the better side of your senses active at this time, you reason that it would be a good idea to wait until you have a reliable source of water or ice to work with at this time. Seeing as how this is a medical facility, there should be some running water around here. All you have to do is wait. The doctor proceeds at a hastened pace, preparing some bandages to wrap around the wound. He mentions that it doesn't look like the injury should hamper your movement, so you will not require anything to stabilize your leg. You watch carefully as he moves over to the sink nearby and grabs a bowl which he pours water into. Wonderful, you think to yourself. This could be your chance. All you have to do is wait until they are not paying attention when the water is running and make your move. Then again, your luck doesn't seem to be particularly great right about now.
The doctor begins to wash your wound with the water, attempting to clean it as best as he can. Seeing as how he is now concentrated on the matter at hand and the guard doesn't seem to be paying close attention, now could be your time to act. You could also wait longer and see if you get a better opportunity later.
What should you do, Guardian of Ice and Death?
examine my possessions then sit lay down on my bed and try to relax , don't go to sleep though. also try to remember what if any food might be available in the near future. also remember if i paid anything for working in the mines.
Jack WeaslyYou look around your little container of a room, taking in the dry decor and the lack of aesthetic appeal. The wallpaper has faded to a point that it is less of wallpaper and more of an uneven beige finish on the wall. Looking in your dresser, you take stock of all of your possessions: an old, green yoyo, a notebook that has only been sparsely used, a couple of pencils that are nearly completely broken, a couple of books that you've read to the point of being able to recall the entirety of the books by memory, and a dirtied photo that depicts you, Olias, and Metter taking a hike in the winter mountains. That was one of the only times that you felt pure happiness in your life. Now, you're not so sure about where your happiness will come from.
Other than that, the only things that you own are your clothes and the room in front of you. The room is entirely unadorned and blocked off from the world except for one square, dusty window in the back, along with the door at the front of the room. As for food, you recall that you only receive the bare minimum in terms of food from the orphanage during dinnertime and breakfast. If you're late for either, you don't receive anything. You are not permitted to bring food back to your room, though some of the kids in the orphanage have figured out a way to smuggle food to god knows where, trading the surplus food for some new toys or money. Working in the mine barely pays you anything; you figure that, in the past few months, you've made about 54.53 pen, which is the currency of the Theyin Empire. You currently have 43.38 of that in your room, the rest of it having been lost, spent, or taken from you in some way or other. That's barely enough to buy a couple of nice meals for yourself, nothing more. At this moment, you'd prefer to save up for when you really need it somewhere.
You hear a familiar bell sound off through the halls. It's a rough, unpleasant chime that reminds you that dinnertime starts in about five minutes. You can already see other kids rushing down the hall and yelling to try and get a good spot in line for the meals.
Looks like it would be wise to go ahead and see if you can grab a good bite for the night while you can.
Should be getting thirsty by now, probably a good idea to take a drink from the river, then keep walking
Jonathan EridisYour trip has proven to be uneventful so far, which is more of a boon than anything. You would have expected to encounter some sort of travail this far in, but it looks like your luck might be preserved past this point. One such as you could hope for that, at least.
In terms of food and water, you have been steadily eating away at your supplies as time lurches forward. While you are still well-stocked with your food, you might have to worry about water soon. That shouldn't really be a problem, however, as you have a river just next to you that should serve for the purpose. You stop yourself in place and set your things down. Kneeling next to the river, you form your hands into a cup and dip them into the river. The water is cool and rushes over your fingertips, tugging at your hands as the water pushes past them. You pull your hands close to your mouth and take a sip, allowing the refreshing liquid to satisfy your thirst. Intermittently, you take some water and use it to clean your face and your hair, keeping you awake and feeling fresh and clean.
You are nearly finished with your intake of water before you hear some branches rustling behind you. You slowly turn your head around, not making a sound, observing the treeline behind you for anything out of the ordinary. So far, you don't see anything; you swear that you heard something, however.
It might've just been the wind, but you've had encounters with wild beasts before. It would be advisable to keep a watchful eye in case of danger.
Eh Ah
Eh Ah remembers reading a book about volcanoes once. Time to see if he remembers anything about them.
Check out the lava flows. Do they look basaltic? Can I tell?
Try some ESP on the volcano - face it and let my thoughts wander, seeing if I am nudged in any particular direction.
Eh AhYou walk forward and take in the blackened landscape in front of you. Now that the area has calmed down and you are allowed the freedom to explore the island at your leisure, you might as well investigate the cause of the volcano's apparent eruption. First of all, it would probably be in your favor to observe the way the lava flowed and the rocks cooled. Maybe something in the way that the earth was changed will lead you in a direction of your liking.
You recall some of the information from your earlier years, trying to remember what the rocks of the eruption's aftermath could be composed of. Unfortunately, you seem to be having trouble bringing up the exact names of the rocks that might be associated with the eruption, let alone the descriptions of the rocks. You remember vaguely that one of the types started with a "B". Was it Baltic? Barium? Baath? As hard as you try, the deep recesses of your brain offer no answer to your question?
Deciding that the particular information you are searching for can be determined at a later time, you approach closer to the igneous rock field and observe the patterns of the rocks. As far as you can tell, the rocks seem to follow a flowing pattern, having rough-looking surfaces and dark-grey colors. However, you are at a distance from the rocks themselves, so there might be variances here and there. Other than that, the landscape is pretty bleak. Fallen or burnt trees mark the edge of the remaining forest line, and the scorched earth continues all the way up to the volcano and to the edge of the small lake that was below the volcano. You're not even sure of what you would see on the other side, at the Magis Kingdom.
Well, now's as good of a time as ever to be investigative. It's not like you have a life to get back to now, anyways.
Warren Drake
Well, follow the yelling. Don't sneak, mind you. Just walk in an unconstrained fashion, so that I can be heard and seen without much effort.
Warren DrakeYou make up your mind and find that the most sensible route to take here would be to just act naturally and present yourself in a friendly matter. I mean, it's not like you have any weapons on you or anything. And, besides,
on the internet, nobody knows that you're a lizard in disguise.
Nobody.
You make your way between the trees and enter into the clearing. Putting a hand up to cover your eyes from the bright sunlight, you now see what that girl meant by a "human settlement." In fact, this is not a settlement at all. Rather, this is a large tree-logging site. There are men and women walking around, using cart-beds to transport the logs and hatchets alongside other complex machines to efficiently cut down the trees. You notice that the men and women seem to all be wearing similar, leaf-green clothing, which confirms that they are from an organization of sorts. As far as you can tell, none of them are armed with weapons, save for the hatchets and machines that could probably kill you if you stepped in the wrong place while they were active.
Other than that, there doesn't seem to be anything that would resemble a permanent structure. It just seems to be nothing more than a workplace for lumberjacks, really; of course, there are some temporary structures and tents used for the workers, but nothing for residents of this place. While you look around, you notice that one of the workers, a young man by the looks of it, has spotted you and is making his way to you.
"Hey! Where's your uniform and equipment? Wait.. I haven't seen you 'round here before. Are you lost, man?" The lumberjack speaks with a soft tone. He doesn't seem to be particularly angry or annoyed, just curious about your arrival.
Well, you're at least somewhat happy that you are able to meet with another human being who doesn't have some sort of freaky thing going on.
Unless this new guy starts morphing into some kind of Lovecraftian horror, but we're not counting on that right now, of course.
Get up. Find out who's talking, and go to them. Try to recall what the kitten told me.
Cromwell JacksonGroggily, you pull yourself out of the bed and make yourself presentable, straightening out your hair and your clothes. Looking around, you could almost believe that this was Aecrocia again, save for a certain few things such as the Delta Cross symbols or the world outside that awaits you. Well, there's also the fact that you can communicate with cats, but that's another story entirely that you'd prefer not to think about at the moment.
The black fur-coated kitten under your watch is currently in the corner of the room, grooming himself using his tongue. Somewhere outside, you know that the cat named Tileno is not far away. You might have to talk to him later to finish some of the points of your conversation that you never got around to finishing. Might as well respond to whoever's outside, you think to yourself. You stride over to the door and open it, finding none other than Erin Kito standing there with a cheerful smile on her face.
"Good morning, sir. How was the night? Did the two of you sleep well?"Oh, that's right. You knew you forgot something. Liri wasn't with you during the night. You recall that you went to search for her in the forest and tried to persuade her to come back to the Complex, in accordance with the words of the white cat. She remained stolid, however, and told you to remain at the Complex. You didn't wish to argue with her at the time, but now you have to check to make sure she's alright. What if something happened-
Knock, knock. Somebody's at the door.
"Oh, I'll go get that quickly!" Erin exclaims, running down the hallway and to the front door. You move down the hallway and stay at the opening, waiting to see who is at the front entrance. Erin unlocks and opens the door, revealing a familiar, black-haired girl, standing awkwardly and looking worse for wear than usual.
Well, that answers your question about where Lirian is now. The question is, what the hell did she do out there?
Erm.... I forget what I was doing. If I was making golems, continue with the making and baking. If I was not, then get the golems tasked to chopping trees and making a crude but large seaworthy vessel.
Rune((TODO: Still need to detail what these rolls mean for you in term of HP and/or efficiency in tasks.))
Roll for focus: 5 + 2 = 7, succeeded!
Domain bonus applied due to focus.
Golems made so far: 16 civilian class, 1 creator class.
Creator golems <mold new golems>: Detailed below
Mold #1 (civilian): 4 + 3 = 7, Superior quality
Mold #2 (civilian): 6 + 3 = 9, Masterful quality
Mold #3 (creator): 5 + 2 = 8, Exceptional quality
Mold #4 (civilian): 5 + 2 = 7, Superior quality
Mold #5 (civilian): 2 + 1 = 4, Fine quality
Mold #6 (civilian): 4 + 1 = 6, Great quality
Mold #7 (civilian): 5, Good quality
Mold #8 (civilian): 5, Good quality
Mold #9 (civilian): 6 - 1 = 5 Good quality
Molds baked: 10 civilians, 1 creator. Remaining molds: 14 civilian, 1 creator
Momentarily lost in your muse, you snap back to attention and focus on the task at hand. What was that again? Oh, right: you were busy having your golems make other golems under your own watch. And then those golems would make other golems which would make other golems... you get the point.
Time goes on as more and more golems are molded carefully by the Creators, which you control directly through the power of your mind. You order the civilian golems to move the other molds that have already been completed to the magma bed, where they will be baked and finished, allowing you to control even more golems at one time.
As your force grows, you will be able to expand more and more, eventually departing from this island if you so wish. It would indeed be in your favor to have your golems create a boat and get you off of this island with them on it. The problem lies in doing it in a discreet way, as one mistake could endanger your entire project. Still, there is no time for doubts now. You've gone too far deep to back out now. Besides, it's not like you have much to lose other than your life. You have no one else under your care, no one that could be harmed by your actions except for yourself and for a few animated clay figures.
So far, you seem to be doing pretty well. The problem of being adjusted to the underground life has mostly been solved by your adaptation to caves, but that does not prevent you from being hungry and thirsty. Eventually, you will have to establish a source of water and food for you to eat and drink from, lest you be driven from the caves by your own necessities...
Ten new civilian golems and one creator have been baked and are at the ready for your service.
Look around. Try tuning in on some people. Do they really not remember last night? Try to remember where Diana went.
Cecil G. PalmerYou look around in awe, wondering if anybody is concerned in the least about what was happening last night. Did no one see the guy on the peer? Did anyone hear the ghostly wails that were reverberating off of the sidewalks and the skyscrapers, piercing your ears and corroding your mind? If no one noticed, then, what truly did happen last night? Was it simply a dream? Did you just fall asleep inside of the container or something?
Well, you figure that you have a power that could be useful right about now, assuming that it still works at this time. You're wary of the extent that the power could harm you, however; last time it was activated left an unpleasant feeling between your eyes. It would be best to be careful with your ability, and to see if you can activate it little by little instead of all at once.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath, focusing only on the thought of seeing thoughts as radio waves: frequencies that bounce off of your mind's edge, allowing you to see into what cannot be seen normally. Your mind is a receiver for these message, and with this power, you might be able to see into what has taken place in the past.
Slowly, slowly.. you attempt to ease yourself into it, noticing the slight whine that occurs in your ears. You assume it's going pretty well up until the point that your brain is inundated with a wide variety of signals and waves of information, all coming from different minds.
Section 3A, 3B, 3C... oh, there it is! The Waves of Ilgoria.. seems interesting. I'll check it out. ...I wonder how Aunt Marie is doing. I should check up on her sometime, maybe hang out with the family. I'm not so sure she'd be happy to see me now, though.The Kaotos Antellius bird has up to thirty-four different color of plumage that it may be born with. Hmm, interesting. So Angelos could have been so many different colors instead of his red feathers that he has now.. oh, that reminds me. I'll have to get back home soon to feed Angelos..These thoughts are among the few that you can pick out from the torrent of thoughts that assault your mind right now. There couldn't possibly be this many people in the library at this time! Maybe your range of detection for thoughts is greater than you had imagined..
Despite your best efforts, you can't shut off your power. It looks like you'll be stuck with these "voices" in your head for now. All talking, reflecting your own thoughts, preventing you from forming a path or plan. You try to bring up all of the memories that you can, perhaps to fight away the intruding thoughts: landing on the shore, experiencing the strangeness of the night, arriving in this city, meeting that woman, escaping Atis, learning about your apparent fiancee, Diana Crown..
Wait, Diana Crown.. where did she end up in all of this madness? You can't seem to remember where she might be with all of the thoughts floating around in your head. Maybe there's a government building nearby you could check, or maybe you could use your power of the mind to see if someone around here has heard of Diana Crown.
Well, there's also just normal conversation, but it's not like that's important anymore, right?
Right.
No thanks, I'm quite fine! You could say that if I rested more, I wouldn't ever be through the paradox of hyper awareness after a wall of tired! I've gotten to where I can go days without sleep, and all those extra hours are how I'm a professor at 23! No idle time for me, you see![/color]
Cat SchrodingerReyna smiles politely and nods.
"Well, um, I think things are going quite well right now, Professor. I'll see if I can get a few more chapters done before heading home. As you can see, I've been somewhat tired lately, so I should probably catch up on my sleep before I do anything else, I suppose." She laughs once more and pushes at the edge of one of the books with her fingertips.
"Professor, have you ever heard of a man named Anders? Anders II, I think it was? He was a very important philosopher and theorist, I think. He came up with the early concepts of parallel universes. Would you know anything on the topic? I have some questions about him that I think would be somewhat... relevant."((If you need to, you can basically create your own knowledge about this man, or I could PM you some basic information. Player involvement is important though, so have at it if you want.))
Author's Note: I'm glad that people posted early this time, despite my trouble with being busy with school and having shoddy internet connection, which is why I didn't post this earlier. Oh well, things happen.
On my to-do list: Finish some parts of the Compendium that need finishing! Oh, and getting Rune's information in too. Maybe doing some maps also, but I think that could wait for a little bit later.
I hope you all enjoy the update. Have a wonderful week!
Artemis.
Author
Topic: Roll To Medium: Awakening [Chapter VI] (Read 146625 times)