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[My Name is Immaterial]

Bill sighs. This book is useless. That was pretty basic stuff. He had studied the planes for many years.
Knowledge (Planes): Is that mechanical plane nonsense? +7. Bill could swear it came up once or twice in the tomes he studied during his apprenticeship.
Knowledge (Planes): Is there anything more to the Negative Plane?

[Nerjin]

Spoiler: Bill (click to show/hide)

[K(P) 17+7] You remember that the plane was a hotly debated topic for many years. Some claimed it was a possibility while others proclaimed otherwise. It's been a great many years since you have paid much attention to the debate but you do remember a young up and coming dwarven cleric having proved the existence of Mechanus [or some such] as entirely false.

[K(P) 13+7] The book outlines Oblivion in both only broad strokes as well as in great detail. With regards to Oblivion they are one and the same. No mage or otherwise has ever entered the plane and survived. All attempts to find life there, or even constructs or shades, has failed. There are entire Mage Guilds who have dedicated their lives to finding any form of life inside Oblivion. None have succeeded. Oblvion truly is an empty plane filled only with negative energy. Jake had been the leading knowledge of Oblivion before being shoved over there. His assistance would be most useful right now.

[My Name is Immaterial]

Bill shelves the text, and stands up to leave.
"We've got everything we can get from here. There's a group in a city called Lanius that can help us. Lanius is a little over 200 miles to the north. Once we deal with our friend, let's leave town. We might want to take Glin with us, though."

[Tawa]

"Alright. Shall you fetch him?"

[My Name is Immaterial]

"They're hardly going to let us walk out with him."
Bill stops for a moment and blinks his eyes.
"Did I just say that? Did I really just say that to you? Tomorrow, let's go and talk to him, then walk out with him. I need to teach my apprentice first."
Leave and meet Zoe in the catacombs.

[Nerjin]

Outside the Catacombs [[Harmony and Rikkimaru]]

Oh... Look it's Bill's apprentice. Wordlessly she heads inside. Several moments later she is followed by Bill. Probably off on some adventure or another. Sure would be nice to do something.


The Library [[Galia]]

So... Now what?


Inside the Catacombs [[Bill and Zoe]]

Zoe is waiting in the predetermined waiting spot. She seems eager to hear your instructions. This is reinforced when she says "Master Bill, I secured visitation rights. Plius was rather helpful for that. The Gnome is still... Upset however. He was still crying like a madman when I left."


Outside the Orphanage [[Illandrial]]

Patience is a virtue in your line of work. However, waiting too long to act could let the messenger get away...


Inside the Blacksmith [[Dereth and Ganron]]

"Um... Not to be rude but... Could we maybe go practice with these or... at least find Galia?"

[Tawa]

Go back to inn.

Contemplate ways to gain mastery of my own mind as well as others'.

[My Name is Immaterial]

"Very good. Now, your education has been put off for too long.
Magic is not for everyone, and this is simply the way of it. But Binding... it is such a simple practice, that grants such great power." Bill waves his hand, and a lightning bolt crackles from ceiling to floor right next to Zoe.
"Is your hair standing on end? Can you smell the burnt air? Could you feel the raw power coursing through the air? All the powers of a hundred Vestiges can be yours.
Now, anyone can summon and bind a Vestige, but we will be just summoning a few, but for your first time, we will not bind it to your body."
Bill bends down and traces Amon's seal in the dirts.
"To summon a Vestige, you must first draw the Vestige's seal. This is the seal of Amon, The Void Before The Altar. Each Vestige has a name and title. To summon them, you must touch the seal and call out their name and title. Draw the seal a few times to get some practice."
When she has done so, Bill continues with his lecture.
"Amon is often the first vestige a new Binder learns to use, and is iconic of the profession.
When you summon a Vestige, they make a bargain with you: if they give you power, they get a taste of the Material Plane. They will engage you in a contest of wills, trying to get the most out of the Pact. The contest could be anything, and some Vestiges will be more difficult to overcome than others. If you lose, they will influence your behavior for that day. In victory and defeat, you will be branded with a symbol of the Vestige. Amon's is the horns of a ram on your head.
Now. Summon The Void Before The Altar, from start to finish."
Bill steps back and lets his apprentice summon the Vestige. From the moment she calls out the Vestige's name, Bill counts out 55 seconds, and scuffs up the seal, trying to break the connection before the Pact can be made.

[Rolepgeek]

"Hm. Yes. Follow me."

He took the boy outside, to an open area where they might practice with little interruption. Hopefully. First, he needed to teach him drills and exercises to build muscle and endurance. Once that was done, which might take an hour or possibly two to ensure he was doing it right, and to have Ganron work long enough that he would understand the difficulties involved, they could move on to actual basic swordsmanship. As they finished the drills, Dereth tossed Ganron the practice sword.

"One of the most important parts of fighting is your stance. I will show you my stance. You will attempt to imitate it, and I will correct any mistakes. Then you will hold it for several minutes."

He took up a stance to demonstrate, one that he thought might suit a man of Ganron's temperament and ability; sword held ready, off-hand to one side, knees slightly bent. It was a very simple stance; Ganron would eventually learn his own, that suited himself best, but for now, he needed to ensure there was a solid foundation to build off of.

[TealNinja]

Sneak into the Orphanage.  Take 10 on Hide and Move Silently checks (23 each).  Draw a Dagger.

[Nerjin]

The Sovereign Dwarf [[Galia]]

Go back to inn.

Contemplate ways to gain mastery of my own mind as well as others'.

You rack your brain for quite some time but the only way you can think of would be practice. Practice and experience are really the only ways to gain this sort of mastery. A year out of practice, if Zoe is to be believed, is likely the cause for your recent failings.


Inside the Catacombs [[Bill and Zoe]]

Bill steps back and lets his apprentice summon the Vestige. From the moment she calls out the Vestige's name, Bill counts out 55 seconds, and scuffs up the seal, trying to break the connection before the Pact can be made.

As you observe Zoe you notice something. She seems to be disinterested in the whole idea. Well, you’ve always gotten the idea that she had some ulterior motive for studying under you. You’ve never quite determined what it is, but it’s obviously not harmful.

Never-the-less she dutifully follows your instructions and summons the vestige. The summoning proceeds as normal. The second you mess with the circle the vestige disappears back from whence it came.

”Wow… Didn’t think I would get it on the first try.” Zoe seems somewhere between actually impressed and annoyed that the ritual couldn’t proceed further. Apparently her dislike of magic does not extend to Binding. Interes-

A flash of blinding light cuts off that thought. A short sentence has been engraved on the stone where the summoning circle is “You are late, Father.”

Empty field [[Dereth and Ganron]]

"Hm. Yes. Follow me."

He took the boy outside, to an open area where they might practice with little interruption. Hopefully. First, he needed to teach him drills and exercises to build muscle and endurance. Once that was done, which might take an hour or possibly two to ensure he was doing it right, and to have Ganron work long enough that he would understand the difficulties involved, they could move on to actual basic swordsmanship. As they finished the drills, Dereth tossed Ganron the practice sword.

It would appear that Ganron is decently strong already. Still, his true potential hasn’t been reached. He accomplishes your drills easily enough. The only issue is form. However, you soon get him into the proper form. Several times. Every new exercise requires several adjustments until he gets it right. Still, he is trying his best and that counts for… Well you keep going anyways.

"One of the most important parts of fighting is your stance. I will show you my stance. You will attempt to imitate it, and I will correct any mistakes. Then you will hold it for several minutes."

He took up a stance to demonstrate, one that he thought might suit a man of Ganron's temperament and ability; sword held ready, off-hand to one side, knees slightly bent. It was a very simple stance; Ganron would eventually learn his own, that suited himself best, but for now, he needed to ensure there was a solid foundation to build off of.

”Like this?” Ganron copies the stance excellently, though you get the feeling that it’s more luck than anything. Still, he appears much more at ease with the practice sword than he was with his familial sword.


Orphanage [[Illandrial]]

Sneak into the Orphanage.  Take 10 on Hide and Move Silently checks (23 each).  Draw a Dagger.

It’s relatively easy to sneak into the orphanage. In fact, it’s almost insulting. You had expected a little more trouble than this. With dagger in hand you eventually find the young woman, which you finally identify as such, writing something down on a piece of paper and handing it to one of the children. As the child runs off on its errand the woman enters another room. There are few children around but the door creaks loudly. If no children notice you, the woman definitely will.

[Tawa]

Galia, having decided she just needed practice, resolves to head to the inn's barroom and look for anyone who looks susceptible to hypothetical mind control. Y'know, people who look like they could be overly trusting, possibly to the point of it being a fault, stuff like that.

[My Name is Immaterial]

Bill sighs. What a petulant brat.
"Zoe, there's something I've been avoiding tell you. When the tower was destroyed, Jake fell into a mass of Negative Energy, which destroyed him. But, before his mind was gone, he tried to preserve it, and tried to copy it into the Negative Energy Plane. He was annihilated before he could finish though, and left a skeleton for a consciousness to develop. And now it has. It took over Glin's mind, and forced him to raise an army of undead. It thinks of me and the others as its parents. It doesn't seem to like me. But, anyway, back to the lesson at hand."

For 8 hours, Bill teaches Zoe about Binding. He instructs her in the summoning of all of the first level Vestiges, their legends and lore, and their quirks and personalities. If he has time to spare, he tells the tale of Syfal, the first Binder. At the end, he allows Zoe to bind a Vestige. He does not interrupt, no matter what happens.

[TealNinja]

Find a hiding place, then push the door open and quickly hide.

[Nerjin]

The Sovereign Jester [[Galia]]

Galia, having decided she just needed practice, resolves to head to the inn's barroom and look for anyone who looks susceptible to hypothetical mind control. Y'know, people who look like they could be overly trusting, possibly to the point of it being a fault, stuff like that.

Well there are a few children with their parents, a man who appears to be drinking far too early in the morning, the same man you hypnotized earlier for your show, and then one of the servers appears particularly air-headed.

Find a hiding place, then push the door open and quickly hide.

[[Hide: 16+13]] The children seem to be... off. Despite one of them looking straight at you as you head towards the door their eyes slide over you as though you weren't there. Regardless, you look around and see a small cabinet that you could fit into. Pushing the door open you swiftly hide inside the cabinet. The woman steps outside and looks around curiously. "Darlings? Did you open my door?"

The children answered in unison "No mistress."