Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 259503 times)

Dermonster · « **Reply #360 on:** January 14, 2016, 04:06:08 pm »

Right, time to go. Get dressed(call a servent to get clothes?) and go find the highest vantage point in the city.

We got some Stoats to burn.

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #361 on:** January 14, 2016, 04:17:00 pm »

"Woah. Sorry about that. I was hoping you could help me piece together what's going on here, but I'm not sure anyone can."

What am I even doing? I suppose I'm prepared to defend myself... now to focus on getting out of here, I guess. The well said I could defeat the stoats or work with them, but that sounds dangerous. Maybe I'll just escape. Whatever happens, I could probably use more help. So I leave the well to look for allies or something else to bring back to it.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #362 on:** January 15, 2016, 02:02:40 pm »

Quote from: Xantalos on January 14, 2016, 02:06:34 pm

"One out of three down and I only turned into an abomination against physics once. As far as dark fantasy tropes go, that's a fairly good track record.

Now then, let's check out that church, shall we? Probably something either priceless or purple in there that I can nab now that the priest's dead..."

Trot over inside the church I saw Mr. Explodey Moon Rock come out of a little while ago. How's it look as far as priceless or purple things go? Any stained glass or cool-looking idols or something?

You head inside of the chapel, and find nobody present. Excellent. The chapel itself is fairly bare and thoroughly looted as well as extraordinarily drafty on account of all the holes in the walls. Not exactly an ostentatious house of worship, really - that is, except for the stained glass. Tall and colorful, they form exquisite patterns on the theme of times of day on the right side and the phases of the moon on the left.

Clearly constructed with care over a period of years, there is no question that the windows themselves are likely priceless, at least in these circumstances. You assume they're irreproducible by any regular means, anyway. The problem is, you think they'd only really be properly priceless as a whole. And since each window is three stories tall, you foresee some issues with carrying one of them about for any useful purpose.

Quote from: Toaster on January 14, 2016, 02:10:04 pm

Well phooey; this won't do at all! Well, he had been stuck in a room with people before; it was just usually him giving the sales pitch. And if there's nothing else to do...

"Well, this is certainly a quandary. It's a nice place, this castle, though. You know, I am an insurance salesman, with a specialty in corporate accounts. As large as this facility is, I sure hope it's already insured. Even if it is, our firm offers highly competitive rates that I am sure compare favorably to your current provider. And if you're not currently covered... well, you should be! As I said earlier, we do offer wine insurance, which many of our competitors do not. And all those special effects, there's quite a bit of potential liability involved; did you know that? With the ever changing state and federal regulations, you want a business partner that can stay on top of requirements for you. Why, just the other day..."

Drone out a sales pitch

[The Art of the Pitch: 2]

They make a very good effort at pretending not to know what insurance is, you think, meeting you with bewildered and disdainful looks when they bother to listen at all. Or perhaps they have already thrown their lot in with the adversary. You have equally valid suspicions about both after about twenty solid minutes of attempting to interest them in your favorable rates and comprehensive policies. The once-jolly guard who led you here muses on the nature of damnation to himself, and you've noticed that all three of the guards are starting to drink with increasing quickness as you go on and on and on... and on and on... and on into infinity. Try as they might, however, unconsciousness does not strike them yet.

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on January 14, 2016, 02:10:26 pm

"Sure, please show it."

I'm starting to be in mood for spiked grapefruits again. Imaginary rock is not being very cooperative, despite how well I know it.

[Dark Neglected Fields: 3]

The black expanse of the hall grows deeper as you feel yourself drawn out of your element, the floor disappearing as you traverse the boundaries of perception. It is an almost instantaneous transportation, a flash of black and you're simply there.

In this case, there happens to be a small, barren island of rock suspended in a starlit void. Above it you see floating a sphere of pure crystal, inside which you see a smaller, luminous shape. It is a wriggling, quasi-spherical mess of shining snakes, their hissing muffled by the enclosure. Uh, okay, the minder - a small, droopy-eyed, slightly slack-jawed boy - says as he stands next to you. That's... not as bad as it could be. Looks like the snakes aren't really doing much. Maybe he ought to put them away, then. At a superfluous gesture he sphere flies off into the void, taking a place among the uncountable stars.

You try to manifest a spiked grapefruit, but nothing really comes to you. The boy looks at you. No real point in trying to imagine things here, he says. It's his world. You're an observer, yeah?

Quote from: Dermonster on January 14, 2016, 04:06:08 pm

Right, time to go. Get dressed(call a servent to get clothes?) and go find the highest vantage point in the city.

We got some Stoats to burn.

[Ministerial Privileges: 3]

You look out the door and call for a servant. It takes about three tries, but eventually one shows up at the top of the staircase, asking what it is that you want. Clothes, you respond. Clothes are what you need, in fact. Can't very well walk about naked, can you? The servant agrees - have you tried your room's closet? People usually put clothes in those, she's heard.

You check the closet. Hot damn, she appears to have been absolutely right! A closet full of clothes right there in front of you. Nothing that really fits you, you think. But there's a pretty serviceable nightgown in there. A little floral, of course. But it's not like anyone's going to laugh at a wizard who's got a pet nuclear rock on hand, right? You put it on and head out. Now, vantage points. The town of Anglefork remains sadly beyond your reach still, naturally, so you look around for the tallest structure around - clearly the flat top of the minder tower, about nine stories up from the ground in total, is the unquestioned king of vantage points around here. So you head inside there.

What you see inside is Mr. Erikson, standing in a stairless hall looking a little gormless and preoccupied for no reason you can easily identify. The hall itself is something like a circular meeting room kind of affair, with seating arranged in concentric circles around a central hearth. The ceiling is vaulted with irregularly spaced holes in the ceiling, seemingly the only routes of access to the upper levels. One such hole appears to have the silhouette of a tiny guy standing in it, paying you no real attention. The others meanwhile look entirely empty.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on January 14, 2016, 04:17:00 pm

"Woah. Sorry about that. I was hoping you could help me piece together what's going on here, but I'm not sure anyone can."

What am I even doing? I suppose I'm prepared to defend myself... now to focus on getting out of here, I guess. The well said I could defeat the stoats or work with them, but that sounds dangerous. Maybe I'll just escape. Whatever happens, I could probably use more help. So I leave the well to look for allies or something else to bring back to it.

You clamber out of the well, leaving the minder girl to it. She'll probably be all right as long as the door won't let her in.

Now then, you need to find somebody who'd be willing to come with you down there. Not that there's a real shortage of people around here. But you get the feeling the well wants something a little more specific. A connection, as it seems so keen on stating. Or a source. Wonder where those would be found around here?

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Toaster · « **Reply #363 on:** January 15, 2016, 03:47:59 pm »

"...which is another of the many benefits of our platinum packages. I did mention the rate increase protection for up to two claims in a rolling 12-month period, correct?"

Thomas looked at the guards for a moment.

"You know, I wonder if you gentle guards have adequate protection for yourselves? We pride ourselves on the work we do with workmen's comp claims, and guard duty is most certainly a dangerous position. I hope you have adequate protection for when you are unable to work?"

Check for worker's comp coverage?

Dermonster · « **Reply #364 on:** January 15, 2016, 03:52:39 pm »

"Oi, Erikson, any idea on how to get to the top of this tower here?"

Let's try to get our Moonstone a little bigger.

Xantalos · « **Reply #365 on:** January 15, 2016, 03:55:27 pm »

"Hmm. I'll want that daytime one, maybe I'll get a fire sword out of that. But how to get them out is the question.
...
That dude had a giant boulder floating around with him. Maybe there's some way I could get some anti-gravity magic or something? Of course that'll probably be more difficult than just finding something else priceless, but maybe the difficulty of it translates into a better sword in the end."

Head outside and look for any wizardy structures. Maybe there's some wizard I could convince to help me loot the window in it!

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #366 on:** January 15, 2016, 04:07:05 pm »

"Coolio. I had island too, surrounded by a sea of vodka filled grapefruits. Real topgrade stuff, I tell you. How do you do this? Sharing your... hallucination? Seems real handy skill."

((HB, can I hear Dermonser?))

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #367 on:** January 15, 2016, 05:15:05 pm »

I wander around searching for someone who looks friendly. I avoid anyone who looks unfriendly.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #368 on:** January 16, 2016, 02:36:56 am »

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on January 15, 2016, 04:07:05 pm

((HB, can I hear Dermonser?))

Not really, no.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #369 on:** January 16, 2016, 04:50:12 am »

Quote from: Toaster on January 15, 2016, 03:47:59 pm

"...which is another of the many benefits of our platinum packages. I did mention the rate increase protection for up to two claims in a rolling 12-month period, correct?"

Thomas looked at the guards for a moment.

"You know, I wonder if you gentle guards have adequate protection for yourselves? We pride ourselves on the work we do with workmen's comp claims, and guard duty is most certainly a dangerous position. I hope you have adequate protection for when you are unable to work?"

Check for worker's comp coverage?

[Matters of Life and Limb: 4]

Now this catches their attention. Getting paid for being injured is part of their job description. One of the sisters asks more in a voice far south of merely tipsy, and the others regard you with narrowed eyes. You explain the idea of workman's comp, which seems like a fairly interesting idea to them. The concept is somewhat familiar - the royal guard get parcels of farmland for their service, which they get to keep if they serve until past their prime or get injured in the line of duty. Runs in the family for as long as the profession does.

This does not seem very secure, you think. Farm work is quite strenuous, you must say - well, that's what serfs are for, one guard offers helpfully. They work your land and pay you for the privilege. Like slavery, but better! Er, yes. But imagine if they could also get a comfortable pension after being injured. So they wouldn't even have to live on their farmland, one of the sisters says happily. Is there even any farmland left, come to think of it, the once-jolly guard realizes. Stoats have kind of taken over the country, mostly. So if they do get injured in the line of duty, they're not likely to get it, are they?

Perhaps, you say! So clearly they must realize the importance of workman's comp, yes? They say that it would be a cool thing to have in their line of work, yes. Royal guarding can be famously dangerous at times. You wonder briefly if it would be strictly wise to insure someone whose job description is to get into dangerous situations on somebody else's behalf. The whole point is for most of those you insured to not get hurt, isn't it?

Quote from: Dermonster on January 15, 2016, 03:52:39 pm

"Oi, Erikson, any idea on how to get to the top of this tower here?"

Let's try to get our Moonstone a little bigger.

Mr. Erikson does not respond. Probably doesn't know anything anyway. You're going to have to figure this one out all by yourself as always. First step, clearly, is to put another Word into that floating boulder of yours.

MOON

[Word: 2]

The shining stone shakes and vibrates, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of dust for it to accrete over its surface. You kneel down and look at the floor. It is unnaturally spotless. As is the furniture. The entire hall looks entirely new, as a matter of fact, as if it were furnished just yesterday or so. You look at your stone. It shrugs uncertainly. A picosecond flash of nuclear-powered light escapes from it, making the room feel considerably warmer.

Quote from: Xantalos on January 15, 2016, 03:55:27 pm

"Hmm. I'll want that daytime one, maybe I'll get a fire sword out of that. But how to get them out is the question.
...
That dude had a giant boulder floating around with him. Maybe there's some way I could get some anti-gravity magic or something? Of course that'll probably be more difficult than just finding something else priceless, but maybe the difficulty of it translates into a better sword in the end."

Head outside and look for any wizardy structures. Maybe there's some wizard I could convince to help me loot the window in it!

There happens to be an ancient-looking tower in the courtyard, its stonework strikingly different from that of the castle. Possibly cob-based. Definitely more organic in shape than the rest of the place. You go over there and open up the door, and find yourself face to face with Mr. Codeburn. Nearby stand Mr. Erikson, looking confused. And sure enough, the shiny boulder is also there, floating dangerously about. Looks like you found where the party's at. You seem to be fairly good at that, come to think of it.

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on January 15, 2016, 04:07:05 pm

"Coolio. I had island too, surrounded by a sea of vodka filled grapefruits. Real topgrade stuff, I tell you. How do you do this? Sharing your... hallucination? Seems real handy skill."

It's, uh, minding. Sharing perception is a basic part of minding. The, er, most advanced basic thing, if that makes sense. It takes a while to learn it. And it's, er, actual minding. Not an inner world kind of thing, you know?

MOON

Uh, what was that? You feel yourself yanked out of the boy's mindscape, the flash of black like a shadow passing over your brain. You blink as you find yourself back in conventional reality, now sharing the hall with the illustrious Mr. Codeburn, resplendent in his women's nightgown, a shining boulder that pulses in a way you find slightly unsettling, and a completely naked Mr. Daniels. Mr. Codeburn appears to be examining the suspicious cleanliness of the hall, while Mr. Daniels seems to have just got here.

You look up at the boy's little alcove, but he seems to be absent from it now. Skittish thing, isn't he?

Quote from: penguinofhonor on January 15, 2016, 05:15:05 pm

I wander around searching for someone who looks friendly. I avoid anyone who looks unfriendly.

[Seeking Friends: 4]

You have a thought. Night is currently falling, yes? It is no time for decent folk to be out and about, yes? Ergo, anyone you meet in the courtyard is bound to be unfriendly to some degree or another. From this you conclude that all the decent folk ought to be inside their homes right now. So you walk over to one of the more harmless-looking houses and give it a solid knock.

A moment or two passes before the door opens slightly. You are met by a gentle young woman with a pleasant smile. She looks at you questioningly. Can she help you, she asks softly.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #370 on:** January 16, 2016, 07:19:23 am »

"Hello," I greet the woman. "I've been recruited by the minders to help solve the stoat situation. Would you or anyone you know be interested in helping me? We need brains more than brawn here, so it's fine if you aren't a fighter."

Toaster · « **Reply #371 on:** January 16, 2016, 09:54:43 am »

"There are many advantages again! So... who makes the financial decisions for your employers? That is who would have to decide."

So can I get out yet?

Dermonster · « **Reply #372 on:** January 16, 2016, 10:54:11 am »

"Welp. Time to try this thing."

Grab onto boulder. Levitate boulder upwards to or through a hole, and exit Elevator Rock to a landing/roof. If at any point I fall off boulder, MOON to migitate falling damage.

Xantalos · « **Reply #373 on:** January 16, 2016, 12:18:01 pm »

"Hey guy! Dude with the boulder! Can that moon magic word of yours apply low gravity to other things? I'm looking for help to loot something fragile."

Dermonster · « **Reply #374 on:** January 16, 2016, 12:55:40 pm »

"Probably, but I can only use it on one thing at a time and hell if I'm going to lighten you up when I need to not die to rapid deceleration."

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Author Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 259503 times)

Dermonster

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penguinofhonor

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Harry Baldman

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Toaster

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Dermonster

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Xantalos

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AoshimaMichio

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penguinofhonor

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Harry Baldman

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Harry Baldman

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penguinofhonor

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Toaster

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Dermonster

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Xantalos

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Dermonster

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