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[AlanL]

To be honest, I never thought of that. Those tools were thought up before my simulation got that detailed. But, I can think of some ways to explain it.

The crystal of accuracy works essentially by manipulating the already present inner workings, compensating for their flaws. Basically, it maintains a balance of order and chaos that equalizes when the device is at its desired operational configuration, be it on target flying towards an enemy, or on target with regards to position and time. Think of it kind of like a spring that always pulls towards the center. I'm assuming it reacts to the devices configuration, innately adjusting itself to fit the devices needs ('plug and play').

The sphere of direction is basically like a GPS, only it senses the users willpower too, and finds the best solution to the focus of that willpower. Think of it kind of like a search function on an internet map service, only it reads your mind rather than having to type it in. Of course, the first versions messed up the search all the time, but the dragons had decades to refine it to perfection.
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Blitukus took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Either he would succeed or fail... no, he told himself, failure is not an option. The train entered the tunnel, dim electrical lights lighting the interior. The train kept slowing, coming to a stop inside of a dimly lit trade depot within a room carved out of solid rock. Blitukus checked his belongings. He then climbed back to the hatch, opened it, then climbed to the top of the stopped train. The air here smelled heavily of chemicals and smog. The tunnel ahead curved, the trains final destination unseen. Blitukus coughed, and used his shirt as a makeshift filter to breathe through. A dwarf dressed in purple clothing stood in the trade depot, other dwarves bringing various goods from a corridor to the trade depot, all stored in crates and boxes. Blitukus looked around. Near the train, several crates were stacked upon one another. A human emerged from the front of the train, then began talking with the dwarf far up ahead. Blitukus carefully moved on top of the stacked crates, lowered himself to a smaller stack, lowered himself to an even smaller stack, then hopped down to the ground. Blitukus, keeping his mouth behind his shirt, then walked into the corridor, in the opposite direction of the dwarves. The dwarves seemed indifferent to his presence. Blitukus continued down the corridor, eventually emerging to a large platform, above and below rings of a city carved out of the mountain. In the center was a large cavern, a small hole to the outside near the front. All around, various entrances to rooms were along rings, ramps and stairs leading up and down the edges of the rings to the adjacent rings. On the lowest and most central ring, a steel bridge crossed the cavern. Below that, a dark, almost black, gooey liquid stewed, trickling out of the hole into a nearby river. The cavern contained a dull haze, made rust colored by the dim yellow lights. Blitukus walked along the ring, looking for any sort of important building or entrance that might be a museum. The walls of the rings, where not covered by ramps or stairs, were smooth and sometimes engraved. Blitukus noticed several engravings. One was an engraving of a power line and a dwarf. The dwarf was cutting the power line. Next to it was an engraving of sparks, a power line and a dwarf. The power line is striking down the dwarf. The sparks are falling. Apparently the dwarf was trying to cut it with a full-metal axe. Beneath the two some text could be seen, "May we all remember our city Idiot, Onib Paintedtrouble, and the great service he has given us all by removing himself from our gene pool in a most amusing manner." Blitukus looked around as he walked by. Another engraving depicted a geothermal power plant and dwarves. The geothermal power plant is broken. The dwarves are melting. It related to the 1989 event of magma pressure causing the power plant to rupture, spilling out magma and killing the operators. That explained the overflow vents near that power plant that, according to the depiction, used to not be there... Another engraving depicted a dwarf, a motorboat, and a carp. The carp is pulling the dwarf off of the motorboat. The carp is striking down the dwarf. Dwarves were unique in that manner... all sapient races sought to learn from their mistakes, but only dwarves sought to immortalize their mistakes. It seemed their morbidity was as ageless as the mountain itself... Another engraving depicted a dwarf and a vehicle. The dwarf is raising the vehicle. It related to the 1932 creation of Armoredblurs the Wheels of Flying, a titanium super-car by Melbil Brokenspeaches. Also of note, the dwarf in question was considered Ultra-Mighty by his peers afterwards. At least dwarves were still proud of their achievements as well. Blitukus noticed that Melbil had managed to make that vehicle perfectly aerodynamic, and simultaneously allow for it to menace with spikes of titanium. Blitukus continued along... the air burned at his eyes still. Vehicles with open cargo bays full of crates moved by, leaving a trail of exhaust in their wake.

Up ahead, a loud bell rang. Dwarves seemed to move out of a shaft, leaving to go home. Blitukus continued, stopping before he reached the shaft. A deep rumble was coming from the shaft... but it wasn't from the earth itself. A large steel vehicle, reminding him of his armored vehicle, emerged, only, it didn't have any weapons, rather an enormous corkscrew mounted to a large motor in the front. The vehicle emerged from the shaft, and turned to move down the road, hauling a large bay full of ore in its back. Following it, 5 miners with steel pickaxes emerged, and a sixth, carrying a backpack full of various explosives and the tools to use them. Blitukus smiled upon seeing the vehicle... it was a digging machine, a very useful take on the armored vehicle concept. Blitukus could modify his armored vehicle to function as a simple digging machine, perhaps, when he got back. If he ever needed to, that is. Blitukus' smile soon faded away though. He coughed again. The dwarves nearby were smoking on top of inhaling the industrial fumes. She was right... this place was bad for ones health. The dwarves around seemed on the border of poverty as well. The nobles, on the other hand, lived a rather luxurious life... one could tell by their oversized and over-adorned quarters. A red glow emerged near the top ring to Blitukus' left. He looked up. A large cauldron was suspended by cables, moved by a machine on a rail over a large foundry. The cables pulled at the bottom of the cauldron, and the cauldron tilted, pouring molten metal down into the vat of the foundry, the molten metal having an orangish tinge on top of the red glow. Another cauldron, the metal within having a slight greenish tinge, poured as well, mixing a bit of its contents into the vat. Sparks shot out of the vat as the cauldrons poured. The glow permeated the cavern. Soon, a crackling and bubbling could be heard from the foundry. Black smoke billowed out from the vat, siphoned up into a smokestack. Various smelters and factories operated throughout the top ring, making quite a racket in the process. Blitukus happened upon a food stand. He was rather hungry... but this seemed a rather dirty place. The stand was selling food for very cheap, plump helmets, quarry bush leaf roast, rhesus macaque meat... it seemed several food stands were around, surrounding the entrance to a large, heavily adorned communal dining room. Blitukus sniffed the plump helmets. The ones he had grown at his home were fresh and slightly sweet... these smelled much like that 'plastic' material. Blitukus walked away, and left the food stands behind. Soot seemed to cover the buildings and entrances all around. Blitukus heard sirens in the distance. He approached the back of the city. A large statue towered over the city, showing a dwarf holding a battle axe. The statue was covered with soot, graffiti, and apparantly had been recently adorned with long strips of a thin, white paper-like material. The paper had begun to turn grey from exposure to the air. Blitukus noticed a rather advanced-looking building near the top, guarded by two axedwarves. He climbed up the ramps, moving back to the rear of the city. He coughed again. His shirt wasn't entirely sufficient... Blitukus coughed again. This was not what he had intended the dwarves to do with production en masse... but, this city was apparently a particularly nasty example.

He made it to the top... this was it, the museum. He stood, and looked around. No goblins were to be seen. The museum was closing in 1 hour. Blitukus looked around, looking for a possible hiding spot. He noticed the axedwarves axes seemed to have a power supply and thick wires leading into the blade. It seemed the blade was designed to withstand high heat. Blitukus entered, and noticed the humans leaving. The halls were full of dark corners due to the dim lighting, although the central chamber of the museum was light brightly by a skylight. The pollution seemed to be filtered in this room. Blitukus no longer had to mask himself with his shirt. Blitukus spent the next long while investigating every part of the museum. It actually had potted plants within, and a second level balcony in the main chamber. Various exhibits of various types were available in the main chamber and in the surrounding rooms. Some of these exhibits were rather morbid displays of battles from 1200 to 1970, examples of weapons and armors from the various eras. One display had a row of crossbows, each one more advanced than the last, ranging from a simple wooden bow with a plant fiber string and a bone bolt, to a highly complicated triple-strung automatic crossbow with hydraulic energy storage, a liquid-cooled electrical solenoid drawback mechanism, specially engineered high-tensile strings, and a lead-cored titanium-plated armor-piercing bolt. Mounted atop this crossbow was a variable-zoom optical sight with a target-painting tool capable of projecting a beam of cohesive light. Blitukus sighed... it was a marvelous waste of innovation... if only such implements of destruction were abandoned with time... Blitukus kept looking around. At the very center of the museum was a large display containing a large, clear gem that was perfect in every way. Blitukus stood near it, but not too close. The innocent looking glass case harbored many beams of cohesive light, pressure sensors, wind sensors, and a variety of other devices just waiting to trigger an alarm. He sensed an odd aura coming from the crystal... an aura of order, but not just any order, true, pure, perfect order. There also seemed to be a magical charge near the crystal, although it was impossible to draw from it. The other components seemed mysterious in their function, but this one seemed to have an obvious purpose. All machines broke down when they reached an immense level of chaos, and the cat device worked directly with the purest chaos available. The crystal contained pure order, and would serve as a counterbalance to keep the device working cleanly and efficiently.

The final bell sounded before closing... 5 minutes. The museum was almost empty, everyone else was on their way out. Blitukus acted as if he were leaving, following behind the rear of the crowd. He walked slowly, allowing the crowd to get far ahead. Then, he crouched down in a pitch black spot against the wall. There wasn't even enough ambient light in that spot to give his eyes their usual yellow glow. He waited patiently... he would simply stay there, and sneak his way in behind the goblin thieves... whenever they showed up. Slowly, three goblins snuck their way down the corridor. They were all wearing masks with air filters... not a bad idea in this city... They seemed equipped with several tools. One carried a hand crossbow and an explosive as weapons. The second had a large automatic crossbow with an advanced sight, the front of the bow having padded buffers to muffle the twang of the string. The third had a short but powerful crossbow, loaded with a large fragmenting bolt... the front seemed for some reason designed for the bolt to catch as it exited the crossbow. This would slow the bolt and limit its range, but in turn it would fragment the bolt at the tip of the crossbow, sending out a cone of shrapnel that would do immense damage to any soft targets close by. All 3 of the goblins wore black goggles with red glass lenses, and black clothing, including headwear. Blitukus held his breath, and stood dead still in the pitch dark. A buzzer sounded, and gates closed. The goblins passed silently by Blitukus, not noticing him. The three goblins then hid in a pitch black corner, looking out at the entrance to the main room of the museum. One of the goblins spoke softly, "Those damn p*ssies never showed up." Another replied, "Those dumba*ses would've just gotten in the way anyway." One of the goblins pressed its fingertips against a device on its ear, and spoke, "The museum is locked down... time in 5."

Meanwhile...

A goblin sneaking by the power plant outside received the message, the voice made scratchy by the radio transmission. The goblin outside replied, "Down in 5..." The goblin then climbed to the top of the power plant, and unscrewed a steel panel from the wall of a control box, revealing various belts of wire beneath. The goblin searched through the wires. The goblin picked one out, and pulled a small computer out of his backpack, unfolding it and activating it. When his computer was on, he attached a cable to his computer, pulled one of the cables out from its socket on the power plant, then quickly connected his computer to the socket. He accessed this node, and the computer prompted him for a username and password... he had expected this.

As the goblin outside was furiously typing away...

Blitukus and the 3 goblins silently observed as 2 dwarven guards took their posts at the entrance to the main room of the museum. They all waited... 5 minutes had passed, and the lights were still on. The one goblin adjusted the volume on his recording device all the way up, and spoke softly, "What the hell is going on?" A barely noticeable scratchy voice could be heard from the other side. The goblin at the power plant, still typing, spoke, "They put in a new firewall yesterday or somethin'! Hold on..." Various code and communication windows open, but put aside... the communications interface flashed, then displayed a small schematic of the power grid. The goblin snickered, "Gotcha..." He then went to work on the several lines to the museum... the computer asked, 'Are you sure?' The goblin defiantly chose yes. Back in the corridor... suddenly, all the lights went dark. The dwarven guards spoke, "Hey what the hell?!" A goblins laugh could be heard. A beam of coherent light marked a red spot on one of the dwarven guards heads... then, the sound of several muffled, barely audible twangs could be heard. THWIP! THWIP! THWIP! THWIP! A loud grunt could be heard. THUD! Another loud grunt, followed by a hacking and gagging could be heard. THUD! The lights came back on, revealing the 2 dwarven guards were now laying motionless in a pool of blood... the lights were back on? The goblin spoke into its recorder, "HEY what the hell are you doing? Keep f*cking thing off!" The goblin on the outside replied, "It IS off." The goblin in the corridor continued, "Damn... they got a generator somewhere." Footsteps could be heard. The goblins crouched down. Blitukus looked at the goblins... one was crouched, ready to fire, the sight on its crossbow glowing red, a crosshair within. A beam of coherent light was projected to the other end of the corridor. A swordsdwarf walked down the corridor, turned, and seemed shocked to see the dead guards laying there. The coherent light marked a read spot right between the dwarfs eyes... a muffled, barely audible twang was heard. The bolt flew down the corridors at high speed with deadly precision, finding its mark right between the dwarfs eyes. The dwarf grunted slightly, fell to its knees, then fell over completely. More footsteps could be heard... Another dwarf, wielding a heavy automatic crossbow, rounded the corner. The goblin fired... the bolt piercing right through the dwarfs heart. The dwarf stumbled back, and looked down... a moment later, the dwarf let out a pained war cry, spending the last of its life rushing towards the goblins, firing a spray of bolts towards them. The goblin kept firing its automatic crossbow, the dwarf seeming to ignore itself getting hit repeatedly. Several bolts found their mark on the goblins. The other goblin readied its scatter-crossbow. As the dwarf approached, his last gasp of life draining away rapidly but still managing to run towards the goblins, the goblin wielding the scatter-crossbow fired into the dwarfs head. The shower of heavy, sharp shrapnel tore into the dwarfs head, reducing his cranium to a lump of gore. The dwarf fell dead right there. The goblins grunted, a pool of blood forming on the ground. One of the goblins grunted, "F*ck! I'm hit..." The goblin wielding the scatter-crossbow emerged into the light, revealing two bolts sticking out, one from the arm, one from his side. The goblin with the automatic crossbow emerged as well, grabbed the two stuck bolts, then ripped them out of the other goblin. The other goblin stifled a yell. The goblin with the automatic crossbow spoke, "Walk it off, p*ssy." The third goblin... the pool of blood kept spreading from that pitch black corner. The goblins snuck up to the entrance to the main room of the museum. Meanwhile, Blitukus snuck over to the corner the goblins once occupied, taking up the dead goblins weapons. Blitukus watched the two goblins advance, the goblin with the scatter-crossbow trailing blood. They stopped at the entrance. Several beams of coherent light crossed the pathway, and should they be interrupted, an alarm would sound... The goblin spoke, "Dammit... the power was supposed to be off..." The goblin radioed, "You got anything on that back up generator?" The goblin outside responded, "I'm workin' on it... the network isn't meant to work that way but... just wait a damn minute alright?" The goblin in the corridor responded, "Hurry the f*ck up..." Several minutes passed. Finally, the lights went out again. The goblins eagerly passed into the main chamber of the museum, Blitukus sneaking through the darkness, slowly making his way in himself. ROOROO-rrrr-ROOF! The goblins had upset a leashed war dog. The twang of the scatter-crossbow firing could be heard. THUMP! A loud whimpering could be heard. THUD! A few moments passed. Blitukus froze as he heard footsteps. A watch-guard entered the corridor, and shined his flashlight down it, spotting the dead bodies. The guard seemed to freeze for a few moments, then ran off. Blitukus continue, hiding in a corner of the main museum room.

Meanwhile...

2 miles above ground, 10 miles out from Endlesslabors, a VTOL aircraft, painted blood red, ferocious teeth painted onto its front, rather untoward symbols painted onto its belly, approached. The dwarves could be heard, "Unidentified aircraft, you are trespassing in Endlesslabors airspace. Leave at once." The goblin in the cockpit replied, "F*ck you..."

Back in the main room of the museum, Blitukus positioned himself in a dark corner of the room, behind a balcony support. The room was lit from the skylight. The two goblins approached the gem in the center, their eyes greedily fixated on it. Suddenly, a loud alarm could be heard. The watch had reported in... The goblin with the scatter-crossbow spoke, "WHAT THE- oh... great, we're f*cked..." The goblin with the automatic crossbow replied, "SHUT UP! I... erm... ... ...pray to Armok that damn aircraft shows up soon..." Footsteps could be heard. A heavily armored elite marksdwarf entered the room, carrying a large crossbow, not automatic, but firing an immense bolt. The dwarf was clad in titanium plate armor, a thick cloth-like material beneath that. The goblin with the scatter-crossbow fired at the dwarf... the numerous bits of piercing shrapnel simply glanced away. The dwarf returned fire. CRUNCH! The immense bolt lodged into the goblins chest. The goblin stumbled back... then the bolt exploded, sending blood and gore all over the place. The dwarf began to reload, fury visible on his face. Meanwhile, a speardwarf and an axedwarf entered. They all wore the same shining titanium armor. The speardwarf carried a spear that seemed to have coils running along its shaft, the sharp tip buzzing slightly, an electric aura about it. The axedwarfs axe was like the one Blitukus saw before... only now the wires leading into the blade were obvious in purpose. A heating element within the blade caused it to glow red with heat. The last remaining goblin pulled back the solenoid ratchet of his automatic crossbow, and let it snap forward, hatred visible in his eyes, "Eat sh*t and die..." The goblin then aimed... but then was forced to jump as the marksdwarf loosed another large bolt. The bolt passed between the goblins legs, ricocheting off of the ground, and impaling itself in the wall in the back of the room. When it exploded, it ruined a nearby potted plant. The speardwarf charged in. The goblin ran to the back of the room, then stood atop a plant... the goblin then fired back towards the dwarves. The dwarves stopped to protect their faces. The goblin tried to hit the dwarves faces but the dwarves successfully parried those shots. The dwarves arms were pierced by the barrage in keeping their faces from being hit, but apart from that, there was little damage. The goblin had emptied the clip... he looked up, and saw suspended potted plants leading upwards. The goblin, apparently very agile, leapt from one potted plant to the next, ascending up to the second level, where finally, the goblin leapt toward the balcony, an explosive bolt shattering the potted plant he was standing on just after he jumped. The goblin unloaded the empty clip and discarded it in midair, landed, and crouched, loading a new clip. A small canister of some sort was thrown from the balcony, and landed among the dwarves. POP! A thick, dark smoke engulfed the dwarves. The goblin then stood at the edge of the balcony, using his beam of cohesive light to scan the smoke. The goblin crouched, aiming carefully from the balcony... the marksdwarf, coughing, emerged from the smoke. The goblin leapt up from the balcony, then fired 3 shots in midair. the bolts pierced through the thin sections of the dwarfs helmet, finding their way through the dwarfs skull. The marksdwarf yelled, then fell, dead, the goblin landing right in front of the body. The goblin then adjusted its goggles... its goggles seemed to become opaque. The goblins goggles now provided an image of the heat of nearby objects, allowing the goblin to see the dwarves through the smoke. The speardwarf began to emerge from the other side of the now thinning smoke cloud, then turned. A small red dot moved up to the dwarfs beard... when the dwarf noticed it, it was too late. A bolt flew through the cloud of smoke, striking the dwarf in his neck, above the top of its plate armor, poking out the dwarfs throat. The dwarf gagged, and stumbled. The goblin grinned and laughed... then found himself full of horror as he saw a spear flying towards him, emerging from the cloud of smoke. The goblin dove to the side, the spear landing a grazing hit and continuing to the wall. The goblins side was burned. The spear stopped at the wall, electricity jumping from its tip into the nearly-touching metal support until it fully discharged. The goblin got up, and for a moment placed one hand on the charred gash on its side, and looked down. The goblin then looked forward, to see the heat-silhouette of the screaming axedwarf running at him. The goblin ran backwards, firing. The dwarf let out a deep war cry, charging into the barrage of bolts. The goblin then found itself full of fright as it backed against a wall, its bolts seeming to have no effect on the body of the dwarf. The dwarf brought its red hot axe across, slicing clean through the goblins neck, charring the flesh as it passed through. The goblins body and head fell to the floor, a slight bit of smoke rising from the two halves of the goblins neck. The dwarf then brought his axe down again, splitting the goblins head in half. The dwarf let his axe remain on the ground for a moment, the goblins blood boiling near the red hot blade. The dwarf shut off the heating element in his axe, and proceeded to use the goblins blood to cool it off. The dwarf then pulled the bolts, one by one, out of his pincushioned armor. It seemed that although the plate was pierced in some parts, what would've gotten through was stopped by the fabric part... it seemed the fabric was an exceptional defense against projectiles. The axedwarf then proceeded to walk away, as if nothing had happened. The goblins were all dead, the dwarves had left, victorious, and a minute later, the alarm was silenced, power restored... but they had all missed two important things.

Blitukus had been hidden away in the corner watching it all, and was still there. The aircraft was also on the way... the whistle of turbine engines could be heard overhead. The aircraft slowly passed overhead, then hovered, its engine nacelles tilted down. It seemed to have a hoist that had been quickly attached to its door, and on the bottom of the hoist, what almost looked like a large all-steel ballista bolt. The aircraft hovered over the clear glass skylight, then let the hoist loose, the steel 'bolt' on the end of the rope plummeting down. It plummeted through the clear glass skylight, shattering it. The alarm sounded again. Now was Blitukus' chance... He still had the weapon he took from the dead goblin. He took aim at the glass case around the gem, and fired. The glass seemed to be unaffected, the bolt bouncing off. He fired again, and once more. The glass was bolt-proof. Blitukus also salvaged the goblins alternate weapon as well... an explosive charge. He looked at it and tried to figure out how to use it... the only thing that could be moved on it was a small pin. He pulled the pin, then lobbed it at the display. He then ducked behind the support column of the balcony. A few seconds later... BOOM! The short column holding up the display was toppled, the glass shattered, the gem knocked into the air. The gem fell, then landed, completely undamaged. Blitukus ran, and snatched the gem. The 'ballista bolt' on the end of the rope reached near ground level. The tip of it spread out from its former arrowhead shape, now offering surfaces available to be stood on. Blitukus pocketed the gem, and jumped onto the 'ballista bolt'. The cable pulled downward slightly, triggering a sensor on the aircraft. The aircraft began to reel Blitukus in. The axedwarf returned, finding Blitukus making an escape... the dwarf spoke a few words into his recorder, broadcasting it to his fellow dwarves, then charged toward Blitukus. Blitukus jumped upwards as the axedwarf swung. The axedwarf hit the bottom of the 'ballista bolt' causing it and the rope to sway, Blitukus carried with it. The aircraft pulled Blitukus up out of range of the axedwarf... the axedwarf pointed at Blitukus with his axe, then yelled, following it up with an obscenity or two. Blitukus waved. PANG! PANG! Blitukus looked up... the aircraft was under fire. It started to move forward, jerking Blitukus upwards. Blitukus spun himself as to not be cought between the pedals on the 'bolt' and the oncoming ceiling. The 'ballista bolt' cought on the edge of the skylight. The aircraft was jerked back. The aircrafts engines roared furiously. The 'ballista bolt' was pulled loose, causing several blocks to become dislodged, falling into the museum. Blitukus held on with all of his strength as the rope dragged him and what he was riding on over the ground, the metal beneath him leaving a trail of sparks as it ground against the stone. Just as Blitukus was about to be pulled into a sharp, rocky area, he was lifted upwards once more. The aircraft was still reeling him in, and also still under fire. One of the engines began to trail a slight bit of smoke as it was struck by a large bolt, the bolt piercing into it. Meanwhile, in the cockpit of the aircraft... BEEP! BUZZZZZ! The goblin pilot yelled, "HOOOOLY SH*T!!" A small rocket shot out from a launcher within the mountain, and began to track the aircraft, approaching with great speed. A goblin, standing by the door, thought quickly. She pulled out a small canister, marked with a flame symbol, then pulled the pin and threw it out of the open door on the side of the aircraft. The canister then burst into intense heat, this heat radiant in all directions. The rocket seemed confused by this. It veered off course, zipped by, and flew into the distance, exploding in the sky a few seconds later. All the goblins breathed a sigh of relief. Blitukus breathed a sigh of relief as well. Blitukus was now in possession of the component. The aircraft accelerated, flying out of range of Endlesslabors. Blitukus looked up... he had escaped the dwarves, but now, he had no way of avoiding the goblins. He had what they wanted, and they would be intent on getting it from him. He had the dead goblins small hand crossbow... but it likely wouldn't be much help, since he would likely be up against a full automatic crossbow. He sighed, and watched as the aircraft reeled him in.
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And no, I don't think a car chase is part of this story at all.

[ December 26, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Wooty]

First post! Again!

...a highly complicated triple-strung automatic crossbow with hydraulic energy storage, a liquid-cooled electrical solenoid drawback mechanism, specially engineered high-tensile strings, and a lead-cored titanium-plated armor-piercing bolt. Mounted atop this crossbow was a variable-zoom optical sight with a target-painting tool capable of projecting a beam of cohesive light...

Why the heck are they still using swordsdwarves?

[ December 26, 2007: Message edited by: Wooty ]

[AlanL]

Unlike bullets, armor can take a real beating from bolts without the person within getting turned to swiss cheese. That weapon I brought up as the advanced end of the museum exhibit was more of an anti-armor/anti-vehicle weapon. Armor piercing bolts hurt but due to their low cross section and zero-fragmenting, they don't shred like anti-personnel bolts. You might also notice, their melee weapons are more advanced as well. It's like asking why everybody didn't use crossbows back in the old days too. Armor worked, and swords could still compete. In fact...

(spoiler)

...some of the more powerful tech weapons in the story end up being melee.

[ December 26, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Reign on your Parade]

Ah man, I love car chases... also, with the war dog, don't you mean the DWARVES released a war dog?

[Demosthenes]

quote:Another engraving depicted a dwarf and a vehicle. The dwarf is raising the vehicle. It related to the 1932 creation of Armoredblurs the Wheels of Flying, a titanium super-car by Melbil Brokenspeaches. Also of note, the dwarf in question was considered Ultra-Mighty by his peers afterwards. At least dwarves were still proud of their achievements as well. Blitukus noticed that Melbil had managed to make that vehicle perfectly aerodynamic, and simultaneously allow for it to menace with spikes of titanium.  

It's not an Artifact unless it menaces with spikes of something.

[AlanL]

quote:Originally posted by Reign on your Parade:
<STRONG>don't you mean the DWARVES released a war dog?</STRONG>

The war dog was leashed. The goblins upset it by walking near it. It was never really released from its leash.

[ December 26, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Reign on your Parade]

I see, that makes sense.

[Armok]

B.E.Y.O.N.D  Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y.!!!  

Is all this some parody of a specific agent/action movie or just agent/action movies in general?

/////////////////////////////////

quote: The crystal of accuracy works essentially by manipulating the already present inner workings, compensating for their flaws. Basically, it maintains a balance of order and chaos that equalizes when the device is at its desired operational configuration, be it on target flying towards an enemy, or on target with regards to position and time. Think of it kind of like a spring that always pulls towards the center. I'm assuming it reacts to the devices configuration, innately adjusting itself to fit the devices needs ('plug and play').

I suspected something like that.
Ï cant help to notice that this is very similar to the description of the "crystal of perfection" in the very same post, is seems that it a part present in most devices that combine magic and technology, for the very reasons explained, a major flaw in all technology, entropy, can be countered fairly easily whit magic, so its an obvious thing to do really. [/very long sentence]

quote: The sphere of direction is basically like a GPS, only it senses the users willpower too, and finds the best solution to the focus of that willpower. Think of it kind of like a search function on an internet map service, only it reads your mind rather than having to type it in. Of course, the first versions messed up the search all the time, but the dragons had decades to refine it to perfection.

that is fairly obvious, and explains how it can find the artifacts and point to their current position, the question was how it could realize that the crystal was guarded, that the goblins provided an opportunity for breaching that security, that pointing Blitukus to the cart would lead to him encountering the goblins and see the sign that was not currently in the cart, and many other things, while this is not theoretically impossible and seemingly simple a device of that capability of comprehending situations I cant get to not being sentient,  also how did it know what the goblins where planing to do? If the sphere of direction actually IS sentient and omnipresent why did not the ancients make it talking and have it tell what is going to happen and how to do everything directly instead of pointing on empty parts of maps having indirect consequences?
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[AlanL]

Thanks   :p

There actually wasn't any reference to any movie... it was more a reference to shooter games than to movies, if it could be considered a reference at all.

The sphere isn't sentient, and it never realized the gem was guarded.

The short explanation: For one, it might seem sentient at times because its input is the ever changing willpower of a sapient being. Keep in mind, this willpower is already pre-interpreted by Blitukus' brain before it goes into the sphere. Also, the universe smiles on Blitukus, so he tends to get lucky.

The extension to that: At first, the sphere pointed right to the dwarven fortress, but since he was half a world away, he couldn't tell it from Metropolis. When he got to Metropolis, part of his will was to get to the crystal... so the sphere found a way to the crystal, a train. While on the train, well, this can be interpreted one of three ways. The sphere pointed northward and down a bit, either it could've been pointing to the gem, Blitukus misinterpreting it as a specific car then getting lucky, it could've been interpreting Blitukus' willpower as wanting to find something valuable on the train, then pointed to the valuable electronics... or third, it could've been sensing Blitukus' thoughts regarding the dwarfs security, then found the note, which happened to be in the goblins pocket, and just happened to be on its way to that specific car of the train. Either way, it either isn't sentient at all, or 'piggybacks' on Blitukus' sentience.

I'm trying my best to explain this, but I get the feeling that I might be running into problems regarding this... maybe I was letting the sphere have too much realization power. Luckily, if I really, really had to, I could go back and fix the most questionable part of that if it was going too far.

[ December 26, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Armok]

That might explain it, misinterpretion and luck, I would probably go for the pointing north and getting a lucky misinterpretion as Blitukus didn't really want monitory value held in the electronics and knowing the goblin was heading for that wagon would need the sphere to read the goblins mind, and even Arcus could not read Blitukus mind against his will so a device working at minimum mana does not seem likely.
Still recognizing the train as a means of transport to Endlesslabors and for that mater recognizing the artifacts seem troublesome, guess magic just have a quirk of adapting to new situations and pattern recognition, understanding it fully would really remove the MAGIC from the magic.

[AlanL]

I'm assuming that there are some things either magic or tech can do easily that the other can't. For instance, tech can do mass production and computers as a simple matter of moving forward, while magic basically can't be used to make computers (this is why the magic time machine didn't work), and mass production is harder to do with it. I'm assuming that one thing magic can do that tech has a real hard time with is reactively adapting to new environments. Likely this is due to willpower and intent. To a tech device, the difference between a horse drawn wagon and an airplane is enormous, while, to a magic device, they both share one big thing in common. The magic device senses willpower... and both the airplane and the horse drawn wagon are intended by their creators and owners to be a mode of transportation.

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Blitukus thought about the situation, trying to find a solution as the aircraft reeled him in, closer and closer. There was nothing he could exploit to a tactical advantage... in combat, it would all be down to close range firepower, something he did not have... his only chance was a peaceful encounter, and goblins were not known for such things. Blitukus readied the crossbow just in case, but kept it down at his side, making it visible he wasn't intent on attacking. Blitukus looked up... a goblin was standing in the door of the aircraft, looking down at him. The winch stopped reeling in. Blitukus was right below the aircraft. Blitukus looked up at the goblin. She kept looking down at him. She then walked back into the aircraft... a moment later, she returned. She gestured towards Blitukus' crossbow, then gestured towards the interior of the aircraft. Blitukus recognized this, safetied the crossbow, and then reached up, tossing it into the aircraft. It seemed he wouldn't be needing it anyway. Then again, it might just mean they wanted to torture him to death rather than kill him outright. She had a large automatic crossbow, but it was slung behind her back. She crouched, then held her hand downwards out the door of the aircraft. Blitukus accepted. She pulled him up, into the aircraft. They both stood. Blitukus asked, "So... you would rather me be alive for the time being?" She replied, "Got any money, kobold?" Blitukus looked around... she was the only goblin in the room. Blitukus reached into his bag, pulled out a copper piece, worth 1 money as always, and gave it to her. She spoke, "Okay, good enough." She then sat on a seat mounted to the side of the aircraft. Blitukus shut the door behind himself, and asked, "Erm... what do you intend on doing with me?" The goblin replied, gesturing towards a crate, "Gimme some hooch, then we'll talk." Blitukus walked toward the rear of the room, and opened the crate, retrieving a bottle of a dark grog that was likely contraband in most nations. He shut the crate, gave it to the goblin, and sat on the seat on the other side of the aircraft. She opened it, drank heavily from it, then spoke, "I knew as soon as I saw you that those dipsh*ts got themselves killed. You probably have the gem too, I bet. Either you're a better thief than they were or you're damn lucky. They won't get their sh*t, they won't get their money, all hell's gunna break loose... and I don't give a sh*t. Congratulations." Blitukus had no intention of arguing, but now he was curious... he asked, "Why is that? Not to argue..." She replied, "I'm a mercenary, I work for the highest bidder... and 2 hours ago, I found out these bastards aren't gunna pay me my cut. A copper piece is better than nothin'... so when they all find out they've all been f*cked over by a kobold, I get to see the look on their faces, laugh, then move on." Blitukus asked, "I see. So you are not interested in the gem itself?" She replied, "I ain't got the connections to sell something like that, otherwise you'd be dead by now." Blitukus responded, "I see..." Blitukus looked down. He still had the scars from his encounter on the train... no longer did wounds heal between regions. Blitukus sat back. Several minutes passed. The goblin spoke, "Y... y'know, you should try some of this stuff, it's good... it makes you see fairies... I like your juggling act..." Blitukus wasn't juggling anything. The goblin hiccuped. Blitukus shook his head in silent rejection of the offer. Another few minutes passed. The goblin stood, then walked over to Blitukus. She spoke, "Hey... yeah... you're cute, and I'm drunk, so... let's f***!" Blitukus spoke, "No..." She replied, "Suit yourself." She then walked away, lay on the floor, then slowly let herself fall unconscious.

It seems my luck stands triumphant in all areas except that of females...

Blitukus shook his head, sighed, then leaned back in his seat. The aircraft was headed south... likely it was going to at least pass over Metropolis. Blitukus' stomach growled. He was very hungry, and quite thirsty as well. Blitukus stood, then looked around, searching through the few small crates in the room. Nothing but 'hooch', equipment, and air. Blitukus saw two doors from the room... one leading to the cockpit, another leading to a small cargo bay in the rear. Blitukus opened the cargo bay door slowly, peeked through, then immediately closed it, silently. A goblin was sitting down on a crate in the cargo bay. Luckily, this goblin didn't notice Blitukus. The goblin in the cargo bay stood, and Blitukus heard footsteps. Thinking quickly, Blitukus hid behind the few small crates, crouched low to the ground. The door opened, and the goblin passed through. The goblin noticed the drunken mercenary on the floor, pushed her slightly with his foot, laughed, then proceeded to enter the cockpit. Blitukus took this opportunity to investigate the cargo bay. He found several crates and barrels, most of it full of various contraband from illegal devices to narcotics to a single, small canister, marked with a radiation-hazard symbol. Blitukus searched the barrels, and finally found water. He leaned over and began drinking out of the barrel. The water was slightly bitter, but it didn't taste unhealthy or poisonous, nor did it sicken him to drink it. Likely there was simply dirt in it. He then searched for food. He found small bits of food and a small stash. Finding himself very hungry, he consumed a large portion of the stash. The food was rather filling, and tasted decent... but somehow, it also tasted strangely artificial. Blitukus then shut the crates, leaving nothing visibly disturbed, then went back to the main room... then ducked behind the crates again. The goblin crossed back from the cockpit to the cargo bay. Blitukus waited for a few minutes, then stepped back out. He sat again in his seat. He kept an ear out for any goblins moving, but eventually found his mind wandering off. He moved behind the crates, and lay there. He rested there, and a rather long, uneventful time passed. Eventually, the goblin mercenary woke up. She grunted, rubbed her head, then slowly stood. Blitukus stood, then moved to his previous seat, proceeding to sit in it. The goblin sat in the seat across from Blitukus. She sat silent, rubbing her head. She then laughed, "That stuff is great... until you wake up. How long was I out?" Blitukus replied, "I do not know the exact duration... likely an hour or two... I am unsure." She laughed, "Damn, usually it's a lot longer than that!" Still more time passed... the goblin seemed to get more and more annoyed with the situation as her headache wore on. She spoke, "Those damn bastards... they said it would be 200,000 moneys... They're lucky they've got so many connections... f*ck it. They'll wish they never f*cked me over..."

She stood, and took out her automatic crossbow. She spoke, "I think I'm gunna find a new career..." She then walked to the rear of the room, opened the door to the cargo bay, then fired several bolts into the goblin sitting on the crate there, killing him almost immediately. She then walked back into the central room, and opened the door in front into the cockpit. The pilot spoke, "Hey WHAT THE-" She fired several rounds into the pilots head, then did the same to the copilot. She then tossed her crossbow aside, and dragged both bodies out of the cockpit. She opened the door on the side of the aircraft, then dumped the bodies overboard, walking back, and then dumping the third body from the cargo bay overboard. The aircraft began to slowly tilt and nose downward. She shut the door, turned to Blitukus, then smiled, "Looks like I'm a freelance pilot now!" She then proceeded to the cockpit, slamming the door behind her. A moment later, the aircraft leveled out, proceeding straight forward again. The aircraft changed course, slightly. Blitukus sighed, sat, and waited for a few minutes. He opened the door to the cockpit, and saw the beautifully lit city of Metropolis nearly straight ahead, far away, its aura resting on the horizon. The goblin mercenary-turned-freelancer turned slightly, averting her attention from the controls to Blitukus. She spoke, "Have a seat..." Blitukus noticed the copilots seat, spattered with blood. He kept standing. He asked, "Are you going to land in Metropolis?" She replied, "Uh, no... that's what we goblins call Stupid, you see, we stole this thing from the Metropolis airport... I'm headed to Shadedports to sell all the sh*t in the back." Blitukus spoke, "I must return to Metropolis." She replied, "Help yourself to the parachutes, I won't need 'em, and take the VI-ID bag too." Blitukus asked, "VI-ID bag?" She replied, "You're not a professional, I take it. You'll need it to get that gem through security without getting hacked to itty bits by the guards. Very Important Information Device. The worlds governments use them to get stuff through checkpoints. Ever since a magnetic scanner ended up wiping a 200-Gigabyte hard drive full of top-secret sh*t that one day, airports everywhere respect them. It's a white, magnet-proof bag, that's all you need to know. If anyone asks, tell them 'It's classified!' They're gunna be suspicious anyway... but you kobolds are always quick to think of something." Blitukus spoke, "Thank you... you are far more kind and helpful than any other goblin I have met so far." She replied, "Anyone who gets my enemies killed is my friend... at least for a little while." She then turned again, and looked into Blitukus' eyes with a stare that seemed to pierce right to his soul... She continued, "An' also, somethin' tells me you're up to some important business. Weird sh*t, that is." Blitukus nodded, "I indeed do have important business to tend to." She replied, "Keep it to yourself. I've got my own sh*t to worry about now. And don't think you'll get as lucky next time either, kobold. If it ended up any different I probably would'a pincushioned your a*s for the fun of it if nothing else." Blitukus sighed, "I will keep it in mind..."

Blitukus left the cockpit, closing the door behind himself. He found himself remarkably unshaken by what had occurred... either his heart had been made far tougher by his experiences... or he was simply getting used to tragedy. He looked around the equipment in the crates and on the walls. He eventually did find a parachute... apparantly much more of a serious device than what he used to call a parachute, capable of slowing its user down to survivable speeds from a fall. It was worn as a backpack, and had convenient instructions printed on it. Blitukus read them, then continued looking for the VI-ID bag. The only bag that fit the description rested at the bottom of an otherwise empty crate. It was small and stiff. The gem barely fit in it. The bag was otherwise white and nondescript, with a sealable zipper-top. Blitukus sealed the bag, then pocketed it. Likely the bag was designed to be inconspicuous to everyone except those trained to recognize it. Blitukus then sat, waiting patiently. He looked out of the window of the door, watching the terrain roll by, Metropolis slowly moving closer... still, it was a long distance away. Blitukus moved one of the crates near the door, and then stacked another crate on top, giving him a surface to sit on while looking out the window of the door. As time passed, Blitukus sat and thought... the moon moved through the sky... he might not have much time upon returning to Metropolis to arrange transportation back to Rametaru. Luckily, the transit lines of this era seemed optimized for efficiency. Time passed... slowly the flying machine passed near Metropolis. It seemed to head towards the space above the airport with little regard for other air traffic. Blitukus checked the parachutes instructions again, wore it, checked that his belongings were secure and attached in some way to his clothes, then opened the door and jumped out of the aircraft. He looked up, seeing the aircraft move upwards relative to him... it reminded him of that one time, the first time he had flown his own flying machine... and then fell out of it. It was the first time he had met Dracha... He remembered this, but also took note... he was rapidly plummeting to the ground. Unlike last time, though, he had the proper equipment to deal with this. He spread himself out as he descended, using his body to catch the air and slow himself. Luckily, being smaller and lighter than a human, the speed at which he fell was slower than what a human would fall at. Unlike the last time he had fallen from a flying machine, the air was rather warm. Blitukus began to near the ground. He deployed the parachute... the parachute emerged from the backpack, and was pulled upward by the wind. It pulled gently at Blitukus... then, a second later, the parachute opened, jerking Blitukus upward. RRIP! Blitukus' coin bag shifted in his clothes, and suddenly, many coins spilled out, plummeting to the ground below. He needed those to pay for fare back... yet another cost to his available time. Blitukus quickly slowed... and found that the wind now was blowing him away from Metropolis. He would have a bit of walking to do, it seemed... at least, it meant his landing wouldn't attract unwanted attention. He slowly floated toward the ground. He brought himself upright and grunted as he greeted the desert terrain with an awkward landing, falling to his side and rolling a bit. He coughed, then got up, and dusted himself off. It was still much better than hitting the ground at full speed. He took the used parachute off, and left it on the ground. He would no longer have a use for it, and perhaps lacked the time to gather it and bring it back anyway. He stood, and shuddered in a realization of what he had just experienced. Then, he felt the gem in the bag, still resting in his pocket... it seemed he could add a second count of grand theft to his list of accomplishments in his quest... but, he had promised himself he would complete his quest no matter what it entailed or required of him, and it would be so. He looked out to Metropolis, and began walking towards it. He then remembered... when he had begun his quest, having fled the capital, he had also been forced to wander the desert... only now, it was about 920 years later. He kept walking for quite a while, until he happened upon an area littered with coins... the coins he had lost in midair. He wandered around, picking up coins as he went. He would need a total of 215 moneys. Luckily, this didn't amount to many coins considering he had quite a few gold coins from his winnings beforehand and also, not all of his coins had spilled. When he had the money, he continued on. After a while, he reached the airport once again. He walked along the side of the building, then entered it, looking up at the display board, hoping that he still had time to reach home... he converted the times to Rametaru time, compensating for time zones. The next flight to Rametaru left at 11 AM Rametaru time, and arrived at 3 PM. This would give him 44 minutes to get from the airport to the center of the city to reach the rift. According to the display, it was 10:48 PM... 9:48 AM Rametaru time... he had over an hour left. Perhaps the idle waiting had made it seem that more time had passed than had actually passed? Either way, he still had time left, and could at least enjoy visiting some of Metropolis before he had to leave.
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I get the feeling the time zones messed me up somewhere. Well, if there's a discontinuity because of it, I can fix it fairly easily.

[Wooty]

First! Again!

I was wondering when you would put a goblin in that didn't immediately try and kill Blitikus... although it killed off its entire crew for no reason. Freakin' gobbos.

What is Blitikus even trying to do now anyway? I forgot somewhere around after he met Kazo... Reading a story in small increments stretched over months always ends up in me forgettting everything.

[ December 27, 2007: Message edited by: Wooty ]

[AlanL]

She actually had a good reason to kill the crew. They swindled her, and on top of it, she got to take the aircraft.

Blitukus' current goal is to complete the cat relic, by getting all the components.

[ December 27, 2007: Message edited by: AlanL ]

[Reign on your Parade]

Don't worry about your luck with females Blitikus, karma always seems to work out that way eventually.

Also, the very end reminded us of a joke a friend once made... "You know how when you're really bored time slows down? Well we've discovered a material SO boring, it actually REVERSES time!"

[Armok]

Beyond Quality!  

So I chated whit AlanL for like 6 hours today again and thats my excuse for not writing more.
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quote: I'm assuming that there are some things either magic or tech can do easily that the other can't. For instance, tech can do mass production and computers as a simple matter of moving forward, while magic basically can't be used to make computers (this is why the magic time machine didn't work), and mass production is harder to do with it. I'm assuming that one thing magic can do that tech has a real hard time with is reactively adapting to new environments. Likely this is due to willpower and intent. To a tech device, the difference between a horse drawn wagon and an airplane is enormous, while, to a magic device, they both share one big thing in common. The magic device senses willpower... and both the airplane and the horse drawn wagon are intended by their creators and owners to be a mode of transportation.

I suppose so, it's really only that explaining magic and willpower as formulas applying to particles and spacetime is harder, but otherwise it would not be magic only another kind of tech.
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