Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Fire and Glory]

Did we ever find out why teh artisan was digging in ant territory? Like, what it's specific task and goal were?

(Yea.)

The artisan spells out that it needs to "Create a new crystalline lattice for the redirection of leyline current to planetary stabilizer number 280."

(We'll have to see what the ants think of that.)

[fatcat__25]

"That is huge!"


Aaron accepts Hugh's offer of help up onto the giant ant, not being tall enough to easily climb up himself. He then attempts to know what caste of ant the giant is.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Aaron Blackstar
Description: A thin, tall man with pale skin, long ink-black hair, and a carefully trimmed goatee. His eyes look like finely faceted balls of smoky quartz.
Nature: Cognizant
Status: Impressed.
HP: 10
Inventory: Robe, needle, and gloves. Bloodthirsty serrated fighting knife. Needle charged by stabbing black magic plant monsters.
Sleeve contents:
1.A ripe avocado
2. A watercress sandwich
3. Flan
4. Calamari
5. Raspberry Lemon Meringue Pie
6. Baked potato soup
7. Oysters Rockefeller
8. Sticky Toffee Pudding
9. Chicken fried steak
10. Cinnamon Bread
FP: 0
Links: Red:Hugh, Yellow:Youare, Green:Grey, Orange:Genesis, Blue: Aa, Indigo:Tess, Violet:Debby

[piecewise]

Everyone climbs onto the back of the giant ant. Its not exactly a comfortable seat: its too wide to straddle but not wide enough that they're not constantly fighting to stay on. The Ant's curved abdomen makes the most stable position to lay face down, spread eagle, clinging to it. This makes sight seeing somewhat difficult as they advance back into the tunnel the ant apparently bored to get here. Not that there's much to see: the ant skitters rapidly through glowing crystal tunnels like an organic subway train, with the biggest points of interest being branching tunnels that whiz past every so often.  The group half expected some sort of gigantic ant city or maybe a huge cathedral of crystal or...something different. Instead they get a very ant-like series of rough tunnels and paths until finally the ant takes a sharp turn into a connecting room and skids to a stop. Sitting in this room, attended to by hundreds of other ants of varying sizes, is an ant of even greater size. Its as large as a small building and seems almost trapped in this room considering its girth. Its got a massive pair of mandibles  that make up most of its head and its crystalline body is particularly sharp and brutal looking.

"Patriarch Lud, Ruler of the Blue Burrows, slayer of the Twin Tyrant...uh...it goes on like that for a while." Debby says to the group, translating what the little ant is telling her.  "Basically, he's who we have to talk to."

The rest of the team nods and then waits for Debby to do it. Debby looks back at them for a while before sighing and starting to talk with Patriarch Lud. She occasionally stops to whisper back a translation and update as Lud drones like an underwater church bell.

"He says that this place is under his protection and that his dynasty is the one that carved the tunnels and grew the crystals guiding the leyline and...Well its a lot of posturing mostly. He says we can get access to the area and do the work if we...Kill a rival of his. Another Patriach." She glances back at Lud. "I dunno if thats really something we should do."

[King Zultan]

"So guys do we kill the rival hive or do we find another way?"
While other people figure out what we should do I'll ask Lud what their mission from the magi was and why they want their rival killed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Debby
Description: Looks like a regular human woman but with the head of a deer.
Nature: All-Tounges
Status: Normal
HP: 10
Inventory:
 purple robe
 white gloves
 big ass needle (strange black magic)
 Sword
 Elizabeth Audrey Foxington, the living fox doll, now with parka: Is currently back at base
 Rope
 Rifleaxe
 10' rope
 Spork with sharp serrated edges on the spoon part
 Some bandages
 Sewing needle
 Chest piece it doesn't fit well
 Helmet doesn't fit well
 15' cloths line
 A kitchen knife
 Some thread
 Some Rags
 Some canned goods
 Can opener
Fate Points: 4

Spoiler: Needle Links (click to show/hide)

Orange   Grey
Blue       Genesis
Violet     Aaron

[Ozarck]

" Isee no reason to agree to such a thing. Our purpose is to protect the mundane from the chaos of unregulated magic, not to interfere in internal politics. This has nothing to do with us."

Ask the artisan again, explicitly, what he needs access to the ant cave to do, and why it matters.

Spoiler: Genesis (click to show/hide)

Description: Classic 80s action hero looks, kinda quiet. think Kurt Russel from the movie Soldier
Nature: Pureblood [Iteration 31195, Calderon Code: Phlogiston.  Investigation Corp, Patron: Sebiline the All-Seeing]
Status: Isn't falling out of or into anything
HP: 10
Inventory: Robe, gloves, needle. Hammer pendant of missile resistance and freezing when wet. 
Fate Points: 0

Spoiler: links (click to show/hide)

Debby, Tess, Luta, Grey, Hugh, Aaron.

[A_Curious_Cat]

“We are servants of the Magi.  I don’t think we should be doing anything like that without their blessing…”, Hugh remarks, his usual jovial demeanor replaced by concern and apprehension.

Spoiler: Current stomach contents (click to show/hide)

Part of a rock wall.
Darkness.
Plates and silverware
The distance between the conduit and the village.
An extremely tiny part of the distance between the inn and the creature.
Several (possibly wrong) answers to the question of where the creatures are.
(Possibly) several pieces of Hugh’s chipped teeth.
Two gourd creatures (with magic from an unknown source.).
A mile of air.
An (un)Holy Noise
The distance between some building and the edge of the crater
A small amount of darkness.

Spoiler: Hugh (click to show/hide)

Name: Hugh.
Description:  A large, fat, bald human male who, despite being seemingly obese, is immensely  strong.  He towers over others, with the tallest of the other (current) humonculi only coming up to the center of his abdomen.  He has a hearty laugh that makes his belly shake like a bowl full of jelly, and is very kind and jovial
Nature: Glutton.
Status:  I’m not sure we should agree to this…
HP: 9
Inventory: Robe, gloves, and needle (in the form of a large wok),  various foodstuffs, dishes, silverware, and cooking and serving supplies.
Fate Points: 3

Spoiler: Needle Links (click to show/hide)

Red - Aaron
Orange -
Yellow - Genesis
Green - Greed
Blue - Youare
Indigo - Grey
Violet - Aa Tou Tou Lesia

[King Zultan]

"Glad I'm not the only one who didn't want to fight these ants war for them."

[Fire and Glory]

Grey asks the Artisan if the ants would notice if it made its crystalline lattice without their knowing.

Spoiler: Grey (click to show/hide)

Name:Grey
Description: A hairless pink colored man with lacking facial features, little more than a pair of eyes, two holes for a nose, and a line for a mouth.
Nature: Verbomancer (Maintain)
Status: Nominal
HP: 10
Inventory:Purple robe, gloves, giant needle charged with primal magic and a rifle fused to a glassifying saber
Fate Points: 1

Spoiler: Needle links (click to show/hide)

Red   Genesis
Orange Debby
Yellow  Aa-tou-tou
Violet Youare
Blue Tess
Indigo Hugh
Green Aaron

[fatcat__25]

"This seems like the sort of conflict that should be settled by the Magi. I wish I could find out who's problem this should be, but whenever I try, I get nothing but noise. Also, wouldn't killing an ant patriarch interfere with their kind's purpose?"


Aaron attempts to know what local or global consequences there would be if the Artisan had to wait to carry out its project.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Aaron Blackstar
Description: A thin, tall man with pale skin, long ink-black hair, and a carefully trimmed goatee. His eyes look like finely faceted balls of smoky quartz.
Nature: Cognizant
Status: Frustrated by formicid warmongers.
HP: 10
Inventory: Robe, needle, and gloves. Bloodthirsty serrated fighting knife. Needle charged by stabbing black magic plant monsters.
Sleeve contents:
1.A ripe avocado
2. A watercress sandwich
3. Flan
4. Calamari
5. Raspberry Lemon Meringue Pie
6. Baked potato soup
7. Oysters Rockefeller
8. Sticky Toffee Pudding
9. Chicken fried steak
10. Cinnamon Bread
FP: 0
Links: Red:Hugh, Yellow:Youare, Green:Grey, Orange:Genesis, Blue: Aa, Indigo:Tess, Violet:Debby

[Ozarck]

"Their purpose probably doesn't depend on any one patriarch or clan or whatever. If they've got the attention and antpower to spare for internal rivalries and wars, either they are losing sight of their purpose, or their goals are stable on a big enough scale that a few murders and whatnot won't affect it much. Either way, I see no reason to force one agenda over another here.

I suppose we may as well continue investigating though. We are the Investigation Corps, after all. Learning the truth behind things is kinda our thing.

As fopr the will of the Magi, well, they didn't even send us down here. They are probably not all that interested. It seems to me as if both magical forces here are operating as normal, and neither has become a threat to mundanes or anything, so the Magi are probably satisfied to leave it alone unless someone starts tinkering with the ley lines and causing serious contamination."

[Lenglon]

"Yeah... I'm also a fan of just staying out of this."

[A_Curious_Cat]

“Why does he want his rival killed?”, Hugh asks Debbie.

[King Zultan]

“Why does he want his rival killed?”, Hugh asks Debbie.

"Almost forgot to ask that."

[A_Curious_Cat]

“Why does he want his rival killed?”, Hugh asks Debbie.

"Almost forgot to ask that."

“Ho! Ho! Ho!  …And what was the reply?…”

[piecewise]

"So guys do we kill the rival hive or do we find another way?"
While other people figure out what we should do I'll ask Lud what their mission from the magi was and why they want their rival killed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Debby
Description: Looks like a regular human woman but with the head of a deer.
Nature: All-Tounges
Status: Normal
HP: 10
Inventory:
 purple robe
 white gloves
 big ass needle (strange black magic)
 Sword
 Elizabeth Audrey Foxington, the living fox doll, now with parka: Is currently back at base
 Rope
 Rifleaxe
 10' rope
 Spork with sharp serrated edges on the spoon part
 Some bandages
 Sewing needle
 Chest piece it doesn't fit well
 Helmet doesn't fit well
 15' cloths line
 A kitchen knife
 Some thread
 Some Rags
 Some canned goods
 Can opener
Fate Points: 4

Spoiler: Needle Links (click to show/hide)

Orange   Grey
Blue       Genesis
Violet     Aaron

Lud, through Debby, gives a very long and complex explanation. You believe that what he is saying is that the Ants, not just him but all of them, are here to maintain the Leyline system which provides magical power to various installations around the world. There are many different schools of thought as to how this is best done, which gives birth to many families or houses which seek to enact their methods. His rival is apparently the patriarch of a different house which killed many of his vassals. But more importantly, they have the idiotic belief that the Leyline would be best redirected using a hexagonal configuration instead of the clearly superior octagonal configuration.

" Isee no reason to agree to such a thing. Our purpose is to protect the mundane from the chaos of unregulated magic, not to interfere in internal politics. This has nothing to do with us."

Ask the artisan again, explicitly, what he needs access to the ant cave to do, and why it matters.

Spoiler: Genesis (click to show/hide)

Description: Classic 80s action hero looks, kinda quiet. think Kurt Russel from the movie Soldier
Nature: Pureblood [Iteration 31195, Calderon Code: Phlogiston.  Investigation Corp, Patron: Sebiline the All-Seeing]
Status: Isn't falling out of or into anything
HP: 10
Inventory: Robe, gloves, needle. Hammer pendant of missile resistance and freezing when wet. 
Fate Points: 0

Spoiler: links (click to show/hide)

Debby, Tess, Luta, Grey, Hugh, Aaron.

The Artisan spells out that it needs to set up a new magical redirection node to provide power to a new installation. Part of the Planetary navigation grid. But the ants are preventing him from getting to the correct place and beginning the node construction. They keep carrying his parts away.

Grey asks the Artisan if the ants would notice if it made its crystalline lattice without their knowing.

Spoiler: Grey (click to show/hide)

Name:Grey
Description: A hairless pink colored man with lacking facial features, little more than a pair of eyes, two holes for a nose, and a line for a mouth.
Nature: Verbomancer (Maintain)
Status: Nominal
HP: 10
Inventory:Purple robe, gloves, giant needle charged with primal magic and a rifle fused to a glassifying saber
Fate Points: 1

Spoiler: Needle links (click to show/hide)

Red   Genesis
Orange Debby
Yellow  Aa-tou-tou
Violet Youare
Blue Tess
Indigo Hugh
Green Aaron

The artisan states that it attempted to do its work without informing the ants. They apparently swarm all through the stone and in the leyline area. Avoiding their notice is quite difficult.

"This seems like the sort of conflict that should be settled by the Magi. I wish I could find out who's problem this should be, but whenever I try, I get nothing but noise. Also, wouldn't killing an ant patriarch interfere with their kind's purpose?"


Aaron attempts to know what local or global consequences there would be if the Artisan had to wait to carry out its project.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Aaron Blackstar
Description: A thin, tall man with pale skin, long ink-black hair, and a carefully trimmed goatee. His eyes look like finely faceted balls of smoky quartz.
Nature: Cognizant
Status: Frustrated by formicid warmongers.
HP: 10
Inventory: Robe, needle, and gloves. Bloodthirsty serrated fighting knife. Needle charged by stabbing black magic plant monsters.
Sleeve contents:
1.A ripe avocado
2. A watercress sandwich
3. Flan
4. Calamari
5. Raspberry Lemon Meringue Pie
6. Baked potato soup
7. Oysters Rockefeller
8. Sticky Toffee Pudding
9. Chicken fried steak
10. Cinnamon Bread
FP: 0
Links: Red:Hugh, Yellow:Youare, Green:Grey, Orange:Genesis, Blue: Aa, Indigo:Tess, Violet:Debby

[?]
Hmmmm....probably the entire world will fly into the sun.