TUW: The Steel Trade [IC]

[MacConnell]

Y 0: Day 158: Doldrums 38: Discovery

Although Tor is able to sleep, Merin cannot. He spends the night watching, waiting, and listening. During the night, he makes a discovery; he finds that he is so focused on keeping a watch for trouble, that his eyes seem to adjust to the darkness, allowing him to see almost as well as he can during the daytime! Quietly, so as not to disturb Sheldon, Merin approaches Indigo, and shares his findings with her. As Saemund makes his patrolling rounds, Merin shares the information with him, also.

OOC: Night Vision: Range: Self Effectiveness: Essence + Cohesion + Evocation + Emulsion + Mind + Knowledge + Will + Wisdom + Discipline + Acuity + Resolve + Collegiate + Aberrative + Manifest Will / Ayurveda / Philosophy This active task is used to alter the vision of the Bender allowing for him to see better at night. The effectiveness translates to the number of strides at which night vision is possible. The duration of this ability is a number of minutes equal to the cumulative Health score.

GM: Neither Indigo nor Saemund can, yet, perform the task, but the information is good to know. Merin wonders, as he looks about the landscape surrounding the guildhouse, if this is how Myth saw the world at night, and if so, it is no wonder he was able to see the unwanted stranger sneaking about.

OOC: Paranormal Tasks Effecting Oneself

 

[Kwargrow]

After a night spent in the comfort and safety of each others arms, San-Bolo rise early to greet the day. After tending to their necessities they work with any other Seekers that wish to help in using Way to analyze the items taken from the stranger. Since the group has diversified their skills, their intent is to determine which Seeker would benefit the most from each item and disperse them accordingly to make the group stronger.

After that chore is complete San-Bolo will head into town and act as though nothing out of the ordinary happened last night, speaking with their friends and keeping their ears and eyes open for any clue to who might be missing the stranger. If they encounter any guard or member of the caravan they will be friendly and polite, but careful to not let anything slip.

Turtle stays close to the guild house to guard it from any other intruder. He thinks about hunting but that reminds him Myth is gone and suddenly he's not hungry anymore.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

When the group is all together, Merin makes the following suggestion:

"First things first: we need to find a volunteer to test our theories about the collars. The healers among us should be ready when we do, in case the wearer is injured during the attempt. Of course, by doing this, it demonstrates to that person that we not only have knowledge of Way, but that we also use it. Whomever the volunteer ends up being, we'd have to know that we could trust him or her FIRST. After that, we have a choice to make. Do we want to pursue the development of our relationship with the Maldrog, or do we want to now turn our attention toward Asylim? I fear that once we do that, we'll be committed, and in it for the long haul, if you get my meaning. We might not see Southroad Fair for quite some time, once we start down that path. And I dare say that such an undertaking carries with it the ultimate risk; some of us might not make it. What say all of you? What are your thoughts?"

Tor nods in agreement, "I'd rather be dealing with the Maldrog, but something tells me that it's not in the cards for us."

Tor says nothing further, because he doesn't have to. Everyone in the party knows that Tor will back the party, no matter what route they choose, all the way to the bitter end, if need be.

 

[MacConnell]

Y 0: Day 159: Doldrums 39: Moving Forward

After a night spent in the comfort and safety of each others arms, San-Bolo rise early to greet the day. After tending to their necessities they work with any other Seekers that wish to help in using Way to analyze the items taken from the stranger. Since the group has diversified their skills, their intent is to determine which Seeker would benefit the most from each item and disperse them accordingly to make the group stronger.

Sheldon seems no worse for wear. He stretches and washes his face in the stream. He joins Bolo in analyzing the items collected from the stranger.

OOC: Identify Proclivity: Range: Touch Effectiveness: Essence + Cohesion + Invocation + Mind + Knowledge + Will + Wisdom + Discipline + Collegiate + Divination Time = 1 day * complexity / (Effectiveness + d100) This active task is used to determine the specifics of an item that can augment the natural abilities of the possessor. Sheldon: 72, Bolo: 66 Jackal Teeth: 3 days / (72 + 66 + 92) = 19 minutes Lizard Talons: 19 minutes Black Pearls: 19 minutes

While Sheldon and Bolo scrutinize over the few particular items collected from the fallen stranger, Indigo, after washing her own face in the stream, looks back over the area where his body is concealed. She takes a fallen limb from one of the pines and spreads the straw across the area in a more natural way, now that it is light enough to see. She discards the stick and stands there for a considerable amount of the time it takes Sheldon and Bolo to identify any proclivity of the items collected.

GM: Sheldon and Bolo determine the following information: The jackal teeth offer an aberrative Bolstering augmentation. (Health + Confluence) The lizard talons offer an aberrative augmentation to Mobilization. (Motility + Strength) The black pearls augment the manipulation of thermal way to a particularity with dampening it. (Cool x3)

OOC: The teeth and talons are most beneficial to those with an abberative skill. The black pearls can be used to increase the effectiveness of removing thermal Way or the effectiveness of negating the addition of thermal Way.

After Sheldon and Bolo convey their learned information, Indigo tells Bolo that she can sense some of what she was trying to do with plant growth over the burial site.
"I have an idea. I can take care of this. I will go to the Carpenters' Guild and collect the manure from the stabled burros and dump it on that spot. As the body decomposes, the soil will sink, so I will turn it into a garden spot where no thought will be even considered as to its true purpose. I will get some seeds from Maeli. After that, I think what you did before, Bolo, can be done to decrease the germination time of the seeds. If we do this together, once a day, I think we can significantly decrease that time."

After that chore is complete San-Bolo will head into town and act as though nothing out of the ordinary happened last night, speaking with their friends and keeping their ears and eyes open for any clue to who might be missing the stranger. If they encounter any guard or member of the caravan they will be friendly and polite, but careful to not let anything slip.

Sheldon -
"I need to get a couple of new hammocks. People will eventually notice that Myth is missing. We will need to decide how we want to deal with that."

 

[Kwargrow]

Do we want to pursue the development of our relationship with the Maldrog, or do we want to now turn our attention toward Asylim?

Sannit rubs his beard as he takes a moment to think before he replies to Merin and Tor. "There are a few things we need to consider, the first of which is that we became involved with the Maldrog because Southroad Fair needs a new full time smith. That mission has yet to be accomplished. Second, although it is right for us to celebrate our victory, the truth is that the stranger alone was almost too much for us. Although it wounds my pride to admit, if we faced a group of people like him right now they would finish us for sure. We need to grow our skills and Way abilities before we venture to Asylim, for when we travel to the city it must be to return victorious. I say that we complete our mission to find a town smithy before we do anything else."

Bolo adds, "Perhaps we can ask Lyndha to aid us with her skills to point us in the right direction."

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

"...Although it wounds my pride to admit, if we faced a group of people like him right now they would finish us for sure."

Tor nods in agreement. "People who would accept money to kill an entire group of adventurers like ourselves, a group with a growing reputation, would have to be supremely skilled. It makes sense that The Stranger outclassed us. You are exactly right, Brother Sannit. The next logical step for Mr. Saucy, seeing that his highly-skilled, yet lone assassin failed, would be to hire an entire group of skilled mercenaries for the task. Whether we go to Asylim or not, it's only a matter of time before we are faced with this eventuality. I think we should seek out masters, mentors for hire who could train us properly. We have a lot of raw talent, and some basic training that we've picked up the hard way, through trial and error. I think now, the next logical step would be to find someone who could help us hone and refine our skills even further."

Merin says, "I agree. And we've already seen that the Maldrog exist in a closed-off, tight-knit society. A Maldrog smith is not going to leave Bergbaulager to come here. So we need to look elsewhere for a smith. And I think I know where to start. Bergbaulager is a large settlement, but because of the way its society is structured, it's like one, big, family commune. That's why no one wants to leave; they're all related and important to one another. We need to find a place whose population is comprised of people from all over, like a big, melting pot. A place like that would support a large enough, and varied enough, demographic to suit our needs. Ladies and gentlemen, I think the best place to look for a new smith would be Boga City. As for finding people to advance our training, I think we might find them in Boga City as well. What say all of you? Road trip?"

Tor snorts, half giggling, half scoffing. "Sure, little Merin. Why not?"

 

[Kwargrow]

Sannit nods at Merin and says, "I've been interested in seeing what's in Boga City too, so we won't object to travelling there, but as far as others training us with Way is concerned, there's no one outside this community we will trust enough for that. Bolo and I will keep to our own regimen. It seems to be working."

Bolo looks from one man to the other and huffs as she says, "I will ask Lyndha anyway." She crosses her arms and looks away.

Sannit looks sheepish and doesn't respond.

 

[Sylvar B.]

What ever we do it will be in our best interest to take down Saucy as quickly as possible. He is only going to gain strength and influence as time goes by. So I suggest we formulate a plan and execute it before all of this gets even further outside of our ability to handle.

 

[MacConnell]

Y 0: Day 159: Doldrums 39: Preparing to Depart

GM: The Seekers discuss matters among themselves, as they can, while making preparation to depart. The various members of town that are encountered speak friendly terms, and everything seems to be business as usual.

Bolo visits with Lyndha, briefly:
"Ah, I understand what it is you are asking, but I am going to disappoint you. Divination does not work like that. What you are implying is more toward Sorcery. I tried my hand at that at a younger age. I have always had glimpses of the future, but glimpses is all they are. To bargain for more, and it is a bargaining, can be dangerous. I still get visions occasionally, mostly when I sleep.

I foresaw the arrival of your group, but I did not understand that until much later. I knew when Giodavi and I needed to leave Asylim because of a dream. What I saw in the dream never came to pass, but that is because we left. The future is not set. It is a matter of possibilities. Catching glimpses is most often a warning, but it is difficult to always know the correct course of action.

I did not foresee the death of our smith nor the attempt upon Swift Raven. I have seen nothing regarding you and the quest to replace the smith. I can only give you logic. If Bergbaulager is to be the prime source for trade but is not to provide a smith, Boga City seems a wise choice to pursue.

I know I have not given you exactly what you have asked. When the Seekers are in town, I will let you know if I do see anything."

Indigo not only returns with seeds and a cart full of manure, Maeli returns with her. Maeli helps Indigo and Bolo prepare the "garden" site.
"I see that you have discovered how to stimulate plant growth. That is impressive. I will tell you, though, that it just as rapidly depletes the nutrients in the soil, hence the benefit of the manure. This is a good spot. I know that you are departing again. I will look after the garden while you are away. It is good to have a spot here by the river to grow some of the herbs."

Just before the Silk Caravan is to depart, the captain come by,
"We are planning to depart but I am missing one of the pickers. I wanted to ask if you had seen him. Before you think me callus or amiss, if you have found a way to help him, I do not wish to interfere. Knowing would speed my departure.

Seeing as you are not aware of what I am asking, he must have gone off on his own. Once I have made an effort of due diligence, the caravan will be away. I wish you all well. I hope we meet again and not as enemies. Happy Hunting."

GM: The caravan departs within the hour. The Seekers only delay to visit with Giodavi, Clavo, Raven, and Fallen Leaf and to allow the caravan to gain some distance.

OOC: The game has moved to the following thread: TUW: Boga City