Getsemiel

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Graybeard
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: Again, gonna put one little thing in Tim's mouth, or more accurately, gestures...]

Sister Rose watched the airship go, reassured -- slightly -- by that last nod from Argus. She'd been worrying unnecessarily. Surely. Of course she had.

But I still want him back. And I'm worried about him.

Well, there was work to be done, because as she slumped when Argus boarded the airship, she'd noticed another piece of -- it wasn't exactly "paper," but the term would do -- just like the one that had had Maduin's picture on it. (She mused that Blaise had been rather careless here before boarding his own conveyance away from Frobish Bay.) This one was crumpled up at her feet, but it was repelling water, and the image hadn't been blurred too badly. The only problem was, she couldn't recognize the face printed on it. I just have this feeling I've seen him before ... but I don't know where.

It wasn't much of a face, really. It had no notable distinguishing features other than lifeless gray eyes (I'm just sure I've seen those eyes before, Rose thought), and there seemed to be something wrong with one ear. Otherwise it was just ... a man. Rose almost suspected that what she was looking at might be an illusion, or a slight polymorph, to make the depicted person seem as innocuous as possible, apart from those eyes. If so, it was working.

She showed it to Brother Tim. "Recognize this guy?"

As expected, he shook his head. "Never saw him in Umbertiel. Is he important?" [OOC: OK, few words inserted ... you're back in control of him, A... /OOC:]

"I don't know." Well, maybe Eli or Desiree (if Rose could break through her grief and get her attention) would recognize him. The weird ear might be a half elven Errant-like deformity, although it probably wasn't. She started over to the half elves, thinking I wish Drusia was still here. She knows just about all of Snamish, and...

And then she stopped in her tracks. Drusia. Nondescript man. Oddly-shaped ear. And lifeless eyes.

Now
she knew who it was.

"Arsoro Kurou," she said to no one in particular.

---------

Brad gaped out the porthole as the airship took off. "I've never been on one of these before ..." He squeezed Lillith's hand, not totally sure who was reassuring whom.
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Alberich
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Alberich »

Tim thought her explanation a little strange -- would Ronnie's kin be so quick to figure out that these statuettes were weapons and how to use them? -- but there was no point in arguing that. Now Rose was finding another item. She seemed to be charmed that way. No use complaining. And now she was speaking a name. It sounded Tsuirakuan, but it held no meaning for him. If she was distracted enough, maybe she'd let some useful information slip.

"Who is that?" he asked.
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Graybeard
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

OOC:
Alberich wrote:Now Rose was finding another item. She seemed to be charmed that way.
Hey, we need some reason to go to Tsuiraku next. ;)

More on this in the morning, but it might be a good idea to let the airship chase get a head start; that'll probably take longer than winding up proceedings at Frobish Bay will.
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Sareth
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Sareth »

Beside Brad, Lillith was taking everything quite well. She squeezed Brad's hand hard enough to turn his fingers red as her own turned white. "This is distinctly unnatural," she muttered. "How is this even possible?"

[OOC]Sorry for the disappearance this week. My Internet went kerblooey early this week and is only just back in action.[/OOC]
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Graybeard
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

"Who is that?"

"A Tsuirakuan archmage that we ran into down south," Sister Rose said. "Argus says he's big trouble. He was poking around in some things that were none of his business, and when Desiree's mother tried to stop him, she almost got killed." She wasn't sure how much she could tell Tim about the Artifact of Absonial, but without talking about it, she gave him the best summary of what had happened that she could, starting with the comical heads-up that the farmer had given them on Stone Man Pass, including a ... sanitized ... version of the encounters in town (yes, some sanitization would also be needed there, she thought...), and culminating in Drusia's seduction and near-fatal fight with the man.

"So he's out there somewhere," she concluded, "nursing his wounds, and his grudge. Drusia thinks he went back to Tsuiraku, but there's no way to know. The good news is that other than Argus, she was the only one of us he would have got a good look at, so we should be safe from him, except to the extent that that grudge includes Argus." She frowned. "But on the other hand, why would Blaise have any interest in a man like that? How could they possibly know about each other's existence, even? That part isn't making any sense at all."

---------------

"How do they do it? I don't know," Brad answered the love of his life. "Must be some combination of dwarven technology and magic." He shuddered slightly. "Probably one of those things it's best not to ask about. But it's perfectly safe, I'm sure. It has to be, or Argus and Fayna wouldn't be on it."

Reassured by this bit of logic, he sat back to enjoy the view, still holding Lillith's hand. He'd never seen the mountains or the sea from such an angle. He felt a brief moment of disappointment that he couldn't pick out the weird walking boat out on the ocean, but that wasn't surprising; it would probably be a hundred miles from here by now. He turned his attention to the view of Getsemiel, where they were heading ... and dropped Lillith's hand.

"Luminosita's Nethers, look at that," he gasped as he saw the columns of smoke rising from the town.
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Sareth
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Sareth »

"Did you just swear using your god's pe..." Lillith trailed off as she stared out the port as well. "Oh no. Oh please no." Everywhere we go, it is like death and sorrow constantly travels with us. Please, goddess, let it not have been our fault.

Lillith jumped up and called out, not even sure who controlled the ship or where that person was, "Hurry! We have to do something! We have to help! Somehow." She turned back towards the port hole, shoulders sagging. "Somehow."
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Eli had, eventually extricated himself from the now-calm Desiree and made his over to the main group. He stared at the picture and listened to Rose's words with a frown.

"So... we have a heading?" He said. "Anything's better than sitting around on the coast with the grass growing under our feet." 'Not to mention better than going back to Snamish and sitting on guard duty again...' He thought to himself.
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Graybeard
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Graybeard »

"I don't know about a heading," Sister Rose answered, "but at least we have a good idea of where he's going -- not that that knowledge is likely to do us much good. Sorry to bore you with a repeat, Tim." She showed Eli the image and repeated her brief sketch of the group's dealings with the menacing Arsoro Kurou.

"So it's pretty clear where Blaise is going," she summed up, "and who he's going to see. What we don't know is why. There's also the little problem of how to get there, but I suspect that Argus' daughter might be amenable to being talked into some transportation help by her dad." She half-smiled. "From what Argus told me about the first talk that he and Fayna had on the way here, she doesn't like the man any more than her father does." She was pretty sure there'd been more to the conversation than that, but she hadn't pressed.

"We should probably start getting ready to move," she said. "There's packing to be done. Let's head for the wagon."

First, however, there was something else to do.

Desiree was a little more composed now, but she was still obviously distraught over this place where Kenny had died. Might the two of them have been -- closer than I believed? Rose wondered, and the thought was uncomfortable, but she swept it out of her mind with an effort; if they had been, it really didn't matter any more. What did matter was that Desiree was still feeling pain, and for better or for worse (why do I use that particular phrase?), that could be addressed.

She went over to where the young woman was standing, her weeping now almost under control, and pitched her own voice to be as comforting, as reassuring, as sympathetic as possible. "We've stayed too long in this place," she said gently. "It's time for us to move on." Sorry for the double entendre. She smiled as gently as she'd been speaking. "Have you ever ridden in an airship before?"

------------

Fayna and Argus were looking at the smoke too, and Brad didn't think it necessary to belabor the obvious for them. However, there was another thing ...

"Look!" he said. "In the distance. There's another airship out there."

[OOC: And on that note, over to Drannin and PF for the grand airship chase scene. 8-) ]
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Porcelain Fish »

"Sir. Ma'am. If you'll please join the others on the bridge," Sanjin said politely to Brad and Lillith, nodding his head toward the door at the end of the corridor that Fayna and Argus had already passed through.

Almost three quarters of the walls, including the whole forward section, were more of the same enameled substance coating the hull, refractive and opaque from outside but crystal clear from within, giving a panoramic view of the world below.

"The other airship is accelerating quickly," one of the flight crew said as he leaned over a console of gleaming chrome and studied the crystal panes spread across its surface in gleaming array. "Decent speed for a model that old." He lifted his gaze to the slim vessel lifting away in the distance, brilliant circles of blue blazing at the aft.

"At least a decade." Fayna said thoughtfully from where she sat on the slightly curved, thickly upholstered couch at the rear of the massive room. "A Gale-class Sky-Slip if I judge it correctly. Good model. Those engines are great for speed, but maneuverability is only fair to middling."

"Sweetheart." Jerecht gestured subtly with his chin at the burning town below where black towers of smoke rose toward the late afternoon sky.

Fayna raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think the Veracians are a threat Jerecht, and even they can clearly tell that all of this happened before we arrived. I don't think lethal countermeasures are necessary."

Jerecht just smiled at her, obviously wise enough not to comment on the fact that she'd already considered the situation tactically and decided that since the Veracians weren't a threat, they weren't a concern either. "Fayna dear, if I might make a suggestion - this could be an excellent opportunity to promote good international relations."

Fayna frowned. "Maduin is down there somewhere. Our priority is to locate him first and extract him."

Jerecht just gave her a long look.

Her frown deepened, gray eyes flashing, and then her lips pursed. "Fine. You're right - that's exactly what he'd say. They might be of use to us in locating him, I'll grant you that. Helm, bring the bow about so we have a good view of the city and unlock the gestalt. Half-power from the coils."

The helmsman nodded. "Yes, Miss."

Jerecht bowed slightly and held out his hand. "My lady."

"Join us Daddy - I want you to see this." Fayna smiled proudly at Argus as she took Jerecht's hand.

They led the way back out into the corridor, past another security guard, who nodded, and up two flights of wooden steps to the deck. The wind bit slightly chill up at that altitude, but Fayna never wavered, never even shivered, fingers caught gently and properly in Jerecht's as they made their way to what appeared at first glance to be a circular rail centered near the bow. Gleaming plates were unfolded around it like the petals of a blossom, catching what remained of the sunlight in the runes graven in their faces, more runes climbing the gleaming poles and twining around the rail.

They stepped inside that gleaming rail, the polished metal under their feet making it seem almost as though they stood on brilliant red sunlight, gripped the rails, and hummed.

A third note joined the two droning from the engines, forming a chord, redoubling in volume. Over Getsemiel, lightning flashed once, glowing for an instant for all to see, the graceful, sinuous shape of the Cleiviein family rune, and a ripping snap popped through the air in its wake as clouds swirled into existence and began to darken. Rain began to fall across the whole of Getsemiel, steady and quenching.

Fayna turned and smiled at Argus as she and Jerecht stepped off of the platform. "What do you think, Daddy? Impressed?"
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Drusia
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Re: Getsemiel

Post by Drusia »

"So... we have a heading?" He said. "Anything's better than sitting around on the coast with the grass growing under our feet."

I sit and dry my eyes. I'm embarassed that so many people saw me lose control back there. And I'm not really sure what to do about how I feel. It's like Kenny just died all over again. Have I really been in denial for all these years? I thought I'd moved on, I thought I'd grown up, but here I am again, just like I was all those years ago.

Also - who are all these people? And this huge... thing? I have no idea what's going on. Never mind. Rose and Argus seem to trust them, so who am I to question. I just go along with everything. Maybe later someone will explain to me what happened while I was having my breakdown.

Rose moves away from the others and approaches me.

"We've stayed too long in this place," she said gently. "It's time for us to move on."

I nod. Maybe I finally can move on. Maybe I can finally let Kenny go. I swallow hard, taking a deep breath, willing myself not to start crying again. I don't want to start again, but her words - her presence - her pain....

"Have you ever ridden in an airship before?"

"A what?" I ask, startled. I look at the thing again. Oh. "That's an airship?" I ask stupidly. Obviously. Still... "This is the first one I've ever seen." I say softly.

-- Desiree
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