Goriel and beyond, part 4

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Graybeard
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Graybeard »

Rip's shoulders sagged a notch. "I'm so sorry." That would explain many things. On the other hand, it did look like the good doctor had done pretty well for himself. Was that woman sitting next to him a second, "trophy wife"? If so, why would he bring her here, of all Weave-forsaken places? And what were the other women all about? Some real knockouts among them, too ...

Once again, he tried to change the subject, at least internally. Blaise ... Blaise ... Had his customers given the name of the man they were trying to kill? Not in his hearing, he thought. It could have been Blaise; it didn't have to be. Best to take the question at face value. "No, nobody named Blaise on the trail that we've seen," he said, casting a quick glance at Shorty. "At least not that we know of. It's not exactly a Gorielian name. Why do you ask?"

[OOC: Honestly, A, what happened in the earlier weirdness with Jamie, Tamina and Udo is so murky to me that I don't know that I could answer Argus' and Rose's questions sensibly for Rip if they did succeed in posing them. I'd much rather that you prepare to jump in with words in Shorty's mouth, as for example in response to the question Rose is about to ask...]

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He knows more than he's saying, Sister Rose thought, although I think he's telling the truth. She suppressed a dry laugh. In other words, following my own policy: tell the truth, nothing but the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth.

She cleared her throat. "Well," she said, "there are more prosaic concerns to deal with. Do you know of anywhere beyond here where we can spend the night? We don't want to be on this particular road when it gets dark, I think."

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OOC: A small thing to think about before going much farther. I would presume that this conversation is going on in Tsuirakuan, since both Argus and Rip, obviously, are from Tsuiraku. It should not be assumed that "Translation effects" are automatically operative here; Thurston is hard-wired to do translations, but that's as an individual capability, rather than an area effect. Rose is fluent in both Tsuirakuan and Veracian, as are both Shorty and Rip. Therese, however, may not speak much Tsuirakuan, as Veracian is presumably the main language of the Northern Confederacy, apart from local/regional tongues like the one that produces terms like getera, etc. What are the language capabilities of the other characters in the wagon? We should probably settle on that.
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Drannin
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drannin »

Shorty interjected. "Not really much in the way of inns around here. Your best bet is to camp out under a rock outcrop somewhere. And post a guard."

Argus nodded. "Thanks. We just need to ask this man a few questions. Hopefully we'll find him before long." Rip nodded agreeably at this.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Not that I've got a character in the wagon, but I didn't even know there were two languages that humans spoke in the errant story universe, does that make me thick? If they're common, wouldn't everyone know enough to get by?/OOC
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Graybeard »

OOC:
Jack Rothwell wrote:OOC Not that I've got a character in the wagon, but I didn't even know there were two languages that humans spoke in the errant story universe, does that make me thick? If they're common, wouldn't everyone know enough to get by?/OOC
This was a significant point in Errant Story itself at one time; see wiki. It actually has come up in the game before, notably in the Rinkaiel threads (e.g. here); you probably just kinda blipped right over it then.

Tsuiraku speaks a different language from Veracia, Farrel and at least the southern parts of the Northern Confederacy, courtesy of their having different elven origins (cf. that wiki article) and having been sequestered away for centuries. It has always been assumed that "educated" humans who have traveled extensively in both Tsuirakuan-speaking and Veracian-speaking places would have learned both languages, and fluency in Tsuirakuan would have been a prerequisite for staffing the Veracian mission in Kiyoka. Similarly, Layla, in the Rinkaiel threads, would have been at least functionally proficient in Tsuirakuan, presumably from school days; that's why she got picked to run the Gewehr's disastrous former operation in Kiyoka, and being bright, she'd have become fluent quickly enough through immersion once she got there. However, it is not the case that most speakers of the Veracian language would automatically be fluent in Tsuirakuan, since they'd have very little exposure, even if they were "educated" enough to have learned the language at one time. (Drannin, how's your French? Does living in one of the Anglophone provinces of Canada suffice to keep it functional? At one time I spoke pretty decent French, but after decades of lack of use, it's pretty mauvais now.) And many Veracians and Farrelites wouldn't be that educated at all.

Not a huge deal, but for consistency, we should resolve this for Brad (I don't think he speaks Tsuirakuan), Desiree, Lillith, Therese (as already noted, hers would be quite limited), and TIm. It could also be important as we move toward the Big Bad, but sufficient to the day is the evil thereof -- so to speak.
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Drannin
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drannin »

(OOC: Yeah, I took french extensively in high school, and whatever little I had pretty much vanished. Basically, if you don't need to use the language on a day-to-day basis, you wind up not practicing it, and lose whatever proficiency you have)
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Drusia »

Therese blushed vigorously.
"I ... we ... I mean, we have some -- interests in common. We're -- trying to find an evildoer. Someone who -- I --"
"Please, forgive me. It is just that you remind me so much of someone who was dear to me once, someone who was my companion when we were trying to find and stop another band of evildoers, years ago, a long way from here. They might have something to do with this man that your friend Rose is seeking." She swallowed, hard. "We failed. She died."


That... wow. That was a lot of info all at once. So... Blaize (or someone like him?) killed her lover. Who I remind her of. That's awkward. So, yeah, push through it.

"I'm sorry," I tell her. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love." Kenny. Eli sort of. "If you think it will help, I'd like to hear about her. I'd also like to hear more about what exactly... well, it's pretty unusual to see a woman -" as beautiful as yourself, I dont say, no need to state the obvious "- dressing as a man to work in Goriel. What do you do when you aren't going after creepy death-mages?"

-- Desiree

OOC: I'm in recovery. Everything went great. ^^ I'm pretty exhausted, but otherwise pretty good. Of course, some of that might be the oxycodine. :p
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Well, there's been no consistency on the point of languages - both the comic and this game have rubbed along on the assumption that all the humans can understand each other. Poe's note that he was thinking of having Jon and Meji run into an anti-magic zone where they couldn't understand each other never happened...instead, Jon was able to talk to Meji's mother just fine when he went to return Ellis, even when Sarine, Meji, and the portal mages weren't there.

Frankly, I think "the humans can't understand each other's languages" only gets in the way of this story. So my advice is either to drop it and de facto treat them as if they can, the way Poe did in the comic, or else work around it in a simple way. Like this:

All the Tsuirakuans who travel outside Tsuiraku, even Udo, have learned the "everybody else" human language, which is spoken in the Northern Confederacy as well as Farrel and Veracia, and they all speak it fluently. And that's what everyone is speaking unless the Tsuirakuans are alone together. Hell, maybe it's taught in Tsuirakuan schools from an early age for the sake of foreign trade. And I don't see why Rip and Argus would move to the Tsuirakuan language if the others around them don't speak it - that would be kind of rude, wouldn't it? Unless they are talking about secrets they don't want any of the others to hear.

Of course with his background, there's no way Tim would know Tsuirakuan. I'd expect Tamina to be in the same boat, and most or all the Snamish half-elves, but have no idea about Rose, Brad, or Jamie.]
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

Shorty responded to Rose. "Well, you could try to get one of these fortified villages to take you in, but I think they're kind of jumpy about taking in strangers after dark. And of course now they've got these Gibazov garrisons who'll keep you up all night searching for those fugitives they're after. If you keep an eye out you can find caves in these mountains - just check 'em for weird critters before you settle down for a nap. Or, since it's not looking rainy now, just find a good defensible spot off the road, post watches, and hang on 'til dawn. That's what I'd do."

[OOC: Good for you, Drusia, and glad to have you in good health and with us!]
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

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[OOC: OK, as you wish. :roll: It would have been normal for Rip to originally approach Argus in Tsuirakuan, since that's the joint language they grew up with, and who could tell what they might have been speaking out here in the boonies. But a quick side conversation could have occurred to suggest that the rest of it be transacted in Veracian, since all now present speak that language. I guess. Anyway, watch as Rose once again draws a decidedly bogus conclusion, albeit one that, once they get things straightened out, may point people in the right direction:]

Rip extracted a timepiece from his outfit. "We'd better get moving too," he said. "The ship expects us back before sundown." He flushed slightly before putting the watch away, hoping to avoid that subject, but too late, Sister Rose was on it.

"Ship?" she said. "You're associated with that other ship that came in the other night, just before the one that brought us?" "Airship" was obvious enough; the river running through Goriel wasn't navigable for anything much bigger than a canoe.

Rip and Shorty exchanged a glance. "Yeah," Rip answered. "Been crewing for them while I write my travelogue. It's been an interesting life." He smiled and turned to go, but Rose wasn't letting him off that easily.

"I bet," she said, "particularly seeing that the man we're looking for was a passenger on that airship."

The air cooled a notch, and it wasn't just because of the late-afternoon breeze wafting over the pass.
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Re: Goriel and beyond, part 4

Post by Alberich »

"So, what'd this guy look like?" asked Shorty. Upon hearing the description, he shook his head. "There wasn't anyone like that on our ship. And the captain's kinda hard on stowaways."
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