Mountains of Madness, Part 2

[Graybeard]

"They're what?" Grope asked his nephew, not quite sure how to interpret what he heard.

"G-- gone, my uncle," Scrobian said. "Not a troll is alive in the village. The whole valley is buried under gray ashes. I don't know whether our clansfolk are there, or whether they escaped down the mouth of the valley, toward Growf's Drainpipe." He didn't say the clansfolk were "dead," even though there was every chance that they really were 100% dead, with no memories salvageable via ceremony; the cloud that had swept down the valley would have incinerated them if they'd stayed there, after all. But one had to keep up hope.

"Growf's what?" Grope said, getting the feeling that he'd been asking too many such completely flummoxed questions lately.

"That is what we call the huge gash in the earth north of the mountains," the younger troll explained; at least this question had a clear answer. "It runs all the way across the land mass, and we do not know how to cross it. We believe that there is more land for our tribe to grow into on the other side, but we were never able to find a way to get there. Even the Small Ones, with their magic, find it daunting. We have heard rumors of cities of gold, and strange demons and beings that share a mind, and other strange and wondrous things there. But we cannot cross the Drainpipe."

"Hm. Seems to me you have the solution to that problem," Grope said, indicating the balloon. "Let us try to find the rest of the tribe, and hope for the best." He climbed aboard, and the balloon lifted off.

[OOC: "Growf's Drainpipe" is obviously that cross-continent channel we've been talking about, previously dubbed the Waldhaxen Channel. Any humans heading there, by chance?...]

[Graybeard]

[OOC: Where did everybody go? Once more, a little of Layla's introduction to magic just to get things moving again:]

"Okay, I think I get this business of sweeping up 'mana' to do magic with," Layla said as she and Soc headed down the street. "But how do you find it when it's not in a special setup in a classroom? It probably doesn't show up in the real world with a great big flashing sign that says MAGIC HERE, right? ... Didn't think so." She should probably have skipped the sarcasm, as she thought about it, but Soc didn't seem to mind.

"Actually, mana is pretty well everywhere," he said. "The problem is that, until your skills are much more developed than they are now, it's hard to recognize. It's also so diffuse that it takes a real effort to gather enough to do anything with. You remember that after you silenced the bullet, you felt fatigued?" A nod. "That'll get easier with practice, but it always takes some effort. Let's head for the park; there's another teaching gadget there."

Unfortunately, when they got there, Layla found her attention distracted: Barb, the intolerable floozy who'd been with her (and, of course, Ace) on the reconnaissance mission, was there with a man she didn't recognize -- probably a john she's trying to screw some money out of, she thought poisonously. Soc didn't seem to notice Layla's turn of mood, however, and continued, "Let your sense of touch flow out of you here. Probe around. You should be able to pick up another rich lode of mana. It's not as highly concentrated here as it was in the lab, but it's still set up so that you should be able to sense it." Swallowing her disgust at the other woman, Layla nodded and started to explore the park.

She'd just found the lode -- there, in the basin of a bird bath -- when Barb noticed her and came over to investigate -- and cause trouble.

"Well, look at that," the older woman said, contempt in her voice. "Look who's making the move from insufferable bitch to magical insufferable bitch. Whatcha thinking there, child? You think you can cast a spell and get the asshole back that you had your little bastard with? I --"

Barb's insults could very easily have been fatal (for her) if Layla had been armed, but she'd left her weapon at home. Still, she had to do something to this loathsome woman. She reached into the magical deposit, scooped some up, somehow hurled it at the woman, and screamed, "SHUT UP, you whore!" And only then stopped to think about what she'd done ...

... As Barb's mouth moved soundlessly, as though she was willing sound to come out but her body would not obey.

"A little temper there, Layla?" Soc said, as the two couples (such as they were) stared at each other in shock.

[AdamZero]

(ooc: Okay, I'm thinking we should clamp this thread.)

[Graybeard]

(ooc: Okay, I'm thinking we should clamp this thread.)

OOC: And then what?

[Sareth]

[OOC]Well, we could start a "Waldhaxen Channel" thread next, since I'm betting getting across it is going to be something of an adventure in and of itself. Especially if there are non-human critters that may have a stake in seeing to it such things not happen, or that they do happen, but on their terms, or... Yes, I can see the Channel being quite the obstacle with sufficient plotiness... Muwahahahahaha![/OOC]

[Graybeard]

[OOC]Well, we could start a "Waldhaxen Channel" thread next, since I'm betting getting across it is going to be something of an adventure in and of itself. Especially if there are non-human critters that may have a stake in seeing to it such things not happen, or that they do happen, but on their terms, or... Yes, I can see the Channel being quite the obstacle with sufficient plotiness... Muwahahahahaha![/OOC]

OK, you've convinced me. I'll leave this open overnight for any parting shots (one of which will be coming from Kugelheim as soon as I get some sleep...), then start the new thread in the morning.