Mountain(s) of Madness

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: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Graybeard »

Plato didn't look much like a thaumatopathologist, or any kind of mage, for that matter. What he looked like was a Gewehr Enforcer, the next ply down in the hierarchy from Wraith, which is what he was, most of the time. He'd been the first local student at the Poundstone teaching clinic in Lorrel, after showing himself unusually magically adept for a Farrelite, and had made it all the way to the final exam for the D.Th. degree before being ejected from the program for a certain ... indiscretion. The Gewehr, despite having paid for his schooling, didn't mind; he'd been able to use what he learned to complete a certain, particularly difficult hit, the thing that got him banned from the program, in fact. The Gewehr also didn't really care whether he could put three letters after his name, so here he was, doing the side job that gave him entertainment of a sort in between regular gigs.

"I'll need about an hour alone with the body for a preliminary study," he told Faye. "A complete workup will take the rest of the day, and I may need to take him back to my lab. Are there any problems with that?"

Faye thought about it. "There might be. He was my son-in-law, and my daughter would like to get the funeral over and done with. If your study delays that more than a day, there'll be hell to pay in my household."

The man nodded sympathetically, more or less. "Okay, I'll have some answers by the end of the day, then. What are you looking for? Cause of death? Magical involvement? The usual?"

Faye pondered again. "Well, the cause of death is pretty obvious: somebody shot him. It would be good to know about magical involvement, but what we -- she -- would really like to know is just: who did it? She wants revenge, and wants it bad." And you've known Layla since you were both small children, so you know that it would be a very bad idea to stand in her way.

Plato nodded again. "It'll be tough to extract that information unless there was something very unusual about the circumstances. But I'll do my best." He turned to the coffin and started his preparations.
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Viking-Sensei »

"Unit Ayiee is capable of self-assignment, but it is not currently part of my operating system's protocols." She said matter-of-factly. Then, after a pause, "...however unit Lucas is statistically likely to give general objectives as opposed to specific instructions, and in the execution of these orders this unit can exercise a degree of autonomy. Example: he might order me to 'obtain milk'. It is then up to this unit's discrimination crystals to analyze the situation and locate a suitable source for requested item based on location, availability, and practicality. Near cities, even if bovine units are close by, we have gathered data indicating it is more socially acceptable to obtain milk from a vendor than to drain it directly from a bovine unit. Given this parameter, this unit must decide which course of actions to take. In these decisions, unit Ayiee can display a greater degree of autonomy. Once all current objectives have been completed, self-assignment settings can be reset."
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Sareth »

"But don't you ever have fun? Or do things that make you happy?" I was still confused. She had gone from teasing and smiling to sounding... mechanical and lifeless. I was still pretty confused. Was she like us, or just another tool that was particularly versatile?

Ileaned over to my pack and dug around a little. Quickly I pulled out the teddy bear from the park. I gave it a few squeezes, then turned back to Ayiee and thrust it into her arms. "Here! How does hugging that make you feel?"
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by AdamZero »

I just bobbed on my feet and smiled. "I Just wanted to say thanks for your help back at the mountain. I never had a chance to say it properly, the situation was.... well.." I tried to find a word that had enough force behind it to convey the situation. I found one, in a sense. "It was a very Lucus-appropriate situation. He seems to gather chaos around him like a vortex...."

I looked over my shoulder, sensing Lucas, Jamie, a dead rabbit, and a feeling I guessed was Ayiee. "I'm sorry if my following you caused offense or hindered your travels. That was not my intent."

I bowed slightly as moved away. "May your travels be full of good hunts and worthy battles." It was a rough translation of a troll phrase of parting, but as my throat couldn't speak troll worth crap, I wasn't about to butcher the language.
"Now he's gone too far. NOONE ATTACKS AMERICA'S FOOD COURTS!" -Deadpool.
"Don't be so naive. I've got ulterior motives. MANY. Two, maybe three. Probably Four. I am one BIG ulterior motive." The Great Teacher, Onizuka Eikichi.
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Viking-Sensei »

Ayiee held the bear, arms outstretched as if unsure what to do with it. Then, in a rough emulation of Jamie's actions, she squeezed it to her chest. "I feel... fur. Artificial construct fibers designed to resemble hear of ursine units. Synthetic polimers."

Ayiee turned her head, tilting it to the side, and there was an audible noise coming from her mouth, not like she was speaking but more like sounds from elsewhere in her body were escaping... music, for a moment, people talking in foreign tongues, a beeping chirping noise... then she tilted her head back up. "...accessing alternate definition. The bear feels... good. Holding it... makes unit Ayiee... makes me... feel good."

She extended her arms out, handing the bear back to Jamie... then, in one smooth motion, fell over, rigid as a statue, landing with a dull thud on the ground, arm still extended.

"Oh, crap... we must've over-taxed her processor." Lucas said, not sounding all that worried. "She's done this a few times before. Chances are once she cools down-"

The noise coming from her mouth before came back... only a lot louder this time... first, the sound of a great band playing, like a full marching band... then there were voices, only this time they didn't sound foreign so much as just distorted...

"...ppppproject is weeeeeeeeeeeeell underwaaaaaaaaay, test-est-est suuuubjecttttt azrwiluoai alirgowyr lfyfgyegfyg gfgfgfgfgfgfg responding well to treatment. Theeeeeere is stttttttill much conccccccccccccern that what weredoingiswrong, but ihgawpiugh effectivepaiowgou whgpauh...."

...then there was a loud chime, not unlike a gong being struck, and Ayiee sat upright. "Beginning system check. Please stand by."
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Sareth »

I felt my eyes sliding over to Lucas, then back to Ayiee. "Oops."

I still had no idea if she was actually a real person or just a machine. I probably never would. Giving up for now, I simply packed the teddybear back up (with a few squeezes), then rotated the rabbit to allow the other side to roast.

"What do you think, Lucas?" I settled to where I could watch Ayiee "systemchecking" or whatever that was she'd said she was doing. "Is she just a machine? Or something more?"
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by AdamZero »

I blinked as I sat on a rock watching Aiyee do... whatever the hell it was she was doing... I hadn't had time to consider the odd construct, with everything that was going on. "Kinda reminds of that guy Petros... in the Sublimer division...." I muttered aloud. I had gotten close while moving silently, dreadfully close to Jamie, enough to give her a spook.

I didn't realize my eyes were still puffy and red from my cathartic cry... not at the moment anyway.

I yawned and eyed the rabbit, though shooting glances back at Aiyee when she'd make a soft chirp or whistle.
"Now he's gone too far. NOONE ATTACKS AMERICA'S FOOD COURTS!" -Deadpool.
"Don't be so naive. I've got ulterior motives. MANY. Two, maybe three. Probably Four. I am one BIG ulterior motive." The Great Teacher, Onizuka Eikichi.
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Viking-Sensei »

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know... I mean, I've seen her insides, and can assure you that she's not *made* of anything all that special, although there's a bunch of magical crystals and wahoosits that I don't understand... but then again, what are we but a complex system of meat-based organs, right? Maybe she's life, Jamie, but not as we know it. Not as we know it." Lucas turned to Marcus. "I'm curious... since we do have a necromancer on hand - what do *you* get off of her, Marcus? Sensing any life force?"
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by Sareth »

[OOC]Oh... Gawd... Viking-sensei... You know have me seeing a genderbent Captain Kirk in my minds eye... That's... I am scarred for life![/OOC]

I nearly came unglued when Marcus spoke up behind me. I'd had no idea he was back. I'm sure he meant it, bastard.

By the time I landed and engaged my brain enough to actually, I dunno... THINK, Lucas had asked Marcus what HE thought of the question about if Ayiee was a living being or not. Having heard that, I decided to hold off killing Marcus until AFTER he had answered the question.
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Re: Mountain(s) of Madness

Post by AdamZero »

"SHe's.... hmm..." I started, but closed my yap, mostly because I felt the urge to kill rise in Jamie. There is much anger in that one. I thought as I walked over to Aiyee as she started running her mouth about numbers and proxies, and something about observing my urination... bad grammar aside it was a bi~t creepy.

I leaned close to her and poked her so she shifted to her back. She kept up her listing and her exact pose, but now she was on her back again.

"Riiiiiight." I started rubbing my finger along her abdomen, wondering if she had an 'access' panel, praying it wasn't where I thought it might be.


I wasn't a bleeding gynecologist, and it sure as crap wasn't my lunch hour.


(Monty Python joke.)
"Now he's gone too far. NOONE ATTACKS AMERICA'S FOOD COURTS!" -Deadpool.
"Don't be so naive. I've got ulterior motives. MANY. Two, maybe three. Probably Four. I am one BIG ulterior motive." The Great Teacher, Onizuka Eikichi.
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