Difference between revisions of "Further plans - RPLOG"
(Auto update) |
(Auto update) |
||
Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
13/7/477 | 13/7/477 | ||
=Log= | =Log= | ||
− | <div></div> | + | <div></div><br> <br>Nighttime. Dangerous, even in the settled lands of Promise, doubly- no, triply so in this accursed corner of nowhere. The willows bend in the breeze, and as everyone enters, the last of the callers - one of Ser'ther, was his name Darval? - vaguely gestures at the ancient trees. In response, the grove shifts slightly, fluidly, closing in on itself, sealing the small circle away from prying eyes and minds. |
+ | |||
+ | "We're safe here," Victor says, seating himself on the dry grass and inviting the others to do the same. "Ludmilla, please keep first watch. Claudia, we could use some tea here for our guests. Now...explanations. Is there anything you wish to know in particular first, or shall I begin with a general overview of what we've learnt over the last week?"<br> <br>Selena settles down in the circle with the other beings, sighing quietly and rubbing her temples a little. "... What a day." she grumbles, before resting her heard on a hand and looking towards the center of the group. "I can set a fire if you'd rather not use supplies for the tea, or just boil the water. As for what you start with... I think the more important information should come first. I don't have anything specific I want to know about all this."<br> <br>"The mist." Jera frowns softly, finally seeing fit to remove his visor in more private, and less hazardous company. "You've put me through the past, so I know that each of these visages we've been fighting was once a person as well. Have you found a way to end this for good?"<br> <br>Natska carefully sinks down into a kneeling position with the others, brushing a few wrinkles from her skirt as she does so. She looks between the three, expression serious and thoughtful, and then nods. "The most important information first." Her ear twitches. "And if I still have questions I'll ask."<br> <br>Victor nods. "History is unclear as to how many perished during that ill-fated attack. About seven to eight hundred went out with Lord Robert, as the Good King wanted to make an impression on what he thought were raiders from up north. And afterwards...few thought to make roll call. We can assume that said number is how many can be fielded at one time. We must reach as many memories as possible...items, keepsakes that are intimately connected with the fall of Mossy Stone. Claudia is already on that task, so you need not concern yourselves with it. We've making good progress towards those ends." | ||
+ | |||
+ | A little way off, a campfire is lit with good old-fashioned flint and tinder, and eventually, the warm smell of fireblossom tea wafts through the clearing. Claudia brings over a tray with a teapot and clay cups, curtseys, and retreats. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Victor clears his throat. "Ordinarily, that would be sufficient for an exorcism. However, we know this for certain: the bannerman must be destroyed. Kendrac told me about what happened in Mossy Stone, what was under the church. It's likely that the bannerman serves the same purpose as that "well of souls" did: an anchoring focus that prevents the curse from being lifted. Claudia has reason enough to believe that with enough of the souls reached, it may be possible for one to brave the properties of the mist which cause terror and dampening of mathemagical effects. The army of wraiths, though...another army will be needed to hold them off for the bannerman to be reached, and challenged on the field of battle." He sits back a little, waits for that to sink in.<br> <br>Selena sighs a little, nodding back to the group and rubbing her forehead. "This is going to be a very long lasting problem." She mutters to herself. "The well of souls should have been purified after that expedition, but I suppose some things are a little harder to work around than living beings. They were begging for Pyrrha to stop tormenting them, and aparrently Kendrac's baton was able to purify the font... For a little while, at least." | ||
+ | |||
+ | The wolfess tsks quietly. "But knowing mossy stone, I'm not too surprised to hear that either." The wolfess accepts a cup of tea, taking a sip of the hot beverage and closing her eyes for a few moments. "Then again, I suppose I can rest a little easier knowing that in so much as getting away from the corrupt court's 'setup', we've shown them up a little. It's hard not to feel a little satisfied when you come out of something like that with no casualties, but I suppose being complacent has no place either."<br> <br>"There won't be any room for satisfaction, I'm afraid, Selena." Jera frowns. The glow of his own Kendrac markings slipping through the little gaps in his platemail. The normally laid back fox sounding nothing but concerned at Victor's statement. "We'll need an entire army to help us fight the wraiths. There /will/ be casualties there. And that's not to say we won't have any among our bravest injured as well. Kalt already lost her arm to just one caller alone."<br> <br>"Complacency is the enemy," Natska murmurs, giving her head a small, if decisvie, shake back and forth once. She accepts the cup of tea with a nod of thanks, and cradles the cup in her hands as she thinks. "At least it sounds like the task at hand is direct, if difficult. Why did they come here, miss Selena? Lord Jera? That voice... they have rules? This is a game?"<br> <br>"Perhaps. I have the feeling that they let us go, though. Or if it was really a show. The wraiths can't stray too far from the mist before they begin to fade away. They must have known that. And if there was really a spy in the camp's midst...it could explain why nothing much was done while it existed. So much more damage could have been done, though." Victor shakes his head, sips at his tea, then turns to Jera. "You saw what happened. Some of the wraiths still retain some semblance of who they were. They were trying to resist the bannerman's control. If we can give them an opening...but I'm getting ahead of myself." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, my dear, it is a game. One that existed before us and the second match is being set up, only with new pieces. As far as I understand it...the winner takes the board and any pieces that remain." He looks at his fellow callers. "You should probably ask Kendrac sometime about what that meant, that thing about peoples past. I'm as confused about it, myself." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "For now...don't worry about the how. We'll handle that. Worry about the why. We have a lead on that, but there're only the four of us. That's where you can help."<br> <br>Selena shakes her head, "Small victories are victories nevertheless; I fully intend to ask Kendrac more about this given the opportunity either way. I know that Ser'ther has hinted at a race of beings having lived on promise in distant past - which would account for some of the ruins I've seen during my time in the Ironsoul's Defenders - but knowing they're related to all of this is not something to leave uninvestigated." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Calling it a 'game' is a little bit of an unnerving way of looking at it. Unfortunately, we're not being allowed to opt out either. What I would really like to know, though, is how creating that mist isn't direct interferance - Spirits aren't supposed to do that. I feel terrible for the beings trapped by it, but I suspect that it could be used to more productive ends if we can learn how it's created and controlled." She suggests. "So, what lead do you have for the meantime?" <br> <br>"Oh, I don't know. You know how cryptic the spirits are, Selena. For all you know maybe the definition of their direct and ours is very different." Jera folds his arms across his chest for a moment with a soft hmmph. "You'd have thought the other spirits would have chimed in to help if the Corrupt Court really was flouting the rules. But perhaps they don't want to turn Promise into their own battlefield." He nods politely at Natska, smiling warmly. |
Revision as of 16:12, 13 July 2014
Participants
Date
13/7/477
Log
Nighttime. Dangerous, even in the settled lands of Promise, doubly- no, triply so in this accursed corner of nowhere. The willows bend in the breeze, and as everyone enters, the last of the callers - one of Ser'ther, was his name Darval? - vaguely gestures at the ancient trees. In response, the grove shifts slightly, fluidly, closing in on itself, sealing the small circle away from prying eyes and minds.
"We're safe here," Victor says, seating himself on the dry grass and inviting the others to do the same. "Ludmilla, please keep first watch. Claudia, we could use some tea here for our guests. Now...explanations. Is there anything you wish to know in particular first, or shall I begin with a general overview of what we've learnt over the last week?"
Selena settles down in the circle with the other beings, sighing quietly and rubbing her temples a little. "... What a day." she grumbles, before resting her heard on a hand and looking towards the center of the group. "I can set a fire if you'd rather not use supplies for the tea, or just boil the water. As for what you start with... I think the more important information should come first. I don't have anything specific I want to know about all this."
"The mist." Jera frowns softly, finally seeing fit to remove his visor in more private, and less hazardous company. "You've put me through the past, so I know that each of these visages we've been fighting was once a person as well. Have you found a way to end this for good?"
Natska carefully sinks down into a kneeling position with the others, brushing a few wrinkles from her skirt as she does so. She looks between the three, expression serious and thoughtful, and then nods. "The most important information first." Her ear twitches. "And if I still have questions I'll ask."
Victor nods. "History is unclear as to how many perished during that ill-fated attack. About seven to eight hundred went out with Lord Robert, as the Good King wanted to make an impression on what he thought were raiders from up north. And afterwards...few thought to make roll call. We can assume that said number is how many can be fielded at one time. We must reach as many memories as possible...items, keepsakes that are intimately connected with the fall of Mossy Stone. Claudia is already on that task, so you need not concern yourselves with it. We've making good progress towards those ends."
A little way off, a campfire is lit with good old-fashioned flint and tinder, and eventually, the warm smell of fireblossom tea wafts through the clearing. Claudia brings over a tray with a teapot and clay cups, curtseys, and retreats.
Victor clears his throat. "Ordinarily, that would be sufficient for an exorcism. However, we know this for certain: the bannerman must be destroyed. Kendrac told me about what happened in Mossy Stone, what was under the church. It's likely that the bannerman serves the same purpose as that "well of souls" did: an anchoring focus that prevents the curse from being lifted. Claudia has reason enough to believe that with enough of the souls reached, it may be possible for one to brave the properties of the mist which cause terror and dampening of mathemagical effects. The army of wraiths, though...another army will be needed to hold them off for the bannerman to be reached, and challenged on the field of battle." He sits back a little, waits for that to sink in.
Selena sighs a little, nodding back to the group and rubbing her forehead. "This is going to be a very long lasting problem." She mutters to herself. "The well of souls should have been purified after that expedition, but I suppose some things are a little harder to work around than living beings. They were begging for Pyrrha to stop tormenting them, and aparrently Kendrac's baton was able to purify the font... For a little while, at least."
The wolfess tsks quietly. "But knowing mossy stone, I'm not too surprised to hear that either." The wolfess accepts a cup of tea, taking a sip of the hot beverage and closing her eyes for a few moments. "Then again, I suppose I can rest a little easier knowing that in so much as getting away from the corrupt court's 'setup', we've shown them up a little. It's hard not to feel a little satisfied when you come out of something like that with no casualties, but I suppose being complacent has no place either."
"There won't be any room for satisfaction, I'm afraid, Selena." Jera frowns. The glow of his own Kendrac markings slipping through the little gaps in his platemail. The normally laid back fox sounding nothing but concerned at Victor's statement. "We'll need an entire army to help us fight the wraiths. There /will/ be casualties there. And that's not to say we won't have any among our bravest injured as well. Kalt already lost her arm to just one caller alone."
"Complacency is the enemy," Natska murmurs, giving her head a small, if decisvie, shake back and forth once. She accepts the cup of tea with a nod of thanks, and cradles the cup in her hands as she thinks. "At least it sounds like the task at hand is direct, if difficult. Why did they come here, miss Selena? Lord Jera? That voice... they have rules? This is a game?"
"Perhaps. I have the feeling that they let us go, though. Or if it was really a show. The wraiths can't stray too far from the mist before they begin to fade away. They must have known that. And if there was really a spy in the camp's midst...it could explain why nothing much was done while it existed. So much more damage could have been done, though." Victor shakes his head, sips at his tea, then turns to Jera. "You saw what happened. Some of the wraiths still retain some semblance of who they were. They were trying to resist the bannerman's control. If we can give them an opening...but I'm getting ahead of myself."
"Yes, my dear, it is a game. One that existed before us and the second match is being set up, only with new pieces. As far as I understand it...the winner takes the board and any pieces that remain." He looks at his fellow callers. "You should probably ask Kendrac sometime about what that meant, that thing about peoples past. I'm as confused about it, myself."
"For now...don't worry about the how. We'll handle that. Worry about the why. We have a lead on that, but there're only the four of us. That's where you can help."
Selena shakes her head, "Small victories are victories nevertheless; I fully intend to ask Kendrac more about this given the opportunity either way. I know that Ser'ther has hinted at a race of beings having lived on promise in distant past - which would account for some of the ruins I've seen during my time in the Ironsoul's Defenders - but knowing they're related to all of this is not something to leave uninvestigated."
"Calling it a 'game' is a little bit of an unnerving way of looking at it. Unfortunately, we're not being allowed to opt out either. What I would really like to know, though, is how creating that mist isn't direct interferance - Spirits aren't supposed to do that. I feel terrible for the beings trapped by it, but I suspect that it could be used to more productive ends if we can learn how it's created and controlled." She suggests. "So, what lead do you have for the meantime?"
"Oh, I don't know. You know how cryptic the spirits are, Selena. For all you know maybe the definition of their direct and ours is very different." Jera folds his arms across his chest for a moment with a soft hmmph. "You'd have thought the other spirits would have chimed in to help if the Corrupt Court really was flouting the rules. But perhaps they don't want to turn Promise into their own battlefield." He nods politely at Natska, smiling warmly.