Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Narp - I sent you a small bio on Jack.]
ooc:[Krsqk - Didn't see any of what? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ]

Hearing Arthur's growl and the following thump, Jack turns around and pays more attention to him.
Jack "Hey, I didn't notice this head injury earlier. This is something I can fix."
"Guérissez Les Blessures"
With that, Arthur's wound heals, and he wakes up (much to his dismay, as the hangover is still there).

Jack "Hmm, that stone doesn't look very comfortable, here, try my cot."
Jack unrolls his cot, which hovers quietly a foot off the ground.

[ June 21, 2003, 03:06: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[you call that small? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif ]

narp "to bad about your headache. is it from a speed and strength enhancement spell? i had one yesterday and you have my sympathies."

*scrape, scrape, bang*

[ June 21, 2003, 03:14: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Thinking that perhaps Arthur's ears could use the same treatment that Narp's got, D casts the same low-powered silence spell on Arthur's ears.

Unfortunately, this takes his attention away from the roasting rabbits, and one side of one of the rabbits gets slightly blackened. Fortunately, that's how Arthur ordered it.

D "Lunch is ready."

D quickly divides up the rabbits, giving Arthur the slightly blackened half.

Jack "So Arthur, where do you hail from?"

[ June 21, 2003, 04:58: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur rolls over and comes to, awakened by the smell of blackened coney. Partially deafened by the silence spell, he barely catches Narp's question.

Arthur "Umm, yes, sort of. I sacrificed the speed portion for additional strength. Unfortunately, the increase in strength from such a method has an inverse square relationship to the duration of the spell--thus the sudden hangover. Fortunately, although the side effects are more intense than normal, they wear off sooner, probably soon after dinner."

Arthur "As for my place of origin, I would say here. At least, it used to be here, right under our feet (your feet, at least). Apparently, this mountain has taken over this real estate. I was climbing it in hopes of seeing something familiar. After using that strength spell, though, I was forced to take a faster mode of transportation to get here before the side effects kick in."

Arthur takes a massive bite of rabbit. "Say, this is just how I like it! Which one of you gents went to chef school, anyway? The only thing I like better is that bland apprentice-magician-produced stuff." He smacks his lips loudly. "You wouldn't happen to have a gallon or so of orange pekoe available to wash this down?" The remnants of the coney bones (some with teeth marks) are tossed into the fire.

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack "We have slightly different variants then - my Version rides an adreniline rush; it Lasts until the target no longer feels immediately threatened or the caster cancels it, which makes it ideally suited for combat. The hangover occurs almost as soon as the target comes down off of it, and the duration of the hangover has no relationship to the duration of the spell, although the severity of the hangover does."

ooc:[It isn't as though there are a limited number of spells.]

Jack "You actually like that stuff? Well here."
When Jack moves as though he is handing something to Arthur; when he starts, his hand is empty. When he finishes, there is a grayish-white object about the size of a dinner plate in his hand.
Jack "Enjoy."

Jack "Sorry though - I've never heard of orange pekoe; I'm not from around here."

D "I'm the chef; just tell me if you want that deafening spell removed - It helped with Narp's hangover."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

narp "is that you doing the weather magic? if it is, i hope you have good control. ester made that nessesary."

narp has finished with his sword, which at least looks faintly useable now, and is adjusting the straps on the sheild to fit him. next, he'll see what he can do with his bow, which probably won't be much.

ooc:[yaay! i finished the about thread.]

[ June 21, 2003, 05:45: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Arthur grabs a stick, pops his food on the end, and burns it in the fire a moment. Smacking loudly, he munches on it with obvious satisfaction.

Arthur "Mmmm, burnt blandness--there's nothing quite like it! Hmm, Jack, it does seem our variants are different. Mine is not physically based--it actually temporarily imbues the target with force magic. The advantage is that much greater strength or speed can be achieved than with a standard physical enhancement. The disadvantage is that the side effects on mages not skilled in force magic are pretty severe, and non-mages can be disabled for up to 10 or 15 hours."

Arthur "D, was it? Did you say something about a silence spell? Could you speak up, I can't hear you very well. Ah, that's much better. Could I impose on you to repeat your question, Narp?"

Narp gladly repeats it, with many embellishments and additions to the history of the mad emperor.

Arthur "I guess you could say that I'm doing the weather magic, though it would be more accurate to say that it's being caused by me. I don't actually decide the what, when, or where of what happens. In fact, I can't seem to find any tangible link between myself and the occurances. The closest I can come is Last night when I started coming here, and the storm formed over this mountain; or maybe the lightning bolt that destroyed the boulder. I was going to destroy it, but the storm beat me to it. I was so surprised I nearly forgot to form the vortex at all."

Arthur "So, no, I don't have good control over it. In fact, until these recent habitat changes, I didn't have any weather magic. My best guess is that the skill was transported into me from the same causes as the land changes. In fact, I have seen in the past day and a half at least a dozen animals or plants which seemed to possess some rudimentary magical abilities, or at least attributes. Two or three were potentially dangerous, such as trees with fire magic, or carnivores with time magic. I have tried to draw out the magical energy without harming the possessor; but in every case, it resulted in the death of the creature."

Arthur "If it were only a matter of learning to harness the magical energy, it would be simple to learn this new skill. Instead, it might be more of a curse."

Arthur turns and takes a seat near the edge of the firelight.

[ June 21, 2003, 06:51: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[for future reference that i should have posted already and will add to narp's bio, narp tends to think and act like a scholar or a fighter until something specific happens to get his interest going in either one. so a simple request to repeat wouldn't normally get him interested in scholarly things. in the case of the minataur, it was his age, and the things he might know.]

[ June 21, 2003, 07:09: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: gotcha. I was relying on my memory of exactly what the question was, and thought your mention of ester was more extensive than it was. I'll try to keep your ramblings down to a minimum. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

As Jack finishes up his meal, he dwells on Arthur's words.
Jack "Yes, you would need to be skilled to make your variant work - force magic can be dangerous stuff. And yes, it would be the subject's skill that counts; too much and you could blow someone up."

Jack "As for the weather, you appear to be suffering from a subconcious skill, in this case, weather control. It's a common side effect of chaotically introduced life energy, but usually only when sentient life forms were part of the introduced life energy. There could be any number of causes for such a release; mass death on a nearby plane, the destruction of magic items produced from harvested life energy, or even mass death on this plane, although the Last is unlikely."
Jack glances at D and Narp
Jack "Do you think we could have caused this when we destroyed those spheres?"

Jack "On the plus side, subconcious skills are usually remarkably well controlled, even if you can't determine the exact shape. Have you ever studied just how much calculation goes into walking on two legs? Rest assured, it's a lot. Weather is comparatively simple. You shouldn't be causeing any ice ages, if that is what you are worried about."

Jack "As for controlling it, it isn't really a matter of learning to harness the energy - it's already harnessed. The problem will be in bringing the control to where you can deal with it conciously. Think of it like your heartbeat. It will usually respond to what is needed, but it isn't easily controlled. It can be controlled, eventually, by will alone; unfortunately, that takes lots of time. There is a faster way it can be done, however: I can build a familiar for you. Well, technically not a real familiar, more of an illusion slaved to your subconscious. It will give the weather control a voice, and having something to talk to will help considerably in getting things under control; you'd just tell it what you want, and in most cases, it would perform as ordered. It might be a bit quirky, however."

Jack "As for the plants and animals, something similar happened on my home plane a long time ago. They never did find a way to draw the magic out without killing the subjects. However, it was found that the magic could be bound and redirected to harmless effects. They eventually produced a series of golems that ran through the affected area and applied the binding to all magic capable non-sentients in the area. It didn't take very long for the golems to fix everything, just a few centuries."

Thinking for a moment, Jack glances at the golem he produced to fetch the wood and rabbits, which is still waiting patiently for further orders.

Jack (to golem) "I suppose I ought to do something about you, shouldn't I?"
"Dissolvez"
With that, the golem dissolves into powder, its purpose complete.

Jack "Well, those are the highlights of my knoweledge on the subject. What do the rest of you think?"

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[since i'm tired and i just watched pinky and the brain...are they still tube socks after they've been worn for a while?]

narp "i never studied subconsiously triggered magical skills."

D "since your emotions and your subconsience are linked, calming yourself will reduce the number of side effects - after all, people can think things they wouldn't do."

ooc:[i'm going to sleep now. as an interesting experiment, push your arms against the side of a doorframe for a bit, then drop your arms and relax all your arm muscles. if you've got them all relaxed, your arms should rise.]

[ June 21, 2003, 08:40: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: I will be out for probably most of this week due to computer problems. I might be able to slip a post or two in before then, but don't count on it. If you'd like to go exploring or something, feel free, especially since I never said anything about joining you yet. I'm sure I can catch up later. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Enjoy the journey!]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[ok.]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

After a bit, Jack squints and looks at the terrain below

Jack "Does that look like a town to you?"

D "Yes, yes it does."

Jack "Shall we go take a closer look? They may have more information about what has been going on."

D "Or at least some decent ale."

Jack "What about you, Arthur?"

Arthur "I'll be staying here for a while longer - I think I see a few things that might be the remnents of my house."

Jack "What about you, Narp?"

ooc:[Arthur was living here, and it is fairly rare to get someone living very far away from everyone else; it makes sense that there would be a town nearby.]
ooc:[Hope to see you again soon, Krsqk]

[ June 22, 2003, 06:05: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Narp "by all means. although we should be cautious, there probably scared, and scared people often act hastily."

Jack, Narp and D head west down the mountain toward the town.

[ June 27, 2003, 05:17: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

After walking for a while, the group comes across a very orderly cobblestone road that looks freshly put down, which appears to head towards the town.

Jack "That's odd; how did this road survive all the changes?"

Jack looks at the road more closely.

Jack "Ahh, I get it - natural magic. Some of the more skilled craftsmen have it without knowing it. In the case of cobblestones, it shows up as an enchantment on the stones that keeps them in place; that enchantment must have doubled as a stabilizer while things were shifting. Interesting."

D "Yes, but the real interesting question is why someone went to the trouble of building a cobblestone road outside of town."

Jack "There may have been a town here at the time. Remember Arthur's house?"

D "You have a point. Still though, cobbles are usually only put down in wealthier neighborhoods; perhaps this was the route to the local manor?"

Jack "That would make for a good road to have bandits on, what with the tax money and merchants and all, wouldn't it?"

D "It might. Of course, it would be routinly patrolled by the local lord's knights to prevent that."

Jack "Yes, but with all the confusion, some strange things might happen. Ah well, we shall see."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[help! a cliche's got me!]
narp, quietly "don't look now, but somebodies watching us."
D "where?"
narp "forty feet ahead, behind the reddish-brown tree. one of you should check for more."

narp shrugs his shoulders, as if he's stretching. it also loosens the straps of his sheild.

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Oh, I don't know - Arthur's experience suggests some twists are possible, doesn't it? http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk/smilie/devil.gif]

D (quietly) "That's the lookout. Now that I'm looking, I can sense six more completely hidden behind the trunks of large trees, presumably waiting for a shout from the lookout. There are three about ten feet ahead of lookout and three about ten feet behind. It would appear that their plan is to have travelers surrounded."

Jack (quietly) "Also, there is something bothering me about that cherry tree behind the lookout. So, should we walk into the trap or try to preempt it?"

ooc:[Have you ever read the Xanth series? They have some very interesting cherry trees there....]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[please, no punishment, or i shall have to 'fire' you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ]

narp "well, this seems simple if one of you has an invisibility spell. you just cast a spell of silence on the lookout, D. then, jack, you put him in a bubble and one of you makes sure it's invisible from the start. then we charge. or one of you could put an invisibility spell on us and then D casts silence, then we charge. or we could just charge."

[ June 22, 2003, 07:11: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Ahh, you have read Xanth, or at least heard of it. Let's see, we did give D invisibility, right? If not, we have now.]

Jack (quietly) "Hmm, then we could take them one by one, couldn't we?"

D (quietly) "Nobody's watching the lookout; sloppy of them. I can handle the invisibility, and the silence; unfortunately, invisibility spells fall apart at the first brush of battle. Invisibility is good for a first strike, but we would be visible again after that."

Jack (quietly) "All right then; we silence and contain the lookout, then take them down one at a time?"

D (quietly) "That's the plan."

Jack (quietly) "Won't the others hear the battle sounds?"

D (queitly) "Not much we can do about it."

With that, D silences the lookout, and Jack places a bubble around him, while D makes the bubble invisible.

As D, Narp, and Jack approach the lookout, the lookout tries to signal his comrades, and looks very panicked when he can't.

Jack (quietly) "So, which one first?"

ooc:[Okay - so you decide what the tree does, and which way it goes.]
ooc:[Actually, there are a few twists we could put on this fairly easily - there isn't anything that says these people have to be bandits, after all; one person to challenge travelers while several lurk in the shadows for backup works well for toll roads or tax collectors or the local law enforcement or ....]

[ June 22, 2003, 10:07: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Well, it has been about 24 hours since the Last post; that clears me for making another despite that I was the Last to post, doesn't it? Just in case, I'll keep it short.]

The lookout, panicked at not being able to shout out, tries to run.

With the barrier up, he hits it head first, and falls unconcious.

Unfortunately, the barrier makes a loud ringing noise at this, alerting the people in hiding, who peek out from behind their trees, and see the lookout lying prone on the ground, and the party of adventurers standing nearby. Of course, they make the logical conclusion that they are under attack.

Jack "I knew there was something we were forgetting."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[i suggest that as an addition to the world, that the empire be currently at a low point, at only 1/5 of the continent, and that there be little contact between the continents generally, at any time. that would allow for greater diversity. toll collecters? we could be mistaken for the local bandits...]

at that moment, there is a shimmer in the air behind them and a burly-looking soldier, probably a sergeant, appears. there is an amulet on his chest, and a large crossbow in his hands. he shouts "HALT, BANDITS!".

seeing as he is twelve feet away, narp decides to halt and put up his hands. at the same time, he says "we're not bandits."

sergeant "his lordship and his wizard will decide that."

ooc:[so now we have a lordship? and his? wizard?.]

[ June 24, 2003, 02:43: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Works. Yes, they would think us bandits, especialy considering that, when it comes down to it, we DID strike first, even though it was a non-fatal strike.]

Jack glances at the crossbow, and looks the burly soldier up and down
Jack "We aren't bandits. Besides, how are you going to enforce your words? With this?"
Jack holds a crossbow bolt in his hand, and the buly soldier glances at his crossbow - no bolt. Jack then tosses the soldier his bolt back. The soldier catches it, and blinks at it a few times while Jack continues.
ooc:[Ain't teleportation fun?]
Jack "Although, I would be interested in conversing with His Lordship and his wizard. That is a very interesting amulet you wear, and I would be interested in talking with its maker."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[yes, after the dust and the rain and the way narp looked even before that, i'm imagining we don't look to clean. maybe we should have found a stream.]
most of the solders blanch, but the sergeant only says "if you will come with us, then, sirs? and, if you would, release kendrick?"

after kendrick is released, everybody heads done the road, still going west and the solders somewhat confusedly form an escort, directed by some discrete hand signals by the sergeant which the guests politly ignore.

ooc:[and our status has been upgraded. of course, as an escort, the're closer. so that's it, unless there's something you wanted to add. if so, i'll change it.]

[ June 24, 2003, 05:24: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[I'm done with my previous post.]
As the party and escort travel down the road, Jack engages the sergant in conversation.

Jack "We are travelers from a far land, and are unfamiliar with this region. If thou would'st be so kind, could'st thou inform us of the full titles for His Lordship and his wizard?"

Sergant "His Lordship's full title is Lord Baron Roger William Peixes IV of Lago. His wizard's title is Master Wizard of Lago."

ooc:[This actually gives us several pieces of information all at once: The level of the Lord we are seeing: Baron (low level for the nobility, but controls land), Lago (the name of the region the Baron controls), and Roger William Peixes IV (the lord's name); Master Wizard is a position, similar to Master at Arms; of Lago specifies that he is working for the Barony of Lago.]

Jack "Only a title for the wizard?"

Sergant "That's right."

Jack "Thank you."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[only a title for the wizard? what's that mean? ok, lets see...]

while jack talks to the sergeant, narp, falling into the roll of man-at-arms, falls behind a little and engages the solders in conversation, soon finding out that the crops have been good, taxes have been not to bad, road duty is somewhat dangerous, that there are about fifty armed bandits known to be camping somewhere in the woods and that there very hard to find and if his lordship keeps the troops called up for much longer, the taxes are going to be bad, at which point the segeant calls for 'silence in the ranks'. narp moves up a little and ceases bothering the solder's.

ooc:[i couldn't find a clever way of having him do that in conversation, but assume that it was a short conversation and, unless either of the wizards have been listening, he'll tell them everything he's heard, which won't all be what you will, since you'll be getting the officail story, and narp might find out something else.

[ June 24, 2003, 07:20: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">ooc:[Just that he doesn't give out his name (Like D and Jack), and prefers a title to a letter (D) or a short fake name (Jack); that could mean he is slightly more paranoid than many.]
After an hour's walk, the group reaches the gates of a modest manor, surrounded by a vast expanse of ripening grain. The sergant talks to the gatekeeper for a moment, and the group is let in without further ado. At this point, the escort becomes replaced by a few members of manor's staff, who lead the group to some large double doors. At this point, Jack quietly uses a little illusion to neaten up the party's appearence. At the doors stands a herald, who asks
Herald "How shall I announce you to His Lordship?"

D "I am Wizard D."

Jack "I am Magician Jack."

ooc:[Title for rank in Jack's world in the Mages Guild: Magician (Apprentice), Mage (Journyman), Wizard (Master); they can be used interchangeably, but in court, the more formal Magician/Mage/Wizard is always used; this may or may not apply to the realm we are in now.]

ooc:[On a side note, if the court wizard is familiar with this, he is likely to assume that Jack is D's apprentice, as apprentices don't usually travel far without their masters - that is for Journymen or above.]

ooc:[Narpichez's turn to intruduce himself.]

[ June 24, 2003, 08:05: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[update. just in case you don't know. as narp is acting the part of the humble bodyguard, he wouldn't get greeted or announced by name, which is what he wants. narp's thinking like a solder and partly like a scholar and so the first thing, it seems to him, is that what he should get is information...which is sometimes better got by being ignored.]

the doors are opened and the three enter the great hall. a herald annouces "a party from a land unkown, consisting of the wizard D with apprentice and bodygaurd, to see Lord Baron Roger William Peixes IV of Lago and his Master Wizard of Lago"

in the hall are four tables, arranged with one at the end on a dais and two lower down stretching along the hall and a rough one, probably for the use of servants, near what are probably the kitchen doors. there are a few men-at-arms at the lower ends of the lower tables, but not of course, at the servants table. behind the table on the dais, which is the finest, is presumably the lord, who is showing a touch of age and has a moustache and a small beard. his is wearing fine, but practical clothing and his gaze shows a sound mind behind it. sitting to one side is the wizard. he wears fine robes with no runes or symbols on them. the wizard leans over and mumers something in the lords ear the leans back.

ooc:[the wizards clothing may or may not be important. i just threw it in there. the wizard just gave him a breifing on our illusion, and other stuff i'm leaving up to you - since he's a master wizard, probably more than that. i'm basing this of off what i know of medieval customs, as a bodygaurd who's not noble - as he's not and as he's been trying to appear - he would be officialy ignored for the most part. it doesn't neccasarily say anything about the lord, just the culture. in addition, if we're invited to sit down, narp will as a bodyguard, have to stand behind the wizard. D will go somewhere on the high table and jack will go on one of the two lower tables. jack probably wouldn't have gotten noticed except as an apprentice, but you've already introduced him. that's what i remember of medieval customs anyway, which i might not all remember right.]

[ June 24, 2003, 08:45: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Which would also mean D is going to be doing all the talking to the various personages, Narp can listen in and taste all the food D eats, but is stuck at the Lord's table, forbidden to speak unless specifically addressed; that leaves Jack for quietly talking to the servants - not that any outside speech would be permitted while the Baron is in a public conversation.]

Baron "You may approach."

D walks towards the dias, with Jack and Narp following two steps behind, off to the right and left.

Baron "What brings thee to our domain, Wizard?"

D "We are but humble travelers, who wish to pay our respects to Your Lordship."

Baron "To where dost thou travel, and from whence dost thee come?"

ooc:[Narf - you can have D field this one.]

ooc:[We get to make up our own mideval customs, as they varied from generation to generation and land to land, and even (to some extent) court to court.]

[ June 24, 2003, 09:29: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[true. looks like jack's going to be fishing for information while narp's feet get flat...something my feet are in danger of.]

D "I am lately come from the city of pitaza and was headed to the north country, for i had heard things of interest, when i was caught up in those most unfortunate disturbances. i was surveying these new changes when i spotted thy magnificent domain."

ooc:[well, i already used one actual food name - a dirivative can't be to bad.]

the lord looks pleased at the flattery - unless you look at his eyes, which, while not unfriendly, show a realization that flatering words do not a freind make.

lordship "since thee hast traveled so far, perhaps thou wilt partake of my hospitality?"

with a gesture, plates are placed for the travelers, one first at the higher tables, one at the lower tables and one offered at Narp's left elbow so as not to impede his sword arm - although nobody would bring up that reason. D sits, jack sits, and narp stands, with his plate, which he puts in his right hand, because in case of trouble it's easier to drop it and go for his sword, behind D, who has been placed opposite his lordship.

after enough time for D to eat some of his food,
lordship "now, we can talk more comfortably. i have a bandit problem and for some reason scrying is not working well. i would be gratefull if you could help."

ooc:[guess Narp will have to get D to dismiss him sometime, or no chatter. the baron may still suspect us, after all, if someone is blocking his wizards scrying, that someone could be Jack or D.]

[ June 24, 2003, 09:45: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Meanwhile, down at the lower table, Jack tastes his food once, then sets it down because it's burned too badly for his liking, while the rest is almost raw.
ooc:[Historical note: long ago, the ovens used to cook things didn't do so evenly, especially for things that couldn't be turned or stirred, such as bread. Thus, bread coming out of a mideval kitchen would be burned on the bottom, hard and overcooked in the middle, and just perfect on top. The guests (and sometimes the head of the household: the Baron) would get the perfect portion from the top (D), family would get the middle portion, and the servants would be left with the burnt portion (Jack and Narp). The servants were left with anything the guests and family wouldn't want to eat.]
Deciding he would prefer some of his bland conjoured rations to the burned meal, Jack decides to engage the servants in conversation. Unfortunately, he can't get a word in edgewise - the table is just overflowing with gossip, which Jack listens in on.

"How long do you think it will be until the Baron has solved the bandit problem?"
"Not long; he can't afford to let it go on much longer."
"Yeah, I heard that even the well-gaurded tax carts get ambushed; the Barony is running off of the treasury."
"That can't Last long."
"No it can't - and what happens when the treasury runs out?"
"Then we will have to seek employment elsewhere."
"But we already work for the kindest baron in thirty leagues!"
"I know, I know. These bandits are just far too orginized and well equiped."
"You'd almost think they had support from somewhere."
"They even ambush peasants! Just Last week, my uncle was robbed on his way to visit me. They took all six of his coppers, and stole his coat!"
The rest of the gossip is just variations on the same plus the standard castle variety: who is thinking of marrying whom, which members of the court are the most demanding, how people's crops are doing, that kind of thing.

By the end of the meal, Jack still hasn't gotten a word in edgewise, but he has learned a few things.

ooc:[That should cover just about anything Narp would have wanted to ask the servants that they would actually answer anyway.]

ooc:[We will get a chance to compare notes overnight; apprentices and bodygaurds are always assigned to the same room as their masters; the apprentice to do the master's bidding, the bodygaurd to gaurd against nighttime assasins.]

ooc:[The court mage would be very worried about D; the report from the sergant would indicate that it was Jack (the apprentice) who humbled the gaurds (stole the bolt and released Kendric). If that is what the apprentice can do, what about the master? We may have a nighttime visitor.]

[ June 24, 2003, 21:28: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[my brain is being squashed flat by my new empire, so no new Posts now. lets see what i can get my brain to come up with.]

D "i would be glad to help. what is it that seems to be the problem?"

wizard "well..." and D and the wizard are soon chatting about scrying interference and exchanging all sorts of magical terms.

narp eats the stuff on his plate, listens, watches, notices that jack isn't eating his food and resolves to tell him that if he's going to act like an apprentice, it's best not to be picky about food. makes you stand out. besides, he thinks, if you don't breath through your nose, some of it's not bad.

after the meal, there shown to there room, which contains a bed and two cots, one near the door and an adjoining bathroom with bath. then the servant who showed them to there room leaves.

narp taps his ear.

ooc:[are we being listened to? some of that...ugh.]

[ June 26, 2003, 06:40: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack yawns and stretches, incidentally covering his mouth with his arm
Jack "No eavsdropping spells, but we are subject to a scrying spell. Fortunately, scrying isn't very compatible with magic detection; you always end up detecting nothing but your scrying spell."
Jack bends over, stretching his back, and incidentally causing his robes to cover his face.
Jack "There, I've put illusions of ourselves over ourselves, so if you'll make us, but not the illusions invisible, D?"

Just as D does so, Jack summons his ration; then everyone has the peculiar sensation of seeing themselves wander off from where they are to get ready for bed.

ooc:[So now everyone's invisible, and there are illusions of us preparing for bed.]

Jack slowly eats his ration between talking; not that anyone can see, as it is invisible too....

Jack "We should be able to talk freely now."

The party catches up on what they learned during dinner, and Narp informs Jack not to be so picky.

Jack "I suppose next time I'll teleport it out; only the wizard will know I'm not eating at the table. He will know I can teleport stuff already anyway, if he got the report from the sergant." Jack laughs briefly "He'll probably even know why."

Jack "So, D - how far do the Baron and Wizard want our help to extend?"

In another section of the castle, the Master Wizard of Lago frowns while staring at a fuzzy image in a small crystal ball.

Wizard "That's odd ... the lower edge of the covers aren't rising, even though they are starting to crawl under them. Ah, I get it, they are covering against scying. Clever; I was almost fooled. That D is good; but not good enough. I'm just going to have to do this in person."
The wizard then begins the trek to the other side of the manor.
ooc:[If he was one of the top 100 wizards in the empire, he wouldn't be working for a Baron; he would be either independant, a major guild player (if one exists on this plane), or working for a Duke, at least; he will likely have a fairly small set of spells that he can get a lot of milage out of. So far, we have had him use scrying, invisibility and enchantment (in the sergant's amulet), perhaps others.]

[ June 26, 2003, 08:31: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: irrelevant now]

[ July 05, 2003, 00:24: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[nevermind]

[ June 27, 2003, 06:36: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[i meant to say west. and now everybodies heading west. fixed. it depends on wether or not he's ambitious. maybe he likes it here. um, looks like i blew the consistancy. should we go back to heading east down the mountain?]

they talk a bit more, then D says "someone approaches. it is the wizard."

narp "he's probably detected the illusions. lets stay invisible and see what he says."

a few moments later, the wizard strides into the room. with a sweeping glance, he takes in the entire room. then, he looks striaght at jack. "if your an apprentice, your the most talented one i've seen in a long time. why not simply say your an advanced journeyman?" then, looking at narp "and i suspect you are not just a humble bodygaurd." then, looking at D "your the biggest enigma of all."

"so, why don't we drop this charade and focus on three things. do you have an agenda? do you know anything about the weather magic at the top of eagles peak? and do you know anything about the bandits?"

ooc:[he's using a spell to see through illusions. i've decided that the reason he thinks D is an enigma is because D has some illusions he can't see through. now, i made him sound more hostile than he is because he's worried and hoping he'll startle us into the truth - if we have been lying. and i should have brought up the wether magic thing sooner, but if we make it so that only he and the baron know and they havn't told anybody so as not to raise a fuss, it fits. only one sp error and nothing to change. good. i normally have 5-8 things.]

[ June 27, 2003, 05:45: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: thanks for the help. I don't mean to highlight inconsistencies; but my brain is fried after this week, and I couldn't resolve it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif ]

After a lengthy visual inspection of the summit, Arthur settles on a specific site as the most likely spot for his home's remains. A brief "localisez la magie" creates a dozen or so gold lines which seek around a bit before detaching themselves from Arthur and planting themselves in the turf. After an "entfernen der Schmutz" at the site of each marker, two rings, a cloak, and a medium-sized ball are shoved in a cloth bag and stowed in Arthur's robes. The remaining holes are hastily filled, and with a final "Cachez-les," Arthur turns his back on his former home.

Arthur "Where would those three go? Most likely, the town and the road would attract their interest. That should have them winding up at the manor in Lago with that meddling wizard. I'd best head that way. Créez le vortex." A swirling funnel again appears, taking the mage toward the distant manor. "Localisez la vie forte." Signs of life are detected in the direction of the town and the manor house, and deep in the forest. Slightly delayed, but unusually strong, a response is sensed from under the hills north of the Baron's residence. Arthur continues his journey toward the manor into the night.

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[sounds like the wizard of no name has been blocking arthur's weather manipulations...this has the sounds of a pc villian. well, that was a good one to highlight.]

[ June 27, 2003, 06:23: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[I believe I have already established Jack's position on secrecy when Jack and Narp were talking about Jack's home plane. That pretty much means he is going to answer reflexively....]

Before anyone can stop him, Jack speaks up.
Jack "Because I'm not a journyman; I haven't passed the exams for that yet, and I'm can't take them for another...."

At that moment, D finishes casting silence on Jack.

Jack "..."
Jack "..."
Jack "..."
Jack "?"

Jack, just realizing that he can't be heard, sits down and begins working away at D's spell.

D "Four years. I'm sorry I stopped him, but he does have a tendancy to ramble on."

Just then, having finished untangling the spell, Jack speaks.

Jack "Hey, that was fun!"

D "Not that it Lasts long; I've trained him well."

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

wizard "well. what do you know about weather magic?"

D "i aviod it, generally. and i know of no wizard working weather magic nearby."

narp stands in the corner, thinking.

ooc:[couldn't think what else to post. all set for a confrontation here. based on what krsqk posted, he knows someone is messing with the weather. krsqk, could you ooc the extant of your contact with the wizard?]

[ June 27, 2003, 07:16: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Wizard "I see. What do you know of the bandits?"

D "Just a few rumors and what the Baron told me at dinner; that they are a problem."

The wizard, perhaps sensing some truth behind D's words, visibly relaxes a little.
Wizard "Well, you are unlikely to be able to do anything about it, so I would suggest rejecting the Baron's reward offer in the morning. He has made the same offer to a dozen other visitors, and none of them have returned."

With that, the Wizard takes his leave.

A short while later.
Jack "That's odd..."

D "What's odd?"

Jack "He started to mouth something about not a threat shortly before he left. Why would we be a threat?"

D "Hmm."

ooc:[Could it be that the wizard is secretly supporting the bandits, and in the process harvesting much of the tax money? Perhaps he could be making a bid for the barony, but needs to have the authority transfer come from a legitamate source to prevent the Empire from crushing him; it would explain his secrecy and tie the situation up nicely.]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[well, except where krsqk comes in. we need a post from him, before we continue, i think. his Last post sounded villinious.]

[ June 28, 2003, 08:24: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack "So, what offer do you think he was referring to?"

D "Considering the Barony's problems, I would surmise that the Baron is going to offer us a reward if we can eliminate the bandit problem. So, do you think we should accept when he offers?"

Jack "I'm game. What about you, Narp?"

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[what if, instead of being evil, the wizards under the mental influence of another wizard, but doesn't realize it? because he conversed quite readily with D about the supposed problems scrying at dinner. besides, i don't want this wizard evil.]

Narp "if you will shield this conversation from scrying?"

two spells later...

Narp "strange. at dinner, he was friendly, but it seemed to me he was talking in circles sometimes when describing the problems he was having. now, he appears agited and doesn't want the problems investigated. now, the principles in the short guide to relevancy suggest that only those with reason to object to something will object. although this is obvious, it is also a starting point. what we must determine is why. pride? if so, he hides it from the baron. he was pleasant before. or, to give him the benifit of the doubt, perhaps his fustration rendered him momentarily unpleasant. or, the option we must consider, treason. unfortunatly, it fits all the variables. pleasantness before the one one is hiding ones intentions from, unpleasantness before whoever you want to disuade, and of course, not accomplishing the stated goal of whoever you supposed to be loyal to. but there's something else..." he shakes his head "...i just can't think of it."

Narp sits on his cot and starts muttering the names of various tomes, scholars and hypothesis

ooc:[i'm not sure when our characters should start considering mind control, because the moment they do, Jack or D could probably detect it. Narp could go to sleep still not able to remember the reference he's looking for. sp check later.]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[Works, and I think we can fix your dilemma on when to have the idea pop up, and even why D and Jack wouldn't notice immediately.]

D "He was very much a different person just now than he was at dinner - I don't think he was acting."

Jack "Mind control, perhaps?"

D "Wouldn't one of us have picked it up? Hang on - that would only work if he were being actively controlled when we checked. I didn't check him for magic just now when he walked in the room - did you, Jack?"

Jack "Yes, but he was clean. No mind control spells of any type. Then again, magic isn't the only way to control a person's thoughts. There is also telepathy, but the only way to check for that with magic would be to review his memory and look for mysterious blanks; it's too much of an invasion of privacy."

D "Telepathy?"

Jack "Yes, it allows communication without magic. An unethical person could, in theory, use it to control someone who didn't know enough about it to defend themselves. Fortunately, standard magic defenses against mind control also function as a defense against telepathic mind control, and vice-versa, so it hasn't been a problem on my home plane."

D "I'm safe then - but what about you, Narp?"

Jack "I could enchant something for you that would protect you when worn, if you like; it would only take a minute or so - it is a surprisingly simple spell."

ooc:[There - now we have considered it, and have a reason for D and Jack missing it; although, it does move it from being a wizard controlling him to a psionicist. Satisfactory?]

[ July 02, 2003, 07:54: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[yep. now, lets see...Narp was thinking of something, and now he'll come up with the reference...reference, reference, here reference...]

Narp "of course! jill's 'short study of telepathy '! strategically speaking...of course!"

he mutters to himself some more, then "if we block the telepath, the telepath will know we surmise his existance, and will take steps to eliminate us. what we need are amulets that will block our thoughts, but will throw of psuedo-thoughts. thoughts that show us going west again. and of course, little random thoughts about the terrain and the weather. then we need to sneak into the wizard's tower, break his link with the telepath, and make an amulet that will mimic his thoughts if the telepath checks. then, we should be able to track him back to wherever he is when he checks on the wizard. after that, we simply chase after him with the baron's soldier's. presuming we havn't made a mistake in our logic."

ooc:[naturaly, something needs to go wrong with the plan. maybe the telepath finding out to soon. i dunno.]

[ July 02, 2003, 08:29: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack rubs his chin briefly.

Jack "I can do that, however...."

D "However what?"

Jack "Well, no cloaking works once a telepath tries to control the subject, or dig through memories. The blocking would still work just fine, but the blocking working is a dead givaway that cloaking is happening."

With that, Jack pulls out three of his wooden disks, and begins enchanting away.

Jack (still busily enchanting the wooden disks) "This will take a while. A simple block would only take a few minutes. However, for cloaking, I have to produce the thoughts to fool our unknown adversary with, and they have to be personalized to each of us. I should be done by morning."

Jack (still busily enchanting the wooden disks) "Cacher des Pensées"

Jack (still busily enchanting the wooden disks) "In the meantime, I've put up a block and cloak on the room, with simple dreams for the cloak. You two rest up; I'll be up all night anyway, so I can keep watch."

Jack (still busily enchanting the wooden disks) "By the way - should I make some for the Wizard of Lago and the Baron as well?"

ooc:[There - now something can go wrong with the plan - the cloak will fail if he tries to control someone who is protected, or search our memories. Also, as Jack and D normally block, the cloak might alert the telepath that something is up, if the telepath has tried (and failed) to sneak a peek before.]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

ooc:[post comming...]

Narp "well, yes i did say one for the wizard. one for the baron would be good as well. now that i think of it, we couldn't chase after him with the baron's soldier's. i need to read a few more books on tactics. we would be detected fast because of the soldier's. instead, we're going to have to sneak into his camp ourselves and take him out. then we can signal the baron, who could bring in his soldiers. and jack could make some of those golems if we have to much trouble. of course, some of the bandits are bound to have mithril or adamantium weapons or something, but that should do quite nicely. any suggestions?"

ooc:[if there's none, then put everyone else to sleep. we still need to figure out what to do with krsqk. perhaps the wizard took something of his that he found out in the woods, not realizing it was krsqk's? we could then have krsqk retreive it and wander off. the villagers could put all the strange weather down to the changes, and we go merrily on.

[ July 03, 2003, 07:23: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

Jack (still buisily enchanting away) "The reason I asked is because the telepath seems to be controling the wizard on a regular basis - he will know something is seriously up if the wizard is suddenly defended, and so will be on gaurd. However, if we find and stop the telepath first, that won't cause a problem, and we have a better chance of catching whoever it is by surprise."

D "But then couldn't the telepath use the wizard's abilities?"

Jack (still buisily enchanting away) "Yes, he could. However, he would likely still be back at the castle, and so the telepath wouldn't be able to use much of the wizard's offensive capabilities."

D "He could still scry, spying on us."

Jack (still buisily enchanting away) "Yes, and if he has the wizard watch us while we travel, and compares that to the cloak, he will figure things out. Nothing is totally foolproof. I can deal with either."

D "So, if we cloak the Wizard and the Baron, the telepath will know the next time he tries to control the Wizard. If we don't, the Wizard might scry on us as we leave, blowing our cover. Well Narp, you are the tactition of the group, what are your thoughts on the matter? We'll go with whatever you think best."

ooc:[I think that's the Last of my comments on the planning stage.]

[ July 03, 2003, 08:24: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

Re: The Misadventures of the Missed Adventurers
 

[ooc: I'm mostly back, as I indicated in the "shiny new RP thread" thread. Hopefully you won't have to continue the dummy-stuffing process. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif ]

The swirling funnel continued in the direction of the manor, its passenger periodically checking and rechecking for signs of life. The signals from town, manor, and wood seem fairly consistent--approximately 800 people in the town; a little over 100 in the manor house proper, with a few hundred more in the immediate vicinity; and forty to fifty in the forest. The real enigma was from underground. First, there was the delay--that could be explained by several things, most likely a magic detection/filtering spell. Second, the exact number of responses varied drastically with each check. The first check revealed only a single human, but after that, it showed anywhere from one to nearly seventy.

Arthur "It's almost like there's a cloak on that area. Odd, though--there don't seem to be any magic defenses put up, other than the filter spell. And I don't know why someone would bother to let the spell in, only to alter it on the way out--the effects would be immediately obvious, not to mention giving a good reason for a closer look. Maybe I'll have to look into it after having my chat with our friend the Master Wizard of Lago."

The vortex heads directly for a window on the top floor of a tower in the manor house. Arthur steps out of the funnel, dismissing it as he greets the tower's occupant, who had not yet noticed the entrance.

Arthur "Hello, John. And exactly what is my older brother up to these days?"

[ooc: Maybe the telepath returns as many signals as the number of minds he is looking into at the moment. Even if he is only controlling the wizard, it's likely he would be periodically checking on other people as a means of staying current.]

[ July 04, 2003, 05:44: Message edited by: Krsqk ]