Nalo watches the 'interplay' between Anson and the Organizer like it is a tennis match, eyes bouncing from one to the other.
"So..." Panamax's forehead crinkles as he tries to follow Anson's train of logic "...you're saying that it's like a detachable limb from some larger being?"
"So..." Panamax's forehead crinkles as he tries to follow Anson's train of logic "...you're saying that it's like a detachable limb from some larger being?"
"Quite possibly. I'm not sure yet. Although in this case, it would be a limb that could function just fine without that larger being."
"Does that make them like a zombie then? More efficient when it's all together but still deadly in pieces?"
"Does that make them like a zombie then? More efficient when it's all together but still deadly in pieces?"
Her eyes still watch the automaton waiting to Dr of she sees a change when it replies to Anson in its machine way.
"I don't have a metaphor for this." Panamax doesn't seem overly-concerned.
A similar wave of sadness washes over Panamax in response to his questions.
I had others
We would swim the currents of our reality
We would light up dark spaces
Together
A pause. Longing.
I do not know how to go back
I do not even know if it would feel like home
The automaton continues its movements, coming to a rest near the other machines as it continues stacking plates. It doesn't answer for a minute or two, or give any indication it heard Anson at all.
We have no name
Only Purpose
"What was the epiphany?"
Ceri makes her own small circuit, poking around at the back of one of the automaton. She tries to take one of the plates from a cone, but fails to so much as budge it from its place.
Eventually, she crawls up the back of an automaton as it circles a cone. She lets out a little "Whee!" as she simply enjoys the ride for a few moments. Then she starts to poke and prod at the head piece of the machine.
"That's how you trigger security measures, Ceri." Tavene warns sternly.
The other woman salutes. "It's also how you figure out what a machine does."
"Tavene, did I ever tell you about the time I tried riding a machine?" Jarris asks with a sly grin.
Both women exclaim the word "no" with differing degrees of strong disinterest, and he laughs in response. Ceri joins in and Tavene does her best to hide a smile.
"Which is?" Anson asks the machine.
"What was the epiphany?"
Sherine looks thoughtful as she tries to craft an answer.
"It's really hard to describe," she says finally. "I was poking around with a fascinating piece of numenera that I had found. I must have tickled it just right, because it showed me..." Sherine motions with her hands, as if she is trying to grab some unseen words floating around her. "...things," she says looking defeated that she couldn't find a better word.
"They were beautiful, horrible things. With colors and textures you could taste and hear. Sounds that made you thirsty and angry and nauseous and giddy. I saw it all. Everything. And it all made sense." Sherine beams at the memory.
"And ever since then, I've been aware of the conversations buildings were having."
Sherine joins Ceri with her automaton. She watches it intently, watching for patterns.
We defy entropy
It repeats what it said before, and offers nothing else.
"Ahhh, yep. That'll do it." Ceri nods sagely. "There are so many people afraid to touch numenera out there. I can't really blame them - sometimes they explode in your face, or eat your skin, or cause..." she looks at Sherine and cuts her sentence short. "But the rewards... the rewards make everything worthwhile, I think."
She mindlessly rubs her wrist as she speaks.
"Ask a stupid question," Anson mutters to himself. He paces the room, examining the cones and the stacking process.
"What are you powering?" he asks, though this sounds rhetorical as opposed to directed at any of the automatons.
Anson nods to himself, followed with a little shrug. "Pretty sure I've learned all I can unless I start taking things apart, which, if we want to use this place as a potential escape, I'd rather not do."
I myself want to return to my home eventually. But I am not ready yet. There are too many things to see and experience.
"Probably best not to take it apart, then."
Anson nods to himself, followed with a little shrug. "Pretty sure I've learned all I can unless I start taking things apart, which, if we want to use this place as a potential escape, I'd rather not do."
Sherine waits a little, to give Anson time to expand on his statement. Finally she asks, "Would you mind telling us what you've learned? All some of us got was one half of a conversation."
A long silence this time.
I think I should go back someday
What do you want to see
What do you want to experience?
Sherine waits a little, to give Anson time to expand on his statement. Finally she asks, "Would you mind telling us what you've learned? All some of us got was one half of a conversation."
"It's just walls, huh?" Anson asks with a friendly grin. "Let's see, the automata are 'defying entropy' according to them. Their task appears to be powering... something, though I can't sense any electricity here. Nalo would be the expert there. If we're using this place as a potential escape, I think we should leave it as intact as we can."
He pauses. "As much as I might like to strip one of these things for parts."
Anson nods to himself, followed with a little shrug. "Pretty sure I've learned all I can unless I start taking things apart, which, if we want to use this place as a potential escape, I'd rather not do."Sherine waits a little, to give Anson time to expand on his statement. Finally she asks, "Would you mind telling us what you've learned? All some of us got was one half of a conversation."
Nalo nods, curiosity winning over the lines of exhaustion on her face.
A pause, "I found these," laying a metal sphere the size of a large grape and an individually wrapped large pill on a convenient flat surface, "Not sure what they do, but they might be useful." She shrugs. "If not, we should be able to get some shins for them and that's never not useful."
I don't know. New things, I suppose. New people to heal.
The Nadralix was something that I never imagined could exist.
This entire space out of space.
You.
But I always thought in terms of taking in, not in terms of seeking.
What do I want to see? What do I want to experience?
Panamax is quiet mentally for a while.
Has he found anything that looks like it might make a container for [strike]the energy being[/strike] Esha. Ahora. Malim.?
"Defying entropy sounds like a good task," Panamax is bad at hiding how eager he is to conclude automaton-watching time. "We should leave them to it."
"It's just walls, huh?" Anson asks with a friendly grin.
Sherine blushes slightly at Anson's comment.
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Where I'm from, there was no desire to experience
Just the experience
Here...
There's a replayed image of a few of the things Panamax has shown it, but they're oddly mixed. The curve of someone's neck on a grassy hillside... with no body attached, wildflowers growing in the middle of an ocean.
There is more to see in your reality
And then there's an image of a cluster of energy beings riding waves of light together, an accompanying feeling of bliss and a warm sense of never being alone. The more Panamax sees of this other reality, the more sense he can make of the 'landscape' of light, energy, and colors.
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Ceri looks around the room with a satisfied look on her face. Her pockets have a new assortment of odds and ends bulging in them at odd angles.
"I'm not sure if we searched every room, but I feel like we found enough toys, a few mysteries..." her eyes widen in excitement, "and a teleportation device that probably works!"
She looks to Anson, then the others in the group. "Thank you, Anson Arkadius, for coming with me and encouraging the others in your group to take a detour, too. I find that exploring depths like these is better done with a partner or..." she looks around the room again, "seven." She grins. "Are you all feeling as Panamax? Ready to see the sky again?"
She looks to Jarris. "Or the inside of a ridiculously luxurious tent?"
Jarris nods. "I could use some entropy in a nice bed, if I'm being honest."
She looks to Anson, then the others in the group. "Thank you, Anson Arkadius, for coming with me and encouraging the others in your group to take a detour, too. I find that exploring depths like these is better done with a partner or..." she looks around the room again, "seven." She grins. "Are you all feeling as Panamax? Ready to see the sky again?"
"It was my pleasure, Ceri Sahine," Anson says. "And yes, as much as I could spend the rest of my days in a tomb like this one, I'm beginning to feel the need to move on."
The room is exactly as you left it. You all receive the telepathic message about the device when you enter the chamber a second time.
Since this hasn't come up before and might not have occurred to anyone to do - this is a good chance for you guys to try a high-difficulty skill.
If you are willing to spend a little in game time, there is a Difficulty 7 chance that you can put together a device that will be keyed to the teleportation pad. It would allow you one use, bringing you back to the building (with the ability to teleport elsewhere when you were done).
Don't feel obligated to do so, but this is also serving as a reminder that you guys can pretty much ask/suggest doing whatever your hearts desire as long as you run it by me and the roll makes sense!
Tavene looks at the teleportation pad. "We could go straight to Kordech on this, if it works." She shakes her head. "But we did strike that deal with the caravan driver before. They will be waiting for us." She looks to Nalo. "But I'll leave it to you and yours to decide."
She looks to Anson, then the others in the group. "Thank you, Anson Arkadius, for coming with me and encouraging the others in your group to take a detour, too. I find that exploring depths like these is better done with a partner or..." she looks around the room again, "seven." She grins. "Are you all feeling as Panamax? Ready to see the sky again?""It was my pleasure, Ceri Sahine," Anson says. "And yes, as much as I could spend the rest of my days in a tomb like this one, I'm beginning to feel the need to move on."
Nalo nods with a tired smile, "It was an interesting adventure, thank you for the invite on it."
On the way back to the teleportation room, Nalo softly puts a hand on Anson's arm, gently trying to draw him to the back of the group, biting softly on her lower lip.
Anson stays behind with Nalo. "Yeah?" he asks.
Around the teleporter, Jarris busies himself with pulling bits and pieces of things together. He keeps glancing at the runes under the glass, making quiet 'hmm'ing noises to himself.
After a few minutes, he holds up a box with several buttons on it, a bit of glass in the center, and a rudimentary set of runes carved into the base. He pushes the buttons a few times.
"Huh. You know, I've never tried to create anything that links to a teleporter, and it turns out, walking around near the teleporter didn't give me any good ideas." He says good naturedly. "But idle hands, and all that."
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Anson stays behind with Nalo. "Yeah?" he asks.
Her eyes flash up towards Panamax, then she tries very hard to only be heard by Anson. She shows him something in her bag.
"I found this device." Opening her bag, showing a tube and valves and other things. "I think it might be a portable version of the containment system holding the light predator."
She continues in a quiet rush of words, "I know it is a stupid thing to take into the world, but leaving something sentient alone in the dark to go.." she shrugs, "more insane is..."
"But I wanted you to look at it first, to make sure that it can't escape and go on a feeding frenzy amid innocent bystanders."
Jarris nods. "I could use some entropy in a nice bed, if I'm being honest."
"Sleep must be very important to you," Panamax says. "If you're being honest."
Panamax will helpfully diagnose Nalo's cyphers. He points to the grape, "That one explodes and is loud." Then the pill. "This one will heal you but probably tastes terrible."
Panamax looks at the box that Jarris put together.
I am starting to understand a little more of what is going on in your memories.
I think.
And I believe that traveling with me will help give you context for some of mine.
Plus, it should be fun.
"Sleep must be very important to you," Panamax says. "If you're being honest."
"Who said anything about sleep?" He grins. "... But yes, sleep is important. I can be a bit of a monster if I don't get enough of it."
This sounds like a fruitful exchange
Fun
There's a pause.
Are we having fun?
After Jarris hands over the box he created, and Panamax spends some time poking around in it, fiddling with wires, realigning the glass, and taking care to fix some of the runes...
It comes to life in his hands. The crystal glows gently in the device.
"Look at that!" Jarris says, sounding excited. Ceri peeks around the much taller man to look at what Panamax is holding.
Sherine watches intently as Anson tries to assemble the device. She seems to be looking at all the pieces at once. Perhaps assembling it in her mind?
After Anson gives up, she tries her hand at it.
Not with that kind of roll.
She doesn't seem to have much more luck than Anson did. "Would it kill them to supply a diagram?" she jests.
She doesn't seem to have much more luck than Anson did. "Would it kill them to supply a diagram?" she jests.
"Diagrams are for people who don't want to accidentally blow themselves up when they play with a homebrewed numenera." She says cheerfully.
Jarris' eyebrows knit together in concern as he looks again at the device Panamax just put the finishing touches on.
"Can't heal you if nothing bad happens," Panamax agrees.
Anson turns the device over in his hands, poking and prodding the thing. He's gotten a pretty good look at the tubing that's running through the building during their visit. The container isn't quite the same, but it looks like it could definitely contain an energetic being of the dimensions Panamax suggested.
"It's just walls, huh?" Anson asks with a friendly grin. "Let's see, the automata are 'defying entropy' according to them. Their task appears to be powering... something, though I can't sense any electricity here. Nalo would be the expert there. If we're using this place as a potential escape, I think we should leave it as intact as we can."
He pauses. "As much as I might like to strip one of these things for parts."
Anson's words cause a curious look to come onto Nalo's face. She circulates the room, slowly not interfering with the Organizers path, placing her left hand on each of the disk holding structures then a few of the automatons when they are moving disks. Silently searching.
F~&$.
Anson turns the device over in his hands, inspecting it closely. Then he fishes a few tools from his pockets and patches the container, then hands it back to Nalo. "This should work. I think."
Nalo is really tired right now. Pretty much all she gets is a headache from concentrating too hard on the cones and the automatons and the everything.
Did that make any sense at all?
Anson turns the device over in his hands, inspecting it closely. Then he fishes a few tools from his pockets and patches the container, then hands it back to Nalo. "This should work. I think."
Nalo's hands are shaking a bit when Anson hands back the device, her fingers move over a patch where she can't make out the imperfection it fixed. She looks up with a smile, her grey gaze blocked by goggle lens, "You really are amazing, you know."
Louder, without moving, "Panamax. Anson fixed up something that should hold the energy predator. Can you get it to promise to only feed on willing doners?"
"I'd feel bad leaving" the pause Nalo makes isn't super noticable, "Ada high and dry when she booked rich marks thinking her caravan had guards."
Tavene nods, looking slightly relieved. "As you say, we would be leaving her high and dry." She smiles, pushing a strand of loose hair out of her face.
"So, are we going to head back to Keford, then?" Ceri asks.
Haha
The sound is like a laugh, but more like the feeling of laughter that accompanies the word.
It makes sense
Yes
We will share when we are having fun, and then we will know each other better
"Panamax. Anson fixed up something that should hold the energy predator. Can you get it to promise to only feed on willing doners?"
Panamax looks over, walks over. "Thank you both," he says to Anson and Nalo. "Esha, Ahora, Malim and I have come to an understanding, and it says it will only feed on willing donors."
]Nalo's hands are shaking a bit when Anson hands back the device, her fingers move over a patch where she can't make out the imperfection it fixed. She looks up with a smile, her grey gaze blocked by goggle lens, "You really are amazing, you know."
"No, I'm just a man who knows how to tighten a seal," Anson says, spinning one of his tools between two fingers.
Panamax looks over, walks over. "Thank you both," he says to Anson and Nalo. "Esha, Ahora, Malim and I have come to an understanding, and it says it will only feed on willing donors."
"Wait, there are three of them? And they have names now?"
Nalo shakes her head, voice rough, "I don't think this will hold three... I thought that it would be a near thing for one."
"One of them. Three names. They always had names. You have multiple names. Just one being."
Panamax looks around, and tallies up everyone in the party who has more than one name. He also counts the energy being.
He looks at Nalo again. "Are you okay? Your voice is sounding a little odd."
It is right to use all three names
But if it is easier, Esha is my primary name
The first name I knew
Does the flesh have just one name?