The Journey of a thousand miles

Game Master Vrog Skyreaver

"A means to recording knowledge, we have many kinds, ones with pages, hard books and Crystal ones, used with a intelligent display or with a psicystal. You read them or they display for you. Stella maps, proposes systems, project management analyses, accounts. Skimatics, historical information."

She walks up to Sky.

"You have size and power, your race fits into its ecological niche, you stand at the end of a long line of evaluation where such things are needed. I know this because I studded from books. A book is means to transpose cultural and individual knowledge into the future so that member of you race can read it and learn what you learned. With out the to transpose knowledge like this no culture evolves beyond the tribe and feudal stages of cultural evaluation, where oral history is the own means of dissemination of information. They stand stunted, fixed and unable to grow beyond into more complex forms of culture. Yours and Korash's cultures are to such, but Ameo can read and that means his from a culture more advanced than your twos. Mine is even more advanced than that, but even mine is not as advanced as the one that made this ship. They have mastered manipulating matter, AI creation, they are only a short way ahead of mine, and they know nothing of Psionics which means in part mine is more advanced. They also use Nuclear power not Psionic force to move the city ships. So they are using some form of FTL travel or we are going the slow root. Where as my culture folds space. In other words with out books your culture is stunted locked just about the animal stage. Where as with books you can get to a point of knowledge where you can making city ships like this and fly across vast space to other worlds. Now I do not thing you understood any of that, I was thinking out aloud. But then just trust me BOOK! are more pressures them gold or any gems, you want a hoard with real value Sky, make it one of books."

She then gos back to her packing

"So... books are like the Caverns of Words?" Sky looked disgusted for a moment, but let it pass. "They make us go to the Caverns to learn things. I learned how to identify magical objects so that when I grow up more, I will be able to distinguish the things... they tried to teach us history, and far off places... but they sounded so... boring. Why are these books so.... small? And made so flimsily? Why not make them into tablets? Then they will not be ripped by your... I see." Sky said, as he looked at her hands.

speaking of books... I'm so sorry DM. Any spellbooks?

she takes off all but the space suit and rings, placing things in a modem looking rucksack she has found.

"Form follows function, it seems nature did not mean for you race to read books. Where as mine, small weak as you see us."

She lefts the Backpack up.

"I don't eat food, well not the kind I think you do, so sunlight and water for one, nothing for me, you to, best find something to eat and drink or you maybe having problems soon."

She looks around.

"I can go a long time with out sleep, how about you, do any of you need to rest?"

"I do not eat unless I am hungry. If you eat simply because you can eat, you destroy your environment. Feed a dragon an Usklat today, and there will be no Usklat tomorrow." Skyscale chuffs a little. "I am also not tired. I feel fantastic." He bounces slightly to show what he means. "I will find food when I grow hungry. I am usually thirsty by... I have no idea how much time has passed. Without the four stones, it is very difficult to tell what the time of day is."

'It's been about 8 pereira, we have 10 pereira per active cycle on the clan ships, resting would take 3,"

"Without the sun, there is no time," Korash responds, and goes back to piling up items.

Looks over at the plant being Korash.

"I hope so much we find a window"

Sky, these small books are called scrolls, and they allow me to use very powerful magic. My magic allows me to do many things, such as fly, create fire and lightning, and many other fun things. Perhaps I could teach you some when we have time.

oddly enough, no spell books.

Skyscale tilted his head at Ameo. "Can you keep using them, or are they like sigil stones that crumble when you use them? What are they made from? Wait... the walls! The walls are like the Caverns of Words!" After the outburst, followed by more Dragon dancing (+2 speed and attack!), Skyscale continued, "I would definitely enjoy learning more about magic!"

Isabela tests her ring, picking herself up and placing herself and back pack on a lockup box.

"If we are done here lets go, I still want to find a way to get theses Unknown word implants out."

Ameo thinks for a moment on how to respond, then Sky, theses scrolls are quit similar I believe to your stones. The scrolls are each good for one use then they crumble away or are just not good any more. The material is made out of paper. Paper is a material made from ground up trees. Words are sort of painted on that tell me how to perform the magic.

He then turns to Isabella. Let us pick through the wands and potions then we can be on our way.

Skyscale's face slowly turned from excitement to horror. "Trees!? Your magic is made from -trees-?" He looked first to Korash, and then back to Ameo, mouth agape. "Trees can live even longer than my people! There is a grove near my home that has existed since before my mother was born! How could people make things that... disappear forever from something so... eternal? Are your books also made from trees, Kalista?"

It would be hilarious if Korrash could make psionic tattoos. 'I am scrolls.'

It is ok, there are many more trees than people. They grow a new constantly. We even have magics that allow more trees to spring up rapidly. Magics that can grow a whole forest over night. We do not have talking thinking plants like Korash where I come frome. Only creatures with blood can talk and think. When all things die, they return to the ground which feeds new plant life.

I am seriously laughing myself to death reading Skyscale's responses.

"So... you kill a tree to grow more trees? That seems less terrible... but... they never get to grow to meet the sky, then. It takes centuries to reach the clouds!" Sky still seems torn on the entire subject. Certainly, he has eaten his fair share of skarrels, but those don't live that long, anyway."

I figure if I'm given a ticket to an entire culture, and get to play a backwater Dragon from said culture, I have a lot of leeway when it comes to how to interact with things :p. Not having paper, just as they don't have clothes, just makes sense. Sky's very used to more enduring things. Glad you're enjoying :p

Korash shakes his head, trying to figure out if he's understood the words right. "Using trees for paper... primitive, barbarian technology. Trees are noble, majestic, make many things not of other things. Houses, castles, distance posts."

"My people, we make our paper from grass, reed, bark. Is much tougher, and saves the trees for a more honorable death."

"You... use trees..?" Sky looked at Korash, mouth agape, anew.

"We don't have trees on, our home ships, we use hydroponics units and energeticly designed plants, but sky, do you use Leather Sky? do you use the skin of living beings? if you do then that would just as abhorrent to some"

Says Isabela from off to one side

Our cultures are with out a doubt very different.

"Well... yes. It is a little rough, and chewy, and sometimes gets caught in my teeth, but I eat every part of what I kill, or what I trade for." He nods to Isabela.

"Sky, there was was once a space living race, they where known as the 'skavinjers', a low temperature insectoid form. They feed on whole worlds, Living worlds, When 'skavinjers' scouts found a world with life, they placed sand casters around it. Devices that throw silicon dust into space in-between the world and its sun or suns. This would greatly reduced the heat rendition that got to that world. Within a few Rotations the worlds was an Ice ball. Most of not all life dead or frozen. Then the 'skavinjers' would swarm feed on it, strip mining the world down to bed rock, bio mass, raw mistrals every thing was taken. To them EVERY thing on a world was to be used"

She then looks over the bottles of things, but adds.

"They where hunted down and exterminated by a conglomeration of races they had attacked and feed on. My race being one. Only their artefacts remain now, I read one once, A book made from the skin of once living sentient beings. It was exquisitely beautiful as was most of there artefacts. They had a highly complex culture now lost. what is meat to one is murder to another."

"That is because they destroyed everything, and that is obviously very bad. They could easily survive by taking far less. Ruining everything for everyone makes everyone angry. That's why you should only take what others do not need." He toyed with the sceptre... until it created a cloak of fur and jewels and other such finery, covering his body, "Did they have nifty things like the things we have found? Like the egg suits?" He begins chewing on the fur cloak.

"I agree, the wise take what keeps them while looking after their environment. No the 'skavinjers' Tech was low level and mostly stolen. They had nothing like this, the level of tech here makes me think who ever made his place has worked out energy to matter conversion on a much bigger scale than us or any other I have ever seen has. The Bio-medical tech is much higher then any thing I have seen as well. They seem to have also worked out how to make true Nanite tech. Something we have never been able to. Don't ask me why I am not technia. But they seem to have done it and more. They have true AIs, we use Psionic transposed mind states known as M-grams as our computer cores. How they made ones with out that I just don't see, but they seem to have. That walking tank had a mind of its own that was not living or a Psionic M-gram. This whol place is full of stuff some far advanced then anything I have ever seen or heard of."

Skyscale nodded along as if anything Calista just said made sense to him. He totally understood all of that. Yeah. Then he caught on to the last line, to which he agreed!

"Yes, they are very far advanced. They write on their walls like my people! I have yet to see any paper that was not within someone else's hoard!"

I love your RP so far! I'm glad the group composition I picked is working out so well.

It's fun playing a lovable deadly monster who thinks he's the coolest thing in the world, and is somehow hipster, and has everyone playing to his ego, even himself... XD

With Everything that they have, I sure hope our skill sets and abilities will be enough to get us off this thing.

"The only reason to leave is if there is true danger. Otherwise, this is perhaps the greatest hoard I have ever seen. That would be a terrible waste! Imagine, taking this home and showing all of my friends! And then commanding the egg armor off, so they could see who I was..."

Now, imagine a planetful of Dragons all aboard a gigantic spaceship, hurtling through space to other planets to collect for their hoards. And even better: They don't even try to take things. They legitimately want to trade.

"Its useless if we all die, I don't care about any of it, what I do care about is of the owners or controllers of this city ship are a danger to my kind. If they are then I need to warn my people. You should think beyond your short term needs Sky, what is good for you race comes 1st"

Tell Isabela where you world is and the blood clans will sell them that gigantic spaceship, that's what they do, ok it would be a basic one but how would the dragons know.

"How does flying a flying hoard to my home negatively impact my people?" Skyscale looks legitimately confused by the idea that that could be bad in any way.

"How dos it not sky! when you think about 'WHERE' it came from and the nice little cell we all awoke in. Do you remember getting there Sky?, Do you remember the implants or anything of being TAKEN!. Did you ask for this? did any of us, no, do you think I or any of us would ask to do this to our ENTIRE race? That is what has been going though my mind the whole time I have been awake Sky, not trinkets or what I can get but Just what the owners of this place have planed for my race Sky. What where we, test cases? test subjects?. Think Sky if they got you they have been to your home world. They came along and plucked you like a flower and stuck you in a nice pen. Now why would they do that sky? They have done things to us Sky, me they taken away my ability's, taken away that which gave me POWER!, more power than you can possibly know Sky, not to smash crush things Sky to but to crush minds, rip them open and look at what's inside Sky, they would only take that away sky if they feared what I would see in there minds. So they VIOLATED! me sky then left me to die as they run off their messed up broken city ship. So as I have said before, I have every intention of wiping them out and laying wast to this structure. But not before I know what they are planning for my race, I will get word back I can, also sky, once the limiting implants are out I can get us ALL off this death trap. If an when I do, there will be reckoning for what they have done to me make my words they will pay!."

Its seems odd to see such vitriol coming from this little being, but you may get the idea is very very serious.

"Calista... it sounds as if you were able to do much worse to them than we know was done to us... and you sound as if you feel they have wronged you in taking that away. Why would you want to do those things? Why would we want to do those things to my people when we arrive..? I do not think they have hurt me..." his voice sounds somewhat whiny as he moves towards the later part. "They have changed one of my scales into something else, but I do not think they meant harm. They picked me, Calista, and have shown me many wonders since I have awoken. I do not think the scale does to me what you believe the spine does to you."

The interesting thing about being put to sleep, and prevented from aging... is that we could have been asleep long beyond the twilight of our respective species as well. :p

More to the point this could all be VR and in fact Sky a 13 year old girl playing Escape from doomed Space ship game with the My little Dragon hack, You know that whiny voice of Skys dos sound a bit to 13 year old girl-ish hehe

"O they picked you all right, must have picked an example'er form each race. So feel proud Sky, they picked you as a prime example of your spices."

PS our GM was playing a PC in my game, but just dropped out because of work load. Don't expect to much from him at them moment. I think he has a lot on his plate guys. Dos not mean we can't carry on chating :)

Or some powerful magister has me under an enchantment spell and you all don't even exist.

I would very much like to know why we were chosen. Was it to study us? Was it to make us slaves? Was it to meet with us? Why have we not run into any others alive?

Point of clarification: they didn't actually replace one of your scales so much as pull one out, put something underneath it, and then put it back.

"I think the Skarrels-with-extra-legs-and-sharper-teeth were probably like us. Except hungry. Maybe they just wanted to collect us for their hoard? That's what I've thought since I arrived. A magnificent hoard would have one of everything. I wouldn't keep y'all asleep, though. You're more fun to talk to than to look at."

Ameo decides to use some reverse psychology on Skyscale.

Skyscale, perhaps if we can gain control of this ship or the beings that are in charge, you could take them and this ship and add all of it to your hoard.

Isabela now happy to let the others keep rooting for finds.
Takes off the orb suit and other items around the implants.
Then takes out the Ring of X-Ray Vision and uses it for 1 minute on her body. Looking at what the implants are linked to and what they seem to be doing.

Then using energy splash she its it for 1 point of sonic DMG, ignores hardness, so see what would happen.

"I do not wish to control anyone. Those in my hoard could come and go freely. The metal cave would be a fine hoard, though. I would give everyone a choice as to whether or not they remain in my orbital cave, were it to become my hoard. Just this room would not fit in my hoard, though. So taking it to my hoard would be a bad idea."

Your reverse Psychology... partially succeeds?

"You should be careful, Calista. Do not pick at the things that bother you. They will grow infected." Skyscale says, using his 'adult' voice.

Calista looks up at Sky with a big happy smile on her face.

"Sky be a dear and count the all box's for me, its very important that I know just how be your hoard is if we are to fine a way for you to take it home. O and check twice, we would not want to miss any no do we."

Then she go's back to what she was doing.

Calista, what are you trying to do? Don't kill yourself.[

"Well thanks for the advice Ameo, I will try my best not to, how dos that sound. Now please, I am trying to concentrate on what I am doing"

Then she go's back to what she was doing.

Skyscale shrugs... and then begins gathering the crates all together so he can count them that way. It'd be terrible to lose count because he was moving and didn't remember if he counted one or not. So...

SCREEEEEEEEECH. SCRREEEEEEERRRRRRRR.

Korash keeps silent at what he assumes are Isabela's nutty religious beliefs, but speaks up at a few points. "If not for the lack of sun, some my people appreciate a place like this than the of the Tyrans."

"But it does matter not, as I still fear may this be just an strange after-life."

Skyscale would totally comment on this being exactly what Dragon-Heaven is like, ENDLESS HOARDS AND ADVENTURE. Were it not for him being sent away by Isabela to count.

ONOMATOPOEIA!

As Skyscale begins to count the lockers, he discovers that just one of the "box" of lockers has 120 lockers in it 15 per side (4 sides), double-stacked). Multiply that by roughly 100 boxes, and you get another 99x120=1180 lockers to open and explore. Also,

[ooc]Gonna get wands done and posted from home (leaving work within the next 5-15 min) so I should have them up soon; Then we can continue with the actual exploration.

Finally wands. Technically, you should not be able to identify some of these, but I think we'll just call that your Christmas present and be done with it.

EDIT for above: my math was off. It would actually be another 11880 lockers

Anthropomorphic Animal (CL 14; 41 Charges) YUUUUUS. Shenanigans Ensue!

getting no where with the Implants, Isabela picks up the Vampiric Touch(CL 15; 31 Charges), Speak with Dead (CL 16; 26 Charges) and Stricken Heart (CL 17; 42 Charges)
"I know these powers, but in sticks"

she holds up the Stricken Heart wand

"This one will heal me, how do they work?"

@GM She used Xray on the Implants what did she see?

"Nine-hundred-and-ninety-seven... Nine-hundred-and-ninety-eight... Nine-hundred-and-Ninety-nine... Nine-hundred-and-Ninety-ten. One-One. One-two. One-Three. One-four..." Sky stopped for a moment. "It is safe to say there is much more hoard than there are dragons in my village."

And that was how Calista (and to another extent, the rest of the group) learned that Skyscale's people counted in base-1000. And had a different name for every number up to one thousand. Because if there's one thing dragons love... it's counting.