Retri stood back for the time being, letting M and Alyson do the talking. No sense in all of them crowding in, especially if they didn't speak a common language. For his part, he observed the elves, trying to get a sense of them. They seemed wary, perhaps, but not frightened. So they didn't equate a shipful of visitors with trouble. He could only find that reassuring.
As he'd suggested, he was also taking in the world around him. Holos simply didn't do a planet justice. The light of a sun filtered through atmosphere, wild grass underfoot and breezes untamed by atmospheric processors or fans.
A horizon was also a new experience, and the planet was quietly, steadily rotating it to obscure the sun. One way or another, exploration was probably on hold for the day.
All of team B's commlinks suddenly recieve a message:
"I think one of them understands Aklo.
Think we should contact the Diplomatic Outreach Specialist?
-M"Ignoring the buzz of commlinks as messages transmit, she continues speaking in Aklo. "We came exploring. I'm M. Is there room for a village near here?"
"Why yes, there is room for a village near here," the elf says in more confident Aklo. "But all around us are the Ancestors' City. Sacred site, not one to build on."[/b]
The elf gestures you to follow him. It seems he wants to show you the ruins around your landing site.
Raloveg looks at M, puzzled by the elves' words, but stills manages to interpret their sign as an invitation. He begins to walk quietly, then turns to Emerald.
"What did they say? Can you ask them what the ruins were? If this some kind of sacred place, or if it was only a city."
"Not sacred or city. Both. ...I think." M replies in Asimovian.
The glowing circuit pattern on her face glows somewhat more brightly than usual as she continues.
"I'm pretty sure he said not to build here. It's probably a bad idea to land in this spot in the future too, now that I think about it. He says there's a place for a village nearby. That's what we're here to find, right?"
M follows after the elf with some extra pep in her step.
Understanding Aklo as well, 6 chimes in. Silently to the elves, but sent to the minds of their companions, "One big question I have.. Are the Ancestors' also elves? We don't know why the elves are here to begin with, so it could be that this city predates them being here."
6 walks forward with the elf eager to see these ruins. "Thank you for showing us these ruins. I assume, based on you wishing to show us, that they are not off limits to outsiders? We do not wish to interfere with your culture."
Again to their group "Does it seem odd to you that they seem as ok with us as they are?"
M shrugs, then sends out another text:
"Maybe a little odd.
-M"
After a moment, Raloveg answers 6's interrogation: "Well, hopefully it is just a courtesy they are doing us. Welcoming visitors, I would say. But you are right, they do not seem that surprised. Perhaps they have had visitors before?"
The elves lead you through the forest. Although they seem to be in the neolithic age. They lead you to their village, which is actually as big as a city. Their city uses plaster for flooring. Also their city has a fresh water supply. They herd sheep and cattle. They also farm grain of all kinds.
Do you go in, or do you want to explore other options first?
M simply stops and stares at the city before them.
Alyson indicates the sheep and cattle: "There. Those are species we carry as well. Not identical, but...close enough. I am pretty certain they have mutual ancestors. I mean, it makes sense, we also know about their kind - I saw those long ears in some illustrations, don't quite remember the name. And they speak some kind of language you know. But it's like, they got here via space, then regressed technologically to...a very early state. Maybe we can ask them about some ancestor stories, see what got passed down through their history?"
Other than that, she appears as non-threatening as possible, staying near the children and answering their stares with a smile.
I look similar to them, but not quite the same. From what we learned so far, it would seem it's only elves here. Maybe they think I'm a disfigured member of their race? I suppose there's a good chance they don't even know Humans exist...
Retrieving a small band she used as bracelet, Alyson collects her short hair into a tiny ponytail, showing her ears more clearly - and the fact they are rounded naturally, not clipped or something similarily cruel.
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"That sounds like a good plan," Retri said, nodding, "If we can get an audience with some of the elders or the historians, that would work out well." Retri was taking in the details around him, hoping to build up an idea of the culture.
"If you can translate, M..." he turned to their guide, "It seems a very prosperous community. What can you tell us about life here?" Best, he felt, to start small,establish commonality of experience and work their way up to the bigger questions such as how they'd feel about having a bunch of new neighbours. No doubt their hosts would have questions for them in turn.
6 follows along, eager to see these ruins. Though a bit disappointed at the lack of technology around.
Though, out in space, you never know what could be buried.
Without even saying
"Absolutely!
-M"
out loud, M texts Retri in the affirmative and begins translating his next sentence.
Then she adds her own question "Yeah, especially the clothes. Are those always on?"
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"We wear clothes to protect us from the elements. And we are designing new clothes for the coming winter," explains the elf in Aklo. He turns to Retri and also explains, "We are building a new life here. Since the ancestors fought with weapons of lightning, fire, and smoke; we returned to the stone age."
You all get 240 xp.
Hearing about the ancestors 6 gets a bit excited, lines on their face glow and pulse. "There could be technology here. We really should see these ruins. Also pretty entertaining that they call label their level of advancement so plainly"
Even though they are excited, 6 stays back and lets the others talk.
You're on a generational ship where the temperature is constant. So you don't have to wear clothes. These elves are on an Earth-like planet, where the temperature is variable, so they have to wear clothes. ;)
M, in Asimovian, adds to 6's sentiment "Yes, I'd like to see that sooner rather than later. It would probably be rude to just run off now, though."
Retri nodded. Deliberately returning to the stone age would ensure that kind of devastation didn't happen again... For a while, at least. So long as the memory remained and the strictures against technological development held. One consequence was that, although the elves might be okay with neighbours, they probably wouldn't be okay with high-tech neighbours.
"How long ago did that happen?" he asked simply. Given the talk of ancestors, it couldn't have been that recent. It might be possible to work out the answer based on radioactive decay, but it was so much simpler to ask.
"Yeah...you seemed very calm seeing us. Our ship and...well, us.", she glances at Brother Raloveg and 6, figuring they may seem strangest to the Elves, then adds another question to the one Retri asked: "Did you return to this way of living by choice, to avoid a repeat? Or as a result of what your ancestors did, following a societal collapse after that war?"
"We returned to this way following a societal collapse after the -- how you say it -- war. Our ancestors did amazing things, things we don't understand," explains the elf in Aklo.
"How long ago did that happen?" he asked simply. Given the talk of ancestors, it couldn't have been that recent. It might be possible to work out the answer based on radioactive decay, but it was so much simpler to ask.
"Many, many years ago," stated the elf.
M appends her own comments to the translation "so if they don't even need words like 'war' often, does that mean they'll be easy to get along with? That's good news, right guys?"
Brother Raloveg listens closely, then adds, to be translated:
"Are there still conflicts going on? Or has peace come back since?" The Vesk scratches his head pensively before continuing: "Do you have any records of previous generations, before the war? Uhh... Books or such?"
"It does bode positively for us."
"Or there are gaps in his Aklo vocabulary," Retri pointed out, "I don't think we should jump to conclusions there."
He was interested in the answer to Raloveg's question, so didn't add anything to be translated.
Brother Raloveg listens closely, then adds, to be translated:
"Are there still conflicts going on? Or has peace come back since?" The Vesk scratches his head pensively before continuing: "Do you have any records of previous generations, before the war? Uhh... Books or such?"
"We have the rings," says the elf man in Aklo. "The rings teach us history. Would you like to see them?"
Hearing about the rings, 6 projects "Yes please. We would be very interested in that and your history. Thank you"
"Follow me," he says. "They are in one of the buildings the Ancestors left behind."
M simply nods energetically and follows to the room with the 'rings'.
The elf leads you to the forest and enters the forest. There are many trees in the forest and you find yourselves in the thick of it. Going over ferns, under fruit trees, and through the brush. Some of you got scratched, and some of you haven't. He then stops at a building that is got to be about thirty feet tall.
It was made of alabaster, and it gleams orange in the sun. He waves to you to follow him in. Inside, is a huge room. About fifty foot square. It's a wonderful green, and the sun shines through the glass leaving a light on the floor. Inside are three bowls made smooth. And in each bowl are five rings.
"These are the rings of the ancients," he explains. "All you have to do is twirl them and they speak."
Taking that as an invitation, Retri walked over and twirled one of the rings. No doubt it would speak in elven, but he was curious about the mechanism at play.
M, excited by the chance to hear from the ancient elves, stops pretending to breath as she waits for the rings to begin "speaking".
No doubt, the history of their people would provide some answers.
What Alyson worried about, right now, was WHO they warred with.
A worst-case scenario that immediately came to mind was if they had been at war with the Elves at the other potential Colony Site - and failed to learn from the war. If so, enabling them technologically through Colonists from the Asimov would only ignite conflict once more, where they now lacked the means for it.
Keeping her dark thoughts to herself, Alyson focused her attention on the Elves instead. Trying to get a feel for how their society was structured. Were they close, touchy, chatty? Or formal, distanced and silent - did they move with rigid control and imprinted precision, or casual and easy-going. Were the elders and children respected and cherished, or were they secondary to those capable of physical labor? Did they have guards - armed guards - and if so, were they watching for predators, or other locals?
No doubt such a short time span and limited sample size would not provide answers to all she was wondering about, but until such time as the Rings began to tell them a history non of them would likely understand - unless the forefathers included multiple language versions - it seemed the most sensible approach to passively observe.
Taking that as an invitation, Retri walked over and twirled one of the rings. No doubt it would speak in elven, but he was curious about the mechanism at play.
M, excited by the chance to hear from the ancient elves, stops pretending to breath as she waits for the rings to begin "speaking".
As the rings twirled on the surface, a light shines under the twirling ring and you hear the following in Elven, in a deep man's voice:
"I am one of many. We came on a colony ship from the stars and formed a civilization here. We worked together and managed to till the earth and farm the land. With our expertise, we managed to survive and thrive on this planet. However, as we spread, we formed many nations and spoke many languages and war loomed on our planet."
The ring stopped twirling.
No doubt, the history of their people would provide some answers.
What Alyson worried about, right now, was WHO they warred with.
A worst-case scenario that immediately came to mind was if they had been at war with the Elves at the other potential Colony Site - and failed to learn from the war. If so, enabling them technologically through Colonists from the Asimov would only ignite conflict once more, where they now lacked the means for it.Keeping her dark thoughts to herself, Alyson focused her attention on the Elves instead. Trying to get a feel for how their society was structured. Were they close, touchy, chatty? Or formal, distanced and silent - did they move with rigid control and imprinted precision, or casual and easy-going. Were the elders and children respected and cherished, or were they secondary to those capable of physical labor? Did they have guards - armed guards - and if so, were they watching for predators, or other locals?
No doubt such a short time span and limited sample size would not provide answers to all she was wondering about, but until such time as the Rings began to tell them a history non of them would likely understand - unless the forefathers included multiple language versions - it seemed the most sensible approach to passively observe.
Sense Motive, Expertise: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (14) + 4 + (6) = 24
So far, he's forthright. How he came to understand Aklo is a mystery, of course.
He twirls another ring, and this one was also in Elvish, but in a tenor voice:
"We separated ourselves into nations and creeds, into tongues and peoples. We made all manner of weapons of war and went to war. Sometimes to conquer, some times just to have a fight. We are legion, many many elves. Sometimes prophets came to warn us, that if we will not repent, the wars will become more violent and unceasing."
The ring stopped twirling.
M records the messages on her built in comm unit, not understanding either of the voices but wanting to study the language later.
M walks over to twirl a third ring for further recording.
The third ring is in elvish, and it's a woman's voice:
"The people would not listen to the prophets and the wars became more intense. Those that listened built starships to leave us to our fate. We tried to stop them, through politics and laws, but they could not be deterred. They built themselves starships and blasted off leaving us to our fate. Our scientists started building atomic bombs to use on other nations."
"Are there any remnants of the before times? Studying them might prove to be useful."
Also not understanding the language 6 projects to their companion, "Anyone else understand this? Probably a forsight not to have Elvish ready to understand. Might need to look into technomagic that will help"
M frowns.
"Oversight. I concur. I doubt they'd let us disassemble their rings. 'Sacred ruins' and all that..."
M gives in to her curiosity and begins spinning the other rings to hear each in turn.
"Could we perhaps pause a moment and ask for a running translation?" Retri asked. It would take a little longer to translate through two languages, but they would only need to organise a translator later in any case.
"Yes, a translation into Aklo would be good"
6 also walks closer to these rings and looks them over. Curious if they are mystical or technological, or some hybrid.
"I trust you guys. But maybe our ship computer has a database with languages? We could run it through the lab and see if anything useful comes out. Worst case it's just gibberish, best case the computer comes up with some kind of machine translation which will still offer a second interpretation, even if our host translates into Aklo...", Alyson offers another suggestion.
"Even if it does not manage to understand it now, we should feed additional audio samples to it so that it can begin to analyze the language and possibly map it more accurately at a later time - when we have a few hours to match specific words and structure the grammatical form."
She turns to the Androids:"Computers can do that, right?"