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"Unfriendly company, in any case," Aerik said, commanding the local vegetation to turn upon the onrushing group. A non-lethal option to begin with, to give their assailants a chance to reconsider their course of action. At the very least, it would slow and break up the charge.
Have you considered copying and pasting your character sheet across to your alt account in the interim, Cal? That's a definite no for me with regards to the blue row. I confess I wasn't really going for optimum combat stats. I'll have to do a bit of investigating and see if there are any relatively simple fixes.
"I think at the least, he's decided we're potential friends, and has tried to give us a sense of his prowess." At least, that was how Aerik interpreted the illusory display. The city might speak to his origins, though if so, it was no place Aerik was familiar with. From the expression on the person's face, Aerik had the impression that he expected to be able to speak but was having difficulty bringing forth any sounds, so it didn't seem like a simple issue of a language barrier. As such, he wasn't sure the book would be any help.
Still around, but I need to work on posting at a reasonable rate.
"Hm. Can you understand me at all?" Aerik gave the newcomer a brief opportunity to in some way respond. Working through language barriers was something he had some experience with. "If you're having difficulty with the language, we could prevail upon the local Aeon priest to let you read a book which might help." It seemed the book would be the simplest solution to quickly and efficiently teaching this person a common language. Working through the process from scratch would be doable but time-consuming.
Aerik let the others carry on ahead, his attention distracted by the person miming distress with apparent enthusiasm. Between this, the garbled noises he'd been making a moment ago and the clothing which seemed to have fritzed out of existence, Aerik was leaning towards distress. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern evident.
"I believe we have both the academic and the sell-sword angles covered," Aerik said as he walked towards the inn with the others, "And perhaps some others, as well. We will have to see whether anybody is heading in the right general direction." He doubted they'd find anybody traveling all the way to Qi. At least not directly.
"Flying has its advantages, but I find you often learn more on a journey by walking the land on the way to your destination," Aerik said, "I could also carry you if the need arose though." Like the others, he hadn't prioritised learning flight spells.
Sounds like a plan. It'll certainly be a long way around to get back, but such is life.
"Given their past experiences, I doubt they'd accept our pledge to search for the Night Lady after getting what we want," Aerik said, "If we are to make the attempt, why not make it before seeking entry?"
"In fairness," Aerik noted, "The Spinner did provide Thane with directions, which might cast her as an ally. We could speak to her about providing restitution." His impression was that the Spinner had known Thane's intent quite well when she gave those directions.
Aerik considered for a few moments, before deciding to cross the river himself. He would soon find out if whoever was behind the rampart was hostile or not (assuming of course that they were keeping a watch on the river). Although they were making a racket, it was difficult to tell what the aim was. Accordingly, Aerik took to the air himself, accompanied by the gentle thrum of some concealed mechanism, and skimmed above the surface of the water towards a spot a little downstream of the earthworks.
Having appointed himself as rear guard, Aerik kept an eye out for trouble, or any oddities in the local environment, following along as and when the others decided to make a move. He was confident in the group's ability to deal with most mundane dangers, and would voice no objections to proceeding.
"As I think on it," he said, "I've heard that travelers in this area have been known to disappear after being lured from the path by voices from the mists. Though whether remaining on the path provides true security I could not say." Rather embarrassingly, his initial move to follow Arc had already carried him a short distance off the path. He was inclined to stay close to it at the very least, though remaining with the group and providing support to them would take priority if it came to a choice. It seemed increasingly unlikely to him that there was anybody in need of rescue. He had one promising thought about how to deal with the voice, and for now attempted to localise where it had come from.
"It has the feel of a trap," Aerik observed, "We might seek to defang the trap, but it may not do any lasting good." Alerted to the danger now, he considered whether the available information matched the profile of any of the creatures with which he was familiar.
Aerik followed, though he held off on drawing a weapon. Not every call for help required fighting, and an armed band bursting out of the woods might not be terribly reassuring.
Sounds like a plan.
Aerik frowned thoughtfully, "I wonder if it is a coincidence that an area of silence surrounds a building containing an entity described only according to the sound it makes. Something to consider, though perhaps not to rely upon." A shifting structure would no doubt make exploration tricky, at least according to standard methods. Outside the box thinking would be necessary.
Sorry to see you go. In many ways it's a bit more difficult for amnesiac characters without known backstories, as it's not necessarily easy to come up with a sensible (or perhaps not so sensible) reason to involve them with a random group of people who're huddled together discussing whether they're going to embark on a perilous expedition to retrieve the consciousness of a rather large, imprisoned entity.
"The young will often push boundaries," Aerik observed, "Perhaps we will be able to render the tower more of a known quantity, even if it remains unsafe." Relics of the ancient world were seldom entirely benign, and a portal to the datasphere would surely not improve the tower's safety.
"I imagine so," Aerik said, following up with a question for the group, "Do you have any objections to my accompanying you? Having weighed in on the Spinner's fate, I feel a responsibility to see the matter through."
Aerik took an interest in the Aeon Priest's reaction to the tale. The revelation of Cigar Thane's true origins seemed to have hit him hard, but whether that talk of true threats had made an impression... well, time would tell. Not that a personal revelation was likely to change anything much overall, of course. Personally, he thought pressing the Spinner for gifts might be pushing things a little, but he wasn't the one handling the negotiations.
"No cage holds forever," Aerik observed, "Better, I think, to free the Spinner now and see what comes of it than to leave the situation to others to deal with further down the timestream."
Hello all, good to be on board. So, the summary: Aerik hails from the northern lands of Lostrei, whose inhabitants subscribe to animism, egalitarianism and probably a few other things ending in ism which rub the people of Steadfast the wrong way. He's a friendly, helpful sort who's experiencing a bit of culture shock, having been sent on a mission to a nation full of mortal enemies he never knew he had. As a techno-druid, Aerik's skill-set embraces mechanical automata as part of nature's rich tapestry, to be studied and understood (and perhaps influenced or befriended) much as biological creatures are. Having been uploaded into an android body relatively early in his career, he has considerable insight into the mechanical denizens of the Ninth World. Aerik's body is clearly constructed in the image of a young adult (and in fact resembles his pre-upload body), complete with all the unique physical quirks and imperfections inherent in biological humanity. His skin resembles jade inlaid with silver tracings reminiscent of tattoos or circuitry. He typically wears practical outdoor clothing, combined with a cloak of colourful metallic feathers. Build-wise, Aerik uses an Arcanist / Druid gestalt, which gives him potential access to a wide range of offensive or utility spells (including more or less spontaneous casting of cure spells), and he has the ability to learn spells by seeing them cast thanks to one of those horrifically overpowered feats. He can fill the role of wilderness guide quite capably, and can potentially turn his hand to repairing or repurposing automata or salvaged items. No animal companion or expensive gear at present.
"I shall take that advice to heart," Aerik said, his face reflecting his surprise and worry that so simple a thing might see him branded as the eternal foe of all things good in the world, "It would not do to be mistaken for such an enemy." Even based on a brief conversation, he was not forming a favourable opinion of Ismin or the Order of Truth. It was a welcome distraction to see two people drop out of the sky across the way. If nothing else, it provided an opportunity to gather his thoughts while he glanced over at the commotion.
"Aerik Sult, of the Druidic Order of Harnessed Entropy," Aerik introduced himself politely, looking past the threshold with interest. It was reassuring to know that wherever one went in the world, however unsettling the people, there would always be places of mystery. The world was ancient beyond imagining and full of more wonders than one could see across many lifetimes of seeking. "You are correct," he continued, "I arrived in town just yesterday, following the guidance of the spirits."
Aerik opted for the direct approach, walking up to the pair and saying, in all seriousness, "Good morning. Is the Conjugatorium open to visitors?"
Under the circumstances, Aerik felt obliged to investigate the strange goings-on. The spirits had guided him here after all, and placed him in a position to observe these events on his very doorstep. It would be foolish indeed to ignore such promptings. Slinging on his usual gear, Aerik made his way out of the building in a leisurely fashion, crossing the street to investigate the Conjugatorium and the motley crew within. Of course, Aerik himself probably fit the definition of motley, given his mechanical nature, jade skin and cloak of colourful metallic feathers.
I'll go with the native of Lostrei option. Character sheet and background adjusted accordingly.
I could go either way, to be honest. I'd assumed the amnesiac option when building my character sheet, but paging through my books, Aerik would fit very well as a native of Lostrei. With that in mind, I might shuffle my skills about a little to add some knowledge skills pertaining to the modern world, include some basic equipment and amend / flesh out his background.
Here we go, one more or less complete character sheet for your consideration. It's looking a bit untidy at the moment, so I might do a bit of reformatting, add some more links in as I go and so forth. I do miss being able to put my math in OOC tags. I have included a custom techno-druid archetype to fit with my chosen theme. I think it's balanced, particularly since there's a bit of overlap with other selections I've made. Probably the major question to be resolved is whether I'd be okay to treat low-intelligence constructs as animals for the purposes of the druid spell list. I'm still pretty early in my playthrough of Torment: Tides of Numenera. It should be interesting to see how it contrasts with this game.
Still working up the stats, but my background's done. Answers to the questions: 1. Who are you and where are you from? My name is Aerik Sult, scholar of history and servant of knowledge. I hail from Odranto, in the north of Ustalav. 2. How were you acquainted with Professor Lorrimor? I was a student of the professor's. Quite a few years ago, as I think on it. Nonetheless, I remember him fondly, and his loss diminishes us all. 3. How would you describe your personality? I think of myself as a driven man, devoted to my chosen fields of study. Otherwise, friendly enough, I suppose. 4. Do you buy into the superstitious paradigms of the denizens of Ustalav? Well, no. Unfortunately, superstition is all a great many people have left. We were so much more once, and could be again. |
