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Sounds interesting. I have never played Dwarf Fortress... is that okay? It also depends on when your recruitment is. I am in the middle of moving right now, but I'll be done and settled in by the 15th. If your recruitment is still going on, I'll check in and see if I can build something cool. :)
I'm still here if it pops back up, but also okay if it doesn't. Sometimes real life just happens. :)
Sorry to hear that. Don't worry about us.
Time to go, I think. Janice thanks the witch and leaves, waiting for the others outside.
Uh-oh. Time to leave. thinks Janice.
Janice is disappointed that the woman can't help her with her magic, but after she hears about the citadel kicking her out literally naked, she is less worried about what they are being asked to retrieve. She still listens carefully for the answer to Gordon's question though, hoping that it will be something innocuous that couldn't possibly do harm.
Steal? No, I... instinctively? Well, kind of. I had to learn how to control the magic sight thing though, and it was hard at first; I was getting headaches. Are you saying I can't actually learn magic... I just have to do it? How do I even know what is possible? When Grendel asks them to return "an item" she says Without knowing what it is, I don't see how we can make that promise. If we find that it is dangerous and evil, we wouldn't really want anyone to have it. Then one phrase hits her a little late. ... Wait... not even your clothes? ... They didn't honestly kick you out naked, did they?
I apologize if I offended you. I am new to this "magic" idea, and I am trying to learn all I can. I was hoping that you would be willing to teach me something.
Janice follows Desmond inside, saying Yes, we came to help Desmond, but we would also like to learn more about this world, if you have things to teach. She pulls up detect magic.
Janice says nothing, waiting for the uncomfortable scene to be over. She isn't sure why Hessin seems to dislike them so much, but she doesn't want to make it worse.
Why did Qualin ask you to escort us if you are so uncomfortable with this?
Janice chuckles. Don't worry. You'll like us soon. We're a joy to be around. She starts singing the theme to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. She wonders, but don't really care all that much, whether it will make him laugh or cringe. ".... please won't you be my neighbor..." Hmm. Maybe I *am* sleep deprived. she thinks.
After waiting for Cooil to translate for Desmond, Janice says So, the witch, then the Citadel, right? Are we waiting for something else? If not, let's get going.
I am fine with a detour. I just don't want to wait long enough to learn the language. I also didn't mean to interrupt. I would like to hear the answer to the rest of Cooil's question. I just wanted to be clear that I don't agree with delaying, or with avoiding the Citadel. We've delayed long enough already.
Janice continues listening, waiting for everyone's questions to be answered. At Cooil's remark however, she says We will never be able to pass as natives, and although some seem to have given up on getting back to our own world, I would prefer to travel to the citadel now, and get answers if they are to be had. Even if the worst is true, and it ends up that we can't get back home, I am not ready to settle on this world out of all the worlds available to us as my new home. If you insist on staying, I will go without you.
That is kind of Elder Gunderi. We accept.
Wow, Desmond. Where did you get that aura?
Still here as well. :)
Janice wonders what the elders will think of the truth, and waits to see how things unfold.
Janice smiles at the idea of being under inspection, and decides that if they are going to be interrogated she may as well be comfortable, so she sits on the ground. Let them play their petty games. This was bigger than one planet and one people, and trying to intimidate her now was laughable.
Janice looks at the Elders with Detect Magic to see if any of them are glowing. She wonders if they are actually going to get any information from this meeting, or if this is just some local ritual where they decide whether or not they like the new people. It seems like a waste of time to her, and she considers sitting down on the ground, but decides not to yet. She'll save that for later. Obviously it is a power play to have some people sit and others stand, so she decides to play the game for now.
Sure. She shoots a ball of acid at a nearby tree.
Wow, how interesting. We definitely need to find out about the sea people. As for traveling this world though... I find myself reluctant to commit to this world when there are so many places in the Nexus... I mean, I'm not saying we shouldn't, but I ... can't commit to staying here and letting go of home, let alone the reality of other worlds. I need to know more.[/b[ [b]So you think that one of the Elders will be of the sea people?
No no, not the monster, the skeleton! You know, the one you put in the hazmat suit? He gives a nervous, lopsided smile. I can see how that... "thing" would stick in your mind more firmly, so I'm not sure if you've forgotten about him. Her. It. Oh, right when we first came through. Sorry. Yeah, that zombie thing was what first came to mind. Well, the skeleton resembled a human very closely, but there were some differences in the bones that didn't match up with any homo sapiens I've seen. It is possible, but unlikely, that it was just a genetic mutation, but I find it more likely that it was a separate, but very similar, species. Why do you ask?
Oh, wow. That seems like so long ago, doesn't it? Actually, whether you would call it a human depends on your perspective. It was... anatomically... a human as far as I could tell, but it was, um, animated without being actually alive. The body was preserved almost perfectly, but it wasn't ... it didn't have the normal ... it just wasn't alive. It wasn't bleeding. It was walking on a broken leg with no pain. There was nothing normal about it from a behavioral or medical perspective, other than anatomy. I know it sounds like a bad B-movie, but it was like a well-preserved mummy got up and started walking around. Plus, although I didn't really know what my sight was back then, it has a dark aura, which I think now is clear that it was magically animated in some way, but truthfully no more alive than Haz-Mat man. Also, unlike ourselves, the undead creature or zombie (I don't know what else to call it) was unable to trigger the door to open or to remain open, which is why its arm was amputated. I still don't know what triggers the doors. It isn't only being human, or the undead creature would have been able to. It isn't just being alive, or these people would be able to. Perhaps it is a combination of those things?
Janice shrugs. Okay. Sorry for reading the situation wrong. If I can do anything for you, please ask.
This must be frustrating for you Jasper, with everyone else getting some kind of magical ... something. Have you developed any new skills? Perhaps yours are different, like reflex or speed or something. From what I can tell, this places enhances our natural abilities or... um, ... desires... in some way...? Maybe we should try sparring, and see if your abilities are enhanced in some martial way. What do you think?
Janice tries to shake hands with Splash.
Janice rolls her eyes at Desmond. Whatever Desmond. You weren't there. Don't lecture me. You're just guessing like the rest of us, and if you want to test one of your pet theories, that's fine, but don't expect me to restrict what I say based on your beliefs. And if the highly doubtful happens and I do somehow grant the nexus consciousness because I ascribed human emotion to it, then I say great. Bring it on. Then maybe I can communicate with it and tell it to take me HOME.
Much better. There seem to be no lingering effects, but it felt like something didn't want us to continue. I am not sure why.
After practicing for most of the day, Janice comes back to the village to see if the rest of the group has learned anything additional about their surroundings. If not, she continues to practice until bedtime... just in sight of the village in case any of her group come by looking.
Luckily none of us have pink hair. :)
Janice learns how to form a small ball of acid and throw it. She relaxes a little, feeling for the first time since leaving earth that she is somewhat less vulnerable. She is hungry to learn more, and continues to practice.
Janice is going to ask Qualin about the dream. Then she is going to work on her magic, trying to immerse herself in that awareness again to see if she can learn more.
Sounds like a teen romance, really. "Love is all you need." Faith is not just hope... it's belief made real, not just because you clap your hands for tinkerbell or some fictional nonsense, but because you are so confident in your belief in something actual that you are willing to act on it and live by it. And that is a power in the lives of those with that confidence, and who have made the effort to find out for themselves, even if the evidence isn't tactile enough for all. You want to rely on yourself, that's great... but God makes me better than I could ever be without him. All of this, around us, this is evidence of something beyond ourselves. Seems a silly time to be arguing against faith.
Yes, absolutely. Detect Magic is very useful. No worries.
Janice, focused inward on the flame suddenly feels a power that she feels she can shape to do whatever she likes. She had been feeling uncomfortable and slightly dirty from "camping" this whole time rather than being in a hotel, and tries to use the small flame to clean herself. The power washes through her, and she feels refreshed and clean. She grins at Qualin. Wow. This is amazing. I feel like I can do almost anything. Well, almost anything small. Thank you so much for showing me this. I will keep working on it.
Janice wasn't concerned. She's just chatting with some of the locals, but she does come over when they wander back in to hear what they have learned, and to share what she and Gordon learned.
Not to me, but this doesn't seem like a very dangerous place. They are likely okay.
I am not sure what we learned. We know that the nexus of worlds or doors or whatever we are calling it is vast, but perhaps also that there is something guarding it... either trying to prevent us from reaching certain doors, or from knowing the bounds of the place, or the universe? I have no idea why an invisible force would fight us in there... what we were doing was harmless. But perhaps we were about to discover something we shouldn't, or the entity/force is trying to guide us in another direction? ... I don't have any conclusions--only questions. As to the nature of the place, I am not sure we gained any additional information. We knew that some people could come in, that disasters could happen... I think that the desert door showed us that. But the blackened area, that was ... I don't know how that happened, but it is a power much stronger than we could face alone. But that just reinforces the fact that we already knew there was danger. ... Your thoughts? I do know that I don't want to just give up and go native here as others seem to be doing. There have to be other places or people who can trigger the doors, and help us learn more. I'm not against helping these people and learning from them at all, of course. I just don't want to stay. Does that make sense?
Janice agrees, and Gordon and Janice head back to the village.
Gordon, something is fighting us in here, do you feel it? It doesn't seem like this place ends anyway... or at least it's too big for us to explore alone. We can keep going if you want, but I can't "Detect Magic" anymore, or focus very well.
Yes, of course, let us continue.
To Gordon:
A few questions 1. Are the circles also destroyed in the area where the door was ruined?
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