Trial by Fire - IC Thread

[Random Word]

"Me? Oh, the ice will kill you as surely as any ghost if you don't take the right precautions. People all over Creation live in dangerous places, but the very fact they live there means you'll be fine so long as you follow the local customs. We won't be the first people to visit Sijan and live to tell the tale, nor the last, so long as we do as the locals do."

Maja drinks in the sights, sounds, and smells of the market, trying street food, trying on new coats to replace blood-soaked one she's kept rolled in a ball, and trying on new jewelry. She admires much, buys little, and pays less - she doesn't want to waste the money Spider pulled from the wreckage, and since Luna washed away all her imperfections she's found it easier than ever to win herself a sweetheart deal.

She keeps a weather eye out on the behaviour of everyone around her in the market to better adopt the local customs. It wouldn't do to get herself attacked by a ghost after being so blasé about it.

Spoiler: OOC

4m peripheral on Perception Excellency
5 Perception + 3 Awareness + 2 Fox Ears + 4 Excellency +? 2 stunt
Ignore the last 2 or 4 dice if stunt or hearing does not apply.

Wow, ears and stunt carried 5/7 successes. I can't roll to save my life this game.

 

[Sherwood]

As you wander about the city, Thallus is asking about a library or bookstore and doesn't notice this, but the others do manage to see that after about a half hour or so, you have a trio of people that seem to be paying a lot of attention to you. They follow at a discreet distance, but the longer you watch, it becomes clear that they are indeed tailing you. The trio are two men and one woman, and all three are wearing ponchos over their armor, but you can catch the occasional glimpse of metal, indicating that they do have something on them. Plus, you can tell they are carrying swords or cudgels of some sort.

 

[jaydude]

As they walked together, Kuaidao would lean close to whisper into Maja's ear. "That trio of people that have been tailing us - I know that you've noticed them as well - anything you want to do about them? I'm thinking we just turn around and ask what they want with us, but I'm open to other suggestions about how to handle this."

 

[D. Rex]

Sherwood Would I have been able to make a Read Intention action on if they are looking to harm us?

 

[Sherwood]

Sherwood Would I have been able to make a Read Intention action on if they are looking to harm us?

You can attempt it, but there are going to be some modifiers since you are only looking at them from a distance.

 

[Psychie]

Spider does her best to keep an eye on them without being too obvious. "We can just confront them and see what they want. If they are criminals, they'll probably scatter since they'll know we are on to them."

 

[D. Rex]

Read intention.

5mt socialize Excellency (personal)

9 successes

 

[Sherwood]

Bard can definitely tell that these three are very focused on you, but you have the suspicion that these are not criminals, but instead, they strike you as law enforcement. They have probably caught sight of the lot of you with your armor and weapons, and want to make sure that you are not up to no good.

 

[D. Rex]

"They carry themselves like guards. I've seen my fair of the law strutting their stuff in taverns. They dont likely get a lot of armed and armored up folk here. They might think we are pirates or worse."

 

[Random Word]

Maja doesn't glance up from the market stall overflowing with strings of ritual prayer beads before her, "Mmhmm. They don't seem to be our excellent friends the inconsiderate horsemen, and they're breathing, so maybe the market guard? I'm not armed, so presumably they're frightened of you. We'll just have to explain what a sweetheart you are under that rugged exterior."

 

[Psychie]

Feeling somewhat relieved that this is probably not going to end up in bloodshed, she pauses in her examination of the wares at the stall and waves at the trio with a smile, motioning them to go ahead and approach if they so wanted. She calls out in Riverspeak, "Hello there! We are not planning on doing any mischief, so why not come over and introduce yourselves?"

 

[jaydude]

Kuaidao let out an amused snort at the mention of a "rough exterior". When Spider called out to the trio, he too would look at them, keeping his expression neutral. He feared that looking too aggressive might provoke them into doing something.

 

[Syvvaris]

"Thank you, kind sir." Thallus clasped his hand and bowed his head slightly to the person who gave him directions to the nearest library. He followed the instructions the citizen of Sijan had gave him, and took in the difference of cultures between Sijan and Nexus had. There was significantly less people, many people wondering in grey robes, and far less noise. Sijan was very different than Nexus, and it was better suited for himself.

Eventually he made his way to the library and took a deep breathe of relief after his first step in the sanctuary of knowledge. He made his way to the first person he perceived as a librarian or caretaker, "Excuse me, I have three requests. Where is the oldest history book you have about Sijan? Do you have a book or map of the north, particularly a map with a small town of Wrangler's Knob is located at? Do you have any spare parchment I may have?"

 

[Sherwood]

Feeling somewhat relieved that this is probably not going to end up in bloodshed, she pauses in her examination of the wares at the stall and waves at the trio with a smile, motioning them to go ahead and approach if they so wanted. She calls out in Riverspeak, "Hello there! We are not planning on doing any mischief, so why not come over and introduce yourselves?"

At Spider's call, the three exchange a look with one another, then one visibly shrugs and they head on over. One of the men takes the lead, and when they get over to the group he says, "Greetings, travelers. I am Corporal Sven of the City Guard, and we noticed that you are wearing weapons and armor that the average person here does not. You say that you are not planning on getting into trouble, but you must pardon me if I do not simply take your word for it. We would be remiss in our duty to the people of this city if we did not take notice and keep track of where you were going. May I ask what your business here in Sijan is?"

"Thank you, kind sir." Thallus clasped his hand and bowed his head slightly to the person who gave him directions to the nearest library. He followed the instructions the citizen of Sijan had gave him, and took in the difference of cultures between Sijan and Nexus had. There was significantly less people, many people wondering in grey robes, and far less noise. Sijan was very different than Nexus, and it was better suited for himself.

Eventually he made his way to the library and took a deep breathe of relief after his first step in the sanctuary of knowledge. He made his way to the first person he perceived as a librarian or caretaker, "Excuse me, I have three requests. Where is the oldest history book you have about Sijan? Do you have a book or map of the north, particularly a map with a small town of Wrangler's Knob is located at? Do you have any spare parchment I may have?"

Stepping into the library, it takes Thallus a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark rooms compared to the bright sunlight outside. Light is being provided by several glowing gemstones that produce a faint pale glow. With your Charms, you can see that there are several ghosts that have manifested themselves inside the building, and as you are looking about for a caretaker, one of them drifts its way over to you. The ghost is a middle aged woman, somewhat frumpy in appearance but not ugly in any sense of the word. She gives you a pleasant smile, and says, "Welcome to the library. I am Anna. You seem to be searching for something. Is there something I can help you with?"

She listens to your requests, nodding as you speak. When done, she says, "There are a great many old texts about Sijan, each covering a different era or topic of our history. Is there something specific you are looking for, so I can help narrow your search? As for maps of the north, yes, we do have some, but I must confess I have never heard of the place Wangler's Knob before. Creation is a very large place, after all, and there are many places I have never heard of. And to answer your last question, yes, we do have a supply of writing materials for people to make copies of texts. If you would come with me?"

Anna guides you to a section of the library with rolled up maps, and asks, "Can you provide any other details on the location that you are interested in?" She pulls out several maps and starts to unroll them on a nearby table.

Syvvaris Please go ahead and give me a Int + Lore roll.

 

[D. Rex]

"Just a quick stop in our travels as our ship does some loading and unloading. Figured we would stretch our legs while we had the chance. And maybe do a little bit of preparation if there were some good prices down here." Bard told them with a smile.

"You see, we are heading North." Bard explained. "Unless something happens, we won't be here too long. A couple hours for the ship to conclude its business, and maybe two or three more if we decide to do some site seeing. Four if there are any good taverns to perform at for some free drinks."

Bard playing it cool. To try and get the guards at ease and to let them feel like they are doing there job and that the posse wasnt any trouble.

 

[Psychie]

Spider nods in agreement. "The world is a dangerous place, and we need to make sure that we can protect ourselves. I assure you, we are not going to start any trouble." She does her best to give an honest appearance, especially since she's telling the truth.

 

[Syvvaris]

It took a couple of blinks before Thallus realized that the woman in front of him was partially see-through. Ah she was a spirit and his awakening had fooled him again in this life, but at least he was half expecting to see the supernatural in this city. The frumpy woman greeted and asked questions he was glad to hear about his own requests, like a proper book enthusiast should. "I would love to find any books that detail anything before the First Age if possible, but if that's not possible... How about the early days of what makes Sijan so unique. The early days of the Mortician Order would be lovely." He specified more towards the two topics he would love to learn about, but the apparition's intuition in leading towards maps was remarkable. "It was worth a shot, but I found this piece of a map in a book and my research says this might be near a town called Wrangler's Knob. My research may be faulty, after all I am an amateur researcher and from Nexus. There's a lot of hands fiddling about the pages in the libraries there." Thallus pulled out the piece of map to try and discern any features in the map Anna rolled out a map of the North. He was glad that he spent time to copy down the piece of the map he held within his journal, just in case he loses this piece in this vast library.

"While I try look at this map and try to find geographical features that match this piece of map. How were you able to get a heavenly job posthumously at a library?" He asked the spirit with a slight smile on his face though his eyes were on the map.

(OOC: A good 5 Success)

 

[HumanPlus]

Rivers watches as her circlemates leaves the boat to seemingly enjoy the otherwise dour city. She, however, is not one for sightseeing and casually perusing stores.

Making sure no one is currently looking, she looks inside herself for the core of one of the beings she has previously hunted and dons the skin of a raven.

She flaps her wings and soars over the dockside buildings and further in over Sijan, drinking in the sight from a bird's eye view. Flying high over the crowds below, brisk wind under her wings, she closes in towards the older part of the city with it's temple-tombs. She blinks her dark bird eyes and opens them to the unseen world behind the veil of spirits, unveiling the many dematerialized ghosts and other minor spirits who wander the streets alongside unwitting humans. Circling different areas, she searches after a place where spirits gather in the hope of finding places where masses of corpses are being processed as to satisfy their wandering ghosts.

Spoiler: ooc

I spend 8 motes from my personal pool. 4 to shapeshift and then i use Perceiving the Hidden World.

Perceiving the Hidden World
Cost: 4m; Mins: Perception 2, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Protean
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: None
The Lunar’s senses awaken to the ephemeral existence of spirits. She can perceive (but not touch) dematerialized entities.
Protean: In animal forms with sense-enhancing Merits, the Lunar intuits whenever a dematerialized spirit comes within long range, prompting her to use this Charm if she chooses.

 

[Sherwood]

Corporal Sven eyes the group, then finally says, "Very well. You may go about your business. Just be aware that the members of the Watch are going to be keeping an eye on you while you are here. We wish to have no trouble in our city. So long as you keep that in mind, you will have no issues with the Watch while you are here. Carry on."

It took a couple of blinks before Thallus realized that the woman in front of him was partially see-through. Ah she was a spirit and his awakening had fooled him again in this life, but at least he was half expecting to see the supernatural in this city. The frumpy woman greeted and asked questions he was glad to hear about his own requests, like a proper book enthusiast should. "I would love to find any books that detail anything before the First Age if possible, but if that's not possible... How about the early days of what makes Sijan so unique. The early days of the Mortician Order would be lovely." He specified more towards the two topics he would love to learn about, but the apparition's intuition in leading towards maps was remarkable. "It was worth a shot, but I found this piece of a map in a book and my research says this might be near a town called Wrangler's Knob. My research may be faulty, after all I am an amateur researcher and from Nexus. There's a lot of hands fiddling about the pages in the libraries there." Thallus pulled out the piece of map to try and discern any features in the map Anna rolled out a map of the North. He was glad that he spent time to copy down the piece of the map he held within his journal, just in case he loses this piece in this vast library.

"While I try look at this map and try to find geographical features that match this piece of map. How were you able to get a heavenly job posthumously at a library?" He asked the spirit with a slight smile on his face though his eyes were on the map.

(OOC: A good 5 Success)

The ghost rubs her chin in thought, then says, "I have several old texts about the Mortician Order that may interest you. I shall gather them while you examine these maps. With luck, you will be able to find the answers you seek."

A few minutes go by before Anna comes back with a pair of texts in her hand. When you ask about her job, she smiles. "Sijan has a special relationship with the departed. We are not looked upon with fear or disgust, but are instead given the same respect and rights as the living. I was a part of the library staff before my heart gave out, and was fortunate enough to know my way around here well enough that when I rose as a spirit, I was able to keep my position."

While she is talking, Thallus does make a discovery. There is a map of the north that does have the location of Wangler's Knob listed on it. It is quite a far distance from Sijan, a place that has snow on the ground for more of the year than they have green grass. By the time you get there, it will still be in the middle of winter, so you'll have to get some good cold weather gear.

Comparing your fragment of map that you found in your initial search in Nexus, your target is even farther north than the town is, and there is no clear roads shown leading to the location of the cache of gear you seek.

Rivers watches as her circlemates leaves the boat to seemingly enjoy the otherwise dour city. She, however, is not one for sightseeing and casually perusing stores.

Making sure no one is currently looking, she looks inside herself for the core of one of the beings she has previously hunted and dons the skin of a raven.

She flaps her wings and soars over the dockside buildings and further in over Sijan, drinking in the sight from a bird's eye view. Flying high over the crowds below, brisk wind under her wings, she closes in towards the older part of the city with it's temple-tombs. She blinks her dark bird eyes and opens them to the unseen world behind the veil of spirits, unveiling the many dematerialized ghosts and other minor spirits who wander the streets alongside unwitting humans. Circling different areas, she searches after a place where spirits gather in the hope of finding places where masses of corpses are being processed as to satisfy their wandering ghosts.

From your vantage point up in the air, Rivers can see that the population of Sijan is quite large, but a huge part of that population is made up of ghosts, and most of them are clearly visible to the living. Much of the city is dedicated to the dead, with many exquisite tombs and temples across the land.

HumanPlus Please give me a Perception + Awareness roll.

 

[jaydude]

With things apparently all cleared up with the city guard, Kuaidao turned to the others.

"I've had an idea." he said. "This city's inhabited by countless ghosts, and I'm wondering if there are any who have been around for centuries, or even millennia. If so, they might recognize my sword or have heard about it in the past, and be able to tell me more about it."

 

[Random Word]

Maja nods, "Oh, of course!" She turns to the keeper of the stall beside them, "Are there any famous ghostly swordsmiths in Sijan, by any chance? Or perhaps a famous chronicler of legends and lore? Someone who would know about things long lost to time."

 

[jaydude]

Kuaidao smiled. "Would you like to join me, Maja?" he asked.

 

[Random Word]

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she says airily, but her significant glance at the sheathed sword and her wry expression somehow unmistakably suggests it's because Kuaidao is going to need someone to watch his back when he flaunts a priceless treasure like that.

 

[Sherwood]

Where does Maja and Kuaidao go to try and find information on the sword? Do you bring the others with you?

jaydude and Random Word


HumanPlus
From your vantage point in the sky, you can see down at the harbor that there is a notable ship coming into dock. It is flying the distinctive flag of the Realm, and it is clearly a warship. It looks like you have company.

 

[jaydude]

Where does Maja and Kuaidao go to try and find information on the sword? Do you bring the others with you?

Kuaidao looked back at the three guardsmen. "Do you know if there are any in this city who might be familiar with artifact weapons? Swordsmiths, loremasters, famous warriors?" he asked, giving them a polite smile "I've got a weapon here that I'd like to know more about, if there are people within this city who are willing to share their knowledge with me."

Bard and Spider would of course be free to accompany him and Maja, if they wanted.