Death of an Artist - Game Thread

[Bozwevial]

"My brother and I have a proposition we'd like to make, if you're interested in helping the citizens of Riedra. It is dangerous, to be certain, but the consequences of inaction would be far, far worse." The first kalashtar looks up towards the mountains, where a series of blinking lights has started again. "Perhaps we may continue our conversation inside? I believe a sandstorm is approaching, and should you agree to assist us, we will be able to begin our travels immediately."

The kalashtar turns to face the mountains, holding a small crystal above his head and squeezing it to produce an answering sequence of lights. A few seconds later, the silver shimmer of the ectoplasmic barrier fades away. The kalashtar bows, ignoring his companion's grim expression. "As a show of good faith..."

[BowenSilverclaw]

"This way please, lads." Lemmy says as he gestures towards the hallway leading towards the lounge.

"Let's talk about how we can help eachother.



Edward, if you'd please be so kind as to embed the ship in the ground so we don't get blown away?"

[spoiler]Using the bound Earth Elemental to bury the keel in the ground so we don't get blown away from our current location due to a sandstorm or something

Not sure if the 'burrow' function allows that, but fuck you, I'm going with the rule of cool [/spoiler]

[Kuroimaken]

"My word, it definitely sounds important." Nax commented in passing. His curiosity was definitely piqued by now. As the newcomer, he tried not to speak for the whole band beyond what he'd done already though.

[PhaedrusXY]

Eddie complies and digs the ship into the ground partially to anchor it in place, but still does not speak and reveal himself to the newcomers. He doesn't trust them at all...

[Bozwevial]

[spoiler]I think this game has already been bent towards the rule of cool anyway. [/spoiler]

Phaedrus:
[spoiler]Whoops, I completely forgot to give you the results of your check.

As far as Eddie and Felix can tell, the kalashtar seems to be telling the truth. What little he's said so far, anyway.[/spoiler]

While Eddie "parks" the ship, the kalashtar follow Lemmy towards the lounge, both taking seats beside each other. Neither speak for a while, though a few significant glances are exchanged. Eleanor slips into the room surreptitiously, resting one hand lightly on Lemmy's shoulder with a faintly worried look. At last, the first of the pair leans forward and begins to speak.

"Are you certain this room is safe from clairsentience, sir...?"

[BowenSilverclaw]

"Yes, don't worry about it. I'm sure you and your companions have noticed there are certain shielded areas on board this ship." Lemmy grins as he pours the pair a glass of scotch each before filling his and Eleanor's glasses.

[Agita]

Lucy claps enthusiastically after Nax's solo, but she seems rather uninterested in negotiations. "Let's have a jelly session!" She looks at the liquor that the grown-ups are drinking with big eyes, and starts pestering Lemmy to give her some too, even though she doesn't really know what it is.

[spoiler]Or was it a marmalade session? I'm sure it was something like that.
Also, I strongly avise against giving Lucy alcohol. Then again, it might be funny. The death, fire, and widespread destruction kind of funny. Note: Alcohol is flammable.
[/spoiler]

[Kuroimaken]

"We definitely should give it a try after this talk, miss Lucy." Nax offered with a smile.

"Pray tell, why are you worried about prying eyes?"

[Bozwevial]

"As you may have already deduced, we are not aligned with the Inspired. Nor are we entirely aligned with the monasteries of Adar--our sympathies lie with the innocents of Riedra. Our organization is little more than an underground resistance force, limited in our operations by the Thousand Eyes. Up until now, we would never have considered an act of this magnitude.

Some information we have gathered in hit-and-fade operations suggests that the Eyes are in the process of constructing a monolith near the edge of the border. It appears to be one of the arrays used to project the Voice across the continent, but much more specialized and delicate. Unlike the others, it can be used to send broadcasts from the Prime, rather than Dal Quor.

We also know that a high-ranking member of the Dreaming Dark is overseeing the construction. He's known for hunting and capturing "altavars," and there may be a few unfortunates on-site.

Our proposal is this: We will assist you in taking the monolith. You can then use it to communicate mentally with the citizens of Riedra. If you played like that for them, I'm sure there would be a shift away from the Path of Inspiration. After you finish, we destroy the array, make our escape, and then comes the matter of payment."

Throughout this speech, the kalashtar's friend has been looking more and more grim, while Eleanor's grip on Lemmy's shoulder has tightened fractionally.

[Agita]

With big eyes, Lucy turns to the silent, grim visitor. "What's an altavar?"

[spoiler]Sense Motive, just in case? Can never be paranoid enough.

Sense Motive (1d20+4=10)[/spoiler]

[Kuroimaken]

"Sounds like the biggest crowd we'd ever be able to play for... If not the most dangerous. What makes you so sure we'd be able to pull this off, if we did?"

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]Eddie will take 10 on a few knowledge checks to see how much he knows of what they're saying:

Eddie: Knowledge (Local, Psionics) 25
Knowledge (Religion, History, Geography) 20

If it would help, I could also "reroll" those with a bonus using "Call to Mind".

I am not familiar with some of what you're talking about OOC, either. So could you mention anything relevant that Eddie would know... [/spoiler]

[Bozwevial]

Phaedrus:
[spoiler]Sarlona is more or less divided into the nations of Riedra, run by the Inspired (and the quori), and Adar, where the kalashtar are constantly fighting off a siege from the Inspired. Riedra is essentially a psionic version of 1984, down to the Thousand Eyes, a network of spies and agents intended to find dissidents and traitors.

The Voice is a psionic telepathic broadcast, projected from Dal Quor straight to the minds of the citizens. The monoliths are thought to help relay these broadcasts, but you can't normally broadcast a message from one of them.

If the Thousand Eyes is the spy network, the Unity is the group in charge of day-to-day activity such as industry and health, and the Harmonious Shield is the military force of Riedra, the Dreaming Dark is the shadowy puppet master pulling all their strings. Most Riedrans have never even heard of the Dark, and wouldn't believe the Inspired were involved if they did. (Riedran citizens as a whole are typically taught to believe in a sort of reincarnation system and are fearful to do anything to soil their spirits--including coming into contact with foreigners.)

The Path of Inspiration is the religious system used to keep the Riedrans in line. Spiritual advancement occurs from life to life, as citizens transform from beast to subhuman to human to changeling to Chosen and so on. The Inspired are the mortal vessels for the resulting great spirit (read: quori). As for an altavar...[/spoiler]

"An altavar," the grim kalashtar says, "is what the Path of Inspiration calls an evil spirit. They are blamed for everything from foreigners to social deviance to failings of the Inspired, and are said to be the source of arcane magic. Just another way for the Inspired to seed fear." He scowls grimly.

After a short pause, his companion says to Nax with a wry smile, "What makes us so sure you could pull this off? Think for a minute. What happened to the Inspired who were running this outpost?"

Agita:
[spoiler]What a nice man he is! You should sit in his lap. [/spoiler]

[Kuroimaken]

"I suppose you have a point. Still, wouldn't a monolith - one currently under construction, no less - be more heavily guarded? This is the frontier after all - the very fame of this place is supposed to keep outsiders at bay."

[Bozwevial]

"The Inspired are always cautious, it is true. However, in this instance, they will be unable to closely examine every single person entering and leaving the area--there will be workers entering and leaving at all times. It would be almost trivial to enter the monolith."

[Kuroimaken]

"What of our instruments? Further, even a casual glance with one's senses tuned to the flow of magic might end revealing us." Nax seemed content to try and poke holes into the Kalashtar's plans, at least as long as his companions would not speak up.

[Bozwevial]

"Magic can be concealed, your instruments can be hidden. The real trouble will come once we enter the monolith itself. It may be more difficult to avoid encountering the Dreaming Dark there, but it is certainly possible. One of our agents has already breached their security and gathered cursory information."

[PhaedrusXY]

Eddie finally speaks up, fulfilling his role as the repository of knowledge that controls the ship. "Let me fill in a few details that our guests are leaving out, for those among us that are not that knowledgeable about the continent.

Sarlona is more or less divided into two nations. The first is Riedra, which is run by the Inspired, and the quori, which are spirits from Dal Quor that interact with our world through the dreams and possession of mortals (mostly humans called "Chosen" which have been bred not to resist). The second is Adar, where the kalashtar are constantly fighting off a siege from the Inspired. The kalashtar, as our guests appear to be, are... were... an offshoot of the Inspired that took a different path. Their quori spirits no longer directly control their actions, but act more as guiding ancestors... I guess you might say.

The Thousand Eyes are a network of spies and agents intended to find dissidents and traitors.

The Voice is a psionic telepathic broadcast, projected from Dal Quor straight to the minds of the citizens. The monoliths are thought to help relay these broadcasts, but you can't normally broadcast a message from one of them.

The Unity is the group in charge of day-to-day activity such as industry and health, and the Harmonious Shield is the military force of Riedra.

The Dreaming Dark is the shadowy puppet master pulling all their strings, the rulers of the Quori. Most Riedrans have never even heard of the Dark, and wouldn't believe the Inspired were involved if they did. Riedran citizens as a whole are typically taught to believe in a sort of reincarnation system and are fearful to do anything to soil their spirits--including coming into contact with foreigners.

The Path of Inspiration is the religious system used to keep the Riedrans in line. Spiritual advancement occurs from life to life, as citizens transform from beast to subhuman to human to changeling to Chosen and so on. The Inspired are the mortal vessels for the resulting great spirit."

The spirit's voice finally takes a short pause, and then addresses the visitors "As to what happened to the Inspired which were controlling this outpost... I see two possibilities.

One: You destroyed them. As a presumably small resistance movement, I'm not sure how or why you'd want to act so openly, or be able to, though. Which leads me to my second hypothesis.

Two: You are simply their puppets, sent to ferret out information from us.

I think we should certainly try and discover which of these is the truth... And I'm afraid that your own "innocence" in the second possibility is hardly enough to convince me that it isn't the correct one. You could certainly be Quori puppets and not even know it. Indeed... those are the best kind."

As Eddie says the last, the gangplank to the ship begins slowly closing, and finishes with a clanging sound as he stops speaking.

[Kuroimaken]

"So how do we ascertain this, and what's more, how do we keep those outside from knowing the strings have been cut should your hypothesis be correct, Eddie?"

[Bozwevial]

The dour kalashtar shrugs at the noise. "Go ahead and probe us. What will it prove? Even if you find nothing, you can still claim we're quori puppets and slay us. Whatever justification is necessary for you to slay us and still sleep peacefully."

His talkative companion looks much less laid back about the situation.