Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 243869 times)

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #540 on:** February 05, 2016, 05:09:24 am »

Quote from: Toaster on February 04, 2016, 04:21:27 pm

Huh. Guess this heightened sense thing doesn't last. Or maybe it comes and goes, staying more the more you're without the sense.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Which way is this well?"

Seek the well. Call into the well looking for head minder girl, and answers of where we are and how to get to Albany.

You start looking for-

[The Well: 5]

-oh, would you look at that! There happens to be a deep, dark hole in the ground unnervingly close to your position. Yet another flagrantly unsafe piece of architecture threatening the safety of the citizenry. Somebody could fall in. Judging by the voices coming from it, you're fairly certain somebody probably has. You lean over the edge, and find to your surprise that the bottom of the well is the best-lit place you've seen in a while. Leaning further down you call for any minders present to show themselves.

You are somewhat surprised when from the well emerges Mr. Daniels. You're fairly sure he's not who you're looking for. And he seems a little preoccupied with trying to win a staring contest with the stygian unknown. Nevertheless, you are about to ask him if he has seen any minders around here when you notice a girl no more than twelve years old down at the bottom of the well, looking up at you.

What do you want? And why are the students with you? She pauses. And why is one of them missing? Her stare becomes considerably more intent.

Quote from: Xantalos on February 04, 2016, 04:34:13 pm

"Don't be trying to exploit me or I'll crush your skull. Not that I'm trying to be antagonistic, it's just really easy to make threats when you can do things like that. It's an empowering feeling.

That said, I'm getting a wee bit bored here and I need to see if that blacksmith's still alive. One second."

Go climb up the chain and observe what kind of apocalyptic scenario the sun guy inflicted upon us.

You climb up the chain without even a hint of trouble. Much to your chagrin, however, the apocalypse visited upon Anglefork Castle isn't exactly a pretty one. It's dark, it's kind of cold. That's about all you can tell about it in these lighting conditions. Oh, and Mr. Minstep seems to be walking around with some children and also an armed guard. Which of these is more unusual you cannot rightly say.

You suppose if there was ever an appropriate time to stumble blindly into adventure, the pitch-black night certainly seems to offer plenty of opportunity.

Quote from: Dermonster on February 04, 2016, 04:34:47 pm

"Moon rock, could really use your help about now...?"

if that doesn't work, head upstream. Maybe there's a bridge?

Maybe you can reawaken the loyalty of your moon rock. Maybe you can still fly away. The dream!

MOON

[Word: 2]

Your moonstone appears to disagree. It knows only to orbit ever faster. You're not sure it even knows you're there save as the axis around which it must move in a slowly heightening orbit. It has an intimidating lack of comprehensibility to it now. You elect to ignore it for now and try to find a bridge.

[The Dark Fields: 6]

Fortunately, the half-finished bridge is easy to find. Unfortunately the reason for this is because it is on fire, having been set ablaze by the same blind-fired sunbeam that got much of the surrounding forest. The last bits of wooden scaffolding are starting to fall apart by the edges, a few frankly miserable stoatmen trying to put out as much of the shoreside structure as they can with buckets of river water. They seem to have gotten as far as pouring enough water on the stone foundation that it seems to not be terribly liquid anymore. You suspect this is a vast improvement over their previous situation.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on February 04, 2016, 04:46:36 pm

Oh wow, I thought this guy was dead. I'm not sure if I can help him, though. I walk up to him and try to examine him as well as I can.

[Blind Medicine: 3]

Yeah, you'd say he seems pretty badly burned, judging from his reaction to being poked with your foot. You know what they say about playing with fire. Though it's kind of impressive he made it in here.

You guess if you had some ointment handy you could do something about him. Failing that, magic. You do have a new word kind of itching there in the back of your skull. That could probably come in handy. Or is that just what it wants you to think? You're not sure.

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on February 05, 2016, 03:16:47 am

Fall over and rest. This arterial bleeding is bothering me.

Sleeping on the problem is always an option, given that nothing is exploding yet. So you spread out your arms and fall on your face freely. The fall dislodges the shard of glass in your neck. The soothing rhythm of arterial blood loss helps you relax as you let the troubles of the world bother you no longer.

Some two minutes later (no longer - you are a busy man, of course, and wasting time is not in your interest), you dare say you feel much better. Your neck's scabbed over. You've got less blood weighing you down. Your body's much more relaxed. And you're sure all of the previous makes perfect sense. Time to get back to work!

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Xantalos · « **Reply #541 on:** February 05, 2016, 05:12:12 am »

"Why hello there, other guy. What's going on? Why the no sun? Someone set off a magical nuke and now dust is clouding out the sun or something?"

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #542 on:** February 05, 2016, 06:50:47 am »

Hm, I don't know if I can reconcile this word with healing. Maybe... I lay my hands on the priest and picture the disarray that his body is in, even his cells thrown into disorder by the heat. "End this CHAOS."

Dermonster · « **Reply #543 on:** February 05, 2016, 07:58:31 am »

Welp. Time to go completely bonkers.

Position myself straight on at the bridge. Sprint towards it, and MOONjump over the river. Make sure I do it in a fashon where I can continue sprinting if I fail the word or land on the bridge if the word fails mid river.

Toaster · « **Reply #544 on:** February 05, 2016, 09:57:21 am »

Thomas barely registers Mr. Daniels. "An eclipse, I guess." His full attention is gathered by the girl in the well.

"Your tower is a dangerous operation! No handrails, fire extinguishers, stairs, adult supervision... it's a wonder this whole operation hasn't gotten shut down! Totally uninsurable. They're with me because when the tower started to collapse, we had to evacuate them. And... one of them was injured, I think. Stayed behind in the tower. You know, we had to catch them as they jumped; it's a miracle no one else was hurt!"

Sighing, he shook his head.

"That all said, I am told you are some sort of keeper of knowledge. Do you know how to get to Albany from here?"

Xantalos · « **Reply #545 on:** February 05, 2016, 10:26:30 am »

"Wait, you mean like Albany New York?"

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #546 on:** February 05, 2016, 10:50:01 am »

Time to game the system. Leif walks back into the darkness.

"Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Time for business. I offer one connection.
My question is this: What are the questions I need to ask to gain superiour knowledge of minding?
My desire is this: To know answers for those questions.

Alternatively, if you don't fully permit that, I want to know what you are and I desire realization of my potential to alter reality. You know, the thing that is more advanced than minding.

Oh, by the way, how many connections I have left to trade? I'm guessing seven. Am I right?"

((Just thought about it but is this game perhaps related to that song? I see many connections with the lyrics.))

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #547 on:** February 06, 2016, 07:07:35 am »

Quote from: Xantalos on February 05, 2016, 05:12:12 am

"Why hello there, other guy. What's going on? Why the no sun? Someone set off a magical nuke and now dust is clouding out the sun or something?"

Mr. Minstep appears to be of little help in these matters as well as somewhat preoccupied as he talks at the minder girl, who merely stares and gestures at him intently. Somehow you suspect he knows even less than you do. An overachiever in ignorance, it seems.

Whether he really is on about Albany, New York is a good question, however. It'd be something of a coincidence if there was an Albany here, too. But then, isn't there at least one Albany in every U.S. state? Some of them actually named after Albanies in other states. Township incorporation is a grim and incestuous business, possibly sufficiently so to cross even time, space and manifold astronomical improbability.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on February 05, 2016, 06:50:47 am

Hm, I don't know if I can reconcile this word with healing. Maybe... I lay my hands on the priest and picture the disarray that his body is in, even his cells thrown into disorder by the heat. "End this CHAOS."

Worst comes to worst, scratch one priest. And the anticipatory itch in the back of your skull is growing unbearable.

CHAOS

[Word: 3]

The priest's low prayers stop as a screech builds up in his throat, his limbs flailing, his back arching as he undergoes a full-body tetanic contraction. It sounds extraordinarily painful. Good thing it only lasts for a second. You're fairly certain the poor man couldn't handle much longer than that. As the injured man relaxes over the next minute, you notice he's stopped making any noises. Worried, you poke him with your foot again. He asks who's there, and also what devilry is this.

Well. You don't think he got better, strictly speaking. But he's definitely conscious now. And less noisy. Might just be because he seems quite intimidated by your combination of unknown magic and the all-consuming darkness around him.

Quote from: Dermonster on February 05, 2016, 07:58:31 am

Welp. Time to go completely bonkers.

Position myself straight on at the bridge. Sprint towards it, and MOONjump over the river. Make sure I do it in a fashon where I can continue sprinting if I fail the word or land on the bridge if the word fails mid river.

The stoats will never expect this, you bet. You take off at a sprint toward the bridge and prepare for the longest jump of your life. As you get closer to the edge and are about to leap you start to form the word.

MOON

[Word: 3]

You jump! And you fly! And... you think you're not going to make it. The angle's a bit wrong. The word didn't feel right. But you're mid-air now. And you did have the presence of mind to steer yourself on a course that wouldn't take you straight into deep waters. Instead you aimed yourself at one of the half-built, quarter-destroyed supports jutting out of it. It was a simple matter, since the wooden tips of them are still on fire.

[Safe Landings: 1]

Come to think of it, maybe aiming yourself at something on fire wasn't a great idea. This impression is confirmed when the word runs out and you impact the remains of the support beam sharply, a selection of smoldering splinters of several sizes and extractions embedding themselves into your delicate flesh as wood disintegrates against heat-warped, but nevertheless unyielding stone block beneath.

On the other hand, you didn't fall into the river! So that's kind of a victory. You groan and roll on your back, soaking your feet in the river for a moment as you get your bearings. You become aware of the firefighting stoats on the side of the river you came from. They seem to have interrupted their efforts, being a lot more interested now in who the hell you're supposed to be. An armored stoat indecisively trains its crossbow on you. It's probably supposed to shoot you, it thinks. So better to be safe than sorry.

Quote from: Toaster on February 05, 2016, 09:57:21 am

Thomas barely registers Mr. Daniels. "An eclipse, I guess." His full attention is gathered by the girl in the well.

"Your tower is a dangerous operation! No handrails, fire extinguishers, stairs, adult supervision... it's a wonder this whole operation hasn't gotten shut down! Totally uninsurable. They're with me because when the tower started to collapse, we had to evacuate them. And... one of them was injured, I think. Stayed behind in the tower. You know, we had to catch them as they jumped; it's a miracle no one else was hurt!"

Sighing, he shook his head.

"That all said, I am told you are some sort of keeper of knowledge. Do you know how to get to Albany from here?"

The tower started to collapse? Oh crap. She's been in charge of it for less than a day. She rushes up to your level, her shape becoming clearer as she floats up urgently, stepping out by the side of the well. Okay. You have her full attention. You... hm.

She looks at the tower. It seems unusually visible suddenly. It doesn't look like it's collapsing, truth be told. Though the roof is missing, this she will admit. Phew. It's not as bad as it seems, she assures you. She can fix this. She seems to repeat this to the children, who look at her attentively, a slightly glazed look settling over them again.

Okay. So, er, does she know how to get to Albany? You haven't found much in the way of helpful information, and she has been implied to be knowledgeable in such matters. This gives the girl some pause.

[Alien Geographies: 6]

Albany, she says. Albany, you confirm. Albany, capital of New York of the United States of America, on the continent of North America, on planet Earth. Third planet from the sun, in the solar system. You don't really mean to snark, honestly, but the feckless look on her face is just asking for it.

... how many planets are there, she asks after a moment's thought? You answer eight. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. You went to school, thank you very much.

That does sound very familiar, she says. The planets, she means. You start to sigh in frustration, but an image interrupts you. In the girl's hands is a sphere of light. The sun. She points to a point of light in the far distance. Earth. Third planet from the sun. It draws closer, a miniature representation of a shape you know rather well - a stylized globe orbited by the moon. Both lack details, the outlines of the continents a bit lazily done, if entirely recognizable.

This is where you're from, she says, seeking confirmation. You and the others, including Mr. Daniels over here?

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on February 05, 2016, 10:50:01 am

Time to game the system. Leif walks back into the darkness.

"Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Time for business. I offer one connection.
My question is this: What are the questions I need to ask to gain superiour knowledge of minding?
My desire is this: To know answers for those questions.

Alternatively, if you don't fully permit that, I want to know what you are and I desire realization of my potential to alter reality. You know, the thing that is more advanced than minding.

Oh, by the way, how many connections I have left to trade? I'm guessing seven. Am I right?"

((Just thought about it but is this game perhaps related to that song? I see many connections with the lyrics.))

A low drone of anticipation welcomes you. While the well may hunger eternally, it is always more efficient to deal with someone familiar with protocol.

Your fulfillment: you are already compatible with more fundamental avenues of reality alteration (see magic, words, universality of language). Realization of your potential is most easily performed by giving you words to operate with. Choose one of three: INEVITABLE, PAROXYSM, DISCONNECT.

Your answer: formless, irrespective of space (see magic, extraspatial interactions, superuniversal cohabitations). Timeless, unknowable in terms of causality (see creator, creation, original truth). Foreign, entirely unbound by the four dimensions your template knows (see perception, frame of reference, four-vector). Curious, fascinated by the unknown (see connections, exchange, eternal hunger). Kin, closer to you than you are to those you superficially resemble (see template, interpreter, substrate).

Your price: a connection now belongs to the well. Two remain.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #548 on:** February 06, 2016, 08:18:18 am »

"Hey, don't worry, I'm here to help. My name's Eileen. You're a priest, right? The whole castle has been veiled in pure darkness. Would you know anything about that?"

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #549 on:** February 06, 2016, 08:40:58 am »

"Huh, so I'm not exactly what I thought I am? Interesting. Hmm, let me think a moment on those words..." Leif sits down to ponder this.

"I think INEVITABLE is more along what I want. More constructive than others."

Take Word, bid farewells, get out and up aboveground where most interesting people are. Observe.

Toaster · « **Reply #550 on:** February 06, 2016, 11:36:12 am »

Thomas sighs again. This act of everyone else was grating on him. "Yes, of course I am from there. And Mr. Daniels. And you and everyone else, but everyone but me seems willing to pretend otherwise. At least you're good at staying in character. I would just like to get home!"

Confirm for her.

Dermonster · « **Reply #551 on:** February 06, 2016, 12:23:30 pm »

Hey guess who just got a face full or dust and/or darkness? YOU! MOON!

Alternatively, move to the orbiting rock smushed him.

Then run like fuck.

Xantalos · « **Reply #552 on:** February 06, 2016, 01:20:15 pm »

"We don't have stoatmen at home, now do we? But yes, we're from that place. You could make the continents a bit better done, but yeah."

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #553 on:** February 07, 2016, 04:00:00 pm »

Quote from: penguinofhonor on February 06, 2016, 08:18:18 am

"Hey, don't worry, I'm here to help. My name's Eileen. You're a priest, right? The whole castle has been veiled in pure darkness. Would you know anything about that?"

[Ad Hoc Mysticism: 6]

Pure darkness? Oh no. Oh dear. Child, do you not know the signs? It is the doom of the sun you observe, when the sky lies empty and all light must die. The emergence of the Child of the Sun and Moon... why, it was indeed a portent. But not for what he hoped it would be.

Oh, child, it is a terrible thing you have revealed to him. The apocalypse is upon you all. The dark and the cold will consume all, and everyone and everything will die far away from the guarding light of their celestial progenitors. It will be a slow and horrible death. Not for everyone, of course. Some will persist for very long indeed. But these are the people who will come to envy the dead, he assures you. It is a thing that has been sung about for ages. And now it's here.

You can't say that's very heartening news, and the priest agrees. He does however have a suggestion. You skeptically ask him what that might be, and he says it's prayer. You raise an eyebrow, and somehow you think he notices despite the complete darkness. No, no, not the sort you usually do. Mass prayer. Skyward exhortations. Promises of debts that will persist for generations. These are the things that may call the Sun. Or the Moon. Really, either would be a massive improvement at this point.

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on February 06, 2016, 08:40:58 am

"Huh, so I'm not exactly what I thought I am? Interesting. Hmm, let me think a moment on those words..." Leif sits down to ponder this.

"I think INEVITABLE is more along what I want. More constructive than others."

Take Word, bid farewells, get out and up aboveground where most interesting people are. Observe.

The word slinks its way down your spine, filling you with a deathly stillness as it settles in your bones. What a strange feeling. The well does not remark upon anything, so you assume this is normal and step out of the door.

Thank you. Please come again.

Noticing that nobody appears to be around anymore, you climb up the chain. You don't really see anything up here as you emerge. Like, anything at all. But you do hear Mr. Daniels say something. And Mr. Minstep also seems to be volunteering some choice words. Seems like they're coming to some sort of arrangement with the minder girl. You listen in carefully... hm.

[Tricks of the Mind: 3]

You think you see something at work here. The girl's mind looks quite odd. A little shapeless. Malleable. Flexible. And covered in tendrils. One touches you, and you reflexively form an equal and opposite mind tendril to slap it away. You feel her recoil a little at the rebuke.

Quote from: Toaster on February 06, 2016, 11:36:12 am

Thomas sighs again. This act of everyone else was grating on him. "Yes, of course I am from there. And Mr. Daniels. And you and everyone else, but everyone but me seems willing to pretend otherwise. At least you're good at staying in character. I would just like to get home!"

Confirm for her.

[Minder's Counsel: 2]

Huh. So that's what that image was, she guesses. Not that this is very helpful. But it does seem to make a little more sense now. You ask her what 'it' is in this case, and she thinks for a second.

You know, she thinks that's a good point you raise. It doesn't really make more sense than it did before. After all, you're obviously an alien anyway. And she already knew the hidden brought you in here to begin with. You wouldn't happen to know anything actually useful, would you?

Quote from: Dermonster on February 06, 2016, 12:23:30 pm

Hey guess who just got a face full or dust and/or darkness? YOU! MOON!

Alternatively, move to the orbiting rock smushed him.

Then run like fuck.

You don't relish the thought of being shot at while standing atop a stony platform in the middle of a highly unpleasant river. So you try to give your stoatman oppressors some pause.

MOON

[Word: 6]

The flames illuminating the stoats observing you flicker from natural orange to unearthly silver, startling the bridge crew quite thoroughly. They stand there a moment, regarding this sudden lapse of reasonable physics. A minder trick? A twist of fate? A trick of the light?

None of the above, you respond as a tidal wave of dust sweeps over them from behind, breaking the last remnants of the shoreside bridge scaffolds, the razor-sharp particles lacerating them, tearing the flesh from their bones as their bodies plummet into the water. As the sudden storm front blasts toward you, you get the feeling some form of protection may be in order.

[Extraordinary Dodge: 4]

You slip off the support and into the surrounding water, grabbing hold of the stone as you submerge and holding your breath for about a minute before you feel safe in emerging once more. The water is still as unpleasant as ever, you notice, but at least this doesn't catch you by surprise this time.

Standing up on your little stone island in the middle of the river, you consider the surrounding area. Namely, that you can only barely see a little bit of light far off to one side, the one where you recall the other side of the river being, and the rest is mostly pitch black and deathly quiet. You're guessing the dust wave must not have been very conducive to the forest fire, which you would describe as an unusually fortuitous turn of events. On the other hand, you are standing mostly blind on an uncomfortably small stone platform in the middle of a raging highlands river, so perhaps your escape will not be so easy after all. At least you're not being shot at anymore.

Quote from: Xantalos on February 06, 2016, 01:20:15 pm

"We don't have stoatmen at home, now do we? But yes, we're from that place. You could make the continents a bit better done, but yeah."

The minder girl looks at you, surprised. You saw that, she says incredulously. Yes, you say. She was just showing it off, wasn't she? She thinks on this for a second, then gives up on figuring it out. If only you provided half as many answers as you raised questions, she mutters.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Xantalos · « **Reply #554 on:** February 07, 2016, 04:07:29 pm »

"Endless questions indeed, and answers in such short supply. Anyhow, I'm off to find the blacksmith, who hopefully hasn't died in whatever happened up here. Wish me luck!"

Attempt to use my memory of how things are laid out and possibly whatever I can see to get to the blacksmith's place.

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Author Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 243869 times)

Harry Baldman

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Dermonster

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Toaster

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

AoshimaMichio

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Harry Baldman

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

AoshimaMichio

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Toaster

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Dermonster

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Harry Baldman

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Sun's Doom