Start of #Odal buffer: Tue Aug 04 13:17:56 2009 [18:56:05] * When we last left our heroes, they had driven off the dragon that tried to eat them, and stole his life's savings as compensation [18:56:18] * We rejoin our adventure already in progress [18:56:59] * Mechazawa (rustangel@ip-117-113.atvci.net) has joined #Odal [18:57:12] * Mechazawa is now known as Xan [19:00:11] * Having defeated a dragon, Cecil, in knight-errant fashion hops off, having thanked the party for their assistance. Man, the feywild is WEIRD. [19:01:26] * Eve_Kasnora watches the frog-man hop off.... "I am not knowing if I am ever being capable of understanding your home, Elena." [19:02:55] I am not sure if I can understand yours either. [19:03:03] * Paera glances through the book Elena had been looking at, stiffening and dropping it after a couple pages. [19:04:17] * Xan stumbles through the bush, seeming disoriented. He turns to the party, an orb of silver hovering before him. Blood runs down his sides, and you notice that the familiar bulk of his arms is absent under his cloak. [19:05:44] * Xan seems a shade paler. He tries to rasp something out, but instead collapses in a heap. [19:06:02] * Eve_Kasnora blinks, drawing her swords halfway out of their sheaths before Xan collapses. [19:06:14] * Eve_Kasnora pushes them back in. [19:06:31] "What." [19:06:45] Oh dear. [19:06:58] What happened to him? [19:07:44] * MattyQ (matthewwil@ool-4571fda3.dyn.optonline.net) has joined #Odal [19:08:33] * MattyQ is now known as Plow2 [19:08:50] * Plow (matthewwil@ool-4571fda3.dyn.optonline.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) [19:08:56] * Plow2 is now known as Plow [19:09:01] * Xan lies quietly on the ground, apparently lifeless. [19:09:50] * Eilenia frowns. "It doesn't look like a Fomorian looked upon him with their evil eye." [19:10:06] * Paera rushes over to Xan. [19:11:01] * Eve_Kasnora walks over cautiously. [19:13:51] "I can't move if I wish to speak. I'm losing a lot of blood. I broke my pact. I just wanted to go home." [19:14:34] "Do you deserve to?" [19:14:54] * Eve_Kasnora looks down at Xan, passively. [19:15:16] "I can not hope to redeem myself. But you had that hope." [19:15:27] "Ever since you confessed your past to us, you've slowly moved away from redemption, not toward it." [19:16:00] "It wasn't me..not entirely..they instilled a certain bloodlust.." [19:16:23] "What am I supposed to do, Xan? You tell me. You take joy in the killing of others. Seeing what I do to people like that, and knowing why, what would you have me do?" [19:16:50] "Your arms." [19:17:01] * Eve_Kasnora kneels down beside Xan, across from Paera. [19:17:10] * Xan is nonresponsive. His last words seemed to trail off and at this point he's completely lost consciousness. [19:18:19] Is he stable? [19:19:07] Eve, can you shut up? You can argue after I've got him patched up. [19:19:26] "I am wondering if I should allow you to do so, Paera." [19:19:36] * Eve_Kasnora eyes her, dead serious. [19:20:05] * It most likely the most chilling look Eve's ever given her. [19:21:42] Well, he said he broke some kind of pact. [19:21:49] Let's find out what it is. [19:22:07] * Eve_Kasnora looks back down at him, and lifts up part of his cloak to see his shoulder. [19:22:22] * Paera flinches slightly, but continues to meet Eve's gaze. "I don't care what you're going to 'allow' me to do or not. Someone is hurt, and I'm going to do something about it. If you have to, you can beat each other up when he's back on his feet. Until then, back off and let me work." [19:23:28] * Eilenia just stands back and watches the human and human-wannabe. [19:25:25] * Eve_Kasnora replaces the cloak after seeing Xan's entire arm, all the way up to the shoulder, missing. [19:25:57] * Eve_Kasnora stands up and walks away without further comment to Paera. [19:28:10] Where are you going? [19:29:09] "Following his tracts. He could be hunted." [19:29:29] * Paera watches Eve for a moment, frowning, then returns to patching Xan up, only resorting to magical healing when she can't do anymore by mundane means. [19:30:26] * Eilenia takes out a glass jar with a small light inside and holds it up. She opens it. The light darts out of the jar, then flies around Xan, circling him. [19:30:36] * Eilenia tries to scoop the silvery orb into the jar [19:32:24] * Eilenia frowns when the jar passes through the silvery orb. She closes the jar again [19:33:19] Paera, will you do fine by yourself? [19:33:43] If nothing else comes along, yes. [19:34:35] * Eilenia beckons the small light over, which darts behind her and vanishes [19:36:49] * Xan is surprisingly still for a moment, but suddenly gets up, coming to a crouch, the orb of silver seeming more materialized. [19:36:59] * Xan looks around, eyes alert. [19:37:06] "Where's Eve?" [19:37:51] She went to make sure you weren't being followed. [19:38:07] * Xan looks down. "I'm not." [19:38:27] Stay resting for a while. [19:38:58] What happened, Xan? [19:39:17] "I apologize for my return. I told the symbiotes that I didn't want to kill any more. I couldn't rationalize my own bloodthirst..they had gotten deeper into my head than I had thought." [19:39:53] "I just wanted to go back home to Sigil. See how my school was coming along." [19:41:29] "Thank you for your aid, but for the things I have done, I truly deserved to suffer there and die." [19:41:58] * Eilenia frowns. "And leave whatever debts you might feel you owe the world unpaid?" [19:43:12] "I am not sure that I can repay them." he seems not to lose his compisure here, but silver pools about his eyes a bit, and he blinks it away. [19:43:29] Then do it the best you can. [19:44:12] "I am not useful for much." [19:44:44] * Xan nods to the bloody swaths on either side of his cloak. [19:45:16] * Eve_Kasnora walks up behind Xan, her long shadow stretching over the crystaline snow before him. [19:45:39] * Xan looks up. [19:46:02] * Xan then looks back down. "I am sorry to inconvenience you with my return, Eve." [19:46:19] "You want to be better than a merciless, gleeful murderer, don't you?" [19:46:59] "I was thinking I would allow you the Krash-ghitil." [19:47:11] "I am not knowing what that is." [19:47:57] "It is a Zerth killing right. Justice singularized upon the edge of a blade so that even the miserable could die with honor." [19:48:43] "I am sorry Xan. My honor would not allow me to do so. I have never killed anyone that couldn't fight back." [19:49:26] "It is the highest honor a Zerth, even though it is a fallen one, can bestow." [19:50:16] Sorry Xan. I can't do anything about your arms. [19:50:18] "It may seem quaint to you, but I live my life by morals. And killing you would go against them." [19:50:23] "I took your words to heart." [19:50:56] "The symbiotes had gotten to my mind..warped it..in order to harness the power I posess." [19:51:00] "I know. I am not knowing how, but you removed your arms." [19:51:23] "I told them that bloodthirst was not logical." [19:52:15] "I should apologize. My words were not my own, yet I am conscious of them." [19:53:21] "No. I should apologize. I was not knowing how difficult this would be for you." [19:53:42] "I did not know how powerful they were. I should have... I heard them." [19:53:51] "I do not know how I can redeem myself if I can not fight on your side." [19:54:07] Paera, why does everyone hear inanimate objects but us two? [19:54:12] "...I am sorry Xan, but I must ask one more question...." [19:54:18] "Yes?" [19:54:45] "...the Eye. Does it still call to you? You said your arms convinced you to abandon it." [19:55:07] "No. I suppose it was all a ploy in my head." [19:57:25] "It was like I was sharing my body with a colsulate..I was convinced that I had the upper hand, but I was a puppet." [19:57:28] "I am not knowing about your arms.... Perhaps old Nerath was having something that could help. They were being the ones who made Warforged like Plow." [19:58:05] * Paera blinks at Eve. "Like, replace them with mechanical arms?" [19:58:11] "I need something to harness the limbo..it's why they chose me in the first place. [19:58:21] * Eve_Kasnora nods. [19:58:35] "The limbo?" [19:58:40] "What is left of you is a droplet of a dying silver sea from a time long ago." [19:58:57] "Me?" [19:59:02] * Eve_Kasnora looks confused. [19:59:14] ((take out the you and put it.)) [19:59:20] ((sorry. Brainfart)) [19:59:54] ((np)) [20:00:01] "I was born among my family with the mark, the silverblood." [20:00:18] "Limbo is in my essence." [20:00:39] Fascinating. [20:01:03] "This orb was to be my Karach." [20:01:55] "I was meditating in the sea one day, and these entities came to me. Promised me power above my peers and at a quicker time." [20:02:35] "I was decieved and told that there was nothing wrong with making such a pact." [20:02:56] "Convinced in my own tutelage that what I was doing was correct and justifiable." [20:03:43] "I had lost my will." [20:04:12] "I am glad you were finding it, Xan." [20:04:13] * Xan seems to be less confrontational, averting his eyes like a cowed dog. [20:04:33] "We are going to help you." [20:04:49] What kinds of entities are these? [20:04:53] "I am not glad to be shouldered with the guilt of my transgressions." [20:04:58] "I am very proud of you, Xan. Many people only fight their demons figuratively." [20:05:29] * Eilenia looks to Paera and raises an eyebrow when Xan says "Shouldered" [20:05:38] "Guilt is a blessing in disguise, Xan. It is being your conscience. Listen to it." [20:05:41] "Parasitic..things..capable of pairing with a host individually..they promise power." [20:05:42] Hey, there's nothing we can do about the past. [20:05:57] "Then they overtake." [20:06:17] So... where are they now? [20:07:01] "I don't know. searching for better hosts? They shifted out of the plane the moment they parted." [20:07:11] "They expected me to die." [20:07:19] "I expected to die. [20:07:47] "But you won't Xan. You are strong. I know it. We know it. You've just forgotten." [20:08:19] * Plow would have looked startled, if his face had been capable of expression. One moment, the world was more familiar, and now... He is surrounded by trees, alone. He looks down, alerted to the sudden crunch of snow beneath his metal frame. "Curious." [20:08:33] * Eve_Kasnora sits down in front of him, kneeling. [20:09:01] Oh, plow! There you are. [20:09:03] "I've broken my contracts. This individual is a dishonorable man, and he must pay for his transgressions." [20:09:15] "Xan. I really am very proud of you. I know you don't like to be touched..." [20:09:42] * Xan looks up to Plow. "Welcome back, Mecnahist." [20:09:47] (*mechanist)) [20:10:00] * Eve_Kasnora shrugs and takes Xan's face gently in her hands and guides his face forward and down as she approaches to kiss his forehead. [20:10:33] * Xan jerks a bit, startled. "I am not deserving of such an honor." [20:10:38] "You are on the right path. Don't give up, okay?" [20:10:57] ...Plow? How did-you know what, I really shouldn't even be surprised. [20:11:03] "I'll do what I can." [20:11:19] * Eve_Kasnora smirks amusedly. "Honor? I am never being complimented like such normally. Twice in one day, haha!" [20:11:54] * Eve_Kasnora stands up and turns around, seeing Plow, previously too absorb to notice his arrival. [20:11:58] * MZ (rustangel@ip-117-113.atvci.net) has joined #Odal [20:12:07] "Oh! Plow! I was just mentioning you." [20:12:23] * Plow looks to the group. "Hm?" -What?- "Curiouser and curiouser. I did not expect to cross paths with you again so soon." [20:13:10] "However, given the circumstance," He looks around, "I am glad to see that it is friends that I first meet. Where am I?" [20:13:16] * MZ looks to Plow, armless. Wondering how it is to be bodyless. [20:14:04] * Xan (rustangel@ip-117-113.atvci.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) [20:14:13] * MZ is now known as Xan [20:15:24] "Plow, you are still remembering Nerath's height, yes? Are you knowing if they were capable of making replacement limbs? For wounded soldiers and such?" [20:16:14] "Unless he's gifted enough to harness the limbo, I doubt he will be of much aid." [20:16:35] "When this orb runs dry of silver, my body will be dry of a soul." [20:16:50] * Plow eyes Xan, "You seem... thinner, than I remember." [20:16:53] So what can we do in the meantime? [20:17:03] "I don't have arms." [20:17:25] "We need to find out quarry." [20:17:28] *our [20:18:26] * Plow looks to Eve, "The Nerathi were capable of many wonders, among the least of which were such minor machinations. However, I am not familiar with this 'limbo.'" [20:18:36] How...how much time do you have, Xan? [20:19:02] * Plow studies the armless fellow intently. [20:19:21] "I can use it to fight, but it drains and drips on its own accord." [20:19:45] "I'd say..one month." [20:21:06] "Plenty of time." [20:21:22] "Can you stand?" [20:21:50] Drips into where? [20:21:58] "I'm mobile, now that I'm not bleeding to death." [20:22:07] "Into nothingness." [20:23:06] * Plow touches a finger to his metal chin. "It seems you have wasted no time in getting involved in dangerous matters again. If you would have me, I would rejoin your party. Perhaps I can make a study of Xan's ailment along the way." [20:23:12] You...can use that sphere to fight without, um, arms? [20:23:32] Oh, certainly. [20:23:53] "The Symbiotes merely helped me shape it." [20:23:53] "Oh yes, please being to do so." [20:24:13] "And provided me with a limitless supply when it was weaponized." [20:25:03] Curious. How did they do such a thing? [20:25:33] "I don't know. It is beyond definition." [20:26:48] "So... if you fight with it now, it does not return to you." [20:27:04] "No." [20:28:15] "So you will be having less than a month if you fight." [20:28:51] "If I will die anyway, I may as well fight honorably. It will be a rock in a sea of chaos." [20:30:16] * Eve_Kasnora doesn't quite get that metaphor, but nods anyway. [20:32:24] "Shall we continue?" [20:32:48] "Lets." [20:32:48] Certainly. It's nice to have everyone here again. [20:32:59] The only person missing is that doppelganger we met back in Harborhead. [20:33:03] * Eilenia waits. [20:33:09] "Who?" [20:33:09] The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can do something about your arm. [20:33:16] * Xan nods, rising. [20:33:53] Oh, yes. [20:35:45] So, Plow! [20:35:48] We are hunting a noble. [20:35:55] Ghaele Coldheart. [20:36:01] * Plow looks to Eilenia, "I thought one worked to protect nobles." [20:36:08] Oh, yes. [20:36:14] He's also intent on bringing Nerath back. [20:36:24] Ah, good. [20:36:43] Help us to look for him, won't you? [20:36:56] oooh, neat [20:37:10] "No, Elena. He's intent on bringing war to Nerath." [20:37:31] "Or at least game-hunting people." [20:37:38] * Eve_Kasnora glares at the horizon. [20:38:05] "He is being an eladrin noble, Plow. He sees Nerath as a toy to play with." [20:38:17] "And he plays sick, sick games." [20:38:56] * Plow turns to Eve, "If he seeks to dishonor Nerath, then I, too, am bound to the quest." [20:41:19] He wants a lot worse than that. Merging the planes? He's insane. [20:41:54] His plan to merge seems to be limited to only the World and its reflections. [20:41:59] I wonder if he plans to expand it. [20:42:01] * Plow looks to Paera, "Then, does that explain my sudden appearance in this forest? It is this fellow's meddling?" [20:44:03] I'm not sure. This sort of thing isn't my area of expertise. [20:44:30] Oh, in a way. [20:44:42] "We were being told Ivorgard's oddness is due to magical experiment gone wrong." [20:45:20] "Ivorgard's oddness is due to my last contract." [20:45:39] "It wasn't gone wrong. It went right. It is Coldheart's experiment." [20:45:53] Oh dear. How long ago was this? [20:46:33] "As long as I have been travelling with you." [20:46:40] "Almost." [20:50:16] "That... that is being what you were trying to tell me. In the library, yes?" [20:50:32] * Xan nods. [20:51:29] "This is a wrong I can at least partially rectify." [20:55:00] Well... we have a few other things to track. [20:55:14] Yes [20:55:19] I saw gnome tracks and the tracks of strange misschapen creatures. [20:55:27] "Let us follow the beast men." [20:57:31] Paera? [20:59:53] "I will follow as you lead." [21:00:31] Uh, well, let's go with Eve's idea unless someone has a better plan. [21:00:43] Very well! [21:01:52] "It'll be a long hike back to the tracks though." [21:02:01] * Eve_Kasnora mutters something about a stupid dragon. [21:02:21] * And so, the party retraces their footsteps through the monument complex, to where they met the dragon that tried to devour them. [21:03:29] * Eve_Kasnora eyes the skies warily. [21:05:03] * The skies are overcast, but mercifully free of deadly poison-breathing lizards [21:07:18] * You find your way to the crossing, where the sets of tracks remain much as they were before. [21:07:50] * Beastmen to the north, gnomes to the east. [21:08:03] I wonder what he is doing with these beastmen. [21:08:41] "Perhaps we should go north." [21:09:03] * Eilenia nods. THen heads that way. After Eve, of course. [21:10:57] * Eve_Kasnora nods. [21:11:17] * Eve_Kasnora starts heading that way. "Is... Is north even meaning same thing in Feywild?" [21:11:30] "Let me find the path." [21:11:38] "If you would trust me with such." [21:12:21] North here is like north in the world. [21:12:24] Only NORTHIER. [21:12:34] hah [21:13:54] * You follow the path for roughly a mile as it winds through the monuments. Finally, in the distance, you hear voices. Not clear enough to hear very well, but clear enough to know something is there. [21:17:14] Is that...can anyone hear them better than me? [21:17:26] * Xan listens in. [21:17:29] * Eve_Kasnora shakes her head. [21:18:04] * Eilenia tries to listen [21:22:52] * Plow listens intently. [21:24:27] Sounds like...an eladrin...and...a hag? [21:25:39] A hag? You are certain? [21:26:25] * Paera nods. "Something about...bridging the gap between the Shadowfell and the Feywild?" [21:26:46] I'm not 100% certain, but that's what they sound like. [21:27:40] Oh dear. I'd like to hear more, but we may have to act.... [21:29:24] It would be just our luck if it were Lord Oran and Baba Yaga. [21:30:05] B...baba yaga? [21:30:23] "You've heard of her?" [21:31:25] * Paera blinks at Eve. [21:32:04] Of course. [21:32:57] Oh, don't worry. She wouldn't be here. [21:33:36] And I doubt Lord Oran would dirty his hands with this business [21:33:39] * Eve_Kasnora recoils, as if struck. "She's real?!" [21:34:34] * Plow considers, "It would no doubt be a fascinating encounter." [21:36:56] Eve? Uh, what's the significance of this? [21:37:19] * Xan (rustangel@ip-117-113.atvci.net) Quit (Quit: I am not ignorant, I am intelligent. I'm not an ape, I am the way, I am the truth. I am religion, I am politics, I am a psychoanalyst, I'm an inkblot shaped like Zeus) [21:37:43] * Eve_Kasnora is now known as NovaSeaker [21:38:20] * Paera is now known as Yon [21:38:28] [To Be Continued] [21:38:55] * Yon is now known as sleepyon [21:39:38] * Plow is now known as MattyQ [21:39:58] * MattyQ (matthewwil@ool-4571fda3.dyn.optonline.net) Quit (Quit: MattyQ) [21:41:14] * Charles (CHBoucher@dsl2-161.gsinet.net) has left #Odal [22:07:54] * Eilenia is now known as Demota [23:20:29] * NovaSeaker (novaseaker@c-24-129-25-205.hsd1.fl.comcast.net) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds) [07:09:57] * sleepyon (dlarmour@wnpgmb1303w-ad03-43-222.dynamic.mts.net) has left #Odal End of #Odal buffer Tue Aug 04 13:17:56 2009