Session Start: Fri Jun 16 22:23:01 2006 Session Ident: #lunar-iog2 * Logging #lunar-iog2 to 'logs\#lunar-iog2.log' * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 17: The Heartland | Location: Great Lakebed Swamp | Pools: 1287 §, 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ | OOC chan: #iog-ooc' == SESSION START == >> You all huddle around the campfire, drying off from the watery underground lab and being noursihed by Saki's home cooking! * Etir is now known as Ysmsm * Ysmsm is now known as Tanan >> all regain 250 HP & 25 MP. Maxed, except for Angharad (78/80) and Mikel (93/108). * Vytor lies down lengthwise beside the fire, eyes closed and a content smile on his face. * Saki has managed to use a series of glares, scavenging raids, and quiet words in people's ear to amass a collection of different regional ingredients for what is, as requested, a surprisingly filling fry-up. * Niri makes a face. "My blouse is all slimy. These Elementalors are never going to make it easy for us, are they? And then they leave with hardly a word..." * Trune stares at Niri, "Slimy? I dunno what you've been doing with that tenticled fish...thing, but please don't share around the campfire, Princess." On the plus side, however - *waves a fork in the air* - this dinner is excellent! The slkime can be cleaned out easily enough. It was hardly Neptune's fault, Niri. And yes, thank you Saki. * Mikel taps a finger on his staff, letting it lie on a leg for now as he sits by the fire. "So. Are you guys going to explain, or..." He glances at Trune, making a face. "Wait 'till we finish eating." Quite, thanks for the food, Saki Hey, she said it first. Yeah, I know, it's just a little...anticlimactic. And a bit irritating. That's all. * Angie devours everything Saki puts on her plate within seconds. She must have been pretty hungry. She says, "Mmm," and nodds enthusiastically at Niri's comment. * Tanan pokes at his food. "They're certainly.. different. But they're not going to be much help with-" Also, I'm ignoring you, Trune. [Leah] I'm just happy you're okay, Nirir! That was really scary. « er Niri » «ooc: Nirir's well! » * Tanan trails off, looks at Mikel, and shrugs. He takes another bite, falling silent. * Mikel lets out a sigh. "I'm gonna take that as a no then." * Niri giggles. "Well, with everyone's help, Leah, I had things well in hand!" Mikel - Er. Yeah. Where do we start? * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 17: To The Heartland | Location: Great Lakebed Swamp | Pools: 1287 §, 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ | OOC chan: #iog-ooc' That's a tough question. There's a lot to go over * Angie swallows - a little too soon, so the food is visible as a lump sliding down her throat. She coughs into her hand. "Hugh! Sorry. Anyway! I'm honestly a lot happier with them gone. They're all totally crazy." * Saki takes the compliments in quiet stride, nodding in acknowledgement but otherwise keeping quiet. She perhaps looks a little blissed out, almost humming during the cooking, but it could just be from not being in those damn ruins. * Tanan sighs. "Please chew your food, Angie. That'd be such an anticlimatic way to go. And as for going over things, keep in mind that anything we go over now is just going to wind up in his report." Shiro watches Saki intently as she finishes her cooking, hoping to get a scrap somewhere. :D "Tanan? You're an ass. Now that I've said that, if you guys want me to keep quiet about it, I'll keep quiet. I don't suppose you'll want me to deter them from poking in these ruins, too?" Can't really stop you if you wanted to, honestly There's not going to be mcuh left of value there. * Mikel glances at Shiro, chuckling a bit before he passes the poor mongrel a bit of food. And, Mikel,it's not that we don't trust you.. But we don't trust you. * Trune munches on his food in silence, listening for now. It'd actually be a good idea for them to go down! The place probably has some good tech to salvage and I am not going to be the one to do it. * Tanan shrugs again. "Call me what you want. And the ruins are fine, now." Speak for yourself Ryllan Sheesh, you guys are kind of prickly today. :P I'm sure Mikel has nothing but the best of intentions! See if he's crossing his fingers behind his back, Niri. ;) * Saki surreptitiously slides the remains of her plate Shiro's way, in what is possibly the least stealthy fashion ever. A shared nod: comrades on the field of food. "... we're wrapped up in the middle of something possibly very dangerous." And those pave the road to hell, Niri. * Angie points her fork at Niri. "I'm not used to fighting huge monsters? Also it smells and everything is goopy." She looks down at her plate, spearing a mushroom. "I'm allowed." Yeah, to me, you seem okay and all...but for all intents and purposes this is probably a suicide mission and it's best not to take a bunch of people along with us. Shiro arf contentedly, licking the plate clean and bopping it around with his nose. "I figured that much, just from what happened in the ruins." He shrugs, nodding. "As you want, then." On the other hand, if you /want/ to commit suicide this is a totally stylish way to do it. * Tanan pokes around, pulling out another forkful. "Irreponsible to make it public knowledge yet." Oh yeah Angie, can you imagine? Going out in a flourish of darkness and explosions and melodramatic death speeches? Angie, you have a point. Very goopy. I mean, least it's INTERESTING. * Vytor chuckles * Mikel mms a bit, spearing himself a bit of more food to munch on from the plate. Also, forgot to mention it earlier but this is really good, Saki. Thanks. mmm. quite. I am convinced that some kind of magical transformation happens to food in Saki's cookpot. I think she is privy to secret and arcane rites of cooking. * Mikel nods in agreement, finishing off his plate. "Research it and see if the academy will accept it then." Or maybe she has a secret blend of herbs and spices? [Leah] *nods* They say there is certain willforce for cooking. Maybe she knows some? Or maybe she just know how to cook and you don't? Probably, Trune. But I'm sure they were blessed by fairies or something. Yeah, what do you do to this stuff, anyway? I'd kill to have you along on the next survey. * Tanan spears a little piece of meat and holds it up, looking at it critically. "I wouldn't go accusing her of witchcraft just yet. It's GOOD, but it seems like normal food to me." That could be it too, Vytor! ^_^ * Saki raises a careful eyebrow at Shiro, then leans back a little in an attempt to relax some more. Another nod and rather more than a hint of smugness. "My pleasure. It helps me think." The briefest pause, and she's looking all but lost at the discussion. Still, you're good enough that you could do this for a living. You give lessons? * Saki looks like a fish not only out of water, but wondering how the hell these pedal things work. "... I... hadn't really thought about it. It's just a hobby." * Mikel taps a finger on his staff once more before getting to his feet, stretching before nodding. "You should, sometime." He glances around where the campfire has been set up, hrming. Cooking and fighting go together well because they're the main times you use knives. But you wouldn't want to use the same knives, I guess. Absolutely not. If you fight with your cooking tool, you contaminate their purpose * Trune chuckles, "Hmm...Mom, why does this corpse I just stabbed with my knives smell like Oregeno? Yeah, Angie's got a point there. ;) * Tanan makes a face. "Contaminate their purpose or the food?" Both Leah yawns. "As much as I love this food, don't we have to get going to Raculi?" * Mikel just shakes his head. "At any rate... I need to go find the rest of the group before they get themselves killed by one of the natives." So does this mean you're leaving? * Saki just looks terribly perplexed, but the mention of Raculi knocks her back to her senses. She mutters something under her breath regarding disrespect of tools and how that would /hardly/ be appropriate, then glances around to start packing up. * Mikel shrugs. "'fraid so. Job to do, and you lot seem to have a hefty load on your plate as well." You got that right. Wish us luck! Yeah, thanks for your help Mik'. * Ryllan nods quietly, "Be glad. Thanks for the help." * Tanan nods Well, thanks for the assist Mikel. Despite the shrugoff you got from some, I'm glad I met you. * Saki tilts her head, just a little. "... It's nothing personal. But it's also everything personal," she explains regarding the shrugoff terribly eloquently. It's nothing pers-.. right. * Mikel inclines his head. "No problem." He grins at Vytor. "Thanks, and likewise." He makes a face at Saki. "I'm going to go before I hear another 'it is not this, but is this actually'. Catch ya'll later." With a wave, he turns and heads into the marsh. Off in the distance you hear some calls going out into the night air. Sounds like a search party is nearby looking for something or someone... possibly Mikel at that. « not night. damnit. » << hahaha >> « afternoon air! » * Tanan watches him go. "I sort of feel bad about that. A bit. But I just don't think we could have trusted him too keep it quiet... especially in light of finding out what was going on here being his job." Plus honestly...we're probably the last group anyone wants to hang out with right now. Mikel walks off in the direction of the sounds, soon out of earshot. The group breathes a sigh of relief as the tight lipped atmosphere eases. * Angie gathers what's left of her lunch into a little pile in the middle of her plate with the edge of her fork, then scoops it up. "I can't think it'll be quiet for too much longer no matter what. But yeah, he'll thank us when he's not dead. Still, I mean." That's probably true, but there is an old addage about what happens when you treat everyone like a threat. You live longer. * Tanan sighs at Ryllan. No, they become threats. He's not a threat, Vytor. But if we wanted to publicize this, we could have started back at the academy. He'd have told believing he was doing the right thing, I'm sure. * Saki brushes herself off as she stands up, puffing out another breath. "... let's get going. Not much reason to debate it right now." Still.. I'm a little disheartened by all this. * Tanan stands up. "I'd hoped that for something designed as a weapon from the devesation wars, the elementalors would be... well..." A little more with it? * Tanan frowns, as though looking for the right word. "...powerful?" Maybe we're just using it wrong? They also just woke up too. I'd figure after thousands of years of being dormant, they'd be rather weak. Don't get me wrong, Jupiter was a big help back there, but he wasn't much more potent than we are. There's a number of adepts back at the academy who could match that. [Leah] I get the feeling that they've lost a lot of power and are slowly regaining it... Well... maybe you're right, maybe they're still tired, or maybe the tranmission system isn't great... but I was hoping we could use them to strike a blow against the prophetess. Maybe we still can. I'm not willing to give up that easily. * Tanan shakes his head. "The way things stand now, that'll be almost useless." «ooc: we = they » * Saki frowns, packing away camp as she talks almost to herself. "The Doctor mentioned finding more of them to improve matters, didn't he?" She straightens up, pack stowed. "Either way, we can't do much but work with what we've got." Yeah, I'm a bit less optimistic about the whole "death from above" plan now. Part of the problem is the energy flows -- they were designed to be used at the centres of their power, I think, and they get weaker when you take them away from those. Well, its not like we're ready to tackle her or anything. Who knows what'll happen until then? * Tanan nods. "If we could stick Jupiter in a thunderstorm or something, and he was actually HERE.. maybe." I do kinda like them, though. Don't want to get them hurt in a futile gesture. They deserve better than that, regardless of what they are. * Trune hmms, frowning for a moment, and takes out his old scribbled out pieces of paper, jotting down a few notes. * Saki makes a face as she shakes a foot, simultaneously lugging things onto the Destiny with little visible effort. "There's one thing for sure about all of this." No sense getting hinky about it just now. We got enough ahead of us as is. * Angie shifts her plate to the other hand and pushes herself to her feet. "That's true, but I'm not going to pass over a chance to use a weapon. Also, they're crazy and tried to kill me, so my sympathy well is running dry." But yeah! The whole idea of sentient weapons is kind of creepy, don't you think? Just a little. I wonder what other stuff they made back then. If this doesn't work, we might still be able to find something. Creepy? Maybe. If there's a need, I think it could be justified. Its not like they were given a choice in what they were created for. * Saki finishes loading up in quiet silence; the topic doesn't sit well with her, it seems. Once this is sorted we'll take them out for dinner or something. No.. they weren't. Gotta do what you can with what you are, right? * Trune is quiet now, and slowly stands up, stuffing his notes into his backpack and hefting it over his shoulder, "..and let Saki cook, of course." * Angie quickly gathers her things and loads up the Destiny. Yep. And who know? They might find us charmingly anachronistic. I can handle charmingly anachronistic. Beats.. what'd he call me? 'Ass'? * Tanan grins, shaking his head I've been called worse, Professor. Ass is pretty tame. * Trune (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) Quit (Connection reset by peer) * Vytor chuckles * Tanan puts away the blackjack. "Bet you didn't see THAT coming, did you Trune?" * Saki leaps up onto the bed of the Destiny, makes sure everything's tied and secure, and leans over the side, watching everyone else load on up. "... I'm not entirely sure what you cook for thousands-of-years-old living weapons that make you lose control." <<...sorry, strike that. ;)>> Pasta. But what would the main dish be? Pasta. I don't think I understand the question * Trune (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) has joined #lunar-iog2 * ChanServ sets mode: +o Trune You have an unhealthy obsession with pasta. Where's the protien? I guess you'd ask them first what they like. Meatballs? * Saki slumps, covering her eyes with one hand and generally looking pained. "... let's discuss this on the way? I'm a little eager to get out of this damned swamp." If you used alfredo sauce you'd get some from that. * Angie climbs into the back seat, swinging her legs over the huge case of instruments. * Vytor reluctantly gets up from the fireside at Saki's prodding Hmm. True. Don't really like alfredo sauce though. Oh man...don't mention Alfredo. Now I'm getting hungry. And I just ate. Damn. [Leah] Me too saki. It's all icky. Its Saki's cooking. Makes ya hungry despite the fact you just ate. Antifood! * Vytor hops into the cargo area of the Destiny, making room for Saki and Angharad, as usual. * Trune clambers up into the Destiny, picking a seat near the window and attempts to get comfortable for the long trip. They do serve antipasta in some restauraunts, I think. Wait, that's antipasto. * Niri jumps aboard the Destiny, looking kind of spaced out. Everyone climbs aboard the familiar crowded carrier! The rough path lays to your south a fair ways, the intersection not far from that. * Saki eyes the offenders owlishly. "... too many jokes will lead to reduced portions." * Angie wrinkles her nose and bares her teeth in a grimace. "It's gonna be smelly in here for a while." We'll live. If you starve us and we die you'll feel bad later. Probably. Even if we did deserve it. * Tanan smiles innocently * Saki flatly stares at Tanan. ... * Vytor chuckles * Tanan sighs dramatically. "We're buying you a sense of humor next town we hit." I can chip in five cents! Hers is still in perfectly good condition, though. She hardly ever uses it! * Tanan grins at Niri. "Bargain bin?" * Saki raises an eyebrow carefully. "... ... oi." Mint condition sense of humor Rarely used, save for ironic analysis Starting up the motor, you begin to roll out, reaching the afementioned intersection once more, finally out of the swamps odiferiousness. The north arrow points back the way you came "Canadian Icefields Research Posts", while one pointing right reads "New Raculi town, Vulcannon Labs". Wonder if mine's still under warranty. I seem to have over-used it. * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 17: To The Heartland | Location: Hylan to Raculi Trail | Pools: 1287 §, 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ | OOC chan: #iog-ooc' * Saki visibly relaxes as they pull away from the marshlands, but the sight of the Raculi signpost gets her pensive again in short order; "... this time we need to stick to whoever she's targetting like glue." No kidding. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but I'm not sure that'll do any good. Well, we saw what the diversion tactic did last time. It can't hurt. Other than the rough trail, the scrub brush and wide open plains stretch in ll directions. There are a few wild animal grazing hera nd there. « er here and » Actually, it could hurt a lot. But we cans still try it. * Angie rolls down the window and moos at a cow as the Destiny rolls by. * Trune hehs. * Saki sighs, running a hand through her hair. "... when you call down Neptune or whoever, I may not be much use." Huh? How do you mean, Saki? You did OK when Jupiter was around. * Angie sits down again, dangling one elbow out the open window. She said whoever. I'm guessing calling down the elementlors puts her out of sorts. * Saki frowns, and makes a game attempt to explain. "It was still as if you'd put me right back into the ruins. If it weren't for Neptune being asleep, I'm not sure how I'd have dealt with it. ... I don't know what'll happen if you add her into things as well." * Vytor considers that Leah looks pensive. "So any type of elemental force messes with you? [Leah] That's so strange.... * Saki shrugs lopsidedly. "... I've never been very good at using willforce. Maybe I'm just an amateur with it." But being able to punch through concrete walls and cook just about anything seems almost a good tradeoff. [Leah] We all have our little quirks I guess! I actually have been sleeping really poor lately... having bad dreams. * Mikel is now known as ZackDinner Have you given it much effort? I mean, don't hit me or anything, I'm just asking. I knew this guy Peter in school who was just terrible, couldn't do a thing, but he managed to graduate in like the 80th percentile in most of his magic courses. A lot of it's about attitude. Practical examinations? * Saki frowns. "... admittedly I haven't tried much. But whenever I did it was as if I was all thumbs." Shiro cuddles up to saki a bit, like he's trying to tell him something... her food certainly wins over his little frozen canine heart. « er her » Some of them, yeah. I mean, he totally busted his ass, but he managed it. Peter Worth, do you know him? I guess it would have been before most of you young folk, eh? * Saki gets an ice mongrel to the face. Ack-thbbpt. Peter Worth...Peter...no. Don't know him. Worth, worth... The name rings a bell, but nothing specific, maybe I read something somewhere. Nope. Doesn't ring a bell. Sounds familiar. I think maybe one of the professors was talking about him Complaining about how some people don't work hard enough * Saki takes sudden Shiro in stride, trying a pet or two. * Tanan frowns. "Wish I could remember who that was." Veering right (I would assume), the Destiny passes by some more plains, which are punctuated by lots of fertile farmlands! There are the cows Angie was mooing at earlier, plus lots of green vegetables growing. Interdispersed between the fields are spots of machinery, tied somehow to the irrigation system of the land. A few people wave hello as you drive by. Wow, the people here are friendly. * Vytor waves back Shiro nuzzles Saki, mmmring a little. * ZackDinner is now known as Mikel * Ryllan waves back, careful not to veer off somewhere. * Saki keeps a hand on Shiro but blinks up at the surroundings, looking appreciatively at the farmland; her eyebrows raise at the sight of it. "... not bad at all, for so far out." We're not really that far off from civilization. The society's headquarters is nearby, after all The rough trail cuts through some of the larger agriculturals developments, as some of the workers start actually having some mechanical help. One even has what looks like robots picking turnips. * Angie stares lazily out the window, a contented smile on her face. This is actually kinda neat in a way. The machines doing some of the work, I mean. [Leah] Vulcannon labs isn't too much farther to the west, too! It must be why there are so many robotic things here that are in good shape. * Mikel is now known as Michael [Leah] Virtue was actually really famous for bringing technology to Lunar, did you know? It's a shame that the Volcannon people and academy people don't collaborate more, really. Imagine what you could do with willforce-driven robots. Well, yeah, I KNEW, but I haven't seen this kinda machinery up close. Its good machinery, but its got it limits [Leah] I um.. actually there are some willforce robots! I've seen 'em. There's a reason they're not spreading farther out from the lab A few maybe, but not many Vytor notices that many of the robotic farm helpers and other things are sporting the telltale silver casings made via alchemy. * Saki frowns, but not in an unkind manner; she's watching a couple of the robots till the fields with a curious air, barely lending an ear to the conversation. * Huw is now known as Susan Supposedly there was some really awesome technology back before the Unraveling. Maybe we can convince the doctor to bring us back a thing or two, eh? They managed to put a whole person into a robot. _That's_ impressive. * Vytor looks out over the field of robots, "I see they got the Theta series working. The Lab must have gotten the kinks worked out of the guidance algorythms." Um... glad to hear it? I wonder how that stuff works. *She sighs wistfully.* There's so much about science I don't know still. * Trune blinks serveral times, confused, "Theta...series?" It's nice to have something like that to help with all the work.. as long as they're not bright enough to get bored, anyway. * Vytor watches the robots at work with great interest. "Theta series drones. Utility robots designed for several labor-functions. They're very useful. When they work properly." Thetas had this ad habot of being told to do something, and they'd go do it, to the wrong thing. * Saki blinks, still watching the things work and absently petting Shiro. "... and when they don't?" ooh. That could get ugly Not really. It was more of an amusing hassle than anything else. One time a Theta decided it was going to go grab water from the well, by way of the library. So it immediately starts dismantling the entire dewey-decimal system card rack and put it in buckets. Chrissy was pissed something awful about that one. * Tanan laughs Heh, that's awesome. That musthave taken forever to fix. Leah chuckles It did, Chrissy insisted the job be done by hand, no robots allowed. Thetas are great workers, but they're pretty stupid. I'm kind of happy with that, when I think about it! If robots were too smart there wouldn't be anything left for smart people to do. True Could sleep in a lot, I suppose Nah, the robots would do it for you. ;) * Saki carefully stands up, taking care not to land a foot on outlying mongrel areas, and turns to get a good lookout of the town in their approach. * Tanan chuckles. "I suppose they'd be smart enough to at that point." After some more driving, you begins to see the beginning of a town on the horizon. In the center of a cluster of fairly spread out smaller buildings is a rather grand cathedral, a spire pointing towards the sun overhead. This looks promising. It is about the only building of note in the settlement, the rest being what appear to be small shops, and simple houses for the multitude of farmers that live out here. It has a different feel than Takkar does. The cathedral itself does have many auxillary buildings surrounding it. presumably for the other functions of the Virtue Society that calls it home on the Blue Star. There is also a section of wall surrounding the town center, which you are quickly coming upon. Not far outside of it is a sturdy low compounds which houses the Virtue Knights. Two of them are in fact guarding the passage through the defensive structure right now. They are clothed in blue and white armor, with moon motifs and carrying well-polished swords by their sides, and helmets shaped like dragons. * Tanan frowns at the cathedral. * Saki eyes the guard posts, then raps once on the cab of the Destiny; kneeling down to better talk to the people in there, she mutters. "... it could be wise to tell them to expect an attack." [Virtue Knight] Hail, travelers. State your business? Something tells me they already know, Saki. Out of corner of her eye, Saki spots other knights and what looks like adepts scattered about the wall working on something or another in teams. * Saki frowns, nodding for a brief moment. Then she leans over the side to give the calling Knight a Look. "... we're here to see Leon and Ishtar. On behalf of Haylee and the Academy." Session Time: Sat Jun 17 00:00:00 2006 Adam and Ishtar. Don't mind her, she's had a long week. «ooc: asdsfdh. » « lol » «ooc: fix plz :| » As she says. * Vytor waves tot he nice guards. The Knight blinks once, before nodding in acknowledgement. "I see. Normally we have a unviersal open-door policy, but due to recent attacks by the Prophetess among other matters we have stepped up security significantly. I'm going to need some references. * Angie looks over at Trune. "Do we have references?" Uh, yeah. I think we do. Hold up a moment. I'd hope we do by now. The other knight, apparently a woman, sighs a bit, but maintains her post. * Saki frowns. "How many attacks have there been so far, and how often?" She's been here? or are you referring to the.. incidents at Takkar and Meribia? * Trune rummages through his bag and pulls out the old letter Haylee gave them a while ago, "Knock yourself out. This outta clear us." * Trune hands it to one of the guards. [Female Virtue Knight] No sightings of the evil magician to report... however, there are explorers disappearing up north and strange "Humanoids" being sighted, near Bluetooth Valley. [Female Virtue Knight] There is also a particular blight affecting our harvests, which may or may not be connected... Humanoids? I thought the Bluetooth Valley was uninhabited. Humanoids? Of what sort? [Virtue Knight] Hmm... the Headmistress herself has sent you? This is unexpected. But I can verify that this is authentic - you may pass, then. Welcome to New Raculi. Thanks. I don't trust those humanoids. Right, I mean, why would you trust them...being humanish and all. * Niri listens quietly to the conversation. * Niri sneezes. Careful you don't fly away, littlebit. It probably just means someone's wandering around up there. [Female Virtue Knight] Bless you. Phooey. I think I caught a cold. Dank you. The Bluetooth Valley area can be kind of nasty from what I've heard. * Saki frowns to herself, looking over the town slowly. Saki finds that other than the slightly imposing secuirty, the town's got a very pleasant and calm atmosphere. Kind of? Isn't that up in the icefields? More than kind of, I'd say. It is, but since it got mapped out, its less of a hazzard than it once was. [Female Virtue Knight] It's right up on the edge of them. Still safe enough to travel for short periods. But that might be the least of your worries if you choose to ivnestigate. Take that with a grain of saly though. 'Less of a hazzard' doesn't mean its safe. * Angie shakes her head. "Phew," she whistles. "It's been mapped? I feel for whoever got stuck with that trip." The male virtue knight slides open the gate, allowing the Destiny passage. * Saki frowns, and slumps back down into her accustomed seat. She barely pays attention to anyone, lapsing back into talking to herself; "... we've been led here. Just Adam and Ishtar, or these too?" [Virtue Knight] Please proceed. If you are seeking an audience, Ishtar should be in the cloister behind the Cathedral itself. There is also an evening mass scheduled for tonight, if you'd like to attend. Feh, might skip on that. I'm not the religious type. [Female Virtue Knight] Yes, praise Althena! and her noble servant Queen Virtue. Trune. Diplomacy, please. * Trune grumbles. Thank you for the info. * Niri nods politely at the knight, feeling slightly uncomfortable. mmm. We'll have to talk to lady Ishtar first, I'm not sure we'll have time. Thank you for letting us know, though. Praise Athena. * Saki looks almost interested, before another thought shuts her up. Wordlessly, she waits for the Destiny to roll on in. The way is open to you. Getting a better feel for the layout, you can see that there is a rough "downtown" area off to the left of the central church, and to the right is the larger residential buildings and inns, servicing the many travelrs and migrants. A sign posted on a bulleten board you pass declares "Virtue Society Orphanage: Sponsor a Child Today!" Straight on in, then. <> * Saki only speaks up once they're beyond the gate, and even then it's low and urgent. "... we may have to be at that mass. Having everyone clustered in one place like that would be perfect for an attack." * Angie leans on her hand. "I never really got into the whole religion thing. It's, like, I totally appreciate that Althena saved mankind and created Lunar and stuff, but she's dead, so it's not like she's going to do anything for me now, right?" It's hope, Angie. * Trune winces a little at Saki's words, "She's right, you know." Eep. Good point. True. Still, if we can avoid it... I don't need dead sky people for hope! *Her eyes seek the sky.* For me, hope is...a rocket ship! Or something. * Tanan shakes his head. "Eh. We'll do what we need to." People want to believe that there's something bigger than them out there. * Vytor looks oddly at Angie [Leah] I know, but they keep a memory alive. And a message...? Yeah, that's it. * Saki is getting quite obviously more agitated; she takes stock of everything, glancing around and evulating things as potential threats. They're good people, mostly. And they're trying to do good. It just makes me a little.. uncomfortable. I don't know why. There are patrols, and again some activity near the walls. Adepts from Hylan are working side by side with Knight defenders, erecting something. A ward perhaps? Their main cathedral at the academy seems even smaller and more marginalized than it used to, seeing this place now. Well, this /is/ the head office, as it were. * Trune (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) Quit (Ping timeout) * Trune (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) has joined #lunar-iog2 * ChanServ sets mode: +o Trune I wonder if they have much in the way of old books here. Maybe we can find something out for Damon while we're here. I know, it just makes me wonder if the stories are true. I agree with Tanan. It makes me uncomfortable too. * Saki focuses on the ward for a brief moment, then continues keeping a rather skittish lookout. Not the stories about Althena and Lunar, pretty much everyone agrees on those.. mostly. But supposedly their church is stuck in that out of the way location because there was opposition to it being built at all.. and it seems like those of us who spent a lot of time at the academy are the most uneasy about this. Wonder if we're missing something... Who knows? I dunno. It just seems...weird somehow. Ryllan brings the Destiny around, rolling up to the Cathedral of Virtue's front area. It doesn't really have a parking lot, epr say, but the open area inf ront of the marble steps leading up to the silver inlaid doors works well enough. Above you, a circular stained glass window depicting the two worlds glimmers. * Angie hops out and stretches violently. You can almost hear her joints popping. * Vytor hops out once the Destiny comes to a stop You feel at peace, yet there is indeed an imposing air about the place. A relic of the Virtue Wars, and the days when the Cult ruled all citizen's lives. * Trune hops out as well, straightening out his clothes a bit and trying to tame his flyaway hair. * Tanan hesitates briefly before stepping out. * Ryllan hops out before bad urges take him, "Let's go. ...And try to be diplomatic, please." No problems here * Saki watches the cathedral for a long beat, then clambers off the ride to follow after the group. She is a little better - more subdued in the presence of the massive building - but still checking every which way. Diplomacy'll be my middle name. I mean it. Keep th' bad feelings to yourselves. It's not a debate hall. Until I can find a judge to change it, anyway. There isn't anyone outside, seeing as how this is an off time. But inside you can hear some soft organ music and sounds of activity, as the door is always open anytime for those seeking guidance and repose. Well, let's get holier than thou, people. No no, holier WITH thou. Diplomatic, remember? That wasn't diplomatic. * Tanan nods to Vytor Oh come ON. I'm joking, people! * Vytor chuckles, "I know." ;) * Trune mumbles something about needing to buy them sense of humors, not Saki. * Tanan grins * Ryllan grins, "I know. They won't take it that way. We don't want to get killed, remember?" Or just driven out. * Ryllan moves on, speech delievered. * Saki shakes herself out of her reverie, having lapsed into staring at the decor with a deep-set frown. With another shake of her head, she follows Ryllan. * Trune follows everyone else, keeping to a low profile. * Vytor follows the group, still in good spirits * Angie has a long look at the cathedral. She cracks a little smile. At length, she follows the rest. * Niri keeps a lower profile than Trune, being naturally short. * TheStoryteller changes topic to '-= Chapter 17: To The Heartland | Location: New Raculi | Pools: 1287 §, 12 MXP =- http://storen.rpgcafe.net/IoG/ | OOC chan: #iog-ooc' * Tanan hangs back with Niri and Trune, looking a bit uncomfortable Tanan. Stoppit. Or do you need me to tickle you? You look like an undertaker. Uh? Sorry! I just don't... right. Right. Calm, dignified, not hauling coffins. (m) We are so doomed. * Niri snrks. As the first of you enter the Cathedral, you can see rows of pews with some citizen praying in them quietly. The music continues, coming from a mechanized organ. Near the foyer and at even spacing, are racks of candles, lit for those who have passed away or who need well wishes for them. A few spots are empty still, and some extra ones to fill them sit nearby (for a small donation of course). « extra candles that is » * Angie 's eyes light up when she sees the organ. She makes her way to the front and stands up on her tiptoes to get a closer look. The wall feature scenes of Lunar's creation and destruction, Althena, and Queen Virtue herself. On the ceailing, suspended from cahins are several sets of lights, currently off as the light from outside fills the place with a warm glow. « er chains » Man, I really feel like I don't belong here at all. * Tanan looks at the wall. "Huh.." « dstruction being the Unraveling btw » * Ryllan quietly drops a coin into the bowl and takes a candle, lighting it from one of the already lit ones and placing it in a spot. * Angie returns to the group. She seems relaxed and happy. Go figure. "I dunno, it's kind of nice, isn't it? I mean...I'm not really into this stuff. But it's a nice atmosphere." ...Wow. Lots of ....art. Very... painting..tastic. * Saki stares at the relief of the Unravelling for a very long beat, keeping quite quiet. Walking through the nave, you reach the crossing.. the central part of the place of worship. You can go left or right into the respective transepts, or straight ahead towards the altar and the chapel behind it. * Vytor takes the view in with interest e * Ryllan pauses, looking at the Horam fighter, "Saki?" >> Ryllan donates 1s to light a candle! His prayer is offered to Althena. * Saki blinks out of it. "Mm?" And she follows along. "... Sorry. I think I agree with the Professor. I'm not cut out for church." Also, all of the patrons keep mostly to themselves, unless disturbed. * Niri decides to light a candle too, not necessarily TO anyone in particular, but more to whatever powers might be listening and might govern their immediate future. * Tanan disturbs a patron or two. "HAHAHA YOUR GOD IS DEAD, FOOLS!" <<....strike. Sorry, sorry.>> «ooc: ;) » ...That's it. Tanan, you can wait outside by the car. ALONE. « lol » «ooc: Cut that. » D: >> Niri lights a candle for luck as well. 1s donated. * Angie lights 1287 candles. « unfortunately, there's not that many! » <<*angie firebombs the box of unlit candles>> * Saki continues to look vaguely discomfited; she all but ignores the racks of rememberance candles, instead making for the cloister at the back. AS you look a bit lost a blue haired woman in the robes of the priesthood walks up to you. "Blessings of Virtue be with you. Are you lost?" Nope ^_^ We're here on behalf of Headmistress Hylan, from the academy, to see Lady Ishtar. Could you direct us to her, please? Saki finds the chapel in the back, not the cloister. But the sculpture of a beneficient Virtue, holding her hands out to accept your suffering and guide you true does leave a bit of an impression. Unfortunately for her, it's more unsettling than comforting. Hrm. [Priestess] The.. Headmistress? Oh my... *she looks a bit taken aback* Miss, it's important. Please. * Saki frowns just a little deeper, eyes a little hooded in a glare; with a mutter under her breath that even she doesn't seen to notice she's made, she turns back to rejoin the group. [Priestess] Yes, yes of course. If you just go right here, and through the pathway you'll reach the cloister, home of the Virtue Society leaders. Very important. «ooc: Nuke that. Too slow :| » Thank you * Tanan smiles. "Thank you." Thank you, Ma'am. * Niri eyes the Priestess, then whispers to Tanan. "Why does she seem so uneasy?" * Ryllan nods, "Thank you." And continues forward, eyes shifting from side to side. [Priestess] Might I ask what this issue is? We.. don't really have many visitors from the Academy. Are you with the Adepts helping us guard our sacred city? More or less. That's why we're here. We shouldn't really discuss too much until we've talked to Ishtar.. you understand, right? The priestess nods, finally recovering her gentle smile. * Saki catches up with the others, not looking terribly happy. [Priestess] If you need anything, I'm always around supporting our flock. I'm Sumire, the head of rituals and rites. * Tanan smiles back. "Thank you again." It's a pleasure. Thank you. [Priestess] May Althena walk with you in all you do.... give lady Ishtar my regards, too. The holy woman shuffles off to lay a hand on a troubled man sitting not far away. Seems like he's depressed... * Trune gives the depressed man a curious stare, but figures it's not his buisness to ask. Plus, the party would kick his ass if he tried. * Vytor heads off in the indicated direction * Niri follows the others, still sneezing. * Ryllan heads along. * Saki follows along, mood black. She's knocked out of it by Niri's persistent sneezing, though, and peers at the girl for a brief moment. * Trune rummages through his bag and pulls out a hanky. He puts his hand out behind his back so Niri can grab it, "It's clean." Bless you. You need a- My brain's like five seconds behind everyone else today, I swear. Danks Dune. *Snnnnrk* ...Dune? You head into the east transpet, going under an archway and ending up outside. The walkway is filled with flowers and trees, carefully pruned and weeded. Arrakis I think I god a cold frob dat ting we fought. Desert Planet. <<...>> «ooc: You suck, Etir ;) » * Saki crosses her arms, and puts on a look that will brook no argument. "We're getting you a warmer blanket, too. You're not going anywhere near icefields as you are." << With twinklies! >> There is even a fountain of a dragon, spurting water from it's mouth into a bowl, where a white bird is drinking. Um....okay, mom? * Niri chuckles. If you eat a hot pepper it'll blast that right out. Like, "blam"! She has a point, Niri. * Tanan makes a face. "Oh man. I'm picturing someone spraying mucus like forty feet now. Thanks, Angie." Hm, maybe we could use that against the Prophetess! Destroy her with the power of snot. Brillance. ...Ew no. No spicy. Blech. Leah giggles. * Niri starts giggling and can't stop. * Niri coughs and gasps for air, still laughing. Shiro tries to say hello to the birdy, but it flies away! * Vytor chuckles * Niri is having trouble maintaining proper decorum for a church! * Saki raises an eyebrow, then looks almost aghast at Tanan for about a millisecond. Then she's shaking her head, trying to get the image out of her brain, and just heading for the cloister. * Ryllan smirks. Saki, I fink we all jus' need to practish ignoring Danan. Heaven knows my students have it down to an art. ...Oh Alfena I sound like an idiod. Nah, you sound normal. * Trune smiles a little sly smile to himself. You finally reach the doors to the coister. It is a fairly simple stone building, though in spots you can spy the hints of silver machinery and alchemy crafting at work. It is fairly unobtrusive, the door lined with some inscriptions and abstract stained glass thin windows. Ouch. * Niri tries to reach Trune to noogie him, but it is a half-hearted attempt. Nice worksmanship there * Niri eyes the windows. "...Ooh. Preddy." * Trune dodges easily, grinning. * Saki loses her good cheer as she looks over the building; instantly she's back to pensive checking around, ready for a certain mage to appear. * Angie raps on the door. "Knock knock?" * Niri peers around, then finds herself rather distracted by some statues of Queen Virtue. She frowns and wanders over to check them out, standing with her hands clasped behind her back. She lets out an occasional sneeze. Awaiting the chance to make your entrance, we pause the tale for now...! == SESSION END == >> 3 XP for everyone. >> Saki gets +1 XP for cooking! Guess the way to the heart really is through the stomach. Session Close: Sat Jun 17 01:20:32 2006