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On the Shores of the Unknown Sea Charus Loryn, Paschal "The Spiritist", Eater, Ohrmazd A few miles East of Harmuth The trail from Bodrov has had its ups and downs. Hearing of the Old City in Harmuth, you decided to head north, until you hit the Chouyo river. At the spring of that tributary to the Tithe, the two met the strange and compelling traveler called Eater. But since the three of you left the town of Sending, you've found little success with the usual small tricks of prestidigitation or cold reading. Slowly your funds dried up, and the nice carriages that glided over rocks and bumps with ancient technology were suddenly out of your reach. A few days ago you met the man Ohrmazd, and hearing you were going to Harmuth, he joined you. So now you all find yourselves in the back of a Hackney pulled by an irritable young aneen, being whipped by an even more irritable driver.  "Come on! Come on then!" he yells as his flog slaps the rump of the creature again with a resounding thwack and the accompanying low call of an angry aneen. The road you're now on had last been leveled out what seems like centuries ago, and the Hackney's wheels are sunken down into the muddy ground at the top of a hill. With each straining pull and failure, the four of you in the back get thrown back and forth with the inertia. On the one hand, you're in a very beautiful part of Navarene, and you can see in the valley below a small pride of wild Calyptors, and hear their entrancing symphony of calls. But on the other, you feel somewhat exposed on this lonely road. It may be better to get moving as soon as possible. Susan-Who-Goes, Mazu Ikate 7 Nautical Miles away from Harmuth  On the deck of the good ship Monstra Viam, Mazu Ikate paces back and forth. It's strange to be a passenger and have no responsibilities for the well-being of the vessel. But to be honest, there haven't been many problems TO deal with. The vessel is an old and storied merchantman, with both the triple-masted sails common to Ghanic vessels, and also an ancient engine to fill the times of ill-wind. The crew are all fine Ghanic sailors, the sails and rigging have played nicely, and Susan hasn't even felt the problems of sea sickness. After setting out the waters of Ryness Bay were clear and the wind constant. Frankly it felt a little strange. But now the winds have failed, and the engines have thrummed steadily under your feet for the past few hours. To the West the distant moon is half-visible, its green visage a good sight on a voyage. But when the ship suddenly lurches, and a sailor almost goes overboard, you think something might be wrong. Welcome to Numenera! For your first post, please include your character sheet. Further, in your posts, if you could keep track of your stat pools like this: <Name>: M:(X/X)E:A; S:(Y/Y)E:B; I(Z/Z)E:C; XP:0 So tell me, what you were doing while traveling? Are you excited to be near Harmuth? Frustrated you have to go somewhere? Things like that!
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Sep 4, 2014 19:00
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:01 |
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For the folks on the road, just pushing the hackney with your shoulders is a difficulty 6 task, with an initial Might cost of 2. My suggestion would be either to work together (i.e. have one of you roll, with difficulty -1 for the others helping) and/or find something to help lift the back end.
Friar John fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Sep 5, 2014 |
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Sep 4, 2014 21:43
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On the Road As the driver continues to hit his aneen, he yells back at you "Don't expect to get a discount for helping!" and then begins murmuring to himself. As Eater, Ohrmazd, and Charus prep the hackney, their feet sucking and popping loudly in the mud, Paschal sees a sturdy-looking rock and branch at a distance off the road. Hitching up his robes so they don't get as dirty as they need to, he picks his way through dewy shrubs and prickly flowers, and curses the wild. Picking up the branch, he reaches for the rock when he realizes it's moving subtly on its own. He finds out why when the rock unfolds and changes color suddenly, revealing itself as a Drebil, a fierce and hungry ambush predator. But disturbed, it flies straight as Paschal's face, seeking to claw and bite at its disturber.  On the Sea With the sailors, Mazu looks down into the water, and sees little beyond the clear and bright ocean. Schools of multi-colored fish and the large Zoadonts, those friends to sailors, dip and weave in their acrobatics. When the captain of the vessel, one Jibra Sask (an old and unprepossessing sailor, whose coat buttons look like they survive encasing his bulk through sheer divine intervention) bursts out of his room at the aft deck, he's already yelling at everyone he can lay his red eyes on, including his passengers. "WHAT in the NINE HELLS just happened? Why are my engines off?!" You're struck at his anger, but you realize that the steady thrumming you've felt for the day has suddenly ceased. Paschal! Give me a Difficulty 3 Speed Task to avoid 3 damage, then you can take your own action. If anyone wants info about Drebils, that'd be a Diff. 4 Int test to recall general information about them (basic stats, if they travel alone or in groups, &c.). Paschal is a short distance away from the rest of you. Susan and Mazu, feel free to narrate about the ship, you've spent a few days on it and haven't been restricted except from captain's quarters and the engine room. Finally, in Numenera the players roll everything. If you want to do something (search for something, convince someone, the like), go ahead and roll for it if you want, and if I consider it unnecessary you can just refund any points you spend in it. That or you can ask me on IRC.
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Sep 5, 2014 04:21
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EDIT: Mis-posted
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Sep 5, 2014 04:46
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Drebil Country Even as Paschal flings the horrid little beast away from himself, avoiding anything worse than the shallowest of scratches, he sends out a burst of psychic force to rip it apart. But the creature is swift and deftly avoids the attack, and as Ohrmazd and Eater rush to help Paschal, the blast runs between the two and splits a small stone in half. Eater can tell from the dark purple coloration on the underside of the flapping monster that it is, in fact, a Northern Crag Drebil, which makes perfect sense, seeing that the group is now in the middle of their known habitat, as espoused by the old naturalist and explorer Jeran of Pytharos, whose works were vital to the proper classification of the many diverse and divergent families of animals to be found in the Ninth World, especially those smaller ones... Oh wait, Drebils. Small, annoying little bastards, with the intelligence of a child and comprehensible speech. Tough to find when they camouflage themselves, and they tend to hunt in mated pairs, but they often run very soon after being shown their prey is tougher than they may have sensed. But Eater's remembrance is cut short, as the little gremlin decides to go after her instead! The Drebil is level 2, but it has a speed defense of 3. HP: 20/20, Armor 1, does 3 damage. Attacking Eater! Gonna wait on Saberwulf for a day before moving the boat scene along.
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Sep 8, 2014 06:38
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You need a speed defense roll to avoid the Drebil's attack, ThreeStep - difficulty 2 to start, so a 6 and above to succeed in dodging.
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Sep 8, 2014 20:30
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The Sea Sask eyes Ikate, and you can see the battle between wanting the workings of his engines to stay secret and his desire to get moving again through his face. "Ohhh, alright," he growls out, "Yo-won said you're a good tinker, but I'm going down there too, and you better not tell any of those n'wahs like Captain Uhan how my ship works!" Pulling out a heavy key, he leads you and Susan to the lower decks. You pass by the bunks for the sailors, and in the deck below you pass the various heavy crates filled with merchandise bound for northern ports. You get to the heavy wooden door to the engine room and Sask pounds on it. "Open up, Jimma! What the hell's going on in there!" He pounds again, but with no answer. The only sound is that of your own shifting and breathing. Growling, Sask puts his key in the massive lock and, straining some, shifts the bar lock. As he opens the door, the portal is thrown open, blowing Sask back onto his rear end, and hundreds, if not thousands of thin black membranes fly out of the room, past you and everything else, towards the open sky. "Aah!" Sask screams, throwing his arms willy-nilly in front of his face, but the creatures (if they can be called so, for you can distinguish no limbs nor orifices on them) pay you no heed. After a few whirling moments, the stampede is over (though you can hear people yell in surprise and fright above you), and a dead body is lying on the ground, his hands stuck as if he were still clawing at the door that had kept him in. Turning him over, you can see his eyes, nose, ears and mouth are filled with the black fliers. With the immediate danger over, Sask trembles to his feet. "Oh no, notules," he says, seeing Jimma's body. Behind him, inside the long engine room, you can see the left and right walls are dominated by two strange mechanisms, clearly of ancient make. Several panels show evidence of being shattered from the inside. Who knows what the notules must have done to them? Impromptu Zoological Expedition Hearing Charus' tone of voice, if not quite understanding his exact vocabulary, the driver looks at the player and spits onto the ground. "You paid me to getcha to Harmuth my way. You don't like it, you can walk the rest of the way. But there're packsa broken hounds around, so I've seen, and they don't like aneen cuz of the smell. So if you wanna take your chances, go right ahead. But it was yer fella there who decided to go off the road." What a bastard. Off the road, the Drebil screams in Ohrmazd's hands. "STOP! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" it begins wailing, its voice high-pitched and reedy. Flapping out of Ohrmazd's grip, it lands on the ground and wobbles a bit away from the three big people, its skin color already changing to reflect the greening grasses around it. "You surprise Hog! Then you hurt Hog!" it yells at you. It begins to make a strange noise, until you realize that it's crying. You don't think it's going to attack you anymore, unless you do so first. Eater, no longer being attacked, remembers another passage from Jeran, where the naturalist wrote of asking Drebils about the lay of the land when in strange environs. Notules are an Int 5 task to remember info on, and the Drebil is out of the fight, being just over half health. If you want to find a real stone to use as part of a lever for getting the hackney out, that's an automatic thing, don't worry about another fight popping up now.
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Sep 9, 2014 21:04
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Fixing the Ship Wracking her brain, Susan thinks of the myriad of spirits and their various desires and appetites. She knows that many darkness spirits tend to drink heat and life -- perhaps that was the fate of Jimma? But these look nothing like the Tayo or the intelligent and evil Simur. Looking into one of the panels, Mazu thinks she understands what happened to the engines -- their powers are heavily drained, and so the great turbine that drives the screw is stopped. The notules must have been nesting and feeding off the energies of the engines, before bursting forth when their meal had ended. Though the particular mechanical architecture is unknown to Mazu, the design is similar in many respects to an ancient piece of tech she saw when she was apprenticed. The peculiar silver glass that, when she shines a light onto it, becomes gold, is a dead giveaway. With this realization, she looks to her right, near the door she came in on. Another broken section of casing juts out from the machine with a razor sharp jagged edge, and it suddenly dawns on Mazu just how many there notules must have been in there, to shatter this material with such force. But peering down, she sees the blue cube that powered the other machine. Grabbing a thin tool, almost like a screwdriver, but with a black point of light on the end (a gift from Hu-Ji, though he never told you what exactly it did or where he found it, that son of a bitch), Mazu pokes it in, and just like years ago, the strange device begins to pulse with a potent light. But the notules seem to have degraded the channels the energy takes. Not enough to stop the machine, but enough to make arcing jets of red lightning appear inside the machine. And before she is able to extricate herself from the inside, a snap of that power fires towards Mazu! Getting Out of the Mud As Eater works her strange magic on the Drebil, it runs its claws over its eyes and snout, before sniffing loudly. Its wounds are lesser than before, but without a word of thanks it runs away, back to whatever hole it calls home in this territory. Though Ohrmazd alone is unable to shift the Hackney, after several more attempts by the passengers, the abused aneen is finally able to shift the back wheels out of the mud, and with a sigh of relief from the passengers the Hackney starts trottering along again. ...though you have to jog a bit to catch back up to the back, as the driver refuses to stop to let you back on. What a bastard. Outskirts of Harmuth Some hours later... As the sun lowers into the West, to be drowned by the World-River Uroboros, the Monstra Viam slides into the dock of Harmuth. It is a modest town, with three decent-sized piers for the larger vessels, but Mazu's seen better. Sask waddles up to his two passengers, still a little pale from having to sink Jimma into the sea not too long ago. "Well, here you are, ladies, your stop. We'll be leaving first thing in the morning, as we've got nothing bigger than a few casks to unload here. I want to thank you for your help, and pray Jēma that you find what you're looking for. But for a place to stay, I can only recommend two places here - Taia's place and the hospice run by the Amber Priests. Beyond that I can't really help ya." On the other side of town, a group of four walkers trudges down a dusty street that slides down towards the sea, where they can see a large vessel harbored near the beach. Their driver having told them he wasn't going further than his stop, a mile outside of town, they had to walk the last bit themselves. Around them the mis-matched buildings of homes and businesses lean on each other or hang precariously over the street. You can hear some carousing in the distance. A matron, seeing your somewhat disheveled appearances, tuts, and says "The beggars go to the Priests, near the fishermen's homes," before going on her merry way. Welcome to Harmuth.  We're here! Saberwulf, give me a difficulty 4 Speed Defense or suffer 4 Speed damage. Everyone, feel free to fill in what happened on the way in. You got some time to kill before you can talk to the Ealdorman in the morning, so have some fun!
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Sep 14, 2014 05:22
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As Eater scours her memory for more info about Harmuth, her mind falls back on the Mystic Journeys guaranteed to Shower the Undertaker of the Travails with Blessings or; Further Journeys of the Master of Salvador of Estra, who had written that the siting of various ruins and artifacts inscribed a labyrinthine geography which, if properly viated upon by the pilgrim, would open up the 3rd center of enlightenment. Or get you devoured by broken hounds, the actual fate of the man. Either one! But as she remembers that fact, she realizes she doesn't really know anything beyond what the yellowed advertisement had said. Old City, Ealdorman Stenwith, at the mouth of the river. At least you ended up in the right town?  Susan, however, has a better time piecing together the various tidbits and rumors the sailors and others he had met had said. The town as it was now had been founded just about two and a half centuries ago, when an explorer had dug up what would become the civic shrine of the town. In it he found a small diamond that constantly repeated a short plea, that of a woman asking for her love, named Harmuth. Seeking to placate the spirit, the town was named such. Being the last stop in the Steadfast for ships heading north, or going into the Tithe, in addition to the logging industry and the mining of the Old City for numenera, means the city does not lack for prosperity, and has been growing steadily as men come from all around to find their own fortune.  As Susan and Mazu alight from the ship and head up slope away from the beach, they catch the sight of Charus Loryn enjoying his street-side meal, and the rest of them. The same thought goes through everyone's minds - what the hells are they doing here? The party is connected! Faces are recognized! The past remembered! Now you can all decide what you want to do together. Or not.
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Sep 17, 2014 03:24
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In the absence of a plan of action, Charus Loryn begins wandering off towards the shore to the north, away from the dock where the Monstra Viam is, and closer to the shacks and small homes of the fishermen. Following him, the rest of you pass by others running around town, some heading to parties and feasts, others to inns and pubs to go drinking. Onagers and destriers bray and bite at each other as they sit next to each other in the various stables, and more and more windows show the glow of lamps or glowglobes as the sky darkens into purple and blue. As you approach the beach, you see a large bonfire burning, with a few smaller fires around it, and groups of men, stripped to the waist, throwing things onto them all. On the large one, you see the glowing remains of large bones, and the smoke is heavy with the wonderful taste of cooked fat. The smaller ones seem to be cooking fires as well, and a group of musicians are playing a tune so that men and women dance to it. Above you, water-bills and other small fliers coast on the warm airs, perhaps hoping there will be remains for them to scavenge. A man comes up to you all, he is bronzed, clearly from working on the waters every day, and his bristly beard is rimed with sea salt, and his tall staff of driftwood is taller than he is. "Welcome, welcome!" he says to you all. "I do not recognize your faces, you must be new arrivals then? Have you come to see our liturgy for the Lord of the Waters?" He sees Mazu's uniform. "Ah! A Ghanic lass! You must have heard the calling in your legs when you arrived here! I have heard of the elaborate rituals performed in your land, and though we may not be able to compete with the richness of your own, in feeling and in devotion I know you will find us equal!" He lifts his stave. "But I forget myself! I am the priest Kula, and some call me the leader of the fishermen here in town. How may I help you?" a spy, Charus hears in the shifting of the sand under his feet.
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Sep 23, 2014 22:29
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 As Charus joins the liturgy, the worshipers are at first surprised, but then delighted by the strangely-dressed foreigner. They let him cavort and the musicians and dancers easily shift their tempo and movements to follow his lead. With his song done, they applaud him generously, and a crown of dried seaweed is placed on his brow. Kula is paternally friendly at the sight. "A wonderful voice, but something of a strange fellow isn't he?" he asks generally. After Ohrmazd's greeting, he beams. "Why yes, our Benefactor and Bounteous Lord is universally acknowledged, for is it not his domain that encompasses and entirely sustains our own lands? We have even received delegations from the strange creatures who live below the waves, and they themselves recognize the coral king's sovereignty. As for our fair city, it is indeed a home to many ancient works. And glory! Not a hundred years ago it was our regiment of foot that helped beat back the northern aggression at the Fallen Stele, holding the last open pass through the razor fields. And it was our sailors who found the strange forest in the western seas. While you're here, you'll see plenty of glory." And to Paschal, he is respectful. "Oh ho, I appreciate your polite bearing, but flattery will get you nowhere!" It seems like your words might have fallen on deaf ears, until he smiles. "BUT, I do have something of an ear with the Ealdorman, strange being as he is. I've learned how to best deal with him, which not everyone understands. I'm sure I can convince him your spiritual gifts are real blessings, as opposed to unlawful necromancy."
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Sep 25, 2014 04:37
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Kula's expression shifts into one of understanding at Susan's question. "Aahh, you must be the new experts, not a single merchant doesn't leave town without a bundle of flyers he saddles them with to hand out to anyone and everyone,," he looks you over once more, paying special attention to Paschal's cube and other accoutrements. "If you're meeting with Stenwith, he'll be keen to quiz you on your knowledge. The last person who came here claiming to be an expert at the numenera managed to get himself turned to dust in the catacombs of the civic temple. The smell took weeks to dissipate, and Stenwith was furious at the desecration, though you wouldn't be able to tell just looking at him." "Aha, sometimes I forget that not everyone knows our Ealdorman's different. He's not a man, but one of those Golthiar creatures. He speaks well enough, better than most, actually, but his voice tends to sound... monotone to most. They find it difficult to understand just what he's trying to emphasize, so he overcompensates a little, tells people exactly what his speech is meant to be. As long as you're aware he does it to everyone, you'll be less likely to stamp out of his office complaining about him patronizing you, like some visitors do. He's mentioned that among his own people, he can speak without words, but alas and alack, we men do not communicate by color." As he speaks, Paschal lightly rummages through his thoughts. A little bit of condescension But Kula is unaware of the searching. He smiles at Eater. "No need to worry. As long as you abide the law, you'll fit in just fine. Please, feel free to join us as we finish the ceremony. If you'll excuse me, I need to complete the main prayer before red Verthandi rises above the Riage. Bad omen should she watch over our rites." With that, he takes his leave, and speaks his words of worship into the sea breeze. After he is done, you are all invited to join in the sharing of the cooked fish, with plenty of flatbread and vegetables to go along. Taken by Charus' performance, a couple even offer to allow you to sleep on their main floor that evening. ---------------- Even before dawn, you hear the fishermen take to sea. But for you, there is another goal - to meet with the Ealdorman. Agia, the housewife who took you in, says you can go straight to the town hall, but early in the morning Stenwith is often in the civic shrine. Either one. Moving on a bit more! Feel free to narrate about the meal and the night. Anyone have any dreams? Anyone snore?
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Sep 30, 2014 06:45
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Recalling the weeks she spent with the Alchemists of Orind, Eater remembers one of that esoteric sect by the name of jNa. jNa had a great library of accounts of visitants, from the Augurs of Kala to Diruk and Varjellen. The man explained once about Golthiar, Eater remembers that much, but beyond the fact that they subsist like plants on water, sun, and dirt (and were thus, in addition to their literal existence as creatures with will and intellect, had a metaphorical meaning of how the intellect subsists on the most basic facts of the universe, but refines them into truth), she is lost in the recollection among the many alembics, retorts, the tools of cupellation, and the many annotated texts he had on his walls to help him in his search to find the plasma of life, that tincture that would restore wholeness to anything, no matter how long-dead.
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Oct 1, 2014 03:35
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After some discussion, the town hall becomes the agreed-upon destination. As you leave, Agia is very welcoming, and points out the spire and dome that marks the second ancient building found here, and what set off the first wave of excavations. As you go through the town, the sun over the Riage stirs everyone. Braying aneen and onagers struggle for space on the thoroughfares, men and women head to their trades, and far above the ground to the south you think you can spot the rare figure of a xi-drake, ruling the air. A few people point it out as well and smile - a good omen for the day! Getting into the building, you realize how a find like it might have spurred the first miners into going further. The inside of the building is far larger than the outside, with the ceiling stretching far beyond where it should have ended. A strange feeling passes over you as you go through the threshold in addition, and your weapons feel... tingly. Probably not the best sign. Already small crowds of people mingle and speak with each other. Deals are made, and the notaries are already signing off on contracts and making copies with memory ants. Shins and sovereigns alike are handed around  Delicate and beautiful geometric symbols cover the floor and in the distance you can see a spire, surrounded by several men in blue robes having a heated conversation. Near them, but clearly apart, an older man in heavy work clothes and an expression of clear frustration sits. As you approach the spire, a small green creature comes from another entrance, and speaks to the blue-robed men. They shout indistinctly at the newcomer, indistinctly at the range you're at, but clearly angry. He does nothing, but then his neck seems to grow taller, and his arm extends a bit, pointing off to another section of the building. The robed men huff, but leave. As you get near the green man turns around, and you see him clearly.  <Greetings> he(?) says, in a voice utterly devoid of emotion or tone. <I am the Ealdorman Stenwith, how may I help you today?> He looks at each of you with his single, unblinking eye.
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Oct 3, 2014 08:01
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 14:01 |
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This taking so long is entirely my fault. Crusader Kings II got its hooks in me again! Digging into the depths of his mind, Ohrmazd is left with nothing but the same abyss of amnesia, until the Ealdorman's eye changes colors quickly. Seeing it, Ohrmazd goes rigid. He sees ten thousand creatures, much the same, but of the highest nobility and heroism, with has memories of friendship and loyalty. And he knows they all died in battle. But just as he sees their tall frames, the vision is replaced by the Ealdorman, small and rough in comparison. Stenwith listens to you all, and his eye blinks once. <Ah. You must be numenera experts.> He carefully looks at you all, noting details and artifacts about you. <Well, I suppose the fliers are doing their job if you arrived. The council has allotted each expert 2 shins per full day you spend in the mines. We cannot pay your room and board. You may keep such ciphers you find and can carry, but those too large to move are to be the property of the town.> He looks to Charus. <We have no laws against magicians on the streets or in the plazas, so long as you do not incite the people to anarchy. We have had to deal with several charlatans in the past months, and I can tell you some of the citizens may not see kindly to your act if it bears a resemblance.> As Paschal probes his mind, he finds it harder to enter than Kula's the night before: it gently twists and turns upon itself, and when he thinks he has found a way in it turns into a cul-de-sac. But even failures tell him something: a little exasperation, but also some worry. He sees a group of other Golthiar, receding into the distance, replaced by a vision of... it looks like the interior of some temple, dark and incense-filled. Right, let's get back on track!
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Oct 15, 2014 03:59
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