|
Elgan Matavastros Elgan sniffs when he hears K'Shaial's quip. "You've got your 'fancy wizard from Phantas', what you lack is some dirty, nature-loving elementalist or the like to fling wind around willy-nilly. And for your information, I'm presently studying the magic of movement, but unless you feel like waiting around for a month or two for me to finish researching the proper incantations, I'm afraid it's not a practical solution. Were I an elementalist, I could just use a combat spell attuned to wind, though it would likely cost us most of the sail in the process, and perhaps the mast along with it. Regardless, this calm is most odd. The wind isn't like the ocean, it doesn't fall completely still for days on end under most circumstances, this is truly ill luck." To keep himself productive, Elgan moves to the door of the captain's cabin and begins tightening up the bolts on the handle, securing it more soundly. "You should be more gentle with the door, captain, there'll be naught I can do if you damage the wood, short of replacing the door entire." As he works Elgan thinks aloud about ways to deal with the Sub-men. "Hmm, maybe if we drop a barrel of lamp oil over the side, followed by a torch. drat waste if it doesn't work, though, and they might get the idea to ignite their arrows. My good spells are as likely to disintegrate the ship as the sub-men, probably best to save them for last resort. We could always start firing volleys right back at them, it's usually easier to hit while firing down than up, as gravity is on our side. The lack of wind presents a good opportunity in that regard, as no shots would be blown astray by an errant breeze, but the numbers difference...." He continues muttering half-formed ideas and strategies for dealing with the current situation, fixing the door handle almost on instinct.
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2014 16:34
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:03 |
|
|
Elgan Finished with the door handle, at least until Hoplon next broke it, Elgan peered over the side of the ship. "I'm not familiar with the primitive monkey dances of savages, but even so, that's obviously some sort of ritual. Whether to still the wind or summon some form of livestock for them to fraternize with, however, I can't say. Regardless, breaking it up would likely represent some form of progress."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2014 00:03
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shrugged at the captain's question. "Fastest way to break up their dance would be to return to the idea of a barrel of lamp oil. One of those on that bonfire would create a fairly nasty explosion. At night, they might even miss the barrel, and take it as a bad omen from whatever mud spirit their underdeveloped brains worship as a god. If we're lucky, the exploding barrel could ignite some of their tarps and other items, spreading the fire. This would also be most useful at night, as a fire so spread out would be more obvious to any Dracartan lookouts or patrols in the vicinity. Though, if we're very lucky, all we need to do to free ourselves is cease their dancing long enough for a breeze to carry us away."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2014 05:29
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan nods. "I'm seeing it, but I think our need to get moving outpaces any curiosity pertaining to unusual shapes in a fire. And I doubt I've any magic that would effectively contribute to the explosion, my additions would be the metaphorical drop in the bucket. Not worth risking a magical mishap over, especially when it could result in the barrel going up here, on the wooden ship. And as to the gears, I'll repair them if they're knocked out of alignment, but swabbing, well, the first of us to complain was the ideal candidate."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 01:27
|
|
|
Elgan The Phantasian scholar heaves a sigh as he starts toward the upper deck to help deal with whatever the hell was just unleashed. The explosion was far larger than it should have been, given that it was just a barrel of lamp oil. Obviously, the Sub-men ritual involved more than just stopping the wind. "Damned shamans."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 15:55
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shrugs. "Wind demon. Must have been what the savages were using to still our breeze. I'm going to err on the side of optimism and say that our interrupting their ritual prevented it from growing any larger than it already is. This is why I hate shamanic magic, by the way. Always some horrible thing from beyond just waiting to pop out and devour you." He began to cast one of his signature spells, a cantrip that channels magical energy such that it flows back out, empowering his later spells. To ease in its casting, he attunes the enchantment to the attack mode as he does so, making it somewhat easier to redirect the power. (Casting Elgan's Arcane Recursion: Attack, to boost my Attack casting by 2 for a minute. My bonuses from the Enchantment mode and MR are cancelled by the casting modifier, so it's a flat d20, I think. I got a 7, for Partial Success, assuming no other negative modifiers.)
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 17:47
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shrugs again. "I've not seen a wind demon, specifically, not outside of books, but the Lyceum teaches conjuration as thoroughly as any other mode, and more than once have I seen overly ambitious summoners slain by the very creatures they sought dominion over, often quite messily. That's why I prefer calling inanimate objects, they don't usually hunger for flesh, not unless you really botch the spell. As for whether this thing can be killed, I know it can be defeated, and removed as an obstacle, and that's plenty. For beings not of this plane, 'killed' can be a tricky concept." In truth, Elgan was more than a little worried, something that size would be a hard target, even if it wasn't a demon, but if the resident wizard were to show fear towards a magical creature, the others might lose all hope entirely, and so he adopts a flippant attitude in the hopes that it will keep his companions from panicking.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 18, 2014 18:09
|
|
|
Elgan (Sorry, slightly busy weekend, and I didn't expect such rapid posting.) Elgan spends a while focusing on the monster before him, before attempting his spell. He calls forth significant magical force and unleashes it in the general direction of the demon. He manages to cast the spell correctly, and the bolt of force goes screaming at their foe. (That is a level 10 Arcane Bolt attack, with a +1 from my earlier buff, as it was a partial success and I assume partials where there's a numeric effect just halve them. Got a Full Success on the casting check. Though, if any special bonuses apply, it could be pushed into Critical range.)
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2014 17:47
|
|
|
Elgan Brushing the dust and splinters from his clothing, Elgan begins walking up to the damaged mast. "I'll see if I can get the ship into somewhat reasonable shape on the way to port. We don't have the supplies to make full repairs, of course, but I should at least be able to ensure the ship stays in one piece." (Critical Success on patching up the ship temporarily with what supplies we have on-hand, I forgot to add the +4 from Specialist into my roll, so the total is 20, or 22 for any aspects that Nimble Fingers applies to.)
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2014 22:05
|
|
|
Elgan "The Za are good at two things, gentlemen. Fornicating with wildlife, and killing. We'll not be seeing that demon again, either way." Elgan finishes patching up the ship as best he can, doing better than he'd expected. "Assuming we don't run into any storms, we could probably make it to someplace safe without worrying too much about falling to pieces. Likely a safer wager than setting down anywhere near here, last thing we need is for those sub-men to find us again."
|
|
#
¿
Sep 26, 2014 00:09
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan sighs, resigning himself to the plan. "Well, don't blame me if we get killed looking around for clues to the obvious conclusion. Given that the Za are not clever enough to devise anything of this sort on their own, one is surprised they managed to get dressed without choking themselves to death, we must assume that some third party is manipulating them to do its dirty work. Given that said third party is capable of making by far the most idiotic race in all existence short of Monads into something resembling an effective hit squad, not to mention teaching them how to contact and control a wind demon without getting themselves killed, I find it unlikely that they'd have left any evidence in the immediate vicinity. At best, an examination of the ritual site could possibly help me glean information pertaining to the place of the ritual's origin, but given that the Lyceum Arcanum is where most magic is taught these days, and most of that is taught to a roughly standard curriculum, the most information I'm likely to get is whether or not the ritual was designed based on the Lyceum's teachings, or was made by someone taught elsewhere, such as Quan or further hinterlands, perhaps a lone, self-taught hedge wizard with dreams of grandeur. I suppose we might get lucky and find some missive or other document related to whatever orders they were under, but given that the Za are entirely illiterate, I'm not getting my hopes up." Elgan continues to grumble as he walks over the deck, patching up the smaller holes in the hull and doing his best to deal with all the minor incidental damage dealt during the fight.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 27, 2014 04:31
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan was not wholly insensitive to the captain's plight. Not understanding something can be a very frustrating condition, it's part of why Elgan seeks to understand as much as he can. However, his attitude often makes it an enjoyable exercise to talk circles around him. This time, he tries to put his thoughts as simply as possible. "The big one may have been augmented, that is, made real huge-like, by some sort of alchemy or esoteric, that is, unusual, magic. Most magic is impermanent by nature, that is, it doesn't last forever, so it's not likely magic was involved, unless it was far stranger, and stronger, magic than any I know." He pauses, realizing he should probably explain how alchemy and magic differ. "The difference between magic and alchemy is that magic uses, oh, let's just say it's magical energy, and we draw it out of the air, that's close enough. Alchemy uses stuff like leaves and mushrooms to make potions. Ah! It's like how alcohol is brewed, but more complex and using stranger stuff. However, I'm not aware of any mixtures with such drastic effects. He may have just been born big, or it may have something to do with the almost ritualistic way he's eating that creature's heart. He may be doing it to take on some of the beast's qualities. Put simply, it may be that the big guy eats hearts to steal the strength of his victims."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 1, 2014 03:54
|
|
|
Elgan Sighing quietly, Elgan casts his empowerment spell again, keeping an eye out for prime escape routes, just in case. (11, Full Success for +2 to the Attack Mode.)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 3, 2014 05:36
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan sniffs as the Za falls. "Guess he was just born larger than most. Had he been magically empowered, he'd have been tougher, I'd think." Figuring his magic would be of little use for the battle proper, he decides to soften up the enemies before the others make it to them. With a wave of his hands, he sends a small orb of arcane energy into the center of the savages, which then explodes with great force, greater even than Elgan himself had expected. "Well, then. Looks like we're all having a good day." He then takes position crouching behind the nearest dune, preferring his more physically fit companions face the wrath of the injured Za. (Critical Success on an Arcane Blast set to 5 damage, at the default radius of 5', centered between the Za such that as many of them as possible are caught in it. As it's a crit, I guess that means the damage jumps to 10.)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 5, 2014 05:12
|
|
|
Elgan (Ah, right, I missed the fatigue rules, and I had been going with the Arcane Blast description from the spell list, which I guess has some typos. I'll keep my numbers straight in the future.) Feeling a bit winded after all his spellcasting this day, Elgan decides to err on the side of caution for the moment, and stays ducked behind cover, preferring to conserve his mental strength for when it's needed, rather than slinging spells around carelessly. He'd given the lot of them a faceful of his power, last thing he needs is to embarrass himself by having a simple arcane bolt fizzle due to overexertion.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 9, 2014 05:27
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the captain attempt to dumb down his own speech for the Za, but he doesn't bother saying anything, naturally assuming that the irony is lost on Hoplon. Rather than get involved in the interrogation, Elgan begins searching the area for clues. He doesn't expect too much, but even the smallest piece of evidence could provide insight into the rather unusual situation the crew's found themselves in. (Using Analysis, rolled a Critical Success, barring any penalties.)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2014 07:21
|
|
|
Elgan Turning back to the group, Elgan explains his finding. "It seems the demon was summoned by alchemy, certainly an unorthodox way to go about it. Usually one would use a conjuration spell, so that tells me that whoever's in charge of these Za, they're no summoner. Further, this level of skill with alchemy greatly narrows the possibilities of what race our mysterious foe is a member of, as alchemy is not nearly so common a skill as conjuration magic. You don't often find alchemy this powerful outside of Cymril, Phantasia, or, rarely, Zandu. If one of you could translate for the captain, I'd appreciate it. Now, as for what a 'Tirshata' is, give me a moment, it sounds like I may have heard it before...." Elgan tries to remember if he'd ever heard of this Tirshata creature, along with any information that may pertain to it. (Since I don't actually have any clue what a Tirshata is or what skill it would fall under, but there are certain benefits to having points in literally every knowledge skill, so I'm just going to roll with intelligence, and then depending on which knowledge skill is required, it will add either 1 or 3 to the outcome. That's 14, so it will be a Full Success, regardless of which skill I need. This is, of course, assuming it's knowledge that any of us could possibly have. If there's no way any of us would know what a Tirshata is, well, there it is.)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2014 19:02
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan interjected into the captain's train of thought. "Peace is good for business as well, captain. The dead make no profit. Besides, the Alabaster Midnight isn't large enough to carry wartime provision shipments. And either way, I don't think we're dealing with anything as complex as all that. More likely, some alchemist with delusions of grandeur has some ridiculous plot to conquer the world or some such nonsense. It's amazing how many practitioners of the arcane arts lose their minds and enact some mad scheme or another. Hopefully, this will be the last of our involvement. Fighting people like that is more the job of some ragtag group of misfits and outcasts in need of some trite lesson about working togeth- oh, drat it all." Elgan rests his head in his hand as the realization dawns on him.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2014 04:13
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan looks at the captain with resignation in his eyes. "Something I'm sure you'll find pleasing. By all evidence, it appears fate has cast us in the roles of unlikely heroes, if the bards sing true. In short, we're probably going to have to kill an evil wizard before this is all over."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 17, 2014 16:51
|
|
|
Elgan (Yeah, if it's a cultural thing, Elgan's not gonna care, especially if it's from any of the primitive races like the Za.) Drawing a blank for once, Elgan furrows his brow. "Hm, thinking about it, I'm not familiar with anything called a 'Tirshata'. I'll guess that it's some sort of cultural icon, it would explain why I've not heard of it. Aside from that, it's a mystery we'll likely have ample opportunity to solve in the coming debacle." He looks off toward the city, sighing. He's studied enough contemporary history to know the patterns, and this one's shaping up to be quite a bother. "Well, no sense blathering on in the middle of the desert, we may as well head to civilization, where, like it or not, we will all but certainly be conscripted to deal with whatever it is that's going wrong. Hopefully, we'll be offered a reward, at least, and I suppose I wouldn't mind a little adventure, to be honest."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2014 10:26
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shook his head. "Kick away, captain. It's the best idea you've had all day."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2014 16:31
|
|
|
Elgan Nodding, Elgan follows Aabraz. "I think we're all agreed in that. Thinking on it, assuming we do end up stuck on some wild adventure or another, it would all but certainly lead to a significant culling of the local savage population, not a bad outcome in the least." He pauses, and turns to the captain. "That means we're probably going to get to kill a lot of Za if we have to go after the person responsible for the 'stilled wind' incident."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 19, 2014 21:53
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan nodded sagely. "Of course, captain, but, one thing we have in common is a certain relish for dispatching our enemies. Those mud-dwellers tried to kill us, and worse yet, they damaged the ship. I'll readily admit to looking forward to reducing a few of them to ash. Besides, I've been working on some new spells I've been wanting to try out."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 20, 2014 01:35
|
|
|
Elgan The ship's mechanic, finished with the more cosmetic repairs, moved to stand mext to the captain. Elgan had learned by now to sense the often subtle differences between the Thrall's moods, and it seemed as good a time as any to share a good view. He thought hard about what to say to get across his meaning without talking over Hoplon's head. Finally, the words came, and he spoke, "For all the complaining I may do when stupidity like the sub-men show up, nothing beats freedom, adventure, and discovery."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 21, 2014 13:13
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shrugged. "I've never been one to dream of lounging about some palatial estate. If anything, had I fabulous wealth, I'd simply drop out of the transporting business and take up exploration full-time. Catalog rare plants, find lost cities, rediscover lost arts, that's the life for me. No, staying cooped up at home would swiftly drive me mad."
|
|
#
¿
Oct 23, 2014 05:11
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan laughs. "I've certainly no contraband to report. Oddly enough, all of my alchemical reagents are still legal in most nations. Warn me if we're ever headed to Aaman or Quan territory, though." The Phantasian helped with the sails, along with other preparations for docking. He double-checked his repairs, as well, to make sure they'd hold up through the next few minutes. He was confident in his work, but there was no reason not to be careful.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 26, 2014 23:11
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan waits for the captain and pilot to speak before joining in, allowing them to dictate how much of their little encounter with the Za they reveal up-front. "Elgan Matavastros, ship's engineer. Our encounter with the sub-men was certainly troubling, we were forced to put a few of them down. If you've need of someone to file a report, I volunteer, as I have no pressing matters to attend to. I've also prepared a list of alchemical supplies to declare, nothing too exotic." His reagents were nothing out of the ordinary for a dabbling alchemist, but several of them were mildly toxic or could be used in a variety of narcotics and poisons, so most nations had regulations requiring them to be declared during customs inspections.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2014 04:39
|
|
|
Elgan "I should point out that, in my investigation of the ritual site, I discovered that the summoning appeared to be alchemical in nature, rather than a conjuration spell. Certainly not Lyceum orthodox. Additionally, one of the Za mentioned a 'Tirshata', something I've never heard of, but based on the context, it appears to refer to whoever, or whatever is leading them." Elgan only shook his head as Sev was dragged off, preferring to focus on things that matter, like investigating the recent actions of the Za.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 30, 2014 22:12
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan nods. "I've always liked visiting Dracarta. I would say it's almost as good as my own hometown, but I'd say my bias is clear in that comparison. Still, any city with a such appreciation for culture and scholarship is my kind of place. I look forward to taking a bit of shore leave, and I don't get to say that too often."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 8, 2014 00:21
|
|
|
Elgan In the tavern, Elgan keeps somewhat to himself and the crew, rather pointedly avoiding the other Phantasians. This may have to do with the last time they were in Phantas, when an experiment of his might have gotten a little out of hand, and there might have been significant property damage, but Elgan tries not to focus on the past. The Cymrillians, of course, would not be much happier to see one Elgan Matavastros, given what happened to the Lyceum's alchemy lab when he was attending. One benefit of being on a windship is never being stuck someplace where you're not exactly welcome. That said, a few of the travelers were from more exotic locales, where his reputation was not yet known, and Elgan engages them in some light conversation over his drink, sharing stories of past adventures, including the recent run-in with the Za. It didn't appear that Hoplon had any desire to keep the incident secret, so Elgan forewent discretion in the matter.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 9, 2014 04:24
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shook his head. "I don't know about a buyer, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of the Rangers having questions for us. Look at the historical patterns. When a group of such colorful individuals as ourselves get caught up in ominous happenings, it's inevitable that they wind up conscripted by fate, or chance, or whatever you wish to call it, to solve the underlying problem. On the bright side, the reason we know this is because those people's names became legend, so we can at least look forward to a warm reception at the end of all this, should we survive it. And if I'm wrong, then we'll be saved a great deal of trouble, though we'd miss out on all the excitement. Either way, I'd suggest not worrying about it, but stay alert. Best to be careful, you know."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 11, 2014 07:48
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan takes stock of the prospective passenger, hears her warning, and appears to think deeply for a moment, as though referring to a mental checklist. When he finishes, he immediately drains his glass. "Welcome aboard. Don't mind the captain, he'll catch up eventually, though no danger is too great to outweigh his lust for gold. Elgan Matavastros, I'll be keeping us aloft while your little errand does its best to reduce the ship to splinters. If you need something researched, I can do that, too." His tone is more wry than cutting, as he maintains a blunt realism regarding the coming adventure.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 19, 2014 20:07
|
|
|
Elgan Elgan shrugged, "When aren't we on the verge of being killed? At the very least, this will probably be more interesting than the thousand other ways we court death during an average transport run. Besides, we encountered something ominous on our way into port, and this doesn't sound the least bit related. It would be satisfying to defy fate by dying on a completely different suicidal quest to save the world than the one we're likely destined for. Unless, of course, this creature you need to kill is related to the Za, at which point I can take solace in having once again been right about something."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2014 05:01
|
|
|
Elgan The Phantasian nods along to Valdosti's story. "Yes, yes, fate of the world, generations-long grudges, desire for vengeance, sounds like quite the adventure. Honestly, you really needn't keep trying to convince us. Or dissuade us, whichever you're doing with that ominous storytelling. You offered the captain money to do something that isn't morally ambiguous, yet will doubtlessly involve copious applications of violence. We'd already be on our way if we weren't such polite listeners. A spare cabin recently opened up, I'm sure you're welcome to make yourself at home. Welcome aboard the Alabaster Midnight."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 24, 2014 23:47
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:03 |
|
|
Elgan Elgan does some calibrations.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 14, 2014 15:14
|
|