Leaving, on a Weird Plane
Ionjae, Canas, Ruzakeel, and Uzman gathered near the gate to Sigil to leave for Mechanus. Why? That, it seems, would depend on who you asked.
10.7.07
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Ionjae rechecks his packs and turns to his two compatriots, "Gentlemen, we have the chance to unlock something great and mystifying! Are you both prepared to spend the next few days in a plain that is likely bizarre and rational at the same time?"
Uzman yawns, "Why not?" Checking his own pack, he prepares to leave. "Are we walking, or taking the train?"
"I'm ready to leave whenever you want" Canas states simply, checking his bag for both supplies and a book he took out of the library on Mechanus, along with other reading material.
Oh, and did you want Ruzakeeel to go?
OOC: Heck, why not. If he can get out of classes, sometimes it's good to have a mage tag along.
"Excellent, where we're going we don't need trains!"
ooc: Nice almost quote. That may have to make an appearance as a scene title later.
ic: "Well, the Planar Express does stop in Automata, but if you want to walk, well, it's your show." Ruzakeeel sighs dramatically.
"No, we're not walking, Ruz. After you went to sleep, I went back to the library. It looks like we've got choices. We can head into the Hive in the Hive, and catch a portal to the Formian section of Mechanus, or we can try not to get kicked out of the Lady's Ward before we slip through the portal to a more Modron controlled area of Mechanus. Any votes?" Ionjae asks.
"Where exactly are we headed? I find walking tedious," Uzman declares.
I would also like to know if you have an idea where to start looking. If you don't, or even possibly if you do, it might be prudent to avoid the lady if at all possible, despite how much I'd like to start out near the Modrons."
"I can certainly see your point," Ionjae nods. "In case this gets back to Professor X., I informed him that I would be attempting to make a pact with the Formians... and depending on how things look over there it may pay to have them working with me. As long as the pact they require doesn't take too much time to offer it wouldn't hurt to have a group of them assisting us."
"Wait, are we not after what you told X. we're after? Trying to impress him? Could work. Maybe it'll clinch that scholarship you've been wanting." Ruz seems approving.
"I won't be much help with ants. They aren't exactly my specialty," Uzman comments. "But it sounds like we're heading their way. We might as well start," he says, as he walks towards and through the gate to Sigil.
Presumably, everyone follows.
Follows, through the streets of Sigil, that bizarre torus of a city, with streets below your feet, and streets visible above your head, and streets curving around laterally. The hive is Sigil's slum, and the Hive in the Hive is a slum within that slum. The Formians have taken advantage of a portal to their colonized portion of Mechanus to colonize a bit of Sigil. The buildings here aren't exactly ant mounds. They share some features with mud wasp hives, or termite mounds, but they are undeniably insectoid.
"Halt!" commands a tall creature. At first glance it appears to be a four armed humanoid in lacquered armor, with an ornate, though oddly formed, helmet. Ionjae recognizes it as a formian warrior. The others gradually realize that the armor is actually exoskeleton, and that it isn't humanoid at all. "What do you want here? Outsiders are not welcome in our clan's compound."
"Ahh, Formian Guard, please forgive our presence. We're traveling from Hedgemere Academy and have been charged with an assignment in the Cogs. We only wish to enter your domain to traverse to your plain. Do you bid us entrance?"
"I will ask." It tilts its head like a confused dog, clacks its mandibles a few times, and responds. "My matron has decided. We require a favor. We are short on space. The Bleak Cabal has been preventing our further expansion for some time. We require the ground beneath the near wing on the Gatehouse, and the nearest block of houses. When they are ours for assimilation, we will allow you the access you request."
"Forgive my confusion, but if you require the land beneath those buildings," Ionjae raises his hands slightly, "what prevents you from taking it?"
"The land they sit upon, and the space under that ground. We need to demolish their buildings and build our own.
"We do not have the strength to openly oust them, though once we have the additional colony space, we will have the ability to hatch more warriors to hold it. But now, we are at a stalemate.
"My matron is aware of you, and so she asks this of you. Be discrete, however, or she will be displeased."
Canas appears lost in thought for a moment, then turns to his companions. "Well, it's up to you guys, but if you want to pursue this I have a few ideas, though only one could even be considered to possibly fit into the general idea of the word 'discrete.'"
OOC: If your counting, that's three qualifiers.
"The city mortuary is nearby. I could raise some dead, just long enough to start a fire," Uzman suggests.
Ruzakeeel objects. "We could just go into the Lady's Ward, and take the long way around. You really want to start a fire, or something possibly less discrete in the middle of Sigil? The cops'll be on us in no time, not to mention all the people who might die."
ooc: Upon reflection, I've realized that this whole conversation has been a bit abrupt. I'd like to relocate the more recent bits. I'll back down if anyone is opposed to revision, but it's seeming a bit silly, and it's all my fault.
ic: After the initial inquiry, Ant-Man communicates with the matron, who has you brought into her presence. You are led among various piles, which seem to be constructed of mud, with wooden beams embedded, as well as rocks, and whatever else was at hand. You are led into one of these, and down into a chamber underground. The matron, an enormous insect with an elongated abdomen, is before you.
She doesn't speak; the air simply vibrates to create her speech.
"Our portal is a valuable possession to us. Normally we would not even entertain your request, let alone grant it. However, you are known to us, and can be of service. The Bleak Cabal has been preventing our further expansion for some time. We require the ground beneath the near wing on the Gatehouse, and the nearest block of houses. The land they sit upon, and the space under that ground. We need to demolish their buildings and build our own.
"We do not have the strength to openly oust them, though once we have the additional colony space, we will have the ability to hatch more warriors to hold it. But now, we are at a stalemate.
"Be discrete, however, or we will be displeased. When this space is ours for assimilation, we will allow you the access you request."
ooc: Presumably, the rest of the conversation goes as it did before.
OOC: I am still not entirely convinced of the wisdom of trying to form a pact with ants, while at the same time maintaining one with spiders. Call me crazy.
ooc: I don't see why it would be a problem, but that's for Ionjae to decide. Maybe it is a horrible idea. But if it is, maybe Josh wants Ionjae to die a horrible death. Or, it could be brilliance. Who knows?
ooc: a horrible death?
ooc (cont.): Dan... or anyone else a bit more familiar with planescape. I recall very faintly that the Lady of Pain employs a group of workers that wander about the city and change the physical characteristics of the area. adding roads where once there weren't, adding color to other areas, and finally... altering the very buildings that stand on the streets. is this true?
ooc: http://www.planewalker.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia.php?intEntryID=37
That's probably what you were thinking of. Dabus, if the link fails.
ooc: ya ha! that's the one. thanks. I just have to figure out how to get the Dabus to redistrict those buildings out of the way.
ic: "Well, depending on how we wish to play this card, I believe that my previous pact may aid us. I believe I can create an 'infestation' which will force the Lady's Dabus corps to eradicate the building, and it's site."
ooc: Clever. Lets see how it goes.
ic: "Wouldn't that put the spiders at risk? You'll be in trouble if you get a bunch of them killed." Raz seem nervous about the whole thing.
Uzman, on the other hand, is completely comfortable with setting up the mechanisms of Sigil to crush the unwitting in their gears.
"Raz, you are only too right. However, I foresaw this and included in my pact with the queen guidelines on how to repay her if any of her children were lost while in my service. Thankfully, these creatures are cunning, strong, and bred for battle... so perhaps I shan't owe as much as I could. We'll need to exit Sigil for me to conjure them forth."
"That works for me, much better idea than superheating the air until everyone left then causing a structure malfunction..." Canas begins to ramble slightly, but catches himself. "Anyway, I'm for it if you think your summoned spiders can do this."
"I do. We will need to return to the school for me to conjure - and then I'll bring them through with me, we'll have to be quick about this. The faster the encroachment the quicker we can find this ancient people."
"So, back to school, summon - how many? - a few dozen spiders, and back here? How long do you think it'll take for the dabus to notice this infestation?" Raz asks.
"I'll wait there," Uzman points, "on the corner. Come get me when you're ready. I'll see if I can spot anything useful."
"... a few dozen? I was thinking more like a gross. Plus a good number of eggs as well. Either way I benefit. I uphold my pact and the spiders are satisfied that I am doing what I can to aid them in the continued growth of their race, or I build a relationship with the Formians and impress the good professor."
"Uzman, this shouldn't take more than an hour, tops. We'll return and see what we can find."
Ionjae heads back to the Academy recalling the agreement he made on repayment for each deceased spider in his charge.
A gross of spiders... Gross.
So, you head back to Hedgemere, and summon up 144 phase spiders, and several egg sacks. They mill about, looking very intimidating. Ick. Given their natural abilities, it won't be too difficult for them to get where you're going. They'll just flit from place to place, along rooftops, and through basements, teleporting along.
If there's nothing else you want at school, you can make it back to the Hive well before Uzman gets worried.
Pleased with the speed of the conjuring, I give the spiders my blessing to the area in question. Warning them of some expected resistance from the people living and working in the area, as well as the Dabus.
We then head back to the Hive and give word to the Queen of the Hive. I ask her to agree upon a pact where I can depend upon her warriors for defense and combat if I can assure her additional support on base growth and outpost founding.
What exactly are you attempting to accomplish? Getting the building condemned requires that the dabus first notice the infestation, and then see it as a threat to the city. How are you going to manage this?
(Assuming we're marginally close to somewhere people pass through, and assuming this problem is brought up)
"Well, if we're close enough to the city, one of us could create a faux spider to cause havoc and attract the attention of the Dabus, from there it wouldn't be hard to lure a group to this building. That is of course assuming any of us can make said faux spider. A real spider would work even better of course, but with the risk involved that's up to Ionjae.
OOC: Should I assume a single rank in Illusion doesn't quite give me the talent to make said illusionary spider?
ooc: my apologies, I was a bit distracted when posting. allow me to rephrase.
ic: Prior to the arrival at the Hive within the Hive, Ionjae pauses knowing that a few of the spiders still surround him. "My friends, please, make any and all actions to bring attention to yourselves. We need you to be considered a threat post-haste, and while I know your nature is stealth... I require that you spread the word to your brothers - if you can take ten to fifteen percent of your numbers, along with all but one of the eggsacks and find a quiet area to settle. You will need to protect your brothers while they slumber, but I shall return on occasion to see how they develop."
Ionjae looks at Ruz, smiles and whispers to him, "Ruz, I am in need of you. Can you please give my charges fifteen minutes to spread the word to their brothers, and then find a Dabus and inform it that there is a mighty infestation that has already claimed the lives of a few unsuspecting individuals."
ooc: No, a single rank in illusion is not going to get you a monster spider. One rank gets you simple temporary things. So, a spider, sure, but not a big scary one.
ic: About 15 spiders scuttle off, bearing egg sacks into the ghetto, in a different direction from the Gatehouse. The rest, after quietly getting into it, begin making forays out of it. In groups of 3 or 4, they attack single passers by, quickly bringing down their prey. Some screams from inside imply that the same is happening within, although screams are not too unusual from the Gatehouse, so it's hard to tell for sure.
Uzman takes the opportunity to raise a few of the murdered bystanders, and send them into the building. Soon, smoke is visible.
Ruz takes of running. Ionjae and Canas are hesitant to use their magic directly, for fear of being tied to the incident. Most of the work is left to the spiders, and to Uzman's soon to be destroyed zombies.
Within a half hour, the three have retreated, as the fires have spread a bit more enthusiastically than anticipated. Buildings still stand, but the smoke is thick and fresher air is welcomed.
Ionjae is beginning to worry about Ruzakeeel, when Ruz finally runs up. "I found one, and told him that spiders were infesting the Hive and attacking people. It took me a while to figure out what it said. Their speech is incomprehensible. A crowd, open arms, and an eye, all in a weird bubble by its head. I think it means 'Others,' then 'welcome,' but really 'will come,' and 'see.' Awkward way of communicating." Then he points. "There they are."
Three dabus float into the area. The fires die down, and the damage is seen to be only superficial. At waves of their arms, some buildings and facades crumble, leaving open space. Then they turn to observe to Gatehouse. It was the worst hit by fire, but also the sturdiest to begin with. It is structurally sound still, though badly in need of repairs. Two dabus float in. A few minutes pass, then some wild eyed people shuffle out of the building. The dabus return, and join their fellow. Together, they gesture, and one wing of the building collapses. Another concerted wave, and the streets swallow all the debris. Then they float off.
The poor inhabitants of the Hive close in and almost immediately, construction on new tenements and shacks begins.
Ionjae attempt to call forth any of the attacking spiders, to see if any have escaped the flames and undead.
"Perhaps this is enough land for the Formians to made a concerted push. As soon as I learn the status of any surviving phase spider we can return to the Queen of the Hive and offer our work to her for passage."
Your phase spiders have buggered off. Lacking instructions, they'll probably try to find you, but not many of them survived. The dabus made sure of most that weren't killed in the fire (not many were killed by fire). You've got about 30 or so, other than the ones you sent off, who will come looking for you. Still, I'd suggest not waiting for them. That space will be claimed quickly.
So, back to the Formian Matron.
"That is sufficient. My workers are moving to claim the space we need for new hatcheries. This one will show you to the portal you desired."
A warrior leads you among the mounds, and into another one. Once you're there, you see that the colony spread from this central spot. The key, apparently, is just any fragment of chitin. The warrior hits a passing worker, and sheers off a layer of its carapace. The worker barely pauses, and continues carrying an unidentifiable mass in a seemingly pointless direction.
The warrior tells you, "You have the thanks of the Scared Chitin Clan." The four of you pass through, and into Mechanus.
Description to follow.
Gears, obviously. They're all around, grinding against one another. Some are bare metal, or stone, while others have as much as several feet of earth piled on them, with plants growing. Presumably, since they are all interlocked, these gears are all part of some vast machine, but no one has ever been able to determine the overall structure or its purpose.
The gear you come out on is a fairly small one, only about 20 feet in diameter. But adjacent to it are two much larger ones. Small villages could be comfortably fit here, along with a few fields. In fact, that appears to be nearly what has happened. The formians have set up a colony on one of the two, and appear to be using the other as a farm of sorts.
As far as you can see, gears turn, and shafts rise from them to turn other gears. Occasionally, pulleys and chains lead from one place to another, and sometimes staircases wind around vertical shafts.
You are in the belly of a terrible machine. Try not to get crushed in its gears.
Noises. There are lots of them. Gears grinding, beams creaking, chains clanking, pulleys squealing, formians chittering. Lots of noises.
Just not, apparently, humanoids discussing or acting.
Surveying the area, Ionjae calls from his memory the rough idea of where his departed cousin was last seen. He makes his way over to one of the Formians and asks him for directions to the area in question.
The formian worker chitters for a moment, then raises one limb and gestures off in a direction. Which direction is difficult to determine, as you are on a rotating platform. North-ish, but you'll quickly be confused if you don't leave soon. You do note a distinctive missing tooth in one of the gears one level up in that direction.
Nodding, Ionjae turns to make certain his traveling compatriots are with him and they hurry off in the direction that the Formian worker directs them too.
"Come along, we don't have that much time... and the longer we wait the worse chance we have of finding him!"
OOC: Sorry it took so long for me to post again, I've been gone/work/fixing laptop.
IC: Before moving Canas quickly rummages through his bag to grab the book on Mechanus that he pulled from the library. He pages through looking for a map (to figure out where the Modrons are in relation to north-ish if at all possible).
As he catches up to the group, Canas markes the page and closes the book. "Umm... Ionjae, pardon my ignorance, but who exactly are you looking for anyway?"
Ruz agrees. "That is a good question." Uzman yawns.
You set off, making decent progress, though having to wait occasionally for a gear to rotate into position, and taking care at the meeting places.
"Hmm, no harm in telling you now," Ionjae concedes.
"As you know there was a murder a few weeks ago, a first-year, and rumor has it that his soul was literally ripped from it's place. The young boy, was my cousin, and while I mourned his passing, a... credible source informed me that he had seen a wispy fellow that meets my cousins description haunting the section of the gears that we're heading to."
Ionjae pauses for the gears to align, then continues. "I understand that you all may have come with me had you known the truth, however - I was warned specifically by the instructors to not follow any leads that may uncover what may have happened to my cousin. Because of that, the only people who did know about this ghost - were my sister and I."
Ionjae stops and takes a swig from his canteen, the gears grate and click together. He continues, "Guzman, you're my only chance at uncovering the where abouts of my cousin's spirit, and I'm willing to consider that this is a potential setup to lure a few more students to their death - so please, be on guard, and expect the unexpected. But do note, that I will not leave us undefended, I plan on summoning a few spiders shortly to our cause, and I believe I may be able to conjure a number of the Formians without disturbing the queen too much."
Ionjae waves his hands, pointing towards the gear dais ahead of them and a blue portal swirls open dropping six large, hairy forms to the ground. The spiders squirm and communicate with one another, and Ionjae seems pleased.
"Anyone looking to return to the school grounds, I'll certainly understand."
Uzman nods. "Right. Dead boy's spirit is more my field of expertise than unknown varieties of spirit. We're good."
Ruzakeeel says "I'm not gonna leave you alone now, buddy. If this might help you figure out who killed your cousin, I'm in."
Canas opens his mouth to speak, but doesn't get the chance, because you're....
COVERED IN BEES!!!
Or, you will be, if you don't do something about the giant bees that are attacking. Giant bees? What malicious god had that brilliant idea? They have hand-like appendages on the ends of their legs, and they're carrying spears. Have fun.
Ionjae throws his hands upward, and a powerful gust of wind rockets up and away from the students, it seems to come from beneath the gear they stand upon and the loose dirt and plant life not with the immediate vicinity of the four is torn "skyward" and clouds the air overhead. "Protect yourselves! I shall call the spiders!"
Ionjae frantically motions for the spiders to come to their aid, not knowing how they will respond to his urgency.
Gust of wind. The bees weave as the wind passes them, and keep coming.
You summon a total of six spiders. Six panicked spiders, once they see what they're up against. Seems they can't fly, and don't have time to build a web. Oh well, there are now more targets on the ground.
Uzman looks around for something dead to raise.
Ruz blows a bit of that dust you raised into the eyes of one bee, which collides with another. Both fall to the ground, temporarily stunned. The spiders find something useful to do, and set about finishing them off. Two down, eighteen to go.
Seeing the spiders struggling to reach the hovering bees, Ionjae speaks, "Times like this I wish I had specialized in Abjuration!"
Crouching down and touching both hands, palms flat to the surface, Ionjae closes his eyes. He looks to be cowering in fear.
Slowly the gear begins to glow, and quickly the individual students realize that he is opening what seems like a one way portal. The colors that flicker and convulse across the surface dizzy all that look down, and as he lets out a deep sigh, Ionjae pulls forth a veritable jungle of trees, deeply rooted in a different dimension but thick enough to offer cover from the flying monsters!
"Quickly! Ugh...," he stumbles into the dense foliage.
Canas raises his hands, fingers extended, and watches the bees surrounding the group, small bursts of electricity arcing from his hands toward bees that come too close. "Why are we being attacked?! We're not near some colony are we?!" Brow furrowed, Canas' stance changes and he makes a violent gesture with one arm; a blade of wind sweeps through a number of bees that approach at once.
OOC: Wow, shouldn't have taken that break before posting, new comments came up.
IC:Seeing whats happening, Canas breaks from defending/attacking and bolts for the trees, his concentration completely broken in the chaos.
Ooc: Lets see, should I let you conjure a jungle? Seems a bit extreme. I think I'm going to allow it, but it won't last long, a few minutes, and you'll be only marginally less blown than you were after escaping the god killing incident.
ic: Once under the trees, the spiders quickly make themselves useful, quickly weaving webs to discourage bees from venturing in. Uzman pulls some bones from a pouch at his belt and starts waving them in the air. The two dead bees begin to rise.
Ruz is nearly hyperventilating. "Did we bring any weapons?" At Ionjae's head shake, he asks "Why didn't we bring weapons? We've got to do something. Can either of you throw some fireballs or something? Wind didn't help so much. Canas! Do that thing with the lightning again! That looked promising!" He begins to throw rocks and branches, to little effect.
The zom-bees are helping. The initial two take down a third, who rises again to assist as one of the original two is struck down. The bees are distracted.
"Alright, I'll do what I can." Canas brings his hands close to one another, sparks jumping across his fingertips as a bright ball of energy appears between his hands. The ball of energy quickly grows brighter as he holds it there for a second before thrusting his hands toward the bees. The glowing ball moves quickly toward the swarm of bees. Once the ball reaches said bees Canas rapidly moves apart his hands and a large number of lightning bolts erupt from the ball, hopefully hitting as many of the enemy as possible.
OOC: Heh, Zom-bees that's pretty funny.
ooc: Dan, please recall my first pact... the one from before the Spiders.
ic: "If it's fire we need, then it's fire we get!" Ionjae braces his frame against the thick trunk of one of the numerous trees, cupping his hands together and murmuring something beneath his breath. His hands begin to glow, changing in color from pale white to a bright, dark purple.
Outside the jungle, a dozen or so small gouts of flame pop into existence and slowly begin to revolve around an invisible central point. As they spin on this axis, the flames grow and change from yellow-orange to a black-red.
The flames grow and grow the faster they spin until they explode in a frightful burst of speed, shooting upwards towards a dozen of the giant bees, behind each trails a scorching tail of heat and sulfur.
The jungle begins to descend back into the plain that it was conjured from.
ooc: I concur, 'zom-bees', nice.
ooc: Can you imagine what a skeletal bee would look like? I sure can't.
ooc: Sure you can. That's all you ever see. Exo-skeletal bees. Same thing, they just wear theirs on the outside.
ic: Electrified bees fall from the sky, though not as many as the embattled friends would like, and so do bee spears, actually slashing Canas' arm.
Another wave of bees swarm from the same direction as before, drawn by the scent of their hive-mates' distress, just as Ionjae makes his announcement.
The whirligig of flaming death consumes all the bees, two of the zom-bees, and the nearest crank shaft, sending a gear crashing from above onto another off to the right. The trees have enough time to begin to smolder before they dissolve into their home, the demi-plane of Nature.
"Shit. First the bees wanted to kill us, now the Modrons will." Ruz wipes his brow.
After a few moments of staring in shock at first the burnt husks of bees, and then at the exhausted Ionjae, all four get a panicked look as the gear beneath their feet shudders, missing its connection to its familiar upstairs neighbor. They run to the next, and the one after that, jumping the gaps between, only stopping to gasp for breath, and for Ionjae to actually collapse, when they feel they've reached a safe distance.
ooc: sooo sleepy.
ooc: Pretty much. And that ripping holes in reality thing has to stop, or either you're going to piss off some resident god (if you haven't already) or I'm gonna have to sic Cthulhu on you.
Oh, and Ionjae is still conscious, just not mobile.
"Well," starts Canas, still panting, "Now we have a new problem, it won't be long before the Modron's figure out something happened and come to assess the situation. As much as I'd like to meet the Modrons, I wouldn't call these ideal circumstances, so our best bet is to keep moving and look for a more hidden place to stop, or at least put as much distance as possible between us and the broken gears."
With that, Canas first attempts to deal with the gash in his arm before mumbling something under his breath as a decent sized floating translucent bluish plate comes into existance. He turns to Ionjae, "Sorry if this seems undignified but we should probably keep moving until we find a better place to rest, and it doesn't seem like you can walk very far. We should get moving, North if possible I suppose... I don't know how long I can hold this," finishes Canas, visibly tired from casting a number of spells in a row, then having to sprint.
"No, no. I understand, I left myself open for far worse than Tensor's Floating Disc. Thankfully, I'm just exhausted... I feel in good health otherwise."
Tensor's floating disk? Is it just a disk that, well, floats? Or is there some quirk I'm missing?
Tensor was one of the first dungeons and dragons characters. There are some spells named after them, which they invented, but because of copyright laws, any name has been replaced with "Mage" for online articles. Yes, it's just a disk that floats, very simple, but very handy I find.
ooc: oh man, sorry. I totally didn't even realize that I posted that. I guess I totally brain-farted back to 2nd ed for a second.
So Ionjae is carried off on Canas' floating disk. They all head off in the direction of Gear #222893. A few hours of travel, and no major interuptions later, and they find themselves reaching their destination.
In the time it took them, the impression that they were wandering through the interior of an impossibly vast pocket watch had begun to wear off, though the sight of mechanical cubes wandering about making repairs and adjustments did not cease to make them wonder what it was all for. The occasional formian colony or bee hive seemed horribly out of place. They gave the latter wide berth.
On Gear #222893, they look around. There's nothing much there. Rubble of a gear fallen in the distant past. Remains of what looks like an attempted settlement, long abandoned. Aberdal's ghost is not in evidence, at least not in plain sight.
"This is the place that the man spoke of, does anyone see anything?" Ionjae props himself up on the disk, the strength having returned to him slightly.
"Guzman...?"
Uzman concentrates for a moment. "There is a spirit that way." He points, then leads the way to a tumbled down house, now more of a wall and a patch of roof, though a table has made it through mostly intact.
Aberdal is there, sitting on the floor against the wall, clearly not yet come to terms with his newly incorporeal nature.
"So, what do we do about your cousin there? Just walk up and say hello, or do you have to handle this in a more roundabout way? Oh, and how much longer until you think you can walk? This isn't a terribly complex spell, but it has been a good deal of time, and I'd like to have some reserves left in case we get into more trouble..."
"Good gracious Canas, I hadn't intended for this to inconvenience you." Ionjae gingerly steps off the floating disk and tenderly places his full weight onto the ground.
Pausing for a moment to gain a better level of control over his balance, Ionjae then speaks, "As for my cousin, Guzman, do you know will I be able to interact with him?"
"I don't see why not. You could try it, anyway."
Slowly, at first, Ionjae shuffled, stumbling at certainly awaiting the gears to shift into place, before picking up enough strength to begin a normal enough walk to the faltering building where his departed cousin stayed.
"Aberdal... cousin? Can you hear me?" Ionjae sheepishly and cautiously peered about the crumbling stones in search of his family member.
"Aberdal? Yes, that's me. Cousin? Have you seen my cousins? They're here too. I'm just starting, a first year, but they're older. Uncle said they'd look out for me. I don't understand what's going on, but I'm sure I'll catch on soon enough."
He seems cheerful, but very confused. He doesn't recognize Ionjae, and even seemed a bit surprised to remember his own name. He continues to ramble recursively (think a bit like Will Turner's dad in the last Pirates movie, but less hopeless).
Uzman leans in and whispers to Ionjae "He's not all there. I mean, his spirit isn't all there. Maybe half. We won't be able to resurrect him without the whole thing, and we won't get much information out of him in this condition."
Ruzakeeel, overhearing, says "That's horrible. To divide a soul, that destroys a person's chances in the afterlife. A completely vindictive variety of necromancy."
Uzman grunts.
"Ruz, is there a way that you may be able to bind his soul to something of mine? Perhaps a trinket or something that I'll be able to take with me until we can divine his other part?"
"Maybe, but are any of us enchanters?"
Uzman answers "I could bottle it. Keeping souls in a bottle is fairly simple, and there's even an extenuating circumstance here. We may have to destroy the half we have to find the half we don't have though."
"... Uzman, why would I need to destroy half my cousin's soul to find the other half? Wouldn't that... I don't know, be a bit counter-productive?!?" Ionjae seems mad.
"I'm sorry. Not all goals are simultaneously achievable. I wasn't saying it had to be done, just that the methods I can think of would not be without risk. Bottling him lets you think it over, and keeps his confused soul out of harm's way. Your cousin, your call."
"No harm done, I'm just not willing to consider destroying my cousin's soul to fix the problem." Looking to Ruz, "... do you happen to have a bottle handy?" Then back to Uzman, "... by holding onto his soul, would we have a better time finding his other half using your necromatic abilities?"
"Better, yes. We can discuss options when we're safely home. I'll bottle this half." He waves Ionjae and the others back a bit, then begins talking softly to the spirit. He takes a stoppered bottle out of his pack, along with some chalk and a candle. He lights the candle, then begins sketching out designs with the chalk. He puts down the chalk, and picks up the bottle, then hauls back and punches the spirit in the face.
Ionjae is held back physically by Ruzakeeel and Canas, who are viewing the proceedings a bit more dispassionately.
Uzman's fist makes only a minor impression on the spirit, but the wall behind Aberdal's head is not so kind to Uzman's fist. His knuckles bleed copiously. He unstoppers the bottle, inhales deeply, seemingly sucking Aberdal into his lungs, exhales into the bottle, and restoppers it, smearing the rim and cork with his blood.
"Now what?"
Seeing that Uzman is willing to risk himself for a boy he knows little of and hardly at all. Ionjae smiles and responds, "Well... the hard times over and done with, might as well try to get some extra credit, hmm boys? There are a few Formian colonies about and I'm sure if we work together we may be able to get one such hive to befriend us.
And, as seeing that that large selection of gears have fallen in on themselves, we may need to find a different route home anyhow. Who's game?"
OOC: Sorry for my long absence, I've had a very busy week.
IC: "I'm all for staying here, I have my own reasons that I have yet to take care of, so I would've stayed, even if you guys left... Since I'm trying to deal with Modrons, I don't want to be near any of that chaos we caused earlier when I speak to them, so why don't we head toward one of these colonies, since it seems like Ionjae has gained back enough energy to move."
"I'll stay with you, as long as you want," Ruz assures Ionjae.
"I have nothing better to do," Uzman agrees.
"Just what is this you want to do with the Modrons?" Ruz asks Canas. "And what are we trying to get out of the formians? Are you still looking for a pact?"
"Ruz, you hit the nail on the head with that question. The way I see it, and the way the professors explain it - the more pacts the better off you are. Consider that I already have an agreement with a group of covert carnivorous giant arachnids, what better addition to my list of dependable summons than a militaristic omnivorous giant insects?"
"So you're just looking to gain as many dangerous omnivorous allies as possible? What do you want out of them?"
"I can't expect you to understand why creating pacts is so important to a Conjurer. Let me attempt to explain it in simpler terms than our first year "Intro to Summoning" professor," Ionjae smiles.
"I can easily tear a hole in the fabric of time/space to pull forth anything that my heart may desire... however, while this is relatively easy for inanimate objects like that humongous orb of gold and those balls of fire from earlier, living creatures can put up a bit of a battle. Furthermore, the ones that turn out to be the most useful, the smart creatures, can easily turn on me and my companions and destroy us or those that we wish to protect."
Ionjae takes another breath, "The reason I'm working on arthropods is because if I can harness their ability to work as a group as they are want to do since it's already within their nature, then it won't be too difficult to bring them into play together. Also, while this may seem a bit silly, if I can harness a legion of ant warriors riding spiders that can phase into the plain of immaterial, I could use them to then assist me in creating a pact with a more powerful creature-type. Like dragons, and possibly even other humanoids." Ionjae smiles with this revelation... it's a bit offsetting to the others but Ruz, as they haven't known him long enough to determine if he's joking or not.
Yep, offsetting is precisely the word.
"Well, that's certainly... ambitious." Canas turns to Ruzakeel, "to answer your question, I'm just grasping at straws in trying to determine the use or history of a device I picked up earlier."
(By the way, could a Modron see illusion, or is the fact that they're constructs gonna end that possibility?)
ooc: We've determined, I think, that as long as they're intelligent, which modrons are, they can be deceived by illusion.
also ooc: So, it seems like we started trying to play a somewhat Harry Potter-esque game, and at least two of you decided to be Lord Voldemort. Aren't we just overflowing with the milk of human kindness?
Well, at least with the schools Ionjae and I chose, it seems to be a logical result. Ionjae summons creatures from parts unknown to fight and die for him. I decieve anything with a brain for my own ends. These schools tend to be selfish, and are used by selfish creatures. Just my theory anyways,
Ruz thinks a minute. "I guess we should find some modrons then. Maybe away from where we were, where that damage is. Ionjae, where do you think we'll find some?"
Ionjae would have seen Regulus on the maps of Mechanus. Regulus is the home base of the modrons. They're all over the place, but that's the one place you're guaranteed to find them in number.
Ionjae pauses and thinks for a moment before answering, "... yes, I believe I can direct us to a good number of the Modrons. There is an area here, known as Regulas, that they should be found in a large number.
Assuming Canas doesn't object, neither Ruz nor Uzman sees any reason not to go... To Regulus!
The whole Plane is like a giant clockwork, and Regulus even more so. The gears have pistons, and tiny gears running within their surfaces, so finely worked that your feet do not catch on them. Gears fitted into slots on their surfaces form interlocking contours which function as hallways.
Modrons move everywhere, in different forms. The smaller, more simple forms do not respond if you speak to them.
Clearly confused and unprepared, Canas begins attempting to speak to those Modron's that might understand and listen. "Ummm, I..If you don't mind, is there one I can speak to regarding the sales of ummm... machinery or other devices to other planes or areas, such as Sigil?
"We do not sell things. What is this thing? Do you have it with you?"
"I do not have it with me, but it looks something like this, except larger," As Canas speaks, his uses all of his illusionary power to create an image of the device he recently acquired as accurately as possible (even if it might not be actual size).
"This component does not know what that is for, but it is definitely of modron make. Are you aware that it is a crime to receive stolen property? You will be required to turn this over to us."
"I was not aware of that, but I have no qualms with turning it back over, though I do wish to know what it does, if you could point me to one who might know..." Canas says testily, slightly nervous since the device is not with him at the moment.
The mechanical construct points deeper into the mass of machinery. "You'll have to talk to a higher modron than me."
You (I assume) continue on into the maze of gears. At the heart of Regulus, still a longs ways from where you are, lies the Modron Cathedral, and the Primus. The Primus could tell you, but as the chief modron and the equivalent of a god, you might face a bit of a challenge just getting to see him, never mind getting him to listen. And casual visitors are not allowed to sight-see in the Cathedral.
However, there are any number of bureaucratic offices that would love to talk to you, provided you file the right forms in triplicate.
Well, then, might as well get on with filling out these forms then. Canas'll just head for whatever building looks like a bureau of informational stuff and then he'll get 'write' to it...
Provided these forms filled out in triplicate are adequate, he'll attempt to start the same basic conversation, once again using his completely unimpressive illusionary powers to create a small replica.
It's a disheartening day. Filling out form 31-c-89, standard request for information, in triplicate. It's a long form, asking things like your astrological sign, your philosophical leanings, your intentions with this information, your mother's maiden name. You finish, and turn it in to the modron at the desk.
He reviews it and says "We're sorry. There appears to be a mistake. Your calculations on page 18, section 367d, appear wrong. Please fix this error." You need to fill out the form from scratch.
You do.
This time, you got them right. "We're very sorry. There must have been some miscommunication. Form 31-c-89, standard request for information, is the incorrect form. We need you to file a 31-c-90, non-standard request for information. 31-c-89 only applies to modrons."
You fill out the apparently identical form.
Finally, cradling your blistered hands, you turn it over to the modron.
"Ah yes, we can honor your request. Take this requisition form to the Hall of Records."
Off you go.
The Hall of Records, another big blocky building with moving bits where there shouldn't be any moving bits, contains another modron who appears identical to all the rest. When given your requisition form, it clanks off into stacks of filing cabinets. You wait.
A long time.
Eventually, it returns. "The object in question is an elemental enclosure. Contained within the crystal sphere is an electrical elemental. The tubes function to redirect its efforts to escape." He turns to leave.
"Wait, what's it for?"
He looks at you with mechanical incomprehension. "For? What do you mean?"
"Well, what does it do?"
"It contains an elemental and redirects its efforts at escape."
"Yes, but why?"
"Because it does."
"No, I mean why would you want it to do that."
"Our records do not contain any indication of its utility to any greater purpose." By way of bidding you farewell, it says "Function properly," before heading back into the stacks.
Unsure of other Modron customs, Canas pauses for a moment before hesitantly leaving the hall, where he'll find Ionjae (assuming he hasn't already left for any number of legitimate reasons). "Well, my business is done here, and unless you have other things you'd like to do, we should probably find a way back to Hedgemere, so that you can get some rest, and I can get some studying done."
Ionjae is meditating outside the building as Canas approaches him. He looks up toward his fellow traveler and smiles, "Find what you were looking for?"
"More or less, though I think I need to find a paperwork charm, that was unbearable," says Canas, still massaging his hands. "If you're all set shall we try to find a way back?"
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