What's That Smell?
Several hours after breakfast, Varian finally works up the courage to go back into his room.
Twice-dead zombie mice don't smell good.
After a bit of searching, Varian finds them under a stack of papers he had been grading for the beginning illusion classes. How'd they get there? And, is that really all of them? Time, and airing out the room, will tell.
Next on the list of things to do: talk to Loannae.
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Varian hunts down Loannae, using his scrying mirror as necessary. “Hey there, how’s it going?” Varian says, in his typical token-interest-about-the-lives-of-others voice. “You said that you might be able to help me find the last activation of that gate? Well, the sooner that I can get that done the better, I have some business on the other side. Also, what did you want for your services?"
"Yes, I can help you. I take it you know where the portal is? Well, given a few hours I can find out who last used it and when. After that... well, it would be up to you to track them down and find out what they had that was actually the gate key. I can tell you what they had, unless they took precautions against that, but there's no way to know exactly what it was that did the job.
"Now, as to what you can do for me. I'm going to need an illusion, and I'm going to need it secretly. It won't be big, or complicated, but it needs to be very very careful. I'll tell you exactly what it is later, when I need it. Right now, just promise."
“Deal. You tell me who the last person who went through that portal is, preferably with descriptions of their belongings, and I’ll make your illusion. Just make sure that I’m in town when you need it, it’d actually be preferable for you to tell me when you want it in advance. I assume that by “secret,” you also mean that your brother shouldn’t know?”
Varian will bring her to the gate after the agreement is made.
"I mean no one should know. I'll give you as much warning as I can. And, yes, it makes sense that you'll have to be around. Let's go."
Varian leads her to Sigil, and through the streets. "Moll showed me this when I took her to dinner one night. Apparently natives of Sigil have a knack for finding these things." He gestures to an alley, arched by a bridge. "It's the alley, or sort of."
"Yeah, I know. Portals can be anything, so long as there's an outline and it's at least large enough to squeeze through. All right, I'll see what I can do. You come back in about an hour, and I'll probably have something for you." She begins taking things out of her pack: a bowl, which she fills with quicksilver carefully decanted from a stoppered flask; a mirror; chalks; pendants; a crooked stick. As she begins muttering to herself, Varian walks off into the streets of Sigil.
[Here you find something to do for an hour. If it's interesting, post it, if not, we'll assume you got some food or something.]
Varian returns. Loannae's paraphernalia has been packed up. She sees him, and rises from the curb. "Well, I have good news, and bad news."
"Okay. Let's hear it."
"The good news is, I know who last used the portal. Your father."
"That bastard. He never said. What's the bad news?"
"Your alley, here, is alive. Your portal is smack in the middle of a via victus. In fact, the last time your father used it, it wasn't here. It always takes that bridge with it, which I imagine confuses the hell out of the occupants of the buildings it settles down between, but it doesn't stay put long. Good luck with that."
"So, recap. The last use of this portal was back home, by my father, and this portal could move to anywhere in Sigil? Great..." Varian sighs. "Well, I'll find a way to get this thing to work. I don't suppose you saw what key dear old dad used, did you?"
Once he's done, Varian will try to place a scrying device on the portal, in hopes of being able to track it later.
Scrying device... Not too hard.
Varian walks to the middle of the alley, and looks up at the bridge.
"Always goes with it, huh?" He reaches over to a wooden support, and places the sharp corner of a curiously mangled coin against it, then drives it in with a loose cobble stone. "There. Now I'll know where you are."
Loannae didn't have any idea what the key was, although she did say that standard bits of clothing, like shoes, or money of the normal denominations were out, since others had passed this way since.
Okay, here's my plan. Unless I somehow find a way to open that gate, I'll wait until another vacation, then take the long route. Buy my family's freedom, then get the key from dear old dad.
I don't suppose a simple plane-shift spell would let me get back home one-way would it?
Well, define simple.
Ionjae could probably pull it off, provided you gave him something to connect to the place. Really, I would be inclined to demand four points in conjuring, so searching out someone else might be a decent idea.
Oh, okay then. I’ll take a look for fourth year students majoring in conjuration, and offer to purchase the services of one. Ideally, this guy would be in debt, maybe even have a little trouble with the mob, but failing that I’ll just try to find a low bidder. As for a way to find my home plane, I’ll suggest that he use me. Find the plane that I was born in, and send me there (when I leave, I'll be brining the gold that I need to buy my family free.)
Change of plans, I don't want to risk being stranded. What would I need to set up two-way communication, like Moll described, between my father and I from the comfort of my own room? If that's not possible, how about a programmed illusion? Light travels much faster than matter, so it could travel home in a fraction of the time that it takes me. Would it be possible to send a message in this way, record my father's answer, and have it return to me?
If either of these ways can work, I want to ask my father about the gate key, and what buisiness dealings he's had in Sigil. I'll argue that the faster I can get home, the faster he stops shoveling crap, so it's in his best interests to tell me.
The illusion/mirror thing could work. You don't have the points to make it permanent (the reason no one's mass producing anything magical), but you could do up a pair that'll last a while, since it's a fairly simple effect, and not actually designed to deceive anyone (that is the normal thing that illusion gets rolled against, right?). As to the light thing, magic doesn't travel at the speed of light. Light would never get from the Outer Planes to the Prime Material, and might not make it from one Prime Material to another. We're talking about separate planes of existence here, more like different dimensions than long distances. Still, you could send an illusion. It could chat with Daddy, but not sign any legal paperwork or make any monetary transfers.
Perfect. I'm not looking for any transfers, just to be able to talk to him for a bit. My plan was to have the illusion follow a program, go through the same gates that I would, find my father, then give the message, but I'd rather talk to him myself. So if I can set up two-way communication without having to be actually be there, that'd be perfect.
No, you'd have to actually deliver something to get two way, or somehow know when to trigger your divination abilities.
Okay, here's what I'm thinking. I set up the mirror thing, using a small vanity mirror. Then I send Xilvin, or some other summoned creature, to deliver it to my father, with instructions. The magic doesn't have to last long, just five days or so.
Okay, seeing as I'm just waiting right now, it sounds like a good time to have Varian experiment. As far as I can tell, the reason why the undead don't see illusions is because they see life force, energy instead of matter. Is this correct? If so, would an illusion fused with life energy trick them? Say, if I used necromancy to suck the life force from surrounding plant life and use it for my illusions?
I'm not sure what I think about that. I didn't know that undead didn't see illusions.
Anybody else have an opinion? Why does d&d do that? Is it just to make undead scary? Would getting rid of that unbalance anything?
OOC: I'm not so sure there is an official cannon excuse as to why undead can see through illusions like invisibility, etc.
I suppose it's a good reason, they see life-energy... but then they can also see other undead... so it may just be that undead are magic... and because they are magic they aren't held by the rules of physics or logic. But then, heck... what do I know?
Actually, that wasn't the offical ruling, an old DM of mine just used that to explain it, and I guess I got the idea stuck in my head. Basically, anything not made of flesh and blood is immune to illusions by typical d20 rules.
Though it may just be mindless creatures that are immune to illusions. So, for example, animated corpses, since they have no mind to trick, aren't hindered by illusions, but say a lich might be.
Mindless creatures seems like a good explanation. We'll go with that. So, zom-bees, probably not illusion-able, but zombies might be, depending on how with it they are (I'm figuring that they vary, depending on how soon after death they're resurrected, how skillfully they're resurrected, and how long it's been since they were resurrected).
One of the jobs that was offered to Ionjae at the beginning of the semester was to feed the experiments in the dungeon. Varian will go to Gurg and ask if that job is still available.
Oh, and I've got a theoretical questions for you. What are your rules on having several mages work together? I'm only a second year student, so I only have two points in illusion and as such my abilities are limited, but what if I had, say, a whole bunch of first year illusionists helping me?
I'd like to think that several working together could achieve things that one alone can't, but just what that is, I don't have a rule. Not simply adding points, such that 10 with 1 point beats 1 with 5 points, and not averaging, such that no one would ever want someone of less than their own skill to assist them.
Think of it as helpers making the magic easier. It would be easier to formulate a rule if there were more levels to the magic system, but lets say that ten helpers would let you, a second level illusionist, pull off things that would normally require four levels. Of course, they'll all know what you're doing.
Also, Gurg knows you're loaded, so he's not likely to give you anything, particularly not until Canas has replaced the gargoyles.
Okay, but what if I offered to do the job for free? The only reason I'm not bribing him for the job is because I'd probably get expelled for that. The reason Varian's looking into this is that, even though he hates doing labor, he's trying to make an alliance with Elsa, and, though I don't know how this will come in handy yet, I assume having access to some of the more dangerous experiments would be of interest to her.
Or I suppose I could go about trying to replace the gargoyles. What's that, enchantment?
Well, if you really want to feed experiments, you can just talk to the grounds-keeper, Mick. He lives in a shack near the back wall. Big burly guy, can't miss him.
And yeah, gargoyles would be enchantment.
I have decided. Helpers, given enough time, will allow you to make an effect permanent, but not make a bigger effect than you could otherwise handle. So, if you flagrantly abuse your advisees, you can swing a permanent moderate illusion effect. Those helpers do need at least one point in whatever schools of magic you're using.
Gasp! Varian? Flagrantly abuse people who are, in his mind, his inferiors?
Anyways, I'll get the job from Mick if I can. And as for the advisees, I'm gonna try this out by making a permanent version of those communication mirrors. So, I'll get four identicle vanity mirrors, and pitch it as an experiment to the advisees. "I'm working on making marketable magic, but it's gonna be a long process. However, helping me in this project will certainly get your professor's attention, if and when I do succeed." If I can get them to help me out, I'll make a permanent communication mirror set. Then, I'll replace them with a temporary set that I've made, and just let the magic decay. I'll explain that it's "completely normal, I didn't expect to get it to work the first time. We'll just need to try again with a different project."
Okay. Thomas, Richard, Harold, and Svetlana all fall for it, or at least care more about getting extra credit than they do about pointing out that their TA is supremely sketchy.
You've got your mirrors, and it looks like they'll last. Now you need someone to physically transport them.
Sweet! I honestly didn't think that'd work. Anyways, I don't know how I'm gonna get them there right now, but I'll think it over. In the mean time, I'll "fast track" those four students, if Gurg asks how my advisees are doing I'll specifically mention that they are "very talented." I'll also take a look into their careers, possible minors, any with powerful families, that sort of thing.
Huzzah! I’ve finally come up with a plan!
Okay, first thing’s first. I’ll hire a messenger. Pay him whatever he wants to deliver one of the mirrors to my father. He gets paid once he comes back. Simple enough.
Second, I’ll do a little research on what the other aristocrats produce to make money. Obviously they have a source of income. Then, I’m going to look for the most convenient planes that have those resources in excess. For example, if one family produces corn, I’m going to be looking for a plane that has a ton of corn. If another family produces olive oil, I’ll find a plane that has a lot of that. The more convenient the better, but if I need to find a more obscure plane for a better price, so be it.
Thirdly, I’ll go to Elsa. After making some small talk (how’s the half-ogre holding up, that sort of thing) I’ll make a proposal. “I’ve got a plan Elsa, a plan to make myself very, very rich. And I could really use someone with you skills working for us. So, here’s what I propose. Once my company is up and running, how would you like to have not only a very generous salary, but access to a large pool of slaves, to experiment with to your heart’s content? All we’d need from you is to generate your successful experiments in bulk for us, on our dime obviously.”
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