Zi’Ha’Na heads in the direction that Lord Rosch indicated and begins to look over the items displayed until he enters the room, trying to determine anything unique amongst the collections he has so far.  He also examines the room for any details that might be over looked by the casual observer.  Perhaps there was something left here by the previous Lord that may have been missed.  It crosses Zi’s mind that perhaps the artifacts themselves are not the target, but something else that may have been left in connection with the artifacts.  Perhaps the goal in removing Lord Rosch would have been to allow a thorough search of the work area for something hidden.  With this in mind Zi start to walk slowly around the room.

OOC - Rolls for the room or inspecting the artifacts - whatever is appropriate
09:40, Today: Zi'ha'na rolled 33 using 1d20+15. Investigate.
09:39, Today: Zi'ha'na rolled 22 using 1d20+4. Search.
09:39, Today: Zi'ha'na rolled 19 using 1d20+2. Spot.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:41, Mon 14 May 2012.

Stark nodded and said, "That should be fine. I would like to take 'er up before we head out, if possible, to get a feel for how she handles."

I'll let Ella take you up." Lord Rosch Nodded and motioned ot the Vanship." It's a forgiving design but it will suprise you from time to time."

He glanced toward dora and motioned toward the padlocked locker on the wall." If I turn you loose, do try not to use up all the ammunition stores. You may need them later."

   Ella climbs intot he back seat and pulls on her flying jacket and leather cap.She smiled and motioned to the front seat as she used the rear seat controls to power up the engines and lifting devices and adjust the fuel supply as the engines cughed, cracked and then came to life in a deep rumbling rumble.

---

Zi'na'ha has a large collection to work through the room is lined floor to cieling with racks display cases, and shadow boxes with numerous small artifacts, Journels, books, scrolls, and maps. In his search Zi notices that many of the books are neatly catalouged and in a very orderly arrangement. Until he notices a simple worn leather journel tucked into a shelf with a collection of expensive texts detailing the history of the Realms.

Not being able to pass up the out of place journal, Zi takes the worn book down and begins to look through it.

In reply to The Creator (msg #95):

Stark looked over the instrumentation as Ella warmed the engine up. He watched the balance of fluids and power as she did so, putting his hand on the dashboard to feel the vibrations of the engine. He wanted to get a feel for the craft. He laid a hand on the stick and put his feet to the pedals, testing the flaps and response. Having a basic feel he applied power the craft and felt the vanship begin to lurch into motion, raising up a foot or so over the ground. He nodded and looked around.

"Clear!" he shouted and looked around, then the vehicle leapt up and out into the skies. He smiled despite himself and the business at hand. This is what he truly lived for.


[OOC: Pilot - Take 10 (23 Total)]

The Vanship lifts and begins to slide forward, as warned the pedals feel a bit mushy at first but as he lifts the nose and rockets upward the sleek machine begins to respond crisply to his controls. the engines purring smoothly and the lifters responding quickly.
  The air space over the city is crowded with flyers ships and animals. a flitter cat streaks past the windscreen with a startled and angry Yowl as The Vanship interrupts it's chase of a pigeon. A Sky Guard flitter swoops in for a moment then the pilot who seemed to recognize the Vanship peeled away and returned to it's patrol.
  Once clear of the city, and it's traffic the Vanship is free to maneuver. a slight thump sounding as it passed out of the cities envelope and was now in the open skies. the machine was not as agile as Stark's but it seemed to have much more power and the weight and handling indicated it was heavier and better armored.
  Below them nothing but clouds and a few large shards of broken stone drifted and high above the Forge burned fiercely it's very edge eclipsed by a small island the looked to be surrounded by long strands of aerial plant, and a thick cloud of pollen and windsprit.

  The islands we're going to are down there." Ella shouts and points to a number of islands that are joined by massive ropes of vegetation and vines wide enough to drive a car across. several of the islands appear to be farmed but most are wild, and covered with thick tangled vegetation that hides the actual outline of the islands and seemed to join them into one large body of land.

---

Back in town Dora Hopped in a ground car and drove Alisdair across town to the Sky Guard garrison. and then led him to the firing range where guardsmen and civilians practiced with  wide variety of weapons. Dora whistled happily the Mg-15 of her shoulder as she motioned to several ammo can in the back seat of the car.
  " I only brought four cans, will that be enough?" She asked with a grin as she waited for Alisdair to grab the two thousand rounds of ammunition and follow her.

  The gun range was set up and ready. as Dora ran through the process of loading and arming the machine guns, repeating it a couple of times. her small delicate hands handling the weapon with practiced ease even if she physically had trouble hoisting the light machine gun around at times.

  A few bursts from the weapon were enough to show it had a blistering rate of fire and more accuracy than heavy machine guns. although it seemed to pull a little to the right and up when fired in more than a short bust.

---

  Zi finds the journal is written in a small neat script, and details numerous items in the collection that at first glance and even to his inspection seemed completely mundane and worthless as more than curios. the notes are clear concise, and separates actual observations and know fact from theories, personal observations, and conjecture in a clear manner.

  The wording and lack of references to previous finds, and theories is peculiar making it obvious to his eye that this is not the notes of a schooled archeologist or historian instead they are the notes of an outsider who avoids drawing conclusion based on previous work alone.
  A number of items have been sketched in both thier assembled state and broken down into their parts. with sections then joined into several partial assemblies.

  The notes indicate that the elder Lord Rosch had been convinced that the Asarii had used this technique to disguise their items and keep them hidden from theirves and or other people who might be given to theft or violence to obtain powerful devices from them.

Stark nodded and then called over his shoulder, "Let's see what she can do, eh?" He began to run the vanship through a series of military exercises. It had been a long time since he'd done such. It felt strange to be back in the cockpit of a ship meant for fighting. It brought back some dark memories that he'd thought he'd buried...

[Private to GM: 22:02, Today: Stark Sanderson rolled 27 using 1d20+13. Pilot Check. ]

Zi considers the information and files the knowledge away.  The theory is interesting, and the drawings seem to lend credit to his theories.  Zi looks through the notebook for any notes that are particular to the masks or make any reference to them.  Finally he takes out one of his own pads and several different writing implements and set them aside.  Then comparing some of the pictures and descriptions he walks around the collection seeing how many of the noted items are still in the collection and attempting to follow any instructions in the assembly as he tries to puzzle out the notebooks connections.

Between tests, Alisdair pulled out a small pad of paper and noted down all the peculiarities of the gun.

"So, fire in short bursts and aim slightly to the left of target. This is more accurate than I was expecting though, although I feel I shall still prefer the rifle."

" Take it easy in the turns, Shes got more power thn she's got rudder." Ella shouted over the wind rush and then let out a whoop of pure joy as Stark powered through an Immelman turn and then into severl snap rolls that pushed them both hard against thier safet straps.
  Stark could feel the extra mass of the armor and guns as he snapped back upright, the ship wanting to continue its roll, until he snapped the stick to bring it back into level flight.
  The machine was a pure bread machine definately not intended to be flown low and slow like most civilian flyers. And, like a high powered machine he noticed it drank fuel more rapidly than his vanship. Not an alarming rate but he could do the figures in his head and tell it had about a hundred miles less range than his lighter Vanship." You fly like an Ace!"

---

Zi made his notes and discovered a majority of th eitems were still in the coolection. a few notes and sketches of the masks were included in the journel but not more than a few mentions and a couple of quick sketches.
  The items came apart easily, and without damage, as intended it seemd. With some work he assembled what looked like a cerimonial shoulder guard which began to hum with arcane and divien energies as soon as it was completed. the signitures without a doubt pure Assarii enchantments. The energies were steady but it as obvious age and lack of long term care had weakened the devices. and many of it's intended functions seemed to be dormant needing to be re-energized by a skilled technomancer.

 

---

Pthhhppt, Dora teased as he mentioned his prefference for rifles. All that breathing, and watching the breeze, Yeah you can pick a gnat off at a hundred paces but it's soooooooo boring."

  " But you really did put the fear of the Creator into those guys in the garden, I didnt think that big thunder stick of your could be used up close like that.

  She held up one of the brass casings she had picked up fromt he yard. Hmmm .475, full brass, probably a 280 grain round with a hot charge behind it. Not something ya see in the shop down on Brassen way....you have to load them yourself or blow the breech out."
  She grined impishly as she displayed her technical knowledge." My fathers freind loads his huntin brass for him, puts those icky chemicals in the tip to really ruin a triffids day. He hates hunting animals, but he'll go on a triffid hunt about any time he can."

Zi considers the power signature emanating from the device, not positive if the power of a technomancer is different from his own.  Extending his hand he focus’s his own internal power reserves into the device, attempting to infuse the device with at least a little of his power.  Not sure of the result he steadily increases the power until he gets a reaction or it becomes obvious that his power is incompatible with the artifacts.  Zi makes his notes and continues to assemble various artifacts and tries to see if any are connected to a larger set.  Since he already has a shoulder guard, he looks first to see if he can build more of the ceremonial set.  Once he has assembled any sets that are alike he makes notes to compare them for missing parts and makes some supposition regarding the final assembly.  After that he calls for Lord Rosch and explains what he has found so far and inquires if there is anyone at the university that may be trustworthy to assist in repowering the items and assisting in the investigation.  He explains “If we are going to an isolated island we should have someone available who has the power and knowledge of technomancy.  There appears to be more than a passing connection between that discipline and these artifacts.”

OOC – I will keep working on transcribing the notes so that eventually there is a second copy. 

"You know your bullets, though I usually put a little less powder in when I make them myself; it reduces the recoil a little, and makes it a little more accurate. As for the close range shooting, it's tricky, but entirely possible if you get the drop on them. I feel the gun is rather wasted at short range, but I had little choice today." He pulled one of his few remaining bullets from his belt, tossing it over to the girl for inspection. "You have to make them full brass or you risk the entire shell detonating inside the chamber. I've seen people fire half-cases, but they were very well made, and I just don't have the skill. Besides, full cases do a lot more damage. You mentioned chemical mixtures though, I'd be very interested to investigate those, especially if we're to be facing off against them."

Stark smiled back at Ella and was enjoying just flying even if the thing had the characteristics of your typical brick.



"Hardly," he laughed back, "It's one thing to do this sort of stuff when you're just having fun. It's quite another when someone is trying to poke holes in you."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:49, Wed 06 June 2012.

         Lord Rosch followed Zi's work closely remaining silent and staying well out of the man's way as he worked. Occasionally offering an answer to a question or comment on a particular piece that Zi examined.

" That looks familiar, I believe my Father may have assembled it during his studies."

  I know of several Technomancers downtown. They are skilled, and among the more disciplined members of their craft, but I have never worked with a Technomancer closely. He paused looking thoughtful and then making a slightly embarrassed shrug of his shoulders. It may be my own personal prejudices toward the sort of person that becomes involved in such fields, but I do not know of any I would trust with such a delicate matter."

" Yes! It's always more fun without the tracers, and the pirate on your six, hot brass flying in your face, and your kid sister cursing like a drunken marine as she hammers away behind you....mostly its the tracers and the ones you cant see that make it not fun. Ella shouted over the wind stream smiling as she enjoyed the ride and pointed out sights along the way.

" Oh those things, Yeah dad is kind of secretive about his chemicals. I think he's afraid someone will put them to "bad use". Dora dug into her satchel and produced a clip of specially modified ammunition and offered it to Alisdair." This is one of his specials, he mixed it up form me when I nearly got...ummmm well when I had a problem with a young fellow who thought I was just a cute little girl who wouldn't put a big hole in him."

She produced a broom handle pistol with an extended magazine and loaded it. offering it to Alisdair.Thermite, magnesium, and some nitrates...at least that's what I remember of what he said.

"This is your expedition, and an area I am not proficient at. If you do not want a technomancer that is your choice, but we cannot power these devices without one, or some kind of engine that may be able to create a power source that it can convert.  The latter may be possible, but I am not familiar with any generator that produces the proper energy signature.  I suggest that we get some references and see if any fit our criteria.  I would lean towards an unknown assistant or low level professor so that they would hopefully have as few political connection as possible."

Autham turned one of the rounds from the pistol over in his hands, examining the metal work, feeling the weight, even sniffing it briefly.
"Facinating. I must see if I can persuade him to let me see the formula, or at least use some prepared mixture. This is rather well made, and I can imagine it would blow a sizeable hole in anything unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end. It seems to be constructed like a miniature artillery shell."
He looked up at Dora again,
"Would it be remiss of me to request to try this weapon out? I would very much like to see how well these bullets perform."

Stark was thuroughly enjoying himself, taking in the sights and sharing the skies with Ella. He was surprised when he noticed how much gas was left in the tank. Time and the vanship had flown for longer than he'd noticed. Not that he was near empty but he hadn't expected to use so much fuel. He banked the vanship in an Immelmann turn, reversing their direction and taking a more direct route back towards the mansion.

   " I will of course consider your advice." Lord Rosch nodded and began to make notes on his notepad." I will se if i can find a technomancer who has the skills we need." Lord rosch picked up the assembled item to examine it and seemed fascinated by the intricate detail of the etching and assembly of the device.

  Dora handed over the pistol and the special ammunition. the pistol was a bit heavier than it looked and had a selector switch on the side allowing it to fire more than single shots. The wieght also cancelled out the recoil as the pistol fired, and made it more accurate than it would seem at first.
  The rounds inpact and burst in bright flashes throwing off sparks and sets the target on fire almost instantly leaving the smoking target dummy smouldering wth a large hole in the chest and stomach.

  Returning to the landing field behind the coach house the Vanship settled to the ground and coughed slightly as it powered down and began to cool down. Ella climbed out of the rear seat and checked the engine and lifters quickly smiling as she shut off the feul valves and made several adjustments.
  " That was great, your not bad behind the stick" Ella offed a jug of water from the storage compartment and wiped at the dust that had built up around her goggles while skimming the shards." I can't wait for a chance to fly with you sometime, maybe run the narrows."

OOC: The narrows are a series of gaps, and faults, seperating three nearby islands joined by large roots, and land bridges.

Alisdair looked at the smoking dummy and raised an eyebrow.
"Impressive, these really do some damage."
He handed Dora her gun back with a slight bow,
"I believe I have seen all I need to, and I feel I have gained as much knowledge of the heavy guns as will be necessary for our first mission; although I would appreciate if you would continue my tuition when we have more time. I would very much like to head back to your father and request his assistance to fashion some bullets of my own, but first: what assistance do you require with putting away the guns?"

  Stark took the offered water and took a healthy chug before handing it back. "Your on," he said smiling, "I'm looking forward to it... but first we've got this little venture of your fathers to get out of the way." He began doing a physical walkaround of the craft after going through the post-flight checklist.

  "She moves like a tub but has plenty of power to spare," he muttered as he ran a hand down the body of the vanship, "... so recoil shouldn't be a factor."

  He straighted when they were done and offered an arm to Ella, "Shall we return to your father and find out what's left of the schedule and our departure?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Sun 24 June 2012.

Zi nods at his comments and then turns to continue examining the items he is looking at and the other different items and scribe the notes over.  He’ll annotate the copy of notes with his own understanding and make some sketches of how the various parts are assembled and their constituent parts, as well as any powers identified.