"Not in the way you mean Val.  The strands that hold the fate of objects are faint, so they're difficult to read, like trying to read what was on scraped parchment.  Most are also boring, but-"  Looking around the room, she nods and starts smiling.  "These might be worth the effort, yes."

Suiting action to words, she picks one of the objects at random and starts walking around its stand to see it from many angles, paying attention as closely as she can to the faint strands that touch upon it.

The closest pedestal item is the one that Vasily examined earlier--the cube floating on a corner.

Fiora's first impression of the cube's Fate strands is nearly overwhelming, but quickly realizes it's because of the nature of it, not the strength. There's a dozen or more that seem to start at the balancing point and swirl and twist upward until they meet at a point about two feet above the cube. But they don't actually touch each other.

It quickly becomes obvious that these are 'past' strands... they were once connected to a person that used the cube... at least, that's Fiora's interpretation. Given that the Syrne have been long gone, it's possible that these strands belong to equally long gone people.

She realizes that she could touch one of the strands and probably find out who it belonged to as well as what that person used the cube for.

What she can't tell is whether this strand pattern is a property of the cube or some technique that the Syrne had.

Valentino also decides to move around the displays and examine the various objects but doesn't actually touch anything.

Overall, he's trying to get some sense of a pattern to them... are they all animal, vegetable or mineral? Are they all geometric? That sort of thing. He's at a lost as to what kind of category they might fall into which is why he's looking.

"Is it possible that all of these things are Fate connected?" he asks Fiora when he gets back to the beginning.

"I'm not trying to disparage your talent, I'm just not familiar with it. But, can there be Fate strands that you can't see?"

"They can be, yes.  This one has more strands than some people.  I'll have to study them more closely to say what exactly those fates are, as the other ends are not in this room."  Circling the stand it's on, she spends a while longer taking in the complexity of the threads.

"The problem with asking if there's something one cannot see, is that one cannot see it."  Fiora answers Valentino's second question without taking her eyes off the cube.  "There are men who cannot see green from red, grass and blood are the same color to them.  If all men were such, one who could see the difference might be asked if there are more colors still that even they can't see.  How would he know?"

Coming to a halt, she reaches up toward the bundle of fate.  "Lets see what fate this thread holds."

The first thing Fiora can tell is that each strand belonged to a separate individual as they used the cube at different times. She can't quite see what it was used for but gets the general impression it was used to 'build' something.

There's also no exact time frame, but she also gets the impression that it was a very long time ago.



Valentino finds that the items on display fall into a wide range of categories. Some appear organic and some clearly aren't. A few are geometric (cube, sphere, tetradhedron), but most are irregular (such as the tusks).

In reply to Dread Pirate Robert (msg # 715):

Alessandra knows nothing still of such things, but watching the other girl study the fate strands is interesting, and so are the articles. Particularly the tusks. She wanders over to them and stares at them.

"Well, everyone who used this was building something, but if this was one of their tools, I can't tell how they used it.  It could even be something they just had in the area."  The faint echoes of people so long past are difficult to make out.  The people's strands barely attached to the tapestry, caught in the weave of this group's visit today, and maybe nowhere else.

Alessandra moves over to the tusks and stares at them for awhile, paying particular attention to the various markings visible on them. Whether its some sort of deduction or insight, she comes to a few observations/conclusions in a minute or so.

The size of the creature was probably that of a large elephant, though not necessarily an actual elephant. Perhaps its the subtle twist to them that makes her think so.

It looks like they fell off on their own rather than having been cut/chopped off. While she can't quite put her finger on why she gets the image, she thinks it had something to do with mating. That probably means the tusks have some sort of aphrodisiac power.

Some of the markings are probably from where it marked its territory. It could even be possible to determine where those areas were.

Other markings are blood... from at least half a dozen creatures. Fiora could probably identify the creatures from the strands. These would seem to coincide with some of the nicks and missing chips from battle.

Two particular spots--one on each tusk--have been polished a bit smoothly, like the beasts owner/rider affectionately patted those area over and over and over.

Valentino spent his time and interest examining the rest of the artifacts on display.

There are an even two dozen black pedestals, mostly square but two hexagonal ones and three circular ones. Even the tusks were perched on a flat square rather than just resting on the floor.

Only 12 of the pedestals have an artifact still resting on it.

1. 7" silvery metal cube with an iridescent polish to it

2. tusks

3. terracotta bowl of fruit

4. 6" rock crystal

5. golden yellow sphere of unknown composition

6. lump of black goo pulses but holds its shape

7, primitive reddish wooden figurine

8. ice crystals

9. 'alien' green tetrahedron balanced upside down on a point

10. large reddish-orange peacock-like feather

11. bluish flame 4" high

12. small amber apothecary jar

"I am quite sure I don't know what to make of all these things," Anders muses as he follows Valentino to observe the artifacts.

"Is that real fruit in the bowl? And what's with this black goop?"

"A very good question, my friend," Valentino agrees.

"Along with all the other questions we have."

"We can continue to explore this place... there's still the basement we haven't searched."

"We can attempt to learn more about these peculiar relics."

"Or we can just walk away with a strange experience to tell of over a pint or two of bitters"

"My concern is still the Black Pearl. At least we're pretty sure that there is only the one, but can we trust it to remain here beyond the affairs of men? Or does it have some urge to meddle in the affairs of men regardless of how well its intentions might be?"

"You touched it, Alessandra. Did it want something? A desire to help maybe? We perhaps are not the best subjects for this. Put it into the hand of an ambitious noble and might it empower him to conquer a nation? After all, that's what the rulers want it for--power! We don't know that it will grant him such power... I'm thinking it may merely corrupt him. After all, it was crafted by the Syrne and we do not fully comprehend their minds."

"I do not wish to wield the Pearl for personal gain, but I also fear that I would be no better at attempting to wield it for the betterment of mankind. Stop war. End disease and hunger and poverty. Laudable goals but is that not also the road of good intentions?"

"Good intentions require good tools."  Fiora contributes.  "There is a story told by the merchants of the Crescent Empire, of a man who entraps a spirit and imposes upon it to grant wishes, but it means him ill and turns his desires against him.  He wishes for wealth, and it takes that wealth from the king.  The man is executed for that theft, and the spirit goes free.  In other tellings, he wishes for his family to never go hungry again.  The spirit kills them.  They're no longer hungry."

"That story is repeated among my sisters as a lesson.  We twist and spin the threads of fate, but we must be cautious of our exact weaves."

"Ha! Yes, that is true of many things... particularly the words we speak," Valentino agrees.

"It sounds like the lure often blinds one to the dangers."

"I do not know how to proceed. On the one hand, it would seem a prudent decision to destroy the Pearl... if that is even possible. But what consequences might that very act have?"

"I say continue to explore. Perhaps that will shed enlightenment on a course of action. Ultimately, I fear, we will have to make a decision and live by it."

"Can you see any strands of Fate connecting us to this place yet?"

"Or can you see strands on these relics that might tell us what purpose they serve?"

"There are many connecting us to this place."  Fiora smiles and shakes her head.  "But not the way you mean.  Alessandra is connected to the Pearl, and I don't know what that fate holds, but the rest of us will remember this place, and those memories will nudge our course, change our fates."

Looking at the various artifacts she hasn't examined closely yet, she nods.  "On some, yes.  Reading them will take time, but it seems safe enough."


[OOC: No, it does not seem safe, it's a Syrneth ruin that we know can warp fate, but Curiosity is one of my arcana so...]

Vasily smiles, knowing that there is likely to be danger here, but really wishing for more information; "Certainly! I'm certain that with your capabilities studying these things will be completely safe. If I have a say, I'd say you should do it, so we can learn more about this place!"

OOC: Vasily is manipulative. :D
This message was last edited by the player at 21:18, Mon 06 Mar 2023.

As the others contemplate the relics and what to do next, Anders is the only one that notices that the Black Pearl has started to glow in pulses. Each pulse, however, is a different color, though the difference between some of them is hard to discern. It seems to go through the sequence three times before Alessandra also begins to glow with the same pulses.

Looking around at the relics, Fiora approaches the green tetrahedron next, circling the pedestal with eyes focused on the threads of fate rather than the physical shape.

Cautiously reaching out to touch the tetrahedron's strands, she finds it difficult but not impossible to separate the personal strand of the last person to use it from the function of the item.

"Oh my!"  Fiora smiles and holds her hand up to the artefact, feeling across the strands of fate as she picks them out.  "Have you ever wanted to be a sorcerer Valentino?  This is a box of Porte.  I'm not sure how to use it yet-"  Grasping a few strands, she applies a little tension to pull the tapestry flat and get a better view.

"A... box of... porte? As in you believe that it contains the magical essence required for someone to be able to use the Montaignian art?"

"It's a tool that lets the holder use one of their arts.  Something is still inside, but I'm not sure what."

Fiora is able catch a glimpse of the previous user walking out in a rock-strewn field and gathering up the field stones with the device and then depositing them at a building site where they were used to build the walls.

However, she is mistaken about something 'stored' inside. While that can be done, the 'blank' facets merely mark that two of the four charges have been used.

"How strange, the Syrne who used it last, he used it to move stones for a wall."  She laughs.  "Can you just imagine the face a Montaigne Sorciere would make if you asked for that?"

[Well, the player was mistaken at least, not being able to see what Fiora sees.]
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Wed 08 Mar 2023.

"It does seem a bit... mundane. I guess if they were doing such a menial thing with it tells us two things. First, whoever was using it was probably not a noble. And, second, this must have been at least somewhat commonplace for it to be utilized for such a lowly task."

Fiora shakes her head sadly.  "It tells us neither of those things, as my sisters and I can attest.  It tells us only that the owner wanted the wall built more quickly, and didn't have a better use for his property at the moment."